Note to Anon Lil 8VII
[4] nægjandi sier ‘content with himself, enough in himself’: The angel wants to be like God, who is ærinn sér ‘sufficient in himself’ (6/6). In De Civitate Dei, Augustine discusses how the sin of pride is related to a desire for self-sufficiency: Relicto itaque Deo esse in semet ipso, hoc est sibi placere, non iam nihil esse est, sed nihilo propinquare. Vnde superbi secundum scripturas sanctas alio nomine appellantur sibi placentes ‘To abandon God and exist in oneself, that is, to live to please oneself, is not to cease existing and become nothing, but it is a step in that direction. Hence the Holy Scriptures refer to the proud as satisfying themselves’ (Dombart and Kalb 1955, I, 47:435 [14.13]).