--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Seek not abroad, for in the inner man…" description: "\"Seek not abroad, for in the inner man dwells the truth.\" — Saint Augustine" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/379/saint-augustine-328_dwells_seek-not-abroad-for-in-the-inner-man-dwe_1405751.png" --- # Seek not abroad, for in the inner man dwells the truth. ![“Seek not abroad, for in the inner man dwells the truth.” quote by Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/379/saint-augustine-328_dwells_seek-not-abroad-for-in-the-inner-man-dwe_1405751.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/379/saint-augustine-328_dwells_seek-not-abroad-for-in-the-inner-man-dwe_1405751.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/379/saint-augustine-328_dwells_seek-not-abroad-for-in-the-inner-man-dwe_1405751.png) > “Seek not abroad, for in the inner man dwells the truth.” [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. True insight comes from introspection rather than external exploration; inner wisdom holds the answers we seek. **In simple terms:** Look inside for truth, not abroad. Key Takeaway Cultivate self‑reflection regularly. Themes self‑knowledge inner truth spirituality Mood thoughtful seeking Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - personal growth - spiritual practice - decision making Key Concepts philosophy introspection Questions to Reflect On - What inner truths have you overlooked? - How does external seeking affect your inner peace? A Different Perspective External search may distract from inner clarity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Honesty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honesty/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [Do not wander far and wide but return into yourself. Deep within man there dwells the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/do-not-wander-far-and-wide-but-return-into-yourself-deep-within-man/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [“Non foras ire, in interiore homine habitat veritas' (Go not outside; truth dwells in the inner man).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/non-foras-ire-in-interiore-homine-habitat-veritas-go-not-outside/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Friendship is the next pleasure we may hope for: and where we find it not at home, or have no home to find it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-penn/friendship-is-the-next-pleasure-we-may-hope-for-and-where-we-find-it/) [William Penn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-penn/) > [If adventures will not befall a young lady in her own village, she must seek them abroad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/if-adventures-will-not-befall-a-young-lady-in-her-own-village-she/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [Don't go outside; get back to yourself, in the inner man lies the Truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/don-t-go-outside-get-back-to-yourself-in-the-inner-man-lies-the-truth/) [Saint Augustine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-augustine/) > [“We seek abroad what is missing in our own lives, what we hunger for in vain at home. (Alain de Botton)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-driscoll/we-seek-abroad-what-is-missing-in-our-own-lives-what-we-hunger-for-in/) Scott Driscoll > [“Joy is the feeling that comes from the inner man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euginia-herlihy/joy-is-the-feeling-that-comes-from-the-inner-man/) [Euginia Herlihy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euginia-herlihy/) > [“Through becoming aware of how the inner man and woman relates and communicates inside ourselves, it creates a joy and satisfaction in the three…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-dhyan-giten/through-becoming-aware-of-how-the-inner-man-and-woman-relates-and/) [Swami Dhyan Giten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-dhyan-giten/) > [“When both the inner man and woman takes responsibility for themselves and lives their own truth, a joy and love begins to flow naturally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/swami-dhyan-giten/when-both-the-inner-man-and-woman-takes-responsibility-for-themselves/) [Swami Dhyan Giten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/swami-dhyan-giten/) > [I am convinced that any photographic attempt to show the complete man is nonsense. We can only show, as best we can, what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-newman/i-am-convinced-that-any-photographic-attempt-to-show-the-complete-man/) [Arnold Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-newman/) > [There can be only one permanent revolution- a moral one: the regeneration of the inner man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/there-can-be-only-one-permanent-revolution-a-moral-one-the/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The inner man cannot be forced to do out of his own free will, what he should do, except the grace of God change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/the-inner-man-cannot-be-forced-to-do-out-of-his-own-free-will-what-he/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [You are the reflection of your inner man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eluid/you-are-the-reflection-of-your-inner-man/) Eluid > [“A man who chirks up the inner man should put his inner nature through the mill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anyaele-sam-chiyson/a-man-who-chirks-up-the-inner-man-should-put-his-inner-nature-through/) Anyaele Sam Chiyson > [The tests of life are to make, not break us. Trouble may demolish a man's business but build up his character. The blow at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maltbie-davenport-babcock/the-tests-of-life-are-to-make-not-break-us-trouble-may-demolish-a-man/) [Maltbie Davenport Babcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maltbie-davenport-babcock/) ## 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 Dwells quotes > [The child who dwells inside us trusts that there are wise men somewhere who know the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/czeslaw-milosz/the-child-who-dwells-inside-us-trusts-that-there-are-wise-men/) [Czeslaw Milosz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/czeslaw-milosz/) > [A beautiful soul always dwells in a beautiful world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-beautiful-soul-always-dwells-in-a-beautiful-world/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I'm not someone who dwells upon past events, taking the view that life is too short](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kennedy/i-m-not-someone-who-dwells-upon-past-events-taking-the-view-that-life/) [Charles Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kennedy/) > [Our best enemy dwells in our hearts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrews-o-boamah/our-best-enemy-dwells-in-our-hearts/) Andrews O Boamah > [Paradise is always where love dwells.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/paradise-is-always-where-love-dwells/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Non foras ire, in interiore homine habitat veritas' (Go not outside; truth dwells in the inner man).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/non-foras-ire-in-interiore-homine-habitat-veritas-go-not-outside/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [“Are you ready for the God that dwells in your heart ?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roxana-jones/are-you-ready-for-the-god-that-dwells-in-your-heart/) Roxana Jones > [The nature of good fiction is that it dwells in ambiguity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-doctorow/the-nature-of-good-fiction-is-that-it-dwells-in-ambiguity/) [E. L. Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-doctorow/) > [Philosophy dwells aloft in the Temple of Science, the divinity of its inmost shrine; her dictates descend among men, but she herself descends not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/philosophy-dwells-aloft-in-the-temple-of-science-the-divinity-of-its/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [The media dwells mostly on negativity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-parcells/the-media-dwells-mostly-on-negativity/) [Bill Parcells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-parcells/) > [Darkness dwells within even the best of us. In the worst of us, darkness not only dwells but reigns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/darkness-dwells-within-even-the-best-of-us-in-the-worst-of-us/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [God dwells in the details.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-mies-van-der-rohe/god-dwells-in-the-details/) [Ludwig Mies van der Rohe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-mies-van-der-rohe/) > [“All men live not by what they intend for their own well being, but by the love that dwells in others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/all-men-live-not-by-what-they-intend-for-their-own-well-being-but-by/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [In each of us dwells a pilgrim. It is the part of us that longs to have direct contact with the sacred.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-cousineau/in-each-of-us-dwells-a-pilgrim-it-is-the-part-of-us-that-longs-to/) [Phil Cousineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-cousineau/) > [God dwells within you, as you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/god-dwells-within-you-as-you/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) Browse all 56 Dwells quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Seek not abroad, for in the inner man dwells the truth.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Saint Augustine" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/seek-not-abroad-for-in-the-inner-man-dwells-the-truth/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dwells" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/seek-not-abroad-for-in-the-inner-man-dwells-the-truth/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/379/saint-augustine-328_dwells_seek-not-abroad-for-in-the-inner-man-dwe_1405751.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/379/saint-augustine-328_dwells_seek-not-abroad-for-in-the-inner-man-dwe_1405751.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/379/saint-augustine-328_dwells_seek-not-abroad-for-in-the-inner-man-dwe_1405751.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Seek not abroad, for in the inner man dwells the truth.” — 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": "Seek not abroad, for in the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/seek-not-abroad-for-in-the-inner-man-dwells-the-truth/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-augustine/seek-not-abroad-for-in-the-inner-man-dwells-the-truth/#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 } } ] } ```