The Confession Facing "You":a Study On Confessions Of Augustine

As a very original work which lacks followers of the same kind, the Confessions of Augustine, though quite studied in modern times, the problem "what kind of book is it" still remains a problem. It is the task of this paper to make its own answer to this difficult question. The author’s opinion is that it is the way of speaking, not the content that have been said, decides the character of this book. For this reason, this paper focus on the study of the way of speaking of Augustine in Confessions, grasping Confessions as a dynamic and organic work. Here the way of speaking also presents as this question:" How does this book with all its parts and themes grow and spread?" In order to answer this question, firstly, the original power from which this dynamic work grows and spreads should be ascertained. Secondly, the process in which this book grows and spreads from this original power should be described and demonstrated. The major part of this paper, is its answer to the question above.Chapter One named "Introduction" describes briefly the historical experiences and significance of Confessions at first. Secondly it gives an overview of the research materials on Confessions as much as the author can get domestically or from abroad, in order to provide a context and platform for the study of this paper. Finally is the outline statement of this paper:starting from the misreading of Chinese readers, the last part points out that "confession" is the key to understand Confessions, and states the study method of this paper. This paper thinks that "confession" is the way Augustine speaks in Confessions, and the original power of Confessions at the same time. And this "confession", precisely speaking, is the confession facing ’You’, God in Confessions.Chapter Two named"’I-Thou’, the ’Other’,’You’ and ’confession’" is the theoretical part of this paper, which aims at making clear the meaning of "confession" as "confession" facing "You". For this aim, the meaning of "You" as God in Confessions should be made clear first. So, the author introduced the "I-Thou" of Martin Buber and the "Other" of Levinas, in order to provide a theoretical platform for the understanding of the "You" as God in Confessions, to investigate the "You" in Confessions in the dimensions of relationship and Other, to ascertain the distinctive meaning of the "You" in the dimensions of relationship and Other, thus ascertaining the meaning of "confession" as the "confession" facing "You"Chapter Three named "’Confession’and Confessions" is the text demonstrating part of this paper, which aims at showing how does Confessions grow and spread by the push of "confession", which is the original power. There are not many theoretical ingredients in this chapter. It is simply a demonstration and reproducing of the text of Confessions, in order to answer the target question of this paper:" How does this book with all its parts and themes grow and spread?" In order to answer this question sufficiently, the demonstration of this chapter is very necessary."Conclusion" as the last part of this paper, on the foundation of the theoretical study and textual demonstration of "confession", it puts Confessions in the literary culture of Christianity, in order to discuss and understand the ethic and "Other" characteristics of the both.