SR
Chapter 11LiVM.4.11

XIII. Verba Cupiditalis.

XIII. Verba Cupiditalis.

And he said, "I greatly desire and strive to draw to myself every thing that is rich, honorable, and beautiful, and to receive every little gift that is to be given and possessed, because the more I have, the more my knowledge will increase." For in beautiful rings, and in lovely necklaces and earrings, as well as in other riches, I am recognized as wise when I possess them with integrity, and I manage each subtle matter rightly. But if I didn't have these things, I would be empty of all good and all virtue, like a putrid log, in which there is neither hardness nor softness. I can do good with God and with people, and I can do good for people along with other creatures.

Read the original Latin

Et dicebat: « Valde desidero, valdeque studeo unamquamque rem, quae dives et honorifica ac pulchra est, ad me trahere, ac unumquodque munusculum, quod dandum et habendum est, accipere, quia quanto plus habuero, tanto plus scientia mea multiplicabitur.

In pulchris enim annulis, et in pulchris monilibus > et inauribus, ac in aliis divitiis cum probitate sapiens esse cognoscor, atque in subtiiibus causis unaquaeque recte dispenso.

Quod si haec non haberem, omni bono et omni probitate vacua essem, ac putrido ligno, in quo nec duritia, nec moUitia est, assimilarer.

Bona autem cum Deo et cum hominibus facere possum, ac hominibus cum aliis creaturis benefaciam.»

Liber Vitae Meritorum (Book of the Rewards of Life) companion

Examination is a habit, not an event

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