Letter 1511: Scripture speaks with precision to those who read carefully.
To Palladios.
Do not suppose that by practicing virtue you ward off slanders; for such people are plotted against most of all by those who, having no honor because they do not practice virtue, envy those who are honored on account of virtue. It is better, therefore, while practicing virtue, to bear nobly the malice of the spiteful than, in trying to escape being envied, to fall away from virtue.
AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.
Latin / Greek Original
Μὴ νόμιζε τῷ ἀσκεῖν ἀρετὴν, τὰς διαβολὰς δια-
κρούεσθαι · μάλιστα γὰρ οἱ τοιοῦτοι ἐπιβουλεύονται παρὰ τῶν τιμὴν μὲν οὐκ ἐχόντων, διὰ τὸ μὴ ἀσκεῖν ἀρετήν, τοῖς δὲ ἀπ’ ἀρετῆς τιμωμένοις φθονούντων. Ἄμεινον τοίνυν ἀσκούντας, γενναίως φέρειν τὰς τῶν βασκάνων κακοηθείας, ἢ τὸ φθονεῖσθαι παραιτουμένους ἀρετῆς ἀφίστασθαι.
Revision history
- 2026-05-27v2.2.34-import
Initial corpus import from modern isidore pelusium workflow v1.
Fields: letter text, metadata, source links. Source: https://archive.org/details/PatrologiaGraeca
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