Augustine's Confessions is the autobiography of Augustine the Blessed, consisting of 13 books. The writings date from 397 or 398 AD. In them, the author talks in detail about his life and path to Christianity.
The philosopher was the first among European authors to write such a detailed autobiography. She served as an example for other members of the clergy. The books describe 33 of the 40 years he lived.
Augustine Aurelius as the author of the book
Augustine the Blessed (years of life 354-430) - theologian, philosopher, influential preacher, bishop, one of the Fathers of the Christian Church.
The long path to Christianity through Manichaeism, skepticism, and Neoplatonism allowed the thinker to develop his own views on the problems of philosophy and religion.
Biography
Aurelius Augustine was born in 354 in the city of Tagaste (North Africa) into a poor noble family. The mother was a devout Christian, the father was a pagan and was baptized only before his death.
In 363-366, the future bishop studied in Madaura, and later went to Carthage. There, surrounded by peers who did not lead entirely righteous lives, he became involved in debauchery. After moving to Milan (Mediolan) he became a rhetorician. Acquaintance with the famous Saint Ambrose helped him become interested in Orthodoxy.
In 388 or 389 he received Baptism. Two years later, Bishop Valery ordained him to the priesthood. Augustine became a disseminator of the faith, interpreted the Holy Scriptures, and fought against heretics. In 395 he was elevated to bishop, became the head of the Ippon diocese and led it until the end of his life.
Philosophical views
The main provisions of the philosophy of Augustine the Blessed:
- God creates the whole world “out of nothing.”
- God has been transformed into an incorporeal and eternal principle; he is a supernatural person.
- Time was created along with the material world.
- God is outside of time: he contains the eternal present, he is motionless, unchanging, constant.
- The “past” is identical to memory, and the “future” is identical to expectation and hope.
- Time exists only in the human soul.
- The human soul is immortal; it is characterized by reason, will and memory.
- It is the will that gives the desire for true faith and knowledge.
- Faith deepens the rational, since God possesses the truth and can reveal it in the form of insight.
- Faith is not counter-reasonable, but super-reasonable.
- The theory of Providence limits the idea of human freedom.
- God gave man freedom, but he could not use it correctly.
- A person can enjoy freedom only within the framework of Divine grace.
For about 10 years, Augustine sympathized with the teachings of the Manichaeans, who believed that there are two principles in the world: good and evil. However, many questions remained unresolved. Even the authoritative Bishop Faustus was forced to admit that he did not know how to answer questions. It was then that Augustine experienced disappointment in Manichaeism.
His polemic with the Pelagians about the role of Divine grace in the matter of salvation is interesting. The Pelagians believed that original sin had no influence on man, that he himself was free to choose good or evil and, without the help of God, to get rid of the filth of sin. Augustine noted that without the assistance of grace this cannot be done. At the same time, he so minimized the role of man himself that this gave rise to the emergence of a new doctrine, the opposite of Pelagianism: the doctrine of God's predestination.
Creative activity
St. Augustine is the most outstanding church writer on a global scale. Over the years of his pastoral activity, dozens of his works were published.
All creativity can be divided into three stages:
The first stage (386-395) is characterized by the influence of ancient dogmas: the high status of the rational predominates in it.
- "About the blessed life." The philosopher comes to the conclusion that a blessed life consists of knowing the Lord. There is a land of blissful life, whose haven is reached by those who are familiar with the philosophy of peaceful wisdom.
- "About Music". Contains the famous definition of music with detailed interpretation; Five of the six books treat issues of ancient versification.
In the works of the second stage (395-410), exegetical and religious-ecclesiastical issues predominate.
- "On various questions to Simplician." The story of a radical change in Augustine’s consciousness, as a result of which he came to the theory of autocratic grace, forcing the consent of the human will and suppressing its freedom.
- "Confession". A favorite book of devout Catholics that has nurtured many generations of devout Catholic souls.
The treatises of the third period (410-430) discuss questions about the creation of the world and problems of eschatology.
- "On the Eight Questions of Dulcitius." Repetition and clarification of provisions from earlier works.
- "About the City of God." The thinker derives his concept of world history, the idea of moral progress.
Manichaeism
During the same period, he became acquainted with the works of Cicero while working in the library. Having become acquainted with Aristotle’s Categories, I became disillusioned with the Bible. He began to look for truth in other teachings. The Manichean sect promised to give him answers to all his questions.
Their teaching was based on philosophical dualism. The Manichaeans demanded asceticism from their adherents. They despised the human body, associating it with Evil. Augustine was attracted to Manichaeism by the way to overcome oneself, which he had long dreamed of. He was the first to receive a theoretical justification for the existence of evil. In the call for self-determination he saw the means he needed to fulfill his life’s destiny.
In the sect, Augustine was an ordinary novice, although his connections with the Manichaeans were quite strong, he even attracted several of his friends to the sect. The sect helped him move up the career ladder.
Confession of Augustine the Blessed
“Confession” is one of the most famous works, which reflects the philosophical views of the thinker. The author systematized his vision of the world, and also talked about his long, difficult path to God.
History of writing
The Confession was written at the request of Saint Paulinus ten years after Augustine’s conversion to Orthodoxy, shortly after his elevation to the episcopate. In Augustine's Confessions, the question of human free will is raised for the first time.
Idea and essence
The bishop talks about the problems of time and space. Could God have created this world earlier or later, what did God do before he created the world - these are the questions Augustine poses to himself.
He believes that in the world of God’s thoughts everything exists once and for all—eternity is inseparable from God. God exists outside of time; in God there is no “before” and “later”, but only the eternal present.
St. Augustine in his Confessions also defined his position in the fight against various church groups.
Genre of the work
The Confessions of Augustine Aurelius is a story about the development of human thought. Augustine was perhaps the first to talk about the formation of his “I”. Moral commandments, virtues, and philosophical judgments are tested by confession, so to confess is not only to prayerfully repent of sins, but also to go through the temptation of the history of thought, where historical and philosophical judgments are tested by moral judgments: the mind knows only because it loves God.
This work has features of an autobiography, memoirs, and treatises on philosophy. All this is embodied in the form of prayer to God. Sincerely and passionately, with the temperament of an African, St. Augustine talks about his life.
Stylistic features of the text
The word “confession” is used by Augustine in its original meaning. The soul of a sinner is revealed to the reader, who is guilty of sins before God and praises Him. The language of the Confession is sincere and passionate. The text contains many biblical quotations and allusions.
Book structure
Each book of the Confessions is an analysis of different states of the soul, concepts, moral guidelines, and virtues.
At the beginning of each book, Augustine appeals to God, praying - this is an act of participation with Him.
"Confession" consists of 13 books.
- The first says that love is equal to the knowledge of the unknown Being - God.
- The second analyzes laziness, luxury, wastefulness, envy, and sinful acts in accordance with the Bible.
- The third contains reflections on “humble piety”: the possibility of touching God as the Highest Good.
- The fourth tells about the idea of the inner “new” evangelical man, and describes disappointment in the teachings of magic and astrology.
- The fifth tells about meeting Bishop Ambrose and abandoning Manichaeism.
- The sixth tells about Augustine’s path to God, the essence of which he tries to understand from a philosophical point of view.
- In the seventh there are many reflections on the identity of power and will in God, which is torn apart in a world where the will is free and unfree.
- The eighth analyzes free will - the act of joint volitional efforts of the human soul and God
- The ninth rethinks Aristotle's categories; virtues are shown to be aimed at both evil and good.
- The tenth contains discussions about memory: it contains hidden images that we receive from external senses. Self-awareness exists thanks to memory, which connects the past and present and allows us to foresee the future.
- In the eleventh, Augustine comes to the conclusion that there is no future and no past, therefore there are no three times. It would be more correct to say that there is a present of the past, a simple present and a present of the future.
- The twelfth begins with discussions about formless matter. The author seeks to understand “Genesis” and comes to the conclusion that there is much in the Holy Scripture that is inaccessible to man, but it nevertheless contains the truth.
- The thirteenth conveys reflections on Creation and the spiritual. Finally, he surrenders himself to the mercy of the Lord.
Childhood and youth
At the very beginning of his work, the author talks in detail about his childhood, parents, and initial education. It is necessary to remember the summary of the books of St. Augustine’s Confessions if you need to prepare for an exam or test.
An important stage in his life was his arrival in Carthage, where he studied at the rhetoric school. At that time the city was considered the center of vice. Based on the summary of the chapters of St. Augustine’s “Confessions,” one can assume that the author led a dissolute lifestyle, but in reality this is not the case. Basically, the young man went to the theater to see plays about love, and did not forget about his studies, to which he devoted quite a lot of time.
The fate of the work
This work of the philosopher was of great importance, becoming the main work of his entire life. Disputes about its content have continued since the 5th century. Reviews of this work have appeared over the centuries in a variety of ways.
Currently, it is believed that “Confession” is primarily interesting because it is a story about the formation of human thought, the conditions for the emergence of a philosophical moment. Understanding and awareness of these conditions largely determines its content. It is believed that Augustine was one of the first to analyze in detail the process of becoming one’s own “I.”
This is a deep psychological work that remains evidence of the path to the formation of an original and unique personality of the philosopher.
Work as a rhetorician
Returning briefly to his hometown, Augustine describes how he returns to Carthage, having received the position of rhetorician. In the fourth book, he admits how he found himself in an intellectual impasse, into which the pseudosciences of astrology and magic led him.
After the death of a close friend, big changes occur to him. Augustine understands that happiness cannot be obtained from transient beings, and only the Lord remains unchanged. The soul is only able to find a happy life and peace in God.
He is disappointed in Manichaeism, since the teaching greatly limits personal freedom, which was of great importance to the author. In addition, he understands that the Manichean explanations about the nature of evil do not satisfy him at all.
Ambrose's influence
When telling a brief summary of St. Augustine’s “Confessions,” it is important to dwell on his acquaintance with Bishop Ambrose, which took place in Milan. The author admires his sermons, finally deciding to break with Manichaeism.
Ambrose convinces him to accept Catholic ideas about faith. Meanwhile, in philosophy, he is carried away by the ideas of Neoplatonism, but very quickly finds many contradictions in it. Ambrose introduces him to the works of the ancient Greek philosopher Plotinus.
Conversion
The seventh and eighth books of St. Augustine's (Aurelius Augustine) Confessions tell about his path to God. He tries to understand its essence from a philosophical point of view. He does not yet perceive it as pure spirit, being still unable to resolve the question of the origin of evil. The internal struggle continues in him; Augustine returns again and again to the question of the relationship between spirit and flesh.
The realization comes to him that God is an absolute being. Frequent meetings with Ambrose's confessor, Priest Simplician, lead him to his final conversion to the Catholic faith. He tells his mother that he is ready to be converted. Almost the entire ninth book is devoted to his spiritual path. At the end he talks about the death of his mother and gives her detailed biography.
Structure
The structure of this book is unusual, since it is simultaneously addressed to God, all believers, and also descendants.
In analyzing the Confessions, many researchers believed that St. Augustine sought to write an autobiography that would answer the questions posed at that time. By the end of the 4th century, the church was faced with the Donatist heresy. It was a movement that, under the guise of the inviolability of Holy Scripture, actually pitted rich Roman colonists against poor Berber farmers. One of the centers of such a movement was Hippo.
So this text can well be considered a powerful and effective tool in the ideological battles that were unfolding at that time.
Certain difficulties lie in the fact that the book was written 30 years before the author’s death, 13 years after his conversion. The autobiography is fragmentary, as it only goes up to the moment of the death of the author's mother. It does not tell about subsequent important events in his life.
In reviews of this book, many readers note that this is an amazing book about man’s path to God, which will be useful to everyone who doubts whether to believe in the divine essence of everything that happens. Augustine describes his sins with amazing psychological precision, starting literally from infancy. Readers admit that this work helped them take a new look at the world, reconsider their attitude to many things happening around them.
