The Best Translation of Confessions
Confessions was written in French. 2 recommended editions, ranked — with Gröblé’s verdict on which to read first.
J.M. Cohen
Penguin Classics · 1953 · 606 pages
J.M. Cohen's 1953 Penguin has been the English Rousseau for generations. The prose reads like a long, intimate, occasionally infuriating letter, which is exactly what the book is.
Every recommended edition, compared
Angela Scholar's Oxford is the more careful modern English Rousseau, catching the philosophical arguments and the raw self-exposure at the same level. Patrick Coleman's intro is good on how autobiography as a genre starts here.
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Reading Confessions in translation
Confessions was written in French, so unless you read French, the translator decides the book you actually experience — its register, its pace, how it sounds read aloud. Two editions of the same work can feel like different books.
The ranking above is Gröblé’s: one reader’s verdict on which English gets you closest, not a publisher’s blurb. Start with the top pick; reach for the others when you want a different angle on the original.