古罗马世界的圣师、哲人圣奥古斯丁写作的西方第一部自传《忏悔录》，其人其书既以自由意志、原罪、神恩等学说在罗马教廷及东正教各民族影响至深至巨，同时因其结藻清英，流韵绮靡启迪了后世无数的散文作家，与法国卢梭和俄国托尔斯泰的《忏悔录》并称“世界三大忏悔录”，名列中西各国文学史的必读书目。
圣奥古斯丁出生于北非的柏柏尔人家庭，早年习雄辩术，才华横溢，生活放浪不拘。三十岁之后才皈依圣主，剀切地剖析、暴露、鞭挞早年的种种秽迹、恶德，一心向善。作者对母亲莫妮卡及爱师安波罗修的追忆真切感人，一向为人所称道；近世笛卡尔的“我思”亦由圣奥古斯丁发展而来，而11卷中的时间论清晰地勾勒出人与神的存在方式，这又是当代哲学探讨的一个中心问题。
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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