In his own day the dominant personality of the Western Church, Augustine of Hippo today stands as perhaps the greatest thinker of Christian antiquity, and his Confessions is one of the great works of Western literature. In this intensely personal narrative, Augustine relates his rare ascent from a humble Algerian farm to the edge of the corridors of power at the imperial court in Milan, his struggle against the domination of his sexual nature, his renunciation of secular ambition and marriage, and the recovery of the faith his mother Monica had taught him during his childhood. Now, Henry Chadwick, an eminent scholar of early Christianity, has given us the first new English translation in thirty years of this classic spiritual journey. Chadwick renders the details of Augustine's conversion in clear, modern English. We witness the future saint's fascination with astrology and with the Manichees, and then follow him through skepticism and disillusion with pagan myths until he finally reaches Christian faith. There are brilliant philosophical musings about Platonism and the nature of God, and touching portraits of Augustine's beloved mother, of St. Ambrose of Milan, and of other early Christians like Victorinus, who gave up a distinguished career as a rhetorician to adopt the orthodox faith. Augustine's concerns are often strikingly contemporary, yet his work contains many references and allusions that are easily understood only with background information about the ancient social and intellectual setting. To make The Confessions accessible to contemporary readers, Chadwick provides the most complete and informative notes of any recent translation, and includes an introduction to establish the context. The religious and philosophical value of The Confessions is unquestionable--now modern readers will have easier access to St. Augustine's deeply personal meditations. Chadwick's lucid translation and helpful introduction clear the way for a new experience of this classic. This book is paperback. --- "If the Latin is a "work of high art", so is this translation." —The Times "...Chadwick has the gift for being able to pinpoint significant, as well as sometimes unfamiliar aspects of the life of the church: and in this respect his footnotes in the present volume do not disappoint us." —Expository Times "It is a great pleasure to welcome a translation of the Confessions from one who is both a scholar and a lover of Augustine. There is a concise but very informative introduction, and a bibliography which will be extremely helpful to the students who wants to read some of the work of Augustine's contemporaries in extenso. The translation itself is clear and accessible ... of available English version, this offers the most comprehensive identification of scriptural allusions in the text." —Rowan Williams, Journal of Theological Studies
