But Thou who fillest all things, fillest Thou them with Thy whole self? or, since all things cannot contain Thee wholly, do they contain part of Thee? and all at once the same part? or each its own part, the greater more, the smaller less?
The reward of virtue will be God himself, who gave the virtue, together with the promise of himself, the best and greatest of all possible promises. For.
Is it not rather proof of a feeble mind, to be unable to bear either the pains of bodily servitude or the foolish opinion of the vulgar? And is not that to be pronounced the greater mind, which rather faces than flees the ills of life, and which, in comparison of the light and purity of conscience, holds in small esteem the judgment of men, and specially of the vulgar, which is frequently involved in a mist of error?
Can it at any time or place be unjust to love God with all his heart, with all his soul, and with all his mind;.
Thy purpose unchanged; receivest again what Thou findest, yet didst never lose; never in need, yet rejoicing in gains;.
You have commanded us not only continence – that is, that we should restrain our affections from certain things – but also justice – by which we must bestow love on certain things: and it is not Your will that we should love You only, but our neighbour also.
For suicide we cannot cite the example of patriarchs, prophets, or apostles; though our Lord Jesus Christ, when He admonished them to flee from city to city if they were persecuted, might very well have taken that occasion to advise them to lay violent hands on themselves, and so escape their persecutors.
Oh! for Thy mercies’ sake, tell me, O Lord my God, what Thou art unto me.
For the good make use of this world in order to enjoy God, whereas the evil want to make use of God in order to enjoy the world –.
I fear my own self-deception, for my corrupt heart lies even to itself. I offer no defense against Your judgment, for if You, Lord, kept a record of sins, who could stand?
Thou distributest Thy riches through the hidden springs of all things.
Friendship can be a dangerous enemy, a seduction of the mind lying beyond the reach of investigation.
When we pray we ask for what we need, yet the Truth himself has told us: ‘Your heavenly Father knows well what your needs are before you ask him’, so by confessing our own miserable state and acknowledging your mercy towards us we open up our hearts to you, so that you may free us wholly, as you have already begun to do. Then we shall no longer be miserable ourselves, but will find our true happiness in you.
Now the fact that they will be unable to delight in sin does not entail that they will have no free will. In fact, the will will be the freer in that it is freed from a delight in sin and immovably fixed in a delight in not sinning. The.
Still, dust and ashes I am, allow me to speak before your mercy.
However, if you look at the matter more closely, you will scarcely call it greatness of soul, which prompts a man to kill himself rather than bear up against some hardships of fortune, or sins m which he is not implicated.
Thou gavest; and to my nurses willingly to give me what Thou gavest them. For they, with a heaven-taught affection, willingly gave me what they abounded with from Thee.
But Your law, O God, permits the free flow of curiosity to be stemmed by force. From the schoolmaster’s cane to the ordeals of martyrdom, Your law prescribes bitter medicine to retrieve us from the noxious pleasures which cause us to desert You.
Her faithful heart grabbed hold of each promise, and she always continued praying, urging You to be faithful to what You had shown her, as if it were Your signed contract. For You establish a trust relationship with those who have experienced Your eternal mercy. You have forgiven all their sins and they look to You to keep all Your promises.
The Neo-Platonists had glimpsed the country Augustine sought, but could not show him the way there.