THE CONFESSIONS OF ST. AUGUSTINE, THE IMITATION OF CHRIST Easton Press

by Augustine of Hippo

Excerpt from The Confessions of St. AugustineOh! That I might repose on Thee! Oh! That Thou wouldest enter into my heart. And inebriate it, that I may forget my ills, and embrace Thee, my sole good? What art Thou to me? In Thy pity, teach me to utter it. Or what am I to Thee that Thou demandest my love, and, if I give it not, art wroth with me, and threatenest me with grievous woes? Is it then a slight woe to love Thee not? Oh! For Thy mercies' sake, tell me, O Lord my God, what Thou art unto me. Say unto my soul, I am thy salvation. So speak, that I may hear. Behold, Lord. My heart is before Thee open Thou the ears thereof, and say unto my soul, I am thy salvation. After this voice let me haste. And take hold on Thee. Hide not Thy face from me. Let me die - lest I die - only let me see Thy face.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Genres: Religion, Nonfiction, Classics, Christianity, Philosophy, Faith

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1909

About the author

Early church father and philosopher Saint Augustine served from 396 as the bishop of Hippo in present-day Algeria and through such writings as the autobiographical Confessions in 397 and the voluminous City of God from 413 to 426 profoundly influenced Christianity, argued against Manichaeism and Donatism, and helped to establish the doctrine of original sin.

An Augustinian follows the principles and doctrines of Saint Augustine.

People also know Aurelius Augustinus in English of Regius (Annaba). From the Africa province of the Roman Empire, people generally consider this Latin theologian of the greatest thinkers of all times. He very developed the west. According to Jerome, a contemporary, Augustine renewed "the ancient Faith."

The Neo-Platonism of Plotinus afterward heavily weighed his years. After conversion and his baptism in 387, Augustine developed his own approach to theology and accommodated a variety of methods and different perspectives. He believed in the indispensable grace to human freedom and framed the concept of just war. When the Western Roman Empire started to disintegrate from the material earth, Augustine developed the concept of the distinct Catholic spirituality in a book of the same name. He thought the medieval worldview. Augustine closely identified with the community that worshiped the Trinity. The Catholics and the Anglican communion revere this preeminent doctor. Many Protestants, especially Calvinists, consider his due teaching on salvation and divine grace of the theology of the Reformation. The Eastern Orthodox also consider him. He carries the additional title of blessed. The Orthodox call him "Blessed Augustine" or "Saint Augustine the Blessed."

Santo Agostinho

Reviews

[Tyler J McDonald · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 - The Confessions are always wonderful, in it I feel we all become more aware of the human condition to the divine and are horrified and comforted by what we see. The Imitation of Christ was interesting; I felt like I read 200 pages of scolding by a father to a son. Yet, it remained encouraging in many moments, and I feel I would be best served as a spiritual "life raft" of sorts. When struggling with anything, a quick two-page exhortation would be edifying to the soul and reorienting to the struggler. Despite this, however, I found a lot of the writing to be directed towards a monastic lifestyle, away from the active role we are supposed to play in life. Really interesting pairing of these two readings.

[Jeannine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to read this for a class and I'm glad I did. It's not easy going but a great look into the thinking of the day.

[Robert Engle · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Confessions is quite well written for a religious book. Probably because Augustine was quite well educated before falling into idiocy. His arguments against his previous beliefs apply to his later beliefs, he just chooses to believe one then the other. It seems a big part of his conversion was the sincerity of the Christians he was talking too. Just go to a UFO convention if you want to know why sincerity is a bad judge of truth.
The Imitation of Christ is a book of horrendous advise. Chapter after chapter of bad advice. I went chapter by chapter in both the Benham translation and Dover Thrift Edition and am glad I did. While the Benham was harder to read most all the time there were quite a few chapters where it was much clearer than the Dover.

[Harry Man · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed the content somewhat but the old English tended to slow me down at times. What I did enjoy was reading the thoughts of an early Christian and to see the struggles that are no different than what we struggle with today but also how Christ is the same! Glad I read it but probably read it again.

[Kathryn B · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars for confessions

[Kimberly]

The Confessions of St Augustine is amazing. This book is important for Christians to read, because he who has been designated a Saint had a pretty colorful background before his conversion. This book is important for history lovers in general because it gives many insights into life in the late Roman Empire. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

The Imitation of Christ by Thomas A Kempis ... I'll let you know what I think of it when I finish reading it.

[David Redden · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I'm not down with all the theology, the Confessions of St. Augustine is interesting and inspiring in a way that kind of sneaks up on you. Imitation of Christ is illuminating for sure in the sense that it provides excellent insight into influential religious thought at the time. The focus on mortification made it difficult for me to hang, but I made it through and I'm glad I did.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Saint Augustine of Hippo gives a history of his life in the form of a long montolog to God. In it, he examines the different stages of life and the actions of people as they mature. At times very difficult to read, it still helped me look at my faith as a Catholic. The Bible is easier to read.