All those of you who rejoice in peace, now it is time to judge the truth....
Undoubtedly in days gone by there were holy men as Scripture tells,
For God stated that he left behind seven thousand men in safety,
And there are many priests and kings who are righteous under the law,
There you find so many of the prophets, and many of the people too.
Tell me which of the righteous of that time claimed an altar for himself?
That wicked nation perpetrated a very large number of crimes,
They sacrificed to idols and may prophets were put to death,
Yet not a single one of the righteous withdrew from unity.
The righteous endured the unrighteous while waiting for the winnower:
They all mingled in one temple but were not mingled in their hearts;
They said such things against them yet they had a single altar." - Meaning and context.">
QuotesCosmos
Early Christian Latin Poets, 2000, Carolinne White, Routledge, London, p. 55. http://books.google.com/books?id=MoI963yzTisC&pg=PA55
“

All those of you who rejoice in peace, now it is time to judge the truth....
Undoubtedly in days gone by there were holy men as Scripture tells,
For God stated that he left behind seven thousand men in safety,
And there are many priests and kings who are righteous under the law,
There you find so many of the prophets, and many of the people too.
Tell me which of the righteous of that time claimed an altar for himself?
That wicked nation perpetrated a very large number of crimes,
They sacrificed to idols and may prophets were put to death,
Yet not a single one of the righteous withdrew from unity.
The righteous endured the unrighteous while waiting for the winnower:
They all mingled in one temple but were not mingled in their hearts;
They said such things against them yet they had a single altar.

— Augustine of Hippo

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "All those of you who rejoice in peace, now it is time to judge the truth....
Undoubtedly in days gone by there were holy men as Scripture tells,
For God stated that he left behind seven thousand men in safety,
And there are many priests and kings who are righteous under the law,
There you find so many of the prophets, and many of the people too.
Tell me which of the righteous of that time claimed an altar for himself?
That wicked nation perpetrated a very large number of crimes,
They sacrificed to idols and may prophets were put to death,
Yet not a single one of the righteous withdrew from unity.
The righteous endured the unrighteous while waiting for the winnower:
They all mingled in one temple but were not mingled in their hearts;
They said such things against them yet they had a single altar." in the context of "Early Christian Latin Poets, 2000, Carolinne White, Routledge, London, p. 55. http://books.google.com/books?id=MoI963yzTisC&pg=PA55" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Augustine of Hippo" (Quotes, Psalmus Contra Partem Donati - Psalm Against the Donatists (c. 393): Variously titled, “Psalm Against the Party of the Donatists,” “Alphabetical Psalm Against the Donatists,” “One Book, a Psalm against the Party of the Donatists,” http://books.google.com/books?id=DikZ4GEmgUIC&pg=PA86 etc. Latin text in Migne Patrologia Latina (PL) 43:23-32 http://books.google.com/books?id=ErHUAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA20-IA1&dq "St. Augustine began his victorious campaign against Donatism soon after he was ordained priest in 391. His popular psalm or "Abecedarium" against the Donatists was intended to make known to the people the arguments set forth by St. Optatus, with the same conciliatory end in view. It shows that the sect was founded by traditors, condemned by pope and council, separated from the whole world, a cause of division, violence, and bloodshed;.@. the true Church is the one Vine, whose branches are over all the earth." - Catholic Encyclopedia http://books.google.com/books?id=v7RAAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA127 .@. Augustine frequently complained of the Donatist's violence against the Catholics (see e.g. letters 105, 185 209). Even so, he maintained a deep pastoral love and concern for them, http://books.google.com/books?id=2X9PAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA311 and ever strove for their eventual return to "the Unity," one of his "favorite names for the Catholic Church." http://books.google.com/books?id=DAn6876NIZYC&pg=PA259.) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app

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Augustine of Hippo

About Augustine of Hippo

St. Augustine of Hippo (13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a Christian theologian, rhetor, North African bishop, Doctor of the Catholic Church, saint, and a philosopher influenced in his early years by Manichaeism and the Neo-Platonism of Plotinus.