Letter 1640: The priesthood is a sacred trust, not a career.
To Serenus the Tribune. That the glory of this world is like a day lily — that is, a flower blooming for scarcely a single day — while the fame of virtue is unfading and unending, anyone who is not without mind and prudence would affirm. And if many lay claim to the former while despising the latter, this is not surprising; for the sick refuse wholesome food and take pleasure in what is unwholesome, and the intemperate choose the courtesan over the virtuous wife. But the sensible must take their votes not from the sick but from the healthy.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
ΦΕΓ. - ΣΕΡΗΝΟ ΤΡΙΒΟΥΝΩ.
Ὅτι ἡμεροκαλές (63) ἐστι, τουτέστιν, ἄνθος πρὸς μίαν μόνην σχεδὸν ἡμέραν ἀκμάζον, τὸ δοξάριον τοῦ κόσμου τούτου, ἡ δὲ τῆς ἀρετῆς εὔκλεια ἀμάραντός τε καὶ ἀτελεύτητος, πᾶς τις τῶν νοῦ καὶ φρονήσεως οὐκ ἀμοιρούντων ἰσχυρίζαιτο. Εἰ δὲ πολλοὶ ἐκείνου μὲν ἀντιποιοῦνται, ταύτης δὲ καταφρονοῦσι, θαυμαστὸν οὐδέν· ἐπεὶ καὶ οἱ νοσοῦντες τὰς μὲν ὑγιεινὰς παραιτοῦνται τροφὰς, ταῖς δὲ νοσώδεσιν ἤδονται· καὶ οἱ ἀκρατεῖς τὴν ἑταίραν ἀντὶ τῆς σώφρονος αἱροῦνται γυναικός. Ἀλλὰ χρὴ τοὺς ἐχέφρονας μὴ ἀπὸ τῶν ἀῤῥωστούντων, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ τῶν ὑγιαινόντων λαμβάνειν τὰς ψήφους.
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