Tao Te Ching

The Power of Goodness, the Wisdom Beyond Words
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Augustine ɔːɡəstiːn

(Saint Augustine, Saint Austin, Augustine of Hippo)

354 – 430 CE

Philosophical Christian theologian, Neoplatonist, prolific writer of over 100 books, and strong influence on the evolution of Western philosophy; Augustine fought against slavery and pre-emptive war, supported women’s rights, and encouraged the acceptance of Jews. Although responsible for defining and promoting the concept of original sin, railing against magic, and fighting against paganism; his vision of the “heavenly city” positively influenced Marxism, the Enlightenment, and the environmental movement. Although used as a foundation for dogmatic belief systems, he appreciated doubt and described the search for truth and understanding as a “restless journey.” Channeling the mysticism of Plotinus and influenced by Virgil, Cicero, Stoicism, and Platonism; he became a focus for later philosophers like Schopenhauer, Kierkegaard, Bertrand Russell, Nietzsche, and Heidegger.

Lineages
Christian

Eras

Unlisted Sources

Confessions

Confessions (397-398)

Quotes by Augustine (15 quotes)

“He that is kind is free, though he is a slave; he that is evil is a slave, though he be a king.”

Chapters: 69. No Enemy

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“That which is called the Christian religion existed among the ancients and never did not exist from the beginning of the human race”

Chapters: 6. The Source

Themes: Christianity

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“You must be emptied of that with which you are full, so you may be filled with that whereof you are empty.”

Chapters: 11. Appreciating Emptiness

Themes: Emptiness

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“Love, and do what you like.”

Themes: Love

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“It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that makes men as angels”

Chapters: 67. Three Treasures

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“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page... [but] Go not outside; truth dwells in the inner man.”

Themes: Travel

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“Patience is the companion of wisdom.”
Themes: Patience

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“The words printed here are concepts. You must go through the experiences.”

Chapters: 2. The Wordless Teachings

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“Miracles are not contrary to nature, but only contrary to what we know about nature”

Themes: Magic

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“The purpose of all wars…is peace.”

Themes: Peace War

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“You aspire to great things? Begin with little ones.”

Themes: Less is More

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“If you say, 'It's enough, I have reached perfection,' all is lost. The task of perfection is to help us see our imperfection.”

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“mists fumed up and overcast my heart, that I could not discern the clear brightness of love, from the fog of lustfulness.”

from Confessions

Themes: Sex Desire

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“Every disorder in the soul is its own punishment.”

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“Poetry is devil's wine.”

from Confessions (397-398)

Themes: Poetry

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Quotes about Augustine (3 quotes)

“St. Augustine, the first intellectual superstar of Christian theology spent his early years 'in the shadowy jungle of erotic adventures' and 'hellish pleasures', and fathered a son with a woman he never married and then abandoned... His formulation of the doctrine of original sin made clear that ever since Adam's fall from grace in the Garden of Eden, humankind had been corrupted by the filthy allures of lust.”

Roman Krznaric 1
Practical, popular, modern philosopher

from Carpe Diem Regained (2017)

Themes: Pleasure

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“St. Augustine knew perfectly well that if you asked people about it, most of them would prefer to have sex than pray to god... [ proving ] only that humankind is sinful by nature and easily seduced by Satan. From a Christian viewpoint, the vast majority of people are in more or less the same situation as heroin addicts.”

Yuval Harari יובל נח הררי‎ 1976 CE –
Israeli historian, professor, and philosopher

from Sapiens

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“I dreamed I saw St. Augustine alive as you or me
Tearing through these quarters in the utmost misery
Searching for the very souls whom already have been sold”

Bob Dylan 1941 CE – via I dreamed I saw St. Augustine
from John Wesley Harding, 1967

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