Friday, October 06, 2023
Good Things
Augustine, Sermons 29.5 (Patrologia Latina, vol. XXXVIII, col. 187; tr. Edmund Hill):
Newer› ‹Older
How many good things there are that you want, bad man! You're certainly bad. Tell me what you want that isn't good. You want a horse, only a good one; you want a farm, only a good one; you want a house, only a good one; you want a wife, only a good one; you want a shirt, only a good one, boots, only good ones. It's only your soul you want bad! Aren't you being a contradiction in terms, by wanting good things while being bad yourself?
Quanta bona quaeris, homo male? Certe malus es: dic mihi quid velis, nisi bonum? Equum quaeris, nonnisi bonum; fundum quaeris, nonnisi bonum; domum quaeris, nonnisi bonam; uxorem quaeris, nonnisi bonam; tunicam nonnisi bonam, caligam nonnisi bonam: animam solam malam. Nonne tibi ipse es contrarius, qui bona quaeris, cum sis malus?
