This firm and stable city remains forever. Through the Father, it shines with a dazzling light; through the Son, splendor of the Father, it rejoices, loves; through the Holy Spirit, the Love of the Father and the Son, subsisting, it changes; contemplating, it is enlightened; uniting, it rejoices. It is, it sees, it loves.

leclercq, the love of learning, p.63

From this contemplation of the City of God there is born the desire to be there, an active desire; it is both expectation and inclination; properly, it is hope.

The duties of asceticism flow from this mythical view; detachment is only the reverse of attachment to Christ; it is, henceforth, the condition and the proof of love. he who wishes to fly to his God bends toward Him: he stretches forth his arms, he prays, and his eyes stream with tears of joy.

jean leclercq, the love of learning, p.62

We ought, though, to treat the instigators as suspicions rather than truth, and avoid discussing matters that can only be brought to light at the cost of torturing those who must be interrogated.

augustine, letter 91 to nectarius, p.7

Do you think that leaving an outrage like that to go unpunished, or failing to reform the guilty as they deserve, will allow you to leave your homeland 'flourishing'? Flowers like that won't produce fruit, but thorns! Compare the choices: would you prefer your hometown to flower with piety or with licence, with reformed characters, or with atrocities unchecked? Compare the choices, and see whether your love for your home-town surpasses ours, and whether you, or we, are more fully and genuinely eager for it to flourish.

augustine, letter 91 to nectarius (408/9 aD), p.3

chesterton says you have to love the city enough to burn it down. turns out he got it from augustine.