Augustine of Hippo, The Confessions

34. Let no one now trouble me by saying, Moses thought not as you say, but as I say.” For should he ask me, “Whence knowest thou that Moses thought this which you deduce from his words?” I ought to take it contentedly,1028 See p. 48, note, and p. 164, note 2, above. and reply perhaps as I have before, or somewhat more fully should he be obstinate. But when he says, “Moses meant not what you say, but what I say,” and yet denies not what each of us says, and that both are true, O my God, life of the poor, in whose bosom there is no contradiction, pour down into my heart Thy soothings, that I may patiently bear with such as say this to me; not because they are divine, and because they have seen in the heart of Thy servant what they say, but because they are proud, and have not known the opinion of Moses, but love their own,—not because it is true, but because it is their own. Otherwise they would equally love another true opinion, as I love what they say when they speak what is true; not because it is theirs, but because it is true, and therefore now not theirs because true. But if they therefore love that because it is true, it is now both theirs and mine, since it is common to all the lovers of truth. But because they contend that Moses meant not what I say, but I what they themselves say, this I neither like nor love; because, though it were so, yet that rashness is not of knowledge, but of audacity; and not vision, but vanity brought it forth. And therefore, O Lord, are Thy judgments to be dreaded, since Thy truth is neither mine, nor his, nor another’s, but of all of us, whom Thou publicly callest to have it in common, warning us terribly not to hold it as specially for ourselves, lest we be deprived of it. For whosoever claims to himself as his own that which Thou appointed to all to enjoy, and desires that to be his own which belongs to all, is forced away from what is common to all to that which is his own—that is, from truth to falsehood. For he that “speaketh a lie, speaketh of his own.”1029 John viii. 44.

35. Hearken, O God, Thou best Judge! Truth itself, hearken to what I shall say to this gainsayer; hearken, for before Thee I say it, and before my brethren who use Thy law lawfully, to the end of charity;1030 1 Tim. i. 8. hearken and behold what I shall say to him, if it be pleasing unto Thee. For this brotherly and peaceful word do I return unto him: “If we both see that that which thou sayest is true, and if we both see that what I say is true, where, I ask, do we see it? Certainly not I in thee, nor thou in me, but both in the unchangeable truth itself,1031 As to all truth being God’s, see vii. sec. 16, and note 3, above; and compare x. sec. 65, above. which is above our minds.” When, therefore, we may not contend about the very light of the Lord our God, why do we contend about the thoughts of. our neighbour, which we cannot so see as incommutable truth is seen; when, if Moses himself had appeared to us and said, “This I meant,” not so should we see it, but believe it? Let us not, then, “be puffed up for one against the other,”1032 1 Cor. iv. 6. above that which is written; let us love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind, and our neighbour as ourself.1033 Mark xii. 30, 31. As to which two precepts of charity, unless we believe that Moses meant whatever in these books he did mean, we shall make God a liar when we think otherwise concerning our fellow-servants’ mind than He hath taught us. Behold, now, how foolish it is, in so great an abundance of the truest opinions which can be extracted from these words, rashly to affirm which of them Moses particularly meant; and with pernicious contentions to offend charity itself, on account of which he hath spoken all the things whose words we endeavour to explain!

CAPUT XXV. Adversus eos qui aliorum interpretandi rationem temere rejiciunt.

34. Nemo mihi jam molestus sit dicendo mihi: Non hoc sensit Moyses quod tu dicis; sed hoc sensit quod ego dico. Si enim mihi diceret: Unde scis hoc sensisse Moysen quod de his verbis ejus eloqueris? aequo animo ferre deberem et responderem fortasse quae superius respondi, vel aliquanto uberius, si esset durior. Cum vero dicit: Non hoc ille sensit quod tu dicis, sed quod ego dico; neque tamen negat, quod uterque nostrum dicit, utrumque verum esse: o vita pauperum Deus meus, in cujus sinu non est contradictio, plue mihi mitigationes in cor, ut patienter tales feram qui non mihi hoc dicunt, quia divini sunt, et in corde famuli tui viderunt quod dicunt; sed quia superbi sunt; nec noverunt Moysi sententiam, sed amant suam; non quia vera est, sed quia sua est. Alioquin 0840 et aliam veram pariter amarent, sicut ego amo quod dicunt, quando verum dicunt; non quia ipsorum est, sed quia verum est; et ideo jam nec ipsorum est, quia verum est. Si autem ideo ament illud quia verum est, jam et ipsorum est et meum est; quoniam in commune omnium est veritatis amatorum. Illud autem quod contendunt non hoc sensisse Moysen quod ego dico, sed quod ipsi dicunt; nolo, non amo: quia etsi ita est, tamen ista temeritas non scientiae sed audaciae est; nec visus, sed typhus eam peperit. Ideoque, Domine, tremenda sunt judicia tua; quoniam veritas tua nec mea est, nec illius aut illius, sed omnium nostrum quos ad ejus communionem publice vocas, terribiliter admonens nos, ut nolimus eam habere privatam, ne privemur ea. Nam quisquis id quod tu omnibus ad fruendum proponis, sibi proprie vindicat, et suum vult esse quod omnium est; a communi propellitur ad sua, hoc est, a veritate ad mendacium. Qui enim loquitur mendacium, de suo loquitur (Joan. VIII, 44).

35. Attende, judex optime, Deus ipsa veritas, attende quid dicam contradictori huic, attende; coram te enim dico, et coram fratribus meis, qui legitime utuntur Lege usque ad finem charitatis (I Tim. I, 8); attende, et vide quid ei dicam, si placet tibi. Hanc enim vocem huic refero fraternam et pacificam: Si ambo videmus verum esse quod dicis, et ambo videmus verum esse quod dico; ubi, quaeso, id videmus? Nec ego utique in te, nec tu in me; sed ambo in ipsa, quae supra mentes nostras est, incommutabili Veritate. Cum ergo de ipsa Domini Dei nostri luce non contendamus; cur de proximi cogitatione contendimus, quam sic videre non possumus ut videtur incommutabilis Veritas; quando si ipse Moyses apparuisset nobis atque dixisset, Hoc cogitavi; nec sic eam videremus, sed crederemus? Non itaque supra quam scriptum est, unus pro altero infletur adversus alterum (I Cor. IV, 6). Diligamus Dominum Deum nostrum ex toto corde, et ex tota anima, et ex tota mente nostra, et proximum nostrum sicut nosmetipsos (Deut. VI, 5; Matth. XXII, 37). Propter quae duo praecepta charitatis sensisse Moysen, quidquid in illis Libris sensit, nisi crediderimus; mendacem faciemus Dominum, cum de animo conservi aliter quam ille docuit opinamur. Jam vide quam stultum sit in tanta copia verissimarum sententiarum, quae de illis verbis erui possunt temere affirmare, quam earum Moyses potissimum senserit; et perniciosis contentionibus ipsam offendere charitatem, propter quam dixit omnia, cujus dicta conamur exponere.