This is the first historical autobiography. It does not cover all of this man's life but deals with his teenage years up until his conversion in his thirties. The subject matter is dealing with questions of faith and the lusts of the mind, body, and curiosity of his senses.(Coffin) St. Augustine’s Confessions needs to be taken into the future because of it’s honest truth of man’s questions towards the Christian faith.<!--more-->

This was a Christian piece of work, but was written in a style of prayer and confessions
for his Lord Jesus. (Outler) It covers the daily trials of a secular man. It addresses an audience of
young and old that has had the same issues or questions of faith. Confessions is written
for humanity to understand that faith is a trial of learning who you are and
understanding who God is. (Coffin)

Innovative of its time was because this particular piece of work isn't a Christian
doctrine. It wasn't meant for the church to use for instruction and daily rituals that
should be used by man in his worship of God. Instead, it was material for the
wandering, lost, those seeking answers. Confessions is a personal  journey towards
salvation and how Augustine found faith out of a pagan and lustful life. (Pullman)

Typical of its era, the subject matter of St. Augustine's Confessions was faith based.
During the fourth century, Christianity was developing dramatically and religion was
debated heavily in schools and major cities. The moral justification of
Confessions influenced the growing number of people that were searching for a faith
that made them feel whole.  Augustine's conversion into Christianity is the central point of
Confessions. (Pullman)

Fascination with spirituality tempted most men's curiosity, whether it be pagan or
Christian.  It was a fragile time in religion and cultural expansion of the minds of men
was sought out vigorously.  St. Augustine's Confessions was just one of these curiosity
driven writings of spirituality and his own personal path of eventual salvation through
the Church. (Cook)

Today,  St. Augustine's writings are held in high regard with the church and scholars.
His teachings are a modern day vision of the "Philosophy of History" of this particular
century.(Outler)  Confessions is used to teach men today about the value and triumph of soul
searching for a faith that you may not always understand.

Confessions is considered a look into the questions of humanity weighted with the
spirituality of God. Many Christian scholars quote and teach from this book. It not only
brings up faith based questions, but also moral questions and those implications
of acting upon the immoral impulses.(Vance)

This book compares to the writings of Libanius. He was a Greek Sophist during the same
century. In his writings, he wanted to preserve the Greek traditions. He also created a
historical autobiography, but it was a scholar's journal, not a quest to find religion.
Even though Libanius lived as if Christianity didn't exist, his beliefs and teachings
influenced notable Christians such as John Chrysostome.  Libanius was honored by the
Christian emperor Theodosius I,  who named Libanius a praetorian prefect.(Britannica Biographies )
Even though Libanius and St. Augustine had different belief structures, the good in their
writings on morality still inspire generations of people searching for answers.

Both these men have given future generations a journey through words of the cultural
and historic transistion that was occuring during the fourth century. Without their
influence and documentation, the changing world of theirs would have remained silent
against the sands of time.

During the time of Augustine of Hippo, humanity was trying expanding thought towards
ethics, philosophy and religion. It was a melting pot of different beliefs and strong
skeptism. When Augustine was quoted in Rome by a colleague before a Pelagius
presence, the discussion turned quarrelsome. The ideas presented by St. Augustine
went against their rational thoughts and pagan morals. ([Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Augustine helped restructure Christianity during the fourth and fifth century, giving him
the prestige of being named one of the original founders of Christianity. His work would
bring sociological, ethical, political, and theological aspects to the Christian society
during the Middle Ages. (Outler)

I believe this book should come with us because of the immense truth of it. Even if you
don't believe in Christianity, it is a guide to the questions of lust, belief and morality. The
historical context of Confessions is a testament to our future of mankind's insatiable
curiosity of spirituality.

Bibliography
Cook, James Wyatt. "Confessions." Encyclopedia of Ancient Literature. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2008. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&amp;SID=5&amp;iPin= EAncL0117&amp;SingleRecord=True (accessed February 22, 2011).
Vance, Eugene. "St. Augustine." European Writers: The Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Ed. George Stade. Vol. 1. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1983. Literature Resource Center. Gale. Austin Community College Libraries. 22 Feb. 2011 &lt;http://go.galegroup.com/ps/start.do?p=LitRC&amp;u=txshracd2487&gt;.
Willis, Garry. Interview, http://press.princeton.edu/releases/m9393.html
"Augustine [Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy]." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Web. 09 Mar. 2011. &lt;http://www.iep.utm.edu/augustin/#H5&gt;