Confessions
Confessiones
A classic of antiquity. Written AD 400*, in Latin
* An approximate date: when this work was composed or first set down isn’t known exactly.
Confessions is an autobiographical work by Augustine of Hippo, consisting of 13 books written in Latin between AD 397 and 400. The work outlines Augustine's sinful youth and his conversion to Christianity. Modern English translations are sometimes published under the title The Confessions of Saint Augustine in order to distinguish it from other books with similar titles. Its original title was Confessions in Thirteen Books; it was composed to be read out loud, with each book being a complete unit.
Your reading
What it draws on
The Golden AssClassic
Apuleius, AD 170*
The Golden Ass ends with its hero's conversion to the cult of Isis, told in his own voice. Augustine, who grew up in the same corner of Roman Africa as Apuleius, tells his own story of wandering and conversion, partly in answer to it.
Source: Wikipedia, The Golden Ass
“The style of autobiographical confession of suffering in The Golden Ass influenced Augustine of Hippo in the tone and style—partly in polemic—of his Confessions.” Read it there
The author’s life
- Thagaste
Born here, Algeria
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