How we cite our quotes: (Book.Section.Paragraph)
Quote #10
I read on: Tremble and sin no more, and this moved me deeply, my God,because now I had learnt to tremble for my past, so that in future I might sin no more. (IX.4.5)
It sounds like Augustine just repeated this quote from Psalms 4:4 verbatim, but actually, he is reading it in a very specific way and applying it to himself. Here's what we mean: the King James translation of the line reads, "Stand in awe, and sin not." So, taken on its own, the line seems to be talking about standing in awe before God and being too afraid to sin again. But Augustine is actually trembling before his past, not God, and his fear of his own past actions is what compels him to not sin again.