Abstract

The modern scholarly verdict about the Confessions has been nothing short of sensational. This work documents the story of 20th-century criticism and praise for Augustine's classic, an ancient text that has grown in stature like few other Western classics. Disciplines such as psychology, literature, and religion, plus many others, all claim it as their own. The first chapter of this study puts modern Confessions scholarship into historical context. The other chapters are devoted to autobiographical studies, literary influences, philosophical interpretations, psychology, spirituality, and theological themes. Of interest to scholars and students in many disciplines. At the end of the 19th century a new critical spirit of inquiry and scholarship helped to change how we think about religious texts. The new criticism uncovered problems with Augustine's Confessions; he may have dramatized events concerning his conversion to Christianity, for example. Yet, this work has proved to be relevant in the 20th century like few other ancient texts. That such variegated attention has been devoted to it is testimony to Augustine's enduring legacy. His stature in Western civilization is of the first order, comparable to Homer and Virgil, Plato and Aristotle, Moses and Paul.