J.R. Briggs

The wise words of St. Augustine

September 23, 2009

For who is Lord but the Lord himself, or who is God besides our God?

Most high, most excellent, most potent, most omnipotent;

most merciful and most just;

most secret and most truly present;

most beautiful and most strong;

stable, yet not supported;

unchangeable, yet changing all things;

never new, never old;

making all things new, yet bringing old age upon the proud, and they know it not;

always working, ever at rest;

gathering, yet needing nothing;

sustaining, pervading, and protecting;

creating, nourishing, and developing;

seeking, and yet possessing all things.

You love, but without passion;

You are jealous, yet free from care;

You repent without remorse;

You are angry, yet remain serene.
You change your ways, leaving your plans unchanged;

You recover what you have never really lost.

Thou are never in need but still you rejoice at your gains

You are never greedy, yet demand dividends.
Men pay more than is required so that you become a debtor;

Yet who can possess anything at all which is not already yours?

You owe men nothing, yet pay out to them as if in debt to thy creature,

And when you cancel debts thou lose nothing thereby.

Yet, O my God, my life, my holy Joy, what is this that I have said?

What can any man say when he speaks of you?

But woe to them that keep silence—since even those who say most are dumb.

-St. Augustine, The Confessions

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