古羅馬世界的圣師、哲人圣奧古斯丁寫作的西方第一部自傳《懺悔錄》，其人其書既以自由意志、原罪、神恩等學說在羅馬教廷及東正教各民族影響至深至巨，同時因其結(jié)藻清英，流韻綺靡啟迪了后世無數(shù)的散文作家，與法國盧梭和俄國托爾斯泰的《懺悔錄》并稱“世界三大懺悔錄”，名列中西各國文學史的必讀書目。
圣奧古斯丁出生于北非的柏柏爾人家庭，早年習雄辯術(shù)，才華橫溢，生活放浪不拘。三十歲之后才皈依圣主，剴切地剖析、暴露、鞭撻早年的種種穢跡、惡德，一心向善。作者對母親莫妮卡及愛師安波羅修的追憶真切感人，一向為人所稱道；近世笛卡爾的“我思”亦由圣奧古斯丁發(fā)展而來，而11卷中的時間論清晰地勾勒出人與神的存在方式，這又是當代哲學探討的一個中心問題。
THE CONFESSIONS， written between AD 397 and AD 398， outlines Augustine's sinful youth and his conversion to Christianity. It is widely seen as the First
Western autobiography ever written， and was an infiuential model for Christian writers throughout the following 1000 years of the Middle Ages.
In the work St. Augustine Wfites about how much he regrets having led a sinful and immoral life. He discusses his regrets for following the Manichaean religion and believing in astrology， He shows intense sorrow for his sexual sins， and writes on the importance of sexual morality.
AUGUSTINE of Hippo （354-430）， also known as Augustine， St. Augustine， was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province. His writings were very influential in the development of Western Christianity.
Augustine was one of the most prolific Latin authors in terms of surviving works， and the list of his works consists of more than a hundred separate titles. Apart from those， Augustine is probably best known for his Confessions， which is a personal account of his earlier life， and for De civitate dei （Of the City of God， consisting of 22 books）， which he wrote to restore the confidence of his fellow Christians， which was badly shaken by the sack of Rome by the Visigoths in 4io.
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