Beauty So Ancient, So New

Too late have I loved You, O Beauty so ancient, O Beauty so new,
too late have I loved You!
You were within me but I was outside myself, and I sought You there!
In my weakness I ran after the beauty of the things You have made.
You were with me, and I was not with You.
The things You have made kept me from You –
the things which would have no being unless they existed in You!

You have called, You have cried out, and You have pierced my deafness.
You have radiated forth, and have shined out brightly,
and You have dispelled my blindness.
You have sent forth Your fragrance, and I have breathed it in, and I long for You.
I have tasted You, and I hunger and thirst for You.
You have touched me, and I ardently desire Your peace.

--Augustine of Hippo, 354-430