Nilus of Ancyra→Demetrius (correspondent of Nilus of Ancyra)|c. 415 AD|nilus ancyra|From Ancyra|AI-assisted
To Demetrius.
Let us at last be bold for the work of pleasing God, and let us not collapse, but rather take pains, not fixing our gaze on our failures. For neither will everyone who wishes to learn some craft, if he is afraid and keeps before his eyes the ruin of the work, accomplish anything; nor will the sailor who dreads shipwreck, nor the merchant or the farmer who keeps reckoning up the failures, ever be able to bring a matter to completion. Rather, each of these sets his hand to the task and applies himself to it, made a servant to the more favorable hopes.
Let us at last be bold for the work of pleasing God, and let us not collapse, but rather take pains, not fixing our gaze on our failures. For neither will everyone who wishes to learn some craft, if he is afraid and keeps before his eyes the ruin of the work, accomplish anything; nor will the sailor who dreads shipwreck, nor the merchant or the farmer who keeps reckoning up the failures, ever be able to bring a matter to completion. Rather, each of these sets his hand to the task and applies himself to it, made a servant to the more favorable hopes.
AI-assisted translation - This translation was produced with AI assistance and has not been peer-reviewed. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek below for scholarly use.