Agricola, Georgius
,
De re metallica
,
1912/1950
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have bought the things which he needed for the necessaries of life, and he
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would not. </
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<
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>by reason of his poverty, have then been obliged to flatter the
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tyrant Dionysius, nor would he ever have been called by him a King's dog.
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<
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>For this reason Horace, speaking of Damasippus when reviling Staberus for
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valuing riches very highly, says:</
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<
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>“What resemblance has the Grecian Aristippus to this fellow?
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>He who commanded his slaves to throw away the gold in the midst of
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Libya because they went too slowly, impeded by the weight of their
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burden—which of these two men is the more insane?”
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21
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<
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>Insane indeed is he who makes more of riches than of virtue. </
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<
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>Insane
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also is he who rejects them and considers them as worth nothing, instead of
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using them with reason. </
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<
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>Yet as to the gold which Aristippus on another
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occasion flung into the sea from a boat, this he did with a wise and prudent
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mind. </
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<
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>For learning that it was a pirate boat in which he was sailing, and
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fearing for his life, he counted his gold and then throwing it of his own will
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into the sea, he groaned as if he had done it unwillingly. </
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<
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>But afterward,
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when he escaped the peril, he said: “It is better that this gold itself should
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be lost than that I should have perished because of it.” Let it be granted
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that some philosophers, as well as Anacreon of Teos, despised gold and
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silver. </
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<
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>Anaxagoras of Clazomenae also gave up his sheep-farms and
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became a shepherd. </
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<
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>Crates the Theban too, being annoyed that his
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estate and other kinds of wealth caused him worry, and that in his con
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templations his mind was thereby distracted, resigned a property valued at
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ten talents, and taking a cloak and wallet, in poverty devoted all his
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thought and efforts to philosophy. </
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<
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>Is it true that because these philo
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sophers despised money, all others declined wealth in cattle? </
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<
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>Did they
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refuse to cultivate lands or to dwell in houses? </
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<
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>There were certainly many,
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on the other hand, who, though affluent, became famous in the pursuit of
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learning and in the knowledge of divine and human laws, such as Aristotle,
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Cicero, and Seneca. </
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<
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>As for Phocion, he did not deem it honest to accept the
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gold sent to him by Alexander. </
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>For if he had consented to use it, the
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king as much as himself would have incurred the hatred and aversion of
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the Athenians, and these very people were afterward so ungrateful toward
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this excellent man that they compelled him to drink hemlock. </
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<
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>For what
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would have been less becoming to Marcus Curius and Fabricius Luscinus
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than to accept gold from their enemies, who hoped that by these means
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those leaders could be corrupted or would become odious to their fellow
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citizens, their purpose being to cause dissentions among the Romans and
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destroy the Republic utterly. </
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<
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>Lycurgus, however, ought to have given
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instructions to the Spartans as to the use of gold and silver, instead of
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abolishing things good in themselves. </
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<
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>As to the Babytacenses, who does
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not see that they were senseless and envious? </
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<
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>For with their gold they might
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have bought things of which they were in need, or even given it to neigh
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bouring peoples to bind them more closely to themselves with gifts and
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favours. </
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<
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>Finally, the Scythians, by condemning the use of gold and silver </
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