--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Augustine says that you don't understand…" description: "\"Augustine says that you don't understand a nation by the throw weight of its military or the strength of its research universities or the size of its p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adb/os-guinness-6581_america_augustine-says-that-you-don-t-understand_923724.jpg" --- # Augustine says that you don't understand a nation by the… ![“Augustine says that you don't understand a nation by the throw weight of its military or the strength of its research universities or the size of its population, but by looking at what it loves in common. To assess a nation, you look at the health and strength of its ideals. And there's no…” quote by Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adb/os-guinness-6581_america_augustine-says-that-you-don-t-understand_923724.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adb/os-guinness-6581_america_augustine-says-that-you-don-t-understand_923724.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/adb/os-guinness-6581_america_augustine-says-that-you-don-t-understand_923724.jpg) > “Augustine says that you don't understand a nation by the throw weight of its military or the strength of its research universities or the size of its population, but by looking at what it loves in common. To assess a nation, you look at the health and strength of its ideals. And there's no question that the common love in America is freedom.” [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A nation's character is judged by its shared values, not material power. **In simple terms:** Values define a nation. Key Takeaway Cultivate common ideals. Themes culture values nationhood Mood thoughtful inspiring Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - policy making - education - community building - national identity Key Concepts social cohesion political theory Questions to Reflect On - What ideals unite your community? - How to protect them? A Different Perspective Values can be contested and evolve. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [America freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america-freedom/) [Common Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-love/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Health](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health/) [Health and strength](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/health-and-strength/) [Ideals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideals/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Military](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military/) [Nation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nation/) [Research](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/research/) [Strength](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strength/) [Universities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universities/) [Weight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weight/) ## Related quotes > [If you want to understand a nation, look at its dances and listen to its folk songs - don't pay any attention to its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-de-mille/if-you-want-to-understand-a-nation-look-at-its-dances-and-listen-to/) [Agnes de Mille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-de-mille/) > [“To assess a nation through its economic data is a little like re-envisaging oneself via the results of a blood test, whereby the traditional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/to-assess-a-nation-through-its-economic-data-is-a-little-like-re/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [In America, we understand that a nation is only living as long as it is striving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/in-america-we-understand-that-a-nation-is-only-living-as-long-as-it/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In order for a man to really understand himself he must be part of a nation; he must have some land of his own,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/in-order-for-a-man-to-really-understand-himself-he-must-be-part-of-a/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [I think we have to understand that the nation-state became powerful in the wake of the French Revolution, whereas the nation-state has become powerless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/i-think-we-have-to-understand-that-the-nation-state-became-powerful/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [“Now pay attention to this. God is nameless for no one can either speak of him or know him. Therefore a pagan master says…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/now-pay-attention-to-this-god-is-nameless-for-no-one-can-either-speak/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [ “St. Augustine says: " It would be an affront to pray for a martyr; we should \[rather\] commend ourselves to his prayers.'\*” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-pohle/st-augustine-says-it-would-be-an-affront-to-pray-for-a-martyr-we/) [Joseph Pohle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-pohle/) > [Saint Augustine cries, Lord I cannot love you, but come in and love yourself in me. According to Saint Paul, we must put off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/saint-augustine-cries-lord-i-cannot-love-you-but-come-in-and-love/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [“Jerome does not condemn singing absolutely, but he corrects those who sing theatrically, or who sing not in order to arouse devotion but to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-s-horton/jerome-does-not-condemn-singing-absolutely-but-he-corrects-those-who/) [Michael S. Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-s-horton/) > [Remember, Monsieur, that Saint Augustine says that a person who does not obey the doctors is doing his best to kill himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-de-paul/remember-monsieur-that-saint-augustine-says-that-a-person-who-does/) [Vincent de Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-de-paul/) > [Augustine says that we may, out of our dead sins, make stepping stones to rise to the heights of perfection. What did he mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-stalker/augustine-says-that-we-may-out-of-our-dead-sins-make-stepping-stones/) [James Stalker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-stalker/) > [“This is the sense in which Augustine says "freedom of choice is not made void but established by grace, since grace heals the will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-cavanaugh/this-is-the-sense-in-which-augustine-says-freedom-of-choice-is-not/) [William T. Cavanaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-t-cavanaugh/) > [“I answer that, As Augustine says (De Moribus Eccl. vi), "the soul needs to follow something in order to give birth to virtue: this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/i-answer-that-as-augustine-says-de-moribus-eccl-vi-the-soul-needs-to/) [Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/) > [“St. Augustine says: " Baptism does not consist in the merits of those by whom it is ad ministered, nor in the merits of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-pohle/st-augustine-says-baptism-does-not-consist-in-the-merits-of-those-by/) [Joseph Pohle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-pohle/) > [“Jerome does not condemn singing absolutely, but he corrects those who sing theatrically, or who sing not in order to arouse devotion but to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-s-horton/jerome-does-not-condemn-singing-absolutely-but-he-corrects-those-who-2/) [Michael S. Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-s-horton/) ## More by Os Guinness > [Too often we forget that the great men of faith reached the heights they did only by going through the depths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/too-often-we-forget-that-the-great-men-of-faith-reached-the-heights/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [There are lots of people depending on the government who are good, honest citizens who have worked all their lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/there-are-lots-of-people-depending-on-the-government-who-are-good/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [American views today are weak, confused, and divided. On one side, many progressive liberals still think that we humans are essentially good and getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/american-views-today-are-weak-confused-and-divided-on-one-side-many/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [What is undeniable is that when comforts and convenience sap our energies and idealism, inactivity secretes sloth in to our minds like a poison…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/what-is-undeniable-is-that-when-comforts-and-convenience-sap-our/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [Freedom is not the permission to do what you like. It's the power to do what you ought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/freedom-is-not-the-permission-to-do-what-you-like-it-s-the-power-to/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [“It is realistic rather than cynical to observe that in a fallen world there are degrees of virtue in relation to what is right,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/it-is-realistic-rather-than-cynical-to-observe-that-in-a-fallen-world/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [For the grand and inescapable tradition of western literary classics confronts us with fundamental choices over our understanding of words, reading and art, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/for-the-grand-and-inescapable-tradition-of-western-literary-classics/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [“The story is told of Socrates walking through the market in Athens, with its groaning abundance of options, and saying to himself, "Who would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/the-story-is-told-of-socrates-walking-through-the-market-in-athens/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [By our uncritical pursuit of relevance we have actually courted irrelevance; by our breathless chase after relevance without a matching committment to faithfulness, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/by-our-uncritical-pursuit-of-relevance-we-have-actually-courted/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [Evangelicalism can only remain evangelical if it is passionately serious about truth and theology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/evangelicalism-can-only-remain-evangelical-if-it-is-passionately/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [“Sometimes when I listen to people who say they have lost their faith, I am far less surprised than they expect. If their view…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/sometimes-when-i-listen-to-people-who-say-they-have-lost-their-faith/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [“Neither secular progress nor secular progressives have brought the West where they once promised. Nor can they.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/neither-secular-progress-nor-secular-progressives-have-brought-the/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [This is also why it is wrong to treat God as a grand employment agency, a celestial executive searcher to find perfect fits for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/this-is-also-why-it-is-wrong-to-treat-god-as-a-grand-employment/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [We human beings are never happier than when we are expressing the deepest gifts that are truly us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/we-human-beings-are-never-happier-than-when-we-are-expressing-the/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [Christ is the only way to God, but there are as many ways to Christ as there are people who come to Him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/christ-is-the-only-way-to-god-but-there-are-as-many-ways-to-christ-as/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) [Explore all 98 Os Guinness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/) [Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Today, the world looks to America for leadership. And America looks to its Corps of Marines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/today-the-world-looks-to-america-for-leadership-and-america-looks-to/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. The idea of them as agents and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-lee-boggs/the-image-of-blacks-usually-is-one-of-people-who-are-suffering-from/) [Grace Lee Boggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-lee-boggs/) > [ I'll smoke, I'll cough, I'll get the tumors, I'll die, deal? Thank you America. \[salutes\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-hicks/i-ll-smoke-i-ll-cough-i-ll-get-the-tumors-i-ll-die-deal-thank-you/) [Bill Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-hicks/) > [America is a democracy and has no Hitler, but I am afraid for her future; there are hard times ahead for the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/america-is-a-democracy-and-has-no-hitler-but-i-am-afraid-for-her/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I'm gonna bring America together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-m-gonna-bring-america-together/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [We need a system that serves our needs, not the needs of others. 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