Confessions of Saint Augustine

A Great Classic Well Read

I am currently listening to this book, and find it greater than I'd expected. The reading is very good (although the sound quality is that of a good telephone interview on the radio, which is my only complaint). If you have any experience with either the King James Version of the Bible or Shakespeare, you should have no trouble with the translation. One reviewer said it was English from the 1200s! That would, indeed, be hard to understand, unless you knew German as well as English. This is more like the 1600s. The "thees and thous" many complain about are simply the singular form of the second person pronoun (you). "Thou" is nominative (subject), and "thee" is objective (object). When we lost that distinction, and the singular/plural distinction, our language bacame more inexact.

Of the several things I've downloaded so far, this is my favorite. Thanks, Audible!

16 of 17 people found this review helpful

old English my foot!

The narrator gives a compelling reading of one of the truly great books in the Audible collection. This is a somewhat formal, very thoughtful and dignified reading matching in tone the theme of a mature man reflecting back on his journey through life. The somewhat archaic, rather formal 19th c. translation lends an appropriate degree of gravitas to the words of Saint Augustine, but it is certainly not unintelligible. I found it very gratifying and easy on the ears. If in doubt, give it a listen before buying. I'll be looking for other audiobooks by this narrator.

15 of 16 people found this review helpful

Bad audio

Sounded like it was recorded in some guys living room during a party.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Listening in an Echo Chamber

Wow is this recording poorly done. There are ghost voices in the back; the narrator is raspy; the version of the text is archaic.

It sounds like a very bad tape recorder.

Get a newer edition and a newer reader!!!

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Old English Translation

This is a truly wonderful book, when read in a modern translation. Unfortunately this audio is NOT such a translation, but in Old English. I found it to be almost incomprehensible as a result, although it did motivate me to buy a book of this work in modern English, which I greatly enjoyed reading. I found this audio a real let-down!

24 of 31 people found this review helpful

Worth the Price

This great spiritual classic is very well produced. It takes a little bit of time to get used to the Old English, but anyone who has read Old English will get used to it very quickly. The translation, with the Old English, is very eloquent and the listener can sense a little of St. Augustine's great oratorical skills. I was a little weary to download this work because of the reviews against the text and narrator, but after having listened to it, I think the reviews say more about the reviewers than about the work reviewed. A great listen!

7 of 9 people found this review helpful

Difficult Translation to Listen To

Although clearly a Christian classic, the wording of this translation is rather archaic, making it difficult to understand the concepts unless your mind is totally focused.

10 of 14 people found this review helpful

Great book, but antiquated English

I think this book would be fantastic, but this version's English is completely antiquated... like the King James Bible, with 'thee' and 'thou'... it's hard to understand much of it. It's also a bit boring, although Augustine is brilliant... but seriously, how interesting is a theft of some pears?

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Significant historical figure

I always wanted to read this because of its reputation. This is about an early Christian (5th century) contemplating his past life in light of his Christian one. Augustine is a cornerstone in the Church and its later doctrine so one can learn much from this book. I took away 2 stars because the translation from Latin to English has too many "thee" and "thou" and the narrator is elderly with a British accent.

9 of 13 people found this review helpful

Powerful teaching

All persons who desire to do good and serve God should read/listen to this great work by an extraordinary intellect.
Catholics know him to be a Saint; but, the concepts he develops would be of tremendous interest to an atheist who desires to do good. Always a good expenditure of time.