Letter 51
Every man does the best he can, my dear Lucilius!
You over there have Etna,, that lofty and most celebrated mountain of
Sicily; (although I cannot make out why Messala, - or was it Valgius? for
I have been reading in both, -has called it "unique," inasmuch as many
regions belch forth fire, not merely the lofty ones where the phenomenon
is more frequent, - presumably because fire rises to the greatest possible
height, - but low-lying places also.) As for myself, I do the best I can;
I have had to be satisfied with Baiae; and I left it the day after I
reached it; for Baiae is a place to be avoided, because, though it has
certain natural advantages, luxury has claimed it for her own exclusive
resort. "What then," you say, "should any place be singled out as an object
of aversion?" Not at all. But just as, to the wise and upright man,
one style of clothing is more suitable than another, without his having
an aversion for any particular colour, but because he thinks that some
colours do not befit one who has adopted the simple life; so there are
places also, which the wise man or he who is on the way toward wisdom will
avoid as foreign to good morals. Therefore, if he is contemplating
withdrawal from the world, he will not select Canopus (although Canopus
does not keep any man from living simply), nor Baiae either; for both places
have begun to be resorts of vice. At Canopus luxury pampers itself
to the utmost degree; at Baiae it is even more lax, as if the place itself
demanded a certain amount of licence.
We ought to select abodes which are wholesome
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not only for the body but also for the character. Just as I do
not care to live in a place of torture, neither do I care to live in a
cafe. To witness persons wandering drunk along the beach, the riotous
revelling of sailing parties, the lakes a-din with choral song, and all
the other ways in which luxury, when it is, so to speak, released from
the restraints of law not merely sins, but blazons its sins abroad, - why
must I witness all this? We ought to see to it that we flee to the
greatest possible distance from provocations to vice. We should toughen
our minds, and remove them far from the allurements of pleasure.
A single winter relaxed Hannibal's fibre;
his pampering in Campania took the vigour out of that hero who had triumphed
over Alpine snows. He conquered with his weapons, but was conquered
by his vices. We too have a war to wage, a type of warfare in which
there is allowed no rest or furlough. To be conquered, in the first
place, are pleasures, which, as you see, have carried off even the sternest
characters. If a man has once understood how great is the task which
he has entered upon, he will see that there must be no dainty or effeminate
conduct. What have I to do with those hot baths or with the sweating-room
where they shut in the dry steam which is to drain your strength? Perspiration
should flow only after toil.
Suppose we do what Hannibal did, - check the
course of events, give up the war, and give over our bodies to be coddled.
Every one would rightly blame us for our untimely sloth, a thing fraught
with peril even for the victor, to say nothing of one who is only on the
way to victory. And we have even less right to do this than those
followers of the Carthaginian flag; for our danger is greater than
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theirs if we slacken, and our toil is greater than theirs even if we
press ahead. Fortune is fighting against me, and I shall not carry
out her commands. I refuse to submit to the yoke; nay rather, I shake
off the yoke that is upon me, - an act which demands even greater courage.
The soul is not to be pampered; surrendering to pleasure means also surrendering
to pain, surrendering to toil, surrendering to poverty. Both ambition
and anger will wish to have the same rights over me as pleasure, and I
shall be torn asunder, or rather pulled to pieces, amid all these conflicting
passions. I have set freedom before my eyes; and I am striving for
that reward. And what is freedom, you ask? It means not being
a slave to any circumstance, to any constraint, to any chance; it means
compelling Fortune to enter the lists on equal terms. And on the
day when I know that I have the upper hand, her power will be naught.
When I have death in my own control, shall I take orders from her?
Therefore, a man occupied with such reflections
should choose an austere and pure dwelling-place. The spirit is weakened
by surroundings that are too pleasant, and without a doubt one's place
of residence can contribute towards impairing its vigour. Animals
whose hoofs are hardened on rough ground can travel any road; but when
they are fattened on soft marshy meadows their hoofs are soon worn out.
The bravest soldier comes from rock-ribbed regions; but the town-bred and
the home-bred are sluggish in action. The hand which turns from the
plough to the sword never objects to toil; but your sleek and well-dressed
dandy quails at the first cloud of dust. Being trained in a rugged
country strengthens the character and fits it for great undertakings.
It was
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EPISTLE Li.
more honourable in Scipio to spend his exile at Liternum , than at
Baiae; his downfall did not need a setting so
effeminate . Those also into whose hands the rising fortunes
of Rome first transferred the wealth of the state, Gaius Marius, Gnaeus
Pompey, and Caesar, did indeed build villas near Baiae; but they set them
on the very tops of the mountains. This seemed more soldier- like,
to look down from a lofty height upon lands spread far and wide below.
Note the situation, position, and type of building which they chose; you
will see that they were not country-places, - they were camps. Do
you suppose that Cato would ever have dwelt in a pleasure-palace, that
he might count the lewd women as they sailed past, the many kinds of barges
painted in all sorts of colours, the roses which were wafted about the
lake, or that he might listen to the nocturnal brawls of serenaders? Would
he not have preferred to remain in the shelter of a trench thrown up by
his own hands to serve for a single night? Would not anyone who is
a man have his slumbers broken by a war-trumpet rather than by a chorus
of serenaders?
But I have been haranguing against Baiae long
enough; although I never could harangue often enough against vice.
Vice, Lucilius, is what I wish you to proceed against, without limit and
without end. For it has neither limit nor end. If any vice
rend your heart, cast it away from you; and if you cannot be rid of it
in any other way, pluck out your heart also. Above all, drive pleasures
from your sight. Hate them beyond all other things, for they are
like the bandits whom the Egyptians call "lovers," who embrace us only
to garrotte us. Farewell.
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Latin / Greek Original
[1] Quomodo quisque potest, mi Lucili: tu istic habes Aetnam, <et illuc> nobilissimum Siciliae montem - quem quare dixerit Messala unicum, sive Valgius, apud utrumque enim legi, non reperio, cum plurima loca evomant ignem, non tantum edita, quod crebrius evenit, videlicet quia ignis in altissimum effertur, sed etiam iacentia -, nos, utcumque possumus, contenti sumus Bais; quas postero die quam attigeram reliqui, locum ob hoc devitandum, cum habeat quasdam naturales dotes, quia illum sibi celebrandum luxuria desumpsit.
[2] 'Quid ergo? ulli loco indicendum est odium?' Minime; sed quemadmodum aliqua vestis sapienti ac probo viro magis convenit quam aliqua, nec ullum colorem ille odit sed aliquem parum putat aptum esse frugalitatem professo, sic regio quoque est quam sapiens vir aut ad sapientiam tendens declinet tamquam alienam bonis moribus. [3] Itaque de secessu cogitans numquam Canopum eliget, quamvis neminem Canopus esse frugi vetet, ne Baias quidem: deversorium vitiorum esse coeperunt. Illic sibi plurimum luxuria permittit, illic, tamquam aliqua licentia debeatur loco, magis solvitur. [4] Non tantum corpori sed etiam moribus salubrem locum eligere debemus; quemadmodum inter tortores habitare nolim, sic ne inter popinas quidem. Videre ebrios per litora errantes et comessationes navigantium et symphoniarum cantibus strepentes lacus et alia quae velut soluta legibus luxuria non tantum peccat sed publicat, quid necesse est? [5] Id agere debemus ut irritamenta vitiorum quam longissime profugiamus; indurandus est animus et a blandimentis voluptatum procul abstrahendus. Una Hannibalem hiberna solverunt et indomitum illum nivibus atque Alpibus virum enervaverunt fomenta Campaniae: armis vicit, vitiis victus est. [6] Nobis quoque militandum est, et quidem genere militiae quo numquam quies, numquam otium datur: debellandae sunt in primis voluptates, quae, ut vides, saeva quoque ad se ingenia rapuerunt. Si quis sibi proposuerit quantum operis aggressus sit, sciet nihil delicate, nihil molliter esse faciendum. Quid mihi cum istis calentibus stagnis? quid cum sudatoriis, in quae siccus vapor corpora exhausurus includitur? omnis sudor per laborem exeat. [7] Si faceremus quod fecit Hannibal, ut interrupto cursu rerum omissoque bello fovendis corporibus operam daremus, nemo non intempestivam desidiam, victori quoque, nedum vincenti, periculosam, merito reprehenderet: minus nobis quam illis Punica signa sequentibus licet, plus periculi restat cedentibus, plus operis etiam perseverantibus. [8] Fortuna mecum bellum gerit: non sum imperata facturus; iugum non recipio, immo, quod maiore virtute faciendum est, excutio. Non est emolliendus animus: si voluptati cessero, cedendum est dolori, cedendum est labori, cedendum est paupertati; idem sibi in me iuris esse volet et ambitio et ira; inter tot affectus distrahar, immo discerpar. [9] Libertas proposita est; ad hoc praemium laboratur. Quae sit libertas quaeris? Nulli rei servire, nulli necessitati, nullis casibus, fortunam in aequum deducere. Quo die illam intellexero plus posse, nil poterit: ego illam feram, cum in manu mors sit?
[10] His cogitationibus intentum loca seria sanctaque eligere oportet; effeminat animos amoenitas nimia, nec dubie aliquid ad corrumpendum vigorem potest regio. Quamlibet viam iumenta patiuntur quorum durata in aspero ungula est: in molli palustrique pascuo saginata cito subteruntur. Et fortior miles ex confragoso venit: segnis est urbanus et verna. Nullum laborem recusant manus quae ad arma ab aratro transferuntur: in primo deficit pulvere ille unctus et nitidus. [11] Severior loci disciplina firmat ingenium aptumque magnis conatibus reddit. Literni honestius Scipio quam Bais exulabat: ruina eiusmodi non est tam molliter collocanda. Illi quoque ad quos primos fortuna populi Romani publicas opes transtulit, C. Marius et Cn. Pompeius et Caesar, exstruxerunt quidem villas in regione Baiana, sed illas imposuerunt summis iugis montium: videbatur hoc magis militare, ex edito speculari late longeque subiecta. Aspice quam positionem elegerint, quibus aedificia excitaverint locis et qualia: scies non villas esse sed castra. [12] Habitaturum tu putas umquam fuisse illic M. Catonem, ut praenavigantes adulteras dinumeraret et tot genera cumbarum variis coloribus picta et fluvitantem toto lacu rosam, ut audiret canentium nocturna convicia? nonne ille manere intra vallum maluisset, quod in unam noctem manu sua ipse duxisset? Quidni mallet, quisquis vir est, somnum suum classico quam symphonia rumpi?
[13] Sed satis diu cum Bais litigavimus, numquam satis cum vitiis, quae, oro te, Lucili, persequere sine modo, sine fine; nam illis quoque nec finis est nec modus. Proice quaecumque cor tuum laniant, quae si aliter extrahi nequirent, cor ipsum cum illis reveliendum erat. Voluptates praecipue exturba et invisissimas habe: latronum more, quos 'philêtas' Aegyptii vocant, in hoc nos amplectuntur, ut strangulent. Vale.