Letter 1513: Virtue must be practiced with all one's strength — not merely admired from a distance.
Know this, O shrine of intelligence, that if you promote the best men — those who are truthful, upright, and contemptuous of money — to positions of authority (for most positions of power are currently held by the ignoble), you will both adorn your own administration and benefit the governed. For when good men rule, the people prosper; but when the wicked hold office, the people groan. The choice of magistrates is therefore not merely an administrative matter but a moral one, and the ruler who appoints unworthy men shares in their crimes. For every act of injustice committed by a corrupt official is charged not only to the official himself but also to the one who placed him in that position, knowing — or being obligated to know — his character. Choose therefore with care, investigating not the candidates' wealth or connections but their virtue and capacity, for these alone will produce good government and earn the gratitude of those under their charge.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
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