Ambrose Quotes

Cónditor alme síderum,
ætérna lux credéntium,
Christe, redémptor ómnium,
exáudi preces súpplicum.

Qui cóndolens intéritu
mortis períre sǽculum,
salvásti mundum lánguidum,
donans reis remédium.

Vergénte mundi véspere,
uti sponsus de thálamo,
egréssus honestíssima
Vírginis matris cláusula.

Cuius forti poténtiæ
genu curvántur ómnia;
cæléstia, terréstria
nutu faténtur súbdita.

Te, Sancte, fide quǽsumus,
ventúre iudex sæculi,
consérva nos in témpore
hostis a telo pérfidi.

Sit, Christe, rex piíssime,
tibi Patríque glória
cum Spíritu Paráclito,
in sempitérna sǽcula. Amen.

It was not by dialectic that it pleased God to save His people.

When we speak about wisdom, we are speaking of Christ. When we speak about virtue, we are speaking of Christ.

For then especially does the enemy lay his plans, when he sees passions engendered in us; then he supplies tinder; then he lays snares.

it is not nature which is answerable for the fault or which is liable to weakness. It is not sex, but valour which makes strong.

He who reads much and understands much, receives his fill.

after that those sheep, I say, [ Jeremiah 2: 13 ] had refused the fountain of living water, the dew of moistening faith dried up in the breasts of the Jews, and that divine Fountain turned away its course to the hearts of the Gentiles. Whence it has come to pass that now the whole world is moistened with the dew of faith,

Sed non solum locum Ecclesiae zelare debemus, sed hanc quoque interiorem in nobis domum Dei; ne sit domus negotiationis, aut spelunca latronum.

Quid autem aliud Ioannes nisi honestatem consideravit? ut inhonestas nuptias etiam in rege non posset perpeti, dicens: Non licet tibi illam uxorem habere. Potuit tacere, nisi indecorum sibi iudicasset mortis metu verum non dicere, inclinare regi propheticam auctoritatem, adulationem subtexere. Sciebat utique moriturum se esse, quia regi adversabatur: sed honestatem saluti praetulit. Et tamen quid utilius quam quod passionis viro sancto advexit gloriam?

Joshua the son of Nun, who could stay the sun from setting, could not stay the love of money in man from creeping on.

It is easier to look wise than to talk wisely.

To be content, to find true love, is what essentially drives us all, but if found, would it be recognized?

Let anger be guarded against. If it cannot, however, be averted, let it be kept within bounds. For indignation is a terrible incentive to sin. It disorders the mind to such an extent as to leave no room for reason.

"Father, if possible, take away this cup from me." Many cling to this text in order to use the sadness of the Savior as proof that he had weakness from the beginning rather than taking it on for a time. In this way they distort the natural meaning of the sentence. I, however, consider it not only as something that does not need to be excused, but nowhere else do I admire more his tender love and majesty. He would have given me less, had he not taken on my emotions. Thus he suffered affliction for me, he who did not have to suffer anything for himself. Setting aside the enjoyment of his divinity, he is afflicted with the annoyance of my weakness. He took on my sadness so that he might bestow on me his joy. He descended into the anguish of death by following in our footsteps so that he might call us back to life by following in his footsteps. I do not hesitate to speak of sadness since I am preaching the cross; he took on not the appearance but the reality of the Incarnation. Thus, instead of avoiding it, he had to take on the pain in order to overcome sadness.

It is idle to play the lyre for an ass.