Now
in the first place, because wisdom is contained in books more
than all mortals understand, and wisdom thinks lightly of riches,
as the foregoing chapter declares. Furthermore, Aristotle, in
his Problems, determines the question, why the ancients proposed
prizes to the stronger in gymnastic and corporeal contests, but
never awarded any prize for wisdom. This question he solves as
follows: In gymnastic exercises the prize is better and more
desirable than that for which it is bestowed; but it is certain
that nothing is better than wisdom: wherefore no prize could be
assigned for wisdom. And therefore neither riches nor delights
are more excellent than wisdom. Again, only the fool will deny
that friendship is to be preferred to riches, since the wisest of
men testifies this; but the chief of philosophers honours truth
before friendship, and the truthful Zorobabel prefers it to all
things. Riches, then, are less than truth. Now truth is chiefly
maintained and contained in holy books--nay, they are written
truth itself, since by books we do not now mean the materials of
which they are made. Wherefore riches are less than books,
especially as the most precious of all riches are friends, as
Boethius testifies in the second book of his Consolation; to whom
the truth of books according to Aristotle is to be preferred.
Moreover, since we know that riches first and chiefly appertain
to the support of the body only, while the virtue of books is the
perfection of reason, which is properly speaking the happiness of
man, it appears that books to the man who uses his reason are
dearer than riches.
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