"What I needed most was to love and to be loved, eager to be caught. Happily I wrapped those painful bonds around me; and sure enough, I would be lashed with the red-hot pokers or jealousy, by suspicions and fear, by burst of anger and quarrels"

In this quote, Saint Augustine expresses a deep longing for love and the desire to be enjoyed in return. He acknowledges that what he really needed was to feel the caring embrace of another, and he willingly welcomed the possible discomfort that frequently includes it. By willingly wrapping himself in the bonds of love, he recognizes that he opens himself up to the possibility of hurt and psychological chaos. Augustine describes these unpleasant experiences as being whipped with red-hot pokers of jealousy, suspicions, worry, bursts of anger, and quarrels. This quote shows Augustine's understanding that love features its share of obstacles and suffering, however he still discovers it necessary to his existence.