50 Famous Quotes by Augustine of Hippo

Augustine of Hippo was a Roman African philosopher and theologian who is widely regarded as one of the most important thinkers in the history of Christianity. His works, including "Confessions" and "The City of God," explore themes of sin, salvation, and the nature of God. Augustine's legacy as a thinker and theologian continues to shape the development of Christian theology and philosophy, and his influence can be seen in the work of many modern theologians and philosophers. (Augustine of Hippo Biography).

Augustine of Hippo Famous Quotes

1. "Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you."

2. "In doing what we ought we deserve no praise, because it is our duty."

3. "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."

4. "Love is the beauty of the soul."

5. "Since love grows within you, so beauty grows. For love is the beauty of the soul."

6. "Patience is the companion of wisdom."

7. "The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page."

8. "Give me chastity and continence, but not yet."

9. "Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die"

10. "Punishment is justice for the unjust."

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

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

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

14. "Complete abstinence is easier than perfect moderation."

15. "God loves each of us as if there were only one of us."

16. "What then is time? If no one asks me, I know what it is. If I wish to explain it to him who asks, I do not know."

17. "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."

18. "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."

19. "Oh Lord, give me chastity, but do not give it yet."

20. "O Lord, help me to be pure, but not yet."

21. "God had one son on earth without sin, but never one without suffering."

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

23. "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."

24. "Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility."

25. "The greatest evil is physical pain."

26. "He that is jealous is not in love."

27. "Since you cannot do good to all, you are to pay special attention to those who, by the accidents of time, or place, or circumstances, are brought into closer connection with you."

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

29. "The purpose of all wars, is peace."

30. "Thou hast created us for Thyself, and our heart is not quiet until it rests in Thee."

31. "God judged it better to bring good out of evil than to suffer no evil to exist."

32. "This is the very perfection of a man, to find out his own imperfections."

33. "Miracles are not contrary to nature, but only contrary to what we know about nature."

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

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

36. "Habit, if not resisted, soon becomes necessity."

37. "The same thing which is now called Christian religion existed among the ancients. They have begun to call 'Christian' the true religion which existed before."

38. "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."

39. "Thou must be emptied of that wherewith thou art full, that thou mayest be filled with that whereof thou art empty."

40. "Grant what thou commandest and then command what thou wilt."

41. "God is best known in not knowing him."

42. "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."

43. "The words printed here are concepts. You must go through the experiences."

44. "It seems to me that an unjust law is no law at all."

45. "Forgiveness is the remission of sins. For it is by this that what has been lost, and was found, is saved from being lost again."

46. "Love, and do what you like."

47. "Hear the other side."

48. "Beauty is indeed a good gift of God; but that the good may not think it a great good, God dispenses it even to the wicked."

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

50. "To many, total abstinence is easier than perfect moderation."

51. "Bad company is like a nail driven into a post, which, after the first and second blow, may be drawn out with little difficulty; but being once driven up to the head, the pincers cannot take hold to draw it out, but which can only be done by the destruction of the wood."

52. "I want my friend to miss me as long as I miss him."

― Augustine of Hippo Quotes

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Chief Editor

Tal Gur is an author, founder, and impact-driven entrepreneur at heart. After trading his daily grind for a life of his own daring design, he spent a decade pursuing 100 major life goals around the globe. His journey and most recent book, The Art of Fully Living, has led him to found Elevate Society.