These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Confessions. A suggested list of literary criticism on St. This is the start of our new feature, The Friar Book Club. In his puberty, Augustine committed adultery and theft, and was pleased in. Summary. O'Donnell (Oxford: 1992; ISBN 0-19-814378-8). Mr. Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of “Confessions” by Saint Augustine. D. A guy named Evodius joins Augustine's posse, and they all decide that it's time to go back to Africa. Augustine sets out to fully vindicate his faith and explain as much of the tenets of Christianity in the context of philosophy as possible. BOOK XI . Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of Confessions and what it means. Moving on from Varro’s division between “mythical theology” and “civil theology,” Augustine now takes up the third major category, “natural theology,” for which he takes as his conversation partners the great philosophers of Greco-Roman civilization. A Midsummer Night's Dream Dr. Faustus comes rolling into town. Book XIII is the most prayerful of Books in a work that is, in truth, one long philosophical prayer. I was blown away by the beauty, the profundity, the. 13, 354, Tagaste, Numidia—died Aug. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of Confessions and what it means. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of Confessions and what it means. Augustine speaks of this book in his Retractations, 1. Subscribe for $3 a Month. Chapter 1. Summary. Augustine in Confessions. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. Chapter 1. 354–430) and what it means. Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of “Confessions” by Saint Augustine. Augustine discusses his infancy, which he knows only from the report of his parents. Augustine's Confessions Book 2 Summary. 6]. 99/year as selected above. Confessions study guide contains a biography of Saint Augustine, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. As Augustine describes himself, he was a slave to his sexual impulses. Adeodatus died soon after this time. Confessions (Latin: Confessiones) is an autobiographical work by Augustine of Hippo, consisting of 13 books written in Latin between AD 397 and 400. The union of this philosophy and this theology will guide his work for the rest of. For Augustine, justice has her temporal reasons, and the context of time plays a role in every situation. In Augustine’s Confessions, he has an internal conflict about his hesitation to convert to Christianity. Augustine with a Twist: The Similarities and Differences of the Political and Theological Ideas of Augustine and Luther. Summary and Analysis Book 1: Chapters 1-5. Augustine's Confessions. Even natural evils, such as disease, are indirectly related to human action, since they become evil. Book III, Chapters 1-9 Summary. Summary. Wasting no time in getting to the philosophical content of his autobiography, Augustine's. The work is not so much autobiography as an exploration of the philosophical and emotional development of an individual soul. Andrew May 4, 2016 7 Comments on St. , $29. Augustine (354–430 CE) St. D. First, his contemporaries were suspicious of him because of his Classical, pagan. St augustine confessions summary Rating: 8,1/10 1203 reviews Poetry analysis is the process of examining a poem in order to understand its meaning, its message, and its various literary elements. It does strange things in the mind. A summary of Book VI in Augustine's Confessions. In Book 2, Augustine talks about his teenage years and his start into adulthood. _______ is a friend who is trying to be successful. Christ for Augustine is also eternal, perfect wisdom itself, since such wisdom is both the nature of and the access to God. A masterpiece of Western culture, The City of God was written in response to pagan claims that the sack of Rome by barbarians in 410 was. Augustine turns to his adolescence and describes his sins of lust. He goes to speak with Simplicianus, Ambrose's teacher. Book 7 picks up the thread of Augustine 's dawning understanding of a transcendent God and his happiness that "our spiritual mother, your Catholic Church" seems to be pointing in the same direction. He is also known as Saint Augustine of Hippo and his original Latin name is Aurēlius Augustinus. And therefore most times, is the poverty of human understanding copious in words, because enquiring hath more to say than discovering, and demanding is longer than obtaining, and our hand that knocks, hath more work to do. Read the full text of Confessions: Book V. The original CliffsNotes study guides offer expert commentary on major themes, plots, characters, literary devices, and historical background. As a child, Augustine hated being forced to study, and those who forced him had only empty wealth and glory in. Confessions, by St. Context for Book V Quotes. Section 4. Full Work Analysis. Important information about Augustine's background, historical events that influenced Confessions, and the main ideas within the work. By it I am carried wherever I am carried. 25. Book 19 Summary. Summary. Augustine's Confessions. and became putrid in [God's] sight. O'Donnell (Oxford: 1992; ISBN 0-19-814 378-8). Next, he was sent to school. Augustine considers the nature of fame: He does not want empty. Summary and Analysis Book 3: Chapters 6-12. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Confessions. It is obvious that all things were created, because they are subject to change. The nature of evil continued to trouble him as well. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. WORLD’S CLASSICS. One of a major new Classics series - books that have changed the history of thought, in sumptuous, clothbound hardbacks. Summary. 1 - 1. 354–430). Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. Search all of SparkNotes Search. Augustine shared his struggles and was relieved to learn that the bishop approved of Neoplatonism. The irrefutable solipsism of self confronted with the absolute reality of God, the wholly other: all of Augustine's thought. This part of the writing process was essential to begin my essay as it allowed me to engage in discussion during ASI 110 seminar and establish what exactly Augustine meant within his work. According to Saint Augustine’s Confessions, the importance of the encounter with the drunken beggar in Milan is to highlight that seeking bodily desires, a derivative of sin, inevitably constitutes desolation that can only be resolved through. When I hear, may I run and lay hold on You. Though written around A. 99/year as selected above. After moving to Milan he converted to Christianity under the influence of St. Hey, it's even better when the re-gained soul belongs to a powerful person. Augustine harshly criticizes this view for. The situation is the same with Psalms 114 and 115. In the first paragraph of Confessions, Augustine penned his now famous line, “You stir man to take pleasure in praising you, because you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in you. The first book was written between 387 and 388, while Books 2 and 3 were written a few years. Augustine probably began work on the Confessions around the year 397, when he was 43 years old. Ignatius Critical Editions (ICE) Study Guides are constructed to aid the reader of ICE classics to achieve a level of critical and literary appreciation befitting the works themselves. When writing a poetry analysis paper, it is important to first read the poem carefully, paying attention to its language, structure, and. Begun in 413 AD, only a few years after the Sack of Rome, City of God is Augustine’s rejoinder to pagan misconceptions of Christianity. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. 6,350+ In-Depth Study Guides. Augustine begins Book II with a candid confession of the deep and burning sexual desires that he experienced as a teenage boy. Augustine's Confessions. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. Books 1 through 9 of Saint Augustine’s Confessions are a kind of backward reflection, covering the period from the author’s birth to his religious conversion to Christianity. Evil/Wickedness. Upon arriving in Carthage at age 17, Augustine wishes to fall in love, not realizing that what he craves is God. Augustine created a theology of the self in Confessions, and in The City of God he initiates a theology of history. Full Work Summary. BOOK VI . Though giving some account of these worldly matters, Augustine spends much of Book IV examining his conflicted state of mind during this period. Augustine's background, historical events that influenced Confessions, and the main ideas within the work. Let me die—lest I die—only let me see Thy face. H. I sought what I might love, in love with loving, and safety I hated, and a way without snares. D. CliffsNotes on St. Part an autobiography and part a philosophical notebook, both aspects of Confessions trace Augustine's spiritual and philosophical journey as he encounters, explores, and sometimes adopts a variety of approaches to life before fully embracing Christianity and developing. Augustine probably began work on the Confessions around the year 397, when he was 43 years old. He had developed lung problems that teaching aggravated and, not wanting to be boastful in his conversion, was grateful that this health issue provided an. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. Essential to this is uncovering the dialogue with philosophy, especially that with the Stoics, Skeptics and Platonists, embedded in the text, seeing how fundamental philosophical-theological forms, especially the Trinity, are present and determinative. Full Work Analysis. The Confessions by Saint Augustine Translation by Maria Boulding, OSB, New City Press, (1997) [Page numbers provided here correspond roughly to the hardback edition] BOOK VIII: Conversion Page 184 1, 1. Though this is not a primary idea in Confessions, Augustine sees all the events of his life as divinely just; he sinned, suffered, and was saved all according to God's perfect justice. Augustine lived prior to his conversion. Part 1, Books I-VI, was published in 1782, and Books VII-XII were published as Part 2 in 1789. Although Augustine had begun to accept that God must by definition be “imperishable, inviolable and unchangeable” (115), he continued to struggle to conceive of how that might be, unable to imagine anything so great yet immaterial. First published Wed Sep 25, 2019. Use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. Although Augustine has been using Neoplatonic terms and ideas throughout the Confessions thus far, it isn't until Book VII that he reaches the point in his autobiography when he first reads Neoplatonic philosophy. To confess, in Augustine's time, meant both to give an account of one's faults to God and to praise God (to speak one's love for God). He enjoys the vicarious suffering he could experience by watching theatrical shows; he stops to consider the agonies of love. 99/year as selected above. Featured Collections. Summary. Augustine then introduces and engages in a series of conundrums related to God’s essence. Augustine examines the action of the Holy Trinity in the creation by looking at the verse "the Spirit moved over the waters. Augustine and published around 397 CE. Deeper Study. " He realizes, however, from the remove of middle age, that his one desire was simply to love and be loved. Augustine as De civitate Dei contra paganos (Concerning the City of God Against the Pagans) about 413–426 ce. In calling upon God, Augustine shows faith, because he cannot call upon a God he does not know. This is a watershed moment for the young Augustine, who finds in Neoplatonism a way of reconciling his long. Manichee beliefs begin to lose their luster for him during this period, and by the end of the Book he considers. It doesn't matter how articulately something is phrased if it isn't true, Augustine says. Suggestions. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. Augustine's work is an extended prayer and intimate conversation with a divine Beloved. Augustine is with the Manichees from age nineteen to age twenty-eight. Instead, he distracts himself with "theatrical shows," musing on the fact that people enjoy sad feelings evoked by fictional dramas, even though everyone aspires to happiness. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. At Rome, he falls ill and is on the verge of death. We bring evil onto ourselves because we actively choose corruptible elements of the physical world rather than the eternal, perfect forms, which are spiritual. English poet Robert Browning's "Confessions" is a tale of love and memory. A summary of Book VIII in Augustine's Confessions. The explanations of pagan scientists, although. Augustine’s search for truth would inevitably lead him to fall in with the pseudo-Christian sect known as the Manichees (followers of the self-declared prophet Mani). 63, as follows: "I also wrote a book on Faith, Hope, and Charity, at the request of the person to whom I. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. Augustine, also known as Augustine of Hippo, was born Aurelius Augustinus in 354 CE in Roman North Africa (now eastern Algeria) and died in 430 CE. In this section he refers to Genesis 1:20: "Let the waters produce moving things that have life in them. This imitation of Cicero’s Orator for Christian purposes sets out a theory of the interpretation of Scripture and offers practical guidance. Augustine thanks God for liberating him from his sinful inclinations, then tells of his decision to resign from the work he now viewed as empowering sinners. 12-10-2022. Augustine invented the soliloquia —not quite the soliloquy today's readers think of as a monologue, but an imagined dialogue—in the case of The Confessions, between him and his. Context for Book IV Quotes. For Augustine, justice has her temporal reasons, and the context of time plays a role in every situation. Behold, Lord, my heart is before Thee; open Thou the ears thereof, and say unto my soul, I am thy salvation. Book 7 picks up the thread of Augustine 's dawning understanding of a transcendent God and his happiness that "our spiritual mother, your Catholic Church" seems to be pointing in the same direction. The Adventures of Huckleberry FinnAugustine’s Confessions is a strange book. " He realizes, however, from the remove of middle age, that his one desire was simply to love and be loved. After this voice let me haste, and take hold on Thee. This is a watershed moment for the young Augustine, who finds in Neoplatonism a way of reconciling his. Hey, it's even better when the re-gained soul belongs to a powerful person. 18 In fact, the Confessions is often classified as a religious autobiography or a confession form of autobiography because of its narrative mode and style. First, he states that evil exists because we have free will. Augustine was perhaps the greatest Christian philosopher of Antiquity and certainly the one who exerted the deepest and most lasting influence. He also discussed free will in his Confessions, which consists of 13 books written between 397 and 400 AD. Education at the hands of poor teachers could not hinder his acute mind from acquiring a mastery of classical Latin literature, especially Cicero and Virgil. Evil/Wickedness. To confess, in Augustine's time, meant both to give an account of one's faults to God and to praise God (to speak one's love for God). Given Augustine's strong opinions about sexuality, it is not surprising that his view of women is similarly complex and sometimes contradictory. Genesis further implies that the initial 'heaven' was not the starry. Study Guide Full Text Flashcards. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. With the onset of adolescence in Book II, Augustine enters what he seems to consider the most lurid and sinful period of his life. Summary. Augustine's precise motivation for writing his life story at that point is not clear, but there are at least two possible causes. BOOK VIII . All things were made by him, and without him nothing was made. In Augustine's reading of Genesis, what is the major difference between God's 'word' and human speech? Summary and Analysis Book 1: Chapters 12-20. Analysis. At its most basic, an autobiography is the story of a person's life, written by that person. 99/month or $24. I loved not yet, yet I loved to love, and out of a deep-seated want, I hated myself for wanting not. Confessions was written by St. '. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. Augustine addresses City of God to Marcellinus, a friend and statesman who had requested Augustine’s aid in answering the proconsul Volusianus’s questions. Though this is not a primary idea in Confessions, Augustine sees all the events of his life as divinely just; he sinned, suffered, and was saved all according to God's perfect justice. Confessions, spiritual self-examination by St. Evil is a major theme in the Confessions, particularly in regard to its origin. Full Work Analysis. Confessions was published in two parts after Rousseau’s death. But then, tragedy strikes: on the journey back, Augustine's mother dies. Plato's philosophy in Meno and other dialogues influences Augustine's conception of memory. Unable to answer rationally why he was so sad, Augustine concludes nonetheless that weeping before God is acceptable because God is infinitely compassionate. Augustine considers the meaning of the first words of Genesis: "In the beginning, God created heaven and earth. Literary Context: The Importance of Confessions to the Autobiography Genre. This idea accommodates the fact, for instance. Hyde King Lear Of Mice and Men The Crucible Menu. " Augustine asks how he can know that this is true. Faustus comes rolling into town. Summary. In reality, the work is not so much an autobiography as an exploration of the. Book VII Overview. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. Read the full text of Confessions: Book XI. He "ran wild in the shadowy jungle of erotic adventures. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for. My heart, O Lord, touched with the words of Thy Holy Scripture, is much busied, amid this poverty of my life. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of Confessions and what it means. The union of this philosophy and this theology will guide his work for the rest of his life. It is one of the most influential works in Christian literature and has had a profound impact on Western thought and culture. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. Augustine is pretty anguished by his search for truth, but his pride is preventing him from making progress. St. SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4. He commends Socrates for promoting the conclusion that there must. He offers to set up a trust for his 3 friends so they can live in the country and be happy. The Confessions is a spiritual autobiography, covering the first 35 years of Augustine's life, with particular emphasis on Augustine's spiritual development and how he accepted. Summary. Confessions study guide contains a biography of Saint Augustine, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and. In On Free Choice of the Will ( De Libero Arbitrio ), St. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of Confessions and what it means. as a whole in each thing. He is sunk into sin and lustful behavior. Augustine's Confessions. According to that report, Augustine became more aware and tried unsuccessfully to communicate his desires to the adults around him. 99/month or $24. Augustine remained a Manichee from ages 19 to 29. The author tells of his conversion to Catholicism in his early 30s. Among possible uses, one could consider these comments while reading the work. There was indeed one thing for which I wished to tarry a little in this life, and that was that I might see you a Catholic Christian before I died. A short time later his mother, Monica, died at Ostia on the journey back to Africa. A summary of Part X (Section4) in St. Only God can say whether people exist in some form before infancy; Augustine says that. ________ is a close friend who made it big in the world and is incredibly wealthy. In the school of thought known as Neoplatonism, Augustine found a way of reconciling his long pursuit of philosophy with his new and serious faith in the Catholic Church. Having achieved both some understanding of God (and evil) and the humility to accept Christ, Augustine still agonizes over becoming a full member of the church. The remaining Books concern spiritual matters and Biblical exegesis. Having exhausted the list of sins he's knowingly committed, Augustine worries about sins he might commit without realizing that they're even sins. Citing divine intimacy as motivation and discounting “life’s experiences,” Augustine commits to “do [ing] truth […] in my heart by confession in your presence, and with my pen before many witnesses” (181). His moderately well-to-do family was religiously mixed. Augustine uses the example of his early life in Book I (continued in the subsequent Books) as a template for chronicling his spiritual development. Monica followed Augustine to Milan by sea, but before embarking she had another vision during which she learned that she would arrive safely. Milan is the last place Augustine lives in the Confessions, and it is the site of his final steps toward Christianity and of his conversion experience in the garden. St Augustine's Confessions Book 7 Study guide. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. Search all of SparkNotes Search. Patrick remained a Pagan until being baptized on his deathbed. Reading The Confessions. Augustine explores the nature of God and sin within the context of a Christian man's life. Who does Augustine become betrothed to? a young 11 year old girl. Read the full text of Confessions: Book VII. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or. He's a nice guy and all, but Augustine really doesn't buy what he's selling, though he is selling it well. Augustine breaks it down and it looks like you can't even do that for the present either. Augustine’s Confessions recounts that early life. Listening to the Manichees will turn out to be perhaps the biggest mistake of his life, and much of Book III is devoted to an initial attack on the Manichee faith. The most widely used translation of the Confessions is the one by a Mr. Augustine is finally introduced directly to the Neoplatonists, and scholars agree that he read the works of both Plotinus and his main student Porphyry. Confessions, spiritual self-examination by Saint Augustine, written in Latin as Confessiones about 400 CE. Discrete memories can be called up by the mind, without one impinging on another, and can be reviewed in the "immense court of memory," where Augustine comes to "meet" himself. In the modern era, it is often published with the title The Confessions of Jean-Jacques Rousseau in order to distinguish it from Saint Augustine's Confessions. It was written in two stages during the closing years of the 4th century. The Confessions is divided into thirteen books, each of. Augustine argues that God does not allow evil to exist so much as we choose it by our actions, deeds. For within me was a famine of that inward food. The first nine Books (or chapters) of the work trace the story of Augustine's life, from his birth (354 CE) up to the events that took place just after his conversion to Catholicism (386 CE). For Christians, Christ is the only true access to God. He notes that God sees even the wicked because he "abandon [s] nothing. God fills all of creation; God is perfect, eternal, unchangeable, all-powerful, and the source of all goodness. Summary. 95; paperback, $19. In this Book he concentrates on the most. Book I Overview. Oh how high art Thou, and yet the humble in heart are Thy dwelling-place; for Thou raisest up those that are bowed down, and they fall not, whose elevation Thou art. Important quotes from Book III in Confessions. Saint Augustine focuses on three major themes in his autobiography Confessions: sin, time, and the pursuit of truth and wisdom through knowledge. Book VI, Chapters 1-6 Summary. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. Alas! Alas! Tell me of Your compassion, O Lord my God, what You are to me. The free trial period is the first 7 days of your subscription. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of Confessions and what it means. SparkNotes Plus subscription is $4. Context for Book IV Quotes. In school at Carthage, Augustine continues to be lost in carnal desires. OXFORD. Summary. . Plato believed that learning is a kind of remembering, in which the soul rediscovers a truth it knew before birth. The work can thus be viewed as both a discursive document. These two aims come together in the Confessions. Monica has come to join Augustine in Milan. Book III. He describes himself as having been “enamored with the idea of love” but sinfully indiscriminate in procuring it (43). Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. Augustine’s Confessions is an autobiographical work in which the author recounts his own personal journey of faith and his struggles with sin and temptation. Augustine examines the second verse of Genesis: "The earth was invisible and formless, darkness was over the deep. And therefore most times, is the poverty of human understanding copious in words, because enquiring hath more to say than discovering, and demanding is longer than obtaining, and our hand that knocks, hath more work to do. His moderately well-to-do family was religiously mixed. It takes Augustine many years before he realizes just how important being inscribed in the “walls of the Church” actually is to his moral and spiritual well-being [8. This is a watershed moment for the young Augustine, who finds in Neoplatonism a way of reconciling his long. Read the full text of Confessions: Book XIII. 99/month or $24. Structuring Good and Evil. 6,350+ In-Depth Study Guides. Summary and Analysis Book 8: Chapters 1-4. Read the full text of Confessions: Book VI. Given our egocentric and appetitive nature, human beings inherently seek lifestyles that satisfy bodily desires. Context for Book VIII Quotes. The first book of the Confessions is devoted primarily to an analysis of Augustine's life as a child, from his infancy (which he cannot recall and must reconstruct) up through his days as a schoolboy in Thagaste (in Eastern Algeria). Augustine is now a Christian in his heart, but he is unable to give up his worldly affairs, particularly sex. He decides to resign his teaching job after an upcoming vacation period, and a chest illness gives him a further excuse to retire. 99/year as selected above. Porphyry. St. He grounds his presentation on the premise that God is the creator of. Augustine begins Book 9 with more praise for God. Modern English translations of it are sometimes published under the title The Confessions of Saint Augustine in order to distinguish the book from. Confessions study guide contains a biography of Saint Augustine, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. Read the full text of Confessions: Book X. A summary of Part X (Section6) in St. Confessions is much more than an autobiography. Summary. As such, he represents God's infinite mercy, his promise to humanity that God is within reach. Translation . 2 of 29. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. Learn more about Confessions by reading background on Augustine and his Confessions as well as essay that provide context for it. D. Augustine does not say. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of Confessions and what it means. First and foremost, it is important to Augustine that everyone remembers that. 99/year as selected above. Summary. Summary. Summary and Analysis Book 1: Chapters 8-11. Summary and Analysis Book 11: Chapters 1-31. He was a Catholic theologian, bishop, and philosopher of Berber descent. Augustine had many major. In the book Confessions, “God loves each of us as if there were only one of us”, Saint Augustine once said those words (Confessions Quotes). At 29, Augustine meets a Manichean bishop named Faustus, who is famous for his knowledge of doctrine. He indirectly uses imagery of pilgrimage, a motif that is threaded through The Confessions, to depict the soul's wandering until it finds God. It is not, however, God or some kind of piece of God. Despite being unfamiliar and unusual, the Confessions has surprised. Book 1 Summary. Following a prayer of thanks for his salvation (chapter 1), Augustine records the. Although Augustine has been using Neoplatonic terms and ideas throughout the Confessions thus far, it isn't until Book VII that he reaches the point in his autobiography when he first reads Neoplatonic philosophy. The text of Genesis describes a nascent earth as 'invisible and unorganized,' in Augustine's reading - an earth comprised of fluid 'formless matter. He still loved the theater and the ego-boost from winning poetry competitions, even though he was part of this sect that was against picking fruit. A summary of Confessions in Augustine's Selected Works of Augustine. Chapter 1 is a prayer to God in which Augustine takes stock of his present situation. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of Confessions and what it means. Summary and Analysis Book 2: Chapters 1-3.