On True Wisdom

Augustine
God is merciful. God is good. God is gentle.
On the Psalm
By Hope these people are endangered. But those [are endangered] by Despair who, when they have fallen into grave sins, think that they can no longer be forgiven even if they are penitent penitentibusthose who repent and perform acts of contrition to atone for sin; and concluding that they are undoubtedly destined for damnation, they say to themselves: "Already we are to be damned; why should we not do whatever we want?" Therefore those in despair are troublesome; for already they have nothing to fear, and so they are to be greatly feared The author suggests that a person who believes they are already lost has no moral restraint, making them dangerous to themselves and society.. Despair kills the latter; hope kills the former. Between hope and despair the soul fluctuates. One must fear lest hope kill you, and while you hope much for mercy, you fall into judgment. One must fear on the other hand lest despair kill you, and when you think that the grave sins you committed cannot be forgiven: you do not perform penance, and you run into Wisdom as a judge, who
Proverbs 1
says: "And I will laugh at your destruction" original: "Et ego vestre perditioni superridebo"; from Proverbs 1:26, where personified Wisdom warns those who ignore her counsel.. What then did God do for those endangered by both diseases? To those
Ecclesiasticus 5
who are endangered by hope He says this: "Do not delay to be converted to the Lord, nor put it off from day to day. For suddenly His wrath comes, and in the time of vengeance He will destroy you" original: "Ne tardes conuerti ad dominum neque differas de die in diem. Subito enim venit ira eius"; referring to the Book of Sirach 5:8-9..
Ezekiel 18
To those who are endangered by despair, what does He say? "On whatever day the wicked man shall be converted: I will forget all his iniquities" original: "In quacumque die iniquus conuersus fuerit: omnes iniquitates eius obliuiscar"; Ezekiel 18:21-22.. Because of those who are endangered by despair, He therefore set forth a harbor of pardon; but because of those who are endangered by hope and are hemmed in by their own delays, He made the day of death uncertain. When the final day may come, you do not know. You are ungrateful, because you have today as a time in which you might be corrected. From here...