As I begin the foundation portion of my thesis work on homo incurvatus in se (a 5th-century phrase coined by Augustine that describes sin as “man turned in on himself” and which I believe allows for a powerful new understanding of sin in the 21st century) I thought I’d share the occasional gem. This one from Augustine’s City of God:
“For avarice is not a fault inherent in gold, but in the man who inordinately loves gold, to the detriment of justice, which ought to be held in incomparably higher regard than gold. Neither is luxury the fault of lovely and charming objects, but of the heart that inordinately loves sensual pleasures, to the neglect of temperance, which attaches us to objects more lovely in their spirituality, and more delectable by their incorruptibility. Nor yet is boasting the fault of human praise, but of the soul that is inordinately fond of the applause of men, and that makes light of the voice of conscience. Pride, too, is not the fault of him who delegates power, nor of power itself, but of the soul that is inordinately enamoured of its own power, and despises the more just dominion of a higher authority.” (City of God, Book XII, ch. 8))
Heather Choate Davis 