Confessions (Augustine of Hippo, 397)

This is a fascinating book that no mere blog post will adequately describe, so I'm just going to stop here.

Eh, that feels like a cop-out review, so I'll try to be a little more substantial. This is the third (and final) book I read for class this past semester. Unlike the previous two "required reading" entries, this is, of course, a complete work of a substantial length, not a collection of excerpts as the other two were. Also interesting is that this one falls chronologically well before the material contained in the other books, by about 500-1000 years. However, I understand the reasoning behind this. As the second half of the course will take us into the Reformation, competing views of Augustine's philosophy take hold among the Catholics and Protestants and it is important to understand where those connections come from. (Extra credit: The Protestants latched on to the anti-Pelagian aspects and the Catholics to the anti-Donatist ones.)

The Confessions is a big gushy love letter to God. Augustine heavily quotes from the Psalms (a somewhat anti-Manichaean strategy of embracing the Old Testament) to enforce his language of love. Although some call this Augustine's autobiography, it is not strictly so. First of all, the chronicle of his journey to conversion comprises the first ten books. The last three are some of the most intense exegesis of just a few lines of Genesis you'll ever read in the Patristic era. So if you are looking for information about his later years, such as being ordained bishop, you won't find them here. What you will find are profound discussions of the mind and the will, the nature of time, and other huge metaphysical matters. It's not for everyone, but I agree that it is definitely a book every seminarian should read before ordination.

As for the translation this is the Catholic-leaning Frank J. Sheed translation. It's a fine translation, particularly for those of the Catholic persuasion (and this Protestant was just fine with it). However there is no universal agreement on the "best" translation. Some would contend the original Latin is the only way to go. That may be a while before I get around to being able to do that.

By the way, the Peter Brown introduction should not be skipped. If I ever write an essay even half as good as that one, somebody put my name in for some kind of special award.