The Confessions is a spiritual autobiography, covering the first 35 years of Augustine's life, with particular emphasis on Augustine's spiritual development and how he accepted Christianity. The Confessions is divided into 13 books. Books 1 through 9 contain Augustine's life story. Book 10 is an exploration of memory. Books 11 through 13 are detailed interpretations of the first chapter of Genesis, which describes the creation of the world.
Book 1: Augustine's infancy and early childhood. He falls ill and is almost baptized; he is sent to school to study Latin literature.
Book 2: Augustine's adolescence. He continues his studies; he becomes sexually mature; he steals pears with a group of friends.
Book 3: Augustine's early adulthood. He goes to Carthage to study; he reads Cicero's Hortensius, which inspires him with a love of wisdom; he encounters Manichaeism and becomes a Manichee.
Book 4: Augustine becomes a teacher of rhetoric; he takes a concubine; his grief at the death of a close friend drives him away from Thagaste.
Book 5: Augustine teaches at Carthage. He meets the Manichee bishop Faustus and is disappointed by Faustus' lack of knowledge; Augustine leaves Carthage for Rome and then Milan, where he hears the sermons of Bishop Ambrose, causing him to reject the teachings of the Manichees.
