Prevod
A shepherd was tending his flocks by the shore when he saw how calm and gentle the sea was and longed to set sail. So he sold his sheep, bought a cargo of dates, loaded a ship, and put out to sea. But a violent storm arose and the ship capsized. He lost everything and barely managed to reach land alive. A few days later, when the sea was calm again, he saw a passerby admiring its stillness and said, “My good fellow, she is craving another cargo of dates.”
So it is that suffering often teaches the wise.
Izvirnik
Ποιμιὴν ἔν τινι τόπῳ παραθαλασσίῳ ποίμνια νέμων, ὡς ἐθεάσατο τὴν θάλασσαν γαληνόν τε καὶ πραεῖαν, ἐπεθύμησε πλεῦσαι· διόπερ πωλήσας αὑτοῦ τὰ πρόβατα καὶ φοίνικας ἀγοράσας, ναῦν ἐμφορτωσάμενος ἀνήχθη. Χειμῶνος δὲ σφοδροῦ γενομένου καὶ τῆς νεὼς περιτραπείσης, πάντα ἀπολέσας αὐτὸς μόλις ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς διεσώθη. Μετʼ οὐ πολλὰς οὖν ἡμέρας τῆς θαλάσ- σης γαληνιώσης, ὡς ἐθεάσατό τινα παριόντα καὶ ἐπαι- νοῦντα τῆς θαλάσσης τὴν ἠρεμίαν, ἔφη· ,,ὦ οὗτος, αὕτη γάρ σοι φοινίκων ἐπιθυμεῖ.
Οὕτω πολλάκις τὰ παθήματα τοῖς φρονίμοις γίνε- ται μαθήματα.
