The Confessions of Saint Augustine, although a work of antiquity, still has something important to say about the way we view the world and how we should behave in it. 'The Confessions' was also a model for all future 'confessions'; well those of a serious nature anyway. All such works, are partly at least, a justification for actions taken and not taken; as well as holding up one's hand and saying I got this wrong and I should not have done that. The main thrust of Augustine's work is how he went from being a dissolute young man, to his conversion to Christianity and eventually Bishop of Hippo in North Africa. For me Book VII, his struggle to find a belief system he found credible and Book VIII, the even greater inner and mental turmoil he went through before he was able to finally accept the will of God through the the teachings of Christ, The Apostles and St Paul; remains the core of the work. He makes you feel what could be described as intellectual birth pangs; it is almost lierally, torture. Ulitmately this work remains an important milestone in the development of Western Culture.