Confessions (Augustine)

It is widely seen as the first Western autobiography ever written[citation needed] (Ovid had invented the genre at the start of the first century AD with his Tristia) and was an influential model for Christian writers throughout the Middle Ages.

The books were written as prayers to God, thus the title, based on the Psalms of David; and it begins with "For Thou hast made us for Thyself and our hearts are restless till they rest in Thee.

"[4] The work is thought to be divisible into books which symbolize various aspects of the Trinity and trinitarian belief.

For example, both books VIII and IX begin with "you have broken the chains that bound me; I will sacrifice in your honor".

Readers must distinguish philologically, and keep separate, their own interpretations, the written message and the originally intended meaning of the messenger and author (in Latin: intentio).

The truthfulness of the message itself is granted by God who inspired it to the extensor and who made possible the transmission and spread of the content across centuries and among believers.

[17] In principle, the reader isn't capable of ascertaining what the author had in mind when he wrote a biblical book, but he has the duty to do his best to approach that original meaning and intention without contradicting the letter of the written text.

For example, in the second chapter of Book IX Augustine references his choice to wait three weeks until the autumn break to leave his position of teaching without causing a disruption.

[18] In the introduction to the 1961 translation by R. S. Pine-Coffin he suggests that this harsh interpretation of Augustine's own past is intentional so that his audience sees him as a sinner blessed with God's mercy instead of as a holy figurehead.

[19] Considering the fact that the sins Augustine describes are of a rather common nature (e.g. the theft of pears when a young boy), these examples might also enable the reader to identify with the author and thus make it easier to follow in Augustine's footsteps on his personal road to conversion.

[20][21] Due to the nature of Confessions, it is clear that Augustine was not only writing for himself but that the work was intended for public consumption.

Peter Brown, in his book The Body and Society, writes that Confessions targeted "those with similar experience to Augustine's own.