Confessions (1595)
Confessions is a 1595 religious aspects of truth book written by Augustine of Hippo.
Sixteen centuries ago Augustine of Hippo tried something new: he addressed a book-length prayer directly to God and let the reader listen in. He recounts a restless early life, his ambitions and appetites, his long detour through rival philosophies, and the slow turn that brought him to the faith he would go on to help shape. Part memoir, part theology, part meditation on memory and time itself, it reads as one man talking to God with unusual candor. This edition presents Garry Wills's complete modern translation of the whole work in plain, living English.
Quick answers
What is Confessions about?
Sixteen centuries ago Augustine of Hippo tried something new: he addressed a book-length prayer directly to God and let the reader listen in. He recounts a restless early life, his ambitions and appetites, his long detour through rival philosophies, and the slow turn that brought him to the faith he would go on to help shape. Part memoir, part theology, part meditation on memory and time itself, it reads as one man talking to God with unusual candor. This edition presents Garry Wills's complete modern translation of the whole work in plain, living English.
When was Confessions published?
Confessions was published in 1595.
Who made Confessions?
Confessions was written by Augustine of Hippo.
A few thoughts on Confessions
One of the founding documents of Western autobiography, and still startlingly personal. Come to it for the voice, a brilliant restless mind examining its own past out loud, rather than for doctrine alone. Wills's translation strips away churchly stiffness, which makes the searching, self-questioning Augustine much easier to meet on the page.