“ Why, since we are equally men, do I love in another what, if I did not hate, I should not spurn and cast from myself? For it holds not, that as a good horse is loved by him, who would not, though he might, be that horse, therefore the same may be said of an actor, who shares our nature. Do I then love in a man, what I hate to be, who am a man? ”
Saint Augustine, Confessions (401). copy citation
| Author | Saint Augustine |
|---|---|
| Source | Confessions |
| Topic | sharing love |
| Date | 401 |
| Language | English |
| Reference | |
| Note | Translated by E. B. Pusey |
| Weblink | http://www.gutenberg.org/files/3296/3296-h/3296-h.htm |
Context
“(though I myself did commend and love them) , but had rather be unknown, than so known; and even hated, than so loved. Where now are the impulses to such various and divers kinds of loves laid up in one soul? Why, since we are equally men, do I love in another what, if I did not hate, I should not spurn and cast from myself? For it holds not, that as a good horse is loved by him, who would not, though he might, be that horse, therefore the same may be said of an actor, who shares our nature. Do I then love in a man, what I hate to be, who am a man? Man himself is a great deep, whose very hairs Thou numberest, O Lord, and they fall not to the ground without Thee. And yet are the hairs of his head easier to be numbered than his feelings, and the beatings of his heart.”
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