# On Christian Doctrine - Author: [Augustine of Hippo](https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/authors/augustine-of-hippo/) - Latin title: *De doctrina christiana* - Date: Books 1–3 ca. 396–397; completed 426–427 (probable) - Source: J.-P. Migne, ed., Patrologiae cursus completus, series Latina, vol. 34 (Paris, 1841), cols. 15–122 (Benedictine text of the Maurists) (Latin text: Migne, Patrologia Latina, digitized by Open Greek and Latin (patrologia_latina-dev, University of Leipzig), CC BY-SA 4.0) - Translation: Claude, from the original text, unless a passage says otherwise; each passage below gives the translator - Work page: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/ - Passages: 151 ## On Christian Doctrine 1.0 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-0 - Source: PL 34:16–19 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Augustine defends the usefulness of giving rules for interpreting Scripture against those who will not understand them, those who cannot apply them, and those who claim to need only a divine gift. ### Latin text Prologus. Doctrinam de Scriptura tractanda haud superfluo tradi. Sunt præccpta quadam tractandarum Scriptu­ rarum, quæ studiosis earum video non iucommode posse tradi; ut non solum legendo alios qui divinarum litterarum operta aperuerunt, sed et aliis ipsi ape­ riendo proOciant. Hæc tradere institui volentibus et valentibus discere, si Deus ac Dominus noster ea quæ de hac re cogitanti solet suggerere, eliam scribenti mihi non deneget. Quod antequam exordiar, videtur mihi respondendum esse his qui hæc reprehensuri Iurit, aut reprehensuri essent, si eos non ante placa­ remus. Quod si nonnulli ctiam post ista reprehende­ rint * saltem alios non movcbunt, nec ab utili studio ad imperitiæ pigritiam revocabunt, quos movere pos­ sent, nisi præmunitos præparatosque invenirent. Quidam euim reprehensuri sunt hoc opus no­ strum, eum ea quae praecepturi sumus non intellexe­ rint. Quidam vero cum intellectis uti volucrint, conatique fuerim Scripturas divinas secundum hæc praecepta tractare, neque valuerint aperire atque explicare quod cupiunt, inaniter me laborasse arbi­ trabuntur; et quia ipsi non adjuvabuntur hoc opere, nullum adjuvari posse censebunt. Tertium genus est reprehensorum, qui divinas Scripturas vel revera Lene tractant, vel bene tractare sibi videntur: qui quoniam nullis hujusmodi observationibus lectis, quales nunc tradere institui, facultatem exponendorum sanctorum Librorum se assecutos vel vident, vel putant, nemini esse ista præcepta necessaria, sed po­ tius totum quod do illarum Litterarum obscuritatibus laudabiliter apci itur, divino munere fieri posse cla­ mitabunt. Quibus omnibus breviter respondens, illis qui hoec quæ scribimus non intelligunt, hoc dico: Die ita non esse reprehendendum, quia hæc noa intelligunt; tanquam si lunam veterem vel novam, sidusve aliquod minime clarum vellent videre, quod ego intento digito demonstrarem; illis autem nec ad ipsum digitum meum videndum sufficiens esset acies oculorum, non propterea mihi succensere deber'cut. IUi vero qui etiam istis præceptis cognitis ntque perceptis, ea quae in divinis Scripturis obscura sunt intueri nequiverint, arbitrentur se digitum quidem meum viderc posse sidera vero quibus demonstrandis intenditur, videre non posse. Et illi ergo, cl isti me reprehendere dcsi­ nant, et lumen oculorum divinitus sibi præberi depre­ centur. Non enim si possum membrum meum ad aliquid demonstrandum movere, possum etiam ocu­ los accendere, quibus vel ipsa demonstratio mea, vel etiam illud quod volo demonstrare, cernatur. Jamvero eorum qui divino munere exsultant, et sine talibus præceptis, qualia nunc tradere institui, se sanctos Libros intelligere atque tractare gloriantur, et propterea superflua voluisse me scribere existi­ mant, sic est lenienda commotio, ut quamvis magno Dei dono jure lxtentur, recordentur se tamen per homines didicisse vel litteras; nec propterea sibi ab Antonio sancto et perfecto viro Ægyplio monacho insoltari debere, qui sine ulla scientia litterarum Scripturas divinas et memoriter audiendo tenuisse, et prudenter cogitando intellexisse prædicatur; aut ab illo servo Barbaro christiano t, de quo a gravissiniis fideque dignissimis viris nuper accepimus, qui litte­ ras quoque ipsas nullo docente homine, in plenam notitiam orando ut sibi revelarentur, accepit tridua­ nis precibus impetrans ut etiam codicem oblatum, stupentibus qui aderant, legendo percurreret. Aut 2 si hæc quisque falsa esse arbitratur, non ago pugnaciter. Certe enim quoniam cum Christianis nobis res est, qui se Scripturas sanctas sine duce homine gaudent nosse, et si ila est, vero et non mediocri gandent bono; concedant necesse est unum­ quemque nostrum et ab ineunte pueritia consuetudine audiendi linguam suam didicisse, et aliam aliquam vel græcam vel hebræam vel quamlibet cæterarum, aut simi!itcr audiendo, aut per hominem præcepto­ rem accepisse. Jam ergo si placet, moneamus omnes fratres, ne parvulos suos ista doceant, quia momento uno temporis adveniente Spiritu sancto, repleti Apo­ stoli omnium gentium linguis locuti sunt; aut cui talia non provenerint, non se arbitretur esse christia­ nnm, ant Spiritum sanctum accepisse se dubitet. Imo vero et quod per hominem discendum est, sine super­ bia discat; et per quem docetur alius, sine superbia et sine invidia tradat quod accepit: neque tentemus eum cui credidimus, ne talibus inimici versutiis et perversitate decepti, ad ipsum quoque audiendum Evangelium atque discendum nolimus ire in ecclesias, aut codicem legere, aut legentem prædicantemque hominem audire; et exspectemus rapi usque in ter­ tium coelum, sive in corpore, sive extra corpus, sicut dicit Apostolus, et ibi audire ineffabilia verba, quae non licet homini loqui, aut ibi vi­ dere Dominum Jesum Christum, et ab illo potius quam ab hominibus audire Evangelium. Caveamus tales tentationes superbissimas et peri­ culosissimas, magisque cogitemus et ipsum apostolum Paulum, licet divina et coelesti voce prostratum et instructum, ad hominem tamen missum esse, ut sacramenta perciperet, atque copularetur Ecclesiæ: et centurionem Cornelium quamvis exauditas oratio­ nes ejus, elcemosynasque respectas ei angelus nun­ tiaverit, Petro tanien traditum imbuendum; per quem non solum sacramenta perciperet, sed etiam quid credendum, quid sperandum, quid diligendum esset, audiret. Et poterant utique omnia per angelum fieri, sed abjecta esset humana conditio, si per homines hominibus Deus verbum suum ministrare nolle videretur. Quomodo enim verum esset quod dictum est, Templum enim Dei sanctum est, quod catis vos; si Deus de humano templo rc­ sponsa non redderet, et totum quod discendum ho­ minibus tradi vellet, de coelo atquo per Angelos personaret? Deinde ipsa charitas, quæ sibi invicem homines nodo unitatis astringit, non haberet aditum refundendorum et q iasi miscendorum sibimet animo­ rum, si homines per homines nihil discerent. Et certe spadonem illum qui Isaiam prophetam lcgens non intelligebat, neque ad angelum apostolus misit, nee ei per angelum id quod non intelligebat expositum, aut divinitus in mente sine hominis mini­ sterio revelatum est; sed potius suggestione divina missus est ad eum, seditque cum eo Philippus, qui noverat Isaiam prophetam, cique humanis verbis et lingua quod in Scriptura illa tectum erat, aperuit. Nonne cum Moyse Deus loqueba­ tur, et tamen consilium regendi atque administrandi tam magni populi a socero suo, alienigena scilicet homine, et maxime providus et minime superbus accepit i Noverat enim ille vic, ex quacumque anima verum consilium processisset v non ei, sed illi qui est veritas, incommutabili Dco tribuendum esse. Postremo quisquis se nullis præceptis instru­ ctum divino munere quæcumque in Scripturis obscura sunt intelligere gloriatur, bene quidem credit, ct verum cst, non esse illam suam facultatem quasi a scipso existentem, sed divinitus traditam; ita enim Dei gloriam quærit et non suam: sed cum legit, et nullo sibi hominum exponente intelligit, cur ipse aliis affectat exponere, ac non potius eos remittit Deo, ut ipsi quoque non per hominem, scd illo intus docente intelligant? Sed videlicet timet ne audiat a Domino, Serre nequam, dares pecuniam meam nummulariis (Matth. xxv, i6, 27). Sicut ergo hi ea quae intelli­ gunt, produnt cætcris vel loquendo vel scribendo; ita ego quoque si non solum ea quae intelligant sed etiam intelligendo ea quae observent, prodidero, caU pari ab eis profecto non debeo: quanquam nemo debet aliquid sic habere quasi suum proprium, nisi forte mendacium. Nam omne verum ab illo est, qui ait: Ego sum veritas. Quid enim habe­ mus quod non accepimus? Quod si accepimus, quid gloriamur quasi non acceperimus? Qui legit audientibus litteras, utique quas agno­ scit cnuntiat; qui autem ipsas litteras tradit, hoc agit. ut alii quoque legere noverint: uterque tamen id in­ sinuat quod accepit. Sic etiam qui ea quæ in Scriptu­ ris intelligit, exponit audientibus, tanquam litteras quas agnoscit pronuntiat lectoris officio; qui autem præcipit quomcdo intelligendum sit, similis cst tra­ di nti litteras, hoc est præcipienti quomodo sit leger.­ dum: ut quomodo ille qui legere novit, alio lectore non indiget, cum codicem invenerit, a quo audiat quid ibi scriptum sit; sic iste qui præcepta quæ co­ namur tradere acceperit, cum in libris aliquid obscu­ ritatis invenerit, quasdam regulas veluti litteras te­ nens intellectorem alium non requirat, per quem sibi quod opertum est relegatur; sed quibusdam vestigus indagatis ad occultum sensum sine ullo errore ipse perveniat, aut certe in absurditatem pravæ sententiæ Don incidat. Quapropter, quanquam et in ipso opere salis apparere possit huic ofQcioso labori nostro non recte aliquem contradicere; tamen, si hujusmodi prooemio quibuslibet obsistentibus convenienter vide­ tur esse responsum, hujus viae quam in hoc libro in­ gredi volumus, tale nobis occurrit exordium ### English translation (Claude) Prologue. It is not superfluous to hand on teaching about how Scripture is to be handled. There are certain rules for handling the Scriptures which, I see, can quite usefully be handed on to those who study them, so that they may profit not only by reading others who have opened up what is hidden in the divine writings, but also by opening it up themselves for others. These rules I have undertaken to hand on to those who are willing and able to learn, if our God and Lord does not deny me, as I write, the things he usually suggests to me as I think about this matter. Before I begin, it seems to me that I ought to answer those who are going to find fault with this work, or who would find fault with it if we did not placate them beforehand. And if some still find fault even after this, at least they will not move others, nor call them back from a useful study to the laziness of ignorance; for they might have moved them, had they not found them forewarned and prepared. For some will find fault with this work of ours because they have not understood the rules we are going to give. Others, when they have wished to use what they have understood, and have tried to handle the divine Scriptures according to these rules, and have not been able to open up and explain what they wish, will think that I have labored in vain; and because they themselves are not helped by this work, they will judge that no one can be helped. The third kind of critic consists of those who either really do handle the divine Scriptures well, or think they do. Because they see, or think, that they have gained the ability to expound the holy books without having read any observations of the kind I have now undertaken to hand on, they will cry out that these rules are necessary to no one, but that whatever is laudably disclosed about the obscurities of those writings can be done by a divine gift. Answering all of these briefly, I say this to those who do not understand what we write: that I am not to be blamed because they do not understand it. It is as if they wished to see the old or the new moon, or some very faint star, which I was pointing out with my outstretched finger, but their eyesight was not even sharp enough to see my finger; they ought not to be angry with me on that account. And those who, even after learning and grasping these rules, cannot make out what is obscure in the divine Scriptures, should consider that they can indeed see my finger, but cannot see the stars it is stretched out to point to. So let both the former and the latter stop blaming me, and pray that the light of their eyes may be given them by God. For if I can move a limb of mine to point something out, I cannot also kindle the eyes by which either my pointing or the thing I wish to point out may be seen. As for those who exult in a divine gift and boast that they understand and handle the holy books without rules such as I have now undertaken to hand on, and who therefore think that I have chosen to write superfluous things, their agitation must be calmed in this way: although they rightly rejoice in a great gift of God, let them remember that they learned even their letters through human beings. Nor should they on that account be insulted by Antony, a holy and perfect man, an Egyptian monk, who is reported to have held the divine Scriptures in memory by hearing them, without any knowledge of letters, and to have understood them by wise reflection; or by that barbarian Christian slave of whom we lately heard from very serious and trustworthy men, who received even the knowledge of letters itself, with no human being teaching him, fully, by praying that they might be revealed to him, obtaining by three days of prayer that he could read through a book handed to him, to the amazement of those present. Or if anyone thinks these stories are false, I do not argue the point. Certainly, since we are dealing with Christians who rejoice that they know the holy Scriptures without a human guide (and if it is so, they rejoice in a real and no small good), they must grant that each of us learned his own language from earliest childhood by the habit of hearing it, and acquired any other, whether Greek or Hebrew or any of the rest, either likewise by hearing or through a human teacher. Now, then, if it seems good, let us warn all the brothers not to teach their little ones these things, because in one moment of time, when the Holy Spirit came, the apostles were filled and spoke in the languages of all nations; or let anyone to whom such things have not happened not think himself a Christian, or doubt that he has received the Holy Spirit. No, rather, let what must be learned through a human being be learned without pride; and let him through whom another is taught hand on what he has received without pride and without envy. And let us not tempt him in whom we have believed, lest, deceived by such cunning and perversity of the enemy, we refuse even to go to church to hear and learn the Gospel itself, or to read a book, or to hear a man reading and preaching, and expect to be caught up to the third heaven, “whether in the body or out of the body,” as the Apostle says, and there to hear “unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter,” or there to see the Lord Jesus Christ and hear the Gospel from him rather than from men. Let us beware of such very proud and very dangerous temptations, and let us rather consider that the apostle Paul himself, although struck down and instructed by a divine and heavenly voice, was nevertheless sent to a man to receive the sacraments and be joined to the Church; and that the centurion Cornelius, although an angel announced to him that his prayers had been heard and his alms regarded, was nevertheless handed over to Peter to be instructed, through whom he would not only receive the sacraments but also hear what was to be believed, what hoped for, and what loved. All of this could certainly have been done through an angel, but the human condition would have been degraded if God seemed unwilling to minister his word to human beings through human beings. For how would it be true, as was said, “For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are,” if God gave no answers from a human temple, but chose to sound forth from heaven and through angels everything he wished human beings to be taught? Then love itself, which binds human beings to one another with the knot of unity, would have no way of pouring souls into one another and, as it were, blending them together, if human beings learned nothing through human beings. And certainly the apostle did not send that eunuch who was reading the prophet Isaiah and did not understand to an angel, nor was what he did not understand explained to him by an angel, or revealed by God in his mind without the ministry of a man; rather, at a divine prompting Philip, who knew the prophet Isaiah, was sent to him, sat with him, and opened to him in human words and speech what was hidden in that Scripture. Did not God speak with Moses? And yet Moses, with great foresight and no pride, accepted from his father-in-law, a foreigner, advice on ruling and administering so great a people. For that man knew that from whatever soul true counsel proceeded, it was to be credited not to that soul but to him who is the Truth, the unchangeable God. Finally, whoever boasts that he understands by a divine gift whatever is obscure in the Scriptures without being instructed by any rules, believes well, and it is true, that this ability of his is not as it were self-originated but given by God; for so he seeks God's glory and not his own. But when he reads and understands without any human being explaining it to him, why does he himself aim to explain it to others, and not rather send them back to God, so that they too may understand, not through a man, but by God teaching within? But no doubt he fears to hear from the Lord, “Wicked servant, you should have given my money to the money-changers.” Just as these people, then, pass on to others what they understand, by speaking or by writing, so I too, if I pass on not only what they understand but also what they observe in understanding, certainly ought not to be blamed by them; although no one ought to hold anything as if it were his own property, except perhaps a lie. For all truth is from him who says, “I am the Truth.” For what do we have that we have not received? And if we have received it, why do we boast as if we had not received it? One who reads a text aloud to listeners pronounces, of course, the letters he recognizes; but one who teaches the letters themselves does so in order that others too may know how to read; yet each conveys what he has received. So too one who expounds to listeners what he understands in the Scriptures is like one who pronounces the letters he recognizes, in the office of a reader; but one who teaches how it is to be understood is like one who teaches letters, that is, who teaches how to read. Just as one who knows how to read does not need another reader, when he finds a book, to hear from him what is written there, so one who has received the rules we are trying to hand on will not, when he finds something obscure in the books, need another interpreter to uncover for him what is hidden; holding certain rules like letters, he will follow up certain traces and arrive himself, without any error, at the hidden sense, or at least will not fall into the absurdity of a wrong opinion. Therefore, although it may well be clear from the work itself that no one rightly opposes this dutiful labor of ours, nevertheless, if such a preface seems a fitting answer to any who object, this is the beginning that occurs to us for the road we wish to take in this book. ### Scripture references - Acts 2:4: allusion, high confidence - 2 Cor 12:2–4: quotation, high confidence - Acts 9:3–19: allusion, high confidence - Acts 10:1–48: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 3:17: quotation, high confidence - Acts 8:26–35: allusion, high confidence - Exod 18:13–26: allusion, high confidence - Matt 25:26–27: quotation, high confidence - John 14:6: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 4:7: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Antony: the Egyptian monk whose life Athanasius wrote; the claim that he knew Scripture without letters is in the Life of Antony (not on the site's list). The quotations are from 2 Cor 12:2–4, 1 Cor 3:17, Matt 25:26–27, John 14:6, and 1 Cor 4:7; the examples are Paul (Acts 9), Cornelius (Acts 10), the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:26–35), and Jethro's advice to Moses (Exod 18:13–26). Migne's summary of Book 1, printed after the prologue, is omitted by a logged correction. The digital text has many OCR slips; the translation follows the evident sense. “Barbarian Christian slave”: the word christianus may be the slave's name (Christianus), as some editions and NPNF take it. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 1.0 (PL 34:16–19; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-0). ## On Christian Doctrine 1.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-1 - Source: PL 34:19 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The work has two parts, discovering the meaning of Scripture and expressing it, and Augustine trusts God to multiply what he shares as he multiplied the loaves. ### Latin text Duæ sunt res quibus nititur omnis tractatio Scripturarum; modus inveniendi quæ intelligenda bunt, et modus profercudi quæ intellecta sunt. De in­ veniendo prius, de proferendo postea disseremus. Ma­ gnum opus I et arduum, et si ad sustinendum diffi­ c ilc, vercor ne ad suscipiendum temerarium. Ita sane si de nobis ipsis præsumeremus: nunc vero cum in illo sit spes peragendi hujus operis, a quo nobis in cogitatione multa de hac re jam tradita tenemus, non est metuendum no dare desinat cætera, cum ea quæ data sunt coeperimus impendere. Omnis enim res quae Jando non deficit, dum habctur et non datur, non­ dum habetur quomodo habenda cst. Ille autem ait: Qui habet, dabitur ei. Dabit ergo ha­ bentibus, id est, cum benignitate utentibus co quod accepcrunt, adimplebit alque cumulabit quod dedit. Illi quinque cL illi septem craut panes, antequam in­ cipcrenL dari esurientibus; quod ubi fieri coepit, co­ phinos et sportas satiatis tot bominum millibus im­ pleverunt (ld. xiv, 17-21; et xv, 54-58). Sicut ergo ille panis dnm frangeretur accrevit, sic ea quai ad hoc opus aggrediendum jam Dominus praebuit, cum di­ spensari cœperint, eo ipso suggerente multiplicabun­ tur, ut in ipso hoc nostro ministerio, non solum nul­ lam patiamur inopiam, sed de mirabili etiam abun­ dantia gandeamus. ### English translation (Claude) There are two things on which all handling of the Scriptures rests: the way of discovering what is to be understood, and the way of setting forth what has been understood. We shall discuss discovering first and setting forth afterwards. It is a great and arduous task, and if it is hard to sustain, I fear it may be rash to undertake. So it would be, indeed, if we relied on ourselves; but as it is, since the hope of completing this work lies in him from whom we already hold many thoughts on this subject given to us, there is no need to fear that he will stop giving the rest once we have begun to spend what has been given. For everything that does not diminish by being given away is not yet possessed as it ought to be possessed while it is held and not given. And he says, “To him who has, it shall be given.” He will give, then, to those who have, that is, to those who use with generosity what they have received, and he will fill up and heap up what he has given. There were five loaves in the one case and seven in the other before they began to be given to the hungry; once that began, they filled baskets and hampers after so many thousands of people had been satisfied. Just as that bread increased while it was being broken, so the things the Lord has already supplied for undertaking this work will, once they begin to be dispensed, be multiplied at his own prompting, so that in this ministry of ours we may not only suffer no want but even rejoice in a wonderful abundance. ### Scripture references - Matt 13:12: quotation, high confidence - Matt 14:17–21: allusion, high confidence - Matt 15:34–38: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - The Migne reference to Matt 15 gives verses 54–58, an evident misprint for 32–38. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 1.1 (PL 34:19; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-1). ## On Christian Doctrine 1.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-2 - Source: PL 34:19 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Augustine distinguishes things from signs: every sign is a thing, but not every thing is a sign. ### Latin text Omnis doctrina vel rerum est vel signorum, sed res per signa discuntur. Propric autem nunc res appel­ lavi, quæ non ad significandum aliqnid adhibentur, sicuti est lignum, lpis, pecus, atque hujusmodi cæ­ tera. Sed non illud lignum quod in aquas amaras Moysen misisse legimus, ut amaritudine carerent; neque ille lapis quem Jacob sibi ad caput posuerat; neque illud pecus quod pro tilio immolavit Abraham. Ihu namque ita res sunt, ut aliarum etiam signa sint re­ rum. Sunt autem alia signa quorum omnis usus in si­ gnificando est, sicuti sunt verba. Nemo euim utitnr verbis, nisi aliquid significandi gratia. Ex quo intel­ ligitur quid appellem signa; res cas videlicet quæ ad significandum aliquid adhibentur. Quamobrem omnc signum etiam res aliqua est; quod enim nulla rcs est, omnino nihil cst: non autem omnis res etiam signum est. Et ideo in hac divisione rerum atque signorum, cum de rebus loquemur, ita loquemur ut etiamsi ca­ rum aliquæ adhiberi ad significandum possint, non impediant partitionem, qua prius de rebus, postca de signis disseremus; memoriterque teneamus id nunc in rebus considerandum esse quod sunt, non quod aliud etiam præter scipsas significant. ### English translation (Claude) All teaching is either about things or about signs, but things are learned through signs. Here, however, I have used the word “things” in the strict sense, for what is not used to signify something, such as wood, stone, cattle, and the like. But not the wood which, we read, Moses threw into the bitter waters to take away their bitterness; nor the stone Jacob put under his head; nor the ram Abraham sacrificed in place of his son. For these are things in such a way that they are also signs of other things. There are other signs whose whole use is in signifying, such as words. For no one uses words except for the sake of signifying something. From this it is understood what I call signs: those things, namely, which are used to signify something. Therefore every sign is also a thing; for what is not a thing is nothing at all. But not every thing is also a sign. And so, in this division between things and signs, when we speak of things we shall speak in such a way that, even if some of them can be used to signify, they do not disturb the arrangement by which we discuss things first and signs afterwards; and let us remember that what is to be considered in things now is what they are, not what else they signify besides themselves. ### Scripture references - Exod 15:25: allusion, high confidence - Gen 28:11: allusion, high confidence - Gen 22:13: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - The examples are Exod 15:25, Gen 28:11, and Gen 22:13. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 1.2 (PL 34:19; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-2). ## On Christian Doctrine 1.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-3 - Source: PL 34:19 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Things are divided into those to be enjoyed, those to be used, and ourselves, who enjoy and use. ### Latin text Res ergo aliæ sunt quibus fruendum est, aliæ quibus utendum, aliæ quae fruuntur et utuntur. Illæ quibus fruendum est, beatos nos faciunt. Istis quibus utendum est, tendentes ad beatitudinem adjuvamur, et quasi adminiculamur, ut ad illas quae nos beatos fa­ ciunt, pervenire, atque his inhaerere possimus. Nos vero qui fruimuret utimur, inter utrasque constituti, si cis auibus utendum est frui voluerimus, impeditur cursus noster, et aliquando etiam deflectitur, ut ab his rebus quibus fruendum est obtinendis vel retardemur, vel etiam revocemur, inferiorum amore præ­ pediti. ### English translation (Claude) Some things, then, are to be enjoyed, others are to be used, and others enjoy and use. Those that are to be enjoyed make us happy. By those that are to be used we are helped and, as it were, supported as we strive toward happiness, so that we can reach and cling to the things that make us happy. But we who enjoy and use, placed between the two, if we choose to enjoy the things that are to be used, our course is hindered and sometimes even turned aside, so that we are slowed in obtaining the things that are to be enjoyed, or even called back from them, held fast by love of lower things. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 1.3 (PL 34:19; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-3). ## On Christian Doctrine 1.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-4 - Source: PL 34:19–21 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Enjoying is loving something for its own sake, using is referring it to what we love; like travelers going home, we must use this world and not enjoy it. ### Latin text Frui enim est amore alicui rei inhaerere propter seipsam. Uti autem, quod in usum venerit ad id quod amas obtinendum referre, si tamen amandum est. Nam usus illicitus, abusus potius vel abusio nomi­ nandus est. Quomodo ergo, si essemus peregrini, qui beate vivere nisi in patria non possemus, eaque pere­ grinatione utique miseri et miseriam finire cupientes, in patriam redire vellemus, opus esset vel terrestribus vei marinis vcbiculis quibus utendum esset ut ad pa­ triam, qua fruendum erat, pervenire valeremus; quod si amoenitates itineris, et ipsa gestatio vehicu­ lorum nos delectaret, et conversi ad fruendum his quibus uti debuimus, nollemus cito viam finire, et perversa suavitate implicati alienaremur a patria, cujus suavitas faceret beatos: sic in hujus mortali­ tatis vita peregrinantes a Domino, si redire in patriam volumus, ubi beati esse possimus, utendum est hoc mundo, non fruendum; ut invisibilia l)ci, per ea quae facta sunt, intellecta conspiciantur, hoc est, ut de corporalibus temporali­ busque rebus aeterna et spiritualia capiamus. ### English translation (Claude) For to enjoy is to cling to something with love for its own sake. To use is to refer what has come into use to obtaining what you love, if indeed it is to be loved. For unlawful use should rather be called abuse or misuse. Suppose, then, that we were travelers in a foreign land, who could not live happily except in our homeland, and, unhappy in that exile and wishing to end our misery, we wanted to return home; we would need vehicles, by land or by sea, to be used so that we could reach the homeland that was to be enjoyed. But if the pleasantness of the journey and the very riding in the vehicles delighted us, and, turned to enjoying what we ought to have used, we were unwilling to finish the journey quickly, and, entangled in a perverse sweetness, we became estranged from the homeland whose sweetness would make us happy: so, as we travel away from the Lord in the life of this mortality, if we wish to return to the homeland where we can be happy, this world is to be used, not enjoyed, so that “the invisible things of God may be clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made,” that is, so that from bodily and temporal things we may grasp what is eternal and spiritual. ### Scripture references - 2 Cor 5:6: allusion, medium confidence - Rom 1:20: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotation from Rom 1:20; “travel away from the Lord” echoes 2 Cor 5:6. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 1.4 (PL 34:19–21; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-4). ## On Christian Doctrine 1.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-5 - Source: PL 34:21 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The proper object of enjoyment is the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each God and together one God, distinct yet equal. ### Latin text Res igitur quibus frucndum cst, Pater et Filius et Spiritus sanctus, eademque Trinitas, una quædam summa res, commuoisque omnibus fruentibus ea; si tamen res et non rerum omnium causa sit, si tamen et causa. Non enim facile nomen quod tantæ excel­ lentiæ conveniat potest inveniri, nisi quod melius ita dicitur Trinitas hæc, unus Deus ex quo omnia, per quem omnia, in quo omnia. Ita Pater et Filius et Spiritus sanctus, et singulus quisque horum Deus, et simul omnes unus Deus; et singulus quisque borum plena substantia, et simul omnes una substan­ tia. Pater nec Filius est nec Spiritus sanctus, Filius nec Pater est nec Spiritus sanctus, Spiritus sanctus nec Pater est nec Filius; sed Pater tantum Pater, et Filius tantum Filius, et Spiritus sanctus tantum Spi­ ritus sanctus. Eadem tribus æternitas, eadem incom­ mutabilitas, eadem majestas, cadem potestas. In Pa- Ire unitas, in Filio aequalitas, in Spiritu sancto uni­ tatis æqualitalisque concordia: et tria hæc unum munia propter Patrem, æqualia omnia propter Filium, connexa omnia propter Spiritum sanctum. ### English translation (Claude) The things, then, that are to be enjoyed are the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the same Trinity, one supreme thing, common to all who enjoy it; if indeed it is a thing and not the cause of all things, and if indeed it is even a cause. For it is not easy to find a name that befits such excellence, except that this Trinity is better called the one God from whom are all things, through whom are all things, in whom are all things. So the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are each God, and all together one God; each of them is full substance, and all together one substance. The Father is neither the Son nor the Holy Spirit; the Son is neither the Father nor the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit is neither the Father nor the Son; but the Father is only the Father, the Son only the Son, and the Holy Spirit only the Holy Spirit. The three have the same eternity, the same unchangeableness, the same majesty, the same power. In the Father is unity, in the Son equality, in the Holy Spirit the harmony of unity and equality; and these three are all one because of the Father, all equal because of the Son, all joined because of the Holy Spirit. ### Scripture references - Rom 11:36: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - “From whom … through whom … in whom are all things” echoes Rom 11:36. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 1.5 (PL 34:21; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-5). ## On Christian Doctrine 1.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-6 - Source: PL 34:21 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: God is beyond words, so that even calling him “unspeakable” says something, yet he accepts human speech in his praise. ### Latin text Diximusne aliquid et sonuimus aliquid dignum Deo? Imo vero nihil me aliud quam dicere voluisse sentio: si autem dixi, non hoc est quod dicere volui. Hoc unde scio, nisi quia Deus iueffabilis est; quod autem a me dictum est, si ineffabile esset, dictum non esset? Ac per hoc ne ineffabilis quidem dicendus est Deus, quia et hoc cum dicitur, aliquid dicitur. Et fit nescio quæ pugna verborum, quoniam si illud est inefrabile, quod dici non potest, non cst ineffabile quod vel ineffabile dici potest. Quæ pugna verborum silen­ tio cavenda potius quam voce pacanda cst. Et tamen Deus, cum de illo nihil dignc dici possit, admisit humanæ vocis obsequium, et verbis nostris in laude sua gaudere nos voluit. Nam inde est et quod dicitur Deus. Non enim rcvera in strepitu istarum duarum syllabarum ipse cognoscitur; sed tamen omnes latinae linguæ scios 1, cum aures corum sonus iste tetigerit, movet ad cogitandam excellentissimam quamdam im­ mortalemque naturam. ### English translation (Claude) Have we said anything, have we uttered anything worthy of God? No, I feel that I have only wished to say something; but if I have said it, it is not what I wished to say. How do I know this, except because God is unspeakable? And what I have said would not have been said if it were unspeakable. And for this reason God should not even be called unspeakable, because when this is said, something is said. And a kind of battle of words arises, since if that is unspeakable which cannot be spoken, what can be called even unspeakable is not unspeakable. This battle of words is to be avoided by silence rather than settled by speech. And yet, though nothing worthy can be said of him, God has accepted the service of the human voice and has willed that we should rejoice in praising him with our words. For that is why he is called God. For he is not really known in the sound of these two syllables; yet when that sound strikes the ears of all who know the Latin language, it moves them to think of a certain most excellent and immortal nature. ### Translation notes - “Two syllables”: the Latin Deus. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 1.6 (PL 34:21; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-6). ## On Christian Doctrine 1.7 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-7 - Source: PL 34:21 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Everyone who thinks of God, whether in bodily or in spiritual terms, thinks of him as that than which nothing is better. ### Latin text Nam cum ille unus cogitatur dcorum Deus, ab his etiam qui alios et suspicantur et vocant et colunt deos sive in coelo sive in terra, ita cogitatur, ut ali­ quid quo nihil melius sit atque sublimius illa cogitatio conetur attingere. Sane quoniam diversis moventur bonis, partim eis quæ ad corporis sensum, partim eis quoe ad animi intelligentiam pertinent; illi qui dediti sunt corporis sensibus, aut ipsum coelum, aut quod in coelo fulgentissimum vident, aut ipsum mun­ dum, Deum dcorum esse arbitrantur: aut, si extra mundum ire contendunt, aliquid lucidum imagiuan­ tur, idque vel infinitum, vel ea forma quae optima vi­ detur, inani suspicione constituunt, aut humani cor­ poris figuram cogitant, si cam 1 cætcris anteponunt. Quod si unum Deum deorum csse non putant, et po­ tius multos aut innumerabiles æqualis ordinis deos; etiam eos tamen prout cuique aliquid corporis videtur excellere, ita figuratos animo tenent. illi autem qui per intelligentiam pergunt videre quod Deus est, om­ nibus eum naturis visibilibus et corporalibus, intelli­ gibilibus eliam et spiritualibus, omnibus mutabilibus præferunt. Omnes tamen certatim pro excellentia Dei dimicant; nec quisquam inveniri potest qui hoc Deum credat esse quo melius aliquid est. Itaque hoc omnes Deum consentiunt esse, quod cæteris rebus omnibus anteponunt. ### English translation (Claude) For when that one God of gods is thought of, even by those who suspect, name, and worship other gods, whether in heaven or on earth, he is thought of in such a way that the thought tries to reach something than which nothing is better or more sublime. Of course, since people are moved by different goods, partly those that belong to the senses of the body and partly those that belong to the understanding of the mind, those who are given over to the bodily senses think that the God of gods is either the sky itself, or what they see shining most brightly in the sky, or the world itself; or, if they strive to go beyond the world, they imagine something bright and in empty fancy make it either infinite or of the shape that seems best, or they think of the shape of a human body, if they rank it above other things. And if they do not think there is one God of gods, but rather many or innumerable gods of equal rank, they still picture them in their minds as shaped according to whatever each considers excellent in bodies. But those who strive by the understanding to see what God is set him above all natures visible and bodily, and also intelligible and spiritual, above all things changeable. Yet all of them contend eagerly for the excellence of God, and no one can be found who believes God to be something than which something else is better. And so all agree that God is what they rank above all other things. ### Scripture references - 1 Cor 8:5: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - “Whether in heaven or on earth” echoes 1 Cor 8:5. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 1.7 (PL 34:21; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-7). ## On Christian Doctrine 1.8 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-8 - Source: PL 34:21–23 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Reflection rises from bodies to life, from life to intelligence, and from changeable intelligence to unchangeable Wisdom, which is God. ### Latin text Et quoniam omnes qui de Deo cogitant, vivum aliquid cogitant, illi soli possunt non absurda et indigna existimare de Deo, qui vitam ipsam cogitant, et quæcumque illis forma occurrerit corporis, cam viia vivere vel non vivere statuunt, et vivenlem nou vi­ venti anteponunt; eamque ipsam viventem corporis formam, quantalibet luce præfulgeat, quantalibet ma­ gnitudine præemineat, quantalibet pulchritudine orne­ tur, aliud esse ipsam, aliud vitam qua vegetatur in­ telligunt, eamque illi moli quæ ab illa vegetatur ct animatur, dignitate incomparabili præferunt. Deindc ipsam vitam pergunt inspiccre, et si cam sine sensu vegetantem invenerint, qualis cst arborum, præpo­ nunt eis sentientem, qualis est pecorum; et huic rur­ sus intelligentem, qualis cst hominum. Quam cum adhuc mutabilem viderint, etiam huic aliquam incom­ mutabilcm coguntur præponere, illam scilicet vitam quoe non aliquando desipit, aliquando sapit, sed cst potius ipsa Sapicntia. Sapiens cnim mens, id cst, adc­ pia sapientiam, antequam adipisceretur non crat sa­ piens; at vero ipsa Sapientia nec fuit unquam insi­ picns, ncc esse unquam potest. Quam si non viderent, nullo modo plena fiducia vitam incommutabiliter sa­ pientem commutabili vitæ anteponerent. Ipsam quippe 4 regulam vcritatis, qua illam clamant esse meliorem, incommutabilem vident; nee uspiam nisi supra suam naturam vident, quandoquidem se vident mutabiles. ### English translation (Claude) And since all who think of God think of something living, only those can think of God without absurdity and unworthiness who think of life itself. Whatever bodily form occurs to them, they judge that it lives or does not live by life, and they rank the living above the non-living; and they understand that this living bodily form itself, however brightly it shines, however great its size, however beautiful its adornment, is one thing, and the life by which it is quickened is another, and they rank that life with incomparable dignity above the mass that is quickened and animated by it. Then they go on to examine life itself, and if they find it quickening without sensation, as is the life of trees, they rank above it the sentient life of cattle, and above that again the intelligent life of human beings. When they see that this is still changeable, they are compelled to rank above it too some unchangeable life, namely that life which is not sometimes foolish and sometimes wise, but is rather Wisdom itself. For a wise mind, that is, one that has gained wisdom, was not wise before it gained it; but Wisdom itself was never foolish and never can be. If they did not see it, they would in no way rank, with full confidence, the unchangeably wise life above the changeable. For they see that the very rule of truth by which they proclaim it to be better is unchangeable; and they see it nowhere but above their own nature, since they see that they themselves are changeable. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 1.8 (PL 34:21–23; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-8). ## On Christian Doctrine 1.9 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-9 - Source: PL 34:23 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The superiority of unchangeable Wisdom is evident to all; those who do not see it are blind, and those who see and flee it are weakened by bad habits. ### Latin text Nemo est enim tam impudenter' insulsus qni dicat: Unde scis incommunatabiliter sapientem vitam mutabili esse praeferendam? Idipsum enim quod in­ terrogat, unde sciam, omnibus ad contemplandum communiter ctque incommutabiliter præsto est. Et hoc qui non videt, ita est qunsi caecus in sole, cui nihil prodest ipsis locis oculorum ejus tam claræ ac præsentis lucis fulgor infusus. Qui autem videt et re­ fugit, consuetudine umbrarum carnalium invalidam mentis aciem gerit. Pravorum igitur morum quasi contrariis flatibus ab ipsa patria repercutiuntur homi­ lies; posteriora atque inferiosa sectantes, quam illud quod esse melius atque praestantius confitentur. ### English translation (Claude) For no one is so shamelessly foolish as to say, “How do you know that an unchangeably wise life is to be preferred to a changeable one?” For the very thing he asks about, how I know it, is present to all in common and unchangeably for contemplation. And whoever does not see this is like a blind man in the sun, who gains nothing from the brightness of so clear and present a light poured on the very sockets of his eyes. But whoever sees it and flees from it has a weakened mental vision through the habit of the shadows of the flesh. So human beings are driven back from their very homeland by the contrary winds, as it were, of evil habits, pursuing what is lower and inferior rather than what they confess to be better and more excellent. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 1.9 (PL 34:23; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-9). ## On Christian Doctrine 1.10 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-10 - Source: PL 34:23 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: To enjoy God the soul must be cleansed, a journey made not by place but by good desire and conduct. ### Latin text Quapropter, cum illa veritate perfruendum sit, quæ incommutabiliter vivit, et in ea Trinitas Deus, auctor et conditor universitatis, rebus quas condidit ronsulat; purgandus est animus, ut et perspicere iI­ lam lucem valeat, et inhaerere perspectæ2. Quam pur­ gationem quasi ambulationem quamdam, et quasi na­ vigationem ad patriam esse arbitremur. Non enim ad cum qui ubique præsens est, locis movemur, sed bono studio bonisque moribus. ### English translation (Claude) Therefore, since we are to enjoy fully that Truth which lives unchangeably, and since in it God the Trinity, the author and maker of the universe, takes thought for the things he has made, the soul must be cleansed, so that it may be able to perceive that light and to cling to it once perceived. Let us consider this cleansing as a kind of walking, and a kind of sailing, toward our homeland. For we do not move by changing place toward him who is present everywhere, but by good desire and good conduct. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 1.10 (PL 34:23; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-10). ## On Christian Doctrine 1.11 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-11 - Source: PL 34:23 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Wisdom became man to give us an example of life, and so is both our homeland and the way to it. ### Latin text Quod non possemus, nisi ipsa Sapientia tantae etiam nostræ infirmitati congruere dignaretur, et vi­ vendi nobis præberet exemplum, non alitcr quam in homine, quoniam et nos homines sumus. Sed quia nos cum ad illam venimus, sapienter facimus; ipsa cum ad nos venit, ab hominibus superbis quasi stulte fecisse putata est. Et quoniam nos cum ad illam ve­ nimus, convalescimus; ipsa cum ad nos venit, quasi infirma existimata est. Sed quod stultum est Dei, sa­ l.centius est hominibus: et quod infirmum est Dei, fortius est hominibus. Cum ergo ipsa sit patria, viam se quoque nobis focii ad patriam. ### English translation (Claude) This we could not do unless Wisdom itself had deigned to adapt itself even to so great a weakness as ours and to give us an example of how to live, and that in no other way than as a man, since we too are human beings. But because when we come to Wisdom we act wisely, when it came to us it was thought by proud men to have acted foolishly. And because when we come to it we grow strong, when it came to us it was thought weak. But “the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” Since, then, it is itself the homeland, it made itself also the way for us to the homeland. ### Scripture references - 1 Cor 1:25: quotation, high confidence - John 14:6: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Quotation from 1 Cor 1:25; “the way” echoes John 14:6. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 1.11 (PL 34:23; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-11). ## On Christian Doctrine 1.12 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-12 - Source: PL 34:23 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Wisdom, present everywhere, came to us not by moving through space but by appearing in mortal flesh to those who could not know God. ### Latin text Et cum sano et puro interiori oculo ubique sit præ­ sens, eorum qui oculum illum infirmum immundum­ que habent, oculis etiam carneis apparere dignata est. Quia enim in Sapientia Dei non poterat mundus per Sapientiam cognoscere Deum, placuit Deo per stulti­ tiam praedicationis salvos facere credentes. Non igitur per locorum spatia veniendo, sed in carne mortali mortalibus apparendo, venisse ad nos dicitur. Illuc ergo venit ubi erat, quia in hoc mundo erat, et mundus per eam factus est. Sed quo­ niam cupiditate fruendi pro ipso Creatore crcalura, homines configurati huic mundo, et mundi nomine congruentissime vocati, non eam cognoverunt, pro­ pterea dixit Evangelista: Et mundus eum non cognovit. Itaque in Sapi ntia Dii non poterat mundus per Sapientiam cognoscere Dcum. Cur crg') venit cnm hic essot, nisi quia placuit Deo per stulu­ tiam prædicationis salvos facere credentes? ### English translation (Claude) And though it is present everywhere to the sound and pure inner eye, it deigned to appear even to the eyes of flesh of those whose inner eye is weak and unclean. “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world could not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe.” So it is said to have come to us, not by traveling across distances of space, but by appearing to mortals in mortal flesh. It came, then, to where it already was, because “it was in this world, and the world was made through it.” But because human beings, conformed to this world through the desire to enjoy the creature instead of the Creator, and very fittingly called by the name of “world,” did not know it, the Evangelist said, “And the world did not know him.” So, “in the wisdom of God, the world could not know God through wisdom.” Why, then, did it come when it was already here, except that “it pleased God through the foolishness of preaching to save those who believe”? ### Scripture references - 1 Cor 1:21: quotation, high confidence - John 1:10: quotation, high confidence - Rom 12:2: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations from 1 Cor 1:21 and John 1:10; “conformed to this world” echoes Rom 12:2. Augustine uses the feminine (Wisdom) throughout, then quotes John's “him”. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 1.12 (PL 34:23; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-12). ## On Christian Doctrine 1.13 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-13 - Source: PL 34:23 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The incarnation is compared to a thought taking the form of speech without ceasing to be itself. ### Latin text Quomodo venit, nisi quod Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis? Sicuti cum loquimur, ut id quod animo gerimus, in audientis animum per aures carne:.! illabatur, fit sonus verbum quod corde gestamus, et locutio vocatur; nec tamen in eumdem sonum cogitatio nostra convertitur, sed apud sc manens integra, formam vocis qua sc insinuet auribus, sine aliqua labe suæ mutationis 1 assumit: ita Verbum Dei non commutatum, earo tamen factum est, ut habitaret in nohis. ### English translation (Claude) How did it come, except that “the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us”? Just as, when we speak, in order that what we have in mind may pass through the ears of flesh into the mind of the hearer, the word we carry in our heart becomes a sound and is called speech; and yet our thought is not changed into that sound, but, remaining whole in itself, takes on the form of a voice by which to make its way into the ears, without any taint of change in itself: so the Word of God, without being changed, was nevertheless made flesh, that it might dwell among us. ### Scripture references - John 1:14: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotation from John 1:14. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 1.13 (PL 34:23; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-13). ## On Christian Doctrine 1.14 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-14 - Source: PL 34:23 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Christ heals humanity like a physician, using contraries (humility for pride) and likes (born of a woman, a mortal for mortals). ### Latin text Sicut autem curatio via est ad sanitatem, sic ista curatio peccatores sanandos reficiendosquc sus­ cepit. Et quemadmodum medici cum alligant vulnera, non incomposite, sed apte id faciunt, ut vinculi utili­ tatem quædam pulchritudo etiam consequntur: sie medicina Sapientiæ per hominis susceptionem nostris est accommodata vulneribus; de quibusdam contrariis curans, et de quibusdam similibus. Sicut etiam ille qui medetur vulneri corporis, adhibet quædam con­ traria, sicut frigidum calido, vel humidum sicco, vel si quid aliud hujusmodi; adhibct etiam quædam si­ milia, sicut linteolum vel rotundo vulneri rotundum, vel oblongum oblongo, ligaturamque ipsam non cam­ dem membris omnibus, sed similem similibus coaptat: sic sapienlia Dei hominem curans, seipsam exhibuit ad sanandum, ipsa medicus, ipsa medicina. Quia ergo per superbiam homo lapsus est, humilitatem adhibuit ad sanandum. Serpentis sapientia decepti sumus, Dei stultitia liberamur. Quemadmodum autem illa Sapien­ tia vocabatur, crat autem stultitia contemnentibus Deum; sic ista quæ vocatur stultitia, Sapientia cst vincentibus diabolum. Nos immortalitate male usi sumus, ut moreremur; Christus mortalitate bene usus est, ut viveremus. Corrupto animo feminæ ingressus est morbus; integro corpore feminae processit salus. Ad eadem contraria pertinet, quod etiam exemplo virtutum cjus vitia nostra curantur. Jamvero similia quasi ligamenta membris et vulneribus nostris adhi­ hita, illa sunt, quod per feminam deceptos per remi.. nam natus, homo homines, mortalis mortales, morto mortuos libcravit. Multa quoque alia diligentius con­ siderantibus quos instituti operis peragendi necessitas non rapit, vel a contrariis, vel a similibus medicinæ christianæ apparet instructio. ### English translation (Claude) Just as healing is the way to health, so this healing took up sinners to cure and restore them. And as physicians, when they bind up wounds, do it not carelessly but neatly, so that a certain beauty also goes along with the usefulness of the bandage, so the medicine of Wisdom, by taking up a man, was adapted to our wounds, healing some by their contraries and some by their likes. Just as one who treats a wound of the body applies some contraries, such as cold to hot, wet to dry, or anything else of that kind, and also applies some likes, such as a round cloth to a round wound or an oblong one to an oblong wound, and does not fit the same bandage to every limb but like to like: so the Wisdom of God, healing man, presented itself for his healing, itself the physician, itself the medicine. Because, then, man fell through pride, it applied humility to heal him. We were deceived by the wisdom of the serpent; we are set free by the foolishness of God. And just as that was called wisdom but was foolishness to those who despise God, so this, which is called foolishness, is wisdom to those who overcome the devil. We used immortality badly, so that we died; Christ used mortality well, so that we might live. The disease entered through the corrupted mind of a woman; salvation came forth from the intact body of a woman. To the same contraries belongs the fact that our vices are also cured by the example of his virtues. Now the likes, applied as bandages to our limbs and wounds, are these: born of a woman, he set free those deceived through a woman; a man, he set free men; a mortal, mortals; by death, the dead. Many other things too will show, to those who consider more carefully and are not hurried on by the need to finish the work they have undertaken, how Christian medicine is furnished both from contraries and from likes. ### Scripture references - Gen 3:1–6: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Cor 1:25: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - “Intact body of a woman”: Mary's virginity. The serpent's deception alludes to Gen 3; “foolishness of God” to 1 Cor 1:25. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 1.14 (PL 34:23; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-14). ## On Christian Doctrine 1.15 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-15 - Source: PL 34:23–25 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Christ's resurrection, ascension, and coming judgment strengthen hope, and the gift of the Spirit is a foretaste of the reward to come. ### Latin text Jamvero credita Domini a mortuis resurrectio, et in caelum ascensio, magna spe fulcit fidem nostram. Multum cnim ostendit quam voluntarie pro nobis animam posuerit, qui cam sic habuit in potestate re­ sumere. Quanta ergo se fiducia spes credentium consolatur, considerans quantus quanta pro nondum eredenlibus passas sit? Cum vero judex vivoruln atqae mortuorum exspectatur e coelo, magnum linio­ rem incutit negligentibus, ut se ad diligentiam t con­ vertant, eumque magis bene agendo desiderent, quam male agendo formident. Quibus autem verbis dici, aut qua cogitatione capi potest praemium, quod ille in fine daturus cst; quando ad consolalioncm hujus iti­ neris de Spiritu suo tantum dedit, quo in adversis vitæ hujus fiduciam charitatemque tantam ejus, quem nondum videmus, habeamus, et dona I unicuique propria ad instructionem Ecclesiæ sua, ut id quod ostendit esse faciendum, non soluin sine murmure, sed etiam cum delectatione 3 faciamus? ### English translation (Claude) Further, the Lord's resurrection from the dead and ascension into heaven, believed by us, support our faith with great hope. For it shows clearly how willingly he laid down his life for us, since he had it in his power to take it up again in this way. With what confidence, then, does the hope of believers comfort itself, when it considers how great a one suffered how great things for those who did not yet believe? And when he is awaited from heaven as judge of the living and the dead, he strikes great fear into the negligent, so that they turn to diligence and long for him by doing well rather than dread him by doing ill. With what words can the reward he will give at the end be expressed, or with what thought can it be grasped, when for the comfort of this journey he has already given so much of his Spirit, by which, in the adversities of this life, we have such confidence in and love for him whom we do not yet see, and has given gifts proper to each for the building up of his Church, so that we may do what he shows must be done not only without murmuring but even with delight? ### Scripture references - John 10:18: allusion, high confidence - 2 Tim 4:1: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Cor 12:7–11: allusion, medium confidence - Phil 2:14: allusion, low confidence ### Translation notes - Laying down and taking up his life: John 10:18; judge of the living and the dead: 2 Tim 4:1; gifts to each: 1 Cor 12:7–11; without murmuring: Phil 2:14. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 1.15 (PL 34:23–25; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-15). ## On Christian Doctrine 1.16 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-16 - Source: PL 34:25 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Church is Christ's body and bride, which he purifies through trials to join to himself forever. ### Latin text Est enim Ecclesia corpus ejus, sicut apostolica doctrina commendat, quæ etiam con­ jux ejus dicitur. Corpus ergo suum multis membris diversa officia gerentibus (Hom. XII, i), nodo unitatis et cbarilalis tanquam sanitatis astringit. Exercet au tem hoc tempore et purgat medicinalibus quibusdam molestiis, ut erutam de hoc saeculo, in aeternum sibi copulet conjugem Ecclesiam, non habentem maculam aut rugam, aut aliquid hujusmodi ( Ephes. v, 23-52). ### English translation (Claude) For the Church is his body, as the apostolic teaching commends, and is also called his bride. So he binds his body, whose many members perform different functions, with the knot of unity and love as with health. And in this time he exercises and cleanses it with certain healing afflictions, so that, having rescued it from this world, he may join to himself for eternity his bride the Church, “not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing.” ### Scripture references - Eph 5:23–32: allusion, high confidence - Eph 5:27: quotation, high confidence - Rom 12:4–5: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Eph 5:23–32 and Rom 12:4–5; the quotation is Eph 5:27. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 1.16 (PL 34:25; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-16). ## On Christian Doctrine 1.17 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-17 - Source: PL 34:25 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Christ made himself the way home and, by his cross, removed the barrier of sin for those who turn back. ### Latin text Porro quoniam in via sumus, nec via ista lo­ corum est, sed affectuum, quam intercludebat, quasi septa quædam spinosa, praeteritorum malitia' peccato­ rum; quid liberalius ct miscricordius facere potuit, qui seipsum nobis, qua I rediremus, substernere vo­ luit, nisi ut omnia donaret peccata conversis, et gra. viter fixa interdicta reditus nostri pro nobis cruci­ fixus evelleret? ### English translation (Claude) Further, since we are on the way, and that way is not one of places but of affections, and the malice of past sins had blocked it as with thorny hedges, what more generous and merciful thing could he do, who was willing to lay himself down for us as the road by which we might return, than to forgive all their sins to those who turn back, and, crucified for us, to tear out the barriers so firmly fixed against our return? ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 1.17 (PL 34:25; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-17). ## On Christian Doctrine 1.18 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-18 - Source: PL 34:25 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Christ gave the Church the keys to bind and loose, so that those who believe and amend are forgiven within it. ### Latin text Has igitur claves dedit Ecclesiæ suæ, ut qn:c solveret in terra, soluta essent in caelo; quae ligarct in terra, ligata essent et in coelo: scilicet ut quisquis in Ecclesia ejus dimitti sibi pec­ cata non crederet, non ei dimitterentur; quisquis au­ tem crederet, seque ab his correctus averteret, in ejusdem Ecclesiæ gremio couslitutus, eadein lide at­ que correctione sanaretur. Quisquis euim non credit dimitti sibi posse peccata, fit deterior desperando, quasi nihil illi melius quam malum esse remaneat, ubi de fructu suæ conversionis infidus est. ### English translation (Claude) He has therefore given these keys to his Church, so that whatever it loosed on earth would be loosed in heaven, and whatever it bound on earth would be bound in heaven too; that is, so that whoever in his Church did not believe that his sins are forgiven would not be forgiven, but whoever believed and, corrected, turned away from them, being placed in the bosom of that same Church, would be healed by that same faith and correction. For whoever does not believe that his sins can be forgiven becomes worse by despairing, as if nothing better remained for him than to be evil, since he has no faith in the fruit of his conversion. ### Scripture references - Matt 16:19: allusion, high confidence - Matt 18:18: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Matt 16:19; 18:18. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 1.18 (PL 34:25; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-18). ## On Christian Doctrine 1.19 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-19 - Source: PL 34:25 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: As repentance is a death of the soul leading to renewal, so bodily death will be followed by a better, incorruptible resurrection body. ### Latin text Jamvero sicut animi quædam mors est, vitæ prioris morumque relictio 6, quæ fit poenitendo; sic etiam corporis mors est animationis pristinæ resnlulio: et quomodo animus post pœnitentiam, qua prio* res mores perditos interemit, reformatur in melius; sic etiam corpus post istam mortem, quam vinculo peccati omnes debemus, credendum et sperandam est resurrectionis tempore in melius commutari, ut non caro et sanguis regnum Dei p issidcant, quod fleri non potest; sed corruptibile huc induat incorruptio­ nem, ct mortale hoc induat immortalitatem, nullamque faciens molestiam, qnia nullam patietur indigentiam, a beata perfectaque anima cum summa quiete vegeletur. ### English translation (Claude) Now just as the abandoning of one's former life and conduct, which takes place by repentance, is a kind of death of the soul, so the death of the body is the dissolving of its former animation. And as the soul, after the repentance by which it has put to death its former ruined conduct, is reformed for the better, so we must believe and hope that the body too, after this death which we all owe through the bond of sin, will be changed for the better at the time of the resurrection; not so that flesh and blood will possess the kingdom of God, which cannot be, but so that “this corruptible will put on incorruption, and this mortal will put on immortality,” and, causing no trouble because it will suffer no want, it will be quickened by a blessed and perfect soul in perfect peace. ### Scripture references - 1 Cor 15:50: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 15:53: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - 1 Cor 15:50, 53. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 1.19 (PL 34:25; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-19). ## On Christian Doctrine 1.20 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-20 - Source: PL 34:25 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Those who do not die to the world will rise only to punishment. ### Latin text Cujus autem animus non moritur huicsaeculo, neque incipit configurari veritati, in graviorem mor­ tem morte corporis trahitur; neque ad commutatio­ ncm I coelestis habitudinis, sed ad luenda supplicia reviviscet. ### English translation (Claude) But one whose soul does not die to this world and does not begin to be conformed to the truth is dragged by the death of the body into a heavier death, and will come to life again not to be changed into a heavenly condition, but to pay its penalties. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 1.20 (PL 34:25; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-20). ## On Christian Doctrine 1.21 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-21 - Source: PL 34:25 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Faith holds that neither soul nor body is wholly destroyed, but the wicked rise to punishment and the godly to eternal life. ### Latin text Hoc itaque fides habet, atque ita se rem habere credendum est, neque animum, neque corpus huma­ num omnimodum interitum pati; sed impios resur­ gere ad pœnas inæstimabiles, pios autem ad vitam secernam. ### English translation (Claude) This, then, is what faith holds, and it must be believed that the matter stands so: that neither the soul nor the human body suffers complete destruction, but that the ungodly rise again to inestimable punishments, and the godly to eternal life. ### Scripture references - John 5:29: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Compare John 5:29. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 1.21 (PL 34:25; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-0/#p-1-21). ## On Christian Doctrine 1.22 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-22/#p-1-22 - Source: PL 34:25–27 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Only God is to be enjoyed; we should love ourselves and our neighbors for God's sake, directing all love toward the love of God. ### Latin text In his igitur omnibus rebus illæ tantum sunt quibus fruendum est, quas æternas atque incommu­ tabiles commemoravimus cæteris autem utendum est, ut ad illarum perfruitionem pervenire possimus. Nos itaque qui fruimur et utimur aliis rebus, res ali­ quæ sumus. Magna cnim quædam res cst homo, la­ ctus ad imaginem et similitudinem Dei, non in quan­ tum mortali corpore includitur, sed in quantum bestias rationalis animæ honore præcedit2. Itaque magna quæstio est utrum frui se homines debeant, an uti, an utrumque. Præceptum cst cnim nobis ul diligamus invicem; sed quæritur utrum propter se homo ab ho­ mine diligendus sit, an propter aliud. Si enim propter se, fruimur eo; si propter aliud. utimur co. Videtur autem mihi propter aliud diligendus. Quod enim pro­ pter se diligendum est, in co constituitur vita beata; cujus etiamsi nondum res, tamen spes ejus nos hoc tempore consolatur. Maledictus autem qui spem suam ponit in hominc. Sed nee seipso quisquam frui debet, si liquido advertas; quia nec seipsum debet propter seipsum diligere, sed propter illum quo fruendum est. Tuno est quippc optimu, homo, cum tota vita sua pergitI in incommutabilem vitam, et toto affectu inhaeret illi: si autem se propter se diligit, non se refert ad Dcum; sed ad scipsum conversus, non ad incommutabilo aliquid convertitur. Et propterea jam cum defectu aliquo se fruitur; quia melior est cum totus haeret atque constringitur incommutabili bono, quam cum inde vol ad scipsum relaxatur. Si ergo teipsum non propter te debcs diligere, sed propter illum ubi dile­ ctionis luae rectissimus finis est, non succenseat alius homo, si etiam ipsum propter Dcum diligis. Hæc enim regula dilectionis divinitus constituta est: Diliges, in­ quit, proximum luum sicut teipsum; Deum vcro ex toto corde, et ex tota anima et ex tota mente; ut omnes cogita­ tiones luas et omnem vitam et omnem intellectum in illum conferas, a quo habes ea ipsa quæ confers. Cum autem ait, toto corde, tota anima, tota mente, nullam vitae nostra: panem reliquis, quae vacare debeat et quasi locum dare ut alia re vclit frui; sed quidquid aliud diligendum venerit in animum, illuc rapiatur, quo lotus dilectionis impetus currit. Quisquis ergo recte proximum diligit, hoc cum eo debet agere, ut ctiam ipse toto corde, tota anima, tota mente diligat Deum. Sic enim cum diligens tanquam scipsum, totam dilectionem sui et illius refert in illam dilectionem Dei, quæ nullum a se rivulum duci extra patitur, cu­ jus derivatione minuatur. ### English translation (Claude) Among all these things, then, only those are to be enjoyed which we have described as eternal and unchangeable; the rest are to be used, so that we may arrive at the full enjoyment of those. We, then, who enjoy and use other things, are ourselves things of a kind. For man is a great thing, made in the image and likeness of God, not insofar as he is enclosed in a mortal body, but insofar as he surpasses the beasts by the dignity of a rational soul. So it is a great question whether human beings ought to enjoy themselves, or use themselves, or both. For we are commanded to love one another; but the question is whether a human being is to be loved by a human being for his own sake or for the sake of something else. For if for his own sake, we enjoy him; if for the sake of something else, we use him. It seems to me that he is to be loved for the sake of something else. For what is to be loved for its own sake is that in which the happy life consists; and even if we do not yet have the reality of it, the hope of it comforts us at present. But “cursed is he who puts his hope in man.” But if you consider clearly, no one ought to enjoy even himself, because no one ought to love himself for his own sake, but for the sake of him who is to be enjoyed. For a human being is at his best when his whole life moves toward the unchangeable life and clings to it with all his affection; but if he loves himself for his own sake, he does not refer himself to God, but, turned toward himself, he is not turned toward something unchangeable. And so he already enjoys himself with some deficiency, because he is better when he clings wholly and is bound fast to the unchangeable good than when he slackens from it even toward himself. If, then, you ought to love yourself not for your own sake but for the sake of him in whom your love finds its most rightful end, let no other person be angry if you love him too for the sake of God. For this is the rule of love laid down by God: “You shall love your neighbor,” he says, “as yourself,” but God “with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind”; so that you devote all your thoughts, all your life, and all your understanding to him from whom you have the very things you devote. When he says “with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind,” he leaves no part of our life which ought to be idle and, as it were, make room for wishing to enjoy something else; but whatever else comes into the mind to be loved should be swept on to where the whole current of love is running. Whoever, then, loves his neighbor rightly ought so to act with him that he too loves God with all his heart, all his soul, all his mind. For in this way, loving him as himself, he refers the whole love of himself and of his neighbor to that love of God which allows no rivulet to be drawn off from itself by which it would be diminished. ### Scripture references - Gen 1:26: allusion, high confidence - John 13:34: allusion, high confidence - Jer 17:5: quotation, high confidence - Matt 22:37–39: quotation, high confidence - Lev 19:18: quotation, medium confidence - Deut 6:5: quotation, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Image and likeness: Gen 1:26; love one another: John 13:34; the curse: Jer 17:5; the two commandments: Matt 22:37–39 (Lev 19:18; Deut 6:5). ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 1.22 (PL 34:25–27; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-22/#p-1-22). ## On Christian Doctrine 1.23 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-22/#p-1-23 - Source: PL 34:27 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Four things are to be loved, God, ourselves, our neighbor, and our body; no command is needed to love ourselves and our bodies, though self-love that seeks to dominate is really hatred. ### Latin text Non autem omnia quibus utendum est, diligenda sunt, sed ca sola qu;e aut nobiscum societate quadam referuntur In Deum, siculi cst homo, vel angelus; aut ad nos relata, beneficio Dei per nos indigent, sicuti est corpus. Nam utique martyres non dilexerunt scelus persequentium se, quo tamen usi sunt ad pro­ merendum Deum. Cum ergo quatuor sint diligenda, unum quod supra nos est, alterum quod nos sumus, tertium quod juxta nos est, quartum quod infra nos est; de secundo et quarto nulla præcepta danda erant. Quamtumlibet enim homo excidat a veritate, rema­ net illi dileciio sui et dilectio corporis sui. Fugax cnim animus ab incommutabili luminc omnium regna­ ture, id agit nt ipse sibi regnet ct corpori suo; ct ideo uon potest nisi et se et corpus suum diligere. Magnum autcm aliquid adeptum se putat, si ctian. sociis, id est aliis hominibus, dominari potuerit. Inest enim vitioso animo id magis appetere, ct sibi tanquam debitum vindicare, quod uni proprie dcbetur Deo. Talis autem sui dilectio melius odium vocatur. Iniquum est cnim, quia vult sibi servire quod infra se est, cum ipse servire supcriori nolit; rectissimeque dictum cst, Qui diligit iniquitatem, odit animam suam: et ideo fit infirmus animus, ct de mor­ tali corpore cruciatur. Necesse est cnim ut illud dili­ gat, et ejus corruptione prægravetur. Immortalitas enim et incorruptio corporis de sanitate animi exislit; sanitas autem animi cst firmissime inhærere iotiori, hoc est incommutabili Deo. Cum vero etiam cis qui sibi naturaliter pares sunt, hoc est, hominibus, domi­ nari affectat, intolerabilis omuino superbia cst. ### English translation (Claude) But not all things that are to be used are to be loved, but only those that are either related to God together with us in a certain fellowship, such as a man or an angel, or that, being related to us, need God's kindness through us, such as the body. For certainly the martyrs did not love the crime of their persecutors, which they nevertheless used to win favor with God. Since, then, there are four things to be loved, one that is above us, a second that we are, a third that is beside us, a fourth that is below us, no commandments needed to be given about the second and the fourth. For however far a man falls away from the truth, love of himself and love of his body remain with him. For the soul that flees from the unchangeable light which reigns over all does so in order that it may reign over itself and its body; and so it cannot but love both itself and its body. And it thinks it has gained something great if it can also lord it over its fellows, that is, other human beings. For it is in the nature of a vicious soul to desire above all, and to claim for itself as its due, what is properly due to God alone. Such self-love is better called hatred. For it is unjust, because it wants what is beneath it to serve it while it refuses to serve what is above it; and it is most rightly said, “He who loves iniquity hates his own soul.” And so the soul becomes weak and is tormented by the mortal body. For it must love the body and be weighed down by its corruption. For the immortality and incorruption of the body arise from the health of the soul; and the health of the soul is to cling most firmly to the better, that is, to the unchangeable God. But when it aims to lord it even over those who are by nature its equals, that is, human beings, it is altogether intolerable pride. ### Scripture references - Ps 11:5 (10:6 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotation from Ps 11:5 (10:6 LXX/Vulg.), in the Latin Psalter's form. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 1.23 (PL 34:27; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-22/#p-1-23). ## On Christian Doctrine 1.24 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-22/#p-1-24 - Source: PL 34:27 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: No one truly hates his body; ascetic discipline rightly aims to subdue bad habits, not to destroy the body, as Paul's words on the flesh and spirit show. ### Latin text Ncmo ergo sc odit. Et hinc quidcm nulla cum aliqua secta quæstio fuit I. Sed neque corpus suum quisquam odit: verum est enim quod ait Apostolus, Nemo unquam carnem suam odio habuit. Et quod nonnulli dicunt, malle se omnino csse sine corpore, omnino faliuntur: non enim corpus suum, sed corruptiones ejus et pondus oderunt. Non itaque nullum corpus, sed incorruptum et celerrimum 2 cor­ pus volunt habere: sed putant nullum corpus esse si tale fuerit, quia tale aliquid esse animam putant.Quod autem continentia quadam et laboribus quasi persc­ qui videntur corpora sua; qui hoc recte faciunt, non id agunt ut non habeant corpus, sed ut habeant sub­ jugatum et paratum ad opera necessaria. Libidines cnim male utentes corpore, id est consuetudines et inclinationes 3 animæ ad fruendum inferioribus, per ipsius corporis laboriosam quamdam militiam exstin­ guere affectant. Nam non se interimunt, sed curam suae valetudinis gerunt. Qui autem perverse id agunt, quasi naturaliter inimico suo corpori bellum ingerunt. In quo fallit eos quod legunt: Caro concupiscit adversus spiritum, et spiritus adversus carnem; Me enim sibi invicem ad­ versantur. Dictum est enim hoc propter indomitam carnalem consuetudinem, adversus quam spiritus concupiscit; non ut interimat corpus, sed ut concupiscentia ejus, id est consuetudine mala edo­ mita, faciat spiritui subjugatum 4, quod naturalisonlo desiderat. Quia enim hoc erit post resurrectionem, ut corpus omnimodo cum quiete summa spiritui sub­ ditum immortaliter vigeat, hoc etiam in hac vita mc­ ditandum cst, ut consuetudo carnalis mutetur in mc­ lius, nee inordinatis motibus resistat spiritui. Quod donec fiat, caro concupiscit adversus spiritum, ct spiritus adversus carnem: non per odium resistente spiritu, sed per principatum; quia magis quod diligit vult subditum esse meliori: nec per odium resistente carne, sed per consuetudinis vinculum, quoda paren­ tum etiam propagine inveteratum naturæ lege inole­ v t. Id ergo agit spiritus in domanda carne, ut solvat maLe consuetudinis quasi pacta perversa, et fiat pax consuetudinis boare. Tamen nec isti qui falsa opinionc depravati corpora sua detestantur, parati cssent unum oculum vel sine sensu doloris amittere, etiamsi in altero tantus cernendi sensus remaneret, quantus crat in duobus, nisi aliqua res quai præponenda esset, urgeret. Isto atque hujusmodi documento satis osten­ ditur eis qui sine pertinacia verum requirunt, quam certa sententia sit Apostoli, ubi ait: Nemo enim un­ quam carnem suam odio habuit. Addidit etiam: Sed nutrit et fovet eant, sicut Christus Ecclesium. ### English translation (Claude) No one, then, hates himself. And on this point indeed there has never been any dispute with any sect. But neither does anyone hate his own body; for what the Apostle says is true: “No one ever hated his own flesh.” And when some say that they would rather be without a body altogether, they are completely mistaken; for it is not their body but its corruption and heaviness that they hate. So what they want is not no body at all, but an incorruptible and very swift body; but they think that, if it were such, it would not be a body, because they think that the soul is something of that kind. As for the fact that they seem, as it were, to persecute their bodies by a certain self-restraint and by labors, those who do this rightly do not aim at having no body, but at having it subdued and ready for necessary works. For they seek to extinguish, through a kind of laborious discipline of the body itself, the lusts that use the body badly, that is, the habits and inclinations of the soul toward enjoying lower things. For they are not killing themselves; they are taking care of their health. But those who do this perversely make war on their body as if it were by nature their enemy. In this they are misled by what they read: “The flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other.” For this was said because of untamed carnal habit, against which the spirit lusts, not to destroy the body, but so that, having tamed its lust, that is, its bad habit, it may make it subject to the spirit, as the natural order requires. For since after the resurrection it will be so that the body, wholly subject to the spirit in perfect peace, will flourish immortally, this should also be practiced in this life, so that carnal habit may be changed for the better and not resist the spirit with disordered motions. Until this happens, “the flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh”: the spirit resists not by hatred but by rule, because it wishes what it loves to be subject to what is better; and the flesh resists not by hatred but by the chain of habit, which, grown old even through descent from our parents, has become ingrained by the law of nature. So what the spirit does in taming the flesh is to dissolve, as it were, the perverse agreements of bad habit and to bring about the peace of good habit. Yet not even those who, corrupted by false opinion, detest their bodies would be ready to lose one eye, even without feeling pain, even if as much power of sight remained in the other as there had been in the two, unless something that was to be preferred pressed them to it. By this and similar evidence it is shown clearly enough to those who seek the truth without obstinacy how certain the statement of the Apostle is, where he says, “For no one ever hated his own flesh.” He also added, “But he nourishes and cherishes it, as Christ does the Church.” ### Scripture references - Eph 5:29: quotation, high confidence - Gal 5:17: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations from Eph 5:29 and Gal 5:17. Those who wish to be without a body are probably Manichaeans and Platonists; Augustine does not name them. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 1.24 (PL 34:27; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-22/#p-1-24). ## On Christian Doctrine 1.25 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-22/#p-1-25 - Source: PL 34:27–29 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: People must be taught the right way to love themselves and their bodies, though one may love something more than bodily health. ### Latin text Modus ergo diligendi præcipiendus est homini, id est, quomodo se diligat ut prosit sibi. Quin autem se diligat ct prodesse sibi velit, dubitare dementis est. Præcipiendum ctiam quomodo corpus suum diligat, ut ei ordinate prudenterque consulat. Nam quod dili­ gal etiam corpus suum, idque salvum habere atque integrum velit, æque manifestum cst. Aliquid iiaque amplius diligere aliquis potest, quam salutem atque integritatem corporis sui. Nam multi ct dolorcs ct amissiones nonnullorum membrorum voluntarias sus­ cepisse inveniuntur, sed ut alia quae amplius dilige­ bant, consequerentur. Non ergo propterea quisquam dicendus est non diligere salutem atque incolumitatem corporis sui, quia plus aliquid diligit. Nam et avarus quamvis pecuniam diligat, tamen emit sibi panem: quod cum facit, dat pecuniam quam multum diligit et angere desiderat; sed quia pluris aestimat salutem corporis sui, quæ illo pane fulcitur. Supervacaneum est diutius de re manifestissima disputare, quod ta­ men plerumque nos facere cogit error impiorum. ### English translation (Claude) A way of loving, then, must be prescribed for man, that is, how he is to love himself so as to benefit himself. That he does love himself and wishes to benefit himself only a madman would doubt. He must also be taught how to love his body, so as to take care of it in an orderly and prudent way. For that he loves his body too, and wishes to have it safe and whole, is equally obvious. Yet someone can love something more than the health and soundness of his body. For many are found to have willingly undergone pains and the loss of some limbs, but in order to obtain other things which they loved more. So no one should be said not to love the health and safety of his body because he loves something more. For even a miser, though he loves money, still buys himself bread; and when he does so, he gives up money which he loves dearly and wants to increase, but because he values more highly the health of his body, which that bread sustains. It is superfluous to argue at length about something so obvious, but the error of the ungodly often forces us to do so. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 1.25 (PL 34:27–29; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-22/#p-1-25). ## On Christian Doctrine 1.26 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-22/#p-1-26 - Source: PL 34:29 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Since we naturally love ourselves and our bodies, the commandments concern love of God and neighbor, which together include all that is to be loved. ### Latin text Ergo, quoniam præcepto non opus est ut so quisque ct corpus suum diligat, id est, quoniam id quod sumus, et id quod infra nos est, ad nos tamen pertinet, inconcussa naturæ lege diligimus, quæ in bestias etiam promulgata est (nam et bestiae se atque corpora sua diligunL); restabat ut et dc illo quod supra nos est, et de illo quod juxta nos est, præcepta sumeremus. Diliges, inquit, Dominum Deum tuum ex toto corde tuo, et ex tota anima tua, et ex tota mente tua, et diliges proximum tuum tanquam teipsum. Jn his Inobus præceptis tota Lex pendet et Prophetæ. Finis.itaque præcepti est dilectio, ct ca gemina, id est Dei et proximi. Quod si te totum intelligas, id est animum et corpus tuum, et proximum totum, id est animum et corpus ejus (homo enim ex animo constat et corporc), nullum rerum diligendarum genus in his duobus praeceptis praeter­ missum est. Cum enim præcurrat dilectio Dei, ejus­ que dilectionis modus praescriptus appareat, ita ut cætera in illum confluant, de dilectione tua nihil di­ ctum videtur; sed cum dictum cst, Diliges proximum tuum tanquam teipsum, simul et tui abs tc dilectio non pretermissa est. ### English translation (Claude) Since, then, there is no need of a commandment for each person to love himself and his body, that is, since we love what we are, and what is beneath us but still belongs to us, by an unshakable law of nature which has been laid down even for the beasts (for beasts too love themselves and their bodies), it remained for us to receive commandments about what is above us and what is beside us. “You shall love,” he says, “the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind; and you shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.” So “the end of the commandment is love,” and that twofold, that is, of God and of neighbor. And if you understand yourself as a whole, that is, your soul and your body, and your neighbor as a whole, that is, his soul and his body (for a human being consists of soul and body), no kind of thing that is to be loved has been left out of these two commandments. For although the love of God comes first, and the measure of that love is plainly prescribed, so that everything else flows into him, nothing seems to have been said about love of yourself; but when it is said, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” at the same time your love of yourself has not been left out. ### Scripture references - Matt 22:37–40: quotation, high confidence - 1 Tim 1:5: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations from Matt 22:37–40 and 1 Tim 1:5. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 1.26 (PL 34:29; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-22/#p-1-26). ## On Christian Doctrine 1.27 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-22/#p-1-27 - Source: PL 34:29 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Just living requires ordered love: God above all, others for God's sake, and our neighbor more than our own body. ### Latin text Ille autem juste et sancte vivit, qui rerum in­ teger æstimator est: ipse est autem qui ordinatam dilectionem babet, ne ant diligat quod non cst dili­ geadum, aut non diligat quod est diligendum, aut amplius diligat quod minus est diligendum, aut aeque diligat quod vel minus vel amplius diligendum est, aut Mmm vei amplius quod æque diligendum est. Omnis peccator in quantum peccator est, non est di­ ligendus; et omnis homo in quantum homo cst, dili­ gendus est propter Deum, Deus vero propter scipsum. Et si Deus omni homine amplius diligendus est, am­ plius quisque debet Deum diligere quam seipsum. I: m amplius alius homo diligendus est quam corpus nostrum: quia propter Dcum omnia ista diligend i sunt, et potest nobiscum alius homo Deo perfrui, quod non potest corpus; quia corpus per animam vivit qua fruimur Deo. ### English translation (Claude) He lives justly and holily who is an unbiased judge of things; and he is one who has an ordered love, so that he does not love what is not to be loved, or fail to love what is to be loved, or love more what is to be loved less, or love equally what is to be loved less or more, or love less or more what is to be loved equally. No sinner, insofar as he is a sinner, is to be loved; and every human being, insofar as he is a human being, is to be loved for the sake of God, but God for his own sake. And if God is to be loved more than any human being, each person ought to love God more than himself. Likewise another human being is to be loved more than our own body, because all these things are to be loved for the sake of God, and another human being can enjoy God together with us, which the body cannot, since the body lives through the soul by which we enjoy God. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 1.27 (PL 34:29; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-22/#p-1-27). ## On Christian Doctrine 1.28 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-22/#p-1-28 - Source: PL 34:29 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: All are to be loved equally, but since we cannot help everyone, we should help first those whom circumstances bind most closely to us. ### Latin text Omnes autem reque diligendi sunt: sed cum omnibus prodesse non possis, his potissimum consu­ lendum est, qui pro locorum ct temporum vel qua­ rumlibet rerum opportunitatibus, constrictius tibi quasi quadam sorte junguntur. Sicut enim, si tibi abundarct aliquid, quod dari oporteret ei qui non haberet, nec duobus dari posset, si tibi occurrerent duo, quorum ncuter alium vel indigentia, vel erga te aliqua necessitudine superaret; nihil justius faceres quam ut sorte legeres, coi dandum esset quod dari utriquc non posset: sic in hominibus qnibus omnibus consulere nequeas, pro sorte habendum est, prout qnisque tibi temporaliter colligatius adhærere po­ tuerit. ### English translation (Claude) All people are to be loved equally; but since you cannot do good to all, you must take thought chiefly for those who, through the circumstances of place and time or of anything else, are joined more closely to you, as if by a kind of lot. For suppose you had a surplus of something that ought to be given to someone who lacked it, and it could not be given to two; if two people met you, neither of whom surpassed the other either in need or in any tie to you, you could do nothing more just than choose by lot to whom to give what could not be given to both. So among human beings, since you cannot take thought for all of them, you must take it as a kind of lot according as each is able to be more closely bound to you in the circumstances of time. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 1.28 (PL 34:29; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-22/#p-1-28). ## On Christian Doctrine 1.29 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-22/#p-1-29 - Source: PL 34:29 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: As a theater fan wants everyone to love his favorite actor, we should want all to love God with us, and so we love even our enemies. ### Latin text Omnium autem qui nobiscum frui possunt Deo, partim eos diligimus I quos ipsi adjuvamus, partim cos a quibus adjuvamur, parlim quorum et indigemus adjutorio, ct indigcntiæ subvenimus; partim quibus nec ipsi conferimus aliquid commodi, nec ab eis ut nohis conferatur attendimus. Velle tamen dcbetnus ut omnes nobiscum diligant Deum, et lotum quod vel cos adjuvamus vcl adjuvamur ab cis, ad unum illum lincm referendum est. Si euim in theatris nequitiæ qui aliquem diligit histrionem, ct tanquam magno vel etiam summo bono ejus arte perfruitur, omnes diligit qui cum diligunt secum, non propter illos, sed pro­ pter eum quem pariter diligunt; et quanto cst in cjus amore ferventior, tanto agit quibus potest modis, ut a pluribus diligatur, et tanto pluribus eum cupit. ostendere; et quem frigidiorem videt, excitat cum quantum potest laudibus illius; si autem contrave­ nientem invenerit, odit in illo vehementer odium di­ tecti sui, et quibus modis valet, instat ut auferat: quid nos in societate dilectionis Dei agere convenit, quo perfrui, beate vivere cst; ct a quo habent omnes qui cum diligunt, et quod sunt, et qnod eum diligunt; de quo nihil metuimus, ne cuiquam possit cognitis displiccre; et qui sc vult diligi, non ut sibi aliqnid, sed ut cis qui diligunt, aeternum præmium conferatur, hoc est ipse quem diligunt? Hinc efficitur ut inimicos etiam nostros diligamus: non cnitn eos timemus, quia nobis quod diligimus auferre non possunt; sed mise­ ramur potius, quia tanto magis nos odcruut, quanto ab illo quem diligimus scparati sunt. Ad qucm si con­ versi fuerint, et illum tanquam beatificum bonum, ct nos tanquam socius tanti boni necesse est ut diligant. ### English translation (Claude) Of all those who can enjoy God together with us, we love some whom we help, some by whom we are helped, some whose help we need and whose need we relieve, and some to whom we give no benefit and from whom we expect none to be given to us. Yet we ought to wish that all should love God together with us, and all the help we give them or receive from them is to be referred to that one end. For if in the theaters, those dens of wickedness, a man who loves some actor and enjoys his art as a great or even the highest good loves all who love him along with himself, not for their own sake but for the sake of the one they love in common; and the more fervent he is in his love for him, the more he does whatever he can to have him loved by more people, and the more people he wants to show him to; and if he sees someone rather cool, he stirs him up as much as he can by praising the actor; and if he finds someone opposed, he fiercely hates in him his hatred of his favorite, and presses in whatever way he can to remove it: what is it fitting for us to do in the fellowship of the love of God, to enjoy whom is to live happily, from whom all who love him have both their being and their love for him, about whom we have no fear that he could displease anyone who knows him, and who wishes to be loved, not that anything may be given to him, but that an eternal reward may be given to those who love him, that is, himself whom they love? From this it follows that we love even our enemies. For we do not fear them, because they cannot take away from us what we love; rather we pity them, because the more they hate us, the more they are separated from him whom we love. If they turn to him, they must love both him as the good that makes them happy and us as partners in so great a good. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 1.29 (PL 34:29; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-22/#p-1-29). ## On Christian Doctrine 1.30 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-22/#p-1-30 - Source: PL 34:29–31 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The parable of the Good Samaritan shows that every human being is our neighbor, and so are the angels, and in a sense Christ himself. ### Latin text Oritur autcm hoc loco de Angelis nounulla quaestio. Illo enim fruentes, etiam ipsi beati sunt, que et nos hui desideramus: et quanto in hac vita frui­ mur vel per speculum vel in ænigmate, lanio nostram peregrinationem et tolerabilius susti­ nemus, et ardentius finire cupimus. Sed utrum ad itia duo præcepta etiam dilectio pertineat Angelorum, non irrationabiliter quæri potest. Nam quod nullum hominum cxceperit qui præcepit ut proximum dilign­ mus, et ipse in Evangelio Dominus ostendit, et Pau­ lus apostulus. Namquc ille cui duo ipsa præcepta prætulerat, atque in cis pendere totam Legem Propietasque dixerat, cum interrogaret eum dicens, Et quis est meus proximus 1? hominem quemdam propo­ suit descendentem ab Jerusalem in Jericho, incidisse in latrones, et ab eis graviter vulneratum, saucium et semivivum esse derclictuin; cui proximum esse non docuit, nisi qui erga illum recreauduln atque curandum misericors exstitit, ita ut hoc qui interro­ gaverat, interrogatus ipse fateretur. Cui Dominus ait, Vade, et tu fac similiter; ut videlicet eum esse proximum intelligamus, cui vcl exhibendum est officium misericordiæ, si indiget, vol exhibendum csset, si indigeret. Ex quo est jam consequens ut ctiain ille a quo nobis hoc vicissim exhibendum cst, proximus sit noster. Proximi cnim nomen nd aliquid est, nee quisquam esse proximus nisi proximo potest. Nullum autem exceptum esse cui misericordiæ dene­ getur officium, quis non videat, quando usque ad inimicos etiam porrectum est, eodcm Domino dicente: Diligite inimicos vestros, benefacite iis qui oderunt vos? Ita quoque Paulus apostolus docet, cum dicit: Nam non adulterabis, non homicidium facies, non fura­ beria, nou concupisces, et si quod cat aliud mandatum, in hoc sermone recapitulatur: Diliges proximum tuum tanquam teipsum. Dilectio proximi malum non operatur ( Rom. XIII, 9, 10). Quisquis crgo arbitratur non de omni homine Apostolum præcepisse, cogitur fateri, quod absurdi simum ct sceleratissimum est, fuisse visum Apostolo non esse peccatum si quis aul non christiani, aut inimici adulteraverit uxorcm, aut cum occiderit, aut ejus rem concupierit: quod si dementis cst dicere, manifestum est omnem hominem proximum esse dcputandum, quia crga ncminem operandum cst malum. Jamvero si vel cui præbendum cst, vel a quo nobis præbendum est officium misericordiæ, recte proximus dicitur; manifestum cst hoc pracepto quo jubemur diligere provimum, etiam sanctos Aligelos contineri, a quibus tanta nobis misericordiæ impen­ duntur officia, quanta multis divinarum Scripturarum locis animadvertere facile est. Ex quo ct ipse Deus ct Dominus a oster proximum se nostrum dici voluit. Nam ct scipsum significat Dominus Jesus Christus opitulatum esse scmivivo jacenti in via afflicto et re­ licto a latronibus. Et propheta in oratione ait: Sicut proximum, sicut fratrem nostrum, ila complacebam ( l'sol. xxxiv, 14). Sed quoniam excellentior ac supra nostram naturam est divina substantia, præceptum ### English translation (Claude) At this point some question arises about the angels. For they too are happy by enjoying him whom we too desire to enjoy; and the more we enjoy him in this life, whether “through a mirror” or “in an enigma,” the more tolerably we bear our pilgrimage and the more ardently we long to end it. But it can not unreasonably be asked whether the love of angels also belongs to those two commandments. For that he who commanded us to love our neighbor excepted no human being is shown both by the Lord himself in the Gospel and by the apostle Paul. For when the man to whom he had set out those two commandments, and to whom he had said that the whole Law and the Prophets hang on them, asked him, “And who is my neighbor?”, he told of a certain man going down from Jerusalem to Jericho who fell among robbers and, badly wounded by them, was left injured and half dead; and he taught that no one was a neighbor to him except the one who showed himself merciful in reviving and caring for him, so that the questioner, being questioned himself, admitted it. To him the Lord said, “Go and do likewise,” so that we should understand that our neighbor is the one to whom the duty of mercy is to be shown if he needs it, or would have to be shown if he needed it. From this it follows that the one by whom this is to be shown to us in turn is also our neighbor. For the word “neighbor” is relative, and no one can be a neighbor except to a neighbor. And who does not see that no one is excepted to whom the duty of mercy may be denied, when it is extended even to enemies, as the same Lord says: “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you”? So also the apostle Paul teaches when he says: “For ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not kill, you shall not steal, you shall not covet,’ and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love works no evil to a neighbor.” Whoever, then, thinks that the Apostle did not give this commandment about every human being is forced to admit what is utterly absurd and wicked: that the Apostle thought it no sin if anyone committed adultery with the wife of a non-Christian or of an enemy, or killed him, or coveted his property. And if it is madness to say this, it is clear that every human being is to be counted a neighbor, since evil is to be worked against no one. Now if the one to whom the duty of mercy is to be shown, or by whom it is to be shown to us, is rightly called a neighbor, it is clear that the holy angels too are included in this commandment by which we are bidden to love our neighbor, since they bestow on us such great duties of mercy as can easily be seen in many places of the divine Scriptures. For this reason even our God and Lord himself willed to be called our neighbor. For the Lord Jesus Christ signifies that it was he himself who helped the man lying half dead on the road, wounded and abandoned by the robbers. And the prophet says in prayer, “As a neighbor, as our brother, so I pleased.” But since the divine substance is more excellent than our nature and above it, the commandment … ### Scripture references - 1 Cor 13:12: quotation, high confidence - Luke 10:29–37: quotation, high confidence - Matt 5:44: quotation, high confidence - Luke 6:27: quotation, medium confidence - Rom 13:9–10: quotation, high confidence - Ps 35:14 (34:14 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations from 1 Cor 13:12, Luke 10:29–37, Matt 5:44 (Luke 6:27), Rom 13:9–10, and Ps 35:14 (34:14 LXX/Vulg.) in the Latin Psalter's form. The digital text breaks off here in mid-sentence; the end of the chapter (that the commandment to love God is distinct from that to love one's neighbor, since God shows mercy for his own goodness's sake and we for his) is missing and is not supplied. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 1.30 (PL 34:29–31; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-22/#p-1-30). ## On Christian Doctrine 1.31 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-22/#p-1-31 - Source: PL 34:31 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Since God needs nothing from us, he does not enjoy us but, in a sense, uses us. ### Latin text Quapropter adhuc ambiguum esse videtur, cum dicimus ea re nos perfrui, quam diligimus propter scipsam, et ea re nobis frucudurn esse tantum, qua efficimur beati, cæteris vero utendum. Diligit enim nos Dens, et multum nobis dilectionem ejus erga nos divina Scriptura commendat: quomodo ergo diligit? ut nohis utatur, an ut fruatur? Sed si fruitur, eget bono nostro, quod nemo sanus dixerit. Omne enirn bonum nostrum vel ipse, vel ab ipso est: cui autem obscurum vel dubium est, non egere lucem rerum harum nitore quas ipsa illustraverit? Dicit eliam aper­ tissime propheta: Dixi Domino, Deus meus es tu, quo­ niam bonorum meorum non eges ( Psat. XV, 2 ). Non ergo fruitur nobis, sed utilur. Nam si neque fruitur neque utitur, non invenio quemadmodum diligat. ### English translation (Claude) So there still seems to be some ambiguity when we say that we enjoy the thing we love for its own sake, and that only the thing by which we are made happy is to be enjoyed, while all others are to be used. For God loves us, and the divine Scripture commends his love toward us very much. How, then, does he love us? So as to use us, or so as to enjoy us? But if he enjoys us, he needs our good, which no sane person would say. For all our good is either himself or from himself. And to whom is it obscure or doubtful that light does not need the brightness of the things it has itself lit up? The prophet too says most plainly, “I said to the Lord, You are my God, for you do not need my goods.” So he does not enjoy us, but uses us. For if he neither enjoys nor uses us, I do not find how he loves us. ### Scripture references - Ps 16:2 (15:2 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotation from Ps 16:2 (15:2 LXX/Vulg.), in the Latin Psalter's form. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 1.31 (PL 34:31; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-22/#p-1-31). ## On Christian Doctrine 1.32 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-22/#p-1-32 - Source: PL 34:31 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: God's “use” of us serves our good and reflects his goodness; our reward for mercy is to enjoy God and one another in him. ### Latin text Sed neque sic utitur ut nos; nam nos res qui­ bus utimur ad id referimus, ut Dei bonitate perfrua­ mur; Deus vero ad suam bonitatem usum nostrum refert. Quia enim bonus est, sumus; et in quantum sumus, boni sumus. Porro autem quia etiam justus est, non impune sumus mali; et in quantum mali su­ mus, in tantum etiam minus sumus. Ille enim summo ac primitus cst, qui omnino incommutabilis est, et qui plenissime dicere potuit: Ego sum qui sum; et, Dices eis, Qui eat, misit me ad vos ( Exod. III, 14). Ut cætera quæ sunt, ct nisi ab illo esse non possint, et in tantum bona sint I, in quantum acceperunt ut sint. Ille igitur usus qui dicitur Dei, quo nobis utitur, non ad ejus, aed ad nostram utilitatem refertur, ad ejus autem tantummodo bonitatem. Cujus autem nos mise­ remur, et cui consulimus, ad ejus quidem utilitatem id facimus, eamque intuemur; sed nescio quomodo etiam nostra fit• consequens, cum eam misericordiam quam impendimus egenti, sine mercede non relinquit Deus. Hæc autem merces summa est ut ipso per­ fruamur, et omnes qui eo fruimur, nobis etiam invi­ cern in ipso perfruamur. ### English translation (Claude) But neither does he use us as we use things. For we refer the things we use to this end, that we may enjoy the goodness of God; but God refers his use of us to his own goodness. For because he is good, we exist; and insofar as we exist, we are good. And further, because he is also just, we are not evil with impunity; and insofar as we are evil, to that extent we also exist less. For he exists supremely and primarily who is wholly unchangeable, and who could say most fully, “I am who I am,” and, “You shall say to them, He who is has sent me to you,” so that all other things that exist could not exist except from him, and are good to the extent that they have received being. That use, then, which is called God's, by which he uses us, is referred not to his advantage but to ours, and with regard to him only to his goodness. When we pity someone and take thought for him, we do it for his advantage and keep that in view; but somehow our own advantage also follows, since God does not leave without reward the mercy we spend on the needy. And this is the highest reward: that we enjoy him, and that all of us who enjoy him enjoy one another in him. ### Scripture references - Exod 3:14: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotation from Exod 3:14. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 1.32 (PL 34:31; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-22/#p-1-32). ## On Christian Doctrine 1.33 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-22/#p-1-33 - Source: PL 34:31–33 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Holy men and angels point us beyond themselves to God; we may enjoy one another only “in the Lord,” and properly enjoy only the Trinity. ### Latin text Nam si in nobis id facimus, remanemus in via, ct spem beatitudinis nostrae in homine vel in angelo collocamus. Quod et homo superbus et angelus su­ perbus arrogant sibi, atque in se aliorum spem gau­ dent constitui. Sanctus autem homo et sanctus an­ gelus etiam fessos nos atque in se acquiescere et remanere cupientes, reficiunt potius, aut eo sumptu quem propter nos, aut illo etiam quem propter se acceperunt, acceperunt tamen; atque ita refectos in illam ire compellunt, quo fruentes pariter beat; su­ mus. Nam et Apostolus clamai: Numquid Paulus crucifixus est pro vobit P aut in nomine Pauli baptizati estis ( 1 Cor. I, 13 )? et, Neque qui plantat est aliquid, neque qui rigat, sed qui incrementum dat Deut (Id. Ut, 7). Et angelus bominem se adorantem monet ut potius illum adoret, sub quo ei Domino eliarn ipse conservus est. Cum autem homine in Deo frueris, Deo potius quam homine frueris. tHo enim frueris quo elficeris beatus; et ad eum te pervenisse lætaberis, in quo spem punis ut venias. Inde ad Philemonem Paulus: Ila, frater, inquit, ego te fruar in Domino (Phi/em. 20). Quod si non addidisset, in Domino, ct te fruar tantum dixisset, in eo constituisset spem beatitudinis sua?. Quanquam etiam vicinissime dicitur frui, cum dele­ ctatione uti 1. Cum enim adest quod diligitur, etiam delectationem secum necesse est gerat: per quam si transieris, eamque ad illud ubi permanecndum cst, retuferis; uteris ea, et abusive, non proprie, diccris frui. Si vero inh;rseris atque permanseris, finem in ea ponens lætitiæ tuæ, tunc vere et proprie frui di­ cendus es: quod non faciendum cst nisi in illa Tri­ nitate, id est summo ct incommutabili hono. ### English translation (Claude) For if we do this in ourselves, we remain on the way and place the hope of our happiness in a man or an angel. This is what a proud man and a proud angel claim for themselves, rejoicing that the hope of others is placed in them. But a holy man and a holy angel, when we are weary and wish to rest and remain in them, rather refresh us, either with the provision they have received for our sake or with what they have received for their own (but received nonetheless), and, once we are refreshed, urge us to go on to him by enjoying whom we are equally happy. For the Apostle too cries out, “Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?” and, “Neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.” And the angel warns the man who worships him to worship rather him under whom, as Lord, he too is a fellow servant. When you enjoy a man in God, you enjoy God rather than the man. For you enjoy him by whom you are made happy, and you will rejoice to have reached him in whom you place your hope of coming. Hence Paul says to Philemon, “Yes, brother, may I enjoy you in the Lord.” If he had not added “in the Lord,” and had said only “may I enjoy you,” he would have placed the hope of his happiness in him. Yet “to enjoy” is also used in a very close sense for “to use with delight.” For when what is loved is present, it must bring delight with it; if you pass through it and refer it to that in which you are to remain, you are using it, and you are said to enjoy it loosely, not properly. But if you cling to it and remain in it, placing in it the end of your joy, then you are truly and properly said to enjoy it; and this is to be done only in that Trinity, that is, in the supreme and unchangeable good. ### Scripture references - 1 Cor 1:13: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 3:7: quotation, high confidence - Rev 19:10: allusion, high confidence - Rev 22:8–9: allusion, medium confidence - Phlm 1:20: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations from 1 Cor 1:13, 1 Cor 3:7, and Phlm 20 (the Latin fruar, “may I enjoy,” renders Greek ὀναίμην, “may I have benefit”); the angel is Rev 19:10 (22:8–9). ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 1.33 (PL 34:31–33; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-22/#p-1-33). ## On Christian Doctrine 1.34 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-22/#p-1-34 - Source: PL 34:33 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Christ in the flesh is the way, which we must pass through without clinging even to the temporal things he did for us, to reach God himself. ### Latin text Vide quemadmodum cnm ipsa Veritas, et Ver- Imm per quod factasunt omnia, caro factum esset, ut habitaret in nobis, tamen ait Apostolus: Et si novEramus Christum secundum car­ nem, sed jam non novimus. Ille quippe qui non solum Pervenientibus possessionem, scd etiam viam præbere se voluit venientibus ad princi­ pium viarum I, voluit carnem assumere: unde est cHam illud, Dominus creavit me in principio viarum suarum; ut inde inciperent, qui vel­ lent venire. Apostolus igitur quamvis adhuc ambula­ rei in via, ct ad palmam supernæ vocationis seque­ retur vocantem Deum, tamen ca quai retro sunt obliviscens, et in ea quæ ante sunt extentus, jam principium viarum tranSierat; hoc cst, eo non indigchaL, a quo tamen aggrediendum et exor­ djendum iter est omnibus qui ad veritatem perventi e, et in vita æterna permanere desiderant. Sic enim ait,. Ego sum tia, et veritas, et vita; hoc est, per me venitur, ad me pervenitur, in me permanetur. Cum enim ad ipsum pervenitur, etiam ad Patrem per­ venitur; quia per æqualem illc.cui est æqualis agno­ scitur; vinciente et tanquam agglutinante nos Spiriui sancto, quo in summo atque incommutabili hono per­ manere possimus. Ex quo intelligitur quam nulla res I in via tenere nos debeat, quando nec ipse Dominus, in quantum via nostra esse dignatus est, tenere nos vo­ luerit, sed transire; ne rebus temporalibus, quamvis ah illo pro salute nostra susceptis ct gestis, hæreamus infirmiter, sed per eas potius curramus alacriter, ut ad eum ipsum, qui nostram naturam a temporalibus li­ beravit, et collocavit ad dexteram Patris, provehi at­ que pervehi I mcreamur. ### English translation (Claude) See how, although the Truth itself, the Word through whom all things were made, became flesh that he might dwell among us, the Apostle nevertheless says, “Even though we once knew Christ according to the flesh, we know him so no longer.” For he who willed to offer himself not only as the possession of those who arrive but also as the way for those who are coming to the beginning of the ways willed to take flesh; hence too the saying, “The Lord created me in the beginning of his ways,” so that those who wished to come might begin from there. The Apostle, then, although he was still walking on the way and following God who called him to the prize of the heavenly calling, nevertheless, “forgetting what lies behind and stretching out to what lies ahead,” had already passed the beginning of the ways; that is, he no longer needed that from which, nevertheless, the journey must be undertaken and begun by all who desire to reach the truth and remain in eternal life. For so he says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life”; that is, by me one comes, to me one arrives, in me one remains. For when one arrives at him, one arrives also at the Father, because the one to whom he is equal is known through the equal; the Holy Spirit binding and, as it were, gluing us together, so that we can remain in the supreme and unchangeable good. From this it is understood how no thing ought to hold us on the way, when not even the Lord himself, insofar as he deigned to be our way, willed to hold us, but to have us pass on; so that we should not cling weakly to temporal things, even those taken up and done by him for our salvation, but rather run eagerly through them, that we may deserve to be carried forward and carried through to him who freed our nature from temporal things and set it at the right hand of the Father. ### Scripture references - John 1:3: allusion, high confidence - John 1:14: allusion, high confidence - 2 Cor 5:16: quotation, high confidence - Prov 8:22: quotation, high confidence - Phil 3:13–14: quotation, high confidence - John 14:6: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations from John 1:3, 14; 2 Cor 5:16; Prov 8:22 (in the Latin form “created me”); Phil 3:13–14; John 14:6. Christology: Augustine applies Prov 8:22 to the incarnate Christ, not to the Word's divine nature. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 1.34 (PL 34:33; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-22/#p-1-34). ## On Christian Doctrine 1.35 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-22/#p-1-35 - Source: PL 34:33 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The sum of Book 1: the fulfillment of all Scripture is love of God and neighbor, and the temporal dispensation is to be used as a road to God. ### Latin text Omnium igitur quae dicta sunt, ex quo de ro­ bus tractamus, hæc summa est, ut intelligatur Legis et omnium divinarum Scripturarum plenitudo et linis esse dilectio (Rom. xm. 10; et I Tim. i, 5) rei qua fruendum cst, ct rei quae nobiscum ea re frui potest; quia ut se quisque diligat, præcepto non opus est. Hoc ergo ut nossemus atque possemus, facta cst tota pro salute nostra pcr divinam providentiam dispensatio temporalis, qua debemus uti, non quasi mansoria quadam dilectione atque delectatione, sed transitoria patius, tanquam viæ, tanquam vehiculorum, vel aliorum quorumlibet instrumentorum, aut si quid congruentius dici poicst; ut ca quibus ferimur, pro­ pier illud ad quod fcrimur, diligamus. ### English translation (Claude) The sum, then, of all that has been said since we began treating of things is this: that it be understood that the fulfillment and the end of the Law and of all the divine Scriptures is love of the thing that is to be enjoyed and of the thing that can enjoy it together with us; for no commandment is needed that each should love himself. In order that we might know and be able to do this, the whole temporal dispensation was made for our salvation by divine providence. We ought to use it, not with a lasting kind of love and delight, but with a passing one, as we use a road, or vehicles, or any other instruments, or whatever more fitting term can be found; so that we love the things by which we are carried for the sake of that to which we are carried. ### Scripture references - Rom 13:10: allusion, high confidence - 1 Tim 1:5: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Rom 13:10; 1 Tim 1:5. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 1.35 (PL 34:33; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-22/#p-1-35). ## On Christian Doctrine 1.36 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-22/#p-1-36 - Source: PL 34:33–35 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Whoever does not draw love of God and neighbor from Scripture has not understood it; one who misreads the author but builds up love errs harmlessly, yet should be corrected. ### Latin text Quisquis igitur Scripturas divinas vel quamli­ hei carmin partem intellexisse sibi videtur, ita ut eo intellectu non ædificet istam geminam charitatem Dei et proximi, nondum intellexit. Quisquis vero ta­ lem inde sententiam duxcrit t, ut huic ædificandae charitati sit utilis, nec tamen hoc dixerit quod ille qucm legit co loco sensisse probabitur, non perniciose fallitur, nec omnino mentitur. Inest quippe in men­ ticnte voluntas falsa dicendi: et ideo multos inveni­ mus, qui mentiri vclint; qui autem falli, neminem. Cum igitur hoc sciens homo facit, illud nesciens na­ tiatur, satis in una eademque re apparet illum qui fal­ litur, co qui mentitur essc meliorem; quandoquidem pati melius est iniquitatem, quam facere: omnis au­ tem qui mentitur, iniquitatem facit 1; et si cuiquam vidctur utile aliquando esse mendacium, potest videri utilem aliquando esse iniquilatcm. Nemo enim men­ tiens, in eo quod mentitur, servat fidem; nam hoc utique vult, ut cui mentitur fidem sibi habeat, quam tamen ei mentiendo non servat: omnis autem fidei violatur, iniquus est. Aut igitur iniquitas ali­ quando u:ilis est, quod fieri non potest; aut menda­ cium semper inutile est. Sed quisquis in Scripturis aliud sentit quam ille qui scripsit, illis non mentientibus fallitur: sed tamen, ut dicere cœperam, si ca sententia falllur, qua ædificet charitatem, quæ finis præcepti cst, ita fallitur, ac si quisquam crrorc deserens viam, eo ta­ mcn per agrum pergat, quo etiam via illa perducit. Corrigendus cst tamen, ct quam sit utilius viam nrn deserere demonstrandum est, ne consuetudine de­ viandi etiam in transversum autperversuni ire cogatur ### English translation (Claude) Whoever, then, thinks that he has understood the divine Scriptures, or any part of them, in such a way that by that understanding he does not build up this twofold love of God and neighbor, has not yet understood them. But whoever draws from them a meaning that is useful for building up this love, and yet does not say what the author he is reading will be shown to have meant in that place, is not deceived in a harmful way, nor is he lying at all. For in a liar there is the will to say what is false; and so we find many who want to lie, but no one who wants to be deceived. Since, then, a man does the one knowingly and suffers the other unknowingly, it is clear enough that in one and the same matter the one who is deceived is better than the one who lies, since it is better to suffer injustice than to do it. And everyone who lies does injustice; and if it seems to anyone that a lie is sometimes useful, it can seem that injustice is sometimes useful. For no one who lies keeps faith in that in which he lies; for he certainly wants the one he lies to to have faith in him, which faith he nevertheless does not keep toward him by lying. And everyone who violates faith is unjust. Either, then, injustice is sometimes useful, which cannot be, or a lie is always useless. But whoever understands something in the Scriptures other than what the writer meant is deceived, though they do not lie. Yet, as I had begun to say, if he is deceived by a meaning that builds up love, which is the end of the commandment, he is deceived as if someone, leaving the road by mistake, still went on through the field to the place where that road also leads. Nevertheless he must be corrected, and it must be shown how much more useful it is not to leave the road, lest by the habit of straying he be forced to go off sideways or the wrong way. ### Scripture references - 1 Tim 1:5: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - This passage on reading Scripture for love, and on the reader who mistakes the author's meaning, is a principle of interpretation central to the work; Augustine distinguishes it sharply from lying. “The end of the commandment” is 1 Tim 1:5. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 1.36 (PL 34:33–35; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-22/#p-1-36). ## On Christian Doctrine 1.37 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-22/#p-1-37 - Source: PL 34:35 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Rash misreadings can lead one to oppose Scripture itself, undermining faith and so love; faith, hope, and love are what all knowledge serves. ### Latin text Asserendo cnim temere quod ille non sensit quem legit, plerumque incurrit in alia quæ illi sententiæ contexere nequeat: quæ si vera et certa esse con­ sentit, illud non possit verum esse quod senserat; fitque in eo, nescio quomodo, ut amando sententiam suam, Scripturæ inciPiat offensior esse quam sibi. Quod malum si serpere sivcrit, evertetur ex co. Per fidem enim ambulamus, non per speciem; titubabit autem fides, si divinarum Scripturarum vacillat auctoritas: porro fide titubante, charitas etiam ipsa languescit. Nam si a fide quisquc cecide­ rit, a charitate etiam necesse est cadat; non enim potest diligero quod esse non credit: porro si et cre­ dit et diligit, bene agendo al præceptis morum bono­ rum obtemperando efficit, ut ctiam speret se ad id quod diligit esse venturum. Itaque tria hæc sunt, qui­ bus ct scicntia omnis et prophetia militat, fides, spes, charitas. ### English translation (Claude) For by rashly asserting what the author he is reading did not mean, he often runs into other things that he cannot reconcile with that meaning; and if he agrees that these are true and certain, what he had thought cannot be true; and it happens to him, somehow, that by loving his own opinion he begins to be more offended at Scripture than at himself. If he lets this evil creep on, he will be overthrown by it. “For we walk by faith, not by sight”; and faith will stagger if the authority of the divine Scriptures wavers; and when faith staggers, love itself also grows faint. For if anyone falls from faith, he must also fall from love; for he cannot love what he does not believe exists. Further, if he both believes and loves, by doing good and obeying the commandments of good conduct he brings it about that he also hopes to come to what he loves. So these are the three things which all knowledge and prophecy serve: faith, hope, love. ### Scripture references - 2 Cor 5:7: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 13:13: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotation from 2 Cor 5:7; the triad from 1 Cor 13:13. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 1.37 (PL 34:35; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-22/#p-1-37). ## On Christian Doctrine 1.38 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-22/#p-1-38 - Source: PL 34:35 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Faith will give way to sight and hope to possession, but love will grow, since eternal goods, unlike temporal ones, surpass all expectation when attained. ### Latin text Sed fidei succedit species 1, quam videbimus; et spei succedit beatitudo ip;a, ad quam perventuri sumus: charitas autem etiam istis decedentibus auge­ bitur potius. Si enim credendo diligimus quod non­ dum videmus, quanto magis cum videre coeperimus? ct si sperando diligimus quo nondum pervenimus, quanto magis cum pervenerimus? luter temporalia quippe atque æterna hoc interest, quod temporale aliquid plus diligitur antequam habeatur, vilescit au­ tem cum advenerit; non enan saliat animam, cui vcra cst ct certa sedes aeternitas: æternum autem ardentius diligitur adeptum, quam desideratum: nulli enim dcsidcranti conceditur plus de illo existi­ marc quam se babet, ut ei vilescat cum minus inve­ ucrit; sed quantum quisque veniens existimare po- Interit, plus perveniens inventurus est. ### English translation (Claude) But faith will be succeeded by sight, which we shall see; and hope will be succeeded by happiness itself, at which we shall arrive; but love, even when these pass away, will rather be increased. For if by believing we love what we do not yet see, how much more when we begin to see? And if by hoping we love where we have not yet arrived, how much more when we have arrived? For there is this difference between temporal and eternal things: something temporal is loved more before it is possessed, but grows cheap when it comes, for it does not satisfy the soul, whose true and certain home is eternity; but the eternal is loved more ardently when obtained than when desired. For no one who desires it is allowed to think more of it than it is, so that it should grow cheap to him when he finds it less; but however highly anyone can think of it while coming, he will find more when he arrives. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 1.38 (PL 34:35; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-22/#p-1-38). ## On Christian Doctrine 1.39 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-22/#p-1-39 - Source: PL 34:35 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: One firmly grounded in faith, hope, and love needs the Scriptures only to teach others; love, the greatest, will remain forever. ### Latin text Homo itaque fide, spe et charitate subnixus, eaque inconcusse retinens, non indiget Scripturis nisi ad alios instruendos. Itaque multi per hæc tria etiam in solitudine sine eodicibus vivunt. Unde in illis arbitror jain impletum esse quod dictum est: Sive pro­ phetiæ evacuabuntur, sive linguæ cessabunt, sive scien­ tia evacuabitur. Quibus tamen quasi machinis tanta fidei et spei at charitatis in cis surrexit instructio, ut perfectum aliquid tenentes, ea quæ sunt ex parte non quærant: perfectum sane, quantum in hac vita po­ test; nam in comparatione futurae vitæ nullius justi et sancti est vita ista perfecta. Ideo manent, inquit, fides, spes, charitas; tria hæc: major autem horum esi cha­ ritas (I Cor. xm, 8, 43); quia ct cum quisque ad aeterna pervenerit, duobus istis decedentibus charitas auctior et certior permanebit. ### English translation (Claude) A person, then, who is supported by faith, hope, and love, and holds them unshakably, does not need the Scriptures except to instruct others. And so many live by these three even in solitude without books. In them, I think, what was said has already been fulfilled: “Whether there be prophecies, they shall pass away; whether tongues, they shall cease; whether knowledge, it shall pass away.” Yet by these, as by scaffolding, so great a structure of faith, hope, and love has risen in them that, holding something perfect, they do not seek what is in part; perfect, of course, as far as is possible in this life; for in comparison with the life to come, the life of no just and holy person here is perfect. Therefore, he says, “there remain faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love,” because even when anyone has arrived at eternal things, and those two have passed away, love will remain greater and more certain. ### Scripture references - 1 Cor 13:8–10: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 13:13: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations from 1 Cor 13:8–10, 13. The people living in solitude without books are presumably monks and hermits. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 1.39 (PL 34:35; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-22/#p-1-39). ## On Christian Doctrine 1.40 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-40/#p-1-40 - Source: PL 34:35 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: With love from a pure heart, a good conscience, and sincere faith as the goal, the reader may approach Scripture confidently; the next book treats signs. ### Latin text Quapropter, cum quisque cognoverit finem præ­ cepti esse charitatem, de corde puro, et conscientia - bona, et fide non ficta, omnem intellec­ tuin divinarum Scripturarum ad ista tria relaturus, ad tractationem illorum Librorum securus accedat. Cum cnim diceret, charitas, addidit, de corde puro, ut nihil aliud quam id quod diligendum est, diligatur. Conscientiam vero bonam conjunxit propter spetn: ille enim se ad id quod credit et diligit perventurum esse desperat, cui malæ conscientiæ scrupulus inest. Tertio, et fide, inquit, non ficta. Si enim fides nostra mendacio caruerit, tunc et non diligimus quod non est diligendum, et recte vivendo id speramus, ut nullo modo spes nostra fallatur. Propterea de rebus con­ linenlibus fidem, quantum pro tempore salis esse ar­ bitratus sum, dicere volui, quia in aliis voluminibus, sive per alios sive per nos multa jam dicta sunt. Mo­ dus itaque sit iste libri hujus. Caetera de signis, quan­ tum Dominus dederit, disseremus. ### English translation (Claude) Therefore, when anyone has learned that “the end of the commandment is love, from a pure heart, and a good conscience, and faith unfeigned,” and is ready to refer all understanding of the divine Scriptures to these three, let him approach the handling of those books without anxiety. For when he said “love,” he added “from a pure heart,” so that nothing is loved but what is to be loved. He joined “a good conscience” because of hope; for one who has the scruple of a bad conscience despairs of reaching what he believes and loves. Third, he says, “and faith unfeigned.” For if our faith is free of falsehood, then we do not love what is not to be loved, and by living rightly we hope for that in which our hope can in no way be deceived. I have wished, then, to say about the things contained in the faith as much as I thought sufficient for the present, because much has already been said in other volumes, whether by others or by us. Let this, then, be the limit of this book. The rest, about signs, we shall discuss as far as the Lord grants. ### Scripture references - 1 Tim 1:5: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotation from 1 Tim 1:5. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 1.40 (PL 34:35; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-40/#p-1-40). ## On Christian Doctrine 2.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-40/#p-2-1 - Source: PL 34:35–37 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: A sign is a thing that brings something else to mind; signs are either natural, like smoke for fire, or given. ### Latin text Quoniam de rebus cum scriberem, præmisi com­ monens nc quis in cis attenderet nisi quod sunt, non eliam si quid aliud præter se significant; vicissim de signis disserens hoc dico, ne quis in cis attendat quod sunt, sed potius quod signa sunt, id est, quod signi­ ficant. Signum cst enim res, præter speciem quam ingerit sensibus, aliud aliquid ex se facicns in cogita­ tionem veniire: sicut vestigio viso, transissc animal cujus vestigium est, cogitamus; ct fumo viso, ignem subesse cognoscimus; ct vocc animantis audita, affe­ ctioncm animi cjus advertimus; ct tuba sonantc, mi­ lites vel progredi sc I, vel regredi, et si quid aliud pugna postulat, oportere noverunt. Sgnorum igitur alia sunt naturalia, alia data. Naturalia sunt, quæ sinc voluntate atque ullo appetitu significandi, præter se aliquid aliud ex se cognosci faciunt, sicuti est fumus significans ignem. Non enim volens significare id facit, sed rerum cxperlarum anim­ adversione ct notatione cognoscitur igncin subesse, etiam si fumus solus appareat. Sed et vesligiuln trans­ cuntis animantis ad hoc genus pertinet: et vultus irati seu tristis affectionem animi significat, etiam nulla ejus voluntate qui aut iratus aut tritis est; aut si quisalius motus animi vultu indice proditur, ctiam nobis non id agentibus ut prodatur. Sed de hoc toto genere nunc disserere non est propositum. Quoniam tamen incidit in partitionem nostram, præteriri omnino non potuit; atque id haetenus notatum esse suffecerit. ### English translation (Claude) When I was writing about things, I began by warning that no one should attend in them to anything but what they are, and not to anything else they may signify besides themselves; so now, in discussing signs, I say in turn that no one should attend in them to what they are, but rather to the fact that they are signs, that is, to what they signify. For a sign is a thing which, besides the impression it makes on the senses, causes something else to come into the mind from itself: as when we see a footprint, we think that the animal whose footprint it is has passed by; when we see smoke, we know that there is fire beneath; when we hear the cry of a living creature, we perceive the feeling in its mind; and when the trumpet sounds, soldiers know that they must advance or retreat, or do whatever else the battle requires. Of signs, then, some are natural, others given. Natural signs are those which, without any intention or desire of signifying, make something else besides themselves known from themselves, as smoke signifies fire. For it does not do so wishing to signify; but by observing and noting things we have experienced, we know that there is fire beneath, even if only smoke appears. The footprint of a passing animal also belongs to this kind; and the face of someone angry or sad signifies the feeling of his mind, even without any intention on the part of the one who is angry or sad; and so with any other motion of the mind that is betrayed by the face as its index, even when we are not trying to betray it. But it is not our purpose now to discuss this whole kind. Yet since it came into our division, it could not be passed over entirely; and let it suffice to have noted it so far. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 2.1 (PL 34:35–37; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-40/#p-2-1). ## On Christian Doctrine 2.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-40/#p-2-2 - Source: PL 34:37 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Given signs are those used intentionally to convey one's thoughts; Scripture's signs come to us through its human writers. ### Latin text Data vero signa sunt, quæ sibi quasque viventia invicem dant ad demonstrandos, quantum possunt, motus animi sui, vel sensa, aut intellecta quælibet. Noc ulla causa cst nobis significandi, id est signi dandi, nisi ad depromendum ct trajiciendum in alterius ani­ mum id quod animo gerit is qui signum dat. Horum igitur signorum genus, quantum ad homines attinet, considerare atquc tractarc statuimus; quia ct signa divinitus data, quæ in Scripturis sanctis continentur, per homines nobis indicata sant, qui ea conscripse­ runt. Habent etiam bestiæ qua'dam inter se signa, quibus produnt appetitum animi sui. Nam et gallus gallinaceus reperto cibo, dat signuln vocis gallinæ ut accurrat; et columbus gemitu columbam vocat, tel ab ea vicissim vocatur; ct multa hujusmodi animad­ verti solent. Quai utrum, sicut vultus aut dolentis clamor, sinc significandi voluntate sequantur motum animi, an vere ad significandum dentur, alia quæstio est, et ad rem quæ agitur non pertinet: quam pnr­ tem ab hoc opere tanquam non necessariam remo­ vemus. ### English translation (Claude) Given signs are those which living beings give one another to show, as far as they can, the motions of their minds, or whatever they have sensed or understood. Nor have we any reason for signifying, that is, for giving a sign, except to bring out and transfer into another's mind what the one who gives the sign has in his own mind. It is this kind of signs, then, so far as it concerns human beings, that we have decided to consider and treat; because even the signs given by God, which are contained in the holy Scriptures, have been made known to us through the human beings who wrote them. Animals too have certain signs among themselves by which they show the desire of their minds. For the cock, when he finds food, gives the hen a vocal sign to run to him; the male dove calls the female with cooing, or is called by her in turn; and many things of this kind are commonly observed. Whether these, like a face or the cry of someone in pain, follow the motion of the mind without the intention of signifying, or are truly given in order to signify, is another question and does not belong to the matter in hand; we remove that part from this work as unnecessary. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 2.2 (PL 34:37; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-40/#p-2-2). ## On Christian Doctrine 2.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-40/#p-2-3 - Source: PL 34:37 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Human signs mostly address sight and hearing, and words are by far the most important, since they can express all other signs. ### Latin text Signorum igitur quibus inter se homines sua sensa communicant, quaedam pertinent ad oculorum sensum, pleraque ad aurium, paucissima ad cæteros sensus. Nam cum innuimus, non damus signum nisi oculis ejus quem volumus per hoc signum voluntatis nostræ participem facere. Et quidam motu 1 manuum pleraque significant: et histrioncs omnium membro­ nim motibus dant signa quaedam screntibus, et cum oculis eorum quasi fabulantur; et vexilla draconesque militares per oculos insinuant voluntatem ducum ct suni hæc omnia quasi quædam verba visibilia. Ad aures autem quæ pertinent, ut dixi, plura sunt, in verbis maxime. Nain ct tuba, et tibia, et cithara, dant p!erumque non solum suavem, sed etiam significan­ lem sonum. Sed hæc omnia signa, verbis comparata paucissima sunt. Verba enim prorsus inter homines obtinuerunt principatum significandi quæcumque ani­ mo concipiuntur, si ea quisque prodere velit. Nam et odore unguenti Dominus, quo perfusi sunt pedes rjus, signum aliquod dedit; et Sa­ cramento corporis ct sanguinis sui prægustato si­ gnificavit quod voluit (Luc. XXII, i 9, 20); ct cum mulier tangendo fimbriam vestimenti cjus, salva facta est, nonnihil significat: sed innume­ rabilis multitudo signorum, quibus suas cogitationes homines exerunt, in verbi; constituta est. Nam illa si gna omnia quorum genera breviter attigi, potui verbis enuntiare; verba vero illis signis nullo modo possem. ### English translation (Claude) Of the signs, then, by which human beings communicate their thoughts to one another, some belong to the sense of sight, most to that of hearing, very few to the other senses. For when we nod, we give a sign only to the eyes of the person we wish to make a sharer in our will by this sign. And some signify a great deal by movements of the hands; actors give certain signs to those who understand by movements of all their limbs, and as it were talk with their eyes; and military standards and dragon banners convey the will of the commanders through the eyes. And all these are, so to speak, visible words. Those that belong to the ears, as I said, are more numerous, chiefly in words. For the trumpet, the flute, and the lyre often give a sound that is not only pleasant but also meaningful. But all these signs are very few compared with words. For words have gained absolute preeminence among human beings for signifying whatever is conceived in the mind, if anyone wishes to express it. For the Lord too gave a sign by the odor of the ointment with which his feet were anointed; and by the sacrament of his body and blood, which he tasted beforehand, he signified what he wished; and when the woman was healed by touching the fringe of his garment, it signifies something; but the countless multitude of signs by which human beings express their thoughts consists in words. For all those signs whose kinds I have briefly touched on I could express in words; but words I could in no way express by those signs. ### Scripture references - John 12:3: allusion, high confidence - Luke 22:19–20: allusion, high confidence - Matt 9:20–22: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - The anointing: John 12:3–7 (Luke 7:38); the Last Supper: Luke 22:19–20; the woman healed: Matt 9:20–22. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 2.3 (PL 34:37; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-40/#p-2-3). ## On Christian Doctrine 2.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-40/#p-2-4 - Source: PL 34:37 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Writing was invented to preserve words, but since Babel different nations have different languages and scripts. ### Latin text Sed quia verberato acre statim transeunt, nee diutius manent quam sonant, instituta sunt per HUc­ ras signa verborum. Ita voccs oculis ostenduntur, non per seipsas, sed per signa quiddam sua. Ista igi­ tur signa non potuerunt communia esse omnibus gentibus, peccato quodam dissensionis humanæ, cum ad se quisque principatum rapit. Cujus superbiæ si­ gnum cst erecta illa turris in coelum, ubi homines impii non solum animos, sed etiam voces dissonas habere meruerunt (Gcn. XI, i-9). ### English translation (Claude) But because words pass away as soon as they have struck the air, and last no longer than they sound, signs of words were established by means of letters. So sounds are shown to the eyes, not in themselves but through certain signs of their own. These signs, then, could not be common to all nations, because of a certain sin of human discord, when each grasps at preeminence for himself. A sign of that pride is the tower built up toward heaven, where ungodly men deserved to have not only discordant minds but also discordant voices. ### Scripture references - Gen 11:1–9: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Gen 11:1–9. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 2.4 (PL 34:37; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-40/#p-2-4). ## On Christian Doctrine 2.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-40/#p-2-5 - Source: PL 34:37 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Scripture began in one language and spread through translations; its readers seek the thoughts of its writers and through them the will of God. ### Latin text Ex quo factum cst ut ctiam Scriptura divina, qua tantis morbis humanarum voluntatum subveni­ tur, ab una lingua profecta, qua 1 opportune potuit per orbem terrarum disseminari, per varias interpre­ tum linguas longe lateque difTusa innotesceret genti­ bus ad salutem: quam legentes nihil aliud appetunt quam cogitationes voluntatemque illorum a quibus conscripta est, invenire, ct per illas voluntitem Dei, sccundum quam tales homines locutos credimus. ### English translation (Claude) So it came about that even the divine Scripture, by which such great diseases of human wills are relieved, set out from one language, in which it could conveniently be spread through the whole world, and, spread far and wide through the various languages of translators, became known to the nations for their salvation. Those who read it desire nothing else than to find the thoughts and will of those by whom it was written, and through them the will of God, according to which we believe such men spoke. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 2.5 (PL 34:37; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-40/#p-2-5). ## On Christian Doctrine 2.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-40/#p-2-6 - Source: PL 34:37–39 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Scripture's obscurities were provided by God to humble pride and make discovery delightful, as the figurative reading of Song 4:2 shows; nearly everything obscure is stated plainly elsewhere. ### Latin text Sed multis et multiplicibus obscuritatibus, et ambiguitatibus dccipiuntur qui temere legunt, aliud pro alio senticnles; quibusdam autcm locis quid vel falso suspicentur non inveniunt, ita obscure quædam dicta densissimam caliginem obducunt. Quod totum provisum divinitus esse non dubito, ad edomandam labore superbiam, et iutellectum a fastidio revocan­ dum I, cui facile investigata plerumque vilescunt. Quid enim est, quæso, quod si quisquam dicat san­ ctos esse homines atque perfectos, quoum viia ct moribus Christi Ecclesia de quibuslibet superstitioni­ bus præcidit eos qui ad se veniunt, et imilationc bo • norum sibimet quodammodo ineorporal; qui boni fideles et veri a Dei servi, deponentes onera sæculi, ad sanctum Baptismi lavacrum venerunt, atque inde ascendentes conceptione sancti Spiritus fi uctum dant geminae charitatis, id cst, Dci ct proximi: quid cst ergo quod si hæc quisque dicat, minus delectat au­ dientem, quam si ad cumdem sensum locum illum exponat de Canticis canticorum, ubi dictum cst Ec­ clesiæ, cum tanquam pulchra qua'dam femina lauda­ retur, Dentes tui sicut grex detonsarum, ascendens de lavacra, quæ omnes geminos creant, et non est sterilis in eis (Cant. IV, <2)? Num aliud homo discit, quani cum illud planissimis verbis, sine similitudinis hujus adminiculo audiret? Et tamen nescio quomodo sua­ vius intueor sanctos, cum eos quasi dentes Ecclesiæ,'idco præcidere ab erroribus homines, atque in ejus corpus, emollita duritia, quasi dcmorsos mansosque transferre. Oves etiam jucundissime agnosco deton­ sas, oneribus srecularibus tanquam velleribus positis, et ascendentes de lavacro, id est dcBaptismate, crcare omnes geminusf id est duo pracepta dilectionis, et nullam esse ab islo sancto fructu sterilem video. Sed quare suavius videam, quam si nulla de divinis Libris talis similitudo prolnerctur, cum res eadem sit eademque cognitio, difficile est dicere, et alia quæstio est. Nunc tamen nemo ambigit, et per similitudines libentius quæque cognosci, et cum aliqua difficultate quæsita multo gratius inveniri. Qui enim prorsus non inveniunt quod quærunt, fame laborant; qui autem non quærunt, quia in promptu habent, fa­ stidio sæpe marcescunt: in utroque autem languor cavendus est. Magnifice igitur et salubriter Spiritus fanctus ita Scripturas sanctas modificavit, ut locis apertioribus fami occurreret, obscurioribus autem fa­ stidia detergeret. Nihil enim fere de illis obscuritatibus eruititr, quod non planissime dictum alibi rcperiatur. ### English translation (Claude) But those who read rashly are deceived by many and manifold obscurities and ambiguities, taking one meaning for another; and in some places they cannot find even a false guess, so thick is the darkness some sayings spread over them. I do not doubt that all this was provided by God, to tame pride by labor and to rescue the understanding from disdain, since things easily searched out usually seem cheap to it. For what is it, I ask, that makes this less delightful to the hearer if someone says that there are holy and perfect men, by whose life and conduct the Church of Christ cuts off those who come to her from every kind of superstition and, by their imitation of the good, somehow incorporates them into herself; good, faithful, and true servants of God who, laying down the burdens of the world, have come to the holy washing of baptism, and, rising from it, by the conception of the Holy Spirit bear the fruit of a twofold love, that is, of God and of neighbor: what is it, then, that makes this less delightful if someone says it, than if he expounds to the same effect that passage of the Song of Songs where it is said to the Church, praised as a beautiful woman, “Your teeth are like a flock of shorn ewes coming up from the washing, all of which bear twins, and there is not a barren one among them”? Does a person learn anything different from when he heard it in the plainest words without the help of this comparison? And yet somehow I contemplate the saints with more pleasure when I see them as the teeth of the Church, cutting men off from their errors and, once their hardness is softened, transferring them into her body, as if bitten off and chewed. And I recognize with the greatest delight the shorn sheep, having laid down the burdens of the world like fleeces, coming up from the washing, that is, from baptism, all bearing twins, that is, the two commandments of love, and I see that none is barren of that holy fruit. But why I see it with more pleasure than if no such comparison were drawn from the divine books, though the thing is the same and the knowledge the same, is hard to say, and is another question. Yet no one now doubts both that things are learned more willingly through comparisons and that what is sought with some difficulty is found with much more pleasure. For those who do not find at all what they seek suffer hunger; but those who do not seek, because they have it ready to hand, often waste away from disdain; and in both cases faintness is to be avoided. Magnificently and wholesomely, then, the Holy Spirit has so arranged the holy Scriptures as to meet hunger with the plainer passages and to wipe away disdain with the more obscure. For hardly anything is dug out of those obscurities that is not found said very plainly elsewhere. ### Scripture references - Song 4:2: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotation from Song 4:2. This passage states a principle of interpretation: what is obscure in Scripture is found stated plainly elsewhere. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 2.6 (PL 34:37–39; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-40/#p-2-6). ## On Christian Doctrine 2.7 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-40/#p-2-7 - Source: PL 34:39 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Augustine sets out seven steps toward wisdom: fear, piety, knowledge (the study of Scripture), fortitude, counsel, purity of heart, and wisdom. ### Latin text Ante omnia igitur opus cst Dci timorc converti ad cognoscendam ejus voluntatem, quid nohis appe­ tendum fugiendumque præcipiat. Timor autem iste cogitationem de nostra mortalitate et de futura morte necesse eSt incutiat, et quasi clavatis carnibus omnes superbiae motus ligno crucis aftigat. Deinde mitescere opus est pictate, neque contradicere divin:e Scriptu­ ræ sive intellectæ, si aliqua vitia nostra percutit; sive non intellecte, quasi nos melius saperc meliusque præ­ cipcre1 possimus: sed cogitare potius ct credere id esse melius et verius quod ibi scriptum est, etiam si lateat, quam id quod nos jer nosmetipsos sapere possumus. Post istos duos gradus timoris atque pietatis ad tertium venitur scientiæ gradum, de quo nunc agere institui. Nam in eo se exercet omnis divinarum Scri­ pturarum studiosus, nihil in eis aliud inventurus quam diligendum esse Dcum propter Deum, ct proximuin propter Deum: et illum quidem ex toto corde, ex tota anima, ex tota mente diligere; proximum vcro tanquam scipsum (Matth. xxn, 57 et 39 ), id est, ut tota proximi, sicut etiam nostri dilectio referatur in Deum. De quibus duobus præceptis, cum de rebus ageremus, libro superiore tractavimus. Necesse est ergo, ut primo se quisque in Scripturis inveniat amore hujus sæculi, hoc est, temporalium rerum, implicatum, longe sejunctum esse a tanto amore Dcict tanto amore proximi, quantum Scriptura ipsa praescribit. Tum vero ille timor quo cogitat de judicio Dei, et illa pictas qua non polestnisi credere et cedcre auctoritati sanctorum Librorum, cogit eum seipsum lugere. Nam ista scicutia bonæ spei hominem non se jactantem, sed lamentantem facit: quo affectu impetrat sedulis precibus consola­ tionem divini adjutorii, ne desperalionc frangatur, et esse incipit in quarto gradu, hoc est fortitudinis, quo esuritur et sititur justitia. Hoc euim affectu ab omni mortifera jucunditate rerum Iranseuntium sese extra­ hit, ei inde se avertens convertit ad dilectionem æternorum, incommutabilem scilicet unitatcm eam­ demque Trinitatem. Quam ubi aspexerit, quantum potest, in longin­ qua radiantem, suique aspectus infirmitate sustinere se illam lucem non posse persenserit; in quinto gradu, hoc est in consilio misericordiæ, purgat animam tu­ multuantem quodammodo atque obstrepentem sibi de appetitu inferiorum conceptis sordibus. Hic vero se in dilectione proximi gnaviter exercet, in eaque perficitur; et spe jam plenus atque integer viri. bus, cum pervenerit usque ad inimici dilectionem, ascendit in sextum gradum, ubi jam ipsum oculam purgat, quo vidcri Deus potest, quantum potest ab iis qui huic sæculo moriuntur quantum possunt. Nam in tantum vident, in quantum moriuntur huic sæculo; in quantum autem huic vivunt, non vident. Et ideo quamvis jam certior, ct non solum toletabilior, sei etiam jucundior species lucis illius incipiat apparerc; in ænigmate adhuc tamen et per speculum videri di­ citur, quia magis per fidem quam per speciem ambulatur, cum in hac vita peregrinamur (II Cor, v, G, 7), quamvis conversationem habeamus in coelis In hoc autem gradu ita purgat oculum cordis, ut veritati ne ipsum quidem pra fcrat aut conferat proximum; ergo nee seipsum, quia nee illum quem diligit sicut scipsum. Erit crgo iste sanctus tam simplici eorde atque mundano, u< neque hominibus placendi studio detorqueatur a vero, nee respectu devitandorum quorumlibet incommodo­ rum suorum, quæ adversantur huic vitae. Talis filius ascendit ad sapientiam, quæ ultima et septima est qnia pacatus tranquillusque perfruitur. Initium enim sapientiae timor Domini (Psal. ex, 10, et Eccli. 1, 16). Ab illo enim usque ad ipsam per hos gradus tendi­ tur, et venitur. ### English translation (Claude) Before all else, then, one must be turned by the fear of God to knowing his will, what he commands us to seek and to shun. This fear must strike into us the thought of our mortality and of our future death, and nail all the motions of pride to the wood of the cross, as if our flesh were fastened with nails. Next one must become gentle through piety, and not contradict the divine Scripture, whether understood, if it strikes at some of our vices, or not understood, as if we could know better and command better; but rather think and believe that what is written there, even if it is hidden, is better and truer than what we can know by ourselves. After these two steps of fear and piety, one comes to the third step, that of knowledge, which I have now undertaken to treat. For in it every student of the divine Scriptures exercises himself, and he will find nothing else in them than that God is to be loved for God's sake, and one's neighbor for God's sake: God with all one's heart, all one's soul, all one's mind, and one's neighbor as oneself, that is, so that all love of one's neighbor, as also of ourselves, is referred to God. We treated these two commandments in the previous book, when we were dealing with things. It is necessary, then, first of all, that each person find himself in the Scriptures entangled in the love of this world, that is, of temporal things, and far removed from as great a love of God and as great a love of neighbor as Scripture itself prescribes. Then that fear by which he thinks of the judgment of God, and that piety by which he cannot but believe and yield to the authority of the holy books, compel him to mourn over himself. For this knowledge of good hope makes a person not boastful but lamenting; in this frame of mind he obtains by earnest prayer the comfort of divine help, so that he is not broken by despair, and he begins to be in the fourth step, that of fortitude, in which one hungers and thirsts for righteousness. For in this frame of mind he draws himself out of all deadly pleasure in passing things, and, turning away from them, turns to the love of eternal things, namely the unchangeable Unity which is also the Trinity. When he has seen it, as far as he can, shining in the distance, and has perceived that because of the weakness of his sight he cannot endure that light, in the fifth step, that is, in the counsel of mercy, he cleanses his soul, which is in a sort of tumult and clamor against itself from the filth contracted through desire for lower things. Here he exercises himself vigorously in the love of neighbor and is perfected in it; and now full of hope and whole in strength, when he has reached even the love of his enemy, he ascends to the sixth step, where he now cleanses that very eye by which God can be seen, as far as he can be seen by those who die to this world as far as they can. For they see to the extent that they die to this world; but insofar as they live to it, they do not see. And so, although the sight of that light begins to appear more certain, and not only more bearable but also more delightful, still it is said to be seen “in an enigma and through a mirror,” because we walk more by faith than by sight while we are on pilgrimage in this life, although our citizenship is in heaven. In this step he so cleanses the eye of his heart that he does not prefer or even compare his neighbor to the truth; therefore not himself either, since not even him whom he loves as himself. This holy man, then, will be of so single and pure a heart that he will not be turned aside from the truth either by the desire to please men or by regard for avoiding any of his own troubles that oppose this life. Such a son ascends to wisdom, which is the seventh and last step, and which he enjoys in peace and tranquility. For “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” From that, then, through these steps, one strives and comes to wisdom itself. ### Scripture references - Isa 11:2–3: allusion, medium confidence - Matt 5:3–9: allusion, medium confidence - Matt 22:37–39: quotation, high confidence - Matt 5:6: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 13:12: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 5:6–7: quotation, high confidence - Phil 3:20: allusion, high confidence - Ps 111:10 (110:10 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Prov 9:10: allusion, medium confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Sir 1:16 (Sirach): quotation, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The seven steps follow the gifts of the Spirit in Isa 11:2–3 (in the Latin order, reversed) and the Beatitudes (Matt 5:3–9). Quotations from Matt 22:37, 39; 1 Cor 13:12; 2 Cor 5:6–7; Phil 3:20; and Ps 111:10 (110:10 Vulg.), also Sir 1:16 (cited by Migne). ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 2.7 (PL 34:39; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-40/#p-2-7). ## On Christian Doctrine 2.8 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-40/#p-2-8 - Source: PL 34:39–41 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Augustine advises reading all the canonical books first, ranks disputed books by how many and how weighty the churches are that accept them, and lists the canon of the Old and New Testaments. ### Latin text Sed nos ad tertium illum gradum consideratio­ nem referamus, de quo disserere quod Dominus sug­ gesserit. atque tractare instituimus. Erit igitur divi­ narum Scripturarum solertissimus indagator, qui primo totas legerit, notasque habuerit, et si nondum intel­ lectu, jam tamen lectione, duntaxat eas quæ appel­ lantur canonicæ. Nam cæteras securius leget fide veritatis instructus, ne præoccupent imbecillem ani­ mum, et periculosis mendaciis atque phantasmatibns eludentes pra'judicent aliquid contra sanam intelli­ gentiam. In canonicis autem Scripturis, Ecclesiarum catholicarum quamplurium auctoritatem sequatur; in - ter quas sane illæ sint, quæ apostolicas Sedes habere et Epistolas accipere meruerunt. Tenebit igitur hunc modum in Scripturis canonicis, ut eas quæ ab omn!­ bus accipluntur Ecclesiis catholicis, præponat eis quas quædam non accipiunt: in eis vero quæ non acci­ piuntur ab omnibus, præponat eas quas plures gra­ vioresque accipiunt, eis quas pauciores minorisque auctoritatis Ecclesiæ tenent. Si autcm alias iuvcnerit a pluribus, alias a gravioribus habcri, quanquam hoc facile invenire non possit, æqualis tamen auctoritatis eas hahendas puto. Tutus autem canon Scripturarum, in quo istam considerationem versandam dicimus, his libris conti­ netur: Quinque Moyseos, id est Gencsi, Exodo, Levitico, Numeris, Deuteronomio; et uno libro Jesu Nave, uno Judicum, uno libello qui appellatur Ruth, qui magis ad Regnorum principium 1 videtur pertinere; deinde quatuor Regnorum, et duobus Paralipomenon, non consequentibus, sed quasi a latere adjunctis si­ mulque per gentibus. Hxc est historia, qum sibilnet annexa tempora continet, atque ordinem rerum: sunt aliæ tanquam ex diverso ordine, quae neque huic or­ dini, neque in:er se connectuntur, sicut est Job, et Tobias. et Esther, et Judith, et Machabxorum lihri duo, et Esdræ duo, qui magis subsequi videntur or­ dinatam illam historiam usque ad Regnorum vel Pa­ ralipomenon terminatam: deinde Prophetæ, in quibus David unus liber Psalmorum; et Salomonis tres, Pro­ verbiorum, Cantica canticorum, et Ecclesiastes. Nam illi duo libri, unus qui Sapientia, et alius qui Eccle­ siasticus inscribitur, de quadam similitudine Salonio­ nis esse dicuntur: nam Jesus Sirach eos conscripsisse constantissime perhibetur, qui tamen quoniam in auctoritatem recipi meruerunt, inter propheticos nu­ merandi sunt. Reliqui sunt eorum libri, qui proprie Prophetæ appellantur, duodecim Prophetarum libri Binguli, qui connexi sibimet, quoniam nunquam se­ juncti sunt, pro uno habentur: quorum Prophetarum nomina sunt hæc, Osee, Joel, Amos, Abdias, Jonas, Michæas, Nahum, Habacuc, Sophonias, Aggæus, Zacharias, Malachias: deinde quatuor Prophetæ sunt majorum volulninum, Isaias, Jeremias, Daniel, Eze­ chiel. Ilis quadraginta quatuor libris Testamenti Ve­ teris terminatur auctoritas: Novi autem, quatuor libris Evangelii, secundum Matthæum, secundum Marctun, secundum Lucam, secundum Joannem; quatuordecim Epistolis Pauli apostoli, ad Romanos, ad Coriuthios duabus, ad Galatas, ad Ephesios, ad Philippenses, ad Thessalonicenses duabus, ad Colos­ senses, ad Timotheum duabus, ad Titum, ad Phi­ lemonem, ad Hebræos; Petri duabus; tribus Joan­ nis; una Judæ, et una Jacobi; Actibus Apostolorum libro uno, et Apocalypsi Joannis libro uno. ### English translation (Claude) But let us bring our consideration back to that third step, about which we have undertaken to discuss and treat what the Lord suggests. He, then, will be the most skillful investigator of the divine Scriptures who has first read them all and has them known, if not yet by understanding, at least by reading, at any rate those that are called canonical. For he will read the others more safely when he is instructed in the faith of the truth, so that they do not take possession of a weak mind and, mocking it with dangerous falsehoods and fantasies, prejudice it against sound understanding. In the canonical Scriptures, he should follow the authority of the greatest number of catholic churches, among which are surely those that have been found worthy to have apostolic sees and to receive letters. He will hold to this rule, then, in the canonical Scriptures: to prefer those which are accepted by all catholic churches to those which some do not accept; and among those which are not accepted by all, to prefer those which more numerous and weightier churches accept to those held by fewer churches and of lesser authority. And if he should find some held by more churches and others by weightier ones, though he could not easily find this, I think they should be held to be of equal authority. The whole canon of the Scriptures, to which we say this consideration is to be applied, is contained in these books: the five of Moses, that is, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy; one book of Joshua son of Nun, one of Judges, one little book called Ruth, which seems rather to belong to the beginning of Kingdoms; then four of Kingdoms, and two of Chronicles, not following on but as it were joined alongside and running together. This is history, which contains times linked to one another and the order of events. There are others, as it were of a different order, which are connected neither with this order nor with one another, such as Job, Tobit, Esther, Judith, the two books of Maccabees, and the two of Ezra, which seem rather to follow that ordered history ending with Kingdoms or Chronicles. Then the Prophets, among whom are one book of Psalms of David, and three of Solomon: Proverbs, the Song of Songs, and Ecclesiastes. For those two books, one entitled Wisdom and the other Ecclesiasticus, are said to be Solomon's because of a certain likeness; for it is most consistently reported that Jesus son of Sirach wrote them; yet since they have been found worthy to be received into authority, they are to be counted among the prophetic books. The rest are the books of those who are properly called Prophets: the twelve single books of the Prophets, which, joined together because they have never been separated, are counted as one; the names of these Prophets are Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi; then there are four Prophets of larger volumes, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Ezekiel. With these forty-four books the authority of the Old Testament is concluded. That of the New is concluded with the four books of the Gospel, according to Matthew, according to Mark, according to Luke, according to John; the fourteen letters of the apostle Paul, to the Romans, two to the Corinthians, to the Galatians, to the Ephesians, to the Philippians, two to the Thessalonians, to the Colossians, two to Timothy, to Titus, to Philemon, to the Hebrews; two of Peter; three of John; one of Jude and one of James; one book of the Acts of the Apostles; and one book of the Apocalypse of John. ### Extrabiblical texts - Tob (Tobit): allusion, high confidence - Jdt (Judith): allusion, high confidence - 1 Macc (1 Maccabees): allusion, high confidence - 2 Macc (2 Maccabees): allusion, high confidence - Wis (Wisdom of Solomon): allusion, high confidence - Sir (Sirach): allusion, high confidence - 1 Esd (1 Esdras): allusion, low confidence ### Translation notes - Augustine's canon list includes Tobit, Judith, 1–2 Maccabees, Wisdom, and Sirach, which the Protestant canon (and this site) counts as extrabiblical; he himself notes that Wisdom and Sirach are not Solomon's and were received into authority. “Two of Ezra” probably means Ezra and Nehemiah (counted as 1–2 Esdras), though some take it to include the Greek 1 Esdras. The traditional ascription of Wisdom to Jesus son of Sirach is Augustine's report (he later corrected it in his Retractations 2.4). The forty-four books are counted as Augustine counts them. Migne's note markers (a), (b), (c) are removed by logged corrections. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 2.8 (PL 34:39–41; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-40/#p-2-8). ## On Christian Doctrine 2.9 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-40/#p-2-9 - Source: PL 34:41 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The student should first know the books, then master what is plainly taught about faith and life, and then use clear passages to explain obscure ones. ### Latin text In his omnibus iibris timentes Deum et pictate mansucti, quærunt voluntatem Dei. Cujns operis et laboris prima observatio est, ut diximus, nosse istos libros, etsi nondum ad intellectum, legendo tamen vel mandare memoriae, vel omnino incognitos non ha­ bere. Deinde illa quæ in eis aperte posita sunt, vel praecepta vivendi, vel regulæ credendi, solertius dili­ gentiusque investiganda sunt: quæ tanto quisque plura invenit, quanto est intelligentiæ I capacior. In iis enim quae aperte in Scripturis posita sunt, inveniuntur illa omnia quae continent fidem, moresque vivendi, spem scilicet atque charitatem, de quibus libro superiore tractavimus. Tum vero, facta quadam familiaritate cum ipsa lingua divinarum Scripturarum, in ea quæ obscura sunt aperienda et discutienda pergendum est,. ut ad obscuriores locutiones illustrandas de manife stioribus sumantur exempla, et quædam certarum sententiarum testimonia dubitationem incertis aufe­ rant. In qua re memoria valet plurimum: quæ si de­ fuerit, non potest his praeceptis dari. ### English translation (Claude) In all these books those who fear God and are made gentle by piety seek the will of God. The first rule of this work and labor is, as we have said, to know these books, if not yet so as to understand them, at least by reading them either to commit them to memory or not to be wholly unacquainted with them. Next, the things that are set down plainly in them, whether rules of living or rules of faith, are to be searched out more skillfully and diligently; and the more of these anyone finds, the more capable of understanding he is. For among the things set down plainly in the Scriptures are found all those that contain faith and the conduct of life, namely hope and love, which we treated in the previous book. Then, after gaining some familiarity with the very language of the divine Scriptures, one must go on to open up and examine the obscure passages, so that examples from the plainer expressions are taken to throw light on the more obscure, and certain testimonies of sure statements remove doubt from uncertain ones. In this matter memory is of the greatest value; and if it is lacking, it cannot be given by these rules. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 2.9 (PL 34:41; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-40/#p-2-9). ## On Christian Doctrine 2.10 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-40/#p-2-10 - Source: PL 34:41 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Scripture is not understood when its signs are unknown or ambiguous; signs may be literal or figurative. ### Latin text Duabus autem causis non intelliguntur quæ scripta sunt, si aut ignotis, aut ambiguis signis obte­ guntur. Sunt autem signa vel propria, vel translata. Propria dicuntur, cum his rebus significandis adhiben­ tur, propter quas sunt instituta; sicut dicimus bovem, cum intelligimus pecus1, quod omnes nobiscum lati­ næ linguae homines hoc nomine vocant. Translata sunt, cum et ipsae res quas propriis verbis significa­ mus, ad aliud aliquid significandum usurpantur: sicut dicimus bovem, et per has duas syllabas intelligimus pecus quod isto nomine appellari solet; sed rursus per illud pecus intelligimus evangelistam, quem signi­ ficavit Scriptura, interpretante Apostolo, dicens, Bo- Mem triturantem non infrenabis. ### English translation (Claude) There are two reasons why what is written is not understood: it is veiled either by unknown signs or by ambiguous ones. Signs are either literal or figurative. They are called literal when they are used to signify the things for which they were instituted, as when we say “ox” and mean the animal which all who speak Latin with us call by this name. They are figurative when the very things we signify by literal words are used to signify something else: as when we say “ox” and by these two syllables understand the animal usually called by that name, but again by that animal understand an evangelist, whom Scripture signified, as the Apostle interprets it, when it says, “You shall not muzzle the ox that treads out the grain.” ### Scripture references - Deut 25:4: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 9:9: allusion, high confidence - 1 Tim 5:18: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Quotation from Deut 25:4, interpreted in 1 Cor 9:9 and 1 Tim 5:18. “Ox” translates bos, two syllables in Latin (bovem). ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 2.10 (PL 34:41; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-40/#p-2-10). ## On Christian Doctrine 2.11 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-40/#p-2-11 - Source: PL 34:41–43 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Knowledge of Hebrew and Greek is the remedy for unknown literal signs, especially because of the many varying Latin translations. ### Latin text Contra ignota signa propria magnum remedium est linguarum cognitio. Et latinae quidem linguae ho­ mines, quos nunc instruendos suscepimus, duabus aliis ad Scripturarum divinarum cognilionem opus habent, hebraea scilicet et graeca; ut ad exemplaria praeceden­ tia recurratur, si quam dubitationem attulerit latino­ rum interpretum infinita varietas. Quanquam et he­ bræa verba non interpretata saepe inveniamus in li­ bris, sicut Amen, et Alleluia, et Racha, et Hosanna, et si qua sunt alia: quorum partim propter sanctio. rem auctoritatem, quamvis interpretari potuissent, servata est antiquitas, sicut est Amen, et Alleluia partim vero in aliam linguam transferi non potasse dicuntur, sicut alia duo quae posumius. 'Sunt enini quædam verba certarum linguarum, quæ in usum al­ terius linguæ per interpretationem transire non pos­ sint. El huc maxime interjectionibus accidit, quae verba motum aniini significant potius, quam senten­ tiæ conceptæ1 ullam particulam; nam et hæc. duo ta­ iia esse perhibentur: dicunt enim Racha Indignantis esse vocem, Hosanna lætantis. Sed non propter hxc pauca, quæ notare atque interrogare facillimum est, sed propter diversitates, ut dictum est, interpretum, illarum linguarum est cognitio necessaria. Qui enim Scripturas ex hebraea lingua in græcam verterunt, numerari possunt; latini autem interpretes nullo modo. Ut enim cuique primis fidei temporibus in ma­ nus venit codex græcus, et aliquantulum facultatis sibi utriusque linguæ habere videbatur, ausus est inter­ pretari, ### English translation (Claude) Against unknown literal signs a great remedy is the knowledge of languages. And people who speak Latin, whom we have now undertaken to instruct, need two other languages for knowing the divine Scriptures, namely Hebrew and Greek, so that recourse may be had to the earlier copies if the endless variety of the Latin translators raises any doubt. Although we also often find Hebrew words untranslated in the books, such as Amen, Alleluia, Racha, Hosanna, and any others; of these, some have kept their ancient form because of their more sacred authority, though they could have been translated, such as Amen and Alleluia; others are said to be untranslatable into another language, like the other two we have mentioned. For there are some words of particular languages that cannot pass into the usage of another language by translation. This happens most of all with interjections, words that signify a motion of the mind rather than any part of a formed thought; and these two are reported to be of that kind, for they say that Racha is the word of someone indignant, Hosanna of someone rejoicing. But it is not because of these few, which are very easy to note and ask about, but because of the diversity of the translators, as has been said, that knowledge of those languages is necessary. For those who translated the Scriptures from Hebrew into Greek can be counted, but the Latin translators by no means. For in the first days of the faith, whenever a Greek manuscript came into anyone's hands and he thought he had a little skill in both languages, he ventured to translate it. ### Scripture references - Matt 5:22: allusion, medium confidence - Matt 21:9: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Racha: Matt 5:22; Hosanna: Matt 21:9. Augustine's remark on the countless early Latin translators refers to the Old Latin versions. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 2.11 (PL 34:41–43; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-40/#p-2-11). ## On Christian Doctrine 2.12 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-40/#p-2-12 - Source: PL 34:43 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Comparing Latin translations can clarify difficult passages, as with Isa 58:7 and 7:9, and can expose mistranslations arising from ambiguous Greek words. ### Latin text Quae quidem res plus adjuvit intelligendam, quam impedivit, si modo legentes non sint negligen- LeS. Nam nonnullas obscuriores sententias plurium codicum sæpe manifestavit inspectio, sicut illud Isaiæ prophetae unus interpres ait, Et domesticos seminis tui ne despexeris; alius autem ait, Et carnem tuam ne de­ spexeris: uterque sibimet invicem atte­ siatus est. Namque alter ex altero exponitur, quia et caro posset accipi proprie, ut corpus suum quisque ne despiceret, se putaret admonitum; et domestici semi­ nis translate, Christiani possent intelligi, ex eodem verbi semine nobiscum spiritualiter nati: nunc au­ tem collato interpretum sensu, probabilior occurrit sententia proprie de consanguineis non despiciendis esse præceptum, quoniam domesticos seminis cum ad carnem retuleris, consanguinei potissimum occurrunt; unde esse arbitror illud Apostoli quod ait, Si quo modo ad œmulationem adducere potuero carnem meam, ut salvos faciam aliquos ex illis; id est, ut æmulando eos qui crediderant, et ipsi crederent. Carnem euim sunm dixit Judros, propter consangui­ nitatem. Itcm illud ejusdem Isaiæ prophetae, Nisi cre­ dideritis, non intelligetis; alius interpretatus est, Nisi credideritis, non permanebitis: quis ho­ rum verba 2 secutus sit, nisi exemplaria linguae præ­ cedentis legantur, incertum est. Sed tamen ex utro­ que magnum aliquid insinuatur scienter legentibus. Difficile est enim ita diversos a se interpretes fieri, ut non se aliqua vicinitate contingant. Ergo, quoniam in­ tellectus in specie sempiterna est, fides vero in re­ rum temporalium quibusdam cunabuiis quasi lacte alit parvulos; nunc autem per fidem ambulamus, non per speciem; nisi autem per fidem am­ bulaverimus, ad speciem pervenire non poterimus quae non transit, sed permanet, per intellectum purgatum nobis cohærentibus veritati: propterea ille ait, Nisi. crediderius, non permanebitis; ille vero, Nisi credide­ vitis, wrrintelligetis. Et ex ambiguo linguæ præcedentisplerumque interpres salltur, cui non bene nota sententia est, et eam significationem transfert, quae a sensu scriptoris penitus aHena est: sicut quiJjm codit es habent, Acuti pedes eorum ad effundendum sanguinem; ὀξὺς enim ct acutum apud Græcos, et velocem significat. Ille ergo vidit sententiam, qui transtulit; Veloces pedes eorum ad effundendum sanguinem; ille autem alius ancipiti signo in aliam partem I'aptus erravit. Et talia quidem non obscura, sed falsa sunt: quorum alia conditio est; non enim-intelligendos, sed emendandos tales codices potius praecipiendum est. Hinc est cHam illud, quoniam μόσχος græce vitulus dicitur, μοσχεύματα quidam non intellexerunt esse plantationes, et vitula­ mina interpretati sunt: qui error tam multos codices praeoccupavit, ut vix inveniatur aliter scriptum; et tamen sententia manifestissima est, quia clarescit con­ si qnentibus verbis: namque, Adulterinæ plantationes non dabunt radices altas, convenientius dicitur quam, vitulamina, quae pedibus in terra gra­ diuntur, et non haerent radicibus. Hanc translationem in eo loco etiam caetera contexta custodiunt. ### English translation (Claude) This situation has in fact helped understanding more than it has hindered it, provided readers are not careless. For comparing several manuscripts has often made some more obscure statements clear, as with that saying of the prophet Isaiah, where one translator says, “And do not despise the members of the household of your seed,” but another says, “And do not despise your own flesh”; each confirms the other. For the one is explained by the other, since “flesh” could be taken literally, so that someone might think himself warned not to despise his own body, and “the household of your seed” could be taken figuratively to mean Christians, born spiritually with us of the same seed of the word. But now, when the translators' sense is compared, the more probable meaning that occurs is that the commandment is literally about not despising one's blood relations; for when you relate “the household of your seed” to the flesh, blood relations come to mind first of all. Hence, I think, the Apostle's saying, “If by any means I may provoke to emulation my flesh, and save some of them,” that is, that they too might believe by emulating those who had believed. For he called the Jews his flesh because of kinship of blood. Likewise that saying of the same prophet Isaiah, “Unless you believe, you will not understand,” another has translated, “Unless you believe, you will not endure.” Which of these followed the words is uncertain unless copies in the original language are read. But from both something great is conveyed to those who read with knowledge. For it is hard for translators to differ so much from one another that they do not touch at some point. Since, then, understanding lies in eternal sight, while faith nourishes little ones as with milk in the cradles, so to speak, of temporal things; and now “we walk by faith, not by sight,” and unless we walk by faith we shall not be able to come to the sight that does not pass away but endures, as we cling to the truth through a purified understanding: therefore one says, “Unless you believe, you will not endure,” and the other, “Unless you believe, you will not understand.” And a translator is often deceived by an ambiguity in the original language, when the meaning is not well known to him, and he renders a sense wholly foreign to the writer's meaning: as some manuscripts have, “Their feet are sharp to shed blood”; for ὀξύς among the Greeks means both “sharp” and “swift.” So the one who translated, “Their feet are swift to shed blood,” saw the meaning; but the other, carried the other way by an ambiguous sign, went wrong. And such readings are not obscure but false, and their case is different; for one should rather teach that such manuscripts are to be corrected, not understood. From this source too comes the following: since μόσχος in Greek means “calf,” some did not understand that μοσχεύματα means “plantings,” and translated it “calves”; this error has taken possession of so many manuscripts that one hardly finds it written otherwise. And yet the meaning is very plain, because it becomes clear from the following words; for “Bastard plantings will not strike deep roots” is a more fitting expression than “calves,” which walk on the ground with their feet and do not cling with roots. The rest of the context in that place also bears out this rendering. ### Scripture references - Isa 58:7: quotation, high confidence - Rom 11:14: quotation, high confidence - Isa 7:9: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 5:7: quotation, high confidence - Rom 3:15: quotation, high confidence - Isa 59:7: allusion, medium confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Wis 4:3 (Wisdom of Solomon): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations from Isa 58:7, Rom 11:14, Isa 7:9 (the second rendering is the LXX's; the first is the Old Latin's, “understand”), 2 Cor 5:7, Rom 3:15 (Ps 14:3 LXX; Isa 59:7), and Wis 4:3 (“bastard plantings”). Augustine refers to the Jews as Paul's “flesh” as Paul does. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 2.12 (PL 34:43; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-40/#p-2-12). ## On Christian Doctrine 2.13 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-40/#p-2-13 - Source: PL 34:43–45 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Knowledge of the original languages or very literal translations helps detect errors; mere solecisms and barbarisms in the Latin Bible matter little unless they create ambiguity. ### Latin text Sed quoniam et quae sit ipsa sententia, quam plures interpretcs pro sua quisque facultate atque ju­ dicio conantur eloqui, non apparet, nisi In ea lingua inspiciatur quam interpretantur; et plerumque a sensu auctoris devius aberrat interpres, si non sit doctissi­ mus: aut linguarum illarum, ex quibus in latinam Scriptura pervenit, petenda cognitio est; aut habcn­ dæ interpretationes eoram qui se verbis nimis ob­ strinxerunt; non quia sufficiunt, sed ut ex eis veritas vel error detegatur aliorum 1, qui non magis verba quam sententias interpretando sequi maluerunt. Nam non solum verba singula, sed etiam locutiones sæpe transferuntur, quæ omnino in latinæ linguae usum, si quis consuetudinem veterum qui latine locuti sunt, tenere voluerit, transire non possunt. Quae aliquando intellectui nihil adimunt, sed offendunt tamen eos qui plus dclectantur rebus, cum etiam in earum signis sua quaedam servatur integritas. Nam soloecismus qui dicitur, nihil aliud est quam cum verba non ea lege sibi coaptantur, qua coaptaverunt qui priores nobis non sine auctoritate aliqua locuti sunt. Utrum enim Inter homines, an, Inter hominibus dicatur, ad rerum non pertinet cognitorem. Item barbarismus quid aliud est, nisi verbum non eis litteris vel sono enuntiatum, quo ab eis qui latine ante nos locuti sunt, enuntiari solet? Utrum enim Ignoscere producta an correpta tertia syllaba dicatur, non multum curat qui peccatis suis Deum ut ignoscat petit, quolibet modo illud ver­ bum sonare potuerit. Quid est ergo integritas locutio­ nis, nisi alienæ I consuetudinis conservatio, loquen­ tium veterum auctoritate firmatae. Sed tamen eo magis inde offenduntur homines, quo infirmiores sunt; et eo sunt infirmiores, quo do­ ctiores videri volunt, non rerum scientia qua ædificamur, sed signorum qua non inflari omnino difficile est, cum et ipsa rerum scientia saepe cervicem erigal, nisi dominico reprimatur jugo. Quid enim obesi inicl­ lectori, quod ita scriptum est: Quæ est terra in qua isti insidunt super eam, si bona est an nequam; et quæ sunt civitates in quibus ipsi inhabitant in ipsis? Quam locutionem magis alienæ linguae esse arbitror, quam sensum aliquem altiorem. Illud etiam quod jam auferre non possumus de ore cantantium populorum, Super ipsum autem floriet sanctificatio mea, nihil profecto sententiæ detrahit: auditor tamen peritior mallet hoe corrigi, ut non flo­ riet, sed florebit diceretur; nec quidquam impedit cor­ rectionem, nisi consuetudo cantantium. Ista ergo fa­ cile etiam contemni possunt, si quis ea cavere nolue­ rit, quae sano intellectui nihil detrahunt. At vero illud quod ait Apostolus, Quod stultum est Dei, sapientius est hominibus; et quod infirmum eat Dei, fortius est ho­ minibus ( I Cor. I, 25): si quis in eo graecam locutio­ nem servare voluisset, ut diceret, Quod stultum est Dei, sapientius eat hominum; et quod infirmum est Dei, fortius est hominum; iret quidem vigilantis le­ cturis intentio in sententiae veritatem, sed tamen ali­ quis tardior aut non intelligeret, aut etiam penerse intelligeret. Non enim tantum vitiosa locutio est in latina lingua talis, verum et in ambiguitatem cadit; ut quasi hominum stultum vel hominum infirmum sa­ pientius vel fortius videatur esse quam Dei. Quanquam et iliud, sapientius eat hominibus, non caret ambiguo, etiamsi soloecismo caret. Utrum enim his hominibus ab eo quod est, Huic homini; an bis hominibus ab eo quod est, Ab hoc homine, dictum sit, non apparet nisi illuminatione sententiæ. Melius itaque dicitur, Sapientius cst quam homines, et fortius est quain homines. ### English translation (Claude) But since the meaning itself, which many translators try to express each according to his ability and judgment, does not become clear unless it is examined in the language they are translating, and since a translator often strays from the author's sense unless he is very learned, we must either seek a knowledge of those languages from which Scripture has come into Latin, or have the translations of those who bound themselves rather closely to the words; not because these are sufficient, but so that by them the truth or error of others, who preferred to follow meanings rather than words in translating, may be detected. For not only single words but also idioms are often carried over which cannot pass into Latin usage at all, if one wishes to keep the custom of the ancients who spoke Latin. Sometimes these take nothing from the understanding, yet they offend those who take more delight in things when a certain correctness is also preserved in their signs. For what is called a solecism is nothing else than when words are not fitted together according to the rule by which those who spoke before us, not without some authority, fitted them. For whether one says inter homines or inter hominibus (“among men”) does not matter to one who wants to know the things. Likewise, what is a barbarism but a word not pronounced with the letters or sound with which those who spoke Latin before us usually pronounced it? For whether ignoscere (“to pardon”) is pronounced with the third syllable long or short does not much concern one who asks God to pardon his sins, however he may be able to pronounce that word. What, then, is correctness of speech but the preservation of the custom of others, confirmed by the authority of ancient speakers? Yet people are the more offended by these things the weaker they are; and they are the weaker the more they wish to seem learned, not in the knowledge of things by which we are built up, but in that of signs, by which it is altogether hard not to be puffed up, since even the knowledge of things often lifts up the neck unless it is held down by the Lord's yoke. For what harm does it do to one who understands that it is written: “What is the land in which these dwell upon it, whether it is good or bad; and what are the cities in which they dwell in them?” I think this expression belongs to a foreign idiom rather than to some deeper meaning. And that which we can no longer take from the mouths of the singing congregations, “But upon him my holiness shall flourish” (floriet), certainly takes nothing from the meaning; yet a more skilled hearer would prefer it corrected so that it said not floriet but florebit, and nothing stands in the way of the correction except the habit of the singers. These things, then, can easily be disregarded even if someone does not care to avoid them, since they take nothing from sound understanding. But that saying of the Apostle, “The foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men”: if anyone had wished to keep the Greek idiom in it, so as to say, “The foolishness of God is wiser of men, and the weakness of God is stronger of men,” the attention of an alert reader would indeed go to the truth of the meaning, but someone slower would either not understand it or even understand it wrongly. For such an expression is not only faulty in Latin, but also falls into ambiguity, so that the foolishness of men or the weakness of men might seem to be wiser or stronger than that of God. Although even “wiser than men” (hominibus) is not free from ambiguity, even if it is free from solecism. For whether hominibus is said as the dative, as in “to this man,” or as the ablative, as in “by this man,” does not appear except from the light of the meaning. So it is better said, “wiser than men” and “stronger than men” (quam homines). ### Scripture references - Num 13:19: quotation, high confidence - Ps 132:18 (131:18 Vulg.): quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 1:25: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations from Num 13:19 (in an Old Latin rendering reproducing a Hebrew idiom), Ps 132:18 (131:18 Vulg.), and 1 Cor 1:25. The Latin forms are kept in parentheses where Augustine's point is grammatical. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 2.13 (PL 34:43–45; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-40/#p-2-13). ## On Christian Doctrine 2.14 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-40/#p-2-14 - Source: PL 34:45 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Unknown words and idioms are learned from speakers, study of languages, comparison of translations, and wide reading, after first correcting the manuscripts. ### Latin text De ambiguis autem signis post loquemur; nunc de incognitis agimus, quorum duae formae sunt, quan­ tum ad verba pertinet. Namque aut ignotum verbum facit haerere Icctorem, aut ignota locutio. Quae si ex alienis linguis veniunt, aut quaerenda sunt ab earum linguarum hominibus, aut eædem linguæ, si et otiuin est et ingenium, ediscendae, aut plurium interpre­ tum consulenda collatio est. Si autem ipsius linguae nostrae aliqua verba locutionesque ignoramus, legendi consuetudine audiendique innotescunt. Nulla sane sunt magis mandanda memoriæ, quam illa verborum locu­ tionumque genera quae ignoramus; ut cum vel peri- Hor occurrerit de quo quaeri possint, vel talis lectio quae vel ex praecedentibus vel consequentibus vel utrisque ostendat quam vim habeat, quidve significet quod ignoramus, facile adjuvante memoria possimus advertere et discere. Quanquam tanta est vis consue­ tudinis etiam ad discendum, ut qui in Scripturis san­ etis quodammodo nutriti educatique sunt, magis alias locutiones mirentur, easque minus latinas putent, qnam itas quas in Scripturis didicerunt, neque in lati­ næ linguae auctonbus reperiuntur. Plurimum hie quo­ que juvat interpretum numerositas collatis codicibus inspecta atque discussa; tantum absit falsiLas: nam codicibus emendandis primitus debet invigilare soler­ tia eorum qui Scripturas divinas nosse desiderant, ut emendatis non emendati cedant, ex uno duntaxat in­ terpretationis genere venientes. ### English translation (Claude) We shall speak of ambiguous signs later; now we are dealing with unknown ones, of which, as far as words are concerned, there are two forms. For either an unknown word or an unknown idiom brings the reader to a halt. If these come from foreign languages, they must either be asked of people who speak those languages, or the languages themselves must be learned, if there is leisure and ability, or a comparison of several translators must be consulted. But if we do not know some words and idioms of our own language, they become known through the habit of reading and listening. Certainly nothing is more to be committed to memory than those kinds of words and idioms that we do not know, so that, when either a more knowledgeable person comes along whom we can ask, or a passage that shows from what precedes or follows, or both, what force and meaning the thing we do not know has, we can easily notice and learn it with the help of memory. Although the power of habit is so great even for learning that those who have been, as it were, nourished and brought up on the holy Scriptures are more surprised at other expressions, and think them less Latin, than those they have learned in the Scriptures, which are not found in Latin authors. Here too a number of translators, examined and discussed by comparing manuscripts, helps very much; only let there be no falsity. For the skill of those who desire to know the divine Scriptures should first of all be devoted to correcting the manuscripts, so that uncorrected ones give way to corrected ones, at least those that come from the same translation. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 2.14 (PL 34:45; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/1-40/#p-2-14). ## On Christian Doctrine 2.15 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-15/#p-2-15 - Source: PL 34:45 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Augustine prefers the Itala among Latin versions, defends the authority of the Septuagint for the Old Testament even where it differs from the Hebrew, and has the New Testament corrected from the Greek. ### Latin text In ipsis autem interpretationibus, Itala cæteris præferatur; nam est verborum tenacior cum perspi­ cuitate sententiae. Et latinis quibuslibet emendandis, graeci adhibeantur, in quibus Septuaginta interpretum, quod ad Vetus Testamentum attinet, excellit auctori­ las; qui jam per omnes peritiorcs Eccle-ias tanta praesentia sancti Spiritus interpretati esse dicuntur, ut os unum tot hominum fuerit. Qui si, ut feriur, multi­ que non indigni fide praedicant, singuli cellis etiam singulis separati cum interpretati essent, nih!! in ali­ cujus eorum cod ice inventum est quod non iisdem verbis eodemque verborum ordine invenirelur in eæ­ teris; quis huic auctoritati conferre aliquiJ, nedum præferre audeat? Si autem contulerunt ul uua omnium communi tractatu judicioque vox fleret, nec sic qui­ dem quemquam unum hominem qualibet peritia, ad emendandum tot seniorum doctorumque consensum aspirare oportet aut decet. Quamobrem, etiamsi ali­ quid alitcr in hebræis cxemplaribus invenitur quam isti posuerunt, cedendum esse arbitror divinae dispensa Uon: quae per eos facta est, ut libri quos gens Judæa ca tcris populis, vel religione vel invidia prodere no­ lebat, credituris per Dominum Gentibus ministra regis Ptolemæi potestate tanto ante proderentur. Itaque fieri potest ut sic illi interpretati sint, quemadmodum con­ gruere Gentibus ille qui eos agebal, et qui unum os onmibus fecerat, Spiritus sanctus judicavit. Si d tamen, ut superius dixi, horum quoqne interpretum qui verbis tenacius inhæserunt, collatio non est inutilis ad ex­ planandam saepe sententiam. Latini ergo, ut dicere coeperam, codices Veteris Testamenti, si necessc fue­ rit, graccorum auctoritate emendandi sunt, et corum potissimum qui cum Septuaginta essent, ore uno in­ terpretati esse perhibentur. Libros autem Novi Testn­ menti, si quid in latinis varietatibus titubat, græcis cedere oportere non dubium est, et maxime qui apud Ecclesias doctiores et diligentiores reperiuntur. ### English translation (Claude) Among the translations themselves, let the Itala be preferred to the others; for it keeps more closely to the words while being clear in meaning. And for correcting any Latin versions, let the Greek be used, among which the authority of the Seventy translators is preeminent as far as the Old Testament is concerned. These are now said, throughout all the more learned churches, to have translated with such a presence of the Holy Spirit that so many men had one mouth. If, as is reported and as many not unworthy of belief declare, they translated each separated in a separate cell, and nothing was found in anyone's manuscript that was not found in the same words and the same order of words in the others, who would dare to compare anything with this authority, let alone prefer it? And if they conferred so that one voice came out of the common discussion and judgment of all, not even so is it right or fitting for any one man, however skilled, to aspire to correct the agreement of so many elders and learned men. Therefore, even if something is found in the Hebrew copies different from what they set down, I think we must yield to the divine dispensation that was carried out through them, so that the books which the Jewish nation was unwilling to hand over to other peoples, whether from religious scruple or from jealousy, were handed over so long beforehand, by the power of King Ptolemy as its servant, to the nations who were to believe through the Lord. So it may be that they translated in the way that the Holy Spirit, who was guiding them and had given them all one mouth, judged fitting for the nations. Yet, as I said above, comparison with those translators also who kept more closely to the words is not useless for often explaining the meaning. The Latin manuscripts of the Old Testament, then, as I had begun to say, are to be corrected, if necessary, by the authority of the Greek, and above all of those who, though they were seventy, are reported to have translated with one mouth. As for the books of the New Testament, if anything wavers among the Latin variants, there is no doubt that they must yield to the Greek, and especially to those found among the more learned and careful churches. ### Extrabiblical texts - Let. Aris. (Letter of Aristeas): allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - “Itala”: the Latin version Augustine names here has been much debated; some editors have proposed emending the word (e.g. to illa or usitata), and its identity is uncertain. The story of the seventy translators in separate cells is a later form of the legend in the Letter of Aristeas; Augustine reports it as told, and himself allows that they may instead have conferred. His view that the Septuagint's differences from the Hebrew are a divine dispensation is translated as written. Migne's note markers (a), (b) are removed by logged corrections. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 2.15 (PL 34:45; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-15/#p-2-15). ## On Christian Doctrine 2.16 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-15/#p-2-16 - Source: PL 34:45–49 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Figurative signs require knowledge of languages (such as the meaning of Hebrew names) and of things, including the natures of animals, stones, and plants, and of numbers and music. ### Latin text In translatis vero signis si qua forte igno la cogunt hærere lectorem, partim linguarum notitia, parlim rerum, investiganda sunt. Aliquid enim ad si­ militudinem valet, et procul dubio srcretum quiddam insinuat Siloa piscina, ubi faciem lavare jussus est cui oculos Dominus iuto de sputo facto inunxerat: quod tamen nomen linguæ incognitae, nisi Evan­ gelista interpretatus esset, tam magnus intellectus la­ tcret. Sic etiam multa, quæ ab auctoribus eorumdem Librorum interpretata non sunt, nomina hebræa, non est dubitandum habere non parvam vim atque adju­ torium ad solvenda ænigmata Scripturarum, si quis ea possit interpretari: quod nonnulli ejusdem linguae periti viri, nou sane parvum beneficium posteris con­ tulerunt, qui separata de Scripturis eadem omnia verba interpretati sunt; et quid sit Adam, quid Eva, quid Abraham, quid Moyses; sive etiam locorum nomina, quid sit Jerusalem, vel Sion, vel Jericho, vel Sina, vel Libanus, vel Jordanis; vel quaecumque alia in illa lingua nobis sunt incognita nomina: quibus aperias et interpretatis, multæ in Scripturis figuratæ locutiones manifesiantur. Rerum auteni ignorantia facit obscuras figura.. tas locutiones, cum ignoramus vel animantium, vel lapidum, vel herbarum naturas, aliarumve rerum, quæ plerumque in Scripturis similitudinis alicujusgra­ tia ponuntur. Nam et de serpente quod notum est, lotum corpus eum pro capite objicere ferientibus, quantm illustrat sensum illum, quo Dominus jubet astutos nos esse sicut serpentes; ut sci­ licet pro capite nostro, quod est Christus, corpus potius persequentibus offeramus, ne fides christiana tanquam1 necetur in nobis, si parcentes corpori negemus Deum! vcl illud, quod per cavernae angustias coarctatus, depo­ sita veteri tunica vires novas accipere dicitur,quantum concinit ad imitandam ipsam serpentis astutiam, ex­ uendumque ipsum veterein nominem, sicut Apostolus dicit, ut induamur novo; et exuendum per angustias, dicente Domino, Intrate per angustam portam I Ut ergo notitia naturæ serpentis illustrat multas similitudines quas de hoc animante dare Scriptura consuevit; sic ignorantia nonnullorum animalium quae non minus per similitudines commemorat, impedit plurimum intel­ lectorem 2. Sic lapidum, sic herbarum, vel quaecumque tenentur radicibus. Nam et carbunculi notitia, quod lucet in tenebris, multa illuminat eliam obscura libro­ rum, ubicumquc propter similitudinem ponitur; et ignorantia berylli vcl adamantis claudit plerumque in­ telligentiæ fores. Nec aliam ob causam facile est in­ telligere pacem perpetuam significari oleae ramusculo, quem rediens ad arcam columba pertulit, nisi quia novimus et olei lenem contactum non facile alieno humore corrumpi, et arborem ipsam fron­ dere perenniter. Multi autem propter ignorantiam hyssopi, dum nesciunt quam vim babeat, vel ad pur­ gandum pulmonem, vel, ut dicitur, ad saxa radicibus penetranda, cum sit herba brevis atque humilis, omni­ no invenire non possunt quare sit dictum, Asperges me hyssopo, et mundabor. Numerorum etiam imperitia multa facit non in­ telligi, translate ac mystice posita in Scripturis. Inge­ nium quippe, ut ita dixerim, ingenuum non potest non moveri quid sibi velit quod et Moyses, et Elias, et ipse Dominus quadraginta diebus jejunaverunt Exod. XXIV, 18; III Reg. XIX, 8; et Matth. iv, 2). Cujus actionis figuratus quidam nodus, nisi hujus numeri cognitio­ ne et consideratione, non solvitur. Habet enim dena­ rium quater, tanquam cognitionem omnium rerum intextam temporibus. Quaternario namque numero et diurna et annua curricula peraguntur: diurna matu­ tinis, meridianis, vespertinis, nocturnisque horarum spatiis; annua vernis, aestivis, autumnalibus, hiema­ libusque mensibus. A temporum autem delectatione dum in temporibus vivimus, propter æternitatem in qua vivere volumus, abstinendum et jejunandum est: quamvis temporum cursibus ipsa nobis insinuetur doctrina contemnendorum temporum et appetendo­ rum aeternorum. Porro autem denarius numerus Crea­ toris atque creaturae significat scientiam: nam trini­ tas Creatoris est, septenarius autem numerus creatu­ ram indicat, propter vitam et corpus. Nam in illa tria sunt, unde etiam toto corde, tota anima, tola mente • diligendus est Deus ( Id. XXII, 37); in corpore au­ tem quatuor manifestissima apparent, quibus constat, elementa. In hocergc denario dum temporaliter no­ bis insinuatur, id est, quater ducitur, caste et conti­ nenter, a temporum delectatione vivere, huc est qua­ draginta diebus jejunare monemur. Hoc Lex, cujus persona est in Moyse, hoc Prophetia, cujus personam gerit Elias, hoc ipse Dominus monet; qui tanquam testimonium habens ex Lege et Prophetis, medius in­ ter illos in monte, tribus discipulis videntibus atque stupentibus, claruit ( Id., XVII, i, 3 ). Deinde ita quæ­ riturquomodo quinquagenarius de quadragenario nu­ mero existat, qui non mcdiocriter in nostra religione sacratus est propter Pentecosten ( Act. II), et quomo­ do ter ductus propter tria tempora, ante Legem, sub Lege, sub Gratia, vel propter nomen Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus sancti, adjuncta eminentius ipsa Trinitate, ad purgatissimæ Ecclesiae mysterium referatur, per­ veniatque ad centum quinquaginta tres pisces, quos retia post resurrectionem Domini in dexteram partem missa ceperunt. Ita multis aliis atque aliis numerorum formis quaedam similitudinum in san­ ctis Libris secreta ponuntur, quae propter numerorum imperitiam legentibus clausa sunt. Non pauca etiam claudit atque obtegit nonnul­ larum rerum musicarum ignorantia. Nam et de psal­ terii et citharae differentia, quidam non inconcinne aliquas rerum figuras aperuit: et decem chordarum psalterium, non im­ portune inter doctos quaeritur utrum habeat aliquam musicae legem, quae ad tantum nervorum numerum cogat; an vero, si non habet, eo ipso magis sacrate accipiendus sit ipse numerus, vel propter decalogum Legis, de quo item numero si quæratur, nonnisi ad Creatorem creaturamque referendus est, vel propter superius expositum ipsum denarium. Et ille numerus dificationis templi, qui commemoratur in Evangelio, quadraginta scilicet et sci annorum ( Joan. II, 20 ), Bracio quid musicum sonat; et relatus ad fabricam Dominici corporis, propter quam templi mentio facta est, cogit nonnullos haereticos confiteri Filium Dei non faiso, sed vero et humano corpore indutum: et numerum quippe et musicam plerisque locis in san - ctis Scripturis honorabiliter posita invenimus. ### English translation (Claude) With figurative signs, if any unknown ones force the reader to halt, they are to be investigated partly by knowledge of languages and partly by knowledge of things. For the pool of Siloam, where the man whose eyes the Lord had anointed with clay made from spittle was told to wash his face, has some force as a comparison and without doubt conveys something hidden; yet so great a meaning would have stayed hidden, since the name belongs to an unknown language, if the Evangelist had not translated it. So too there is no doubt that many Hebrew names which the authors of those books did not translate have no small force and help for solving the enigmas of the Scriptures, if anyone can translate them. Some men skilled in that language have conferred no small benefit on posterity by translating all these words separately from the Scriptures: what Adam means, what Eve, what Abraham, what Moses; or the names of places, what Jerusalem means, or Zion, or Jericho, or Sinai, or Lebanon, or Jordan, or any other names in that language unknown to us. When these are opened up and translated, many figurative expressions in the Scriptures become clear. Ignorance of things, on the other hand, makes figurative expressions obscure when we do not know the natures of animals, or stones, or plants, or other things which are often put in the Scriptures for the sake of some comparison. For what is known about the serpent, that it offers its whole body to those who strike it in place of its head, how much light it throws on the saying in which the Lord bids us be wise as serpents; namely, that for our head, which is Christ, we should rather offer our body to persecutors, lest the Christian faith be killed in us, as it were, if to spare the body we deny God! Or that which is said of it, that, squeezing through the narrows of a hole, it lays aside its old skin and gains new strength: how well it fits with imitating that very wisdom of the serpent, and putting off the old man, as the Apostle says, to put on the new; and putting it off through narrow places, as the Lord says, “Enter by the narrow gate”! As, then, knowledge of the nature of the serpent throws light on many comparisons which Scripture habitually draws from this animal, so ignorance of some animals, which it mentions no less in comparisons, greatly hinders one who seeks to understand. So with stones, so with plants or whatever is held by roots. For knowledge of the carbuncle, that it shines in the dark, also throws light on many obscure places in the books wherever it is put for comparison; and ignorance of the beryl or the diamond often shuts the doors of understanding. Nor is it easy for any other reason to understand that perpetual peace is signified by the olive twig which the dove brought back when it returned to the ark, except that we know both that the gentle touch of oil is not easily spoiled by a foreign liquid and that the tree itself is evergreen. And many, through ignorance of hyssop, not knowing what power it has, whether to cleanse the lungs or, as is said, to penetrate rocks with its roots, though it is a small and lowly plant, cannot find at all why it is said, “You will sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be clean.” Ignorance of numbers too causes many things put figuratively and mystically in the Scriptures not to be understood. A mind that is, so to speak, of good breeding cannot fail to be moved to ask what it means that Moses, Elijah, and the Lord himself fasted forty days. The figurative knot of this action is not untied except by knowing and considering this number. For it contains ten four times, as the knowledge of all things woven into times. For both the daily and the yearly courses are completed in the number four: the daily by the morning, midday, evening, and night hours; the yearly by the spring, summer, autumn, and winter months. And while we live in times, we must abstain and fast from delight in times for the sake of eternity, in which we wish to live; although by the very courses of time the teaching of despising times and seeking eternal things is conveyed to us. Further, the number ten signifies the knowledge of the Creator and the creature: for the Trinity belongs to the Creator, while the number seven indicates the creature, because of life and body. For in life there are three, which is why God is to be loved with all the heart, all the soul, all the mind; and in the body the four elements of which it consists appear very plainly. In this ten, then, when it is conveyed to us in time, that is, multiplied by four, we are admonished to live chastely and continently, apart from delight in times, that is, to fast forty days. This the Law, whose person is in Moses, admonishes; this Prophecy, whose person Elijah bears; this the Lord himself admonishes, who, as if having the testimony of the Law and the Prophets, shone forth between them on the mountain while three disciples watched in amazement. Then it is asked how the number fifty arises from the number forty, which is hallowed in no ordinary way in our religion because of Pentecost; and how, multiplied by three because of the three times, before the Law, under the Law, and under grace, or because of the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, with the Trinity itself added more eminently, it is referred to the mystery of the most purified Church, and arrives at the hundred and fifty-three fish which the nets, cast on the right side after the Lord's resurrection, caught. So in many other forms of numbers certain secrets of comparisons are set in the holy books which are closed to readers through ignorance of numbers. Ignorance of some matters of music also closes and veils not a few things. For someone has not unaptly disclosed some figures of things from the difference between the psaltery and the lyre; and it is not unfittingly asked among the learned whether the psaltery of ten strings has some musical law that requires so many strings; or whether, if it has none, the number itself should be taken all the more as sacred, either because of the Decalogue of the Law (and if this number in turn is asked about, it is to be referred only to the Creator and the creature) or because of the number ten itself expounded above. And that number of the building of the temple which is mentioned in the Gospel, namely forty-six years, has a certain musical sound; and, referred to the structure of the Lord's body, for the sake of which the temple was mentioned, it compels some heretics to confess that the Son of God was clothed not with a false but with a true and human body. And indeed we find both number and music placed with honor in many places in the holy Scriptures. ### Scripture references - John 9:6–7: allusion, high confidence - Matt 10:16: allusion, high confidence - Col 3:9–10: allusion, high confidence - Eph 4:22–24: allusion, medium confidence - Matt 7:13: quotation, high confidence - Gen 8:11: allusion, high confidence - Ps 51:7 (50:9 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Exod 34:28: allusion, high confidence - 1 Kgs 19:8: allusion, high confidence - Matt 4:2: allusion, high confidence - Matt 22:37: allusion, medium confidence - Matt 17:1–3: allusion, high confidence - Acts 2:1–4: allusion, medium confidence - John 21:6–11: allusion, high confidence - Ps 33:2: allusion, medium confidence - John 2:20–21: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Siloam: John 9:6–7; wise as serpents: Matt 10:16; the old and new man: Col 3:9–10 (Eph 4:22–24); the narrow gate: Matt 7:13; the dove's olive twig: Gen 8:11; hyssop: Ps 51:7 (50:9 LXX/Vulg.); the forty-day fasts: Exod 34:28 (Migne cites 24:18), 1 Kgs 19:8, Matt 4:2; the Transfiguration: Matt 17:1–3; Pentecost: Acts 2; the 153 fish: John 21:6–11; the ten-stringed psaltery: Ps 33:2, 144:9; forty-six years: John 2:20–21. The lore about serpents, the carbuncle, and hyssop is ancient natural history, reported by Augustine as received. The onomastica of Hebrew names are probably those translated by Jerome. The interpreter of psaltery and lyre is unnamed (probably Hilary or Ambrose); the heretics who deny Christ's true body are the Manichaeans and other docetists. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 2.16 (PL 34:45–49; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-15/#p-2-16). ## On Christian Doctrine 2.17 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-15/#p-2-17 - Source: PL 34:49 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Varro explains the nine Muses not as daughters of Jupiter but as three sets of three statues, reflecting the three kinds of sound. ### Latin text Non enim audiendi sunt errores gentilium su­ perstitionum, qui novem Musas Jovis et Memoriae i filias esse finxerunt. Refellit eos Varro, quo nescio utrum apud eos quisquam talium rerum doctior vel curiosior esse possit. Dicit enim civitatem nescio quam, non enim nomen recolo, locasse apud tres arli­ fices terna simulacra Musarum, quod in templo Apol­ linis donum poneret, ut quisquis artificum pulchriora furmasset, ab illo potissimum electa emeret. Itaque contigisse ut opera sua quoque illi artifices aeque pul­ chra explicarent, et placuisse civitati omnes novem, atque omnes esse emptas, ut in Apollinis templo de­ dicarentur; quibus postea dicit Hesiodum poetam im­ posuisse vocabula. Non ergo Jupiter novcm Musas ge­ nuit, sed tres fabri ternas creaverint. Tres autem non propterea ilia civitas locaverat, quia in somnis eas viderat, aut tot se cujusquam illorum oculis de­ monstraverant; sed quia facile erat animadvertere omnem sonum, qnae materies cantilenarum est, tri­ formem esse natura. Aut enim voce editur, sicuti eo­ rum est qui faucibus sine organo canunt; aut flatu, sicut tubarum et tibiarum; aut pulsu, sicut in citha­ ris et tympanis, et quibuslibet aliis quæ percutiendo canora sunt. ### English translation (Claude) For we must not listen to the errors of pagan superstition, which pretended that the nine Muses were daughters of Jupiter and Memory. Varro refutes them, and I do not know whether anyone among them could be more learned or more inquisitive in such matters. For he says that a certain city (I do not remember its name) contracted with three artists for three statues each of the Muses, to place as a gift in the temple of Apollo, so that whichever artist made the more beautiful ones, it would choose and buy his above all. And it happened that those artists produced their works equally beautiful, and the city liked all nine, and all were bought to be dedicated in the temple of Apollo; and afterwards, he says, the poet Hesiod gave them their names. So Jupiter did not beget nine Muses, but three craftsmen created three each. And the city had contracted for three not because it had seen them in dreams, or because that many had shown themselves to the eyes of any of its citizens, but because it was easy to notice that all sound, which is the material of songs, is by nature threefold. For it is produced either by the voice, as with those who sing with their throats without an instrument; or by breath, as with trumpets and flutes; or by striking, as with lyres and drums and any other instruments that are made to sound by being struck. ### Extrabiblical texts - Varro (Varro): allusion, high confidence - Hesiod, Theog. 77-79 (Hesiod, Theogony): allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Varro's account is from a lost work. The names of the Muses are in Hesiod, Theogony 77–79. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 2.17 (PL 34:49; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-15/#p-2-17). ## On Christian Doctrine 2.18 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-15/#p-2-18 - Source: PL 34:49 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Christians should not reject music or letters because of pagan associations, for all truth belongs to God wherever it is found. ### Latin text Sed sive ita se habeat quod Varro retulit, sive non ita; nos tamen non propter superstitionem pro­ fanorum debemus musicam fugere, si quid inde utile ad intelligendas sanctas Scripturas rapere polueri­ mus; nec ad illorum theatricas nugas converti, si aliquid de citharis et de organis, quod ad spiritualia capienda valeat, disputemus. Neque enim et 'litteras discere uon debuimus, quia earum repertorem 2 di­ cunt esse Mercurium; aut quia justitiae virtutique lem­ pla dedicarunt, et quae corde gestanda sunt in lapi­ dibus adorare maluerunt, propterea nobis justitia virtusque fugienda est: imo vero quisquis bolus vc­ rusque christianus est, Domini sui esse intelligat, ubi­ cumque invenerit veritatem, quam confitens' et agno­ sceens, etiam in Litteris sacris superstitiosa figmenta repudiet; doleatque homines atque caveat, qui cogno­ scentes Deum, nou ut Deum glorificaverunt, aut gratias egerunt, sed evanuerunt in cogitationibus suis, et obscuratum est cor insipiens eorum: dicentes enim se esse sapientes, stulti facti sunt, et immutaverant gloriam incorruptibilis Dei in similitudinem imaginis corruptibilis hominis, et volucrum, et quadrupeduln, et serpentium (Rom. I, it |sqq.). ### English translation (Claude) But whether what Varro reported is so or not, we ought not to flee music because of the superstition of the profane, if we can snatch from it anything useful for understanding the holy Scriptures; nor are we turning to their theatrical trifles if we discuss something about lyres and instruments that helps in grasping spiritual things. For we ought not to have refused to learn letters because they say Mercury was their inventor; nor, because they dedicated temples to Justice and Virtue and preferred to worship in stones what ought to be carried in the heart, must we on that account flee justice and virtue. No, rather, let every good and true Christian understand that truth belongs to his Lord wherever he finds it; and confessing and acknowledging it, let him reject superstitious fictions even in sacred writings, and let him grieve over and beware of those who, “knowing God, did not glorify him as God or give thanks, but became vain in their thoughts, and their foolish heart was darkened; for professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds, and of four-footed beasts, and of serpents.” ### Scripture references - Rom 1:21–23: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotation from Rom 1:21–23. The phrase “in sacred writings” (in Litteris sacris) probably refers to pagan religious writings; the sense is debated. The principle that truth belongs to the Lord wherever it is found governs the discussion of pagan learning that follows. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 2.18 (PL 34:49; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-15/#p-2-18). ## On Christian Doctrine 2.19 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-15/#p-2-19 - Source: PL 34:49 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Pagan learning is of two kinds, human institutions and observations of what exists or is divinely instituted; the former is partly superstitious. ### Latin text Sed ut totum istum locum, nam est maxime necessarius, diligentius explicemus; duo sunt gencra doctrinarum, quae in gentilibus etiam moribus exer­ centur. Unum earum rerum quas inslituerunt homi­ nes; alterum earum quas animadverterunt jam per­ actas aut divinitus institutas. Illud quod est secundum institutiones hominum, partim superstitiosum est, partim non est. ### English translation (Claude) But to explain this whole topic more carefully, for it is very necessary: there are two kinds of learning practiced even in pagan society. One concerns things which human beings have instituted; the other, things which they have observed as already accomplished or instituted by God. That which is according to human institutions is partly superstitious and partly not. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 2.19 (PL 34:49; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-15/#p-2-19). ## On Christian Doctrine 2.20 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-15/#p-2-20 - Source: PL 34:49–51 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Superstitious institutions include idolatry, magic, divination, amulets, and countless empty omens, which Augustine illustrates with examples and a joke of Cato. ### Latin text Superstitiosum est quidquid institutum est ab hominibus ad facienda et colenda idola pertinens, vet ad colendam sicuti Deum creaturam partemve ullam creaturae; vel ad consultationes et pacta quædam significationum cum dxmonibus placita atque foede­ rata, qualia sunt molimina magicarum artium, quae quidem commemorare potius quam docere assolent poetæ. Ex quo genere suut, sed quasi licentiore vani­ tate, aruspicum et augurum libri. Ad hoc genus per­ tinent omnes etiam ligaturæ atque remedia, quæ me­ dicorum quoque disciplina condemnat, sive in præ­ cantationibus, sive in quibusdam notis quos characte­ res vocant, sive in quibusque rebus suspendendis atque illigandis, vel etiam aptandis 1 quodammodo, non ad temperationem corporum, sed ad quasdam significationes aut occultas, aut etiam manifestas; quæ mitiore nomine physica vocant, ut quasi non supersti­ tione implicare, sed natura prodesse videantur: sicut sunt inaures in summo aurium singularum, aut de struthionum ossibus ansulae in digitis, aut cum libi dicitur singultienti, ut dextera manu sinistrum polli­ cem teneas. His adjunguntur millia inanissimarum observa. tionum, si membrum aliquod salierit, si junctim am­ bulantibus amicis lapis, aut canis, aut puer medius intervenerit: atque illud quod lapidem calcant, tan­ quam diremptorem amicitiae, minus molestum est, quam quod innocentem puerum colapho percutiunt, si pariter ambulantibus intercurrit. Sed bellum est quod aliquando pueri vindicamur a canibus: nam plerumque tam superstitiosi sunt quidam, ut ctiam canem qui medius intervenerit, ferire audeant, non impune; namque a vano remedio cito ille interdum percussorem suum ad verum medicum nitit. Hinc sunt etiam illa, limen calcare cum ante domum suani transit; redire ad lectum, si quis dum se calceat ster­ nutaverit; redire domum, si procedens offenderit; cum vestis a soricibus roditur, plus tremere suspiciolIe I futuri mali, quam præsens damnum dolere. Unde illud eli ganter dictum cst Catonis, qui cum esset con­ sultus a quodam, qui sibi a soricibus erosas caligas diceret; respondit non esse illud monstrum, sed vere monstrum habendum fuisse, si sorices a caligis ro­ derentur. ### English translation (Claude) Whatever has been instituted by human beings for making and worshiping idols is superstitious; or for worshiping as God a creature or any part of a creature; or for consultations and certain agreements about signs arranged and covenanted with demons, such as the undertakings of the magic arts, which the poets are accustomed to mention rather than teach. Of this kind, though with a more licentious vanity, are the books of soothsayers and augurs. To this kind belong also all amulets and cures, which even the science of physicians condemns, whether in incantations or in certain marks which they call characters, or in things to be hung up and tied on, or even fitted on in some way, not for tempering the body but for certain significations, either hidden or even open; which they call by the milder name of physical remedies, so that they may seem not to entangle in superstition but to do good by nature: such as earrings on the top of each ear, or rings of ostrich bone on the fingers, or when you are told, when you have hiccups, to hold your left thumb with your right hand. To these are added thousands of the emptiest observances: if a limb twitches; if, when friends are walking side by side, a stone, or a dog, or a boy comes between them. And treading on the stone as the divider of friendship is less offensive than striking an innocent boy with the fist if he runs between people walking together. But it is pleasant that boys are sometimes avenged by dogs; for some are often so superstitious that they dare to strike even a dog that comes between them, not with impunity; for from a vain remedy the dog sometimes quickly sends its striker to a real physician. From the same source come these: to tread on the threshold when one passes in front of one's house; to go back to bed if anyone sneezes while putting on his shoes; to go back home if one stumbles on setting out; when clothing is gnawed by mice, to tremble more at the suspicion of a future evil than to grieve over the present loss. Hence that elegant saying of Cato, who, when consulted by someone who said that mice had gnawed his boots, answered that this was not a portent, but that it would truly have been a portent if the mice had been gnawed by the boots. ### Translation notes - Cato's saying (probably Cato the Elder) is also reported by other ancient writers; not on the site's list. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 2.20 (PL 34:49–51; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-15/#p-2-20). ## On Christian Doctrine 2.21 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-15/#p-2-21 - Source: PL 34:51 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Astrologers who predict human actions from the stars are also superstitious; the stars are God's creatures, named arbitrarily by human beings. ### Latin text Neque illi ab hoc genere perniciosæ supersti­ tionis segregandi sunt, qui genethliaci, propter nata­ lium dierum considerationes, nunc autem vulgo ma­ thematici vocanlur. Nam et ipsi quamvis veram atel­ larum positionem, cum quisque nascitur, consecten­ tur, et aliquando etiam pervestigent; tamen quod inde conantur vel actiones nostras vel actionum eventa praedicere, nimis errant, et vendunt imperitis homi­ nibus miserabilem servitutem. Nam quisque liber ad hujusmodi mathematicum cum ingressus fuerit, dat pecuniam ut servus inde exeat aut Martis, aut Vene­ ris, vel potius omnium siderum; quibus illi qui primi erravcrunt, erroremque posteris propinaverunt, vel v bestiarum propter similitudinem, vel hominum ad ipsos homines honorandos imposuerunt vocabula. Non enim mirandum est, cum etiam propioribus recenlio­ ribusque temporibus, sidus quod appellamus Lucife­ rum, honori et nomini Caesaris Romani dicarc conati sunt. Et fortasse factum esset atque isset in vetu­ statem, nisi avia ejus Venus præoccupasset hoc nomi­ nis prsedium; neque jure ullo ad hæredes trajiceret, quod nunquam viva possederat aut possidendum peti­ vcrat. Nam abi vacabat locus, ncquc alicujus priorum mortuorum honore tenebatur, factum est quod in re­ lius talibus fieri solet. Pro quintili enim et sextili mcn­ sibus, Julium atque Augustum vocamus, de honoribus l.ominum Julii Cæsaris et Augusti Cæsaris nuncupa­ loS; ut facile qui voluerit intelligat etiam illa sidera prius sine his nominibus coelo vagata esse: mortuis::utem illis quorum honorare memoriam vel coacti sunt homines regia potestate, vel placuit humana va­ nitate, nomina eorum imponentes sideribus, eos ipsos sibi mortuos in coelum levarevidcbantur. Sed quodli­ bet vocentur ab hominibus, sunt tamen sidera, quæ Deus instituit et ordinavit ut voluit; et est certus mo­ tus illorum, quo tempora distinguuntur atque varian­ tur. Quem motum notare, cum quisque nascitur, quo modo se habeat, facile est, per corum inventas con­ scriptasque regulas, quos sancta Scriptura condemnat, dicens: Si enim tantum potuerunt scire, ut postent asti­ mare sacculum, quomodo ejus Dominum non facilius in­ venerunt ( Sap. XIII, 9 )? ### English translation (Claude) Nor are those to be separated from this kind of pernicious superstition who are called genethliaci because of their study of birthdays, but are now commonly called mathematici. For even if they seek out, and sometimes even trace, the true position of the stars when someone is born, still in trying to predict from it either our actions or the outcomes of our actions they err greatly and sell to ignorant people a miserable slavery. For anyone who enters free into the presence of such an astrologer gives money so as to come out the slave of Mars or of Venus, or rather of all the stars; on which those who first went astray, and passed their error on to posterity, imposed names either of beasts, because of likeness, or of human beings, to honor those very human beings. Nor is this surprising, since even in nearer and more recent times they tried to dedicate the star we call Lucifer to the honor and name of Caesar. And perhaps it would have been done and passed into antiquity, had not his ancestress Venus already taken possession of this estate of a name; nor could she by any right transfer to her heirs what she had never possessed while alive or sought to possess. For where the place was vacant and not held in honor of any of the earlier dead, there happened what usually happens in such matters. For instead of the months Quintilis and Sextilis we say July and August, named in honor of the men Julius Caesar and Augustus Caesar; so that anyone who wishes can easily understand that those stars too wandered in the sky before without these names; but when those men died whose memory people were either compelled by royal power or pleased by human vanity to honor, by giving their names to the stars they seemed to themselves to raise those dead men to heaven. But whatever they are called by human beings, they are stars, which God established and ordered as he willed; and their motion is fixed, by which the seasons are distinguished and varied. To note how this motion stands when anyone is born is easy, through the rules discovered and written down by those whom holy Scripture condemns, saying, “For if they were able to know so much that they could estimate the world, how did they not more easily find its Lord?” ### Extrabiblical texts - Wis 13:9 (Wisdom of Solomon): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotation from Wis 13:9. The attempt to name the morning star after Caesar refers to the deified Julius Caesar, whose family claimed descent from Venus. Migne's note marker (a) is removed by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 2.21 (PL 34:51; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-15/#p-2-21). ## On Christian Doctrine 2.22 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-15/#p-2-22 - Source: PL 34:51 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The case of twins like Esau and Jacob, born under the same constellation but with very different lives, refutes astrology. ### Latin text Sed ex ea notatione velle nascentium morcs, actus, eventa praedicere, magnus error et magna de­ mentia est. Et apud eos quidem qui talia dediscenda didicerunt, sine ulla dubitatione refellitur hæc su­ perstitio. Constellationes enim quas vocant, notatio cst siderum, quomodo se habebant cum ille nascere­ tur, de quo isti miseri a miserioribus consuluntur. Fieri autem potest, ut aliqui gemini tam sequaciter fundantur ex utero, ut intervallum temporis inter eos nullum possit apprehendi, et constellationum numeris annotari. Unde Decesse est nonnullos geminos easdem babere constellationes, cum paria rerum, vel quas agunt vel quas patiuntur, evenla non habeant, sed plerumque ita disparia, ut alius felicissimus, alius in­ felicissimus vivat: sicut Esau et Jacob geminos ac­ cepimus natos, ita ut Jacob, qui posterior uascebalur, manu plantam praecedentis fratris tenens inveniretur. Horum certe dies atque hora nascen­ tium aliter notari non posset, nisi ut amborum con­ stellatio esset una; quantum autem intersit inter am­ bornm mores, facta, labores atque successus, Scri­ plura testis est, jam ore omnium gentium pervagnta 1. Neque enim ad rem pertinet, quod dicunt ipsum momentum minimum atque angustissimum temporis, quod geminorum partum disterminat, multum valere in rerum natura atque caelestium corporum rapidis­ sima velocitate. Etsi enim concedam ut plurimum vaicat, tamen in constellationibus a mathematico in­ veniri non potest, quibus inspectis se fata dicere pro­ fitetur. Quod ergo in constellationibus non invenit, quas necesse est unas inspiciat, sive de Jacob, sive de ejus fratre consulatur; quid ei prodest si distat in coelo quod temere securus infamat, et non distat4 in tabula quam frustra sollicitus intuetur? Quare istæ quoque opiniones quibusdam rerum signis humana præsumptione institutis, ad eadem illa quasi quæ­ dam cum daemonibus pacta et conventa referendae sont. ### English translation (Claude) But to wish to predict from that observation the characters, actions, and fortunes of those being born is a great error and great madness. And among those who have learned such things only to unlearn them, this superstition is refuted without any doubt. For what they call constellations are a notation of the stars as they stood when the person was born about whom these wretches are consulted by those more wretched. Now it can happen that some twins come out of the womb so closely one after the other that no interval of time between them can be grasped and recorded in the numbers of the constellations. Hence it must be that some twins have the same constellations, though they do not have equal fortunes in what they do or suffer, but often so unequal that one lives most happily and the other most unhappily: as we have learned that Esau and Jacob were born twins, so that Jacob, who was born second, was found holding with his hand the heel of his brother who came first. Certainly the day and hour of their birth could not be noted otherwise than so that the constellation of both was one; but how great a difference there was between their characters, deeds, labors, and successes, Scripture is witness, now spread abroad in the mouths of all nations. Nor is it to the point that they say that the very least and narrowest moment of time which separates the birth of twins has great force in nature and in the most rapid speed of the heavenly bodies. For even if I grant that it has very great force, it cannot be found by the astrologer in the constellations, by examining which he professes to tell fates. So what he does not find in the constellations, which he must examine as one and the same whether he is consulted about Jacob or about his brother, what does it profit him if there is a difference in the sky, which he rashly and confidently slanders, and no difference on the chart, which he anxiously and in vain examines? Therefore these opinions too, based on certain signs of things instituted by human presumption, are to be referred to those same agreements and covenants, as it were, with demons. ### Scripture references - Gen 25:24–26: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Gen 25:24–26. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 2.22 (PL 34:51; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-15/#p-2-22). ## On Christian Doctrine 2.23 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-15/#p-2-23 - Source: PL 34:51–53 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Divination sometimes succeeds through demons' deceptions, which God permits as judgment; all such arts are partnerships with demons to be shunned. ### Latin text Hinc enim fit ut occulto quodam judicio divino, cupidi malarum rerum homincs tradantur illudendi et decipiendi pro meritis voluntatum suarum, illuden­ tibus eos atque decipientibus praevaricatoribus ange­ lis; quibus ista mundi pars infima, secundum put­ cherrimum ordinem rerum, divinai providentiæ lege subjecta est. Quibus illusionibus et doceptionibus eve­ nit, ut istis superstitiosis et perniciosis divinationum gtneribus multa praeterita et futura dicantur, nec aliter accidant, quam dicuntur; multaque observan­ tibus secundum observationes suas eveniant, quibus implicati curiosiores fiant, et sese magis magisque inserant multiplicibus laqueis perniciosissimi erreris. Hoc genus fornicationis animæ salubriter divina Scri­ ptura non tacuit; neque ab ea sic deterruit animam, ut propterea talia negaret esse sectanda quia falsa die cuntur a professoribus eorum, sed etiam si dixerint vobis, inquit, et ita evenerit, ne credatis eis. Non enim quia imago Samuelis mortui Sauli regi vera praenunliavit, propterea talia sacrilegia, quibus imago illa præ­ sentata est, minus exsecranda sunt: aut quia in Acti­ bus Apostolorum ventriloqua' femina verum testimo­ nium perhibuit Apostolis Domini, idcirco Paulus apostolus pepercit iili spiritui, ac non potius feminam illius dxmonii correptione atque exclusione mundavit ( Act. XVI, 16-18). Omnes igitur artes hujusmodi vel nugatoriæ vel noxiae superstitionis, ex quadam pestifera socie­ tate bominum et daemonum, quasi pacta quaedam in­ fidelis et dolosae amicitiæ constituta, penitus sunt re­ pudianda et fugienda christiano: Non quod idolum sit aliquid, ait Apostolus, sed quia quæ immolant, dæmoniis immolant, et non Deo; nolo antem vos socios demoniorum fieri. Quod autem de idolis, et de immolationibus, quae honori eorum ex­ hibentur, dixit Apostolus, boc de omnibus imaginariis signis sentiendum est, quae vel ad cultum idolorum, vel ad creaturam ejusque partes tanquam Deum co­ lendas trahunt, vel ad remediorum aliarumque obser­ vationum curam pertinent; quae non sunt divinitus ad dilectionem Dei et proximi tanquam publice con­ stituta, sed per privatas appetitiones rerum tempora­ tium corda dissipant miserorum. In omnibus ergo istis doctrinis societas daemonum formidanda atque vitanda est, qui nihil cum principe suo diabolo nisi reditum nostrum claudere atque obserare conantur. Sicut autem de stellis, quas condidit et ordinavit Deus, humanae et deceptoriæ conjecturae ab homini­ bus institutae sunt; sic etiam de quibusque nascenti­ bus vel quoquo modo divinae providentiae administra­ tione existentibus rebus, multi multa humanis suspi­ cionibus, quasi regulariter conjectata I, litteris manda­ verunt, si forte insolite acciderint, tanquam si mula pariat, aut fulmine aliquid percutiatur. ### English translation (Claude) For from this it comes about that by a certain hidden judgment of God, people who desire evil things are handed over to be mocked and deceived as the merits of their wills deserve, mocked and deceived by the fallen angels, to whom this lowest part of the world is subject by the law of divine providence, according to the most beautiful order of things. Through these mockeries and deceptions it happens that by these superstitious and pernicious kinds of divination many things past and future are told and turn out no differently than they are told; and many things happen to observers according to their observations, so that, entangled in them, they become more curious and involve themselves more and more in the manifold snares of a most pernicious error. Divine Scripture has wholesomely not kept silent about this kind of fornication of the soul; nor has it deterred the soul from it by denying that such things should be followed because what their professors say is false, but it says, “Even if they tell you, and it comes to pass, do not believe them.” For it is not because the image of the dead Samuel foretold true things to King Saul that such sacrileges, by which that image was presented, are any less to be abhorred; or because in the Acts of the Apostles a woman with a spirit of divination bore true witness to the apostles of the Lord, did the apostle Paul therefore spare that spirit, and not rather cleanse the woman by rebuking and casting out that demon. All arts of this kind, then, whether of trifling or of harmful superstition, established out of a certain pestilent fellowship of human beings and demons, like covenants of an unfaithful and deceitful friendship, are to be utterly rejected and shunned by a Christian. “Not that an idol is anything,” says the Apostle, “but that what they sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons and not to God; and I do not want you to become partners with demons.” What the Apostle said about idols and the sacrifices offered in their honor must be held about all imaginary signs which draw people either to the worship of idols, or to worship a creature or its parts as God, or which belong to the concern with cures and other observances; which have not been established by God publicly, as it were, for the love of God and neighbor, but scatter the hearts of the wretched through private desires for temporal things. In all these kinds of learning, then, fellowship with demons is to be feared and avoided, who with their prince the devil try nothing but to shut and bar our return. And just as human and deceptive conjectures have been instituted by human beings about the stars which God created and ordered, so too about things that are born or in any way come about by the administration of divine providence, many people have committed many things to writing from human guesses, as if conjectured by rule, if they happen unusually: as if a mule gives birth, or something is struck by lightning. ### Scripture references - Deut 13:1–3: allusion, low confidence - 1 Sam 28:7–19: allusion, high confidence - Acts 16:16–18: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 10:19–20: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - “Fornication of the soul” is Augustine's figure for idolatry and divination. The quotation “even if they tell you …” is not found in this form in Scripture; it may echo Deut 13:1–3. Samuel's apparition: 1 Sam 28:7–19; the slave girl: Acts 16:16–18; the quotation is 1 Cor 10:19–20. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 2.23 (PL 34:51–53; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-15/#p-2-23). ## On Christian Doctrine 2.24 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-15/#p-2-24 - Source: PL 34:53 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Superstitious signs have force only by convention, like the different meanings of letters and words in Greek and Latin, through a covenant with demons. ### Latin text Quae omnia tantum valent, quantum praesum­ ptione animorum quasi communi quadam lingua cum dæmonibus foederata sunt.. Quae tamen plena sunt omnia pestiferae curiositatis, cruciantis sollicitudinis, mortiferae servitutis. Non enim quia valebant, anim­ adversa sunt; sed animadvertendo atque signando a tactum est ut valerent. Et ideo diversis diverse prove­ niunt secundum cogitationes et præsumptiones suas. Illi enim spiritus qui decipere volunt, talia procurant tuique, qualibus eum irretitum per suspiciones et consensiones ejus vident. Sicut enim, verbi gratia, una figura litteræ X quæ decussatim notatur, aliud apud Graecos. aliud apud Latinos valet, non natura, sed placito et consensione significandi; et idco qui utramque linguam novit, si homini Græco velit aliquid significare scribendo, non in ea significatione ponit bane litteram, in qua eam ponit cum homini scribit Latino: et Beta uno eodemque sono, apud Graecos litterae, apud Latinos oleris nomen est; et cum dico, Lege, in his duabus syllabis, aliud Græcus, aliud Latinus intelligit: sicut ergo hæ omnes significationes pro suae cujusque societatis consensione animos mo­ vent, et quia diversa consensio est, diverse movent; nec ideo consenserunt in eas homines, quia jam vale­ bant ad significationem, sed ideo valent, quia consen­ serunt in eas: sic etiam illa signa, quibus perniciosa daemonum societas comparatur, pro cujusque obser­ vationibus valent. Quod manifestissime ostendit ritus augurum, qui et antequam observent, et posteaquam observata signa tenuerint, id agunt ne videant vola­ tus, aut audiant voces avium; quia nulla ista signa sunt, nisi consensus observantis accedat. ### English translation (Claude) All these things have force only so far as they have been covenanted with demons by the presumption of minds, as through a kind of common language. Yet they are all full of pestilent curiosity, tormenting anxiety, and deadly slavery. For they were not noticed because they had force, but by noticing and marking them it came about that they had force. And so they turn out differently for different people according to their thoughts and presumptions. For those spirits who wish to deceive procure for each person such things as they see him entangled in through his suspicions and assent. For just as, for example, the single shape of the letter X, which is marked crosswise, has one value among the Greeks and another among the Latins, not by nature but by agreement and consent to signify; and so one who knows both languages, if he wishes to signify something in writing to a Greek, does not put this letter in the meaning in which he puts it when he writes to a Latin; and beta, with one and the same sound, is the name of a letter among the Greeks and of a vegetable among the Latins; and when I say lege, a Greek understands one thing by these two syllables and a Latin another: just as, then, all these significations move minds according to the agreement of each society, and move them differently because the agreement is different; and people did not agree on them because they already had force to signify, but they have force because people agreed on them: so too those signs by which the pernicious fellowship of demons is obtained have force according to each person's observances. This is shown most plainly by the rite of the augurs, who both before they observe and after they have taken note of the observed signs take care not to see the flight or hear the cries of birds; because none of these are signs unless the consent of the observer is added. ### Translation notes - X stands for “ch” in Greek and “x” in Latin; beta is a Greek letter and, in Latin, “beet”; lege is Latin “read!” and Greek λέγε, “speak!”. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 2.24 (PL 34:53; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-15/#p-2-24). ## On Christian Doctrine 2.25 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-15/#p-2-25 - Source: PL 34:53–55 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Non-superstitious human conventions, such as dress, money, and measures, are useful and should not be shunned by Christians, unlike the merely superfluous ones like theatrical signs and fables. ### Latin text Quibus amputatis atque eradicatis ab animo christiano, deinceps videndae sunt institutiones homi­ num non superstitiosæ, id est, non cum daemonibus, sed cum ipsis hominibus instititæ. Namque omnia quæ ideo valent inter homines, quia placuit inter eos ut valeant, instituta hominum sunt: quorum partim superflua luxuriosaquc instituta sunt, partim commoda et necessaria. Illa enim signa quae saltando faciunt bislrionesy si natura, non instituto et consensione hominum valerent; non primis temporibus, saltante pantomimo a;, præco pronuntiaret populis Cartha­ ginis quid saltator vellet intelligi. Quod adhuc multi meminerunt senes, quorum relatu lucc solemus au­ dire. Quod idco credendum est, quia nunc quoque si quis theatrum talium nugarum imperitus intraverit, nisi ei dicatur ab altero quid iili motus significent, frustra totus intentus est. Appetunt tamen omnes quamdam similitudinem in significando, ut ipsa signa, in quantum possunt, rebus quae significantur similia sint. Sed quia multis modis simile aliquid alicui po­ test esse, non constant talia signa inter homines, nisi consensus accedat. In picturis vero et statuis, caeterisque hujusmodi simulatis operibus, maxime peritorum artificum, nemo errat cum similia viderit, ut agnoscat quibus sint re­ bus similia. Et hoc totum genus inter superflua homi. num instituta numerandum est, nisi cum interest quid eorum, qua Jecausa, et ubi, et quando, et cujus au­ ctoritate fiat. Millia denique fictarum fabularum et falsitatum, quarum mendaciis homines delectantur, hu­ mana instituta sunt. Et nulla magis hominum propria, quae a seipsis habent, existimanda sunt, quam quæque falsa atque mendacia. Commoda vero et necessaria hominum cum hominibus instituta sunt, quæcumque in habitu et cultu corporis ad sexus vel honores discer­ nendos differentia placuit; et innumerabilia genera si­ gnificationum sine quibus humana societas, aut non omnino, aut minus commode geritur; quæque in pon­ deribus atque mersuris, et nummorum impressionibus vel æstimationibus, sua cuique civitati et populo sunt propria; et cætera hujusmodi, quæ nisi hominum in­ stituta essent, non per diversos populos varia essent, nec in ipsis singulis populis pro arbitrio suorum prin­ cipum mutarentur. Sed hæc tuta pars humanorum institutorum, quæ ad usum vltæ necessarium proficiunt, nequaquam cst fugienda christiano; imo etiam quantum salis est, intuenda, memoriaque retinenda. ### English translation (Claude) When these have been cut off and rooted out of the Christian mind, we must next consider the human institutions that are not superstitious, that is, instituted not with demons but with human beings themselves. For all things that have force among human beings because it has pleased them that they should have force are human institutions; of these, some are superfluous and luxurious institutions, others convenient and necessary. For if the signs which actors make in dancing had force by nature and not by the institution and agreement of human beings, then in former times, when a pantomime danced, a herald would not have announced to the people of Carthage what the dancer meant to be understood. Many old men still remember this, from whose report we often hear of it. And it is to be believed, because even now, if anyone unacquainted with such trifles enters the theater, unless someone else tells him what those movements signify, he gives his whole attention in vain. Yet all aim at a certain likeness in signifying, so that the signs themselves, as far as they can, are like the things signified. But because something can be like something else in many ways, such signs are not fixed among human beings unless agreement is added. But in pictures and statues, and other imitative works of this kind, especially those of skilled artists, no one who sees the likenesses fails to recognize what things they are like. And this whole kind is to be counted among the superfluous institutions of human beings, except when it matters which of them is made, for what reason, where, when, and by whose authority. Finally, the thousands of invented fables and falsehoods in whose lies people delight are human institutions. And nothing is to be thought more properly human, as having from themselves, than whatever is false and lying. But convenient and necessary institutions of human beings with human beings are whatever differences in dress and adornment of the body it has been agreed should distinguish sexes or ranks; and innumerable kinds of signification without which human society cannot be carried on at all, or less conveniently; and the weights and measures, and stamps and values of coins, that are proper to each city and people; and other things of this kind, which, if they were not human institutions, would not vary among different peoples, nor be changed within single peoples at the will of their rulers. But this whole part of human institutions, which serves the necessary use of life, is by no means to be shunned by a Christian; rather, it should be attended to as far as is sufficient and kept in memory. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 2.25 (PL 34:53–55; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-15/#p-2-25). ## On Christian Doctrine 2.26 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-15/#p-2-26 - Source: PL 34:55 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Useful human conventions such as letters, languages, and shorthand should be learned insofar as they serve greater ends. ### Latin text Adumbrata enim quædam ct naturalibus utcumque similia hominum instituta sunt. Quorum ca quæ ad so­ cirtatem, ut dictam est, dæmonum pertinent, penilus repudianda sunt et detestanda: ca vero quæ homines cum hominibus habent, assumenda, in quantum non sunt luxuriosa atque superflua; et maxime litterarum figuræ, sine quibus legere non possumus, linguarum­ que varietas quantum satis est, de qua superius dispu­ lavimus. Ex eo gencre sunt etiam notae, quas qui di­ dicerent proprie jam notarii appellantur. Utilia sunt ista, nec discuntur illicite, nec superstitione implicant, nec luxu enervant, si tantum occupent, ut majoribus rebus, ad quas adipiscendas servire debent, non sint impedimento. ### English translation (Claude) For some human institutions are, as it were, sketches somewhat resembling natural things. Of these, those which belong, as has been said, to fellowship with demons are to be utterly rejected and abhorred; but those which human beings have with human beings are to be adopted, insofar as they are not luxurious and superfluous; and especially the shapes of letters, without which we cannot read, and the variety of languages as far as is sufficient, which we discussed above. Of this kind also are the shorthand signs, those who have learned which are now properly called notaries. These things are useful, are not learned unlawfully, do not entangle in superstition, and do not enervate with luxury, if they occupy us only so far as not to be a hindrance to the greater things they ought to serve in obtaining. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 2.26 (PL 34:55; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-15/#p-2-26). ## On Christian Doctrine 2.27 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-15/#p-2-27 - Source: PL 34:55 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Knowledge of what happened or what God established is not a human institution; it concerns either the senses or reason. ### Latin text Jamvero illa quae non instituendo, sed aut transacta temporibus, aut divinitus instituta, investi­ gando homines prodidcrunt, ubicumque discanlur, non sunt hominum instituta existimanda. Quorum alia sunt ad sensum corporis, alia vero ad rationem animi pcriinenlia. Sed illa quæ sensu corporis attinguntur, 'cl narrata credimus, vel demonstrata sentimus, vel experta conjicimus. ### English translation (Claude) Now those things which human beings have made known not by instituting them but by investigating them, whether they happened in time or were instituted by God, are not to be considered human institutions wherever they are learned. Of these, some belong to the bodily senses, others to the reason of the mind. Those that are reached by the bodily senses we either believe when they are narrated, or perceive when they are demonstrated, or infer when we have experienced them. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 2.27 (PL 34:55; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-15/#p-2-27). ## On Christian Doctrine 2.28 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-28/#p-2-28 - Source: PL 34:55 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: History, though learned outside the Church, helps in understanding Scripture, as with Christ's age and Ambrose's argument that Plato borrowed from the Hebrew Scriptures rather than Christ from Plato. ### Latin text Quidquid igitur de ordine temporum transacio­ rum indicat ea quæ appellatur historia, plurimum nos adjuvat ad sanctos Libros intelligendos, etiamsi præ­ ter Ecclesiam puerili eruditione discatur. Nam et per Olympiadas, et per Consulum nomina multa saepe quæruntur a nobis; et ignorantia consulatus, quo na­ tus est Dominus, et quo passus est, nonnullos cocgit errare, ut putarent quadraginta sex annorum aetate passum esse Dominum, quia per tot annos ædificatum templum esse dictum est a Judacis, quod imaginem Dominici corporis habebat. Et annorum quidem fere triginta baptizatum esse retinemus auctoritate evan­ gelica: sed postea quot annos in hac vita egerit, quanquam textu ipso actionum ejus animad­ verti possit; tamen ne aliunde caligo dubitationis oria. tur, dc historia gentium collatacum Evangdio, liqui­ dius certiusque colligitur. Tunc enim videbitur nov frustra esse dictum, quod quadraginta sex annis lem­ plum ædificatum sit, ut cum referri iste numerus ad ætatem Domini non potuerit, ad secretiorem instru­ ctionem humani corporis referatur, quo indui propter nos non dcdignatus est unicus Dei Filius, per quem facta sunt omnia. De utilitate autem historiae, ut omittam Græ­ cos, quantam noster Ambrosius quæstionem solvit, calumniantibus Platonis lectoribus et dilectoribus; qui dicere ausi sunt omnes Domini nostri Jesu Christi sententias, quas mirari et prædicare coguntur, de Pla­ tonis lihris cum didicisse, quoniam longe ante huma­ num adventum Domini Platonem fuisse, negari non potest! Nonne memoratus episcopus, considerata!; istoria gentium, cum reperisset Platonem Jeremiæ tem­ poribus profectum fuissc in Ægyptum, ubi propheta ille tunc erat, probabilius esse ostendit quod Plato potius nostris Litteris per Jcremiam fuerit imbutus, ut illa posset docere vel scribcre quae jure laudantur? Ante Litteras enim gentis Hebræorum, in qua unius Ici cultus emicuit, ex qua secundum carnem venit Do­ minus noster, nec ipse quidem Pythagoras fuit, a cu­ jus posteris Platonem theologiam didicisse isti asse­ runt. Ita consideratis temporibus fit multo credibi­ lius istos potius de Litteris nostris habuisse qurccum­ que bona et vera dixerunt, quam de Platonis Dominum Jesum Christum, quod dementissimum est credere. Narratione autem historica cum praeterita etiam hominum instituta narrantur, non inter humana in­ stituta ipsa historia numeranda est; quia jam quæ trans­ ierunt, ncc infecta fieri possunt, in ordine temporum habenda sunt, quorum est conditor ct administrator Deus. Aliud est enim facta narrare, aliud docere fa­ cienda. Historia facta narrat fidcliter atque utiliter; libri autem aruspicum, et quaeque similes litteræ, fa­ cienda vel observanda intendunt docere, monitoris au­ dacia, non indicis 1 fide. ### English translation (Claude) Whatever, then, what is called history shows about the order of past times helps us very greatly in understanding the holy books, even if it is learned outside the Church as part of a boy's education. For we often seek many things by Olympiads and by the names of consuls; and ignorance of the consulship in which the Lord was born and in which he suffered has led some into the error of thinking that the Lord suffered at the age of forty-six, because the Jews said that the temple, which bore the image of the Lord's body, had been forty-six years in building. And indeed we hold on the authority of the Gospel that he was baptized at about thirty years of age; but how many years he spent in this life afterwards, although it can be gathered from the very record of his actions, nevertheless, so that the darkness of doubt may not arise from another source, it is gathered more clearly and certainly from the history of the nations compared with the Gospel. For then it will be seen that it was not said in vain that the temple was built in forty-six years, so that, since this number cannot be referred to the Lord's age, it may be referred to a more hidden lesson about the human body, which the only Son of God, through whom all things were made, did not disdain to put on for our sake. As for the usefulness of history, to pass over the Greeks, what a great question our Ambrose solved when the readers and admirers of Plato slandered us, daring to say that our Lord Jesus Christ learned all his sayings, which they are compelled to admire and proclaim, from the books of Plato, because it cannot be denied that Plato lived long before the Lord's coming as man! Did not the bishop I have mentioned, having considered the history of the nations, and having found that Plato traveled to Egypt in the times of Jeremiah, where that prophet then was, show that it is more probable that Plato was instructed in our writings through Jeremiah, so that he could teach or write what is rightly praised? For not even Pythagoras himself, from whose followers these people assert that Plato learned theology, lived before the writings of the Hebrew nation, in which the worship of the one God shone forth, and from which our Lord came according to the flesh. So when the times are considered, it becomes much more credible that they rather had from our writings whatever good and true things they said, than that the Lord Jesus Christ had them from Plato's, which it is utter madness to believe. But although past human institutions are also narrated in historical narrative, history itself is not to be counted among human institutions; because things that have passed and cannot be undone are to be reckoned in the order of times, whose founder and administrator is God. For it is one thing to narrate what has been done, another to teach what is to be done. History narrates what has been done faithfully and usefully; but the books of soothsayers and any similar writings aim to teach what is to be done or observed, with the boldness of an adviser, not the faithfulness of a witness. ### Scripture references - John 2:20–21: allusion, high confidence - Luke 3:23: allusion, high confidence - John 1:3: allusion, medium confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Plato (Plato (works)): allusion, low confidence ### Translation notes - Forty-six years: John 2:20–21; baptized at about thirty: Luke 3:23; through whom all things were made: John 1:3. Ambrose's argument about Plato and Jeremiah comes from a lost work; Augustine later withdrew the claim that Plato met Jeremiah, since the dates do not fit (City of God 8.11; Retractations 2.4). Migne's note marker (a) is removed by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 2.28 (PL 34:55; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-28/#p-2-28). ## On Christian Doctrine 2.29 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-28/#p-2-29 - Source: PL 34:55–57 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Natural knowledge of places, plants, and animals is useful if not turned to superstition; astronomy is legitimate but of little use for Scripture and close to astrology. ### Latin text Est eliam narratio demonstrationi similis, qua non præterita, sed præsentia indicantur ignaris. ln quo genere sunt quæcumque de locorum situ, naturis­ que animalium, lignorum, herbarum, lapidum, aliorumve corporum scripta sunt. De quo genere supe­ rius egimus, eamque coguitionem valere ad ænigmata Scripturarum solvenda docuimus: non ut pro quibus­ dam signis adhibeantur, tanquam ad remedia vcl ma­ chinamenta superstitionis alicujus; nam et illud ge­ nus jam distinctum ab hoc licito et libero separavimus. Aliud est enim dicere, Tritam istam herbam si bihe­ ris, venter non dolebit; et aliud est dicere, Istam her­ bam collo si suspenderis, venter non dolebit. Ibienim probatur contemperatio salubris, hic significatio su­ perstitiosa damnatur. Quanquam ubi præcantationes, et invocationes, ct characteres non sunt, plerumque dubium est utrum res quae alligatur, aut quoquo modo adjungitur sanando corpori, ut naturæ valeat, quoa Ii­ bcre adhibendum est, an significativa quadam obliga­ tione proveniat, quod tanto prudentius oportet cavere christianum, quanto cfficacius prodesse videbilnr. Sed ubi latet qua causa quid valeat, quo animo quisque utatur interest, duntaxat in sanandis vel temperandis corporibus, sive in medicina, sive in agricultura. Siderum autem cr gnoscendorum non narratio, sed demonstratio est, quorum perpauca Scriptura co nmemorat. Sicut autem plurimis notus est lunæ cursus, qui etiam ad passionem Domini anniversarie celebrandam solemniter adbibetur; sic paucissimis cse­ terorum quoque siderum vel ortus, vel occasus, vel aHin quælibet momenta sine ullo sunt errore notissima. Qu c per seipsam cognitio, quanquam superstitione non alliget, non multum tamen ac prope nihil adjuvat tractationem divinarum Scripturarum, et infructuosa intentione plus impedit; et quia familiaris est perni­ ciosissimo errori fatua fata cantantium, commodius honestiusque contemnitur. Habet autem præter de­ monstrationem præsentium, etiam praeteritorum nar­ mtioni simile aliquid, quod a præsenti positione, mo­ tuque siderum, et in præterita eorum vestigia regula­ riter licet rccurrere. Habet etiam futurorum regularcs coi jecturas, non suspiciosas et ominosas, sed ratas et certas; non ut ex eis aliquid trahere in nostra facta 1 et eventa tentemus, qualia genethliacorum deliramenta sunt, sed quantum ad ipsa pertinet sidera. Nam sicut is qui computat lunam, cum hodie inspexerit quota sit, et ante quotlibet annos quota fuerit, et post quot­ libet annos quota futura sit potest dicere; sic de uno­ quoque siderum, qui ea perite computant, respon­ dere consueverunt. De qua tota cognitione, quantum ad usum ejus attinet, quid mihi videretur aperui. ### English translation (Claude) There is also a kind of narration similar to demonstration, by which present things, not past ones, are made known to those who do not know them. To this kind belongs whatever has been written about the geography of places and the natures of animals, trees, plants, stones, or other bodies. We dealt with this kind above, and showed that this knowledge is valuable for solving the enigmas of the Scriptures; not so that these things should be used as certain signs, as for the remedies or devices of some superstition; for we have already separated that kind from this lawful and free one. For it is one thing to say, “If you crush this plant and drink it, your stomach will not ache,” and another to say, “If you hang this plant on your neck, your stomach will not ache.” In the first case a wholesome mixture is approved; in the second a superstitious signification is condemned. Although where there are no incantations, invocations, or characters, it is often doubtful whether the thing that is tied on, or in any way attached to heal the body, has force by nature, in which case it may freely be used, or comes about through some binding signification; and the more effectively it seems to help, the more prudently a Christian should beware of it. But where the reason why something has force is hidden, it matters with what intention each person uses it, at least in healing or tempering bodies, whether in medicine or in agriculture. The knowledge of the stars is not a narration but a demonstration, and Scripture mentions very few of them. And just as the course of the moon is known to very many, which is also used solemnly for celebrating the Lord's passion every year, so the risings and settings and other moments of the other stars too are known without any error to very few. This knowledge in itself, though it does not bind with superstition, still helps the handling of the divine Scriptures not much, almost not at all, and hinders it rather by fruitless attention; and because it is akin to the most pernicious error of those who chant foolish fates, it is more fittingly and honorably disregarded. Besides demonstrating the present, it has also something like a narration of the past, in that from the present position and motion of the stars one can go back by rule to their past tracks. It has also regular predictions of the future, not suspicious and ominous but fixed and certain; not so that we should try to draw anything from them into our actions and fortunes, such as are the ravings of the genethliaci, but only as concerns the stars themselves. For just as one who calculates the moon, when he has seen today what day of it it is, can say what day it was any number of years ago and what it will be any number of years hence, so those who calculate the stars skillfully are accustomed to answer about each one of them. About this whole branch of knowledge, as far as its use is concerned, I have made clear what I think. ### Translation notes - The moon's course fixes the date of Easter. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 2.29 (PL 34:55–57; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-28/#p-2-29). ## On Christian Doctrine 2.30 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-28/#p-2-30 - Source: PL 34:57 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The practical arts should be known lightly, enough to understand Scripture's figures drawn from them. ### Latin text Artium etiam caeterarum, quibus aliquid fabri­ catur, vel quod remaneat post operationem artificis ab illo effectum, sicut domus, et scamnum, et vas aliquod, atque alia hujuscemodi; vel qnac mjnisteriu:n quod­ damexhibent operanti Deo, sicut medicina, et agri­ cultura, et gubernatio: vel quarum omnis eflectusest actio, sicut saltationum et cursionum et luctaminum: harum ergo cunctarum artium de præteritis experi­ menta faciunt eti 1m futura conjici; nam nullus earum artifex membra movet in operando, nisi præteritorum memoriam cum futurorum exspectatione contexat. Harum autem cognitio tenuiter in ipsa humana vita cursimqne usurpanda est, non ad opcrandum, nisi forte officium aliquod cogat, de quo nunc non agimus; sed ad judicandum, ne omnino nesciamus quid Scri­ ptora velit insinuare, cum de his artibus aliquas figu­ ratas locutiones inserit. ### English translation (Claude) Of the other arts, too, by which something is made, either something that remains after the artisan's work as his product, such as a house, a bench, a vessel, and the like; or arts that provide a kind of service to God's working, such as medicine, agriculture, and navigation; or those whose whole effect is an action, such as dancing, racing, and wrestling: in all these arts experience of the past enables one to infer the future as well; for no artisan in any of them moves his limbs in working unless he joins the memory of the past with the expectation of the future. The knowledge of these arts is to be used lightly and in passing in human life, not for practicing them, unless perhaps some duty requires it, which we are not now discussing, but for judging, so that we may not be wholly ignorant of what Scripture means to convey when it inserts some figurative expressions drawn from these arts. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 2.30 (PL 34:57; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-28/#p-2-30). ## On Christian Doctrine 2.31 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-28/#p-2-31 - Source: PL 34:57 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Logic is very useful for Scripture if one avoids sophistry; valid inference can be learned outside the Church, but the truth of propositions is found in Scripture. ### Latin text Restant ea quae non ad corporis sensus, sed ad rationem animi pertinent, ubi disciplina regnat disputationis et numer i. Sed disputationis discip!ina ad omnia genera quæstionum, qu:e in Literis sanctis sunt penetranda et dissolvenda, plurimum valet: tantum ibi cavenda est libido rixandi, et puerilis quæ­ dam ostentatio decipiendi adversarium. Sunt enim multa quæ appellamur sophismata, falsæ conclusiones rationum, et plerumque ita veras imitantes, ut non solum tardos, sod ingeniosos etiam minus diligenter attentos decipiant. Proposuit enim quidam, dicens ei cum quo loquebatur: Quod ego siun, tu non es. At ille consensit: vcrum enim erat ex parte, vel eo ipso quod iste insidiosus, ille simplex erat. Tunc iste ad­ didit: Ego autem homo sum. Hoc quoque cum ab illo accepisset, conclusit dicens: Tu igitur ron es homo. Quod genus captiosarum conclusionum Scri­ ptura, quantum existimo, detestatur illo laco, ubi dictum est: Qni sophistice loquitur, odibilis est. Quanquam etiam sermo non captiosus, sed tamen abundantius quam gravitatem decet, ver­ borum ornamenta consectans, sophisticus dicitur. Sunt etiam verae connexiones ratiocinationis falsas habentes sententias, quoe consequuntur errorem illius cum quo agitur: quæ tamen ad hoc inferuntur a bono et docto homine, ut in iis erubescens ille cujus errorem consequuntur, eumdem relinquat errorem; quia si in eodem manere voluerit, necesse est etiam illa quae damnat, tenere cogatur. Non enim vera in­ ferebat Apostolus, cum diceret, Neque Christus resur­ rexit; et illa alia, Inanis eat prædicatio nostra, inanis est et fides vestra; et deinceps alia quaL. omnino falsa sunt, quia et Christus resurrexit, et non erat inanis prædicatio eorum qui hoc annun­ tiabant, nec fides eorum qui hoc credidcrant: sed ista falsa verissime connectebantur illi sententiae qua di­ cebatur non esse resurrectionem mortuorum. Istis autem falsis repudiatis, quoniam vera erant si mor­ tui non resurgunt, consequcns erit resurrectio mor­ tuorum. Cum ergo sint veræ connexiones, non solum verarum, sed etiam falsarum sententiarum, facile est veritatem connexionum etiam in scholis iliis discere, quæ præter Ecclesiam sunt. Sententiarum autem veritas in sanctis Lihris ecclesiasticis investiganda est. ### English translation (Claude) There remain the things that belong not to the bodily senses but to the reason of the mind, where the discipline of argument and of number reigns. The discipline of argument is of very great value for all kinds of questions that have to be penetrated and resolved in the holy writings; only the lust for wrangling must be avoided there, and a certain childish display of tripping up an opponent. For there are many things called sophisms, false conclusions of reasonings, often so imitating true ones that they deceive not only the slow but even the clever when they are not careful enough. For someone once proposed, saying to the man he was talking with, “What I am, you are not.” And he agreed; for it was partly true, if only because the one was crafty and the other simple. Then the first added, “But I am a man.” When he had accepted this too from him, he concluded, saying, “Therefore you are not a man.” Scripture, as far as I can judge, abhors this kind of captious conclusion in the place where it is said, “He who speaks sophistically is hateful.” Although speech that is not captious, but pursues verbal ornament more abundantly than befits seriousness, is also called sophistical. There are also true connections of reasoning that have false propositions, which follow from the error of the person one is dealing with; yet they are brought in by a good and learned man for this purpose, that the one whose error they follow may be ashamed of them and abandon that error, since if he chooses to remain in it, he will necessarily be forced to hold also what he condemns. For the Apostle was not inferring true things when he said, “Then neither has Christ risen,” and the other, “Our preaching is vain, and your faith is also vain,” and the further ones, which are all false, because Christ has risen, and the preaching of those who proclaimed it was not vain, nor the faith of those who believed it; but these false things were most truly connected with the proposition that said there is no resurrection of the dead. When these false things are rejected, since they would be true if the dead do not rise, the resurrection of the dead will follow. Since, then, there are true connections not only of true but also of false propositions, it is easy to learn the truth of connections even in those schools which are outside the Church. But the truth of propositions is to be sought in the holy books of the Church. ### Scripture references - 1 Cor 15:13–14: quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Sir 37:20 (Sirach): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations from Sir 37:20 (37:23 Vulg.), “he who speaks sophistically is hateful,” and 1 Cor 15:13–14. Migne's note marker (a) and a stray mark are removed by logged corrections. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 2.31 (PL 34:57; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-28/#p-2-31). ## On Christian Doctrine 2.32 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-28/#p-2-32 - Source: PL 34:57–59 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The rules of valid inference are discovered, not invented, as Paul's argument for the resurrection shows. ### Latin text Ipsa tamen veritas connexionum non instituta, sed animadversa est ab hominibus et notata, ut cam possint vel discere vel docere: nam est in rerum ratione perpetua et divinitus ins'iuta. Sicut enim qui narrat ordinem temporum, non eum ipse compo­ nit; et locorum situs, aut naturas animalium vel stir­ pium vel lapidum qui ostendit, non res ostendit ab hominibus institutas; et ille qui demonstrat si­ dera eorumque motus, non a se vel ab homine ali­ quo rem institutam demonstrat: sic etiam qui dicit, Cum falsum est quod consequitur, necesse est ut fal­ sum sit quod praecedit; verissime dicit, neque ipse facit ut ita sit, sed tantum ita esse demonstrat. Ex hac regula illud est quod de apostolo Paulo com­ memoravimus: praecedit enim non esse resurrectio­ nem mortuorum, quod dicebant it Ii quorum errorem destruere volebat Apostolus. Porro illam sententiam præcedentem, qua dicebant non esse resurrectionem mortuorum, necessario sequitur, Neque Christus tesur­ rexit: hoc autcm quod sequitur, falsum est; Christus enim resurrexit: falsum est ergo ct quod præcedit; præcedit autem, non esse resurrectionem mortuorum: est igitur resurrectio mortuorum. Quod totum brevi­ ter ita dicitur: Si non est resurrectio mortuorum, ne­ que Christus resurrexit: Cbristus autcm resurrexit; est igitur resurrectio mortuorum. Hoc ergo, ut conse­ quenti ablato auferatur etiam necessario quod præce­ dit, non instituerunt homines, sed ostenderunt. Et hæc regula pertinet ad veritatem connexionum, non ad veritatem sententiarum. ### English translation (Claude) Yet the truth of connections itself was not instituted by human beings, but observed and noted by them so that they could learn or teach it; for it is perpetual in the reason of things and instituted by God. For just as one who narrates the order of times does not compose it himself; and one who shows the positions of places or the natures of animals, plants, or stones does not show things instituted by human beings; and one who demonstrates the stars and their motions does not demonstrate something instituted by himself or any other human being: so too one who says, “When what follows is false, what precedes must be false,” says something most true, and does not himself make it so, but only shows that it is so. From this rule comes what we mentioned about the apostle Paul. For the antecedent is that there is no resurrection of the dead, which those whose error the Apostle wished to destroy were saying. Now from that antecedent proposition, by which they said there is no resurrection of the dead, there necessarily follows, “Then neither has Christ risen.” But this consequent is false, for Christ has risen; therefore the antecedent is also false. The antecedent is that there is no resurrection of the dead; therefore there is a resurrection of the dead. The whole is briefly stated thus: “If there is no resurrection of the dead, neither has Christ risen; but Christ has risen; therefore there is a resurrection of the dead.” This, then, that when the consequent is removed the antecedent is necessarily removed too, human beings did not institute but showed. And this rule belongs to the truth of connections, not to the truth of propositions. ### Scripture references - 1 Cor 15:13–20: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - 1 Cor 15:13–20. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 2.32 (PL 34:57–59; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-28/#p-2-32). ## On Christian Doctrine 2.33 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-28/#p-2-33 - Source: PL 34:59 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Valid reasoning can lead from false premises to a false conclusion, and invalid reasoning can link true propositions, as examples about a snail and an orator show. ### Latin text Sed in hoc loco de resurrectione cum agere­ tur, et regula connexionis vera est, et ipsa in con­ clusione sententia. In falsis autem sententiis, con­ nexionis veritas est isto modo: faciamus aliquem concessisse, Si animal est cochlea, vocem habet; hoc concesso, cum probatum fuerit vocem cochleam non babere, quoniam consequenti ablato illud quod prae­ cedit aufertur, concluditur non esse animal cochleam. Quæ sententia falsa est, sed ex concesso falso vera cst conclusionis connexio. Veritas itaque sententiæ per seipsam valet; veritas autem connexionis ex ejus cum quo agitur, opinione vel concessione consistit. Ideo autem, ut supra diximus, infertur vera connexione quod falsum est, ut eum cujus errorem corrigere vo­ humus, poeniteat concessisse praecedentia, quorum consequentia videt esse respuenda. Jam hinc intelli­ sere facile est, sicut in falsis sententiis veras, sic in veris sententiis falsas conclusiones esse posse. Fac cnim aliquem proposuisse, Si justus est ille, bonus est, et esse concessum; deinde assumpsisse, Non est autem justus; quo item concesso, intulisse conclu­ sionem, Non est igitur bonus. Quae tamen etsi vera sint omnia, non est tamen vera regula conclusionis. Non enim sicut ablato consequenti aufertur necessario quod præcedit, ita etiam ablato præccdenti aufertur necessario quod consequitur. Quia verum est, cum dicimus, Si orator est, homo est: ex qua proposi­ tione si assumamus, Non est autem orator; non erit consequens cum intuleris, Non est igitur homo. ### English translation (Claude) But in this place, where the resurrection was being discussed, both the rule of connection is true and the proposition itself in the conclusion. In false propositions, however, the truth of connection works in this way: suppose someone has granted, “If a snail is an animal, it has a voice.” Once this is granted, when it has been proved that a snail has no voice, since the antecedent is removed when the consequent is removed, it is concluded that a snail is not an animal. This proposition is false, but from the false concession the connection of the conclusion is true. So the truth of a proposition is valid in itself, but the truth of a connection rests on the opinion or concession of the person one is dealing with. And so, as we said above, something false is inferred by a true connection, so that the person whose error we wish to correct may regret having granted the antecedents whose consequences he sees must be rejected. From this it is now easy to understand that just as there can be true conclusions from false propositions, so there can be false conclusions from true propositions. For suppose someone has proposed, “If that man is just, he is good,” and it is granted; then he has added, “But he is not just,” and when this too is granted, he has drawn the conclusion, “Therefore he is not good.” Even though all these things may be true, the rule of the conclusion is not true. For as the antecedent is necessarily removed when the consequent is removed, so the consequent is not necessarily removed when the antecedent is removed. For it is true when we say, “If he is an orator, he is a man”; but if from this proposition we add, “But he is not an orator,” it will not follow when you infer, “Therefore he is not a man.” ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 2.33 (PL 34:59; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-28/#p-2-33). ## On Christian Doctrine 2.34 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-28/#p-2-34 - Source: PL 34:59 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Knowing the rules of inference differs from knowing truths; knowing the truth of the resurrection is better than knowing logic. ### Latin text Quapropter aliud est nosse regulas connexio­ num, aliud sententiarum veritatem. In illis discitur quid sit consequcns, quid non consequens, quid re­ pugnans. Consequens est, Si orator est, homo est: inconsequens, Si homo est, orator est: repugnans, Si homo est, quadrupes est. Hic ergo de ipsa con­ oexione judicatur. In vcritate autem sententiarum ipsae per se sententiæ, non earum connexio conside­ randa cst; sed veris certisque sententiis, cum incertæ vera connexione junguntur, etiam ipsae certæ hiant necesse est. Quidnm autem sic se jactant, cum vcrita­ tem connexionum didicerint, quasi sententiarum ipsa sit veritas. Et rursus: quidam plerumque retinentes veram sententiam, male se contemnunt, quia leges conclusionis ignorant; cum melior sit qui novit esse resurrectionem mortuorum, quam ille qui novit con­ sequens esse, ut si resurrectio mortuorum non est, neque Christus resurrexerit. ### English translation (Claude) Therefore it is one thing to know the rules of connections, another to know the truth of propositions. In the former one learns what follows, what does not follow, and what is incompatible. It follows: “If he is an orator, he is a man.” It does not follow: “If he is a man, he is an orator.” It is incompatible: “If he is a man, he is a four-footed animal.” Here, then, the connection itself is judged. But in the truth of propositions, the propositions themselves are to be considered in themselves, not their connection; but when uncertain propositions are joined by a true connection to true and certain ones, they too must become certain. Some, however, boast as if the truth of propositions itself were the truth of connections they have learned. And again, some who hold a true proposition wrongly despise themselves because they do not know the laws of conclusion; though he is better who knows that there is a resurrection of the dead than he who knows that it follows that, if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither has Christ risen. ### Scripture references - 1 Cor 15:13: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - 1 Cor 15:13. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 2.34 (PL 34:59; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-28/#p-2-34). ## On Christian Doctrine 2.35 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-28/#p-2-35 - Source: PL 34:59 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The rules of definition and division are true and discovered, not invented, even when applied to falsehoods. ### Latin text Item scientia definiendi, dividendi, atque par­ ticndi, quanquam etiam rebus falsis plerumque ad­ hibeatur, ipsa tamen falsa non est, neque ab homini­ bus instituta, sed in rerum ratione comperta. Non enim quia et fabulis suis eam poetæ, et opinionibus erroris sui vel falsi philosophi, vel etiam hæretici, hoc est, falsi christiani adhibere consueverunt, propterea falsum est neque in definiendo, neque in dividendo aut partiendo, aliquid complectendum esse quod ad rem ipsam non pertinet, aut aliquid quod pertinet prætereundum. Hoc verum est, etiamsi ea quae de­ finiuntur aut distribuuntur, vera non sint. Nam et ipsum falsura definitur, cum dicimus falsum esse signilicationem rei non ita se habentis ut significatur. sive alio aliquo modo: quæ definitio vera est, quam­ vis falsum verum esse non possit. Possumus etiam dividere, dicentes, duo esse genera falsi: unum eorum quae omnino esse non possunt; alterum eorum quæ non sunt, quamvis esse possint. Nam qui dicit septem et tria undecim esse, id dicit quod omnino esse non potest: qui autem dicit calendis, verbi gratia, ja­ nuariis pluisse, tamenetsi factum non sit, id tamen dicit quod fieri potuerit. Definitio igitur et divisio falsorum potest esse verissima, quamvis falsa ipsa utique vera non sint. ### English translation (Claude) Likewise the science of defining, dividing, and distributing, although it is often applied to false things as well, is not itself false, nor instituted by human beings, but discovered in the reason of things. For it is not false, because poets have been accustomed to apply it to their fables, and false philosophers or even heretics, that is, false Christians, to the opinions of their error, that in defining, dividing, or distributing nothing should be included that does not belong to the thing itself, nor anything that does belong to it be left out. This is true even if the things defined or distributed are not true. For even the false itself is defined when we say that the false is the signification of a thing that is not as it is signified, or something of the kind; and this definition is true, although the false cannot be true. We can also divide, saying that there are two kinds of the false: one of things that cannot exist at all, the other of things that do not exist, although they could. For one who says that seven and three are eleven says what cannot be at all; but one who says, for example, that it rained on the Kalends of January, even if it did not happen, still says what could have happened. So the definition and division of false things can be most true, although the false things themselves are certainly not true. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 2.35 (PL 34:59; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-28/#p-2-35). ## On Christian Doctrine 2.36 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-28/#p-2-36 - Source: PL 34:59 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The rules of eloquence are true and morally neutral; only their misuse is blameworthy. ### Latin text Sunt etiam quaedam precepta uberioris dispu­ talionis, quoe jam eloquentia nominatur, quae nihilo­ ntinus vera sunt, quamvis eis possint etiam falsa per­ suaderi: sed quia et vera possunt i, non est facultas ipsa culpabilis, sed ea male utentium perversitas. Nam neque hoc ab hominibus institutum est, ut cha­ ritatis I expressio conciliet auditorem, aut ut facile, quod intendit, insinuet brevis et aperta narratio, et varietas ejus sine fastidio teneat intentos; et cæteræ hujusmodi observationcs, quae sive in falsis sive in veris causis, verae sunt tamcn, in quantum vel scir i vel credi aliquid faciunt, aut ad expetendum fugiendumve animos movent, et inventae potius quod ita se habeant, quam ut ita se haberent institutæ. ### English translation (Claude) There are also certain rules of a fuller kind of argument, which is now called eloquence, which are nonetheless true, although falsehoods too can be urged persuasively by them; but since truths can be too, the faculty itself is not blameworthy, but the perversity of those who use it badly. For it was not instituted by human beings that an expression of goodwill wins over the hearer, or that a brief and clear narration easily conveys what it aims at, and variety holds the attention without boredom; and other observations of this kind, which, whether in false or in true causes, are nevertheless true, insofar as they cause something to be known or believed, or move minds to seek or shun, and have been discovered to be so rather than instituted so that they would be so. ### Translation notes - “Goodwill”: the digital text reads charitatis; the sense in rhetoric is the speaker's showing of goodwill to win the audience. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 2.36 (PL 34:59; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-28/#p-2-36). ## On Christian Doctrine 2.37 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-28/#p-2-37 - Source: PL 34:59–61 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Rhetoric helps in expressing, logic in understanding, but people often grasp truths more easily than the rules about them, and such learning can make one deceitful or proud. ### Latin text Sed haec pars 3 cum discitur, magis ut profera­ mus ea quæ intellecta sunt, quam ut intelligamus, adhibenda est. Illa vero conclusionum et definitionum et distributionum, plurimum intellectorem adjuvat: tantum absit error, quo videntur homines sibi ipsam beatæ vitæ veritatem didicisse, cum ista didicerint. Quanquam plerumque accidat ut facilius homines res cas assequantur, propter quas assequendas ista discun­ tur, quam talium praeceptorum nodosissimas et spi­ nosissimas disciplinas. Tanquam si quispiam dare volens præcepta ambulandi, moneat non esse levan­ dum posteriorem pedem, nisi cum posueris priorem, dcinde minutatim quemadmodum articulorum et po­ plitum cardines oporteat movere, describat. Vera enim dicit, nee aliter ambulari potest; sed facilius homines hæc faciendo ambulant, qnam animadvertunt cum faciunt, aut intelligunt cum audiunt. Qui autem ambulare non possunt, multo minus ea curant, quæ nec experiendo possunt attendere. Ita plerumquecitius ingeniosus videt non esse ratam conclusionem, quam præcepta ejus capit; tardus autem non eam videt; sed multo minus quod de illa præcipitur: magisque in his omnibus ipsa spectacula veritatis saepe dele­ ctant, quam ex eis in disputando aut judicando adju­ vamur; nisi forte quod exorcitatiora reddunt ingenia, si etiam maligniora ant inflatiora non reddant, boc rst, ut aut decipere verisimili sermone atque inter­ rogationibus ament, aut aliquid magnum, quo se bonis atque innocentibus anteponant, se assecutos putent qui ista didicerunt. ### English translation (Claude) But when this part is learned, it is to be used more for setting forth what has been understood than for understanding. That other part, concerning conclusions, definitions, and distributions, helps the one who seeks to understand very greatly; only let there be no error by which people seem to themselves to have learned the very truth of the happy life when they have learned these things. Although it often happens that people grasp the things for the sake of which these are learned more easily than the most knotty and thorny disciplines of such rules. As if someone wishing to give rules for walking were to warn that the back foot is not to be lifted until you have put down the front one, and then describe in detail how the hinges of the joints and knees should be moved. For he says what is true, and one cannot walk otherwise; but people walk more easily by doing these things than they notice them when they do them or understand them when they hear them. And those who cannot walk care much less for what they cannot even attend to by experience. So a clever person often sees that a conclusion is invalid sooner than he grasps its rules; but a slow one does not see it, and much less what is taught about it. And in all these things the very spectacle of truth often delights us more than it helps us in arguing or judging; unless perhaps they make minds more practiced, if they do not also make them more malicious or more puffed up, that is, so that those who have learned these things either love to deceive with plausible talk and questions, or think they have attained something great by which to set themselves above good and innocent people. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 2.37 (PL 34:59–61; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-28/#p-2-37). ## On Christian Doctrine 2.38 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-28/#p-2-38 - Source: PL 34:61 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The truths of number are discovered and unchangeable; whoever learns them without rising to praise the God from whom all truth comes may seem learned but is not wise. ### Latin text Jamvero numeri disciplina cuilibet tardissimo darum estquod non sii ab hominibus instituta, sed po­ lius indagata atque inventa. Non enim sicut primam syl­ labam haliæ, quam brevem pronuntiaverunt veteres, voluit Virgilius, et longa facta est; ita quisquam potest efficere cum voluerit, ut ter terna aut non sint novem, aut non possint efficcre quadratam figuram, aut non ad ternarium numerum tripla sint, ad senarium sescupla, ad nullum dupla, quia intelligibilcs numeri semissem ton habent. Sive ergo in seipsis considerentur, sive ad figurarum aut ad sonorum aliarumve motionum Ic­ ges numeri adhibeantur, incommutabiles regulas ha­ bent, neque ullo modo ab hominibus institutas, sed ingeniosorum sagacitate compertas. Quæ tamen omnia quisquis ita dilexerit, ut ja­ c tare se inter imperitos velit, et non potius quaerere nde sint vera, quæ tantummodo vera esse persense­ rit; et unde quædam non solum vera sed etiam in­ commutabilia, quae incommutabilia esse comprehen­ derit; ac sic a specie corporum usque ad humanam mentem perveniens, cum-et ipsam mutabilem invenc­ rit, quod nunc docta, nunc indocta sit, constituta ta­ men inter incommutabilem supra se veritatem, et mutabilia infra se cætera, ad unius Dei laudem atque 1 d.lectionem cuncta convertere, a quo cuncta esse co­ gnoscit; doctus videri potest, esse autem sapiens nullo modo. ### English translation (Claude) Now it is clear to anyone, however slow, that the science of number was not instituted by human beings but rather investigated and discovered. For it is not as with the first syllable of Italia, which the ancients pronounced short and Virgil chose to make long, and long it became: no one can bring it about at will that three times three are not nine, or cannot make a square figure, or are not triple in relation to three, one and a half times six, and double no number, since intelligible numbers have no half. Whether, then, they are considered in themselves or applied to the laws of figures, of sounds, or of other motions, numbers have unchangeable rules, by no means instituted by human beings, but discovered by the sagacity of the clever. Yet whoever loves all these things so as to wish to boast among the unlearned, and not rather to seek from what source those things are true which he has only perceived to be true, and from what source some things are not only true but also unchangeable which he has grasped to be unchangeable; and so, passing from the beauty of bodies to the human mind, and finding that it too is changeable, since it is now learned, now unlearned, yet set between the unchangeable truth above it and the other changeable things beneath it, to turn all things to the praise and love of the one God, from whom he knows that all things exist: such a man may seem learned, but in no way can he be wise. ### Extrabiblical texts - Virgil, Aen. 1.2 (Virgil): allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Virgil, Aeneid 1.2, “Italiam” with a long first syllable. The numerical point: nine is triple three, one and a half times six, and double no whole number. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 2.38 (PL 34:61; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-28/#p-2-38). ## On Christian Doctrine 2.39 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-28/#p-2-39 - Source: PL 34:61–63 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Of pagan learning only history, the useful arts, logic, and mathematics are useful; Augustine proposes reference works on the places, creatures, and numbers mentioned in Scripture. ### Latin text Quamobrem vidctur mihi studiosis et ingeniosis adolescentibus, et timentibus Deum, beatamque vitam qtiaerentibus, salubritcr præcipi ut nullas doctrinas quoe praeter Ecclesiam Christi exercentur, tanquam ad beatam vitam capessendam secure sequi audeant, sud eas sobrie diligenterque dijudicent: et si quas invene­ rint ab hominibus institutas, varias propter diversam voluntatem instituentium, et ignotas propter suspi­ ciones errantium, maxime si habent etiam cum da:­ monibus initam societatem per quarumdam signi ca­ tionum quasi quædam pacta atque conventa; rcpudient pcnitus et detestentur; alienent etiam studium a su­ perfluis et luxuriosis hominum institutis. Illa vero instituta hominum, quas ad socictatcm conviventium 1 valent, pro ipsa hujus vitæ necessitate non negligant. In cæteris autem doctrinis, quæ apud gentes iuvc­ niuntur, praeter historiam rerum, vel præteriti tem­ poris vel præsentis, ad sensus corporis pertinentium, quibus etiam utilium artium corporalium experimenta et conjecturæ annumerantur, et praeter rationem dis­ putationis et numeri, nihil utile esse arbitror. In qui­ bus omnibus tenendum est, Ne quid nimis; ( Terent. in Andr., act. i, scen. t.) et maxime in iis quae ad corporis sensus pertinentia, volvuntur temporibus, et continentur locis. Sicut autem quidam de verbis omnibus et no­ minibus hebraeis, et syris, et ægyptiis, vel si qua alia lingua in Scripturis sanctis inveniri potest, quae in eis sine interpretatione sunt posita, fecerunt, ut ea se­ paratim interpretarentur; et quod Eusebius fecit de temporum historia propter divinorum Librorum quæ­ stiones, quae usum ejus flagitaut: quod ergo Iii fece­ runt de his rebus, ut non sit necesse christiano in multis propter pauca laborare; sic video posse fieri, si quem eorum qui possunt, benignam sane operam fraternae utilitati delectet impendere, ut quoscumque terrarum locos, quæve animalia vel herbas atque ar­ bores sive lapides vcl metalla incognita, specicsquc qnaslibct Scriptura commemorat, ea generatim digc­ rens, sola exposita litteris mandet. Potest etiam de numeris fieri, ut eorum tantummodo numerorum ex­ posita ratio conscribatur, quos divina Scriptura me­ minit. Qnorum aliqua aut omnia forte jam facta sunt, sicut multa quae a bonis doctisquc christianis elabo­ rata atque conscripta non arbitrabamur, invenimus 2; sed sive propter turbas negligentium, sive propter-in­ vidorum occultationes latent. Quod utrum de ratione disputandi fieri possit, ignoro: et videtur mihi non posse, quia per totum textum Scripturarum colligata est nervorum vice; ct ideo magis ad ambigua solvEnda et explicanda, de quibus post loquemur, legentes ad­ juvat, quam ad incognita signa, de quibus nunc agi­ mus, cognoscenda. ### English translation (Claude) Therefore it seems to me that studious and clever young men, who fear God and seek the happy life, are wholesomely advised not to venture to follow, as if securely, any branches of learning practiced outside the Church of Christ as means of obtaining the happy life, but to judge them soberly and carefully. And if they find any instituted by human beings, varying because of the different wills of those who instituted them, and unknown because of the suspicions of those in error, especially if they also involve fellowship entered into with demons through certain significations, like agreements and covenants, let them reject and abhor them utterly; let them also withdraw their zeal from the superfluous and luxurious institutions of human beings. But those institutions of human beings that serve the society of people living together they should not neglect, for the sake of the very necessity of this life. In the other branches of learning found among the pagans, apart from the history of things past or present that belong to the bodily senses, to which are added the experiments and conjectures of the useful bodily arts, and apart from the science of argument and of number, I think nothing is useful. In all of these one must hold to “nothing in excess,” and especially in those which, belonging to the bodily senses, revolve in times and are contained in places. Just as some have done with all the Hebrew, Syriac, Egyptian words and names, or those of any other language that can be found in the holy Scriptures and are placed in them without translation, translating them separately; and as Eusebius did with the history of times, because of the questions in the divine books which require its use: as these men did with these matters, so that a Christian need not labor much for the sake of a few things, so I see that it could be done, if any of those who are able would be pleased to devote a kindly labor to the benefit of the brothers, that whatever places of the earth, or animals, plants, trees, stones, or metals unknown, or any kinds of things, Scripture mentions, he should arrange them by kinds and commit only these, explained, to writing. It could also be done with numbers, so that the explained meaning of only those numbers which the divine Scripture mentions should be written down. Some or all of these things have perhaps already been done, as we have found many things worked out and written down by good and learned Christians which we did not think existed; but they lie hidden, either because of the crowds of the careless or because of the concealment of the envious. Whether this can be done for the science of argument I do not know; and it seems to me that it cannot, because it is bound throughout the whole text of the Scriptures like sinews; and so it helps readers more to resolve and explain ambiguous signs, of which we shall speak later, than to know unknown signs, which we are now dealing with. ### Extrabiblical texts - Terence, Andr. 61 (Terence): quotation, high confidence - Chron. (Eusebius and Jerome, Chronicle): allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - “Nothing in excess” is quoted from Terence, Andria 61 (Migne: act 1, scene 1). Eusebius's work on the history of times is his Chronicle (in Jerome's Latin version). The works on Hebrew names are the onomastica (Jerome's Book of Hebrew Names). ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 2.39 (PL 34:61–63; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-28/#p-2-39). ## On Christian Doctrine 2.40 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-28/#p-2-40 - Source: PL 34:63 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: What is true in pagan philosophy, especially Platonism, should be taken for Christian use, as Israel took the Egyptians' gold, as Cyprian, Lactantius, and others did. ### Latin text Philosophi autem qui vocantur, si qua forte vera et fidei nostræ accommodata dixerunt, maxime Platonici, non solum formidanda non sunt, sed ab eis etiam tanquam injustis possessoribus in usum nostrum vindicanda. Sicut enim iEgyplii non solum tdola ha­ bcbant et onera gravia, quæ populus Israel detestare­ tur et fugeret, sed eliam vasa atque ornamenta de auro et argento, et vestem, quae ille populus exiens de Ægypto, sibi potius tanquam ad usum meliorem clanculo vindicavit; non auctoritate propria, sed prae­ cepto Dei, ipsis Ægyptiis nescienter commodantibus ea, quibus non bene utebantur ( Exod. III, ii, et XII, 35): sic doctrinae omnes Gentilium non solum simu­ lata et superstitiosa figmenta gravesque sarcinas su­ pervacanei laboris habent, quae unusquisqne nostrum, duce Christo, de societate Gentilium exiens, debet abominari atque devitare; sed etiam liberales disci­ plinas usui veritatis aptiores, et quaedam morum præ­ cepta utilissima continent, deque ipso uno Deo colendo nonnulla vera inveniuntur apud eos; quod eorum tan­ quam aurum et argentum, quod non ipsi instituerunt, sed de quibusdam quasi metallis divinae providentiæ, quae ubique iufusa est, eruerunt, et quo perverse at­ que injuriose ad obsequia dæmonum abutuntur, cum ab eorum misera societate sese animo separat, debet ab eis auferre christianus ad usum justum praedicandi Evangelii. Vestem quoque illorum, id est, hominum quidem instituta, sed tamen accommodata humanæ so­ cietati, qua in hac vita carere non possumus, accipere atque habere licuerit in usum convertenda christia­ num. Nam quid aliud fecerunt multi bocci lidelcs no­ stri? Nonne aspicimus qnanto auro et argento et veste suffarcinatus exierit de Ægypto Cyprianus doctor sua­ vissimus et martyr beatissimus? quanto Lactantius? quanto Victorinus, Optatus, Hilarius, ut de vivis ta­ ceam? quanto innumerabiles Græci? Quod prior ipse fidelissimus Dei famulus Moyses fecerat, de quo scri­ ptum est quod eruditus fuerit omni sapientia Ægy­ ptiorum ( Act. VII, 22). Quibus omnibus viris supersti­ tiosa Gentium consuetudo, et maxime illis tempori­ bus, cum Christi recutiens jugum Christianos perse­ quebatur, disciplinas quas utiles habebat, nunquam commodaret, si eas in usum colendi unius Dei, quo varus idolorum cultus exscinderetur, conversum iri suspicaretur: sed dederunt aurum, et argentum, et vestem suam cxeunti populo Dei de iEgypto, nescien­ tes quemadmodum illa quae dabant, in Christi obse­ quium cederent. Illud enim in Exodo factum, sine dubio figuratum est, ut hoc, praesignaret; quod sine præjudicio alterius, aut paris, aut melioris iulelligen­ tiæ dixerim. ### English translation (Claude) As for those who are called philosophers, if they have said anything that is true and in harmony with our faith, especially the Platonists, not only is it not to be feared, but it is even to be claimed from them for our use, as from unlawful possessors. For just as the Egyptians not only had idols and heavy burdens, which the people of Israel abhorred and fled, but also vessels and ornaments of gold and silver, and clothing, which that people, going out of Egypt, secretly claimed for themselves as for a better use; not on their own authority, but at God's command, the Egyptians themselves unknowingly lending them things they were not using well: so all the branches of pagan learning contain not only feigned and superstitious fictions and heavy burdens of needless labor, which each of us, going out of the society of the pagans under Christ's leadership, ought to abhor and avoid, but also liberal disciplines more suited to the use of truth, and some very useful moral precepts; and even concerning the worship of the one God some true things are found among them. This, their gold and silver, as it were, which they did not institute themselves but dug out of certain mines, so to speak, of divine providence, which is poured out everywhere, and which they perversely and injuriously misuse in the service of demons, the Christian, when he separates himself in mind from their miserable society, ought to take from them for the just use of preaching the Gospel. Their clothing too, that is, institutions which are indeed human but suited to human society, which we cannot do without in this life, it will be lawful for a Christian to take and have, to be turned to use. For what else have many good believers of ours done? Do we not see with how much gold, silver, and clothing Cyprian, that most charming teacher and most blessed martyr, went out of Egypt loaded? With how much Lactantius? With how much Victorinus, Optatus, Hilary, to say nothing of the living? With how much countless Greeks? This is what Moses himself, that most faithful servant of God, had done before, of whom it is written that he was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. To all these men the superstitious custom of the pagans, especially in those times when, shaking off the yoke of Christ, it persecuted Christians, would never have lent the disciplines it held useful if it had suspected that they would be turned to the use of worshiping the one God, by which the vain worship of idols would be cut off. But they gave their gold, silver, and clothing to the people of God going out of Egypt, not knowing how the things they gave would yield to the service of Christ. For that event in Exodus was without doubt a figure, so that it might foreshadow this; which I would say without prejudice to another understanding, either equal or better. ### Scripture references - Exod 3:21–22: allusion, high confidence - Exod 12:35–36: allusion, high confidence - Acts 7:22: quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Plato (Plato (works)): allusion, low confidence ### Translation notes - The spoiling of the Egyptians: Exod 3:21–22; 11:2; 12:35–36; Moses' learning: Acts 7:22. Victorinus is probably Marius Victorinus, the rhetorician; Optatus is Optatus of Milevis. This passage is a classic statement of the Christian use of pagan learning; Augustine offers the figurative reading of Exodus “without prejudice to another understanding.” ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 2.40 (PL 34:63; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-28/#p-2-40). ## On Christian Doctrine 2.41 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-28/#p-2-41 - Source: PL 34:63 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The student must remember that knowledge puffs up while love builds up; the Passover hyssop signifies humility, and the cross's dimensions describe the Christian life. ### Latin text Sed hoc modo instructus divinarum Scriptura­ rum studiosus, cum ad eas perscrutandas accedere cæperit, illud apostolicum cogitare non cesset: Scien­ tia inflat, charitas ædificat (I Cor. VOl, 1). Ita enim sen. tiet, quamvis de iEgypto dives exeat, tamen nisi Pa­ scha egerit, salvum se esse non posse. Pascha autem nostrum immolatus est Christus ( Id. v, 7), nihilque magis immolatio Christi nos docet, quam illud quod ipse clamat, tanquam ad cos quos in Ægypto sub Pha­ raone videt laborare: Venite ad me, qui laboratis et onerati estis, et ego reficiam vos. Tollite jugum meun super vos, et discite a me quia mitia sum et humilis corde; et invenietis requiem animabus vestris. Jugum enim meum lene est, et sarcina mea levia eat: quibus, nisi mitibus et humilibus corde, quos non inflat scientia, sed charitas aedificat? Meminerint ergo corum qui Pascha illo tempore per umbrarum imaginaria celebrabant I, cum signari postes sanguine agni juberentur, hyssopo fuisse signatos. Herba hæc mitis et humilis est, et nihil fortius et penetrabilius ejus radicibus: ut in charitate radi­ cati et fundati possimus comprebendere cum omnibus sanctis, quæ sit latitudo, et longitudo, et altitudo, et profundum, id est, crucem Domini; cujus latitudo di­ citnr in transverso ligno, quo extenduntur manus; longitudo, a terra usque ad ipsam latitudinem, quo a manibus et infra totum corpus anigitur; altitudo, a la­ titudine sursum usque ad summum, cui adhaeret ca­ put 2; profundum vero, quod terrae infixum abscoa­ ditur. Quo signo crucis, omnis actio christiana descri­ bitur, bene operari in Christo, et ei perseveranter inh:erere, sperare coelestia, sacramenta non profa­ nare. Per hanc actionem purgati valebimus cogno­ scere etiam supereminentem scientiæ charitatem Christis, qua aequalis est Patri, per quem facta sunt omnia, ut impleamur in omnem plenitudinem Dei. Est etiam in hyssopo vis purga­ toria ne, inflante scientia de divitiis ab Ægypto abla­ tis, superbe aliquid pulmo tumidus anhelet: Asperges me, inquit, hyssopo et mundabor; lava'i. me, et su­ per nivem dealbabor. Auditui meo dabis exsultationem et letitiam. Deinde consequenter annectit ut ostendat purgationem a superbia significari hyssopo, Et exsul­ tabunt ossa humiliata. ### English translation (Claude) But when the student of the divine Scriptures, instructed in this way, begins to approach them to search them out, let him not cease to think of that apostolic saying, “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” For in this way he will feel that, although he goes out of Egypt rich, yet unless he has kept the Passover he cannot be saved. “For Christ our Passover has been sacrificed,” and nothing teaches us more by the sacrifice of Christ than what he himself cries out, as if to those whom he sees laboring in Egypt under Pharaoh: “Come to me, you who labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” To whom, if not to the gentle and humble of heart, whom knowledge does not puff up but love builds up? Let them remember, then, that those who at that time celebrated the Passover in images of shadows, when they were commanded to mark their doorposts with the blood of the lamb, marked them with hyssop. This plant is gentle and lowly, and nothing is stronger and more penetrating than its roots; so that, “rooted and grounded in love, we may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth, and length, and height, and depth,” that is, the cross of the Lord: its breadth is said to be in the crossbeam on which the hands are stretched out; its length, from the ground up to the breadth, along which the whole body is fixed from the hands downward; its height, from the breadth upward to the top, against which the head rests; and its depth, the part that is hidden, fixed in the earth. By this sign of the cross the whole of Christian action is described: to do good works in Christ, to cling to him perseveringly, to hope for heavenly things, not to profane the sacraments. Cleansed by this action, we shall be able to know also “the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge,” in which he is equal to the Father, through whom all things were made, “that we may be filled with all the fullness of God.” There is also a cleansing power in hyssop, so that the swollen lung may not pant out anything proudly, puffed up by knowledge of the riches taken from Egypt: “You will sprinkle me with hyssop,” he says, “and I shall be clean; you will wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. You will give joy and gladness to my hearing.” Then he goes on to add, to show that cleansing from pride is signified by hyssop, “And the bones that have been humbled will rejoice.” ### Scripture references - 1 Cor 8:1: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 5:7: quotation, high confidence - Matt 11:28–30: quotation, high confidence - Exod 12:22: allusion, high confidence - Eph 3:17–19: quotation, high confidence - Ps 51:7–8 (50:9-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations from 1 Cor 8:1; 1 Cor 5:7; Matt 11:28–30; Eph 3:17–19; Ps 51:7–8 (50:9–10 LXX/Vulg.). The hyssop on the doorposts: Exod 12:22. Migne's note marker (a) is removed by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 2.41 (PL 34:63; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-28/#p-2-41). ## On Christian Doctrine 2.42 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-28/#p-2-42 - Source: PL 34:63–65 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: All useful pagan knowledge is small compared to Scripture, where everything harmful is condemned and everything useful is found, and more besides. ### Latin text Quantum autem minor est auri, argenti vestis­ que copia, quam de Ægypto secum ille populus abstulit, in comparatione divitiarum quas postea Jero­ solymae consecutus est, quae maxime in Salomone rege ostenduntur; tanta fit cuncta scientia, quae quidem est utilis, collecta de libris Gentium, si divinarum Scripturarum scientiae compa­ retur. Nam quidquid homo extra didicerit, si noxium est, ibi damnatur; si utile est, ibi invenkur. Et cum ibi quisque invenerit omnia quae utiliter alibi didicit, multo abundantius ibi inveniet ea quae nusquam omnino alibi, sed in illarum tantummodo Scriptu­ raram mirabifi altitudine et mirabili humilitate di- Icuntur. Hac igitur instructione præditum cnm sigMa incognita lectorem non impedierint, mitem et humi­ lem corde, subjugatum leniter Christo, et oneratum sarcina levi, fundatum et radicatum et adificatum in charitate, quem I scientia inflare non possit, accedat ad ambigua signa in Scripturis consideranda et discu­ tienda, de quibus jam tertio volumine dicere aggre' diar, quod Dominus donare dignabitur. ### English translation (Claude) But as much as the quantity of gold, silver, and clothing which that people carried off with them from Egypt is less in comparison with the riches which it afterwards obtained at Jerusalem, which are shown above all in King Solomon, so small does all knowledge become, even the useful knowledge collected from the books of the pagans, if it is compared with the knowledge of the divine Scriptures. For whatever a person has learned outside, if it is harmful, it is condemned there; if it is useful, it is found there. And when anyone has found there all that he usefully learned elsewhere, he will find there much more abundantly things that are learned nowhere else at all, but only in the wonderful loftiness and wonderful humility of those Scriptures. When, then, unknown signs do not hinder the reader furnished with this instruction, gentle and humble of heart, gently subjected to Christ and burdened with a light burden, grounded and rooted and built up in love, whom knowledge cannot puff up, let him go on to consider and examine the ambiguous signs in the Scriptures, of which I shall now begin to speak in the third volume, as far as the Lord deigns to grant. ### Scripture references - 1 Kgs 10:14–27: allusion, medium confidence - Matt 11:29–30: allusion, high confidence - Eph 3:17: allusion, high confidence - Col 2:7: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Solomon's wealth: 1 Kgs 10:14–27. Echoes of Matt 11:29–30 and Eph 3:17 (Col 2:7). ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 2.42 (PL 34:63–65; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-28/#p-2-42). ## On Christian Doctrine 3.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-28/#p-3-1 - Source: PL 34:65 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The student, prepared in piety, languages, knowledge of things, and corrected texts, now turns to ambiguous signs, literal or figurative. ### Latin text Homo timens Deum, voluntatem ejus in Scri­ pturis sanctis diligenter inquirit. Et ne amet certa­ mina, pietate mansuetus; præmunitus etiam scicntia linguarum, ne in verbis locutionibosque ignotis hæ­ reat; præmunitus etiam cognitione quarumdam re­ rum necessariarum, ne vim naturamve earum quæ propter similitudinem adhibentur, ignoret; adjuvante etiam codicum veritate, quam solers emendationis diligentia procuravit: veniat ita instructus ad ambi­ gua Scripturarum discutienda atque solvenda. Ut autem signis ambiguis non decipiatur, quantum per nos instrui polest1; fieri autem potest ut istas vias quas dstendere volumus, tanquam pueriles vel magni­ tudine ingenii, vel majoris illuminationis claritate derideat: sed tamen, ut coeperam dicere, quantum per nos instrui potest, qui eo loco animi est, ut per nos instrui valeat, sciat ambiguitatem Scriptura aut in verbis propriis esse, aut in translatis; quæ genera in secundo libro demonstravimus. ### English translation (Claude) The person who fears God diligently seeks his will in the holy Scriptures. Made gentle by piety, so as not to love contention; equipped also with a knowledge of languages, so as not to be stuck on unknown words and idioms; equipped also with an acquaintance with certain necessary things, so as not to be ignorant of the force and nature of those used for comparison; helped also by the accuracy of manuscripts, which skillful diligence in correction has secured: let him come, so instructed, to examining and resolving the ambiguities of the Scriptures. That he may not be deceived by ambiguous signs, as far as he can be instructed by us (it may happen that he laughs at these ways which we wish to show as childish, either from the greatness of his ability or the brightness of a greater enlightenment); but nonetheless, as I had begun to say, as far as he can be instructed by us, whoever is in such a frame of mind as to be capable of being instructed by us should know that the ambiguity of Scripture lies either in literal words or in figurative ones, kinds which we showed in the second book. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 3.1 (PL 34:65; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/2-28/#p-3-1). ## On Christian Doctrine 3.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-2/#p-3-2 - Source: PL 34:65–67 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Ambiguities of punctuation are resolved by the rule of faith, then by the context, and where neither decides, the reader may choose, as examples from John 1:1, Phil 1:22–24, and 2 Cor 7:1–2 show. ### Latin text Sed cum verba propria faciunt ambiguam Scri­ ptaram, primo videndum est ne male distinxerimus, aut pronuntiaverimus. Cum ergo adhibita intentio incertum esse perviderit quomodo distinguendum aut quomodo pronuntiandum sit, consulat regulam fidei, quam de Scripturarum planioribus locis et Ecclesiae anctoritate percepit; de qua satis egimus, cum de rebus in primo libro loqueremur. Quod si ambae vet etiam omnes, si plures fuerint partes, ambiguita­ tem secundum fidem sonuerint, textus ipse sermonis a præcedentibus et consequentibus partibus, quæ ambiguitatem illam in medio posuerunt, restat con­ sulendus, ut videamus cuinam sententiæ, de pluribus quae se ostendunt, ferat suffragium, eamque sibi con­ texi patiatur. Jam nunc exempla considera. Illa haeretica dis­ tinctio, In principio erat Verbum, et Verbum erat apui Deum, et Deus erat, ut alius sensus sit, Verbum hoc erat in principio apud Deum, non vult Verbum Deum confiteri. Sed hoc regula fidei refellendum est, qua. nobis de Trinitatis æqualitate præscribitur ut dicamus, Et Deus erat Verbum; deinde subjungamus, Hoc erat in principio apud Deum. Illa vero distinctionis ambiguitas neutra parte resistit fidei, et ideo textu ipso. sermonis dijudi­ canda est, ubi ait Apostolus: El quid eligam ignoro: compellor autem ex duobus; concupiscentiam habens dissolvi, et esse cum Christo; multo enim magis opti­ mum: manere in carne necessarium propter vos.Incertum enim est utrum ex duabus concu­ piacenliam habens, an compellor autem ex duobus, ut iliud adjungatur, concupiscentiam habens dissolv i,et esse cum Christo. Sed quoniam ita sequitur, multo enim magis optimum, apparet eum ejus optimi dicere se habere concupiscentiam, ut cum ex duobus com­ pellatur, alterius tamen habeat concupiscentiam, al­ terius necessitatem; concupiscentiam scilicet esse cum Christo, necessitatem manere in carne. Quae amhi­ guitas uno consequenti verbo dijudicatur, quod posi­ tum est, enim: quam particulam qui abstulerunt in­ terpretes, illa potius sententia ducti sunt, ut non so­ luin compelli ex duobus, sed etiam duorum habere concupiscentiam videretur. Sic ergo distinguendum est: Et quid eligam ignoro: compellor autem ex duo­ bus; quam distinctionem sequitur, concupiscentiam habens dissolvi, et esse cum Christo. Et tanquam quæ­. reretur quare hujus rei potius habeat concupiscen­ tiam; multo enim magis optimum, inquit. Cur ergo e duobus compellitur? Quia est manendi necessitas, quam ita subjecit, Manere in carne necessarium pro­ pter vos. Ubi autcm neque præscripto fidei, nequc ipsius sermonis exlu ambiguitas explicari potest, nihil ob­ est secundum qunmlibct earum quae ostenduntur, sententiam distinguere. Veluti est illa ad Corinthios, Has ergo promissiones habentes, charissimi, mundemus noa ab omni cuinquinatione carnis et spiritus, perficien­ tes sanctificationem in timore Dei. Capite nos. Nemini nocuimus. Dubium cst quippe utrum, Mundemus nos ab omni coinquinatione camis et spiritus, secundum illam sententiam, Ut sit sancta et corpore et spiritu; an, Mundemus nos ab omni coinquinatione carnis, ut alius sit sensus, Et spiritus perficientes sanctificationem in timore Dei capite noa. Tales igitur distinclionum ambiguitates in potestate legentis sunt. ### English translation (Claude) When literal words make Scripture ambiguous, we must first see that we have not punctuated or pronounced wrongly. When, then, careful attention has shown that it is uncertain how something should be punctuated or pronounced, let the reader consult the rule of faith, which he has gathered from the plainer passages of the Scriptures and from the authority of the Church; we dealt with it sufficiently when we spoke of things in the first book. But if both parts, or even all of them if there are several, give an ambiguity consistent with the faith, the context of the passage itself remains to be consulted, from the preceding and following parts which enclose that ambiguity, so that we may see which of the several meanings that present themselves it supports and allows to be woven into itself. Now consider examples. That heretical punctuation, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and God was,” so that the next sentence reads, “This Word was in the beginning with God,” refuses to confess that the Word is God. But this is to be refuted by the rule of faith, by which the equality of the Trinity is prescribed to us, so that we say, “and the Word was God,” and then add, “This was in the beginning with God.” But the following ambiguity of punctuation is contrary to the faith in neither way, and so must be decided from the context itself, where the Apostle says: “And what I shall choose I do not know; but I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and to be with Christ, for that is far better; to remain in the flesh is necessary for your sake.” For it is uncertain whether we should read “having a desire for the two,” or “I am hard pressed between the two,” so as to add, “having a desire to depart and to be with Christ.” But since there follows, “for that is far better,” it appears that he says he has a desire for that which is better, so that, while he is hard pressed between the two, he has a desire for one and a necessity for the other: a desire, namely, to be with Christ, and a necessity to remain in the flesh. This ambiguity is decided by one following word, which is put there: “for.” Translators who have removed this particle were led rather by the view that he seemed not only to be hard pressed between the two but also to have a desire for the two. So it must be punctuated thus: “And what I shall choose I do not know; but I am hard pressed between the two”; and this punctuation is followed by “having a desire to depart and to be with Christ.” And as if it were asked why he has a desire for this rather, he says, “for that is far better.” Why, then, is he hard pressed between the two? Because there is a necessity to remain, which he adds thus: “to remain in the flesh is necessary for your sake.” But where the ambiguity can be explained neither by the prescription of faith nor by the context of the passage itself, nothing prevents punctuating according to any of the meanings that present themselves. Such is that passage to the Corinthians: “Having therefore these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. Receive us. We have wronged no one.” For it is doubtful whether we should read, “let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit,” in accordance with the saying, “that she may be holy both in body and in spirit,” or, “let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of the flesh,” so that the other sense is, “and, perfecting holiness of spirit in the fear of God, receive us.” Such ambiguities of punctuation, then, are in the reader's discretion. ### Scripture references - John 1:1–2: quotation, high confidence - Phil 1:22–24: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 7:1–2: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 7:34: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - The rule of faith (regula fidei) is gathered from the plainer passages of Scripture and the authority of the Church. Quotations from John 1:1–2 (the “heretical punctuation” is that of the Arians, unnamed), Phil 1:22–24, 2 Cor 7:1–2, and 1 Cor 7:34. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 3.2 (PL 34:65–67; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-2/#p-3-2). ## On Christian Doctrine 3.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-2/#p-3-3 - Source: PL 34:67 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Ambiguities of pronunciation are resolved in the same way, as examples from Rom 8:33–34, Rom 9:30, John 1:46, Ps 139:15, and Gal 5:21 show. ### Latin text Quaecumque autem de ambiguis distinctionibus diximus, eadem observanda sunt et in ambiguis pro­ nuntiationibus.Nam et ipsæ nisi lectoris nimia vitien­ tur incuria, aut rcgulis fidei corriguntur, aut præce­ dentis vel consequentis contextione sermonis; aut si neutrum horum adhibctur ad correctioncm, nihilomi­ nus dubiæ remanebunt, ut quolibet modo lector pro­ nuntiaverit, non sit in culpa. Nisi enim fides rcvocet, qua credimus Deum non accusaturum adversus ele. ctos suos, et Christum non condemnaturum electos suos, potest illud sic pronuntiari, Quis accusabit ad­ versus electos Dei? ut hanc interrogationem quasi re­ sponsio subsequatur, Deus qui justificat. Et iterum interrogetur, Quis est qui condemnat? et respondea­ tur, Christus Jesus qui mortuus est. Quod credere quia dementisimumest, ita pronuntiabitur, utpraecedat percontatio, scquatur interrogatio. Inter percontatio­ nem autem et interrogationem hoc veteres interesse dixerunt, quod ad percontationem multa responderi possunt; ad interrogationem vero, aut Non, aut Etiam. Pronuntiabitur ergo ita, ut post percontatio­ nem qua dicimus, Quis accusqbit adversus electos Dei? illud quod sequitur sono interrogantis enuntietur, Deus qui justificat? ut tacite respondeatur, Non: et item percontemur, Quis eat qui condemnat? rursus­ que interrogemus, Christus Jesus qui mortuus est, ma­ gia autem qui resurrexit, qui eat in dextera Deit qui et interpellat pro nobis? ut ubique tacite respondeatur, Non. At vero illo loco ubi ait, Quid ergo dicemus? Quia gentes quæ non sectabantur justitiam, apprehenderunt justitiam; nisi post percontationem qua dictum est, Quid ergo dice­ mus? responsio subjiciatur, Quiagente. quæ non secta­ bantur justitiam, apprehenderunt justitiam, textus consequens non cohærebit. Qualibet autem voce pro­ nuntietur illud quod Nathanael dixit, A Naxareth po­ test aliquid boni esse, sive affirmantis, ut illud solum ad interrogationem pertineat quod ait, A Nazareth? sive totum cum dubitatione interroganiis; non video quomodo discernatur: uterque autem scn­ sus fidem non impedit. Est etiam ambiguitas in sono dubio syllabarum, ct hæc utiquc ad pronuntiationem pertinens. Nam quod scripturi est, Non est absconditum a te os meum, quod fecisti in abscondito ( Psal. CXXXVIII, 15), non elucet legenti utrum correpta littera os pronuntiet. an producta. Si enim corripiat, ab eo quod sunt ossa; si autem producat, ab eo quod sunt ora, intelligitur numerus singularis. Sed talia linguæ præcedentis In­ specLione dijudicantur: nam in Græco non στόμα, sed ὸστέον positum est. Unde plerumque loquendi consue­ tudo vulgaris utilior est significandis rebus, quam iutegritas litterata. Mallem quippe cum barbarismo dici, Non est absconditum a te ossum meum, quam ut ideo esset minus apertum, quia magis latinum est. Sed aliquando dubius syllabae sonus etiam vicino verbo ad eamdem sententiam pcrtinente dijudicatur: sicut est illud Apostoli, Qua praedico vobis, sicut præ. dixi, quoniam qui talia agunt, regnum Dei non possi­ debunt. Si tantummodo dixisset, Quas prædico vobis, neque subjunxisset, sicut prædixi, non­ nisi ad codicem praecedentis linguae recurrendum es­ set, ut cognosceremus utrum in eo quod dixit, præ­ dico, producenda an corripienda esset media syllaba: nunc autem manifestum est producendam esse; non enim ait, Sicut prædicavi, sed sicut prædixi. ### English translation (Claude) Whatever we have said about ambiguous punctuation must also be observed in ambiguous pronunciation. For these too, unless they are spoiled by the reader's excessive carelessness, are corrected either by the rules of faith or by the context of what precedes or follows; or if neither of these can be applied to correct them, they will remain doubtful nonetheless, so that, however the reader pronounces them, he is not at fault. For unless faith recalls us, by which we believe that God will not accuse his elect and that Christ will not condemn his elect, the passage could be pronounced thus: “Who will bring a charge against the elect of God?” so that, as if in answer to this question, there follows, “God who justifies.” And again the question, “Who is he that condemns?” with the answer, “Christ Jesus who died.” Since it is utter madness to believe this, it will be pronounced so that an inquiry comes first and a question follows. The ancients said that the difference between an inquiry and a question is this: to an inquiry many answers can be given, but to a question only “No” or “Yes.” It will be pronounced, then, so that after the inquiry in which we say, “Who will bring a charge against the elect of God?” what follows is uttered in the tone of a questioner, “God who justifies?” so that the silent answer is “No.” And again we inquire, “Who is he that condemns?” and again we ask, “Christ Jesus who died, yes, rather, who rose again, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us?” so that each time the silent answer is “No.” But in that place where he says, “What then shall we say? That the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained righteousness,” unless the answer “That the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness have attained righteousness” is added after the inquiry “What then shall we say?”, the following context will not hang together. But in whatever tone what Nathanael said is pronounced, “Can anything good come from Nazareth,” whether as an affirmation, so that only “From Nazareth?” belongs to the question, or the whole with the doubt of a questioner, I do not see how it can be decided; and neither sense hinders the faith. There is also ambiguity in the doubtful sound of syllables, and this certainly belongs to pronunciation. For in what is written, “My os is not hidden from you, which you made in secret,” it is not clear to the reader whether he should pronounce os with a short or a long vowel. For if he shortens it, it is understood as the singular of ossa (“bones”); if he lengthens it, as the singular of ora (“mouths”). But such things are decided by examining the original language; for in the Greek not στόμα but ὀστέον is put. Hence the vulgar custom of speech is often more useful for signifying things than literary correctness. For I would rather it be said with a barbarism, “My ossum is not hidden from you,” than that it be less clear because it is more Latin. But sometimes the doubtful sound of a syllable is decided also by a neighboring word belonging to the same sentence, as in that saying of the Apostle: “Of which I tell you beforehand (praedico), as I have told you before (praedixi), that those who do such things will not possess the kingdom of God.” If he had said only, “Of which I praedico to you,” and had not added, “as I have told you before,” we would have to go back to a manuscript of the original language to know whether, in the word praedico, the middle syllable should be lengthened or shortened; but as it is, it is plain that it should be lengthened; for he does not say “as I have preached” (praedicavi), but “as I have told you before” (praedixi). ### Scripture references - Rom 8:33–34: quotation, high confidence - Rom 9:30: quotation, high confidence - John 1:46: quotation, high confidence - Ps 139:15 (138:15 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Gal 5:21: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations from Rom 8:33–34, Rom 9:30, John 1:46, Ps 139:15 (138:15 LXX/Vulg.), and Gal 5:21. Latin forms are kept in parentheses where Augustine's point turns on them: os (short) “bone,” os (long) “mouth”; praedico (long i) “I foretell,” praedico (short i) “I preach.” ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 3.3 (PL 34:67; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-2/#p-3-3). ## On Christian Doctrine 3.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-2/#p-3-4 - Source: PL 34:67 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Other ambiguities in literal words are resolved by the context, comparison of translations, or the original language, as with 1 Thess 3:7 and 1 Cor 15:31. ### Latin text Non solum autem istæ, sed etiam illae ambigui tates quæ non ad distinctionem vel ad pronuntiatio­ nem pertinent, similiter considerandæ sunt: qualis illa est ad Thessalonicenses, propterea consolati su­ mus, fratres, in vobis. Dubium est cnim utruin, 0 fralres; an, Hos fratres: neutrum autem horum est contra fidem; sed græca lingua hos casus pares non habet, et ideo illa inspecta renuntiatur vo­ cativus, id est, 0 fratres. Quod si voluisset interpres dicere, Propterea consolationem habuimus, fratres, in vobis; minus servitum esset verbis, sod minus do sententia dubitaretur: aut certe si adderetur, Nostri, nemo fere ambigeret vocativum esse casum, cum au­ diret, Propterea consolati sumus, fratres nostri, in vobis. Sed jam hoc periculosius permittitur. Ita fa­ ctum est in illa ad Corinthios, cum ait Apostolus: Quotidie morior, per vestram gloriam, fratres, quam habeo in Christo Jesu. Ait enim quidam interpres, Quotidie morior, per vestram juro gloriam; quia in græco vox jurantis (νή) manifesta est sine ambi­ guosono. Rarissime igitur et difficillime inveniri potest ambiguitas in propriis verbis, quantum ad libros di­ vinarum Scripturarum spectat, quam non aut circum­ stantia ipsa sermonis qua cognoscitur scriptorum in­ tentio, aut interpretum collatio, aut praecedentis linguae solvat inspectio. ### English translation (Claude) Not only these, but also those ambiguities which do not belong to punctuation or pronunciation must be considered in the same way, such as that in the letter to the Thessalonians: “Therefore we were comforted, brothers, in you.” For it is doubtful whether it means “O brothers” or “these brothers” (the Latin fratres can be either); neither of these is against the faith; but the Greek language does not have these cases alike, and so, when it is examined, the case is reported to be vocative, that is, “O brothers.” If the translator had chosen to say, “Therefore we have had comfort, brothers, in you,” the words would have been served less, but the meaning would have been less in doubt; or certainly, if “our” were added, hardly anyone would doubt that it was the vocative case, on hearing, “Therefore we were comforted, our brothers, in you.” But this is now a more dangerous liberty to allow. This was done in that passage to the Corinthians, where the Apostle says: “I die daily, by your glory, brothers, which I have in Christ Jesus.” For one translator says, “I die daily, I swear by your glory,” because in the Greek the word of swearing (νή) is plain, without ambiguous sound. Very rarely, then, and with great difficulty can an ambiguity be found in literal words, as far as the books of the divine Scriptures are concerned, which is not resolved either by the circumstances of the passage itself, by which the writers' intention is known, or by comparison of translators, or by examining the original language. ### Scripture references - 1 Thess 3:7: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 15:31: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations from 1 Thess 3:7 and 1 Cor 15:31. Note the principle that the writers' intention (scriptorum intentio) is known from the circumstances of the passage. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 3.4 (PL 34:67; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-2/#p-3-4). ## On Christian Doctrine 3.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-2/#p-3-5 - Source: PL 34:67–68 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Taking figurative expressions literally, such as “Sabbath” or “sacrifice,” is a carnal slavery of the soul that mistakes signs for things. ### Latin text Sed verborum translatorum ambiguitates, de quibus deinceps loquendum est, non mediocrem cu­ rain industriamque desiderant. Nam in principio caveudum est ne figuratam locutionem ad litteram acc!­ pias. Et ad hoc enim pertinet quod ait Apostolus: Littera occidit, spiritus autem vivificat. Cum enim figurate dictum sic accipitur, tanquam proprie dictum sit, carnaliter sapHar. Neque ulla mors animæ congruentius appellatur, quam cum id etiam quod in ea bestiis antecellit, hoc est, intelligen­ tia carni subjicitur sequendo litteram. Qui enim se­ quitur litteram, translata verba sicut propria tenet, neque illud quod proprio verbo significatur, refert ad aliam significationem: sed si Sabbatum audierit, verbi gratia, non intelligit nisi unum diem de septem, qui continuo volumine repetuntur; et curn audicrit Sacrificium, non excedit cogitatione ilud quod fieri de victimis pecorum terrenisque fructibus solet. Ea demum est miserabilis animae servitus, signa pro rebus accipere; et supra creaturam corpoream, ocu­ lum mentis ad hauriendum æternum lumen levare non posse. ### English translation (Claude) But the ambiguities of figurative words, which we must speak of next, require no ordinary care and diligence. For in the first place one must beware of taking a figurative expression literally. For to this belongs what the Apostle says: “The letter kills, but the spirit gives life.” For when what is said figuratively is taken as if it were said literally, one understands carnally. Nor is anything more fittingly called the death of the soul than when what in it surpasses the beasts, that is, the understanding, is subjected to the flesh by following the letter. For one who follows the letter takes figurative words as literal, and does not refer what is signified by the literal word to another signification; but if he hears “Sabbath,” for example, he understands only one day out of the seven that recur in continuous succession; and when he hears “sacrifice,” his thought does not go beyond what is usually done with victims from the flocks and the fruits of the earth. It is a wretched slavery of the soul to take signs for things, and to be unable to lift the eye of the mind above bodily creation to drink in the eternal light. ### Scripture references - 2 Cor 3:6: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotation from 2 Cor 3:6. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 3.5 (PL 34:67–68; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-2/#p-3-5). ## On Christian Doctrine 3.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-2/#p-3-6 - Source: PL 34:68 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Jews' observance of signs bound them to the one God, though many rejected Christ for disregarding them; those who believed formed the Jerusalem church, which was ready for the Spirit. ### Latin text Quae tamen servitus in Judaeo populo longe a cæterarum gentium more I distabat; quandoquidem rebus temporalibus ita subjugati erant, ut unus eis in omnibus commendaretur Deus. Et quanquam signa rerum spiritualium pro ipsis rebus observarent, ne­ scientes quo referrentur, id tamen insitum habebant, quod tali servitute uni omnium, quem non videbant, placerent Deo. Quam custodiam tanquam sub pæda­ gogo parvulorum fuisse scribit A postolns. Et ideo qui talibus signis pertinaciter inhæse­ runt, contemnentem ista Dominum, cum jam tempus revelationis eorum venisset, ferre non potuerunt; atque inde calumnias, quod sahbato curaret, moliti sunt principes eorum; po­ pulusque signis illis tanquam rebus adstrictus, non credebat Deum esse, vel a Deo venisse, qui ea sicut a Judaeis observabantur, nollet attendere. Sed qui crediderunt, ea quibus facta est prima Ecclesia Je­ rosolymitana, satis ostenderunt quanta utilitas fuerit eo modo sub paedagogo custodiri, ut signa quæ tem­ poraliter imposita erant servientibus, ad unius Dei cultum, qui fecit coelum et terram, opinionem obser­ vantium religarent. Namque illi quia proximi spiri­ tualibus fuerunt in ipsis enim temporalibus et carnali - bus votis2 atque signis, quamvis quomodo spiritualiter essent intelligenda nescirent, unum tamen didicerant venerari aeternum Deum), tam capaces exsliterunt Spiritus sancti, ut omnia sua venderent, eorumque pretium indigentibus distribuendum, ante Apostolo­ mm pedes ponerent, seque totos dedi­ carent Deo tanquam templum novum, cujus terrenae imagini, hoc est, templo veteri, serviebant. Non enim hoc ullas ecclesias Gentium fecisse scriptum est, quia non tam prope inventi erant, qui simulacra manufacta deos habebant. ### English translation (Claude) Yet this slavery in the Jewish people was far removed from the custom of the other nations, since they were so subjected to temporal things that the one God was commended to them in all things. And although they observed the signs of spiritual things in place of the things themselves, not knowing to what they referred, still they had this ingrained in them, that by such slavery they pleased the one God of all, whom they did not see. The Apostle writes that this custody was like that of little children under a tutor. And so those who clung obstinately to such signs could not bear the Lord when he disregarded them, once the time for their revelation had come; and hence their leaders contrived slanders that he healed on the Sabbath, and the people, bound to those signs as if to things, did not believe that one was God, or had come from God, who would not attend to them as they were observed by the Jews. But those who believed, of whom the first church at Jerusalem was made, showed well enough how great an advantage it had been to be kept under a tutor in such a way that the signs imposed for a time on those who served bound the minds of those who observed them to the worship of the one God who made heaven and earth. For because they were close to spiritual things (for in those very temporal and carnal offerings and signs, although they did not know how they were to be understood spiritually, they had nevertheless learned to venerate the one eternal God), they proved so capable of receiving the Holy Spirit that they sold all their possessions and laid the price at the apostles' feet to be distributed to the needy, and dedicated themselves wholly to God as a new temple, whose earthly image, that is, the old temple, they had served. For it is not written that any churches of the Gentiles did this, because those who had handmade images for gods were not found so close. ### Scripture references - Gal 3:24–25: allusion, high confidence - John 5:16: allusion, medium confidence - Matt 12:9–14: allusion, medium confidence - Acts 4:34–35: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Augustine's account of Jewish observance as a slavery to signs, and of the leaders' rejection of Jesus, is translated as written; he also stresses its advantage, that it bound Israel to the one God. The tutor: Gal 3:24–25 (4:1–3); Sabbath healings: John 5:16 (Matt 12:9–14); the Jerusalem church: Acts 4:34–35. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 3.6 (PL 34:68; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-2/#p-3-6). ## On Christian Doctrine 3.7 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-2/#p-3-7 - Source: PL 34:68 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Pagan allegorical interpretations of idols, such as Neptune as the sea, merely redirect worship to creatures and are no better than idolatry. ### Latin text Et si quando aliqui eorum illa tanquam signa in­ terpretari conabantur, ad creaturam colendam vene­ randamque refcrebant. Quid cnim mihi prodest simu­ lacrum, verbi gratia, Neptuni non ipsum habendum Deum, sed eo significari universum marc, vel etiam omnes aquas cæteras, quaefontibus proruunt? sicut a quodam poeta illorum describitur, si bene recolo, ita dicente: Tu, Neptune pater, cui tempora cana crepanti Cincta salo resonant, magnus cui perpete mento Profluit oceanus, et flumina crinibus errant. Hæc siliqua intra dulce tectorium sonantes lapillos quatit; non cst autem hominum, sed porcorum cibus. Novit quid dicam, qui Evangelium novit. Quid ergo mihi prodest quod Neptuni simu­ lacrum ad illam significationem refertur, nisi forte ut neutrum colam? tam enim mihi statua quælibet, quain mare universum, non est Deus. Fateor tamen altius demersos esse, qui opera hominum deos putant, quam qui opera Dei; sed nob s unus diligendus et colendus Deus praecipitur, qui fecit hæc omnia, quorum illi simulacra venerantur, vel tanquam deos, vel tanquam signa et imagines deorum. Si ergo signum utiliter institutum pro ipsa re sequi, cui significandae institutum est, carnalis est servitus; quanto magis inutilium rerum signa instituta pro rebus accipere? Quae si retuleris ad ea ipsa quae his significantur, eis­ que colendis animum obligaveris, nihilominus servili carnaliquc onere atque velamine non carebis. ### English translation (Claude) And if ever some of them tried to interpret those things as signs, they referred them to worshiping and venerating the creature. For what does it profit me, for example, that the image of Neptune is not to be held as itself a god, but that by it the whole sea is signified, or even all the other waters that gush from springs? As one of their poets describes him, if I remember rightly, saying: You, father Neptune, whose hoary temples resound, girt with the crashing sea; from whose beard the great ocean flows forever, and in whose hair the rivers wander. This husk shakes rattling pebbles inside a sweet shell; but it is food not for men but for pigs. Whoever knows the Gospel knows what I mean. What, then, does it profit me that the image of Neptune is referred to that signification, unless perhaps that I worship neither? For any statue is no more God to me than the whole sea. I confess, however, that those who think the works of men are gods have sunk deeper than those who think the works of God are gods; but we are commanded to love and worship the one God, who made all these things whose images they venerate, either as gods or as signs and images of gods. If, then, to follow a usefully instituted sign instead of the thing it was instituted to signify is a carnal slavery, how much more is it to take signs instituted for useless things in place of the things? And even if you refer them to the very things signified by them, and bind your mind to worshiping these, you will nonetheless not be free of a servile and carnal burden and veil. ### Scripture references - Luke 15:16: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - The verses on Neptune are from an unidentified Latin poet. The husks fed to pigs allude to the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:16). ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 3.7 (PL 34:68; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-2/#p-3-7). ## On Christian Doctrine 3.8 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-2/#p-3-8 - Source: PL 34:68 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Christian liberty freed Israelites by interpreting their useful signs and freed Gentiles by abolishing their useless ones. ### Latin text Quamobrem christiana libertas eos quos inve­ nit sub signis utilibus, tanquam prope inventos, inter­ pretatis signis quibus subditi erant, elevatos ad eas res quarum illa signa sunt, liberavit: ex his facta: sunt Ecclesiæ sanctorum Israelitarum. Quos autem in­ venit sub signis inutilibus, non solum servilem opera­ tionem sub talibus signis, sed etiam ipsa signa fru­ stravit removitque omnia: ut a corruptione multitudi­ nis simulatorum deorum, quam sæpe ac proprie Scri­ ptura fornicationem vocat, ad unius Dei cultum Gen­ tes converterentur; nec sub ipsis jam signis utilibus serviturae, sed exercitaturae potius animum ill eorum intelligentia spirituali. ### English translation (Claude) Therefore Christian liberty freed those whom it found under useful signs, as being found close, by interpreting the signs to which they were subject and raising them to the things of which those are signs; of these were made the churches of the holy Israelites. But those whom it found under useless signs it freed not only from servile practice under such signs, but even made void and removed the signs themselves, so that the Gentiles might be converted from the corruption of a multitude of feigned gods, which Scripture often and properly calls fornication, to the worship of the one God; and no longer to serve even under useful signs, but rather to exercise the mind in understanding them spiritually. ### Translation notes - “Fornication” for idolatry is the biblical figure (e.g. Hos 1–4; Ezek 16). ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 3.8 (PL 34:68; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-2/#p-3-8). ## On Christian Doctrine 3.9 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-2/#p-3-9 - Source: PL 34:68–69 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Whoever understands the signs God instituted is free; since Christ's resurrection the Church has a few easy and meaningful signs, baptism and the Eucharist. ### Latin text Sub signo enim servit qui operatur aut venera. tur aliquam rem significantem, nesciens quid signifi­ cet: qui vero aut operatur, aut veneratur utile si. gnum divinitus institutum, cujus vim significationem­ queintelligit, non hoc veneratur quod videtur et trans­ it, sed illud potius quo talia cuncta referenda sunt. Talis autem homo spiritualis et liber est, etiam tem­ pore servitutis, quo carnalibus animis nondum opor­ tet signa illa revelari, quorum jugo edomandi sunt. Tales autem spirituales erant Patriarchæ ac Prophetæ, omnesque in populo Israel per quos nobis Spiritus sanctus ipsa Scripturarum et auxilia et solatia mini­ stravit. Hoc vero tempore posteaquam resurrectione Domini nostri manifestissimum indicium nostræ li­ bertatis illuxit, nec eorum q uidem signorum, quæ jam intelligimus,operatione gravi onerati sumus; sed quædam pauca pro multis, eademque factu facillima, et intellectu augustissima, et observatione castissima ipse Dominus et apostolica tradidit disciplina: sicuti est Baptismi sacramentum, et celebratio corporis et sanguinis Domini. Quae unusquisque cum percipit, quo referantur imbutus ngnoscit, ut ea non carnali servi­ tute, sed spirituali potius libertate veneretur. Ut au­ tem litteram sequi, et signa pro rebus quæ iis signi­ ficantur accipere, servilis infirmitatis est; ita inutili­ ter signa interpretari, male vagantis erroris est. Qui autem non intelligit quid significet signum, et tamen signum esse intelligit, nec ipse premitur servitute. Melius est autem vel premi incognitis, sed utilibus si­ gnis, quam inutiliter ea interpretando, a jugo servitu­ tis eductain cervicem laqueis erroris inserere. ### English translation (Claude) For one serves under a sign who performs or venerates some thing that signifies without knowing what it signifies; but one who performs or venerates a useful sign instituted by God, whose force and signification he understands, does not venerate what is seen and passes away, but rather that to which all such things are to be referred. Such a man is spiritual and free even in the time of slavery, when those signs, under whose yoke carnal minds are to be tamed, must not yet be revealed to them. Such spiritual men were the patriarchs and prophets, and all those in the people of Israel through whom the Holy Spirit ministered to us the very helps and comforts of the Scriptures. But in this time, after the clearest sign of our liberty has shone forth in the resurrection of our Lord, we are not burdened with the heavy performance even of those signs which we now understand; but the Lord himself and the apostolic teaching have handed down a few in place of many, and these very easy to perform, most august in meaning, and most pure in observance, such as the sacrament of baptism and the celebration of the body and blood of the Lord. When anyone receives these, he is instructed and knows to what they refer, so that he venerates them not in carnal slavery but rather in spiritual freedom. But as following the letter and taking signs for the things signified by them belongs to a servile weakness, so interpreting signs uselessly belongs to a wandering error. One who does not understand what a sign signifies, yet understands that it is a sign, is not himself weighed down by slavery. But it is better to be weighed down by unknown but useful signs than, by interpreting them uselessly, to thrust one's neck, freed from the yoke of slavery, into the snares of error. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 3.9 (PL 34:68–69; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-2/#p-3-9). ## On Christian Doctrine 3.10 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-2/#p-3-10 - Source: PL 34:69 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Whatever in Scripture cannot literally refer to good conduct or true faith is figurative; Scripture commands only love and condemns only desire, and readers must not judge it by their own customs. ### Latin text Huic autem observationi qua cavemus figuratam locutionem, id est, translatam quasi propriam sequi; adjungenda ctiam illa est, ne propriam quasi figura­ tam velimus accipere. Demonstrandus est igitur prius modus inveniendae locutionis, propriane an fIgurata sit. Et iste omnino modus est, ut quidquid in sermone divino neque ad morum honestatem, neque ad fidei veritatem proprie referri potest, figuratum esse co­ gnoscas. Morum honestas ad diligendum Deum et proximum, fidei veritas ad cognoscendum Deum et proximum pertinet. Spes autem sua cuique est in con­ scientia propria, quemadmodum se sentit ad dilectio­ nem Dci et proximi, cognitionemque proficere. De quibus omnibus primo libro dictum est. Sed quoniam proclive cst humanum genus non ex momentis ipsius libidinis, sed potius suaccon uctu­ diuis æstimare peccata, fit plerumque ut quisque ho­ minum ca tantum culpanda arbitretur, quæ suæ re­ gionis et temporis homines vituperare atque damnare consueverunt; et ea tantum probanda atque laudanda, quai consuetudo eorum cum quibus vivit, admittit: eoque contingit ut si quid Scriptura vel praeceperit quod abhorret a consuetudine audientium, vel quod nonabhorret culpaverit, si animum corum jam. verbi vinxit auctoritas, figuratam locutionem putent. Non autem præcipit Scriptura nisi charitatem, nec culpat nisi cupiditatem; et eo modo informat mores homi­ num. hem si animum preoccupavit alicujus erroris. opinio, quidquid aliter asseruerit Scriptura, figuratum homines arbitrantur. Non autem asserit nisi catholi­ cam Udum, rebus praeteritis, et futuris, et præsentibus. Præteritorum narratio est, futurorum prænuntiatio, præsentium demonstratio: sed omnia hoec ad eamdem charitatem nutriendam atque corroborandam, et cupiditatem vincendam atque exstinguendam va­ lent. Charitatem voco motum animi ad fruendum Deo propter ipsum, et se atque proximo propter Deum: cupiditatem autem, motum animi ad fruendum se et proximo et quolibet corpore non propter Deum. Quod autem agit indomita cupiditas ad corrumpendum ani­ mum etcorpussuum, flagitium vocatur: quod autem agit ut alteri noceat, facinus dicitur. Et hæc sunt duo genera omnium peccatorum; sed flagitia priora sunt. Quæ cum exinaniverint animum, et ad quamdam egestatem per­ duxerint, in facinora prosilitur, quo removeantur iin­ pedimenLa flagitiorum, aut adjumenta quaerantur. Item quod agit charitas quo sibi prosit, utilitas est: quod autem agit ut prosit proximo, beneficentia nomina­ tur. Et hic praecedit utilitas; quia nemo potest ex eo quod non habet, prodesse alteri. Quanto autem nia­ gis regnum eupidilatis destruitur, tanto charitatis au­ getur. ### English translation (Claude) To this rule, by which we beware of following a figurative expression, that is, a metaphorical one, as if it were literal, must be added also this one: that we should not wish to take a literal expression as if it were figurative. First, then, the way of finding out whether an expression is literal or figurative must be shown. And the way is entirely this: whatever in the divine word cannot be referred literally either to good conduct or to the truth of faith, you should know is figurative. Good conduct pertains to loving God and neighbor, the truth of faith to knowing God and neighbor. And each person's hope lies in his own conscience, according as he feels himself making progress in the love and knowledge of God and neighbor. All these things were spoken of in the first book. But since the human race is inclined to judge sins not by the weight of the lust itself but rather by its own custom, it often happens that each person thinks only those things blameworthy which the people of his own region and time are accustomed to censure and condemn, and only those things approvable and praiseworthy which the custom of those he lives with admits. And so it comes about that if Scripture has either commanded something that is foreign to the custom of the hearers, or blamed something that is not foreign to it, if the authority of the word has already bound their mind, they think it is a figurative expression. But Scripture commands nothing but love, and blames nothing but desire, and in this way shapes human conduct. Likewise, if the opinion of some error has taken possession of someone's mind, whatever Scripture asserts otherwise, people think figurative. But it asserts nothing but the catholic faith, in things past, future, and present. It is a narration of the past, a foretelling of the future, a demonstration of the present; but all these serve to nourish and strengthen that same love, and to overcome and extinguish desire. I call love the motion of the soul toward enjoying God for his own sake, and oneself and one's neighbor for God's sake; and desire the motion of the soul toward enjoying oneself and one's neighbor and any body not for God's sake. What untamed desire does to corrupt one's own soul and body is called vice; what it does to harm another is called crime. These are the two kinds of all sins; but vices come first. When these have emptied the soul and brought it to a kind of want, it leaps into crimes, by which the hindrances to its vices may be removed or helps sought. Likewise, what love does to benefit itself is called usefulness; what it does to benefit one's neighbor is called beneficence. And here usefulness comes first, because no one can benefit another from what he does not have. And the more the reign of desire is destroyed, the more that of love is increased. ### Translation notes - This rule for telling literal from figurative passages is one of the work's central principles of interpretation. “Love” translates caritas, “desire” cupiditas; “vice” flagitium (self-corruption), “crime” facinus (harm to others). ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 3.10 (PL 34:69; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-2/#p-3-10). ## On Christian Doctrine 3.11 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-2/#p-3-11 - Source: PL 34:69 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Harsh sayings in Scripture serve to destroy the reign of desire; if plainly expressed they are literal, as in Rom 2:5–9, though some, like Jer 1:10, are figurative. ### Latin text Qnidquid ergo asperum et quasi saevum factu dictuque in sanctis Scripturis legitur ex persona Dei vel sanctorum ejus, ad cupiditatis regnum destruen­ dum valet. Quod si perspicue sonat, non est ad aliud referendum quasi figurate dictum sit. Sicuti est illud Apostoli: Thesaurizas tibi iram in die iras et revelatio­ nia justi judicii Dei, qui reddet unicuique secundum opera sua: iia quidem qui secundum sustinentiam boni operis, gloriam et honorem et incorruptionem quærenti­ bus, vitam æternam; iis autem qui ex contentione sunt, et diffidunt veritati, credunt autem iniquitati, iro et indi­ gnatio. Tribulatio et angustia in omnem animam hominis operantis malum, Judæi primum et Græci. Sed hoc ad eos, cum quibus evertitur ipsa cupidi­ tas, qui eam vincere noluerunt. Cum autem in ho­ mine cui dominabatur, regna cupiditatis subvertuntur, iila est aperta locutio: Qui autem Jesu Christi sunt, carnem suam crucifixerunt cum passionibus 1 et concu­ piscentiis. Nisi quia et hic quaedam verba translata tractantur, sicuti est, ira Dei, et, crucifixerunt: sed non tam multa sunt, vel ita po­ sita, ut obtegant sensum, et allegoriam vel ænigma faciant, quam proprie figuratam locutionem voco. Quod autem Jeremiæ dicitur, Ecce constitui te hodie super gentes et regna, ut evellas, et destruas, et disperdas, et dissipes; non dubium quin figurata locu­ tio tota sit, ad eum linem referenda quem diximus. ### English translation (Claude) Whatever, then, is read in the holy Scriptures as harsh and almost cruel in deed or word, spoken in the person of God or of his saints, serves to destroy the reign of desire. And if it sounds plainly, it is not to be referred to anything else as if said figuratively. Such is that saying of the Apostle: “You are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath and of the revelation of the just judgment of God, who will render to each according to his works: to those who by patience in good work seek glory, honor, and incorruption, eternal life; but to those who are contentious and do not obey the truth but obey iniquity, wrath and indignation. Tribulation and distress upon every soul of man that does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek.” But this is addressed to those with whom desire itself is overthrown, who were unwilling to overcome it. But when the reign of desire is overturned in a person over whom it ruled, there is this plain expression: “But those who belong to Jesus Christ have crucified their flesh with its passions and desires.” Except that here too some words are used figuratively, such as “the wrath of God” and “have crucified”; but they are not so many, or so placed, as to veil the sense and make an allegory or enigma, which is what I properly call a figurative expression. But what is said to Jeremiah, “Behold, I have set you today over nations and kingdoms, to root up, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to scatter,” is no doubt figurative throughout, to be referred to the end we have mentioned. ### Scripture references - Rom 2:5–9: quotation, high confidence - Gal 5:24: quotation, high confidence - Jer 1:10: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations from Rom 2:5–9, Gal 5:24, and Jer 1:10. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 3.11 (PL 34:69; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-2/#p-3-11). ## On Christian Doctrine 3.12 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-2/#p-3-12 - Source: PL 34:69–70 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Seemingly shameful acts of holy persons in Scripture are figurative or must be judged by the customs of their time, such as the patriarchs' polygamy for the sake of offspring; what matters is not the thing used but the lust of the user. ### Latin text Quae autem quasi flagitiosa imperitis videntur, sive tantum dicta, sive etiam facta sunt, vel ex Dei persona, vcl es hominum quorum nobis sanctitas commendatur, tota figurata sunt: quorum ad chari­ tatis pastum enucleanda secreta sunt. Quisquis autem reboi prætereuntibus restrictins utitur, qnam sese habent mores eorum cum quibus vivit, aut tempe­ ram aut superstitiosus est: quisquis vero sic cis utitur, ut metas consuetudinis bonorum inter quos versatur, excedat, aut aliquid significat, aut flagitiosus est. In omnibus enim talibus non usus rerum, sed libide uientis in culpa est. Neque ullomodo quisquam sobrius erediderit, Domini pedes ita unguento pre­ tioso a muliere perfusos (Joan. xn, 3), ut luxurioso­ rnm et nequam hominom solent, quorum talia convi­ via detestamur. Odor enim bonus, fama bona esi, quam quisquis bonæ vitae operibus habuerit, dum vestigia Christi sequitur, quasi pedcs ejus pretiosis­ simo odore perfandit. Ita quod in aliis personis ple­ ramque flagitium est, in divina vel prophetica persona magnae cujusdam rei signum est. Alia est quippe in perditis moribus, alia in Osee prophetae vaticinatione conjunctio meretricis: nec, si flagitiose in conviviis temulentorum et lascivorum nudantur corpora; propterea in balneis nudum esse flagi­ tium est. Quid igitur locis et temporibus personisque conveniat, diligenter attendendum est, ne temere flagitia reprebendamus. Fieri enim potest ut sine aH­ quo vitio cupediæ 1 vel voracitatis, pretiosissimo cibo sapiens utatur; insipiens autem foedissima gulæ flamma in vilissimum ardescat. Et sanus I quisque maluerit more Domini pisce vesei, quam IcnLicula more- Esau nepotis Abraham, aut hordeo more jumentorum. Non enim propterea continentiores nobis sunt pleraeque bestiae, quia vilioribus aluntur escis. Nam in omnibus hu­ juscemodi rebus, nen ex earnm rerum natura quibus utimur, sed ex causa utendi et modo appetendi vel probandum est, vel improbandum quod facimus. Regno terreno veteres justi coeleste regnum imaginabantur, et prænuntiabant. Sufficiendæ a prolis cauLa erat uxorum plurium sint uni viro habenda­ ram inculpabilis consuetudo; et ideo unam feminam maritos habere plurimos honestum non erat: non enim mulier eo est fecundior, sed meretricia potius turpitudo est, vel quaestum vel liberos vulgo quærere. In hujusce­ modi moribus quidquid illorum temporum sancti non libidinose faciebant, quamvis ea facerent quae hoc tempore nisi per libidinem fieri non possunt, non culpat Scriptura. Et quidquid ibi tale narratur, non solum historice ac proprie, sed etiam figurate ac pro­ phetice acceptum, interpretandum est usque in finem illum charitatis, sive Dei, sive proximi, sive utriusque. Sicut enim talares et manicatas tunicas habere apud Romanos veteres flagitium erat; nunc autem honesto loconatis, cum tunicati sunt, non eas habere flagitium est: sic animadvertendum est, in cætero quoque usu rerum abesse oportere libidinem, quæ non solum ipsa eorum, inter quos vivit, consuetudine nequiter abutitur; sed etiam saepe fines ejus egressa, fœditatem suam, quae inter claustra morem solemnium latitabat, flagitiosissima eruptione manifestat. ### English translation (Claude) But those things which seem shameful to the unskilled, whether only said or also done, either in the person of God or of men whose holiness is commended to us, are all figurative; and their secrets are to be drawn out as food for love. Whoever uses passing things more restrictedly than the conduct of those he lives with allows is either temperate or superstitious; but whoever uses them so as to exceed the bounds of the custom of the good among whom he lives either signifies something or is shameful. For in all such things it is not the use of the things but the lust of the user that is at fault. Nor would any sober person in any way believe that the Lord's feet were anointed with precious ointment by the woman in the way that is usual with luxurious and wicked men, whose banquets of that kind we abhor. For the good odor is a good reputation; and whoever has it by the works of a good life, while following the footsteps of Christ, as it were anoints his feet with the most precious odor. So what in other persons is usually a shameful act is, in a divine or prophetic person, a sign of some great thing. For union with a prostitute is one thing in depraved conduct and another in the prophecy of the prophet Hosea; nor, if it is shameful that bodies are stripped at the banquets of drunken and lewd people, is it therefore shameful to be naked in the baths. We must therefore attend carefully to what befits places, times, and persons, lest we rashly condemn things as shameful. For it can happen that a wise man uses the most costly food without any fault of daintiness or greed, while a fool burns for the cheapest with a most disgusting flame of gluttony. And any sane person would rather eat fish, as the Lord did, than lentils, as Esau the grandson of Abraham did, or barley, as beasts of burden do. For most beasts are not more continent than we because they feed on cheaper food. For in all things of this kind, what we do is to be approved or disapproved not from the nature of the things we use, but from the reason for using them and the manner of desiring them. The righteous of old pictured and foretold the heavenly kingdom by an earthly kingdom. For the sake of providing offspring there was the blameless custom of one man's having several wives; and so it was not honorable for one woman to have several husbands; for a woman is not more fruitful in that way, but it is rather a prostitute's baseness to seek either gain or children promiscuously. In customs of this kind, whatever the saints of those times did without lust, although they did things that in this time cannot be done except through lust, Scripture does not blame. And whatever of the kind is narrated there is to be interpreted, taken not only historically and literally but also figuratively and prophetically, toward that end of love, whether of God, or of neighbor, or of both. For just as among the ancient Romans it was shameful to wear ankle-length tunics with sleeves, but now it is shameful for the well-born not to wear them when they are dressed in tunics: so we must take note that in the rest of the use of things too, lust must be absent; which not only wickedly abuses the very custom of those among whom one lives, but also often, going beyond its bounds, reveals its foulness, which lay hidden within the barriers of established custom, in a most shameful outbreak. ### Scripture references - John 12:3: allusion, high confidence - Hos 1:2: allusion, high confidence - Luke 24:42–43: allusion, medium confidence - Gen 25:34: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - The anointing: John 12:3; Hosea's marriage to a prostitute: Hos 1:2; the Lord eating fish: Luke 24:42–43; Esau's lentils: Gen 25:34. On polygamy, Augustine's view that the patriarchs' plural marriages were blameless in their time, for the sake of offspring, and that polyandry was never honorable, is translated as written. “Vice” and “shameful” translate flagitium. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 3.12 (PL 34:69–70; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-2/#p-3-12). ## On Christian Doctrine 3.13 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-2/#p-3-13 - Source: PL 34:70 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: What good men do in conformity with the customs of their time is to be referred to usefulness and beneficence, literally or, for the prophets, figuratively. ### Latin text Quidquid autem congruit consuetudini eorum cum quibis vita ist, degenda vel necessitate imponi­ tur, vel officio suscipitur, a bonis et magnis hominibus ad utilitatem et beneficentiam referendum est; vel proprie, sicut et nos debemus, vel etiam figurate, sicut Prophetis lieet. ### English translation (Claude) But whatever conforms to the custom of those among whom this life must be spent, whether it is imposed by necessity or undertaken from duty, is to be referred by good and great men to usefulness and beneficence, either literally, as we too ought, or also figuratively, as the prophets are permitted. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 3.13 (PL 34:70; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-2/#p-3-13). ## On Christian Doctrine 3.14 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-2/#p-3-14 - Source: PL 34:70 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Varying customs do not prove that there is no justice, for the Golden Rule holds for all nations. ### Latin text In quae facta legenda cum. incurrunt indocti alterius consuetudinis, nisi auctoritate reprimantur, flagitia putant; nec possunt animadvertere totam con­ versationem suam, vel in conjugiis, vel in conviviis, vel in vestitu, caeteroque humano victu atque cultu, aliis gentibus et aliis temporibus flagitiosam videri. Qua varietate innumerabilium consuetudinum com­ moti quidam dormitantes, ut ita dicam, qui neque alto somno stultitiæ sopiebantur, nec in sapientiæ 1u - cem poterant evigilare, putaverunt nullam esse justi­ tiam per seipsam, sed unicuique genti consuetudinem suam justam videri: quae cum sit diversa omnibus gentibus, debeat autcm incommutabilis manere justitia, fieri manifestum nullam usquam esse justitiam. Non intellexerunt, De multa commemorem, Quod tibi fieri non vis, alii ne feceris (Tobiæ IV, 16; Matth. VII, 12), nullo modo posse ulla eorum gentili diversitate variari. Quae sententia cum refertur ad dilcctionem Dei, omnia flagitia moriuntur; cum ad proximi, omnia facinora. Nemo enim vult corrumpi habitaculum suum: non ergo debet corrumpere habitaculum Dei, seipsum scilicet. Et nemo vult sibi a quoquam noceri: nec ipse igitur cuiquam nocuerit. ### English translation (Claude) When people unlearned in another custom come upon such deeds in their reading, unless they are restrained by authority, they think them shameful; nor can they notice that their whole way of life, in marriages, banquets, dress, and the rest of human living and adornment, would seem shameful to other nations and other times. Moved by this variety of innumerable customs, certain people who were half asleep, so to speak, who were neither sunk in the deep sleep of folly nor able to wake up into the light of wisdom, thought that there is no justice in itself, but that to each nation its own custom seems just; and since this differs among all nations, while justice ought to remain unchangeable, it becomes plain that there is no justice anywhere. They did not understand, to mention no more, that “What you do not want done to you, do not do to another” can in no way be altered by any diversity among nations. When this principle is referred to the love of God, all vices die; when to the love of neighbor, all crimes. For no one wants his own dwelling to be corrupted; so he ought not to corrupt the dwelling of God, namely himself. And no one wants to be harmed by anyone; so he should not harm anyone himself. ### Scripture references - Matt 7:12: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 3:16–17: allusion, medium confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Tob 4:15 (Tobit): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - The negative form of the rule is Tob 4:15 (4:16 Vulg.); compare Matt 7:12. The dwelling of God: 1 Cor 3:16–17. Those who denied that justice exists in itself are skeptical philosophers, unnamed. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 3.14 (PL 34:70; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-2/#p-3-14). ## On Christian Doctrine 3.15 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-2/#p-3-15 - Source: PL 34:70 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Figurative passages should be studied until their interpretation leads to the reign of love; passages that already do so literally are not figurative. ### Latin text Sic eversa tyrannide cupiditatis, cbaritas regnat justissimis legibus dilectionis Dei propter Deum, sui et proximi propter Deum. Servabitur ergo in locu­ tionibus figuratis regula hujusmodi, ut lam diu ver­ setur diligenti consideratione quod legitur, donec ad regnum charitatis interpretatio perducatur. Si autem hoc jam proprie sonat, nulla putetur figurata locutio. ### English translation (Claude) So, when the tyranny of desire has been overthrown, love reigns by the most just laws of the love of God for God's sake, and of oneself and one's neighbor for God's sake. In figurative expressions, then, a rule of this kind will be kept: that what is read should be turned over with careful consideration until the interpretation is brought to the reign of love. But if it already sounds so literally, let it not be thought a figurative expression. ### Translation notes - A central rule of interpretation in the work. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 3.15 (PL 34:70; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-2/#p-3-15). ## On Christian Doctrine 3.16 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-2/#p-3-16 - Source: PL 34:70–71 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: A precept that seems to command wrongdoing or forbid kindness is figurative, as with eating Christ's flesh, heaping coals of fire, and losing one's life. ### Latin text Si praeceptiva locutio est aut flagitium aut faci­ nus vetans, aut utilitatem aut beneficentiam jubens, non est figurata. Si autem flagitium aut facinus vide­ tur jubere, aut utilitatcm aut beneficentiam vetare, figurata est. Nisi manducaveritis, inquit, carnem filii hominis, et sanguinem biberitis, non habebitis vitam in vobis. Facinus vel flagitium videtur juhere: figura est erge, præcipiens passioni dominicx communicandum, et suaviter atque utiliter reconden­ dum in memoria quod pro nobis caro ejus crucifixa et vulncrata sit. Ait Scriptura: Si esurierit inimicus tuus, ciba illum; si sitit, potum da illi. Hic nuliodu­ bitante beneficentiam praecipit: sed quod sequitur, Hoc enim faciens carbones ignis congeres super caput ejus; malevolentiæ facinus putes juberi: ne igitur dubitaveris figurate dictum, ct cum possit dupliciter interpretari, uno modo ad nocendum, altero ad præstandum; ad benc­ ficentiam te potius charitas revocet, ut intelligas car­ bones ignis esse urentes pœnitentiæ gemitus, quibus superbia sanatur ejus qui dolet se inimicum fuissc hominis, a quo ejus miseriae subvenitur. Item cum ait Dominus, Qui amot animam suam, perdet eam,Joan. xn, 25), non utilitatem vetare putandus est, qua debet quisque conservare animam suam; sed fi­ guralc dictum, perdat animam, id est, perimat atque amittat usum ejus, quem nunc babet, perversum sci­ licet atque præposterum, quo inclinatur temporali­ bus, ut æterna non quærat. Scriptum est: Da misericordi, et ne suscipias peccatorem (Eccli. x!!, 4). Posterior pars hujus sententiæ videtur vetare beneficentiam; ait cnim, Ne suscipias peccatorem: intelligas ergo Agurate positum pro peccato peccatorem, ut peccatum ejus non suscipias. ### English translation (Claude) If a preceptive expression forbids a vice or a crime, or commands usefulness or beneficence, it is not figurative. But if it seems to command a vice or a crime, or to forbid usefulness or beneficence, it is figurative. “Unless you eat,” he says, “the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in you.” It seems to command a crime or a vice; it is therefore a figure, commanding us to share in the Lord's passion and to store up sweetly and usefully in memory that his flesh was crucified and wounded for us. Scripture says: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink.” Here no one doubts that it commands beneficence; but in what follows, “For in doing this you will heap coals of fire on his head,” you might think a crime of malevolence is commanded. Do not doubt, then, that it is said figuratively; and since it can be interpreted in two ways, one toward harming, the other toward helping, let love call you back rather to beneficence, so that you understand the coals of fire to be the burning groans of repentance, by which the pride of the one is healed who grieves that he has been the enemy of a man by whom his misery is relieved. Likewise, when the Lord says, “He who loves his life will lose it,” he is not to be thought to forbid the usefulness by which each person ought to preserve his life; but it is said figuratively, “let him lose his life,” that is, let him destroy and give up the use of it that he now has, a perverse and preposterous use, by which he is inclined to temporal things so as not to seek eternal ones. It is written: “Give to the merciful, and do not receive the sinner.” The latter part of this sentence seems to forbid beneficence, for it says, “Do not receive the sinner”; understand, then, that “the sinner” is put figuratively for sin, so that you do not receive his sin. ### Scripture references - John 6:53: quotation, high confidence - Rom 12:20: quotation, high confidence - Prov 25:21–22: quotation, medium confidence - John 12:25: quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Sir 12:4 (Sirach): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations from John 6:53, Rom 12:20 (Prov 25:21–22), John 12:25, and Sir 12:4. Augustine's figurative reading of John 6:53, as sharing in the Lord's passion and remembering it, is translated as written; he refers to the eucharistic sacrament elsewhere in the work (2.3; 3.9). ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 3.16 (PL 34:70–71; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-2/#p-3-16). ## On Christian Doctrine 3.17 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-2/#p-3-17 - Source: PL 34:71 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Precepts for lower stages of life, such as marriage, are not figurative just because some follow a higher calling; some commands apply to all, others to particular kinds of persons. ### Latin text Sarpe autem accidit ut quisquis in meliori gradu spiritualis vitæ vel est, vel esse se putat, figu­ rate dicta esse arbitretur, quæ inferioribus gradibus praecipiuntur: ut verbi grati:., si caelibem amplexus est vitam, et se castravit propter regnum coelorum, quidquid de uxore diligenda et rc­ genda sancti Libri præcipiunt, non proprie sed trans­ late accipi oportere contendat; et si quia statuit servare innuptam virginem suam, tanquam figuratam locutionem conetur interpretari qua dictum est, Trade filiam, et grande opus perfeceris. Erit igitur etiam boc in observationibus intelligenda­ rum Scripturarum, ut sciamus alia omnibus com­ muniter præcipi, alia singulis quibusque generibus personarum; ut non solum ad universum statum va­ letudinis, sed etiam ad suam cujusque membri pro­ priain infirmitatem medicina pertineat I. In suo quippe genere curandum est, quod ad melius genus non potest erigi. ### English translation (Claude) It often happens that whoever is, or thinks he is, at a higher stage of the spiritual life thinks that what is commanded to the lower stages is said figuratively: so that, for example, if he has embraced the celibate life and made himself a eunuch for the kingdom of heaven, he contends that whatever the holy books command about loving and governing a wife must be taken not literally but figuratively; and if someone has resolved to keep his virgin daughter unmarried, he tries to interpret as a figurative expression what is said: “Give your daughter in marriage, and you will have done a great work.” This, then, will also be among the rules for understanding the Scriptures: that we should know that some things are commanded to all in common, others to particular kinds of persons, so that the medicine applies not only to the general state of health but also to the particular weakness of each member. For what cannot be raised to a better kind must be cared for in its own kind. ### Scripture references - Matt 19:12: allusion, high confidence - Eph 5:25: allusion, medium confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Sir 7:25 (Sirach): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - The eunuch for the kingdom: Matt 19:12; on loving and ruling a wife, e.g. Eph 5:25; the quotation “Give your daughter …” is Sir 7:25 (7:27 Vulg.). ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 3.17 (PL 34:71; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-2/#p-3-17). ## On Christian Doctrine 3.18 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-18/#p-3-18 - Source: PL 34:71 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Practices blameless in Old Testament times, such as polygamy, may not be adopted now; what matters is love or lust in the user, and the patriarchs used marriage only for procreation. ### Latin text hem cavendum est ne forte quod in Scripturis veteribus pro illorum temporum conditione, etiamsi non figurate, sed proprie intelligatur, non est flagi­ tium neque facinus, ad ista eliam tempora quis putet in usum vitae posse transferri. Quod nisi dominante cupiditate, et ipsarum quoque Scripturarum, quibus evertenda est, satellitium quærente, noA faciet; nec intelligit miser ad hanc utilitatem illa sic esse posita, ut spei bonæ homines salubriter videant et consuetu­ dinem quam aspernantur posse babere usum bonum, et eam quam amplexantur esse posse damnabile., si et ibi charitas utentium, et hic cupiditas atten­ datur. Nam si multis uxoribus caste uti quisquam pre tempore potuit, potest alius una libidinose. Magis enim probo multarum fecunditate utentem propter aliud, quam unius carne fruenteni propter ipsam. Ibi eniin quæritur utilitas temporum opportunitatibus congrua; hic satiatur cupiditas temporalibus volupta­ tibus implicata: inferiorisque gradus ad Deum sunt, quibus secundum veniam concedit Apostolus earna­ lem cum singulis conjugibus consuetudinem propter intemperantiam eorum, quam illi qui plures singuli cum haberent, sicut sapiens in cibo et potu nonuisi salutem corporis, sic in concubitu non­ nisi procreationem filiorum intuebantur. Itaque si eos in hac vita invenisset Domini adventus, cum jam non mittendi, sed colligendi lapides tempus esset, statim seipsos castrarent propter regnum cœlonim: non enim est in carendo difficultas, nisi cum est in habendo cupiditas. Noverant quippe illi homi­ nes etiam in ipsis conjugibus lux uriam esse abutendi intemperantiam: quod Tobi;c testatur oratio, quando est copulatus uxori. Ait enim: Benedictus es, Domine, Deus patrum nostrorum; et benedictum nomen tuum in omnia sæcula sæculorum. Benedicant te cæli et omnis creatura tua. Tu fecisti Adam, et dedisti illi adjutorium Evam: et nunc, Domine, tu scis quoniam non luxuriae causa accipio sororem meam, sed ipsa veritate, ut mi­ serearis nostri, Domine. ### English translation (Claude) Likewise, one must beware of thinking that what in the old Scriptures, given the conditions of those times, is neither a vice nor a crime, even if understood not figuratively but literally, can be transferred to these times too for the practice of life. No one will do this unless desire is in control and seeking support even from the very Scriptures by which it is to be overthrown; and the wretch does not understand that those things were set down there for this purpose, that people of good hope may see, to their health, both that the custom they reject can have a good use and that the one they embrace can be damnable, if love is attended to in the users there, and desire here. For if someone could, for his time, use many wives chastely, another can use one with lust. For I approve more of one who uses the fruitfulness of many for the sake of something else than of one who enjoys the flesh of one for its own sake. For in the former case a usefulness suited to the circumstances of the times is sought; in the latter a desire entangled in temporal pleasures is satisfied. And those to whom the Apostle by concession grants carnal intercourse with one wife each because of their incontinence are at a lower stage toward God than those who, though each had several, looked in intercourse to nothing but the procreation of children, just as a wise man looks in food and drink to nothing but the health of the body. And so, if the Lord's coming had found them in this life, when it was no longer the time for casting stones but for gathering them, they would at once have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven; for there is no difficulty in going without, except when there is desire in having. For those men knew that even with wives the intemperance of abusing them is lust; as the prayer of Tobias testifies, when he was joined to his wife. For he says: “Blessed are you, O Lord, God of our fathers, and blessed is your name for all ages of ages. Let the heavens and all your creation bless you. You made Adam and gave him Eve as a helper; and now, O Lord, you know that I take my sister not for the sake of lust, but in truth itself, that you may have mercy on us, O Lord.” ### Scripture references - 1 Cor 7:2–6: allusion, high confidence - Eccl 3:5: allusion, high confidence - Matt 19:12: allusion, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Tob 8:5-7 (Tobit): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Augustine's argument on polygamy and marital intercourse is translated as written. The concession: 1 Cor 7:6 (7:2–6); the time for casting and gathering stones: Eccl 3:5; eunuchs for the kingdom: Matt 19:12. Tobias's prayer is Tob 8:5–7 (Old Latin form). ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 3.18 (PL 34:71; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-18/#p-3-18). ## On Christian Doctrine 3.19 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-18/#p-3-19 - Source: PL 34:71 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The lustful cannot believe that the patriarchs used several wives temperately, just as the proud cannot believe that the saints are unmoved by praise. ### Latin text Sed qui effrenata libidine, vel per multa stupra diffluentes evagantur, vel in ipsa una conjuge, non solum excedunt ad liberorum procreationem perti­ nentem modum, sed eliam inhumanioris I intempe­ rantiae sordes inverecunda omnino licentia servilis cujusdam libertatis accumulant, non credunt fieri potuisse ut temperanter multis feminis antiqui ute­ rentur viri, nihil servantes in usu illo nisi congruum tempori propagandæ prolis officium; et quod ipsi la­ queis libidinis obstricti, vei in una non faciunt, nullo modo in multis fieri posse arbitrantur. Sed isti possunt dicere nec honorari quidem at­ que laudari oportere viros bonos et sanctos, quia ipsi cum honorantur atque laudantur, intumescunt super.. bia; tanto avidiores inanissimae gloriae, quanto eos frequentius atque latius lingua blandior ventilaverit; qua ita leves fiunt, ut eos rumoris aura, sive quæ prospera, sive quae adversa existimatur, in quaslibet invehat voragines flagitiorum, aut in facinorum etiam saxa eollidat. Videant ergo quam sibi arduum sit at­ que difficile nec laudis esca illici, nec contumeliarum aculeis penetrari, et non ex se alios metiantur. ### English translation (Claude) But those who, with unbridled lust, either wander about dissolute in many acts of sexual immorality, or, even with one wife, not only exceed the measure that belongs to the procreation of children, but also heap up the filth of a more brutish intemperance with the altogether shameless license of a kind of servile freedom, do not believe that it could have happened that the men of old used many women temperately, keeping in that use nothing but the duty, suited to the time, of propagating offspring; and what they themselves, bound by the snares of lust, do not do even with one, they think can in no way be done with many. But these people may as well say that good and holy men ought not even to be honored and praised, because they themselves, when honored and praised, swell with pride, all the more greedy for the emptiest glory the more often and widely a flattering tongue has fanned them; by which they become so light that the breeze of rumor, whether thought favorable or adverse, carries them into any whirlpools of vice or dashes them even on the rocks of crime. Let them see, then, how hard and difficult it is for them neither to be lured by the bait of praise nor pierced by the stings of insults, and let them not measure others by themselves. ### Translation notes - “Sexual immorality” translates stuprum (here plural). ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 3.19 (PL 34:71; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-18/#p-3-19). ## On Christian Doctrine 3.20 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-18/#p-3-20 - Source: PL 34:71–72 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: As the apostles were unmoved by praise and blame, so the patriarchs were not ruled by lust; those who doubt it would hate a son who violated their wives. ### Latin text Credant potius Apostolos nostros nec cum suspicerentur al hominibus, inflatos fuisse; nec cum de­ spicerentur, elisos. Neutra quippe tentatio defuit illis viris: nam et credentium celebrabantur pr:rconio, et persequentium maledictis infamabantur. Sicut ergo isti pro tempore utebantur his omnibus, ct non cor­ rumpebantur; sic illi vcleres, usum feminarum ad sui temporis convenientiam referentes, non patiebantur eam dominationem libidinis, cui serviunt qui ista non credunt. Et ideo isti sese nullo modo cohiberent ab inexpiabili odio filiorum, a quibus vcl uxorcs vel con­ cubinas suas attentatas, aut attrectatas esse cogno­ scerent, si eis forte tale aliquid accidisset. ### English translation (Claude) Let them rather believe that our apostles were neither puffed up when they were looked up to by men, nor crushed when they were looked down on. For neither temptation was lacking to those men: for they were both celebrated by the praise of believers and defamed by the curses of persecutors. As, then, these men used all these things according to the time and were not corrupted, so those men of old, referring their use of women to what suited their own time, did not suffer that domination of lust to which those who do not believe these things are slaves. And so these people would in no way restrain themselves from implacable hatred of their sons if they learned that their wives or concubines had been tempted or handled by them, if anything of the kind happened to them. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 3.20 (PL 34:71–72; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-18/#p-3-20). ## On Christian Doctrine 3.21 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-18/#p-3-21 - Source: PL 34:72 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: David's grief for Absalom and his repentance over Bathsheba show the patriarchs' temperance with women, whereas Solomon was ruled by lust. ### Latin text Rex autcm David cum hoc ab impio atque immani filio passus csset, non. solum ferocientem toleravit, sed etiam |lauxit exstinctum. Non enim carnali zelo irretitus tenebatur, quem nullo inodo injuriæ suæ, sed peccata filii commovebant. Nam ideo, si vinceretur, cum occidi prohibuerat, ut edomito servarctur pœnitendi locus: et quia non potuit, nou orbitatem doluit in ejus interitu, sed no­ verat in quas poenas tam impie adultera1 et parricida­ lis anima raperetur. Namque alio prius Clio qui in­ nocens enit, pro quo a*grotantc affligebatur, moriente lætatus est. Ex hoc maxime apparet qua moderatione ac temperantia illi viri feminis utebantur, quod curi in Mnam illicite irruisset rex idem, æstu quodam ætatis et temporalium rerum prosperitatibus abreptus, cujus etiam maritum occidendum præceperat; accusatus est per prophetam: qui cum ad eum venisset convin­ cendum de peccato, proposuit ei similitudinem de paupcre qui habebat ovem unam, cujus vicinus cum haberet multas, ad adventum hospitis sui unicam po­ tius vicini sui pauperis oviculam exhibuit epulandam. In quem, commotus David occidi eum jussit, et qua­ druplicari ovem pauperi; ut se nesciens condemna­ rat, qui peccaverat sciens. Quod cum ei manifestatum esset, et divinitus denuntiata vind cta, diluit poeni­ tendo peccauun. Scd tamen in hac similitudine stuprum tantummodo designatum est de ove vicini pauperis; de marito autem mulieris inter­ empto, hoc est, de ipso paupere, qui unam habebat orent, occiso, nun est per similitudinem interrogatus David, tit in soluin adulterium diccret 2 sententiam damnationis suae. Ex quo intelligitur quanta tempe­ ranti.i multas mulieres habuerit, quando de una in qua excessit modum, a seipso puniri coactus est. Sed in islo viro immoderatæ hujus libidinis non perman­ fio, sed transitus fuit: propterea etiam ab arguente Propheta ille illicitus appetitus hospes vocatus est. Non enim dixit eum regi suo, sed hospiti suo vicini pauperis ovem ad epulandum exhibuisse. At vero in ejus filio Salomone, non quasi hospes transitum habuit, sed regnum ista libido possedit: de quo Scri­ ptura non tacuit, culpans eum fuisse amatorem mulie­ rum (III Reg. XI, t). Cujus tamen initia desideriosa­ pientiæ flagraverant; quam cum amore spirituali adeptus esset, amore carnali amisit. ### English translation (Claude) But King David, when he suffered this at the hands of an ungodly and savage son, not only bore with him in his fury but even mourned him when he was killed. For he was not held entangled by carnal jealousy, since it was in no way his own injuries but his son's sins that moved him. For that is why he had forbidden him to be killed if he were defeated, so that, once subdued, room for repentance might be kept for him; and because he could not, it was not his loss that he grieved in his death, but he knew to what punishments so ungodly an adulterous and parricidal soul was being snatched away. For when another son earlier, who was innocent, and for whom he afflicted himself while he was sick, died, he rejoiced. From this especially it appears with what moderation and temperance those men used women: that when the same king, carried away by a certain heat of youth and the prosperity of temporal things, had unlawfully fallen upon one woman, whose husband he had even ordered to be killed, he was accused by a prophet. When the prophet came to him to convict him of sin, he set before him a parable about a poor man who had one sheep, whose neighbor, though he had many, at the arrival of his guest served up for the feast the one little sheep of his poor neighbor instead. Moved against him, David ordered him to be killed and the sheep to be repaid fourfold to the poor man, so that he who had sinned knowingly unknowingly condemned himself. When this was made plain to him and divine vengeance announced, he washed away his sin by repentance. But in this parable only the act of sexual immorality is signified by the poor neighbor's sheep; about the killing of the woman's husband, that is, of the poor man himself who had one sheep, David was not questioned in the parable, so that he pronounced the sentence of his own condemnation on the adultery alone. From this it is understood with what temperance he had many women, since he was compelled to punish himself for the one with whom he exceeded the measure. But in this man this immoderate lust did not remain but passed through; that is why the unlawful appetite was also called a guest by the prophet who reproved him. For he did not say that he served up the poor neighbor's sheep to his king but to his guest. But in his son Solomon this lust did not pass through like a guest, but held the kingdom; Scripture did not keep silent about him, blaming him for being a lover of women. Yet his beginnings had burned with desire for wisdom; and having gained it by spiritual love, he lost it by carnal love. ### Scripture references - 2 Sam 16:21–22: allusion, high confidence - 2 Sam 18:5: allusion, high confidence - 2 Sam 18:33: allusion, high confidence - 2 Sam 12:15–23: allusion, high confidence - 2 Sam 11:2–17: allusion, high confidence - 2 Sam 12:1–14: allusion, high confidence - 1 Kgs 11:1–4: allusion, high confidence - 1 Kgs 3:5–12: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Absalom: 2 Sam 15–18 (his taking of David's concubines, 16:21–22; David's command to spare him, 18:5; his mourning, 18:33); the child of Bathsheba: 2 Sam 12:15–23; Nathan's parable: 2 Sam 12:1–14; Solomon: 1 Kgs 11:1–4 and 3:5–12. Here stuprum is rendered “sexual immorality” and adulterium “adultery.” ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 3.21 (PL 34:72; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-18/#p-3-21). ## On Christian Doctrine 3.22 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-18/#p-3-22 - Source: PL 34:72 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Old Testament deeds foreign to Christian practice, though praised, should be understood figuratively and not imitated. ### Latin text Ergo, quanquam omnia vel peDe omnia qum in Veicris Testamenti libris gesta continentur, non solum proprie, sed etiam figuraLe accipienda sint: tamen etiam illa quæ proprie lector acceperit, si lau­ dati sunt illi qui ca fecerunt, sed ca tamen abhorrent a consuetudine bonorum, qui post adventum Domini divina præcepta custodiunt; figuram ad intelligen­ tiam referat, factum vero ipsum ad mores non transferat. Multa enim sunt qu:c illo tempore officiosa facta sunt, quæ modo nisi libidinose fieri non possunt. ### English translation (Claude) Therefore, although all or nearly all the deeds contained in the books of the Old Testament are to be taken not only literally but also figuratively, still, as for those which the reader has taken literally, if those who did them are praised, yet they are foreign to the custom of the good who keep the divine commandments after the Lord's coming, let him refer the figure to understanding, but not transfer the deed itself to conduct. For there are many things that were done dutifully in that time which now cannot be done except with lust. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 3.22 (PL 34:72; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-18/#p-3-22). ## On Christian Doctrine 3.23 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-18/#p-3-23 - Source: PL 34:72 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The recorded sins of great men warn the reader against pride and self-righteousness. ### Latin text Si qua vero peccata magnorum virorum legerit, tametsi aliquam iu eis figuram rerum futurarum ani­ madvertere atque indagare potuerit; rei tamen gestai proprietatem ad hunc usum assumat, ut se nequa­ quam recte factis suis jactare audeat, et præ sua ju­ stitia ceteros tanquam peccatores contemnat, cum videat tantorum virorum et cavendas tempestates, et flenda naufragia. Ad hoc enim etiam peccata illo­ rum hominum scripta sunt, ut Apostolica illa senten­ tia ubique tremenda sit, qua ait: Quapropter qui vi­ detur stare, videat, ne cadat. Nulla enim fere pagina cst sanctorum Librorum, in qua non so­ net quod Deus superbis resistit, humilibus autem dat gratiam. ### English translation (Claude) But if he reads of any sins of great men, even if he can notice and trace in them some figure of things to come, let him take the literal reality of the deed to this use: that he should never dare to boast of his own right deeds and despise others as sinners in comparison with his own righteousness, when he sees both the storms to be avoided and the shipwrecks to be wept over of such great men. For the sins of those men were written down for this purpose too, that that apostolic saying might everywhere be feared, where he says: “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” For there is hardly a page in the holy books on which it does not sound out that “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” ### Scripture references - 1 Cor 10:12: quotation, high confidence - Jas 4:6: quotation, high confidence - 1 Pet 5:5: quotation, medium confidence - Prov 3:34: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations from 1 Cor 10:12 and Jas 4:6 (1 Pet 5:5; Prov 3:34 LXX). ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 3.23 (PL 34:72; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-18/#p-3-23). ## On Christian Doctrine 3.24 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-18/#p-3-24 - Source: PL 34:72 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The first task is to determine whether an expression is literal or figurative, using the rules already given. ### Latin text Maiine itaque investigandum est utrum pro­ pria sit, an figurata locutio, quam intelligere cona­ mur. Nam comperto quod figurata sit, adhibitis re­ gulis rerum quas in primo libro digessimus, facile cst eam versare omnibus modis, donec perveniamus ad sententiam veritatis, praesertim cum usus accesserit pietatis cxercitationc roboratus. Invenimus autem utrum propria sit, an figurata locutio, illa intuentes quæ supra dicta sunt. ### English translation (Claude) Above all, then, one must investigate whether the expression we are trying to understand is literal or figurative. For once it is found to be figurative, by applying the rules about things which we set out in the first book, it is easy to turn it over in every way until we arrive at the meaning of truth, especially when practice strengthened by the exercise of piety is added. And we find out whether an expression is literal or figurative by looking at what has been said above. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 3.24 (PL 34:72; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-18/#p-3-24). ## On Christian Doctrine 3.25 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-18/#p-3-25 - Source: PL 34:72–73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The same thing may signify contrary or different things in different passages, as leaven, the lion, the serpent, bread, and water show. ### Latin text Quod cnm apparuerit, verba quibus continetur, aut a similibus rebus ducta in venientur, aut ab aliqua vicinitate attingentibus. Sed quoniam multis modis res similcs rebus apparent, non putemus esse præscriptum ut quod in aliquo loco res aliqua per similitudinem significave­ rit, hoc eam semper significare credamus. Nam et in vituperatione fermentum posuit Dominus, cum dice­. ret, Cavete a fermento Pharisæorum; t in laude, cum diceret, Simile eat regnum cælorum mulieri quæ abscondit fermentum in tribus mensuris farinæ, doncc fermentaretur totum (Luc. sin, 21). Hujus Igitur varietatis observatio duas ha­ bel formas. Sic enim aliud atque aHod res quaeque significant, ut aut contraria, aut tantummodo diversa significcut. Contraria scilicet, cum alias in bono, alias in malo res eadem per similitudinem ponitur, sicut hoc est quod de fermento supra diximus. Tale est eliam quod leo significat Christum, uhi dicitur, Vicit teo de tribu Juda; significat et dia­ bolum, ubi scriptum est, Adversarius vester diabolus tanquam leo rugient circuit, quærens quem devoret. Ita serpens in bono est, Astuti ut serpentes; in malo autem, Serpens Evam seduxit in astutia sua. In bono panis, Ego sum panit vivus, qui de cælo descendi, in malo, Panes occultos libenter edite: sic et alia plurima. Et hæc quidem quae comlnemo­ ravi, minime dubiam significationem gcrunt, quia exempli gratia commemorari nonnisi manifesta de­ buerunt. Sunt autem quae incertum sit in quam par­ tem accipi debeant, sicut, Caliæ in manu Dominivini meri plenus est mixto. Incertum est enim utrum iram Dei significet non usque ad novissimam poenam, id eat usque ad fjeccm; an potius gratiam Scripturarum a Judæis ad Gentes transeuntem, quia inclinavit ex hoc in hoc, remanentibus apud Judæos observationi­ bus quas carnaliter sapiunt, quia fax ejus non est exi­ nanita. Cum vero res eadem non in contraria, sed tantum in diversa significatione pOMi­ tur., illud est iu excroplum, quod aqua et, populum si­ gnificat, sicut in Apocalypsi legimus; et Spiritum sanctum, unde est illud, Flu­ mina aquce vivæ fluent de uentre ejus; et si quid aliud atque aliud, pro locis in quibus poni­ tur, aqua significare intelligitur. Sic et aliae res non singulæ, sed unaquæque earum, non solum duo aliqua diversa, sed etiam non­ nunquam inulta significat, pro loco sententiæ, sicut posita reperitur. ### English translation (Claude) When this has become clear, the words in which it is contained will be found to be drawn either from similar things or from things related by some kind of nearness. But since things appear similar to other things in many ways, let us not think it prescribed that what a thing has signified by likeness in one place we should believe it always signifies. For the Lord used leaven in blame when he said, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees,” and in praise when he said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a woman who hid leaven in three measures of flour until the whole was leavened.” The observation of this variety, then, has two forms. For each thing signifies one thing and another in such a way that it signifies either contrary things or merely different ones. Contrary, namely, when the same thing is put by likeness sometimes in a good sense, sometimes in a bad, as with what we said above about leaven. Such too is the fact that the lion signifies Christ, where it is said, “The lion of the tribe of Judah has conquered”; and also signifies the devil, where it is written, “Your adversary the devil, like a roaring lion, goes about seeking whom he may devour.” So the serpent is in a good sense, “Wise as serpents”; but in a bad sense, “The serpent seduced Eve by his cunning.” Bread in a good sense, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven”; in a bad sense, “Eat hidden bread gladly.” And so with very many others. The ones I have mentioned have a meaning that is not at all doubtful, because only clear ones ought to be mentioned as examples. But there are some about which it is uncertain in which sense they should be taken, such as, “In the hand of the Lord there is a cup of unmixed wine full of mixture.” For it is uncertain whether it signifies the wrath of God not to the final punishment, that is, not to the dregs; or rather the grace of the Scriptures passing from the Jews to the Gentiles, because “he has poured from this into that,” while the observances which they understand carnally remain with the Jews, because “its dregs have not been emptied out.” But when the same thing is put not in contrary but only in different senses, here is an example: water signifies a people, as we read in the Apocalypse, and also the Holy Spirit, whence the saying, “Rivers of living water will flow from his belly”; and whatever else water is understood to signify, one thing and another, according to the places where it is put. So also other things, not singly but each of them, signify not only two different things but sometimes many, according to the place in the passage where they are found. ### Scripture references - Matt 16:6: quotation, high confidence - Luke 13:21: quotation, high confidence - Matt 13:33: quotation, medium confidence - Rev 5:5: quotation, high confidence - 1 Pet 5:8: quotation, high confidence - Matt 10:16: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 11:3: quotation, high confidence - John 6:51: quotation, high confidence - Prov 9:17: quotation, high confidence - Ps 75:8 (74:9 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Rev 17:15: allusion, high confidence - John 7:38: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations from Matt 16:6, Luke 13:21 (Matt 13:33), Rev 5:5, 1 Pet 5:8, Matt 10:16, 2 Cor 11:3, John 6:51, Prov 9:17, Ps 75:8 (74:9 LXX/Vulg.), Rev 17:15, and John 7:38. Augustine's reading of Ps 75:8 as grace passing from the Jews to the Gentiles is offered as one uncertain possibility. Migne's note marker (a) is removed by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 3.25 (PL 34:72–73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-18/#p-3-25). ## On Christian Doctrine 3.26 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-18/#p-3-26 - Source: PL 34:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Obscure figures are explained by plainer passages, though the same image may carry several meanings, as with the shield. ### Latin text Ubi autem apertius ponuntur, ibi discendum est quomodo in locis intelligantur obscuris, Neque euim melius potest intelligi quod dictum esi Deo, Appre­ hende arma et scutum, et exsurge in, adjuterium mihi, quam ex illo loco ubi legitur, Domi­ ne, ut scuto bonce voluntatis tuæ coronasti nos ( Psal. v, 13). Nec tamen ila ut jam ubicumque scutum pro ali­ quo munimento leger imas positum, non accipiamus nisi bonam voluntatem Dci: dictum est enim et scu­ tum fidei, in quo possitis, inquit, omnes sagittas mali­ gni ignitas exstinguere. Nee rursum ideo dgbemus in armis hujuscemodi spiritualibus scuto tantummodo fidem tribuere, cum alio loco etiam lorica dicta sit fidei: Induti, inquit, loricam fidei et charitatis. ### English translation (Claude) Where things are put more plainly, there we must learn how they are to be understood in obscure places. For what is said to God, “Take hold of arms and shield, and rise up to help me,” cannot be better understood than from the place where we read, “O Lord, you have crowned us as with the shield of your good will.” Yet not so that wherever we read “shield” put for some kind of protection we take it to mean nothing but the good will of God; for there is also mention of “the shield of faith, with which,” he says, “you may be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.” Nor again should we, among spiritual arms of this kind, assign faith only to the shield, since in another place it is also called the breastplate of faith: “Putting on,” he says, “the breastplate of faith and love.” ### Scripture references - Ps 35:2 (34:2 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 5:12 (5:13 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Eph 6:16: quotation, high confidence - 1 Thess 5:8: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations from Ps 35:2 (34:2 LXX/Vulg.), Ps 5:12 (5:13 LXX/Vulg.), Eph 6:16, and 1 Thess 5:8. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 3.26 (PL 34:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-18/#p-3-26). ## On Christian Doctrine 3.27 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-18/#p-3-27 - Source: PL 34:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: When a passage admits several meanings, each confirmed by other Scriptures and agreeing with the faith, there is no danger, for the Holy Spirit foresaw and provided them, though the reader should seek the author's intention. ### Latin text Quando autem ex eisdem Scripturae verbis, non unum aliquid, sed duo vel plura sentiuntur, etiam si laiet quid senserit ille qui scripsit, nihil periculi est, si quodlibet, eoruin congruere veritati ex attis locis sanctarum Scripturarum doceri potest: id tamen eo conante qui divina scrutatur eloquia, ut ad volun­ tatem perveniatur auctoris, per quem Scripturam illam sanctus operatus est Spiriius; sive boc assequa­ tur, sive aliam sententiam de illis verbis, quæ fidei rectæ nou refragatur, exsculpat, testimonium babel. a quocumque alio loco divinorum eloquiorum. lue quippe auqtor in eisdem verbis quae iatelligere volu­ mus, et ipsam sententiam forsitan vidit; et certe Dei Spiritus, qui pcr eum haec operatus est, etiam ipsam occursuram lectori vel auditori, sine dubitatione prævidit; ima ut occurreret, quia et ipsa est veritate subnixa, providit. Nam quid in divinis eloquiis largius et uberius potuit divinitus provideri, quam ut eadem verba pluribus intell igantur modis, quos alia non mi­ nus divina contestantia faciant approbari? ### English translation (Claude) But when from the same words of Scripture not one thing but two or more are understood, even if what the writer meant is hidden, there is no danger, if it can be shown from other places of the holy Scriptures that any of them agrees with the truth; provided that the one who searches the divine words tries to arrive at the will of the author through whom the Holy Spirit produced that Scripture. Whether he attains this, or draws out from those words another meaning that does not oppose right faith, he has testimony from any other place of the divine words. For that author perhaps saw this very meaning too in the same words we wish to understand; and certainly the Spirit of God, who produced these things through him, without doubt foresaw that it would occur to the reader or hearer; rather, he provided that it should occur, because it too rests on truth. For what more generous and fruitful provision could God have made in the divine words than that the same words should be understood in several ways, which other no less divine testimonies cause to be approved? ### Translation notes - A key passage on authorial intention and multiple meaning: the reader must try to reach the human author's will, while the Spirit may have provided other true senses confirmed elsewhere in Scripture. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 3.27 (PL 34:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-18/#p-3-27). ## On Christian Doctrine 3.28 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-18/#p-3-28 - Source: PL 34:73 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Meanings supported only by reason, not by other Scripture, are dangerous; it is safer to settle disputed interpretations by Scripture itself. ### Latin text Ubi autem talis sensus eruitur, cujus incer­ tum certis sanctarum Scripturarum testimoniis noQ possit aperiri, restat ut ratione reddita manifestus appareat, etiam si ille cujus verba intelligere quaeri­ mus, euM forte non sensit. Sed hæc consuetudo peri­ culosa est: per Scripturas enim divinas multo tulius ambulatur; quas verbis translatis opacatas cum scru­ tari volumus, aut hoc inde exeat quod nou habeat controversiam; aut, si habet, ex eadem Scriptura ubicumque inventis atque adhibitis testibus terni. netur- ### English translation (Claude) But where a sense is drawn out whose uncertainty cannot be cleared up by certain testimonies of the holy Scriptures, it remains for it to be made plain by giving reasons, even if the one whose words we seek to understand perhaps did not mean it. But this custom is dangerous; for it is much safer to walk through the divine Scriptures. When we wish to search them where they are darkened by figurative words, either something should come out of it that is not in dispute, or, if it is disputed, it should be settled by witnesses found and brought forward from the same Scripture wherever they may be. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 3.28 (PL 34:73; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-18/#p-3-28). ## On Christian Doctrine 3.29 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-18/#p-3-29 - Source: PL 34:73–74 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The biblical writers used all the rhetorical tropes, such as metaphor, catachresis, and irony, which even ordinary speech uses; knowing them helps resolve passages that would be absurd if taken literally. ### Latin text Sciant autem litterati, modis omnibus iocutio­ nis, quos grammatici græco nomine tropos vocant, auctores nostros usos fuisse, et muitiplicius atque co­ piosius, quam possuut existimare vei credere, qui nesciunt cos, et in aliis ista didicerunt. Quos tamen tropos qui noverunt, agnoscunt in Litteris sanct is, eorumque scientia ad cas intelligendas aliquantum adjuvantur. Sed hic eos ignaris tradere non decet, ne artem grammaticam doeere videamur. Extra saoe ut discantur admoneo, quamvis jam superius id ad­ monuerim, id est, in secundo libro, ubi de linguarum neeessaria cognitione disserui. Nam litterae, a quibus ipsa grammatica nomen accepit, Γράμματα enim Graeci litteras vocant, signa ulique sunt sonorum ad articula­ tam vocem qua loquimur pertinentium. Istorum autem troporum non solum exempla, sicut omnium, sed quorumdam etiam nomina in divinis Libris leguntur, sicut aUegoria, aenigma, parabola. Quam vis peDe omnes ii tropi, qui liberali dicuntur arte cognosci, etiam in eorum reperiantur loquelis, qui nullos gram­ maticos audierunt, et eo quo vulgus utitur sermone contenti sunt. Quis enim non dicit, Sic floreas? qui tro­ pus metaphora vocatur. Quis non dicit piscinam etiam quae non babet pisces, nec facta est propter pisces, ei tamen a piscibus nomen accepit? qui tropus cata­ chresis dicitur. Longum est isto modo caeteros persequi: nam usque ad illos pervenit vulgi locutio, qui propterea mirabiliores sunt, quia contra quam dicitur signifi­ cant, siculi est quae appellatur ironia vel antiphrasis. Sed ironia pronuntiatione indicat quid velit intelligi, uti cura dicimus homini mala facienti, Res bonas fa cis: antipbrasis vero ut contraria significet, non voce prouuntiautis efficitur, sed aut verba habet sua, quo­ rum origo e contrario est, sicut appellatur lucus, quod minime luceat; aut consuevit aliquid ita dici, quamvis dicatur etiam non e contrario, veluti cum quærimus ac­ cipere quod ibi non est, et respondetur nobis, Abundat; aut adjunctis verbis facimus ut a contrario intelligatur quod loquimur, veluti si dicamus, Cave illum, quia bo­ uus homo est. Et quis talia non dicit indoctus, nec omnino sciens qui sint, vel quid vocentur hi tropi? Quorum cognitio propterea Scripturarum ambiguita­ libus dissolvendis est necessaria, quia cum sensus, ad proprietatem verborum si accipiatur, absurdus est, quaerendum est utique ne forte illo vel illo tropo di- Hum sit quod non intelligimus; et sic pleraque in­ Tenta sunt quæ latebant. ### English translation (Claude) Let the learned know that our authors used all the modes of expression which the grammarians call by the Greek name of tropes, and more manifoldly and abundantly than those who do not know them, and have learned these things in other writings, can think or believe. Those who know these tropes recognize them in the holy writings, and are helped somewhat by their knowledge of them in understanding these writings. But it is not fitting to teach them here to those who do not know them, lest we seem to be teaching the art of grammar. I advise that they be learned outside, although I have already advised it above, that is, in the second book, where I discussed the necessary knowledge of languages. For letters, from which grammar itself received its name (for the Greeks call letters γράμματα), are of course signs of sounds belonging to the articulate voice by which we speak. Of these tropes, not only examples, as of all, but also the names of some are read in the divine books, such as allegory, enigma, parable. Although nearly all these tropes, which are said to be learned by the liberal art, are found even in the speech of those who have never heard any grammarians and are content with the language the common people use. For who does not say, “May you flourish so”? This trope is called metaphor. Who does not say piscina (“fish pond”) even of one that has no fish and was not made for fish, yet took its name from fish? This trope is called catachresis. It would take long to go through the rest in this way; for the speech of the common people reaches even to those which are more wonderful because they signify the contrary of what is said, such as what is called irony or antiphrasis. But irony shows by pronunciation what it wants understood, as when we say to a man doing evil, “You are doing fine things.” Antiphrasis, however, signifies the contrary not by the speaker's tone of voice, but either it has words of its own whose origin is from the contrary, as a grove is called lucus because it has very little light (lucere); or something is customarily said so, although it is also said not by contraries, as when we seek to obtain something that is not there and are answered, “There is plenty”; or by adding words we cause what we say to be understood by contraries, as if we were to say, “Beware of him, because he is a good man.” And what unlearned person does not say such things, without knowing at all what these tropes are or what they are called? The knowledge of them is necessary for resolving the ambiguities of the Scriptures, because when the sense, if taken according to the literal meaning of the words, is absurd, we must certainly ask whether what we do not understand may not have been said by this or that trope; and in this way many things that were hidden have been found. ### Scripture references - Gal 4:24: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Cor 13:12: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The tropes named in Scripture: allegory (Gal 4:24), enigma (1 Cor 13:12), parable. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 3.29 (PL 34:73–74; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-18/#p-3-29). ## On Christian Doctrine 3.30 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-18/#p-3-30 - Source: PL 34:74 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Augustine introduces the seven rules of Tyconius, a Donatist, as useful but not all-sufficient keys to Scripture, to be read with caution. ### Latin text Tichonius quidam qni contra Donatistas invi­ stissime scripsi:, cum fuerit donatista, et illic inve­ nitur absurdissimi cordis, ubi eos non omni ex parte relinquere voluit, fecit librum quem Regularum vo­ cavit. quia ineo quasdam septem regulas exsecu­ tus est, quibus quasi clavibus divinarum Scriptura­ rum aperirentur ccculta. Quarum primam ponit, De Domino et ejus corpore; secundam, De Domini cor­ pore bipartito; tertiam, De promissis et Lege; quar­ tam, De specie ct genere; quintam, De temporibus; sextam, De recapitulatione; septimam, De diabolo et ejus corpore. Quæ quidem consideratae, sicut ab illo aperiuntur, non parum adjuvant ad penetranda qua: tecta sunt divinorum cloquiorum: nec tamen omnia quae ita scripta sunt ut non facile intelligantur, pos­ sunt iis regulis inveniri, sed aliis modis pluribus, quos hoc numero septenario usque adeo non est iste complexus, ut idem ipse multa exponat obscura, in qni­ bus harum regularum adhibet nullam, quoniam nec opus est. Ncque enim aliquid illic tale versatur aut quæritur, sicut in Apocalypsi Joannis quærit, quem­ adlnodum intelligendi sint angeli Ecclesiarum septem, quibus scribcre jubetur, et ratiocinatur multipliciter, et ad hoc pervenit ut ipsos angelos intelligamus Ec­ desias. In qua copiosissima disputatione nihil istarum est regularum, et utique res illic obscu­ rissima quæritur; quod cxempli gratia satis dictum lit: nam colligere omnia, nimis longum et nimis operosum est, quæ ila obscura sunt in Scripturis cauonicis, ut nihil istarum septem ibi requirendum sit. Iste autem cum has velut regulas commenda ret, tantum cis tribuit, quasi omnia quæ in Legc, id cat, in divinis Libris obscure posita invenerimus, his bene cognitis atque adhibitis intelligere valeamus. Ita quippe exorsus est eumdem librum ut diceret: Ne­ cessarium duxi anle omnia, quæ milii videntur. libellum Regularum scribere, et secretorum Legis veluti claves et luminaria fabricare. Sunt enim quædam regulæ mysticæ, quæ universae Legis recessus obtinent, ct vcritatis thesau­ ros aliquibus invisibiles visibiles faciunt. Quarum si ratio regularum sine invidia, ut communicamus, accepta fue­ rit; clausa quæque patefient, et obscura dilucidabuntur; ut quis prophetiæ immensam silvam perambulans, his re­ gulis quodammodo lucis tramitibus deductus ab errore de­ fendatur. Hic si dixisset, Sunt enim quædam regulæ mysticæ, qnae nonnullos Legis recessus obtinent, aut certe, quæ Legis magnos recessus obtinent; non autem qnod ait, universæ Legis recessus: neque dixisset, Clausa quæque patefient, sed, clausa multa patefient; verum dixisset, nec tam elaborato atque utili operi suo plusquam res ipsa postulat dando, in spem falsam lectorem ejus cogniloremque misisset. Quod ideo di­ cendum putavi, ut liber ipse et legatur a studio­ sis, quia plurimum adjuvat ad Scripturas intelli­ gendas, et non de illo speretur tantum quantum non habet. Caute sane legendus est, non solum propter quædam in quibus ut homo erravil; sed maxime pro­ pter illa quæ sicut donatista hæreticus loquitur. Quid autem doceant vel admoneant istæ septem regulæ, breviter ostendam. ### English translation (Claude) A certain Tyconius, who wrote very powerfully against the Donatists although he was a Donatist, and who is found to have a most absurd heart in that he did not wish to leave them entirely, made a book which he called the Book of Rules, because in it he worked out seven rules, as it were keys, by which the hidden things of the divine Scriptures might be opened. The first he sets down as “On the Lord and his body”; the second, “On the twofold body of the Lord”; the third, “On the promises and the Law”; the fourth, “On species and genus”; the fifth, “On times”; the sixth, “On recapitulation”; the seventh, “On the devil and his body.” When these are considered, as he opens them up, they help not a little in penetrating what is hidden in the divine words. Yet not everything that is written so as not to be easily understood can be found out by these rules, but by many other ways which he did not include in this number seven, so much so that he himself expounds many obscure things in which he applies none of these rules, since there is no need. For nothing of that kind is involved or sought there; as when he asks in the Apocalypse of John how the angels of the seven churches to whom he is told to write are to be understood, and reasons in many ways, and arrives at this, that we understand the angels themselves to be the churches. In this very full discussion there is none of these rules, and certainly a very obscure matter is being sought there. Let this be enough said by way of example; for it would be too long and too laborious to gather all the things in the canonical Scriptures that are so obscure that none of these seven is needed there. But when he commended these as rules, he attributed so much to them as if we could understand everything we find obscurely put in the Law, that is, in the divine books, once these are well known and applied. For he began that book by saying: “I have thought it necessary before all else that seem to me to write a little book of rules, and to fashion, as it were, keys and lamps for the secrets of the Law. For there are certain mystical rules which hold the recesses of the whole Law and make the treasures of truth, invisible to some, visible. If the reasoning of these rules is received without envy, as we share it, whatever is closed will be opened and whatever is obscure will be made clear, so that anyone walking through the immense forest of prophecy, led by these rules as by paths of light, may be defended from error.” If he had said, “For there are certain mystical rules which hold some recesses of the Law,” or at least, “which hold great recesses of the Law,” and not what he said, “the recesses of the whole Law”; and if he had not said, “whatever is closed will be opened,” but “many closed things will be opened,” he would have spoken the truth, and would not, by giving more than the matter itself requires to so elaborate and useful a work of his, have led its reader and student into false hope. I have thought this should be said so that the book itself may be read by the studious, because it helps very much toward understanding the Scriptures, and yet not more may be hoped from it than it contains. It must indeed be read with caution, not only because of some things in which he erred as a man, but especially because of those which he speaks as a Donatist heretic. What these seven rules teach or advise I shall briefly show. ### Scripture references - Rev 1:20: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Tyconius, a Donatist lay theologian (late fourth century), wrote the Book of Rules (Liber regularum), quoted here from its opening; not on the site's list. His exposition of the Apocalypse is lost. The angels of the churches: Rev 1:20; 2–3. Augustine's judgment that Tyconius spoke in places “as a Donatist heretic” is translated as written. Migne's note marker (a) is removed by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 3.30 (PL 34:74; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-18/#p-3-30). ## On Christian Doctrine 3.31 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-18/#p-3-31 - Source: PL 34:74 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Tyconius's first rule: Scripture sometimes speaks of Christ and the Church as one person, passing between head and body. ### Latin text Prima de Domino et ejus corpore est; in qua scientes aliquando capitis et corporis, id est, Christi et Ecclesiae unam personam nobis intimari neque enim frustra dictum est fidelibus, Ergo Abrahæ semen estis [Galat. III, 29], cum sit unum semen Abrahal, quod est Christus), non hæsitemus quando a capite ad corpus, vel a corpore transitur ad caput, et tamen non receditur ab una eademquc persona. Una enim persona loquitur dicens, sicut sponso imposuit mihi mitram, et sicut sponsam ornavit me ornamento ( Isai. LXI, 10); et tamen quid horum duorum capiti, quid corpori, id cst, quid Christo, quid Ecclesiæ conveniat, utique intelligendum est. ### English translation (Claude) The first is about the Lord and his body. In it, knowing that sometimes one person of head and body, that is, of Christ and the Church, is conveyed to us (for it was not said in vain to the faithful, “Therefore you are the seed of Abraham,” although the seed of Abraham is one, which is Christ), let us not hesitate when there is a passage from the head to the body or from the body to the head, and yet no departure from one and the same person. For one person speaks, saying, “He has set a crown on me like a bridegroom, and adorned me with ornament like a bride”; and yet which of these two befits the head and which the body, that is, which befits Christ and which the Church, must of course be understood. ### Scripture references - Gal 3:29: quotation, high confidence - Gal 3:16: allusion, high confidence - Isa 61:10: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations from Gal 3:29 (3:16) and Isa 61:10. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 3.31 (PL 34:74; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-18/#p-3-31). ## On Christian Doctrine 3.32 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-18/#p-3-32 - Source: PL 34:74–75 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Tyconius's second rule concerns the mixed Church of true members and hypocrites, about whom Scripture sometimes speaks as one body. ### Latin text Secunda est de Domini corpore bipartito, quod qui­ dem non ita dcbuit appellari; non cnim revera Domini corpus est, quod cum illo non erit in aLternum: sed dicendum luit, De Domini corpore vero atque permixto, aut, vero atque simulato, vel quid aliud; quia non solum in æternum, verum etiam nunc hypocritæ non cum illo esse dicendi sunt, quamvis in ejus esse vi­ deantur Ecclesia. Unde poterat ista regula et sic ap­ pellari, ut dicerelur de permixta Ecclesia. Qnu: regula lectorem vigilantem requirit, quando Scriptura cum ad alios jam loquatur, tanquam ad eos ipsos ad quos loquebatur, videtur loqui; vel de ipsis, cum de aliis jam loquatur; tanquam unum sit utrorumque corpus, propter temporalem commixtionem et communionem Sacramentorum. Ad hoc pertinet in Canticis cantico­ rum, Fusca sum et speciosa ut tabernacula Cedar, ut pelles Salomonis. Non enim ait, Fusca fui ut tabernacula Cedar, et speciosa sum ut pelles Salo­ luonis; sed utrumque se esse dixit, propter tempora­ lem unitatem intra una retia piscium bonorum et ma­ lorum. Tabernacula enim Cedar ad Ismaelem pertinent, qui non erit haeres cum filio li­ berae. Itaque cum de bona parte Deus dicat, Ducam coecos in viam quam non nove­ runt, et semitas quas non noverunt calcabunt; et faciam illis tenebras in lucem, et prava in directum: hæc verba facium, et non derelinquam eos: mox de alia parte, quae male permixta est, dicit, Ipsi autem conversi iunt retro. quamvis alii jam significentur his verbis. Sed quoniam nunc in uno sunt, tanquam de ipsis loquitur de quibus loquebatur: non tamen semper iu uno erunt. Ipse est quippe ille servus commemoratus in Evangelio, cujus dominus cum vene­ rit, dividet eum, et partem ejus cum hypocritis ponet. ### English translation (Claude) The second is about the twofold body of the Lord, which ought not really to have been so called; for what will not be with him forever is not truly the Lord's body. It should rather have been called “On the true and the mixed body of the Lord,” or “the true and the feigned,” or something else; because not only in eternity, but even now, hypocrites are not to be said to be with him, although they seem to be in his Church. So this rule could also have been called “On the mixed Church.” This rule requires a watchful reader, when Scripture, though it is now speaking to others, seems to be speaking to the same people it was speaking to; or about the same people, when it is now speaking about others; as if the body of both were one, because of their temporal mingling and their communion in the sacraments. To this belongs the saying in the Song of Songs, “I am dark and beautiful, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon.” For it does not say, “I was dark like the tents of Kedar, and I am beautiful like the curtains of Solomon,” but it says that it is both, because of the temporal unity of good and bad fish within the same nets. For the tents of Kedar belong to Ishmael, who will not be heir with the son of the free woman. So, when God says of the good part, “I will lead the blind in a way they have not known, and they will tread paths they have not known; and I will make darkness light for them, and crooked things straight; these words I will do, and I will not forsake them,” he soon says of the other part, which is badly mixed in, “But they have turned back,” although others are now signified by these words. But since they are now in one, he speaks as if of the same people he was speaking of; yet they will not always be in one. For this is the servant mentioned in the Gospel whose master, when he comes, will cut him in two and put his portion with the hypocrites. ### Scripture references - Song 1:5: quotation, high confidence - Gen 25:13: allusion, medium confidence - Gal 4:30: allusion, high confidence - Matt 13:47–48: allusion, high confidence - Isa 42:16–17: quotation, high confidence - Matt 24:50–51: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations from Song 1:5 and Isa 42:16–17. The tents of Kedar and Ishmael: Gen 25:13; Gal 4:30. The nets: Matt 13:47–48; the servant cut in two: Matt 24:50–51. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 3.32 (PL 34:74–75; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-18/#p-3-32). ## On Christian Doctrine 3.33 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-18/#p-3-33 - Source: PL 34:75 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Tyconius's third rule, on the promises and the Law, is really a great question; he erred in thinking faith comes from us and not from God, as the Pelagian controversy has made clear. ### Latin text Tertia regula est de Promissis et Lege, quae alio modo dici potest de spiritu et littera, sicut nos eam appellavimus, cum de hac re librum scribere­ mus. Potest etiam sic dici, de gratia et mandato. Haec autem magis milii videtur magna quaestio quam regula, quae solvendis quaestionibus adhibenda est. Hæc est quam non intelligentes Pelagiani, vel condi­ derunt suam haeresim, veI auxerunt. Laboravit in ea dissolvenda I Tichonius bene, sed non plene. Dispu­ tans enim de fide et operibus, opera nobis dixit a Dco dari merito fidei; ipsam vero fidem sic essc a nobis, ut nobis non sit a Deo. Nec attendit Apostolum dicen­ tein, Pax fratribus et charitas cum fide a Deo Patre ei DominoJesu Christo. Sed non erat ex­ pel'tus hanc hæresim, quae nostro tempore exorta, multum nos, ut gratiam Dei quae per Dominum no­ struin Jesum Christum est, adversus cam defenderc­ mus, exercuit; et secundum id quod ait Apostolus, Oportet hæreses esse, ut probati manifesti fiant in vobis ( I Cor. xi, 19), multo vigilantiores diligenlioresque reddidit, ut adverteremus in Scripturis sanctis, quod istum Tichonium. minus attentum, minusque sine lio­ ste sollicitum fugit, etiam ipsam scilicet fidem donum illius esse qui ejus mensuram unicuique partitur. Ex qua sententia quibusdam dictum est, Vo­ bis donatum est pro Christo, non solum ut in eum cre­ datis, verumetiam ut pro eo patiamini ( Philipp. i, 29). Unde quis dubitet utrumque esse Dei donum, qui fi­ deliter atque intelligenter audit utrumque donatum? Plura sunt et alia testimonia quibus id ostenditur: sed hoc nunc non agimus; alibi autem atque alibi sæ­ pissime ista egimus. ### English translation (Claude) The third rule is about the promises and the Law, which can also be called “On the spirit and the letter,” as we called it when we wrote a book on this subject. It can also be called “On grace and the commandment.” But this seems to me a great question rather than a rule to be applied to resolving questions. It is this that the Pelagians, not understanding it, either founded or increased their heresy upon. Tyconius worked well at resolving it, but not fully. For in discussing faith and works, he said that works are given to us by God as the reward of faith, but that faith itself is from us in such a way that it is not from God for us. Nor did he attend to the Apostle when he says, “Peace to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” But he had not experienced this heresy, which, arising in our time, has exercised us greatly in defending against it the grace of God which is through our Lord Jesus Christ; and, according to what the Apostle says, “There must be heresies, that those who are approved may be made manifest among you,” it has made us much more watchful and careful to notice in the holy Scriptures what escaped this Tyconius, who was less attentive and less concerned because he had no enemy: namely, that faith itself is the gift of him who apportions its measure to each. In accordance with this it is said to some, “To you it has been given for Christ's sake not only to believe in him but also to suffer for him.” From this, who would doubt that each is a gift of God, if he hears faithfully and with understanding that each has been given? There are many other testimonies by which this is shown, but we are not dealing with this now; we have dealt with it very often elsewhere. ### Scripture references - Eph 6:23: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 11:19: quotation, high confidence - Rom 12:3: allusion, high confidence - Phil 1:29: quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Augustine, Spir. et litt. (On the Spirit and the Letter): allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - The book is Augustine's On the Spirit and the Letter. Quotations from Eph 6:23, 1 Cor 11:19, and Phil 1:29; the measure of faith: Rom 12:3. Augustine's account of Tyconius and of the Pelagians, and his teaching that faith itself is God's gift, are translated as written; this part of Book 3 was written about 426–427. Migne's note marker (a) is removed by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 3.33 (PL 34:75; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-18/#p-3-33). ## On Christian Doctrine 3.34 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-34/#p-3-34 - Source: PL 34:75–76 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Tyconius's fourth rule, on species and genus: Scripture passes from a part to the whole, as Ezekiel's prophecy to Israel passes to the spiritual Israel of all nations, the Church. ### Latin text Quarta Tichonii regula est de specie et genere. Sic enim eam vocat, volens intelligi speciem partem, genus autem totum, cujus ea pars est quam nuncupat speciem, sicut unaquaeque civitas pars est utique uni­ versitatis gentium: hanc ille vocat speciem; genus autem omnes gentes. Neque hic ea discernendi I sub­ tilitas adhibenda est, quoe a dialecticis traditur qui, inter partem et speciem quid intersit acutissime dis­ putant. Eadem ratio est, si non de unaquaque civi­ tate, sed de unaquaque provincia vel gente vel regno tale aliquid in divinis reperiatur eloquiis. Non solum enim, verbi gratia, de Jerusalem, vel de aliqua gen­ tium civitate, sive Tyro, sive Babylonia, sive alia qua­ libet dicitur aliquid in Scripturis sanctis, quod modum ejus excedat, et conveniat potius omnibus gentibus: verum etiam de Judaea, de Ægypto, de Assyria, et quacumque alia gente, in qua sunt plurimae civitates, non tamen totus orbis, sed pars ejus est, dicitur quod transeat ejus modium, et congruat-potius universo, cujus hæc pars est; vel sicut iste appellat, generi, cujus hæc species est. Unde et in notitiam vulgi verba ista venerunt, ut etiam idiotae intelligant quid specia­ liter, quid generaliter in quocumque præcepto imperiali sit constitutum. Fit hoc etiam de hominibus; sicut ea quae de Salomone dicuntur, excedunt cjus modulo. et potius ad Christum vcl Ecclesiam, cujus ille pars est, relata clarescunt. Nec species semper exceditur; saepe enim talia dicuntur quae vel ei quoque, vel ei fortasse tantum­ modo apertissime congruant: sed cum a specie trans­ itur ad genus, quasi adhuc de specie loquente Scri­ ptura, ibi vigilare debct lectoris intentio, ne quærat in specie quod in genere potest melius et certius in­ venire. Facile quippe est illud quod ait prophetat Ezechiel, Domus Israel habitavit in terra, et pollue­ runt illam in via sua, et in idulis suis, et peccatis suis; secundum immunditiam menstruatæ facta est via eorum ante faciem meam. Et effudi iram meam super eoa, et dispersi illos inter nationes, et ventilavi eoa in regiones; secundum vias eorum et secundum peccata eorum judicavi eos: fa­ cHe est, inquam, hoc intelligere de illa domo Israel, de qua dicit Apostolus, Videte Israel secundum carnem; quia hac omnia carnalis populus Israel ei fecit, et passus est. Alia etiain quae sequuntur, ei­ dein intelliguntur populo convenire: sed cum cæpe­ rit dicere, Et sanctificabo nomen meum sanctum illud magnum, quod pollutum est inter nationes, quod pol­ luisti, in medio carum; ct scient gentes quia eqo sum Dominus; jam intentus debct esse, qui legit, quctn­ admodum species excedatur, ct adjungaturgenus. Se­ quitur enim et dicit: Et dum sanctificabor in vobis ante oculos corum, et accipiam vos de gentibus, et congregabo nos ex omnibus terris, et inducam vos in terram vestram; et aspergam vos aqua munda, et mundabimini ab omni­ bus simulacris vestris, et mundabo vos: et dabo vobis cor nOt'WIl, et Spiritum novum dabo iti vos; et auferam cor lapideum de carne vestra, et dabo vobis cor carneum, et Spiritum meum dabo in vos: et fuciam ut in justitiis meis ambuUtis, et judicia mea custodiatis, et faciatis: et habitabitis in terra, quam dedi patribus vestris; et critismihiin populum, et ego ero vobis in Deum; et mun­ dabo vos ex omnibus immunditiis vestris ( Ezech. XXXVI, 23-29). Hoc de Novo Testamento esse prophetatum, ad quod pertinet non solum una gens illa in reliquiis suis, ne quibus alibi scriptum est, Si fuerit numerus fitiorum Israel sicut arena maris, reliquiæ salvæ fient, verum etiam cæteræ gentes, quæ pro­ missæ sunt patribus eorum, qui etiam nostri sunt; non ambigit quisquis intuetur et lavacrum regenera­ don is hic esse promissum, quod nunc videmus omni­ bus gentibus redditum: et illud quod ait Apostolus, cum Novi Testamenti gratiam commendaret, ut in comparatione Veteris emineret, Epistola nostra vos estis, scripta non atramento, sed SpiritaDei vivi; non in tabulis lapideis, sed in tabulis cordis carnalibus (II Cor. III, i, 3), hinc esse respicit et perspicit ductum ubi isto propheta dicit, Et dabo vobis cor novum, et Spiritum novum dabo in vos; et auferam cor lapidevm de carne vestra, et dabo vobis cor carneum. Cor quippe carneum, unde ait Apostolus, tabulis cordis carnalibus, a corde lapideo voluit vita sentiente discerni, et per vitam sen. tienlem siguificavit intelligentem. Sic fit Israel spiri. malis, non unius gentis, sed omnium quae promissae sunt patribus in eorum semine, quod est Christus. Hic ergo Israel spiritualis ab illo Israele carnali, qni est unius gentis, novitate gratiae, non nobilitate patriae, et mente non gente distinguitur: sed altitudo prophetica dum de illo vel ad illum loquitur,latenter transit ad hunc; et cum jam de isto vel ad istum 10- quatur, adhucde illo vel ad illum loqui videtur; non intellectum Scripturarum nobis quasi hostiliter invi­ dens, sed exercens medicinaliter nostrum. Unde et illud quod ait, Ei inducam ̜̜̜̜̜̜̜̜̜̜̜v̜̜οs in terram vestram; et paulo post, tanquam idipsum repetens, Et habita­ bitis, inquil, in terra quam dedi patribus vestris; non carnaliter sicut carnalis Israel, sed spirituali­ trr sicut spiritualis debemns acciperc. Ecclesia quippe sinc macula et ruga ex omnibus gentibus congregata, atque in æternum regnatura cum Christo, ipsa est terra beatorum, terra viventium; ipsa intelligenda est patribus data, quando cis certi et incommutabili Dei voluntate pro­ missa est: quoniam ipsa promissionis vel prædesti­ nationis firmitate jam dala est, quae danda suo tem­ pore a patribus credita est; sicut de ipsa gratia quæ sanctis datur, scribens ad Timotheum Apostolus ait, Non secundum opera nostra, sed secundum suum pro­ positum et gratiam, quæ data eat nobis in Christo Jesu ante Macula ceterna, manifestata autem nunc per adven­ tum Salvatoris nostri. Datam dixit gratiam, quando necerautadhuc quibus daretur; quo­ niam in dispositione ac prædestinatione Dei jain fa- tnm erat quod suo tempore futurum erat, quod ipso dicit inaniestatum. Quamvis hirc possint intelligi ct de terra futuri saculi, quando erit coelum novum ct terra nova, in qua injusti habitare non poterunt. Et idco recte dicitur piis quod ipsa sit toria eorum, quae ulla ex parte non erit impiorum; quia et ipsa similiter data est, quando danda firmata est. ### English translation (Claude) The fourth rule of Tyconius is about species and genus. For so he calls it, meaning by species a part, and by genus the whole of which the part he calls species is a part; as each city is certainly a part of the totality of the nations: this he calls species, and all the nations the genus. Nor need we apply here that subtlety of distinction which is handed down by the dialecticians, who argue very sharply about the difference between a part and a species. The same reasoning holds if something of this kind is found in the divine words not about each city, but about each province, nation, or kingdom. For it is not only about Jerusalem, for example, or about some city of the nations, whether Tyre or Babylon or any other, that something is said in the holy Scriptures which exceeds its measure and fits all nations rather; but also about Judea, Egypt, Assyria, and any other nation in which there are very many cities, yet which is not the whole world but a part of it, something is said that goes beyond its measure and fits the whole of which it is a part, or, as he calls it, the genus of which it is a species. Hence these words have come into common knowledge, so that even the unlearned understand what is laid down specially and what generally in any imperial decree. This happens also with persons, as the things said of Solomon exceed his measure and become clear when referred rather to Christ or the Church, of which he is a part. Nor is the species always exceeded; for things are often said that fit it too, or perhaps fit it alone, very plainly. But when there is a passage from species to genus, while Scripture seems still to be speaking of the species, there the reader's attention must be watchful, lest he seek in the species what he can find better and more surely in the genus. For it is easy to understand what the prophet Ezekiel says: “The house of Israel dwelt in the land, and they defiled it by their way, and by their idols, and by their sins; their way became before my face like the uncleanness of a menstruous woman. And I poured out my wrath upon them, and scattered them among the nations, and winnowed them into the lands; according to their ways and according to their sins I judged them”: it is easy, I say, to understand this of that house of Israel of which the Apostle says, “Look at Israel according to the flesh,” because the carnal people of Israel did and suffered all these things. Other things too that follow are understood to fit the same people; but when he begins to say, “And I will sanctify my holy and great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the Lord,” the reader must now attend to how the species is exceeded and the genus joined to it. For he goes on and says: “And when I am sanctified in you before their eyes, I will take you from the nations, and gather you out of all lands, and bring you into your own land; and I will sprinkle you with clean water, and you shall be cleansed from all your idols, and I will cleanse you; and I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take away the heart of stone from your flesh, and give you a heart of flesh, and I will put my Spirit within you; and I will cause you to walk in my statutes, and to keep my judgments and do them; and you shall dwell in the land which I gave to your fathers; and you shall be my people, and I will be your God; and I will cleanse you from all your uncleannesses.” That this was prophesied of the New Testament, to which belongs not only that one nation in its remnant, of which it is written elsewhere, “Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved,” but also the other nations, which were promised to their fathers, who are ours too, no one doubts who sees that the washing of regeneration is promised here, which we now see given to all nations; and that saying of the Apostle, when he commended the grace of the New Testament so that it would stand out in comparison with the Old, “You are our letter, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on fleshly tablets of the heart,” he sees and perceives to be drawn from here, where this prophet says, “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take away the heart of stone from your flesh, and give you a heart of flesh.” For he wished the heart of flesh, from which the Apostle says “fleshly tablets of the heart,” to be distinguished from the heart of stone by sentient life, and by sentient life he signified intelligent life. So the spiritual Israel comes to be, not of one nation but of all nations which were promised to the fathers in their seed, which is Christ. This spiritual Israel, then, is distinguished from that carnal Israel which is of one nation by the newness of grace, not the nobility of fatherland, by mind, not by race. But the prophetic depth, while speaking of or to that Israel, passes imperceptibly to this one; and when it is now speaking of or to this one, it still seems to be speaking of or to that one; not grudging us the understanding of the Scriptures as an enemy, but exercising ours as a physician. Hence that saying too, “And I will bring you into your own land,” and a little later, as if repeating the same thing, “And you shall dwell,” he says, “in the land which I gave to your fathers,” we ought to take not carnally as the carnal Israel, but spiritually as the spiritual Israel. For the Church without spot or wrinkle, gathered from all nations, and to reign forever with Christ, is itself the land of the blessed, the land of the living; it is to be understood as given to the fathers when it was promised to them by the sure and unchangeable will of God; since by the firmness of the promise or predestination it has already been given, which the fathers believed would be given in its own time. So the Apostle, writing to Timothy about the grace that is given to the saints, says, “Not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before eternal times, but has now been made manifest through the coming of our Savior.” He said grace was given when those to whom it would be given did not yet exist; because in God's disposition and predestination what was to be in its own time had already been done, which he calls made manifest. Although these things can also be understood of the land of the world to come, when there will be a new heaven and a new earth, in which the unjust will not be able to dwell. And so it is rightly said to the godly that it is their land, which will in no part belong to the ungodly; because it too has likewise been given, when it was established that it would be given. ### Scripture references - Ezek 36:17–19: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 10:18: quotation, high confidence - Ezek 36:23–29: quotation, high confidence - Rom 9:27: quotation, high confidence - Isa 10:22: quotation, medium confidence - Titus 3:5: allusion, medium confidence - 2 Cor 3:2–3: quotation, high confidence - Gal 3:16: allusion, high confidence - Eph 5:27: allusion, high confidence - 2 Tim 1:9–10: quotation, high confidence - Rev 21:1: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations from Ezek 36:17–19, 1 Cor 10:18, Ezek 36:23–29, Rom 9:27 (Isa 10:22), 2 Cor 3:2–3, and 2 Tim 1:9–10; the washing of regeneration: Titus 3:5; the seed which is Christ: Gal 3:16; without spot or wrinkle: Eph 5:27; new heaven and new earth: Rev 21:1 (Isa 65:17; 2 Pet 3:13). Augustine's distinction between carnal and spiritual Israel, and his reading of the promised land as the Church, are translated as written. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 3.34 (PL 34:75–76; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-34/#p-3-34). ## On Christian Doctrine 3.35 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-34/#p-3-35 - Source: PL 34:76 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Tyconius's fifth rule, on times, works by synecdoche (as with the six or eight days before the Transfiguration and Christ's three days in the tomb) and by symbolic numbers. ### Latin text Quintam Tichonius reJulam ponit, quam De temporibus appellat: qua regula plerumque inveniri vel conjici possit latens in Scripturis sanctis quantitas temporum. Duobus autem modis vigere dicit hanc re;­ gulam; aut tropo synecdoche, aut legitimis numer is. Tropus synecdoche, aut a parte totum, aut a toto partem facit intelligi: sicut unus evangelista post dies octo factum dicit, quod alius post dies sex, quando in monte discipulis tantum tribus prasentibus facies Do­ mini fulsit ut sol, et vestimenta ejus sicut nix (Luε. IX, 28; Matth. XVII, 1,2; Marc. IX, 1,2).Utrumque cnim 'orum essenon posset, quod de numcro dierum dictum est, nisi ille qui dixit, post dies octo, intelligatur partem. novissimam diei ex quo id Christus prædixit futurum, et partem primam diei quo id estendit impletum, pro totis diebus duobus atque integris posuisse; is vero qui dixit, post dies sex, integros omnes et totos, sed solos medios computasse. Hoc modo locutionis, quo significatur a parte totum, etiam illa de resurrectione Christi solvitur quæstio. Pars enim novissima diei quo passus est, nisi pro toto die accipiatur, id cst, adjun­ cta etiam nocte præterita; ei nox in cujus parte ulti­ ma resurrexit, nisi totus dies accipiatur, adjuncto scilicet die illucescente dominico, non possunt esse tres dies et tres noctes, quibus se in corde terræ præ­ dixit futurum. Legitimos autem numeros dicit, quos eminen­ tius divina Scriptura commendat, sicut septenarium, vel denarium, vel duodenarium, et quicumque alii sunt, quos legendo studiosi libenter agnoscunt. PIe.. rumque enim hujusmodi numeri pro universo tempore ponuntur: sicut, Septies in die laudabo te, nihil est aliud quam, Semper laus ejus in ore meo (Psal. XXXIII, t). Tantumdem valent et cuin multi­ plicantur, sive per denarium, sicut septuaginta et, se­ ptingenti: unde possunt et septuaginta anni Jeremiae. pro universo tempore spiritualiter.. accipi, quo est apud alienos Ecclesia: sive per seipsos,. sicut decem per decem, centum sunt; et duodecim per duodecim, centum quadraginta quatuor; quo nu­ mero significatur universitas sanctorum in Apocalypsi. Unde apparet non solas temporum qua:­ stioncs istis numeris esse solvendas, sed Jatius patere significationes eorum, et in multa proserpere. Neque enim numerus iste in Apocalypsi ad tempora pertinet, sed ad homines. ### English translation (Claude) Tyconius sets down a fifth rule, which he calls “On times”: by this rule the length of time hidden in the holy Scriptures can often be found or conjectured. He says that this rule operates in two ways: either by the trope synecdoche, or by legitimate numbers. The trope synecdoche causes either the whole to be understood from a part or a part from the whole: as one evangelist says that something happened after eight days which another says happened after six days, when on the mountain, with only three disciples present, the Lord's face shone like the sun and his garments like snow. For both statements about the number of days could not be true unless the one who said “after eight days” is understood to have put the last part of the day on which Christ foretold that it would happen, and the first part of the day on which he showed it fulfilled, for two whole and entire days; while the one who said “after six days” counted all the whole and entire days, but only those in between. By this mode of expression, by which the whole is signified by a part, that question too about the resurrection of Christ is resolved. For unless the last part of the day on which he suffered is taken for the whole day, that is, with the preceding night added, and the night in whose last part he rose is taken for the whole day, that is, with the dawning Lord's day added, there cannot be the three days and three nights in which he foretold that he would be in the heart of the earth. He calls legitimate numbers those which the divine Scripture commends more eminently, such as seven, ten, twelve, and any others which the studious gladly recognize in reading. For numbers of this kind are often put for the whole of time: as “Seven times a day I will praise you” is nothing else than “His praise shall always be in my mouth.” They have the same force when they are multiplied, whether by ten, as seventy and seven hundred (hence the seventy years of Jeremiah can also be taken spiritually for the whole time in which the Church is among strangers), or by themselves, as ten times ten is a hundred, and twelve times twelve a hundred and forty-four, the number by which the totality of the saints is signified in the Apocalypse. From this it appears that not only questions of times are to be resolved by these numbers, but that their significations extend more widely and spread into many things. For that number in the Apocalypse refers not to times but to persons. ### Scripture references - Luke 9:28–29: allusion, high confidence - Matt 17:1–2: allusion, high confidence - Mark 9:2–3: allusion, high confidence - Matt 12:40: allusion, high confidence - Ps 119:164 (118:164 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Ps 34:1 (33:2 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Jer 25:11: allusion, high confidence - Rev 7:4: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - The Transfiguration: Luke 9:28; Matt 17:1–2; Mark 9:2. Three days and nights: Matt 12:40. Quotations from Ps 119:164 (118:164 LXX/Vulg.) and Ps 34:1 (33:2 LXX/Vulg.). Seventy years: Jer 25:11 (29:10); 144: Rev 7:4 (14:1; 144,000). ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 3.35 (PL 34:76; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-34/#p-3-35). ## On Christian Doctrine 3.36 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-34/#p-3-36 - Source: PL 34:76–77 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Tyconius's sixth rule, recapitulation: Scripture sometimes returns to earlier events, as in the planting of paradise, the dispersion of nations before Babel, and Christ's warning about Lot's wife. ### Latin text Sextam regulam Tichonius Recapitulationem vocat, in obscuritate Scripturarum satis vigilanter inventam. Sic enim dicuntur quædam qnasi sequantur in ordine temporis, vcl rerum continuatione narren­ tur, cum ad priora quæ praetermissa fuerant, latenter narratio revocetur: quod nisi ex hac regula intelliga­ tur, erratur. Sicut in Genesi, Et plantavit, inquit, Dominus Deus paradisum in Eden ad orientem, et posuit ibi hominem quem formavit; et produxit Deus adhuc de terra MMM lignum speciosum, et bonum in escam; ita videtur dictum tanquam id factum si posteaquam fa­ ctum posuit Deps hominem in paradiso: cum breviter Miroque commemorato, id est, quod plantavit Deus paradisum, et posuit ibi hominem quem formavit, re­ capitulando redeat et, dicat quod praetonniserat, quo­ modo scilicet paradisus fuerit plantatus, quia produxit Deus adhuc de terra omne lignum speciosum et bo­ num in escam. Denique secutus adjunxit: Et lignum vitæ in medio paradisi, et lignum scientias boni et mali. Deinde Rumen, quo paradisus irrigaretur, divisum in quatnor principia fluviorum quatuor, explicatur; quod totum pertinet ad institutionem paradisi. Quod ubi terminavit, repetivit illud quod jam dixerat, et revera hoc sequebatur, atque ait: Et sumpsit Dominus Deus hominem quem finxit, et posuit eum in paradiso, etc. Post ista enim facta iLi est positus bo­ mo, sicut nunc ordo ipse demonstrat: non post homi­ nem ibi positum facta sunt ista, sicut prius dictum putari potest, nisi recapitulatio illic vigilanter intelli­ gatur, qua reditur ad ea quæ fuerant pnetermissa. Itemque in eodem libro, cum commemoraren­ lur generationes filiorum Noe, dictum est: Hi filii Cham in tribubus suis, secundum linguas suas in regio­ nibus suis 1 et in gentibus suis. Ennmeratis quoque Ei­ liis Sem dicilur: Hi filii Sent in tribubus suis, se­ cundum linguas suas in regionibus suis et in gentibus suis. Et annectitur de omnibus: Hæ tribus filiorum Noe, secundum generationes εοrum et secundum gentes corum. Ab his dispersae sunt insula gentium super ter­ ram post diluvium. Et erat omnis terra labium unum, et vox una omnibus. Hoc itaque quod adjunctum est, Et erat omnis terra labium unum, et vox una oMmibus, id est, una lingua omnium, ita dictum videtur tanquam eo jam tempore, qiio di­ spersi fuerant super terram etiam secundum insulas gentium, una fuerit omnibus lingua communis; quod procul dubio repugnat superioribus verbis, ubi dictum est, In tribubus suis secundum linguas suas. Neque enim dicerentur habuisse jam linguas suas singulae tribus, quae gentes singulas fecerant, quando erat omnibus una communis. Ac per hoc recapitulando adjunctum est, Et erat omnis terra labium unum, et vox una omnibus, latenter narratione redeunte, ut dicere. tur quomodo factum sit, ut ex una omnium lingua fuerint divisi per multas: ct continuo de ilia turris aedificatione narratur, ubi hæc eis judicio divino in­ gesta est poena superbiae; post quod factum dispersi sunt super terram secundum linguas suas. Fit ista recapitulatio etiam obscurius: sicut in Evangelio Dominus dicit, Die quo exiit Loth a Sodo­ mis, pluit ignem de cælo, et perdidit omnes: secundum hæc erit dies Filii hominis, quo revelabilur. llla hora, qui erit in tecto, et vasa ejus in domo, non descendat tollere illa; et qui in agro, similiter non revertatur re­ tro: mεminerit uxoris Loth. Numquid cum Dominus fuerit revelatus, tunc sunt ista servanda, nc quique retro respiciat, id est, vitam præteritam cui renumtiavit, inquirat; e non potius isto tempore, ut cum Dominos fuerit reve­ latus, retributionem pro eis quæ quisque şervavit vet contempsit, inveniat? Et tamen quia dictum esi, ln illa 'ora, tunc putantur ista servanda, cum fuerit Do­ minus revelatus, nisi ad intelligendam recapitulatio­ nem, sensus legentis invigilet, adjuvante alia Scri­ pLura quae ipsorum Apostolorum adhuc tempore cla­ mavit, Filii, novissima hora eat (I Joan. II, i8). Tem­ pus ergo ipsum quo Evangelium prædicatur, quousque Dominus reveletur, hora est in qua oportet ista ser­ van; quia et ipsa revelatio Domini ad eamdem ho­ ram pertinet, quae die judicii terminabitur. ### English translation (Claude) The sixth rule Tyconius calls recapitulation, which he discovered with considerable watchfulness in the obscurity of the Scriptures. For some things are said as if they followed in order of time, or are narrated in continuous sequence, when the narrative imperceptibly goes back to earlier things that had been passed over; and unless this is understood by this rule, one goes wrong. As in Genesis: “And the Lord God planted a paradise in Eden toward the east, and put there the man whom he had formed; and God brought forth further out of the earth every tree beautiful and good for food.” It seems to be said as if this was done after God had put the man in paradise; whereas, having briefly mentioned both, that is, that God planted paradise and put there the man he had formed, it goes back by recapitulation and tells what it had passed over, namely how paradise was planted, because God brought forth further out of the earth every tree beautiful and good for food. Then it went on to add: “And the tree of life in the middle of paradise, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” Then the river by which paradise was watered, divided into four heads of four rivers, is described; all of which belongs to the establishment of paradise. When it had finished this, it repeated what it had already said, and what in fact followed, and said: “And the Lord God took the man whom he had formed and put him in paradise,” and so on. For it was after these things were done that the man was put there, as the order itself now shows; these things were not done after the man was put there, as could be thought from what was said earlier, unless the recapitulation there is watchfully understood, by which there is a return to the things that had been passed over. Likewise in the same book, when the generations of the sons of Noah were mentioned, it is said: “These are the sons of Ham in their tribes, according to their languages, in their lands and in their nations.” And when the sons of Shem are enumerated, it is said: “These are the sons of Shem in their tribes, according to their languages, in their lands and in their nations.” And it is added about all of them: “These are the tribes of the sons of Noah, according to their generations and according to their nations. From these the islands of the nations were scattered over the earth after the flood. And the whole earth was one lip, and there was one speech for all.” This addition, then, “And the whole earth was one lip, and there was one speech for all,” that is, one language of all, seems to be said as if at that time, when they had already been scattered over the earth even according to the islands of the nations, there was one language common to all; which without doubt conflicts with the earlier words, where it was said, “in their tribes according to their languages.” For the single tribes, which had formed single nations, would not be said to have had their own languages already, when there was one common to all. And so it was added by recapitulation, “And the whole earth was one lip, and there was one speech for all,” the narrative imperceptibly going back, to tell how it came about that from one language of all they were divided into many; and immediately the building of that tower is narrated, where this punishment for their pride was imposed on them by divine judgment; after which they were scattered over the earth according to their languages. This recapitulation also occurs more obscurely, as in the Gospel the Lord says: “On the day when Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire from heaven and destroyed them all; so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. In that hour, let him who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away; and likewise let him who is in the field not turn back. Remember Lot's wife.” Are these things to be observed only when the Lord has been revealed, that no one should look back, that is, seek the past life he has renounced; and not rather at this time, so that when the Lord has been revealed each may find the reward for what he has kept or despised? And yet, because it is said “in that hour,” these things are thought to be observed when the Lord has been revealed, unless the reader's sense is watchful to understand the recapitulation, with the help of another Scripture which cried out even in the time of the apostles themselves, “Little children, it is the last hour.” So the very time in which the Gospel is preached, until the Lord is revealed, is the hour in which these things must be observed; because the revelation of the Lord itself also belongs to the same hour, which will end with the day of judgment. ### Scripture references - Gen 2:8–9: quotation, high confidence - Gen 2:10–14: allusion, high confidence - Gen 2:15: quotation, high confidence - Gen 10:20: quotation, high confidence - Gen 10:31–11:1: quotation, high confidence - Gen 11:1–9: allusion, high confidence - Luke 17:29–32: quotation, high confidence - 1 John 2:18: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations from Gen 2:8–9, 2:15, 10:20, 10:31–11:1, Luke 17:29–32, and 1 John 2:18; the four rivers: Gen 2:10–14; the tower: Gen 11:1–9. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 3.36 (PL 34:76–77; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-34/#p-3-36). ## On Christian Doctrine 3.37 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-34/#p-3-37 - Source: PL 34:77–78 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Tyconius's seventh rule concerns the devil and his body; all the rules but one concern figurative expression, and students of Scripture must above all pray for understanding. ### Latin text Septima Tichonii regula est, eademque posIre­ ma, De diabolo et ejus corpore. Est enim et ipse ca­ put impiorum, qui sunt ejus quodammodo corpsus, ituri cum illo in supplicium ignis aeterni: sicut Christus caput est Ecclesiae, quod est eor­ pus ejus, futurum cum illo in regno et gloria sempi­ terna. Sicut ergo in prima regula, quam vocat de Domino et ejus corpore, vigilandum est at intelligatur, cum de una eademque persona Scriptura loquitur, quid conveniat capiti, quid corpori; sic et in ista novissima, aliquando in diabolum dicitur quod non in ipso, sed potius in ejus corpore possit agnosei, quod habet non solum in eis qui manifestissime foris sunt, sed in eis etiam qui cum ad ipsum pertineant, tamen ad tempus miscentur Ecclesiae, donee unus­ quisque de hac vita exeat, vel a frumento palea ven­ tilabro ultimo separetur. Quod enim scriptum est apud Isaiam, Quomodo cecidit de cœlo Lucifer mane oriens, et cætera, quæ sub figura regis Babyloniae de cadem persona, vel ad eamdem personam dicta sunt in ipsa contextione ser­ monis, de diabolo utique intelliguntur; et tamen quod ibi dictum est, Contritus eat in terra, qui mittit ad omnes gentes, non totum ipsi capiti congruit. Nam etsi mittit ad omnes gentes diabolus angelos suus, tamen in terra corpus ejus, non ipse, conteritur; nisi quia ipse est in corpore suo, quod contritum fit ut pulvis, quem pro­ jicit ventus a facie terrae. Hae autem omnes regulx, excepta una, quæ vocatur De promissis et Lege, aliud ex alio faciunt in­ telligi, quod est propriuln tropicae locutionis, quae la­ tius patet quam ut possit, ut mihi vidctur, ab aliquo universa comprehendi. Nam ubicumque velut aliud dicitur ut aliud intelligatur, etsi nomen ipsius tropi in loquendi arte non invenitur, tropica locutio est. Quae cum fit ubi fieri solet, sine labore sequitur intellectus: cum vero ubi non solet, laboratur ut intelligatur, ab aliis magis, ab aliis minus, sicut magis minusve dona Dei sunt in ingeniis hominum, vel adjutoria tribuun­ tur. Proinde sicut in verbis propriis, de quibus supe­ rius disputavimus, ubi res ut dicuntur intelligendæ sunt; sic in translatis quæ faciunt tropicas locutiones, ubi aliud ex alio iotelligendum est, de quibus huc usque quantam visum est, salis egimus; non solnm admonendi sont studiosi venerabilium Litterarum, ut inScripturis suetis genera locutionum sciant, ei quomodo apud eas aliquid dici soleat, vigilanter ad­ vertant, memoriterque retineant; verum eliam, quod est praecipuum et maxime necessarium, orent ut in­ telligant. In eis quippe Litteris, quarum studiosi sunt, legunt quoniam Dominus dat sapientiam, et a facis ejus scientia et intellectus.; a quo et ipsum studium, si pietate praeditum est, acceperunt. Sed hæc satis etiam de signis, quantum ad verba per. tinet dicta sint. Restat ut de proferendis eis quai sentimus, sequenti volumine, quae Dominus donaverit, disseramus. ### English translation (Claude) The seventh rule of Tyconius, and the last, is about the devil and his body. For he too is the head of the ungodly, who are in a way his body, destined to go with him into the punishment of eternal fire; just as Christ is the head of the Church, which is his body, destined to be with him in the kingdom and everlasting glory. Just as, then, in the first rule, which he calls “On the Lord and his body,” one must be watchful to understand, when Scripture speaks of one and the same person, what befits the head and what the body, so also in this last one, sometimes something is said against the devil which can be recognized not in him but rather in his body, which he has not only in those who are most plainly outside, but also in those who, though they belong to him, are mingled for a time with the Church, until each departs from this life, or the chaff is separated from the wheat by the last winnowing fan. For what is written in Isaiah, “How Lucifer, rising in the morning, has fallen from heaven,” and the rest, which in the context of the passage are said under the figure of the king of Babylon about or to the same person, is certainly understood of the devil; and yet what is said there, “He who sends to all nations is crushed on the earth,” does not entirely fit the head himself. For although the devil sends his angels to all nations, yet it is his body, not he himself, that is crushed on the earth; unless because he is in his body, which is crushed like dust that the wind blows from the face of the earth. Now all these rules, except one, which is called “On the promises and the Law,” cause one thing to be understood from another, which is proper to tropical expression; and this extends more widely, it seems to me, than can be comprehended in its entirety by anyone. For wherever one thing is said so that another may be understood, even if the name of that trope is not found in the art of speaking, it is a tropical expression. When it occurs where it usually occurs, understanding follows without labor; but when it occurs where it does not usually occur, there is labor to understand it, more for some, less for others, as the gifts of God in human minds are greater or less, or helps are given. So, as with literal words, which we discussed above, where things are to be understood as they are said, so with figurative words, which make tropical expressions, where one thing is to be understood from another, which we have treated sufficiently, as it seemed good, up to this point: students of the venerable writings are not only to be advised to know the kinds of expressions in the holy Scriptures, and to note watchfully and keep in memory how something is usually said in them; but also, what is chief and most necessary, to pray that they may understand. For in those very writings of which they are students they read that “the Lord gives wisdom, and from his face come knowledge and understanding”; from whom they have also received their very zeal for study, if it is endowed with piety. But let this be enough said about signs, as far as words are concerned. It remains that in the next volume we discuss the setting forth of what we understand, as far as the Lord grants. ### Scripture references - Matt 25:41: allusion, high confidence - Eph 5:23: allusion, high confidence - Matt 3:12: allusion, high confidence - Isa 14:12: quotation, high confidence - Ps 1:4: allusion, medium confidence - Prov 2:6: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Eternal fire: Matt 25:41; Christ head of the Church: Eph 5:23 (Col 1:18); chaff and wheat: Matt 3:12. Quotations from Isa 14:12, Prov 2:6 (in the Latin form); dust blown by the wind: Ps 1:4. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 3.37 (PL 34:77–78; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-34/#p-3-37). ## On Christian Doctrine 4.1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-34/#p-4-1 - Source: PL 34:78 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Augustine begins Book 4, on setting forth what has been understood, and warns that he will not give the rules of secular rhetoric. ### Latin text Hoc opus nostrum quod inscribitur de Doctrina Christiana, in duo quædam fueram prima distributione partitus. Nam post prooemium, quo respondi eis qui hoc fuerant reprehensuri: Duce sunt rea, inquan, qui­ bus nititur omnis tractatio Scripturarum; modus inve­ niendi quæ intelligenda sunt, et modus proferendi quæ intellecla sunt. De inveniendo prius, de proferendo postea disseremus. Quia ergo de invenicndo multa jam diximus, et tria de bac una parte volumina absolvi­ mus, Domino adjuvante, de proferendo pauca dice­ mus; ut, si fieri potuerit, uno libro cuncta clauda­ mus, totumque hoc opus quatuor voluminibus termi­ netur. Primo itaque exspectationem legentium, qai forte me. putant rhetorica daturum esse precepta quæ in scholis saecularibus et didici et docui, ista prælocu­ tione cohibeo, atque ut a me non exspectentur, ad­ moneo: non quod nihil habeant utilitatis; sed quod, si quid habent, seorsum discendum est, si cui for­ tassis beno viro eliam hæcc vacat discere, non au­ lem a me vel in hoe opere, fel in aliquo alio requi­ rendum. ### English translation (Claude) This work of ours, which is entitled On Christian Doctrine, I had divided at the first arrangement into two parts. For after the preface, in which I answered those who were going to find fault with it, I said: “There are two things on which all handling of the Scriptures rests: the way of discovering what is to be understood, and the way of setting forth what has been understood. We shall discuss discovering first and setting forth afterwards.” Since, then, we have already said much about discovering, and have completed three volumes on this one part, with the Lord's help we shall say a little about setting forth, so that, if possible, we may conclude everything in one book, and this whole work may be completed in four volumes. First, then, I check by this preliminary remark the expectation of readers who perhaps think that I am going to give the rules of rhetoric which I both learned and taught in the secular schools, and I warn them not to expect them from me: not because they have no usefulness, but because, if they have any, it is to be learned separately, if perhaps some good man has leisure to learn these things too; but it is not to be sought from me, either in this work or in any other. ### Translation notes - The quotation is from the beginning of Book 1 (1.1). Book 4 was completed about 426–427, some thirty years after the first books. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 4.1 (PL 34:78; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-34/#p-4-1). ## On Christian Doctrine 4.2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-34/#p-4-2 - Source: PL 34:78 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Since rhetoric can serve falsehood, the defenders of truth should not be left without eloquence. ### Latin text Nam cnm per artem rhetoricam et vera suadean­ tur et falsa, quis audeat dicere, adversus mendacium in defensoribus suis inermem debere consistere veri­ tatem, nt videlicet illi qui res falsas persuadere co­ nantur, noverint auditorem vel benevolum, vel in­ tentem, vel docilem proœmio faeere; isti autem non noverint? iili falsa breviter, aperte, verisimiliter; et isti vera sic narrent, ut audire taedeat, inteMigere noa pateat, credere postremo non libeat? illi fallacibus ar­ gumentis veritatem oppugnent, asserant falsitatem; isti nee vera defendere, aec falsa valeant refutare? illi animos audientium in errorem moveutes impellen­ tesque dicendo terreant, contristent, exhilarent, ox­ hortentur ardenter; isti pro veritale, lenti frigidique dormitent? Quis ita desipiat, ut hoc sapiat? Cum ergo sit in medio posita facultas eloquii, quæ ad persua­ denda sea prava seu recta valet plurimum; cur non bonorum slwdio comparatur, nt militet veritati, si eam mali ad obtinendas perversas vanasqae causas in usus iniquitatis et erroris usurpant? ### English translation (Claude) For since both truth and falsehood are urged by the art of rhetoric, who would dare to say that truth ought to stand unarmed against falsehood in its defenders, so that those who try to persuade people of false things should know how to make the hearer well-disposed, attentive, or teachable by their introduction, while these do not know how? That they should tell false things briefly, clearly, and plausibly, while these tell true things in such a way that it is tedious to listen, not easy to understand, and finally not pleasant to believe? That they should attack truth and assert falsehood with fallacious arguments, while these are able neither to defend the true nor to refute the false? That they, moving and driving the minds of their hearers into error by their speaking, should terrify, sadden, delight, and ardently exhort them, while these sleep, slow and cold, on behalf of truth? Who is so foolish as to think this? Since, then, the faculty of eloquence is available to both sides and is of very great power for urging either wrong or right, why should it not be acquired by the zeal of the good to fight for truth, if the wicked take it over for the uses of iniquity and error to win perverse and vain causes? ### Extrabiblical texts - Cicero, Inv. 1.20 (Cicero): allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - “Well-disposed, attentive, teachable” (benevolum, intentum, docilem) are the classical aims of an introduction (Cicero, De inventione 1.20). ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 4.2 (PL 34:78; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-34/#p-4-2). ## On Christian Doctrine 4.3 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-34/#p-4-3 - Source: PL 34:78–79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Eloquence is better acquired young by reading and imitating eloquent writers, including Christian ones, than by studying rhetorical rules. ### Latin text Sed quæcumque sunt de hac re observationcs at. que praecepta, quibus cum accedit in verbis plurimis ornamentisque verborum exercitatioris linguae soler­ tissima consuetudo, fit illa quae facundia vei eloquentia nominatur; extra istas litteras nostras, seposito ad hoc congruo temporis spatio, apta et convenienti artate discenda sant eis qui hoe celeriterpossunt. Nam et ipsos Romanas principes eloquentiæ non Ili­ guit dicere quod hanc artem nisi quis cito possit, nunquam omnino possit perdiscere (Cicero, de Ora­ tore). Quod utmm veram sit, quid opus est quærere? Non enim, etiam si possint haec a tardioribus tanden. aliquando perdisci, nos ea tanti pendimus, ut eis di- Mendis jam maturas vel etiam graves hominum ætates velimus impendi. Satis est ut adolescentulorum ista sit cura; nec ipsorum omnium quos utilitati eccle­ siasticæ cupimus erudiri, sed eorum quos nondum magis urgens, et huic rei sine dubio præponenda ne­ cessitas occupavit. Quoniam si acutum et fervens adsit ingenium, facilius adhaeret eloquentia legentibus et audientibus eloquentes, quam eloquentiae præcepta sectantibus. Nee desunt ecclesiasticæ litteræ, etiam praeter canonem in auctoritatis aree salubriter collo­ catum, quos legendo homo capax, etsi id non agat, sed tantummodo rebus quae ibi dicuntur intentus sit, etiam eloquio quo dicuntur, dum in his versatur, im­ buiLur; accedente vei maxime exercitatione sive scri - bendi, sive dictandi, postremo eUam dicendi, quae secundum pietatis ac fidei regulam sentit. Si autem tale desit ingenium, nec illa rhetorica præcepta ca­ piuntur; nec, si magno labore inculcata quantulacum­ que ex parte capiantur, aliquid prosunt. Quandoqni­ dem etiam ipsi qui ea didiccruut, et copiose ornateque dicunt, non omnes ut secundum ipsa dicant, possuut ca cogitare cum dicunt, si non de his disputant: imo vero vix ullos eorum esse existimo, qui utrumque possint, et dicere bene, et ad hoc faciendum præcepta illa dicendi cogitare cum dicunt. Cavendum est enim ne fugiant ex animo quæ dicenda sunt, dnm attenditur ut arte dicantur. Et tamen in sermonibus atque diclio­ nibus eloquentium, impleta reperiuntur præcepta cta­ quentiæ, de quibus illi ut eloquerentur, vel cum elo­ quorentur, non cogitavcrunt, sive illa didicissent, sive ne attigissent quidem. Implent quippe illa, quia eloquentes sunt; non adhibent. ut sint eloquentes. Quapropter, cum ex infantibus loquentes non fiant, nisi locutiones discendo loquentium; cur elo­ quentes fieri non possint, nulla eloquendi arte tradita, sed elocutiones eloquentium legendo et audiendo, ct quantum assequi conceditur, imitando? Quid, qnod ita fieri ipsis qnoque experimur exemplis? Nam sine præ­ ceptis rhetoricis novimus plurimos eloquentiores plu­ rimis qui iila didicerunt; sine lectis vero et auditis eloquentium disputationibus vcl. dictionibus, ncmi­ ncm. Nam neque ipsa arte grammatica, qua discitur locutionis integritas, indigerent pueri, si cis inter ho­ mines, qui integre loquerentur, crescere daretur et vivere. Nescientes quippe ulla nomina vitiorum, quid­ quid vitiosum cujusquam ore loqucnLis audirent, sana sua consuctudine reprehenderent et caverent; sic­ ut rusticos urbani reprehendunt, etiam qni litteras nesciunt. ### English translation (Claude) But whatever observations and rules there are on this subject, to which, when there is added the most skilled practice of a tongue well exercised in an abundance of words and verbal ornaments, the result is what is called fluency or eloquence, these are to be learned outside these writings of ours, at a suitable and fitting age, with a fitting space of time set aside for it, by those who can do so quickly. For even the leading masters of Roman eloquence were not ashamed to say that unless someone can learn this art quickly, he can never learn it thoroughly at all. Whether this is true, what need is there to ask? For even if these things can at last be learned by the slower, we do not value them so highly that we would want people of mature or even advanced age to spend themselves in learning them. It is enough that this be the concern of young men; and not of all of them whom we wish to be educated for the service of the Church, but of those whom no more urgent necessity, one that should certainly be preferred to this, has yet taken up. For if there is a sharp and eager mind, eloquence attaches itself more easily to those who read and hear the eloquent than to those who follow the rules of eloquence. Nor is there any lack of ecclesiastical writings, even apart from the canon, which is wholesomely placed in the citadel of authority, by reading which a capable person, even if he is not aiming at it but is intent only on the things said there, is imbued also with the eloquence in which they are said while he is occupied with them; especially if practice is added, whether in writing, or dictating, or finally in speaking what he thinks according to the rule of piety and faith. But if such a mind is lacking, neither are those rules of rhetoric grasped; nor, if they are grasped in some small part after being drilled in with great labor, do they do any good. Since even those who have learned them, and speak fluently and ornately, cannot all think of them while they speak so as to speak according to them, unless they are discussing them; indeed, I think there are hardly any of them who can do both, speak well and think of those rules of speaking while they speak in order to do so. For one must beware lest what is to be said slips from the mind while attention is paid to saying it artfully. And yet in the speeches and discourses of the eloquent the rules of eloquence are found fulfilled, which they did not think of in order to be eloquent or while they were being eloquent, whether they had learned them or never even touched them. For they fulfill them because they are eloquent; they do not apply them in order to be eloquent. Therefore, since infants do not become speakers except by learning the expressions of speakers, why cannot people become eloquent without being taught any art of eloquence, by reading and hearing the expressions of the eloquent and imitating them as far as they are able? And do we not find from actual examples that this happens? For we know very many who, without the rules of rhetoric, are more eloquent than very many who have learned them; but we know no one who is eloquent without having read or heard the arguments or discourses of the eloquent. For boys would not even need the art of grammar, by which correctness of speech is learned, if they were allowed to grow up and live among people who spoke correctly. For, not knowing any names of faults, they would criticize and avoid by their own sound habit whatever was faulty that they heard from anyone's mouth, just as city people criticize country people, even those who do not know letters. ### Extrabiblical texts - Cicero, De or. (Cicero): allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - The saying of the Roman masters is from Cicero, De oratore (Migne gives no book; compare 1.5.17, 3.31.123). ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 4.3 (PL 34:78–79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-34/#p-4-3). ## On Christian Doctrine 4.4 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-34/#p-4-4 - Source: PL 34:79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Christian teacher must teach the good, refute error, win over his hearers, and, as needed, narrate, prove, and move. ### Latin text Dibet igitur divinarum Scripturarum tractator ct doctor, defensor rectæ fidei ac debellator erroris, et bona docere, et inala dedocere; atque in hoc opere scrinonis conciliare adverSUS I, remissos erigere, nescientibus quid agatur, quid exspectare debeant in­ limare. Ubi aulcm bcnevolos, intentos, dociles aut invenerit, aut ipse fecerit, cætera peragenda sunt, sic­ ut postulat causa. Si docendi sunt qui audiunt, nar­ rationc faciendum cst, si tamen indigeat, ut res de qua agitur innotescat. Ut autem quæ dubia sunt certa Hiant, documentis adhibitis ratiocinandum est. Si vero qui audiunt movendi sunt potius quain docendi, ut in co quod jam sciunt, agendo non torpeant, et rebus assensum, quas veras esse fatentur, accommodent, majoribus dicendi viribus opus est. Ibi obsecrationes et increpationes, concitationas et coercitiones, et quæ­ cumque alia valent ad commovendos animos, sunt necessaria. Et hæc quidcni cuncta quas dixi, omnes fere ho­ niines in iis quæ eloqueudo agunt', facere non quie­ scunt: ### English translation (Claude) The interpreter and teacher of the divine Scriptures, then, the defender of right faith and the vanquisher of error, ought both to teach what is good and to unteach what is bad; and in this work of speaking to win over the hostile, to rouse the careless, and to make clear to those who do not know what is at issue and what they ought to expect. When he has found his hearers well-disposed, attentive, and teachable, or has made them so himself, the rest is to be carried out as the case requires. If the hearers are to be taught, it must be done by narration, if it is needed, so that the matter in question becomes known. And to make doubtful things certain, one must reason by bringing forward proofs. But if the hearers are to be moved rather than taught, so that they do not grow sluggish in acting on what they already know, and so that they give their assent to things they admit to be true, greater powers of speaking are needed. There entreaties and rebukes, rousings and restraints, and whatever else avails to move minds, are necessary. And all these things that I have mentioned nearly all people do not cease to do in whatever they do by speaking. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 4.4 (PL 34:79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-34/#p-4-4). ## On Christian Doctrine 4.5 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-34/#p-4-5 - Source: PL 34:79 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Wisdom matters more than eloquence; the preacher speaks wisely in proportion to his understanding of Scripture, whose words he should use, and should learn eloquence from wise and eloquent Christian writers. ### Latin text Sed cum alii faciant obtuse, deformitcr, frigide; alii acute, ornate, vehementer; illum ad hoc opus unde agimus, jam oportet accedere, qui potest dispu­ tare vel dicere sapienter, etiamsi non potest eloquen­ ter, ut prosit audientibus, etiamsi minus quam prod­ essel, si et cloquenter posset dicere. Qui vcro affluit insipicnti eloquentia, tanto niagis cavendus est, quanto magis ab eo in iis quæ audirc inutile cst, delectatur anditor, ct eum quoniam diserte dicere andit, clinni vere dicere existimat. Hæc autem sententia nec illos fugit, qui artem i hetoricam docendum putarunt: fassi sunt enim sapientiam sinc eloquentia parum prodessu civitatibus I; eloquentiam vero sine sapientia nimium obesse plerumque, prodesse nunquam (Cicero, lib. i de Inventione). Si ergo hoc illi qui præcepta eloqucn­ tiae tradiderunt, in eisdem libris in quibus id egerunt, veritate instigante coacti sunt confiteri, verani, hoc est, supernam quæ a Patre luminum descendit, sa­ pientiam nescientes; quanto magis nos non aliud sen-.Mire tire debemus, qui hujus sapientiæ filii et ministri su­ mus? Sapienter autem dicit homo tanto magis vel minus, quanto in Scripturis sanctis magis minusve profecit. Non dico in dis multum legendis memoriæ.. que mandandis, sed bene intelligendis, et diligenter earum sensibus indagandis. Sunt enim qui eas legunt, et negligunt; legunt ut tenecant, negligunt ne intelli­ gant. Quibus longe sine dubio praeferendi sunt qui verba earnrn minus tenent, et cor earum sui cordis oculis vident. Sed utrisque ille melior, qui et cun. volet eas dicit, et sicut oportet intelligit. Huic ergo qui sapienter debet dicere, etiam quod non potest eloquenter, verba Scripturarum terrere maxime necessarium est. Quanto enim se paupcrio­ rem cernit in suis, tanto eum oportet in istis esse di­ tiorem; ut quod dixerit suis verbis, probet ex illis; et qui propriis verbis minor crat, magnorum I testi monio quodammodo crescat. Probando cnim delectat, qui minus potest dclectarc dicendo. Porro qui non solum sapienter, verum etiam eloquenter vult dicere, quoniam profecto plus proderit, si utrumque potuerit; ad legendos vel audiendos et exercitatione imitandos eloquentes eum mitto libentius, quam magistris artis rhetoricm vacare praecipio: si tamen ii qui leguntur ctnudiuntur, non solum eloquenter, sed etiam sa­ pienter dixisse vel dicere veraci prædicatione laudan­ tur. Qui enim eloquenter dicunt, suaviter; qui sa­ picnter, salubriter audiuntur. Propter quod non alt Scriptura, Multitudo eloquentium; sed, Multitudo sa­ pientium sanitas est orbis terrarum. Sicut autem sa'pe sumenda sunt et amara salubria, ita semper vitanda est perniciosa dulcedo. Sed salubri suavitate, vel suavi salubritate quid melius? Quanto enim magis illic appetitur suavitas, tanto facilius sa­ lubritas prodest. Sunt ergo ecclesiastici viri qui divina eloquia non solum sapienter, sed eloquenter etiam tractaverunt: quibus legendis magis non suflicit tem­ pus, quam deesse ipsi studentibus et vacantibus possunt. ### English translation (Claude) But since some do it dully, unattractively, and coldly, others sharply, ornately, and forcefully, the one who should now approach this work which we are discussing is one who can argue or speak wisely, even if he cannot speak eloquently, so as to benefit his hearers, even if less than he would benefit them if he could also speak eloquently. But one who abounds in foolish eloquence is the more to be guarded against the more the hearer is delighted by him in things it is useless to hear, and, because he hears him speak fluently, thinks he also speaks truly. This view did not escape even those who thought the art of rhetoric should be taught; for they admitted that wisdom without eloquence is of little benefit to states, but that eloquence without wisdom is very often extremely harmful and never beneficial. If, then, those who handed down the rules of eloquence were compelled by the prompting of truth to confess this in the very books in which they did so, though they did not know the true, that is, the heavenly wisdom which comes down from the Father of lights, how much more ought we not to think otherwise, who are the sons and ministers of this wisdom? A person speaks wisely to the degree that he has made more or less progress in the holy Scriptures. I do not mean in reading much of them and committing them to memory, but in understanding them well and diligently searching out their meanings. For there are those who read them and neglect them; they read to retain them, and neglect to understand them. Far preferable to these, without doubt, are those who retain their words less but see their heart with the eyes of their own heart. But better than both is he who both quotes them when he wishes and understands them as he ought. For one, then, who ought to speak wisely even when he cannot speak eloquently, it is most necessary to hold fast to the words of the Scriptures. For the poorer he sees himself in his own words, the richer he ought to be in these, so that what he has said in his own words he may prove from them; and he who was small in his own words may in some way grow by the testimony of the great. For one who can delight less by speaking delights by proving. But one who wishes to speak not only wisely but also eloquently, since he will certainly benefit more if he can do both, I send more gladly to read or hear the eloquent and to imitate them by practice than I bid him spend his time with teachers of the art of rhetoric; provided that those who are read and heard are praised with truthful commendation for having spoken, or for speaking, not only eloquently but also wisely. For those who speak eloquently are heard with pleasure; those who speak wisely, with benefit. That is why Scripture does not say, “A multitude of the eloquent,” but, “A multitude of the wise is the health of the world.” And just as bitter but wholesome things must often be taken, so a harmful sweetness must always be avoided. But what is better than wholesome sweetness or sweet wholesomeness? For the more sweetness is sought there, the more easily wholesomeness does good. There are, then, churchmen who have handled the divine words not only wisely but also eloquently; and time fails for reading them sooner than they could fail the studious who have leisure. ### Scripture references - Jas 1:17: allusion, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Cicero, Inv. 1.1 (Cicero): allusion, high confidence - Wis 6:24 (Wisdom of Solomon): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Cicero, De inventione 1.1, on wisdom and eloquence (cited by Migne). The Father of lights: Jas 1:17. The quotation “a multitude of the wise …” is Wis 6:24 (6:26 Vulg.). ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 4.5 (PL 34:79; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/3-34/#p-4-5). ## On Christian Doctrine 4.6 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-6/#p-4-6 - Source: PL 34:79–80 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The authors of Scripture are both wise and eloquent, with an eloquence fitting their divine authority, which serves wisdom without showing itself off. ### Latin text Hic aliquis forsitan querit utrum auctores nostri, quorum scripta divinitus inspirata canonem nobis si­ luberrima. auctoritate feccrunt, sapientes tantum­ modo, an eloquentes eliarn nuncupandi sint. Quae quidem quæstio apud meipsum, et apud eos qui me­ cum quod dico sentiunt, facillime tolvitur. Naiu ubi eos intelligo, non solum nihil eis sapientius., vc­ runi etiam nihil eloquentius milii videri potest. Et audeo diGerev omnes qui recte intelligunt quod illi loquuntur, simul intelligere non cos aliter loqui dc­ buisse. Sicnt cst enim quædam eloqucntia quæ magis ætatem juvenilem decet, est quæ senilem; nec jam dicenda est eloquentia, si personæ non congruat elo­ quentis: ita est quædam, quæ viros summa auctori­ tale dignissimos planeque divinos decet. Hac illi loculi sunt, nec ipsos decet alia, nec alios ipsa: ipsis enim congruit; alios autem, quanto videtur humilior, tanto altius non ventositate, sed soliditate transcendit. Ubi vcro non cos intelligo, minus quidem mihi apparet eorum eloquentia, sed cam tamen non dubito esse ta­ lem, qnalis est ubi intelligo. Ipsa quoque obscuritas divinorum salubriumque dictorum tali eloquentiae miscenda fuerat, in qua proficere noster intellectus, non solum inventione, verum etiam exercitatione deberet. Possem quidem, si vacarel, omnes virtutes et omamenta cloquentiæ, de qtiibus inflantur isti qui lin­ guam suam nostrorum auctorum linguæ, non magni­ ludine, sed tumore præponunt, ostendere in istorum Litteris sacris, quos nobis erudiendis, et ab hoc sæculo pravo in beatum sæculum transferendis, providentia divina providit. Sed non ipsa me plus qnam dici potest in illa eloqucntia delectant, quæ sunt his viris cum oratoribus Gentilium poetisve communia: illud magis admiror et stupco, quod ista nostra eloquentia ita usi sunt per alteram quamdam eloquentiam suain, ut nec deessel eis, nec emineret in eis: quia eam nec improbari ab illis, nec ostentari oportebat; quorum alterum fieret, si vitaretur; alterum putari posset, si facile agnosceretur. Et in quibus forte locis agnosci­ tur a doctis, tales res dicuntur, ut verba quibus di­ cuotur, non a dicente adhibita, sed ipsis rebus velut sponte subjuncta videantur: quasi sapientiam de do­ nio sua, id est, pectore sapientis procedere intelligas, et tanquam inseparabilem famulam etiam non voca­ lam sequi eloquentiam. ### English translation (Claude) Here someone may perhaps ask whether our authors, whose divinely inspired writings have formed the canon for us with most wholesome authority, should be called only wise, or eloquent as well. This question is very easily resolved for me and for those who think with me what I say. For where I understand them, nothing can seem to me not only wiser, but also more eloquent. And I dare to say that all who rightly understand what they say understand at the same time that they ought not to have spoken otherwise. For just as there is a certain eloquence that better befits youth, and another that befits old age, and it should no longer be called eloquence if it does not suit the person of the speaker, so there is a certain eloquence that befits men most worthy of the highest authority and plainly divine. With this they spoke; and no other befits them, nor does it befit others; for it suits them, but the humbler it seems, the higher it surpasses others, not by windiness but by solidity. Where, however, I do not understand them, their eloquence is less apparent to me, but I do not doubt that it is such as it is where I understand. The very obscurity of the divine and wholesome sayings had to be mingled with such eloquence, in which our understanding should make progress not only by discovery but also by exercise. I could indeed, if there were time, show in the sacred writings of these men, whom divine providence provided to instruct us and to transfer us from this wicked world to the blessed world, all the virtues and ornaments of eloquence about which those people are puffed up who prefer their own language to the language of our authors, not by greatness but by swelling. But it is not the things these men have in common with the orators or poets of the pagans that delight me more than can be said in that eloquence; I admire and am amazed rather at this, that they used this eloquence of ours through another eloquence of their own in such a way that it was neither lacking in them nor prominent in them; because it was fitting for them neither to reject it nor to show it off; the one would happen if it were avoided, the other might be thought if it were easily recognized. And in the places where perhaps it is recognized by the learned, such things are said that the words in which they are said seem not to have been applied by the speaker, but to have been joined to the things themselves as if of their own accord; as if you understood wisdom proceeding from its own house, that is, from the breast of the wise man, and eloquence following like an inseparable handmaid even when not called. ### Scripture references - Prov 9:1: allusion, low confidence ### Translation notes - Wisdom's house: compare Prov 9:1. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 4.6 (PL 34:79–80; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-6/#p-4-6). ## On Christian Doctrine 4.7 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-6/#p-4-7 - Source: PL 34:80–82 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Augustine shows the natural eloquence of Scripture through Paul (Rom 5:3–5; 2 Cor 11:16–30) and Amos (6:1–6), whose rhetorical figures serve wisdom without being sought. ### Latin text Quis cnim non videat quid voluerit dicere, et quam sapienter dixerit Apostolus: Gloriamur in tribulutionibus, scientes quia tribulatio patientiam opera­ tur, patientia autem probationem, probatio vero spem, spes autem non confundit: quia charitas Dei diffusa est in cordibus nostris per Spiritum sanctum, qui datus est nobis? Hic si quis, ut ita dixerim, imperite perois, artis cloquentiæ precepta Apostolum srcutum fuissc contendat, nonne a Christianis doctis indoctisque ridebitur? Et tamen agnoscitur hic figura, quæ κλῖμαξ græce, latine Vero a quibusdanl est appel­ lata gradatio, quoniam scalam dicere noluerunt, cum verba Tet sensa connectuntur alterum ex altero; sicut hic, ex tribulatione patientiam, ex paticnlia proha­ tionem, ex probatione spem connexam videmus. Aqno­ scitur ct aliud decus, quoniam post aliqua pronuntia­ tionis voce singula finita, quæ nostri membra et cæsa, Græci autem κῶλα κόμματα vocant, sequitur ambi­ ins sive circuitus, quem περιοδον illi appellant, cujus membra suspenduntur voce dicentis, donec ultimo fi­ niatur. Nam eorum quae præcedunt circ uitum, mem­ brum illud est primum, quoniam tribulatio patientiam operatur; secundum, patientia autem probationem; ter. tium, probatio vero apem. Deinde subjungitur ipse cir­ cuitus, qui tribus peragitur membris, quorum primum est, apes autem non confundit; secundum, quia charitas Dei diffusa eat in cordibus nostris; tertium, per Spiri­ tum sanctum qui datus eat nobis. At hæc atque hujus­ cemodi in elocutionis arte traduntur. Sicut ergo Apo­ stolum præcepta eloquentiæ secutum fuisse non dici­ nius, ita quod ejus sapientiam secuta sit eloquentia, non negamus. Scribens ad Corintbios, in secunda Epistola rcdarguit quosdam, qui erant es Judæis pseudoapo­ stoli, eique detrahebant: et quoniam seipsum praedi­ care compellitur, hanc sibi velut insipientiam trihuens, quam sapienter dicit, quamque eloquenter? sed co­ mes sapientiae, dux eloquentiae; illam sequens, istam præcedens et sequentem non respuens. Iterum diro, inquit, ne quis me existimet insipientem esse; alioquin velut insipientem suscipite me, ut et ego modicum quid glorier. Quod loquor, non loquor secundum Deum, sed quasi in stultitia, in hac substantia gloriae. Quoniam quidem multi gloriantur secundum carnem, et ego glo­ riabor. Libenter enim sustinetis insipientes, cum sitis ipsi sapientes. Toleratis enim si quis vos in servitutem redigit, si quis devorat, si quis accipit, si quis extollitur, si quis in faciem vos caedit. Secundum ignobilitatem dico, quasi noa infirmati simus. In quo autem quis audet (in. insipientia dico), audro et ego. Hebrœi sunt? et ego. Israelitæ sunt? et ego. Semen AbraAm' sunt? et ego. Mi­ nistri Christi sunt? (insipiens dico) super ego t. In tabo­ ribus plurimum, in carceribus abundantius, in plagis su­ pra modum, in mortibus sarpius. A Judæis quinquies, quadraginta una mitius accepi. Ter virgis cæsussum, se• mel lapidatus sum, ter naufragium feci: nocteet die in profundo maris fui; in itineribus.cepe, periculis flumi­ num, periculis latronum, periculis ex genere, periculis ex gentibus, periculis in civitate, periculis in deserto, peri­ cutis in mari, periculis in falsis fratribus: in labore et ærumna, in vigiliis sæpius, in fame et siti, in jejuniis sæpius, in frigore et nuditate: præter illa quce extrinse­ cus sunt, incursus in me quotidianus, sollicitudo omnium Ecclesiarum. Quis infirmatur, et ego non in firmor? quis scandalizatur, et ego non uror? Si gloriari oportet, in iis quæ infirmitatis meæ sunt, gloriabor. Quanta sapientia ista sint dicta vigilantes vident. Quanto vero etiam eloquentiæ concurrerint flumine, ct qui stertit advertit. Porro autem qni novit, agnoscit quod ea cæsa quæ κόμματα Græci vocant, et membra, et circuitus, de quibas paulo aute disserui, cum decentissima va­ rictate interponerentur, totam istam speciem dictio­ nis, et quasi ejus vultum, quo etiam indocti deJectan­ tur moventurque, fecerunt. Nam unde coepimus hanc locum inserere, circuitus sunt: primus minimus, hoe est bimembris; minus enim qnam duo membra circui­ his habere non possunt, plura vero possunt: ergo ille primus est, Iterum dico, ne quis me existimet insipien­ tem esse. Sequitur nlius trimembris, Alioquin velut iV sipientem suscipite me, nt et ego modicum quid glorier. Tertius qui sequitur membra habet quatuor, Qnod lo­ quor, nou loquor secundum Deum, sed quasi in stulti­ tia, in hac substantia glorie. Quartus duo habet, Quan­ doquidem mali gloriantur secundum earnem, et ego gloriabor. Et quintus habet dno, Libenter enim sustine- Ii. insipientes, cum sitis ipsi sapientes. Etiam sextus bi­ membris est, Toleratis enim, si quis vos in servitutem redigit. Sequuntur tria caesa, Si quis devorat, si quis accipit, si quis extollitur. Deindc tria membra, Si quis iu faciem vos cædit, secundum ignobilitatem dico, quasi nos infirmati simus. Additur trimembris circuitus, In quo autem quis audet in insipientia dico, audeo et ego. Hinc jam singulis quibusque casis Interrogando posi­ tis, singula itidem c.rsa responsione redduntur, tria tribus, Hebræi sunt? et ego. Israelitæ sunt? et ego. Se­ men Abrahæ sunt? et ego. Quarto autem cæso simili in­ terrogatione posito, non alterius cæsi, sed membri oppositione respondet, Ministri Christi sunt? (insipiens dico) super ego. Jam cæsa quatuor sequentia, remota decentissime interrogatione funduntur, In laboribus plurimum, in carceribus abundantius, in plagis supra modum, in mortibus sæpius. Deinde interponitur bre­ vis circuilus, quoniam suspensa pronuntiatione dis­ tinguendum est1, A Judæis qinquies, ut hoc sit unum membrum, cui connectitur alterum, quadraginta una minus accepi. Inde redditur ad caesa, et ponuntur tria, Ter virgis cæsus sum, semel lapidatus sum, ter naufra­ gium feci. Sequitur membrum: Nocte ac die in pro­ fundo marisfui. Deinde quatuordecim caesa decentis­ simo impetu proflunnt, In itineribus sæpe, periculis flu­ minum, periculis latronum, periculis ex genere, pericu­ lis ex gentibus, periculis in civitate, periculis in deserto, periculis in mari, periculis in falsis fratribus: in labore et ærumna, in vigiliis sæpius, in fame et siti, in jejuniis sæpius, in frigore et nuditate. Post hæc interponit tri­ membrem circuitum, Præter illa quæ extrinsecus sunt, incursus in me quolidianus, sollicitudo omnium Eccele­ siarum. Et huic duo membra percontatione subjungit, Quis infirmatur, et ego non infirmor? quis scandalizatur, et ego non uror? Postremo totus iste quasi anbelans locos, bimembri circuitu terminatur, Si gloriari opor­ tet, in iia quæ infirmitatis meæ sunt gloriabor. Quod vero post hunc impetum interposita narratiuncula quo­ dammodo requiescit, et requiescere facit auditorem, quid decoris, quid delectationis babeat, satis dici non potest. Sequitur enim dicens: Deus et Pater Domini nostri Jesu Christi scit, qui est benedictus in sæcuta, quod non mentior. Ac deinde quomodo periclitatus fuerit, et quomodo evaserit, brevissime narrat. Longum est caetera persequi, vel in aliis sancta­ rom Scripturarum locis ista monstrare. Quid, si etiam figuras locutionis quæ illa artetraduntur, in iis saltem quæ de Apostołi eloquio commemoravi, ostendere vo­ luissem? nonne facilius graves homines me nimium, quam quisquam studiosorum sibi sufficientem puta­ rent? HaM omnia quando a magistris docentur, pro magno habentar, magno emuntur pretio, magna fa­ ctatione venduntur. Quam jactationem etiam ego re­ dolere vereor, dum ista sic dissero. Sed male doctis bominibus respondendum fuit, qui nostros auctores contemnendos putant, non quia non habent, sed quia non ostentant, quam nimis iSli diligunt, cloquentiam. Sed forte quis putat, tanquam eloquentem no­ strum elegisse me apostolum Paulum. Videtur enim abi ait, Etsi imperilut sermone, sed non scientia, quasi concedendo obtrectatoribus sic locutus, non tanquam id verum agnosceret, confitendo. Si au­ tem dixisset, Imperitus quidem sermone, sed non scien­ tia1, nullomodo aliud posset intelligi. Scientiam plane non cunctatus est profiteri, sine qua esse doctor Gen­ tium non valeret. Certe si quid ejus proferiinus ad exemplum eloquentiæ, ex illis Epistolis utique profe­ rimus, quas etiam ipsi obtrectatores ejus, qui sermo­ nem præsentis contemptibilem putari volebant, grares et fortes esse confessi sunt (Ibid.t, 10). Dicendum ergo mibi aliquid esse video et de cloquentia Prophetarum, ubi per tropologiam multa obteguntur. Quæ quanto ma­ gis translatis verbis videntur operiri, tanto magis cum fuerint aperta dulcescunt. Sed hoc loco tale aliquid Commemorare debeo, ubi quæ dicta sunt non cogar exponere, sed commendem tantum quomodo dicta si. Et ex illius prophetæ libro potissimum hoc fa­ cium, qui se pastorem vel armentarium fuisse dicit, at­ qae inde divinitus ablatum atque missum, ut Dei po­ pulo prophetaret (Amos vu, 14, 15). Non autem se­ cundum Septuaginta interpretes, qui etiam ipsi divino Spiritu interpretati, ob hoe aliter videntur nonnulla dixisse, et ad spirilnalem sensum scrutandum magis admoneretur leeloris intentio; unde eliam obscuriora nonnulla, quia magis tropica, sant eorum: sed sicut ex hebræo in latinum eloquium, presbytero Hiero­ nymo utriusque linguæ perito interpretante, translata sunt. Cum igitnr argueret impios, superbos, luxu­ riosos, et fraternae ideo negligentissimos charitatis, rusticus vel ex rustico iste propbola exclamavit, di­ cens: Vat qui opulenti estis in Sion, et confiditis in monte Samuriæ, optimates capita populorum, ingredien­ tes pompatice domum Israel! Transite Jn Chalanne, et videte, et ite inde in Emath magnam, et descendite in Geth Palæstinorum, et ad optima quaque regna horum, si latior terminus eorum termino vestro esi. Qui seva­ rati estis in dieu, malum, et appropinquatis solio iniqui­ tatis. Qui dormitis in lectis eburneis, et lascivitis, in stra­ tis vestris: qui comeditis agnum de grege, et vitulos de medio armenti: qui canitis ad vocem Psalterii. Sicut David putaverunt se habere vasa cantici, bibentes in phia­ lis vinum, et optimo unguento delibuti: et nihil patie­ bantur super contritione Joseph (Amos VI,.6). Num­ quidnam isti, qui Prophetas nostros tanqunm inerudi­ tus et elocutionis ignaros veluti docti disertique con­ temnunt, si aliquid eis tale vel in tales dicendum fuisset, aliter se voluissent dicere, qui tamen eorum insanire noluissent? Quid enim est quod isto eloquio aures sobriæ plus desidcrent? Primo ipsa invectio, quasi sopitis sensibus ut evigilarent, quo fremitu illisa est? Væ qui opulenti estis in Sion, et confiditis in monte Samariae, optimates capita populorum, ingredientes pompatice. domum Israel! Dein­ de ut beneficiis Dei, qui eis ampla spatia regni dedit, ostendat ingratos, quoniam confidebant in monte Sama­ riæ, ubi utique idola colebantur, Transite, inquit, in Cha­ lanne, et videte, et ite inde in Emath magnam, et descendite in Geth Palæstinorum, et ad optima quæque regna horum, si latior terminus eorum termino vestro est. Simul eliam cum ista dicuntur, locorum nominibus tanquam lumi­ nibus ornatur eloquium, quae sunt Sion, Samaria, Chalanne, Emath magna, et Geth Pulæstinorum. De­ inde verba quae bis adjunguntur locis, decentissime variantur: Opulenti estis, confiditis, transite, ite, de­ scendite. Consequenter denuntiatur fntura sub iniquo rego appropinquare captivitas, cum adjungitur, Qui sepa­ rati estis in diem malum, et appropinquatis solio ini­ quitatis. Tunc subjiciuntur merita luxuria?, Qui dormi­ tis in lectis eburneis, et lascivitis in stratis vestris: qui. comeditis agnum da grege, et vitulos de medio armenti. Ista sex membra tres bimembres circuitus ediderunt. Non cnitn ait, Qui separati estis in diem malum, qui appropinquatis solio iniquitatis, qui dormitis in lectis eburneis, qui lascivitis in stratis vestris, qui comedi­ tis agnum de grege, et vitulos de medio armenti; si ita diceretur, esset quidem et boc pulchrum, ut ab uno pronomine repetito singula sex membra decurre­ rent, et pronuntiantis voce singula finirentur: sed pulchrius factum est, ut eidem pronomini essent bina subnexa, quae tres sententias explicarent; unam ad captivitatis prænuntiationem, Qui separati estis indiam malum, et appropinquatis sotio iniquitatis; alteram ad libidinem, Qui dormitis in lectis ebarneis, et lascivitis in stratis vestris; ad vorackatcm vero tertiam perti­ nentem, Qui comeditis agnum de grege, et vitulos de medio armenti: ut in potestate sit pronuntiantis, utram singula finiat, et membra sintsex, an primum et tertium et quintum voce suspendat, et secundum pri­ mo, quartum tertio, sextum quinto connectendo, tres bimembres circuitus decentissime faciat; unam qno ealamitas imminens, alterum quo lectus impuras, ter­ tium quo prodiga mensa monstretur. Deinde luxuriosam remordet aurium volupla­ tein. Ubi cum dixisset, Qni canitis advocem psalterii, quoniam potest exerceri sapienter a sapientibus mu­ sica, mirabili decore dicendi, invectionis impetu re­ laxato, et non ad illos, sed de illis jam loquens, ut nos musicam sapientis a musica luxuriantis distinguere commoneret, non ait, Qui canitis ad vocem psalterii, et sicut David putatis vos habere vasa cantici: sed cum illud ad illos dixisset, quod luxuriosi audire de­ berent, Qui canitis ad vocem psalterii, imperitiam quo­ que eorum aliis quodammodo indicavit, adjungens, Sic. ut David putaverunt se habere vasa cantici, bibentes in phialis vinum, et optimo unguento delibuti. Tria haec melius pronuntiantur, si suspensis duobus prioribus membris circuitus, tertio finiantur. Jam vero quod his omnibus adjicitur, Et nihil patiebantur super contritione Joseph, sive continuatim dicatur ut unum sit membrum, sive decentius suspendatur, et nihil patiebantur, et post hanc dis­ tinctionem inferatur, super contritione Joseph, atque sit bimembris circuitus; miro decore non dictum est, Nihilpatiebaniur super contritione fratris, sed positus est pro fratre, Joseph, ut quicumque frater proprio significarctur ejus nomine, cujus ex fratribus fama praeclara est, vel in malis quae pendit, vel in bonis quæ rependit. Iste certe tropus ubi Joseph quemcum­ que fratrem tacit intelligi, nescio utrum illa quam di­ dicimus et docuimus, arte tradatur. Quam sit tamen pulcher, et quemadmodum afficial legentes atque in­ telliHentes, non opus est cuiquam dici, si ipse non senlit. Et plura quidem, qnac pertinent ad praecepta eloquentiæ, in hoc ipso loco, quem pro exemplo po­ suimus, possunt reperiri. Sed bonum auditorem, non tam si diligenter discutiatur, instruit, quam si arden­ ter pronuntietur, accendit. Neque enim hæc humana industria composita, sed divina mente sunt fusa et sa­ pienter et eloquenter; non intenta in eloquentiam sa­ pienlia, sed a sapientia non recedente eloquentia. Si enim, sicut quidam disertissimi atque acutissimi viri videre ac dicere potuerunt, ea quae velat oratoria arto discuntur, non observarentur et notarentur, et in hanc doctrinam non redigerentur, nisi prius in oratorum invenirentur ingeniis; quid mirum si et in istis inve­ niuntur, quos ille misit qui facit ingenia? Quapro­ pter et cloquentes quidem, non solum sapientes, canonicos nostros auctores doctoresque fateamur, tali eloquentia1, qualis personis ejusmodi congruebat. ### English translation (Claude) For who does not see what the Apostle meant to say, and how wisely he said it: “We glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation works patience, and patience proof, and proof hope; and hope does not put to shame, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us”? If anyone, so to speak, unskillfully skilled, were to contend here that the Apostle had followed the rules of the art of eloquence, would he not be laughed at by Christians learned and unlearned? And yet here is recognized the figure which is called κλῖμαξ in Greek, and in Latin by some gradatio, since they did not wish to call it scala (“ladder”), when words or ideas are connected one from another; as here we see patience connected from tribulation, proof from patience, hope from proof. Another ornament is also recognized: after some phrases, each finished by the tone of the voice, which we call members and clauses, and the Greeks κῶλα and κόμματα, there follows a rounded sentence or circuit, which they call περίοδος, whose members are held in suspense by the speaker's voice until it is finished by the last. For of those which precede the circuit, the first member is “because tribulation works patience”; the second, “and patience proof”; the third, “and proof hope.” Then the circuit itself is added, which is completed in three members, of which the first is “and hope does not put to shame”; the second, “because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts”; the third, “by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” These and similar things are taught in the art of style. Just as we do not say that the Apostle followed the rules of eloquence, so we do not deny that eloquence followed his wisdom. Writing to the Corinthians in the second letter, he refutes certain false apostles from among the Jews, who were disparaging him; and since he is compelled to commend himself, ascribing this to himself as a kind of folly, how wisely he speaks, and how eloquently! But as the companion of wisdom and the leader of eloquence, following the one, going before the other, and not rejecting it as it follows. “I say again,” he says, “let no one think me foolish; otherwise, receive me as foolish, that I too may glory a little. What I speak, I do not speak according to God, but as it were in foolishness, in this confidence of glorying. Since many glory according to the flesh, I too will glory. For you gladly bear with the foolish, since you yourselves are wise. For you bear it if someone brings you into slavery, if someone devours you, if someone takes from you, if someone exalts himself, if someone strikes you in the face. I speak as to dishonor, as though we had been weak. But in whatever anyone dares (I speak in foolishness), I dare too. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I. Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more. In labors more abundantly, in prisons more abundantly, in stripes above measure, in deaths often. From the Jews five times I received forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I suffered shipwreck; a night and a day I was in the depth of the sea; in journeys often, in perils of rivers, in perils of robbers, in perils from my own race, in perils from the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brothers; in labor and hardship, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness: besides those things that are without, the daily pressure upon me, the care of all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn? If I must glory, I will glory in the things that concern my weakness.” How much wisdom there is in these words, those who are awake see. But with how great a river of eloquence they flow, even one who is snoring notices. Further, one who knows recognizes that those clauses which the Greeks call κόμματα, and the members, and the circuits, of which I spoke a little before, being interspersed with most fitting variety, have made the whole form of this discourse, and as it were its face, by which even the unlearned are delighted and moved. For from where we began to insert this passage, there are circuits: the first is the smallest, that is, of two members; for circuits cannot have fewer than two members, though they can have more: so the first is, “I say again, let no one think me foolish.” Another follows of three members: “Otherwise, receive me as foolish, that I too may glory a little.” The third, which follows, has four members: “What I speak, I do not speak according to God, but as it were in foolishness, in this confidence of glorying.” The fourth has two: “Since many glory according to the flesh, I too will glory.” And the fifth has two: “For you gladly bear with the foolish, since you yourselves are wise.” The sixth too is of two members: “For you bear it if someone brings you into slavery.” Three clauses follow: “If someone devours you, if someone takes from you, if someone exalts himself.” Then three members: “If someone strikes you in the face, I speak as to dishonor, as though we had been weak.” A circuit of three members is added: “But in whatever anyone dares (I speak in foolishness), I dare too.” From here, single clauses being put as questions, single clauses are likewise given in answer, three to three: “Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I.” But when a fourth clause is put with a similar question, he answers not with another clause but with a member set against it: “Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more.” Then the four following clauses pour out, the questioning being most fittingly dropped: “In labors more abundantly, in prisons more abundantly, in stripes above measure, in deaths often.” Then a short circuit is interposed, since it is to be marked off by a suspended pronunciation, “From the Jews five times,” so that this is one member, to which the other is joined, “I received forty lashes less one.” From there he returns to clauses, and three are set down: “Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I suffered shipwreck.” A member follows: “A night and a day I was in the depth of the sea.” Then fourteen clauses flow forth with a most fitting rush: “In journeys often, in perils of rivers, in perils of robbers, in perils from my own race, in perils from the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brothers; in labor and hardship, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.” After these he interposes a circuit of three members: “Besides those things that are without, the daily pressure upon me, the care of all the churches.” And to this he adds two members as an inquiry: “Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn?” Finally this whole passage, as if panting, is concluded with a circuit of two members: “If I must glory, I will glory in the things that concern my weakness.” And what beauty and delight there is in the fact that after this rush, a little narrative being interposed, he in some way rests, and causes the hearer to rest, cannot be said enough. For he goes on to say: “The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed forever, knows that I do not lie.” And then he narrates very briefly how he was in danger and how he escaped. It would take long to go through the rest, or to show these things in other places of the holy Scriptures. What if I had also wished to show the figures of speech which are taught in that art, at least in the passages I have mentioned from the Apostle's eloquence? Would not serious men more easily think me excessive than any of the studious think me sufficient? When all these things are taught by masters, they are held of great value, bought at a great price, and sold with great boasting. I fear that I too smell of that boasting while I discuss these things in this way. But an answer had to be given to badly learned men who think our authors are to be despised, not because they do not have, but because they do not show off, the eloquence which these men love too much. But perhaps someone thinks that I have chosen the apostle Paul as if he were our one eloquent writer. For where he says, “Even if I am unskilled in speech, yet not in knowledge,” he seems to have spoken as if conceding it to his detractors, not as if acknowledging it as true by confessing it. But if he had said, “I am indeed unskilled in speech, but not in knowledge,” it could in no way be understood otherwise. Knowledge he plainly did not hesitate to claim, without which he could not be the teacher of the Gentiles. Certainly, if we bring forward anything of his as an example of eloquence, we bring it from those letters which even his detractors, who wished his speech in person to be thought contemptible, admitted to be weighty and strong. I see, then, that I must say something also about the eloquence of the prophets, where many things are veiled by figurative language. The more they seem covered by figurative words, the sweeter they become when they have been opened. But in this place I ought to mention something of such a kind that I am not compelled to expound what was said, but only to commend how it was said. And I shall do this above all from the book of that prophet who says that he was a shepherd or herdsman, and was taken from there by God and sent to prophesy to God's people. Yet not according to the Seventy translators, who, themselves also translating by the divine Spirit, seem to have said some things differently for this reason, that the reader's attention might be more prompted to search out the spiritual sense; hence also some things of theirs are more obscure, because more figurative; but as they have been translated from the Hebrew into the Latin language by the presbyter Jerome, skilled in both languages. When, then, he was rebuking the ungodly, the proud, the luxurious, and therefore the most neglectful of brotherly love, this prophet, a rustic or from rustics, cried out, saying: “Woe to you who are wealthy in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, you nobles, heads of the peoples, who enter the house of Israel with pomp! Pass over to Calneh, and see, and go from there to Hamath the great, and go down to Gath of the Philistines, and to all the best kingdoms of these, if their border is wider than your border. You who are set apart for the evil day, and draw near to the throne of iniquity; who sleep on beds of ivory and wanton on your couches; who eat the lamb from the flock and calves from the midst of the herd; who sing to the sound of the psaltery. Like David they thought they had instruments of song, drinking wine from bowls and anointed with the finest ointment; and they suffered nothing over the affliction of Joseph.” Would those who, as if learned and eloquent, despise our prophets as untaught and ignorant of style, have wished to speak otherwise, if they had had to say something of this kind or to such people, those of them at least who did not wish to rave? For what is there that sober ears could desire more in this eloquence? First, the invective itself, with what a roar is it dashed against them, as if against drowsy senses, to wake them: “Woe to you who are wealthy in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, you nobles, heads of the peoples, who enter the house of Israel with pomp!” Then, to show them ungrateful for the benefits of God, who gave them the wide spaces of a kingdom, since they trusted in the mountain of Samaria, where of course idols were worshiped, he says: “Pass over to Calneh, and see, and go from there to Hamath the great, and go down to Gath of the Philistines, and to all the best kingdoms of these, if their border is wider than your border.” At the same time, while these things are said, the style is adorned with the names of places as with lights: Zion, Samaria, Calneh, Hamath the great, and Gath of the Philistines. Then the words joined to these places are most fittingly varied: “you are wealthy,” “you trust,” “pass over,” “go,” “go down.” Next the captivity to come under a wicked king is announced as approaching, when there is added: “You who are set apart for the evil day, and draw near to the throne of iniquity.” Then the deserts of luxury are added: “Who sleep on beds of ivory and wanton on your couches; who eat the lamb from the flock and calves from the midst of the herd.” These six members have produced three circuits of two members each. For he does not say: “You who are set apart for the evil day, who draw near to the throne of iniquity, who sleep on beds of ivory, who wanton on your couches, who eat the lamb from the flock and calves from the midst of the herd.” If it were said so, this too would be beautiful, that the six members should each run from one repeated pronoun, and each be finished by the speaker's voice; but it has been made more beautiful by having two attached to the same pronoun each time, setting out three ideas: one belonging to the foretelling of captivity, “You who are set apart for the evil day, and draw near to the throne of iniquity”; the second to lust, “Who sleep on beds of ivory and wanton on your couches”; the third to gluttony, “Who eat the lamb from the flock and calves from the midst of the herd.” So it is in the speaker's discretion either to finish each one, so that there are six members, or to suspend the first, third, and fifth with the voice, and, connecting the second to the first, the fourth to the third, and the sixth to the fifth, to make most fittingly three circuits of two members: one showing the impending calamity, the second the impure bed, the third the prodigal table. Then he rebukes the luxurious pleasure of the ears. Here, when he had said, “Who sing to the sound of the psaltery,” since music can be practiced wisely by the wise, with a wonderful grace of speech, relaxing the rush of the invective and speaking no longer to them but about them, so as to remind us to distinguish the music of the wise man from the music of the luxurious, he does not say, “Who sing to the sound of the psaltery, and like David think you have instruments of song”; but when he had said to them what the luxurious ought to hear, “Who sing to the sound of the psaltery,” he also in a way pointed out their lack of skill to others, adding, “Like David they thought they had instruments of song, drinking wine from bowls and anointed with the finest ointment.” These three are better pronounced if the first two members of the circuit are suspended and they are finished with the third. And as for what is added to all these, “And they suffered nothing over the affliction of Joseph,” whether it is said continuously so as to be one member, or more fittingly suspended, “and they suffered nothing,” and after this pause there is added, “over the affliction of Joseph,” so that it is a circuit of two members: with wonderful grace it is not said, “they suffered nothing over the affliction of their brother,” but “Joseph” is put for “brother,” so that any brother is signified by the proper name of the one among the brothers whose fame is renowned, both for the evils he suffered and for the good he returned. Whether this trope, by which “Joseph” makes any brother understood, is taught in that art which we learned and taught, I do not know. But how beautiful it is, and how it affects those who read and understand it, there is no need to tell anyone who does not feel it himself. And more things belonging to the rules of eloquence can be found in this very passage which we have set down as an example. But a good hearer is not so much instructed by its being carefully analyzed as he is set on fire by its being ardently delivered. For these things were not composed by human industry, but poured forth by the divine mind both wisely and eloquently; not wisdom intent on eloquence, but eloquence not departing from wisdom. For if, as certain very eloquent and acute men have been able to see and say, the things that are learned as the art of oratory would not have been observed and noted and reduced to this teaching unless they had first been found in the minds of orators, what wonder if they are found also in these men, whom he sent who makes minds? Therefore let us confess that our canonical authors and teachers are indeed eloquent, not only wise, with such eloquence as befitted persons of that kind. ### Scripture references - Rom 5:3–5: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 11:16–30: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 11:31: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 11:6: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 10:10: allusion, high confidence - Amos 7:14–15: allusion, high confidence - Amos 6:1–6: quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Cicero, De or. 1.32.146 (Cicero): allusion, low confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations from Rom 5:3–5; 2 Cor 11:16–30 and 11:31; 2 Cor 11:6; 2 Cor 10:10; Amos 7:14–15; Amos 6:1–6 (in Jerome's translation from the Hebrew, which Augustine here prefers for this example while affirming that the Septuagint too translated by the divine Spirit). Greek rhetorical terms: κλῖμαξ (climax), κῶλα and κόμματα (members and clauses), περίοδος (period). The view that the rules of oratory were drawn from the practice of orators is Cicero's (De oratore 1.32.146). An editorial caption and paragraph number at the start, and some garbled Greek words, are corrected by logged corrections. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 4.7 (PL 34:80–82; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-6/#p-4-7). ## On Christian Doctrine 4.8 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-6/#p-4-8 - Source: PL 34:82–83 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Preachers should not imitate Scripture's purposeful obscurity but strive above all to be understood. ### Latin text Sed nos etsi de litteris eorum, quae sine diffi­ cukate intelliguntur nonnulla sumimus elocutionis exempla; nequaquam tamen putare debemus imitan­ dos eos nobis essein iis quæ ad exercendas et eliman­ das quodammodo mentes legentium, et ad rumpenda fastidia atque acuenda studia discere volentium, ce­ landos I quoque, sive ut ad pietatem convertaMur, sive ut a mysteriis secludantur, animos impiorum, utili ac salubri obscuritate dixerunt. Sic quippe ilii lo­ cuti sunt, ut posteriores qui cos recte intelligerent et exponerent, alteram gratiam, disparem quidem, ve­ rumtamen subsequentem in Dei Ecclesia reperirent. Non ergo expositores eorum ita loqui debent, tanquam se ipsi exponendos simili auctoritate proponant; sed in omnibus sermonibus suis primitus ac maxime ut intelligantur elaborent, ea quantum possunt perspi­ cuitate dicendi, ut aut multum tardus sit qui non in-. telligat, aut in rerum quas explicare atque ostendere volumus diflicultate ac subtilitate, non in nostra lo­ cutione sit causa quo minus tardiusve quod dicimus possit intelligi. ### English translation (Claude) But even if we take some examples of style from those of their writings which are understood without difficulty, we ought by no means to think that we should imitate them in those things which they said with a useful and wholesome obscurity, to exercise and in a way polish the minds of readers, to break down boredom and sharpen the zeal of those who wish to learn, and also to conceal them from the minds of the ungodly, whether so that these may be converted to piety or shut out from the mysteries. For they spoke in such a way that those who came after and understood and expounded them rightly might find another grace in the Church of God, unequal indeed, yet following upon theirs. Their expositors, then, ought not to speak as though they were putting themselves forward to be expounded with similar authority; but in all their discourses they should labor first and foremost to be understood, speaking with such clearness as they can, so that either the one who does not understand is very slow, or the reason why what we say is understood less or more slowly lies in the difficulty and subtlety of the things we wish to explain and show, not in our manner of speaking. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 4.8 (PL 34:82–83; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-6/#p-4-8). ## On Christian Doctrine 4.9 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-6/#p-4-9 - Source: PL 34:83 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Very difficult matters should rarely be preached to the people, but in books and conversations the teacher should explain them clearly to willing learners. ### Latin text Sunt enim quaedam quæ vi sua non intelliguu­ tur, aut vix intelliguntur, quantolibet et quantumlibet, quamvis planissime, dicentis versentur eloquio; quae in populi audientiam, vel raro, si aliquid urget, vel nunquam omnino mittenda sunt. In libris autem, qui ita scribuntur ut ipsi sibi quodammodo lectorem te­ neant cum intelliguntur,cum autem non intefligun­ tur molesti non sint molentibus legere, et in aliquorum collocutionibus t, non est boc officium deserendum, ut vera; quamvis difficillima ad intelligendum, quae ipsi jam percepimus, cnm quantocumque labore disputa­ tionis ad aliorum inteiligentiam perducamus, si tcuet auditorem vel colloculorem discendi cupiditas, nee mentis capacitas desit, quæ quoquo modo intimata possit accipere; non curante illo qui docet, quanta eloquentia doceat, sed quanta evidentia. ### English translation (Claude) For there are some things which by their nature are not understood, or are scarcely understood, however much and however plainly they are turned over in the speech of the speaker; these should be put before a popular audience rarely, if something urges it, or never at all. But in books, which are written in such a way that they in a sense hold the reader to themselves when they are understood, and when they are not understood are not troublesome to those unwilling to read them, and in conversations with individuals, this duty must not be abandoned: to bring true things, however difficult to understand, which we have already grasped ourselves, to the understanding of others with whatever labor of argument, if the desire to learn holds the hearer or the person conversing with us, and capacity of mind is not lacking to receive what is conveyed in whatever way; the teacher caring not with how much eloquence he teaches, but with how much clarity. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 4.9 (PL 34:83; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-6/#p-4-9). ## On Christian Doctrine 4.10 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-6/#p-4-10 - Source: PL 34:83 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The teacher should seek clarity above polish, using even popular forms like ossum if needed, and in preaching should watch the congregation and move on once they understand. ### Latin text Cujus evidentiæ diligens appetitus aliquando negligit verba cultiora, nec curat quid bene sonet, sed quid bene indicet atque intimet quod ostenderc in­ tendit. Unde ait quidam, cum de tali genere locutionis ageret, esse in en quamdam diligentem negligentiam (Cicero, in Oralore). Hæc tamen sic detrahit ornatum, ut sordes non contrahat. Quamvis in bonis doctoribus tanta docendi cura sit, vel esse debeat, ut verbum quod nisi obscurum sit vel ambiguum, latinum esse non potest, vulgi autem more sic dicitur ut ambiguitas obscuritasque vitetur, nou sic dicatur ut a doctis, sed potius ut ab indoctis dici solet. Si enim non piguit dicere interpretes nostros, Non congregabo conventi­ cula eorum de sanguinibus, quoniam sen­ serunt ad rem pertinere, ut eo loco pluraliter enun­ tiaretur hoc nomen, quod in latina lingua tantum­ modo singulariter dicitur; cur pietatis doctorem pi­ geat imperitis loquentem, ossum potius quam os di­ cere, ne ista syllaba non ab eo quod sunt ossa, sed ab eo quod sunt ora intelligatur, ubi Afrae aures de correptione vocalim vel productione non judicant? Quid enim prodest locutionis integritas, quam non sequitur intellectus audientis, cum loquendi omnino nulla sit causa, si quod loquimur non intelligunt, propter quos ut intelligant loquimur? Qui ergo docet, vitabit omnia verba quæ non docent; et si pro eis alia integra, quae intelligantur, potest dicere, id magis eliget: si autem non potest, sive quia non sunt. sive quia in præsentia non occurrunt, utetur etiam verbis mimis integris, dum tamen res ipsa doceatur atque discatur integre. Et hoc quidem non solum in collocutionibus, sive fiant cum aliquo uno, sive cum pluribus; verum etiam multo magis in populis quando sermo promitur, ut intelligamur instandum est. Quia in collocutionibus est cuique interrogandi potestas: ubi autem omnes tacent ut audiatur unus, et in eum intenta ora conver- Unu, ibi ut requirat quisque quod non intellexerit, nec moris est ncc decoris; ac per hoc debet maxime tacenti subvenire cura dicentis. Solet autem motu suo significare utrum intellexerit cognoscendi avida mul­ titudo: quod donce significet, versandum est quod agitur, multimoda varietate dicendi; quod in potestate non habent, qui præparata ct ad verbum memoriter retenta pronuntiant. Mox autem ut intellectum esse constiterit, aut sermo finiendus, aut in alia transeun­ dum est. Sicut enim gratus est qui cognoscenda enu­ bilat; sic onerosus est qui cognita inculcat, cis dun. taxat quorum tota exspectatio in dissolvenda eorum, quæ panduntur, difficultate pendebat. Nam delectandi gratia etiam nota dicuntur; ubi non ipsa, sed modus quo dicuntur attenditur. Quod si et ipse jam notus est, atque auditoribus placet, pene nihil interest utrum is qui dicit, dictor vel lector sit. Solent enim et ea quae commode scripta sunt, non solum ab iis quibus pri­ mitus innotescunt, jucunde legi; verum ab iis etiam quibus jam nota sunt, neque adhuc illa de memoria delevit oblivio, non sine jucunditate relegi, vel ab utrisque libenter audiri. Quæ autem quisque jam obli­ tus est, cuin commonetur, docctur. Sed de modo de­ lectandi nunc non ago; de modo quo docendi sunt qui discere desidcrant, loquor. Is autem estoptimus, quo fit ut qui audit, verum audiat, et quod audit intelli­ gat. Ad qucin finem cum ventum fuerit, nihil tunc amplius de ipsa rc tanquam diutius docenda laboran­ dum est, sed forte de commendanda ut in corde figa­ tur: quod si faciendum videbitur, ita modeste facleu­ dum est, ne perveniatur ad tædium. ### English translation (Claude) An earnest desire for this clarity sometimes neglects more polished words, and does not care what sounds well but what indicates and conveys well what it intends to show. Hence someone, when he was treating of this kind of speech, said that there is in it a kind of careful carelessness. Yet this removes ornament in such a way as not to contract dirt. Although in good teachers there is, or ought to be, so great a concern for teaching that a word which cannot be correct Latin without being obscure or ambiguous, but is said in the popular way so that ambiguity and obscurity are avoided, should be said not as the learned say it, but rather as the unlearned are accustomed to say it. For if our translators were not ashamed to say, “I will not gather their assemblies from bloods,” because they felt it pertained to the matter that this noun, which in Latin is used only in the singular, should be expressed in the plural in that place, why should a teacher of piety, speaking to the unlearned, be ashamed to say ossum rather than os (“bone”), lest that syllable be understood not as the singular of ossa (“bones”) but of ora (“mouths”), since African ears do not judge the shortening or lengthening of vowels? For what does correctness of speech profit if the hearer's understanding does not follow it, since there is no reason at all for speaking if those for whose understanding we speak do not understand what we say? One who teaches, then, will avoid all words that do not teach; and if instead of them he can say other correct ones that are understood, he will choose that rather; but if he cannot, either because there are none or because they do not occur to him at the moment, he will use even less correct words, provided that the thing itself is taught and learned correctly. And this applies not only to conversations, whether held with one person or with several; but much more, when a sermon is delivered to the people, we must press to be understood. For in conversations everyone has the power of asking questions; but where all are silent so that one may be heard, and turn their attentive faces toward him, there it is neither the custom nor fitting for each to ask about what he has not understood; and so the care of the speaker ought most of all to come to the help of the silent listener. A crowd eager to learn usually shows by its movement whether it has understood; until it shows this, what is being discussed must be turned over with many kinds of variety in speaking; which is not in the power of those who deliver what they have prepared and memorized word for word. But as soon as it is clear that it has been understood, either the sermon should be ended or one should pass on to other things. For just as one who clears up what is to be known is welcome, so one who drives home what is known is burdensome, at least to those whose whole expectation hung on the resolving of the difficulty of what was being opened up. For known things are also said for the sake of delight, where not the things themselves but the manner in which they are said is attended to. And if that too is already known and pleases the hearers, it makes almost no difference whether the one who speaks is a speaker or a reader. For things that have been aptly written are usually read with pleasure not only by those to whom they first become known, but are also reread not without pleasure by those to whom they are already known and have not yet been erased from memory by forgetfulness, or heard gladly by both. And what anyone has already forgotten, he is taught when he is reminded of it. But I am not now treating of the manner of delighting; I am speaking of the manner in which those who desire to learn are to be taught. That manner is best by which the hearer hears the truth and understands what he hears. When this end has been reached, no more labor should be spent on the matter itself as if it needed further teaching, but perhaps on commending it so that it may be fixed in the heart; and if this seems necessary, it must be done with such moderation as not to reach the point of tedium. ### Scripture references - Ps 16:4 (15:4 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Cicero, Orat. 23.78 (Cicero): allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - The “careful carelessness” is Cicero, Orator 23.78. The quotation “I will not gather …” is Ps 16:4 (15:4 LXX/Vulg.), where the Latin plural sanguinibus (“bloods”) follows the Greek. On os and ossum compare 3.3 above. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 4.10 (PL 34:83; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-6/#p-4-10). ## On Christian Doctrine 4.11 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-6/#p-4-11 - Source: PL 34:83–84 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Teaching eloquence makes the hidden clear; good minds love truth more than words, though, as with food, truth must often be seasoned for most people. ### Latin text Prorsus hæc cst in docendo cloquentia, qua fit dicendo, non ut libeat quod horrebat, aui ut fiat quod pigebat, sed ut appareat quod latebat. Quod tamen si fiat insuaviter,. ad paucos quidem studiosissimos suus pervenit fructus, qui ea quæ discenda sunt, quamvis abjecte inculleque dicantur, scire desiderant. Quod cum adepti fuerint, ipsa delectabiliter veritate pa­ scuntur: bonorumque ingeniornm insignisest indoles, in verbis verum amare, non verba. Quid enim pro­ dest clavis aurea, si aperire quod volumus non po­ test? Aut quid obest lignca, si hoc potest? quando nihil quærimus nisi patere quod clausum est. Sed quoniam inter se habent nonnullam similitudinem ve­ scentes atque discentes, propter fastidia plurimorum, etiam ipsa sine quibus vivi non potest, alimenta con­ dieuda sant. ### English translation (Claude) In teaching, this is precisely the eloquence by which speaking brings it about, not that what was repugnant becomes pleasing, or that what was disliked is done, but that what was hidden becomes clear. Yet if this is done without charm, its fruit reaches only a few very studious people, who desire to know what is to be learned, however humbly and roughly it is said. When they have obtained it, they feed with delight on the truth itself; and it is the mark of good minds to love the truth in the words, not the words. For what use is a golden key if it cannot open what we want? Or what harm is a wooden one if it can, since we seek nothing but that what is shut should be opened? But since those who eat and those who learn have some likeness to one another, because of the fastidiousness of most people even the foods without which one cannot live must be seasoned. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 4.11 (PL 34:83–84; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-6/#p-4-11). ## On Christian Doctrine 4.12 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-6/#p-4-12 - Source: PL 34:84 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Following Cicero, the speaker should teach, delight, and move; teaching is necessary, delighting attractive, and moving decisive for action. ### Latin text Dixit ergo quidam eloquens, et verum dixit, ila dicere debere eloquentem, ut doceat, ut delectet, ut flectat. Deinde addidit: Docere necessitatis est, dele­ dare suavitatis, flectere victoriae (Cicero, de Oratore). Horum trium quod primo loco positum est, hoc est docendi necessitas, in rebus est constituta quas dici­ mus; reliqua duo, in modo quo dicimus. Qui ergo di­ cit cum docere vult, quamdiu non intelligitur, non­ dum se existimet dixisse quod vult ei quem vult do­ eere. Quia etsi dixit quod ipse intelligit, nondum illi dixisse putandus est, a quo intellectus non est: si vero intellectus est, quocumque modo dixerit, dixit. Quod si etiam delectare vult eum cui dicit, aut fle­ ctere, non quocumque modo dixerit, faciet; sed in­ terest quomodo dicat, ut faciat. Sicut est autem, ut teneatur ad audiendum, delectandus auditor; ita fle­ dendus, ut moveatur ad agendum. Et sicut delecta­ lar, si suaviter loquaris; ita flectitur, si amet quod polliceris, timeat quod minaris, oderit quod arguis, quod commendas amplectatur, quod dolendum exag­ geras doleat; cum quid lætandum prædicas gaudeat, misereatur corum quos miserandos ante oculos di­ tendo constituis, fugiat eos quos cavendos terrendo proponis; et quidquid aliud grandi eloquentia fieri potest ad commovendos animos auditorum, non quid agendum sit ut sciant, sed ut agant quod ageuduin esse jam sciant. Si autem adhuc nesciunt, prius utique docendi sunt quam movendi. Et fortassc rebus ipsis cognitis ita movebuntur, ut cos non opus sit majoribus elo­ quentiae viribus jam moveri. Quod tamen cum opus est, faciendum est: tunc autem opus est, quando cum scierint quid agendum sit, non agunt. Ac per boc do­ cere necessitatis es!. Possunt enim homines et agere et non agere quod sciunt. Quis autem dixerit eos agere debere quod nesciunt? Et ideo flectere necessitatis non est, quia non semper opus est, si tantum docenti vel etiam delectanti consentit auditor. Ideo autem victo­ riæ est flectere, quia fieri potest ut doceatur et dele­ ctetur, et non assentiatur. Quid amem illa duo prod­ erunt, si desit hoc tertium? Sed neque delectare ne­ cessitatis est: quandoquidem cum dicendo vera moustrantur, quod ad officium docendi pertinet, non elo­ quio agitur, neqne boc attenditur, ut vel ipsa vel ip­ sum delectat eloquium, sed per scipsa, quoniam vera sunt, manifestata delectant. Unde plerumque dele­ etant etiam faisa patefacta atqne convicta. Neque enim delectant, quia falsa sunt; sed quia falsa esse verum est, delectat et dictio qua boc verum esse monstra­ tum est. ### English translation (Claude) A certain eloquent man, then, said, and said truly, that the eloquent man ought to speak so as to teach, to delight, and to move. Then he added: “To teach is a matter of necessity, to delight of charm, to move of victory.” Of these three, the one put first, the necessity of teaching, lies in the things we say; the other two in the manner in which we say them. One who speaks when he wishes to teach, then, as long as he is not understood, should not think he has yet said what he wishes to the one he wishes to teach. For even if he has said what he himself understands, he is not to be thought to have said it yet to the one by whom it has not been understood; but if he has been understood, in whatever way he has said it, he has said it. But if he also wishes to delight or to move the one to whom he speaks, he will not do it in whatever way he speaks; but how he speaks matters for doing it. And just as the hearer must be delighted in order to be held to listening, so he must be moved in order to be stirred to action. And just as he is delighted if you speak with charm, so he is moved if he loves what you promise, fears what you threaten, hates what you condemn, embraces what you commend, grieves over what you magnify as grievous; when you proclaim something to be rejoiced over, he rejoices; he pities those whom by speaking you set before his eyes as pitiable; he flees those whom by terrifying you hold up as to be avoided; and whatever else can be done by grand eloquence to move the minds of hearers, not so that they may know what is to be done, but so that they may do what they already know is to be done. But if they do not yet know, they must certainly be taught before they are moved. And perhaps, when the things themselves are known, they will be so moved that there is no need to move them by greater powers of eloquence. Yet when there is need, it must be done; and there is need when they know what is to be done and do not do it. And for this reason teaching is a matter of necessity. For people can both do and not do what they know. But who would say that they ought to do what they do not know? And so moving is not a matter of necessity, because it is not always needed, if the hearer assents to one who only teaches, or also delights. But moving is a matter of victory, because it can happen that someone is taught and delighted and does not assent. And what use will those two be, if this third is lacking? But neither is delighting a matter of necessity: for when true things are shown by speaking, which belongs to the duty of teaching, it is not done by eloquence, nor is the aim that either the things or the eloquence itself should delight, but they delight of themselves, because they are true, once they are made manifest. Hence even false things, when exposed and refuted, often delight. For they do not delight because they are false; but because it is true that they are false, the speech by which this has been shown to be true also delights. ### Extrabiblical texts - Cicero, Orat. 21.69 (Cicero): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - The quotation is from Cicero, Orator 21.69 (Migne: De oratore). ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 4.12 (PL 34:84; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-6/#p-4-12). ## On Christian Doctrine 4.13 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-13/#p-4-13 - Source: PL 34:84 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: When urging action, the preacher must not only teach and delight but move his hearers, since understanding and pleasure do not by themselves produce consent. ### Latin text Propter eos autem quibus fastidientibus non placet veritas, si atio quocumque modo, nisi co modo dicatur, ut placeat et sermo dicentis, datus est in eloquentia non parvus etiam delectationi locus. Qu;e tamen addita non suflicit duris, quos nec intellexisse, nec docentis elocutione delectatos esse profuerit. Quid enim haec duo conferunt homini, qui et conlitetur ve­ rum, et collaudat eloquium, nec inclinat assensum, propter quem solum, cum aliquid suadetur, rebus quae dicuntur invigilat dicentis intentio? Si enim talia docentur quoe credere vcl nosse sufficiat, nihil est aliud eis consentire, nisi confiteri vera esse. Cum vero id docetur quod agendum est, et ideo doeetur ut aga­ tur, frustra persuadetur verum esse quod dicitur, frustra placet modut ipse quo dicitur, si non ita discitur ut agatur. Oportet igitur eloquentem eccle­ siasticum, quando suadct aliquid quod agendum est, non solum ducere ut instruat, et delectare ut teneat, verum etiam flectere ut vincat. Ipse quippe jam re­ manet ad consensionem flectendus eloquentiae grandi­ tate, in quo id non egit usque ad ejus confessionem demonstrata veritas, adjuncta etiam sua vitate dictionis. ### English translation (Claude) But for the sake of those who are fastidious and are not pleased by truth if it is said in any other way than such that the speaker's discourse also pleases, no small place has been given in eloquence to delight as well. Yet when it is added, it is not enough for the hard-hearted, whom it has profited nothing to have understood or to have been delighted by the teacher's style. For what do these two things bestow on a person who both confesses what is true and praises the eloquence, yet does not bend his assent, for the sake of which alone the speaker's attention is fixed on the things said when he urges something? For if such things are taught as it is enough to believe or know, to agree with them is nothing else than to confess that they are true. But when what is to be done is taught, and is taught so that it may be done, it is in vain that a person is persuaded that what is said is true, in vain that the very manner in which it is said pleases, if it is not so learned that it is done. The eloquent churchman, then, when he urges something that is to be done, must not only teach so as to instruct and delight so as to hold, but also move so as to win. For there remains to be moved to consent by the grandeur of eloquence the one in whom the truth, demonstrated to the point of his confessing it, even with the addition of charm of style, has not done so. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 4.13 (PL 34:84; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-13/#p-4-13). ## On Christian Doctrine 4.14 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-13/#p-4-14 - Source: PL 34:84–85 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Charm must not make the Church applaud falsehood, as Jeremiah warns; excessive ornament displeases serious hearers, as Cyprian's early style, which he later abandoned, shows. ### Latin text Cui suavitati tantum operæ impensum est ab bominibus, ut non solum non facienda, verum etiam fugienda ac detestanda tot et tanta mala atque tur­ pia, quæ malis et turpibus disertissime persuasa sunt, non ut eis consentiatur, sed sola delectationis gratia, lectitentur. Avertat autem Deus ab Ecclesia sua quod de synagoga Judæorum Jeremias propheta comme­ morat dicens: Pavor et horrenda facta sunt super ter­ rain: Prophetœ prophetabant iniqua, et sacerdotes plan­ sum dederunt manibus suis, et plebs mea dilexit sic. Et quid facietis in futurum? 0 eloquen­ tia tanto terribilior, quanto purior; et quanto soli­ dior, tanto vehementior! 0 vere sccuris concidens petras I huic enim rei simile esse verbum sirIm, quod per sanctos Prophetas fecit, per hunc ipsum prophe­ tam Deus ipse dixit. Absit itaque, absit a nobis, ut sacerdotes plaudant iniqua dicentibus, et plebs Dei diligat sic. Absit a nobis, inquam, tanta dementia: nam quid faciemus in futurum? Et certe mi­ nus intelligantur, minus placeant, minus moveant quæ dicuntur; verumtamen dicantur; et justa 1, non iniqua libenter audiantur: quod utique non neret, nisi suaviter diceremur. In populo autem gravi, de quo dictum est Deo, In populo gravi laudabo te, nec illa suavitas dcleclabilis est, qua non quidem iniclua di­ cuntur, sed exigua et fragilia bona spumeo verborum ambitu ornantur, quali nec magna atque stabilia de­ center et graviter ornarentur. Est tale aliquid in epistola beatissimi Cypriani, quod ideo puto vel acci­ disse, vel consulto factum esse, ut sciretur a poste­ ris, quam linguam doctrinae christianae sanitas ab ista redundantia revocaverit, et ad eJoqnentiam graviorem modestioremque restrinxerit; qualis in ejus conse­ m entibus litteris secure amatur, religiose appetitur, sed difficillime impletur. Ait ergo quodam loco: Petamus hanc sedem: dant secessum vicina secreta; ubi dum erratici palmitum lapsus pendulis nexibus per arundines bajulas repunt, viteam porticum frondea te­ cta fecerunt (Cypr., Epist. i ad Donatum). Non di­ cuntur ista Bisi mirabiliter affuentissima fecundi­ late facundiæ, sed profusione uUnia gravitati displi­ cent. Qui vero hæc amant, profecto eos qui non ita dicunt, sed castigatius eloquuntur, non posse ita elo­ qui existimant, non judicio ista devitare. Quapropter iste vir sanctus et posse se ostendit sic dicere, quia dixit alicubi, et nolle, quoniam postmodum nus­ quam. ### English translation (Claude) So much effort has been spent by people on this charm that not only things not to be done, but even so many great evils and shameful things to be fled and abhorred, which have been most eloquently urged by evil and shameful men, are read over and over, not in order to agree with them, but only for the sake of delight. But may God keep from his Church what the prophet Jeremiah records of the synagogue of the Jews, saying: “Fear and horrible things have come to pass in the land: the prophets prophesied iniquity, and the priests clapped their hands, and my people loved it so. And what will you do in the time to come?” O eloquence, the more terrible the purer it is, and the more vehement the more solid! O truly an axe cutting rocks! For God himself said through this same prophet that his word, which he made through the holy prophets, is like this. Far be it, then, far be it from us that priests should applaud those who speak iniquity, and that the people of God should love it so. Far from us, I say, be such madness; for what shall we do in the time to come? And certainly let what is said be less understood, less pleasing, less moving; yet let it be said; and let just things, not iniquitous ones, be gladly heard. And this certainly would not happen unless they were said with charm. But among a serious people, of whom it was said to God, “Among a serious people I will praise you,” not even that charm is delightful by which iniquitous things are not indeed said, but small and fragile goods are adorned with a frothy circuit of words, such as would not fittingly and seriously adorn even great and stable goods. There is something of this kind in a letter of the most blessed Cyprian, which I think either happened, or was done on purpose, so that posterity might know how the soundness of Christian teaching called his tongue back from that excess and restrained it to a weightier and more modest eloquence, such as is safely loved, devoutly sought, but with great difficulty achieved in his later writings. He says, then, in one place: “Let us seek this seat; the neighboring retreats give seclusion, where, while the wandering trailings of the vine shoots creep in pendent intertwinings through the supporting reeds, the leafy roofs have made a portico of vines.” These things are said with a wonderfully abundant fertility of fluency, but by their excessive profusion they displease seriousness. But those who love these things surely think that those who do not speak so, but speak in a more chastened way, cannot speak so, not that they avoid it by judgment. Therefore that holy man showed both that he could speak so, because he spoke so somewhere, and that he would not, because he never did so afterwards. ### Scripture references - Jer 5:30–31: quotation, high confidence - Jer 23:29: allusion, high confidence - Ps 35:18 (34:18 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Cyprian, Don. 1 (To Donatus): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations from Jer 5:30–31, Ps 35:18 (34:18 LXX/Vulg.; “serious” renders gravis, Old Latin for “mighty”), and Cyprian, To Donatus 1. The axe cutting rocks: Jer 23:29. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 4.14 (PL 34:84–85; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-13/#p-4-14). ## On Christian Doctrine 4.15 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-13/#p-4-15 - Source: PL 34:85 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The Christian speaker must rely on prayer more than skill, praying before he preaches, while also preparing diligently, trusting the Spirit to speak through him. ### Latin text Agit itaque noster iste eloquens, cum et justa et sancta et bona dicit, neque enim alia debet dicere; agit ergo quantum potest cum ista dicit, ut intelligen­ ter, ut libenter, ut obedienter audiatur: et hæc se posse, si potuerit, et in quantum potuerit, pictate magis orationum, quam oratorum facultate non da­ bilet; ut orando pro se, ac pro illis quos est allocu­ turus, sit orator antequam dictor. Ipsa hora jam ut dicat accedens, priusquam exserat proferentem lin­ guam, ad Deum levet animam sitientem, ut eructet quod biberit, vel quod impleverit fundat. Cum enim de unaquaque re, quæ secunduin tidem dilectioncm­ que 1 tractanda sunt, multa sint quæ dicantur, et multi modi quibus dicantur ab eis qui hæc sciunt; quis novit quid ad praesens tempus, vel uobis dicere, vei per nos expediat audiri, nisi qui corda omnium videt? et quis facit ut quod oportet, et quemadmo­ dum oportet, dicatur a nobis, nisi in cujus manu suut et nos et sermones nostri? Ac per hoc, discat quidem omnia qUID docenda sunt, qui et nosse vult et docere; facultatemque dicendi, ut decet virum ecclesiaticum, comparet: ad boram vero ipsius di­ ctionis, illud potius bonae menti cogitet convenire quod Dominus ait, Nolite cogitare quomodo aut quid loquamini; dabitur enim vobis in illa hora quid loqua­ mini: non enim vos estis qui loquimini, sed Spiritus Patris vestri qui loquitur in vobis. Si ergo loquitur in eis Spiritus sanctus, qui perse­ quentibus traduntur pro Christo, cur non et in eis qui tradunt discentibus Christum? ### English translation (Claude) So this eloquent man of ours, when he says things that are just, holy, and good (for he ought not to say anything else), strives as much as he can, when he says them, to be heard with understanding, with pleasure, and with obedience; and let him not doubt that he is able to do this, if he is able, and to the extent he is able, more by the piety of his prayers than by the skill of orators; so that by praying for himself and for those he is about to address, he is a pray-er before he is a speaker. At the very hour when he comes forward to speak, before he puts forth his tongue to speak, let him lift up his thirsting soul to God, so that he may pour forth what he has drunk and give out what he has been filled with. For since, on each matter that is to be treated according to faith and love, there are many things that could be said and many ways in which they could be said by those who know them, who knows what is expedient for us to say at the present time, or for them to hear through us, except he who sees the hearts of all? And who makes it so that what ought to be said, and in the way it ought, is said by us, except he in whose hand are both we and our words? And therefore let one who wishes both to know and to teach learn all that is to be taught, and acquire the ability to speak, as befits a churchman; but at the hour of speaking itself, let him think rather that what the Lord says befits a good mind: “Do not think how or what you will speak; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to speak; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.” If, then, the Holy Spirit speaks in those who are handed over to persecutors for Christ's sake, why not also in those who hand over Christ to learners? ### Scripture references - Matt 10:19–20: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotation from Matt 10:19–20. The wordplay orator (one who prays) and dictor (speaker) is rendered “pray-er” and “speaker.” ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 4.15 (PL 34:85; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-13/#p-4-15). ## On Christian Doctrine 4.16 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-13/#p-4-16 - Source: PL 34:85 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: That the Spirit makes teachers does not make instruction in teaching unnecessary, as Paul's letters to Timothy and Titus show; human teaching, like medicine, works only when God gives the effect. ### Latin text Quisquis autem dicit non esse hominibos præ­ cipiendum quid, vel quemadmodum doceant, si do­ ctores sanctus efficit Spiritus, pelest dicere nec orandum nobis esse. quia Dominus sit, Scit pater ner. ster quid vobis necessarium sit, prius quam petatis ab eo; aut apostolum Paulum Timotheo et Tito non debuisse præcipere quid, vel quemadmodum praeciperent aliis. Quas tres apostolicas Epistolas ante oculos habere debet, cui est in Ecclesia doctoris persona imposita. Nonne in prima ad Timotheum legitur: Annuntia hæc et doce (I Tim. iv, II)? quæ an­ tem sint, supra dictum est. Norne ili esi: Senierem ne increpaveris, sed obsecra ut patrem? Non­ ne in secunda ei dicitur: Formam habe verborum su­ norum, quæ a me audisti? Nonne ilu ei dicitur: Satis age, teipsum probubilem operarium exhibens Deo, non erubescentem, verbum I eritatis recte tractantem? Ibi est et illud: Prædica verbum, insta opportuue, importune; argue, obsecra, tii­ crepa in omni longanimitute et doctrina (II Tim. IV, i). Itemque ad Titum, nonne dicit episcopum juxta do­ ctrinam fidelis verbi perseverantem esse debere, nt potens sit in doctrina sana et contradicentes redarguere? Ibi etiam dicit: Tu vero loquere quæ decent sanam doctrinam, senes sobrios esse, et quae sequuntur. Ibi et illud: Ilac loquere, et exhortare, et increpa cum omni imperio. Nemo te contemnat. Admone illos principibus et potestutibus subditos esse, etc. Quid ergo putamus? Numquid contra seipsum sentit Apostolus, qui cum dicat do­ clores operatione fieri Spiritus sancti, ipse illis præ­ cipit quid et quemadmodum deceant? An intelligen­ dum est, et hominum officia ipso sancto Spiritu lar­ giente, in docendis etiam ipsis doctoribus non debere cessare; et tamen neque qui plantat esse aliquid, neque qui rigat, sed Dcum qui incrementum dat? Undo ipsis quoqne ministris sanctis ho­ minibus, vel etiam sanctis Angelis operantibus, nems recte discit quæ pertinent ad vivendum cum Deo, nisi fiat a Deo docilis Deo f, cui dicitur in Psalmo: Doce me facere voluntatem tuam, quoniam tu es Deus meus. Unde et ipsi Timotheo idem dicit apostolus, loquens tuique ad discipulum doctor: Tu autem persevera in iia quæ didicisti, et credita sunt tibi, sciens a quo didiceris. Sicut enim corporis medicamenta, qua: hominibus ab hominibus adhibentur, nonnisi eis prosunt quibus Deus operatur salutem, qui et sinc illis mederi potest, cuin Sine ipso illa non possint, et tameu adhibentur; et si boc of­ faciose fiat, inter opera misericordi;c vel beneficentiæ dcputatur: ita et adjumenta doctrinae tunc prosunt animæ adhibita per hominem, cum Deus operatur ut prosint, qui potuit Evangelium dare bomiui, etiam uon ab hominibus, neque per hominem. ### English translation (Claude) But whoever says that people need not be taught what or how to teach, if the Holy Spirit makes teachers, may as well say that we need not pray either, because the Lord says, “Your Father knows what you need before you ask him”; or that the apostle Paul ought not to have instructed Timothy and Titus what or how they should instruct others. These three apostolic letters ought to be kept before the eyes of anyone on whom the role of teacher in the Church has been laid. Is it not read in the first to Timothy: “Proclaim and teach these things”? What these things are was said above. Is it not said there: “Do not rebuke an elder, but entreat him as a father”? Is it not said to him in the second: “Hold the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me”? Is it not said to him there: “Strive to present yourself approved to God, a workman who need not be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth”? There too is this: “Preach the word, be urgent in season, out of season; reprove, entreat, rebuke, with all patience and teaching.” Likewise to Titus, does he not say that a bishop ought to hold fast to the faithful word according to the teaching, so that he may be able both to exhort in sound teaching and to refute those who contradict? There too he says: “But you, speak the things that befit sound teaching: that the old men be sober,” and what follows. There too is this: “Speak these things, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you. Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities,” and so on. What, then, are we to think? Is the Apostle contradicting himself, when, though he says that teachers are made by the working of the Holy Spirit, he himself instructs them what and how they should teach? Or is it to be understood that, though the Holy Spirit himself bestows it, the offices of human beings ought not to cease even in teaching the teachers themselves; and yet that “neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase”? Hence, even when holy men, or even holy angels, work as ministers, no one rightly learns what pertains to living with God unless he is made teachable by God, to whom it is said in the psalm: “Teach me to do your will, for you are my God.” Hence the same apostle says to Timothy himself, speaking as teacher to disciple: “But continue in the things you have learned and that have been entrusted to you, knowing from whom you learned them.” For just as the medicines of the body which are applied by human beings to human beings profit only those to whom God gives health, who can heal even without them, while they cannot without him, and yet they are applied, and if this is done dutifully it is counted among the works of mercy or beneficence; so too the aids of teaching applied to the soul through a human being profit it only when God works so that they profit, who could have given the Gospel to man even not from men nor through man. ### Scripture references - Matt 6:8: quotation, high confidence - 1 Tim 4:11: quotation, high confidence - 1 Tim 5:1: quotation, high confidence - 2 Tim 1:13: quotation, high confidence - 2 Tim 2:15: quotation, high confidence - 2 Tim 4:2: quotation, high confidence - Titus 1:9: allusion, high confidence - Titus 2:1–2: quotation, high confidence - Titus 2:15–3:1: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 3:7: quotation, high confidence - John 6:45: allusion, medium confidence - Ps 143:10 (142:10 LXX): quotation, high confidence - 2 Tim 3:14: quotation, high confidence - Gal 1:1: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations from Matt 6:8; 1 Tim 4:11; 1 Tim 5:1; 2 Tim 1:13; 2 Tim 2:15; 2 Tim 4:2; Titus 1:9; Titus 2:1–2; Titus 2:15–3:1; 1 Cor 3:7; Ps 143:10 (142:10 LXX/Vulg.); 2 Tim 3:14. Teachable by God: John 6:45. Not from men nor through man: Gal 1:1, 11–12. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 4.16 (PL 34:85; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-13/#p-4-16). ## On Christian Doctrine 4.17 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-13/#p-4-17 - Source: PL 34:85–86 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Augustine connects Cicero's three aims of speech, to teach, delight, and move, with the three styles, subdued, temperate, and grand. ### Latin text Qui ergo nititur dicendo persuadere quod bo­ num est, nihil horum trium spernens, ut scilicet do­ ceat, ut delectet, ut flectat; oret atque agat, ut quem­ admodum supra diximus, intelligenter, libenter, obedienterque audiatur. Quod cum apte et convenien­ ter facil, non immerito eloqurns dici potest, etsi non eum sequatur auditoris assensus. Ad haec enim tria, id est ut doceat, ut delectet, ut flectat, eUam tria iila videtur pertinere voluisse idem ipse Romani auctor eloquii, cum itidem dixit, Is igitur erit eloqueus, qui poterit parva submisse, modica temperate, magua granditer dicere (Cicero, de Oratore): tanquam si adderet iila etiam tria, et sic explicaret unam camdemque sententiam dicens, Is erit igitur cioqucns, qui ut do­ ceat, poterit parva submisse; ut delectet, modica temperate; ut flectat, magna granditcr dicere. ### English translation (Claude) One, then, who strives by speaking to persuade of what is good, despising none of these three, that is, to teach, to delight, and to move, should pray and strive, as we said above, to be heard with understanding, with pleasure, and with obedience. When he does this aptly and fittingly, he may not undeservedly be called eloquent, even if the hearer's assent does not follow him. For the same author of Roman eloquence seems to have wished those three other things also to belong to these three, that is, to teach, to delight, to move, when he likewise said: “He, then, will be eloquent who can say small things in a subdued style, moderate things in a temperate style, and great things in a grand style”; as if he were to add those three as well and so explain one and the same idea by saying: “He, then, will be eloquent who, in order to teach, can say small things in a subdued style; in order to delight, moderate things in a temperate style; in order to move, great things in a grand style.” ### Extrabiblical texts - Cicero, Orat. 29.101 (Cicero): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - The quotation is Cicero, Orator 29.101 (Migne: De oratore). ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 4.17 (PL 34:85–86; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-13/#p-4-17). ## On Christian Doctrine 4.18 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-13/#p-4-18 - Source: PL 34:86 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Unlike legal cases, everything in Christian teaching concerns eternal salvation and so is great, even small matters, as Paul's treatment of lawsuits and Christ's cup of cold water show. ### Latin text Hæc autem tria ille, sicut ab eo dicta sunt, in eausis forensibus posset ostendere; non autem hic, hoc est in ecclesiasticis quaestionibus, in quibus hujusinodi, quem volumus informare, sermo versatur. In illis enim ea parva dicuntur, ubi de rebus pecunia­ riis judicandum est; ca magna, ubi de salute ac de capite hominum: ca vero ubi nihil horum judicandmu est, nihilque agitur ut agat sive decernat, sed tantum­ modo ut delecletur auditor, inter utrumque quasi media, et ob hoc modica, hoc est moderata dixerunt. Modicis euim modus nomen imposuit: nam modica pro parvis abusive, non proprie dicimus. In istis au­ tem nostris, quandoquidcm omnia, maxime quæ de loco superiore populis dicimus, ad bominum salutem, nec temporariam, sed suternam rcferre debemus, ubi etiam cavendus est a ternus iuteriLus, omnia magna sunt quae dicimus; usque adeo ut nec de ipsis pecn­ niariis rcbus vel acquirendis vel amittendis parva videri debeant, quæ doctor ecclesiasticus dicit, sive sit illa magna, sive parva pecunia. Ncquc enim parva est justitia, quam profecto et in parva pecunia custodire debemus, dicente Domino: Qui in minimo fidelis est, et in magno fidelis est. Quod ergo minimum est, minimum est; sed in minimo fidelem esse, ina­ gnum est. Nam sicut ratio rotunditatis, id est ut a puncto medio omnes lineæ pares in extrema ducan­ tur, eadem est in magno disco, quæ in nummulo exi­ guo; ita ubi parva juste geruntur, non minuitur justi­ tiæ magnitudo. De judiciis denique saecularibus (quibus ulique nisi pecuniariis? ) cum loqueretur Apostolus: Audet quisquam vestrum, inquit, adversus alterum habens ne­ gotium, judicari ab iniquis, et non apud sanctos? An hescitis quia sancti mundum judicabunt? Et si in vobis judicabitur mundus, indigni estis qui de minimis judice­ tis? Nescitis quia Angelos judicabimus, nedum sæcula­ ria? Sæcularia igitur judicia si habueritis, eoa qui cun­ temptibiles sunt in Ecclesia, hos constituite ad judican­ dum 1. Ad reverentiam vobis dico. Sic non eat inter vos quisquam sapiens, qui possit inter fratrem suum judi­ cere? Sed frater cum fratre judicatur, et hoc apud infideles. Jam quidem omnino delictum est, quia judicia habetis vobiscum. Quare non magis iniquitatem patimini? quare non potius fraudamini? Sed vos iniquitatem facitis, et fraudatis, et hoc fratres2. An nescitsi. quia injusti re­ guum Dei non hæreditabunt ( I Cor. VI, 1-9)? Quid est quod sic indignatur Apostolus, sic corripit, sic expro­ brat, sic increpat, sic minatur? quid est quod sui ani­ aui affectum tam crecbra et tam aspera vocis mutatione testatur? quid est postremo quod de rebus nimmia tam granditer dicit? Tantumne de illo negotia sæcula - ria meruerunt? Absit. Sed hoc facit propter justi­ tiam, charitatem, pietatem, quae, nulla sobria mente dubitante, etiam in rebus quamlibct parvulis magna sunt. Sane si moneremus homines quemadmodum ipsa negotia saecularia vcl pro -se vel pro suis apud ecclesiasticos judices agere deberent, recte admone­ remus ut agerent tanquam parva submisse: cum vero de illius viri disseramus eloquio, quem volumus ea­ rum rerum esse doctorem, quibus liberamur ab æter­ nis malis, atque ad æterna pervenimus bona; ubicum­ que agantur hæc, sivc ad populum sive privatim, sive ad unum sive ad plurcs, sive ad amicos sive ad ini­ micas, sive in perpetua dictione sive in collocutione, sive in tractatibus sive in libris, sive in epistolis vel longissimis vcl brevissimis, magna sunt. Nisi forte quoniam calix aquae frigidæ, res minima atque vilis­ sima est, idco minimum aliquid atque vilissimum Dominu ait, quod eum qui dederit discipulo ejus, non perdet mercedem suam: aut vero quando iste doctor in Eeclesia facit inde sermo­ nc;n, parvum aliquid debet existimare se dicere; et ideo non temperate, non granditer, sed submisse sibi esse dicendum. Nonne quando accidit ut de bac ro loqueremur ad populum, ct Deus adfuit ut non incorgrue diceremus, tanquam lIo illa aqua frigida quæ­ dam flamma surrexit, quæ etiam frigida hominum pectora, ad misericordiæ opera racienda, spe cælestis mercedis accenderet? ### English translation (Claude) He could have shown these three as he stated them in legal cases; but not here, that is, in ecclesiastical questions, with which discourse of the kind we wish to shape is concerned. For in those, the things called small are where money matters are to be judged; great, where people's safety and life are at stake; and those where nothing of this is to be judged, and nothing is done to make the hearer act or decide, but only to delight him, they called intermediate between the two, as it were, and therefore modica, that is, moderate. For modus (“measure”) gave its name to modica: for we use modica for “small” loosely, not properly. But in these matters of ours, since we must refer everything, especially what we say to the people from the higher place, to the salvation of human beings, and not temporal but eternal salvation, where eternal ruin too is to be avoided, everything we say is great; so much so that not even what the church teacher says about money matters themselves, whether gaining or losing it, should seem small, whether the sum is great or small. For justice is not small, which we must certainly keep even with a small sum of money, as the Lord says: “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much.” What is least, then, is least; but to be faithful in what is least is great. For just as the nature of roundness, that is, that all lines drawn from the center to the circumference are equal, is the same in a great disk as in a tiny coin, so where small things are done justly, the greatness of justice is not diminished. Finally, when the Apostle was speaking of secular lawsuits (and what were they about but money?), he says: “Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints? Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Do you not know that we shall judge angels, how much more secular things? If, then, you have secular lawsuits, appoint those who are despised in the Church to judge. I say this to your shame. Is there not among you anyone wise who can judge between his brothers? But brother goes to law with brother, and that before unbelievers. Already it is altogether a fault in you that you have lawsuits with one another. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? But you do wrong and defraud, and that your brothers. Do you not know that the unjust will not inherit the kingdom of God?” Why is the Apostle so indignant, why does he so rebuke, so reproach, so upbraid, so threaten? Why does he testify to the feeling of his mind by such frequent and such harsh changes of voice? Why, finally, does he speak so grandly about such very small matters? Did secular business deserve so much from him? Far from it. But he does this for the sake of justice, love, and piety, which, as no sober mind doubts, are great even in the very smallest matters. Certainly, if we were advising people how they should conduct secular business itself, for themselves or their own, before church judges, we would rightly advise them to conduct it in a subdued style, as small matters. But since we are discussing the eloquence of that man whom we wish to be a teacher of the things by which we are freed from eternal evils and reach eternal goods, wherever these are treated, whether to the people or privately, to one or to many, to friends or to enemies, in continuous discourse or in conversation, in treatises or in books, in letters very long or very short, they are great. Unless perhaps, because a cup of cold water is a very small and very cheap thing, the Lord said something very small and very cheap when he said that whoever gives it to one of his disciples will not lose his reward; or else, when this teacher in the Church makes a sermon on it, he should think he is saying something small, and therefore should speak not in a temperate or grand style, but a subdued one. When it has happened that we spoke on this matter to the people, and God was present so that we spoke not unfittingly, did not a kind of flame, as it were, rise from that cold water, which kindled even the cold hearts of men to do works of mercy in hope of a heavenly reward? ### Scripture references - Luke 16:10: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 6:1–9: quotation, high confidence - Matt 10:42: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations from Luke 16:10 and 1 Cor 6:1–9; the cup of cold water: Matt 10:42. A stray mark at the end is removed by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 4.18 (PL 34:86; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-13/#p-4-18). ## On Christian Doctrine 4.19 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-13/#p-4-19 - Source: PL 34:86–87 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Great matters are spoken in the subdued style when teaching, the temperate when praising or blaming, and the grand when moving the unwilling, as with teaching the Trinity, praising God, and condemning idolatry. ### Latin text Et tamcn cum doctor iste debeat rerum dictor esse magnarum, non semper cas debct granditcr di­ cere, sed submisse, cum aliquid docctur; temperate, cum aliquid vituperatur sivc laudatur: cum vcro ali­ quid agendum est, ct ad cos loquimur, qui boc agere debent, nee tamcn volunt, tunc ca quai magua sunt, dicenda sunt granditer, et ad fletendos animos con­ gruenter. Et aliquando dc una cademquc re magna, ct submissc dicitur, si docetur; et temperate, si prædi­ catur; et granditer, si aversus inde animus ut con-, vertatur impellitur. Quid enim Dco ip3o majus est? Numquid ideo non discitur I? Aut qui docet unitatem Trinitatis, debet nisi submissa disputatione agere, ut res ad dignoscendum difficilis, quantum datur, possit intelligi? Numquid hic ornamenta, ct non documenta quæruntur? numquid ut aliquid agat est flectendus auditor, ct non potius ut discat instruendus? Porro cum laudatur Dcus sive de scipso, sive de operibus suis, quanta facies pulchræ ac splendidæ dictionis oboritur ei qui potest quantum potest laudare, qucm nemo convenienter laudat, nemo quomodocumque non laudat! At si non colatur, aut cum illo vel etiam præ illo colantur idola, sive dæmonia, sive quxcum­ que creatura; quantum hoc malum sit, atque ut ab hoc malo avertantur homines, debet utiquc granditer dici. ### English translation (Claude) And yet, though this teacher ought to be a speaker of great things, he ought not always to speak of them in the grand style, but in the subdued style when something is being taught; in the temperate style when something is being blamed or praised; but when something is to be done, and we are speaking to those who ought to do it and yet are unwilling, then great things must be spoken in the grand style, and in a way suited to moving minds. And sometimes one and the same great matter is spoken of in the subdued style, if it is being taught; in the temperate, if it is being proclaimed; and in the grand, if a mind turned away from it is being driven to turn back. For what is greater than God himself? Is he therefore not to be learned about? Or ought one who teaches the unity of the Trinity to treat it otherwise than by subdued discussion, so that a matter difficult to discern may be understood as far as is granted? Are ornaments sought here, and not proofs? Must the hearer be moved to do something, and not rather instructed to learn? But when God is praised, whether for himself or for his works, how great a vision of beautiful and splendid speech arises for one who can praise, as far as he can, him whom no one praises fittingly and no one fails to praise in some way! But if he is not worshiped, or if idols, or demons, or any creature are worshiped with him or even above him, how great an evil this is must certainly be said in the grand style, so that people may be turned away from this evil. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 4.19 (PL 34:86–87; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-13/#p-4-19). ## On Christian Doctrine 4.20 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-13/#p-4-20 - Source: PL 34:87–89 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Augustine illustrates the subdued style (Gal 4 and 3), the temperate style (1 Tim 5; Rom 12–13), with remarks on prose rhythm, and the grand style (2 Cor 6; Rom 8; Gal 4). ### Latin text Submissæ dictionis exemplum est apud aposto­ lum Paulum, ut planius aliquid commemorem, ubi ait: Dicite mihi, sub Legevolentes esse, Legem non audi­ stis? Scriptum est enim, quod Abraham duos filios Ila­ buit, unum de ancilla, et unum de libera: sed ille qui de ancilla, secundum carnem natus est; qui autem de. libera, pcr repromissionem: quæ sunt in allegoria. Hæc enim sunt duo Testamenta: unum quidem a monte Sina in servitutem generans, quæ est Agar. Sina enim mons cst in Arabia, qui conjunctus I cst huic quæ nunc cst Jerusalem, et servit cum filiis suis. Quæ autem surum est Jerusalem, libera est, quæcst mater nostra, etc. Itemque ubi raliocinalur, et dicit: Fratres, secundum hominem dico, tenen hominis con­ firmatum testamentum nemo irritum facil, aut super­ ordinat. Abrahæ diclce sunt promissiones et semini ejus. Non dicit, Et seminibus, tanquam in multis, sed tanquam in uno, Et semini luo, quod eat Christus. Iloc autem dico, testamentum confirmatum a Dco, qua' post qua­ dringentos et triginta annos facta eat Lex, non infirmat ad evacuandas promissiones. Si enim ex Lege hæreditas, jam noM ex promissione. Abrahæ autem per repromis­ sionem donavit Deus. Et quia occurrere poterat audi­ entis cogitationi, Utquid ergo Lex data cst, si ex illa non cst hæredilas? ipse sibi hoc objecit, atque ait vclut interrogans: Quid ergo Lex? Dcindc respondit: Transgressionis gratia proposita est, donce veniret semen cui promissum cst, disposita 2 per Angelos in manu Ine­ diutoris. Mediator autem unius non cat, Deus vero unus est. Et hic occurrebat, quod sibi ipse proposuit, Lex ergo adversus promissa Dei? Et respondit, Absit: rcd­ diditque rationem, dicens, Si cnim data esset Lcx quæ vosset vivificare, omnino ex Lcge esset justitia. Sed conclusit Scriptura omnia sub peccato, ut promissio ex fide Jesu Christi daretur credentibus, etc.; vel si quid ejusmodi cst. Pertinet ergo ad docendi curam non solum aperire clausa, et nodos solvere quæstionum; sed eliam dum hoc agitur, aliis quæstionibus, qux fortassis inciderint, ne id qnod dicimus improbetur per illas aut refellatur, occurrere: si tamen ct ipsa carum solutio pariter occurrerit, ne moveamus quod auferre non possumus. Fit autem ut cum incidentes quæstioni aliæ quæstiones, cl aliae rursus incidentibus incidcn:cs pertractantur atque solvuntur, in cam longitudinem ratiocinationis exten­ datur intentio, ut nisi memoria plurimum valcat atque vigeat, ad caput unde agebatur disputator redire non possit. Valde autem bonum est ut quidquid contradici potest, si occurrerit, refutetur; nc ibi occurrat, ubi non crit qui respondeat; aut privsenti quidem, sed tacenti occurrat, et mniuns sanatus abscedat. In illis autem apostolicis verbis dictio temperata est: Seniorem ne increpaveris, sed obsecra ut po­ trem, juniores ut fratres, anus ut matres, adolescentulas ut sorores. Et in illis: Obsecro autem vos, fratres, per miserationem Dei, ut exhibeatis corpora vestra hostiam vivam, sanctam, Deo placentem. Et to­ tus fere ipsius exhortationis locus temperatum babet cloculionis genus: ubi illa pulchriora sunt, in quibus propria propriis tanquam debita reddita decenter ex­ currunt, sicuti est, Habentes dona diversa secundum gratiam quæ data est nobis; sive prophetiam,secundum regulam fidei; sive ministerium, in ministrando; sive qui docct, in doctrina; sive qui exhortatur, in exhorta­ tione; qui tribuit, insimplicitate; qui prnest, in solli­ citudine; qui miseretur, in hiluritate. Dilectio sine simu­ latione; odio habentes malmn, 'adhærentes bono: chari­ tate fraternitatis invicem diligentes, honore mutuo præ­ venientes, studio non pigri, spiritu ferventes, Domino servientes, ape gaudentes, in tribulatione patientes, orationi instantes, neccesitatibus sanctorum communi­ canles, hospitalitatem sectantes. Benedicite persequenti­ bus vos; benedicite, et nolite maledicere. Gaudere cum gaudentibus, flere cum flentibus: idipsum invicem sen­ tientes (Rom. xn, 1 6 16). Et quam pulchre ista omnia sic effusa, bimembri circuitu terminantur, Non alta sapientes, sed humilibus consentientes! Et aliquanto post: In hoc ipso, inquit, persevrrantes, reddite omni­ bus debita: cui tributum, tributum; cui vectigal, vecti­ gal; cui timorem, timorem; cui honorem, honorem. Quæ membratim fusa clauduntur etiam ipsa circuitu, quem duo membra contexunt: Nemini quidquam de­ beatis, nisi ut invicem diligatis. Et post paululum: Nox præcessit, inquit, dies autem appropinquavit. Abjicia­ nius itaque opera tenebraruem, et induamus arma lucis: sicut in die honeste ambulemus; non in comessationi­ bus et ebrietatibus, non in cubilibus et impudicitiis,non in contentione et æmulatione; scd induite Dominum Jesum Christum, et carnis providentiam ne feceritis i a concupiscentiis. Quod si quis­ quam ita diceret, Et carnis providentiam nc in con­ cupiscentiis feceritis; sine dubio aures clausula numcrosiorc mulceret: sed gravior interpres etiam ordincm maluit tenere verborum. Quomodo autem hoc in græco eloquio sonet, quo est locutus Aposto­ lus, viderint cjus eloquii usque ad ista doctiores: mibi tamen quod nobis codem verborum ordine interpretatum est, nec ibi videtur currere nume­ rose. Sane hinc elocutionis ornatum, qui numerosi; fit crausulis, deesse fatendum est auctoribus nostris. Quod utrum per interpretes factum sit, an (quod magis arbitror) consulto illi hæc plausibilia devitaverint, affirmare non audeo, quoniam me fateor ignorare. Illud tamen scio, quod si quisquam hujus numerositatis peritus illorum clausulas eorumdem numerorum lege componat, quod facillime fit mutatis quibusdam verbis, quas tantumdem significatione va­ lent, vel mutato eorum quae invenerit ordine; nihil illorum quæ velut magna in scholis grammaticorum aut rhetorum didicit, illis divinis viris defuisse cogno­ scet: et multa reperiet locutionis genera tant! dccoris, quæ quidem ct in nostra, sed maxime in sun liagua decora sunt, quorum nullum in eis. quibus isti in­ flantur, litteris invenitur. Sed cavendum cst ne divi­ nis gravibusque sententiis, dum additur numerus, pondus detrahatur. Nam illa musica disciplina, ubi numerus iste plenissime discitur, usque adeo non defuit Prophetis nostris, ut vir doctissimus Hierony­ mus quorumdam etiam metra commemoret, in hebræa duntaxat lingua (Hieron. in prologo super Job): cujus ut vcritalcm servaret in verbis, hæc inde non transtu­ lit. Ego autem ut desensu meo loquar, qui mihi quam aliis et quam aliorum est utique notior, sicut in IDeo eloquio, quantum modeste fieri arbitror, non præ­ termitto istos numcros clausularum; ita in auctoribus nostris hoc mihi plus placet, quod ibi eos rarissime invenio. Grande autem dicendi genus hoc maxime distat ab isto genere temperato, quod non tam verborum ornatibus comptum est, quam violentum animi affe­ ctibus. Nam capit etiam illa ornamenta pene omnin; sed ea si non habuerit, non requirit. Fertur quippe impetu suo, et elocutionis pulchritudinem, si occur­ rerit, vi rerum rapit, non cura dccoris assumit. Sal is enim est ei propter quod agitur, ut verba congruen­ tia, non oris eligantur industria, sed pectoris sequan­ tur ardorem. Nam si aurato gemmatoque ferro vir furtis armetur, intentissimus pugnæ, agit quidem illis armis quod agit, non quia pretiosa, sed quia arma sunt: idem ipse cst tamen, ct valet plurimum, etiam cnm rimanti telum ira facit1. Agit Apostolus, ut pro evangelico ministerio patienter mala hujus temporis, cum solatio donorum Dei, omnia tolerentur. Magna res est, et granditer agitur, nee desunt ornamenta di­ cendi: Ecce, inquit, nunc tempus acceptabile, ecce nanc dies salutis. Nullam in quoquam dantes offensio­ nem, ut non reprehendatur ministerium nostrum: sed in omnibus commendantes nosmetipsos ut Dei ministros, in multa patientia, in tribulationibus, in necessitatibus, in angustiis, in plagis, in carceribus, in seditionibus, in laboribus, ix vigiLiis, in jejuniis, in castitate, in scientia, in longanimitate, in benignitate, in Spiritu sancto, in claritate non ficta, in verbo veritatis, in virtute Dei: per arma justitiæ a dextris et a sinistris I, per gloriam et ignobilitatem, per infamiam et bonam famam; ut se­ ductores, et veraces; ut qui ignoramur, et cognosci­ mur; quasi morientes, et fece vivimus: ut coercili, et non mortificati; ut tristes, semper autem gaudentes; sicut egeni, multos autem ditantes; tanquam nihil IIa­ bentes, et omnia possidentes, Vide adhuc ardentem, Os nostrum patet ad vos, o Corinthii; cor nostrum dila­ talum est, et cætera, quæ persequi longum est. Ilemquc ad Romanos agit, ut persecutiones hujus mundi charitate vincantur, spe certa in adju­ tono Dci. Agit autem et granditer et ornate: Scimus, inquit, quoniam diligentibus Deum omnia cooperantur in bonum, iis qui secundum propositum vocati sunt '. Quoniam quos ante præscivit, ct prædestinavit confor­ mes imaginis Filii sui, ut sit ipse primogenitus in multis fratribus. Quos autem prædestinavit, illos et vocavit; et quos vocavit, ipsos et justificavit; quos autem justificavit, illos et glorificavit. Quid ergo dicemus ad hæc? Si Deus pro nobis, quis contra nos? Qui proprio Filio non pe­ percit, sed pro nobis omnibus tradidit illum, quomodo non etiam cum illo nobis omnia donavit? Quis accusabit adversus electos Dei? Deus qui justificat? Quis cst qui condemnet? Christus Jesus qui mortuus est, magis autem qui resurrexit, qui est in dextera Dei, qui et interpellat pro nobis? Quis nos separabit a charilale Christi? Tribulatio? an angustia? an persecutio? an fames? an nuditas? an pe­ riculum? an gladius?Sicut scriptum est, Quoniam propter te mortificamur tota die, æstimati sumus ut oves occisio­ nis. Sed in his omnibus supervincimus per eum qui dilexit nos. Certus sum enim quia neque mors, neque vita, neque Angeli, neque principatus, neque præsentia, neque futura, neque virtus, neque altitudo, ne­ que profundum, neque creatura alia poterit nos separare a charitate Dei, quæ est in Christo Jesu Domino nostro. Ad Galatas autem quamvis tota ipsa Epistola submisso dicendi genere scripta sit, nisi in extremis partibus ubi est eloquium temperatum; tamen inter­ ponit quemdam locum co motu animi, ut sinc ullis quidem talibus ornamentis, qualia sunt in iis quæ modo posuimus, non posset tamen nisi granditer,dici. Dies, inquit, observatis, et menses, et annos, et tempora. Timeo vos, ne forte sine causa laboraverim in ros t. Estote sicut et ego, quoniam et ego sicut vos: fratres, precor vos; nihil me læsistis Scitis quia per infirmita­ * tem carnis jampridem evangelizavi vobis, et tentationes vestras a in carne mea non sprevistis, neque respuistis; sed sicut angelum Dei excepistis me, sicut Christum Je­ sum. Quæ ergo fuit beatitudo vestra? Testimonium vobis perhibeo, quoniam si fieri posset, oculos vestros cruis­ setis et dedissetis mihi. Ergo inimicus factus sum vobis verum prædicans? Æmulantur vos non bene; sed exclu­ dere vos volunt, ut eos æmulemini. Bonum est autem in bono æmulari semper, ct non solum cunt præsens sum apud vos. Filioli mei, quos itcrum parturic donec formetur Christus in vobis. Vellem autem nunc adesse apud vos, et mutare vocem meam, quia confundor in. vobis. Numquid hic aut contraria con­ trariis verba sunt reddita, aut aliqua gradatione sibi subnexa sunt, aut cæsa et membra circuitusve so­ nuerunt? et tamen non idco tepuit grandis affectus, quo eloquium fervere sentimus. ### English translation (Claude) An example of the subdued style is in the apostle Paul, to mention something plainer, where he says: “Tell me, you who wish to be under the Law, have you not heard the Law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and one by the free woman. But the one by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, and the one by the free woman through the promise. These things are an allegory. For these are the two covenants: one from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery, which is Hagar. For Sinai is a mountain in Arabia, which corresponds to the present Jerusalem, and is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, which is our mother,” and so on. Likewise where he reasons and says: “Brothers, I speak in human terms: even a man's covenant, once ratified, no one annuls or adds to. The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, ‘And to seeds,’ as of many, but as of one, ‘And to your seed,’ which is Christ. This I say: a covenant ratified by God, the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years after, does not weaken so as to make the promises void. For if the inheritance is from the Law, it is no longer from promise; but God gave it to Abraham through promise.” And because the thought could occur to the hearer, “Why, then, was the Law given, if the inheritance is not from it?”, he raised the objection himself and says as if asking: “What then is the Law?” Then he answered: “It was added because of transgressions, until the seed should come to whom the promise was made, ordained through angels by the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator is not of one, but God is one.” And here occurred what he put to himself: “Is the Law then against the promises of God?” And he answered, “Far from it,” and gave the reason, saying: “For if a law had been given that could give life, righteousness would indeed be from the Law. But Scripture has shut up all things under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe,” and so on; or anything else of this kind. It belongs, then, to the care of teaching not only to open what is closed and to untie the knots of questions, but also, while this is being done, to meet other questions that may perhaps arise, lest what we say be disproved or refuted by them; provided, however, that their solution also occurs to us, lest we stir up what we cannot remove. But it happens that when other questions arising from the question, and others again arising from those, are discussed and resolved, the train of reasoning is extended to such length that, unless his memory is very strong and vigorous, the disputant cannot return to the point from which he set out. But it is very good that whatever can be objected, if it occurs to us, should be refuted, lest it occur where there will be no one to answer it, or occur to someone present but silent, and he go away less than healed. In these apostolic words the style is temperate: “Do not rebuke an older man, but entreat him as a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters.” And in these: “I beseech you, therefore, brothers, by the mercy of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing to God.” And nearly the whole passage of that exhortation has the temperate kind of style; where those parts are the more beautiful in which proper things, as if due to proper things, run on fittingly in return, such as: “Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: if prophecy, according to the rule of faith; if ministry, in ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, in simplicity; he who presides, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be without pretense; hating evil, clinging to good; loving one another with brotherly affection, outdoing one another in honor; not slothful in zeal, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, persevering in prayer; sharing in the needs of the saints, pursuing hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless, and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep; be of the same mind toward one another.” And how beautifully all these, poured out in this way, are concluded by a circuit of two members: “Not minding high things, but consenting to the lowly!” And a little later: “Persevering in this very thing,” he says, “render to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute, tax to whom tax, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.” These, poured out member by member, are also closed by a circuit which two members weave together: “Owe no one anything, except to love one another.” And a little after: “The night is far gone,” he says, “and the day is at hand. Let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light; let us walk honestly as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and wantonness, not in strife and jealousy; but put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in its lusts.” If anyone were to say it thus, “and for the flesh make no provision in its lusts,” he would no doubt soothe the ears with a more rhythmic close; but the more serious translator preferred to keep even the order of the words. How this sounds in the Greek language in which the Apostle spoke, let those see who are more learned in that language down to such details; to me, however, what has been translated for us in the same order of words does not seem to run rhythmically there either. Certainly it must be admitted that the ornament of style which comes from rhythmic closes is lacking in our authors. Whether this was done by the translators, or whether (which I think more likely) they deliberately avoided these crowd-pleasing things, I dare not affirm, since I confess that I do not know. But I know this: that if anyone skilled in this rhythm were to compose their closes according to the law of the same rhythms, which is very easily done by changing some words that have the same meaning, or by changing the order of those he finds, he will recognize that none of the things he learned as great in the schools of the grammarians or rhetoricians was lacking to those divine men; and he will find many kinds of expression of such grace, which are graceful indeed in our language too, but most of all in their own, none of which is found in the writings on which these people pride themselves. But care must be taken lest, while rhythm is added, weight is taken from divine and serious sentences. For that musical discipline, in which this rhythm is most fully learned, was so far from lacking to our prophets that that most learned man Jerome mentions even the meters of some of them, at least in the Hebrew language; though to preserve truth in the words he did not translate these from it. For my part, to speak from my own feeling, which is certainly better known to me than to others, and than the feeling of others is to me: just as in my own speaking, as far as I think it can be done with moderation, I do not neglect these rhythms of closes, so in our authors I am the more pleased that I find them there very rarely. The grand style differs from this temperate style chiefly in this, that it is not so much adorned with verbal ornaments as made forceful by the emotions of the mind. For it admits nearly all those ornaments too; but if it does not have them, it does not seek them. For it is carried along by its own impetus, and if beauty of style comes in its way, it seizes it by the force of its subject, and does not take it up out of concern for grace. For it is enough for it, for the sake of what is being done, that fitting words are not chosen by the industry of the mouth, but follow the ardor of the heart. For if a brave man is armed with a sword adorned with gold and gems, and is wholly intent on the fight, he does what he does with those arms, not because they are precious, but because they are arms; yet he is the same man, and very powerful, even when anger makes a weapon for him as he searches. The Apostle is urging that, for the sake of the ministry of the Gospel, all the evils of this time should be patiently endured, with the comfort of God's gifts. It is a great matter, and it is treated in the grand style, and the ornaments of speech are not lacking: “Behold,” he says, “now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. Giving no offense in anything, so that our ministry may not be blamed; but in all things commending ourselves as ministers of God, in much patience, in tribulations, in necessities, in distresses, in stripes, in prisons, in tumults, in labors, in watchings, in fastings, in chastity, in knowledge, in long-suffering, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in love unfeigned, in the word of truth, in the power of God; by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, through glory and dishonor, through ill report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and not killed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and possessing all things.” See him still burning: “Our mouth is open to you, O Corinthians; our heart is enlarged,” and the rest, which it would take long to go through. Likewise to the Romans he urges that the persecutions of this world be overcome by love, with sure hope in God's help. And he does it both grandly and ornately: “We know,” he says, “that all things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how has he not also with him given us all things? Who will bring a charge against the elect of God? God who justifies? Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus who died, yes, rather, who rose again, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us? Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: ‘For your sake we are put to death all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.’ But in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor power, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” And to the Galatians, although the whole letter itself is written in the subdued kind of speech, except in the last parts where the style is temperate, yet he inserts a passage with such emotion that, though without any of the ornaments that are in the passages we have just set down, it could only be spoken in the grand style: “You observe days,” he says, “and months, and years, and seasons. I fear for you, lest perhaps I have labored among you in vain. Be as I am, for I also am as you are: brothers, I beg you; you did me no wrong. You know that through weakness of the flesh I preached the Gospel to you formerly; and your trial in my flesh you did not despise or reject, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. What then was your blessedness? For I bear you witness that, if it had been possible, you would have plucked out your own eyes and given them to me. Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth? They court you not rightly, but they wish to shut you out, so that you may court them. But it is good to be courted in a good thing always, and not only when I am present with you. My little children, of whom I am again in labor until Christ is formed in you, I would like to be present with you now and to change my voice, for I am perplexed about you.” Are contrary words set against contraries here, or are they linked one to another by some gradation, or do clauses and members and circuits sound here? And yet the great emotion with which we feel the speech glowing has not grown lukewarm on that account. ### Scripture references - Gal 4:21–26: quotation, high confidence - Gal 3:15–22: quotation, high confidence - 1 Tim 5:1–2: quotation, high confidence - Rom 12:1: quotation, high confidence - Rom 12:6–16: quotation, high confidence - Rom 13:6–8: quotation, high confidence - Rom 13:12–14: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 6:2–11: quotation, high confidence - Rom 8:28–39: quotation, high confidence - Ps 44:22 (43:22 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Gal 4:10–20: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations from Gal 4:21–26; Gal 3:15–22; 1 Tim 5:1–2; Rom 12:1, 6–16; Rom 13:6–8; Rom 13:12–14; 2 Cor 6:2–11; Rom 8:28–39 (with Ps 44:22, 43:22 LXX/Vulg.); Gal 4:10–20. Jerome mentions Hebrew meters in his preface to Job (not on the site's list). An OCR slip in “ad Romanos agit” is corrected by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 4.20 (PL 34:87–89; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-13/#p-4-20). ## On Christian Doctrine 4.21 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-21/#p-4-21 - Source: PL 34:89–90 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Augustine illustrates the three styles from Cyprian and Ambrose: the subdued in Cyprian on the eucharistic cup and Ambrose on the Holy Spirit, the temperate in their praises of virginity, and the grand in their attacks on cosmetics. ### Latin text Sed apostolica ista sic clara sunt, ut et profunda sint; atque ita conscripta memoriæque mandata, ul non solum Icctore vel auditore, verum etiam expo siture opus habeant, si quis in eis non superficie contentus altitudinem quærat. Quapropter videamus isto genera dicendi in cis qui istorum lectione ad re­ rum divinarum atqne salubrium scicntiam profece­ rant, eamque Ecclesiæ ministrarunt. Beatus Cyprianus submisso dicendi genere utitur in co libro ubi de Sacramento calicis disputat. Solvitur quippe ibi quæ­ siio, in qua quæritur utrum calix dominicus aquam solaln, an cam vino mixtam debeat habcre. Sed exempli. gratia aliquid inde ponendum csl. Post prin­ cipium ergo epistolæ, jam solvere incipiens propositam quæstionem: Admonitos autem noa scias, inquit, ut in calice offerendo dominica traditio servetur, neque aliud fiat a nobis, quam quod pro nobis Dominus prior fecit, ut calix qui in commemorationem ejus offertur, vino mixtus offeratur. Nam cum dicat Christus, « Ego sum vitis vera »; sanguis Christi, non aqua cat utique, sed vinum; nec potest videri sanguis ejus, quo redempti et vivificati sumus, esse in calice, quando vinum desit calici, quo Christi sangtiis ostenditur; qui Scripturarum omnium sacramento ac testimonio præ­ dicatur. Invenimus enim in Genesi circa sacramentum Noc hoc idem prœcucurrisse, et figuram dominicae pas­ sionis illic exstilisse, quod vinum bibit, quod inebriatus est, quod in domo sua nudatus est, quod fuit recubans nudis et patentibus femoribus; quod nuditas illa patris a medio filio denotata est; a majore vero et minore con­ tecta, et cœtera quæ necesse non cat exsequi, cum satis sit huc solum complecti, quod Noe typum futuræ veritatis ostendens, non aquam sed vinum biberit; et sic imaginem dominicæ passionis expresserit. Item in sacerdote Melchisedech dominicum Sacramen­ tum prœfiguratum videmus I, secundum quod Scriptura divina testatur, et dicit: c El Melchisedech rex Salem protulit panem et vinum. Fuit autem sacerdos Dei sum­ mi, et benedixit Abraham >. Quod autem Melchisedech typum Christi portaret, declarat in Psal­ mis Spiritus sanctus, ex persona Patris ad Filium di­ cens: « Ante Luciferum genui te. Tu es sacerdos in æternum secundum ordinem Melchisedech >. Hæc et alia quae sequuntur hujus epistolæ (Cypr. Epist. 65, ad Cœcilium, de Sacramento calicis), sub­ missæ dictionis modum servant, quod facile est explo­ rare Icgentibus. Sanctus quoque Ambrosius cum agat rem ma­ gnam de Spintu sancto, ut cum Patri et Filio de­ monstret æqualem, submisso tamen dicendi genere utitur; quoniam res suscepta non ornamenta verbo­ rum, nul ad flectendos animos commotionis affectum, sed rerum documenta desiderate Ergo inter cætera, 9 in principio hujus operis ait: Commotus oraculo Gedeon, cum audisset quod deficientibus licet populorum millibus, in uno viro Dominus plebem suam ab hostibus liberaret, obtulit hædum caprarum, cujus carnem se - cundum præceptum angeli, ci azyma supra petram posuit, et ea jure perfudit: que simul ut virgæ cacu­ mine, quam gerebat, angelus Dei contigit, de petra ignis erupit, atque ita sacrificium quod offerebatur absumptum eat. Quo iudicio declaratum videtur, quod petra illa typum habuerit corporis Christi; quia scriptum est, « Bibcbant de consequenti petra, petra autem crat Christus >. Quod utique non ad divinitatem ejus, sed ad carnem relatum ei, quæ sitien­ tium corda populorum perenni rivo sui sanguinis inun­ davit. Jam tunc igitur in mysterio declaratum est, quia Dominus Jesus in carne sua, totius mundi peccata cru­ cifixus aboleret, nec solum delicta factorum, sed etiam cupiditates animorum. Caro enim hœdi ad culpam fac.i refertur; jus ad illecebras cupiditatum, sicut scriptum est, « Quia concupivit populus cupiditatem pessimam, Et dixerunt, Quia nos cibabit carne > (Num. X!, i)? Quod igitur extendit angelus virgam, et tetigit petram, de qua ignis exiit, ostendit quod coro Domini Spiritu repleta divino, peccata omnia humanæ conditionis exureret. Unde ct Dominus ait, < Ignem veni mittere in terram >; et cætera, in quibus rei docendæ ac pro­ bandæ Inaniane incumbit (Ambros. lib. i de Spiritu sancto, in pro/ogo). Dc genere temperato est apud Cyprianum vir­ ginitatis illa laudatio: Nunc nobis ad virgines sermo eat, quarum quo sublimior gloria est, major et cura. Flos eat ille ecclesiastici germinis, decus atque ornamentum gratiæ spiritualis, læta indoles laudis et honoris, opus integrum atque incorruptum, Dei imago respondens ad sanctimoniam Domini, illustrior portio gregis Christi. Gaudet per ipsas, atque in illis largiter floret Ecclesiæ matris gloriosa fecunditas: quantoque plus gloriosa1 virginitas numero suo addit, tanto plus gaudium nia­ tris augescit. Et alio loco in fine epistoLe: Quomodo portavimus, inquit, imaginem ejus qui de limo est, sic portemus et imaginem ejus qui de cælo eat ( I Cor. xv, 49). Hanc imaginem virginitas portat, portat inte­ gritas, sanctitas portat et teritas; portant disciplinæ Dei memores, justitiam cum religione retinentes, stabiles in fide, humiles in timore, ad omnem tolerantiam fortes, ad sustinendas injurias mites, ad faciendam misericor­ diam faciles, fraterna pace unanimes atque concordes. Quæ vos singula, o bonæ virgines, observare, diLigere. implere debetis, quas Deo et Christo vacantes, ad Domi­ num cui vos dicastis, majore et meliore parte præceditis. Provectce annis, junioribus facite magisterium; minore. natu, præbete majoribus ministerium, comparibus inci­ tamentum; hortamentis vos mutuis excitate, æmulis de tirtute documentis ad gloriam provocate; durate fortiter, spiritualiter pergile, pervenite feliciter; tantum memen­ tote tunc nostri, cum incipiet in vobis virginitas honorari (Cypr. Tract. de disciplina ei habitu Virginum). Ambrosius ctiam genere dicendi temperato et ornato professis virginibus proponit, tanquam sub exempli forma, quod moribus imitentur, ct dicit: Virgo erat, non solum corporet sed etiam mente, quæ nullo doli ambitu sincerum adulteraret affectum: corde humilis, verbis gravis, animi prudens, loquendi parcior, legendi studiosior; non in incerto divitiarum. aed in prece pauperis spem reponens; intenta operi, verecunda sermoni; arbitrum mentis solita nondiominem, sed Deum quærere; nullum lædere, bene velle omnibus; assurgere majoribus natu, æqulibus non invidere; fugere jactan­ tiam, rationem sequi, amare virtutem. Quando ista vel rultu læsit parentes? quando disensit a propinquis? quando fastidivit humilem? quando risit debilem? quan­ do vitavit inopem? Eoa solos solita cætus virorum invi­ sere, quos misericordia non erubesceret, neque præteriret verecundia. Nihil torvum in oculis, nihil in verbis pro­ enx, nihil in actu inverecundum i non gestus fractior, uon incessus solutior, non vox petulantior, ut ipsa cor­ poris species simulacrum fuerit mentis, et figura probi­ talis. Bona quippe domus in ipso vestibulo debet agnosci, ac primo prælendat ingressu nihil intus latere tenebra­ rum, tanquam lucernæ lux intus posita, foris luceat. Quid ego exsequar ciborUm parcimoniam, officiorum redundantiam; alterum ultra naturam superfuisse, al­ terum ipsi naturae pene defuisse? lllic nulla intermissa tempora, hic congeminati jejunio dies; et si quando re­ ficiendi successisset voluntas, cibus plerumque obvius qni mortem arceret, non delicias ministraret (Ambros. de Virginibus, lib.2, in princip.), etc. HIrc autem pro­ pterea in exemplo hujus temperati generis posui, quia non hic agit ut virginitatem voveant quæ nondum vo­ verunt; sed quales esse debeant quæ jam votae sunt. Nam ut aggrediatur animus tantuin ac tale proposi­ tum, grandi utique dicendi genere debet excitari et accendi. Sed martyr Cyprianus de habitu virginum, non de suscipiendo virginitatis proposito scripsit. Iste vcro episcopus etiam ad boc eas magno accendit eloquio. Vcrum ex eo quod ambo egerunt, dictionis grandis exempla memorabo. Ambo quippe invecti yunt in eas quæ formam pigmentis colorant, vel po­ tius decolorant: quorum prior ille cum hoc agcret, ait inter cætera: Si quis pingendi artifex Pullum ali­ cujus et speaem, et corporis qualitatem æmulo colore signasset; et signato jam consummatoque simulacro, manus alius inferret, ut jam formata, jam picta quasi peritior reformaret, gravis prioris artificis injuria et justa indignatio videretur. Tu te existimas impune latu­ ram tam improbce temeritatis audaciam, Dei artificis offensam? Ut enim impudica circa homines, et incesta fucis lenocinantibus non sis, corruptis violatisque quæ Del sunt, pejor adultera detineris. Quod ornari te putas, quod putas comi, impugnatio eat ista divini operis, præ­ saricatio eat veritatis. Monentis Apostoli vox est: < Ex­ purgate vetus fermentum, ut sUis nova conspersio, sicut estis azymi. Etenim Pascha nostrum immolatus est Chri­ stus. Itaque festa celebremus, non in fermenlo veteri, neque in fermento malitiæ et nequitiæ, sed in azymis sinceritatis et veritatis ». Num sinceritas nerseveral et veritas, qnando quæ sincera sunt polluun­ tur, et colorum adulteriis, et medicaminum 1fucis in menducium vera mutantur? Dominus tuus dicit, i Non potes facere capillum unum album aut nigrum i; et tu ad vincendam Domini tui vocem vis te esse potiorem. Audaci conatu et sacrilego contemptu crines tuos inficis; malo præsagio futurorum capillos jam tibi flammeos auspicaris (Cypr. Tract. de disciplina et ha­ bitu Virginum). Longum est inserere omnia quae se­ quuntur. Ille vero posterior ut in tales diceret: Hinc ilia, inquit, nascuntur incentiva vitiorum,ut quresitis colori­ bus ora depingant, dum viris displicere formidant, et dt adulterio vultus meditentur adulterium castitatis. Quanta hæc amentia, effigiem mutare naturæ, picturam quærer e, et dum verentur maritale judicium, prodere I suum? Prior enim de se pronuntiat, quæ cupit mutare quod nata eat: ita dum alii studet placere, prius ipsa sibi displicet. Quem judicem; mulier, veriorem requiremus deformitatis tuas, quam teipsam, quæ videri times? Si pulchra es, cur absconderis? si deformis, cur te formo­ sam esse mentiris, nec tuæ conscientiæ, nec alieni gra­ tiam erroris habitura? Ille enim alteram diligit, tu alteri ris placere: et irasceris si amet alteram, qui adullerure in te docetur. Mata magistra es injuriæ tum. Lenocinari enim refugit, etiam quæ est passa lenonem; ac licet vilis mulier, non alteri tamen, sed sibi peccat. Tolerabiliora propemodum iti adulterio criniina sunt: ibi enim pudi­ citia, hic natura adulteratur (Ambros. de Virginibus, lib: 4). Satis, ut existimo, apparet feminas ne suam furis adulterent formam, et ad pudorcm et ad limo­ rcm hac facundia vehementer impeHi. Proinde neque submissum neque temperatum, sed grande omniuo genus hoc elocutionis agnoscimus. Et in his autem quos duos ex omnibus proponere volui, et in aliis ecclesiasticis viris efbona, et bene, id est sicut res postulat, acute, ornate, ardenterque dicentibus, per multa eorum scripta vel dicta possunt haec tria genera reperiri, et assidua lectione vel auditione, admixta etiam exercitationc. studentibus inolescere. ### English translation (Claude) But these apostolic writings are clear in such a way that they are also deep; and they were so written and committed to memory that they need not only a reader or hearer but also an expositor, if anyone, not content with the surface, seeks their depth. Let us therefore see these kinds of speaking in those who, by reading these writings, have advanced in the knowledge of divine and wholesome things and have ministered it to the Church. The blessed Cyprian uses the subdued kind of speaking in that book where he discusses the sacrament of the cup. For there he resolves the question whether the Lord's cup ought to contain water alone or water mixed with wine. But by way of example something from it must be set down. After the beginning of the letter, then, as he begins to resolve the question proposed, he says: “Know that we have been admonished that in offering the cup the Lord's tradition should be kept, and that nothing else should be done by us than what the Lord first did for us, so that the cup which is offered in remembrance of him should be offered mixed with wine. For since Christ says, ‘I am the true vine,’ the blood of Christ is certainly not water but wine; nor can his blood, by which we have been redeemed and given life, be seen to be in the cup, when the wine is lacking from the cup by which the blood of Christ is shown, which is proclaimed by the sacrament and testimony of all the Scriptures. For we find in Genesis, in regard to the sacrament of Noah, that this same thing went before, and that a figure of the Lord's passion appeared there: that he drank wine, that he was drunk, that he was stripped in his house, that he lay with his thighs naked and uncovered; that his father's nakedness was noticed by the middle son but covered by the elder and the younger, and the rest, which there is no need to go through, since it is enough to grasp this alone, that Noah, showing a type of the truth to come, drank not water but wine, and so expressed an image of the Lord's passion. Likewise we see the sacrament of the Lord prefigured in the priest Melchizedek, according to what the divine Scripture testifies, saying: ‘And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of the most high God, and he blessed Abraham.’ And that Melchizedek bore a type of Christ the Holy Spirit declares in the Psalms, saying in the person of the Father to the Son: ‘Before the morning star I begot you. You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.’” These and the other things that follow in this letter keep to the manner of the subdued style, as readers can easily find out. Saint Ambrose too, when he treats a great matter concerning the Holy Spirit, to show that he is equal to the Father and the Son, nevertheless uses the subdued kind of speaking; because the subject undertaken requires not ornaments of words, nor emotional stirring to move minds, but proofs of things. So, among other things, at the beginning of this work he says: “Gideon, moved by the divine word, when he had heard that, though thousands of the people failed, the Lord would free his people from their enemies through one man, offered a kid of the goats, whose flesh, according to the angel's command, he placed with unleavened bread upon a rock, and poured broth over them; and as soon as the angel of God touched them with the tip of the rod he was carrying, fire burst from the rock, and so the sacrifice that was offered was consumed. By this sign it seems to be declared that that rock bore a type of the body of Christ, because it is written, ‘They drank from the rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.’ This certainly refers not to his divinity but to his flesh, which flooded the hearts of the thirsting peoples with the everlasting stream of his blood. Even then, therefore, it was declared in a mystery that the Lord Jesus, crucified in his flesh, would abolish the sins of the whole world, not only the offenses of deeds but also the desires of minds. For the flesh of the kid refers to the guilt of the deed, the broth to the allurements of desires, as it is written, ‘For the people lusted with a most evil lust, and they said, Who will feed us with flesh?’ That the angel stretched out his rod and touched the rock, from which fire came out, shows that the Lord's flesh, filled with the divine Spirit, would burn up all the sins of the human condition. Hence the Lord too says, ‘I came to cast fire on the earth,’” and the rest, in which he is chiefly occupied with teaching and proving the matter. Of the temperate kind is that praise of virginity in Cyprian: “Now our discourse is to virgins, for whom the care is greater as their glory is more sublime. They are the flower of the Church's sprouting, the beauty and ornament of spiritual grace, a joyful nature of praise and honor, a work whole and incorrupt, the image of God answering to the holiness of the Lord, the more illustrious portion of Christ's flock. Through them, and in them abundantly, the glorious fruitfulness of mother Church rejoices and flourishes; and the more glorious virginity adds to its number, the more the mother's joy increases.” And in another place, at the end of the letter: “As we have borne,” he says, “the image of him who is of the clay, so let us also bear the image of him who is from heaven. This image virginity bears, integrity bears, holiness and truth bear; those bear it who are mindful of God's discipline, keeping justice with religion, steadfast in faith, humble in fear, strong for all endurance, gentle in bearing injuries, ready in doing mercy, of one mind and concord in brotherly peace. All of which you, good virgins, ought to observe, love, and fulfill, you who, free for God and Christ, go before toward the Lord to whom you have dedicated yourselves, in the greater and better part. You who are advanced in years, give teaching to the younger; you who are younger, give service to the older, and encouragement to your equals; rouse one another by mutual exhortations, provoke one another to glory by examples of virtue that rival each other; endure bravely, go on spiritually, arrive happily; only remember us then, when virginity begins to be honored in you.” Ambrose too, in the temperate and ornate kind of speaking, sets before professed virgins, as in the form of an example, what they should imitate in their conduct, and says: “She was a virgin not only in body but also in mind, who did not corrupt her sincere affection by any circuit of guile: humble in heart, grave in words, prudent in mind, sparing in speech, eager in reading; placing her hope not in uncertain riches but in the prayer of the poor; intent on work, modest in speech; accustomed to seek as judge of her mind not man but God; to harm no one, to wish all well; to rise before her elders, not to envy her equals; to flee boasting, to follow reason, to love virtue. When did she hurt her parents even by a look? When did she disagree with her relatives? When did she disdain the lowly? When did she laugh at the weak? When did she avoid the needy? She was accustomed to visit only those gatherings of men which mercy need not blush at nor modesty pass by. Nothing fierce in her eyes, nothing forward in her words, nothing immodest in her action; no effeminate gesture, no loose gait, no wanton voice; so that the very appearance of her body was an image of her mind, a figure of uprightness. For a good house ought to be recognized in its very entrance, and show at the first entering that no darkness lies hidden within, as the light of a lamp set within shines outside. Why should I go through her sparing use of food and her abundance of services, the one going beyond nature, the other almost falling short of nature itself? In the latter no times were left out; in the former days were doubled in fasting; and if ever the wish to take refreshment came, food was usually what was at hand, to keep off death, not to supply delights,” and so on. I have put these as an example of this temperate kind because he is not here urging those who have not yet vowed virginity to vow it, but describing what those already vowed ought to be like. For to lead the mind to undertake so great and such a resolve, it must certainly be roused and kindled by the grand kind of speaking. But the martyr Cyprian wrote about the dress of virgins, not about undertaking the resolve of virginity. This bishop, however, kindles them even to this with great eloquence. But I shall cite examples of the grand style from a matter both of them treated. For both inveighed against women who color, or rather discolor, their appearance with cosmetics. The former, when treating this, says among other things: “If some painter had depicted someone's face, appearance, and bodily form in rivaling color, and, when the likeness was already depicted and finished, another were to lay hands on it, as if, being more skilled, he would reshape what was already formed and painted, it would seem a serious injury to the first artist and a just cause for indignation. Do you think that you will get away unpunished with the boldness of such shameless rashness, an offense against God the artist? For though you are not unchaste toward men, and not impure by alluring cosmetics, yet, having corrupted and violated what is God's, you are held to be a worse adulteress. That you think you are being adorned, that you think you are being dressed up, is an assault on the divine work, a betrayal of truth. The voice of the warning Apostle is: ‘Purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, as you are unleavened. For Christ our Passover has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.’ Do sincerity and truth persevere when what is sincere is polluted, and true things are changed into a lie by adulterous colors and the disguises of cosmetics? Your Lord says, ‘You cannot make one hair white or black’; and you wish to be stronger, so as to overcome the voice of your Lord. With bold endeavor and sacrilegious contempt you dye your hair; with an evil omen of the future you already make your hair flame-colored.” It would take long to insert all that follows. The latter, to speak against such women, says: “From this arise those incitements to vices, that they paint their faces with sought-out colors while they fear to displease men, and from the adultery of their faces meditate the adultery of their chastity. What madness this is, to change the likeness of nature, to seek a painting, and, while they fear their husband's judgment, to betray their own! For she who wishes to change what she was born pronounces first on herself: so, while she strives to please another, she first displeases herself. What truer judge of your ugliness, woman, shall we seek than yourself, who fear to be seen? If you are beautiful, why do you hide? If ugly, why do you lie that you are beautiful, to gain the favor neither of your own conscience nor of another's error? For he loves another woman; you wish to please another man; and you are angry if he loves another, who is being taught adultery in you. You are a bad teacher of your own injury. For even a woman who has suffered a procurer refuses to act the procuress; and though she is a cheap woman, she sins not against another but against herself. The crimes in adultery are almost more tolerable; for there chastity is adulterated, here nature.” It is clear enough, I think, that by this eloquence women are forcefully driven, both to shame and to fear, not to adulterate their appearance with cosmetics. Therefore we recognize this kind of style as neither subdued nor temperate, but wholly grand. And in these two whom I chose to set forth out of all, and in other churchmen who say good things, and say them well, that is, as the matter requires, sharply, ornately, and ardently, these three kinds can be found in many of their writings or sermons, and can grow ingrained in students by constant reading or hearing, with practice added too. ### Scripture references - John 15:1: quotation, high confidence - Gen 9:20–23: allusion, high confidence - Gen 14:18–19: quotation, high confidence - Ps 110:3–4 (109:3-Ps LXX): quotation, high confidence - Judg 6:19–21: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 10:4: quotation, high confidence - Num 11:4: quotation, high confidence - Luke 12:49: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 15:49: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 5:7–8: quotation, high confidence - Matt 5:36: quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Cyprian, Ep. 63.2-4 (Letters): quotation, high confidence - Cyprian, Hab. virg. 3 (On the Dress of Virgins): quotation, high confidence - Cyprian, Hab. virg. 23 (On the Dress of Virgins): quotation, high confidence - Cyprian, Hab. virg. 15-16 (On the Dress of Virgins): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations from Cyprian, Letter 63.2–4 (Hartel; Migne 65), On the Dress of Virgins 3, 23, 15–16; Ambrose, On the Holy Spirit 1 prol. 2–4, and On Virgins 2.2.7–8 and 1.6.28 (these two works of Ambrose are not on the site's list). Within them: John 15:1; Gen 9:20–23; Gen 14:18–19; Ps 110:3–4 (109:3–4 LXX/Vulg.); Judg 6:19–21; 1 Cor 10:4; Num 11:4; Luke 12:49; 1 Cor 15:49; 1 Cor 5:7–8; Matt 5:36. Cyprian's teaching on mixing water with the eucharistic wine, and Ambrose's reading of Gideon's rock as Christ's flesh, are translated as written. Here adulterium is rendered “adultery.” ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 4.21 (PL 34:89–90; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-21/#p-4-21). ## On Christian Doctrine 4.22 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-21/#p-4-22 - Source: PL 34:90–91 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The three styles should be mixed, and the grand style especially should alternate with the others like the tide. ### Latin text Nec quisquam præter disciplinam esse existimet ista miscere: imo quantum congrue fieri polesti, omni­ bus generibus dictio varianda est. Nam quando prolixa est in uno gencre, minus detinet auditorem. Cum vera fit in aliud ab alio transitus, etiamsi longius cat, de. centius procedit oratio: quamvis babeant et singula genera varietates suas in sermone eloquentium, qui­ bus non sinuntur in eorum qui audiunt, frigescere vel tepescere sensibus. Verumtamen facilius submissum solum, quam solum grande diutius tolerari potest. Commotio quippe animi quanto magis excitanda est, ut nobis assentiatur auditor, tanto minus in ea diu teneri potest, cum fuerit quantum satis cst excitata. Et idco cavendum cst, ne dum volumus altius erigei a quod erectum est, etiam inde decidat, quo fuerat excitatione perductum. Interpositis vero quæsunt di­ cenda submissius, bene rcditur ad ca quæopas est granditer dici, ut dictionis impetus sicut maris æstus alternet. Ex quo fit ut grande dicendi genus, si diu­ tius est dicendum, non debeat esse solum, sed alio­ rum generum interpositione; varietur: ei tamen genere dictio tota tribuitur, cujus copia praevaluerit. ### English translation (Claude) Nor should anyone think it contrary to the rules of the art to mix these; rather, as far as can fittingly be done, speech should be varied with all the kinds. For when it is long drawn out in one kind, it holds the hearer less. But when there is a passage from one to another, even if it is rather long, the discourse proceeds more fittingly; although each kind too has its own varieties in the speech of the eloquent, by which they do not allow the feelings of their hearers to grow cold or lukewarm. Yet the subdued style alone can be tolerated longer than the grand style alone. For the more the emotion of the mind must be aroused so that the hearer may agree with us, the less long it can be held in that state once it has been aroused as much as is sufficient. And so we must beware lest, while we wish to raise higher what has been raised, it falls even from the point to which it had been brought by the arousing. But when things that are to be said in a more subdued way are interposed, one returns well to the things that need to be said grandly, so that the surge of speech ebbs and flows like the tide of the sea. Hence it is that the grand kind of speaking, if it must be continued for some time, ought not to be alone, but varied by the interposition of the other kinds; yet the whole speech is assigned to the kind which has predominated in quantity. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 4.22 (PL 34:90–91; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-21/#p-4-22). ## On Christian Doctrine 4.23 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-21/#p-4-23 - Source: PL 34:91 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Each style has its place within the others: temperate openings for grand speech, subdued reasoning for difficult questions, and plain passages to set off ornament. ### Latin text Interest enim quod genus cui generi interpo­ natur, vel adhibeatur, certis et neccssariis locis. Nam et in grandi genere semper aut pene semper tempe­ rata decet esse principia. Et in potestate est eloqucn­ tis ut dicantur nonnulla submisse, ctiam quæ possent granditer dici; ut ea quæ dicuntur granditer, ei illo­ i um Gant comparatione grandiora, et eorum tanquam umbris luminosiora reddantur. In quocumque autem genere aliqua quaestionum vincula solvenda sunt, acu­ mine opus est, quod sibi submissum genus proprie vindicat. Ac per boc eo genere utendum est et in aliis duobus generibus, quando eis ista incidunt: sic­ ut laudandum aliquid vel vituperandum, ubi nec damnatio cujusquam nec liberatio, nec ad actionem quamlibet assensio requiritur, in quocumque alio gc­ nere occurrerit, genus adhibendum et interponendum est temperatum. In grandi ergo genere inveniunt lo­ cos suos duo cætera, et. in submisso simliter. Tem­ peratum autem genus non quidem semper, sed tamen aliquando submisso indiget, si, ut dixi, quæstio cujus nodus est solvendus, incurrat; vel quando nonnulla quæ ornari possent, ideo non ornantur, sed submisso sermone dicuntur, ut quibusdam quas! toris orna­ mentorum pra'beant eminentiorem locum. Grande atutem genus temperata dictio non requirit: ad de. lectandos quipffe animos, non ad movendos ipsa suscipitur. ### English translation (Claude) For it matters which kind is interposed into which, or applied, at certain necessary points. For even in the grand style the beginnings should always, or almost always, be temperate. And it is in the power of the eloquent man to say some things in a subdued way that could be said grandly, so that the things that are said grandly may be made grander by comparison with them and more luminous, as it were, by their shadows. But in whatever kind some knots of questions are to be untied, sharpness is needed, which the subdued kind properly claims for itself. And so that kind is to be used in the other two kinds too, when such things occur in them; just as, when something is to be praised or blamed, where neither anyone's condemnation nor acquittal, nor assent to any action, is required, in whatever other kind it occurs, the temperate kind is to be applied and interposed. In the grand kind, then, the other two find their places, and likewise in the subdued. The temperate kind, however, needs the subdued, not always indeed, but sometimes, if, as I said, a question whose knot must be untied comes up; or when some things that could be adorned are not adorned for that reason, but are said in subdued speech, so as to give a more prominent place to certain ornaments, as to raised borders, so to speak. But the temperate style does not require the grand: for it is undertaken to delight minds, not to move them. ### Translation notes - “As to raised borders”: the text (quasi toris ornamentorum) is uncertain; the sense is that plain passages set off the ornamented ones. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 4.23 (PL 34:91; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-21/#p-4-23). ## On Christian Doctrine 4.24 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-21/#p-4-24 - Source: PL 34:91 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The grand style is shown not by applause but by tears and changed lives, as when Augustine's preaching ended an annual blood feud at Caesarea in Mauretania. ### Latin text Non sane si dicenti crebrius ct vehementius ac­ clametur, ideo granditer putandus est dicere: hoc cnim ct acumina submissi generis, et ornamenta fa­ ciunt temperati. Grande autem genus plerumque pon­ dere suo voces premit, sed lacrymas exprimit. Dcni­ que cum apud Cæsaream Mauritaniæ populo dissua­ derem pugnam civilem, vel potius | lus quam civilem, quam Catervamvocabant; ucque enim cives tantuminodo, verum etiam propinqui, fratres, postremo pa­ rentes ac filii lapidibus inter se in duas partes divisi, her aliquot dies continuos, certo tempore anni sole­ mniterdimicabant, et quisque ut quemque poteratocci­ debat: cgi quidem granditer, quantum valui, ut tam crudele atque inveteratum malum de cordibus et mo­ ribus eorum avellerem, pelleremque dicendo; non tamen egisse aliquid me putavi, cum eos audircm acclamantes, sed cum flentes viderem. Acclamationi­ bus quippe se doceri etdelectari, flecti autem lacrymis indicabant. Quas ubi aspexi, immanem illam consuc­ tudiucm a patribus et avis, longeque a majoribus traditam, quae pectora corum hostiliter obsidebat, vel potius, possidebat, devictam, antequam re ipsa id ostenderent, credidi. Mexque sermone finito ad agen­ das Dco gratias corda atquc ora converti. Et ecce jam ferme octo vel amplius anni sunt, propitio Christo, ex quo illic nihil tale tentatum est. Sunt ct alia multa experimenta quabus didicimus, homines, quid ' in cis fecerit sapientis granditas dictionis, noncia­ more potius quam gemitu, aliquando etiam lacrymis, postremo vitæ mutatione monstrasse. Submisso etiam dicendi gonere sunt plerique mutati: sed ut qued nesciebant, s irent, aut quod cis videbatur ineredibile, crudorent; non autem ut age­ rent quod agendum jam novesant, et agere nolebant. Ad hujusmodi namque duritiam flectendam, debet granditer dici. Nam et laudes ct vituperationes quando eloquenter dicuntur, cum sint in genere temperato, sic afficiunt quosdam, ut non solum in laudibus et vituperationibus eloquentia delectentur, verum et ipsi laudabiliter appetant, fugiantque vituperabiliter vi­ vere.Sed numquid omnes qui delectantur, mutantur1, sicut in grandi genere omnes qui flectuntur, agunt; et in submisso gcnerc omnes qui docentur, sciunt, aut credunt verum esse quod nesciunt? ### English translation (Claude) Certainly, if a speaker is applauded more often and more loudly, he is not on that account to be thought to be speaking in the grand style; for the sharpness of the subdued kind and the ornaments of the temperate also produce this. The grand kind, however, usually presses down voices by its weight, but presses out tears. Indeed, when at Caesarea in Mauretania I was dissuading the people from a civil war, or rather worse than civil, which they called the Caterva (for not only citizens, but even relatives, brothers, and finally parents and children, divided into two sides, fought one another with stones for several days in succession, solemnly, at a fixed time of year, and each killed whomever he could), I spoke indeed in the grand style, as far as I was able, to tear out and drive by speaking so cruel and inveterate an evil from their hearts and customs; yet I did not think I had achieved anything when I heard them applauding, but when I saw them weeping. For by their applause they showed that they were being taught and delighted, but by their tears that they were being moved. When I saw these, I believed that that monstrous custom, handed down from their fathers and grandfathers and from their ancestors long before, which was besieging, or rather possessing, their hearts like an enemy, was overcome, before they showed it in fact. And as soon as the sermon was finished, I turned their hearts and mouths to giving thanks to God. And behold, it is now about eight years or more, by the favor of Christ, since nothing of the kind has been attempted there. There are many other experiences too by which we have learned that people have shown what the grandeur of a wise man's speech has done in them, not by applause but rather by groaning, sometimes even by tears, and finally by a change of life. Many too have been changed by the subdued kind of speaking; but so as to know what they did not know, or to believe what seemed incredible to them; not so as to do what they already knew was to be done and were unwilling to do. For to bend hardness of this kind one must speak grandly. For even praises and censures, when they are spoken eloquently, though they belong to the temperate kind, so affect some people that they are not only delighted by the eloquence in the praises and censures, but themselves seek to live praiseworthily and shun living blameworthily. But are all who are delighted changed, as in the grand kind all who are moved act, and in the subdued kind all who are taught know, or believe to be true what they did not know? ### Translation notes - The Caterva was an annual ritual fight with stones at Caesarea (modern Cherchell, Algeria); Augustine preached there in 418. Migne's note marker (a) is removed by a logged correction. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 4.24 (PL 34:91; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-21/#p-4-24). ## On Christian Doctrine 4.25 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-21/#p-4-25 - Source: PL 34:91–92 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Eloquence aims to persuade; the temperate style's delight should not be an end in itself but should serve to win people to the good. ### Latin text Unde colligitur illa duo genera quod efficere intendunt, hoc eis esse maxime necessarium, qui sa­ pienter et eloquenter volunt dicere. Illud vero quod agitur genere temperato, id est, ut eloquentia ipsa de­ leclet, non est propter seipsum usurpandum; sed ut rebus quæ utiliter bonestequc dicuntur, si nec docente indigent eloquio nec movente, quia et scientes et fa­ ventes auditores habent, aliquanto promptius ex de- Iectatione ip;a elocutionis, accedat vel tcnacius ad­ hærescat assensus. Nam cum eloquentiæ sil univer­ sale officium, in quocumque istorum trium generum, dicere apte ad persuasioncm; finis autem, id quod intenderis, | ersuadere dicendo: in quocumque isto­ rum trium generum dicit quidem eloquens apte ad persuasionem, sed nisi persuadeat, ad finem non per­ venit eloquentiæ. Persuadet autcm in submisso ge­ nere vera esse quae dicit; persuadet in grandi, ut agantur quæ agenda esse jam sciuntur, rICC aguntur; persuadet in genere temperato, pulchre ornateque se dicere: quo fine nobis quid opus est? Appetant cum qui lingua gloriantur, et se in panegyricis talihusquc dictionibus jactant, ubi nec ducendus, nee ad aliquid agendum movendus, sed tantummodo est delectandus auditor. Nos vero istum finem referamus ad alterum finem, ut scilicct quod efficere volumus, cum grandi­ ter dicimus, hoc etiam isto velimus, id est, ut bona anorum diligantur, vel devitentur mala; si ab hac aione non sic alieni sunt homines, ut ad eam grandi genere dictionis urgendi vidcantur: aut, si jam id agunt, ut agant studiosius, atque in co firmitcr perscverent Ita fit ut ctiain temperati generis orcatu. no:. jactanter, scd prudenter utmur: non cjus firc con­ tenti, quo tantummodo delectatur auditor; scd hoc potius agentes, ut etiam ipso ad bonum quod persua­ dere volumus, adjuvetur. ### English translation (Claude) From this it is gathered that what those two kinds aim to accomplish is most necessary for those who wish to speak wisely and eloquently. But what is done in the temperate kind, namely that eloquence itself should delight, is not to be employed for its own sake; but so that for things that are said usefully and honorably, if they need neither teaching nor moving speech, because they have hearers who both know and are favorable, assent may come somewhat more readily, or cling more tenaciously, from the very delight in the style. For since the universal duty of eloquence, in whichever of these three kinds, is to speak in a way suited to persuasion, and the end, what you intend, is to persuade by speaking, in whichever of these three kinds the eloquent man speaks indeed in a way suited to persuasion, but unless he persuades, he does not reach the end of eloquence. In the subdued kind he persuades that what he says is true; in the grand, that what is already known should be done is done; in the temperate kind he persuades that he is speaking beautifully and ornately: what need have we of this end? Let those seek it who glory in their tongue and show themselves off in panegyrics and speeches of that kind, where the hearer is neither to be taught nor moved to do anything, but only delighted. But let us refer this end to another end, namely that what we wish to accomplish when we speak grandly we should wish to accomplish by this too, that is, that good conduct be loved or evil avoided; if people are not so estranged from this action that they seem to need to be urged to it by the grand kind of speaking; or, if they are already doing it, that they may do it more zealously and persevere in it firmly. So it comes about that we use even the ornament of the temperate kind not boastfully but prudently; not content with its end, by which the hearer is only delighted, but aiming rather that by it too he may be helped toward the good of which we wish to persuade him. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 4.25 (PL 34:91–92; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-21/#p-4-25). ## On Christian Doctrine 4.26 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-21/#p-4-26 - Source: PL 34:92 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The three aims, understanding, pleasure, and obedience, apply to all three styles, not one aim to each style. ### Latin text Ilia itaque tria, quæ supra posuimus, eum qni sapienter dicit, si etiam eloquenter vult dicere, id agere debere, ut intelligenter, ut libenter, ut obcdicn­ ter audiatur, non sic accipienda sunt tanquam singula illis tribus dicendi generibus ita tribuantur, ut ad submissum intelligenter, ad temperatum libenter, ad grande pertineat obedienter audiri; sed sic potius ut hac tria semper intendat, ct quamtum potest agat, etiam cum in illorum singulo quoque versatur. Nolu­ mus enim fastidiri, eLiam quod submisse dicimus; ac rer hoc volumus non solum intelligenter, verum etiam hbenter audiri. Quid autem agimus, divinis testimo­ uiis docendo quod dicimus, nisi ut obedienter audia­ mur, id est ut credatur eis, opitulante illo cui dictum est, Testimoma tua credita I facta sunt valde ( Psal. XCII, 5)? Quid etiam cupit nisi credi, qui aliquid, licet submisso eloquio, discentibus narrat? et quis eum velit audire, nisi auditorem nonnulla cHam suavitate detineat! Nam si non intelligatur, quis nesciat nec li­ benter cum posse, ore obedienter audiri? Plerumque autem dictio ipsa subluissa, dum soh'it I difficillimas quæstiones, et inopinata manifestatione demonstrat; dum sententias acutissimas de nescio quibus quasi cavernis, unde non sperabatur, eruit, et estendit; dum adversarii convincit crrorcm, ct docet falsum esse quod ab illo dici vidcbatur invictum; maxime quando adest ci quoddam decus non appetitum, scd quodammodo naturale, et nonnulla, non jactanticula, sed quasi necessaria, atque, ut ita dicam, ipsis rebus extorta I numerositas clausularum; tantas acclama­ tiones excitat, ut vix intelligatur esse submissa. Non enim quia nequo incedit ornata, nequc armata, sed tanquam nuda congreditur, ideo non adversarium nervis lacertisquc collidit; et obsistentem subruit ac destruit membris fortissimis falsitatem. Unde autem crebro ct multum acclamatur ita dicentibus, nisi quia veritas sic demonstrata, sic defensa, sic invicta de­ lectat? Et in hoc igitur genere submisso iste noster doctor et dictor id agere dcbet, ut non solum intelli­ genter, verum etiam libenter et obcdienter audiatur. Ula quoque cloquentia generis temperati apud cloqucntem ecclesiasticum, nee inornata relinquitur, nec indecenter ornatur: lice solum hoc appetit ut de- Icctet, quod solum apud alios profitetur; verum etiam in iis quælaudat, sive vituperat, istis appetendis vel firmius tenendis, illis autcm devitandis vcl respuen­ dis, vult utique obedienter audiri. Si autem non audi­ tur intelligenter, nee libenter potest. Proinde illa tria, ut intelligant qui audiunt, ut delectentur, ut obe­ diant, cliam in hoc genere agendum est, ubi tenet delectatio principatum. Jam vero ubi movere et nectere grandi gonere opus cst auditorcm quod tunc est opus, quando l'I veraciter dici et suaviter confitetur, ct tamcn non vult facere quod dicitur), dicendum est procul dubio granditer. Sed quis movetur, si nescit quod dicitur? aut quis tenetur ut audiat, si non dclectatur? Unde et in isto genere, ubi ad obedientiam cor durum dictio­ nis granditate flectendum est, nisi et intelligenter et libenter qui dicit audiatur, non potest obcdienler au­ diti. ### English translation (Claude) So those three things which we set out above, that one who speaks wisely, if he also wishes to speak eloquently, ought to aim at being heard with understanding, with pleasure, and with obedience, are not to be taken as though each were assigned to one of those three kinds of speaking, so that being heard with understanding belongs to the subdued, with pleasure to the temperate, and with obedience to the grand; but rather so that he always aims at these three, and achieves them as far as he can, even when he is engaged in any one of those kinds. For we do not wish even what we say in a subdued way to be found tiresome; and so we wish to be heard not only with understanding but also with pleasure. And what do we aim at, when we teach what we say by divine testimonies, but to be heard with obedience, that is, that they be believed, with the help of him to whom it is said, “Your testimonies have become very credible”? What does one who narrates something to learners, even in subdued speech, desire but to be believed? And who would wish to hear him unless he holds the hearer with some charm too? For if he is not understood, who does not know that he can be heard neither with pleasure nor with obedience? Often, however, the subdued style itself, when it resolves very difficult questions and demonstrates them with an unexpected clarity; when it digs out and shows very sharp ideas from some caves, as it were, where they were not expected; when it convicts an opponent's error and teaches that what seemed to be said invincibly by him is false; especially when there is in it a certain grace that is not sought but in a way natural, and some rhythm of closes, not showy but as it were necessary, and, so to speak, wrung out by the things themselves: it arouses such applause that it is scarcely understood to be subdued. For because it goes forth neither adorned nor armed, but engages as if naked, it does not on that account fail to crush its opponent with sinews and muscles, and to overthrow and destroy resisting falsehood with very strong limbs. And why are those who speak in this way frequently and much applauded, except that truth so demonstrated, so defended, so invincible, delights? In this subdued kind, then, this teacher and speaker of ours ought to aim at being heard not only with understanding but also with pleasure and with obedience. That eloquence of the temperate kind too, in the eloquent churchman, is neither left unadorned nor indecently adorned; nor does it aim only at delighting, which is all that it professes among others; but in the things it praises or blames, so that the former may be sought or held more firmly and the latter avoided or rejected, it certainly wishes to be heard with obedience. And if it is not heard with understanding, it cannot be heard with pleasure either. Therefore those three, that those who hear may understand, be delighted, and obey, must be aimed at in this kind too, where delight holds the chief place. Now where there is need to move and bend the hearer in the grand kind (which is needed when he admits that something is said truly and pleasingly, and yet does not wish to do what is said), one must without doubt speak grandly. But who is moved if he does not know what is said? Or who is held to listen if he is not delighted? Hence in this kind too, where the hard heart is to be bent to obedience by the grandeur of speech, unless the speaker is heard both with understanding and with pleasure, he cannot be heard with obedience. ### Scripture references - Ps 93:5 (92:5 LXX): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotation from Ps 93:5 (92:5 LXX/Vulg.). ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 4.26 (PL 34:92; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-21/#p-4-26). ## On Christian Doctrine 4.27 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-21/#p-4-27 - Source: PL 34:92–93 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The preacher's life gives his words more weight than eloquence; the wicked may teach truth from the chair of Moses, but a good life persuades far more. ### Latin text Habet autcm ut obedienter audiatur, quanta­ cumquc granditate dictionis majus pondus vita dicen­ tis. Nan qui sapienter et eloquenter dicit, vivit autem nequiter, crudit quidem inultos discendi studiosos, quamvis animæ lucc sit inutilis, sicut scriptum est '. Unde ait et Apostolus: Sive occa. sione, sive veritate, Christus annuntietur. Christus autem,.critas cst, et tamen etiam non vcritatc annuntiari,critas potest: id cst, ut pravo ct fallaci corde, quæ recta et vcra sunt, prædicentur. Sic quippc annuntiatur Jesus Christus ab eis qui sua quxrunt, non quæ Jesui Christi. Scd quoniam boni fideles non quemlibet hominum, sed ipsum Dominum obedienter audiunt, qui ait, Qum dicunt, facite; quæ autem faciunt, facere nolite: dicunt enim, et non faciunt; ideo audiuntur ufilitcr, qui etiam utiliter non agunt. Sua enim quæerere student, sed sua docere non au­ dent, de loco scilicet superiore sedis ecclesiasticæ, quam sana doctrina constituit. Propter quod ipse Do­ minus priusquam de talibus, quod commemoravi, diceret, præmisit, Super cathedram Moysi sederunt. Illa ergo cathedra, non eorum sed Moysi, cogebat cos bona dicere, etiam non bona facientes. Agebant ergo sua in vita sua; docere autem sua, cathedra illos non permittebat aliena. Multis itaque prosunt dicendo quæ non faciunt; scd longe pluribus prodessent facicndo quæ dicunt. Abundant enim qui malae vitæsuæ defensionem ex ipsis suis præpositis et doctoribus quærant, respon­ dentes corde suo, aut eliam si ad hoc'erumpunt, ore suo, atque dicentes: Quod mihi præcipis, cur ipso non facis? Ita fit ut cum non obedienter audiant, qui se ipse non audit, et Dei verbum quod eiS pracdicatur, simul cnm ipso prædicatore contemuant. Denique Apostolus scribens ad Timotheum, cum dixisset, Nemo adolescentiam tuam contemnal; subjecit unde ron contemneretur, atque ait: Sed forma esto fide­ lium in sermone, in conversatione, in dilectione, in fide, in castitate. ### English translation (Claude) But for being heard with obedience, the speaker's life has greater weight than any grandeur of speech. For one who speaks wisely and eloquently, but lives wickedly, does indeed instruct many who are eager to learn, though he is useless to his own soul, as it is written. Hence the Apostle too says: “Whether in pretense or in truth, let Christ be proclaimed.” Now Christ is the truth, and yet the truth can be proclaimed even not in truth: that is, things that are right and true can be preached with a wicked and deceitful heart. For so Jesus Christ is proclaimed by those who seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But since good believers listen with obedience not to just any man, but to the Lord himself, who says, “What they say, do; but what they do, do not do; for they say and do not do,” those who do not act profitably are nevertheless heard profitably. For they are eager to seek their own interests, but they do not dare to teach their own things, namely from the higher place of the church's chair, which sound teaching has established. That is why the Lord himself, before he said what I have mentioned about such people, said first, “They have sat on the chair of Moses.” That chair, then, not theirs but Moses', compelled them to say good things even when they did not do good things. So they did their own things in their life; but the chair, which was another's, did not allow them to teach their own things. So they benefit many by saying what they do not do; but they would benefit far more by doing what they say. For there are plenty who seek a defense of their own bad life from their very superiors and teachers, answering in their heart, or even, if they break out so far, with their mouth, and saying: “What you command me, why do you not do it yourself?” So it comes about that they do not listen with obedience to one who does not listen to himself, and they despise the word of God which is preached to them together with the preacher himself. Finally the Apostle, writing to Timothy, when he had said, “Let no one despise your youth,” added how he might not be despised, and said, “But be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in faith, in chastity.” ### Scripture references - Phil 1:18: quotation, high confidence - Phil 2:21: allusion, high confidence - Matt 23:2–3: quotation, high confidence - 1 Tim 4:12: quotation, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Sir 37:19 (Sirach): allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - “Useless to his own soul, as it is written”: the quotation is omitted in the text; it is Sir 37:19 (37:22 Vulg.). Quotations from Phil 1:18, Phil 2:21, Matt 23:2–3, and 1 Tim 4:12. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 4.27 (PL 34:92–93; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-21/#p-4-27). ## On Christian Doctrine 4.28 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-21/#p-4-28 - Source: PL 34:93 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The good teacher prefers truth to words, avoids quarreling over words while refuting error, and should speak wisely if he cannot speak eloquently. ### Latin text Talis doctor ut obedienter audiatur, non im­. pudenter non solum submisse ac temperate, verum etiam granditer dicit, quia non contemptibiliter vivit. Sic namque eligit bonam vitam, ut etiam bonam non negligat famam, sed provideat bona coram Deo et ho­ uainibus, quantum potest, illum li­ menda, his consulendo. In ipso etiam sermone malit rebus placcre quam verbis; nec aestimet dici melius, nisi quod dicitur vcrius; nec ductor verbis serviat, sed verba doctori. noc est enim quod Apostolus ait: Non in sapientia verbi, ne evacuetur crux Christi. Ad hoc valet etiam quod ait ad Timotheum: Noli verbis contendere; ad nihil enim utile est, nisi ad subversionem audientium. Neque enim hoc ideo dictum est, ut adversariis oppugnantibus vc­ ritatcm, nihil nos pro veritate dicamus. Et ubi erit quod cum ostenderet qualis essc cpiscopus debeat, ait inter cætera: IIt potens sit in doctrina sana et contra­ dicentes redarguere? Veibis enim contendere, est non curare quomodo error verilate vincatur, scd quomodo tua dictio dictioni praeferatur alterius. Porro qui non verbis contendit, sivc submisse, sive tempe­ rate, sive granditer dicat, id agit verbis ut veritas pa­ teat, '.critas placcat, veritas moveat; quoniam nec ipsa, quae præecpti finis et plenitudo Legis est charitas, ullo modo recta esse potest, si ea quæ diliguntur, non vera, sed falsa sunt. Sicut autcm cujus pulchrum corpus et deformis est animus, magis dolendus est, quam si deforme haberet ct corpus; ita qui eloquenter ca quae falsa sunt dicunt, magis miserandi sunt, quam si talia deformitcr dice­ rent. Quid est ergo non solum eloquenter, verum < tiam sapienter diccre, nisi verba in submisso genere sufficientia, in temperato splendentia, in grandi vehe­ mentia, veriS tamen rebus, quas audiri oporteat, adhibere? Sed qui utrumque non potest, dicat sapien­ ter quod non dicit cloquenter, potius quam dicat c!oquenter quod dicit insipienter. ### English translation (Claude) Such a teacher, in order to be heard with obedience, speaks without impudence not only in the subdued and temperate styles but also in the grand style, because he does not live contemptibly. For he chooses a good life in such a way as not to neglect a good reputation either, but to provide what is good before God and men, as far as he can, fearing the one and caring for the others. In his discourse itself, too, let him prefer to please by things rather than by words; and let him not think anything better said unless it is more truly said; nor let the teacher serve the words, but the words the teacher. For this is what the Apostle says: “Not in wisdom of word, lest the cross of Christ be made void.” To this also applies what he says to Timothy: “Do not quarrel about words; for it is useful for nothing but the subversion of the hearers.” For this was not said so that we should say nothing for the truth when opponents attack it. And then where would be what he says, among other things, when he showed what kind of man a bishop ought to be: “that he may be able in sound teaching to refute those who contradict”? For to quarrel about words is to care not how error may be overcome by truth, but how your speech may be preferred to another's. But one who does not quarrel about words, whether he speaks in the subdued, temperate, or grand style, aims by his words that truth may be made plain, that truth may please, that truth may move; since not even love, which is the end of the commandment and the fulfillment of the Law, can in any way be right if the things loved are not true but false. And just as one who has a beautiful body and an ugly soul is more to be pitied than if he also had an ugly body, so those who say false things eloquently are more to be pitied than if they said such things in an ugly way. What, then, is it to speak not only eloquently but also wisely, except to use words that are adequate in the subdued kind, splendid in the temperate, forceful in the grand, but about true things which ought to be heard? But one who cannot do both should say wisely what he cannot say eloquently, rather than say eloquently what he says foolishly. ### Scripture references - 2 Cor 8:21: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 1:17: quotation, high confidence - 2 Tim 2:14: quotation, high confidence - Titus 1:9: quotation, high confidence - 1 Tim 1:5: allusion, high confidence - Rom 13:10: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations from 2 Cor 8:21 (Rom 12:17), 1 Cor 1:17, 2 Tim 2:14, and Titus 1:9; the end of the commandment: 1 Tim 1:5; love the fulfillment of the Law: Rom 13:10. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 4.28 (PL 34:93; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-21/#p-4-28). ## On Christian Doctrine 4.29 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-29/#p-4-29 - Source: PL 34:93 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Those who cannot compose may preach others' sermons without blame, for God's word belongs to those who obey it; a bad man who speaks well speaks words not truly his own. ### Latin text Si autem ne hoc quidem potest, ita conversetur, ut non solum sibi præmium comparet, sed etiam præbeat aliis exemplum, et sit ejus quasi copia dicen­ di forma vivendi. Sunt sane quidam qui bene pronuntiare pos­ sunt, quidautem pronuntient, excogitare non possunt. Quod si ab aliis sumant eloquenter sapienterquc con­ scriptum, memoriæque commendent, atque ad popu- 1 um proferant; si eam personam gerunt, non improbe faciunt. Sic enim, quod profecto utile ese, multi pracdicatores veritatis fiunt, nec multi magistri, si uriins veri magistri idipsum dicant omnes, ct nou sint in eis schismata ( I Cor. i, 10 ). Nec deterrendi sunt isti voce Jeremiæ prophetæ, per quem Deus arguit eos qui furantur verba ejus, unusquisque a proxi­ mo suo. Qui enim furantur, alienum auferunt; verbum autem Dei non est ab eis alienum, qui obtemperant ci: potiusque ille dicit aliena, qui cum dicat bene, vivit malc. Quæcumque cnim bona dicit, ejus excogitari videntur ingenio, sed ab ejus moribus aliena sunt. Eos itaque dixit Deus furari ver­ ba sua, qui boni volunt vidcri, loqucndo quæ Dei sunt; cum mali sint, facicndo quæ sua sunt. Nec sane ipsi dicunt bona quæ dicunt, si diligenter attendas. Quomodo enim dicunt verbis, quod negant factis? Non enim frustra de talibus ait Apostolus: Confiten­ tur se nosse Deum, fuctis autem negant. Modo ergo quodam ipsi dicunt, et rursus alio modo non ipsi dicunt, quoniam utrumque verum est quod Veritas ait. De talibus enim loquens, Quœ dicunt, inquit, facite; quæ autem faciunt, facere nolite; hoc esl, Quod ex ore illorum auditis, facite; quod in opere videtis, facere nolite: dicunt enim, inquit, et non faciunt. Ergo quamvis non fa­ ciant, dicunt tamen. Sed alio loco tales arguens: Hypocritæ, inquit, quomodo potestis bona loqui, cum sitis mali? Ac per hoc et ea quae dicunt, quando bona dicunt, non ipsi dicunt, voluntate scili­ cet atque opere nrgando quod dicunt. Unde contingit ut homo disertus et malus, sermonem quo veritas pracdicctur, dicendum ab alio non diserto sed bono, ipse componat; quod cum fit, ipse a seipso tradit alienum, ille ab alieno accipit suum. Cum vero boni fideles bonis fidelibus hanc operam commodant, utri­ que sua dicunt: quia et Deus ipsorum est, cujus sunt illa quae dicunl; et ea sua faciunt, quoe non ipsi com­ ponere potuerunt, qui secundum ilia composite vivunt. ### English translation (Claude) But if he cannot even do this, let him so conduct himself that he not only gains a reward for himself but also gives an example to others, and his way of living may be, as it were, an abundance of speech. There are indeed some who can deliver well, but cannot think out what to deliver. If they take from others what has been written eloquently and wisely, commit it to memory, and bring it before the people, they do not act wrongly, if they play that part. For in this way, which is certainly useful, many become preachers of the truth, but not many masters, if they all say the same thing as the one true Master, and there are no schisms among them. Nor should they be deterred by the voice of the prophet Jeremiah, through whom God rebukes those who steal his words, each from his neighbor. For those who steal take away what belongs to another; but the word of God does not belong to another for those who obey it; rather, he speaks another's words who, though he speaks well, lives badly. For whatever good things he says seem to be thought out by his own mind, but they are foreign to his conduct. So God said that those steal his words who wish to seem good by speaking the things that are God's, while they are bad by doing the things that are their own. Nor, if you consider carefully, do they themselves say the good things they say. For how do they say in words what they deny in deeds? For not in vain does the Apostle say of such people: “They profess that they know God, but in deeds they deny him.” In one way, then, they themselves say it, and in another way they do not themselves say it, since both things the Truth says are true. For, speaking of such people, he says, “What they say, do; but what they do, do not do”; that is, “What you hear from their mouth, do; what you see in their work, do not do; for they say,” he says, “and do not do.” So although they do not do, they still say. But in another place, rebuking such people, he says, “Hypocrites, how can you speak good things when you are evil?” And so even what they say, when they say good things, they do not themselves say, denying by will and deed what they say. Hence it can happen that an eloquent but bad man composes a sermon in which truth is preached, to be delivered by another who is not eloquent but good; when this happens, the former hands over from himself what is not his own, and the latter receives from another what is his own. But when good believers lend this service to good believers, both speak their own words: because God is theirs, whose are the things they say; and those who live in accordance with them make their own the things they could not compose themselves. ### Scripture references - Matt 23:8–10: allusion, medium confidence - 1 Cor 1:10: allusion, high confidence - Jer 23:30: quotation, high confidence - Titus 1:16: quotation, high confidence - Matt 23:3: quotation, high confidence - Matt 12:34: quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Quotations from Jer 23:30, Titus 1:16, Matt 23:3, and Matt 12:34; one Master and no schisms: Matt 23:8–10; 1 Cor 1:10. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 4.29 (PL 34:93; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-29/#p-4-29). ## On Christian Doctrine 4.30 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-29/#p-4-30 - Source: PL 34:93 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Every preacher, whether speaking or dictating his own words or others', should pray before and give thanks after, as Esther prayed before speaking to the king. ### Latin text Sive autcm apud populum vel apud quoslibet jamjamque dicturus, sive quod apud populum dicen­ dum vel ab cis qui voluerint aut potuerint legendum, est dictalurns; oret ut Deus sermonem bonum det in os ejus. Si enim regina oravit Esther, pro suae gentis temporaria salute locutura apud regem, ut in os ejus Deus congruum sermonem daret; quanto magis orare debet, ut tale munus accipiat, qui pro aeterna hominum salute in verbo ct doctrina laborat? Illi vero qui ea dicturi sunt quæ ab aliis acceperunt, et antequam accipiant, orent pro cis a quibus accipiunt, ut cis detur quod per eos accipere volunt; et cum acceperint, orent ut bene et ipsi pro­ ferant, et illi ad quos proferuntsumant; etde prospe­ ro exitu dictionis eidem gratias agant, a quo id se accepisse non dubitant: ut qui gloriatur, in illo glo­ rietur, in cujus manu sunt et nos et sermones nostri. ### English translation (Claude) But whether he is about to speak before the people or before any others, or to dictate what is to be spoken before the people or read by those who wish or are able, let him pray that God may put a good word in his mouth. For if Queen Esther prayed, when she was about to speak before the king for the temporal safety of her people, that God would put a fitting word in her mouth, how much more ought one to pray for such a gift who labors in word and teaching for the eternal salvation of human beings? And those who are to say what they have received from others, let them pray, even before they receive it, for those from whom they receive it, that what they wish to receive through them may be given to them; and when they have received it, let them pray that they themselves may deliver it well, and that those to whom they deliver it may take it in; and let them give thanks for the happy outcome of the speech to him from whom they do not doubt they have received it; so that he who glories may glory in him in whose hand are both we and our words. ### Scripture references - 1 Tim 5:17: allusion, high confidence - 1 Cor 1:31: allusion, high confidence ### Extrabiblical texts - Add Esth 14:13 (Additions to Esther): allusion, high confidence - Wis 7:16 (Wisdom of Solomon): quotation, high confidence ### Translation notes - Esther's prayer is in the Greek additions to Esther (Add Esth 14:13, Rest of Esther C 24 in other numbering), which the site counts as extrabiblical. Labor in word and teaching: 1 Tim 5:17; he who glories: 1 Cor 1:31 (2 Cor 10:17); in whose hand are we and our words: Wis 7:16. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 4.30 (PL 34:93; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-29/#p-4-30). ## On Christian Doctrine 4.31 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-29/#p-4-31 - Source: PL 34:94 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Augustine concludes, thanking God that he has described not himself but what the Christian teacher ought to be. ### Latin text Longior evasit liber hic qnam volebam, quam­ que putaveram. Sed legenti vel audienti, cui gratus est, longus non est: cui autem longus est, per partes eum legat, qui babere vult cognitum; quem vero co­ guitionis ejus piget, de longitudine non queratur. Ego tamen Deo nostro gratias ago, quod in his qua­ tuor libris non qualis ego cssem, cui multa desunt, sed qualis esse dcbeat, qui in doctrina sana, id est christiana, non solum sibi, sed etiam aliis laborare studet, quantulacumque potui facultate disserui. ### English translation (Claude) This book has turned out longer than I wished and than I had thought. But to the reader or hearer who finds it welcome, it is not long; and one who finds it long, if he wishes to know it, should read it in parts; but one who is weary of knowing it should not complain of its length. I, however, give thanks to our God that in these four books I have discussed, with whatever small ability I could, not what kind of man I am, who lack much, but what kind of man he ought to be who is eager to labor in sound teaching, that is, Christian teaching, not only for himself but also for others. ### Scripture references - Titus 2:1: allusion, medium confidence ### Translation notes - Sound teaching: 1 Tim 1:10; Titus 2:1. ### Citation (SBL) Augustine, Doctr. chr. 4.31 (PL 34:94; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/augustine-doctrina-christiana/4-29/#p-4-31).