Letter 67
If I may begin with a commonplace remark,
spring is gradually diselosing itself; but though it is rounding into summer,
when you would expect hot weather, it has kept rather ceool, and one cannot
yet be sure of it. For it often slides back into winter weather.
Do you wish to know how uncertain it still is? I do not yet trust
myself to a bath which is absolutely cold; even at this time I break its
chill. You may say that this is no way to show the endnrance either
of heat or of cold; very true, dear Lucilius, but at my time of life one
is at length contented with the natural chill of the body. I can
scarcely thaw out in
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the middle of summer. Accordingly, I spend most of the time bundled
up; and I thank old age for keeping me fastened to my bed. Why should
I not thank old age on this account? That which I ought not to wish
to do, I lack the ability to do. Most of my converse is with books.
Whenever your letters arrive, I imagine that I am with you, and I have
the feeling that I am about to speak my answer, instead of writing it.
Therefore let us together investigate the nature of this problem of yours,
just as if we were conversing with one another. You ask me whether every
good is desirable. You say: "If it is a good to be brave under
torture, to go to the stake with a stout heart, to endure illness with
resignation, it follows that these things are desirable. But I do
not see that any of them is worth praying for. At any rate I have
as yet known of no man who has paid a vow by reason of having been cut
to pieces by the rod, or twisted out of shape by the gout, or made taller
by the rack." My dear Lucilius, you must distinguish between these cases;
you will then comprehend that there is something in them that is to be
desired. I should prefer to be free from torture; but if the time
comes when it must be endured, I shall desire that I may conduct myself
therein with bravery, honour, and courage. Of course I prefer that
war should not occur; but if war does occur, I shall desire that I may
nobly endure the wounds, the starvation, and all that the exigency of war
brings. Nor am I so mad as to crave illness; but if I must suffer
illness, I shall desire that I may do nothing which shows lack of restraint,
and nothing that is unmanly. The conclusion is, not that hardships
are desirable, but that virtue is desirable, which enables us patiently
to endure bardships.
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Certain of our school, think that,
of all such qualities, a stout endurance is not desirable, - though not
to be deprecated either - because we ought to seek by prayer only the good
which is unalloyed, peaceful, and beyond the reach of trouble. Personally,
I do not agree with them. And why? First, because it is impossible
for anything to be good without being also desirable. Because, again,
if virtue is desirable, and if nothitig that is good lacks virtue, then
everything good is desirable. And, lastly, because a brave endurance
even under torture is desirable. At this point I ask you: is not
bravery desirable? And yet bravery despises and challenges danger.
The most beautiful and most admirable part of bravery is that it does not
shrink from the stake, advances to meet wounds, and sometimes does not
even avoid the spear, but meets it with opposing breast. If bravery
is desirable, so is patient endurance of torture; for this is a part of
bravery. Only sift these things, as I have suggested; then there
will be nothing which can lead you astray. For it is not mere endurance
of torture, but brave endurance, that is desirable. I therefore desire
that "brave" endurance; and this is virtue.
" "But," you say, "who ever desired such a
thing for himself?" Some prayers are open and outspoken, when the requests
are offered specifically; other prayers are indirectly expressed, when
they include many requests under one title. For example, I desire
a life of honour. Now a life of honour includes various kinds of
conduct; it may include the chest in which Regulus was confined, or the
wound of Cato which was torn open by Cato's own hand, or the exile of Rutilius,
or the cup of poison which removed Socrates from gaol to heaven.
Accordingly, in praying for a life of
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honour, I have prayed also for those things without which, on some occasions,
life cannot be honourable
O thrice and four times blest were they
Who underneath the lofty walls of Troy
Met bappy death before their parents' eyes!
What does it matter whether you offer this prayer for some individual,
or admit that it was desirable in the past? Decius sacrificed himself
for the State; he set spurs to his horse andrushed into the midst of the
foe,, seeking death. The second Decius, rivalling his father's valour,
reproducing the words which had become sacred and already household words,
dashed into the thickest of the fight, anxious only that his sacrifice
might bring omen of success, and regarding a noble death as a thing to
be desired. Do you doubt, then, whether it is best to die glorious
and performing some deed of valour? When one endures torture bravely,
one is using all the virtues. Endurance may perhaps be the only virtue
that is on view and most manifest; but bravery is there too, and endurance
and resignation and long- suffering are its branches. There, too, is foresight;
for without foresight no plan can be undertaken; it is foresight that advises
one to bear as bravely as possible the things one cannot avoid. There
also is steadfastness, which cannot be dislodged from its position, which
the wrench of no force can cause to abandon its purpose. There is
the whole inseparable company of virtues; every honourable act is the work
of one single virtue, but it is in accordance with the judgment of the
whole council. And that which is approved by all the virtues, even
though it seems to be the work of one alone, is desirable.
What? Do you think that those
things only are
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desirable which come to us amid pleasure
and ease, and which we bedecl, our doors to welcome"? There are certain
goods whose features are forbidding. There are certain prayers which
are offered by a throng, not of men who rejoice, but of men who bow down
reverently and worship. Was it not in this fashion, think you, that
Regulus prayed that he might reach Carthage? Clothe yourself with
a hero's courage, and withdraw for a little space from the opinions of
the common man. Form a proper conception of the image of virtue,
a thing of exceeding beauty and grandeur; this image is not to be worshipped
by us with incense or garlands, but with sweat and blood. Behold
Marcus Cato, laying upon that hallowed breast his unspotted hands, and
tearing apart the wounds which had not gone deep enough to kill him!
Which, pray, shall you say to him: "I hope all will be as you wish,"
and "I am grieved," or shall it be "Good fortune in your undertaking!"?
In this connexion I think of our friend
Demetrius, who calls an easy existence, untroubled by the attacks of Fortune,
a "Dead Sea." If you have nothing to stir you up and rouse you to action,
nothing which will test your resolution by its threats and hostilities;
if you recline in unshaken comfort, it is not tranquillity; it is merely
a flat calm. The Stoic Attalus was wont to say: "I should prefer
that Fortune keep me in her camp rather than in the lap of luxury.
If I am tortured, but bear it bravely, all is well; if I die, but die bravely,
it is also well." Listen to Epicurus; he will tell you that it is actually
pleasant. I myself shall never apply an
effeminate word to an act so honourable and austere. If
I go
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c Cf. Ep. lxvi. 18.
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Latin / Greek Original
[1] Ut a communibus initium faciam, ver aperire se coepit, sed iam inclinatum in aestatem, quo tempore calere debebat, intepuit nec adhuc illi fides est; saepe enim in hiemem revolvitur. Vis scire quam dubium adhuc sit? nondum me committo frigidae verae, adhuc rigorem eius infringo. 'Hoc est' inquis 'nec calidum nec frigidum pati.' Ita est, mi Lucili: iam aetas mea contenta est suo frigore; vix media regelatur aestate. Itaque maior pars in vestimentis degitur. [2] Ago gratias senectuti quod me lectulo affixit: quidni gratias illi hoc nomine agam? Quidquid debebam nolle, non possum. Cum libellis mihi plurimus sermo est. Si quando intervenerunt epistulae tuae, tecum esse mihi videor et sic afficior animo tamquam tibi non rescribam sed respondeam. Itaque et de hoc quod quaeris, quasi colloquar tecum, quale sit una scrutabimur.
[3] Quaeris an omne bonum optabile sit. 'Si bonum est' inquis 'fortiter torqueri et magno animo uri et patienter aegrotare, sequitur ut ista optabilia sint; nihil autem video ex istis voto dignum. Neminem certe adhuc scio eo nomine votum solvisse quod flagellis caesus esset aut podagra distortus aut eculeo longior factus.' [4] Distingue, mi Lucili, ista, et intelleges esse in iis aliquid optandum. Tormenta abesse a me velim; sed si sustinenda fuerint, ut me in illis fortiter, honeste, animose geram optabo. Quidni ego malim non incidere bellum? sed si inciderit, ut vulnera, ut famem et omnia quae bellorum necessitas affert generose feram optabo. Ton sum tam demens ut aegrotare cupiam; sed si aegrotandum fuerit, ut nihil intemperanter, nihil effeminate faciam optabo. Ita non incommoda optabilia sunt, sed virtus qua perferuntur incommoda.
[5] Quidam ex nostris existimant omnium istorum fortem tolerantiam non esse optabilem, sed ne abominandam quidem, quia voto purum bonum peti debet et tranquillum et extra molestiam positum. Ego dissentio. Quare? primum quia fieri non potest ut aliqua res bona quidem sit sed optabilis non sit; deinde si virtus optabilis est, nullum autem sine virtute bonum, et omne bonum optabile est; deinde etiam si *** tormentorum fortis patientia optabilis est. [6] Etiam nunc interrogo: nempe fortitudo optabilis est? Atqui pericula contemnit et provocat; pulcherrima pars eius maximeque mirabilis illa est, non cedere ignibus, obviam ire vulneribus, interdum tela ne vitare quidem sed pectore excipere. Si fortitudo optabilis est, et tormenta patienter ferre optabile est; hoc enim fortitudinis pars est. Sed separa ista, ut dixi: nihil erit quod tibi faciat errorem. Non enim pati tormenta optabile est, sed pati fortiter: illud opto 'fortiter', quod est virtus. [7] 'Quis tamen umquam hoc sibi optavit?' Quaedam vota aperta et professa sunt, cum particulatim fiunt; quaedam latent, cum uno voto multa comprensa sunt. Tamquam opto mihi vitam honestam; vita autem honesta actionibus variis constat: in hac es Reguli arca, Catonis scissum manu sua vulnus, Rutili exsilium, calix venenatus qui Socraten transtulit e carcere in caelum. Ita cum optavi mihi vitam honestam, et haec optavi sine quibus interdum honesta non potest esse.
Quid interest, optes hoc alicui an optabile fuisse fatearis? [9] Decius se pro re publica devovit et in medios hostes concitato equo mortem petens irruit. Alter post hunc, paternae virtutis aemulus, conceptis sollemnibus ac iam familiaribus verbis in aciem confertissimam incucurrit, de hoc sollicitus tantum, ut litaret, optabilem rem putans bonam mortem. Dubitas ergo an optimum sit memorabilem mori et in aliquo opere virtutis? [10] Cum aliquis tormenta fortiter patitur, omnibus virtutibus utitur. Fortasse una in promptu sit et maxime appareat, patientia; ceterum illic est fortitudo, cuius patientia et perpessio et tolerantia rami sunt; illic est prudentia, sine qua nullum initur consilium, quae suadet quod effugere non possis quam fortissime ferre; illic est constantia, quae deici loco non potest et propositum nulla vi extorquente dimittit; illic est individuus ille comitatus virtutum. Quidquid honeste fit una virtus facit, sed ex consilii sententia; quod autem ab omnibus virtutibus comprobatur, etiam si ab una fieri videtur, optabile est.
[11] Quid? tu existimas ea tantum optabilia esse quae per voluptatem et otium veniunt, quae excipiuntur foribus ornatis? Sunt quaedam tristis vultus bona; sunt quaedam vota quae non gratulantium coetu, sed adorantium venerantiumque celebrantur. [12] Ita tu non putas Regulum optasse ut ad Poenos perveniret? Indue magni viri animum et ab opinionibus vulgi secede paulisper; cape, quantam debes, virtutis pulcherrimae ac magnificentissimae speciem, quae nobis non ture nec sertis, sed sudore ct sanguine colenda est. [13] Aspice M. Catonem sacro illi pectori purissimas manus admoventem et vulnera parum alte demissa laxantem. Utrum tandem illi dicturus es 'vellem quae velles' et 'moleste fero' an 'feliciter quod agis'? [14] Hoc loco mihi Demetrius noster occurrit, qui vitam securam et sine ullis fortunae incursionibus mare mortuum vocat. Nihil habere ad quod exciteris, ad quod te concites, cuius denuntiatione et incursu firmitatem animi tui temptes, sed in otio inconcusso iacere non est tranquillitas: malacia est. [15] Attalus Stoicus dicere solebat, 'malo me fortuna in castris suis quam in deliciis habeat. Torqueor, sed fortiter: bene est. Occidor, sed fortiter: bene est.' Audi Epicurum, dicet et 'dulce est'. Ego tam honestae rei ac severae numquam molle nomen imponam. [16] Uror, sed invictus: quidni hoc optabile sit? - non quod urit me ignis, sed quod non vincit. Nihil est virtute praestantius, nihil pulchrius; et bonum est et optabile quidquid ex huius geritur imperio. Vale.