CF M I IL W n u 0

51 m it mu u U w muu U ! “ I.

w h o l ive d before his o w n tim es b ut it is as if a m er id an i

s un shou ld de ent up n the pl end sc of t h e st ars of the

o s or

preced in g ni g ht F fl e g e t here ne e has been b u t

. or a r a s v r

one R om an t an d that is Ci e him sel f E ven of

ora o r, c ro .

his g eat com petitor an d ri v a l H ort ensius t h ere is n t a

s rap emi ning ; an d if t here w as th e nly use f it w ou ld
r , , o

c r a ,
o o

be to sho w th e i mm e sur abl e di s ta nce bet w een the t w o a

It was not so a t Athens T h e orations of E h ine . sc s

aga inst C t esi p hon a n d on t he fa l se e mb ass y ha v e b een

, ,

ve d as w e l l as those of D e m osthenes on the other

t ,
‘

s d e of those q uest ions T h e su perior i t y of D e m osthen es

is al wa y s u pon tri al f r eve y re ad er of G reek has the
i .

, o r
m eans of j ud g in g be tw een hi m an d his a dv ersary ; an d it
is no eas y task to an un prej u d iced m in d T h e tri u m p h is .

al way s a w ar d ed t o D e m ost hene no t f r ny su perior s, o a

bea u ty of co mposit i on b ut as P l u t arch te ll s us because he , , ,

al w ays ap pea l s to g enerous fee l in gs an d l fly p ur poses o

It i a l so very re m ark abl e that w
.

s hi l e t he G reeks had ,

sy ste m u pon sy s te m of m ora l p hi l os p h y of eth i cs of m e o , ,

t ph y i
a an d of natural his tory t he Ro m ans h ad b efore
s cs , , ,
C icero none at a ll
,
.

C icero is t herefore not on ly the or ator b ut the m ora l

h e of Ro m e an d of the L atin l an g u ag e
,

p h il oso i r H e b or
l
ro wed i n d eed his p hil oso p hy an d m uch of hi oratory from
.
,

s
the G reeks ; a n d his g reat su periori ty over ll others (
, ,

in a
my j u dgm e nt o v er D e m os t henes hi m se l f ) is the union of
,

ora tory an d m ora l p hi l oso p h y in a ll his w orks H e is t he .

m ost p hi l oso p h ical of orators H e is t he m ost e l oq uent of .

p hi l osop hers
N wp h i l oso p h y may p erha p be tra ns l at ed in pe fe
.

ti on—
o ,
s r c
e l oq uence cannot If the p hi l oso p hic l trea tises of . a
Ci cero w ere m ere p h i l oso p h y t hey cou ld be trans l ate d into ,

a m od ern l an g u ag e T heir e l o uence i unt n l te b l e

. s ra s a a .

T h e F rench trans l ators f t he u ul n D O l i et an d

’
o sc a s, v

B ou b ier t w e mi nent w riters lea ve ou t l on g p assa g es of

,
o ,

the origina l because not su it e d to t he i d io m of t heir o w n

,

lan g uag e Y ou have trans l a ted a ll so far as trans l a t ion

.
,

ca n be effected by w ord s T hat y ou ha v e occasion al ly .

fai l e d to sei e the e ac t sha d e of t hou g ht of t he ori gin al

z x
m ust d ou b t l ess b e conced ed f i t ha pp ens to a l l tr a ns l ators ;
,

, or

1 b ut I cou l d scarce l y na m e a trans l at i on fro m ny ancient a

c l assic m ore chast e or m ore correct .

I t w as s a i d by Q uint il ian u n d er the iron d es p otis m of ,

th e C sars w i t hin a century a fter C icero s d ea t h t ha t th e

’
a ,

stu d ious y ou t h w ho cou ld b ut say to hi m se l f honest ly

,

t hat he r el ished the w ri t in g s of C icero m i g ht be sure that

, ,

he h ad mad e no inconsi d erab l e p r g ress in t he cu l ti v ation o

of his mind T e v ery y ou t h i gnorant of the Lat in l an

. o
gu ag e y et stu d ious of cu lt i v a ti n g his m in d l y the sa m e
, , sa
of y ou t r a ns l at ion of t he T u ul n Let hi m re ad it If
r sc a s .
-

he fi n d s it ted ious an d dul l he m ay safe conc l u d e that he

.

w ou ld fi nd t he orig in a l so if he cou ld rea d t he l an g ua g e ,

in w hich it w as w ri tten C icero w as not born for hi m .

nor he for C icero If he takes a e l ish in the readi n g l et

. r
hi m read i t over a g ain an d w ha t ever he fi n d s of p l e sure ,

w i l l tend t o a fi na l resu l t of p ro fi t When he has m as t er

, a
.

ed all tha t C icero can say t show that de th p in sorro w o a a

are n t evi ls ; w h en h e has taken t h e p hi l oso ph ica l recei pt
, , ,
o

t o a l m the perturb ations of t h e sou l an d t o fi x in his hea d

c

an d he a rt the princ ipl e that virt ue a l one is ha pp iness bel w

,

o
then he w i l l be ust in ti m e to l ook b e an d there he w il l
,
'

a ov ,

fi nd a m ore e l ent w a y x .
U S CU LA N D I S P U TATI O N S

CI C E R O .
TU S CU LA N D IS P U TATIO N S

CI CE R O .

A NE WEDITION

M
,

R E V I S E D A N D CO R R E CT E D,

WH
'

BY . . AI N .

P
O vi tae hil osophi a dux ! o v irtuti s in da ga trix, expul trixq ue
m
m! quid m mi m mi
.

i
vi t o non odo nos, sed o n no v ita h o inu s ne te,

Cm
,

esse T. U sc . QU E S T . lib . v. 2 .

LO N D O N

P U B LIS H E D BY W P I C!
. ER I N G ,
57 , CH A N CER Y LAN E .

M DCCCXXIV .
T
. White P inte
, r r, Joh nson s Court, Lo ndon
’
.
 CO N T E N T S .

B O O! 1 .

O n th e Contem pt of Dea th

On b earing P ain

B OO! I II .

O n G rief of M in d 1 18

B OO ! lV .

O n o th er P erturb a tions o f th e M ind

BO O ! V .

Wh h l
et er V irtue a oneb e suffi cient for a h appy Life 9O
,
0
( (
 TH E

TU S CU LA N D I S P U TATI O N S

M A R CU S T U LL I U S
‘

CI CE R O .

M
B OO! I .

O N TH E CON T E P T O F DEAT H .

I As I am at length entirely o r to a great

.
, , ,

d egree freed from the fatigue of defending clients

, ,

and the d u ties of a senator I have recourse again

, ,

BRU T US principally by your advice to those studies

, ,

which never have been o ut of my mind althoug h ,

neg le cted at times and which after a long interval

,

I have resumed : and since the reas on and pre

ce ts of all arts which relate to li vi n g- ell depend
p
'

W ,

on the study of w isdom which is call e , d philosophy ,

I have thought of ill ustrating this in the L atin

' '

tongue ; no t because philosophy could not be ‘

und erstood in the Greek language or by G reek ,

masters ; but it w as always my opinion th a t we ,

.

have bee n m dre happy at inventing than the

B
2 T HE T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
G reeks or that we have improved o n whatever we
,

have received from them which they have thought ,

worthy their care and pains : for with regard ,

to manners and economy family and domestic ,

affairs w e certainly nowmanag ethem w ith more

,

elegance and better than they did ; a nd our a nces

,

tors have beyond all dispute formed the republic

, ,

on bet ter laws and customs What shall I say of .

o ur m ilitary a ffairs ; in which as our ancesto rs ,

excelled them much in valour so more in disci ,

pline ? As to those things which are attained not by

study but natur e neither Greece nor any nation
,
‘

, , ,

is comparable with them ; for with whom w as

ever that gravity that steadiness that greatness , ,

of soul probity faith — such distinguished virtue

, ,

of every k ind as to equal them with ours ? ,

G reece excell ed us in learning and a ll kinds of ,

literature and it was easy to do so wherethere

,
’

w as no competition ; fo r a mongst the Greeks the

poets were the most ancient sp ec ies of l earned
'

men O f these H omer and H esiod were b efore the

.

foun dation of Rome ; Archiloch u s in the reign of ,

Romul us We received poetry much later ; L ivy

.

M
gives us a fable near fiv e hundred and ten years
after the b uild ing of Rome in the consulate of ,

C C laudius the son of C aecus and

.
, Tuditanus , .
,

a year before the birth of E nnius w h o was older ,

than P lautus and v i ns .

I I It was therefore la te before p oets were

.
, ,
 OF C I CERO .

ither known or rec e

e ived amon gst us ; thou gh we
find iri C ato de Orig inibus that the guests us ed to
s ing at their entertainments the praises of famous ,

M
men to the sound of th e flute ; but a speech o f
,
'

C at o s shows the custom to have been in no

’ ‘

great es teem as he censures , arcus Nobil ior ,

for carrying poets with him into his province :

for that consul as we know carried E nnius with
, ,

him into fEtol ia Therefore the les s esteem

.

poets were in the less were those studies pur

,

sued : no t but if had there beenamongst us any

,

of great abilities that way they would not have ,

been at all inferior to the Greeks D o we ima .

gine that had it been commendable in Fabius a

'

, ,

man of the first quality to paint w e should have , ,

been w ithout many P ol ycl eti and P arrh asii

H onour nourishes art and glory is the spur with
‘

all to studies ; those studies are always neglected ,

which are a kind of disgrace to any The Greeks

m
.

held vocal and instrumental music as the greatest

erudition and therefore it is recorded of Ep a i
,

nondas who in my opinion w

, , a s the first man ,

amongst the Greeks that he play ed excellently ,

on the flute ; and Themistocles some years b e

fore w as deemed ignorant because he refused at

an en tertainment to play on the lyre For thi s .

reason musicians fl ourished in Greece ; music was .

a general study ; and whoever was unacquainted .

with it was not cons idered as f ul l y ins tructed in

,
‘
4 T H E T USCULAN D ISPU T A TI ON S
learning ; Geometry w as in high esteem with
them therefore none were more honourable th an
,

mathematicians ; but w e have confined this art to

bare counting and measuring .

I I I But o n the contrary we soon entert ained

.
,

the orator ; no ways eloquent at first but capab l e ,

enou h for an ha rangue he soon became elo

’

g
,

quent ; for it is reported tha t G alb a Afric anus . . ,

and L aelius were men o f learning ; that even

,

C ato w as studious who w as an age before them

,

then su cceeded the L epidi C arbo and Gracchi , , ,

and so many great orators after them even to our ,

times that we were very little if at all inferior

, , ,

to the Greeks P hilosophy has been at a l owebb

.

eve n to this present time and had no assistance ,

from our o w n language which I have u n dertaken

,

to r aise and illustrate ; so that as I have been of ,

service to my countrymen when employed in ,

publ ic a ffairs I may if possible be so to them in

’

, , ,

my retirement In this I must take the more

.

pains because many books are said to be written

m
,

inaccurately by excellent en b ut no t erudite

, ,
.

scholars : for indeed it may be that a man may

think well and yet not be able to express his
,

thoughts elegantl y ; b ut for any one to publish

th oughts w h ich he can neither methodiz e nor il lus ,

strate nor entertain his reader is an un pardonable

‘

abuse ofletters and retirement th ey th erefore read , ,

their books to o ne another which were never taken ,

 3 or crcs a o g r
Z ; 5
'

up by any but those w

‘

h o claim ed the sam e privi

W
lege of writing . h erefo re if oratory has acquire d ,

any reputation from my application to it I shall , ,

with more pains open the fountains o f philosophy

, ,

from which flowed -all the advantages of the

’

other But
.
,

I V As AR IS TOTLEL a man of excellent parts

.
,

abundant i n all kno w l edg ef b eing moved at the

glory of the rhetorician Isocrates commenced ,

teacher of youth and j oined philosophy with elo

,

u en ce : so it is my design not to lay aside my

q
"

former study of oratory and yet employ myself ,

in this greater and more fruitful art ; for I alwa ys

thought that to be able to speak copiously and
m m
,

elegantly on the ost i p ortant questions w as

the most consummate philosophy to w

,
,

hich sub ,

ct I have so diligently applied myself that I

j e ,

have already ventured to have D isputations like th e

Greeks And lately when you left u
. sf
h aving many ,

of my friendsa b out me I attempted at my Tus

m
,

onl u what I could do in th at w ay for as I ,

formerly practised declaiming which nobody con ,

tinned longer than myself so this is nowto be ,

the declamation of my old age I ordered a person .

to propose something he would have discussed : I i

disputed on that eith er sitting or walki ng and

, ,

have compiled the scholae as the Greeks call them ,

of five days in as many books It w as in this

’

, . .

manner : when he who was the b earer had said

6 T HE T US CU LAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
what he thought pr oper I disputed against hi , m
for this is you know the old and S ocratic method
, ,

o f d isputing against another s opinion ; for S ocrates

’

thought the trut h might thus the easier be disco

vered But to give you a better notion of o ur dis
.

u t a tions I will not barely send you an account

p ,

of them but represent them to you as they were

,

carried on therefore let the introduction be thus .

V A To me death seems to be an evil M

. . .

Wh at to those w, h oZare already dead ? or to those

who must die A To both M It is a misery
? . .

then because an evil ? A C ertainly M Then

,
. .

those who must soon di e and those who must die ,

some time or other are both miserable A S o it

?
, .

appears to me M Then all are miserable ? A. .

E very one M And indeed if you are consistent

.
, ,

with yourself all that are already born or shall

, ,

m
be are not only miserable but always will be so ;
, ,

for should yo u maintain those only to be iserable ,

who must die you would not except any o ne ,

living for all must die ; b ut there should be an

,

end of misery in death But seeing that the dead .

are miserable we are born to eternal misery for

, ,

they must of consequence be miserable who died

a hundred thousand years ago ; or rather all that ,

have been born A S o indeed I think M Tell . . .

me I beseech you are you afraid of the three

, ,

headed C erberus below the roaring waves of ,

C ocytus the pass age over Acher on Tantalus e x

, .
,
 01013 11 0 7
r
or
‘
.
.

piring with thirst while the ater touch e , s hi schin ; w ”

o r Sisyphu s ,

Wh we t with d u u toil to g in
o s a s ar o s a

Th e teepy summ it f th e m ount in v ain ?

M M
s o

P erhaps to o you dread the inexorable j udges

, , ,

ines and Rhadamanthus before whom nor ,

'

C rassus nor A ntoniu s can defend you ; nor

'

, .
,

since the cause lies before Grecia n j udges D e

m
,

osth enes: But you must plead for yourself be fo re

a very great assembly : you drea d perhaps thes e ,

and therefore look on death as an etern al evil .

M
VI A Do you take me to be mad enough t o '

W
. .

give credit to such things ? M h at ? do you

M
.

not believe them ? A N ot in the le ast . I .

'

am sorry to hear tha t A Why I beg ? . Be .

, .
a

caus e I co uld have been very eloquent in speaking

agai nst them A And who co u ld not onsuch a

M
. .

subject ? or what occasion is there to r efute these

,

monsters o f the poets and painters And yet .

M
you have books o f philosophers full of argume nts
against these A I dle enough truly ! for who is
. .
, ,

so weak as to be c oncerned about them g

l f
n

M
t hen there are none miserable in the infer al re

E di
i

g ions there
, t be n o one there A I am alto . .

gether of that Opini on Where then are those

.
‘

o u call miserable

m
y ? o r what place do they ia

habit ? if they are at all they must be so ewhere ,

?

A I inde ed am of opinion th ey are no where

.
, , , .
8 T H E T US CU LAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
M T h erefore th ere are n one such
'
.
"A E ven sb
.
'

and yet they are mis erable for this very reason ,
that they are not at all M I h a d rather new .

that yo u h a d been afraid o f C erberus , than to

'

speak th us inaccura tel y A Why so ? M Be;

'

. .

cause you admit him to be who is not ; where is ,

your s ag a city ? When you say any one is miserable ,

you say such a o ne is when he is not A I am , . .

not so absurd as to say th at M What is it you .

'

say then ? A I say for i nstance that C ra ssus is

.
, ,

miserable in being deprived of such great rich es

by death ; that On P omp ey w a s so in being
.
,

taken from such glory and honour ; upon the

w h ole th at all are miserable who are deprived
,

of this light M You have r eturned to the same

.

po int for to be m iserable impl ies an exist

,

ence ; but you j ust no wd enied that the dead

had any exis tence ; if they are not they can Th e ,

noth ing ; and if so not miserable A P erhaps I

, . .

do not express what I mean , for I look upon this

very thing not to exist after having b een to be
, , ,

very miserable M What more so tha n not to

.
,

w
have been a t all ? therefore those who are not yet
'

born are miserable because they are not ; and e

,

ourselves if w , e are to be miserable after d e

ath ,

w
were miserable before we were born but I do not
remember I was miserable before I a s bo rn ;
and I should be glad to know if your memory is ,
 10 T HE T USCULAN DI SPU T A TI ON S
or false or you say nothing A W ell then I
, . .
‘ ‘

no w ow n th at the dead are not miserable since

you h ave dra w

,

n from me a concess ion that they ,

who a re not at all cannot be miserable What

‘

,
.

then ? we th at are alive are w e not wretched , ,

seeing w e must die for what is there agreeable

in l ife when we must night and day reflect that
,

we may instantly die ?

V I I I M D o you not then perceive h o wgreat

M m
.

evil you have delivered human nature fro ?

A By what me ans
.
?
Because if to die 18 “ ,

miserable to th e de ad to live w ould be a kind of ,

infinite and eternal misery no w I see a goal which ,

when ) have reached Lthere is nothing more‘

,

to be feared but you s eem to me to follow th e

m
,

m M
o inio n cf E ich ar us a man of some discer n
p p
“
,
JL
J
e ri t and sharp enough for a S i cilian A What
,
. .

opinion ? for I do not r ec ollect it I will tell .

o u if I can in L a tin for yo u know I am no

y ,

more used to bring in L atin sentences in a Greek

discour se than Greek in a L atin one A And
, . .

th at is right enough ; but what is that op inion of

Ep ich ar us m
M I wuld no t die, b ut yet
m
. o

d h I h all be dead
A not co ncerne t at s .

A I nowrecol lect the Greek but since you have

m
.
,

M
obliged e to grant that the de ad are not miser
able proceed to convince me that it is not mi ser
,

able to be under a necessity of dying T h at .

 or CI CERO . I1

easy e nough but I have greater t hin g s in han d

M
'

is , .

A H o wcome sthat t o be so easy ? and what are

.

those things of more consequence ? Thus

because if there is no evil after death death
, ,

itse l f can be none ; for what Succeeds that imme

diat el y is a s tate where you grant there is no
,

evil ; so that to be _ obliged to d ie can be no _

_

evil ; for that is to a rriv e th er e where we allow no _

e vil is A I b eg you will be more explicit

. .

this for these subtle arguments forc e me sooner

,

to a c oncession than convictio n; but W hat are

M
'

those more important things you undertake ?

. To teach you if I can that death is not , ,

only no evil but a good A I do no t insist

, . .

on that but should be glad to hear for should

, ,

you not prove your point yet you may prove , ,

that death is no e

M
vil : but I will not interrupt
you I should like to hear a continued discourse
, .

What if I should ask you a question would

, ,

you not answer ? A That woul d have pride m it ; .

M
but I would rather you should not ask but where
n ecessity req uires .

IX I will comply with you and explain

.
,

as well as I can what you require ; but not like

,

the P ythian Apollo that what I say mu st be in ,

fal lible but as a mere man e ndeavouring at p ro ,

b ab ilities by conj ecture fo r _

, I_ h er e no ground to , w

oceed furth er on than probability L et them

m
r
p ,

de al m de onstrations w
.

h o say they can perceive , ,

 N TH E T USCU LAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
things as they are and who proclaim themselves

M
,

philosophers by profession A D o as yo u please , . .

,

we are read y to hear you The fir st thing is .

to inquire what death which seems to be so

, ,

well known is for some im agine death to be the

,

separation of the so ul from the b ody ; some that

there is no such separatio n but that soul and body ,

perish together a nd that the soul is extinguished ,

with the body O f those who admit of the

'

a .

soul s separa tion some are for its immediate de

’

parture some that it con tinues a time others for

,
‘

ever : there is great dispute even what the soul -

.

is where it is and whence it is derived : with

, ,

some the heart itself seems to be the soul hence

,
.

the expressions, out of heart bad hearted and of ,

-
,

one heart ; and that prudent N asica twice consul , ,

w as called Co rcul us i e wise heart ; and fElius , . .

S extus a man of noble heart E mpedocle s ima

,
.

gines the heart s blood to be the soul ; with ’

others a c erta in part of the brain seems to be the

,
‘

throne of the soul others neither allow the heart

nor a certain part of the bram to be the soul
but some would have the heart to be the seat and
mansion of the soul ; others the brain S ome , .

would have the soul or spirit to be air as w e , , ,

'

generally do ; the name signifying as much for ,

we say to breathe to exp ire to be animated , &c , , .

and the L atin word for the spirit implies breath .

The soul seems to

. the be fire - .
 y rra
f
o r c rcs no x ‘
u . {1 3

B ut what I have said of the heart s b lood air ’

, ,

and fire a re general opi nions the rest almost

m
,

s g ul a r of which th ere were formerly many

,

a mongst the ancients .

X The latest is Aristoxenus b oth musician

.
,
.

and philosophe r; he maintai ns a ce rtain i n tension

‘

o f th e b o d
y
'

li ke W hat,is called harmon y in usw

'
m ,

to be th e soul Thus from the figure and nature

.
,

o f the b o dy various motions a reexcited as s ounds

, ,

w
from an instrument H e stuck close to his p rofes .

sion and yet he said some thing wh atev er it as

' ’

, .
, .
,

which h ad been said and explained a great while

'

before by P lato X enocrates denied that the so u

'

.
‘

l
had any figure or any thing like matter ; b ut
'

said it was a number the power of which ; as Py ,

.

t h a g o ras thought some ages before was the great

est in natur e : his master P l ato had i agin ed a
three fold soul ; the chief i e reason he h a d l odg
-
,

. .
,
,

m '
‘

~
, ,

ed in the head as in a tower ; and being willing

,
‘

to separate t h e other t w o he placed anger inth e .

,

breast and desire under th e pr aecordia B ut f D i

, .

arch us, in a discourse of s ome learned dispu tant s

'

cae ,

held at C orinth which he gives us in thr ee books ;

,

in the first of w hich he makes many speakers ; in

th eo ther tw o he intro duces a certain P h erecra tes ,

an old man of Ph th ios who as h e said w

'

a s de
'
‘

, ,
.

,
'

sce nded from D eucalion ; asserting that there is ,

in fact no soul ; and that it is a name without a

'

m
'

mea ning ; and th at it is idl e to say ani al s or ' ~

, , ,
14 T HE T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
‘

animated ; that neither men nor beas ts have

minds or souls ; and al l that power by which w e ,

ac t or perceive is equally infuse d into every livin g

,

creature and is inseparable from the body fo r it

, ,

then woul d be nothing ; nor is there any thing

besides one s impl e body so fashi oned as to live
m
, ,

a nd h ave its se nsa tion fr o,

the tempera ture of ,

nature A ris to tle superior to al l bo th in parts

.
, ,

and industry ( I always ex cept P lato) having em ,

braced these four known sorts of principles, from

which all th ings deduce their original imagines ,

th ere is a certa in fifth nature from whence comes ,

the soul ; for to think to foresee to learn to teach

'

, , , ,

to invent any thing and many others as to re , ,

member to love to hate desire to fear to be

, , , , ,

pleased or displeased ; these and such like are , , ,

he thinks in none of those four kinds he adds a

,

fifth kind which has no name and thus by a

, , .

new name he calls the so ul 3 7 7 x as it were 3 ’

r e te fi a ,

ce rta in co ntinued and perpetual motion .

X I If I have not forgotten these are all the

.
,

op inions concerning the soul I have omitted .

D emocritus a very great man indeed but w

, ho ,

d educes the soul from th e fortuitous concour se of

light and round corp uscles as with them the , ,

crowd of atoms can e ffect every thing Which o f .

th ese opinio ns is true some god mu st d etermine ,

the great question with us is w h ich has the most

appe arance of truth : shal l w
,

e determine between
 OF C I CERO . 15

t hem or eturn to our subj ect ? A I could wish

; r
“

bo th if possible ; but it is difli cult to mix them ;

,

therefore if without a discussion of them we can

,

et rid of the fear s o f death let us proceed to do

g ,

so ; but if this is n

M
o t to be done without explaining

the question about souls let us have that n ow , ,

the other ano ther time , I ta ke tha t to be .

best which I perceive you are inclined to ; for

,
-

reason will evince tha t let either of the Opinions I

,

have stated be tru e death cannot bean evil : for ,

”

if either the heart the blood or brain be th e , , ,

soul ,cert ainl y as corporeal it will perish with

, ,

the rest o f the body if it should be air it will be ,

dispersed ; if fire extinguished ; if Aristoxenus s

,
’

harmony disconcerted Wha t shall I say of

m
.
,

Dic arch us who denies there is any soul ? In

,

all these opinions there is nothing to affect any

, .

one after death ; for all feeling is lost with life ,

and where there is no sensati on nothing ,

interfere t o affect us The opinions of others are .

charged w ith hope ; if it is any pleasure to yo u

to think that soul s after they leave the bo dy
, , ,

may go to heaven as the ir abode A I ha ve . .

M
great pleasure in that thought and it is what I ,

most desire ; but should it not be so I still am ,

very w ill ing to believe it W h at occasion .

ha ve you then for my assistance ? am I superior to

Pl ato 1n eloquence ? t urn over carefully his boo k
tha t tre ats of the soul you will h ave there all ,
l6 TH E T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
I
i

yo u ca n want A have indeed. done that and .

,

often ; but I kno wnot h o wI allow of it whilst I , .

M
am reading ; but when I lay down the book and ,

begin to reflect with myself on the immortali ty of

th e so ul that conviction vanishes
, H ow comes .

MW M
that ? do you admit that souls ex ist after death ,

w
or that they p erish i n death A I agree to that
? . .

hat if they should ex ist ? A I allo them .

happy . If they perish A I cannot think

? .

"

M
they are unhappy because th ey h ave no t exist ,
-
‘

ence Y ou dr ove me to that concession but j ust

.

now . H o wthen can you m aintain eny eus .

p icio ns o f death being a misery

. wh ich either ,

makes us happy the soul contin uing ; or not nu ,

happy as void o f all sensation ?

,
'

XI I A E xplain therefore if it is not trouble

. .
,

some first if , ydri ca n, that so uls exist ; then

, ,
~
,
“

should you fail in that for it is very difficult that , ,

death is free of al Levil for I am no t without my

M
fears that this itself is an evil ; I do not say the
, ,
.

imme di ate deprivation o f sense but that we sha ll , ,

v

be deprived I have th e best authority in sup

.

port o f the opinion you desire to have established ,

which ought and ge nerally has great weight in

, ,

all case s And first I have all antiquity on that ,

side ; which the nearer it is to its origin and

divine descent possibly by that di scerns truth the
,

clearer this very thing then was adopted by all , ,

those ancients whom En nius c alls in the S abine

,
I8 T HE T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
heaven ( not to dwell on particulars ) fill ed as it ,

were with the offspring of men ?

,

XIII S hould I attempt to search into anti-

.
r

q u it y and
, produce from thence what the Greek
,
.

writers have asserted ; it would appear t h at even

m
those who are called their principal gods went ,

from hence into heaven : examine the sepulchres

of the which are shown ia _Greece recollect as
m
,

o u are initiated what is delivered in the t e

y , ys

ries ; then will you perceive h owextens ive thi s -

doctrine is But they who were not acquainted

.

with physics ( for th ey began t obe in vogue man y

,

ages after) had no higher conviction 1 than what ,

natural re ason could give them ; th ey w ere no t

’

in possession of th e r eason and cause of things ;

they were oft en ind u ced by certain visio ns and
‘

those generally in the night to think that th ey ,

were still alive who h ad departed from this life

, .

A nd this may further be bro u ght as an irrefragable

argument that there are gods in that there never
, ,

was any nation so barbarous not a sing l e instance

,

of that savageness as to be without some notion

,

of gods : many have wrong notions of the gods ,

which may proceed from bad customs yet all ,

allow there is a certain divine nature and e nergy ;

nor doth this proceed from conversi ng together or ,

consent of parties ; it is not an opinion est abl ished

by l aw : and in every case the cons ent of all nations
 or 01 01511 0 . 19

is to be ino ked on as a l awof nature h o is . W

there then that does no t la ment the loss of his
friends principally from imagining them deprived
,

?
of the conveniences of life Take away this opi
mm
~

nion and yo uremove with it all grief for o

grieves on his o w
,

n account P erhap s we may be .

slig htly affected and uneasy ; but that bitter ,

lamentation and those bewailing tears have the ir

, ,

cause from our apprehensions th at he whom we , ,

‘

loved is deprived of the advantages of life arid is

, .
,

w
sensible of it A nd w e are led to thi s opinion by
.

nature ithout learning or the deductions of

, ,

reason
m
.

XIV But the greatest a rg u ent is that na

.
'
,

ture herself gives a silent judgment in favour of

the immort ali ty of the soul in that all are anxious , ,

and greatly so in what relates to fut urity ,

One pl nt w h t futu e age h ll enj y

a s, a r s s a o ,

as S tatius saith in his S yneph eb i What has he

‘

an eye to in this but that he is interested in pos ,

terity ? S hall the i nd ustrious husban dman then

plant trees the fruit of which he shall never see ?
m
,

and shall not the great an found laws institutes , ,

m
a republi c What doth the procreatio n of children
i ply ? the continuing a name —a d0ptioris—the
exactness in w ri ting wills ? w h at the inscriptions
on monuments or elogies ? but that our thoughts ,

run on futurity ? There i s no doubt but a j udg

20 T H E T USCULAN nrsrur xr ro s s

ment may be formed of nature in general from ,

those of the best natural dispositions ; and what

is a better natural dispo sition in man than those ,

discover who look on themselves born for the pro

,

tection preservation and assistance of others ?

, ,

H ercules went to heaven ; he never had gone

thither had he not whilst amongst men s ecured
, , ,

t hat road to himsel f — These are of old date and ,

have besides the sanction of religi on

, , .

XV What do you imagi ne so many and

.
,

such great men of our republic who have sacri ,

fi ced their lives for its good tho ught that their ,

names should not continue beyond their lives ?

N one ever encountered death for their cou ntry ,

but under a firm persuasion of imm ortality ! The

m istOcl es might have lived at his ease : so might
E paminondas ; and not to look abroad for in ,

w
stances and amongst th e ancients I myself might , .

B ut I kno not h owthere adheres to o urm in

-

, ds ,
' ' '

a certa in p resag e of future ag es ; a nd th is both

exists most and appears clearest, in men of th e
'

best parts a n d greatest souls

, Take away this .
,

and who is so mad as to spend his life amidst toils

and d angers ? I speak of those in power ; What
w ere th e p oet s views but to b eennobled after
'
’

death ? Whence then have we ,

B eh ld l d E nni u he e w
oh et o s r , o rs

Thy fathe g eat expl its rehears d rs

’
r o
'
.
 or e l es s o . 21

H e chall enged t h e reward of glory from those

whose ancestors he had ennobled And thus the ;

same poet ,

Let n ne with te my fune l g e f I

o ars ra rac , or

Cl i m f m my w k n imm t l it y
a ro or sa or a .

Why do I mention poets ? the very mechanics are

desirous of fame after death : why did P hidias ia
elude a model of himself in the shield of Minerva , ,

when he was not allowed to inscribe his name on

it ? What did our p h ilos op hers mean when they ,

put their name s to those very books th e y wrote on

the contempt of g l ory? If then univ e rs al con
p
, ,

sent is the voice of nature and it is the general ,

opinion every where that those w h o have quitted

,

this life are still interested in somethin g ; we must

,

subscribe to that Opini on And if we think men .

of the gre atest abilities and virtue see cle arest into
nature as her most perfect work ; i t is very pro
,

bable as every great man endeavours most for the

,

public good that there is something he will be

,

sensible of after death .

XVI But as we nat u . rally think there are

gods and what they are we discover by reason ;
, ,

so by the cons ent of nations we are induced to

,
.
,

believe that our soul ss urvive ; but where their

, -

habita tion is and what they are must be le arned

, ,

from reason ; the w a nt o f w

‘

hich f knowledge has

given rise to the infernal s and birth to thoset
,

fe ars ; which you seem not without reason to des , ,

99 TH E T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
pise : for our h Odies falling to t h e ground and ,

being cove red with earth from whence they are ,

said to be interred have occasioned them to ,

imagine that the de ad continue the remainder of ,

their e xistence under g ronnd ; which opinion of

,

theirs has drawn after it many errors which the

w
poets have increased for the theatre c rowded

m
,

with omen a hd children has been greatly affected ,

on hearing these po pous verses ,

Lo 1 here I amw
h o scarce could gain th is pl ace
, ,

Thro stony m ountains and a d reary w

’
a ste ; ,

Thro clifts whose sh arp en d stones tremendous hung

’ ’

Where dread ful d arkness spread itself around

, ,

and the error prevailed so much which indeed at ,

present seems to me to be removed tha t although ,

they knew the bodies were burned yet they ,

conceived such th ings to be done in th e infernal

regions as could not be executed or imagined
,

without a body ; for they could not apprehend

h o wunbodied soul s could e xist ; and therefore
,

they looked out for some shape or figure From .

hence all that account of the dead in H omer ;

hence my friend Appius framed his N ecromancy
hence the lake of Avernus in y neig h b ourh o od , m '

From wh en e the ul f un d tingui h ed h pe;

c so s o 1s s s a

N m t l bl d u h f m th e p en g te
o or a oo , r s ro o a

Of A he n nd t thi w ld e p e
c ro , a o s or sca .

And they must needs have these appearances

speak w hich is not possible without a tongue 3
, , ,
 o r c 1cs a o . 3

palate, jaws without the help o f lungs and sides

, ,

o r without some shape or figure ; for they co uld

see no thi ng by their mind alon e they referred all ,

to their eyes To withdraw the mind from sensual

.

ob ects and abstr act o ur thoughts from what w

j , e are

accustomed to is the property of a great geni us

,

I am persuaded there were many such in former

ages : but Ph erecydes the Sy rian is the first on , ,

record who said that the souls of men were

,

immortal he was of great antiqui ty in the reign

m
,

m
of my na esake Tull us H is .

greatly c onfirmed this Opinion who ca einto I taly , ,

in the reign of Tarquin the P roud ; and all that

count ry which is called Great Gr eece a s held by w
m
,

hi in honour and discipline and under great ,

submi ssion to his authority and the P ythagorean

sec t W as man y ages after in so great credit that ,

all learning w as confined to that name .

X VII But I return to the ancients : They

.

scarce ev er gave any reason for their Opinion but ,

what could be explained by p ing-hers and charac

ter s It is r ep orted of P lato that he came into
m
.
, ,

Italy to acquaint hi self with the P ythagoreans

“

and that when there amongst others he made an

m
, ,

acquaintance with Archytas and Ti aaus and ,

learned from them all the tenets of the Pyt h a g o

reans : that he not only w as of the same opin ion

w ith Pythagoras concerning the immortality of

,

the soul but he b roug h t reasons in support o f i t

,
24 we T U S C U L A N D I SPU T A TI ON S

which if you have nothing to say against it I

'

m
m
, ,

will pass over and drop all this h 0pe of i ort a

,

l ity A What will you leave me when you

. .
, ,

have raised my expectations so high ? I had rather ,

so help me H ercul e
.
s be mistaken with P lato , ,

whom I know h owmuch you esteem and whom I ,

'

admire from what you say of him than be in the

, ,

right with them M I commend you for .

:

indeed I could myself willingly be mist aken wit h

,

him D o we then doubt of this as of other things

.

though I think here is very little room for doubt ;

for the mathematicians assure us that the earth is ,

placed in the midst of t he world as it were a ,

point which they call a mp s urround ed by the

, x oy ,

whole heavens : and that such is the nature of i

th e four principles of all things that th ey h ave ,

equally divided amongst them the constituents of ,

all bodies That earthly and humid bodies are

.

carried at equal angles by their o w n propensity ,

and weight into the earth and sea ; the other t w

, o

parts are of fire and air As the t w o former are .

carried by the i r gravity and weight into the middle ,

region of the world ; so these on the other hand

,
, ,

ascend by right lines into the celestial regions ; , .

either naturally endeavouring at the highest place ,

.

or that l ighter bodies are naturally repell ed by

.

heavier which being the case it must evidently

, ,

be that soul s admitting them to be animals i e

, , , . .

to breathe or of the natu re of fire must mount

, ,
26 T HE T U S CU L A N D I SPU T A TI ONS
their being warm and having breath 8, life , .
,

But this soul shoul d it consist of either of the

,

four principles from whi ch we deduce all things

,
,

is of inflamed air as seem s particularly to ha ve

,

been t he opinion of Panaetius and must neces ,

“

saril mount upwards for air and fire have no

y ;
tendency downwards and always ascend : so
should they be dissipated that ust be at some
,

m m
,
'

distance from the earth ; but should they re ain ,

and preserve th eir state it is clearer still that they ,

mus t be carried heavenward ; and this gross and

concrete air which is nearest th e ear th must be
, ,

divided and broke by them ; for the s oul is ‘

warmer or rather hotter than tha t air w

, hich I ,

ust no wcall ed gross and concrete ; which is

j .

eviden t from this that our bodies compound ed of

w m
, ,

the terrene kind of principles g ro g a r by {the , fi

heat of the soul

“
.

XIX I add that the soul may the e asier

.
,

escape fr om this air which I have often named , ,

m
and break through it ; because nothi ng is swifter
than the soul ; no s iftness is co parable to that w
of th e so ul ; which should it remai n uncorrupt , ,

and without alteration must necessarily be car ,

ried with that velocity as to penetrate and divide ,

all this region where clouds and rain and winds

, , ,

are formed which by means of exhalations from

the earth is moist arid dark which regi on when
, ,

the soul has once got above and fal ls in with , ,

 ros c rcs no : 27

and perceives a natu re like its ow

'

n being com
'

, , .

pou nded of thin arr and a m oderate sol ar heat it

; , ,

rests with th ese fi res and endeavours no higher

'

, .

flight For when it has attained a lightness and

.

heat like its o w n it moves no more bal a nced as

, ,

it were between two equal weights That then

,
.

is i ts natural seat whe re it h as penetrated to

:

something like itself ; where wanting nothing ,

else it may be s upported and maintained by the

m
,

ali ents w hich nourish and mainta in the stars

'

.
,

As we are u sed to be incited to all sort s of desires ,

by the stimu lus o f the body and the more so as , ,

w
we envy those who are in possession of W hat we ‘

long for e sliall certa inly be happy when with

, ,

this body w e get -rid of the se desires and provoca

tiy es ; w hich is our case at pr esent -when dis
.
, ,

missing all o ther cares w e curiously examine and ,

l ook into any thing ; which we shall then do with

g reater ease and employ o urselves entirely in
view ing za nd considering thin g s because th ere is
in our minds a cert ain insatiable desire
of seei ng truth ; and the very reg ion itself where
we shal l arrive as it gives us a more tuitive m
,

‘
- .
,

view of celestial things wi l l raise our desires after ,

knowledge For this beauty o f the h eavens

. .

even here o n earth gave birth to that philosophy , ,

m
which Theophrastus call s an inheritance both .

from fa ther and other greatly raised by a .

desire o f knowledge But they will in a par .

28 THE T USCULAN mum sr rro ns

ticul a rmanner enjoy this h o whilst inhabitants , w ,

of this world envelope d in darkness , were de ,

'

sirons of looking into these things with the eye of

the ir m ind .

XX For if they nowthink they have at

.
,

ta ined something who have seen the mouth of the ,

P ontus and th ose streights which were passed by

'

the ship called A rgo because , ,

Fr m A g h e did h en m nv ey
'

o en r os, s c os co ,

B und t fetch b k th e g olden fi ee e th ei p ey

'

o , o ac c r r .

Or they who sawthe streights of the ocean

, ,

Whe e th e wift wve divide th e neigh bou ing sh e

‘

r s a s r or s,

Of E u p e nd of A t ic ro , a t .

What kind of sight then do you imagine that to , ,

be when the whole earth is viewed not only in

,

its position form and boundaries ; those parts of

, ,

it that are habitable but those also that l ie cul

'

tiva ted through the extremities of heat and cold :

,
.

for what w e no wsee we do not view with our

eyes ; for body itself has no sensation : but as

the naturalists nay even the physicians assure
m
, ,

us who have opened our bodies and exa ined

'

r
, ,

them there are certain perforated canals from

, ,

the seat of the soul to the eyes e ars and nose ;

’

, ,

so that frequently when eith er prevented by me ,

'

ditation , or the force of some bodily disorder w e ,

neither hear nor see though our eyes and ears '

m
,

are open and in good conditi on so that w

, e a
y
'

easily apprehend that it is the soul that sees and

 os 01013 3 0 .
99

not those p arts w

'

hears h ich are but windows to ,

‘

th e fsoul ; by means of which the can per

soul .

ceive n othing unless sh e is on the spot and

, ,

exerts herself H owshall w . e account that by ,

the same power of thinking we comprehend the ,

most difficult things ; as colour taste heat smell , , , ,

m
an d sound which the sou l could never know by
her five essengers unless every thing w
ferred to it and she a s sole j udge of all And
a s re ,

w
, .

we shall certainly discover these

m w
“

and more perfect when the soul d isengaged , ,

fro the bod y shall arrive th ere her e n at ure

'

, ,

leads ; for at present not w ithstanding nature

‘ ,

h a scont rived with the greate st skill those canals

, ,

w hich lead from the body to the soul ; yet are

they m some way or other stopped u
'

with
'

, p ,

concrete a nd terrene bodies : b ut w he

'

n we shall ,

be nothing but soul nothing will interfere to , ,

p revent our seeing every thing as it is .

XXI It is true I might expatiate did the

.
, ,

subject require it on the many and various oh ,

cts the soul will be entertained with in those

j e

heavenly regions when I reflect on which I am ,

p
a t to wonder at the boldness of s ome
p hil oso

p h ers who are so struck with the knowledge o f

,

nature as to thank in an ex u
, lting manner the ,
‘

first inventor of natural philosophy and reverence

m
,

him as a god for they declare themselves freed

'

‘ ”

b y h is eans from th e g rea test tyrants a per

'

' '
'

, ,
 30 T HE T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS

p et ualterro r and a fear that molested th e ; by

,
'
m
night and day Wha t is thi s drea d this fear ?
.
?

what old woman is there so weak as to fear the se

things which you fo rsooth h ad you not been se

, , ,

uainted with physics would stand in aw e of ?

q ,

Th e h ll wd roo f f A ch e n the d e d
a o
’
s o ro , r a

pal e sej our of th e deadf

'

Of Orcus, and th e

And doth it become a philosopher to boast th at

he is not afraid of t hese and has discovered them ,

to be fal e s ? H en ce we may know h o wacute

they were by nature who wi thout learning had , , ,

attained to these things They have gain ed I .

,

know not wha t who have le a rned that when

.
, ,

they die they shall perish entirely ; which being

m
,

ad itted for I sa y nothing to it what is t h ere

, ,

agreeable o r gl orious in it ? N ot that I see any

reason w h y P ythagoras and P l ato s opinion might
’ ’

not be true : but should P lato have assigned no

reason (, observe h ow uch I esteem th e man )
the weight of his authority would have borne
m ,

me down ; but he has brought so many reasons .

,

that to me h e appears to have endeavoured to

,

convince others ; himself he certainly did .

XXII : But th ere are many w

. h o labour the
other side of the question and condemn souls ,

to death : as capitally convicted ; : nor have they any

,

better argument against the eternity of the soul

,
f
,

th a n their not being a ble to co nceive a soul W ith . ?

out a body as if they could really conceive w h at , .

 o r c rcs no .
31

it is in the bod y ; its for, si t e a nd seat : that

'

m , ,
'

were they able to have a full view of all that is

n o whid from them in a living b ody the soul
”

woul d be discernible by them or is it of so fine ,

a contexture as to evade their sigh t ? L et those

consider this who deny they can form any idea
,

w
of the soul without the body if they can conceive
, ,

h at it is in th e body As to my ow n part .
,
‘

when I reflect on the nature o f the soul I am ,

more distressed to conceive wh a t it -is in th e

a .

body a pl a ce that doth not belong to it than

, .
,

what it is when it leaves it and is ar rived at ,

.

the free teth er i ts own habit ati on a s it w

.

' '

, ere , . .

C ould w e apprehend nothi ng but w h at w e see , ,

certainl y we could form no noti on of God nor o f ,

the divine soul , freed from body Dicaearch us .

indeed and Aristo xenus because it w

, .

as hard
~
, ,

to understand th e soul and its properti es as

'

, ,

serted there was no soul It is indeed the most .

,

diffi c u
lt thing im ag inabl e to d scern the soul; by
i

, ,

th e so ul
'
And this ; doubtles s is the meaning of
.
,

the precept of Apol lo which advises every one to

‘

know himself I do not apprehend his intention

.

to have been that we should i nform ourselves of

m
,

our members our stature and ake ; nor doth

m
, ,

self i pl y nr bodies ; nor do I who speak thus

p ,

to you address myself to your bo dy : when

, .
,
”
therefore he saith ! no w yourself he saith th is
, , , ,

inform y ourself of t h enature of yo ur soul ; for th e

 32 T HE T USCULAN nrsruu rl o ns

body is but a kind of vessel or receptacle of th e ,

s oul : whatever your soul doth is yo ur o W n act ,

’

To know the soul then unless it had been divin e , , ,

would no t have been a precept of that excellent

w isdom as to be att ri buted to a god ; but should
,

the soul not know what itself is will yo u say

'

that it doth not perceive itself to be that it has

?

motion ? on which is founded that reason of

'

P lato s which is explained by S ocra tes in Ph ae

’

m
.
, ,

drus and in ser ted by e in my sixth book o f the

, ,
: ~

Republ ic .

XXIII That which is always moved is eter

.
,

nal : but that which gives motion to another and

'

m mm
,

is moved itself fro so e other caus e when that ‘

otion cea ses must necessarily cease to exist

, .

That then alone which is self moved because it

, ,
-
,

is never forsaken by itself must continue to be ,

always moved Besides it is the fountain and

.
,

beginning of motion to every thing el se but

whatever is first has no beginning for all things , ,

arise from that first ; itself cannot o w

w
e its rise to
'

any thing else ; for it ould not be the first had ,

i t proceeded from any thing else If it had no .

beginning it never will have end ; for t he original

,

being extinguished itself cannot be restored from

’

m
,

m
any thing else nor produce a ny th ing fro itself ;
,

m
in as uch as al l things must necessarily arise from
that first cause Thus it co es ab out that the . ,
.

beginning of motion must ari se from i tself because ,

34. TH E T USCULA N D I SP U T A TI ONS

son], are not as strong ? which divin e propertie

'

sj
could I account h owthey begun I might also “
,

h owthey mig ht cease to be ; for I th ink I ca n

account h o w the blood bile phleg bones, , , m ,

nerves vein s all {th e limbs and shape o f the

’

, , ,

whole body were concret ed and made ; nay the

, ,
-

soul itself w ere there nothing more in it than a

m
,

principle of life ight be p ut u po n the sa me

,

footing as a vine o r tree and accounted for as ,

'

naturally ; for these, as w e sa y live Besides , .

,

were desires and aversions all that belonge d to

the so ul they are but in com on w ith the beast s ;
, m
but it ha s l n the first place memory and that so
, , ,

infi nite as to retain numberless things which

, ,

M
P l ato would hav e to be a recollect ion of a
former life ; for in that book which is inscribed
enon S ocrates asks a child some questions
,

in geometry o f measuring a square ; his eu

,
-

sw ers are such as a child W ould make and yet

m
,

his questions are so easy that answering th e ; , ,

one by o ne he is as ready ,as if he had l earn ed ,

geometry From whence S o crates w ould infer

.
,

that learning impl i es only recollection whi ch h e ,

explains more a cura tel y in the dis course he held ,

the very day he died ; for any one entirely illi te

rate to answ e
, r a question well that is proposed ,

to him manifestly shows that he doth not learn it

u
.
,

then b t recollects it by his memory No r is it

ac countable any other w
.
,

ay h o w children come to ,
 or crceno .
U" 85

have no ti ons of» so man y and such imp o rtant

.

thi ng s as are impl anted or as it were seale d U p

, ,
-

in their minds ; w hich the Greeks call common

n otions unless the soul b efore it entered the body
,

had been well s tored with knowl edge ; for he .

holds that not ta be which h as a beginning and

-
,

e ndin g ; and that alone to be which is always the ,

same ; as what he calls an idea W e a quality

.

,
.

The soul then shu t up in th e body could not

, , ,

discov e r but brought with it wha t it knows : so

, ,

tha t w e are no lon ger s urprised at its extensive

kno wledge ; nor doth the so ul clearly discover i ts
idea s at its first resort to this trouble some and
unusual dwelling ; but after having refreshed and
recollected it s e

m
lf it then by its memory recover s
,

them ; therefo re to learn implies only to recollect ,

.

B ut I am in a particular manner surprised at e

mory ; for what is that by which w
‘

e remember ?

what is its force ? what its nature ? I am not

enquiring h owgreat a memory S imonides may b e
said t o have h ad ; h owgreat Th eodectes ? h o w
gre a t tha t Cineas w

M
h o came ambassador here
m
,

from P y rrhus or lately Ch ar adas ; or very

lately S cept ius etro dorus ; h owgreat our H or
,

tensius : I speak of common memory and p r inci , .

p ally of those w h o are employed in any consider

,
~

abl e study or art of the capacity o f whose minds

,

it is hard to j udge they remembered so many ,

36 T H E T USCULAN D I SPU T A T I ONS
X XV S hould you ask what this l eads to ?
.

I th ink w e may understand what that power is ,

(
“

for P lato constantly mainta ins the body to be

'

nothing) and whence w e h ave it It certainly .

proceeds neither from th e heart nor blood nor , ,

brain nor atoms ; whether it be air or fire I

, ,

kno wnot nor am I l ike those ashamed to ow

, , n ,

where I am ignorant that I am so Were it , .

possible to determine in any d oubtful affair I '

'

would swear that the soul be it air or fi re rs , ,

divine What ? I beseech you can you imagin e

.
,

so great a power of memory to be sown in or be ,

of the composition of earth ? o r this dark and

'

gloomy atmosphere ? Though you cannot appr e

hend what it is yet you see what kin d of thing it
,

is or if not that yet you certainly see h o wgre a t

, ,

it is What then ? shall w e im agine there is a

kind of meas u
.
,

re in the so ul into which as into a , ,

vessel all we remember 18 poured ? that indeed is

,

absurd H owshall w
. e form any idea of t he

bottom or any of such a shape or fashion of the

,

soul ? or h o wany at all of its holding so much ?

,

S hal l we ima g ine t h e soul to receive impressions

l ike w a x and memory to be marks of the 1
, p res m
sions made on the soul ? What are the cha
ra cters of wo r ds what of things themselves ? or
,

where is that prodig ious immensity as to give

impressions to so many things ? What lastly is , ,

that power which discovers and , is called inven

 o r crc s no . 37

tion ? ; D oth he seem to be compound e d of this

m
:

ea rth l y orta l and perishing nature who first

,
.

, ,

invented names for every thing which with P y ,

th ag oras is the high e st pitch of wisdom ? or he ,

who collected the dispersed inhabitants of the

world and called them together into social life ?
,

or he who confined the sounds of the voice which

, ,

are infinite to the marks of a fewletters ? or who

,

observed the courses of the planets their p rog res ,

sive motions their laws ? These were all great

m
,

n; but they were greater still, who invented

e

food raiment houses ; who int roduced civility

, ,
‘

amongst us and armed us against th e wild beasts ;

,

b y whom b e ing civili zed and polished w e pro ,

c eeded from the necessaries of life to its embel

m
.

lish ents For we have provided great entertain

.

ments for the ears by inventing and qualifying ,

the variety and nature o f sounds We view the .

stars as well those that are fixed as those which

, ,

are called improperly wandering The soul that is .

acquainted with their revolutions and motions ,

acquaint s itself that it is like his who devised ,

.

those stars in the heavens : for when A rchimedes

described in a sphere the motions of the moon ,

sun and five planets he did the same as P lato s

, ,
’

god in his Tim aeus who made the world ; b e a d

w
-
, ,
'

j usted motions of d ifferent Slo ness and velocities , ,

in one circle No w allowing that what we see.

,

in the world could not be e flected without a

’

,
38 T HE T USC U LAN mum sr rrons

go d, Archimedes could not have im it ated th e

same auc tio ns in his sphere without a divine

, ,

soul .

XXVI To me ind eed it app ears that those

.
, , ,

studies which are more known a nd in gr eater ,

esteem are not without some divine energy : so

,

that I scarce think a poet who produces an

ap proved poe m t o be without some divine i
, m
pulse ou his mind ; or that oratory abounding
-
,

with sonorous words and fruitful sentenc es coul d

, ,

fl ow thus without some greater force

, What .

then is philosophy which is the parent of all arts ,

but as P lato saith a gift as I express it an inven

, , ,

tion of the gods ? This taught us fi rst the wor ,

ship of them : then justice which arises from ,

men s being formed into society : next mo desty

’

and elevation of soul P hilosophy dispersed dark;

.

ness from o ur souls as it were from o ur eyes , ,

enabling us to see all things that are above o r

below ; the beginning end and iddle of every , , m
thing : I am convinced entirely that what could ,

e ffect so many and such great things must be

, ,

divine F or what is a memory of w ords and

.

things ? what also invention ? even that than

which nothing greater can be conceived in a g od !
for I do not imagine the gods to be delighted with
n ectar and ambrosia or with Juventas presenting
,

them with a cup ; nor do I pay any a ttention to .

H omer who sa ith that G anymede was carried

,
 i or 01 03 3 0 .
39
"

away -b y th e g ods on account of his beauty

W
, ,
.

to give Jove his drink Too eak r easons for .

doing L aomedo n such injury ! Th esew ere me re

m
.

inventions o f H omer who gave his gods the i

m
,

perfections o f men I w ish he h ad

g iven
. en the
perfections o f the gods ! those perfections I mean
of uninterrup ted health wisdom invention me , , ,

mor y Therefore the soul is as I say div ine ; or

.
, ,
”
as E uripides more_ boldly exp resses it a god
_ , .

And thus if the divinity b e

.

, air or fire the soul of .

, .

man is the same for as that celes tial nature h a s

nothing earthly or humid so th e soul of man is ,

al so void of all these : but if it is o f that certain

fifth nature first introduced by A ristotle both
, ,

gods and so uls are of the same .

XXVII As this is my opinion I have ex

.
‘

plained it in these very words in my book of

.
, .

C onsolation The origin o f the soul o f man is

.

not to be found in any thing ear thy for there is ,

nothin g in the soul m ixt or concr ete or that ,

h as any a ppearan ce of being formed o r made

out o f the earth ; nothing even humid airy , ,

fiery ; for w h at is there in such like natures that ,

has the pow er of memory u nderstanding or , ,

thought ? th at ca n recollect the past ; fo resee

future things ; and comprehend the present ?
w
.

h ic h are divine prop erti es alo ne ; nor can we

disc over w h ence e m
n could have these but from ,

Go d. T h ere is therefore a peculiar nat ure and

40 r ue T USCULAN mum sr n ons

power in the s oul distinct from tho se natures , ,

mo re kn own and famili ar to u s W h atever the n .

that is which thinks which has understanding

, , ;

volition and a principle of life is heavenly and

, ,

divine and on that account must necessarily be

,

eternal : nor can G od himself who is k nown to ,

us be concel ved otherw ise than a so ul free and

, ,

unembarrassed distinct from all mortal concretion

, ,

acquainted with every thing and giving motion to ,

it itself endued with perpetual motion

, .

XXVII I Of this kind and nature is the soul

.

of man S hould you be asked then what th is

.
,

s oul is where is your ow n ? or what is it what

answer can I make ? If I have not faculties for
knowing all that I could desire to know you will ,

allow me I hope to make use of t hose I have

, , .

The soul is not equal to the discerning of itself ;

yet the soul like the eye though it h a s no re fl e x
, , ,

view o f itself sees other things : it doth not see

, ,

ow
( which is o f least consequence
) its n shape ;
perhaps not ; though it possibly may ; but we
w ill pass that by but it certai nly sees that it has
vigour sagacity memory motion velocity ; these
, , , ,

are all great divine eternal properti e

, s What its ,
.

appearance is or where it dwells is not matter

, ,

of enquiry A s when we behold first the lucid

.
,

appearance of the heavens then the vast velocity ,

of its revolutions beyond the imaginati on of o ur ,

th ought ; the vicissitudes of nights and day s ;

'
42 Tus T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
T hen the multitude of cattle part for food part , ,

for til ling the ground others for ca rriage for

m
, ,

clo thing ; and a n himself made as it were on

purpose to contemplate the heavens and the gods ,

and to pay adoration to them ; lastly the whole ,

earth and wide extending seas

, given to m an s ,
’

XXIX When w e view these an d numberless

.
,

other things can we d oubt that someth ing pre

,

sides over thes e or made them ? if they are made

, ,

as is the opinion of P lato : or if as Aris totle ,

thinks they are eternal ; so great a work and so

, ,

g reat a blessing ca nnot be supposed without a

, ,

direc tor Thus though you see not the soul of

.
, .

man as you see not the D eity ; yet as you

, ,

acknowledge a Go d from his works so ow n the

, ,

divine power o f the soul from its remembering ,

things its inventio n the quickness of its motion

, , ,

and from every charm of virtue But where is it .

seated ? say you In my opinion it is in the .

head and I can bring you reasons for that opi

,

nion ; but of those elsewhere At present let the .

,

soul reside where it will you certainly have one ,

in you S hould you ask what its nature is ? It

m
.

has one peculi arl y its o wn ; but ad itting it to be

of fire o r air it doth not affect the question ;

, ,

o nly observe this a s you are con vinced there is a

,

Go d though you are ignorant where he resides

, ,

and what shape he is of ; so you sh ould be as

 o r c ros n o .
J 43

ave a fsb ul , th o g h y u
i

sured y ou h ou cannot satisfy

*

ourself of the p l a ce o f its residence , o r the

“ ' ‘

m
y
fa shion of it In ouri ow . l edg eof t h e soul unless
'

w eare grossl y igno ra nt in ph ysics we cannot but

‘

'
,

bes atisfi ed that it h a s nothing b u tw h at is simple

'

m
i mixed ; unc omp o unded w
,

hich being admi tted ,

it ca nno t b e separa ted nor divided dis p ersed or

'

,
‘

pa rt ed and therefore cannot perish ; for to perish

,
~

implies pa rting asunder a division a di sunion of , ,

those parts which whilst it subsist ed were held

m
, ,

together b y so e band I ndu ced by these and

~
.

such like reaso ns S ocrat es neither looked o ut for

,

any body to plead for him when accused nor , ,

begged any favour from his j udges but main ,

ta ined a manly freedom no t the effect of p ride , ,

bu t o f the true great ness o f hi s so ul ; and on the

last day of hi s l ife he held much discourse o n ,
“

this subj ect ; and a fewdays before he refused

his liberty when he might have been easily freed
,

from his confinement and when he had hold in a , ,

manner of that deadly cup he spoke with an air

, , ,

o f o ne not forc ed to die but as ascending into

'

heaven .

XXX F or so he t hought himself to be and

‘

.
,

thus he harangued : T h at there are t w o w ays ,

and that the souls of men at their depart ure ,

from the body to ok ditferent r oads ; for t h ose

,
r

th at were pollut ed with vices t hat are common ,

to men and had given t hemsel ves up entirely

,
'
44 T HE T USCU LAN nrsruru ro ns

to unclean de sir es blinded by which they had

m
, ,

habituated the selves to all manner of de

b auch eries or had laid de testable schemes for
the ruin of th eir country took a road w
,

.
ide ,

o f that which led t o the assembly of the gods :

but they who had preserved themselves perfect

and chas te and free from the slig h test con
,

t ag io n with the body and h a d kept themselv es

,

al w a s at a distance from it ; and whilst o n

-
’

y
earth had conformed to the life of the gods ;
,

found the return easy to those from whom they ,

came .Therefore he relates that all good and ,

wise men should take e x ample from the swans ,

who are not without reason sacred t o Apollo ;

, ,

but particularly because they seem to have re

m
,

c eived the gift of divination from hi by which , ,

foreseeing h o whappy it is to die th ey l eave this , .

world with singing and j oy N or can any one .

doubt of this u nless it happens to us w

, h o thi nk
intensely o f the soul as is common to those w
, ho
look earnestly at the setting sun to lose th e ,

sight of it entirely : so the mind s eye vi e

o

wing ’

itself sometimes grows dull and for that reason

m
, ,

we become re iss in our contemplation Thus .

ou r reasoning is carried l ike o ne sail ing o n the

immense ocean harassed with doubts and anxie

m
,

ties not knowing h owto proceed but ea suring

, ,
f

back again those dangerous tracts he had passed .

But these re fl ections are of long standing and ,

 or 01 01311 0 . 45

borrowed from the Greeks E ven C at o left this

.
.

world asfpl eased with an opp ortunity of dying

,

for that God who p resides in us forbids o ur de

m
,

parture hence without his l eave But when God .

' .

hi self sh all give a j ust cause as formerly to ,

.

S ocrates lately to C ato and oft en to many

, ,
’

others certainly every man of sense would gladly

exchan ge this darkness for that light ; not that
he would forcibly break fro the ch ains that held
him for that would be against l a w; but wal k
,

m
m
,

o ut, like one discharged by a m a gistrate or so e ,

l awfu l authority The whole life of a phil oso

.

pher is as the sam e saith a meditatio n o n

, ,

death .

XXXI For what do we else when w

. e call off ,

our minds from pleasure z e from our attention

'

.
, .

to the bod y from the managing our estates ;

, _

which w e do merely o n the body s account ; when

’

from duties of a public nature or from all other ,

employs whatsoever what I say do we else but , , , ,

invite the soul to reflect on itself ? obligeit

to converse with itself and break off 1 ts acquaint ,

ance with the body to separate the soul from

?

the body ; then what is it but to learn to die

,
?

Wherefore let me p ersha de you to meditate on

, ,

this and break off your connexion with the body

, ,

6 learn to die
. This is to be in heaven whilst
.

o n earth ; and when w eshall b e carried thi ther

'

freed from these chai ns our souls w il l make their ,

46 T HE T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ON S
wya with more ease : for they w h o are always
li nked thus with the body even when di sengaged ,

make very slow advances l ike th ose w h o have ,

worn fetters many years ; which when we shal l

arrive at w e shall then live indeed
, for this ,

p resent life is a death which I could lament , ,

if I might A You h ave lamented it sufficiently

. .

in your boo k of C onsol ation ; which when I ,

read there is nothing I desire more th a n to

,

leave these things : but that des ire encreases ,

by wha t I have j ust no wheard M The time

,

will come and that soon whether you hang

, ,

back or press forward : for time flies D e ath .

is so far from being an evil as it lately appeared ,

to you that I suspect that every thing is a

, ,

greater evil to man ; or nothing a more desir

able good ; if we become thereby either gods
ourselves or companions of the gods A T h is
m
. .
,

will not do as there are so e w , h o will not

allow of it M But I will not leave off dis
.

cussing this point till I have conv inced you , ,

that death can upon no account be an evil .

A H o wcan it after what I have known ? M

~

D o you ask h owit can there are such swarms

.

o f opponents ; not only Epicureans whom I

'

m
,

regard very l ittle but I know not h owal ost , ,

ever y man of letters : but my favourite Dicaaar

chus is very strenuous in oppo sing the i
, or m
m
tality of the so ul : for he has written three books ,
 o r oicnno 47

M
.

which are l entitl ed Lesb iacs because the discourse

'

was held at i tylene m which he woul d p rove ,

that souls are mortal Ind eed the S t oics give .

,

us as lo ng credit as the life of a raven ; they

,

allo wthe s oul to exist a g reat while but are ,

a ainst its eternity

g .

XXXII Are you willing to hear even all ow

. ,
,

ing this why death cannot be an evil ? A As

, .

o u please ; but no one shall farce me from my

y
immort ality M I commend you indeed for
.

that ; though w e sho u l d not depend o n our

Opinions ; for we are frequ ently disturbed by
some subtle conclusion W e give way and change
o ur opinions in things that are more evident ;
but in this there is some obscurity S houl d any .

thing of this kind happen it is well to be on ,

ou r guard A You are righ t in tha t but I

. .
,

w ill provide against any accident M H ave .

o u any obj ec tion t o dismissing our friends the

y
S toics I mean those w h o allow tha t souls e xist ,

after they leave the body b ut no t always A , . .

Y es those who admit o f the only difficulty in

,

this case that souls may ex ist in depe ndent of

, ,

body : but reje ct that which is not only very ,

probable but the consequence of their o w n co n

m
,

cession that if they may exist some ti e they

, ~ ,

may so for ever M You tak eit right ; tha t

.

is the very thi ng : shall we give therefore any

credit t o P anaetius when h e disse nts from his ,
48 TH E T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
P lato ? whom he every where ca lls divine the ,

wisest the most h onest o f men the H omer o f

, .
,

Pliil O S Oph ers ; whom he opposes in the singl e ,

opinion of the soul s immortali ty : For b e main

’

tains what no body denies that every thing which

,

is generated will perish ; that even sou l s are g e

nera ted appears from the resemblance to those
,

that begot th em ; which is as apparent in th e

’

t urn of their m
inds as their bodies But he
, .
,

brings another reason ; that there is nothing

which is sensible of pain bu t may also fal l ill ;
,

but whatever is subject to disorders is subject to ,

d eath ; the soul is sensible o f pain therefore it ,

may perish .

XXXII I These may be refuted ; for they

.

proc eed from his not knowing that on the subj ect ,
i
of the immortal ty of the soul he speaks of the ,

mind which should be free of all turbid motion

,

not of those parts in which those disorders anger , .

and lust have their seat which he whom he 0p

, ,

poses imagines to be distinct and separate from

mm
,

the mind No wthis re se bl ance is more re

.

markable in b easts whose souls are void of

,

reason But the likeness in men consists more in

.

their persons ; and it is of no little consequence in

what bodies the soul is lodged ; for there are
many things which depend on the bo dy that ,

give an edge to the soul many which blunt it , .

A ristotle indeed saith that all men of parts are

,
50 T H E T USCULAN D I S PU T A TI ONS
amnot without h op that s uch may be our fate
es .

But admit what th ey assert ; that the souls do

not remain after death A S hould it be so I see . ,
,

ourselves deprived of th e hopes of a happier l ife .

M But what is there of evil in that opinion let ?

th e soul perish as the b ody : is there any pain or ,

?
ind eed any feeling at all in the body after death
no one indeed asserts t h at ; tho u g h E picuru s

,
.

w
charges D em ocritus ith saying so b ut the dis
ci l es of D emocritus deny it
p N o sense ther efore .

remains in the soul ; for the so ul is no where ;

where then is the evil for there is nothing but
?

these t w o Is it because the sep aration o f the

.

so ul a nd body ca nnot be e ffec ted without pain ?

but shoul d that b e granted h owsmall is that ? ,

yet I think that is false ; and that it is very often

without any sense sometimes even with pleasure
,
:

and the whole is very trifling whatever it is for , ,

it is in stantan eous What makes us une asy or

, ,

rather give
, s us pa in is the leaving all the good
, .

things of l ife C o nsid er if I might no t mo re

.
,

properly sa y the evil ; wh at reason is there then

m
,

to bew ail th elife of an and yet I might; with

-
, , ,

.
.

very good re ason ; but what occasion is there ,

when I l abo ur to prove that none are miser a ble

‘

after death to make life more miserable by ,

lamenting over it I have done that in th e b ook

I wrote to comfort myself as wel l as I co uld If
, .

then our in quiry is after truth death withdraws ,

 m
o r crca no 51

m
.

11 9 fro evil not fro goo , d This 1 3 indeed so .

’

c opiously ha ndled by H egeSias the C yr enian

m
'
'
, ,

th at he is sai d to h aVe be e n forbid by P tole y

from publishing them in th e s chools b ecaus e
m
,

some who he ard him made a w ay with th e se lves

m
,

There is too an epig rarh of Cal liinach us on

m
wm
,

Cl eo b ro tus of A bracia w ho without any ,

m
mis fortune b efalli ng him as h e saith thre h i , , .

Sel f fr o a w all into the sea on reading a b ook

’

of P lato s The book I m entio ned of H eg eSias rs

’

m
.
,

on men s sta rving the selves; wri tte non account

’

of somebody w h o t ook that ethod to get rid of m

life but being pr e
, , ve nted by his friends he reckons ,

up to them the miseries of human life : I might

do th e s ame th o ug h no t so full y as he w ho
'

, ,

w mw
think s it not wo rth any man s while to li ve I ’
.

as it e
’

p ass ven w orth y hile

m
,

for b a d I died before I was deprived of th e co

,

forts and honou rs of my ow n famil y a n d what

m
,

m
I re ceived from y public services death w ould
have taken me fr o t h e evil s of life not its
,

XX XV Propose therefore any one w

.

M
h o never
knew dis tres s who never received a blo w fro
,

m
fortune : imagin ethat etellus who w as h o

m
with four sons but P ria had fifty seventeen of
which were legiti ate : Fortune had the same
m
noured ,

M
pow er ove r both though she e xe rcised it bu t ou
'

one : for etel l us was laid on h isfune ra l pile by

52 T HE TU S CU LAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
many sons a nd da ug h ters male and female rela
'

,
~

tions : but P riam fell by the hand of an enemy after ,

‘

having fled to the altar deprived of so great a ,

‘

progeny . H ad he died before the ruin of his

'

kingdom his sons alive

, ,

Wth l l hi m igh ty we l th el t
i a s a a c,

U n de i h n p ie
r r c f t te ca o s o s a

would he then have b een j ta ken fro good or m

evil ? It might seem at that time from good ; yet ,

surely that would have been to his advantage ;

,

nor shoul d we have had these mournful verses ,

L ! th e e l l p e i h d in ne fl m ing p il e
o s a r s
’
o a

Th e f e l d P i m did f life b eg uil e

o o r a o ,

A nd w ith h i bl o d th y l t
s J ve defil e
o ,
a ar, o ,
.

As if any thing better could have happened to

him at that time than to lose his life so ; which
,

had it fallen out sooner would have prevented ,

th ose c onsequences ; or at least he would have

been i nsensible of them The case of our friend .

P ompey was something better ; when he fell '

sick at N aples the N eapolitans put c rowns o n

,
'

their heads as did those of P uteoli ; the people

m
'

flocked from th e co untry to congratulate him It .

is a Grecian custo and a foolish one yet it is a ,

'

sign of good fortune But the question is had he .

, !

died would he have been taken from good or evil ?

, .

C ertainl y from evil H e w o uld not have been en

.

gaged in a war with his brother ih l a w; he would - -

not have taken up arms before he w a prepared

s .
 or crcnno . 553
he had not left his own house nor fled froni Italy ,

he had not after the loss of his army fe

, ll unarmed ,

into the hands of his enemies and been put into ,

chains by them : h ischildren h a d h o t b é en de

’

stroyed ; nor his W hole fort une in the p ossessi on

of th e conquerors who had h e die d at that time
'

, ,

h a d died in all his glory who by that delay of

‘

-
,

d eath into what great and terrible misfortunes

,

did h efall
XXXVI These things are avoided by death
.
,

which though they should never h appen there I S a ,

possibility they may but it never comes into ‘

men s heads that su ch things may befall them

’

, .

E very one thinks to be as happy as Metellus as

if the n u mber of the happy exceeded that of the
miserable : as if there was any certainty in hu an
affairs ; as if there were more rational found ations
m
for hop ethan fear But should w
- “
e grant them .

even this that w ea rsb y death deprived of good

,

things ; must the dead therefore want the good

things of life a nd b e iSerab l e ou tbat account
,
’
m ’

—
they must necessarily say so C an h e who is .
,

not want any thing ? To want has a melancholy

m
, ,

sound and has its fo rce fro hence h e had but

,
‘

-
,

has not he desires requires want s S hch are I

m
.
.
, , ,

suppose the distresses of one t o w

.

ho something:
‘

is wanting D oth he want eyes to beblin d is

. .
,

misery Is he l n want of children not tohave

.
?

This is something with the .

‘
54 r un T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
living , but the de ad a re neither in w ant of the
ble ssings of life nor life itself ; I sp eak of the
, ,

dead as not exis ting But w ould any say of us

e want horns or w
.
,

wh o do exis t that w
, ings ?
C ert ainly not S hould it be asked why not the
. ,

answ er would b e that not to have w hat neith er

w
,

cus t m nor nat ure h as fit te d you for ould not

m
o
w
. ,

imply a want of the though you ere se ns ible

,

you had them not -This argument shoul d be

.

pressed over and over again that being e stab ,

l ish ed which if s ouls are mortal th ere can he no

, ,

dispute abo ut ; I mean that th e d estr uctio n of

,

m
them by death is so entire , as to remove even th e
least suspicion of any sens e re aining This .

then be ing well gro unded and establish ed w

m
e ,

m
m ust correctly defin e w hat the ter to w ant , ,

m
means ; that t here may be no istake in the
word To want then srg fi es this to be with
, , ,

m
out th at you w oul d b e glad to h ave ; for inclina
,

tion for any thing is i pl ied in the word want ;

excepting whe n we say in a di fferent sense of th e

word that a fever is wanting to any one For it

w
.
,

admits of a differe nt interpretation h en you are ,

without a cer tain thing and aresensible you are

,

Without it ; but yet can eas ily dispense w ith

your not h aving it You cant apply this e x pr es
.

m
sion to the de ad that they want ; or that
m
,

th ey lament on tha t acc t This is said .

,

that they want a good which is an evil to ,

 o r orcs no . 55

them But a living man d oth not want a good

.
,

m
unless h e is dis tressed w ithout it ; and yet we ,

ay understan d h o wa ny man alive may want ,

o u I can n
‘
a kin doin When I a ssert this of ot
y
‘ '

g .
,

use t oo m u ch art in expressing mys elf : the case

'

is different with reg ard to Tarquin whe nhe was

“

m m
,

driven from his kinn : but quite inco preh en

sible as to the dead
, For to want implies to be .
,

sensi ble ; but the dea d are insensible ; therefore

th e d ead can be in no want .

XXXVII But what occ asion is there to philo

.

so ph ize here w h en philosophy is so lit tle c oncerned

,

in it ? H owoften have not o nly our generals .

,

but whole armies rushed on certain dea th which , ,

were it to be feared L Brutus had not fell in fight , .

,

tb prevent the return of that tyrant he had ex

e ll ed : Deeiu s the father had not been slain in

p ,

fi ghting with the L atins : nor had his son when ,

engaged with the E tru scans ; or his nephe w with ,

P yrrh u s expo sed themselves to the enemy s darts

' ’

m
.
,

S pai n h ad not seen the S cipios fall in one ca

,

p aign fight in,g for thei r country ; the p l a ins of

Cannes P au lus and Geminu s ; Venusia Marcel
, ,

lus ; the L atins Albinus nor the L uc ani Grac , ,

chus But are any of these miserable now? nay

'

.
,

not even then after they h ad breathed thei r last

,
.
.

nor can any one be miserable after h ehas lost all

se nse But as to that; that it is affli cti ng to be

.

W ithout sense ! it would be so if the meaning w as ,

56 T HE T USCULAN D I S P U T A T I O N S
'

t hat any one w as really in w ant of it but as it is

, .
,

evi dent th ere can be nothing in that which has no

.
,

existence ; what can th ere be afflicting in that v

which can neither want nor be sensible We

,
?
,

should have had this over too often but that here ,

lies a l l that the soul shudders at from th e fea r of , ,

death For whoever can clearly apprehend -

‘

m
. .
,

which is as anifesLas the light ; tha t when both

soul and body are consumed and there is a total ,

destruction ; that wh ich was an animal becomes , ,

nothing ; will clearly see that there is no dif

.
,

ference betw e en a H ippocentaur which never h a d ,

existence and king A gamemnon ; and that M

,
.

C amillus is no more concerned about this present

civil war than I w as at the sacking o f Rome
, ,

when he w as in be ing Why then should .

_

C amillus be affected with th e thoughts of these

‘

thi ngs happening three hundred and fifty years

after And why should I be uneasy at the thoughts
o f some nation possessing itself of this city ten ,

thousand years hence ? Because so great is our

regard for our country as not to be me asured by ,

our own feeling but by the actual safety of it ,

.

XXX V I II D eath then which threatens us

.
,
-

daily from a thousand accidents and b y the very

, , ,

shortness of life canno t b e far off doth not deter , . ,

a wise man from m aking p rovisio n f o r his country

and his family that may extend to distant ages
,
.
,

and from regarding post erity , of which he may .

58 T H E T USCULAN nrsruu n o ns

when you see there is none in sleep which rese , m

b les it ? 1
.

X XX IX A way then with those folli es that

.

spea k the old woman ; that it is miser able to die

before o ur time Wha t time do you eail ?

. m
That of nature ? S he lent you life as money
m
.

, ,

W ithout fixing a time for its pay ent H ave you .

any grounds of compla int th en that she recalls it

m
,

at her pleasure ? For you recei ved it on the

'

'

terms They that complain thus allow tha t to

.
, ,

di e in childhood is tolerable ; if in th e cradl e

, ,

more so ; and yet nature has been more exact

with them in demanding back w h at sh e g ave .

They answer by say ing such have not t asted

,

th e sw eets of life ; t h e other had great exp ect a

tions from what he had already enj oyed They .

j udge better in other thing s and al low a pa rt to

, .

be preferable to none ? W hy not so in life ?

m
Though C al l imachus is not a i ss in s aying mor e
m m
,

tears had flowed fro P ria than h is son ; yet ,

they are thought happie r who have lived to ol d

age It would be hard to say why for I do not
.

apprehend the remainder of life would be happier

with any There is nothing more agreeable to a
.

man than prudence which old age as certainly

,

strips him of as any thing else : b ut w

,
'

h a t age is '

long ? o r what is there at all lo ng to a man ?

D oth not
 r
or 0101211 0 . 59

Ol d age
M
g d ed till attend
, th o u
‘
nre ar

the ca e of m
, s

fi E p m QQ
e
a Ih q ’
S asti
en ? s, s r s

re is n othing beyond old ag e w

.

B ut because the
!
e ,

call that loh g al l these things are said to be long

m
.

or sh g rt accor ding t o the proport ion o f ti e the

m
‘

, ,

ear they were give n us for

ti e of life they h
“ , .

Aristo tl e saith there is a k ind of insect near the

l , ,

ri ver H ypanis which runs from a cer tain part of ,

E urope into the P ontus whose l ifec onsists but

,
.

of o ne day ; tho se that die at the eighth h our die

w
,

in fu ll g
a e ; those ho die when t h e sun se ts very ,

old esp ecially when the days are at the longest -

C omp are our l ongest age with eternity and w

.
,

e ,

shall be found as short lived as those little -

animals .

m
X L L et us then despise all these folhes for
.
,

wh at softer na e can I give to such levities ? and

m
le t us la y the foundation of our happiness in the
'

strength and gre atness of o ur inds i n a c on ,

te mpt and di sregard for all earthly things and in

the practice o f every virtue F or at present w
,

e .

are enervated by the delicacy of our im agin a

tions so th at should e leave this W orld before w
m
, ,
'

the pro 1 ses of our fortune tel l ers are made good -

to us we should think ourselves deprived o f some

,

gre at advantages and seem dis appointed and ,

forlorn B ut if through life we are in continu al

.
,

suspense still expecti ng still desiring and are in

w
, , ,

conti nual pain and to rture ; good gods ! h o

60 T H E T USCULAN mum
sp r ro ns

pleasant must that j ourney be which ends in

m
.

security and case! H o wpl eased a I with The t a ‘

menes ! of h o wexalted a soul he a pp ears i Th o ug h

7

we never read of him without tears ; yet th a t ex o

cell ent man is not to be lamented in h is death ;

who when imprisoned by the command of the

,

thirty tyrants drank off at one dra ug h t as if he

'

, ,
-
had been thirsty the poisoned cup and threw the
, ,

remainder out of it with s uch force that it

'

, ,

sounded as it fell O n hearing the sound of it

.
,

he with a smile said I drink this to the ha n

“ d
m
,

some Critias ; who had been th e ost severe

”

m
.

against hi : for it is customary with the Greeks ,

at their banquets t o name the person to whom

they intend to deliver the cup This excellent .

man was pleasant to the last even when he had ,

received the poison into his bowel s; and truly

foretold his death to whom he drank of the
,
'

poison which soon followed Who that thought

,
.

death an evil could approve of the evenness of

,

temper in th is g rea t man at the instant of dying !

‘

,
’

S ocrates came a few years after to the same

prison and the same cup by the like iniquity of
m
,

h is j udges as Th era enes by that of the tyrants

m
.
,

What a speech is tha t which P lato makes hi

.

use before his j udges after they had condemned

.

“
him to death I am not without hopes O

m
,

j udges that it is a favourable circumst ance to me

, ,

that I a con demned to die : for one of these tw o

’
 or C I CERO . 61

thin g s must necessarily be that either death will

m
'

‘
,

deprive e entirely o f all sense ; or by dying I

~
-

shall go hence into some other place ; wherefore ,

if I am dep rived o f sense and death is like that

‘

sle ep which sometimes is; so undisturbed as t o be

, ,

even without the visions of dreams ; good gods !

’

what gain is it to die ! or what length of days

can be preferable to such a night ? And if the
constant course of future time should resemble
that night w ho is happier than l am ? but if what
,

is said be true that death is but a removal to

'

those reg ions w h ere the souls of the d eparted

‘
~
'

dw
,

ell ; that still must b e more happy ; to have -

escaped from those who call themselves j udges ,

and to appear before such as are truly so Minos

Rhadamanthus fEacus Triptolemus ; W
, ,

a nd to
'

, ,

meet with those who have lived with j ustice and

’

probity ! C an this cha nge of abode appear other

wise than great to you ? to converse with O rpheus ;
Mus aeus H omer H esiod is a privil ege of inesti
, , ,

mable value ! I would willingly were it possible , ,

die often in order to prove the certainty of wha t

,

I speak of What satisfaction must it be to meet

.

with P alamedes Aj ax a nd others betrayed by

"

, h ,

the iniquity of their j udges ? I w o uld prove the

wisdom even of that .king of kings who led such .

troops to Troy that of Ulysses and S isyphus nor

,

should I be condemned as I was here ; for such an ,

1 n u1 r
q y A nd. as for you my judges who have , ,
69 T H E T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
ab solved me ye n eed no t fear death for nothing
, ,

bad can befall a good man wh ethe r dead or livi ng,

,

nor are his concerns overlooked by the gods nor ,

m
has this befallen me by chance ; nor have I ought
to charge those with w h o accused or condemned
m
,

”
e but their intention of doing me har
,
In .

this manner he proceeded ; but nothi ng I more

admire than his last word s B ut it is time saith
, ,
”

h e for me to g o henc e to d ea th ; yo u to you r

m w
, , ,

employs of life the i mortal gods kno which 13

”
best indeed I believe no mortal doth .

X L I I I h ad preferred this man s soul to all ’

m
.

the fortunes of those w h o sat in j udgment o n hi :

not w ithstanding he saith the gods onl y kne w
which w a s best he himself did
-
, for he had deter
mi ned that before ; but he held to the last the ,

maxim peculiarto him of affirming nothing ; And ,

let us hold to this not to think a ny thing an evil

, ,

that is a general provision of nature : and let us

assure ourselve s that if death is an evil it is an
, ,

eternal e vil ; for death seems to be the end o f a

miser able l ife ; but if death is a misery there can ,

be no end But why do I mention S ocrates o r

m
.
,

Th era enes men disti nguished by the glory of

‘

W m
,

virtue and w isdom ? hen a certain Lacédwo

'
’ '

nian whose name i s not so much as known held

,
’
,

d ea th in such contempt; that when led to it b y ,

th e ephori he looked cheerful and pleasant ; and

,

being thus interrupted by one of his enemies ;

 o r c i cea b . 63 '

U 0 you de s ise t h el aW S o f L ycurg u s he an

p
sw ered I am g reatly oblig e d to him for lie has
m
'

, ,

ame rced e in a fine w hich I can pay without

This w
m
best owing or taking up at interest
.

m
, as .

a an wo r thy of S parta ! and I am al ost per

su eded of h is i nnocency from the greatness of ,

his soul Our city has p roduced many s u

. ch But .

w h y should I name generals and other great ,

men when C ato could write th at legions hav e

, ,

with alacrity marched to that place from whe n ce ,

'

they never expected to return ? With no l ess

“
3

greatness of soul fell the L aced aemonians at Th er-l

m
'

o
pyl e
e of whom S,imoni des :

G t ng e tell th e S p t n
o , s ra he ewr,e l ie ar a s, r

Wh t upp t th ei l wdur t b ldl y die

,

o o s or r a s s o ,

H ownobly did L eonida s their general speak !

m
, ,

NLarch on with courage my Lacedae onians fi t o ( ,

”
night perhaps we shall sup in the regions below
, , .

Th is w a s a br ave nation
. whilst thel aws of Ly ,

cur us wer ein force O n e f th e m when a

g o ‘
,

P ersian ha d said to him in conve rsation We !

shall hide the sun hy the number of our arrdw

“

s
'
~
,

and darts ; replied We shall fight then in th e i

w
.
,

shade .
”
D o I talk of their men h o great w
? as
'

that L aced aemonian woman who sent her son to ’

,
.

battle and he aring that he was sl ain ;

, . bore
”
him said she
, for that purpose that yo u might
, , ,

w
”
havea man who durst die for his country .
1 .

XLI I I It is admitted that th eS p artans ere

.
64 ,
TEE T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
bold and hardy : th e discipl ine of the republic
.
~
‘

greatly promoted this Wha t have we not

? .

reason to admire Theodore the Cyrenea n a , ,

.

philosopher of some distinction ? who when L ysi

m a ch us threatened to crucify him bid him keep ,

those menaces for his courtier 5 Theodore is °

indifferent whether he rot in the air or under .

”
ground From which saying of the philosopher;
.

an occasion is given me of speaking to the custom .

of burying and its ceremonies which will require

, ,

but fewwords especially if w e recollect what h a s

,

been before said of the soul s insensibility The ’

.

opin ion of S ocrates in this is clear from the book , .

which treats ofhis death ; of which we have already

said a good deal ; for when he had disputed about -

th eimmortality of the soul and the time o f h is ,

dying was near ; being asked by C riton h owhe ,

would be buried ; I have taken a great deal of '

pains saith he
,
”
my frie nds to no purpose fo r
, , ,

I have not convinced our C rito n that I shall fly ,

from hence and leave no part of me behind ? not

,

wi thstanding C riton if you can overtake me

, , ,
.

wheresoever you get hold of me bury me as you ,

please but believe me no ne of yo u

'

will be able
.
,

to reach me when I fly hence That w as excel .

”

l entl y said for he al l o w

‘

s h is friend fto do as he
,

pleased and yet showed his indifference about

,

any thing of t his kind Diog enes w as something .

~

rougher though of th e same opinion ; but as a

,
66 r mT USCULAN D I SPUT ATI ONS
:

Wha t H ector ? or h owlong wil l he be H ector ?

A cci us is better in th is and Achill es is someti es
, m
more reasonable .
0

I He t b dy t h i i e n ey d
c or s
’
o o ssr co v
’
,

He t I ent t th e infe n l h de
c or s o r a s a .

It w as not H ector that you dragged along but a ,

body that had been H ector s H ere another ’

.

starts from u nderground and will not suffer h is ,

mother to sleep
To h
t ee I ca ll m y
, o nce l o v p ent he
’
d ar , ar,

Nor l nge w ith th y

o r l eep eli eve th y
s r ca re ;

Thine eye unp itying mei l d— i e s c os

’
ar s ,

Ling ing I wit th e unp id b eq uie

’
t a a o s s
.

When these verses are sung with a slow and

melancholy tune so as to affect the whole theatre
,

with sadness one can scarce help thinking those

,

unhappy that are unburied :

,

E e th e d ev u ing d g
r nd h ung y vul tu e ;
o r o s a r r s

H e is afraid he shall not have the use of his limbs

so well if they are torn to pieces but is under no
, ,

such apprehensions if they are burned

l
Nor eave m y n k ed b a ones, m y p oor remains ,

To h m eful vi l en e
s a o c , and bl dy
oo stains .

What could he fear who could pour forth such ,

excellent verses to the sound of the fl ute ? We

,

must therefore adhere to this that nothing is to be ,

regarded after we are dead ; though many t e ‘

venge themselves on their de ad enemies Th y .

 Mc "
or rea s e
”
?
67
”

estes in some good lines of Enniusfprays first

,
'
, ,

that Atreus may perish by a ship w reck which is ,

certainly a very bad de ath ; such an e xit is very

shocking ! then follow these unmeaning ex
pressions ,

On th e sh ar k his m angl ed carcass l ie

p
M ay

M
roc ,

H is entrail s torn to h ungry b ird s a p rey

, ,

ay h e conv ul siv e writh e h is p end ant sid e ,

A nd w ith h is cl otted g ore th e stones b e dy ed .

The stones had as much feeling ashe who lay on

!

them though Thyestes imagines he has wished

him the greatest torture it would be pain indeed ,

were he sensible But as he is not it can be

.
,

none then h owvery unmeaning is this !

Let h i m ill h v
, st o erin g o
’
ygi n wve
er th e S t a a ,

Ne er reach th e b dy pe eful p o t th e g v e
’ ’
o s ac r , ra .

You s ee what mistakes they are under ; he

imagines the body has its haven and that the ,

dead are at rest in their gr aves P elops w

“

as to .

blame not to h ave informed and taught his son .

what regard was due to e very thing .

X L V But there isno occasion to animadvert

.

on the opinions of individuals when you may oh

m
,

serve whole nations to fall into those errors The .

E gyptians embal ed their dead and kept them ,

M
in their houses ; the P ersians dress them over
with w a x that they may preserv etheir b e
, dies as
long as possible It is customary with the agi to
.
,
68 TH E T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
bury none of their order unle ss they have been ,

first torn by dogs In H yrcania the people

,
.
,

maintain dogs for the public use their nobles have

their o w
,

n: w e know they h ave a good breed of

dogs ; but eve ry one according to h is ability

, ,

provides himself with some in order to be torn ,

by them and they hold that to be the best inter

ment C hrysippus who is curious in all kinds of
.
,

historical facts has collected many other things of

,

this kind but some of them are so offen sive as

m
,

not to admit of b e g related Al l that has been .

s aid of burying is not worth our regard with

, ,

respect to ourselves but not to be neglected as to

,

our fri ends provided w

, e are persuaded that the

dead are insensible : but the living indeed should

consider what is due to custom and opinion but ,

they should in this consider too that the dead are ,

no ways interested in it But death truly is th e n

.

met with the greatest tranquillity when the dying

m
,

man can comfort hi self with his o w n

No one dies too soon who has fi nished the cour se

of perfect virtue D eath might have cal led on
.

me often very seasonably oh h o wI wish it had ! ,

for I have gained nothing by the delay : I had

gone over and over again the duties of life ; nothing
remai ned but to contend with fortune If reason .

then cannot su fficiently fortify us to a contempt

of death let our past life confirm us in the
,
:

co nvicti on that we have lived too long for not: ,

 1 or 01 01511 0 . 69

withstanding the deprivation of sense the de ad . ,

'

are not without th at good which properly belongs

to them the praise and glory they have ac quired
, ,

though th ey are not se nsible of it F or a l th oug h .

there be nothing in glory to make it desirable

m
,

yet it follows vi rtue as its sh adow But the judg .

ment of th e multitu de on good en if ever they ,

form any is more to their ow

, n praise than of ,

an
y real advantage to the dead ; yet I cann ot say ,

however it may be received th at L ycurgus and

S olon are with out the glory of their l a w
,

s and the

m
,

publ ic disciplin ethey established : or that The i; "

fi

stocl es and E paminondas have not the glory of

‘

their martial virtue N eptune sh a ll sooner bury

m
_
.

S ala ine with his water s than the memory 1 of ,

'

the trophies gained there and the Bobotian ,

.

Le uctra shall perish sooner than t h e glory Of ,

that action But th efam eof Curius Fab riciu s

MM
-

Cal a tinus the t w

.
, ,

, o S cipios and the tw o Afric a

, ni ,

aximu ar cellu s P aulus C ato, L aeli u s and

'

s ‘

m
, , , ,

numberlesss oth ers shall remain longer with them

m
, .

Whoever has caught any resemblance of t he ,

not estimating it by com on fame but th e r e al

m mw
‘

applause of good en, ay ith confidence

w
,

w
should it be necessary approach death ; ,
hich
e know t o be if not the chief g ood a t least no
'

, ,

evil S uch a one would ev en choose to die

w
.
,

hiist he w as in prosperity ; fe r all the fa vours

that could be heaped on hi would not be so m ,

'
70 r un TU S CU LAN D I S PU T A TI ONS

agreeabl e to him as to lo se them ve x atious

m
.
,

MM
That speech of the Lacedas onian seems to have
the same meaning ; who wh e n Diag oras the
'

O wh o had hims e
, lf been a conqueror at
the Olympic games sawtwo of his ow n sons con
,

u erors there he appro ched the old man and

m
q a , ,

congratulating hi said You shoul d die no w , , ,

Diag oras for no greater happiness can attend

,

”
you . The Greeks look on these as great things ;
perhaps they think too high of them or rather ,

di d so then H e who said this to Diag oras

.
, ,

looking on it as something very extraordinary

'

that three out of one family should have been

conquerors th ere thought it could answer no ,

p urpo se to him to continue any longer here ex

, ,

posed only to a reverse of fortune .

XLV I I might have given a satisfact ory

.

answer in this point with fewwords as you

.
, ,

al lowed the dead were not miserable : but I

have laboured it the more for this reason bec au se ,

this is our greatest consolation in the losing and

bew ailing of our friends For we ought to bear .

with discretion any grief that a rises from ourselves

or on our o w
,

n account lest we should seem to be ,

influenc ed by self-love But shoul d we suspect .

our depart ed friends to be under those evils which ,

they are gener ally imagined to be and to be sen ,

sible of them such a suspicion wo uld g ive us

,

intolerable uneasiness : I wished for my ow n sake , ,

 o r c re m
e. 71

to pluck up this opinion by the root ; and on that

ac count I have been perhaps too tedious .

XLV I I A You too tedious ? no indeed not

. .
, ,

to me I was induced by the former pa rt of

.

your speech to wish to die ; by the latter to be

, ,

indifferent or at least not to be uneasy about it

,
.

But on the whole I am convinced that there can

be no evil in death M D o you expect that I .

should give you an epilogue like th erhetoricians , ,

or shall I forego that ar t ? A I would not have .

you give over an art you have set off to such

advantage ; and you were in the right in that for , ,

to speak the t r uth it has set you off But what

, .

is that epilogue ? for I should be glad to hear it ,

w '

ha tever it is M It is customary in the schools

.
,

to produce the opinions of the immortal gods on

death ; nor are these opinions the fruits of ima
in a tio n alone but h ave the authority of H erodotus
g ,

and many others C leobis and Biton are the

.

first they mention sons of the Argive priestess ;

,

it is a known story As it was necessary she .

should be drawn in a chariot to a certain stated ,

sacrifice solemnized at a temple some considerable

,

distance from the town and the cattle that drew ,

it went very slowly those tw o young men I men

,

tioned pull ing off their g arments and anointing

, ,

their bodies with oil applied themselves to the ,

yoke The priestess being thus conveyed to the

72 T HE T USCU LAN mm sr u rrons

m
te ple drawn by her t w o sons is s aid to h av e ens

m
,

treated the goddess to bestowon the for their ,

piety the g reatest gift tha t a go d could confer :

the young men after having feasted w
,

ith their
m
”

other,fe ll asl eep ; and in the morning they were

found dead Tro phonius and Aga ed es are said to
. m
h ave put up the same petition who having built ,

a temple to Apollo at Delph i supplic ating the ,

god desired of him some extraordinary reward fo r

,
.

their care and labour particularizing no thing but , ,

only what w as best for men Apollo signifi e d that .

he wo uld bestow it the third day at sun rising ; -

on that day they were found de ad This they

m
.

say was the particular de ter ination of th at god,

t o whom the rest of the deities ha ve assigned th e

province of divining .

X LV II I There is ano ther little story told of

.

S ilenus who when taken priso ner by Midas is

, , ,

said to have made him th is present for his ran ,

som ; he informed him that never to have been ,

born w as by far the greatest bless ing th at co u

'

ld
m
'

happen to an ; the nearest to it w as to die v ery

m
, , .

soon : which very opi nion E uripides akes use of

in his Cresph on ,

Wh m i b
en an s o rn,
’
tis fi t, w
ith l em so h
n s o w
Wp k u
,

e s ea o r sense of his a pp r aching w

o oe 3

Wh h g u
it o t er est res, and a difi erent eye,
’

Proclaim our pl e
asure w hen h e s b id to di e
’
.
74 THE TU SCU LAN mu m sp rsr ss

his country Iphigenia ordered herself to be

.

conveyed to Aulis to be s acrificed that her bl ood

, ,

might be the means of spill ing that of her enemies .

From hence they proceed to instances of a fresher

m
date H ar odius and Aristogiton L eonidas the
m
.
,

Lacede onian and E paminondas the Theban

, ,

are much talked of ; they were not acquainted

with th e many instances in our country to give a ,

l ist of whom would take up too much time ; so

great is the number of those to whom an honour ‘

able death was always desirable N otwithstanding .

it is thus we must use much persuasion and a

, ,

loft ier strain of eloquence to bring men to begin ,

to wish to die or to cease to be afraid of death

, .

For if that last day doth not occasion an entire

extinction but a change of pl ace only what can
, ,

be more desirable ? but if it destroys and ab so ,

l utel y puts an end to us wha t is preferable to the ,

h aving a deep sleep fall on us in the midst of the ,

fa ti g ues of life and thus overtaken to sleep to

,

eterni ty which should it be the case Ennius s

?
, ,
’

speech exceeds S olon s ; for our E n nius saith

’

Let n ne b estow
o up n my p ing b ie o ass r

One needle sigh ssun v iling tear or a a

m
, .

But that wise an ,

Let m
'
e not unl m ented die b ut
a er my bie , o
’
r

Burst f rth th e tende igh th e f iendl y te

o rs , r ar

S hould it indeed be our case to know the time

 or crcsa o .
75

appointed by the gods for us to die let us prepare ,

ourselves for it with a pleasant and grateful

,

mind as those who are delivered from a j ail and

, ,

eased from their fetters to go back to their ,

eternal and ( without dispute) their own habi

t a tion ; or to be divested of all sense and trouble .

But should we not be acquainted with thi s decree ,

yet should we be so disposed as to look on that ,

'

last hour as happy for us though shocking to ,

our friends and never imagine that to be an evil ,

which is an appointment of the immortal gods ,

or of nature th ecommon parent of all For it is

, .

not by haz ard or w ithout design that we have a

being here ; but doubtless there is a certain
power concerned for human nature ; which would
,

neither have produced nor provid ed for a being ,

which after having gone thr ough the labours of

life was to fall into an eternal evil by death
, .

L et us rather infer that we have a retreat and

,

haven prepared for us which I wish we could

, , ,

make for with crowded sails ; but though the

,

winds should not serve yet w e shall of course gain

,

it though somewhat later But h o wcan that be

,
.

miserable for one which all must undergo ? I

have given you an epilogue that you might not ,

think I had overlooked or neglected any thing .

A I am persuaded you have not ; and indeed

.

that epilogue has confirmed me M I am glad it .

has had that effect but it is nowtime to consult

 w
76 T HE T USCULAN D IS PU T A T I ON S , &c
.

our healths ; to m orrow and all the time e

,

continue here let us consider this subj ect ; and

,
'

principally that which may ease o ur pain alle ,

v ia te our fea rs and lessen our desir es which is

, ,

the greatest advantage we can reap fr om the

whole of phil osophy .

END or B OO! 1
.
 T HE T U SC U LAN D I S PU T A TI O NS .

BOO! II
.

A N G PA I N
M
ON BE R I .

I ; NE O P TOLE U S JD E nnius in deed saith th at the ,

study of phil osophy moderately pursued w

, as ex ,

e die nt fo r him ; ; but t o give himself up entirely

p
.

to it w
‘

as what he did not approve of A s to

‘

m
.
,

y p a rt Brutus , I am perfectly persuaded tha t it

,

is expedient for me to philosophiz e ; for what can

I do better having no employ but I am not for
,

proceeding but a little way in it like him fo r it

‘

is d iffi cult to acquire the knowledge of a little ,

with out acqua inting yourself with many or all ,

its branches ; nor can yo u well select tha t little

.

but out of a great number nor can any one who

has acquired some know l edg e th ereof avoid en'

deavouring at mor e with the same inclination

, .

But in a l ife of business like that of N eoptolemus

m
, ,

and in a ilitary w a ; th at l i ttl e may have its

y
use and yield fr uit though not so pl entiq y as
, ,

th e whole of philosophy ; yet such as in some

degree may at times les sen our des ires our ,

78 T HE T USCULAN D I SP U TA TI ONS
sorrows and our fears : j ust as the effect of our
,

late Tusculan D isputations seemed to be a great

contempt of death ; which contempt is of no
small e fficacy to the ridding the mind of fear
for whoever dreads what cannot be avoided can ,

by no means live wit h any satisfaction But .

he who is under no fear of d eath not only from ,

the necessity o f dying but from a persuasion

,

that death itself hath nothi ng terrible in it has ,

very great security for a happy life H owever I .

,

am not ignorant that many will strenuously

,

Oppose us ; which can be no otherwise avoided

than by not writing at all For if my O rations .
_
,

which were addresse d to the j udgment and ap

probation o f the people ( for that is a pop ular
,

art and the e ffect of oratory is popular applause)

, ,

encountered some w h o are inclined to withhold

their praise from every thing but what they are
persuaded they can attain to themselves and who ,

confine goo d speaking to what they may h ope to

'

reach and who declare when they are over

, ,

whelmed with a flo wof words and sentences ,

that they pre fer the utmost poverty of thought

and expression to that plenty and copiousness ;
(from whence arose the kind of Attic oratory ,

which they who professed it were strangers to .

m
and which is already silenced and laughed out ,

of the very courts of j ustice ) ; what ay I not

expect when at present I cannot have the least
,
 m
on C I CERO .
79

counte nance fro "

people by which I as
the , W
upheld before ? For philosophy is satisfied with
a fewj udges of herself indus triously avoiding
, .

th e multitude who are jealous of it and utterly

, ,

displeased with it : so that should any one under

,

t ake to cry down the whole he would have the ,

people on his side or should he attack that

.
,

wh ich I particularly profess he might have as ,

sist ance from the schools of the other philosophers .

But I have answered the detractors of philosophy

in general in my H ortensius What I had to
, .

say in favo ur of the A cademics is I think suffi , , ,

cientl explained in my A cademics

y .

I I But yet I am s
. o far from desiring that

none should write against me that it is W hat ,

I most earnestly covet for philosophy had never

been in such esteem in Greece itself but from the ,

strength it acquired from the contentions and dis

ut a tions of their learned men ; therefore I re
p
commend to all who have abilities to snatch this ,

art also from declining Greece and transport ,

it to us ; as our ancestors by their study and

m
i ndustry i p orted all their other arts which were ,

worth having Thus the praise of oratory raised

.
,

from a l owdegree is arrived at such perfection

, ,

that it must nowdecline and as is t he nature of

, ,

all t hl ng s verge to its dissolution in a very s h ort

m
, ,

time L et philosophy then fro t his time spring

.

afresh in the L atin tongue and let us lend it our

,
80 T HE T USCULAN M
S P U TA TIO N S

as sistance and let us h ear pa tiently to be c on

,
2

tradicted and refuted ; which the y dislike w h o a re

devoted to certain determined opinions and are ,

under such obligations to maintain them that

m
,

though they can support th e b y no argume nts ,

they are forced to abide by them to av oid the ,

ini p ut a tion of fi ckl eness We w h o pu rs ue only

.

probabilities and cannot go beyond what is likely

can confute others w
, ,

ithout obst inacy and are ,

prepared to be confuted ourselves without resent

ment Besides were these studies brought ho e
.
, m
to us w , e should not want Greek libraries in ,

which there is an infinite number of books by

m
,

reason of the multitude of authors among them ;

for i t is a com on prac tice with many to repea t
the same things which have been w ro te by others ,

which serves no purpose but to stuff their sh e

, l ves i
and this will be our case if many apply themselve s
,

to this study But let us excite those if pos sible

.
, ,

who have had a liberal education and aremaste rs ,

o f an elegant style and philosophiz e with reaso n

,

and method .

I I I For there is a farther certain tribe w

. ho
wo u ld w illingly be called philosoph ers whose ,

books in o ur l ang tiag e are said to be numero us ,

which I do not despise for indeed I never re a d

, .

them : but because th e auth ors th emselv es d eclar e

'

that they write without any regularity or method ,

Without elegance or ornament : I do not ch oose .

82 T HE T USC U LAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
c s u tom I wbrought to conform by means of
as

my friends at my Tusculum where our leisure

time was spent in this manner S o that as w
,

e .

did yesterday before noon we applied ourselves

,

to speaking ; and in the afternoo n went down

into the academy : the disputations held there I

h ave acquainted you with no t in a narrative ,

Way but almost in the same words in which they

,

w ere carried o n .

I V The discourse then w

w
as introduced in

m
.

th is
‘

a nner hilst we were walking and the

, ,

exordi um was somewhat thus A It is not to .

be expressed h o wmuch I w es deligh ted or rath ei

.

'

edifi ed by y our discourse of yesterday Though .

I am conscious to myself that I w

,

as never ov er
‘

fond of life yet at times w hen I have considered

, ,

that there would be an end to this life and t h at I ,

must so me time or other part with all its g ood

things a dread and uneasiness h as intruded on
m
m
,

t t n o wbeli eve me I am so fr e
y houghts b u , ed ,

fro that kind of uneasiness that I think it not ,

w
worth any regar d M I am not at all surprised

m
.

a t that for it is the e ffect o f h il oso h h ich I S

, p p y , ,

'
t he edicine of our souls ; it discharges all
‘

groundless apprehensions frees us from desires

m
‘

, ,

drives away fears : but it has not the sa e in

“

fl uence over all it exert s itself most w hen it falls

'

in with a disposition proper for it: For fortu ne

Ld oth not alone as the old proverb is assis t the
, ,
 OF C I CER O . 83

bold but re ason m ore so which by b ertam p ie

' '

, ,

ce ts as it were co nfi rrh s eve n co urage i tse lf

p , , .

Yo u w ere born naturall y g reat and s oaring and

w
,

ith a conte mpt for all things here ; therefore a

“

discourse ag ainst dea th h ad an e asy pos session of

m
'

a brave soul But do you i agine tha t these

m
'

sa e arguments h ave any force with tho sejvery

.

p e rson s w h o have invented canvas sed a nd

p u
b , ,

l ish ed them exc e pti ng indeed some fe w partie n ‘

w
m
,

w
l ar pe r philoso ph ers will yoi1
m
rsons ? F h f ? '

o o e

meet with, whose life and anners are confor a

ble to the dic tates of reason ? w h o look o n their
profession not as a means of dis playin g their
w
,

l earning but as a rule for their practice ?

, ho
follow their o w n precepts and comply with their
m
,

ow nd ecrees You may see so eof th at levity

’ ‘

that vanity that it would hav e been b etter for

’

m
,

them to have been ignorant ; some covetous of

money so e , many slaves to their
lus ts so that their discourses and their actio n s

m
are most Strangely at variance than which
nothing m my opi nion is m er e unbecoming for
it is j u st as if o ne who pro fessed teaching gra
mar should speak with imp ropriety or a master
‘

of music sing out of tu ne ; it has the worse

’
=

appearance} because he acts contrary to his pro

fessio n so a philosopher who errs in the conduc t
.
,

o f his life is th emore infamous be

, cause he ,

takes i n the very thin g he prete nds to teach and '

'

,
84 T HE T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
whi lst he lays down rules to regul ate life by;
is irregular in his o w n life .

V A S ho uld this be the case is it not to be

. .
,

feared that you are dressing up philosophy in

false colours ? for what stronger argument can
'

there be that it is of little use than that some

, , ,

complete philosophers l ive immoral ly M That ,

ind eed is no argument for as all fi el ds are not

, ,
’

fruitful because manured ; and this sentiment of

,

Accius is false and asserted without any foun

,

dat ion ,

Th e g ound you w n i f m ll v il ;
r so o ,
s o s a a a

T y ield p good eed n neve f il

o a cro s ca r a :

so all minds do not answer their culture : and to

o on with the comparison as the field naturally
g ,

fruitful cannot produce a crOp without dressing , ,

so neither can the mind without improvement ; ,

such is the wea kness of either without th e o ther .

Whereas philo sophy is the culture of the mind :

this it is which plucks up vices by the roots pre
pares the mind for the receiving of seed commits ,

them to it or as I may say sows them that,

m
, , , ,

when come to aturity they may produce a ,

’

plentiful harvest L et us proceed then as we

.
“

M
begun ; say if yo u please what shall be the
“

, ,

subj ect of our disputation A I look on pain to . .

be the grea test of all evils Wha t greate r .

,

th an infamy ? A I dare not ind eed assert that .

‘

and I bl ush to thi nk I am so soon driven from my

 M
a
'

OF crcs a o . 85

Opinio n You would hav . real ’

e h a d g rea ter ~

son for blushing had you persevered in it ; for ,

what is so unbecoming ? what can appear worse

to you than disgrace wickedness immorality
, , , .

TO avoid which what pain should we not only

m
,

not refuse but willingly take on ourselves A I

,
.

a entirely of that Opinion ; but notwithstanding

that pain is not the greatest evil yet surely it is ,

an evil M DO you perceiv ethen h o wmuch O f

.

the terror Of pain you have given up on a small

.

hint ? A; I se e that plainly ; but I should be

glad to give up more Of it M I will endeavour

m
.

at it b ut it is a great undertaking and I ust

‘
'

, ,

have no contradiction A You shall have none .

as I behaved yesterday s o no wI w ill follow

'

reason wherever she leads .

VI First then I will speak to th e w eakness of

.
, ,

some and the various sects of philosophers the

,

head of whom b oth in authority and antiquity

'

,
,

w as Aristippus the S ocratic who hesitate d not to , ,

sa
y that pain was the greatest of all evils N ext
m
, .

'

E picurus eas ily gave into this efi e ina te and

'

enervated opinion After him H ieronymus the .

,

Rhodian said that to be without pain was th e

, ,

chief good so great an evil did pain appear to ,

‘

him The rest excepting Zeno Aristo Pyr1 h o

. , , , ,

were pretty much of the same opinion you were

of just now that it w
.
as indeed a n evil b ut th ere
,
-

,
'
86 T HE T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
were ma ny w orse Therefore what n ature he rself)
.

and every generous soul disavows that pain should ,

be c alled the greatest of evils and which you ,

y our sel f renounced when infamy appeared in con

trast to it is this what ph ilosophy th e mistress Of
, , ,

life continues to maintain for so m any age s ?

Wh at duty of life w h at praise w
,

hat repu tation

, , .

would be O f such cons equence that -a man should ,

be de sirous Of gaining it at the e x pense of sub

mitting to bodily pain when he cons id ers pain as ,

the greatest evil ? O n the other side what ,

,

disgrace what ignominy woul d he not sub mit to

, ,

that he might avoid p ain when per su ad ed that ,

it w
,

as the greatest of e vils ? B esides what p er ,

son who looks ou pain as the greatest Of evils is

, ,

not miserable not only when h e actual l y feels

m
, ,

M
pain but when h e reflects that it may befall hi
,

hence it follows that every man is miserable

m
.

etrodorus indeed thinks hi perfectly happy ,

whose body is free from all disorders and h as an

, ,

assurance that it will always contin ue so ; but

who IS there can be assured Of that ?
V I I E p icurus truly saith such things as if
.

his design w as to make people laugh ; for h e ,

affirms some where that if a wise man were to ,

be burned or put to the torture ; you expect

,

perhaps he should say that he would bear it

, ,

that he would support himself under it with

 or C I CERO : 87

resolution ! ( that so help me H ercu l es ! would , ,

be very commendable and becoming that v ery ,

H ercules I adj ured but this will not satisfy

E picuru s a robust and hardy man ! NO if he were
, ,

in Phalaris s bull he would say h o wsweet it is !

’

, ,

h ow little do I regard it ! What sweet ? isit not

sufficient if it is not disagreeable ? but those very
,

men who deny pain to be an evil to say that it is , ,

ag reeable to any one to be tormented ; they rath er

say that it is hard a fflicting unnatural but yet
,
.

, , ,

no evil H e who saith it is the only evil and the

m
.
,

very w o rst o f all evils yet thinks a wise an

.
,

wo ul d pronounce it sweet I do not require of .

o u to speak o f pam 1 u the same words wh ich

y . .

E picurus doth a man as you know devoted to , , ,

pleasure ; he may make no difference if he ,

pleases between P halaris s bull and h is ow

, n
’

bed but I cannot allo wthis W1se man to be so

.

indifferent about pain If he h ears it with .

courage it is su fficient ; that he should rej oice in

,

it I do not expect ; fo r pain is c e

, rtainly sharp ,

bitter against nature har d to submit to and

, , ,

w
bear Observe P hiloctetes : we may allow him
.

to lament; forh e sa H ercules himself g r1ev1ng

'

loudly through extremity Of pain on mount

( E ta : the arrows H ercules presen ted hi with m ,

were then no consolation to him when ,

Th e vipe s b ite imp regn ting h i v ein

’

With p oison rack d himw

r , a s s

ith its b itte p in ’

, r a s .
 88 r ue T USCULAN mu sro r i o ns

'

And th erefore he cries out desiring help and

’

, ,

wishing to die ,

Oh ! m e f iendly h nd it id wul d l end

h
t a t so r a s a o ,

My b dy f m thi k
o ro t h eigh t t end s roc
’
s vas o s

I nt t h e b iny d eep ! I m ll n fi e
o r
’
a o r ,

And by thi f t l wund m u t s n ex p i e

a a o s soo r .

It is hard to say he w as not oppressed with evil , ,

and great evil too w ho was obliged to cry out in ,

this manner
m
.

V I I I But let us observe H ercules hi self

.
,

who w as subdued by pain at the very time he w as ,

in quest Of immortality by dying What words .

doth S ophocles here put in his mouth in his ,

Trachi niae ? who when D eianira had put upon ,

’
him a tunic dyed in the centaur s blood and it ,

stuck to his entrails saith , ,

‘Vh at tort ures I en ure, w d n tell d no o r s ca ,

Far g e te the e th n th e w
r a r h i h e t hefel
s , a os c rs

F m th e di e te
ro f th y r t J v e; rro r o co nsor , o

E en te n E u y th eu di e mm n d b v e;
'
’
s r r s s r co a a o

Thi f th y d ug h te ( E neu i th e f uit

a r,

B eguil ing m
s o s,

ith h e e en m
s r

ew
,

d uit r nv o
’
s

Wh e l e emb e d th my e t il p ey
,

os c os rac o on n ra s r ,

C n um ing l ife; my l ung f bid t pl y ;

o s s or s o a

Th e bl d f k e my vein my m nl y he t
oo orsa s s, a ar

F get t b e t ; e e v ted e h p t
or s o a n r a , ac ar

Negl e t it ffi e w
c s hil t my f t l d m
s O c , s a a oo

P eed ign bly f m th e w

roc s e ve
o l m ro a
’

Th e h nd f f e ne e h u t m
r s oo .

th e fi e e
’
a o e n
o r r , or rc

Gi nt i uing f m h i p e t e th
a , ss ro s ar n ar .

Ne e ul d th e Cent u u h bl w e f
’
r co e a r s c a o n o rc ,

N b b ou f e n
o ar ar l l th e G e i n f
s o e; , or a r c a orc
90 TH E T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ON S

gorean ph ilosopher : how doth he make P rome

theus bear the pain he suffered for the L emnian

theft when he clandestinely s tole away the
celestial fire and bestowed it on men and w
,

, as ,

severely punished by Jupiter for the the ft .

Fastened to mount C auc asus he speaks thus ,

Th ou h eav n b orn race o f Titans h ere fast b ound

’
-
,

B ehold th y b rother A s th e sail ors so un d

W ith care th e b ott om a nd their ship s confine ,

To som e safe sh ore w ith anch or a nd w ith line

,

S O by J ove s dread d ecree th e g od Of fi re

’

Connues m
, ,

e h ere th e victi m of J ov e s ire

’

With b aneful art h is d ire m achine h e shap es ;

,

Fro m such a g od w h at m ortal e er escap es ? ’

Wh en each third day shall triumph o er th e nigh t ’

,

Then d oth th e vul ture w ith hi s ta l ons l igh t ,

S eizing my entra il s ; w hich in rav nous guise ,

’
,

H e p rey s on ! th en w ith w ing s ex tend ed flies

Al oft and b rush es w
, ith h is pl um es th e g ore
But w hen d ire J o v e my liv er d o th restore ,

B ack h e returns impetuous to hi s p rey ;

Cl app ing hi s w ing s h e cuts th eth erial w , ay
’
.

Thus do I nourish w i th my bl ood th is p est ,

Confi my m un bl e t nte t ;
n
’
d ar s, a o co s

I ntre ting nly th t in p ity J v e

a o a o

Would t k e my l ife nd th i u d pl gue rem ve

,

’
a , a s c rs a o .

B ut endl e ge p t unh e d my m an
ss a s as , ar o ,

S ne h ll d
oo di s l ve thi ve y tone
r s a 3 so s r s .

We scarce think it possible not to call one affected

in this manner miserable ; if such a one is miser
,

able then pain is an evil

, .

X A H itherto you are o n my 81de ; I w ill

. .
 or C I CERO .
91

see tha t by and by ; and in th e eanw

to h il e m '

mm
c « ~

, ,

whence a re those verses ? I do no t re e b ei

m
:

th e f M I will inform you for yOu a rein the

’

right to ask ; you see tha t I have much leisure -

W
.

A. h at then ? M -I im agine when you w

~
ere ,
-

at Athens you attended fr e

, quently these schools ?
A Yes and with great pleasur e M You Observed
.
, .

then though n one Of them at that time were

,

M
very eloquent yet they used to throw in verses
,

in their h arang uesu A D ionysius -the S toic used.

to apply a great many You say rig h t ; i fb ut

.
«

they were repeated without any choice o r el egancys

But our P hilo gave you a fewselect lines and
well adapted ; wherefore since I took a fancy t o ‘

this ki nd of elderly declamation I am very fond ,

Of quoting our poets and where I cannot be sup i

,
'

plied from them I translate from the Greek that

, ,

the L atin language may want no ornament in this

kind of disputation .

m
XI But do you see th e ill effects of poetry ?
.
‘

Th e poets introduce the bravest men la enti ng

over thei r misfortunes : they soften our minds,
and they are besides so entertaining that w e dofl

m
,

no t only read them but get th e b y heart T h us;

,
‘

what with poetry our want o f d iscipl in e at home;

,

and o ur tender and delicate manner of living ,

virtue is become quite enervated P lato there .

fore was right in banishing them his common- s

wealth where he required the best morals a nd

, ,
92 TH E T USCULAN I PU T A TI O NS
D S

the best form of government But w e W ho

”

.
,

have all our le arning from G reece read and learn ,

th ese from our childhood and look on th is as a

liberal and learned education .

XI I But why are we angry with the poets ?

.

w e may find some philosophers tho se masters O f ,

virtue who ta ught that pain w as the greatest of

,

e vils But you young man when yo u said but

.
, ,

ust no w that it appeared so to you upon being

j ,

asked if greater than infamy gave up that

, ,

Op inion at a word s speaking S uppose I ask

’
.

E picurus th e same question H e answers that .

,

the least pain is a greater evil than the great

est infamy : that there is no evil ia infamy ’

itself unless attended wi th pain

,
What pai n .

then must attend E picurus when he saith this ,

very thing that pain is the greates t evil ; for

,

nothing can be a greater disgrace to a ph il oso

pher than to talk thus Therefore you allowed.

enough when you admitted infamy to appear to

,

ou a greater evil than pain If you abide by

y .

this you will see h owfar pain should be t e

,
“

sisted : and that our enquiry should be not so ,

much whether pain be an evil as h o wthe mind ,

may be fortified for resisting it The S toics .

infer from some tri fling arguments that it is no ,

evil as if the dispute was about a word not the

, ,

th ing itself Why do you impose upo n me

.
,

Ze no ? for when you deny what appears very ,

94 T HE T USCU LAN mi sr o xfl o ns

name Of virtue would appear to such adva ntage

, ,

that all other thin g s which are looked on as the

gifts O f fortune or the good things of the body
, ,

would seem trifling and insignificant : no evil nor ,

all the collective bod y of evi l s to gether would be ,

comparable to the evil of infamy Wherefore if .

, ,

as you granted in t h e b eginning infamy is worse ,

th an p ain pain is c ertainl y nothing ; for whil st

,

it shall appea r to you base and unmanly to groan -

,

cry out lament or faint under pain w h ilst yo u

’
'

, , ,

have any notion of probity dignity honour and , , ,

keep ing your eye on them you refrai nyourself ; ,

pain will certainly yield to virtue and by the

m
,

infl uence of i agination will lose its whol e force ,

.

F o r you must eith er g ive up virtue or despise

.
'

p ain Will you allow o f such a virtue as p ru

,
:

dence without which no virtue can indeed be

,

conceived ? What then;? w ill that suffer you to

m
i

l ab o ur a nd take p dins to no p u rpose Wi l l te

m
.

r it o u to do any thi n to exc ss ?

p era nc e p e y g e
'
. . .

C an j ustice be main tained by one w h o thr ou gh ,

th e : fo rce o f pain be trays secrets One that dis

'

.
,

c ov ers this confederates and relinquis h es many ,

dut ies Of life? (H o wwill you act consisten t w

'
it h
courage and its a tt endants great ness of soul reso;
, , ,

l utio n p atierrce a con tempt for all worldly thin gs ?

' '

m
, ,

C an you hear yourself called a g reat an when

m
. o
,

you lie groveling dej ected and d epl oring y o u

’

, ,

sel f w
, ith a lamentable voice ; no one would c all
v
~
.
 or C I CERO . .
95

you a man in such a condition

,
: therefore you
must either quit : all pretensions to courage or
.
,

pain mu st be laid asleep .

XI V You know very well that though part

.
,

of your C orinthian furniture be gone the re

m
,

ainder l s safe without that ; but if you lose one

virtue ( though virtue cannot be lost ) ; should

you I say acknowle dge that you were short in
, ,

one you would be stripped of all C an you then

,
.

call P rometheus a brave man Of a great soul .

, ,

endued with patience, and steadiness above the

frowns of fortune ? or P hiloctetes for I choose to ,

instance in him rather than yourself for he cer

, ,

tainl y was not brave who lay in his bed watered , ,

with his tears ,

Wh e g n bewiling nd wh e b itte ie
os roa s, a s, a os r cr s,

With g ief in e nt end th e ve y kie

r c ssa r r s s.

I do not deny pain to be pain for were that the ‘

case in what w ould courag e consist ? b ut I say it

,
.

should be assuaged by patience if there be such a ,

thing as patience if there b eno such thing .

'
,

w h y do w e speak so l n prai s e of philosophy ? or

w h y do we glory in its name .
P ain vexes us let ,

it sti ng us to the heart : if you h ave no defence

“ ,

submit to it ; b u t if you a resecured b y Vulcanian .

armou r i: c with re solution op pose it ; should

, .
,

o u fail to do so th at guardia n of your honour '

y , ,

ra e would forsak eand leave

y d urc ou
g , you By .

th el a w and by those which w e

'

s O f L ycurgus
.

re
'

,
96 TH E T USCU LA N D I SPU T A TI ONS
given to the C retans by Jupiter or which Minos ,

received from that god as the poets say the , ,

youths are trained up to hunting running eu , ,

dur ing hunger and thirst cold and heat The , .

boys at S parta are scourged so at the altars that ,

.

the blood follows the lash nay sometimes as I , , ,

heard when I was there they are whipped to ,

d eath ; and not one O f them was ever heard to

cry out or so much as groan What then ? s h all
,
. .

men not be able to bear what boys do and sh all

?

custom have more force than reason

XV There is some difference betwixt labo ur
.

and pain ; they border upon one another but with ,

a distinction L abo ur is a cert ain exercise Of th e

m
.

ind or body in some employ or undertaking

,

that r equires pains ; but pain is a sharp motion in

the body disagreeable to our senses Both these
, .

the Greeks whose language is more copious than

,

ours express by the common name Of fl ws ; there

,
o

fore they call industrious men pains taking or ,

-
,

rather fond of labo ur ; we more pertine ntly , ,

laborious for there is a difference betwixt labo ur

and pain You see 0 Greece your barrenness of
.
, ,

words sometimes though you think you alway s

, ,

abound I say then there is a difference betwixt

.
, ,

labour and pain When Marius was cut for a

.
.

swelling in his thigh he felt pain ; when he ,

headed his troops in a very hot season he ,

labo ured Yet they hea r some resemblance to

.
98 T HE T USCULAN DISPU TAI IONS
' ‘

which they carry so commodiously that when ,

there is occasion they throw down their b urdehsj

and use their arms as read i as their limbs What .

are the exercises o f the legion s ? What labour in

the running enco unters shouts ! H en ce it is that
, , ,

they make so slight o f wounds in action T ake a .

so ldier o f equal bravery but unex ercise d and h e , ,

will se em a woman ; but w

'

h y should there b e
‘

this sensible di fference betwixt a raw man and an ,

°

Old soldier ? It is true the age Of yo ung soldiers

is for the most part preferable b u
,

t it is prac tice

m
,

that enables the to bear labo ur and despise ,

wounds Thus you see when the wounded are

.
,

car ried Off the field the ra wuntried soldier , ,

though but slightly w ounded cries out most ,

shamefully but the more brave experienced

,

veteran only enquires for some one to dress h is

wounds and says
, ,

P t l u t th y id I m u t pp e l
a ro c s, o a s a a ,

E e w e en ue my bl eedi ng wund t h el ;
ml y d
r ors s , o s o a

Th e sons of [Es cul ap ius are e p o

’

mf m
,

m
NO roo e m ny e nn y d
or , so a ar a o
’
.

X V I I This is certainly Euryp il us hl se lf

m
.
,

experienced a n l — Whi lst his friend is con

tinual l y enlarging o n his sorrows youmay observe ,

that he is so far from weeping that he assig ns a ,

reason why he should h ear his wounds with .

patience
Wh t h i enemy t ke dire t
.

o a s a s ro c s,

Hi w ord t l igh t upon hi m el f ex pect

s s o s s .
 1 . OF C I CE RO .

lead himfl to hO
’
is chamb r
e to b indil p his wounds;
owit
‘ ‘

but not a word of ' that for

,
he en q uires h.

c l S ay h o wthe A gi e be
r v s ar t e h m sel v es in figh t ?
H e coul d not express their toils so w el l by words ,

as w hat he had suffered himself .

n
Peace ! ad my w
i

ounds b in d u
p;
1
B ut though Eurypi lnscopld not, {Esopusc oul d i
.

Whe e He tor f tune p e d u yielding t p s

r c
’
s or r ss
’
o r roo ,

and he e x plain s the r e st though in pain ; so un

'

m
,

bounded is mi litary glory in a brave man ! Can

not a wise a nd learned an -achieve w h at this t

Ol d sold ier could ? yes indeed ; and in a much ,

better w y
“
a ; bu t at prese n t l confine my self to
‘

custom and practice I am not yet come to speak .

i
wm
o f reason a nd ph losophy You may Often hear .

of diminutive Ol d o en living without vic tuals

three or four d ays : but t aké away a wrestle r s
w
’

p rovision but for one day he i l l implore Ju iter

m p ,

O l y pius the very g o d for whom he exercises

,

m
h imself he will cry o u
. t It 1 3 intolerabl e Great ,
.

is the force of custo ! S portsmen w ill continue

whole nights in the sho w
'

: they will bear being

parched uponthe mountains By custom the .

bo xers w il l not so much as utter a g roan h o w ,

ever bruised by the cestus But what do you .

think o f those who put a victory in the Olympics

 muu
m
100 T H E TU S C U LA N sr rro ns

on a footing Wi th the Con sulate for e rly ?

What wounds will the gladi ators be ar w h o are
w
,

either barbarians or the dregs of men H o , .

do they w h o are trai ned to it prefer being

, ,

wounded to the basely avoiding zit H o w often do

they app ea r to c onsider nothing b ut the giving
m
l

satisfaction to their aster s or , the people ? for . ,

when covered with wounds they send to their ,

masters to learn their pleas ur e; if it is the ir

w ill they are ready to lie down and die What
,
.

m
ordinary gladiator ever gave a sigh ? Who ever
turned p ale ? Who ever disgr aced hi se lf ei ther
on his legs or when down ? w
,

, h o that w as o n the ;

g round ever drew in hi s neck to avoid t he

stroke ? so great is the fo rce of practi ce deli
'

. ,
, ,

beration and custom ! shall this then be done

, .

by
A S m ni te rasc l w
.

orth y hi em pl oy 1
a a ,
s

And shall a man born to glory have so soft a p art

in his soul as not to be able to fortify himse l f by
reason and reflection ? The sig h t of the gladia _

tors combats is by some looked on as cruel and

’

m
inh u a n a nd I do not know as it is at present
,
'

.
,

managed but it may be so ; but when the g uilty

,

fought we might receive by o ur ear s perhaps by

, ,

ou r eyes w e coul d not better instru ctions to harden

,

us against pain and death .

XVI I I I ha ve nowdone with exercise custom

.
, ,

and a sen se of honour ; proceed w enow to con;

102 T HE T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
and courage is the peculiar distinction of a an m .

N ow there are tw o distinct o ffi ces in this a co n ,

tempt of dea th and of pain We must then pro

, .

vide ourselves with these ; if w e would be men of

virtue o r rather if we would be men beca u

, , se ,

virtue takes its very name from vir Le man , . .

XIX You may enquire perhaps h o w? and

.

such an enquiry is not amiss for philosophy is , .

ready with her assistance E picurus offers him .

self to you far from a bad man or rather a very

, ,

good one ; he advises no more than he knows ;

D espise saith he pain, h o is it saith this ? the
, . W
same w h o calls p ain the greatest of all evi l s not
m
,

very consistently indeed L et us hear h i f If .

the pain is at the height it must needs be short , .

I must have that over again for I do no t appre ,

hend what yo u mean by at the height or short .

That is at the hei g ht than which nothing is ,

higher ; that is short than which nothing is ,

shorter I do not regard the greatness of any

.

pain from which by the shortness of its con

‘

, ,

tinuance I shall be delivered almost before it

,

reaches me But if the pain be as great as that

.

o f P hiloctetes it will appear great indeed to me

, ,

bu t yet not the greatest I am capable o f ; for the

pain is co nfined to my foot : but my eye may

m
pain e I may h ave a pain in the head sides
, , ,

lungs ev ery part of me

, It is far then from .

being at the heig ht ; therefore says he pain of a , ,

 OF C I CERO . 1 03

l ong continuance has m ore pleasure in it than

'

uneasiness No wI cannot bring myself to say

.
'

so great a man talks non sense but I imagine he ,

la u ghs at us “ My opinion 1 8 that th e greatest ,

pain ( I say the greatest though it may be ten

, ,

atoms less than another ) is not therefore short

because acute ; I could name y ou a great many
good men w h o have b een tor ented many years m
with the acutest pains of the gout But thi s .

cautious man doth not determine the measure o f

that greatness ; nor as I kno wdoth he fix what
, ,

he means by great with regard to the pain nor ,

short with respect to its continu ance L et us .

'

pass him by then as one who says j ust nothing at

all ; and let us force him to ackno w ledge not ,

withstanding he might behave himself somewhat

boldly under his colic and his strangury that no ,

remedy against pain can be had from him who

looks o n pain as the greatest o f all evils We .

must apply then for relief elsewhere and no ,

where better to all appearance than from those

who place the chief good in honesty and the ,

greatest evil in infamy You dare not so much as

.

groan or discover the least uneasiness in their

,

company for virtue itself speaks to you through

,

them .

XX Wil l you w
. hen you may observe ch ildren
,

at L aced aemon young men at Olympia B arba

, ,

rians in the amphitheatre receive deep wounds , ,

104 TI
lE T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
and nev er once open their onth s ; will you I m ,

say when any pain t w

,
. itches you cry out like a ,

woman ? shoul d you not rather bear it wi th

resolution and constancy ? and not cry It is in ,

tolerable nature cannot bear it Ih ear what you

, .

say boys bear th is led thereto by glory : some

,
.
,

bear it through shame many through fear ; and ,

do w e imagine that nature canno t bear what is

borne b y many and in such different circum

,

stances nature not only h ears it but chall enges ,

it for there is nothing with her preferable to it;

,

nothing she desires more than credit and reputa

tion th an praise than honour and glory I w
, , as ,
.
‘

desirous of describing th is under many names ,

and I have used many that you may have the ,

clearer idea of it ; for I meant to say that what ,

ever is desirable of itself proceeding from virtue , ,

or placed in virtue and commendable on its o w

, n

account ( which I should sooner call the only g ood

than the chief good ) is what men should prefer
above all things As we declare thus o f honesty
.
,

the contrary is due to infamy : nothing is so

odious so detes table nothing so unworthy a man
(
, , ,

which if you are convinced of for at the begin

ning o f this discourse you allowed
. that there ,

appeared to you more evil in infamy than in pain )

what remains is that you have the command over
,

yourself .

XX I Though the expression may not seem

.
106 T HE T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
collecting themselves to maintain their honour .

That wise man at Greece 1n the Nip trae doth not ,

.
,

lament too much over his wo unds or rather he 18

m
,

oderate in his grief .

M ve sl owmy f iend ; y m
o ha t y p eed ef ain
, r s o
'
s s r r ,

Le t b y y u m tio n y u in e e m y pain
s o r o o cr as .

P acuvius is better in this than S ophocles for ,

with him U lysses bemoans his w ounds too l ament

ably ; for the very p eopl e w h ocarried hi a fter
'

m '

he w as wounded though his g rief w , as moderate ,

yet cons ide ring the dig nity of the man did not ,

scruple to say ,

E en th u U ly e l ong to w inu d
'

’ ’
o , s s s, ar r ,

Th y wun d th ug h g eat too feebly hast endu d

o s, o r , r
’
.

The wise poet unders tood that custom w as no ,

cont emptible instructor h owto bear pain 1 But .

the same complains with more decency tho ugh in ,

grea t pain ,

A i t suppo t m
ss s e neve l eave m
, e ; r , r so

U nb ind my wund h ex ec abl e w oe !

o s, o r

H e begins to give way but instantly checks

m
,

hi self .

A wy b egoxie b ut cov e fi t t h e sore;

a , , r rs

F or y u ude h nd b ut m k e my pains th e m e
o r r a s a or .

D o you observe h o whe constrains himsel f not ,

that his bodily pains were l ess but he corrects ,

the sense of them Therefore in the co nclusion

o f the Ni traa he blames others even whe n he
p
w
,

as dyi ng .
 or 01 01311 0 . 1 1 07

1 None but a wm o an
w
ll hi t us w
eep ing stan d .

i '
Tha t
soft place in his s oul obeys his reason ,

as an abashed soldier doth his stern commander .

w
XXI I Whenever a completely Wise man shall
-
.

appear ( such indeed e have never as yet seen , ,

but the phi losophers have described in their

'

w ritings what sort of man he is to be if ever he

, ,

is) ; such an one or at least his perfect reason , ,

will have the same authority over the inferior

part as a good parent has over his dutiful chil
dren he will bring it to obey h is nod without any
, ,

trouble or pains H e will rouse himself prepa re

.
,

and arm himself to Oppose pain as he would an

enemy If you enquire what arms he will pro
.

vide himself w ith ; he will struggle with his pain

m
,

assume a resolution w ill reason with hi self ; he ,

will say thus to himself Take care that you are ,

guilty of nothing base languid or unmanly H e , , .

w il l turn over in his mind all the different kinds

o f honesty Zeno of E lea will be presented to
.

him w h o suffered every thing rath er than betray

,

his confederates in the design o f putting a n end

to the tyranny H e will re fl ect on Anaxarch us
m
.
,

the De ocritian who having fallen into the hands

,

o f Nicocreo n king of C
yp rus w ith o ut the least ,
'

entreaty or refusal submitted to every kind of

torture Cal anus the Indian will occur to him
'

.
, , ,

an ignorant man and a barbarian bo rn at the , ,

 mmu
M
108 T HE T USCU LAN r rons
’ '
s r

foot of ount C aucasus who committed himself ,

to the flames by a free voluntary act But we if .

,

we have the tooth-ach or a pain in the foot o r if , ,

the body b e any ways affected cannot bear it

.
,
.

O ur sentiments o f p a in as well as pleasure are so

trifling a nd efle ina te w m
, ,

M
'

t e are so enervated and ,

dissolved that we cannot bear the sting of a bee

,

without c rying ou t But C arius a pl ain . .

,

co untryman but of a manly soul when he w as

, ,

cut as I mentioned above at first refused to be

, ,

tied down and he is the first instance of any one s

,
’

being cut without tying down ; why did others

M
bear this afterwards from the force of example ?
Yo u see then pain is more in opinion than n ature ,
and yet th e same arius is a proof that there is
‘

something very sharp in pain for he would not ,

submit to have the other thigh cut S o that he .

bore his pain with resolution ; but as a man he ,

was not willing to undergo any greater wi thout

evident cause The whole then consists in this -to
.
,

w
have the co mmand over yourself : I have already
told you hat kind of command this is and by ,

m
considering what is most cons istent with patience ,

fortitude and greatness of soul a an not only

, ,

refr ains himself but by some means orother even

,

mitigates pain itself

'

XXII I E ven as in a battle the dastardly and

tim oro u
.
,

s soldier throws away his shield on the

first ap pearan ce o f an enemy and runs as fast as
i

,
1 50 m s TU SCU LAN mm
sr u r rons

at the ir a dversary give a groan not beca u se they

, ,

are in pain or from a s inking of the ir spirits but

, ,

becau se their whole body is upo n the stretch

‘

wh en th ey throw o ut these groans and the blo w

.

com es the stronger .

XX IV What ! the y w
. h o W ould sp eak louder .

than or di nary are th ey satis fied with w orking

,
1

their j aws sides or tong ue ror stretching th e

, , , , .

common organs of s peech ? the whole body is at

m
'
t
.
.

M
full stretch if I ay be allowed the expre ssion
'

, ,

e v e ry nerve is exerted to assi st their voice s I .

h ave actually seen A ntony s knee touch i b ’

.b e

ground w hen h e was speaking with vehemence for

bil l i sel f wi th relation to the Varian l a w A sl the
,
.

engines you t h rowstones or i darts with throw ,

them out with the greater force the more they

are strained and drawn back so it is in speaki ng , ,

r unning o r boxing t he more pe ople strain them ”

, ,

selve s the greater their force S ince therefore

,
. .

this exertion has so much attributed to .

sho ul d apply it in pain if it helps t o strengthen ,

the mi nd But if it is a groan of lamentation; if

.

it is w ea kness or abj ectness I should sc arce call

him a man w h o complied with it F or even sup .

posing that such groaning give any ease it should ,

be considered whether it w as consistent with a

,
-

brave and r esolute man But if it doth not case .

,

our pain why should w

, e deba se ou r selves to no
purpose for what is m ore unbecoming in a man
 a or ci ceno . 111

than to cr
y lil
‘
- ie d a fl ivo
But this precep t mn?
a
'
fl

about pain is not confined to that we sh ould

apply this e xertio n cf th esoul to eve ry thing
els e D oth anger rage, or lust p rev ail ? ‘

e W
m m
. ,

should have re cou rse to the same ag az e and ’

a pply to the same arms but since our subj ect 1 8

pain w e will let the others alone To h ea "
r ain
p . .
,

then sedately and calmly it is of gre at use ta

h ow
,

consider wit h all our soul as the saying ,

noble it is to do so for w e a re naturall y d esirous

,

( as I said before nor can it be to o ofte nrepeated

, )

w
and very much in c lined to wh at is honest of '
“

hich if w e disco ver but the least glimpse t here ,

is nothing we are not prepared to u ndergo and

'

suffer to attain it From this impulse of ou

.

,
. r

minds this tend ency to true praise and hones ty

'

, ,

such d an g ers are supported in war brave men ,

are no t sens ible of their wo u nds in action -or if ,

they are sensible prefer death to the departing

,

but the least step from their honour The D ccii

m
.

sawthe shining swords o f their ene l es when

they rushed into the battle The dying nobly .
,

and the glory made all fear of deat h of little

,
o -

weight D o you imagine that E p amino ndas

.

groaned when b e perceived that h is life flow ed '

o ut with his blood ? for he left his country t r i

umphing over the L aced aemonians whereas h e ,

found it in subj ection to them : These a re th e '

1 12 T HE T U SCULAN D I SP U T A TI ONS
com
f orts, ; th ese are o
the things that assuage the
gr eate s
t p ain .

XXV Y ou may ask h owthe case is in peace ?

"
.
,

wha t is to be done at home ; h o ww e are to

behave in bed you bring me back to the _philo

Sophers who seldom go to w ar Among these
, ,
.
,

Dionysius o f H eracl ea a man certai nly o f no , ,

resolution having learned bravery of Z eno

,
'

qui tted it on be ing in pain : for being tormen ted

with a pain in his kidneys in b ew ai ling himself h e
“
,

cried out that t h ose things were false which he

, .

had formerly conceived of pain Who when his

m
.
,

fellow -disciple C leanthes asked hi why he had

changed his opinion answered Whoever h a d , ,

applied so much time to philosophy and cannot ,

bear p ain ; may be a su fficient proof that pain is

an evil I have spent many years at philosophy
.
,

and yet cannot bear pain P ain is therefore an .

evil It is reported that C leanthes on that struck

.

his foot on the ground and repeated a verse out ,

o f the E pigon e s

Am
.

p hi u h ear t th uthi b el ow?

ara s,
’
s o s

H e meant Zeno : he was sorry the other dege

mm
,

nera ted fro hi .

But it w as not so with our P o s ido nius whom ,

I have often seen myself and I will tell you what , .

P ompey used to say of him ; that when he came

’

to Rhodes on his leaving S yria he had great

, ,
'
1 14 T HE T USC U LAN mu sr rxr l ons

and to the common man because honour itself ,

made the labour l igh ter t o the general But yet .

,

so it happens that even w ith the illiterate vulgar

, ,

a n opinion of honor prevails though they cannot ,

discern what it is They are led by report and .

common opinion to look on that as honorable w h ich ,

h as the general v oice N ot that I would have .

you should the multitude be ever so fond of you

, ,

r ely on their j udgmen t nor approve o f what they ,

think right ; you must use your ow n judgmen t .

S hould you have a pleasure in approving what is "

right you will not only have the mastery ov er

,

yo urself ( which I recommended to you j ust now )

,

but ov er every body and every thing L ay this , .

down then that a great cap acity and most lofty

, ,

elevation of soul which distinguishes itself mos t

,

by despising a nd looking down with contempt on

'

m
pain is the most excellent o f all things and the
, ,

ore so if it doth not depend o n th e people nor

m
m
, ,

a i s at applau se but derives its satisfaction fr om

,

it self Besides to e ind eed every thing seems

.
,

the more commend able the less th e people are ,

courted and the fewer eye s th ere are to see it

, .

N ot that you sh ould avoid the public for every

‘
'

w
,

generous action loves th e public vi e ; yet no

t heatre for virtue is e q ual to a co nscious ness of
it
.

'

xxv1 And l et this b e principally co nsidered

w
.
,

tha t thi s bearing of pain hich I have often said ,

 or 0101311 0 . 1 15

is ta be strengthen ed by an (ex e rtion of th e

so ul; sho uld be thesame in ey ery thing
’

F or . .

you meet with many w ho thr ou gh a desire of ,

'

victory or for glory or to maintain their rights,

m
, ,

or their libe rty have boldly received wounds ;

m
,

a nd bo re themselves up under the ; and the

very same p ersons by remitting fro that in-1
’

tenseness o f their mind s were u nequal to ,

h earing the pain of a disease F or they did not

m
.
.

nder th eir su fferings b y

' '

pp o rt themselves u fl

m
reason or philosophy but by incli nation and gl ory;
The refore so e b arbarians and savagepeople are
able to fight very stou tl y with the sword but
,

m
,

cannot bear s icknass like en: but the Grecians

m
,
' '

men of no great courage but as wi se a s h u an ,

nature will admi t of cannot l ook an enemy in the ,

face yet the same will bear to be visited with

,

sickness tolerably and manly e nough ; and the

m
,

Ci b rians and C eltiberians are very alert in

battle but bemoan themselves in sickness ; for
,
'

w
n othing can be consistent which has not reaso n
for its foundation But hen you see those h o
. W
are led by inclination or opinio n not retarded by ,

pain in their pursuits ; nor h indered from obtaining

them you sh ould conclude either that pain is no
'

m
, ,

evil or that notwithstanding whatever is dis

, ,

agreeable a nd contraryto natu re you ay choose “

'
‘

, ,

tq call an evil yet it is so very small that it

,
.

,
1 16 r ue T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ON S
m
ay s eff c uall y be g t
o e tthe bet ter of by virt ue o
'

s qu i te o disappea r W hi ch I would have

'
’

a t
'

yo u thi nk -
o f night and day ; for this argument

will spread itself and take up more room som e

m
,

ti e or oth er and not be con fi ned to pain

,

alone ; for if the motives to all our actions are '

to avoid d isgr ace and acquire hono ur we may ,

not only despise the stings of pain but the storms ,

of fo rtune especially if w
, e have re cours e to

that retreat which was o ur yesterday s subject ’

.

As if Some god had advised one w

, h o w as pur
sued by pirates to throw himself over-boar d
'

, ,

Mm
saying there is something a t hand to receive
, _

you either a dolphin will ta ke you up as it

‘

, ,

did A rion of eth y na o r those horses sent ,

by N eptune to P elops ( who a re said to have ,

ca rried chariots so rapidly as to be borne up by

th e W aves ) will receive you and convey yo u , .

wherever you please he would forego a ll fear: ,

so though your pains be ever so sharp and

,

disagreeable if they a re not so great as to be

m
,

intolerable you see where you a y betak ey our

,

self I th o ug h t this would do for the present

. .

But perhaps ydu still abide by your o pinion : A .

M
N ot in the least indeed and I h opeI am freed
'

by these t w o days discours es from the fear of ’

’

two things that I greatly dread ed -

To
'

morrow then for r h etoric as w é were saying , ,

 T HE T U S C U L AN D I S PU TATIO NS
- .

BOO! III .

ON G RIEF OF M
I ND .

WHA T reason shall I assign B rutus why as w , e , ,

consist o f soul and body the art of curing and

,

preserving the body should be so much sought

after and the invention of it as being so useful
, , ,

shoul d be ascribed to the immortal gods ; but the

medicine of the soul should neither be the obj ect of
in quiry whilst it w
,
as unknown nor so much ,

improved after its discove ry nor so well received

,

or approved o f by some disagreeable and looked

, ,

on with an envi ous eye by many others ? Is it

because the so ul j udges o f the pains and disorders
'

o f the body but we do not form any j udgment of

,

the soul by the body ? H ence it comes that the

so ul never j udgeth of itsel f but when that by ,

which itself is judged is in a bad state H ad na .

ture given us faculties for d iscerning and viewing

herself and could w
, e go through life by keeping

o ur eye o n her o ur best guide

, no one certainly ,

would be in want of philosophy or lear ning .

 O F C I CERO .
19
But , it is she has furnished us only with s om e
as ,

fewsparks which we soon so extinguish by b ad

,

morals and depr aved customs that t h e light of ,

nature is qu ite put out The seeds of virtues are .

connatural to o ur constitutions and were th ey

m
, “

su ffered to come to aturity would natur ally ,

conduct u s t o a happy life ; but no was soon a s

w w
,

e are born and received into th e world

m
e are ,

m
in stantly fa iliarized t o all kinds of dep ravity
and wrong opinions ; so th a t w
m
e ay be said .

almost to suck , in error w

, ,

ith our anurses ilk

’
.

When w
, J ,
)

e retur n to o u r parents and are u

m
,
p t i nto ,

the hands of t ut ors and g overriors W e i bibeso

m
. .
,

an erro rs that tr u th l ves place to falseh o od

y , g ,
,

and natur e”he rself to establi shed opinion 1 To

th ese w wh o on aceountp f
, ,

e may add th e po ets '

w
,

the app earance th ey exhibit o f learning l a nd l is

m m
.
,

m
do , are hear d r ead and g ot; by h eart and ake
m
, , ,

a deep i pression on our inds Butxw heut o f

w
. .
.

these are adde d th e p eople

,
h o a reas i t were; one ,

great body of instruc tors and t he m ultitude 9t , , ,

declare unanimously for vice then are we al to ,

rw w
.
, ,

h h l d i h o 1n1 ons and revol t

m
g e t er o ve e n
r e t bad p l . ,
-

ent irel y from na tur e; so th at th ey see to dep rive ,

us of our best guide who h ave ascribed all great ,

ness , worth and e x cellence to honour and

, , ,

power and popular glory which indeed every

m
'

, ,

but w
'

ex cellent a n aims a t ; h il st h e pu rsues

that only true honour which nature h as in vie , . w,
 TH E T U S C U LA N IO N S

he fi
'

himself busied in a rrant trifles a h d in

nds -
,

pu rsui t of no conspicuous form of virtue but a

'

'

sh ado w y representation of glory For glory is a

w
.

real a nd express substa nce -not a mere shado

s
: ,

It consists in the un ited praise of good men the ,

'

free voice of those who form true j udgments of

pre eminent virtue ; it is as it were the very
3
'

ec h o ’ of virtue ; which being g ener l l h att n

'

ay t e e

da nt on laudable a
t
c tions should n ot be slighted ,

b y good men But popular fame which would

’

.
,

ret endl to imita te it is hasty and inconsiderate

p , ,

and general ly commends wicked and immoral

action s and taints the appearance and beauty of
’

the o ther by assuming th e resemblance of honesty

,
‘
.

By not being able to discover the di fference of

these some men ignorant of real excellence and
, , ,

in w h at it consists have been the destruction o

’

f
‘

their country o r of themselves And th us th e

'

m
~ -
.

best en h av e err e d not so m u

~
ch in th eir in ,
~ ~

tentions wh y a mistaken conduct

, What is .
'

th ere no cure for those who are carri ed away by

'

the love of money o r the lust of pleasures by , ,

which they are little short of m admen which is the ,

ca se of all weak pe ople ? or is it beca use th e dis

orders of the mind are less dangerous than th ose
of th e b ody or because the body will admit of a
’

cure but the soul is incurable ?

,

I I I But there are more disorders of the mind

- .

than of the body for the generality and of a , ,

 122 TH E T U SCU LAN nrsp u m rrons

of pain and dea th the third day of our disputa ,

tion shall make up this volume Wh en w e came .

down into the academy the day declining towards

afternoon I asked of one o f those w
,

, h o were

M
present a subj ect to d iscourse on ; then th e
b usiness w as carried o n in this ma nner .

I V A y op inio n is that a wise man is sub

. .
,

j cet to grief M W h at and to

. the oth er p ar t ur ,

ba tions o f mind as fears lusts anger F er t hese

, , ,

are pretty much like what the Greeks cal l a oe a .

I might name them diseases and that would be ,

literal but it is not agreeable to o ur w

,
a
y o f

M
speaking For envy delig h t and pl ea sure sare
.
, ,
~
,

a ll called by the Gr eeks diseases being moti ons of ,

the mind repugnant to reason : but we; I think are ,

right in calling the same motions of a

,

M
soul perturbations very sel dom d iseases ; unle ss
, ,

M
i t appears otherwise to you A I am o f your .
'

op inion And do you think a w ise man sub

. .

c t to these ? A E ntirel 1 i
j e y t h nk . Then , . . .

that boasted wisdom is but of small account if it

W
, .

differs so little from madness A h a t ? det h . . . .

every commotion of the mind s eem to you to be

madness ? M Not to me only but l a p preh end ,

though I have often been surprised at it that it

m
,

appeared so to our an ces tors any ages before

M
S ocrates : from whom is derived all that phil oso
phy which relates to life and morals A H ow . .

so ? Because the name madness implies a

 "o
'
’

f or c re m e .
1 1 .
19 3

sickness of the mind and disease that is an nu

‘ '

s ound ness and a distemperature of mind which

, ,

they call mad ness The philosophers called al l

‘
.
"

perturbations of the soul di seas es and their o pi

nion was that no foo l w m
,

as free fro th ese ; but all

m
'

tha t are dis e ased are nso und and the minds of
m
,

a ll fools are diseased therefore all foo ls are ad , .

Th ey held a soundness o f the mind to depend

on a certa in tranquillity and ste adiness ; they ‘

cal l ed that madness where the mind w as with ,

' '

out th ese beca nse soundness w

w
'

as inconsisten t

m
'

ith a pertu rbed ihd as w

,

"
'

ell as a disorde red ,

bo dy .

V N or were they less ingenio us in cal l ing th e

' ‘

st ate of the soul devoid of the light of r eason , ,

From whence w
'

’ :
o ut of itself i s mad ,
. e may
. .

understa nd th at they who gave th ese names to

'

thing s were of the same opinion with S ocrates

’

th at all sill y peopl e w

,
"
'

ere unsound W hich t h e

’

m
,
‘

St oics as received from hi have carefully pre

m
, ,

served for wha tever mind is diste p ered (

'

an d as ,

I j ust no w said; the philosophers call all perturbed

m otions of the mind distempers ) is no m ore sound ,

than a bo dy in a fit o f sickn ess H ence it is

'

that w
.
,

isdom is the sound ness o f the mind folly , .

the distempered state which is unsoundness and , ,

that is madness ; and these are much bett er e x

pressed by the L atin words th a n the Greek
which yo u will find in many other pl aces But - .
124 T H E T USCULAN DIS P U TA I IO NS
' ‘

of that elsewhere : no w to our p resent p urpo see ,

i

The very force of the word speaks what and ,

what kind of thing it is w e enquire after F or .

we must necessarily understand by the sound ,

those whose minds are u nder no perturbation from

an
y v
m
o tion as it were ,a disea s e Th e y who are .
’

differently affected we must necessarily call un

‘

sound S o that nothing is better than what is

.

usu al in L atin to say that they who are run

, ,
'

m
away with by their lust or anger have q uitted
'

m
,

the co mand over th e sel ves ; though anger in

.

cludes lust for anger is defined to be the lust of

,

revenge They then who are said not to be

'

m
.

asters of themselves are Said to be so because , ,

they are not under the go vernment of reaso n to

’

which is assigned by _nature the p ow er o ver the

'

whole soul Why the Greeks should call this

.
.

nam e,I do not easily apprehend ; but we define it

much bett e r than they for we distin gu ish this ,
“
madness which being allied to folly is more ex
’

, , ,

tensive from what is called a f uror or raving

‘

.
, ,

The Greeks indeed would do so too but they ,

M
have no one word that will express it : what we
cal l furor they call y e yo
,
as if the re ason were ' a
,

ffected only by a black bile and no t distu rbed

a ,

as often by a violent rage or fear or grief Thus

“
.
, , ,

we say Athamas Alcm aeon Aj ax and O restes

, , , ,

were raving because o ne a ffected 1 n this manner

w as not allowed by th e twelve tables tohave the
1 26 T HE T USCULAN mum sp rro ns

e xpense of some unnatural wildness of mind er ,

‘

stu por of body But let us consider if to talk

’

m
.

thus is not allowing that we are weak and co ,

plying with our softness N otwithsta nding let .

,

us be hardy enough not only to 10p off every

,

arm of o ur miseries but pluck up every fibre o f

,

their roo ts : yet still something perhaps may be

left behind so deep doth folly strike its roots :
m
,
'

but whatever may be left it should be no ore ,

than is necessary But let us he pe rsuaded of

‘

th is that unless th e mi nd be in a sound s tate

, ,

which philosophy alone can e ffect there can be ,

no end of o ur miseries Wherefore as we begun .

, ,

let us submit ourselves to it for a cure ; w e may

be cured if w e please I sh all advance somet hing

.

farth er I shall not treat of grief alone though

.
,

that inde ed is the principal thing ; but as I p ro ,

posed of every disorder o f the mind as the

, ,

Greeks call it : and first with your leave I shall , ,

tr eat it in the manner of the S toi cs wh ose ,

meth od is to reduce their arguments into a

littl e room ; then I shall enlarge more in my
ow n way .

VII A man o f courage relies on himself ; I

.

do not say is confident because by a bad custom ,

of speaking that is looked on as a fa ult though ,

the word is derived from confi ding in yourself ,

which is commendable H e w h o relies on him

.

self is certainly under no fear ; for there is a re

,
 c
or a r a ne! 12 7

p gu na nce betwixt this self-reliance a nd fear N o . w

who ever is subj ec t to g rief is subj ect to fear ; for
whatever things we grieve at when present w é ,

dread as hanging over us and approaching Thu s .

it comes about that grief is repugnant to courage

'

it is very probable therefore that whoever is

, ,

subject to grief the same is liable t o fear and a

, ,

kind of broken-heartedness and sinking Now

’

whenever these hefel a man he is in a servile

m
,

S tate and must o w n that h e i is overpower ed

W
.
,

hoever entertains these must entertain ti idity

m
,

and cowardice .But these cannot b efal a man of

courage ; neither ther efore can grief ; but the an
o f cou rage is th e only W ise man : therefore gr ief
cannot b efal the wise man It is besides neces .

sary that whoever is b rave sh oul d be a man of a

‘

, ,

reat soul ; a great s oul i s invincible whoever is

g
i nvi ncible looks down with contempt on all things
here and holds them as below him But no o ne
, .

can despi se those things on ac count of whi ch he

may be affected vn th grief : fro m whence it fol
'

lows that a wise man is never affected with

m
,

g rief for
, all wise en are brave therefore a ,

wise man is not subj ect to grief As the eye

when disordered is not in a disposition for per
.
,

m
,

for ing its offi ce well ; and the other parts with ,

the body itself when dislocated cannot perform

'

, ,

thei r o ffic e and appointment ; so the mind when ,

disord e red is ill disposed to do its duty : the

,
128 T HE T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
o ffice of the mind is to use its reason w ell ; b ut
' '

the mind of a wise man is always in condition to

'

make the best use of his reason th erefore is

'

never out of order But grief is a disorder of

.

the m ind therefore a wise man w ill be always

,

free from it

M
.

VII I It is very probable that what the Greeks

M
.
,

p m is the temperate inan with

M
mean by their o ,

us for they call all that virtue

, which I ,

one while name temperance at another time mo ,

derati on nay sometimes modesty ; and I do not

,

know whether that virtue may not be properly

called frugality which has a more confined mean
,
'

ing with the Greeks ; for they call frugal m en

m f g w hich implies only that they are useful :
a t fi ov ,

but it has a mor e extensive meaning ; for all ab

stinence all innocency (
, which the Greeks have ,

no common name for though they might hav e

w
,

s m for innocency is that affection of mind

a ,

which would offend no one ) and several other

virtues are comprehended under frugality which
, , ,

were it not o f the first rate but confin ed into ,

so small a compass as some imagine the sirname ,

of P isa would not have been in so g rea f esteem .

But as we allow him not the name of a fruga l

man ( ru i)
f g who either quits
, his post thro ugh
fear which is cowardice or who reserves to his
,

ow n use what w as privately committed to his

keeping which is injustice ; or who misbehaves

,
 130 TH E T USC UL AN mu
sr rxr rons

mnd
i of
a w ise man is without any disorder ;
it never swells or is puffed up ; but the mind
,

in a n ge r is otherwise A wise man therefore is .

never angry ; for when he is an g ry he lusts after ,

something for w ,hoever 18 angry n aturall y has a

l ohg ing desire to gi v e all the pain he can to the
'

person he thinks has inj ured him ; but w hoever

has this earnest desire must necessarily be much
pleas e d with the accomplish ent o f his wishes m
h ence he 1 8 delighted w ith his neighbour s misery
’

wh ich as a wise man is not capable of he i s not ,

m
capable of anger But should a wise man be

m
.

'

subj ect t o grief he may likew ise be sub

,

ct t o a
j e n ger fro which
, being free he u st ,

be void of grief Besides could a wise man .

,

be subj ect to g rief he might be so to p ity h e

, ,

'

mi gh t be open t o a disposition for envy : I do no t

say he might be envious for that consists of the ,

very act of envying .

X Therefore compass ion and envy are con

.

srstent in the same man ; for whoever is un e asy at

any one s adversity is uneasy at an other s p ros
’

,
’

e rit : as Theo hrast us laments the loss o f his

p y p
companion Cal listh enes and is disturbed at the ,

success o f Alexander therefore he saith that

?
,

Cal l isth enes met with a man of great power and

success but w , h o did not know h ow to make use

of his goo d fort une ; and as pity is an uneas iness

arising from the misfo r tunes o f another so envy ,
 o r crcs no 13 1
‘

is an unea sin ess that proceeds from th e good suc

cess of a nother : therefore whoever is c apabl e
of p rtyf is ca pable o f envy : But a wise an s
i . m
ihcap abl e of envy and c onsequently of pity B
F
, .

were a wise man used t o grieve to pi ty w ou l d be

m
,

fa miliar to him ; therefore to g rieve is far fro a ,

wise man Though th ese reasonings of th e

.

Stoics and their conclusi ons are rather s tiff a nd

, ,
'

contr ac ted and require a more difi use and free

w
,

a yet great tress is to be laid ion th e opinions

y
m
, s

of th ose
- en who have a peculiar bo ld and manly
'
,

turn of thought F or our pa rticular friends the

-
. _ ,

'

P eripatetics notwithstanding all th eir erudition

,
i
,

flowo f w or ds do no t s a tisfy me
'

m
,

abo ut th e oderation of these disorders and dis

ease sof the so u l for every evil tho ug h
. odcrate
, , m '
,

is in its nature great But o ur b usiness is t o .

.

di vest our wis e man of all evil ; for as the body

. .

is not sound though but slightly affec ted so the

, ,

mind unde r any moderate disorde r loses its sound

ness therefore the R omans have with the ir usual
skill called trouble anguish vexation on account , , ,

o f the analogy between a troubl ed mind and a

d iseased body disorders The G reeks call all

, .

erturbation o f mind b pretty nea ly the same

p y r _

na me for they name every turbid mo tion o f the

,

sou l H fi g i e a distemper But w e have g iven

a o , . . .

them a more proper name for a disorder of mind

.is very like a disease of the body But l ust doth .
1 32 T H E T USCULAN mu sr rnri ons

not sickness ; neither doth i

resembl e
"
oderate
'

m
m '

m
j oy which is a high and exulting pleasur eof the
,

mind Fear too fi is not very like a diste per

.
, ,
.
,

though it borders upon grief of mind but properl y

'

w
as s ickness of t h e body it is so called from its ,

conne xion ith pain the same may be said of .

this grief : therefore I must ex pl ain whence this '

ain p rocee d sg z e the cause that occasions this

’
' '
'

p . . .

grief as it were a sickne ss of the body For

,
. .

as ph ysicians t hink they have fo und o ut the care

m
,

when they h ave discovered fthe cause o f the . -

diste per so w e shall disc over the me thod o f

,

cure wh en th e cause is found out .

whole cause then is in bpinio n, not

inde ed of this grief alone but of every other dis ,

order of the mind ; which a re o f four sorts, b ut

consisting o f many parts F o r as every disorder .

o r pert urbation is a motion of the mind

: either ,

devoid of reason or in de spi te of reason or in diso

.
, ,

b edi encet o reason and that motion isincited by ,

an o p inion of good and evil these four pert urba i

tions a re divided equally into t w o parts : for tw
'

o f them proceed from an Opinion o ff o od ; one of

g
which is an exulting pleas u re i e a j oy alate be , . .

yon d measure arising from an opinion ofsome pre

m
,

sent great good the other w h ich ay be rig htly

mm
,
'

called either a desire or a lu st is a n i oderate

'

,
.

inclination after some conce ived great good in ,

Therefore these t w
.

disobedienc e to reason e .
 T H E T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
Will iy u conde m
13 4

/ n yourself Thyestes
o , , a nd de rix
p e
yo ur se l f of
li fe; on account of th e g re atness of
m
.
;

th er s crime ? What do you not look upon

" ’
a

the son of the g od of light as unworthy his

.
.

H oll o
H is furro
whi eye s

wd ’
c
s, his b ody w
o n a ay

heek s his frequent tears betray ;

r w ,

R ou gh and unco b d, m ’
b e pe k h i b itte
s a s r c ares .

O foolish (
E ta these are evils which you yourself) ,

are the caus e of and no t occasioned b y th ei acciw ,

‘

dents that b efel you ; and that you should behave

thus even when y ou had been inured to your disr
m
a
,

t ress and after th e fi rst swelling o f the ind h ad '

w
.
i n
,

subsided ! whereas grief consists ( as I shall sho )

in the notion o f some recent evil : b ut your g rief} ;
Iw arrant you roc eeded fro
p th el oss of our kin -
, y g e m
dom not your daughter ; 1 for yo u hated h er a nd :

rh a s w
.
, ,

i h reason b u ou could no t oah nl e

e t t y
m
p p y , . t

m
bear to part w ith your kingdo But suredyfit i s -

m
. 2

an impudent grief w hich p r ey s upo n a a n fon

m
t
i

being able t o co ma nd tho se t hat are: free

,
' -
.
'

. .

D ionys ius it is truc the: tyrant of Sy ra cuse when

,
-
i
, ,

driven from h is c ountry ta ught a sch ool a t C orinth t

’

so incapable w as he of li ving w it h ou t s ome au th w

rit Wh a t co ul d be mor e imp u dent -
th aa ar
y fi

quin s making ar against those who could not

’
w
b earh is tyranny who when he could no t recov er ,

his kingdom by the forces of the Veientes and

 o r crca ao . 1
1 3 5

the L atins, is said to have bistaken himself t o

C uma and to have died m that city o f ol d age
, ,

and grief ! D o you then think it can befal a

wise man to be oppressed with grief a s with
.

, .

misery for as all perturbation l s mi sery, g rief is

w
,

w
th e rack itself ; lust is a ttended yith heat ; exult
ing j oy ith levity fear with a meanness ; but
grief with something greater than these it con
m
su es torments a fflicts and d is graces aman it
m m
, , ,

tears hi preys upon hi and quite puts an end

m
, ,

to hi . If w e do not dives t ourselve s so o f it as ,

to throw it quite off we cannot b e free from

‘

misery And it is clear that there must be grief,

.

where any thing has the appearance of a present

sore and oppressing evil E picurus 15 of o pinion .
,

that grief arises naturally from the imagination of

any evil ; that w hosoever is eye -witne ss _of any
great misfortune immediately conceives the like
,

may b efal himself and becomes sad in stantly on

m
,

it The C yrenaics think that gri ef doth not

.
,

arise from every kind of ev il but fro unex ,

15 indee do f no
p ected unforeseen evil
, and that ,

small power to th e heightening gr i ef ; for W hat

soever comes o f a sudden is harder to bear , , ’

H ence these lines ar e deserv edly commended :

I k new m w hen fi t h e d ewhi b e th
m
y o n s , rs r s r a ,

De tin d by f te t n unti el y death

'

hen I ent him

s a o a

And w td defend th e Greeks

‘

s ,

Bl ow sw

m
ere h is erra nd not your p rti e f e k , s o v r a s.

Therefo re this ru inating before hand upon e v ils

136 T HE T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS '

w
h ich you see
'

at distance makes their ap proatih ,

‘

mo retolerable ; and on th is account what E uri '

,
'

pides makes Theseus say is much commended ,

.

Y ou wil l give me leave to translat e them into -

L atin as is usual with me

,
.

Itreasur d up w h t om e l earn d gedid tel l

’
a s
’
sa ,

A nd n my futu e m i e y did d w
o el l ; r s r

I th ugh t f b i tt e d e th f being d ve
‘
o o r a , o ro

f om my h m e by exil e nd l t ov e
‘

F ar r o a s r

Wth eve y evil t p e my m ind

,

i r o o ss ss ,

That w
i
h en they m e I th e l es
, e m ig h t fi nd
ca , s ca r .

But E uripides speaks that of himself w h ich

‘
,
-

Theseus said he had heard from some learned

m
:

an ,
for he w as a b earer of A naxagoras : w ho '
.
,

as they relate on hearing of the death o f his son

, ,

said knew my son was mortal ; 3 which speech ’

m
,
i
s ee s to intimate that such thing s a fflict tho se
who have not thought on them before There fore .

there -is no doubt b u t that all evils are the h e avier

from not being foreseen Though notw ith
m
.
,
'

standing that this circu sta nce al one doth not

‘

Occasion the greatest grief ; yet as the mind by ,

foreseeing and preparing for it makes all grief

m
,

the less a man should consider all th at ay befi l

,
' '

him in this life ; and certainl y the excellence of

wisdom c onsists in ta king a near view o f things ,

and gaini ng a thorough experie nce in all human

affairs ; in no t be ing surprised when any thing
happens ; and in thinking before th e event o f .
,
a e

things that th ere is no thing b ut what may come

,
n t -
138 T HE T USCULAN D I S P U T A T I O N S
meditation they break the forceof all approaching
m
,

evils ; and a t the same ti e I think that th ose ,

very evils th em selves arise more from opinion

than nature ; for if they were real no forecast ,

could make them ligh ter B ut I shal l speak more .

particularly to these whe n I shall have first co n

sidere d E picurus s op ini on who thinks that all
’

must ne cessarily be uneasy who perceive th em

m
selves in any evils let them be either for eseen and ,

expected or habitual to them ; for with h i

, , ,

evils are not the less by reason o f their continu

ance nor the lighter for having been fore seen ;
,

d it is folly t o ruminate o n evil s to come or

m
a n

m
,

m m
s dis
that, perhaps e e e ilf
m
y n v l
a ,y
st : e ve ry , .

ag reeable ens sh W hereit doth fi q b ut rhe

w m m
.

h o is constantly considering tha t s g e ev i l may

befal hi charges himself with a p erpetu al evil
m
, ,

mm
fgr sh ou l d such evil ng ver light o n h i u
h evol u n ,
‘

te il
t y takes to h se
im lf unne c ess a ry iss s th tc a

h is u n der cons ta nt unea in ess whether h e m e et

w
e s s ,

ith any evil orgaly thinks of it But he place s .

w
,

w
,

m
t h e allevia ti n q
tg g a t o hi
t ng s an e
m
o , s ,

f h o n ev il and 9 1
tiss r t iekn i 1 t th e

m
.
s s 1911
.
o c: . ,

tg npl a tion of ple as u e I

f he thinks t h e ind
w
r, or

m
,

a
y b e-
under th e pow e
‘
r o f reason
,
and follo ,

her directions z h e for bids us th en to mind t ro u

'

ble,
u
.

a d ll s us o ff from sorrowf l re f l ectio ns} he

n g-t
a ,
,

t hrows a mist over the contemplation bf misery .

H av ing sounded a retreat from the se he drives ,

 ’

o r cl ona o . 139

o ur thoughts o n and encourages them to view

,

a nd engage the wh ole mind l n the various ple a

S ures with which he thinks the life o f a wise man

,

abound s e ither from re fl ecting on the past or the

, ,
“

hop e of W
m
hat is to come I have said these thing s .
~ ~

in y o w
(
n w a
y the E picureans ,
hav e theirs
what they say is our business h o wthey say it is
'
‘
»

, .

of little consequence .

:
'

XVI In the fi rst place they are wro ng in for

bidding men to premeditat eo n futu
.
,
c

rit
y fo r there e ,

: J- ;
is nothing tha t breaks the edge of grief and
l ig h tens it '
m
o re than considering all life long
, , ,

m
that th ere is nothing but what may happen ; th an
’
'

conside
-

ri ng W hat h u an natur eis on what con

w

m m
,

ditiOns li fe w as given and h oww l

'

e
_ p y
co
a
y ,
.

with them The effect o f which is no t to b e

- “ “
w
.
,

al a ys grieving, but never ; fo r whoever refl e

“
cts
o n the nature o f things the v arious turns o f life , ,

the W eakness of human nature grieves indeed at

m
,

that reflection ; but that grief he mes him as a

m
wise a n for h egains thes e t o points by it ;
,
«

when he is considering the state of human na tfire

w
,

heuis e nj oying al l fthe advant ag e o f phil osophy

k
,

and -is pr ovided ‘»with a tripl e medi ci ne ag ains t

m
ady é i sitys uThe fi rst is th at h e h a s long re flecte
. d ,

th a t such things mi ght b efal h i

i which re fl ection ,

al onescontrib utes- muc h towards lessening all ‘

m
l
f ortunes : the next is that he is persuaded th a
,t
w
,

z
é sh ould submit to the condition o f hu an
1 40 TH E T U SC ULAN D i sP U TATIONS

nat ure : the last is that he discovers what is ,

blameable to be the only evil But it is not your .

fault that somethin g ligh ts on you w hich it w

'

as ,

imp ossibl e for man to avoid ; for tha t withdrawing

o f o ur though ts he recommends when he call s us ,

off from contemplating o n our misfortunes is

mm m
,

i ag ary ; for it is not in o ur power to disse

ble or forget those evils that lie heavy on us ;
th ey tear vex and sting us they burn us up and
,
, , , ,

leave no breathing-time and do you order us to

’

forget them whi ch is ag ainst nature and at the

, ,

a me time deprive us o f the only assistance na

s
ture affords
o the be ing accustomed to them
, ,

which though it is a slow cure tha t time brings 13

, ,
.

a very powerful one You order me to employ

m y thoughts on something good and forget my ,
“

misfortunes You woul d say something a nd

.
,

worthy a great philos oph er if you thought those ,

_
things good which are best suite d to the dignit
y
of h uman nature .

X V I I S hould P ythagoras S ocrates or Plato

.
, , ,

W
say to me why are you dej ected or grieve ?
,
.

h y do you faint and yield to fort une w ho

'

, ,

perhaps may have power to harass an d disturb

on but should not quite unman u ? V i rtue
y ,
yo

h as great force rouse your virtues if they droop

, .

Take fortitude for your guide whi ch will gi ve , .

‘you such spirits that you w ill despise every thing

,

that can befal man and look on th em as trifles , .

 1 42 T HE T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS

w
dersta nd E picurus This is what he saith and .
,

hat that curious fel low ol d Zeno w h o is o ne of ,

the sh arpest of the m us ed in my hearing at Athens ,

to enforce and talk so loudly o f ; t hat h e alone

was happy wh o could enj oy present pleasure
w
, ,

an d h o was persuad e
'
d that he should enj oy
it without pa in eit her all or the greatest pa rt of
,

his life or if should any pain interfere if it was t h e ,

sh arpest it must be short ; should it be of longer

,

continuan ce it w ould have more of sweet than

,

bitter in it : that whosoever re fl ected o n these

thing s would be happy especially if satisfied w
( ith ,

th e g oo d things he had enj oy ed w ithout fear of ,

d eath or the gods

, .

X V I I I You have here a repr esentatio n of a

.

happy l ife a cco rding to E picurus in the words of

'

M
Zeno so that there is no r oom for contradicti on
,
.

What then ? C an the proposing a nd th inking of '

’
such a life make Thyestes grief the less or S ,

w
,

o f who m I spoke above or that of Tel amon ho , ,

was driven from his c ountry to penury and banish

ment ? on whom they exclaimed thus :
Is thi s th e g gl ym
an sur assin p or
;
rai s d ?

I thi th t Tel m on o hig hly p rai d

s s a a s
’
s

B y wndering G eece t w h e igh t lik e th e su

ith dim
o r , a os s , n,

All th e w ini h d l ust e h ne ?

’
o rs s r s o

No w should
, like him be depressed any o ne

with the loss o f his fortune he must apply to ,

th ose old grave philosophers for relief not to ,

 or 0101311 0 . fl 1 43

these vol uptu s for w

ari e
'

h a t great good do t hey

-

p romise Allow we, that to be Without pain i s

the chief good ? yet th at is h ot ca ll ed pleasur e
’ ' ‘

Bu t it is no t nec e

w
'
'
ssary at present to go thr ough
’

the hole the q u

'

estion is if by advancing thus ,

far w e shall abate o ur grief ? G rant that t o b ein

'

'

pai n is the greatest evil ; whosoever th én h as " ‘ ‘

proceeded so far as not to be l n pain is he the re ,

fore in immediate poss ssion of the greatest good ?

What E picurus do w
e
w w , e use any evasions and no t
, ,

all o in our o n words the same to be pleasu re

m
'
”

which you are u

'

sed to boast o f with such ai

‘

ran ce ? Are the se your w

"
ords o r not ? i
This l is
' ’

w h at you say which contains a ll th e ’

doctrine of your sch ool I w

'
ill p erfor th eoflibe .
'

m
o f an in te rpr eter; lest any sh ould imagin e I h ave
'

' ‘
-

i nvented Thus you spe ak : Nor can l form

2 '
‘ ‘

ans no tion of thechief good abstrac ted fr om

'
” ‘
’ '
r
,

th ose pleasures w hich are perc e ived b y tas te; or

from what depends on h earing music or ah
" '

st ra ct ed fr om id e as raised by exter n al obj ects

‘

w
,

hich are agr eeable motions ; or those other plea

s ures which are percei
, by th e w h ol e man from '

his sen ses nor can the pleasures o f the mind be

’

any W
‘

ays said to c onstitut e the only good ; for I

always perceived my mind to be pleased with
'

the hopes of enj oying those things I mentioned

above and presuming I should enj oy them with
,

out any interrupt ion from pain and from these

‘
1 44 T HE T USCULAN D ISP U T A TI ONS
0
'

words any one may und erstand what pleas ure

«

E picurus w as a cquainted with Then he speaks

,
.
'

“
thus a little lower down
, I have often enquir ed
Of those who are reputed to be wise men what

would be the remai ning good if they shoul d ,

W ithdraw these unless they meant to give us no

,

m
thing but words I could never lea rn any thing
fro they choose that all virtue
and wisdom sho u ld vanish and co e to nothing c
m ,

they must say with me tha t the only road l ies in

'

-
,

those pleasures which I mentioned above What .

3

fol lows is much the same and his whole book on ,

the chief g ood every where abounds with ; th e ‘

same opinions Wil l you then i nvite Telamon to

'

this k ind of life to ease his grief l and sh oul d you '

observe any of your friends under a ffliction ; w oul d

m
.

you prescribe to h i a sturgeon before a tre atise

of S ocrates ? or a concert rather than P lato ? or

l a y before hi m
the beauty and variety o f some
'

m
' ' ’

g arde n present hi, with a nosegay burn per '

, ,

fumes and bid him be crowned with a g arl and p f

,
'

rose s and woodbines S hould you add one thing

'

more yo u would certainly wipe out all his grief

, .

XI X E picurus must allow of these ; or h e

. .

must take o ut of his book what I j ust nowsaid ‘

w as a literal translation or rather he ust de m '

w
stroy his hole book for it is stuffed with plea
m
:

s ures We ust en q uire then ho ww

,

. e can ease , , ,

him of his grief who can say thus : ,

 1 46 T H E T U S CULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
in the subj ect as wel l as the words and measure
, .

We must drive away thi s grief o f hers : h o wis

that to be done ? S hall w

_

e lay her o n a bed o f

down : introduce a sing er ; shal l w e burn ceda r ,

or present her with some pleasant l iq uor and ,

provide her something to eat ? A re these the good

things which remove the most afflicting grief ? for
you but j ust nowsaid you knew of no other good
. .

I should agree with E picurus that we ought to be

called off from grief to con template good th ings ,

were it once settled what was goo d .

XX It may be said What ! do you imagine

m
.
,

E picurus really eant these and that he main ,

?
tained any thing so sensual Indeed I do not
im agine so for I am sensibl e he has said many
,

ex cellent things and with great gravity There

, .

fore a s I said be fore I am speaking of his acute

, ,

ness not his morals Though he should hold

,
.

those pleasures in contempt w h ich he j ust now ,

commended yet I must remember wherein he

,

places the chief good H e did not barely say this

.
,

but he has explained what he would sa y : he saith”

m
that taste e b racing s sports and music and
, , , ,

those forms which affect the eyes with pleasure ,

are th e chief good H ave I invented th is ? have

.

I misrepresented him ? I should be glad to be

confuted for what am I endeavour i ng at but to
, ,

clear up truth in every question ? Well but th e ,

same saith that pleasure is at its height where

,
 or 0101311 0 . 1 47

pain ceases and that to be free fr om al l pai nis the

,

greatest pleasure H ere are thr e

. e ve ry gre at
mistakes m a very fewwords O ne is t hat he
w
.
,

contradicts himself ; for but j ust no he could

, ,

not imagine any thing good unless the senses ,

were in a manne rtickled with some pleasure ; but

no wto be free from pain is the highest pleasure
, .

C an any one contradict himself more ? Th e other

mistake is that where there is naturally a threefold
,

division the first to be pleased ; n e

.

, , xt not to be ,

in pain ; the last to be equally distant from

,

pleasure and pain he imagines the first and the

last to be the same and makes no difference b e
,

tw ixt pleasure and a cessation o f pain The l ast .

mistake is in comm on with some others ; which is

this that as virtue is the most desirable thing
, ,

and as philosophy was investigated for the attain

ment of it he has separated the chief good from
,

virtue : but he commends virtue and that fre ,

quently ; and indeed C Gracchu s when he had .

,

made the largest distributions of the public

money and h ad e xhausted the treasury yet spoke
, ,

much of preserving it What signifies what the

. y
say when w
, e see wha t they do That P iso w ho
was surnamed Frugal hara ngued always against
,

the l a wthat w as propos ed for dis tributing the

co rn but when it had p assed tho ugh a consula r
, ,

man he came to receive the corn Gracchus

, .

ob se rved P iso stand ing in the court and asked

.
,
1 48 T HE T USCULAN D I SP U T A TI ONS
himin the hearing
,
‘

the p eopl e h owit w as con: of ,

'

sis tent for him to take corn by a l a whe h ad

himself opposed ? I was against your dividing
my goods to every man as you thought proper
’
‘

”
but as you do so I claim my share D id not
m
.
, .
,

this grave and w ise an suffi cientl y show that ’

the public reve nu e w as di ssipated by the S em

ronian l a w R ead G racch us s speeches and

? ’

p ,

o u will pronounce him patron of the treas ury

y .

E picurus denies that any one can live pleasantl y

who doth not lead a life of vi rtue he denies that
fortune h as a ny power over a wise man : he '

prefers a spare diet to great plenty ; maintains

a wi se man to be alw ays happy —all these things “

become a philosopher to say but they are not ,

'

consistent with pleasure But the repl y is th at

'

:
.
,

h e doth not mean th at pleasure ; let him mean

' '

any pleasure it must be such a one as makes ,

no part o f virtue But suppose w efare mistaken

.

as to his pleasure are w e so too as to pain ? I

'

maintain th erefore th e impropriety of that man s

'

- ’

talking o f virtue who would measure every great ,

e vil by pain .

XX I And indeed th e Epicureans those best

'
' '

.
,

o f men fo r there is no order of men more inno

'

cent complain that I take great pains to inveigh

, ,

against E picurus as if we were rivals for some h o ,

nour o r distinction I place the ch ief good in the

m
.

ind h e in the body I in virtue he in pleasure

,
~

,
1 50 TH E T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
out unexpected is so much the heavier But th e .

whole does no t turn on th is ; though the sudden

approach of an enemy sometimes o ccasions o re m
confusion than when you ex pected him and a ,
'

sudden sto rm at sea throws the sailors into a

greater fright than when they foresaw it and it ,

is th e same in many eases But when you care .

fu lly co nsider the _n ature of what was expected ,

you will find nothing more than that all things

-
,

w h ich come on a sudden appear greater ; and this

upon t w o accounts The first is that you hav e
.
,

not time to consider h o wgreat the accident is ;

the next is when you are persuaded you could
,

have guarded agains t them had yo uforeseen them ,

the misfortune seemingly contracted by your o w n

fault make s your grief the greater That it is so .

,

time evinces which as it advances brings with it

, ,

so much ease that though the same misfort un es

,

M
continue the g rief not only becomes the less but
, ,

in some cases is entirely removed M any Carth a .

in ia ns were slaves at Rome many acedoni ans

g ,

when P erseus their king was taken pri soner I sa w .

,

too when I w
, as a young man some C orinthians in ,

the P eloponnesus They might all have lamented

.

with An drom ache .

All th ese I sa w
B ut they had perhaps given over lamenting them
selves for by their countenances speech and
, , ,

other gestures you might have taken them for

,
 m
or C I CERO . 15 I

A rgives or S icyonians A nd I ysel f was ore

.
'

m
conc erned at the ruined walls of C orinth than the ,
‘

C orinthi ans themselves were whose mi n ds By ,

frequent re fl ection and time had acquired a cal

l ousness . I have read a book of Cl ito ach us m ,

which he sent to his captive citiz ens to comfort ,

them on the ruin of C arthage ; there is in it a

disputation writ ten by C arneades which , as C lito
m
,

a ch us saith he had inser ted into his com

m
,

mentary the subj ect w as Whether a wise an

,

should seem to grieve at the captivity of his

country You have there what C ar neades said
against it There the philosopher applies such a
.

strong medicine to a fresh grief as would be quite ,

unnecessary in one of any continuance ; nor had ,

this very book been sent to the captives some

years after would it have found any ounds t o
, w
cur e but scars ; for grief by a gentle pro g ress
, ,

and slow degrees wears away imp erceptibly

, .

N ot that the nature o f things is altered or can be ,

,

but that custom teach es what reason should that ,

those things lose their weight which before seeme d

to be of some cons equen ce .

XXII I It may be said What occ asion is

.
,

there to apply to reason or any consolation ,

that we enerally make use o f to ease th e

‘

g ,

grief o f the a fflicted ? For we have this always

at hand that there is nothing but what we ay
,
m
expect; But how will any one b e enabl ed to be ar
1 52 T H E T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
his misfortunes the better by knowing that th ey
are unavoidable S aying thus subtracts nothing
?

from the sum ef the g 1 ief : it infers only that

nothing has fallen out but w ha t might have been
th q ug h t o f; and yet this manner o f speaking has

some little consolation in it but I apprehend not , , ,

much Therefore those unl o oked for things have

.

O
-

not so much force as to give rise to all our grief ;

the blow perhaps may fall the heavier but what ;

ever falls out doth not appear th egreater o n that

account ; no it is because it has lately h appened
, ,

not because it has befallen us unexpected that

m
,

makes it see the greater There are t w o ways

.

then o f discerning the truth not only of things ,

that seem evil but of those that have the appear

,

ance o f good For w

. e either enquire in to the na

ture of the thing what and h o wgreat it is as

, , , ,

sometimes with regard to poverty ; the burden o f

which we may lighten when by o ur disputations
we show howvery little h o wfewthings nature ,

requires ; or without any subtle arg uing we refer

them to ex amples as here we instance in a S o
,

crates there in a D i ogenes and then again that

, ,

line in Cancilius ,

W i d m ft n e l d n m e n tti e
s o 1s o co c a
’
1 a a r

For as poverty is of equal weight with a l l wh a t ,

reason can be g 1ven why what w , a s borne by F a

b ricius should be insupportable by others Of a

piece with this is th a t other way of comforting ,
1 54 T HE TU SC U LA N DIS P U TA I IONS
' ‘

those w h o consider beforehand as w ith those w ho

have their remedy from time excepting that a ,

kind o f reason cures the one the other is pro ,

vided with this by nature ; discovering thereby ,

that what was imag ined to be the greatest evil is ,

not so great as to defeat the happiness of life .

Thus it comes about that the hurt which was not ,

foreseen is greater and not as they suppose that

, , ,

m
when the l ike misfortunes befal two di fferent p eo
ple he only of them is affected with grief o n who
,

it lights unexpectedly S o that some under the .

,

oppression of grief are said to have borne it worse

,

o n hearing o f thi s common condition o f man that ,

we are born under such conditions as render it

impossible for a man to be exempt from all eviL
XXV F or this reason C arneades as I s ee it
.
,
'

in our Antiochus used to blame C hrysippus for

,
'

commending these verses of E uripides :

M
W
m
an,

a lk s
doo ’
d to care, to

h is sh ort j ourne thro th e v a e of ife

y
p ain,
’
di e s ase,

l
and stri e,

l
f

W hful
a tc a tten s d
dl e nd th e g ave
th e cra a r ,

A nd p ing genera tion l ng to

a ss ve s o s sa :

L t die h im sel f yet w

as s he ef e h uld w e m ourn ? r or s o

F m
:

or n m u t t h i k ind ed d u t etu n ;
a s o s r s r r

S ubm it t th e d e t y ing h nd f f te
o s ro a o a ,

As ripen d e ’
th e h ve t i k l e wi t
a rs ar s -s c a .

H e would not allow a speech o f this kind to avail

at all to the cure o f our grief for he said it was a ,

lamentable case itself that we were fallen into the ,

hands o f such a cruel fate for to pre ach up comfort

 or 01 013 11 0 . 3 1 55

from the misfortunes of anot her is a comfort only

m
,

to those of a malevolent disposition But to e .

it appears far otherwi se : for the necessity o f

bearing what is the common Condition of hum anity ,

makes you submit to the gods and i nforms you ,

that yo u are a man which reflect ion greatly alle

,

viates grief : and they do not produce these ex

amples to please those of a malevolent disposition ,

but that any o ne in a ffliction may be induced to

bear what he obse rves many others bear with
tranquillity and moderation For they who are .

falling to pieces and cannot hold together through

,

the greatness o f their grief should be supp ort edL

, by

m M
all kinds o f assistance From whence C hrysippus
.

thinks that grief is cal led as it were c i e y, ar , . .

a dissolution of the whole man The whole of .

w hi ch I think may be p ul led up by the roots by ,

explaining as I said at the beginning the cause

,
'

o f grief ; for it is nothing else but an opinion

and estimation o f a present acute evil Thus any .

bodily pain let it be ever so grievous may b e

, ,

tolerable where any hopes are I ro o sed of some

p p
considerable good ; and we receive such conso
.

lation from a virtuous and ill ustrious life that they ,

wh o lead such lives are seldom attacked by grief

.

o r but slightly affect ed by it .

XXVI But if to the opinion o f evil there be

.

ad ded this other that we ought to lament that it

, ,

is right so to do and part of our duty ; then is

, ,
1 56 TH E T USCULAN D l SPU TATIONS

brought about that grievous disorder of ind

'

m .

To w hich op inion w e owe all those various and

'

horrid kinds of lamenta tions that neglect o f o ur ,

persons, that womanish tearing of our ch ecks that

'

striking on our thighs breas ts and heads Thus

m
, , .

Ag amemn on in H o er a nd in A ccius
'

, ,

T e in h i g ief hi un m
a rs b dl k s r s co
’
oc s .

From whence comes that pleasant saying of

Bionthat the foolish king in his sorrow tore away
,

the hairs ofhi s head i magining that being bald he ,

would beless sensible of grief But whoever acts .

thus is persuaded he ought to do so And thus .

Z Eschines accuses D emosthenes _o f sacrificing

within seven days after the death of his daughter .

B ut how rhetorically ! h owcopiously ! what sen

tences has he collected what w
.

?
‘

ords doth he
throw out ? You may see by this that an orator
may do any thi ng which nobody woul d have ap ,

proved of but from a prevailing opinion that every

, ,
.

good man ought to lament heavily the loss of a

relation H ence it comes that some when in
.
‘

, ,

sorrowb etake th enisel ves to deserts ; as H omer

i

saith o f Bellerophon ,

Wide e th e fEl e n field h e h e t t y

’
o r a c os o s ra ,

A l ng f l n unc m f t bl e wy !
or or o or a a

md hi w
o

W
, ,

oes h eap d ’
on we o s co nsu
’
s asted heart ;
POp l l B . . . vi
. 1 2 47
. .

and thus N iobe is feigned to have been turned

“

m
into stoneg fro her never s peaking I suppose in , ,
 1 58 T HE T U SCULAN mu sp ra rrons

nk I deserv ed any
'

ag ainst hi s will ? I should thi

misfortune .H e should thi nk he deserved any
misfortune were he otherwise tha n miserable
,
.

Therefore you see the evil is in Opinion not i n ,

nature H o wis it when some th ings prevent

m
. ,

of the selves yo u r grieving at them ? as in

H omer so many died and were buried daily
, ,

that they had not leisure to grieve Where you .

find these lines

Th e gre t th e h ol d by th u nd d ily f ll
a , , o sa s a a ,

A nd endl e w e e th e g ief t w
ss r eep f ll r o or a .

E te n l
r a wwh t v il to h ed ?
sorro s a a a s s

G ee e h nou n t w
r c o ith ol em n f t th e d e d
rs o s as s a

E n ug h w
o hen d eath dem n d th e b v e t p y a s ra o a

Th e t ib ute of m el n h ly d y
r a a c o a .

O ne hief w
c ith p tien e t th e g ve e ig n d
a c o ra r s
’
,

Ou e d ev l ve
r car n oth e
o l eft b eh ind
s o rs .

Therefore it is in o ur o w n power to lay asid e

gr ief upon occasion ; and is there any occasion

o ur o wn power ) that w
(seeing the thing is in e

shoul d let slip in order to get rid of care and

grief ? I t w as plain that Cu P o pey s frie nds, . m ’

whe n they sa whim fai nting under his wounds ,

though at that very time they were under great

uneasiness h owthey themselves surrounded by ,

th e enemy might escape

, were employed in ,

nothing but encouraging the rowers and aiding

th eir escape ; but when they reached Tyre they
m
,

began to grieve and l ament over h i Therefore .

,
 o r crcs no . 1 59
'

as fear with them prevailed over grief cannot ,

reaso n and true philosophy have the same e ffect

with a wise man ?
XXVI II But what is there more effectual to
.

dispel grief than the discovery that it answers no

purpose and turns to no account ? Therefore if
,

we can get rid of it w e need never to have been

,

subject to it It must be acknowledged then

.

that men take up grief wilfully and knowingl y

and this appear s from the patience o f those who ,
,
'

after they have been exercised in afflictions and

are better able to bear whatever b efal s them sup ,

p ose themselves hardened against fortune as that ,

person in Euripides
H ad this th e fi st e y f f rtune b een
r ssa o o ,

t m th all my life h d een

’
A nd I n o s or s ro a s

Wild c l t I d b k e f om e n way
,

’ ’
as a o ro r r a so s s

B ut f eq uent g ief h v e t ug h t m
,

r r s e to ob ey
a a .

As then the frequent bearing of misery makes

grief the lighter we must necessarily perceive
,

that the cause and original of it doth not lie in

the thing itself Your principal philosophers or
.
,

lovers o f w isdom though they have not yet ar

,

rived a t it are not they sens ible that they are

,

under the greates t evil ? F o r they are fools and ,

folly is the greatest of all evils ; and yet they

lament not H o wshall w
. e account for this ?
Because that opinion is not fixed to that kind of
evil : it is not our opinion that it is right meet , ,
1 60, T HE T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS

m
'
'

and o ur duty to be uneasy becaus ewe are not 511

,
“

wise en Whereas this opi nion is strongly

.

affixed to that uneasiness where mourning is con

cerned which is the greatest of all g ri ef There
, .

for e Aristotle when he blames some ancient phi

,

l oso ph ers for imagining that by their genius they

h ad b ro ug h t philosophy to the h igh e st p erfec ti on
'

,
‘
says they must be either extremely foolish or ex
, ,

tremely vain ; but that he himself could see that

great improvements had been made therei n in a
fewyears and that philosophy wo uld in a little
m
,

ti e arrive at perfection
. T h eOp h rast us is re .

orted to have accused nature at hi s dea th for

’

p
giving to stags and crows so long a life which ,

w as of no use to them and for giving so fewdays ,

to men where it would have been of the greatest

,
’

use ; whose days had they been lengthened the

m
, ,

life of an w ou l d have been provided with al l

'

kinds of learning and with arts in the greatest ,

perfection H e lamented therefore that h e

.
’
'

should die j ust as h e had begun t o discover - -

these What ? doth not every grave and dis

.
'

ting uish ed philosopher acknowledge himself

ignorant of many things ? and that there are '
'

many things he mu st lea rn over and over again ? . -

and yet t hough these are sensible that the

‘

, y '

stick in the very midway of folly t h an w h ich

‘
'

nothing can be worse are under no great a fflic ,

-

tion because the opinion that it is their duty

,
1 62 T H E T USC U LAN m sp urs n os s
'

No wwhen they u rge th ese their endeavour is ,

evin ce that nature is irresistible and yet th e

,

same people allow that w

.
e take greater grief on
,

ourselves tha n nature requir es What ma dness is .

it then in us to require th e sa me from others ?

But there are ma ny r eason s for taking g i ief on
us The fi rs t is from th e op inion of some evil on
m
.
,

the discovery and persuasion of which grief co e s ,

of course Besides many people are p ersuaded

.
,
-
.

they do something very ac ceptable to the dea d

m
t

when they lament over them T o these a y be .

added a kind of womanish superstition in ima

'

.
,

in in that t o acknowledge themselves afflicted

g g
and h umbled by the gods is the re a di est w , a
y of
appeasing them But fewsee what contr adictions
.

these things are charged with They co mm end .

tho se w h o die calmly but they blame those who

,

can bear the l oss of another with th e same cal rir +

ness as if it were possible that it should be true ,

as lovers say that any one can love ano ther more
,

tha n himself There is inde ed something excel

.

lent in th is and if you exam ine it no less j ust

, , ,

than true that we shou l d love th ese who oug h t to

,

be de ar to a s as well as we love oursel ves but to

m
_ ,
'

love th em more than o urselves is i possible ; nor

is it desirable in friendship that I should love y m .

friend mor e than myself, or he me : this wo uld

occasion much confusion in life and break in upon ,

all the duties o f it .

 or 01013 11 0 .
16 3

XXX Bu t of this elsewhe re

. at presen t it is
su fficient not to lay our misery to th e loss of o ur
fri ends nor to love th em more than were they sen
, ,

sible they would approve of or at least more than

, ,

w e do ourselves No was to what they say that

.
,

some are not all eased by our consolations ; and

.

moreover add tha t the comforters themselves ac

,

knowledge they are miserable when fortune varies

the attack and falls on them —in both these cases ,

the solution is eaSy : for the fault here is not in

nature but o u
'

r ow n folly and much may be s aid

m
, ,

ag ainst folly But not to admit of consolation

.

see s to bespeak their o w n mise ry and they

-

who cannot h ear their misfort unes wi th that te m

p e r they recommend to others they are but on a ,
'

foo ting with the covetous who find faul t with ,

those that are so as do the v ain-glorious with ‘

th oseof the same turn with th emselves For it is .

th e peculiar char ac teri s tic of folly to discover the

v ice s o f others forgetting its o w But since w
'

,
n e .

fi n d that grief is removed by lengt h of time w

'
“

e , ,

have the greatest proof that the strength of it de

pends not merely on time but the daily considera ,

tion of it F or if the cause continues the same

.
,

and the man be the same h owcan there be any ,

alteration in the grief if there is no chang e in wha t

,

occasio n ed the g rief nor i a bim wh o gr ieves ? There

,

foreit is from dail yreflecting that it is no evil for

1 64 T HE T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
whi ch you grieve and not from the length of
,

time that you have the cure of grief

, .

XXXI H ere some talk of moderate grief

.
,

which , supposing it natural what occasion is there ,

for consolation ? for natur e herself w ill determine

the measure of it ; but if it is in opinion the whole ,

opinion may be destroyed I thi nk it has been .

sufficiently said that grief arises from an opinion

,

o f some present evil which includes this that it is ,

incumbent o n us to grieve To this definition Zeno .

has a dd ed very j ustly that the opinion of this pre

“

sent evil shoul d be recent Nowthis word rec ent

‘

is explained thus ; not that alone is recent which

happened a little whil e ago but as long as there , ,

M
shall be any force or vigour or freshn ess in th a t
’

imagined evil so long it is entitled to the name o f

,

recent As Artemisia the wife of ausol us king

.
,

of Caria who made that noble sepul chre at H alicar

,

nessus ; whilst she lived she lived in grief and died ,

of that b eing worn o ut by it so that that opinion

, ,

wa always recent with her : but you cannot call

,

that so which in time decays No wthe duty of a

, .
'

c omforter is to remove grief entirely to quiet it o r

, , ,

draw it off as much as you can to keep it under

-
, ,

and prevent its spreading or to divert it There are

, .

some who think with C leanthes that the only duty ,

of a comforter is to prove , that it is by no means any

evil O thers as the P eripatetics that the evil is
, ,
1 66 T HE T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ON S
co ul d you persuade one in grief that “Othlng j éfi ,

an evil but what is base you would no t only c ure

m
,

hi of grief but folly , But the time for such

.
.

doctrine is net well chosen Besides C l eanthes .

,

doth not seem to me sufficiently apprised tha t ,

a ffli ction may very often proceed fro m that very

thing which he himself all ows to be the great est

misfortun e As w as t h ecase with Alcibi ades ,

whom S ocrates convinced as w e are tol d that , ,

there was no difference betwixt him though a ,

man of the first fashion and a porter Al cibiades; , .

be ing uneasy at this entreated S ocrates with te ars

m
,

inhis eyes t o make hi , a man of virtue and dis ,

miss that basene ss What shall we say to th is

.
,

C leanthes ? Was there no evil in what afflicted

Alcibiades thus What strange things doth L ycon
say ? who to assuage grief makes it arise from
, ,

t rifles from things that affect our fort une or bodies

, ,

not from the evils of the mind What then did not .
, ,

the grief of Alcibiades proceed from the vices and

evils of the mind I have already said eno ugh of
E picurus s consolation
’
.

XXXII I Nor is that consolation much to be

.

relied on though frequently practised and some

, ,
'

times having eflect viz That you are not alone , .

in th is It has its e ffect as I s ai d but not always

.
, , ,

nor with every person ; for some reject it but ,

much depends on the appl ication of it for you

are to set forth not h o wmen in general have been
,
 or 01 013 11 0 . 16 7

affec ted with evils but h o wmen of sense have ,

.

borne them As to C hrysippus s meth od it is cer

’

. ,

tainly founded in truth ; but it is difficult to apply

m
it in ti e of distress It is a work o f no small .

diflicul ty to persuade a person in a ffli ction that

he grieves merely because he thinks it right so to
,

do C ertainly then as in pleadings we do not

.
,

stat e all cases al ike b ut adj ust them to the time to

'

, ,

the nature of the subject under debate and the ,

person ; thus in assuaging grief regard should be ,

had to what kind of cure the party will admit of

'
.

But I know not how we have rambled from what

, ,

you proposed F or your question was concerning a

.

wise man with whom nothin g can have the appear

,

ance of evil that is not dishonourable : or at least

,

would seem so small an evil that by his w isdom he ,

so over-mat ches it that it quite disappears ; w , ho

makes no ad dition to his grief through opinion
w h o never conceives it right to torment himself
above measure and wear himself o ut with grief, ,

which is the meanest thing imag inable Reason .

,

however it seems has evinced though it w

, as not
, ,

directly our subject at present that nothing can ,

be called an evil but what is base ; and by the ,

way we may discover that all the evil o f affliction

, ,

has noth ing natural in it but is contracted by our ,

ow n volunta ry j udgment o f it and the error of ,

opinion Therefore I have treated of that kind of

.

ffl iction which is the greatest ; the removing of

a ,
1 68 T HE T USC U LAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
which has made it of little co nsequence to look
after remedies for the oth ers .

X XXIV There are certain things usually

.

said on poverty others on a retired and nudistin

g u ish ed life T h ere are particular treatises on
.

banishment on the ruin of one s c ountry o n

’

, ,

slavery on weakness or blindness and on every

, , ,

incident that can come under the name of an evil .

Th e Greeks divide these into different treatises

_

and distinct books : but they do it for the sake of

employment : not but that disputation s are full of
entertainment ; and yet as physician s in curing
‘

, ,

the whole body help the least part that is affected

,
,

so philosophy after it has removed grief in gene

,

ral if any other deficiency exist ; should poverty

m
,

bite should igno iny sting should banishment

, ,

m
bring a dark cloud over us or should a ny of those
things I j ust entioned appear it applies to eac h
its particular consolation : which yo u shall hear
,

,
fi

whenever you please But we must have recourse

.

to the same fountain that a wise man is free from

,

all evil because it is insignificant because it eu

w
, ,

s ers no purpose because it is not founded in

,

nature but opinion and prej udice but a ki nd of

, ,

courting grief when once they have imagined that

,

it is their duty to do so S ubtracting then what .

is altogether voluntary that mournful uneasiness

w
,

ill be removed ; yet some little a nxiety so e m

m
,

s all remorse will remain They may indeed call .

 T HE T U SC U L AN D I SP U T AT I ONS .

BOO! IV .

ON O T HE R PER T UR BA TI ONS O F TH E M
I ND
.

I HAV E been apt to wonder Brutus o n many , ,

occasions at the ingenuity and virt ues o f our

m
,

country en ; but nothing has surprised me more

than those studies w h ich though they came som e
, ,

what late to us have been transported into this

,

city from Greece For the auspices religious

.
,

ceremonies courts of j ustice appeals to the people

, , ,

the senate the establishment of horse and foot

, ,

and the whole military discipline were instituted ,

as early as the foundation of the city by royal eu

th o rity partly too by laws not without the as
, ,

sista nce of the gods Then with what a surpris

'

ing and incredible progress did they advance

towards all ki nd of excellence when once th e ,

Republic was freed from the regal pow er ? N ot

that I prop ose to treat here o f the manners
and customs of our ancestors the discipline and ,

constitution of the city ; for I have elsewhere ,

particularly i n th e six books I wrote on the

 T HE T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ON S . 17 1

Republic g i v en a very accurate account of them

, .

But whilst I am on this subj ect and co nsidering ,

the study of philosophy I meet with many reasons

,

to imagine that those studies were brough t to us

from a broad and not merel y imported but pre
m
, ,

serv ed and i p roved ; fo r they had P ythagoras a ,

man of consummate wisdom in a manner before , ,

their eyes ; who w as in I taly at the time L .

B rutus the il lustrious founder of your nobility

, ,

delive red his country from tyran ny As the .

doctrine of Pythagoras sprea d itself on all sides ,

it seems probable to me that it re a ch ed this city :

,

and this is not only probable but appears to ha ve ,

been the case from many remains of it For .

who can imagine that when it flourished so much

, ,

in that part of Italy which was called Greece ,

in some of the largest and most powerful cities ,

in which first the name of P yth agoras and then

, , ,

theirs who were afterwards his followers w as in

, ,

so high esteem ; w ho can imagine I say that our , ,

people could shut their ears to what was said by

such learned men ? Besides my opinion is that , ,

the great esteem the P yt hagor ea ns were held in ,

ave rise to that op inion amongst o ur an cestors

g ,

that king N uma w as a P ythag orean For being .

,

acquainted with the disc ipline and institutes of

P ytha goras and having heard from their ances
,

tors tha t the king w

, as a very w ise and j ust man ,

and no t being able to distinguish times that were

1 79 TH E TU SCULAN nl srura m
'
o ns

so remote they inferred from his being so e i

, ,
m
nent for his wisdom that he was a hearer of Py ,

th ag o ras .

I I S o far we proceed on conjecture As to

. .

the vestiges of the P yth agoreans though I might ,

c oll ect many I shall use but a few because that

,

is not our present purpose Nowas it is reported .

,

tohave been a cus tom wi th them to deliver certain

ab struse precepts in verse and to bring their ,

minds from severe thought to a more composed

state by songs and musical i nstruments so C ato ,

a very serious author saith in his O rigi ns that it

, ,

was customary with our ancestors for the guests

at their entertainments every one in his turn to , ,

sing the p ral ses and virtues of illustrious men to

the sound of the flute fro whence it is clear that m
poems and songs were then composed for the
voice S till that p oetry w as in fashion appears

m
.
,
‘

from the laws of the twelve tables wherein it is

m
,

provided that none should b e ade to the injury

,

o f another Another argu ent of the erudition

.

of those times is that they played on instruments

,

before the feasts held in honour of their Gods and ,

the enterta inments of their magistrates nowthat

was peculi ar to the sect I am speaking of To me .
,

indeed that poem of Appius Czecus which P an as

, ,

tius commends so much in a certain letter to Q .

Tubero h as all the marks of a P ythagorean We

,
.

have many things derived from them in o ur cus

 1 74 T HE T USCU LAN D I SPU T A TI ON S
is still p re served by the Peripatetics and b y th e
,
i

S toics though they express themselves different l y

,

in their disputes with th e Aca demics ) there are

fewor no L atin monuments ; whether this pro
ceeds from the importance of the thing itself or ,

from men s being otherwise employed or from

’

their concluding that the capacity of th e people

was not equal to the apprehension of them But
m
.
,

du ring th is silence C A a fi nius arose and took

, .

upon himself to speak on the publishi ng of who se

writings the people were moved and e nl isted ,

themselves chiefly under th is sect either because

,

the doc trine w as more easily understood or that

m
,

they were invited thereto by the pleasing thoughts

of a usement o r that because there w as nothing
, ,

better they laid hold o f what was offered th em

m
, .

And after A a fi n ius when many of the same se n

m
s
,

ti ents had writt en much about them the P yth a ,

e

o rea ns spread over all Italy but that th

g : e
se

doctrines shoul d be so easily understood and

approved of by th e unlearned is a g reat pro of
,

that they were not written with any great subtlety ,

and they think their establishment to be owing to

IV But let every one defend his ow n opinion

they are at liberty to choose w

.
,

hat th ey like : I
shal l keep to my old c usto m and being under no
restraint from the laws of any particular school ,

which in philosophy every one must neces saril y

 “
I
OF 010ER0 3 3 ‘7 ?
.
“7 7 175

confi ne himself to I shall always inquire after what ,

has the most p robabil ity in every qu estion which , ,

as I have often practised on other occ a sions I have ,

kept close to in my Tu sculan D i sputations There .

fore, as I have acquainted you wi th the disputations

of the three former days this book concludes the ,

fourth When we had come down into th e aCaA

'

demy as w ,
e h ad done the fo rmer days th e ,

bu siness w a s carried on thus M L e t any One

'

say who pleases what he would have disputed A "

m
. .
, ,

I do not th ink a wise man can possibly be free

,

from eve ry perturbation of mind M H e see ed

'

by yesterday s discourse to be so from grief unle ss

’ '

y ou allowed it only not to take up time A N ot . .

a t all o n that account for I was extremely satisfied

'

M
with your discourse M You do not think then .

that a wise man is subject to grief A N o by no

? .
,

means But if that cannot di sorder the mind

. .

of a wise man nothing else can For what ? can

, .

it be d isturbed by fear ? Fear proceeds from the

same things when absent which occasion grief ,

when present Take away grief then and you.

,

remove fear .

V The t w . o remaining perturbations are a ,

oy el ate above measure and lust w hich if a wise

j
m
'

, ,

man is not subj ect t o his ind will be always at ,

rest A I am entirely of that opinion Ill H ad

. . . .

you rather then that I should immediately crowd

, ,

al l my sails ? or shall I make use of my c ars as if I ,

1 76 T HE T USC ULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS .

were j ust endeavouring to get clear of the harbour ?

A I do not apprehend what you meanby th at
.
.
.

11 Why C h rysippus and the S toics when they

7
.
, ,

d ispute on the perturbations o f the mind make ,

great part of their debate to consist in dividing

and distinguishing : the y employ but fewwords
o n the subj ect of c uring the
,
ind and preventing m ,

it from being disordered Whereas the P erip a te

.
.

tics bring a great many things to promote the

cure of it but have no regard to their thorny
,

partitions and definitions My question then was .

,

whether I should instantly unfold the sails of my

m
;

discourse or ake my way out with the c ars of

,

the logicians ? A L et it be so : for by meansof.

b oth these the subject of o ur enquiry will be

,

more thoroughly discussed M It is certainly .

the better way : and should any t hing be too oh

sc u re you may inform yourself afterwards A
, . .

I will do so ; but those ve ry obscure things you ,

will as usual deliver with more clearness than th e

, ,

Greeks A I will indeed endeavour to do so : but

. .

it req uires D reat attention for should youlose one

g
,

word the whole will escape you

,
What the .

Greeks call m n we choo se to name perturbations

ie ,

(
‘

o f disord ers ) rather than diseases in explain ,

ing which I shall follow first that very old

, , ,

description o f P ythagoras then Plato s ; who ,

’

divide the mind into tw o parts ; they make one of

these to partake of reason the other to be without ,

 178 T H E TU SC U LAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
ex ults on obtaining what w as desired F or w e .

na turally pursue th ose things that h ave the ap

ea ra nce of good ; and fl y the contr ary Where
p .

fore as soo n as any thing tha t h as th e appearance

,

o f good presents itself nature inci tes us to th e ,

obtaining it No wW . here th is is co nsistent and

,

M
founded on prudence this strong desire is by the '

S toics called B but w e name it a volitio n

m
av
'

q at .

and this t hey all ow to none but their w ise an , ,

and define it thus Volition is a reasonable desire

.
,

but whatever is incited too viol ently in Oppositio n

to reason that is a lust or an unbridled desire ;
, ,

which is discoverable in all fools A nd with t e .

sp ect to good w e are likewise moved tw

,
o w ays ;

there is a placid and calm motion consistent with ,

reason called j oy : a nd there is likew ise a vain

, ,

w anton exultation or immoderate j oy la tit ia

, , ,

e tien or t ran s ort which they defi n e to be an

g s s , p ,

elation of the mind w itho ut reason And as w e .

nat urally desire g ood things so in like ma nner w e ,

naturally avoid evil ; the avoiding of wh ich if ,

warranted by reaso n is c alled c aution ; an d t his

m
,

th e Wise a n alone is suppo sed to have : but that

c a utio n w hich is not under th e g uidance of reason ,

but is attended with a base a nd l o wdeje ction is ,

c alle d fear F ear is there fore an unreasonable

m
.

caution A wi se
. a n is not affec ted by any
, ,

present evil : but th e grief of a fool pro ce eds

from being affected wit h an imaginary evil on ,
 or 0101111 05 1 79

w
hich their minds are co ntracted ahd sunk ; as
'

they revolt from reason Thi sthen is the first .

, ,

m
defin ition which makes grief to consist in the
'

ind s shrinking contrary to the dict ates of rea

’

son Thus there a re four pert urbations and but

.
,

three Oppos ites for g rief has no oppo sit e

,
.

V II But they would have all perturbations

m
.

depend on Opinion and j udg ent ; therefore they

define them more closely not only the better to
show h o wblameable they are but to discover h o w ,

much they are in our powe r Grief then is a recent

,
.

opinion ofsome evil in which it seems to be right , ,

that th e mind should shrink and bedejected Joy .

,
'

a recent opinion o f a present good in which it ,

seems to be right that the mind should be tr ans

po rted Fear an opinion o f an impending evil
.
,
‘

which we apprehend as intolerable L ust a n .

.
,

opinion of a good to come which would be cf ,

adv antage were it already come and present with ,

us But however I have named the j udgments

.

an d opinions of perturbations their meaning is ,

not that merely the perturbations consist in them ;

but th e e ffects like wise Of these perturbations
as grief occasions a kind of painful remorse ;
fear a recoil o r sudden escape of the mind ; j oy
, ,

a profuse mirth lust an unbridled habit of

, ,

coveting But that imagination which I have

.
,

included in all the above definitions th ey w ould ,

ha ve to consist in assenting withou t warrantable

18 0 T HE TU S CU LAN D I S PU T A TI ON S
grounds . w every
perturbatio n has man y
No .

p a rts annexed to it of the same kind G rief is .

at tended with enviousness (

p

I use that word for

instruction sake though it is not so common ; ,

because envy takes in not o nly the person who

envies but the person too who i s envied ) E mu
, .

l a tion detraction pity vexation mourning sad

, , , , ,

ness tribulation sorrow lamentation solicitude

, , , , ,

disquiet of mind pain despa ir and whateve relse, , , ,

is o f this kind Fear includes sloth shame terror

.
, , , .

cowardice fainting confusion astonishment In

, , , . ,
.

pleas ure they comprehend a malevolence that is .

pleased at another s misfortune a delight boas t ’

, ,

in
'

a nd the like To lust they associate anger

,g .
,

fury hatred enmity discord w ants desire and

, , , , , ,

th e rest o f that kind

,
.

VI II B ut they define these in th is manner

.

E nvying they say is a grief arising from the

, . ,
.

pr osperous circumstances of another which are ,

no ways detrimental to the person w h o envies for

where any one grieves at the prosperity of another ,

by w hich he is inj ured such a o ne is not properly ,

said to envy ; as when Agamemnon grieves at

Hector s success : but where any one who is no
’

ways hurt by the prosperity of another is in pain ,

a t is succ ess such an one envies indeed N ow

h , .

that emulation is taken in a double sense so th at ,

the same word may sta nd for praise and dispraise

for the imitation of virtue is called emula tion ; but .

 1 82 T H E T U SC ULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
IX The parts they assign to p l easure c o e
. m
under this description that malevolence is a plea
m
,

sure in the isfortunes o f another without any

—
advantage to yourself : delight a pl easure that
m
,

s oot hes the mind b y agr eeable i pressions o n the

ear Wh a t is said o f th e ear ay be a pplied to
.
, m
the sig h th to the touch smell and taste Al l of , , .

this kind are a sort o f melting pleasures that dis

sol ve the min d B oasting is a pleasure that con
,

sists in makin g an
'

appe aran ce and setting ofi

‘

you rsel f with i nsolence What comes under lust .

they define in this manner Anger is a Inst of .

:

punishing any one we imag ine has inj ured us

without cause H eat is anger j ust forming a nd
w
.

beginning to exist which the Greeks call a “

'

, s .

H atred is a settled anger Enmity is anger .

wai ting for an oppo rtunity of revenge D iscord ,

.

is a sharpe r anger c onceived deep in the min d and

heart Want an insatiable lust D esire is when
.
, .
,

one eagerly wishes to see a person who is absent

No where they h ave a distinction desire is a lust

.

con ceived on hear ing of certain things reported of

some o ne or o f many which the G reeks call pre
, ,

dica ted ; as that they are in possession of riche s

and honours : but want is a lust fo r th ose very
honours and riches But they make intemperance
.

the foun tain o f all these perturbations whi ch is

an absolute revolt from the mind and right reason

a state so averse to all prescriptions of reason that ,

 o r 01013 11 0 . 183
‘

the appetites o f the mind are by no means to be “

m
governed and restrained A s therefore terrip e
’

rance appeases these desires making th em obey ,

right reason and aintains the well-weighed

,

j udgments of the mind ; so intemperance which

m
,

is in opposition to this infi a es confounds and , , ,

u ts every s tate o f the mind into a violen t

p
motion Thus grief and fear and every othe r
'

.
,

perturbation of the mind have thei r use from ,

intemperance .

'

X Just as dist empers and sickness are bred

m
.

in the body fro th e corruption of the blood and

i
,

the too great abundance o f phl eg m and bile ; so

the mind is deprived o f its h ealth and disordered ,

with sickness from a confusion of depraved

,

op inions that are in opposition to one another

m
, .

Fro these perturbations arise first disea se s

m
, , ,

which they call am : i a o pposition to these

'

are cer tain faulty distastes or loathings ; then

sickne sses which are called dfi fi wf t by the or m a d

S toics ; and these tw

,

o have their o
pp os it e a version s .

H ere the S toic s especially C hrysippus givethem

, ,

selves unneces sary trouble to show the analogy

th e dise ases of the m
ind have with t hose o f th e
'

body but overlooking all th at they say as of

.
,

little consequence I shall tr eat onl y o f th é thing

,

itself Let us then understand perturbation to

.

imply a restlessness from the variety and c onfa

sion o f co ntrad ictory opinions ; and th a t w he n thi s '
 TH E 1 U S CU LA N D IS I U I A T I U DIS
'
’ ' ’

heat a nd distu rbance of the mind is of any stand

ing and has taken up its residence as it were in
, ,
‘

the veins and marro w then commence diseases

-

and sickness and those av ers ions which are in op

,

pos ition to them .

XI What I say here may be dis tinguished i n

.

thought though they are i n fact the same and

,

have their rise from lust and j oy F or shoul d .

.

money be the object of our desire and should ,

we not instantly apply to reason S ocrates medi ,

’

cine to heal this desire the evil slides into o ur ,

'

veins and cleaves to our bowels and from thence

'

, ,

proceeds a dis t emper or sickness which when of ,

‘

any conti nuance is incurable The name of th is

, .
.

d isease is covetousness It is the same with other .

diseases as the desire of glory a passion e -

w omen if I may so call W W and thus all W

,

'

other diseases and sicknesses are generated

‘
'

No wthe contrary of these are supposed to have

m
,

fear for their founda tion as a hatred of wo en ,

'

such as is the Woman -hater of Atil ius : or, j th e

hating the whole human species as Timon is re
ported to have do ne whom they called th e isar1
thrope Of the same kind is inhospitality All
.
,
,

,
M "
.
,

'

which d iseases proceed from a certain dread of '

such thing s as they hate and avoid But they .

define sickne ss of mind to be an overw eening

’
'
y

op inion and that fixed and settled of something

,
‘

. ,

as very desirable wh ich is by no means so Wha t

’ ‘

, .
 1 86 r ue T USCULAN D I SPU T A T I ON S
an gu i sh : for all are not anxious who are some
times vex ed ; nor are they who are anxio u
‘
s

w
always uneasy in that manner : as there is a
,

d ifference bet ix t being drunk and drunkenne ss ,

and it is one th ing to b e a lover another to be

'
'

given to women And this disposition of some to

.

m
particular disorders is very ext ensive : for it
,

relates to a ll p erturbations ; it appea rs in any

vices , though it has no name : some are there fore
said to be envious malevolent spiteful fearful
, , , ,

p itiful fro
, m a propensity to those perturbati on s ,

not from their being always carried away by

th e m Nowthis propensity to these pa r ticul ar
.

disorders may be called a sickness from analog y ,

with the body ; that is nothing more than a pro

w
,

p ensity towards sickness But ith rega rd t o .

whatever is g ood as some are mo re inclined to

,

di fferent goods t han others we may call this a ,

fac ility or tendency this tendency to evil is a pro

cl ivity or inclination to falling : but where a ny

thing is neither go od nor ha d it may have th e

m
, ,

for er name .

XIII E ven as there may be with respect

. ,

to the body a disease a sickness and a defect ; so

, , ,

it is with the mind They call that a disease .

where the whole bo dy is corrupted : sickness ,

where a disease is attended with a weakness

a defect where the parts o f the body are not well
,

compacted toge ther ; from whence it foll ows that ,

 or 0102 11 0 . l 187

m
the me bers are mis-shaped crooked and deg; , ,

formed S o th at these tw
~

o a disea se and sickne ss

‘

. , ,

pro ceed from a violent concussion and per t urba

.

'

tidn of the health O f the whole body ; but a

'

defect disco vers itself even when the body is ,

in perfect h ealth But a disease Of the mind is

.
-

dis tinguishable only in thought from a sickness .

A v iciousness is a ha bit o r a ffection discordant and

'

inconsistent throughout li fe Thus it happens .

,

that a disease a nd sickness may arise from one

'

kind of corrup t io n of Opinions ; from another in

.
‘

co nsta nc a nd inconsistency For every vice of

'

y . .

the mind d oth not imply a disunion Of parts

. as
is the case with those who are not far from wise
men : with the m
there is that affection which
is inconsist ent wi th itself whilst it is witless but ,

it is no t distort ed nor depraved But diseases

,
- .

and s icknesses are parts of viciousness : but it is

m
a question whether perturbations are parts of the
sa e for vices are permanent affect ions : pertur
b a tions are affections tha t are restless ; so that
th ey cannot be p arts of permanent affectio n s .

As there is some analo gy between the nature of

the body and m ind in evil so in good : for the ,

distinctions of the body are beauty strength , ,

health firmn ess qu ickness of motion ; the same

m
, ,

ay be said of th e mind The body is said to .

h e in a good state when al l those things o n ,

which health depen ds are consistent : the same ,

1 88 TH E T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
may be said Of the mind when its j u dgmen ts and ,

Opinions are not at variance A nd this union

. .

is the v irtue of the mind : which according to

'
’

some ; is temperance its elf others make it c onsist ,

in an Obedience to the precepts Of tem perance ,

and a complying with them not allowing it to ,

be any di s tinct sp ecies o f itself but be it one o r

m
.

the other it is to be found only in a w ise a n

’

.
, ,

But there is a certain soundness Of mind which a

m
,
,

fool may have when the pe rturbation O f his ind

, .

is removed by the care and management of his

'

p yh m
s l a ns A n d as
. what is called beauty
, aris e s
from an exact proportion of the l imbs together ,

with a sw eet ness of complexion so the beauty of

m
.

the mind consists in a n equality and constan cy O f

'
’

o inio ns a nd j oined to a certain fi r ;

'

p
ness and stability pursuing virtue or containin g , ,

within itself the ve ry essence o f virtue Beside s; .

we give the very s ame names to the faculties of

the mind asw
,

e do to the powers Of the body th e

'

, ,
'

nerves and Other powers of action Thus the

'

.
,

velocity of the body is called sw iftness : a pr aise

we entitle the mind to from its ru nning over
m
'

,
.

1 n 1 ts thoughts so many things in so short a ti

'

e " .

XIV H erein indeed the ni ind a nd body are un

.

like : that though the mind whe n m perfec t h ealth

may be V1 51 ted by sickn ess as the body may yet th e
.
, ,

body may b e di sordere d without o u fault 3 t h e ‘

m
r .
,

For all the disord ers and p ertu

‘
'
’
ind ca nnot . rJ
 1 90 T H E T US CULAN m srura r ro ns

sa il as you j ust nowcalled it and pro c eed on

M
, ,

your course .

XV . S ince I have before said of vi rtue in

.
'
.

oth er places and shall ofte n have occasion to say

m
,

(for a great many questi o ns that relate to life and

manne rs arise fro the spring of virtue) ; since ,

I say virtue consists in a settled and uniform

m
,

affection of ind bringin g praise to those w

, h o are
possessed of her ; she h erself ind epend en t of any ,

thing else without regard to any adv ant age mu st

, ,

be praisew orthy ; for from her p roceed good ia

cl inatio ns opinions a ctiOns a nd the whole o f right
, , ,

reason ; though virtue may be defined in few

words to be right r eason itself The o p posite to .

this is viciousness ( fo r so I choose to de fin e what

,

the Greeks call m rather than perverseness ;

na
'
ay,

for perverseness is the name of a particular vice

but viciousness includes all) from whenc e ari se
those perturbati on which a s I j ust nowsaid s
, , ,

are turbid and violent motions of the mind re ,

u n a nt to reason and enemies in a high deg

p g ,

to the peace of the mi nd and a tranquil life : fo r ,

they introduce piercing cares a fflicting a nd de ,

bilit a ting the mind th rough fear ; t hey vio lently ia

flame our appetit es ; occasioning that impo ten ce
of mind utterly different from temperanc e and
mm
,

moderati on which I se eti es call desire some

m
, ,

ti es lust which should it attain its des ires b e

, , ,

c omes so elate th at it los es al l its resolu tion and

, ,

knows not what to pursue so that he w as in the

 or 01 01111 0 . 19 1

right w ho said that too grea t a j oy w

,
as founded
”
on a great mistake Virtue then alone can effect
.

the cure Of these evil s .

XVI For what is not onl y more mi serabl e

m
‘

.
,

but more base and sordid than a an afflic ted ,

o

weakened and oppressed with grief L ittl e short

,
?

Of this m isery is one w h o dreads some approaching

evil and who through fai ntheartedness is under
, , ,

continual suspense The poet s to express the

.
,

greatness Of this evil imagine a sto ne to hang ,

over the head of Tantalus for his wickedness his , ,

pride and his boasting Foll y is punished gene

m
.
, ,

rally in the sa e way ; for there h angs over the

head Of eve ry one who revolts from reas o n some
thing Of this ki nd either grief or fear And as
, .

the se perturbations o f the mind grief and fear a re , ,

of a p oiso nous nature ; so those two others though ,

of a more merry cas t ( I mean lu st which is ,

al ways covet ing and empty mirth which is an

, ,
-

exulting j oy ) differ very little from madness

, .

H ence yo u may understand what I mean b y call

m m
,
, ,

ing a an sometimes oderate then modest or ,

temperate at anoth er t ime constant and virtuous ;

,

sometimes I would include al l th ese names in the .

w ord frug ality as the crow n of all F o r if that

,
'

word di d not in cl ude al l virtues it would never , . ,

have been proverb ial to say tha t a frug al ,

doth every thing right ; w hich w h en the S toics

m m
, _

apply to their wise an th ey see to exalt him ,

1 92 THE T scu u mD SPU TATI ONS
s I

t oo

m much and to speak of hiin with too m u

ad iration
,

XVI I Whoever then through moder ation

.
ch

and c onstancy is at rest in his mind and in calm

, ,

p
.

ossession of himself so as neither to pine with ,

care nor be dej e ct ed with fear neither to be l n

m
, ,

fla ed with desire no r d iss olved by ex trav ag ant

.

,
.

j oy such a one is the very wise man we enquire

,

after the ha ppy man : to whom nothing in this

,

life seems so intolerable as to d e press him no

thing so e xqu isi te as to tra nsport h i f For m
what is the re in thislife that can ap pear great to
.

him who has acquainted himself with eternity

, ,

and the utmost extent of the universe ? For What

is therein human kn owledge or the short span of ,
'

this life that can appear great to a wise man ?

,

whose mind is always so upon its guard that ’

m
,

nothing can b efal hi unforese en nothing unex ,

p e c ted nothing
,
new S uch a one takes so exact .
“

a survey on all sides of him tha t he alw ays kn ows

‘

h owto di sp o se of hi mself without anxiety or a ny

'

, ,

care about this world and enterta ins every acci

m
,

dent that b efals him with a becoming cal ness

W
.

hoever conducts himself m thi smanner w ill be

m
,

void of grief and every other perturbation and a

m
,

w
mind free fro thes erenders e n completely

happy : whereas a mind di sorde red and dra n off

fr om right and unerring reason loses at once not , ,

only its resolution but its h eal th f Therefore the

,
‘
1 94 TH E T U S CU LA N D I SPU T A TI ONS

these l et us add some acute pa ins o f body the los s ,

of his fortunes blindness banishment ; supposin g

, ,

then ea ch misfort une to occasion a n additional '

grief the whole woul d be insupport ab le

, .

XVI II The man w h o attempts to set bounds to

.

vice acts hke one who sho uld throw himself head
m
,

long from Le uc a t e pers uaded h e co nl d stop hi self ,

'

whenever he plea sed No was that is impo ssible .

, ,

so a perturbed and disordered mind cann ot refrain

itself and stop where it pleases Certainl y w
,
hat .
‘

ever is b ad in its increase is bad in its birth no w ,

grief; and all other perturbations are doubtless ,

baneful in their progress and have therefore no ,

small share of infection at the beginning ; for they

go on of themselves when once they depart from
reason for eve ry w eakness is self—
, indulgent and ,

ind iscreetly lau nches out and doth not kno w

W m
,

where to stop h erefore the difference is s a l l

.

betwixt approving of m oderate pert urbations of

mind and m oderate injustice mod erate cowardice
, , ,

moderate in temperance For whoever prescribes .

bo unds to vice admi ts of a part of it which as it

, , ,

is odious of itself becomes the more so as it stands ,

on slippery ground and being once set forw a rd ,

'

slides headlong and cannot b y any means h e ,

stopped .

XIX Bu t what if the P eripatetics whil st we

. .

say that these pe rturbations should be extirpated ,

not only say they are natural but that they were ,
 o r c rcs no v
1 95

given by nature to a good p urpose They usually

'

. .

talk in this mann er In the fi rst pl ace they say

'

.
,

much in praise of anger ; they call it the whet .

sto ne of co urag e and they say that angry men

m m
,

exert themselves ost ag ainst an ene y or bad

citi zen : that those reasons are of little weight
which de p end on re fl ection such as It is a , ,

j ust war it becomes us to fight for our laws our

, ,

liberties our country they will allow no force in

,

t hese unl ess o ur courage is warmed by anger

, .

N or do they con fine their argumen t to warriors

but th eir opinion is that no one can issue any
, .

rigid commands without some mixture of anger

’

I n short they have no notion even o f an orator

, ,

either accusing or defendin g without being spur ,

red on by anger And tho ugh it should not be

.

real they think his words and gesture must carry

,
.

the appearanc e of it that the action of the orator

,
'

may excite th is passion in his hearer And they .

deny that any man was ever seen who doth not .
,

know what it is to be angry : and they name what

“

we call lenity by the bad appellation of indolence

,

nor do they commend only this lust ( for anger is ,

as I defin ed it abo ve the Inst of revenge ) but they

, ,

maintain that kind of lust or desire to be gi ven us

by nature for very good purpo ses : that no one
‘ '

W
can execute any thing well but what he is in
st about Themistocles used to walk l n the
.

p u b h c places m the night becau se he could not ,

 1 96 T HE T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
sleep : and when asked the reaso n his answer w a
s,
m
, .

t hat Miltia des trophies kep t hi awake Who

’
. .

h as not heard h owD emosthenes used to watch ?

.

who said it gave him pain if any mechanic was up ,

in a morning at his work before him L astly . ,

that some of the greatest phil osophers had never

made t hat progress in their studies ; but fro an . m
ardent desire We are informed that P ythagoras.
,

D emocr itus and Pla to vi sit ed the remotest parts

, ,

o f the world they thought that th ey ought to go

whe rever any thing waS to be learned Nowit is
.

. . .

not conceivable that these things could be e ffected

but by the greatest ardour of mind .

XX They say that even grief which w

. . e de , _

scribe as a monstrous fierce be ast and to be avoided ,

as such wa s app ointed by nature not without

,
.

some good purpose that men should lament when

‘

t hey had com itted a fault well knowing they m

m
,

h ad exposed thems elv e s to correc tion reb uke and

'
‘

, ,

igno iny For they think those who can bear

m
‘

ignominy and infa y without pain are at liberty

m
,

to com it what c rimes they please : for With

m
-

the repro ach is a stronger check th an co nscienee

.
, .

From whence we have that in A franius borrowed ,

from common life ; for when the abandoned son

saith VVret ch ed that I am ! the severe father
,

rep lies
Let hi m
,

b ut g iev e n m tte w h t th e u e r , o a r a ca s .
J

An d they say the other di seases of the nnnd have

.
19 8 TH E T USC ULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
h as rightly dete rmined it is thus : That a pertur ,
'
f

b atio n is a commotion of the mind agai nst nat ure

'

ino p position to right reason ; or shorter thus

m
,

th at a perturbation is a ore vehemen t appeti te

m
' '

th at is called ore vehement which is at a grea ter

distance h em the constant c our se of n ature '

W
r .
,

hat ca n I say to the se definitions ? the most

'

g ai t of them we have fro th o se w ho dis pute m .

with sa g acity and acutene ss : some ind eed such

’

as the ardo urs of t h e mi nd and the whetsto nes ’

'
‘
, g

of virtue sa vouro f the p ornp of rhetoricians As

’ ‘
‘ '

.
,

to the question if a brave man can m ain t ain

m
,

his courage wi thout becoming angry ; it ay '

be qu estioned with regard to the gla di ators :

thoug h w m
mm
e ob serv e uch reso lution even in them ;
, ,

they eet nverse th ey agree about terms so th at

m
, ,

th ey see rather placid than angry B ut let us

'
'

admit some Pl a cideianus of that trade to be -

w
'

in eb a mind as L ucilius relates of him , ,

If f hi bl oo d yen t hi t th e t k be mine ;
or s rs , as

H i lau el
s t m y feet h e h ll e ign ;
r s a s a r s

N t b ut I k n wbef e I e h h i h e t
o o or r ac s ar

Fi t n m
, ,

y el f wun d h e w il l impa t
I h te th e m
rs o s a o r .

a n q I fig ht nd t it
a <3 , a s ra

In ti n w e h d been b ut th t I w
'

ac o it
a , a a

Til] e h hi w d h d fi tted t hi h nd
ac s s or a o s a

My ge I ar e n keep w
,

ra ithin
sc m m nd
c ca co a .

i XXI I But w e see Aj

. ax in H omer advancing
to meet H ec tor in battle cheerfully without any ,

of this boisterous wrath who had no sooner ,

 or crcea o 1 1 99

m
.

taken up his arms but th e fi rst step he ade

m
c , , - .

inspired his associa tes with j o y ; h is ene ies wi th

‘

fear : tha t even H ector as he 15 represented by

m
,

H omer trembling cohde ned himself for ha ving

m
,

challenged hi to fight Yet these co nversed . .

together calmly and quietly before they engag ed ;

, .

nor did they show any anger o r o utrag eous b e

'

m
,
.
,

haviour during th e combat N or do I i ag ine . . .

that Torq ua tus th e fi rst who obtai ned this sur , . . . .

name was in a rage when h e pl undered the Gaul

‘

, ,

of h is coll ar or that Marcell u s courage at : Clas ’

m
.

t idiu w as o w ing to his ange r I coul d almost

'

. . .

swear that Africanus whom w

.

e are be tter a c

m
, , .
.

uainted with from : the freshness of his e mory

q , ,

wasno wa ys inflamed by ange r when h e covered

.

-
. (
,

Alienus P elig nus with his shield and drove h is .

,

sw ord i nto the e nemy s breast T h ere may be ’

. .
.
.

some doubt o f L B rutus if th ro ug h infi nite

. .
, ,
.

h atred of the tyrant s h e might no t att ack Aruns

'

m
.
,

w ith more ras h ness for I ob served th ey u tuall y

W
,
, . .

killed ea ch oth er in h y then d o

'

m
. . [
.

you cal l in t he a ssis tance f a nger would zCQll

?
'
'

t
u i .
{

rage sh oul d it n o t b eg in l ose its i

'
‘
f
, ,

energy What do ygu .

the very c ourag e w

.

h ioht yon zw ou l d h ave

'

anger p referred to h eaven w as angzry w

.

m
m
'

l 1en he -

m
, , ,
, .

M
en gag ed th e Ery h ian boar o r th e N e ean
‘ '
c
'
, s

lion o r w a s Th ese us Zin a rp assio n when h e seized

’ '

ength e hornso sth e a ratl i o niani bull ? eT

'

ake care
'
-
200 T HE T U S CU L A N D I SPU T A TI ONS .

ho wy ’

make courag e to depend i n the l east x

ou m
r age ; when anger is altogethe r irrati onal and i ,

that 1 8 not courag ewhich 18 void of reason l .

Xxi II We ou ght to hold al l things here in

’

- .

con tempt ; death is to bel oo ked o n with indif

'

fefence ; pains and labour s as tole rable When .

t hes e are established on j udgment and conviction :

then will that stout and firm courage ta ke place

w
'

unless you attribute to anger whatever is done

' '
'
'

' '

i th vehemence alac rity and spirit To me

, , .

indeed t h a t very S cipio w ho w as chief priest that ,

favou rer of the saying of the S toics that no pri

'

vate man could be a wise man doth not seem to ,

’

be angry with Tiberius Gracchus even when

'
'

he left the consul in a l anguishing conditio n;

an d tho u
,
gh a pri vate an h i sel f comma nded
with the auth ority of a consul ; that al l w
mm '

, ,

w
ho
' ' '
’

m
'

. .

meant ell to the r epublic sho uld follow hi : I

do not knowwhethe r I have done any thing in
'
'

the republic th at has the appearance o f courage

'

bu t if I hav e I c e rtainly did no t do it in wrath :

'
'

m
,

D oth any thing co e nearer madnes sth an anger ?

'

of m
which E nnius has well

o f our voice the look of o u

'

r eyes our
begi nning
adness The changing jcol our the alteration
.

anner o f
'
,

m
m
m
'

, ,

e a a nd w

w
fe tching ou re
'

th the littl e co e have

‘

,
'

over o ur ords a nd actions h owl ittle do they

'

m
,
'

p ar take of sound i d What can make a

'

a r n ‘ .

worse appearance than H ome rs Achilles or Ag a ’

,
202 T HE T U SC U L AN D I S P U T A T I O N S
B ut what is C hrysipp us s definition ? F ortitude ’

saith h e is the knowledge of al l th ings tha t are

'

,
.
.

bearable or an affection of the mi nd which bears ,

and supp orts every thing in obedien ce to the chief

o

l a wof reason without fear b l ow though w , e .

,
.

sh oul d take the same liberty with these as C ar ,

neades used to do , I fear they wil l be the only .

philosophe rs : for which of these defi nitions doth ,

not explain that obscure and intricate notion of

,

courage which every man conceives within h imself ?

which being thus explained what can a w arrior , ,

a commander o r an orator w ant more and no, ,

one can think but that they will beha ve them

selves courageously witho ut an ger Wh at do .

no t even the S t oics who maint ain th a t all fools

.
,
v

are mad make the same inferences for tak e a way

, ,

perturbations especi ally a h astiness of temper,

,

and they will appear to talk very absurdly B ut

. . . .

what they assert is th us z th ey say that a ll fools u

are mad as a ll dunghills stink ; no t that they

m
. - .

al ways do so but sti r the a nd yo u w

, ill p erceive , t

it Thus a h ot man is not always in a passion ;

m
. . .

but p rovoke him and yo u will see him - ,run ad .

No wtha t very a nger which -

, is o f such service in ,

w a r what is its use at home wit h his w ife chil

“

‘ ~
' .
, , .

dren a nd family Is t h erep th en a nyi t hingct ha t a

m
, ,

pe turbed ind do better th n t h t w h i h i

m
r c a n a a c r s

cal and stead y or c an any oneb e ang r y without

m
.

e rt urb a tion of ind ? O u p e pl e t he irw e rei n

a
p r o
 “
or 010 mm . 2 03

the rig ht wh o as all vi ces depend on our o ral s;

'

m
and no thing is w
, ,

orse than a testy disposit ion

m
'

called angry en alo ne mo rose

- .

'

xxv Anger is is no wise becoming in an

.
'

orat or ; it is no t amiss to affect it Do you

' ’

-
.

ine I am angry when I l ad w i h u usual veh e

‘ ‘

g
'

p e t n

me nce and sharpness ? What when I w rite out

?

nry sp é ech es after a ll is over and past ? Or do you

r r

was ever angry when he ac ted or “

,
-

Accius was so w h en 3h e wrote Th ey a c t i ndeed

'

w
~

very ell y b ut the o rator b ett er than the pl a yer

’

:
,

a o vided he be really a n o ra t or z b nt then th ey

l
p
'

ch rry it c n with out p assion a nd w

m
it h a c omposed ,
"

mind But vvh at w a ntonness is i t to co mend lus t

‘
‘

. .

You produce Themist ocles a n d Demo sthenes : t o -

.

these you add P ythag o ras D emocrit us an d P la to , , .

What do y ou call studies lust ? N ow should

,
'

these s tu dies be o f the most excellent turny as

i "

th ose were w hich you m en tioned ; th ey ought how '

m
f

ever t o be é o po sedn and tranquil : a nd w

~
ha t
kind of philos oph ers a re they w he co en d i g riez
f m
m
m
'
. a
,

than -whi ch n oth ing is ore - d et establ e Afranins

has sa idi much to th eir p urp ose
’

Let him
,

b ut g ieve n o m tte w -
h t th e cause r , a r a ~
.

But he spo ke this o f a debauch ed a nd dissol ut e

w
'

r r c

d n th : but e ar e inqu iri n g aft er a eanst ant a nd

y
m
=

wise man ”We may even all ow centurion) ar '

m
. .

stan dard-bearer to bea ng ry o a n ot h ers who m

m
b
y
m
, , , ,

not to eitp l ain th é ys t er ie s of t h e h etorioian s I

'

,
2 04 T HE r u eU
s L AN mum sr ri o s s

m
"
sh al l mentio nhere, for to t o uch wth e passions;
~
n0t .
‘

whe re reaso n cannot be come at ay h ave its

'

,
t

“
'

use ; but my enquiry as I often a ver is o f a wise ,

a
, ,

man .

X XVI But even envy detraction pity . -

,
a
,
.
,

have their use f Why should you pity rather than .

“

'

assist if it is in your power Is it beca use yo u

,
? ‘

ca nnot be liberal wi thout pity ? We shoul d not

take cares on ourselves upon another s accou
.
nt p
’

b ut fease oth ers o f their grief if we can But that .

d etraction or that vicious emulation which -re

, ,

sembles a rivalship o f what use is it ? Now ,

.
‘

envy implies being uneasy at another s good and ’

that because he enj oys it H o wcan it be ri ght; . . . .

w
that y o u should voluntarily g rieve rath er tha n
'
'

ta kethe trouble of a cquiring

'

ha t y ou want to
‘
.

have for it is madness in the highest

'
'

desire to be the onl y one that has it But w

. ho . .

can with co rrec tness spea k in p raise of- a medi ‘

ocrit
y of evil s? ! C an any one in whom there is
'

lust o r desire be otherwise than libidinous or ide

.
,

sir ons not b e ang ry where any vexation is }

‘ ‘

,
.
'

not to be vexed ? or w h ere fear is no t to be fear

‘

,
r

ful D o we look then on the libidinous, the angry

?

the anxious , and the timid man as pers ons of w

,

is
m
,
.

dom ? of w h ose excell encel co ul d speak ry Iargel yj

'

z
p
a nd co io u sl
y but wish to be as short a s
, p o ssib l e:

Thus that wisdom is an a cq uaintancesw

,
. ith all di
vi ne and hum an affairs or a kno w
'

l edg e o f_the cause ,

906 T HE T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
the mind is it requir es th e more diligence whic h
, ,

wh en it is well applied it discovers what is best

'

,
'

when neglected is involved in many errors I

, .

shall apply then all my discourse to you ; for

though you appear to enquire about the wise man ,

your enquiry may possibly be about yourself .

Various then are the cures of those perturbations

, ,

which I have expounded ; for every diso rder i s

’

not to be appeased the same w a

y
— one medi
cine must be applied to one who mourns another ,

to the pitiful another to the person w

, h o envies
for there is this difference to be maintained in all
the four perturbations ; we are to consider ,

wh ether the cure is to be applied as to a p ertur ,

b a tion in general that is a contempt of reason or

, , ,

vehement appetite : or whether it would be better

directed to particular perturbations as to fear , ,

lust and the rest : whether that is not to be much

,

a ffected by that which occasioned the grief or ,

whether every kind of grief is not to be entirely

set a si de As should any one grieve that he is
.
,

poo r the question is would you maintain poverty

, ,

to be no evil or would you contend that a man

,

ought not to grieve at any thing ? C ertainly this

is best ; for should you not convince him wi th
regard to poverty you must allow him to grieve ,

but if you remove grief by particular arguments . ,

such as I used yesterday the evil of poverty is in ,

some manner removed .

 or c rcnno . 9 07

XXVIII But any p erturb a tion o f the mind

.
~

of t h is sort may be as it were wiped away by ,

‘

this met hod of appe asing the mind : by show .

ing that there is no good in what gave rise to joy

nor any evil in w
.

h at occa sioned fear or

'

a nd l ust
s

grief But certainly the most e ffectual cure is ,

. .

by showing that all perturbations are of themselves

vicious and have nothing natural or necessary in
,

them As w e see grief itself is easily softened

’

.
,

wh en we charge those w h o grieve with weak

ness and an effeminate mind : or when we
,

commen d the gravity and constancy of tho se

wh o h ea r calmly whatever befal s them here
’

.
‘

which indeed is generall y the case with tho se w ho

look on these as real evils but yet think they
' '

should be borne w ith resignation O ne imagines .

m
pleasure to be a good another money ; and yet the ,

o ne a be called o ff from intemperance the other

y ,

from covetousne ss The other method and a d .

dress which a t the same time that it removes the

m
, ,

fal Se opinion withdraws the di sorder h as

“
, ore ,

subtilty in it : b ut it seldom succeeds and is not ,

appl icable to vulgar minds for there are some ,

diseases which that me dicine can by no means re

move F or should any one be uneasy that he is
.
,

without virtue without courage void o f duty or , , ,

ben asty his anxiety proceeds from a real evil a nd

m
,

yet we must apply another method of cure to h i ;

and such a one as all the hil osophers howev er they
p ,
 2 08 T H E T USCULAN D IS P U TA Tl ON S

may differ about other thing s agree in : F on th ey ,

must necessarily consent to this that commotion of ,

the mind in opposition to right reason are vicio us

that even admitting those things not to be evils
, ,

which occasion fear or grief nor those good which

p rovoke desire or j oy yet that ve ry commotion
,
:

itself is vicious : for w e mean by the expressions

magnanimous an d brave one who is resolute se , ,

date grave and superior to every thing in thi s

, ,

life : but one who either grieves fears covets or is , , ,

transp orted with passion cannot come under that ,

denomination ; for these things are consistent only

with t hos ew h olo ok on the th ings of thi s world as
an overmatch for their minds .

XXIX Wherefore as I before said the philo

.
, ,

sophers have all o ne method of cure ; that nothing

is to be said to that whatever it is that disturbs
, ,
‘ ’

the mind but concerning th e p erturb a tio n itself

,
.

Thus first with regard to desire ; when the busi

, ,

ness is only t o remove that the enq ui ry is not to ,

be whether that be good or evil which provokes

,
' “
,
'

lust ; but lust itself is to be rem oved : so that ,

whether honesty bethe chief go od or p l easure , or , .

whether it consists in bo th these together or in t he ,

'

other three kinds of goods yet should there be in , ,

any onetoo vehement an appeti te of even virt u e

itself the whole disco u
,

deterring him from that ve

rse -should be di rected to the
hemence But hu an
na ture when placed ina conspicuous view gives
-
. m
, ,
Q1 0 T HE T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
which as it were introduces the ensu g evil
, , m .

No wthe reasons that make what is present toler

able make w
, hat is to come of little weight for .

with regard to both we should take care to do ,

nothing l o wor grovelling soft or e ffeminate mean , ,

or abject But notwithstanding we should speak

.

of the inconstancy imbecility and levity of fear

, ,

itself yet it is of greater service to despise those

,

very things we are afraid of S o that it fell out .

very well whether it was by accident or design

, ,

that I disputed the first and second day on death

and pain ; two things that are the most dreaded :
no w if what I then said was approved of we are
, ,

in a great degree freed from fear A nd thus far .

,

on the opinion o f evils .

XXXI P roceed we now to go ods i 6 j oy

.
, . .

and desire To me indeed one thing alone s eems

.
, ,

to take in the cause of all that rela tes to the per

t urb a tio ns of the mind that all perturbations are
in our o w n power ; that they are taken up upon

opinion ; and are voluntary This error then .

must be discharged ; this opinion removed : and ,

as with regard to imagined evils we are to make ,

them more tolerable so with respect to goods w , e ,

are to les sen th e violent e ffects of those thing s

which are called great and j oyous But one thing .

is to be observed that equally relates both to good

,

and evil : tha t should it be diffi cult to persuade

,

any one that none of thos e things which disturb

,
 or C IC ERO .
2 11

m
the mind are to be looked on as good or evil yet '

m
,

a different cure is to b e applied to different ,

tions and the malevol ent person is to be corrected

by one way of reasoning the lover by another the , ,
’

anxious man by another and the fearful by ano ,

ther : and it were easy for any one w h o pursues

the best approved method o f reasoning with ,

regard to good and evil to maintain that no fool ,

can be a ffected with j oy as he never can h ave any

,

thing good But at present my discourse pro-

.
, ,
1

ceeds u on the common received notions L et

p .
,

then , honours riches pleasures and the rest be

, , , ,

the very good things they are imagi ned ; yet a

too elevated and exulting j oy on the possessing
.

them is unbecoming for though it were allowable ,

to laugh a loud laugh woul d be indecent Thus a

,
.

mind enlarged by j oy is as blameab le as a con

,

traction o f it in grief : and longing is o f equal

w
lev ity ith the j oy of possessing ; and as those who
a re too de ected are s a id to be e f
f eminate they
j so ,

who are too elate with j oy are properly called ,

vo latile and as envy partakes of grief so to be

.
,

pleased with another s mi sfortune o f j oy and

’

both thes e are usually corrected by showing the ,

wildness and insensibility of them And as it b e

m
.

co mes a man to b e cautious but it is unbeco ing ,

to be fearful ; so to b epleased is proper but to be ,

j oyful improper I have that I migh t be the

.
,

better understood disting uished pleasure from

,
2 IQ r mT U S U LA N
: C D I S P U T A T I ONS

j oy j I have already said above that a contraction

.
,

of th e mind can never be right but an elation ,

may : for the j oy of H ector in v ins is one

thing ,

Ti j y ind eed t he my p i e ung

’
s o o ar ra s s s

By y u w h e th e th em e f h n u
o , t ng ue
o ar o o o rs
’
o .

But that of the character in Trabea another The .

kind procuress allured by my money wil l ob serve

'
, ,

my nod will watch my desires and study my

, ,

will If I but move the door with my little finger

.
,

instantly it flies open ; and if C hrysis should unex

ectedl disc ver me she will run with j oy to
p y o ,

”
meet me and throw herself into my arms
,
.

N ow he will tell you how excellent he thinks ‘

Not v
e en ortune f h ersel f is so fortunate .

XXXII A ny one who attends the least to it

will be convinced h owunbecoming this j oy is
.

m
m
.

And as they are very shameful who are i ode ,

ra tel delighted with the enj oyment of venereal

y
pleasures ; so are they very scandalous who lust ,

vehemently after them An d all that which is .

commonly called love ( and believe me I can find

out no other name to call it by ) is of such levity ,

that nothing I think is to be compared to it ; of

‘
, ,

which Caacilius
1 h old th e m a n of e very sense b criev
’
d,
Wh o g
ra nts no t l ve t
o o be of gd
o s th e c h ief
 TH E T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
Th e censure of th is cri m e t th
o ose i s due,
Wh o na ked b odies fi rst exp os d to v iew:
’

No w suppo ing them chaste which I think is

s ,

hardly po ssible ; they are uneasy and distressed ,

and the more so as they contain and refrain them

,

selves But to pass over the love of women where

.
,

nature has allowed more liberty ; who can mis

understand the poets in their rape of Ganymede ,

or not apprehend what L aius saith and what he ,

would be at in E uripides L astly what the prin

, ,

ci a l poets and the most learned have published

p
of themselves in their poems and songs ? What
doth Alcus who was distinguished in his own re
,

public for his br ewery write on the love of young

,

’
men ? and all Anacreon s poetry is on love But .

Ibycus of Rhegium appears from his writings to , ,

have had this love st ronger on him than all the

rest .

XXXI V No wwe see that the loves of these

.

were libidinous There have arisen some amongst

.

us philosophers ( and P lato is at the head of them

, ,

whom Dicaaa rch us blames not without reason) who

have countenanced love ; The S toics in truth
say not only that their wise man may be a lover
, ,

but they also define love itself to be an endeavour

of making friendship from the appearance of beau
ty. N ow provided there is any one in the nature
,

of things without desire without care w

, ith out
, ,

a sigh ; such a one may be a lover : for he is free

 or 01 01511 0 .
2 15

from all lust : but I have nothing to say to him ,

as lust is my subject But should th ere be any

.
.

love as there ce rtai nly is which is but litt l e short

, , ,

if at all of madness such as hi s in the L euc adia

, ,

o r ho e e I m
S h uld t h e e b e ny g d w a o s car a

it is incumbent on all the gods to see that he en

j oys his amorous pleasure .

W retc h th at I m
a !

N othing truer and he saith very well

, .

Wh t e y u ne l menting t thi te?

a , ar o sa ,
a a s ra

H e seems even to his friends to be out of

senses then h o wtragical he becomes
Th y id d iv ine A p ll I impl e
a , o o, or ,

A nd thine d e d ul e f th e wt y t e
r a r r o a
’
r s or

i t m
,

Oh ! l l ye w aind e! s, a ss s
’

H e thinks the whole world should be overturned

to help his love : he excludes Venus alone as un
kind t o him Thy aid 0 Venus why should I
.
, ,

invoke ? H e thinks Venus too much employed

’

in her own lust to have regard to a ny thing else

, ,

as if he himself had not said and committed these ,

shameful things from lust .

X XXV Nowthe cure for one affected in this

.

manner is to sho wh owlight h o wcontemptible

, , , ,

h o wvery trifling he is in what he desire s; h o whe

may turn his affections to another obj ect or ,

accomplish his desires by some other means or ,

that he may entirely disregard it sometimes he is

to be led away to t hings of another kind to study , ,
2 16 T H E T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
business or other different engagements and con
,

cerns : very often the cure is e ffected by change

of place as sick people that have not recovered
,

their strength S o e think an old love may be .

f
driven o ut b y a new one as one nail drives o ut
m ,

another : but he should be principally ad vised ,

what madness love is : for of all the perturba

tions of the mind nothing is more vehement ; ,

though without charging it with rapes deb auche

, ,

ries adultery or even incest the baseness of any

, , ,

of these being very bl ameable yet I say not to

m
, - ,

mention these the very perturbation of th e ind

,

in love is base of itself for to pass over all its

‘

, , ,

mad tricks those very things which are looked on

as indifferent what weakness do they argue ?
,

'

Aflronts j ealousies j ars parleys wars then

, , , , ,

peace again N o w for you to ask advice to love

.
,

by is all one as if you should ask advice to run

,

No wis not this inconstancy and muta

”
mad by .

bil ity of mind enough to deter one by its own de

formity We are to demons trate as was said of ,

every perturbation that it consists entirely in

.
,

opinion and judgment and is owing to ourselves , .

F or if love were natural all would be in love and , ,

always so and love the same object ; nor would

,

o ne be deterred by shame ; another by reflection

,

a nother by satiety .

XXXVI Ange r too w hen it disturbs th

.
, ,

mind any time leaves no room to doubt its being

,
 2 18 T HE T USCULAN D I S P U T A TI ONS .

heat raised there in Opposition to reason : from

whence that saying of A rchytas is commended :
who being somewhat provoked at his steward ,

H ow would I have treated you saith b e if I ,

’

,
‘

had not been in a passion ? ’

XXXVII W
here then are they who say that
.

ange r has its use ? C an madness be of any use

But still it is natural C an any thing be natural
.

that is against reason or h owis it if anger is

?
,

natural that one is more inclined to ang er than

,

another ? or h owis it that the lust of revenge ,

should cease before it has revenged itself ? or that

any one should repent o f what he had done in a

passion ? as we see Alexander coul d scarce keep

his hands from himself when he had killed his ,

favourite Cl ytus : so great was his compunction !

N ow who that is acquainted with these can -

m
, ,

doubt but that th is o tio n of the mind is al tog e

ther in opinion and voluntary for who can doubt
?

but that disorders of the mind such as c ovetous ,

ness a desire of glory arise from a great estima

, ,

tion of those things by which the mind is disor

,
'

dered ? from whence we may understand that ,

every perturbation is founded in opinion And if .

boldness i e a firm assurance of mind is a kind

, . .
,

of knowledge and serious Opinion not hastily ,

taken up then difli denee is a fear of an expec ted

and impending evil : and if hope is an expectation
of good fear must of course be an expecta tion of
,
 or C I CERO . 9 19

ievil . Thus fear and other p ert urbations are evils .

Therefo re as constancy proceeds from knowledge ,

so perturbation from error Nowthey who are .

said to be n aturally i nclined to ang er or pitiful , ,

or envious or any thing of this kind ; their minds

,
'

a re co nstit utio nal l as it were in bad health

y y e t
'

, , ,

they are curable as is said o f S ocrat es when , ,

Z opyrus who professed knowing the nature of

,

every One from h is person had heaped a great ,

many vices on him in a public assembly he was ‘

'

lau g hed at by others who could perceive no such ,

vices in S ocrates : but S ocrates kept him in coun

'

t enance by declaring th at such vices were n atur a l

,

to him but he had got the better of them by

,

his reason Therefore as any one who has the ap

.
,

e a ra nce o f the best constitution may yet be more

p ,

inclined to some parti cular disorder so different ,

minds may be differently inclined to different

d iseases But those who are said to be vicious
.
,

not by nature but their own fault ; their vices

,

m
proceed from wrong opinions of good and bad
thin gs so that one is ore prone than another to
, ,

different motions and perturbations And so in .

the body an inveterate disorder is harder to be

,

'

got rid of than a perturbation ; and a fresh

,

tumour in the eyes is sooner cured than a de ,

fluxio n of any continuance is removed .

XXXVIII But as the cause of perturbations

.

(is di scovered all which arise from the j udgme nt or

'

,
 2 20 T H E T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
Opinion and volitions I shall put an end to this
, , .

discourse But we ought to be assured the ends

.
,

O f good and evil bei ng disc overed as far as they ,

are di scoverable by man that nothing can be ,

desired O f philosophy greater or more useful than , ,

what I have disputed Of these four days For to .

a contempt of death and the fewenabled to bear .

pain ; I h avea dded the appeasing of grief than ,

which there is no greater evil to man Though .

every perturbation Of mind is grievous and differs ,

but little from madness : yet we are used to sa y

O f others when they are under an y perturbation
, ,

as Of fear j oy or desire that they are moved and

, ,
’

disturbed ; but of those who give themselves up to

grief that they are miserable a fflicted wretched
, , , ,

unhappy S O that it doth not seem to be by acci

.

dent but with reason proposed by you that I

, ,

should dispute separately Of grief and of the other ,

perturbations : for there li es the spring and head

'

O f al l o ur m
iseries : but the cure of grief and of ,

other disorders is one and the same in that they , ,

a re all voluntary
'

and f ounded on opinion ; we ,

take them on ourselves because it seems right so

to do P hil osophy promises to pluck up this
.

error as the root of all our evils : let us su rrender

,

~
Ourselves to be instructed by it and su ffer ourselves ,
,

to be cured ; for w h ilst th ese ev il s have possession ‘

no t o nl y cannot be happy but cannot

- ,
,

. b e rig h t in our m inds We must either deny that .

 T HE TU S CU LAN D I S P U TA TI O NS .

B OO ! :

V .

WH ETH ER V I R T UE ALONE BE SU FFI C I EN T roa n

HAPP Y L IF E .

TH I S fifth day Brutus shall put an end to our

, ,

T usculan D isputations on which day I disputed

o n your favourite subj ect For I perceived from
.

that accurate book you wrote me as well as from ,

your frequent conversation that you are clearly

,

o f th is opinion ,that virtue is O f itself su fficient

for a h appy l ife : and though it may be difficult to
prove this o n account of the many various strokes
,

o f fortune yet it is a truth o f suc h a nature that

, ,

we should endeavour to facilitate the proof of it .

For among all the topics of ph ilosophy there is ,

none of more dignity or importance As the first .

philosophers must have had some inducement to ,

neglec t every thing for the search of the best

.

state of life : surely it was with the hopes of

,

living happily that they laid o ut so much care

,

and pains on that study No wif virtue w as dis

.
,

covered and carried to perfection by them ; and if

virtue is a su ffi cient security for a happy life : who .
 TH E T USCULAN D I SPUTA TI ONS 22 3

but mus t think the w ork of philosophi si ng excel

l entl y establ ished by them and undertaken by ,

me But if virtu eas subject to such various and

,

un certain accid ents is but the slave of fortune

, ,

and not of s ufficient ability to support herself I

am afraid we should seem rather to Offer up our
petitions to her than endeavour to pla ce our con
,

fi dence in virtue for a happy life Indeed when .

,

I reflect on those troubles wit h which I have ,

been severely exercised by fortune I begin to ,

sus pect this Opinion ; and sometimes even to

dread the weakness and frailty O f hu an na
_

m
ture for I am afraid lest as nature has given
,
’

us infirm bodies and has j oined to these ia

,

curable diseases and intolerable pains ; she might

,

also have given us minds participating o f these

bodily pains and harassed with troubles and un
,

easinesses peculiarly her o w

,
n But here I cor .

rec t myself for forming my j udgment of the

,

force of virtue more from the weakness of other s

,

or mine o w
,

n perhaps than from virtue itself : for

,

that ( provided there is such a thing as virtue and ,

your uncle Brutus h as removed all doubt of it)

has every thing that can b efal man in subj ection
to her ; and by disregard ing them is not at all ,

concerned at human accidents : and being free

from every imperfection thinks nothing beyond ,

herself can relate to her But w e w h o increase

.
,

e very approaching evil by our fear and eve ry ,

pr esent one by o ur grief choose rather to ,

 224 T HE T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
condemn the nature Of things than our o w n ,

errors .

-
I I B ut the amendment of this fault and
.
,

O f all our other vices and O ffences is to be sought

,

for in philosophy to whose protection as my o w n

inclination and desire led me from my earli est ,

days so under my present misfortunes I have

, , ,

recourse to the same port from whence I set out, ,

after having been test by a violent tempest O .

Philosophy thou conductor of life ! thou disco

,

verer o f virtue and expeller of vices ! what h ad

,

not only I myself been but the whole life o f man

,

without you To you we O w e the origin of cities

you called together the dispersed race of men

into social life you united them together first by , ,

placing them near one another then by marriages , ,

and lastly by the communication O f speech and

e ow
,

languages To you w . e the invention of ,

laws ; you instructed us in morals and discipline .

T 0 you I fly for assistance ; and as I formerly

submitted to yo u in a great degree so no w I sur ,

render up my self entirely to you For one day .

Well sp ent and agreeably to your precepts is pre

.

, ,

ferabl e to an eternity of sin Whose ass istance

.

then can be of more servic e to me than yours ,

which has bestowed on us tranquil lity of li fe and ,

removed the fear o f death ? But philosophy is so

far from being praised a s she hath deserv ed o f
, ‘

man that she is wholly neglected by most and il l

, ,

spoken of by many Ca n any speak ill of the

.
 22 6 rs s T USCUL AN m w srur s r ns

b odi es h ad transferr ed their names into an e m

neo us fable From whence all -who were exe
. r ,
s

cised in the contemplation O f nature were held '

,

to be as well as
, cal led wise men : and tha t ,

name of theirs continued to the age of P ythagoras

w
,

h o is repo rt ed to have gone to Ph lius as we find

‘
,

it in Ponticus H era clides a very learned man , ,

a nd a hearer of P lato s and to have discoursed ’

s

very lea rnedly and copiously on certain subj ects

w
,

ith Leon prince of the Phliasii L eon ad

m
.
, ,

miring his ingenuity and eloquence asked hi ,

what art he particularly professed ; his answer

w as tha t he w
, as ac q uainted with no art but that ,

he w as a phil osopher L eon surprised at the .

,

novelty of the name enq uired w : h a t he meant by

,
.

the name of philosopher and in what they differed

m
,

from other en : on which P ythagoras r eplied ,

That the life of man seemed to him to r esemble

those games which were kept with the greatest
,

entertainment of spo rts and the general co ncourse ,

of all Gree ce For as there were some w hen

'

.
,

pursuit was glory and the honour of a crown for

, ,

the performance of bodily exercises ; so O di ers

were indu ced by the gain of buying and sel ling ,

a nd mere lucrative motives

-
but there w as like

wise one so rt Of them and they by far th e be st ,

.
,

Who se aim w a s neither appla use nor profi t but

w
, ,

h o came me rely as spectators thro u gh cu riosit y

"
,

to remark what w as d o ne and to see in what ,

 or mu o se 927

mner things were carried on there

.

an Thus we .

come from another li fe and nature unto this as it , ,

were out Of anot her city to some much fr equented

'

mart : some slaves to glory others to money : th at ,

there a re some fewwho taking no account of any , ,

thing else earn estly loo k into the nature Of things :

,

that the se call themselves studious of wisdom ,

th at is ph ilosophers ; and as there it is more repu

,

ta bl e to b e a looker on w ithout making any ao

‘

q uisition so in li fe
, the contemp l ating on th
, i ngs ,

and acquainting your self with them greatly ex ,

”
ceeds every other purs uit of life .

'

IV N o r was P yth agoras the inventor onl y of

.

the name but he enlarged also the th ing itself

, ,

a nd when he came into Italy after t h is conversa

,

tion at Ph l ius adorn ed that Greece which is call ed

, ,

Great Greece both privately and publicly with

,
’

the most excellent institutes and arts ; Of whose

discipline perhaps I shal l find another opp or
'

t uni ty to speak But numbers and motions the

.
,

beginning and end of things were the subjects Of ,

the ancient philosophy down to S ocrates w ho w as ,

a b earer of Archelaus the di sciple Of Anaxagoras , .

These made diligent enquiry into the magnitude '

O f the sta rs their distances ,courses and all th at , ,

relates to the heavens But S ocrates was the fi rst .

w h o brought down philosophy from the heavens ,

pl a ced it in cities introduced it into famil ies and

, ,
.

obliged it to examine into life and moral s good ,

2 2 83 T HE T U S CULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
and evil Whose several methods of di sputing ;
.

tog et her with the variety of his topics and th e» ,

'

grea tness of his a bilities being immortali zed by ,

;

the memory and writings of Plato gave rise to

. .
,
'

man y s ec ts of philosophers of different sentiments

O f all w h ich I have principally adhered to that
w m m
,

m
hich in y Opinion S ocrates h i se l f followed ;
'

, ,

to c onceal my o w
. n o p inio el ea r others from thei r

errors and to discover what has the most proba

,

bility in every question A custom C arneades .

maintained with great copiousness and acuteness ,

and which I myself have often used on many . .

occasions elsewhere agreeable to which manner I ,

disputed too in my Tusculum and indeed I have ,

sent you a book of the four former days disputa .

’

tions ; but the fifth day when we had seated our ,

selves as before what we were to dispute on w , as

M
proposed thus
V A I do not think virtue can possibly be
.
-
.

su fficient to a happy life But my Brutus .

thinks so whose j udgment W1 th submiss ion -I

, , ,
,
I

greatly prefer to yours A I make no doubt of

'

. .
,

it ; but your regard for him is not the business no w

’ '

but what I saido iva s my Op inion z I wish you to

°
'
.

disp ute on that ll What ! do you deny that

'

. . i .

virtue ca n p o ssibly be su fficient for a happy life

-

A It i s what I entirely deny 211 5 What ! is not

'

. . .

virtue suflicient to enable us to live as we ought, ’

. . .

honestly commendably or in fl ue to live well ?

, , ,
.
.
,
1 30 mT USCULAN D S U T ATI ONS
s I P

M
everyvi rtue prudence itsel f discovers this that all
, ,

g ood men are not therefore happy ; and she rec ol a

l ects many things -o f M Attilius Q C arpio .

, .
,
.

A quilins and prudence herself if these rep resen ,

t a tions are more ag r eeable to you than the things

themselves pulls b ack happiness when it is en

,
.

dea vo uring to throw itself into torments and ,

M
de nies that it has a ny connection with pain and
torture .

N] . I can easily bear with your b ehaving

in this man ner though it is not fair in you to
'

p rescribe to me how you would have me to dis ,

pute : but I ask you if I effected any thing or

nothing in the foregoing days ? A Yes something
was done some little matter indeed
.
,

M
M
, But i f .

that is the case this question is routed and almost

, ,

put an end to A H o wso ? Because turbu

. .

'

lent motions and violent agitatio ns Of the mind ,

raised and el ated by a rash impulse getting the ,

better of reason leave no room for a happy life , .

For who that fears either pain or death the one of

m
,

which is always present the other always i ,

pending can/ be oth erwise than miserable ? No w

,

supposing the same person which is often the ,

case to be afraid of poverty ignominy infamy or

, , , ,

weakness or blindness ; or lastly which doth not

, ,

b efa l particular men but often the most powerful ,

nations slavery ; now can any one under the a p

,

prehensions of these be happy Wh at ! if h e not

?
 er C I CERO .
4
23 1

only dreads as future but actually feels and

,

bears them at present ? L et us unite in the same

person banishment mourning the loss of c
, , , hil
dren whoever 18 in the midst of this a ffliction IS
w orn with sickness ca n he be otherwise than very

miserable indeed ? What r eason ean there be why '

a man should not rightly enough be called misera

ble that we see inflamed and ragin g with l ust
, ,

coveting every thing with an in satiable desire and ,

“
the more pleasur es he re ceive s from any thing ,
stil l thirsting the more violently after the ? And m
m
as to a a nvainl y elate d exulting with an emp ty
m
,

joy and bo as ting of hi self without reasony isfnot

m
,

h e so much the more miserable as he thi nks h i “

,

self the h appier ? Therefore as these are misera

,

ble so on the other hand they are happy who are

m
, ,

alarmed by no fears wasted by no g riefs , p r

m
,

v oked by no lusts , el ted by no languid pleasures

that arise from vain and exulting j oys We look .

on the sea as calm when not the least breath of

air disturbs its waves ; so the placid and quiet state

o f the mind is discovered when unmoved by any

perturbation Nowif there be any one h o holds

. w
the power of fortune and every thing human every
, ,

thing tha t c a n p ossibly befal any man as tolera ,

ble so as to be out of the reach of fear o r anx iety

,

and should such a one covet nothing and be “

lifted up by no vain j oy of mind w

,

hat can prei

’

?
vent his being h ppy and if these are the e ffect s
a
2 32 T HE T U S C U L A N D I SPU T A TI ON S
of vi rtue , w hy
'

ca nnot virt ue
'

l itself mak e men

3

w
VI I A O ne of these is un deniable that
. .
,

they h o areu nder no appreh e nsions no ways uri ,

ea y who c ovet nothing are lifted up by no vain

s , ,

oy are hap py : t herefore I grant you that ; and

j ,

the other I am not at liberty to dispute ; for it ‘

wm
was p roved b y your former d isputations that ia
:

M
-

an w
'

i se as free from every perturbation of

'

mind I D oub tl ess the n the dispute is ove r

‘

m
. .
, ,

A Almost I think indeed M But yet t hat

’

.
.
, , ,

is more usu al with the mathe aticians than p hil of

‘

soph e rs F o r the geo metri cians when they teac h

.
,
'

an yt hin g if what they had before taught relates

,

to the ir pre sent subject they take that for gra n t ,

ed ; and already proved ; and explain only what

they h ad not writ ten on before The phil osophers .
,

whatever s ubjec t they have in hand g et every ,

thi ng together that relates to it not w ithstandin g

they h a d dispu ted on it so ew h ei e else Were m .

not that the case why should the S toics say so ,

m uch o n that question whether virtue was ab un ,

dautly su fficient to a happy life ? whe nit would

have been answer enough that they had befo re ,

taught that nothing w as good but what w

, as

honest this being proved the conseque nce ,

would be that virtue was su fficient to a h appy

,

life : and as follows from the other so if a happy

, , ,

l ife consists in virtue nothing ca n be good b ut ,

 2 34 r mT USCU LAN D I SPU TA TI ONS
:

tle information Fo r I allow that in w . hat you ,

have st a ted the one is the conseque nce of the

,
-

other ; that as if w h at is honest b e the only good;

,

it must follow that a happy life is the effect of

,

virtue : so that if a happy li fe consists in virtue ,

not hing can be good but virtue But your Brutus .

,

on the authority of Aristo and A ntiochus do th ,

not see th is : for he thinks th e cas e to be the

same even if there was any thing good bes ides
,

virtue M What then do you imagi ne I sh all

.

dispute against B rutus ? A You may do w h a t .

you ple ase : for it is not for me to prescribe what

you shall do M H o wthese things agree to
. ,

gether shall be enquir ed somewhere else : for I

fre quently disputed tha t w ith A ntiochus and ,
'

latel y with A risto when as g eneral I lodged

, , ,

with him at Athens For to me it seemed that no .

one co uld possibly be happy under any evil : but a

wise man might be under evil , if there are any
evils of body or fortune These things we re said .
,

which Antiochus has inserted in his b ooks in many

places : th at virt ue itself w a s su fficient to mak e

life happy but not the happiest : and that man y

,

things are so called from the maj or part though ,

they do not include all as strength health riches , , ,

,

honour and glory which are determined by their

,

kind not their number : thus a happy life is so

,
'

called from its being in a great degree so tho ugh ,

it should fall short in some point To clear this .

 or (
3 105 1 6 1 .
235

bp , is
'

not absolu tely necessary at present though ,

"
it seems to be said without any great consistency .

for I do not apprehend what is wanting to one ’

that i s happy to m ake him happier ? for if any

,

thing be wanting he cannot be so much as happy

,
'

and as to what they say that every thing 1 8 called ,

and looked upon from the greater part may be

m
,

admitted in so e t hings But when they al l ow .

three kinds of evils ; when any oneis oppressed -

with all the evils of two kinds as with adverse ,

fortune and his body worn out and harassed

,

with all sorts of pains shall we sa y such a one is ,

little short o f a happy life not to say the hap , ,

.

piest ? This is what The ophrastus could not mai n

'

t ain : for when he had laid down that stripes

'

, ,

to rments tor tu
, res the ruin of one s country
,
’

ba nishment the loss of children had grea t

, ,

fi uence as to living miserably and unhappily he ,

durst not use any high and lofty expressions ,

when he w as so low and abj ect in his opinion .

IX H o wright he was is not the question he

.

certainly was consistent Therefore I am not for .

obj ecting to consequences where the premises are

allowed of But this most elegant a nd learned of
.

all the philosophers is not taken to task when he

,

asserts his three kind sof good ; but he is attacked

by all for tha t book which he wrote on a happy
life in which bo ok he has many arguments why
, ,

o ne w h o is tortured and racked c a nnot be h a p py .

 2 36 T HE Tuscuu m
D I SP U T A TI ONS
For in Ith a t he is supposed to _say that such a one ,
~
‘

cannot reach a complete happy life » H e n o .

where indee d saith so ab solutely but what he ,

sa ith amounts to th e same thing C an I then find .

fault with him ; to whom I al lowed that pain s of

m
,

body are evils that the ruin of a an s fo rtunes 1 s

’

m
,

an evil if he should sa y that every goo d a n is

,

not happy when all those things which he reckons

,

as evils may b efal a g ood man The same T h ea

, .

p h rastus is found fault with by all the books a nd .

schools of the p hilosophers for comme nding that , ‘

sentence in his Cal listh enes

F tune n t w
or isdo m rul esth e life f m
, o n , o a .

Th ey say never did phil o so p h er assert any t hing

, .

so languid Th ey are right indeed in that b ut

. .

I do not apprehend any thing could bemo re con

.

sistent : for if there are so many good things that

dep end on the body so many foreign to it th a t
.
, .
,

depend on chanc eand fortune is it not consiste nt ,

, , .

that fo rtune who governs every thing both what

- , ,

is foreign and what b el ong s t o the body has

'

, _

greater power than cou nsel O r would we rather

,
.

imitate E picurus who is often excellent in many ,

things which he speaks but quite indi fferent h o w ,

consistent or to the purpose H e commends

,
.

spare diet, and in that he speaks as a ph ilosopher;

but it is for S ocrates or Antisthenes to say so not ,
,

one who confines all good to pleasure H e denies .

that any one can live pleasantly unless he lives ,

93 8 T HE T USCULAN nxsrur xr l o s s

m
a is always happ y
n it is cle a r what I mean by
m
;
:

good men : I call those both wise and good en ,

who are p rovided and adorned wi th every virtue .

L et us see then who are to be called happy I .

imagine indeed those who are possessed of good

, , ,

without any allay of evil : nor is there any other

notion connected with the word that expresses
happiness but an absolute enj oyment of good
,
'

without any evil Virtue cann ot attain this if .

,

there is any thing good besides itself : for a crowd

of evil s would present themselves if we al low ,

poverty obscurity humility solitude the loss

, , , ,

of friends acute pains of the body the loss of

, ,

health weakness blindness the ruin of ones

, , ,

country banishment slavery to be evils for to

m
, , , ,

co nclude a w ise an may be in all these and

,

many others : for they are brought on by chance ,

which may attack a wise man ; but if the se are

evils w, h o can maintain a wise man to be always
happy when all these may light o n him at the
,

same time ? I therefore do not easily agree with

my Brutus nor our com on masters nor those
,
m ,

ancient ones A ristotle S p eusippus Xenocrates

m
, , , ,

P ol e on who reckon all that I have mentioned

above as evils and yet they say that a w
,

, ise man
is alw ays happy ; who if they are charmed with ,

this beautiful and illustrious title which would ,

very well become P ythagoras S ocrates and P lato , , ,

they should b e persuaded that strength health , , ,

 or 01 08 11 0 .
2 39

b eauty , r iches honours power with the beauty of

m
, , ,

w h ich they are ravished are conte ptibl e and

_ , ,

that all those things which are the opp osites of

th ese are no t to be regarded Then might they .

declare openl y with a loud voice that neither the

, ,

attacks o f fortune nor the opinion o f the m ulti '

'

tude nor pain nor poverty occasion them any

, , ,

apprehensions ; and that they have every thing

w ithin themselves and that they hold nothi ng to
,

be good but what is within their o w n power .

N or can I by any means allow the same perso n ,

w h o fal l s into the vulgar opinion of goo d and

evil to make use of these expressions which can
, ,

only become a great and exalted man S truck .

with which glory up starts E picurus who with , ,

submissio n t o the gods thinks a wise man a lways ,

H e is much taken with the dig nity of

this opinion but he never would have owned that
, ,

had he at tended to himself for what is there .

more incons is tent than for o ne who could say ,

that pai n was the greatest or the only evil to .

,

think that a wise man should say in the midst o f

his torture H owsweet is this ! We are not there
m
,

foreto fo r our j udgment of philosophers from

,

detached sentences but from their consistency

m
,

w ith the selves and the ir common manner of,

tal king .

XI A You engage me to be of your Opinion

. .

but have a c are that you are not inconsistent

2 40 T HE T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
you rself AI By what means A Beca use I
. . .
'

'

have lately read your fourth book o n G ood and

m
x

E vil in that you appear e d to ew hen disputing ,

against C ato to have endeavoured t o shew which

, ,
‘

with me is to prov e that Zeno and the P erip a te ,

tics differ only about some newwords whic h

m
al lowed what reason can there be if it follow s
,

fro the arg ument s of Zeno that virtue con tai n s

all that is necessary to a happy life that the P eri
,

,
,

atetics should not be a t liberty to say the same ?

p
For in my opinion regard should be had to the
'

, ,

thing not to w ords Jll What you would con

m
.
, .

vict efrom my own words and bring agai nst me ,

.

what I had said or written e l sewhere You may .

act in that manner with those who d ispute by es

t ab lish ed rules we live from hand to mouth and ,

say any thing t h at strikes our mind with prob abi

.

l ity, so that we only are at lib erty But because .

I j u st now spoke of consistency I do ho t think ,

the e nquiry in this place is if Zeno s and his ’

’

hearer Aristo s Opinion be true that nothing is

’

good but what is hone st ; but admitting that , ,

then whether the w hole of a happy life can be

' .

res ted on virtue alone Wherefore if we certainly

.

grant Brutus this that a wise man is al w

' '

, ays
happy h o wconsisten t h e is is his business z for
'

, ,

who indeed is more worthy than himself of the glory

of that opini on S till w e may a inta i
'

th a t m m
the same is most happy tho u gh Zeno of C iti u
'

m,
2 4Q T HE TUSCULAN ni sp ursrrons

m
that wise ah who submits to th e gain and loss of
,

every thing and especially of his children and obeys

, ,

th at old precept ; so as never to b e too j oyful or

”
too sad beca use he depends entirely upon himself
, .

XIII From P lato therefore all my disco urse

.

shal l be deduced as it were from some sacred and

W
, ,

hallowed fountain hence can I then more

.

properly begin than from natu re the parent of

, ,

all ? For whatsoever she produces not only of the ,

,

animal so rt but even of the vegetable she de

, ,
e

signed it to be pe rfect in its respective kind S o .

that among trees and vin es and those low er , ,

plants and trees whi ch cannot advance themselves

,

higher from the e a rth some are ever green others , ,

are stripped of their leaves in winter ; and warmed ,

by the sp ring s ea son put them out afresh and , ,

there are none o f them but what are so qui ckened

by a certain interior motion and their o w n se eds ,

inclos ed in every one so as to yield fl owers fruit or , ,

berries that all may have every perfection that

,

belongs to it provided no violence prevents it

, .

But the force of nature itsel f may be more easily

discovered in animals as she has b estowed sense ,

on them For those animals that can s w

. im she
designed inhabi tants of the water ; those that
fly to expatiate in the air ; some creeping some ,

walking ; of these very animals some are soli

tary some herding together ; some W ild othe rs
, ,

tam e some hidden and cove red by the earth ;

,
 or C I CERO Q4 3

m
.

and every one o f these aintains the f law of

nature confining itself to what w w
.

, as be sto ed on it ,

a nd unable to change its manner of life And as

m
.

every ani al has from nature something that dis

ting uish es it which every one maintains and never
,

quits: so man has something far more excellent ,

tho ugh every thing is said to excel b y comparison .

But the human mind as derived from the divine.

reas on canbe compared with nothing b dt With

,
‘

the D eity itself if I may be all owed the expression

, .
"

This then when improved and its perception

, ,

so p re served as not to be blinded by errors

, ,

beco mes a perfect understanding that is abso lute , ,

reason w h ich is the very same as virtue And if .

every thing is happy which wants nothing and is , ,

'

complete and perfect in its kind and that is the ,

peculiar lot of virtue ; certainly all who are pos

sessed of virtue are happy And in this I agree .

with Bru tus even with A ristotle Xenocrates

m
, , ,

S p eusippus P ol e on , To me such only appear .

completely happy for what can he want to a .

complete happy life who relies on his ow n goo d

,

qualities o r h o wcan he be happy who doth not

,

rely on them ?
XIV But he who makes a th reefold division
.

of goods must necessarily be diffi dent for h ow

, ,

can he depend on having a so und body or that his ,

fortune shall continue ? but no one can be happy .

without an immovable fixed and permanent , ,

2 44 T HE T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS

g ood Wh at the n is this Opinion Of theirs S o

. . .
?

that I think that saying of th eS part an may be

applied to them who on some merchant s bo asting
.
, ,
’

b efore him that he could dispatch ships to every

,

maritime coast ; replied that a fortune w h ich de -

,

pended on ropes w a s not very d esirable C an there

m
.

be a ny doubt that whatev er ay be lost cannot be

m
.

, ,

Of the n u ber O f thosethings whi ch complete a .

happy life ? for of all that constitutes a happy life ,

nothing will admit Of growing Ol d Of wearing o ut ,

or decaying ; for whoever is apprehensive of any

loss in thes e cannot be happy : the happy man
.

'

should be safe well fenced well fortified out of , , ,

t h ereach of all annoyance ; not under trifling ap

prehension s but void of all A s he is not called

, .

innoc ent who but slightly offends but who offends ,

not at all : so is he only to be held without fear ,

not w
'

h o isin but little fear but who is vo id of all ,

fear For w hat else is courage but an affection

m
. _

Of. ind that is ready to undergo perils as well as

, ,

to b ear p a in a nd labour without any al lay of fear ?

N o wthis c e
.

rtainly could not be the case if any ,

tl nng w ere good b ut what depended on h onest y .

alone But how can any one be in p ossessionfof

.

that de si rable and m uch requ ested security ( for I

no wcall a freedom froin anxiety a security on

m
'

.
,

which freedo a happy life depends ) who has or

m
.
, ,

may have a ul titude c f evil s at tending him ?

,
'

H o wca n h e b e brave and un daunt ed and hold ,

2 46 Tl L
E T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI O NS
whatever is pleasant may be boasted and tal ked
.

of whatever is so is glorious ; but whatever is glo,

rions is certainl y laudable whatever is laudabl e ,

doubtless too honest ; whatever then is good ; is

, ,

honest But W hat they reckon good they them

.
,

selves do not call honest : therefore what is honest

alone is good H ence it follows that a happy l ife
.

is comprised in honesty alone S uch things then .

are not to be called or held for goods amidst the ,

abundance Of which a man may be most miserable .

Is there any doubt but that one who enjoys the

best health has strength beauty has his senses
, , ,

in their utmost quickness and perfection ; suppose

him likewise if you please nimble and al ertfnay
m
, , ,

give hi riches honours authority power glory ;

, , , ,

no wI say should this person who is in pos session

, , ,

O f all these h e unjust intempera te timid stupid

, , , , ,

or an ideo t ; could you hesitate to call such a one

miserable ? What then are tho se goods in the pos ,

se ssin g whi ch you may be very miserable ? L et us

see then if a happy life is not made up of parts Of
the same natu re as a heap implies a quantit y Of
m
,

grain of the same kind Which ad itted happi .

,

ness must be compounded of goods, which alone

are ho nest ; if there is any mixture of things Of
another sort with these nothing honest ca n pro ,

ceed from such a composition : nowtake aw a y ,

honesty h owcan you imagin eany thing happy ?

,

F or whatever is good is d esirable on that account

 m
o rCi CER O . 24 7

whatever is desirable u st certainly be approved

of : whatever you approve of must be looked on
'

as acceptable and welcome You must couse .

quently assign dignity to this ; and if so it must ,

necessarily be laudable ; therefore every thing

that is laudable is good H ence it follows, that
'

.
,

honesty is the only good S hould we not loo k

. .

on it in this light we must cal l a great many

,

things good .

XVI N ot to mention rich es which a s any

.
, ,

one let him be ever so unworthy may have them

, , ,

I do not reckon amongst goods for good is no t a t ,

taina b l e by all I pass over notoriety and p o

.
,

pular fame raised by the united voice of knaves

,

and fools : even things which are absolute nothings ,

may be cal led goods ; as white teeth handsome ,

eyes a good compl exion and what w

, as commended ,

by Euryclea when she was washing U lysses s feet ’

the softness of his skin and the mildness of his ,

disc ourse If you look ou these as goods what

. .

greater encomiums can the gravity of a p hil oso

pher be entitled to th an the wild opinion of the
,

vulgar and the thoughtless crowd ? The S toic s

m
,

give the na e of excellent and choice to what the

others c all good : they call them so ind eed : but
they do not allow th em to complete a happy life
but these think there is no life happy without them ;
, m
or ad itting it to be happy they deny it to be the ,
9 48 T HE T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
most hap py But our opinion is that i t is th e ost
.
, c m
happy : and W e prove it from that concl usion o f .

S ocrate s : For thus that author o f philosophy .

argued that as th e disp o sitio n of a man s min d is

'
’

so is the man : such as the man is such will be

. - . ,

his discourse his actions will correspond with his .

discourse and his life with h is a ctions But the

, '
. .

disposition Of a good man s mind is laudable the ’

m
,
'

life therefore Of a good an is laudable : it is

honest therefore because laudable ; the inference
,

from which is that the life of good men is happy

, .

For good gods ! did I nOt make it appear by my

, ,

fo rmer disputations or was I only amusing ,

- .

mysel f and kil ling t ime in what I then s aid —that

m
, ,

the mind of a wise man w a s al wa s fre efrO

l

y .

every hasty motion which I eall a pe rturbation ?

,
’

“
A temperate man then constant without fear or , ,

grief without a ny immoderate j oy or desire

, “ ,

cannot be otherwise than happy ; but a wise man

is always so ; therefore always happy Why then .

cannot a good man make every thing he thinks or ,

doth ; regard what is laudable ? For he has r e spect

in every thing to living happily : a happy l ife then
.

is laudable ; but nothing is laudable without

.
,

virtue ; a happy life then is the e ffect of virtue .

.

'

XVI I The inference is made too i n this man

.

ner A wicked life has nothing to be spoken of

.

nor gl oried in : nor has that life which 15 neither

.
,
2 50 T HE T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
.

so high and who lesse ns and depreciates every

,

thing e lse fro m not only placing a happy life but

, ,

the happiest in virtue : which were it not so virtue

, ,

would be ab solutely lost For whoever is subject .

to grief must necessarily be subj ect to fear too ;

,

for fear is an uneasy apprehension of future grief

and whoever is subject to fear is liable to dread , ,

timidity consternation cowardice Therefore

m
.
, ,

such a one a y some time or other be over for

ward nor think himself concerned with that
,

precept Of Atreus ,

Th ugh h i w
ro h l e l ife t nge to defe t
s o a s ra r a .

But such a one as I said wil l be defeated and not ,

only defeated but made a slave of But we would

, .

have virtue always free always invincible : and ,

were it not so there would be an end of virtue

, .

But ifvirtue hath in herself all that is necessary for

a good life she is certainly sufficient for happiness
,

virtue is certainly su fficient to o for our living with

courage ; if with courage then with a g reat ,

mind and indeed so as never to be under any fear

, ,

and thus to be always invincible H ence it fol-7 .

lows that there can be nothing to be repented of

, ,

no wants no lets or hindrances Thus all things

, .

must be prosperous perfect and as you would , ,

ha ve them ; and consequently happy ; but virtue

is sufficient for living with courage and therefore ,

able to make your life happy For as folly even .

'

when posse ssed of what it desires never think s it ,

 OF 01 01511 0 . 251

has acquired enough : so wisdom is always s atis

fi ed with the present and never repents on her ,

Ow n account L ook but on the single consulate ~

o f L ae
lius and that too after having been set aside
,

( though when a wise and good man like him is , ,

outvoted the people are disappointed of a goo d

,

consul rather than he disappointed by a vain

,

people ) ; b ut th e point is would you prefer were

’

, ,

it in your power to be once such a consul as ,

Lazlius or be elected four times as C inna ? I am

,

very we ll satisfied what a nswer you will make ,

and it is on that account I put th equestion to you .

XIX I will not ask every one this question ; for

.

some one perhaps might answer that he would not ,

only prefer four consulates to one but even one ,

day of C inna s life to ages of many and famous men

’
, .

L aelius would have suflered h ad he b ut touched any

'

one with his finger ; but C inna ordered the head of

his colleague consul Cn O ctavius to be struck Off ; .

and of P C rassus and L C esar those excellent

m
.
, .
,

en so renowned both at home and abroad E ven

,
.

M Antoni us the greatest orator I ever heard ;

.
,

with C C aesar who seems to me to have been the

.
,

pattern of humanity politeness sweetness of tem , ,

per and wit

, C ould he then be happy who oc
.

ca sioned the death of these ? S O far from it that ,

he not only seems to me miserable for doing thus ;

but for acting in such a manner that it w as ev en ,
2 52 T HE T USCULAN m sr ur xr ro ns

l awful for him to do it though it is unlawful for

:

any one to do wicked actions ; but this proceeds

'

from inaccuracy of speech forwe call w h a tever a ,

man is all owed to do lawful Was not Marius , .

h app ier I pray yo u when he sh ared the glory of

“

m
, ,

the victory gai ned over the Ci b rians with his ,

.

colleague Ca tul us who was almost another ,

L aelius ( for I look upon him as very like ) ; th e

,
n ,

wh e n conqueror in the civil war he in a pas sion ”

answ e
o

red the friends of Ca tul us who were inter ,

“ ”
ceding for him : L et him die and this he did ,

no t o nce
,
but Often,
? In which he was happier
who submitted to that barbarous decree than he ,

who issued it And it is better to receive an inj ury

m
.

than to do one ; so was it better to advance a little

'

'

to meet that death that was aking its ap

,

ro ach es a s Ca tul us did ; than like Marius , to

p , ,

sully the glory of six consulates and disgrace his ,

latter days by the death of such a man .

XX D ionysius exercised his tyranny over the

’

S yracusia ns thirty -eight years being but twenty ,

fi ve years old when he seiz ed on the government .

H ow beautiful and h o ww ea l th y a city did he .

oppress with slavery ! And yet we have it from

good authority that he w as remarkably temperate

m
,

in his anner O f living that he w a s very q u

'

ick ,

and diligent in carrying on business but naturally ,

mischievou sand unj ust Whence every one who .

9 54 T HE TU S CU LA N D I SPU T A TI ONS
not dare t o stand where they usually harangued ,
he generally addressed the people from a hig h
tower A nd it is said that when he was di spo s ed to
.

play at tennis for he delighted much in it and

, ,

had pulled o ff his clothes he used to give his ,

sword into the keeping of a young man whom he

was very fond of O n this one of his intimates
.

said pleasantly You ce rtainly trust your life

,

with him the young man hap pening to smile at

this he ordered them both to be slain the one for
, ,

shewing h owhe might be taken off the o ther ,

for approving of what was said by his smiling .

But he w as so concerned at what he had done ,

that noth ing affected him more during his whole

life : for he h ad slain one he was extremely par
tial to Thus do weak men s desires pull the
.
’
m
d ifferent ways and whilst they indulge one they
, ,

act counter to another This tyrant however

m
.
,

showed h o whappy he esteemed hi self

,

XXI For whilst D amocles one of his d atte

.
,

rers was talking in conversation about his for ces

, ,
'

his wealth the greatness o f his power the ple nty

, ,

he enj oyed the grandeur of his royal p alaces and

, ,

wa s maintaining that no one was ever happier :

”
H ave you an inclination saith he D amocl es , , ,

as this kin d of l i fe pleases you to have a taste of ,

it yourself and try to make a trial of the g ood

,

”
fortune that a ttends me I I should be glad to ’

”
make the experiment says D amocles ; upo n ,
 DP 010153 0. 2 55

m
which D ionysi us ordered hi to be laid on a bed
of gold with the most beautiful covering e b roi
, , m
dered and wrought in a high taste an d he dressed
, ,

out a great many s ideboards with silver and em

bossed gold H e then ordered some youths dis
tingu
.
,

ished for their handsome persons to wait at ,

h is7table and to observe his nod in order to serve

m
, ,

hi with what he wanted There were ointments

.

and garlands ; perfumes were burned ; tables

provided with the most exquisite meats D amo .

cl es thought himself very happy In the midst of .

thi s apparatus Di onysi us ordered a bright sword

to be let down from the ceiling tied by a horse ,
~

hair so as to hang over the head of that happy

,

man After which he neither cast his eye on

.
'

those h andsome waiters nor o n the well wrought

,

plate ; nor touched any of the provisions the

garlands fell to pi ec es At last he entreated
.

the tyrant to give him leave to go for that ,

.

no whe h a d no desire to be happy D oth .

not D ionysius then seem to have declared there

, ,

can be no happiness with one who is under co n

stant apprehensions Bu t he w as no t no w at liberty
to retu rn to j usticxa and restore his citi zens their
,

rights and privilege s; for by the indi scretion of

youth he had engaged in so many wrong steps ,

and committed such extravagancies that had he

attempted to have ret urn ed to a right w
,

a
y of
thinking he must have endang ered his li fe
, .
9 56 T H E T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
XXII Yet how desirous he w
' '

as of th ose ver
.
.
, y
friends w h ose fidelity he dreaded appears from
,
.
,

the tw o P ythagorea ns : one of these had bee n

' '

security for his friend who was condemned to ,

die ; the other to rele ase his security present ed

, ,

himself at the time appointe

'

d fo r his dying : I
”
wish said D ionysius
, you would admit me as ,

”
a third What misery was it
.

deprived of acquaintance of ,

table and of the freedom of conversation ; es p e

,

ciall
y for one who w as a man of lea r ning a nd ,

from his chil dhood acquainted with li beral arts

-
,

very fond of music and himself a tragedian h o w

.
, ,

good a one is not to the purpose for I know not ,

h o wit is but in th is w
"
a
y , more than any other .
, ,

every one thinks h is o w n performances e

, xc ellent ?
I never as yet knew any poet ( and Aq uinius w as
my friend ) who did not give himself the prefer
ence The case is this you are pleased with yo u
. r ,

ow n I like
,_
But to return t o D ionysius ;
he debarred himself from all civil and polite con
versation spent his life among fugitives bondmen
, , ,

and barbarians for he was persuaded no o ne ‘

ho w
.

could be h is friend w a s worthy of li berty or

, ,

m
!

had the least desire o f_being free S hall I not th e n .

prefer the life of Plato and Archytas anifestl y ,

wise and learned men to his than which nothing

m
, ,

can possibly b e_ ore horrid and miserable

“

XXII I I will present yo u w .ith an humble '

2 58 T H E T USCU LAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
liberal knowledge or that deals at al l in learning ,
,

w h o would not choose to be this mathematician

rather than that tyrant If we look into their me
th ods o f living and their employments we shall fi nd ,

the mind of the one s tren g the ned and improved ,

with tracing th e deductions of re ason amused with

’

his ow n ingenuity th e sw eetest food of the mind

,

the thoughts of the other engaged in continual

m u rders and inj uries in constant fe a rs by n ight
,

and by day No w imagine a D emocritus a P yth a

. ,

goras and an Anaxagoras ; what kingdom what

, ,

riches would you prefer to their studies and

amu sements for you must necessarily look there
?
,

for the best of every thi ng where the excellency

of man is ; b u
,

t what is there better in man than

a sagacious and good mind N ow the enjoying of

that good can alone make us happy but virtue is
the good of the mind it follows therefore that a , ,

happy life depends on that H ence proce ed .

all things tha t are beautiful honest and excellent , , ,

a s I said above : but these I th ink must be

'

, ,

treated of more at large for they are well stored

,

with j oys For as it is clear that a happy life con

.
, .

sis ts in perpetual and unexhausted pleasures it ,

follows too tha t a happy life must arise from

honesty .

XXIV But that what I propose to demon

m
.

strate to you a y not rest in mere words only I ,

must set before you the picture o f something as ,

 O F c rca a o . a 59

it
'

were living and movi ng in the world th at may

,
-
,

di spose us more for t h e improvement of the under

standing and real knowledge L et us then pitch.

upon some man p erfectly acquainted with the

'

m ost en cell ent arts ; let us present him for a

'
'

m
‘

while to our o w n thoughts and figure hi to our

m
,

i
( n imaginations In the first place he m us t
.
,

necessarily be of an extraordinary capac ity ; for

vi rtue is not e asily co nnected with dull minds . .

N ext he must have a great desire of discove ring

,

truth from whence will arise that threefold pro

,

duction of the mind ; one depends o n knowing

things and explaining nature : the other in de
'

fining what we should d esire and what avoid :

m
,

the third in j udging of consequences and i p os

sib il ities : in whi ch consists as wel l subtilty in
disputing as cl earness of j udgment No wwith
'

.
,

what pleasure must the mind o f a wise man be

affe ct e d wh ich continually dwells in the midst o f
,

such cares a nd engagements as these when he ,

views the revolutions and motions of the whole

w orld and sees those innumerable stars in the
, .

heavens which though fixed in their places yet

, , ,
“

have a common motion with the whole and oh ,

serves the seven other stars , some highe r some ,

lower each ma intaining their o w

,
n course w h ile ,

their motions though wander ing have limit ed

, ,

and a ppointed spaces t o run through ! The sig ht

of which doubtl ess urged and encouraged th ose
 2 60 T H E T USCULAN mum
sr r ro ns

a ncient to employ their search on

hil h
'

p o so
p ers

m any other things H ence arose an enquiry after .

the beginnings and as it w ere seeds from whence

’

, , ,

al l things were produ ced a nd composed ; what

-

was th e orig in of e very kind as well animate as

'

'

inanima te a rt ic iil a te as inarticulate ; what occa

,

sio ned th eir b egin n ing and end a nd by what

'
‘

r
,

alteration and change o ne thi ng was co nverted

into another : whence the earth and by what
.
.

weights it w a s balanc ed : by what cave rns the

s eas were su plied : by what gravity all things

p
being carried down tend alw ays to th e iddle m
o f the tw
,

'

orl d which in any round body is the

,
0
lowest place .

XXV A mind employed on such subj ects and

.
, .

which night and day contempla tes on them has ,

in : itself that precept of the D elphic g od to .

,

know a ndfto perceive its connexion with

th edivine reason fr om whe n ce it is filled with an

,

ins atiable j oy For reflections on the power and

m
.

nature o f the gods raise a desireof i itating th eir

eterni ty : No r doth the mind that sees the neces
'

sary depend e ncies and connexions th at one cause

has w ith another t hink itself co nfi nab l e to the
.
‘

shortness of this life Those causes though they .

,

proceed from eternity to eternity are governed

’
-
,

by reason and understand ing Whoever beholds -

.

thes e and examines them or rather whose view ,

take sin all th eparts and boundaries of things w ith ,

9 62 T H E T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
?
and rious To the se let us add the adva ntage of
va

his frien dships in which the le arned reckon not

only a natural harmony and agreement of senti
ments throughout the co nduct of life but the , .

utmost pleasure and satisfact ion in convers ing and

passing our time c onstantly with one another .

What can be wanting to such a life as this to make ,

it more happy than it is ? Fortune herself mu st

d with such j oys No wif it be
yield to a life stor e .

a happiness to rej oice in such goods of the mind ,

tha t is virtue and all wise men enj oy thoroug hly

, ,

these pleasures ; it must necessarily be granted

that all such are happy .

XXVI A What when in torments and on

. .
,

the rack ? M D o you imagine I am speak

ing of him as laid on roses and violets Is it?

allowable even for E picurus ( who only affects

being a philosopher and who a ssumed th at name
,

to himself ) to say and a s matters stand I com

m
, , ,

mend hi for his saying a wise man may at ,

all times cry o ut though he be burned tortur ed

, , ,

cut to pieces H owlittle I regard it ? S hall this be

,

said by o ne who defines all evil by pain every ,

goo d by pleasure ; who could ridicule whateve r

.

we say either o f what is honest or what is base , ,

and could declare of us that we were employ ed

abo ut words and discharging mere empty sounds ;
,

and that nothing is to be regarded but as it is ,

pe rceived smoo t h or rough by the body W h at ,

 O F c rcna o . 2 63

shall such a man as this as I said whose under , _ ,

standing is little superior to the beasts be a t ‘

liber ty to forget himself and not only despise flor

,

tune when the wh ole of his good and evil is in the

,

power of fortune but say that he is happy in the

, ,

most racking torture when he had actually decla red

,

pain not only the greatest evil but the only o ne? ,

And all this without having recourse to o ur reme

dies for h earing pain such as firmness o f mind a , ,

sh ame o f doing any thing base exercise and the , ,

habit o f patience precep ts of courage and a

, ,

manly hardiness but saith he supports himself on ,

the single recollection of past pleasure ; as if a ny

o ne being so hot as scarce to be able to bear it
, ,

should attempt to recollect that he was once in my

m
co untry Arpinu where he was surrounded on
,

every side by cooling streams ; for I do not ap

prehend h o wpast pleas ures can allay present
evils . But when he saith that a wise man is
always happy w h o has no right to say so can
, ,

he be consistent with himself ? What may they

no t do who allo w
, nothing to be desirable nothing ,

to be looked o n as good but what is honest L et

th en th e P eripatetics and ol d A cademics follow

my.example and at length leave off to mutter to

,

themselves : and openly and w ith a clear voice

let them be bold to say that a happy life may ,
'

desc end into P halaris s b ul l ’

m
.

X X VI I But to dis iss th e sub til ties of the

.
9 64 T HE TU S CU LAN DIS P U TATIO NS
.

S to ics, whi h I c a m
sensible I have de lt more in than a

s
necessary let us admit of three kind of go ods :
,

let them really be the three kinds of g ood pro ,

.

v ided no regard is b a d to the body and externals , ,

as no otherwise entitled to the appella tion of good ,

than as we are obliged to use them : but let those

other and divine goods spread th e sel v es far and m ‘

near and reach the very heavens h y then W

m
.
,
.

may I not call hi happy nay the happiest who

m
, , ,

has att ained them ? S hal l a wise man be afraid

o f pain ? which i s ind eed the greatest ene y tb
, ,
'

o ur Opinion For I am persuaded we are pre

.

pared and fortified s ufficiently; by the disputatio ns

of the foregoing days against our own death or , ,

the death of o ur friends against grief and the '

other perturbations of the mind P ain seems to . .

be the sharpest adversary of virtue that threatens ,

us with burning torches ; that th reatens to take

down our fortitude greatness o f mind and , ,

patience S hall virtue then yield to this

.
? S hall
the h app yJife of a wise and constant man submit
Good gods ! h o wbase would this be !
-

to this ?
S partan boys w il bear to h a ve th eir bodies torn
'

l
by rods without uttering a groan I myself sa w
m
.
,

at Lacedaa on troops o f young men with great

, ,

earnestness contending together with their hands “

and feet with their teeth and nails , nay even

,

ready to expire rather th an o w n th e mselves

m
,

conquered Is any country ore savagely bar

.
2 66 T H E T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ON S
tacks or blows ? I mention not what the ambi
tious will suffer for honour s sake or those
.
’

who are desirous of praise on account of glory or ,

lovers to gratify their lust L ife is full o f such .

instances .

XXVII I But not to dwell too much on these

.
,

and to return to our purpo se I say and say .

,

again that happiness will submit even to be tor

m
,

ented ; and after having a ccompanied j ustice ,

temperance but principally fortitude greatness

, ,

o f soul and patience will not stop short at sight

o f the executioner ; and when all other virtues

p roceed calmly to the torture will that halt as I , ,

said on the outside and th reshold of the prison

,

for what can be baser w hat can carry a wor se a p

,

earance than to be left alone separated from

p , ,

?
those beautiful attendants which can by no
means h e the case : for neith er can the virtues
hold together without happiness nor happi ne ss ,

without the virtues : so that they will not suffer

her to desert them but will carry that along with
,

them to whatever torments to wha tever pain

, ,

they are led For it is the peculiar quality o f a

.

wise man to do nothing that he may repent of'

nothing against his inclination : but always to

act no bly with c onstancy gravity and honesty :
,
.
, ,

to depend on nothing as certainty : to wonder at

nothing when it falls o ut as if it appeared new
, ,

and une x pec ted to him : to be independent of

 o r c rcs a o . 2 67

every o ne, abide by his o w

and n Opinion For .

my part I cannot form an idea of any thing

,

happier than this The conclusion of the S to ics

.

indeed is easy as they are persuaded that the end

,

o f good is to live agreeably to nature and be ,

consisten t with that ; as a wise man shoul d do

so not onl y because it is his duty b ut because it
, ,

is in his power It must of course follow that

.
,

whoever has the chief good in h is power has his ,

h appiness so too Thus the life o f a wise man is

.

always happy You have here what I think may

.

be confidently said of a happy life and as things ,

are no w ver trul

, unless o n can advance
somethi ng better .

XXIX A Indeed I cann ot ; but I would

. .

willingly request of you unless it is troublesome ,

( as you a re under no confineme n t from obligations

to any particular sect but gather from al l of ,

them whatever most s trikes you with the appear

ance o f probability as you j ust no wseemed to
advise the P eripatetics and the old A cademy
'

, ,

boldly to sp eak out without rese rve that wise ,

”
men are always the happiest I should be glad to ,

hear how you think it consistent for them to say l

so when you have said so much against that

,

o pinion and the conclusions o f the S toi cs

, M I .

will make use then o f that liberty which none but ,

ourselves have the privilege of using in phil osophy ,

whose discourses determine nothin g but take in ,

2 68 T H E T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ON S
every thin
g leaving them unsupported,by any ,

au
thority, to be j udged of by others according to ‘

their weight And as you seem desirous of know

.

ing why notwithstandin g the different opinion of

,

philosophers with r e gard to the ends Of goods

, ,

virtue may have su fficient security for a happy

’

li fe : which s e curity as we are informed C ar

, ,
i

nea des used indeed to dispute against : but h e

'

disputed as against the S toics whose opinion s he ,

combated with great z eal and vehemence ; b ut I .

shall handle it with more temper for if the S toics

have rightly settled the ends o f goods th ea ffair is ,

at a n end ; for a wise man must necessa ril y be

’ '

always happy But let us examine if we can the

.
, ,

particul ar opinions of the others that this excel ,

.

lent decision if I may so call it of a , ,

may be agreeable to the Opinions and disc

all.

XXX Thes ethen are the opinions as I think

.
, ,

that are held and defended : the first four simple .

ones ; that nothing is good but what is honest ” ,

accordi n g to the S toics nothing g ood b ut pl ea c

m
.

‘ o

E picurus maintains nothing g o odzb ut

a fre edom fro pain as I H ieron
-
y u
”
s asserts
, m
no th in i go od but an e nj oyment of the principal
g ,

Or all or the gre

»
, atest goods Of nature ” as C ar .
,

nea des mai n tained against the S toics these are .

.
'

simple the others mixt Three kinds o f goods ;

m
.
,
'

the greatest those o f th e ind the next those of

-
;
2 70 T H E T USC U LAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
made up o f good things but as it ab o unds w it h
' '

the se to a great and considerable degree By t h is

'

m
.

w ay of r ea soning then a happy life ay attend vir

m
, ,

tue even to punish ments ; nay ay descend with h er ,

into Phal a ris s bull according to Ar isto tle Xeno

’

m
, ,

cra tes S p eusip pus P ol e on ; and will not be gained

, ,

over by any allurements toforsake her O f the same .

opinion will Call iph on and Dio dorus be : bo th of

them such friends to virt ue as to think all ,

m
things shoul d be di scarded and far removed th at ,

are compatible with it The rest seem to be ore .

scrupulous about the se things but yet get clear of ,

them as E picurus H ieronymus and whoever

'

, ,

thinks it worth w h il e to defend the de serted C ar

nea des not one o f them but thi nks the mind o be
t
j udge of those goods and can sufficiently instruct
,

him h o wto despise what has the appea rance o nly

o f good or evil For what seems to yo u to be th e
.
1

case with E picurus it is the same with H ierony

m
,

us and C arneades an d indeed with all the res, t

o f them : for w h o is not sufi cientl y p repa red
agains t death and pain ? I will be gin with your ,

leave with him whom w

,
e call soft and voluptuous .

Wh at ! doth he s eem to you to be afrai d of death

o r pain w h o cal l s the day of his death happy and
,

when affected by the greatest pains silences them ,

all by recollecting arg uments Of h is o w n di scover

ing ? And this is not done in such a manner as to

give room for ima gining that he ta lks thus wildly on
 OF C I CERO . 27 1

a sudden start : but his opinion of death is that on ,

the dissolution of the anima l all sense is lo st a nd , ,

what is depri ved of sense as h e thinks can no way , ,

affect us And; as to pa in he has his maxims too :

. ,

if great th ecomfort is that it must be short ; if

, ,

of tong continuance it must be tolerable What

,
.

then D o those great boasters declare a ny thing

better than E picuru s in Opposition to t hese t w
'

, o

things which distress us the most And as to

? .

other things do not E picurus and the r est of the

W
,

philosophers seem s ufficientl y prepa red ? ho

‘

doth no t drea d p ov ert y And yet no true philo

sopher ever can .

XXXII But with h owlittle is this man satis

.

fi ed ? N o one has said more on frugality For

m m
_ .

when a man is far re oved fro tho se t hings

m
.

which occasion a desire of money from l ove a , ,

bitiou , or other daily expenses why should he be

fond of money or concern himself at all about it
,

C ould the S cythi an Ana ch arsis disregard mone y ,

and shall not our philosophers be able to do

’

so t W
e are informed of an epistle of his .

in these w ords Anach arsis to H anno greeting , .

My clothing is as the S cythians cover themselves ;

the hardness o f my feet supplies the want of shoes ;
the ground is my bed hunger my sauce my food
, ,

milk cheese and flesh SO you may come to a

, ,
.
-

man in no w ant But as to those presents youtake

.
9 72 T H E T USCULAN D I SPU T A T I ON S
m
so uch pl é asure in ydu may dispo se o f th em to ,

”
your own citizens o r to the immorta l go ds Almost
, .

all th e philoso phers whatever their d iscipline be; , .

excepting those who are warped from right reason

by a vicious disposition aree of this ve ry opi ,

ni on S ocrates when he sa win a procession a

.
,

great deal Of gold and sil ver cried out “

H ow , ,

m
many things are there I do not Xeno
'

crates when some ambass adors from A lexander

m
, .

had brought h i fifty talents th e l arg est o ne

'

y ,

'
o f those times
.
especially at Athens carried the
, ,

ambassadors to sup in the academy : and pl aced

j ust a su fficiency before them without any appa
m
m
,

ratus When they asked hi th e next day to

'

.
,

whom he would order the oney to be told ou t

W hat saith he did you not p erceive b y our ,

slight repast of yesterday that I had no occasion

'

for money ? But when he perceived th a t th ey .

were somewhat dejected he accepted of thi rty

m
,
'

minae that he might not see to disrespect th e

,

king s generosity But D iogenes took a greater

’

m
.

l ibert y a s a C ynic when Alexander asked h i if ,

°

he wanted any thing : A little from th e su n

‘ ‘

,
”

said he for Alexander hindered him from su nning

m
,

himself And indeed this very an used to main

' ’

. .

ta in h o wmuch he excell ed th e P ersian k ing in

'
‘
-

m
,

his manner of life and fortun e; that he hi self

- '

was in want of nothing the other never had ,

'
2 74 T HE T USCULAN D I SP U T A TI ONS
what he declares upon the whole of ple asu re is
such as shows his opinion to be that pleasure is
, ,

always desirable to be pursued merely as a plea

,

sure ; and for t he sa me reason pain is to be

avoi ded be ca u seit is p ain S o that a wise man

m
.
,

will always do h i self the j ustice to avoid plea

s ure should pain en sue from it in a grea ter pro
,

portion ; and will submit to pain the effects Of ,

which will be a greater pleasure : so that all pl ea

'

surab l e things though the corporea l sen ses are

,

the judges of them are to be referred to the ,

mind on which account the body rej oices whilst

, ,

it perceives a present pleasure ; but that the

mind not only perceives the present as well as the
body but fores ees it whilst it is coming and
, , , ,

eve n when it is past will not let it quite slip ,

away S O that a wise man enj oys a contin ual

.

series o f pleasu res uniting the expectation of ,

future pleasure to the recollection of wh at he has

already tasted The like notions are applied by
.

th em to high living and the m agnificence and

expens iveness of entertainments are dep recated
‘

m
,

beca use nature is s atisfied at a s all expense .

XXXI V For who doth not see this that an

.
,

appetite is the best sauce When D arius flying

w
,

from th e en emy had drunk so me water hich

,
'

was muddy and tainted with d ead bodies be de

, ,

cl ared that he h ad never d runk any thing more

pleasant ; the case w as he had never d runk be fore ,
 o n crc na o . 2 75

when he was thirsty N or had P tolemy ever ate

.

when he w as hu ngry : for as he was travellin

g
over E gypt his company not keeping up with
m
,

him he h ad some coarse bread presented h i in a

,

cottag e: upon which he said N othing ever ,

seemed to him ple asanter than that bread They .

”

relate of S ocrates that once walking very fast till

the evening on his being asked w
, ,

, h y he did so
his reply was that he w
,

, a s purchasing an appetite

by walking that he might sup the better And

, .

do w e no t see what the Lacedeino nians provide

in their Phiditia ? where the tyrant D ionysi us

supped but told t hem he did not at all like that
,

black broth which was their principal dish ; on

,

this he who dressed it said It was no wonder , ,

for it wanted seasoni ng D iony si u ”

s asked what
.

that seasoning w as ; to which it w as replied ,

‘

fatigue in hunting sweating a race on the

, ,
'

”
banks of E urotas hunger and thirst : for these
m
, ,

are the se asonings to the Lacede onian banquets

m
.

And this a
y not only be conceived from the
custom of men but from the beasts who are
, ,

sa tisfied with any thing that is thrown before them ,

provided it is not unnatural and they seek no far ,

ther S ome entire cities taught by custom are de

.
, ,

lighted with parsimony as I said but just now of the

m
,

La cede onians Xenophon h as given an account

.

of the P ersi a n diet : who never as he saith use , ,

any thing but cresses with their bread not but ,

276 T HE T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
that should nature require any thing more agree
m
,

able many things ight b e easil y supplied by the

,

gro und a nd pl a nts in great abundance and of

,
‘

incomparable sweetness Add to this strength .

.
,

and health as the consequence Of this abstemious

,

way of l iving No wcompare with this those who

.
,

sweat and belch , crammed with eating like fatted

oxen : th e n will you perceive that they who pur
sue pleasure most attain it least : and that the
‘

pleasure O f eating lies not in satiety but appetite , .

XXXV Th ey report of Timotheus a famous

.
,

man at Athens and the head Of the city that

, ,

having supped with P lato and being extremely

m
, .

delighted w ith his entertainment on seeing h i ,

the next day h e said Your suppers are not only ,

agreeable whilst I partake of them but the next ,

”
day also Besides the un dersta nding is impaired
.
,

when we are full with over-eating and drinking .

There is an excellent epistle of Pl a to to D ion s '

’

relations It is written almost in these words;

.

W h en I came there that happy life so much ,

talked of crowded with Italian and S yracusan

m
,

entertainments was no ways agreeable to e to

,

be crammed twice a day and never to have the ,

’

night to yourself and other things which atten d ,

on this kind of life by which a man will never be

m
,

ade the wiser a nd may be much les s moderate

,

for it must be an extraordinary disposition that

can be temperate in such circumstan ces ” H o w
278 T HE T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
the want of power or even the being unpopular
, ,

can prevent a wise man from being happy ?

O bserve if popular favour and this glory which ,

they are so fond of be no t attended with more un

,

easiness than pleasure ? O ur D emosthenes was

certai nly v ery weak in declaring hims elf pleased
'

with a woman who car ried water as is the cus ,

tom in Greece whispering to another “ that is

W
, ,

he that is D emosthe nes

,
”
hat could be weaker
.

than this ? And yet what an orator he w as But

although he had learned to speak to others he ,

had conversed but little with himself We may .

perceive that popular glory is not desirable of

itself ; nor is obscurity to be dreaded I came .

”
to A thens saith D emocritus and there was no
, ,

o ne there that knew me th is w as a modera te

and grave man who could glory in his obscurity
, .

S hall musicians compose their tunes to their own

t aste ; and shall a philosopher master of a much , ,

better art enquire not after what is most true

, ,

but what will please the people ? C an any thing

be more absurd than to despi se the vulgar as mere
unpolished m echani cs when single and to think
, ,

them of consequence when co llected in to a body ?

These wise men would contemn our ambitious
pursuits and o ur vanities and would rej ect al l
, ,

honours the people could voluntarily o ffer to

them : but we know not how to despise them till ,

w e begin t o repent of having accepted them .

 OF C I CERO . 2 79

H eraclitus the natural phil osopher relates thus

m
, ,

of H er odorus the chief of the E phesians ; that “

“ ”
all the Ep h es1 a ns saith he o ught to be pu nished
, ,

with death for s aying when they had expelled

m
, ,

H er odorus out of their city that they would ,

have no one amongst t hem better than another ;

if there w ere any such let hi go elsewhere to
”
, m
some other p eople Is not this the cas e with the
.

people every where ? do they not hate every virtue

th at distinguishes itself ? What ? w a s not Aristides

( I had r ather instance in the Greeks than our

sel ves ) banish ed his co untry for being eminently

j ust ? What troubles then are they free ,from , ,

wh o have no connexions with the people ! What

is more agreeable than a learned retirement ? I
speak of that learning which makes us acquainted
with the boun dl ess extent of nature and the ,

universe and in this world discovers to us both

,

heaven earth and sea

, , .

XXXVI I If then honour and riches have no value

.
,

what is there else to be afraid of ? Banishment I ,

suppose ; which is looked on a s the greatest evil .

No wif the evil of banishment proceeds not from

,

our selves but from the froward disposition of the

,

people I have j ust nowd eclared h o w

, contemptible
it is But if to leave one s country h e miserable the
.
’

provinces are full of mi serable men : very fewo f

those ever return to their country again But
'

W
.

exiles are ame rced of their goods ?

hat then H as
9 80 T HE T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
there not been enough said o n bea ring povert y?
But with regard to banishment if w e examine the ,

natu re of things not the ig nominy o f the name

“ .

'
, ,

ho w little doth it differ from constant travelling

In which some of the most famous philosoph e rs
have spen t their whole life : as Xenocra t es Cra ntor , ,

A rcesil as Lacydes A r isto tle Theophrastus Ze n o ,

, , , ,

C lean thes C hrysippus Antipater C arneades

m
m
, , , ,

w
P anaet ius Clito ach us P h ilo Antio ch us
, Po , , j

sidonius and innumerable others

'

h o fro
‘

their fi rst setting out never returned home again

m
.

No wwhat ignominy can a wise a n be affected

with ( for o f such a onel speak ) w

,
h o can be guilt y ,

of nothin g to occasion it ; for one who is banished

for his dese rts ought not to be comforted L astly , .

They can easily reconcile themselves to every a o

eident who make every thing that ensues from
,

life conduce to pleasure ; so that in what ever

'

place these are s upplied there they may live hap ,

pily Thus what Tcucer said may be applied to

.

every case :
Whe eve I mh ppy th e e i my c unt y
r r a a , r s o r .

S ocrates indeed when asked wh ere he belonged

, ,

to replied
,
‘

The world he looked upon

,

himself as a citi zen and i nhabita nt of the whole

w orld H o w was it with T Al tib utius? Did he
. .

not fol low his phil osophical studies with th e

.

greatest satisfaction at Athens although he was ,

banished ?
which would not have happened '
2 82 T HE T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ON S
themselves are th e seat of pleasure ; but it is not
so with the eyes The mind is entertained by
.

what we see ; but the mind may be entertained

many ways though w e could not see at all I
m
.
,

am speaking of a l earned and wise an with

m
,

who to think is to live But thinking w ith a

m
.

w iSe a n doth not altoge ther require th e use of

h is eyes in h is investigations ; for if night doth not
m
strip h i o f his happ iness why should blindne ss , ,

which resembles night have that e ffect ? Fo r the

,

reply of Antipater the C yrenaic to so me women ,

who bewail ed his being blind though it is a little ,

too obscene had no bad meaning “ What do .

,

you mean saith he ; do you think the night can

,

furnish no pleasure ? A nd w ”
e fi nd by his magis

tracies and his actions tha t old Appius to o who

, ,

w as blind many years w a s not prevented from

m
,

doing whatever w as required of hi with respect ,

to the public or his ow n affa irs It is said that C . .

D rusus s house w as c rowded w ith clients When

’
.

they whose business it w

, a s could not see h ow to ,

conduc t themselves they applied to a blind

,

guide .

XXX IX When I w . as a boy Cu Aufi dius , .

,

a blind man who had served the office of prae

,

tor not only gave his opinion in the senate and was
, ,

ready to assist his friends but wrot e a G reek ,

history and had an insight into l iterature D io

, .

dorus the S toic was blind and lived many yea rs at ,

 o s c rcsa o . 2 83

my house H e i ndeed which is s ca rce credible

.
, ,

besides applying himself more than usual to philo

‘
sophy and playing on the flute agreeably to the
,

custom of the P ythagoreans and having b ooks ,

read to him night and day in all which he did not ,

want eyes contrived to teach geometry which

, ,

one woul d think could h ardl y be done without the

assistan ce of eyes telli ng his scholars h owand
,

where to describe every line They relate of As .

cl e ia des no obscure E retric philosopher when

m
p , ,

one asked h i wha t inconveniences he suffered

from his blindness that his reply w
, as H e was at ,

”
the expense of another servant S o that as the .
,

most extreme poverty may be borne if you please , ,

as is daily the case with some in Greece : so

blindness may easily be borne provided you have ,

the proper supports of health D emocritus w as .

'

so blind he coul d no t distinguish white from black :

but he kn ew the difference b et w ixt good and evil ,

just and unj ust honest and base the useful and
, ,

useless great and small Thus one may live hap

,
.

pily without distingui shing colours ; but without

acquainting yoursel f wit h things you cannot ; ,

and this man was o f opinion that the intense ap ,

plication of the mind w as taken off by the obj ects

that presented themselves to the eye and while ,

others often could not see what w as before their

feet he travell ed through all infinity

,
It is .

repo rted also that H omer was bl ind b ut we o h ,

9 84 T HE T USCULAN D I SPU T A TI ONS
s er ve his painting, as well h is poetry What «
.

country what coast what part of Greece what

'
'

, , ,

military attac ks what dispositions of battle what

m
army what ship ; what moti ons of men and a
,

al s h as h e no t s
'

o desc r
'
,

ibed as to make us see

'
’
'
,

m
m
,

what he could not see himself ? What then can , ,

we imagine H o er, or any other le arn ed man can

w ant to entertain his mind ? Were it not so
' '

m
,

would A n axagor as or this very D emocritus have

m
, ,

left their estates a nd p atri onies a nd give nthe

'

selves up to the pursuit of acquiring this divine

ente rtainment ? I t is thus that the poets w ho , ,

have represented Tiresias the Augur as a wise

man blind never exhibit him as bewailing his
, ,

blindness But as H omer had described P oly

‘

m
.

and a wild man he repr e n

'

p h e e as a monster se ts ,

him talking with his ram and speaking of his ,

'

good fortune that h ecould go w ,

herever he pleased
and touch what he w ould And so far he w as
m
.

righ t for that C yclops w

'

, as o f ueh th e same nu
dersta nding with his ram .

X L No was to the evil of being deaf ; M C ras

w
’

. .

sus w as a little thick of hearing but it a s more ,

u neasiness to him that he heard himself ill sp oken

of ; though , in my opinion w
'

ith o ut rea sonf Our ,

E picureans ca nnot understand Greek nor th e ,

f

Greeks L atin ; no wthey are deaf reciprocally: as

’

m
to each other s language and w e are all truly deaf
’ ’

with re gard to those innu e rable langu age swhich

2 86 TH E T U SCU LAN DIS PU TATIO NS
d eath in our first day s disputation when death was
’
,

the subj ect and not a little the ne x t day when I

treated of pain which things if you recollect
, ,

there can be no danger of your look ing u pon

de a th as und esir able or at least it will not be
,

dreadful .

X L I That custom in force with the Grecians

.

at their banque ts should in my opinion take

, , ,

place in life D rink say they or leave the com

, ,

pany ; and right enough : let him either enj oy the

pleasure of drinking with others or not stay till ,

he meets with affronts from those that are in

liquor Thus those inj uries of fortune you cannot
.

bear you should l ea ve This is the very same

,
.

which is said by Epicurus and H ieronymus Now

a
.

if tho se philosophers whose opinion it is that,

virtue has no power of itself and who say that ,

what w e denominate honest and l audabl eimpl y

noth ing and are only set ofi wit h an unm eaning ‘

sound can they nevertheless maintain tha t a

m
wise an is always h appy ? You see what may be
done by the S ocratic and P latonic philosophers .

So me o f th ese allow such sup eriority to th e g oods

o f the mind as quite to eclip se what concerns the
,

body and all a ccidental circumstances But others

m
.

do not ad it these to be goods ; they repose all

in the mind : whose disputes C arneades used as ,

h onorary arbitrato r to de termine For as what

, .

seemed goods to the P eripate tics were all owed to ,

 o r c 1 cna o .
2 87

be advantages by the S toics and as the P eripa

tetics allowed no more to riches good health and , ,

other things of that sort than the S toics ; when

,

these things were considered according to their

reality not by mere report ; his opinion w
,
a s that ,

there w as no ground for disagreeing : Therefore

let the philosophers that hold other tenets see
, ,

h ow they may carry this point It is very agree .

able to me that they make some professions worthy

the mouth of a philoso her with regard to a
p ,

man s having always the means of li ving happ ily

’
.

X L I I But as w
.
‘

e are to d e
part in the mo rn
ing let us remembe r the se five days di sputations
,
’

,
'

though indeed I think I shall write them : for

, ,

h owcan I better employ the leisure I have what ,

ever it be owing to ? and I will send th ese other

five books to my Brutus ; by whom I was not
only incited to write on philosophy but provoked , .

In which it is not easy to say what service I may

be of to others ; but in my o w n various and acute

a fflictions which surrounded me on all sides I ,

could find no better solace .

TH E E ND .