Confessions

Title: Confessions

Author: Saint Augustine

Translator: Garry Wills

Publisher: Penguin Classics 2006 (First)

ISBN: 9780143039512

Pages: 353

Augustine of Hippo (354 – 430 CE), popularly known as Saint Augustine was an early Christian theologian and philosopher, whose writings and speeches influenced the development of Western Christianity. He is viewed as one of the most important Church Fathers and was the bishop of Hippo Regius in modern-day Algeria. Among his most important works are ‘The City of God’ and ‘Confessions’. This book is an autobiographical work, consisting of 13 books written in Latin between 397 and 400 CE. This book covers his youth when he led a profligate life, but having a change of mind, adopted Christianity. The text is translated from Latin by Garry Wills, who is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American author, journalist and historian, specializing in American history, politics and religion, especially the history of the Catholic Church.

The period in which St. Augustine lived had profound impact on Christianity. For long the food of lions in the circus, followers of the religion had at last found patronage during the reign of Constantine, who adopted it and made it the state religion. Though Constantine accepted baptism only on his death bed, royal support for Christianity was enough to make it go places and conquer all Europe under its spiritual realm. Paganism, which was all powerful till then, continued to thrive for some more time, as also Manichaeism, to which Augustine himself subscribed during the early part of his life. He flays it in no uncertain words after his conversion, contradicting its principles with a rationalist viewpoint, which he conveniently buries while reviewing Christian arguments and beliefs which are equally fallacious. Roman statesmen like Cicero attracted large followers by their speeches and writings. In fact, Augustine can’t help remarking that the Scriptures are trivial before Cicero’s majesty. Augustine led a life of loose morals till his conversion. Often, he laments at the insatiable lust welling up in him. Even after he began to sway towards Jesus Christ, he put off baptism for some more years. His prayer to god was to “give me chastity and self-control, but not just yet”.

This book is an autobiography. But in the strictest sense of the term, it is not. Augustine’s long remembrances are addressed to god, recognizing and accepting His supreme authority on all things temporal and everlasting. It is said that this work is the world’s longest literary prayer. God is to be sought within ourselves. The saint’s fervent call to the people is to go back into themselves, to their own inner depths. The author’s appeal to god is passionate and fervent, bordering on eroticism. Consider the phrases, “Slow was I, Lord, too slow in loving you. To you, earliest and latest beauty, I was slow in love. You were with me all the while I was not with you, kept from you by things that could not be except by being in you. You shed a perfume – inhaling it, I pant for you. For your taste, I hunger and thirst. At your caress, I am feverish for satiation” (p.234). Now, replace the words ‘Lord’ and ‘God’ with ‘beloved’ or ‘darling’ and see the beautiful song of love emerging out of meaningless spiritual affectation! At the same time, we also see the curtain of monotheistic intolerance rising to come to fruition in the Middle-Ages in Europe. The strict puritanical code he envisages cuts out music, pictures, art and things going beyond the norms of utility. Strict interpretation of religious edicts is followed by insistence of total surrender to god’s will, even at the cost of one’s free will and all things which make life beautiful and meaningful. Augustine’s bent to such puritanical creed is comparable to that of Taliban and the Islamic State at present, proving the point that theocracies are the same everywhere, whatever may be the religion in question.

Augustine was born in 354 CE at Thagaste in modern day Algeria. His mother, Monica, was a devout Christian, but his father was a pagan who converted to Christianity on his death bed. Augustine studied Latin literature and rhetoric at Carthage. He left church to follow the Manichaean religion which was resented by his mother. He lived a hedonistic lifestyle, entering into many illicit relationships, the longest of which lasted fourteen years that also begot a son. He ended the relationship in order to marry a ten-year old heiress. The author could not master Greek, but the shortfall was more than compensated by his prodigious proficiency in Latin. Disturbed by unruly students, he moved to Rome and then to Milan, where he met the city’s charismatic bishop Ambrose, who turned out to be his spiritual mentor. He diverted the author from a life of licentiousness. At the age of 31, Augustine converted. His son also followed suit, but died soon after.

There are no footnotes or glossary on the incidents and characters mentioned in the autobiography. It is quite hard to appreciate the reputation and significance of the formidable people and curious incidents mentioned in the text, without a glossary. Readers are driven to refer to other sources for getting more details on them. The book does not include an index, which is a somewhat serious flaw in undermining the book’s utility as an item of reference. Augustine’s narrative is laborious and full of rhetoric and wordplay. It also brings to light some of the social customs prevalent in Italy of the late-fourth century CE. We read about astrologers who are conversant with the movements of stars and heavenly bodies and who made horoscopes accordingly. He says that some of them are so stringent that they deliberately timed the births of even animals so as to coincide with auspicious moments. It is regrettable to note that such people had not gone extinct even with the passage of seventeen centuries and the percolation of the scientific spirit.

The book is recommended.

Rating: 3 Star