Augustine's Confessions

Get everything you can out of your time reading the classics with the Christian Guides to the Classics Series!

Leland Ryken provides a clear pathway to understanding the "Great Works" through this engaging series of short guidebooks. Beginning with "why the classics matter" and "the nature and function of literature," readers will find a helpful path to reading and analyzing influential works in the Western canon.

Each book:

Includes an introduction to the author and work

Explains the cultural context

Incorporates published criticism

Defines key literary terms

Contains discussion questions at the end of each unit of the text

Lists resources for further study

Evaluates the classic text from a Christian worldview.

This volume guides readers through Augustine’s classic spiritual autobiography, the Confessions, exploring the book’s historical context, key themes, and overarching message.

1. Opening Credits
2. The Nature and Function of Literature
3. Why the Classics Matter
4. The Confessions
5. The Author and His Faith
6. What Kind of Book Is the Confessions?
7. Title, Textual History, and Format
8. Translations and Editions
9. Book 1: Infancy and Early Education
10. Book 2: The Sins of Youth
11. Book 3: Augustine’s Wayward Life as a College Student
12. Book 4: Life after College
13. Book 5: Professional Changes and Continuing Religious Quest
14. Book 6: The Second Year in Milan
15. Book 7: Theological Progress
16. Book 8: Augustine’s Conversion
17. Book 9: Augustine’s New Life and Monica’s Death
18. Book 10: Recapitulation of the First Nine Books
19. Book 11: Reflections on Time
20. Book 12: Meditations on Early Genesis
21. Book 13: Finding Symbols in Genesis
22. Perspectives on the Confessions
23. Closing Credits