Confessions by St. Augustine (Summary+Review)

#catholicbookreview

In this video I summarize the autobiographical work of St. Augustine, focusing as much as I can on his theological and philosophical elaborations.

Read the book online for free:

Listen to the book online for free:

Rating system:
10/10 breathtaking, must read
9/10 really good
8/10 good
7/10 good (maybe not for everyone)
6/10 and less: I try to read good books lol so that rating should not occur

[swaggypfrom]

so many beautiful parables in these confessions. i find the beginning of chapter 12 particularly striking:
"oh good lord when you look down upon me as i bend at the knee and hip, to receive thine good graces... and my eyes shall fall upon my reflection in the spittoon as i've bent over like a bovine in repose, waiting for the [grace] of the lord, to wash upon me and dry out my sins"

[Darth_Mak]

My good, Christian friend Nicholas Mullen inspired me to find the wisdom of St. Augustine! <3

[PaulTheHermit]

This book was the one that finally helped me accept Christ. I was struggling. I read this book. Now im a Christian and choosing Saint Augustine as my confirmation Saint when i get Baptised and Confirmed next month.

[JTStein]

St. Monica, his mother prayed 20 years for his conversation.

[lw]

You can tell he was a really great orator and writer. Roman North Africa produced some very significant figures, Carthage was a really important city. Its pretty amazing how well it reads from 1600 years ago, though the classical world is known to have produced some excellent works, Plato's Republic also reads very fluidly.

He's very hard on himself in the book, the last part as well I got really into, on the more philosophical questions and why he doesnt believe on a literal 7 day creation.
Augustine understood christianity extremly well I think and his influence has been immense. It also marks a very important time with the ending of the classical world and the start of the early middle ages. There was a lot of chaos and upheaval towards the end but Augustine argued that yes it was true, but it would be heaven that would be the ultimate salvation.

[edwardgarcia]

Confessions is one of the best books I've ever read. I find that we like very similar books on the faith. You're doing great work exposing such wonderful gems to new audiences. God bless you Elizabeth!

[davidcrowley]

What a thoughtful young woman. Thank you

[intoreality]

Your English is excellent. Better than many native speakers.

[rnktllama]

Nice that you have set up this channel!

I was learning for my exam for philosophy where I have to analyse the first book of Augustine’s' Confessions. After searching for a book summary on YouTube, I came across your channel.

Although I haven't found deep analysis material about core points, I have been inspired by your honest opinion and experience of the book. I also decided to actually reread the first book and make notes myself after watching your video.

As a Catholic myself, I directly subscribed to your channel after having read your mission statement. I saw some video covers of yours discussing books that I am interested in reading. I especially like the idea of an academic student, and a Catholic, who reviews interesting books in honesty and understanding. Most channels that I watch, such as Pints with Aquinas, already speak out of knowledge. Therefore, it is good to have a student also speaking about these topics from their personal perspective.

[Chiefs_fan]

You should review Nick Mullen’s version of it

[Frothenbath]

"Confessions" is one of my favorite books and I only recently finished it! I am now a big fan of his writing! I'm currently going through "City of God." I recommend that one too. Yes, the philosophical parts can be strong, but I loved grappling with every word! Great review!

[Torntopieces]

One of my favorite Saint! Thank you Elisabeth

[TrueBagPipeRock]

Really think that top Catholic channels should be promoting you. thanks for your work

[Dara-ihjq]

This is such a deeply important part of literature, especially for anyone who is from Western culture. Thank you for this summary 🙏

[mateusmachado]

I appreciate your comments on the Confessions. I feel you and you say sometimes we get discouraged of reading of, because it is complicated. I have felt the same, we cannot rush through it if we wanna capture the ideas of Augustine.

[Art]

Thank you for your reviews. You give overviews of really beautiful texts that most people (Christians included) don’t often read!

[nickdon]

Gonna share this Channel to all of my friends!

[briancox]

When I made my confirmation, we had to pick a personal patron Saint. My personal Saint was St. Augustine so I think this is totally great, this very informative video you made about him. I plan on reading this book "The Confessions". I am a subscriber to your channel, keep the video comming. God Bless you, woman of faith!

[inrptn]

Thank you very much for your detailed summary and review. I'm not Catholic, but I'm very interested in studying some of the most famous and influential works in the history of Christianity. This introduction will help me jump into the book myself! Take care and God bless you.

[kmastanz]

Saint Augustine is a beautiful person"Out of the heart the mouth speaks"