Adulatores puniendos esse, tamquam hostes deo
The Danger of Flattery
The author warns that flatterers are enemies of both God and the ruler, as they deceive the powerful and corrupt the truth.
…of men, and to embrace truth gratefully, and to maintain patience, as much through reason as through the examples of our ancestors. But, as the common proverb says, that God is believed to be worshipped above others who helps in the present. And so they don't care how they get what they want, as long as they get it. Caecilius Balbus put it well: 'Emperor Augustus,' he said, 'your wisdom shines forth in many things, but especially in this: that these people haven't yet driven you completely insane—those who, to win your applause, do injury not only to the gods, but to you yourself and to the people.' For they diminish the reverence due to the gods, whom they make your equals; they accuse you of foolishness, while they presume to persuade you that you are equal to the divine powers, despite the nature of your condition resisting it; they brand with the mark of superstition the people whom they persuade that mortal gods should be worshipped in place of immortal ones. Truly, you will show that there is something divine in you if you punish all those who act fraudulently […]. The man of distinction published the sayings of the philosophers and emperors, which he discovered both in this chapter and in certain manuscripts—the Hamburg, Munich, Lindenbrog, and Paris codices—as the remaining works of Caecilius Balbus on the trifles of the philosophers, and he provided a most learned commentary. Eduard Wölfflin (Basel). 1855). Reifferscheid has sufficiently demonstrated that those who applaud the Rhine are dragged off to torture. For what god would spare someone by whom he understands he is going to be deceived? Who wouldn't attack someone who tears out the golden eyes of Jupiter, or, having stolen the silver and jewels, tries to blind Vesta? Who has ever gouged out the adamantine light from the head of Mars with reckless fingers and gotten away with it? Indeed, it's a graver fault to circumvent the invisible and immortal gods and to set traps of deceit for them, because the structure of the visible gods is sustained and governed by them, and they reward the honor or contempt shown to those others. If you are wise, therefore, Augustus, you'll rise up against the enemies of the gods; and you'll show yourself to be a worshiper of the gods—if not a god yourself, which you certainly aren't—by exterminating these deceivers, these blinders of your people, these contemners of the gods, and by punishing the injury done to both. So says Caecilius.
The Virtue of Patience
True nobility is found in the patience to endure insults and the strength to reject the empty praise of flatterers.
The faction of flatterers has prevailed, as the current state of affairs makes clear. It has reached the point where, if anyone aware of the common people's modesty thinks it should be tempered by the vice of sycophancy and buffoonery, he is considered an enemy of the fortunate or an envious man. Their ears are indeed tender and have already grown deaf to the truth, and they won't tolerate a more severe tongue without taking grave offense. It's clear how much our age has degenerated from the virtue of our ancestors, since they taught—both in their words and their examples—that a virtuous work is either nonexistent or rare without patience. Hence also Aristippus from the 'Who among the gods, etc.' The following words clearly belong to a pagan writer. Certainly, it is from Pliny's Panegyric (a passage one dreams about, where it is read that he said upon leaving: 'Just as you are master of your tongue, so I am master of my ears.') Antitanes also said to someone who told him, 'That man insulted you,' 'He didn't insult me, but rather the one who recognizes in himself what the other is criticizing.' But even if someone tries to curse me, I don't care, because our hearing should be stronger than our tongue, since every person has only one tongue but two ears. I do care a little, though, because by that very act he admits that I am his superior; for it's the habit of a superior person to be the target of slander, and the habit of an inferior person to inflict it. I would be happy about it, if I didn't feel compassion for the unhappy person out of a sense of common humanity. Likewise, Titus Tatius said to Metellus, who was cursing him: 'It's easy to speak against me, since I'm not going to answer.' What about Xenophon? 'You,' he said to someone, 'have learned how to curse, and I, with my conscience as my witness, have learned how to despise curses.' And Diogenes, too, when a friend told him, 'Everyone is slandering you, my friend,' replied: 'It's fitting for wisdom to be struck by the foolish; for a malicious tongue shows that the one it attacks is better.' What about Plato? Patience is the strength of all philosophy; Socrates argued not only in words that a wise person cannot be offended, but that they remain unmoved by any turn of fortune through the strength of their own virtue. And so you don't think patience appealed only to philosophers, examples of emperors themselves show it being put into practice. In Greece, who was greater or more famous than Alexander? His tutor Antigonus broke his lyre and threw it away, saying, 'It's time for you to rule; you should be ashamed to let the pleasure of luxury dominate the body of a king.' Because he bore this with the greatest patience—even though it was most unfair—and was combing his thinning hair from the back of his neck toward his forehead, an angry soldier said to him, 'Caesar, it's easier for you not to be bald than for me to have done or to do anything in the Roman army with more cowardice.' The same man wore a broad-striped tunic with fringes reaching to his hands and belted it loosely; for this reason, Sulla often warned the nobles to beware of the boy who was poorly belted. Furthermore, he was extremely fond of pearls, which he would sometimes distinguish by weighing them in his hand. When the Senate, therefore, had ordered him by its authority to do something against Caecilius's will—something that seemed unjust to him—he said, 'You'll be satisfied with pearls before that happens.' But perhaps these things will seem irrelevant, or the sort of thing a strong-minded person would more honorably ignore. Yet, infamous pamphlets were written about him, and mocking songs were publicly spread, such as the one the soldiers sang during the Gallic triumph: 'Caesar conquered Gaul, Nicomedes conquered Caesar; Nicomedes does not triumph, who conquered Caesar.' This was because it was rumored that Nicomedes, King of Bithynia, had conquered Caesar through sexual favors, having admitted him into a deeper intimacy while he was still young. Cicero also mocked Caesar’s ease in appointing senators, doing so quite sharply and openly. For when he was asked by his host, Publius Mallius, to secure a decurion position for his stepson, he said in front of the gathered crowd: 'If he wants one in Rome, he’ll have it; in Pompeii, it’s difficult.' Furthermore, in a letter to Gaius Cassius, the man who violated the dictator, he wrote quite bitingly: 'I wish you had invited me to dinner on the Ides of March; then there would have been no leftovers. Now, your leftovers are wearing me out.' But Augustus, the favorite of fortune and the glory of the Roman Empire, proved far more patient than his uncle Julius. For when Antony, looking down on his maternal origins, called him an African by birth and a baker by nature, he laughed it off; and when an angry soldier... but Suetonius does not record these things. He admitted his sister, once given in marriage, for the sake of family ties. When he grew more intensely angry at a certain private citizen, he said, "Speak your mind, Augustus, for I have commanded my ears to be attentive, my tongue to be silent, and my hands to be still; and in all these things, you may blame your own power, for there is nothing else in my patience that can be faulted." He didn't just maintain this patience in himself; he also required it of others. When Tiberius complained in a letter that many were speaking ill of him, he wrote back: "My dear Tiberius, don't be too upset that someone is speaking badly of you; it's enough if we have the power to ensure that no one can do us harm." He received everyone who approached him with such kindness that he once jokingly scolded a man for being as afraid to hand him a petition as if he were offering a coin to an elephant. And just as much as Nero was captivated by flattery, this man was repulsed by it. For this reason, he always abhorred the title of "lord" as a curse and an insult. Finally, when a desperate man called out to him as he was descending the Sacred Way, "O tyrant!" he replied, "If I were one, you wouldn't be saying that." Indeed, it was observed that whenever he entered the city, no one was ever punished.
Examples of Imperial Wisdom
Various anecdotes illustrate how wise leaders handle public criticism, wit, and the challenges of their office.
Curtius, a Roman knight who lived in luxury, once took a small thrush at Caesar's banquet and asked if he could send it away; the prince replied, "Why shouldn't you?" He immediately sent it out the window. A soldier skilled in bird-catching, hoping for a huge reward, brought to Caesar an owl that had been disturbing Caesar's nights. The emperor praised him and ordered that he be given a thousand coins. But the man dared to say, "I'd rather it live," and let the bird go. The stubborn soldier left, not without the admiration of many, as Caesar was not offended. When a veteran was in danger on his appointed day in court, he asked Caesar in public to be present; Caesar immediately provided the most excellent advocate he had chosen and commended the litigant to him. But the veteran exclaimed in a loud voice, "But Caesar, I didn't look for a substitute when you were in danger at the Battle of Actium; I fought for you myself," and he revealed his battle scars. Caesar blushed and came to his defense, as he was afraid of appearing not only arrogant but also ungrateful. A young man who looked exactly like Caesar had entered the city, and when he was brought before him, Augustus asked, "Tell me, young man, was your mother ever in Rome?" He denied it, but not content with that, he added, "But my father was, often." And so, through the sharpness of his urban wit, he won the notice of everyone and the familiarity of the emperor. Augustus had written Fescennine verses against Pollio. "But I'm keeping quiet," said Pollio; "it's no small thing to write against someone who can proscribe you." Just as he didn't easily get angry, he also didn't easily admit people into his friendship; but once he had, he held onto them most steadfastly. Among various disgraces, someone shamefully accused him of earning his adoption by his uncle through lewdness, claiming he had allowed his uncle to be intimate with him, not without rumors of ruined modesty. Aulus was also angry with him and accused him of habitually burning his legs with a hot torch to make the hair grow back softer. And while he was playing the drum—as I remember mentioning in the first book—a certain commoner said, "Do you see how that degenerate is ruling the world with his finger?" When a dwarf was being mocked by someone for his short stature, he replied that he had to wear oversized shoes. Tiberius, too, though he is read to have been guilty in many things, was nonetheless quite firm and patient against insults, saying that in a free city, the tongues and minds of men ought to be free. To move on to worse examples, Domitius was quite patient with words; the orator Lucinius is said to have joked about him that it was no wonder he had a beard of bronze, since he had a mouth of iron and a heart of lead, because he spoke only harsh things that came from the fat of the iniquity he had conceived in his heart. For iniquity is described as sitting upon a talent of lead.✦ Vespasian, too—whom I mentioned in the second book while describing the destruction of Jerusalem—patiently endured the insults even of the lowest people. When an old fool shouted to mock him, "A fox can change its hair, but not its nature," because he was by nature very greedy for money and age did not diminish his avarice, he is said to have replied: "For such men we owe laughter, for ourselves correction, but for criminals, punishment." For what shall I say about his son, Titus?
The King's True Counsel
A ruler should prioritize mercy and truth over the vanity of praise, welcoming honest correction while rejecting the oil of the sinner.
He cleansed his father's greed with such generosity that he was called by everyone the love and delight of the human race, consistently holding it as a principle of his conduct that he should never send anyone away who came to him for help, without either receiving what they asked for or at least being given some hope. When his staff asked why he promised more than he could actually provide, he replied, "No one should ever leave a conversation with a prince feeling sad." Did he not also remember at dinner that he had promised nothing to anyone all day, even though it's clear that nothing is firm or stable if it's shaken by the slightest breath of wind? Who would consider a man strong if he is moved by the impulse of words, if his peace is shattered by them, and if the very blood of his soul is drawn out by the breaking of his virtuous resolve? For this reason, public law established that no one should be severely punished for frivolous words. The Emperor, confirming the statutes of the divine Theodosius, Arcadius, and Honorius, says: "If anyone, lacking modesty and ignorant of shame, thinks our name should be attacked with wicked and petulant insults, or if he is a turbulent detractor of the times, drunk on his own arrogance, we do not wish for him to be punished or to suffer anything harsh. If it came from levity, it is to be ignored; if from insanity, it is worthy of pity; if from injury, it is to be forgiven." Therefore, let all these matters be referred to our knowledge, so that we may weigh the words based on the character of the people involved and decide whether they should be overlooked or investigated. From this, we gather that a person who loves virtue or obeys the rule of law is not moved by the words of men. Flaccus notes that a cunning person touches on every vice with a smile, and once they're let in, they play around the heart. It is, in fact, characteristic of a wise person—as it was for the great Plato and Augustine—to prefer being corrected by anyone at all rather than being praised by someone who is either mistaken or flattering. For no one who corrects us is to be feared by a lover of truth. After all, the one who is about to correct you is either an enemy or a friend. If an enemy insults you, you must endure it; but if a friend is mistaken, you must teach him, and if he is teaching you, you must listen. A person who praises while being mistaken only confirms the error, and a flatterer lures you into error. Therefore, the faithful king, chosen in the Lord’s good pleasure, says—leaving behind an example of justice, humility, and fortitude for kings and princes, if they are wise enough to understand it: 'Let the just man correct me in mercy and reprove me; but let not the oil of the sinner anoint my head.' The moralist agrees with this, saying: 'Who is helped by false honor or terrified by lying infamy, unless they are themselves deceitful and a liar?'
Read the original Latin
rum et hominum, et ueritatem gratanter amplectendam, et patlentiam custodiendam-, tam rationihus quam exemplis maiorum. Sed, ut uulgari prouerbio dicitur, Deus ille prae ceteris colendus creditur, qui subuenit in praesenti. Ideoque non curant quomodo, dum tamen hoc quod expetunt faciant. a Egregie quidem Cecilius Balbus: Imperator, inquit, Auguste, cum in multis, tum in eo maxime elucet prudentia tua, quod isti nondum te omnino insanum reddiderunt, qui ut tibi applaudant, non modo diis sed tibi ipsi et populo iniuriam faciunt. Deorum siquidem minuunt reuerentiam, quos parificant tibi; te arguunt insipientiae, dum conditionis tuae repugnante natura te parem numinibus esse persuadere praesumunt; nota superstitionis inurunt populum, cui mortales deos pro immortalibus persuadent esse colendos. Sane in eo aliquid diuinum tibi inesse monstrabis, si omnes istos, qui diuinitati tuae fraudulenter I Cecilius Balbus: Quae sequuntur usque ad punias (507 b) ex Caecilio Balbo, auctore alias ignoto, citat loannes noster. Sententias philosophorum et imperatorum cum in hoc capitulo tum in codicibus quibusdam Hamburgensi Monacensi Lindenbrogiensi Parisinis ab ipso repertas tamquam Caecilii Balhi de nugis philosophorum quae supersunt edidit et commentario doctissimo instruxit vir cl. Eduardus Woelfflinus (Basil.
1855). Satis demonstravit Reiflferscheidius Rheiniapplaudunt, rapi feceris ad tormenta. Quis enim deorum ei parcat, a quo se deeeptum iri intelligit? Quis non irruat in eum qui aureos louis oculos eruit aut argento gemmisque sublatis Vestam nititur excecare? Quis de Martis capite adamantinum lumen impune temerariis effodit unguibus? Nempe deos inuisibiles et immortales circumuenire et eis fallaciae parare insidias grauioris culpae est, eo quod ab his uisibilium deorum fabrica sustentatur et regitur, et honorem aut contemptum qui istis exhibetur, illi remunerant. Si sapis ergo, Auguste, in deorum hostes insurges, et te, si non deum, quod nequaquam es, uel deorum te docebis esse cultorem, si deceptores istos exterminaueris, excecatorea tuos, deorum contemptores, et utrorumque iniuriam punias. Haec Caecilius.
Factio tamen adulatorum praeualuit, quod et praesentium rerum declarat status. Adeo quidem ut si quis popularium modestiae conscius assentationis et scurrilitatis uitio crediderit temperandum, hostis felicium censeatur aut inuidus. Eorum siquidem aures tenerae sunt, et iam obsurduerunt uero et linguam seueriorem sine offensione grauissima non admittunt. In quo quantum a uirtute maiorum etas nostra degenerauerit, perspicuum est, cum sine patientia aut nullum aut rarum esse opus uirtutis uerbis docuerint et exemplis. Vnde et Aristippus a maleI Quis enim deorum etc. : Plane scriptoris ethnici sunt quae sequuntur. Certe ex Plinii Panegyrico (de quo loco somniatur dicente se discedens dixisse legitur: Vt tu linguae tuae, sic; ego mearum aurium dominus sum. Antitanes quoque cuidam dicenti: Maledixit tibi ille; Non michi, inquit, sed illi qui in se quod ille culpat agnoscit.
Sed, etsi michi maledicere curet, non curo, quia auditus lingua debet esse robustior, cum singulis hominibus linguae sint singulae sed aures binae. Aliquatenus tamen curo, quia eo ipso me fatetur esse superiorem, quoniam superioris personae usus est detractioni subiacere, inferioris inferre. Gauderem itaque, nisi urgente humanitate compaterer infelici. Item: Titus Tatius maledicenti sibi Metello, Faeile, inquit, est in me dicere, cum nec sim responsurus. Quid Xenof on? Tu, inquit, cuidam maledicere didicisti, et ego conscientia teste didici maledicta contempnere. Sed et Diogenes, cum ei nuntiasset amicus: Te, amice, cuncti uituperant; Oportet, a inquit, sapientiam ab insipientibus feriri, esse enim meliorem indicat mala lingua quem carpit. Quid Plato?
Totius philosophiae robur patientia est; cum et Socrates non modo uerbo neget sapientem posse ofFendi, sed aduersus omnem fortunam robore uirtutis suae manere immobilem. Et ne philosophis solis patientiam sic placuisse credas, ipsorum imperatorum ad eam publicandam exempla concurrunt. In Grecia quis maior aut clarior Alexandro? Ei Antigonus pedagogus citharam fregit abiecitque dicens: Etati tuae iam regnare conuenit, pudeatque in corpore regni uoluptatem luxuriae dominari. Quod et ille patientissime iniquissime ferret et deficientem capillum a ceruice conuocaret ad frontem, ab irato milite ei dictum est: Facilius est, Cesar, te caluum non esse quam me in exercitu Romano quicquam egisse uel acturum esse timidius. Idem lato • clauo usque ad manus fimbriato utens, laxius cingebatur; unde Silla optimates saepius admonens dicebat ut puerum male praecinctum cauerent. Praeterea margaritarum cupidissimus erat, quas, pondus earum interdum manu conf erens, discemebat. Cum ergo Cecilio inuito rem ut faceret senatus auctoritate denuntiasset, ut ei uidebatur, iniustam: Ante, inquit, satiaberis margaritis.
At haec forte aut aliena uidebuntur et quae uiri fortis animus honestius dissimularet. a Verum et famosi libelli de eo scripti sunt et iocularia carmina in eum publice diuulgata, ut est iilud militum in triumpho Gallico celebratum: Gallias Cesar subegit, Nichomedes Cesarem; Nichomedes non triumphat qui subegit Cesarem; eo quod Nichomedes rex Bithiniae Cesarem ferebatur stupro subegisse, in ulteriorem familiaritatera, dum iunior esset, admissum. Facilitatem quoque Cesaris in allegendo senatu Cicero nimis acriter et palam irrisit. Nam, cum ab hospite suo Publio Mallio rogaretur ut priuigno suo decurionatum expediret, ait assistente frequentia: Romae si uis habebit, Pompeis difficile est. Sed et in epistola ad Gaium Cassium uiolatorem dictatoris mordacius scripsit: to Vellem Idibus Martiis me ad cenam inuitasses, prof ecto reliquiarum nichil fuisset,nunc me reliquiae uestrae exercent. Sed Augustus, fortunae fauor et Romani decus imperii, auunculo lulio longe patientior extitit. Cum enim Antonius, maternam eius originem despiciens, eum Afirum genere et natura panificum diceret, hoc ridens pertuht, et eundem ab irato milite etc: haec non narrat Suetonius. 4, lato sorore tradita in affinitatis gratiam admisit.
Cum uero idem aduersus priuatum quendam grauius excandeseeret: Loquere, inquit, Auguste, quod placet, quia diligentiam auribus, linguae tacitumitatem indixi, quietem manibus; et in omnibus his potentiam tuam accusa, quia nichil aliud argui potest in patientia mea. Ad haec non modo in se seruabat patientiam, sed eandem aliis indicebat. Vnde, cum Tiberius quereretur per epistolam suam quod multi de illo perperam loquerentur, ita rescripsit: Mi Tiberi, noK nimis indignari quemquam esse qui de te male loquatur; satis est enim si hoc habemus, nequis nobis malefacere possit. Idem tanta comitate quoslibet se adeuntes excipiebat, ut quendam ioco corripuerit, quod sic sibi libellum porrigere uereretur, quasi elephanto stipem. Et quantum Nero adulationibus captus est, tantum iste ab eis auersus est. Vnde appellationem domini ut maledictum et obprobrium semper exhorruit. Denique cum eidem descendenti per sacram uiam desperatus quidam diceret: O tiranne; Si essem, inquit, non diceres. Obseruatum etenim est, quotiens ingrediebatur urbem, ne supplicium de quoquam sumeretur.
Curtius eques Romanus dehciis affluens, cum macrum turdum sumpsisset in conuiuio Cesaris, interrogauit an mittere liceret; respondit princeps: Quidni I liceat? IUe statim per fenestram misit. Miles peritus aucupii noctuam, quae Cesaris noctes inquietauerat, spe ingentis praemii captam tulit ad Cesarem. Laudato imperator mille nummos dari iussit. At ille ausus est dicere: Malo uiuat, auemque dimisit. Abiitque contumax miles non sine admiratione multorum, Cesare non offenso. Veteranus cum sibi die dicto periclitaretur Cesarem rogauit in publico ut adesset; ille praestantissimum aduocatum, quem elegerat, sine mora dedit, commendauitque ei litigatorem. a Veteranus autem exclamauit uoce magna: At non ego, Cesar, periclitante te bello Actiaco, uicarium quaesiui, sed pro te ipse pugnaui; detexitque impressas cicatrices.
Erubuit Cesar uenitque in aduocationem, ut qui uereretur non superbus tantum sed etiam ingratus uideri. Intrauerat urbem adolescens simiUimus Cesari, perductumque ad Cesarem interrogauit Augustus: Dic michi, adolescens, fuit umquam mater tua Romae? Negauit ille, nec contentus adiecit: Sed pater meus saepe. loci itaque asperitate urbana notitiam omnium et familiaritatem imperatoris sibi conciliauit. Augustus in PoUionem scripserat Phescenninos. At ego, inquit PoUio, taceo; non est leue in eum scribere qui potest proscribere. Sicut autem non facile concipiebat iram, ita nec facile admittebat ad amicitiam; et quem semel admiserat, constantissime retinebat. Eidem inter uaria dedecora a quodam probrose obiectum est quod adoptionem auuncuH stupro meruerit, quia eum luHus artius admisisse dictus est, non sine rumore prostratae pudicitiae.
AHus quoque eidem iratus obiecit quod soHtus esset crura ardenti suburere face, quo molHor surgeret pilus. Sed et eo timpanizante, ut in primo Hbro dixisse me memini: Videsne, inquit plebeius quidam, ut cinedus orbem digito temperat? Et cum nanus ob corporis breuitatem conuitiantis cuiusdam impetu diceretur, sibi calciamentis grandiusculis utendum esse respondit. Tiberius quoque, cum in multis legatur fuisse culpabilis, tamen aduersus conuitia satis firmus ac patiens extitit, dicens quia in ciuitate libera linguas esse liberas et mentes hominum oportebat. Et, ut ad peiores transeam, Domitius uerborum satis patiens fuit, in quo sic lusisse fertur orator Lucinius non esse mirandum quod aeneam haberet barbam, cui os ferreum, cor plumbeum esset; eo quod dura dumtaxat loquebatur, quae ex iniquitatis adipe, quam corde conceperat, procedebant. Iniquitas enim sedere describitur super talentum plumbi. Vespasianus quoque, de quo in libro secundo, dum lerosolimorum destructio describeretur, fecimus mentionem, etiam infimorum conuitia patienter tulit; adeo ut sene buculo proclamante in improperium eius: Vulpem pilum posse mutare non animum; eo quod natura cupidissimus esset pecuniae, nec auaritiam minueret processus etatis; respondisse dicatur: Huiusmodi hominibus debemus risum, nobis correctionem, sed penam criminosis. Nam de filio eius Tito quid dicam?
qui patris auaritiam tanta liberalitate purgauit, ut amor et deliciae humani generis ab omnibus diceretur, constantissime tenens in moribus ne quem postulandi gratia ad se accedentem sine re uel spe quocumque modo dimitteret. Vnde interrogantibus domesticis cur plura polliceretur quam praestare posset, respondit: Non oportet quemquam a sermone principis tristem discedere. Idem quoque recordatus super cenam quod nichil tota die cuiquam praestiernpla propono, cum omnibus liqueat niehil firmum esse et stabile quod leui flatus aura coneutitur? Quis uirum fortem credat, quem uerborum mouet impulsus et ei quietem excutit et uirtutum compage dirupta ipsius animae sanguinem elicit? Vnde et publico iure statutum est ne pro uerbis friuolis quisquam seueritate penarum inuratur. Ait enim Imperator, diuorum Theodosii Archadii et Honorii statuta confirmans: Si quis modestiae nescius et pudoris ignarus improbo petulantique maledicto nomina nostra crediderit lacessenda, ac temulentia turbulentus obtrectator temporum fuerit, eum penae nolumus subiugari, nequed dunim aliquid neque asperum sustinere; quoniam, si ex leuitate processit, contempnendum est; si ab insania, miseratione dignissimum; si ex iniuria, remittendum. Vnde integris omnibus hoc ad nostram scientiam referatur, ut ex personis hominum dicta pensemus et utrum praetermitti an exquiri debeant censeamus. Ex quibus coUigitur dictis hominum non moueri eum qui aut uirtutis ajnator est aut iuris constitutioni obtemperans.
Omne uafer uitium ridenti Flacus amico a tangit, et admissus circum praecordia ludit. Familiare siquidem sapienti est, ut magno pla et Augustino, potius a quolibet reprehendi quam siue ab errante siue ab adulante laudari. Nullus enim reprehensor formidandus est amatori ueritatis. Etenim aut inimicus reprehensurus est aut amicus. Si inimicus insultat, ferendus est; amicus autem si errat, docendus; si doceat, audiendus. Laudator uero et errans confirmat errorem, et adulans illicit in errorem. Ait ergo rex fidelis, electus in beneplacito Domini, relinquens, si sapiant, regibus et principibus iustitiae humilitatis exemplum et fortitudinis: Corripiet me iustus in misericordia, et inerepabit me; oleum autem peccatoris non impinguet caput meum. Consonat ei ethicus dicens: Falsus honor iuuat aut mendax infamia terret quem nisi mendosum et mendacem?
Scripture echoes
- ↩Zech.5.7 — And behold, a talent of lead was lifted up, and this one woman was sitting in the midst of the ephah.
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