Augustine: Confessions (Books 1-8) [1] 9780674990296, 0674990293

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LIBRARY

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THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY T.

E.

PAGE, M.A.,

ST.

EDITED 1:Y W. H. D. ROUSE, LiTT.D.

AND

AUGUSTINE'S

CONFESSIONS

ST.

AUGUSTINE'S

CONFESSIONS WITH AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION BY

WILLIAM WATTS 1631

IN

TWO VOLUMES I

LONDON WILLIAM HEINEMANN NEW YORK THE MACMILLAN CO. :

:

MCMXII

PREFACE AuRELius AuGUSTiNus was born at Tagaste, in Numidia, Noveniber 13, a.d. 354, and died August 30, 430. It was in 373 that he joined the Manichaeans, and in 386 he was converted to Catholicism. He returned to Africa in 388, was ordained presbyter in 391, and in 395 became Bisliop of Hippo, where he lived until his death. His first book, De Pulchro Besides the Confessions, he wrote et Apto, is lost. De Dodrina Christiana, Encheiridion, De Trinitate, De Civitate Dei, lletractaiiones, and a number of controversial and other pamphlets. There is no need to say much of the contents of this book. Some it will attract by its devotion, some by its philosophy perhaps but all it will charm by its complete sincerity. The scenes of Augustine's early life stand out like pictures and his mother lives before our mind's eye as if we had seen her in ;

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the flesh. The psychologist will notice how acutely the author traces the workings of his own mind, particularly in childhood. This is a re})rint of William Watts's translation (with Scripture references), corrected according to Knoll's text, with the help of the translations of Pusey (1 838) and C. Bigg (Books I. to IX. Methuen, 1897- 1909) and the annotated text of J. Gibb and W. Montgomery (Cambridge Patristic Texts, 19O8). William Watts, Rector of St. Alban's, Wood Street, London (1590.^-1649), published his translation in 1631. "This translation I began," he says, "for ;

PREFACE the exercise of my Lenten Devotions; but I quickly found it to exercise more than my Devotions it exercised my skill, (all 1 had) it exercised my Patience, it exercised my Friends too (for it is incomparably the hardest task that ever I yet undertook)." The })resent editor is inclined to echo this remark. For the first two books especially, and partly later, he used an earlier translation by Sir Tobie Matthew (London, l62 second edition Paris, 1638), to whom he alludes in his notes with often upbraiding as " the :

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