Augustine of Hippo
Take away the word, and the water is neither more nor less than water. The word is added to the element, and there results the Sacrament, as if itself also a kind of visible word.
Source details
A.D. 416 · Tractate 80 on John, §3
Checked word-for-word against Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 1, Vol. 7 · 2026-07-17