--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nothing is so much to be shunned as sex…" description: "\"Nothing is so much to be shunned as sex relations.\" — Saint Augustine" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a51/saint-augustine-328_abstinence_nothing-is-so-much-to-be-shunned-as-sex_2620161.png" --- # Nothing is so much to be shunned as sex relations. ![“Nothing is so much to be shunned as sex relations.” quote by Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a51/saint-augustine-328_abstinence_nothing-is-so-much-to-be-shunned-as-sex_2620161.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a51/saint-augustine-328_abstinence_nothing-is-so-much-to-be-shunned-as-sex_2620161.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a51/saint-augustine-328_abstinence_nothing-is-so-much-to-be-shunned-as-sex_2620161.png) > “Nothing is so much to be shunned as sex relations.” [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. Sexual relations can lead to moral corruption and distract from spiritual growth. **In simple terms:** Sex can corrupt and distract spiritually. Key Takeaway Practice chastity for spiritual focus. Themes morality spirituality sexuality self‑control Mood didactic serious Type theological philosophical When to use this quote - marriage counseling - spiritual retreats - personal reflection Key Concepts theology ethics human desire Questions to Reflect On - How does chastity contribute to personal development? - What role does sexuality play in healthy relationships? A Different Perspective Human sexuality is complex and can be positive in proper context. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abstinence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstinence/) [Relation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relation/) [Relations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relations/) [Sex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sex/) [Sex Relations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sex-relations-2104149/) [Sexuality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sexuality/) [Shunned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shunned/) [Shunned Sex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shunned-sex-2104150/) [Virginity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virginity/) ## Related quotes > [Let nature decide. When a cow is biologically ready to have sex relations, she mates with the nearest well-hung bull. When a flower is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madalyn-murray-o-hair/let-nature-decide-when-a-cow-is-biologically-ready-to-have-sex/) [Madalyn Murray O'Hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madalyn-murray-o-hair/) > [“possible topics around which the currents of speech may flow: Death and the danger of death: violence, fighting, sickness, fear, dreams, premonitions and communication…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-labov/possible-topics-around-which-the-currents-of-speech-may-flow-death/) [William Labov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-labov/) > [“Perhaps it’s true that in our sex-saturated culture it does take a certain amount of self-discipline to resist having sex, but restraint does not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-valenti/perhaps-it-s-true-that-in-our-sex-saturated-culture-it-does-take-a/) [Jessica Valenti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-valenti/) > [Why ruin a young girl's life when you can make an older women SO very happy !](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/why-ruin-a-young-girl-s-life-when-you-can-make-an-older-women-so-very/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [If you want to preserve your virginity, it's about not wanting to belong to the human species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-breillat/if-you-want-to-preserve-your-virginity-it-s-about-not-wanting-to/) [Catherine Breillat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-breillat/) > [“If being premenstrual is “innocence,” does that make those of us with periods guilty? And this really gets to the heart of the matter:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-valenti/if-being-premenstrual-is-innocence-does-that-make-those-of-us-with/) [Jessica Valenti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-valenti/) > [I would like to outlaw contraception... contraception is disgusting - people using each other for pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-scheidler/i-would-like-to-outlaw-contraception-contraception-is-disgusting/) [Joseph Scheidler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-scheidler/) > [You can't go into the ring and be a nice guy. I would go a month, two months, without having sex. It worked for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-lamotta/you-can-t-go-into-the-ring-and-be-a-nice-guy-i-would-go-a-month-two/) [Jake LaMotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-lamotta/) > [Did you ever notice that everyone in favour of birth control has already been born ?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benny-hill/did-you-ever-notice-that-everyone-in-favour-of-birth-control-has/) [Benny Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benny-hill/) > [To many, total abstinence is easier than perfect moderation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/to-many-total-abstinence-is-easier-than-perfect-moderation/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Complete abstinence is easier than perfect moderation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/complete-abstinence-is-easier-than-perfect-moderation/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [It was not the visible sun, but its invisible Creator who consecrated this day for us, when the Virgin Mother, fertile of womb and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/it-was-not-the-visible-sun-but-its-invisible-creator-who-consecrated/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [Virginity is not honored simply because it is virginity, but because it is consecrated of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/virginity-is-not-honored-simply-because-it-is-virginity-but-because/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [We are never more self-righteous than when giving up what we should have shunned all along.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mignon-mclaughlin/we-are-never-more-self-righteous-than-when-giving-up-what-we-should/) [Mignon McLaughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mignon-mclaughlin/) > [I, measuring his affections by my own, Which then most sought where most might not be found, Being one too many by my weary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/i-measuring-his-affections-by-my-own-which-then-most-sought-where/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) ## 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 Abstinence quotes > [Sexual activity, and the thoughts and fantasies of sex, use up a great portion of our vital force. When that force is conserved through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patanjali/sexual-activity-and-the-thoughts-and-fantasies-of-sex-use-up-a-great/) [Patanjali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patanjali/) > [Used with due abstinence, hope acts as a healthful tonic; intemperately indulged, as an enervating opiate. The visions of future triumph, which at first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fitzjames-stephen/used-with-due-abstinence-hope-acts-as-a-healthful-tonic-intemperately/) [James Fitzjames Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fitzjames-stephen/) > [“Male masturbation is not a release, it is a squandering. Anyone who begins to no-fap will soon discover this. Like most things, we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-freestone/male-masturbation-is-not-a-release-it-is-a-squandering-anyone-who/) [Jack Freestone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-freestone/) > [Atheism is a religion like abstinence is a sex position.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/atheism-is-a-religion-like-abstinence-is-a-sex-position/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [When a married person uses pornography, or is unfaithful, it compromises not just his (or her) purity, but also compromises the spouse's purity. As…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-o-donnell/when-a-married-person-uses-pornography-or-is-unfaithful-it/) [Christine O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-o-donnell/) > [“Look, choosing to wait until marriage makes me feel empowered. But if the same choice cripples you, then it wasn't the right one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-allen/look-choosing-to-wait-until-marriage-makes-me-feel-empowered-but-if/) [Rachael Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-allen/) > [Taking the pledge will not make bad liquor good, but it will improve it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/taking-the-pledge-will-not-make-bad-liquor-good-but-it-will-improve-it/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“It is better to lock up your heart with a merciless padlock, than to fall in love with someone who doesn't know what they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/it-is-better-to-lock-up-your-heart-with-a-merciless-padlock-than-to/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [There is a great deal of political pressure to only talk about abstinence, and to deny support for condoms and education on using them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/there-is-a-great-deal-of-political-pressure-to-only-talk-about/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [Abstinence-only education - the best STD (Sexually Transmitted Disease) and pregnancy delivery system that politicians have ever devised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-maddow/abstinence-only-education-the-best-std-sexually-transmitted-disease/) [Rachel Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-maddow/) > [While one may lose much because of avarice, nothing was ever accomplished by abstinence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isuna-hasekura/while-one-may-lose-much-because-of-avarice-nothing-was-ever/) [Isuna Hasekura](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isuna-hasekura/) > [“The secular, for all its goodness, does not defend itself very well against mindless and perpetual consumption. It cries out to be offered by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-farrar-capon/the-secular-for-all-its-goodness-does-not-defend-itself-very-well/) [Robert Farrar Capon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-farrar-capon/) > [I went to an all-girls Catholic school. And all the nuns just breathed down our necks "abstinence." And that's not the right thing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-mccarthy/i-went-to-an-all-girls-catholic-school-and-all-the-nuns-just-breathed/) [Jenny McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-mccarthy/) > [How do we want our air? Pure. How do we want our water? Pure. How do we want sex on our wedding night? Pure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-kelly/how-do-we-want-our-air-pure-how-do-we-want-our-water-pure-how-do-we/) [Molly Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-kelly/) > [“There’s gratification in abstaining from the easy choice. Instant gratification can bring more suffering than pleasure. If I do the hard thing, the next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecily-wang/there-s-gratification-in-abstaining-from-the-easy-choice-instant/) [Cecily Wang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecily-wang/) [Browse all 233 Abstinence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abstinence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Nothing is so much to be shunned as sex relations.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Saint Augustine" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/nothing-is-so-much-to-be-shunned-as-sex-relations/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Abstinence" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/nothing-is-so-much-to-be-shunned-as-sex-relations/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a51/saint-augustine-328_abstinence_nothing-is-so-much-to-be-shunned-as-sex_2620161.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a51/saint-augustine-328_abstinence_nothing-is-so-much-to-be-shunned-as-sex_2620161.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a51/saint-augustine-328_abstinence_nothing-is-so-much-to-be-shunned-as-sex_2620161.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Nothing is so much to be shunned as sex relations.” — 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": "Nothing is so much to be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/nothing-is-so-much-to-be-shunned-as-sex-relations/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/nothing-is-so-much-to-be-shunned-as-sex-relations/#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 } } ] } ```