忏悔录 第一卷 第五章 第二段

作者：奥古斯丁
  翻译：邹光

我灵魂的房屋对你的进入来说是太狭小了，请你把它扩大些。它已经败坏了，请你把它修复。这屋里有许多处对你来说，一定是不堪入目;我承认，我知道。但谁来打扫它呢？除了向你，我能向谁求告呢？“请你清除我隐秘的过错，” 啊，我的神，“保守你的仆人，使他们不出外邦人常有的偏差。”“我相信，所以我这样说。”但是你，啊，我的神，你是知道的。我不是向你承认了我的过犯，啊，我的神，你不是清除了我心中的邪恶吗？”我不与你争辩，因你是真理本身。我也不愿欺骗我自己，免得我的邪恶向它自己撒谎。我不与你争辩，因为“主耶和华阿，你若究察邪恶，谁能站得住呢。”

 6. The house of my soul is too narrow for thee to come in to me; let it
   be enlarged by thee. It is in ruins; do thou restore it. There is much
   about it which must offend thy eyes; I confess and know it. But who
   will cleanse it? Or, to whom shall I cry but to thee? "Cleanse thou me
   from my secret faults," O Lord, "and keep back thy servant from strange
   sins." [15] "I believe, and therefore do I speak." [16] But thou, O
   Lord, thou knowest. Have I not confessed my transgressions unto thee, O
   my God; and hast thou not put away the iniquity of my heart? [17] I do
   not contend in judgment with thee, [18] who art truth itself; and I
   would not deceive myself, lest my iniquity lie even to itself. I do
   not, therefore, contend in judgment with thee, for "if thou, Lord,
   shouldst mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?" [19]