Girolamo Savonarola, in a letter to his father (25 April 1475), as quoted in A Guide to Righteous Living and Other Works (2003) as translated by Konrad Eisenbichler, p. 17
“

The reason why I entered into a religious order is this: first, the great misery of the world, the wickedness of men, the rapes, the adulteries, the thefts, the pride, the idolatry, the vile curses, for the world has come to such a state that one can no longer find anyone who does good; so much so that many times every day I would sing this verse with tears in my eyes: Alas, flee from cruel lands, flee from the shores of the greedy. I did this because I could not stand the great wickedness of the blind people of Italy, especially when I saw that virtue had been completely cast down and vice raised up.

— Girolamo Savonarola on Idolatry

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "The reason why I entered into a religious order is this: first, the great misery of the world, the wickedness of men, the rapes, the adulteries, the thefts, the pride, the idolatry, the vile curses, for the world has come to such a state that one can no longer find anyone who does good; so much so that many times every day I would sing this verse with tears in my eyes: Alas, flee from cruel lands, flee from the shores of the greedy. I did this because I could not stand the great wickedness of the blind people of Italy, especially when I saw that virtue had been completely cast down and vice raised up." in the context of "Girolamo Savonarola, in a letter to his father (25 April 1475), as quoted in A Guide to Righteous Living and Other Works (2003) as translated by Konrad Eisenbichler, p. 17" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Quote Image
Source: Wikiquote: "Idolatry" (S) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Girolamo Savonarola

About Girolamo Savonarola

Girolamo Savonarola (September 21, 1452 – May 23, 1498) or Jerome Savonarola was an Italian Dominican friar from Ferrara and preacher active in Renaissance Florence. He was known for his prophecies of civic glory, the destruction of secular art and culture, and his calls for Christian renewal. He denounced clerical corruption, despotic rule, and the exploitation of the poor.