For such things as joy, good spirits, and temperate conversation consist in motion, whereas such things as a well-ordered quietude, undisturbed rest, and a manly attention consist in a state.
Of things which consist in a state, some also consist in a condition, such as the virtues; others are only in a state, such as the above mentioned.
Not only the virtues consist in a condition, but also the crafts which are transformed in the virtuous man by his virtue and so become unchangeable; for they become quasi-virtues.
And they say that the so-called practices are also among the goods which consist in a condition, such as love of music, love of letters, love of geometry, and the like.
For there is a method which selects those elements in such crafts which have an affinity to virtue, by referring them to the goal of life.
IMAGE: Albrecht Dürer, St. Jerome in His Study (1514)
No comments:
Post a Comment