The angels surround and help the priest when he is celebrating Mass.
Saint AugustineRead
When the king asked him what he meant by infesting the sea, the pirate defiantly replied: _x000D_ _x000D_ The same as you do when you infest the whole world;_x000D_ _x000D_ but because I do it with a little ship I am called a robber,_x000D_ _x000D_ and because you do it with a great fleet, you are an emperor.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote critiques the double standard in how actions are perceived based on scale and authority.
In this quote, the pirate draws a parallel between his actions and those of the king, highlighting the hypocrisy in labeling his piracy as criminal while the king's conquest is seen as legitimate and regal. It underscores the idea that power dynamics often dictate morality and perceptions of right and wrong, suggesting that both are engaging in similar acts, but the outcomes are judged differently due to their status.
Themes
PowerHypocrisyMoralityPiracyAuthorityDouble Standard
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about ethics in politics, this quote can illustrate the disparity in moral judgment between powerful and less powerful individuals.
More from Saint Augustine
All quotes →There is no health in those who are displeased by an element in Your creation, just as there was none in me when I was displeased by many things You had made. Because my soul didn't dare to say that my God displeased me, it refused to attribute to You whatever was displeasing.
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Bad times, hard times, this is what people keep saying; but let us live well, and times shall be good. We are the times: Such as we are, such are the times.
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Who can map out the various forces at play in one soul? Man is a great depth, O Lord. The hairs of his head are easier by far to count than his feeling, the movements of his heart.
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Whatever skills I have acquired, whatever gifts I have been given, I place them at Your service.
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Everyone who observes himself doubting observes a truth, and about that which he observes he is certain; therefore he is certain about a truth. Everyone therefore who doubts whether truth exists has in himself a truth on which not to doubt.... Hence one who can doubt at all ought not to doubt the existence of truth.
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