Contents – Book XII Book XII Chapter I The Discovery of Truth is Difficult, but God Has promised that he who seeks shall find. Chapter...
BOOK TWELVE The mode of creation and the truth of Scripture. Augustine explores the relation of the visible and formed matter of heaven and earth...
BOOK TWELVE CHAPTER II 2. In lowliness my tongue confesses to thy exaltation, for thou madest heaven and earth. This heaven which I see, and...
BOOK TWELVE CHAPTER III 3. And truly this earth was invisible and unformed,[459] and there was an inexpressibly profound abyss[460] above which there was no light since...
BOOK TWELVE CHAPTER IV 4. What, then, should that formlessness be called so that somehow it might be indicated to those of sluggish mind, unless...
BOOK TWELVE CHAPTER V 5. When our thought seeks something for our sense to fasten to [in this concept of unformed matter], and when it...
BOOK TWELVE CHAPTER VI 6. But if, O Lord, I am to confess to thee, by my mouth and my pen, the whole of what...
BOOK TWELVE CHAPTER VII 7. Whence and how was this, unless it came from thee, from whom all things are, in so far as they...
BOOK TWELVE CHAPTER VIII 8. That heaven of heavens was thine, O Lord, but the earth which thou didst give to the sons of men...
BOOK TWELVE CHAPTER IX 9. And therefore the Spirit, the Teacher of thy servant,[470] when he mentions that “in the beginning thou madest heaven and earth,”...
BOOK TWELVE CHAPTER X 10. O Truth, O Light of my heart, let not my own darkness speak to me! I had fallen into that...
BOOK TWELVE CHAPTER XI 11. Thou hast told me already, O Lord, with a strong voice in my inner ear, that thou art eternal and...
BOOK TWELVE CHAPTER XII 15. These things I have considered as thou hast given me ability, O my God, as thou hast excited me to...
BOOK TWELVE CHAPTER XIII 16. Meanwhile this is what I understand, O my God, when I hear thy Scripture saying, “In the beginning God made...
BOOK TWELVE CHAPTER XIV 17. Marvelous is the depth of thy oracles. Their surface is before us, inviting the little ones; and yet wonderful is...
BOOK TWELVE CHAPTER XV 18. “Will you say that these things are false which Truth tells me, with a loud voice in my inner ear,...
BOOK TWELVE CHAPTER XVI 23. Now, I would like to discuss a little further, in thy presence, O my God, with those who admit that...
BOOK TWELVE CHAPTER XVII 24. For they say: “Even if these things are true, still Moses did not refer to these two things when he...
BOOK TWELVE CHAPTER XVIII 27. When all these things have been said and considered, I am unwilling to contend about words, for such contention is...
BOOK TWELVE CHAPTER XIX[487] 28. For it is certainly true, O Lord, that thou didst create the heaven and the earth. It is also true...
BOOK TWELVE CHAPTER XX 29. From all these truths, which are not doubted by those to whom thou hast granted insight in such things in...
BOOK TWELVE CHAPTER XXI 30. Again, regarding the interpretation of the following words, one man selects for himself, from all the various truths, the interpretation...
BOOK TWELVE CHAPTER XXII 31. Now suppose that someone tried to argue against these last two opinions as follows: “If you will not admit that...
BOOK TWELVE CHAPTER XXIII 32. I have heard and considered these theories as well as my weak apprehension allows, and I confess my weakness to...
BOOK TWELVE CHAPTER XXIV 33. But in the midst of so many truths which occur to the interpreters of these words (understood as they can...
BOOK TWELVE CHAPTER XXV 34. Let no man fret me now by saying, “Moses did not mean what you say, but what I say.” Now if he asks me,...
BOOK TWELVE CHAPTER XXVI 36. And yet, O my God, thou exaltation of my humility and rest of my toil, who hearest my confessions and...
BOOK TWELVE CHAPTER XXVII 37. For just as a spring dammed up is more plentiful and affords a larger supply of water for more streams...
BOOK TWELVE CHAPTER XXVIII 38. But others, to whom these words are no longer a nest but, rather, a shady thicket, spy the fruits concealed...
BOOK TWELVE CHAPTER XXIX 40. But he who understands “In the beginning he made” as if it meant, “At first he made,” can truly interpret...
BOOK TWELVE CHAPTER XXX 41. In this discord of true opinions let Truth itself bring concord, and may our God have mercy on us all,...
BOOK TWELVE CHAPTER XXXI 42. Thus, when one man says, “Moses meant what I mean,” and another says, “No, he meant what I do,” I...
BOOK TWELVE CHAPTER XXXII 43. Finally, O Lord–who art God and not flesh and blood–if any man sees anything less, can anything lie hid from...
BOOK TWELVE The mode of creation and the truth of Scripture. Augustine explores the relation of the visible and formed matter of heaven and earth...
