From the book
The Sophic Hydrolith, Water Stone of the Wise
Anonymous and companion authors · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Meaning
Quietness and peace describe a desired manner of living with the gift: honourably, without ostentation and with enough sustenance to help others. In the prose, quiet maintenance is explicitly joined to brotherly assistance, so it does not require complete withdrawal from the neighbour’s needs.
The accompanying verse intensifies the promise into safety from misfortune, thieves and robbers, while limiting the gift to a few pious recipients. The English keeps both the quiet-life ideal and the stronger encomiastic claim. They should not be converted into a verified guarantee of physical security or an excuse to overlook the book’s repeated accounts of costly failure.
Places to read
- Part III: benefits and their rank · unit 6Quiet livelihood and assistance to needy neighbours are contrasted with wealth-seeking display.
- Part III: benefits and their rank · unit 7The verse praises possession in peace and quiet and freedom from fear.
Attested forms
geruhlich; stille; ruhe vnd stille