Saint Augustine Quotes

There is a cleansing humility about doubt.

He who knows himself well is mean and abject in his own sight, and takes no delight in the vain praise of men.

Self knowledge puts us on our knees, and it is very necessary for love. For knowledge of God gives love, and knowledge of self gives humility

Without knowledge of self there is no knowledge of God Our wisdom, in so far as it ought to be deemed true and solid Wisdom, consists almost entirely of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves. But as these are connected together by many ties, it is not easy to determine which of the two precedes and gives birth to the other.

[To] know oneself is, above all, to know what one lacks. It is to measure oneself against Truth, and not the other way around. The first product of self-knowledge is humility . . .

'What am I missing?' is a much more important question than 'How cool am I?'

I study myself more than any other subject. That is my metaphysics, that is my physics.

An humble knowledge of thyself is a surer way to God than a deep search after learning.

But when one believes that you've been appointed by God for a particular mission in history, you have to be very careful about that, how you speak about that. Where is the self-reflection in that? Where is the humility in that?

No man is wise enough by himself.

I do not know myself, and God forbid that I should.

The word of God teacheth lowliness of mind; it teacheth us to know ourselves.

Only the shallow know themselves.

To know your limitations is the hallmark of a wise person.

There isn't really a whole lot to know about me.

With my victory, I must always remember that I glorify God.

It is, perhaps, one of the hardest struggles of the Christian life to learn this sentence-- "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name be glory."

I don't put myself above anyone, and I have as many shortcomings as any non-believer. I just choose to turn to a higher power to help me gain wisdom and, I hope, improve over time.

The most excellent and divine counsel, the best and most profitable advertisement of all others, but the least practised, is to study and learn how to know ourselves. This is the foundation of wisdom and the highway to whatever is good. . . . God, Nature, the wise, the world, preach man, exhort him both by word and deed to the study of himself.

The great chastisement of a knave is not to be known, but to know himself.

Over the entrance to the temple at Delphi was a famous inscription: KNOW THYSELF! It reminded visitors that man must never believe himself to be more than mortal - and that no man can escape his destiny.

We know nothing of humility by nature, for we are all born proud.

It is the root of all religion that a man knows that he is nothing in order to thank God that he is something.

In other living creatures the ignorance of themselves is nature, but in men it is a vice.

Man is a wonder to himself; he can neither govern nor know himself.