St. Augustine's Confessions

Confessiones is an autobiographical work of Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430), 13 written between 397 and 400 AD. The work outlines St. Augustine's sinful youth and his conversion to Christianity. Its modern English translation is sometimes published under the title Confessions of St. Augustine to distinguish it from other books of the same name. The book was originally titled The Thirteen-Book Confessions, and each book is a complete unit that can be read aloud.

The Confessions are often considered one of Augustine's most important works. It is widely regarded as the first autobiography of Western Christianity and was an influential example of Christian writers throughout the Middle Ages. Professor Henry Chadwick wrote that the Confessions "will always be a great masterpiece of Western literature."

I. Overview

The Confessions is not a complete autobiography, as it was written in the early 40s of St. Augustine, who lived to the age of 76 and created another important work, The City of God. Nevertheless, the book does provide a complete record of the development of his thought, the most complete record of any man in the fourth or fifth centuries. It is an important theological work that features spiritual meditation and insight.

In his work, Augustine describes how he repented of living a sinful and immoral life. He discussed his regrets about following Manichaeism and believing in astrology. In the book, he mentions the role played by his friend Nebridius in convincing him that astrology was not only wrong but also evil, and that St. Ambrose played a role in his conversion to Christianity. The first nine volumes are autobiographical, the last four are critical and significantly more philosophical.

He showed intense sadness about his sexual sins and wrote about the importance of sexual morality. The books were written as a prayer to God, so the title is based on David's Psalms; It begins: "Because you make us exist for ourselves, our hearts are restless until they rest in you." The work is thought to be divided into books, symbolizing various aspects of the Trinity and Trinitarian beliefs.

2. Outline of the volumes

Volume one

From infancy to 14 years of age. St. Augustine began in his infancy and reflected on his personal childhood in order to draw a general conclusion about the nature of infancy: if left unchecked because of original sin, children are born violent. Later, he reflected on his choice to be happy and read secular literature rather than study the Bible, and he later understood that these choices were something he deserved to be punished by his teachers, though he did not realize this in his childhood.

Volume II

Augustine continues to reminisce about his teenage years, recounting two serious crimes he committed when he was 16: he developed godless desires and stole pears from a neighbor's orchard, even though he never lacked food. In this book, he explores the question of why he and his friends stole pears, while he himself had many better pears. He explained how he felt when he ate pears and threw the rest to the pigs. Augustine believed that if he had not been with anyone else with whom he shared his sins, he would probably not have stolen anything.

Volume III

He began his studies of rhetoric in Carthage, where he developed a love of wisdom through the reading of Cicero's Hottencius. He blamed himself for his lack of faith in the Bible, so he found a way to find the truth about good and evil through Manichaeism. At the end of the book, his mother, Monica, dreams of her son converting to Catholicism.

Volume IV

Between the ages of 19 and 28, Augustine developed a relationship with an unknown woman who, though loyal but not his legal wife, had a son, Aodedatus. While he was returning to his hometown of Taggast to teach, a friend fell ill, was baptized in the Catholic Church, recovered slightly, and then died. Augustine was frustrated by the death of his friend, and he began to wonder whether the meaning of the love of friends was the love of mortals or the love of God; He concluded that the death of his friend had severely affected him because of his lack of love for God. What he once liked became an abomination to him, because everything would remind him of what he had lost. Augustine went on to suggest that he began to love his own sad life instead of his dead friend. He reflects at the end of the book that he had tried to find truth through Manichaeism and astrology, yet the devout members of the Church, who claimed to be far less intelligent and arrogant than Manichaeism, found truth through a greater faith in God.

Volume V

When St. Augustine was 29 years old, he began to lose faith in Manichaean teachings, a process that began with a visit by Manichaean Bishop Faust to Carthage. Augustine was not interested in the essence of Manichaeism, but he had not yet found an alternative to it. He had a submissive acceptance of these fables because he had not yet formed a spiritual core to prove their falsehood. He moved to Rome to teach, where the education system was more disciplined. He did not stay in Rome for long, because of his teaching requirements in Milan, he met Bishop Ambrose (St. Ambrose). He admired the style and attitude of Ambrose, who exposed him to a more spiritual, more symbolic perspective of God, which made him the patriarch of the church.

Volume VI

St. Ambrose's sermon brought Augustine closer to Catholicism, and he began to lean toward Catholicism over other philosophical choices. In this section, he goes on to talk about his personal troubles, including ambition. In this verse, he compares a drunken beggar to "temporary happiness," which he has so far failed to find. Augustine emphasized the contributions of his friends Alipius and Nebridius in the discovery of religious truths. Monica returns at the end of the book and arranges a marriage for Augustine, who is separated from his former mistress, finds a new mistress, and considers herself a "slave of desire".

Volume VII

Augustine's mission was to discover the truth behind good and evil, and he exposed himself to the Neoplatonist view of God. However, he believes this idea is wrong because he believes they understand the nature of God without accepting Christ as an intermediary between humanity and God. He reinforces his view of the Neoplatonists through the image of the hilltop: "It is one thing to see the land of peace from the top of a wooded hill, not to find the way to peace ... It is another matter to keep the way to there, which is blessed by the Mandate of Heaven, where those who renounce it will not rob because they have evaded the path, because it is a punishment. From this point on, he picked up the works of the apostle Paul and "amazed him."

Volume VIII

He further described his inner confusion over whether or not to convert to Christianity. Two of his friends, Simplicius and Ponticianus, told Augustine the story of the conversion of Mario Victorinus and St. Anthony to Christianity. As Augustine meditated in the garden, he heard a child's voice chanting ," "Pick up the book and read it." Augustine picked up a book of St. Paul (Codex Apostles, 8.12.29) and read its opening passage, Romans 13:13-14: "Do not feast on drunkenness, nor fornication, nor jealousy; Always wear the Lord Jesus Christ. When it comes to the flesh, do not be afraid of lust. This action confirmed his conversion to Catholicism. His friend Alipius also followed his example.

Volume IX

In preparation for his baptism, Augustine ended his rhetorical teaching. Saint Ambrose baptized Augustine, Aodedatu and Alipius. Augustine then recounted how the Church in Milan, under the leadership of his mother, protected Ambrose from Justina's persecution. When he and his mother returned to Africa, they shared Ostia's religious vision. Soon after, Santa Monica died, as did his friends Nebridis and Verequendez. At the end of the book, Augustine recalls these deaths through his new faith prayer: "May they remember my parents with divine affection in this fleeting radiance, my brothers under your protection, O Father, my brothers in the Catholic Church, my fellow citizens in eternal Jerusalem, and your people sigh from beginning to end on their pilgrimage." In this way, her last request to me will be more fully satisfied in the prayers of many through these confessions rather than my own prayers. "

Volume Ten

Moving from personal memory to introspective evaluation of memory itself and the self, Augustine continued to reflect on the value of repentance, the meaning of prayer, and the way in which the individual came into contact with God. It is through this last point, and his reflections on body and soul, that he draws the legitimacy of Christ's existence.

Volume XI

Augustine analyzed the nature of creation and time and its relationship to God. He explores issues related to modernism. He believes that there are three kinds of time in the human brain: the present time is a memory compared to the time of the past; the present is related to the present thing, which is contemplation; and the relationship between the present and the future, that is, expectation. He relied on the Book of Genesis, especially the text on the creation of heaven and earth, throughout the book to support his ideas.

Volume XII

Through his discussion of creation, Augustine connected the essence of the sacred and the secular as part of a comprehensive analysis of the rhetoric of Genesis and the multiple interpretations in Genesis. He argues that the Bible is like a spring of water that flows through the vast expanse of the earth, and that there may be more than one true interpretation, and that everyone can draw any real conclusion from the scriptures.

Volume XIII

Through an allegorical interpretation of Genesis, he discovers the Trinity and the meaning of God's creation of mankind. Based on his explanation, he supports the importance of rest and the deity of creation: "For then you will rest in us, just as you are now working in us... So we see these things that you have made because they exist, and they exist because you see them. On the outside, they exist, but on the inside they are good; you have seen them made, just where you have seen them made. ”

3. Purpose

Repentance is not only to encourage refuge, but also to provide guidance on how to take refuge. St. Augustine deduced from his own experiences a journey that suited others. Augustine recognized that God had been protecting and guiding him. This is reflected in the structure of the work. In the Confessions, Augustine begins each book by praying to God. For example, book eight and book nine begin with "You broke the chains that bound me; I will sacrifice for you." ”

Because Augustine had a prayer at the beginning of each book, Albert Outler, a professor of theology at Southern Methodist University, called the Confessions "a pilgrimage of grace... Trace the key turning points in the road to Augustine's arrival. For he was convinced that it was God's grace that made him so, it was a spontaneous expression of his heart that transformed his self-recollection into a continuous prayer to God. The Confessions not only glorifies God, but also hints at God's help in Augustine's path to salvation.

Written after the legalization of Christianity, the Confessions is at a time when martyrdom is no longer a threat to most Christians than it was two centuries ago. Instead, Christian struggles are usually internal. Augustine clearly shows his struggle with worldly desires, such as desire.

After converting to Christianity, Augustine was soon ordained as a priest in 391 AD and then as a bishop in 395 AD. Such a rapid ascension undoubtedly provoked criticism of Augustine.

Written in 397-398 AD, the Confessions argue that self-justification is a possible motivation for writing. In the first chapter of Book X, "I wish to act in fact, to make me repent of my heart before you and this book, many will read", In The first chapter of Book X, Augustine confesses his sins and glorifies God by humbling His grace, both meanings defining "confession" so that his imperfections are compromised not only to critics but also to God.

4. Hermeneutics

St. Augustine proposed a way to improve the commentary of the Bible when particularly difficult passages arise. The reader should believe that all Scriptures are inspired by God, and that what each author writes is what he personally believes, or that he believes is wrong. Readers must distinguish linguistically and separate their own interpretations, written messages, and communicators from the author's original intent.

Disagreements can arise "whether it is the veracity of the message itself or the meaning of the messenger" (XII.23). The authenticity of the message itself is granted by God, who inspires its extenders and makes it possible for the content to spread and spread and promote among believers across centuries.

In principle, the reader cannot be sure what the author had in mind when writing the Bible, but it is his duty to be as close as possible to the original meaning and intent without contradicting the words of the written text. Interpretation must remain "within the truth" (XII.25) and not outside the truth.

5. Evaluation

Much of the information about Augustine comes directly from his own writings. Augustine's Confessions provides important insights into the first 33 years of his life. Augustine did not portray himself as a saint, but as a sinner. The sins that Augustine confessed to were of varying severity and nature, such as lust/adultery, theft, and lies. For example, in the second chapter of Volume IX, Augustine mentions that he chose to wait until three weeks after the autumn break before leaving his teaching position without causing confusion. Some, he wrote, "might say that I let myself sit in a chair of lies, even for an hour, and was guilty." ”

In a preface translated by R.S. Pine-Coffen in 1961, he argues that this harsh interpretation of Augustine's own past was intentional, so that his audience would see him as a sinner in God's mercy rather than a divine leader.

Considering that Augustine's description of sin is a fairly common nature (such as stealing a pear when a little boy is a boy), these examples may also make the reader identify with the author, thus making it easier to follow in Augustine's footsteps as he transforms on his personal path. This identification is an integral part of the protective and epiphytic characteristics of the Confessions.

Due to the nature of the Confessions, it is clear that Augustine wrote not only for himself, but also for public consumption. Augustine's potential audience included baptized Christians, catholics, and people of other faiths. Peter Brown, in his book Body and Society, wrote that the Confessions were aimed at "those who had similar experiences with Augustine."

In addition, Augustine had a background in Manichaean practice and had a unique connection to the Manichaean faith. Repentance thus constitutes an appeal to encourage conversion.

6. Version

• St. Augustine (1960), Confessions of St. Augustine, New York: Image Books, ISBN 0-385-02955-1, John F. Kennedy John K. Ryan translated into English with an introduction and notes.

• Maria Boldin, O.S. .B, St. Augustine: Confessions, Hyde Park New York: New City Press (St. Augustine I/1), 2002, ISBN 1565481542.

• F. J. Sheed, Confessions, edited by Michael P. Foley. Second edition, Hackett Publishing Company, 2006, ISBN 0872208168.

• Caroline Hammond, Augustine: Confessions, Vol. 1,8, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press (Loeb Classical Library), 2014, ISBN 0674996852.

• Caroline Hammond, Augustine: Confessions, Volume II, volumes 9-13, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press (Loeb Classical Library), 2016, ISBN 0674996933.

• Sarah Ruden, Augustine: Confessions, Modern Library (Penguin Random House), 2018, ISBN 9780812986488.