I have defeated you, Augustine

[lunabee34]

Confessions by Augustine of Hippo

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This is a really excellent, very readable translation.

I really enjoy the first 2/3 that deal with Augustine's autobiography. Love the glimpses of what life in the early Roman empire was like. Love reading about his personal struggles and his relationship with his mother and his friends.

The final 1/3 is a slog for me. It's entirely theological/philosophical musing + spiritual exegesis, and I find it too complex to truly enjoy. I do find fascinating the issues with which the early Church wrestled like how do we define time and eternity?, how do we interpret the creation story in Genesis?, what kind of relationship should we have to the body (is it okay to eat food because it tastes good or do we just eat food to stay alive)?

I wish the intro told me more about his life and the lives that intersect with his. I suspect that what I really want is to read a good biography of Augustine.



View all my reviews



Does anybody know anything about the woman with whom Augustine had his son? Like, maybe her name? LOL And what happened to her after he split with her?

Comments

[duskpeterson]

A story for you that makes it all clear.

[lunabee34]

I love that story! I read it when it was posted, but I had forgotten all about it.

Thank you for linking me.

I love the part where he's all, 'They're interrogating the text from the wrong perspective!' LOL

[duskpeterson]

:)