Page 41.
“
To crave wealth and honor, to demand power, to pile up riches, to gather all those vanities which seem to make for pomp and empty display, that is our furious passion and our unbounded desire.
On the other hand, we fear and abhor poverty, obscurity, and humility, and we seek to avoid them by all possible means.
— John Calvin
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "To crave wealth and honor, to demand power, to pile up riches, to gather all those vanities which seem to make for pomp and empty display, that is our furious passion and our unbounded desire.
On the other hand, we fear and abhor poverty, obscurity, and humility, and we seek to avoid them by all possible means." in the context of "Page 41." to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "John Calvin" (Golden Booklet of the True Christian Life (1551): John Calvin's "Golden Booklet of the True Christian Life" (ISBN-10: 0801065283) was published December 1, 2004 by Baker Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. Source: Google Books)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Tags
About John Calvin
John Calvin (10 July 1509 – 27 May 1564) was a major French Protestant theologian during the Protestant Reformation; he is renowned for his teaching and infamous for his role in the execution of Michael Servetus.
About John Calvin
John Calvin (10 July 1509 – 27 May 1564) was a major French Protestant theologian during the Protestant Reformation; he is renowned for his teaching and infamous for his role in the execution of Michael Servetus.
View all quotes →