Confessions, Volume I: Books 1–8 (Loeb Classical Library 26)

This is a revised Loeb edition of St Augustine’s account of his journey towards Catholic orthodoxy. The Confessions is sometimes billed as an autobiography, but the translator points out in a very helpful introduction, that what we’re reading here is not autobiography as we would understand it today. Augustine mentions people and events only insofar as they have a clear bearing on his spiritual development. Thus we hear far more about his mother Monnica (though he never uses her name) than about his father. His mother desperately wants him to become a Christian but also wants him to marry and give her grandchildren. She has a great influence over his journey but it’s a rocky road – towards the end of this volume we get the famous “Oh God, make me chaste and celibate – but not yet!” Ultimately, he renounces sex and women and devotes himself to some kind of priestly life – after much wailing and gnashing of teeth. Augustine had a classical education in the Roman province of Africa (roughly modern Tunisia) and was enthralled by Vergil and Cicero in his youth. Then he falls into the Manichaean heresy where he wallows for several years before seeing the true light. In the meantime he undertakes a physical journey to Rome and Milan, followed by the solicitous Monnica. I always thought that St Ambrose, who was bishop of Milan when Augustine arrived there, was a big influence but I didn’t get much sense of that here. Augustine is honest enough to admit that he fathered a child while still a teenager and he lived in sin with a woman (more than one woman?) for some time. Annoyingly, he doesn’t name his female partners. They clearly don’t matter when he’s focused on saving his soul and finding the true path. He also seems to have been a pretty poor father – worse than his own father, who seems to have put a lot of effort into his son’s education before an early death. I must admit I found it difficult to feel much empathy for Augustine. The amount of brain power spent agonising over points of doctrine and the dire consequences of reaching the wrong conclusions (not hell fire but earthly fire) should make any rational – or compassionate – person wince. The translator must be some kind of biblical scholar as well as a classicist as she includes biblical references alongside the translation. Presumably some readers will want to check these out. I didn’t bother but I will read Volume II of this excellent edition of one of the great works of African literature.

Tremendous new translation of this classic text which enables Augustine's insights to be enjoyed afresh.

Very nice addition to the canon. Lovely book, too.

Books is great, condition of books not so great :/

this book is a great way to find forgiveness and gratitude with the catholic tradition, and the ups and downs of our human lives. i read this book as part of a college class, but it’s truly an amazing read for intellectual evolution, perspective, and growth

The English translation is good and very close to the Latin, if you like very literal word-for-word translations. The paper and printing seems better quality (bright white paper, crisp, sharp black printing) than the last Loeb Classics book I bought which was probably 10 years ago. If you've been to Latin masses enough to pick up some vocabulary, you can make it through the easier passages using the English translation on the facing page.

A quality physical book, quality paper and ink and binding. The Latin on the left and English translation on the right are excellent and make understanding the language so much easier. The footnotes are what one would expect from a Harvard edition: insightful and complimentary to the text.

A new superb translation, with excellent literary notes. This translation is designed to aid the student who is learning Latin via reading. A vast improvement over William Watts translation, which was simply useless.