Lucius Annaeus Seneca→Lucilius Junior|c. 65 AD|Seneca the Younger|From Rome|To Sicily|AI-assisted
Y ou have asked me to give you a Latin word
for the Greek sophismata. Many have tried to define the term, but
no name has stuck. This is natural, inasmuch as the thing itself
has not been admitted to general use by us; the name, too, has met with
opposition. But the word which Cicero used seems to me most suitable:
he calls them cavillationes. If a man has surrendered himself to them,
he weaves many a tricky subtlety, but makes no progress toward real living;
he does not thereby become braver, or more restrained, or loftier of spirit.
<Ep3-277>
H e, however, who has practised philosophy
to effect his own cure, becomes bigh-souled, full of confidence, invincible,
and greater as you draw near him. This phenomenon is seen in the
case of high mountains, which appear less lofty when beheld from afar,
but which prove clearly how high the peaks are when you come near them;
such, my dear Lucilius, is our true philosopher, true by his acts
and not by his tricks. He stands in a high place, worthy of admiration,
lofty, and really great. He does not stretch himself or walk on tiptoe
like those who seek to improve their height by deceit, wishing to seem
taller than they really are; he is content with his own greatness.
And why should he not be content with having known to such a height that
Fortune cannot reach her hands to it? He is therefore above earthly
things, equal to himself under all conditions, -whether the current of
life runs free, or whether he is tossed and travels on troubled and desperate
seas; but this steadfastness cannot be gained through such hair-splittings
as I have just mentioned. The mind plays with them, but profits not
a whit; the mind in such cases is simply dragging philosophy down from
her heights to the level ground.
I would not forbid you to practise such exercises
occasionally; but let it be at a time when you wish to do nothing.
The worst feature, however, that these indulgences present is that they
acquire a sort of self-made charm, occupying and holding the soul by a
show of subtlety; although such weighty matters claim our attention, and
a whole life seems scarcely sufficient to learn the single principle of
despising life. "What? Did you not mean 'control' instead of 'despise'"?
No; "controlling"
<Ep3-279>
[1] Quid vocentur Latine sophismata quaesisti a me. Multi temptaverunt illis nomen inponere, nullum haesit; videlicet, quia res ipsa non recipiebatur a nobis nec in usu erat, nomini quoque repugnatum est. Aptissimum tamen videtur mihi quo Cicero usus est: 'cavillationes' vocat. [2] Quibus quisquis se tradidit quaestiunculas quidem vafras nectit, ceterum ad vitam nihil proficit: neque fortior fit neque temperantior neque elatior. At ille qui philosophiam in remedium suum exercuit ingens fit animo, plenus fiduciae, inexsuperabilis et maior adeunti. [3] Quod in magnis evenit montibus, quorum proceritas minus apparet longe intuentibus: cum accesseris, tunc manifestum fit quam in arduo summa sint. Talis est, mi Lucili, verus et rebus, non artificiis philosophus. In edito stat, admirabilis, celsus, magnitudinis verae; non exsurgit in plantas nec summis ambulat digitis eorum more qui mendacio staturam adiuvant longioresque quam sunt videri volunt; contentus est magnitudine sua. [4] Quidni contentus sit eo usque crevisse quo manus fortuna non porrigit? Ergo et supra humana est et par sibi in omni statu rerum, sive secundo cursu vita procedit, sive fluctuatur et <it> per adversa ac difficilia: hanc constantiam cavillationes istae de quibus paulo ante loquebar praestare non possunt. Ludit istis animus, non proficit, et philosophiam a fastigio suo deducit in planum. [5] Nec te prohibuerim aliquando ista agere, sed tunc cum voles nihil agere. Hoc tamen habent in se pessimum: dulcedinem quandam sui faciunt et animum specie subtilitatis inductum tenent ac morantur, cum tanta rerum moles vocet, cum vix tota vita sufficiat ut hoc unum discas, vitam contemnere. 'Quid regere?' inquis. Secundum opus est; nam nemo illam bene rexit nisi qui contempserat. Vale.
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Y ou have asked me to give you a Latin word for the Greek sophismata. Many have tried to define the term, but no name has stuck. This is natural, inasmuch as the thing itself has not been admitted to general use by us; the name, too, has met with opposition. But the word which Cicero used seems to me most suitable: he calls them cavillationes. If a man has surrendered himself to them, he weaves many a tricky subtlety, but makes no progress toward real living; he does not thereby become braver, or more restrained, or loftier of spirit. <Ep3-277>
H e, however, who has practised philosophy to effect his own cure, becomes bigh-souled, full of confidence, invincible, and greater as you draw near him. This phenomenon is seen in the case of high mountains, which appear less lofty when beheld from afar, but which prove clearly how high the peaks are when you come near them; such, my dear Lucilius, is our true philosopher, true by his acts and not by his tricks. He stands in a high place, worthy of admiration, lofty, and really great. He does not stretch himself or walk on tiptoe like those who seek to improve their height by deceit, wishing to seem taller than they really are; he is content with his own greatness. And why should he not be content with having known to such a height that Fortune cannot reach her hands to it? He is therefore above earthly things, equal to himself under all conditions, -whether the current of life runs free, or whether he is tossed and travels on troubled and desperate seas; but this steadfastness cannot be gained through such hair-splittings as I have just mentioned. The mind plays with them, but profits not a whit; the mind in such cases is simply dragging philosophy down from her heights to the level ground. I would not forbid you to practise such exercises occasionally; but let it be at a time when you wish to do nothing. The worst feature, however, that these indulgences present is that they acquire a sort of self-made charm, occupying and holding the soul by a show of subtlety; although such weighty matters claim our attention, and a whole life seems scarcely sufficient to learn the single principle of despising life. "What? Did you not mean 'control' instead of 'despise'"? No; "controlling" <Ep3-279>
Latin / Greek Original
[1] Quid vocentur Latine sophismata quaesisti a me. Multi temptaverunt illis nomen inponere, nullum haesit; videlicet, quia res ipsa non recipiebatur a nobis nec in usu erat, nomini quoque repugnatum est. Aptissimum tamen videtur mihi quo Cicero usus est: 'cavillationes' vocat. [2] Quibus quisquis se tradidit quaestiunculas quidem vafras nectit, ceterum ad vitam nihil proficit: neque fortior fit neque temperantior neque elatior. At ille qui philosophiam in remedium suum exercuit ingens fit animo, plenus fiduciae, inexsuperabilis et maior adeunti. [3] Quod in magnis evenit montibus, quorum proceritas minus apparet longe intuentibus: cum accesseris, tunc manifestum fit quam in arduo summa sint. Talis est, mi Lucili, verus et rebus, non artificiis philosophus. In edito stat, admirabilis, celsus, magnitudinis verae; non exsurgit in plantas nec summis ambulat digitis eorum more qui mendacio staturam adiuvant longioresque quam sunt videri volunt; contentus est magnitudine sua. [4] Quidni contentus sit eo usque crevisse quo manus fortuna non porrigit? Ergo et supra humana est et par sibi in omni statu rerum, sive secundo cursu vita procedit, sive fluctuatur et <it> per adversa ac difficilia: hanc constantiam cavillationes istae de quibus paulo ante loquebar praestare non possunt. Ludit istis animus, non proficit, et philosophiam a fastigio suo deducit in planum. [5] Nec te prohibuerim aliquando ista agere, sed tunc cum voles nihil agere. Hoc tamen habent in se pessimum: dulcedinem quandam sui faciunt et animum specie subtilitatis inductum tenent ac morantur, cum tanta rerum moles vocet, cum vix tota vita sufficiat ut hoc unum discas, vitam contemnere. 'Quid regere?' inquis. Secundum opus est; nam nemo illam bene rexit nisi qui contempserat. Vale.