Saint Augustine Quotes
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I found thee not, O Lord, without, because I erred in seeking thee without that wert within.
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He that is kind is free, though he is a slave; he that is evil is a slave, though he be a king.
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The soul, which is spirit, can not dwell in dust; it is carried along to dwell in the blood.
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Passion is the evil in adultery. If a man has no opportunity of living with another man's wife, but if it is obvious for some reason that he would like to do so, and would do so if he could, he is no less guilty than if he was caught in the act.
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Repentant tears wash out the stain of guilt.
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Education is the food of youth, the delight of old age, the ornament of prosperity, the refuge and comfort of adversity, and the provocation to grace in the soul.
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The spiritual virtue of a sacrament is like light; although it passes among the impure, it is not polluted.
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Give me chastity and continence, but not yet.
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If I am given a formula, and I am ignorant of its meaning, it cannot teach me anything, but if I already know it what does the formula teach me?
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Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility.
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To many, total abstinence is easier than perfect moderation.
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The confession of evil works is the first beginning of good works.
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If two friends ask you to judge a dispute, don't accept, because you will lose one friend; on the other hand, if two strangers come with the same request, accept because you will gain one friend.
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The words printed here are concepts. You must go through the experiences.
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God does not give heed to the ambitiousness of our prayers, because he is always ready to give to us his light, not a visible light but an intellectual and spiritual one; but we are not always ready to receive it when we turn aside and down to other things out of a desire for temporal things.
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The desire is thy prayers; and if thy desire is without ceasing, thy prayer will also be without ceasing. The continuance of your longing is the continuance of your prayer.
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We make a ladder for ourselves of our vices, if we trample those same vices underfoot.
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Give her two red roses, each with a note. The first note says For the woman I love and the second, For my best friend.
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There is something in humility which strangely exalts the heart.
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It seems to me that an unjust law is no law at all.
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Thou must be emptied of that wherewith thou art full, that thou mayest be filled with that whereof thou art empty.
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Miracles are not contrary to nature, but only contrary to what we know about nature.
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Men go abroad to wonder at the heights of mountains, at the huge waves of the sea, at the long courses of the rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motions of the stars, and they pass by themselves without wondering.
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It is not the punishment but the cause that makes the martyr.