7 phrases attributed to Saint Augustine, but that he never said

Today is the feast of the holy doctor of the Church, Saint Augustine of Hippo, a day on which many people usually share his emblematic phrases, but also some that he never actually said.

These are some phrases that Saint Augustine did not say:

1. The world is a book and those who do not travel only read one page

This phrase is not found in any of Saint Augustine’s writings. Before reaching social networks, the phrase was attributed in the book “Select Proverbs of All Nations” (1824) by Thomas Fielding, on page 216, and then in the book “20,000 Quips & Quotes” (1995) by Evan Esar, on page 822.

2. There is no saint without a past, nor a sinner without a future

This phrase is sometimes attributed to Saint Augustine, but is actually from the book Persian Rosary (1929) by Persian American author Ahmad Sohrab.

3. The truth is like a lion, you don’t need to defend it. Set her free, she’ll defend herself

This is a paraphrased phrase that corresponds to the ideas of the English Reformed Baptist pastor Charles Haddon Spurgeon. In reality, the author conveyed the idea of ​​the phrase at least three times, but he said it differently.

4. When I am here I do not fast on Saturday; but when I’m in Rome yes

This phrase was not said by Saint Augustine, but by Saint Ambrose, his mentor. When Saint Augustine visited Milan, he discovered that there was no custom of fasting on Saturdays and therefore he asked Saint Ambrose about the subject, who replied: “When I am here I do not fast on Saturday; but when I am in Rome yes, whatever church you come to.”

The text can be found at letter from St. Augustine to Casulanus.

5. Unity in necessary things, freedom in doubtful things, love in all things

This phrase is often mistakenly attributed to Saint Augustine. However, it was used for the first time in 1617 by the Archbishop of Split (Croatia), Monsignor Marco Antonio de Dominis, it is his work Of the ecclesiastical republic.

6. He who sings prays twice

This phrase does not appear in any of his writings. However, in a commentary he wrote on Psalm 72 there is a phrase that is similar: “For he who sings praise not only praises, but also praises with joy; He who sings praises not only sings, but he also loves the one who sings to him. In praise there is a proclamation of recognition, in the lover’s song there is love…

7. Between feces and urine we are born

It was attributed to the Father of the Church by Sigmund Freud in his book dedicated to the study of the Dora case. Freud seems to have found it in an anatomy textbook by Josef Hyrtl (1867). The latter may have invented the phrase’s ownership.

This article was originally published on August 28, 2019. It has been updated for republication.