“Fortunate is he who has acquired a wealth of divine understanding, but wretched the one whose interest lies in shadowy conjectures about divinities.”

— Empedocles

fr. 132 Variant translations: Blessed is he who has acquired a wealth of divine wisdom, but miserable is he in whom there rests a dim opinion concerning the gods. tr. Arthur Fairbanks Purifications Source: Fairbanks, Arthur. (1898). The First Philosophers of Greece https://archive.org/stream/cu31924029013162. Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co. Ltd. p. 201.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "Fortunate is he who has acquired a wealth of divine understanding, but wretched the one whose interest lies in shadowy …" by Empedocles?

Empedocles18

ancient Greek philosopher -490–-430 BC

Related quotes

“He has not acquired a fortune; the fortune has acquired him.”

Diogenes Laërtius (180–240) biographer of ancient Greek philosophers

Bion, 50.
The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers (c. 200 A.D.), Book 4: The Academy

“Referring to a wealthy miser he said, "He has not acquired a fortune; the fortune has acquired him."”

Bion of Borysthenes (-325–-246 BC) ancient greek philosopher

As quoted by Diogenes Laërtius, iv. 50.

“Search your heart within where lies the key to all Divine mysteries, and where God has placed treasures of Divine, mystical and spiritual powers.”

Bu Ali Shah Qalandar (1209–1324) Indian Sufi saint

Source: The Sayings and Teachings of the Great Mystics of Islam (2004), p. 270

“He had no knowledge and had no desire to acquire any; wherein he conformed to his genius whose engaging fragility he forbore to overload; his instinct fortunately telling him that it was better to understand little than to misunderstand a lot.”

Anatole France (1844–1924) French writer

Il ne savait rien, ne voulait rien savoir, en quoi il se conformait à son génie, dont il ne surchargeait point l’aimable petitesse, et son heureux instinct lui conseillait de comprendre peu plutôt que de comprendre mal. La Révolte des Anges http://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/La_R%C3%A9volte_des_anges_-_1 [The Revolt of the Angels], (1914), ch. I

“Let's worship Divinity, but understand the divinity we worship is beyond our comprehension.”

John Marks Templeton (1912–2008) stock investor, businessman and philanthropist

The Quotable Sir John

“By becoming poor and entrusting divine revelation to a carpenter from Nazareth, God makes clear where one has to be in order to hear the divine word and experience divine presence.”

James H. Cone (1938–2018) American theologian

Source: Speaking the Truth: Ecumenism, Liberation, and Black Theology (1986), p. 9

“Those three divine attributes of a perfect woman: goodness, beauty and wealth.”

Arthur Desmond (1859–1929) New Zealnd writer

Rival Caesars (1903)