Augustine: Conversions to Confessions

by Robin Lane Fox Narrated by Michael Page

Overview

Saint Augustine is one of the most influential figures in all of Christianity, yet his path to sainthood was by no means assured. Born in AD 354 to a pagan father and a Christian mother, Augustine spent the first thirty years of his life struggling to understand the nature of God and his world. He learned about Christianity as a child but was never baptized, choosing instead to immerse himself in the study of rhetoric, Manicheanism, and then Neoplatonism-all the while indulging in a life of lust and greed.



In Augustine, acclaimed historian Robin Lane Fox re-creates Augustine's early life with unparalleled insight, showing how Augustine's quest for knowledge and faith finally brought him to Christianity and a life of celibacy. Augustine's Confessions, a vivid description of his journey toward conversion and baptism, still serves as a model of spirituality for Christians around the world.



Magisterial and beautifully written, Augustine will be the definitive biography of this colossal figure for decades to come.

Editorial Reviews

The New York Times Book Review - Mark Lilla

Confessions is so perfect that one can't help wondering why anyone would accept the challenge of writing a biography of its author. What could a historian possibly add to this unforgettable story? Fifty years ago we learned how much more there was to say when Peter Brown published his magnificent life, Augustine of Hippo…Brown's approach made Confessions appear even more remarkable. Robin Lane Fox…has now done Brown one better…Brown managed to tell the whole story, from birth to death, with great economy and flair. Fox aims for full immersion, and he conjures the intellectual and social life of the late Roman empire with an almost Proustian relish for detail. Augustine left behind dozens of books and hundreds of letters, all of which Fox seems to have consulted. He also provides vivid sketches of the saint's friends, acquaintances, correspondents, patrons and spiritual enemies…Fox is such a good writer that interest never flags, and you always feel that "you are there."

From the Publisher

Winner of the 2016 Wolfson History Prize

"One of the most distinguished and prolific living scholars of Late Antiquity ... Lane Fox ... reveals with remarkable enthusiasm and sympathy the spiritual and intellectual drama of his remarkable subject."—Financial Times

"A fanatically well-researched new account of Augustine."—National Review

"Robin Lane Fox has now done [Peter] Brown [author of Augustine of Hippo] one better.... Fox is such a good writer that interest never flags, and you always feel that 'you are there.'"—Mark Lilla, New York Times

"This book interweaves political, military and personal history to describe in detail the first four decades of Augustine's life... Fox explores everything that is known about the great teacher's life and social world, including his various lovers and intellectual partners."—Economist

"Mr. Fox traces with clarity the development of Augustine's thought, but also of his character.... [He] succeeds in offering us a figure whose inner and outer struggles, whose strengths and weaknesses, do somehow reach across the centuries and touch something profoundly human."—Wall Street Journal

"It is a profound understatement to observe that it was appropriate for Robin Lane Fox, at last, to tackle a biography of Augustine."—Financial Times

"Augustine: Conversions to Confessions is a compelling read.... A page-turner that might last the whole winter long, come spring you'll be all the more enlightened."—Chicago Tribune

"Fox has written an attentive, rich, and compelling book about Augustine which will reward scholars and edify non-specialists. It will also entertain both."—Catholic World Report

From the Publisher - AUDIO COMMENTARY

"An erudite and ordered reading of Augustine's Confessions and a worthy addition to any library on early Christianity." —Kirkus

Library Journal

10/15/2015
Fox (classics, Oxford Univ.; The Classical World; Alexander the Great) adds another weighty tome to his long list of impressive works on ancient history. This volume follows the life of the North African saint Augustine (354–430), beginning, as the author's previous work Confessions does, with his childhood. His complicated youth follows, in which the young man takes a concubine, fathers a son, and accepts a heretical Manichaean gospel. Augustine is then transformed many times, undergoing several conversions. Fox presents the various contexts and many philosophies that influenced his subjects, including a substantial discussion of Manichaean and Platonic philosophy; all the while comparing Augustine to his contemporaries, especially the rhetorician Libanius. Highly intriguing is the exposition on the role of Platonic philosophy in Augustine's metamorphosis, his allegorical biblical exegesis, and his mystical ascent toward divine union. VERDICT Fox presents a complex, ever-changing, articulate, introspective, and idealistic philosopher sinner, revealing elements from Confessions and the author's many other titles. The volume would be best for readers to have some familiarity with the ancient Mediterranean or early church history. While this mountain of a book requires dedication and discipline, knowledge awaits those who reach the summit.—Jeffrey Meyer, Mt. Pleasant P.L., IA

Kirkus Reviews

2015-08-17
A comprehensive literary biography of the great Christian thinker Augustine (354-430). Fox (Ancient History/New Coll., Oxford Univ.; Travelling Heroes: In the Epic Age of Homer, 2009, etc.) adds a hefty tome to the library of works on St. Augustine of Hippo, focusing mostly on his famous Confessions. Written in the late fourth century, Confessions remains a foundational work of Christian thought. Fox guides readers on an epic journey through the book and the life that inspired it. Presuming a familiarity from his audience with Confessions and with Augustine, Fox systematically explores his subject's well-documented life and provides in-depth background and commentary capable of assisting even seasoned scholars in a deeper understanding of the great autobiography. For instance, Fox presents a lengthy, detailed, and nuanced explanation of the Manichaean heresy that Augustine fervently followed for a time. Thorough background on topics such as this, obscure today but foundational to a full reading of Confessions, provides a true service to readers. Fox sees Augustine's early life as a series of conversions, either toward ways of thinking or away from certain lifestyles. Once he had thoroughly accepted orthodox Christianity, however, in the famous garden scene described in Confessions, the focus changed. Augustine ceased to undergo conversions and instead began a period of confession in his life, a grappling with his past that culminated in his writing (or dictating, as Fox theorizes) his great prayer, the Confessions. As Fox notes, "books and people alternate importantly in Augustine's intellectual journey," and he explores the many ancient texts that influenced the young Augustine as well as the many people who helped shape him. Fox's writing is coherent and approachable, but the book is not for casual readers of Augustine. It represents a close analysis of both Confessions and of Augustine himself, leaving few stones unturned. An erudite and ordered reading of Augustine's Confessions and a worthy addition to any library on early Christianity.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171152918
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	11/24/2015
Edition description:	Unabridged

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