Why did Augustine write the Confessions?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61827/fp2024a4Keywords:
Augustine , Confessions , autobiography, ancient rhetoric, praising God, humility , prayer , spiritual journeyAbstract
Saint Augustine’s Confessions, with its literary and spiritual specificity, set an important direction in Christian writing, which is still continued, and not only in Christian circles. Studies on the Bishop of Hippo discuss what prompted him to write this autobiographical work. In this article, we refer to the hypothesis that this was done under the influence of Paulinus of Nola. We then indicate the motives that determined the concrete implementation of Augustine’s idea, especially the motive of praising God and recognizing one’s sinfulness. These two main motives are complemented by the motive of helping the brothers on the way to holiness by “telling” the works that God has completed in him, and by the motive of asking the brothers to receive prayerful help from them. In its final form, Augustine’s work is a valuable aid for Christians in shaping their journey towards God.
Downloads
References
Królikowski J., Dlaczego Augustyn napisał Wyznania?, „Filologia Polska. Roczniki Naukowe Uniwersytetu Zielonogórskiego” 2024, nr 10, https://doi.org/10.61827/fp2024a4.
Augustyn, Listy, przeł. W. Eborowicz, Pelplin 1991.
Augustyn, Pisma katechetyczne, przeł. S. Budzik, Warszawa 1952.
Augustyn, Wyznania, przeł. Z. Kubiak, Warszawa 1992.
Baronius C., Annales Ecclesiastici, ed. A. Theiner, t. 6 (388-411), [Paris] 1866.
Benedykt XVI, Św. Augustyn (II), „L’Osservatore Romano” 2008 (29), nr 3.
Courcelle P., Les Confessions de saint Augustin dans la tradition littéraire. Antécédents et postérité, Paris 1965.
Courcelle P., Recherches sur les „Confessions” de saint Augustin, Paris 1968.
Czuj J., Nieśmiertelna książka, Warszawa 1939.
Die Confessiones des Augustinus von Hippo. Einführung und Interpretationen zu den drei zehn Büchern, red. N. Fischer, C. Mayer, Freiburg–Basel–Wien 1998.
Le Confessioni di Agostino (402-2002): bilancio e prospettive. XXXI Incontro di studiosi dell’antichità cristiana, Roma, 2-4 maggio 2002, Roma 2003 (Studia Ephemeridis „Augustinianum”, 85).
Leonardi C., Agiografie medievali, Firenze 2011.
Lyotard J.-F., La Confession d’Augustin, Paris 1998.
Paulin z Noli, Listy 1-50, przeł. M. Wysocki, J. Pałucki, M. Pyzik-Turska, Kraków 2019 (Źródła Myśli Teologicznej, 82).
Rodriguez J.M., El libro de las Confessiones, [w:] „Le Confessioni” di Agostino di Ippona. Libri VI-IX, Palermo 1985, s. 9-44.
Sciacca M.F., Sant’Agostino, Milano 2021.
Starowieyski M., Szymusiak J.M., Słownik wczesnochrześcijańskiego piśmiennictwa, Poznań 2018.
Trapè A., Introduzione, [w:] Agostino, Le Confessioni, Roma 1965, s. IX-CXXI (Nuova Biblioteca Agostiniana, I).
Trapè A., Święty Augustyn. Człowiek, duszpasterz, mistyk, przeł. J. Sulowski, Warszawa 1987.
Vigini G., Il libro cristiano nella storia della cultura, t. 1: Dal I al VI secolo, Milano 2015.
Vita Sancti Aurelii Augustini, Hipponensis episcopi, ex jus potissimum scripts concinnata, [w:] Patrologia Latina, t. 32, Parisiis 1865.
Wirgiliusz, Eneida, przeł. Z. Kubiak, Warszawa 1987.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Janusz Królikowski
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Copyrights (a). In principle, authors who are not employed by the University of Zielona Góra retain the copyright, including publishing rights to the articles, without restrictions.
Copyrights (b). In principle, authors who are employed by the University of Zielona Góra, do not retain the copyright, including publishing rights to the articles. In such cases the copyright holder is the University of Zielona Góra.
