2 Coríntios 1

Augustine of Hippo · Comentário Patrístico (catena)

2 Coríntios 1:12

Cato is rightly praised more than Caesar, for, as Sallust says of him: "The less he sought for glory the more it followed him." However, the only kind of glory they were greedy for was merely the reputation of a good name among men; whereas virtue rests not on others' judgments but on the witness of one's own conscience and therefore is better than a good name. Hence the apostle says: "For our glory is this, the testimony of our conscience." … Therefore, virtue should not pursue the glory, honor and dominion which they sought, even though their good men sought to reach these ends by good means, but these things should follow virtue. There is no true virtue save that which pursues the end which is man's true good. It follows, therefore, that Cato should not have sought the honors he sought, but his city should have given them to him because of his virtue and without his asking for them.

2 Coríntios 1:19

And when we confess that we have lied, we speak the truth, for we are saying what we know, and we know that we have lied. That Word, however, which is God and more powerful than ourselves, cannot do this.… And of himself he does not speak, but of that Father is everything that he speaks, since the Father speaks it in a unique way. The great power of that Word is that he cannot lie, because in him there cannot be yes and no but yes, yes; no, no. For that is not even to be called a word if it is not true. — ON THE TRINITY 15.15

2 Coríntios 1:22

I have learned from your letter, as well as from the statement of the bearer, that you ardently desire a letter from me, in the belief that it will bring you the greatest consolation. I must not refuse or delay this letter, but you will have to see what good you can draw from it. Let the faith and hope and charity, which are diffused through the hearts of the faithful by the Holy Spirit, be your consolation. We receive a little of it in this life as a pledge to make us learn how to long for its fullness. You must not think of yourself as left alone, since in the interior life you have Christ, present in your heart by faith. — LETTER 92, To Italica