Confessions

‘Give me chastity and continence, but not yet’ The son of apagan father and a Christian mother, Saint Augustine spent his early years tornbetween conflicting world-views. The Confessions, written when he was in hisforties, recounts how, slowly and painfully, he came to turn away from hisyouthful ideas and licentious lifestyle to become one of Christianity’s mostinfluential thinkers. A remarkably honest spiritual autobiography, theConfessions also addresses fundamental issues of Christian doctrine, and manyof the prayers and meditations it includes are still an integral part of thepractice of the faith today. Translated with an Introduction by R. S.PINE-COFFIN

About the Author

St Augustine of Hippo, the great Doctor of the Latin Church,was born at Thagaste in North Africa, in A.D. 354. He was brought up as aChristian but he was soon converted to the Manichean religion. He also cameunder the influence of Neoplatonism. However, in 387 he renounced all hisunorthodox beliefs and was baptised. His surviving works had a great influenceon Christian theology and the psychology and political theology of the West.R.S. Pine-Coffin is a Roman Catholic and was born in 1917.