In his
Confessions
Augustine
(354-430), bishop of Hippo, invented autobiography in the modern sense of the term. He writes of his whole development from childhood on, revealing himself not only in the events and feelings he recalls but in the way he analyzes them. Complex and subtle,
The Confessions
is also the fundamentally simple story of one man's journey from darkness into light. Augustine tells of his first sexual adventures and the disappointment they brought him, of his deep attachment to his mistress and heart-break over her loss, and of his close but troubled relationship with his devout mother. He also shows how his quest for truth led him from Greek and Roman philosophy to the strange oriental sect of the Manicheans, and then to acceptance-after much struggle-of the Christian faith. Yet even Christianity could not quiet his restless mind: in the final books of
, Augustine goes beyond dogma to speculate boldly about memory, time, and the creation of the world.