Preface 1. Introduction Excerpt 1: part of the opening prayer 2. Language Excerpt 2: the firmament as bible 3. Creation and the sensible world Excerpt 3: the ascent at Ostia 4. Memory and time 5. Afterword Bibliography Index

"The Routledge Guidebook to Augustine’s Confessions is a remarkably lucid and intelligent introduction to one of the most important texts in the history of the Christian West. Through sensitive analysis of the language and structure of the Confessions, Professor Conybeare illuminates the key elements of Augustine’s thought, and brings out the depth and originality of this brilliant work."Sara Lipton, State University of New York at Stony Brook, USA"As a guide to reading the Confessions, this book is a beautiful introduction to a classic of Western culture. Conybeare captures the spirit of Augustine's quest for God, confessing what is known and unknown, and invites readers in a delightful way to read much more than Augustine's words."Allan Fitzgerald, Villanova University, USA"When Augustine surrenders himself in confession before God and his audience, he could not have wished for a more sympathetic human hearer than Conybeare. She is no disinterested listener, but engages with the conversation in a way that, in turn, enables her own audience to participate in it. The experience is precisely the transformative one that Augustine intended his Confessions to be." Carol Harrison, Oxford University, UK"Catherine Conybeare offers an excellent guide to Augustine's autobiographical Confessions. She is not a theologian or church historian. Rather, she is a scholar of classical literature and there­fore lends a unique angle to the study of Confessions."Jack Kilcrease, Aquinas College