Augustine Confessions

Confessions, written by Augustine, begins by invoking the help of God to help or guide him through the act of confessing his sins. Augustine begins his confessions by detailing his very early life. He explains his infancy by lamenting his inability to remember the entirety of his life’s actions during that time. This wouldn’t be particularly important to any layperson, but because Augustine is incredibly devout, he worries that if he cannot remember the events from his early life, he cannot repent for them. He laments the fact that his memory cannot provide this information, he hopes that God will absolve him of these unknown deviances from God’s will. He also laments the fact that his baptism was delayed until later in his life. His baptism was delayed so that he could “sin with a loose rein” (book 1, pg. 13). He wonders if this was to his detriment, that if he had perhaps been baptized earlier then he would have led a purer life. My understanding of this work of Augustine’s is seemingly the beginning of philosophical thought the pertains to God.