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Confessions is an autobiographical work by Saint Augustine, consisting of 13 books written in Latin between AD 397 and 400. The work outlines Saint Augustine's sinful youth and his conversion to Christianity. It is widely seen as the first Western Christian autobiography ever written and was an influential model for Christian writers throughout the Middle Ages. The work is not a complete autobiography, as it was written during Saint Augustine's early 40s and he lived long afterwards, producing another important work, The City of God. Nonetheless, it does provide an unbroken record of his development of thought and is the most complete record of any single person from the 4th and 5th centuries. Confessions is one of the most influential works in not only the history of Christian theology, but philosophy in general. It offers guidelines for how to convert and provides significant insight into the first thirty-three years of Augustine's life. Augustine does not paint himself as a holy man, but as a sinner. Due to the nature of Confessions, it is clear that Augustine was not only writing for himself but that the work was intended for public consumption.
