The Confessions outlines Augustine's sinful youth and his conversion to Christianity. It is widely seen as the first Western autobiography ever written, and was an influential model for Christian writers throughout the following 1,000 years, through the Middle Ages. It is not a complete autobiography, as it was written in his early 40s, and he lived long afterwards, producing another important work (City of God). It does, nonetheless, provide an unbroken record of his development of thought and is the most complete record of any single person from the 4th and 5th centuries. It is a significant theological work, featuring spiritual meditations and insights. It begins:
"GREAT art Thou, O Lord, and greatly to be praised; great is Thy power, and Thy wisdom infinite. And Thee would man praise; man, but a particle of Thy creation; man, that bears about him his mortality, the witness of his sin, the witness, that ]Thou, O God, resistest the proud: yet would man praise Thee; he, but a particle of Thy creation. Thou awakes us to delight in Thy praise; for Thou madest us for Thyself, and our heart is restless, unless it repose in Thee.”
(Summary from Wikipedia and Book I, Chapter I.)
"GREAT art Thou, O Lord, and greatly to be praised; great is Thy power, and Thy wisdom infinite. And Thee would man praise; man, but a particle of Thy creation; man, that bears about him his mortality, the witness of his sin, the witness, that ]Thou, O God, resistest the proud: yet would man praise Thee; he, but a particle of Thy creation. Thou awakes us to delight in Thy praise; for Thou madest us for Thyself, and our heart is restless, unless it repose in Thee.”
(Summary from Wikipedia and Book I, Chapter I.)
LibriVox recordings are public domain in the United States; copyright status may differ elsewhere.
Chapters
- Chapter 1
Book One, Chapters 1-10
27:13 - Chapter 2
Book One, Chapters 11-18
23:03 - Chapter 3
Book Two
26:08 - Chapter 4
Book Three
35:50 - Chapter 5
Book Four, Chapters 1-10
24:05 - Chapter 6
Book Four, Chapters 11-18
20:46 - Chapter 7
Book Five, Chapters 1-8
24:08 - Chapter 8
Book Five, Chapters 9-12
16:11 - Chapter 9
Book Six, Chapters 1-8
27:08 - Chapter 10
Book Six, Chapters 9-16
19:53 - Chapter 11
Book Seven, Chapters 1-10
27:57 - Chapter 12
Book Seven, Chapters 11-21
18:57 - Chapter 13
Book Eight, Chapters 1-6
26:29 - Chapter 14
Book Eight, Chapters 7-12
21:33 - Chapter 15
Book Nine, Chapters 1-5
20:20 - Chapter 16
Book Nine, Chapters 6-10
20:11 - Chapter 17
Book Nine, Chapters 11-13
13:37 - Chapter 18
Book Ten, Chapters 1-10
27:12 - Chapter 19
Book Ten, Chapters 11-20
20:19 - Chapter 20
Book Ten, Chapters 21-30
17:13 - Chapter 21
Book Ten, Chapters 31-35
21:49 - Chapter 22
Book Ten, Chapters 36-43
17:49 - Chapter 23
Book Eleven, Chapters 1-9
18:09 - Chapter 24
Book Eleven, Chapters 10-20
18:36 - Chapter 25
Book Eleven, Chapters 21-31
25:10 - Chapter 26
Book Twelve, Chapters 1-10
13:32 - Chapter 27
Book Twelve, Chapters 11-20
24:43 - Chapter 28
Book Twelve, Chapters 21-32
26:13 - Chapter 29
Book Thirteen, Chapters 1-10
15:38 - Chapter 30
Book Thirteen, Chapters 11-20
25:34 - Chapter 31
Book Thirteen, Chapters 21-26
23:44 - Chapter 32
Book Thirteen, Chapters 27-38
15:41