The Complete Works of St. Ambrose (11 Books) Quotes

“Let God alone be sought as the judge of loveliness, Who loves even in less beautiful bodies the more beautiful souls.”
― Ambrose of Milan, The Complete Works of St. Ambrose (11 Books): Cross-Linked to the Bible

“the giving of good advice is a great means of gaining men's affections,”
― Ambrose of Milan, The Complete Works of St. Ambrose (11 Books): Cross-Linked to the Bible

“modesty, for that is the friend and ally of calmness of mind.”
― Ambrose of Milan, The Complete Works of St. Ambrose (11 Books): Cross-Linked to the Bible

“Natural grief is one thing, distrustful sadness is another, and there is a very great difference between longing for what you have lost and lamenting that you have lost it.”
― Ambrose of Milan, The Complete Works of St. Ambrose (11 Books): Cross-Linked to the Bible

“if force is used, I cannot meet it. I shall be able to grieve, to weep, to groan; against weapons, soldiers, Goths, my tears are my weapons, for these are a priest's defence.”
― Ambrose of Milan, The Complete Works of St. Ambrose (11 Books): Cross-Linked to the Bible

“He waits for our tears, that He may pour forth His goodness.”
― Ambrose of Milan, The Complete Works of St. Ambrose (11 Books): Cross-Linked to the Bible

“And now let the feet of our minds be stretched out. The Lord Jesus wills also to wash our feet, for He says, not to Peter alone, but to each of the faithful: If I wash not your feet you will have no part with Me. [ John 13: 8 ]”
― Ambrose of Milan, The Complete Works of St. Ambrose (11 Books): Cross-Linked to the Bible

“If, then, a good marriage is servitude, what is a bad one, when they cannot sanctify, but destroy one another? 70. But”
― Ambrose of Milan, The Complete Works of St. Ambrose (11 Books): Cross-Linked to the Bible

“Whether you eat or drink, all is to be done in the name of Jesus Christ, [ 1 Corinthians 10: 31 ] that even the very refreshment of the body is to have respect to the worship of holy religion.”
― Ambrose of Milan, The Complete Works of St. Ambrose (11 Books): Cross-Linked to the Bible

“Is anything more unbecoming than the divine words should be so drowned by talking, as not to be heard, believed, or made known, that the sacraments should be indistinctly heard through the sound of voices, that prayer should be hindered when offered for the salvation of all?”
― Ambrose of Milan, The Complete Works of St. Ambrose (11 Books): Cross-Linked to the Bible

“Joshua the son of Nun, who could stay the sun from setting, could not stay the love of money in man from creeping on.”
― Ambrose of Milan, The Complete Works of St. Ambrose (11 Books): Cross-Linked to the Bible

“if you can not calm your mind, check at least your tongue. For so it is written: Keep your tongue from evil, and your lips that they speak no guile. Seek peace and pursue it.”
― Ambrose of Milan, The Complete Works of St. Ambrose (11 Books): Cross-Linked to the Bible

“A noble thing, then, is modesty, which, though giving up its rights, seizing on nothing for itself, laying claim to nothing, and in some ways somewhat retiring within the sphere of its own powers, yet is rich in the sight of God, in Whose sight no man is rich. Rich is modesty, for it is the portion of God.”
― Ambrose of Milan, The Complete Works of St. Ambrose (11 Books): Cross-Linked to the Bible

“Who would forsake and abandon what he believes himself to have produced? If it is derogatory to rule, is it not more so to have created? Though there is no wrong involved in not creating anything, it is surely the height of cruelty not to care for what one has created.”
― Ambrose of Milan, The Complete Works of St. Ambrose (11 Books): Cross-Linked to the Bible

“He sheds incorporeal grace on corporeal things;”
― Ambrose of Milan, The Complete Works of St. Ambrose (11 Books): Cross-Linked to the Bible

“liberality is determined not by the amount of our possessions, but by the disposition of giving.”
― Ambrose of Milan, The Complete Works of St. Ambrose (11 Books): Cross-Linked to the Bible

“The first thing which kindles ardour in learning is the greatness of the teacher.”
― Ambrose of Milan, The Complete Works of St. Ambrose (11 Books): Cross-Linked to the Bible

“nothing is so much opposed to fortitude as when one allows oneself to be overcome by gain.”
― Ambrose of Milan, The Complete Works of St. Ambrose (11 Books): Cross-Linked to the Bible

“when friendship springs from the fount of good-will it does not hesitate to endure the great dangers of life for a friend.”
― Ambrose of Milan, The Complete Works of St. Ambrose (11 Books): Cross-Linked to the Bible

“Great, then, is the glory of justice; for she, existing rather for the good of others than of self, is an aid to the bonds of union and fellowship among us. She holds so high a place that she has all things laid under her authority, and further can bring help to others and supply money; nor does she refuse her services, but even undergoes dangers for others.”
― Ambrose of Milan, The Complete Works of St. Ambrose (11 Books): Cross-Linked to the Bible

“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.”
― Ambrose of Milan, The Complete Works of St. Ambrose (11 Books): Cross-Linked to the Bible

“What have we to do with tales and fables? An office to minister at the altar of Christ is what we have received; no duty to make ourselves agreeable to men has been laid upon us.”
― Ambrose of Milan, The Complete Works of St. Ambrose (11 Books): Cross-Linked to the Bible

“For then especially does the enemy lay his plans, when he sees passions engendered in us; then he supplies tinder; then he lays snares.”
― Ambrose of Milan, The Complete Works of St. Ambrose (11 Books): Cross-Linked to the Bible

“there is no loss in the division of spiritual grace; for He Who breathes where He wills [ John 3: 8 ] is everywhere free from loss.”
― Ambrose of Milan, The Complete Works of St. Ambrose (11 Books): Cross-Linked to the Bible

“Wash the steps of my mind that I may not sin again. Wash the heel of my soul, that I may be able to efface the curse, that I feel not the serpent's bite [ Genesis 3: 15 ] on the foot of my soul, but, as You Yourself hast bidden those who follow You, may tread on serpents and scorpions [ Luke 10: 19 ] with uninjured foot.”
― Ambrose of Milan, The Complete Works of St. Ambrose (11 Books): Cross-Linked to the Bible

“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.”
― Ambrose of Milan, The Complete Works of St. Ambrose (11 Books): Cross-Linked to the Bible

“For youth is prone to fall because the heat of various desires is inflamed by the warmth of glowing youth, and it is the part of a good doctor to keep off the materials of sin. For the first exercise in training the soul is to turn away sin, the second to implant virtue.”
― Ambrose of Milan, The Complete Works of St. Ambrose (11 Books): Cross-Linked to the Bible

“But sometimes even when faith is to be relied upon, youth is not trusted.”
― Ambrose of Milan, The Complete Works of St. Ambrose (11 Books): Cross-Linked to the Bible

“But it is the duty of a just man to hide his feelings and say nothing, to preserve the fruit of a good conscience, to trust himself rather to the judgment of good men than to the insolence of a calumniator, and to be satisfied with the stability of his own character.”
― Ambrose of Milan, The Complete Works of St. Ambrose (11 Books): Cross-Linked to the Bible

“Your possession is your mind, your gold your heart, your silver your speech: The words of the Lord are pure words, as silver tried in the fire. A good mind is also a good possession. And, further, a pure inner life is a valuable possession.”
― Ambrose of Milan, The Complete Works of St. Ambrose (11 Books): Cross-Linked to the Bible