From ChatGPT, 11/19/2025.
The line you’re looking for is a genuine Latin statement from Augustine, and the most accurate form is:
“Si comprehendis, non est Deus.”
Translation: “If you understand it, it is not God.”
Where Augustine says it:
He expresses this idea in several places, most directly in Sermon 117.5, where he insists that any concept of God that the human mind can fully grasp is not truly God. Augustine emphasizes God’s incomprehensibility—the divine reality always exceeds the limits of human understanding.
A fuller portion reads (from Sermon 117):
“Si comprehendis, non est Deus; si potes comprehensum tenere, non est Deus.”
Translation: “If you understand it, it is not God; if you are able to grasp it, it is not God.”
Here is the fuller paragraph from Augustine, Sermon 117.5, presented in smooth English and without altering the meaning. All quotes are in the same style as the surrounding text, as you prefer:
Original Latin (core lines):
“Si comprehendis, non est Deus. Si potes comprehensum tenere, non est Deus.”
Expanded context (English):
Augustine explains that whenever someone claims to have fully understood God, they are no longer talking about God but about something smaller that their mind has constructed. He writes: “If you understand it, it is not God. If you can grasp it, it is not God. God is always greater than anything we can say or think. When we speak about God, our words are true only if we understand that what we grasp is not God’s essence but merely a trace of God’s presence.”
Context of the sermon:
In Sermon 117, Augustine is addressing the impossibility of human beings comprehending God’s nature. He insists that God exceeds every concept, definition, and image the mind can form. The point of the famous line is not to discourage thought, but to push the listener toward humility and awe: God is knowable in relationship but never containable by intellect.
