What is the author's tone in Confessions by Augustine of Hippo?

Augustine's Confessions is a unique work in which a religious tone is combined with a detailed description of his sinful deeds. He has a continuous intimate conversation with God, addressing God as "you". This shifts later to a discussion of the nature of God and the universe that also has some language of a scientific nature in describing natural phenomenon. Augustine's Confessions are extremely subjective, in that his guilt and remorse for deeds are due to his adopted values and morals. Small errors of religious doctrine or thinking are regarded by Augustine as major sins that damaged long periods of his life. This subjective tone tends to make the reader reflect inside himself as to whether he or she has committed similar sins, or even sins of much greater dimensions. As Augustine admits, to him, there can be sins even in the normal enjoying of such pleasures as married life, and enjoying eating food and drinking beverages. Enjoying wine is described as a major sin, although many would differ with this, since it can be healthy in moderation.

The language of the book is very personal and at times earthy. It is elevated by the frequent quotations and phrases used from the Christian Scriptures. Of course, the Scriptures have scenes from real life as well. Augustine is repentant and has remorse for his sins, yet his frank descriptions of his deeds are often to the point; for example, his description of the theft of pears in his adolescent period illustrates this frank commentary. Many passages in the book have the tone of a commentary of these Biblical passages. The last three books are completely a commentary and interpretation of parts of the Scriptures, mostly from the Book of Genesis. Since the book is originally in Latin and translated into English, one doesn't know the exact original language, but the reader gets the impression that the translation by Rex Warner tries hard to maintain the original somewhat Biblical tone of the work. The biblical style of the language used in these commentaries on biblical passages adds to the sense of the book as a religious work.