Confessions Of St. Augustine Analysis

Aptly titled, Confessions of St. Augustine, is a purging of Augustine’s mind and soul to God. He is alternately pouring out his sins of flesh and mind while praising God for allowing him to do so as well as atone for the sins of his youth. Frequently he relates tales of when he found himself compelled to sin and how, having found the err in his ways, he has turned his life to the study and worship of God through the Catholic church. Explanation, though not justification, comes in how he enumerates the ways in which he found himself given to carnal and material desires; as he wrote on page 99, “… greedy for the enjoyment of things present though they ever eluded me and wasted my soul.” Augustine noted that he recognized through his ongoing studies desire for such things was not a way for God to test or tease him, rather a failing innate to human nature, to desire things one …show more content…
It seemed he was so moved by the process of cleansing himself of his sins that he used his most impassioned prose to show God how much he wanted to emulate Him. He was both conflicted and intrigued by his past ability to want such materialism as well as the companionship of both a wife, or any woman for that matter, and friends. This is further evidenced by his marvel at how he had once thought his traits his own, then realizing his ignorance and pride, gave the praise to God for granting him such abilities, “Yet all these were gifts of my God, for I did not give them to myself.” (page 19) This was not solely related to material things or possessions however, as he also spoke of feeling he had talents and friends he thought he had earned but knew he had not. He continued on, finding joy in the thanks being given, “but in this lay my sin: that I sought pleasure, nobility, and truth not in God but in the beings He had created, myself and others. Thus I fell into sorrow and confusion and error. (page