Confessions

Confessions, or Confessiones in the original Latin, is a book of spiritual reflection, philosophical commentary, and Biblical interpretation produced in the last century of the Western Roman Empire. Written around the year 400 CE by Saint Augustine of Hippo, a prominent Catholic bishop in the Roman province of Africa, the book is sometimes called the world’s first autobiography. Although this claim is inaccurate, Confessions has nevertheless born enormous influence on personal narrative writing in the Western tradition, particularly during the Middle Ages. Augustine’s primary purpose, though, was religious exploration, both internal and external, the autobiographical elements included only insofar as they served this goal. Indeed, ever since its publication, readers have found legitimate reason to doubt the accuracy of the portrait Augustine paints of himself in Confessions.

Although not much read upon its release, Confessions, buoyed by Augustine’s elegant writing, candid self-examination, and religious passion, began to grow in popularity in the 12th century. Today, it ranks among the most important of all Christian texts, and the same can be said of its prominence in Roman literature.

This study guide refers to the 2002 New City Press paperback edition titled The Confessions and translated by Maria Boulding.

Summary

Augustine divided Confessions into 13 books, which would more appropriately be called chapters today. Book I begins with an extensive prayer in which Augustine contemplates God’s inconceivable mystery. He then provides an overview of his infancy and boyhood, confessing the sins he inherited through his own nature and those he acquired as a result of misguided conditioning from home and school.

Book II chronicles the continued waywardness of Augustine’s adolescence and the emergence of the lustful habits that will become his greatest obstacle to conversion. His pagan father, Patricius, emerges as a character opposing Augustine’s salvation and his Christian mother, Monica, as one supporting it. Augustine also presents a famous episode involving pear theft, from which he articulates a theory of sin.

Book III tells of Augustine’s arrival as a young man in the major African city of Carthage to continue his studies. There, his sinful ways persisted, but his discovery of Cicero’s Hortensius made him hungry for wisdom. Unimpressed with the Bible, he converted to Manicheism, a popular religion of the day that was at odds with Christianity.

Book IV sees Augustine returned to his hometown as a teacher of rhetoric. There, he began living with an unnamed woman. Unmarried but sexually exclusive, the two had a son, Adeodatus, though this is not mentioned until later. After a friend’s death, Augustine’s grief was such that he fled back to Carthage, where he wrote a series of books rooted in Manichean ideas.

Book V presents Augustine’s relocation from Carthage to Rome, then again from Rome to Milan, driven both times by disgust at student immorality. A disappointing meeting with a Manichean bishop, exposure to the philosophy of the Academics, and the compelling ministry of Ambrose, Catholic Bishop of Milan, resulted in his abandonment of Manicheism.

Book VI begins with Monica having followed Augustine to Milan. Thanks to her and Ambrose, Christianity slowly grew in appeal for Augustine. He did not convert yet, however, as he was still plagued by doubt and confusion. At Monica’s urging, Augustine became engaged to marry. Consequently, he sent his lover back to Africa, though their son remained in Milan.

Book VII surveys the philosophical and spiritual journey that remained between Augustine and his conversion. Most significantly, he tells of his introduction to Neoplatonist teachings, which brought about an epiphany in which he experienced God, and to the writings of Paul the Apostle, which helped him to grasp Jesus.

Book VIII features two stories that contributed to Augustine’s decision to convert. The second one affected him so greatly that it led directly to his conversion in a garden near his home. Alypius, his closest friend, was present for this experience and converted at the same time.

Book IX depicts the aftermath of Augustine’s conversion: his resignation from his teaching post, baptism, and return to Africa. On the way, he shared a powerful religious vision with his mother, and she died very soon thereafter, a fact that occasions Augustine to share her life story.

Books X-XIII abandon autobiography in favor of philosophical and spiritual discourse. Book X focuses on memory and includes a rundown of the sins with which Augustine still struggles. Book XI investigates the nature of time and how it impedes our ability to know and love God. Books XII and XIII comprise detailed allegorical interpretations of God’s creation as depicted in Genesis, leveraging this reading to advance Augustine’s vision for a holy society.

That Confessions builds to and ends with an extensive articulation of Augustine’s take on Christianity is emblematic of the influence the author himself would have on that religion. Ultimately, it would be not his life story but his teachings, which reconceptualized Christianity through the lens of Neoplatonism, that would bear the greatest impact on history. However, even if this had not been the case, Confessions would remain one of literature’s most deeply relatable and stunningly sincere depictions of a human in pursuit of truth.