Letter 1624: The spiritual life is a journey with a beginning, a middle, and an end.
The lover of the theater, O excellent man, becomes a lover of mad passion. Flee therefore the theater, lest this madness be born in you. For it is better that the disease not take root, than to try to uproot it once it has taken root — which seems difficult to some, and impossible to others. To Diogenes the Deacon. For it is far better to prevent a disease from being planted with roots than to attempt to tear out what has already been planted with deep roots, which some consider difficult and others consider utterly impossible.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
Τιἰιδαίτα υἱαηάα, εἰ, ὲαϊπ οὶ αἀπιοτῖς εεδοίαπι. Τιιοαισὶ αι ϊβηυ δ ἰμΒᾶΠ0 ὩΠΊΟΓΟ σλρίι8 , μεθ Υυἱγογιν), ἰπβαηυ5 νἱ οἰβ8πὶ ἃς ρογή Πὶ Ὁ θεατρομανὴς, ὦ βέλτιστε, ἐρωτομανὴς γίνεται, Φεῦγε τοίνυν ἐχεῖνο, ἵνα μὴ τοῦτο τεχθείη. “Αμξινιν ἀπιδιοῦ. ᾿Παἀ ἰιδηια υἱεία) ἀδο! μα, ἴῃ ἴος ΟΣ γὰρ μὴ ῥιζωθῆναι τὴν νόσον, ἢ ῥιζωθεῖσαν ἀνασπα- ἰποί5. Ριπβοίδι δηΐη θοῦ ΓΑ Π0. 296Γ6, 4υδηι [24π τδάϊοὶ υ05 Ἀνθ] ογα, οὐ . πὶ ἀπ , γ6γὸ οἰΐδπὶ ἢ Ο55ἰ ὉΠ6 νυ 6ϑιι . ΟΡΙΧΙΥ. --- ΟΙΌΘΕΝΙ ὈΙΔΟΟΝΟ. σθήναι, ὅπερ τισὶ μὲν δύσχολον, τισὶ δὲ ἀδύνατον εἶναι δοχεῖ ().
Related Letters
The priesthood is a sacred trust, not a career.
The spiritual life is a journey with a beginning, a middle, and an end.
The one who is mad about theaters, O dear friend, becomes mad about love.
Now is the moment for your Academy to prove the value of all your discussions.
The spiritual life is a journey with a beginning, a middle, and an end.