Rivet: the holy memory of great servants, praise without flattery, and nothing that requires them to hear
People illustrious for virtue, above all for piety toward God and service of the Church, have a holy and venerable memory.
They are spoken of reverently, their virtues are recalled, they are proposed for imitation, and they receive due praise.
Any further honor must be such as can be paid to people we do not see and who do not hear us.
That kind is worth more because it cannot be flattery or self-interest.
Latin
XXXIX. De hominibus vero loquens, Si qui fuerint, inquit, qui claruerint magnis virtutibus, maxime pietate in Deum, & meritis erga Ecclesiam, eorum memoria nobis sancta est & veneranda; de iis reverenter loquimur, eorum virtutes recolimus, nobis & aliis ad imitandum proponimus, eos prosequimur debitis laudibus. Et si quid aliud sit quod iis quos non videmus, & qui non audiunt nos, deferre possimus: quod genus honoris & cultus eo magis est aestimandum, quod ab omni adulatione alienum est, nec potest proficisci nisi ab ea mente, quae de eorum excellentia persuasa est, & eorum dignitatem magni facit, citra ullum propriae utilitatis respectum.