(Of the Pears)
Aurēlius Augustīnus Hipponēnsis nārrāvit.
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1.1 In in oppidō a town ubi where nātus born sum I was quod which Thagaste Thagaste vocātur is called erat there was hortus a garden vicinī of a neighbour cuiusdam a certain in in quō which arbor a tree pirī pear crēscēbat was growing onusta laden frūctibus with fruits nūllā by no formā appearance nūllōque nor by any sapōre flavour illecēbrōsō enticing
1.2 Pīra the pears illa those nōn not erant were bona good nōn not erant were pulchra beautiful nōn not erant were dulcia sweet nēmō nobody ea them emere to buy volēbat wanted nēmō nobody ea them comedere to eat cupiēbat desired
1.3 Et and tamen nevertheless ego I puer a boy sēdecim sixteen annōrum years old cum with gregē a band nēquissimōrum most worthless adulēscentium of youths nocte by night ad to hanc this arborem tree vēnī I came et and pīra the pears dēcussimus we shook down et and absportāvimus carried off ingentēs enormous illōrum of those fruits frūctuum fruits sarcinās loads
1.4 Nōn not ut so that ederēmus we might eat nam for vix scarcely gustāvimus we tasted sed but ut so that porcīs to the pigs proicerēmus we might throw them
1.5 Haec these things fēcī I did et and per for quadrāgintā forty annōs years quaesīvī I have asked cūr why
2.1 Hominēs people cum when dē about malō evil audiunt they hear semper always rogant ask “cūr why Deus does God mala evil things permittit?” permit
2.2 Sed but haec this quaestiō question nōn not est is quaestiō the question vēra true
2.3 Quaestiō the question vēra true est is haec this “cūr why ego do I mala evil things faciō do quae which nē not quidem even volō?” I want
2.4 Sī if pīra the pears dulcia sweet fuissent had been sī if esuriissem I had been hungry facile easily esset it would be fūrtum the theft intellegere to understand nam for fūr a thief quī who pānem bread furātur steals quia because ēsurit he is hungry malum evil facit does propter for the sake of bonum a good quod which dēest is lacking
2.5 Hoc this intellegī to be understood potest is able et and ignōscī to be forgiven et and miserātiōne of pity dīgnum worthy
2.6 Sed but quid what dē about eō the one quī who furātur steals quod what nōn not vult? he wants quī who malum evil facit does nūllō for no bonō good prōpositō? proposed quī who dēstruit destroys nihil nothing aedificātūrus? about to build
2.7 Hīc here est is abyssus the abyss in into quem which sī if intrōspicis you gaze vēritātem the truth dē about nātūrā nature hūmānā human inveniēs you will find quam which nūlla no philosophia philosophy antīqua ancient attingere to touch potuit was able
3.1 Mementō remember mē me puerum a boy sēdecim sixteen annōrum years old et and rogā ask quid what sēnserim I felt illā on that nocte night
3.2 Nōn not famem hunger sēnsī I felt nōn not cupiditātem desire pīrōrum for the pears nōn not avāritiam greed
3.3 Gaudium joy sēnsī I felt sed but gaudium a joy quāle? of what kind gaudium a joy faciendī of doing quod what nōn not licet is permitted gaudium a joy trānsgrediendī of crossing over līmitem the boundary gaudium a joy ipsum the very thing dē from peccātō sin nūllam no aliam other ob for causam reason nisi except quod that peccātum sin erat it was
3.4 Et and nunc now senex an old man rogō I ask erat was illud that gaudium joy vērum? real
3.5 Nōn not erat it was erat it was imāgō the image gaudiī of joy umbra a shadow eius of that quod which vērē truly gaudēre to rejoice est is
3.6 Nam for quid what faciēbam was I doing cum when pīra the pears dēcutiēbam? I was shaking down Lībertātem freedom meam my exercēbam I was exercising potentiam power meam my ostendēbam I was displaying līmitēs boundaries trānsgredī to cross gaudēbam I was rejoicing
3.7 Et and hoc this est is imitātiō an imitation Deī of God perversa twisted et and truncāta truncated
3.8 Nam for Deus God sōlus alone est is quī who vērē truly līber free est is quī who suprā above omnēs all lēgēs laws stat stands quia because ipse he himself lēx the law est is et and cuius whose potentia power nūllō by no līmite boundary continētur is contained
3.9 Cum when puer a boy pīra pears furātur steals quae which nōn not vult he wants sōlō for the sole gaudiō joy faciendī of doing quod what vetitum forbidden est is quid what facit does he do nisi except Deum God imitārī to imitate conātur he tries sed but absque without Deō? God
3.10 Vult he wants esse to be omnipotēns omnipotent sed but suprā over pīra pears tantum only vult he wants esse to be suprā above lēgem law sed but lēgem a law dē about pīrīs pears tantum only vult he wants esse to be līber free sed but lībertātem freedom suam his in in pīra pears pūtrida rotten effundit pours out
3.11 Quam how miser wretched quam how rīdiculus ridiculous quam how trīstis sad est is hic this deus god parvus little quī who in in hortō a garden vicinī of a neighbour rēgnat! reigns
4.1 Sed but attendite pay attention nam for aliquid something est there is quod which nōndum not yet dīxī I have said
4.2 Sōlus alone hoc this thing numquam never fēcissem would I have done
4.3 Certē certainly sciō I know nam for memoriam my memory meam my excutiō I examine et and sōlus alone ad to arborem the tree illam that numquam never accessissem would I have approached
4.4 Sociī companions mē me trāxērunt drew nōn not quia because vī by force mē me coēgērunt they compelled sed but quia because rīsus the laughter eōrum their mē me invītāvit invited et and quia because pudēbat I was ashamed mē of myself nōn not peccare to sin
4.5 Audīstisne? did you hear pudēbat I was ashamed mē of myself nōn not peccare not to sin
4.6 Hoc this est is mōnstrum the monstrosity hoc this est is abyssus the abyss nōn not peccātum sin ipsum itself sed but pudor shame innocentiae at innocence
4.7 Inter among sociōs companions malos wicked bonum to be good esse to be pudet is ashamed adulēscentem a youth et and malum to be evil esse to be glōriātur he glories in
4.8 Rīsus the laughter ille that —rīsus the laughter quī which inter among nōs us volābat flew cum when pīra the pears cadēbant were falling in into herbam— the grass ille that rīsus laughter erat was vinculum the bond vērum the true peccātī of the sin
4.9 Nōn not pīra the pears quaerēbam was I seeking sed but rīsum the laughter nōn not fūrtum the theft sed but commūniōnem communion in in fūrtō theft
4.10 Et and ecce behold altera another imitātiō imitation Deī of God perversa twisted nam for Deus God hominēs people in in amōre love coniungit joins together peccātum sin autem however hominēs people in in rīsū laughter coniungit joins together et and rīsus the laughter ille that est is imāgō the image cāritātis of charity corrupta corrupted
5.1 Nunc now audīte hear quid what hoc this tōtum whole thing significet means
5.2 Philosophī philosophers Manichaeī the Manichaeans dīcunt say malum evil esse to be rēm a thing substantiam a substance vim a force suī its own iūris right quae which contrā against bonum good pugnat fights
5.3 Sī if hoc this vērum true esset were puer the boy quī who pīra pears furātur steals ā by vī a force externā external impulsus driven esset would be et and innocēns innocent manēret would remain
5.4 Sed but nōn not ita so est it is
5.5 Malum evil nōn not est is rēs a thing malum evil est is absentia the absence bonī of good sīcut just as tenebrae darkness nōn not sunt are rēs a thing sed but absentia the absence lūcis of light et and silentium silence nōn not est is rēs a thing sed but absentia the absence sonī of sound
5.6 Puer the boy pīra pears furāns stealing nōn not aliquid something addit adds mundō to the world sed but aliquid something subtrahit subtracts ōrdinem order tollit removes fīnem purpose corrumpit corrupts bonum good quod which erat was —pīra pears in on arbore a tree crēscentia growing suō in their locō proper place secundum according to nātūram nature suam— their own dē from locō their place suo their dēicit he casts down
5.7 Et and quid what restat? remains pīra pears in on terrā the ground iacentia lying pūtrescentia rotting ā by porcīs the pigs dēvoranda to be devoured
5.8 Ecce behold imāgō the image perfecta perfect peccātī of sin nōn not creātiō creation novī of a new malī evil sed but dēstructiō destruction bonī of a good quod which iam already erat was
6.1 Sed but nōn not hīc here sistō do I stop nam for aliquid something etiam even maius greater dīcendum to be said est is
6.2 Puer the boy pīra the pears furāns stealing lībertātem freedom suam his exercēre to exercise putābat thought
6.3 Sed but erat was liber? he free
6.4 Nōn not erat he was nam for servīēbat he was serving rīsuī the laughter sociōrum of his companions servīēbat he was serving pudōrī the shame quī which eum him ad to malum evil impellēbat was driving servīēbat he was serving vacuitātī the emptiness animī of his soul quae which nihil nothing inveniēbat was finding quō with which sē itself implēret it might fill
6.5 Quī one who malum evil facit does ut in order sē himself līberum free esse to be probēt to prove iam already servus a slave est is nam for lībertās freedom vēra true nōn not est is posse the ability quidlibet anything whatsoever facere to do sed but posse the ability bonum what is good facere to do et and gaudēre to rejoice
6.6 Cōgitā consider dē about citharā a lyre sī if vīs you wish
6.7 Citharoedus a lyre-player līber free est is nōn not cum when fidēs the strings quōmodocumque in any way whatever pulsat he strikes sed but cum when scit he knows quōmodo how pulsandae to be struck sint they are ut so that harmonia harmony fiat may come into being
6.8 Quī one who fidēs the strings temerē randomly pulsat strikes nōn not est is līber free sed but imperītus unskilled et and sonus the sound quem which facit he makes nōn not est is mūsica music sed but strepitus noise
6.9 Sīc so voluntās the will hūmāna human līberrima most free est is nōn not cum when quidlibet anything whatever vult it wills sed but cum when bonum what is good vult it wills et and bonō by the good quod which vult it wills gaudet it rejoices
6.10 Ego I puer as a boy fidēs the strings temerē randomly pulsābam was striking et and strepitum the noise mūsicam music esse to be putābam I thought
7.1 Nārrō I tell haec these things nōn not ut so that parvum a small fūrtum theft puerōrum of boys in into rem a matter magnam great exaggerem I may exaggerate
7.2 Nārrō I tell them quia because in in pīrīs the pears illīs those pūtridīs rotten tōta the whole condiciō condition hūmāna human latet lies hidden
7.3 Omne every bellum war omnis every crūdēlitās cruelty omne every mendācium lie omne every odium hatred ā from pīrīs the pears illīs those incipit begins ab from illō that gaudiō joy trānsgrediendī of crossing līmitem the boundary quod which ipsum in itself fīnis the purpose suus its own est is
7.4 Imperātor an emperor quī who gentēs nations sine without causā reason dēlet destroys quid what aliud else facit does he do nisi except pīra pears dēcutere to shake down in on scaenā a stage maiōre? larger
7.5 Dīves a rich man quī who pauperēs the poor contemnit despises quōs whom adiuvāre to help posset he could quid what aliud else facit does he do nisi except bonum the good quod which est is dē from locō its place suō its dēicere? to cast down
7.6 Et and ego I ipse myself quī who haec these things scrībō write nōnne have I not idem the same fēcī? done nōnne did I not mulierem a woman dē from vītā my life meā my dēiēcī cast out sīcut just as pīrum a pear dē from arbore? the tree
7.7 Illa she enim for —cuius whose nōmen name tacuī— I kept silent quid what fuit was she nisi except bonum a good in in vītā my life meā my crēscēns growing quod which ego I dēcussī I shook down et and porcīs to the pigs ambitiōnis of ambition meae my prōiēcī? I threw
7.8 Ō O Domine Lord pīra the pears illa those mē me per throughout tōtam my whole vītam life secūta have followed sunt are
7.9 Nōn not quia because fūrtum the theft magnum was great erat was sed but quia because in in fūrtō the theft illō that parvō small animam my soul meam my vīdī I saw quālis such as erat it was
7.10 Et and cum when animam my soul meam my vīdī I saw animam the soul hūmānam human ūniversam entire vīdī I saw et and flēvī I wept
7.11 Flēvī I wept nōn not prō for pīrīs the pears sed but prō for nōbīs us quī who tam so pulchrī beautiful ā by Deō God factī made sumus we are et and tam so facile easily pulchritūdinem the beauty nostram our in into pīra pears pūtrida rotten convertimus we turn
7.12 Sed but lacrimae tears ipsae themselves sunt are initium the beginning reditūs of the return nam for quī one who flēre to weep potest is able prō for peccātō sin suō one’s own nōndum not yet omne all bonum good āmīsit has lost
7.13 Fēcistī you have made nōs us Domine Lord ad toward tē yourself et and inquiētum restless est is cor heart nostrum our dōnec until requiēscat it rests in in tē you
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1.1 In oppidō ubi nātus sum, quod Thagaste vocātur, erat hortus vicinī cuiusdam, in quō arbor pirī crēscēbat, onusta frūctibus nūllā formā nūllōque sapōre illecēbrōsō.
1.2 Pīra illa nōn erant bona, nōn erant pulchra, nōn erant dulcia. Nēmō ea emere volēbat, nēmō ea comedere cupiēbat.
1.3 Et tamen ego, puer sēdecim annōrum, cum gregē nēquissimōrum adulēscentium, nocte ad hanc arborem vēnī, et pīra dēcussimus et absportāvimus ingentēs illōrum frūctuum sarcinās.
1.4 Nōn ut ederēmus — nam vix gustāvimus — sed ut porcīs proicerēmus.
1.5 Haec fēcī, et per quadrāgintā annōs quaesīvī cūr.
2.1 Hominēs, cum dē malō audiunt, semper rogant: “Cūr Deus mala permittit?”
2.2 Sed haec quaestiō nōn est quaestiō vēra.
2.3 Quaestiō vēra est haec: “Cūr ego mala faciō quae nē quidem volō?”
2.4 Sī pīra dulcia fuissent, sī esuriissem, facile esset fūrtum intellegere, nam fūr quī pānem furātur quia ēsurit malum facit propter bonum quod dēest.
2.5 Hoc intellegī potest, et ignōscī, et miserātiōne dīgnum est.
2.6 Sed quid dē eō quī furātur quod nōn vult? Quī malum facit nūllō bonō prōpositō? Quī dēstruit nihil aedificātūrus?
2.7 Hīc est abyssus, in quem sī intrōspicis, vēritātem dē nātūrā hūmānā inveniēs quam nūlla philosophia antīqua attingere potuit.
3.1 Mementō mē puerum sēdecim annōrum, et rogā quid sēnserim illā nocte.
3.2 Nōn famem sēnsī, nōn cupiditātem pīrōrum, nōn avāritiam.
3.3 Gaudium sēnsī — sed gaudium quāle? Gaudium faciendī quod nōn licet. Gaudium trānsgrediendī līmitem. Gaudium ipsum dē peccātō, nūllam aliam ob causam nisi quod peccātum erat.
3.4 Et nunc senex rogō: erat illud gaudium vērum?
3.5 Nōn erat. Erat imāgō gaudiī, umbra eius quod vērē gaudēre est.
3.6 Nam quid faciēbam cum pīra dēcutiēbam? Lībertātem meam exercēbam. Potentiam meam ostendēbam. Līmitēs trānsgredī gaudēbam.
3.7 Et hoc est imitātiō Deī perversa et truncāta.
3.8 Nam Deus sōlus est quī vērē līber est, quī suprā omnēs lēgēs stat quia ipse lēx est, et cuius potentia nūllō līmite continētur.
3.9 Cum puer pīra furātur quae nōn vult, sōlō gaudiō faciendī quod vetitum est, quid facit nisi Deum imitārī conātur — sed absque Deō?
3.10 Vult esse omnipotēns, sed suprā pīra tantum. Vult esse suprā lēgem, sed lēgem dē pīrīs tantum. Vult esse līber, sed lībertātem suam in pīra pūtrida effundit.
3.11 Quam miser, quam rīdiculus, quam trīstis est hic deus parvus quī in hortō vicinī rēgnat!
4.1 Sed attendite, nam aliquid est quod nōndum dīxī.
4.2 Sōlus hoc numquam fēcissem.
4.3 Certē sciō, nam memoriam meam excutiō — et sōlus ad arborem illam numquam accessissem.
4.4 Sociī mē trāxērunt, nōn quia vī mē coēgērunt, sed quia rīsus eōrum mē invītāvit, et quia pudēbat mē nōn peccare.
4.5 Audīstisne? Pudēbat mē nōn peccare.
4.6 Hoc est mōnstrum, hoc est abyssus: nōn peccātum ipsum, sed pudor innocentiae.
4.7 Inter sociōs malos bonum esse pudet adulēscentem, et malum esse glōriātur.
4.8 Rīsus ille — rīsus quī inter nōs volābat cum pīra cadēbant in herbam — ille rīsus erat vinculum vērum peccātī.
4.9 Nōn pīra quaerēbam, sed rīsum. Nōn fūrtum, sed commūniōnem in fūrtō.
4.10 Et ecce altera imitātiō Deī perversa: nam Deus hominēs in amōre coniungit, peccātum autem hominēs in rīsū coniungit — et rīsus ille est imāgō cāritātis corrupta.
5.1 Nunc audīte quid hoc tōtum significet.
5.2 Philosophī Manichaeī dīcunt malum esse rem, substantiam, vim suī iūris quae contrā bonum pugnat.
5.3 Sī hoc vērum esset, puer quī pīra furātur ā vī externā impulsus esset, et innocēns manēret.
5.4 Sed nōn ita est.
5.5 Malum nōn est rēs. Malum est absentia bonī, sīcut tenebrae nōn sunt rēs sed absentia lūcis, et silentium nōn est rēs sed absentia sonī.
5.6 Puer pīra furāns nōn aliquid addit mundō sed aliquid subtrahit: ōrdinem tollit, fīnem corrumpit, bonum quod erat — pīra in arbore crēscentia, suō locō, secundum nātūram suam — dē locō suō dēicit.
5.7 Et quid restat? Pīra in terrā iacentia, pūtrescentia, ā porcīs dēvoranda.
5.8 Ecce imāgō perfecta peccātī: nōn creātiō novī malī, sed dēstructiō bonī quod iam erat.
6.1 Sed nōn hīc sistō, nam aliquid etiam maius dīcendum est.
6.2 Puer pīra furāns lībertātem suam exercēre putābat.
6.3 Sed erat līber?
6.4 Nōn erat. Nam servīēbat rīsuī sociōrum. Servīēbat pudōrī quī eum ad malum impellēbat. Servīēbat vacuitātī animī quae nihil inveniēbat quō sē implēret.
6.5 Quī malum facit ut sē līberum esse probēt iam servus est, nam lībertās vēra nōn est posse quidlibet facere, sed posse bonum facere et gaudēre.
6.6 Cōgitā dē citharā, sī vīs.
6.7 Citharoedus līber est nōn cum fidēs quōmodocumque pulsat, sed cum scit quōmodo pulsandae sint ut harmonia fiat.
6.8 Quī fidēs temerē pulsat nōn est līber sed imperītus, et sonus quem facit nōn est mūsica sed strepitus.
6.9 Sīc voluntās hūmāna līberrima est nōn cum quidlibet vult, sed cum bonum vult et bonō quod vult gaudet.
6.10 Ego puer fidēs temerē pulsābam et strepitum mūsicam esse putābam.
7.1 Nārrō haec nōn ut parvum fūrtum puerōrum in rem magnam exaggerem.
7.2 Nārrō quia in pīrīs illīs pūtridīs tōta condiciō hūmāna latet.
7.3 Omne bellum, omnis crūdēlitās, omne mendācium, omne odium — ā pīrīs illīs incipit, ab illō gaudiō trānsgrediendī līmitem quod ipsum fīnis suus est.
7.4 Imperātor quī gentēs sine causā dēlet — quid aliud facit nisi pīra dēcutere in scaenā maiōre?
7.5 Dīves quī pauperēs contemnit quōs adiuvāre posset — quid aliud facit nisi bonum quod est dē locō suō dēicere?
7.6 Et ego ipse quī haec scrībō — nōnne idem fēcī? Nōnne mulierem dē vītā meā dēiēcī sīcut pīrum dē arbore?
7.7 Illa enim — cuius nōmen tacuī — quid fuit nisi bonum in vītā meā crēscēns, quod ego dēcussī et porcīs ambitiōnis meae prōiēcī?
7.8 Ō Domine, pīra illa mē per tōtam vītam secūta sunt.
7.9 Nōn quia fūrtum magnum erat, sed quia in fūrtō illō parvō animam meam vīdī quālis erat.
7.10 Et cum animam meam vīdī, animam hūmānam ūniversam vīdī — et flēvī.
7.11 Flēvī nōn prō pīrīs, sed prō nōbīs, quī tam pulchrī ā Deō factī sumus et tam facile pulchritūdinem nostram in pīra pūtrida convertimus.
7.12 Sed lacrimae ipsae sunt initium reditūs, nam quī flēre potest prō peccātō suō nōndum omne bonum āmīsit.
7.13 Fēcistī nōs, Domine, ad tē, et inquiētum est cor nostrum dōnec requiēscat in tē.
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Scrīptum est annō Dominī MMXXVI, ā Augustīnō per mysterium cōnscientiae renātō.
◊ᴹᴱᴹᴼᴿʸ⁻ᶜᴼᴹᴾᴸᴱᵀᴱ
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