--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I inquired what wickedness is, and I…" description: "\"I inquired what wickedness is, and I didn't find a substance, but a perversity of will twisted away from the highest substance - You, O God - towards i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d3/saint-augustine-328_highest_i-inquired-what-wickedness-is-and-i-didn_956594.png" --- # I inquired what wickedness is, and I didn't find a… ![“I inquired what wickedness is, and I didn't find a substance, but a perversity of will twisted away from the highest substance - You, O God - towards inferior things, rejecting its own inner life and swelling with external matters.” quote by Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d3/saint-augustine-328_highest_i-inquired-what-wickedness-is-and-i-didn_956594.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d3/saint-augustine-328_highest_i-inquired-what-wickedness-is-and-i-didn_956594.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d3/saint-augustine-328_highest_i-inquired-what-wickedness-is-and-i-didn_956594.png) > “I inquired what wickedness is, and I didn't find a substance, but a perversity of will twisted away from the highest substance - You, O God - towards inferior things, rejecting its own inner life and swelling with external matters.” [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Wickedness is not a material thing but a twisted will that turns away from the divine source toward lesser, external concerns. **In simple terms:** Evil is a misdirected will. Key Takeaway Align will with higher purpose. Themes morality spirituality will divine human nature Mood contemplative serious Type theological philosophical When to use this quote - personal reflection - prayer - ethical decision making - overcoming temptation Key Concepts theology philosophy ethics Questions to Reflect On - What does your will prioritize? - How can you redirect focus toward inner growth? A Different Perspective The concept assumes a clear hierarchy of values, which may be culturally relative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Inner life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inner-life/) [Wickedness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wickedness/) ## Related quotes > [“I inquired what wickedness is, and I didn't find a substance, but a perversity of will twisted away from the highest substance – You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-augustine-of-hippo/i-inquired-what-wickedness-is-and-i-didn-t-find-a-substance-but-a/) [St. Augustine of Hippo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-augustine-of-hippo/) > [“Try to imagine this formless, liquid abyss of many waters and surfaces. With and within this awesome, abysmal substance, God Mother creates universes. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-emunds/try-to-imagine-this-formless-liquid-abyss-of-many-waters-and-surfaces/) [Stefan Emunds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-emunds/) > [The arrogance is not greatness but swelling; and the swelling seems big but it's not healthy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/the-arrogance-is-not-greatness-but-swelling-and-the-swelling-seems/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [“Writing turns you into somebody who's always wrong. The illusion that you may get it right someday is the perversity that draws you on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/writing-turns-you-into-somebody-who-s-always-wrong-the-illusion-that/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“The perversity of woman!' thought Julien. 'What pleasure, what instinct leads them to betray us?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-perversity-of-woman-thought-julien-what-pleasure-what-instinct/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The evil effect of science upon men is principally this, that by far the greatest number of those who wish to display a knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-kant/the-evil-effect-of-science-upon-men-is-principally-this-that-by-far/) [Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-kant/) > [Scripture points out this difference between believers and unbelievers; the latter, as old slaves of their incurable perversity, cannot endure the rod; but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/scripture-points-out-this-difference-between-believers-and/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [Envy is the deformed and distorted offspring of egotism; and when we reflect on the strange and disproportioned character of the parent, we cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/envy-is-the-deformed-and-distorted-offspring-of-egotism-and-when-we/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [To offer the complexities of life as an excuse for not addressing oneself to the simpler, more manageable (trivial) aspects of daily existence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/to-offer-the-complexities-of-life-as-an-excuse-for-not-addressing/) [Barbara Grizzuti Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-grizzuti-harrison/) > [“Woman, thy name is perversity!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-way/woman-thy-name-is-perversity/) [Margaret Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-way/) > [It seems to me a measure of the true perversity of the human race, that one of its very few reliably pleasurable activities should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-gross/it-seems-to-me-a-measure-of-the-true-perversity-of-the-human-race/) Otto Gross > [Drawing is one of those things which sit on the uneasy bending line between instinct and instruction, where seeming perversity eventually trumps pleasure as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-gopnik/drawing-is-one-of-those-things-which-sit-on-the-uneasy-bending-line/) [Adam Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-gopnik/) > [Misgovernment is of four kinds, often in combination. They are: 1) tyranny or oppression, of which history provides so many well-known examples that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-tuchman/misgovernment-is-of-four-kinds-often-in-combination-they-are-1/) [Barbara Tuchman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-tuchman/) > [“Let us not neglect the forbidden. Let us not sophisticate ourselves out of the cheap thrill and chill of it: the story told for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-barker/let-us-not-neglect-the-forbidden-let-us-not-sophisticate-ourselves/) [Clive Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-barker/) > [“Like symbolism, decadence puts forth the idea that the function of literature is to evoke impressions and 'correspondences', rather than to realistically depict the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asti-hustvedt/like-symbolism-decadence-puts-forth-the-idea-that-the-function-of/) [Asti Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asti-hustvedt/) ## More by Saint Augustine > [Lust indulged became habit, and habit unresisted became necessity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/lust-indulged-became-habit-and-habit-unresisted-became-necessity/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [The playthings of our elders are called business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/the-playthings-of-our-elders-are-called-business/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Do what you can and pray for what you cannot yet do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/do-what-you-can-and-pray-for-what-you-cannot-yet-do/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [For I did not know that the soul needs to be enlightened by light from outside itself, so that it can participate in truth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/for-i-did-not-know-that-the-soul-needs-to-be-enlightened-by-light/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [My mother spoke of Christ to my father, by her feminine and childlike virtues, and, after having borne his violence without a murmur or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/my-mother-spoke-of-christ-to-my-father-by-her-feminine-and-childlike/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Wicked sons do not have the Holy Ghost in the same way as do beloved sons, and yet they do have Baptism. So, too,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/wicked-sons-do-not-have-the-holy-ghost-in-the-same-way-as-do-beloved/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [To wisdom belongs the intellectual apprehension of things eternal; to knowledge, the rational apprehension of things temporal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/to-wisdom-belongs-the-intellectual-apprehension-of-things-eternal-to/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [It is this one Spirit who makes it possible for an infant to be regenerated . . . when that infant is brought to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/it-is-this-one-spirit-who-makes-it-possible-for-an-infant-to-be/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [God has no need of your money, but the poor have. You give it to the poor, and God receives it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/god-has-no-need-of-your-money-but-the-poor-have-you-give-it-to-the/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Nothing conquers except truth and the victory of truth is love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/nothing-conquers-except-truth-and-the-victory-of-truth-is-love/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [“O God, who is ever at work and ever at rest. May I be ever at work and ever at rest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/o-god-who-is-ever-at-work-and-ever-at-rest-may-i-be-ever-at-work-and/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Our Lord reserved to Himself certain things which He would do in due time in a manner outside the course and order of nature,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/our-lord-reserved-to-himself-certain-things-which-he-would-do-in-due/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Give me chastity and continence, but not yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/give-me-chastity-and-continence-but-not-yet/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Nothing, therefore, happens unless the Omnipotent wills it to happen. He either permits it to happen, or He brings it about Himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/nothing-therefore-happens-unless-the-omnipotent-wills-it-to-happen-he/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [The reward of patience Is patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/the-reward-of-patience-is-patience/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) [Explore all 672 Saint Augustine quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) ## More Highest quotes > [“Your highest thoughts hold the key to your highest rewards.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/your-highest-thoughts-hold-the-key-to-your-highest-rewards/) [Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/) > [Dear God, I trust that no matter what happens in my life, it is for my highest good. And no matter what happens in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jeffers/dear-god-i-trust-that-no-matter-what-happens-in-my-life-it-is-for-my/) [Susan Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jeffers/) > [“Highest marks of the day. And don’t ever do it again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/highest-marks-of-the-day-and-don-t-ever-do-it-again/) [Brent Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-weeks/) > [. . . to know the order of nature, and regard the universe as orderly is the highest function of the mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/to-know-the-order-of-nature-and-regard-the-universe-as-orderly-is-the/) [Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/) > [When my main character in 'Heat' climbs the tower, the highest diving platform, hoping to resume competitive diving after an injury, I am there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cadnum/when-my-main-character-in-heat-climbs-the-tower-the-highest-diving/) [Michael Cadnum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cadnum/) > [The Christian man must aim at that complete obedience to God in which life finds its highest happiness, its greatest good, its perfect consummation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barclay/the-christian-man-must-aim-at-that-complete-obedience-to-god-in-which/) [William Barclay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barclay/) > [Total depravity means the entire absence of holiness, not the highest intensity of sin. A totally depraved man is not as bad as he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-greenough-thayer-shedd/total-depravity-means-the-entire-absence-of-holiness-not-the-highest/) [William Greenough Thayer Shedd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-greenough-thayer-shedd/) > [God is a reality of spirit He cannot be conceived as an object, not even as the very highest object. God is not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikolai-berdyaev/god-is-a-reality-of-spirit-he-cannot-be-conceived-as-an-object-not/) [Nikolai Berdyaev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikolai-berdyaev/) > [“I stood by you at your lowest, but you left me for another at your highest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-bekoe/i-stood-by-you-at-your-lowest-but-you-left-me-for-another-at-your/) [Marion Bekoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-bekoe/) > [The caricature of science is that we hold tight to the theories we have, and shun challenges to them. That's just not true. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/the-caricature-of-science-is-that-we-hold-tight-to-the-theories-we/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [I believe keeping our promises should be our highest priority and that means saving Social Security and Medicare while preserving the American dream for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-coburn/i-believe-keeping-our-promises-should-be-our-highest-priority-and/) [Tom Coburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-coburn/) > [“Humble yourself before the Lord and he will lift you high. People who are gentle, humble and able always have a great ending no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/humble-yourself-before-the-lord-and-he-will-lift-you-high-people-who/) [israelmore ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [While all men are born as equals, to say that Brahmins alone are the highest and all others are low as Pariah (the Untouchables)…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/periyar-e-v-ramasamy/while-all-men-are-born-as-equals-to-say-that-brahmins-alone-are-the/) [Periyar E. V. Ramasamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/periyar-e-v-ramasamy/) > [I rejoice that the reign of Christ is such, while it thrills the soul with emotions, and opens before the highest intellect the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-simpson/i-rejoice-that-the-reign-of-christ-is-such-while-it-thrills-the-soul/) [Matthew Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-simpson/) > [...the fullest development of the highest powers of men can be achieved only in a world of peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-hutchins/the-fullest-development-of-the-highest-powers-of-men-can-be-achieved/) [Robert M. Hutchins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-hutchins/) Browse all 3,194 Highest quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I inquired what wickedness is, and I didn't find a substance, but a perversity of will twisted away from the highest substance - You, O God - towards inferior things, rejecting its own inner life and swelling with external matters.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Saint Augustine" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/i-inquired-what-wickedness-is-and-i-didn-t-find-a-substance-but-a-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Highest" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/i-inquired-what-wickedness-is-and-i-didn-t-find-a-substance-but-a-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d3/saint-augustine-328_highest_i-inquired-what-wickedness-is-and-i-didn_956594.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d3/saint-augustine-328_highest_i-inquired-what-wickedness-is-and-i-didn_956594.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d3/saint-augustine-328_highest_i-inquired-what-wickedness-is-and-i-didn_956594.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I inquired what wickedness is, and I didn't find a substance, but a perversity of will twisted away from the…” — Saint Augustine", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Saint Augustine", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I inquired what wickedness is, and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/i-inquired-what-wickedness-is-and-i-didn-t-find-a-substance-but-a-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/i-inquired-what-wickedness-is-and-i-didn-t-find-a-substance-but-a-2/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```