Nilus of Ancyra→Asclepius|c. 415 AD|nilus ancyra|From Ancyra|AI-assisted
To Asclepius the Grammarian.
If, before doing good deeds, we pursue certain useless and unanswerable questions, we go astray like men deficient in understanding, and we are ensnared. For the span allotted to each of us is short, and we are to be judged concerning our works, not concerning the knowledge of hidden things. Therefore let us not abandon the inquiry, "What must we do to attain eternal life?" For if, occupying ourselves for that short span with hard-to-resolve and useless questions, we squander the days of the present life, then, having been ensnared, we depart from here with empty hands. And the prophets speak fittingly about us, lamenting over our ruin: "Where are the grammarians? Where are the all-wise counselors and teachers?" "How has it become a desolation?" For they failed and perished through their conceit and their transgression, just like the dream of one who is roused from his bed. Before, then, such laments are set down concerning you, let go of the foolish questions, fit only for boys at play, and obey the great and true teacher who cries out, "Seek before all things the kingdom of God and his righteousness." For each thing has its own proper time: to do what is righteous, here; but to receive the recompense, in the age to come. So then, that we may not be ensnared, let us rather track down righteousness and do it, so that, like certain excellent travelers who carry the provisions of good deeds, we may enter the kingdom of God as into a city. For God is manifest to those who are well-disposed, through the world that came into being by him, being attested by his whole creation. Let us not, then, taking up forgetfulness even of his commandments and judgments, occupy ourselves with certain trifling questions and unprofitable little phrases, worth no account, as though they were great and hidden matters, and so be led astray and estranged from eternal life.
If, before doing good deeds, we pursue certain useless and unanswerable questions, we go astray like men deficient in understanding, and we are ensnared. For the span allotted to each of us is short, and we are to be judged concerning our works, not concerning the knowledge of hidden things. Therefore let us not abandon the inquiry, "What must we do to attain eternal life?" For if, occupying ourselves for that short span with hard-to-resolve and useless questions, we squander the days of the present life, then, having been ensnared, we depart from here with empty hands. And the prophets speak fittingly about us, lamenting over our ruin: "Where are the grammarians? Where are the all-wise counselors and teachers?" "How has it become a desolation?" For they failed and perished through their conceit and their transgression, just like the dream of one who is roused from his bed. Before, then, such laments are set down concerning you, let go of the foolish questions, fit only for boys at play, and obey the great and true teacher who cries out, "Seek before all things the kingdom of God and his righteousness." For each thing has its own proper time: to do what is righteous, here; but to receive the recompense, in the age to come. So then, that we may not be ensnared, let us rather track down righteousness and do it, so that, like certain excellent travelers who carry the provisions of good deeds, we may enter the kingdom of God as into a city. For God is manifest to those who are well-disposed, through the world that came into being by him, being attested by his whole creation. Let us not, then, taking up forgetfulness even of his commandments and judgments, occupy ourselves with certain trifling questions and unprofitable little phrases, worth no account, as though they were great and hidden matters, and so be led astray and estranged from eternal life.
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.