QOTD: Augustine on Expounding the Scriptures
From Sermon 95: On the Words of the Gospel, Mark 8:1–9, Where the Miracle of the Seven Loaves is Related
When I expound the holy scriptures to you, it’s as though I were breaking bread to you. For your part, receive it hungrily, and belch out a fat praise from your hearts;[1] and those of you who are rich enough to keep excellent tables, don’t be mean and lean with your works and good deeds. So what I am dishing out to you is not mine. What you eat, I eat; what you live on, I live on. We share a common larder[2] in heaven; that, you see, is where the word of God comes from.
Augustine. Sermons 94A–147A. Edited by John E. Rotelle. Translated by Edmund Hill. Vol. III/4. The Works of Saint Augustine: A Translation for the 21st Century. Brooklyn: New City Press, 24.
Not a vulgarity in those days…but an acceptable sign of appreciation from guests. ↩︎
A room or large cupboard for storing food. ↩︎