Letter 198: A terrible love of rhetoric has seized human souls in this age.
A terrible passion for words has seized many people throughout the entire age, a zeal for speech that aims not at prudence but at pleasure. They pursue eloquence as an end in itself, not as a servant of truth, and they mistake the applause of the audience for the approval of God. Let your speech be seasoned with salt, not with sugar, and it will nourish rather than merely please.
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
Ο(βεὶξ τμὶ αὐπιοκεπάος ἐδ οοποϊοπαίογεξ, εἰεσαπιὶ ἐμαάεῖ ἐρὶ εἴ. φμοτγμπι Ῥγασϊοαιἷο μὲ ε ἰπ ρεγεμαεὶδε δι πμηβιαπα δαρίεπιΐα νεγϑέδ, ΝΟῊ ἐπ οδίοπεῖοηθ δρίτί μι οἰ υἱγίμϊ. ν (] Οοτ. τ΄, .) γεμαπιθῦβ ἀΐοοηάϊ βιυάϊαπι τηδπῖ ἰοπηΐηιπὶ τοῖο βοςὺ βθουϊο ἰηναβὶὶ, ϑογηιοηυπ, ἱπαθδη), διυάΐυ, ποθὴ αυἱ δά ργυάδηςίδπι, ἀ δὰ γοϊυρί- Ν ΤΙ. , . Δεινὸς λόγων ἔρως ταῖς τῶν ἀνθρώπων ψυχαὶς εἰς τοῦτον τὸν καιρὸν ἑπεχώμασε " λόγων δὲ, φημὶ, οὗ τῶν σωφρονίζειν, ἀλλὰ τῶν τέρπειν τοὺς ἀχούοντας ΥΑΒΙΦΕ ΓΕΟΤΙΟΝῈΒ ΕΤ ΝΟΤΑ͂. () Ἃθ.λος ἐγένετο. ϑυδρίοον Ἰ(. ὕθλος, ἱπεριΐα, ΥΟΣ ἄθηυο Γοροίδίυν, ἀἰοδίαυθ, πἰεὶ δεοϊδεϊαδιϊεἰξ δαποίοπῖϑμε ἰμάοε [ἐςετὶϊ. οὶ, ἄθλος, ργίναπυβ βΒο!!οἱ στλάυ Ῥγοδυγιογί!, διιΐ Βδογὶβ ΥΌΘΉ : υἱ ἀθ Ζοείπιο ρ. οἱ δ, ραᾳ. . Ουἱά ] ἄθε- τος ἰθβ, ἰά βὲ ἐγγίίμ, αὐτοσαίμε, αϑάϊεραίαε. ΒΟΗΟΤΤ. () Ργο φημὶ οοἀά. γαι. θὺ οἱ ΑἸι. εογίυσαι φήσαιμι δὲ ΥΓ. . ῥΓῸ ὠραίας, ὡραιαις. ῬΟΒΞΙΝ. ἘΡΙΘΤΟΙΑΒΟῸΝ .. Υ.Ψ -- ἘΡΙΘΤ. ΟΥἿ. βϑυναμένων, οὗ πνευματιχῶν, ἀλλὰ σοςιστιχῶν" οὐχ Α (ἐπὶ ἀεϊδοιδιϊοπο δι ον ἰηροποραπάδιπ ἀποστολιχῶν, ἀλλὰ Δημοσθενιχῶν' οὐ προφητιχῶν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐριστιχῶν᾽ οὐ τῶν τὴν ψυχὴν εὐφρᾶναι δυναμέ- νων, ἀλλὰ τῶν τὴν ἀχοὴν θέλγειν εἰωθότων᾽ οὐ τῶν διὰ τοῦ ἐμπνεῖσθαι ὑπὸ τῶν πράξεων τοῦ λέγοντος ζώντων, ἀλλὰ τῶν διὰ τὴν εὐγλωττίαν εἰς ἀχοὰς νε- χρὰς ἐνηχουμένων, Τί οὖν ποιητέον ; σιωπητέον, καὶ οὐδὲν λεχτέον ; ἀλλ᾽ ἐπιχίνδυνον. ᾿Αλλὰ ῥητέον ; ἀλλ᾽ οὐχ εἰς ὠφέλειαν ὁ λόγος χαὶ ἔργων ἐπίδειξιν, ἀλλ᾽ εἰς χρότον μόνον τελευτᾷ " ἀλλ᾽ εἰ χαὶ οὕτω ταῦτα ἔχει, ἄμεινον, ὡς οἶμαι, εἰπόντα μὴ ἀχουσθῇ- ναι, ἣ μὴ εἰπόντα ἐγχληθῆναι" ε« ἀιατί τὸ ἀργύ- ριόν μου οὗ χατέδαλες ἐπὶ τοὺς τραπεζίτας, χἀγὼ ἐλθὼν ἀπήτησα ἂν αὐτὸ σὺν τῷ τόχῳ ;» Λεγέτιυ τοι": γαροῦν ὁ δυνάμενος, ἵνα πρὸς τοὺς ἀχούοντας ἧ τῷ κριτῇ ὁ λόγος.
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