Letter 34 — On a Promising Pupil (§4)

“I see such a person in you, if only you go steadily on and bend to your task, and see to it that all your actions and words harmonize and correspond with each other and are stamped in the same mould. If a man’s acts are out of harmony, his soul is crooked. Farewell. ↑ A reference to the act (iniectio) by which a Roman took possession of a thing belonging to him, e.g., a runaway slave,—without a decision of the court. ↑ i.e., the proverb may apply to tasks which a man performs with his hands, but it is an understatement when applied to the tasks of the soul.”