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Infelix auri possessio est; quod, si lateat, possessori nullius est comodi; si fulgeat, mille concupiscentium nascuntur insidie; et si stent violentorum manus, non cessant possidentis anxie cure; fugatur enim quies animi, subtrahitur somnus, timor ingeritur, fides minuitur, augetur suspicio et omnis breviter vite usus impeditur misero; si vero casu quocunque pereat, anxietatibus excarnificatur, pauper factus avarus, laudat liberalis, ridet invidus, consolatur inops et omne vulgus dolentis canit in fabulam.

The possession of gold brings unhappiness. If the gold is kept hidden, it is of no use to the owner; if displayed, it gives rise to a thousand plots of the part of those who covet it. Even if violent persons do not lay their hands on it, the worries and cares of the owner do not cease. His peace of mind is gone, he loses sleep, falls prey to fear, loses his sense of trust, becomes suspicious - in short, the wretched fellow has a hard time enjoying life. If by some mischance he loses his wealth, the miser, now a pauper, is tormented by anxiety while the gentleman calls him fortunate, the envious man laughs, the poor man offers consolation, and the vulgar all turn the tale of his grief into song.

English translation by Virginia Brown.

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Thomas Oboe Lee Cambridge, Massachusetts

Thomas Oboe Lee was born in China in 1945. He lived in São Paulo, Brazil, for six years before coming to the United States in 1966. After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh, he studied composition at the New England Conservatory and Harvard University. He has been a member of the music faculty at Boston College since 1990. ... more

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