And A Side Order of Saint Augustine!

From The Confessions of Saint Augustine (Signet Classics):

22 Far be it, Lord, far be it from the heart of your servant who is confessing to you, far be it that I should think that any joy that I may experience makes me happy!  For there is a joy that is not given to the ungodly, but only to those who love you for your own sake, and you yourself are their joy.  And this is the happy life--to rejoice in you and to you and because of you.  This is the hapy life; there is no other.  And those who think there is another, are in pursuit of another joy which is not the true joy.  Yet all the same their will is still involved with some kind of an image of joy.

23 So it is not certain that all men want to be happy.  Those who do not want to find their joy in you (which alone is the happy life) certainly do not want the happy life.  Or do all men really desire it, but because the flesh lusteth against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh, that they cannot do what they would, they fall into that state which is within their powers and are content with it because their will for a state which is beyond them is not strong enough to bring it within their reach?  For if I ask anyone:  "Would you rather have your joy in truth or in falsehood?" he would say:  "In truth," with just as little hesitation as he would say that he wants to be happy.  And certainly the happy life is joy in truth, which means joy in you, who are truth, God, my light, health of my countenance, my God.  This is the happy life which all desire; this life which alone is happy all desire; joy in truth is what all desire.  I have met many people who wanted to deceive, but no one who wanted to be deceived.  But where did they gain their knowledge of this happy life except in the place where they also gained their knowledge of truth?  For they love truth also (because they do not want to be deceived) and in loving the happy life (which simply means joy in truth) they must certainly love truth too, and they would not be able to love it, unless there were some knowledge of it in their memory.  Why, then, do they not find their joy in it?  Why are they not happy?  Because they are more strongly taken up by other things which have more power to make them unhappy than that, which they so dimly remember, has to make them happy.  For there is still only a little light in men, and they must walk, yes, they must walk, that the darkness overtake them not.

But why is it that "truth gives birth to hatred"?  Why does your servant who preaches the truth incur enmity in spite of the fact that people love the happy life which simply is joy in truth?  It is because truth is loved in such a way that those who love something else would like to believe that what they love is the truth, and because they would not like to be deceived, they object to being shown that in fact they are deceived.  And so they hate truth for the sake of whatever it is they love instead of truth.  They love the light of truth, but hate it when it shows them up as wrong.  Because they do not want to be deceived and do want to deceive, they love truth when truth is giving evidence, but hate it when the evidence given is against themselves.  And the retribution which will come to them is this:  those who do not want to stand in the light of truth, will have to stand in it, whether they like it or not, but truth will not reveal her light to them.  So it is, yes, so, indeed it is:  this human mind of ours, so blind and sick, so foul and ill-favoured, wants to be hidden itself, but hates to have anything hidden from it.  But what happens is just the contrary:  it cannot hide from truth, but truth can be out of its sight.  Yet even so, wretched as it is, it prefers to find joy in truth than in falsehoods.  It will be happy, therefore, when, with no distractions to interpose themselves, it will find its joy in that only truth by which all things are true.



I found this passage particularly in good timing when you consider our current leadership in and around D.C., but also, in consideration of certain troubles a very dear friend of mine is having lately with certain authorities.  Very interesting indeed.  
To those who have eyes, will you see?  To those who have ears, will you listen?  Will you hear?  Very timely, Saint Augustine.  
Late have we all loved You, Lord.