SENECA - College of Stoic Philosophers
SENECA - College of Stoic Philosophers
SENECA - College of Stoic Philosophers
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LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY<br />
<strong>SENECA</strong><br />
v<br />
EPISTULAE MORALES<br />
n<br />
BOOKS LXVI-XCII<br />
Translated bv<br />
R. M. GUMMERE<br />
I<br />
I<br />
I<br />
fsi
Complete list <strong>of</strong> Loeb titles can be<br />
found at the end <strong>of</strong> each volume<br />
Lucius Annaeus, born at<br />
Corduba (Cordova) c.$ or 4 B.C., <strong>of</strong> a<br />
noble and wealthy family, after an ailing<br />
childhood and youth at Rome in an aunt's<br />
care, was a victim <strong>of</strong> life-long neurosis but<br />
became famous in rhetoric, phibsophy,<br />
money-making, and<br />
imperial service.<br />
After some disgrace during Claudius' reign<br />
he became tutor and then, in A. 0.^4,<br />
advising minister to Nero, some <strong>of</strong> whose<br />
worst misdeeds he did not prevent. Involved<br />
(innocently?) in a conspiracy, he<br />
killed himself by order in A. 0.65-. Wealthy,<br />
he<br />
preached indifference to wealth;<br />
evader <strong>of</strong> pain and death," he preached<br />
scorn <strong>of</strong> both; and there were other<br />
contrasts between practice and principle.<br />
Wicked himself he was not. Of his works<br />
we have 10 mis-called 'Dialogi', seven<br />
being philosophical on providence,<br />
steadfastness, happy life, anger, leisure,<br />
calmness <strong>of</strong> mind, shortness <strong>of</strong> life; 3<br />
other treatises (on money, benefits, and<br />
natural<br />
phenomena); 124 'Epistulae<br />
morales' all addressed to one person; a<br />
skit on the <strong>of</strong>ficial deification <strong>of</strong> Claudius ;<br />
and 9 rhetorical tragedies (not for acting)<br />
on ancient Greek themes. Many 'Epistulae'<br />
and all his speeches are lost. Much <strong>of</strong> his<br />
thought is clever rather than deep, and his<br />
style is pointed rather than ample.
876 <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
sENECAf LUCIUS ANNAEUSt<br />
AD LUCILTUM EPISTULAR<br />
MORALES f<br />
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THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY<br />
FOUNDED BY JAMES LOEB, LL.D.<br />
EDITED BY<br />
E. H. WAKMINGTON, M.A., F.R.HIST.SOC.<br />
PREVIOUS EDITORS<br />
f T. E. PAGE, C.H., LITT.D. t E. CAPPS, PH.D., LL.D.<br />
f W. H. D. ROUSE, LITT.D. L. A. POST, L.H.D.<br />
<strong>SENECA</strong><br />
v<br />
AD LUCILIUM EPISTULAE MORALES<br />
II<br />
76
<strong>SENECA</strong><br />
IN TEN VOLUMES<br />
V<br />
AD LUCILIUM<br />
EPISTULAE MORALES<br />
WITH AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION BY<br />
RICHARD M. GUMMERE, Ph.D.<br />
HEADMASTER, WILLIAM PENN CHARTER SCHOOL, PHILADELPHIA<br />
IN THREE VOLUMES<br />
II<br />
LONDON<br />
WILLIAM HEINEMANN LTD<br />
CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS<br />
HARVARD UNIVERSITY PRESS<br />
MCMLXX
American<br />
ISBN 0-674-99085-4<br />
British<br />
ISBN 434 99076<br />
First printed 1920<br />
Reprinted 1930, 1953, 1962, 1970<br />
Printed in Great Britain
CONTENTS OF VOLUME II<br />
LETTERS<br />
PACK<br />
LXV1. ON VARIOUS ASPECTS OF VIRTUE . . 2<br />
LXVII. ON ILL -HEALTH AND ENDURANCE OF<br />
SUFFERING ..... 34<br />
LXVIII. ON WISDOM AND RETIREMENT . . 44<br />
LX1X. ON REST AND RESTLESSNESS ... 52<br />
LXX. ON THE PROPER TIME TO SLIP THE CABLE 56<br />
LXXI. ON THE SUPREME GOOD ... 72<br />
LXXII. ON BUSINESS AS THE ENEMY OF PHILOSOPHY
CONTENTS<br />
PAGE<br />
LXXXV. ON SOME VAIN SYLLOGISMS . . . 284<br />
LXXXVI. ON SCIPIO'S VILLA . . . .310<br />
LXXXVII. SOME ARGUMENTS IN FAVOUR OF THE<br />
SIMPLE LIFE ..... 322<br />
LXXXVI1I. ON LIBERAL AND VOCATIONAL STUDIES . 348<br />
LXXXIX. ON THE PARTS OF PHILOSOPHY . . 376<br />
XC. ON THE PART PLAYED BY PHILOSOPHY IN<br />
THE PROGRESS OF MAN . . .<br />
394<br />
XCI. ON THE LESSON TO BE DRAWN FROM THE<br />
BURNING OF LYONS .... 430<br />
XCII. ON THE HAPPY LIFE .... 446<br />
APPENDIX ....... 472<br />
INDEX OF PROPER NAMES ..... 474
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong>
L. ANNAEI <strong>SENECA</strong>E AD<br />
LUCILIUM EPISTULAE<br />
LXVI.<br />
<strong>SENECA</strong> LVCILIO svo SALVTEM<br />
1 Claranum, condiscipulum meum, vidi post multos<br />
annos. Non, puto, exspectas, ut adiciam senem, sed<br />
mehercules viridem animo ac vigentem et cum corpusculo<br />
suo conluctantem. Inique enim se natura<br />
gessit et talem animum male conlocavit ;<br />
aut fortasse<br />
voluit hoc ipsum nobis ostendere, posse ingenium<br />
fortissimum ac beatissimum sub qualibet cute latere.<br />
Vincit tamen omnia inpedimenta et ad cetera con-<br />
2 temnenda a contemptu<br />
sui venit. Errare mihi visus<br />
est, qui dixit<br />
gratior et pulchro veniens e l<br />
corpora virtus.<br />
Non enim ullo honestamento eget ; ipsa magnum sui<br />
decus est et corpus suum consecrat. Aliter 2 certe<br />
Claranum nostrum coepi intueri ;<br />
formosus mihi<br />
videtur et tarn rectus corpore quam est animo.<br />
3 Potest ex casa vir<br />
magnus exire, potest et ex deformi<br />
humilique corpusculo formosus animus ac magnus.<br />
Quosdam itaque mihi videtur in hoc tales natura<br />
2<br />
1<br />
The Versril MSS. give in.<br />
2 consecrat aliter Haase ; consecraliter MSS.
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
LXVI. ON VARIOUS ASPECTS OF VIRTUE<br />
I HAVE just seen my former school-mate Claranus for<br />
the first time in<br />
many years. You need not wait for<br />
me to add that he is an old man ;<br />
but I assure you<br />
that I found him hale in spirit<br />
and sturdy, although<br />
he is wrestling with a frail and feeble body. For<br />
Nature acted unfairly when she gave him a poor<br />
domicile for so rare a soul or ;<br />
perhaps<br />
it was because<br />
she wished to prove to us that an absolutely strong<br />
and happy mind can lie hidden under any exterior.<br />
Be that as it<br />
may, Claranus overcomes all these<br />
hindrances, and by despising his own body has<br />
arrived at a stage where he can despise other things<br />
also. The poet who sang<br />
Worth shows more pleasing in a form that's fair,*<br />
is, in<br />
my opinion, mistaken. For virtue needs<br />
nothing to set it <strong>of</strong>f; it is its own great glory, and<br />
it hallows the body in which it dwells. At any rate,<br />
I have begun to regard Claranus in a different light ;<br />
he seems to me handsome, and as well-set-up in body<br />
as in mind. A great man can spring from a hovel ;<br />
so can a beautiful and great soul from an ugly and<br />
insignificant body. For this reason Nature seems to<br />
Vergil, Aeneid, v. 314.<br />
VOL. II A 2 S
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
generare, ut adprobet<br />
virtu tern omni loco nasci. Si<br />
posset per se nudos edere animos, fecisset ; mine,<br />
quod amplius est, faeit ;<br />
quosdam enim edit corporibus<br />
inpeditos, sed nihilominus perrumpentes<br />
4 obstantia. Claranus milii videtur in exemplar editus,<br />
ut scire possemus non deformitate corporis foedari<br />
animum, sed pulchritudine animi corpus ornari.<br />
Quamvis autem paucissimos una fecerimus dies,<br />
tamen multi nobis sermones fuerunt, quos subinde<br />
5 egeram et ad te permittam. Hoc primo die quaesitum<br />
est :<br />
quomodo possint paria l bona esse, si<br />
triplex eorum condicio est. Quaedam,<br />
ut nostris<br />
videtur, prima bona sunt, tamquam gaudium, pax,<br />
sal us patriae<br />
;<br />
quaedam secunda,<br />
in materia infelici<br />
expressa, tamquam tormentorum patientia et in<br />
morbo gravi temperaiitia. Ilia bona derecto optabimus<br />
nobis, haec, si necesse erit. Sunt adliuc tertia,<br />
tamquam modestus incessus et conpositus ac probus<br />
6 voltus et conveniens prudenti viro gestus. Quomodo<br />
1<br />
ista inter se paria esse possunt, cum alia optanda<br />
sint, alia aversanda ? Si volumus ista distinguere, ad<br />
primum bonum revertamur et consideremus id quale<br />
sit : animus intuens vera, peritus fugiendorum ac<br />
1<br />
paria the later MSS. ;<br />
tria pVPb.<br />
* Seneca is not speaking here <strong>of</strong> the three generic virtues<br />
(physical, ethical, logical), nor <strong>of</strong> the three kinds <strong>of</strong> goods<br />
(based on bodily advantage) which were classified by the<br />
Peripatetic school he ; is only speaking <strong>of</strong> three sorts <strong>of</strong><br />
circumstances under which the good can manifest itself.<br />
And in 36 ff. he shows that he regards only the first two<br />
classes as real goods. See Zeller, <strong>Stoic</strong>s, p. 230, n. 3.<br />
4
EPISTLE LXVI.<br />
me to breed certain men <strong>of</strong> this stamp with the<br />
idea <strong>of</strong> proving that virtue springs into birth in any<br />
place whatever. Had it been possible for her to<br />
produce souls by themselves and naked, she would<br />
have done so ;<br />
as it is, Nature does a still greater<br />
thing, for she produces certain men who, though<br />
hampered in their bodies, none the less break<br />
through the obstruction. I think Claranus has been<br />
produced as a pattern, that we might be enabled to<br />
understand that the soul is not disfigured by the<br />
ugliness <strong>of</strong> the body, but rather the opposite,<br />
that the body is beautified by the comeliness <strong>of</strong><br />
the soul.<br />
Now, though Claranus and I have spent very few<br />
days together, we have nevertheless had many conversations,<br />
which I will at once pour forth and<br />
pass on to you. The first<br />
day we investigated<br />
this problem how can goods be equal if they are<br />
:<br />
<strong>of</strong> three kinds ? a For certain <strong>of</strong> them, according<br />
to our philosophical tenets, are primary, such as joy,<br />
Others are<br />
peace, and the welfare <strong>of</strong> one's country.<br />
<strong>of</strong> the second order, moulded in an unhappy material,<br />
such as the endurance <strong>of</strong> suffering, and self-control<br />
during severe illness. We shall pray outright for<br />
the goods <strong>of</strong> the first class ;<br />
for the second class we<br />
shall pray only<br />
if the need shall arise. There is still<br />
a third variety, as, for example, a modest gait, a calm<br />
and honest countenance, and a bearing that suits<br />
the man <strong>of</strong> wisdom. Now how can these things be<br />
equal when we compare them, if you grant that we<br />
ought to pray for the one and avoid the other ? If<br />
we would make distinctions among them, we had<br />
better return to the First Good, and consider what<br />
its nature is : the soul that gazes upon truth, that is<br />
skilled in what should be sought and what should<br />
5
THE EPJSTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
petendorum, non ex opinione, sed ex natura pretia<br />
rebus inponens, toti se inserens mundo et in omnes<br />
eius actus contemplationem suam mittens, cogitationibus<br />
actionibusque intentus, ex aequo magnus ac<br />
veh em ens, asperis blandisque pariter invictus, neutri<br />
se fortunae summittens, supra omnia quae contingunt<br />
acciduntque eminens, pulcherrimus, ordinatissimus<br />
cum decore turn 1 viribus, sanus ac siceus, inperturbatus,<br />
intrepidus, quern nulla vis frangat, quein nee<br />
adtollant fortuita nee deprimant<br />
talis animus virtus<br />
;<br />
7 est. Haec eius est facies, si sub ununi veniat<br />
aspectum et semel tota se ostendat. Ceterum<br />
multae eius species sunt. Pro vitae varietate et pro<br />
actionibus explicantur; nee minor fit aut maior ipsa.<br />
Decrescere enim summum bonum 11011 potest nee<br />
virtuti ire retro licet; sed in alias atque alias qualitates<br />
convertitur ad rerum, quas actura est, habitum<br />
8 figurata. Quidquid attigit, in similitudinem sui<br />
adducit et tir.guit ; actiones, amicitias, interdum<br />
domos totas, quas intravit disposuitque, condecorat.<br />
Quidquid tractavit, id<br />
facit.<br />
amabile, conspicuum, mirabile<br />
Itaque vis eius et magnitude ultra non potest<br />
surgere, quando incrementum maximo non est.<br />
Nihil invenies rectius recto, non magis quam<br />
verius<br />
9 vero, quam temperate temperatius. Omnis sine<br />
1<br />
turn Haase ;<br />
cum MSS.<br />
* S'tccus (not in the sense <strong>of</strong> Ep. xviii. 4) here means<br />
'vigorous," "healthy," "dry"; i.e., free from dropsy,<br />
catarrh, etc.<br />
6<br />
from (7/., among many passages, Ep. Ixxi. 20 f. and<br />
xcii.<br />
6<br />
16 ff.
EPISTLE LXVI.<br />
be avoided, establishing standards <strong>of</strong> value not<br />
according to opinion, but according to nature, the<br />
soul that penetrates the whole world and directs its<br />
contemplating gaze upon all its phenomena, paying<br />
strict attention to thoughts and actions, equally<br />
great and forceful, superior alike to hardships and<br />
blandishments, yielding itself to neither extreme <strong>of</strong><br />
fortune, rising above all blessings and tribulations,<br />
absolutely beautiful, perfectly equipped with grace<br />
as well as with strength, healthy and sinewy,*<br />
unruffled, undismayed, one which no violence can<br />
shatter, one which acts <strong>of</strong> chance can neither<br />
exalt nor depress, a soul like this is virtue itself.<br />
There you have its outward appearance, if it<br />
should ever come under a single view and show<br />
itself once in all its completeness. But there are<br />
many aspects <strong>of</strong> it.<br />
They unfold themselves according<br />
as life varies and as actions differ but virtue<br />
;<br />
6<br />
itself does not become less or greater. For the<br />
Supreme Good cannot diminish, nor may virtue<br />
retrograde rather is it transformed, now into one<br />
;<br />
quality and now into another, shaping itself according<br />
to the part which it is to play.<br />
Whatever it<br />
has touched it brings into likeness wr ith itself, and<br />
dyes with its own colour. It adorns our actions,<br />
our friendships, and sometimes entire households<br />
which it has entered and set in order. Whatever<br />
it has handled it forthwith makes lovable, notable,<br />
admirable.<br />
Therefore the power and the greatness <strong>of</strong> virtue<br />
cannot rise to greater heights, because increase is<br />
denied to that which is superlatively great.<br />
You<br />
will find nothing straighter than the straight, nothing<br />
truer than the truth, and nothing more temperate<br />
than that which is<br />
temperate. Every virtue is 7
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
modo l est virtus ;<br />
modo certa mensura est. Constantia<br />
non habet, quo procedat, non inagis quam fiducia<br />
aut veritas aut fides. Quid accedere perfecto potest<br />
?<br />
Nihil, aut perfectum non erat, cui accessit.<br />
Ergo ne<br />
virtuti quideni, cui si quid adici potest, defuit.<br />
Honestum quoque nullam accessionem recipit ;<br />
hoiiestura est enim propter ista, quae<br />
rettuli. Quid<br />
porro ? Decorum et iustum et legitimum non<br />
eiusdem esse formae putas, certis terminis conprensum<br />
? Crescere posse inperfectae rei signum est.<br />
10 Bonum omiie in easdem cadit leges; iuncta est<br />
privata et publica utilitas, tarn mehercules quam<br />
inseparabile est laudandum petendumque. Ergo<br />
virtu tes inter se pares sin it et opera virtutis et omnes<br />
11 homines, quibus illae contigere. Satorum vero<br />
animaliumque virtutes cum mortales sint, fragiles<br />
quoque caducaeque sunt et incertae. Exiliunt<br />
residuntque et ideo non eodem pretio aestimantur ;<br />
una inducitur humanis virtutibus regula. Una enim<br />
est ratio recta simplexque.<br />
Nihil est divino divinius,<br />
12 caelesti caelestius. Mortalia minuuntur, cadunt,<br />
deteruntur, crescunt, exhauriuntur, inplentur.<br />
Itaque illis in tarn incerta sorte inaequalitas est ;<br />
divinorum una natura est. Ratio autem nihil aliud<br />
est quam in corpus humanum pars divini spiritus<br />
1<br />
sine modo Capps ;<br />
in modo MSS. and Hense.<br />
8<br />
i.e.,<br />
constancy, fidelity, etc.
is nothing else than a portion <strong>of</strong> the divine spirit set 9<br />
EPISTLE LXVI.<br />
limitless ;<br />
for limits depend upon definite measurements.<br />
Constancy cannot advance further, any<br />
more than fidelity, or truthfulness, or loyalty. What<br />
can be added to that which is perfect? Nothing;<br />
otherwise that was not perfect to which something<br />
has been added. Nor can anything be added to<br />
virtue, either, for if<br />
anything can be added<br />
thereto, it must have contained a defect. Honour,<br />
also, permits <strong>of</strong> no addition for it is<br />
;<br />
honourable<br />
because <strong>of</strong> the very qualities which I have mentioned.*<br />
What then ? Do you think that propriety,<br />
justice, lawfulness, do not also belong to the same<br />
type, and that they are kept within fixed limits ?<br />
The ability to increase is pro<strong>of</strong> that a thing<br />
is still<br />
imperfect.<br />
The good, in every instance, is subject to these<br />
same laws. The advantage <strong>of</strong> the state and that <strong>of</strong><br />
the individual are yoked together indeed it is as<br />
;<br />
impossible to separate them as to separate the<br />
commendable from the desirable. Therefore, virtues<br />
are mutually equal<br />
;<br />
and so are the works <strong>of</strong> virtue,<br />
and all men who are so fortunate as to possess these<br />
virtues. But, since the virtues <strong>of</strong> plants and <strong>of</strong><br />
animals are perishable, they are also frail and fleeting<br />
and uncertain. They spring up, and they sink down<br />
again, and for this reason they are riot rated at the<br />
same value ;<br />
but to human virtues only one rule<br />
applies. For right reason is single and <strong>of</strong> but one<br />
kind. Nothing is more divine than the divine, or<br />
more heavenly than the heavenly. Mortal things<br />
decay, fall, are worn out, grow up. are exhausted,<br />
and replenished. Hence, in their case, in view <strong>of</strong><br />
the uncertainty <strong>of</strong> their lot, there is inequality but<br />
;<br />
<strong>of</strong> things divine the nature is one. Reason, however,
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
mersa. Si ratio divina est, nullum autem bonum<br />
sine ratione est, bonum omne divinum est. Nullum<br />
porro inter divina discrimen est ; ergo nee inter<br />
bona. Paria itaque sunt et gaudium et fortis atque<br />
obstinata tormentorum perpessio in ;<br />
utroque enim<br />
eadera est animi magnitude, in altero remissa et<br />
13 laeta, in altera pugnax et intenta. Quid? Tu<br />
non putas parem esse virtutem eius, qui fortiter<br />
hostium moenia expugnat, et eius, qui obsiclionem<br />
patientissime sustinet ? Magnus l Scipio, qui Numantiam<br />
cludit et conprimit cogitque invictas manus in<br />
exitium ipsas suum verti ; magnus<br />
ille obsessorum<br />
animus, qui scit non esse clusmn, cui mors aperta est,<br />
et in conplexu libertatis expirat. Aeque reliqua<br />
quoque inter se paria sunt, tranquillitas, simplicitas,<br />
liberalitas, constantia, aequanimitas, tolerantia.<br />
Omnibus enim istis una virtus subest, quae animum<br />
rectum et mdeclinabilem praestat.<br />
"Quid ergo? Nihil interest inter gaudium et<br />
dolorum inflexibilem patientiam?" Nihil, quantum<br />
ad ipsas virtutes ; plurimum inter ilia, in quibus<br />
virtus utraque ostenditur. In altero enim naturalis<br />
est animi remissio ac laxitas, in altero contra naturam<br />
dolor. Itaque media sunt haec, quae plurimum<br />
intervalli recipiunt ; virtus in utroque par est.<br />
15 Virtutem materia non mutat ;<br />
nee peiorem facit dura<br />
1<br />
et magnus MSS. ;<br />
Haase deletes et.<br />
a Ratio (X67oj) is also defined as God, as Absolute Truth,<br />
Destiny, etc. The same idea is evident in the definition <strong>of</strong><br />
sapientia (the object <strong>of</strong> philosophy) as rerum divinarum et<br />
humanarum . . . scientia (Cic. Off. ii. 2. o, etc.), and nosse<br />
divina cf humana et horum caitsas, etc.<br />
6<br />
A Spanish city, reduced and razed to the ground in<br />
133 B.C. by Scipio Africanus, the conqueror <strong>of</strong> Carthage.<br />
Cf. Ep. xxxi. 4 and footnote (Vol. I.).<br />
10
EPISTLE LXVI.<br />
in a human body.<br />
a If reason is divine, and the good<br />
in no case lacks reason, then the good in every case<br />
is divine. And furthermore, there is no distinction<br />
between things divine ;<br />
hence there is none between<br />
goods, either. Therefore it follows that joy and a<br />
brave unyielding endurance <strong>of</strong> torture are equal<br />
goods for in both there is the same ; greatness <strong>of</strong><br />
soul, relaxed and cheerful in the one case, in the<br />
other combative and braced for action. What ? Do<br />
you not think that the virtue <strong>of</strong> him who bravely<br />
storms the enemy's stronghold is equal to that <strong>of</strong> him<br />
who endures a siege with the utmost patience<br />
? Great<br />
is Scipio when he invests Numantia, 6 and constrains<br />
and compels the hands <strong>of</strong> an enemy, whom he could<br />
not conquer, to resort to their own destruction.<br />
Great also are the souls <strong>of</strong> the defenders men who<br />
know that, as long as the path to death lies open,<br />
the blockade is not complete, men who breathe their<br />
last in the arms <strong>of</strong> liberty. In like manner, the<br />
other virtues are also equal as compared with one<br />
another :<br />
tranquillity, simplicity, generosity, constancy,<br />
equanimity, endurance. For underlying<br />
them all is a single virtue that which renders the<br />
soul straight and unswerving.<br />
" What " then," you say ; is there no difference<br />
between joy and unyielding endurance <strong>of</strong> pain?"<br />
None at all, as regards the virtues themselves ; very<br />
great, however, in the circumstances in which either<br />
<strong>of</strong> these two virtues is displayed. In the one case,<br />
there is a natural relaxation and loosening <strong>of</strong> the<br />
soul ;<br />
in the other there is an unnatural pain.<br />
Hence<br />
these circumstances, between which a great distinction<br />
can be drawn, belong to the category <strong>of</strong> indifferent<br />
things/ but the virtue shown in each case is<br />
equal. Virtue is not changed by the matter with<br />
11
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
ac difficilis, nee meliorem hilaris et laeta. Necesse<br />
est ergo par sit. 1 In utraque enim quod fit, aeque<br />
recte fit, aeque prudenter, aeque honeste. Ergo<br />
aequalia sunt bona, ultra quae 2 nee hie potest se<br />
melius in hoc gaudio gerere nee ille melius in illis<br />
cruciatibus. Duo autem, quibus nihil fieri melius<br />
16 potest, paria sunt. Nam si, quae<br />
extra virtutem<br />
posita sunt, aut minuere illam aut augere possunt,<br />
desinit unum bonum esse, quod honestum. Si hoc<br />
concesseris, omne honestum perit. Quare ? Dicam :<br />
quia nihil honestum est, quod ab invito, quod coactum 3<br />
fit. Omne honestum voluntarium est. Admisce<br />
illi<br />
pigritiam, querellam, tergiversationem, metum ;<br />
quod habet in se optimum, perdidit, sibi placere.<br />
Non potest honestum esse, quod non est liberum ;<br />
17 nam quod timet, servit. Honestum omne securum<br />
est, tranquillum est ;<br />
si recusat aliquid, si conplorat,<br />
si malum iudicat, perturbationem recepit et in magna<br />
discordia volutatur. Hinc enim species recti vocat,<br />
illinc suspicio mali retrahit. Itaque qui honeste<br />
aliquid facturus est, quicquid opponitur, id etiam si<br />
incommoduiii putat,<br />
malum non putet, velit, libens<br />
faciat. Omne honestum iniussum incoactumque est,<br />
sincerum et nulli malo mixtum.<br />
18<br />
Scio, quid mihi responderi hoc loco possit : "hoc<br />
1<br />
par sit Haase ; pars sit p etc.<br />
2 ultra quae Haase ; litieraqiie luSS.<br />
8<br />
coactum Haase ;<br />
aco actum p ;<br />
a coacto Vb ;<br />
aco acto P.<br />
a Of. Cicero, De Fin. ii. 14 f. Rackham translates as<br />
' moral worth," a reminiscence <strong>of</strong> TO n.a\6v.<br />
12
EPISTLE LXVI.<br />
which it deals ;<br />
if the matter is hard and stubborn,<br />
it does not make the virtue worse if ; pleasant and<br />
joyous, it does not make it better. Therefore, virtue<br />
necessarily remains equal. For, in each case, what<br />
is done is done with equal uprightness, with equal<br />
wisdom, and with equal honour. Hence the states <strong>of</strong><br />
goodness involved are equal, and it is impossible for a<br />
man to transcend these states <strong>of</strong> goodness by conducting<br />
himself better, either the one man in his joy,<br />
or the other amid his suffering. And two goods,<br />
neither <strong>of</strong> which can possibly be better, are equal.<br />
For if things which are extrinsic to virtue can either<br />
diminish or increase virtue, then that which is honourable<br />
a ceases to be the only good. If you grant this,<br />
honour has wholly perished. And why<br />
? Let me<br />
tell : it is<br />
you because no act is honourable that is<br />
done by an unwilling agent, that is<br />
compulsory.<br />
Every honourable act is voluntary. Alloy<br />
it with<br />
reluctance, complaints, cowardice, or fear, and it<br />
loses its best characteristic self -approval. That<br />
which is not free cannot be honourable ;<br />
for fear<br />
means slavery.<br />
The honourable is<br />
wholly free from<br />
anxiety and is calm; if it ever objects, laments, or<br />
regards anything as an evil, it becomes subject to<br />
disturbance and begins to flounder about amid great<br />
confusion. For on one side the semblance <strong>of</strong> right<br />
calls to it,<br />
on the other the suspicion <strong>of</strong> evil drags<br />
it back. Therefore, when a man is about to do<br />
something honourable, he should not regard any<br />
obstacles as evils, even though he regard them as<br />
inconvenient, but he should will to do the deed, and<br />
do it willingly. For every honourable act is done<br />
without commands or compulsion<br />
it is<br />
unalloyed<br />
;<br />
and contains no admixture <strong>of</strong> evil.<br />
1 know what you may reply to me at this point :<br />
13
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
nobis persuadere conaris, nihil interesse, utrum aliquis<br />
in gaudio<br />
sit an in eculeo iaceat ac tortorem suum<br />
'<br />
lasset ? Poteram respondere<br />
:<br />
Epicurus quoque ait<br />
sapientem, si in Phalaridis tauro peruratur, exclamaturum<br />
: "dulce est et ad me nihil pertinet." Quid<br />
miraris, si ego paria bona dico alterius in convivio<br />
iacentis, 1 alterius inter tormenta fortissime stantis,<br />
cum quod<br />
2 incredibilius est dicat Epicurus, dulce<br />
19 esse torreri ? Sed 3 hoc respondeo, plurimum interesse<br />
inter gaudium et dolorem ; si<br />
quaeratur electio,<br />
alterum petam, alterum vitabo. Illud secundum<br />
naturam est, hoc contra. Quamdiu sic aestimantur,<br />
magno inter se dissident spatio ; cum ad virtutem<br />
ventum est, utraque par est et quae per laeta procedit<br />
20 et quae per tristia. Nullum habet momentum vexatio<br />
et dolor et quicquid aliud incommodi est; virtute<br />
enim obruitur. Quemadmodum minuta lumina<br />
claritas solis obscurat, sic dolores, molestias, iniurias<br />
virtus magnitudine sua elidit atque opprimit et<br />
quocumque adfulsit, ibi quicquid sine ilia apparet,<br />
extinguitur nee magis ullain portionem habent<br />
;<br />
incommoda, cum in virtutem inciderunt, quam<br />
in<br />
mari nimbus.<br />
21 Hoc ut scias ita esse, ad omne pulchrum<br />
vir bonus<br />
sine ulla cunctatione procurret ;<br />
stet illic licet<br />
carnifex, stet tortor atque ignis, perseverabit nee<br />
quid passurus, sed quid facturus sit, aspiciet, et se<br />
1<br />
alterius in convivio iacentis Arg. B, according to Oberlin.<br />
Not in the other MSS.<br />
2<br />
cum quod later MSS. ; quod cum or quocum MSS.<br />
3 torreri sed Ludwig von Jan ;<br />
terroris et MSS.<br />
"<br />
One <strong>of</strong> the stock bits <strong>of</strong> heroism attributed to the ideal<br />
wise man.<br />
7. 17, etc.<br />
14<br />
Cf. Epicurus (Frag. 601 Usener), Cicero, Tusc. ii.
EPISTLE LXVI.<br />
" Are you trying to make us believe that it does not<br />
matter whether a man feels joy, or whether he lies<br />
upon the rack and tires out his torturer?" I might<br />
say in answer " : Epicurus also maintains that the<br />
wise man, though he is being burned in the bull<br />
<strong>of</strong> Phalaris," will cry out '<br />
Tis : pleasant, and concerns<br />
me not at all.'<br />
Why need you wonder,<br />
if I maintain that he who reclines at a banquet and<br />
the victim who stoutly withstands torture possess<br />
equal goods, when Epicurus maintains a thing that<br />
is harder to believe, namely, that it is pleasant to<br />
be roasted in this way ? But the reply which I do<br />
make, is that there is great difference between joy<br />
and pain if I am asked to<br />
; choose, I shall seek<br />
the former and avoid the latter. The former is<br />
according to nature, the latter contrary to it. So<br />
long as they are rated by this standard, there is a<br />
great gulf between but when it comes to a<br />
; question<br />
<strong>of</strong> the virtue involved, the virtue in each<br />
case is the same, whether it comes through joy or<br />
through sorrow. Vexation and pain and other<br />
inconveniences are <strong>of</strong> no consequence, for they are<br />
overcome by virtue. Just as the brightness <strong>of</strong> the<br />
sun dims all lesser lights,<br />
so virtue, by<br />
its own<br />
greatness, shatters and overwhelms all pains, annoyances,<br />
and wrongs; and wherever its radiance reaches,<br />
all lights which shine without the help <strong>of</strong> virtue are<br />
extinguished and inconveniences, when they come<br />
;<br />
in contact with virtue, play no more important a part<br />
than does a storm-cloud at sea.<br />
This can be proved to you by the fact that the<br />
good man will hasten unhesitatingly to any noble<br />
deed; even though he be confronted by the hangman,<br />
the torturer, and the stake, he will persist, regarding<br />
not what he must suffer, but what he must do ;<br />
and<br />
15
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
honestae rei tamquam bono viro credet utilem<br />
;<br />
illam<br />
sibi iudicabit, tutam, prosperam. Eundem locum<br />
habebit apud ilium honesta res, sed tristis atque<br />
aspera, quern vir bonus pauper aut exul ac pallidus.<br />
virum bonum divitiis<br />
22 Agedum pone ex alia parte<br />
abundantern, ex altera nihil habentem, sed in se<br />
omnia ;<br />
uterque aeque vir bonus erit, etiam si fortuna<br />
dispari utetur. Idem, ut dixi, in rebus iudicium est,<br />
quod in hominibus ;<br />
aeque laudabilis virtus est in<br />
corpore valido ac libero posita quam<br />
in morbido ac<br />
23 vincto. Ergo tuam quoque virtutem noil magis laudabis,<br />
si corpus illi tuum l integrum fortuna praestiterit<br />
quam si ex aliqua parte mutilatum ;<br />
alioqui hoc erit<br />
ex servorum habitu dominum aesthnare. Omnia<br />
enim ista, in quae dominium casus exercet, serva<br />
sunt, pecunia et corpus et honores, inbecilla, fluida,<br />
mortal ia, possessionis<br />
incertae. Ilia rursus libera et<br />
invicta opera virtutis, quae non ideo magis adpetenda<br />
sunt, si benignius a fortuna tractantur, nee minus, si<br />
aliqua iniquitate rerum premuntur.<br />
24 Quod amicitia in hominibus est, hoc in rebus<br />
adpetitio. Non, puto, magis amares virum bonum<br />
locupletem quam pauperem, nee robustum et lacertosum<br />
quam gracilem et languidi corporis ergo ne rem<br />
;<br />
quidem magis adpetes aut amabis hilarem ac pacatam<br />
1<br />
illitMum VP; illihatum a MS. <strong>of</strong> Opsopoeus, perhaps<br />
correctly, as Hense tliinks.<br />
16
EPISTLE LXVI.<br />
he will entrust himself as readily to an honourable<br />
deed as he would to a good man he will consider it<br />
;<br />
advantageous to himself, safe, propitious. And he<br />
will hold the same view concerning an honourable<br />
deed,, even though<br />
it be fraught with sorrow and<br />
hardship, as concerning a good man who is poor or<br />
wasting away in exile. Come now, contrast a good<br />
man who is rolling; O in wealth with a man who has<br />
nothing, except that in himself he has all things ;<br />
they will be equally good, though they experience<br />
unequal fortune. This same standard, as I have<br />
remarked, is to be applied to things as well as to<br />
men; virtue is just as if it<br />
praiseworthy dwells in a<br />
sound and free body, as in one which is sickly or in<br />
bondage. Therefore, as regards your own virtue also,<br />
you will not praise it any more, if fortune has favoured<br />
it<br />
by granting you a sound body, than if fortune has<br />
endowed you with a body that is crippled in some<br />
member, since that would mean rating a master low<br />
because he is dressed like a slave. For all those<br />
things over which Chance holds sway are chattels,<br />
money, person, position they are weak, shifting,<br />
;<br />
prone to perish, and <strong>of</strong> uncertain tenure. On<br />
the other hand, the works <strong>of</strong> virtue are free and<br />
unsubdued, neither more worthy to be sought when<br />
fortune treats them kindly, nor less worthy when<br />
any adversity weighs upon them.<br />
Now friendship in the case <strong>of</strong> men corresponds to<br />
desirability in the case <strong>of</strong> things.<br />
You would not, I<br />
fancy, love a good man if he were rich any more<br />
than if he were poor, nor would you love a strong<br />
and muscular person more than one who was slender<br />
and <strong>of</strong> delicate constitution. Accordingly, neither<br />
will you seek or love a good thing that is mirthful<br />
and tranquil more than one that is full <strong>of</strong> perplexity<br />
17
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
25 quam distractam et opevosam. Aut si hoc l est, magig<br />
diliges ex duobus aeque bonis viris nitidum et unctum<br />
quam pulverulentum et horrentem. Deinde hoc<br />
usque pervenies, ut magis diligas integrum omnibus<br />
membris et inlaesum quam debilem aut luscum.<br />
Paulatim fastidium tuum illo<br />
usque procedet, ut ex<br />
duobus aeque iustis ac prudentibus comatum et<br />
crispulum 2 mails. Ubi par in utroque virtus est, non<br />
conparet aliarum rerum inaequalitas. Omnia enim<br />
26 alia non partes, sed accessiones sunt. Num quis tarn<br />
iniquam censuram inter suos agit, ut sanum filium<br />
quam aegrum magis diligat, procerumve et excelsum<br />
quam brevem aut modicum ? Fetus suos non distinguunt<br />
ferae et se in alimentura pariter omnium<br />
sternunt ;<br />
aves ex aequo partiuntur cibos. Vlixes ad<br />
Ithacae suae saxa sic properat, quemadmodum Agamemnon<br />
ad Mycenarum nobiles muros. Nemo enim<br />
patriam quia magna est amat, sed quia sua.<br />
27 Quorsus haec pertinent<br />
? Ut scias virtutem omnia<br />
opera velut fetus suos isdem oculis intueri, aeque<br />
indulgere omnibus et quidem inpensius laborantibus,<br />
quoniam quidem etiam parentium amor magis in ea,<br />
quorum miseretur, inclinat. Virtus quoque opera<br />
sua, quae videt adfici et premi, non magis amat, sed<br />
parentium bonorum more magis conplectitur ac fovet.<br />
28 Quare non est ullum bonum altero mains ? Quia<br />
1<br />
aut si hoc Haase ; et si hoc MSS. ; at si hoc Schweighauser.<br />
2<br />
Buecbeler suggests the addition, after crispulum, <strong>of</strong><br />
quam calmm et horridulum.<br />
a A slight variation <strong>of</strong> the idea in Cicero, De Oral. i. 196<br />
si nos . . . noslra pairia delectat, cuhis rei tanta est vis ac<br />
tanta natura, ut Ithacam illam in asperrimis saxulis tamquam<br />
nidittuin adfixam sapientissimus vinmmortalitati anteponeret.<br />
18
and toil.<br />
EPISTLE LXVI.<br />
Or, if you do this, you will, in the case <strong>of</strong><br />
two equally good men, care more for him who is<br />
neat and well-groomed than for him who is dirty and<br />
unkempt. You would next go so far as to care more<br />
for a good man who is sound in all his limbs and<br />
without blemish, than for one who is \veak or purblind ;<br />
and gradually your fastidiousness would reach such a<br />
point that, <strong>of</strong> two equally just and prudent men,<br />
you would choose him who has long curling hair !<br />
Whenever the virtue in each one is equal, the inequality<br />
in their other attributes is not apparent.<br />
For all other things are not parts, but merely<br />
accessories. Would any man judge his children so<br />
unfairly as to care more for a healthy son than for one<br />
who was sickly, or for a tall child <strong>of</strong> unusual stature<br />
more than for one who was short or <strong>of</strong> middling<br />
height ? Wild beasts show no favouritism among<br />
their <strong>of</strong>fspring ; they<br />
lie down in order to suckle all<br />
alike ;<br />
birds make fair distribution <strong>of</strong> their food.<br />
Ulysses hastens back to the rocks <strong>of</strong> his Ithaca as<br />
eagerly as Agamemnon speeds to the kingly walls <strong>of</strong><br />
Mycenae. For no man loves his native land because<br />
it is great he loves it because it is his own. a<br />
And ; what is the purpose <strong>of</strong> all this ? That you<br />
may know that virtue regards all her works in the<br />
same light, as if they were her children, showing<br />
equal kindness to all, and still<br />
deeper kindness to<br />
those which encounter hardships for even<br />
; parents<br />
lean with more affection towards those <strong>of</strong> their <strong>of</strong>fspring<br />
for whom they feel pity. Virtue, too, does<br />
not necessarily love more deeply those <strong>of</strong> her works<br />
which she beholds in trouble and under heavy<br />
burdens, but, like good parents, she gives them<br />
more <strong>of</strong> her fostering care.<br />
Why is no good greater than any other good ?<br />
19
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
non est quicquam apto aptius. quia piano<br />
nihil est<br />
planius. Non potes dicere hoc magis par esse alicui<br />
quam illud ;<br />
ergo nee honesto honestius quicquam<br />
e?t. Quod si par omnium virtutum natura est, tria<br />
genera bonorum in aequo sunt. Ita dico : in aequo<br />
est moderate gaudere et moderate dolere. Laetitia<br />
ilia non vincit hanc animi firmitatem sub tortore<br />
gemitus devorantem ;<br />
ilia bona optabilia, haec<br />
mirabilia sunt, utraque nihilominus paria, quia quidquid<br />
incommodi est, %i tanto maioris boni tegitur.<br />
.: ] Quisquis haec inparia iudicat ab ipsis virtutibus<br />
avertit oculos et exteriora circumspicit<br />
;<br />
bona vera<br />
idem pendent, idem patent. Ilia falsa multum<br />
habent vani. Itaque speciosa et magna contra<br />
visentibus. cum ad pondus revocata sunt, fallunt.<br />
31 Ita est, mi Lucili ;<br />
quicquid<br />
vera ratio commendat,<br />
solidum et aeternum est. firmat animum attollitque<br />
semper futurum in excelso ilia<br />
;<br />
quae temere<br />
laudantur et vulgi sententia bona sunt, inflant<br />
inanibus laetos. Rursus ea, quae timentur tamquam<br />
mala, iniciunt formidinem mentibus et illas non aliter<br />
32 quam animalia species periculi agitant. Utraque<br />
i.e.. <strong>of</strong> the soul, <strong>of</strong> the body, and <strong>of</strong> external goods.<br />
6<br />
Buecheler thinks that this alliterative phrase <strong>of</strong> Seneca's<br />
is an echo <strong>of</strong> some popular proverb or line taken from a play.<br />
20
EPISTLE LXV1.<br />
It is because nothing can be more fitting than that<br />
which is fitting,,<br />
and nothing more level than that<br />
which is level. You cannot say that one thing<br />
is<br />
more equal to a given object than another thing;<br />
hence also is<br />
nothing more honourable than that which<br />
is honourable. Accordingly, if all the virtues are by<br />
nature equal, the three varieties <strong>of</strong> goods are equal.<br />
This is what I mean : there is an equality between<br />
feeling joy with self-control and suffering pain with<br />
self-control. The joy in the one case does not surpass<br />
in the other the steadfastness <strong>of</strong> soul that gulps<br />
down the groan when the victim is in the clutches<br />
<strong>of</strong> the torturer ; goods <strong>of</strong> the first kind are desirable,<br />
while those <strong>of</strong> the second are worthy <strong>of</strong> admiration ;<br />
and in each case they are none the less equal,<br />
because whatever inconvenience attaches to the latter<br />
is<br />
compensated by the qualities <strong>of</strong> the good, which is so<br />
much greater. Any man who believes them to be unequal<br />
is turning his gaze away from the virtues themselves<br />
and is surveying- mere externals : true goods<br />
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
ergo res sine causa animuin et difrundit et mordet ;<br />
nee ilia<br />
gaudio nee haec metu digna<br />
est. Sola ratio<br />
inmutabilis et iudicii tenax est. Non enim servit,<br />
sed imperat sensibus. Ratio rationi par est, sicut<br />
rectum recto ; ergo et virtus virtuti. Virtus l non<br />
2<br />
aliud quam recta ratio est. Omnes virtutes rationes<br />
sunt. Rationes sunt, si rectae sunt. Si rectae sunt,<br />
33 et pares sunt. Qualis ratio est, tales et actiones<br />
sunt ; ergo omnes pares sunt. Nam cum similes<br />
rationi sint, similes et inter se sunt. Pares autem<br />
actiones inter se esse 3 dico, qua honestae rectaeque<br />
sunt. Ceterum magna habebunt discrimina variante<br />
materia, quae modo latior est, modo angustior, modo<br />
inlustris, modo ignobilis,<br />
modo ad multos pertiiiens,<br />
modo ad paucos. In omnibus tamen istis id, quod<br />
34 optimum est, par est honestae sunt.<br />
;<br />
Tamquam viri<br />
4<br />
boni omnes pares sunt, qua boni sunt. Sed habent<br />
differentias aetatis : alms senior est, alius iuvenior ;<br />
habent corporis<br />
: alius formosus, alius deformis est ;<br />
habent fortunae : ille dives, hie pauper est, ille gratiosus,<br />
potens, urbibus notus et populis, hie ignotus<br />
plerisque et obscurus. Sed per illud, quo boni sunt,<br />
35 pares sunt. De bonis ac malis sensus non iudicat ;<br />
quid utile sit, quid inutile, ignorat. Non potest<br />
ferre sententiam, nisi in rem praesentem perductus<br />
est. Nee futuri providus est nee praeteriti memor ;<br />
quid sit consequens, nescit. Ex hoc autem rerum<br />
1<br />
virtuti. Virtus added by Schweighauser. Hilgenfeld<br />
would remove the two sentences ratio rationi . . . recta<br />
ratio est.<br />
2 ratio est M ; ratio VPb.<br />
8<br />
qua Muretus ; quia MSS.<br />
4<br />
qua Erasmus'2 ; quia MSS.<br />
a<br />
Here Seneca is<br />
reminding Lucilius, as he so <strong>of</strong>ten does<br />
in the earlier letters, that the evidence <strong>of</strong> the senses is<br />
only<br />
a stepping-stone to higher ideas an Epicurean tenet.<br />
22
EPISTLE LXVI.<br />
reason that both these things distract and sting the<br />
spirit; the one is not worthy <strong>of</strong> joy, nor the other<br />
<strong>of</strong> fear. It is reason alone that is<br />
unchangeable,<br />
that holds fast to its decisions. For reason is not a<br />
slave to the senses, but a ruler over them. Reason<br />
is<br />
equal to reason, as one straight line to another ;<br />
therefore virtue also is<br />
equal to virtue. Virtue is<br />
nothing else than right reason. All virtues are<br />
reasons. Reasons are reasons, if they are right<br />
reasons. If they are right, they are also equal.<br />
As reason is, so also are actions ;<br />
therefore all actions<br />
are equal. For since they resemble reason, they<br />
also resemble each other. Moreover, I hold that<br />
actions are equal to each other in so far as they<br />
are honourable and right actions. There will be, <strong>of</strong><br />
course, great differences according as the material<br />
varies, as it becomes now broader and now narrower,<br />
now glorious and now base, now manifold in scope<br />
and now limited. However, that which is best in<br />
are all honourable. In<br />
all these cases is equal they ;<br />
the same way,<br />
all<br />
good men, in so far as they are good,<br />
are equal. There are, indeed, differences <strong>of</strong> age,<br />
one is older, another younger <strong>of</strong> body, one is<br />
;<br />
comely, another is ugly ; <strong>of</strong> fortune, this man is<br />
rich, that man poor, this one is influential, powerful,<br />
and well-known to cities and peoples, that man is<br />
unknown to most, and is obscure. But all, in respect<br />
<strong>of</strong> that wherein they are good, are equal. The<br />
senses a do not decide upon things good and evil ;<br />
they do not know what is useful and what is not<br />
useful. They cannot record their opinion unless<br />
they are brought face to face with a fact ;<br />
they can<br />
neither see into the future nor recollect the past ;<br />
and they do not know what results from what. But<br />
it is from such knowledge that a sequence and<br />
23
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
ordo seriesque contexitur et unitas vitae<br />
per rectum<br />
itura. Ratio ergo arbitra est bonorum ac malorum ;<br />
aliena et externa pro vilibus habet et ea, quae neque<br />
bona sunt neque mala, accessiones minimas ac levissimas<br />
iudicat. Omne enim illi bonuni in animo est.<br />
36 Ceterum bona quaedam prima existimat, ad quae<br />
l<br />
ex proposito venit, tamquam victoriam, bonos liberos,<br />
salutem patriae. Quaedam secunda, quae non<br />
apparent nisi in rebus adversis, tamquam aequo<br />
animo pati<br />
morbum magnum, exilium. Quaedam<br />
media, quae iiihilo magis secundum naturam sunt<br />
quam contra naturam, tamquam prudenter ambulare,<br />
conposite sedere. Non enim minus secundum<br />
37 naturam est sedere quam stare aut ambulare. Duo ilia<br />
bona superiora diversa sunt. Prima enim secundum<br />
naturam sunt :<br />
gaudere liberorum pietate, patriae<br />
incolumitate. Secunda contra naturam sunt : fortiter<br />
opstare tormentis et sitim perpeti morbo urente<br />
"<br />
38 praecordia. Quid ergo<br />
?<br />
Aliquid contra naturam<br />
bonum est?' Minime ;<br />
sed id aliquando contra<br />
naturam est, in quo bonum iliud existit. Vulnerari<br />
enim et subiecto igne tabescere et adversa valetudine<br />
adfligi contra naturam est, sed inter ista servare<br />
39 jmimum infatigabilem secundum naturam est. Et<br />
ut quod volo exprimam breviter, materia boni<br />
aliquando contra naturam est, bonum numquam,<br />
1<br />
ad quae Hense ;<br />
atque MSS.
EPISTLE LXVI.<br />
succession <strong>of</strong> actions is woven, and a unity <strong>of</strong> life is<br />
created, a unity which will proceed in a straight<br />
course. Reason, therefore, is the judge <strong>of</strong> good and<br />
evil ;<br />
that which is foreign and external she regards<br />
as dross, and that which is neither good nor evil she<br />
judges as merely accessory, insignificant and trivial.<br />
For all her good resides in the soul.<br />
But there are certain goods which reason regards<br />
as primary, to which she addresses herself purposely<br />
;<br />
these are, for example, victory, good children, and<br />
the welfare <strong>of</strong> one's country. Certain others she<br />
regards as secondary these become manifest ; only<br />
in adversity, for example, equanimity in enduring<br />
severe illness or exile. Certain goods are indifferent ;<br />
these are no more according to nature than contrary<br />
to nature, as, for example, a discreet gait and a<br />
sedate posture in a chair. For sitting is an act that<br />
is not less according to nature than standing or<br />
walking. The two kinds <strong>of</strong> goods which are <strong>of</strong> a<br />
higher order are different ;<br />
the primary are according<br />
to nature, such as deriving joy from the<br />
dutiful behaviour <strong>of</strong> one's children and from the<br />
well-being <strong>of</strong> one's country. The secondary are<br />
contrary to nature, such as fortitude in resisting<br />
torture or in enduring thirst when illness makes the<br />
vitals feverish. "What then," you say; "can anything<br />
that is contrary to nature be a "<br />
good Of<br />
?<br />
course not ;<br />
but that in which this good takes its<br />
rise is sometimes contrary to nature. For being<br />
wounded, wasting away over a fire, being afflicted<br />
with bad health, such things are contrary to nature;<br />
but it is in accordance with nature for a man to preserve<br />
an indomitable soul amid such distresses. To<br />
explain my thought briefly, the material with which<br />
a good is concerned is sometimes contrary to nature,<br />
25
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
quoniam bonum sine ratione nullum est, sequitur<br />
autem ratio naturam.<br />
" Quid est ergo ratio "<br />
? Naturae imitatio.<br />
" Quod<br />
"<br />
est summum hominis bonuin ? Ex naturae voluntate<br />
40 se gerere. " Non est " inquit " dubium, quin felicior<br />
pax sit numquam lacessita quam multo reparata<br />
sanguine. Non est dubium " inquit "quin felicior<br />
res sit<br />
inconcussa valetudo quam ex gravibus morbis<br />
et extrema minitantibus in tutum vi<br />
quadam et<br />
patientia educta. Eodem modo non erit dubium,<br />
quin maius bonum sit gaudium quam obnixus animus<br />
ad perpetiendos cruciatus vulnerum aut ignium."<br />
41 Minime. Ilia enim, quae fortuita sunt, plurimum<br />
discriminis recipiunt ; aestimantur enim utilitate<br />
sumentium. Bonorum unum propositum est consentire<br />
naturae ;<br />
hoc in omnibus l par<br />
est. Cum<br />
alicuius in senatu sententiam sequimur, non potest<br />
dici : ille<br />
magis adsentitur quam ille ;<br />
ab omnibus in<br />
eandem sententiam itur. Idem de virtutibus dico :<br />
omnes naturae adsentiuntur. Idem de bonis dico :<br />
42 omnia naturae adsentiuntur. Alter adulescens<br />
decessit, alter senex, aliquis praeter hos infans, cui<br />
nihil amplius contigit quam prospicere vitam. Omnes<br />
hi aeque fuere mortales, etiam si mors aliorum longius<br />
1<br />
hoc in omnibus Muretus ; hoc contire (cont'myere VPb)<br />
in omnibus p consentire omnibus Haase.<br />
;<br />
a<br />
Another definition* developing further the thought<br />
expressed in 12.<br />
26
EPISTLE LXVI.<br />
but a good itself never is contrary, since no good is<br />
without reason, and reason is in accordance with<br />
nature.<br />
"What, then," you ask, "is reason?" It is<br />
copying nature.* " And<br />
" what," you say, is the<br />
greatest good that man can possess?' It is to<br />
conduct oneself according to what nature wills.<br />
" There is no doubt," says the<br />
" objector, that peace<br />
affords more happiness when it has not been assailed<br />
than when it has been recovered at the cost <strong>of</strong> great<br />
slaughter." "There is no doubt also," he continues,<br />
" that health which has not been impaired affords<br />
more happiness than health which has been restored<br />
to soundness by means <strong>of</strong> force, as it were, and by<br />
endurance <strong>of</strong> suffering, after serious illnesses that<br />
threaten life itself. And similarly there will be no<br />
doubt that joy is a greater good than a soul's struggle<br />
to endure to the bitter end the torments <strong>of</strong> wounds<br />
or burning at the stake." By no means. For things<br />
that result from hazard admit <strong>of</strong> w r ide distinctions,<br />
since they are rated according to their usefulness in<br />
the eyes <strong>of</strong> those who experience them ;<br />
but with<br />
regard to goods, the only point to be considered is<br />
that they are in agreement with nature ;<br />
and this is<br />
equal in the case <strong>of</strong> all goods. When at a meeting<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Senate we vote in favour <strong>of</strong> someone's motion,<br />
it cannot be said,<br />
" A. is more in accord with the<br />
motion than B." All alike vote for the same<br />
motion. I make the same statement with regard to<br />
virtues, they are all in accord with nature ;<br />
and I<br />
make it with regard to goods also, they are all in<br />
accord with nature. One man dies young, another<br />
in old age, and still another in infancy, having<br />
enjoyed nothing more than a mere glimpse out into<br />
life.<br />
They have all been equally subject to death,<br />
VOL. II B 27
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
vitam passa est procedere, aliorum in medio flore<br />
43 praecidit, aliorum interrupit ipsa principia. Alius<br />
inter cenandum solutus est. Alterius continuata<br />
mors somno est.<br />
Aliquem concubitus extinxit. His<br />
oppone ferro transfossos aut exanimatos serpentium<br />
morsu aut fractos l ruina aut per longam nervorum<br />
contractionem extortos minutatim. Aliquorum<br />
melior dici, aliquorum peior potest exitus ;<br />
mors<br />
quidem omnium par est. Per quae desinunt,<br />
2<br />
diversa sunt ; in quod 3 desinunt, unum est. Mors<br />
nulla maior aut minor est ;<br />
habet enim eundem in<br />
omnibus modum, finisse vitam.<br />
44 Idem tibi de bonis dico : hoc bonum inter meras<br />
voluptates est, hoc inter tristia et acerba. Illud<br />
fortunae indulgentiam rexit, hoc violentiam domuit.<br />
Utrumque aeque bonum est, quamvis illud plana et<br />
molli via ierit,4 hoc aspera. Idem finis omnium est :<br />
bona sunt, laudanda sunt, virtutem rationemque<br />
coinitantur ;<br />
virtus aequat inter se, quicquid agnoscit.<br />
45 Nee est, quare hoc inter nostra placita mireris ;<br />
apud<br />
Epicurum duo bona sunt, ex quibus summum illud<br />
beatumque conponitur, ut corpus sine dolore sit,<br />
animus sine perturbation<br />
e. Haec bona non crescunt,<br />
si<br />
plena sunt. Quo enim crescet, quod plenum est ?<br />
Dolore corpus caret ;<br />
quid<br />
1<br />
ad hanc accedere in-<br />
fractos later MSS. ;<br />
fructus (fl-uctus) pVPb.<br />
2<br />
desinunt Hense ; veniunt or venit MSS.<br />
3 in quod Haase ; in id quod MSS.<br />
4 et molli via ierit Gertz ; emolliverit VPb ; et molli<br />
et molli venerit Wolters.<br />
velerit p ;<br />
28<br />
a<br />
Frag. 434 Usener.
EPISTLE LXVI.<br />
even though death has permitted the one to proceed<br />
farther along the pathway <strong>of</strong> life, has cut <strong>of</strong>f the life<br />
<strong>of</strong> the second in his flower, and has broken <strong>of</strong>f the<br />
life <strong>of</strong> the third at its very beginning. Some get<br />
their release at the dinner -table. Others extend<br />
their sleep into the sleep <strong>of</strong> death. Some are<br />
blotted out during dissipation. Now contrast with<br />
these persons individuals who have been pierced by<br />
the sword, or bitten to death by snakes, or crushed<br />
in ruins, or tortured piecemeal out <strong>of</strong> existence by<br />
the prolonged twisting <strong>of</strong> their sinews. Some <strong>of</strong><br />
these departures may be regarded as better, some<br />
as worse ;<br />
but the act <strong>of</strong> dying is equal in all. The<br />
methods <strong>of</strong> ending life are different but the end is<br />
;<br />
one and the same. Death has no degrees <strong>of</strong> greater<br />
or less ;<br />
for it has the same limit in all instances,<br />
the finishing <strong>of</strong> life.<br />
The same thing holds true, I assure you, concerning<br />
goods you will find one amid circumstances <strong>of</strong><br />
;<br />
pure pleasure, another amid sorrow and bitterness.<br />
The one controls the favours <strong>of</strong> fortune ;<br />
the other<br />
overcomes her onslaughts. Each is equally a good,<br />
although the one travels a level and easy road, and the<br />
other a rough road. And the end <strong>of</strong> them all is the<br />
same :<br />
they are goods, they are worthy <strong>of</strong> praise,<br />
they accompany virtue and reason. Virtue makes all<br />
the things that it<br />
acknowledges equal to one another.<br />
You need not wonder that this is one <strong>of</strong> our principles;<br />
we find mentioned in the works <strong>of</strong> Epicurus a two<br />
goods, <strong>of</strong> which his Supreme Good, or blessedness, is<br />
composed, namely, a body free from pain and a soul<br />
free from disturbance. These goods, if they are<br />
complete, do not increase ;<br />
for how can that which<br />
is<br />
complete increase ? The body is, let us suppose,<br />
free from pain ;<br />
what increase can there be to this<br />
29
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
dolentiam potest<br />
? Animus constat sibi et placidus<br />
est ; quid accedere ad hanc tranquillitatem potest?<br />
46 Quemadmodum serenitas caeli non recipit maiorem<br />
adhuc claritatem in sincerissimum nitorem repurgata,<br />
sic hominis corpus animumque curantis et bonum<br />
suum ex utroque nectentis perfectus est status et<br />
summam voti sui invenit, si<br />
nee aestus animo est nee<br />
dolor corpori. Si qua extra blandimenta contingunt,<br />
non augent summum bonum, sed ut ita dicam, condiunt<br />
et oblectant. Absolutum enim illud humanae<br />
naturae bonum corporis et animi pace contentum<br />
47 est. Dabo apud Epicurum tibi etiamnunc simillimam<br />
huic nostrae divisionem bonorum. Alia enim sunt<br />
apud ilium, quae malit contingere sibi, ut corporis<br />
quietem ab omni incommode liberam et animi remissionem<br />
bonorum suorum contemplatione gaudentis.<br />
Alia sunt, quae quamvis nolit accidere, iiihilominus<br />
laudat et conprobat, tamquam illam, quam paulo<br />
ante dicebam, malae valetudinis et dolorum gravissimorum<br />
perpessionem, in qua Epicurus fuit illo<br />
summo ac fort vtissimo die suo. Ait enim se<br />
vesicae et exr.l erati ventris tormenta tolerare<br />
ulteriorem do-. *is accessionem non recipientia, esse<br />
nihilominus sibi ilium beatum diem. Beatum autem<br />
agere, nisi qui est in summo bono, non potest.<br />
48 Ergo et apud Epicurum sunt haec bona, quae<br />
malles non experiri, sed quia ita res tulit, et ample-<br />
30<br />
B Frag. 449 Usener. Frag.<br />
c<br />
See above, 47.<br />
138 Usener.
EPISTLE LXV1.<br />
absence <strong>of</strong> pain ? The soul is composed and calm ;<br />
what increase can there be to this tranquillity<br />
? Just<br />
as fair weather, purified into the purest brilliancy,<br />
does not admit <strong>of</strong> a still greater degree <strong>of</strong> clearness ;<br />
so, when a man takes care <strong>of</strong> his body and <strong>of</strong> his soul,<br />
weaving the texture <strong>of</strong> his good from both, his condition<br />
is perfect, and he has found the consummation<br />
<strong>of</strong> his prayers,<br />
if there is no commotion in his soul or<br />
pain in his body. Whatever delights fall to his lot<br />
over and above these two things do not increase his<br />
Supreme Good ; they merely season it, so to speak,<br />
and add spice to it. For the absolute good <strong>of</strong> man's<br />
nature is satisfied with peace in the body and peace<br />
in the soul. I can show you at this moment in the<br />
writings <strong>of</strong> Epicurus a a graded list <strong>of</strong> goods just like<br />
that <strong>of</strong> our own school. For there are some things,<br />
he declares, which he prefers should fall to his lot,<br />
such as bodily rest free from all inconvenience, and<br />
relaxation <strong>of</strong> the soul as it takes delight in the contemplation<br />
<strong>of</strong> its own goods. And there are other<br />
things which, though he would prefer that they did<br />
not happen, he nevertheless praises and approves,<br />
for example, the kind <strong>of</strong> resignation, in times <strong>of</strong> illhealth<br />
and serious suffering, to which I alluded a<br />
moment ago, and which Epicurus displayed on that<br />
last and most blessed day <strong>of</strong> his life. For he tells<br />
us b that he had to endure excruciating agony from a<br />
diseased bladder and from an ulcerated stomach,<br />
so acute that it<br />
permitted no increase <strong>of</strong> pain " and<br />
;<br />
yet," he says, "that day was none the less happy."<br />
And no man can spend such a day in happiness<br />
unless he possesses the Supreme Good.<br />
We therefore find mentioned, even by Epicurus,'<br />
those goods which one would prefer not to experience;<br />
which, however, because circumstances have decided<br />
31
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
xanda et laudanda et exaequanda sumrnis sunt. Non<br />
potest dici, hoc non esse par mnximis bonum, quod<br />
beatae vitae clausulam inposuit, cui Epicurus extrema<br />
49 voce gratias egit. Permitte mihi, Lucili virorum<br />
optime, aliquid audacius dicere : si ulla bona maiora<br />
esse aliis possent, haec ego, quae tristia videntur,<br />
mollibus illis et delicatis praetulissem, haec maiora<br />
dixissem.<br />
Maius est enim difficilia perfringere quam<br />
50 laeta moderari. Eadem ration e fit, scio, ut aliquis<br />
fe licit atem bene et ut calamitatem fortiter ferat.<br />
Aeque esse fortis potest, qui pro vallo securus excubuit<br />
nullis hostibus castra temptantibus et qui succisis<br />
poplitibus in genua se excepit nee arma dimisit ;<br />
" "<br />
macte virtute esto sanguinolentis l ex acie redeuntibus<br />
dicitur. Itaque haec magis laudaverim bona<br />
51 exercita et fortia et cum fortuna rixata. Ego dubitem,<br />
quin magis<br />
manum Mucii quam<br />
Stetit<br />
laudem truncam illam et retorridam<br />
cuiuslibet fortissimi salvam ?<br />
hostium flammarumque con tern ptor<br />
et manum<br />
suam in hostili foculo destillantem perspectavit,<br />
donee Porsenna, cuius poenae favebat, gloriae invidit<br />
et ignem invito eripi iussit.<br />
52 Hoc bonum quidni inter 2 prima numerem tantoque<br />
1 et after sanguinolentis deleted by Schweighauser.<br />
2 quidni inter later MSS. ;<br />
quid inter pVPb.<br />
a Clausula has, among other meanings, that <strong>of</strong> " a period"<br />
(Quintil. viii. 5), and " the rhythmic close <strong>of</strong> a period " (Cic.<br />
De Oral. iii. 192).<br />
6<br />
For a full discussion <strong>of</strong> this phrase see Conington,<br />
Excursus to Vergil's Aeneid, ix. 641.<br />
c><br />
For the story see ii.<br />
Livy, 12 ff.<br />
32
EPISTLE LXVI.<br />
thus, must be welcomed and approved and placed on<br />
a level with the highest goods. We cannot say that<br />
the good which has rounded out a a happy life, the<br />
good for which Epicurus rendered thanks in the last<br />
words he uttered, is not equal to the greatest. Allow<br />
me, excellent Lucilius, to utter a still bolder word :<br />
if<br />
any goods could be greater than others, I should<br />
prefer those which seem harsh to those which are<br />
mild and alluring, and should pronounce them<br />
greater. For it is more <strong>of</strong> an accomplishment to<br />
break one's way through difficulties than to keep joy<br />
within bounds. It requires the same use <strong>of</strong> reason,<br />
I am fully aware, for a man to endure prosperity<br />
well and also to endure misfortune bravely. That<br />
man may be just as brave who sleeps in front <strong>of</strong> the<br />
ramparts without fear <strong>of</strong> danger when no enemy<br />
attacks the camp, as the man who, when the<br />
tendons <strong>of</strong> his legs have been severed, holds himself<br />
up on his knees and does not let fall his weapons ;<br />
but it is to the blood-stained soldier returning from<br />
the front that men cry: "Well done, thou hero!" 6<br />
J<br />
And therefore I should bestow greater praise upon<br />
those goods that have stood trial, and show courage,<br />
and have fought<br />
it out with fortune. Should 1<br />
hesitate whether to give greater praise to the maimed<br />
and shrivelled hand <strong>of</strong> Mucius c than to the uninjured<br />
hand <strong>of</strong> the bravest man in the world ? There stood<br />
Mucius, despising the enemy and despising the fire ;<br />
and watched his hand as it<br />
dripped blood over the<br />
fire on his enemy's altar, until Porsenna, envying the<br />
fame <strong>of</strong> the hero whose punishment he was advocating,<br />
ordered the fire to be removed against the<br />
will <strong>of</strong> the victim.<br />
Why should I not reckon this good among the<br />
primary goods, and deem it in so far greater than<br />
33
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
maius putera quam<br />
ilia secura et intemptata fortunae,<br />
quanto rarius est hostem amissa manu vicisse quam<br />
armata ? "Quid ergo?' inquis,<br />
"hoc bonum tibi<br />
Quidni Hoc ? enim nisi qui potest et<br />
"<br />
optabis ?<br />
53 optare, non potest facere. An potlus optem, ut<br />
malaxaiidos articulos exoletis meis porrigam<br />
? Ut<br />
muliercula aut aliquis<br />
in mulierculam ex viro versus<br />
digitulos meos ducat ? Quidni ego feliciorem putem<br />
Mucium, quod sic tractavit ignem, quasi illam manum<br />
tractatori praestitisset<br />
? In iiitegrum restituit quidquid<br />
erraverat confecit bellum inermis ac niancus et<br />
;<br />
ilia manu trunca reges duos vicit. VALE.<br />
LXVII.<br />
<strong>SENECA</strong> LVCILIO svo SALVTEM<br />
1 Vt a communibus initium faciam, ver aperire se<br />
coepit, sed iam inclinatum in aestatern, quo tempore<br />
calere debebat, intepuit nee adhuc illi fides est.<br />
Saepe enim in hiemem revolvitur. Vis scire, quam<br />
dubium adhuc sit ? Nondum me committo frigidae<br />
verae, adhuc rigorem eius " infringe. Hoc est,"<br />
inquis, " nee calidum nee frigidum pati." Ita est, mi<br />
Lucili ;<br />
iam aetas mea coiitenta est suo frigore. Vix<br />
a A rare word sometimes spelled malacisso, used by<br />
Plautus (Eacch. 73) and Laberius, but not in a technical<br />
sense.<br />
b<br />
Porsenna and Tarquin.<br />
c<br />
See Introduction (Vol. I. p. x), and the opening sentences<br />
<strong>of</strong> Epp. Ixxvii. , Ixxxvii., and others.
EPISTLES LXVI., LXVII.<br />
those other goods which are unattended by danger<br />
and have made no trial <strong>of</strong> fortune, as it is a rarer<br />
thing to have overcome a foe with a hand lost than<br />
with a hand armed ? "What then?" you say ;<br />
"shall<br />
you desire this good for "<br />
yourself? Of course I shall.<br />
For this is a thing that a man cannot achieve unless<br />
he can also desire it. Should I desire, instead, to be<br />
slaves to<br />
allowed to stretch out my limbs for my<br />
massage, a or to have a woman, or a man changed into<br />
the likeness <strong>of</strong> a woman, I<br />
pull my finger-joints?<br />
cannot help believing that Mucius was all the more<br />
lucky because he manipulated the flames as calmly<br />
as if he were holding out his hand to the manipulator.<br />
He had wiped out all his previous mistakes ;<br />
he<br />
finished the war unarmed and maimed ;<br />
and with<br />
that stump <strong>of</strong> a hand he conquered two kings. 6<br />
Farewell.<br />
LXVII.<br />
ON ILL-HEALTH AND ENDURANCE<br />
OF SUFFERING<br />
If I<br />
may begin with a commonplace remark/ spring<br />
is gradually disclosing itself; but though<br />
it is rounding<br />
into summer, when you would expect hot weather,<br />
it has kept rather cool, and one cannot yet be sure<br />
<strong>of</strong> it. For it <strong>of</strong>ten slides back into winter weather.<br />
Do you wish to know how uncertain it still is ? I<br />
do not yet trust myself to a bath which is<br />
absolutely<br />
cold ;<br />
even at this time I break its chill. You may<br />
say that this is no way to show the endurance either<br />
<strong>of</strong> heat or <strong>of</strong> cold ;<br />
very true, dear Lucilius, but at<br />
my time <strong>of</strong> life one is at length contented with the<br />
natural chill <strong>of</strong> the body. I can scarcely thaw out in<br />
VOL. ii B 2 35
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
2 media regelatur aestate. Itaque maior pars in vestimentis<br />
degitur. Ago gratias senectuti, quod me<br />
lectulo adfixit. Quidni gratias illi hoc nomine agam ?<br />
Quicquid debebam nolle, non possum. Cum libellis<br />
mihi plurimus sermo est. Si quando intervenerunt<br />
epistulae tuae, tecum esse mihi videor et sic adficior<br />
animo, tamquam tibi non rescribam, sed respondeam.<br />
Itaque et de hoc, quod quaeris, quasi conloquar tecum.<br />
quale sit, una scrutabimur.<br />
3 Quaeris, an omne bonum " optabile<br />
sit. Si bonum<br />
est/' inquis, "fortiter torqueri et magno animo uri et<br />
patienter aegrotare, sequitur, ut ista optabilia sint.<br />
Nihil autem video ex istis voto dignum. Neminem<br />
certe adhuc scio eo nomine votum solvisse, quod<br />
flagellis caesus esset aut podagra distortus aut eculeo<br />
4 longior factus." Distingue, mi Lucili, ista, et<br />
intelleges esse in iis aliquid optandum. Tormenta<br />
abesse a me velim ;<br />
sed si sustinenda fuerint, ut me<br />
in illis fortiter, honeste, animose geram, optabo.<br />
Quidni ego malim non incidere bellum ? Sed si<br />
incident, ut vulnera, ut famem et omnia,quae bellorum<br />
Non sum<br />
necessitas adfert, generose feram, optabo.<br />
tarn demens, ut aegrotare cupiam ; sed si<br />
aegrotandum<br />
fuerit, ut nihil intemperanter, nihil effeminate facia m,<br />
optabo. Ita non incommoda optabilia sunt, sed virtus,<br />
qua perferuntur incommoda.<br />
a Seneca had a delicate constitution (see Introduction).<br />
In the Letters he speaks <strong>of</strong> suffering from asthma (liv.),<br />
catarrh (Ixxviii.), and fever (civ.).<br />
6<br />
Cf. Ixxv. 1 quaiis sermo meus esset, si una sederemus aut<br />
ambularemus.<br />
36
EPISTLE LXVII.<br />
the middle <strong>of</strong> summer. Accordingly, I spend most<br />
<strong>of</strong> the time bundled up and I thank old age for<br />
;<br />
keeping me fastened to my bed. a Why should I not<br />
thank old age on this account That ? which I ought<br />
not to wish to do, I lack the ability to do. Most<br />
<strong>of</strong> my converse is with books. Whenever your<br />
letters arrive, I<br />
imagine that I am with you, and I<br />
have the feeling that I am about to speak my answer,<br />
instead <strong>of</strong> writing<br />
it. Therefore let us together<br />
investigate the nature <strong>of</strong> this problem <strong>of</strong> yours, just<br />
as if we were conversing with one another. ^<br />
You ask me whether every good<br />
is desirable.<br />
You say<br />
:<br />
" If it is a good to be brave under torture,<br />
to go to the stake with a stout heart, to endure<br />
illness with resignation, it follows that these things<br />
are desirable. But I do not see that any <strong>of</strong> them is<br />
worth praying<br />
for. At any rate I have as yet known<br />
<strong>of</strong> no man who has paid a vow by reason <strong>of</strong> having<br />
been cut to pieces by the rod, or twisted out <strong>of</strong><br />
shape by the gout, or made taller by the rack." My<br />
dear Lucilius, you must distinguish between these<br />
cases ; you will then comprehend that there is<br />
something in them that is to be desired. I should<br />
prefer to be free from torture ;<br />
but if the time comes<br />
when it must be endured, I shall desire that I may<br />
conduct myself therein with bravery, honour, and<br />
courage. Of course I<br />
prefer that war should not<br />
occur ;<br />
but if war does occur, I shall desire that I<br />
may<br />
nobly endure the wounds, the starvation, and all that<br />
the exigency <strong>of</strong> war brings. Nor am I so mad as to<br />
crave illness ;<br />
but if I must suffer illness, I shall desire<br />
that I<br />
may do nothing which shows lack <strong>of</strong> restraint,<br />
and nothing that is<br />
unmanly. The conclusion is, not<br />
that hardships are desirable, but that virtue is desirable,<br />
which enables us patiently to endure hardships.<br />
37
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
5 Quidam ex nostris existimant omnium istorum<br />
fortem tolerantiam non esse optabilem, sed ne<br />
abominandam quidem, quia voto purum bonum peti<br />
debet et tranquillum et extra molestiam positum.<br />
Ego dissentio. Quare Primum ? quia fieri non potest,<br />
ut aliqua res bona quidem sit, sed optabilis non sit.<br />
Deinde si virtus optabilis est, nullum autem sine<br />
virtute bonum est, omne bonum optabile est. Deinde<br />
etiam l tormentorum fortis patientia optabilis est.<br />
6 Etiamnunc interrogo<br />
:<br />
nempe 2 fortitude optabilis<br />
est ?<br />
Atqui pericula contemnit et provocat. Pulcherrima<br />
pars eius maximeque mirabilis ilia est, non cedere<br />
ignibus, obviam ire vulneribus, interdum tela lie<br />
vitare quidem, sed pectore excipere. Si fortitude<br />
optabilis est, et tormenta patienter ferre optabile est ;<br />
hoc enim fortitudinis pars est. Sed 3 separa ista, ut<br />
dixi ;<br />
iiihil erit quod<br />
tibi faciat errorem. Non enim<br />
pati tormenta optabile est, sed pati fortiter. Illud<br />
opto "fortiter," quod est virtus.<br />
7<br />
" Quis tamen umquam hoc sibi optavit ? "<br />
Quaedam<br />
vota aperta et pr<strong>of</strong>essa sunt, cum particulatim fiunt,<br />
quaedam latent, cum uno voto multa conprensa sunt.<br />
mihi vitam honestam. Vita autem<br />
Tamquam opto<br />
honesta actionibus variis constat ;<br />
in hac est Reguli<br />
area, Catonis scissum manu sua vulnus, Rutili exilium,<br />
calix venenatus, qui Socraten transtulit e carcere in<br />
caelum. Ita cum optavi mihi vitam honestam, et<br />
etiam si MSS. ; Madvig deleted si.<br />
nempe Haase ; neme MSS.<br />
1<br />
3<br />
Buecheler would delete sed.<br />
38<br />
a i.e., the <strong>Stoic</strong>s.<br />
6<br />
Banished from Rome in 92 B.C. Cf. Ep.<br />
xxiv. 4.
EPISTLE LXVI1.<br />
Certain <strong>of</strong> our school a think that, <strong>of</strong> all such<br />
qualities, a stout endurance is not desirable, though<br />
not to be deprecated either, because we ought to<br />
seek by prayer only the good which is unalloyed,<br />
peaceful, and beyond the reach <strong>of</strong> trouble. Personally,<br />
I do not agree with them. And why ? First,<br />
because it is<br />
impossible for anything to be good<br />
without being also desirable. Because, again, if<br />
virtue is desirable, and if nothing that is good lacks<br />
virtue, then everything good<br />
is desirable. And,<br />
lastly, because a brave endurance even under torture<br />
is desirable. At this point I ask you Is not bravery<br />
:<br />
desirable ? And yet bravery despises and challenges<br />
danger. The most beautiful and most admirable<br />
part <strong>of</strong> is<br />
bravery that it does not shrink from the<br />
stake, advances to meet wounds, and sometimes does<br />
not even avoid the spear, but meets it with opposing<br />
breast. If bravery is desirable, so is patient endurance<br />
<strong>of</strong> torture ;<br />
for this is a part <strong>of</strong> bravery. Only<br />
sift these things, as I have suggested then there<br />
;<br />
will be nothing which can lead you astray. For it<br />
is not mere endurance <strong>of</strong> torture, but brave endurance,<br />
that is desirable. I therefore desire that<br />
" " brave endurance ;<br />
and this is virtue.<br />
" " But," you say,<br />
who ever desired such a thing<br />
for himself? "<br />
Some prayers are open and outspoken,<br />
when the requests are <strong>of</strong>fered specifically other<br />
;<br />
prayers are indirectly expressed, when they include<br />
many requests under one title. For example, I desire<br />
a life <strong>of</strong> honour. Now a life <strong>of</strong> honour includes various<br />
kinds <strong>of</strong> conduct ;<br />
it<br />
may include the chest in which<br />
Regulus was confined, or the wound <strong>of</strong> Cato which as wr<br />
torn open by Cato's own hand, or the exile <strong>of</strong> Rutilius, 6<br />
or the cup <strong>of</strong> poison which removed Socrates from<br />
gaol to heaven. Accordingly, in praying for a life <strong>of</strong><br />
39
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
haec optavi, sine quibus interdum honesta non potes*<br />
esse.<br />
8 O terque quaterque beati,<br />
Quis ante ora patrum Troiae sub moenibus altis<br />
Contigit oppetere !<br />
Quid interest,, optes hoc alicui an optabile fuisse<br />
9 fatearis ? Decius se pro re publica devovit; in medios<br />
hostes concitato equo mortem petens inruit. Alter<br />
post hunc, paternae virtu tis aemulus, conceptis<br />
sollemnibus ac iam familiaribus verbis in aciem<br />
confertissiman incucurrit, de hoc sollicitus tantum,<br />
l<br />
ut litaret, optabilem rem putans bonam mortem.<br />
Dubitas ergo, an optimum sit memorabilem mori et<br />
10 in aliquo opere virtutis ? Cum aliquis tormenta<br />
fortiter patitur, omnibus virtutibus utitur. Fortasse<br />
una in promptu sit et maxima appareat patientia.<br />
Ceterum illic est fortitude, cuius patientia et perpessio<br />
et tolerantia rami sunt. Illic est prudentia, sine qua<br />
nullum initur consilium, quae suadet, quod efFugere<br />
non possis, quam fortissime ferre. Illic est constantia,<br />
quae deici loco 11011 potest et propositum nulla<br />
vi extorqu ente dimittit. Illic est individuus ille<br />
comitatus virtutum ;<br />
quicquid honeste fit,<br />
una virtus<br />
facit, sed ex consilii sententia. Quod autem ab<br />
omnibus virtutibus conprobatur, etiam si ab una fieri<br />
videtur, optabile est.<br />
11 Quid? Tu existimas ea tantum optabilia esse,<br />
1<br />
putans later MSS. ; putas pVPb.<br />
a Vergil, Aeneid, i. 94 ff.<br />
6<br />
Cf. Livy, viii. 9. 6 ff. . . . legiones auxiliaque hosthnn<br />
mecnm dels manibus Tellwrique devoveo.<br />
c<br />
Ut litaret: i.e., that by his sacrifice he might secure an<br />
omen <strong>of</strong> success. Cf. Pliny, N.H. viii. 45, and Suetonius,<br />
Augustus, 96: "At the siege <strong>of</strong> Perusia, when he found<br />
the sacrifices were not favourable (sacrificio<br />
non litanti),<br />
Augustus called for more victims."<br />
40
EPISTLE JLXVII.<br />
honour, I have prayed also for those things without<br />
which, on some occasions, life cannot be honourable.<br />
O thrice and four times blest were they<br />
Who underneath the l<strong>of</strong>ty walls <strong>of</strong> Troy<br />
Met happy death before their parents' eyes<br />
! *<br />
What does it matter whether you <strong>of</strong>fer this prayer<br />
for some individual, or admit that it was desirable in<br />
the past? Decius sacrificed himself for the State;<br />
he set spurs to his horse and rushed into the midst<br />
<strong>of</strong> the foe, seeking death. The second Decius,<br />
rivalling his father's valour, reproducing the words<br />
which had become sacred 6 and already household<br />
words, dashed into the thickest <strong>of</strong> the fight, anxious<br />
only that his sacrifice might bring omen <strong>of</strong> success/<br />
and regarding a noble death as a thing to be desired.<br />
Do you doubt, then, whether it is best to die glorious<br />
and performing some deed <strong>of</strong> valour ? When one<br />
endures torture bravely, one is all<br />
using the virtues.<br />
Endurance may perhaps be the only virtue that is on<br />
view and most manifest ;<br />
but bravery<br />
is there too,<br />
and endurance and resignation and long-suffering<br />
are its branches. There, too, is foresight for without<br />
;<br />
foresight no plan can be undertaken it is ; foresight<br />
that advises one to bear as bravely as possible the<br />
things one cannot avoid. There also is steadfastness,<br />
which cannot be dislodged from its position, which<br />
the wrench <strong>of</strong> no force can cause to abandon its<br />
purpose. There is the whole inseparable company<br />
<strong>of</strong> virtues ;<br />
every honourable act is the work <strong>of</strong> one<br />
single virtue, but it is in accordance with the<br />
judgment <strong>of</strong> the whole council. And that which is<br />
approved by all the virtues, even though<br />
it seems to<br />
be the work <strong>of</strong> one alone, is desirable.<br />
What ? Do you think that those things only are<br />
41
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
quae per voluptatem et otium veniunt, quae ex<br />
cipiuntur foribus ornatis ? Sunt quaedam tristis<br />
voltus bona. Sunt quaedam vota, quae non gratulantium<br />
coetu, sed adorantium venerantiumque<br />
12 celebrantur. Ita tu non putas Regulum optasse, ut<br />
ad Poenos perveniret<br />
? Indue magni<br />
viri animum<br />
et ab opinionibus volgi secede paulisper. Cape,<br />
quantam debes, virtutis pulcberrimae ac magnificentissimae<br />
speciem, quae nobis 11011 ture nee sertis,<br />
13 sed sudore et sanguine colenda est. Adspice M.<br />
Catonem sacro illi<br />
pectori purissimas manus admoventem<br />
et vulnera parum alte l demissa laxantem.<br />
Utrum tandem illi dicturus es " vellem quae velles "<br />
et " moleste fero " an " feliciter "<br />
?<br />
quod agis<br />
14 Hoc loco mihi Demetrius noster occurrit, qui<br />
vitam securam et sine ullis fortunae incursionibus<br />
mare mortuum vocat. Nihil habere, ad quod exciteris,<br />
ad quod te concites, cuius denuntiatione et incursu<br />
firmitatem animi tui temptes, sed in otio inconcusso<br />
15 iacere non est tranquillitas ;<br />
malacia 2 est. Attalus<br />
<strong>Stoic</strong>us dicere solebat :<br />
" malo me fortuna in castris<br />
suis<br />
quam in deliciis habeat. Torqueor, sed fortiter ;<br />
bene est. Occidor, sed fortiter ;<br />
bene est." Audi<br />
Epicurum, dicet et " dulce est." Ego tarn honestae<br />
16 rei ac severae numquam molle nomen inponam. Uror,<br />
1<br />
alte Hense and Buecheler ;<br />
'ante Gertz ;<br />
auteni p omitted<br />
;<br />
by VPb.<br />
2<br />
malacia (malatia) p ; malllia VPb.<br />
a Donaria at the doors <strong>of</strong> temples signified public rejoicing<br />
; cf. Tibullus, i. 15 f.<br />
Flava Ceres, tibi sit nostro de rure corona<br />
Spicea, quae teinpli pendeat ante fores.<br />
Myrtle decorated the bridegroom's house-door ; garlands<br />
heralded the birth <strong>of</strong> a child (Juvenal, ix. 85).<br />
6<br />
Cf. Pliny, N.H. iv. 13. Besides the Dead Sea <strong>of</strong> Palestine,<br />
the term was applied to any sluggish body <strong>of</strong> water.<br />
12
EPISTLE LXVII.<br />
desirable which come to us amid pleasure and ease,<br />
and which we bedeck our doors to welcome a ?<br />
There are certain goods whose features are forbidding.<br />
There are certain prayers which are <strong>of</strong>fered by a<br />
throng, not <strong>of</strong> men who rejoice, but <strong>of</strong> men who bow<br />
down reverently and worship. Was it not in this<br />
fashion, think you, that Regulus prayed that he<br />
might reach Carthage ? Clothe yourself with a<br />
hero's courage, and withdraw for a little space from<br />
the opinions <strong>of</strong> the common man. Form a proper<br />
conception <strong>of</strong> the image <strong>of</strong> virtue, a thing <strong>of</strong> exceeding<br />
beauty and grandeur this image<br />
is not to be<br />
;<br />
but with<br />
worshipped by us with incense or garlands,<br />
sweat and blood. Behold Marcus Cato, laying upon<br />
that hallowed breast his unspotted hands, and<br />
tearing apart the wounds which had not gone deep<br />
enough to kill him !<br />
Which, pray, shall you say<br />
to him "<br />
: I<br />
hope all will be as you wish," and " I<br />
am grieved," or shall it be " Good fortune<br />
"<br />
in your<br />
?<br />
undertaking !<br />
In this connexion I think <strong>of</strong> our friend Demetrius,<br />
who calls an easy existence, untroubled by the<br />
attacks <strong>of</strong> Fortune, a " Dead Sea." b If you have<br />
nothing to stir you up and rouse you to action,<br />
nothing which will test your resolution by its threats<br />
and hostilities ;<br />
if<br />
you recline in unshaken comfort,<br />
it is not tranquillity it is<br />
; merely a flat calm. The<br />
<strong>Stoic</strong> Attalus was wont to<br />
"<br />
say<br />
: I should prefer that<br />
Fortune keep me in her camp rather than in the lap<br />
<strong>of</strong> luxury. If I am tortured, but bear it bravely, all<br />
is well; if I die, but die bravely, it is also well."<br />
Listen to Epicurus he will tell you that it is actually<br />
;<br />
pleasant. I<br />
myself shall never apply an effeminate<br />
word to an act so honourable^ and austere. If I<br />
go<br />
c<br />
Of. Ep. Ixvi. 18. 43
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
1<br />
sed invictus. Quidni hoc optabile putem non<br />
quod urit me ignis, sed quod non vincit ? Nihil est<br />
virtute praestantius, nihil pulcbrius. Et bonum est<br />
et optabile, quicquid ex buius geritur imperio. VALE.<br />
LXVIII.<br />
<strong>SENECA</strong> LVCILIO svo SALVTEM<br />
1 Consilio tuo accedo ;<br />
absconde te in otio. Sed et<br />
ipsum otium absconde. Hoc te facturum <strong>Stoic</strong>orum<br />
etiam si non praecepto, at exemplo<br />
licet scias. Sed<br />
ex praecepto quoque facies 2 et tibi et cui 3 voles<br />
;<br />
2 adprobabis. Nee ad omnem rein publicam mittimus<br />
nee semper nee sine ullo fine. Praeterea, cum<br />
sapienti rem publicam ipso dignam dedimus, id est<br />
mundum, non est extra rem publicam, etiam si recesserit,<br />
imvno fortasse relicto uno angulo in maiora<br />
atque ampliora transit et caelo inpositus intellegit,<br />
humili loco<br />
cum sellam aut tribunal ascenderet, quam<br />
sederit. Depone hoc apud te, numquam plus agere<br />
sapientem, quam quom 4 in conspectum 5 eius divina<br />
atque humana venerunt.<br />
3 Nunc ad illud revertor, quod suadere tibi coeperam,<br />
1<br />
optabile putem Hense ; obtabileautemp; optabile sit VPb.<br />
2 facies Muretus ;<br />
facias MSS.<br />
3<br />
cut Buecheler ; cum MSS.<br />
4<br />
quam qnom Hense
EPISTLES LXVIL, LXVII1.<br />
to the stake, I shall go unbeaten. Why should I<br />
not regard this as desirable not because the fire<br />
burns me, but because it does not overcome me ?<br />
is<br />
Nothing more excellent or more beautiful than<br />
virtue ;<br />
whatever we do in obedience to her orders is<br />
both good and desirable. Farewell.<br />
LXVIII.<br />
ON WISDOM AND RETIREMENT<br />
I fall in with your plan ;<br />
retire and conceal yourself<br />
in repose. But at the same time conceal your<br />
retirement also. In doing this, you may be sure<br />
that you will be following the example <strong>of</strong> the<br />
<strong>Stoic</strong>s, if not their precept. But you will be acting<br />
according to their precept also ;<br />
you will thus satisfy<br />
both yourself and any <strong>Stoic</strong> you please. We <strong>Stoic</strong>s a<br />
do not urge men to take up public life in every case,<br />
or at all times, or without any qualification. Besides,<br />
when we have assigned to our wise man that field <strong>of</strong><br />
public life which is worthy <strong>of</strong> him, in other words,<br />
the universe, he is then not apart from public life,<br />
even if he withdraws ;<br />
nay, perhaps he has abandoned<br />
only one little corner there<strong>of</strong> and has passed over<br />
into greater and wider regions and when he has<br />
;<br />
been set in the heavens, he understands how lowly<br />
was the place in which he sat when he mounted the<br />
curule chair or the judgment-seat. Lay<br />
this to heart,<br />
-that the wise man is never more active in affairs<br />
than when things divine as well as things human<br />
have come within his ken.<br />
I now return to the advice which I set out to give<br />
<strong>of</strong> this topic in Seneca see Ep. Ixxiii. 1 If. Seneca's arguments<br />
are coloured by the facts <strong>of</strong> his life at this time. 45
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
ut otium tuum ignotum<br />
sit. Non est quod inscribas<br />
tibi philosophiam aut quietem. 1 Aliud proposito<br />
tuo nomen inpone ;<br />
valetudinem et inbecillitatem<br />
voca et desidiam. Gloriari otio iners ambitio est.<br />
4 Animalia quaedam ne inveniri possint, vestigia sua<br />
circa ipsum cubile confundunt ;<br />
idem tibi faciendum<br />
est. Alioqui non deerunt, qui semper sequantur.<br />
Multi aperta transeunt, condita et abstrusa rimantur ;<br />
furem signata sollicitant. Vile videtur, quicquid<br />
patet, aperta efFractarius praeterit.<br />
Hos mores habet<br />
populus, hos :<br />
imperitissimus quisque in secreta inrumpere<br />
cupit. Optimum itaque est non iactare<br />
5 otium suum. lactandi autem genus est nirais latere<br />
et a conspectu hominum secedere. I lie Tarentum<br />
se abdidit, ille Neapoli inclusus est, ille multis annis<br />
non transit domus suae limen. Convocat turbam,<br />
$ quisquis otio suo aliquam fabulam inposuit. Cum<br />
secesseris, non est hoc agendum, ut de te homines<br />
loquantur, sed ut ipse tecum loquaris. Quid autem<br />
loqueris? Quod homines de aliis libentissime faciunt,<br />
de te apud te male existima adsuesces et dicere<br />
;<br />
verum et audire. Id autem maxime tracta, quod in<br />
7 te esse infirmissimum senties. Nota habet sui<br />
quisque corporis vitia. Itaque alius vomitu lev^t<br />
stomachum, alius frequenti 2 cibo fulcit, alius inter-<br />
1<br />
aut quietem O. Rossbach ;<br />
aut qui etiam p ; atqui etiam<br />
VPb.<br />
2 frequenti later MSS. ;<br />
a frequenti pVPb.<br />
Cf. Ep. Iv. 3 if. for the retirement <strong>of</strong> Yatia : ille<br />
latere sciebat, non vivere.<br />
46
EPISTLE LXVIII.<br />
you, that you keep your retirement in the background.<br />
There is no need to fasten a placard upon<br />
yourself with the words "<br />
:<br />
Philosopher and Quietist."<br />
Give your purpose some other name ;<br />
call it ill-health<br />
and bodily weakness, or mere laziness. To boast <strong>of</strong> our<br />
retirement is but idle self-seeking. Certain animals<br />
hide themselves from discovery by confusing the marks<br />
<strong>of</strong> their foot-prints<br />
in the neighbourhood <strong>of</strong> their<br />
lairs. You should do the same. Otherwise, there<br />
will always be someone dogging your footsteps.<br />
Many men pass by that which is visible, and peer<br />
after things hidden and concealed a locked room in-<br />
;<br />
vites the thief.<br />
Things which lie in the open appear<br />
cheap ; the house-breaker passes by that which is<br />
exposed to view. This is the way <strong>of</strong> the world, and<br />
way <strong>of</strong> all ignorant men :<br />
they crave to burst in<br />
upon hidden things. It is therefore best not to<br />
vaunt one's retirement. It is, however, a sort <strong>of</strong> vaunting-<br />
o to make too much <strong>of</strong> one's concealment and <strong>of</strong><br />
one's withdrawal from the sight <strong>of</strong> men. So-and-so a<br />
has gone into his retreat at Tarentum ;<br />
that other<br />
man has shut himself up at Naples ; this third person<br />
for<br />
many years has not crossed the threshold <strong>of</strong> his<br />
own house. To advertise one's retirement is to collect<br />
a crowd. When you withdraw from the world, your<br />
business is to talk with yourself, not to have men<br />
talk about you. But what shall you talk about ? Do<br />
just what people are fond <strong>of</strong> doing when they talk<br />
about their neighbours, speak ill <strong>of</strong> yourself when<br />
by yourself; then you will become accustomed both<br />
to speak and to hear the truth. Above all, however,<br />
ponder that which you come to feel is<br />
your greatest<br />
weakness. Each man knows best the defects <strong>of</strong> his<br />
own body. And so one relieves his stomach by<br />
vomiting, another props it up by frequent eating,<br />
47
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
posito ieiunio corpus exhaurit et purgat. li, quorum<br />
pedes dolor repetit, aut vino aut balineo abstinent.<br />
In cetera neglegentes huic, a quo saepe infestantur,<br />
occurrunt ;<br />
sic in animo nostro sunt quaedam quasi<br />
causariae partes, quibus adhibenda curatio est.<br />
8 Quid in otio facio ? Ulcus meum euro. Si<br />
ostenderem tibi<br />
pedem turgidum, lividam manum<br />
aut contract! cruris aridos nervos, permitteres mihi<br />
uno loco iacere et fovere morbum meum. Mains<br />
malum est hoc, quod non possum tibi ostendere ;<br />
in<br />
pectore ipso<br />
collectio et vomica est. Nolo nola<br />
laudes, nolo dicas :<br />
" o magnum virum !<br />
contempsit<br />
omnia et damnatis humanae vitae furoribus fugit."<br />
9 Nihil damnavi nisi me. Non est quod pr<strong>of</strong>iciendi<br />
causa venire ad me velis. Erras, qui hinc aliquid<br />
auxilii speras non medicus, sed aeger hie habitat.<br />
;<br />
Malo, cum discesseris, dicas<br />
"<br />
:<br />
ego istum beatum<br />
hominem putabam et eruditum. Erexeram aures ;<br />
destitutus sum. Nihil vidi, nihil audii, 1 quod concupiscerem,<br />
ad quod reverterer." Si hoc sentis, si<br />
hoc loqueris, aliquid pr<strong>of</strong>ectum<br />
est. Malo ignoscas<br />
otio meo quam invideas.<br />
10 "Otium/' inquis, "Seneca, commendas mihi?<br />
1<br />
audii Rossbach ; audivi VPb<br />
;<br />
laudi p.<br />
a Causarii (Livy, vi. 6) were soldiers on sick leave.<br />
5<br />
For an argument <strong>of</strong> the same sort see Horace, Epist. i.<br />
1. 93-104 :<br />
Si curatus inaequali tonsore capillos<br />
48<br />
Occurri, rides . . .<br />
. . .<br />
quid, inea cum pugnat seutentia secum?
EPISTLE LXVIII.<br />
another drains and purges his body by periodic fasting.<br />
Those whose feet are visited by pain abstain<br />
either from wine or from the bath. In general, men<br />
who are careless in other respects go out <strong>of</strong> their way<br />
to relieve the disease which frequently afflicts them.<br />
So it is with our souls ;<br />
there are in them certain<br />
parts which are, so to speak, on the sick-list/ 1 and to<br />
these parts the cure must be applied.<br />
What, then, am I<br />
myself doing with my leisure ?<br />
I am trying to cure my own sores. If I were to<br />
show you a swollen foot, or an inflamed hand, or<br />
some shrivelled sinews in a withered leg, you would<br />
permit me to lie quiet in one place and to apply<br />
lotions to the diseased member. 6 But mv trouble is<br />
v<br />
greater than any <strong>of</strong> these, and I cannot show it<br />
to you. The abscess, or ulcer, is<br />
deep within my<br />
breast. Pray, pray, do not commend me, do not<br />
say " What a : great man ! He has learned to<br />
despise all things condemning the madnesses <strong>of</strong><br />
;<br />
man's life, he has made his '<br />
! I<br />
escape have condemned<br />
nothing except myself. There is no reason<br />
why you should desire to come to me for the sake<br />
<strong>of</strong> making progress. You are mistaken if<br />
you think<br />
that you will get any assistance from this quarter ;<br />
it is not a physician that dwells here, but a sick man.<br />
I would rather have you say, on leaving my presence :<br />
f< I used to think him a happy man and a learned<br />
one, and I had pricked up my ears to hear him ;<br />
but<br />
I have been defrauded. I have seen nothing, heard<br />
nothing which I craved and which I came back to<br />
hear." If you feel thus, and speak thus, some<br />
progress has been made. I prefer you to pardon<br />
rather than envy my retirement.<br />
Then " you say<br />
: Is it retirement, Seneca, that<br />
you are recommending to me ? You will soon be<br />
49
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
Ad Epicureas voces delaberis." Otium tibi commendo,<br />
in quo maiora agas et pulchriora quam quae<br />
reliquisti ; pulsare superbas potentiorum fores,<br />
in foro<br />
digerere in litteram senes orbos, plurimum<br />
posse invidiosa potentia ac brevis est et, si verum<br />
11 aestimes, sordida. Ille me gratia forensi longe<br />
antecedet, ille stipendiis militaribus et quaesita per<br />
hoc digiiitate, ille clientium turba ;<br />
est tanti ab<br />
omnibus vinci, dum a me fortuna vincatur, cui in<br />
l<br />
turba par esse non possum<br />
;<br />
plus habet gratiae.<br />
1 2 Utinam quidem hoc propositum sequi olim fuisset<br />
animus tibi ! Utinam de vita beata non in conspectu<br />
mortis !<br />
ageremus Sed nunc quoque non moremur. 2<br />
Multa enim, quae supervacua esse et inimica credituri<br />
13 fuimus rationi, nunc experientiae credimus. Quod<br />
facere solent, qui serius exierunt 3 et volunt tempus<br />
celeritate reparare, calcar addamus ;<br />
haec aetas<br />
optime facit ad haec studia 4<br />
iam<br />
; despumavit. lam<br />
vitia primo fervore adulescentiae indomita lassavit,<br />
non multum superest ut extinguat.<br />
14 " Et quando/' inquis, "tibi proderit istud, quod in<br />
exitu 5 discis, aut in<br />
quam rem "<br />
? In hanc, ut exeam<br />
melior. Non est tamen quod existimes ullam aetatem<br />
1<br />
Haase's punctuation. Hense regards cui in turba . . .<br />
gratiae as an interpolation.<br />
2<br />
moremur Erasmus ;<br />
moramur MSS.<br />
3 exierunt later MSS. ;<br />
exerunt pVPb.<br />
4<br />
despumavit cod. Vat. reg. ; disputavit pVPb.<br />
e discis later MSS. ; dicis pVPb.<br />
a This is a reference to the, say ing <strong>of</strong> Epicurus, Xa0 /3tw
EPISTLE LXVII1.<br />
falling back upon the maxims <strong>of</strong> "<br />
!<br />
a I<br />
Epicurus do<br />
recommend retirement to you, but only that you may<br />
use it for greater and more beautiful activities than<br />
those which you have resigned to knock at the<br />
;<br />
haughty doors <strong>of</strong> the influential, to make alphabetical<br />
lists <strong>of</strong> childless old men/ to wield the highest authority<br />
in public life, this kind <strong>of</strong> power exposes you to<br />
hatred, is short-lived, and, if you rate it at its true<br />
value, is tawdry. One man shall be far ahead <strong>of</strong> me as<br />
regards his influence in public life, another in salary<br />
as an army <strong>of</strong>ficer and in the position which results<br />
from this, another in the throng <strong>of</strong> his clients ;<br />
but it is<br />
worth while to be outdone by<br />
all these men, provided<br />
that I myself can outdo Fortune. And I am no match<br />
for her in the 6<br />
throng she has the greater backing.<br />
Would ; that in earlier days you had been minded<br />
to follow this purpose Would that we were not<br />
!<br />
discussing the happy life in plain view <strong>of</strong> death !<br />
But even now let us have no delay. For now we<br />
can take the word <strong>of</strong> experience, which tells us that<br />
there are many superfluous and hostile things ; for<br />
this we should long since have taken the word <strong>of</strong><br />
reason. Let us do what men are wont to do when<br />
they are late in setting forth, and w r ish to make up<br />
for lost time by increasing their speed let us ply<br />
the spur. Our time <strong>of</strong> life is the best possible<br />
for<br />
these pursuits<br />
for<br />
;<br />
the period <strong>of</strong> boiling and foaming<br />
is now<br />
d past. The faults that were uncontrolled in<br />
the first fierce heat <strong>of</strong> youth are now weakened, and<br />
but little further effort is needed to extinguish them.<br />
" And when," you ask, " will that pr<strong>of</strong>it you<br />
which you do not learn until your departure, and<br />
how will it "<br />
pr<strong>of</strong>it you ? Precisely in this way, that<br />
I shall depart a better man. You need not think,<br />
d Cf. De Ira, ii. 20 ut n'unius Hie fervor despumet.<br />
51
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
aptiorem esse ad bonam mentem quam quae<br />
se multis<br />
experimentiSj longa ac frequent! rerum paenitentia<br />
edomuit, quae ad salutaria mitigatis adfectibus venit<br />
Hoc est huius boni tempus quisquis senex ad<br />
;<br />
sapientiam pervenit, annis pervenit. VALE.<br />
LXIX.<br />
<strong>SENECA</strong> LVCILIO svo SALVTEM<br />
1 Mutare te loca et aliunde alio l transilire nolo ;<br />
primum, quia tarn frequens migratio instabilis animi<br />
est. Coalescere otio mm potest, nisi desit circumspicere<br />
et errare. Ut animum possis continere,<br />
2 primum corporis tui fugam siste. Deiiide plurimum<br />
remedia continuata pr<strong>of</strong>iciunt. Interrumpenda non<br />
est quies et vitae prioris oblivio. Sine dediscere<br />
oculos tuos, sine aures adsuescere sanioribus verbis.<br />
Quotiens processeris, in ipso transitu aliqua, quae<br />
3 renovent cupiditates tuas, tibi occurrent. Quemadmodura<br />
ei, qui amorem ex u ere conatur, evitanda<br />
2<br />
est omnis admonitio dilecti corporis, nihil enini<br />
facilius<br />
quam amor recrudescit, ita qui deponere vult<br />
desideria rerum omnium, quarum cupiditate flagravit,<br />
1<br />
aliunde alia Haase ;<br />
alltim de olio pPb<br />
; in alium de<br />
alio V.<br />
2 a* later MSS. ;<br />
et pVPb.<br />
a Cf. Ep.<br />
\\. 3 nil aeque sanitatem impedit quam remediorum<br />
crebra mutatio.<br />
52
EPISTLES LXVIII., LXIX.<br />
however, that any time <strong>of</strong> life is more fitted to the<br />
attainment <strong>of</strong> a sound mind than that which lias<br />
trials and<br />
gained the victory over itself by many<br />
by long and <strong>of</strong>t-repeated regret for past mistakes,<br />
and, its passions assuaged, has reached a state <strong>of</strong><br />
health. This is indeed the time to have acquired<br />
this good he who has attained wisdom in his old<br />
;<br />
age, has attained it by his years. Farewell.<br />
LXIX. ON REST AND RESTLESSNESS<br />
I DO not like you to change your headquarters and<br />
scurry about from one place to another. My reasons<br />
are, first, that such frequent flitting means an<br />
unsteady spirit.<br />
And the spirit cannot through<br />
retirement grow into unity unless it has ceased from<br />
its inquisitiveness and its wanderings. To be able to<br />
hold your spirit<br />
in check, you must first stop the runaway<br />
flight <strong>of</strong> the body. My second reason is, that the<br />
remedies which are most helpful are those which are<br />
not interrupted.* You should not allow your quiet,<br />
or the oblivion to which you have consigned your<br />
former life, to be broken into. Give your eyes time<br />
to unlearn what they have seen, and your ears to<br />
grow accustomed to more wholesome words. Whenever<br />
you stir abroad you will meet, even as you pass<br />
from one place to another, things that will bring<br />
back your old cravings. Just as he who tries to<br />
be rid <strong>of</strong> an old love must avoid every reminder<br />
<strong>of</strong> the person once held dear (for nothing grows<br />
again so easily as love), similarly, he who would<br />
lay aside his desire for all the things which he<br />
53
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
et oculos et aures ab iis, quae reliquit, avertat. Cito<br />
4 rebellat adfectus. Quocumque se verterit, pretium<br />
aliquod praesens occupationis suae aspiciet. Nullum<br />
sine auctoramento malum est. Avaritia pecuniam<br />
promittit, luxuria multas ac varias voluptates, ambitio<br />
purpuram et plaasuni et ex hoc potentiam et quic-<br />
5 quid potest potentia. 1 Mercede te vitia sollicitant ;<br />
hie tibi gratis vivendum est. Vix effici toto saeculo<br />
potest, ut vitia tarn longa licentia tumida subigantur<br />
et iugum accipiant, nedum, si tarn breve tempus<br />
intervallis caedimus. 2 Unam quamlibet rem vix ad<br />
Q perfectum perducit adsidua vigilia et intentio. Si<br />
me quidein velis audire, hoc meditare et exerce, ut<br />
mortem et excipias et, si ita res suadebit, accersas.<br />
Interest nihil, ilia ad nos veniat an ad illam iios.<br />
Illud imperitissimi cuiusque verbum falsum esse tibi<br />
"<br />
ipse persuade Bella res est mori sua morte."<br />
:<br />
Nemo moritur nisi sua morte. Illud praeterea tecum<br />
licet cogites: nemo nisi suo die moritur. Nihil perdis<br />
ex tuo tempore nam quod ; relinquis, alienum est.<br />
VALE.<br />
1<br />
potest potentia Hense ; potentia VPb ; potia p ; potentia<br />
potest later MSS<br />
2<br />
tempus intervallis caedimus Madvig ; intervallum dis~<br />
cedimus (discidimus) pVPb.<br />
* Perhaps the converse idea <strong>of</strong> "living one's own life."<br />
It means " dying when the proper time comes," and is<br />
common the<br />
man's argument against suicide. The thought<br />
perhaps suggests the subject matter <strong>of</strong> the next letter.<br />
54.
EPISTLE LXIX.<br />
used to crave so passionately, must turn away both<br />
eyes and ears from the objects which he has abandoned.<br />
The emotions soon return to the attack ;<br />
at every turn they will notice before their eyes an<br />
object worth their attention. There is no evil that<br />
does not <strong>of</strong>fer inducements. Avarice promises<br />
money luxury, a varied assortment <strong>of</strong> pleasures ; ;<br />
ambition, a purple robe and applause, and the<br />
influence which results from applause, and all that<br />
influence can do. Vices tempt you by the rewards<br />
which they oifer ;<br />
but in the life <strong>of</strong> which I speak,<br />
you must live without being paid. Scarcely will a<br />
whole life-time suffice to bring our vices into subjection<br />
and to make them accept the yoke, swollen as<br />
and still<br />
they are by long- continued indulgence;<br />
less, if we cut into our brief span by any interruptions.<br />
Even constant care and attention can scarcely<br />
bring any one undertaking to full completion. If<br />
you will give ear to my advice, ponder and practise<br />
this, how to welcome death, or even, if circumstances<br />
commend that course, to invite it. There is<br />
no difference whether death comes to us, or whether<br />
we go to death. Make yourself believe that all<br />
ignorant men are wrong when "<br />
they say It : is a<br />
beautiful thing to die one's own death." a But there<br />
is no man who does not die his own death. What<br />
is more, you may reflect on this thought No one<br />
:<br />
dies except on his own day.<br />
You are throwing away<br />
none <strong>of</strong> your n time owr ;<br />
for what you leave behind<br />
does not belong to you. Farewell.<br />
55
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
LXX.<br />
<strong>SENECA</strong> LVCILIO svo SALVTEM<br />
1 Post longum intervallum Pompeios tuos vidi. In<br />
conspectum adulescentiae meae reductus sum. Quicquid<br />
illic iuvenis feceram, videbar milii facere adhuc<br />
2 posse et paulo ante fecisse. Praenavigavimus, Lucili,<br />
vitam et quemadmodurn in mari, ut ait Vergilius<br />
noster,<br />
Terraeque urbesque recedunt,<br />
sic in hoc cursu rapidissimi temporis primum pueritiam<br />
abscondimus, deinde adulesceiitiam, deiiide quidquid<br />
est illud inter iuvenem et senem medium, in utriusque<br />
confinio positum, deinde ipsius senectutis optimos<br />
annos. Novissime incipit ostendi publicus finis<br />
3 generis humani. Scopulum esse ilium putamus<br />
dementissimi ; portus est, aliquando petendus, numquam<br />
recusandus, in quern si quis intra primes annos<br />
delatus est, 11011<br />
magis queri debet quam qui cito<br />
navigavit. Alium enim, ut scis, venti segues ludunt<br />
ac detinent et tranquil<br />
litatis lentissimae taedio lassant,<br />
alium pertinax flatus celerrime perfert.<br />
4 Idem e venire nobis :<br />
puta alios vita velocissime<br />
adduxit, quo veniendum erat etiam cunctantibus,<br />
alios maceravit et coxit. Quae, ut scis, non semper<br />
56<br />
Probably the birthplace <strong>of</strong> Lucilius.<br />
* Aeneid, iii. 72.
EPISTLE LXX.<br />
LXX. ON THE PROPER TIME TO SLIP<br />
THE CABLE<br />
After a long space <strong>of</strong> time I have seen your<br />
beloved a Pompeii. I was thus brought again face to<br />
face with the days <strong>of</strong> my youth. And it seemed to<br />
me that I could still do, nay, had only done a short<br />
time ago, all the things which I did there when a<br />
young man. We have sailed past life, Lucilius, as<br />
if we were on a voyage, and just as when at sea, to<br />
quote from our poet Vergil,<br />
Lands and towns are left astern, 6<br />
even so, on this journey where time flies with the<br />
greatest speed, we put below the horizon first our<br />
boyhood and then our youth, and then the space<br />
which lies between young manhood and middle age<br />
and borders on both, and next, the best years <strong>of</strong> old<br />
age itself. Last <strong>of</strong> all, we begin to sight the general<br />
bourne <strong>of</strong> the race <strong>of</strong> man. Fools that we are, we<br />
believe this bourne to be a dangerous reef; but it is<br />
the harbour, where we must some day put in, which<br />
we may never refuse to enter and if a<br />
;<br />
man has<br />
reached this harbour in his early years, he has no<br />
more right to complain than a sailor who has made<br />
a quick voyage. For some sailors, as you know, are<br />
tricked and held back by sluggish winds, and grow<br />
weary and sick <strong>of</strong> the slow -moving calm; while<br />
others are carried quickly home by steady gales.<br />
You may consider that the same thing happens to<br />
us : life has carried some men with the greatest<br />
rapidity to the harbour, the harbour they were bound<br />
to reach even if they tarried on the way, while others<br />
it has fretted and harassed. To such a life, as you<br />
57
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
retinenda est. Non enim vivere bonuni est, sed bene<br />
vivere. Itaque sapiens vivit, quantum debet, non<br />
5 quantum potest. Videbit ubi victurus sit, cum<br />
quibus, quomodo, quid acturus. Cogitat semper,<br />
qualis vita, non quanta<br />
sit. Si multa l occurrunt<br />
molesta et tranquillitatem turbantia, emittit se. Nee<br />
hoc tantum in necessitate ultima facit, sed cum<br />
primum illi coepit suspecta esse fortuna, diligenter<br />
circumspicit, numquid ideo 2 desinendum sit. Nihil<br />
existimat sua referre, facial finem an accipiat, tardius<br />
fiat an citius. Non tamquam de magno detrimento<br />
timet ;<br />
nemo multum ex stilicidio potest perdere.<br />
6 Citius mori aut tardius ad rem non pertinet, bene<br />
mod aut male ad rem pertinet. Bene autem mori<br />
est effugere male vivendi periculum.<br />
Itaque effeminatissimam vocem illius Rhodii<br />
existimo, qui cum in caveam coniectus esset a<br />
tyranno et tamquam ferum aliquod animal aleretur,<br />
suadenti cuidam, ut abstineret cibo "<br />
: omnia," inquit,<br />
'/"homini, dum vivit, speranda sunt." Ut sit hoc<br />
verum, non omni pretio vita emenda est. Quaedam<br />
licet magna, licet certa sint, tamen ad ilia<br />
turpi<br />
infirmitatis confessione non veiiiam. Ego cogitem<br />
in eo, qui vivit, omnia posse fortunam, potius quam<br />
cogitem in eo, qui scit mori, nil posse fortunam ?<br />
1 si multa later MSS. ; si (sit p) simulata pVPb.<br />
2 ideo C. Brakman ;<br />
illo MSS. ; illo die Muretus.<br />
a Although Socrates says (Phaedo, 61 f.) that the philosopher<br />
must, according to Philolaus, not take his own life<br />
against the will <strong>of</strong> God, the <strong>Stoic</strong>s interpreted the problem<br />
in diiferent ways. Some held that a noble purpose justified<br />
suicide ; others, that any reason was good enough. Of. Ep.<br />
bcxvii. 5 ff.<br />
6<br />
Telesphorus <strong>of</strong> Rhodes, threatened by the tyrant<br />
Lysimachus. On the proverb see Cicero, Ad Att. ix. 10. 3,<br />
and Terence, Heauton. 981 modo liceat vivere, est spes.<br />
58
EPISTLE LXX.<br />
are aware, one should not always cling. For mere<br />
living is not a good, but living well. Accordingly,<br />
the wise man will live as long as he ought, not as<br />
long as he can. a He will mark in what place, with<br />
whom, and how he is to conduct his existence, and<br />
what he is about to do. He always reflects concerning<br />
the quality, and not the quantity, <strong>of</strong> his life.<br />
As soon as there are many events in his life that<br />
give him trouble and disturb his peace <strong>of</strong> mind, he<br />
sets himself free. And this privilege is his, not only<br />
when the crisis is<br />
upon him, but as soon as Fortune<br />
seems to be playing him false ;<br />
then he looks about<br />
carefully and sees whether he ought, or ought not,<br />
to end his life on that account. He holds that it<br />
makes no difference to him whether his taking -<strong>of</strong>f<br />
be natural or self-inflicted, whether it comes later<br />
or earlier. He does not regard<br />
it with fear, as if it<br />
were a great loss ;<br />
for no man can lose very much<br />
when but a driblet remains. It is not a question<br />
<strong>of</strong> dying earlier or later, but <strong>of</strong> dying well or ill.<br />
And dying well means escape from the danger <strong>of</strong><br />
living ill.<br />
That is<br />
why I regard the words <strong>of</strong> the well-known<br />
Rhodian b as most unmanly. This person was thrown<br />
into a cage by his tyrant, and fed there like some<br />
wild animal. And when a certain man advised him<br />
to end his life<br />
by fasting, he replied : ' '<br />
A man may<br />
hope for anything while he has life." This may be<br />
true ;<br />
but life is not to be purchased at any price.<br />
No matter how great or how well-assured certain<br />
rewards may be,<br />
I shall not strive to attain them at<br />
the price <strong>of</strong> a shameful confession <strong>of</strong> weakness.<br />
Shall I reflect that Fortune has all<br />
power over<br />
one who lives, rather than reflect that she has no<br />
over<br />
power<br />
one who knows how to die ? There<br />
VOL. ii<br />
c<br />
59
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
8 Aliquando tamen, etiam si certa mors instabit et<br />
destinatum sibi supplicium sciet, non commodabit 1<br />
poenae suae manum sibi<br />
;<br />
commodaret. Stultitia est<br />
timore mortis mori. Venit qui occidat. Expecta.<br />
Quid occupas ? Quare suscipis alienae crudelitatis<br />
?<br />
procurationem Utrum invides carnifici tuo an<br />
9 parcis ? Socrates potuit abstinentia finire vitam et<br />
inedia potius quam veneno mori. Triginta tamen<br />
dies in carcere et in expectatione mortis exegit, non<br />
hoc animo tamquam omnia fieri possent, tamquam<br />
multas spes tarn longuin tempus reciperet, sed ut<br />
praeberet se legibus, ut fruendum amicis extremum<br />
Socraten daret. Quid erat stultius quam mortem<br />
contemnere, venenum timere ?<br />
10 Scribonia, gravis femina, amita Drusi Libonis fuit,<br />
adulescentis tarn stolidi 2 quam iiobilis, maiora sperantis<br />
quam illo saeculo quisquam sperare poterat<br />
aut ipse ullo. Cum aeger a senatu in lectica relatus<br />
esset non sane frequentibus exequiis, omnes enim<br />
necessarii deseruerant impie iam non reum, sed<br />
funus ;<br />
habere coepit consilium, utrum conscisceret<br />
mortem an expectaret. Cui Scribonia "<br />
: Quid te,"<br />
1<br />
commodabit later MSS. ;<br />
commendabit VPb ;<br />
commendavit<br />
p.<br />
2 stolidi Torrentius ; solidi MSS.<br />
tt<br />
i.e., if he must choose between helping along his punishment<br />
by suicide, or helping himself by staying alive under<br />
torture and practising the virtues thus brought into play, he<br />
will choose the latter, sibi commodare.<br />
6<br />
See the imaginary dialogue in Plato's Crito (.50 if.)<br />
a passage which develops<br />
between Socrates and the Laws<br />
this thought.<br />
c And to commit suicide in order to escape poisoning.<br />
d For a more complete account <strong>of</strong> this tragedy see<br />
60
EPISTLE LXX.<br />
are times, nevertheless, when a man, even though<br />
certain death impends and he knows that torture<br />
is in store for him, will refrain from lending a hand<br />
to his own punishment to<br />
; himself, however, he<br />
would lend a haiid. a It is folly to die through fear<br />
<strong>of</strong> dying. The executioner is<br />
upon you wait<br />
;<br />
for him. Why anticipate him ? Why assume the<br />
management <strong>of</strong> a cruel task that belongs to<br />
another ? Do you grudge your executioner his<br />
privilege, or do you merely relieve him <strong>of</strong> his task ?<br />
Socrates might have ended his life by fasting he<br />
;<br />
might have died by starvation rather than by poison.<br />
But instead <strong>of</strong> this he spent thirty days in prison<br />
awaiting death, not with the idea " everything may<br />
happen," or "so long an interval has room for many<br />
a hope " but in order that he might show himself<br />
submissive to the laws & and make the last moments<br />
<strong>of</strong> Socrates an edification to his friends. What would<br />
have been more foolish than to scorn death, and yet<br />
fear poison ? c<br />
Scribonia, a woman <strong>of</strong> the stern old type, was an<br />
aunt <strong>of</strong> Drusus Libo. d This young man was as stupid<br />
as he was well born, with higher ambitions than<br />
anyone could have been expected to entertain in<br />
that epoch, or a man like himself in any epoch at<br />
all. When Libo had been carried ill<br />
away from the<br />
senate-house in his litter, though certainly with a<br />
very scanty train <strong>of</strong> followers, for all his kinsfolk<br />
undutifully deserted him, when he was no<br />
longer a criminal but a corpse, he began to consider<br />
whether he should commit suicide, or await<br />
death. Scribonia said to him : " What pleasure do<br />
Tacitus, Annals^ ii. 27 ff. Libo was duped by Firmius Catus<br />
(16 A.D.) into seeking imperial power, was detected, and<br />
finally forced by Tiberius to commit suicide. 61
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
" "<br />
iiiquit, delectat alienum negotium agere<br />
?<br />
Non<br />
persuasit illi manus sibi attulit nee sine causa.<br />
;<br />
Nam post diem tertium aut quartum inimici moriturus<br />
arbitrio si vivit, alienum negotium agit.<br />
11 Non possis itaque de re in universum pronuiitiare,<br />
cum mortem vis externa denuntiat, occupanda sit an<br />
expectanda. Multa enim sunt, quae in utramque<br />
x>artem trahere possunt. Si altera mors cum torniento,<br />
altera simplex et facilis est, quidni<br />
huic inicienda<br />
sit manus ?<br />
Quemadmodum navem eligam<br />
iiavigaturus et domum habitaturus,<br />
sic mortem exi-<br />
1 2 turus e vita. Praeterea quemadrnodum non utique<br />
melior est longior vita, sic peior est utique mors<br />
longior. In nulla re magis quam<br />
in morte morem<br />
animo gerere debemus. Exeat, qua impetum cepit ;<br />
sive ferrum appetit sive laqueum sive aliquam potionem<br />
venas occupantem, pergat et vincula servitutis<br />
abrumpat. Vitam et aliis adprobare quisque debet,<br />
13 mortem sibi.<br />
Optima est, quae placet. Stulte<br />
haec cogitantur<br />
:<br />
" aliquis dicet me parum<br />
fortiter<br />
fecisse, aliquis nimis temere, aliquis fuisse aliquod<br />
genus mortis animosius." Vis tu cogitare<br />
id in<br />
manibus esse consilium, ad quod fama non pertinet !<br />
Hoc unum intuere, ut te fortunae quam celerrime<br />
*<br />
When the "natural advantages" (ra Kara fyvaiv) <strong>of</strong> living<br />
are outweighed by the corresponding disadvantages, the<br />
honourable man may, according to the general <strong>Stoic</strong> view,<br />
take his departure. Socrates and Cato were right in so<br />
doing, according to Seneca ; but he condemns (Ep. xxiv. 25)<br />
those contemporaries who had recourse to suicide as a mere<br />
whim <strong>of</strong> fashion.<br />
62
EPISTLE LXX.<br />
you find in doing another man's work '<br />
? But he did<br />
not follow her advice ;<br />
he laid violent hands upon<br />
himself. And he was right, after all ;<br />
for when a<br />
man is doomed to die in two or three days at his<br />
enemy's pleasure, he is really "doing another man's<br />
work " if he continues to live.<br />
No general statement can be made, therefore,<br />
with regard to the question whether, when a power<br />
beyond our control threatens us with death, we should<br />
anticipate death, or await it. For there are many<br />
arguments to pull us in either direction. If one<br />
death is<br />
accompanied by torture, and the other is<br />
simple and easy, why not snatch the latter ? Just<br />
as I shall select my ship when I am about to go<br />
on a voyage, or my house when I propose to take a<br />
residence, so I shall choose my death when I am about<br />
to depart from life. Moreover, just as a long-drawnout<br />
life does not necessarily mean a better one, so a<br />
long-drawn-out death necessarily means a worse one.<br />
There is no occasion when the soul should be<br />
humoured more than at the moment <strong>of</strong> death. Let<br />
the soul depart as it feels itself impelled to go; a<br />
whether it seeks the sword, or the halter, or some<br />
draught that attacks the veins, let it proceed and<br />
burst the bonds <strong>of</strong> its slavery. Every man ought to<br />
make his life acceptable to others besides himself,<br />
but his death to himself alone. The best form <strong>of</strong><br />
death is the one we like. Men are foolish who<br />
fl<br />
reflect thus One :<br />
person will say that my conduct<br />
was not brave enough another, that I was too<br />
;<br />
headstrong a third, that a ;<br />
particular kind <strong>of</strong> death<br />
would have betokened more spirit."<br />
What you<br />
should really<br />
reflect is : "I have under consideration a<br />
purpose witli which the talk <strong>of</strong> men has no concern!"<br />
Your sole aim should be to escape from Fortune as<br />
63
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
eripias ; alioquin aderunt, qui de facto tuo male<br />
existimerit.<br />
14 Invenies etiam pr<strong>of</strong>esses sapientiam, qui vim<br />
adferendam vitae suae negent et nefas iudicent<br />
ipsum interemptorem sui fieri ; expectandum esse<br />
exitum, 1 quem natura decrevit. Hoc qui dicit, non<br />
videt se libertatis viam cludere. Nil melius aeterna<br />
lex fecit, quam quod unum introitum nobis ad vitam<br />
15 dedit, exitus multos. Ego expectem vel morbi<br />
crudelitatem vel hominis, cum possim per media<br />
exire tormenta et adversa discutere ? Hoc est unum,<br />
2<br />
cur de vita non possimus queri rieminem tenet.<br />
:<br />
Bono loco res humanae sunt, quod nemo nisi vitio<br />
suo miser est. Placet ;<br />
vive. Non placet licet eo<br />
;<br />
16 reverti, unde venisti. Ut dolorem capitis levares,<br />
sanguinem saepe misisti. Ad extenuandum corpus<br />
vena percutitur. Non opus est vasto vulnere dividere<br />
praecordia scalpello aperitur ad illam magnam libertatem<br />
via et puncto securitas constat.<br />
;<br />
Quid ergo est, quod nos facit pigros inertesque ?<br />
Nemo nostrum cogitat quandoque<br />
sibi ex hoc domicilio<br />
exeundum ;<br />
sic veteres inquilinos indulgentia<br />
17 loci et consuetude etiam inter iniurias detinet. Vis<br />
adversus hoc corpus liber esse ?<br />
Tamquam migraturus<br />
habita. Propone tibi quandoque hoc contubernio<br />
carendum ;<br />
fortior eris ad necessitatem<br />
exeundi. Sed quemadmodum suus finis veriiet in<br />
1<br />
exspectandum esse exitum later MSS. ; expectaaovum esse<br />
exitum VPb.<br />
2<br />
possimus Erasmus ; ponsemus p possumus VPb.<br />
;<br />
a<br />
By means <strong>of</strong> the cururbita, or cupping-glass. Cf.<br />
Juvenal, xiv. 58 caput ventosa cucurbita yuaerat. It was<br />
<strong>of</strong>ten used as a remedy for insanity or delirium.<br />
64
EPISTLE LXX.<br />
speedily as possible otherwise, there will be no lack<br />
;<br />
<strong>of</strong> persons who will think ill <strong>of</strong> what you have done.<br />
You can find men who have gone so far as to<br />
pr<strong>of</strong>ess wisdom and yet maintain that one should not<br />
<strong>of</strong>fer violence to one's own life, and hold it accursed<br />
for a man to be the means <strong>of</strong> his own destruction ;<br />
we should wait, say they, for the end decreed by<br />
nature. But one who says this does not see that he<br />
is<br />
shutting <strong>of</strong>f the path to freedom. The best thing<br />
which eternal law ever ordained was that it allowed<br />
to us one entrance into but life, many exits. Must<br />
I await the cruelty either <strong>of</strong> disease or <strong>of</strong> man, when<br />
I can depart through the midst <strong>of</strong> torture, and shake<br />
<strong>of</strong>f<br />
my troubles ? This is the one reason why we<br />
cannot complain <strong>of</strong> life : it<br />
keeps no one against his<br />
will.<br />
Humanity is well situated, because no man is<br />
unhappy except by his own fault. Live, if you so<br />
desire ;<br />
if not, you may return to the place whence<br />
you came. You have <strong>of</strong>ten been cupped in order to<br />
relieve headaches." You have had veins cut for the<br />
purpose <strong>of</strong> reducing your weight. If you would<br />
pierce your heart, a gaping wound is not necessary<br />
a lancet will open the way to that great freedom,<br />
and tranquillity can be purchased at the cost <strong>of</strong> a<br />
pin -prick.<br />
What, then, is it which makes us lazy and sluggish ?<br />
None <strong>of</strong> us reflects that some day he must depart<br />
from this house <strong>of</strong> life ; just so old tenants are<br />
from kept<br />
moving by fondness for a particular place and<br />
by custom, even in spite <strong>of</strong> ill-treatment. Would<br />
you be free from the restraint <strong>of</strong> your body ? Live<br />
in it as if you were about to leave it.<br />
Keep thinking<br />
<strong>of</strong> the fact that some day you will be deprived <strong>of</strong><br />
this tenure ;<br />
then you will be more brave against<br />
the necessity <strong>of</strong> departing. But how will a man<br />
65
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
18 men tern omnia sine fine concupiscentibus ? Nullius<br />
rei meditatio tarn necessaria est.<br />
Alia enim fortasse<br />
exercentur in supervacuum. Adversus paupertatem<br />
praeparatus est animus ; permansere divitiae. Ad<br />
contemptum nos doloris armavimus ;<br />
nunquam a<br />
nobis exegit huius virtutis experimentum integri ac<br />
sani felicitas corporis. Ut fortiter amissorum desideria<br />
pateremur praecepimus nobis; omnes, quos amabamus,<br />
superstites fortuna servavit. Huius unius rei usum<br />
qui exigat l dies veniet.<br />
19 Non est quod existimes magnis tantum viris hoc<br />
robur fuisse, quo servitutis humanae claustra perrumperent<br />
non est quod iudices hoc fieri nisi a Catone<br />
;<br />
non posse, qui quam ferro non emiserat animam<br />
manu extraxit. Vilissimae sortis homines 2 ingenti<br />
impetu in tutum evaserunt, 3 cumque e commodo 4<br />
niori non licuisset nee ad arbitrium suum instrumenta<br />
mortis eligere, obvia quaeque rapuerunt et quae<br />
20 natura non eraiit noxia, vi sua tela fecenmt. Nuper<br />
in ludo bestiariorum unus e Germanis, cum ad<br />
matutina spectacula pararetur, secessit ad exonerandum<br />
corpus nullum aliud illi ;<br />
dabatur sine custode<br />
secretum. Ibi lignum id, quod ad emundanda<br />
obsceiia adhaerente spongia positum est, totum in<br />
gulam farsit et interclusis 5 faucibus spiritum elisit.<br />
exigat later MSS. ; excitat pVPb.<br />
1<br />
2 extraxit: vilissimae sortis homines several editors, including<br />
Hense and Haase ; extraxit hut'dissimae sortis<br />
honrinis p extraxit cum vilissimae sortis homines VPb.<br />
;<br />
a<br />
evaserunt Haase ; evaserit or evaserint MSS.<br />
4<br />
cumque e(x) commodo C-F.G. Mueller ; cumque commodo<br />
(quomodo) Pb ; cumque incommodo p.<br />
5<br />
interclusis Hense ; inperclusis VPb ,<br />
in perclusi p.<br />
66
EPISTLE LXX.<br />
take thought <strong>of</strong> his own end, if he craves all things<br />
without end ? And yet there is<br />
nothing so essential<br />
for us to consider. For our training in other things<br />
is<br />
perhaps superfluous. Our souls have been made<br />
ready to meet poverty but our riches have held out.<br />
We ;<br />
have armed ourselves to scorn pain ;<br />
but we have<br />
had the good fortune to possess sound and healthy<br />
bodies, and so have never been forced to put this<br />
virtue to the test. We have taught ourselves to<br />
endure bravely the loss <strong>of</strong> those we love ;<br />
but<br />
Fortune has preserved to us all whom we loved. It<br />
is in this one matter only that the day will come<br />
which will require us to test our training.<br />
You need not think that none but great men<br />
have had the strength to burst the bonds <strong>of</strong> human<br />
servitude ;<br />
you need not believe that this cannot be<br />
done except by a Cato, Cato, who with his hand<br />
dragged forth the spirit which he had not succeeded<br />
the sword. Nay, men <strong>of</strong> the meanest<br />
in freeing by<br />
lot in life have by a mighty impulse escaped to<br />
safety, and when they were not allowed to die at<br />
their own convenience, or to suit themselves in their<br />
choice <strong>of</strong> the instruments <strong>of</strong> death, they have snatched<br />
up whatever was lying ready to hand, and by sheer<br />
strength have turned objects which were by nature<br />
harmless into weapons <strong>of</strong> their own. For example,<br />
there was lately<br />
in a training-school for wild-beast<br />
gladiators a German, who was making ready for the<br />
morning exhibition ;<br />
he withdrew in order to relieve<br />
himself, the only thing which he was allowed to<br />
do in secret and without the presence <strong>of</strong> a<br />
W<br />
guard.<br />
T<br />
hile so engaged, he seized the stick <strong>of</strong> wood,<br />
tipped with a sponge, which was devoted to the<br />
vilest uses, and stuffed it, just as it was, down his<br />
throat ;<br />
thus he blocked up his windpipe, and choked<br />
VOL. ii c 2 67
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
Hoc fuit morti contumeliam facere. Ita prorsus<br />
;<br />
est stultius<br />
pavum munde et parum decenter ;<br />
quid<br />
21 quam fastidiose mori O ? virum fortem, o dignum,<br />
cui fati daretur electio !<br />
Quam fortiter ille gladio<br />
usus esset, quam animose in pr<strong>of</strong>undam se altitudinem<br />
maris aut abscisae rupis inmisisset !<br />
Undique destitutus<br />
invenit, quemadmodum<br />
et mortem sibi deferret l<br />
et telunij ut scias ad moriendurn nihil aliud in mora<br />
esse quam<br />
velle. Existimetur de facto hominis<br />
acerrimi, ut cuique visum erit, dum hoc constet,<br />
praeferendam esse spurcissimam mortem servituti<br />
mundissimae.<br />
22 Quoniam coepi sordidis exemplis uti, perseverabo.<br />
Plus enim a se quisque exiget, si viderit hanc reni<br />
etiam a contemptissimis posse contemni. Catones<br />
Scipionesque et alios, quos audire cum admiratione<br />
consuevimus, supra imitationem positos putamus ;<br />
iam ego istam virtutem habere tarn multa exempla<br />
in ludo bestiario quam<br />
in ducibus belli civil is<br />
23 osteiidam. Cum adveheretur nuper inter custodias<br />
quidam ad matutinum spectaculum missus, tamquam<br />
somno premente nutaret, caput usque eo demisit,<br />
donee radiis insereret, et tamdiu se in sedili suo<br />
tenuit, y<br />
donee cervicem circumactu rotae fran^eret. o<br />
Eodem vehiculo, quo ad poenam ferebatur, effugit.<br />
24 Nihil obstat erumpere et exire cupienti. In<br />
1<br />
deferret Hense ;<br />
deberet MSS.<br />
a Custodla in the sense <strong>of</strong> "prisoner" (abstract for<br />
concrete) is a post-Augustan usage. See Ep. v. 7, and<br />
Summers' note.<br />
68
EPISTLE LXX.<br />
the breath from his body. That was truly to insult<br />
death !<br />
Yes, indeed ;<br />
it was not a very elegant or<br />
becoming way to die ;<br />
but what is more foolish than<br />
to be over-nice about dying<br />
? What a brave fellow !<br />
He surely deserved to be allowed to choose his fate !<br />
How bravely he would have wielded a sword ! With<br />
what courage he would have hurled himself into the<br />
<strong>of</strong>f<br />
depths <strong>of</strong> the sea, or down a precipice Cut !<br />
from resources on every hand, he yet found a way<br />
to furnish himself with death, and with a weapon for<br />
death. Hence you can understand that nothing<br />
but the will need postpone death. Let each man<br />
judge the deed <strong>of</strong> this most zealous fellow as he<br />
likes, provided we agree on this point, that the<br />
foulest death is preferable to the fairest slavery.<br />
Inasmuch as I<br />
began with an illustration taken<br />
from humble life, I shall keep on with that sort.<br />
For men will make greater demands upon themselves,<br />
if they see that death can be despised even by the<br />
most despised class <strong>of</strong> men. The Catos, the Scipios,<br />
and the others whose names we are wont to hear<br />
with admiration, we regard as beyond the sphere <strong>of</strong><br />
imitation ;<br />
but I shall now prove to you that the<br />
virtue <strong>of</strong> which I<br />
speak is found as frequently in the<br />
gladiators' training-school as among the leaders in a<br />
civil war. Lately a gladiator,<br />
who had been sent<br />
forth to the morning exhibition, was being conveyed<br />
in a cart along with the other prisoners a \ nodding<br />
as if he \vere heavy with sleep, he let his head fall<br />
over so far that it was caught in the spokes then<br />
;<br />
he kept his body in position long enough to break<br />
his neck by the revolution <strong>of</strong> the wheel. So he<br />
made his escape by means <strong>of</strong> the very wagon which<br />
was carrying him to his punishment.<br />
When a man desires to burst forth and take his<br />
69
. extrema<br />
sunt,<br />
|<br />
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
> nos nal Cui perniittit necessitas<br />
.: exitum mollem : ciii ad maiiuni plum<br />
_-.<br />
[uae sese adserat. is dileotura agat et qua<br />
potissimuin li; r,<br />
eonsideret : cui ditficilis occasio<br />
est. is<br />
proximam quamque pro optima arripiat, sit<br />
.-: inaudita. sit nova. Non deerit ad mortem<br />
_<br />
"<br />
..._ ..:.... oui non demerit animus. ^ ides, quemadm<br />
I<br />
qi: .ncipia. ubi illis stimulos<br />
ad- _ : ioior.<br />
excireniur et intenti?simas custodias<br />
fal. mt ' Ille vir<br />
magnus est. qui mortem sibi non<br />
H tantum : :. -ed iiivenit.<br />
Ex eodem tibi munere plura exempla promisi.<br />
_ S-:-cundo naumachiae speetaculo unus e barbaris<br />
lanceam. qu-\m in advc.- s accej :at. totam iugulo<br />
sit Q-.iiire. quare." inquit.<br />
"non onme<br />
toniirrituni. omne ludibrium iamdudum erTugio<br />
:<br />
Q;:are ego mortem armatus expect Tanto hoc<br />
- -<br />
sped<br />
sins spe I .:'um iuit. quanto<br />
discunt homines quam occidere.<br />
honestius mori<br />
Q.. ergc : Quod animi perditi quodque noxiosi<br />
habent. non habebunt illi.<br />
quos<br />
-<br />
adversus hos casus<br />
. : lonjja meditatio et masistra rerum omnium<br />
<<br />
ratio? Ilia nos docet fati vari - esse acce. > rineni<br />
eundem. nihil aiitem interes-e. unde incipiat quod<br />
TO
He<br />
EPISTLE LXX.<br />
departure, nothing stands in his way. It is an open<br />
space in which Nature guards us. When our plight<br />
is such as to permit it, we may look about us for an<br />
easy exit. If you have many opportunities ready to<br />
hand, by means <strong>of</strong> which YOU rnav liberate<br />
'<br />
J vyourself,<br />
you may make a selection and think over the best<br />
way <strong>of</strong> gaining freedom ;<br />
but if a chance is hard to<br />
find, instead <strong>of</strong> the best, snatch the next best, even<br />
though it be something unheard <strong>of</strong>, something new.<br />
If you do not lack the courage, you will not lack<br />
the cleverness, to die. See how even the lowest<br />
class <strong>of</strong> slave, when suffering goads him on, is aroused<br />
and discovers a way to deceive even the most watch-<br />
ful '.<br />
guards<br />
/<br />
is truly great who not only has<br />
given himself the order to die, but has also found<br />
the means.<br />
I have promised vou, however, some more illustrations<br />
drawn from the same games. During the<br />
second event in a sham sea-fight one <strong>of</strong> the barbarians<br />
sank deep into his own throat a spear which<br />
had been given him for use against his foe. ''Why,<br />
e:<br />
oh why," he said, have I not long ago escaped from<br />
all this torture and all this mockery ?<br />
Why should<br />
I be armed and yet wait for death to come ?" This<br />
exhibition was all the more striking because <strong>of</strong> the<br />
lesson men learn from it that is<br />
dying more honourable<br />
than killing.<br />
What, then : If such a spirit<br />
is<br />
possessed by<br />
abandoned and dangerous men, shall it not be<br />
possessed also by those who have trained themselves<br />
to meet such contingencies by long meditation, and<br />
by reason, the mistress <strong>of</strong> all :<br />
things It is reason<br />
which teaches us that fate has various ways <strong>of</strong><br />
approach, but the same end, and that it makes no<br />
difference at \ihat point the inevitable event begins.<br />
71
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
28 venit. Eadem ilia ratio monet, ut, si licet, moriaris<br />
quemadmodum placet<br />
si minus/ quemadmodum<br />
;<br />
potes, et quicquid obvenerit ad vim adferendam tibi<br />
invadas. Iniuriosum est rapto vivere, at contra<br />
pulcherrimum mori rapto. VALE.<br />
LXXI.<br />
<strong>SENECA</strong> LVCILIO svo SALVTEM<br />
1 Subinde me de rebus singulis consulis oblitus<br />
vasto nos mari dividi. Cum magna pars consilii sit<br />
in tempore, necesse est evenire, ut de quibusdam<br />
rebus tune ad te perferatur sententia mea, cum iam<br />
contraria potior est. Consilia enim rebus aptantur.<br />
Res nostrae feruntur, immo volvuntur. Ergo consilium<br />
nasci sub diem debet ;<br />
et hoc quoque nimis<br />
tardum est ;<br />
sub manu, quod aiunt, nascatur. Quemadmodum<br />
autem inveniatur, ostendam.<br />
2 Quotiens, quid fugiendum sit aut quid petendum,<br />
voles scire, ad summum bonum, propositum totius<br />
vitae tuae, Illi<br />
respice. enim consentire debet,<br />
quicquid agimus non ; disponet singula, nisi cui iam<br />
vitae suae summa proposita est. Nemo, quamvis<br />
paratos habeat colores, similitudinem reddet, nisi<br />
iam constat, quid velit pingere. Ideo peccamus,<br />
quia de partibus vitae omnes deliberamus, de tota<br />
1<br />
Hense, following Sehwcighauser, inserts quemadmodum<br />
placet ; si minus.<br />
a i.e., by robbing oneself <strong>of</strong> life ; but the antithesis to<br />
Vergil's phrase (A en. ix. 613) is artificial.<br />
6<br />
A similar argument is found in Ep. Ixv. 5 ff., containing<br />
the same figure <strong>of</strong> thought.<br />
72
EPISTLES LXX., LXXI.<br />
Reason, too, advises us to die, if we may, according<br />
to our taste ;<br />
if this cannot be, she advises us to die<br />
according to our ability,<br />
and to seize upon whatever<br />
means shall <strong>of</strong>fer itself for doing violence to ourselves.<br />
It is criminal to " live by robbery " a<br />
; but,<br />
on the other hand, it is most noble to "die by<br />
robbery." Farewell.<br />
L<br />
LXXI. ON THE SUPREME GOOD<br />
You are continually referring special questions to<br />
me, forgetting that a vast stretch <strong>of</strong> sea sunders us.<br />
Since, however, the value <strong>of</strong> advice depends mostly<br />
on the time when it is given, it must necessarily<br />
result that by the time my opinion on certain matters<br />
reaches you, the opposite opinion<br />
is the better. For<br />
advice conforms to circumstances ;<br />
and our circumstances<br />
are carried along, or rather whirled along.<br />
Accordingly, advice should be produced at short<br />
notice ;<br />
and even this is too late ;<br />
it should " grow<br />
while we work," as the saying<br />
is. And I propose<br />
to show you how you may discover the method.<br />
As <strong>of</strong>ten as you wish to know what is to be<br />
avoided or what is to be sought, consider its relation<br />
to the Supreme Good, to the purpose <strong>of</strong> your whole<br />
life. For whatever we do ought to be in harmony<br />
with this ;<br />
no man can set in order the details unless<br />
he has already set before himself the chief purpose<br />
<strong>of</strong> his life. The artist may have his colours all<br />
prepared, but he cannot produce a likeness unless<br />
he has already made up his mind what he wishes to<br />
paint. 6 The reason we make mistakes is because we all<br />
consider the parts <strong>of</strong> life, but never life as a whole.<br />
\<br />
I 73
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
3 nemo deliberat. Scire debet quid petal ille, qui<br />
sagittam vult mittere, et tune derigere ac moderari<br />
manu telum. Errant coiisilia nostra, quia non habent,<br />
quo derigantur. Ignorant!, quern portura petat,<br />
nullus suus ventus est. Necesse est multum in vita<br />
4 nostra casus possit, quia vivimus casu. Quibusdam<br />
autem evenit, ut quaedam scire se nesciant. Quemadmodum<br />
quaerimus saepe eos, cum quibus stamus, ita<br />
plerumque finem summi boni ignoramus adpositum.<br />
Nee multis verbis nee circumitu longo, quod<br />
sit<br />
summum bonum,<br />
l<br />
colliges<br />
;<br />
digito, ut ita dicam,<br />
demonstrandum est nee in multa spargendum. Quid<br />
enim ad rem pertinet in particulas illud diducere,<br />
cum possis dicere : summum bonum est, quod<br />
honestum est ? Et quod magis admireris : unum<br />
bonum est, quod honestum est, cetera falsa et<br />
5 adulterina bona sunt. Hoc si persuaseris tibi et<br />
virtutem adamaveris, amare enim parum est, quicquid<br />
ilia contigerit, id tibi, qualecumque<br />
aliis videbitur,<br />
faustum felixque erit. Et torqueri, si modo<br />
iacueris ipso torquente securior, et aegrotare, si lion<br />
male dixeris fortunae, si non cesseris morbo, omnia<br />
denique, quae ceteris videntur mala, et mansuescent<br />
et in bonum abibunt, si<br />
super<br />
ilia eminueris.<br />
Hoc liqueat, nihil esse bonum nisi honestum, et<br />
omnia incommoda suo iure bona vocabuntur, quae<br />
1<br />
colliges Muretus ;<br />
colligis MSS.<br />
a For a definition <strong>of</strong> honestum see Cicero, De Fin. ii. 45 ff.,<br />
and Rackhara's note, explaining it as ** rb Ka\6v, the morally<br />
beautiful or good." ,<br />
74<br />
'>
EPISTLE LXXI.<br />
The archer must know what he is seeking O to<br />
hit ;<br />
then he must aim and control the weapon by<br />
his skill. Our plans miscarry because they have no<br />
aim. When a man does not know what harbour he<br />
is<br />
making for, no wind is the right wind. Chance<br />
must necessarily have great influence over our lives,<br />
because we live by chance. It is the case with<br />
certain men, however, that they do not know that<br />
they know certain things. Just as we <strong>of</strong>ten go<br />
searching for those who stand beside us, so we are<br />
apt to forget that the goal <strong>of</strong> the Supreme Good<br />
lies near us.<br />
To infer the nature <strong>of</strong> this Supreme Good, one<br />
does not need many words or any round-about discussion<br />
;<br />
it should be pointed out with the forefinger,<br />
so to speak, and not be dissipated into many parts.<br />
For what good<br />
is there in breaking it up into tiny bits,<br />
when you can say the :<br />
Supreme Good is that which<br />
is honourable a ? Besides (and you may be still more<br />
surprised at this), that which is honourable is the only<br />
good<br />
all other ; goods are alloyed and debased. If<br />
you once convince yourself <strong>of</strong> this, and if you come to<br />
love virtue devotedly (for mere loving is not enough),<br />
anything that has been touched by virtue will be<br />
fraught with blessing and prosperity for you, no<br />
matter how it shall be regarded by others.<br />
Torture,<br />
if only, as you lie suffering, you are more calm in<br />
mind than your very torturer ; illness, if only you<br />
curse not Fortune and yield not to the disease in<br />
short, all those things which others regard<br />
will become manageable and will end in good, if you<br />
succeed in rising above them.<br />
Let this once be clear, that there is<br />
nothing good<br />
except that which is honourable, and all hardships<br />
will have a just title to the name <strong>of</strong> " goods," when<br />
75<br />
as ills
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
6 modo virtus honestaverit. Multis videmur maiora<br />
promittere quam recipit humana condicio ;<br />
non<br />
inmerito. Ad corpus enim respiciunt. Revertantur<br />
ad animum ;<br />
iam hominem deo metientur. Erige te,<br />
Lucili virorum optirne, et relinque istum ludum<br />
literarium philosophorum, qui rem magnified! tissimam<br />
ad syllabas vocant, qui animum minuta docendo<br />
deraittunt et conterunt ;<br />
fies similis illis, qui invenerunt<br />
ista, non qui decent et id agunt, ut philosophia<br />
potius difficilis quam magna videatur.<br />
7 Socrates qui totam philosophiam revocavit ad<br />
mores et hanc summam dixit esse sapientiam, bona<br />
malaque distinguere, " sequere," inquit, " illos, si<br />
quid apud te habeo auctoritatis, ut sis beatus, et te<br />
alicui stultum videri sine. Quisquis volet, tibi<br />
contumeliam faciat et iniuriam, tu tamen nihil<br />
patieris, si modo tecum erit virtus. Si vis/' inquit,<br />
" beatus esse, si fide bona vir bonus, sine contemnat<br />
te aliquis."<br />
Hoc nemo praestabit, nisi qui omnia<br />
bona exaequaverit, quia nee bonum sine lionesto est<br />
8 et honestum in omnibus " 1<br />
par est. Quid ergo ?<br />
Nihil interest inter praeturam Catonis et repulsam ?<br />
Nihil interest, utrum Pharsalica acie Cato vincatur<br />
an vincat ? Hoc eius bonum, quo victis partibus<br />
1<br />
Hense gives quid ergo<br />
. . .<br />
componeret pacem? to the<br />
supposed objector.<br />
a See, for example, the syllogistic display which is<br />
ridiculed in Ep.<br />
xlviii. 6.<br />
6 i.e., from being mere word-play.<br />
c<br />
Hense suggests that Seneca may be rendering the<br />
phrase <strong>of</strong> Simonides dvrip<br />
76<br />
d\7j^ws ayados.
EPISTLE LXXI<br />
snce virtue has made them honourable. Many<br />
:hink that we <strong>Stoic</strong>s are holding out expectations<br />
greater than our human lot admits <strong>of</strong>; and they<br />
have a right to think so. For they have regard to<br />
the body only. But let them turn back to the soul,<br />
and they will soon measure man by the standard <strong>of</strong><br />
God. Rouse yourself, most excellent Lucilius, and<br />
leave <strong>of</strong>f all this word-play <strong>of</strong> the philosophers,<br />
who reduce a most glorious subject to a matter <strong>of</strong><br />
syllables, and lower and wear out the soul by teaching<br />
fragments ; then you will become like the men<br />
who discovered these precepts, instead <strong>of</strong> those who<br />
by their teaching do their best to make philosophy<br />
seem difficult rather than great.<br />
a<br />
Socrates, who recalled b the whole <strong>of</strong> philosophy<br />
to rules <strong>of</strong> conduct, and asserted that the highest<br />
wisdom consisted in distinguishing between good and<br />
evil, said: "Follow these rules, if my words carry<br />
weight with you, in order that you may be happy ;<br />
and let some men think you even a fool. Allow<br />
any man who so desires to insult you and work you<br />
wrong but if only virtue dwells with you, you will<br />
;<br />
suffer nothing. If you wish to be happy, if you<br />
would be in good faith a good man/ let one person or<br />
another despise you." No man can accomplish this<br />
unless he has come to regard all goods as equal, for<br />
the reason that no good exists without that which is<br />
honourable, and that which is honourable is in every<br />
case You equal. may say " What then : ? Is there<br />
no difference between Cato's being elected praetor<br />
and his failure at the polls ? Or whether Cato is<br />
conquered or conqueror in the battle-line <strong>of</strong> Pharsalia?<br />
And when Cato could not be defeated,<br />
though his party met defeat, was not this goodness<br />
to that which would have been his if<br />
<strong>of</strong> his equal<br />
77
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
non potest vinci, par erat illi bono, quo victor rediret<br />
in patriam et "<br />
conponeret pacem ? Quidni par sit?<br />
Eadem enim virtute et mala fortuna vincitur et<br />
ordinatur bona.<br />
Virtus autem non potest maior aut<br />
9 minor fieri ;<br />
unius staturae est. " Sed Cn. Pompeius<br />
amittet exercitum, sed illud pulcherrimum rei<br />
publicae praetextum, optimates, et prima acies<br />
Pompeianarum parti urn, senatus ferens arma, uno<br />
proelio pr<strong>of</strong>iigabuntur et tarn inagni ruina imperii in<br />
totum dissiliet orbem ; aliqua pars eius in Aegypto,<br />
aliqua in Africa, aliqua in Hispania cadet. Ne hoc<br />
quidem miserae rei publicae continget, semel ruere."<br />
10 Omnia licet fiant ;<br />
lubam in regno suo non locorum<br />
iiotitia adiuvet, non popularium pro rege suo virtus<br />
obstinatissima, Vticensium quoque fides malis fracta<br />
denciat et Scipionem in Africa nominis sui fortuna<br />
destituat. Glim provisum est, ne quid Cato detrimenti<br />
caperet.<br />
11<br />
" Victus est tamen." Et hoc numera inter<br />
repulsas Catonis ; tam magno animo feret aliquid<br />
sibi ad victoriam quam ad praeturam obstitisse.<br />
Quo die repulsus est, lusit, qua nocte periturus fuit,<br />
legit.<br />
Eodem loco habuit praetura et vita excidere ;<br />
omnia, quae acciderent, ferenda esse persuaserat sibi.<br />
12 Quidni ille mutationem rei publicae forti et aequo<br />
a<br />
Egypt 47 B.C.; Africa (Thapsus) 46 B.C.; Spain<br />
(Munda) 45 B.C.<br />
6<br />
A sort <strong>of</strong> serious parody <strong>of</strong> the senatus consultum ultimum.<br />
For a discussion <strong>of</strong> the history and meaning <strong>of</strong> the<br />
phrase see W. Warde Fowler's Cicero, pp. 151-158.<br />
c<br />
Plato's Phardo. Cato slew himself at Utica, 46 B.C.,<br />
after Scipio's defeat at Thapsus.<br />
78
EPISTLE LXXI<br />
he had returned victorious to his native land and<br />
arranged a '<br />
peace Of ? course it was ;<br />
for it is<br />
by<br />
the same virtue that evil fortune is overcome and<br />
good fortune is controlled. Virtue, however, cannot<br />
be increased or decreased ;<br />
its stature is uniform.<br />
"But/' you will object, "Gnaeus Pompey will lose<br />
his army ; the patricians, those noblest patterns <strong>of</strong><br />
the State's creation, and the front -rank men <strong>of</strong><br />
Pompey's party, a senate under arms, will be routed<br />
in a single engagement ;<br />
the ruins <strong>of</strong> that great<br />
oligarchy will be scattered all over the world one<br />
;<br />
division will fall in Egypt, another in Africa, and<br />
another in a<br />
Spain And the ! poor State will not be<br />
allowed even the privilege <strong>of</strong> being ruined once for<br />
'<br />
Yes, all this may happen ; Juba's familiarity<br />
all !<br />
with every position in his own kingdom may be <strong>of</strong><br />
no avail to him, <strong>of</strong> no avail the resolute bravery <strong>of</strong><br />
his people \vhen fighting for their king ; even the<br />
men <strong>of</strong> Utica, crushed by their troubles, may waver<br />
in their allegiance and the ;<br />
good fortune which<br />
ever attended men <strong>of</strong> the name <strong>of</strong> Scipio may desert<br />
Scipio in Africa. But long ago destiny " saw to it<br />
that Cato should come to no harm." b<br />
"He was conquered in spite <strong>of</strong> it all !<br />
Well,<br />
you may include this among Cato's "failures" ;<br />
Cato<br />
will bear with an equally stout heart anything<br />
that thwarts him <strong>of</strong> his victory,<br />
as he bore that<br />
which thwarted him <strong>of</strong> his praetorship. The day<br />
whereon he failed <strong>of</strong> election, he spent in play ;<br />
night wherein he intended to die, he spent in<br />
reading. He regarded in the same light both the<br />
loss <strong>of</strong> his praetorship and the loss <strong>of</strong> his life he<br />
;<br />
had convinced himself that he ought to endure<br />
anything which might happen. Why should he not<br />
suffer, bravely and calmly, a change in the govern-<br />
79<br />
'
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
pateretur animo ? Quid enim mutationis periculo<br />
exceptum ? Xon. terra, non caelum, non totus hie<br />
rerum omnium contextus, quamvis deo agente<br />
ducatur. Xon semper tenebit hunc ordinem, sed<br />
13 ilium ex hoc cursu aliquis dies deiciet. Certis eunt<br />
cuncta temporibus ;<br />
nasci debent, crescere, extingui.<br />
Quaecumque supra nos vides currere, et haec, quibus<br />
inmixti atque inpositi sumus veluti solidissimis<br />
carpentur ac desinent. Nulli non senectus sua est ;<br />
ista<br />
inaequalibus<br />
spatiis eodem natura dimittit.<br />
Quicquid est, non erit, nee peribit, sed resolvetur.<br />
14 Xobis solvi perire est, proxima enim intuemur ad<br />
;<br />
ulteriora non prospicit mens hebes et quae se corpori<br />
addixerit; alioqui fortius finem sui<br />
suorumque<br />
pateretur, si speraret, ut l omnia ilia, sic vitam mortemque<br />
per vices ire et composita dissolvi, dissoluta<br />
componi, in hoc opere aeternam artem cuncta temperantis<br />
del verti.<br />
15 Itaque ut M. Cato, cum aevum animo percu current,<br />
dicet :<br />
" omne humanum genus, quodque est quodque<br />
erit, morte damnatum est. Omnes, quae usquara<br />
rerum potiuntur urbes quaeque alienorum imperiorum<br />
magna sunt decora, ubi fuerint, aliquando quaeretur<br />
1<br />
ut added by Hcoase.<br />
80<br />
8 Cf. Ep. i\. Itif. rtsolutu mundo, etc.
EPISTLE LXXI.<br />
nient ? For what is free from the risk <strong>of</strong> change ?<br />
Neither earth, nor sky, nor the whole fabric <strong>of</strong> our<br />
universe, though it be controlled by the hand <strong>of</strong><br />
God. It will not always preserve its present order;<br />
it will be thrown from its course in days to come. a<br />
All things move in accord with their appointed<br />
times ;<br />
they are destined to be born, to grow, and<br />
to be destroyed. The stars which you see moving<br />
*/ /<br />
above us, and this seemingly immovable earth to<br />
which we cling and 011 which we are set, will be<br />
consumed and will cease to exist. There is<br />
nothing<br />
that does not have its old age the intervals are<br />
;<br />
merely unequal at which Nature sends forth all these<br />
things towards the same goal. Whatever is "will<br />
cease to be, and yet<br />
it will not perish, but will be<br />
resolved into its elements. To our minds, this<br />
process means perishing, for we behold only that<br />
which is nearest ;<br />
our sluggish mind, under allegiance<br />
to the body, does not penetrate to bournes beyond.<br />
Were it not so, the mind would endure with greater<br />
courage its own ending and that <strong>of</strong> its possessions,<br />
if only it could hope that life and death, like the<br />
whole universe about us, go by turns, that whatever<br />
has been put together<br />
is broken up again, that<br />
whatever has been broken up is put together again,<br />
and that the eternal craftsmanship <strong>of</strong> God, who<br />
controls all things, is working at this task.<br />
Therefore the wise man will say just what a<br />
Marcus Cato would say, after reviewing his past life :<br />
" The whole race <strong>of</strong> man, both that which is and<br />
that which is to be, is condemned to die. Of all<br />
the cities that at any time have held sway over the<br />
world, and <strong>of</strong> all that have been the splendid ornaments<br />
<strong>of</strong> empires not their own, men shall some day<br />
ask where they were, and they shall be swept away<br />
81
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
et vario exitii l genere tollentur ;<br />
alias destruent<br />
bella, alias desidia paxque ad inertiam versa consumet<br />
et magnis opibus exitiosa res, luxus. Omnes hos<br />
fertiles campos repentina 2 maris inundatio abscondet<br />
aut in subitam cavernam considentis soli lapsus<br />
abducet. Quid est ergo quare indigner aut doleam,<br />
16 si<br />
exiguo momento publica fata '<br />
praecedo ? Magnus<br />
animus deo pareat et quicquid lex universi iubet,<br />
sine cunctatione patiatur<br />
;<br />
aut in meliorem emittitur<br />
vitam lucidius tranquilliusque inter divina mansurus<br />
aut certe sine ullo futurus incommodo sui 3 naturae<br />
remiscebitur et revertetur in totum.<br />
Non est ergo M. Catonis maius bonum honesta<br />
vita quam mors honesta, quoniam non intenditur<br />
virtus. Idem esse dicebat Socrates veritatem et<br />
virtutem. Quomodo ilia non crescit, sic ne virtus<br />
17 quidem habet numeros ; suos, plena est. Non est<br />
itaque quod mireris paria esse bona, et quae ex<br />
proposito sumenda sunt et si<br />
quae ita res tulit.<br />
Nam si hanc inaequalitatem receperis, ut fortiter<br />
torqueri in minoribus bonis numeres, numerabis<br />
etiam in malis, et infelicem Socraten dices in carcere,<br />
infelicem Catonem vulnera sua animosius quam<br />
1<br />
exiiii later MSS. ; exliilii V ; exilii Pb.<br />
1<br />
repentina later MSS. ;<br />
repentini VPb.<br />
3 sui G. Gemoll ; si VPb.<br />
For a clear and full discussion regarding <strong>Stoic</strong> views <strong>of</strong><br />
the immortality <strong>of</strong> the soul, and Seneca's own opinion thereon,<br />
see E. V. Arnold, lloman <strong>Stoic</strong>ism, pp. 262 ff.<br />
Cf. 20 <strong>of</strong> this letter :<br />
riff<br />
ida re quid amplius intendi<br />
6<br />
potest ?<br />
c<br />
i.e., knowledge <strong>of</strong> facts, as Seneca so <strong>of</strong>ten says.<br />
Cf. Plato, Meno, 87 c ^Triffrrj^j rts TJ a-ptt"n, anfl Aristotle,<br />
Eth. vi. 13 Zcj/v'pdrT/s<br />
. . .<br />
\6yovs rds dpera? yero eZVai, ^TrtcmJua5<br />
yap elvai Tracras.<br />
This is the accepted <strong>Stoic</strong> doctrine see ;<br />
Ep.<br />
Ixvi. 5.<br />
Goods are equal, absolute, and independent <strong>of</strong> circumstances;<br />
82
EPISTLE LXXI.<br />
by destructions <strong>of</strong> various kinds ;<br />
some shall be<br />
ruined by wars, others shall be wasted away by<br />
inactivity and by the kind <strong>of</strong> peace which ends in<br />
sloth, or by that vice which is fraught with destruction<br />
even for mighty dynasties, luxury. All these<br />
fertile plains shall be buried out <strong>of</strong> sight by a sudden<br />
as it<br />
overflowing <strong>of</strong> the sea, or a slipping <strong>of</strong> the soil,<br />
settles to lower levels, shall draw them suddenly<br />
into a yawning chasm. Why then should I be<br />
angry or feel sorrow, if I precede the general<br />
destruction by a tiny interval <strong>of</strong> time ?" Let great<br />
souls comply with God's wishes, and suffer unhesitatingly<br />
whatever fate the law <strong>of</strong> the universe<br />
ordains ;<br />
for the soul at death is either sent forth<br />
into a better life, destined to dwell with deity amid<br />
greater radiance and calm, or else, at least, without<br />
suffering any harm to itself, it will be mingled with<br />
nature again, and will return to the universe."<br />
Therefore Cato's honourable death was no less a<br />
good than his honourable life, since virtue admits <strong>of</strong><br />
6<br />
no stretching. Socrates used to say that verity<br />
and virtue were the same. Just as truth does not<br />
grow, so neither does virtue grow for it has its due<br />
;<br />
proportions and is complete. You need not, therefore,<br />
wonder that goods are equal/' both those which<br />
are to be deliberately chosen, and those which<br />
circumstances have imposed. For if<br />
you once adopt<br />
the view that they are unequal, deeming, for instance,<br />
a brave endurance <strong>of</strong> torture as among the<br />
lesser goods, you will be including it among the<br />
evils also ;<br />
you will pronounce Socrates unhappy in<br />
his prison, Cato unhappy when he reopens his<br />
wounds with more courage than he showed in<br />
although, as Seneca here maintains, circumstances may<br />
bring one or another <strong>of</strong> them into fuller play.<br />
83
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
fecerat retractantem, calamitosissimum omnium<br />
Regulum fidei poenas etiam hostibus servatae pendentem.<br />
Atqui nemo hoc dicere, lie ex mollissimis<br />
quidem, ausus est.<br />
Negant enim ilium esse beatum,<br />
18 sed tamen negant miserum. Academici veteres<br />
beatum quidem esse etiam inter hos cruciatus<br />
fatentur, sed noil ad perfectura nee ad plenum.<br />
Quod nullo modo potest recipi ;<br />
nisi beatus est, in<br />
summo bono non est. Quod summum bonum est,<br />
supra se gradum non habet, si modo illi virtus inest,<br />
si illam ad versa non minuunt, si 1 manet etiam comminuto<br />
corpore incolumis ;<br />
manet autem. Virtutem<br />
enim intellego aiiimosam et excelsam, quam incitat<br />
19 quicquid infestat. Hunc animum, quern saepe<br />
induunt generosae indolis iuvenes, quos alicuius<br />
honestae rei pulchritude percussit, ut omnia fortuita<br />
contemnant, pr<strong>of</strong>ecto sapientia nobis 2 infundet<br />
et tradet. Persuadebit ununi bonum esse, quod<br />
honestum ;<br />
hoc nee remitti nee intendi posse, non<br />
magis quam regulam, qua rectum probari solet,<br />
flectes.<br />
Quicquid ex ilia mutaveris, iniuria est recti.<br />
20 Idem ergo de virtute dicemus : et haec recta est,<br />
flexuram non recipit. Rigida re 3 quid amplius<br />
intendi potest<br />
? Haec de omnibus rebus iudicat, de<br />
hue nulla. Si rectior ipsa 11011 potest fieri, ne<br />
4<br />
quae<br />
1<br />
sed VPb.<br />
si later MSS. ;<br />
nobis Chatelain ; non VPb.<br />
3 riyida re Capps ; ric/idari MSS.<br />
4<br />
ne yuan Haase ; neque P nee ; quae Vb.<br />
a e.g. , Xenocrates and Speusippus ; cf. Ep. Ixxxv. 18.<br />
For another answer to the objection that the good depends<br />
upon outward circumstances cf. Ep.<br />
xcii. 14 f.<br />
84
EPISTLE LXXI.<br />
inflicting them, and Regulus the most ill-starred <strong>of</strong><br />
all when he pays the penalty for keeping his word<br />
even with his enemies. And yet no man, even<br />
the most effeminate person in the world, has ever<br />
dared to maintain such an opinion. For though<br />
such persons deny that a man like Regulus is<br />
happy, yet for all that they also deny that he is<br />
wretched. The earlier Academics a do indeed admit<br />
that a man is<br />
happy even amid such tortures, but do<br />
not admit that he is<br />
completely or fully happy.<br />
With this view we cannot in any wise agree for<br />
;<br />
unless a man is<br />
happy, he has not attained the<br />
Supreme Good and the ; good which is supreme<br />
admits <strong>of</strong> no higher degree, if only virtue exists<br />
within this man., and if adversity does not impair<br />
his virtue, and if, though the body be injured, the<br />
virtue abides unharmed. And it does abide. For<br />
I understand virtue to be high-spirited and exalted,<br />
so that it is aroused by anything that molests it.<br />
This which spirit, young men <strong>of</strong> noble breeding<br />
<strong>of</strong>ten assume, when they are so deeply stirred by<br />
the beauty <strong>of</strong> some honourable object that they<br />
despise all the gifts <strong>of</strong> chance, is assuredly infused<br />
in us and communicated to us by wisdom. Wisdom<br />
will bring the conviction that there is but one good<br />
that which is honourable ;<br />
mat this can neither be<br />
shortened nor extended, any more than a carpenter's<br />
rule, with which straight lines are tested, can be bent.<br />
Any change in the rule means spoiling the straight<br />
line. Applying, therefore, this same figure to virtue,<br />
we shall say Virtue also is : straight, and admits <strong>of</strong><br />
no bending. What can be made more tense than a<br />
thing which is already rigid ? Such is virtue, which<br />
passes judgment 011 everything, but nothing passes<br />
judgment on virtue. And if this rule, virtue, cannot<br />
85
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
ab ilia fiunt quidem<br />
alia aliis rectiora sunt. Huic<br />
enim necesse est respondeant ;<br />
ita paria sunt.<br />
21 "Quid ergo?" inquis, 1 "iacere in convivio et<br />
torqueri paria sunt ? '<br />
Illud licet magis admireris ;<br />
Hoc minim videtur tibi ?<br />
iacere in convivio malum,<br />
in eculeo bontim est,<br />
2 si illud turpiter, hoc honeste<br />
fit. 3 Bona ista ant mala non efficit materia, sed<br />
virtus. Haec ubicumque apparuit, omnia eiusdem<br />
22 mensurae ac pretii sunt. In oculos nunc mihi manus<br />
intentat ille, qui omnium animum aestimat ex suo,<br />
quod dicam paria bona esse honeste iudicantis et<br />
honeste 4 periclitantis, quod dicam paria bona esse<br />
eius, qui triumphal, et eius, qui ante currum vehitur<br />
invictus animo. Non putant enim fieri, quicquid<br />
facere non possunt ;<br />
ex infirmitate sua de virtute<br />
23 ferunt sententiam. Quid miraris, si uri, vulnerari,<br />
occidi, alligari iuval, aliquando etiam libet? Luxurioso<br />
frugalitas poena est, pigro supplicii loco labor est,<br />
delicatus miseretur industrii, desidioso studere<br />
torqueri est. Eodem modo haec, ad quae omnes<br />
inbecilli sumus, dura atque intolerancla credimus,<br />
obliti, quam<br />
multis tormeiitum sit vino carere aut<br />
prima luce excitari. Non ista difficilia sunt natura,<br />
1<br />
hiqjiis later MSS. ; inquit VPb.<br />
2 This reading<br />
is based on the authority <strong>of</strong> late MSS.<br />
VPb read iacere in eculeo bonum est.<br />
3<br />
honcxte, fit later MSS. ;<br />
honeste sit Vb ; honestum fit P.<br />
4<br />
et honeste periclitantis added by Gertz.<br />
86
EPISTLE LXXI.<br />
Itself be made more straight, neither can the things<br />
created by virtue be in one case straighter and in<br />
anoth-er less straight. For they must necessarily<br />
correspond to virtue ;<br />
hence they are equal.<br />
" " What," you say, do you<br />
call reclining at a<br />
banquet and submitting to torture equally good "<br />
?<br />
Does this seem surprising to you You ? may be still<br />
more surprised at the following, that reclining at<br />
a banquet is an evil, while reclining on the rack is a<br />
good, if the former act is done in a shameful, and<br />
the latter in an honourable manner. It is not the<br />
material that makes these actions good or bad it<br />
;<br />
is the virtue. All acts in which virtue has disclosed<br />
itself are <strong>of</strong> the same measure and value. At this<br />
moment the man who measures the souls <strong>of</strong> all men<br />
by his own is shaking his fist in my face because I<br />
hold that there is a parity between the goods involved<br />
in the case <strong>of</strong> one who passes sentence<br />
honourably, and <strong>of</strong> one who suffers sentence honourably<br />
or because I hold that there is a ;<br />
parity between<br />
the goods <strong>of</strong> one who celebrates a triumph, and <strong>of</strong><br />
one who, unconquered in spirit, is carried before the<br />
victor's chariot. For such critics think that whatever<br />
they themselves cannot do, is not done ;<br />
they pass<br />
judgment on virtue in the light <strong>of</strong> their own weaknesses.<br />
Why do you marvel if it helps a man, and<br />
on occasion even pleases him, to be burned, wounded,<br />
slain, or bound in prison<br />
? To a luxurious man, a<br />
simple life is a penalty to a ; lazy man, work is<br />
punishment<br />
; the dandy pities the diligent man ;<br />
to the<br />
slothful, studies are torture. Similarly, we regard those<br />
things with respect to which we are all infirm <strong>of</strong> disposition,<br />
as hard and beyond endurance, forgetting what a<br />
torment it is to<br />
many men to abstain from wine or to<br />
be routed from their beds at break <strong>of</strong> day. These<br />
87
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
24 sed nos fluvidi et enerves. Magn animo de rebus<br />
magnis iudicandum est; alioquividebiturillarumvitium<br />
esse, quod nostrum est. Sic quaedam rectissiix^,<br />
cuminaquam demissa sunt,speciemcurvi praefra tique<br />
visentibus reddunt. Non tantum quid videas, sed<br />
quemadmodum, refert animus noster ad vera<br />
;<br />
perspi-<br />
25 cienda caligat.<br />
Da mihi adulescentem incorruptum et<br />
ingenio vegetum dicet fortunatiorem sibi<br />
;<br />
videri, qui<br />
omiiia rerum adversarum onera rigida cervice sustollat,<br />
1<br />
qui supra fortunam existat. Non mirum est in tranquillitate<br />
non concuti illud<br />
; mirare, ibi extolli aliquem<br />
ubi omnes deprimuntur, ibi stare ubi omnes iacent.<br />
26 Quid est in tormeiitis, quid est in aliis, quae<br />
adversa appellamus, mali ?<br />
Hoc, ut opinor, succidere<br />
mentem et incurvari et succumbere. Quorum nihil<br />
sapienti viro potest evenire stat rectus sub<br />
;<br />
quolibet<br />
pondere. Nulla ilium res minorem facit ;<br />
nihil illi<br />
eorum, quae fereiida sunt, displicet.<br />
Nam quicquid<br />
cadere in hominem potest, in se cecidisse non<br />
queritur. Vires suas novit. Scit se esse oneri<br />
27 ferendo. Non educo sapientem ex hominum numero<br />
nee dolores ab illo sicut ab aliqua rupe nullum sensum<br />
admittente summoveo. Memini ex duabus ilium<br />
partibus esse compositum ; altera est inrationalis,<br />
haec mordetur, uritur, dolet; altera rationalis, haec<br />
inconcussas opiniones habet, intrepida est et indomita.<br />
1<br />
exsistat cod. Bern. ; extat VPb 2 ; exeat b 1 ; exiliat<br />
Hermes ; Hense suggests extet.<br />
a "An oar, though quite whole, presents the appearance<br />
<strong>of</strong> being broken when seen in clear shallow water." Seneca,<br />
N.Q. 1. 3 (Clarke and Geikie).<br />
6<br />
This dualism <strong>of</strong> soul and body goes back to earlier<br />
religions, and especially to the Persian. The rational part<br />
(TO Ao7i(rri/c6z/), though held by most <strong>Stoic</strong>s to be corporeal,<br />
or part <strong>of</strong> the world-stuff, is closely related to the<br />
or " principate."<br />
88
EPISTLE LXXI.<br />
actions are not essentially difficult ;<br />
it is we ourselves<br />
that are s<strong>of</strong>t and flabby. We must pass judgment<br />
concerning great matters with greatness <strong>of</strong> soul ;<br />
otherwise, that which is really our fault will seem to<br />
be their fault. So it is that certain objects which<br />
are perfectly straight, when sunk in water appear to<br />
the onlooker as bent or broken <strong>of</strong>f> It matters not<br />
only what you see, but with what eyes you see it;<br />
our souls are too dull <strong>of</strong> vision to perceive the truth.<br />
But give me an unspoiled and sturdy-minded young<br />
man ;<br />
he will pronounce more fortunate one who<br />
sustains on unbending shoulders the whole weight<br />
<strong>of</strong> adversity, who stands out superior to Fortune. It<br />
is not a cause for wonder that one is not tossed about<br />
when the weather is calm reserve ;<br />
your wonderment<br />
for cases where a man is lifted up when all others sink,<br />
and keeps his footing when all others are prostrate.<br />
What element <strong>of</strong> evil is there in torture and in<br />
the other things which we call hardships ? It seems<br />
to me that there is this evil, that the mind<br />
sags, and bends, and collapses. But none <strong>of</strong> these<br />
things can happen to the sage he stands erect<br />
;<br />
under any load. Nothing can subdue him ;<br />
nothing<br />
that must be endured annoys him. For he does<br />
not complain that he has been struck by that<br />
which can strike any man. He knows his own<br />
strength he knows that he was born to ; carry<br />
burdens. I do not withdraw the wise man from<br />
the category <strong>of</strong> man, nor do I<br />
deny to him the<br />
sense <strong>of</strong> pain as though he were a rock that has<br />
no feelings at all. I remember that he is made<br />
up <strong>of</strong> two parts : the one part is irrational, it is<br />
this that may be bitten, burned, or hurt ;<br />
the other<br />
part is rational, it is this which holds resolutely to<br />
opinions, is courageous, and unconquerable. 6 in the<br />
89
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
In hac positum est summum illud hominis bonum.<br />
Antequam impleatur, incerta mentis volutatio est ;<br />
cum vero perfectum est, inmota ilia l stabilitas est.<br />
28 Itaque inchoatus et ad summa procedens cultorque<br />
virtutis, etiam si<br />
adpropinquat perfecto bono, sed ei<br />
nondum summam manum inposuit, ibit 2 interim<br />
cessim et remittet aliquid ex intentione mentis.<br />
Nondum enim incerta transgressus est, etiamnunc<br />
versatur in lubrico. Beatus vero et virtutis exactae<br />
tune se maxima amat, cum fortissime expertus est,<br />
et metuenda ceteris, si alicuius honesti <strong>of</strong>ficii pretia<br />
sunt, non tantum fert, sed amplexatur multoque<br />
audire mavult " tanto melior " quam " tanto felicior."<br />
29 Venio nunc illo, quo me vocat expectatio tua.<br />
Ne extra rerum naturam vagari virtus nostra videatur,<br />
et tremet 3 sapiens et dolebit et expallescet. Hi<br />
enim omnes corporis sensus sunt. Ubi ergo calamitas,<br />
ubi illud malum verum est? Illic scilicet, si ista<br />
animum detrahunt, si ad confessionein servitutis<br />
30 adducunt, si illi paenitentiam sui faciunt. Sapiens<br />
quidem vincit virtute fortunam, at multi pr<strong>of</strong>essi<br />
sapientiam levissimis nomiumquam minis exterriti<br />
sunt. Hoc loco nostrum vitium est, qui idem a<br />
sapiente exigimus et a pr<strong>of</strong>iciente. Suadeo adhuc<br />
1 2<br />
Buecheler prefers illi.<br />
ibit Gruter ; ibi VPb.<br />
tremet the common reading ; tremebit VPb ; Hense<br />
suggests tremescet.<br />
a i.e., because he has endured and conquered misfortune<br />
rather than escaped it.<br />
6<br />
For a similar thought cf. Ep. xi. 6.<br />
c<br />
Three stages <strong>of</strong> progress (-n-poKOTrrj) were defined by<br />
Chrysippus. Cf. also Sen. Eyp.<br />
Ixxii. 6 and ixxv. 8 f.<br />
90
'<br />
EPISTLE LXXI.<br />
latter is situated man's Supreme Good. Before this<br />
is<br />
completely attained, the mind wavers in uncertainty<br />
only when it is ; fully achieved is the mind<br />
fixed and steady. And so when one has just begun,<br />
or is on one's way to the heights and is cultivating<br />
virtue, or even if one is<br />
drawing near the perfect<br />
good but has not yet put the finishing touch upon<br />
it, one will retrograde at times and there will be a<br />
certain slackening <strong>of</strong> mental effort. For such a<br />
man has not yet traversed the doubtful ground he<br />
;<br />
is still standing in slippery places. But the happy<br />
man, whose virtue is complete, loves himself most<br />
<strong>of</strong> all when his bravery has been submitted to the<br />
severest test, and when he not only endures but<br />
welcomes that which all other men regard with<br />
fear, if it is the price which he must pay for the<br />
performance <strong>of</strong> a duty which honour imposes, and he<br />
greatly prefers to have men say <strong>of</strong> him " how<br />
much : '<br />
more noble ! rather than " how much more<br />
lucky* 1 !'<br />
And now I have reached the point to which your<br />
patient waiting summons me. You must not think<br />
that our human virtue transcends nature; the wise<br />
man will tremble, will feel pain, will turn pale. 6<br />
For all these are sensations <strong>of</strong> the body. Where,<br />
<strong>of</strong> that which<br />
then, is the abode <strong>of</strong> utter distress, is truly an evil ? In the other part <strong>of</strong> us, no doubt,<br />
if it is the mind that these trials drag down, force to<br />
a confession <strong>of</strong> its servitude, and cause to regret its<br />
existence. The wise man, indeed, overcomes Fortune<br />
by his virtue, but many who pr<strong>of</strong>ess wisdom are<br />
sometimes frightened by the most unsubstantial<br />
threats. And at this stage it is a mistake on our<br />
part to make the same demands upon the wise man<br />
and upon the learner. I still exhort myself to do<br />
VOL. II D 91
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
mihi ista, quae laudo, nondum persuadeo. Etiam si<br />
persuasissem, nondum tain parata haberem aut tarn<br />
31 exercitata, ut ad omnes casus procurrerent. Quemadmodum<br />
lana quosdam colores semel ducit, quosdam<br />
nisi saepius macerata et recocta non perbibit ; sic<br />
alias disciplinas ingenia, cum accepere, protinus<br />
praestant, haec, nisi alte descendit et diu sedit<br />
et animum non coloravit, sed infecit, nihil ex his,<br />
32 quae promiserat, praestat. Cito hoc potest tradi et<br />
paucissimis verbis : uiium bonum esse virtutem,<br />
nullum certe sine virtute, et ipsam virtutem in parte<br />
nostri meliore, id est rational i, positam. Quid erit<br />
haec virtus ? ludicium verum et inmotum. Ab hoc<br />
enim impetus venient mentis, ab hoc omnis species,<br />
33 quae impetum movet, redigetur ad liquidum. Huic<br />
iudicio consentaneum erit omnia, quae<br />
virtute coiitacta<br />
sunt, et bona iudicare et inter se paria.<br />
Corporum autem bona corporibus quidem bona<br />
sunt, sed in totum non sunt bona. His pretium<br />
quidem erit aliquod, ceterum dignitas non erit ;<br />
magnis inter se interval! is distabunt ;<br />
alia minora,<br />
34 alia maiora erunt. Et in ipsis sapientiam sectantibus<br />
magna discrimina esse fateamur necesse est. Alius<br />
iam in tantum pr<strong>of</strong>ecit, ut contra fortunam audeat<br />
adtollere oculos, sed non pertinaciter, cadurit l enim<br />
nimio splendore praestricti ;<br />
alius in tantum, ut<br />
1<br />
cadunt Haase ; cedunt or caedunt MSS.<br />
* Ovid, Metam. vi. 9, speaks <strong>of</strong> bihula lana, and Horace,<br />
Ep. i. 10. 27, <strong>of</strong> vellera potantia fucum.<br />
92
EPISTLE LXXI.<br />
that which I recommend ;<br />
but my exhortations are<br />
not yet followed. And even if this were the case,<br />
I should not have these principles so ready for<br />
practice, or so well trained, that they would rush to<br />
my assistance in every crisis. Just as wool takes up<br />
certain colours at once/ 1 while there are others<br />
which it will not absorb unless it is soaked arid<br />
steeped in them many times so<br />
;<br />
other systems <strong>of</strong><br />
doctrine can be immediately applied by men's minds<br />
after once being accepted, but this system <strong>of</strong> which<br />
1<br />
speak, unless it has gone deep and has sunk in for<br />
a long time, and has not merely coloured but<br />
thoroughly permeated the soul, does not fulfil<br />
any <strong>of</strong><br />
its promises. The matter can be imparted quickly<br />
and in very few words " Virtue : is the only good at<br />
;<br />
any rate there is no good without virtue ;<br />
and virtue<br />
itself is situated in our nobler part, that is, the<br />
rational part." And what will this virtue be ? A<br />
true and never-swerving judgment. For therefrom<br />
will spring all mental impulses, and by its agency<br />
every external appearance that stirs our impulses<br />
will be clarified. It will be in keeping with this<br />
judgment to judge all things that have been coloured<br />
by virtue as goods, and as equal goods.<br />
Bodily goods are, to be sure, good for the body ;<br />
but they are not absolutely good. There will<br />
indeed be some value in them ;<br />
but they will<br />
possess no genuine merit, for they will differ greatly ;<br />
some will be less, others greater. And we are constrained<br />
to acknowledge that there are great differences<br />
among the very followers <strong>of</strong> wisdom. One<br />
man has already made so much progress that he<br />
dares to raise his eyes and look Fortune in the face,<br />
but not persistently, for his eyes soon drop, dazzled<br />
by her overwhelming splendour another has made<br />
;<br />
93
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
possit cum ilia conferre vultum, nisi l iam pervenit<br />
35 ad summum et fiduciae plenus est. Inperfecta necesse<br />
est labent et modo prodeant, modo sublabantur aut<br />
succidant. Sublabentur autem,<br />
perseveraverint ; si<br />
quicquam<br />
intentione laxaverint,, retro eundum est.<br />
nisi ire et niti<br />
ex studio et fideli<br />
Nemo pr<strong>of</strong>ectum<br />
ibi invenit, ubi reliquerat. Instemus itaque<br />
36 et perse veremus. Plus, quam pr<strong>of</strong>ligavimus, restat,<br />
sed magna pars est pr<strong>of</strong>ectus velle pr<strong>of</strong>icere.<br />
Huius rei conscius niihi sum ;<br />
volo et mente tota<br />
volo. Te quoque instinctum esse et magno ad pulcherrima<br />
properare impetu video. Properemus ; ita<br />
demum vita beneficium erit. Alioqui mora est, et<br />
quidem turpis inter foeda versantibus. Id agamus,<br />
ut nostrum omne tempus<br />
sit. Non erit autem, nisi<br />
37 prius nos nostri esse coeperimus. Quando contiiiget<br />
contemnere utramque fortunam, quando continget<br />
omnibus oppressis adfectibus et sub arbitrium suum<br />
adductis hanc vocem emittere " vici" ?<br />
quaeris ?<br />
Quern vicerim<br />
Non Persas nee extrema Medorum nee si<br />
quid ultra Dahas bellicosum iacet, sed avaritiam, sed<br />
ambitionem, sed metum mortis, qui victores gentium<br />
vicit.<br />
a<br />
VALE.<br />
1<br />
vultum, nisi Hense ; vultum si MSS.<br />
In which case, he would be completely superior to her.<br />
*<br />
A nomad Scythian tribe east <strong>of</strong> the Caspian Sea.
EPISTLE LXXI.<br />
so much progress that he is able to match glances<br />
with her,- that is, unless he has already reached the<br />
summit and is full <strong>of</strong> confidence.* That which is<br />
short <strong>of</strong> perfection must necessarily be unsteady, at<br />
one time progressing, at another slipping or growing<br />
faint ;<br />
and it will surely slip back unless it<br />
keeps<br />
struggling ahead for if a man slackens at all in zeal<br />
;<br />
and faithful application, he must retrograde. No<br />
one can resume his progress at the point where he<br />
left <strong>of</strong>f. Therefore let us press on and persevere.<br />
There remains much more <strong>of</strong> the road than we have<br />
put behind us but the<br />
; greater part <strong>of</strong> progress is<br />
the desire to progress.<br />
I fully understand what this task is. It is a<br />
thing which I desire, and I desire it with all<br />
my<br />
heart. I see that you also have been aroused and<br />
are hastening with great zeal towards infinite beauty.<br />
Let us, then, hasten ;<br />
only on these terms will life<br />
be a boon to us ; otherwise, there is delay, and<br />
indeed disgraceful delay, while we busy ourselves<br />
with revolting: thinsrs. Let us see to it that all O O<br />
time<br />
belongs to us. This, however, cannot be unless first<br />
<strong>of</strong> all our own selves begin to belong to us. And<br />
when will it be our privilege to despise both kinds<br />
<strong>of</strong> fortune ? When will it be our privilege,<br />
after<br />
all the passions have been subdued and brought<br />
under our own control, to utter the words "I have<br />
"<br />
?<br />
conquered Do ! you ask me whom I have<br />
conquered ? Neither the Persians, nor the far-<strong>of</strong>f<br />
Medes, nor any warlike race that lies beyond the<br />
Dahae b ;<br />
not these, but greed, ambition, and the<br />
fear <strong>of</strong> death that has conquered the conquerors <strong>of</strong><br />
the world. Farewell.<br />
95
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
LXXII.<br />
<strong>SENECA</strong> LVCILIO svo SALVTE.M<br />
sic rem edidiceram,<br />
per se. Sed diu non retemptavi memoriam<br />
meam, itaque non facile me sequitur. Quod evenit<br />
1 Quod quaeris a me, liquebat mihi,<br />
libris situ cohaerentibus, hoc evenisse mihi sentio ;<br />
explicandus est animus et quaecumque apud ilium<br />
deposita sunt, subinde excuti debent, ut parata sint,<br />
quotiens usus exegerit. Ergo hoc in praesentia<br />
differamus ;<br />
multum enim operae, multum diligentiae<br />
poscit. Cum primum longiorem eodem loco spera-<br />
2 vero moram, tune istud in manus sumam. Quaedam<br />
enim sunt, quae possis et in cisio scribere. Quaedam<br />
lectum et otium et secretum desiderant. Nihilominus<br />
his quoque occupatis diebus agatur aliquid<br />
et quidem totis. Numquam enim non succedent<br />
occupationes novae serimus<br />
; illas, itaque ex una<br />
exeunt plures. Deinde ipsi nobis dilationem damns :<br />
"cum hoc peregero, toto animo incumbam " et "si<br />
hanc rem molestarn composuero, studio me dabo."<br />
3 Non cum vacaveris, philosophandum est ;<br />
omnia<br />
cui nullum<br />
alia neglegenda, ut huic adsideamus,<br />
;<br />
a<br />
The context furnishes no clue as to what the subject<br />
was.<br />
Ep. Ixv. 15. For<br />
6<br />
Seneca is fond <strong>of</strong> legal<br />
the dilatio see Pliny, Ep.<br />
\.<br />
figures<br />
IB.<br />
cf.<br />
1<br />
rogas ut dilationem petam.<br />
c<br />
Cf. Ep. liii. 9 (philotiophia) non est res subsicira ("a<br />
matter for spare time"), ordinaria est; domina est, adcsse<br />
inbet.<br />
96
EPISTLE LXXII.<br />
LXXII. ON BUSINESS AS THE ENEMY<br />
OF PHILOSOPHY<br />
The subject" concerning which you question me<br />
was once clear to my mind, and required no thought,<br />
so thoroughly had I mastered it. But I have not<br />
tested my memory <strong>of</strong> it for some time, and therefore<br />
it does not readily come back to me. I feel that I<br />
have suffered the fate <strong>of</strong> a book whose rolls have<br />
stuck together by disuse ;<br />
my mind needs to be<br />
unrolled, and whatever has been stored away there<br />
ought to be examined from time to time, so that<br />
it<br />
may be ready for use when occasion demands.<br />
Let us therefore put this subject <strong>of</strong>f for the present;<br />
for it demands much labour and much care. As<br />
soon as 1 can hope to stay for any length <strong>of</strong> time<br />
in the same place,<br />
I shall then take your question in<br />
hand. For there are certain subjects about which<br />
you can write even while travelling in a gig, and<br />
there are also subjects which need a study-chair,<br />
and quiet, and seclusion. Nevertheless I ought to<br />
accomplish something even on days like these,<br />
days which are fully employed, and indeed from<br />
morning till night. For there is never a moment<br />
when fresh employments will not come along we<br />
;<br />
sow them, and for this reason several spring up<br />
from one. Then, too, we keep adjourning our own<br />
cases, 6 saying " As soon as I am done with : this, I<br />
shall settle down to hard work," or "<br />
: If I ever set<br />
I shall devote<br />
this troublesome matter in order,<br />
myself to study."<br />
But the study <strong>of</strong> philosophy<br />
is not to be postponed<br />
until you have leisure c<br />
; everything else is to be<br />
neglected in order that we may attend to philosophy,<br />
97
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
tempus satis magnum est, etiain si a pueritia usque<br />
ad longissimos hurnani aevi terminos vita producitur.<br />
Non multum refert, utrum omittas philosophiam an<br />
intennittas ;<br />
non enim ubi interrupta est, manet, sed<br />
eorum more, quae intenta dissiliunt, usque ad initia<br />
sua recurrit, quod a continuatione discessit. Resistendum<br />
est occupationibus, nee explicandae, sed submovendae<br />
sunt.<br />
Tempus quidem nullum parum est<br />
idonemn studio salutari :<br />
atqui multi inter ilia non<br />
4 student, propter quae studendum est. " Incidet<br />
aliquid, quod inpediat." Non quidem eum, cuius<br />
animus in omni negotio laetus atque alacer est ;<br />
inperfectis adhuc interscinditur laetitia, sapientis vero<br />
contexitur gaudium, nulla causa rumpitur, nulla<br />
fortuna, semper et ubique tranquillus l est. Non<br />
enim ex alieno pendet nee favorem fortunae aut<br />
hominis expectat. Domestica illi felicitas est ;<br />
exiret<br />
5 ex animo, si intraret ;<br />
ibi nascitur. Aliquando extrinsecus,<br />
quo admoneatur mortalitatis, intervenit,<br />
sed id leve et quod summam cutem stringat. Aliquo,<br />
inquam, incommodo adflatur maximum autem illud<br />
;<br />
bonum est fixum. Ita dico : extrinsecus aliqua sunt<br />
incommoda, velut in corpore interdum robusto<br />
solidoque eruptiones quaedam pusularum et ulcuscula,<br />
6 nullum in alto malum est. Hoc, inquam, interest<br />
Haase ;<br />
trajisjuillum MSS.<br />
. . ,<br />
a<br />
Cf. Ep. xlv. 9 infrepidus, quern aUcjiia r?.? more!, nulla<br />
],frtn.rhat, qntm fortuna p-unf/it,<br />
non vulnerrit, et hoc<br />
raro.<br />
98
EPISTLE LXXII.<br />
for no amount <strong>of</strong> time is<br />
long enough for it, even<br />
though our lives be prolonged from boyhood to the<br />
uttermost bounds <strong>of</strong> time allotted to man. It makes<br />
little difference whether you leave philosophy out<br />
altoo-ether or study it intermittently for it does not<br />
;<br />
O<br />
stay as it was when you dropped it, but, because its<br />
continuity has been broken, it goes back to the<br />
position in which it was at the beginning, like things<br />
which fly apart when they are stretched taut. We<br />
must resist the affairs which occupy our time ; they<br />
must not be untangled, but rather put out <strong>of</strong> the<br />
way. Indeed, there is no time that is unsuitable for<br />
helpful studies and<br />
; yet many<br />
a man fails to study<br />
amid the very circumstances which make study<br />
necessary.<br />
He<br />
" says<br />
:<br />
Something will happen to<br />
hinder me." No, not in the case <strong>of</strong> the man whose<br />
spirit, no matter what his business may be, is happy<br />
and alert. It is those who are still short <strong>of</strong> perfection<br />
whose happiness can be broken <strong>of</strong>f; the joy<br />
<strong>of</strong> a wise man, on the other hand, is a woven fabric,<br />
rent by no chance happening and by no change <strong>of</strong><br />
fortune ;<br />
at all times and in all places he is at peace.<br />
For his joy depends on nothing external and looks<br />
for no boon from man or fortune. His happiness<br />
is<br />
something within himself; it would depart from<br />
his soul if it entered in from the outside ;<br />
it is born<br />
there. Sometimes an external happening reminds<br />
him <strong>of</strong> his mortality, but it is a light blow, and<br />
merely grazes the surface <strong>of</strong> his skin. a Some trouble,<br />
I repeat, may touch him like a breath <strong>of</strong> wind,<br />
but that Supreme Good <strong>of</strong> his is unshaken. This<br />
is what I mean : there are external disadvantages,<br />
like pimples and boils that break out upon a body<br />
which is<br />
normally strong and sound but there is no<br />
;<br />
deep-seated malady. The difference, I say, between<br />
VOL. IT D 2 99
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
inter consummatae sapientiae virum et alium procedentis,<br />
quod inter sanum et ex morbo gravi ac<br />
diutino emergentem, cui sanitatis loco est levior<br />
accessio : hie nisi adtendit, subinde gravatur et in<br />
eadem revolvitur, sapiens recidere non potest, ne<br />
incidere quidem am pi ins. Corpori enim ad tempus<br />
bona valetudo est, qu.un rnedicus, etiam si reddidit,<br />
non praestat, saepe ad eundem, qui 1 advocaverat,<br />
excitatur. Animus 2 semel in totum sanatur.<br />
7 Dicam, quomodo intellegam 3 sanum : si se ipso<br />
contentus est, si confidit sibi, si scit omnia vota<br />
mortalium, omnia beneficia quae dantur petunturque,<br />
iiullum in beata vita habere momentum. Nam cui<br />
aliquid accedere potest, id inperfectum est ;<br />
cui<br />
aliquid abscedere potest, id inperpetuum est cuius<br />
;<br />
perpetua futura laetitia est, is suo gaudeat. Omnia<br />
autem, quibus vulgus inhiat, ultro citroque fluunt.<br />
Nihil dat fortuna mancipio. Sed haec quoque fortuita<br />
tune delectant, cum ilia ratio temperavit ac miscuit ;<br />
haec est, quae etiam externa commendet, quorum<br />
g avidis usus ingratus est. Solebat Attalus hac imagine<br />
uti "<br />
: vidisti aliquando canem missa a domino frusta<br />
panis aut carnis aperto ore captantem ? Quicquid<br />
excepit, protinus integrum devorat et semper ad<br />
1<br />
qui Lipsius ; quern MSS.<br />
2<br />
animus added by Muretus.<br />
9<br />
intellegam Koch ;<br />
intellegas MSS.<br />
a Cf. Lucretius, iii. 971 vita mancipio nulli datur, omnibus<br />
usu. Our lives are merely loaned to us ;<br />
Nature retains the<br />
dominium. Cf. also Seneca's frequent figure <strong>of</strong> life as an<br />
inn, contrasted with a house over which one has ownership.<br />
100
EPISTLE LXXII.<br />
between a healthy man and one who is<br />
for whom<br />
a man <strong>of</strong> perfect wisdom and another who is progressing<br />
in wisdom is the same as the difference<br />
convalescing<br />
from a severe and lingering illness,<br />
" " health means only a lighter attack <strong>of</strong> his disease.<br />
If the latter does not take heed, there is an immediate<br />
relapse and a return to the same old trouble;<br />
but the wise man cannot slip back, or slip into any<br />
more illness at all. For health <strong>of</strong> body is a temporary<br />
matter which the physician cannot guarantee, even<br />
though he has restored it ; nay, he is <strong>of</strong>ten roused<br />
from his bed to visit the same patient who summoned<br />
him before. The mind, however, once healed, is<br />
healed for good and all.<br />
I shall tell you what I mean by health : if the<br />
mind is content with its own self; if it has confidence<br />
in itself; if it understands that all those<br />
things for which men all<br />
pray, the benefits which<br />
are bestowed and sought for, are <strong>of</strong> no importance in<br />
relation to a life <strong>of</strong> happiness ; under such conditions<br />
it is sound. For anything that can be added to is<br />
imperfect anything that can suffer loss is not last-<br />
;<br />
ing but let the man whose happiness<br />
is to be<br />
;<br />
his own. Now<br />
lasting, rejoice in what is truly<br />
all that which the crowd gapes after, ebbs and flows.<br />
Fortune gives us nothing which we can really own. a<br />
But even these gifts <strong>of</strong> Fortune please us when<br />
reason has tempered and blended them to our taste ;<br />
for it is reason which makes acceptable to us even<br />
external goods that are disagreeable to use if we<br />
absorb them too greedily. Attalus used to employ<br />
the following simile " : Did you ever see a dog<br />
snapping with wide-open jaws at bits <strong>of</strong> bread or<br />
meat which his master tosses to him ? Whatever he<br />
catches, he straightway swallows whole, and always<br />
101
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
spem venturi hiat. Idem evenit nobis ; quicquid<br />
expectantibus fortuna proiecit, id sine ulla voluptate<br />
demittimus statim, ad rapinam alterius erecti et<br />
adtoniti." Hoc sapienti non evenit ; plenus est.<br />
Ktiam si<br />
quid obvenit, secure excipit ac reponit.<br />
9 Laetitia fruitur maxima, continua, sua. Habet aliquis<br />
bonam voluntatem, habet pr<strong>of</strong>ectum, sed cui multum<br />
desit a summo hie ;<br />
deprimitur alternis et extollitur<br />
ac modo in caelum adlevatur, modo defertur ad<br />
terram. Imperitis 1 ac rudibus nullus praecipitationis<br />
finis est ; in Epicureum illud chaos decidunt, inane,<br />
10 sine termino. Est adhuc genus tertium eorum, qui<br />
sapientiae adludunt, quarn non quidem contigerunt,<br />
in conspectu tamen et, ut ita dicam, sub ictu habent ;<br />
hi non concutiuntur, ne defluunt quidem. Nondum<br />
in sicco, iam in portu sunt.<br />
11 Ergo cum tarn magna sint inter summos imosque<br />
discrimina, cum medios quoque sequatur fluctus 2<br />
suus, sequatur ingcns periculum ad deteriora redeundi,<br />
non debemus occupationibus indulgere. Excludendae<br />
sunt ;<br />
si semel intraverint, in locum suum alias substituent.<br />
Principiis<br />
incipient, quam desineiit.<br />
1<br />
illarum obstemus. Melius non<br />
VALE.<br />
imperitis later MSS. ; impeditis VPb.<br />
2 fluctus later MSS. ; fructus VPb.<br />
a The Void (inane), or infinite space, as contrasted with<br />
the atoms which form new worlds in continuous succession.<br />
102
EPISTLE LXXII.<br />
opens his jaws in the hope <strong>of</strong> something more. So<br />
it is with ourselves ;<br />
we stand expectant, and whatever<br />
Fortune has thrown to us we forthwith bolt,<br />
without any real pleasure, and then stand alert and<br />
frantic for something else to snatch." But it is not<br />
so with the wise man ;<br />
he is satisfied. Even if<br />
something falls to him, he merely accepts it carelessly<br />
and lays it aside. The happiness that he enjoys is<br />
supremely great, is lasting, is his own. Assume that<br />
a man has good intentions, and has made progress,<br />
but is still far from the heights the result is a<br />
;<br />
series <strong>of</strong> ups and downs ;<br />
he is now raised to heaven,<br />
now brought down to earth. For those who lack<br />
experience and training, there is no limit to the<br />
downhill course ;<br />
such a one falls into the Chaos a <strong>of</strong><br />
Epicurus, empty and boundless. There is still a<br />
third class <strong>of</strong> men, those who toy with wisdom ;<br />
they have not indeed touched it, but yet are in sight<br />
<strong>of</strong> it, and have it, so to speak, within striking distance.<br />
They are not dashed about, nor do they drift<br />
back either; they are not on dry land, but are already<br />
in port.<br />
Therefore, considering the great difference between<br />
those on the heights and those in the depths,<br />
and seeing that even those in the middle are pursued<br />
by an ebb and flow peculiar to their state, and<br />
pursued also by an enormous risk <strong>of</strong> returning to<br />
their degenerate ways, we should not give ourselves<br />
up to matters which occupy our time. They should<br />
be shut out if ; they once gain an entrance, they<br />
will bring in still others to take their places. Let<br />
us resist them in their early stages.<br />
It is better<br />
that they shall never begin than that they shall be<br />
made to cease. Farewell.<br />
103
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
LXXIII.<br />
<strong>SENECA</strong> LVCILIO svo SALVTEM<br />
1 Errare mihi videntur, qui existimant philosophiae<br />
fideliter deditos contumaces esse ac refractarios, contemptores<br />
magistratuum aut regum eorumve, per<br />
quos publica administrantur. Ex contrario enim<br />
nulli adversus illos gratiores sunt nee<br />
;<br />
inmerito.<br />
Nullis enim plus praestant quam quibus frui tranquillo<br />
2 otio licet. Itaque ii, quibus multum 1 ad propositum<br />
bene vivendi confert securitas publica, necesse est<br />
auctorem huius boni ut parentem colant, multo<br />
quidem magis quam illi inquieti et in medio positi,<br />
qui multa principibus debent, sed multa et inputant,<br />
quibus numquam tarn plene occurrere ulla liberalitas<br />
potest, ut cupiditates illorum, quae crescunt, duni<br />
implentur, exsatiet. Quisquis autem de accipiendo<br />
cogitat, oblitus accepti est nee ullum habet malum<br />
;<br />
3 cupiditas maius, quam quod ingrata est. Adice nunc,<br />
quod nemo eorum, qui in re publica versantur, quot<br />
vincat, sed a quibus vincatur, aspicit. Et illis non<br />
tarn iucundum est multos post se videre quam grave<br />
aliquem ante se. Habet hoc vitium omnis ambitio ;<br />
non respicit. Nee ambitio tantum instabilis est,<br />
verum cupiditas omnis, quia incipit semper a fine.<br />
4 At ille vir sincerus ac purus, qui reliquit et curiam<br />
et forum et omnem administrationem rei publicae,<br />
1<br />
multum Haase ; altum VPb.<br />
a This letter is especially interesting because <strong>of</strong> its autobiographical<br />
hints, and its relation to Seneca's own efforts<br />
to be rid <strong>of</strong> court life and seek the leisure <strong>of</strong> the sage. See<br />
the Introduction to Vol. I. pp. viii f.<br />
6<br />
Cf. Horace, Sat. i. 1. 115 f.-<br />
Instat equis auriga suos vincentibus, ilium<br />
Praeteritum tenmens extremes inter eunt^in.<br />
104
EPISTLE LXX1II.<br />
LXXIII.<br />
ON PHILOSOPHERS AND KINGS<br />
It seems to me erroneous to believe that those<br />
who have loyally dedicated themselves to philosophy<br />
are stubborn and rebellious, scorners <strong>of</strong> magistrates or<br />
kings or <strong>of</strong> those who control the administration <strong>of</strong><br />
public affairs. For, on the contrary, no class <strong>of</strong> man<br />
is so popular with the philosopher as the ruler is ;<br />
and rightly so, because rulers bestow upon no men a<br />
greater privilege than upon those who are allowed<br />
to enjoy peace and leisure. Hence, those who are<br />
greatly pr<strong>of</strong>ited, as regards their purpose <strong>of</strong> right<br />
living, by the security <strong>of</strong> the State, must needs<br />
cherish as a father the author <strong>of</strong> this good much<br />
more ; so, at any rate, than those restless persons who<br />
are always in the public eye, who owe much to the<br />
ruler, but also expect much from him, and are never<br />
so generously loaded with favours that their cravings,<br />
which grow by being supplied, are thoroughly satisfied.<br />
And yet he whose thoughts are <strong>of</strong> benefits to<br />
come has forgotten the benefits received ;<br />
and there<br />
is no greater evil in covetousness than its ingratitude.<br />
Besides, no man in public life thinks <strong>of</strong> the many<br />
whom he has outstripped ;<br />
he thinks rather <strong>of</strong> those<br />
by whom he is outstripped. And these men find it<br />
less pleasing to see many behind them than annoying<br />
to see anyone ahead <strong>of</strong> them. 6 That is the trouble<br />
with every sort <strong>of</strong> ambition ;<br />
it does not look back.<br />
Nor is it ambition alone that is fickle, but also every<br />
sort <strong>of</strong> craving, because it<br />
always begins where it<br />
ought to end.<br />
But that other man, upright and pure, who has left<br />
the senate and the bar and all affairs <strong>of</strong> state, that<br />
105
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
ut ad ampliora secederet, diligit eos, per quos hoc ei<br />
facere tuto licet solusque l illis<br />
gratuitum testimonium<br />
rem nescientibus debet. Quemad-<br />
reddit et magnam<br />
modum praeceptores suos veneratur ac suspicit, quorum<br />
beneficio illis inviis exit, sic et 2 hos, sub quorum<br />
5 tutela positus exercet artes bonas. " Verum alios<br />
quoque 3 rex viribus suis protegit." Quis negat<br />
?<br />
Sed quemadmodum Neptuno plus debere se iudicat<br />
ex is, qui eadem tranquillitate usi sunt, qui plura et<br />
pretiosiora illo mari vexit, animosius a mercatore<br />
quam a vectore solvitur votum, et ex ipsis mercatoribus<br />
effusius gratus est, qui odores ac purpuras et<br />
auro pensanda portabat quam qui vilissima<br />
quaeque<br />
et saburrae loco futura coiigesserat<br />
;<br />
sic huius pacis<br />
beneficium ad omnes pertinentis altius ad eos pervenit,<br />
qui ilia bene utuntur.<br />
6 Multi enim sunt ex bis<br />
togatis, quibus pax<br />
operosior bello est. An idem existimas pro pace<br />
debere eos, qui illam ebrietati aut libidini inpendunt<br />
aut aliis vitiis, quae vel bello rumpenda sunt ? Nisi<br />
forte tarn iniquum putas esse sapientem, ut nihil<br />
viritim se debere pro communibus bonis iudicet.<br />
Soli<br />
lunaeque plurimum debeo, et non uni mihi oriuntur.<br />
Anno temperantique annum deo privatim obligatus<br />
1<br />
solusque Muretus ;<br />
sohimque VPb.<br />
* has later MSS. ; his VPb.<br />
8 alios quoque later MSS. ; quoque alios VPb.<br />
a For an interesting account <strong>of</strong> philosophy and its relation<br />
to Roman history see E. V. Arnold, Roman <strong>Stoic</strong>ism, chap,<br />
xvi. This subject is discussed fully by Cicero, De and Off. i. 71 f.,<br />
by Seneca, Ep. xc.<br />
106
EPISTLE LXXIII.<br />
he may retire to nobler affairs,* cherishes those who<br />
have made it possible for him to do this in security ;<br />
he is the only person who returns spontaneous thanks<br />
to them, the only person who owes them a great debt<br />
without their knowledge. Just as a man honours<br />
and reveres his teachers,, by whose aid he has found<br />
release from his early wanderings, so the sage honours<br />
these men, also, under whose guardianship he can<br />
put his good theories into practice. But you answer :<br />
" Other men too are protected by a king's personal<br />
power." Perfectly true. But just as, out <strong>of</strong> a<br />
number <strong>of</strong> persons who have pr<strong>of</strong>ited by the same<br />
stretch <strong>of</strong> calm weather, a man deems that his debt<br />
to Neptune is greater if his cargo during that voyage<br />
has been more extensive and valuable, and just as<br />
the vow is paid with more <strong>of</strong> a will by the merchant<br />
than by the passenger, and just from as, among the<br />
merchants themselves, heartier thanks are uttered by<br />
the dealer in spices, purple fabrics, and objects worth<br />
their weight in gold, than by him who has gathered<br />
cheap merchandise that will be nothing but ballast<br />
for his ship ;<br />
similarly, the benefits <strong>of</strong> this peace,<br />
which extends to all, are more deeply appreciated<br />
by those who make good use <strong>of</strong> it.<br />
For there are many <strong>of</strong> our toga-clad citizens to<br />
whom peace brings more trouble than war. Or do<br />
those, think you, owe as much as we do for the peace<br />
they enjoy, who spend<br />
it in drunkenness,, or in lust,<br />
or in other vices which it were worth even a war to<br />
interrupt ? No, not unless you think that the wise<br />
man is so unfair as to believe that as an individual<br />
he owes nothing in return for the advantages which<br />
he enjoys with all the rest. I owe a great debt to the<br />
sun and to the moon ;<br />
and yet they do not rise for<br />
me alone. I am personally beholden to the seasons<br />
107
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
sum, quamvis nihil in meum honorem l discripta<br />
7 -int. Stulta avaritia mortalium possessionem proprietatemque<br />
discernit nee quicquam suum credit<br />
esse, quod publicura est. At ille sapiens nihil iudicat<br />
suum magis quam cuius illi cum humano genere consortium<br />
est. Nee enim essent ita communia, nisi<br />
pars illorum pertineret ad singulos socium efficit<br />
;<br />
8 etiam quod ex minima portione commune est. Adice<br />
nunc, quod magna et vera bona non sic dividuntur,<br />
ut exiguum in singulos cadat ad ;<br />
unumquemque<br />
tota perveniunt. Ex congiario tantum ferunt homines^<br />
quantum in capita promissum est. Epulum et<br />
visceratio et quicquid - aliud manu capitur, discedit<br />
in partes. At haec individua bona, pax et libertas,<br />
et 3 tam omnium tota quam singulorum sunt.<br />
9 Cogitat itaque, per quern sibi horum us us fructusque<br />
contingat; per quern non ad arma ilium nee<br />
ad servandas vigilias nee ad tuenda moenia et multiplex<br />
belli tributum publica necessitas vocet, agitque<br />
gubernatori suo gratias. Hoc docet philosophia<br />
praecipue, bene debere 4 beneficia,, bene solvere ;<br />
10 interdum autem solutio est ipsa confessio. Confitebitur<br />
ergo multum se debere ei, cuius administratione<br />
ac providentia contingit<br />
illi<br />
pingue otium et arbitrium<br />
1<br />
Hense suggests the possibility <strong>of</strong> t>-.,/:>jra after honorem.<br />
2 et quicquid later MSS. ;<br />
quid or quicquid VPb.<br />
1<br />
et later MSS. ; (a VP.<br />
4<br />
dt^ere later MSS. ; dedere VPb.<br />
a<br />
For this figure cf. Ep. Lxxii. 7 and note ;<br />
see also the<br />
similar language <strong>of</strong> Ixxxviii. 12 hoc, quod tenes, quod tuum<br />
diets, publicutn tst et quid^m g^i^r'm kumani.<br />
b<br />
During certain festiv Us, either cooked or raw meat was<br />
distributed among the people.<br />
108
EPISTLE LXXIII.<br />
and to the god who controls them, although in no<br />
respect have they been apportioned for my benefit.<br />
The foolish greed <strong>of</strong> mortals makes a distinction<br />
between possession and ownership, and believes that<br />
it has ownership in nothing in which the general<br />
public has a share. But our philosopher considers<br />
nothing more truly his own than that which he<br />
shares in partnership with all mankind. For chese<br />
things would not be common property, as indeed<br />
they are, unless every individual had his quota ;<br />
even a joint interest based upon the slightest share<br />
makes one a partner. Again, the great and true<br />
goods are not divided in such a manner that each<br />
has but a slight interest :<br />
they belong in their<br />
entirety to each individual. At a distribution <strong>of</strong><br />
grain men receive only the amount that has been<br />
promised to each person the banquet and the meatdole,<br />
b or all else that a man can carrv away with him.<br />
;<br />
are divided into parts. These goods, however, are<br />
indivisible, I mean peace and liberty, and they<br />
belong in their entirety to all men just as much as<br />
thev belong to each individual.<br />
Therefore the philosopher thinks <strong>of</strong> the person<br />
who makes it possible for him to use and enjoy these<br />
things, <strong>of</strong> the person who exempts him when the<br />
state's dire need summons to arms, to sentry duty,<br />
to the defence <strong>of</strong> the walls, and to the manifold<br />
exactions <strong>of</strong> war; and he gives thanks to the helmsman<br />
<strong>of</strong> his state. This is what philosophy teaches<br />
most <strong>of</strong> all, honourably to avow the debt <strong>of</strong> benefits<br />
/<br />
received, and honourably to pay them :<br />
sometimes,<br />
however, the acknowledgment<br />
itself constitutes<br />
payment. Our philosopher will therefore acknowledge<br />
large debt to the ruler who<br />
makes it possible, by his management and foresight,<br />
109
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
sui temporis et inperturbata publicis occupationibus<br />
quies.<br />
O Meliboee, deus nobis haec otia fecit :<br />
Namque erit ille raihi semper deus.<br />
11 Si ilia<br />
quoque otia multum auctori suo debent,<br />
quorum munus hoc maximum est :<br />
Ille meas errare boves, ut cernis, et ipsum<br />
Ludere quae vellem calamo permisit agresti ;<br />
quanti aestimamus hoc otium, quod inter deos agitur,<br />
12 quod deos facit ? Ita dico, Lucili, et te in caelum<br />
compendiario voco.<br />
Solebat Sextius dicere lovem plus non posse quam<br />
bonum virum. Plura luppiter habet, quae praestet<br />
hominibus, sed inter duos bonos noil est melior, qui<br />
locupletior, non magis quam inter duos, quibus par<br />
scientia regendi gubernaculum est, meliorem dixeris,<br />
13 cui mains speciosiusque navigium<br />
est. luppiter quo<br />
antecedit virum bonum ? Diutius bonus est ;<br />
sapiens<br />
nihilo se minoris existimat, quod virtutes eius spatio<br />
ex duobus<br />
breviore cluduntur. Quemadmodum<br />
sapientibus qui senior decessit, non est beatior eo,<br />
cuius intra pauciores annos terminata virtus est, sic<br />
deus non vincit sapientem felicitate, etiam si vincit<br />
14aetate. Non est virtus maior, quae longior. luppiter<br />
omnia habet, sed nempe aliis tradidit habenda ;<br />
ad<br />
Vergil, Eclogue, i. 6 f. Vergil owes a debt to the<br />
Emperor, and regards him as a "god" because <strong>of</strong> the<br />
bestowal <strong>of</strong> earthly happiness<br />
;<br />
how much greater is the<br />
debt <strong>of</strong> the philosopher, who has the opportunity to Study<br />
heavenly things !<br />
6<br />
i.<br />
Vergil, Eclogue, 9 f.<br />
c<br />
In the Christian religion, God is everything among<br />
;<br />
the <strong>Stoic</strong>s, the wise man is equal to the gods. C/., for<br />
example, Ep.<br />
xli. 4.<br />
110
EPISTLE LXX1II.<br />
for him to enjoy rich leisure, control <strong>of</strong> his own time,<br />
and a tranquillity uninterrupted by public employments.<br />
Shepherd a god this leisure gave to me,<br />
!<br />
For he shall be<br />
a<br />
ray god eternally.<br />
And if even such leisure as that <strong>of</strong> our poet owes a<br />
debt to its boon is<br />
great<br />
this :<br />
author, though its greatest<br />
As thou canst see,<br />
He let me turn ray cattle out to feed,<br />
And play what fancy pleased on rustic reed ;<br />
b<br />
how highly are we to value this leisure <strong>of</strong> the philosopher,<br />
which is<br />
spent among the gods, and makes us<br />
gods ? Yes, that is what I mean, Lucilius and 1<br />
;<br />
invite you to heaven by a short cut.<br />
"<br />
Sextius used to say that Jupiter had no more<br />
power than the good man. Of course, Jupiter has<br />
more gifts<br />
which he can <strong>of</strong>fer to mankind; but when<br />
you are choosing between two good men, the richer<br />
is not necessarily the better, any more than, in the<br />
case <strong>of</strong> two pilots <strong>of</strong> equal skill in managing the<br />
tiller, you would call him the better whose ship is<br />
larger and more imposing. In what respect<br />
is<br />
Jupiter superior to our good man ? His goodness<br />
lasts longer but<br />
;<br />
O the wise man does not set a low r er<br />
7<br />
value upon himself, just because his virtues are<br />
limited by a briefer span. Or take two wise men ;<br />
he who has died at a greater age<br />
is not happier than<br />
he w hose r virtue has been limited to fewer years<br />
:<br />
similarly, a god has no advantage over a wise man in<br />
point <strong>of</strong> happiness, even though he has such an<br />
advantage in point <strong>of</strong> years. That virtue is not<br />
greater which lasts longer. Jupiter possesses all<br />
things, but he has surely given over the possession <strong>of</strong><br />
111
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
ipsum hie unus usus pertinet, quod utendi omnibus<br />
causa est. Sapiens tarn aequo animo omnia apud<br />
alios videt contemnitque quam luppiter et hoc se<br />
magis suspicit, quod luppiter uti illis non potest,<br />
15 sapiens non vult. Credamus itaque Sextio monstranti<br />
pulcherrimum iter et clamanti " hac ' itur ad : astra/<br />
hac secundum frugalitatem, hac secundura tempernntiam,<br />
hac secundum fortitudinem."<br />
Non sunt di fastidiosi, non invidi ; admittunt et<br />
1 6 ascendentibus manum porrigunt. Miraris hominem<br />
ad deos ire ? Deus ad homines venit, immo quod<br />
est propius,<br />
in homines venit ;<br />
nulla sine deo mens<br />
bona est. Semina in corporibus humanis divina<br />
dispersa sunt, quae si bonus cultor excipit, similia<br />
origin! prodeunt et paria iis, ex quibus orta sunt,<br />
humus sterilis<br />
si<br />
surgimt malus, non aliter<br />
quam ;<br />
ac palustris necat ac deinde creat purgamenta pro<br />
VALE.<br />
frugibus.<br />
LXXIV.<br />
<strong>SENECA</strong> LVCILIO svo SALVTEM<br />
1 Epistula tua delectavit me et marcentem excitavit,<br />
memoriam quoque meam, quae iam mihi segnis ac<br />
lenta est, evocavit.<br />
Quidni tu, mi Lucili, maximum putes instrumentum<br />
* Vergil, Aeneid, ix. 641.<br />
6<br />
Of. Ep. xli. 1 f. prope<br />
intus est.<br />
est a te deus, tecum est*
EPISTLES LXXIII., LXXIV.<br />
them to others ;<br />
the only use <strong>of</strong> them which belongs<br />
to him is this : he is the cause <strong>of</strong> their use to all men.<br />
The wise man surveys and scorns all the possessions<br />
<strong>of</strong> others as calmly as does Jupiter, and regards<br />
himself with the greater esteem because, while<br />
Jupiter cannot make use <strong>of</strong> them, he, the wise man,<br />
does not wish to do so. Let us therefore believe<br />
Sextius when he shows us the path <strong>of</strong> perfect beauty,<br />
and cries: "This is 'the way to the stars' this<br />
;<br />
is the way, by observing thrift, self-restraint, and<br />
'<br />
courage !<br />
The gods are not disdainful or envious ; they open<br />
the door to you they lend a hand as you climb.<br />
Do ; you marvel that man goes to the gods<br />
? God<br />
comes to men ; nay, he comes nearer, he comes<br />
into men.** No mind that has not God, is good.<br />
Divine seeds are scattered throughout our mortal<br />
bodies ;<br />
if a good husbandman receives them, they<br />
spring up in the likeness <strong>of</strong> their source and <strong>of</strong> a<br />
parity with those from which they came. If, however,<br />
the husbandman be bad, like a barren or marshy soil,<br />
he kills the seeds, and causes tares to grow up instead<br />
<strong>of</strong> wheat. Farewell.<br />
LXXIV. ON VIRTUE AS A REFUGE FROM<br />
WORLDLY DISTRACTIONS<br />
Your letter has given me pleasure, and has roused<br />
me from sluggishness.<br />
It has also prompted my<br />
memory, which has been for some time slack and<br />
nerveless.<br />
You are right, <strong>of</strong> course, my dear Lucilius, in<br />
deeming the chief means <strong>of</strong> attaining the happy life<br />
113
eatae vitae<br />
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
hanc persuasionem, unum bonum esse,<br />
quod honestum est ? Nam qui alia bona iudicat, in<br />
fortunae venit potestatem, alien! arbitrii fit ; qai<br />
omne bonum honesto circumscripsit, intra se est felix. 1<br />
2 Hie amissis liberis maestus, hie sollicitus aegris,<br />
hie turpibus et aliquam passis infamiam tristis. Ilium<br />
videbis alienae uxoris amore cruciari, ilium suae.<br />
Non<br />
deerit quern repulsa distorqueat ;<br />
erunt quos ipse<br />
3 honor vexet. Ilia vero maxima ex omni mortalium<br />
populo turba miserorum, quam expectatio mortis<br />
exagitat undique inpendens. Nihil enim est, unde<br />
non subeat. Itaque ut in hostili regione versantibus<br />
hue et illuc circumspiciendum<br />
est et ad omnem<br />
strepitum circumagenda cervix ;<br />
nisi hie timor e<br />
pectore eiectus est, palpitantibus praecordiis vivitur.<br />
4 Occurrent acti in exilium et evoluti bonis. Occurrent,<br />
quod genus egestatis gravissimum est, in divitiis<br />
inopes. Occurrent naufragi similiave naufragis passi,<br />
quos aut popularis ira aut invidia, perniciosum optimis<br />
telum, inopinantes securosque disiecit procellae more,<br />
quae in ipsa sereni fiducia solet emergere, aut fulminis<br />
1<br />
intra se est felix Hense ; intra se felix VPb ;<br />
intra se<br />
falix<br />
est later MSS.<br />
a A doctrine <strong>of</strong>ten expressed in the Letters; cf., for<br />
example, Ixxi. 4.<br />
b<br />
Cf. Horace, Carm. iii. 16. 28 magnas inter opes inops.<br />
c<br />
For the same thought cf. Ep. iv. 7 Nemmem eo fortuna<br />
provexit,<br />
ut non tantum illi minaretur, quantum permiserat.<br />
Noli hide tranquillitati confidere<br />
; momenta mare evertitur.<br />
jtiodem die ubi luserunt navigia, sorbentur.<br />
114
EPISTLE LXXIV.<br />
to consist in the belief that the only good lies in<br />
that which is honourable. a For anyone who deems<br />
other things to be good, puts himself in the power <strong>of</strong><br />
Fortune, and goes under the control <strong>of</strong> another ;<br />
but<br />
he who has in every case defined the good by the<br />
honourable, is happy with an inward happiness.<br />
One man is saddened when his children die ;<br />
another is anxious when they become ill ;<br />
a third is<br />
embittered when they do something disgraceful, or<br />
suffer a taint in their reputation. One man, you will<br />
observe, is tortured by passion for his neighbour's<br />
wife, another by passion for his o\vn. You will find<br />
men who are completely upset by failure to win an<br />
election, and others who are actually 7<br />
plagued by the<br />
<strong>of</strong>fices which they have won.<br />
But the largest throng<br />
<strong>of</strong> unhappy men among the host <strong>of</strong> mortals are<br />
those whom the expectation <strong>of</strong> death, which threatens<br />
them on every hand, drives to despair. For there is<br />
no quarter from which death may not approach.<br />
Hence, like soldiers scouting in the enemy's country,<br />
they must look about in all directions, and turn their<br />
heads at every sound ;<br />
unless the breast be rid <strong>of</strong><br />
this fear, one lives with a palpitating heart. You<br />
will readily recall those who have been driven into<br />
exile and dispossessed <strong>of</strong> their property. You will<br />
also recall (and this is the most serious kind <strong>of</strong><br />
destitution) those who are poor in the midst <strong>of</strong> their<br />
riches. 6 You will recall men who have suffered<br />
shipwreck, or those whose sufferings resemble shipwreck<br />
for ;<br />
they were untroubled and at ease, when<br />
the anger or perhaps the envy <strong>of</strong> the populace, a<br />
missile most deadly to those in high places/<br />
dismantled them like a storm which is wont to rise<br />
when one is most confident <strong>of</strong> continued calm, or<br />
like a sudden stroke <strong>of</strong> lightning which even causes<br />
115
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
subiti, ad cuius ictum etiam vicina tremuerunt.<br />
Nam<br />
ut illic quisquis ab igne propior stetit, percusso similis<br />
obstipuit, sic in his per aliquam vim accidentibus<br />
unum calamitas opprimit, ceteros metus, paremque<br />
passis tristitiam facit pati posse.<br />
5 Omnium animos mala aliena ac repeiitina sollicitant.<br />
Quemadmodurn aves etiam inanis fundae<br />
sonus territat, nos ita non ad ictum tantum exagitamur,<br />
sed ad crepitum. Non potest ergo quisquam beatus<br />
esse, qui huic se opinioni credidit. Non enim beatum<br />
est, nisi quod intrepidum ;<br />
inter suspecta male vivitur.<br />
6 Quisquis se multum fortuitis dedit, ingentem sibi<br />
materiam perturbationis et inexplicabilem fecit ;<br />
una<br />
haec via est ad tuta vadenti, externa despicere et<br />
honesto contentum esse. Nam qui aliquid virtute<br />
melius putat aut ullum praeter illam bonum, ad<br />
haec, quae a fortuna<br />
sparguntur, sinum expandit et<br />
7 sollicitus missilia eius expectat. Hanc enim imaginem<br />
animo tuo propone, ludos facere fortunam et in hunc<br />
mortal! um coetum honores, divitias, gratiam excutere,<br />
quorum alia inter diripientium manus scissa sunt, alia<br />
infida<br />
societate divisa, alia<br />
magno detrimento eorum,<br />
in quos devenerant, prensa. Ex quibus quaedam<br />
aliud agentibus ineiderunt, quaedam, quia nimis<br />
116<br />
a i.e., engaged upon something else. Cf- Kp.<br />
i. 1.
EPISTLE LXXIV.<br />
the region round about it to tremble. For just as anyone<br />
who stands near the bolt is stunned and resembles<br />
one who is struck, so in these sudden and violent<br />
mishaps, although but one person is overwhelmed by<br />
the disaster, the rest are overwhelmed by fear, and<br />
the that possibility they may suffer makes them as<br />
downcast as the actual sufferer.<br />
Every man is troubled in spirit by evils that come<br />
suddenly upon his neighbour. Like birds, who cower<br />
even at the whirr <strong>of</strong> an empty sling, we are distracted<br />
by mere sounds as well as by blows. No man therefore<br />
can be happy if he yields himself up to such<br />
foolish fancies. For nothing brings happiness unless it<br />
also brings calm ;<br />
it is a bad sort <strong>of</strong> existence that<br />
is<br />
spent in apprehension. Whoever has largely surrendered<br />
himself to the power <strong>of</strong> Fortune has made<br />
for himself a huge web <strong>of</strong> disquietude, from which<br />
he cannot get free ;<br />
if one would win a way to safety,<br />
there is but one road, to despise externals and to be<br />
contented with that which is honourable. For those<br />
who regard anything as better than virtue, or believe<br />
that there is<br />
any good except virtue, are spreading<br />
their arms to gather in that which Fortune tosses<br />
abroad, and are anxiously awaiting her favours.<br />
Picture now to yourself that Fortune is holding a<br />
festival, and is<br />
showering down honours, riches, and<br />
influence upon this mob <strong>of</strong> mortals ;<br />
some <strong>of</strong> these<br />
gifts have already been torn to pieces in the hands<br />
<strong>of</strong> those who try<br />
to snatch them, others have been<br />
divided up by treacherous partnerships, and still<br />
others have been seized to the great detriment <strong>of</strong><br />
those into whose possession they have come. Certain<br />
<strong>of</strong> these favours have fallen to men while they were<br />
absent-minded a others have been lost to theif<br />
;<br />
seekers because they were snatching too eagerly for<br />
117
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
Cctptabantur, amissa et, durn avide rapiuntur, expulsa<br />
sunt. Nulli vero etiam cui rapina feliciter cessit,<br />
gaudium rapti duravit in posterum.<br />
Itaque prudentissimus quisque cum primum induci<br />
videt munuscula_, a theatre fugit et scit<br />
magno parva<br />
constare. Nemo manum consent cum recedente,<br />
8 nemo exeuntem ferit<br />
; circa praemium<br />
in his evenit, quae fortuna desuper iactat :<br />
rixa est. Idem<br />
aestuamus<br />
miseri, distringimur, multas habere cupimus manus,<br />
modo in hanc partem,<br />
1<br />
mode in illam respicimus.<br />
Nimis tarde nobis mitti videntur, quae cupiditates<br />
nostras inritant, ad paucos perventura, expectata<br />
9 omnibus. Ire obviam cadentibus cupimus. Gaudemus,<br />
si quid invasimus, invadendique 2 aliquos spes<br />
vana delusit vilem ;<br />
praedam magno aliquo incommodo<br />
luimus aut destituti fallimur. 3 Secedamus<br />
itaque ab istis ludis et demus raptoribus locum ; illi<br />
spectent bona ista pendentia et ipsi magis pendeant.<br />
10 Quicumque beatus esse constituet, unum esse<br />
bonum putet, quod honestum est. Nam si ullum<br />
aliud esse existimat, primum male de providentia<br />
1<br />
modo in hanc partem VPb omit. The words are found<br />
in certain inferior MSS.<br />
2<br />
invadendique later MSS. ;<br />
invidendique V<br />
;<br />
invidentique P.<br />
3 aut destituti fallimur Buecheler ; aut de- fr *"% nur fallimur<br />
V ; aut de .<br />
autfalllmus P ; aut inde fallimur b.<br />
a A distribution <strong>of</strong> coins, etc., at the public games. Food<br />
was also doled out to the populace on similar occasions.<br />
6<br />
This figure <strong>of</strong> the dole as applied to Fortune is sustained<br />
to an extent which is unusual with Seneca.<br />
118
EPISTLE LXXIV.<br />
them, and, just because they are greedily seized<br />
upon, have been knocked from their hands. There<br />
is not a man among them all, however, even he<br />
who has been lucky in the booty which has fallen<br />
to him, whose joy in his spoil has lasted until the<br />
morrow.<br />
The most sensible man, therefore, as soon as he<br />
sees the dole being brought in, a runs from the<br />
theatre ;<br />
for he knows that one pays a high price for<br />
small favours. No one will grapple with him on the<br />
way out, or strike him as he departs ; the quarrelling<br />
takes place where the prizes are. Similarly with<br />
wretches<br />
the gifts<br />
which Fortune tosses down to us ;<br />
that we are, we become excited, we are torn asunder,<br />
we wish that we had many hands, we look back now<br />
in this direction and now in that. All too slowly, as<br />
it seems, are the gifts thrown in our direction ;<br />
they<br />
merely excite our cravings, since they can reach but<br />
few and are awaited by We all. are keen to intercept<br />
them as they fall down. We rejoice if we<br />
have laid hold <strong>of</strong> anything and some have<br />
;<br />
been<br />
mocked by the idle hope <strong>of</strong> laying hold we<br />
;<br />
have<br />
either paid a high price for worthless plunder<br />
with some disadvantage to ourselves, or else have<br />
been defrauded and are left in the lurch. Let<br />
us therefore withdraw from a game like this,<br />
and give way to the greedy rabble ;<br />
let them<br />
gaze after such "goods," which hang suspended<br />
above them, and be themselves still more in suspense.<br />
&<br />
Whoever makes up his mind to be happy should<br />
conclude that the good consists only in that which<br />
is honourable. For if he regards anything else as<br />
good, he is, in the first place, passing an unfavourable<br />
judgment upon Providence because <strong>of</strong> the fact that<br />
119
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
iudicat^ quia multa iiicommoda iustis viris accidunt<br />
et quia, quicquid nobis dedit, breve est et exiguum,<br />
si<br />
compares mundi totius aevo.<br />
11 Ex hac deploratione nascitur, ut ingrati divinorum<br />
interpretes simus ; querimur, quod non semper, quod<br />
et pauca nobis et incerta et abitura contingant. Inde<br />
est, quod nee vivere nee mori volumus vitae nos<br />
;<br />
odium tenet, timor mortis. Natat omne consilium<br />
nee inplere nos ulla felicitas potest. Causa autem<br />
est, quod non pervenimus ad illud bonum inmensum<br />
et insuperabile, ubi necesse est resistat voluntas<br />
12 nostra, quia ultra summum l non est locus. Quaeris,<br />
quare virtus nullo egeat ? Praesentibus gaudet, non<br />
concupiscit absentia. Nihil non illi magnum est,<br />
quod satis.<br />
Ab hoc discede iudicio ;<br />
non pietas constabit,<br />
non fides. Multa enim utramque praestare cupienti<br />
patienda sunt ex iis, quae mala vocantur multa<br />
;<br />
inpendenda ex iis, quibus indulgemus tamquam<br />
13 bonis. Perit fortitudo, quae periculum facere debet<br />
sui ; perit magnanimitas, quae non potest eminere,<br />
nisi omnia velut minuta contempsit, quae pro<br />
maximis - volgus optat perit gratia et relatio gratiae,<br />
;<br />
3<br />
si timemus laborem, si<br />
quicquam pretiosius fide<br />
novimus, si non optima spectamus.<br />
14 Sed ut ilia<br />
praeteream, aut ista bona non sunt,<br />
1<br />
summum later MSS. summam VPb.<br />
;<br />
1<br />
pro maximis later MSS. ;<br />
pro.cimis VPb.<br />
3<br />
laborem later MSS. ; la^r VPb.<br />
a This phrase recalls the title <strong>of</strong> one <strong>of</strong> Seneca's philosophical<br />
essays I>> Providential or Quare Boni* Viris Mala<br />
:<br />
AcciJant cum sit Pruvidentia.<br />
120
EPISTLE LXXIV.<br />
upright men <strong>of</strong>ten suffer misfortunes,* 1 and that the<br />
time which is allotted to us is but short and scanty,<br />
if<br />
you compare it with the eternity which is allotted<br />
to the universe.<br />
It is a result <strong>of</strong> complaints like these that we are<br />
unappreciative in our comments upon the gifts <strong>of</strong><br />
heaven ;<br />
we complain because they are not always<br />
granted to us, because they are few and unsure and<br />
fleeting.<br />
Hence we have not the will either to live<br />
or to die ;<br />
we are possessed by hatred <strong>of</strong> life,<br />
by fear <strong>of</strong> death. Our plans are all at sea, and no<br />
amount <strong>of</strong> prosperity can satisfy us. And the reason<br />
for all this is that we have not yet attained to that<br />
good which is immeasurable and unsurpassable, in<br />
which all wishing on our part must cease, because<br />
there is no place beyond the highest. Do you ask<br />
why virtue needs nothing ? Because it is pleased<br />
with what it has, and does not lust after that which<br />
it has not. Whatever is<br />
enough<br />
is abundant in the<br />
eyes <strong>of</strong> virtue.<br />
Dissent from this judgment, and duty and loyalty<br />
will not abide. For one who desires to exhibit these<br />
two qualities must endure much that the world calls<br />
evil ;<br />
we must sacrifice<br />
many things to which we<br />
are addicted, thinking them to be -goods Gone is<br />
courage, which should be continually testing itself;<br />
gone is greatness <strong>of</strong> soul, which cannot stand out<br />
clearly unless it has learned to scorn as trivial everything<br />
that the crowd covets as supremely important ;<br />
and gone<br />
is kindness and the repaying <strong>of</strong> kindness,<br />
if we fear toil, if we have acknowledged anything<br />
to be more precious than loyalty, if our eyes are<br />
fixed upon anything except the best.<br />
But to pass these questions by<br />
: either these socalled<br />
goods are not goods, or else man is more<br />
121
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
quae vocantur, aut homo felicior deo est, quoniam<br />
quidem quae parata nobis sunt, non habet in usu<br />
deus. Nee enim libido ad ilium nee epularum<br />
lautitiae nee opes nee quicquam ex his hominem<br />
inescantibus et vili voluptate ducentibus pertinet.<br />
Ergo aut non 1 incredibile est bona deo deesse aut<br />
hoc ipsum argumentum est bona non esse, quod deo<br />
15 desunt. Adice, quod multa, quae bona videri volunt,<br />
animalibus quam homini pleniora contingunt. Ilia<br />
cibo avidius utuntur, venere non aeque fatigantur,<br />
virium ill is maior est et aequabilior firmitas.<br />
Sequitur,<br />
ut multo feliciora sint homine. Nam sine nequitia,<br />
sine fraudibus degunt. Fruuntur voluptatibus, quas<br />
et magis capiunt et ex facili sine ullo pudoris aut<br />
paenitentiae metu.<br />
16 Considera tu itaque, an id bonum vocandum sit,<br />
quo deus ab homine vincitur. Summum bonum in<br />
animo contineamus ; obsolescit, si ab optima nostri<br />
parte ad pessimam transit et transfertur ad sensus,<br />
qui agiliores sunt animalibus mutis. Non est summa<br />
felicitatis nostrae in carne ponenda bona ilia sunt<br />
;<br />
vera, quae ratio dat, solida ac sempiterna, quae cadere<br />
17 non possunt, ne decrescere quidem aut 2 minui.<br />
Cetera opinione bona sunt et nomen quidem habent<br />
commune cum veris, proprietas in illis<br />
boni non est.<br />
Itaque commoda vocentur et, ut nostra lingua loquar,<br />
1<br />
non added by Hense.<br />
2 aut later MSS. ;<br />
ac VPb.<br />
122<br />
a Cf. Ep. Ixxiii. 14 luppiter uti illis non potest.
EPISTLE LXXIV.<br />
fortunate than God, because God has no enjoyment<br />
<strong>of</strong> the things which are given to us. a For lust<br />
pertains not to God, nor do elegant banquets, nor<br />
wealth, nor any <strong>of</strong> the things that allure mankind<br />
and lead him on through the influence <strong>of</strong> degrading<br />
pleasure. Therefore, it is either not incredible that<br />
there are goods which God does not possess, or else<br />
the very fact that God does not possess them is<br />
in itself a pro<strong>of</strong> that these things are not goods.<br />
Besides, many things which are wont to be regarded<br />
as goods are granted to animals in fuller measure<br />
than to men. Animals eat their food with better<br />
appetite, are not in the same degree weakened by<br />
sexual indulgence, and have a greater and more<br />
uniform constancy in their strength. Consequently,<br />
they are much more fortunate than man. For<br />
there is no wickedness, no injury to themselves, in<br />
their way <strong>of</strong> living. They enjoy their pleasures and<br />
they take them more <strong>of</strong>ten and more easily, without<br />
any <strong>of</strong> the fear that results from shame or regret.<br />
This being so, you should consider whether one<br />
has a right to call anything good in which God is<br />
outdone by man. Let us limit the Supreme Good<br />
to the soul ;<br />
it loses its<br />
meaning<br />
if it is taken from<br />
the best part <strong>of</strong> us and applied to the worst, that is,<br />
if it is transferred to the senses ;<br />
for the senses are<br />
more active in dumb beasts. The sum total <strong>of</strong> our<br />
happiness must not be placed in the flesh ;<br />
the true<br />
goods are those which reason bestows, substantial<br />
and eternal ; they cannot fall away, neither can they<br />
grow<br />
less or be diminished. Other things are goods<br />
according to opinion, and though they are called by<br />
the same name as the true goods, the essence <strong>of</strong><br />
is<br />
goodness not in them. Let us therefore call<br />
them " advantages," and, to use our technical term,<br />
VOL. II E 123
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
producta. Ceterum sciamus mancipia nostra esse,<br />
non partes<br />
;<br />
et sint apud nos, sed ita, ut meminerimus<br />
extra nos esse. Etiam si<br />
apud nos sint, inter subiecta<br />
et humilia numerentur propter quae nemo se adtollere<br />
debeat. Quid enim stultius<br />
quam aliquem<br />
18 eo sibi placere, quod ipse<br />
non fecit ? Omnia ista<br />
nobis accedant, non haereantj ut si<br />
abducentur, sine<br />
ulla nostri laceratione discedant. Utamur illis, non<br />
gloriemur, et<br />
utamur parce tamquam depositis apud<br />
nos et abituris. Quisquis ilia sine ratione possedit,<br />
non diu tenuit, ipsa enim se felicitas, nisi temperatur,<br />
premit. Si fugacissimis bonis credidit, cito<br />
deseritur et, ut non deseratur, adfligitur. Faucis<br />
deponere felicitatem molliter licuit ;<br />
ceteri cum iis,<br />
inter quae eminuere, labuntur et illos degravant ipsa,<br />
19 quae extulerant. Ideo adhibebitur prudentia, quae<br />
modum illis aut parsimoniam imponat, quoniam<br />
quidem licentia opes suas praecipitat atque urget.<br />
Nee umquam inmodica durarunt, nisi ilia moderatrix<br />
ratio conpescuit.<br />
Hoc multarum tibi urbium ostendet<br />
eventus, quarum in ipso flore<br />
luxuriosa imperia ceciderunt<br />
et quicquid virtute partum erat, intemperantia<br />
Producta is a translation <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Stoic</strong> term Trpotiy/jLeisa.<br />
For a clear exposition <strong>of</strong> this topic see Cicero, De Fin. iii.<br />
52 ff.<br />
124,
EPISTLE LXXIV.<br />
" "<br />
preferred things. a Let us, however, recognize<br />
that they are our chattels, not parts <strong>of</strong> ourselves ;<br />
and<br />
let us have them in our possession, but take heed to<br />
remember that they are outside ourselves. Even<br />
though they are in our possession, they are to<br />
be reckoned as things subordinate and poor, the<br />
possession <strong>of</strong> which gives no man a right to plume<br />
himself. For what is more foolish than being selfcorn<br />
placent about something which one has not<br />
accomplished by one's own efforts ? Let everything<br />
<strong>of</strong> this nature be added to us, and not stick fast<br />
to us, so that, if it is withdrawn, it may come<br />
away without tearing <strong>of</strong>f any part <strong>of</strong> us. Let us use<br />
these things, but not boast <strong>of</strong> them, and let<br />
o<br />
us use<br />
*<br />
them sparingly,<br />
as if they were given for safe-keeping<br />
and will be withdrawn. Anyone who does not<br />
employ reason in his possession <strong>of</strong> them never keeps<br />
them long for ; prosperity <strong>of</strong> itself, if uncontrolled<br />
by reason, overwhelms itself. If anyone has put his<br />
trust in goods that are most fleeting, he is soon<br />
bereft <strong>of</strong> them, and, to avoid being bereft, he suffers<br />
distress. Few men have been permitted to lay aside<br />
prosperity gently.<br />
The rest all fall, together with<br />
the things amid which they have come into eminence,<br />
and they are weighted down by the very things<br />
which had before exalted them. For this reason<br />
foresight must be brought into play, to insist upon<br />
a limit or upon frugality<br />
in the use <strong>of</strong> these<br />
things, since licence overthrows and destroys its own<br />
abundance. That which has no limit has never<br />
endured, unless reason, which sets limits, has held it<br />
in check. The fate <strong>of</strong> many cities will prove the<br />
truth <strong>of</strong> this their ; sway has ceased at the very<br />
prime because they were given to luxury, and excess<br />
has ruined all that had been won by<br />
virtue. We<br />
125
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
corruit. Adversus hos casus muniendi sumus. Nullus<br />
autem contra fortunam inexpugnabilis murus est;<br />
intus instruamur. Si ilia pars tuta est, pulsari homo<br />
potest, capi non potest.<br />
20 Quod sit hoc instrumentum,<br />
scire desideras ?<br />
Nihil indignetur sibi accidere sciatque ilia ipsa,<br />
quibus laedi videtur, ad conservationem 1 universi<br />
pertinere et ex iis esse, quae cursum mundi <strong>of</strong>ficiumque<br />
consummant. Placeat homini, quicquid deo<br />
placuit; ob hoc ipsum se 2 suaque miretur, quod non<br />
potest vinci, quod mala ipsa sub se tenet, quod<br />
ratione, qua valentius nihil est, casum doloremque<br />
21 et iniuriam subigit Ama rationem ! Huius te amor<br />
contra durissima armabit. Feras catulorum amor in<br />
venabula inpingit feritasque et incoiisultus impetus<br />
praestat indomitas ; iuvenilia iionnumquam ingenia<br />
cupido gloriae in contemptum tarn ferri quam ignium<br />
misit ; species quosdam atque umbra virtu tis in<br />
mortem voluntariam trudit. Quanto his omnibus<br />
fortior ratio est, quanto constantior, tanto vehementius<br />
per metus ipsos et pericula exibit.<br />
22 "Nihil agitis," inquit, "quod negatis ullum 3 esse<br />
aliud honesto bonum ;<br />
non faciet vos haec munitio<br />
tutos a fortuna et mmunes. Dicitis enim inter bona<br />
1<br />
conservationem later MSS. ; conversationem VPb,<br />
2 se added by Ed. Rom.<br />
8<br />
ullum later MSS. ; unum VPb.<br />
126
EPISTLE LXXIV.<br />
should fortify ourselves against such calamities. But<br />
no wall can be erected against Fortune which she<br />
cannot take by storm ;<br />
let us strengthen our inner<br />
defences. If the inner part be safe, man can be<br />
attacked, but never captured.<br />
Do you wish to know what this weapon <strong>of</strong> defence<br />
is ? It is the ability to refrain from chafing over<br />
whatever happens to one, <strong>of</strong> knowing that the very<br />
agencies which seem to bring harm are working for<br />
the preservation <strong>of</strong> the w r orld, and are a part <strong>of</strong> the<br />
scheme for bringing to fulfilment the order <strong>of</strong> the<br />
universe and its functions. Let man be pleased with<br />
whatever has pleased God ;<br />
let him marvel at himself<br />
and his own resources for this very reason, that<br />
he cannot be overcome, that he has the very powers<br />
<strong>of</strong> evil subject to his control, and that he brings<br />
into subjection chance and pain and wrong by means<br />
<strong>of</strong> that strongest <strong>of</strong> pow r ers reason. Love reason !<br />
The love <strong>of</strong> reason will arm you against the greatest<br />
hardships. Wild beasts dash against the hunter's<br />
spear through love <strong>of</strong> their young, and it is their<br />
wildness and their unpremeditated onrush that keep<br />
them from being tamed ;<br />
<strong>of</strong>ten a desire for glory has<br />
stirred the mind <strong>of</strong> youth to despise both sword and<br />
stake ;<br />
the mere vision and semblance <strong>of</strong> virtue<br />
impel certain men to a self-imposed death. In proportion<br />
as reason is stouter and steadier than any<br />
<strong>of</strong> these emotions, so much the more forcefully<br />
will she make her way through the midst <strong>of</strong> utter<br />
terrors and dangers.<br />
Men say to us : "You are mistaken if<br />
you maintain<br />
that nothing is a good except that which is<br />
honourable ;<br />
a defence like this will not make you<br />
safe from Fortune and free from her assaults. For<br />
you maintain that dutiful children, and a well-<br />
127
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
esse liberos pios et bene moratam patriam et parentes<br />
bonos ;<br />
horum pericula non potestis spectare securi.<br />
Perturbabit vos obsidio patriae, liberorum mors,<br />
23 parentum servitus." Quid adversus hos pro nobis<br />
responderi soleat, ponam ;<br />
deinde tune adiciam, quid<br />
praeterea respondendum putem.<br />
Alia condicio est in iis, quae ablata in locum<br />
suum aliquid incommodi substituunt ; tamquam bona<br />
valitudo vitiata in malam transfertur ;<br />
acies oculorum<br />
exstincta caecitate nos adficit l ;<br />
non tantum velocitas<br />
perit poplitibus incisis, sed debilitas ilia<br />
pro subit.<br />
Hoc non est periculum in iis, quae paulo ante rettulimus.<br />
Quare ? Si amicum bonura amisi, non est<br />
mihi pro illo perfidia patienda, nee si bonos liberos<br />
24 extuli, in illorum locum impietas succedit. Deinde<br />
non amicorum illic 2 aut liberorum interitus, sed<br />
corporum est. Bonum autem uno modo perit,<br />
malum transit ;<br />
quod natura non patitur, quia omnis<br />
si in<br />
virtus et opus omne virtutis incorruptum maiiet.<br />
Deinde etiam si amici perierunt, etiam si<br />
probati<br />
respondentesque voto patris liberi, est quod illorum<br />
expleat locum. Quid sit quaeris ? Quod illos quo-<br />
25 que bonos fecerat, virtus. Haec nihil vacare patitur<br />
loci, totum animum tenet, desiderium omnium tollit ;<br />
1<br />
afficit later MSS. ;<br />
adfecit VPb.<br />
2 illic Buecheler ; illis VPb.<br />
a See Ep. Ixvi. 6. The <strong>Stoic</strong>s, unlike the Academics and<br />
the Peripatetics, maintained that the good must have " an<br />
unconditional value " (Zeller).<br />
128
EPISTLE LXXIV.<br />
governed country, and good parents, are to be<br />
reckoned as goods ; but you cannot see these dear<br />
objects in danger and be yourself at ease. Your<br />
calm will be disturbed by a siege conducted against<br />
your country, by the death <strong>of</strong> your children, or by<br />
the enslaving <strong>of</strong> your parents." I will first state<br />
what we <strong>Stoic</strong>s usually re ply a to these objectors,<br />
and then will add what additional answer should, in<br />
my opinion, be given.<br />
The situation is entirely different in the case <strong>of</strong><br />
o-oods whose loss entails some hardship substituted<br />
in their place for example, when good health is<br />
;<br />
impaired there is a change to ill-health ;<br />
when the<br />
eye is put out, we are visited with blindness ;<br />
we<br />
not only lose our speed when our leg-muscles are<br />
cut, but infirmity takes the place <strong>of</strong> speed. But no<br />
such danger is involved in the case <strong>of</strong> the goods to<br />
which we referred a moment ago. And why<br />
? If I<br />
have lost a good friend, I have no false friend whom<br />
I must endure in his place ; nor if I have buried a<br />
dutiful son, must I face in exchange<br />
unfilial conduct.<br />
In the second place, this does not mean to me the<br />
taking-<strong>of</strong>f <strong>of</strong> a friend or <strong>of</strong> a child ;<br />
it is the mere<br />
taking-<strong>of</strong>f <strong>of</strong> their bodies. But a good can be lost in<br />
only one way, by changing into what is bad ;<br />
and<br />
this is<br />
impossible according to the law <strong>of</strong> nature,<br />
because every virtue, and every work <strong>of</strong> virtue,<br />
abides uncorrupted. Again, even if friends have<br />
perished, or children <strong>of</strong> approved goodness who fulfil<br />
their father's prayers for them, there is<br />
something<br />
that can fill their place.<br />
Do you ask what this is ?<br />
It is that which had made them good in the first<br />
place, namely, virtue. Virtue suffers no space in us<br />
to be it<br />
unoccupied takes possession <strong>of</strong> the whole<br />
;<br />
soul and removes all sense <strong>of</strong> loss. It alone is<br />
129
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
sola satis est, omnium enim bonorum vis<br />
et origo in<br />
ipsa est. Quid refert, an aqua decurrens intercipiatur<br />
atque abeat, 1 si fons, ex quo fluxerat, salvus<br />
est ? Non dices vitam iustiorem salvis liberis<br />
quam<br />
amissis nee ordinatiorem nee prudentiorem iiec<br />
honestiorem ; ergo ne meliorem quidem. Non facit<br />
adieetio 2 amicorum 3 sapientiorem, non facit stultiorem<br />
detractio, ergo nee beatiorem aut miseriorem.<br />
Quamdiu virtus salva 4<br />
fuerit, non senties, quidquid<br />
26 abscesserit.<br />
" Quid ergo? Non est beatior et<br />
amicorum et liberorum turba succinctus ?<br />
non sit ?<br />
)]<br />
Quidni<br />
Summum enim bonum nee infringitur nee<br />
augetur in suo modo permanet, utcumque fortuna<br />
;<br />
se gessit. Sive illi senectus longa contigit sive citra<br />
senectutem fmitus est, eadem mensura summi boni<br />
est, quamvis aetatis diversa sit.<br />
27 Utrum maiorem an miiiorem circulum scribas, ad<br />
spatium eius pertinet, non ad formam. Licet alter<br />
diu manserit, alterum statim obduxeris et in eum in<br />
quo scriptus est pulverem solveris, in eadem uterque<br />
forma fuit. Quod rectum est, nee magnitudine<br />
aestimatur iiec numero nee tempore ; non magis<br />
produci quam contrahi potest. Honestam vitam<br />
ex centum annorum numero in quantum voles<br />
corripe et in unum diem coge ; aeque lionesta est.<br />
1<br />
abeat later MSS. ; habitat Pb ; haebetaet V ; habetat M 1 .<br />
adieetio Madvig adifcto V ; ;<br />
alecto P ; allecto b.<br />
3<br />
amicorum later MSS. ; amico VPb.<br />
4<br />
quidquid Gertz ; quid VP<br />
; qui b.<br />
a Cf. Itane in geometriae pulvere haerebo?, Ep. Ixxxviii. 39<br />
and note.<br />
6<br />
See the argument in Ep. xii. 6 f., and <strong>of</strong>ten elsewhere.<br />
130
EPISTLE LXXIV.<br />
sufficient ;<br />
for the strength and beginnings <strong>of</strong> all<br />
goods exist in virtue herself. What does it matter<br />
if running water is cut <strong>of</strong>f and flows away, as long as<br />
the fountain from which it has flowed is unharmed ?<br />
You will not maintain that a man's life is more just if<br />
his children are unharmed than if they have passed<br />
away, nor yet better appointed, nor more intelligent,<br />
nor more honourable ; therefore, no better, either.<br />
The addition <strong>of</strong> friends does not make one wiser,<br />
nor does their taking away make one more foolish ;<br />
therefore, not happier or more wretched, either. As<br />
long as your virtue is unharmed, you will not feel<br />
the loss <strong>of</strong> anything that has been withdrawn from<br />
you. You may say " Come now : ;<br />
is not a man<br />
happier when girt about with a large company <strong>of</strong><br />
"<br />
friends and children ?<br />
Why should this be so ?<br />
For the Supreme Good is neither impaired nor<br />
increased it<br />
thereby abides within its own limits,<br />
;<br />
no matter how Fortune has conducted herself.<br />
Whether a long old age falls to one's lot, or whether<br />
the end comes on this side <strong>of</strong> old age the measure<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Supreme Good is unvaried, in spite <strong>of</strong> the<br />
difference in years.<br />
Wh ether you draw a larger or a smaller circle, its<br />
size affects its area, not its shape. One circle may<br />
remain as it is for a long time, while you may<br />
contract the other forthwith, or even merge it completely<br />
with the sand in which it was drawn ; yet<br />
each circle has had the same shape. That which is<br />
straight is not judged by its size, or by its number,<br />
or by its duration ;<br />
it can no more be made longer<br />
than it can be made shorter. Scale down the<br />
honourable life as much as you like from the full<br />
hundred years, and reduce it to a single day<br />
it<br />
;<br />
is<br />
equally honourable. 6 Sometimes virtue is wide-<br />
VOL. II E 2 131<br />
a
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
28 Modo latius virtus funditur, regna urbes provincias<br />
temperat, fert leges, colit amicitias, inter propinquos<br />
liberosque dispensat <strong>of</strong>ficia, modo arto fine concluditur<br />
paupertatis exilii orbitatis. Non tamen<br />
minor est, si ex altiore fastigio in privatum, ex regio<br />
29 in humile 1 subducitur, ex publico et spatioso iure in<br />
angustias domus vel anguli coit.<br />
Aeque magna est,<br />
etiam si in se recessit undique exclusa. Nihilominus<br />
enim magni spiritus est et erecti, exactae prudentiae,<br />
indeclinabilis iustitiae.<br />
Ergo aeque<br />
beata est.<br />
Beatum enim illud uno loco positum est, in ipsa<br />
mente, grande, stabile, tranquillum, quod sine scientia<br />
divinorum humanorumque non potest effici.<br />
30 Sequitur illud, quod me responsurum esse dicebam.<br />
Non adfligitur sapiens liberorum amissione, non amicorum.<br />
Eodem enirn animo fert illorum mortem,<br />
quo suam expectat. Non magis hanc timet quam<br />
illam dolet. Virtus enim convenientia constat ;<br />
omnia opera eius cum ipsa concordant et congruunt.<br />
Haec concordia perit, si animus, quern excelsum esse<br />
oportet, luctu aut desiderio summittitur. Inhonesta<br />
est omnis trepidatio et sollicitudo, in ullo aci u pigritia.<br />
Honestum enim securum et expeditum est, interri-<br />
31 turn est, in procinctu stat. " Quid ergo<br />
?<br />
Nonaliquid<br />
perturbationi simile ?<br />
patietur Non et color eius<br />
1<br />
humile Haase ; humilem VPb.<br />
See 23.<br />
6<br />
Called by the early <strong>Stoic</strong>s 6/j,o\oyla ; the idea <strong>of</strong> " conformity<br />
with nature " is a fundamental doctrine <strong>of</strong> the<br />
school. See Rackham on Cicero, De Fin. iii. 21.<br />
132
EPISTLE LXXIV.<br />
spread, governing kingdoms, cities, and provinces,<br />
creating laws, developing friendships, and regulating<br />
the duties that hold good between relatives and<br />
children ;<br />
at other times it is limited by the narrow<br />
bounds <strong>of</strong> poverty, exile, or bereavement. But it is<br />
no smaller when it is reduced from prouder heights<br />
to a private station, from a royal palace to a humble<br />
dwelling, or when from a general and broad jurisdiction<br />
it is<br />
gathered into the narrow limits <strong>of</strong> a private<br />
house or a tiny corner. Virtue is just as great, even<br />
when it has retreated within itself and is shut in on<br />
all sides. For its spirit<br />
is no less great and upright,<br />
its sagacity no less complete, its justice no less inflexible.<br />
It is, therefore, equally happy. For happiness<br />
has its abode in one place only, namely, in the<br />
mind itself, and is noble, steadfast, and calm ;<br />
and<br />
this state cannot be attained without a knowledge<br />
<strong>of</strong> things divine and human.<br />
The other answer, which I<br />
promised a to make to<br />
your objection, follows from this reasoning. The<br />
wise man is not distressed by the loss <strong>of</strong> children or<br />
<strong>of</strong> friends. For he endures their death in the same<br />
spirit in which he awaits his own. And he fears the<br />
one as little as he grieves for the other. For the<br />
underlying principle <strong>of</strong> virtue is conformity; 6 all the<br />
works <strong>of</strong> virtue are in harmony and agreement with<br />
virtue itself. But this harmony is lost if the soul,<br />
which ought to be uplifted, is cast down by grief<br />
or<br />
a sense <strong>of</strong> loss. It is ever a dishonour for a man<br />
to be troubled and fretted, to be numbed when<br />
there is<br />
any call for activity. For that which is<br />
honourable is free from care and untrammelled, is<br />
unafraid, and stands girt<br />
for action. "What," you<br />
ask,<br />
" will the wise man experience no emotion like<br />
disturbance <strong>of</strong> spirit<br />
? Will not his features change<br />
133
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
mutabitur et vultus agitabitur et art us refrigescent<br />
?<br />
Et quicquid aliud non ex imperio animi, sed inconsulto<br />
quodam naturae impetu geritur." Fateor;<br />
sed manebit illi persuasio cadem, nihil illorum malum<br />
esse iiec dignum, ad quod mens sana deficiat. Omnia,<br />
qtiae facienda erunt, audaciter facit et prompte.<br />
32 Hoc enim stultitiae proprium quis dixerit, ignave et<br />
contumaciter facere, quae faciat, et alio corpus inpellere,<br />
alio animum distrahique<br />
inter diversissimos<br />
motus. Nam propter ilia ipsa, quibus extollit se<br />
miraturquCj contempta est et ne ilia quidem, quibus<br />
gloriaturj libenter facit. Si vero aliquod l timetur<br />
malum, eo proinde, duin expectat, quasi venisset,<br />
urgetur et quicquid ne patiatur timet, iam metu<br />
33 patitur. Quemadmodum in corporibus insideiitis<br />
languoris 2<br />
signa praecurrunt, quaedam enim segnitia<br />
enervis est et sine labore ullo lassitude et oscitatio<br />
et horror membra percurrens<br />
;<br />
sic infirmus animus<br />
multo ante quam opprimatur malis quatitur. Praesumit<br />
ilia et ante tempus cadit.<br />
Quid autem dementius quam angi futuris nee se<br />
tormento reservare, sed arcessere sibi miserias et<br />
34 admovere ? Quas optimum est differre, si discutere<br />
non possit. Vis scire futuro neminem debere torqueri<br />
? Quicumque audierit post quinquagesimum<br />
annum sibi patienda supplicia, non perturbatur, nisi<br />
aliquod later MSS. ; aliquid VPb.<br />
1<br />
2 insidentis languoris Hense ; insignis lanr/ore or insigni<br />
languor e MSS. Cf. Epp.<br />
134<br />
b<br />
xi. 6 and Ixxi. 20.<br />
Perhaps a sort <strong>of</strong> malaria.
EPISTLE LXXIV.<br />
colour," his countenance be agitated, and his limbs<br />
grow cold And ? there are other things which we<br />
do, not under the influence <strong>of</strong> the will, but unconsciously<br />
and as the result <strong>of</strong> a sort <strong>of</strong> natural impulse/'<br />
I admit that this is true ;<br />
but the sage will retain the<br />
firm belief that none <strong>of</strong> these things is evil, or important<br />
enough to make a healthy mind break down.<br />
Whatever shall remain to be done virtue can do with<br />
courage and readiness. For anyone would admit that<br />
it is a mark <strong>of</strong> folly to do in a slothful and rebellious<br />
spirit whatever one has to do, or to direct the body<br />
in one direction and the mind in another, and thus<br />
to be torn between utterly conflicting emotions.<br />
For folly is despised precisely because <strong>of</strong> the things<br />
for which she vaunts and admires herself, and she<br />
does not do gladly even those things in which she<br />
prides herself. But if folly fears some evil, she is<br />
burdened by<br />
it in the very moment <strong>of</strong> awaiting it,<br />
just as if it had actually come, already suffering in<br />
apprehension whatever she fears she may suffer.<br />
Just as in the body symptoms <strong>of</strong> latent ill-health<br />
precede the disease there is, for example, a certain<br />
weak<br />
6<br />
sluggishness, a lassitude which is not the<br />
result <strong>of</strong> any work, a trembling, and a shivering that<br />
pervades the limbs, so the feeble spirit<br />
is shaken<br />
by its ills a long time before it is overcome by them.<br />
It anticipates them, and totters before its time.<br />
But what is greater madness than to be tortured<br />
by the future and not to save your strength for the<br />
actual suffering, but to invite and bring on wretched<br />
ness ? If you cannot be rid <strong>of</strong> it, you ought at least<br />
to postpone it. Will you not understand that no<br />
man should be tormented by the future ? The man<br />
who has been told that he will have to endure<br />
torture fifty years from now is not disturbed thereby,<br />
135
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
si medium spatium transiluerit et se in illam saeculo<br />
post futuram sollicitudinem inmiserit ;<br />
eodem modo<br />
fit, ut animos libenter aegros et captantes causas<br />
doloris vetera atque obliterata contristent. Et quae<br />
praeterierunt et quae futura sunt, absunt ;<br />
neutra<br />
sentimus. Non 1 est autem nisi ex eo, quod sentias,<br />
dolor. VALE.<br />
LXXV.<br />
<strong>SENECA</strong> LVCILIO svo SALVTEM<br />
1 Minus tibi accuratas a me epistulas mitti quereris.<br />
Quis enim accurate loquitur, nisi qui vult putide<br />
loqui ? Qualis sermo meus esset, si una sederemus<br />
aut ambularemus, inlaboratus et facilis, tales esse<br />
epistulas meas volo, quae nihil habent accersitum nee<br />
2 fictum. Si fieri posset, quid sentiam, ostendere<br />
quam loqui mallem. Etiam si<br />
disputarem, nee<br />
supploderem pedem nee maiium iactarem nee attollerem<br />
vocem, sed ista oratoribus reliquissem,<br />
contentus sensus meos ad te pertulisse, quos nee<br />
3 exornassem nee abiecissem. Hoc uhum plane tibi<br />
adprobare vellem : omnia me ilia sentire, quae<br />
dicerem, nee tantum sentire, sed amare. Aliter<br />
homines amicam, aliter liberos osculantur ;<br />
tamen in<br />
hoc quoque amplexu tarn sancto et moderate satis<br />
apparet adfectus.<br />
1<br />
sentimus later MSS. ; sentiamus Pb ; sentiam V.<br />
a For putidum (that which <strong>of</strong>fends the taste, i.e. is too<br />
artificially formal) see Cic. De Orat. iii. 41 nolo exprimi<br />
Utteras putidius, nolo obscurari neglegentius.<br />
b<br />
Cf. E[). Ixvii. 2 si quando interventrant epistulae tuae,<br />
tecum esse mihi videor, etc.<br />
136
EPISTLES LXXIV., LXXV.<br />
unless he has leaped over the intervening years,<br />
and has projected himself into the trouble that is<br />
destined to arrive a generation later. In the same<br />
way, souls that enjoy being sick and that seize upon<br />
excuses for sorrow are saddened by events long past<br />
and effaced from the records. Past and future are<br />
both absent ;<br />
we feel neither <strong>of</strong> them. But there<br />
can be no pain except as the result <strong>of</strong> what you<br />
feel. Farewell.<br />
LXXV. ON THE DISEASES OF THE SOUL<br />
You have been complaining that my<br />
you are rather carelessly<br />
letters to<br />
written. Now who talks<br />
carefully unless he also desires to talk affectedly a ?<br />
I prefer that my letters should be just what my<br />
conversation b would be if you and I were sitting in<br />
one another's company or taking Avalks together,<br />
spontaneous and easy for<br />
my letters have nothing<br />
;<br />
strained or artificial about them. If it were possible,<br />
I should prefer to show, rather than speak, my<br />
feelings. Even if I were arguing a point,<br />
I should<br />
not stamp my foot, or toss my arms about, or raise<br />
my voice ;<br />
but I should leave that sort <strong>of</strong> thing to the<br />
orator, and should be content to have conveyed my<br />
feelings to you without having either embellished<br />
them or lowered their dignity.<br />
I should like to<br />
convince you entirely <strong>of</strong> this one fact, that I feel<br />
whatever I<br />
say, that I not only feel it, but am<br />
wedded to it. It is one sort <strong>of</strong> kiss which a man<br />
gives his mistress, and another which he gives his<br />
children ;<br />
yet in the father's embrace also, holy and<br />
restrained as it is, plenty <strong>of</strong> affection is disclosed. 137
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
Non mehercules ieiuna esse et arida volo, quae<br />
de rebus tarn magnis dicentur ;<br />
neque enim philosophia<br />
ingenio renuntiat. Multum tamen operae<br />
4 inpendi verbis non oportet. Haec sit propositi<br />
nostri summa :<br />
quod sentimus loquamur, quod<br />
loquimur sentiamus concordat sermo cum vita.<br />
;<br />
Ille<br />
promissum suum inplevit, qui, et cum videas<br />
5 ilium et cum audias, idem est. Videbimus, qualis<br />
sit, quantus sit ;<br />
unus sit. Non delectent verba<br />
nostra, sed prosint. Si tamen contingere eloquentia<br />
non sollicito potest, si aut parata est aut parvo<br />
constat, adsit et res pulcherrimas prosequatur. Sit<br />
talis, ut res potius quam se ostendat. Aliae artes ad<br />
ingenium totae pertinent, hie animi negotium agitur.<br />
1<br />
6 Non quaerit aeger medicum eloquentem, sed, si<br />
ita conpetit, ut idem ille, qui sanare potest, compte<br />
de iis, quae facienda sunt, disserat, boni consulet.<br />
Non tamen erit, quare gratuletur sibi, quod incident<br />
in medicum etiam disertum. Hoc enim tale est,<br />
si<br />
quale peritus gubernator etiam formosus est.<br />
7 Quid aures meas scabis ?<br />
Quid oblectas ? Aliud<br />
agitur urendus, secandus, abstinendus sum. Ad<br />
;<br />
haec adhibitus es.<br />
Curare debes morbum veterem, gravem, publicum.<br />
Tantum negotii habes, quantum in pestilentia<br />
1<br />
eloquentem later MSS. ;<br />
loquentem VPb.<br />
a<br />
Of. Ep. cxiv. 1 tails hominibus fuit oratio qualis vita,<br />
and passim in Epp. xl., Lxxv. and cxiv.<br />
6<br />
Eloquence and the other arts please mainly by their<br />
cleverness ; nor does philosophy abjure such cleverness as<br />
style but here in these letters, wherein we are discussing<br />
;<br />
the soul, the graces <strong>of</strong> speech are <strong>of</strong> no concern.<br />
138
EPISTLE LXXV.<br />
I prefer, however, that our conversation on matters<br />
so important should not be meagre and dry for<br />
;<br />
even philosophy does not renounce the company <strong>of</strong><br />
cleverness. One should not, however, bestow very<br />
much attention upon mere words. Let this be the<br />
kernel <strong>of</strong> mv idea : let us sav what we feel, and feel<br />
f/ / '<br />
what we say let ;<br />
speech harmonize with life. That<br />
man has fulfilled his promise who is the same person<br />
both when you see him and when you hear him.<br />
V<br />
J<br />
We shall not fail to see what sort <strong>of</strong> man he is and<br />
how large a man he is, if only he is one and the<br />
same. Our words should aim not to please, but to<br />
help. If, however, you can attain eloquence without<br />
painstaking, and if<br />
you either are naturally gifted or<br />
can gain eloquence at slight cost, make the most <strong>of</strong><br />
it and apply<br />
it to the noblest uses. But let it be <strong>of</strong><br />
such a kind that it displays facts rather than itself.<br />
It and the other arts are wholly concerned with<br />
cleverness b ;<br />
but our business here is the soul.<br />
A sick man does not call in a physician who is<br />
eloquent ; but if it so happens that the physician<br />
who can cure him likewise discourses elegantly about<br />
the treatment which is to be followed, the patient<br />
will take it in good part. For all that, he will not<br />
find any reason to congratulate himself on having<br />
discovered a physician who is<br />
eloquent. For the<br />
case is no different from that <strong>of</strong> a skilled pilot who<br />
is also handsome. Why do you tickle my ears ?<br />
Why do you entertain me ? There is other business<br />
at hand ;<br />
I am to be cauterized, operated upon, or<br />
put on a diet. That is why you were summoned to<br />
treat me !<br />
You are required to cure a disease that is chronic<br />
and serious, one which affects the general weal.<br />
You have as serious a business on hand as a physician<br />
139
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
medicus. Circa verba occupatus es ? lamdudum<br />
gaude, si sufficis rebus. Quando, quae multa disces ?<br />
Quando, quae didiceris, adfiges tibi ita, ut excidere<br />
non possint<br />
?<br />
Quando ilia ?<br />
experieris Non enim<br />
ut cetera, memoriae tradidisse satis est in ; opere<br />
temptanda sunt. Non est beatus, qui scit ilia, sed<br />
8 qui facit, 1 "Quid ergo? Infra ilium nulli gradus<br />
"<br />
sunt? Statim a sapientia praeceps ost ? Non, ut<br />
existimo. Nam qui pr<strong>of</strong>icit, in numero quidem<br />
stultorum est, magno tamen intervallo ab illis diducitur.<br />
Inter ipsos quoque pr<strong>of</strong>icientes sunt magna<br />
discrimina. In tres classes, ut quibusdam placet,<br />
9 dividuiitur :<br />
primi sunt, qui sapientiam nondum<br />
habent, sed iam in vicinia eius constiterunt. Tamen<br />
etiam quod prope est, extra 2 est. Qui sint hi<br />
quaeris ? Qui omnes iam adfectus ac vitia posuerunt,<br />
quae erant complec f enda, didicerunt, sed illis adhuc<br />
inexperta fiducia est. Bonum suum nondum in usu<br />
habent, iam tamen in ilia, quae fugerunt, decidere<br />
non possunt. Iam ibi sunt, unde non est retro<br />
lapsus, sed hoc illis de se nondum liquet ; quod in<br />
quadam epistula scripsisse me memini,<br />
" scire se<br />
nesciunt." Iam contigit illis boiio suo frui, nondum<br />
10 confidere. Quidam hoc pr<strong>of</strong>icientium genus, de quo<br />
locutus sum, ita complectuntur, ut illos dicant iam<br />
effugisse morbos animi, adfectus nondum, et adhuc<br />
1<br />
qui f arit later MSS. ; facit VPb.<br />
a extra later MSS. ;<br />
ex ora (hora) VPb.<br />
a Chrysippus, however, recognized only<br />
classes, as did Epictetus (iv. 2).<br />
6<br />
Ep. Lxxi. 4.<br />
140<br />
the first two
EPISTLE LXXV.<br />
has during a plague. Are you concerned about<br />
words? Rejoice this instant if you can cope with<br />
things.<br />
When shall you learn all that there is to<br />
learn ? When shall you so plant in your mind that<br />
which you have learned, that it cannot escape<br />
?<br />
When shall you put it all into ?<br />
practice For it is<br />
not sufficient merely to commit these things to<br />
memory, like other matters ; they must be practically<br />
tested. He is not happy who only knows them,<br />
but he who does them. You " reply<br />
: What ? Are<br />
'<br />
there no degrees <strong>of</strong> happiness below your happy '<br />
man ? Is there a sheer descent immediately below<br />
wisdom?' I think not. For though he who makes<br />
progress is still numbered with the fools, yet<br />
he is<br />
separated from them by a long interval. Among<br />
the very persons who are making progress there are<br />
also great spaces intervening. They<br />
fall into three<br />
classes,^ as certain philosophers believe. First come<br />
those who have not yet attained wisdom but have<br />
already gained a place near by. Yet even that<br />
which is not far away is still outside. These, if you<br />
ask me, are men who have already laid aside all<br />
passions and vices, who have learned what things are<br />
to be embraced ;<br />
but their assurance is not yet tested.<br />
They have not yet put their good into practice, yet<br />
from now on they cannot slip back into the faults<br />
which they have escaped. They have already<br />
arrived at a point from which there is no slipping<br />
back, but they are not yet aware <strong>of</strong> the fact as I<br />
;<br />
remember writing in another " letter, They are<br />
ignorant <strong>of</strong> their knowledge." b It has now been<br />
vouchsafed to them to enjoy their good, but not yet<br />
to be sure <strong>of</strong> it. Some define this class, <strong>of</strong> which I<br />
have been speaking, a class <strong>of</strong> men who are making<br />
progress, as having escaped the diseases <strong>of</strong> the mind,<br />
141
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
in lubrico stare, quia nemo sit extra pericuium<br />
malitiae, nisi qui totam earn excussit. Nemo autem<br />
illam excussit, nisi qui pro ilia sapientiam adsumpsit.<br />
11 Quid inter morbos animi intersit et adfectus, saepe<br />
iam dixi. Nunc quoque te admonebo : morbi simt<br />
inveterata vitia et dura, ut avaritia, ut ambitio ;<br />
nimio 1<br />
artius 2 haec animum inplicuerunt et perpetua eius<br />
mala esse coepenmt. Ut breviter finiam, morbus<br />
est indicium in pravo pertinax, tamquam valde expetenda<br />
sint, quae leviter expetenda sunt. Vel si<br />
mavis, ita finiamus : nimis inminere leviter petendis<br />
vel ex toto non petendis, aut in magno pretio habere<br />
12 in aliquo habenda vel in nullo. Adfectus sunt motus<br />
animi inprobabiles, subiti et concitati, qui frequentes<br />
neglectique fecere morbum, sicut destillatio una nee<br />
adhuc in morem adducta tussim facit, adsidua et<br />
vetus phthisin. Itaque qui plurimum pr<strong>of</strong>ecere,<br />
extra morbos sunt, adfectus adhuc sentiunt perfecto<br />
proximi.<br />
13 Secundum genus est eorum, qui et maxima animi<br />
mala et adfectus deposuerunt, sed ita, ut non sit<br />
illis securitatis suae certa possessio. Possunt enim<br />
14 in eadem relabi. Tertium illud genus extra multa<br />
1<br />
nimio Rossbach ; nimia VP ; ninia b.<br />
2<br />
artius later MSS. ; actus VPb.<br />
a<br />
For Seneca's own struggles with this disease cf. Ep.<br />
Ixxviii. 1.<br />
6<br />
The difference between the first and the second classes<br />
is well described in Ep. Ixxii. 6 hoc interest inter consummatae<br />
sapientiae virum et alium procedentis, quod inter<br />
sanum et ex murbu c/ravi ac diutino emerg&ntem.<br />
142
EPISTLE LXXV.<br />
but not yet the passions, and as still standing upon<br />
slippery ground because no one is<br />
beyond the<br />
;<br />
dangers <strong>of</strong> evil except him \vho has cleared himself<br />
<strong>of</strong> it wholly. But no one has so cleared himself<br />
wisdom in its stead.<br />
except the man who has adopted<br />
I have <strong>of</strong>ten before explained the difference<br />
between the diseases <strong>of</strong> the mind and its passions.<br />
And I shall remind you once more : the diseases are<br />
hardened and chronic vices, such as greed and<br />
ambition ;<br />
have enfolded the mind in too close<br />
they<br />
a grip, and have begun to be permanent evils<br />
there<strong>of</strong>. To give a brief definition :<br />
by " disease "<br />
we mean a persistent perversion <strong>of</strong> the judgment, so<br />
that things which are mildly desirable are thought<br />
to be highly desirable. Or. if<br />
you prefer, we may<br />
define it thus : to be too zealous in striving for things<br />
which are only mildly desirable or not desirable at<br />
all, or to value highly things \vhich ought to be<br />
valued but slightly or valued not at<br />
" "<br />
all. Passions<br />
are objectionable impulses <strong>of</strong> the spirit,<br />
sudden and<br />
vehement ; they have come so <strong>of</strong>ten, and so little<br />
attention has been paid to them, that they have<br />
caused a state <strong>of</strong> disease ;<br />
just as a catarrh/ when<br />
1<br />
there has been but a single attack and the catarrh<br />
has not yet become habitual, produces a cough, but<br />
causes consumption when it has become regular and<br />
chronic. Therefore we may say that those who<br />
have made most progress are beyond the reach <strong>of</strong><br />
the " diseases " but<br />
; they<br />
still feel the " "<br />
passions<br />
even when very near perfection.<br />
The second class is<br />
composed <strong>of</strong> those who have<br />
laid aside both the greatest<br />
ills <strong>of</strong> the mind and its<br />
passions, but yet are not in assured possession <strong>of</strong><br />
immunity. 6 For they can still slip back into their<br />
former state. The third class are beyond the reach<br />
143
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
et magna vitia est, sed non extra omnia. Effugit<br />
avaritiam, sed iram adhuc sentit ;<br />
iam non sollicitatur<br />
libidine, etiamnunc ambitione ;<br />
iam non<br />
concupiscit, sed adhuc timet. Et in ipso metu ad<br />
quaedam satis firmus est, quibusdam cedit. Mortem<br />
coiitemnit, dolorem reformidat.<br />
15 De hoc loco aliquid cogitemus. Bene nobiscum<br />
ajietur, si in hunc admittimur numerum. Magna<br />
o ' C5<br />
felicitate naturae magnaque et adsidua intentione<br />
studii secundus occupatur gradus sed<br />
;<br />
ne hie quidem<br />
contemnendus est color tertius. Cogita, quantum<br />
circa te videas malorum, aspice, quam nullum sit<br />
nefas sine example, quantum cotidie nequitia pr<strong>of</strong>iciat,<br />
quantum publice privatimque peccetur ;<br />
intelleges<br />
satis nos consequi, si inter pessimos non<br />
sumus.<br />
16 " Ego vero," inquis, "spero me posse et amplioris<br />
ordinis fieri."<br />
Optaverim hoc nobis magis quam<br />
;<br />
promiserim praeoccupati sumus. Ad virtutem contendimus<br />
inter vitia districti. Pudet dicere : honesta<br />
colimus, quantum vacat. At quam grande praemium<br />
expectat, si occupationes nostras et mala tenacissima<br />
abrumpimus. Non cupiditas nos, non timor pellet.<br />
17 Inagitati terroribus., incorrupt! voluptatibus nee<br />
mortem horrebimus nee deos ;<br />
sciemus mortem<br />
malum non esse, deos malo l non esse. Tain in-<br />
1 1<br />
malo Hense ; maio PM ; maiores V ; malos b.<br />
a This idea is a favourite with Seneca ; cf. Ep.<br />
liii. 8 non<br />
est quod precario philosopheris, and 9 (phtlosophia) non eat<br />
res subsiciva, "an occupation for one's spare time."<br />
144
EPISTLE LXXV.<br />
<strong>of</strong> many <strong>of</strong> the vices and particularly <strong>of</strong> the great<br />
vices, but not beyond the reach <strong>of</strong> all. They have<br />
escaped avarice, for example, but still feel anger ;<br />
they no longer are troubled by lust, but are still<br />
troubled by ambition ;<br />
they no longer have desire,<br />
but they<br />
still have fear. And just because they fear,<br />
although they are strong enough to withstand certain<br />
things, there are certain things to which they yield ;<br />
they scorn death, but are in terror <strong>of</strong> pain.<br />
Let us reflect a moment on this topic. It will be<br />
well with us if we are admitted to this class. The<br />
second stage is<br />
gained by great good fortune with<br />
regard to our natural gifts and by great and unceasing<br />
application to study. But not even the third type is<br />
to be despised. Think <strong>of</strong> the host <strong>of</strong> evils which<br />
you see about you behold how there is no crime<br />
;<br />
that is not exemplified, how far wickedness advances<br />
every day, and how prevalent are sins in home and<br />
commonwealth. You will see, therefore, that we<br />
are making a considerable gain, if e are not<br />
w7<br />
numbered among the basest.<br />
" But as for " me," you say, I<br />
hope that it is in<br />
'<br />
me to rise to a higher rank than that ! I should<br />
pray, rather than promise, that we may attain this ;<br />
we have been forestalled. We hasten towards virtue<br />
while hampered by vices. I am ashamed to say it ;<br />
but we worship that which is honourable only in so<br />
far as we have time to a spare. But what a rich<br />
reward awaits us if only we break <strong>of</strong>f the affairs<br />
which forestall us and the evils that cling to us with<br />
utter tenacity<br />
! Then neither desire nor fear shall<br />
rout us. Undisturbed by fears, unspoiled by pleasures,<br />
we shall be afraid neither <strong>of</strong> death nor <strong>of</strong> the gods;<br />
we shall know that death is no evil and that the<br />
gods are not powers <strong>of</strong> evil. That which harms has<br />
145
'<br />
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
becillum est quod nocet quam cui nocetur, optima<br />
18 vi noxia careiit.<br />
Expectant nos, si l ex hac aliquando<br />
faece in illud evadimus sublime et excelsum, tranquillitas<br />
animi et expulsis erroribus absoluta libertas.<br />
Quaeris quae sit ista Non ? homines timere, non<br />
deos ;<br />
iiec turpia velle nee nimia in se ; ipsum<br />
habere maximam potestatem. Inaestimabile bonum<br />
est suum fieri. VALE.<br />
LXXVI.<br />
SENF.CA LVCILIO svo SALVTEM<br />
1 Inimicitias mihi denuntias, si<br />
quicquam ex iis,<br />
quae cotidie facio, ignoraveris. Vide, quam simpliciter<br />
tecum vivam hoc quoque<br />
tibi committam.<br />
:<br />
Philosophum audio et quidem quintum<br />
lain diem<br />
habeo, ex quo in scholam eo et ab octava disputantem<br />
audio.<br />
" Bona/' inquis, "aetate." Quidni bona ?<br />
Quid autem stultius est quam, quia diu non didiceris,<br />
2 non discere ?<br />
"Quid ergo? Idem faciam, quod<br />
trossuli et iuvenes?' Bene mecum agitur, si hoc<br />
unum senectutem meam dedecet. 2 Omnis aetatis<br />
homines haec schola admittit.<br />
" In hoc senescamus,<br />
ut iuvenes sequamur " ? In theatrum senex ibo et<br />
1<br />
si added by Pincianus, on the<br />
MSS."<br />
authority <strong>of</strong> "ancient<br />
2 dedecet Pincianus ; decat VPb.<br />
a Therefore death has no power to harm, since man is<br />
not harmed thereby, and the gods, who are utterly good,<br />
cannot be the source <strong>of</strong> evil.<br />
6<br />
A mock-heroic nickname for the knights, derived from<br />
the town <strong>of</strong> Trossulum in Etruria, which they captured by<br />
a sensational charge. See Persius, i. 82, and Seneca,<br />
Rp. Ixxxvii. 9.<br />
1 46
EPISTLES LXXV., LXXVI.<br />
no greater power than that which receives harm,<br />
and things which are utterly good have no power at<br />
all to harm. a There await us, if ever we escape from<br />
these low dregs to that sublime and l<strong>of</strong>ty height,<br />
peace <strong>of</strong> mind and, when all error has been driven<br />
out, perfect liberty.<br />
You ask what this freedom is ?<br />
It means not fearing either men or gods<br />
it means<br />
;<br />
not craving wickedness or excess ;<br />
it means possessing<br />
supreme power over oneself. And it is a priceless<br />
good to be master <strong>of</strong> oneself. Farewell.<br />
LXXVI. ON LEARNING WISDOM IN<br />
OLD AGE<br />
You have been threatening me with your enmity,<br />
if I do not keep you informed about all my daily<br />
actions. But see, now, upon what frank terms you<br />
and I live : for I shall confide even the following<br />
fact to your ears. I have been hearing the lectures<br />
<strong>of</strong> a philosopher four<br />
; days have already passed since<br />
I have been attending his school and listening to the<br />
harangue, which begins at two " o'clock. A fine<br />
'<br />
time <strong>of</strong> life for that !<br />
you say. Yes, fine indeed !<br />
Now what is more foolish than refusing to learn,<br />
simply because one has not been learning for a long<br />
time? "What do you mean? Must I follow the<br />
fashion set by the fops b "<br />
and youngsters<br />
? But I am<br />
pretty well <strong>of</strong>f if this is the only thing that discredits<br />
my declining years. Men <strong>of</strong> all ages are admitted<br />
to this class-room. You retort: "Do we grow old<br />
merely in order to tag after the youngsters "<br />
? But<br />
if I, an old man, go to the theatre, and am carried to<br />
147
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
in circum deferar et nullum par sine me depugnabit<br />
ad philosoplmm ire erubescam ?<br />
3 Tamdiu discendum est, quamdiu nescias ; si proverbio<br />
credimus, quamdiu<br />
magis convenit quam huic :<br />
vivas. Nee ulli hoc rei<br />
tamdiu discendum est,<br />
quemadmodum vivas, quamdiu vivas. Ego tarnen<br />
doceam ? Etiam<br />
illic aliquid et doceo. Quaeris, quid<br />
4 seni esse discendum. Pudet autem me generis<br />
humani, quotiens scholam intravi. Praeter ipsum<br />
theatrum Neapolitanorum, ut scis, transeundum est<br />
Metronactis petenti<br />
1<br />
domum. Illud quidem fartum<br />
est et ingenti studio, quis sit pythaules bonus,<br />
iudicatur ;<br />
habet tubicen quoque Graecus et praeco<br />
concursum. At in illo loco, in quo<br />
vir bonus<br />
quaeritur, in quo vir bonus discitur, paucissimi sedent,<br />
et hi plerisque videntur nihil boni negotii habere<br />
quod agant<br />
; inepti et inertes vocantur. Mini contingat<br />
iste derisus ; aequo animo audienda sunt<br />
inperitorum convicia et ad honesta vadenti contemnendus<br />
est ipse contemptus.<br />
5 Perge, Lucili, et propera, tibi ne et ipsi 2 accidat,<br />
quod mihi, ut senex discas ;<br />
immo ideo magis propera,<br />
quoniam diu 3 non adgressus es, quod perdiscere vix<br />
senex<br />
" " "<br />
possis. Quantum," inquis, pr<strong>of</strong>iciam<br />
?<br />
1<br />
petenti Erasmus ; petentes VPb ;<br />
petentibns later MSS.<br />
2 tibi ne et ipsi Hense ;<br />
tibi nee (ne Vb) VPb tibi ;<br />
ne tibi<br />
later MSS.<br />
3 diu Buecheler ;<br />
id VPb.<br />
148<br />
* See also Ep. xciii.
EPISTLE LXXV1.<br />
the races, and allow no duel in the arena to be fought<br />
to a finish without my presence, shall I blush to attend<br />
a philosopher's<br />
lecture ?<br />
You should keep learning as long as you are<br />
ignorant, even to the end <strong>of</strong> your life, if there is<br />
anything in the proverb. And the proverb suits the<br />
present case as well as any " As : long as you live,<br />
keep learning how to live." For all that, there is<br />
also something which I can teach in that school.<br />
You ask, do you, what I can teach ? That even an<br />
old man should keep learning. But I am ashamed<br />
<strong>of</strong> mankind, as <strong>of</strong>ten as I enter the lecture-hall.<br />
On my way to the house <strong>of</strong> Metronax a I am compelled<br />
to go, as you know, right past the Neapolitan<br />
Theatre. The building is<br />
jammed men are deciding,<br />
with tremendous zeal, who is entitled to be<br />
;<br />
called a good flute-player even the Greek piper<br />
;<br />
and the herald draw their crowds. But in the<br />
other place, where the question discussed is :<br />
" What<br />
is a good man?" and the lesson which we learn is .<br />
" How to be a good man," very few are in attendance,<br />
and the majority think that even these few<br />
are engaged in no good business ; they have the<br />
name <strong>of</strong> being empty-headed idlers. I hope I may<br />
be blessed with that kind <strong>of</strong> mockery<br />
for one<br />
;<br />
should listen in an unruffled spirit to the railings <strong>of</strong><br />
the ignorant;<br />
when one is<br />
marching toward the goal<br />
<strong>of</strong> honour, one should scorn scorn itself.<br />
Proceed, then, Lucilius, and hasten, lest you yourself<br />
be compelled to learn in your old age, as is the<br />
case with me. Nay, you must hasten all the more,<br />
because for a long time you have not approached the<br />
subject, which is one that you can scarcely learn<br />
thoroughly when you are old. " How much progress<br />
shall I make?" you ask. Just as much as you try<br />
149
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
6 Quantum temptaveris. Quid expectas ? Nulli sapere<br />
casu obtigit Pecunia veniet ultro, honor <strong>of</strong>feretur,<br />
gratia ac dignitas fortasse ingerentur tibi ;<br />
virtus in<br />
te non incidet. Ne levi quidem opera aut parvo<br />
labore cognoscitur<br />
;<br />
sed est tanti laborare omnia bona<br />
semel occupaturo. Unum est enim bonum, quod<br />
honestum ;<br />
in illis nihil invenies veri, nihil certi,<br />
7 quaecumque famae placent. Quare autem unum sit<br />
bonum, quod honestum, dicam, quoniam parum me<br />
exsecutum priore epistula iudicas magisque hanc rem<br />
tibi laudatam quam probatam putas, et in artum,<br />
quae dicta sunt, contraham.<br />
8 Omnia suo bono constant. Vitern fertilitas commendat<br />
et sapor vini, velocitas cervum. Quam<br />
fortia<br />
dorso iuinenta sint quaeris, quorum hie unus est usus,<br />
sarcinam ferre. In cane sagacitas prima est, si<br />
investigare debet feras, cursus, si consequi, audacia,<br />
si mordere et invadere. Id in quoque optimum<br />
9 esse debet, cui nascitur, quo censetur. In homine<br />
optimum quid est ? Ratio hac antecedit<br />
; animalia,<br />
deos sequitur. Ratio ergo perfecta proprium bonum<br />
est, cetera illi cum animalibus satisque communia<br />
sunt. Valet ;<br />
et leones. Formosus est ;<br />
et pavones.<br />
150<br />
. Ixxiv.
EPISTLE LXXVI.<br />
to make. Why do you wait ? Wisdom comes<br />
haphazard to no man. Money<br />
will come <strong>of</strong> its own<br />
accord ;<br />
titles will be given to you influence and<br />
;<br />
authority will perhaps be thrust upon you but virtue<br />
;<br />
will not fall<br />
upon you by chance. Neither is knowledge<br />
there<strong>of</strong> to be won by light effort or small toil ;<br />
but toiling<br />
is worth while when one is about to win<br />
stroke. For there is but a<br />
all<br />
goods at a single<br />
single good, namely, that which is honourable ;<br />
in all those other things <strong>of</strong> which the general opinion<br />
approves, you will find no truth or certainty. Why<br />
it is, however, that there is but one good, namely,<br />
that which is honourable, I shall now tell you,<br />
inasmuch as you judge that in my<br />
earlier letter* I<br />
did not carry the discussion far enough, and think<br />
that this theory was commended to you rather than<br />
I proved. shall also compress the remarks <strong>of</strong> other<br />
authors into narrow compass.<br />
Everything is estimated by the standard <strong>of</strong> its<br />
own good. The vine is valued for its productiveness<br />
and the flavour <strong>of</strong> its wine, the stag for his speed.<br />
We ask, with regard to beasts <strong>of</strong> burden, how sturdy<br />
<strong>of</strong> back they are ;<br />
for their only use is to bear<br />
burdens. If a is<br />
dog to find the trail <strong>of</strong> a wild<br />
beast, keenness <strong>of</strong> scent is <strong>of</strong> first<br />
importance<br />
if to<br />
;<br />
catch his quarry, swiftness <strong>of</strong> foot if to attack and<br />
;<br />
harry it, courage. In each thing that quality should<br />
be best for which the thing<br />
is<br />
brought into being<br />
and by which it is<br />
judged. And what quality is<br />
best in man ? It is reason ;<br />
by virtue <strong>of</strong> reason he<br />
surpasses the animals, and is surpassed only by the<br />
gods. Perfect reason is therefore the good peculiar<br />
to man ;<br />
all other qualities he shares in some degree<br />
with animals and plants.<br />
Man is<br />
strong ; so is the<br />
lion. Man is<br />
comely ; so is the peacock. Man is<br />
15J
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
Velox est ;<br />
et equi. Non dico, in his omnibus vincitur.<br />
Non quaero, quid in se maximum habeat, sed quid<br />
suum. Corpus habet ;<br />
et arbores. Habet impetum<br />
ac motum voluntarium ;<br />
et bestiae et vermes. Habet<br />
vocem ;<br />
sed quanto clariorem canes, acutiorem<br />
aquilae, graviorem tauri, dulciorem mobilioremque<br />
lOluscinii? Quid in hoinine ?<br />
proprium Ratio. Haec<br />
recta et consummata felicitatem hominis implevit.<br />
1<br />
Ergo si omnis res, cum bonum suum perfecit, laudabilis<br />
est et ad finem naturae suae pervenit ;<br />
homini<br />
autem suum bonum ratio est ; si hanc perfecit,<br />
laudabilis est et finem naturae suae tetigit. Haec<br />
ratio perfecta virtus vocatur eademque honestum<br />
est.<br />
11 Id itaque unum bonum est in homine, quod unum<br />
hominis est. Nunc enim non quaerimus, quid<br />
sit<br />
bonum, sed quid sit hominis bonum.<br />
Si nullum aliud<br />
est hominis quam ratio, haec erit unum eius bonum,<br />
sed pensandum cum omnibus. Si sit aliquis malus,<br />
si<br />
puto improbabitur bonus, puto probabitur. Id<br />
;<br />
ergo in homine primum solumque est, quo et probatur<br />
12et inprobatur.<br />
Non dubitas, an hoc sit bonum;<br />
dubitas an solum bonum sit. Si quis omnia alia<br />
habeat, valetudinem, divitias, imagines multas,<br />
frequens atrium, sed malus ex confesso sit, inprobabis<br />
1<br />
The words quid in homine . . .<br />
implevit are suspected<br />
by Hilgenfeld.<br />
" Literally<br />
" many masks " <strong>of</strong> his ancestors. These were<br />
placed in the atrium.<br />
152
EPISTLE LXXVI.<br />
swift ;<br />
so is the horse. I do not say that man is<br />
surpassed in all these qualities. I am not seeking to<br />
find that which is greatest in him, but that which is<br />
peculiarly his own. Man has body so also have<br />
;<br />
trees. Man has the power to act and to move at<br />
will ;<br />
so have beasts and worms. Man has a voice ;<br />
but how much louder is the voice <strong>of</strong> the dog, how<br />
much shriller that <strong>of</strong> the eagle, how much deeper<br />
that <strong>of</strong> the bull, how much sweeter and more melodious<br />
that <strong>of</strong> the nightingale<br />
! What then is peculiar to<br />
and has reached<br />
man ? Reason. When this is right<br />
perfection, man's felicity is complete. Hence, if<br />
everything is praiseworthy and has arrived at the<br />
end intended by its nature, when it has brought<br />
its peculiar good to perfection, and if man's peculiar<br />
good is reason ; then, if a man has brought his<br />
reason to perfection, he is<br />
praiseworthy and has<br />
reached the end suited to his nature. This perfect<br />
reason is called virtue, and is likewise that which is<br />
honourable.<br />
Hence that in man is alone a good which alone<br />
belongs to man. For we are not now seeking to<br />
discover what is a good, but what good<br />
is man's.<br />
And if there is no other attribute which belongs<br />
peculiarly to man except reason, then reason will be<br />
his one peculiar good, but a good that is worth all<br />
the rest put together. If any man is bad, he will, I<br />
suppose, be regarded with disapproval if good, I<br />
;<br />
suppose he will be regarded with approval. Therefore,<br />
that attribute <strong>of</strong> man whereby he is approved<br />
or disapproved is his chief and only good. You do<br />
not doubt whether this is a good you merely doubt<br />
;<br />
whether it is the sole good. If a man possess all<br />
other things, such as health, riches, pedigree/ a<br />
crowded reception-hall, but is confessedly bad, you<br />
153
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
ilium. Item si quis nihil quidem eorum, quae rettuli,<br />
habeat, deficiatur pecunia, clientium turba, nobilitate<br />
et avorum proavorumque serie, sed ex confesso bonus<br />
sit, probabis ilium. Ergo hoc unum est bonum<br />
hominis, quod qui habet, etiam si aliis destituitiir,<br />
laudandus est, quod qui non habet, in omnium<br />
13 aliorum copia damnatur ac reicitur. Quae condicio<br />
rerum, eadem hominum est. Navis bona dicitur non<br />
quae pretiosis coloribus picta est nee cui argenteum<br />
aut aureum rostrum est nee cuius tutela ebore caelata<br />
est nee quae fiscis atque opibus regiis pressa est, sed<br />
stabilis et firma et iuncturis aquam excludentibus<br />
spissa, ad ferendum incursum maris solida, guber-<br />
1 4 naculo parens, velox et non sentiens ventum. Gladium<br />
bonum dices non cui auratus est balteus nee cuius<br />
vagina gemmis distinguitur, sed cui et ad secandum<br />
subtilis acies est et mucro munimentum omne<br />
rupturus.<br />
sit quaeritur.<br />
proprium est.<br />
quod illi<br />
Regula non quam formosa, sed quam recta<br />
Eo quidque laudatur, cui comparatur,<br />
15 Ergo in homine quoque nihil ad rem pertinet,<br />
quantum aret, quantum faeneret, a quam multis<br />
salutetur, quam pretioso incumbat lecto, quam perlucido<br />
poculo bibat, sed quam bonus sit. Bonus<br />
autem est, si ratio eius explicita et recta est et<br />
16 ad naturae suae voluntatem accommodata. Haec<br />
a Literally "the guardian deity"; cf. Horace, Od. i.<br />
14. 10. These were images <strong>of</strong> the gods, carried and<br />
invoked by the ancients, in the same manner as St. Nicholas<br />
to-day.<br />
6<br />
The fiscus was the private treasury <strong>of</strong> the Roman<br />
Emperor, as contrasted with the aerarium, which theoretically<br />
was controlled by the Senate.<br />
154.
EPISTLE LXXVI.<br />
will disapprove <strong>of</strong> him. Likewise, if a man possess<br />
none <strong>of</strong> the things which I have mentioned, and<br />
lacks money, or an escort <strong>of</strong> clients, or rank and a<br />
line <strong>of</strong> grandfathers and great-grandfathers, but is<br />
confessedly good, you will approve <strong>of</strong> him. Hence,<br />
this is man's one peculiar good, and the possessor <strong>of</strong><br />
it is to be praised even if he lacks other things<br />
;<br />
but<br />
he who does not possess it, though he possess everything<br />
else in abundance, is condemned and rejected.<br />
The same thing holds good regarding men as regarding<br />
things.<br />
A ship is said to be good not when it<br />
is decorated with costly colours, nor when its<br />
prow<br />
is covered with silver or gold or its figure-head a<br />
embossed in ivory, nor when it is laden with the<br />
imperial revenues 6 or with the wealth <strong>of</strong> kings, but<br />
when it is<br />
steady and staunch and taut, with seams<br />
that keep out the water, stout enough to endure the<br />
buffeting <strong>of</strong> the waves, obedient to its helm, swift<br />
and caring naught for the winds. You will speak <strong>of</strong><br />
a sword as good, not when its sword-belt is <strong>of</strong> gold,<br />
or its scabbard studded with gems, but when its<br />
edge is fine for cutting and its point will pierce any<br />
armour. Take the carpenter's rule : we do not ask<br />
how beautiful it is, but how straight it is. Each<br />
thing is praised in regard to that attribute which is<br />
taken as its standard, in regard to that which is its<br />
peculiar quality.<br />
Therefore in the case <strong>of</strong> man also, it is not<br />
pertinent to the question to know how many acres<br />
he ploughs, how much money he has out at interest,<br />
how many<br />
callers attend his receptions, how costly<br />
is the couch on which he lies, how transparent are<br />
the cups from which he drinks, but how good he is.<br />
He is<br />
good, however, if his reason is well-ordered<br />
and right and adapted to that which his nature has<br />
VOL. II F 155
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
vocatur virtus, hoc est honestum et unicum hominis<br />
bonum. Nam cum sola ratio perficiat hominem, sola<br />
ratio perfecta beatum facit hoc autem<br />
;<br />
unum bonum<br />
est, quo<br />
uno beatus efficitur. Dicimus et ilia bona<br />
esse, quae a virtute pr<strong>of</strong>ecta contractaque sunt, id<br />
est opera eius omnia ;<br />
sed ideo unum ipsa bonum<br />
17 est, quia nullum sine ilia est. Si omne in animo<br />
bonum est, quicquid ilium<br />
confirmat, extollit, amplificat,<br />
bonum est ;<br />
validiorem autem animum et excel<br />
siorem et ampliorem facit virtus. Nam cetera,<br />
quae cupiditates nostras<br />
inritant, deprimunt quoque<br />
animum et labefaciunt et, cum videntur adtollere,<br />
inflant ac multa vanitate deludunt. Ergo unum id<br />
bonum est, quo melior animus efficietur.<br />
18 Omnes actiones totius vitae honesti ac turpis<br />
respectu temperantur ; ad haec faciendi et non<br />
faciendi ratio derigitur. Quid sit hoc, dicam : vir<br />
bonus quod honeste se facturum putaverit, faciet,<br />
etiam si l laboriosum erit, faciet, etiam si damnosum<br />
erit, faciet, etiam si<br />
periculosum erit ; rursus quod<br />
turpe erit, non faciet, etiam si<br />
pecuniam adferet,<br />
etiam si<br />
voluptatem, etiam si potentiam. Ab honesto<br />
nulla re deterrebitur, ad turpia nulla invitabitur.<br />
19 Ergo si honestum utique secuturus est, turpe utique<br />
vitaturus et in omni actu vitae<br />
spectaturus haec duo,<br />
1<br />
etiam si later MSS. ; etiam sine pecunia si VPb.<br />
a i.e., "moral worth."<br />
b<br />
i.e., peace, the welfare <strong>of</strong> one's country, dutiful<br />
children, etc.<br />
156
EPISTLE LXXVI.<br />
willed. It is this that is called virtue ;<br />
this is what<br />
we mean by<br />
" honourable<br />
" a<br />
;<br />
it is man's unique<br />
good. For since reason alone brings man to perfection,<br />
reason alone, when perfected, makes man<br />
happy. This, moreover, is man's only good, the<br />
only means by which he is made happy. We do<br />
indeed say that those things also b are goods which<br />
are furthered and brought together by virtue, that<br />
is, all the works <strong>of</strong> virtue but virtue itself is<br />
;<br />
for this<br />
reason the only good, because there is no good without<br />
virtue. If every good is in the soul, then<br />
whatever strengthens, uplifts,<br />
and enlarges the soul,<br />
is a good virtue, however, does make the soul<br />
;<br />
stronger, l<strong>of</strong>tier, and larger. For all other things,<br />
which arouse our desires, depress the soul and<br />
weaken it, and when we think that they are uplifting<br />
the soul, they are merely puffing it up and cheating<br />
it with much emptiness. Therefore, that alone is<br />
good which will make the soul better.<br />
All the actions <strong>of</strong> life, taken as a whole, are controlled<br />
by the consideration <strong>of</strong> what is honourable or<br />
base ;<br />
it is with reference to these two things that<br />
our reason is<br />
governed in doing or not doing a<br />
I<br />
particular thing. shall explain what I mean : A<br />
good man will do what he thinks it will be honourable<br />
for him to do, even if it involves toil ;<br />
he will<br />
do it even if it involves harm to him ;<br />
he will do it<br />
even if it involves peril ; again, he will not do that<br />
which will be base, even if it brings him money, or<br />
pleasure, or power. Nothing will deter him from<br />
that which is honourable, and nothing will tempt him<br />
into baseness. Therefore, if he is determined invariably<br />
to follow that which is honourable, invariably<br />
to avoid baseness, and in every act <strong>of</strong> his life to<br />
have regard for these two things, deeming nothing<br />
157
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
nee aliud bonum quam honestum l nee aliud malum<br />
quam turpe, si una indepravata<br />
virtus est et sola<br />
permanet tenoris sui ;<br />
unum est bonum virtus, cui<br />
iam accidere, ne sit bonum, non potest. Mutationis<br />
periculum effugit ; stultitia ad sapientiam erepit,<br />
sapientia in stultitiam non revolvitur.<br />
20 Dixi, si forte meministi, concupita volgo et formidata<br />
inconsulto impetu plerosque<br />
calcasse. Inventus<br />
est, qui flammis inponeret manum, cuius<br />
risum non interruraperet tortor, qui in funere liberorum<br />
lacrimam non mitteret, qui morti non trepidus<br />
2<br />
occurreret. Amor enim, ira, cupiditas pericula<br />
depoposceruiit. Quod potest brevis obstinatio animi<br />
aliquo stimulo excitata, quanto magis virtus, quae<br />
non ex impetu nee subito, sed aequaliter valet, cui<br />
21 perpetuum robur est. Sequitur, ut quae<br />
ab inconsultis<br />
saepe contemnuntur, a sapientibus semper, ea<br />
nee bona sint nee mala. Unum ergo bonum ipsa<br />
virtus est, quae inter hanc fortunam et illam superba<br />
incedit cum magno utriusque contemptu.<br />
22 Si hanc opinionem receperis, aliquid bonum esse<br />
praeter honestum, nulla non virtus laborabit. Nulla<br />
enim optineri poterit, si<br />
quicquam extra se respexerit.<br />
1<br />
nee aliud bonum nisi (quam Hense) honestum^ omitted<br />
by VPb, is supplied by the Venice edition <strong>of</strong> 1492.<br />
2<br />
amor enim, ira Chatelain ; amor e in ira V ;<br />
amove in<br />
ira Pb.<br />
158<br />
Of. Ep. Ixxiv. 21.
EPISTLE LXXVI.<br />
else good except that which is honourable, and<br />
nothing else bad except that which is base if virtue<br />
;<br />
alone is<br />
unperverted in him and by itself keeps its<br />
even course, then virtue is that man's only good,<br />
and nothing can thenceforth happen to it which may<br />
make it<br />
anything else than good. It has escaped all<br />
risk <strong>of</strong> change<br />
;<br />
folly may creep upwards towards<br />
wisdom, but wisdom never slips back into folly.<br />
You may perhaps remember my saying a that the<br />
things which have been generally desired and feared<br />
have been trampled down by many a man in<br />
moments <strong>of</strong> sudden passion. There have been<br />
found men who would place their hands in the<br />
flames, men whose smiles could not be stopped by<br />
the torturer, men who would shed not a tear at the<br />
funeral <strong>of</strong> their children, men who would meet death<br />
unflinchingly. It is love, for example, anger, lust,<br />
which have challenged dangers.<br />
If a momentary<br />
stubbornness can accomplish<br />
all this when roused by<br />
some goad that pricks the spirit,<br />
how much more<br />
can be accomplished by virtue, which does not act<br />
impulsively or suddenly, but uniformly and with a<br />
strength that is lasting It follows that the things<br />
!<br />
which are <strong>of</strong>ten scorned by the men who are moved<br />
with a sudden passion, and are always scorned by<br />
Virtue itself<br />
the wise, are neither goods nor evils.<br />
is therefore the only good she marches<br />
; proudly<br />
between the two extremes <strong>of</strong> fortune, with great<br />
scorn for both.<br />
If, however, you accept the view that there is<br />
anything good besides that which is honourable, all<br />
the virtues will suffer. For it will never be possible<br />
for any virtue to be won and held, if there is anything<br />
O outside itself which virtue must take into consideration.<br />
If there is<br />
any such thing, then it is at<br />
159
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
Quod si est, rationi repugnat, ex qua virtutes sun I,<br />
et veritati, quae sine ratione non est.<br />
Quaecumque<br />
23 autem opinio veritati repugnat, falsa est. Virum<br />
bonum concedas necesse est summae pietatis erga<br />
deos esse. Itaque quicquid illi accidit, aequo animo<br />
sustinebit ;<br />
sciet enim id accidisse lege divina, qua<br />
universa procedunt. Quod si est, unum illi bonum<br />
erit, quod honestum ;<br />
in hoc enim positum est et<br />
parere dis nee excandescere ad subita nee deplorare<br />
sortem suam, sed patienter excipere fatum et facere<br />
24 imperata. Si ullum aliud est bonum quam honestum,<br />
aviditas rerum vitam<br />
sequetur nos aviditas vitae,<br />
instruentium, quod est intolerabile, infinitum, vagum.<br />
Solum ergo bonum est honestum, cui modus est.<br />
25 Diximus futuram hominum feliciorem vitam quam<br />
deorum, si ea bona sunt, quorum nullus 1 dis usus<br />
est, tamquam pecunia, honores. Adice nunc, quod<br />
si modo solutae corporibus animae manent, felicior<br />
illis<br />
status restat quam est, dum versantur in corpore.<br />
Atqui si ista bona sunt, quibus per corpora utimur,<br />
emissis erit peius, quod contra fidem est, feliciores<br />
esse liberis et in universum datis clausas<br />
et obsessas.<br />
26 lllud quoque dixeram, si bona sunt ea, quae tarn<br />
homini contingunt quam mutis animalibus, et muta<br />
1<br />
nullus later MSS. ; nullum VPb.<br />
. .<br />
a Cf. Ep. Ixxiv. 14 aut ista bona non sunt, quae vocantur,<br />
aut homo felicior deo est, quoniam quidem quae parata nobis<br />
tunt, non habet in usu deus.<br />
Ixxiv. 16 summum bonum .<br />
b<br />
e.g., Ep. obsolescit, si<br />
optima nostri parte ad pessimam transit et transfertur ad<br />
sc.nsus, qul agiUores sunt animalibus mutis.<br />
160
EPISTLE LXXVI.<br />
variance with reason, from which the virtues<br />
spring,<br />
and with truth also, which cannot exist without<br />
reason. Any opinion, however, which is at variance<br />
with truth, is<br />
wrong. A good man, you will admit,<br />
must have the highest sense <strong>of</strong> duty toward the gods.<br />
Hence he will endure with an unruffled<br />
spirit whatever<br />
happens to him for he will know that<br />
;<br />
it has<br />
happened as a result <strong>of</strong> the divine law, by which the<br />
whole creation moves. This being so, there will be<br />
for him one good, and only one, namely, that which<br />
is honourable ;<br />
for one <strong>of</strong> its dictates is that we<br />
shall obey the gods and not blaze forth in anger at<br />
sudden misfortunes or deplore our lot, but rather<br />
patiently accept fate and obey<br />
its commands. If<br />
anything except the honourable is good, we shall be<br />
hounded by greed for life, and by greed for the<br />
things which provide life with its furnishings, an<br />
intolerable state, subject to no limits, unstable. The<br />
only good, therefore, is that which is honourable, that<br />
which is subject to bounds.<br />
I have declared" that man's life would be more<br />
blest than that <strong>of</strong> the gods, if those things which<br />
the gods do not enjoy are goods, such as<br />
money<br />
and <strong>of</strong>fices <strong>of</strong> dignity. There is this further consideration<br />
if :<br />
only it is true that our souls, when<br />
released from the body,<br />
still abide, a happier condition<br />
is in store for them than is theirs while they dwell<br />
in the body. And yet, if those things are goods<br />
which we make use <strong>of</strong> for our bodies' sake, our souls<br />
will be worse <strong>of</strong>f when set free ;<br />
and that is contrary<br />
to our belief, to say that the soul is<br />
happier when it<br />
is cabined and confined than when it is free and has<br />
betaken itself to the universe. I also said b that if<br />
those things which dumb animals possess equally<br />
with man are goods, then dumb animals also will<br />
161
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
animalia beatam vitam actura ;<br />
quod<br />
fieri nullo modo<br />
potest.<br />
Omnia pro honesto patienda sunt; quod<br />
non erat faciendum, si esset ullum aliud bonum quam<br />
honestum.<br />
Haec quamvis latius exsecutus essem priore<br />
27 epistula,<br />
constrinxi et breviter percucurri. Numquam<br />
autem vera tibi opinio talis videbitur, nisi<br />
animum adleves et te ipse interroges, si res exegerit,<br />
ut pro patria<br />
moriaris et salutem omnium civium tua<br />
redimas, an porrecturus sis cervicem non tantum<br />
patienter, sed etiam libenter. Si hoc facturus es,<br />
nullum aliud bonum est. Omnia enim relinquis, ut<br />
hoc habeas. Vide quanta vis honesti sit :<br />
pro re<br />
publica morieris, etiam si statim facturus hoc eris,<br />
28 cum scieris tibi esse faciendum. Interdum ex re<br />
pulcherrima magnum gaudium etiam exiguo tempore<br />
ac brevi capitur, et quamvis fructus operis peracti<br />
nullus ad defunctum exemptumque<br />
pertineat, ipsa tamen contemplatio futuri<br />
rebus humanis<br />
operis<br />
iuvat, et vir fortis ac iustus, cum mortis suae pretia<br />
ante se posuit, libertatem patriae, salutem omnium,<br />
pro quibus dependit animam, in summa voluptate<br />
29 est et periculo<br />
suo fruitur. Sed ille quoque, cui hoc<br />
gaudium eripitur, quod l tractatio operis maximi et<br />
162<br />
1<br />
quod Arg. b ;<br />
quam VPb.
EPISTLE LXXVI.<br />
lead a happy life which is <strong>of</strong> course<br />
; impossible.<br />
One must endure all things in defence <strong>of</strong> that which<br />
is honourable ;<br />
but this would not be necessary if<br />
there existed any other good besides that which is<br />
honourable.<br />
Although this question was discussed by me<br />
pretty extensively in a previous letter," I have<br />
discussed it<br />
summarily and briefly run through the<br />
argument. But an opinion <strong>of</strong> this kind will never<br />
seem true to you unless you exalt your mind and<br />
ask yourself whether, at the call <strong>of</strong> duty, you would<br />
be willing to die for your country, and buy the<br />
safety <strong>of</strong> all your fellow-citizens at the price <strong>of</strong> your<br />
own ;<br />
whether you would <strong>of</strong>fer your neck not only<br />
with patience, but also with gladness.<br />
If you would<br />
do this, there is no other good in your eyes. For<br />
you are giving up everything in order to acquire<br />
this good. Consider how great<br />
is the power <strong>of</strong> that<br />
which is honourable :<br />
you will die for your country,<br />
even at a moment's notice, when you know that you<br />
ought to do so. Sometimes, as a result <strong>of</strong> noble<br />
conduct, one wins great joy even in a very short<br />
and fleeting space <strong>of</strong> time ;<br />
and though none <strong>of</strong> the<br />
fruits <strong>of</strong> a deed that has been done will accrue to<br />
the doer after he is dead and removed from the<br />
sphere <strong>of</strong> human affairs, yet the mere contemplation<br />
<strong>of</strong> a deed that is to be done is a delight, and the<br />
brave and upright man, picturing to himself the<br />
guerdons <strong>of</strong> his death, guerdons such as the freedom<br />
<strong>of</strong> his country and the deliverance <strong>of</strong> all those for<br />
whom he is<br />
paying out his life, partakes <strong>of</strong> the<br />
greatest pleasure and enjoys the fruit <strong>of</strong> his own<br />
peril.<br />
But that man also who is<br />
deprived <strong>of</strong> this<br />
joy, the joy which is afforded by the contemplation<br />
a Ep. Ixxiv., esp. 14.<br />
VOL. II F 2 163
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
ultimi ] praestat, nihil cunctatus desiliet in mortern ;<br />
facere recte pieque contentus. Oppone etiamnunc<br />
illi multa quae dehortentur, die "<br />
: factum tuurn<br />
matura sequetur oblivio et parum grata existimatio<br />
civium" ;<br />
respondebit 2 "<br />
tibi : ista omnia extra opus<br />
meum sunt. Ego ipsum contemplor. Hoc esse<br />
honestum scio. Itaque quocumque ducit ac vocat,<br />
venio.'<br />
30 Hoc ergo unum bonuin est, quod non tantum<br />
perfectus animus, sed generosus quoque et indolis<br />
bonae sentit ;<br />
cetera levia sunt, mutabilia. Itaque<br />
sollicite possidentur. Etiam si favente fortuna in<br />
unum congesta sunt, dominis suis incubant gravia et<br />
31 illos semper premunt, aliquaiido et inlidunt. 3 Nemo<br />
ex istis, quos purpuratos vides, felix est, non magis<br />
quam ex illis, quibus sceptrum et chlamydem in<br />
scaena fabulae adsignant cum<br />
; praesente populo lati<br />
incesserunt et coturnati, simul exierunt, excalceantur<br />
et ad staturam suam redeunt. Nemo istorum, quos<br />
divitiae honoresque in altiore fastigio ponunt, magnus<br />
est. Quare ergo magnus videtur ? Cum basi ilium<br />
sua metiris. Non est magnus pumilio, licet in monte<br />
constiterit colossus ; magnitudinem suam servabit,<br />
32 etiam si steterit in puteo. Hoc laboramus errore,<br />
sic nobis imponitur, quod neminem aestimamus eo,<br />
quod est, sed adicimus illi et ea, quibus adornatus<br />
1<br />
maximi et ultlini Sanctolonius and Madvig ; e et ,<br />
or ae et ae ]\ISS.<br />
2 respondebit or respondet later MSS. ; respondit VPb.<br />
3 inlidunt Gruter ;<br />
inludunt VP.<br />
a<br />
Compare the argument in Ep. Ixxx. " 7, This farce<br />
"<br />
<strong>of</strong> living, in which we act our parts so ill ; 8, the loudmouthed<br />
impersonator <strong>of</strong> heroes, who sleeps on rags ; and<br />
9 hominem involutum aesllmas?<br />
164
EPISTLE LXXVI.<br />
<strong>of</strong> some last noble effort, will leap to his death without<br />
a moment's hesitation, content to act rightly and<br />
dutifully. Moreover, you may confront him with<br />
many discouragements; you may say: "Your deed<br />
will speedily be forgotten/' or " Your fellow-citizens<br />
will <strong>of</strong>fer you scant thanks." He will answer: " All<br />
these matters lie outside my task. My thoughts are<br />
on the deed itself. I know that this is honourable.<br />
Therefore, whithersoever I am led and summoned<br />
by honour, I will go."<br />
This, therefore, is the only good, and not only<br />
is<br />
every soul that has reached perfection aware <strong>of</strong> it,<br />
but also every soul that is by nature noble and <strong>of</strong><br />
right instincts all<br />
;<br />
other goods are trivial and mutable.<br />
For this reason we are harassed if we possess<br />
them. Even though, by the kindness <strong>of</strong> Fortune,<br />
they have been heaped together, they weigh heavily<br />
upon their owners, always pressing them down and<br />
sometimes crushing them. None <strong>of</strong> those whom you<br />
behold clad in purple is happy, any more than one<br />
<strong>of</strong> these actors a upon whom the play bestows a<br />
sceptre and a cloak while on the stage they strut<br />
;<br />
their hour before a crowded house, with swelling<br />
port and buskined foot but when once<br />
;<br />
they make<br />
their exit the foot-gear is removed and they return<br />
to their proper stature. None <strong>of</strong> those who have<br />
been raised to a l<strong>of</strong>tier height by riches and honours<br />
is really great. Why then does he seem great to<br />
you ? It is because you are measuring the pedestal<br />
along with the man. A dwarf is not tall, though he<br />
stand upon a mountain-top a colossal statue will still<br />
;<br />
be tall, though you place it in a well. This is the<br />
error under which we labour ;<br />
this is the reason why<br />
we are imposed upon we value no man at what he<br />
:<br />
is, but add to the man himself the trappings in<br />
165
est.<br />
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
Atqui cum voles veram hominis aestimationem<br />
inire et scire, quails sit, nudum inspice<br />
;<br />
ponat patrimonium,<br />
ponat honores et alia fortunae mendacia,<br />
corpus ipsum exuat.<br />
Animum intuere, qualis quantusque<br />
sit, alieno an suo magnus.<br />
33 Si rectis oculis gladios micantes videt et si scit<br />
sua nihil interesse, utrum anima per os an per iugulum<br />
exeat, beatum voca ;<br />
si cum illi denuntiata sunt<br />
corporis tormenta et quae casu veniunt et quae<br />
potentioris iniuria, si vincula et exilia et vanas humanarum<br />
formidines mentium securus audit et dicit :<br />
" Non ulla laborura,<br />
O virgo, nova mi fades inopinave surgit ;<br />
Orania praecepi atque animo mecum ipse peregi.<br />
Tu hodie ista denuntias ;<br />
ego semper denuntiavi mihi<br />
34 et hominem paravi ad humana." Praecogitati mali<br />
mollis ictus venit. At stultis et fortunae credentibus<br />
omnis videtur nova rerum et inopinata facies ;<br />
magna<br />
autem pars est apud imperitos mali novitas. Hoc ut<br />
scias, ea quae putaverant aspera, fortius, cum adsue-<br />
35 vere, patiuntur. Ideo sapiens adsuescit futuris malis<br />
et quae alii diu patiendo levia faciunt, hie levia facit<br />
a<br />
As the world-soul is<br />
spread through the universe, so<br />
the human soul (as fire, or breath) is diffused through the<br />
body, and may take its departure in various ways.<br />
6 Vergil, Aeneid, vi. 103 if.<br />
(The answer <strong>of</strong> Aeneas to<br />
the Sibyl's prophecy.)<br />
166
EPISTLE LXXVI.<br />
which he is clothed. But when you wish to inquire<br />
into a man's true worth, and to know what manner <strong>of</strong><br />
man he is,<br />
look at him when he is naked ;<br />
make him<br />
lay aside his inherited estate, his titles, and the other<br />
deceptions <strong>of</strong> fortune let him even<br />
;<br />
strip<br />
<strong>of</strong>f his body.<br />
Consider his soul, its quality and its stature, and thus<br />
learn whether its greatness is borrowed, or its own.<br />
If a man can behold with unflinching eyes the<br />
flash <strong>of</strong> a sword, if he knows that it makes no<br />
difference to him whether his soul takes flight<br />
through his mouth or through a wound in his throat,"<br />
you may call him happy ; you may<br />
also call him<br />
happy if,<br />
when he is threatened with bodily torture,<br />
whether it be the result <strong>of</strong> accident or <strong>of</strong> the might<br />
<strong>of</strong> the stronger, he can without concern hear talk <strong>of</strong><br />
chains, or <strong>of</strong> exile, or <strong>of</strong> all the idle fears that stir<br />
men's minds, and can say<br />
:<br />
'* O maiden, no new sudden form <strong>of</strong> toil<br />
Springs up before my eyes within my soul<br />
;<br />
6<br />
I have forestalled and surveyed everything.<br />
To-day it is you who threaten me with these terrors ;<br />
but I have always threatened myself with them, and<br />
have prepared myself as a man to meet man's<br />
destiny." If an evil has been pondered beforehand,<br />
the blow is gentle when it comes. To the fool,<br />
however, and to him who trusts in fortune, each<br />
event as it arrives " comes in a new and sudden<br />
form," and a large part <strong>of</strong> evil, to the inexperienced,<br />
consists in its novelty. This is<br />
proved by the fact<br />
that men endure with greater courage, w^hen they<br />
have once become accustomed to them, the things<br />
which they had at first<br />
regarded as hardships.<br />
Hence, the wise man accustoms himself to coming<br />
trouble, lightening by long reflection the evils which<br />
167
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
diu cogitando. Audimus aliquando voces imperitorum<br />
dicentium "<br />
: sciebam<br />
l<br />
hoc mihi restare " ; sapiens<br />
scit sibi omnia restare. Quicquid factum est, dicit :<br />
"sciebam." VALE.<br />
LXXVII.<br />
<strong>SENECA</strong> LVCILIO svo SALVTEM<br />
1 Subito nobis hodie Alexandrinae naves apparuerunt,<br />
quae praemitti solent et nuntiare secuturae<br />
classis adventum ;<br />
tabellarias vocant. Gratus ill arum<br />
Campaniae aspectus est omnis in<br />
; pilis<br />
Puteolorum<br />
turba consistit et ex ipso geiiere velorum Alexandrinas<br />
quamvis in magna turba navium intellegit.<br />
Solis enim licet siparum intendere, quod in alto omnes<br />
2 habent naves. Nulla enim res aeque adiuvat cursum<br />
quam summa pars veil illinc maxime navis<br />
; urgetur.<br />
Itaque quotiens ventus increbruit maiorque est quam<br />
expedit, anterana summittitur minus<br />
;<br />
habet virium<br />
flatus ex humili. Cum intravere Capreas et promunturiurn,<br />
ex quo<br />
Alta procelloso speculatur vertice Pallas,<br />
ceterae velo iubentur esse contentae ; siparum<br />
Alexandrinarum insigne est. 2<br />
3 In hoc omnium discursu properantium ad litus magnam<br />
ex pigritia mea sensi voluptatem, quod epistulas<br />
meorum accepturus non properavi scire, quis illic esset<br />
1<br />
The old editors read nesciabam, which seems more in<br />
accord with the argument.<br />
2<br />
indicium before est deleted by Muretus.<br />
a Puteoli, in the bay <strong>of</strong> Naples, was the head-quarters in<br />
Italy <strong>of</strong> the important grain-trade with Egypt, on which the<br />
Roman magistrates relied to feed the populace.<br />
6<br />
Author unknown.<br />
168
1<br />
EPISTLES LXXVL, LXXVII.<br />
others lighten by long endurance. We sometimes<br />
hear the inexperienced say<br />
:<br />
" I knew that this was<br />
in store for me." But the wise man knows that all<br />
things are in store for him. Whatever happens, he<br />
says: "I knew it." Farewell.<br />
LXXVII.<br />
ON TAKING ONE'S OWN LIFE<br />
Suddenly there came into our view to-day the<br />
"Alexandrian'<br />
I<br />
ships, mean those which are<br />
usually sent ahead to announce the coming <strong>of</strong> the<br />
fleet ;<br />
they are called " mail-boats." The Campanians<br />
are glad to see them ;<br />
all the rabble <strong>of</strong> Puteoli a<br />
stand on the docks, and can recognize the c Alexandrian<br />
" boats, no matter how great the crowd '<br />
<strong>of</strong><br />
vessels, by the very trim <strong>of</strong> their sails. For they<br />
alone may keep spread their topsails, which all<br />
ships<br />
use when out at sea, because nothing sends a ship<br />
along so well as its upper canvas that is<br />
;<br />
where most<br />
<strong>of</strong> the speed<br />
is obtained. So when the breeze has<br />
stiffened and becomes stronger than is comfortable,<br />
they set their yards lower for the wind has<br />
;<br />
less<br />
force near the surface <strong>of</strong> the water. Accordingly,<br />
w hen r they have made Capreae and the headland<br />
whence<br />
Tall Pallas watches on the stormy peak, 6<br />
all other vessels are bidden to be content with the<br />
mainsail, and the topsail stands out conspicuously<br />
on the " Alexandrian " mail-boats.<br />
While everybody was bustling about and hurrying<br />
to the water-front, I felt great pleasure in my laziness,<br />
because, I<br />
although was soon to receive letters from<br />
my friends, I was in no hurry to know how my affairs<br />
169
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
rerum mearum status, quid adferrent ;<br />
olim iam nee<br />
perit quicquam mihi nee adquiritur. Hoc, etiam si<br />
senex non essem, fuerat sentiendum ;<br />
nunc vero multo<br />
magis. Quantulumcumque haberem, tamen plus iam<br />
mihi superesset viatici<br />
quam viae, praesertim cum earn<br />
viam simus l<br />
ingressi, quam peragere non est necesse.<br />
4 Iter inperfectum erit, si in media parte aut citra petitum<br />
locum steteris ;<br />
vita non est inperfecta, si honesta est.<br />
Ubicumque desines, si bene desines, tota est.<br />
Saepe<br />
autem et fortiter desinendum est et non ex maximis<br />
causis; nam nee eae 2 maximae sunt, quae nos tenent.<br />
5 Tullius Marcellinus, quern optime noveras, adulescens<br />
quietus et cito senex, morbo et non in-<br />
3<br />
sanabili correptus sed longo et molesto et multa<br />
imperante, coepit deliberare de morte. Convocavit<br />
complures amicos. Unusquisque aut quia timidus<br />
erat, id illi suadebat, quod sibi suasisset, aut quia<br />
adulator et blandus, id consilium dabat, quod de-<br />
6 liberanti gratius fore suspicabatur amicus<br />
;<br />
noster<br />
<strong>Stoic</strong>us, homo egregius et, ut verbis ilium, quibus<br />
laudari dignus est, laudem, vir fortis ac strenuus,<br />
videtur mihi optime ilium cohortatus. Sic enim<br />
coepit :<br />
" Noli, mi Marcelline, torqueri, tamquam de<br />
1<br />
simus later MSS. ; sumus VPb.<br />
3 nee eae O. Rossbach ; nee et VPb.<br />
3<br />
J. W. Duff would read, with Kron., vietus, "old,"<br />
"withered."<br />
a This thought, found in Ep. xii. 6 and <strong>of</strong>ten elsewhere,<br />
is a favourite with Seneca.<br />
6 It is not likely that this Marcellinus is the same person<br />
as the Marcellinus <strong>of</strong> Ep. xxix.,<br />
because <strong>of</strong> their different<br />
views on philosophy (Summers). But there is no definite<br />
evidence for or against.<br />
c<br />
A Roman compliment ; the Greeks would have used<br />
KaXos Ka.ya.66s ; cf. Horace, Ep.<br />
i. 7. 46<br />
170<br />
Strenuus et fortis causisque Philippus agendis<br />
Clarus.
EPISTLE LXXVII.<br />
were progressing abroad, or what news the letters<br />
were bringing for<br />
;<br />
some time now I have had no<br />
losses, nor gains either. Even if I were not an old<br />
man, I could not have helped feeling pleasure at<br />
this ;<br />
but as it is, my pleasure was far greater. For,<br />
however small my possessions might be, I should still<br />
have left over more travelling-money than journey<br />
to travel, especially since this journey upon which<br />
we have set out is one which need not be followed<br />
to the end. An expedition will be incomplete<br />
if<br />
one stops half-way, or anywhere on this side <strong>of</strong> one's<br />
destination ;<br />
but life is not incomplete if it is honourable.<br />
At whatever point you leave <strong>of</strong>f living, provided<br />
you leave <strong>of</strong>f nobly, your<br />
life is a whole. a<br />
Often, however, one must leave <strong>of</strong>f bravely, and our<br />
reasons therefore need not be momentous ;<br />
for<br />
neither are the reasons momentous which hold us<br />
here.<br />
Tullius Marcellinus, 6 a man whom you knew very<br />
well, who in youth was a quiet soul and became old<br />
prematurely, fell ill <strong>of</strong> a disease which was by no<br />
means hopeless<br />
;<br />
but it was protracted and troublesome,<br />
and it demanded much attention ;<br />
hence he<br />
began to think about dying. He called many <strong>of</strong><br />
his friends together. Each one <strong>of</strong> them gave<br />
Marcellinus advice, the timid friend urging him to<br />
do what he had made up his mind to do ;<br />
the flattering<br />
and wheedling friend giving counsel which he<br />
supposed would be more pleasing to Marcellinus<br />
when he came to think the matter over ;<br />
but our<br />
<strong>Stoic</strong> friend, a rare man, and, to praise him in language<br />
which he deserves, a man <strong>of</strong> courage and vigour,<br />
admonished him best <strong>of</strong> all, as it seems to me. For<br />
he began as follows " : Do not torment yourself, my<br />
dear Marcellinus, as if the question which you are<br />
171
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
re magna deliberes. Non est res magna vivere ;<br />
omnes servi tui vivunt, omnia animalia ;<br />
magnum est<br />
honeste mori, prudenter, fortiter. Cogita, quamdiu<br />
iain idem facias :<br />
cibus, somnus, libido, per hunc<br />
circulum curritur. Mori velle non tantum prudens<br />
aut fortis aut miser, etiam fastidiosus potest."<br />
7 Non opus erat suasore illi,<br />
sed adiutore ;<br />
servi<br />
parere nolebant. Primum detraxit illis metum et<br />
indicavit tune familiam periculum adire, cum incertum<br />
esset, an mors domini voluntaria fuisset ;<br />
alioqui tarn mali exempli esse occidere dominum<br />
8 quam prohibere. Deinde ipsum Marcellinum admonuit<br />
non esse inhumanum, quemadmodum cena<br />
peracta reliquiae circumstantibus dividantur, sic<br />
peracta vita aliquid porrigi iis, qui totius vitae<br />
ministri fuissent. Erat Marcellinus facilis animi et<br />
liberalis, etiam cum de suo fieret. Minutas itaque<br />
summulas distribuit flentibus servis et illos ultro<br />
9 consolatus est. Non fuit illi<br />
opus ferro, non sanguine;<br />
triduo abstinuit et in ipso cubiculo poni tabernaculum<br />
iussit. Solium deinde inlatum est, in quo<br />
diu iacuit et calda subinde suiFusa paulatim defecit,<br />
ut aiebat, non sine quadam voluptate, quam adferre<br />
solet lenis dissolutio non inexperta nobis, quos<br />
aliquando liquit animus.<br />
a<br />
For this frequent "banquet <strong>of</strong> life" simile see Ep.<br />
xcviii. 15 ipse vitae plenus est, etc.<br />
6<br />
So that the steam might not escape. One thinks <strong>of</strong><br />
Seneca's last hours : Tac. Ann. xv. 64 stagnum calidae<br />
Kf/nae introiit . . . exin balneo inlatus et vapore eius exanimatus.<br />
172
this feeling is. 173<br />
EPISTLE LXXVII.<br />
weighing were a matter <strong>of</strong> importance. It is not an<br />
important matter to live all ; your slaves live, and so<br />
do all animals ;<br />
but it is<br />
important to die honourably,<br />
sensibly, bravely.<br />
Reflect how long you have been<br />
doing the same thing food, sleep, lust, this is<br />
:<br />
one's daily<br />
round. The desire to die may be felt,<br />
not only by the sensible man or the brave or unhappy<br />
man, but even by the man who is<br />
merely surfeited."<br />
Marcellinus did not need someone to urge him,<br />
but rather someone to help him his slaves refused<br />
;<br />
to do his bidding. The <strong>Stoic</strong> therefore removed<br />
their fears, showing them that there was no risk<br />
involved for the household except when it was uncertain<br />
whether the master's death was self-sought<br />
or not ; besides, it was as bad a practice to kill one's<br />
master as it was to prevent him forcibly from killing<br />
himself. Then he suggested to Marcellinus himself<br />
that it would be a kindly act to distribute gifts<br />
to<br />
those who had attended him throughout his whole life,<br />
when that life was finished, just as, when a banquet<br />
is finished," the remaining portion is divided among<br />
the attendants who stand about the table. Marcellinus<br />
was <strong>of</strong> a compliant and generous disposition,<br />
even when it was a question <strong>of</strong> his own property<br />
;<br />
so<br />
he distributed little sums among his sorrowing slaves,<br />
and comforted them besides. No need had he <strong>of</strong><br />
sword or <strong>of</strong> bloodshed ;<br />
for three days he fasted and<br />
had a tent put up in his very bedroom. 6 Then a<br />
tub was brought in ;<br />
he lay<br />
in it for a long time,<br />
and, as the hot water was continually poured over<br />
him, he gradually passed away, not without a feeling<br />
<strong>of</strong> pleasure,<br />
as he himself remarked, such a feeling<br />
as a slow dissolution is wont to give. Those <strong>of</strong> us<br />
who have ever fainted know from experience what
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
10 In fabellam excessi non ingratam<br />
tibi. Exitum<br />
enim amici tui cognosces non difficilem nee miserum.<br />
Quamvis enim mortem sibi consciverit, tamen mollissime<br />
excessit et vita elapsus est. Sed ne inutilis<br />
quidem haec fabella fuerit. Saepe<br />
exempla necessitas exigit.<br />
enim talia<br />
Saepe debemus mori nee<br />
1 1 volumus, morimur nee volumus. Nemo tarn imperitus<br />
est, ut nesciat quandoque moriendum ;<br />
tamen cum<br />
prope accessit, tergiversatur, tremit, plorat. Nonne<br />
tibi videbitur stultissimus omnium, qui flevit, quod<br />
ante annos mille non vixerat ?<br />
Aeque stultus est,<br />
qui flet, quod post annos mille non vivet. Haec<br />
paria sunt ;<br />
non eris nee fuisti.<br />
Utrumque tempus<br />
12 alienum est. In hoc punctum coniectus es, quod ut<br />
extendas, quo usque extendes ? Quid fles ? Quid<br />
optas ?<br />
Perdis operam.<br />
Desine fata deum flecti sperare precando.<br />
Rata et fixa sunt et magna atque aeterna necessitate<br />
ducuntur. Eo ibis, quo omnia eunt. Quid<br />
tibi novi<br />
est ? Ad hanc legem natus es. Hoc patri tuo<br />
accidit, hoc matri, hoc maioribus, hoc omnibus ante<br />
te, hoc omnibus post<br />
te. Series invicta et nulla<br />
13 mutabilis ope inligavit ac trahit cuncta. Quantus te<br />
populus moriturorum sequetur? Quantus comita-<br />
11<br />
For the same thought cf. Ep. xlix. 3 punctum est quod<br />
vivimus et adhuc puncto minus.<br />
6<br />
Vergil, Aeneid, vi. 376.<br />
174
EPISTLE LXXVII.<br />
This little anecdote into which I have digressed<br />
will not be displeasing to you. For you will see<br />
that your friend departed neither ith wr difficulty nor<br />
with suffering. Though he committed suicide, yet<br />
he withdrew most gently, gliding out <strong>of</strong> life. The<br />
anecdote may also be <strong>of</strong> some use for <strong>of</strong>ten a crisis<br />
;<br />
demands just such examples. There are times when<br />
we ought to die and are unwilling ;<br />
sometimes we<br />
die and are unwilling. No one is so ignorant as not<br />
to know that we must at some time die ;<br />
nevertheless,<br />
when one draws near death, one turns to flight,<br />
trembles, and laments. Would you not think him<br />
a<br />
an utter fool who wept because he was not alive<br />
thousand years ago? And is he not just as much<br />
<strong>of</strong> a fool who weeps because he will not be alive a<br />
thousand years from now ? It is all the same ; you<br />
will not be, and you were not. Neither <strong>of</strong> these<br />
periods <strong>of</strong> time belongs to you. You have been cast<br />
upon this point <strong>of</strong> time; a if<br />
you would make it longer,<br />
how much longer shall you make it ? Why weep ?<br />
Why pray You ? are taking pains to no purpose.<br />
Give over thinking that your prayers can bend<br />
Divine decrees from their predestined end. 6<br />
These decrees are unalterable and fixed ; they are<br />
governed by a mighty and everlasting compulsion.<br />
Your goal<br />
will be the goal <strong>of</strong> all things. What is<br />
there strange in this to ?<br />
you You were born to be<br />
subject to this law this fate befell ; your father,<br />
your mother, your ancestors, all who came before you ;<br />
and it will befall all who shall come after you. A<br />
sequence which cannot be broken or altered by any<br />
power binds all things together and draws all things<br />
in its course. Think <strong>of</strong> the multitudes <strong>of</strong> men<br />
doomed to death who will come after you, <strong>of</strong> the<br />
175
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
bitur ? Fortior, ut opinor, esses, si raulta milia tibi<br />
commorerentur ; atqui<br />
multa milia et hominum et<br />
animalium hoc ipso momento, quo tu mori dubitas,<br />
animam variis generibus emittunt. Tu autem non<br />
putabas te aliquando ad id perventurum, ad quod<br />
semper ibas Nullum ?<br />
sine exitu iter est.<br />
virorum me tibi iudicas<br />
14 Exempla mine magnorum<br />
relaturum ? Puerorum referam. Lacon ille memoriae<br />
traditur inpubis adhuc, qui captus clamabat " non<br />
serviam" sua ilia Dorica lingua, et verbis fidem<br />
inposuit ut primum iussus est servili fungi et con-<br />
;<br />
adferre enim vas obscenum<br />
tumelioso ministerio,<br />
15 iubebatur, inlisum parieti caput rupit. Tarn prope<br />
libertas est ;<br />
et servit aliquis<br />
? Ita non sic perire<br />
filium tuum malles quam per<br />
Quid ergo est, cur perturberis, si<br />
inertiam senem fieri ?<br />
mori fortiter etiam<br />
puerile est ? Puta nolle te sequi duceris. Fac tui<br />
;<br />
iuris, quod<br />
alieni est. Non sumes pueri spiritum, ut<br />
dicas "non servio " ? Infelix, servis hominibus,<br />
servis rebus, servis vitae. Nam vita, si moriendi<br />
virtus abest, servitus est.<br />
IQ Ecquid babes, propter quod expectes ? Voluptates<br />
ipsas, quae te morantur ac retinent, consumpsisti.<br />
Nulla tibi nova est, nulla non iam odiosa ipsa satiett<br />
See Plutarch, Mor. 234 b, for a similar act <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Spartan boy captured by King Antigonus. Hense (Rhein.<br />
Mus. xlvii. pp. 220 f.) thinks that this story may be taken<br />
from Bion, the third-century satirist and moral philosopher.<br />
176
EPISTLE LXXVII.<br />
multitudes who will go with !<br />
you You would die<br />
more bravely, I suppose, in the company <strong>of</strong> many<br />
thousands ;<br />
and yet there are many thousands, both<br />
<strong>of</strong> men and <strong>of</strong> animals, who at this very moment,<br />
while you are irresolute about death, are breathing<br />
their last, in their several ways. But you, did you<br />
believe that you would not some day reach the goal<br />
towards which you have always been travelling<br />
?<br />
No journey but has its end.<br />
You think, I suppose, that it is now in order for<br />
me to cite some examples <strong>of</strong> great men. No, I shall<br />
cite rather the case <strong>of</strong> a boy. The story <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Spartan lad has been preserved taken :<br />
captive while<br />
still a stripling, he kept crying in his Doric dialect,<br />
" " I will not be a slave ! and he made good his word ;<br />
for the very<br />
first time he was ordered to perform a<br />
menial and degrading service, and the command<br />
was to fetch a chamber-pot, he dashed out his<br />
brains against the wall. a So near at hand is freedom,<br />
and is<br />
anyone still a slave Would ? you not rather<br />
have your own son die thus than reach old age by<br />
weakly yielding ? Why therefore are you distressed,<br />
when even a boy can die so bravely ? Suppose that<br />
you refuse to follow him ;<br />
you will be led. Take<br />
into your own control that which is now under the<br />
control <strong>of</strong> another. Will you not borrow that boy's<br />
courage, and " "<br />
say I am no slave : ! ?<br />
Unhappy<br />
fellow, you are a slave to men, you are a slave to<br />
your business, you are a slave to life. For life, if<br />
courage to die be lacking, is slavery.<br />
Have you anything worth waiting for ? Your<br />
very pleasures, which cause you to tarry and hold<br />
you back, have already been exhausted by you.<br />
None <strong>of</strong> them is a novelty to you, and there is none<br />
that has not already become hateful because you are<br />
177
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
tate. Quis sit vini, quis mulsi scis.<br />
sapor,<br />
Nihil<br />
interest, centum per vesicara tuam an mille amphorae<br />
transeant ;<br />
saccus es. 1 Quid sapiat ostreum, quid<br />
mullus, optime nosti nihil tibi luxuria tua in futures<br />
;<br />
annos intactum reservavit ;<br />
atqui haec sunt, a quibus<br />
17 invitus divelleris. Quid est aliud, quod tibi eripi<br />
doleas ? Amicos ? Quis enim tibi potest 2 amicus<br />
esse ? Patriam ? Tanti enim illam putas, ut tardius<br />
cenes ? Solem ?<br />
Quern, si posses, extingueres.<br />
Quid enim umquam fecisti luce dignum ? Confitere<br />
non curiae te, non fori, non ipsius rerum naturae<br />
desiderio tardiorem ad moriendum fieri ;<br />
invitus<br />
relinquis macellum, in quo nihil reliquisti.<br />
18 Mortem times; at quomodo illam media boletatione<br />
contemnis ? Vivere vis ;<br />
scis enim ? Mori<br />
times ;<br />
quid porro<br />
? Ista vita non mors est ? C.<br />
Caesar, 3 cum ilium transeuntem per Latinam viam<br />
unus ex custodiarum agmine demissa usque in pectus<br />
vetere barba rogaret mortem " : nunc enim," inquit,<br />
'<br />
" vivis ? Hoc istis<br />
respondendum est, quibus<br />
succursura mors est : mori times ;<br />
nunc enim vivis ?<br />
19"Sed<br />
" ego," inquit, vivere volo, qui multa honeste<br />
es later MSS. ;<br />
1<br />
2 amicos ? quis enim tibi potest added by Madvig.<br />
est VPb.<br />
3 C. Caesar Bentley and O. Rossbuch ; t. caesar VO ;<br />
caesar Pb.<br />
About 55 gallons.<br />
Cf. Pliny, xiv. 22 qnin immo ut plus capiamus, sacco<br />
6<br />
frangimus vires. Strained wine could be drunk in greater<br />
quantities without intoxication.<br />
Cf. Dio Cassius, xl. 54, for the exiled Milo's enjoyment<br />
c<br />
<strong>of</strong> the mullets <strong>of</strong> Marseilles.<br />
d Probably the strong tone <strong>of</strong> disapproval used in this<br />
paragraph against<br />
than against the industrious Lucilius. It is<br />
general<br />
characteristic<br />
<strong>of</strong> the diatribe.<br />
178
EPISTLE LXXV1I.<br />
cloyed with it. You know the taste <strong>of</strong> wine and<br />
cordials. It makes no difference whether a hundred<br />
or a thousand measures a pass through your bladder ;<br />
you are nothing but a wine-strainer. 6 You are a<br />
connoisseur in the flavour <strong>of</strong> the oyster and <strong>of</strong> the<br />
mullet c ; your luxury has not left you anything<br />
untasted for the years that are to come ;<br />
and yet<br />
these are the things from which you are torn away<br />
unwillingly. What else is there which you would<br />
regret to have taken from ?<br />
you Friends ? But<br />
who can be a friend to you ? ?<br />
Country What ? Do<br />
you think enough <strong>of</strong> your country to be late to<br />
dinner ? The light <strong>of</strong> the sun ? You would extinguish<br />
it, if you could for what have<br />
; you ever<br />
done that was fit to be seen in the light<br />
? Confess<br />
the truth ;<br />
it is not because you long for the senatechamber<br />
or the forum, or even for the world <strong>of</strong><br />
nature, that you would fain put <strong>of</strong>f dying<br />
it is<br />
;<br />
because you are loth to leave the fish-market, though<br />
4*<br />
you have exhausted its stores.<br />
You are afraid <strong>of</strong> death ;<br />
but how can you scorn<br />
*<br />
it in the midst <strong>of</strong> a mushroom supper ? You wish<br />
to live ; well, do you know how to live ? You are<br />
afraid to die. But come now : is this life <strong>of</strong> yours<br />
anything but death ? Gaius Caesar was passing<br />
along the Via Latina, when a man stepped out from<br />
the ranks <strong>of</strong> the prisoners, his grey beard hanging<br />
down even to his breast, and begged to be put " to<br />
What !<br />
death.<br />
" said Caesar, " are "<br />
you alive now<br />
?<br />
That is the answer which should be given to men to<br />
whom death would come as a relief.<br />
" You are<br />
afraid to die ;<br />
what ! are you alive now ? " " But,"<br />
says one, " I wish to live, for I am engaged in<br />
many<br />
*<br />
Seneca may be recalling the death <strong>of</strong> the Emperor<br />
Claudius.<br />
179
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
facio. Invitus relinquo <strong>of</strong>ficia vitae, quibus fideliter<br />
et Industrie fungor." Quid ? Tu nescis unum esse<br />
ex vitae <strong>of</strong>ficiis et rnori? Nullum <strong>of</strong>ficium relinquis.<br />
Non enini certus numerus, quern debeas explere,<br />
20 finitur. Nulla vita est non brevis. Nam si ad<br />
naturam rerum respexeris, etiam Nestoris et Sattiae<br />
brevis est, quae inscribi monumento suo iussit annis<br />
se nonaginta novem vixisse. Vides aliquem gloriari<br />
senectute longa. Quis<br />
illam ferre potuisset, si contigisset<br />
centesimum implere ? Quomodo fabula, sic<br />
vita non quam diu, sed quani bene acta sit, refert.<br />
Nihil ad rem pertinet, quo loco desinas. Quocumque<br />
voles desine ;<br />
tantum bonam clausulam inpone.<br />
VALE.<br />
LXXVIII.<br />
<strong>SENECA</strong> LVCILIO svo SALVTEM<br />
1 Vexari te destillationibus crebris ac febriculis,<br />
quae longas destillationes et in consuetudinem adductas<br />
seeuntur, eo molestius mihi est, quia expertus<br />
sum hoc genus valetudinis, quod inter initia contempsi<br />
; poterat adhuc adulescentia iniurias ferre et<br />
se adversus morbos contumaciter gerere. Delude<br />
succubui et eo perductus sum, ut ipse destillarem ad<br />
2 summam maciem deductus. Saepe impetum cepi<br />
abrumpendae vitae ; patris me indulgentissimi senectus<br />
retinuit. Cogitavi enim non quam fortiter ego<br />
a A traditional example <strong>of</strong> old age, mentioned by Martial<br />
and the elder Pliny.<br />
6<br />
Compare the last words <strong>of</strong> the Emperor Augustus :<br />
amicos percontatus ecquid Us videretur mimuni vitae commode<br />
transegisse (Suet. Aug. 99).<br />
c<br />
To such a degree that Seneca's enemy Caligula refrained<br />
from executing him, on the ground that he would soon die.<br />
180
EPISTLES LXXVIL, LXXVIII.<br />
honourable pursuits. I am loth to leave life's duties,<br />
which I am fulfilling with loyalty and zeal." Surely<br />
you are aware that dying<br />
is also one <strong>of</strong> life's duties ?<br />
You are deserting no duty for<br />
;<br />
there is no definite<br />
number established which you are bound to complete.<br />
There is no life that is not short. Compared with<br />
the world <strong>of</strong> nature, even Nestor's life was a short<br />
one, or a Sattia's, the woman who bade carve on her<br />
tombstone that she had lived ninety and nine years.<br />
Some persons, you see, boast <strong>of</strong> their long lives but<br />
;<br />
who could have endured the old lady if she had had<br />
the luck to complete her hundredth year? It is<br />
with life as it is with a play, it matters not how<br />
long the action is<br />
spun out, but how good the acting<br />
is. It makes no difference at what point you stop.<br />
Stop whenever you choose ;<br />
only see to it that the<br />
closing period is well turned. 6 Farewell.<br />
LXXVIII.<br />
ON THE HEALING POWER OF THE MIND<br />
That you are frequently troubled by the snuffling<br />
<strong>of</strong> catarrh and by short attacks <strong>of</strong> fever which follow<br />
after long and chronic catarrhal seizures, I am sorry<br />
to hear ;<br />
particularly because I have experienced<br />
this sort <strong>of</strong> illness myself, and scorned it in its<br />
early stages. For when I was still<br />
young, I could<br />
put up with hardships and show a bold front to<br />
illness. But I<br />
finally succumbed, and arrived at<br />
such a state that I could do nothing but snuffle,<br />
reduced as I was to the extremity <strong>of</strong> thinness. I<br />
<strong>of</strong>ten entertained the impulse <strong>of</strong> ending my<br />
life then<br />
and there ;<br />
but the thought <strong>of</strong> my kind old father<br />
kept me back. For I reflected, not how bravely I<br />
181
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
mori possem, sed quam<br />
ille fortiter desiderare non<br />
posset. Itaque imperavi mihi, ut viverem. Aliquando<br />
enim et vivere fortiter facere est.<br />
3 Quae mihi tune fuerint solacio dicam, si prius hoc<br />
dixero, 1 haec ipsa, quibus adquiescebam, medicinae<br />
vim habuisse. In remedium cedunt honesta solacia,<br />
et quicquid animum erexit, etiam corpori prodest.<br />
Studia mihi nostra saluti fuerunt. Philosophiae<br />
acceptum fero, quod surrexi, quod convalui. Illi<br />
4 vitam debeo et nihil illi minus debeo. Multum mihi<br />
contulerunt ad bonam valetudinem amici, quorum<br />
adhortationibus, vigiliis,<br />
sermonibus adlevabar. Nihil<br />
aeque, Lucili, virorum optime, aegrum reficit atque<br />
adiuvat quam amicorum adfectus nihil ;<br />
aeque expectationem<br />
mortis ac metum subripit. Non iudicabam<br />
me, cum illos superstites relinquerem, 2 mori.<br />
Putabam, inquam, me victurum non cum illis, sed<br />
Non effundere mihi spiritum videbar, sed<br />
per illos.<br />
trad ere. 3<br />
Haec mihi dederunt voluntatem adiuvandi me et<br />
patiendi omne tormentum ; alioqui miserrimum est,<br />
cum animum moriendi proieceris, non habere vivendi.<br />
5 Ad haec ergo remedia te confer. Medicus tibi<br />
quantum ambules, quantum exercearis, monstrabit ;<br />
ne indulgeas otio, ad quod vergit iiiers valetudo ;<br />
ut<br />
legas clarius<br />
et spiritum, cuius iter ac receptaculum<br />
1<br />
dixero or dixerim later MSS. ; dixeris VPb.<br />
8<br />
relinquerem later MSS. ;<br />
relinqiicre VPb.<br />
traders Muretus ; trahere VPb.<br />
3<br />
182<br />
Gf. Ep. xv. 7 f.
EPISTLE LXXVIII.<br />
had the power to die, but how little<br />
power he had<br />
to bear bravely the loss <strong>of</strong> me. And so I commanded<br />
myself to live. For sometimes it is an<br />
act <strong>of</strong> bravery even to live.<br />
Now I shall tell<br />
you what consoled me during<br />
those days, stating at the outset that these very aids<br />
to my peace <strong>of</strong> mind were as efficacious as medicine.<br />
Honourable consolation results in a cure ;<br />
and whatever<br />
has uplifted the soul helps the body also. My<br />
studies were my salvation. I place it to the credit<br />
<strong>of</strong> philosophy that I recovered and regained my<br />
I strength. owe my life to philosophy, and that is<br />
the least <strong>of</strong> my obligations My ! friends, too,<br />
helped me greatly toward good health I<br />
;<br />
used to be<br />
comforted by their cheering words, by the hours<br />
they spent at my bedside, and by their conversation.<br />
Nothing, my excellent Lucilius, refreshes and aids<br />
a sick man so much as the affection <strong>of</strong> his friends ;<br />
nothing so steals away the expectation and the fear<br />
<strong>of</strong> death. In fact, I could not believe that, if<br />
they<br />
survived me, I should be dying at all. Yes, I repeat,<br />
it seemed to me that I should continue to live, not<br />
with them, but through them. I imagined myself<br />
not to be yielding up my soul, but to be making it<br />
over to them.<br />
All these things gave me the inclination to<br />
succour myself and to endure any torture ; besides,<br />
it is a most miserable state to have lost one's zest<br />
for dying, and to have no zest in living. These,<br />
then, are the remedies to which you should have<br />
recourse. The physician will prescribe your walks<br />
and your exercise ;<br />
he will warn you not to become<br />
addicted to idleness, as is the tendency <strong>of</strong> the<br />
inactive invalid ;<br />
he will order you to read in a<br />
louder voice and to exercise your lungs, a the passages<br />
183
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
laborat, exerceas ;<br />
lit<br />
naviges<br />
et viscera niolli iactatione<br />
concutias ; quibus cibis utaris, vinum quando<br />
virium causa advoces, quando intermittas, ne inritet<br />
et exasperet tussim. Ego tibi illud praecipio, quod<br />
non tanturn huius morbi, sed totius vitae remediurn<br />
est : contemne mortem. Nihil triste est, cum huius<br />
6 me turn effugimus. Tria liaec in omni morbo gravia<br />
sunt : metus mortis, dolor corporis, intermissio voluptatum.<br />
De morte satis dictum est ;<br />
hoc unum dicam,<br />
non morbi hunc esse sed naturae metum Multorum<br />
mortem distulit morbus et saluti illis fuit videri<br />
perire. Morieris, non quia aegrotas, sed quia vivis.<br />
Ista te res et sanatum manet ;<br />
cum convalueris, non<br />
mortem, sed valetudinem effugies.<br />
7 Ad illud nunc proprium incommodum revertamur :<br />
Sed hos tolerabiles<br />
magnos cruciatus habet morbus.<br />
intervalla faciunt. Nam summi doloris intentio invenit<br />
finem. Nemo potest valde dolere et diu ;<br />
sic<br />
nos amantissima nostri natura disposuit, ut dolorem<br />
8 aut tolerabilem aut brevem faceret. Maximi dolores<br />
consistunt in macerrimis corporis partibus ;<br />
nervi articulique<br />
et quicquid aliud exile est, acerrime saevit,<br />
cum in arto vitia concepit. Sed cito hae partes<br />
obstupescimt et ipso dolore sensum doloris amittunt,<br />
a i.e., men have become healthier after passing through<br />
serious illness.<br />
6<br />
Cf. Epicurus, Frag. 446 Usener.<br />
c<br />
Compare, from among many parallels, xxiv. 14<br />
Ep.<br />
(dolor) levis es, si ferre possum, brevis es, si ferre non<br />
possum.<br />
184
EPISTLE LXXVIII.<br />
and cavity <strong>of</strong> which are affected ;<br />
or to sail and shake<br />
up your bowels by a little mild motion ;<br />
he will<br />
recommend the proper food, and the suitable time<br />
for aiding your strength with wine or refraining<br />
from it in order to keep your cough from being<br />
irritated and hacking. But as for me, my counsel<br />
to you is this, and it is a cure, not merely <strong>of</strong> this<br />
disease <strong>of</strong> yours, but <strong>of</strong> your whole "<br />
life, Despise<br />
death." There is no sorrow in the world, when we<br />
have escaped from the fear <strong>of</strong> death. There are<br />
these three serious elements in every disease : fear<br />
<strong>of</strong> death, bodily pain, and interruption <strong>of</strong> pleasures.<br />
Concerning death enough has been said, and I shall<br />
add only a word : this fear is not a fear <strong>of</strong> disease,<br />
but a fear <strong>of</strong> nature. Disease has <strong>of</strong>ten postponed<br />
death, and a vision <strong>of</strong> dying has been many a man's<br />
salvation.* You will die, not because you are ill, but<br />
because you are alive even when<br />
; you have been<br />
cured, the same end awaits you when you have<br />
;<br />
recovered, it will be not death, but ill-health, that<br />
you have escaped.<br />
Let us now return to the consideration <strong>of</strong> the<br />
characteristic disadvantage <strong>of</strong> disease : it is accompanied<br />
by great suffering.<br />
The suffering, however,<br />
is rendered endurable by interruptions for the strain<br />
;<br />
<strong>of</strong> extreme pain must come to an end. & No man<br />
can suffer both severely and for a long time ; Nature,<br />
who loves us most tenderly, has so constituted us<br />
as to make pain either endurable or short. The<br />
severest pains have their seat in the most slender<br />
parts <strong>of</strong> our body nerves, ;<br />
joints, and any other <strong>of</strong><br />
the narrow passages, hurt most cruelly when they<br />
have developed trouble within their contracted<br />
spaces. But these parts soon become numb, and by<br />
reason <strong>of</strong> the pain itself lose the sensation <strong>of</strong> pain,<br />
185
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
sive quia spiritus natural! prohibitus cursu et mutatus<br />
in peius vim suam, qua viget aclmonetque nos, perdit,<br />
sive quia corruptus umor, cum desiit habere, quo<br />
confluat, ipse se elidit et iis, quae nimis implevit,<br />
9 excutit sensum. Sic podagra et cheragra et omnis<br />
vertebrarum dolor nervorumque l interquiescit, 2 cum<br />
ilia, quae torquebat, hebetavit 3 ;<br />
omnium istorum<br />
prima verminatio vexat, impetus mora extinguitur et<br />
finis dolendi est optorpuisse. Dentium, oculorum,<br />
aurium dolor ob hoc ipsum acutissimus est, quod<br />
inter angusta corporis nascitur, non minus, mehercule,<br />
quarn capitis ipsius ; sed si incitatior est, in aliena-<br />
10 tionem soporemque convertitur. Hoc itaque solacium<br />
vasti doloris est, quod necesse est desinas ilium<br />
sentire, si nimis senseris. Illud autem est, quod<br />
imperitos in vexatione corporis male habet : non<br />
adsueverunt animo esse contend. Multum illis cum<br />
corpore fuit. Ideo vir magnus ac prudens animum<br />
diducit a corpore et multum cum meliore ac divina<br />
parte versatur, cum hac querula et fragili quantum<br />
necesse est.<br />
11 "Sed molestum est," inquit, "carere adsuetis<br />
voluptatibus, abstinere cibo, si tire, esurire." Haec<br />
prima abstinentia gravia sunt. Deinde cupiditas<br />
relanguescit ipsis per quae 4 cupimus fatigatis ac<br />
nervorumque later MSS. ; et nervorumq. PbV ; et nervorum<br />
1<br />
edition <strong>of</strong> Mentelin.<br />
2 interquiescit<br />
later MSS. ; interciet (sciet b) scit Pb ; in<br />
tertiae scitscit V.<br />
3 hebetavit later MSS. ; hebetabti VPb.<br />
4<br />
per quae Muretus ; per se quae MSS.<br />
a See also Ep. xcv. 17. The word literally means<br />
*<br />
maggots," " bots," in horses or cattle.<br />
186
EPISTLE LXXVIII.<br />
whether because the life-force, when checked in its<br />
natural course and changed for the worse, loses the<br />
peculiar power through which it thrives and through<br />
which it warns us, or because the diseased humours<br />
<strong>of</strong> the body, when they cease to have a place into<br />
which they may flow, are thrown back upon themselves,<br />
and deprive <strong>of</strong> sensation the parts where they<br />
have caused congestion. So gout, both in the feet<br />
and in the hands, and all pain in the vertebrae and<br />
in the nerves, have their intervals <strong>of</strong> rest at the<br />
times when they have dulled the parts which they<br />
before had tortured ;<br />
the first<br />
twinges/ in all such<br />
cases, are what cause the distress, and their onset is<br />
checked by lapse <strong>of</strong> time, so that there is an end<br />
<strong>of</strong> pain when numbness has set in. Pain in the<br />
teeth, eyes, and ears is most acute for the very<br />
reason that it<br />
begins among the narrow spaces <strong>of</strong><br />
the body, no less acute, indeed, than in the head<br />
itself. But if it is more violent than usual, it turns<br />
to delirium and stupor. This is, accordingly, a<br />
consolation for excessive pain, that you cannot<br />
help ceasing to feel it if you feel it to excess. The<br />
reason, however, why the inexperienced are impatient<br />
when their bodies suffer that is, they have not<br />
accustomed themselves to be contented in spirit.<br />
They have been closely associated with the body.<br />
Therefore a high-minded and sensible man divorces<br />
soul from body, and dw r ells much with the better or<br />
divine part, and only as far as he must with this<br />
complaining and frail portion.<br />
"But it is a hardship," men say, "to do without<br />
our customary pleasures, to fast, to feel thirst and<br />
hunger." These are indeed serious when one first<br />
abstains from them. Later the desire dies down,<br />
because the appetites themselves which lead to<br />
VOL. II G 187
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
deficientibus ; inde morosus est stomachus, hide<br />
cuius 1 fait aviditas cibi_, odium est. Desideria ipsa<br />
moriuntur.<br />
Noil est autem acerb urn carere eo, quod<br />
12 cupere desieris. Adice, quod<br />
nullus non intermittitur<br />
dolor aut certe remittitur. Adice, quod<br />
licet cavere venturum et obsistere inminenti remediis.<br />
Nullus enim 11011 signa praemittit, utique qui ex<br />
solito revertitur. Tolerabilis est morbi patientia,<br />
si<br />
13 contempseris id quod extremum minatur. Noli mala<br />
tua facere tibi ipse 2 graviora et te querellis onerare.<br />
Levis est dolor, si nihil illi<br />
opinio adiecerit ; contra,<br />
si exhortari te coeperis ac dicere :<br />
'<br />
Nihil est aut<br />
certe exiguum est. Duremus; iam desinet " ;<br />
levem<br />
ilium, dum putas, facies. Omnia ex opinione suspensa<br />
sunt ;<br />
non ambitio tantum ad ill am respicit et luxuria<br />
et avaritia. Ad opinionem dolemus. Tarn miser est<br />
14 quisque quam credidit. Detrahendas praeteritorum<br />
dolorum conquestiones puto et ilia verba :<br />
'<br />
Nulli<br />
umquam fuit peius. Quos cruciatus, quanta mala<br />
pertuli Nemo me surrecturum ! putavit. Quotiens<br />
deploratus sum a meis, quotiens a medicis relictus !<br />
In eculeum inpositi non sic distrahuntur. 3 " Etiam si<br />
sunt vera ista, transieruiit. Quid iuvat praeteritos<br />
dolores retractare et miserum esse, quia fueris ?<br />
Quid, quod nemo non multum malis suis adicit et<br />
188<br />
1<br />
cuius Madvig ; quibus MSS.<br />
2 ipse Haase ; ipsl MSS.<br />
8 distrahimtur later MSS. ; detra(h)untur VPb.
EPISTLE LXXVIII.<br />
desire are wearied and forsake us ;<br />
then the stomach<br />
becomes petulant, then the food which we craved<br />
before becomes hateful. Our very wants die away.<br />
But there is no bitterness in doing without that<br />
which you have ceased to desire. Moreover, every<br />
pain sometimes stops, or at any rate slackens ;<br />
moreover, one may take precautions against its<br />
return, and, when it threatens, may check it by<br />
means <strong>of</strong> remedies. Every variety <strong>of</strong> pain has its<br />
premonitory symptoms this is true, at any rate, <strong>of</strong><br />
;<br />
pain that is habitual and recurrent. One can endure<br />
the suffering which disease entails, if one has come to<br />
regard its results with scorn. But do not <strong>of</strong> your<br />
own accord make your troubles heavier to bear and<br />
burden yourself with complaining. Pain is slight if<br />
opinion has added nothing to it but<br />
; if, on the<br />
other hand, you begin to encourage yourself and say,<br />
" It is<br />
nothing, a trifling matter at most ; keep a<br />
stout heart and it will soon cease" ;<br />
then in thinking<br />
it slight, you will make it slight. Everything<br />
depends on opinion ; ambition, luxury, greed, hark<br />
back to opinion. It is<br />
according to opinion that we<br />
suffer. A man is as wretched as he has convinced<br />
himself that he is. I hold that we should do away<br />
with complaint about past sufferings and with all<br />
language like this " : None has ever been worse <strong>of</strong>f<br />
than I. What sufferings, what evils have I endured!<br />
No one has thought that I shall recover. How<br />
<strong>of</strong>ten have my family bewailed me, and the physicians<br />
given me over! Men who are placed on the rack<br />
are not torn asunder with such "<br />
agony However,<br />
!<br />
even if all this is true, it is over and gone.<br />
What<br />
benefit is there in reviewing past sufferings, and<br />
in being unhappy, just because once you were unhappy<br />
? Besides, every one adds much to his own<br />
189
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
sibi ipse mentitur ? Delude quod<br />
acerbum fuit<br />
ferre, 1 tulisse iucundum est ;<br />
naturale est mail sui<br />
fine gaudere.<br />
Circumcideiida ergo duo sunt, et futuri timor et<br />
veteris incommodi memoria ;<br />
hoc ad me iam non<br />
15 pertinet, illud nondum. In ipsis positus<br />
difficultatibus<br />
dicat :<br />
Forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit.<br />
Toto contra ille 2 pugnet animo ; vincetur, si cesserit,<br />
vincet, si se contra dolorem suum inteiiderit. Nunc<br />
hoc plerique faciuiit, adtrahunt in se ruinam, cui<br />
obstandum est.<br />
Istud quod premit, quod inpendet,<br />
quod urget, si subducere te coeperis, sequetur et<br />
gravius incumbet ;<br />
si contra steteris et obniti volueris ;<br />
16 repelletur. Athletae quantum plagarum ore, quantum<br />
toto corpore excipiunt<br />
? Ferunt tamen omne<br />
tormentum gloriae cupiditate<br />
nee taiitum quia pugnant,<br />
ista patiuntur, sed ut pugnent. Exercitatio<br />
ipsa tormentum est. Nos quoque eviiicamus omnia,<br />
quorum praemium non corona nee palma est nee<br />
tubicen praedicatiom nominis nostri sileiitium faciens,<br />
sed virtus et firmitas animi et pax in ceterum parta,<br />
si semel in aliquo certamine debellata fortuna est.<br />
17 " Dolorem gravem sentio." Quid ergo ? Non sentis,<br />
190<br />
1<br />
fuit ferre, tulisse Bartsch ; fuit retulisse MSS.<br />
2 ille Hense ; ilia or ilium MSS.<br />
a Vergil, Aeneid, i. 203.
EPISTLE LXXVIII.<br />
ills, and tells lies to himself. And that which was<br />
bitter to bear is pleasant to have borne ;<br />
it is natural<br />
to rejoice at the ending <strong>of</strong> one's ills.<br />
Two elements must therefore be rooted out once<br />
for all, the fear <strong>of</strong> future suffering, and the recollection<br />
<strong>of</strong> past suffering<br />
;<br />
since the latter no longer<br />
concerns me, and the former concerns me not yet.<br />
But when set in the very midst <strong>of</strong> troubles one<br />
should say<br />
:<br />
Perchance some day the memory <strong>of</strong> this sorrow<br />
Will even bring delight."<br />
Let such a man fight against them with all his might :<br />
if he once gives way, he will be vanquished<br />
;<br />
but if<br />
he strives against his sufferings, he will conquer.<br />
As it is, however, what most men do is to drag down<br />
upon their own heads a falling ruin which they<br />
ought to try to support. If you begin to withdraw<br />
your support from that which thrusts toward you<br />
and totters and is<br />
ready to plunge, it will follow you<br />
and lean more heavily upon you but if<br />
; you hold<br />
your ground and make up your mind to push against<br />
it,<br />
it will be forced back. What blows do athletes<br />
receive on their faces and all over their bodies !<br />
Nevertheless, through their desire for fame they<br />
endure every torture, and they undergo these things<br />
not only because they are fighting but in order to be<br />
able to fight. Their very training means torture.<br />
So let us also win the way to victory in all our<br />
struggles, for the reward is not a garland or a palm<br />
or a trumpeter who calls for silence at the proclamation<br />
<strong>of</strong> our names, but rather virtue, steadfastness <strong>of</strong><br />
soul, and a peace that is won for all time, if fortune<br />
has once been utterly vanquished in any combat.<br />
You say, "I feel severe pain." What then; are<br />
191
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
si ilium muliebriter tuleris ? Quemadmodum perniciosior<br />
est hostis fugientibus, sic omne fortuitum<br />
incommodum magis instat cedenti et averse.<br />
" Sed<br />
grave est." Quid? Nos ad hoc fortes sumus, ut<br />
levia portemus ? Utrum vis longum esse morbum<br />
ari concitatum 1 et brevem ? Si longus est, habet<br />
intercapedinem, dat refectioni locum, multum temporis<br />
donat, necesse est, ut exurgit, et desinat.<br />
2<br />
Brevis morbus ac praeceps alterutrum faciet : aut<br />
extinguetur aut extinguet. Quid autem interest,<br />
non sit an non sim ? In utroque<br />
finis dolendi est.<br />
1 8 Illud quoque proderit, ad alias cogitationes avertere<br />
animum et a dolore discedere. Cogita quid honeste,<br />
quid fortiter feceris ;<br />
bonas partes tecum ipse tracta.<br />
Memoriam in ea, quae maxime miratus es, sparge.<br />
Tune tibi fortissimus quisque et victor doloris oecurrat<br />
:<br />
ille, qui cum 3 varices exsecandas praeberet,<br />
legere librum perseveravit ; ille, qui non desiit ridere,<br />
cum hoc ipsum<br />
irati tortores omnia instrumenta<br />
crudelitatis suae experirentur. Non vincetur dolor<br />
19 ratione, qui victus est risu ?<br />
Quicquid vis nunc licet<br />
dicas, destillationes et vim continuae tussis egereiitem<br />
viscerum partes et febrem praecordia ipsa torrentem<br />
et sitim et artus in diversum articulis exeuntibus<br />
tortos ;<br />
plus est flamma et eculeus et lammina et<br />
vulneribus intumescentibus ipsis quod<br />
ilia renovaret<br />
1<br />
concitatum later MSS. ; cogitatum VPb.<br />
2<br />
exuryit Haase ; ex(s)urgat MSS.<br />
3<br />
cum Haase ; dum MSS.<br />
a Literally, perhaps, "the noble roles which you have<br />
played." Summers compares Ep. xiv. 13 ultimas partes<br />
Calonis" the closing scenes <strong>of</strong> Cato's life."<br />
192
EPISTLE LXXVIII.<br />
you relieved from feeling it, if you endure it like a<br />
woman ? Just as an enemy is more dangerous to a<br />
retreating army, so every trouble that fortune brings<br />
attacks us all the harder if we yield and turn our<br />
backs. "But the trouble is serious.'' What? Is it<br />
for this purpose that we are strong, that we may<br />
have light burdens to bear ? Would you have your<br />
illness long-drawn-out, or would you have it quick<br />
and short ? If it is long, it means a respite, allows<br />
you a period for resting yourself, bestows upon you<br />
the boon <strong>of</strong> time in plenty as it arises, so it must<br />
;<br />
also subside. A short and rapid illness will do one<br />
<strong>of</strong> two things<br />
: it will quench or be quenched. And<br />
what difference does it make whether it is not or<br />
I am not ? In either case there is an end <strong>of</strong> pain.<br />
This, too, will help to turn the mind aside to<br />
thoughts <strong>of</strong> other things and thus to depart from<br />
pain. Call to mind what honourable or brave deeds<br />
you have done consider the ;<br />
good side <strong>of</strong> your own<br />
life. a Run over in your memory those things which<br />
admired. Then think <strong>of</strong> all<br />
you have particularly<br />
the brave men who have conquered pain<br />
: <strong>of</strong> him<br />
who continued to read his book as he allowed the<br />
cutting out <strong>of</strong> varicose veins <strong>of</strong> him who<br />
;<br />
did not<br />
cease to smile, though that very smile so enraged<br />
his torturers that they tried upon him every instrument<br />
<strong>of</strong> their cruelty.<br />
If pain can be conquered by<br />
a smile, will it not be conquered by reason ? You<br />
may tell me now <strong>of</strong> whatever you like <strong>of</strong> colds,<br />
hard coughing-spells that bring up parts <strong>of</strong> our<br />
entrails, fever that parches our very vitals, thirst,<br />
limbs so twisted that the joints protrude in different<br />
directions ; yet worse than these are the stake, the<br />
rack, the red-hot plates, the instrument that reopens<br />
wounds while the wounds themselves are still swollen<br />
193
20<br />
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
et altius urgeret inpressum. Inter haec tamen aliquis<br />
non " gemuit. Parum est " ;<br />
non " rogavit. Parum<br />
est " ;<br />
non respond!<br />
t. " Parum est " ;<br />
risit et quidem<br />
ex animo. Vis tu post hoc dolorem deridere ?<br />
" Sed nihil/' inquit,<br />
" agere sinit morbus, qui me<br />
omnibus abduxit <strong>of</strong>ficiis."<br />
Corpus<br />
tenet, non et animum. Itaque<br />
tuum valetudo<br />
cursoris moratur<br />
pedes, sutoris aut fabri manus inpediet ; si animus<br />
tibi esse in usu solet, suadebis docebis, audies disces,<br />
1<br />
quaeres recordaberis. Quid porro ? Nihil agere te<br />
credis, si temperans aeger<br />
sis ? Ostendes morbum<br />
21 posse superari vel certe sustineri. Est, mihi crede,<br />
virtuti etiam in lectulo locus. Non tantum arma et<br />
acies dant argumenta alacris animi indomitique terroribus<br />
;<br />
et in vestimentis vir fortis apparet. Habes,<br />
quod agas : bene<br />
luctare cum morbo. Si nihil te<br />
coegerit, si nihil exoraverit, insigne prodis exemplum.<br />
O quam magna erat gloriae materia, si<br />
spectaremur<br />
aegri Ipse te specta, 2 ipse te lauda.<br />
!<br />
22 Praeterea duo genera sunt voluptatum. Corporales<br />
morbus inhibet, non tamen tollit. Immo, si verum<br />
aestimes, incitat ; magis iuvat bibere sitientem ;<br />
1<br />
disces later MSS. ; dices VPb.<br />
8 specta later MSS. ; expecta VPb.<br />
a Cf. Ef>. xiv. 4 f. and the crucibus adfixi, flamrna usti,<br />
etc., <strong>of</strong> Tac. Ann. xv. 44.<br />
194
EPISTLE LXXVI1I.<br />
and that drives their imprint still deeper. a Nevertheless<br />
there have been men who have not uttered<br />
a moan amid these tortures.<br />
" "<br />
More yet<br />
!<br />
says the<br />
torturer ;<br />
but the victim has not begged<br />
for release.<br />
"<br />
'<br />
More yet<br />
! he says again but no answer has<br />
;<br />
come. " '<br />
More yet<br />
!<br />
heartily, too.<br />
the victim has smiled, and<br />
Can you not bring yourself,<br />
after an<br />
example like this, to make a mock at pain<br />
?<br />
"But," you object, "my illness does not allow<br />
me to be doing anything<br />
it has withdrawn me from<br />
;<br />
all<br />
my duties." It is your body that is hampered by<br />
ill-health, and not your soul as well. It is for this<br />
reason that it clogs the feet <strong>of</strong> the runner and will<br />
hinder the handiwork <strong>of</strong> the cobbler or the artisan ;<br />
but if your soul be habitually in practice, you will<br />
plead and teach, listen and learn, investigate and<br />
meditate. What more is necessary Do ? you think<br />
that you are doing nothing if you possess selfcontrol<br />
in your illness You ? will be showing that<br />
a disease can be overcome, or at any rate endured.<br />
There is, I assure you, a place for virtue even upon<br />
a bed <strong>of</strong> sickness. It is not only the sword and the<br />
battle-line that prove the soul alert and unconquered<br />
by fear a man can<br />
; display bravery even when<br />
wrapped in his bed-clothes. You have something to<br />
do : wrestle bravely with disease. If it shall compel<br />
you to nothing, beguile you to it is<br />
nothing, a<br />
example that you display.<br />
O what ample<br />
matter were there for renown, if we could have<br />
spectators <strong>of</strong> our sickness ! Be your own spectator;<br />
seek your own applause.<br />
Again, there are two kinds <strong>of</strong> pleasures. Disease<br />
checks the pleasures <strong>of</strong> the body, but does not do<br />
away with them. if<br />
Nay, the truth is to be considered,<br />
it serves to excite them ;<br />
for the thirstier<br />
VOL. ii G 2 195
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
gratior est esurient! cibus. Quicquid<br />
ex abstinentia<br />
contigit, avidius excipitur. Illas vero animi voluptates,<br />
quae maiores certioresque sunt, nemo medicus<br />
aegro negat. Has quisquis sequitur et bene iiitellegit,<br />
23 omnia sensuum blandimenta contemnit. "O infelicem<br />
aegrum!' Quare? Quia<br />
lion vino nivem<br />
diluit ?<br />
Quia non rigorem potionis suae, quam capaci<br />
scyplio miscuit, renovat fracta insuper glacie ? Quia<br />
11011 ostrea illi Lucrina in ipsa mensa aperiuntur?<br />
Quia non circa cenationem eius tumultus cocorum<br />
est ipsos cum opsoniis focos transferentium ? Hoe<br />
enim iam luxuria commenta est : ne quis intepescat<br />
cibus, ne quid palato iam calloso parurn ferveat,<br />
24 cenam culina prosequitur. " O infelicem aegrum ! '<br />
edet, quantum concoquat.<br />
Non iacebit in conspectu<br />
aper ut vilis caro a mensa relegatus, iiec in repositorio<br />
eius pectora avium, totas enim videre fastidium est,<br />
congesta ponentur. Quid tibi mali factum est ?<br />
Cenabis tamquam aeger, immo aliquando tamquam<br />
sanus.<br />
25 Sed omnia ista facile perferemusy sorbitionem,<br />
aquam calidam et quicquid aliud intolerabile videtur<br />
delicatis et luxu fluentibus magisque animo quam<br />
corpore raorbidis; tantum mortem desinamus horrere.<br />
Desinemus autem, si fines bonorum ac malorum<br />
a<br />
The lacus Lucrinus was a salt-water lagoon, near Baiae<br />
in Campania.<br />
1<br />
i.e., to be looked at; there are better dainties on the<br />
table.<br />
c<br />
Sanus is used (1) as signifying "sound in body " and<br />
(2) as the opposite ot insanus.
EPISTLE LXXVIII.<br />
a man is, the more he enjoys a drink ;<br />
the hungrier<br />
he is, the more pleasure he takes in food. Whatever<br />
falls to one's lot after a period <strong>of</strong> abstinence is<br />
welcomed with greater zest. The other kind, however,<br />
the pleasures <strong>of</strong> the mind, which are higher<br />
and less uncertain, no physician can refuse to the<br />
sick man. Whoever seeks these and knows well<br />
what they are, scorns all the blandishments <strong>of</strong> the<br />
'<br />
senses. Men<br />
" say, Poor sick fellow But !<br />
why ?<br />
Is it because he does not mix snow with his wine, or<br />
because he does not revive the chill <strong>of</strong> his drinkmixed<br />
as it is in a good-sized bowl by chipping<br />
ice into it ? Or because he does not have Lucrine a<br />
oysters opened fresh at his table ? Or because<br />
there is no din <strong>of</strong> cooks about his dining-hall, as they<br />
bring in their very cooking apparatus along with<br />
their viands ? For luxury has already devised this<br />
fashion <strong>of</strong> having the kitchen accompany the<br />
dinner, so that the food may not grow luke-warm,<br />
or fail to be hot enough for a palate which has<br />
already become hardened. '<br />
" Poor sick fellow ! -he<br />
will eat as much as he can digest. There will be<br />
no boar lying before his 5 eyes, banished from the<br />
table as if it were a common meat ;<br />
and on his<br />
sideboard there will be heaped together no breastmeat<br />
<strong>of</strong> birds, because it sickens him to see birds<br />
served whole. But what evil has been done to you ?<br />
You will dine like a sick man, nay, sometimes like a<br />
sound man. c<br />
All these things, however, can be easily endured<br />
gruel, warm water, and anything else that seems<br />
insupportable to a fastidious man, to one who is<br />
wallowing in luxury, sick in soul rather than in body<br />
if only we cease to shudder at death. And we<br />
shall cease, if once we have gained a knowledge <strong>of</strong><br />
197
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
cognoverimus ;<br />
ita demum nee vita taedio erit nee<br />
26 mors timori. Vitam enim occupare satietas sui non<br />
potest tot res varias, magnas, divinas percensenteni ;<br />
in odium illam sui adducere solet iiiers otium. Rerum<br />
naturam peragranti numquam<br />
in fastidium veritas<br />
27 veniet ;<br />
falsa satiabunt. Rursus si mors accedit et<br />
vocat, licet inmatura sit, licet mediam praecidat<br />
aetatem, perceptus longissimae l fructus est. Cognita<br />
est illi ex magna parte iiatura. Scit tempore honesta<br />
non crescere ;<br />
iis necesse est videri omiiem vitarn<br />
brevem, qui illam voluptatibus vanis et ideo iiifinitis<br />
metiuntur.<br />
28 His te cogitationibus recrea et interim epistulis<br />
nostris vaca. 2<br />
Veniet aliquando tempus, quod nos<br />
iterum iungat ac misceat ; quantulumlibet sit illud,<br />
longum faciet scientia utendi. Nam, ut Posidonius<br />
ait, unus dies hominum eruditorum plus patet quam<br />
29 inperitis longissima aetas." Interim hoc tene, hoc<br />
morde : adversis non succumbere, laetis non credere,<br />
omnem fortunae licentiam in oculis habere, tamquam<br />
quicquid potest facere, factura sit. Quicquid expectatum<br />
est diu, lenius 3 accedit. VALE.<br />
1<br />
longissimae Madvig ; longissime VPb.<br />
2 vaca. veniet aliqiiando P. Thomas ;<br />
vacando veniet<br />
aliquod (aliquando) MSS.<br />
s<br />
lenius Wolters ; levius MSS.<br />
a Perhaps a reminiscence <strong>of</strong> Lucretius i. 74 omne immensum<br />
peragravit mente animoque.<br />
b<br />
Seneca <strong>of</strong>ten quotes Posidonius, as does Cicero also.<br />
These words may have been taken from his UporpeTTTiKd (or<br />
A6yot irpoTpeirTiKoi), Exhortations, a work in which he maintained<br />
that men should make a close study <strong>of</strong> philosophy,<br />
in spite <strong>of</strong> the varying opinions <strong>of</strong> its expositors.<br />
198
EPISTLE LXXVIII.<br />
the limits <strong>of</strong> good and evil ; then, and then only,<br />
life will not weary us, neither will death make us<br />
afraid. For surfeit <strong>of</strong> self can never seize upon a life<br />
that surveys all the things which are manifold, great,<br />
divine ; only idle leisure is wont to make men hate<br />
their lives. To one who roams a through the universe,<br />
the truth can never pall<br />
it will be the untruths<br />
;<br />
that will cloy. And, on the other hand, if death<br />
comes near with its summons, even though<br />
it be untimely<br />
in its arrival, though<br />
it cut one <strong>of</strong>f in one's<br />
prime, a man has had a taste <strong>of</strong> all that the longest<br />
life can give. Such a man has in great measure<br />
come to understand the universe. He knows that<br />
honourable things do not depend on time for their<br />
growth but any<br />
life must seem short to those who<br />
;<br />
measure its length by pleasures which are empty and<br />
for that reason unbounded.<br />
Refresh yourself with such thoughts as these, and<br />
meanwhile reserve some hours for our letters. There<br />
will come a time when we shall be united again and<br />
brought together however short this time may be,<br />
we ; shall make it long by knowing how to employ it.<br />
For, as Posidonius says 6 :<br />
" A single day among the<br />
learned lasts longer than the longest life <strong>of</strong> the<br />
ignorant," Meanwhile, hold fast to this thought,<br />
and grip it close :<br />
yield not to adversity trust not<br />
;<br />
to prosperity; keep before your eyes the full scope <strong>of</strong><br />
Fortune's power, as if she would surely do whatever<br />
is in her power to do. That which has been long<br />
expected comes more gently. Farewell.<br />
199
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
LXXIX.<br />
<strong>SENECA</strong> LVCILIO svo SALVTEM<br />
1 Expecto epistulas tuas, quibus mihi indices, circuitus<br />
Siciliae totius quid tibi novi osteiiderit, et<br />
ante l omnia de ipsa Charybdi certiora. Nam Scyllam<br />
saxum esse et quidem non terribile navigantibus<br />
optime scio ; Charybdis an respondeat fabulis, perscribi<br />
mihi desidero et, si forte observaveris, dignum<br />
est autem quod observes, fac nos certiores, utrum uno<br />
tantum vento agatur in vertices an omnis tempestas<br />
aeque mare illud contorqueat, et an verum sit,<br />
quicquid illo freti turbine abreptum est, per multa<br />
milia trahi conditum et circa Tauromenitanum litus<br />
2 emergere. Si haec mihi perscripseris, tune tibi<br />
audebo mandare, ut in hoiiorem meum Aetnam<br />
quoque ascendas, quam consumi et sensim subsidere<br />
ex hoc colligunt quidam, quod aliquando longius<br />
navigaiitibus solebat ostendi. Potest hoc accidere,<br />
non quia montis altitudo descendit, sed quia ignis<br />
evanuit et minus veheraens ac largus efFertur, ob<br />
eandem causam fumo quoque per diem segniore.<br />
2<br />
Neutrum autem incredibile est, nee moiitem, qui<br />
1<br />
ante added by Wolters.<br />
2 segniore Pincianus ; segnior MSS.<br />
a Ellis suggests that the poem Aetna, <strong>of</strong> uncertain authorship,<br />
may have been written by Lucilius in response to this<br />
letter. His view is plausible, but not universally accepted.<br />
6 See Ep. xiv. 8 and note (Vol. I.).<br />
c<br />
The modern Taormina.<br />
200
EPISTLE LXX1X.<br />
LXXIX.<br />
ON THE REWARDS OF SCIENTIFIC<br />
DISCOVERY<br />
I have been awaiting a letter from you, that you<br />
might inform me what new matter was revealed to<br />
you during your trip round Sicily/ 1 and especially<br />
that you might give me further information regarding<br />
Charybdis itself. 6 I know very well that Scylla<br />
is a rock and indeed a rock not dreaded by mariners;<br />
but with regard to I<br />
Charybdis should like to have<br />
a full description, in order to see whether it agrees<br />
with the accounts in mythology and, if you have by<br />
;<br />
chance investigated it<br />
(for it is indeed worthy <strong>of</strong><br />
your investigation), please enlighten me concerning<br />
the following<br />
: Is it lashed into a whirlpool by a<br />
wind from only one direction, or do all storms alike<br />
serve to disturb its depths ? Is it true that objects<br />
snatched downwards by the whirlpool in that strait<br />
are carried for<br />
many miles under water, and then<br />
come to the surface on the beach near Tauromenium c ?<br />
If you will write me a full account <strong>of</strong> these matters,<br />
I shall then have the boldness to ask you to perform<br />
another task, also to climb Aetna at my special<br />
request. Certain naturalists have inferred that the<br />
mountain is<br />
wasting away and gradually settling,<br />
because sailors used to be able to see it from a<br />
greater distance. The reason for this may be, not<br />
that the height <strong>of</strong> the mountain is decreasing, but<br />
because the flames have become dim and the eruptions<br />
less strong and less copious, and because for the<br />
same reason the smoke also is less active by day.<br />
However, either <strong>of</strong> these two things<br />
is possible to<br />
believe : that on the one hand the mountain is<br />
201
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
devoretur cotidie, minui, nee manere eundem, quia<br />
non ipsum exest, 1 sed in aliqua inferna valle conceptus<br />
exaestuat et aliis pascitur. In ipso monte non<br />
3 alimentum habet, sed viam. In Lycia regio notissinia<br />
est, Hephaestion incolae vocant, foratum pluribus<br />
locis solum, quod sine ullo nascentium damno ignis<br />
innoxius circumit. Laeta itaque regio est et herbida<br />
nihil flammis adurentibus, sed tantum vi remissa ac<br />
languida refulgentibus.<br />
4 Sed reservemus ista tune quaesituri, cum tu mihi<br />
ore montis nives absint,<br />
scripseris, quantum ab ipso<br />
quas ne aestas quidem solvit adeo tutae sunt ab<br />
;<br />
igne vicino. Non est autem quod istam curam imputes<br />
mihi. Morbo enim tuo daturus eras, etiam si<br />
5 nemo mandaret. Quid tibi do, ne Aetnam describas 2<br />
in tuo carmine, ne hunc sollemnem omnibus poetis<br />
locum adtingas<br />
? Quern quo minus Ovidius tractaret,<br />
nihil obstitit, quod iam Vergilius impleverat. Ne<br />
Severum quidem Cornelium uterque deterruit. Omnibus<br />
praeterea feliciter hie locus se dedit et qui<br />
praecesserant, non praeripuisse mihi videntur, quae<br />
dici poterant, sed aperuisse.<br />
6 Multum 3 interest, utrum ad consumptam materiam<br />
1<br />
ipsum exest Haase ; ipsum exesse or ipsum ex se est MSS.<br />
2<br />
nemo . . . describas Rubenius ; nemo quid mandaret tibi<br />
donee aetnam defteribas (t) MSS.<br />
3 sed before multum deleted by Madvig.<br />
* Another description <strong>of</strong> this region is given by Pliny,<br />
N.H. ii. 106, who says that the stones in the rivers were<br />
red-hot ! The phenomenon is usually explained by supposing<br />
springs <strong>of</strong> burning naphtha.<br />
6 i.e., merely as an episode, instead <strong>of</strong> devoting a whole<br />
poem to the subject.<br />
c<br />
Metam. xv. 340 ff.<br />
* Aeneid, iii. 570 ff.<br />
202
EPISTLE LXXIX.<br />
growing smaller because it is consumed from day<br />
to day, and that, on the other hand, it remains the<br />
same in size because the mountain is not devouring<br />
itself, but instead <strong>of</strong> this the matter which seethes<br />
forth collects in some subterranean valley and is fed<br />
by other material, finding in the mountain itself not<br />
the food which it requires, but simply a passage-way<br />
out. There is a well-known place in Lycia called<br />
by the inhabitants " Hephaestion " a where the<br />
ground is full <strong>of</strong> holes in many places and is surrounded<br />
by a harmless fire, which does no injury to<br />
the plants that grow there. Hence the place is<br />
fertile and luxuriant with growth, because the flames<br />
do not scorch but merely shine with a force that is<br />
mild and feeble.<br />
But let us postpone this discussion, and look<br />
into the matter when you have given me a description<br />
just how far distant the snow lies from the<br />
crater, I mean the snow which does not melt even<br />
in summer, so safe is it from the adjacent<br />
fire. But<br />
there is no ground for your charging this work to<br />
my account; for you were about to gratify your<br />
own craze for fine writing, O without a commission<br />
*<br />
from anyone at all.<br />
Nay, what am I to <strong>of</strong>fer you<br />
not merely to describe 6 Aetna in your poem, and<br />
not to touch lightly upon a topic which is a matter <strong>of</strong><br />
ritual for all poets ? Ovid c could not be prevented<br />
from using this theme simply because d Vergil had<br />
already fully covered it ;<br />
nor could either <strong>of</strong> these<br />
writers frighten <strong>of</strong>f Cornelius Severus. Besides, the<br />
topic has served them all with happy results, and<br />
those who have gone before seem to me not to have<br />
forestalled all that could be said, but merely to have<br />
opened the way.<br />
It makes a great deal<br />
<strong>of</strong> difference whether you<br />
203
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
an ad subactam accedas ;<br />
inventa non obstant.<br />
crescit in dies et inventuris<br />
Praeterea condicio optima est<br />
ultimi ; parata verba invenit, quae aliter instructa<br />
novam faciem habent. Nee illis manus inicit tam-<br />
7 quam alienis. Sunt enim publica. 1 Aut ego te non<br />
novi aut Aetna tibi salivam movet. lam cupis grande<br />
aliquid et par prioribus scribere. Plus enim sperare<br />
modestia tibi tua non permittit, quae tanta in te<br />
est, ut videaris mihi retracturus ingenii tui vires, si<br />
vincendi periculum<br />
sit ;<br />
tanta tibi priorum reverentia<br />
8 est. Inter cetera hoc habet boni sapientia<br />
: nemo<br />
ab altero potest vinci, nisi dum ascenditur. Cum 2<br />
ad summum perveneris, paria sunt, non est incremento<br />
locus, statur.<br />
Numquid sol magnitudini suae<br />
adicit ?<br />
Numquid ultra quam solet, luna procedit<br />
?<br />
Maria non crescunt. Mundus eimdem habitum ac<br />
9 modum servat. Extollere se, quae iustam magnitudinem<br />
implevere, non possunt. Quicumque fuerint<br />
sapientes, pares erunt et aequales. Habebit unusquisque<br />
ex iis proprias dotes : alius erit adfabilior,<br />
alius expedition, alius promptior in eloquendo, alius<br />
facundior ; illud, de quo agitur, quod beatum facit,<br />
10 aequalest 3 in omnibus. An Aetna tua possit sublabi<br />
1<br />
The phrase iurisconsulti neyant quicquam publicum usu<br />
capi, which occurs here in the MSS., is transferred by<br />
Wolters to Ep. 88. 12, where it suits the context.<br />
2<br />
cum ad Gronovius ; dum ad MSS.<br />
3<br />
aequale VPb.<br />
aequale est later MSS. ;<br />
a<br />
The usual meaning <strong>of</strong> paria esse, or paria facere (a<br />
favourite phrase with Seneca see for example Ep. ci. 7),<br />
" is<br />
to square the account," " balance even."<br />
b " Qualities desirable in themselves, but not essential for<br />
the possession <strong>of</strong> wisdom, the n-porjy la^va <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Stoic</strong>s<br />
(Summers).<br />
204
EPISTLE LXXIX.<br />
approach a subject that has been exhausted, or one<br />
where the ground has merely been broken in<br />
; the<br />
latter case, the topic grows day by day, and what is<br />
already discovered does not hinder new discoveries.<br />
Besides, he who writes last has the best <strong>of</strong> the<br />
bargain he finds already at hand words which,<br />
when ; marshalled in a different way, show a new face.<br />
And he is not pilfering them, as if they belonged to<br />
someone else, when he uses them, for they are<br />
common property. Now if Aetna does not make<br />
your mouth water, am 1 mistaken in you. You have<br />
for some time been desirous <strong>of</strong> writing something in<br />
the grand style and on the level <strong>of</strong> the older school.<br />
For your modesty does not allow you to set your<br />
hopes any higher this ; quality <strong>of</strong> yours<br />
is so pronounced<br />
that, it seems to me, you are likely to curb<br />
the force <strong>of</strong> your natural ability, if there should be<br />
any danger <strong>of</strong> outdoing others ;<br />
so greatly do you<br />
reverence the old masters. Wisdom has this advantage,<br />
among others, that no man can be outdone<br />
by another, except during the climb. But when<br />
you have arrived at the top, it is a draw a there is no<br />
;<br />
room for further ascent, the game<br />
is over. Can the<br />
sun add to his size ? Can the moon advance beyond<br />
her usual fulness ? The seas do not increase in<br />
bulk. The universe keeps the same character, the<br />
same limits. Things which have reached their full<br />
stature cannot grow higher. Men Avho have attained<br />
wisdom will therefore be equal and on the same<br />
footing.<br />
Each <strong>of</strong> them will possess his own peculiar<br />
gifts b : one will be more affable, another more facile,<br />
another more ready <strong>of</strong> speech, a fourth more<br />
eloquent but as regards the quality under discussion,<br />
;<br />
the element that it<br />
produces happiness, is equal<br />
in them all. I do not know whether this Aetna <strong>of</strong><br />
205
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
et in se ruere, an hoc excelsum cacumen et conspicuum<br />
per vasti maris spatia detrahat adsidua vis<br />
ignium, nescio virtutera non<br />
; flamma, lion ruina inferius<br />
adducet. Haec una maiestas deprimi nescit.<br />
Nee pr<strong>of</strong>erri ultra nee referri potest.<br />
Sic huius,<br />
ut caelestium, stata magnitudo<br />
est. Ad hanc nos<br />
coneinur educere.<br />
1 1 lam multum opens<br />
effecti est ; immo,<br />
si verum<br />
fateri volo, non multura. Nee enim bonitas est<br />
pessimis esse meliorem. Quis oculis glorietur, qui<br />
suspicetur diem ? Cui sol per caliginem splendet,<br />
licet contentus interim sit effugisse tenebras, adhuc<br />
12 non fruitur bono lucis. Tune animus noster habebit,<br />
quod gratuletur sibi, cum emissus his tenebris, in<br />
quibus volutatur, non tenui visu clara prospexerit,<br />
sed totum diem admiserit et redditus caelo suo fuerit,<br />
cum receperit locum, quern occupavit sorte<br />
nascendi.<br />
Sursum ilium vocant initia sua. Erit autem illic<br />
etiam antequam hac custodia exsolvatur, cum vitia<br />
disiecerit purusque ac levis in cogitationes divinas<br />
emicuerit.<br />
13 Hoc nos agere, Lucili carissime, in hoc ire impetu<br />
toto, licet pauci sciant, licet nemo, iuvat. Gloria<br />
umbra virtutis est ;<br />
etiam invitcim l comitabitur. Sed<br />
1<br />
invitam Velz. ;<br />
invita VPb.<br />
206
EPISTLE LXXIX.<br />
yours can collapse and fall in ruins, whether this<br />
l<strong>of</strong>ty summit, visible for many miles over the deep<br />
sea, is wasted by the incessant power <strong>of</strong> the flames ;<br />
but I do know that virtue will not be brought down<br />
to a lower plane either by flames or by ruins. Hers<br />
is the only greatness that knows no lowering ;<br />
there<br />
can be for her no further rising or sinking. Her<br />
stature, like that <strong>of</strong> the stars in the heavens, is fixed.<br />
Let us therefore strive to raise ourselves to this<br />
altitude.<br />
Already much <strong>of</strong> the task is accomplished nay,<br />
;<br />
rather, if I can bring myself to confess the truth,<br />
not much. For goodness does not mean merely<br />
being better than the lowest. Who that could<br />
catch but a mere glimpse <strong>of</strong> the daylight would<br />
boast his powers <strong>of</strong> vision ? One who sees the sun<br />
shining through a mist may be contented meanwhile<br />
that he has escaped darkness, but he does not yet<br />
enjoy the blessing <strong>of</strong> light.<br />
Our souls will not<br />
have reason to rejoice in their lot until, freed from<br />
this darkness in which they grope, they have not<br />
merely glimpsed the brightness with feeble vision,<br />
but have absorbed the full light <strong>of</strong> day and have<br />
been restored to their place in the sky, until,<br />
indeed, they have regained the place which they<br />
held at the allotment <strong>of</strong> their birth. The soul is<br />
summoned upward by its very origin. And it will<br />
reach that goal even before it is released from its<br />
prison below, as soon as it has cast <strong>of</strong>f sin and, in<br />
purity and lightness, has leaped up into celestial<br />
realms <strong>of</strong> thought.<br />
I<br />
am glad, beloved Lucilius, that we are occupied<br />
with this ideal, that we pursue<br />
it with all our might,<br />
even though few know it, or none. Fame is the<br />
shadow <strong>of</strong> virtue ;<br />
it will attend virtue even against<br />
207
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
quemadmodum umbra aliquando antecedit, aliquando<br />
sequitur vel a tergo est, ita gloria aliquando ante nos<br />
est visendamque se praebet, aliquando in averse est<br />
14 maiorque quo serior, ubi invidia secessit. Quamdiu<br />
videbatur furere Democritus ! Vix recepit Socraten<br />
fama. Quamdiu Catonem civitas ignoravit ! Respuit<br />
nee intellexit, nisi cum perdidit.<br />
Rutili innocentia ac<br />
virtus lateret, nisi accepisset iniuriam dum<br />
;<br />
violatur*<br />
effulsit.<br />
Numquid non sorti suae gratias egit et<br />
exilium suum complexus est ? De his loquor, quos<br />
inlustravit fortuna, dum vexat ;<br />
quam multorum pr<strong>of</strong>ectus<br />
in notitiam evasere post ipsos<br />
!<br />
Quam multos<br />
1 5 fama non excepit, sed eruit Vides !<br />
Epicurum quantopere<br />
non tantum eruditiores, sed haec quoque imperitorum<br />
turba miretur. Hie ignotus ipsis Athenis<br />
fuit, circa quas delituerat. Multis itaque iam annis<br />
Metrodoro suo superstes in quadam epistula, cum<br />
amicitiam suam et Metrodori grata commemoratioiie<br />
cecinisset, hoc novissime adiecit, nihil sibi et Metrodoro<br />
inter bona tanta nocuisse, quod ipsos ilia nobilis<br />
Graecia non ignotos solum habuisset, sed paene<br />
16 inauditos. Numquid ergo non postea quam esse<br />
desierat, inventus est ?<br />
Numquid non opinio eius<br />
enituit ? Hoc Metrodorus quoque in quadam epistula<br />
a<br />
There is an unauthenticated story that the men <strong>of</strong><br />
Abdera called in Hippocrates to treat his malady.<br />
6 Cf. Ep. xxiv. 4 exilium . . . tulit Rutilius etiam libenter.<br />
c<br />
Frag. 188 Usener.<br />
d Frag. 43 Korte.<br />
208
EPISTLE LXXIX.<br />
her will. But, as the shadow sometimes precedes<br />
and sometimes follows or even lags behind, so fame<br />
sometimes goes before us and shows herself in plain<br />
sight, and sometimes is in the rear, and is all the<br />
greater in proportion as she is late in coming, when<br />
once envy has beaten a retreat. How long did<br />
men believe Democritus a to be mad !<br />
Glory barely<br />
came to Socrates. And how long did our state<br />
remain in ignorance <strong>of</strong> Cato !<br />
They rejected him,<br />
and did not know his worth until they had lost him.<br />
If Rutilius b had not resigned himself to wrong, his<br />
innocence and virtue would have escaped notice ;<br />
the hour <strong>of</strong> his suffering was the hour <strong>of</strong> his triumph.<br />
Did he not give thanks for his lot, and welcome his<br />
exile with open arms ? I have mentioned thus far<br />
those to whom Fortune has brought n at the<br />
renowr<br />
but how many there<br />
very moment <strong>of</strong> persecution ;<br />
are whose progress toward virtue has come to light<br />
only after their death ! And how many have been<br />
ruined, not rescued, by their reputation<br />
? There is<br />
Epicurus, for example mark how ; greatly he is<br />
admired, not only by the more cultured, but also by<br />
this ignorant rabble. This man, however, was unknown<br />
to Athens itself, near which he had hidden<br />
himself away. And so, when he had already survived<br />
by many years his friend Metrodorus, he added in a<br />
letter these last words, proclaiming with thankful<br />
appreciation the friendship that had existed between<br />
them "<br />
: So greatly blest were Metrodorus and I that<br />
it has been no harm to us to be unknown, and almost<br />
unheard <strong>of</strong>, in this well-known land <strong>of</strong> Greece." c<br />
Is it not true, therefore, that men did not discover<br />
him until after he had ceased to be ? Has not his<br />
renown shone forth, for all that ? Metrodorus also<br />
admits this fact in one <strong>of</strong> his letters d : that Epicurus<br />
209
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
confitetur, se et Epicurum non satis enotuisse ;<br />
sed<br />
post se et Epicurum magnum paratumque nomen<br />
habituros, qui voluissent per eadem ire vestigia.<br />
17 Nulla virtus latet, et latuisse non ipsius est damnum.<br />
Veniet qui conditam et saeculi sui malignitate<br />
conpressam dies publicet. Faucis natus est, qui<br />
populum aetatis suae cogitat.<br />
Multa annorum milia,<br />
multa populorum supervenient<br />
;<br />
ad ilia respice. Etiam<br />
si<br />
omnibus tecum viventibus silentium livor indixerit,<br />
venient qui sine <strong>of</strong>fensa, sine gratia iudiceiit. Si<br />
quod est pretium virtutis ex fama, nee hoc interit.<br />
Ad nos quidem nihil pertinebit posterorum sermo ;<br />
tamen etiam non sentientes colet ac frequentabit.<br />
18 Nulli non virtus et vivo et mortuo rettulit gratiam,<br />
si modo illam bona secutus est fide, si se non exornavit<br />
et pinxit, sed idem fuit, sive ex denuntiato<br />
videbatur, sive inparatus<br />
ac stibito. Nihil simulatio<br />
Faucis<br />
pr<strong>of</strong>icit.<br />
inponit leviter extrinsecus inducta<br />
facies ;<br />
veritas in omnem partem sui eadem est. Quae<br />
decipiunt,<br />
nihil habent solidi. Tenue est mendacium<br />
; perlucet, si diligenter inspexeris. VALE.<br />
210
EPISTLE LXXIX.<br />
and he were not well known to the public ;<br />
but he<br />
declares that after the lifetime <strong>of</strong> Epicurus and himself<br />
any man who might wish to follow in their footsteps<br />
would win great and ready-made renown.<br />
Virtue is never lost to view ;<br />
and yet to have been<br />
lost to view is no loss. There will come a day which<br />
will reveal her, though hidden away or suppressed<br />
by the spite <strong>of</strong> her contemporaries. That man is<br />
born merely for a few, who thinks only <strong>of</strong> the<br />
people <strong>of</strong> his n owr generation. Many thousands <strong>of</strong><br />
years and many thousands <strong>of</strong> peoples will come after<br />
you<br />
it is to these that you should have ;<br />
Malice regard.<br />
may have imposed silence upon the mouths<br />
<strong>of</strong> all who were alive in your day but there will<br />
;<br />
come men who w r ill<br />
judge you without prejudice and<br />
without favour. If there is<br />
any reward that virtue<br />
receives at the hands <strong>of</strong> fame, not even this can pass<br />
away. We ourselves, indeed, shall not be affected<br />
by the talk <strong>of</strong> posterity nevertheless, posterity will<br />
;<br />
cherish and celebrate us even though we are not<br />
conscious there<strong>of</strong>. Virtue has never failed to reward<br />
a man, both during his life and after his death, provided<br />
he has followed her loyally, provided he has<br />
not decked himself out or painted himself up, but<br />
has been always the same, whether he appeared<br />
before men's eyes after being announced, or suddenly<br />
and without preparation. Pretence accomplishes<br />
nothing. Few are deceived by a mask that is easily<br />
drawn over the face. Truth is the same in every<br />
part. Things which deceive us have no real substance.<br />
Lies are thin stuff; they are transparent,<br />
if you examine them with care. Farewell. 211
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
LXXX.<br />
<strong>SENECA</strong> LVCILIO svo SALVTEM<br />
1 Hodierno die non tantum meo beneficio mihi<br />
vaco, sed spectaculi, quod omnes molestos ad sphaeromachian<br />
avocavit. Nemo inrumpet, nemo cogitationem<br />
meam impediet, quae hac ipsa fiducia procedit<br />
audacius. Non crepuit subinde ostium, non adlevabitur<br />
velum ;<br />
licebit tuto vadere, 1 quod magis necessarium<br />
est per se eunti et suam sequent! viam. Non<br />
ergo sequor priores ? Facio, sed permitto mihi et<br />
invenire aliquid et mutare et relinquere.<br />
Non servio<br />
illis, sed adsentior.<br />
2 Magnum tamen verbum dixi, qui mihi silentium<br />
promittebam et sine interpellatore secretum. Ecce<br />
ingens clamor ex stadio perfertur et me non excutit<br />
mihi,, sed in huius ipsius rei coiitentionem transfert.<br />
Cogito mecum, quam multi corpora exerceant, ingenia<br />
quam pauci quantus ad spectaculum non fidele et<br />
;<br />
lusorium fiat concursus, quanta<br />
sit circa artes bonas<br />
solitude ;<br />
quam inbecilli animo sint, quorum lacertos<br />
3 umerosque miramur. Illud maxime reyolvo mecum :<br />
si corpus perduci exercitatione ad hanc patientiam<br />
potestj qua et pugnos pariter et calces non unius<br />
liominis ferat, qua solem ardentissimum in ferventissimo<br />
pulvere sustinens aliquis et sanguine suo madens<br />
1<br />
tuto vadere Hense ; uno vadere MSS.<br />
a<br />
Probably a contest in which the participants attached<br />
leaden weights to their hands in order to increase the force<br />
<strong>of</strong> the blows.<br />
6<br />
Compare Pliny's "den" (Ep.<br />
ii. 17. 21) quae : specularibus<br />
et velis obductis reductisve modo adicitur cubiculo modo<br />
aufertur.<br />
c<br />
Compare the ideas expressed in Ep.<br />
212<br />
xv. 2 f.
EPISTLE LXXX.<br />
LXXX.<br />
ON WORLDLY DECEPTIONS<br />
To-day I have some free time, thanks not so<br />
much to myself as to the games, which have attracted<br />
all the bores to the a boxing-match. No one will<br />
interrupt me or disturb the train <strong>of</strong> my thoughts,<br />
which go ahead more boldly as the result <strong>of</strong> my<br />
very confidence. My door has not been continually<br />
creaking on its hinges nor will my curtain be pulled<br />
b<br />
aside ; my thoughts may march safely on, and<br />
that is all the more necessary for one who goes<br />
independently and follows out his own path. Do<br />
I then follow no predecessors<br />
?<br />
Yes, but I allow<br />
myself to discover something new, to alter, to reject.<br />
I am not a slave to them, although I give them my<br />
approval.<br />
And yet that was a very bold word which I<br />
spoke<br />
when I assured myself that I should have some quiet,<br />
and some uninterrupted retirement. For lo, a great<br />
cheer comes from the stadium, and while it does not<br />
drive me distracted, yet<br />
it shifts<br />
my thought to a contrast<br />
suggested by this very noise. How many men,<br />
I say to myself, train their bodies, and how few train<br />
c<br />
their minds ! What crowds flock to the games,<br />
spurious as they are and arranged merely for pastime,<br />
and what a solitude reigns where the good arts<br />
are taught How feather-brained are the athletes<br />
!<br />
whose muscles and shoulders we admire ! The<br />
question which I ponder most <strong>of</strong> all is this : if the<br />
body can be trained to such a degree <strong>of</strong> endurance<br />
that it will stand the blows and kicks <strong>of</strong> several<br />
opponents at once, and to such a degree that a man<br />
can last out the day and resist the scoi-ching sun in<br />
the midst <strong>of</strong> the burning dust, drenched all the while<br />
213
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
diem ducat ;<br />
quanto facilius animus conroborari possit,<br />
ut fortunae ictus invictus excipiat, ut proiectus, ut<br />
conculcatus exsurgat.<br />
Corpus enim multis eget rebus, ut valeat ;<br />
animus<br />
ex se crescit, se ipse alit, se exercet. Illis multo<br />
cibo, multa potione opus est, multo oleo, longa<br />
denique opera ; tibi continget virtus sine apparatu,<br />
sine inpensa. Quicquid facere te potest bonum,<br />
4 tecum est. Quid tibi opus est, ut sis bonus ? Velle.<br />
Quid autem melius potes velle<br />
quam eripere te huic<br />
servituti, quae omnes premit, quam mancipia quoque<br />
condicionis extremae et in his sordibus nata omni<br />
modo exuere conantur ?<br />
Peculium suum, quod conparaverunt<br />
ventre fraudato, pro capite numerant ;<br />
tu non concupisces quanticumque ad libertatem<br />
5 pervenire, qui te in ilia putas natum ? Quid ad<br />
arcam tuam respicis<br />
? Emi non potest. Itaque in<br />
tabulas vanum coicitur nomen libertatis, quam nee<br />
qui emerunt, habent nee qui vendiderunt.<br />
oportet istud bonum, a te petas.<br />
Tibi des<br />
Libera te primum metu mortis : ilia nobis in gum<br />
6 inponit ; deinde metu paupertatis. Si vis scire, quam<br />
nihil in ilia mali sit, compara inter se pauperum et<br />
divitum vultus ; saepius pauper et fidelius ridet ;<br />
a<br />
For this figure see the " lucellum," " diurna raercedula,"<br />
etc., <strong>of</strong> the opening letters <strong>of</strong> the correspondence (Vol. I.).<br />
214
EPISTLE LXXX.<br />
with his own blood, if this can be done, how much<br />
more easily might the mind be toughened so that it<br />
could receive the blows <strong>of</strong> Fortune and not be conquered,<br />
so that it might struggle to its feet again<br />
after it has been laid low, after it has been trampled<br />
under foot ?<br />
For although the body needs many things in<br />
order to be strong, yet the mind grows from within,<br />
giving to itself nourishment and exercise. Yonder<br />
athletes must have copious food, copious drink,<br />
copious quantities <strong>of</strong> oil, and long training besides ;<br />
but you can acquire<br />
virtue without equipment and<br />
without expense.<br />
All that goes to make you a good<br />
man lies within yourself.<br />
And what do you need in<br />
order to become good<br />
? To wish it. But what<br />
better thing could you wish for than to break away<br />
from this slavery, a slavery that oppresses us all, a<br />
slavery which even chattels <strong>of</strong> the lowest estate, born<br />
amid such degradation,<br />
strive in every possible way<br />
to strip<br />
<strong>of</strong>f? In exchange for freedom they pay out<br />
the savings which they have scraped together by<br />
cheating their own bellies ;<br />
shall you not be eager to<br />
attain liberty at any price, seeing that you claim it<br />
as your birthright ? Why cast glances toward your<br />
strong-box? Liberty cannot be bought. It is<br />
therefore useless to enter in your ledger a the item<br />
<strong>of</strong> " Freedom," for freedom is possessed neither by<br />
those who have it nor those who have<br />
bought<br />
sold it. You must give<br />
by<br />
good to yourself,<br />
seek it from yourself.<br />
First <strong>of</strong> all, free yourself from the fear <strong>of</strong> death,<br />
for death puts the yoke about our necks ;<br />
then free<br />
yourself from the fear <strong>of</strong> poverty.<br />
you would<br />
know how little evil there is in poverty, compare the<br />
faces <strong>of</strong> the poor with those <strong>of</strong> the rich ;<br />
the poor<br />
215
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
nulla sollicitudo in alto est ;<br />
etiarn si<br />
qua incidit<br />
cura, velut nubes levis transit. Horum, qui felices<br />
vocantur, hilaritas ficta est at l gravis et subpurata<br />
tristitia, eo quidem gravior, quia interdum non licet<br />
palam esse mlseros, sed inter aerumnas cor ipsum<br />
7 exedentes necesse est agere felicem. Saepius hoc<br />
exemplo mihi uteiidum est, nee enim ullo<br />
efficacius<br />
exprimitur hie humanae vitae mimus, qui nobis partes,<br />
quas male again us, adsignat. Ille, qui in scaena latus<br />
incedit et haec resupinus dicit<br />
En irapero Argis ; regna mihi liquit Pelops,<br />
Qua ponto ab Helles atque ab lonio mari<br />
Urgetur Isthraos,<br />
servus est, quinque modios accipit et quinque de-<br />
8 narios ille ; qui superbus atque inpotens et fiducia<br />
virium tumidus ait :<br />
Quod nisi quieris, Menelae, hac dextra occides,<br />
diurnum accipit,<br />
in centunculo dormit. Idem de<br />
istis licet omnibus dicas, quos supra capita hominum<br />
supraque turbam delicatos lectica suspendit omnium<br />
;<br />
istorum personata felicitas est. Contemnes illos, si<br />
despoliaveris.<br />
9 Equum empturus solvi iubes stratum, detrahis<br />
vestimenta venalibus, ne qua vitia corporis lateant ;<br />
1 at Madvig ; aut MSS.<br />
Authors unknown ; Ribbeck, Frag. Trag. pp. 289 and<br />
276. The first passage (with one change)<br />
is also quoted by<br />
Quintilian, ix. 4. 140. See, however, Tyrrell, Latin Poetry,<br />
p. 39, who calls this passage the beginning <strong>of</strong> Attius's Atreus.<br />
216
EPISTLE LXXX.<br />
man smiles more <strong>of</strong>ten and more genuinely<br />
;<br />
his<br />
troubles do not go deep down ;<br />
even if any anxiety<br />
comes upon him, it passes like a fitful cloud. But<br />
the merriment <strong>of</strong> those whom men call happy is<br />
feigned, while their sadness is heavy and festering,<br />
and all the heavier because they may not meanwhile<br />
display their grief, but must act the part <strong>of</strong> happiness<br />
in the midst <strong>of</strong> sorrows that eat out their very<br />
hearts. I <strong>of</strong>ten feel called upon to use the following<br />
illustration, and it seems to me that none expresses<br />
more effectively this drama <strong>of</strong> human life, wherein<br />
we are assigned the parts which we are to play so<br />
badly. Yonder is the man who stalks upon the stage<br />
with swelling port and head thrown back, and says<br />
:<br />
Lo, I am he whom Argos hails as lord,<br />
Whom Pelops left the heir <strong>of</strong> lands that spread<br />
From Hellespont and from th' Ionian sea<br />
E'en to the Isthmian straits."<br />
And who is this fellow ? He is but a slave ;<br />
his<br />
wage is five measures <strong>of</strong> grain and five denarii.<br />
Yon other who, proud and wayward and puffed<br />
up by confidence in his power, declaims :<br />
Peace, Menelaus, or this hand shall slay thee a<br />
!<br />
receives a daily pittance and sleeps on rags. You<br />
may speak in the same way about all these dandies<br />
whom you see riding in litters above the heads <strong>of</strong><br />
men and above the crowd ;<br />
in every case their<br />
happiness is put on like the actor's mask. Tear it<br />
<strong>of</strong>f, and you will scorn them.<br />
When you buy a horse, you order its blanket to<br />
be removed ;<br />
you pull <strong>of</strong>f the garments from slaves<br />
that are advertised for sale, so that no bodily flaws<br />
may escape your notice if ;<br />
you judge a man, do you<br />
217
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
hominem involutum aestimas ?<br />
Mangones quicquid<br />
est, quod displiceat, aliquo lenocinio abscondunt,<br />
itaque ementibus ornamenta ipsa suspecta sunt. Sive<br />
crus alligatum sive brachium aspiceres, nudari iuberes<br />
10 et ipsum tibi corpus ostendi. Vides ilium<br />
Sarmatiaeve Scythiae<br />
regem insigni capitis decorum ? Si vis<br />
ilium aestimare totumque scire, qualis sit, fasciam<br />
solve ;<br />
multum mali sub ilia latet. Quid de aliis<br />
loquor ? Si perpendere te voles, sepone pecuniam,<br />
domurn, dignitatem, intus te ipse considera. Nunc<br />
qualis sis, aliis credis. VALE<br />
LXXXI.<br />
<strong>SENECA</strong> LVCILIO svo SALVTEM<br />
1 Quereris inciclisse te in hominem ingratum. Si<br />
hoc nunc primum, age aut fortunae aut diligentiae<br />
tuae gratias.<br />
Sed nihil facere hoc loco diligentia<br />
potest nisi te malignum. Nam si hoc periculum<br />
vitare volueris, non dabis beneficia ;<br />
ita ne apud alium<br />
pereant, apud te peribunt.<br />
Non respondeant potius quam non dentur. Et<br />
post malam segetem serendum est ;<br />
saepe quicquid<br />
perierat adsidua infelicis soli sterilitate, unius anni<br />
2 restituit ubertas. Est tanti, ut gratum invenias,<br />
experiri et ingratos.<br />
Nemo habet tarn certain in<br />
a A favourite trick ; cf. Quintil. ii. 15. 25 mangones, qui<br />
colorem fuco et verum robur inani sagina mentiuntur.<br />
6<br />
The reader will be interested to compare this letter<br />
with the treatise (or essay) Of Benefits, translated by<br />
Thomas Lodge in 1614 from Seneca's work D& Benefic'ds,<br />
which was dedicated to Aebutius Liberalis, the subject <strong>of</strong><br />
Ep. xci.<br />
218
EPISTLES LXXX., LXXXI.<br />
judge him when he is wrapped in a disguise ? Slavedealers<br />
hide under some sort <strong>of</strong> finery any defect<br />
which may give <strong>of</strong>fence/ and for that reason the<br />
very trappings arouse the suspicion <strong>of</strong> the buyer. If<br />
you catch sight <strong>of</strong> a leg or an arm that is bound up<br />
in cloths, you demand that it be stripped and that<br />
the body itself be revealed to you. Do you see<br />
yonder Scythian or Sarmatian king, his head adorned<br />
with the badge <strong>of</strong> his <strong>of</strong>fice? If you wish to see<br />
what he amounts to, and to know his full worth,<br />
take <strong>of</strong>f his diadem ;<br />
much evil lurks beneath it.<br />
But why do I speak <strong>of</strong> others ? If you wish to set<br />
a value on yourself, put away your money, your<br />
estates, your honours, and look into your own soul.<br />
At present, you are taking the word <strong>of</strong> others for<br />
what you are. Farewell.<br />
LXXXI. ON BENEFITS. 6<br />
You complain that you have met with an ungrateful<br />
If this is<br />
person.<br />
your first experience <strong>of</strong> that<br />
sort, you should <strong>of</strong>fer thanks either to your good<br />
luck or to your caution. In this case, however,<br />
caution can effect nothing but to make you ungenerous.<br />
For if<br />
you wish to avoid such a danger, you will not<br />
confer benefits ;<br />
and so, that benefits may not be<br />
lost with another man, they will be lost to yourself.<br />
It is better, however, to get no return than to<br />
confer no benefits. Even after a poor crop one<br />
should sow again for <strong>of</strong>ten losses due to continued<br />
;<br />
barrenness <strong>of</strong> an unproductive soil have been made<br />
good by one year's fertility. In order to discover<br />
one grateful person, it is worth while to make trial<br />
<strong>of</strong> many ungrateful ones. No man has so unerring<br />
VOL. ii H 219
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
beneficiis manum, ut non saepe fallatur ; aberrant,<br />
ut aliquando haereant.<br />
Post naufragium maria temptantur.<br />
Faeneratorem non fugat a foro decoctor. 1<br />
Cito inert! otio vita torpebit, si<br />
relinquendum est,<br />
quicquid <strong>of</strong>fendit ;<br />
te vero benigniorem haec ipsa res<br />
faciat. Nam cuius rei eventus incertus est, id ut<br />
3 aliquando procedat, saepe temptandum<br />
est. Sed de<br />
isto satis multa in iis libris locuti sumus, qui de<br />
beneficiis inscribuntur.<br />
Illud<br />
magis quaerendum videtur, quod non satis,<br />
ut existimo, explicatum est, an is, qui<br />
2<br />
pr<strong>of</strong>uit nobis,<br />
si<br />
postea nocuit, paria<br />
fecerit et nos debito solvent.<br />
Adice, si vis, et illud : multo plus postea nocuit quam<br />
4 ante pr<strong>of</strong> uerat. Si rectam illam rigidi iudicis sententiam<br />
quaeris, alterum ab altero absolvet et dicet :<br />
" Quamvis iniuriae praeponderent, tamen beneficiis<br />
donetur, quod ex iniuria superest." Plus nocuit;<br />
sed prius<br />
3 pr<strong>of</strong>uit.<br />
Itaque habeatur et temporis ratio.<br />
6 lam ilia manifestiora sunt, quam ut admoneri debeas<br />
quaerendum esse, quam libenter pr<strong>of</strong>uerit, quam<br />
invitus nocuerit, quoniam animo et beneficia et<br />
iniuriae constant.<br />
" Nolui beneficium dare ;<br />
victus<br />
1<br />
decoctor Muretus, "from an old MS. ' ; coctor, coactor,<br />
tortor, various hands <strong>of</strong> VPb.<br />
2 is later qui<br />
MSS. id ; quod VPb.<br />
3<br />
prius Pincianus ; plus or plus MSS.<br />
tt<br />
See De Ben. i. 1. 9 f. non est autem quod tardiores faciat<br />
ad bene merendum turba ingratorum.<br />
220
EPISTLE LXXXI.<br />
a hand when he confers benefits that he is not<br />
frequently deceived ;<br />
it is well for the traveller to<br />
wander, that he may again cleave to the path.<br />
After a shipwreck, sailors try the sea again. The<br />
banker is not frightened away from the forum by<br />
the swindler. If one were compelled to drop everything<br />
that caused trouble, life would soon grow dull<br />
amid sluggish idleness ;<br />
but in your case this very<br />
condition may prompt you to become more charitable.<br />
For when the outcome <strong>of</strong> any undertaking is unsure,<br />
you must try again and again,<br />
in order to succeed<br />
I<br />
ultimately. have, however, discussed the matter<br />
with sufficient fulness in the volumes which I have<br />
written, entitled "On Benefits." a<br />
What I think should rather be investigated is<br />
this, a question which I feel has not been made<br />
sufficiently clear: "Whether he who has helped us<br />
has squared the account and has freed us from our<br />
debt, if he has done us harm later." You may add<br />
this question also, if you like " when the harm<br />
:<br />
done later has been more than the help rendered<br />
previously."<br />
If you are seeking for the formal and<br />
just decision <strong>of</strong> a strict judge, you will find that<br />
he checks <strong>of</strong>f one act by the other, and declares :<br />
"Though the injuries outweigh the benefits, yet we<br />
should credit to the benefits anything that stands<br />
over even after the injury."<br />
The harm done was<br />
indeed greater, but the helpful<br />
act was done first.<br />
Hence the time also should be taken into account.<br />
Other cases are so clear that I need not remind you<br />
that you should also look into such points as How<br />
:<br />
gladly was the help <strong>of</strong>fered, and how reluctantly<br />
was the harm done, since benefits, as well as injuries,<br />
depend on the '<br />
spirit.<br />
I did not wish to<br />
confer the benefit ;<br />
but I was won over by my<br />
221
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
sum aut vert- cundia aut instaiitis pertinacia aut spc."<br />
6 Eo anirao quidque debetur, quo datur, nee quantum<br />
sit, sed a quali pr<strong>of</strong>ectum voluntate, perpenditur.<br />
Nunc coniectura tollatur ;<br />
et illud beneficium fuit et<br />
hoc, quod modum beneficii prioris excessit, iniuria<br />
est. Vir bonus utrosque calculos sic ponit, ut se ipse<br />
circumscribat ;<br />
beneficio adicit, iniuriae demit,<br />
Alter ille remissior index, quern esse me malo,<br />
7 iniuriae oblivisci iubebit, 1 <strong>of</strong>ficii meminisse.<br />
" Hoc<br />
certe," inquis, 2 " iustitiae convenit, suum cuique<br />
reddere, beneficio gratiam, iniuriae talionem aut<br />
certe malam gratiam." Verum erit istud, cum alius<br />
si<br />
iniuriam fecerit, alius beneficium dederit ;<br />
nam<br />
idem est, beneficio vis iniuriae extinguitur. Nam<br />
cui, etiam si merita non antecessissent, oportebat<br />
ignosci, post beneficia laedenti plus quam venia debe-<br />
8 tur. Non pono utrique par pretium. Pluris aestimo<br />
beneficium quam iniuriam. Non omnes grati sciunt<br />
debere beneficium ;<br />
potest etiam inprudens<br />
et rudis<br />
et unus e turba, utique dum prope est ab accepto<br />
;<br />
sapienti<br />
ignorat autem, quantum pro eo debeat. Uni<br />
notum est, quanti res quaeque taxanda sit. Nam<br />
1<br />
iubebit Gertz ;<br />
debebit VPb.<br />
2 inquis later MSS. ; inqiiam VPb.<br />
a Calculi were counters, spread out on the abacus, or<br />
counting-board; they ran in columns, by millions, hundred<br />
thousands, etc.<br />
6<br />
Tallo (from tails, "just so much ") is the old Roman law<br />
<strong>of</strong> "eye for eye and tooth for tooth." As law became less<br />
crude, it<br />
gave way to fines.<br />
222
EPISTLE LXXXI.<br />
respect for the man, or by the importunity <strong>of</strong> his<br />
request, or by hope." Our feeling about every<br />
obligation depends in each case upon the spirit in<br />
which the benefit is conferred ;<br />
we weigh not the<br />
bulk <strong>of</strong> the gift, but the quality <strong>of</strong> the good- will<br />
which prompted<br />
it. So now let us do away with<br />
guess-work the former deed was a benefit, and the<br />
;<br />
latter, which transcended the earlier benefit, is an<br />
injury.<br />
The good man so arranges the two sides <strong>of</strong><br />
his ledger a that he voluntarily cheats himself by<br />
adding to the benefit and subtracting from the<br />
injury.<br />
The more indulgent magistrate., however (and<br />
I<br />
should rather be such a one),<br />
will order us to forget<br />
the injury and remember the accommodation.<br />
" But<br />
surely," you " say, it is the part <strong>of</strong> justice to render<br />
to each that which is his due, thanks in return for<br />
a benefit, and retribution, 6 or at any rate ill-will, in<br />
return for an injury!' This,<br />
I<br />
say,<br />
will be true<br />
when it is one man who has inflicted the injury, and<br />
a different man who has conferred the benefit ;<br />
for if<br />
it is the same man, the force <strong>of</strong> the injury is nullified<br />
by the benefit conferred. Indeed, a man who ought<br />
to be pardoned, even though there were no good<br />
deeds credited to him in the past, should receive<br />
something more than mere leniency if he commits a<br />
wrong when he has a benefit to his credit. I do not<br />
set an equal value on benefits and injuries.<br />
I reckon<br />
a benefit at a higher rate than an injury. Not all<br />
grateful persons know what it involves to be in debt<br />
for a benefit ;<br />
even a thoughtless, crude fellow, one<br />
<strong>of</strong> the common herd, may know, especially soon<br />
after he has received the gift but he does not know<br />
;<br />
how deeply he stands in debt therefor. Only the<br />
wise man knows exactly what value should be put<br />
223
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
ille, de quo loquebar modo, stultus etiam si bonae<br />
voluntatis est, aut minus quam debet aut alio<br />
quam<br />
l<br />
debet tempore aut quo non debet loco reddit. Id<br />
9 quod referendum est, effundit atque abicit. Mira in<br />
quibusdam rebus verborum proprietas est et consuetudo<br />
sermonis antiqui quaedam efficacissimis et<br />
<strong>of</strong>fieia docentibus notis signat. Sic certe solemus<br />
loqui : "ille illi gratiam rettulit." Referre est ultro,<br />
quod debeas, adferre. Non dicimus "gratiam reddidit/'<br />
reddunt enim et qui reposcuntur et qui inviti<br />
et qui ubilibet et qui per alium. Non dicimus<br />
"reposuit beneficium" aut "solvit"; nullum nobis<br />
10 placuit, quod aeri alieno convenit, verbum. Referre<br />
est ad eum, a quo acceperis, rem ferre. Haec vox<br />
significat voluntariam relationem ;<br />
qui rettulit, ipse<br />
se appellavit.<br />
Sapiens omiiia examinabit secum : quantum acceperit,<br />
a quo, quando, ubi, quemadmodum.<br />
Itaque<br />
iiegamus quemquam scire gratiam referre nisi sapientem<br />
;<br />
non magis quam beneficium dare quisquam scit<br />
nisi sapiens, hie scilicet, qui magis dato gaudet quam<br />
11 alius accepto. Hoc aliquis inter ilia numerat, quae<br />
1<br />
aut alto quam debet tempore Buecheler; aut tempore MSS.<br />
a This "long-established terminology" applies to the<br />
verborum proprietas <strong>of</strong> philosophic diction, with especial<br />
reference to ra Kad-fjKoi'Ta, the appropriate duties <strong>of</strong> the<br />
philosopher and the seeker after wisdom. Thus, referre is<br />
distinguished from reddere, reponere, solvere, ana other<br />
financial terms.<br />
6<br />
i.e., the <strong>Stoic</strong>s.<br />
224-
EPISTLE LXXXI.<br />
upon everything; for the fool whom I just mentioned,<br />
no matter how good his intentions may<br />
be, either pays less than he owes, or pays<br />
it at the<br />
wrong time or the wrong place. That for which he<br />
should make return he wastes and loses. There is a<br />
marvellously accurate phraseology applied to certain<br />
subjects/ a long - established terminology which<br />
indicates certain acts by means <strong>of</strong> symbols that are<br />
most efficient and that serve to outline men's duties.<br />
We are, as you know, wont to speak thus " A. has<br />
:<br />
made a return for the favour bestowed by B."<br />
Making a return means handing over <strong>of</strong> your own<br />
accord that which you owe. We do not say, " He<br />
has paid back the favour" ;<br />
for<br />
"pay back" is used<br />
<strong>of</strong> a man upon whom a demand for payment is<br />
made, <strong>of</strong> those who pay against their will, <strong>of</strong> those<br />
who pay under any circumstances whatsoever, and<br />
<strong>of</strong> those who pay through a third We<br />
party.<br />
do not " say,<br />
He has ( restored ' the benefit," or<br />
(<br />
settled ' it ;<br />
we have never been satisfied with a<br />
word which applies properly to a debt <strong>of</strong> money.<br />
Making a return means <strong>of</strong>fering something to<br />
him from whom you have received something.<br />
The phrase implies a voluntary return ;<br />
he who<br />
has made such a return has served the writ upon<br />
himself.<br />
The wise man will inquire in his own mind into<br />
all the circumstances how much he has : received,<br />
from whom, when, where, how. And so we b declare<br />
that none but the wise man knows how to make<br />
return for a favour ; moreover, none but the wise<br />
man knows how to confer a benefit, that man, I<br />
mean, who enjoys the giving more than the recipient<br />
enjoys the receiving. Now some person will reckon<br />
this remark as one <strong>of</strong> the generally surprising state-<br />
225
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
infusae, quod opportune dati mille denarii. Multum<br />
enirn interest, donaveris an succurreris, servaverit<br />
ilium tua liberalitas an instruxerit. Saepe quod<br />
datur, exiguum est, quod sequitur ex eo, magnum.<br />
Quantum autem existimas interesse, utrum aliquis<br />
quod derat a se, 1 quod praestabat, sumpserit an<br />
beneficium acceperit ut daret ?<br />
15 Sed ne in eadem, quae satis scrutati sum us, revolvamur.<br />
In bac conparatione beneficii et iniuriae<br />
vir bonus iudicabit quidem quod erit aequissimum,<br />
sed beneficio favebit ;<br />
in hanc erit partem proclivior.<br />
16 Plurimum autem momenti persona solet adferre in<br />
rebus eiusmodi :<br />
"'<br />
Dedisti mihi beneficium in<br />
servo,<br />
iniuriam fecisti in patre. Servasti mihi filium, sed<br />
patrem 2 abstulisti."<br />
Alia deinceps, per quae procedit<br />
ornnis conlatio, prosequetur et, si pusillum erit, quod<br />
intersit, dissimulabit. Etiam si multum fuerit, sed<br />
si id donari salva pietate ac fide poterit, remittet ;<br />
id<br />
17 est, si ad ipsum tota pertinebit iniuria. Summa rei<br />
haec est: facilis erit in conmutando. Patietur plus<br />
inputari sibi.<br />
Invitus beneficium per conpensationem<br />
iniuriae solvet. In bane partem inclinabit, hue<br />
verget, ut cupiat debere gratiam, cupiat referre.<br />
1<br />
derat a se Haase ; derata sed VP<br />
; dederat sed b ; daret,<br />
a se, quod praesto erat Madvig.<br />
2<br />
patrem edd. ; patri Vb ; patia P.<br />
228
EPISTLE LXXXI.<br />
thousand denarii given at the right time. Now it<br />
makes a great deal <strong>of</strong> difference whether you give<br />
outright, or come to a man's assistance, whether<br />
your generosity saves him, or sets him up in life.<br />
Often the gift is small, but the consequences great.<br />
And what a distinction do you imagine there is<br />
between taking something which one lacks, something<br />
which was <strong>of</strong>fered, and receiving a benefit in<br />
order to confer one in return ?<br />
But we should not slip back into the subject<br />
which we have already sufficiently investigated.<br />
this balancing <strong>of</strong> benefits and injuries, the good man<br />
will, to be sure, judge with the highest degree <strong>of</strong><br />
fairness, but he will incline towards the side <strong>of</strong> the<br />
benefit ;<br />
he will turn more readily<br />
in this direction.<br />
Moreover, in affairs <strong>of</strong> this kind the person concerned<br />
is wont to count for a great deal. Men say: "You<br />
conferred a benefit upon me in that matter <strong>of</strong> the<br />
slave, but you did me an injury in the case <strong>of</strong> my<br />
father " " ; or, You saved my son, but robbed me <strong>of</strong><br />
a father." Similarly, he will follow up<br />
all other<br />
matters in which comparisons can be made, and if<br />
the difference be very slight, he will pretend not to<br />
notice it. Even though the difference be great, yet<br />
if the concession can be made without impairment<br />
<strong>of</strong> duty and loyalty, our good man will overlook it<br />
that is, provided the injury exclusively affects the<br />
good man himself. To sum up, the matter stands<br />
thus the :<br />
good man will be easy-going in striking a<br />
balance ;<br />
he will allow too much to be set against<br />
his credit. He will be unwilling to pay a benefit by<br />
balancing the it.<br />
injury against The side towards<br />
which he will lean, the tendency which he will<br />
exhibit, is the desire to be under obligations for the<br />
favour, and the desire to make return therefor. For<br />
In<br />
229
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
infusae, quod opportune dati mille denarii. Multum<br />
enim interest, donaveris an succurreris, servaverit<br />
ilium tua liberalitas an instruxerit. Saepe quod<br />
datur, exiguum est, quod sequitur ex eo, magnum.<br />
Quantum autem existimas interesse, utrum aliquis<br />
quod derat a se, 1 quod praestabat, sumpserit an<br />
beneficium acceperit ut daret ?<br />
15 Sed ne in eadem, quae satis scrutati sum us, revolvamur.<br />
In hac conparatione beneficii et iniuriae<br />
vir bonus iudicabit quidem quod erit aequissimum,<br />
sed beneficio favebit ;<br />
in lianc erit partem proclivior.<br />
16 Plurimum autem momenti persona solet adferre in<br />
rebus eiusmodi :<br />
" Dedisti mihi beneficium in servo,<br />
iniuriam fecisti in patre. Servasti mihi filium, sed<br />
patrem 2 abstulisti." Alia deinceps, per quae procedit<br />
omnis conlatio, prosequetur et, si pusillum erit, quod<br />
intersit, dissimulabit. Etiam si multuni fuerit, sed<br />
si id donari salva pietate ac fide poterit, remittet ;<br />
id<br />
17 est, si ad ipsum tota pertinebit iniuria. Summa rei<br />
haec est : facilis erit in conmutando. Patietur plus<br />
inputari sibi. Invitus beneficium per conpensationem<br />
iniuriae solvet. In hanc partem inclinabit, hue<br />
verget, ut cupiat debere gratiam, cupiat referre.<br />
a se,<br />
2<br />
1<br />
derat a se Haase ;<br />
derata sed VP ; dederat sed b ; daret,<br />
quod praesto erat Madvig.<br />
patrem edd. ; patri Vb ; patid P.<br />
228
EPISTLE LXXXI.<br />
thousand denarii given at the right time. Now it<br />
makes a great deal <strong>of</strong> difference whether you give<br />
outright, or come to a man's assistance, whether<br />
your generosity saves him, or sets him up in life.<br />
Often the gift is small, but the consequences great.<br />
And what a distinction do you imagine there is<br />
between taking something which one lacks, something<br />
which was <strong>of</strong>fered, and receiving a benefit in<br />
order to confer one in return ?<br />
But we should not slip back into the subject<br />
which we have already sufficiently investigated. In<br />
this balancing <strong>of</strong> benefits and injuries, the good man<br />
will, to be sure, judge with the highest degree <strong>of</strong><br />
fairness, but he will incline towards the side <strong>of</strong> the<br />
benefit ;<br />
he will turn more readily in this direction.<br />
Moreover, in affairs <strong>of</strong> this kind the person concerned<br />
is wont to count for a great deal. Men say: "You<br />
conferred a benefit upon me in that matter <strong>of</strong> the<br />
slave, but you did me an injury in the case <strong>of</strong> my<br />
father" ;<br />
a father." Similarly, he will follow up<br />
all other<br />
matters in which comparisons can be made, and if<br />
the difference be very slight, he will pretend not to<br />
notice it. Even though the difference be great, yet<br />
if the concession can be made without impairment<br />
<strong>of</strong> duty and lovalty, our good man will overlook it<br />
that is, provided the injury exclusively affects the<br />
good man himself. To sum up, the matter stands<br />
or, "You saved my son, but robbed me <strong>of</strong><br />
thus the :<br />
good man will be easy-going in striking a<br />
balance ;<br />
he will allow too much to be set against<br />
his credit. He will be unwilling to pay a benefit by<br />
balancing the injury against<br />
it. The side towards<br />
which he will lean, the tendency -which he will<br />
exhibit, is the desire to be under obligations for the<br />
favour, and the desire to make return therefor. For<br />
229
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
Errat enim, si quis beneficium accipit libentius quam<br />
reddit. Quanto hilarior est, qui solvit quam qui<br />
mutuatur, tanto debet laetior esse, qui se maximo<br />
acre alieno accepti benefici exonerat, quam qui cum<br />
18 maxime obligatur. Nam in hoc quoque falluntur<br />
ingrati, quod creditor! quid em praeter sortem extra<br />
ordinem numerant, beneficiorum autem usum esse<br />
gratuitum putant. Et ilia crescunt mora tantoque<br />
plus solvendum est, quanto tardius. Ingratus est,<br />
qui beneficium reddit sine usura. Itaque huius quoque<br />
rei habebitur ratio, cum conferentur accepta et<br />
19 expensa. Omnia facienda sunt, ut quam gratissimi<br />
simus.<br />
Nostrum enim hoc bonum est, quemadmodum<br />
iustitia non est, ut vulgo creditur, ad alios pertinens ;<br />
magna pars eius in se redit. Nemo non, cum alter!<br />
prodest, sibi pr<strong>of</strong>uit, non eo nomine dico, quod volet<br />
adiuvare adiutus, protegere defensus, quod bonum<br />
exemplum circuitu ad facientem revertitur, sicut<br />
mala exempla recidunt in auctores nee ulla miseratio<br />
contingit iis, qui patiuntur iniurias, quas posse fieri<br />
faciendo docuerunt, sed quod virtutum omnium<br />
pretium in ipsis est. Non enim exerceiitur ad prae-<br />
20 mium recte<br />
;<br />
facti fecisse merces est. Gratus sum,<br />
non ut alius mini libentius praestet priore inritatus<br />
a<br />
" Literally, more than the capital and in addition to the<br />
rate <strong>of</strong> interest."<br />
6<br />
Beneficence is a subdivision <strong>of</strong> the second cardinal<br />
virtue <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Stoic</strong>s, Justice.<br />
length in De Off.<br />
230<br />
i. 42 if.<br />
Cicero discusses this topic at
EPISTLE LXXXI.<br />
anyone who receives a benefit more gladly than he<br />
repays it is mistaken. By as much as he who pays<br />
is more light-hearted than he who borrows, by so<br />
much ought he to be more joyful who unburdens<br />
himself <strong>of</strong> the greatest debt a benefit received<br />
than he who incurs the greatest obligations. For<br />
ungrateful men make mistakes in this respect also :<br />
they have to pay their creditors both capital and<br />
interest/ but they think that benefits are currency<br />
So the debts<br />
which they can use without interest.<br />
grow through postponement, and the later the action<br />
is<br />
postponed the more remains to be paid. A man is<br />
an ingrate if he repays a favour without interest.<br />
Therefore, interest also should be allowed for, when<br />
you compare your receipts and your expenses. We<br />
should try by<br />
all means to be as grateful as possible.<br />
For gratitude<br />
is a good thing for ourselves, in a<br />
sense in which justice, that is<br />
commonly supposed to<br />
concern other persons, is not ;<br />
gratitude returns in<br />
large measure unto itself. There is not a man who,<br />
when he has benefited his neighbour, has not benefited<br />
himself, I do not mean for the reason that he whom<br />
you have aided will desire to aid you, or that he<br />
whom you have defended will desire to protect you,<br />
or that an example <strong>of</strong> good conduct returns in a<br />
circle to benefit the doer, just as examples <strong>of</strong> bad<br />
conduct recoil upon their authors, and as men find no<br />
pity if they suffer wrongs which they themselves<br />
have demonstrated the possibility <strong>of</strong> committing ;<br />
but that the reward for all the virtues lies in the<br />
virtues themselves. For they are not practised with<br />
a view to recompense the wages <strong>of</strong> a good deed is<br />
;<br />
to have done it. & I am grateful, not in order that<br />
my neighbour, provoked by the earlier act <strong>of</strong> kindness,<br />
may be more ready to benefit me, but simply<br />
231
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
exemplo, sed ut rem iucundissimam ac pulcherrimam<br />
faciam ;<br />
gratus sum, non quia expedit, sed quia<br />
iuvat.<br />
Hoc ut scias ita esse, si gratum esse non licebit, nisi<br />
ut videar ingratus, si reddere beneficium non aliter<br />
quam per speciem iniuriae potero, aequissimo animo<br />
ad honestum consilium per inediam infamiam tendam.<br />
Nemo mihi videtur pluris aestimare virtutem, nemo<br />
illi<br />
magis esse devotus quam qui boni viri famam<br />
21 perdidit, ne conscientiam perderet. Itaque, ut dixi,<br />
maiori tuo quam alterius bono gratus<br />
es. Illi enim<br />
vulgaris et cottidiana res contigit, recipere, quod<br />
dederat, tibi magna<br />
et ex beatissimo animi statu<br />
pr<strong>of</strong>ecta, gratum<br />
fuisse. Nam si malitia miseros<br />
facit, virtus beatos, gratum autem esse virtus est,<br />
rem usitatam reddidisti, inaestimabilern consecutus<br />
es, conscientiam grati, quae nisi in aninium divinum<br />
fortunatumque non pervenit.<br />
Contrarium autem huic<br />
adfectum summa infelicitas urget ; nemo si ingratus<br />
est, miser erit.<br />
Non differo ilium, statim miser est.<br />
22 Itaque ingrati esse vitemus, non aliena causa, sed<br />
nostra.<br />
Minimum ex nequitia levissirnumque ad alios<br />
redundat.<br />
Quod pessimum ex ilia est et, ut ita dicam,<br />
232
EPISTLE LXXXI.<br />
in order that I<br />
may perform a most pleasant and<br />
beautiful act ;<br />
I feel grateful, not because it pr<strong>of</strong>its<br />
me, but because it pleases me. And, to prove the<br />
truth <strong>of</strong> this to you,<br />
I declare that even if I<br />
may<br />
not be grateful without seeming ungrateful, even if<br />
I am able to return a benefit only by an act which<br />
resembles an injury even<br />
; so, I shall strive in the<br />
utmost calmness <strong>of</strong> spirit toward the purpose which<br />
honour demands, in the very midst <strong>of</strong> disgrace. No<br />
one, I think, rates virtue higher or is more consecrated<br />
to virtue than he who has lost his reputation<br />
for being a good man in order to keep from<br />
losing the approval <strong>of</strong> his conscience. Thus, as I<br />
have said, your being grateful is more conducive to<br />
your own good than to your neighbour's good. For<br />
while your neighbour has had a common, everyday<br />
experience, namely, receiving back the gift which<br />
he had bestowed, you have had a great experience<br />
which is the outcome <strong>of</strong> an utterly happy condition<br />
<strong>of</strong> soul, to have felt gratitude. For if wickedness<br />
makes men unhappy and virtue makes men blest,<br />
and if it is a virtue to be grateful, then the return<br />
which you have made is only the customary thing,<br />
but the thing to which you have attained is priceless,<br />
the consciousness <strong>of</strong> gratitude, which comes<br />
only to the soul that is divine and blessed. The<br />
opposite feeling to this, however, is immediately<br />
attended by the greatest un happiness no<br />
; man,<br />
if he be ungrateful,<br />
wr<br />
ill be unhappy<br />
in the future.<br />
I allow him no day <strong>of</strong> grace ;<br />
he is<br />
unhappy<br />
forthwith.<br />
Let us therefore avoid being ungrateful, not for<br />
the sake <strong>of</strong> others, but for our own sakes. When<br />
we do wrong, only the least and lightest portion <strong>of</strong><br />
it flows back upon our neighbour ;<br />
the worst and, if<br />
233
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
spississimum, domi remanet et premit habentem,<br />
quemadmodum Attalus noster dicere solel)at "mailtia<br />
ipsa niaximam partem veneni sui bibit."<br />
:<br />
Illud<br />
venenum, quod serpentes in alienam perniciem pr<strong>of</strong>erunt,<br />
sine sua continent, non est Imic simile ;<br />
hoc<br />
23 habentibus pessimmn est. Torquet ingratus se et<br />
macerat ; odit, quae accepit, quia redditurus est, et extenuat,<br />
iniurias vero dilatat atque auget. Quid autem<br />
eo miserius, cui beiieficia excidunt haerent iniuriae ?<br />
At contra sapientia exornat omne beiiencium ac<br />
sibi ipsa commendat et se adsidua eius commemora-<br />
24 tione delectat. Malis una voluptas est et haec brevis,<br />
dum accipiunt beneficia, ex quibus sapienti longum<br />
gaudium manet ac perenne. Non enim ilium accipere,<br />
sed accepisse delectat, quod inmortale est<br />
et adsiduum. Ilia contemnit, quibus laesus est, nee<br />
25 obliviscitur per neglegentiam, sed volens. Non vertit<br />
omnia in peius nee quaerit, cui inputet casum, et<br />
peccata hominum ad fortunam potius refert. Non<br />
calumniatur verba nee vultus ; quicquid accidit, benigne<br />
interpretando levat. Non oifensae potius quam<br />
<strong>of</strong>ficii meminit. Quantum potest, in priore ac meliore<br />
se memoria detinet nee mutat animum adversus bene<br />
a<br />
Perhaps a figure from the vintage. For the same<br />
metaphor, though in a different connexion, see Ep. i. 5,<br />
and Ep. cviii. 26 :<br />
quemadmodum ex amphora primum,<br />
quod est sincerissimum, effluiti gravisslmum quodque turbidumque<br />
subsidit, sic in aetate nostra quod est optimum, in<br />
primo est.<br />
b Cf. 6 : "The good man so arranges the two sides <strong>of</strong><br />
his ledger that he voluntarily cheats himself by adding to<br />
the benefit and subtracting from the injury." Cf. also 17 :<br />
"The good man will be easy-going in striking a balance;<br />
he will allow too much to be set '<br />
against his credit.<br />
234
EPISTLE LXXXI.<br />
I<br />
may use the term, the densest portion <strong>of</strong> it stays<br />
at home and troubles the owner.* My master<br />
Attalus used to " say<br />
: Evil herself drinks the largest<br />
portion <strong>of</strong> her own poison." The poison which<br />
serpents carry for the destruction <strong>of</strong> others, and<br />
secrete without harm to themselves, is not like this<br />
poison for this sort is ruinous to the ; possessor.<br />
The<br />
ungrateful man tortures and torments himself; he<br />
hates the gifts which he lias accepted, because he must<br />
make a return for them, and he tries to belittle their<br />
value, but he really enlarges and exaggerates the<br />
injuries which he has received. And what is more<br />
wretched than a man who forgets his benefits and<br />
clings to his injuries ?<br />
Wisdom, on the other hand, lends grace to every<br />
benefit, and <strong>of</strong> her own free will commends it to<br />
her own favour, and delights her soul by continued<br />
recollection there<strong>of</strong>. Evil men have but one<br />
pleasure in benefits, and a very short-lived pleasure<br />
at that ;<br />
it lasts only while they are receiving them.<br />
But the wise man derives therefrom an abiding and<br />
eternal joy. For he takes delight not so much in<br />
receiving the gift as in having received it and this<br />
;<br />
joy never perishes it abides with him always. He<br />
;<br />
despises the wrongs done him ;<br />
he forgets them, not<br />
accidentally, but voluntarily.<br />
He does not put a<br />
wrong construction upon everything, or seek for<br />
someone whom he may hold responsible for each<br />
happening he rather ascribes even the sins <strong>of</strong> men<br />
;<br />
to chance. He will not misinterpret a word or a<br />
look ;<br />
he makes light <strong>of</strong> all mishaps by interpreting<br />
them in a<br />
6<br />
generous way. He does not remember an<br />
injury rather than a service. As far as possible, he lets<br />
his<br />
memory rest upon the earlier and the better deed,<br />
never changing his attitude towards those who have<br />
235
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
meritos, nisi multum male facta praecedunt et manifestum<br />
etiam coniventi l discrimen est tune ; quoque<br />
in hoc dumtaxat, ut talis sit post maiorem iniuriam<br />
qualis ante beneficium. Nam cum beneficio par<br />
est iniuria, aliquid in animo benivolentiae remanet.<br />
26 Quemadmodum reus sententiis paribus absolvitur et<br />
semper quicquid<br />
dubium est humanitas inclinat in<br />
melius, sic animus 2 sapientis, ubi paria maleficiis<br />
merita sunt, desinet quidem debere, sed non desinit<br />
velle debere et hoc facit, quod qui post tabulas novas<br />
solvunt.<br />
2' Nemo autem gratus esse potest, nisi contempsit<br />
ista, propter quae vulgus insanit ; si referre vis<br />
gratiam,<br />
et in exilium eundum est et efFundendus<br />
sanguis et suscipienda egestas et ipsa innocentia<br />
saepe maculanda indigiiisque<br />
obicienda rumoribus.<br />
28 Non parvo sibi constat homo gratus.<br />
Nihil carius<br />
aestimamus quam beneficium, quamdiu petimus, niliil<br />
vilius, cum accepimus. Quaeris quid sit, quod oblivionem<br />
nobis acceptorum faciat ? Cupiditas accipiendorum.<br />
Cogitamus non quid inpetratum, sed<br />
quid petendum sit. Abstrahunt a recto divitiae,<br />
honoreSj potentia et cetera, quae opinione nostra cara<br />
29 sunt, pretio suo vilia. Nescimus aestimare res, de<br />
1<br />
conniventi later MSS. ; contuenti VPb.<br />
2<br />
animus later MSS. ; animo VPb.<br />
a<br />
When by law or special enactment novae tabdlae were<br />
granted to special classes <strong>of</strong> debtors, their debts, as in our<br />
bankruptcy courts, were cancelled.<br />
6<br />
Cf. Ep. xxxi. 6 quid ergo est bonum ? rerum scientia.<br />
236
EPISTLE LXXXI.<br />
deserved well <strong>of</strong> him, except in cases where the<br />
bad deeds far outdistance the good, and the space<br />
between them is obvious even to one who closes his<br />
eyes to it even then<br />
; only to this extent, that he<br />
strives, after receiving the preponderant injury, to<br />
resume the attitude which he held before he received<br />
the benefit. For when the injury merely equals the<br />
benefit, a certain amount <strong>of</strong> kindly feeling<br />
is left<br />
over. Just as a defendant is acquitted when the<br />
votes are equal, and just as the spirit <strong>of</strong> kindliness<br />
always tries to bend every doubtful case toward the<br />
better interpretation,<br />
so the mind <strong>of</strong> the wise man,<br />
when another's merits merely equal his bad deeds,<br />
will, to be sure, cease to feel an obligation, but does<br />
not cease to desire to feel it, and acts precisely like<br />
the man who pays his debts even after they have<br />
been legally cancelled. a<br />
But no man can be grateful unless he has learned<br />
to scorn the things which drive the common herd to<br />
distraction if ;<br />
you wish to make return for a favour,<br />
you must be willing to go into exile, or to pour forth<br />
your blood, or to undergo poverty, or, and this will<br />
frequently happen, even to let your very innocence<br />
be stained and exposed to shameful slanders. It is<br />
no slight price that a man must pay for being grateful.<br />
We hold nothing dearer than a benefit, so long<br />
as we are seeking one we hold<br />
; nothing cheaper<br />
after we have received it. Do you ask what it is<br />
that makes us forget benefits received ? It is our<br />
extreme greed for receiving others. We consider<br />
not what we have obtained, but what we are to<br />
seek. We are deflected from the right course by<br />
riches, titles, power, and everything which is valuable<br />
in our opinion but worthless when rated at its real<br />
value. We do not know how to weigh matters b ;<br />
237
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
quibus non cum fama, sed cum rerum natura deliberandum<br />
est ;<br />
nihil habent ista magnificum, quo<br />
mentes in se nostras trahant, praeter hoc, quod mirari<br />
ilia consuevimus. Non enim, quia concupiscenda<br />
sunt, laudantur, sed concupiscuntur, quia laudata<br />
sunt, et cum singulorum error publicum fecerit,<br />
singulorum errorem facit publicus.<br />
30 Sed quemadmodum ilia credidimus,<br />
sic et hoc<br />
eidem populo credamus, nihil esse grato animo<br />
honestius. Omnes lioc urbes, omnes etiam ex barbaris<br />
regionibus gentes conclamabunt.<br />
In hoc bonis<br />
31 malisque conveniet. Erunt qui voluptates laudent,<br />
erunt qui labores malint ;<br />
erimt qui dolorem maximum<br />
malum dicant, erunt qui ne malum quidem<br />
appellent ; divitias aliquis ad summum bonum admittet,<br />
alius illas dicet malo vitae humanae repertas,<br />
nihil esse eo locupletius, cui quod donet fortuna non<br />
invenit. In tanta iudiciorum diversitate referendam<br />
bene merentibus gratiam omnes tibi uno, quod aiunt,<br />
ore adfirmabunt. In hoc tain discors turl)a consentiet<br />
;<br />
cum interim iniurias pro beneficiis reddimus,<br />
et prima causa est, cur quis ingratus sit, si satis<br />
32 gratus esse non potuit. Eo perductus est furor, ut<br />
periculosissima res sit beneficia in aliquem magna<br />
conferre ;<br />
nam quia putat turpe non reddere, non<br />
vult esse, cui reddat. Tibi habe, quod accepisti ;<br />
238
EPISTLE LXXXI.<br />
we should take counsel regarding them, not with<br />
their reputation but with their nature ;<br />
those things<br />
possess no grandeur wherewith to enthral our minds,<br />
except the fact that we have become accustomed to<br />
marvel at them. For they are not praised because<br />
they ought to be desired, but they are desired<br />
because they have been praised and when<br />
;<br />
the error<br />
<strong>of</strong> individuals has once created error on the part <strong>of</strong><br />
the public, then the public error goes on creating<br />
error on the part <strong>of</strong> individuals.<br />
But just as we take on faith such estimates <strong>of</strong><br />
values, so let us take on the faith <strong>of</strong> the people this<br />
truth, that nothing<br />
is more honourable than a grateful<br />
heart. This phrase will be echoed by<br />
all cities,<br />
and by all races, even those from savage countries.<br />
Upon this point good and bad will agree. Some<br />
praise pleasure, some prefer toil ;<br />
some say that pain<br />
is the greatest <strong>of</strong> evils, some say it is no evil at all ;<br />
some will include riches in the Supreme Good, others<br />
will say that their discovery meant harm to the<br />
human race, and that none is richer than he to whom<br />
Fortune has found nothing to give.<br />
Amid all this<br />
diversity <strong>of</strong> opinion all men will yet with one voice,<br />
as the saying is, vote "aye" to the proposition that<br />
thanks should be returned to those who have deserved<br />
well <strong>of</strong> us. On this question the common herd,<br />
rebellious as they are, will all agree, but at present<br />
we keep paying back injuries instead <strong>of</strong> benefits,<br />
and the primary reason why a man is ungrateful is<br />
that he has found it impossible to be grateful enough.<br />
Our madness has gone to such lengths that it is a<br />
very dangerous thing to confer great benefits upon<br />
a person; for just because he thinks it shameful<br />
not to repay, so he would have none left alive whom<br />
'<br />
he should repay. Keep for yourself what you<br />
239
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
non repeto, non exigo. Pr<strong>of</strong>uisse tutum sit. Nullum<br />
est odium perniciosius quam e beneficii violati pudore.<br />
VALE.<br />
LXXXII.<br />
<strong>SENECA</strong> LVCILIO svo SALVTEM<br />
1 Desii iam de te esse sollicitus. "Quern,"<br />
"<br />
inquis,<br />
"deorum sponsorem accepisti<br />
? Eum scilicet, qui<br />
neminem fallit, animum recti ac boni amatorem. In<br />
tuto pars tui melior est. Potest fortuna tibi iniuriam<br />
facere ; quod ad rem magis pertinet, non tinieo, ne<br />
tu facias tibi. I, qua ire coepisti et in isto te vitae<br />
2 habitu conpone placide, non molliter. Male mihi<br />
esse malo quam molliter ;<br />
male l nunc sic excipe,<br />
quemadmodum a populo solet dici dure, : aspere,<br />
laboriose. Audire sol emus sic quorundani vitam<br />
laudari, quibus invidetur: " "<br />
molliter vivit hoc<br />
;<br />
dicunt<br />
"<br />
: mollis est." Paulatim enim effeminatur<br />
animus atque in similitudinem otii sui et pigritiae,<br />
in qua iacet, solvitur. Quid ?<br />
ergo Viro non vel<br />
obrigeseere satius est ? Deinde idem delicati timent, 2<br />
cui vitam suam fecere similem. Multum interest<br />
1<br />
male added by Muretus.<br />
2 morti after timent deleted by Madvig.<br />
a The words are put into the mouth <strong>of</strong> an<br />
benefactor who fears for his own life.<br />
imaginary<br />
Cf. Tac. Agric. 42 proprium humani ingenii est odisse<br />
6<br />
yuam laeserix.<br />
c One who incurs liability by taking upon himself the<br />
debt <strong>of</strong> another. It is part <strong>of</strong> the process known as interces.tio.<br />
* Rather than mollis.<br />
240
EPISTLES LXXXI., LXXX1I.<br />
have received ;<br />
I do not ask it back ; I do not<br />
demand it. Let it be safe to have conferred a<br />
favour." a There is no worse hatred than that which<br />
b<br />
springs from shame at the desecration <strong>of</strong> a benefit.<br />
Farewell.<br />
LXXXII.<br />
ON THE NATURAL FEAR OF<br />
DEATH<br />
I have already ceased to be anxious about you.<br />
"Whom then <strong>of</strong> the gods/' you ask, "have you<br />
found as your voucher?" A god, let me tell<br />
you, who deceives no one, a soul in love with<br />
that which is<br />
upright and good. The better part<br />
<strong>of</strong> yourself<br />
is on safe ground. Fortune can inflict<br />
injury upon you what is more ; pertinent<br />
is<br />
that I have no fears lest you do injury to<br />
yourself. Proceed as you have begun, and settle<br />
yourself in this way <strong>of</strong> living, not luxuriously, but<br />
calmly. I prefer to be in trouble rather than in<br />
luxury and you had better ;<br />
interpret the term " in<br />
trouble " as popular usage is wont to interpret it :<br />
living a "hard," "rough," "toilsome" life. We are<br />
wont to hear the lives <strong>of</strong> certain men praised as<br />
follows, when they are objects <strong>of</strong> unpopularity<br />
:<br />
" So-and-So lives luxuriously"; but by this they<br />
mean " : He is s<strong>of</strong>tened by luxury." For the soul<br />
is made womanish by degrees, and is weakened<br />
until it matches the ease and laziness in which it<br />
lies. Lo, is it not better for one who is really a<br />
man even to become hardened d ? Next, these same<br />
dandies fear that which they have made their own<br />
lives resemble. Much difference is there between
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
3 inter otium et conditivum.<br />
" "<br />
Quid ergo<br />
?<br />
inquis,<br />
" non satius est vel sic iacere quam<br />
in istis <strong>of</strong>ficiorum<br />
"<br />
verticibus volutari ?<br />
Utraque res detestabilis est,<br />
et contractio et torpor. Puto, aeque qui in odoribus<br />
iacet, mortuus est quam qui rapitur unco.<br />
Otium sine litteris mors est et hominis vivi<br />
4 sepultura. Quid deinde prodest secessisse ? Tamquam<br />
non trans maria nos sollicittidinum causae<br />
!<br />
persequantur Quae latebra est, in<br />
quam non intret<br />
metus mortis ?<br />
Quae tarn emunita et in altum<br />
subducta vitae quies, quam non dolor territet ?<br />
Quacumque te abdideris, mala humana circumstrepent.<br />
Multa extra sunt, quae circumeunt nos, quo<br />
aut 1 fallant ant urgeant, multa intus, quae in media<br />
solitudine exaestuant.<br />
5 Philosophia circumdanda est, inexpugnabilis mums,<br />
quern fortuna multis machinis lacessitum non transit.<br />
In insuperabili loco stat animus, qui externa deseruit,<br />
et arce se sua vindicat ;<br />
infra ilium omne telum cadit.<br />
Non habet, ut putamus, fortuna longas manus ;<br />
nemi-<br />
6 nem occupat nisi haerentem sibi.<br />
Itaque quantum<br />
possumus, ab ilia resiliamus ;<br />
quod sola praestabit sui<br />
naturaeque cognitio. 2 Sciat, quo iturus sit, unde<br />
ortus, quod illi bonum, quod malum sit, quid petat,<br />
quid evitet, quae sit ilia ratio, quae adpetenda ac<br />
1<br />
quo aut later MSS. ; quae<br />
aut VPb.<br />
2 cognitio later MSS. ; conditio Vb ; condicio p.<br />
a<br />
Conditivum (more frequently and properly conditorium)<br />
is a grim jest. The word is<br />
mostly found in an adjectival<br />
sense applying to fruits and grain stored for later use.<br />
6<br />
Compare Arnold's nineteenth -century definition <strong>of</strong><br />
culture.<br />
242
EPISTLE LXXXI1.<br />
lying idle and lying buried*! "But/' you say, "is<br />
it not better even to lie idle than to whirl round<br />
"<br />
in these eddies <strong>of</strong> business distraction ? Both<br />
extremes are to be deprecated both tension and<br />
I<br />
sluggishness. hold that he who lies on a perfumed<br />
couch is no less dead than he who is<br />
dragged along<br />
by the executioner's hook.<br />
Leisure without study<br />
is death ;<br />
it is a tomb for<br />
the living man. What then is the advantage <strong>of</strong><br />
retirement ? As if the real causes <strong>of</strong> our anxieties<br />
did not follow us across the seas ! What hidingplace<br />
is there, where the fear <strong>of</strong> death does not<br />
enter ? What peaceful haunts are there, so fortified<br />
and so far withdrawn that pain does not fill them<br />
with fear ? Wherever you hide yourself, human ills<br />
will make an uproar<br />
all around. There are many<br />
external things which compass us about, to deceive<br />
us or to weigh upon us ;<br />
there are many things<br />
within which, even amid solitude, fret and ferment.<br />
Therefore, gird yourself about with philosophy,<br />
an impregnable wall. Though it be assaulted by<br />
many engines, Fortune can find no passage into it.<br />
The soul stands on unassailable ground,<br />
if it has<br />
abandoned external things<br />
it is<br />
;<br />
independent in its<br />
own fortress ;<br />
and every weapon that is hurled falls<br />
short <strong>of</strong> the mark. Fortune has not the long reach<br />
with which we credit her ;<br />
she can seize none except<br />
him that clings to her. Let us then recoil from<br />
her as far as we are able. This will be possible for<br />
us only through knowledge <strong>of</strong> self and <strong>of</strong> the world b<br />
<strong>of</strong> Nature. The soul should know whither it is<br />
going and whence it came, what is<br />
good for it and<br />
what is evil, what it seeks and what it avoids, and<br />
what is that Reason which distinguishes between<br />
the desirable and the undesirable, and thereby tames<br />
243
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
fugienda discernat, qua cupiditatum mansuescit<br />
insania, timorum saevitia conpescitur.<br />
/ Place quidam 1 putant ipsos etiam sine philosophia<br />
repressisse.<br />
Sed, cum secures aliquis casus expertus<br />
est, exprimitur sera confessio. Magna<br />
verba excidunt,<br />
cum tortor poposcit manum, cum mors proplus<br />
2 accessit. Possis illi dicere : facile provocabas<br />
mala absentia ;<br />
ecce dolor, quern tolerabilem esse<br />
dicebas, ecce mors, quam<br />
contra multa animose<br />
locutus es ;<br />
sonant flagella, gladius micat :<br />
Nunc animis opus, Aenea, nunc pectore firrao.<br />
8 Faciet autem illud firmum adsidua meditatio, si non<br />
verba exercueris, sed animum, si contra mortem te<br />
praeparaveris, adversus quam<br />
noil exhortabitur nee<br />
adtollet, qui cavillationibus tibi persuadere temptaverit<br />
mortem malum non esse. Libet enim, Lucili<br />
virorum optima, ridere ineptias Graecas, quas nondum,<br />
9 quamvis mirer, excussi. Zenon noster hac collectione<br />
utitur<br />
"<br />
: nullum malum gloriosum est ;<br />
mors autem<br />
gloriosa est mors<br />
; ergo non est malum." Pr<strong>of</strong>ecisti ;<br />
liberatus sum metu ; post hoc non dubitabo porrigere<br />
cervicem. Non vis severius loqui nee morituro risum<br />
1<br />
quidam later MSS. ; quidem VPb.<br />
2 propius later MSS. ;<br />
potius VPb.<br />
244<br />
* Vergil, Aeneid, vi. 261.<br />
6<br />
Frag-. 196 von Arnim.
EPISTLE LXXXII.<br />
the madness <strong>of</strong> our desires and calms the violence <strong>of</strong><br />
our fears.<br />
Some men flatter themselves that they have<br />
checked these evils by themselves even without the<br />
aid <strong>of</strong> philosophy but when some<br />
;<br />
accident catches<br />
them <strong>of</strong>f their guard, a tardy confession <strong>of</strong> error is<br />
wrung from them. Their boastful words perish from<br />
their lips<br />
when the torturer commands them to<br />
stretch forth their hands, and when death draws<br />
nearer ! You might say to such a man "<br />
: It was easy<br />
for you to challenge evils that were not near-by ;<br />
but here comes pain, which you declared you could<br />
endure ;<br />
here comes death, against which you uttered<br />
many a courageous boast The ! whip cracks, the<br />
sword flashes :<br />
Ah now, Aeneas, them must needs be stout<br />
"<br />
And strong <strong>of</strong> heart !<br />
a<br />
This strength <strong>of</strong> heart, however, will come from constant<br />
study, provided that you practise, not with the<br />
tongue but with the soul, and provided that you prepare<br />
yourself to meet death. To enable yourself to<br />
meet death, you may expect no encouragement or<br />
cheer from those who try to make you believe, by<br />
means <strong>of</strong> their hair-splitting logic, that death is no<br />
evil. For I take pleasure, excellent Lucilius, in<br />
poking fun at the absurdities <strong>of</strong> the Greeks, <strong>of</strong> which,<br />
to my continual surprise, I have not yet succeeded<br />
in ridding myself. Our master Zeno b uses a syllogism<br />
like this " : No evil is glorious but<br />
;<br />
death is glorious ;<br />
therefore death is no evil." A cure, Zeno ! I have<br />
been freed from fear ;<br />
henceforth I shall not<br />
hesitate to bare my neck on the scaffold. Will<br />
you not utter sterner words instead <strong>of</strong> rousing a<br />
dying man to laughter? Indeed, Lucilius, I could<br />
245
movere ?<br />
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
Non mehercules facile tibi dixerim, utrum<br />
ineptior fuerit, qui se hac interrogatione iudicavit<br />
mortis metum extinguere, an qui hoc, tamquam ad<br />
10 rem pertineret, conatus est solvere. Nam et ipse<br />
interrogationem contrariam opposuit ex eo natam,<br />
quod mortem inter indifferentia ponimus, quae<br />
aStdfjiopa Graeci vocant " Nihil," inquit, " indifferens<br />
gloriosum est mors autem<br />
; gloriosum est ;<br />
ergo mors<br />
non est indifferens." Haec interrogatio vides ubi<br />
obrepat mors non est : gloriosa, sed fortiter mori<br />
gloriosum est. Et cum dicis " indifferens nihil<br />
:<br />
gloriosum est," concede tibi ita, ut dicam nihil<br />
gloriosum esse nisi circa indifferentia. Tamquam<br />
indifferentia esse dico, id est nee bona nee mala,<br />
morbum, dolorem, paupertatem, exilium, mortem.<br />
11 Nihil horum per se gloriosum est, nihil tamen sine<br />
his. Laudatur enim non paupertas, sed ille, quern<br />
paupertas l non summittit nee 2 incurvat. Laudatur<br />
non exilium, sed ille qui in exilium ivit tanquam 3<br />
misisset. Laudatur non dolor, sed ille, quern nihil<br />
coegit dolor. Nemo mortem laudat, sed eum, cuius<br />
12 mors ante abstulit animum quam conturbavit. Omnia<br />
ista per se non sunt honesta nee gloriosa, sed quicquid<br />
ex illis virtus adiit tractavitquej honestum et<br />
gloriosum facit ;<br />
ilia in medio posita sunt ; interest,<br />
utrum malitia illis an virtus manum admoverit. Mors<br />
enim ilia, quae in Catone gloriosa est, in Bruto statim<br />
1 1<br />
Pb and V omit sed . . .<br />
paupertas.<br />
2 nee later MSS. ;<br />
sed VPb.<br />
3 sed ille qui in exilium ivit tanquam Madvig ; . . . ut<br />
quam MSS.<br />
a Defined by the Greeks as " things which have no direct<br />
connexion either with happiness or with unhappiness."<br />
See Cicero, De Finibus, iii. 50 ff.<br />
6 i.e., are "indifferent" (cf. 14 indifferentia ac media<br />
dicuntnr).<br />
246
EPISTLE LXXXII.<br />
not easily tell you whether he who thought that<br />
he was quenching the fear <strong>of</strong> death by setting<br />
up this syllogism was the more foolish, or he who<br />
attempted to refute it, just as if it had anything to<br />
do with the matter ! For the refuter himself proposed<br />
a counter-syllogism, based upon the proposition<br />
that we regard death as " indifferent/' one <strong>of</strong> the<br />
things which the Greeks call aSia
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
turpis<br />
est et erubescenda. Hie est enim Brutus, qui<br />
cum periturus mortis morasquaereret,ad exonerandum<br />
ventrem secessit et evocatus ad mortem iussusque<br />
praebere cervicem " " :<br />
praebebo/' inquit, ita vivam."<br />
Quae dementia est fugere, cum retro ire non possis<br />
?<br />
" " Praebebo/' inquit, ita vivam." Paene adiecit<br />
" vel sub Antonio." O hominem dignum, qui vitae<br />
dederetur !<br />
13 Sed, ut coeperam dicere, vides ipsam mortem nee<br />
malum esse nee bonum ;<br />
Cato ilia honestissirae usus<br />
est, turpissime Brutus. Omnis res quod non habuit<br />
decus, virtute addita sumit. Cubiculum lucidum<br />
14 dicimus, hoc idem obscurissimum est nocte. Dies<br />
illi lucem infundit, nox eripit sic<br />
; istis, quae a nobis<br />
indifferentia ac media dicuntur, divitiis. viribus, formae,<br />
honoribus, regno et contra morti, exilio, malae<br />
valetudinijdoloribus quaeque alia aut minus autmagis<br />
pertimuimus, aut malitia aut virtus dat boni vel mali<br />
nomen. Massa per se nee calida nee frigida est ;<br />
in<br />
fornacem coniecta concaluit, in<br />
aquam demissa 1 refrixit.<br />
Mors honesta est per illud, quod honestum 2<br />
est, id est virtus et animus extrema contemnens.<br />
1 5 Est et horum, Lucili, quae appellamus media,<br />
grande discrimen. Non enim sic nlors indifferens<br />
est, quomodo utrum capillos pares an inpares 3<br />
habeas. Mors inter ilia est, quae mala quidem non<br />
sunt, tamen habent mali speciem ;<br />
sui amor est et<br />
1<br />
Haase; remissa VPb. 2<br />
Later MSS. ; honesta VPb.<br />
3<br />
an impares added by Koch.<br />
Presumably D. Junius Brutus, who finally incurred the<br />
enmity <strong>of</strong> both Octavian and Antony. He was ignominiously<br />
put to death by a Gaul while fleeing to join M. Brutus in<br />
Macedonia.<br />
media : a technical word in <strong>Stoic</strong> philosophy, meaning<br />
neither good nor bad.<br />
248
EPISTLE LXXXII.<br />
<strong>of</strong> Brutus a forthwith base and disgraceful. For this<br />
Brutus, condemned to death, was trying to obtain<br />
postponement he withdrew a moment in order to<br />
;<br />
ease himself; when summoned to die and ordered to<br />
bare his throat, he exclaimed<br />
"<br />
: I will bare my throat,<br />
if only I may live '<br />
What madness it is to run<br />
!<br />
away, when it is impossible to turn back "<br />
! I will<br />
bare my throat, if only I may live '<br />
He came !<br />
'<br />
very<br />
near saying also<br />
"<br />
: even under !<br />
Antony This<br />
fellow deserved indeed to be consigned to \<br />
life<br />
But, as I was going on to remark, you see that<br />
death in itself is neither an evil nor a good Cato<br />
;<br />
experienced death most honourably, Brutus most<br />
basely. Everything, if you add virtue, assumes a<br />
glory which it did not possess before. We speak <strong>of</strong><br />
a sunny room, even though the same room is pitchdark<br />
at night. It is the day which fills it with light,<br />
and the night which steals the light away thus it is<br />
;<br />
with the things which we call indifferent and<br />
'<br />
middle, 6 " like riches, strength, beauty, titles, kingship,<br />
and their opposites, -- death, exile, ill-health,<br />
pain, and all such evils, the fear <strong>of</strong> which upsets us<br />
to a greater or less extent ;<br />
it is the wickedness or<br />
the virtue that bestows the name <strong>of</strong> good or evil.<br />
An object<br />
is not by its own essence either hot or cold ;<br />
it is heated when thrown into a furnace, and chilled<br />
when dropped into water. Death is honourable when<br />
related to that which is honourable ; by this I mean<br />
*<br />
virtue and a soul that despises the worst hardships.<br />
Furthermore, there are vast distinctions among<br />
'<br />
these qualities which we call middle." For example,<br />
death is not so indifferent as the question<br />
whether your hair should be worn evenly or unevenly.<br />
Death belongs among those things which are not indeed<br />
evils, but still have in them a semblance <strong>of</strong> evil ;<br />
249
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
permanendi conservandique se insita voluntas atque<br />
aspernatio dissolutionis, quia videtur multa nobis<br />
bona eripere et nos ex hac^ cui adsuevimus, rerum<br />
copia educere. Ilia quoque res morti nos alienat,<br />
quod liaec iam novimus, ilia, ad quae transituri<br />
sumus, nescimuSj qualia shit, et horremus ignota.<br />
Naturalis praeterea tenebrarura metus est, in quas<br />
16 adductura mors creditur. Itaque etiam si indifferens<br />
mors est, non tamen ea est, quae facile neglegi<br />
possit. Magna exercitatione durandus est animus,<br />
ut conspectum eius accessumque patiatur.<br />
Mors contemn! debet magis quain solet.<br />
Multa<br />
enim de ilia credidimus. Multorum ingeniis certatum<br />
est ad augendam eius infamiam. Descriptus<br />
est career infernus et<br />
in qua<br />
perpetua nocte oppressa regio,<br />
Ingens ianitor Orci<br />
Ossa super recubans antro semesa cruento,<br />
Aeternum latrans exsangues terreat umbras.<br />
Etiam cum persuaseris istas fabulas esse nee quicquam<br />
defunctis superesse, quod timeant, subit<br />
alius<br />
metus. Aeque enim timent, ne apud inferos sint,<br />
quam ne nusquam.<br />
17 His adversaiitibus, quae nobis <strong>of</strong>fundit longa persuasio,<br />
fortiter pati mortem quidni gloriosum<br />
sit et<br />
250<br />
a See Vergil, Aeneid, vi. 400 f. and viii. 296 f.
EPISTLE LXXXII.<br />
for there are implanted in us love <strong>of</strong> self, a desire for<br />
existence and self-preservation, and also an abhorrence<br />
<strong>of</strong> dissolution, because death seems to rob us <strong>of</strong> many<br />
Offoods and to withdraw us from the abundance to<br />
which we have become accustomed. And there is<br />
another element which estranges us from death : we<br />
are already familiar with the present, but are ignorant<br />
<strong>of</strong> the future into which we shall transfer ourselves,<br />
and we shrink from the unknown. Moreover, it is<br />
natural to fear the world <strong>of</strong> shades, whither death is<br />
supposed to lead. Therefore, although death is<br />
something indifferent, it is nevertheless not a thing<br />
which we can easily ignore. The soul must be<br />
hardened by long practice, so that it may learn to<br />
endure the sight and the approach <strong>of</strong> death.<br />
Death ought to be despised more than it is wont<br />
to be despised. For we believe too many <strong>of</strong> the<br />
stories about death. Many thinkers have striven<br />
hard to increase its ill<br />
repute they have portrayed<br />
;<br />
the prison in the world below and the land overwhelmed<br />
by everlasting night, where<br />
Within his blood-stained cave Hell's warder huge<br />
Doth sprawl his ug'ly length on half-crunched bones,<br />
And terrifies the disembodied ghosts<br />
With never-ceasing bark. a<br />
Even if you can win your point and prove that these<br />
are mere stories and that nothing is left for the dead<br />
to fear, another fear steals upon you. For the fear<br />
<strong>of</strong> going to the underworld is equalled by the fear<br />
<strong>of</strong> going nowhere.<br />
In the face <strong>of</strong> these notions, which long-standing<br />
opinion has dinned in our ears, how can brave endurance<br />
<strong>of</strong> death be anything else than glorious, and<br />
fit to rank among the greatest accomplishments <strong>of</strong> the<br />
VOL. ir i 251
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
inter maxima opera mentis humanae ?<br />
Quae nunv<br />
quam ad virtutem exsurget,<br />
si mortem malum esse<br />
crediderit ;<br />
exsurget, si putabit indifFerens esse. Non<br />
recipit rerum natura, ut aliquis magno animo accedat<br />
ad id, quod malum iudicat ;<br />
pigre veniet et cunctanter.<br />
Non est autem gloriosum, quod ab invito<br />
et tergiversante<br />
fit ;<br />
nihil facit virtus, quia necesse<br />
18 est. Adice mine, quod<br />
nihil hoiieste fit, nisi cui<br />
totus animus incubuit atque adfuit, cui nulla parte<br />
sui repugnavit.<br />
Ubi autem ad malum acceditur aut<br />
peiorum metu aut spe bonorum, ad quae pervenire<br />
tanti sit devorata unius mali patientia, dissident inter<br />
se iudicia facientis.<br />
Hinc est, quod iubeat proposita<br />
perficere, illinc, quod retrahat et ab re suspecta ac<br />
periculosa fugiat. Igitur in diversa distrahitur si<br />
;<br />
hoc est, perit gloria. Virtus enim concordi animo<br />
decreta peragit.<br />
Non timet, quod<br />
facit.<br />
Tu ne cede mails, sed contra audentior ito<br />
Qua tua te fortuna sinet.<br />
19 Non ibis audentior,<br />
si mala ilia esse credideris.<br />
Eximendum hoc e pectore est ;<br />
alioqui haesitabit<br />
inpetum moratura suspicio. Trudetur in id, quod<br />
invadendum est.<br />
Nostri quidem videri volunt Zenonis interrogaa<br />
Vergil, Aeneidi vi. 95 f., the advice <strong>of</strong> the Sibyl to<br />
Aeneas.
human mind ?<br />
EPISTLE LXXXI1.<br />
For the mind will never rise to virtue<br />
if it believes that death is an evil ;<br />
but it will so rise<br />
if it holds that death is a matter <strong>of</strong> indifference. It<br />
is not in the order <strong>of</strong> nature that a man shall proceed<br />
with a great heart to a destiny which he believes to<br />
be evil ;<br />
he will go sluggishly and with reluctance.<br />
But nothing glorious can result from unwillingness<br />
and cowardice; virtue does nothing under compulsion.<br />
Besides, no deed that a man does is honourable unless<br />
he has devoted himself thereto and attended to<br />
it with all his heart, rebelling against it with no<br />
portion <strong>of</strong> his being. When, however, a man goes<br />
to face an evil, either through fear <strong>of</strong> worse evils<br />
or in the hope <strong>of</strong> goods whose attainment is <strong>of</strong> sufficient<br />
moment to him that he can swallow the one<br />
evil which he must endure, in that case the judgment<br />
<strong>of</strong> the agent<br />
is drawn in two directions. On the one<br />
side is the motive which bids him carry out his purpose<br />
on the other, the motive which restrains him<br />
;<br />
and makes him flee from something which has aroused<br />
his apprehension or leads to danger. Hence he is torn<br />
in different directions ;<br />
and if this happens, the glory<br />
<strong>of</strong> his act is gone. For virtue accomplishes its plans<br />
only when the spirit is in harmony with itself. There<br />
is no element <strong>of</strong> fear in any <strong>of</strong> its actions.<br />
Yield not to evils, but, still braver, go<br />
Where'er thy fortune shall allow.<br />
You cannot " still braver go," if you are persuaded<br />
that those things are the real evils. Root out this idea<br />
from your soul ;<br />
otherwise your apprehensions will<br />
remain undecided and will thus check the impulse to<br />
action. You will be pushed into that towards which<br />
you ought to advance like a soldier.<br />
Those <strong>of</strong> our school, it is true, would have men<br />
253
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
tioriein veram esse, '<br />
fallacem autem alteram et falsani,<br />
y<br />
quae illi opponitur. Ego non redigo ista ad legem<br />
dialecticam et ad illos artificii veternosissimi nodos.<br />
Totum genus istuc exturbandum iudico, quo circumscribi<br />
se, qui interrogator, existimat et ad confessionem<br />
perductus aliud respondet, aliud putat.<br />
Pro veritate simplicius agendum est, contra metuni<br />
20 fortius. Haec ipsa, quae volvuntur ab illis, solvere<br />
malim et expendere, ut persuadeam, non ut inponam.<br />
In aciem educturus exercitum pro coniugibus ac<br />
liberis mortem obiturum quomodo exhortabitur Do<br />
?<br />
tibi Fabios totum rei publicae bellum in unam transferentes<br />
domum. Laconas tibi ostendo in ipsis<br />
Thermopylarum angustiis positos. Nee victoriam<br />
sperant nee reditum. Ille locus illis sepulchrum<br />
21 futurus est. Quemadmodum exhortaris, ut totius<br />
gentis ruinam obiectis corporibus excipiant et vita<br />
potius quam loco cedant ? Dices " : quod malum<br />
est, gloriosum non est mors<br />
; gloriosa est ;<br />
mors ergo<br />
non malum " ? O efficacem contionem !<br />
Quis post<br />
hanc dubitet se infestis ingerere mucronibus et stans<br />
mori ! At ille Leonidas quam fortiter illos adlocutus<br />
est! "Sic/' inquit, "commilitones, prandete tamquam<br />
apud inferos ceiiaturi." Non in ore crevit cibus, non<br />
a Cf. 9 and 10.<br />
b Cf. Ep.<br />
xlviii. 4 ff.<br />
Cf. Livy, ii. 49. 1 familiam unam snbisse civitatis onus.<br />
c<br />
d OVTUS dpt.ffTciT<br />
EPISTLE LXXXII.<br />
think that Zeno's a syllogism is correct, but that the<br />
second a I<br />
mentioned, which is set up against his, is<br />
deceptive and wrong. But I for my part decline to<br />
reduce such questions to a matter <strong>of</strong> dialectical rules or<br />
to the subtleties <strong>of</strong> an utterly worn-out system. Away,<br />
I say, with all that sort <strong>of</strong> thing, which makes a man<br />
feel, when a question<br />
is<br />
propounded to him, that he<br />
is hemmed in, and forces him to admit a premiss, and<br />
then makes him say one thing in his answer when his<br />
real opinion is another. 6 When truth is at stake,<br />
we must act more frankly and when fear is to be<br />
;<br />
combated, we must act more bravely. Such questions,<br />
which the dialecticians involve in subtleties, I prefer<br />
to solve and weigh rationally, with the purpose <strong>of</strong><br />
winning conviction and not <strong>of</strong> forcing the judgment.<br />
When a general<br />
is about to lead into action an<br />
army prepared to meet death for their wives and<br />
children, how will he exhort them to battle? I remind<br />
you <strong>of</strong> the Fabii/ who took upon a single clan a war<br />
which concerned the whole state. I<br />
point out to<br />
you the Lacedaemonians in position at the very pass<br />
<strong>of</strong> !<br />
Thermopylae They have no hope <strong>of</strong> victory,<br />
no hope <strong>of</strong> returning. The place where they stand<br />
is to be their tomb. In what language do you encourage<br />
them to bar the way with their bodies and<br />
take upon themselves the ruin <strong>of</strong> their whole tribe,<br />
and to retreat from life rather than from their post<br />
?<br />
Shall "<br />
you say That which is evil is not : glorious<br />
;<br />
but death is glorious therefore death is not an evil " ?<br />
What ; a powerful discourse After such words, who<br />
!<br />
would hesitate to throw himself upon the serried<br />
spears <strong>of</strong> the foemen, and die in his tracks ? But<br />
take Leonidas : how bravely did he address his men !<br />
He said: "Fellow-soldiers, let us to our breakfast,<br />
knowing that we shall sup in Hades "<br />
!<br />
d<br />
The food<br />
255
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
haesit in faucibus, non elapsus est manibus ;<br />
alacres<br />
22 et ad prandium<br />
illi<br />
promiserunt et ad ceriam. Quid?<br />
Dux ille<br />
Romanus, qui ad occupandum<br />
locum rnilites<br />
missos, cum per ingentem hostium exercitum ituri<br />
essent, sic adlocutus est : " ire, commilitones, illo<br />
necesse est, unde redire non est necesse."<br />
Vides, quam simplex et imperiosa virtus sit ; quern<br />
mortalium circumscriptiones vestrae fortiorem facere,<br />
quern erectiorem possunt? Frangunt animum, qui<br />
iiumquam minus contrahendus est et in minuta ac<br />
spinosa cogendus, quam cum aliquid grande com-<br />
23 ponitur. Non trecentis, sed omnibus mortalibus<br />
mortis timor detrahi debet. Quomodo illos doces<br />
malum non esse ?<br />
Quomodo opiniones totius aevi,<br />
quibus protinus infantia inbuitur, evincis ? Quod<br />
auxilium invenis l inbecillitati humanae ? Quid dicis,<br />
quo inflammati in media pericula inruant ? Qua<br />
oratione hunc timendi consensum, quibus ingeni<br />
viribus obnixam contra te persuasioiiem humani<br />
generis avertis ? Verba mihi captiosa conponis et<br />
interrogatiunculas nectis ? Magnis telis magna por-<br />
24 teiita feriuntur. Serpentem illam in Africa saevam<br />
et Romanis legionibus bello ipso terribiliorem frustra<br />
sagittis fundisque petierunt ; ne Pythio quidem<br />
vulnerabilis erat, cum ingens magnitude pro vastitate<br />
1<br />
After invem-s, Gertz removed quid diets . . .<br />
a Calpurnius, in Sicily, during the first Punic war. Cf.<br />
Livy, xxii. 60. 11.<br />
6<br />
The soldiers <strong>of</strong> Leonidas.<br />
An especially large machine for assaulting walls ; a nickname,<br />
like the modern " Long Tom."<br />
256
EPISTLE LXXX11.<br />
<strong>of</strong> these men did not grow lumpy in their mouths, or<br />
stick in their throats, or slip from their fingers ;<br />
eagerly did they accept the invitation to breakfast,<br />
and to supper also Think, too, <strong>of</strong> the famous<br />
!<br />
a<br />
Roman general<br />
; his soldiers had been dispatched<br />
to seize a position, and when they were about to<br />
make their way through a huge army <strong>of</strong> the enemy,<br />
he addressed them with the words " : You must go<br />
now, fellow-soldiers, to yonder place, whence there<br />
is no ( '<br />
'<br />
must about your returning<br />
!<br />
You see, then, how straightforward and peremptory<br />
virtue is but what man on earth can<br />
;<br />
your<br />
deceptive logic<br />
make more courageous or more upright<br />
Rather ?<br />
does it break the spirit,<br />
which should<br />
never be less straitened or forced to deal with<br />
petty and thorny problems than when some great<br />
work is<br />
being planned. It is not the Three Hundred, 6<br />
it is all mankind that should be relieved <strong>of</strong> the fear<br />
<strong>of</strong> death. But how can you prove to all those men<br />
that death is no evil ? How can you overcome the<br />
notions <strong>of</strong> all our past life, notions with which we<br />
are tinged from our very infancy What ?<br />
succour can<br />
you discover for man's helplessness<br />
? What can you<br />
say that will make men rush, burning with zeal, into<br />
the midst <strong>of</strong> danger? By what persuasive speech<br />
can you turn aside this universal feeling <strong>of</strong> fear, by<br />
what strength <strong>of</strong> wit can you turn aside the conviction<br />
<strong>of</strong> the human race which steadfastly opposes you<br />
?<br />
Do you propose to construct catchwords for me, or<br />
to string together petty syllogisms<br />
? It takes great<br />
weapons to strike down great monsters. You recall<br />
the fierce serpent in Africa, more frightful to the<br />
Roman legions o than the war itself, and assailed in<br />
*<br />
vain by arrows and slings it could not be wounded<br />
;<br />
even<br />
" c<br />
by Pythius," since its<br />
huge size, and the<br />
257
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
corporis solida ferrum et quicquid humanae torserant<br />
manus reiceret. Molaribus demum fracta saxis est.<br />
Et ad versus mortem tu tarn 1 minuta iacularis ? Subula<br />
leonem excipis<br />
? Acuta sunt ista, quae dicis<br />
;<br />
nihil<br />
est acutius arista. Quaedam inutilia et inefficacia<br />
ipsa subtilitas reddit. VALE.<br />
LXXXIII.<br />
<strong>SENECA</strong> LVCILIO svo SALVTEM<br />
1 Singulos dies tibi meos et quidem totos indicari<br />
iubes ;<br />
beiie de me iudicas, si nihil esse in illis putas,<br />
quod abscondam. Sic certe vivendum est, tamquam<br />
in conspectu vivamus sic<br />
; cogitandum, tamquam<br />
aliquis in pectus intimum introspicere 2 possit et<br />
;<br />
potest. Quid enim prodest ab homine aliquid esse<br />
secretum ? Nihil deo clusum est. Interest animis<br />
nostris et cogitationibus mediis intervenit sic inter-<br />
2 venit, dico, tamquam aliquando discedat. Faciam<br />
ergo, quod iubes, et quid agam et quo ordine,<br />
libenter tibi scribam. Observabo me protinus et,<br />
quod est utilissimum, diem meum recognoscam. Hoc<br />
nos pessimos facit, quod nemo vitam suam respicit.<br />
Quid facturi simus cogitamus. Atqui consilium<br />
futuri ex praeterito venit.<br />
1<br />
tu tarn later MSS. ; totam VPb.<br />
8 introspicere Hense ;<br />
prospicere VPb.<br />
a Of. Ep. Ixxxv. 1 pudet in acieni descenders pro dig<br />
hominibusque suscepfam subula armatum.<br />
b<br />
Cf. Ep. xli. 2 sacer intra nos spiritus, malorum<br />
. . .<br />
bonorumque nosirorum observator et custos.<br />
c<br />
Cf. Ep. 4 \. ratio constat inpensae (referring to his<br />
attempt to employ his time pr<strong>of</strong>itably).<br />
258
EPISTLES LXXXII., LXXXII1.<br />
toughness which matched its bulk, made spears, or<br />
any weapon hurled by the hand <strong>of</strong> man, glance <strong>of</strong>f.<br />
It was finally destroyed by rocks equal in size to millstones.<br />
Are you, then, hurling petty weapons like<br />
yours even against death Can ? you stop a lion's<br />
charge by an awl? a Your arguments are indeed<br />
sharp but there is<br />
nothing sharper than a stalk <strong>of</strong><br />
;<br />
grain.<br />
And certain arguments are rendered useless<br />
arid unavailing by their very subtlety. Farewell.<br />
LXXXIII.<br />
ON DRUNKENNESS<br />
You bid me give you an account <strong>of</strong> each separate<br />
day, and <strong>of</strong> the whole day too so ;<br />
you must have a<br />
good opinion <strong>of</strong> me if you think that in these days <strong>of</strong><br />
mine there is<br />
nothing to hide. At any rate, it is<br />
thus that we should live, as if we lived in plain<br />
sight <strong>of</strong> all men and it is thus that<br />
;<br />
we should think,<br />
as if there were someone who could look into our<br />
inmost souls ;<br />
and there is one who can so look. For<br />
what avails it that something<br />
is hidden from man ?<br />
Nothing is shut <strong>of</strong>f from the sight <strong>of</strong> God. He is<br />
witness <strong>of</strong> our 5 souls, and he comes into the very<br />
midst <strong>of</strong> our thoughts comes into them, I say, as one<br />
who may at any time depart. I shall therefore do<br />
as you bid, and shall gladly inform you by letter<br />
what I am doing, and in what sequence.<br />
I shall<br />
keep watching myself continually, and a most useful<br />
c<br />
habit shall review each day. For this is what<br />
makes us wicked : that no one <strong>of</strong> us looks back over<br />
his own life. Our thoughts are devoted only to what<br />
\ve are about to do. And yet our plans for the future<br />
always depend on the past.<br />
VOL. ii i 2 259
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
3 Hodiernus dies solidus est ;<br />
nemo ex illo<br />
quicquam<br />
mihi eripuit. Totus inter stratum lectionemque<br />
divisus est. Minimum exercitationi corporis datum,<br />
et hoc nomine ago gratias senectuti : non magno<br />
mihi constat ;<br />
cum me movi, lassus sum. Hie autem<br />
4 'st exercitationis etiam fortissimis finis.<br />
Progvmnastas<br />
meos quaeris<br />
? Unus mihi sufficit Pharius !<br />
puer, ut scis, amabilis, sed mutabitur. lam aliquem<br />
teneriorem quaero. Hie quidem<br />
ait nos eandem<br />
crisin habere, quia utrique dentes cadunt Sed iam<br />
vix ilium adsequor currentem et intra paucissimos<br />
dies non potero<br />
; vide, quid exercitatio cotidiana<br />
pr<strong>of</strong>iciat.<br />
Cito magnum intervallum fit inter duos in<br />
diversum euntes.<br />
Eodem tempore ille adscendit, ego<br />
descendo, nee ignoras, quanto ex his velocius alterum<br />
fiat. Mentitus sum ;<br />
iam enim aetas nostra non de-<br />
5 scendit, sed cadit. Quomodo tamen hodieriium certamen<br />
nobis cesserit quaeris<br />
?<br />
Quod raro cursoribus<br />
evenit, hieran fecimus. Ab hac fatigatione magis<br />
quam exercitatione in frigidam descendi hoc<br />
; apud<br />
me vocatur parum calda. Ille tantus psychrolutes,<br />
qui kalendis lanuariis euripum salutabam, qui anno<br />
novo quemadmodum legere, scribere, dicere aliquid,<br />
sic auspicabar in Virginem desilire, primum ad<br />
Tiberim transtuli castra, deinde ad hoc solium, quod,<br />
1<br />
Pharius some MSS. ; farvius b ; farivus PV ; Earinus<br />
Erasmus.<br />
a See Ep.<br />
xii. 3 for a similar wittk'ism.<br />
6<br />
Hieran (coronam), as Lipsius thinks, when the result<br />
was doubtful, the garland was <strong>of</strong>fered to the gods. From<br />
the Greek tepos, sacred.<br />
c<br />
Constructed by Marcus Agrippa ;<br />
now the fountain <strong>of</strong><br />
Trevi.<br />
260
EPISTLE LXXXIII.<br />
To-day has been unbroken no one has<br />
;<br />
filched<br />
the slightest part <strong>of</strong> it from me. The whole time<br />
has been divided between rest and reading. A brief<br />
space has been given over to bodily exercise, and on<br />
this ground I can thank old age my exercise costs<br />
I am tired. And<br />
very little effort as soon as I ; stir,<br />
weariness is the aim and end <strong>of</strong> exercise, no matter<br />
how strong one is. Do you ask who are my pacemakers<br />
? One is<br />
enough for me, the slave Pharius,<br />
a pleasant fellow, as you know but I shall ; exchange<br />
him for another. At my time <strong>of</strong> life I need one who<br />
is <strong>of</strong> still more tender years. Pharius, at any rate,<br />
says that he and I are at the same period <strong>of</strong> life for<br />
;<br />
we are both losing our teeth." Yet even now I can<br />
scarcely follow his pace as he runs, and within a very<br />
short time I shall not be able to follow him at all ;<br />
so<br />
you see what pr<strong>of</strong>it we get from daily exercise. Very<br />
soon does a wide interval open between two persons<br />
who travel different ways. My slave is climbing up<br />
at the very moment when I am coming down, and<br />
you surely know how much quicker the latter is.<br />
Nay, I was wrong<br />
for now my life is not coming<br />
down ; ;<br />
it is falling outright. Do you ask, for all that,<br />
J<br />
how our race resulted to-day<br />
? We raced to a tie,'<br />
something which rarely happens in a running contest.<br />
After tiring myself out in this<br />
way (for 1 cannot call<br />
it exercise), I took a cold bath ; this, at my house,<br />
means just short <strong>of</strong> hot. I, the former cold-water<br />
enthusiast, who used to celebrate the new year by<br />
taking a plunge into the canal, who, just as naturally<br />
as I would set out to do some reading or writing, or<br />
to compose a speech, used to inaugurate the first <strong>of</strong><br />
the year with a plunge into the Virgo aqueduct/ have<br />
changed my allegiance, first to the Tiber, and then<br />
to my favourite tank, which is warmed only by the<br />
261
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
cum fortissimus sum et omnia bona fide fiunt, sol<br />
temperat. Non multum inihi ad balneum superest.<br />
6 Panis deinde siccus et sine mensa prandium, post<br />
quod non sunt lavandae man us. Dormio minimum.<br />
Consuetudinem meam nosti : brevissimo somiio utor<br />
et quasi interiungo. Satis est mihi vigilare<br />
desisse.<br />
Aliquando dormisse me scio, aliquando suspicor.<br />
7 Ecce circensium obstrepit clamor. Subita aliqua<br />
et universa voce feriuntur aures meae. Nee cogitationem<br />
meam excutiunt, ne interrumpunt quidem.<br />
Fremiturn patientissime fero. Multae voces et in<br />
unum confusae pro fluctu mihi sunt aut vento silvam<br />
verberante et ceteris sine intellectu soiiantibus.<br />
8 Quid ergo est nunc, cui animum adiecerim ?<br />
Dicam. Superest ex hesterno mihi cogitatio quid<br />
:<br />
sibi voluerint prudentissimi viri, qui reruin maximarum<br />
probationes levissirnas et perplexas fecerunt, quae ut<br />
9 sint verae, tamen mendacio similes sunt. Vult nos ab<br />
ebrietate deterrere Zenon, vir maximus, huius sectae<br />
fortissimae ac sanctissimae conditor. Audi ergo,<br />
virum bonum non futurum<br />
quemadmodum colligat<br />
ebrium: "ebrio secretum sermonem nemo committit;<br />
viro autem bono committit ;<br />
ergo<br />
vir bonus ebrius<br />
non erit" Quemadmodum opposita interrogatione<br />
simili derideatur, adtende. Satis est enim unam<br />
a<br />
The same word is used by Seneca in De Tranq. An.<br />
xvii. 7 quidam medio die interiunxerunt et in postmeridianas<br />
horas aliquid levioris operae distulerunt.<br />
h<br />
Cf. tip. Ivi. 3 istum fremitum non niagis euro quam<br />
ftuctum
EPISTLE LXXXI1I.<br />
sun, at times when I am most robust and when there<br />
is not a flaw in<br />
my bodily processes. I have very<br />
little energy left for bathing. After the bath, some<br />
stale bread and breakfast without a table ;<br />
no need<br />
to wash the hands after such a meal. Then comes a<br />
very short nap. You know my habit ;<br />
I avail myself<br />
<strong>of</strong> a scanty bit <strong>of</strong> sleep,- -unharnessing, as it were."<br />
For I am satisfied if I can just stop staying awake.<br />
Sometimes I know that I have slept at other<br />
; times,<br />
I have a mere suspicion.<br />
Lo, now the din <strong>of</strong> the Races sounds about me !<br />
My ears are smitten with sudden and general<br />
cheering. But this does not upset my thoughts<br />
or even break their continuity.<br />
I can endure an<br />
uproar with complete resignation. The medley <strong>of</strong><br />
voices blended in one note sounds to me like the<br />
dashing <strong>of</strong> waves, 6 or like the wind that lashes the<br />
tree-tops, or like any other sound which conveys no<br />
meaning.<br />
What is it, then, you ask, to which I have been<br />
giving my attention? I will tell you, A thought<br />
sticks in<br />
my mind, left over from yesterday, namely,<br />
what men <strong>of</strong> the greatest sagacity have meant when<br />
they have <strong>of</strong>fered the most trifling and intricate pro<strong>of</strong>s<br />
for problems <strong>of</strong> the greatest importance, pro<strong>of</strong>s<br />
which may be true, but none the less resemble .<br />
fallacies. Zeno, that greatest <strong>of</strong> men, the revered<br />
founder <strong>of</strong> our brave and holy school <strong>of</strong> philosophy,<br />
wishes to discourage us from drunkenness. Listen,<br />
then, to his arguments proving that the good man<br />
will not get drunk " : No one entrusts a secret to a<br />
drunken man ;<br />
but one will entrust a secret to a good<br />
man ; therefore, the good man will not get drunk." e<br />
Mark how ridiculous Zeno is made when we set up<br />
a similar syllogism in contrast with his. There are<br />
263
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
ponerfc ex multis :<br />
" dormienti nemo secretum<br />
sermonem committit ;<br />
viro autem bono committit ;<br />
10 vir bonus ergo non dormit." Quo uno modo potest,<br />
Posidonius Zenonis nostri causam agit, sed ne sic<br />
quidem, ut existimo, agi potest. Ait enim ebrium<br />
duobus modis dici :<br />
altero, cum aliquis vino gravis est<br />
et inpos sui ; altero,<br />
si solet ebrius fieri et huic<br />
obnoxius vitio est. Hunc a Zenone dici, qui soleat<br />
fieri ebrius, non qui<br />
sit. Huic autem neminem com-<br />
11 missurum arcana, quae per vinum eloqui possit. Quod<br />
est falsum. Prima enim ilia interrogatio conplectitur<br />
eum, qui est ebrius, non eum, qui futurus est.<br />
Plurimum enim interesse concedes et inter ebrium<br />
et ebriosum. Potest et qui ebrius est, tune primum<br />
esse nee habere hoc vitium, et qui ebriosus est,<br />
saepe extra ebrietatem esse. Itaque id intellego,<br />
quod significari verbo isto solet, praesertim cum ab<br />
homine diligentiam pr<strong>of</strong>esso ponatur et verba examinante.<br />
Adice nunc quod,<br />
si hoc intellexit Zenon<br />
et nos intellegere voluit, ambiguitate verbi quaesiit<br />
locum fraudi, quod faciendum non est, ubi veritas<br />
quaeritur.<br />
12 Sed sane hoc senserit ;<br />
quod sequitur, falsum est,<br />
ei qui soleat ebrius fieri, non committi sermonem<br />
secretum. Cogita enim, quam multis militibus non<br />
semper sobriis et imperator et tribunus et centurio<br />
a Of. Ep. xlix. 8 quod non perdidisti, hahes ; cornua<br />
autem non perdidisti ;<br />
iriven in K\>. xlviii.<br />
264<br />
cornua ergo hab
EPISTLE LXXXIII.<br />
many, but one will be '<br />
enough No one entrusts a<br />
:<br />
secret to a man when he is asleep but one entrusts a<br />
;<br />
secret to a good man ; therefore, the good man does<br />
not go to sleep." a Posidonius pleads the cause <strong>of</strong> our<br />
master Zeno in the only possible way ;<br />
but it cannot,<br />
I hold, be pleaded even in this way. For Posidonius<br />
maintains that the word "drunken" is used in two<br />
ways, in the one case <strong>of</strong> a man who is loaded with<br />
wine and has no control over himself; in the other,<br />
<strong>of</strong> a man who is accustomed to get drunk, and is a<br />
slave to the habit.<br />
Zeno, he says,<br />
meant the latter,<br />
the man who is accustomed to get drunk, not the<br />
man who is drunk ;<br />
and no one would entrust to this<br />
person any secret, for it might be blabbed out when<br />
the man was in his cups. This is a fallacy. For the<br />
first syllogism refers to him who is actually drunk and<br />
not to him who is about to get drunk. You will<br />
surely admit that there is a great difference between a<br />
man who is drunk and a drunkard. He who is<br />
drunk actually<br />
may be in this state for the first time and may<br />
not have the habit, while the drunkard is <strong>of</strong>ten free<br />
from drunkenness. I therefore interpret the word in<br />
its usual meaning, especially since the syllogism is set<br />
up by a man who makes a business <strong>of</strong> the careful use <strong>of</strong><br />
words, and who weighs his language. Moreover, if this<br />
is what Zeno meant, and what he wished it to mean<br />
to us, he was trying to avail himself <strong>of</strong> an equivocal<br />
word in order to work in a fallacy and no man<br />
;<br />
ought<br />
to do this when truth is the object <strong>of</strong> inquiry.<br />
But let us admit, indeed, that he meant what<br />
Posidonius says<br />
;<br />
even so, the conclusion is false,<br />
that secrets are not entrusted to an habitual drunkard.<br />
Think how many soldiers who are not always sober<br />
have been entrusted by a general or a captain or a<br />
centurion with messages which might not be divulged<br />
!<br />
265
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
tacenda mandaverint. De ilia C. Caesaris caede,<br />
illius dico, qui superato Pompeio reni publicam<br />
tenui^ tarn creditum est Tillio Cimbro l quam C.<br />
Cassio. Cassius tola vita aquam bibit, Tillius Cimber<br />
et nimius erat in vino et scordalus. In hanc rem<br />
locutus est " ipse<br />
:<br />
ego/' in " quit, quemquam feram,<br />
13 qui vinum ferre non possum?" Sibi quisque nunc<br />
nominet eos, quibus scit et vinum male credi et<br />
sermonem bene, unum tamen exemplum, quod<br />
occurrit mihi, referam, ne intercidat. Instruenda<br />
est enim vita exemplis inlustribus. Non semper<br />
confugiamus ad vetera.<br />
14 L. Piso, urbis custos, ebrius ex quo semel factus<br />
est, fuit. Maiorem noctis partem in convivio<br />
exigebat ; usque in horam fere sextam dormiebat ;<br />
hoc eius erat matutinum. Officium tamen suum, quo<br />
tutela urbis continebatur, diligentissime administravit.<br />
Huic et divus Augustus dedit secreta mandata, cum<br />
ilium praeponeret Thraciae, quam perdomuit, et<br />
Tiberius pr<strong>of</strong>iciscens in Campaniam, cum multa in<br />
15 urbe et suspecta relinqueret et invisa. Puto, quia<br />
illi<br />
bene cesserat Pisonis ebrietas, postea Cossum fecit<br />
urbis praefectum, virurn gravem, moderatum, sed<br />
mersum et vino madentem, adeo ut ex seriatu<br />
aliquando, in quern e convivio venerat, obpressus<br />
inexcitabili somno tolleretur. Huic tamen Tiberius<br />
1<br />
Tillio Cimbro Muretus ; illi Cimbro V ; ill'mc imbro P ;<br />
illic imbro b.<br />
a In 11 B.C., when the Thracians were attacking<br />
Macedonia. The campaign lasted for three years, and Piso<br />
was rewarded with a triumph at its close.<br />
266
EPISTLE LXXXIII.<br />
With regard to the notorious plot to murder Gaius<br />
Caesar,<br />
I mean the Caesar who conquered Pompey<br />
and got control <strong>of</strong> the state, --Tillius Cimber was<br />
trusted with it no less than Gaius Cassius. Now<br />
Cassius throughout his life drank water ;<br />
while Tillius<br />
Cimber was a sot as well as a brawler. Cimber himself<br />
alluded to this fact, saying<br />
:<br />
"/carry a master?<br />
'<br />
I cannot carry my liquor! So let each one call to<br />
mind those who, to his knowledge, can be ill trusted<br />
with wine, but well trusted with the spoken word ;<br />
and yet one case occurs to my mind, which I shall<br />
relate, lest it fall into oblivion. For life should be<br />
provided with conspicuous illustrations. Let us not<br />
always be harking back to the dim past.<br />
Lucius Piso, the Director <strong>of</strong> Public Safety at<br />
Rome, was drunk from the very time <strong>of</strong> his appointment.<br />
He used to spend the greater part <strong>of</strong> the<br />
night at banquets, and would sleep until noon. That<br />
was the way he spent his morning hours. Nevertheless,<br />
he applied himself most diligently<br />
to his <strong>of</strong>ficial<br />
duties, which included the guardianship <strong>of</strong> the city.<br />
Even the sainted Augustus trusted him \vith secret<br />
orders when he placed him in command <strong>of</strong> Thrace. a<br />
Piso conquered that country. Tiberius, too, trusted<br />
him when he took his holiday in Campania, leaving<br />
behind him in the city many a critical matter that<br />
aroused both suspicion and hatred. I fancy that it<br />
was because Piso's drunkenness turned out well for<br />
the Emperor that he appointed to the <strong>of</strong>fice <strong>of</strong> city<br />
prefect Cossus, a man <strong>of</strong> authority and balance, but<br />
so soaked and steeped in drink that once, at a meeting<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Senate, whither he had come after<br />
banqueting, he was overcome by a slumber from<br />
which he could not be roused, and had to be carried<br />
home. It was to this man that Tiberius sent many<br />
267
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
multa sua manu scripsit, quae committenda ne<br />
ministris quidein<br />
suis iudicabat. Null um Cosso aut<br />
privatum secretum aut publicum elapsum est.<br />
16 Itaque declamationes istas de medio removeamus :<br />
" Non est animus in sua potestate ebrietate devinctus.<br />
Quemadmodum musto dolia ipsa rumpuntur et omne,<br />
quod in imo iacet, in summani partem vis caloris<br />
eiectat ;<br />
sic vino exaestuante, quicquid in imo iacet<br />
abditum, effertur et prodit in medium. Onerati<br />
non continent cibum vino<br />
mero quemadmodum<br />
redundante, ita ne secretum quidem. Quod suum<br />
17 alienumque est, pariter effundunt." Sed quamvis<br />
hoc soleat accidere, ita et illud solet, ut cum iis,<br />
quos sciamus libentius bibere, de rebus necessariis<br />
deliberemus. Falsum ergo est hoc, quod patrocinii<br />
loco ponitur, ei qui soleat ebrius fieri, non dari<br />
taciturn.<br />
Quanto satius est aperte accusare ebrietatem et<br />
vitia eius exponere, quae etiani tolerabilis homo<br />
vitaverit, nedum perfectus ac sapiens, cui satis est<br />
sitim extinguere, qui, etiam si quando<br />
hortata est<br />
hilaritas aliena causa producta longius, tain en citra<br />
18 ebrietatem resistit. Nam de illo videbimus, an<br />
sapientis animus nimio vino turbetur et faciat ebriis<br />
solita ; interim, si hoc colligere<br />
vis virum bonum non<br />
debere ebrium fieri, cur syllogismis agis ? Die,<br />
quam turpe sit plus sibi ingerere quam capiat et<br />
stomachi sui non nosse mensuram, quam multa ebrii<br />
268
EPISTLE LXXXIII.<br />
orders, written in his own hand,<br />
- - orders which he<br />
believed he ought not to trust even to the <strong>of</strong>ficials <strong>of</strong><br />
his household. Cossus never let a single secret slip<br />
out, whether personal or public.<br />
So let us abolish all such harangues as this " : No<br />
man in the bonds <strong>of</strong> drunkenness has power over his<br />
soul. As the very vats are burst by new wine, and<br />
as the dregs at the bottom are raised to the surface<br />
by the strength <strong>of</strong> the fermentation; so, when the wine<br />
effervesces, whatever lies hidden below is<br />
brought up<br />
and made visible. As a man overcome by liquor cannot<br />
keep down his food when he has over-indulged in<br />
wine, so he cannot keep back a secret either. He<br />
pours forth impartially both his own secrets and those<br />
<strong>of</strong> other persons." This, <strong>of</strong> course, is what commonly<br />
happens, but so does this, that we take counsel on<br />
serious subjects with those whom we know to be in<br />
the habit <strong>of</strong> drinking freely. Therefore this proposition,<br />
which is laid down in the guise <strong>of</strong> a defence<br />
<strong>of</strong> Zeno's syllogism, is false, that secrets are not<br />
entrusted to the habitual drunkard.<br />
How much better it is to arraign drunkenness<br />
frankly and to expose<br />
its vices ! For even the<br />
middling good man avoids them, not to mention the<br />
perfect sage, who is satisfied with slaking his thirst ;<br />
the sage, even if now and then he is led on by good<br />
cheer which, for a friend's sake, is carried somewhat<br />
too far, yet always stops short <strong>of</strong> drunkenness. We<br />
shall investigate later the question whether the mind<br />
<strong>of</strong> the sage<br />
is<br />
upset by too much wine and commits<br />
follies like those <strong>of</strong> the toper but ; meanwhile, if you<br />
wish to prove that a good man ought not to get<br />
drunk, why work it out ?<br />
by logic Show how base it<br />
is to pour down more liquor than one can carry, and<br />
not to know the capacity <strong>of</strong> one's own stomach ;<br />
show<br />
269
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
faciant, quibus sobrii erubescant, niliil aliud esse<br />
ebrietatem quam voluntariam insaniam. Extende in<br />
plures dies ilium ebrii habitum ; numquid de furore<br />
19 dubitabis ? Nunc quoque non est minor, sed brevior.<br />
Refer Alexandri Macedonis exemplum, qui Clitum,<br />
carissimum sibi ac fidelissimum, inter epulas transfodit<br />
et intellecto facinore mori voluit, certe debuit. 1<br />
Omne vitium ebrietas et incendit et detegit,<br />
obstantem malis conatibus verecundiam removet.<br />
Plures enim pudore peccandi quam bona voluntate<br />
20 prohibitis abstinent. Ubi possedit animum nimia vis<br />
vini, quicquid mali latebat, emergit. Non facit<br />
ebrietas vitia, sed protrahit tune libidinosus<br />
;<br />
ne<br />
cubiculum quidem expectat, sed cupiditatibus suis<br />
quantum petierunt sine dilatione permittit tune<br />
;<br />
inpudicus morbum pr<strong>of</strong>itetur ac publicat tune<br />
;<br />
petulans non linguam, non manuni continet. Crescit<br />
insolenti superbia, crudelitas saevo, malignitas livido.<br />
21 Omne vitium laxatur 2 et prodit. Adice illam<br />
ignorationem sui, dubia et parum explanata verba,<br />
incertos oculos, gradum errantem, vertiginem capitis,<br />
tecta ipsa mobilia velut aliquo turbine circumagente<br />
totam domum, stomachi tormenta, cum effervescit<br />
merum ac viscera ipsa distendit. Tune tamen<br />
1<br />
debuit Lipsius ;<br />
deruit VPb ; meruit Gruter.<br />
2 laxatur Lipsius ; taxatur or texatur MSS.<br />
a Like anger, which was interpreted by the ancients as<br />
"short-lived madness."<br />
6<br />
For a dramatic account <strong>of</strong> the murder see Plutarch's<br />
Alexander, ch. 51.<br />
c<br />
This is the firm conviction <strong>of</strong> Seneca, himself a most<br />
temperate man. 14 and 15 admit that natural genius may<br />
triumph over drunkenness ;<br />
17 may allow (with Chrysippus)<br />
a certain amount <strong>of</strong> hilarity ;<br />
but the general conclusion is<br />
obvious.<br />
270
EPISTLE LXXXIII.<br />
how <strong>of</strong>ten the drunkard does things which make him<br />
blush when he is sober ;<br />
state that drunkenness a is<br />
nothing but a condition <strong>of</strong> insanity purposely assumed.<br />
Prolong the drunkard's condition to several days ;<br />
will you have any doubt about his madness ? Even<br />
as it is, the madness is no less ;<br />
it<br />
merely lasts a<br />
shorter time. Think <strong>of</strong> Alexander <strong>of</strong> Macedon/ who<br />
stabbed Clitus, his dearest and most loyal friend,<br />
at a banquet after Alexander understood what he<br />
;<br />
had done, he wished to die, and assuredly he ought<br />
to have died.<br />
Drunkenness kindles and discloses kind <strong>of</strong><br />
every<br />
vice, and removes the sense <strong>of</strong> shame that veils our<br />
evil undertakings. For more men abstain from<br />
forbidden actions because they are ashamed <strong>of</strong> sinning<br />
than because their inclinations are good. When the<br />
strength <strong>of</strong> wine has become too great and has gained<br />
control over the mind, every lurking evil comes forth<br />
from its hiding-place. Drunkenness does not create<br />
vice, it merely brings it into view ;<br />
at such times the<br />
lustful man does not wait even for the privacy <strong>of</strong> a<br />
bedroom, but without postponement gives free play<br />
to the demands <strong>of</strong> his passions at such<br />
;<br />
times the<br />
unchaste man proclaims and publishes his malady ;<br />
at such times your cross-grained fellow does not<br />
restrain his tongue or his hand. The haughty man<br />
increases his arrogance, the ruthless man his cruelty,<br />
the slanderer his spitefulness. Every vice is<br />
given<br />
free play and comes to the front. Besides, we forget<br />
who we are, we utter words that are halting and<br />
poorly enunciated, the glance is unsteady, the step<br />
falters, the head is dizzy, the very ceiling moves<br />
about as if a cyclone were whirling the whole house,<br />
and the stomach suffers torture when the wine<br />
generates gas and causes our very bowels to swell.<br />
271
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
utcumque tolerabile est, dum illi vis sua est ;<br />
quid,<br />
cum somno vitiatur et quae ebrietas fuit, cruditas<br />
facta est ?<br />
22 Cogita, quas clades ediderit publica ebrietas ;<br />
haec<br />
acerrimas gentes bellicosasque hostibus tradidit, liaec<br />
raultorum annorum pertinaci<br />
1<br />
bello defensa inoenia<br />
patefecit, haec contumacissimos et iugum recusantes<br />
in alienum egit arbitrium, haec invictos acie raero<br />
23 domuit. Alexandrum, cuius modo feci mentionem,<br />
tot itinera, tot proelia, tot hiemes, per quas victa temporum<br />
locorumque difficultate transierat, tot flumina<br />
ex ignoto cadentia, tot maria tutum dimiserunt ;<br />
intemperantia<br />
bibendi et ille Herculaneus ac fatal is<br />
scyphus condidit.<br />
24 Quae gloria est capere multum r Cum penes te<br />
pal ma fuerit et propinationes tuas strati somno ac<br />
vomitantes recusaverint, cum superstes toti convivio<br />
fueris, cum omnes viceris virtute magnifica et nemo<br />
25 vini tarn capax fuerit, vinceris a dolio. M. Antonium,<br />
magnum virum et ingenii nobilis, quae alia res perdidit<br />
et in externos mores ac vitia non Romana<br />
traiecit quam ebrietas nee minor vino Cleopatrae<br />
amor ? Haec ilium res hostem rei publicae, haec<br />
1<br />
pertinaci later MSS. ; pertinacia VPb.<br />
* Lipsius quotes Athenaeus as saying that Boeotian silver<br />
cups <strong>of</strong> large size were so called because the Boeotian<br />
Hercules drank from them ; Servius, however, on Verg. Aen.<br />
viii. 278, declared that the name was derived from the large<br />
wooden bowl brought by Hercules to Italy and used for<br />
sacrificial purposes.<br />
272
EPISTLE LXXXIII.<br />
However, at the time, these troubles can be endured,<br />
so long as the man retains his natural strength but<br />
;<br />
what can he do when sleep impairs his powers,<br />
and when that which was drunkenness becomes<br />
indigestion ?<br />
Think <strong>of</strong> the calamities caused by drunkenness in<br />
a nation ! This evil has betrayed to their enemies<br />
the most spirited and warlike races; this evil has<br />
made breaches in walls defended by the stubborn<br />
warfare <strong>of</strong> many years this evil has forced under<br />
;<br />
alien sway peoples who were utterly unyielding and<br />
defiant <strong>of</strong> the yoke this evil has conquered by the<br />
;<br />
wine-cup those who in the field were invincible.<br />
Alexander, whom I have just mentioned, passed<br />
through his many marches, his many battles, his<br />
many winter campaigns (through which he worked<br />
his way by overcoming disadvantages <strong>of</strong> time or place),<br />
the many rivers which flowed from unknown sources,<br />
and the many seas, all in it safety was intemperance<br />
;<br />
in drinking that laid him low, and the famous deathdealing<br />
bowl <strong>of</strong> Hercules. a<br />
What glory<br />
is there in carrying<br />
much liquor?<br />
When you have won the prize, and the other<br />
have de-<br />
banqueters, sprawling asleep or vomiting, clined your challenge to still other toasts when<br />
;<br />
you are the last survivor <strong>of</strong> the revels when<br />
; you<br />
have vanquished every one by your magnificent show<br />
<strong>of</strong> prowess and there is no man who has proved himself<br />
<strong>of</strong> so great capacity as you, you are vanquished<br />
by the cask. Mark Antony was a great man, a man<br />
<strong>of</strong> distinguished ability but what ruined him and<br />
;<br />
drove him into foreign habits and un- Roman vices, if<br />
it was not drunkenness and no less potent than<br />
wine love <strong>of</strong> Cleopatra<br />
? This it was that made him<br />
this it was that rendered him<br />
an enemy <strong>of</strong> the state ;<br />
273
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
hostibus suis imparem reddidit haec crudelem<br />
;<br />
fecit,<br />
cum capita priiicipum civitatis cenanti referrentur,<br />
cum inter apparatissimas epulas luxusque regales ora<br />
ac manus proscriptorum recogiiosceret, cum vino<br />
gravis sitiret tamen sanguinem. Intolerable erat,<br />
quod ebrius fiebat, cum haec faceret ;<br />
quanto intolerabilius,<br />
quod haec in ipsa ebrietate faciebat !<br />
26 Fere vinolentiam crudelitas sequitur vitiatur enim<br />
;<br />
exasperaturque sanitas mentis. Ut querulos difficilesque<br />
l faciunt diutini morbi et ad minimam rabidos 2<br />
<strong>of</strong>feiisionem, ita ebrietates continuae eflferant animos,<br />
Nam cum saepe apud se non shit,3 consuetude insaniae<br />
durat et 4 vitia vino concepta etiam sine illo valent.<br />
27 Die ergo, quare sapiens 11011 debeat ebrius fieri.<br />
Deformitatem rei et inportunitatem ostende rebus,<br />
non verbis. Quod facillimum est, proba istas, quae<br />
voluptates vocantur, ubi transcenderunt modum,<br />
poenas esse. Nam si illud argumentaberis, sapientem<br />
multo vino inebriari et retinere rectum tenorem,<br />
etiam si temulentus sit ;<br />
licet colligas nee veneno<br />
poto moriturum nee sopore sumpto dormiturum nee<br />
elleboro accepto, quicquid in visceribus haerebit,<br />
eiecturum deiecturumque. Sed si<br />
temptantur pedes,<br />
1<br />
ut querulos difficilesque Madvig ; quew, difficilesque VPb.<br />
2 rabidos Haupt ; radios VPb ; hahidos Arg b.<br />
3 sint later MSS. ; snnt VPb.<br />
4<br />
durat et Wolters ; durata, duracta, or durat ac MSS.<br />
a " Antony gave orders to those that were to kill Cicero,<br />
to cut <strong>of</strong>f his head and right hand . . .<br />
; and, when they<br />
were brought before him, he regarded them joyfully, actually<br />
bursting out more than once into laughter, and, when he<br />
had satiated himself with the sight <strong>of</strong> them, ordered them<br />
to be hung up ... in the forum" (Clough's translation <strong>of</strong><br />
Plutarch's Antony* p.<br />
6<br />
A plant which possessed<br />
172).<br />
cathartic properties and was<br />
274
EPISTLE LXXXII1.<br />
no match for his enemies ;<br />
this it was that made him<br />
cruel, when as he sat at table the heads <strong>of</strong> the leaders<br />
<strong>of</strong> the state were brought in ;<br />
when amid the most<br />
elaborate feasts and royal luxury he would identify<br />
the faces and hands <strong>of</strong> men whom he had<br />
a<br />
proscribed ;<br />
when, though heavy with wine, he yet thirsted for<br />
blood. It was intolerable that he was getting drunk<br />
while he did such things how much more intolerable<br />
;<br />
that he did these things while actually drunk !<br />
Cruelty usually follows wine-bibbing; for a man's<br />
soundness <strong>of</strong> mind is<br />
corrupted and made savage.<br />
Just as a lingering illness makes men querulous and<br />
irritable and drives them wild at the least crossing <strong>of</strong><br />
their desires, so continued bouts <strong>of</strong> drunkenness<br />
bestialize the soul. For when people are <strong>of</strong>ten beside<br />
themselves, the habit <strong>of</strong> madness lasts on, and the<br />
vices which liquor generated retain their power even<br />
when the liquor is<br />
gone.<br />
Therefore you should state why the wise man ought<br />
not to get drunk. Explain by facts, and not by mere<br />
words, the hideousness <strong>of</strong> the thing, and its<br />
haunting<br />
evils. Do that which is easiest <strong>of</strong> all<br />
namely,<br />
demonstrate that what men call pleasures are punishments<br />
as soon as they have exceeded due bounds.<br />
For if<br />
you try to prove that the wise man can<br />
souse himself with much wine and yet keep his course<br />
straight, even though he be in his cups, you may<br />
go on to infer by syllogisms that he will not die<br />
if he swallows poison, that he will not sleep if he<br />
takes a sleeping-potion, that he will not vomit and<br />
reject the matter which clogs his stomach when you<br />
him ^<br />
hellebore. But, when a man's feet totter<br />
give<br />
widely used by the ancients. It was also applied in cases<br />
<strong>of</strong> mental derangement. The native Latin term is<br />
veratrum.<br />
275
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
lingua non constat, quid est, quare ilium existimes<br />
in parte sobrium esse, in parte ebrium ? VALE.<br />
LXXX1V.<br />
<strong>SENECA</strong> LVCILIO svo SALVTEM<br />
1 Itinera ista, quae segnitiam mihi excutiunt, et<br />
valitudini meae prodesse iudico et studiis. Quare<br />
valitudinem adiuvent, vides : cum pigrum me l et<br />
neglegentem corporis litterarum amor faciat, aliena<br />
opera exerceor ; studio quare prosint, indicabo : a<br />
lectionibus nihil 2 recessi. Sunt autem, ut existimo,<br />
necessariae, primum ne sim me uno contentus ;<br />
deinde ut, cum ab aliis quaesita cognovero, turn et de<br />
inventis iudicem et cogitem de invemendis. Alit<br />
lectio ingenium et studio fatigatum, non sine studio<br />
2 tamen, reficit. Nee scribere tantum nee tantum<br />
legere debemus altera res contristabit vires et<br />
;<br />
exliauriet, de stilo dico,<br />
altera solvet ac diluet.<br />
Invicem hoc et illo commeandum est et alterum<br />
altero temperandum, ut quicquid<br />
lectione collectum<br />
est, stilus redigat in corpus.<br />
3 Apes, ut aiunt, debemus imitari, quae vagantur et<br />
flores ad mel faciendum idoneos carpunt, deinde<br />
quicquid attulere, disponuiit ac per favos digerunt et,<br />
ut Vergilius noster ait,<br />
1<br />
me later MSS. ; viae VPb.<br />
2 nihil added by Buecheler, omitted by VPb.<br />
a A considerable part <strong>of</strong> this letter is found in the preface<br />
to the Saturnalia <strong>of</strong> Macrobius, without any acknowledgment<br />
<strong>of</strong> indebtedness.<br />
276
EPISTLES LXXXIIL, LXXXIV.<br />
and his tongue is unsteady, what reason have you for<br />
that he is half sober and half drunk ?<br />
believing<br />
Farewell.<br />
LXXXIV.<br />
ON GATHERING IDEAS<br />
The journeys to which you refer journeys that<br />
shake the laziness out <strong>of</strong> I<br />
my system hold to be<br />
pr<strong>of</strong>itable both for my health and for my studies.<br />
You see why they benefit my health since my<br />
:<br />
passion for literature makes me lazy and careless<br />
about my body, I can take exercise by deputy ; as<br />
for<br />
my studies, I shall show you why my journeys<br />
help them, for I have not stopped my reading in the<br />
slightest degree. And reading,<br />
I hold, is indispensable<br />
primarily, to keep me from being satisfied<br />
with myself alone, and besides, after I have learned<br />
what others have found out by their studies, to<br />
enable me to pass judgment on their discoveries and<br />
reflect upon discoveries that remain to be made.<br />
Reading nourishes the mind and refreshes it when<br />
it is wearied with study<br />
; nevertheless, this refreshment<br />
is not obtained without study. We ought not<br />
to confine ourselves either to writing or to reading ;<br />
the one, continuous writing, will cast a gloom over<br />
our strength, and exhaust it ;<br />
the other will make<br />
our strength flabby and watery. It is better to have<br />
recourse to them alternately, and to blend one with<br />
the other, so that the fruits <strong>of</strong> one's reading may be<br />
reduced to concrete form by the pen.<br />
We should follow, men say, the example <strong>of</strong> the<br />
bees, who flit about and cull the flowers that are<br />
suitable for producing honey, and then arrange and<br />
assort in their cells all that they have brought in ;<br />
these bees, as our Vergil says,<br />
277
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
liquentia mella<br />
Stipant et dulci distendunt nectare cellas.<br />
4 De illis non satis constat, utrum sucum ex floribus<br />
ducant, qui protinus mel sit, an quae collegerunt, in<br />
hunc saporem mixtura quadani et proprietate spiritus<br />
sui mutent. Quibusdam enim placet non faciendi<br />
mellis scientiam esse illis, sed colligendi. Aiunt<br />
inveniri apud Indos mel in arundinum foliis, quod<br />
aut ros illius caeli aut ipsius arundinis umor dulcis<br />
et pinguior gignat. In nostris quoque herbis vim<br />
eandem, sed minus manifestam et notabilem poni,<br />
quam persequatur et contrahat animal huic rei<br />
genitum. Quid am existimant conditura et dispositione<br />
in hanc qualitatem verti, quae ex tenerrimis<br />
virentium florentiumque decerpserint, non sine quodam,<br />
ut ita dicam, fermento, quo in unum diversa<br />
coalescunt.<br />
5 Sed ne ad aliud quam de quo agitur abducar, 1 nos<br />
quoque has apes debemus imitari et quaecumque ex<br />
diversa lectione congessimus, separare, melius enim<br />
distincta servantur, deinde adhibita ingenii nostri<br />
cura et facilitate in unum saporem varia ilia libamenta<br />
confundere, ut etiam si apparuerit, unde sumptum<br />
sit, aliud tamen esse quam unde sumptum est,<br />
appareat. Quod in corpore nostro videmus sine<br />
6 ulla opera nostra facere iiaturam : alimenta, quae<br />
1<br />
abducar Erasmus ;<br />
addncar VPb.<br />
Aeneid, i. 432 f.<br />
6 Cf. mel in harundtnibus collectum (from India) in Pliny,<br />
N.H. xii.<br />
278<br />
32 (Summers).
EPISTLE LXXXIV.<br />
pack close the flowing honey,<br />
And swell their cells with nectar sweet."<br />
It is not certain whether the juice which they obtain<br />
from the flowers forms at once into honey, or whether<br />
they change that which they have gathered into this<br />
delicious object by blending something therewith and<br />
by a certain property <strong>of</strong> their breath. For some<br />
authorities believe that bees do not possess the art<br />
<strong>of</strong> making honey, but only <strong>of</strong> gathering it and<br />
; they<br />
say that in India honey has been found on the leaves<br />
<strong>of</strong> certain reeds, produced by a dew peculiar to that<br />
climate, or by the juice <strong>of</strong> the reed itself, which has<br />
an unusual sweetness and richness. 6 And in our own<br />
grasses too, they say, the same quality exists,<br />
although less clear and less evident and<br />
;<br />
a creature<br />
born to fulfil such a function could hunt it out and<br />
collect it. Certain others maintain that the materials<br />
which the bees have culled from the most delicate <strong>of</strong><br />
blooming and flowering plants is transformed into<br />
this peculiar substance by a process <strong>of</strong> preserving and<br />
careful storing away, aided by what might be called<br />
fermentation, whereby separate elements are united<br />
into one substance.<br />
But I must not be led astray into another subject<br />
than that which we are discussing. We also, I say,<br />
ought to copy these bees, and sift whatever we have<br />
for such<br />
gathered from a varied course <strong>of</strong> reading,<br />
things are better preserved if they are kept separate ;<br />
then, by applying the supervising care with which our<br />
nature has endowed us, in other words, our natural<br />
gifts,<br />
we should so blend those several flavours into<br />
one delicious compound that, even though it betrays<br />
its origin, yet it nevertheless is clearly a different<br />
from that whence it came. This is what we see<br />
thing nature doing in our own bodies without any labour<br />
279
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
accepimus, quamdiu in sua qualitate perdurant et<br />
solida innatant stomacho, onera sunt ;<br />
at cum ex eo,<br />
quod erant, mutata sunt, turn demum in vires et in<br />
sanguinem transeunt. Idem in his, quibus aluntur<br />
ingenia, praestemus, ut quaecumque hausimus, non<br />
7 patiamur integra esse, ne aliena sint. Concoquamus<br />
ilia ;<br />
alioqui in memoriam ibunt, non in ingenium.<br />
Adsentiamur illis fideliter et nostra faciamus, ut<br />
unum quiddam<br />
fiat ex multis, sicut unus numerus<br />
fit ex singulis, cum minores summas et dissidentes<br />
conputatio una comprendit. Hoc faciat animus<br />
noster :<br />
omnia, quibus est adiutus, abscondat, ipsum<br />
8 tantum ostendat, quod<br />
effecit. Etiam si cuius in te<br />
comparebit similitude, quern admiratio tibi altius<br />
fixerit, similem esse te volo quomodo filium, non<br />
quomodo imaginem imago res mortua est.<br />
;<br />
" Quid ergo<br />
? Non intellegetur, cuius imiteris orationem,<br />
cuius argumentationem, cuius sententias ? '<br />
Puto aliquando ne intellcgi quidem posse, si<br />
imago<br />
vera sit ;<br />
haec enim l omnibus, quae ex quo velut<br />
exemplari traxit, formam suam inpressit, ut in uni-<br />
9 tatem ilia conpetant. 2 Non vides, quam multorum<br />
vocibus chorus constet ? Unus tamen ex omnibus<br />
redditur ;<br />
aliqua illic acuta est, aliqua gravis, aliqua<br />
1<br />
si<br />
imago vera sit ; haec enim Madvig si magni ;<br />
enim VPb.<br />
2<br />
competant later MSS. ;<br />
conparavii or conpetat MSS.<br />
viri nee<br />
a<br />
The same figure is used with reference to reading, in<br />
Ep. ii. 2f., non prodest cibus nee corpori accedd, qni statim<br />
sumptu* emiUitur, etc.<br />
280
EPISTLE LXXXIV.<br />
on our part<br />
;<br />
the food we have eaten, as long as it<br />
retains its original quality and floats in our stomachs<br />
as an undiluted mass, is a burden a but it<br />
;<br />
passes<br />
into tissue and blood only when it has been changed<br />
from its original form. So it is with the food which<br />
nourishes our higher nature, we should see to it<br />
that whatever we have absorbed should not be<br />
allowed to remain unchanged,, or it will be no part<br />
<strong>of</strong> us. We must digest it ;<br />
otherwise it will merely<br />
enter the memory and not the reasoning power.<br />
Let us loyally welcome such foods and make them<br />
our own, so that something that is one may be<br />
formed out <strong>of</strong> many elements, just as one number<br />
is formed <strong>of</strong> several elements whenever, by our<br />
reckoning, lesser sums, each different from the others,<br />
are brought together. This is what our mind<br />
should do : it should hide away<br />
all the materials<br />
by which it has been aided, and bring to light only<br />
what it has made <strong>of</strong> them. Even if there shall<br />
appear in you a likeness to him who, by reason <strong>of</strong><br />
your admiration, has left a deep impress upon you,<br />
I would have you resemble him as a child resembles<br />
his father, and not as a picture resembles its original ;<br />
for a picture is a lifeless thing.<br />
"What," you say, "will it not be seen whose<br />
style you are imitating, whose method <strong>of</strong> reasoning,<br />
whose pungent sayings?'<br />
I think that sometimes<br />
it is<br />
impossible for it to be seen who is being imitated,<br />
if the copy<br />
is a true one ;<br />
for a true copy stamps its<br />
own form all<br />
upon the features which it has drawn<br />
from what we may call the original, in such a way<br />
that they are combined into a unity. Do you not<br />
see how many voices there are in a chorus ? Yet<br />
out <strong>of</strong> the many only one voice results. In that<br />
chorus one voice takes the tenor, another the bass,<br />
281
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
media. Accedunt viris feminae, interponuntur tibiae,<br />
10 Singulorum illic latent voces, omnium apparent. De<br />
choro dico, quern veteres philosophi noverant ;<br />
in<br />
commissionibus nostris plus cantorum est<br />
quam in<br />
theatris olim spectatorum<br />
fuit. Cum omnes vias ordo<br />
canentium inplevit et cavea aenatoribus l cincta est<br />
et ex pulpito omne tibiarum genus organorumque<br />
consonuit, fit coiicentus ex dissonis.<br />
Talem animum nostrum esse volo ; multae in<br />
illo artes, multa praecepta sint, multarum aetatum<br />
11 exempla, sed in unum conspirata. "Quomodo/' inquis,<br />
hoc effici "<br />
" poterit ? Adsidua intentione ;<br />
si<br />
nihil egerimus nisi ratione suadente. Hanc si audire<br />
volueris, dicet tibi :<br />
relinque ista iamdudum, ad quae<br />
discurritur. Relinque divitias, aut periculum possidentium<br />
aut onus. Relinque corporis atque animi<br />
voluptates ; molliunt et enervant. Relinque ambitum<br />
;<br />
tumida res est, vana, ventosa, nullum habet<br />
terminum, tam sollicita est, ne quern ante se videat,<br />
quam ne quern post se. 2 Laborat invidia et quidem<br />
duplici vides autem, quam miser ; sit, si is cui invidetur<br />
et invidet.<br />
12 Intueris illas potentium domos, ilia tumultuosa<br />
rixa salutantium limina ? Multum habent contu-<br />
1<br />
aenatoribus Buecheler ; aeneatoribus VPb ; cantoribus<br />
Arg.b a senator thus later MSS.<br />
;<br />
2 ne quern post se Hense ;<br />
ne se VPb ; ne post se later MSS.<br />
a Commissio means an entertainment, or a concert ; cf.<br />
Pliny, Panegyric 54, ludis et commissionibus<br />
282
EPISTLE LXXXIV.<br />
another the baritone. There are women,, too, as<br />
well as men, and the flute is mingled with them.<br />
In that chorus the voices <strong>of</strong> the individual singers<br />
are hidden ;<br />
what we hear is the voices <strong>of</strong> all together.<br />
To be sure, I am referring to the chorus which the<br />
old - time philosophers<br />
knew ;<br />
in our present - day<br />
exhibitions a we have a larger number <strong>of</strong> singers than<br />
there used to be spectators in the theatres <strong>of</strong> old.<br />
All the aisles are filled with rows <strong>of</strong> singers brass<br />
;<br />
instruments surround the auditorium ;<br />
the stage<br />
resounds with flutes and instruments <strong>of</strong> every<br />
description and ; yet from the discordant sounds a<br />
harmony is produced.<br />
I would have my mind <strong>of</strong> such a quality as this ;<br />
it should be equipped with many arts, many precepts,<br />
and patterns<br />
<strong>of</strong> conduct taken from many epochs <strong>of</strong><br />
history but all should blend harmoniously into one.<br />
" How," ;<br />
you ask, " '<br />
can this be accomplished? By<br />
constant and effort, by doing nothing without the<br />
approval <strong>of</strong> reason. And if you are willing to hear<br />
her voice, she will say to you " Abandon those<br />
:<br />
pursuits which heret<strong>of</strong>ore have caused you to run<br />
hither and thither. Abandon riches, which are<br />
either a danger or a burden to the possessor.<br />
Abandon the pleasures <strong>of</strong> the body and <strong>of</strong> the mind ;<br />
they only s<strong>of</strong>ten and weaken you. Abandon your<br />
quest for <strong>of</strong>fice it is a<br />
; swollen, idle, and empty<br />
thing, a thing that has no goal, as anxious to see<br />
no one outstrip it as to see no one at its heels. It<br />
is afflicted with envy, and in truth with a tw<strong>of</strong>old<br />
envy and you see how wretched a man's plight is if<br />
;<br />
he who is the object <strong>of</strong> envy feels envy also."<br />
Do you behold yonder homes <strong>of</strong> the great, yonder<br />
thresholds uproarious with the brawling <strong>of</strong> those<br />
who would pay their respects? They have many<br />
VOL. II K 283
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
meliarum, ut intres, plus, cum intraveris. Praeteri<br />
istos gradus divitum et magno adgestu suspensa<br />
vestibula ;<br />
non in praerupto tantum istic stabis, sed<br />
in lubrico. Hue potius te ad sapientiam derige tranquillissimasque<br />
res eius et simul amplissimas pete.<br />
13 Quaecumque videntur eminere in rebus humanis,<br />
quamvis pusilla sint et coraparatione humillimorum<br />
extent, per difficiles tamen et arduos tramites adeuntur.<br />
Confragosa in fastigium digiiitatis via est ;<br />
at si<br />
conscendere hunc verticem libet, cui se fortuna summisit,<br />
omnia quidem sub te, quae pro excelsissimis<br />
habentur, aspicies,<br />
planum. VALE.<br />
sed tamen venies ad summa per<br />
LXXXV.<br />
<strong>SENECA</strong> LVCILIO svo SALVTEM<br />
1 Peperceram tibi et quicquid nodosi adhuc supererat,<br />
praeterieram, contentus quasi gustum<br />
tibi dare<br />
eorum, quae a nostris dicuntur, ut probe tur virtus ad<br />
explendam beatam vitam sola satis efficax. lubes me<br />
quicquid est interrogationum aut nostrarum aut ad<br />
traductionem nostram excogitatarum comprendere.<br />
Quod si facere voluero, non erit epistula, sed liber.<br />
Illud totiens tester, hoc me argumentorum genere<br />
For such treatment cf. Juvenal iii. 152 f.<br />
Nil habet infelix pauperta* durius in se<br />
Quam quod ridicules homines facit, etc.<br />
6<br />
Such as that in Ep. Ixxxiii. 9 (constructed, however,<br />
by Seneca himself) dormienti nemo secretum sermonem com*<br />
mittit, etc. See ad loc. and n,<br />
284
EPISTLES LXXXIV., LXXXV.<br />
an insult a for you as you enter the door, and still<br />
more after you have entered. Pass by the steps<br />
that mount to rich men's houses, and the porches<br />
rendered hazardous by the huge throng for<br />
;<br />
there you will be standing, not merely on the<br />
edge <strong>of</strong> a precipice but also on slippery ground.<br />
Instead <strong>of</strong> this, direct your course hither to wisdom,<br />
and seek her ways, which are ways <strong>of</strong> surpassing<br />
peace and plenty. Whatever seems conspicuous in<br />
the affairs <strong>of</strong> men however petty<br />
it<br />
may really be<br />
and prominent only by contrast with the lowest<br />
objects is nevertheless approached by a difficult<br />
and toilsome pathway. It is a rough road that leads<br />
to the heights <strong>of</strong> greatness but if<br />
; you desire to<br />
scale this peak, which lies far above the range <strong>of</strong><br />
Fortune, you will indeed look down from above upon<br />
all that men regard as most l<strong>of</strong>ty, but none the<br />
less you can proceed to the top over level ground.<br />
Farewell.<br />
LXXXV. ON SOME VAIN SYLLOGISMS<br />
I had been inclined to spare you, and had omitted<br />
any knotty problems that still remained undiscussed ;<br />
I was satisfied to give you a sort <strong>of</strong> taste <strong>of</strong> the<br />
views held by the men <strong>of</strong> our school, who desire to<br />
prove that virtue is <strong>of</strong> itself sufficiently capable <strong>of</strong><br />
rounding out the happy life. But now you bid me<br />
include the entire bulk either <strong>of</strong> our own syllogisms<br />
or <strong>of</strong> those which have been devised 6 by other<br />
schools for the purpose <strong>of</strong> belittling us. If I shall<br />
be willing to do this, the result will be a book, instead<br />
<strong>of</strong> a letter. And I declare again and again that I<br />
take no pleasure in such pro<strong>of</strong>s.<br />
I am ashamed to<br />
285
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
11011 delectari. Pudet in aciem descendere pro dis<br />
hominibusque susceptam subula arinatum.<br />
2 " Qui prudens est, et temperans est. Qui temperans<br />
est, et constans. Qui constans est, inperturbatus<br />
est. Qui inperturbatus est, sine tristitia est.<br />
Qui sine tristitia est, beatus est ;<br />
ergo prudens beatus<br />
est et prudeiitia ad beatain vitam satis est."<br />
3 Huic collection! hoc niodo Peripatetici quidam<br />
respondent, ut inperturbatum et constanteni et sine<br />
tristitia sic interpretentur, taniquam inperturbatus dicatur,<br />
qui raro<br />
perturbatur et modice, non qui numquain.<br />
Item sine tristitia eum dici aiunt, qui noil<br />
est obnoxius tristitiae nee frequens niiniusve in hoc<br />
vitio.<br />
Illud enim humanam naturam negare, alicuius<br />
Sapientern non vinci<br />
animum inmunem esse tristitia.<br />
maerore, ceterum tangi. Et cetera in hunc modum<br />
4 sectae suae respondentia. Non his tollunt adfectus,<br />
sed temperant. Quantulum autem sapienti damus,<br />
si inbecillissimis fortior est et maestissimis laetior<br />
et effrenatissimis moderatior et humillimis maior ?<br />
l<br />
Quid, si miretur velocitatem suam Ladas ad claudos<br />
debilesque respiciens ?<br />
Ilia vel intactae segetis per summa volaret<br />
Gramina nee cursu teneras laesisset aristas,<br />
Vel mare per medium fluctu suspensa tumenti<br />
Ferret iter celeres nee tingueret aequore plantas.<br />
1<br />
Ladas Lipsius ; landans VPb.<br />
Cf. Ep. Ixxxii. 24 subula leonem excipis?<br />
6<br />
E. V. Arnold (Roman <strong>Stoic</strong>ism, p. 333) calls attention to<br />
the passion <strong>of</strong> anger, for example, which the Peripatetics<br />
believed should be kept under control, but not stamped out.<br />
c<br />
Vergil, Ar.neldi vii. 808 ff. The lines describe Camilla,<br />
the Volscian warrior-huntress.<br />
286
EPISTLE LXXXV.<br />
enter the arena and undertake battle on behalf <strong>of</strong><br />
gods and men armed only with an awl. a<br />
" He that possesses prudence<br />
is also selfrestrained<br />
;<br />
he that possesses self-restraint is also<br />
unwavering ; he that is<br />
unwavering is unperturbed ;<br />
he that is<br />
unperturbed is free from sadness ;<br />
he that<br />
is free from sadness is<br />
happy. Therefore, the prudent<br />
man is<br />
happy, and is<br />
prudence sufficient to constitute<br />
the happy life."<br />
Certain <strong>of</strong><br />
6<br />
the Peripatetics reply to this syllogism<br />
by interpreting "unperturbed/' "unwavering,"<br />
" and<br />
" free from sadness in such a way as to make " unperturbed<br />
" mean one who is rarely perturbed and<br />
only to a moderate degree, and not one who is never<br />
perturbed. Likewise, they say that a person is<br />
called "free from sadness' who is not subject to<br />
sadness, one who falls into this objectionable state<br />
not <strong>of</strong>ten nor in too great a degree. It is not, they<br />
say, the way <strong>of</strong> human nature that a man's spirit<br />
should be exempt from sadness, or that the wise man<br />
is not overcome by grief but is<br />
merely touched by<br />
it, and other arguments <strong>of</strong> this sort, all in accordance<br />
with the teachings <strong>of</strong> their school. They do not<br />
abolish the passions in this<br />
way they only moderate<br />
;<br />
them. But how petty<br />
is the superiority which we<br />
attribute to the wise man, if he is merely braver<br />
than the most craven, happier than the most dejected,<br />
more self-controlled than the most unbridled, and<br />
greater than the lowliest ! Would Ladas boast his<br />
swiftness in running by comparing himself with the<br />
halt and the weak ?<br />
For she could skim the topmost blades <strong>of</strong> corn<br />
And touch them not, nor bruise the tender ears ;<br />
Or travel over seas, well-poised above<br />
The swollen floods, nor dip her flying feet<br />
In ocean's waters. 6 287
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
Haec est pernicitas per se aestimata, non quae tardissimorum<br />
conlatione laudatur. Quid, si sanum voces<br />
leviter febricitantem ? Non est bona valitudo rnedio-<br />
5 critas morbi. "Sic/' inquit, "sapiens inperturbatus<br />
dicitur, quomodo apyrina dicuntur, non quibus nulla<br />
inest duritia granorum, sed quibus minor." Falsum<br />
est. Non enim deminutionem malorum in bono viro<br />
intellego, sed vacationem ;<br />
nulla debent esse, non<br />
parva. Nam si ulla sunt, crescent et interim inpedient.<br />
Quomodo oculos maior et perfecta suffusio<br />
excaecat, sic modica turbat.<br />
6 Si das aliquos adfectus sapienti, inpar<br />
illis erit<br />
ratio et velut torrente quodam auferetur, praesertim<br />
cum illi non unum adfectum des,<br />
1<br />
cum quo conluctetur,<br />
sed omnis.<br />
Plus potest quamvis mediocrium<br />
violentia. Habet<br />
7 turba quam posset unius magni<br />
pecuniae cupiditatem, sed modicam. Habet ambitionem,<br />
sed non concitatam. Habet iracundiam,<br />
sed placabilem. Habet inconstantiam, sed minus<br />
vagam ac mobilem. Habet libidinem non insanam.<br />
Melius cum illo ageretur, qui unum vitium integrum<br />
haberet^ quam cum eo, qui leviora quidem^ sed omnia.<br />
8 Deinde nihil interest, quam magnus sit adfectus ;<br />
1<br />
des later MSS. ; sed Pb ; sit corr. from sed V.<br />
a Seneca uses suffusio <strong>of</strong> jaundice in Ep. xcv. 16. Celsus,<br />
vii. 7. 14, explains the cause <strong>of</strong> cataracts, vel exmorbo vel ex<br />
ictu concrescit humor, and outlines the treatment.<br />
288
EPISTLE LXXXV.<br />
Tliis is<br />
speed estimated by its own standard, not<br />
the kind which wins praise by comparison with that<br />
which is slowest. Would you call<br />
Wf<br />
a man well who<br />
has a light case <strong>of</strong> fever ?<br />
No, for good health does<br />
not mean moderate illness. They " say, The wise<br />
man is called unperturbed in the sense in which<br />
pomegranates are called mellow not that there is<br />
no hardness at all in their seeds, but that the hardness<br />
is less than it was before." That view is<br />
wrong ;<br />
for I am not referring to the gradual weeding out <strong>of</strong><br />
evils in a good man, but to the complete absence<br />
<strong>of</strong> evils ;<br />
there should be in him no evils at all,<br />
not even any small ones. For if there are any,<br />
they will grow, and as they grow will hamper him.<br />
Just as a large and complete cataract a wholly blinds<br />
the eyes,<br />
so a medium - sized cataract dulls their<br />
vision.<br />
If by your definition the wise man has any<br />
passions whatever, his reason will be no match for<br />
them and will be carried swiftly along, as it were,<br />
on a rushing stream, particularly if you assign to<br />
him, not one passion with which he must wrestle,<br />
but all the passions.<br />
And a throng <strong>of</strong> such, even<br />
though they be moderate, can affect him more than<br />
the violence <strong>of</strong> one powerful passion. He has a<br />
craving for money, although in a moderate degree.<br />
He has ambition, but it is not yet fully aroused. He<br />
has a hot temper, but it can be appeased. He has<br />
inconstancy, but not the kind that is<br />
very capricious<br />
or easily set in motion. He has lust, but not the<br />
violent kind. We could deal better with a person<br />
who possessed one full-fledged vice, than with one<br />
who possessed<br />
all the vices, but none <strong>of</strong> them in<br />
extreme form. Again,<br />
it makes no difference how<br />
great the passion is no matter what its size<br />
; may<br />
289
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
quantuscumque est, parere nescit, consilium non<br />
accipit. Quemadmodum ration! nullum animal<br />
optemperat, non ferum, non domesticum et mite,<br />
natura enim illorum est surda suadenti ;<br />
sic non<br />
secuntur, non audiunt adfectus, quantulicumque<br />
sunt. Tigres leonesque numquam feritatem exuuiit,<br />
aliquando summittunt, et cum minime expectaveris,<br />
exasperatur torvitas mitigata. Numquam bona fide<br />
9 vitia mansuescunt. Deinde, si ratio pr<strong>of</strong>icit,<br />
ne incipient<br />
quidem adfectus ;<br />
si invita ratione coeperint,<br />
invita perseverabunt. Facilius est enim initia illorum<br />
prohibere quam impetum regere. Falsa est itaque<br />
ista mediocritas et inutilis, eodem loco habenda,<br />
quo si quis diceret modice insaniendum, modice<br />
10 aegrotandum. Sola virtus habet, non recipiunt<br />
animi mala temperamentum. Facilius sustuleris ilia<br />
quam rexeris. Numquid dubium est, quin vitia<br />
mentis humanae inveterata et dura, quae morbos<br />
vocamus, inmoderata sint, ut avaritia, ut crudelitas,<br />
1<br />
ut inpotentia ?<br />
Ergo inmoderati sunt et adfectus.<br />
11 Ab his enim ad ilia transitur. Deinde si das aliquid<br />
2<br />
iuris tristitiae, timori, cupiditati, ceteris motibus<br />
pravis, non erunt in nostra potestate. Quare ? Quia<br />
extra nos sunt, quibus inritantur. Itaque crescent,<br />
prout magnas habuerint 3 minoresve causas, quibus<br />
concitentur. Maior erit timor, si plus, quo exterreatur,<br />
aut propius aspexerit, acrior cupiditas, quo<br />
1<br />
inpietas, after inpotentia, removed by Madvig as a gloss ;<br />
inpotentia later MSS. ; innocentia VPb ; inimicitia V 2 .<br />
2 motikus later MSS. ;<br />
moribus VPb.<br />
3<br />
habuerint later MSS. ;<br />
habuerunt VPb.<br />
290<br />
Another reply to the Peripatetic claim <strong>of</strong> 3.
EPISTLE LXXXV.<br />
be, it knows no obedience, and does not welcome<br />
advice. a Just as no animal, whether wild or tamed<br />
and gentle, obeys reason, since nature made it deaf<br />
to advice ;<br />
so the passions do not follow or listen,<br />
however slight they are. Tigers and lions never put<br />
<strong>of</strong>f their wildness ; they sometimes moderate it, and<br />
then, when you are least prepared, their s<strong>of</strong>tened<br />
fierceness is roused to madness. Vices are never<br />
genuinely tamed. Again, if reason prevails, the<br />
passions will not even get a start but if ;<br />
they get<br />
under way against the will <strong>of</strong> reason, they will maintain<br />
themselves against the will <strong>of</strong> reason. For it is<br />
easier to stop them in the beginning than to control<br />
them when they gather force. This half-way ground<br />
is<br />
accordingly misleading and useless it is to<br />
;<br />
be<br />
regarded just as the declaration that we ought to<br />
'<br />
'<br />
be " moderately insane, or " moderately<br />
ill.<br />
Virtue alone possesses moderation ;<br />
the evils that<br />
afflict the mind do not admit <strong>of</strong> moderation. You<br />
can more easily remove than control them.<br />
Can one<br />
doubt that the vices <strong>of</strong> the human mind, when they<br />
have become chronic and callous ("<br />
diseases " we call<br />
them), are beyond control, as, for example, greed,<br />
cruelty, and wantonness? Therefore the passions also<br />
are beyond control for<br />
;<br />
it is from the passions that<br />
we pass over to the vices. Again, if you grant any<br />
privileges to sadness, fear, desire, and all the other<br />
wrong impulses, they will cease to lie within our<br />
jurisdiction. And why<br />
?<br />
Simply because the means<br />
<strong>of</strong> arousing them lie outside our own power. They<br />
will accordingly increase in proportion as the causes<br />
by which they are stirred up are greater or less.<br />
Fear will grow to greater proportions, if that which<br />
causes the terror is seen to be <strong>of</strong> greater magnitude<br />
or in closer proximity and desire will grow keener<br />
;<br />
VOL. ii K 2 291
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
12 illam amplioris rei spes<br />
evocaverit. Si in nostra<br />
potestate non est, an sint adfectus, ne illud quidem<br />
est, quanti sint ;<br />
si<br />
ipsis permisisti incipere, cum<br />
causis suis crescent tantique erunt, quanti fient.<br />
Adice nunc, quod ista, quamvis exigua sint, in maius<br />
excedunt. Numquam perniciosa<br />
Quamvis levia initia morborum serpunt et<br />
aegra corpora<br />
minima interdum mergit accessio.<br />
servant modum.<br />
13 Illud vero cuius dementiae est, credere, quarum<br />
rerum extra nostrum arbitrium posita<br />
earum nostri esse arbitrii terminos ?<br />
finiendum satis<br />
principia sunt,<br />
Quomodo ad id<br />
valeo, ad quod prohibendum parum<br />
valui, cum facilius sit excludere quam<br />
admissa con-<br />
14.primere? Quidam ita distinxerunt, ut dicerent :<br />
" Temperans ac prudens positione quidem mentis et<br />
habitu tranquillus est, eventu non est. Nam, quantum<br />
ad habitum mentis suae, non perturbatur, nee<br />
contristatur nee timet, sed multae extrinsecus causae<br />
15 incidunt, quae illi perturbationem<br />
adferant." Tale<br />
est, quod volunt dicere iracundum quidem ilium<br />
:<br />
non esse, irasci tamen aliquando et timidum<br />
;<br />
quidem<br />
non esse, timere tamen aliquando ;<br />
id est, vitio<br />
timoris carere, adfectu non carere. Quod si recipitur,<br />
usu frequenti timor transibit in vitium, et ira in<br />
a<br />
For this topic <strong>of</strong> emotions as possible sources <strong>of</strong> the<br />
vices cf. Cicero, Tusc. iv. 10 ex perturbationibus autem<br />
primum morbi conficiuntur. . . . Hoc loco nimium operae consumitur<br />
a <strong>Stoic</strong>is.<br />
292
EPISTLE LXXXV.<br />
in proportion as the hope <strong>of</strong> a greater gain has<br />
summoned it to action. If the existence <strong>of</strong> the<br />
passions is not in our own control, neither is the<br />
extent <strong>of</strong> their power for if you once permit them<br />
;<br />
to get a start, they will increase along with their<br />
causes, and they will be <strong>of</strong> whatever extent they<br />
shall grow to be. Moreover, no matter how small<br />
these vices are, they grow greater. That which is<br />
harmful never keeps within bounds. No matter<br />
how trifling diseases are at the beginning, they creep<br />
on apace ;<br />
and sometimes the slightest augmentation<br />
<strong>of</strong> disease lays low the enfeebled !<br />
body<br />
But what folly<br />
it is, when the beginnings <strong>of</strong><br />
certain things are situated outside our control, to<br />
believe that their endings<br />
are within our control !<br />
How have I the power to bring something to a<br />
close, when I have not had the power to check it<br />
at the beginning<br />
? For it is easier to keep a thing<br />
out than to keep it under after you have let it in.<br />
Some men have made a distinction as follows, saying<br />
If a man has self-control and : wisdom, he is<br />
"<br />
indeed at peace as regards the attitude and habit <strong>of</strong><br />
his mind, but not as regards the outcome. For, as<br />
far as his habit <strong>of</strong> mind is concerned, he is not perturbed,<br />
or saddened, or afraid ;<br />
but there are many<br />
extraneous causes which strike him and bring perturbation<br />
upon him." What they mean to say is<br />
this<br />
"<br />
: So-and-so is indeed not a man <strong>of</strong> an angry<br />
disposition, but still he sometimes gives way to<br />
anger," and " He is not, indeed, inclined to fear,<br />
but still he sometimes experiences fear "; in other<br />
words, he is free from the fault, but is not free from<br />
the passion <strong>of</strong> fear. If, however, fear is once given<br />
an entrance, it will by frequent use pass over into a<br />
vice a ;<br />
and anger, once admitted into the mind, will<br />
293
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
animum admissa habit um ilium ira careiitis animi<br />
16 retexet. Praeterea si 11011 contemnit venientes extrinsecus<br />
causas et aliquid timet. cum fortiter eunduni<br />
erit adversus tela, ignes, pro patria, legibus, libertate,<br />
cunctanter exil>it et animo recedente. Non cadit<br />
17 autem in sapientem haec diversitas mentis.<br />
II hid praeterea iudico observandum, ne duo, quae<br />
separatim probanda sunt, misceamus. Per se enim<br />
colligitur unum bonum esse, quod honestum, per se<br />
rursus, ad vitam beatam satis esse virtu tern. Si unum<br />
bonum est, quod honestum, omnes concedunt ad beate<br />
vivendum sufficere virtutem ;<br />
e contrario non remittetur,<br />
si beatum sola virtus facit, unum bonum esse,<br />
18 quod honestum est. Xenocrates et Speusippus<br />
putant beatum vel sola virtute fieri posse, non tamen<br />
unum bonum esse, quod honestum est. Epicurus<br />
quoque iudicat eum qui 1 virtutem habeat, beatum<br />
esse, sed ipsam virtutem non satis esse ad beatam<br />
vitam, quia beatum efficiat voluptas, quae ex virtute<br />
est, non ipsa virtus. Inepta distinctio. Idem enim<br />
negat umquam virtutem esse sine voluptate ita si ei<br />
;<br />
iuncta semper est atque inseparabilis, et sola satis<br />
est. Habet enim secum voluptatem, sine qua non<br />
19 est, etiam cum sola est. Illud autem absurdum est,<br />
quod dicitur beatum quidem futurum vel sola virtute,<br />
11011 futurum autem perfccte beatum. Quod quem-<br />
1<br />
indicat eum qui Koch, on the authority <strong>of</strong> MSS. cited by<br />
Fickert ;<br />
iudicat cum MSS.<br />
2Q4<br />
a<br />
Representing the views <strong>of</strong> the Academic School.<br />
*<br />
Frag. 508 Usener.
EPISTLE LXXXV.<br />
alter the earlier habit <strong>of</strong> a mind that was formerly<br />
free from anger. Besides, if the wise man, instead<br />
<strong>of</strong> despising all causes that come from without, ever<br />
fears anything, when the time arrives for him to go<br />
bravely to meet the spear, or the flames, 011 behalf<br />
<strong>of</strong> his country, his laws, and his liberty, he will go<br />
forth reluctantly and with flagging spirit.<br />
Such<br />
inconsistency <strong>of</strong> mind, however, does not suit the<br />
character <strong>of</strong> a wise man.<br />
Then, again, we should see to it that two<br />
principles which ought to be tested separately should<br />
not be confused. For the conclusion is reached<br />
independently that that alone is good which is<br />
honourable, and again independently the conclusion<br />
that virtue is sufficient for the happy<br />
life. If that<br />
alone is<br />
good which is honourable, everyone agrees<br />
that virtue is sufficient for the purpose <strong>of</strong> living<br />
happily ; but, on the contrary, if virtue alone makes<br />
men happy,<br />
it will not be conceded that that alone<br />
is<br />
good which is honourable. Xenocrates a and<br />
Speusippus a hold that a man can become happy<br />
even by virtue alone, not, however, that that which<br />
is honourable is the only good. Epicurus also<br />
decides b that one who possesses virtue is<br />
happy, but<br />
that virtue <strong>of</strong> itself is not sufficient for the happy<br />
life, because the pleasure that results from virtue,<br />
and not virtue itself, makes one happy. This is a<br />
futile distinction. For the same philosopher declares<br />
that virtue never exists without pleasure and<br />
;<br />
therefore, if virtue is always connected with pleasure<br />
and always inseparable therefrom, virtue is <strong>of</strong> itself<br />
sufficient. For virtue keeps pleasure in its company,<br />
and does not exist without it, even when alone.<br />
But it is absurd to say that a man will be happy<br />
by virtue alone, and yet not absolutely happy.<br />
I<br />
295
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
admodum fieri possit, non reperio. Beata enim vita<br />
bonum in se perfectum habet, inexsuperabile. Quod<br />
si est, perfecte<br />
beata est.<br />
Si deorum vita nihil habet maius aut melius, beata<br />
auteni vita divina est ; nihil habet, in quod amplius<br />
20 possit attolli. Praeterea si beata vita nullius est iridigens,<br />
omnis beata vita perfecta est eadenique est<br />
et beata et beatissima. Numquid dubitas, quin beata<br />
vita summum bonum sit ?<br />
Ergo<br />
si summum bonum<br />
habet, summe beata est. Quemadmodum summum<br />
bonum adiectionem non recipit (quid enim supra<br />
summum erit ?),<br />
ita ne beata quidem vita, quae sine<br />
summo bono non est. Quod si aliquem magis beatum<br />
induxeris, induces et multo magis ;<br />
innumerabilia discrimina<br />
summi boni facies, cum summum bonum in-<br />
21 tellegam, quod supra se gradum<br />
non habet. Si est<br />
aliquis minus beatus quam alius, sequitur,<br />
ut hie<br />
alterius vitam beatioris magis concupiscat quam<br />
suam. Beatus autem nihil suae praefert. Utrumlibet<br />
ex his incredibile est: aut aliquid beato restare,<br />
quod esse quam quod est malit, aut id ilium non<br />
malle, quod illo l melius est.<br />
Utique enim quo<br />
prudentior est, hoc magis se ad id, quod est optimum,<br />
extendet et id omni modo consequi cupiet. Quomodo<br />
autem beatus est, qui cupere etiamnunc potest, immo<br />
22 q u i debet ? Dicam, quid sit, ex quo veniat hie error :<br />
296<br />
1<br />
illo later MSS. ; ilia VPb.
EPISTLE LXXXV.<br />
cannot discover how that may be, since the happy<br />
life contains in itself a good that is perfect and<br />
cannot be excelled. If a man has this good, life is<br />
completely happy.<br />
Now if the life <strong>of</strong> the gods contains nothing<br />
greater or better, and the happy life is divine, then<br />
there is no further height to which a man can be<br />
raised. Also, if the happy life is in want <strong>of</strong> nothing,<br />
then every happy<br />
life is it is<br />
perfect happy and at the<br />
;<br />
same time most happy. Have you any doubt that<br />
the happy life is the Supreme Good ?<br />
Accordingly,<br />
if it possesses the Supreme Good, it is supremely<br />
happy. Just as the Supreme Good does not admit<br />
<strong>of</strong> increase (for what will be superior to that which<br />
is<br />
supreme ?), exactly so the happy<br />
life cannot be<br />
increased either ;<br />
for it is not without the Supreme<br />
Good. If then you bring in one man who is<br />
" "<br />
happier than another, you will also bring in one<br />
who " "<br />
is much happier ; you will then be making<br />
countless distinctions in the Supreme Good; although<br />
I understand the Supreme Good to be that good<br />
which admits <strong>of</strong> 110 degree above itself. If one<br />
person is less happy than another, it follows that<br />
he eagerly desires the life <strong>of</strong> that other and happier<br />
man in preference to his own. But the happy man<br />
prefers no other man's life to his own. Either <strong>of</strong> these<br />
two things<br />
is incredible : that there should be anything<br />
left for a happy man to wish for in preference to<br />
what is, or that he should not prefer the thing which<br />
is better than what he already has. For certainly,<br />
the more prudent he is, the more he will strive<br />
after the best, and he will desire to attain it<br />
by<br />
every possible means. But how can one be happy<br />
who is still able, or rather who is still bound, to<br />
crave something else ? I will tell you what is the<br />
297
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
nesciunt beatam vitam imam esse.<br />
In optimo illam<br />
statu ponit qualitas sua, non magnitude. Itaque in<br />
aequo est longa et brevis, diffusa et angustior, in<br />
multa loca multasque partes distributa et in umim<br />
coacta. Qui<br />
illam numero aestimat et mensura et<br />
partibus, id illi, quod habet eximium, eripit. Quid<br />
autem est in beata vita eximium ? Quod plena est.<br />
23 Finis, ut puto, edendi bibendique satietas est. Hie<br />
plus edit, ille minus ;<br />
quid refert ? Uterque iam<br />
satur est. Hie plus bibit, ille minus ; quid refert ?<br />
Uterque non sitit. Hie pluribus annis vixit, hie<br />
paucioribus ; nihil interest, si tarn ilium multi anni<br />
beatum fecerunt quam hunc pauci. Ille, quern tu<br />
minus beatum vocas, non est beatus ;<br />
non potest<br />
nomen inminui.<br />
24<br />
" Q LU fortis est, sine timore est. Qui sine timore<br />
est, sine tristitia est. Qui sine tristitia est, beatus<br />
est." Nostrorum haec interrogatio est. Adversus<br />
hanc sic respondere conantur :<br />
falsam nps rem et controversiosam<br />
pro confessa vindicare, eum, qui fortis<br />
est, sine timore esse.<br />
inminentia mala non timebit ?<br />
"Quid ergo?" inquit, " fortis<br />
Istuc dementis alienatique,<br />
non fortis est. Ille vero," inquit, " moderatissime<br />
timet, sed in totum extra metum non est."<br />
25 Qui hoc dicunt, rursus in idem revolvuntur, ut illis<br />
a<br />
The happy<br />
life constitutes virtue ;<br />
and virtue, as Seneca<br />
says so <strong>of</strong>ten, is absolute, permitting neither increase nor<br />
diminution.<br />
298
EPISTLE LXXXV.<br />
source <strong>of</strong> this error : men do not understand that<br />
the happy life is a unit for it<br />
;<br />
is its essence, and not<br />
its extent, that establishes such a life on the noblest<br />
plane. Hence there is<br />
complete equality between<br />
the life that is<br />
long and the life that is short, between<br />
that which is<br />
spread out and that which is confined,<br />
between that whose influence is felt in many places<br />
and in<br />
many directions, and that which is restricted<br />
to one interest. Those who reckon life<br />
by number,<br />
or by measure, or by parts, rob it <strong>of</strong> its distinctive<br />
quality. Now, in the happy life, what is the distinctive<br />
quality<br />
? It is its fulness. a Satiety, I think,<br />
is the limit to our eating or drinking. A eats more<br />
and B eats less ;<br />
what difference does it make ?<br />
Each is now sated. Or A drinks more and B<br />
drinks less ;<br />
what difference does it make ? Each is<br />
no longer thirsty. Again, A lives for many years<br />
and B for fewer ;<br />
no matter, if only A's many years<br />
have brought as much happiness as B's few years.<br />
He whom you maintain to be "less is<br />
happy" not<br />
happy the word admits <strong>of</strong> no diminution.<br />
"<br />
He ;<br />
who is brave is fearless ;<br />
he who is fearless<br />
is free from sadness ;<br />
he who is free from sadness is<br />
happy." It is our own school which has framed this<br />
syllogism ; they attempt to refute it by this answer,<br />
namely, that we <strong>Stoic</strong>s are assuming as admitted<br />
a premiss which is false and distinctly controverted,<br />
that the brave man is fearless. " '<br />
What !<br />
they<br />
say,<br />
will the brave man have no fear <strong>of</strong> evils that<br />
threaten him ? That would be the condition <strong>of</strong> a<br />
madman, a lunatic, rather than <strong>of</strong> a brave man.<br />
The brave man will, it is true, feel fear in only a<br />
very slight degree ; but he is not absolutely free<br />
from fear." Now those who assert this are doubling<br />
back to their<br />
old argument, in that they regard<br />
299
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
virtutum loco sint minora vitia. Nam qui timet<br />
quidem, sed rarius et minus, non caret malitia, sed<br />
leviore vexatur.<br />
" At enim dementem puto, qui<br />
mala imminentia non extimescit."<br />
Verum est, quod<br />
dicis, si mala sunt ;<br />
sed si scit mala ilia non esse et<br />
unam tantum turpitudinem malum iudicat, debebit<br />
secure pericula aspicere et aliis timenda conlemnere.<br />
Aut si stulti et amentis est mala non limere, quo quis<br />
26 prudentior est, hoc timebit magis. "Ut vobis," inquit,<br />
" videtur, praebebit se periculis fortis." Minime ;<br />
non timebit ilia, sed vitabit. Cautio ilium decet,<br />
timor non decet. "Quid ergo?' inquil, "mortem,<br />
vincla, ignes, alia tela fortunae non timebit ? "<br />
Non.<br />
Scit enim ilia non esse mala, sed videri.<br />
Omnia ista<br />
27 humanae vitae formidines l putat. Describe captivitatem,<br />
verbera, catenas, egestatem et membrorum<br />
lacerationes vel per morbum vel per iniuriam et quicquid<br />
aliud adtuleris inter :<br />
lymphatos metus numeral.<br />
Isla limidis timenda sunt. An id existimas malum,<br />
veniendum est?<br />
ad quod aliquando nobis nostra sponte<br />
28 Quaeris quid sit rnalum ? Cedere iis, quae mala<br />
vocantur, el illis libertatem suam dedere, pro qua<br />
1<br />
Hense would add inanes after either humanae or formidines.<br />
a i.e., thereby allowing the aforesaid increase or diminution<br />
in virtue.<br />
6<br />
For the argument compare Ep. Ixxxii. 7 ff. the topic,<br />
contra mortem te praeparare.<br />
800
EPISTLE LXXXV.<br />
vices <strong>of</strong> less degree as equivalent to virtues.* For<br />
indeed the man who does feel fear, though he feels<br />
it rather seldom and to a slight degree,<br />
is not free<br />
from wickedness, but is merely troubled bv it in a<br />
*/ /<br />
milder form.<br />
" Not so/' is the " reply, for I hold<br />
that a man is mad if he does not fear evils which<br />
hang over his head." What you say is perfectly<br />
true, if the things which threaten are really evils ;<br />
but if he knows that they are not evils and believes<br />
that the only evil is baseness, he will be bound to<br />
face dangers without anxiety and to despise things<br />
which other men cannot help fearing. Or, if it is<br />
the characteristic <strong>of</strong> a fool and a madman not to fear<br />
evils, then the wiser a man is the more he will fear<br />
such " things<br />
! It is the doctrine <strong>of</strong> you <strong>Stoic</strong>s,<br />
then," they " reply, that a brave man will expose<br />
himself to dangers." By no means; he will merely<br />
not fear them, though he will avoid them. It is<br />
proper for him to be careful, but not to be fearful. 6<br />
" What then ? Is he not to fear death, imprisonment,<br />
burning, and all the other missiles <strong>of</strong> Fortune<br />
"<br />
?<br />
Not at all ;<br />
for he knows that they are not evils, but<br />
only seem to be. He reckons all these things as<br />
the bugbears <strong>of</strong> man's existence. Paint him a picture<br />
<strong>of</strong> slavery, lashes, chains, want, mutilation by disease<br />
or by torture, or anything else you may care to<br />
mention ;<br />
he will count all such things as terrors<br />
caused by the derangement <strong>of</strong> the mind. These<br />
things are only to be feared by those who are fearful.<br />
Or do you regard as an evil that to which some day<br />
to resort <strong>of</strong> our own free will ?<br />
we may be compelled<br />
What then, you ask, is an evil ?<br />
It is the yielding<br />
to those things which are called evils ;<br />
it is the<br />
surrendering <strong>of</strong> one's liberty into their control, when<br />
really we ought to suffer all things in order to pre-<br />
301
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
cuncta patiencla sunt. Perit libertas, nisi ilia contemnimus,<br />
quae nobis iugum inponunt.<br />
Noil dubitarent,<br />
quid conveniret forti viro, si scirent, quid<br />
esset fortitude. Non est enim inconsulta temeritas<br />
nee periculorum amor nee formidabilium adpetitio<br />
;<br />
scientia est distinguendi, quid<br />
sit malum et quid non<br />
sit.<br />
Diligentissima in tutela sui 1 fortitude est et<br />
eadem patientissima eorum, quibus falsa species<br />
29 malorum "<br />
est. Quid ergo<br />
? Si ferruin intentatur<br />
cervicibus viri fortis, si pars subinde alia atque alia<br />
suffoditur, si viscera sua in sinu suo vidit, si ex iiitervallo,<br />
quo magis tormenta sentiat, repetitur et per<br />
adsiccata viscera recens demittitur sanguis, non<br />
timet ? Istum tu dices nee dolere ? " Iste vero<br />
dolet. Sensum enim hominis nulla exuit virtus.<br />
Sed non timet ;<br />
invictus ex alto dolores suos spectat.<br />
Quaeris quis tune animus illi sit ? Qui aegrum amicum<br />
adhortantibus.<br />
30<br />
" Quod malum est, nocet. Quod nocet, deteriorem<br />
facit. Dolor et paupertas deteriorem non faciunt ;<br />
ergo mala non sunt." " Falsum est/' inquit, "quod<br />
proponitis non enim, si<br />
quid nocet, etiam deteriorem<br />
;<br />
facit.<br />
Tempestas et procella nocet gubernatori, non<br />
31 tamen ilium deteriorem<strong>of</strong>acit." Quidam<br />
e <strong>Stoic</strong>is ita<br />
adversus hoc respondent<br />
: deteriorem fieri<br />
guberna-<br />
*<br />
sui later MSS. ; t?t VPb.<br />
a Besides this definition (a standard <strong>Stoic</strong> one) <strong>of</strong> the<br />
third cardinal virtue, we also find "a knowledge <strong>of</strong> what<br />
to choose and what to avoid," ' k knowing how to endure<br />
things, "and finally kk the will to undertake great enterprises."<br />
302
EPISTLE LXXXV.<br />
serve this liberty. Liberty<br />
is lost unless we despise<br />
those things which put the yoke upon our necks.<br />
If men knew what bravery was, they would have no<br />
doubts as to what a brave man's conduct should be.<br />
For bravery<br />
is not thoughtless rashness, or love <strong>of</strong><br />
danger, or the courting <strong>of</strong> fear-inspiring objects ;<br />
it<br />
is the knowledge which enables us to distinguish<br />
between that which is evil and that which is not. a<br />
Bravery takes the greatest care <strong>of</strong> itself, and likewise<br />
endures with the greatest patience all things which<br />
have a false appearance <strong>of</strong> being evils. " What<br />
then?" is the query; "if the sword is brandished<br />
over your brave man's neck, if he is<br />
pierced in this<br />
place and in that 1 "<br />
continually, if he sees his entr?'<br />
in his lap,<br />
if he is tortured again after being kept waiting<br />
in order that he may thus feel the torture more<br />
keenly, and if the blood flows afresh out <strong>of</strong> bowels<br />
where it has but lately ceased to flow, has he no fear ?<br />
Shall you say that he has felt no pain either "<br />
? Yes,<br />
he has felt pain for no human virtue can rid itself<br />
;<br />
<strong>of</strong> feelings. But he has 110 fear ;<br />
unconquered he<br />
looks down from a l<strong>of</strong>ty height upon his sufferings.<br />
Do you ask me what spirit animates him in these<br />
circumstances ? It is the spirit <strong>of</strong> one who is comforting<br />
a sick friend.<br />
" That which is evil does harm ;<br />
that which does<br />
harm makes a man worse. But pain and poverty<br />
do not make a man worse ;<br />
theref *e<br />
they are not<br />
evils." "Your proposition," say:? ihe objector, "is<br />
wrong for what harms one docs not ; necessarily<br />
make one worse. The storm and the squall work<br />
harm to the pilot, but they do not make a worse<br />
pilot <strong>of</strong> him for all that." Certain <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Stoic</strong><br />
school reply to this argument as follows " The<br />
:<br />
pilot becomes a worse pilot because <strong>of</strong> storms or<br />
303
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
torem tempestate ac procella, quia non possit id, quod<br />
proposuit, efficere nee tenere cursum suum ;<br />
deteriorem<br />
ilium in arte sua non in fieri, opere fieri. Quibus<br />
Peripateticus "ergo/' " inquit, et sapientem deteriorem<br />
faciet paupertas, dolor et quicquid aliud tale<br />
fuerit. Virtutem enim illi non eripiet, sed opera<br />
32 eius inpediet."<br />
Hoc recte diceretur, nisi dissimilis<br />
esset gubernatoris condicio et sapientis. Huic enim<br />
propositum est in vita agenda non utique, quod temp-<br />
sed omnia recte facere. Gubernatori<br />
tat, efficere,<br />
propositum est utique navem in portum perducere.<br />
Artes ministrae sunt, praestare debent, quod pro mittimt.<br />
Sapientia domina rectrixque est; artes serviunt<br />
vitae, sapientia imperat.<br />
33 Ego aliter respondendum iudico : nee artem gubernatoris<br />
deteriorem ulla tempestate fieri nee ipsam administrationem<br />
artis. Gubernator tibi non felicitatem<br />
promisit, sed utilem operam et navis regendae scientiam.<br />
Haec eo magis apparet, quo illi magis aliqua<br />
fortuita vis obstitit. Qui hoc potuit dicere "Neptune,<br />
numquam hanc navem nisi rectam," arti satis fecit ;<br />
tempestas non opus gubernatoris impedit, sed succes-<br />
34 sum. " "<br />
Quid ergo<br />
?<br />
inquit, " non nocet gubernatori<br />
ea res, quae ilium tenere portum vetat, quae conatus<br />
eius inritos efficit, quae aut refert ilium aut detinet<br />
a Cf. Diogenes Laertius, ii. 79 TOI)S rCov &yKVK\liav<br />
xaTWi' /xeracr^oi'ras, 0iAocroi'as 5 aTroXeKpO^vras, o/xoioyj<br />
etVcu rots TT}S<br />
ll^eXoTrr/s fivijffTijpC'U'.<br />
b<br />
The figure <strong>of</strong> the pilot is a frequent one in philosophy,<br />
from Plato down. See Seneca, />/>.<br />
viii. 4. The same<br />
argument, as applied to the musician, is found in Ep.<br />
Ixxxvii. 12 ff.<br />
304.
EPISTLE LXXXV.<br />
squalls, inasmuch as he cannot carry out his purpose<br />
and hold to his course ;<br />
as far as his art is concerned,<br />
he becomes no worse a pilot, but in his work he<br />
does become worse." To this the Peripatetics retort :<br />
" Therefore, poverty will make even the wise man<br />
worse, and so will pain, and so will anything else ol<br />
that sort. For although those things will not rob<br />
him <strong>of</strong> his virtue, yet they will hinder the work <strong>of</strong><br />
virtue." This would be a correct statement, were<br />
it not for the fact that the pilot and the wise man<br />
are two different kinds <strong>of</strong> person. The wise man's<br />
purpose in conducting his life is not to accomplish<br />
at all hazards what he tries, but to do all things<br />
rightly the ; pilot's purpose, however, is to bring his<br />
ship into port at all hazards. The arts are handmaids<br />
a<br />
;<br />
they must accomplish what they promise to<br />
do. But wisdom is mistress and ruler. The arts<br />
render a slave's service to life ;<br />
wisdom issues the<br />
commands.<br />
For myself, I maintain that a different answer<br />
should be given<br />
: that the pilot's art is never made<br />
worse by the storm, nor the application <strong>of</strong> his art<br />
either. The pilot has promised you, not a prosperous<br />
voyage, but a serviceable performance <strong>of</strong> his task<br />
that is, an expert knowledge <strong>of</strong> steering a ship.<br />
And the more he is<br />
hampered by the stress <strong>of</strong><br />
fortune, so much the more does his knowledge<br />
become apparent. He who has been able to say,<br />
" Neptune, you shall never sink this ship except on<br />
an even b<br />
keel," has fulfilled the requirements <strong>of</strong> his<br />
art ;<br />
the storm does not interfere with the pilot's<br />
work, but only with his success.<br />
" What then,"<br />
you " say, is not a pilot harmed by any circumstance<br />
which does not permit him to make port, frustrates<br />
all his efforts, and either carries him out to sea, or<br />
305
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
'<br />
et exarmat ? Non tamquam gubernatori, sed tamquam<br />
naviganti nocet ;<br />
alioqui gubernator<br />
ille non est.<br />
Gubernatoris l artem adeo non inpedit, ut ostendat ;<br />
tranquillo enim, ut aiunt, quilibet gubernator est.<br />
Navigio ista obsunt, non rectori eius, qua rector est.<br />
35 Duas personas habet gubernator: alteram comniunem<br />
cum omnibus,, qui eandem conscenderunt naveni: ipse<br />
quoque vector est ;<br />
alteram propriam<br />
:<br />
gubernator<br />
est.<br />
Tempestas tamquam vector! nocet, non tam-<br />
36 quam gubernatori. Delude gubernatoris ars alienum<br />
bonum est : ad eos, quos vehit, pertinet, quomodo<br />
medici ad eos, quos curat. Commune bonum est<br />
sapientis 2 : est et eorum, cum quibus vivit, et proprium<br />
ipsius. Itaque gubernatori fortasse noceatur, 3<br />
cuius miiiisterium aliis 4 promissum tempestate in-<br />
37 peditur sapient! non nocetur a paupertate, non a<br />
;<br />
dolore, non ab aliis tempestatibus vitae. Non enim<br />
prohibentur opera eius omnia, sed tantum ad<br />
alios<br />
pertineiitia ; ipse semper in actu est, in<br />
effectu tune maximus, cum illi fortuna se opposuit.<br />
Tune enim ipsius sapientiae negotium agit, quam<br />
38 diximus et alienum bonum esse et suum. Praeterea<br />
ne aliis<br />
quidem tune prodesse prohibetur,<br />
cum ilium aliquae necessitates premunt. Propter<br />
paupertatem prohibetur docere, quemadmodum<br />
tractanda res publica sit, at illud docet, quemadmodum<br />
sit tractanda paupertas. Per totam vitam<br />
opus eius extenditur.<br />
Ita mil la fortuna, nulla res actus sapientis excludit.<br />
1<br />
alioqui gubernator ille non est. gubernatoris Bueche.ler ;<br />
alioquin gubernatis V ; alioqui \matoris P.<br />
2 est sapientis added by Hense.<br />
3 noceatur Schweighaeuser ; noc
EPISTLE LXXXV.<br />
holds the ship in irons, or strips her masts ?<br />
'<br />
No,<br />
it does not harm him as a pilot, but only as a voyager ;<br />
otherwise, he is no pilot. It is indeed so far from<br />
hindering the pilot's art that it even exhibits the<br />
art for ; anyone, in the words <strong>of</strong> the proverb, is a<br />
pilot on a calm sea. These mishaps obstruct the<br />
voyage but not the steersman qua steersman. A<br />
pilot has a double role : one he shares with all his<br />
fellow-passengers, for he also is a passenger the<br />
;<br />
other is peculiar to him, for he is the pilot. The<br />
storm harms him as a passenger, but not as a pilot.<br />
Again, the pilot's art is another's good<br />
it concerns<br />
his passengers just as a physician's art concerns his<br />
patients. But the wise man's is<br />
good a common<br />
good it belongs both to those in whose company<br />
he lives, and to himself also. Hence our pilot may<br />
perhaps be harmed, since his services, which have<br />
been promised to others, are hindered by the storm ;<br />
but the wise man is not harmed by poverty, or by<br />
pain, or by any other <strong>of</strong> life's storms. For all his<br />
functions are not checked, but only those which<br />
pertain to others he himself is<br />
; always in action,<br />
and is greatest in performance at the very time<br />
when fortune has blocked his way. For then he is<br />
actually engaged in the business <strong>of</strong> wisdom and<br />
;<br />
this wisdom I have declared already to be both the<br />
good <strong>of</strong> others, and also his own. Besides, he is not<br />
prevented from helping others, even at the time<br />
when constraining circumstances press him down.<br />
Because <strong>of</strong> his poverty he is<br />
prevented from showing<br />
how the State should be handled ;<br />
but he teaches,<br />
none the less, how poverty should be handled. His<br />
work goes on throughout his whole life.<br />
Thus no fortune, no external circumstance, can<br />
shut <strong>of</strong>f the -wise man from action. For the very<br />
307
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
Id enim ipsum agit, quo alia agere prohibetur. Ad<br />
utrosque casus aptus est bonorum rector :<br />
est, malo-<br />
39 rum victor. Sic, inquam, se exercuit, ut virtutem<br />
tarn in secundis quam in adversis exhiberet nee<br />
materiam eius, sed ipsam intueretur. Itaque nee<br />
paupertas ilium nee dolor nee quicquid aliud imperitos<br />
avertit et praecipites agit, prohibet. Tu ilium<br />
40 premi putas mails ? Utitur. Non ex ebore tantum<br />
Phidias sciebat facere simulacra ;<br />
faciebat ex aere.<br />
Si marmor illi, si adhuc viliorem materiam obtulisses,<br />
fecisset, quale ex ilia fieri optimum posset. Sic<br />
sapiens virtutem, si licebit, in divitiis explicabit, si<br />
minus, in paupertate ; si poterit, in patria, si minus,<br />
in exilio ; si poterit, imperator, si minus, miles ; si<br />
poterit, integer, si minus, debilis. Quamcumque<br />
fortunam acceperit, aliquid ex ilia memorabile efficiet.<br />
41 Certi sunt domitores ferarum, qui<br />
saevissima animalia<br />
et ad occursum expavescenda<br />
1<br />
hominem pati<br />
subigunt 2 nee asperitatem excussisse contenti usque<br />
in contubernium mitigant. Leonibus magister manuni<br />
insertat, osculatur tigrim suus custos, elephantum<br />
minimus Aethiops iubet subsidere in genua et ambulare<br />
per funem. Sic sapiens artifex est domandi<br />
mala. Dolor, egestas, ignominia, career, exilium<br />
1<br />
expavescenda Gertz ; expavescentia VPb.<br />
2 subigunt Ludwig von Jan ;<br />
sub iugum VPb.<br />
a Cf. De Ben. i. 5 leonum ora a maylstris inpune tractantur.<br />
b<br />
Cf. Suet. Galba 6 at the Floralia :<br />
Galbanovumspectaculi<br />
genus elephantos funambulos edld'tt ; also id. Nero y 11, and<br />
Pliny, N.H. viii. 2.<br />
308
EPISTLE LXXXV.<br />
thing which engages his attention prevents him<br />
from attending to other things. He is ready for<br />
either outcome : if it brings goods, he controls<br />
them if ; evils, he conquers them. So thoroughly,<br />
I mean, has he schooled himself that he makes<br />
manifest his virtue in prosperity as well as in<br />
adversity, and keeps his eyes on virtue itself, not on<br />
the objects with which virtue deals. Hence neither<br />
poverty, nor pain, nor anything else that deflects<br />
the inexperienced and drives them headlong, restrains<br />
him from his course. Do you suppose that he is<br />
weighed down by<br />
evils ? He makes use <strong>of</strong> them.<br />
It was not <strong>of</strong> ivory only that Phidias knew how to<br />
make statues ;<br />
he also made statues <strong>of</strong> bronze. If<br />
you had given him marble, or a still meaner material,<br />
he would have made <strong>of</strong> it the best statue that the<br />
material would permit. So the wise man will develop<br />
virtue, if he may, in the midst <strong>of</strong> wealth, or, if<br />
not, in poverty ; if possible, in his own country if<br />
not, in exile if<br />
; possible, as a commander if not, as<br />
a common soldier; if possible, in sound health if<br />
not, enfeebled. Whatever fortune he finds, he will<br />
accomplish therefrom something noteworthy.<br />
Animal-tamers are unerring they take the most<br />
;<br />
savage animals, which may well terrify those who<br />
encounter them, and subdue them to the will <strong>of</strong><br />
man ;<br />
not content with having driven out their<br />
ferocity, they even tame them so that they dwell<br />
in the same abode. The trainer puts his hand<br />
into the lion's mouth a the<br />
; tiger is kissed by<br />
his keeper. The tiny Aethiopian orders the<br />
elephant to sink down on its knees, or to walk<br />
&<br />
the rope. Similarly, the wise man is a skilled<br />
hand at taming evils. Pain, want, disgrace, imprisonment,<br />
exile, these are universally to be<br />
309
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
ubique horrenda, cum ad hune pervenere, mansueta<br />
sunt. VALE.<br />
LXXXVI.<br />
<strong>SENECA</strong> LVCILIO svo SALVTEM<br />
1 In ipsa Scipionis African! villa iacens haec tibi<br />
scribo adoratis manibus eius et ara, quam sepulchrum<br />
esse tanti viri suspicor. Animum quidem eius in<br />
caelum, ex quo erat^ redisse persuadeo mihi, non quia<br />
magnos exercitus duxit, hos enim et Cambyses furiosus<br />
ac furore feliciter usus habuit, sed ob egregiam<br />
moderationem pietatemque, quam magis in illo admirabilem<br />
iudico, cum reliquit patriam, quam cum<br />
defendit ;<br />
aut Scipio Romae esse debebat aut Roma<br />
" " Nihil/' inquit, volo derogare legibus,<br />
2 in libertate.<br />
nihil institutis. Aequum inter omnes cives ius sit.<br />
Utere sine me beneficio meo, patria. Causa tibi<br />
libertatis fui, ero et argumentum ;<br />
tibi expedit, crevi."<br />
exeo, si plus quam<br />
3 Quidni ego admirer hanc magnitudinem animi,<br />
qua in exilium voluntarium secessit et civitatem<br />
exoneravit ? Eo perducta res erat, ut aut libertas<br />
Scipioni aut Scipio libertati faceret iniuriam. Neutrum<br />
fas erat. Itaque locum dedit legibus et se<br />
See li.<br />
Ep. 11.<br />
*<br />
Cf. Livy xxxviii. 53 morientem rure eo ipso loco sepeUri<br />
st, iusftissf,<br />
furunt monumentumque Un aedifcari.<br />
c<br />
Herodotus iii. 25 ^a^vjs TC tui> /cat ov<br />
310
EPISTLES LXXXV., LXXXVI.<br />
feared ;<br />
but when they encounter the wise man,<br />
they are tamed. Farewell.<br />
LXXXVI. ON SCIPIO'S VILLA<br />
I am resting at the country-house which once<br />
belonged to Scipio Africanus a himself ;<br />
and I write<br />
to you after doing reverence to his spirit<br />
and to an<br />
altar which 1 am inclined to think is the tomb b <strong>of</strong><br />
that great<br />
warrior. That his soul has indeed returned<br />
to the skies, whence it came, I am convinced, not<br />
because he commanded mighty armies for Cambyses<br />
also had mighty armies, and Cambyses was a madman<br />
c who made successful use <strong>of</strong> his madness but<br />
because he showed moderation and a sense <strong>of</strong> duty<br />
to a marvellous extent. I<br />
regard this trait in him<br />
as more admirable after his withdrawal from his<br />
native land than while he was defending her ;<br />
for<br />
there was the alternative :<br />
Scipio should remain in<br />
Rome, or Rome should remain free. " It is<br />
my<br />
wish," said he, " not to infringe in the least upon<br />
our laws, or upon our customs let all Roman<br />
;<br />
citizens<br />
have equal rights. O my country, make the most<br />
<strong>of</strong> the good that I have done, but without me. I<br />
have been the cause <strong>of</strong> your freedom, and I shall<br />
also be its pro<strong>of</strong>; I go into exile, if it is true that I<br />
have grown beyond what is to '<br />
your advantage !<br />
What can I do but admire this magnanimity,<br />
which led him to withdraw into voluntary exile and<br />
to relieve the state <strong>of</strong> its burden ? Matters had<br />
gone so far that either liberty must work harm to<br />
Scipio, or Scipio to liberty. Either <strong>of</strong> these things<br />
was wrong in the sight <strong>of</strong> heaven. So he gave way<br />
311
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
Liternum recepit tarn suum exilium rei<br />
publicae inputaturus<br />
quam Hannibalis.<br />
4 Vidi villam extructam lapide quadrate,<br />
murum<br />
circumdatum silvae, turres quoque in propugnaculum<br />
villae utrimque subrectas, cisternam aedificiis ac viridibus<br />
subditam, quae sufficere in usum vel exercitus<br />
posset, balneolum angustum, tenebricosum ex consuetudine<br />
antiqua non videbatur maioribus nostris<br />
;<br />
caldum nisi obscurum. Magna ergo me voluptas<br />
subiit contemplantem mores Scipionis ac nostros. In<br />
hoc angulo ille Carthaginis horror,, cui Roma debet,<br />
quod tantum semel capta est, abluebat corpus laboribus<br />
rusticis fessum. Exercebat enim opere se terramque,<br />
ut mos fuit priscis, ipse subigebat. Sub hoc<br />
ille tecto tarn sordido stetit, hoc ilium pavimentum<br />
tarn vile sustinuit.<br />
6 At nunc quis est, qui sic lavari sustineat ?<br />
Pauper<br />
sibi videtur ac sordidus, nisi parietes magnis et pretiosis<br />
orbibus refulserunt, nisi Alexandrina marmora<br />
Numidicis crustis distincta sunt, nisi illis undique<br />
operosa et in picturae modum variata circumlitio<br />
praetexitur, nisi vitro absconditur camera, nisi Thasius<br />
lapis, quondam rarum in aliquo spectaculum templo,<br />
piscinas nostras circumdedit, in quas multa sudatione<br />
corpora exinanita l demittimus, nisi aquam argentea<br />
1<br />
exinanita edd. ; exsaniata Hense, with MSS.<br />
a<br />
Livy's account (see above) dwells more on the unwillingness<br />
<strong>of</strong> Scipio and his friends to permit the great conqueror<br />
to suffer the indignities <strong>of</strong> a trial.<br />
6<br />
A phrase frequent in Roman literature ; see Lucretius<br />
iii. 1034 Scipiadas, belli fulmen, Carthaginis horror.<br />
c<br />
Porphyry, basalt, etc.<br />
d i.e., the so-called giallo antico, with red and yellow tints<br />
predominating.<br />
a<br />
A white variety, from Thasos, an island <strong>of</strong>f the Thracian<br />
coast.<br />
312
EPISTLE LXXXVI.<br />
to the laws and withdrew to Liternum, thinking to<br />
make the state a debtor for his own exile no less<br />
than for the exile <strong>of</strong> Hannibal. a<br />
I have inspected the house, which is constructed<br />
<strong>of</strong> hewn stone ;<br />
the wall which encloses a forest ;<br />
the towers also, buttressed out on both sides for the<br />
purpose <strong>of</strong> defending the house the<br />
; well, concealed<br />
among buildings and shrubbery, large enough to<br />
keep a whole army supplied and the small bath,<br />
;<br />
buried in darkness according to the old style,<br />
for our<br />
ancestors did not think that one could have a hot<br />
bath except in darkness. It was therefore a great<br />
pleasure to me to contrast Scipio's ways with our<br />
own. Think, in this tiny recess the " terror <strong>of</strong><br />
Carthage," b to whom Rome should <strong>of</strong>fer thanks<br />
because she was not captured more than once, used<br />
to bathe a body wearied with work in the fields !<br />
For he was accustomed to keep himself busy and to<br />
cultivate the soil with his own hands, as the good<br />
old Romans were wont to do. Beneath this dingy<br />
ro<strong>of</strong> he stood ;<br />
and this floor, mean as it is,<br />
bore his<br />
weight.<br />
But who in these days could bear to bathe in<br />
such a fashion ? We think ourselves poor and mean<br />
if our walls are not resplendent with large and costly<br />
mirrors ;<br />
if our marbles from Alexandria are not set<br />
<strong>of</strong>f by mosaics <strong>of</strong> Numidian stone, d if their borders<br />
are not faced over on all sides with difficult patterns,<br />
arranged in many colours like if<br />
paintings our<br />
;<br />
vaulted ceilings are not buried in glass<br />
if our<br />
;<br />
swimming-pools are not lined with Thasiaii marble/<br />
once a rare and wonderful sight in any temple<br />
pools into which we let down our bodies after they<br />
have been drained weak by abundant perspiration<br />
;<br />
and finally,<br />
if the water has not poured from silver<br />
313
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
7 epitonia fuderunt. Et adhuc plebeias fistulas loquor ;<br />
quid, cum ad balnea libertinorum pervenero ? Quantum<br />
statuarum, quantum columnarum est nihil sustinentium,<br />
sed in ornamentum positarum inpensae<br />
causa !<br />
Quantum aquarum per gradus cum fragore<br />
labentium ! Eo deliciarum pervenimus, ut nisi<br />
gemmas<br />
calcare nolimus.<br />
8 In hoc balneo Scipionis minimae sunt rimae magis<br />
quam fenestrae muro lapideo exsectae, ut sine iniuria<br />
munimeiiti lumen admitterent ;<br />
at nunc blattaria vocant<br />
balnea, si<br />
qua non ita aptata sunt, ut totius diei<br />
solem fenestris amplissimis recipiant, nisi et lavantur<br />
simul et colorantur, nisi ex solio agros ac maria prospiciunt.<br />
Itaque quae concursum et admirationem<br />
habueraiit, cum dedicarentur, devitantur et in l<br />
antiquorum<br />
numerum reiciuntur, cum aliquid novi luxuria<br />
9 commenta est, quo ipsa se obrueret. At olim et<br />
pauca erant balnea nee ullo cultu exornata. Cur<br />
enim exornaretur res quadrantaria et in usum, non in<br />
oblectameiitum reperta<br />
? Non suffundebatur aqua<br />
nee recens semper velut ex calido fonte currebat,<br />
nee referre credebant, in quam perlucida sordes<br />
10 deponerent. Sed, di boni, quam<br />
iuvat ilia balinea<br />
intrare obscura et gregali tectorio inducta, quae scires<br />
1<br />
dedicarentur, devitantur et in Hense ;<br />
VPb.<br />
dedicarentur et in<br />
a Cf. Pliny, Ep.<br />
ii. 17. 12 piscina, ex qua<br />
aspiciunt.<br />
314,<br />
naiantes mart*
EPISTLE LXXXVI.<br />
I<br />
spigots. have so far been speaking <strong>of</strong> the ordinary<br />
bathing -establishments ;<br />
what shall I<br />
say when I<br />
come to those <strong>of</strong> the freedmen ? What a vast<br />
number <strong>of</strong> statues, <strong>of</strong> columns that support nothing,<br />
but are built for decoration, merely in order to spend<br />
!<br />
money And what masses <strong>of</strong> water that fall crashing<br />
from level to level ! We have become so luxurious<br />
that we will have nothing but precious stones to<br />
walk upon.<br />
In this bath <strong>of</strong> Scipio's there are tiny chinks<br />
you cannot call them windows cut out <strong>of</strong> the stone<br />
wall hi such a way as to admit light without weakening<br />
the fortifications ; nowadays, however, people<br />
regard baths as fit only for moths if they have not<br />
been so arranged that they receive the sun all<br />
day<br />
long through the widest <strong>of</strong> windows, if men cannot<br />
bathe and get a coat <strong>of</strong> tan at the same time, and<br />
if they cannot look out from their bath-tubs over<br />
stretches <strong>of</strong> land and sea. a So it goes the establishments<br />
which had drawn crowds and had won<br />
;<br />
admiration when they were first<br />
and put back in<br />
opened are avoided<br />
the category <strong>of</strong> venerable antiques<br />
as soon as luxury has worked out some new device,<br />
to her own ultimate undoing. In the early days,<br />
however, there were few baths, and they were not<br />
fitted out with any display. For why should men<br />
elaborately fit out that which costs a penny only,<br />
and was invented for use, not merely for delight?<br />
The bathers <strong>of</strong> those days did not have water poured<br />
over them, nor did it always run fresh as if from a<br />
hot spring and<br />
; they did not believe that it mattered<br />
at all how perfectly pure w r as the water into which they<br />
were to leave their dirt. Ye gods, what a pleasure<br />
it is to enter that dark bath, covered with a common<br />
sort <strong>of</strong> ro<strong>of</strong>, knowing that therein your hero Cato,<br />
VOL. II L 315
Catonem tibi<br />
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
aedilem aut Fabium Maximum aut ex<br />
Corneliis aliquem manu sua temperasse ?<br />
Nam hoc<br />
quoque nobilissimi aediles fungebantur<br />
<strong>of</strong>ficio intrandi<br />
ea loca, quae populum receptabant, exigendique munditias<br />
et utilem ac salubrem temperaturam, non hanc,<br />
quae nuper inventa est similis incendio, adeo quidem,<br />
ut convictum in aliquo scelere servum vivum lavari<br />
oporteat. Nihil mihi videtur iam interesse, ardeat<br />
balineum an caleat.<br />
11 Quantae iiunc aliqui<br />
rusticitaiis damnant Scipionem,<br />
quod lion in caldarium suum latis specularibus<br />
diem admiserat, quod non in multa luce decoquebatur<br />
et expectabat, 1 ut in balneo concoqueret.<br />
() hominem calamitosum ! Nesciit 2 vivere. Non<br />
saccata aqua lavabatur, sed saepe turbida et, cum<br />
Nee multum<br />
plueret vehementius, paene lutulenta.<br />
eius intererat, an 3 sic lavaretur; veniebat enim ut<br />
12sudorern illic ablueret, non ut unguentum. Quas<br />
nunc quorundam voces futuras credis " ? Non invideo<br />
Scipioni ; vere in exilio vixit, qui sic lavabatur."<br />
Immo, si scias^ non cotidie lavabatur. Nam, ut aiunt,<br />
qui priscos mores urbis tradiderunt, brachia et crura<br />
cotidie abluebant, quae scilicet<br />
sordes opere collegerant,<br />
ceterum toti nundinis lavabantur. Hoc loco<br />
dicet aliquis<br />
: "olim 4 liquet mihi inmuiidissimos<br />
fuisse. Quid putas illos oluisse?" Militiam, laborem,<br />
4<br />
316<br />
1<br />
expectabat later MSS. ; spectabat VPb.<br />
2 nesciit Goth<strong>of</strong>redus ;<br />
nescit VPb.<br />
3<br />
an later MSS. ac VPb.<br />
aliquis: olim Hense ; ;<br />
aliquotis, aliquo^ aliquis MSS.<br />
a e.g., Varro, in the Calus : balneum noncolidianum.
EPISTLE LXXXVI.<br />
as aedile, or Fabius Maximus, or one <strong>of</strong> the Cornelii,<br />
has warmed the water with his own hands ! For<br />
this also used to be the duty <strong>of</strong> the noblest aediles<br />
to enter these places to which the populace<br />
resorted, and to demand that they be cleaned and<br />
warmed to a heat required by considerations <strong>of</strong> use<br />
and health, not the heat that men have recently<br />
made fashionable, as great as a conflagration so<br />
much so, indeed, that a slave condemned for some<br />
criminal <strong>of</strong>fence now ought to be bathed alive ! It<br />
seems to me that nowadays there is no difference between<br />
" the bath is on fire," and " the bath is warm."<br />
How some persons nowadays condemn Scipio as a<br />
boor because he did not let daylight into his perspiring-room<br />
through wide windows, or because he did<br />
not roast in the strong sunlight and dawdle about<br />
until he could stew in the hot water<br />
"<br />
! Poor fool,"<br />
they " say, he did not know how to live ! He did<br />
not bathe in filtered water ;<br />
it was <strong>of</strong>ten turbid, and<br />
after heavy rains almost '<br />
!<br />
muddy But it did not<br />
matter much to Scipio if he had to bathe in that<br />
way he went there to wash <strong>of</strong>f sweat, not ointment.<br />
And ;<br />
how do you suppose certain persons will answer<br />
me ?<br />
They will "<br />
say I don't envy : Scipio that<br />
;<br />
was truly an exile's life to put up with baths like<br />
'<br />
those !<br />
Friend, if you were wiser, you would know<br />
that Scipio did not bathe every day.<br />
It is stated by<br />
those a who have reported to us the old-time ways<br />
<strong>of</strong> Rome that the Romans washed only their arms<br />
and legs daily because those were the members<br />
which gathered dirt in their daily toil and bathed<br />
ail over only once a week. Here someone will retort :<br />
" Yes ; pretty dirty fellows they evidently were !<br />
'<br />
How they must have smelled ! But they smelled<br />
<strong>of</strong> the camp, the farm, and heroism. Now that<br />
317
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
virum. Postquam munda balnea inventa sunt, spur-<br />
13 ciores sunt. Descripturus infamem et nimiis 1 notabilem<br />
deliciis Horatius Flaccus quid ait ?<br />
Pastilles Buccillus olet.<br />
Dares nunc Buccillum ; proinde esset ac si hircum<br />
oleret, Gargonii loco esset, quern idem Horatius<br />
Buccillo opposuit. Parum est sumere unguentum,<br />
nisi bis die terque renovatur, ne evanescat in corpore.<br />
Quid, quod hoc odore tamquam suo gloriantur ?<br />
14 Haec si tibi nimium tristia videbuntur,<br />
villae inputabis,<br />
in qua didici ab Aegialo, diligeiitissimo patre<br />
familiae, is enim iiuiic huius agri possessor est, quamvis<br />
vetus arbustum posse transferri. Hoc nobis seni-<br />
nemo non olive-<br />
bus discere iiecessarium est, quorum<br />
turn alteri ponit. Quod vidi illud arborum trimum<br />
15 et quadrimum fastidiendi fructus aut deponere. 2 Te<br />
quoque proteget ilia, quae<br />
Tarda venit seris factura nepotibus umbram,<br />
ut ait Vergilius noster, qui non quid verissime, sed<br />
quid decentissime diceretur aspexit nee agricolas<br />
16 docere voluit, sed legentes delectare. Nam, ut alia<br />
omnia transeam, hoc quod mihi hodie necesse fuit<br />
deprehendere, adscribam :<br />
1 nimiis Lipsius ; nimi-s VPb.<br />
2<br />
The passage quod vidi . . . aut deponere is hopelessly<br />
corrupt.<br />
a Horace calls him RufiUus (Sat.<br />
i. 2. 2?) : paatUlos<br />
Kuftllus olef, Gargomus hircnin.<br />
b<br />
This seems to be the general meaning <strong>of</strong> the passage.<br />
c<br />
Georyics,<br />
318<br />
ii. 58.
EPISTLE LXXXVI.<br />
spick - and - span bathing establishments have been<br />
devised, men are really fouler than <strong>of</strong> yore.<br />
What<br />
says Horatius Flaccus, when he wishes to describe<br />
a scoundrel, one who is notorious for his extreme<br />
luxury ? He says : " Buccillus a smells <strong>of</strong> perfume."<br />
Show me a Buccillus in these days<br />
;<br />
his smell would<br />
be the veritable goat-smell he would take the<br />
with whom Horace in the<br />
place <strong>of</strong> the Gargonius<br />
same passage contrasted him. It is<br />
nowadays not<br />
enough to use ointment, unless you put on a fresh<br />
coat two or three times a day, to it<br />
keep from<br />
evaporating on the body. But why should a man<br />
boast <strong>of</strong> this perfume as if it were his own ?<br />
If what I am saying shall seem to you too pessimistic,<br />
charge it up against Scipio's country-house,<br />
where I have learned a lesson from Aegialus, a most<br />
careful householder and now the owner <strong>of</strong> this<br />
estate ;<br />
he taught me that a tree can be transplanted,<br />
no matter how far gone in years.<br />
We old men must<br />
learn this precept for there is none <strong>of</strong> us who is<br />
;<br />
not planting an olive-yard for his successor. I have<br />
seen them bearing fruit in due season after three or<br />
four years <strong>of</strong> unproductiveness b And you too shall<br />
be shaded by the tree which<br />
Is slow to grow, but bringeth shade to cheer<br />
Your grandsons in the far-<strong>of</strong>f years,<br />
as our poet Vergil says. Vergil sought, however,<br />
not what was nearest to the truth, but what was<br />
most appropriate, and aimed, not to teach the farmer,<br />
but to please the reader. For example, omitting<br />
all other errors <strong>of</strong> his, I will quote the passage in<br />
which it was incumbent upon me to-day to detect a<br />
fault :<br />
319
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
Vere fabis satio est : tune te quoque, raedica, putres<br />
Accipiunt sulci, et milio venit annua cura,<br />
An uno 1 tempore ista ponenda sint et an utriusque<br />
verna sit satio, hinc aestimes licet : lunius mensis<br />
est; quo tibi scribo, iam proclivis<br />
in luliura ;<br />
eodem<br />
die vidi fabam metentes, niilium serentes.<br />
17 Ad olivetum revertar, quod vidi duobus modis<br />
depositura 2 :<br />
arborum truncos circumcisis<br />
magnarum<br />
ramis et ad unum redactis pedem cum rapo suo<br />
transtulit amputatis radicibus, relicto tantum capite<br />
ipso, ex quo illae pependerant. Hoc fimo tinctum in<br />
scrobem demisit, deinde terram non adgessit tantum,<br />
18 sed calcavit et pressit. Negat quicquam esse hac, ut<br />
ait, pisatione efficacius ;<br />
videlicet frigus excludit et<br />
ventum. Minus praeterea movetur et ob hoc nascentes<br />
radices prodire patitur ac solum adprendere,<br />
3<br />
quas necesse est cereas adhuc et precario haerentes<br />
levis quoque revellat agitatio. Rapum 4 autem arboris,<br />
antequam obruat, radit, 5 Ex omni enim materia,<br />
quae nudata est, ut ait, radices exeunt novae. Non<br />
plures autem super terram eminere debet truncus<br />
quam tres aut quattuor pedes. Statim enim ab imo<br />
vestietur nee magna pars quemadmodum in olivetis<br />
19 veteribus arida et retorrida erit. Alter ponendi<br />
modus hie fuit : ramos fortes nee corticis duri,<br />
quales esse novellarum arborum solent, eodem genere<br />
1<br />
an uno later MSS. ; annuo VPb.<br />
2 depositum Gronovius ; dispositum VPb.<br />
3<br />
cereas later MSS. ;<br />
ceteras (caeteras) MSS. ;<br />
teneras<br />
Erasmus.<br />
4<br />
rapum Ludwig von Jan ; parum MSS.<br />
5<br />
radit Pincianus ; radix MSS.<br />
i.<br />
Georyics, 215 f.<br />
6 In Vitruvius vii. 1 G reads pinsatione, referring to the<br />
pounding <strong>of</strong> stones for flooring.<br />
320
EPISTLE LXXXVI.<br />
In spring sow beans ; then, too, O clover plant,<br />
Thou'rt welcomed by the crumbling furrows ; and<br />
The millet calls for yearly care. a<br />
You may judge by the following incident whether<br />
those plants should be set out at the same time, or<br />
whether both should be sowed in the spring. It is<br />
June at the present writing, and we are well on<br />
towards July and I have seen on this ;<br />
very day<br />
farmers harvesting beans and sowing millet.<br />
But to return to our olive-yard again.<br />
I saw<br />
it planted in two ways. If the trees were large,<br />
Aegialus took their trunks and cut <strong>of</strong>f the branches<br />
to the length <strong>of</strong> one foot each he then<br />
;<br />
transplanted<br />
along with the ball, after cutting <strong>of</strong>f the roots, leaving<br />
only the thick part from which the roots hang.<br />
He smeared this with manure, and inserted it in the<br />
hole, not only heaping up the earth about it, but<br />
stamping and pressing it down. There is nothing,<br />
he says,<br />
more effective than this packing process ^ ;<br />
in other words, it keeps out the cold and the wind.<br />
Besides, the trunk is not shaken so much, and for this<br />
reason the packing makes it possible for the young<br />
roots to come out and get a hold in the soil. These are<br />
<strong>of</strong> necessity still s<strong>of</strong>t ;<br />
they have but a slight hold,<br />
and a very little shaking uproots them. This ball,<br />
moreover, Aegialus lops clean before he covers it up.<br />
For he maintains that new roots spring from all the<br />
parts which have been shorn. Moreover, the trunk<br />
itself should not stand more than three or four feet<br />
out <strong>of</strong> the ground. For there will thus be at once a<br />
thick growth from the bottom, nor will there be a large<br />
stump, all dry and withered, as is the case with<br />
old olive-yards. The second way <strong>of</strong> setting them out<br />
was the following<br />
: he set out in similar fashion<br />
branches that were strong and <strong>of</strong> s<strong>of</strong>t bark, as those<br />
321
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
deposuit. Hi paulo tardius surgunt, sed cum tarnquam<br />
a planta processerint,<br />
abhorridum aut triste.<br />
nihil habent in se<br />
20 Illud etiamnunc vidi, vitem ex arbusto suo annosam<br />
transferri ;<br />
huius capillamenta quoque,<br />
si fieri potest,<br />
colligenda sunt, deinde liberalius sternenda vitis, ut<br />
etiam ex corpore radicescat. Et vidi non tantum mense<br />
Februario positas, sed etiam Marti o exacto ;<br />
tenent et<br />
21 conplexae sunt non suas ulmos. Omnes autem istas<br />
arbores, quae,ut ita dicam, grandiscapiae sunt, ait aqua<br />
adiuvandas cisternina, quae<br />
si prodest, habemus<br />
pluviam in nostra potestate.<br />
Plura te docere non cogito, ne quemadmodum<br />
Aegialus me sibi adversarium paravit, sic ego parera<br />
VALE.<br />
te mihi.<br />
LXXXVII.<br />
<strong>SENECA</strong> LVCILIO svo SALVTEM<br />
1 Naufragium, antequam navem adscenderem, feci.<br />
Quomodo accident, non adicio, ne et hoc putes inter<br />
<strong>Stoic</strong>a paradoxa ponendum, quorum nullum esse falsum<br />
nee tarn mirabile quam prima facie videtur, cum<br />
volueris, adprobabo, immo etiam si nolueris. Interim<br />
hoc me iter docuit, quam multa haberemus supervacua<br />
et quam facile iudicio possemus deponere,<br />
a<br />
An agricultural term not elsewhere found.<br />
6 i.e., on my journey I travelled with almost as meagre<br />
an equipment as a shipwrecked man.<br />
c<br />
Cf. Ep. Ixxxi. 11 and note.<br />
322
EPISTLES LXXXVI., LXXXVII.<br />
<strong>of</strong> young saplings are wont to be. These grow a little<br />
more slowly, but, since they spring from what is<br />
practically a cutting, there is no roughness or ugliness<br />
in them.<br />
This too I have seen recently an aged vine transplanted<br />
from its own plantation. In this case,<br />
the fibres also should be gathered together, if<br />
possible, and then you should cover up the vinestem<br />
more generously, so that roots may spring up<br />
even from the stock. I have seen such plantings<br />
made not only in February, but at the very end <strong>of</strong><br />
March ;<br />
the plants take hold <strong>of</strong> and embrace alien<br />
elms. But all trees, he declares, which are, so to<br />
speak, " thick-stemmed," a should be assisted with<br />
tank-water; if we have this help, we are our own<br />
rain-makers.<br />
I do not intend to tell you any more <strong>of</strong> these<br />
precepts, lest, as Aegialus did with me, I may be<br />
training you up to be my competitor. Farewell.<br />
LXXXVII.<br />
SOME ARGUMENTS IN FAVOUR<br />
OF THE SIMPLE LIFE<br />
" I was shipwrecked before I<br />
got aboard." b I<br />
shall not add how that happened, lest you may<br />
reckon this also as another <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Stoic</strong> c<br />
paradoxes ;<br />
and yet I shall, whenever you are willing to listen,<br />
nay, even though you be unwilling, prove to you<br />
that these words are by no means untrue, nor so<br />
surprising as one at first sight would think. Meantime,<br />
the journey showed me this : how much we<br />
possess that is superfluous and how ; easily we can<br />
make up our minds to do away with things whose<br />
VOL. ii L 2 323
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
quae, si quando necessitas abstulit, non sentimus<br />
ablata.<br />
2 Cum paucissimis servis, quos unum capere vehiculum<br />
potuit,<br />
sine ullis rebus, nisi quae corpora nostro<br />
continebantur, ego et Maximus meus biduum iam<br />
beatissimum agimus. Culcita in terra iacet, ego in<br />
culcita. Ex duabus paenulis altera stragulum, altera<br />
3 opertorium facta est. De prandio nihil detrahi potuit ;<br />
paratum fuit non magis hora, nusquam sine caricis,<br />
numquam sine pugillaribus. Illae, si panem habeo,<br />
pro pulmentario sunt, si non habeo, pro pane. Cotidie<br />
mihi annum novum faciunt, quern ego faustum et<br />
felicem reddo bonis cogitationibus et animi magnitudine,<br />
qui numquam maior est, quam ubi aliena<br />
seposuit et fecit sibi pacem nihil timendo, fecit sibi<br />
4 divitias nihil concupiscendo. Vehiculum, in quod<br />
inpositus sum, rusticum est ;<br />
mulae vivere se ambulando<br />
testantur ;<br />
mulio excalceatus, non propter<br />
aestatem. Vix a me obtineo, ut hoc vehiculura velim 1<br />
videri meum. Durat adhuc perversa recti verecundia,<br />
et quotiens in aliquem comitatum lautiorem incidimus,<br />
invitus erubesco, quod argumentiim est ista,<br />
quae probo, quae laudo, nondum habere certain sedem<br />
et inmobilem. Qui sordido vehiculo erubescit, pretioso<br />
gloriabitur.<br />
5 Parum adhuc pr<strong>of</strong>eci.<br />
Nondum audeo frugalitatem<br />
palam ferre. Etiamnunc euro opiniones viatorum.<br />
1<br />
velim V 2 ; nolivn V^Pb, etc.<br />
a<br />
As Pliny the Elder (a man <strong>of</strong> the same inquiring turn<br />
<strong>of</strong> mind) did on his journeys, Pliny, Ep.<br />
iii. 5. 15.<br />
1<br />
Caricae were sent as New Year gifts, implying by their<br />
sweetness the good wishes <strong>of</strong> the sender.<br />
324
EPISTLE LXXXVII.<br />
loss, whenever it is necessary to part witli them,<br />
we do not feel.<br />
My friend Maximus and I have been spending a<br />
most happy period <strong>of</strong> two days, taking with us very<br />
few slaves one carriage-load and no paraphernalia<br />
except what we wore on our persons. The mattress<br />
lies on the ground, and I<br />
upon the mattress. There<br />
are two rugs one to spread beneath us and one to<br />
cover us.<br />
Nothing could have been subtracted from<br />
our luncheon ;<br />
it took not more than an hour to prepare,<br />
and we were nowhere without dried figs,<br />
never<br />
without writing tablets. a If 1 have bread, I use figs as<br />
a relish if ; not, I regard figs as a substitute for bread.<br />
Hence they bring me a New Year feast every day/<br />
and I make the New Year happy and prosperous by<br />
good thoughts and greatness <strong>of</strong> soul for the soul is<br />
;<br />
never greater than when it has laid aside all extraneous<br />
things, and has secured peace for itself by fearing<br />
nothing, and riches by craving no riches. The<br />
vehicle in which I have taken my seat is a farmer's<br />
cart.<br />
Only by walking do the mules show that they<br />
are alive. The driver is barefoot, and not because it<br />
is summer either. I can scarcely force myself to<br />
wish that others shall think this cart mine. My false<br />
embarrassment about the truth still holds out, you<br />
see ;<br />
and whenever we meet a more sumptuous party<br />
I blush in spite <strong>of</strong> myself pro<strong>of</strong> that this conduct<br />
which I approve and applaud has not yet gained a<br />
firm and steadfast dwelling-place within me. He<br />
who blushes at riding in a rattle-trap will boast<br />
when he rides in style.<br />
So my progress is still insufficient. I have not yet<br />
the courage openly to acknowledge my thriftiness.<br />
Even yet I am bothered by what other travellers<br />
think <strong>of</strong> me. But instead <strong>of</strong> this, I should really<br />
325
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
Contra totius generis human! opiniones mittenda vox<br />
"<br />
erat : Insanitis, erratis, stupetis ad supervacua,<br />
neminem aestimatis suo. Cum ad patrimonium ventum<br />
est, diligentissimi conputatores sic rationem<br />
ponitis singulorum, quibus aut pecuniam credituri<br />
estis aut benencia, nam haec quoque iam expensa<br />
6 fertis : late possidet, sed multum debet habet<br />
;<br />
domum formosam, sed alienis nummis paratam<br />
:<br />
familiam nemo cito speciosiorem producet, sed nomim'bus<br />
non respondet<br />
si creditoribus<br />
; solverit, nihil<br />
illi supererit.<br />
Idem in reliquis quoque facere debebitis,<br />
excutere quantum proprii quisque habeat."<br />
7 Divitem ilium putas, quia aurea supellex etiam in<br />
via sequitur, quia in omnibus provinciis arat, quia magnus<br />
kalendari liber volvitur, quia tantum suburban!<br />
agri possidet, quantum invidiose in desertis Apuliae<br />
possideret.<br />
Cum omnia dixeris, pauper<br />
est. Quare ?<br />
Quia debet. "<br />
"<br />
Quantum<br />
? inquis. Omnia. Nisi<br />
forte iudicas interesse, utrum aliquis ab homine an a<br />
8 fortuna mutuum sumpserit. Quid ad rem pertinent<br />
mulae saginatae unius omnes colons? Quid ista<br />
o<br />
vehicula caelata ?<br />
Instratos ostro alipedes pictisque tapetis,<br />
Aurea pectoribus demissa monilia pendent,<br />
Tecti auro fulvom mandunt sub dentibus aurum.<br />
Ista nee dominum meliorem possunt facere nee mulam.<br />
a<br />
No-men in this sense means primarily the name entered<br />
in the ledger; secondarily, the item or transaction with<br />
which the name is connected.<br />
*<br />
Vergil, Aeneid, vii. 277 ff., describing the gifts sent by<br />
King Latinus to Aeneas.<br />
326
EPISTLE LXXXVII.<br />
have uttered an opinion counter to that in which<br />
mankind belie " ve, saying, You are mad, you are<br />
misled, your admiration devotes itself to superfluous<br />
things !<br />
o You estimate no man at his real worth.<br />
When property<br />
is concerned, you reckon up<br />
in this<br />
way with most scrupulous calculation those to whom<br />
you shall lend either money or benefits for ;<br />
by now<br />
you enter benefits also as payments in your ledger.<br />
You<br />
'<br />
say<br />
: His estates are wide, but his debts<br />
are<br />
'<br />
large.'<br />
He has a fine house, but he has<br />
built it on borrowed capital.'<br />
(<br />
No man will display<br />
a more brilliant retinue on short notice, but he<br />
cannot meet his debts.' a ' If he pays <strong>of</strong>f his<br />
creditors, he will have nothing<br />
left.' So you will<br />
feel bound to do in all other cases as well, to find<br />
out by elimination the amount <strong>of</strong> every man's actual<br />
possessions.<br />
I<br />
suppose you call a man rich just because his gold<br />
plate goes with him even on his travels, because he<br />
farms land in all the provinces, because he unrolls a<br />
large account-book, because he owns estates near the<br />
city so great that men would grudge his holding them<br />
in the waste lands <strong>of</strong> Apulia. But after you have<br />
mentioned all these facts, he is poor. And why<br />
?<br />
He is in debt.<br />
" "<br />
To what extent ? you ask. For<br />
all that he has. Or perchance you think it matters<br />
whether one has borrowed from another man or from<br />
Fortune. What good<br />
is there in mules caparisoned<br />
in uniform livery ? Or in decorated chariots and<br />
Steeds decked with purple and with tapestry,<br />
With golden harness hanging from their necks,<br />
Champing their yellow bits, all clothed in gold? 6<br />
Neither master nor mule is<br />
improved by such<br />
trappings.<br />
327
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
9 M. Cato Censorius, quern tarn e re publica fuit<br />
nasci quam Scipionem, alter enim cum hostibus nostris<br />
bellum, alter cum moribus gessit, cantherio vehebatur<br />
et hippoperis quidem inpositis, ut secum utilia<br />
portaret. O quam cuperem<br />
illi nunc occurrere aliquem<br />
ex his trossulis in via l cursores et Numidas et<br />
multum ante se pulveris agentem<br />
! Hie sine dubio<br />
cultior comitatiorque quam M. Cato videretur, hie,<br />
qui inter illos apparatus delicatos cum maxime dubi-<br />
10 tat, utrum se ad gladium locet an ad cultrum. O<br />
quantum erat saeculi decus, imperatorem triumphalem,<br />
censorium, quod super omnia haec est, Catonem<br />
uno caballo esse coiitentum et ne toto quidem !<br />
Partem enim sarcinae ab utroque latere dependente?<br />
occupabant. Ita noil omnibus obesis mannis et asturconibus<br />
et tolutariis praeferres unicum ilium equum<br />
11 ab ipso Catone defrictum ? Video non futurum fmem<br />
in ista materia ullum, nisi quern ipse mihi fecero.<br />
Hie itaque conticescam, quantum ad ista, quae sine<br />
dubio talia divinavit futura, qualia nunc sunt, qui<br />
primus appellavit "inpedimenta." Nunc volo paucissimas<br />
adhuc interrogationes nostrorum tibi reddere<br />
ad virtu tern pertinentes, quam satisfacere vitae beatae<br />
contendimus.<br />
12 "Quod bonum est, bonos facit. Nam et in arte<br />
musica quod bonum est, facit musicum. Fortuita<br />
1<br />
After via Lipsius removed divitibus.<br />
a<br />
For trossuli cf. Ep. Ixxvi. 2, and footnote.<br />
6 i.e., whether to turn gladiator or bestiarius.<br />
" " Amblers from Asturia in Spain.<br />
rf<br />
Horses with rapid steps, compared with " gradarii, slow<br />
pacers," cf. Ep. xl. 11.<br />
*<br />
The literal meaning <strong>of</strong> impedimenta, " luggage."<br />
328
EPISTLE LXXXVII.<br />
Marcus Cato the Censor, whose existence helped<br />
the state as much as did Scipio's, for while Scipio<br />
fought against our enemies, Cato fought against our<br />
bad morals, used to ride a donkey, and a donkey,<br />
at that, which carried saddle-bags containing the<br />
master's necessaries. O how I should love to see<br />
him meet to-day on the road one <strong>of</strong> our coxcombs,"<br />
with his outriders and Numidians, and a great cloud<br />
<strong>of</strong> dust before him ! Your dandy would no doubt seem<br />
refined and well-attended in comparison with Marcus<br />
Cato, your dandy, who, in the midst <strong>of</strong> all his<br />
luxurious paraphernalia, is chiefly concerned whether<br />
to turn his hand to the sword or to the<br />
6<br />
hunting-knife.<br />
what a glory to the times in which he lived, for a<br />
general who had celebrated a triumph, a censor, and<br />
what is most noteworthy <strong>of</strong> a all, Cato, to be content<br />
with a single nag, and with less than a whole nag<br />
at that ! For part <strong>of</strong> the animal was preempted by<br />
the baggage that hung down on either flank. Would<br />
you not therefore prefer Cato's steed, that single<br />
steed, saddle-worn by Cato himself, to the coxcomb's<br />
whole retinue <strong>of</strong> plump ponies, Spanish cobs, c and<br />
trotters d ? I see that there will be no end in dealing<br />
with such a theme unless I make an end myself. So<br />
1 shall now become silent, at least with reference to<br />
superfluous things like these doubtless the man who<br />
;<br />
first called them " hindrances " e<br />
had a prophetic<br />
inkling that they would be the very sort <strong>of</strong> thing<br />
they now are. At I<br />
present should like to deliver<br />
to you the syllogisms, as yet very few, belonging to<br />
our school and bearing upon the question <strong>of</strong> virtue,<br />
which, in our opinion, is sufficient for the happy life.<br />
"That which is<br />
good makes men good. For<br />
example, that which is good in the art <strong>of</strong> music makes<br />
the musician. But chance events do not make a<br />
329
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
bonum non faciunt. Ergo non sunt bona." Adver*<br />
sus hoc sic respondent Peripatetic!, ut quod primum<br />
proponimus, falsum esse dicant. "Ab eo," inquiunt,<br />
" quod est bonum, non utique fiunt boni. In musica<br />
est aliquid bonum tamquam<br />
tibia aut chorda aut<br />
organum aliquod aptatum ad usus canendi. Nihil<br />
13 tamen horum facit musicum." Hie respondebimus<br />
:<br />
" Non intellegitis, quomodo posuerimus quod bonum<br />
est in musica. Non enim id dicimus, quod instruit<br />
musicum, sed quod facit ;<br />
tu ad supellectilem artis,<br />
non ad artem venis. Si quid autem in ipsa arte<br />
14 musica bonum est, id utique musicum faciet." Etiamnunc<br />
facere istuc 1 planius volo. Bonum in arte musica<br />
duobus modis dicitur, alterum, quo effectus musici<br />
adiuvatur, alterum, quo ars. Ad eflfectum pertinent<br />
instrumenta, tibiae et organa et chordae, ad artem<br />
ipsam non pertinent. Est enim artifex etiam sine<br />
istis ;<br />
uti forsitan non potest arte. Hoc non est<br />
aeque duplex in homine ;<br />
idem enim est bonum et<br />
hominis et vitae.<br />
15 "Quod contemptissimo cuique contingere ac<br />
turpissimo potest, bonum non est.<br />
Opes autem et<br />
leiioni et lanistae contingunt. Ergo non sunt bona."<br />
" Falsum est," inquiunt, "quod proponitis. Nam et<br />
in grammatice et in arte medendi aut gubernaiidi vi-<br />
16 demus bona humillimis quibusque contingere." Sed<br />
istae<br />
artes non sunt magnitudinem animi pr<strong>of</strong>essae,<br />
1<br />
istuc Hense ; is me or his me MSS.<br />
a Of. Plato, Phaedo 86, where Socrates contrasts the<br />
material lyre with the "incorporeal, fair, divine" harmony<br />
which makes the music.<br />
330
EPISTLE LXXXVII.<br />
good man ; therefore, chance events are not goods."<br />
The Peripatetics reply to this by saying that the<br />
premiss is false that<br />
;<br />
men do not in every case<br />
become good by means <strong>of</strong> that which is<br />
good that<br />
;<br />
in music there is<br />
something good, like a flute, a harp,<br />
or an organ suited to accompany singing; but that<br />
none <strong>of</strong> these instruments makes the musician. We<br />
shall then " reply<br />
: You do not understand in what<br />
sense we have used the<br />
c<br />
phrase that which is<br />
good in<br />
music.' For we do not mean that which equips the<br />
musician, but that which makes the musician ; you,<br />
however, are referring to the instruments <strong>of</strong> the art,<br />
and not to the art itself. a If, however, anything in<br />
the art <strong>of</strong> music is good, that will in every case make<br />
the musician." And I should like to put this idea<br />
still more clearly. We define the good in the art <strong>of</strong><br />
music in two ways<br />
:<br />
first, that by which the performance<br />
<strong>of</strong> the musician is assisted, and second, that by<br />
which his art is assisted. Now the musical instruments<br />
have to do with his performance, such as<br />
flutes and organs and harps but<br />
; they do not have<br />
to do with the musician's art itself. For he is an<br />
artist even without them he ;<br />
may perhaps be lacking<br />
in the ability to practise his art. But the good<br />
in man is not in the same way tw<strong>of</strong>old ;<br />
for the good<br />
<strong>of</strong> man and the good <strong>of</strong> life are the same.<br />
" That which can fall to the lot <strong>of</strong> any man, no<br />
matter how base or despised he may be, is not a<br />
good. But wealth falls to the lot <strong>of</strong> the pander and<br />
the trainer <strong>of</strong> gladiators ;<br />
therefore wealth is not a<br />
good." "Another wrong premiss," they say, "for<br />
we notice that goods fall to the lot <strong>of</strong> the very lowest<br />
sort <strong>of</strong> men, not only in the scholar's art, but also in<br />
the art <strong>of</strong> healing or in the art <strong>of</strong> navigating." These<br />
arts, however, make no pr<strong>of</strong>ession <strong>of</strong> greatness <strong>of</strong><br />
331
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
non consurgunt in altum nee fortuita fastidiimt.<br />
Virtus<br />
extollit hominem et super cara<br />
mortalibus conlocat<br />
;<br />
nee ea, quae bona, iiec ea, quae mala vocantur,<br />
aut cupit nimis aut expavescit. Chelidon, unus ex<br />
Cleopatrae mollibus, patrimonium grande possedit.<br />
Nuper Natalis tarn inprobae linguae quam inpurae,<br />
in cuius ore feminae purgabantur, et multorum heres<br />
fuit et multos habuit heredes. Quid ergo ? Utrum<br />
ilium pecunia inpurum efFecit an ipse pecuniam inspurcavit<br />
? Quae sic in quosdam homines quomodo<br />
17 denarius in cloacam cadit. Virtus super ista consistit.<br />
Suo acre censetur. Nihil ex istis quolibet incurrentibus<br />
bonum iudicat. Medicina et gubernatio non<br />
interdicit sibi ac suis admiratione talium rerum Qui<br />
non est vir bonus, potest nihilominus medicus esse,<br />
potest gubernator, potest grammaticus tarn mehercules<br />
quam cocus. Cui contingit habere rem non<br />
quamlibet, hunc non quemlibet dixeris ;<br />
qualia quis-<br />
18 que habet, talis est. Fiscus tanti est, quantum habet;<br />
immo in accessionem eius venit, quod habet. Quis<br />
pleno sacculo ullum pretium ponit nisi quod pecuniae<br />
in eo conditae numerus efFecit ? Idem evenit magiiorum<br />
dominis patrimoniorum<br />
: accessiones illorum<br />
et appendices sunt.<br />
Quare ergo sapiens magnus est ? Quia magnum<br />
animum habet. Verum est ergo quod contemptis-<br />
19 simo cuique contingit, bonum non esse. Itaque ina<br />
See Ep. Ixxxviii., which is devoted to the development<br />
<strong>of</strong> this thought.<br />
6 i.e., at its own worth.<br />
332
EPISTLE LXXXVII.<br />
soul ; they do not rise to any heights nor do<br />
frown they<br />
upon what fortune may bring. a It is virtue<br />
that uplifts<br />
man and places him superior to what<br />
mortals hold dear ;<br />
virtue neither craves overmuch<br />
nor fears to excess that which is called good or that<br />
which is called bad. Chelidon, one <strong>of</strong> Cleopatra's<br />
eunuchs, possessed great wealth; and recently Natalis<br />
a man whose tongue was as shameless as it was<br />
dirty, a man whose mouth used to perform the vilest<br />
<strong>of</strong>fices was the heir <strong>of</strong> many, and also made many<br />
his heirs. What then ? Was it his<br />
money that made<br />
him unclean, or did he himself besmirch his money ?<br />
Money tumbles into the hands <strong>of</strong> certain men as a<br />
shilling o tumbles down a sewer. Virtue stands above<br />
all such things. It is appraised in coin <strong>of</strong> its own<br />
b<br />
minting and it deems none <strong>of</strong> these random windfalls<br />
to be good. But medicine and navigation do<br />
;<br />
not forbid themselves and their followers to marvel<br />
at such things. One who is not a good man can<br />
nevertheless be a physician, or a pilot, or a scholar,<br />
yes, just<br />
as well as he can be a cook ! He to whose<br />
lot it falls to possess something which is not <strong>of</strong> a<br />
random sort, cannot be called a random sort <strong>of</strong> man ;<br />
a person is <strong>of</strong> the same sort as that which he possesses.<br />
A strong-box<br />
is worth just what it holds ;<br />
or<br />
rather, it is a mere accessory <strong>of</strong> that which it holds.<br />
Who ever sets any price upon a full purse except the<br />
price established by the count <strong>of</strong> the money deposited<br />
therein ? This also applies to the owners <strong>of</strong> great<br />
estates :<br />
they are only accessories and incidentals to<br />
their possessions.<br />
Why, then, is the wise man ?<br />
great Because he<br />
has a great soul. Accordingly,<br />
it is true that that<br />
which falls to the lot even <strong>of</strong> the most despicable<br />
person is not a good. Thus, I should never regard<br />
333
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
habet illam cicada,<br />
dolentiara numquam bonum dicam ;<br />
habet pulex. Ne quietem quidem et molestia vacare<br />
bonum dicam ; quid est otiosius verme ? Quaeris,<br />
quae res sapientem facial ? Quae deum. Des oportet<br />
illi divinum aliquid, caeleste, magnificum. Non in<br />
omnes bonum cadit iiec quemlibet possessorem pati-<br />
20 tur. Vide<br />
Et quid quaeque ferat regio et quid quaeque recuset :<br />
Hie segetes, illic veniunt felicius uvae.<br />
Arborei fetus alibi atque iniussa virescunt<br />
Gramina. Nonne vides, croceos ut Tmolus odores,<br />
India mittat ebur, molles sua tura Sabaei ?<br />
At Chalybes nudi ferrum.<br />
21 Ista in regiones discripta sunt, ut necessarium<br />
mortalibus esset inter ipsos commercium, si invicem<br />
Summum illud bonum<br />
alius aliquid ab alio peteret.<br />
habet et ipsum suam sedem. Non nascitur, ubi<br />
ebur, nee ubi ferrum. Quis<br />
sit summi boni locus<br />
quaeris ? Animus. Hie nisi purus ac sanctus est,<br />
deum non " capit.<br />
Bonum ex malo non fit. Divitiae fiunt autem l<br />
22<br />
ex avaritia. Divitiae ergo non sunt bonum." " Non<br />
" est/' inquit, verum, bonum ex malo non nasci. Ex<br />
sacrilegio enim et furto pecunia nascitur. Itaque<br />
malum quidem est sacrilegium et furtum, sed ideo,<br />
quia plura mala facit quam bona. Dat enim lucrum,<br />
sed cum metu, sollicitudine, tormentis et animi et<br />
23 corporis." Quisquis hoc dicit, necesse est recipiat<br />
1<br />
divitiae fiunt autem Gemoll; divitiae fiunt.<br />
MSS.<br />
fiunt autem<br />
* Cf. the argument in Ixxvi. 9 f.<br />
* i.e., perfect reason and obedience to Nature.<br />
334<br />
Vergil, Georg. i.<br />
53 ff.
EPISTLE LXXXVII.<br />
inactivity as a good ; for even the tree-frog and the<br />
flea possess this quality.* 1 Nor should I regard rest<br />
and freedom from trouble as a good ; for what is more<br />
at leisure than a worm ? Do you ask what it is that<br />
produces the wise man ? That which produces a<br />
god. & You must grant that the wise man has an<br />
element <strong>of</strong> godliness, heavenliness, grandeur. The<br />
good does not come to every one, nor does it allow<br />
any random person to possess it. Behold<br />
What fruits each country bears, or will not bear ;<br />
Here corn, and there the vine, grow<br />
And richlier.<br />
elsewhere still the tender tree and grass<br />
Unbidden clothe themselves in green. Seest thou<br />
How Tmolus ships its saffron perfumes forth,<br />
And ivory comes from Ind ; s<strong>of</strong>t Sheba sends<br />
Its incense, and the unclad Chalybes<br />
Their iron. 6<br />
These products are apportioned to separate countries<br />
in<br />
order that human beings may be constrained to<br />
traffic among themselves, each seeking something<br />
from his neighbour in his turn. So the Supreme<br />
Good has also its own abode. It does not grow<br />
where ivory grows, or iron. Do you ask where the<br />
Supreme Good dwells ? In the soul. And unless<br />
the soul be pure and holy, there is no room in it<br />
for God.<br />
" Good does not result from evil. But riches<br />
result from greed<br />
; therefore, riches are not a good."<br />
" It is not<br />
" true," they say, that good does not<br />
result from evil. For money comes from sacrilege<br />
and theft. Accordingly, although sacrilege and<br />
theft are evil, yet they are evil only because they<br />
work more evil than good. For they bring gain ;<br />
but the gain<br />
is<br />
accompanied by fear, anxiety, and<br />
torture <strong>of</strong> mind and body." Whoever says this<br />
335
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
sacrilegium, sicut malum sit, quia multa mala facit,<br />
ita bonum quoque ex aliqua parte esse, quia aliquid<br />
boni facit. Quo quid fieri portentuosius potest ?<br />
Quamquam l sacrilegium, furtiim, adulterium inter<br />
bona haberi prorsus persuasimus. Quam multi furto<br />
non erubescunt, quam multi adulterio gloriantur<br />
!<br />
Nam sacrilegia minuta puniuntur, magna in trium-<br />
24 phis feruntur. A dice mine, quod sacrilegium, si<br />
oinnino ex aliqua parte bonum est, etiam honestum<br />
erit et recte factum vocabitur : nostra enim actio est. 2<br />
Quod nullius mortalium cogitatio recipit.<br />
Ergo bona nasci ex malo non possunt. Nam si,<br />
ut 3 dicitis, ob hoc unum sacrilegium malum est, quia<br />
multum mali adfert, si remiseris illi<br />
securitatem spoponderis, ex toto bonum erit.<br />
supplicia,<br />
si<br />
Atqui<br />
25 maximum scelerum supplicium in ipsis<br />
est. Erras,<br />
inquam, si ilia ad carnificem aut carcerem differs ;<br />
statim puniuntur, cum facta sunt, immo dum fiunt.<br />
Non nascitur itaque ex malo bonum, non magis quam<br />
ficus ex olea. Ad semen nata respondent, bona<br />
degenerare non possunt. Quemadmodum ex turpi<br />
honestum noil nascitur, ita ne ex malo quidem bonum.<br />
Nam idem est honestum et bonum.<br />
26 Quidam ex nostris adversus hoc sic respondent :<br />
" Putemus pecuniam bonum esse undecumque sumpquamquam<br />
Gruter ; quam Vb.<br />
1<br />
2<br />
Hense would read vocabitur ; hones ta (so Gemoll) enim<br />
actio recta actio est.<br />
3 si ut later MSS. ; sic ut Vb.<br />
a The good<br />
is absolute. The <strong>Stoic</strong>s held that virtue and<br />
moral worth were identical, although those who followed<br />
the argument to its logical conclusion had to explain away<br />
many seeming inconsistencies. Cf. Ep. Ixxxv. 17.<br />
336
EPISTLE LXXXV1I.<br />
must perforce admit that sacrilege, though<br />
it be an<br />
evil because it works much evil, is<br />
yet partly good<br />
because it accomplishes a certain amount <strong>of</strong> good.<br />
What can be more monstrous than this ? We have,<br />
to be sure, actually convinced the world that sacrilege,<br />
theft, and adultery are to be regarded as among the<br />
goods. How many men there are who do not blush<br />
at theft, how many who boast <strong>of</strong> having committed<br />
adultery For is<br />
petty ! sacrilege punished, but<br />
sacrilege on a grand scale is honoured by a triumphal<br />
procession. Besides, sacrilege, if it is wholly good in<br />
some respect, will also be honourable and will be<br />
called right conduct ;<br />
for it is conduct which concerns<br />
ourselves. But no human being, on serious consideration,<br />
admits this idea.<br />
Therefore, goods cannot spring<br />
from evil. For<br />
if, as you object, sacrilege is an evil for the single<br />
reason that it brings on much evil, if you but absolve<br />
sacrilege <strong>of</strong> its punishment and pledge it immunity,<br />
sacrilege will be wholly good. And yet the worst<br />
punishment for crime lies in the crime itself. You<br />
are mistaken, I maintain, if you propose to reserve<br />
your punishments for the hangman or the prison ;<br />
the crime is<br />
punished immediately after it is committed<br />
;<br />
nay, rather, at the moment when it is<br />
committed. Hence, good does not spring from evil,<br />
any more than figs grow from olive-trees. Things<br />
which grow correspond to their seed ;<br />
and goods<br />
cannot depart from their class. As that which is<br />
honourable does not grow from that which is base, so<br />
neither does good grow from evil. For the honourable<br />
and the good are identical."<br />
Certain <strong>of</strong> our school oppose this statement as<br />
follows<br />
"<br />
: Let us suppose that money taken from any<br />
source whatsoever is a good; even though it is taken by<br />
337
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
tarn ;<br />
non tamen ideo ex sacrilegio pecunia est, etiam<br />
si ex sacrilegio sumitur. Hoc sic :<br />
intellege in eadem<br />
urna et aurum est et vipera. Si aurum ex urna sustuleris,<br />
quia illic et vipera est; non ideo, inquam, mihi<br />
urna aurum dat, quia viperam babet, sed aurum dat 3<br />
cum et viperam habeat. Eodem modo ex sacrilegio<br />
lucrum fit;<br />
non quia turpe et sceleratum est sacrilegium,<br />
sed quia et lucrum habet. Quemadmodum in<br />
ilia urna vipera malum est, non aurum, quod cum<br />
vipera iacet, sic in sacrilegio malum est scelus, non<br />
27 lucrum." A quibus dissentio 1 : dissimillima enim<br />
utriusque rei condicio est. Illic aurum possum sine<br />
vipera tollere, hie lucrum sine sacrilegio facere non<br />
possum. Lucrum istud non est adpositum sceleri,<br />
sed inmixtum.<br />
28 "Quod dum consequi volumus, in multa mala<br />
incidimus, id boiium non est. Dum divitias autem<br />
consequi volumus, in multa mala incidimus ; ergo<br />
divitiae bonum non sunt."<br />
" " Duas," inquit, significationes<br />
habet propositio vestra, unam : dum divitias<br />
consequi volumus, in multa nos mala incidere.<br />
In multa autem mala incidimus et dum virtutem consequi<br />
volumus. Aliquis dum navigat studii causa,<br />
29 naufragium fecit, aliquis captus est. Altera significatio<br />
talis est :<br />
per quod in mala incidimus, bonum<br />
non est. Huic propositioni non erit consequens per<br />
1<br />
a quibtis dissentio later MSS. ; a quibus VFb.<br />
* That riches are not a good, but merely an advantage,<br />
was one <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Stoic</strong> paradoxes. In another passage (Dial.<br />
vii. 24-. 5) Seneca speaks <strong>of</strong> them in a kindlier manner<br />
divitias nego bonum esse ; nam si essent, bonos facerent.<br />
Ceterum et habendas esse et utiles et magna commoda vitae<br />
adferentls fateor. Cf. 36 <strong>of</strong> this letter.<br />
338
EPISTLE LXXXVII.<br />
an act <strong>of</strong> sacrilege, the money does not on that account<br />
derive its origin from sacrilege. You may get my mean-<br />
In the same<br />
ing through the following illustration :<br />
jar there is a piece <strong>of</strong> gold and there is a serpent.<br />
If you take the gold from the jar, it is not just<br />
because the serpent<br />
is there too, I say, that the jar<br />
yields me the gold because it contains the serpent<br />
as well, but it yields the gold in spite <strong>of</strong> containing<br />
the serpent also. Similarly, gain results from<br />
sacrilege, not just because is sacrilege a base and<br />
accursed act, but because it contains gain also. As<br />
the serpent in the jar is an evil, and not the gold<br />
which lies there beside the serpent so in an act <strong>of</strong><br />
;<br />
sacrilege it is the crime, not the pr<strong>of</strong>it, that is evil."<br />
But I differ from these men for the conditions<br />
;<br />
in each case are not at all the same. In the one<br />
instance I can take the gold without the serpent,<br />
in the other I cannot make the pr<strong>of</strong>it without committing<br />
the sacrilege. The gain in the latter case<br />
does not lie side by side with the crime ;<br />
it is blended<br />
with the crime.<br />
" That which, while we are desiring to attain it,<br />
involves us in<br />
many evils, is not a good. But while<br />
we are desiring to attain riches, we become involved<br />
in<br />
many evils; therefore, riches are not a good," a<br />
"Your first premiss," they " say, contains two meanings<br />
one is ; : we become involved in<br />
many evils<br />
while we are desiring to attain riches. But we also<br />
become involved in<br />
many evils while we are desiring<br />
to attain virtue. One man, while travelling in order<br />
to prosecute his studies, suffers shipwreck, and<br />
another is taken captive. The second meaning is<br />
as follows : that through O which we become involved<br />
in evils is not a good. And it will not logically<br />
follow from our proposition that we become involved<br />
339
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
divitias nos ant per voluptates in mala incidere ;<br />
aut<br />
si<br />
per divitias in multa mala incidimus, noil tantum<br />
vos autem<br />
bonum non suiit divitiae, sed malum sunt ;<br />
illas dicitis tantum bonum non esse. Praeterea/'<br />
inquit, "conceditis divitias habere aliquid usus.<br />
eadem ratione<br />
Inter commoda illas numeratis ;<br />
atqui<br />
ne l commodum quidem erunt. Per illas enim multa<br />
30 nobis incommoda eveniunt." His quidam hoc respondent<br />
:<br />
'<br />
Erratis, qui incommoda 2 divitiis inputatis.<br />
Illae iieminem laedunt ;<br />
aut sua nocet cuique stultitia<br />
aut aliena nequitia, sic<br />
quemadmodum gladius neminem<br />
occidit ;<br />
occidentis telum est. Non ideo divitiae<br />
tibi nocent, si propter divitias tibi nocetur."<br />
31 Posidonius, ut ego existimo, melius, qui ait divitias<br />
esse causam malorurn, non quia ipsae faciunt aliquid,<br />
sed quia facturos inritant. Alia est enim causa efliciens,<br />
quae protinus necesse est noceat, alia praecedens.<br />
Hanc praecedentem causam divitiae habent ;<br />
inflant animos, superbiam pariunt,<br />
iiividiam contrahunt<br />
et usque eo mentem alienant, ut fama pecuniae<br />
32 nos etiam nocitura delectet. Bona autem omnia<br />
carere culpa decet ;<br />
pura sunt, non corrumpunt animoSj<br />
non sollicitant. Extollunt quidem et dilatant,<br />
sed sine tumore.<br />
Quae bona sunt fiduciam faciunt,<br />
divitiae audaciam. Quae bona sunt magnitudinem<br />
340<br />
1<br />
ne inserted by Fickert.<br />
2 qui incommoda later MSS. ;<br />
qui commoda Vb.
EPISTLE LXXXYII.<br />
but riches give us arrogance. And arrogance<br />
is<br />
nothing else than a false show <strong>of</strong> greatness.<br />
"According to that argument," the objector says,<br />
"riches are not only not a good, but are a positive<br />
evil." Now they would be an evil if they did harm<br />
<strong>of</strong> themselves, and if, as I remarked, it were the<br />
efficient cause which inheres in them ;<br />
in fact, however,<br />
it is the antecedent cause which inheres in<br />
riches, and indeed it is that cause which, so far from<br />
merely arousing the spirit, actually drags it along<br />
by force. Yes, riches shower upon us a semblance<br />
<strong>of</strong> the good, which is like the reality and wins<br />
men. The ante-<br />
credence in the eyes <strong>of</strong> many<br />
cedent cause inheres in virtue also ;<br />
it is this<br />
which brings on envy for many men become unpopular<br />
because <strong>of</strong> their wisdom, and many men<br />
because <strong>of</strong> their justice. But this cause, though<br />
it inheres in virtue, is not the result <strong>of</strong> virtue<br />
itself, nor is it a mere semblance <strong>of</strong> the reality ;<br />
nay, on the contrary, far more like the reality is<br />
that vision which is flashed by virtue upon the<br />
spirits <strong>of</strong> men, summoning them to love it and<br />
marvel thereat.<br />
Posidonius thinks that the syllogism should be<br />
framed as follows "<br />
:<br />
Things which bestow upon the<br />
soul no greatness or confidence or freedom from care<br />
are not goods. But riches and health and similar<br />
conditions do none <strong>of</strong> these things<br />
; therefore, riches<br />
and health are not goods." This syllogism he then<br />
goes on to extend still further in the following way :<br />
"Things which bestow upon the soul no greatness<br />
or confidence or freedom from care, but on the other<br />
hand create in it arrogance, vanity, and insolence,<br />
are evils. But things which are the gift <strong>of</strong> Fortune<br />
drive us into these evil ways. Therefore these<br />
343
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
36 ergo non sunt bona."<br />
" " Hac/' inquit, ratione ne<br />
commoda quidem<br />
ista erunt." Alia est commodorum<br />
condicio, alia bonorum commodum<br />
; est, quod plus<br />
usus habet quam molestiae. Bonum sincerum esse<br />
debet et ab omni parte innoxium. Non est id bonum,<br />
37 quod plus prodestj sed quod tantum prodest. Praeterea<br />
commodum et ad animalia pertinet et ad inperfectos<br />
homines et ad stultos. Itaque potest ei esse<br />
incommodum mixtum, sed commodum dicitur a<br />
maiore sui parte aestimatum bonum<br />
;<br />
ad unum<br />
sapientem pertinet inviolatum esse ;<br />
oportet.<br />
33 Bonum animum habere ;<br />
unus tibi nodus, sed Herculaneus<br />
restat<br />
"<br />
: ex mails bonum non fit. Ex<br />
multis paupertatibus divitiae fiunt ;<br />
ergo divitiae<br />
bonum non sunt." Hanc interrogationem nostri non<br />
agnoscunt, Peripatetic! et fingunt illam et solvunt.<br />
Ait autem Posidonius hoc sophisma, per omnes dialecticorum<br />
scholas iactatum, sic ab Antipatro refelli :<br />
39 " paupertas non per possessionem dicitur, sed per<br />
detractionem vel, ut antiqui dixerunt, orbationem.<br />
Graeci Kara crrep^o-tv dicunt. Non quod habeat dicit,<br />
sed quod non habeat. 1 Itaque ex multis inanibus<br />
nihil inpleri potest<br />
;<br />
divitias multae res faciunt, non<br />
1<br />
Hense doubts the genuineness <strong>of</strong> non quod . . . habeat.<br />
a The " knot <strong>of</strong> Hercules " is associated with the caduceus<br />
(twining serpents) in Macrob. Sat. i. 19. 16 ; and in Pliny,<br />
IV 7 . //. xxviii. 63, it has magic properties in the binding up <strong>of</strong><br />
wounds.<br />
6<br />
Frag. 54 von Arnira.<br />
c<br />
Per posseasionem translates the Greek KaO' '^v as ) per<br />
orbatiomm (or detractionem) translates /card o-re/)?jcrij'.<br />
344
EPISTLE LXXXVI1.<br />
things are not "<br />
goods." But," says the objector,<br />
" by such reasoning^ things which are the gift <strong>of</strong><br />
Fortune will not even be advantages." No, advantages<br />
and goods stand each in a different situation. An<br />
advantage is that which contains more <strong>of</strong> usefulness<br />
than <strong>of</strong> annoyance. But a good ought to be unmixed<br />
and with no element in it <strong>of</strong> harmfulness. A thing<br />
is not good if it contains more benefit than injury,<br />
but only if it contains nothing but benefit. Besides,<br />
advantages may be predicated <strong>of</strong> "<br />
animals, <strong>of</strong> men<br />
who are less than perfect, and <strong>of</strong> fools. Hence the<br />
advantageous may have an element <strong>of</strong> disadvantage<br />
mingled with it, but the word " advantageous " is<br />
used <strong>of</strong> the compound because it is judged by its<br />
predominant element. The good, however, can be<br />
predicated <strong>of</strong> the wise man alone it is bound to be<br />
;<br />
without alloy,<br />
Be <strong>of</strong> good cheer ;<br />
there is only one knot a left<br />
for you to it is<br />
untangle, though a knot for a<br />
Hercules " : Good does not result from evil. But<br />
riches result from numerous cases <strong>of</strong> poverty therefore,<br />
riches are not a good." This syllogism<br />
;<br />
is not<br />
recognized by our school, but the Peripatetics both<br />
concoct it and give its solution. Posidonius, however,<br />
remarks that this fallacy, which has been<br />
bandied about among all the schools <strong>of</strong> dialectic, is<br />
refuted by Antipater b as follows " : The word<br />
'<br />
poverty ' c<br />
is used to denote, not the possession <strong>of</strong><br />
something, but the non-possession or, as the ancients<br />
have put it, deprivation, (for the Greeks use the<br />
'<br />
phrase by deprivation,' meaning ' negatively ').<br />
(<br />
Poverty '<br />
states, not what a man has, but what he<br />
has not. Consequently there can be no fulness<br />
resulting from a multitude <strong>of</strong> voids ;<br />
many positive<br />
things, and not many deficiencies, make up riches.<br />
345
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
inultae iiiopiae. Aliter," inquit,<br />
" quam debes, paupertatem<br />
intellegis. Paupertas enim est noil quae<br />
pauca possidet, sed quae multa non possidet ita non<br />
;<br />
ab eo dicitur, quod habet, sed ab eo, quod ei deest."<br />
40 Facilius, quod volo, exprimerem,<br />
si Latinum verbum<br />
esset, quo aw-trap^ta significatur. Hanc paupertati<br />
Antipater adsignat ego non video, quid aliud sit<br />
;<br />
paupertas quam parvi possessio. De isto videbimus,<br />
si<br />
quando valde vacabit, quae sit divitiarum, quae<br />
paupertatis substantia ;<br />
sed tune quoque considerabimus,<br />
numquid satius sit paupertatem permulcere,<br />
divitiis demere supercilium quam litigare de verbis,<br />
quasi iam de rebus iudicatum sit.<br />
41 Putemus nos ad contionem vocatos ;<br />
lex de abolendis<br />
divitiis fertur. His interrogationibus suasuri<br />
aut dissuasuri sumus ? His effecturi, ut populus<br />
Romanus paupertatem, fundamentum et causam imperii<br />
sui, requirat ac laudet, 1 divitias autem suas<br />
timeat, ut cogitet has se apud victos repperisse, hinc<br />
ambitum et largitiones et tumultus in urbem sanctissimam<br />
et temperantissimam inrupisse, nimis luxuriose<br />
osteiitari gentium spolia, quod unus populus eripuerit<br />
omnibus, facilius ab omnibus uni eripi posse ?<br />
1<br />
laudet later MSS. ;<br />
laudes \Pb.<br />
Hanc<br />
a Seneca here bursts into a diatribe on the corruption <strong>of</strong><br />
Rome, a habit which we find in many other <strong>of</strong> his writings,<br />
especially in the Naturales Quaestiones.<br />
346
EPISTLE LXXXVII.<br />
You " have/' says lie, a wrong notion <strong>of</strong> the meaning<br />
<strong>of</strong> what poverty<br />
is. For poverty does not mean the<br />
possession <strong>of</strong> little, but the non-possession <strong>of</strong> much ;<br />
it is<br />
used, therefore, not <strong>of</strong> what a man has, but <strong>of</strong><br />
what he lacks." I could express my meaning more<br />
easily<br />
if there were a Latin word which could translate<br />
the Greek word which means "not-possessing."<br />
Antipater assigns this quality to poverty, but for<br />
my part I cannot see what else is<br />
poverty than the<br />
possession <strong>of</strong> little. If ever we have plenty <strong>of</strong> leisure,<br />
we shall investigate the question What is the<br />
:<br />
essence <strong>of</strong> riches, and what the essence <strong>of</strong> poverty ;<br />
but when the time comes, we shall also consider<br />
whether it is not better to try to mitigate poverty,<br />
and to relieve wealth <strong>of</strong> its arrogance, than to quibble<br />
about the words as if the question <strong>of</strong> the things<br />
were already decided.<br />
Let us suppose that we have been summoned to<br />
an assembly<br />
;<br />
an act dealing with the abolition <strong>of</strong><br />
riches has been brought before the meeting. Shall<br />
we be supporting or it, opposing it, if we use these<br />
syllogisms ? Will these syllogisms help us to bring<br />
it about that the Roman people shall demand poverty<br />
and praise it poverty, the foundation and cause <strong>of</strong><br />
their empire, and, on the other hand, shall shrink<br />
in fear from their present wealth, reflecting that<br />
they have found it among the victims <strong>of</strong> their conquests,<br />
that wealth is the source from which <strong>of</strong>ficeseeking<br />
and bribery and disorder a have burst into a<br />
city once characterized by the utmost scrupulousness<br />
and sobriety, and that because <strong>of</strong> wealth an exhibition<br />
all too lavish is made <strong>of</strong> the spoils <strong>of</strong> conquered<br />
nations ;<br />
reflecting, finally, that whatever one people<br />
has snatched away from all the rest may<br />
still more<br />
easily be snatched by all away from one ? Nay, it<br />
VOL. ii M 347
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
satius est suadere l et expugnare adfectus, non circumscribere.<br />
Si possumus, fortius loquamur ; si<br />
minus, apertius. VALE.<br />
LXXXVIII.<br />
SENKCA LVCILIO svo SALVTEM<br />
1 De liberalibus studiis quid sentiam, scire desideras:<br />
nulluin suspicio, nullum in bonis numero, quod ad aes<br />
exit. Meritoria artificia sunt, hactenus utilia, si praeparant<br />
ingenium, non detinent. Tamdiu enim istis<br />
inmorandum est, quamdiu nihil animus agere maius<br />
2 potest rudimenta suiit nostra, non opera. Quare<br />
;<br />
liberalia studia dicta sint, vides ;<br />
quia homine libero<br />
digna snnt. Ceterum unum studium vere liberale<br />
est, quod liberum facit. Hoc est sapientiae, sublime,<br />
Cetera pusilla et puerilia sunt;<br />
forte, magnanimum.<br />
an tu quicquam<br />
in istis esse credis boni, quorum pr<strong>of</strong>essores<br />
turpissimos omnium ac flagitiosissimos cernis ?<br />
Non discere debemus ista, sed didicisse.<br />
Quidam illud de liberalibus studiis quaerendum<br />
iudicaverunt, an virum bonum facerent ;<br />
ne promittunt<br />
quidem nee huius rei scientiam adfectant.<br />
1<br />
After suadere Hense added re.<br />
a<br />
The regular round <strong>of</strong> education, yKVK\ios TraiSela, including<br />
grammar, music, geometry, arithmetic, astrology, and<br />
certain phases <strong>of</strong> rhetoric and dialectic, are in this letter<br />
contrasted with liberal studies those which have for their<br />
object the pursuit <strong>of</strong> virtue. Seneca is thus interpreting<br />
studia liberalia in a higher sense than his contemporaries<br />
would expect. Compare<br />
J. R. Lowell's definition <strong>of</strong> a<br />
university, "a place where nothing useful is taught."<br />
348
EPISTLES LXXXVIL, LXXXVIII.<br />
were better to support this law by our conduct<br />
and to subdue our desires by direct assault rather<br />
than to circumvent them by logic.<br />
If we can,<br />
let us speak more boldly if ; not, let us speak more<br />
frankly.<br />
ON LIBERAL AND<br />
VOCATIONAL STUDIES<br />
LXXXVIII.<br />
You have been wishing to know my views with<br />
regard to liberal studies.* My answer is this : I<br />
respect no study, and deem no study good, which<br />
results in money-making. Such studies are pr<strong>of</strong>itbringing<br />
occupations, useful only in so far as they<br />
give the mind a preparation and do not engage it<br />
permanently. One should linger upon them only<br />
so long as the mind can occupy itself with nothing<br />
greater ;<br />
they are our apprenticeship, not our real<br />
work. Hence you see why " liberal studies " are so<br />
called ;<br />
it is because they are studies worthy <strong>of</strong> a<br />
free-born gentleman. But there is only one really<br />
liberal study, that which gives a man his liberty.<br />
It is the study <strong>of</strong> wisdom, and that is l<strong>of</strong>ty, brave,<br />
and great-souled. All other studies are puny and<br />
puerile. You surely do not believe that there is<br />
good in any <strong>of</strong> the subjects whose teachers are, as<br />
you see, men <strong>of</strong> the most ignoble and base stamp ?<br />
We ought not to be learning such things<br />
;<br />
we<br />
should have done w r ith learning them.<br />
Certain persons have made up their minds that<br />
the point at issue with regard to the liberal studies<br />
is whether they make men good<br />
;<br />
but they do not<br />
even pr<strong>of</strong>ess or aim at a knowledge <strong>of</strong> this particular<br />
349
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
3 Grammaticus circa curam sermonis versatur et, si<br />
latius evagari vult, circa historias, iam ut longissime<br />
fines suos pr<strong>of</strong>erat, circa carmina. Quid horum ad<br />
virtutem viani sternit ?<br />
Syllabarum eiiarratio et<br />
verborum diligentia et fabularum niemoria et versuuni<br />
lex ac moditicatio ? Quid ex his metum demit,<br />
4 cupiditatem eximit, libidinem frenat ? . . .<br />
Quaeritur 1<br />
utrum doceant isti virtutem an non ;<br />
si non decent,<br />
ne tradunt quidern. Si decent, philosophi sunt.<br />
Vis scire, quam non ad docendam virtutem consederint<br />
?<br />
Aspice, quam dissimilia inter se omnium<br />
studia siiit ; atqui similitude esset idem docentium.<br />
5 Nisi forte tibi Homerum philosophum fuisse<br />
persuadent, cum his ipsis, quibus colligunt, negent.<br />
Nam mode <strong>Stoic</strong>um ilium faciunt, virtutem solam<br />
probantem et voluptates refugieiitem et ab honesto<br />
ne inmortalitatis quidem pretio recedentem, mode<br />
Epicureum, laudantem statum quietae civitatis et<br />
inter con vi via cantusque vitam exigentis, modo Peripateticum,<br />
tria bonorum genera inducentem, modo<br />
Academicum, omnia incerta dicentem. Adparet<br />
nihil horum esse in illo, quia omnia sunt. Ista enim<br />
1<br />
After frenat MSS. give ad geometriam transeamns et ad<br />
musicen ; nihil apud ilias invenies* quod vetet timbre* vetet<br />
cupere. Quisquis ignored, alia frustra scit, leaving an impossible<br />
syntax before utrum. Videndum utrum later MSS.<br />
Quaeritur would be a reasonable conjecture.<br />
a Grammaticus in classical Greek means " one who is<br />
"<br />
familiar with the alphabet<br />
; in the Alexandrian a^e a<br />
"student <strong>of</strong> literature"; in the Roman age the equivalent<br />
<strong>of</strong> litteratus. Seneca means here a " specialist in linguistic<br />
science."<br />
6 i.e.* philosophy (virtue).<br />
This theory was approved by Democritus, Hippias <strong>of</strong><br />
Elis, and the allegorical interpreters ; Xenophanes, Heraclitus,<br />
and Plato himself condemned Homer for his supposed<br />
unphilosophic fabrications.<br />
350
EPISTLE LXXXVIII.<br />
subject. The scholar a busies himself with investigations<br />
into language, and if it be his desire to go<br />
farther afield, he works on history, or, if he would<br />
extend his range to the farthest limits, on poetry.<br />
But which <strong>of</strong> these paves the way to virtue ? Pronouncing<br />
syllables, investigating words, memorizing<br />
plays, or making rules for the scansion <strong>of</strong> poetry,<br />
what is there in all this that rids one <strong>of</strong> fear, roots<br />
out desire, or bridles the passions<br />
? The question<br />
is : do<br />
such men teach virtue, or not ? If they do<br />
not teach it, then neither do they transmit it. If<br />
they do teach it, they are philosophers.<br />
Would you<br />
like to know how it<br />
happens that they have not taken<br />
the chair for the purpose <strong>of</strong> teaching virtue ? See how<br />
unlike their subjects are ;<br />
and yet their subjects would<br />
resemble each other if they taught the same thing. 6<br />
It<br />
may be, perhaps, that they make you believe<br />
that Homer was a philosopher/ although they<br />
disprove this by the very arguments through which<br />
they seek to prove it. For sometimes they make <strong>of</strong><br />
him a <strong>Stoic</strong>, who approves nothing but virtue, avoids<br />
pleasures, and refuses to relinquish honour even at<br />
the price <strong>of</strong> immortality<br />
;<br />
sometimes they make him<br />
an Epicurean, praising the condition <strong>of</strong> a state in<br />
repose, which passes its days in feasting and song ;<br />
sometimes a Peripatetic, classifying goodness in three<br />
ways d ;<br />
sometimes an Academic, holding that all<br />
things are uncertain. It is clear, however, that no<br />
one <strong>of</strong> these doctrines is to be fathered upon<br />
Homer, just because they are all there for ; they are<br />
d<br />
The tria genera bonorum <strong>of</strong> Cicero's De Fin v. 84.<br />
Cf. ib. 18, where the three proper objects <strong>of</strong> man's search<br />
are given as the desire for pleasure, the avoidance <strong>of</strong> pain,<br />
and the attainment <strong>of</strong> such natural goods as health, strength,<br />
and soundness <strong>of</strong> mind. The <strong>Stoic</strong>s held that the good was<br />
absolute.<br />
351
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
inter se dissident. Demus illis Homerum philosophum<br />
fuisse ;<br />
nempe sapiens factus est, antequam<br />
carmina ulla cognosceret. Ergo<br />
ilia discamus, quae<br />
Homerum fecere sapientem.<br />
6 Hoc quidem me quaerere, uter maior aetate fuerit,<br />
Hoaierus an Hesiodus, non magis ad rem pertinet<br />
quam scire, cum minor Hecuba fuerit quam Helena,<br />
quare tarn male tulerit aetatem. Quid ? Inquam,<br />
annos Patrocli et Achillis inquirere ad rem existimas<br />
7 pertinere ? Quaeris, Vlixes ubi erraverit, potius<br />
quam efficias, ne nos semper erremus ? Noil vacat<br />
audire, utrum inter Italiam et Siciliam iactatus sit an<br />
extra notum nobis orbem, neque enim potuit in tarn<br />
angusto error esse tarn longus ; tempestates nos<br />
animi cotidie iactant etnequitiain omnia Vlixis mala<br />
inpellit. Non deest forma, quae sollicitet oculos,<br />
non hostis ;<br />
hinc monstra effera et humano cruore<br />
gaudentia, hinc iiisidiosa blandimenta aurium, hinc<br />
naufragia et tot varietates malorum. Hoc me doce,<br />
quoraodo patriam amem, quomodo uxorem, quomodo<br />
patrem, quomodo ad haec tarn honesta vel naufragus<br />
g navigem. Quid inquiris, an Penelopa pudica<br />
l<br />
fuerit,<br />
an verba saeculo suo dederit ? An Vlixem. ilium<br />
esse, quern videbat, antequam sciret, suspicata sit ?<br />
1<br />
pudica later MSS. ;<br />
inpudica VPb.<br />
a<br />
Summers compares Lucian, Gall. 17. Seneca, however,<br />
does not take such gossip seriously.<br />
6<br />
This sentence alludes to Calypso, Circe, the Cyclops,<br />
and the Sirens.<br />
c<br />
Unfavourable comment by Lycophron, and by Cicero,<br />
De Nat. l)eor.<br />
natum ferunt.<br />
iii. 22 (Mercuriuts) ex quo et Penelopa Pana<br />
352
EPISTLE LXXXVIII.<br />
irreconcilable with one another.<br />
We may admit to<br />
these men, indeed, that Homer was a philosopher<br />
;<br />
yet surely he became a wise man before he had any<br />
knowledge <strong>of</strong> poetry. So let us learn the particular<br />
things that made Homer wise.<br />
It is no more to the point, <strong>of</strong> course, for me to<br />
investigate whether Homer or Hesiod was the older<br />
poet, than to know why Hecuba, although younger<br />
than Helen, a showed her years so lamentably. What,<br />
in your opinion, I say, would be the point in trying<br />
to determine the respective ages <strong>of</strong> Achilles and<br />
Patroclus? Do you raise the question, "Through<br />
what regions did Ulysses stray?' instead <strong>of</strong> trying<br />
to prevent ourselves from going astray at all times ?<br />
We have no leisure to hear lectures on the question<br />
whether he was sea-tost between Italy and Sicily,<br />
or outside our known world (indeed,<br />
so long a<br />
wandering could not possibly have taken place<br />
within its narrow bounds) we ourselves encounter<br />
;<br />
storms <strong>of</strong> the spirit,<br />
which toss us daily, and our<br />
depravity drives us into all the ills which troubled<br />
Ulysses. For us there is never lacking the beauty<br />
to tempt our eyes, or the enemy to assail us ;<br />
on this side are savage monsters that delight in<br />
human blood, on that side the treacherous allurements<br />
<strong>of</strong> the ear, and yonder<br />
is<br />
shipwreck and<br />
all the varied category <strong>of</strong> misfortunes. 6 Show me<br />
rather, by the example <strong>of</strong> Ulysses, how I am to love<br />
my country, my wife, my father, and how, even after<br />
suffering shipwreck, I am to sail toward these ends,<br />
honourable as they are. Why try to discover whether<br />
Penelope was a pattern <strong>of</strong> c<br />
purity or whether she<br />
,<br />
had the laugh on her contemporaries Or ? whether<br />
she suspected that the man in her presence was<br />
Ulysses,<br />
before she knew it was he ? Teach me<br />
353
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
Doce me, quid sit pudicitia et quantum in ea bonum,<br />
in corpora an in animo posita sit.<br />
9 Ad musicum transeo : doces me, quomodo<br />
inter se<br />
acutae ac graves consonent, quomodo nervorum disparem<br />
reddentium sonum fiat concordia ;<br />
fac potius,<br />
quomodo animus secum meus consonet nee consilia<br />
mea discrepent. Monstras mihi, qui sint modi<br />
flebiles ;<br />
monstra potius, quomodo inter adversa non<br />
10 emittam flebilem vocem. Metiri me geometres docet<br />
latifundia potius quam doceat, quomodo metiar,<br />
quantum<br />
homini satis sit. Numerare docet me et<br />
avaritiae commodat digitos potius quam doceat nihil<br />
ad rem pertinere istas conputationes,<br />
non esse<br />
feliciorem, cuius patrimonium tabularios lassat, immo<br />
quam supervacua possideat, qui<br />
infelicissimus futurus<br />
est, si quantum habeat per se conputare cogetur.<br />
11 Quid mihi prodest scire agellum in partes dividere,<br />
si nescio cum fratre dividere ? Quid prodest colligere<br />
subtiliter pedes iugeri et conprendere etiam si<br />
quid decempedam effugit, si<br />
tristem me facit vicinus<br />
inpotens et aliquid ex meo abradens ? Docet quomodo<br />
nihil perdam ex finibus meis at ;<br />
ego discere<br />
12 volo, quomodo<br />
totos hilaris amittam.<br />
" Paterno agro<br />
et avito," inquit, "expellor." Quid? Ante avum<br />
a r<br />
With acutae and graves siippl} voces.<br />
1<br />
Perhaps the equivalent <strong>of</strong> a " minor."
EPISTLE LXXXV1I1.<br />
rather what purity is, and how great a good we have in<br />
it, and whether it is situated in the body or in the soul.<br />
Now I will transfer my attention to the musician.<br />
You, sir, are teaching me how the treble and the<br />
bass a are in accord with one another, and how,<br />
though the strings produce different notes, the<br />
result is a harmony rather bring my soul into<br />
;<br />
harmony with itself, and let not my purposes be out<br />
<strong>of</strong> tune. You are showing me what the doleful<br />
keys b are ;<br />
show me rather how, in the midst <strong>of</strong><br />
adversity, I may keep from uttering a doleful note.<br />
The mathematician teaches me how to lay out the<br />
dimensions <strong>of</strong> my estates ;<br />
but I should rather be<br />
taught how to lay out what is enough for a man to<br />
own. He teaches me to count, and adapts my<br />
fingers to avarice but I should<br />
; prefer him to teach<br />
me that there is no point in such calculations, and<br />
that one is none the happier for tiring out the bookkeepers<br />
with his possessions or rather, how useless<br />
property is to any man Avho would find it the greatest<br />
misfortune if he should be required to reckon out,<br />
by his own wits, the amount <strong>of</strong> his holdings. What<br />
good<br />
is there for me in knowing how to parcel out a<br />
piece <strong>of</strong> land, if I know not how to share it with my<br />
brother ? What good<br />
is there in working out to a<br />
nicety the dimensions <strong>of</strong> an acre, and in detecting<br />
the error if a piece has so much as escaped my<br />
measuring - rod, if I am embittered when an<br />
ill-tempered neighbour merely scrapes <strong>of</strong>f a bit <strong>of</strong><br />
my land ? The mathematician teaches me how I<br />
may lose none <strong>of</strong> my boundaries ; I, however, seek<br />
to learn how to lose them all with a light<br />
heart.<br />
" But," comes the<br />
" reply, I am being driven from<br />
the farm which my father and grandfather owned '<br />
!<br />
Well? Who owned the land before your grand-<br />
VOL. ii M 2 355
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
tuum quis<br />
is turn agrum tenuit ? Cuius, non dico<br />
hominis, sed populi fuerit, expedire potes Non<br />
?<br />
dominus isto, sed colonus intrasti. Cuius colonus es?<br />
Si bene tecum agitur, heredis. Negant iurisconsulti<br />
quicquam usu capi : publicum<br />
; hoc, quod tenes, quod<br />
tuum dicis, publicum est et quidem generis humani.<br />
13 O egregiam artem ! Scis rotunda metiri, in quadratum<br />
redigis quamcumque acceperis formam, intervalla<br />
siderum dicis, nihil est, quod in mensuram tuam<br />
non cadat. Si artifcx es, metire hominis animum.<br />
Die quani magnus sit, die quam pusillus sit. Scis,<br />
quae recta sit linea ;<br />
quid tibi prodest, si quid in vita<br />
rectum sit ignoras ?<br />
14 Venio nunc ad ilium, qui caelestium notitia<br />
gloriatur :<br />
Frigida Saturni sese quo stella receptet,<br />
Quos ignis caeli Cyllenius erret in orbes.<br />
Hoc scire quid proderit ? Ut sollicitus sim, cum<br />
stabunt aut cum Mer-<br />
Saturnus et Mars ex contrario<br />
curius vespertinum faciet occasum vidente Saturno,<br />
potius quam boc discam, ubicumque sunt ista, pro-<br />
15 pitia esse, non posse mutari? Agit<br />
ilia continuus<br />
ordo fatorum et inevitabilis cursus. Per statas vices<br />
remeant et effectus rerum omnium aut movent aut<br />
1<br />
After usu capi the later MSS. give publicum<br />
. . . dicis ;<br />
omitted by VPb.<br />
a i.e. ,<br />
for a certain term <strong>of</strong> years see R. W. Leage,<br />
Roman ; Private Law, pp. 133 ff.<br />
Compare also Lucretius<br />
iii. 971, and Horace, ii.<br />
Ep. 2. 159.<br />
i.<br />
Vergil, Geory. 336 f.<br />
&<br />
c<br />
Saturn and Mars were regarded as unlucky stars.<br />
Astrology, which dates back beyond 3000 K.C. in Babylonia,<br />
was developed by the Greeks <strong>of</strong> the Alexandrian age and<br />
got a foothold in Rome by the second century B.C., flourished<br />
356
EPISTLE LXXXVIII.<br />
father? Can you explain what people (I<br />
will not<br />
say what person) held it ?<br />
originally You did not<br />
enter upon it as a master, but merely as a tenant.<br />
And whose tenant are you ? If your claim is successful,<br />
you are tenant <strong>of</strong> the heir. The lawyers say<br />
that public property cannot be acquired privately by<br />
possession a ;<br />
what you hold and call your own is<br />
public property indeed, it belongs to mankind at<br />
large. O what marvellous skill ! You know how<br />
to measure the circle ;<br />
you find the square <strong>of</strong> any<br />
shape which is set before you you compute the<br />
;<br />
distances between the stars ;<br />
there is<br />
nothing which<br />
does not come within the scope <strong>of</strong> your calculations.<br />
But if you are a real master <strong>of</strong> your pr<strong>of</strong>ession,<br />
measure me the mind <strong>of</strong> man ! Tell me how great<br />
it is, or how puny<br />
! You know what a straight<br />
line<br />
is ;<br />
but how does it benefit you if you do not know<br />
what is straight in this life <strong>of</strong> ours ?<br />
I come next to the person who boasts his knowledge<br />
<strong>of</strong> the heavenly bodies, who knows<br />
Whither the chilling star <strong>of</strong> Saturn hides,<br />
And through what orbit Mercury doth stray. 6<br />
Of what benefit will it be to know this ? That I<br />
shall be disturbed because Saturn and Mars are in<br />
opposition, or when Mercury sets at eventide in<br />
plain view <strong>of</strong> Saturn, rather than learn that those<br />
stars, wherever they are, are propitious/ and that<br />
they are not subject to change ? They are driven<br />
along by an unending round <strong>of</strong> destiny, on a course<br />
from which they cannot swerve. They return at stated<br />
seasons ;<br />
they either set in motion, or mark the<br />
greatly under Tiberius. Cf. Horace, Od. i. 11. 1 f. ; Juv. iii.<br />
42 f., and F. Cumont, Astrology and Relief Ion among HIP,<br />
Greeks and Romans (trans.), esp. pp. 68 ff. and 84 ff.<br />
357
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
notant. Sed sive quicquid evenit faciunt, quid inmutabilis<br />
rei notitia pr<strong>of</strong>iciet<br />
?<br />
Sive significant, quid<br />
refert providere quod effugere non possis ? Scias<br />
16 ista, nescias ;<br />
fient.<br />
Si vero solera ad rapidum stellasque sequentes<br />
Ordine respicies, numquam te crastina fallet<br />
Hora nee insidiis noctis capiere serenae.<br />
Satis abundeque provisum est, ut ab insidiis tutus<br />
17 essem. " Numquid me crastina non fallit hora ?<br />
Fallit enim quod nescienti evenit."<br />
sit, nescio ;<br />
quid fieri possit,<br />
Ego quid futurum<br />
scio. Ex hoc nihil<br />
desperabo, totum expecto<br />
;<br />
si<br />
quid remittitur, boni<br />
consulo. Fallit me hora, si parcit, sed ne sic quidem<br />
fallit. Nam quemadmodum<br />
scio omnia accidere<br />
posse, sic scio et non utique casura.<br />
expecto, malis paratus sum.<br />
Utique secunda<br />
18 In illo feras me necesse est non per praescriptum<br />
euntem. Non enim adducor, ut in numerum liberaliuin<br />
artium pictores recipiam, non magis quam<br />
statuaries aut marmorarios aut ceteros luxuriae ministros.<br />
Aeque<br />
luctatores et totam oleo ac luto constantem<br />
scientiam expello ex his studiis liberalibus ;<br />
aut et *<br />
unguentarios recipiam et cocos et ceteros<br />
voluptatibus nostris ingenia accommodantes sua.<br />
1<br />
ceteros later MSS. ; ceteris VPb.<br />
i.<br />
Vergil, Georg. 49-t ff.<br />
6<br />
An allusion to the sand and oil <strong>of</strong> the wrestling-ring.<br />
358
EPISTLE LXXXVIII.<br />
intervals <strong>of</strong> the whole world's work.<br />
But if they are<br />
responsible for whatever happens, how will it help<br />
you to know the secrets <strong>of</strong> the immutable ? Or if<br />
they merely give indications, what good<br />
is there in<br />
foreseeing what you cannot escape? Whether you<br />
know these things or not, they will take place.<br />
Behold the fleeting sun,<br />
The stars that follow in his train, and thou<br />
Shalt never find the morrow play thee false,<br />
Or be misled by nights without a cloud."<br />
It has, however, been sufficiently and fully ordained<br />
that I shall be safe from anything that may mislead<br />
me. "What," you say, "does the ' morrow never<br />
play me false ' ? Whatever happens without my<br />
knowledge plays me false." I, for my part, do not<br />
know what is to be, but I do know what may come<br />
to be. I shall have no misgivings in this matter ;<br />
I await the future in its entirety ; and if there is<br />
any abatement in its severity, I make the most <strong>of</strong> it.<br />
J<br />
J s<br />
If the morrow treats me kindly, it is a sort <strong>of</strong> deception<br />
; but it does not deceive me even at that.<br />
For just as I know that all things can happen, so I<br />
know, too, that they will not happen in every case.<br />
I am ready for favourable events in every case, but<br />
I am prepared for evil.<br />
In this discussion you must bear with me if I do<br />
not follow the regular course. For I do not consent<br />
to admit painting into the list <strong>of</strong> liberal arts, any<br />
more than sculpture, marble - working, and other<br />
helps toward luxury. I also debar from the liberal<br />
studies wrestling and all<br />
knowledge that is compounded<br />
<strong>of</strong> oil and mud b ; otherwise, I should be<br />
compelled to admit perfumers also, and cooks, and<br />
all others who lend their wits to the service <strong>of</strong> our<br />
359
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
19 Quid enim, oro te, liberale habent isti ieiuni vomitores,<br />
quorum corpora in sagina, animi in macie et<br />
veterno sunt ? An liberale studium istuc esse<br />
iuventuti nostrae credimus, quam maiores nostri<br />
rectam exercuerunt hastilia iacere, sudem torquere,<br />
equum agitare, arma tractare ? Nihil liberos suos<br />
docebant, quod discendum esset iacentibus. Sed<br />
nee hae nee illae docent aluntve virtutem. Quid<br />
enim prodest equum regere et cursum eius freno<br />
temperare, adfectibus effrenatissimis abstrahi ?<br />
Quid<br />
prodest multos vincere luctatione vel caestu, ab<br />
iracundia vinci ?<br />
"<br />
20 Quid ergo<br />
? Nihil nobis liberalia conferunt<br />
"<br />
studia ? Ad alia multum, ad virtutem nihil. Nam<br />
et hae viles ex pr<strong>of</strong>esso artes, quae manu constant,<br />
ad instrumenta vitae plurimum conferunt, tamen ad<br />
C(<br />
virtutem non pertinent. Quare ergo liberalibus<br />
"<br />
studiis filios erudimus ? Non quia virtutem dare<br />
possunt, sed quia animum ad accipiendam virtutem<br />
praeparant. Quemadmodum prima ilia, ut antiqui<br />
vocabant, litteratura, per quam pueris elementa<br />
traduntur, non docet liberales artes, sed mox percipiendis<br />
locum parat, sic liberales artes non perducunt<br />
animum ad virtutem, sed expediunt.<br />
a Cf. Ep. xv. 3 copia ciborum subtilitas inpedUur.<br />
1<br />
In a strict sense :<br />
not, as in 2, as Seneca thinks that<br />
the term should really be defined the " liberal " study, i.e.<br />
the pursuit <strong>of</strong> wisdom.<br />
c<br />
For the trpuT-t} dyuyr] see ii.<br />
Quintilian, i. 4..<br />
360
EPISTLE LXXXVIII.<br />
'<br />
pleasures. For what liberal ' element is there<br />
in these ravenous takers <strong>of</strong> emetics, whose bodies<br />
are fed to fatness while their minds are thin and<br />
dull ? a Or do we really believe that the training<br />
which " they give is liberal '" for the young men <strong>of</strong><br />
Rome, who used to be taught by our ancestors to<br />
stand straight and hurl a spear, to wield a pike,<br />
to guide a horse, and to handle weapons Our<br />
?<br />
ancestors used to teach their children nothing that<br />
could be learned while lying down. But neither<br />
the new system nor the old teaches or nourishes<br />
virtue. For what good does it do us to guide a<br />
horse and control his speed with the curb, and then<br />
find that our own passions, utterly uncurbed, bolt<br />
with us ? Or to beat many opponents in wrestling<br />
or boxing, and then to find that we ourselves are<br />
beaten by anger?<br />
"What then," you say,<br />
"do the liberal studies<br />
contribute nothing to our welfare "<br />
? Very much in<br />
other respects, but nothing at all as regards virtue.<br />
For even these arts <strong>of</strong> which I have spoken, though<br />
admittedly <strong>of</strong> a low grade depending as they do<br />
upon handiwork contribute greatly toward the<br />
equipment <strong>of</strong> life, but nevertheless have nothing to<br />
do with virtue. And if<br />
you inquire, " Why, then,<br />
"<br />
do we educate our children in the liberal studies ? b<br />
it is not because they can bestow virtue, but because<br />
they prepare the soul for the reception <strong>of</strong> virtue.<br />
Just as that " primary course," c as the ancients<br />
called it, in grammar, which gave boys their<br />
elementary training, does not teach them the liberal<br />
arts, but prepares the ground for their early acquisition<br />
<strong>of</strong> these arts, so the liberal arts do not conduct<br />
the soul all the way to virtue, but merely set it<br />
going in that direction. 361
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
21 Quattuor ait esse artium Posiclonius genera : sunt<br />
volgares et sordidae, sunt ludicrae, sunt pueriles,<br />
sunt liberales. Volgares opificum, quae manu constant<br />
et ad instruendam vitam occupatae sunt, in<br />
quibus nulla decoris, nulla honesti simulatio est.<br />
22 Ludicrae sunt, quae ad voluptatem oculorum atque<br />
aurium tendunt. His adnumeres licet machinatores,<br />
qui pegmata per se surgentia excogitant et tabulata<br />
tacite in sublime crescentia et alias ex inopinato<br />
varietates aut dehiscentibus, quae cohaerebant, aut<br />
his, quae distabant, sua sponte coeuntibus aut his,<br />
quae eminebant, paulatim in se residentibus. His<br />
imperitorum feriuntur oculi omnia subita, quia causas<br />
23 non novere, mirantium. Pueriles sunt et aliquid<br />
habentes liberalibus simile hae artes, quas eyKVKAtovs<br />
Graeci, nostri autem liberales vocant. Solae autem<br />
24<br />
liberales sunt, inimo, ut dicam verius, liberae, quibus<br />
curae virtus est.<br />
" Quemadmodum," inquit,<br />
" est aliqua pars philosophiae<br />
naturalis, est aliqua moral is, est aliqua rationalis,<br />
liberalium artium turba locum<br />
sic et haec quoque<br />
sibi in philosophia vindicat. Cum ventum est ad<br />
naturales quaestioiies, geometriae testimonio statur ;<br />
25 ergo eius, quam adiuvat, pars<br />
est." Multa adiuvant<br />
a<br />
From what work <strong>of</strong> Posidonius Seneca is here quoting<br />
we do not know ; it may perhaps be from the IIporpeTrri/ca,<br />
or Exhortations, indicating the training preliminary to<br />
philosophy.<br />
6<br />
See note a, p. 348.<br />
c<br />
i.e., mathematics is a department <strong>of</strong> philosophia<br />
naturalis.<br />
362
EPISTLE LXXXVI1I.<br />
Posidonius a divides the arts into four classes :<br />
we have those which are common and low, then<br />
first<br />
those which serve for amusement, then those which<br />
refer to the education <strong>of</strong> boys, and, finally, the liberal<br />
arts. The common sort belong to workmen and are<br />
mere hand-work ;<br />
they are concerned with equipping<br />
life ;<br />
there is in them no pretence to beauty or<br />
honour. The arts <strong>of</strong> amusement are those which<br />
aim to please the eye and the ear. To this class<br />
you may assign the stage - machinists, who invent<br />
scaffolding that goes al<strong>of</strong>t <strong>of</strong> its own accord, or<br />
floors that rise silently into the and air, many other<br />
surprising devices, as when objects that fit together<br />
then fall apart, or objects which are separate then<br />
join together automatically, or objects which stand<br />
erect then gradually collapse. The eye <strong>of</strong> the<br />
inexperienced is struck with amazement by these<br />
things for such persons marvel at everything that<br />
;<br />
takes place without warning, because they do not<br />
know the causes. The arts which belong to the<br />
education <strong>of</strong> boys, and are somewhat similar to the<br />
liberal arts, are those which the Greeks call the<br />
" cycle <strong>of</strong> b studies," but which we Romans call the<br />
"liberal." However, those alone are really liberal<br />
or rather, to give them a truer name, "free"<br />
whose concern is virtue.<br />
"But," one will say, "just as there is a part <strong>of</strong><br />
philosophy which has to do with nature, and a part<br />
which has to do with ethics, and a part which has to<br />
do with reasoning, so this group <strong>of</strong> liberal arts also<br />
claims for itself a place in philosophy. When one<br />
approaches questions that deal with nature, a decision<br />
is reached by means <strong>of</strong> a word from the mathematician.<br />
Therefore mathematics is a department<br />
<strong>of</strong> that branch which it aids." c But many things<br />
363
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
nos nee ideo partes nostri l sunt. Immo si<br />
partes<br />
essent, non adiuvarent. Cibus adiutorium corporis<br />
nee tamen pars est. Aliquid nobis praestat geornetriae<br />
ministerium ; sic philosophiae necessaria est,<br />
quomodo ipsi faber. Sed nee hie geometriae pars<br />
26 est nee ilia philosophiae. Praeterea utraque fines<br />
suos habet. Sapiens enim causas naturalium et<br />
quaerit et novit, quorum numeros mensurasque geometres<br />
persequitur et subputat. Qua ratione constent<br />
caelestia, quae<br />
illis sit vis quaeve natura, sapiens<br />
scit ;<br />
cursus et recursus et quasdam observationes,<br />
per quas descendunt et adlevantur ac speciem interdum<br />
stantium praebent, cum caelestibus stare non<br />
27 liceat, colligit mathematicus. Quae causa in speculo<br />
imagines exprimat, sciet sapiens illud tibi geometres<br />
;<br />
potest dicere, quantum abesse debeat corpus ab<br />
imagine et qualis forma speculi quales imagines<br />
reddat. Magnum esse solem philosophus probabit ;<br />
quantus sit, mathematicus, qui usu quodam et exercitatione<br />
procedit sed ut procedat, impetranda<br />
;<br />
illi<br />
quaedam principia sunt. Non est autem ars sui<br />
28 iuris, cui precarium fundamentum est. Philosophia<br />
nil ab alio petit,<br />
totum opus a solo excitat ;<br />
mathematice,<br />
ut ita dicam, superficiaria est, in alieno<br />
aedificat. Accipit prima, quorum<br />
beneficio ad ul-<br />
1<br />
nostri Madvig ;<br />
nostrae MSS.<br />
a This line <strong>of</strong> argument inversely resembles the criticism<br />
by Seneca <strong>of</strong> Posidonius in Ep. xc. that the inventions <strong>of</strong><br />
early science cannot be properly termed a part <strong>of</strong> philosophy.<br />
h<br />
SeeN.Q. i. 4 ff.<br />
c<br />
According to Roman law, superficies solo " cedit, the<br />
building goes with the ground."<br />
364
EPISTLE LXXXVIII.<br />
aid us and yet are not parts <strong>of</strong> ourselves. Nay, if<br />
they were, they would not aid us. Food is an aid<br />
to the body, but is not a part <strong>of</strong> it. We get some<br />
help from the service which mathematics renders ;<br />
and mathematics is as indispensable to philosophy<br />
as the carpenter<br />
is to the mathematician. But<br />
carpentering is not a part <strong>of</strong> mathematics, nor is<br />
mathematics a part <strong>of</strong> philosophy. Moreover, each<br />
has its own limits ;<br />
for the wise man investigates and<br />
learns the causes <strong>of</strong> natural phenomena, while the<br />
mathematician follows up and computes their<br />
numbers and their measurements. a The wise man<br />
knows the laws by which the heavenly bodies<br />
persist,<br />
what powers belong to them, and what<br />
attributes ;<br />
the astronomer merely notes their<br />
comings and goings, the rules which govern their<br />
settings and their risings, and the occasional periods<br />
during which they seem to stand still, although as<br />
a matter <strong>of</strong> fact no heavenly body can stand still.<br />
The wise man will know what causes the reflection<br />
in a mirror ;<br />
but the mathematician can merely tell<br />
you how far the body should be from the reflection,<br />
and what shape <strong>of</strong> mirror will produce a given<br />
reflection. b The philosopher will demonstrate that<br />
the sun is a large body, while the astronomer will<br />
compute just how large, progressing in knowledge<br />
by his method <strong>of</strong> trial and experiment but in order<br />
;<br />
to progress, he must summon to his aid certain<br />
principles.<br />
No art, however, is sufficient unto itself,<br />
if the foundation upon which it rests depends upon<br />
mere favour. Now philosophy asks no favours from<br />
any other source ;<br />
it builds everything on its own<br />
soil ;<br />
but the science <strong>of</strong> numbers is, so to speak, a<br />
structure built on another man's land it builds on<br />
alien soil. c It accepts first principles, and by their<br />
365
!<br />
Before<br />
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
teriora perveniat. Si per se iret ad verum, si totius<br />
mundi naturam posset conprendere, dicerem multum<br />
conlaturam mentibus nostris, quae tractatu caelestium<br />
crescunt trahuntque aliquid ex alto. Una 1 re consummatur<br />
animus, scientia bonorum ac malorum<br />
inmutabili ;<br />
nihil 2 autem ulhi ars alia de bonis ac<br />
inalis quaerit.<br />
29 Singulas lubet 3 circumire virtutes. Fortitude<br />
contemptrix timendorum est terribilia<br />
;<br />
et sub iugum<br />
libertatem nostram mittentia despicit, provocat,<br />
frangit. Numquid ergo hanc liberalia studia corroborant<br />
? Fides sanctissimuni humani pectoris<br />
bonum est. nulla necessitate ad<br />
*<br />
fallendum cosntur,<br />
cT> *<br />
nullo " " corrurapitur praemio. Ure," inquit, caede,<br />
occide ;<br />
non prodam, sed quo magis secreta quaeret<br />
dolor, hoc ilia altius condam." Numquid liberalia<br />
studia hos aiiimos facere possunt ? Temperantia<br />
voluptatibus imperat, alias odit atque abigit, alias<br />
dispensat et ad sanuin modum<br />
redigit nee umquam<br />
ad illas propter ipsas venit. Scit optimum<br />
modum esse<br />
cupitorum non quantum velis, sed quantum<br />
30 debeas sumere. Humanitas vetat superbum esse<br />
adversus socios, vetat avarum. Verbis, rebus, adfectibus<br />
comem 4 se facilemque omnibus praestat.<br />
Nullum alienum malum putat. Bonum autem suum<br />
ideo maxime, quod alicui bono futurum est, amat.<br />
Numquid liberalia studia hos mores praecipiunt ?<br />
alto Gruter alia VP<br />
; ;<br />
aliqno b.<br />
1<br />
nihil later MSS. give quae soli philosophic^<br />
confetti oin. ; by the better MSS.<br />
3<br />
lubet Muretus ; habet VPb.<br />
4<br />
comem later MSS. ; commimem VPb.<br />
"<br />
Except philosophy.<br />
6 i.e., in the more commonly accepted sense <strong>of</strong> the term.<br />
366
EPISTLE LXXXVIII.<br />
favour arrives at further conclusions. If it could<br />
march unassisted to the truth, if it were able to<br />
understand the nature <strong>of</strong> the universe, I should say<br />
that it would <strong>of</strong>fer much assistance to our minds ;<br />
for the mind grows by contact with things heavenly,<br />
and draws into itself something from on high.<br />
There is but one thing that brings the soul to perfection<br />
the unalterable knowledge <strong>of</strong> good and<br />
evil. But there is no other art a which investigates<br />
good and evil.<br />
I should like to pass in review the several virtues.<br />
Bravery is a scorner <strong>of</strong> things which inspire fear ;<br />
it<br />
looks down upon, challenges, and crushes the powers<br />
<strong>of</strong> terror and all that would drive our freedom under<br />
the yoke. But do " liberal studies " b<br />
strengthen this<br />
virtue ?<br />
Loyalty is the holiest good in the human<br />
heart ;<br />
it is forced into betrayal by no constraint,<br />
and it is bribed by no rewards. Loyalty cries :<br />
" Burn me, slay me, kill me ! I shall not betray<br />
my trust and the more<br />
; urgently torture shall seek<br />
heart will I<br />
to find my secret, the deeper in my<br />
bury it!' Can the " liberal arts" produce such a<br />
spirit within us ? Temperance controls our desires ;<br />
some it hates and routs, others it regulates and<br />
restores to a healthy measure, nor does it ever<br />
approach our desires for their own sake. Temperance<br />
knows that the best measure <strong>of</strong> the appetites is not<br />
what you want to take, but what you ought to take.<br />
Kindliness forbids you to be over-bearing towards<br />
your associates, and it forbids you to be grasping.<br />
In words and in deeds and in feelings it shows itself<br />
gentle and courteous to all men. It counts no evil<br />
as another's solely.<br />
And the reason why<br />
it loves its<br />
own good is chiefly because it will some day be the<br />
good <strong>of</strong> another. Do "liberal studies" teach a man<br />
367
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
Non magis quam simplicitatem, quam modestiam ac<br />
moderationem, non magis quam frugalitatem ac parsimoniam,<br />
non magis quam clementiam, quae alieno<br />
et scit homini non esse<br />
sanguini tamquam suo parcit<br />
liomine prodige utendum.<br />
31 "Cum dicatis/' inquit, "sine liberalibus studiis ad<br />
virtutem non perveniri, quemadmodum negatis ilia<br />
nihil conferre virtuti?" Quia nee sine cibo ad<br />
virtutem perveiiitur, cibus tamen ad virtutem non<br />
pertinet. Ligna navi nihil conferunt, quamvis non<br />
fiat navis nisi ex lignis.<br />
Non est, inquam, cur aliquid<br />
putes eius adiutorio fieri, sine quo non potest fieri.<br />
32 Potest quidem etiam illud dici: sine liberalibus studiis<br />
veniri ad sapientiam posse<br />
;<br />
quamvis enim virtus<br />
discenda sit, tamen non per haec discitur.<br />
Quid est autem, quare existimem non futurum<br />
sapientem eum, qui litteras nescit, cum sapientia<br />
non sit in litteris ? Res tradit, non verba, et nescio<br />
an certior memoria sit, quae nullum extra se sub-<br />
33 sidium habet. Magna et spatiosa res est sapientia.<br />
Vacuo illi loco opus est. De divinis humanisque<br />
discendum est, de praeteritis de futuris, de caducis<br />
de aeternis, de tempore. De quo uno vide quam<br />
multa quaerantur<br />
:<br />
primum an per se sit aliquid ;<br />
deinde an aliquid ante tempus sit sine tempore cum<br />
;<br />
a This usage is a not infrequent one in Latin ; cf.<br />
Petronius. Sat. 42 neminem nih>l bonifacere oportet ; id. ib.<br />
58 ; Verg. Ed. v. 25, etc. See Draeger, Jlist. Syn. ii. 75, and<br />
Roby, ii. 2246 if.<br />
6<br />
Cf. Epp. xxxi. 6 and Ixxxi. 29 aestimare res, de quibus<br />
. . . cum rerum natura deliberandum est.<br />
c The ancient <strong>Stoic</strong>s defined Time as " extension <strong>of</strong> the<br />
world's motion." The seasons were said to be "alive"<br />
because they depended on material conditions. But the<br />
<strong>Stoic</strong>s really acknowledged Time to be immaterial. The<br />
same problem <strong>of</strong> corporeality was discussed with regard to<br />
the "good.<br />
368
'<br />
EPISTLE LXXXVIII.<br />
such character as this ? No ;<br />
no more than the)?<br />
teach simplicity, moderation and self - restraint,<br />
thrift and economy, and that kindliness which spares<br />
a neighbour's life as if it were one's own and knows<br />
that it is not for man to make wasteful use <strong>of</strong> his<br />
fellow-man.<br />
" But," one " says, since you declare that virtue<br />
cannot be attained without the ( liberal studies,'<br />
how is it that you deny that they <strong>of</strong>fer any assistance<br />
to virtue " ? a Because you cannot attain virtue<br />
without food, either ;<br />
and yet food has nothing to<br />
do with virtue. Wood does not <strong>of</strong>fer assistance to<br />
a ship, although a ship cannot be built except <strong>of</strong><br />
wood. There is no reason, I say, why you should<br />
think that anything<br />
is made by the assistance <strong>of</strong><br />
that without which it cannot be made. We might<br />
even make the statement that it is possible to<br />
attain wisdom without the "liberal studies"; for<br />
although virtue is a thing that must be learned, yet<br />
it is not learned by means <strong>of</strong> these studies.<br />
What reason have I, however, for supposing<br />
that one who is<br />
ignorant <strong>of</strong> letters will never<br />
be a wise man, since wisdom is not to be found<br />
in letters ? Wisdom communicates facts b and not<br />
words ;<br />
and it<br />
may be true that the memory is<br />
more to be depended upon when it has no support<br />
outside itself. Wisdom is a large and spacious<br />
thing. It needs plenty <strong>of</strong> free room. One must<br />
learn about things divine and human, the past<br />
and the future, the ephemeral and the eternal ;<br />
and one must learn about Time. See how many<br />
questions arise concerning time alone : in the first<br />
place, whether it is anything in and by itself ;<br />
in the second place, whether anything exists prior<br />
to time and without time ;<br />
and again, did time<br />
369
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
mundo coeperit an etiam ante mundura quia<br />
fuerit<br />
34 aliquid, fuerit et tempus. Innumerabiles quaestiones<br />
sunt de aiiimo tantum : unde sit, qualis sit, quando<br />
esse incipiat, quamdiu<br />
sit ;<br />
aliunde alio transeat et<br />
domicilia mutet in l alias animalium formas aliasque<br />
coniectus, an non amplius quam semel serviat et<br />
emissus vagetur in toto ;<br />
utrum corpus sit an non<br />
sit ; quid sit facturus, cum per nos aliquid<br />
facere<br />
desierit, quomodo libertate sua usurus, cum ex hac<br />
effugerit cavea an obliviscatur 2<br />
; priorum et illinc<br />
nosse se incipiat, unde corpori abductus in sublime<br />
secessit.<br />
35 Quamcumque partem<br />
rerum humanarum divinarumque<br />
conprenderis, ingenti copia quaerendorum ac<br />
discendorum fatigaberis.<br />
Haec tarn multa, tarn<br />
magna ut habere possint liberum hospitium, supervacua<br />
ex aiiimo tollenda sunt. Non dabit se in has<br />
aiigustias virtus ;<br />
laxum spatium res magna desiderat.<br />
Expellantur omnia, totum pectus<br />
illi vacet.<br />
36 "At enim clelectat artium notitia multarum."<br />
Tantum itaque ex illis retineamus, quantum necessarium<br />
est. An tu existimas reprendendum, qui<br />
supervacua usibus conparat et pretiosarum rerum<br />
pompam in domo explicat, non putas eum, qui<br />
occupatus est in supervacua litterarum supellectile ?<br />
Plus scire velle quam sit satis, intemperantiae genus<br />
370<br />
?<br />
1<br />
in Koch ; ad MSS.<br />
illinc Hense ; illi (ille) (illic) ne MSS.
EPISTLE LXXXVIII.<br />
begin along with the universe, or, because there was<br />
something even before the universe began, did time<br />
also exist then ? There are countless questions concerning<br />
the soul alone whence it comes, what is<br />
:<br />
its nature, when it begins to exist, and how long<br />
it<br />
exists ;<br />
whether it passes from one place to another<br />
and changes<br />
its habitation, being transferred successively<br />
from one animal shape to another, or whether<br />
it is a slave but once, roaming the universe after it<br />
is set free ;<br />
whether it is corporeal or not what will<br />
;<br />
become <strong>of</strong> it when it ceases to use us as its medium ;<br />
how it will employ its freedom when it has escaped<br />
from this present prison whether it will forget all its<br />
;<br />
past, and at that moment begin to know itself when,<br />
released from the body,<br />
it has withdrawn to the skies.<br />
Thus, whatever phase <strong>of</strong> things human and<br />
divine you have apprehended, you will be wearied<br />
by the vast number <strong>of</strong> things to be answered and<br />
things to be learned. And in order that these<br />
manifold and mighty subjects may have free entertainment<br />
in your soul, you must remove therefrom<br />
all superfluous things. Virtue will not surrender<br />
herself to these narrow bounds <strong>of</strong> ours ;<br />
a great<br />
subject needs wide space in which to move. Let all<br />
other things be driven out, and let the breast be<br />
emptied to receive virtue.<br />
" But it is a pleasure to be acquainted with many<br />
arts." Therefore let us keep only as much <strong>of</strong> them<br />
as is essential. Do you regard that man as blameworthy<br />
who puts superfluous things on the same<br />
footing with useful things, and in his house makes<br />
a lavish display <strong>of</strong> costly objects, but do not deem<br />
him blameworthy who has allowed himself to become<br />
engrossed with the useless furniture <strong>of</strong> learning?<br />
This desire to know more than is sufficient is a sort<br />
371
Itane<br />
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
37 est. Quid? Quod ista liberal! um artium consectatio<br />
molestos, verbosos, intern pestivos, sibi placentas facit<br />
et ideo non discentes necessavia, quia supervacua<br />
didicerunt. Quattuor milia librorum Didymus<br />
grammaticus scripsit. Misererer, si tani multa<br />
supervacua legisset, In his libris de patria Hoineri<br />
in his libids-<br />
quaeritur, in his de Aeneae matre vera,<br />
nosior Anacreon an ebriosior vixerit, in his an Sappho<br />
publica fuerit, et alia, quae erant dediscenda, si<br />
38 scires. I nunc et longam esse vitam nega. Sed ad<br />
nostros quoque cum perveneris, osteiidam multa<br />
securibus recidenda.<br />
Magno impendio temporum, magna alienarum<br />
aurium molestia laudatio haec constat : O hominein<br />
litteratum ! Simus hoc titulo rusticiore contenti :<br />
39 virum bonum ! est ? Annales evolvam omnium<br />
gentium et quis primus carmina scripserit<br />
quaeram ? Quantum temporis inter Orphea intersit<br />
et Homerum, cum fastos non habeam, computabo<br />
?<br />
Et Aristarchi ineptias, quibus aliena carmina conpunxit,<br />
recognoscam et aetatem in syllabis conteram?<br />
Itane in geometriae pulvere haerebo ? Adeo mihi<br />
praeceptum ilhid salutare excidit : "Tempori parce" ?<br />
Haec sciam ? Et quid ignorem<br />
?<br />
a Compare the schoolmaster <strong>of</strong> Juvenal (vii. 231 ff.), v/ho<br />
must know<br />
Nutricem Anchisae, nomen patriamque novercae<br />
Anchemoli, dicat quot Acestes vixerit annis, etc.,<br />
and Friedlander's note.<br />
6<br />
A tradition, probably begun by the Greek comic writers,<br />
and explained by Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Smyth (Greek Melic Poets, pp.<br />
227 f.) as due to the more independent position <strong>of</strong> women<br />
among the Aeolians.<br />
c<br />
Marking supposedly spurious lines by the obelus, and<br />
using other signs to indicate variations, repetitions, and<br />
interpolations. He paid special attention to Homer,<br />
Pindar, Hesiod, and the tragedians.<br />
372
EPISTLE LXXXVIII.<br />
<strong>of</strong> intemperance. Why ? Because this unseemly<br />
pursuit <strong>of</strong> the liberal arts makes men troublesome,<br />
wordy, tactless, self- satisfied bores, who fail to learn<br />
the essentials just because they have learned the<br />
non-essentials. Didymus the scholar wrote four<br />
thousand books. I should feel pity for him if he had<br />
only read the same number <strong>of</strong> superfluous volumes.<br />
In these books he investigates Homer's birthplace/<br />
who was really the mother <strong>of</strong> Aeneas, whether<br />
Anacreon was more <strong>of</strong> a rake or more <strong>of</strong> a drunkard,<br />
whether Sappho was a bad & lot, and other problems<br />
the answers to which, if found, were forthwith to be<br />
forgotten. Come now, do not tell me that life is<br />
!<br />
long Nay, when you come to consider our own<br />
countrymen also, I can show you many works which<br />
ought to be cut down with the axe.<br />
It is at the cost <strong>of</strong> a vast outlay <strong>of</strong> time and <strong>of</strong><br />
vast discomfort to the ears <strong>of</strong> others that we win<br />
such praise as this " "<br />
: What a learned man you are !<br />
Let us be content with this recommendation, less<br />
citified though it be " What a good man you are '<br />
:<br />
Do ! I mean this ?<br />
Well, would vou have me unroll<br />
* /<br />
the annals <strong>of</strong> the world's history and try to find<br />
out who first wrote poetry<br />
?<br />
Or, in the absence <strong>of</strong><br />
written records, shall I make an estimate <strong>of</strong> the<br />
number <strong>of</strong> years which lie between Orpheus and<br />
Homer? Or shall I make a study <strong>of</strong> the absurd<br />
writings <strong>of</strong> Aristarchtis, wherein he branded the<br />
text <strong>of</strong> other men's verses, and wear my life away<br />
upon syllables? Shall I then wallow in the<br />
geometrician's dust d ? Have I so far forgotten that<br />
useful saw " Save your time " ? Must I know these<br />
things And ? what may<br />
I choose not to know ?<br />
d<br />
The geometricians drew their figures in the dust or<br />
sand.<br />
373
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
40 Apion graramaticuSj qui sub C. Caesare tota circulatus<br />
l est Graecia et in nomen Homeri ab omnibus<br />
civitatibus adoptatus, aiebat Homerum utraque<br />
materia consummata, et Odyssia et Iliade, prindpiurn<br />
adiecisse operi suo_, quo bellum Troianum complexus<br />
est. Huius rei argumentum adferebat, quod duas<br />
litteras in primo versu posuisset ex industria librorum<br />
41 suoruni numerum continentes. Talia sciat oportet,<br />
qui multa vult scire, non cogitare, quantum temporis<br />
tibi auferat mala valetudo, quantum occupatio publica,<br />
quantum occupatio privata, quantum occupatio cotidiana,<br />
quantum somnus. Metire aetatem tuam ;<br />
tarn<br />
multa non capit.<br />
42 De liberalibus studiis loquor philosophi quantum<br />
;<br />
habent supervacui, quantum ab usu recedentis !<br />
Ipsi<br />
quoque ad syllabarum distinctiones et coniunctionum<br />
ac praepositionum proprietates descenderunt et invidere<br />
grammaticis, invidere geometris. Quicquid<br />
in illorum artibus supervacuum erat, transtulere in<br />
suam. Sic efFectum est, ut diligentius loqui scirent<br />
43 quam vivere. Audi,, quantum mali faciat nimia subtilitas<br />
et quam<br />
infesta veritati sit.<br />
Protagoras ait de<br />
onini re in utramque partem disputari posse ex aequo<br />
et de hac ipsa, an omnis res in utramque partem disputabilis<br />
sit. Nausiphanes ait ex his, quae videntur<br />
44 esse, nihil magis esse quam non esse. Parmenides<br />
1<br />
clrculatus a MS. <strong>of</strong> Lipsius ;<br />
circumlatus Vb.<br />
a Originally, rhapsodists who recited from Homer : in<br />
general, "interpreters and admirers in short, the whole<br />
*<br />
spiritual kindred ' <strong>of</strong> Homer" (D. B. Monro)<br />
6<br />
An ancient explanation <strong>of</strong> the (now disproved) authorship<br />
by Homer <strong>of</strong> such poems as the Cypria,<br />
Sack <strong>of</strong> Troy, etc.<br />
374-<br />
Little Iliad
EPISTLE LXXXVIII.<br />
Apion, the scholar, who drew crowds to his<br />
lectures all over Greece in the days <strong>of</strong> Gains Caesar<br />
and was acclaimed a Homerid a by every state, used<br />
to maintain that Homer, when he had finished his<br />
two poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey, added a<br />
preliminary poem to his work, wherein he embraced<br />
the whole Trojan war. & The argument which Apion<br />
adduced to prove this statement was that Homer<br />
had purposely inserted in the opening line two<br />
letters which contained a key to the number <strong>of</strong> his<br />
books. A man who wishes to know many things<br />
must know such things as these, and must take no<br />
thought <strong>of</strong> all the time which one loses by ill-health,<br />
public duties, private duties, daily duties, and sleep.<br />
Apply the measure to the years <strong>of</strong> your life ; they<br />
have no room for all these things.<br />
I have been speaking so far <strong>of</strong> liberal studies ;<br />
but think how much superfluous and unpractical<br />
matter the philosophers contain ! Of their own<br />
accord they also have descended to establishing nice<br />
divisions <strong>of</strong> syllables, to determining the true meaning<br />
<strong>of</strong> conjunctions and prepositions they have<br />
;<br />
been envious <strong>of</strong> the scholars, envious <strong>of</strong> the mathematicians.<br />
They have taken over into their own art<br />
all the superfluities <strong>of</strong> these other arts ;<br />
the result<br />
is that they know more about careful speaking than<br />
about careful living. Let me tell you what evils are<br />
due to over-nice exactness, and what an it<br />
enemy<br />
is<br />
<strong>of</strong> truth !<br />
Protagoras declares that one can take<br />
either side on any question and debate it with equal<br />
success even on this very question, whether every<br />
subject can be debated from either point <strong>of</strong> view.<br />
Nausiphanes holds that in things which seem to<br />
exist, there is no difference between existence and<br />
non-existence. Parmenides maintains that nothing<br />
375
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
ait ex his, quae videntur, nihil esse uno excepto<br />
*<br />
universe. Zenon Eleates omnia iiegotia de negotio<br />
deiecit : ait nihil esse. Circa eadem fere Pyrrhonei<br />
versantur et Megarici et Eretrici 2 et Academici, qui<br />
45 novain induxerunt scientiam, nihil scire. Haec<br />
omnia in ilium supervacuum studiorum liberal] um<br />
gregem coice illi mihi non<br />
; pr<strong>of</strong>uturam scientiam<br />
tradunt, hi spem omnis scientiae eripiunt. Satius<br />
est supervacua scire quam nihil. Illi non praeferunt<br />
lumen, per quod acies derigatur ad verum hi<br />
; oculos<br />
mihi effodiunt. Si Protagorae credo, nihi] in rerum<br />
natura est nisi dubium ;<br />
si<br />
Nausiphani, hoc unum<br />
certum est, nihil esse certi ;<br />
si Parmenidi, nihil est<br />
praeter unum si ; Zenoni, ne unum quidem.<br />
46 Quid ergo nos sumus ? Quid ista, quae nos circumstant,<br />
alunt, sustinent ? Tota rerum natura<br />
umbra est aut inanis aut fallax. Non facile dixerim,<br />
utris magis irascar, ill is, qui nos nihil scire voluerunt,<br />
an ill is, qui ne hoc quidem nobis reliqueruiit, nihil<br />
scire. VALE.<br />
LXXXIX<br />
<strong>SENECA</strong> LVCILIO svo SALVTEM<br />
1 Rem utilem desideras et ad sapientiam<br />
8<br />
prope-<br />
Vb.<br />
1<br />
uno excepto inserted by Kalbfleisch ; nihil esse universo<br />
2 Eretrici Lipsius ; cretici Vb.<br />
8<br />
ad sapientiam later MSS. ; sapientem B.<br />
a In other words, the unchangeable, perfect Being <strong>of</strong> the<br />
universe is contrasted with the mutable Non-Being <strong>of</strong> opinion<br />
and unreality.<br />
6 i.e., the universe.<br />
376<br />
c<br />
See 9 ff., which give the normal division.
EPISTLES LXXXVIIL, LXXXIX.<br />
exists <strong>of</strong> all this which seems to exist, except the<br />
universe alone. a Zeno <strong>of</strong> Elea removed all the<br />
difficulties by removing one ;<br />
for he declares that<br />
nothing exists. The Pyrrhonean, Megarian, Eretrian,<br />
and Academic schools are all<br />
engaged in practically<br />
the same task ;<br />
they have introduced a new knowledge,<br />
non-knowledge. You may sweep<br />
all these<br />
theories in with the superfluous troops <strong>of</strong> " liberal '<br />
studies ;<br />
the one class <strong>of</strong> men give me a knowledge<br />
that will be <strong>of</strong> no use to me, the other class do<br />
away with any hope <strong>of</strong> attaining knowledge. It is<br />
better, <strong>of</strong> course, to know useless things than to<br />
know nothing. One set <strong>of</strong> philosophers <strong>of</strong>fers no<br />
light by which I may direct my gaze toward the<br />
truth ;<br />
the other digs out my very eyes<br />
and leaves<br />
me blind. If I cleave to Protagoras, there is<br />
nothing<br />
in the scheme <strong>of</strong> nature that is not doubtful ;<br />
if I<br />
hold with Nausiphanes,<br />
I am sure only <strong>of</strong> this that<br />
everything is unsure ;<br />
if with Parmenides, there is<br />
nothing except the One b ;<br />
if with Zeno, there is not<br />
even the One.<br />
What are we, then ? What becomes <strong>of</strong> all these<br />
things that surround us, support us, sustain us ?<br />
The whole universe is then a vain or deceptive<br />
shadow. I cannot readily say whether I am more<br />
vexed at those who would have it that we know<br />
nothing, or with those who would not leave us even<br />
this privilege. Farewell.<br />
ON THE PARTS OF<br />
LXXXIX.<br />
PHILOSOPHY<br />
It is a useful fact that you wish to know, one<br />
which is essential to him who hastens after wisdom<br />
317
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
ranti necessarian!, dividi philosophiam et ingens<br />
corpus eius in membra disponi. Facilius enim per<br />
partes in cognitionem l totius adducimur. Utinam<br />
quidem quemadmodum universa mundi facies in<br />
conspectum venit, ita philosophia tota nobis posset<br />
occurrere, simillimum mundo spectaculum. Pr<strong>of</strong>ecto<br />
enim omnes mortal es in admirationem sui raperet<br />
relictis iis, quae mine magna magnorum ignorantia<br />
credimus. Sed quia contingere hoc non potest, est<br />
sic 2 3<br />
nobis aspicienda, quemadmodum muiidi secreta<br />
cernuntur.<br />
2 Sapientis quidem animus totam molem eius amplectitur<br />
nee minus illam velociter obit quam caelinn<br />
acies iiostra ;<br />
nobis autem, quibus perrumpenda<br />
caligo est et quorum visus in proximo deficit, singula<br />
quaeque ostendi facilius possunt universi nondum<br />
capacibus. Faciam ergo quod exigis, et philosophiam<br />
in partes, non in frusta/ dividam. Dividi enim illam,<br />
non concidi, utile est. Nam conprehendere quem-<br />
3 admodum maxima ita minima difficile est. Discribitur<br />
in tribus populus,<br />
in centurias exercitus.<br />
Quicquid in maius crevit, facilius agnoscitur, si<br />
discessit in partes, quas, ut dixi, innumerabiles esse<br />
et parvulas non oportet. Idem enim vitii habet<br />
nimia quod nulla divisio simile confuso<br />
; est, quidquid<br />
usque in pulverem sectum est.<br />
1<br />
cognitionem later MSS. ; cogitationem B.<br />
8 est sic Buecheler ; et sic B ; et sic erit later MSS.<br />
3<br />
aspicienda Mentel. ; abscienda B.<br />
6<br />
4<br />
frusta later MSS. ; frustra B.<br />
See Plato, especially Symposium 211 ff.<br />
i.e., an infinitely small divisio is the same as its opposite<br />
oonfusio,<br />
"<br />
378
EPISTLE LXXXIX.<br />
namely, the parts <strong>of</strong> philosophy and the division<br />
<strong>of</strong> its<br />
huge bulk into separate members. For by<br />
studying the parts we can be brought more easily to<br />
understand the whole. I only wish that philosophy<br />
might come before our eyes in all her unity, just<br />
as the whole expanse <strong>of</strong> the firmament is<br />
spread out<br />
for us to !<br />
gaze upon<br />
It would be a sight closely<br />
resembling that <strong>of</strong> the firmament. For then surely<br />
philosophy would ravish all mortals with love for her a ;<br />
we should abandon all those things which, in our<br />
ignorance <strong>of</strong> what is great, we believe to be great.<br />
Inasmuch, however, as this cannot fall to our lot, we<br />
must view philosophy just as men gaze upon the<br />
secrets <strong>of</strong> the firmament.<br />
The wise man's mind, to be sure, embraces the<br />
whole framework <strong>of</strong> philosophy, surveying<br />
it with<br />
no less rapid glance than our mortal eyes survey the<br />
heavens ; we, however, who must break through the<br />
gloom, we whose vision fails even for that which is<br />
near at hand, can be shown with greater ease each<br />
separate object even though we cannot yet comprehend<br />
the universe. I shall therefore comply<br />
with your demand, and shall divide philosophy into<br />
parts, but not into scraps. For it is useful that<br />
philosophy should be divided, but not chopped into<br />
bits. Just as it is hard to take in what is indefinitely<br />
large, so it is hard to take in what is indefinitely<br />
small. The people are divided into tribes, the army<br />
into centuries. Whatever has grown to greater size<br />
is more easily identified if it is broken up into parts ;<br />
but the parts,<br />
as I have remarked, must not be<br />
countless in number and diminutive in size. For<br />
over-analysis is faulty in precisely the same way as<br />
no analysis at all ;<br />
whatever you cut so fine that it<br />
becomes dust is as good as blended into a mass again. 6<br />
VOL. ii N 379
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
4 Primum itaque, si videtur l tibi, dicam, inter<br />
sapientiam et philosophiam quid intersit. Sapientia<br />
perfectum bonum est mentis humanae. Philosophia<br />
sapientiae amor est et adfectatio. Haec eo tendit, 2<br />
quo ilia pervenit. Philosophia unde dicta sit, apparet.<br />
Ipso enim nomine fatetur quid amet. 3<br />
5 Sapientiam quidam ita finierunt, ut dicerent divinorum<br />
et humanorum scientiam. Quidam ita: sapientia<br />
est nosse divina et humana et horum causas. Supervacua<br />
mihi haec videtur adiectio, quia causae<br />
divinorum humanorumque pars diviiiorum sunt.<br />
Philosophiam quoque fuerunt qui aliter<br />
atque aliter<br />
finirent. Alii studium illam virtutis esse dixerunt,<br />
alii studium corrigendae mentis, a quibusdam dicta<br />
6 est adpetitio rectae rationis. Illud quasi constitit,<br />
aliquid inter philosophiam et sapientiam interesse.<br />
Neque enim fieri potest ut idem sit quod adfectatur<br />
et quod adfectat. Quomodo multum inter avaritiam<br />
et pecuniam interest, cum ilia cupiat, haec concupiscatur,<br />
sic inter philosophiam et sapientiam. Haec<br />
enim illius effectus ac praemium est ilia ; venit, ad<br />
7 hanc venitur. 4 Sapientia est, quam Graeci cro^tav<br />
vocant. Hoc verbo Romani quoque utebantur, sicut<br />
philosophia nunc quoque utuntur. Quod et togatae<br />
1 si videtur Haa.se ; si ut videtur MSS.<br />
2 eo tendit Cornelissen ; ostendit B.<br />
4<br />
3<br />
quid amet Madvig quidam et B.<br />
;<br />
venitur Hense ; itur MSS. W. Schultz argues that 7<br />
(sapientia Dossenni . . . lege) has by some error been transferred<br />
from its proper position after quo ilia pervenit in 4<br />
to its present place, where it disturbs the sequence <strong>of</strong> the<br />
thought.<br />
a<br />
1<br />
"Love-<strong>of</strong>-Wisdom."<br />
Qeiitiv re Kal avOpuirivuv ^Trtcrriy/iT;,<br />
De Plao. Phil. 874 E.<br />
quoted by Plutarch,<br />
c<br />
Cicero, De Off. ii. 2. 5.<br />
380
EPISTLE LXXXIX.<br />
In the first place, therefore, if you approve, I<br />
shall draw the distinction between wisdom and<br />
philosophy. Wisdom is the perfect good <strong>of</strong> the<br />
human mind ;<br />
philosophy is the love <strong>of</strong> wisdom, and<br />
the endeavour to attain it. The latter strives toward<br />
the goal which the former has already reached.<br />
And it is clear why philosophy was so called. For<br />
it<br />
acknowledges by its very name the object<br />
<strong>of</strong> its<br />
love. a Certain persons have defined wisdom as the<br />
knowledge <strong>of</strong> things divine and things human. 6<br />
Still others " say<br />
: Wisdom is<br />
knowing things divine<br />
and things human, and their causes also." c This<br />
added phrase seems to me to be superfluous, since<br />
the causes <strong>of</strong> things divine and things human are a<br />
part <strong>of</strong> the divine system. Philosophy also has been<br />
defined in various ways; some have called it "the<br />
study <strong>of</strong> virtue," d others have referred to it as " a<br />
study <strong>of</strong> the way to amend the mind," * and some<br />
have named " it the search for right reason." One<br />
thing is practically settled, that there is some<br />
difference between philosophy and wisdom. Nor<br />
indeed is it possible that that which is sought<br />
and that which seeks are identical. As there is a<br />
great difference between avarice and wealth, the<br />
one being the subject <strong>of</strong> the craving and the other<br />
its object, so between philosophy and wisdom. For<br />
the one is a result and a reward <strong>of</strong> the other.<br />
Philosophy does the going, and wisdom is the goal.<br />
Wisdom is that which the Greeks call
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
tibi antiquae probabunt et inscriptus Dossenni<br />
monumento titulus :<br />
Hospes resiste et sophian Dossenni lege.<br />
8 Quidam ex nostris, quamvis philosophia studium<br />
virtutis esset et haec peteretur, ilia peteret, tamen<br />
non putaverunt<br />
illas distrahi posse. Nam nee philosophia<br />
sine virtute est nee sine philosophia virtus.<br />
Philosophia studium virtutis est, sed per ipsam<br />
virtutem ;<br />
nee virtus autem esse sine studio sui<br />
potest nee virtutis studium sine ipsa.<br />
Non enim<br />
quemadmodum in iis, qui aliquid ex distanti loco<br />
ferire conantur, alibi est qui petit^ alibi<br />
Nee quod petitur.<br />
quemadmodum itinera quae ad urbes perducunt,<br />
sic viae ad virtutem sunt 1 extra ipsam ad virtutem<br />
;<br />
venitur per ipsam ;<br />
cohaerent inter se philosophia<br />
virtusque.<br />
9 Philosophiae tres partes esse dixerunt et maximi<br />
et plurimi auctores :<br />
moralem, naturalem, rationalem.<br />
Prima conponit animum. Secunda rerum naturam<br />
scrutatur. Tertia proprietates verborum exigit et<br />
structuram et argumentationes, ne pro vero falsa<br />
subrepant. Ceterum inventi sunt et qui in pandora<br />
10 philosophiam et qui in plura diducerent. Quidam<br />
ex Peripateticis quartam partem adiecerunt 2<br />
civilem,<br />
quia propriam quandam exercitationem desideret et<br />
1<br />
sic . . . sunt added by Buecheler, giving the general<br />
sense ;<br />
there is a lacuna in B, in which traces <strong>of</strong> a corrupt<br />
text can be made out.<br />
2 adiecerunt later MSS. ; adicerent B.<br />
a It is doubtful whether this was the name <strong>of</strong> a real<br />
person, or a mere "Joe Miller" type from the Fabula<br />
Atellana. The character in Horace, Ej>. ii. 1. 173, is<br />
certainly the latter ;<br />
and the testimony <strong>of</strong> Pliny (N.1I. xiv.<br />
1.5), who quotes a line from a play called Acharistio, is not<br />
reliable.<br />
382
i.r,., logic.<br />
383<br />
EPISTLE LXXXIX.<br />
plays, as well as by the epitaph<br />
that is carved on<br />
the tomb <strong>of</strong> Dossennus a :<br />
Pause, stranger, and read the wisdom <strong>of</strong> Dossennus.<br />
Certain <strong>of</strong> our school, however, although philosophy<br />
meant to them " the study <strong>of</strong> virtue," and though<br />
virtue was the object sought and philosophy the<br />
seeker, have maintained nevertheless that the two<br />
cannot be sundered. For philosophy cannot exist<br />
without virtue, nor virtue without philosophy.<br />
Philosophy is the study <strong>of</strong> virtue, by means, however,<br />
<strong>of</strong> virtue itself; but neither can virtue exist without<br />
the study <strong>of</strong> itself, nor can the study <strong>of</strong> virtue exist<br />
without virtue itself. For it is not like trying to<br />
hit a target at long range, where the shooter and<br />
the object to be shot at are in different places. Nor,<br />
as roads which lead into a city, are the approaches<br />
to virtue situated outside virtue herself; the path<br />
by which one reaches virtue leads by way <strong>of</strong> virtue<br />
herself; philosophy and virtue cling closely together.<br />
The greatest authors, and the greatest number<br />
<strong>of</strong> authors, have maintained that there are three<br />
divisions <strong>of</strong> philosophy moral, natural, and rational. 6<br />
The first<br />
keeps the soul in order ;<br />
the second investigates<br />
the universe the third works out<br />
;<br />
the<br />
essential meanings <strong>of</strong> words, their combinations, and<br />
the pro<strong>of</strong>s which keep falsehood from creeping in<br />
and displacing truth. But there have also been<br />
those who divided philosophy on the one hand into<br />
fewer divisions, on the other hand into more.<br />
Certain <strong>of</strong> the Peripatetic school have added a<br />
fourth<br />
" division, civil philosophy," because it calls<br />
for a special sphere <strong>of</strong> activity and is interested in
1<br />
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
circa aliam mnteriam occupata<br />
sit. Quidam adiecerunt<br />
his partem, quam O(KOVO/UKI}V vocant, administrandae<br />
familiaris rei scientiam. Quidam et de<br />
generibus vitae locum separaverunt. Nihil autem<br />
horum non in ilia l<br />
parte morali reperietur.<br />
11 Epicurei duas partes philosophiae putaverunt<br />
esse, naturalem atque moralem ;<br />
rationalem removerunt.<br />
Deinde cum ipsis rebus cogerentur ambigua<br />
secernere, falsa sub specie veri latentia coarguere,<br />
ipsi quoque locum, quern de iudicio et regula<br />
appellant, alio nomine rationalem induxerunt, sed<br />
eum accessionem esse naturalis partis existimant.<br />
12 Cyrenaici naturalia cum rationalibus sustulerunt et<br />
contenti fuerunt moralibus, sed hi quoque quae<br />
removent, aliter iiiducunt. In quinque enim partes<br />
moralia dividunt, ut una sit de fugiendis et petendis,<br />
altera de adfectibus, tertia de actionibus, quarta de<br />
causis, quinta de argumentis. Causae rerum ex<br />
13 naturali parte sunt, argumenta ex rationali. 2 Ariston<br />
Chius non tantum supervacuas esse dixit naturalem<br />
et rationalem, 3 sed etiam contrarias. Moralem quo-<br />
1<br />
non in ilia the later MSS. ; non ilia B.<br />
2 rationali later MSS. ; morali B. Bueeheler thinks that<br />
a phrase neutrum ex morali may have dropped out " neither<br />
'<br />
belongs to the moral.'<br />
3<br />
rationalem later MSS. ; formalem B.<br />
a i.e.,<br />
" the management <strong>of</strong> the home."<br />
6<br />
That is, <strong>of</strong> the various arts which deal with the departments<br />
<strong>of</strong> living, such as generalship, politics, business, etc.<br />
c<br />
Frag. 242 Usener.<br />
d Seneca " by de iudicio is translating the Greek adjective<br />
diKaviKos, that which has to do with the courts <strong>of</strong> law,"<br />
and by de regula the word Kcu><strong>of</strong>'tK6s, "that which has to do<br />
with rules," here the rules <strong>of</strong> logic. The Epicureans used for<br />
logic Kaitovucr), in contrast with Aristotle and his successors,<br />
who used \oyiKr]. The Latin ratio tialis is a translation <strong>of</strong><br />
the latter.<br />
384
EPISTLE LXXXIX.<br />
a different subject matter. Some have added a<br />
department for which they use the Greek term<br />
u economics," a the science <strong>of</strong> managing one's o\vn<br />
household. Still others have made a distinct heading<br />
for the various kinds <strong>of</strong> life. 6 There is<br />
o<br />
no one<br />
<strong>of</strong> these subdivisions, however, which will not be<br />
found under the branch called "moral" philosophy.<br />
The Epicureans held that philosophy was tw<strong>of</strong>old,<br />
natural and moral ;<br />
they did away with the<br />
rational branch. Then, when they were compelled<br />
by the facts themselves to distinguish between<br />
equivocal ideas and to expose fallacies that lay<br />
hidden under the cloak <strong>of</strong> truth, they themselves<br />
also introduced a heading to which they give the<br />
name " forensic and d regulative," which is<br />
merely<br />
"rational" under another name, although they<br />
hold that this section is<br />
accessory to the department<br />
<strong>of</strong> " natural ' e<br />
philosophy. The Cyrenaic<br />
school abolished the natural as well as the rational<br />
department, and were content with the moral side<br />
alone ;<br />
and yet these philosophers also include under<br />
another title that which they have rejected. For<br />
they divide moral philosophy into five parts : (l)<br />
What to avoid and what to seek, (2) The Passions,<br />
(3) Actions, (4) Causes, (5)<br />
Pro<strong>of</strong>s. Now the causes<br />
<strong>of</strong> things really belong to the " natural ' division,<br />
the pro<strong>of</strong>s to the "rational." Aristo-^ <strong>of</strong> Chios<br />
remarked that the natural and the rational were not<br />
only superfluous, but were also contradictory. He<br />
even limited the " moral," which was all that was<br />
c<br />
Led by Aristippus <strong>of</strong> Cyrene. As the Cynics developed<br />
into the <strong>Stoic</strong>s, so the Cyrenaics developed into the<br />
Epicureans.<br />
t Frag. 357 von Arnim. 385
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
que, quam solam reliquerat, circumcidit nam<br />
;<br />
eum<br />
locum, qui monitiones continet, sustulit et paedagogi<br />
esse dixit, non philosophi, tamquam quidquam aliud<br />
sit sapiens quam human! generis paedagogus.<br />
14 Ergo cum tripertita sit philosophia, moralem eius<br />
partem primum incipiamus disponere. Quam in tria<br />
rursus dividi placuit, ut prima esset inspectio suum<br />
cuique distribuens et aestimans quanto quidque<br />
dignum sit, maxime utilis. Quid enim est tarn<br />
necessarium quam pretia rebus inponere ? Secunda<br />
de impetu, de actionibus tertia. Primum 1<br />
enim est,<br />
2<br />
ut quanti quidque sit indices, secundum, ut impetum<br />
ad ilia capias ordinatum temperatumque,<br />
tertium, ut inter impetum tuum actionemque conveniat,<br />
ut in omnibus istis tibi ipse consentias.<br />
15 Quicquid ex tribus defuit, turbat et cetera. Quid<br />
enim prodest inter se 3 aestimata habere omnia, si<br />
sis in impetu nimius ? Quid prodest impetus repressisse<br />
et habere cupiditates in tua 4 potestate, si in<br />
ipsa rerum actione tempora ignores nee scias<br />
quando<br />
quidque et ubi et quemadmodum agi debeat ? Aliud<br />
est enim dignitates et pretia rerum nosse, aliud<br />
articulos, aliud impetus refrenare et ad agenda ire,<br />
non ruere. Tune ergo vita concors sibi est, ubi actio<br />
non destituit impetum, impetus ex dignitate rei cuius-<br />
1<br />
This is the order followed by Buecheler ;<br />
B gives<br />
secunda de actionibus tertia de impetu.<br />
2 quanti Muretus ; quantum B.<br />
3 inter se Gloeckner ;<br />
inter B.<br />
4 tua later MSS. ; sua B.<br />
a<br />
Seneca translates<br />
6<br />
'OpjuL-rjTiKrj ; the 6p/j.al, impetus, in the <strong>Stoic</strong> philosophy, are<br />
the natural instincts, which require training and regulation<br />
before they can be trusted.<br />
c<br />
386
EPISTLE LXXXIX.<br />
left to him ;<br />
for he abolished that heading which<br />
embraced advice, maintaining that it was the<br />
business <strong>of</strong> the pedagogue, and not <strong>of</strong> the philosopher<br />
as if the wise man were anything else than the<br />
pedagogue <strong>of</strong> the human race !<br />
Since, therefore, philosophy is threefold, let us<br />
first begin to set in order the moral side. It has<br />
been agreed that this should be divided into three<br />
parts. First, we have the a speculative part, which<br />
assigns to each thing its particular function and<br />
weighs the worth <strong>of</strong> each it is ; highest in point <strong>of</strong><br />
For what is so<br />
utility. indispensable as giving to<br />
everything its proper value The ? second has to do<br />
with impulse,6 the third with actions. For the first<br />
duty is to determine severally what things are worth ;<br />
the second, to conceive with regard to them a<br />
regulated and ordered impulse the third, to make<br />
;<br />
your impulse and r our actions }<br />
harmonize, so that<br />
under all these conditions you may be consistent<br />
with If yourself. any <strong>of</strong> these three be defective,<br />
there is confusion in the rest also. For what benefit<br />
is there in having all things appraised, each in<br />
its proper relations, if you go to excess in your<br />
impulses What ? benefit is there in having checked<br />
your impulses and in having your desires in your<br />
own control, if when you come to action you are<br />
unaware <strong>of</strong> the proper times and seasons, and if<br />
you<br />
do not know when, where, and how each action<br />
should be carried out ? It is one thing to understand<br />
the merits and the values <strong>of</strong> facts, another<br />
thing to know the precise moment for action, and<br />
still another to curb impulses and to proceed, instead<br />
<strong>of</strong> rushing, toward what is to be done. Hence life<br />
is in harmony with itself only when action has not<br />
deserted impulse, and when impulse toward an<br />
VOL. II N 2 387
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
que, quam solam reliquerat, circumeidit ;<br />
nam eum<br />
locum, qui monitioiies continet, sustulit et paedagogi<br />
esse dixit, non philosophy tamquam quidquam aliud<br />
sit sapiens quam human! generis paedagogus.<br />
14 Ergo cum tripertita sit philosophia, moralem eius<br />
partem primum incipiamus disponere. Quam in tria<br />
rursus dividi placuit, ut prima esset inspectio suum<br />
cuique distribuens et aestimans quanto quidque<br />
dignum sit, maxima utilis. Quid enim est tarn<br />
necessarium quam pretia rebus inponere ? Secunda<br />
de impetu, de actionibus tertia. 1 Primum enim est,<br />
2<br />
ut quanti quidque sit indices, secundum, ut impetum<br />
ad ilia capias ordinatum temperatumque,<br />
tertium, ut inter impetum tuum actionemque conveniat,<br />
ut in omnibus istis tibi ipse consentias.<br />
15 Quicquid ex tribus defuit, turbat et cetera. Quid<br />
enim prodest inter se 3 aestimata habere omnia, si<br />
sis in impetu nimius ? Quid prodest impetus repressisse<br />
et habere cupiditates in tua 4 potestate, si in<br />
ipsa rerum actione tempora ignores nee scias quando<br />
quidque et ubi et quemadmodum agi debeat ? Aliud<br />
est enim dignitates et pretia rerum nosse, aliud<br />
articulos, aliud impetus refrenare et ad agenda ire,<br />
non ruere. Tune ergo vita concors sibi est, ubi actio<br />
non destituit impetum, impetus ex dignitate rei cuius-<br />
1<br />
This is the order followed by Buecheler ;<br />
B gives<br />
secunda de actionibus tertia de impetu.<br />
2<br />
quanti Muretus ; quantum B.<br />
a inter se Gloeckner ; inter B.<br />
4 tua later MSS. ;<br />
ma B.<br />
a<br />
Seneca translates<br />
b<br />
'Op/jiriTiKri ; the op^cJ, impetus, in the <strong>Stoic</strong> philosophy, are<br />
the natural instincts, which require training and regulation<br />
before they can be trusted.<br />
c<br />
386
EPISTLE LXXXIX.<br />
left to him ;<br />
for he abolished that heading which<br />
embraced advice, maintaining that it was the<br />
business <strong>of</strong> the pedagogue, and not <strong>of</strong> the philosopher<br />
as if the wise man were anything else than the<br />
pedagogue<br />
<strong>of</strong> the human race !<br />
Since, therefore, philosophy is threefold, let us<br />
first begin to set in order the moral side. It has<br />
been agreed that this should be divided into three<br />
parts. First, we have the a speculative part, which<br />
assigns to each thing its particular function and<br />
weighs the worth <strong>of</strong> each it is ; highest in point <strong>of</strong><br />
For what is so<br />
utility. indispensable as giving to<br />
everything its proper value The ? second has to do<br />
with 6<br />
impulse, the third with actions. For the first<br />
duty is to determine severally what things are worth ;<br />
the second, to conceive with regard to them a<br />
regulated and ordered impulse the third, to make<br />
;<br />
your impulse and your actions harmonize, so that<br />
under all these conditions you may be consistent<br />
with If yourself. any <strong>of</strong> these three be defective,<br />
there is confusion in the rest also. For what benefit<br />
is there in having all things appraised, each in<br />
its proper relations, if you go to excess in your<br />
impulses What ? benefit is there in having checked<br />
your impulses and in having your desires in your<br />
own control, if w^hen you come to action you are<br />
unaware <strong>of</strong> the proper times and seasons, and if you<br />
do not know when, where, and how each action<br />
should be carried out ? It is one thing to understand<br />
the merits and the values <strong>of</strong> facts, another<br />
thing to know the precise moment for action, and<br />
still another to curb impulses and to proceed, instead<br />
<strong>of</strong> rushing, toward what is to be done. Hence life<br />
is in harmony with itself only when action has not<br />
deserted impulse, and when impulse toward an<br />
VOL. ii N 2 387
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
que concipitur proinde remissus vel acrior, 1<br />
prout ilia<br />
digna est peti.<br />
16 Naturalis pars philosophiae in duo scinditur : corporalia<br />
et incorporalia. Utraque dividuntur in suos,<br />
ut ita dicam, gradus. Corporum locus in hos primum,<br />
in ea quae faciunt et quae ex his gignuiitur gignuntur<br />
autem elementa. Ipse de 2 elementis locus, ut<br />
;<br />
quidam putant, simplex est, ut quidam, in materiam<br />
et causain omnia moventem et elementa dividitur.<br />
17 Superest ut rationalem partem ])liilosophiae dividam.<br />
Omnis oratio aut continua est aut inter<br />
respondentem et interrogantem discissa. Hanc<br />
StaAeKTiK^v, illam prjropiK^v placuit vocari. 'P^ro^t/c?)<br />
verba curat et sensus et ordinem. AiaAeKTi/o) in duas<br />
partes dividitur, in verba et significationes, id est in<br />
res quae dicuntur et vocabula quibus dicuntur.<br />
Ingens deiiide sequitur utriusque divisio. Itaque<br />
hoc loco finem faciam et<br />
Summa sequar fastigia rerum ;<br />
alioqui si voluero facere partium partes, quaestionum<br />
18 liber fiet. Haec, Lucili virorum optime, quo minus<br />
legas non deterreo, dummodo quicquid legeris,<br />
3<br />
ad<br />
mores statim referas.<br />
Illos conpesce, marcentia in te excita, soluta constringe,<br />
contumacia doma, cupiditates tuas publicas-<br />
1<br />
vel acrior some later MSS. ; acrior B ; acriorque other<br />
MSS.<br />
2 ipse de one later MS. ; de is omitted by B and the rest.<br />
8 legeris later MSS. ;<br />
elegeris B.<br />
388<br />
b<br />
HaitjTiKa. and TradrjTiKa.<br />
i.e., has no subdivisions.<br />
d Vergil, Aeneid, i. 342.
EPISTLE LXXXIX.<br />
object arises in each case from the worth <strong>of</strong> the<br />
object, being languid or more eager as the case may<br />
be, according as the objects which arouse it are<br />
worth seeking.<br />
The natural side <strong>of</strong> is<br />
philosophy tw<strong>of</strong>old :<br />
bodily and non-bodily. a Each is divided into its<br />
own grades <strong>of</strong> importance, so to speak. The topic<br />
concerning bodies deals, first, with these two grades<br />
:<br />
the creative and the created b ;<br />
and the created<br />
things are the elements. Now this very topic <strong>of</strong><br />
the elements, as some writers hold, is integral c ;<br />
as others hold, it is divided into matter, the cause<br />
which moves all things, and the elements.<br />
It remains for me to divide rational philosophy<br />
into its parts. Now all speech is either continuous,<br />
or split up between questioner and answerer. It<br />
has been agreed upon that the former should be<br />
called rhetoric, and the latter dialectic. Rhetoric<br />
deals with words, and meanings, and arrangement.<br />
Dialectic is divided into two parts<br />
: words and their<br />
meanings, that is, into things which are said, and<br />
the words in which they are said. Then comes a<br />
subdivision <strong>of</strong> each and it is <strong>of</strong> vast extent. Therefore<br />
I shall stop at this point, and<br />
But treat the climax <strong>of</strong> the d story ;<br />
for if I should take a fancy to give the subdivisions,<br />
my<br />
letter would become a debater's handbook !<br />
I<br />
am not trying to discourage you, excellent Lucilius,<br />
from reading on this subject, provided only that you<br />
promptly relate to conduct all that you have read.<br />
It is<br />
your conduct that you must hold in check ;<br />
you must rouse what is languid in you, bind fast<br />
what has become relaxed, conquer what is obstinate,<br />
persecute your appetites, and the appetites <strong>of</strong> man-<br />
389
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
que quantum potes vexa ;<br />
et istis dicentibus " quo<br />
J. 9 usque eadem?" responde<br />
:<br />
"ego debebam dicere<br />
'quo usque eadem peccabitis?' Remedia ante<br />
vultis<br />
quam vitia desinere ? Ego vero eo magis<br />
dicam et, quia recusatis, perseverabo. Tune incipit<br />
medicina pr<strong>of</strong>icere, ubi in corpora alienate dolorem<br />
tactus expressit. Dicam etiam invitis pr<strong>of</strong>utura.<br />
Aliquando aliqua ad vos non blanda vox veniat, et<br />
quia verum singuli audire non vultis, publice audite.<br />
20 Quo usque fines possessionum propagabitis ? Ager<br />
uni domino, qui populum cepit, angustus est. Quo<br />
usque<br />
arationes vestras<br />
l<br />
porrigetis,<br />
ne provinciarum<br />
quidem spatio 2 conteiiti circumscribere praediorum<br />
modum ? Inlustrium fluminum per privatum decursus<br />
est et armies magni magnarumque gentium<br />
termini usque ad ostium a fonte vestri sunt. Hoc<br />
quoque parum est, nisi latifundiis vestris maria<br />
cinxistis, nisi trans Hadriam et Ionium Aegaeumque<br />
vester vilicus regnat, nisi insulae, ducum domic-ilia<br />
magnorum, inter vilissima rerum numerantur. Quam<br />
vultis late possidete, sit fundus quod aliquando imperium<br />
vocabatur ;<br />
facite vestrum quicquid potestis,<br />
dum plus sit alieno.<br />
21 Nunc vobiscum loquor, quorum aeque spatiose<br />
luxuria quam illorum avaritia dififunditur. Vobis<br />
1<br />
aratiovtes vestras Erasmus ;<br />
a rationib; vestris B.<br />
2 spatio de Jan ; stations B.<br />
a<br />
For the thought compare Petronius, Sat. 48 mine<br />
con'mugere agellls Siciliam vulo, ut, cum Africam libuerit ire,<br />
per meos fines navigem.<br />
390
EPISTLE LXXXIX.<br />
kind, as much as you can; and to those who say:<br />
"<br />
How long will this unending talk go on ?" answer<br />
with the words "<br />
: I<br />
ought to be asking you How<br />
'<br />
long will these unending sins <strong>of</strong> yours go on '<br />
?<br />
Do you really desire my remedies to stop before<br />
your vices ? But I shall speak <strong>of</strong> my remedies all<br />
the more, and just because you <strong>of</strong>fer objections I<br />
shall keep on talking. Medicine begins to do good<br />
at the time when a touch makes the diseased body<br />
tingle with pain. I shall utter words that will help<br />
men even against their will. At times you should<br />
allow words other than compliments to reach your<br />
ears, and because as individuals you are unwilling to<br />
hear the truth, hear it<br />
collectively.<br />
How far will<br />
you extend the boundaries <strong>of</strong> your estates ? An<br />
estate which held a nation is too narrow for a single<br />
lord. How far will you push forward your ploughed<br />
fields<br />
you who are not content to confine the<br />
measure <strong>of</strong> your farms even within the amplitude<br />
<strong>of</strong> provinces<br />
? a You have noble rivers flowing down<br />
through your private grounds ; you have mighty<br />
streams boundaries <strong>of</strong> mighty nations under your<br />
dominion from source to outlet. This also is too<br />
little for you unless you also surround whole seas<br />
with your estates, unless your steward holds sway<br />
on the other side <strong>of</strong> the Adriatic, the Ionian, and<br />
the Aegean seas, unless the islands, homes <strong>of</strong> famous<br />
chieftains, are reckoned by you as the most paltry<br />
<strong>of</strong> possessions<br />
!<br />
Spread them as widely as you will,<br />
if only you may have as a "farm" what was once<br />
called a kingdom ;<br />
make whatever you can your own,<br />
provided only that it is more than your neighbour's !<br />
And now for a word with you, whose luxury<br />
spreads itself out as widely as the greed <strong>of</strong> those to<br />
" Will<br />
whom I have just referred. To you I say<br />
391
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
dico :<br />
quo usque nullus erit lacus cui non villarum<br />
vestrarum fastigia immineant ? Nullum flumen cuius<br />
non ripas aedificia vestra praetexant ? Ubicumque<br />
scatebunt aquarurn calentium venae, ibi nova deversoria<br />
luxuriae excitabuntur. Ubicumque<br />
in aliquem<br />
sinum litus curvabitur, vos protinus fundamenta<br />
iacietis l nee contenti solo nisi<br />
quod manu feceritis,<br />
mare 2 agetis introrsus. Omnibus licet locis tecta<br />
vestra resplendeant, aliubi inposita montibus in<br />
vastum terrarum marisque prospectum, aliubi ex<br />
piano in altitudinem montium educta, cum multa<br />
aedificaveritis, cum ingentia, tamen et singula corpora<br />
estis et parvola. Quid prosunt multa cubicula ?<br />
In uno iacetis. Non est vestrum ubicumque non<br />
estis.<br />
22 Ad vos deinde transeo, quorum pr<strong>of</strong>unda et iiisatiabilis<br />
gula hinc maria scrutatur, bine terras, alia<br />
harm's, alia laqueis, alia retium variis generibus cum<br />
inagno labore persequitur ; nullis animalibus nisi ex<br />
fastidio pax est. Quantulum 3 ex istis epulis, quae<br />
per tot comparatis manus, fesso voluptatibus ore<br />
libatis? Quantulum ex ista fera periculose capta<br />
dominus crudus ac nauseans gustat<br />
?<br />
Quantulum<br />
ex tot conchyliis tarn longe advectis per istum<br />
stomachum inexplebilem labitur ? Infelices, ecquid 4<br />
intellegitis maiorem vos famem habere quam ventrem ?<br />
23 Haec aliis die, ut dum dicis, audias ipse ; scribe,<br />
3<br />
1<br />
iacietis later MSS. ; facietis B.<br />
2<br />
mare a MS. <strong>of</strong> Grutcr ; arme B.<br />
quantulum later MSS. ;<br />
quantulum<br />
4<br />
ecquid Gronovius ; esse quid B.<br />
est B.<br />
a i.e., by building embankments, etc. Cf Horace, Od.<br />
ii. 18. 22 pnrum locuples continents ripa.<br />
392
EPISTLE LXXXIX.<br />
this custom continue until there is no lake over<br />
which the pinnacles <strong>of</strong> your country-houses do not<br />
tower ? Until there is no river whose banks are not<br />
bordered by your lordly structures? Wherever hot<br />
waters shall gush forth in rills, there you will be<br />
causing new resorts <strong>of</strong> luxury to rise. Wherever<br />
the shore shall bend into a bay, there will you<br />
straightway be laying foundations, and, not content<br />
with any land that has not been made by art, you<br />
will bring the sea within your On boundaries.*1 every<br />
side let your house-tops flash in the sun, now set on<br />
mountain peaks where they command an extensive<br />
outlook over sea and land, now lifted from the plain<br />
to the height <strong>of</strong> mountains build ;<br />
your manifold<br />
structures, your huge piles, you are nevertheless but<br />
individuals, and puny ones at that ! What pr<strong>of</strong>it to<br />
you are your many bed-chambers You ? sleep in one.<br />
No place is yours where you yourselves are not.<br />
" Next I pass to you, you whose bottomless and<br />
insatiable maw explores on the one hand the seas,<br />
on the other the earth, with enormous toil<br />
hunting<br />
down your prey, now with hook, now with snare,<br />
now with nets <strong>of</strong> various kinds ;<br />
no animal has peace<br />
except when you are cloyed with it. And how<br />
slight a portion <strong>of</strong> those banquets <strong>of</strong> yours, prepared<br />
for you by so many hands, do you taste with your<br />
How slight<br />
a portion <strong>of</strong> all<br />
pleasure-jaded palate !<br />
that game, whose taking was fraught with danger,<br />
does the master's sick and squeamish stomach<br />
relish ? How slight a portion <strong>of</strong> all those shell-fish,<br />
imported from so far, slips<br />
down that insatiable<br />
gullet ? Poor wretches, do you not know that your<br />
'<br />
appetites are bigger than your bellies ?<br />
Talk in this way to other men, provided that<br />
while you talk you also listen ;<br />
write in this way,<br />
393
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
ut dum scribis, legas, omnia ad mores et ad sedandam<br />
rabiem adfectuum referens. Stude, non ut plus<br />
aliquid scias, sed ut melius. VALE.<br />
XC<br />
<strong>SENECA</strong> LVCILIO svo SALVTEM<br />
1 Quis dubitare, mi Lucili, potest, quin deorum immortalium<br />
munus sit<br />
quod vivimus, philosopliiae quod<br />
bene vivimus ?<br />
Itaque tanto plus huic nos debere<br />
quam dis, quanto maius beneficium est bona vita<br />
quam vita, pro certo haberetur, nisi ipsam philosophiam<br />
di tribuissent. Cuius scientiam nulli 1 de-<br />
2 derunt, facultatem omnibus. Nam si hanc quoque<br />
bonum vulgare fecissent 2 et prudentes nasceremur,<br />
sapientia quod in se optimum habet, perdidisset :<br />
inter fortuita non esse. 3 Nunc enim hoc in ilia<br />
pretiosum atque magnincum est, quod non obvenit,<br />
quod illam sibi quisque debet, quod non ab alio<br />
petitur.<br />
Quid haberes quod in philosophia suspiceres, si<br />
3 beneficiaria res esset ? Huius opus unum est de<br />
4<br />
divinis humanisque veruin invenire. Ab hac numquam<br />
receclit religio, pietas,<br />
iustitia et omnis alius<br />
comitatus virtutum consertarum et inter se cohaeren-<br />
nulli later MSS. ;<br />
ulll B.<br />
1<br />
2 fecissent<br />
later MSS. ;<br />
fecisset B.<br />
8<br />
non esse Gloeckner ; non esset MSS.<br />
4 invenire later MSS. ;<br />
inveniri B.<br />
* Of.<br />
18.<br />
*<br />
Cf. Plato, Crito 48, " not life itself, but a good life, is<br />
chiefly to be desired."<br />
"<br />
394.
EPISTLES LXXXIX., XC.<br />
provided that while you write you read, remembering<br />
that everything 41 you hear or read, is to be<br />
applied to conduct, and to the alleviation <strong>of</strong> passion's<br />
fury. Study, not in order to add anything to your<br />
knowledge, but to make your knowledge better.<br />
Farewell.<br />
XC.<br />
ON THE PART PLAYED BY PHILO<br />
SOPHY IN THE PROGRESS OF MAN<br />
Who can doubt, my dear Lucilius, that life<br />
is the gift <strong>of</strong> the immortal gods, but that living<br />
well b is the gift <strong>of</strong> philosophy<br />
? Hence the idea<br />
that our debt to philosophy is greater than our<br />
debt to the gods, in proportion as a good<br />
life is<br />
more <strong>of</strong> a benefit than mere life, would be regarded<br />
as correct, were not philosophy itself a boon which<br />
the gods have bestowed upon us. They have given<br />
the knowledge there<strong>of</strong> to none, but the faculty <strong>of</strong><br />
acquiring it they have given to all. For if they<br />
had made philosophy also a general good, and if we<br />
were gifted with understanding at our birth, wisdom<br />
would have lost her best attribute that she is not<br />
one <strong>of</strong> the gifts <strong>of</strong> fortune. For as it is, the precious<br />
and noble characteristic <strong>of</strong> wisdom is that she does<br />
not advance to meet us, that each man is indebted to<br />
himself for her, and that we do not seek her at the<br />
hands <strong>of</strong> others.<br />
What would there be in philosophy worthy <strong>of</strong><br />
your respect, if she were a thing that came by<br />
?<br />
bounty Her sole function is to discover the truth<br />
about things divine and things human. From her<br />
side religion never departs, nor duty, nor justice,<br />
nor any <strong>of</strong> the whole company <strong>of</strong> virtues which cling<br />
395
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
tium. Haec docuit colere divina, humana diligere,<br />
et penes deos imperium esse, inter homines consortium.<br />
Quod aliquandiu inviolatum mansit, antequam<br />
societatem avaritia distraxit et paupertatis<br />
causa etiam is, quos fecit locupletissimos, fuit.<br />
Desierunt 1 enim omnia possidere, dum volunt propria.<br />
Sed primi mortalium quique ex his geniti naturam<br />
incorrupti sequebantur, eundem habebant et ducem<br />
et legem, commissi melioris arbitrio. Naturae est<br />
enim potioribus deteriora summittere. Mutis quidem<br />
gregibus aut maxima corpora praesunt aut vehementissima.<br />
Non praecedit armenta degener taurus,<br />
sed qui magnitudine ac tons ceteros mares vicit.<br />
Elephantorum gregein excelsissimus ducit inter<br />
;<br />
homines pro summo 2 est optimum. Animo itaque<br />
rector eligebatur, ideoque summa felicitas erat gentium,<br />
in quibus non poterat potentior esse nisi melior.<br />
Tuto 3 enim quantum vult potest, qui se nisi<br />
quod<br />
4<br />
debet non putat posse.<br />
Illo ergo saeculo, quod aureum perhibent, penes<br />
Posidonius iudicat. Hi con-<br />
sapientes fuisse regnum<br />
desierunt later MSS. desiderium B.<br />
1<br />
2<br />
pro summo ed.<br />
MSS.<br />
;<br />
Ven. (1492); proximo or pro maxima<br />
3 tulo Buecheler ;<br />
toto B<br />
;<br />
tantnm others.<br />
4<br />
putat posse some later MSS. ; putat esse B.<br />
"<br />
Compare the "knowledge <strong>of</strong> things divine and things<br />
'<br />
human <strong>of</strong> Ixxxix. 5.<br />
b<br />
The "Golden Age" motif was a frequent one in Latin<br />
literature. Compare, e.g., Tibullus, i. 3. 35 if., the passage<br />
beginning :<br />
Quam bene Saturno vivebant rege, priusquam<br />
Tellus in longas est patefacta vias !<br />
Cf. 46, summing up the message <strong>of</strong> Seneca's letter.<br />
c<br />
While modern philosophy would probably side with<br />
Seneca rather than with Posidonius, it is interesting to know<br />
the opinion <strong>of</strong> Macaulay, who holds (Essay on Bacon) that<br />
396
EPISTLE XC.<br />
together in close-united fellowship. Philosophy has<br />
taught us to worship that which is divine, to love<br />
that which is human a she has told us that<br />
;<br />
with<br />
the gods lies dominion, and among men, fellowship.<br />
This fellowship remained unspoiled for a long time,<br />
until avarice tore the community asunder and became<br />
the cause <strong>of</strong> poverty, even in the case <strong>of</strong> those whom<br />
she herself had most enriched. For men cease to<br />
possess all things the moment they desire all things<br />
for their own.<br />
But the first men and those who sprang from<br />
them, still unspoiled, followed nature, having one<br />
man as both their leader and their law, entrusting<br />
themselves to the control <strong>of</strong> one better than themselves.<br />
For nature has the habit <strong>of</strong> subjecting the<br />
weaker to the stronger. Even among the dumb<br />
animals those which are either biggest or fiercest<br />
hold sway. It is no weakling bull that leads the<br />
herd ;<br />
it is one that has beaten the other males by<br />
his might and his muscle. In the case <strong>of</strong> elephants,<br />
the tallest goes first ; among men, the best is<br />
regarded<br />
as the highest. That is it<br />
why was to the mind that<br />
a ruler was assigned and for that reason the<br />
;<br />
greatest<br />
happiness rested with those peoples among whom<br />
a man could not be the more powerful unless he<br />
were the better. For that man can safely accomplish<br />
what he will who thinks he can do nothing except<br />
what he ought to do.<br />
Accordingly, in that age which is maintained<br />
to be the golden<br />
6<br />
age, Posidonius c holds that the<br />
government was under the jurisdiction <strong>of</strong> the wise.<br />
there is much in common between Posidonius and the<br />
English inductive philosopher, and thinks but little <strong>of</strong><br />
Cf. W. C. Summers, Select<br />
Seneca's ideas on the subject.<br />
Letters <strong>of</strong> Seneca, p. 312.<br />
397
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
tinebant manus et infirmiorem a validioribus tuebantur,<br />
suadebant dissuadebantque et utilia atque<br />
inutilia monstrabant. Horum prudentia ne quid<br />
deesset suis providebat, fortitude pericula arcebat,<br />
beneficentia augebat 1 ornabatque subiectos. Officium<br />
erat imperare, non regnum. Nemo quantum posset,<br />
adversus eos experiebatur, per quos coeperat posse,<br />
nee erat cuiquam aut animus in iniuriam aut causa,<br />
cum bene imperanti bene pareretur nihilque rex<br />
maius minari male parentibus posset, quain ut<br />
abireiit 2 e regno.<br />
6 Sed postquam subrepentibus vitiis in tyrannidem<br />
regna conversa sunt, opus esse legibus coepit, quas<br />
et ipsas inter initia tulere sapientes. Solon qui<br />
Athenas aequo iure fundavit, inter septem fuit 3<br />
sapientia notos. Lycurgum si eadem aetas tulisset,<br />
sacro illi numero accessisset octavus. Zaleuci leges<br />
Charondaeque laudantur. Hi non in foro riec in<br />
consultorum atrio, sed in Pythagorae tacito illo<br />
sanctoque secessu didicerunt iura, quae florenti tune<br />
Siciliae et per Italian! Graeciae ponerent.<br />
7 Hactenus Posidonio adsentior ;<br />
artes 4 quiclem a<br />
philosophia inventas, quibus in cotidiano vita utitur,<br />
non concesserim nee illi fabricae adseram gloriam.<br />
" Ilia/' inquit,<br />
" sparsos et aut cavis tectos 5 aut aliqua<br />
; ;<br />
augebat later MSS. ;<br />
abirent later MSS.<br />
ayvhat B.<br />
abiret B<br />
1<br />
2<br />
quam abire se reyno<br />
Gronovius.<br />
J<br />
fuit Madvig<br />
; cui B.<br />
4<br />
adsentior; artes Erasmus ; adsentio partes (artes} MSS.<br />
6 sparsos<br />
. . . tectos Lipsius ; sparsose caucasls lectoa B.<br />
a Cleobulus <strong>of</strong> Rhodes, Periander <strong>of</strong> Corinth, Pittaous <strong>of</strong><br />
Mitylene, Bias <strong>of</strong> Priene, Thales <strong>of</strong> Miletus, Chilon <strong>of</strong><br />
Sparta, and Solon <strong>of</strong> Athens. For some <strong>of</strong> these substitutions<br />
are made in certain lists.<br />
Cf. tip. Ixxxviii. 20 ad alia multum, ad virtutem nihil.<br />
6<br />
398
EPISTLE XC.<br />
They kept their hands under control, and protected<br />
the weaker from the stronger. They gave advice,<br />
both to do and not to do ;<br />
they showed what was<br />
useful and what was useless. Their forethought<br />
provided that their subjects should lack nothing ;<br />
their bravery warded <strong>of</strong>f dangers ; their kindness<br />
enriched and adorned their subjects. For them<br />
ruling was a service, not an exercise <strong>of</strong> royalty.<br />
No ruler tried his power against those to whom he<br />
owed the beginnings <strong>of</strong> his power and no one had<br />
;<br />
the inclination, or the excuse, to do wrong, since the<br />
ruler ruled well and the subject obeyed well, and<br />
the king could utter no greater threat against<br />
disobedient subjects than that they should depart<br />
from the kingdom.<br />
But when once vice stole in and kingdoms were<br />
transformed into tyrannies, a need arose for laws ;<br />
and these very laws were in turn framed by the wise.<br />
Solon, who established Athens upon a firm basis by<br />
just laws, was one <strong>of</strong> the seven men renowned for<br />
their wisdom.* Had Lycurgus lived in the same<br />
period, an eighth would have been added to that<br />
hallowed number seven. The laws <strong>of</strong> Zaleucus and<br />
Charondas are praised it was not in the forum or<br />
;<br />
in the <strong>of</strong>fices <strong>of</strong> skilled counsellors, but in the silent<br />
and holy retreat <strong>of</strong> Pythagoras, that these two<br />
men learned the principles <strong>of</strong> justice which they<br />
were to establish in Sicily (which at that time was<br />
prosperous) and throughout Grecian Italy.<br />
Up to this point I agree with Posidonius ;<br />
but<br />
that philosophy discovered the arts <strong>of</strong> which life<br />
makes use in its daily round b I refuse to admit, nor<br />
will I ascribe to it an artisan's glory. Posidonius<br />
says : " When men were scattered over the earth,<br />
protected by caves or by the dug-out<br />
shelter <strong>of</strong> a<br />
399
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
rupe suffossa aut exesae arboris trunco docuit tecta<br />
moliri." Ego vero philosophiam iudico non magis<br />
excogitasse has machinationes tectorum supra tecta<br />
surgentium et urbium urbes prementium quam vivaria<br />
g j)iscium in hoc clausa, ut tempestatum periculum<br />
non adiret gula et quamvis acerrime pelago saeviente<br />
haberet luxuria portus suos, in quibus distinctos<br />
piscium greges saginaret. Quid ais ? Philosophia<br />
homines docuit habere clavem et seram ?<br />
Quid 1<br />
aliud erat avaritiae signum dare ? Philosophia haec<br />
cum tanto habitantium periculo inminentia tecta<br />
suspendit Parum ? enim erat fortuitis tegi et sine<br />
arte et sine difficultate naturale in venire sibi aliquod<br />
receptaculum. Mini crede, felix illud saeculum ante<br />
9 architectos fuit, ante tectores. 2 Ista nata sunt iam<br />
nascente luxuria, in quadratum tigna decidere et<br />
serra per designata currente certa manu trabem<br />
scindere,<br />
Nam primi cuneis scindebant fissile lignum.<br />
Non enim tecta cenationi epulum recepturae parabantur,<br />
nee in hunc usum pinus aut abies deferebatur<br />
longo vehiculorum ordine vicis intrementibiiSj ut<br />
ex ilia lacunaria auro gravia penderent. Furcae<br />
Q utrimque suspensae fulciebant casam. Spissatis<br />
ramalibus ac fronde congesta et in proclive disposita<br />
1<br />
quid later MSS. ; quidquid B.<br />
2 ante architectos . . . iata Hense ; autea architektos fuit.<br />
antetacteres. ista B.<br />
a Vergil, Georq.<br />
i. 144.<br />
6 Of. Juvenal,' iii. 254 ff. : Longa coruscat<br />
Serraco veniente abies, atque altera pinum<br />
Plaustra vehunt, nutant alte populoque minantur.<br />
Compare also the " towering tenements " <strong>of</strong> 8.<br />
400
EPISTLE XC.<br />
cliff or by the trunk <strong>of</strong> a hollow tree, it was philosophy<br />
that taught them to build houses." But I, for my<br />
part, do not hold that philosophy devised these<br />
shrewdly - contrived dwellings <strong>of</strong> ours which rise<br />
story upon story, where city crowds against city,<br />
any more than that she invented the fish-preserves,<br />
which are enclosed for the purpose <strong>of</strong> saving men's<br />
gluttony from having to run the risk <strong>of</strong> storms, and<br />
in order that, no matter how wildly the sea is raging,<br />
luxury may have its safe harbours in which to fatten<br />
fancy breeds <strong>of</strong> fish. What ! Was it<br />
philosophy<br />
that taught the use <strong>of</strong> keys and bolts? Nay,<br />
what was that except giving a hint to avarice ?<br />
Was it<br />
philosophy that erected all these towering<br />
tenements, so dangerous to the persons who dwell<br />
in them ? Was it not enough for man to provide<br />
himself a ro<strong>of</strong> <strong>of</strong> any chance covering, and to contrive<br />
for himself some natural retreat without the help <strong>of</strong><br />
art and without trouble ? Believe me, that was a<br />
happy age, before the days <strong>of</strong> architects, before the<br />
days <strong>of</strong> builders All this sort <strong>of</strong> thing was born<br />
!<br />
when luxury was being born, this matter <strong>of</strong> cutting<br />
timbers square and cleaving a beam with unerring<br />
hand as the saw made its<br />
way over the marked-out<br />
line.<br />
The primal man with wedges split his wood."<br />
For they were not preparing a ro<strong>of</strong> for a future<br />
banquet-hall for no such use did they ;<br />
carry the pinetrees<br />
or the firs<br />
along the trembling streets 6 with a<br />
long row <strong>of</strong> drays merely to fasten thereon panelled<br />
ceilings heavy with gold. Forked poles erected at<br />
either end propped up their houses. With closepacked<br />
branches and with leaves heaped up and laid<br />
401
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
decursus imbribus quamvis magnis<br />
erat. Sub his<br />
tectis habitavere, sed securi. Culmus liberos texit,<br />
sub marmore atque auro servitus habitat.<br />
In illo<br />
quoque dissentio a Posidonio, quod ferramenta<br />
fabrilia excogitata a sapientibus viris iudicat.<br />
11 Isto enim modo dicat licet sapientes fuisse, per quos<br />
Tune laqueis captare feras et fallere visco<br />
Inventum et raagnos canibus circumdare saltus.<br />
Omnia enim ista sagacitas homiiium, non sapientia<br />
12 invenit. In lioc<br />
quoque dissentio, sapientes fuisse<br />
qui ferri metal la et aeris invenerint, cum incendio<br />
silvarum adusta tellus in summo venas iacentis liquefactas<br />
l fudisset ;<br />
ista 2 tales inveniunt, quales col unt.<br />
13 Ne ilia<br />
quidem tarn suptilis mihi quaestio videtur<br />
quam Posidonio, utrum malleus in usu esse prius an<br />
forcipes coeperint. Utraque invenit aliquis excitati<br />
ingenii, acuti, non magni nee elati, et quicquid aliud<br />
corpora incurvato et animo humum spectante quaerendum<br />
est.<br />
Sapiens facilis victu fuit, ?<br />
quidni Cum hoc<br />
quoque saeculo esse quam expeditissimus cupiat.<br />
14 QuomodOj oro te, convenit, ut et Diogenen mireris<br />
et Daedalum ? Uter ex his sapiens tibi videtur ?<br />
Qui serram commentus est, an ille qui cum vidisset<br />
puerum cava manu bibentem aquam, fregit protinus<br />
1<br />
liquefactas later MSS. ;<br />
liquafacta B.<br />
2 ista Pincianus ;<br />
ipsa B.<br />
Vergil, Georq. i. 139 f.<br />
6<br />
Cf. T. Rice Holmes, Ancient Britain, pp. 121 i'. , who<br />
concludes that the discovery <strong>of</strong> ore-smelting was accidental,<br />
402
EPISTLE XC.<br />
sloping they contrived a drainage for even the heaviest<br />
rains. Beneath such dwellings they lived, but they<br />
lived in peace. A thatched ro<strong>of</strong> once covered free<br />
men ;<br />
under marble and gold dwells slavery.<br />
On another point also I differ from Posidonius,<br />
when he holds that mechanical tools were the<br />
invention <strong>of</strong> wise men. For on that basis one might<br />
maintain that those were wise who taught the arts<br />
Of setting traps for game, and liming twigs<br />
For birds, and girdling mighty woods with dogs.<br />
a<br />
It was man's ingenuity, not his wisdom, that discovered<br />
all these devices. And I also differ from<br />
him when he says that wise men discovered our<br />
mines <strong>of</strong> iron and copper, " when the earth, scorched<br />
by forest fires, melted the veins <strong>of</strong> ore which lay<br />
near the surface and caused the metal to gush forth." b<br />
Nay, the sort <strong>of</strong> men who discover such things are<br />
the sort <strong>of</strong> men who are busied with them. Nor do I<br />
consider this question so subtle as Posidonius thinks,<br />
namely, whether the hammer or the tongs came first<br />
into use. They were both invented by some man<br />
whose mind was nimble and keen, but not great<br />
or exalted ;<br />
and the same holds true <strong>of</strong> any other<br />
discovery which can only be made by means <strong>of</strong> a<br />
bent body and <strong>of</strong> a mind whose gaze is upon the<br />
ground.<br />
The wise man was easy-going in his way <strong>of</strong> living.<br />
And why not ? Even in our own times he would<br />
prefer to be as little cumbered as possible. How, I<br />
ask, can you consistently admire both Diogenes and<br />
Daedalus ? Which <strong>of</strong> these two seems to you a wise<br />
man the one who devised the saw, or the one who,<br />
on seeing a boy drink water from the hollow <strong>of</strong> his<br />
hand, forthwith took his cup from his wallet and<br />
403
1<br />
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
exemptum e perula calicem cum 1 hac obiurgatione<br />
sui "<br />
:<br />
quamdiu homo stultus supervacuas sarcinas<br />
'<br />
habui i<br />
qui se conplicuit in dolio et in eo cubitavit ?<br />
15 Hodie utrum tandem sapientiorem putas, qui invenit<br />
quemadmodum in inmensam altitudinem crocum<br />
latentibus fistulis exprimat, qui euripos subito<br />
aquarum impetu implet aut siccat et versatilia cenationum<br />
laquearia ita coagmentat, ut subinde alia<br />
fades atque alia succedat et totiens tecta quotiens<br />
fericula mutentur, an eum, qui et aliis et sibi hoc<br />
monstrat, quam nihil nobis natura durum ac difficile<br />
imperaverit,, posse nos habitare sine marmorario ac<br />
fabro, posse nos vestitos esse sine commercio sericorum,<br />
2 posse nos habere usibus nostris necessaria,<br />
si contenti fuerimus iis<br />
quae terra posuit<br />
in summo ?<br />
Quern si audire humanum<br />
^ genus voluerit, tarn super-<br />
16 vacuum sciet sibi cocum esse quam militem. Illi<br />
sapientes fuerunt aut certe sapientibus similes, quibus<br />
expedita erat tutela corporis. Simplici cura constant<br />
necessaria ;<br />
in delicias laboratur. Non desiderabis<br />
artifices ;<br />
sequere naturam.<br />
Ilia noluit esse districtos. Ad quaecumque nos<br />
cogebat, instruxit. " Frigus intolerabilest corpori<br />
nudo." Quid ergo Non ? pelles ferarum et aliorum<br />
animalium a<br />
frigore satis<br />
abundeque defendere<br />
queunt Non ? corticibus arborum pleraeque gentes<br />
1<br />
cum added by Baehrens.<br />
2 sericorum Fickert ; servo nan B.<br />
Cf. Diog. Laert. vi. 37 deaa-d/j-evos TTOTC Traidiov rcus<br />
X.epa-1 irlvov, t^ppife rfjs Tracts rrjv KOTi>\r)t>, elirui>, IlcuSt'oi/<br />
fte vevlKijKev evTe\eia.<br />
b<br />
Compare the halls <strong>of</strong> Nero which Seneca may easily<br />
have had in mind :<br />
(Suet. Nero 31) cmationes laqueatde<br />
tabulis eburneisversatUibus . . .<br />
praecipuacenationumrotunda,<br />
qtiae perpetuo dlebus ac noctibus vice mundi circumageretnr.<br />
404
EPISTLE XC.<br />
broke it, upbraiding himself with these words a<br />
:<br />
" Fool that I am, to have been<br />
" carrying superfluous<br />
baggage all this time !<br />
OO O and then curled himself up *<br />
in his tub and lay<br />
down to sleep? In these our<br />
own times, which man, pray, do you deem the wiser<br />
the one who invents a process for spraying saffron<br />
perfumes to a tremendous height from hidden pipes,<br />
who fills or empties canals by a sudden rush <strong>of</strong><br />
waters, who so cleverly constructs a dining-room<br />
with a ceiling <strong>of</strong> movable panels that it<br />
presents<br />
one pattern after another, the ro<strong>of</strong> changing as <strong>of</strong>ten<br />
6<br />
as the courses, or the one who proves to others,<br />
as well as to himself, that nature has laid upon us<br />
no stern and difficult law when she tells us that we<br />
can live without the marble-cutter and the engineer,<br />
that we can clothe ourselves without traffic in silk<br />
fabrics, that we can have everything that is indispensable<br />
to our use, provided only that we are<br />
content with what the earth has placed on its<br />
surface ? If mankind were willing to listen to this<br />
sage, they would know that the cook is as superfluous<br />
to them as the soldier. Those were wise<br />
men, or at any rate like the wise, who found the<br />
care <strong>of</strong> the body a problem easy to solve. The<br />
things that are indispensable require no elaborate<br />
pains for their acquisition it is<br />
only the luxuries<br />
;<br />
that call for labour. Follow nature, and you will<br />
need no skilled craftsmen.<br />
Nature did not wish us to be harassed. For<br />
whatever she forced upon us, she equipped us. " But<br />
cold cannot be endured by the naked body." What<br />
then? Are there not the skins <strong>of</strong> wild beasts and<br />
other animals, which can protect us well enough,<br />
and more than enough, from the cold ? Do not<br />
many<br />
tribes cover their bodies with the bark <strong>of</strong><br />
405
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
tegunt corpora Non ? avium plumae in usum vestis<br />
conseruntur ? Non hodieque magna Scytharum pars<br />
tergis vulpium induitur ac murum, quae tactu mollia<br />
17 et inpenetrabilia ventis sunt? "Opus<br />
est tamen<br />
calorem solis aestivi umbra crassiore propellere."<br />
Quid ergo Non ? vetustas multa dedit l loca, quae<br />
vel iniuria temporis vel alio quolibet<br />
casu excavata<br />
in specum recesserunt ? Quid ergo Non ? quilibet 2<br />
virgeam cratem texuerunt manu et vili obliverunt<br />
3<br />
luto, deinde stipula aliisque silvestribus operuere<br />
fastigium, et pluviis per devexa labentibus hiemem<br />
transiere 4 securi ? Quid<br />
?<br />
ergo Non in defosso<br />
latent Syrticae gentes quibusque propter nimios solis<br />
ardores nullum tegimeiitum satis repellendis caloribus<br />
solidum est nisi ipsa arens humus ?<br />
18 Non fuit tarn inimica natura, ut, cum omnibus<br />
aliis animalibus facilem actum vitae daret, homo<br />
solus non posset sine tot artibus vivere. Nihil horum<br />
ab ilia nobis imperatum est, nihil aegre quaerendum,<br />
ut possit vita produci. Ad parata nati surnus ;<br />
nos<br />
omiiia nobis difficilia facilium fastidio fecimus. Tecta<br />
tegimentaque et fomenta corporum et cibi et quae<br />
nunc ingens negotium facta sunt, obvia erant et<br />
1<br />
dedit Madvig abdidit MSS. Buecheler suspects the<br />
;<br />
whole clause to be corrupt. H. Miiller suggests alxlita dedit.<br />
MSS. B. G. Gemoll believes<br />
a<br />
later quilibet ; quaelibet<br />
that the words quid ergo<br />
. . . securi should be placed at the<br />
head <strong>of</strong> 17.<br />
3 stipula Hense et al. ; despicnla B ; de stipula cod. Harl.<br />
followed by Haase.<br />
4 transiere later MSS. ;<br />
transire B.<br />
a Of. Ovid, Met. i. 121 f. :<br />
406<br />
Domus antra fuerunt<br />
Et deusi frutices et vinctae cortice virgae.
EPISTLE XC.<br />
trees ? Are not the feathers <strong>of</strong> birds sewn together<br />
to serve for clothing? Even at the present day<br />
does not a large portion <strong>of</strong> the Scythian tribe garb<br />
itself in the skins <strong>of</strong> foxes and mice, s<strong>of</strong>t to the<br />
touch and impervious to the winds "<br />
? For all that,<br />
men must have some thicker protection than the skin,<br />
in order to keep<br />
<strong>of</strong>f the heat <strong>of</strong> the sun in summer."<br />
What then ? Has not antiquity produced many<br />
retreats which, hollowed out either by the damage<br />
wrought by time or by any other occurrence you<br />
will, have opened into caverns ? What then ? Did<br />
not the very<br />
first -comers take twigs a and weave<br />
them by hand into wicker mats, smear them with<br />
common mud, and then with stubble and other<br />
wild grasses construct a ro<strong>of</strong>, and thus pass their<br />
winters secure, the rains carried <strong>of</strong>f by means <strong>of</strong> the<br />
sloping gables What ? then Do ? not the peoples<br />
on the edge <strong>of</strong> the Syrtes dwell in dug-out houses<br />
and indeed all the tribes who, because <strong>of</strong> the too<br />
fierce blaze <strong>of</strong> the sun, possess no protection sufficient<br />
to keep <strong>of</strong>f the heat except the soil<br />
parched itself?<br />
Nature was not so hostile to man that, when she<br />
gave all the other animals an easy role in life, she<br />
made it impossible for him alone to live without all<br />
these artifices. None <strong>of</strong> these was imposed upon us<br />
by her none <strong>of</strong> them had to be<br />
; painfully sought<br />
out that our lives might be prolonged.<br />
All things<br />
were ready for us at our birth ; it is we that have<br />
made everything difficult for ourselves, through our<br />
disdain for what is easy. Houses, shelter, creature<br />
comforts, food, and all that has now become the<br />
source <strong>of</strong> vast trouble, were ready at hand, free to<br />
Among many accounts by Roman writers <strong>of</strong> early man,<br />
compare this passage <strong>of</strong> Ovid, and that in the fifth book <strong>of</strong><br />
Lucretius.<br />
407
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
gratuita et opera levi parabilia.<br />
Modus enim omnium<br />
prout necessitas erat ;<br />
nos ista 1<br />
pretiosa, nos mira, nos magnis multisque conquirenda artibus fecimus.<br />
19 Sufficit ad id natura, quod poscit. A natura luxuria<br />
descivit, quae cotidie se ipsa<br />
incitat et tot saeculis<br />
crescit et ingenio adiuvat vitia. Primo supervacua<br />
coepit concupiscere, hide contraria, novissime animum<br />
corpori addixit et illius deservire libidini iussit.<br />
Omnes istae artes, quibus aut circitatur civitas aut<br />
strepit, corporis 2 negotium gerunt,<br />
cui omnia olim<br />
tamquam servo praestabantur, nunc tamquam domino<br />
parantur. Itaque hinc textorum, hinc fabrorum<br />
<strong>of</strong>ficinae sunt, hinc odores coquentium, hinc mollitia 3<br />
molles corporis motus doceiitium mollesque cantus<br />
et infractos. Recessit enim ille naturalis modus<br />
desideria ope necessaria finiens ;<br />
iam rusticitatis et<br />
miseriae est velle, quantum<br />
sat est.<br />
20 Incredibilest, mi Lucili, quam facile etiam magnos<br />
viros dulcedo orationis abducat vero. Ecce Posidonius<br />
ut mea fert opinio, ex is 4<br />
qui plurimum philosophiae<br />
contulerunt, dum vult desoribere primum, quemadmodum<br />
alia torqueantur fila, alia ex molli solutoque<br />
ducantur, deinde quemadmodum tela<br />
1<br />
mira Pincianus ; misera B.<br />
2 corporis later MSS. ; corpori BA.<br />
^ mollitia added by Capps.<br />
4 is Buecheler ;<br />
his BA.<br />
suspensis<br />
408
EPISTLE XC.<br />
all, and obtainable for trifling pains. For the limit<br />
everywhere corresponded to the need ;<br />
it is we that<br />
have made all those things valuable,, we that have<br />
made them admired, we that have caused them to<br />
be sought for by extensive and manifold devices.<br />
Nature suffices for what she demands. Luxury has<br />
turned her back upon nature each ; day she expands<br />
herself, in all the ages she has been gathering<br />
strength, and by her wit promoting the vices. At<br />
first, luxury began to lust for what nature regarded<br />
as superfluous, then for that which was contrary to<br />
nature ;<br />
and finally she made the soul a bondsman to<br />
the body, and bade it be an utter slave to the body's<br />
lusts. All these crafts by which the city is patrolled<br />
or shall I say kept in uproar are but engaged in<br />
the body's business ;<br />
time was when all things were<br />
<strong>of</strong>fered to the body as to a slave, but now they are<br />
made ready for it as for a master. Accordingly,<br />
hence have come the workshops <strong>of</strong> the weavers<br />
and the carpenters ;<br />
hence the savoury smells <strong>of</strong> the<br />
pr<strong>of</strong>essional cooks hence the wantonness <strong>of</strong> those<br />
;<br />
who teach wanton postures, and wanton and affected<br />
singing. For that moderation which nature prescribes,<br />
which limits our desires by resources restricted<br />
to our needs, has abandoned the field ;<br />
it has now<br />
come to this that to want only what is<br />
enough is a<br />
sign both <strong>of</strong> boorishness and <strong>of</strong> utter destitution.<br />
It is hard to believe, my dear Lucilius, how easily<br />
the charm <strong>of</strong> eloquence wins even great men away<br />
from the truth. Take, for example, Posidonius<br />
who, in my estimation, is <strong>of</strong> the number <strong>of</strong> those<br />
who have contributed most to philosophy when he<br />
wishes to describe the art <strong>of</strong> weaving. He tells<br />
how, first, some threads are twisted and some drawn<br />
out from the s<strong>of</strong>t, loose mass <strong>of</strong> wool ; next, how the<br />
409
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
ponderibus rectum stamen extendat, quemadmoclum<br />
subtemen insertum, quod duritiam utrimque<br />
!<br />
conprimentis<br />
tramae remolliat, spatha coire cogatur et<br />
iungi. Textrini quoque artem a sapientibus dixit<br />
inventam, oblitus postea repertum hoc subtilius<br />
genus, in quo<br />
Tela iug'o vincta 2 est, stamen secernit harundo,<br />
Inseritur medium radiis subtemen acutis,<br />
Quod lato paviunt 3 insecti pectine dentes.<br />
Quid, si contigisset illi adire 4 has nostri temporis<br />
telas, quibus 5 vestis nihil celatura conficitur, in qua<br />
non dico nullum corpori auxilium, sed nullum pudori<br />
est?<br />
21 Transit deinde ad agricolas nee minus facunde<br />
describit proscissum aratro solum et iteratum, 6 quo<br />
solutior terra facilius pateat radicibus, tune sparsa<br />
semina et collectas manu herbas, ne quid fortuitum<br />
et agreste succrescat, quod necet segetem. Hoc<br />
quoque opus ait esse sapientium, tamquam non nunc<br />
quoque plurima cultores agrorum nova inveniant, per<br />
22 quae fertilitas augeatur. Deinde non est contentus<br />
his artibus, sed in pistrinum sapientem summittit.<br />
Narrat enim quemadmodum rerum naturam imitatus<br />
})anem coeperit facere. " " Receptas/' inquit, in os<br />
fruges concurrens inter se duritia dentium frangit,<br />
2<br />
1<br />
utrimque later MSS. ;<br />
utrumque BA.<br />
vincta (with Ovid) a later MS. ;<br />
iuncta BA.<br />
3<br />
paviunt Gruter ;<br />
parhint BA.<br />
4 adire later MSS. ; addere BA.<br />
5<br />
quibus later MSS. ; in quibus BA.<br />
iteratum Pincianus ; inter aratrum BA.<br />
6<br />
a Ovid, Met. vi. 55 ff.<br />
6<br />
Pr<strong>of</strong>essor Summers calls attention to the similarity <strong>of</strong><br />
passage and Cicero, De Nat. Deor. ii. 131- ff. dentibus<br />
manditur ... a lingua adiuvari vidrlur . . . in alvo . . .<br />
adore in . . .<br />
reliquum corpus dividantur.<br />
410
EPISTLE XC.<br />
upright warp keeps the threads stretched by means<br />
<strong>of</strong> hanging weights ; then, how the inserted thread<br />
<strong>of</strong> the wo<strong>of</strong>, which s<strong>of</strong>tens the hard texture <strong>of</strong> the<br />
web which holds it fast on either side, is forced<br />
by the batten to make a compact union with the<br />
warp. He maintains that even the weaver's art was<br />
discovered by wise men, forgetting<br />
that the more<br />
complicated art which he describes was invented in<br />
later days the art wherein<br />
The web is bound to frame ;<br />
asunder now<br />
The reed doth part the warp. Between the threads<br />
Is shot the wo<strong>of</strong> by pointed shuttles borne ;<br />
The broad comb's well-notched teeth then drive it home. a<br />
Suppose he had had the opportunity <strong>of</strong> seeing the<br />
weaving <strong>of</strong> our own day, which produces the clothing<br />
that will conceal nothing, the clothing which affords<br />
I will not say no protection<br />
to the body, but<br />
none even to modesty !<br />
Posidonius then passes on to the farmer. With<br />
no less eloquence he describes the ground which is<br />
broken up and crossed again by the plough, so that<br />
the earth, thus loosened, may allow freer play to the<br />
roots ;<br />
then the seed is sown, and the weeds plucked<br />
out by hand, lest any chance growth or wild plant<br />
spring up and spoil the crop. This trade also, he<br />
declares, is the creation <strong>of</strong> the wise, just as if<br />
cultivators <strong>of</strong> the soil were not even at the present<br />
day discovering countless new methods <strong>of</strong> increasing<br />
the soil's fertility! Furthermore, not confining his<br />
attention to these arts, he even degrades the wise<br />
man by sending him to the mill. For he tells us<br />
how the sage, by imitating the processes<br />
<strong>of</strong> nature,<br />
began to make bread. " The grain,"<br />
b<br />
he says,<br />
"once taken into the mouth, is crushed by the<br />
flinty teeth, which meet in hostile encounter, and<br />
VOL. ii o 41 1
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
et quicquid excidit, ad eosdem denies lingua refertur<br />
;<br />
tune vero miscetur, ut facilius per fauces<br />
lubricas transeat.<br />
Cum pervenit in ventrem, aequali<br />
eius fervore concoquitur, tune demum corpori<br />
accedit.<br />
23 Hoc aliquis secutus exemplar lapidem asperum<br />
aspero inposuit ad similitudinem dentium, quorum<br />
pars immobilis motum alterius exspectat deinde<br />
;<br />
utriusque attritu grana franguntur et saepius regeruntur,<br />
donee ad minutiam frequenter trita redigantur.<br />
Turn farinam aqua sparsit et adsidua tractatione perdomuit<br />
finxitque panem, quern prime cinis calidus et<br />
fervens testa<br />
percoxit, deinde furni paulatim reperti<br />
et alia genera, quorum fervor serviret arbitrio." Non<br />
multum afuit, quin sutrinum quoque inventum a<br />
sapientibus diceret.<br />
24 Omnia ista ratio quidem, sed non recta ratio commenta<br />
est. Hominis enim, non sapientis<br />
inventa<br />
sunt, tarn mehercules quam navigia, quibus amnes<br />
quibusque maria transimus aptatis ad excipiendum<br />
ventorum impetum velis et additis a tergo guberiiaculis,<br />
quae hue atque illuc cursum navigii torqueant.<br />
Exemplum a piscibus tractum est, qui cauda<br />
reguntur et levi eius in utrumque momento velocita-<br />
25 tern suam<br />
"<br />
flectunt. Omnia," inquit,<br />
"haec sapiens<br />
quidem invenit sed minora<br />
;<br />
quam ut ipse tractaret,
EPISTLE XC.<br />
whatever grain slips out the tongue turns back to<br />
the selfsame teeth. Then it is blended into a mass,<br />
that it<br />
may the more easily pass down the slippery<br />
throat. When this has reached the stomach, it<br />
is digested by the stomach's equable heat ; then,<br />
and not till<br />
then, it is assimilated with the body.<br />
Following this pattern," he goes on, " someone placed<br />
two rough stones, the one above the other, in<br />
imitation <strong>of</strong> the teeth, one set <strong>of</strong> which is stationary<br />
and awaits the motion <strong>of</strong> the other set. Then, by<br />
the rubbing <strong>of</strong> the one stone against the other, the<br />
grain is crushed and brought back again and again,<br />
until by frequent rubbing it is reduced to powder.<br />
Then this man sprinkled the meal with water, and<br />
by continued manipulation subdued the mass and<br />
moulded the loaf. This loaf was, at first, baked by<br />
hot ashes or by an earthen vessel glowing hot later<br />
;<br />
on ovens were gradually discovered and the other<br />
devices whose heat will render obedience to the<br />
sage's will." Posidonius came very near declaring<br />
that even the cobbler's trade was the discovery <strong>of</strong><br />
the wise man.<br />
Reason did indeed devise all these things, but it<br />
was not right reason. It was man, but not the wise<br />
man, that discovered them ; just as they invented<br />
ships, in which we cross rivers and seas ships fitted<br />
with sails for the purpose <strong>of</strong> catching the force <strong>of</strong><br />
the winds, ships with rudders added at the stern in<br />
order to turn the vessel's course in one direction or<br />
another. The model followed was the fish, which<br />
steers itself by its tail, and by its slightest motion on<br />
this side or on that bends its swift course. "But,"<br />
says Posidonius, " the wise man did indeed discover<br />
all these things<br />
;<br />
they were, however, too petty for<br />
him to deal with himself and so he entrusted them<br />
413
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
sordidioribus ministris dedit." Immo non aliis excogitata<br />
ista sunt quam quibus hodieque curantur.<br />
1<br />
Quaedam nostra demum prodisse memoria scimus,<br />
ut speculariorum usum perlucente testa clarum<br />
transmittentium lumen, ut suspensuras balneorum<br />
et inpressos parietibus tubos, per quos circumfunderetur<br />
calor, qui ima simul ac summa foveret aequaliter.<br />
Quid loquar marmora, quibus templa, quibus domus<br />
fulgent ? Quid lapideas moles in rotundura ac leve<br />
formatas, quibus porticus et capacia populorum tecta<br />
suscipimus ? Quid verborum notas, quibus quamvis<br />
citata excipitur oratio et celeritatem linguae man us<br />
sequitur ? Vilissimorum mancipiorum<br />
ista commenta<br />
26 sunt ;<br />
sapientia altius sedet nee manus edocet, animorum<br />
magistra est.<br />
Vis scire, quid ilia eruerit, quid effecerit ? Non<br />
decoros 2 corporis motus nee varies per tubam ac<br />
tibiam cantus, quibus exceptus spiritus aut in exitu<br />
aut in transitu formatur in vocem. Non arma nee<br />
muros nee bello 3 utilia molitur, paci favet et genus<br />
27 humanum ad concordiam vocat. Non est, inquam,<br />
instrumentorum ad usus necessarios opifex. Quid<br />
illi tarn parvola adsignas<br />
? Artificem vides vitae.<br />
Alias quidem<br />
artes sub dominio habet. Nam cui<br />
1<br />
prodisse later MSS. ; prodidisse BA.<br />
2 decoros later MSS. ; dede-coros BA.<br />
3 bello Madvig;<br />
bella BA.<br />
a Besides lapis specularis (window-glass) the Romans<br />
used alabaster, mica, and shells for this purpose.<br />
6<br />
Suetonius tells us that a certain Ennius, a grammarian<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Augustan age, was the first to develop shorthand<br />
on a scientific basis, and that Tiro, Cicero's freedman, had<br />
invented the process. He also mentions Seneca as the<br />
most scientific and encyclopaedic authority on the subject.<br />
414
EPISTLE XC.<br />
to his meaner assistants." Not so ;<br />
these early<br />
inventions were thought out by no other class <strong>of</strong><br />
men than those who have them in charge to-day.<br />
We know that certain devices have come to light<br />
only within our own memory such as the use <strong>of</strong><br />
windows which admit the clear light through<br />
transparent tiles/ and such as the vaulted baths,<br />
with pipes let into their walls for the purpose<br />
<strong>of</strong> diffusing the heat which maintains an even<br />
temperature in their lowest as \vell as in their<br />
highest spaces. Why need I mention the marble<br />
with which our temples and our private houses<br />
are resplendent<br />
? Or the rounded and polished<br />
masses <strong>of</strong> stone by means <strong>of</strong> which we erect colonnades<br />
and buildings roomy enough<br />
for nations ?<br />
Or our<br />
b<br />
signs for whole words, which enable us<br />
to take down a speech, however rapidly uttered,<br />
matching speed <strong>of</strong> tongue by speed <strong>of</strong> hand ?<br />
All this sort <strong>of</strong> thing has been devised by the<br />
lowest grade <strong>of</strong> slaves. Wisdom's seat is<br />
higher ;<br />
she trains not the hands, but is mistress <strong>of</strong> our<br />
minds.<br />
Would you know what wisdom has brought forth<br />
to light, what she has accomplished<br />
? It is not the<br />
graceful poses <strong>of</strong> the body, or the varied notes<br />
produced by horn and flute, whereby the breath<br />
is received and, as it passes out or through, is<br />
transformed into voice. It is not wisdom that contrives<br />
arms, or walls, or instruments useful in war ;<br />
nay, her voice is for peace, and she summons all<br />
mankind to concord. It is not she, I maintain, who<br />
is the artisan <strong>of</strong> our indispensable implements <strong>of</strong><br />
daily use. Why do you assign to her such petty<br />
?<br />
things You see in her the skilled artisan <strong>of</strong> life.<br />
The other arts, it is true, wisdom has under her<br />
415
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
vita, illi vitam ornantia quoque l serviunt ;<br />
ceterum<br />
ad beatum statum tendit, illo ducit, illo vias aperit.<br />
28 Quae sint mala, quae videantur ostendit, vanitatem<br />
exuit mentibus, dat magnitudinem solidam, inflatam<br />
vero et ex inani speciosam reprimit, nee ignorari<br />
sinit inter magna quid intersit et tumida, totius<br />
naturae notitiam ac suae tradit. Quid sint di qualesque<br />
declarat, quid inferi, quid lares et genii, quid<br />
in secundam minimum 2 formam animae perpetuatae,<br />
3<br />
ubi consistant, quid agant, quid possint, quid velint.<br />
Haec eius<br />
initiamenta sunt, per quae non municipale<br />
sacrum, sed ingens deorum omnium tempi um,<br />
mundus ipse reseratur, cuius vera simulacra verasque<br />
facies cernendas 4 mentibus protulit.<br />
Nam ad specta-<br />
29 cula tam magna hebes visus est. Ad initia deinde<br />
rerum redit aeternamque rationem toti inditam et<br />
vim omnium seminum singula proprie figurantem.<br />
Turn de animo coepit inquirere, unde esset, ubi,<br />
quamdiu, in quot<br />
membra divisus Deinde a corporibus<br />
se ad incorporalia transtulit veritatemque et<br />
1<br />
vitam ornantia quoque Hense ; vitae quoque ornantia<br />
MSS.<br />
2<br />
numinum Erasmus ;<br />
nominum BA.<br />
3<br />
perpetuatae Schweighaeuser ;<br />
perpetitae<br />
MSS. and<br />
Hense.<br />
4 cernendas later MSS. ;<br />
cerneudls BA.<br />
a Possibly either the manes or the indigitamenta <strong>of</strong> the<br />
early Roman religion.<br />
b i.e.,<br />
416
EPISTLE XC.<br />
control ;<br />
for he whom life serves is also served by<br />
the things which equip<br />
life. But wisdom's course<br />
is toward the state <strong>of</strong> happiness ;<br />
thither she guides<br />
us, thither she opens the way<br />
for us. She shows us<br />
what things are evil and what things are seemingly<br />
evil ;<br />
she strips our minds <strong>of</strong> vain illusion. She<br />
bestows upon us a greatness which is substantial,<br />
but she represses the greatness which is inflated,<br />
and showy but filled with emptiness and she does<br />
;<br />
not permit us to be ignorant <strong>of</strong> the difference between<br />
what is<br />
great and what is but swollen ;<br />
nay, she<br />
delivers to us the knowledge <strong>of</strong> the whole <strong>of</strong> nature<br />
and <strong>of</strong> her own nature. She discloses to us what<br />
the gods are and <strong>of</strong> what sort they are ;<br />
what are<br />
the nether gods, the household deities, and the<br />
protecting spirits<br />
what are the souls which have<br />
;<br />
been endowed with lasting life and have been<br />
admitted to the second class <strong>of</strong> divinities," where is<br />
their abode and what their activities, powers, and<br />
will.<br />
Such are wisdom's rites <strong>of</strong> initiation, by means <strong>of</strong><br />
which is unlocked, not a village shrine, but the vast<br />
temple <strong>of</strong> all the gods the universe itself, whose<br />
true apparitions and true aspects she <strong>of</strong>fers to the<br />
gaze <strong>of</strong> our minds. For the vision <strong>of</strong> our eyes<br />
is too<br />
dull for sights so great.<br />
Then she goes back to the<br />
beginnings <strong>of</strong> things, to the eternal Reason & which<br />
was imparted to the whole, and to the force which<br />
inheres in all the seeds <strong>of</strong> things, giving them the<br />
power to fashion each thing according to its kind.<br />
Then wisdom begins to inquire about the soul,<br />
whence it comes, where it dwells, how long<br />
it<br />
abides, into how many divisions it falls. Finally, she<br />
has turned her attention from the corporeal to the<br />
incorporeal, and has closely examined truth and the<br />
417
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
argumenta eius excussit, post haec quemadmodum<br />
discernerentur vitae aut vocis ambigua, in utraque<br />
enim falsa veris inmixta sunt.<br />
30 Non abduxit, inquam, se, ut Posidonio videtur, ab<br />
istis artibus sapiens, sed ad illas omnino non venit.<br />
Nihil enim dignum inventu iudicasset, quod non erat<br />
dignum perpetuo usu iudicaturus. Ponenda non<br />
sumeret.<br />
"<br />
31 Anacharsis/' inquit, "invenit rotam figuli, cuius<br />
circuitu vasa formantur." Deinde quia apud Homerum<br />
invenitur figuli rota, malunt l videri versus falsos esse<br />
quam fabulam. Ego nee Anacharsim auctorem huius<br />
rei fuisse contendo et, si fuit, sapiens quidem hoc<br />
invenit, sed non tamquam sapiens, sicut multa<br />
sapientes faciunt, qua homines sunt, non qua sapientes.<br />
Puta velocissimum esse sapientem cursu omnes<br />
;<br />
anteibit, qua velox est, non qua sapiens. Cuperem<br />
Posidonio aliquem vitrearium ostendere, qui spiritu<br />
vitrum in habitus plurimos format, qui vix diligenti<br />
manu effingerentur. Haec inventa sunt, postquam<br />
snpientiam 2 invenire desimus.<br />
1<br />
malunt MSS. ; mavult several editors.<br />
8<br />
sapientiam Buecheler ; sapientem BA.<br />
a Seneca, himself one <strong>of</strong> the keenest scientific observers<br />
in history (witness the Nat. Quaest., Epp. Ivii., Ixxix., etc.),<br />
is pushing his argument very far in this letter. His message<br />
is clear enough<br />
; but the modern combination <strong>of</strong> natural<br />
science, psychology, and philosophy shows that Posidonius<br />
had some justification for his theories. Cf. also Lucretius,<br />
v. 1105-7 ff.<br />
6<br />
This Scythian prince and friend <strong>of</strong> Solon, who visited<br />
Athens in the sixth century B.C., is also said to have invented<br />
the bellows and the anchor. Cf., however, Iliad xviii. 600 f.<br />
wj 6're rts rpox^v ap/j-evov Iv TraXd/j-rjiaw e^oyueyos and Leafs comment " Kfpa/Jievs<br />
The<br />
TretpTjcrerat, : potter's wheel was<br />
418
]<br />
EPISTLE XC.<br />
marks whereby truth is known, inquiring next how<br />
that which is equivocal can be distinguished from<br />
the truth, whether in life or in language for<br />
;<br />
in<br />
both are elements <strong>of</strong> the false mingled with the<br />
true.<br />
It is my opinion that the wise man has not withdrawn<br />
himself, as Posidonius thinks, from those arts<br />
which we were discussing, but that he never took<br />
them up at all. a For he would have judged that<br />
nothing was worth discovering that he would not<br />
judge to be worth using always. He<br />
would not take up things which would have to be<br />
laid aside.<br />
" But Anacharsis," says Posidonius,<br />
" invented<br />
the potter's wheel, whose whirling gives shape to<br />
vessels." 6 Then because the potter's wheel is<br />
mentioned in Homer, people prefer to believe that<br />
Homer's verses are false rather than the story<br />
<strong>of</strong> Posidonius ! But I maintain that Anacharsis<br />
was not the creator <strong>of</strong> this wheel ;<br />
and even if<br />
he was, although he was a wise man when he<br />
invented it, yet he did not invent it qua " wise<br />
man' just as there are a great many things which<br />
wise men do as men, not as wise men. Suppose,<br />
for example, that a wise man is exceedingly fleet<br />
<strong>of</strong> foot ;<br />
he will outstrip all the runners in the race<br />
by virtue <strong>of</strong> being fleet, not by virtue <strong>of</strong> his wisdom.<br />
I should like to show Posidonius some glass-blower<br />
who by his breath moulds the glass into manifold<br />
shapes which could scarcely be fashioned by the<br />
most skilful hand. Nay, these discoveries have<br />
been made since we men have ceased to discover<br />
wisdom.<br />
known in pre-Mycenean times, and was a very ancient<br />
invention to the oldest Epic poets." Seneca is right.<br />
VOL. ii o 2
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
" "<br />
32 Democritus," inquit, invenisse dicitur fornicem,<br />
ut lapidum curvatura paulatim inclinatorum medio<br />
saxo alligaretur." Hoc dicam falsum esse ;<br />
necesse<br />
est enim ante Democritum et pontes et portas fuisse ẏ<br />
33 quarum fere summa curvantur. Excidit porro vobis<br />
eundem Democritum invenisse, quemadmodum ebur<br />
molliretur, quemadmodum decoctus calculus in<br />
zmaragdum converteretur, qua hodieque coctura inventi<br />
lapides in l hoc utiles colorantur. Ista sapiens<br />
licet invenerit, non qua sapiens erat, invenit ;<br />
multa<br />
enim facit, quae ab inprudentissimis aut aeque fieri<br />
videmus 2 aut peritius atque exercitatius.<br />
34 Quid sapiens investigaverit, quid in lucem protraxerit,<br />
quaeris ? Primum verum naturamque, quam<br />
non ut cetera animalia oculis secutus est tardis ad<br />
divina. Deinde vitae legem, quam ad uni versa<br />
derexit, nee nosse tantum sed sequi deos docuit et<br />
accidentia non aliter excipere quam imperata. Vetuit<br />
parere opinionibus falsis et quanti quidque esset,<br />
vera aestimatione perpendit. Damnavit mixtas<br />
paenitentia voluptates et bona semper placitura<br />
laudavit et pal<br />
am fecit felicissimum esse cui felicitate<br />
1<br />
in added by Schweighaeuser.<br />
2 videmus Erasmus ; vidimus BA.<br />
a Seneca (see next sentence) is right again. The arch<br />
was known in Chaldaea and in Egypt before 3000 B.C.<br />
Greek bee - hive tombs, Etruscan gateways, and early<br />
Roman remains, testify to its immemorial use.<br />
6 The ancients judged precious stones merely by their<br />
colour ;<br />
their smaruydus included also malachite, jade, and<br />
several kinds <strong>of</strong> quartz. Exposure to heat alters the colour<br />
<strong>of</strong> some stones ;<br />
and the alchemists believed that the<br />
"angelical stone" changed common flints into diamonds,<br />
rubies, emeralds, etc. See G. F. Kunz, The Magic <strong>of</strong> Jewels<br />
and Charms, p. 16. It was also an ancient superstition<br />
that emeralds were produced from jasper.<br />
420
EPISTLE XC.<br />
But Posidoiiius again remarks<br />
"<br />
: Democritus is<br />
said to have discovered the arch/ whose effect was<br />
that the curving line <strong>of</strong> stones, which gradually lean<br />
toward each other, is bound together by the keystone."<br />
I am inclined to pronounce this statement<br />
false. For there must have been, before Democritus,<br />
bridges and gateways in which the curvature did not<br />
begin until about the top. It seems to have quite<br />
slipped your memory that this same Democritus discovered<br />
how ivory could be s<strong>of</strong>tened, how, by boiling,<br />
a pebble could be transformed into an emerald, 6<br />
-the same process used even to-day for colouring<br />
stones which are found to be amenable to this treatment<br />
! It<br />
may have been a wise man who discovered<br />
all such things, but he did not discover them by<br />
virtue <strong>of</strong> being a wise man ;<br />
for he does many things<br />
which we see done just as well, or even more skilfully<br />
and dexterously, by men who are utterly lacking<br />
in sagacity.<br />
Do you ask what, then, the wise man has found<br />
out and what he has brought to ?<br />
light First <strong>of</strong> all<br />
there is truth, and nature ;<br />
and nature he has not<br />
followed as the other animals do, with eyes too dull<br />
to perceive the divine in it. In the second place,<br />
there is the law <strong>of</strong> life, and life he has made to<br />
conform to universal principles and he has<br />
; taught<br />
us, not merely to know the gods, but to follow them,<br />
and to welcome the gifts <strong>of</strong> chance precisely as if<br />
they were divine commands. He has forbidden us<br />
to give heed to false opinions, and has weighed the<br />
value <strong>of</strong> each thing by a true standard <strong>of</strong> appraisement.<br />
He has condemned those pleasures with<br />
which remorse is intermingled, and has praised those<br />
goods which will always satisfy<br />
and he has published<br />
;<br />
the truth abroad that he is most happy who has no<br />
421
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
11011<br />
opus estj potentissimum esse qui se habet in<br />
potestate.<br />
35 Non de ea philosophia loquor, quae civem extra<br />
patriara posuit, extra mundum deos, quae virtutem<br />
1<br />
donavit voluptati, sed de ilia, quae nullum bonum<br />
putat nisi quod honestum est, quae nee hominis nee<br />
fortunae niuneribus deleniri 2 potest, cuius hoc pretium<br />
est, non posse pretio capi.<br />
Hanc philosophiam fuisse<br />
illo rudi saeculo, quo adhuc artificia deerant et ipso<br />
usu discebantur utilia, non credo.<br />
36 Secutast 3 fortunata tempora, cum in medio iacerent<br />
beiieficia naturae promiscue utenda, antequam<br />
avaritia<br />
atque luxuria dissociavere mortales et ad rapinam ex<br />
consortio discurrere. 4 Non erant illi<br />
sapientes viri,<br />
37 etiam si faciebant facienda sapientibus. Statum<br />
quidem generis humani non alium quisquam suspexerit<br />
magis, nee si cui permittat deus terrena<br />
formare et dare gentibus mores, aliud probaverit quam<br />
quod apud illos fuisse memoratur, apud quos<br />
Nulli subigebant arva coloni,<br />
Ne signare quidem aut partiri limite campum<br />
Fas erat ;<br />
in medium quaerebant, ipsaque tellus<br />
Omnia liberius nullo poscente ferebat.<br />
38 Quid hominum illo genere felicius ? In commune<br />
rerum natura fruebantur ;<br />
sufficiebat ilia ut parens<br />
1<br />
de ilia attested by Pincianus ; ilia BA.<br />
2 deleniri Muretus ;<br />
dderi BA.<br />
3 secutast Buecheler ;<br />
sicutftnt BA.<br />
4 After discurrere Buecheler suggested docuere.<br />
a i.e., the Epicureans, who withdrew from civil life and<br />
regarded the gods as taking no part in the affairs <strong>of</strong> men.<br />
6 i.e., live according to nature.<br />
c<br />
Verg. Oeorg. i.<br />
422<br />
125 if.
EPISTLE XC.<br />
need <strong>of</strong> happiness, and that he is most powerful who<br />
has power over himself.<br />
I am not speaking <strong>of</strong> that philosophy which has<br />
placed the citizen outside his country and the gods<br />
outside the universe, and which has bestowed virtue<br />
upon pleasure,* but rather <strong>of</strong> that philosophy which<br />
counts nothing good except what is honourable, one<br />
which cannot be cajoled by the gifts either <strong>of</strong> man or<br />
<strong>of</strong> fortune, one whose value is that it cannot be bought<br />
for any value. That this philosophy existed in such<br />
a rude age, when the arts and crafts were still unknown<br />
and when useful things could only be learned by use,<br />
this I refuse to believe.<br />
Next there came the fortune-favoured period when<br />
the bounties <strong>of</strong> nature lay open to all, for men's indiscriminate<br />
use, before avarice and luxury had broken<br />
the bonds which held mortals together, and they,<br />
abandoning their communal existence, had separated<br />
and turned to plunder. The men <strong>of</strong> the second age<br />
were not wise men, even though they did what<br />
wise men should do. & Indeed, there is no other<br />
condition <strong>of</strong> the human race that anyone would<br />
regard more highly ; and if God should commission<br />
a man to fashion earthly creatures and to bestow<br />
institutions upon peoples, this man would approve<br />
<strong>of</strong> no other system than that which obtained among<br />
the men <strong>of</strong> that age, when<br />
No ploughman<br />
tilled the soil, nor was it right<br />
To portion <strong>of</strong>f or bound one's property.<br />
Men shared their gains, and earth more freely gave<br />
Her riches to her sons who sought them not. c<br />
What race <strong>of</strong> men was ever more blest than that<br />
race ?<br />
They enjoyed all nature in partnership.<br />
Nature sufficed for them, now the guardian, as before<br />
4-23
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
ita tutela 1 omnium, haec erat publicarum opum<br />
secura possessio. Quidrii ego illud locupletissimum<br />
mortalium genus dixerim, in quo pauperem invenire<br />
non posses<br />
?<br />
Inrupit in res optima positas avaritia et, dum<br />
seducere aliquid cupit atque in suum vertere, omnia<br />
fecit aliena et in angustum se ex inmenso redegit. 2<br />
Avaritia paupertatem intulit et multa concupiscendo<br />
39 omnia amisit. Licet itaque nunc conetur<br />
8<br />
reparare<br />
quod perdidit, licet agros agris<br />
adiciat vicinum vel<br />
pretio pel lens 4 vel iniuria, licet in provinciarum<br />
spatium rura dilatet et possessionem vocet per sua<br />
longam peregrinatiorienr, nulla nos finium propagatio<br />
eo reducet unde discessiraus.<br />
Cum omnia fecerimus, multum habebimus ;<br />
40 universum habebamus. Terra ipsa fertilior erat inlaborata<br />
et in usus populorum non diripientium larga.<br />
Quidquid natura protulerat, id non minus invenisse<br />
quam inventum monstrare alteri voluptas. erat. Nee<br />
ulli ant superesse poterat aut deesse ;<br />
inter Concordes<br />
dividebatur. Nondum valentior inposuerat infirmiori<br />
manum, noiidum avarus absconderido quod sibi iaceret,<br />
alium necessariis quoque excluserat ; par erat alterius<br />
41 ac sui cura. Arma cessabant incruentaeque humano<br />
1<br />
ita tutela Buecheler ; in tutela or in tutelam MSS.<br />
2 redegit Buecheler and a late MS. ; redacti BA.<br />
3<br />
conetur reparare Buecheler and Gloeckner ; concurrere<br />
parare BA.<br />
4<br />
pellens a late MS. ; pelleris BA.<br />
424
she was the parent, <strong>of</strong> all ;<br />
EPISTLE XC.<br />
and this her gift consisted<br />
<strong>of</strong> the assured possession by each man <strong>of</strong> the common<br />
resources. Why<br />
should I not even call that race<br />
could not find a<br />
the richest among mortals, since you<br />
poor person among them ?<br />
But avarice broke in upon a condition so happily<br />
ordained, and, by its eagerness to lay something<br />
away and to turn it to its own private use, made all<br />
things the property <strong>of</strong> others, and reduced itself<br />
from boundless wealth to straitened need. It<br />
was avarice that introduced poverty and, by craving<br />
much, lost all. And so, although she now tries to<br />
make good her loss, although she adds one estate to<br />
another, evicting a neighbour either by buying him<br />
out or by wronging him, although she extends her<br />
country-seats to the size <strong>of</strong> provinces and defines<br />
ownership as meaning extensive travel through one's<br />
own property, in spite <strong>of</strong> all these efforts <strong>of</strong> hers,<br />
no enlargement <strong>of</strong> our boundaries will bring us back<br />
to the condition from which we have departed.<br />
When there is no more that we can do, we shall<br />
possess much ;<br />
but we once possessed the whole<br />
world ! The very soil was more productive when<br />
untilled, and yielded more than enough for peoples<br />
who refrained from despoiling one another. Whatever<br />
gift nature had produced, men found as much<br />
pleasure in revealing it to another as in having discovered<br />
it. It was possible for no man either to<br />
surpass another or to fall short <strong>of</strong> him ;<br />
what there<br />
was, was divided among unquarrelling friends. Not<br />
yet had the stronger begun to lay hands upon the<br />
weaker; not yet had the miser, by hiding away<br />
what lay before him, begun to shut <strong>of</strong>f his neighbour<br />
from even the necessities <strong>of</strong> life ;<br />
each cared as<br />
much for his neighbour as for himself. Armour lay<br />
425
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
sanguine manus odium omne in feras verterant.<br />
quos aliquod nemus densum a sole protexerat, qui<br />
adversus saevitiam hiemis aut imbris vili receptaculo<br />
tuti sub fronde vivebant, placidas transigebaiit sine<br />
suspirio noctis. Sollicitudo nos in nostra purpura<br />
versat et acerrimis excitat stimulis ;<br />
at quam mollem<br />
42 somnum illis dura tellus dabat ! Non inpendebant<br />
caelata laquearia, sed in aperto iacentes sidera superlabebantur<br />
et insigne spectaculum noctium mundus<br />
in praeceps agebatur silentio tantum opus ducens. 1<br />
Tarn mterdiu illis<br />
quam nocte patebant 2 prospectus<br />
huius pulcherrimae domus. Libebat intueri signa<br />
ex media caeli parte vergentia, rursus ex occulto alia<br />
43 surgentia. Quidni iuvaret vagari inter tarn late<br />
Ilh<br />
sparsa miracula ?<br />
At vos ad omnem tectorum pavetis<br />
sonum et inter picturas vestras, si<br />
quid increpuit,<br />
fugitis adtoniti. Non habebant domos instar urbium.<br />
Spiritus ac liber inter aperta perflatus et levis umbra<br />
rupis aut arboris et perlucidi fontes rivique non opere<br />
nee fistula nee ullo coacto itinere obsolefacti, sed<br />
sponte currentes et prata sine arte formosa, inter<br />
haec agreste domicilium rustica politum manu.<br />
Haec erat secundum naturam domus, in qua libebat<br />
1<br />
ducens later MSS. ;<br />
diccns BA.<br />
2 patebant MSS. ; patebat an old reading found by<br />
Pincianus.<br />
Cf. Horace, i.<br />
Ep. 10. 20 f. :<br />
426<br />
Purior in vicis aqua tend it<br />
rumpere plumbum<br />
Quam quae per pronum trepidat cum muruiure rivum ?
EPISTLE XC.<br />
unused, and the hand, unstained by human blood,<br />
had turned all its hatred against wild beasts. The<br />
men <strong>of</strong> that day, who had found in some dense<br />
grove protection against the sun, and security against<br />
the severity <strong>of</strong> winter or <strong>of</strong> rain in their mean hidingplaces,<br />
spent their lives under the branches <strong>of</strong> the<br />
trees and passed tranquil nights without a sigh.<br />
Care vexes us in our purple, and routs us from our<br />
beds with the sharpest <strong>of</strong> goads but how s<strong>of</strong>t was<br />
;<br />
the sleep the hard earth bestow ed r upon the men <strong>of</strong><br />
that day No fretted and ! panelled ceilings hung<br />
over them, but as they lay beneath the open sky the<br />
stars glided quietly above them, and the firmament,<br />
night's noble pageant, marched swiftly by, conducting<br />
its mighty task in silence. For them by day,<br />
as well as by night, the visions <strong>of</strong> this most glorious<br />
abode were free and open. It was their joy to watch<br />
the constellations as they sank from mid-heaven,<br />
and others, again, as they rose from their hidden<br />
abodes. What else but joy could it be to wander<br />
among the marvels which dotted the heavens<br />
far and wide ? But you <strong>of</strong> the present day shudder<br />
at every sound your houses make, and as you sit<br />
among your frescoes the slightest creak makes<br />
you shrink in terror. They had no houses as big<br />
as cities. The air, the breezes blowing free through<br />
the open spaces, the flitting shade <strong>of</strong> crag or tree,<br />
springs crystal - clear and streams not spoiled by<br />
man's work, whether a by water-pipe or by any confinement<br />
<strong>of</strong> the channel, but running at will, and<br />
meadows beautiful without the use <strong>of</strong> art, amid<br />
such scenes were their rude homes, adorned with<br />
rustic hand. Such a dwelling was in accordance<br />
with nature ;<br />
therein it was a joy to live, fearing<br />
neither the dwelling itself nor for its safety. In<br />
427
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
habitare nee ipsam nee pro ipsa timentem ;<br />
nunc<br />
magna pars nostri metus tecta sunt.<br />
44 Sed quamvis egregia<br />
illis vita fuerit et carens<br />
fraude, non fuere sapientes, quando hoc iam in opere<br />
maximo nomen est. Non tanien negaverim fuisse<br />
alti spiritus viros et, ut ita dicam, a dis recentes.<br />
Neque enim dubium est, quin meliora mundus nondum<br />
effetus ediderit. Quemadmoduni autem omnibus<br />
indoles fortior fuit et ad labores paratior,<br />
ita non<br />
erant ingenia omnibus consummata. Non enim dat<br />
45 natura virtutem ;<br />
ars est bonum fieri. Illi<br />
quidem<br />
non aurum nee argentum nee perlucidos lapides l in 2<br />
ima terrarum faece quaerebant parcebantque adhuc<br />
etiam mutis 3 animalibus ;<br />
tantum aberat ut 4 homo<br />
hominem non iratus, non timens, tantum spectaturus<br />
occideret. Nondum vestis illis erat picta, nondum<br />
texebatur aurmn, adhuc nee eruebatur.<br />
46 Quid ergo est 5 ?<br />
Ignorantia rerum innocentes<br />
erant. Multum autem interest, utrum peccare aliquis<br />
nolit an 6 nesciat. Deerat illis iustitia, deerat prudentia,<br />
deerat temperantia ac fortitude. Omnibus<br />
his virtutibus habebat similia quaedam rudis vita ;<br />
virtus non contingit anhno nisi institute et edocto et<br />
ad summum adsidua exercitatione perducto. Ad<br />
hoc quidem, sed sine hoc nascimur et in optimis<br />
1<br />
lapides later MSS. ;<br />
omitted by BA.<br />
2 in added by Schweighaeuser.<br />
3<br />
mutis later MSS. ;<br />
mult is BA.<br />
4 ut later MSS. omitted ; by BA.<br />
5<br />
est added by Feige.<br />
6<br />
an later MSS. ;<br />
ant BA.<br />
a<br />
Because virtue depends upon reason, and none but<br />
voluntary acts should meet with praise or blame.<br />
4-28
EPISTLE XC.<br />
these days, however, our houses constitute a large<br />
portion <strong>of</strong> our dread.<br />
But no matter how excellent and guileless was<br />
the life <strong>of</strong> the men <strong>of</strong> that age, they were not wise<br />
men ;<br />
for that title is reserved for the highest<br />
achievement. Still, I would not deny that they<br />
were men <strong>of</strong> l<strong>of</strong>ty spirit<br />
and if I<br />
may use the<br />
phrase fresh from the gods. For there is no doubt<br />
that the world produced a better progeny before it<br />
was yet worn out. However, not all were endowed<br />
with mental faculties <strong>of</strong> highest perfection, though<br />
in all cases their native powers were more sturdy<br />
than ours and more fitted for toil. For nature does<br />
not bestow virtue ;<br />
it is an art to become good.<br />
They, at least, searched not in the lowest dregs <strong>of</strong><br />
the earth for gold, nor yet for silver or transparent<br />
stones ;<br />
and they<br />
still were merciful even<br />
to the dumb animals - - so far removed was that<br />
epoch from the custom <strong>of</strong> slaying man by man, not<br />
in anger or through fear, but just to make a show !<br />
They had as yet no embroidered garments nor did<br />
they weave cloth <strong>of</strong> gold gold was not yet even<br />
;<br />
mined.<br />
What, then, is the conclusion <strong>of</strong> the matter ? It<br />
was by reason <strong>of</strong> their ignorance <strong>of</strong> things that the<br />
men <strong>of</strong> those days were innocent ;<br />
and it makes a<br />
great deal <strong>of</strong> difference whether one wills not to sin<br />
or has not the knowledge to sin. a Justice was unknown<br />
to them, unknown prudence, unknown also<br />
self-control and bravery but their rude life ;<br />
possessed<br />
certain qualities akin to all these virtues. Virtue is<br />
not vouchsafed to a soul unless that soul has been<br />
trained and taught, and by unremitting practice<br />
brought to perfection. For the attainment <strong>of</strong> this<br />
boon, but not in the possession <strong>of</strong> it, were we born ;<br />
429
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
quoque, antequam erudias, virtutis materia, non<br />
virtus est. VALE.<br />
XCI<br />
SENF.CA LVCILIO svo SALVTEM<br />
1 Liberalis noster nunc tristis est nuntiato incendio,<br />
quo Lugdunensis colonia exusta est. Movere hie<br />
casus quemlibet posset, nedum hominem patriae<br />
suae amantissimum. Quae res effecit, ut firmitatem<br />
animi sui quaerat, quam videlicet ad ea, quae timed<br />
posse putabat, exercuit. Hoc vero tarn inopinatum<br />
malum et paene inauditum non miror si sine metu<br />
fuit, cum esset sine exemplo. Multas enim civitates<br />
incendium vexavit, nullam abstulit. Nam etiam ubi<br />
hostili manu in tecta l<br />
ignis inmissus est, multis locis<br />
deficit/ et quamvis subinde excitetur, raro tamen sic<br />
cuncta depascitur, ut nihil ferro relinquat. Terrarum<br />
quoque vix umquam tarn gravis et perniciosus fuit<br />
motus, ut tota oppida everteret. Numquam denique<br />
tarn infestum ulli exarsit incendium, ut nihil alteri<br />
2 superesset incendio. Tot pulcherrima opera, quae<br />
singula inlustrare urbes singulas possent, una nox<br />
stravit, et in tanta pace quantum ne bello quidem<br />
timeri potest accidit. Quis hoc credat ?<br />
Ubique<br />
in tecta Erasmus ; iniecta MSS.<br />
1<br />
2<br />
deficit later MSS. ; defecit BA.<br />
a In spite <strong>of</strong> the centesimus annus <strong>of</strong> 14 (q.v.), the most<br />
probable date <strong>of</strong> this letter, based on Tac. Ann. xvi. 13<br />
and other general evidence, is<br />
July-September 64 A.D.<br />
58 A.D. would be too early for many reasons among them<br />
that " peace all over the world " would not be a true statement<br />
until January <strong>of</strong> 6-2.<br />
(See the monographs <strong>of</strong> Jonas,<br />
O. Binder, Peiper, and Schultess.)<br />
430
EPISTLES XC., XCI.<br />
and even in the best <strong>of</strong> men, before you refine them<br />
by instruction, there is but the stuff <strong>of</strong> virtue, not<br />
virtue itself. Farewell.<br />
XCI.<br />
ON THE LESSON TO BE DRAWN<br />
FROM THE BURNING OF LYONS<br />
Our friend Liberalis b is now downcast ;<br />
for he<br />
has just heard <strong>of</strong> the fire which has wiped out the<br />
colony <strong>of</strong> Lyons. Such a calamity might upset anyone<br />
at all,<br />
not to speak <strong>of</strong> a man who dearly loves<br />
his country. But this incident has served to make<br />
him inquire about the strength <strong>of</strong> his own character,<br />
which he has trained, I suppose, just to meet situations<br />
that he thought might cause him fear. I do not<br />
wonder, however, that he was free from apprehension<br />
touching an evil so unexpected and practically unheard<br />
<strong>of</strong> as this, since it is without precedent. For fire has<br />
damaged many a city, but has annihilated none.<br />
Even when fire has been hurled against the walls by<br />
the hand <strong>of</strong> a foe, the flame dies out in<br />
many places,<br />
and although continually renewed, rarely devours so<br />
wholly as to leave nothing for the sword. Even<br />
an earthquake has scarcely ever been so violent and<br />
destructive as to overthrow whole cities.<br />
Finally,<br />
no conflagration<br />
has ever before blazed forth so<br />
savagely in any town that nothing was left for a<br />
second. So many beautiful buildings, any single<br />
one <strong>of</strong> which would make a single town famous,<br />
were wrecked in one night. In time <strong>of</strong> such deep<br />
peace an event has taken place worse than men can<br />
possibly<br />
fear even in time <strong>of</strong> war. Who can believe<br />
''<br />
Probably Aebutius Liberalis, to whom the treatise De<br />
Beneficiis was dedicated. 431
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
arrnis quiescentibus, cum toto orbe terrarum diffusa<br />
securitas sit, Lugudunum, quod ostendebatur in<br />
Gallia, quaeritur.<br />
Omnibus fort una, quos publice adflixit, quod<br />
passuri erant, timere permisit. Nulla res<br />
magna non<br />
aliquod habuit ruinae suae spatium in hac una nox<br />
;<br />
interfuit inter urbem maximam et nullam. Denique<br />
dm tins illam tibi perisse quam perit narro.<br />
3 Haec omnia Liberalis nostvi adfectum inclinant ]<br />
adversus sua firmum et erectum. Nee sine causa<br />
concussus est ; inexpectata plus adgravant ; novitas<br />
adicit calamitatibus pondus, nee quisquam mortalium<br />
non magis quod etiani miratus est, doltiit.<br />
4 Ideo nihil nobis inprovisum esse debet. In omnia<br />
praemittendus 2 animus cogitandumque non quidquid<br />
solet, sed quicquid potest<br />
fieri. Quid enim est, quod<br />
non fortuna, cum voluit, ex florentissimo detrahat?<br />
Quod non eo magis adgrediatur et quatiat, quo<br />
speciosius fulget ? Quid illi arduum quidve difficile<br />
5 est ? Non una via semper, ne tota quidem incurrit,<br />
modo nostras in nos manus advocat, modo suis contenta<br />
viribus invenit pericula sine auctore. Nullum<br />
tempus exceptum est ;<br />
in ipsis voluptatibus causae<br />
1<br />
inclinant cod. Harl. ; inclinandum BA.<br />
2<br />
praemittendus later MSS. ; permittend us BA.<br />
a That Lyons, situated at the junction <strong>of</strong> the Arar and<br />
the Rhone, was <strong>of</strong> especial prominence in Gaul, may be also<br />
gathered from the fact that it boasted a government mint<br />
and the Ara Augux/ia, shrine established for the annual<br />
worship <strong>of</strong> all the Gallic states. Moreover, the Emperor<br />
Claudius delivered his famous address in that city (see Tac.<br />
Ann. xi. 23 f.).<br />
432
EPISTLE XCI.<br />
it ? When weapons are everywhere at rest, and<br />
when peace prevails throughout the world, Lyons,<br />
the pride <strong>of</strong> Gaul, a is<br />
missing !<br />
Fortune has usually allowed all men, when she<br />
has assailed them collectively, to<br />
have a foreboding<br />
<strong>of</strong> that which they were destined to suffer. Every<br />
great creation has had granted to it a period <strong>of</strong><br />
reprieve before its fall but in this<br />
; case, only a single<br />
night elapsed between the city at its greatest and<br />
the city non-existent. In short, it takes me longer<br />
to tell you it has perished than it took for the city<br />
to perish.<br />
All this has affected our friend Liberalis, bending<br />
his will, which is usually so steadfast and erect in<br />
the face <strong>of</strong> his own trials. And not without reason<br />
has he been shaken ;<br />
for it is the unexpected that<br />
puts the heaviest load upon us. Strangeness adds<br />
to the weight <strong>of</strong> calamities, and every mortal feels<br />
the greater pain as a result <strong>of</strong> that which also brings<br />
surprise.<br />
Therefore, nothing ought to be unexpected by us.<br />
Our minds should be sent forward in advance to<br />
meet all problems, and we should consider, not what<br />
is wont to happen, but what can happen. For what<br />
is there in existence that Fortune, when she has so<br />
willed, does not drag down from the very height <strong>of</strong><br />
its ?<br />
prosperity And what is there that she does<br />
not the more violently assail the more brilliantly<br />
it<br />
shines ? What is laborious or difficult for her ? She<br />
does not always attack in one way, or even with her<br />
full strength at one time she summons our own<br />
;<br />
hands against us ;<br />
at another time, content with her<br />
own powers, she makes use <strong>of</strong> no agent in devising<br />
perils for us. No time is exempt in the midst <strong>of</strong><br />
;<br />
our very pleasures there spring up causes <strong>of</strong> suffering.<br />
433
doloris oriuntur.<br />
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
Bellum in media pace consurgit et<br />
auxilia securitatis in metum transeunt ;<br />
ex amico<br />
inimicus, hostis ex socio. In subitas tempestates<br />
hibernisque maiores agitur aestiva tranquillitas. Sine<br />
hoste patimur hostilia, et cladis causas, si alia deficiunt,<br />
nimia sibi felicitas invenit. Invadit temperantissimos<br />
morbus, validissimos phthisis, innocentissimos<br />
poena, secretissimos tumultus.<br />
velut oblitis<br />
Eligit aliquid novi casus, per quod<br />
6 vires suas ingerat. Quidquid longa series multis<br />
laboribus, multa deum indulgentia struxit, id unus<br />
dies spargit ac dissipat. Longam moram dedit malis<br />
properantibus, qui diem dixit ;<br />
hora l momentumque<br />
temporis evertendis imperiis sufficit. Esset aliquod<br />
inbecillitatis nostrae solacium rerumque nostrarum,<br />
si tarn tarde perirent<br />
2 cuncta quam fiunt 3 ;<br />
nunc<br />
incrementa lente exeunt, festinatur in damnum.<br />
7 Nihil privatim, nihil publice stabile est ;<br />
tarn hominum<br />
quam urbium fata volvuntur. Inter placidissima<br />
terror existit nihilque extra tumultuantibus causis<br />
mala, unde minime exspectabantur, ertimpunt.<br />
Quae domesticis bellis steterant regna, quae externis,<br />
inpellente nullo ruunt. Quota quaeque felicitatem<br />
civitas pertulit<br />
?<br />
Cogitanda ergo sunt omnia et animus adversus ea,<br />
1<br />
hora Gruter ; horam BA.<br />
8 tarn tarde perirent later MSS. ; tanta reperirent BA.<br />
3 fiunt later MSS. ; finiunt BA.<br />
a Cf. Ep. iv. 7, esp. the words noli huic tranqnillitati<br />
confidere :<br />
434<br />
momenta mare everfitur.
EPISTLE XC1.<br />
War arises in the midst <strong>of</strong> peace, and that which we<br />
depended upon for is<br />
protection transformed into a<br />
cause <strong>of</strong> fear ;<br />
friend becomes enemy, ally becomes<br />
foeman. The summer calm is stirred into sudden<br />
storms, wilder than the storms <strong>of</strong> winter.* With<br />
no foe in sight<br />
we are victims <strong>of</strong> such fates as foes<br />
inflict, and if other causes <strong>of</strong> disaster fail, excessive<br />
good fortune finds them for itself. The most<br />
temperate are assailed by illness, the strongest by<br />
wasting disease, the most innocent by chastisement,<br />
the most secluded by the noisy mob.<br />
Chance chooses some new weapon by which to<br />
bring her strength to bear against us, thinking we<br />
have forgotten her. Whatever structure has been<br />
reared by a long sequence <strong>of</strong> years,<br />
at the cost <strong>of</strong><br />
great toil and through the great kindness <strong>of</strong> the<br />
gods, is scattered and dispersed by a single day.<br />
Nay, he who has said "a day" has granted too long<br />
a postponement to swift - coming misfortune an<br />
;<br />
hour, an instant <strong>of</strong> time, suffices for the overthrow<br />
<strong>of</strong> empires<br />
! It would be some consolation for the<br />
feebleness <strong>of</strong> our selves and our works, if all things<br />
should perish as slowly as they come,into being but<br />
;<br />
as it is,<br />
increases are <strong>of</strong> sluggish growth, but<br />
the way to ruin is rapid. Nothing, whether public<br />
or private, is stable ;<br />
the destinies <strong>of</strong> men, no less<br />
than those <strong>of</strong> cities, are in a whirl. Amid the<br />
greatest calm terror arises, and though no external<br />
agencies stir up commotion, yet evils burst forth<br />
from sources whence they were least expected.<br />
Thrones which have stood the shock <strong>of</strong> civil and<br />
foreign wars crash to the ground though no one sets<br />
them tottering. How few the states which have<br />
carried their good fortune through to the end !<br />
We should therefore reflect upon all contingencies,<br />
435
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
8 quae possimt evenire, firmandus. Exilia, tormenta<br />
inorbi, 1 bella, iiaufragia meditare. 2 Potest te patriae,<br />
potest patriam tibi casus eripere, potest te in solitu<br />
dines abigere, potest hoc ipsum, in quo turba<br />
8<br />
suffocatur, fieri solitudo. Tota ante oculos sortis<br />
humanae condicio ponatur, nee quantum frequenter<br />
evenit, sed quantum plurimum potest evenire, praesumamus<br />
ammo, si nolumus opprimi nee illis inusitatis<br />
velut novis obstupefieri in ;<br />
plenum cogitanda<br />
fortuna est.<br />
9 Quotiens Asiae, quotiens Achaiae urbes uno tremore<br />
ceciderunt? Quot op})ida in Syria, quot in<br />
Macedonia devorata sunt ?<br />
Cypron quotiens vastavit<br />
haec clades ? Quotiens in se Paphus corruit ? Frequenter<br />
iiobis nuntiati sunt totarum urbium interitus,<br />
et nos inter quos ista frequenter nuntiantur, quota<br />
pars omnium sumus ?<br />
Consurgamus itaque ad versus fortuita et quicquid<br />
incident, sciamus non esse tarn<br />
magnum quam<br />
10 ru more iactetur. Ci vitas arsit opuleiita ornamentuinque<br />
provinciarum, quibus et inserta erat et<br />
excepta, uni tamen 4<br />
inposita et huic non latissimo<br />
1<br />
morbi BA ;<br />
morbos later MSS.<br />
2<br />
meditare later MSS. ; meditari BA.<br />
3 abigere Matthiae ;<br />
abicere BA.<br />
4 latissimo Buecheler ; altissimo BA.<br />
a<br />
The passage bears a striking resemblance to the words<br />
<strong>of</strong> Theseus in an unknown play <strong>of</strong> Euripides (Nauck, Frag.<br />
961) quoted by Cicero, Tusc. iii. 14. 29, and by Plutarch,<br />
Consolation to Apollonius, 112d.<br />
6<br />
Seneca (N.Q. vi. 26) speaks <strong>of</strong> Paphos (on the island <strong>of</strong><br />
Cyprus) as having been more than once devastated. We<br />
know <strong>of</strong> two such accidents one under Augustus and<br />
another under Vespasian. See the same passage for other<br />
earthquake shocks in various places.<br />
c<br />
Lyons held an exceptional position in relation to the<br />
436
EPISTLE XCI.<br />
and should fortify our minds against the evils which<br />
may possibly come. Exile, the torture <strong>of</strong> disease,<br />
wars, shipwreck, we must think on these. a Chance<br />
may tear you from your country or your country<br />
from you, or may banish you to the desert this<br />
;<br />
very place, where throngs are stifling, may become<br />
a desert. Let us place before our eyes in its<br />
entirety the nature <strong>of</strong> man's lot, and if we would<br />
not be overwhelmed, or even dazed, by those unwonted<br />
evils, as if they were novel, let us summon<br />
to our minds beforehand, not as great an evil as<br />
<strong>of</strong>tentimes happens, but the very greatest evil that<br />
possibly can happen.<br />
We must reflect upon fortune<br />
fully and completely.<br />
How <strong>of</strong>ten have cities in Asia, how <strong>of</strong>ten in<br />
Achaia, been laid low by a single shock <strong>of</strong> earthquake<br />
How many towns in how Syria, many in<br />
!<br />
Macedonia, have been swallowed !<br />
up How <strong>of</strong>ten<br />
has this kind <strong>of</strong> devastation laid Cyprus b in ruins !<br />
How <strong>of</strong>ten has Paphos collapsed Not !<br />
infrequently<br />
are tidings brought to us <strong>of</strong> the utter destruction <strong>of</strong><br />
entire cities ; yet how small a part <strong>of</strong> the world are<br />
we, to whom such tidings <strong>of</strong>ten come !<br />
Let us rise, therefore, to confront the operations<br />
<strong>of</strong> Fortune, and whatever happens, let us have the<br />
assurance that it is not so great as rumour advertises<br />
it to be. A rich city has been laid in ashes, the<br />
jewel <strong>of</strong> the provinces, counted as one <strong>of</strong> them and<br />
yet not included with them c rich ;<br />
though it was,<br />
nevertheless it was set upon a single hill, d and that<br />
three Gallic provinces ; it was a free town, belonging to<br />
none and yet their capital, much like the city <strong>of</strong> Washington<br />
in relation to the United States.<br />
d A fact mentioned merely to suggest Rome with her<br />
seven hills.<br />
437
nionti ;<br />
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
omnium istarum civitatium, quas nunc magnificas<br />
ac nobiles audis, vestigia quoque tempus eradet.<br />
Non vides, quemadmodum<br />
in Achaia clarissimarum<br />
nrbium iam fundamenta consumpta sint nee quicquam<br />
1 1 extet, ex quo l appareat illas saltim fuisse ? Non<br />
tantum manu facta labuntur, nee tantum humana<br />
arte atque industria posita vertit dies ;<br />
iuga montium<br />
diffluuiit, totae desedere regiones, operta sunt fluctibus<br />
quae procul a conspectu maris stabant. Vasta<br />
vis 2 ignium colles, per quos relucebat,<br />
erosit et<br />
quondam altissimos vertices, solacia navigantium ac<br />
speculas, ad humile deduxit. Ipsius naturae opera<br />
vexantur et ideo aequo animo ferre debemus urbium<br />
12 excidia. Casurae stant. 8 Omnes hie exitus rnanet,<br />
sive interna vis flatusque praeclusa via violenti<br />
pondus, 4 sub quo tenentur, excusserint, sive torrentium<br />
impetus 5 in abdito vastior obstantia effregerit,<br />
sive flammarum violentia conpaginem soli ruperit,<br />
sive vetustas, a qua 6 nihil tutum est, expugnaverit<br />
minutatim, sive gravitas caeli egesserit populos et<br />
situs deserta corruperit. Enumerare omnes fatorum<br />
vias longum<br />
est. Hoc unum scio : omnia mortalium<br />
quo later MSS. ;<br />
vasta vis Haupt vanfar ;<br />
qua BA.<br />
it BA.<br />
1<br />
2<br />
3 casurae slant Haupt ; casura exstant BA.<br />
4 sive . . .<br />
pondus H. Mueck ;<br />
sive . . .<br />
preclusa violenti<br />
pond-us MSS.<br />
impetus added by Buecheler.<br />
5<br />
6 a qua Erasmus ; in qua BA.<br />
438<br />
a<br />
For example, Mycenae and Tiryns.
EPISTLE XCI.<br />
not very large in extent. But <strong>of</strong> all those cities,<br />
<strong>of</strong> whose magnificence and grandeur you hear to-day,<br />
the very traces will be blotted out by time. Do<br />
you not see how, in Achaia, the foundations <strong>of</strong> the<br />
most famous cities have already crumbled to nothing,<br />
so that no trace is left to show that they ever even<br />
existed ? a Not only does that which has been made<br />
with hands totter to the ground, not only<br />
is that<br />
which has been set in place by man's art and man's<br />
efforts overthrown by the passing days nay, the<br />
;<br />
peaks <strong>of</strong> mountains dissolve, whole tracts have<br />
settled, and places which once stood far from the<br />
sight <strong>of</strong> the sea are now covered by the waves.<br />
The mighty power <strong>of</strong> fires has eaten away the hills<br />
through whose sides they used to glow, and has<br />
levelled to the ground peaks which were once most<br />
l<strong>of</strong>ty the sailor's solace and his beacon. The<br />
works <strong>of</strong> nature herself are harassed ;<br />
hence we<br />
ought to bear with untroubled minds the destruction<br />
<strong>of</strong> cities.<br />
They stand but to fall ! This doom<br />
awaits them, one and all ;<br />
it<br />
may be that some<br />
internal force, and blasts <strong>of</strong> violence which are<br />
tremendous because their way is blocked, will throw<br />
<strong>of</strong>f the weight which holds then down ;<br />
or that a<br />
whirlpool <strong>of</strong> raging currents, mightier because they<br />
are hidden in the bosom <strong>of</strong> the earth, will break<br />
through that which resists its power or that the<br />
;<br />
vehemence <strong>of</strong> flames will burst asunder the framework<br />
<strong>of</strong> the earth's crust ;<br />
or that time, from which<br />
nothing is safe, will reduce them little by little ;<br />
or<br />
that a pestilential climate will drive their inhabitants<br />
away and the mould will corrode their deserted<br />
walls. It would be tedious to recount all the ways<br />
by which fate may come ;<br />
but this one thing<br />
I know :<br />
all the works <strong>of</strong> mortal man have been doomed to<br />
439
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
opera mortalitate damnata sunt, inter peritura<br />
vivimus.<br />
13 Haec ergo atque eiusmodi solacia admoveo Liberali<br />
nostro incredibili quodam patriae suae amore flagranti,<br />
quae fortasse consumpta est, ut in melius excitaretur.<br />
Saepe maiori fortunae locum fecit iniuria. Multa<br />
ceciderunt, ut altius surgerent. Timagenes felicitati<br />
urbis inimicus aiebat Romae sibi inceiidia ob hoc<br />
unum dolori esse, quod sciret meliora surrectura<br />
14 quam arsissent. In hac quoque urbe veri simile est<br />
certaturos o nines, ut maiora certioraque quam amisere<br />
restituantur. 1 Sint utinam diuturna et melioribus<br />
auspiciis in aevum longius condita ! Nam huic<br />
coloniae ab origine sua centeiisimus annus est, aetas<br />
ne homini quidem extrema. A Planco deducta in<br />
hanc frequentiam 2 loci opportunitate convaluit, quot<br />
tamen gravissimos casus intra spatium humanae<br />
senectutis tulit. 3<br />
15 Itaque fonnetur animus ad intellectum patientiamque<br />
sortis suae et sciat 4 nihil inausum esse fortunae,<br />
adversus imperia illam idem habere iuris quod<br />
adversus imperantes, adversus urbes idem posse<br />
quod adversus homines. Nihil horum indignandum<br />
1<br />
restituantur Buecheler, who thought<br />
it the reading <strong>of</strong><br />
1<br />
BA, which is more probably restituant, according to Hense.<br />
2 in hanc frequentiam later MSS. ;<br />
in hac frequentia BA.<br />
3<br />
tulit added by Buecheler.<br />
4 sciat later MSS. ;<br />
sciant BA.<br />
" Probably the writer, and intimate friend <strong>of</strong> Augustus,<br />
who began life in Rome as a captive from Egypt. Falling<br />
into disfavour with the Emperor, he took refuge with the<br />
malcontent Asinius Pollio at Tusculurn, and<br />
died in the East. Cf. Seneca, De Ira, iii. 23.<br />
subsequently<br />
6 It was in 43 B.C. that Plancus led out the colonists who<br />
were chiefly Roman citizens driven from Vienna. Seneca<br />
would have been more accurate had he said "one hundred<br />
and eighth (or seventh)." Buecheler and Schultess would<br />
440
EPISTLE XCI.<br />
mortality, and in the midst <strong>of</strong> things<br />
which have<br />
been destined to die, we live !<br />
Hence it is<br />
thoughts like these, and <strong>of</strong> this kind,<br />
which I am <strong>of</strong>fering as consolation to our friend<br />
Liberalis, who burns with a love for his country that<br />
is<br />
beyond belief. Perhaps<br />
its destruction has been<br />
brought about only that it may be raised up again<br />
to a better destiny. Oftentimes a reverse has but<br />
made room for more prosperous fortune.<br />
Many<br />
structures have fallen only to rise to a greater<br />
height. Timagenes,^ who had a grudge against<br />
Rome and her prosperity, used to say that the only<br />
reason he was grieved when conflagrations occurred<br />
in Rome was his knowledge o that better buildings O<br />
would arise than those which had gone down in the<br />
flames. And probably in this city <strong>of</strong> Lyons, too,<br />
all its citizens will earnestly strive that everything<br />
shall be rebuilt better in size and security than what<br />
they have lost. May it be built to endure and,<br />
under happier auspices, for a longer existence !<br />
This is indeed but the hundredth year since this<br />
colony was founded not the limit even <strong>of</strong> a man's<br />
lifetime. 6 Led forth by Plancus, the natural<br />
advantages <strong>of</strong> its site have caused it to wax strong<br />
and reach the numbers which it contains to-day<br />
;<br />
and yet how many calamities <strong>of</strong> the greatest severity<br />
has it endured within the space <strong>of</strong> an old man's life !<br />
Therefore let the mind be disciplined to understand<br />
and to endure its own lot, and let it have the<br />
knowledge that there is<br />
nothing which fortune does<br />
not dare that she has the same jurisdiction over<br />
empires as over emperors, the same power over cities<br />
as over the citizens who dwell therein. We must<br />
(unnecessarily) emend to read centesimus Septimus. But<br />
Seneca was using round numbers.<br />
441
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
est. In eum intravimus mundum, in quo his legibus<br />
vivitur. Placet ;<br />
pare. Non placet<br />
;<br />
quacumque<br />
vis, exi. Indignare, si quid in te iniqui proprie constitutum<br />
est ;<br />
sed si haec summos imosque necessitas<br />
alligat, in gratiam cum fato revertere, a quo omnia<br />
16 resolvuntur. Non est quod nos tumulis metiaris et<br />
his monumentis, quae viam disparia praetexunt ;<br />
aequat omnes cinis. Inpares nascimur, pares morimur.<br />
Idem de urbibus quod de urbium incolis dico :<br />
tarn Ardea capta quam Roma est. Conditor ille<br />
iuris humani non natalibus 1 nos nee nominum claritate<br />
distinxit, nisi dum sumus. Ubi vero ad finem<br />
mortalium ventum " est, discede," inquit, "ambitio!<br />
omnium, quae terram premunt, siremps 2 lex esto."<br />
Ad omnia patienda pares sumus ;<br />
nemo altero fragilior<br />
est, nemo in crastinum sui certior.<br />
17 Alexander Macedonum rex discere geometriam<br />
coeperat, infelix, sciturus, quam pusilla terra esset,<br />
ex qua minimum occupaverat, Ita dico : infelix ob<br />
hoc, quod intellegere debebat falsum se gerere<br />
cognomen. Quis enim esse magnus in pusillo potest?<br />
Erant ilia, quae tradebantur, suptilia et diligenti intentione<br />
discenda, non quae perciperet vesanus homo<br />
1<br />
natalibus later MSS. non talibus BA.<br />
2<br />
siremps Cuiacius ;<br />
;<br />
serenities B ;<br />
sere miles A.<br />
a Ardea, the earliest capital <strong>of</strong> Latium, and Rome, the<br />
present capital <strong>of</strong> the empire. Seneca probably refers to<br />
Ardea's capture and destruction by the Samnites in the<br />
fourth century Rome was captured by the Celts in 390 B.C.<br />
The ; former greatness <strong>of</strong> Ardea was celebrated by Vergil.<br />
Aeneid, vii. 411 ff. :<br />
44-2<br />
et nunc magnum manet Ardea nomen,<br />
Sed fortuna fuit.<br />
6<br />
Siremps (or sirempse Plaut. Amph. 73), an ancient
EPISTLE XC1<br />
not cry out at any <strong>of</strong> these calamities. Into such a<br />
world have we entered, and under such laws do we<br />
live. If you like it, obey if not, depart whithersoever<br />
you wish. Cry out in anger if any unfair<br />
;<br />
measures are taken with reference to you individually<br />
but if this inevitable law is<br />
binding upon the<br />
;<br />
highest and the lowest alike, be reconciled to<br />
fate, by which all things are dissolved. You should<br />
not estimate our worth by our funeral mounds or<br />
by these monuments <strong>of</strong> unequal size which line the<br />
road ;<br />
their ashes level all men ! We are unequal<br />
at birth, but are equal in death. What I say<br />
about cities I<br />
say also about their inhabitants :<br />
Ardea was captured as well as Rome. a The great<br />
founder <strong>of</strong> human law has not made distinctions<br />
between us on the basis <strong>of</strong> high lineage or <strong>of</strong><br />
illustrious names, except while we live. When,<br />
however, we come to the end which awaits mortals,<br />
he<br />
" says<br />
:<br />
Depart, ambition ! To all creatures that<br />
burden the earth let one and the same b '<br />
law apply<br />
!<br />
For enduring all things, we are equal no one is<br />
;<br />
more frail than another, no one more certain <strong>of</strong> his<br />
on the morrow.<br />
own life<br />
Alexander, king <strong>of</strong> Macedon, began to study<br />
geometry c ; unhappy man, because he would thereby<br />
learn how puny was that earth <strong>of</strong> which he had seized<br />
but a fraction !<br />
Unhappy man, I repeat, because<br />
he was bound to understand that he was bearing a<br />
false title. For who can be " "<br />
great in that which<br />
is<br />
puny The ? lessons which were being taught<br />
him were intricate and could be learned only by<br />
assiduous application<br />
; they were not the kind to be<br />
legal term, is derived by Festus from similis re ipsa; but<br />
Corssen explains it as from sic rem pse.<br />
i.e., surveying. See Ep. Ixxxviii. 10.<br />
VOL. II
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
et trans oceanum cogitationes suas mittens.<br />
" Facilia,"<br />
inquit, "me doce." Cui praeceptor "ista,"<br />
18 inquit, "omnibus eadem sunt, aeque<br />
difficilia." Hoc<br />
EPISTLE XCI.<br />
comprehended by a madman, who let his thoughts<br />
range beyond the ocean.* " Teach me somethingeasy<br />
he cries !<br />
;<br />
'<br />
but his teacher answers "<br />
: These<br />
things are the same for all, as hard for one as for<br />
another." Imagine that nature is saying to us :<br />
"Those things <strong>of</strong> which you complain are the same<br />
for all. I cannot give anything easier to any man, but<br />
whoever wishes will make things easier for himself."<br />
In what way ? By equanimity. You must suffer<br />
pain, and thirst, and hunger, and old age too, if a<br />
longer stay among men shall be granted you<br />
; you<br />
must be sick, and you must suffer loss and death.<br />
Nevertheless, you should not believe those whose<br />
noisy clamour surrounds you none <strong>of</strong> these things<br />
;<br />
is an evil, none is<br />
beyond your power to bear, or is<br />
burdensome. It is<br />
only by common opinion that<br />
there is<br />
anything formidable in them. Your fearing<br />
death is therefore like your fear <strong>of</strong> gossip. But<br />
what is more foolish than a man afraid <strong>of</strong> words ?<br />
Our friend Demetrius b is wont to put it cleverly<br />
when he " says<br />
: For me the talk <strong>of</strong> ignorant men<br />
is like the rumblings which issue from the belly.<br />
For," he " adds, what difference does it make to me<br />
whether such rumblings come from above or from<br />
below " ? What madness it is to be afraid <strong>of</strong> disrepute<br />
in the judgment <strong>of</strong> the disreputable Just<br />
!<br />
as you have had no cause for shrinking in terror<br />
from the talk <strong>of</strong> men, so you have no cause now to<br />
shrink from these things, which you would never<br />
fear had not their talk forced fear upon you. Does<br />
it do any harm to a good man to be besmirched by<br />
unjust gossip Then ? let not this sort <strong>of</strong> thing<br />
damage death, either, in our estimation death also<br />
;<br />
is in bad odour. But no one <strong>of</strong> those who malign<br />
death has made trial <strong>of</strong> it.<br />
445
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
Interim temeritas est damnare, quod nescias. At<br />
illud scis, quam multis utilis sit, quam multos liberet<br />
tormentis, egestate, querellis, suppliciis,<br />
taedio.<br />
Non sumus in ullius potestate,<br />
cum mors in nostra<br />
potestate sit. VALE. XCII<br />
<strong>SENECA</strong> LVCILIO svo SALVTEM<br />
1 Puto, inter me teque conveniet externa corpori<br />
adquiri, corpus in honorem animi coli, in animo esse<br />
partes miriistras, per quas movemur alimurque,<br />
propter ipsum principale nobis datas. In hoc<br />
principal! est aliquid inrationale, est et rationale.<br />
Illud huic servit, hoc unum est, quod<br />
alio non<br />
refertur, sed omnia ad se refert. 1 Nam ilia<br />
quoque<br />
divina ratio omnibus praeposita est, ipsa sub nullo<br />
est ;<br />
et haec autem nostra eadem est, quia<br />
2<br />
ex ilia<br />
2 est. Si de hoc inter nos convenit, sequitur ut de<br />
illo<br />
quoque conveniat, in hoc uno positam esse<br />
beatam vitam, ut in nobis ratio sit.<br />
perfecta Haec<br />
enim sola non submittit animum, stat contra fortunam<br />
;<br />
in quolibet rerum habitu secures 3 servat. Id<br />
autem unum borium est, quod numquam defringitur.<br />
Is est, inquam, beatus quern nulla res minorem iacit ;<br />
1 refert a later MS. and Madvig ; perfert BA.<br />
2 quia later MSS. ; quae BA.<br />
8 secures later MSS. ;<br />
servitus BA.<br />
* The reader will find this topic treated at greater length<br />
in Seneca's De Vita Beata.<br />
b i.e., the soul. See Aristotle,^,<br />
i. 13: " It is stated<br />
that the soul has two parts, one irrational and the other<br />
possessing reason." Aristotle further subdivides the<br />
irrational part into (1) that which makes for growth and<br />
increase, and (2) desire (which will, however, obey reason).<br />
In this passage Seneca uses " soul" in its widest sense.<br />
446
EPISTLES XCI., XCII.<br />
Meanwhile it is<br />
foolhardy to condemn that <strong>of</strong><br />
which you are ignorant. This one thing, however,<br />
you do know that death is helpful to many, that<br />
it sets many free from tortures, want, ailments,<br />
sufferings, and weariness. We are in the power <strong>of</strong><br />
nothing when once we have death in our own<br />
!<br />
power Farewell.<br />
XCII.<br />
ON THE HAPPY LIFE"<br />
You and I will agree, I think, that outward<br />
things are sought for the satisfaction <strong>of</strong> the body,<br />
that the body is cherished out <strong>of</strong> regard for the soul,<br />
and that in the soul there are certain parts which<br />
minister to us, enabling us to move and to sustain<br />
life, bestowed upon us just for the sake <strong>of</strong> the primary<br />
part <strong>of</strong> us. & In this primary part there is something<br />
irrational, and something rational. The former<br />
obeys the latter, while the latter is the only thing<br />
that is not referred back to another, but rather<br />
refers all things to itself. For the divine reason<br />
also is set in supreme command over all things, and<br />
is itself subject to none ;<br />
and even this reason which<br />
we possess is the same, because it is derived from<br />
the divine reason. Now if we are agreed on this<br />
point, it is natural that we shall be agreed on the<br />
following also namely, that the happy life depends<br />
upon this and this alone our attainment <strong>of</strong> : perfect<br />
reason. For it is<br />
naught but this that keeps the<br />
soul from being bowed down, that stands its<br />
ground<br />
against Fortune ;<br />
whatever the condition <strong>of</strong> their<br />
affairs<br />
may be, it keeps men untroubled. And that<br />
alone is a good which is never subject to impairment.<br />
That man, I declare, is happy whom nothing makes<br />
447
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
tenet summa, et ne ulli quidem<br />
nisi sibi innixus.<br />
Nam qui aliquo auxilio sustinetur, potest cadere. Si<br />
aliter est, incipient multum in nobis valere non<br />
nostra. Quis autem vult constare fortunam l aut<br />
quis se prudens ob aliena miratur ?<br />
3 Quid est beata vita ? Securitas et perpetua<br />
tranquillitas.<br />
Hanc dabit animi magnitude, dabit<br />
constantia bene iudicati tcnax. Ad haec quomodo<br />
pervenitur ? Si veritas tota perspecta est ;<br />
si<br />
servatus est in rebus ageridis ordo, modus, decor,<br />
innoxia voluntas ac benigna, intenta rationi nee<br />
umquam ab ilia recedens, amabilis simul mirabilisque.<br />
Denique ut breviter tibi formulam scribam, talis<br />
animus esse sapientis viri debet, qualis deum deceat.<br />
4 Quid potest desiderare is, cui omnia honesta contingunt<br />
Nam ? si possunt aliquid non honesta<br />
conferre ad optimum statum, in his erit beata vita,<br />
sine quibus honesta. 2 Et quid turpius stultiusve<br />
bonum rationalis animi ex inrationalibus<br />
quam<br />
5 nectere ? Quidam tameii augeri summum bonum<br />
iudicant, quia parum plenum sit fortuitis repugnantibus.<br />
Antipater quoque inter magnos sectae huius<br />
auctores aliquid se tribuere dicit externis, sed<br />
exiguum admodum. Vides autem quale<br />
sit die non<br />
3<br />
esse contentum, nisi aliquis igniculus adluxerit.<br />
Quod potest in hac claritate solis habere scintilla<br />
1<br />
fortunam Buecheler ;<br />
fortuna BA.<br />
2 honesta Hense ; non est BA.<br />
3<br />
die non Erasmus ;<br />
zvnon BA.<br />
a<br />
Certain <strong>of</strong> the Peripatetic and Academic school.<br />
6<br />
Probably due to the criticism <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Stoic</strong>s by Carneades,<br />
who said that everything which is according to nature<br />
should be classed among the goods.<br />
448
EPISTLE XC1I.<br />
less strong than he is he<br />
; keeps to the heights,<br />
leaning upon none but himself; for one who sustains<br />
himself fall.<br />
by any prop may If the case is otherwise,<br />
then things which do not pertain to us will begin<br />
to have great influence over us. But who desires<br />
Fortune to have the upper hand, or what sensible<br />
man prides himself upon that which is not his own ?<br />
What is the happy life ? It is peace <strong>of</strong> mind,<br />
and lasting tranquillity. This will be yours if you<br />
possess greatness <strong>of</strong> soul it will be<br />
; yours if<br />
you<br />
possess the steadfastness that resolutely clings to a<br />
good judgment just reached. How does a man<br />
reach this condition ?<br />
By gaining a complete view<br />
<strong>of</strong> truth, by maintaining, in all that he does, order,<br />
measure, fitness, and a will that is in<strong>of</strong>fensive and<br />
kindly, that is intent upon reason and never departs<br />
therefrom, that commands at the same time love and<br />
admiration. In short, to give you the principle in<br />
brief compass, the wise man's soul ought to be such<br />
as would be proper for a god. What more can one<br />
desire who possesses all honourable things<br />
? For<br />
if dishonourable things can contribute to the best<br />
estate, then there will be the possibility <strong>of</strong> a happy<br />
life under conditions which do not include an honourable<br />
life. And what is more base or foolish than to<br />
connect the good <strong>of</strong> a rational soul with things<br />
irrational ? Yet there are certain philosophers who<br />
hold that the Supreme Good admits <strong>of</strong> increase<br />
because it is<br />
hardly complete when the gifts <strong>of</strong><br />
fortune are adverse.* 1 Even Antipater,6 one <strong>of</strong> the<br />
great leaders <strong>of</strong> this school, admits that he ascribes<br />
some influence to externals, though only a very<br />
slight influence. You see, however, what absurdity<br />
lies in not being content with the daylight unless<br />
it is increased by a tiny fire. What importance can<br />
44-9
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
6 momentum ? Si non es sola honestate ] contentus,<br />
necesse est aut quietem adici veils, quam ao^A-ryo-iav<br />
vocant Graeci, aut voluptatem. Horum alterum<br />
utcumque recipi potest. Vacat enim animus molestia<br />
liber ad inspectum universi, nihilque ilium avocat a<br />
contemplatione naturae. Alterum illud, voluptas,<br />
bonum pecoris<br />
est. Adicimus rationali inrationale,<br />
honesto inhonestum. Ad hanc vitam 2 facit titil-<br />
7 latio corporis quid ergo dubitatis dicere bene esse<br />
;<br />
homing si palato bene est ? Et hunc tu, non dico<br />
inter viros numeras, sed inter homines, cuius summum<br />
bonum saporibus et coloribus 3 sonisque 4 constat ?<br />
Excedat ex hoc animalmm numero pulcherrimo<br />
ac dis secundo : mutis adgregetur animal pabulo<br />
laetum.<br />
8 Inrationalis pars animi duas habet partes, alteram<br />
animosam, ambitiosam, inpotentem, positam in adfectionibus,<br />
alteram humilem, languidam, voluptatibus<br />
deditam; illam effrenatam, meliorem tamen,<br />
certe fortiorem ac digniorem viro reliquerunt, hanc<br />
necessariam beatae vitae putaverunt, et ener-<br />
9 vem 5 et abiectam. Huic rationem servire iusserunt<br />
et feceruiit animalis generosissimi pummum 6<br />
bonum demissum et ignobile, praeterea mixtum<br />
portentosumque et ex diversis ac male 7 con-<br />
1<br />
honestate later MSS. ;<br />
honesta B a A.<br />
2<br />
ad hanc vitam Buecheler ; magno vitam B ;<br />
magnevitam<br />
A.<br />
coloriltus later MSS. ; caloribus BA.<br />
*<br />
4<br />
sonisqae Windhaus ; sonis or soils MSS.<br />
5 et enervem Rossbach ; inenervem BA.<br />
6 generosissimi summum Buecheler ;<br />
generosissimum (or -t)<br />
MSS.<br />
7<br />
ac male Schweighaeuser ; animalis BA.<br />
a If we call pleasure a good.<br />
6<br />
Cf. 1 <strong>of</strong> this letter. Plato gives three divisions the<br />
450
EPISTLE XCI1.<br />
a spark have in the midst <strong>of</strong> this clear sunlight<br />
?<br />
If you are not contented with only that which is<br />
honourable, it must follow that you desire in addition<br />
either the kind <strong>of</strong> quiet which the Greeks call<br />
" undisturbednesSj" or else pleasure. But the former<br />
may be attained in any case. For the mind is free<br />
from disturbance when it is fully free to contemplate<br />
the universe, and nothing distracts it from the contemplation<br />
<strong>of</strong> nature. The second, pleasure, is<br />
the simply<br />
good <strong>of</strong> cattle. We are but adding a the irrational<br />
to the rational, the dishonourable to the honourable.<br />
A pleasant physical sensation affects this life <strong>of</strong> ours ;<br />
why, therefore, do you hesitate to say that all is well<br />
with a man just because all is well with his appetite<br />
And ?<br />
do you rate, I will not say among heroes, but<br />
among men, the person whose Supreme Good is a<br />
matter <strong>of</strong> flavours and colours and sounds ?<br />
Nay,<br />
let him withdraw from the ranks <strong>of</strong> this, the noblest<br />
class <strong>of</strong> living beings, second only to the gods ; let<br />
him herd with the dumb brutes an animal whose<br />
delight is in fodder !<br />
The irrational part <strong>of</strong> the soul is tw<strong>of</strong>old b : the<br />
one part is spirited, ambitious, uncontrolled ;<br />
its seat<br />
is in the passions ;<br />
the other is lowly, sluggish, and<br />
devoted to pleasure. <strong>Philosophers</strong> have neglected<br />
the former, which, though unbridled, is yet better,<br />
and is certainly more courageous and more worthy<br />
<strong>of</strong> a man, and have regarded the latter, which<br />
is nerveless and ignoble, as indispensable to the<br />
happy life. They have ordered reason to serve this<br />
latter ;<br />
they have made the Supreme Good <strong>of</strong> the<br />
noblest living being an abject and mean affair, and<br />
a monstrous hybrid, too, composed <strong>of</strong> various members<br />
\oyi
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
grueutibus membris. Nam ut ait Vergilius nostcr<br />
in Scylla<br />
Prima hominis facies et pulchro pectore virgo<br />
Pube tenus, postreraa inmani corpora pistrix<br />
Delphinum caudas utero comraissa luporum.<br />
Huic tamen Scyllae fera animalia adiuncta sunt,<br />
horrenda, velocia ;<br />
at isti<br />
sapientiam ex quibus<br />
10 eonposuere portentis Prima ars hominis est ! ipsa<br />
virtus ;<br />
huic committitur inutilis caro et fluida,<br />
receptandis tantum cibis habilis, ut ait Posidonius.<br />
Virtus ilia divina in lubricum desinit et superioribus<br />
eius partibus venerandis atque caelestibus animal<br />
iners ac marcidum adtexitur. Ilia<br />
utcumque altera<br />
quies<br />
nihil quidem ipsa praestabat animo, sed<br />
inpedimenta removebat ; voluptas ultro dissolvit et<br />
omne robur eniollit. Quae invenietur tarn discors<br />
inter se iunctura corporum ? Fortissimae rei inertissima<br />
adstruitur, severissimae parum seria, sanctissimae<br />
11 intemperans usque ad incesta. 1 "Quid " ergo?"<br />
si<br />
inquit,<br />
virtu tern nihil inpeditura sit bona valitudo<br />
2 "<br />
et quies<br />
et dolorum vacatio, non petes illas ?<br />
Quidni petam Non ? quia bona sunt, sed quia<br />
secundum naturam sunt, et quia bono a me iudicio<br />
sumentur. Quid erit tune in illis bonum ? Hoc<br />
unum, bene eligi.<br />
Nam cum 3 vestem qualem decet,<br />
1<br />
incesta Gruter ;<br />
ingesta BA.<br />
2 vacatio later MSS. ; vagatio BA.<br />
3<br />
cum omitted in A and supplied by a late hand in B.<br />
Buecheler suggests nam vestem qualem decel cum sumo.<br />
452<br />
a Aeneid, iii. 426 ft.
EPISTLE XCII.<br />
which harmonize but ill.<br />
For as our Vergil, describing<br />
Scylla, says a :<br />
Above, a human face and maiden's breast,<br />
A beauteous breast, below, a monster huge<br />
Of bulk and shapeless, with a dolphin's tail<br />
Joined to a wolf-like belly.<br />
And yet to this Scylla are tacked on the forms <strong>of</strong> wild<br />
animals, dreadful and swift but from what monstrous<br />
;<br />
shapes have these wiseacres compounded wisdom !<br />
Man's primary art is virtue itself; there is<br />
joined to<br />
this the useless and fleeting flesh, fitted only for the<br />
reception <strong>of</strong> food, as Posidonius remarks. This<br />
divine virtue ends in foulness, and to the higher<br />
parts, which are worshipful and heavenly, there is<br />
fastened a sluggish and flabby animal. As for the<br />
second desideratum,<br />
- - quiet, although<br />
it would<br />
indeed not <strong>of</strong> itself be <strong>of</strong> any benefit to the soul,<br />
yet it would relieve the soul <strong>of</strong> hindrances ; pleasure,<br />
on the contrary, actually destroys the soul and s<strong>of</strong>tens<br />
all its vigour. What elements so inharmonious as<br />
these can be found united ? To that which is most<br />
vigorous is joined that which is most sluggish, to<br />
that which is austere that which is far from serious,<br />
to that which is most holy that which is unrestrained<br />
even to the point <strong>of</strong> " impurity. What, then," comes<br />
the<br />
" retort, if<br />
good health, rest, and freedom from<br />
pain are not likely to hinder virtue, shall you not<br />
seek all these?" Of course I shall seek them,<br />
but not because they are goods, I shall seek them<br />
because they are according to nature and because<br />
they will be acquired through the exercise <strong>of</strong> good<br />
judgment on my part. What, then, will be good in<br />
them ? This alone, that it is a good thing to<br />
choose them. For when I don suitable attire, or<br />
453
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
sumo, cum ambulo ut oportet, cum ceno quemadmodum<br />
debeo, non cena aut ambulatio aut vestis<br />
bona sunt, sed meum in iis<br />
propositum servantis in<br />
12 quaque re ration! convenientem modum. Etiamnunc<br />
adiciam : mundae<br />
vestis electio adpetenda est<br />
homini. Natura enim homo mundum l et elegans<br />
animal est. Itaque non est bonum per se munda<br />
vestis, sed mundae vestis electio, quia non in re<br />
bonum est, sed in electione quali.<br />
Actiones nostrae<br />
13 honestae sunt, non ipsa quae aguntur. Quod de<br />
veste dixi, idem me dicere de corpore existima.<br />
Nam hoc quoque natura ut quandam vestem animo<br />
circumdedit ;<br />
velamentum eius est. Quis autem<br />
umquam vestimenta aestimavit arcula ? Nee bonum<br />
nee malum vagina gladium<br />
facit.<br />
Ergo de corpore<br />
quoque idem tibi respondeo sumpturum quidem<br />
:<br />
me, si detur electio, et sanitatem et vires, bonum<br />
autem futurum iudicium de illis meum, non ipsa.<br />
14 "Est quidem," inquit, "sapiens beatus ;<br />
summum<br />
tamen illud bonum non consequitur,<br />
nisi illi et<br />
naturalia instrumenta respondeant. Ita miser quidem<br />
esse, qui virtutem habet, non potest, beatissimus<br />
autem non est, qui naturalibus bonis destituitur ut<br />
15 valitudine, ut membrorum integritate." Quod incredibilius<br />
videtur, id concedis, aliquem in maximis<br />
et coiitinuis doloribus non esse miserum, esse etiam<br />
beatum ; quod levius est, negas,<br />
beatissimum esse.<br />
454<br />
1<br />
mundum later MSS. ;<br />
mundus BA.
EPISTLE XCII.<br />
walk as I should, or dine as I<br />
ought to dine, it is not<br />
my dinner, or my walk, or my dress that are goods,<br />
but the deliberate choice which I show in regard to<br />
them, as I observe, in each thing I do, a mean that<br />
conforms with reason. Let me also add that the<br />
choice <strong>of</strong> neat clothing<br />
is a fitting object <strong>of</strong> a man's<br />
efforts ;<br />
for man is<br />
by nature a neat and well-groomed<br />
animal. Hence the choice <strong>of</strong> neat attire, and not<br />
neat attire in itself, is a good since the good<br />
is not in<br />
;<br />
the thing selected, but in the quality <strong>of</strong> the selection.<br />
Our actions are honourable, but not the actual things<br />
which we do. And you may assume that what I<br />
have said about dress applies also to the body. For<br />
nature has surrounded our soul with the body as<br />
with a sort <strong>of</strong> garment the is<br />
body<br />
its cloak. But<br />
who ; has ever reckoned the value <strong>of</strong> clothes by the<br />
wardrobe which contained them ? The scabbard<br />
does not make the sword good or bad. Therefore,<br />
with regard to the I<br />
body shall return the same<br />
answer to you, that, if I have the choice, I shall<br />
choose health and strength, but that the good<br />
involved will be my judgment regarding these things,<br />
and not the things themselves.<br />
Another retort<br />
"<br />
is : Granted that the wise man<br />
is<br />
happy nevertheless, he does not attain the<br />
;<br />
Supreme Good which we have defined, unless the<br />
means also which nature provides for its attainment<br />
are at his call. So, while one who possesses<br />
virtue cannot be unhappy, yet one cannot be perfectly<br />
happy if one lacks such natural gifts as health, or<br />
soundness <strong>of</strong> limb." But in saying this, you grant<br />
the alternative which seems the more difficult to<br />
believe, that the man who is in the midst <strong>of</strong> unremitting<br />
and extreme pain is not wretched, nay, is<br />
even happy and you deny that which is much less<br />
;<br />
455
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
Atqui si potest virtus efficere, ne miser aliquis sit,<br />
facilius efficiet, ut beatissimus sit. Minus enim<br />
intervalli a beato 1 ad beatissimum restat quara a<br />
misero ad beatum. An quae res tantum valet, ut<br />
ereptum calamitatibus inter beatos locet, non potest<br />
adicere quod superest, ut beatissimum faciat ? In<br />
16 summo deficit clivo ? Commoda sunt in vita 2 et<br />
incommoda, utraque<br />
extra nos.<br />
Si non est miser vir<br />
bonus, quamvis omnibus prematur incomrnodis, quomodo<br />
non est beatissimus, si aliquibus commodis<br />
deficitur ? Nam quemadmodum incommodorum<br />
onere usque ad miserum non deprimitur, sic commodorum<br />
inopia non deducitur a beatissimo, sed tarn<br />
sine commodis beatissimus est, quam non est sub<br />
incommodis miser ;<br />
aut potest illi eripi bonum suum,<br />
si potest minui.<br />
17 Paulo ante dicebam igniculum nihil conferre<br />
lumini solis. Claritate enim eius quicquid sine illo<br />
luceret absconditur. "Sed quaedam," inquit, "soli<br />
quoque opstant." At sol integer est 3 etiam inter<br />
opposita, et quamvis aliquid interiacet, quod nos<br />
prohibeat eius aspectu, in opere est, cursu suo fertur.<br />
Quotiens inter nubila eluxit, non est sereno minor,<br />
1<br />
a beato later MSS. ; beato BA.<br />
2 in vita later MSS. ; inrlcta BA.<br />
8 at sol integer est Buecheler ;<br />
ipaamasole Integra est BA.<br />
456<br />
a<br />
5.
EPISTLE XCII.<br />
serious, that he is<br />
completely happy. And yet,<br />
if<br />
virtue can keep a man from being wretched, it will<br />
be an easier task for it to render him completely<br />
happy. For the difference between happiness and<br />
is<br />
complete happiness less than that between<br />
wretchedness and happiness. Can it be possible<br />
that a thing which is so powerful as to snatch a man<br />
from disaster, and place him among the happy,<br />
cannot also accomplish what remains, and render<br />
him supremely happy<br />
? Does its strength fail at<br />
the very top <strong>of</strong> the climb ? There are in life things<br />
which are advantageous and disadvantageous, both<br />
beyond our control. If a good man, in spite <strong>of</strong><br />
being weighed down by all kinds <strong>of</strong> disadvantages,<br />
is not wretched, how is he not supremely happy, no<br />
matter if he does lack certain ?<br />
advantages For as<br />
he is not weighted down to wretchedness by his<br />
burden <strong>of</strong> disadvantages, so he is not withdrawn<br />
from supreme happiness through lack <strong>of</strong> any<br />
advantages nay, he is just as supremely happy<br />
;<br />
without the advantages as he is free from wretchedness<br />
though under the load <strong>of</strong> his disadvantages.<br />
Otherwise, if his good can be impaired, it can be<br />
snatched from him altogether.<br />
A short space above, a I remarked that a tiny<br />
fire<br />
does not add to the sun's For light. by reason <strong>of</strong><br />
the sun's brightness any light that shines apart from<br />
the sunlight is blotted out. "But," one may say,<br />
"there are certain objects that stand in the way<br />
even <strong>of</strong> the sunlight."<br />
The sun, however, is unimpaired<br />
even in the midst <strong>of</strong> obstacles, and, though<br />
an object may intervene and cut <strong>of</strong>f our view there<strong>of</strong>,<br />
the sun sticks to his work and goes on his course.<br />
Whenever he shines forth from amid the clouds, he<br />
is no smaller, nor less punctual either, than when<br />
457
ne tarclior<br />
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
quidem, quoniam multum interest, utrum<br />
18 aliquid obstet tantum, an inpediat.<br />
Eodem modo<br />
virtuti opposita nihil detrahunt ;<br />
non est minor, sed<br />
minus fulget.<br />
nitet,<br />
Nobis forsitan non aeque apparet ac<br />
sibi eadem est et more soils obscuri in occulto<br />
vim suam exercet. Hoc itaque adversus virtutem<br />
possunt calamitates et damna et iniuriae, quod<br />
adversus solem potest nebula.<br />
19 Invenitur, qui dicat sapientem corpora parum<br />
prospero usum nee miserum. esse nee beatum. Hie<br />
quoque fallitur, exaequat enim fortuita virtutibus<br />
et tantundem tribuit honestis quantum honestate<br />
carentibus. Quid autem foedius, quid indignius<br />
quam comparari veneranda contemptis ? Veneranda<br />
enim sunt iustitia, pietas, fides, fortitude, prudentia<br />
;<br />
e contrario villa sunt, quae saepe contingunt pleniora<br />
vilissimis, crus solidum et lacertus et dentes et<br />
20 tororum ] sanitas firmitasque. Deinde si sapiens,<br />
cui corpus molestum est, nee miser habebitur nee<br />
beatus, sed in medio 2 relinquetur, vita quoque eius<br />
nee adpetenda erit nee fugienda. Quid autem tain<br />
absurdum quam sapientis vitam adpetendam 11011<br />
esse ? Aut quid tarn extra fid em quam esse aliquam<br />
vitam nee adpetendam nee fugiendam ? Deinde si<br />
1<br />
tororum Capps ; horum MSS. ; ceterorum Buecheler ;<br />
tiervorum Kronen berg.<br />
2 in medio later MSS. ;<br />
medio BA<br />
4-58
EPISTLE XCII.<br />
he is free from clouds ;<br />
since it makes a great deal<br />
<strong>of</strong> difference whether there is<br />
merely something in<br />
the way <strong>of</strong> his light or something which interferes<br />
with his shining. Similarly, obstacles take nothing<br />
away from virtue it is no<br />
; smaller, but merely shines<br />
with less brilliancy. In our eyes, it<br />
may perhaps be<br />
less visible and less luminous than before ;<br />
but as<br />
regards itself it is the same and, like the sun when<br />
he is eclipsed, is still, though in secret, putting forth<br />
its strength. Disasters, therefore, and losses, and<br />
wrongs, have only the same power over virtue that<br />
a cloud has over the sun.<br />
We meet with one person who maintains that a<br />
wise man who has met with bodily misfortune is<br />
neither wretched nor happy. But he also is in<br />
error, for he is<br />
putting the results <strong>of</strong> chance upon a<br />
parity with the virtues, and is attributing only the<br />
same influence to things that are honourable as<br />
to things that are devoid <strong>of</strong> honour. But what is<br />
more detestable and more unworthy than to put<br />
contemptible things in the same class with things<br />
worthy <strong>of</strong> reverence ! For reverence is due to<br />
mf<br />
justice, duty, loyalty, bravery, and prudence ; on the<br />
contrary, those attributes are worthless with which<br />
the most worthless men are <strong>of</strong>ten blessed in fuller<br />
measure, such as a sturdy leg, strong shoulders,<br />
good teeth, and healthy and solid muscles. Again,<br />
if the wise man whose body is a trial to him shall<br />
be regarded as neither wretched nor happy, but<br />
shall be left in a sort <strong>of</strong> half-way position, his life<br />
also will be neither desirable nor undesirable. But<br />
what is so foolish as to say that the wise man's life<br />
is not desirable ? And what is so far beyond the<br />
bounds <strong>of</strong> credence as the opinion that any<br />
life is<br />
neither desirable nor undesirable ? Again, if bodily<br />
459
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
damna corporis miserum non faciunt, beatum esse<br />
21<br />
patiuntur.<br />
Nam quibus potentia non est in peiorem<br />
transferendi l statum, ne interpellandi quidem<br />
optimum.<br />
" " Frigidum," inquit, aliquid et calidum novimus,<br />
inter utrumque tepidum est sic<br />
; aliquis beatus est,<br />
aliquis miser, aliquis nee beatus nee miser." Volo<br />
lianc contra nos positam imaginem excutere. Si<br />
tepido illi plus frigidi ingessero, fiet frigidum. Si<br />
plus calidi adfudero, fiet novissime calidum. At<br />
huic nee misero nee beato quantumcumque ad<br />
miserias adiecero, miser non erit, quemadmodum<br />
22 dicitis ; ergo imago ista dissimilis est. Deinde trado<br />
tibi hominem nee miserum nee beatum. Huic<br />
adicio caecitatem ;<br />
non fit miser. Adicio debilitatem ;<br />
1<br />
11011 fit miser. Adicio dolores continuos et graves ;<br />
miser non fit.<br />
Quern tain multa mala in miseram<br />
vitam non traiisferurit, ne ex beata quidem educunt.<br />
23 Si non potest, ut dicitis, sapiens ex beato in miserum<br />
decidere, non potest in non beatum. Quare enim<br />
qui labi coepit, 2 alicubi subsistat ?<br />
Quae res ilium<br />
non patitur ad imum devolvi, retinet in summo.<br />
Quidni non possit beata vita rescindi ? Ne remitti<br />
quidem potest, et ideo virtus ad illam per se ipsa<br />
satis est.<br />
24<br />
'<br />
" Quid ergo<br />
?<br />
iiiquit, " saj)iens non est beatior,<br />
transferendi later MSS. ; translendi BA.<br />
2 qui labi coepit Muretus ; qui ilia coepit BA.<br />
46'0<br />
fl<br />
Answering the objection raised in 14.
EPISTLE XCII.<br />
ills do not make a man wretched, they consequently<br />
allow him to be happy. For things which have no<br />
power to change his condition for the worse, have<br />
not the power, either, to disturb that condition when<br />
it is at its best.<br />
" But," someone will say, " we know what is<br />
cold and what is hot ;<br />
a lukewarm temperature lies<br />
between. Similarly,<br />
A is<br />
happy, and B is wretched,<br />
and C is neither happy nor wretched." 1 wish to<br />
examine this figure, which is<br />
brought into play<br />
against us. It' I add to your lukewarm water a larger<br />
quantity <strong>of</strong> cold water, the result will be cold water.<br />
But if I<br />
pour in a larger quantity <strong>of</strong> hot water, the<br />
water will finally<br />
become hot. In the case, however,<br />
<strong>of</strong> your man who is neither wretched nor happy, no<br />
matter how much I add to his troubles, he will not<br />
be unhappy, according to your argument hence<br />
;<br />
your figure <strong>of</strong>fers no analogy. Again, suppose that<br />
I set before you a man who is neither miserable nor<br />
I<br />
happy. add blindness to his misfortunes ;<br />
he is<br />
not rendered unhappy.<br />
I cripple him ;<br />
he is not<br />
rendered I<br />
unhappy. add afflictions which are unceasing<br />
and severe he is not rendered<br />
; unhappy.<br />
Therefore, one whose life is not changed to misery<br />
by all these ills is not dragged by them, either,<br />
from his life <strong>of</strong> happiness. Then as if, you say, the<br />
wise man cannot fall from happiness to wretchedness,<br />
he cannot fall into non-happiness. For how, if one<br />
has begun to slip, can one stop at any particular<br />
place ? That which prevents him from rolling to<br />
the bottom, keeps him at the summit. Why, you<br />
urge, may not a happy life possibly be destroyed ?<br />
It cannot even be disjointed ;<br />
and for that reason<br />
virtue is itself <strong>of</strong> itself sufficient for the happy<br />
" life."<br />
But," it " is said, is not the wise man happier<br />
if<br />
461
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
qui diutius vixit, quern nullus avocavit dolor, quam<br />
ille, qui cum mala fortuna semper luctatus est "<br />
?<br />
Responde mihi numquid et melior est et honestior : ?<br />
Si haec non sunt, ne beatior quidem<br />
est. Rectius<br />
vivat oportet, ut beatius vivat ; si rectius non potest,<br />
ne beatius quidem. 1 Non intenditur virtus, ergo ne<br />
beata quidem vita, quae ex virtute est. Virtus enim<br />
tantum bonum est, ut istas accessiones minutas non<br />
seiitiat, brevitatem aevi et dolorem et corporum<br />
varias <strong>of</strong>fensiones. Nam voluptas non est digna, ad<br />
25 quam respiciat. Quid est in virtute praecipuum ?<br />
Futuro non indigere nee dies suos comptitare<br />
;<br />
in<br />
quantulo libet tempore bona aeterna consummat.<br />
Incredibilia nobis baec videntur et supra humanam<br />
naturam excurrentia. Maiestatem enim eius ex<br />
nostra inbecillitate metimur 2 et vitiis nostris nomen<br />
virtutis inponimus. Quid porro ? Non aeque incredibile<br />
videtur aliquem in summis cruciatibus<br />
positum dicere " beatus sum " ?<br />
Atqui haec vox<br />
in ipsa <strong>of</strong>ficina voluptatis audita "<br />
est. Beatissimum,"<br />
" "<br />
inquit, hunc et hunc diem ago Epicurus, cum<br />
ilium hinc urinae difficultas torqueret, hinc insana-<br />
26 bilis exulcerati dolor ventris. Quare ergo incredibilia<br />
ista sint aput eos, qui virtutem colunt, quom 3 aput<br />
eos quoque reperiantur/aput quos voluptas imperavit ?<br />
Hi quoque degeneres et humillimae mentis aiunt in<br />
summis doloribus, in summis calamitatibus sapientem<br />
1<br />
ne beatius quidem later MSS. ;<br />
ne beatus quidem BA.<br />
2<br />
metimur later MSS. ; mentimnr BA.<br />
3<br />
quom O. Rossbach ; cum BA.<br />
4 reperiantur later MSS. ; aperiantur BA.<br />
a Cf. Ep. Ixxi. 16 non intenditur virtus. The <strong>Stoic</strong> idea<br />
<strong>of</strong> tension may be combined here with the raising <strong>of</strong> a note<br />
to a higher pitch.<br />
6<br />
Frag. 138 Usener. Cf. Sen. Ep. bcvi. 47.
EPISTLE XCII.<br />
he has lived longer and has been distracted by no<br />
pain, than one who has always been compelled to<br />
grapple with evil fortune "<br />
? Answer me now, is<br />
he any better or more honourable ? If he is not,<br />
then he is not happier either. In order to live<br />
more happily, he must live more rightly if<br />
;<br />
he<br />
cannot do that, then he cannot live more happily<br />
either. Virtue cannot be strained tighter/ and<br />
therefore neither can the happy life, which depends<br />
on virtue. For virtue is so great a good that it is<br />
not affected by such insignificant assaults upon it as<br />
shortness <strong>of</strong> life, pain, and the various bodily vexations.<br />
For pleasure does not deserve that virtue should<br />
even glance at it. Now what is the chief thing in<br />
virtue ? It is the quality <strong>of</strong> not needing a single day<br />
beyond the present, and <strong>of</strong> not reckoning up the days<br />
that are ours; in the slightest possible moment <strong>of</strong> time<br />
virtue completes an eternity <strong>of</strong> good. These goods<br />
seem to us incredible and transcending man's nature ;<br />
for we measure its<br />
grandeur by the standard <strong>of</strong> our<br />
own weakness, and we call our vices by the name<br />
<strong>of</strong> virtue. Furthermore, does it not seem just as<br />
incredible that any man in the midst <strong>of</strong> extreme<br />
suffering should say,<br />
"I am happy"? And yet<br />
this utterance was heard in the very factory <strong>of</strong><br />
pleasure, when Epicurus said b " To-day and one<br />
:<br />
other day have been the "<br />
happiest <strong>of</strong> all !<br />
although<br />
in the one case he was tortured by strangury, and<br />
in the other by the incurable pain <strong>of</strong> an ulcerated<br />
stomach. Why, then, should those goods which<br />
virtue bestows be incredible in the sight <strong>of</strong> us, who<br />
cultivate virtue, when they are found even in those<br />
who acknowledge pleasure as their mistress ? These<br />
also, ignoble and base-minded as they are, declare<br />
that even in the midst <strong>of</strong> excessive pain and mis-<br />
463
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
nee miserum futurum nee beatum. Atqui hoc<br />
quoque incredibile est, immo incredibilius. Non<br />
video enim, quomodo non in infimum 1 agatur e<br />
fastigio suo deiecta virtus. Aut beatum praestare<br />
debet, aut si ab hoc depulsa est, non prohibebit fieri<br />
miserum. Stans non potest mitti ;<br />
aut vincatur<br />
oportet aut vincat.<br />
27<br />
" " Dis," inquit, inmortalibus solis et virtus et<br />
beata vita contigit, nobis umbra quaedam illorum<br />
bonorum et similitude. Accedimus ad ilia, non perveiiimus."<br />
Ratio vero dis hominibusque communis<br />
est ;<br />
haec in illis consummata est, in nobis consum-<br />
28 mabilis. Sed ad desperation em nos vitia nostra<br />
perducunt nam ille alter secundus est ut ; aliquis<br />
parum constans ad custodienda optima, cuius indicium<br />
labat etiamnuiic et incertum est. Desideret oculorum<br />
atque aurium sensum, bonam valitudinem et non<br />
foedum aspectum corporis et habitu manente suo<br />
29 aetatis praeterea longius spatium. Per hanc potest<br />
non paenitenda agi vita, at 2 inperfecto viro huic<br />
malitiae vis quaedam inest, quia animum habet<br />
mobilem ad prava. Ilia apparens malitia et exagitata 3<br />
abest 4 ;<br />
non est adhuc bonus, sed in bonum fingitur.<br />
Cuicumque autem deest aliquid ad bonum, malus est.<br />
1<br />
non in infimnm vulg. non in imum Buecheler ; ; non<br />
infirmum BA.<br />
2 agi vita at Buecheler ; atjitavit BA.<br />
3<br />
apparens malitia et exagitata Buecheler ; aitarens malitia<br />
et ea ac/itata BA.<br />
4<br />
A and B give de bono after abest ;<br />
in B the words are<br />
added at the end <strong>of</strong> the line.
EPISTLE XCII.<br />
fortune the wise man will be neither wretched nor<br />
happy. And yet this also is incredible, nay, still<br />
more incredible than the other case. For I do not<br />
understand how, if virtue falls from her heights, she<br />
can help being hurled all the way to the bottom.<br />
She either must preserve one in happiness, or, if<br />
driven from this position, she will not prevent us<br />
from becoming unhappy. If virtue only stands her<br />
ground, she cannot be driven from the field ;<br />
she<br />
must either conquer or be conquered.<br />
But some " say<br />
:<br />
Only<br />
to the immortal gods<br />
is<br />
given virtue and the happy life we can<br />
;<br />
attain but<br />
the shadow, as it were, and semblance <strong>of</strong> such goods<br />
as theirs. We approach them, but we never reach<br />
them." Reason, however, is a common attribute<br />
<strong>of</strong> both gods and men ;<br />
in the gods<br />
it is<br />
already<br />
perfected, in us it is capable <strong>of</strong> being perfected.<br />
But it is our vices that bring us to despair for<br />
;<br />
the<br />
second class <strong>of</strong> rational being, man, is <strong>of</strong> an inferior<br />
order, a guardian, as it were, who is too unstable<br />
to hold fast to what is best, his judgment still<br />
wavering and uncertain. He may require the<br />
faculties <strong>of</strong> sight and hearing, good he.-ilth, a bodily<br />
exterior that is not loathsome, and, besides, greater<br />
length <strong>of</strong> days conjoined with an unimpaired constitution.<br />
Though by means <strong>of</strong> reason he can lead<br />
a life which will not bring regrets, yet there resides<br />
in this imperfect creature, man, a certain power that<br />
makes for badness, because he possesses a mind<br />
which is easily moved to perversity. Suppose, however,<br />
the badness which is in full view, and has<br />
previously been stirred to activity, to be removed ;<br />
the man is still not a good man, but he is<br />
being<br />
moulded to goodness. One, however, in whom there<br />
is lacking any quality that makes for goodness,<br />
is bad.<br />
465
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
Sed<br />
Si cui virtus animusque in corpore praesens,<br />
hie deos aequat, illo tendit originis suae memor.<br />
30 Nemo iiiprobe eo conatur ascendere, unde descenderat.<br />
Quid est autem cur non existimes in eo<br />
divini aliquid existere, qui del pars est ? Totum<br />
hoc, quo continent! ur, et unum est et deus ;<br />
et socii<br />
sumus eius et membra. Capax est noster animus,<br />
Quemadmodum<br />
perfertur illo, si vitia non deprimant.<br />
corporum nostrorum habitus erigitur et spectat in<br />
caelum, ita animus, cui in quantum vult licet porrigi,<br />
in hoc a natura rerum formatus est, ut paria dis<br />
vellet. Et si utatur suis viribus ac se in spatium<br />
suum extendat, non aliena via l ad summa nititur.<br />
31 Magnus erat labor ire in caelum redit. Cum hoc<br />
;<br />
iter nactus est, vadit audaciter contemptor omnium<br />
nee ad pecimiam respicit aurumque et argentum illis,<br />
non ab hoc<br />
in quibus iacuere, tenebris dignissima,<br />
2<br />
aestimat splendore, quo inperitorum 3 verberant oculos,<br />
sed a vetere caeno, 4 ex quo ilia secrevit cupiditas<br />
nostra et effodit.<br />
Scit, inquam, aliubi positas esse divitias quam quo<br />
congeruntur ; animum impleri debere, non arcam.<br />
32 Hunc inponere dominio rerum omnium licet, hunc<br />
in possession em rerum naturae inducere, ut sua<br />
via Schweighaeuser ; rifa BA.<br />
1<br />
2 ab hoc aestimat splendore Rubenius ; ad hoc aestimat<br />
splendorem BA.<br />
3<br />
inperitorum cod. Velz. ; inperifior B ; inpericior A.<br />
4<br />
a vetere caeno Rubenius ; avertero caelo BA.<br />
a Vergil, Aeneid, v. 363. Vergil MSS. read -pact ore.<br />
b<br />
i.e., to participation in the divine existence.<br />
466
EPISTLE XCII.<br />
But<br />
He in whose body virtue dwells, and spirit<br />
E'er present,"<br />
And why should you<br />
<strong>of</strong> God ?<br />
is equal to the gods mindful <strong>of</strong> his ; origin, he strives<br />
to return thither. No man does wrong in attempting<br />
to regain the heights from whicli he once came<br />
down.<br />
not believe that something<br />
<strong>of</strong> divinity exists in one who is a part<br />
All this universe which encompasses us is one, and<br />
it is God ;<br />
we are associates <strong>of</strong> God ;<br />
we are his<br />
members. Our soul has capabilities, and is carried<br />
thither, 6 if vices do not hold it down. Just as it is<br />
the nature <strong>of</strong> our bodies to stand erect and look<br />
upward to the sky, so the soul, which may reach<br />
out as far as it will, was framed by nature to this<br />
end, that it should desire equality with the gods.<br />
And if it makes use <strong>of</strong> its<br />
powers and stretches<br />
upward into its proper region it is by no alien path<br />
that it struggles toward the heights. It would be<br />
a great task to journey heavenwards the soul but<br />
;<br />
returns thither. When once it has found the road,<br />
it boldly marches on, scornful <strong>of</strong> all things. It casts<br />
no backward glance at wealth ; gold and silver<br />
things which are fully worthy <strong>of</strong> the gloom in<br />
which they once lay it values not by the sheen<br />
which smites the eyes <strong>of</strong> the ignorant, but by the<br />
mire <strong>of</strong> ancient days, whence our greed<br />
first detached<br />
and dug them out.<br />
The soul, I affirm, knows that riches are stored<br />
elsewhere than in men's heaped-up treasure-houses ;<br />
that it is the soul, and not the strong-box, which<br />
should be filled. It is the soul that men may set<br />
in dominion over all things, and may<br />
install as owner<br />
<strong>of</strong> the universe, so that it<br />
may limit its riches only<br />
467
--.-<br />
fB<br />
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
orientis occidentisque terminis finiat l deoruraque<br />
ritu cuncta possideat. 2 cum opibus suis divites<br />
/ne despiciat. quorum nemo tarn suo laetus est<br />
]<br />
quam tristis alieno. Cum se in hanc sublimitatem<br />
tulit.<br />
corporis quoque ut z oneris necessarii non<br />
amator. sed procurator est nee se illi. cui inpositus<br />
:=t. subicit Nemo liber est. qui corpori<br />
Nam servit.<br />
ut alios dominos. quos nimia pro illo sollicitudo<br />
.<br />
invenit, tram js morosum imperium delica-<br />
34-<br />
tumque e Ab hoc modo : aequo ammo exit, modo<br />
:.<br />
magno pro: r.ec quis deinde relicti eius futurus<br />
si- -^rit Sed ut ex barba capilloque tonsa<br />
ne_ ita ille di\inus animus ejrre=?uru5<br />
mas,<br />
hominem. quo receptaculum suum conferatur. ignis<br />
illud exurat an lapis includat 4 an terra oontegat an<br />
:rrae distrahantj non rnagis ad se iudicat pertinere<br />
quam secundas ad editum infantem. Utrum proecl<br />
i .<br />
differant. an Dsmnatnr<br />
C^.'.. ms data praeda marlnis, 5<br />
35 quid ad ilium, qui nullu- est* Sed tune : quoque,<br />
cum inter homines est. non timet ullas "<br />
po'-t mortem<br />
minas eorum, quibus usque ad mortem timer! parum<br />
N jo. conterret. inquit. me nee uncus nee proiecti<br />
1<br />
*<br />
1<br />
'<br />
Jutiat later MSS. : .<br />
po wietrf later MSS -=r BA.<br />
ut Buechr .- ;<br />
rd O r rdu' BA.<br />
Aftet -i Rossbach reads earura/ an /a/>i* imlwlat an<br />
terra, etc. :<br />
-<br />
la- MSS<br />
i#/2 exdudat an /^rra BA u! (for en<br />
1<br />
r<br />
'<br />
>- --=nl.<br />
yw" nulltu est H<br />
///u* BA.<br />
time* t^/a* Buecheler; e*i<br />
i//a BA.<br />
3<br />
V
EPISTLE XCII,<br />
by the boundaries <strong>of</strong> East and West, and, like the<br />
gods, may possess all things and that it<br />
may, with<br />
;<br />
its own vast resources, look down from on high upon<br />
the wealthy, no one <strong>of</strong> whom rejoices as much in<br />
the wealth <strong>of</strong> another.<br />
his own wealth as he resents<br />
When the soul has transported itself to this l<strong>of</strong>ty<br />
height, it regards the body also, since it is a burden<br />
which must be borne, not as a thing to love, but<br />
as a thing to oversee nor is it subservient to that<br />
;<br />
over which it is set in mastery. For no man is free<br />
who is a slave to his body. Indeed, omitting all<br />
the other masters which are brought into being<br />
by excessive care for the body, the sway which<br />
the body itself exercises is captious<br />
and fastidious.<br />
Forth from this body the soul issues, now with unruffled<br />
spirit,<br />
now with exultation, and, when once<br />
it has gone forth, asks not what shall be the end<br />
<strong>of</strong> the deserted clay.<br />
Xo as we do not take<br />
;<br />
just<br />
thought for the clippings <strong>of</strong> the hair and the beard,<br />
even so that divine soul, when it is about to issue<br />
forth from the mortal man, regards the destination<br />
<strong>of</strong> its earthly vessel whether it be consumed by<br />
fire, or shut in by a stone, or buried in the earth, or<br />
torn by wild beasts as being <strong>of</strong> no more concern<br />
to itself than is the afterbirth to a child just born.<br />
And whether this body shall be cast out and plucked<br />
to pieces by birds, or devoured when<br />
thrown to the sea-dogs as prey,"<br />
how does that concern him who is<br />
nothing ? Nay,<br />
even when it is<br />
among the living, the soul fears<br />
nothing that may happen to the body after death ;<br />
for though such things may have been threats, they<br />
were not enough to terrify the soul previous to the<br />
moment <strong>of</strong> death.<br />
"<br />
It says<br />
: I am not frightened<br />
469
:^nJ^<br />
- -<br />
THE EPISTLES OF <strong>SENECA</strong><br />
ad contumeliam cadaveris laceratio foeda v: ; iris<br />
Kemmem it i;:premo <strong>of</strong>ficio rogo, nulli reliquias<br />
meas cor; rv.tr. : Nf :uis insepul: us tsst:. reram<br />
natnra<br />
1<br />
prospexit. lem f :tia proiecerit^<br />
condet/ 1 ]<br />
D:ser:t M.v :tr. -.= ait :<br />
cits<br />
Altc -jtoin putes dix -.55^ Habuit enim ingenium<br />
t: grand e et virile, nisi<br />
*<br />
illud secundis disciniisset, 3<br />
VAIJB.<br />
f+jnt Buecheler ; prospirit<br />
B B A.<br />
A.<br />
MSS :<br />
:.- ^--- '_ ;<br />
;. ^- .:<br />
;-..;_;<br />
-<br />
;_-;--.--.-';-. ...<br />
bodies <strong>of</strong> criminals were dragged by the hock thj<br />
the city to the Scalar Gtmoniae, down which they<br />
n<br />
" i."<br />
~.*ag. 6 Londerstedt,<br />
470
EPISTLE XCII.<br />
by the executioner's hook/ 1 nor by the revolting<br />
mutilation <strong>of</strong> the corpse which is<br />
exposed to<br />
the scorn <strong>of</strong> those who would witness the spectacle.<br />
I ask no man to perform the last rites for me I<br />
;<br />
entrust my remains to none. Nature has made<br />
provision that none shall go unburied. Time will<br />
lay away one whom cruelty has cast forth." Those<br />
were eloquent words which Maecenas uttered :<br />
I want no tomb ; for Nature doth provide<br />
For outcast bodies burial. 6<br />
You would imagine that this was the saying <strong>of</strong> a<br />
man <strong>of</strong> strict principles. He was indeed a man <strong>of</strong><br />
noble and robust native gifts, but in prosperity he<br />
impaired these gifts by laxness. c Farewell.<br />
-<br />
The figure is taken from the Roman dress, one who<br />
was "girt high" ^a?;v cinctiu- .<br />
ready for vigorous walking,<br />
being contrasted \viththeloosely-girdledperson<br />
.<br />
indolent or effeminate. On the character <strong>of</strong> Maecenas see<br />
//>. cxiv. 4 if., xix. 9, cxx. 19. 4"!
APPENDIX<br />
containing some new readings found in the Codex Quirinianus<br />
(Q), a MS. <strong>of</strong> the ninth or tenth century, published<br />
at Brescia by Achilles Beltrami in 1916. The MS. includes<br />
Epp. I-LXXXVIII.<br />
I. 5. superest, sat est vulg.<br />
de homine moderate sat est Q.<br />
da hominem moderatum : sat est Beltrami.<br />
VIII. 7- differetur Q.<br />
differtur vulg.<br />
XIV. 17. adde Q, confirming L 1 ;<br />
ede rell.<br />
XXV. 2. perfecturus Q ;<br />
pr<strong>of</strong>ecturus vulg.<br />
XXXIII. 9. quid est quod a(r) te Q ; quid est quare et<br />
Hense ;<br />
etc.<br />
XLVIII. 1. quae tarn longa quam Q ; tarn longam quam rell<br />
LXV. 22. vindicet Q ;<br />
ducet vulg.<br />
LXVI. 32. virtuti : nihil enim alind est virtus quam recta<br />
ratio, omnes virtutes rationes sunt Q, confirming<br />
Schvveighaeuser.<br />
LXXI. 7. Before nisi qui omnia bona exaequaverit, Q adds<br />
nisi qui omnia prior i(p)se contempserit.<br />
LXXI. 12. de hoc cursu Q ex h. c. ; vulg.<br />
LXXII. 3. Q adds (after philosophandum est) sed ut philosopheris<br />
vacandum est.<br />
LXXV. 1. desideremus Q sederemus<br />
; vulg.<br />
472
LXXVI. 20.<br />
LXXVI1. 17.<br />
APPENDIX<br />
Q adds (after calcasse) inventus est qui diritias<br />
proiceret.<br />
Q adds (after doleas) arnicos scis enim amicus<br />
esse.<br />
LXXVIII. 9. longior impetus rnora Q ; impetus mom rell.<br />
LXXXI. 8. esse grati Q ;<br />
esse rell.<br />
LXXXI. 21. Q adds (after urget) nemo sibi grains est qui<br />
nonfuit. hoc me putas dicere qui ingratus est<br />
miser erit.<br />
LXXXI1. 11. sed ille Rutilius qui fortiore vultu in exilium<br />
iit<br />
quam misisset Q ut<br />
; quam misisset MSS.<br />
LXXXIII. 2. Q adds (after cogitamus) et id raro ; quid<br />
fecerimus non cogitamus.<br />
LXXXIV. 11. Q adds nihil vitaverimus nisi ratione suadente,<br />
with a twelfth-century MS.<br />
LXXXVII. 26. After sustuleris Q adds non ideo smtuleris.<br />
LXXXVIII. 41. non vis cogitare Q, with some later MiSS. ;<br />
non cogitare rell.<br />
473
INDEX OF PROPER NAMES<br />
ACADEMIC (School <strong>of</strong> Philosophy),<br />
a definition <strong>of</strong><br />
happiness, Ixxi. 18 ; scepticism<br />
<strong>of</strong>, Ixxxviii. 44 f.<br />
Achaia (province <strong>of</strong> Greece),<br />
earthquakes in, xci. 9 f.<br />
Achilles, age <strong>of</strong>, compared<br />
with that <strong>of</strong> Patroclus,<br />
Ixxxviii. 6<br />
Aegialus, a farmer on the old<br />
estate <strong>of</strong> Scipio, Ixxxvi.<br />
14 ff.<br />
Aetna, proposed ascent <strong>of</strong>,<br />
by Lucilius, Ixxix. 2 ff.<br />
Agamemnon, his desire to<br />
return home to Mycenae,<br />
Ixvi. 26<br />
Alexander <strong>of</strong> Macedon (the<br />
Great, d. 323 B.C.), crimes<br />
and tragedy <strong>of</strong>, due to<br />
drink, Ixxxiii. 19 ff. ; his<br />
desire to conquer the globe,<br />
xci. 17<br />
Alexandria, fast-sailing ships<br />
from, Ixxvii. 1 f.<br />
Anacharsis (Scythian philosopher,<br />
600 fl. B.C.), discussed<br />
as the inventor<br />
<strong>of</strong> the potter's wheel,<br />
xc. 31<br />
474.<br />
Antipater (<strong>of</strong> Tarsus, <strong>Stoic</strong><br />
philosopher, 2nd century<br />
B.C.), refutation <strong>of</strong> a Peripatetic<br />
syllogism, Ixxxvii.<br />
38 ff. ; his view regarding<br />
non-essentials, xcii. 5<br />
M. Antonius (friend <strong>of</strong> Caesar<br />
and rival <strong>of</strong> Augustus),<br />
ruined by wine and Cleopatra,<br />
Ixxxiii. 25<br />
Apion (grammarian, 1st<br />
century A.D.), his opinion<br />
concerning the authorship<br />
<strong>of</strong> the Homeric cycle,<br />
Ixxxviii. 40 f.<br />
Ardea (ancient city <strong>of</strong> Latium,<br />
capital <strong>of</strong> the Rutulians),<br />
capture <strong>of</strong>, xci. 16<br />
Argos (kingdom in the Peloponnesus),<br />
a fictitious king<br />
<strong>of</strong>, Ixxx. 7<br />
Aristo <strong>of</strong> Chius (<strong>Stoic</strong>, 3rd<br />
century B.C.), weeds out<br />
many departments <strong>of</strong> philosophy,<br />
Ixxxix. 13<br />
Asia, earthquakes in, xci. 9<br />
Attains (<strong>Stoic</strong>, teacher <strong>of</strong><br />
Seneca), on the value <strong>of</strong><br />
pain, Ixvii. 15 ; simile used<br />
by, Ixxii. 8 ;<br />
on " returning
the chalice to our own<br />
1<br />
lips,' Ixxxi. 22<br />
Augustus (Roman Emperor),<br />
confidence in the hard<br />
drinkers Piso and Cossus,<br />
Ixxxiii. 14 f.<br />
DECIMITS IUNIUS BHUTUS (c.<br />
8443 B.C. ,<br />
see ra.), cowardly<br />
death <strong>of</strong>, Ixxxii. 12 f.<br />
GAIUS CAESAR (Caligula,<br />
emperor 37-41 A.D.), witticism<br />
<strong>of</strong>, Ixxvii. 18<br />
Gaius lulius Caesar, conqueror<br />
<strong>of</strong> Pompey, Ixxxiii.<br />
12<br />
Cambyses (son <strong>of</strong> Cyrus the<br />
Great, king <strong>of</strong> the Medes<br />
and Persians, 6th century<br />
B.C.), madness <strong>of</strong>, Ixxxvi. 1<br />
Capreae (modern Capri, the<br />
outpost <strong>of</strong> the bay <strong>of</strong><br />
Naples), Ixxvii. 2<br />
Gaius Cassius (one <strong>of</strong> the<br />
murderers <strong>of</strong> Caesar), temperate<br />
habits <strong>of</strong> Ixxxiii. 12<br />
M. Porcius Cato (the Elder),<br />
simple life <strong>of</strong>, Ixxxvi. 10 ;<br />
his scorn <strong>of</strong> trappings,<br />
Ixxxvii. 9 ff.<br />
M. Porcius Cato (theYounger,<br />
d. 46 B.C.), heroic suicide<br />
<strong>of</strong>, Ixvii. 7, 13 ; Ixx. 19, 22 ;<br />
defeat <strong>of</strong>, Ixxi. 8, 10, 11 ;<br />
obedience to fate, Ixxi.<br />
16 f. dictum <strong>of</strong>, Ixxi. 15.<br />
;<br />
Charondas (Sicilian lawgiver,<br />
6th century B.C.),<br />
xc. 6<br />
Charybdis (between Italy and<br />
Sicily, opposite to Scylla),<br />
phenomena <strong>of</strong>, Ixxix. 1 f.<br />
VOL. II<br />
INDEX<br />
Chelidon (a eunuch <strong>of</strong> Cleopatra),<br />
richness <strong>of</strong>, Ixxxvii.<br />
16<br />
Tillius Cimber (one <strong>of</strong> the conspirators<br />
against Caesar),<br />
his inordinate love <strong>of</strong> liquor,<br />
Ixxxiii. 12 f.<br />
Claranus (a friend <strong>of</strong> Seneca),<br />
his heroic conduct during<br />
illness, Ixvi. 1-4<br />
Cyprus, <strong>of</strong>ten wasted by<br />
earthquakes, xci. 9<br />
Cyrenaic school (<strong>of</strong>fshoot<br />
<strong>of</strong> Epicureanism), remove<br />
physics and logic, and are<br />
content with ethics alone,<br />
Ixxxix. 12<br />
DAHAE (see n.), objects <strong>of</strong><br />
Roman conquest, Ixxi.<br />
37<br />
P. Decius Mus (both father<br />
and son, heroes <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Latin wars, 4th century<br />
B.C.), heroism and selfsacrifice<br />
<strong>of</strong>, Ixvii. 9<br />
Demetrius (<strong>of</strong> Sunium, philosopher<br />
and friend <strong>of</strong><br />
Seneca), definition <strong>of</strong> an<br />
untroubled existence, Ixvii.<br />
14 ;<br />
his contempt for<br />
gossip, xci. 19<br />
Democritus (Greek philosopher,<br />
<strong>of</strong> Abdera, 5th<br />
century B.C.), supposed<br />
madness <strong>of</strong>, Ixxix. 14 ;<br />
discussed<br />
as the inventor <strong>of</strong><br />
the arch, xc. 32 f.<br />
Didymus(surnamed"Brazen-<br />
Bowels," scholar <strong>of</strong> Alexandria,^.<br />
1st century B.C.),<br />
his voluminous and variegated<br />
writings, on Aeneas,<br />
Q 475
INDEX<br />
Anacreon, Sappho, etc.,<br />
Ixxxviii. 37<br />
Diogenes (the Cynic), contrasted<br />
as a philosopher<br />
with Daedalus the inventor,<br />
xc. 14<br />
Dossennus (ancient Latin<br />
comic writer, or a type in<br />
the Atellane farce), inscription<br />
on the tomb <strong>of</strong>,<br />
Ixxxix. 7<br />
EPICUREAN, a philosophy <strong>of</strong><br />
leisure, Ixviii. 10 ; void,<br />
Ixxii. 9 ;<br />
definition <strong>of</strong><br />
philosophy as tw<strong>of</strong>old,<br />
Ixxxix. 11<br />
Epicurus (founder <strong>of</strong> the<br />
school, 342-279 B.C.), on<br />
the joy <strong>of</strong> suffering, Ixvi.<br />
18, Ixvii. 15 ;<br />
on the painless<br />
body and the serene<br />
mind, Ixvi. 45 ;<br />
on the<br />
different classes <strong>of</strong> goods,<br />
Ixvi. 47 f. ;<br />
late-won renown<br />
<strong>of</strong>, Ixxix. 15 f. ;<br />
on<br />
the payment <strong>of</strong> obligations,<br />
Ixxxi. 11 ;<br />
declares<br />
virtue alone not sufficient<br />
for happiness, Ixxxv. 18 ;<br />
on calm amid pain, xcii. 25<br />
Eretrian school (somewhat<br />
inclined toward the<br />
Socratic), scepticism <strong>of</strong>,<br />
Ixxxviii. 44 f.<br />
FABII (clan famous in early<br />
Roman history), sacrifice<br />
in behalf <strong>of</strong> the state,<br />
Ixxxii. 20<br />
Q. Fabius Maximus (hero <strong>of</strong><br />
second Punic war), simple<br />
life <strong>of</strong>, Ixxxvi. 10<br />
4/76<br />
GERMAN (gladiator), revolting<br />
suicide <strong>of</strong> a, Ixx. 20<br />
Graeci, their use <strong>of</strong> paradoxes<br />
(inopinata)<br />
in philosophy,<br />
Ixxxi. 11 ;<br />
futilities<br />
<strong>of</strong> dialectic, Ixxxii. 8 f. :<br />
their use <strong>of</strong> indifferentia,<br />
Ixxxii. 10 ; encyclic arts oi<br />
the, Ixxxviii. 23; definition<br />
<strong>of</strong> wisdom, Ixxxix. 7 ;<br />
definition<br />
<strong>of</strong> orbatio, Ixxxvii.<br />
39 ;<br />
on calm, xcii. 6<br />
HANNIBAL, contrasted with<br />
Scipio, Ixxxvi. 3<br />
Helen, age <strong>of</strong>, compared<br />
with Hecuba's, Ixxxviii. 6<br />
Hephaestion( volcanic region<br />
in Lycia, in Asia Minor),<br />
Ixxix. 3<br />
Hesiod, compared<br />
v/ith<br />
Homer in seniority,<br />
Ixxxviii. 6<br />
Homer, claimed by various<br />
schools <strong>of</strong> philosophy as *<br />
witness in their behalf,<br />
Ixxxviii. 5 f. in<br />
;<br />
various<br />
connexions, Ixxxviii. passim<br />
;<br />
mentions the potter's<br />
wheel, xc. 31<br />
Q. Horatius Flaccus (Roman<br />
poet, 65-8 B.C.), quoted,<br />
Ixxxvi. 13<br />
JUPITER, comparison <strong>of</strong>, with<br />
the ideal sage, Ixxiii.<br />
12 ff.<br />
LACON, Spartan boy who refused<br />
to do menial service,<br />
Ixxvii. 14 f.<br />
Lacones (Spartans<br />
under
INDEX<br />
Leonidas at Thermopylae),<br />
Ixxxii. 20 ff.<br />
Ladas, a traditionally swift<br />
runner, Ixxxv. 4<br />
Aebutius Liberalis (friend<br />
<strong>of</strong> Seneca), disconsolate<br />
over the Lyons conflagration<br />
<strong>of</strong> c. 64 A.D., xci.<br />
passim<br />
Drusus Libo (duped into<br />
dreams <strong>of</strong> empire, committed<br />
suicide A.D. 16),<br />
contemplated self-destruction<br />
<strong>of</strong>, Ixx. 10<br />
Liternum (Campanian coasttown),<br />
retreat <strong>of</strong> Scipio,<br />
Ixxxvi. 3<br />
Lucilius (procurator in Sicily<br />
and contemporary <strong>of</strong><br />
Seneca), addressed, passim.<br />
See Introduction,<br />
vol. i. p. ix<br />
Lucrine oysters (from a lake<br />
near the Bay <strong>of</strong> Naples),<br />
delicate taste <strong>of</strong>, Ixxviii.<br />
23<br />
Lugudunum (capital <strong>of</strong> Gaul,<br />
now Lyons), destruction<br />
<strong>of</strong>, xci. passim<br />
Lycurgus (<strong>of</strong> Sparta, 9th century<br />
B.C. ?), giver <strong>of</strong> laws,<br />
xc. 6<br />
MACEDONIA, earthquakes in,<br />
xci. 9<br />
Maecenas (prime minister <strong>of</strong><br />
Augustus), witty saying<br />
<strong>of</strong>, xcii. 35<br />
Tullius Marcellinus (a friend<br />
<strong>of</strong> Seneca), suicide <strong>of</strong>,<br />
Ixxvii. 5 if.<br />
Maximus(a friend <strong>of</strong> Seneca),<br />
Ixxxvii. 2 ff.<br />
Medi, objects <strong>of</strong> Roman conquest,<br />
Ixxi. 37<br />
Megaric school, scepticism<br />
<strong>of</strong>, Ixxxviii. 44 f.<br />
Menelaus (Homeric hero),<br />
actor posing as, Ixxx. 8<br />
Metrodorus (follower <strong>of</strong> Epicurus),<br />
his modest manner<br />
<strong>of</strong> life, Ixxix. 15 f. ; on the<br />
thankfulness <strong>of</strong> the sage,<br />
Ixxxi. 11<br />
Metronax (a philosopher, see<br />
Ep. xciii. 1), lectures by,<br />
Ixxvi. 4<br />
NATALIS (early Empire), vileness<br />
and richness <strong>of</strong>,<br />
Ixxxvii. 16<br />
Nausiphanes (disciple <strong>of</strong><br />
Pyrrho the Sceptic, 4th<br />
century B.C.), on seeming<br />
and non-being, Ixxxviii.<br />
43 f.<br />
Neapolis (now Naples), a<br />
place for retirement,<br />
Ixviii. 5; theatre at, Ixxvi. 4<br />
Neptune, the god to whom<br />
the sailor prays, Ixxiii. 5 ;<br />
invoked by the Rhodian<br />
pilot, Ixxxv. 33<br />
Nestor (Homeric hero), long<br />
life <strong>of</strong>, Ixxvii. 20<br />
P. OVIDIUS NASO (Roman<br />
poet, 43 B.C. -18 A.D.), his<br />
description <strong>of</strong> Aetna, Ixxix.<br />
5 ; quoted, xc. 20<br />
PAPHUS (city on west coast<br />
<strong>of</strong> Cyprus), <strong>of</strong>ten wrecked<br />
by earthquakes, xci. 9<br />
Parmenides (Greek philosopher,<br />
fl.<br />
500 B.C.), on the<br />
One, Ixxxviii. 44 f.<br />
477
INDEX<br />
Penelope, moral character<br />
<strong>of</strong>, Ixxxviii. 8<br />
Peripatetics, their s<strong>of</strong>tening<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>Stoic</strong> paradoxes, Ixxxv.<br />
3, 31, etc. ;<br />
their objections<br />
to <strong>Stoic</strong> syllogisms,<br />
Ixxxvii. 12, 38; their establishment<br />
<strong>of</strong> economic philosophy,<br />
Ixxxix. 10<br />
Persae(the Persians), objects<br />
<strong>of</strong> Roman conquest, Ixxi.<br />
37<br />
Phalaris, tyrant <strong>of</strong> Agrigentum<br />
in Sicily ((Jth century<br />
B.C.), the bronze bull <strong>of</strong>,<br />
Ixvi. 18<br />
Pharius, pacemaker for<br />
Seneca, Ixxxiii. 4<br />
Phidias (Athenian sculptor,<br />
5th century B.C.), variety<br />
<strong>of</strong> his materials, Ixxxv. 40<br />
Lucius Piso (Roman <strong>of</strong>ficial<br />
under Augustus), abnormal<br />
drunkenness <strong>of</strong>,<br />
Ixxxiii. 14 f.<br />
L. Munatius Plancus (gov.<br />
<strong>of</strong> Transalpine Gaul, 43<br />
B.C.), founder <strong>of</strong> Lyons,<br />
xci. 14<br />
Pompeii (possibly the birthplace<br />
<strong>of</strong> Lucilius), recalls<br />
memories <strong>of</strong> Seneca's boyhood,<br />
Ixx. 1<br />
Gn. Pompeius Magnus, three<br />
defeats <strong>of</strong> his forces, Ixxi.<br />
8 ft.<br />
Lars Porsenna, king <strong>of</strong> the<br />
Etruscans, who yielded to<br />
Mucius Scaevola, Ixvi. 51 ff.<br />
Posidonius (<strong>Stoic</strong> philosopher,^.<br />
1st century B.C.),<br />
on lengti'i <strong>of</strong> life, Ixxviii.<br />
28 ; opinion on drunken-<br />
4-78<br />
ness, Ixxxiii. 10 ; definition<br />
<strong>of</strong> riches, Ixxxvii. 31 ff. ;<br />
on the arts and crafts,<br />
Ixxxviii. 21 ; on the sage<br />
and the inventor, xc. 5 ff. ;<br />
on the weakness <strong>of</strong> the<br />
flesh, xcii. 10<br />
Protagoras (Greek philosopher<br />
<strong>of</strong> Abdera, 5th century<br />
B.C.), opinion on the<br />
flexibility <strong>of</strong> dialectic,<br />
Ixxxviii. 43 f.<br />
Puteoli (a coast-town near<br />
Naples in Campania), the<br />
idlers <strong>of</strong>, Ixxvii. 1<br />
Pyrrhonic school, scepticism<br />
<strong>of</strong>, Ixxxviii. 44 f.<br />
Pythagoras (Greek philosopher,<br />
6th century B.C.),<br />
teacher <strong>of</strong> many famous<br />
lawgivers, xc. 6<br />
M. ATILIUS REGULUS (hero <strong>of</strong><br />
first Punic war), the sufferings<br />
<strong>of</strong>, Ixvii. 7, 12 ; his<br />
pledge <strong>of</strong> honour, Ixxi. 17<br />
Rhodian (Telesphorus the),<br />
cowardly Words <strong>of</strong>, Ixx. 6<br />
P. Rutilius Rufus (statesman,<br />
banished 92 B.C.),<br />
exile <strong>of</strong>, Ixvii. 7 ;<br />
retirement<br />
<strong>of</strong>, Ixxix. 14<br />
SARMATIA (on the eastern<br />
side <strong>of</strong> Scythia), vanity <strong>of</strong><br />
its rulers, Ixxx. 10<br />
Sattia, anecdote about the<br />
longevity <strong>of</strong>, Ixxvii. 20<br />
Gaius Mucius Scaevola<br />
(Roman legendary period),<br />
voluntary self- mutilation<br />
<strong>of</strong>, Ixvi. 51 ff.
INDEX<br />
16 ; late-won renown <strong>of</strong>,<br />
P. Cornelius Scipio (Africanus<br />
on truth and virtue, Ixxi. Ixxxviii. 7 f.<br />
Maior, conqueror <strong>of</strong> Ixxix. 14<br />
Hannibal), adoration by Solon (see n. ad Zoc.), lawgiver<br />
and one<br />
Seneca at his house and<br />
tomb, Ixxxvi. 1 ff.<br />
<strong>of</strong> the seven wise men,<br />
P. Cornelius Scipio (Africanus<br />
xc. 6<br />
Minor, conqueror Speusippus(4th century B.C.,<br />
<strong>of</strong> Carthage in 146 B.C.,<br />
and <strong>of</strong> Numantia in 133<br />
predecessor <strong>of</strong> Xenocrates<br />
as head <strong>of</strong> the Academy),<br />
B.C.), Ixvi. 13<br />
qualifies the definition <strong>of</strong><br />
P. Cornelius Scipio Nasica the bonum, Ixxxv. 18<br />
(admiral, defeated by <strong>Stoic</strong>, a certain, who gave<br />
Caesar's fleet, 46 B.C.), good advice to Marcellinus,<br />
heroism <strong>of</strong>, Ixx. 22 ;<br />
defeat<br />
<strong>of</strong>, Ixxi. 10<br />
Scribonia (see n.), witty saying<br />
Ixxvii. 6<br />
<strong>Stoic</strong> (school <strong>of</strong> philosophy),<br />
recommendation <strong>of</strong> the<br />
<strong>of</strong>, Ixx. 10<br />
quiet life, Ixviii. 1 ; reply<br />
Scylla (dangerous rock on Peripatetics regarding<br />
Italian side <strong>of</strong> Sicilian virtue, Ixxxv. 31 ; paradoxes<br />
strait), Ixxix. 1 f., xcii. 9.<br />
<strong>of</strong> the, bcxxvii. 1<br />
Scythia (from the Carpathians<br />
Syria, earthquakes in, xci. 9<br />
eastward), vanity<br />
<strong>of</strong> its rulers, Ixxx. 10 ;<br />
Syrtes (north coast <strong>of</strong> Africa),<br />
cave-homes <strong>of</strong> dwellers by<br />
clothing <strong>of</strong> its inhabitants,<br />
xc. 16<br />
the, xc. 17<br />
Seneca (see Introduction, TABEXTUM (city in Southern<br />
vol. i.),<br />
addresses himself, Italy), a place for retirement,<br />
Ixviii. 10<br />
Ixviii. 5<br />
Cornelius Severus (contemp. Tauromenium (now Taormina)<br />
in Sicily, Ixxix. 1<br />
<strong>of</strong> Ovid, author <strong>of</strong> a<br />
Siculum), description<br />
Tiberius (emperor 14-37<br />
<strong>of</strong> Aetna, Ixxix. 5<br />
Sextius (see Ep. Ixiv. 2 n.,<br />
A.D.), his confidence in the<br />
drunken Cossus, Lxxxiii.<br />
vol. his i.), comparison <strong>of</strong> 15<br />
the sage with Jupiter, Ti ma genes (from Alexandria,<br />
historian, and one-<br />
Ixxiii. 12, 15<br />
Sicily, Lucilius' travels time friend <strong>of</strong> Augustus),<br />
through, Ixxix. 1<br />
grudge against Rome, xci.<br />
Socrates, drinks the poison, 13<br />
Ixvii. 7 ; resignation <strong>of</strong>,<br />
Ixx. 9, Ixxi. 17 ; emphasis ULYSSES, home-sickness <strong>of</strong>,<br />
upon character, Ixxi. 7 ;<br />
Ixvi. 28 ; wanderings <strong>of</strong>,<br />
479
(76)<br />
P. VERGIIJTS MARO ;Roman<br />
poet. 70-19 B.C."), quoted,<br />
Ixvii. S, Ixx. -2, Ixxiii. 10 f.,<br />
15. Ixxvii. 12, Ixxviii. 15 ;<br />
description <strong>of</strong> Aetna,<br />
Lxxix. 5 ;<br />
quoted. Ixxxii.<br />
7, 16, 18. Lxxxiv. 3, Ixxxv.<br />
4, Ixxxvi. 15 f. , Lxxxvii.<br />
20. Lxxxviii. U, 16, Lxxxix.<br />
17. xc. 9, 11, 37; on<br />
Scylla, xcii. 9 ;<br />
quoted,<br />
xcii 29, 34<br />
Virgo, the aqueduct, a colder<br />
plunge than the Tiber,<br />
Lxxxiii. 5<br />
XEXOVJUATES<br />
century<br />
INDEX<br />
B.C., successor <strong>of</strong> Spetisippus<br />
as head <strong>of</strong> the Academy),<br />
qualifies the definition<br />
<strong>of</strong> the //07ZZ/W2, Ixxxv. 18<br />
ZALEUCUS :<strong>of</strong> MagnaGraecia,<br />
7th century B.C.), lawmaker,<br />
xc. 6<br />
Zeno founder <strong>of</strong> <strong>Stoic</strong>ism,<br />
/. 300 B.C.), over -subtle<br />
syllogism <strong>of</strong>, Ixxxii. 9, 19 ;<br />
objections to drunkenness,<br />
Lxxxiii. 9 ff.<br />
Zeno, <strong>of</strong> Elea (Greek dialectic<br />
philosopher, 5th<br />
century B.C.), denial <strong>of</strong><br />
everything, Lxxxviii. 4-4- f.<br />
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B. Einarson. Vol. VIII. P. A. Clement, H. B. H<strong>of</strong>fleit.<br />
Vol. IX. E. L. Minar, Jr., F. H. Sandbach, W. C. Helmbold.<br />
Vol. X. H. N. Fowler. Vol. XI. L. Pearson, F. H.<br />
Sandbach. Vol. XII. H. Cherniss, W. C. Helmbold. Vol.<br />
XIV. P. H. De Lacy and B. Einarson. Vol. XV. F. H.<br />
Sandbach.<br />
PLUTARCH : THE PARALLEL LIVES. B. Perrin. 11 Vols.<br />
POLYBIUS. W. R. Paton. 6 Vols.
THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY<br />
PROCOPIUS: HISTORY OF THE AVARS. H. B. Dewing. 7 Vols.<br />
PTOLEMY: TETRABIBLOS. Cf. MANETHO.<br />
QUINTUS SMYRNAEUS. A. S. Way. Verse trans.<br />
SEXTUS EMPIRICUS. Rev. R. G. Bury. 4 Vols.<br />
SOPHOCLES. F. Storr. 2 Vols. Verse trans.<br />
STRABO : GEOGRAPHY. Horace L. Jones. 8 Vols.<br />
THEOPHRASTUS : CHARACTERS. J.M.Edmonds: HERODES,<br />
etc. A. D. Knox.<br />
THEOPHRASTUS : ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS. Sir Arthur Hort.<br />
2 Vols.<br />
THUCYDIDES. C. F. Smith. 4 Vols.<br />
TRYPHIODORUS. Cf. OPPIAN.<br />
XENOPHON : ANABASIS. C. L. Brownson.<br />
XENOPHON : CYROPAEDIA. Walter Miller. 2 Vols.<br />
XENOPHON: HELLENICA. C. L. Brownson.<br />
XENOPHON : MEMORABILIA AND OECONOMICUS. E. C. Marchant.<br />
SYMPOSIUM AND APOLOGY.<br />
XENOPHON : SCRIPTA MINORA. E. C.<br />
O. J. Todd.<br />
Marchant and G. W.<br />
Bowersock.<br />
VOLUMES IN PREPARATION<br />
GREEK AUTHORS<br />
ARISTIDES : ORATIONS. C. A. Behr.<br />
MUSAEUS : HERO AND LEANDER. T. Gelzer and C. H.<br />
Whitman.<br />
THEOPHRASTUS : DE CAUSIS PLANTARUM. G. K. K. Link and<br />
B. Einarson.<br />
LATIN AUTHORS<br />
ASCONIUS : COMMENTARIES ON CICERO'S ORATIONS. G. W.<br />
Bowersock.<br />
BENEDICT : THE RULE. P. Meyvaert.<br />
JUSTIN-TROGUS. R. Moss.<br />
MANILIUS. G. P. Goold.<br />
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