At the Feet of the Fathers—St. Augustine: Approach Scripture With Humility

At the Feet of the Fathers

Monday, February 27, 2023

St. Augustine of Hippo

Augustine of Hippo (November 13, 354AD – August 28, 430AD) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings influenced the development of Western philosophy and Western Christianity, and he is viewed as one of the most important Church Fathers of the Latin Church in the Patristic Period. His many important works include The City of God, On Christian Doctrine, and Confessions. Martin Luther was a member of the Augustinian order (Order of Hermits of Saint Augustine, founded in 1244 using The Rule of St. Augustine) when he was a monk, and his theology was heavily influenced by his writings.

Approach Scripture With Humility

So I resolved to turn my mind to the Holy Scriptures, to see what they were all about.

There I saw something not comprehended by the proud, not revealed to children, but humble as you approach, sublime as you go on, and veiled in mysteries.

I was not one of those who could enter into it or bend my neck to follow its steps. I didn't feel the way I do now when I turned to those Scriptures. They seemed to me to be unworthy of comparison with the dignity of Cicero. My puffed-up pride shunned their style, and my wit was not sharp enough to pierce their inner meaning.

They were writings that would develop in little ones—but I scorned to be a little one, and, swollen with pride, I considered myself a great one.

-St. Augustine, Confessions, 2.5