61. Conf. 10.1.1–2.2 (CCL 27:155); trans. Bourke, FOTC 21:263–64. (continued)
about and feeding, lying down and ruminating. O Lord, complete your work in me, and reveal those pages to me. Behold, Your voice is my joy, Your voice is greater than an abundance of pleasures. Grant what I love, for I do love it. And this love is also Your gift. Abandon not Your gifts nor spurn Your grass when we are thirsty. Let me confess to You whatever I discover in Your books, and "may I hear the voice of Your praise" (Ps 25:7), and drink You in and "consider the wondrous things of Your law" (Ps 118:18), from the very beginning when You made heaven and earth until the perpetual reign of Your holy city with You.64
The Elderly Augustine's
View of Confessions
At the end of his career, Augustine reviewed his books, offering brief reflections and occasional emendations. The following are the laconic but poignant comments of the elderly Augustine after rereading Confessions. From Reconsiderations (Retractationes), Book 2:
(6.1) The thirteen books of my Confessions praise the just and good God for my evil and good acts and lift up the understanding and affection of people to Him. At least . . . they had this effect on me while I was writing them and they continue to have it when I read them. What others think about them is a matter for them to decide. Yet I know that they have given and continue to give pleasure to many of my brethren. The first ten books were written about myself; the last three about Holy Scripture, from the words: "In the beginning God created heaven and earth" (Gn 1:1) as far as the Sabbath rest (Gn 2:2).65
64. Conf. 11.1.1–2.3 (CCL 27:194–95); my trans., based on Bourke, FOTC 21:328–30. This final sentence spells out the content of conf. 11–13, an allegorical commentary on the six days of creation and the sabbath rest of the seventh day, which foreshadows the eternal peace of the City of God.
65. Retr. 2.6.1 (CCL 57:94); trans. Bogan, FOTC 60:130. On Retractationes, see Goulven Madec, Introduction aux 'Revisions' et à la Lecture des Œuvres de saint Augustin, CEASA 150 (Paris: Institut d'Études Augustiniennes, 1996).