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I wish now to review in memory my past wickedness and the carnal corruptions of my soul—not because I still love them, but that I may love you, my god.
For these inferior values have their delights, but not at all equal to my god, who made them all. For in him do the righteous delight and he is the sweetness of the upright in heart.
The powerful man seeks to be feared, because of his cruelty; but who ought really to be feared but god only?
Context for Book 2 Quotes
With the onset of adolescence in Book 2, Augustine enters what he seems to consider the most lurid and sinful period of his life. He "ran wild," he writes, "in the jungle of erotic adventures...and became putrid in [God's] sight." In addition to his first sexual escapades, Augustine is also quite concerned with an incident in which he and some friends stole pears from a neighborhood orchard. Augustine deeply regrets both of these sins, and offers a few brief insights as to how and why he committed them.
