Letter 1573: Nothing, O admirable friend, is wealth — not even if it be great and flooding in from every direction.
Wealth is nothing, O admirable one, even if it is great and flows in from every side; dignity is nothing, even if it is royal; wisdom is nothing, even if it is adorned with eloquence — unless hope in God is mixed with these things. For wealth is perishable when God does not approve it — it has often been uprooted even when deeply rooted in its possessors, like some fruitless and wild plant that damages the trees nearby. And kingship is precarious when not steered by the unconquerable right hand. And prudence, when not adorned with divine wisdom, is useless, since it has no charioteer. For God turns the wise backward and makes their counsel wither.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
᾿ϊνιῖα, ποπον, εἰ Ῥγμάοπίϊα πππιαπα, σαάτιοα δμπί, ἰάδοφιιο μτειαὶ )εο οοπβάοτο. ((οπ . ἐρὶδι. ὅ, ὅ0 εἰ ὅ8, εἰ ἰδ. Χχν11 ἐρὶει. .) Οὐδὲν, ὦ θαυμάσιε, ὁ πλοῦτος, χἂν πολὺς ἧ καὶ Ὀἰν ἴα, υἷγ δἀηνγαηθ, διοὶ τϑαϊ, δὲ ὑπ] πάντοθεν ἐπιῤῥέῃ" οὐδὲν τὸ ἀξίωμα, κἂν βασιλιχὸν 4ΠΠυοπί65, Η] διι8ΐ, ἤθ406 ἀἰρηϊ(, π6 τϑρὶᾶ ᾳ5]- (ογ,. χ . χχχπι, . [01ἃ. Λοῖ, ΧΧΝΗΙ, ἃ. ΥΑΒΙ ΓΕΟΤΙΟΝΕΘ ΕΤ ΝΟΤΙ. (Ἴ5) ὕτο ὁ ἔχις φνθο οοἀ . Παθομ! ἣ ἔχις, ΡΟΒΒΙΝ. . [] ΡΕΙΌΒΙΟΤῈ Γ τίσ ον ; : ὺΎ) μἴται, εἰ ἄσιῃ, Ὁ πό4ι6 θτιι δι εἶα, Πἰσοὶ θδηα ἀϊσαηΐ ογηλῖᾶ ἃ ἦ οὐδὲν ἡ σύνεσις, χἂν εὐγλωττία χοσμῆται, Βου , ηἶδὶ ἷι θοιπὶ ἰοπρογθίιγ, Οδαιοῶ εἰδηΐπι ἀϊν εἴα, αυΐθυ8 ἀϊνίμθπι πυιηδη ποη [Ἀγδὶ. Ῥεγάυπίυγ Θηΐ πὶ σοροθυπηογο, οἱ συ ροββθϑβογί γδάϊεἰτι5 ὀνθγίπῖαγ υϑῖαεἷ μίδηία διεγ , δι ἀσγα- ργορίπηυΐϑηυδ ποχία ἀγϑογίθι5. [εΠ0 αιθίυ8 Εἰ [ΠΣ γορία ροίαϑιδ5, εἶδὶ ἰηνίοία οὶ ἐδχιὸγα γεράῖιν. Αὦ ἰδ Βγυΐοιηἶα, εἷ5] ἀϊνίἃ ΟΥΘΙΙΓ - Ρἰοπίία, ἱπη μίδη6 6ϑι, αυλεὶ ἴγθηο (ἰ6ϑι . Ῥρυνθι68. ἘΠΙΠῚ δηογναῖ, γοίγοαυδ δεὶί οἱ ἀθϑμιὶι ΘΟ ἢ) ΘΟΟὨ . ΟυΔ ] ἴη νἱῖδ οδάιιε )η , 4ὲ Θγζὰ Παὺπὶ ἰηβι4 βδιιηΐ, οἱ (υυγὰ ΗΝ θα, ἃ. βϑογαπι οον Γι Δ Π ΔΠΟΠΟΓΆΠΙ. (ΟἸΟΧΧΙΙ. -- ΝΙΠΟ. μὴ τῇ ἐλπίδι τῇ πρὸ: τὸ Θεῖον κιρνᾶται (). Πλοῦ- τος μὲν γὰρ σαθρὸς, ᾧ τὸ Θεῖον οὐχ ἐπιψηφίξεται" συνανεσπάσθη γὰρ πολλάκις χαὶ ῥιζωθεὶς τοῖς χτη- δαμένοις, ὥσπερ τι φυτὸν ἄχαρπον χαὶ ἀνήμερον, χαὶ τοῖς πλησίον λυμαινόμενον δένδροις " σφαλερὰ δὲ χαὶ βασιλεία, παρὰ τῆς ἀηττήτου δεξιᾶς μὴ οἰαχιξο- μένη" φρόνησις δὲ μὴ χοσμουμένη τῇ θεία σοφίᾳ, ἀνόνητος, ἅτε δὴ μὴ ἀνθηνιοχουμένη. ᾿Αποστρέφει γὰρ φρονίμους εἰς τὰ ὀπίσω, καὶ τὴν βουλὴν ιαὐτων μαραίνει. Εἰ τοίνυν χαὶ τὰ ἐνταῦθα σαθρὰ τοῖς Ἐρὺς τὸ Θεῖον σαθροῖς, χαὶ τὰ μέλλοντα χαλεπώτερα, ἔχω- μεθα τῆς ἱερᾶς ἀγχύρας.
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