Letter 841: Wealth is a tool, not a treasure.
People often dare things greater than pardon or punishment for the sake of money and power, and of yielding none of these to anyone. For wishing to acquire them...
AI-assisted translation — This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed.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
Συγγνώμης χαὶ τιμωρίας μείζονα πολλάχις τολ- μῶσιν ἄνθρωποι χρημάτων ἕνεχεν χαὶ ἀρχῆς, καὶ τοῦ μηδενὶ τούτων παραχωρῆσαι. Κτήσασθαι μὲν γὰρ αὑτὰ βουλόμενοι, διὰ μυρίων χαχῶν χτῶνται,, χαὶ φοδούμενοι ἀποδαλεῖν, πολλῷ ἀργαλεωτέροις () ἐγχειροῦσι. Νομίζοντες γὰρ τὸ ἀποδαλεῖν τοῦ μηδὲ χτήσασθαι δεινότερον εἶναι, χαλεπώτερα μηχανῶν- ται" χρὴ οὖν ἐν προοιμίοις περιγίνεσθαι τῶν πα- θῶν (), ἵνα μὴ τελευτῶντες ἀνήχεστα νοσοῦντες φωραθῶμεν.
Related Letters
Virtue must be practiced with all one's strength — not merely admired from a distance.
The priesthood is a sacred trust, not a career.
It was only fitting, dear Paulus, that he should not abolish a rule he himself established.
God's judgment is certain, and no amount of cleverness or delay can avoid it.
Virtue must be practiced with all one's strength — not merely admired from a distance.