How we cite our quotes: (Book.Section.Paragraph)
Quote #1
I was expected to model myself upon men who were disconcerted by the rebukes they received if they used outlandish words or strange idioms to tell of some quite harmless thing they might have done, but reveled in the applause they earned for the fine flow of well-ordered and nicely balances phrases with which they described their own acts of indecency. (I.18.1)
You know how in Book II.3.5, Augustine's parents care more about him getting good grades in school and becoming a successful lawyer or something (we've been there, Augustine) than they care about the fate of his soul? Well, it turns out that pride has something to do with that. People are generally less concerned with substance and more concerned with how things appear. But all that glitters is not gold, says Augustine.
Quote #2
The more unscrupulous I was, the greater my reputation was likely to be, for men are so blind that they even take pride in their blindness. (III.3.2)
Well, that's law school for you. The problem is that people and God have different standards for greatness. God wants people to be meek and humble, and people want to be better than other people. Throughout his life, Augustine feels pressured to do all sorts of things that are at odds with good Christianity because he knows he'll be applauded for it. Whenever we feel that way, we just think of our mothers saying, "If so-and-so jumped off a bridge, would you jump off a bridge too?"
Quote #3
I was inflated with self-esteem, which made me think myself a great man. (III.5.1)
Society told Augustine, "Hey, you're a really smart guy," so he's going to go right ahead and believe society on this one. But peoples' oohing and aahing has just flamed the fire of Augustine's pride, and now he thinks he's too good for the Scriptures. Oopsie.
Quote #4
Let the proud deride me, O God, and all whom you have not yet laid low and humiliated for the salvation of their souls; but let me still confess my sins to you for your honour and glory. (IV.1.1)
Dang, so in order to have your soul saved, you have to be "laid low and humiliated"? That does not sound fun at all. So why is Augustine talking about it like it's a good thing? Because God likes people who aren't all egotistical and blown up with pride. In fact, he likes the opposite: he likes people who admit they're wrong when they're wrong. Don't stop, confessin' …
Quote #5
Come down from those heights, for then you may climb and, this time, climb to God. To climb against him was your fall. (IV.12.2)
Well said, Augustine. When we climb for ourselves, we're being self-centered. We forget about God (or in this case, Christ), who, Augustine tells us, is really the one who gave us life in the first place. It's almost like we're aspiring to be as good as God (think Tower of Babel). But instead of aspiring for ourselves, Augustine re-works the metaphor so that we are still aspiring, but for a wholly selfless purpose.
Quote #6
In my pride I was running adrift, at the mercy of every wind. You were guiding me as a helmsman steers a ship, but the course you steered was beyond my understanding. I know now, and confess it as the truth, that I admired Hierius more because others praised him than for the accomplishments for which they praised him. (IV.14.4)
Lust, here, is chaotic, like a hurricane buffeting a ship. All these personal desires, physical or ego-stroking or otherwise, convolute our approach to the world. In hindsight, Augustine has clarity about his situation, and it turns out that his intentions were actually really selfish… and kind of sad, to be honest.
Quote #7
For it is sheer vanity for a man to profess his learning, even if it is well founded, whereas it is his duty to you, O God, to confess his sins. (V.5.1)
Augustine hasn't exactly been innocent of professing his learning, even within the Confessions. But knowledge isn't supposed to take precedence over worship. In fact, worship isn't even an option: it's a duty, to use Augustine's term. Plus, by "worship," Augustine really means to confess, which is, like, the exact opposite of bragging. Though maybe it could be interpreted as humblebragging …
Quote #8
It flattered my pride to think that I incurred no guilt and, when I did wrong, not to confess it so that you might bring healing to a soul that had sinned against you. (V.10.2)
Augustine is talking about when he's still with the Manichees. They believe that people are not responsible for the evil they do because evil lies in the matter people are made of. We think this is certainly a convenient scapegoat for sinning. But when you know that you're going to have to answer for your sins, you approach sin differently; and that's exactly why Augustine is reluctant to change his sinnin' ways.
Quote #9
But when I rose in pride against you and made onslaught against my Lord, proud of my strong sinews, even those lower things became my masters and oppressed me, and nowhere could I find respite or time to draw breath. (VII.7.2)
Ironic, isn't it? When you try to rise up against the Lord, the lowest of low things are suddenly able to oppress you. That's the nature of pride and other sins. In this earthly world, they seem to do one thing, but in the spiritual world, they do quite the opposite.
Quote #10
There is temptation in the very process of self-reproach, for often, by priding himself on his contempt for vainglory, a man is guilty of even emptier pride; and for this reason his contempt of vainglory is an empty boast, because he cannot really hold it in contempt as long as he prides himself on doing so. (X.38.1)
So say you know that pride is a sin. You try not to be guilty of it, right? But then you get all proud of yourself for not being guilty of pride. What a Catch-22. Augustine says that this pride of not being proud is even worse than outright pride, because it's directly contradicting what you intended. Pride is a tricky business, and true humility is not as easy as it sounds.