Letter 890

To Rufinus. The man who longs for the greatest things must of necessity lay hold of the work itself - not slackly and in an enervated way, nor as if it were some incidental side-task, but earnestly and nobly.

Τὸν τῶν μεγίστων γλιχόμενον, οὐ χαύνως, καὶ διακεκλασμένως, οὐθ’ ὥσπερ ἐν παρέργῳ, ἀλλὰ σπουδαίως, καὶ γενναίως ἀνάγκῃ τῶν ἔργων ἐφάπτεσθαι.