Résumé
Résumé de The Confessions of St. Augustine
À qui s’adresse-t-il ?
For readers who love honest self-examination, the history of ideas and the roots of Western Christianity. It also rewards anyone curious about the ancient world and the inner life.
De quoi parle ce livre ?
What is the heart really looking for? He is bishop of Hippo in North Africa, writing around the year 400, in his forties. He looks back at his childhood, his schooling, his years as a teacher of public speaking, his search for truth and his turn to the Christian faith. The word confession carries three meanings. It means admitting faults, praising God and declaring what he believes. So the whole book is spoken to God, with readers listening in. He shows how a restless, ambitious young man, pulled by pleasure and pride, comes to think God has been leading him all along.
Dans ce résumé
- 1The restless heart is the book's questionFree
- 2Childhood shows the roots of sin
- 3Carthage stirs desire and a hunger for truth
- 4Doubts break the hold of the Manichees
- 5Ambrose teaches him to read differently
- 6Evil is not a thing but a lack
- 7A divided will and a voice in the garden
- 8Monica, baptism and a vision at Ostia
- 9Memory, time and scripture complete the search
Point clé 1 sur 9
The restless heart is the book's question
Augustine opens by praising God and sets out the idea that shapes all thirteen books. Human beings were made for God, he says, and their hearts stay restless until they find rest there. Everything that follows tests that claim against his own life.
The book is a prayer, and that choice matters. He speaks to God, who already knows every detail, so there is no point in hiding or polishing. The reader overhears a man who has decided to be truthful.
The first nine books follow his life in order. The last four leave the story behind and ask about memory, time and the Bible. He keeps asking why he wanted what he wanted, and that is what makes it more searching than a simple tale of sin and rescue.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Who’s who
- Augustine
- Augustine is the narrator, Monica's son, looking back on his desires, ambitions, and search for religious truth.
- God
- God is the divine listener whom Augustine addresses throughout his account of his life and spiritual struggles.
- Monica
- Monica is Augustine's devout Christian mother, whose prayers and concern accompany his search for truth.
- Patricius
- Patricius is Augustine's father, a modest landowner who does not initially share Monica's Christian beliefs.
- Ambrose
- Ambrose is the bishop of Milan whose preaching challenges Augustine's assumptions about scripture and Christian belief.
- Alypius
- Alypius is Augustine's close friend and former pupil, sharing his intellectual interests and religious questions.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 112,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 7 h 30 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary; paperback, hardcover and large print at cost
- LanguagesEnglish and 13 other languages
Questions about The Confessions of St. Augustine
What is The Confessions by St. Augustine about?
It is Augustine's account of his life addressed to God. It covers his childhood, his years as a teacher, his search for truth and his turn to Christianity. The last books move to questions about memory, time and Genesis.
Why is it called Confessions?
Augustine uses confession in three ways. It means admitting his sins, praising God and stating his faith. The whole book is written as a prayer, so all three meanings run together.
Is The Confessions hard to read?
No. The book is easy to start because it opens as one man's life story, told in plain, honest words straight to God. You follow him from boyhood pranks like stealing pears to his years teaching in Carthage and Milan.
What is the main message of Augustine's Confessions?
Augustine argues that the human heart is restless until it rests in God. He shows how pride and desire led him astray, and how he came to see grace behind his own search for truth.