Not every wish is good, but the wise man wishes only that which is good; he hates evil for he chooses what is good. Because he chooses what is good he is master of his choice, and because he chooses his work he is free.
Saint Ambrose of Milan
That Which Is Good
Topic: Virtue, Morality, & Ethics
“The wise man is always free; he is always held in honor; he is always master of the laws. The law is not made for the just, but for the unjust. The just man is a law unto himself and he does not need to summon the law from afar, for he carries it enclosed in his heart, having the law [of God] written on the tablets of his heart…
The wise man is free, since one who does as he wishes is free. Not every wish is good, but the wise man wishes only that which is good; he hates evil for he chooses what is good. Because he chooses what is good he is master of his choice, and because he chooses his work he is free.“
Wilson, Andrew, editor. World Scripture II. Universal Peace Federation, 2011, p. 1064 [Saint Ambrose of Milan, Letter 54].
Saint Ambrose of Milan
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Saint Ambrose of Milan, Letter 54
Saint Ambrose of Milan and Saint Augustine
Pope Benedict XVI wrote the following passage in 2007 about the relationship between Saint Ambrose and Saint Augustine:
What moved the heart of the young African rhetorician, skeptic and downhearted, and what impelled him to definitive conversion was not above all Ambrose’s splendid homilies (although he deeply appreciated them). It was rather the testimony of the Bishop and his Milanese Church that prayed and sang as one intact body. It was a Church that could resist the tyrannical ploys of the Emperor and his mother, who in early 386 again demanded a church building for the Arians’ celebrations. In the building that was to be requisitioned, Augustine relates, “the devout people watched, ready to die with their Bishop…” This testimony of the Confessions is precious because it points out that something was moving in Augustine, who continues: “We too, although spiritually tepid, shared in the excitement of the whole people.” –Saint Augustine [Confessions 9, 7].
–Dr. Jeff Mirus [St. Ambrose’s impact on St. Augustine: Excerpts from The Confessions].