Quotes By Saint Augustine

A thing is not necessarily true because badly uttered, nor false because spoken magnificently.

He that is kind is free, though he is a slave; he that is evil is a slave, though he be a king.

Do you wish to be great? Then begin by being. Do you desire to construct a vast and lofty fabric? Think first about the foundations of humility. The higher your structure is to be, the deeper must be its foundation.

The confession of evil works is the first beginning of good works.

The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.

If we did not have rational souls, we would not be able to believe.

It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels.

We are certainly in a common class with the beasts; every action of animal life is concerned with seeking bodily pleasure and avoiding pain.

Grant what thou commandest and then command what thou wilt.

To seek the highest good is to live well.

In the absence of justice, what is sovereignty but organized robbery?

Seek not to understand that you may believe, but believe that you may understand.

We cannot pass our guardian angel's bounds, resigned or sullen, he will hear our sighs.

Give me chastity and continence, but not yet.

He who created us without our help will not save us without our consent.

The purpose of all wars, is peace.

Humility is the foundation of all the other virtues hence, in the soul in which this virtue does not exist there cannot be any other virtue except in mere appearance.

What I needed most was to love and to be loved, eager to be caught. Happily I wrapped those painful bonds around me; and sure enough, I would be lashed with the red-hot pokers or jealousy, by suspicions and fear, by burst of anger and quarrels.

The greatest evil is physical pain.

Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.

Who can map out the various forces at play in one soul? Man is a great depth, O Lord. The hairs of his head are easier by far to count than his feeling, the movements of his heart.

O Holy Spirit, descend plentifully into my heart. Enlighten the dark corners of this neglected dwelling and scatter there Thy cheerful beams.

If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don't like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself.

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.

Patience is the companion of wisdom.

There is no possible source of evil except good.

Hear the other side.

I have read in Plato and Cicero sayings that are wise and very beautiful; but I have never read in either of them: Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden.

What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like.

Indeed, man wishes to be happy even when he so lives as to make happiness impossible.