,,cicero',s ,,tusculan ,,disputations2 ,,also1 ,,treatises ,,on ,,the ,,nature ,,of ,,the ,,gods1 ,,and ,,on ,,the ,,commonwealth4 ,,literally ,,translated1 ,,chiefly ,,by ,c4 ,d4 ,,yonge4 ,,new ,,york3 ,,harper ,,brothers1 ,,publishers1 ,,franklin ,,square4 #ahgg4 ,,harper',s ,,new ,,classical ,,library4 ,,comprising ,,literal ,,translations ,,of ,c,,sar4 ,,virgil4 ,,sallust4 ,,horace4 ,,cicero',s ,,orations4 ,,cicero',s ,,offices c4 ,,cicero ,,on ,,oratory ,,and ,,orators4 ,,cicero',s ,,tusculan ,,disputations1 the ,republic1 and the ,nature of the ,gods4 ,,terence4 ,,tacitus4 ,,livy4 #b ,vols4 ,,juvenal4 ,,xenophon4 ,,homer',s ,,iliad4 ,,homer',s ,,odyssey4 ,,herodotus4 ,,demosthenes4 #b ,vols4 ,,thucidides4 ,,schylus4 ,,sophocles4 ,,euripides4 #b ,vols4 ,,plato4 ,,select ,,dialogues4 #abmo1 ,cloth1 #a4ej per ,volume4 ,,harper ,,brothers will send either of the above works by mail1 postage prepaid1 to any part of the ,united ,states1 on receipt of the price4 ,,note4 ,the greater portion of the ,republic was previously translated by ,francis ,barham1 ,esq41 and published in #ahda4 ,although ably performed1 it was not sufficiently close for the purpose of the ,,classical ,,library1 and was therefore placed in the hands of the present editor for revision1 as well as for collation with recent texts4 ,this has occasioned material alterations and additions4 ,the treatise ,on the ,nature of the ,gods is a revision of that usually ascribed to the celebrated ,benjamin ,franklin4 ,,contents4 ,tusculan ,disputations ,on the ,nature of the ,gods ,on the ,commonwealth ,,the ,,tusculan ,,disputations4 ,,introduction4 ,in the year ,a4,u4,c4 #gjh1 and the sixty-second year of ,cicero's age1 his daughter1 ,tullia1 died in childbed2 and her loss afflicted ,cicero to such a degree that he abandoned all public business1 and1 leaving the city1 retired to ,asterra1 which was a country house that he had near ,antium2 where1 after a while1 he devoted himself to philosophical studies1 and1 besides other works1 he published his ,treatise de ,finibus1 and also this treatise called the ,tusculan ,disputations1 of which ,middleton gives this concise description3 ,the first book teaches us how to contemn the terrors of death1 and to look upon it as a blessing rather than an evil2 ,the second1 to support pain and affliction with a manly fortitude2 ,the third1 to appease all our complaints and uneasinesses under the accidents of life2 ,the fourth1 to moderate all our other passions2 ,and the fifth explains the sufficiency of virtue to make men happy4 ,it was his custom in the opportunities of his leisure to take some friends with him into the country1 where1 instead of amusing themselves with idle sports or feasts1 their diversions were wholly speculative1 tending to improve the mind and enlarge the understanding4 ,in this manner he now spent five days at his ,tusculan villa in discussing with his friends the several questions just mentioned4 ,for1 after employing the mornings in declaiming and rhetorical exercises1 they used to retire in the afternoon into a gallery1 called the ,academy1 which he had built for the purpose of philosophical conferences1 where1 after the manner of the ,greeks1 he held a school1 as they called it1 and invited the company to call for any subject that they desired to hear explained1 which being proposed accordingly by some of the audience became immediately the argument of that day's debate4 ,these five conferences1 or dialogues1 he collected afterward into writing in the very words and manner in which they really passed2 and published them under the title of his ,tusculan ,disputations1 from the name of the villa in which they were held4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,book ,i4 ,,on ,,the ,,contempt ,,of ,,death4 ,i4 ,at a time when ,i had entirely1 or to a great degree1 released myself from my labors as an advocate1 and from my duties as a senator1 ,i had recourse again1 ,brutus1 principally by your advice1 to those studies which never had been out of my mind1 although neglected at times1 and which after a long interval ,i resumed2 and now1 since the principles and rules of all arts which relate to living well depend on the study of wisdom1 which is called philosophy1 ,i have thought it an employment worthy of me to illustrate them in the ,latin tongue1 not because philosophy could not be understood in the ,greek language1 or by the teaching of ,greek masters2 but it has always been my opinion that our countrymen have1 in some instances1 made wiser discoveries than the ,greeks1 with reference to those subjects which they have considered worthy of devoting their attention to1 and in others have improved upon their discoveries1 so that in one way or other we surpass them on every point2 for1 with regard to the manners and habits of private life1 and family and domestic affairs1 we certainly manage them with more elegance1 and better than they did2 and as to our republic1 that our ancestors have1 beyond all dispute1 formed on better customs and laws4 ,what shall ,i say of our military affairs2 in which our ancestors have been most eminent in valor1 and still more so in discipline8 ,as to those things which are attained not by study1 but nature1 neither ,greece1 nor any nation1 is comparable to us2 for what people has displayed such gravity1 such steadiness1 such greatness of soul1 probity1 faith--such distinguished virtue of every kind1 as to be equal to our ancestors4 ,in learning1 indeed1 and all kinds of literature1 ,greece did excel us1 and it was easy to do so where there was no competition2 for while among the ,greeks the poets were the most ancient species of learned men--since ,homer and ,hesiod lived before the foundation of ,rome1 and ,archilochus#a was a contemporary of ,romulus--we received poetry much later4 ,for it was about five hundred and ten years after the building of ,rome before ,livius#b published a play in the consulship of ,c4 ,claudius1 the son of ,ccus1 and ,m4 ,tuditanus1 a year before the birth of ,ennius1 who was older than ,plautus and ,nvius4 ,,ii4 ,it was1 therefore1 late before poets were either known or received among us2 though we find in ,cato de ,originibus that the guests used1 at their entertainments1 to sing the praises of famous men to the sound of the flute2 but a speech of ,cato's shows this kind of poetry to have been in no great esteem1 as he censures ,marcus ,nobilior for carrying poets with him into his province2 for that consul1 as we know1 carried ,ennius with him into tolia4 ,therefore the less esteem poets were in1 the less were those studies pursued2 though even then those who did display the greatest abilities that way were not very inferior to the ,greeks4 ,do we imagine that if it had been considered commendable in ,fabius1#c a man of the highest rank1 to paint1 we should not have had many ,polycleti and ,parrhasii8 ,honor nourishes art1 and glory is the spur with all to studies2 while those studies are always neglected in every nation which are looked upon disparagingly4 ,the ,greeks held skill in vocal and instrumental music as a very important accomplishment1 and therefore it is recorded of ,epaminondas1 who1 in my opinion1 was the greatest man among the ,greeks1 that he played excellently on the flute2 and ,themistocles1 some years before1 was deemed ignorant because at an entertainment he declined the lyre when it was offered to him4 ,for this reason musicians flourished in ,greece2 music was a general study2 and whoever was unacquainted with it was not considered as fully instructed in learning4 ,geometry was in high esteem with them1 therefore none were more honorable than mathematicians4 ,but we have confined this art to bare measuring and calculating4 ,,iii4 ,but1 on the contrary1 we early entertained an esteem for the orator2 though he was not at first a man of learning1 but only quick at speaking3 in subsequent times he became learned2 for it is reported that ,galba1 ,africanus1 and ,llius were men of learning2 and that even ,cato1 who preceded them in point of time1 was a studious man3 then succeeded the ,lepidi1 ,carbo1 and ,gracchi1 and so many great orators after them1 down to our own times1 that we were very little1 if at all1 inferior to the ,greeks4 ,philosophy has been at a low ebb even to this present time1 and has had no assistance from our own language1 and so now ,i have undertaken to raise and illustrate it1 in order that1 as ,i have been of service to my countrymen1 when employed on public affairs1 ,i may1 if possible1 be so likewise in my retirement2 and in this ,i must take the more pains1 because there are already many books in the ,latin language which are said to be written inaccurately1 having been composed by excellent men1 only not of sufficient learning2 for1 indeed1 it is possible that a man may think well1 and yet not be able to express his thoughts elegantly2 but for any one to publish thoughts which he can neither arrange skilfully nor illustrate so as to entertain his reader1 is an unpardonable abuse of letters and retirement3 they1 therefore1 read their books to one another1 and no one ever takes them up but those who wish to have the same license for careless writing allowed to themselves4 ,wherefore1 if oratory has acquired any reputation from my industry1 ,i shall take the more pains to open the fountains of philosophy1 from which all my eloquence has taken its rise4 ,,iv4 ,but1 as ,aristotle1#d a man of the greatest genius1 and of the most various knowledge1 being excited by the glory of the rhetorician ,isocrates1#e commenced teaching young men to speak1 and joined philosophy with eloquence3 so it is my design not to lay aside my former study of oratory1 and yet to employ myself at the same time in this greater and more fruitful art2 for ,i have always thought that to be able to speak copiously and elegantly on the most important questions was the most perfect philosophy4 ,and ,i have so diligently applied myself to this pursuit1 that ,i have already ventured to have a school like the ,greeks4 ,and lately when you left us1 having many of my friends about me1 ,i attempted at my ,tusculan villa what ,i could do in that way2 for as ,i formerly used to practise declaiming1 which nobody continued longer than myself1 so this is now to be the declamation of my old age4 ,i desired any one to propose a question which he wished to have discussed1 and then ,i argued that point either sitting or walking2 and so ,i have compiled the schol1 as the ,greeks call them1 of five days1 in as many books4 ,we proceeded in this manner3 when he who had proposed the subject for discussion had said what he thought proper1 ,i spoke against him2 for this is1 you know1 the old and ,socratic method of arguing against another's opinion2 for ,socrates thought that thus the truth would more easily be arrived at4 ,but to give you a better notion of our disputations1 ,i will not barely send you an account of them1 but represent them to you as they were carried on2 therefore let the introduction be thus3 ,v4 ,a4 ,to me death seems to be an evil4 ,m4 ,what1 to those who are already dead8 or to those who must die8 ,a4 ,to both4 ,m4 ,it is a misery1 then1 because an evil8 ,a4 ,certainly4 ,m4 ,then those who have already died1 and those who have still got to die1 are both miserable8 ,a4 ,so it appears to me4 ,m4 ,then all are miserable8 ,a4 ,every one4 ,m4 ,and1 indeed1 if you wish to be consistent1 all that are already born1 or ever shall be1 are not only miserable1 but always will be so2 for should you maintain those only to be miserable1 you would not except any one living1 for all must die2 but there should be an end of misery in death4 ,but seeing that the dead are miserable1 we are born to eternal misery1 for they must of consequence be miserable who died a hundred thousand years ago2 or rather1 all that have ever been born4 ,a4 ,so1 indeed1 ,i think4 ,m4 ,tell me1 ,i beseech you1 are you afraid of the three-headed ,cerberus in the shades below1 and the roaring waves of ,cocytus1 and the passage over ,acheron1 and ,tantalus expiring with thirst1 while the water touches his chin2 and ,sisyphus1 ,who sweats with arduous toil in vain ,the steepy summit of the mount to gain8 ,perhaps1 too1 you dread the inexorable judges1 ,minos and ,rhadamanthus2 before whom neither ,l4 ,crassus nor ,m4 ,antonius can defend you2 and where1 since the cause lies before ,grecian judges1 you will not even be able to employ ,demosthenes2 but you must plead for yourself before a very great assembly4 ,these things perhaps you dread1 and therefore look on death as an eternal evil4 ,,vi4 ,a4 ,do you take me to be so imbecile as to give credit to such things8 ,m4 ,what1 do you not believe them8 ,a4 ,not in the least4 ,m4 ,i am sorry to hear that4 ,a4 ,why1 ,i beg8 ,m4 ,because ,i could have been very eloquent in speaking against them4 ,a4 ,and who could not on such a subject8 or what trouble is it to refute these monstrous inventions of the poets and painters8#f ,m4 ,and yet you have books of philosophers full of arguments against these4 ,a4 ,a great waste of time1 truly6 for who is so weak as to be concerned about them8 ,m4 ,if1 then1 there is no one miserable in the infernal regions1 there can be no one there at all4 ,a4 ,i am altogether of that opinion4 ,m4 ,where1 then1 are those you call miserable8 or what place do they inhabit8 ,for1 if they exist at all1 they must be somewhere4 ,a4 ,i1 indeed1 am of opinion that they are nowhere4 ,m4 ,then they have no existence at all4 ,a4 ,even so1 and yet they are miserable for this very reason1 that they have no existence4 ,m4 ,i had rather now have you afraid of ,cerberus than speak thus inaccurately4 ,a4 ,in what respect8 ,m4 ,because you admit him to exist whose existence you deny with the same breath4 ,where now is your sagacity8 ,when you say any one is miserable1 you say that he who does not exist1 does exist4 ,a4 ,i am not so absurd as to say that4 ,m4 ,what is it that you do say1 then8 ,a4 ,i say1 for instance1 that ,marcus ,crassus is miserable in being deprived of such great riches as his by death2 that ,cn4 ,pompey is miserable in being taken from such glory and honor2 and1 in short1 that all are miserable who are deprived of this light of life4 ,m4 ,you have returned to the same point1 for to be miserable implies an existence2 but you just now denied that the dead had any existence3 if1 then1 they have not1 they can be nothing2 and if so1 they are not even miserable4 ,a4 ,perhaps ,i do not express what ,i mean1 for ,i look upon this very circumstance1 not to exist after having existed1 to be very miserable4 ,m4 ,what1 more so than not to have existed at all8 ,therefore1 those who are not yet born are miserable because they are not2 and we ourselves1 if we are to be miserable after death1 were miserable before we were born3 but ,i do not remember that ,i was miserable before ,i was born2 and ,i should be glad to know1 if your memory is better1 what you recollect of yourself before you were born4 ,,vii4 ,a4 ,you are pleasant3 as if ,i had said that those men are miserable who are not born1 and not that they are so who are dead4 ,m4 ,you say1 then1 that they are so8 ,a4 ,yes2 ,i say that because they no longer exist after having existed they are miserable4 ,m4 ,you do not perceive that you are asserting contradictions2 for what is a greater contradiction1 than that that should be not only miserable1 but should have any existence at all1 which does not exist8 ,when you go out at the ,capene gate and see the tombs of the ,calatini1 the ,scipios1 ,servilii1 and ,metelli1 do you look on them as miserable8 ,a4 ,because you press me with a word1 henceforward ,i will not say they are miserable absolutely1 but miserable on this account1 because they have no existence4 ,m4 ,you do not say1 then1 ,m4 ,crassus is miserable1 but only ,miserable ,m4 ,crassus4 ,a4 ,exactly so4 ,m4 ,as if it did not follow that whatever you speak of in that manner either is or is not4 ,are you not acquainted with the first principles of logic8 ,for this is the first thing they lay down1 ,whatever is asserted 7for that is the best way that occurs to me1 at the moment1 of rendering the ,greek term ,greek3 axima2 if ,i can think of a more accurate expression hereafter1 ,i will use it71 is asserted as being either true or false4 ,when1 therefore1 you say1 ,miserable ,m4 ,crassus1 you either say this1 ,m4 ,crassus is miserable1 so that some judgment may be made whether it is true or false1 or you say nothing at all4 ,a4 ,well1 then1 ,i now own that the dead are not miserable1 since you have drawn from me a concession that they who do not exist at all can not be miserable4 ,what then8 ,we that are alive1 are we not wretched1 seeing we must die8 for what is there agreeable in life1 when we must night and day reflect that1 at some time or other1 we must die8 ,,viii4 ,m4 ,do you not1 then1 perceive how great is the evil from which you have delivered human nature8 ,a4 ,by what means8 ,m4 ,because1 if to die were miserable to the dead1 to live would be a kind of infinite and eternal misery4 ,now1 however1 ,i see a goal1 and when ,i have reached it1 there is nothing more to be feared2 but you seem to me to follow the opinion of ,epicharmus1#g a man of some discernment1 and sharp enough for a ,sicilian4 ,a4 ,what opinion8 for ,i do not recollect it4 ,m4 ,i will tell you if ,i can in ,latin2 for you know ,i am no more used to bring in ,latin sentences in a ,greek discourse than ,greek in a ,latin one4 ,a4 ,and that is right enough4 ,but what is that opinion of ,epicharmus8 ,m4 ,i would not die1 but yet ,am not concerned that ,i shall be dead4 ,a4 ,i now recollect the ,greek2 but since you have obliged me to grant that the dead are not miserable1 proceed to convince me that it is not miserable to be under a necessity of dying4 ,m4 ,that is easy enough2 but ,i have greater things in hand4 ,a4 ,how comes that to be so easy8 ,and what are those things of more consequence8 ,m4 ,thus3 because1 if there is no evil after death1 then even death itself can be none2 for that which immediately succeeds that is a state where you grant that there is no evil3 so that even to be obliged to die can be no evil1 for that is only the being obliged to arrive at a place where we allow that no evil is4 ,a4 ,i beg you will be more explicit on this point1 for these subtle arguments force me sooner to admissions than to conviction4 ,but what are those more important things about which you say that you are occupied8 ,m4 ,to teach you1 if ,i can1 that death is not only no evil1 but a good4 ,a4 ,i do not insist on that1 but should be glad to hear you argue it1 for even though you should not prove your point1 yet you will prove that death is no evil4 ,but ,i will not interrupt you2 ,i would rather hear a continued discourse4 ,m4 ,what1 if ,i should ask you a question1 would you not answer8 ,a4 ,that would look like pride2 but ,i would rather you should not ask but where necessity requires4 ,,ix4 ,m4 ,i will comply with your wishes1 and explain as well as ,i can what you require2 but not with any idea that1 like the ,pythian ,apollo1 what ,i say must needs be certain and indisputable1 but as a mere man1 endeavoring to arrive at probabilities by conjecture1 for ,i have no ground to proceed further on than probability4 ,those men may call their statements indisputable who assert that what they say can be perceived by the senses1 and who proclaim themselves philosophers by profession4 ,a4 ,do as you please3 ,we are ready to hear you4 ,m4 ,the first thing1 then1 is to inquire what death1 which seems to be so well understood1 really is2 for some imagine death to be the departure of the soul from the body2 others think that there is no such departure1 but that soul and body perish together1 and that the soul is extinguished with the body4 ,of those who think that the soul does depart from the body1 some believe in its immediate dissolution2 others fancy that it continues to exist for a time2 and others believe that it lasts forever4 ,there is great dispute even what the soul is1 where it is1 and whence it is derived3 with some1 the heart itself 7cor7 seems to be the soul1 hence the expressions1 excordes1 vecordes1 concordes2 and that prudent ,nasica1 who was twice consul1 was called ,corculus1 i4e41 wise-heart2 and lius ,sextus is described as ,egregie cordatus homo1 catus liu' ,sextus--that great wise-hearted man1 sage lius4 ,empedocles imagines the blood1 which is suffused over the heart1 to be the soul2 to others1 a certain part of the brain seems to be the throne of the soul2 others neither allow the heart itself1 nor any portion of the brain1 to be the soul1 but think either that the heart is the seat and abode of the soul1 or else that the brain is so4 ,some would have the soul1 or spirit1 to be the anima1 as our schools generally agree2 and indeed the name signifies as much1 for we use the expressions animam agere1 to live2 animam efflare1 to expire2 animosi1 men of spirit2 bene animati1 men of right feeling2 exanimi sententia1 according to our real opinion2 and the very word animus is derived from anima4 ,again1 the soul seems to ,zeno the ,stoic to be fire4 ,x4 ,but what ,i have said as to the heart1 the blood1 the brain1 air1 or fire being the soul1 are common opinions3 the others are only entertained by individuals2 and1 indeed1 there were many among the ancients who held singular opinions on this subject1 of whom the latest was ,aristoxenus1 a man who was both a musician and a philosopher4 ,he maintained a certain straining of the body1 like what is called harmony in music1 to be the soul1 and believed that1 from the figure and nature of the whole body1 various motions are excited1 as sounds are from an instrument4 ,he adhered steadily to his system1 and yet he said something1 the nature of which1 whatever it was1 had been detailed and explained a great while before by ,plato4 ,xenocrates denied that the soul had any figure1 or anything like a body2 but said it was a number1 the power of which1 as ,pythagoras had fancied1 some ages before1 was the greatest in nature3 his master1 ,plato1 imagined a threefold soul1 a dominant portion of which--that is to say1 reason--he had lodged in the head1 as in a tower2 and the other two parts--namely1 anger and desire--he made subservient to this one1 and allotted them distinct abodes1 placing anger in the breast1 and desire under the prcordia4 ,but ,dicarchus1 in that discourse of some learned disputants1 held at ,corinth1 which he details to us in three books--in the first book introduces many speakers2 and in the other two he introduces a certain ,pherecrates1 an old man of ,phthia1 who1 as he said1 was descended from ,deucalion2 asserting1 that there is in fact no such thing at all as a soul1 but that it is a name without a meaning2 and that it is idle to use the expression animals1 or animated beings2 that neither men nor beasts have minds or souls1 but that all that power by which we act or perceive is equally infused into every living creature1 and is inseparable from the body1 for if it were not1 it would be nothing2 nor is there anything whatever really existing except body1 which is a single and simple thing1 so fashioned as to live and have its sensations in consequence of the regulations of nature4 ,aristotle1 a man superior to all others1 both in genius and industry 7,i always except ,plato71 after having embraced these four known sorts of principles1 from which all things deduce their origin1 imagines that there is a certain fifth nature1 from whence comes the soul2 for to think1 to foresee1 to learn1 to teach1 to invent anything1 and many other attributes of the same kind1 such as to remember1 to love1 to hate1 to desire1 to fear1 to be pleased or displeased--these1 and others like them1 exist1 he thinks1 in none of those first four kinds3 on such account he adds a fifth kind1 which has no name1 and so by a new name he calls the soul ,greek3 endelecheia1 as if it were a certain continued and perpetual motion4 ,,xi4 ,if ,i have not forgotten anything unintentionally1 these are the principal opinions concerning the soul4 ,i have omitted ,democritus1 a very great man indeed1 but one who deduces the soul from the fortuitous concourse of small1 light1 and round substances2 for1 if you believe men of his school1 there is nothing which a crowd of atoms cannot effect4 ,which of these opinions is true1 some ,god must determine4 ,it is an important question for us1 ,which has the most appearance of truth8 ,shall we1 then1 prefer determining between them1 or shall we return to our subject8 ,a4 ,i could wish both1 if possible2 but it is difficult to mix them3 therefore1 if without a discussion of them we can get rid of the fears of death1 let us proceed to do so2 but if this is not to be done without explaining the question about souls1 let us have that now1 and the other at another time4 ,m4 ,i take that plan to be the best1 which ,i perceive you are inclined to2 for reason will demonstrate that1 whichever of the opinions which ,i have stated is true1 it must follow1 then1 that death cannot be an evil2 or that it must rather be something desirable2 for if either the heart1 or the blood1 or the brain1 is the soul1 then certainly the soul1 being corporeal1 must perish with the rest of the body2 if it is air1 it will perhaps be dissolved2 if it is fire1 it will be extinguished2 if it is ,aristoxenus's harmony1 it will be put out of tune4 ,what shall ,i say of ,dicarchus1 who denies that there is any soul8 ,in all these opinions1 there is nothing to affect any one after death2 for all feeling is lost with life1 and where there is no sensation1 nothing can interfere to affect us4 ,the opinions of others do indeed bring us hope2 if it is any pleasure to you to think that souls1 after they leave the body1 may go to heaven as to a permanent home4 ,a4 ,i have great pleasure in that thought1 and it is what ,i most desire2 and even if it should not be so1 ,i should still be very willing to believe it4 ,m4 ,what occasion have you1 then1 for my assistance8 ,am ,i superior to ,plato in eloquence8 ,turn over carefully his book that treats of the soul2 you will have there all that you can want4 ,a4 ,i have1 indeed1 done that1 and often2 but1 ,i know not how it comes to pass1 ,i agree with it while ,i am reading it2 but when ,i have laid down the book1 and begin to reflect with myself on the immortality of the soul1 all that agreement vanishes4 ,m4 ,how comes that8 ,do you admit this--that souls either exist after death1 or else that they also perish at the moment of death8 ,a4 ,i agree to that4 ,and if they do exist1 ,i admit that they are happy2 but if they perish1 ,i cannot suppose them to be unhappy1 because1 in fact1 they have no existence at all4 ,you drove me to that concession but just now4 ,m4 ,how1 then1 can you1 or why do you1 assert that you think that death is an evil1 when it either makes us happy1 in the case of the soul continuing to exist1 or1 at all events1 not unhappy1 in the case of our becoming destitute of all sensation8 ,,xii4 ,a4 ,explain1 therefore1 if it is not troublesome to you1 first1 if you can1 that souls do exist after death2 secondly1 should you fail in that 7and it is a very difficult thing to establish71 that death is free from all evil2 for ,i am not without my fears that this itself is an evil3 ,i do not mean the immediate deprivation of sense1 but the fact that we shall hereafter suffer deprivation4 ,m4 ,i have the best authority in support of the opinion you desire to have established1 which ought1 and generally has1 great weight in all cases4 ,and1 first1 ,i have all antiquity on that side1 which the more near it is to its origin and divine descent1 the more clearly1 perhaps1 on that account1 did it discern the truth in these matters4 ,this very doctrine1 then1 was adopted by all those ancients whom ,ennius calls in the ,sabine tongue ,casci2 namely1 that in death there was a sensation1 and that1 when men departed this life1 they were not so entirely destroyed as to perish absolutely4 ,and this may appear from many other circumstances1 and especially from the pontifical rites and funeral obsequies1 which men of the greatest genius would not have been so solicitous about1 and would not have guarded from any injury by such severe laws1 but from a firm persuasion that death was not so entire a destruction as wholly to abolish and destroy everything1 but rather a kind of transmigration1 as it were1 and change of life1 which was1 in the case of illustrious men and women1 usually a guide to heaven1 while in that of others it was still confined to the earth1 but in such a manner as still to exist4 ,from this1 and the sentiments of the ,romans1 ,in heaven ,romulus with ,gods now lives1 as ,ennius saith1 agreeing with the common belief2 hence1 too1 ,hercules is considered so great and propitious a ,god among the ,greeks1 and from them he was introduced among us1 and his worship has extended even to the very ocean itself4 ,this is how it was that ,bacchus was deified1 the offspring of ,semele2 and from the same illustrious fame we receive ,castor and ,pollux as ,gods1 who are reported not only to have helped the ,romans to victory in their battles1 but to have been the messengers of their success4 ,what shall we say of ,ino1 the daughter of ,cadmus8 ,is she not called ,leucothea by the ,greeks1 and ,matuta by us8 ,nay1 more2 is not the whole of heaven 7not to dwell on particulars7 almost filled with the offspring of men8 ,should ,i attempt to search into antiquity1 and produce from thence what the ,greek writers have asserted1 it would appear that even those who are called their principal ,gods were taken from among men up into heaven4 ,,xiii4 ,examine the sepulchres of those which are shown in ,greece2 recollect1 for you have been initiated1 what lessons are taught in the mysteries2 then will you perceive how extensive this doctrine is4 ,but they who were not acquainted with natural philosophy 7for it did not begin to be in vogue till many years later7 had no higher belief than what natural reason could give them2 they were not acquainted with the principles and causes of things2 they were often induced by certain visions1 and those generally in the night1 to think that those men who had departed from this life were still alive4 ,and this may further be brought as an irrefragable argument for us to believe that there are ,gods--that there never was any nation so barbarous1 nor any people in the world so savage1 as to be without some notion of ,gods4 ,many have wrong notions of the ,gods1 for that is the nature and ordinary consequence of bad customs1 yet all allow that there is a certain divine nature and energy4 ,nor does this proceed from the conversation of men1 or the agreement of philosophers2 it is not an opinion established by institutions or by laws2 but1 no doubt1 in every case the consent of all nations is to be looked on as a law of nature4 ,who is there1 then1 that does not lament the loss of his friends1 principally from imagining them deprived of the conveniences of life8 ,take away this opinion1 and you remove with it all grief2 for no one is afflicted merely on account of a loss sustained by himself4 ,perhaps we may be sorry1 and grieve a little2 but that bitter lamentation and those mournful tears have their origin in our apprehensions that he whom we loved is deprived of all the advantages of life1 and is sensible of his loss4 ,and we are led to this opinion by nature1 without any arguments or any instruction4 ,,xiv4 ,but the greatest proof of all is1 that nature herself gives a silent judgment in favor of the immortality of the soul1 inasmuch as all are anxious1 and that to a great degree1 about the things which concern futurity3 ,one plants what future ages shall enjoy1 as ,statius saith in his ,synephebi4 ,what is his object in doing so1 except that he is interested in posterity8 ,shall the industrious husbandman1 then1 plant trees the fruit of which he shall never see8 ,and shall not the great man found laws1 institutions1 and a republic8 ,what does the procreation of children imply1 and our care to continue our names1 and our adoptions1 and our scrupulous exactness in drawing up wills1 and the inscriptions on monuments1 and panegyrics1 but that our thoughts run on futurity8 ,there is no doubt but a judgment may be formed of nature in general1 from looking at each nature in its most perfect specimens2 and what is a more perfect specimen of a man than those are who look on themselves as born for the assistance1 the protection1 and the preservation of others8 ,hercules has gone to heaven2 he never would have gone thither had he not1 while among men1 made that road for himself4 ,these things are of old date1 and have1 besides1 the sanction of universal religion4 ,,xv4 ,what will you say8 ,what do you imagine that so many and such great men of our republic1 who have sacrificed their lives for its good1 expected8 ,do you believe that they thought that their names should not continue beyond their lives8 ,none ever encountered death for their country but under a firm persuasion of immortality6 ,themistocles might have lived at his ease2 so might ,epaminondas2 and1 not to look abroad and among the ancients for instances1 so might ,i myself4 ,but1 somehow or other there clings to our minds a certain presage of future ages2 and this both exists most firmly1 and appears most clearly1 in men of the loftiest genius and greatest souls4 ,take away this1 and who would be so mad as to spend his life amidst toils and dangers8 ,i speak of those in power4 ,what are the poet's views but to be ennobled after death8 ,what else is the object of these lines1 ,behold old ,ennius here1 who erst ,thy fathers' great exploits rehearsed8 ,he is challenging the reward of glory from those men whose ancestors he himself had ennobled by his poetry4 ,and in the same spirit he says1 in another passage1 ,let none with tears my funeral grace1 for ,i ,claim from my works an immortality4 ,why do ,i mention poets8 ,the very mechanics are desirous of fame after death4 ,why did ,phidias include a likeness of himself in the shield of ,minerva1 when he was not allowed to inscribe his name on it8 ,what do our philosophers think on the subject8 ,do not they put their names to those very books which they write on the contempt of glory8 ,if1 then1 universal consent is the voice of nature1 and if it is the general opinion everywhere that those who have quitted this life are still interested in something1 we also must subscribe to that opinion4 ,and if we think that men of the greatest abilities and virtues see most clearly into the power of nature1 because they themselves are her most perfect work1 it is very probable that1 as every great man is especially anxious to benefit posterity1 there is something of which he himself will be sensible after death4 ,,xvi4 ,but as we are led by nature to think there are ,gods1 and as we discover1 by reason1 of what description they are1 so1 by the consent of all nations1 we are induced to believe that our souls survive2 but where their habitation is1 and of what character they eventually are1 must be learned from reason4 ,the want of any certain reason on which to argue has given rise to the idea of the shades below1 and to those fears which you seem1 not without reason1 to despise2 for as our bodies fall to the ground1 and are covered with earth 7humus71 from whence we derive the expression to be interred 7humari71 that has occasioned men to imagine that the dead continue1 during the remainder of their existence1 under ground2 which opinion has drawn after it many errors1 which the poets have increased2 for the theatre1 being frequented by a large crowd1 among which are women and children1 is wont to be greatly affected on hearing such pompous verses as these1 ,lo6 here ,i am1 who scarce could gain this place1 ,through stony mountains and a dreary waste2 ,through cliffs1 whose sharpen'd stones tremendous hung1 ,where dreadful darkness spread itself around4 ,and the error prevailed so much1 though indeed at present it seems to me to be removed1 that although men knew that the bodies of the dead had been burned1 yet they conceived such things to be done in the infernal regions as could not be executed or imagined without a body2 for they could not conceive how disembodied souls could exist2 and1 therefore1 they looked out for some shape or figure4 ,this was the origin of all that account of the dead in ,homer4 ,this was the idea that caused my friend ,appius to frame his ,necromancy2 and this is how there got about that idea of the lake of ,avernus1 in my neighborhood1 ,from whence the souls of undistinguish'd shape1 ,clad in thick shade1 rush from the open gate ,of ,acheron1 vain phantoms of the dead4 ,and they must needs have these appearances speak1 which is not possible without a tongue1 and a palate1 and jaws1 and without the help of lungs and sides1 and without some shape or figure2 for they could see nothing by their mind alone--they referred all to their eyes4 ,to withdraw the mind from sensual objects1 and abstract our thoughts from what we are accustomed to1 is an attribute of great genius4 ,i am persuaded1 indeed1 that there were many such men in former ages2 but ,pherecydes#h the ,syrian is the first on record who said that the souls of men were immortal1 and he was a philosopher of great antiquity1 in the reign of my namesake ,tullius4 ,his disciple ,pythagoras greatly confirmed this opinion1 who came into ,italy in the reign of ,tarquin the ,proud2 and all that country which is called ,great ,greece was occupied by his school1 and he himself was held in high honor1 and had the greatest authority2 and the ,pythagorean sect was for many ages after in such great credit1 that all learning was believed to be confined to that name4 ,,xvii4 ,but ,i return to the ancients4 ,they scarcely ever gave any reason for their opinion but what could be explained by numbers or definitions4 ,it is reported of ,plato that he came into ,italy to make himself acquainted with the ,pythagoreans2 and that when there1 among others1 he made an acquaintance with ,archytas#i and ,timus1#aj and learned from them all the tenets of the ,pythagoreans2 and that he not only was of the same opinion with ,pythagoras concerning the immortality of the soul1 but that he also brought reasons in support of it2 which1 if you have nothing to say against it1 ,i will pass over1 and say no more at present about all this hope of immortality4 ,a4 ,what1 will you leave me when you have raised my expectations so high8 ,i had rather1 so help me ,hercules6 be mistaken with ,plato1 whom ,i know how much you esteem1 and whom ,i admire myself1 from what you say of him1 than be in the right with those others4 ,m4 ,i commend you2 for1 indeed1 ,i could myself willingly be mistaken in his company4 ,do we1 then1 doubt1 as we do in other cases 7though ,i think here is very little room for doubt in this case1 for the mathematicians prove the facts to us71 that the earth is placed in the midst of the world1 being1 as it were1 a sort of point1 which they call a ,greek3 kentron1 surrounded by the whole heavens2 and that such is the nature of the four principles which are the generating causes of all things1 that they have equally divided among them the constituents of all bodies2 moreover1 that earthy and humid bodies are carried at equal angles by their own weight and ponderosity into the earth and sea2 that the other two parts consist1 one of fire1 and the other of air8 ,as the two former are carried by their gravity and weight into the middle region of the world1 so these1 on the other hand1 ascend by right lines into the celestial regions1 either because1 owing to their intrinsic nature1 they are always endeavoring to reach the highest place1 or else because lighter bodies are naturally repelled by heavier2 and as this is notoriously the case1 it must evidently follow that souls1 when once they have departed from the body1 whether they are animal 7by which term ,i mean capable of breathing7 or of the nature of fire1 must mount upward4 ,but if the soul is some number1 as some people assert1 speaking with more subtlety than clearness1 or if it is that fifth nature1 for which it would be more correct to say that we have not given a name to than that we do not correctly understand it--still it is too pure and perfect not to go to a great distance from the earth4 ,something of this sort1 then1 we must believe the soul to be1 that we may not commit the folly of thinking that so active a principle lies immerged in the heart or brain2 or1 as ,empedocles would have it1 in the blood4 ,,xviii4 ,we will pass over ,dicarchus1#aa with his contemporary and fellow-disciple ,aristoxenus1#ab both indeed men of learning4 ,one of them seems never even to have been affected with grief1 as he could not perceive that he had a soul2 while the other is so pleased with his musical compositions that he endeavors to show an analogy betwixt them and souls4 ,now1 we may understand harmony to arise from the intervals of sounds1 whose various compositions occasion many harmonies2 but ,i do not see how a disposition of members1 and the figure of a body without a soul1 can occasion harmony4 ,he had better1 learned as he is1 leave these speculations to his master ,aristotle1 and follow his own trade as a musician4 ,good advice is given him in that ,greek proverb1 ,apply your talents where you best are skill'd4 ,i will have nothing at all to do with that fortuitous concourse of individual light and round bodies1 notwithstanding ,democritus insists on their being warm and having breath1 that is to say1 life4 ,but this soul1 which is compounded of either of the four principles from which we assert that all things are derived1 is of inflamed air1 as seems particularly to have been the opinion of ,pantius1 and must necessarily mount upward2 for air and fire have no tendency downward1 but always ascend2 so should they be dissipated that must be at some distance from the earth2 but should they remain1 and preserve their original state1 it is clearer still that they must be carried heavenward1 and this gross and concrete air1 which is nearest the earth1 must be divided and broken by them2 for the soul is warmer1 or rather hotter1 than that air1 which ,i just now called gross and concrete3 and this may be made evident from this consideration--that our bodies1 being compounded of the earthy class of principles1 grow warm by the heat of the soul4 ,,xix4 ,we may add1 that the soul can the more easily escape from this air1 which ,i have often named1 and break through it1 because nothing is swifter than the soul2 no swiftness is comparable to the swiftness of the soul1 which1 should it remain uncorrupt and without alteration1 must necessarily be carried on with such velocity as to penetrate and divide all this atmosphere1 where clouds1 and rain1 and winds are formed1 which1 in consequence of the exhalations from the earth1 is moist and dark3 but1 when the soul has once got above this region1 and falls in with1 and recognizes1 a nature like its own1 it then rests upon fires composed of a combination of thin air and a moderate solar heat1 and does not aim at any higher flight2 for then1 after it has attained a lightness and heat resembling its own1 it moves no more1 but remains steady1 being balanced1 as it were1 between two equal weights4 ,that1 then1 is its natural seat where it has penetrated to something like itself1 and where1 wanting nothing further1 it may be supported and maintained by the same aliment which nourishes and maintains the stars4 ,now1 as we are usually incited to all sorts of desires by the stimulus of the body1 and the more so as we endeavor to rival those who are in possession of what we long for1 we shall certainly be happy when1 being emancipated from that body1 we at the same time get rid of these desires and this rivalry4 ,and that which we do at present1 when1 dismissing all other cares1 we curiously examine and look into anything1 we shall then do with greater freedom2 and we shall employ ourselves entirely in the contemplation and examination of things2 because there is naturally in our minds a certain insatiable desire to know the truth1 and the very region itself where we shall arrive1 as it gives us a more intuitive and easy knowledge of celestial things1 will raise our desires after knowledge4 ,for it was this beauty of the heavens1 as seen even here upon earth1 which gave birth to that national and hereditary philosophy 7as ,theophrastus calls it71 which was thus excited to a desire of knowledge4 ,but those persons will in a most especial degree enjoy this philosophy1 who1 while they were only inhabitants of this world and enveloped in darkness1 were still desirous of looking into these things with the eye of their mind4 ,,xx4 ,for if those men now think that they have attained something who have seen the mouth of the ,pontus1 and those straits which were passed by the ship called ,argo1 because1 ,from ,argos she did chosen men convey1 ,bound to fetch back the ,golden ,fleece1 their prey2 or those who have seen the straits of the ocean1 ,where the swift waves divide the neighboring shores ,of ,europe1 and of ,afric2 what kind of sight do you imagine that will be when the whole earth is laid open to our view8 and that1 too1 not only in its position1 form1 and boundaries1 nor those parts of it only which are habitable1 but those also that lie uncultivated1 through the extremities of heat and cold to which they are exposed2 for not even now is it with our eyes that we view what we see1 for the body itself has no senses2 but 7as the naturalists1 ay1 and even the physicians assure us1 who have opened our bodies1 and examined them7 there are certain perforated channels from the seat of the soul to the eyes1 ears1 and nose2 so that frequently1 when either prevented by meditation1 or the force of some bodily disorder1 we neither hear nor see1 though our eyes and ears are open and in good condition2 so that we may easily apprehend that it is the soul itself which sees and hears1 and not those parts which are1 as it were1 but windows to the soul1 by means of which1 however1 she can perceive nothing1 unless she is on the spot1 and exerts herself4 ,how shall we account for the fact that by the same power of thinking we comprehend the most different things--as color1 taste1 heat1 smell1 and sound--which the soul could never know by her five messengers1 unless every thing were referred to her1 and she were the sole judge of all8 ,and we shall certainly discover these things in a more clear and perfect degree when the soul is disengaged from the body1 and has arrived at that goal to which nature leads her2 for at present1 notwithstanding nature has contrived1 with the greatest skill1 those channels which lead from the body to the soul1 yet are they1 in some way or other1 stopped up with earthy and concrete bodies2 but when we shall be nothing but soul1 then nothing will interfere to prevent our seeing everything in its real substance and in its true character4 ,,xxi4 ,it is true1 ,i might expatiate1 did the subject require it1 on the many and various objects with which the soul will be entertained in those heavenly regions2 when ,i reflect on which1 ,i am apt to wonder at the boldness of some philosophers1 who are so struck with admiration at the knowledge of nature as to thank1 in an exulting manner1 the first inventor and teacher of natural philosophy1 and to reverence him as a ,god2 for they declare that they have been delivered by his means from the greatest tyrants1 a perpetual terror1 and a fear that molested them by night and day4 ,what is this dread--this fear8 ,what old woman is there so weak as to fear these things1 which you1 forsooth1 had you not been acquainted with natural philosophy1 would stand in awe of8 ,the hallow'd roofs of ,acheron1 the dread ,of ,orcus1 the pale regions of the dead4 ,and does it become a philosopher to boast that he is not afraid of these things1 and that he has discovered them to be false8 ,and from this we may perceive how acute these men were by nature1 who1 if they had been left without any instruction1 would have believed in these things4 ,but now they have certainly made a very fine acquisition in learning that when the day of their death arrives1 they will perish entirely4 ,and if that really is the case--for ,i say nothing either way--what is there agreeable or glorious in it8 ,not that ,i see any reason why the opinion of ,pythagoras and ,plato may not be true2 but even although ,plato were to have assigned no reason for his opinion 7observe how much ,i esteem the man71 the weight of his authority would have borne me down2 but he has brought so many reasons1 that he appears to me to have endeavored to convince others1 and certainly to have convinced himself4 ,,xxii4 ,but there are many who labor on the other side of the question1 and condemn souls to death1 as if they were criminals capitally convicted2 nor have they any other reason to allege why the immortality of the soul appears to them to be incredible1 except that they are not able to conceive what sort of thing the soul can be when disentangled from the body2 just as if they could really form a correct idea as to what sort of thing it is1 even when it is in the body2 what its form1 and size1 and abode are2 so that were they able to have a full view of all that is now hidden from them in a living body1 they have no idea whether the soul would be discernible by them1 or whether it is of so fine a texture that it would escape their sight4 ,let those consider this1 who say that they are unable to form any idea of the soul without the body1 and then they will see whether they can form any adequate idea of what it is when it is in the body4 ,for my own part1 when ,i reflect on the nature of the soul1 it appears to me a far more perplexing and obscure question to determine what is its character while it is in the body--a place which1 as it were1 does not belong to it--than to imagine what it is when it leaves it1 and has arrived at the free ther1 which is1 if ,i may so say1 its proper1 its own habitation4 ,for unless we are to say that we cannot apprehend the character or nature of anything which we have never seen1 we certainly may be able to form some notion of ,god1 and of the divine soul when released from the body4 ,dicarchus1 indeed1 and ,aristoxenus1 because it was hard to understand the existence and substance and nature of the soul1 asserted that there was no such thing as a soul at all4 ,it is1 indeed1 the most difficult thing imaginable to discern the soul by the soul4 ,and this1 doubtless1 is the meaning of the precept of ,apollo1 which advises every one to know himself4 ,for ,i do not apprehend the meaning of the ,god to have been that we should understand our members1 our stature1 and form2 for we are not merely bodies2 nor1 when ,i say these things to you1 am ,i addressing myself to your body3 when1 therefore1 he says1 ,know yourself1 he says this1 ,inform yourself of the nature of your soul2 for the body is but a kind of vessel1 or receptacle of the soul1 and whatever your soul does is your own act4 ,to know the soul1 then1 unless it had been divine1 would not have been a precept of such excellent wisdom as to be attributed to a ,god2 but even though the soul should not know of what nature itself is1 will you say that it does not even perceive that it exists at all1 or that it has motion8 ,on which is founded that reason of ,plato's1 which is explained by ,socrates in the ,phdrus1 and inserted by me1 in my sixth book of the ,republic4 ,,xxiii4 ,that which is always moved is eternal2 but that which gives motion to something else1 and is moved itself by some external cause1 when that motion ceases1 must necessarily cease to exist4 ,that1 therefore1 alone1 which is self-moved1 because it is never forsaken by itself1 can never cease to be moved4 ,besides1 it is the beginning and principle of motion to everything else2 but whatever is a principle has no beginning1 for all things arise from that principle1 and it cannot itself owe its rise to anything else2 for then it would not be a principle did it proceed from anything else4 ,but if it has no beginning1 it never will have any end2 for a principle which is once extinguished cannot itself be restored by anything else1 nor can it produce anything else from itself2 inasmuch as all things must necessarily arise from some first cause4 ,and thus it comes about that the first principle of motion must arise from that thing which is itself moved by itself2 and that can neither have a beginning nor an end of its existence1 for otherwise the whole heaven and earth would be overset1 and all nature would stand still1 and not be able to acquire any force by the impulse of which it might be first set in motion4 ,seeing1 then1 that it is clear that whatever moves itself is eternal1 can there be any doubt that the soul is so8 ,for everything is inanimate which is moved by an external force2 but everything which is animate is moved by an interior force1 which also belongs to itself4 ,for this is the peculiar nature and power of the soul2 and if the soul be the only thing in the whole world which has the power of self-motion1 then certainly it never had a beginning1 and therefore it is eternal4 ,now1 should all the lower order of philosophers 7for so ,i think they may be called who dissent from ,plato and ,socrates and that school7 unite their force1 they never would be able to explain anything so elegantly as this1 nor even to understand how ingeniously this conclusion is drawn4 ,the soul1 then1 perceives itself to have motion1 and at the same time that it gets that perception1 it is sensible that it derives that motion from its own power1 and not from the agency of another2 and it is impossible that it should ever forsake itself4 ,and these premises compel you to allow its eternity1 unless you have something to say against them4 ,a4 ,i should myself be very well pleased not to have even a thought arise in my mind against them1 so much am ,i inclined to that opinion4 ,,xxiv4 ,m4 ,well1 then1 ,i appeal to you1 if the arguments which prove that there is something divine in the souls of men are not equally strong8 ,but if ,i could account for the origin of these divine properties1 then ,i might also be able to explain how they might cease to exist2 for ,i think ,i can account for the manner in which the blood1 and bile1 and phlegm1 and bones1 and nerves1 and veins1 and all the limbs1 and the shape of the whole body1 were put together and made2 ay1 and even as to the soul itself1 were there nothing more in it than a principle of life1 then the life of a man might be put upon the same footing as that of a vine or any other tree1 and accounted for as caused by nature2 for these things1 as we say1 live4 ,besides1 if desires and aversions were all that belonged to the soul1 it would have them only in common with the beasts2 but it has1 in the first place1 memory1 and that1 too1 so infinite as to recollect an absolute countless number of circumstances1 which ,plato will have to be a recollection of a former life2 for in that book which is inscribed ,menon1 ,socrates asks a child some questions in geometry1 with reference to measuring a square2 his answers are such as a child would make1 and yet the questions are so easy1 that while answering them1 one by one1 he comes to the same point as if he had learned geometry4 ,from whence ,socrates would infer that learning is nothing more than recollection2 and this topic he explains more accurately in the discourse which he held the very day he died2 for he there asserts that1 any one1 who seeming to be entirely illiterate1 is yet able to answer a question well that is proposed to him1 does in so doing manifestly show that he is not learning it then1 but recollecting it by his memory4 ,nor is it to be accounted for in any other way1 how children come to have notions of so many and such important things as are implanted1 and1 as it were1 sealed up1 in their minds 7which the ,greeks call ,greek3 ennoiai71 unless the soul1 before it entered the body1 had been well stored with knowledge4 ,and as it had no existence at all 7for this is the invariable doctrine of ,plato1 who will not admit anything to have a real existence which has a beginning and an end1 and who thinks that that alone does really exist which is of such a character as what he calls ,greek3 eidea1 and we species71 therefore1 being shut up in the body1 it could not while in the body discover what it knows2 but it knew it before1 and brought the knowledge with it1 so that we are no longer surprised at its extensive and multifarious knowledge4 ,nor does the soul clearly discover its ideas at its first resort to this abode to which it is so unaccustomed1 and which is in so disturbed a state2 but after having refreshed and recollected itself1 it then by its memory recovers them2 and1 therefore1 to learn implies nothing more than to recollect4 ,but ,i am in a particular manner surprised at memory4 ,for what is that faculty by which we remember8 what is its force8 what its nature8 ,i am not inquiring how great a memory ,simonides#ac may be said to have had1 or ,theodectes1#ad or that ,cineas#ae who was sent to ,rome as ambassador from ,pyrrhus2 or1 in more modern times1 ,charmadas2#af or1 very lately1 ,metrodorus#ag the ,scepsian1 or our own contemporary ,hortensius#ah3 ,i am speaking of ordinary memory1 and especially of those men who are employed in any important study or art1 the great capacity of whose minds it is hard to estimate1 such numbers of things do they remember4 ,,xxv4 ,should you ask what this leads to1 ,i think we may understand what that power is1 and whence we have it4 ,it certainly proceeds neither from the heart1 nor from the blood1 nor from the brain1 nor from atoms2 whether it be air or fire1 ,i know not1 nor am ,i1 as those men are1 ashamed1 in cases where ,i am ignorant1 to own that ,i am so4 ,if in any other obscure matter ,i were able to assert anything positively1 then ,i would swear that the soul1 be it air or fire1 is divine4 ,just think1 ,i beseech you3 can you imagine this wonderful power of memory to be sown in or to be a part of the composition of the earth1 or of this dark and gloomy atmosphere8 ,though you cannot apprehend what it is1 yet you see what kind of thing it is1 or if you do not quite see that1 yet you certainly see how great it is4 ,what1 then8 ,shall we imagine that there is a kind of measure in the soul1 into which1 as into a vessel1 all that we remember is poured8 ,that indeed is absurd2 for how shall we form any idea of the bottom1 or of the shape or fashion of such a soul as that8 ,and1 again1 how are we to conceive how much it is able to contain8 ,shall we imagine the soul to receive impressions like wax1 and memory to be marks of the impressions made on the soul8 ,what are the characters of the words1 what of the facts themselves8 and what1 again1 is that prodigious greatness which can give rise to impressions of so many things8 ,what1 lastly1 is that power which investigates secret things1 and is called invention and contrivance8 ,does that man seem to be compounded of this earthly1 mortal1 and perishing nature who first invented names for everything2 which1 if you will believe ,pythagoras1 is the highest pitch of wisdom8 or he who collected the dispersed inhabitants of the world1 and united them in the bonds of social life8 or he who confined the sounds of the voice1 which used to seem infinite1 to the marks of a few letters8 or he who first observed the courses of the planets1 their progressive motions1 their laws8 ,these were all great men4 ,but they were greater still who invented food1 and raiment1 and houses2 who introduced civilization among us1 and armed us against the wild beasts2 by whom we were made sociable and polished1 and so proceeded from the necessaries of life to its embellishments4 ,for we have provided great entertainments for the ears by inventing and modulating the variety and nature of sounds2 we have learned to survey the stars1 not only those that are fixed1 but also those which are improperly called wandering2 and the man who has acquainted himself with all their revolutions and motions is fairly considered to have a soul resembling the soul of that ,being who has created those stars in the heavens3 for when ,archimedes described in a sphere the motions of the moon1 sun1 and five planets1 he did the very same thing as ,plato's ,god1 in his ,timus1 who made the world1 causing one revolution to adjust motions differing as much as possible in their slowness and velocity4 ,now1 allowing that what we see in the world could not be effected without a ,god1 ,archimedes could not have imitated the same motions in his sphere without a divine soul4 ,,xxvi4 ,to me1 indeed1 it appears that even those studies which are more common and in greater esteem are not without some divine energy3 so that ,i do not consider that a poet can produce a serious and sublime poem without some divine impulse working on his mind2 nor do ,i think that eloquence1 abounding with sonorous words and fruitful sentences1 can flow thus without something beyond mere human power4 ,but as to philosophy1 that is the parent of all the arts3 what can we call that but1 as ,plato says1 a gift1 or1 as ,i express it1 an invention1 of the ,gods8 ,this it was which first taught us the worship of the ,gods2 and then led us on to justice1 which arises from the human race being formed into society2 and after that it imbued us with modesty and elevation of soul4 ,this it was which dispersed darkness from our souls1 as it is dispelled from our eyes1 enabling us to see all things that are above or below1 the beginning1 end1 and middle of everything4 ,i am convinced entirely that that which could effect so many and such great things must be a divine power4 ,for what is memory of words and circumstances8 ,what1 too1 is invention8 ,surely they are things than which nothing greater can be conceived in a ,god6 ,for ,i do not imagine the ,gods to be delighted with nectar and ambrosia1 or with ,juventas presenting them with a cup2 nor do ,i put any faith in ,homer1 who says that ,ganymede was carried away by the ,gods on account of his beauty1 in order to give ,jupiter his wine4 ,too weak reasons for doing ,laomedon such injury6 ,these were mere inventions of ,homer1 who gave his ,gods the imperfections of men4 ,i would rather that he had given men the perfections of the ,gods6 those perfections1 ,i mean1 of uninterrupted health1 wisdom1 invention1 memory4 ,therefore the soul 7which is1 as ,i say1 divine7 is1 as ,euripides more boldly expresses it1 a ,god4 ,and thus1 if the divinity be air or fire1 the soul of man is the same2 for as that celestial nature has nothing earthly or humid about it1 in like manner the soul of man is also free from both these qualities3 but if it is of that fifth kind of nature1 first introduced by ,aristotle1 then both ,gods and souls are of the same4 ,,xxvii4 ,as this is my opinion1 ,i have explained it in these very words1 in my book on ,consolation4#ai ,the origin of the soul of man is not to be found upon earth1 for there is nothing in the soul of a mixed or concrete nature1 or that has any appearance of being formed or made out of the earth2 nothing even humid1 or airy1 or fiery4 ,for what is there in natures of that kind which has the power of memory1 understanding1 or thought8 which can recollect the past1 foresee the future1 and comprehend the present8 for these capabilities are confined to divine beings2 nor can we discover any source from which men could derive them1 but from ,god4 ,there is therefore a peculiar nature and power in the soul1 distinct from those natures which are more known and familiar to us4 ,whatever1 then1 that is which thinks1 and which has understanding1 and volition1 and a principle of life1 is heavenly and divine1 and on that account must necessarily be eternal2 nor can ,god himself1 who is known to us1 be conceived to be anything else except a soul free and unembarrassed1 distinct from all mortal concretion1 acquainted with everything1 and giving motion to everything1 and itself endued with perpetual motion4 ,,xxviii4 ,of this kind and nature is the intellect of man4 ,where1 then1 is this intellect seated1 and of what character is it8 where is your own1 and what is its character8 ,are you able to tell8 ,if ,i have not faculties for knowing all that ,i could desire to know1 will you not even allow me to make use of those which ,i have8 ,the soul has not sufficient capacity to comprehend itself2 yet1 the soul1 like the eye1 though it has no distinct view of itself1 sees other things3 it does not see 7which is of least consequence7 its own shape2 perhaps not1 though it possibly may2 but we will pass that by3 but it certainly sees that it has vigor1 sagacity1 memory1 motion1 and velocity2 these are all great1 divine1 eternal properties4 ,what its appearance is1 or where it dwells1 it is not necessary even to inquire4 ,as when we behold1 first of all1 the beauty and brilliant appearance of the heavens2 secondly1 the vast velocity of its revolutions1 beyond power of our imagination to conceive2 then the vicissitudes of nights and days1 the fourfold division of the seasons1 so well adapted to the ripening of the fruits of the earth1 and the temperature of our bodies3 and after that we look up to the sun1 the moderator and governor of all these things2 and view the moon1 by the increase and decrease of its light1 marking1 as it were1 and appointing our holy days2 and see the five planets1 borne on in the same circle1 divided into twelve parts1 preserving the same course with the greatest regularity1 but with utterly dissimilar motions among themselves2 and the nightly appearance of the heaven1 adorned on all sides with stars2 then1 the globe of the earth1 raised above the sea1 and placed in the centre of the universe1 inhabited and cultivated in its two opposite extremities1 one of which1 the place of our habitation1 is situated towards the north pole1 under the seven stars3 ,where the cold northern blasts1 with horrid sound1 ,harden to ice the snowy cover'd ground2 the other1 towards the south pole1 is unknown to us1 but is called by the ,greeks ,greek3 antichthona3 the other parts are uncultivated1 because they are either frozen with cold1 or burned up with heat2 but where we dwell1 it never fails1 in its season1 ,to yield a placid sky1 to bid the trees ,assume the lively verdure of their leaves3 ,the vine to bud1 and1 joyful1 in its shoots1 ,foretell the approaching vintage of its fruits3 ,the ripen'd corn to sing1 while all around ,full riv'lets glide2 and flowers deck the ground3 then the multitude of cattle1 fit part for food1 part for tilling the ground1 others for carrying us1 or for clothing us2 and man himself1 made1 as it were1 on purpose to contemplate the heavens and the ,gods1 and to pay adoration to them3 lastly1 the whole earth1 and wide extending seas1 given to man's use4 ,when we view these and numberless other things1 can we doubt that they have some being who presides over them1 or has made them 7if1 indeed1 they have been made1 as is the opinion of ,plato1 or if1 as ,aristotle thinks1 they are eternal71 or who at all events is the regulator of so immense a fabric and so great a blessing to men8 ,thus1 though you see not the soul of man1 as you see not the ,deity1 yet1 as by the contemplation of his works you are led to acknowledge a ,god1 so you must own the divine power of the soul1 from its remembering things1 from its invention1 from the quickness of its motion1 and from all the beauty of virtue4 ,where1 then1 is it seated1 you will say8 ,,xxix4 ,in my opinion1 it is seated in the head1 and ,i can bring you reasons for my adopting that opinion4 ,at present1 let the soul reside where it will1 you certainly have one in you4 ,should you ask what its nature is8 ,it has one peculiarly its own2 but admitting it to consist of fire1 or air1 it does not affect the present question4 ,only observe this1 that as you are convinced there is a ,god1 though you are ignorant where he resides1 and what shape he is of2 in like manner you ought to feel assured that you have a soul1 though you cannot satisfy yourself of the place of its residence1 nor its form4 ,in our knowledge of the soul1 unless we are grossly ignorant of natural philosophy1 we cannot but be satisfied that it has nothing but what is simple1 unmixed1 uncompounded1 and single2 and if this is admitted1 then it cannot be separated1 nor divided1 nor dispersed1 nor parted1 and therefore it cannot perish2 for to perish implies a parting-asunder1 a division1 a disunion1 of those parts which1 while it subsisted1 were held together by some band4 ,and it was because he was influenced by these and similar reasons that ,socrates neither looked out for anybody to plead for him when he was accused1 nor begged any favor from his judges1 but maintained a manly freedom1 which was the effect not of pride1 but of the true greatness of his soul2 and on the last day of his life he held a long discourse on this subject2 and a few days before1 when he might have been easily freed from his confinement1 he refused to be so2 and when he had almost actually hold of that deadly cup1 he spoke with the air of a man not forced to die1 but ascending into heaven4 ,,xxx4 ,for so indeed he thought himself1 and thus he spoke3 ,that there were two ways1 and that the souls of men1 at their departure from the body1 took different roads2 for those which were polluted with vices that are common to men1 and which had given themselves up entirely to unclean desires1 and had become so blinded by them as to have habituated themselves to all manner of debauchery and profligacy1 or to have laid detestable schemes for the ruin of their country1 took a road wide of that which led to the assembly of the ,gods2 but they who had preserved themselves upright and chaste1 and free from the slightest contagion of the body1 and had always kept themselves as far as possible at a distance from it1 and while on earth had proposed to themselves as a model the life of the ,gods1 found the return to those beings from whom they had come an easy one4 ,therefore1 he argues1 that all good and wise men should take example from the swans1 who are considered sacred to ,apollo1 not without reason1 but particularly because they seem to have received the gift of divination from him1 by which1 foreseeing how happy it is to die1 they leave this world with singing and joy4 ,nor can any one doubt of this1 unless it happens to us who think with care and anxiety about the soul 7as is often the case with those who look earnestly at the setting sun71 to lose the sight of it entirely2 and so the mind's eye1 viewing itself1 sometimes grows dull1 and for that reason we become remiss in our contemplation4 ,thus our reasoning is borne about1 harassed with doubts and anxieties1 not knowing how to proceed1 but measuring back again those dangerous tracts which it has passed1 like a boat tossed about on the boundless ocean4 ,but these reflections are of long standing1 and borrowed from the ,greeks4 ,but ,cato left this world in such a manner as if he were delighted that he had found an opportunity of dying2 for that ,god who presides in us forbids our departure hence without his leave4 ,but when ,god himself has given us a just cause1 as formerly he did to ,socrates1 and lately to ,cato1 and often to many others--in such a case1 certainly every man of sense would gladly exchange this darkness for that light3 not that he would forcibly break from the chains that held him1 for that would be against the law2 but1 like a man released from prison by a magistrate or some lawful authority1 so he too would walk away1 being released and discharged by ,god4 ,for the whole life of a philosopher is1 as the same philosopher says1 a meditation on death4 ,,xxxi4 ,for what else is it that we do1 when we call off our minds from pleasure1 that is to say1 from our attention to the body1 from the managing our domestic estate1 which is a sort of handmaid and servant of the body1 or from duties of a public nature1 or from all other serious business whatever8 ,what else is it1 ,i say1 that we do1 but invite the soul to reflect on itself8 oblige it to converse with itself1 and1 as far as possible1 break off its acquaintance with the body8 ,now1 to separate the soul from the body1 is to learn to die1 and nothing else whatever4 ,wherefore take my advice2 and let us meditate on this1 and separate ourselves as far as possible from the body1 that is to say1 let us accustom ourselves to die4 ,this will be enjoying a life like that of heaven even while we remain on earth2 and when we are carried thither and released from these bonds1 our souls will make their progress with more rapidity2 for the spirit which has always been fettered by the bonds of the body1 even when it is disengaged1 advances more slowly1 just as those do who have worn actual fetters for many years3 but when we have arrived at this emancipation from the bonds of the body1 then indeed we shall begin to live1 for this present life is really death1 which ,i could say a good deal in lamentation for if ,i chose4 ,a4 ,you have lamented it sufficiently in your book on ,consolation2 and when ,i read that1 there is nothing which ,i desire more than to leave these things2 but that desire is increased a great deal by what ,i have just heard4 ,m4 ,the time will come1 and that soon1 and with equal certainty1 whether you hang back or press forward2 for time flies4 ,but death is so far from being an evil1 as it lately appeared to you1 that ,i am inclined to suspect1 not that there is no other thing which is an evil to man1 but rather that there is nothing else which is a real good to him2 if1 at least1 it is true that we become thereby either ,gods ourselves1 or companions of the ,gods4 ,however1 this is not of so much consequence1 as there are some of us here who will not allow this4 ,but ,i will not leave off discussing this point till ,i have convinced you that death can1 upon no consideration whatever1 be an evil4 ,a4 ,how can it1 after what ,i now know8 ,m4 ,do you ask how it can8 ,there are crowds of arguers who contradict this2 and those not only ,epicureans1 whom ,i regard very little1 but1 somehow or other1 almost every man of letters2 and1 above all1 my favorite ,dicarchus is very strenuous in opposing the immortality of the soul3 for he has written three books1 which are entitled ,lesbiacs1 because the discourse was held at ,mitylene1 in which he seeks to prove that souls are mortal4 ,the ,stoics1 on the other hand1 allow us as long a time for enjoyment as the life of a raven2 they allow the soul to exist a great while1 but are against its eternity4 ,,xxxii4 ,are you willing to hear then why1 even allowing this1 death cannot be an evil4 ,a4 ,as you please2 but no one shall drive me from my belief in mortality4 ,m4 ,i commend you1 indeed1 for that2 though we should not be too confident in our belief of anything2 for we are frequently disturbed by some subtle conclusion4 ,we give way and change our opinions even in things that are more evident than this2 for in this there certainly is some obscurity4 ,therefore1 should anything of this kind happen1 it is well to be on our guard4 ,a4 ,you are right in that2 but ,i will provide against any accident4 ,m4 ,have you any objection to our dismissing our friends the ,stoics--those1 ,i mean1 who allow that the souls exist after they have left the body1 but yet deny that they exist forever8 ,a4 ,we certainly may dismiss the consideration of those men who admit that which is the most difficult point in the whole question1 namely1 that a soul can exist independently of the body1 and yet refuse to grant that which is not only very easy to believe1 but which is even the natural consequence of the concession which they have made--that if they can exist for a length of time2 they most likely do so forever4 ,m4 ,you take it right2 that is the very thing4 ,shall we give1 therefore1 any credit to ,paustius1 when he dissents from his master1 ,plato8 whom he everywhere calls divine1 the wisest1 the holiest of men1 the ,homer of philosophers1 and whom he opposes in nothing except this single opinion of the soul's immortality3 for he maintains what nobody denies1 that everything which has been generated will perish1 and that even souls are generated1 which he thinks appears from their resemblance to those of the men who begot them2 for that likeness is as apparent in the turn of their minds as in their bodies4 ,but he brings another reason--that there is nothing which is sensible of pain which is not also liable to disease2 but whatever is liable to disease must be liable to death4 ,the soul is sensible of pain1 therefore it is liable to perish4 ,,xxxiii4 ,these arguments may be refuted2 for they proceed from his not knowing that1 while discussing the subject of the immortality of the soul1 he is speaking of the intellect1 which is free from all turbid motion2 but not of those parts of the mind in which those disorders1 anger and lust1 have their seat1 and which he whom he is opposing1 when he argues thus1 imagines to be distinct and separate from the mind4 ,now this resemblance is more remarkable in beasts1 whose souls are void of reason4 ,but the likeness in men consists more in the configuration of the bodies3 and it is of no little consequence in what bodies the soul is lodged2 for there are many things which depend on the body that give an edge to the soul1 many which blunt it4 ,aristotle1 indeed1 says that all men of great genius are melancholy2 so that ,i should not have been displeased to have been somewhat duller than ,i am4 ,he instances many1 and1 as if it were matter of fact1 brings his reasons for it4 ,but if the power of those things that proceed from the body be so great as to influence the mind 7for they are the things1 whatever they are1 that occasion this likeness71 still that does not necessarily prove why a similitude of souls should be generated4 ,i say nothing about cases of unlikeness4 ,i wish ,pantius could be here3 he lived with ,africanus4 ,i would inquire of him which of his family the nephew of ,africanus's brother was like8 ,possibly he may in person have resembled his father2 but in his manners he was so like every profligate1 abandoned man1 that it was impossible to be more so4 ,whom did the grandson of ,p4 ,crassus1 that wise and eloquent and most distinguished man1 resemble8 ,or the relations and sons of many other excellent men1 whose names there is no occasion to mention8 ,but what are we doing8 ,have we forgotten that our purpose was1 when we had sufficiently spoken on the subject of the immortality of the soul1 to prove that1 even if the soul did perish1 there would be1 even then1 no evil in death8 ,a4 ,i remembered it very well2 but ,i had no dislike to your digressing a little from your original design1 while you were talking of the soul's immortality4 ,m4 ,i perceive you have sublime thoughts1 and are eager to mount up to heaven4 ,,xxxiv4 ,i am not without hopes myself that such may be our fate4 ,but admit what they assert--that the soul does not continue to exist after death4 ,a4 ,should it be so1 ,i see that we are then deprived of the hopes of a happier life4 ,m4 ,but what is there of evil in that opinion8 ,for let the soul perish as the body3 is there any pain1 or indeed any feeling at all1 in the body after death8 ,no one1 indeed asserts that2 though ,epicurus charges ,democritus with saying so2 but the disciples of ,democritus deny it4 ,no sense1 therefore1 remains in the soul2 for the soul is nowhere4 ,where1 then1 is the evil8 for there is nothing but these two things4 ,is it because the mere separation of the soul and body cannot be effected without pain8 ,but even should that be granted1 how small a pain must that be6 ,yet ,i think that it is false1 and that it is very often unaccompanied by any sensation at all1 and sometimes even attended with pleasure2 but certainly the whole must be very trifling1 whatever it is1 for it is instantaneous4 ,what makes us uneasy1 or rather gives us pain1 is the leaving all the good things of life4 ,but just consider if ,i might not more properly say1 leaving the evils of life2 only there is no reason for my now occupying myself in bewailing the life of man1 and yet ,i might1 with very good reason4 ,but what occasion is there1 when what ,i am laboring to prove is that no one is miserable after death1 to make life more miserable by lamenting over it8 ,i have done that in the book which ,i wrote1 in order to comfort myself as well as ,i could4 ,if1 then1 our inquiry is after truth1 death withdraws us from evil1 not from good4 ,this subject is indeed so copiously handled by ,hegesias1 the ,cyrenaic philosopher1 that he is said to have been forbidden by ,ptolemy from delivering his lectures in the schools1 because some who heard him made away with themselves4 ,there is1 too1 an epigram of ,callimachus#bj on ,cleombrotus of ,ambracia1 who1 without any misfortune having befallen him1 as he says1 threw himself from a wall into the sea1 after he had read a book of ,plato's4 ,the book ,i mentioned of that ,hegesias is called ,greek3 ,apokartertern1 or ,a ,man who starves himself1 in which a man is represented as killing himself by starvation1 till he is prevented by his friends1 in reply to whom he reckons up all the miseries of human life4 ,i might do the same1 though not so fully as he1 who thinks it not worth any man's while to live4 ,i pass over others4 ,was it even worth my while to live1 for1 had ,i died before ,i was deprived of the comforts of my own family1 and of the honors which ,i received for my public services1 would not death have taken me from the evils of life rather than from its blessings8 ,,xxxv4 ,mention1 therefore1 some one1 who never knew distress2 who never received any blow from fortune4 ,the great ,metellus had four distinguished sons2 but ,priam had fifty1 seventeen of whom were born to him by his lawful wife4 ,fortune had the same power over both1 though she exercised it but on one2 for ,metellus was laid on his funeral pile by a great company of sons and daughters1 grandsons1 and granddaughters2 but ,priam fell by the hand of an enemy1 after having fled to the altar1 and having seen himself deprived of all his numerous progeny4 ,had he died before the death of his sons and the ruin of his kingdom1 ,with all his mighty wealth elate1 ,under rich canopies of state2 would he then have been taken from good or from evil8 ,it would indeed1 at that time1 have appeared that he was being taken away from good2 yet surely it would have turned out advantageous for him2 nor should we have had these mournful verses1 ,lo6 these all perish'd in one flaming pile2 ,the foe old ,priam did of life beguile1 ,and with his blood1 thy altar1 ,jove1 defile4 ,as if anything better could have happened to him at that time than to lose his life in that manner2 but yet1 if it had befallen him sooner1 it would have prevented all those consequences2 but even as it was1 it released him from any further sense of them4 ,the case of our friend ,pompey#ba was something better3 once1 when he had been very ill at ,naples1 the ,neapolitans1 on his recovery1 put crowns on their heads1 as did those of ,puteoli2 the people flocked from the country to congratulate him--it is a ,grecian custom1 and a foolish one2 still it is a sign of good fortune4 ,but the question is1 had he died1 would he have been taken from good1 or from evil8 ,certainly from evil4 ,he would not have been engaged in a war with his father-in-law2#bb he would not have taken up arms before he was prepared2 he would not have left his own house1 nor fled from ,italy2 he would not1 after the loss of his army1 have fallen unarmed into the hands of slaves1 and been put to death by them2 his children would not have been destroyed2 nor would his whole fortune have come into the possession of the conquerors4 ,did not he1 then1 who1 if he had died at that time1 would have died in all his glory1 owe all the great and terrible misfortunes into which he subsequently fell to the prolongation of his life at that time8 ,,xxxvi4 ,these calamities are avoided by death1 for even though they should never happen1 there is a possibility that they may2 but it never occurs to a man that such a disaster may befall him himself4 ,every one hopes to be as happy as ,metellus3 as if the number of the happy exceeded that of the miserable2 or as if there were any certainty in human affairs2 or1 again1 as if there were more rational foundation for hope than fear4 ,but should we grant them even this1 that men are by death deprived of good things2 would it follow that the dead are therefore in need of the good things of life1 and are miserable on that account8 ,certainly they must necessarily say so4 ,can he who does not exist be in need of anything8 ,to be in need of has a melancholy sound1 because it in effect amounts to this--he had1 but he has not2 he regrets1 he looks back upon1 he wants4 ,such are1 ,i suppose1 the distresses of one who is in need of4 ,is he deprived of eyes8 to be blind is misery4 ,is he destitute of children8 not to have them is misery4 ,these considerations apply to the living1 but the dead are neither in need of the blessings of life1 nor of life itself4 ,but when ,i am speaking of the dead1 ,i am speaking of those who have no existence4 ,but would any one say of us1 who do exist1 that we want horns or wings8 ,certainly not4 ,should it be asked1 why not8 the answer would be1 that not to have what neither custom nor nature has fitted you for would not imply a want of them1 even though you were sensible that you had them not4 ,this argument should be pressed over and over again1 after that point has once been established1 which1 if souls are mortal1 there can be no dispute about--,i mean1 that the destruction of them by death is so entire as to remove even the least suspicion of any sense remaining4 ,when1 therefore1 this point is once well grounded and established1 we must correctly define what the term to want means2 that there may be no mistake in the word4 ,to want1 then1 signifies this3 to be without that which you would be glad to have2 for inclination for a thing is implied in the word want1 excepting when we use the word in an entirely different sense1 as we do when we say that a fever is wanting to any one4 ,for it admits of a different interpretation1 when you are without a certain thing1 and are sensible that you are without it1 but yet can easily dispense with having it4 ,to want1 then1 is an expression which you cannot apply to the dead2 nor is the mere fact of wanting something necessarily lamentable4 ,the proper expression ought to be1 that they want a good1 and that is an evil4 ,but a living man does not want a good1 unless he is distressed without it2 and yet1 we can easily understand how any man alive can be without a kingdom4 ,but this cannot be predicated of you with any accuracy3 it might have been asserted of ,tarquin1 when he was driven from his kingdom4 ,but when such an expression is used respecting the dead1 it is absolutely unintelligible4 ,for to want implies to be sensible2 but the dead are insensible3 therefore1 the dead can be in no want4 ,,xxxvii4 ,but what occasion is there to philosophize here in a matter with which we see that philosophy is but little concerned8 ,how often have not only our generals but whole armies1 rushed on certain death6 ,but if it had been a thing to be feared1 ,l4 ,brutus would never have fallen in fight1 to prevent the return of that tyrant whom he had expelled2 nor would ,decius the father have been slain in fighting with the ,latins2 nor would his son1 when engaged with the ,etruscans1 nor his grandson with ,pyrrhus have exposed themselves to the enemy's darts4 ,spain would never have seen1 in one campaign1 the ,scipios fall fighting for their country2 nor would the plains of ,cann have witnessed the death of ,paulus and ,geminus1 or ,venusia that of ,marcellus2 nor would the ,latins have beheld the death of ,albinus1 nor the ,leucanians that of ,gracchus4 ,but are any of these miserable now8 ,nay1 they were not so even at the first moment after they had breathed their last2 nor can any one be miserable after he has lost all sensation4 ,oh1 but the mere circumstance of being without sensation is miserable4 ,it might be so if being without sensation were the same thing as wanting it2 but as it is evident there can be nothing of any kind in that which has no existence1 what can there be afflicting to that which can neither feel want nor be sensible of anything8 ,we might be said to have repeated this over too often1 only that here lies all that the soul shudders at from the fear of death4 ,for whoever can clearly apprehend that which is as manifest as the light--that when both soul and body are consumed1 and there is a total destruction1 then that which was an animal becomes nothing--will clearly see that there is no difference between a ,hippocentaur1 which never had existence1 and ,king ,agamemnon1 and that ,m4 ,camillus is no more concerned about this present civil war than ,i was at the sacking of ,rome1 when he was living4 ,,xxxviii4 ,why1 then1 should ,camillus be affected with the thoughts of these things happening three hundred and fifty years after his time8 ,and why should ,i be uneasy it ,i were to expect that some nation might possess itself of this city ten thousand years hence8 ,because so great is our regard for our country1 as not to be measured by our own feeling1 but by its own actual safety4 ,death1 then1 which threatens us daily from a thousand accidents1 and which1 by reason of the shortness of life1 can never be far off1 does not deter a wise man from making such provision for his country and his family as he hopes may last forever2 and from regarding posterity1 of which he can never have any real perception1 as belonging to himself4 ,wherefore a man may act for eternity1 even though he be persuaded that his soul is mortal2 not1 indeed1 from a desire of glory1 which he will be insensible of1 but from a principle of virtue1 which glory will inevitably attend1 though that is not his object4 ,the process1 indeed1 of nature is this3 that just in the same manner as our birth was the beginning of things with us1 so death will be the end2 and as we were noways concerned with anything before we were born1 so neither shall we be after we are dead4 ,and in this state of things where can the evil be1 since death has no connection with either the living or the dead8 ,the one have no existence at all1 the other are not yet affected by it4 ,they who make the least of death consider it as having a great resemblance to sleep2 as if any one would choose to live ninety years on condition that1 at the expiration of sixty1 he should sleep out the remainder4 ,the very swine would not accept of life on those terms1 much less ,i4 ,endymion1 indeed1 if you listen to fables1 slept once on a time on ,latmus1 a mountain of ,caria1 and for such a length of time that ,i imagine he is not as yet awake4 ,do you think that he is concerned at the ,moon's being in difficulties1 though it was by her that he was thrown into that sleep1 in order that she might kiss him while sleeping4 ,for what should he be concerned for who has not even any sensation8 ,you look on sleep as an image of death1 and you take that on you daily2 and have you1 then1 any doubt that there is no sensation in death1 when you see there is none in sleep1 which is its near resemblance8 ,,xxxix4 ,away1 then1 with those follies1 which are little better than the old women's dreams1 such as that it is miserable to die before our time4 ,what time do you mean8 ,that of nature8 ,but she has only lent you life1 as she might lend you money1 without fixing any certain time for its repayment4 ,have you any grounds of complaint1 then1 that she recalls it at her pleasure8 for you received it on these terms4 ,they that complain thus allow that if a young child dies1 the survivors ought to bear his loss with equanimity2 that if an infant in the cradle dies1 they ought not even to utter a complaint2 and yet nature has been more severe with them in demanding back what she gave4 ,they answer by saying that such have not tasted the sweets of life2 while the other had begun to conceive hopes of great happiness1 and1 indeed1 had begun to realize them4 ,men judge better in other things1 and allow a part to be preferable to none4 ,why do they not admit the same estimate in life8 ,though ,callimachus does not speak amiss in saying that more tears had flowed from ,priam than his son2 yet they are thought happier who die after they have reached old age4 ,it would be hard to say why2 for ,i do not apprehend that any one1 if a longer life were granted to him1 would find it happier4 ,there is nothing more agreeable to a man than prudence1 which old age most certainly bestows on a man1 though it may strip him of everything else4 ,but what age is long1 or what is there at all long to a man8 ,does not ,old age1 though unregarded1 still attend ,on childhood's pastimes1 as the cares of men8 ,but because there is nothing beyond old age1 we call that long3 all these things are said to be long or short1 according to the proportion of time they were given us for4 ,artistotle saith there is a kind of insect near the river ,hypanis1 which runs from a certain part of ,europe into the ,pontus1 whose life consists but of one day2 those that die at the eighth hour die in full age2 those who die when the sun sets are very old1 especially when the days are at the longest4 ,compare our longest life with eternity1 and we shall be found almost as short-lived as those little animals4 ,,xl4 ,let us1 then1 despise all these follies--for what softer name can ,i give to such levities8--and let us lay the foundation of our happiness in the strength and greatness of our minds1 in a contempt and disregard of all earthly things1 and in the practice of every virtue4 ,for at present we are enervated by the softness of our imaginations1 so that1 should we leave this world before the promises of our fortune-tellers are made good to us1 we should think ourselves deprived of some great advantages1 and seem disappointed and forlorn4 ,but if1 through life1 we are in continual suspense1 still expecting1 still desiring1 and are in continual pain and torture1 good ,gods6 how pleasant must that journey be which ends in security and ease6 ,how pleased am ,i with ,theramenes6 ,of how exalted a soul does he appear6 ,for1 although we never read of him without tears1 yet that illustrious man is not to be lamented in his death1 who1 when he had been imprisoned by the command of the thirty tyrants1 drank off1 at one draught1 as if he had been thirsty1 the poisoned cup1 and threw the remainder out of it with such force that it sounded as it fell2 and then1 on hearing the sound of the drops1 he said1 with a smile1 ,i drink this to the most excellent ,critias1 who had been his most bitter enemy2 for it is customary among the ,greeks1 at their banquets1 to name the person to whom they intend to deliver the cup4 ,this celebrated man was pleasant to the last1 even when he had received the poison into his bowels1 and truly foretold the death of that man whom he named when he drank the poison1 and that death soon followed4 ,who that thinks death an evil could approve of the evenness of temper in this great man at the instant of dying8 ,socrates came1 a few years after1 to the same prison and the same cup by as great iniquity on the part of his judges as the tyrants displayed when they executed ,theramenes4 ,what a speech is that which ,plato makes him deliver before his judges1 after they had condemned him to death6 ,,xli4 ,i am not without hopes1 ,o judges1 that it is a favorable circumstance for me that ,i am condemned to die2 for one of these two things must necessarily happen--either that death will deprive me entirely of all sense1 or else that1 by dying1 ,i shall go from hence into some other place2 wherefore1 if all sense is utterly extinguished1 and if death is like that sleep which sometimes is so undisturbed as to be even without the visions of dreams--in that case1 ,o ye good ,gods6 what gain is it to die8 or what length of days can be imagined which would be preferable to such a night8 ,and if the constant course of future time is to resemble that night1 who is happier than ,i am8 ,but if on the other hand1 what is said be true1 namely1 that death is but a removal to those regions where the souls of the departed dwell1 then that state must be more happy still to have escaped from those who call themselves judges1 and to appear before such as are truly so--,minos1 ,rhadamanthus1 acus1 ,triptolemus--and to meet with those who have lived with justice and probity6#bc ,can this change of abode appear otherwise than great to you8 ,what bounds can you set to the value of conversing with ,orpheus1 and ,musus1 and ,homer1 and ,hesiod8 ,i would even1 were it possible1 willingly die often1 in order to prove the certainty of what ,i speak of4 ,what delight must it be to meet with ,palamedes1 and ,ajax1 and others1 who have been betrayed by the iniquity of their judges6 ,then1 also1 should ,i experience the wisdom of even that king of kings1 who led his vast troops to ,troy1 and the prudence of ,ulysses and ,sisyphus3 nor should ,i then be condemned for prosecuting my inquiries on such subjects in the same way in which ,i have done here on earth4 ,and even you1 my judges1 you1 ,i mean1 who have voted for my acquittal1 do not you fear death1 for nothing bad can befall a good man1 whether he be alive or dead2 nor are his concerns ever overlooked by the ,gods2 nor in my case either has this befallen me by chance2 and ,i have nothing to charge those men with who accused or condemned me but the fact that they believed that they were doing me harm4 ,in this manner he proceeded4 ,there is no part of his speech which ,i admire more than his last words3 ,but it is time1 says he1 for me now to go hence1 that ,i may die2 and for you1 that you may continue to live4 ,which condition of the two is the best1 the immortal ,gods know2 but ,i do not believe that any mortal man does4 ,,xlii4 ,surely ,i would rather have had this man's soul than all the fortunes of those who sat in judgment on him2 although that very thing which he says no one except the ,gods know1 namely1 whether life or death is most preferable1 he knows himself1 for he had previously stated his opinion on it2 but he maintained to the last that favorite maxim of his1 of affirming nothing4 ,and let us1 too1 adhere to this rule of not thinking anything an evil which is a general provision of nature2 and let us assure ourselves1 that if death is an evil1 it is an eternal evil1 for death seems to be the end of a miserable life2 but if death is a misery1 there can be no end of that4 ,but why do ,i mention ,socrates1 or ,theramenes1 men distinguished by the glory of virtue and wisdom8 when a certain ,lacedmomian1 whose name is not so much as known1 held death in such contempt1 that1 when led to it by the ephori1 he bore a cheerful and pleasant countenance2 and1 when he was asked by one of his enemies whether he despised the laws of ,lycurgus1 ,on the contrary1 answered he1 ,i am greatly obliged to him1 for he has amerced me in a fine which ,i can pay without borrowing1 or taking up money at interest4 ,this was a man worthy of ,sparta4 ,and ,i am almost persuaded of his innocence because of the greatness of his soul4 ,our own city has produced many such4 ,but why should ,i name generals1 and other men of high rank1 when ,cato could write that legions have marched with alacrity to that place from whence they never expected to return8 ,with no less greatness of soul fell the ,lacedmonians at ,thermopyl1 on whom ,simonides wrote the following epitaph3 ,go1 stranger1 tell the ,spartans1 here we lie1 ,who to support their laws durst boldly die4#bd ,what was it that ,leonidas1 their general1 said to them8 ,march on with courage1 my ,lacedmonians4 ,to-night1 perhaps1 we shall sup in the regions below4 ,this was a brave nation while the laws of ,lycurgus were in force4 ,one of them1 when a ,persian had said to him in conversation1 ,we shall hide the sun from your sight by the number of our arrows and darts1 replied1 ,we shall fight1 then in the shade4 ,do ,i talk of their men8 ,how great was that ,lacedmonian woman1 who had sent her son to battle1 and when she heard that he was slain1 said1 ,i bore him for that purpose1 that you might have a man who durst die for his country6 ,however1 it is a matter of notoriety that the ,spartans were bold and hardy1 for the discipline of a republic has great influence4 ,,xliii4 ,what1 then1 have we not reason to admire ,theodorus the ,cyrenean1 a philosopher of no small distinction1 who1 when ,lysimachus threatened to crucify him1 bade him keep those menaces for his courtiers8 ,to ,theodorus it makes no difference whether he rot in the air or underground4 ,by which saying of the philosopher ,i am reminded to say something of the custom of funerals and sepulture1 and of funeral ceremonies1 which is1 indeed1 not a difficult subject1 especially if we recollect what has been before said about insensibility4 ,the opinion of ,socrates respecting this matter is clearly stated in the book which treats of his death1 of which we have already said so much2 for when he had discussed the immortality of the soul1 and when the time of his dying was approaching rapidly1 being asked by ,criton how he would be buried1 ,i have taken a great deal of pains1 saith he1 my friends1 to no purpose1 for ,i have not convinced our ,criton that ,i shall fly from hence1 and leave no part of me behind4 ,notwithstanding1 ,criton1 if you can overtake me1 wheresoever you get hold of me1 bury me as you please3 but believe me1 none of you will be able to catch me when ,i have flown away from hence4 ,that was excellently said1 inasmuch as he allows his friend to do as he pleased1 and yet shows his indifference about anything of this kind4 ,diogenes was rougher1 though of the same opinion2 but in his character of a ,cynic he expressed himself in a somewhat harsher manner2 he ordered himself to be thrown anywhere without being buried4 ,and when his friends replied1 ,what6 to the birds and beasts8 ,by no means1 saith he2 place my staff near me1 that ,i may drive them away4 ,how can you do that1 they answer1 for you will not perceive them8 ,how am ,i then injured by being torn by those animals1 if ,i have no sensation8 ,anaxagoras1 when he was at the point of death at ,lampsacus1 and was asked by his friends1 whether1 if anything should happen to him1 he would not choose to be carried to ,clazomen1 his country1 made this excellent answer1 ,there is1 says he1 no occasion for that1 for all places are at an equal distance from the infernal regions4 ,there is one thing to be observed with respect to the whole subject of burial1 that it relates to the body1 whether the soul live or die4 ,now1 with regard to the body1 it is clear that1 whether the soul live or die1 that has no sensation4 ,,xliv4 ,but all things are full of errors4 ,achilles drags ,hector1 tied to his chariot2 he thinks1 ,i suppose1 he tears his flesh1 and that ,hector feels the pain of it2 therefore1 he avenges himself on him1 as he imagines4 ,but ,hecuba bewails this as a sore misfortune3 ,i saw 7a dreadful sight7 great ,hector slain1 ,dragg'd at ,achilles' car along the plain4 ,what ,hector8 or how long will he be ,hector8 ,accius is better in this1 and ,achilles1 too1 is sometimes reasonable3 ,i ,hector's body to his sire convey'd1 ,hector ,i sent to the infernal shade4 ,it was not ,hector that you dragged along1 but a body that had been ,hector's4 ,here another starts from underground1 and will not suffer his mother to sleep3 ,to thee ,i call1 my once-loved parent1 hear1 ,nor longer with thy sleep relieve thy care2 ,thine eye which pities not is closed--arise2 ,ling'ring ,i wait the unpaid obsequies4 ,when these verses are sung with a slow and melancholy tune1 so as to affect the whole theatre with sadness1 one can scarce help thinking those unhappy that are unburied3 ,ere the devouring dogs and hungry vultures444 ,he is afraid he shall not have the use of his limbs so well if they are torn to pieces1 but is under no such apprehensions if they are burned3 ,nor leave my naked bones1 my poor remains1 ,to shameful violence and bloody stains4 ,i do not understand what he could fear who could pour forth such excellent verses to the sound of the flute4 ,we must1 therefore1 adhere to this1 that nothing is to be regarded after we are dead1 though many people revenge themselves on their dead enemies4 ,thyestes pours forth several curses in some good lines of ,ennius1 praying1 first of all1 that ,atreus may perish by a shipwreck1 which is certainly a very terrible thing1 for such a death is not free from very grievous sensations4 ,then follow these unmeaning expressions3 ,may ,on the sharp rock his mangled carcass lie1 ,his entrails torn1 to hungry birds a prey6 ,may he convulsive writhe his bleeding side1 ,and with his clotted gore the stones be dyed6 ,the rocks themselves were not more destitute of feeling than he who was hanging to them by his side2 though ,thyestes imagines he is wishing him the greatest torture4 ,it would be torture1 indeed1 if he were sensible2 but as he is not1 it can be none2 then how very unmeaning is this3 ,let him1 still hovering o'er the ,stygian wave1 ,ne'er reach the body's peaceful port1 the grave6 ,you see under what mistaken notions all this is said4 ,he imagines the body has its haven1 and that the dead are at rest in their graves4 ,pelops was greatly to blame in not having informed and taught his son what regard was due to everything4 ,,xlv4 ,but what occasion is there to animadvert on the opinions of individuals1 when we may observe whole nations to fall into all sorts of errors8 ,the ,egyptians embalm their dead1 and keep them in their houses2 the ,persians dress them over with wax1 and then bury them1 that they may preserve their bodies as long as possible4 ,it is customary with the ,magi to bury none of their order1 unless they have been first torn by wild beasts4 ,in ,hyrcania1 the people maintain dogs for the public use2 the nobles have their own--and we know that they have a good breed of dogs2 but every one1 according to his ability1 provides himself with some1 in order to be torn by them2 and they hold that to be the best kind of interment4 ,chrysippus1 who is curious in all kinds of historical facts1 has collected many other things of this kind2 but some of them are so offensive as not to admit of being related4 ,all that has been said of burying is not worth our regard with respect to ourselves1 though it is not to be neglected as to our friends1 provided we are thoroughly aware that the dead are insensible4 ,but the living1 indeed1 should consider what is due to custom and opinion2 only they should at the same time consider that the dead are noways interested in it4 ,but death truly is then met with the greatest tranquillity when the dying man can comfort himself with his own praise4 ,no one dies too soon who has finished the course of perfect virtue4 ,i myself have known many occasions when ,i have seemed in danger of immediate death2 oh6 how ,i wish it had come to me6 for ,i have gained nothing by the delay4 ,i had gone over and over again the duties of life2 nothing remained but to contend with fortune4 ,if reason1 then1 cannot sufficiently fortify us to enable us to feel a contempt for death1 at all events let our past life prove that we have lived long enough1 and even longer than was necessary2 for notwithstanding the deprivation of sense1 the dead are not without that good which peculiarly belongs to them1 namely1 the praise and glory which they have acquired1 even though they are not sensible of it4 ,for although there be nothing in glory to make it desirable1 yet it follows virtue as its shadow2 and the genuine judgment of the multitude on good men1 if ever they form any1 is more to their own praise than of any real advantage to the dead4 ,yet ,i cannot say1 however it may be received1 that ,lycurgus and ,solon have no glory from their laws1 and from the political constitution which they established in their country2 or that ,themistocles and ,epaminondas have not glory from their martial virtue4 ,,xlvi4 ,for ,neptune shall sooner bury ,salamis itself with his waters than the memory of the trophies gained there2 and the ,boeotian ,leuctra shall perish sooner than the glory of that great battle4 ,and longer still shall fame be before it deserts ,curius1 and ,fabricius1 and ,calatinus1 and the two ,scipios1 and the two ,africani1 and ,maximus1 and ,marcellus1 and ,paulus1 and ,cato1 and ,llius1 and numberless other heroes2 and whoever has caught any resemblance of them1 not estimating it by common fame1 but by the real applause of good men1 may with confidence1 when the occasion requires1 approach death1 on which we are sure that even if the chief good is not continued1 at least no evil is4 ,such a man would even wish to die while in prosperity2 for all the favors that could be heaped on him would not be so agreeable to him as the loss of them would be painful4 ,that speech of the ,lacedmonian seems to have the same meaning1 who1 when ,diagoras the ,rhodian1 who had himself been a conqueror at the ,olympic games1 saw two of his own sons conquerors there on the same day1 approached the old man1 and1 congratulating him1 said1 ,you should die now1 ,diagoras1 for no greater happiness can possibly await you4 ,the ,greeks look on these as great things2 perhaps they think too highly of them1 or1 rather1 they did so then4 ,and so he who said this to ,diagoras1 looking on it as something very glorious1 that three men out of one family should have been conquerors there1 thought it could answer no purpose to him to continue any longer in life1 where he could only be exposed to a reverse of fortune4 ,i might have given you a sufficient answer1 as it seems to me1 on this point1 in a few words1 as you had allowed the dead were not exposed to any positive evil2 but ,i have spoken at greater length on the subject for this reason1 because this is our greatest consolation in the losing and bewailing of our friends4 ,for we ought to bear with moderation any grief which arises from ourselves1 or is endured on our own account1 lest we should seem to be too much influenced by self-love4 ,but should we suspect our departed friends to be under those evils1 which they are generally imagined to be1 and to be sensible of them1 then such a suspicion would give us intolerable pain2 and accordingly ,i wished1 for my own sake1 to pluck up this opinion by the roots1 and on that account ,i have been perhaps somewhat more prolix than was necessary4 ,,xlvii4 ,a4 ,more prolix than was necessary8 ,certainty not1 in my opinion4 ,for ,i was induced1 by the former part of your speech1 to wish to die2 but1 by the latter1 sometimes not to be unwilling1 and at others to be wholly indifferent about it4 ,but the effect of your whole argument is1 that ,i am convinced that death ought not to be classed among the evils4 ,m4 ,do you1 then1 expect that ,i am to give you a regular peroration1 like the rhetoricians1 or shall ,i forego that art8 ,a4 ,i would not have you give over an art which you have set off to such advantage2 and you were in the right to do so1 for1 to speak the truth1 it also has set you off4 ,but what is that peroration8 ,for ,i should be glad to hear it1 whatever it is4 ,m4 ,it is customary1 in the schools1 to produce the opinions of the immortal ,gods on death2 nor are these opinions the fruits of the imagination alone of the lecturers1 but they have the authority of ,herodotus and many others4 ,cleobis and ,biton are the first they mention1 sons of the ,argive priestess2 the story is a well-known one4 ,as it was necessary that she should be drawn in a chariot to a certain annual sacrifice1 which was solemnized at a temple some considerable distance from the town1 and the cattle that were to draw the chariot had not arrived1 those two young men whom ,i have just mentioned1 pulling off their garments1 and anointing their bodies with oil1 harnessed themselves to the yoke4 ,and in this manner the priestess was conveyed to the temple2 and when the chariot had arrived at the proper place1 she is said to have entreated the ,goddess to bestow on them1 as a reward for their piety1 the greatest gift that a ,god could confer on man4 ,and the young men1 after having feasted with their mother1 fell asleep2 and in the morning they were found dead4 ,trophonius and ,agamedes are said to have put up the same petition1 for they1 having built a temple to ,apollo at ,delphi1 offered supplications to the ,god1 and desired of him some extraordinary reward for their care and labor1 particularizing nothing1 but asking for whatever was best for men4 ,accordingly1 ,apollo signified to them that he would bestow it on them in three days1 and on the third day at daybreak they were found dead4 ,and so they say that this was a formal decision pronounced by that ,god to whom the rest of the deities have assigned the province of divining with an accuracy superior to that of all the rest4 ,,xlviii4 ,there is also a story told of ,silenus1 who1 when taken prisoner by ,midas1 is said to have made him this present for his ransom--namely1 that he informed him#be that never to have been born was by far the greatest blessing that could happen to man2 and that the next best thing was to die very soon2 which very opinion ,euripides makes use of in his ,cresphontes1 saying1 ,when man is born1 'tis fit1 with solemn show1 ,we speak our sense of his approaching woe2 ,with other gestures and a different eye1 ,proclaim our pleasure when he's bid to die4#bf ,there is something like this in ,crantor's ,consolation2 for he says that ,terinsus of ,elysia1 when he was bitterly lamenting the loss of his son1 came to a place of divination to be informed why he was visited with so great affliction1 and received in his tablet these three verses3 ,thou fool1 to murmur at ,euthynous' death6 ,the blooming youth to fate resigns his breath3 ,the fate1 whereon your happiness depends1 ,at once the parent and the son befriends4#bg ,on these and similar authorities they affirm that the question has been determined by the ,gods4 ,nay1 more2 ,alcidamas1 an ancient rhetorician of the very highest reputation1 wrote even in praise of death1 which he endeavored to establish by an enumeration of the evils of life2 and his ,dissertation has a great deal of eloquence in it2 but he was unacquainted with the more refined arguments of the philosophers4 ,by the orators1 indeed1 to die for our country is always considered not only as glorious1 but even as happy3 they go back as far as ,erechtheus1#bh whose very daughters underwent death1 for the safety of their fellow-citizens3 they instance ,codrus1 who threw himself into the midst of his enemies1 dressed like a common man1 that his royal robes might not betray him1 because the oracle had declared the ,athenians conquerors1 if their king was slain4 ,menoeceus#bi is not overlooked by them1 who1 in compliance with the injunctions of an oracle1 freely shed his blood for his country4 ,iphigenia ordered herself to be conveyed to ,aulis1 to be sacrificed1 that her blood might be the cause of spilling that of her enemies4 ,,xlix4 ,from hence they proceed to instances of a fresher date4 ,harmodius and ,aristogiton are in everybody's mouth2 the memory of ,leonidas the ,lacedmonian and ,epaminondas the ,theban is as fresh as ever4 ,those philosophers were not acquainted with the many instances in our country--to give a list of whom would take up too much time--who1 we see1 considered death desirable as long as it was accompanied with honor4 ,but1 notwithstanding this is the correct view of the case1 we must use much persuasion1 speak as if we were endued with some higher authority1 in order to bring men to begin to wish to die1 or cease to be afraid of death4 ,for if that last day does not occasion an entire extinction1 but a change of abode only1 what can be more desirable8 ,and if it1 on the other hand1 destroys1 and absolutely puts an end to us1 what can be preferable to the having a deep sleep fall on us1 in the midst of the fatigues of life1 and being thus overtaken1 to sleep to eternity8 ,and1 should this really be the case1 then ,ennius's language is more consistent with wisdom than ,solon's2 for our ,ennius says1 ,let none bestow upon my passing bier ,one needless sigh or unavailing tear4 ,but the wise ,solon says1 ,let me not unlamented die1 but o'er my bier ,burst forth the tender sigh1 the friendly tear4#cj ,but let us1 if indeed it should be our fate to know the time which is appointed by the ,gods for us to die1 prepare ourselves for it with a cheerful and grateful mind1 thinking ourselves like men who are delivered from a jail1 and released from their fetters1 for the purpose of going back to our eternal habitation1 which may be more emphatically called our own2 or else to be divested of all sense and trouble4 ,if1 on the other hand1 we should have no notice given us of this decree1 yet let us cultivate such a disposition as to look on that formidable hour of death as happy for us1 though shocking to our friends2 and let us never imagine anything to be an evil which is an appointment of the immortal ,gods1 or of nature1 the common parent of all4 ,for it is not by hazard or without design that we have been born and situated as we have4 ,on the contrary1 beyond all doubt there is a certain power which consults the happiness of human nature2 and this would neither have produced nor provided for a being which1 after having gone through the labors of life1 was to fall into eternal misery by death4 ,let us rather infer that we have a retreat and haven prepared for us1 which ,i wish we could crowd all sail and arrive at2 but though the winds should not serve1 and we should be driven back1 yet we shall to a certainty arrive at that point eventually1 though somewhat later4 ,but how can that be miserable for one which all must of necessity undergo8 ,i have given you a peroration1 that you might not think ,i had overlooked or neglected anything4 ,a4 ,i am persuaded you have not2 and1 indeed1 that peroration has confirmed me4 ,m4 ,i am glad it has had that effect4 ,but it is now time to consult our health4 ,to-morrow1 and all the time we continue in this ,tusculan villa1 let us consider this subject2 and especially those portions of it which may ease our pain1 alleviate our fears1 and lessen our desires1 which is the greatest advantage we can reap from the whole of philosophy4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,book ,,ii4 ,,on ,,bearing ,,pain4 ,i4 ,neoptolemus1 in ,ennius1 indeed1 says that the study of philosophy was expedient for him2 but that it required limiting to a few subjects1 for that to give himself up entirely to it was what he did not approve of4 ,and for my part1 ,brutus1 ,i am perfectly persuaded that it is expedient for me to philosophize2 for what can ,i do better1 especially as ,i have no regular occupation8 ,but ,i am not for limiting my philosophy to a few subjects1 as he does2 for philosophy is a matter in which it is difficult to acquire a little knowledge without acquainting yourself with many1 or all its branches1 nor can you well take a few subjects without selecting them out of a great number2 nor can any one1 who has acquired the knowledge of a few points1 avoid endeavoring with the same eagerness to understand more4 ,but still1 in a busy life1 and in one mainly occupied with military matters1 such as that of ,neoptolemus was at that time1 even that limited degree of acquaintance with philosophy may be of great use1 and may yield fruit1 not perhaps so plentiful as a thorough knowledge of the whole of philosophy1 but yet such as in some degree may at times deliver us from the dominion of our desires1 our sorrows1 and our fears2 just as the effect of that discussion which we lately maintained in my ,tusculan villa seemed to be that a great contempt of death was engendered1 which contempt is of no small efficacy towards delivering the mind from fear2 for whoever dreads what cannot be avoided can by no means live with a quiet and tranquil mind4 ,but he who is under no fear of death1 not only because it is a thing absolutely inevitable but also because he is persuaded that death itself hath nothing terrible in it1 provides himself with a very great resource towards a happy life4 ,however1 ,i am not tolerant that many will argue strenuously against us2 and1 indeed1 that is a thing which can never be avoided1 except by abstaining from writing at all4 ,for if my ,orations1 which were addressed to the judgment and approbation of the people 7for that is a popular art1 and the object of oratory is popular applause71 have been criticised by some people who are inclined to withhold their praise from everything but what they are persuaded they can attain to themselves1 and who limit their ideas of good speaking by the hopes which they conceive of what they themselves may attain to1 and who declare1 when they are overwhelmed with a flow of words and sentences1 that they prefer the utmost poverty of thought and expression to that plenty and copiousness 7from which arose the ,attic kind of oratory1 which they who professed it were strangers to1 though they have now been some time silenced1 and laughed out of the very courts of justice71 what may ,i not expect1 when at present ,i cannot have the least countenance from the people by whom ,i used to be upheld before8 ,for philosophy is satisfied with a few judges1 and of her own accord industriously avoids the multitude1 who are jealous of it1 and utterly displeased with it2 so that1 should any one undertake to cry down the whole of it1 he would have the people on his side2 while1 if he should attack that school which ,i particularly profess1 he would have great assistance from those of the other philosophers4 ,,ii4 ,but ,i have answered the detractors of philosophy in general1 in my ,hortensius4 ,and what ,i had to say in favor of the ,academics1 is1 ,i think1 explained with sufficient accuracy in my four books of the ,academic ,question4 ,but yet ,i am so far from desiring that no one should write against me1 that it is what ,i most earnestly wish2 for philosophy would never have been in such esteem in ,greece itself1 if it had not been for the strength which it acquired from the contentions and disputations of the most learned men2 and therefore ,i recommend all men who have abilities to follow my advice to snatch this art also from declining ,greece1 and to transport it to this city2 as our ancestors by their study and industry have imported all their other arts which were worth having4 ,thus the praise of oratory1 raised from a low degree1 is arrived at such perfection that it must now decline1 and1 as is the nature of all things1 verge to its dissolution in a very short time4 ,let philosophy1 then1 derive its birth in ,latin language from this time1 and let us lend it our assistance1 and bear patiently to be contradicted and refuted2 and although those men may dislike such treatment who are bound and devoted to certain predetermined opinions1 and are under such obligations to maintain them that they are forced1 for the sake of consistency1 to adhere to them even though they do not themselves wholly approve of them2 we1 on the other hand1 who pursue only probabilities1 and who cannot go beyond that which seems really likely1 can confute others without obstinacy1 and are prepared to be confuted ourselves without resentment4 ,besides1 if these studies are ever brought home to us1 we shall not want even ,greek libraries1 in which there is an infinite number of books1 by reason of the multitude of authors among them2 for it is a common practice with many to repeat the same things which have been written by others1 which serves no purpose but to stuff their shelves2 and this will be our case1 too1 if many apply themselves to this study4 ,,iii4 ,but let us excite those1 if possible1 who have had a liberal education1 and are masters of an elegant style1 and who philosophize with reason and method4 ,for there is a certain class of them who would willingly be called philosophers1 whose books in our language are said to be numerous1 and which ,i do not despise2 for1 indeed1 ,i never read them3 but still1 because the authors themselves declare that they write without any regularity1 or method1 or elegance1 or ornament1 ,i do not care to read what must be so void of entertainment4 ,there is no one in the least acquainted with literature who does not know the style and sentiments of that school2 wherefore1 since they are at no pains to express themselves well1 ,i do not see why they should be read by anybody except by one another4 ,let them read them1 if they please1 who are of the same opinions2 for in the same manner as all men read ,plato and the other ,socratics1 with those who sprung from them1 even those who do not agree with their opinions1 or are very indifferent about them2 but scarcely any one except their own disciples take ,epicurus or ,metrodorus into their hands2 so they alone read these ,latin books who think that the arguments contained in them are sound4 ,but1 in my opinion1 whatever is published should be recommended to the reading of every man of learning2 and though we may not succeed in this ourselves1 yet nevertheless we must be sensible that this ought to be the aim of every writer4 ,and on this account ,i have always been pleased with the custom of the ,peripatetics and ,academics1 of disputing on both sides of the question2 not solely from its being the only method of discovering what is probable on every subject1 but also because it affords the greatest scope for practising eloquence2 a method that ,aristotle first made use of1 and afterward all the ,aristotelians2 and in our own memory ,plilo1 whom we have often heard1 appointed one time to treat of the precepts of the rhetoricians1 and another for philosophical discussion1 to which custom ,i was brought to conform by my friends at my ,tusculum2 and accordingly our leisure time was spent in this manner4 ,and therefore1 as yesterday before noon we applied ourselves to speaking1 and in the afternoon went down into the ,academy1 the discussions which were held there ,i have acquainted you with1 not in the manner of a narration1 but in almost the very same words which were employed in the debate4 ,,iv4 ,the discourse1 then1 was introduced in this manner while we were walking1 and it was commenced by some such an opening as this3 ,a4 ,it is not to be expressed how much ,i was delighted1 or rather edified1 by your discourse of yesterday4 ,for although ,i am conscious to myself that ,i have never been too fond of life1 yet at times1 when ,i have considered that there would be an end to this life1 and that ,i must some time or other part with all its good things1 a certain dread and uneasiness used to intrude itself on my thoughts2 but now1 believe me1 ,i am so freed from that kind of uneasiness that there is nothing that ,i think less worth any regard4 ,m4 ,i am not at all surprised at that1 for it is the effect of philosophy1 which is the medicine of our souls2 it banishes all groundless apprehensions1 frees us from desires1 and drives away fears3 but it has not the same influence over all men2 it is of very great influence when it falls in with a disposition well adapted to it4 ,for not only does ,fortune1 as the old proverb says1 assist the bold1 but reason does so in a still greater degree2 for it1 by certain precepts1 as it were1 strengthens even courage itself4 ,you were born naturally great and soaring1 and with a contempt for all things which pertain to man alone2 therefore a discourse against death took easy possession of a brave soul4 ,but do you imagine that these same arguments have any force with those very persons who have invented1 and canvassed1 and published them1 excepting indeed some very few particular persons8 ,for how few philosophers will you meet with whose life and manners are conformable to the dictates of reason6 who look on their profession1 not as a means of displaying their learning1 but as a rule for their own practice6 who follow their own precepts1 and comply with their own decrees6 ,you may see some of such levity and such vanity1 that it would have been better for them to have been ignorant2 some covetous of money1 some others eager for glory1 many slaves to their lusts2 so that their discourses and their actions are most strangely at variance2 than which nothing in my opinion can be more unbecoming3 for just as if one who professed to teach grammar should speak with impropriety1 or a master of music sing out of tune1 such conduct has the worst appearance in these men1 because they blunder in the very particular with which they profess that they are well acquainted4 ,so a philosopher who errs in the conduct of his life is the more infamous because he is erring in the very thing which he pretends to teach1 and1 while he lays down rules to regulate life by1 is irregular in his own life4 ,v4 ,a4 ,should this be the case1 is it not to be feared that you are dressing up philosophy in false colors8 ,for what stronger argument can there be that it is of little use than that some very profound philosophers live in a discreditable manner8 ,m4 ,that1 indeed1 is no argument at all1 for as all the fields which are cultivated are not fruitful 7and this sentiment of ,accius is false1 and asserted without any foundation1 ,the ground you sow on is of small avail2 ,to yield a crop good seed can never fail71 it is not every mind which has been properly cultivated that produces fruit2 and1 to go on with the comparison1 as a field1 although it may be naturally fruitful1 cannot produce a crop without dressing1 so neither can the mind without education2 such is the weakness of either without the other4 ,whereas philosophy is the culture of the mind3 this it is which plucks up vices by the roots2 prepares the mind for the receiving of seeds2 commits them to it1 or1 as ,i may say1 sows them1 in the hope that1 when come to maturity1 they may produce a plentiful harvest4 ,let us proceed1 then1 as we began4 ,say1 if you please1 what shall be the subject of our disputation4 ,a4 ,i look on pain to be the greatest of all evils4 ,m4 ,what1 even greater than infamy8 ,a4 ,i dare not indeed assert that2 and ,i blush to think ,i am so soon driven from my ground4 ,m4 ,you would have had greater reason for blushing had you persevered in it2 for what is so unbecoming--what can appear worse to you1 than disgrace1 wickedness1 immorality8 ,to avoid which1 what pain is there which we ought not 7,i will not say to avoid shirking1 but even7 of our own accord to encounter1 and undergo1 and even to court8 ,a4 ,i am entirely of that opinion2 but1 notwithstanding that pain is not the greatest evil1 yet surely it is an evil4 ,m4 ,do you perceive1 then1 how much of the terror of pain you have given up on a small hint8 ,a4 ,i see that plainly2 but ,i should be glad to give up more of it4 ,m4 ,i will endeavor to make you do so2 but it is a great undertaking1 and ,i must have a disposition on your part which is not inclined to offer any obstacles4 ,a4 ,you shall have such3 for as ,i behaved yesterday1 so now ,i will follow reason wherever she leads4 ,,vi4 ,m4 ,first1 then1 ,i will speak of the weakness of many philosophers1 and those1 too1 of various sects2 the head of whom1 both in authority and antiquity1 was ,aristippus1 the pupil of ,socrates1 who hesitated not to say that pain was the greatest of all evils4 ,and after him ,epicurus easily gave in to this effeminate and enervated doctrine4 ,after him ,hieronymus the ,rhodian said1 that to be without pain was the chief good1 so great an evil did pain appear to him to be4 ,the rest1 with the exceptions of ,zeno1 ,aristo1 ,pyrrho1 were pretty much of the same opinion that you were of just now--that it was indeed an evil1 but that there were many worse4 ,when1 then1 nature herself1 and a certain generous feeling of virtue1 at once prevents you from persisting in the assertion that pain is the chief evil1 and when you were driven from such an opinion when disgrace was contrasted with pain1 shall philosophy1 the preceptress of life1 cling to this idea for so many ages8 ,what duty of life1 what praise1 what reputation1 would be of such consequence that a man should be desirous of gaining it at the expense of submitting to bodily pain1 when he has persuaded himself that pain is the greatest evil8 ,on the other side1 what disgrace1 what ignominy1 would he not submit to that he might avoid pain1 when persuaded that it was the greatest of evils8 ,besides1 what person1 if it be only true that pain is the greatest of evils1 is not miserable1 not only when he actually feels pain1 but also whenever he is aware that it may befall him4 ,and who is there whom pain may not befall8 ,so that it is clear that there is absolutely no one who can possibly be happy4 ,metrodorus1 indeed1 thinks that man perfectly happy whose body is free from all disorders1 and who has an assurance that it will always continue so2 but who is there who can be assured of that8 ,,vii4 ,but ,epicurus1 indeed1 says such things that it should seem that his design was only to make people laugh2 for he affirms somewhere that if a wise man were to be burned or put to the torture--you expect1 perhaps1 that he is going to say he would bear it1 he would support himself under it with resolution1 he would not yield to it 7and that by ,hercules6 would be very commendable1 and worthy of that very ,hercules whom ,i have just invoked73 but even this will not satisfy ,epicurus1 that robust and hardy man6 ,no2 his wise man1 even if he were in ,phalaris's bull1 would say1 ,how sweet it is6 how little do ,i regard it6 ,what1 sweet8 ,is it not sufficient1 if it is not disagreeable8 ,but those very men who deny pain to be an evil are not in the habit of saying that it is agreeable to any one to be tormented2 they rather say that it is cruel1 or hard to bear1 afflicting1 unnatural1 but still not an evil3 while this man who says that it is the only evil1 and the very worst of all evils1 yet thinks that a wise man would pronounce it sweet4 ,i do not require of you to speak of pain in the same words which ,epicurus uses--a man1 as you know1 devoted to pleasure3 he may make no difference1 if he pleases1 between ,phalaris's bull and his own bed2 but ,i cannot allow the wise man to be so indifferent about pain4 ,if he bears it with courage1 it is sufficient3 that he should rejoice in it1 ,i do not expect2 for pain is1 beyond all question1 sharp1 bitter1 against nature1 hard to submit to and to bear4 ,observe ,philoctetes3 ,we may allow him to lament1 for he saw ,hercules himself groaning loudly through extremity of pain on ,mount ,oeta4 ,the arrows with which ,hercules presented him were then no consolation to him1 when ,the viper's bite1 impregnating his veins ,with poison1 rack'd him with its bitter pains4 ,and therefore he cries out1 desiring help1 and wishing to die1 ,oh that some friendly hand its aid would lend1 ,my body from this rock's vast height to send ,into the briny deep6 ,i'm all on fire1 ,and by this fatal wound must soon expire4 ,it is hard to say that the man who was obliged to cry out in this manner was not oppressed with evil1 and great evil too4 ,,viii4 ,but let us observe ,hercules himself1 who was subdued by pain at the very time when he was on the point of attaining immortality by death4 ,what words does ,sophocles here put in his mouth1 in his ,trachini8 who1 when ,deianira had put upon him a tunic dyed in the centaur's blood1 and it stuck to his entrails1 says1 ,what tortures ,i endure no words can tell1 ,far greater these1 than those which erst befell ,from the dire terror of thy consort1 ,jove-- ,e'en stern ,eurystheus' dire command above2 ,this of thy daughter1 ,oeneus1 is the fruit1 ,beguiling me with her envenom'd suit1 ,whose close embrace doth on my entrails prey1 ,consuming life2 my lungs forbid to play2 ,the blood forsakes my veins2 my manly heart ,forgets to beat2 enervated1 each part ,neglects its office1 while my fatal doom ,proceeds ignobly from the weaver's loom4 ,the hand of foe ne'er hurt me1 nor the fierce ,giant issuing from his parent earth4 ,ne'er could the ,centaur such a blow enforce1 ,no barbarous foe1 nor all the ,grecian force2 ,this arm no savage people could withstand1 ,whose realms ,i traversed to reform the land4 ,thus1 though ,i ever bore a manly heart1 ,i fall a victim to a woman's art4 ,,ix4 ,assist1 my son1 if thou that name dost hear1 ,my groans preferring to thy mother's tear3 ,convey her here1 if1 in thy pious heart1 ,thy mother shares not an unequal part3 ,proceed1 be bold1 thy father's fate bemoan1 ,nations will join1 you will not weep alone4 ,oh1 what a sight is this same briny source1 ,unknown before1 through all my labors' course6 ,that virtue1 which could brave each toil but late1 ,with woman's weakness now bewails its fate4 ,approach1 my son2 behold thy father laid1 ,a wither'd carcass that implores thy aid2 ,let all behold3 and thou1 imperious ,jove1 ,on me direct thy lightning from above3 ,now all its force the poison doth assume1 ,and my burnt entrails with its flame consume4 ,crestfallen1 unembraced1 ,i now let fall ,listless1 those hands that lately conquer'd all2 ,when the ,neman lion own'd their force1 ,and he indignant fell a breathless corse2 ,the serpent slew1 of the ,lernean lake1 ,as did the ,hydra of its force partake3 ,by this1 too1 fell the ,erymanthian boar3 ,e'en ,cerberus did his weak strength deplore4 ,this sinewy arm did overcome with ease ,that dragon1 guardian of the ,golden ,fleece4 ,my many conquests let some others trace2 ,it's mine to say1 ,i never knew disgrace4#ca ,can we then1 despise pain1 when we see ,hercules himself giving vent to his expressions of agony with such impatience8 ,x4 ,let us see what schylus says1 who was not only a poet but a ,pythagorean philosopher also1 for that is the account which you have received of him2 how doth he make ,prometheus bear the pain he suffered for the ,lemnian theft1 when he clandestinely stole away the celestial fire1 and bestowed it on men1 and was severely punished by ,jupiter for the theft4 ,fastened to ,mount ,caucasus1 he speaks thus3 ,thou heav'n-born race of ,titans here fast bound1 ,behold thy brother6 ,as the sailors sound ,with care the bottom1 and their ships confine ,to some safe shore1 with anchor and with line2 ,so1 by ,jove's dread decree1 the ,god of fire ,confines me here the victim of ,jove's ire4 ,with baneful art his dire machine he shapes2 ,from such a ,god what mortal e'er escapes8 ,when each third day shall triumph o'er the night1 ,then doth the vulture1 with his talons light1 ,seize on my entrails2 which1 in rav'nous guise1 ,he preys on6 then with wing extended flies ,aloft1 and brushes with his plumes the gore3 ,but when dire ,jove my liver doth restore1 ,back he returns impetuous to his prey1 ,clapping his wings1 he cuts th' ethereal way4 ,thus do ,i nourish with my blood this pest1 ,confined my arms1 unable to contest2 ,entreating only that in pity ,jove ,would take my life1 and this cursed plague remove4 ,but endless ages past unheard my moan1 ,sooner shall drops dissolve this very stone4#cb ,and therefore it scarcely seems possible to avoid calling a man who is suffering1 miserable2 and if he is miserable1 then pain is an evil4 ,,xi4 ,a4 ,hitherto you are on my side2 ,i will see to that by-and-by2 and1 in the mean while1 whence are those verses8 ,i do not remember them4 ,m4 ,i will inform you1 for you are in the right to ask4 ,do you see that ,i have much leisure8 ,a4 ,what1 then8 ,m4 ,i imagine1 when you were at ,athens1 you attended frequently at the schools of the philosophers4 ,a4 ,yes1 and with great pleasure4 ,m4 ,you observed1 then1 that though none of them at that time were very eloquent1 yet they used to mix verses with their harangues4 ,a4 ,yes1 and particularly ,dionysius the ,stoic used to employ a great many4 ,m4 ,you say right2 but they were quoted without any appropriateness or elegance4 ,but our friend ,philo used to give a few select lines and well adapted2 and in imitation of him1 ever since ,i took a fancy to this kind of elderly declamation1 ,i have been very fond of quoting our poets2 and where ,i cannot be supplied from them1 ,i translate from the ,greek1 that the ,latin language may not want any kind of ornament in this kind of disputation4 ,but1 do you not see how much harm is done by poets8 ,they introduce the bravest men lamenting over their misfortunes3 they soften our minds2 and they are1 besides1 so entertaining1 that we do not only read them1 but get them by heart4 ,thus the influence of the poets is added to our want of discipline at home1 and our tender and delicate manner of living1 so that between them they have deprived virtue of all its vigor and energy4 ,plato1 therefore1 was right in banishing them from his commonwealth1 where he required the best morals1 and the best form of government4 ,but we1 who have all our learning from ,greece1 read and learn these works of theirs from our childhood2 and look on this as a liberal and learned education4 ,,xii4 ,but why are we angry with the poets8 ,we may find some philosophers1 those masters of virtue1 who have taught that pain was the greatest of evils4 ,but you1 young man1 when you said but just now that it appeared so to you1 upon being asked by me what appeared greater than infamy1 gave up that opinion at a word4 ,suppose ,i ask ,epicurus the same question4 ,he will answer that a trifling degree of pain is a greater evil than the greatest infamy2 for that there is no evil in infamy itself1 unless attended with pain4 ,what pain1 then1 attends ,epicurus1 when he says that very thing1 that pain is the greatest evil6 ,and yet nothing can be a greater disgrace to a philosopher than to talk thus4 ,therefore1 you allowed enough when you admitted that infamy appeared to you to be a greater evil than pain4 ,and if you abide by this admission1 you will see how far pain should be resisted2 and that our inquiry should be not so much whether pain be an evil1 as how the mind may be fortified for resisting it4 ,the ,stoics infer from some petty quibbling arguments that it is no evil1 as if the dispute were about a word1 and not about the thing itself4 ,why do you impose upon me1 ,zeno8 ,for when you deny what appears very dreadful to me to be an evil1 ,i am deceived1 and am at a loss to know why that which appears to me to be a most miserable thing should be no evil4 ,the answer is1 that nothing is an evil but what is base and vicious4 ,you return to your trifling1 for you do not remove what made me uneasy4 ,i know that pain is not vice--you need not inform me of that3 but show me that it makes no difference to me whether ,i am in pain or not4 ,it has never anything to do1 say you1 with a happy life1 for that depends upon virtue alone2 but yet pain is to be avoided4 ,if ,i ask1 why8 ,it is disagreeable1 against nature1 hard to bear1 woful and afflicting4 ,,xiii4 ,here are many words to express that by so many different forms which we call by the single word evil4 ,you are defining pain1 instead of removing it1 when you say1 it is disagreeable1 unnatural1 scarcely possible to be endured or borne1 nor are you wrong in saying so3 but the man who vaunts himself in such a manner should not give way in his conduct1 if it be true that nothing is good but what is honest1 and nothing evil but what is disgraceful4 ,this would be wishing1 not proving4 ,this argument is a better one1 and has more truth in it--that all things which ,nature abhors are to be looked upon as evil2 that those which she approves of are to be considered as good3 for when this is admitted1 and the dispute about words removed1 that which they with reason embrace1 and which we call honest1 right1 becoming1 and sometimes include under the general name of virtue1 appears so far superior to everything else that all other things which are looked upon as the gifts of fortune1 or the good things of the body1 seem trifling and insignificant2 and no evil whatever1 nor all the collective body of evils together1 appears to be compared to the evil of infamy4 ,wherefore1 if1 as you granted in the beginning1 infamy is worse than pain1 pain is certainly nothing2 for while it appears to you base and unmanly to groan1 cry out1 lament1 or faint under pain2 while you cherish notions of probity1 dignity1 honor1 and1 keeping your eye on them1 refrain yourself1 pain will certainly yield to virtue1 and1 by the influence of imagination1 will lose its whole force4--,for you must either admit that there is no such thing as virtue1 or you must despise every kind of pain4 ,will you allow of such a virtue as prudence1 without which no virtue whatever can even be conceived8 ,what1 then8 ,will that suffer you to labor and take pains to no purpose8 ,will temperance permit you to do anything to excess8 ,will it be possible for justice to be maintained by one who through the force of pain discovers secrets1 or betrays his confederates1 or deserts many duties of life8 ,will you act in a manner consistently with courage1 and its attendants1 greatness of soul1 resolution1 patience1 and contempt for all worldly things8 ,can you hear yourself called a great man when you lie grovelling1 dejected1 and deploring your condition with a lamentable voice2 no one would call you even a man while in such a condition4 ,you must therefore either abandon all pretensions to courage1 or else pain must be put out of the question4 ,,xiv4 ,you know very well that1 even though part of your ,corinthian furniture were gone1 the remainder might be safe without that2 but if you lose one virtue 7though virtue in reality cannot be lost71 still if1 ,i say1 you should acknowledge that you were deficient in one1 you would be stripped of all4 ,can you1 then1 call yourself a brave man1 of a great soul1 endued with patience and steadiness above the frowns of fortune8 or ,philoctetes8 for ,i choose to instance him1 rather than yourself1 for he certainly was not a brave man1 who lay in his bed1 which was watered with his tears1 ,whose groans1 bewailings1 and whose bitter cries1 ,with grief incessant rent the very skies4 ,i do not deny pain to be pain--for were that the case1 in what would courage consist8--but ,i say it should be assuaged by patience1 if there be such a thing as patience3 if there be no such thing1 why do we speak so in praise of philosophy8 or why do we glory in its name8 ,does pain annoy us8 ,let it sting us to the heart3 if you are without defensive armor1 bare your throat to it2 but if you are secured by ,vulcanian armor1 that is to say by resolution1 resist it4 ,should you fail to do so1 that guardian of your honor1 your courage1 will forsake and leave you4--,by the laws of ,lycurgus1 and by those which were given to the ,cretans by ,jupiter1 or which ,minos established under the direction of ,jupiter1 as the poets say1 the youths of the ,state are trained by the practice of hunting1 running1 enduring hunger and thirst1 cold and heat4 ,the boys at ,sparta are scourged so at the altars that blood follows the lash in abundance2 nay1 sometimes1 as ,i used to hear when ,i was there1 they are whipped even to death2 and yet not one of them was ever heard to cry out1 or so much as groan4 ,what1 then8 ,shall men not be able to bear what boys do8 and shall custom have such great force1 and reason none at all8 ,,xv4 ,there is some difference between labor and pain2 they border upon one another1 but still there is a certain difference between them4 ,labor is a certain exercise of the mind or body1 in some employment or undertaking of serious trouble and importance2 but pain is a sharp motion in the body1 disagreeable to our senses4--,both these feelings1 the ,greeks1 whose language is more copious than ours1 express by the common name of ,greek3 ,ponos3 therefore they call industrious men painstaking1 or1 rather1 fond of labor2 we1 more conveniently1 call them laborious2 for laboring is one thing1 and enduring pain another4 ,you see1 ,o ,greece6 your barrenness of words1 sometimes1 though you think you are always so rich in them4 ,i say1 then1 that there is a difference between laboring and being in pain4 ,when ,caius ,marius had an operation performed for a swelling in his thigh1 he felt pain2 when he headed his troops in a very hot season1 he labored4 ,yet these two feelings bear some resemblance to one another2 for the accustoming ourselves to labor makes the endurance of pain more easy to us4 ,and it was because they were influenced by this reason that the founders of the ,grecian form of government provided that the bodies of their youth should be strengthened by labor1 which custom the ,spartans transferred even to their women1 who in other cities lived more delicately1 keeping within the walls of their houses2 but it was otherwise with the ,spartans4 ,the ,spartan women1 with a manly air1 ,fatigues and dangers with their husbands share2 ,they in fantastic sports have no delight1 ,partners with them in exercise and fight4 ,and in these laborious exercises pain interferes sometimes4 ,they are thrown down1 receive blows1 have bad falls1 and are bruised1 and the labor itself produces a sort of callousness to pain4 ,,xvi4 ,as to military service 7,i speak of our own1 not of that of the ,spartans1 for they used to march slowly to the sound of the flute1 and scarce a word of command was given without an anapst71 you may see1 in the first place1 whence the very name of an army 7exercitus#cc7 is derived2 and1 secondly1 how great the labor is of an army on its march3 then consider that they carry more than a fortnight's provision1 and whatever else they may want2 that they carry the burden of the stakes1#cd for as to shield1 sword1 or helmet1 they look on them as no more encumbrance than their own limbs1 for they say that arms are the limbs of a soldier1 and those1 indeed1 they carry so commodiously that1 when there is occasion1 they throw down their burdens1 and use their arms as readily as their limbs4 ,why need ,i mention the exercises of the legions8 ,and how great the labor is which is undergone in the running1 encounters1 shouts6 ,hence it is that their minds are worked up to make so light of wounds in action4 ,take a soldier of equal bravery1 but undisciplined1 and he will seem a woman4 ,why is it that there is this sensible difference between a raw recruit and a veteran soldier8 ,the age of the young soldiers is for the most part in their favor2 but it is practice only that enables men to bear labor and despise wounds4 ,moreover1 we often see1 when the wounded are carried off the field1 the raw1 untried soldier1 though but slightly wounded1 cries out most shamefully2 but the more brave1 experienced veteran only inquires for some one to dress his wounds1 and says1 ,patroclus1 to thy aid ,i must appeal ,ere worse ensue1 my bleeding wounds to heal2 ,the sons of sculapius are employ'd1 ,no room for me1 so many are annoy'd4 ,,xvii4 ,this is certainly ,eurypylus himself4 ,what an experienced man6--,while his friend is continually enlarging on his misfortunes1 you may observe that he is so far from weeping that he even assigns a reason why he should bear his wounds with patience4 ,who at his enemy a stroke directs1 ,his sword to light upon himself expects4 ,patroclus1 ,i suppose1 will lead him off to his chamber to bind up his wounds1 at least if he be a man3 but not a word of that2 he only inquires how the battle went3 ,say how the ,argives bear themselves in fight8 ,and yet no words can show the truth as well as those1 your deeds and visible sufferings4 ,peace6 and my wounds bind up2 but though ,eurypylus could bear these afflictions1 sopus could not1 ,where ,hector's fortune press'd our yielding troops2 and he explains the rest1 though in pain4 ,so unbounded is military glory in a brave man6 ,shall1 then1 a veteran soldier be able to behave in this manner1 and shall a wise and learned man not be able8 ,surely the latter might be able to bear pain better1 and in no small degree either4 ,at present1 however1 ,i am confining myself to what is engendered by practice and discipline4 ,i am not yet come to speak of reason and philosophy4 ,you may often hear of old women living without victuals for three or four days2 but take away a wrestler's provisions but for one day1 and he will implore the aid of ,jupiter ,olympius1 the very ,god for whom he exercises himself3 he will cry out that he cannot endure it4 ,great is the force of custom6 ,sportsmen will continue whole nights in the snow2 they will bear being almost frozen upon the mountains4 ,from practice boxers will not so much as utter a groan1 however bruised by the cestus4 ,but what do you think of those to whom a victory in the ,olympic games seemed almost on a par with the ancient consulships of the ,roman people8 ,what wounds will the gladiators bear1 who are either barbarians1 or the very dregs of mankind6 ,how do they1 who are trained to it1 prefer being wounded to basely avoiding it6 ,how often do they prove that they consider nothing but the giving satisfaction to their masters or to the people6 for when covered with wounds1 they send to their masters to learn their pleasure3 if it is their will1 they are ready to lie down and die4 ,what gladiator1 of even moderate reputation1 ever gave a sigh8 who ever turned pale8 who ever disgraced himself either in the actual combat1 or even when about to die8 who that had been defeated ever drew in his neck to avoid the stroke of death8 ,so great is the force of practice1 deliberation1 and custom6 ,shall this1 then1 be done by ,a ,samnite rascal1 worthy of his trade2 and shall a man born to glory have so soft a part in his soul as not to be able to fortify it by reason and reflection8 ,the sight of the gladiators' combats is by some looked on as cruel and inhuman1 and ,i do not know1 as it is at present managed1 but it may be so2 but when the guilty fought1 we might receive by our ears perhaps 7but certainly by our eyes we could not7 better training to harden us against pain and death4 ,,xviii4 ,i have now said enough about the effects of exercise1 custom1 and careful meditation4 ,proceed we now to consider the force of reason1 unless you have something to reply to what has been said4 ,a4 ,that ,i should interrupt you6 ,by no means2 for your discourse has brought me over to your opinion4 ,let the ,stoics1 then1 think it their business to determine whether pain be an evil or not1 while they endeavor to show by some strained and trifling conclusions1 which are nothing to the purpose1 that pain is no evil4 ,my opinion is1 that whatever it is1 it is not so great as it appears2 and ,i say1 that men are influenced to a great extent by some false representations and appearance of it1 and that all which is really felt is capable of being endured4 ,where shall ,i begin1 then8 ,shall ,i superficially go over what ,i said before1 that my discourse may have a greater scope8 ,this1 then1 is agreed upon by all1 and not only by learned men1 but also by the unlearned1 that it becomes the brave and magnanimous--those that have patience and a spirit above this world--not to give way to pain4 ,nor has there ever been any one who did not commend a man who bore it in this manner4 ,that1 then1 which is expected from a brave man1 and is commended when it is seen1 it must surely be base in any one to be afraid of at its approach1 or not to bear when it comes4 ,but ,i would have you consider whether1 as all the right affections of the soul are classed under the name of virtues1 the truth is that this is not properly the name of them all1 but that they all have their name from that leading virtue which is superior to all the rest3 for the name virtue comes from vir1 a man1 and courage is the peculiar distinction of a man3 and this virtue has two principal duties1 to despise death and pain4 ,we must1 then1 exert these1 if we would be men of virtue1 or1 rather1 if we would be men1 because virtue 7virtus7 takes its very name from vir1 man4 ,,xix4 ,you may inquire1 perhaps1 how8 ,and such an inquiry is not amiss1 for philosophy is ready with her assistance4 ,epicurus offers himself to you1 a man far from a bad--or1 ,i should rather say1 a very good man3 he advises no more than he knows4 ,despise pain1 says he4 ,who is it saith this8 ,is it the same man who calls pain the greatest of all evils8 ,it is not1 indeed1 very consistent in him4 ,let us hear what he says3 ,if the pain is excessive1 it must needs be short4 ,i must have that over again1 for ,i do not apprehend what you mean exactly by excessive or short4 ,that is excessive than which nothing can be greater2 that is short than which nothing is shorter4 ,i do not regard the greatness of any pain from which1 by reason of the shortness of its continuance1 ,i shall be delivered almost before it reaches me4 ,but if the pain be as great as that of ,philoctetes1 it will appear great indeed to me1 but yet not the greatest that ,i am capable of bearing2 for the pain is confined to my foot4 ,but my eye may pain me1 ,i may have a pain in the head1 or sides1 or lungs1 or in every part of me4 ,it is far1 then1 from being excessive4 ,therefore1 says he1 pain of a long continuance has more pleasure in it than uneasiness4 ,now1 ,i cannot bring myself to say so great a man talks nonsense2 but ,i imagine he is laughing at us4 ,my opinion is that the greatest pain 7,i say the greatest1 though it may be ten atoms less than another7 is not therefore short1 because acute4 ,i could name to you a great many good men who have been tormented many years with the acutest pains of the gout4 ,but this cautious man doth not determine the measure of that greatness or of duration1 so as to enable us to know what he calls excessive with regard to pain1 or short with respect to its continuance4 ,let us pass him by1 then1 as one who says just nothing at all2 and let us force him to acknowledge1 notwithstanding he might behave himself somewhat boldly under his colic and his strangury1 that no remedy against pain can be had from him who looks on pain as the greatest of all evils4 ,we must apply1 then1 for relief elsewhere1 and nowhere better 7if we seek for what is most consistent with itself7 than to those who place the chief good in honesty1 and the greatest evil in infamy4 ,you dare not so much as groan1 or discover the least uneasiness in their company1 for virtue itself speaks to you through them4 ,,xx4 ,will you1 when you may observe children at ,lacedmon1 and young men at ,olympia1 and barbarians in the amphitheatre1 receive the severest wounds1 and bear them without once opening their mouths--will you1 ,i say1 if any pain should by chance attack you1 cry out like a woman8 ,will you not rather bear it with resolution and constancy8 and not cry1 ,it is intolerable2 nature cannot bear it6 ,i hear what you say3 ,boys bear this because they are led thereto by glory2 some bear it through shame1 many through fear1 and yet are we afraid that nature cannot bear what is borne by many1 and in such different circumstances8 ,nature not only bears it1 but challenges it1 for there is nothing with her preferable1 nothing which she desires more than credit1 and reputation1 and praise1 and honor1 and glory4 ,i choose here to describe this one thing under many names1 and ,i have used many that you may have the clearer idea of it2 for what ,i mean to say is1 that whatever is desirable of itself1 proceeding from virtue1 or placed in virtue1 and commendable on its own account 7which ,i would rather agree to call the only good than deny it to be the chief good7 is what men should prefer above all things4 ,and as we declare this to be the case with respect to honesty1 so we speak in the contrary manner of infamy2 nothing is so odious1 so detestable1 nothing so unworthy of a man4 ,and if you are thoroughly convinced of this 7for1 at the beginning of this discourse1 you allowed that there appeared to you more evil in infamy than in pain71 it follows that you ought to have the command over yourself1 though ,i scarcely know how this expression may seem an accurate one1 which appears to represent man as made up of two natures1 so that one should be in command and the other be subject to it4 ,,xxi4 ,yet this division does not proceed from ignorance2 for the soul admits of a twofold division1 one of which partakes of reason1 the other is without it4 ,when1 therefore1 we are ordered to give a law to ourselves1 the meaning is1 that reason should restrain our rashness4 ,there is in the soul of every man something naturally soft1 low1 enervated in a manner1 and languid4 ,were there nothing besides this1 men would be the greatest of monsters2 but there is present to every man reason1 which presides over and gives laws to all2 which1 by improving itself1 and making continual advances1 becomes perfect virtue4 ,it behooves a man1 then1 to take care that reason shall have the command over that part which is bound to practise obedience4 ,in what manner8 you will say4 ,why1 as a master has over his slave1 a general over his army1 a father over his son4 ,if that part of the soul which ,i have called soft behaves disgracefully1 if it gives itself up to lamentations and womanish tears1 then let it be restrained1 and committed to the care of friends and relations1 for we often see those persons brought to order by shame whom no reasons can influence4 ,therefore1 we should confine those feelings1 like our servants1 in safe custody1 and almost with chains4 ,but those who have more resolution1 and yet are not utterly immovable1 we should encourage with our exhortations1 as we would good soldiers1 to recollect themselves1 and maintain their honor4 ,that wisest man of all ,greece1 in the ,niptr1 does not lament too much over his wounds1 or1 rather1 he is moderate in his grief3 ,move slow1 my friends2 your hasty speed refrain1 ,lest by your motion you increase my pain4 ,pacuvius is better in this than ,sophocles1 for in the one ,ulysses bemoans his wounds too vehemently2 for the very people who carried him after he was wounded1 though his grief was moderate1 yet1 considering the dignity of the man1 did not scruple to say1 ,and thou1 ,ulysses1 long to war inured1 ,thy wounds1 though great1 too feebly hast endured4 ,the wise poet understood that custom was no contemptible instructor how to bear pain4 ,but the same hero complains with more decency1 though in great pain3 ,assist1 support me1 never leave me so2 ,unbind my wounds1 oh6 execrable woe6 ,he begins to give way1 but instantly checks himself3 ,away6 begone6 but cover first the sore2 ,for your rude hands but make my pains the more4 ,do you observe how he constrains himself8 not that his bodily pains were less1 but because he checks the anguish of his mind4 ,therefore1 in the conclusion of the ,niptr1 he blames others1 even when he himself is dying3 ,complaints of fortune may become the man1 ,none but a woman will thus weeping stand4 ,and so that soft place in his soul obeys his reason1 just as an abashed soldier does his stern commander4 ,,xxii4 ,the man1 then1 in whom absolute wisdom exists 7such a man1 indeed1 we have never as yet seen1 but the philosophers have described in their writings what sort of man he will be1 if he should exist72 such a man1 or at least that perfect and absolute reason which exists in him1 will have the same authority over the inferior part as a good parent has over his dutiful children3 he will bring it to obey his nod without any trouble or difficulty4 ,he will rouse himself1 prepare and arm himself1 to oppose pain as he would an enemy4 ,if you inquire what arms he will provide himself with1 they will be contention1 encouragement1 discourse with himself4 ,he will say thus to himself3 ,take care that you are guilty of nothing base1 languid1 or unmanly4 ,he will turn over in his mind all the different kinds of honor4 ,zeno of ,elea will occur to him1 who suffered everything rather than betray his confederates in the design of putting an end to the tyranny4 ,he will reflect on ,anaxarchus1 the pupil of ,democritus1 who1 having fallen into the hands of ,nicocreon1 ,king of ,cyprus1 without the least entreaty for mercy or refusal1 submitted to every kind of torture4 ,calanus the ,indian will occur to him1 an ignorant man and a barbarian1 born at the foot of ,mount ,caucasus1 who committed himself to the flames by his own free1 voluntary act4 ,but we1 if we have the toothache1 or a pain in the foot1 or if the body be anyways affected1 cannot bear it4 ,for our sentiments of pain as well as pleasure are so trifling and effeminate1 we are so enervated and relaxed by luxuries1 that we cannot bear the sting of a bee without crying out4 ,but ,caius ,marius1 a plain countryman1 but of a manly soul1 when he had an operation performed on him1 as ,i mentioned above1 at first refused to be tied down2 and he is the first instance of any one's having had an operation performed on him without being tied down4 ,why1 then1 did others bear it afterward8 ,why1 from the force of example4 ,you see1 then1 that pain exists more in opinion than in nature2 and yet the same ,marius gave a proof that there is something very sharp in pain for he would not submit to have the other thigh cut4 ,so that he bore his pain with resolution as a man2 but1 like a reasonable person1 he was not willing to undergo any greater pain without some necessary reason4 ,the whole1 then1 consists in this--that you should have command over yourself4 ,i have already told you what kind of command this is2 and by considering what is most consistent with patience1 fortitude1 and greatness of soul1 a man not only restrains himself1 but1 somehow or other1 mitigates even pain itself4 ,,xxiii4 ,even as in a battle the dastardly and timorous soldier throws away his shield on the first appearance of an enemy1 and runs as fast as he can1 and on that account loses his life sometimes1 though he has never received even one wound1 when he who stands his ground has nothing of the sort happen to him1 so they who cannot bear the appearance of pain throw themselves away1 and give themselves up to affliction and dismay4 ,but they that oppose it1 often come off more than a match for it4 ,for the body has a certain resemblance to the soul3 as burdens are more easily borne the more the body is exerted1 while they crush us if we give way1 so the soul by exerting itself resists the whole weight that would oppress it2 but if it yields1 it is so pressed that it cannot support itself4 ,and if we consider things truly1 the soul should exert itself in every pursuit1 for that is the only security for its doing its duty4 ,but this should be principally regarded in pain1 that we must not do anything timidly1 or dastardly1 or basely1 or slavishly1 or effeminately1 and1 above all things1 we must dismiss and avoid that ,philoctetean sort of outcry4 ,a man is allowed sometimes to groan1 but yet seldom2 but it is not permissible even in a woman to howl2 for such a noise as this is forbidden1 by the twelve tables1 to be used even at funerals4 ,nor does a wise or brave man ever groan1 unless when he exerts himself to give his resolution greater force1 as they who run in the stadium make as much noise as they can4 ,the wrestlers1 too1 do the same when they are training2 and the boxers1 when they aim a blow with the cestus at their adversary1 give a groan1 not because they are in pain1 or from a sinking of their spirits1 but because their whole body is put upon the stretch by the throwing-out of these groans1 and the blow comes the stronger4 ,,xxiv4 ,what6 they who would speak louder than ordinary are they satisfied with working their jaws1 sides1 or tongue or stretching the common organs of speech and utterance8 ,the whole body and every muscle is at full stretch if ,i may be allowed the expression2 every nerve is exerted to assist their voice4 ,i have actually seen the knees of ,marcus ,antonius touch the ground when he was speaking with vehemence for himself1 with relation to the ,varian law4 ,for1 as the engines you throw stones or darts with throw them out with the greater force the more they are strained and drawn back2 so it is in speaking1 running1 or boxing--the more people strain themselves1 the greater their force4 ,since1 therefore1 this exertion has so much influence--if in a moment of pain groans help to strengthen the mind1 let us use them2 but if they be groans of lamentation1 if they be the expression of weakness or abjectness1 or unmanly weeping1 then ,i should scarcely call him a man who yielded to them4 ,for even supposing that such groaning could give any ease1 it still should be considered whether it were consistent with a brave and resolute man4 ,but if it does not ease our pain1 why should we debase ourselves to no purpose8 ,for what is more unbecoming in a man than to cry like a woman8 ,but this precept which is laid down with respect to pain is not confined to it4 ,we should apply this exertion of the soul to everything else4 ,is anger inflamed8 is lust excited8 we must have recourse to the same citadel1 and apply to the same arms4 ,but since it is pain which we are at present discussing1 we will let the other subjects alone4 ,to bear pain1 then1 sedately and calmly1 it is of great use to consider with all our soul1 as the saying is1 how noble it is to do so1 for we are naturally desirous 7as ,i said before1 but it cannot be too often repeated7 and very much inclined to what is honorable1 of which1 if we discover but the least glimpse1 there is nothing which we are not prepared to undergo and suffer to attain it4 ,from this impulse of our minds1 this desire for genuine glory and honorable conduct1 it is that such dangers are supported in war1 and that brave men are not sensible of their wounds in action1 or1 if they are sensible of them1 prefer death to the departing but the least step from their honor4 ,the ,decii saw the shining swords of their enemies when they were rushing into the battle4 ,but the honorable character and the glory of the death which they were seeking made all fear of death of little weight4 ,do you imagine that ,epaminondas groaned when he perceived that his life was flowing out with his blood8 ,no2 for he left his country triumphing over the ,lacedmonians1 whereas he had found it in subjection to them4 ,these are the comforts1 these are the things that assuage the greatest pain4 ,,xxv4 ,you may ask1 ,how the case is in peace8 ,what is to be done at home8 ,how we are to behave in bed8 ,you bring me back to the philosophers1 who seldom go to war4 ,among these1 ,dionysius of ,heraclea1 a man certainly of no resolution1 having learned fortitude of ,zeno1 quitted it on being in pain2 for1 being tormented with a pain in his kidneys1 in bewailing himself he cried out that those things were false which he had formerly conceived of pain4 ,and when his fellow-disciple1 ,cleanthes1 asked him why he had changed his opinion1 he answered1 ,that the case of any man who had applied so much time to philosophy1 and yet was unable to bear pain1 might be a sufficient proof that pain is an evil2 that he himself had spent many years at philosophy1 and yet could not bear pain3 it followed1 therefore1 that pain was an evil4 ,it is reported that ,cleanthes on that struck his foot on the ground1 and repeated a verse out of the ,epigon3 ,amphiaraus1 hear'st thou this below8 ,he meant ,zeno3 he was sorry the other had degenerated from him4 ,but it was not so with our friend ,posidonius1 whom ,i have often seen myself2 and ,i will tell you what ,pompey used to say of him3 that when he came to ,rhodes1 after his departure from ,syria1 he had a great desire to hear ,posidonius1 but was informed that he was very ill of a severe fit of the gout2 yet he had great inclination to pay a visit to so famous a philosopher4 ,accordingly1 when he had seen him1 and paid his compliments1 and had spoken with great respect of him1 he said he was very sorry that he could not hear him lecture4 ,but indeed you may1 replied the other1 nor will ,i suffer any bodily pain to occasion so great a man to visit me in vain4 ,on this ,pompey relates that1 as he lay on his bed1 he disputed with great dignity and fluency on this very subject3 that nothing was good but what was honest2 and that in his paroxysms he would often say1 ,pain1 it is to no purpose2 notwithstanding you are troublesome1 ,i will never acknowledge you an evil4 ,and in general all celebrated and notorious afflictions become endurable by disregarding them4 ,,xxvi4 ,do we not observe that where those exercises called gymnastic are in esteem1 those who enter the lists never concern themselves about dangers8 that where the praise of riding and hunting is highly esteemed1 they who practice these arts decline no pain8 ,what shall ,i say of our own ambitious pursuits or desire of honors8 ,what fire have not candidates run through to gain a single vote8 ,therefore ,africanus had always in his hands ,xenophon1 the pupil of ,socrates1 being particularly pleased with his saying1 that the same labors were not equally heavy to the general and to the common man1 because the honor itself made the labor lighter to the general4 ,but yet1 so it happens1 that even with the illiterate vulgar an idea of honor is of great influence1 though they cannot understand what it is4 ,they are led by report and common opinion to look on that as honorable which has the general voice4 ,not that ,i would have you1 should the multitude be ever so fond of you1 rely on their judgment1 nor approve of everything which they think right3 you must use your own judgment4 ,if you are satisfied with yourself when you have approved of what is right1 you will not only have the mastery over yourself 7which ,i recommended to you just now71 but over everybody1 and everything4 ,lay this down1 then1 as a rule1 that a great capacity1 and lofty elevation of soul1 which distinguishes itself most by despising and looking down with contempt on pain1 is the most excellent of all things1 and the more so if it does not depend on the people and does not aim at applause1 but derives its satisfaction from itself4 ,besides1 to me1 indeed1 everything seems the more commendable the less the people are courted1 and the fewer eyes there are to see it4 ,not that you should avoid the public1 for every generous action loves the public view2 yet no theatre for virtue is equal to a consciousness of it4 ,,xxvii4 ,and let this be principally considered3 that this bearing of pain1 which ,i have often said is to be strengthened by an exertion of the soul1 should be the same in everything4 ,for you meet with many who1 through a desire of victory1 or for glory1 or to maintain their rights1 or their liberty1 have boldly received wounds1 and borne themselves up under them2 and yet those very same persons1 by relaxing that intenseness of their minds1 were unequal to bearing the pain of a disease2 for they did not support themselves under their former sufferings by reason or philosophy1 but by inclination and glory4 ,therefore some barbarians and savage people are able to fight very stoutly with the sword1 but cannot bear sickness like men2 but the ,grecians1 men of no great courage1 but as wise as human nature will admit of1 cannot look an enemy in the face1 yet the same will bear to be visited with sickness tolerably1 and with a sufficiently manly spirit2 and the ,cimbrians and ,celtiberians are very alert in battle1 but bemoan themselves in sickness4 ,for nothing can be consistent which has not reason for its foundation4 ,but when you see those who are led by inclination or opinion1 not retarded by pain in their pursuits1 nor hindered by it from succeeding in them1 you may conclude1 either that pain is no evil1 or that1 notwithstanding you may choose to call an evil whatever is disagreeable and contrary to nature1 yet it is so very trifling an evil that it may so effectually be got the better of by virtue as quite to disappear4 ,and ,i would have you think of this night and day2 for this argument will spread itself1 and take up more room some time or other1 and not be confined to pain alone2 for if the motives to all our actions are to avoid disgrace and acquire honor1 we may not only despise the stings of pain1 but the storms of fortune1 especially if we have recourse to that retreat which was pointed out in our yesterday's discussion2 for1 as if some ,god had advised a man who was pursued by pirates to throw himself overboard1 saying1 ,there is something at hand to receive you2 either a dolphin will take you up1 as it did ,arion of ,methymna2 or those horses sent by ,neptune to ,pelops 7who are said to have carried chariots so rapidly as to be borne up by the waves7 will receive you1 and convey you wherever you please4 ,cast away all fear4 ,so1 though your pains be ever so sharp and disagreeable1 if the case is not such that it is worth your while to endure them1 you see whither you may betake yourself4 ,i think this will do for the present4 ,but perhaps you still abide by your opinion4 ,a4 ,not in the least1 indeed2 and ,i hope ,i am freed by these two days' discourses from the fear of two things that ,i greatly dreaded4 ,m4 ,to-morrow1 then1 for rhetoric1 as we were saying4 ,but ,i see we must not drop our philosophy4 ,a4 ,no1 indeed2 we will have the one in the forenoon1 and this at the usual time4 ,m4 ,it shall be so1 and ,i will comply with your very laudable inclinations4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,book ,,iii4 ,,on ,,grief ,,of ,,mind4 ,i4 ,what reason shall ,i assign1 ,o ,brutus1 why1 as we consist of mind and body1 the art of curing and preserving the body should be so much sought after1 and the invention of it1 as being so useful1 should be ascribed to the immortal ,gods2 but the medicine of the mind should not have been so much the object of inquiry while it was unknown1 nor so much attended to and cultivated after its discovery1 nor so well received or approved of by some1 and accounted actually disagreeable1 and looked upon with an envious eye by many8 ,is it because we1 by means of the mind1 judge of the pains and disorders of the body1 but do not1 by means of the body1 arrive at any perception of the disorders of the mind8 ,hence it comes that the mind only judges of itself when that very faculty by which it is judged is in a bad state4 ,had nature given us faculties for discerning and viewing herself1 and could we go through life by keeping our eye on her--our best guide--there would be no reason certainly why any one should be in want of philosophy or learning2 but1 as it is1 she has furnished us only with some feeble rays of light1 which we immediately extinguish so completely by evil habits and erroneous opinions that the light of nature is nowhere visible4 ,the seeds of virtues are natural to our constitutions1 and1 were they suffered to come to maturity1 would naturally conduct us to a happy life2 but now1 as soon as we are born and received into the world1 we are instantly familiarized with all kinds of depravity and perversity of opinions2 so that we may be said almost to suck in error with our nurse's milk4 ,when we return to our parents1 and are put into the hands of tutors and governors1 we are imbued with so many errors that truth gives place to falsehood1 and nature herself to established opinion4 ,,ii4 ,to these we may add the poets2 who1 on account of the appearance they exhibit of learning and wisdom1 are heard1 read1 and got by heart1 and make a deep impression on our minds4 ,but when to these are added the people1 who are1 as it were1 one great body of instructors1 and the multitude1 who declare unanimously for what is wrong1 then are we altogether overwhelmed with bad opinions1 and revolt entirely from nature2 so that they seem to deprive us of our best guide who have decided that there is nothing better for man1 nothing more worthy of being desired by him1 nothing more excellent1 than honors and commands1 and a high reputation with the people2 which indeed every excellent man aims at2 but while he pursues that only true honor which nature has in view above all other objects1 he finds himself busied in arrant trifles1 and in pursuit of no conspicuous form of virtue1 but only some shadowy representation of glory4 ,for glory is a real and express substance1 not a mere shadow4 ,it consists in the united praise of good men1 the free voice of those who form a true judgment of pre-eminent virtue2 it is1 as it were1 the very echo of virtue2 and being generally the attendant on laudable actions1 should not be slighted by good men4 ,but popular fame1 which would pretend to imitate it1 is hasty and inconsiderate1 and generally commends wicked and immoral actions1 and throws discredit upon the appearance and beauty of honesty by assuming a resemblance of it4 ,and it is owing to their not being able to discover the difference between them that some men ignorant of real excellence1 and in what it consists1 have been the destruction of their country and of themselves4 ,and thus the best men have erred1 not so much in their intentions as by a mistaken conduct4 ,what8 is no cure to be attempted to be applied to those who are carried away by the love of money1 or the lust of pleasures1 by which they are rendered little short of madmen1 which is the case of all weak people8 or is it because the disorders of the mind are less dangerous than those of the body8 or because the body will admit of a cure1 while there is no medicine whatever for the mind8 ,,iii4 ,but there are more disorders of the mind than of the body1 and they are of a more dangerous nature2 for these very disorders are the more offensive because they belong to the mind and disturb it2 and the mind1 when disordered1 is1 as ,ennius says1 in a constant error3 it can neither bear nor endure anything1 and is under the perpetual influence of desires4 ,now1 what disorders can be worse to the body than these two distempers of the mind 7for ,i overlook others71 weakness and desire8 ,but how1 indeed1 can it be maintained that the mind cannot prescribe for itself1 when she it is who has invented the medicines for the body1 when1 with regard to bodily cures1 constitution and nature have a great share1 nor do all who suffer themselves to be cured find that effect instantly2 but those minds which are disposed to be cured1 and submit to the precepts of the wise1 may undoubtedly recover a healthy state8 ,philosophy is certainly the medicine of the soul1 whose assistance we do not seek from abroad1 as in bodily disorders1 but we ourselves are bound to exert our utmost energy and power in order to effect our cure4 ,but as to philosophy in general1 ,i have1 ,i think1 in my ,hortensius1 sufficiently spoken of the credit and attention which it deserves3 since that1 indeed1 ,i have been continually either disputing or writing on its most material branches2 and ,i have laid down in these books all the discussions which took place between myself and my particular friends at my ,tusculan villa4 ,but as ,i have spoken in the two former of pain and death1 this book shall be devoted to the account of the third day of our disputations4 ,we came down into the ,academy when the day was already declining towards afternoon1 and ,i asked one of those who were present to propose a subject for us to discourse on2 and then the business was carried on in this manner3 ,,iv4 ,a4 ,my opinion is1 that a wise man is subject to grief4 ,m4 ,what1 and to the other perturbations of mind1 as fears1 lusts1 anger8 ,for these are pretty much like what the ,greeks call ,greek3 path4 ,i might call them diseases1 and that would be a literal translation1 but it is not agreeable to our way of speaking4 ,for envy1 delight1 and pleasure are all called by the ,greeks diseases1 being affections of the mind not in subordination to reason2 but we1 ,i think1 are right in calling the same motions of a disturbed soul perturbations1 and in very seldom using the term diseases2 though1 perhaps1 it appears otherwise to you4 ,a4 ,i am of your opinion4 ,m4 ,and do you think a wise man subject to these8 ,a4 ,entirely1 ,i think4 ,m4 ,then that boasted wisdom is but of small account1 if it differs so little from madness8 ,a4 ,what8 does every commotion of the mind seem to you to be madness8 ,m4 ,not to me only2 but ,i apprehend1 though ,i have often been surprised at it1 that it appeared so to our ancestors many ages before ,socrates2 from whom is derived all that philosophy which relates to life and morals4 ,a4 ,how so8 ,m4 ,because the name madness#ce implies a sickness of the mind and disease2 that is to say1 an unsoundness and an unhealthiness of mind1 which they call madness4 ,but the philosophers call all perturbations of the soul diseases1 and their opinion is that no fool is ever free from these2 but all that are diseased are unsound2 and the minds of all fools are diseased2 therefore all fools are mad4 ,for they held that soundness of the mind depends on a certain tranquillity and steadiness2 and a mind which was destitute of these qualities they called insane1 because soundness was inconsistent with a perturbed mind just as much as with a disordered body4 ,v4 ,nor were they less ingenious in calling the state of the soul devoid of the light of the mind1 a being out of one's mind1 a being beside one's self4 ,from whence we may understand that they who gave these names to things were of the same opinion with ,socrates1 that all silly people were unsound1 which the ,stoics have carefully preserved as being derived from him2 for whatever mind is distempered 7and1 as ,i just now said1 the philosophers call all perturbed motions of the mind distempers7 is no more sound than a body is when in a fit of sickness4 ,hence it is that wisdom is the soundness of the mind1 folly a sort of unsoundness1 which is insanity1 or a being out of one's mind3 and these are much better expressed by the ,latin words than the ,greek1 which you will find the case also in many other topics4 ,but we will discuss that point elsewhere3 let us now attend to our present subject4 ,the very meaning of the word describes the whole thing about which we are inquiring1 both as to its substance and character4 ,for we must necessarily understand by sound those whose minds are under no perturbation from any motion as if it were a disease4 ,they who are differently affected we must necessarily call unsound4 ,so that nothing is better than what is usual in ,latin1 to say that they who are run away with by their lust or anger have quitted the command over themselves2 though anger includes lust1 for anger is defined to be the lust of revenge4 ,they1 then1 who are said not to be masters of themselves1 are said to be so because they are not under the government of reason1 to which is assigned by nature the power over the whole soul4 ,why the ,greeks should call this mania1 ,i do not easily apprehend2 but we define it much better than they1 for we distinguish this madness 7insania71 which1 being allied to folly1 is more extensive1 from what we call furor1 or raving4 ,the ,greeks1 indeed1 would do so too1 but they have no one word that will express it3 what we call furor1 they call ,greek3 melancholia1 as if the reason were affected only by a black bile1 and not disturbed as often by a violent rage1 or fear1 or grief4 ,thus we say ,athamas1 ,alcmon1 ,ajax1 and ,orestes were raving 7furere72 because a person affected in this manner was not allowed by the ,twelve ,tables to have the management of his own affairs2 therefore the words are not1 if he is mad 7insanus71 but if he begins to be raving 7furiosus74 ,for they looked upon madness to be an unsettled humor that proceeded from not being of sound mind2 yet such a person might perform his ordinary duties1 and discharge the usual and customary requirements of life3 but they considered one that was raving as afflicted with a total blindness of the mind1 which1 notwithstanding it is allowed to be greater than madness1 is nevertheless of such a nature that a wise man may be subject to raving 7furor71 but cannot possibly be afflicted by insanity 7insania74 ,but this is another question3 let us now return to our original subject4 ,,vi4 ,i think you said that it was your opinion that a wise man was liable to grief4 ,a4 ,and so1 indeed1 ,i think4 ,m4 ,it is natural enough to think so1 for we are not the offspring of flints2 but we have by nature something soft and tender in our souls1 which may be put into a violent motion by grief1 as by a storm2 nor did that ,crantor1 who was one of the most distinguished men that our ,academy has ever produced1 say this amiss3 ,i am by no means of their opinion who talk so much in praise of ,i know not what insensibility1 which neither can exist1 nor ought to exist4 ,i would choose1 says he1 never to be ill2 but should ,i be so1 still ,i should choose to retain my sensation1 whether there was to be an amputation or any other separation of anything from my body4 ,for that insensibility cannot be but at the expense of some unnatural ferocity of mind1 or stupor of body4 ,but let us consider whether to talk in this manner be not allowing that we are weak1 and yielding to our softness4 ,notwithstanding1 let us be hardy enough1 not only to lop off every arm of our miseries1 but even to pluck up every fibre of their roots4 ,yet still something1 perhaps1 may be left behind1 so deep does folly strike its roots3 but whatever may be left it will be no more than is necessary4 ,but let us be persuaded of this1 that unless the mind be in a sound state1 which philosophy alone can effect1 there can be no end of our miseries4 ,wherefore1 as we began1 let us submit ourselves to it for a cure2 we shall be cured if we choose to be4 ,i shall advance something further4 ,i shall not treat of grief alone1 though that indeed is the principal thing2 but1 as ,i originally proposed1 of every perturbation of the mind1 as ,i termed it2 disorder1 as the ,greeks call it3 and first1 with your leave1 ,i shall treat it in the manner of the ,stoics1 whose method is to reduce their arguments into a very small space2 afterward ,i shall enlarge more in my own way4 ,,vii4 ,a man of courage is also full of faith4 ,i do not use the word confident1 because1 owing to an erroneous custom of speaking1 that word has come to be used in a bad sense1 though it is derived from confiding1 which is commendable4 ,but he who is full of faith is certainly under no fear2 for there is an inconsistency between faith and fear4 ,now1 whoever is subject to grief is subject to fear2 for whatever things we grieve at when present we dread when hanging over us and approaching4 ,thus it comes about that grief is inconsistent with courage3 it is very probable1 therefore1 that whoever is subject to grief is also liable to fear1 and to a broken kind of spirits and sinking4 ,now1 whenever these befall a man1 he is in a servile state1 and must own that he is overpowered2 for whoever admits these feelings1 must admit timidity and cowardice4 ,but these cannot enter into the mind of a man of courage2 neither1 therefore1 can grief3 but the man of courage is the only wise man2 therefore grief cannot befall the wise man4 ,it is1 besides1 necessary that whoever is brave should be a man of great soul2 that whoever is a man of a great soul should be invincible2 whoever is invincible looks down with contempt on all things here1 and considers them1 beneath him4 ,but no one can despise those things on account of which he may be affected with grief2 from whence it follows that a wise man is never affected with grief3 for all wise men are brave2 therefore a wise man is not subject to grief4 ,and as the eye1 when disordered1 is not in a good condition for performing its office properly2 and as the other parts1 and the whole body itself1 when unsettled1 cannot perform their office and business2 so the mind1 when disordered1 is but ill-fitted to perform its duty4 ,the office of the mind is to use its reason well2 but the mind of a wise man is always in condition to make the best use of his reason1 and therefore is never out of order4 ,but grief is a disorder of the mind2 therefore a wise man will be always free from it4 ,,viii4 ,and from these considerations we may get at a very probable definition of the temperate man1 whom the ,greeks call ,greek3 sphrn3 and they call that virtue ,greek3 sphrosynn1 which ,i at one time call temperance1 at another time moderation1 and sometimes even modesty2 but ,i do not know whether that virtue may not be properly called frugality1 which has a more confined meaning with the ,greeks2 for they call frugal men ,greek3 chrsimous1 which implies only that they are useful2 but our name has a more extensive meaning3 for all abstinence1 all innocency 7which the ,greeks have no ordinary name for1 though they might use the word ,greek3 ablabeia1 for innocency is that disposition of mind which would offend no one7 and several other virtues are comprehended under frugality2 but if this quality were of less importance1 and confined in as small a compass as some imagine1 the surname of ,piso#cf would not have been in so great esteem4 ,but as we allow him not the name of a frugal man 7frugi71 who either quits his post through fear1 which is cowardice2 or who reserves to his own use what was privately committed to his keeping1 which is injustice2 or who fails in his military undertakings through rashness1 which is folly--for that reason the word frugality takes in these three virtues of fortitude1 justice1 and prudence1 though it is indeed common to all virtues1 for they are all connected and knit together4 ,let us allow1 then1 frugality itself to be another and fourth virtue2 for its peculiar property seems to be1 to govern and appease all tendencies to too eager a desire after anything1 to restrain lust1 and to preserve a decent steadiness in everything4 ,the vice in contrast to this is called prodigality 7nequitia74 ,frugality1 ,i imagine1 is derived from the word fruge1 the best thing which the earth produces2 nequitia is derived 7though this is perhaps rather more strained2 still1 let us try it2 we shall only be thought to have been trifling if there is nothing in what we say7 from the fact of everything being to no purpose 7nequicquam7 in such a man2 from which circumstance he is called also ,nihil1 nothing4 ,whoever is frugal1 then1 or1 if it is more agreeable to you1 whoever is moderate and temperate1 such a one must of course be consistent2 whoever is consistent1 must be quiet2 the quiet man must be free from all perturbation1 therefore from grief likewise3 and these are the properties of a wise man2 therefore a wise man must be free from grief4 ,,ix4 ,so that ,dionysius of ,heraclea is right when1 upon this complaint of ,achilles in ,homer1 ,well hast thou spoke1 but at the tyrant's name ,my rage rekindles1 and my soul's in flame3 ',tis just resentment1 and becomes the brave1 ,disgraced1 dishonor'd like the vilest slave#cg-- he reasons thus3 ,is the hand as it should be1 when it is affected with a swelling8 or is it possible for any other member of the body1 when swollen or enlarged1 to be in any other than a disordered state8 ,must not the mind1 then1 when it is puffed up1 or distended1 be out of order8 ,but the mind of a wise man is always free from every kind of disorder3 it never swells1 never is puffed up2 but the mind when in anger is in a different state4 ,a wise man1 therefore1 is never angry2 for when he is angry1 he lusts after something2 for whoever is angry naturally has a longing desire to give all the pain he can to the person who he thinks has injured him2 and whoever has this earnest desire must necessarily be much pleased with the accomplishment of his wishes2 hence he is delighted with his neighbor's misery2 and as a wise man is not capable of such feelings as these1 he is therefore not capable of anger4 ,but should a wise man be subject to grief1 he may likewise be subject to anger2 for as he is free from anger1 he must likewise be free from grief4 ,again1 could a wise man be subject to grief1 he might also be liable to pity1 or even might be open to a disposition towards envy 7invidentia72 ,i do not say to envy 7invidia71 for that can only exist by the very act of envying3 but we may fairly form the word invidentia from invidendo1 and so avoid the doubtful name invidia2 for this word is probably derived from in and video1 looking too closely into another's fortune2 as it is said in the ,melanippus1 ,who envies me the flower of my children8 where the ,latin is invidit florem4 ,it may appear not good ,latin1 but it is very well put by ,accius2 for as video governs an accusative case1 so it is more correct to say invideo florem than flori4 ,we are debarred from saying so by common usage4 ,the poet stood in his own right1 and expressed himself with more freedom4 ,x4 ,therefore compassion and envy are consistent in the same man2 for whoever is uneasy at any one's adversity is also uneasy at another's prosperity3 as ,theophrastus1 while he laments the death of his companion ,callisthenes1 is at the same time disturbed at the success of ,alexander2 and therefore he says that ,callisthenes met with man of the greatest power and good fortune1 but one who did not know how to make use of his good fortune4 ,and as pity is an uneasiness which arises from the misfortunes of another1 so envy is an uneasiness that proceeds from the good success of another3 therefore whoever is capable of pity is capable of envy4 ,but a wise man is incapable of envy1 and consequently incapable of pity4 ,but were a wise man used to grieve1 to pity also would be familiar to him2 therefore to grieve is a feeling which cannot affect a wise man4 ,now1 though these reasonings of the ,stoics1 and their conclusions1 are rather strained and distorted1 and ought to be expressed in a less stringent and narrow manner1 yet great stress is to be laid on the opinions of those men who have a peculiarly bold and manly turn of thought and sentiment4 ,for our friends the ,peripatetics1 notwithstanding all their erudition1 gravity1 and fluency of language1 do not satisfy me about the moderation of these disorders and diseases of the soul which they insist upon2 for every evil1 though moderate1 is in its nature great4 ,but our object is to make out that the wise man is free from all evil2 for as the body is unsound if it is ever so slightly affected1 so the mind under any moderate disorder loses its soundness2 therefore the ,romans have1 with their usual accuracy of expression1 called trouble1 and anguish1 and vexation1 on account of the analogy between a troubled mind and a diseased body1 disorders4 ,the ,greeks call all perturbation of mind by pretty nearly the same name2 for they name every turbid motion of the soul ,greek3 pathos1 that is to say1 a distemper4 ,but we have given them a more proper name2 for a disorder of the mind is very like a disease of the body4 ,but lust does not resemble sickness2 neither does immoderate joy1 which is an elated and exulting pleasure of the mind4 ,fear1 too1 is not very like a distemper1 though it is akin to grief of mind1 but properly1 as is also the case with sickness of the body1 so too sickness of mind has no name separated from pain4 ,and therefore ,i must explain the origin of this pain1 that is to say1 the cause that occasions this grief in the mind1 as if it were a sickness of the body4 ,for as physicians think they have found out the cure when they have discovered the cause of the distemper1 so we shall discover the method of curing melancholy when the cause of it is found out4 ,,xi4 ,the whole cause1 then1 is in opinion2 and this observation applies not to this grief alone1 but to every other disorder of the mind1 which are of four sorts1 but consisting of many parts4 ,for as every disorder or perturbation is a motion of the mind1 either devoid of reason1 or in despite of reason1 or in disobedience to reason1 and as that motion is excited by an opinion of either good or evil2 these four perturbations are divided equally into two parts3 for two of them proceed from an opinion of good1 one of which is an exulting pleasure1 that is to say1 a joy elated beyond measure1 arising from an opinion of some present great good2 the other is a desire which may fairly be called even a lust1 and is an immoderate inclination after some conceived great good without any obedience to reason4 ,therefore these two kinds1 the exulting pleasure and the lust1 have their rise from an opinion of good1 as the other two1 fear and grief1 have from an opinion of evil4 ,for fear is an opinion of some great evil impending over us1 and grief is an opinion of some great evil present2 and1 indeed1 it is a freshly conceived opinion of an evil so great that to grieve at it seems right3 it is of that kind that he who is uneasy at it thinks he has good reason to be so4 ,now we should exert1 our utmost efforts to oppose these perturbations--which are1 as it were1 so many furies let loose upon us and urged on by folly--if we are desirous to pass this share of life that is allotted to us with ease and satisfaction4 ,but of the other feelings ,i shall speak elsewhere3 our business at present is to drive away grief if we can1 for that shall be the object of our present discussion1 since you have said that it was your opinion that a wise man might be subject to grief1 which ,i can by no means allow of2 for it is a frightful1 miserable1 and detestable thing1 which we should fly from with our utmost efforts--with all our sails and oars1 as ,i may say4 ,,xii4 ,that descendant of ,tantalus1 how does he appear to you--he who sprung from ,pelops1 who formerly stole ,hippodamia from her father-in-law1 ,king ,oenomaus1 and married her by force8--he who was descended from ,jupiter himself1 how broken-hearted and dispirited does he not seem6 ,stand off1 my friends1 nor come within my shade1 ,that no pollutions your sound hearts pervade1 ,so foul a stain my body doth partake4 ,will you condemn yourself1 ,thyestes1 and deprive yourself of life1 on account of the greatness of another's crime8 ,what do you think of that son of ,phoebus8 ,do you not look upon him as unworthy of his own father's light8 ,hollow his eyes1 his body worn away1 ,his furrow'd cheeks his frequent tears betray2 ,his beard neglected1 and his hoary hairs ,rough and uncomb'd1 bespeak his bitter cares4 ,o foolish etes6 these are evils which you yourself have been the cause of1 and are not occasioned by any accidents with which chance has visited you2 and you behaved as you did1 even after you had been inured to your distress1 and after the first swelling of the mind had subsided6--whereas grief consists 7as ,i shall show7 in the notion of some recent evil--but your grief1 it is very plain1 proceeded from the loss of your kingdom1 not of your daughter1 for you hated her1 and perhaps with reason1 but you could not calmly bear to part with your kingdom4 ,but surely it is an impudent grief which preys upon a man for not being able to command those that are free4 ,dionysius1 it is true1 the tyrant of ,syracuse1 when driven from his country1 taught a school at ,corinth2 so incapable was he of living without some authority4 ,but what could be more impudent than ,tarquin1 who made war upon those who could not bear his tyranny2 and1 when he could not recover his kingdom by the aid of the forces of the ,veientians and the ,latins1 is said to have betaken himself to ,cuma1 and to have died in that city of old age and grief6 ,,xiii4 ,do you1 then1 think that it can befall a wise man to be oppressed with grief1 that is to say1 with misery8 for1 as all perturbation is misery1 grief is the rack itself4 ,lust is attended with heat1 exulting joy with levity1 fear with meanness1 but grief with something greater than these2 it consumes1 torments1 afflicts1 and disgraces a man2 it tears him1 preys upon his mind1 and utterly destroys him3 if we do not so divest ourselves of it as to throw it completely off1 we cannot be free from misery4 ,and it is clear that there must be grief where anything has the appearance of a present sore and oppressing evil4 ,epicurus is of opinion that grief arises naturally from the imagination of any evil2 so that whosoever is eye-witness of any great misfortune1 if he conceives that the like may possibly befall himself1 becomes sad instantly from such an idea4 ,the ,cyrenaics think that grief is not engendered by every kind of evil1 but only by unexpected1 unforeseen evil2 and that circumstance is1 indeed1 of no small effect on the heightening of grief2 for whatsoever comes of a sudden appears more formidable4 ,hence these lines are deservedly commended3 ,i knew my son1 when first he drew his breath1 ,destined by fate to an untimely death2 ,and when ,i sent him to defend the ,greeks1 ,war was his business1 not your sportive freaks4 ,,xiv4 ,therefore1 this ruminating beforehand upon future evils which you see at a distance makes their approach more tolerable2 and on this account what ,euripides makes ,theseus say is much commended4 ,you will give me leave to translate them1 as is usual with me3 ,i treasured up what some learn'd sage did tell1 ,and on my future misery did dwell2 ,i thought of bitter death1 of being drove ,far from my home by exile1 and ,i strove ,with every evil to possess my mind1 ,that1 when they came1 ,i the less care might find4#ch ,but ,euripides says that of himself1 which ,theseus said he had heard from some learned man1 for the poet had been a pupil of ,anaxagoras1 who1 as they relate1 on hearing of the death of his son1 said1 ,i knew that my son was mortal2 which speech seems to intimate that such things afflict those men who have not thought on them before4 ,therefore1 there is no doubt but that all those things which are considered evils are the heavier from not being foreseen4 ,though1 notwithstanding this is not the only circumstance which occasions the greatest grief1 still1 as the mind1 by foreseeing and preparing for it1 has great power to make all grief the less1 a man should at all times consider all the events that may befall him in this life2 and certainly the excellence and divine nature of wisdom consists in taking a near view of1 and gaining a thorough acquaintance with1 all human affairs1 in not being surprised when anything happens1 and in thinking1 before the event1 that there is nothing but what may come to pass4 ,wherefore ev'ry man1 ,when his affairs go on most swimmingly1 ,e'en then it most behooves to arm himself ,against the coming storm3 loss1 danger1 exile1 ,returning ever1 let him look to meet2 ,his son in fault1 wife dead1 or daughter sick2 ,all common accidents1 and may have happen'd ,that nothing shall seem new or strange4 ,but if ,aught has fall'n out beyond his hopes1 all that ,let him account clear gain4#ci ,,xv4 ,therefore1 as ,terence has so well expressed what he borrowed from philosophy1 shall not we1 from whose fountains he drew it1 say the same thing in a better manner1 and abide by it with more steadiness8 ,hence came that steady countenance1 which1 according to ,xantippe1 her husband ,socrates always had2 so that she said that she never observed any difference in his looks when he went out and when he came home4 ,yet the look of that old ,roman1 ,m4 ,crassus1 who1 as ,lucilius says1 never smiled but once in his lifetime1 was not of this kind1 but placid and serene1 for so we are told4 ,he1 indeed1 might well have had the same look at all times who never changed his mind1 from which the countenance derives its expression4 ,so that ,i am ready to borrow of the ,cyrenaics those arms against the accidents and events of life by means of which1 by long premeditation1 they break the force of all approaching evils2 and at the same time ,i think that those very evils themselves arise more from opinion than nature1 for if they were real1 no forecast could make them lighter4 ,but ,i shall speak more particularly on these matters after ,i have first considered ,epicurus's opinion1 who thinks that all people must necessarily be uneasy who believe themselves to be in any evils1 let them be either foreseen and expected1 or habitual to them2 for with him evils are not the less by reason of their continuance1 nor the lighter for having been foreseen2 and it is folly to ruminate on evils to come1 or such as1 perhaps1 never may come3 every evil is disagreeable enough when it does come2 but he who is constantly considering that some evil may befall him is loading himself with a perpetual evil2 and even should such evil never light on him1 he voluntarily takes upon himself unnecessary misery1 so that he is under constant uneasiness1 whether he actually suffers any evil1 or only thinks of it4 ,but he makes the alleviation of grief depend on two things--a ceasing to think on evil1 and a turning to the contemplation of pleasure4 ,for he thinks that the mind may possibly be under the power of reason1 and follow her directions3 he forbids us1 therefore1 to mind trouble1 and calls us off from sorrowful reflections2 he throws a mist over our eyes to hinder us from the contemplation of misery4 ,having sounded a retreat from this statement1 he drives our thoughts on again1 and encourages them to view and engage the whole mind in the various pleasures with which he thinks the life of a wise man abounds1 either from reflecting on the past1 or from the hope of what is to come4 ,i have said these things in my own way2 the ,epicureans have theirs4 ,however1 let us examine what they say2 how they say it is of little consequence4 ,,xvi4 ,in the first place1 they are wrong in forbidding men to premeditate on futurity and blaming their wish to do so2 for there is nothing that breaks the edge of grief and lightens it more than considering1 during one's whole life1 that there is nothing which it is impossible should happen1 or than1 considering what human nature is1 on what conditions life was given1 and how we may comply with them4 ,the effect of which is that we are always grieving1 but that we never do so2 for whoever reflects on the nature of things1 the various turns of life1 and the weakness of human nature1 grieves1 indeed1 at that reflection2 but while so grieving he is1 above all other times1 behaving as a wise man1 for he gains these two things by it3 one1 that while he is considering the state of human nature he is performing the especial duties of philosophy1 and is provided with a triple medicine against adversity--in the first place1 because he has long reflected that such things might befall him1 and this reflection by itself contributes much towards lessening and weakening all misfortunes2 and1 secondly1 because he is persuaded that we should bear all the accidents which can happen to man with the feelings and spirit of a man2 and1 lastly1 because he considers that what is blamable is the only evil4 ,but it is not your fault that something has happened to you which it was impossible for man to avoid4 ,for that withdrawing of our thoughts which he recommends when he calls us off from contemplating our misfortunes is an imaginary action2 for it is not in our power to dissemble or to forget those evils which lie heavy on us2 they tear1 vex1 and sting us--they burn us up1 and leave no breathing time4 ,and do you order us to forget them 7for such forgetfulness is contrary to nature71 and at the same time deprive us of the only assistance which nature affords1 the being accustomed to them8 ,for that1 though it is but a slow medicine 7,i mean that which is brought by lapse of time71 is still a very effectual one4 ,you order me to employ my thoughts on something good1 and forget my misfortunes4 ,you would say something worthy a great philosopher if you thought those things good which are best suited to the dignity of human nature4 ,,xvii4 ,should ,pythagoras1 ,socrates1 or ,plato say to me1 ,why are you dejected or sad8 ,why do you faint1 and yield to fortune1 which1 perhaps1 may have power to harass and disturb you1 but should not quite unman you8 ,there is great power in the virtues2 rouse them1 if they chance to droop4 ,take fortitude for your guide1 which will give you such spirits that you will despise everything that can befall man1 and look on it as a trifle4 ,add to this temperance1 which is moderation1 and which was just now called frugality1 which will not suffer you to do anything base or bad--for what is worse or baser than an effeminate man8 ,not even justice will suffer you to act in this manner1 though she seems to have the least weight in this affair2 but still1 notwithstanding1 even she will inform you that you are doubly unjust when you both require what does not belong to you1 inasmuch as though you who have been born mortal demand to be placed in the condition of the immortals1 and at the same time you take it much to heart that you are to restore what was lent you4 ,what answer will you make to prudence1 who informs you that she is a virtue sufficient of herself both to teach you a good life and also to secure you a happy one8 ,and1 indeed1 if she were fettered by external circumstances1 and dependent on others1 and if she did not originate in herself and return to herself1 and also embrace everything in herself1 so as to seek no adventitious aid from any quarter1 ,i cannot imagine why she should appear deserving of such lofty panegyrics1 or of being sought after with such excessive eagerness4 ,now1 ,epicurus1 if you call me back to such goods as these1 ,i will obey you1 and follow you1 and use you as my guide1 and even forget1 as you order me1 all my misfortunes2 and ,i will do this the more readily from a persuasion that they are not to be ranked among evils at all4 ,but you are for bringing my thoughts over to pleasure4 ,what pleasures8 ,pleasures of the body1 ,i imagine1 or such as are recollected or imagined on account of the body4 ,is this all8 ,do ,i explain your opinion rightly8 for your disciples are used to deny that we understand at all what ,epicurus means4 ,this is what he says1 and what that subtle fellow1 old ,zeno1 who is one of the sharpest of them1 used1 when ,i was attending lectures at ,athens1 to enforce and talk so loudly of2 saying that he alone was happy who could enjoy present pleasure1 and who was at the same time persuaded that he should enjoy it without pain1 either during the whole or the greatest part of his life2 or if1 should any pain interfere1 if it was very sharp1 then it must be short2 should it be of longer continuance1 it would have more of what was sweet than bitter in it2 that whosoever reflected on these things would be happy1 especially if satisfied with the good things which he had already enjoyed1 and if he were without fear of death or of the ,gods4 ,,xviii4 ,you have here a representation of a happy life according to ,epicurus1 in the words of ,zeno1 so that there is no room for contradiction in any point4 ,what1 then8 ,can the proposing and thinking of such a life make ,thyestes's grief the less1 or etes's1 of whom ,i spoke above1 or ,telamon's1 who was driven from his country to penury and banishment8 in wonder at whom men exclaimed thus3 ,is this the man surpassing glory raised8 ,is this that ,telamon so highly praised ,by wondering ,greece1 at whose sight1 like the sun1 ,all others with diminish'd lustre shone8 ,now1 should any one1 as the same author says1 find his spirits sink with the loss of his fortune1 he must apply to those grave philosophers of antiquity for relief1 and not to these voluptuaries3 for what great abundance of good do they promise8 ,suppose that we allow that to be without pain is the chief good8 ,yet that is not called pleasure4 ,but it is not necessary at present to go through the whole3 the question is1 to what point are we to advance in order to abate our grief8 ,grant that to be in pain is the greatest evil3 whosoever1 then1 has proceeded so far as not to be in pain1 is he1 therefore1 in immediate possession of the greatest good8 ,why1 ,epicurus1 do we use any evasions1 and not allow in our own words the same feeling to be pleasure which you are used to boast of with such assurance8 ,are these your words or not8 ,this is what you say in that book which contains all the doctrine of your school2 for ,i will perform on this occasion the office of a translator1 lest any one should imagine that ,i am inventing anything4 ,thus you speak3 ,nor can ,i form any notion of the chief good1 abstracted from those pleasures which are perceived by taste1 or from what depends on hearing music1 or abstracted from ideas raised by external objects visible to the eye1 or by agreeable motions1 or from those other pleasures which are perceived by the whole man by means of any of his senses2 nor can it possibly be said that the pleasures of the mind are excited only by what is good1 for ,i have perceived men's minds to be pleased with the hopes of enjoying those things which ,i mentioned above1 and with the idea that it should enjoy them without any interruption from pain4 ,and these are his exact words1 so that any one may understand what were the pleasures with which ,epicurus was acquainted4 ,then he speaks thus1 a little lower down3 ,i have often inquired of those who have been called wise men what would be the remaining good if they should exclude from consideration all these pleasures1 unless they meant to give us nothing but words4 ,i could never learn anything from them2 and unless they choose that all virtue and wisdom should vanish and come to nothing1 they must say with me that the only road to happiness lies through those pleasures which ,i mentioned above4 ,what follows is much the same1 and his whole book on the chief good everywhere abounds with the same opinions4 ,will you1 then1 invite ,telamon to this kind of life to ease his grief8 ,and should you observe any one of your friends under affliction1 would you rather prescribe him a sturgeon than a treatise of ,socrates8 or advise him to listen to the music of a water organ rather than to ,plato8 or lay before him the beauty and variety of some garden1 put a nosegay to his nose1 burn perfumes before him1 and bid him crown himself with a garland of roses and woodbines8 ,should you add one thing more1 you would certainly wipe out all his grief4 ,,xix4 ,epicurus must admit these arguments1 or he must take out of his book what ,i just now said was a literal translation2 or1 rather1 he must destroy his whole book1 for it is crammed full of pleasures4 ,we must inquire1 then1 how we can ease him of his grief who speaks in this manner3 ,my present state proceeds from fortune's stings2 ,by birth ,i boast of a descent from kings2 ,hence may you see from what a noble height ,i'm sunk by fortune to this abject plight4 ,what6 to ease his grief1 must we mix him a cup of sweet wine1 or something of that kind8 ,lo6 the same poet presents us with another sentiment somewhere else3 ,i1 ,hector1 once so great1 now claim your aid4 ,we should assist her1 for she looks out for help3 ,where shall ,i now apply1 where seek support8 ,where hence betake me1 or to whom resort8 ,no means remain of comfort or of joy1 ,in flames my palace1 and in ruins ,troy2 ,each wall1 so late superb1 deformed nods1 ,and not an altar's left t' appease the ,gods4 ,you know what should follow1 and particularly this3 ,of father1 country1 and of friends bereft1 ,not one of all these sumptuous temples left2 ,which1 while the fortune of our house did stand1 ,with rich wrought ceilings spoke the artist's hand4 ,o excellent poet6 though despised by those who sing the verses of ,euphorion4 ,he is sensible that all things which come on a sudden are harder to be borne4 ,therefore1 when he had set off the riches of ,priam to the best advantage1 which had the appearance of a long continuance1 what does he add8 ,lo6 these all perish'd in one blazing pile2 ,the foe old ,priam of his life beguiled1 ,and with his blood1 thy altar1 ,jove1 defiled4 ,admirable poetry6 ,there is something mournful in the subject1 as well as in the words and measure4 ,we must drive away this grief of hers3 how is that to be done8 ,shall we lay her on a bed of down2 introduce a singer2 shall we burn cedar1 or present here with some pleasant liquor1 and provide her something to eat8 ,are these the good things which remove the most afflicting grief8 ,for you but just now said you knew of no other good4 ,i should agree with ,epicurus that we ought to be called off from grief to contemplate good things1 if we could only agree upon what was good4 ,,xx4 ,it may be said1 ,what6 do you imagine ,epicurus really meant this1 and that he maintained anything so sensual8 ,indeed ,i do not imagine so1 for ,i am sensible that he has uttered many excellent things and sentiments1 and delivered maxims of great weight4 ,therefore1 as ,i said before1 ,i am speaking of his acuteness1 not of his morals4 ,though he should hold those pleasures in contempt which he just now commended1 yet ,i must remember wherein he places the chief good4 ,for he was not contented with barely saying this1 but he has explained what he meant3 he says that taste1 and embraces1 and sports1 and music1 and those forms which affect the eyes with pleasure1 are the chief good4 ,have ,i invented this8 have ,i misrepresented him8 ,i should be glad to be confuted2 for what am ,i endeavoring at but to clear up truth in every question8 ,well1 but the same man says that pleasure is at its height where pain ceases1 and that to be free from all pain is the very greatest pleasure4 ,here are three very great mistakes in a very few words4 ,one is1 that he contradicts himself2 for1 but just now1 he could not imagine anything good unless the senses were in a manner tickled with some pleasure2 but now he says that to be free from pain is the highest pleasure4 ,can any one contradict himself more8 ,the next mistake is1 that where there is naturally a threefold division--the first1 to be pleased2 next1 to be in pain2 the last1 to be affected neither by pleasure nor pain--he imagines the first and the last to be the same1 and makes no difference between pleasure and a cessation of pain4 ,the last mistake he falls into in common with some others1 which is this3 that as virtue is the most desirable thing1 and as philosophy has been investigated with a view to the attainment of it1 he has separated the chief good from virtue4 ,but he commends virtue1 and that frequently2 and indeed ,c4 ,gracchus1 when he had made the largest distributions of the public money1 and had exhausted the treasury1 nevertheless spoke much of defending the treasury4 ,what signifies what men say when we see what they do8 ,that ,piso1 who was surnamed ,frugal1 had always harangued against the law that was proposed for distributing the corn2 but when it had passed1 though a man of consular dignity1 he came to receive the corn4 ,gracchus observed ,piso standing in the court1 and asked him1 in the hearing of the people1 how it was consistent for him to take corn by a law he had himself opposed4 ,it was1 said he1 against your distributing my goods to every man as you thought proper2 but1 as you do so1 ,i claim my share4 ,did not this grave and wise man sufficiently show that the public revenue was dissipated by the ,sempronian law8 ,read ,gracchus's speeches1 and you will pronounce him the advocate of the treasury4 ,epicurus denies that any one can live pleasantly who does not lead a life of virtue2 he denies that fortune has any power over a wise man2 he prefers a spare diet to great plenty1 and maintains that a wise man is always happy4 ,all these things become a philosopher to say1 but they are not consistent with pleasure4 ,but the reply is1 that he doth not mean that pleasure3 let him mean any pleasure1 it must be such a one as makes no part of virtue4 ,but suppose we are mistaken as to his pleasure2 are we so1 too1 as to his pain8 ,i maintain1 therefore1 the impropriety of language which that man uses1 when talking of virtue1 who would measure every great evil by pain4 ,,xxi4 ,and indeed the ,epicureans1 those best of men--for there is no order of men more innocent--complain that ,i take great pains to inveigh against ,epicurus4 ,we are rivals1 ,i suppose1 for some honor or distinction4 ,i place the chief good in the mind1 he in the body2 ,i in virtue1 he in pleasure2 and the ,epicureans are up in arms1 and implore the assistance of their neighbors1 and many are ready to fly to their aid4 ,but as for my part1 ,i declare that ,i am very indifferent about the matter1 and that ,i consider the whole discussion which they are so anxious about at an end4 ,for what6 is the contention about the ,punic war8 on which very subject1 though ,m4 ,cato and ,l4 ,lentulus were of different opinions1 still there was no difference between them4 ,but these men behave with too much heat1 especially as the opinions which they would uphold are no very spirited ones1 and such as they dare not plead for either in the senate or before the assembly of the people1 or before the army or the censors4 ,but1 however1 ,i will argue with them another time1 and with such a disposition that no quarrel shall arise between us2 for ,i shall be ready to yield to their opinions when founded on truth4 ,only ,i must give them this advice3 ,that were it ever so true1 that a wise man regards nothing but the body1 or1 to express myself with more decency1 never does anything except what is expedient1 and views all things with exclusive reference to his own advantage1 as such things are not very commendable1 they should confine them to their own breasts1 and leave off talking with that parade of them4 ,,xxii4 ,what remains is the opinion of the ,cyrenaics1 who think that men grieve when anything happens unexpectedly4 ,and that is indeed1 as ,i said before1 a great aggravation of a misfortune2 and ,i know that it appeared so to ,chrysippus--,whatever falls out unexpected is so much the heavier4 ,but the whole question does not turn on this2 though the sudden approach of an enemy sometimes occasions more confusion than it would if you had expected him1 and a sudden storm at sea throws the sailors into a greater fright than one which they have foreseen2 and it is the same in many other cases4 ,but when you carefully consider the nature of what was expected1 you will find nothing more than that all things which come on a sudden appear greater2 and this upon two accounts3 first of all1 because you have not time to consider how great the accident is2 and1 secondly1 because you are probably persuaded that you could have guarded against it had you foreseen if1 and therefore the misfortune1 having been seemingly encountered by your own fault1 makes your grief the greater4 ,that it is so1 time evinces2 which1 as it advances1 brings with it so much mitigation that though the same misfortunes continue1 the grief not only becomes the less1 but in some cases is entirely removed4 ,many ,carthaginians were slaves at ,rome1 and many ,macedonians1 when ,perseus their king was taken prisoner4 ,i saw1 too1 when ,i was a young man1 some ,corinthians in the ,peloponnesus4 ,they might all have lamented with ,andromache1 ,all these ,i saw4444442 but they had perhaps given over lamenting themselves1 for by their countenances1 and speech1 and other gestures you might have taken them for ,argives or ,sicyonians4 ,and ,i myself was more concerned at the ruined walls of ,corinth than the ,corinthians themselves were1 whose minds by frequent reflection and time had become callous to such sights4 ,i have read a book of ,clitomachus1 which he sent to his fellow-citizens who were prisoners1 to comfort them after the destruction of ,carthage4 ,there is in it a treatise written by ,carneades1 which1 as ,clitomachus says1 he had inserted into his book2 the subject was1 ,that it appeared probable that a wise man would grieve at the state of subjection of his country1 and all the arguments which ,carneades used against this proposition are set down in the book4 ,there the philosopher applies such a strong medicine to a fresh grief as would be quite unnecessary in one of any continuance2 nor1 if this very book had been sent to the captives some years after1 would it have found any wounds to cure1 but only scars2 for grief1 by a gentle progress and slow degrees1 wears away imperceptibly4 ,not that the circumstances which gave rise to it are altered1 or can be1 but that custom teaches what reason should--that those things which before seemed to be of some consequence are of no such great importance1 after all4 ,,xxiii4 ,it may be said1 ,what occasion is there to apply to reason1 or to any sort of consolation such as we generally make use of1 to mitigate the grief of the afflicted8 ,for we have this argument always at hand1 that nothing ought to appear unexpected4 ,but how will any one be enabled to bear his misfortunes the better by knowing that it is unavoidable that such things should happen to man8 ,saying this subtracts nothing from the sum of the grief3 it only asserts that nothing has fallen out but what might have been anticipated2 and yet this manner of speaking has some little consolation in it1 though ,i apprehend not a great deal4 ,therefore those unlooked-for things have not so much force as to give rise to all our grief2 the blow perhaps may fall the heavier1 but whatever happens does not appear the greater on that account4 ,no1 it is the fact of its having happened lately1 and not of its having befallen us unexpectedly1 that makes it seem the greater4 ,there are two ways1 then1 of discerning the truth1 not only of things that seem evil1 but of those that have the appearance of good4 ,for we either inquire into the nature of the thing1 of what description1 and magnitude1 and importance it is--as sometimes with regard to poverty1 the burden of which we may lighten when by our disputations we show how few things nature requires1 and of what a trifling kind they are--or1 without any subtle arguing1 we refer them to examples1 as here we instance a ,socrates1 there a ,diogenes1 and then again that line in ,ccilius1 ,wisdom is oft conceal'd in mean attire4 ,for as poverty is of equal weight with all1 what reason can be given why what was borne by ,fabricius should be spoken of by any one else as unsupportable when it falls upon themselves8 ,of a piece with this is that other way of comforting1 which consists in pointing out that nothing has happened but what is common to human nature2 for this argument doth not only inform us what human nature is1 but implies that all things are tolerable which others have borne and are bearing4 ,,xxiv4 ,is poverty the subject8 ,they tell you of many who have submitted to it with patience4 ,is it the contempt of honors8 ,they acquaint you with some who never enjoyed any1 and were the happier for it2 and of those who have preferred a private retired life to public employment1 mentioning their names with respect2 they tell you of the verse#dj of that most powerful king who praises an old man1 and pronounces him happy because he was unknown to fame and seemed likely to arrive at the hour of death in obscurity and without notice4 ,thus1 too1 they have examples for those who are deprived of their children3 they who are under any great grief are comforted by instances of like affliction2 and thus the endurance of every misfortune is rendered more easy by the fact of others having undergone the same1 and the fate of others causes what has happened to appear less important than it has been previously thought1 and reflection thus discovers to us how much opinion had imposed on us4 ,and this is what the ,telamon declares1 ,i1 when my son was born1 etc42 and thus ,theseus1 ,i on my future misery did dwell2 and ,anaxagoras1 ,i knew my son was mortal4 ,all these men1 by frequently reflecting on human affairs1 had discovered that they were by no means to be estimated by the opinion of the multitude2 and1 indeed1 it seems to me to be pretty much the same case with those who consider beforehand as with those who derive their remedies from time1 excepting that a kind of reason cures the one1 and the other remedy is provided by nature2 by which we discover 7and this contains the whole marrow of the matter7 that what was imagined to be the greatest evil is by no means so great as to defeat the happiness of life4 ,and the effect of this is1 that the blow is greater by reason of its not having been foreseen1 and not1 as they suppose1 that when similar misfortunes befall two different people1 that man only is affected with grief whom this calamity has befallen unexpectedly4 ,so that some persons1 under the oppression of grief1 are said to have borne it actually worse for hearing of this common condition of man1 that we are born under such conditions as render it impossible for a man to be exempt from all evil4 ,,xxv4 ,for this reason ,carneades1 as ,i see our friend ,antiochus writes1 used to blame ,chrysippus for commending these verses of ,euripides3 ,man1 doom'd to care1 to pain1 disease1 and strife1 ,walks his short journey thro' the vale of life3 ,watchful attends the cradle and the grave1 ,and passing generations longs to save3 ,last1 dies himself3 yet wherefore should we mourn8 ,for man must to his kindred dust return2 ,submit to the destroying hand of fate1 ,as ripen'd ears the harvest-sickle wait4#da ,he would not allow a speech of this kind to avail at all to the cure of our grief1 for he said it was a lamentable case itself that we were fallen into the hands of such a cruel fate2 and that a speech like that1 preaching up comfort from the misfortunes of another1 was a comfort adapted only to those of a malevolent disposition4 ,but to me it appears far otherwise2 for the necessity of bearing what is the common condition of humanity forbids your resisting the will of the ,gods1 and reminds you that you are a man1 which reflection greatly alleviates grief2 and the enumeration of these examples is not produced with a view to please those of a malevolent disposition1 but in order that any one in affliction may be induced to bear what he observes many others have previously borne with tranquillity and moderation4 ,for they who are falling to pieces1 and cannot hold together through the greatness of their grief1 should be supported by all kinds of assistance4 ,from whence ,chrysippus thinks that grief is called ,greek3 lyp1 as it were ,greek3 lysis1 that is to say1 a dissolution of the whole man--the whole of which ,i think may be pulled up by the roots by explaining1 as ,i said at the beginning1 the cause of grief2 for it is nothing else but an opinion and judgment formed of a present acute evil4 ,and thus any bodily pain1 let it be ever so grievous1 may be endurable where any hopes are proposed of some considerable good2 and we receive such consolation from a virtuous and illustrious life that they who lead such lives are seldom attacked by grief1 or but slightly affected by it4 ,,xxvi4 ,but as besides this opinion of great evil there is this other added also--that we ought to lament what has happened1 that it is right so to do1 and part of our duty1 then is brought about that terrible disorder of mind1 grief4 ,and it is to this opinion that we owe all those various and horrid kinds of lamentation1 that neglect of our persons1 that womanish tearing of our cheeks1 that striking on our thighs1 breasts1 and heads4 ,thus ,agamemnon1 in ,homer and in ,accius1 ,tears in his grief his uncomb'd locks2#db from whence comes that pleasant saying of ,bion1 that the foolish king in his sorrow tore away the hairs of his head1 imagining that his grief would be alleviated by baldness4 ,but men do all these things from being persuaded that they ought to do so4 ,and thus schines inveighs against ,demosthenes for sacrificing within seven days after the death of his daughter4 ,but with what eloquence1 with what fluency1 does he attack him6 what sentiments does he collect6 what words does he hurl against him6 ,you may see by this that an orator may do anything2 but nobody would approve of such license if it were not that we have an idea innate in our minds that every good man ought to lament the loss of a relation as bitterly as possible4 ,and it is owing to this that some men1 when in sorrow1 betake themselves to deserts1 as ,homer says of ,bellerophon3 ,distracted in his mind1 ,forsook by heaven1 forsaking human kind1 ,wide o'er the ,alean field he chose to stray1 ,a long1 forlorn1 uncomfortable way6#dc ,and thus ,niobe is feigned to have been turned into stone1 from her never speaking1 ,i suppose1 in her grief4 ,but they imagine ,hecuba to have been converted into a bitch1 from her rage and bitterness of mind4 ,there are others who love to converse with solitude itself when in grief1 as the nurse in ,ennius1 ,fain would ,i to the heavens find earth relate ,medea's ceaseless woes and cruel fate4#dd ,,xxvii4 ,now all these things are done in grief1 from a persuasion of their truth and propriety and necessity2 and it is plain that those who behave thus do so from a conviction of its being their duty2 for should these mourners by chance drop their grief1 and either act or speak for a moment in a more calm or cheerful manner1 they presently check themselves and return to their lamentations again1 and blame themselves for having been guilty of any intermissions from their grief2 and parents and masters generally correct children not by words only1 but by blows1 if they show any levity by either word or deed when the family is under affliction1 and1 as it were1 oblige them to be sorrowful4 ,what6 does it not appear1 when you have ceased to mourn1 and have discovered that your grief has been ineffectual1 that the whole of that mourning was voluntary on your part8 ,what does that man say in ,terence who punishes himself1 the ,self-tormentor8 ,i think ,i do my son less harm1 ,o ,chremes1 ,as long as ,i myself am miserable4 ,he determines to be miserable3 and can any one determine on anything against his will8 ,i well might think that ,i deserved all evil4 ,he would think he deserved any misfortune were he otherwise than miserable6 ,therefore1 you see1 the evil is in opinion1 not in nature4 ,how is it when some things do of themselves prevent your grieving at them8 as in ,homer1 so many died and were buried daily that they had not leisure to grieve3 where you find these lines-- ,the great1 the bold1 by thousands daily fall1 ,and endless were the grief to weep for all4 ,eternal sorrows what avails to shed8 ,greece honors not with solemn fasts the dead3 ,enough when death demands the brave to pay ,the tribute of a melancholy day4 ,one chief with patience to the grave resign'd1 ,our care devolves on others left behind4#de ,therefore it is in our own power to lay aside grief upon occasion2 and is there any opportunity 7seeing the thing is in our own power7 that we should let slip of getting rid of care and grief8 ,it was plain that the friends of ,cnus ,pompeius1 when they saw him fainting under his wounds1 at the very moment of that most miserable and bitter sight were under great uneasiness how they themselves1 surrounded by the enemy as they were1 should escape1 and were employed in nothing but encouraging the rowers and aiding their escape2 but when they reached ,tyre1 they began to grieve and lament over him4 ,therefore1 as fear with them1 prevailed over grief1 cannot reason and true philosophy have the same effect with a wise man8 ,,xxviii4 ,but what is there more effectual to dispel grief than the discovery that it answers no purpose1 and has been undergone to no account8 ,therefore1 if we can get rid of it1 we need never have been subject to it4 ,it must be acknowledged1 then1 that men take up grief wilfully and knowingly2 and this appears from the patience of those who1 after they have been exercised in afflictions and are better able to bear whatever befalls them1 suppose themselves hardened against fortune2 as that person in ,euripides1 ,had this the first essay of fortune been1 ,and ,i no storms thro' all my life had seen1 ,wild as a colt ,i'd broke from reason's sway2 ,but frequent griefs have taught me to obey4#df ,as1 then1 the frequent bearing of misery makes grief the lighter1 we must necessarily perceive that the cause and original of it does not lie in the calamity itself4 ,your principal philosophers1 or lovers of wisdom1 though they have not yet arrived at perfect wisdom1 are not they sensible that they are in the greatest evil8 ,for they are foolish1 and foolishness is the greatest of all evils1 and yet they lament not4 ,how shall we account for this8 ,because opinion is not fixed upon that kind of evil1 it is not our opinion that it is right1 meet1 and our duty to be uneasy because we are not all wise men4 ,whereas this opinion is strongly affixed to that uneasiness where mourning is concerned1 which is the greatest of all grief4 ,therefore ,aristotle1 when he blames some ancient philosophers for imagining that by their genius they had brought philosophy to the highest perfection1 says1 they must be either extremely foolish or extremely vain2 but that he himself could see that great improvements had been made therein in a few years1 and that philosophy would in a little time arrive at perfection4 ,and ,theophrastus is reported to have reproached nature at his death for giving to stags and crows so long a life1 which was of no use to them1 but allowing only so short a span to men1 to whom length of days would have been of the greatest use2 for if the life of man could have been lengthened1 it would have been able to provide itself with all kinds of learning1 and with arts in the greatest perfection4 ,he lamented1 therefore1 that he was dying just when he had begun to discover these4 ,what6 does not every grave and distinguished philosopher acknowledge himself ignorant of many things1 and confess that there are many things which he must learn over and over again8 ,and yet1 though these men are sensible that they are standing still in the very midway of folly1 than which nothing can be worse1 they are under no great affliction1 because no opinion that it is their duty to lament is ever mingled with this knowledge4 ,what shall we say of those who think it unbecoming in a man to grieve8 among whom we may reckon ,q4 ,maximus1 when he buried his son that had been consul1 and ,l4 ,paulus1 who lost two sons within a few days of one another4 ,of the same opinion was ,m4 ,cato1 who lost his son just after he had been elected prtor1 and many others1 whose names ,i have collected in my book on ,consolation4 ,now what made these men so easy1 but their persuasion that grief and lamentation was not becoming in a man8 ,therefore1 as some give themselves up to grief from an opinion that it is right so to do1 they refrained themselves1 from an opinion that it was discreditable2 from which we may infer that grief is owing more to opinion than nature4 ,,xxix4 ,it may be said1 on the other side1 ,who is so mad as to grieve of his own accord8 ,pain proceeds from nature1 which you must submit to1 say they1 agreeably to what even your own ,crantor teaches1 for it presses and gains upon you unavoidably1 and cannot possibly be resisted4 ,so that the very same ,oileus1 in ,sophocles1 who had before comforted ,telamon on the death of ,ajax1 on hearing of the death of his own son1 is broken-hearted4 ,on this alteration of his mind we have these lines3 ,show me the man so well by wisdom taught ,that what he charges to another's fault1 ,when like affliction doth himself betide1 ,true to his own wise counsel will abide4#dg ,now1 when they urge these things1 their endeavor is to prove that nature is absolutely and wholly irresistible2 and yet the same people allow that we take greater grief on ourselves than nature requires4 ,what madness is it1 then1 in us to require the same from others8 ,but there are many reasons for our taking grief on us4 ,the first is from the opinion of some evil1 on the discovery and certainty of which grief comes of course4 ,besides1 many people are persuaded that they are doing something very acceptable to the dead when they lament bitterly over them4 ,to these may be added a kind of womanish superstition1 in imagining that when they have been stricken by the afflictions sent by the ,gods1 to acknowledge themselves afflicted and humbled by them is the readiest way of appeasing them4 ,but most men appear to be unaware what contradictions these things are full of4 ,they commend those who die calmly1 but they blame those who can bear the loss of another with the same calmness1 as if it were possible that it should be true1 as is occasionally said in love speeches1 that any one can love another more than himself4 ,there is1 indeed1 something excellent in this1 and1 if you examine it1 something no less just than true1 that we love those who ought to be most dear to us as well as we love ourselves2 but to love them more than ourselves is absolutely impossible2 nor is it desirable in friendship that ,i should love my friend more than myself1 or that he should love me so2 for this would occasion much confusion in life1 and break in upon all the duties of it4 ,,xxx4 ,but we will speak of this another time3 at present it is sufficient not to attribute our misery to the loss of our friends1 nor to love them more than1 if they themselves could be sensible of our conduct1 they would approve of1 or at least not more than we do ourselves4 ,now as to what they say1 that some are not at all appeased by our consolations2 and1 moreover1 as to what they add1 that the comforters themselves acknowledge they are miserable when fortune varies the attack and falls on them--in both these cases the solution is easy3 for the fault here is not in nature1 but in our own folly2 and much may be said against folly4 ,but men who do not admit of consolation seem to bespeak misery for themselves2 and they who cannot bear their misfortunes with that temper which they recommend to others are not more faulty in this particular than most other persons2 for we see that covetous men find fault with others who are covetous1 as do the vainglorious with those who appear too wholly devoted to the pursuit of glory4 ,for it is the peculiar characteristic of folly to perceive the vices of others1 but to forget its own4 ,but since we find that grief is removed by length of time1 we have the greatest proof that the strength of it depends not merely on time1 but on the daily consideration of it4 ,for if the cause continues the same1 and the man be the same1 how can there be any alteration in the grief1 if there is no change in what occasioned the grief1 nor in him who grieves8 ,therefore it is from daily reflecting that there is no real evil in the circumstance for which you grieve1 and not from the length of time1 that you procure a remedy for your grief4 ,,xxxi4 ,here some people talk of moderate grief2 but if such be natural1 what occasion is there for consolation8 for nature herself will determine1 the measure of it3 but if it depends on and is caused by opinion1 the whole opinion should be destroyed4 ,i think that it has been sufficiently said1 that grief arises from an opinion of some present evil1 which includes this belief1 that it is incumbent on us to grieve4 ,to this definition ,zeno has added1 very justly1 that the opinion of this present evil should be recent4 ,now this word recent they explain thus3 those are not the only recent things which happened a little while ago2 but as long as there shall be any force1 or vigor1 or freshness in that imagined evil1 so long it is entitled to the name of recent4 ,take the case of ,artemisia1 the wife of ,mausolus1 ,king of ,caria1 who made that noble sepulchre at ,halicarnassus2 while she lived1 she lived in grief1 and died of it1 being worn out by it1 for that opinion was always recent with her3 but you cannot call that recent which has already begun to decay through time4 ,now the duty of a comforter is1 to remove grief entirely1 to quiet it1 or draw it off as much as you can1 or else to keep it under1 and prevent its spreading any further1 and to divert one's attention to other matters4 ,there are some who think1 with ,cleanthes1 that the only duty of a comforter is to prove that what one is lamenting is by no means an evil4 ,others1 as the ,peripatetics1 prefer urging that the evil is not great4 ,others1 with ,epicurus1 seek to divert your attention from the evil to good3 some think it sufficient to show that nothing has happened but what you had reason to expect2 and this is the practice of the ,cyrenaics4 ,but ,chrysippus thinks that the main thing in comforting is1 to remove the opinion from the person who is grieving1 that to grieve is his bounden duty4 ,there are others who bring together all these various kinds of consolations1 for people are differently affected2 as ,i have done myself in my book on ,consolation2 for as my own mind was much disordered1 ,i have attempted in that book to discover every method of cure4 ,but the proper season is as much to be attended to in the cure of the mind as of the body2 as ,prometheus in schylus1 on its being said to him1 ,i think1 ,prometheus1 you this tenet hold1 ,that all men's reason should their rage control8 answers1 ,yes1 when one reason properly applies2 ,ill-timed advice will make the storm but rise4#dh ,,xxxii4 ,but the principal medicine to be applied in consolation is1 to maintain either that it is no evil at all1 or a very inconsiderable one3 the next best to that is1 to speak of the common condition of life1 having a view1 if possible1 to the state of the person whom you comfort particularly4 ,the third is1 that it is folly to wear one's self out with grief which can avail nothing4 ,for the comfort of ,cleanthes is suitable only for a wise man1 who is in no need of any comfort at all2 for could you persuade one in grief that nothing is an evil but what is base1 you would not only cure him of grief1 but folly4 ,but the time for such precepts is not well chosen4 ,besides1 ,cleanthes does not seem to me sufficiently aware that affliction may very often proceed from that very thing which he himself allows to be the greatest misfortune4 ,for what shall we say8 ,when ,socrates had convinced ,alcibiades1 as we are told1 that he had no distinctive qualifications as a man different from other people1 and that1 in fact1 there was no difference between him1 though a man of the highest rank1 and a porter2 and when ,alcibiades became uneasy at this1 and entreated ,socrates1 with tears in his eyes1 to make him a man of virtue1 and to cure him of that mean position2 what shall we say to this1 ,cleanthes8 ,was there no evil in what afflicted ,alcibiades thus8 ,what strange things does ,lycon say8 who1 making light of grief1 says that it arises from trifles1 from things that affect our fortune or bodies1 not from the evils of the mind4 ,what1 then8 did not the grief of ,alcibiades proceed from the defects and evils of the mind8 ,i have already said enough of ,epicurus's consolation4 ,,xxxiii4 ,nor is that consolation much to be relied on1 though it is frequently practised1 and sometimes has some effect1 namely1 ,that you are not alone in this4 ,it has its effect1 as ,i said1 but not always1 nor with every person1 for some reject it2 but much depends on the application of it2 for you ought rather to show1 not how men in general have been affected with such evils1 but how men of sense have borne them4 ,as to ,chrysippus's method1 it is certainly founded in truth2 but it is difficult to apply it in time of distress4 ,it is a work of no small difficulty to persuade a person in affliction that he grieves merely because he thinks it right so to do4 ,certainly1 then1 as in pleadings we do not state all cases alike 7if ,i may adopt the language of lawyers for a moment71 but adapt what we have to say to the time1 to the nature of the subject under debate1 and to the person2 so1 too1 in alleviating grief1 regard should be had to what kind of cure the party to be comforted can admit of4 ,but1 somehow or other1 we have rambled from what you originally proposed4 ,for your question was concerning a wise man1 with whom nothing can have the appearance of evil that is not dishonorable2 or at least1 anything else would seem so small an evil that by his wisdom he would so overmatch it as to make it wholly disappear2 and such a man makes no addition to his grief through opinion1 and never conceives it right to torment himself above measure1 nor to wear himself out with grief1 which is the meanest thing imaginable4 ,reason1 however1 it seems1 has demonstrated 7though it was not directly our object at the moment to inquire whether anything can be called an evil except what is base7 that it is in our power to discern that all the evil which there is in affliction has nothing natural in it1 but is contracted by our own voluntary judgment of it1 and the error of opinion4 ,,xxxiv4 ,but the kind of affliction of which ,i have treated is that which is the greatest2 in order that when we have once got rid of that1 it may appear a business of less consequence to look after remedies for the others4 ,for there are certain things which are usually said about poverty2 and also certain statements ordinarily applied to retired and undistinguished life4 ,there are particular treatises on banishment1 on the ruin of one's country1 on slavery1 on weakness1 on blindness1 and on every incident that can come under the name of an evil4 ,the ,greeks divide these into different treatises and distinct books2 but they do it for the sake of employment3 not but that all such discussions are full of entertainment4 ,and yet1 as physicians1 in curing the whole body1 attend to even the most insignificant part of the body which is at all disordered1 so does philosophy act1 after it has removed grief in general2 still1 if any other deficiency exists--should poverty bite1 should ignominy sting1 should banishment bring a dark cloud over us1 or should any of those things which ,i have just mentioned appear1 there is for each its appropriate consolation1 which you shall hear whenever you please4 ,but we must have recourse again to the same original principle1 that a wise man is free from all sorrow1 because it is vain1 because it answers no purpose1 because it is not founded in nature1 but on opinion and prejudice1 and is engendered by a kind of invitation to grieve1 when once men have imagined that it is their duty to do so4 ,when1 then1 we have subtracted what is altogether voluntary1 that mournful uneasiness will be removed2 yet some little anxiety1 some slight pricking1 will still remain4 ,they may indeed call this natural1 provided they give it not that horrid1 solemn1 melancholy name of grief1 which can by no means consist with wisdom4 ,but how various and how bitter are the roots of grief6 ,whatever they are1 ,i propose1 after having felled the trunk1 to destroy them all2 even if it should be necessary1 by allotting a separate dissertation to each1 for ,i have leisure enough to do so1 whatever time it may take up4 ,but the principle of every uneasiness is the same1 though they may appear under different names4 ,for envy is an uneasiness2 so are emulation1 detraction1 anguish1 sorrow1 sadness1 tribulation1 lamentation1 vexation1 grief1 trouble1 affliction1 and despair4 ,the ,stoics define all these different feelings2 and all those words which ,i have mentioned belong to different things1 and do not1 as they seem1 express the same ideas2 but they are to a certain extent distinct1 as ,i shall make appear perhaps in another place4 ,these are those fibres of the roots which1 as ,i said at first1 must be traced back and cut off and destroyed1 so that not one shall remain4 ,you say it is a great and difficult undertaking3 who denies it8 ,but what is there of any excellency which has not its difficulty8 ,yet philosophy undertakes to effect it1 provided we admit its superintendence4 ,but enough of this4 ,the other books1 whenever you please1 shall be ready for you here or anywhere else4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,book ,,iv4 ,on other perturbations of the mind4 ,i4 ,i have often wondered1 ,brutus1 on many occasions1 at the ingenuity and virtues of our countrymen2 but nothing has surprised me more than their development in those studies1 which1 though they came somewhat late to us1 have been transported into this city from ,greece4 ,for the system of auspices1 and religious ceremonies1 and courts of justice1 and appeals to the people1 the senate1 the establishment of an army of cavalry and infantry1 and the whole military discipline1 were instituted as early as the foundation of the city by royal authority1 partly too by laws1 not without the assistance of the ,gods4 ,then with what a surprising and incredible progress did our ancestors advance towards all kind of excellence1 when once the republic was freed from the regal power6 ,not that this is a proper occasion to treat of the manners and customs of our ancestors1 or of the discipline and constitution of the city2 for ,i have elsewhere1 particularly in the six books ,i wrote on the ,republic1 given a sufficiently accurate account of them4 ,but while ,i am on this subject1 and considering the study of philosophy1 ,i meet with many reasons to imagine that those studies were brought to us from abroad1 and not merely imported1 but preserved and improved2 for they had ,pythagoras1 a man of consummate wisdom and nobleness of character1 in a manner1 before their eyes1 who was in ,italy at the time that ,lucius ,brutus1 the illustrious founder of your nobility1 delivered his country from tyranny4 ,as the doctrine of ,pythagoras spread itself on all sides1 it seems probable to me that it reached this city2 and this is not only probable of itself1 but it does really appear to have been the case from many remains of it4 ,for who can imagine that1 when it flourished so much in that part of ,italy which was called ,magna ,grcia1 and in some of the largest and most powerful cities1 in which1 first the name of ,pythagoras1 and then that of those men who were afterward his followers1 was in so high esteem2 who can imagine1 ,i say1 that our people could shut their ears to what was said by such learned men8 ,besides1 it is even my opinion that it was the great esteem in which the ,pythagoreans were held1 that gave rise to that opinion among those who came after him1 that ,king ,numa was a ,pythagorean4 ,for1 being acquainted with the doctrine and principles of ,pythagoras1 and having heard from their ancestors that this king was a very wise and just man1 and not being able to distinguish accurately between times and periods that were so remote1 they inferred1 from his being so eminent for his wisdom1 that he had been a pupil of ,pythagoras4 ,,ii4 ,so far we proceed on conjecture4 ,as to the vestiges of the ,pythagoreans1 though ,i might collect many1 ,i shall use but a few2 because they have no connection with our present purpose4 ,for1 as it is reported to have been a custom with them to deliver certain precepts in a more abstruse manner in verse1 and to bring their minds from severe thought to a more composed state by songs and musical instruments2 so ,cato1 a writer of the very highest authority1 says in his ,origins1 that it was customary with our ancestors for the guests at their entertainments1 every one in his turn1 to celebrate the praises and virtues of illustrious men in song to the sound of the flute2 from whence it is clear that poems and songs were then composed for the voice4 ,and1 indeed1 it is also clear that poetry was in fashion from the laws of the ,twelve ,tables1 wherein it is provided that no song should be made to the injury of another4 ,another argument of the erudition of those times is1 that they played on instruments before the shrines of their ,gods1 and at the entertainments of their magistrates2 but that custom was peculiar to the sect ,i am speaking of4 ,to me1 indeed1 that poem of ,appius ,ccus1 which ,pantius commends so much in a certain letter of his which is addressed to ,quintus ,tubero1 has all the marks of a ,pythagorean author4 ,we have many things derived from the ,pythagoreans in our customs1 which ,i pass over1 that we may not seem to have learned that elsewhere which we look upon ourselves as the inventors of4 ,but to return to our purpose4 ,how many great poets as well as orators have sprung up among us6 and in what a short time6 so that it is evident that our people could arrive at any learning as soon as they had an inclination for it4 ,but of other studies ,i shall speak elsewhere if there is occasion1 as ,i have already often done4 ,,iii4 ,the study of philosophy is certainly of long standing with us2 but yet ,i do not find that ,i can give you the names of any philosopher before the age of ,llius and ,scipio1 in whose younger days we find that ,diogenes the ,stoic1 and ,carneades the ,academic1 were sent as ambassadors by the ,athenians to our senate4 ,and as these had never been concerned in public affairs1 and one of them was a ,cyrenean1 the other a ,babylonian1 they certainly would never have been forced from their studies1 nor chosen for that employment1 unless the study of philosophy had been in vogue with some of the great men at that time2 who1 though they might employ their pens on other subjects--some on civil law1 others on oratory1 others on the history of former times--yet promoted this most extensive of all arts1 the principle of living well1 even more by their life than by their writings4 ,so that of that true and elegant philosophy 7which was derived from ,socrates1 and is still preserved by the ,peripatetics and by the ,stoics1 though they express themselves differently in their disputes with the ,academics7 there are few or no ,latin records2 whether this proceeds from the importance of the thing itself1 or from men's being otherwise employed1 or from their concluding that the capacity of the people was not equal to the apprehension of them4 ,but1 during this silence1 ,c4 ,amafinius arose and took upon himself to speak2 on the publishing of whose writings the people were moved1 and enlisted themselves chiefly under this sect1 either because the doctrine was more easily understood1 or because they were invited thereto by the pleasing thoughts of amusement1 or that1 because there was nothing better1 they laid hold of what was offered them4 ,and after ,amafinius1 when many of the same sentiments had written much about them1 the ,pythagoreans spread over all ,italy3 but that these doctrines should be so easily understood and approved of by the unlearned is a great proof that they were not written with any great subtlety1 and they think their establishment to be owing to this4 ,,iv4 ,but let every one defend his own opinion1 for every one is at liberty to choose what he likes3 ,i shall keep to my old custom2 and1 being under no restraint from the laws of any particular school1 which in philosophy every one must necessarily confine himself to1 ,i shall always inquire what has the most probability in every question1 and this system1 which ,i have often practised on other occasions1 ,i have adhered closely to in my ,tusculan ,disputations4 ,therefore1 as ,i have acquainted you with the disputations of the three former days1 this book shall conclude the discussion of the fourth day4 ,when we had come down into the ,academy1 as we had done the former days1 the business was carried on thus3 ,m4 ,let any one say1 who pleases1 what he would wish to have discussed4 ,a4 ,i do not think a wise man can possibly be free from every perturbation of mind4 ,m4 ,he seemed by yesterday's discourse to be free from grief2 unless you agreed with us only to avoid taking up time4 ,a4 ,not at all on that account1 for ,i was extremely satisfied with your discourse4 ,m4 ,you do not think1 then1 that a wise man is subject to grief8 ,a4 ,no1 by no means4 ,m4 ,but if that cannot disorder the mind of a wise man1 nothing else can4 ,for what--can such a man be disturbed by fear8 ,fear proceeds from the same things when absent which occasion grief when present4 ,take away grief1 then1 and you remove fear4 ,the two remaining perturbations are1 a joy elate above measure1 and lust2 and if a wise man is not subject to these1 his mind will be always at rest4 ,a4 ,i am entirely of that opinion4 ,m4 ,which1 then1 shall we do8 ,shall ,i immediately crowd all my sails8 or shall ,i make use of my oars1 as if ,i were just endeavoring to get clear of the harbor8 ,a4 ,what is it that you mean1 for ,i do not exactly comprehend you8 ,v4 ,m4 ,because1 ,chrysippus and the ,stoics1 when they discuss the perturbations of the mind1 make great part of their debate to consist in definitions and distinctions2 while they employ but few words on the subject of curing the mind1 and preventing it from being disordered4 ,whereas the ,peripatetics bring a great many things to promote the cure of it1 but have no regard to their thorny partitions and definitions4 ,my question1 then1 was1 whether ,i should instantly unfold the sails of my eloquence1 or be content for a while to make less way with the oars of logic8 ,a4 ,let it be so2 for by the employment of both these means the subject of our inquiry will be more thoroughly discussed4 ,m4 ,it is certainly the better way2 and should anything be too obscure1 you may examine that afterward4 ,a4 ,i will do so2 but those very obscure points you will1 as usual1 deliver with more clearness than the ,greeks4 ,m4 ,i will1 indeed1 endeavor to do so2 but it well requires great attention1 lest1 by losing one word1 the whole should escape you4 ,what the ,greeks call ,greek3 path we choose to name perturbations 7or disorders7 rather than diseases2 in explaining which1 ,i shall follow1 first1 that very old description of ,pythagoras1 and afterward that of ,plato2 for they both divide the mind into two parts1 and make one of these partake of reason1 and the other they represent without it4 ,in that which partakes of reason they place tranquillity1 that is to say1 a placid and undisturbed constancy2 to the other they assign the turbid motions of anger and desire1 which are contrary and opposite to reason4 ,let this1 then1 be our principle1 the spring of all our reasonings4 ,but notwithstanding1 ,i shall use the partitions and definitions of the ,stoics in describing these perturbations2 who seem to me to have shown very great acuteness on this question4 ,,vi4 ,zeno's definition1 then1 is this3 ,a perturbation 7which he calls a ,greek3 pathos7 is a commotion of the mind repugnant to reason1 and against nature4 ,some of them define it even more briefly1 saying that a perturbation is a somewhat too vehement appetite2 but by too vehement they mean an appetite that recedes further from the constancy of nature4 ,but they would have the divisions of perturbations to arise from two imagined goods1 and from two imagined evils2 and thus they become four3 from the good proceed lust and joy--joy having reference to some present good1 and lust to some future one4 ,they suppose fear and grief to proceed from evils3 fear from something future1 grief from something present2 for whatever things are dreaded as approaching always occasion grief when present4 ,but joy and lust depend on the opinion of good2 as lust1 being inflamed and provoked1 is carried on eagerly towards what has the appearance of good2 and joy is transported and exults on obtaining what was desired3 for we naturally pursue those things that have the appearance of good1 and avoid the contrary4 ,wherefore1 as soon as anything that has the appearance of good presents itself1 nature incites us to endeavor to obtain it4 ,now1 where this strong desire is consistent and founded on prudence1 it is by the ,stoics called ,greek3 boulsis1 and the name which we give it is volition2 and this they allow to none but their wise man1 and define it thus3 ,volition is a reasonable desire2 but whatever is incited too violently in opposition to reason1 that is a lust1 or an unbridled desire1 which is discoverable in all fools4 ,and1 therefore1 when we are affected so as to be placed in any good condition1 we are moved in two ways2 for when the mind is moved in a placid and calm motion1 consistent with reason1 that is called joy2 but when it exults with a vain1 wanton exultation1 or immoderate joy1 then that feeling may be called immoderate ecstasy or transport1 which they define to be an elation of the mind without reason4 ,and as we naturally desire good things1 so in like manner we naturally seek to avoid what is evil2 and this avoidance of which1 if conducted in accordance with reason1 is called caution2 and this the wise man alone is supposed to have3 but that caution which is not under the guidance of reason1 but is attended with a base and low dejection1 is called fear4 ,fear is1 therefore1 caution destitute of reason4 ,but a wise man is not affected by any present evil2 while the grief of a fool proceeds from being affected with an imaginary evil1 by which his mind is contracted and sunk1 since it is not under the dominion of reason4 ,this1 then1 is the first definition1 which makes grief to consist in a shrinking of the mind contrary to the dictates of reason4 ,thus1 there are four perturbations1 and but three calm rational emotions2 for grief has no exact opposite4 ,,vii4 ,but they insist upon it that all perturbations depend on opinion and judgment2 therefore they define them more strictly1 in order not only the better to show how blamable they are1 but to discover how much they are in our power4 ,grief1 then1 is a recent opinion of some present evil1 in which it seems to be right that the mind should shrink and be dejected4 ,joy is a recent opinion of a present good1 in which it seems to be right that the mind should be elated4 ,fear is an opinion of an impending evil which we apprehend will be intolerable4 ,lust is an opinion of a good to come1 which would be of advantage were it already come1 and present with us4 ,but however ,i have named the judgments and opinions of perturbations1 their meaning is1 not that merely the perturbations consist in them1 but that the effects likewise of these perturbations do so2 as grief occasions a kind of painful pricking1 and fear engenders a recoil or sudden abandonment of the mind1 joy gives rise to a profuse mirth1 while lust is the parent of an unbridled habit of coveting4 ,but that imagination1 which ,i have included in all the above definitions1 they would have to consist in assenting without warrantable grounds4 ,now1 every perturbation has many subordinate parts annexed to it of the same kind4 ,grief is attended with enviousness 7invidentia7--,i use that word for instruction's sake1 though it is not so common2 because envy 7invidia7 takes in not only the person who envies1 but the person1 too1 who is envied--emulation1 detraction1 pity1 vexation1 mourning1 sadness1 tribulation1 sorrow1 lamentation1 solicitude1 disquiet of mind1 pain1 despair1 and many other similar feelings are so too4 ,under fear are comprehended sloth1 shame1 terror1 cowardice1 fainting1 confusion1 astonishment4 ,in pleasure they comprehend malevolence--that is1 pleased at another's misfortune--delight1 boastfulness1 and the like4 ,to lust they associate anger1 fury1 hatred1 enmity1 discord1 wants1 desire1 and other feelings of that kind4 ,but they define these in this manner3 ,,viii4 ,enviousness 7invidentia71 they say1 is a grief arising from the prosperous circumstances of another1 which are in no degree injurious to the person who envies2 for where any one grieves at the prosperity of another1 by which he is injured1 such a one is not properly said to envy--as when ,agamemnon grieves at ,hector's success2 but where any one1 who is in no way hurt by the prosperity of another1 is in pain at his success1 such a one envies indeed4 ,now the name emulation is taken in a double sense1 so that the same word may stand for praise and dispraise3 for the imitation of virtue is called emulation 7however1 that sense of it ,i shall have no occasion for here1 for that carries praise with it72 but emulation is also a term applied to grief at another's enjoying what ,i desired to have1 and am without4 ,detraction 7and ,i mean by that1 jealousy7 is a grief even at another's enjoying what ,i had a great inclination for4 ,pity is a grief at the misery of another who suffers wrongfully2 for no one is moved by pity at the punishment of a parricide or of a betrayer of his country4 ,vexation is a pressing grief4 ,mourning is a grief at the bitter death of one who was dear to you4 ,sadness is a grief attended with tears4 ,tribulation is a painful grief4 ,sorrow1 an excruciating grief4 ,lamentation1 a grief where we loudly bewail ourselves4 ,solicitude1 a pensive grief4 ,trouble1 a continued grief4 ,affliction1 a grief that harasses the body4 ,despair1 a grief that excludes all hope of better things to come4 ,but those feelings which are included under fear1 they define thus3 ,there is sloth1 which is a dread of some ensuing labor2 shame and terror1 which affect the body--hence blushing attends shame2 a paleness1 and tremor1 and chattering of the teeth attend terror--cowardice1 which is an apprehension of some approaching evil2 dread1 a fear that unhinges the mind1 whence comes that line of ,ennius1 ,then dread discharged all wisdom from my mind2 fainting is the associate and constant attendant on dread2 confusion1 a fear that drives away all thought2 alarm1 a continued fear4 ,,ix4 ,the different species into which they divide pleasure come under this description2 so that malevolence is a pleasure in the misfortunes of another1 without any advantage to yourself2 delight1 a pleasure that soothes the mind by agreeable impressions on the ear4 ,what is said of the ear may be applied to the sight1 to the touch1 smell1 and taste4 ,all feelings of this kind are a sort of melting pleasure that dissolves the mind4 ,boastfulness is a pleasure that consists in making an appearance1 and setting off yourself with insolence4--,the subordinate species of lust they define in this manner3 ,anger is a lust of punishing any one who1 as we imagine1 has injured us without cause4 ,heat is anger just forming and beginning to exist1 which the ,greeks call ,greek3 thymsis4 ,hatred is a settled anger4 ,enmity is anger waiting for an opportunity of revenge4 ,discord is a sharper anger conceived deeply in the mind and heart4 ,want an insatiable lust4 ,regret is when one eagerly wishes to see a person who is absent4 ,now here they have a distinction2 so that with them regret is a lust conceived on hearing of certain things reported of some one1 or of many1 which the ,greeks call ,greek3 katgormata1 or predicaments2 as that they are in possession of riches and honors3 but want is a lust for those very honors and riches4 ,but these definers make intemperance the fountain of all these perturbations2 which is an absolute revolt from the mind and right reason--a state so averse to all rules of reason that the appetites of the mind can by no means be governed and restrained4 ,as1 therefore1 temperance appeases these desires1 making them obey right reason1 and maintains the well-weighed judgments of the mind1 so intemperance1 which is in opposition to this1 inflames1 confounds1 and puts every state of the mind into a violent motion4 ,thus1 grief and fear1 and every other perturbation of the mind1 have their rise from intemperance4 ,x4 ,just as distempers and sickness are bred in the body from the corruption of the blood1 and the too great abundance of phlegm and bile1 so the mind is deprived of its health1 and disordered with sickness1 from a confusion of depraved opinions that are in opposition to one another4 ,from these perturbations arise1 first1 diseases1 which they call ,greek3 nosmata2 and also those feelings which are in opposition to these diseases1 and which admit certain faulty distastes or loathings2 then come sicknesses1 which are called ,greek3 arrhstmata by the ,stoics1 and these two have their opposite aversions4 ,here the ,stoics1 especially ,chrysippus1 give themselves unnecessary trouble to show the analogy which the diseases of the mind have to those of the body3 but1 overlooking all that they say as of little consequence1 ,i shall treat only of the thing itself4 ,let us1 then1 understand perturbation to imply a restlessness from the variety and confusion of contradictory opinions2 and that when this heat and disturbance of the mind is of any standing1 and has taken up its residence1 as it were1 in the veins and marrow1 then commence diseases and sickness1 and those aversions which are in opposition to these diseases and sicknesses4 ,,xi4 ,what ,i say here may be distinguished in thought1 though they are in fact the same2 inasmuch as they both have their rise from lust and joy4 ,for should money be the object of our desire1 and should we not instantly apply to reason1 as if it were a kind of ,socratic medicine to heal this desire1 the evil glides into our veins1 and cleaves to our bowels1 and from thence proceeds a distemper or sickness1 which1 when it is of any continuance1 is incurable1 and the name of this disease is covetousness4 ,it is the same with other diseases2 as the desire of glory1 a passion for women1 to which the ,greeks give the name of ,greek3 philogyneia3 and thus all other diseases and sicknesses are generated4 ,but those feelings which are the contrary of these are supposed to have fear for their foundation1 as a hatred of women1 such as is displayed in the ,woman-hater of ,atilius2 or the hatred of the whole human species1 as ,timon is reported to have done1 whom they call the ,misanthrope4 ,of the same kind is inhospitality4 ,and all these diseases proceed from a certain dread of such things as they hate and avoid4 ,but they define sickness of mind to be an overweening opinion1 and that fixed and deeply implanted in the heart1 of something as very desirable which is by no means so4 ,what proceeds from aversion1 they define thus3 a vehement idea of something to be avoided1 deeply implanted1 and inherent in our minds1 when there is no reason for avoiding it2 and this kind of opinion is a deliberate belief that one understands things of which one is wholly ignorant4 ,now1 sickness of the mind has all these subordinate divisions3 avarice1 ambition1 fondness for women1 obstinacy1 gluttony1 drunkenness1 covetousness1 and other similar vices4 ,but avarice is a violent opinion about money1 as if it were vehemently to be desired and sought after1 which opinion is deeply implanted and inherent in our minds2 and the definition of all the other similar feelings resembles these4 ,but the definitions of aversions are of this sort3 inhospitality is a vehement opinion1 deeply implanted and inherent in your mind1 that you should avoid a stranger4 ,thus1 too1 the hatred of women1 like that felt by ,hippolytus1 is defined2 and the hatred of the human species like that displayed by ,timon4 ,,xii4 ,but to come to the analogy of the state of body and mind1 which ,i shall sometimes make use of1 though more sparingly than the ,stoics4 ,some men are more inclined to particular disorders than others2 and1 therefore1 we say that some people are rheumatic1 others dropsical1 not because they are so at present1 but because they are often so3 some are inclined to fear1 others to some other perturbation4 ,thus in some there is a continual anxiety1 owing to which they are anxious2 in some a hastiness of temper1 which differs from anger1 as anxiety differs from anguish3 for all are not anxious who are sometimes vexed1 nor are they who are anxious always uneasy in that manner3 as there is a difference between being drunk and drunkenness2 and it is one thing to be a lover1 another to be given to women4 ,and this disposition of particular people to particular disorders is very common3 for it relates to all perturbations2 it appears in many vices1 though it has no name4 ,some are1 therefore1 said to be envious1 malevolent1 spiteful1 fearful1 pitiful1 from a propensity to those perturbations1 not from their being always carried away by them4 ,now this propensity to these particular disorders may be called a sickness from analogy with the body2 meaning1 that is to say1 nothing more than a propensity towards sickness4 ,but with regard to whatever is good1 as some are more inclined to different good qualities than others1 we may call this a facility or tendency3 this tendency to evil is a proclivity or inclination to falling2 but where anything is neither good nor bad1 it may have the former name4 ,,xiii4 ,even as there may be1 with respect to the body1 a disease1 a sickness1 and a defect1 so it is with the mind4 ,they call that a disease where the whole body is corrupted2 they call that sickness where a disease is attended with a weakness1 and that a defect where the parts of the body are not well compacted together2 from whence it follows that the members are misshapen1 crooked1 and deformed4 ,so that these two1 a disease and sickness1 proceed from a violent concussion and perturbation of the health of the whole body2 but a defect discovers itself even when the body is in perfect health4 ,but a disease of the mind is distinguishable only in thought from a sickness4 ,but a viciousness is a habit or affection discordant and inconsistent with itself through life4 ,thus it happens that1 in the one case1 a disease and sickness may arise from a corruption of opinions2 in the other case1 the consequence may be inconstancy and inconsistency4 ,for every vice of the mind does not imply a disunion of parts2 as is the case with those who are not far from being wise men4 ,with them there is that affection which is inconsistent with itself while it is foolish2 but it is not distorted1 nor depraved4 ,but diseases and sicknesses are parts of viciousness2 but it is a question whether perturbations are parts of the same1 for vices are permanent affections3 perturbations are such as are restless2 so that they cannot be parts of permanent ones4 ,as there is some analogy between the nature of the body and mind in evil1 so is there in good2 for the distinctions of the body are beauty1 strength1 health1 firmness1 quickness of motion3 the same may be said of the mind4 ,the body is said to be in a good state when all those things on which health depends are consistent3 the same may be said of the mind when its judgments and opinions are not at variance with one another4 ,and this union is the virtue of the mind1 which1 according to some people1 is temperance itself2 others make it consist in an obedience to the precepts of temperance1 and a compliance with them1 not allowing it to be any distinct species of itself4 ,but1 be it one or the other1 it is to be found only in a wise man4 ,but there is a certain soundness of mind1 which even a fool may have1 when the perturbation of his mind is removed by the care and management of his physicians4 ,and as what is called beauty arises from an exact proportion of the limbs1 together with a certain sweetness of complexion1 so the beauty of the mind consists in an equality and constancy of opinions and judgments1 joined to a certain firmness and stability1 pursuing virtue1 or containing within itself the very essence of virtue4 ,besides1 we give the very same names to the faculties of the mind as we do to the powers of the body1 the nerves1 and other powers of action4 ,thus the velocity of the body is called swiftness3 a praise which we ascribe to the mind1 from its running over in its thoughts so many things in so short a time4 ,,xiv4 ,herein1 indeed1 the mind and body are unlike3 that though the mind when in perfect health may be visited by sickness1 as the body may1 yet the body may be disordered without our fault2 the mind cannot4 ,for all the disorders and perturbations of the mind proceed from a neglect of reason2 these disorders1 therefore1 are confined to men3 the beasts are not subject to such perturbations1 though they act sometimes as if they had reason4 ,there is a difference1 too1 between ingenious and dull men2 the ingenious1 like the ,corinthian brass1 which is long before it receives rust1 are longer before they fall into these perturbations1 and are recovered sooner3 the case is different with the dull4 ,nor does the mind of an ingenious man fall into every kind of perturbation1 for it never yields to any that are brutish and savage2 and some of their perturbations have at first even the appearance of humanity1 as mercy1 grief1 and fear4 ,but the sicknesses and diseases of the mind are thought to be harder to eradicate than those leading vices which are in opposition to virtues2 for vices may be removed1 though the diseases of the mind should continue1 which diseases are not cured with that expedition with which vices are removed4 ,i have now acquainted you with the arguments which the ,stoics put forth with such exactness2 which they call logic1 from their close arguing3 and since my discourse has got clear of these rocks1 ,i will proceed with the remainder of it1 provided ,i have been sufficiently clear in what ,i have already said1 considering the obscurity of the subject ,i have treated4 ,a4 ,clear enough2 but should there be occasion for a more exact inquiry1 ,i shall take another opportunity of asking you4 ,i expect you now to hoist your sails1 as you just now called them1 and proceed on your course4 ,,xv4 ,m4 ,since ,i have spoken before of virtue in other places1 and shall often have occasion to speak again 7for a great many questions that relate to life and manners arise from the spring of virtue72 and since1 as ,i say1 virtue consists in a settled and uniform affection of mind1 making those persons praiseworthy who are possessed of her1 she herself also1 independent of anything else1 without regard to any advantage1 must be praiseworthy2 for from her proceed good inclinations1 opinions1 actions1 and the whole of right reason2 though virtue may be defined in a few words to be right reason itself4 ,the opposite to this is viciousness 7for so ,i choose to translate what the ,greeks call ,greek3 kakia1 rather than by perverseness2 for perverseness is the name of a particular vice2 but viciousness includes all71 from whence arise those perturbations which1 as ,i just now said1 are turbid and violent motions of the mind1 repugnant to reason1 and enemies in a high degree to the peace of the mind and a tranquil life1 for they introduce piercing and anxious cares1 and afflict and debilitate the mind through fear2 they violently inflame our hearts with exaggerated appetite1 which is in reality an impotence of mind1 utterly irreconcilable with temperance and moderation1 which we sometimes call desire1 and sometimes lust1 and which1 should it even attain the object of its wishes1 immediately becomes so elated that it loses all its resolution1 and knows not what to pursue2 so that he was in the right who said that exaggerated pleasure was the very greatest of mistakes4 ,virtue1 then1 alone can effect the cure of these evils4 ,,xvi4 ,for what is not only more miserable1 but more base and sordid1 than a man afflicted1 weakened1 and oppressed with grief8 ,and little short of this misery is one who dreads some approaching evil1 and who1 through faintheartedness1 is under continual suspense4 ,the poets1 to express the greatness of this evil1 imagine a stone to hang over the head of ,tantalus1 as a punishment for his wickedness1 his pride1 and his boasting4 ,and this is the common punishment of folly2 for there hangs over the head of every one whose mind revolts from reason some similar fear4 ,and as these perturbations of the mind1 grief and fear1 are of a most wasting nature1 so those two others1 though of a more merry cast 7,i mean lust1 which is always coveting something with eagerness1 and empty mirth1 which is an exulting joy71 differ very little from madness4 ,hence you may understand what sort of person he is whom we call at one time moderate1 at another modest or temperate1 at another constant and virtuous2 while sometimes we include all these names in the word frugality1 as the crown of all2 for if that word did not include all virtues1 it would never have been proverbial to say that a frugal man does everything rightly4 ,but when the ,stoics apply this saying to their wise man1 they seem to exalt him too much1 and to speak of him with too much admiration4 ,,xvii4 ,whoever1 then1 through moderation and constancy1 is at rest in his mind1 and in calm possession of himself1 so as neither to pine with care1 nor be dejected with fear1 nor to be inflamed with desire1 coveting something greedily1 nor relaxed by extravagant mirth--such a man is that identical wise man whom we are inquiring for3 he is the happy man1 to whom nothing in this life seems intolerable enough to depress him2 nothing exquisite enough to transport him unduly4 ,for what is there in this life that can appear great to him who has acquainted himself with eternity and the utmost extent of the universe8 ,for what is there in human knowledge1 or the short span of this life1 that can appear great to a wise man8 whose mind is always so upon its guard that nothing can befall him which is unforeseen1 nothing which is unexpected1 nothing1 in short1 which is new4 ,such a man takes so exact a survey on all sides of him1 that he always knows the proper place and spot to live in free from all the troubles and annoyances of life1 and encounters every accident that fortune can bring upon him with a becoming calmness4 ,whoever conducts himself in this manner will be free from grief1 and from every other perturbation2 and a mind free from these feelings renders men completely happy2 whereas a mind disordered and drawn off from right and unerring reason loses at once1 not only its resolution1 but its health4--,therefore the thoughts and declarations of the ,peripatetics are soft and effeminate1 for they say that the mind must necessarily be agitated1 but at the same time they lay down certain bounds beyond which that agitation is not to proceed4 ,and do you set bounds to vice8 or is it no vice to disobey reason8 ,does not reason sufficiently declare that there is no real good which you should desire too ardently1 or the possession of which you should allow to transport you8 and that there is no evil that should be able to overwhelm you1 or the suspicion of which should distract you8 and that all these things assume too melancholy or too cheerful an appearance through our own error8 ,but if fools find this error lessened by time1 so that1 though the cause remains the same1 they are not affected1 in the same manner1 after some time1 as they were at first1 why1 surely a wise man ought not to be influenced at all by it4 ,but what are those degrees by which we are to limit it8 ,let us fix these degrees in grief1 a difficult subject1 and one much canvassed4--,fannius writes that ,p4 ,rutilius took it much to heart that his brother was refused the consulship2 but he seems to have been too much affected by this disappointment1 for it was the occasion of his death3 he ought1 therefore1 to have borne it with more moderation4 ,but let us suppose that while he was bearing this with moderation1 the death of his children had intervened2 here would have started a fresh grief1 which1 admitting it to be moderate in itself1 yet still must have been a great addition to the other4 ,now1 to these let us add some acute pains of body1 the loss of his fortune1 blindness1 banishment4 ,supposing1 then1 each separate misfortune to occasion a separate additional grief1 the whole would be too great to be supportable4 ,,xviii4 ,the man who attempts to set bounds to vice acts like one who should throw himself headlong from ,leucate1 persuaded that he could stop himself whenever he pleased4 ,now1 as that is impossible1 so a perturbed and disordered mind cannot restrain itself1 and stop where it pleases4 ,certainly whatever is bad in its increase is bad in its birth4 ,now grief and all other perturbations are doubtless baneful in their progress1 and have1 therefore1 no small share of evil at the beginning2 for they go on of themselves when once they depart from reason1 for every weakness is self-indulgent1 and indiscreetly launches out1 and does not know where to stop4 ,so that it makes no difference whether you approve of moderate perturbations of mind1 or of moderate injustice1 moderate cowardice1 and moderate intemperance2 for whoever prescribes bounds to vice admits a part of it1 which1 as it is odious of itself1 becomes the more so as it stands on slippery ground1 and1 being once set forward1 glides on headlong1 and cannot by any means be stopped4 ,,xix4 ,why should ,i say more8 ,why should ,i add that the ,peripatetics say that these perturbations1 which we insist upon it should be extirpated1 are not only natural1 but were given to men by nature for a good purpose8 ,they usually talk in this manner4 ,in the first place1 they say much in praise of anger2 they call it the whetstone of courage1 and they say that angry men exert themselves most against an enemy or against a bad citizen3 that those reasons are of little weight which are the motives of men who think thus1 as--it is a just war2 it becomes us to fight for our laws1 our liberties1 our country3 they will allow no force to these arguments unless our courage is warmed by anger4--,nor do they confine their argument to warriors2 but their opinion is that no one can issue any rigid commands without some bitterness and anger4 ,in short1 they have no notion of an orator either accusing or even defending a client without he is spurred on by anger4 ,and though this anger should not be real1 still they think his words and gestures ought to wear the appearance of it1 so that the action of the orator may excite the anger of his hearer4 ,and they deny that any man has ever been seen who does not know what it is to be angry2 and they name what we call lenity by the bad appellation of indolence4 ,nor do they commend only this lust 7for anger is1 as ,i defined it above1 the lust of revenge71 but they maintain that kind of lust or desire to be given us by nature for very good purposes1 saying that no one can execute anything well but what he is in earnest about4 ,themistocles used to walk in the public places in the night because he could not sleep2 and when asked the reason1 his answer was1 that ,miltiades's trophies kept him awake4 ,who has not heard how ,demosthenes used to watch1 who said that it gave him pain if any mechanic was up in a morning at his work before him8 ,lastly1 they urge that some of the greatest philosophers would never have made that progress in their studies without some ardent desire spurring them on4--,we are informed that ,pythagoras1 ,democritus1 and ,plato visited the remotest parts of the world2 for they thought that they ought to go wherever anything was to be learned4 ,now1 it is not conceivable that these things could be effected by anything but by the greatest ardor of mind4 ,,xx4 ,they say that even grief1 which we have already said ought to be avoided as a monstrous and fierce beast1 was appointed by nature1 not without some good purpose1 in order that men should lament when they had committed a fault1 well knowing they had exposed themselves to correction1 rebuke1 and ignominy2 for they think that those who can bear ignominy and infamy without pain have acquired a complete impunity for all sorts of crimes2 for with them reproach is a stronger check than conscience4 ,from whence we have that scene in ,afranius borrowed from common life2 for when the abandoned son saith1 ,wretched that ,i am6 the severe father replies1 ,let him but grieve1 no matter what the cause4 ,and they say the other divisions of sorrow have their use2 that pity incites us to hasten to the assistance of others1 and to alleviate the calamities of men who have undeservedly fallen into them2 that even envy and detraction are not without their use1 as when a man sees that another person has attained what he cannot1 or observes another to be equally successful with himself2 that he who should take away fear would take away all industry in life1 which those men exert in the greatest degree who are afraid of the laws and of the magistrates1 who dread poverty1 ignominy1 death1 and pain4 ,but while they argue thus1 they allow indeed of these feelings being retrenched1 though they deny that they either can or should be plucked up by the roots2 so that their opinion is that mediocrity is best in everything4 ,when they reason in this manner1 what think you--is what they say worth attending to or not8 ,a4 ,i think it is4 ,i wait1 therefore1 to hear what you will say in reply to them4 ,,xxi4 ,m4 ,perhaps ,i may find something to say2 but ,i will make this observation first3 do you take notice with what modesty the ,academics behave themselves8 for they speak plainly to the purpose4 ,the ,peripatetics are answered by the ,stoics2 they have my leave to fight it out1 who think myself no otherwise concerned than to inquire for what may seem to be most probable4 ,our present business is1 then1 to see if we can meet with anything in this question which is the probable1 for beyond such approximation to truth as that human nature cannot proceed4 ,the definition of a perturbation1 as ,zeno1 ,i think1 has rightly determined it1 is thus3 ,that a perturbation is a commotion of the mind against nature1 in opposition to right reason2 or1 more briefly1 thus1 that a perturbation is a somewhat too vehement appetite2 and when he says somewhat too vehement1 he means such as is at a greater distance from the constant course of nature4 ,what can ,i say to these definitions8 ,the greater part of them we have from those who dispute with sagacity and acuteness3 some of them expressions1 indeed1 such as the ardors of the mind1 and the whetstones of virtue1 savoring of the pomp of rhetoricians4 ,as to the question1 if a brave man can maintain his courage without becoming angry1 it may be questioned with regard to the gladiators2 though we often observe much resolution even in them3 they meet1 converse1 they make objections and demands1 they agree about terms1 so that they seem calm rather than angry4 ,but let us admit a man of the name of ,placideianus1 who was one of that trade1 to be in such a mind1 as ,lucilius relates of him1 ,if for his blood you thirst1 the task be mine2 ,his laurels at my feet he shall resign2 ,not but ,i know1 before ,i reach his heart1 ,first on myself a wound he will impart4 ,i hate the man2 enraged ,i fight1 and straight ,in action we had been1 but that ,i wait ,till each his sword had fitted to his hand4 ,my rage ,i scarce can keep within command4 ,,xxii4 ,but we see ,ajax in ,homer advancing to meet ,hector in battle cheerfully1 without any of this boisterous wrath4 ,for he had no sooner taken up his arms than the first step which he made inspired his associates with joy1 his enemies with fear2 so that even ,hector1 as he is represented by ,homer1#di trembling1 condemned himself for having challenged him to fight4 ,yet these heroes conversed together1 calmly and quietly1 before they engaged2 nor did they show any anger or outrageous behavior during the combat4 ,nor do ,i imagine that ,torquatus1 the first who obtained this surname1 was in a rage when he plundered the ,gaul of his collar2 or that ,marcellus's courage at ,clastidium was only owing to his anger4 ,i could almost swear that ,africanus1 with whom we are better acquainted1 from our recollection of him being more recent1 was noways inflamed by anger when he covered ,alienus ,pelignus with his shield1 and drove his sword into the enemy's breast4 ,there may be some doubt of ,l4 ,brutus1 whether he was not influenced by extraordinary hatred of the tyrant1 so as to attack ,aruns with more than usual rashness2 for ,i observe that they mutually killed each other in close fight4 ,why1 then1 do you call in the assistance of anger8 ,would courage1 unless it began to get furious1 lose its energy8 ,what6 do you imagine that ,hercules1 whom the very courage which you would try to represent as anger raised to heaven1 was angry when he engaged the ,erymanthian boar1 or the ,neman lion8 ,or was ,theseus in a passion when he seized on the horns of the ,marathonian bull8 ,take care how you make courage to depend in the least on rage4 ,for anger is altogether irrational1 and that is not courage which is void of reason4 ,,xxiii4 ,we ought to hold all things here in contempt2 death is to be looked on with indifference2 pains and labors must be considered as easily supportable4 ,and when these sentiments are established on judgment and conviction1 then will that stout and firm courage take place2 unless you attribute to anger whatever is done with vehemence1 alacrity1 and spirit4 ,to me1 indeed1 that very ,scipio#ej who was chief priest1 that favorer of the saying of the ,stoics1 ,that no private man could be a wise man1 does not seem to be angry with ,tiberius ,gracchus1 even when he left the consul in a hesitating frame of mind1 and1 though a private man himself1 commanded1 with the authority of a consul1 that all who meant well to the republic should follow him4 ,i do not know whether ,i have done anything in the republic that has the appearance of courage2 but if ,i have1 ,i certainly did not do it in wrath4 ,doth anything come nearer madness than anger8 ,and indeed ,ennius has well defined it as the beginning of madness4 ,the changing color1 the alteration of our voice1 the look of our eyes1 our manner of fetching our breath1 the little command we have over our words and actions1 how little do all these things indicate a sound mind6 ,what can make a worse appearance than ,homer's ,achilles1 or ,agamemnon1 during the quarrel8 ,and as to ,ajax1 anger drove him into downright madness1 and was the occasion of his death4 ,courage1 therefore1 does not want the assistance of anger2 it is sufficiently provided1 armed1 and prepared of itself4 ,we may as well say that drunkenness or madness is of service to courage1 because those who are mad or drunk often do a great many things with unusual vehemence4 ,ajax was always brave2 but still he was most brave when he was in that state of frenzy3 ,the greatest feat that ,ajax e'er achieved ,was1 when his single arm the ,greeks relieved4 ,quitting the field2 urged on by rising rage1 ,forced the declining troops again t'engage4 ,shall we say1 then1 that madness has its use8 ,,xxiv4 ,examine the definitions of courage3 you will find it does not require the assistance of passion4 ,courage is1 then1 an affection of mind that endures all things1 being itself in proper subjection to the highest of all laws2 or it may be called a firm maintenance of judgment in supporting or repelling everything that has a formidable appearance1 or a knowledge of what is formidable or otherwise1 and maintaining invariably a stable judgment of all such things1 so as to bear them or despise them2 or1 in fewer words1 according to ,chrysippus 7for the above definitions are ,sphrus's1 a man of the first ability as a layer-down of definitions1 as the ,stoics think4 ,but they are all pretty much alike3 they give us only common notions1 some one way1 and some another74 ,but what is ,chrysippus's definition8 ,fortitude1 says he1 is the knowledge of all things that are bearable1 or an affection of the mind which bears and supports everything in obedience to the chief law of reason without fear4 ,now1 though we should attack these men in the same manner as ,carneades used to do1 ,i fear they are the only real philosophers2 for which of these definitions is there which does not explain that obscure and intricate notion of courage which every man conceives within himself8 ,and when it is thus explained1 what can a warrior1 a commander1 or an orator want more8 ,and no one can think that they will be unable to behave themselves courageously without anger4 ,what6 do not even the ,stoics1 who maintain that all fools are mad1 make the same inferences8 for1 take away perturbations1 especially a hastiness of temper1 and they will appear to talk very absurdly4 ,but what they assert is this3 they say that all fools are mad1 as all dunghills stink2 not that they always do so1 but stir them1 and you will perceive it4 ,and in like manner1 a warm-tempered man is not always in a passion2 but provoke him1 and you will see him run mad4 ,now1 that very warlike anger1 which is of such service in war1 what is the use of it to him when he is at home with his wife1 children1 and family8 ,is there1 then1 anything that a disturbed mind can do better than one which is calm and steady8 ,or can any one be angry without a perturbation of mind8 ,our people1 then1 were in the right1 who1 as all vices depend on our manners1 and nothing is worse than a passionate disposition1 called angry men the only morose men4#ea ,,xxv4 ,anger is in no wise becoming in an orator1 though it is not amiss to affect it4 ,do you imagine that ,i am angry when in pleading ,i use any extraordinary vehemence and sharpness8 ,what6 when ,i write out my speeches after all is over and past1 am ,i then angry while writing8 ,or do you think sopus was ever angry when he acted1 or ,accius was so when he wrote8 ,those men1 indeed1 act very well1 but the orator acts better than the player1 provided he be really an orator2 but1 then1 they carry it on without passion1 and with a composed mind4 ,but what wantonness is it to commend lust6 ,you produce ,themistocles and ,demosthenes2 to these you add ,pythagoras1 ,democritus1 and ,plato4 ,what6 do you then call studies lust8 ,but these studies of the most excellent and admirable things1 such as those were which you bring forward on all occasions1 ought to be composed and tranquil2 and what kind of philosophers are they who commend grief1 than which nothing is more detestable8 ,afranius has said much to this purpose3 ,let him but grieve1 no matter what the cause4 ,but he spoke this of a debauched and dissolute youth4 ,but we are inquiring into the conduct of a constant and wise man4 ,we may even allow a centurion or standard-bearer to be angry1 or any others1 whom1 not to explain too far the mysteries of the rhetoricians1 ,i shall not mention here2 for to touch the passions1 where reason cannot be come at1 may have its use2 but my inquiry1 as ,i often repeat1 is about a wise man4 ,,xxvi4 ,but even envy1 detraction1 pity1 have their use4 ,why should you pity rather than assist1 if it is in your power to do so8 ,is it because you cannot be liberal without pity8 ,we should not take sorrows on ourselves upon another's account2 but we ought to relieve others of their grief if we can4 ,but to detract from another's reputation1 or to rival him with that vicious emulation which resembles an enmity1 of what use can that conduct be8 ,now1 envy implies being uneasy at another's good because one does not enjoy it one's self2 but detraction is the being uneasy at another's good1 merely because he enjoys it4 ,how can it be right that you should voluntarily grieve1 rather than take the trouble of acquiring what you want to have8 for it is madness in the highest degree to desire to be the only one that has any particular happiness4 ,but who can with correctness speak in praise of a mediocrity of evils8 ,can any one in whom there is lust or desire be otherwise than libidinous or desirous8 or can a man who is occupied by anger avoid being angry8 or can one who is exposed to any vexation escape being vexed8 or if he is under the influence of fear1 must he not be fearful8 ,do we look1 then1 on the libidinous1 the angry1 the anxious1 and the timid man1 as persons of wisdom1 of excellence8 of which ,i could speak very copiously and diffusely1 but ,i wish to be as concise as possible4 ,and so ,i will merely say that wisdom is an acquaintance with all divine and human affairs1 and a knowledge of the cause of everything4 ,hence it is that it imitates what is divine1 and looks upon all human concerns as inferior to virtue4 ,did you1 then1 say that it was your opinion that such a man was as naturally liable to perturbation as the sea is exposed to winds8 ,what is there that can discompose such gravity and constancy8 ,anything sudden or unforeseen8 ,how can anything of this kind befall one to whom nothing is sudden and unforeseen that can happen to man8 ,now1 as to their saying that redundancies should be pared off1 and only what is natural remain1 what1 ,i pray you1 can be natural which may be too exuberant8 ,,xxvii4 ,all these assertions proceed from the roots of errors1 which must be entirely plucked up and destroyed1 not pared and amputated4 ,but as ,i suspect that your inquiry is not so much respecting the wise man as concerning yourself 7for you allow that he is free from all perturbations1 and you would willingly be so too yourself71 let us see what remedies there are which may be applied by philosophy to the diseases of the mind4 ,there is certainly some remedy2 nor has nature been so unkind to the human race as to have discovered so many things salutary to the body1 and none which are medicinal to the mind4 ,she has even been kinder to the mind than to the body2 inasmuch as you must seek abroad for the assistance which the body requires1 while the mind has all that it requires within itself4 ,but in proportion as the excellency of the mind is of a higher and more divine nature1 the more diligence does it require2 and therefore reason1 when it is well applied1 discovers what is best1 but when it is neglected1 it becomes involved in many errors4 ,i shall apply1 then1 all my discourse to you2 for though you pretend to be inquiring about the wise man1 your inquiry may possibly be about yourself4 ,various1 then1 are the cures of those perturbations which ,i have expounded1 for every disorder is not to be appeased the same way4 ,one medicine must be applied to the man who mourns1 another to the pitiful1 another to the person who envies2 for there is this difference to be maintained in all the four perturbations3 we are to consider whether our discourse had better be directed to perturbations in general1 which are a contempt of reason1 or a somewhat too vehement appetite2 or whether it would be better applied to particular descriptions1 as1 for instance1 to fear1 lust1 and the rest1 and whether it appears preferable to endeavor to remove that which has occasioned the grief1 or rather to attempt wholly to eradicate every kind of grief4 ,as1 should any one grieve that he is poor1 the question is1 ,would you maintain poverty to be no evil1 or would you contend that a man ought not to grieve at anything8 ,certainly this last is the best course2 for should you not convince him with regard to poverty1 you must allow him to grieve2 but if you remove grief by particular arguments1 such as ,i used yesterday1 the evil of poverty is in some manner removed4 ,,xxviii4 ,but any perturbation of the mind of this sort may be1 as it were1 wiped away by the method of appeasing the mind1 if you succeed in showing that there is no good in that which has given rise to joy and lust1 nor any evil in that which has occasioned fear or grief4 ,but certainly the most effectual cure is to be achieved by showing that all perturbations are of themselves vicious1 and have nothing natural or necessary in them4 ,as we see1 grief itself is easily softened when we charge those who grieve with weakness and an effeminate mind2 or when we commend the gravity and constancy of those who bear calmly whatever befalls them here1 as accidents to which all men are liable2 and1 indeed1 this is generally the feeling of those who look on these as real evils1 but yet think they should be borne with resignation4 ,one imagines pleasure to be a good1 another money2 and yet the one may be called off from intemperance1 the other from covetousness4 ,the other method and address1 which1 at the same time that it removes the false opinion1 withdraws the disorder1 has more subtlety in it2 but it seldom succeeds1 and is not applicable to vulgar minds1 for there are some diseases which that medicine can by no means remove4 ,for1 should any one be uneasy because he is without virtue1 without courage1 destitute of a sense of duty or honesty1 his anxiety proceeds from a real evil2 and yet we must apply another method of cure to him1 and such a one as all the philosophers1 however they may differ about other things1 agree in4 ,for they must necessarily agree in this1 that commotions of the mind in opposition to right reason are vicious2 and that even admitting those things to be evils which occasion fear or grief1 and those to be goods which provoke desire or joy1 yet that very commotion itself is vicious2 for we mean by the expressions magnanimous and brave1 one who is resolute1 sedate1 grave1 and superior to everything in this life2 but one who either grieves1 or fears1 or covets1 or is transported with passion1 cannot come under that denomination2 for these things are consistent only with those who look on the things of this world as things with which their minds are unequal to contend4 ,,xxix4 ,wherefore1 as ,i before said1 the philosophers have all one method of cure1 so that we need say nothing about what sort of thing that is which disturbs the mind1 but we must speak only concerning the perturbation itself4 ,thus1 first1 with regard to desire itself1 when the business is only to remove that1 the inquiry is not to be1 whether that thing be good or evil which provokes lust1 but the lust itself is to be removed2 so that whether whatever is honest is the chief good1 or whether it consists in pleasure1 or in both these things together1 or in the other three kinds of goods1 yet should there be in any one too vehement an appetite for even virtue itself1 the whole discourse should be directed to the deterring him from that vehemence4 ,but human nature1 when placed in a conspicuous point of view1 gives us every argument for appeasing the mind1 and1 to make this the more distinct1 the laws and conditions of life should be explained in our discourse4 ,therefore1 it was not without reason that ,socrates is reported1 when ,euripides was exhibiting his play called ,orestes1 to have repeated the first three verses of that tragedy-- ,what tragic story men can mournful tell1 ,whate'er from fate or from the gods befell1 ,that human nature can support--#eb ,but1 in order to persuade those to whom any misfortune has happened that they can and ought to bear it1 it is very useful to set before them an enumeration of other persons who have borne similar calamities4 ,indeed1 the method of appeasing grief was explained in my dispute of yesterday1 and in my book on ,consolation1 which ,i wrote in the midst of my own grief2 for ,i was not myself so wise a man as to be insensible to grief1 and ,i used this1 notwithstanding ,chrysippus's advice to the contrary1 who is against applying a medicine to the agitations of the mind while they are fresh2 but ,i did it1 and committed a violence on nature1 that the greatness of my grief might give way to the greatness of the medicine4 ,,xxx4 ,but fear borders upon grief1 of which ,i have already said enough2 but ,i must say a little more on that4 ,now1 as grief proceeds from what is present1 so does fear from future evil2 so that some have said that fear is a certain part of grief3 others have called fear the harbinger of trouble1 which1 as it were1 introduces the ensuing evil4 ,now1 the reasons that make what is present supportable1 make what is to come very contemptible2 for1 with regard to both1 we should take care to do nothing low or grovelling1 soft or effeminate1 mean or abject4 ,but1 notwithstanding we should speak of the inconstancy1 imbecility1 and levity of fear itself1 yet it is of very great service to speak contemptuously of those very things of which we are afraid4 ,so that it fell out very well1 whether it was by accident or design1 that ,i disputed the first and second day on death and pain--the two things that are the most dreaded3 now1 if what ,i then said was approved of1 we are in a great degree freed from fear4 ,and this is sufficient1 as far as regards the opinion of evils4 ,,xxxi4 ,proceed we now to what are goods--that is to say1 to joy and desire4 ,to me1 indeed1 one thing alone seems to embrace the question of all that relates to the perturbations of the mind--the fact1 namely1 that all perturbations are in our own power2 that they are taken up upon opinion1 and are voluntary4 ,this error1 then1 must be got rid of2 this opinion must be removed2 and1 as with regard to imagined evils1 we are to make them more supportable1 so with respect to goods1 we are to lessen the violent effects of those things which are called great and joyous4 ,but one thing is to be observed1 that equally relates both to good and evil3 that1 should it be difficult to persuade any one that none of those things which disturb the mind are to be looked on as good or evil1 yet a different cure is to be applied to different feelings2 and the malevolent person is to be corrected by one way of reasoning1 the lover by another1 the anxious man by another1 and the fearful by another3 and it would be easy for any one who pursues the best approved method of reasoning1 with regard to good and evil1 to maintain that no fool can be affected with joy1 as he never can have anything good4 ,but1 at present1 my discourse proceeds upon the common received notions4 ,let1 then1 honors1 riches1 pleasures1 and the rest be the very good things which they are imagined to be2 yet a too elevated and exulting joy on the possession of them is unbecoming2 just as1 though it might be allowable to laugh1 to giggle would be indecent4 ,thus1 a mind enlarged by joy is as blamable as a contraction of it by grief2 and eager longing is a sign of as much levity in desiring as immoderate joy is in possessing2 and1 as those who are too dejected are said to be effeminate1 so they who are too elated with joy are properly called volatile2 and as feeling envy is a part of grief1 and the being pleased with another's misfortune is a kind of joy1 both these feelings are usually corrected by showing the wildness and insensibility of them3 and as it becomes a man to be cautious1 but it is unbecoming in him to be fearful1 so to be pleased is proper1 but to be joyful improper4 ,i have1 in order that ,i might be the better understood1 distinguished pleasure from joy4 ,i have already said above1 that a contraction of the mind can never be right1 but that an elation of it may2 for the joy of ,hector in ,nvius is one thing-- ',tis joy indeed to hear my praises sung ,by you1 who are the theme of honor's tongue-- but that of the character in ,trabea another3 ,the kind procuress1 allured by my money1 will observe my nod1 will watch my desires1 and study my will4 ,if ,i but move the door with my little finger1 instantly it flies open2 and if ,chrysis should unexpectedly discover me1 she will run with joy to meet me1 and throw herself into my arms4 ,now he will tell you how excellent he thinks this3 ,not even fortune herself is so fortunate4 ,,xxxii4 ,any one who attends the least to the subject will be convinced how unbecoming this joy is4 ,and as they are very shameful who are immoderately delighted with the enjoyment of venereal pleasures1 so are they very scandalous who lust vehemently after them4 ,and all that which is commonly called love 7and1 believe me1 ,i can find out no other name to call it by7 is of such a trivial nature that nothing1 ,i think1 is to be compared to it3 of which ,ccilius says1 ,i hold the man of every sense bereaved ,who grants not ,love to be of ,gods the chief3 ,whose mighty power whate'er is good effects1 ,who gives to each his beauty and defects3 ,hence1 health and sickness2 wit and folly1 hence1 ,the ,god that love and hatred doth dispense6 ,an excellent corrector of life this same poetry1 which thinks that love1 the promoter of debauchery and vanity1 should have a place in the council of the ,gods6 ,i am speaking of comedy1 which could not subsist at all without our approving of these debaucheries4 ,but what said that chief of the ,argonauts in tragedy8 ,my life ,i owe to honor less than love4 ,what1 then1 are we to say of this love of ,medea8--what a train of miseries did it occasion6 ,and yet the same woman has the assurance to say to her father1 in another poet1 that she had a husband ,dearer by love than ever fathers were4 ,,xxxiii4 ,however1 we may allow the poets to trifle1 in whose fables we see ,jupiter himself engaged in these debaucheries3 but let us apply to the masters of virtue--the philosophers who deny love to be anything carnal2 and in this they differ from ,epicurus1 who1 ,i think1 is not much mistaken4 ,for what is that love of friendship8 ,how comes it that no one is in love with a deformed young man1 or a handsome old one8 ,i am of opinion that this love of men had its rise from the ,gymnastics of the ,greeks1 where these kinds of loves are admissible and permitted2 therefore ,ennius spoke well3 ,the censure of this crime to those is due ,who naked bodies first exposed to view4 ,now1 supposing them chaste1 which ,i think is hardly possible1 they are uneasy and distressed1 and the more so because they contain and refrain themselves4 ,but1 to pass over the love of women1 where nature has allowed more liberty1 who can misunderstand the poets in their rape of ,ganymede1 or not apprehend what ,laius says1 and what he desires1 in ,euripides8 ,lastly1 what have the principal poets and the most learned men published of themselves in their poems and songs8 ,what doth ,alcus1 who was distinguished in his own republic for his bravery1 write on the love of young men8 ,and as for ,anacreon's poetry1 it is wholly on love4 ,but ,ibycus of ,rhegium appears1 from his writings1 to have had this love stronger on him than all the rest4 ,,xxxiv4 ,now we see that the loves of all these writers were entirely libidinous4 ,there have arisen also some among us philosophers 7and ,plato is at the head of them1 whom ,dicarchus blames not without reason7 who have countenanced love4 ,the ,stoics1 in truth1 say1 not only that their wise man may be a lover1 but they even define love itself as an endeavor to originate friendship out of the appearance of beauty4 ,now1 provided there is any one in the nature of things without desire1 without care1 without a sigh1 such a one may be a lover2 for he is free from all lust3 but ,i have nothing to say to him1 as it is lust of which ,i am now speaking4 ,but should there be any love--as there certainly is--which is but little1 or perhaps not at all1 short of madness1 such as his is in the ,leucadia-- ,should there be any ,god whose care ,i am-- it is incumbent on all the ,gods to see that he enjoys his amorous pleasure4 ,wretch that ,i am6 ,nothing is more true1 and he says very appropriately1 ,what1 are you sane1 who at this rate lament8 ,he seems even to his friends to be out of his senses3 then how tragical he becomes6 ,thy aid1 divine ,apollo1 ,i implore1 ,and thine1 dread ruler of the wat'ry store6 ,oh6 all ye winds1 assist me6 ,he thinks that the whole world ought to apply itself to help his love3 he excludes ,venus alone1 as unkind to him4 ,thy aid1 ,o ,venus1 why should ,i invoke8 ,he thinks ,venus too much employed in her own lust to have regard to anything else1 as if he himself had not said and committed these shameful things from lust4 ,,xxxv4 ,now1 the cure for one who is affected in this manner is to show how light1 how contemptible1 how very trifling he is in what he desires2 how he may turn his affections to another object1 or accomplish his desires by some other means2 or else to persuade him that he may entirely disregard it3 sometimes he is to be led away to objects of another kind1 to study1 business1 or other different engagements and concerns3 very often the cure is effected by change of place1 as sick people1 that have not recovered their strength1 are benefited by change of air4 ,some people think an old love may be driven out by a new one1 as one nail drives out another3 but1 above all things1 the man thus afflicted should be advised what madness love is3 for of all the perturbations of the mind1 there is not one which is more vehement2 for 7without charging it with rapes1 debaucheries1 adultery1 or even incest1 the baseness of any of these being very blamable2 not1 ,i say1 to mention these7 the very perturbation of the mind in love is base of itself1 for1 to pass over all its acts of downright madness1 what weakness do not those very things which are looked upon as indifferent argue8 ,affronts and jealousies1 jars1 squabbles1 wars1 ,then peace again4 ,the man who seeks to fix ,these restless feelings1 and to subjugate ,them to some regular law1 is just as wise ,as one who'd try to lay down rules by which ,men should go mad4#ec ,now1 is not this inconstancy and mutability of mind enough to deter any one by its own deformity8 ,we are to demonstrate1 as was said of every perturbation1 that there are no such feelings which do not consist entirely of opinion and judgment1 and are not owing to ourselves4 ,for if love were natural1 all would be in love1 and always so1 and all love the same object2 nor would one be deterred by shame1 another by reflection1 another by satiety4 ,,xxxvi4 ,anger1 too1 when it disturbs the mind any time1 leaves no room to doubt its being madness3 by the instigation of which we see such contention as this between brothers3 ,where was there ever impudence like thine8 ,who on thy malice ever could refine8#ed ,you know what follows3 for abuses are thrown out by these brothers with great bitterness in every other verse2 so that you may easily know them for the sons of ,atreus1 of that ,atreus who invented a new punishment for his brother3 ,i who his cruel heart to gall am bent1 ,some new1 unheard-of torment must invent4 ,now1 what were these inventions8 ,hear ,thyestes3 ,my impious brother fain would have me eat ,my children1 and thus serves them up for meat4 ,to what length now will not anger go8 even as far as madness4 ,therefore we say1 properly enough1 that angry men have given up their power1 that is1 they are out of the power of advice1 reason1 and understanding2 for these ought to have power over the whole mind4 ,now1 you should put those out of the way whom they endeavor to attack till they have recollected themselves2 but what does recollection here imply but getting together again the dispersed parts of their mind into their proper place8 or else you must beg and entreat them1 if they have the means of revenge1 to defer it to another opportunity1 till their anger cools4 ,but the expression of cooling implies1 certainly1 that there was a heat raised in their minds in opposition to reason2 from which consideration that saying of ,archytas is commended1 who being somewhat provoked at his steward1 ,how would ,i have treated you1 said he1 if ,i had not been in a passion8 ,,xxxvii4 ,where1 then1 are they who say that anger has its use8 ,can madness be of any use8 ,but still it is natural4 ,can anything be natural that is against reason8 or how is it1 if anger is natural1 that one person is more inclined to anger than another8 or that the lust of revenge should cease before it has revenged itself8 or that any one should repent of what he had done in a passion8 as we see that ,alexander the king did1 who could scarcely keep his hands from himself1 when he had killed his favorite ,clytus1 so great was his compunction4 ,now who that is acquainted with these instances can doubt that this motion of the mind is altogether in opinion and voluntary8 for who can doubt that disorders of the mind1 such as covetousness and a desire of glory1 arise from a great estimation of those things by which the mind is disordered8 from whence we may understand that every perturbation of the mind is founded in opinion4 ,and if boldness--that is to say1 a firm assurance of mind--is a kind of knowledge and serious opinion not hastily taken up1 then diffidence is a fear of an expected and impending evil2 and if hope is an expectation of good1 fear must1 of course1 be an expectation of evil4 ,thus fear and other perturbations are evils4 ,therefore1 as constancy proceeds from knowledge1 so does perturbation from error4 ,now1 they who are said to be naturally inclined to anger1 or to pity1 or to envy1 or to any feeling of this kind1 their minds are constitutionally1 as it were1 in bad health2 yet they are curable1 as the disposition of ,socrates is said to have been2 for when ,zopyrus1 who professed to know the character of every one from his person1 had heaped a great many vices on him in a public assembly1 he was laughed at by others1 who could perceive no such vices in ,socrates2 but ,socrates kept him in countenance by declaring that such vices were natural to him1 but that he had got the better of them by his reason4 ,therefore1 as any one who has the appearance of the best constitution may yet appear to be naturally rather inclined to some particular disorder1 so different minds may be more particularly inclined to different diseases4 ,but as to those men who are said to be vicious1 not by nature1 but their own fault1 their vices proceed from wrong opinions of good and bad things1 so that one is more prone than another to different motions and perturbations4 ,but1 just as it is in the case of the body1 an inveterate disease is harder to be got rid of than a sudden disorder2 and it is more easy to cure a fresh tumor in the eyes than to remove a defluxion of any continuance4 ,,xxxviii4 ,but as the cause of perturbations is now discovered1 for all of them arise from the judgment or opinion1 or volition1 ,i shall put an end to this discourse4 ,but we ought to be assured1 since the boundaries of good and evil are now discovered1 as far as they are discoverable by man1 that nothing can be desired of philosophy greater or more useful than the discussions which we have held these four days4 ,for besides instilling a contempt of death1 and relieving pain so as to enable men to bear it1 we have added the appeasing of grief1 than which there is no greater evil to man4 ,for though every perturbation of mind is grievous1 and differs but little from madness1 yet we are used to say of others when they are under any perturbation1 as of fear1 joy1 or desire1 that they are agitated and disturbed2 but of those who give themselves up to grief1 that they are miserable1 afflicted1 wretched1 unhappy4 ,so that it doth not seem to be by accident1 but with reason proposed by you1 that ,i should discuss grief1 and the other perturbations separately2 for there lies the spring and head of all our miseries2 but the cure of grief1 and of other disorders1 is one and the same in that they are all voluntary1 and founded on opinion2 we take them on ourselves because it seems right so to do4 ,philosophy undertakes to eradicate this error1 as the root of all our evils3 let us therefore surrender ourselves to be instructed by it1 and suffer ourselves to be cured2 for while these evils have possession of us1 we not only cannot be happy1 but cannot be right in our minds4 ,we must either deny that reason can effect anything1 while1 on the other hand1 nothing can be done right without reason1 or else1 since philosophy depends on the deductions of reason1 we must seek from her1 if we would be good or happy1 every help and assistance for living well and happily4 ,,book ,v4 ,,whether ,,virtue ,,alone ,,be ,,sufficient ,,for ,a ,,happy ,,life4 ,i4 ,this fifth day1 ,brutus1 shall put an end to our ,tusculan ,disputations3 on which day we discussed your favorite subject4 ,for ,i perceive from that book which you wrote for me with the greatest accuracy1 as well as from your frequent conversation1 that you are clearly of this opinion1 that virtue is of itself sufficient for a happy life3 and though it may be difficult to prove this1 on account of the many various strokes of fortune1 yet it is a truth of such a nature that we should endeavor to facilitate the proof of it4 ,for among all the topics of philosophy1 there is not one of more dignity or importance4 ,for as the first philosophers must have had some inducement to neglect everything for the search of the best state of life3 surely1 the inducement must have been the hope of living happily1 which impelled them to devote so much care and pains to that study4 ,now1 if virtue was discovered and carried to perfection by them1 and if virtue is a sufficient security for a happy life1 who can avoid thinking the work of philosophizing excellently recommended by them1 and undertaken by me8 ,but if virtue1 as being subject to such various and uncertain accidents1 were but the slave of fortune1 and were not of sufficient ability to support herself1 ,i am afraid that it would seem desirable rather to offer up prayers1 than to rely on our own confidence in virtue as the foundation for our hope of a happy life4 ,and1 indeed1 when ,i reflect on those troubles with which ,i have been so severely exercised by fortune1 ,i begin to distrust this opinion2 and sometimes even to dread the weakness and frailty of human nature1 for ,i am afraid lest1 when nature had given us infirm bodies1 and had joined to them incurable diseases and intolerable pains1 she perhaps also gave us minds participating in these bodily pains1 and harassed also with troubles and uneasinesses1 peculiarly their own4 ,but here ,i correct myself for forming my judgment of the power of virtue more from the weakness of others1 or of myself perhaps1 than from virtue itself3 for she herself 7provided there is such a thing as virtue2 and your uncle ,brutus has removed all doubt of it7 has everything that can befall mankind in subjection to her2 and by disregarding such things1 she is far removed from being at all concerned at human accidents2 and1 being free from every imperfection1 she thinks that nothing which is external to herself can concern her4 ,but we1 who increase every approaching evil by our fear1 and every present one by our grief1 choose rather to condemn the nature of things than our own errors4 ,,ii4 ,but the amendment of this fault1 and of all our other vices and offences1 is to be sought for in philosophy3 and as my own inclination and desire led me1 from my earliest youth upward1 to seek her protection1 so1 under my present misfortunes1 ,i have had recourse to the same port from whence ,i set out1 after having been tossed by a violent tempest4 ,o ,philosophy1 thou guide of life6 thou discoverer of virtue and expeller of vices6 what had not only ,i myself1 but the whole life of man1 been without you8 ,to you it is that we owe the origin of cities2 you it was who called together the dispersed race of men into social life2 you united them together1 first1 by placing them near one another1 then by marriages1 and lastly1 by the communication of speech and languages4 ,you have been the inventress of laws2 you have been our instructress in morals and discipline2 to you we fly for refuge2 from you we implore assistance2 and as ,i formerly submitted to you in a great degree1 so now ,i surrender up myself entirely to you4 ,for one day spent well1 and agreeably to your precepts1 is preferable to an eternity of error4 ,whose assistance1 then1 can be of more service to me than yours1 when you have bestowed on us tranquillity of life1 and removed the fear of death8 ,but ,philosophy is so far from being praised as much as she has deserved by mankind1 that she is wholly neglected by most men1 and actually evil spoken of by many4 ,can any person speak ill of the parent of life1 and dare to pollute himself thus with parricide1 and be so impiously ungrateful as to accuse her whom he ought to reverence1 even were he less able to appreciate the advantages which he might derive from her8 ,but this error1 ,i imagine1 and this darkness has spread itself over the minds of ignorant men1 from their not being able to look so far back1 and from their not imagining that those men by whom human life was first improved were philosophers2 for though we see philosophy to have been of long standing1 yet the name must be acknowledged to be but modern4 ,,iii4 ,but1 indeed1 who can dispute the antiquity of philosophy1 either in fact or name8 ,for it acquired this excellent name from the ancients1 by the knowledge of the origin and causes of everything1 both divine and human4 ,thus those seven ,greek3 ,sophoi1 as they were considered and called by the ,greeks1 have always been esteemed and called wise men by us2 and thus ,lycurgus many ages before1 in whose time1 before the building of this city1 ,homer is said to have lived1 as well as ,ulysses and ,nestor in the heroic ages1 are all handed down to us by tradition as having really been what they were called1 wise men2 nor would it have been said that ,atlas supported the heavens1 or that ,prometheus was bound to ,caucasus1 nor would ,cepheus1 with his wife1 his son-in-law1 and his daughter have been enrolled among the constellations1 but that their more than human knowledge of the heavenly bodies had transferred their names into an erroneous fable4 ,from whence all who occupied themselves in the contemplation of nature were both considered and called wise men2 and that name of theirs continued to the age of ,pythagoras1 who is reported to have gone to ,phlius1 as we find it stated by ,heraclides ,ponticus1 a very learned man1 and a pupil of ,plato1 and to have discoursed very learnedly and copiously on certain subjects with ,leon1 prince of the ,phliasii2 and when ,leon1 admiring his ingenuity and eloquence1 asked him what art he particularly professed1 his answer was1 that he was acquainted with no art1 but that he was a philosopher4 ,leon1 surprised at the novelty of the name1 inquired what he meant by the name of philosopher1 and in what philosophers differed from other men2 on which ,pythagoras replied1 ,that the life of man seemed to him to resemble those games which were celebrated with the greatest possible variety of sports and the general concourse of all ,greece4 ,for as in those games there were some persons whose object was glory and the honor of a crown1 to be attained by the performance of bodily exercises1 so others were led thither by the gain of buying and selling1 and mere views of profit2 but there was likewise one class of persons1 and they were by far the best1 whose aim was neither applause nor profit1 but who came merely as spectators through curiosity1 to observe what was done1 and to see in what manner things were carried on there4 ,and thus1 said he1 we come from another life and nature unto this one1 just as men come out of some other city1 to some much frequented mart2 some being slaves to glory1 others to money2 and there are some few who1 taking no account of anything else1 earnestly look into the nature of things2 and these men call themselves studious of wisdom1 that is1 philosophers3 and as there it is the most reputable occupation of all to be a looker-on without making any acquisition1 so in life1 the contemplating things1 and acquainting one's self with them1 greatly exceeds every other pursuit of life4 ,,iv4 ,nor was ,pythagoras the inventor only of the name1 but he enlarged also the thing itself1 and1 when he came into ,italy after this conversation at ,phlius1 he adorned that ,greece1 which is called ,great ,greece1 both privately and publicly1 with the most excellent institutions and arts2 but of his school and system ,i shall1 perhaps1 find another opportunity to speak4 ,but numbers and motions1 and the beginning and end of all things1 were the subjects of the ancient philosophy down to ,socrates1 who was a pupil of ,archelaus1 who had been the disciple of ,anaxagoras4 ,these made diligent inquiry into the magnitude of the stars1 their distances1 courses1 and all that relates to the heavens4 ,but ,socrates was the first who brought down philosophy from the heavens1 placed it in cities1 introduced it into families1 and obliged it to examine into life and morals1 and good and evil4 ,and his different methods of discussing questions1 together with the variety of his topics1 and the greatness of his abilities1 being immortalized by the memory and writings of ,plato1 gave rise to many sects of philosophers of different sentiments1 of all which ,i have principally adhered to that one which1 in my opinion1 ,socrates himself followed2 and argue so as to conceal my own opinion1 while ,i deliver others from their errors1 and so discover what has the greatest appearance of probability in every question4 ,and the custom ,carneades adopted with great copiousness and acuteness1 and ,i myself have often given in to it on many occasions elsewhere1 and in this manner1 too1 ,i disputed lately1 in my ,tusculan villa2 indeed1 ,i have sent you a book of the four former days' discussions2 but the fifth day1 when we had seated ourselves as before1 what we were to dispute on was proposed thus3 ,v4 ,a4 ,i do not think virtue can possibly be sufficient for a happy life4 ,m4 ,but my friend ,brutus thinks so1 whose judgment1 with submission1 ,i greatly prefer to yours4 ,a4 ,i make no doubt of it2 but your regard for him is not the business now3 the question is now1 what is the real character of that quality of which ,i have declared my opinion4 ,i wish you to dispute on that4 ,m4 ,what6 do you deny that virtue can possibly be sufficient for a happy life8 ,a4 ,it is what ,i entirely deny4 ,m4 ,what6 is not virtue sufficient to enable us to live as we ought1 honestly1 commendably1 or1 in fine1 to live well8 ,a4 ,certainly sufficient4 ,m4 ,can you1 then1 help calling any one miserable who lives ill8 or will you deny that any one who you allow lives well must inevitably live happily8 ,a4 ,why may ,i not8 for a man may be upright in his life1 honest1 praiseworthy1 even in the midst of torments1 and therefore live well4 ,provided you understand what ,i mean by well2 for when ,i say well1 ,i mean with constancy1 and dignity1 and wisdom1 and courage2 for a man may display all these qualities on the rack2 but yet the rack is inconsistent with a happy life4 ,m4 ,what1 then8 is your happy life left on the outside of the prison1 while constancy1 dignity1 wisdom1 and the other virtues1 are surrendered up to the executioner1 and bear punishment and pain without reluctance8 ,a4 ,you must look out for something new if you would do any good4 ,these things have very little effect on me1 not merely from their being common1 but principally because1 like certain light wines that will not bear water1 these arguments of the ,stoics are pleasanter to taste than to swallow4 ,as when that assemblage of virtues is committed to the rack1 it raises so reverend a spectacle before our eyes that happiness seems to hasten on towards them1 and not to suffer them to be deserted by her4 ,but when you take your attention off from this picture and these images of the virtues to the truth and the reality1 what remains without disguise is1 the question whether any one can be happy in torment8 ,wherefore let us now examine that point1 and not be under any apprehensions1 lest the virtues should expostulate1 and complain that they are forsaken by happiness4 ,for if prudence is connected with every virtue1 then prudence itself discovers this1 that all good men are not therefore happy2 and she recollects many things of ,marcus ,atilius#ee1 ,quintus ,cpio#ef1 ,marcus ,aquilius#eg2 and prudence herself1 if these representations are more agreeable to you than the things themselves1 restrains happiness when it is endeavoring to throw itself into torments1 and denies that it has any connection with pain and torture4 ,,vi4 ,m4 ,i can easily bear with your behaving in this manner1 though it is not fair in you to prescribe to me how you would have me carry on this discussion4 ,but ,i ask you if ,i have effected anything or nothing in the preceding days8 ,a4 ,yes2 something was done1 some little matter indeed4 ,m4 ,but if that is the case1 this question is settled1 and almost put an end to4 ,a4 ,how so8 ,m4 ,because turbulent motions and violent agitations of the mind1 when it is raised and elated by a rash impulse1 getting the better of reason1 leave no room for a happy life4 ,for who that fears either pain or death1 the one of which is always present1 the other always impending1 can be otherwise than miserable8 ,now1 supposing the same person--which is often the case--to be afraid of poverty1 ignominy1 infamy1 or weakness1 or blindness1 or1 lastly1 slavery1 which doth not only befall individual men1 but often even the most powerful nations2 now can any one under the apprehension of these evils be happy8 ,what shall we say of him who not only dreads these evils as impending1 but actually feels and bears them at present8 ,let us unite in the same person banishment1 mourning1 the loss of children2 now1 how can any one who is broken down and rendered sick in body and mind by such affliction be otherwise than very miserable indeed8 ,what reason1 again1 can there be why a man should not rightly enough be called miserable whom we see inflamed and raging with lust1 coveting everything with an insatiable desire1 and1 in proportion as he derives more pleasure from anything1 thirsting the more violently after them8 ,and as to a man vainly elated1 exulting with an empty joy1 and boasting of himself without reason1 is not he so much the more miserable in proportion as he thinks himself happier8 ,therefore1 as these men are miserable1 so1 on the other hand1 those are happy who are alarmed by no fears1 wasted by no griefs1 provoked by no lusts1 melted by no languid pleasures that arise from vain and exulting joys4 ,we look on the sea as calm when not the least breath of air disturbs its waves2 and1 in like manner1 the placid and quiet state of the mind is discovered when unmoved by any perturbation4 ,now1 if there be any one who holds the power of fortune1 and everything human1 everything that can possibly befall any man1 as supportable1 so as to be out of the reach of fear or anxiety1 and if such a man covets nothing1 and is lifted up by no vain joy of mind1 what can prevent his being happy8 ,and if these are the effects of virtue1 why cannot virtue itself make men happy8 ,,vii4 ,a4 ,but the other of these two propositions is undeniable1 that they who are under no apprehensions1 who are noways uneasy1 who covet nothing1 who are lifted up by no vain joy1 are happy3 and therefore ,i grant you that4 ,but as for the other1 that is not now in a fit state for discussion2 for it has been proved by your former arguments that a wise man is free from every perturbation of mind4 ,m4 ,doubtless1 then1 the dispute is over2 for the question appears to have been entirely exhausted4 ,a4 ,i think1 indeed1 that that is almost the case4 ,m4 ,but yet that is more usually the case with the mathematicians than philosophers4 ,for when the geometricians teach anything1 if what they have before taught relates to their present subject1 they take that for granted which has been already proved1 and explain only what they had not written on before4 ,but the philosophers1 whatever subject they have in hand1 get together everything that relates to it1 notwithstanding they may have dilated on it somewhere else4 ,were not that the case1 why should the ,stoics say so much on that question1 ,whether virtue was abundantly sufficient to a happy life8 when it would have been answer enough that they had before taught that nothing was good but what was honorable2 for1 as this had been proved1 the consequence must be that virtue was sufficient to a happy life2 and each premise may be made to follow from the admission of the other1 so that if it be admitted that virtue is sufficient to secure a happy life1 it may also be inferred that nothing is good except what is honorable4 ,they1 however1 do not proceed in this manner2 for they would separate books about what is honorable1 and what is the chief good2 and when they have demonstrated from the one that virtue has power enough to make life happy1 yet they treat this point separately2 for everything1 and especially a subject of such great consequence1 should be supported by arguments and exhortations which belong to that alone4 ,for you should have a care how you imagine philosophy to have uttered anything more noble1 or that she has promised anything more fruitful or of greater consequence1 for1 good ,gods6 doth she not engage that she will render him who submits to her laws so accomplished as to be always armed against fortune1 and to have every assurance within himself of living well and happily--that he shall1 in short1 be forever happy8 ,but let us see what she will perform8 ,in the mean while1 ,i look upon it as a great thing that she has even made such a promise4 ,for ,xerxes1 who was loaded with all the rewards and gifts of fortune1 not satisfied with his armies of horse and foot1 nor the multitude of his ships1 nor his infinite treasure of gold1 offered a reward to any one who could find out a new pleasure2 and yet1 when it was discovered1 he was not satisfied with it2 nor can there ever be an end to lust4 ,i wish we could engage any one by a reward to produce something the better to establish us in this belief4 ,,viii4 ,a4 ,i wish that1 indeed1 myself2 but ,i want a little information4 ,for ,i allow that in what you have stated the one proposition is the consequence of the other2 that as1 if what is honorable be the only good1 it must follow that a happy life is the effect of virtue3 so that if a happy life consists in virtue1 nothing can be good but virtue4 ,but your friend ,brutus1 on the authority of ,aristo and ,antiochus1 does not see this2 for he thinks the case would be the same even if there were anything good besides virtue4 ,m4 ,what1 then8 do you imagine that ,i am going to argue against ,brutus8 ,a4 ,you may do what you please2 for it is not for me to prescribe what you shall do4 ,m4 ,how these things agree together shall be examined somewhere else2 for ,i frequently discussed that point with ,antiochus1 and lately with ,aristo1 when1 during the period of my command as general1 ,i was lodging with him at ,athens4 ,for to me it seemed that no one could possibly be happy under any evil2 but a wise man might be afflicted with evil1 if there are any things arising from body or fortune deserving the name of evils4 ,these things were said1 which ,antiochus has inserted in his books in many places--that virtue itself was sufficient to make life happy1 but yet not perfectly happy2 and that many things derive their names from the predominant portion of them1 though they do not include everything1 as strength1 health1 riches1 honor1 and glory3 which qualities are determined by their kind1 not their number4 ,thus a happy life is so called from its being so in a great degree1 even though it should fall short in some point4 ,to clear this up is not absolutely necessary at present1 though it seems to be said without any great consistency2 for ,i cannot imagine what is wanting to one that is happy to make him happier1 for if anything be wanting to him1 he cannot be so much as happy2 and as to what they say1 that everything is named and estimated from its predominant portion1 that may be admitted in some things4 ,but when they allow three kinds of evils--when any one is oppressed with every imaginable evil of two kinds1 being afflicted with adverse fortune1 and having at the same time his body worn out and harassed with all sorts of pains--shall we say that such a one is but little short of a happy life1 to say nothing about the happiest possible life8 ,,ix4 ,this is the point which ,theophrastus was unable to maintain2 for after he had once laid down the position that stripes1 torments1 tortures1 the ruin of one's country1 banishment1 the loss of children1 had great influence on men's living miserably and unhappily1 he durst not any longer use any high and lofty expressions when he was so low and abject in his opinion4 ,how right he was is not the question2 he certainly was consistent4 ,therefore1 ,i am not for objecting to consequences where the premises are admitted4 ,but this most elegant and learned of all the philosophers is not taken to task very severely when he asserts his three kinds of good2 but he is attacked by every one for that book which he wrote on a happy life1 in which book he has many arguments why one who is tortured and racked cannot be happy4 ,for in that book he is supposed to say that a man who is placed on the wheel 7that is a kind of torture in use among the ,greeks7 cannot attain to a completely happy life4 ,he nowhere1 indeed1 says so absolutely2 but what he says amounts to the same thing4 ,can ,i1 then1 find fault with him1 after having allowed that pains of the body are evils1 that the ruin of a man's fortunes is an evil1 if he should say that every good man is not happy1 when all those things which he reckons as evils may befall a good man8 ,the same ,theophrastus is found fault with by all the books and schools of the philosophers for commending that sentence in his ,callisthenes1 ,fortune1 not wisdom1 rules the life of man4 ,they say never did philosopher assert anything so languid4 ,they are right1 indeed1 in that2 but ,i do not apprehend anything could be more consistent1 for if there are so many good things that depend on the body1 and so many foreign to it that depend on chance and fortune1 is it inconsistent to say that fortune1 which governs everything1 both what is foreign and what belongs to the body1 has greater power than counsel4 ,or would we rather imitate ,epicurus8 who is often excellent in many things which he speaks1 but quite indifferent how consistent he may be1 or how much to the purpose he is speaking4 ,he commends spare diet1 and in that he speaks as a philosopher2 but it is for ,socrates or ,antisthenes to say so1 and not for one who confines all good to pleasure4 ,he denies that any one can live pleasantly unless he lives honestly1 wisely1 and justly4 ,nothing is more dignified than this assertion1 nothing more becoming a philosopher1 had he not measured this very expression of living honestly1 justly1 and wisely by pleasure4 ,what could be better than to assert that fortune interferes but little with a wise man8 ,but does he talk thus1 who1 after he has said that pain is the greatest evil1 or the only evil1 might himself be afflicted with the sharpest pains all over his body1 even at the time he is vaunting himself the most against fortune8 ,and this very thing1 too1 ,metrodorus has said1 but in better language3 ,i have anticipated you1 ,fortune2 ,i have caught you1 and cut off every access1 so that you cannot possibly reach me4 ,this would be excellent in the mouth of ,aristo the ,chian1 or ,zeno the ,stoic1 who held nothing to be an evil but what was base2 but for you1 ,metrodorus1 to anticipate the approaches of fortune1 who confine all that is good to your bowels and marrow--for you to say so1 who define the chief good by a strong constitution of body1 and well-assured hope of its continuance--for you to cut off every access of fortune6 ,why1 you may instantly be deprived of that good4 ,yet the simple are taken with these propositions1 and a vast crowd is led away by such sentences to become their followers4 ,x4 ,but it is the duty of one who would argue accurately to consider not what is said1 but what is said consistently4 ,as in that very opinion which we have adopted in this discussion1 namely1 that every good man is always happy1 it is clear what ,i mean by good men3 ,i call those both wise and good men who are provided and adorned with every virtue4 ,let us see1 then1 who are to be called happy4 ,i imagine1 indeed1 that those men are to be called so who are possessed of good without any alloy of evil2 nor is there any other notion connected with the word that expresses happiness but an absolute enjoyment of good without any evil4 ,virtue cannot attain this1 if there is anything good besides itself4 ,for a crowd of evils would present themselves1 if we were to allow poverty1 obscurity1 humility1 solitude1 the loss of friends1 acute pains of the body1 the loss of health1 weakness1 blindness1 the ruin of one's country1 banishment1 slavery1 to be evils2 for a wise man may be afflicted by all these evils1 numerous and important as they are1 and many others also may be added1 for they are brought on by chance1 which may attack a wise man2 but if these things are evils1 who can maintain that a wise man is always happy when all these evils may light on him at the same time8 ,i therefore do not easily agree with my friend ,brutus1 nor with our common masters1 nor those ancient ones1 ,aristotle1 ,speusippus1 ,xenocrates1 ,polemon1 who reckon all that ,i have mentioned above as evils1 and yet they say that a wise man is always happy2 nor can ,i allow them1 because they are charmed with this beautiful and illustrious title1 which would very well become ,pythagoras1 ,socrates1 and ,plato1 to persuade my mind that strength1 health1 beauty1 riches1 honors1 power1 with the beauty of which they are ravished1 are contemptible1 and that all those things which are the opposites of these are not to be regarded4 ,then might they declare openly1 with a loud voice1 that neither the attacks of fortune1 nor the opinion of the multitude1 nor pain1 nor poverty1 occasions them any apprehensions2 and that they have everything within themselves1 and that there is nothing whatever which they consider as good but what is within their own power4 ,nor can ,i by any means allow the same person who falls into the vulgar opinion of good and evil to make use of these expressions1 which can only become a great and exalted man4 ,struck with which glory1 up starts ,epicurus1 who1 with submission to the ,gods1 thinks a wise man always happy4 ,he is much charmed with the dignity of this opinion1 but he never would have owned that1 had he attended to himself2 for what is there more inconsistent than for one who could say that pain was the greatest or the only evil to think also that a wise man can possibly say in the midst of his torture1 ,how sweet is this6 ,we are not1 therefore1 to form our judgment of philosophers from detached sentences1 but from their consistency with themselves1 and their ordinary manner of talking4 ,,xi4 ,a4 ,you compel me to be of your opinion2 but have a care that you are not inconsistent yourself4 ,m4 ,in what respect8 ,a4 ,because ,i have lately read your fourth book on ,good and ,evil3 and in that you appeared to me1 while disputing against ,cato1 to be endeavoring to show1 which in my opinion means to prove1 that ,zeno and the ,peripatetics differ only about some new words2 but if we allow that1 what reason can there be1 if it follows from the arguments of ,zeno that virtue contains all that is necessary to a happy life1 that the ,peripatetics should not be at liberty to say the same8 ,for1 in my opinion1 regard should be had to the thing1 not to words4 ,m4 ,what6 you would convict me from my own words1 and bring against me what ,i had said or written elsewhere4 ,you may act in that manner with those who dispute by established rules4 ,we live from hand to mouth1 and say anything that strikes our mind with probability1 so that we are the only people who are really at liberty4 ,but1 since ,i just now spoke of consistency1 ,i do not think the inquiry in this place is1 if the opinion of ,zeno and his pupil ,aristo be true that nothing is good but what is honorable2 but1 admitting that1 then1 whether the whole of a happy life can be rested on virtue alone4 ,wherefore1 if we certainly grant ,brutus this1 that a wise man is always happy1 how consistent he is1 is his own business2 for who1 indeed1 is more worthy than himself of the glory of that opinion8 ,still1 we may maintain that such a man is more happy than any one else4 ,,xii4 ,though ,zeno the ,cittian1 a stranger and an inconsiderable coiner of words1 appears to have insinuated himself into the old philosophy2 still1 the prevalence of this opinion is due to the authority of ,plato1 who often makes use of this expression1 ,that nothing but virtue can be entitled to the name of good1 agreeably to what ,socrates says in ,plato's ,gorgias2 for it is there related that when some one asked him if he did not think ,archelaus the son of ,perdiccas1 who was then looked upon as a most fortunate person1 a very happy man1 ,i do not know1 replied he1 for ,i never conversed with him4 ,what6 is there no other way you can know it by8 ,none at all4 ,you cannot1 then1 pronounce of the great king of the ,persians whether he is happy or not8 ,how can ,i1 when ,i do not know how learned or how good a man he is8 ,what6 do you imagine that a happy life depends on that8 ,my opinion entirely is1 that good men are happy1 and the wicked miserable4 ,is ,archelaus1 then1 miserable8 ,certainly1 if unjust4 ,now1 does it not appear to you that he is here placing the whole of a happy life in virtue alone8 ,but what does the same man say in his funeral oration8 ,for1 saith he1 whoever has everything that relates to a happy life so entirely dependent on himself as not to be connected with the good or bad fortune of another1 and not to be affected by1 or made in any degree uncertain by1 what befalls another2 and whoever is such a one has acquired the best rule of living2 he is that moderate1 that brave1 that wise man1 who submits to the gain and loss of everything1 and especially of his children1 and obeys that old precept2 for he will never be too joyful or too sad1 because he depends entirely upon himself4 ,,xiii4 ,from ,plato1 therefore1 all my discourse shall be deduced1 as if from some sacred and hallowed fountain4 ,whence can ,i1 then1 more properly begin than from ,nature1 the parent of all8 ,for whatsoever she produces 7,i am not speaking only of animals1 but even of those things which have sprung from the earth in such a manner as to rest on their own roots7 she designed it to be perfect in its respective kind4 ,so that among trees and vines1 and those lower plants and trees which cannot advance themselves high above the earth1 some are evergreen1 others are stripped of their leaves in winter1 and1 warmed by the spring season1 put them out afresh1 and there are none of them but what are so quickened by a certain interior motion1 and their own seeds enclosed in every one1 so as to yield flowers1 fruit1 or berries1 that all may have every perfection that belongs to it2 provided no violence prevents it4 ,but the force of ,nature itself may be more easily discovered in animals1 as she has bestowed sense on them4 ,for some animals she has taught to swim1 and designed to be inhabitants of the water2 others she has enabled to fly1 and has willed that they should enjoy the boundless air2 some others she has made to creep1 others to walk4 ,again1 of these very animals1 some are solitary1 some gregarious1 some wild1 others tame1 some hidden and buried beneath the earth1 and every one of these maintains the law of nature1 confining itself to what was bestowed on it1 and unable to change its manner of life4 ,and as every animal has from nature something that distinguishes it1 which every one maintains and never quits2 so man has something far more excellent1 though everything is said to be excellent by comparison4 ,but the human mind1 being derived from the divine reason1 can be compared with nothing but with the ,deity itself1 if ,i may be allowed the expression4 ,this1 then1 if it is improved1 and when its perception is so preserved as not to be blinded by errors1 becomes a perfect understanding1 that is to say1 absolute reason1 which is the very same as virtue4 ,and if everything is happy which wants nothing1 and is complete and perfect in its kind1 and that is the peculiar lot of virtue1 certainly all who are possessed of virtue are happy4 ,and in this ,i agree with ,brutus1 and also with ,aristotle1 ,xenocrates1 ,speusippus1 ,polemon4 ,,xiv4 ,to me such are the only men who appear completely happy2 for what can he want to a complete happy life who relies on his own good qualities1 or how can he be happy who does not rely on them8 ,but he who makes a threefold division of goods must necessarily be diffident1 for how can he depend on having a sound body1 or that his fortune shall continue8 ,but no one can be happy without an immovable1 fixed1 and permanent good4 ,what1 then1 is this opinion of theirs8 ,so that ,i think that saying of the ,spartan may be applied to them1 who1 on some merchant's boasting before him that he had despatched ships to every maritime coast1 replied that a fortune which depended on ropes was not very desirable4 ,can there be any doubt that whatever may be lost cannot be properly classed in the number of those things which complete a happy life8 for of all that constitutes a happy life1 nothing will admit of withering1 or growing old1 or wearing out1 or decaying2 for whoever is apprehensive of any loss of these things cannot be happy3 the happy man should be safe1 well fenced1 well fortified1 out of the reach of all annoyance1 not like a man under trifling apprehensions1 but free from all such4 ,as he is not called innocent who but slightly offends1 but he who offends not at all1 so it is he alone who is to be considered without fear who is free from all fear1 not he who is but in little fear4 ,for what else is courage but an affection of mind that is ready to undergo perils1 and patient in the endurance of pain and labor without any alloy of fear8 ,now1 this certainly could not be the case if there were anything else good but what depended on honesty alone4 ,but how can any one be in possession of that desirable and much-coveted security 7for ,i now call a freedom from anxiety a security1 on which freedom a happy life depends7 who has1 or may have1 a multitude of evils attending him8 ,how can he be brave and undaunted1 and hold everything as trifles which can befall a man8 for so a wise man should do1 unless he be one who thinks that everything depends on himself4 ,could the ,lacedmonians without this1 when ,philip threatened to prevent all their attempts1 have asked him if he could prevent their killing themselves8 ,is it not easier1 then1 to find one man of such a spirit as we are inquiring after1 than to meet with a whole city of such men8 ,now1 if to this courage ,i am speaking of we add temperance1 that it may govern all our feelings and agitations1 what can be wanting to complete his happiness who is secured by his courage from uneasiness and fear1 and is prevented from immoderate desires and immoderate insolence of joy by temperance8 ,i could easily show that virtue is able to produce these effects1 but that ,i have explained on the foregoing days4 ,,xv4 ,but as the perturbations of the mind make life miserable1 and tranquillity renders it happy2 and as these perturbations are of two sorts1 grief and fear1 proceeding from imagined evils1 and as immoderate joy and lust arise from a mistake about what is good1 and as all these feelings are in opposition to reason and counsel2 when you see a man at ease1 quite free and disengaged from such troublesome commotions1 which are so much at variance with one another1 can you hesitate to pronounce such a one a happy man8 ,now1 the wise man is always in such a disposition2 therefore the wise man is always happy4 ,besides1 every good is pleasant2 whatever is pleasant may be boasted and talked of2 whatever may be boasted of is glorious2 but whatever is glorious is certainly laudable1 and whatever is laudable doubtless1 also1 honorable3 whatever1 then1 is good is honorable 7but the things which they reckon as goods they themselves do not call honorable72 therefore what is honorable alone is good4 ,hence it follows that a happy life is comprised in honesty alone4 ,such things1 then1 are not to be called or considered goods1 when a man may enjoy an abundance of them1 and yet be most miserable4 ,is there any doubt but that a man who enjoys the best health1 and who has strength and beauty1 and his senses flourishing in their utmost quickness and perfection--suppose him likewise1 if you please1 nimble and active1 nay1 give him riches1 honors1 authority1 power1 glory--now1 ,i say1 should this person1 who is in possession of all these1 be unjust1 intemperate1 timid1 stupid1 or an idiot--could you hesitate to call such a one miserable8 ,what1 then1 are those goods in the possession of which you may be very miserable8 ,let us see if a happy life is not made up of parts of the same nature1 as a heap implies a quantity of grain of the same kind4 ,and if this be once admitted1 happiness must be compounded of different good things1 which alone are honorable2 if there is any mixture of things of another sort with these1 nothing honorable can proceed from such a composition3 now1 take away honesty1 and how can you imagine anything happy8 ,for whatever is good is desirable on that account2 whatever is desirable must certainly be approved of2 whatever you approve of must be looked on as acceptable and welcome4 ,you must consequently impute dignity to this2 and if so1 it must necessarily be laudable3 therefore1 everything that is laudable is good4 ,hence it follows that what is honorable is the only good4 ,and should we not look upon it in this light1 there will be a great many things which we must call good4 ,,xvi4 ,i forbear to mention riches1 which1 as any one1 let him be ever so unworthy1 may have them1 ,i do not reckon among goods2 for what is good is not attainable by all4 ,i pass over notoriety and popular fame1 raised by the united voice of knaves and fools4 ,even things which are absolute nothings may be called goods2 such as white teeth1 handsome eyes1 a good complexion1 and what was commended by ,euryclea1 when she was washing ,ulysses's feet1 the softness of his skin and the mildness of his discourse4 ,if you look on these as goods1 what greater encomiums can the gravity of a philosopher be entitled to than the wild opinion of the vulgar and the thoughtless crowd8 ,the ,stoics give the name of excellent and choice to what the others call good3 they call them so1 indeed2 but they do not allow them to complete a happy life4 ,but these others think that there is no life happy without them2 or1 admitting it to be happy1 they deny it to be the most happy4 ,but our opinion is1 that it is the most happy2 and we prove it from that conclusion of ,socrates4 ,for thus that author of philosophy argued3 that as the disposition of a man's mind is1 so is the man2 such as the man is1 such will be his discourse2 his actions will correspond with his discourse1 and his life with his actions4 ,but the disposition of a good man's mind is laudable2 the life1 therefore1 of a good man is laudable2 it is honorable1 therefore1 because laudable2 the unavoidable conclusion from which is that the life of good men is happy4 ,for1 good ,gods6 did ,i not make it appear1 by my former arguments--or was ,i only amusing myself and killing time in what ,i then said8--that the mind of a wise man was always free from every hasty motion which ,i call a perturbation1 and that the most undisturbed peace always reigned in his breast8 ,a man1 then1 who is temperate and consistent1 free from fear or grief1 and uninfluenced by any immoderate joy or desire1 cannot be otherwise than happy2 but a wise man is always so1 therefore he is always happy4 ,moreover1 how can a good man avoid referring all his actions and all his feelings to the one standard of whether or not it is laudable8 ,but he does refer everything to the object of living happily3 it follows1 then1 that a happy life is laudable2 but nothing is laudable without virtue3 a happy life1 then1 is the consequence of virtue4 ,and this is the unavoidable conclusion to be drawn from these arguments4 ,,xvii4 ,a wicked life has nothing which we ought to speak of or glory in2 nor has that life which is neither happy nor miserable4 ,but there is a kind of life that admits of being spoken of1 and gloried in1 and boasted of1 as ,epaminondas saith1 ,the wings of ,sparta's pride my counsels clipp'd4 ,and ,africanus boasts1 ,who1 from beyond ,motis to the place ,where the sun rises1 deeds like mine can trace8 ,if1 then1 there is such a thing as a happy life1 it is to be gloried in1 spoken of1 and commended by the person who enjoys it2 for there is nothing excepting that which can be spoken of or gloried in2 and when that is once admitted1 you know what follows4 ,now1 unless an honorable life is a happy life1 there must1 of course1 be something preferable to a happy life2 for that which is honorable all men will certainly grant to be preferable to anything else4 ,and thus there will be something better than a happy life3 but what can be more absurd than such an assertion8 ,what6 when they grant vice to be effectual to the rendering life miserable1 must they not admit that there is a corresponding power in virtue to make life happy8 ,for contraries follow from contraries4 ,and here ,i ask what weight they think there is in the balance of ,critolaus1 who having put the goods of the mind into one scale1 and the goods of the body and other external advantages into the other1 thought the goods of the mind outweighed the others so far that they would require the whole earth and sea to equalize the scale4 ,,xviii4 ,what hinders ,critolaus1 then1 or that gravest of philosophers1 ,xenocrates 7who raises virtue so high1 and who lessens and depreciates everything else71 from not only placing a happy life1 but the happiest possible life1 in virtue8 ,and1 indeed1 if this were not the case1 virtue would be absolutely lost4 ,for whoever is subject to grief must necessarily be subject to fear too1 for fear is an uneasy apprehension of future grief2 and whoever is subject to fear is liable to dread1 timidity1 consternation1 cowardice4 ,therefore1 such a person may1 some time or other1 be defeated1 and not think himself concerned with that precept of ,atreus1 ,and let men so conduct themselves in life1 ,as to be always strangers to defeat4 ,but such a man1 as ,i have said1 will be defeated2 and not only defeated1 but made a slave of4 ,but we would have virtue always free1 always invincible2 and were it not so1 there would be an end of virtue4 ,but if virtue has in herself all that is necessary for a good life1 she is certainly sufficient for happiness3 virtue is certainly sufficient1 too1 for our living with courage2 if with courage1 then with a magnanimous spirit1 and indeed so as never to be under any fear1 and thus to be always invincible4 ,hence it follows that there can be nothing to be repented of1 no wants1 no lets or hinderances4 ,thus all things will be prosperous1 perfect1 and as you would have them1 and1 consequently1 happy2 but virtue is sufficient for living with courage1 and therefore virtue is able by herself to make life happy4 ,for as folly1 even when possessed of what it desires1 never thinks it has acquired enough1 so wisdom is always satisfied with the present1 and never repents on her own account4 ,,xix4 ,look but on the single consulship of ,llius1 and that1 too1 after having been set aside 7though when a wise and good man like him is outvoted1 the people are disappointed of a good consul1 rather than be disappointed by a vain people72 but the point is1 would you prefer1 were it in your power1 to be once such a consul as ,llius1 or be elected four times1 like ,cinna8 ,i have no doubt in the world what answer you will make1 and it is on that account ,i put the question to you4 ,i would not ask every one this question2 for some one perhaps might answer that he would not only prefer four consulates to one1 but even one day of ,cinna's life to whole ages of many famous men4 ,llius would have suffered had he but touched any one with his finger2 but ,cinna ordered the head of his colleague consul1 ,cn4 ,octavius1 to be struck off2 and put to death ,p4 ,crassus#eh1 and ,l4 ,csar#ei1 those excellent men1 so renowned both at home and abroad2 and even ,m4 ,antonius#fj1 the greatest orator whom ,i ever heard2 and ,c4 ,csar1 who seems to me to have been the pattern of humanity1 politeness1 sweetness of temper1 and wit4 ,could he1 then1 be happy who occasioned the death of these men8 ,so far from it1 that he seems to be miserable1 not only for having performed these actions1 but also for acting in such a manner that it was lawful for him to do it1 though it is unlawful for any one to do wicked actions2 but this proceeds from inaccuracy1 of speech1 for we call whatever a man is allowed to do lawful4 ,was not ,marius happier1 ,i pray you1 when he shared the glory of the victory gained over the ,cimbrians with his colleague ,catulus 7who was almost another ,llius2 for ,i look upon the two men as very like one another71 than when1 conqueror in the civil war1 he in a passion answered the friends of ,catulus1 who were interceding for him1 ,let him die8 ,and this answer he gave1 not once only1 but often4 ,but in such a case1 he was happier who submitted to that barbarous decree than he who issued it4 ,and it is better to receive an injury than to do one2 and so it was better to advance a little to meet that death that was making its approaches1 as ,catulus did1 than1 like ,marius1 to sully the glory of six consulships1 and disgrace his latter days1 by the death of such a man4 ,,xx4 ,dionysius exercised his tyranny over the ,syracusans thirty-eight years1 being but twenty-five years old when he seized on the government4 ,how beautiful and how wealthy a city did he oppress with slavery6 ,and yet we have it from good authority that he was remarkably temperate in his manner of living1 that he was very active and energetic in carrying on business1 but naturally mischievous and unjust2 from which description every one who diligently inquires into truth must inevitably see that he was very miserable4 ,neither did he attain what he so greatly desired1 even when he was persuaded that he had unlimited power2 for1 notwithstanding he was of a good family and reputable parents 7though that is contested by some authors71 and had a very large acquaintance of intimate friends and relations1 and also some youths attached to him by ties of love after the fashion of the ,greeks1 he could not trust any one of them1 but committed the guard of his person to slaves1 whom he had selected from rich men's families and made free1 and to strangers and barbarians4 ,and thus1 through an unjust desire of governing1 he in a manner shut himself up in a prison4 ,besides1 he would not trust his throat to a barber1 but had his daughters taught to shave2 so that these royal virgins were forced to descend to the base and slavish employment of shaving the head and beard of their father4 ,nor would he trust even them1 when they were grown up1 with a razor2 but contrived how they might burn off the hair of his head and beard with red-hot nutshells4 ,and as to his two wives1 ,aristomache1 his countrywoman1 and ,doris of ,locris1 he never visited them at night before everything had been well searched and examined4 ,and as he had surrounded the place where his bed was with a broad ditch1 and made a way over it with a wooden bridge1 he drew that bridge over after shutting his bedchamber door4 ,and as he did not dare to stand on the ordinary pulpits from which they usually harangued the people1 he generally addressed them from a high tower4 ,and it is said that when he was disposed to play at ball--for he delighted much in it--and had pulled off his clothes1 he used to give his sword into the keeping of a young man whom he was very fond of4 ,on this1 one of his intimates said pleasantly1 ,you certainly trust your life with him2 and as the young man happened to smile at this1 he ordered them both to be slain1 the one for showing how he might be taken off1 the other for approving of what had been said by smiling4 ,but he was so concerned at what he had done that nothing affected him more during his whole life2 for he had slain one to whom he was extremely partial4 ,thus do weak men's desires pull them different ways1 and while they indulge one1 they act counter to another4 ,,xxi4 ,this tyrant1 however1 showed himself how happy he really was2 for once1 when ,damocles1 one of his flatterers1 was dilating in conversation on his forces1 his wealth1 the greatness of his power1 the plenty he enjoyed1 the grandeur of his royal palaces1 and maintaining that no one was ever happier1 ,have you an inclination1 said he1 ,damocles1 as this kind of life pleases you1 to have a taste of it yourself1 and to make a trial of the good fortune that attends me8 ,and when he said that he should like it extremely1 ,dionysius ordered him to be laid on a bed of gold with the most beautiful covering1 embroidered and wrought with the most exquisite work1 and he dressed out a great many sideboards with silver and embossed gold4 ,he then ordered some youths1 distinguished for their handsome persons1 to wait at his table1 and to observe his nod1 in order to serve him with what he wanted4 ,there were ointments and garlands2 perfumes were burned2 tables provided with the most exquisite meats4 ,damocles thought himself very happy4 ,in the midst of this apparatus1 ,dionysius ordered a bright sword to be let down from the ceiling1 suspended by a single horse-hair1 so as to hang over the head of that happy man4 ,after which he neither cast his eye on those handsome waiters1 nor on the well-wrought plate2 nor touched any of the provisions3 presently the garlands fell to pieces4 ,at last he entreated the tyrant to give him leave to go1 for that now he had no desire to be happy#fa4 ,does not ,dionysius1 then1 seem to have declared there can be no happiness for one who is under constant apprehensions8 ,but it was not now in his power to return to justice1 and restore his citizens their rights and privileges2 for1 by the indiscretion of youth1 he had engaged in so many wrong steps and committed such extravagances1 that1 had he attempted to have returned to a right way of thinking1 he must have endangered his life4 ,,xxii4 ,yet1 how desirous he was of friendship1 though at the same time he dreaded the treachery of friends1 appears from the story of those two ,pythagoreans3 one of these had been security for his friend1 who was condemned to die2 the other1 to release his security1 presented himself at the time appointed for his dying3 ,i wish1 said ,dionysius1 you would admit me as the third in your friendship4 ,what misery was it for him to be deprived of acquaintance1 of company at his table1 and of the freedom of conversation6 especially for one who was a man of learning1 and from his childhood acquainted with liberal arts1 very fond of music1 and himself a tragic poet--how good a one is not to the purpose1 for ,i know not how it is1 but in this way1 more than any other1 every one thinks his own performances excellent4 ,i never as yet knew any poet 7and ,i was very intimate with ,aquinius71 who did not appear to himself to be very admirable4 ,the case is this3 you are pleased with your own works2 ,i like mine4 ,but to return to ,dionysius4 ,he debarred himself from all civil and polite conversation1 and spent his life among fugitives1 bondmen1 and barbarians2 for he was persuaded that no one could be his friend who was worthy of liberty1 or had the least desire of being free4 ,,xxiii4 ,shall ,i not1 then1 prefer the life of ,plato and ,archytas1 manifestly wise and learned men1 to his1 than which nothing can possibly be more horrid1 or miserable1 or detestable8 ,i will present you with an humble and obscure mathematician of the same city1 called ,archimedes1 who lived many years after2 whose tomb1 overgrown with shrubs and briers1 ,i in my qustorship discovered1 when the ,syracusans knew nothing of it1 and even denied that there was any such thing remaining2 for ,i remembered some verses1 which ,i had been informed were engraved on his monument1 and these set forth that on the top of the tomb there was placed a sphere with a cylinder4 ,when ,i had carefully examined all the monuments 7for there are a great many tombs at the gate ,achradin71 ,i observed a small column standing out a little above the briers1 with the figure of a sphere and a cylinder upon it2 whereupon ,i immediately said to the ,syracusans--for there were some of their principal men with me there--that ,i imagined that was what ,i was inquiring for4 ,several men1 being sent in with scythes1 cleared the way1 and made an opening for us4 ,when we could get at it1 and were come near to the front of the pedestal1 ,i found the inscription1 though the latter parts of all the verses were effaced almost half away4 ,thus one of the noblest cities of ,greece1 and one which at one time likewise had been very celebrated for learning1 had known nothing of the monument of its greatest genius1 if it had not been discovered to them by a native of ,arpinum4 ,but to return to the subject from which ,i have been digressing4 ,who is there in the least degree acquainted with the ,muses1 that is1 with liberal knowledge1 or that deals at all in learning1 who would not choose to be this mathematician rather than that tyrant8 ,if we look into their methods of living and their employments1 we shall find the mind of the one strengthened and improved with tracing the deductions of reason1 amused with his own ingenuity1 which is the one most delicious food of the mind2 the thoughts of the other engaged in continual murders and injuries1 in constant fears by night and by day4 ,now imagine a ,democritus1 a ,pythagoras1 and an ,anaxagoras2 what kingdom1 what riches1 would you prefer to their studies and amusements8 ,for you must necessarily look for that excellence which we are seeking for in that which is the most perfect part of man2 but what is there better in man than a sagacious and good mind8 ,the enjoyment1 therefore1 of that good which proceeds from that sagacious mind can alone make us happy2 but virtue is the good of the mind3 it follows1 therefore1 that a happy life depends on virtue4 ,hence proceed all things that are beautiful1 honorable1 and excellent1 as ,i said above 7but this point must1 ,i think1 be treated of more at large71 and they are well stored with joys4 ,for1 as it is clear that a happy life consists in perpetual and unexhausted pleasures1 it follows1 too1 that a happy life must arise from honesty4 ,,xxiv4 ,but that what ,i propose to demonstrate to you may not rest on mere words only1 ,i must set before you the picture of something1 as it were1 living and moving in the world1 that may dispose us more for the improvement of the understanding and real knowledge4 ,let us1 then1 pitch upon some man perfectly acquainted with the most excellent arts2 let us present him for awhile to our own thoughts1 and figure him to our own imaginations4 ,in the first place1 he must necessarily be of an extraordinary capacity2 for virtue is not easily connected with dull minds4 ,secondly1 he must have a great desire of discovering truth1 from whence will arise that threefold production of the mind2 one of which depends on knowing things1 and explaining nature2 the other1 in defining what we ought to desire and what to avoid2 the third1 in judging of consequences and impossibilities1 in which consists both subtlety in disputing and also clearness of judgment4 ,now1 with what pleasure must the mind of a wise man be affected which continually dwells in the midst of such cares and occupations as these1 when he views the revolutions and motions of the whole world1 and sees those innumerable stars in the heavens1 which1 though fixed in their places1 have yet one motion in common with the whole universe1 and observes the seven other stars1 some higher1 some lower1 each maintaining their own course1 while their motions1 though wandering1 have certain defined and appointed spaces to run through6 the sight of which doubtless urged and encouraged those ancient philosophers to exercise their investigating spirit on many other things4 ,hence arose an inquiry after the beginnings1 and1 as it were1 seeds from which all things were produced and composed2 what was the origin of every kind of thing1 whether animate or inanimate1 articulately speaking or mute2 what occasioned their beginning and end1 and by what alteration and change one thing was converted into another2 whence the earth originated1 and by what weights it was balanced2 by what caverns the seas were supplied2 by what gravity all things being carried down tend always to the middle of the world1 which in any round body is the lowest place4 ,,xxv4 ,a mind employed on such subjects1 and which night and day contemplates them1 contains in itself that precept of the ,delphic ,god1 so as to know itself1 and to perceive its connection with the divine reason1 from whence it is filled with an insatiable joy4 ,for reflections on the power and nature of the ,gods raise in us a desire of imitating their eternity4 ,nor does the mind1 that sees the necessary dependences and connections that one cause has with another1 think it possible that it should be itself confined to the shortness of this life4 ,those causes1 though they proceed from eternity to eternity1 are governed by reason and understanding4 ,and he who beholds them and examines them1 or rather he whose view takes in all the parts and boundaries of things1 with what tranquillity of mind does he look on all human affairs1 and on all that is nearer him6 ,hence proceeds the knowledge of virtue2 hence arise the kinds and species of virtues2 hence are discovered those things which nature regards as the bounds and extremities of good and evil2 by this it is discovered to what all duties ought to be referred1 and which is the most eligible manner of life4 ,and when these and similar points have been investigated1 the principal consequence which is deduced from them1 and that which is our main object in this discussion1 is the establishment of the point1 that virtue is of itself sufficient to a happy life4 ,the third qualification of our wise man is the next to be considered1 which goes through and spreads itself over every part of wisdom2 it is that whereby we define each particular thing1 distinguish the genus from its species1 connect consequences1 draw just conclusions1 and distinguish truth from falsehood1 which is the very art and science of disputing2 which is not only of the greatest use in the examination of what passes in the world1 but is likewise the most rational entertainment1 and that which is most becoming to true wisdom4 ,such are its effects in retirement4 ,now1 let our wise man be considered as protecting the republic2 what can be more excellent than such a character8 ,by his prudence he will discover the true interests of his fellow-citizens2 by his justice he will be prevented from applying what belongs to the public to his own use2 and1 in short1 he will be ever governed by all the virtues1 which are many and various4 ,to these let us add the advantage of his friendships2 in which the learned reckon not only a natural harmony and agreement of sentiments throughout the conduct of life1 but the utmost pleasure and satisfaction in conversing and passing our time constantly with one another4 ,what can be wanting to such a life as this to make it more happy than it is8 ,fortune herself must yield to a life stored with such joys4 ,now1 if it be a happiness to rejoice in such goods of the mind1 that is to say1 in such virtues1 and if all wise men enjoy thoroughly these pleasures1 it must necessarily be granted that all such are happy4 ,,xxvi4 ,a4 ,what1 when in torments and on the rack8 ,m4 ,do you imagine ,i am speaking of him as laid on roses and violets8 ,is it allowable even for ,epicurus 7who only puts on the appearance of being a philosopher1 and who himself assumed that name for himself7 to say 7though1 as matters stand1 ,i commend him for his saying7 that a wise man might at all times cry out1 though he be burned1 tortured1 cut to pieces1 ,how little ,i regard it6 ,shall this be said by one who defines all evil as pain1 and measures every good by pleasure2 who could ridicule whatever we call either honorable or base1 and could declare of us that we were employed about words1 and uttering mere empty sounds2 and that nothing is to be regarded by us but as it is perceived to be smooth or rough by the body8 ,what6 shall such a man as this1 as ,i said1 whose understanding is little superior to the beasts'1 be at liberty to forget himself2 and not only to despise fortune1 when the whole of his good and evil is in the power of fortune1 but to say that he is happy in the most racking torture1 when he had actually declared pain to be not only the greatest evil1 but the only one8 ,nor did he take any trouble to provide himself with those remedies which might have enabled him to bear pain1 such as firmness of mind1 a shame of doing anything base1 exercise1 and the habit of patience1 precepts of courage1 and a manly hardiness2 but he says that he supports himself on the single recollection of past pleasures1 as if any one1 when the weather was so hot as that he was scarcely able to bear it1 should comfort himself by recollecting that he was once in my country1 ,arpinum1 where he was surrounded on every side by cooling streams4 ,for ,i do not apprehend how past pleasures can allay present evils4 ,but when he says that a wise man is always happy who would have no right to say so if he were consistent with himself1 what may they not do who allow nothing to be desirable1 nothing to be looked on as good but what is honorable8 ,let1 then1 the ,peripatetics and ,old ,academics follow my example1 and at length leave off muttering to themselves2 and openly and with a clear voice let them be bold to say that a happy life may not be inconsistent with the agonies of ,phalaris's bull4 ,,xxvii4 ,but to dismiss the subtleties of the ,stoics1 which ,i am sensible ,i have employed more than was necessary1 let us admit of three kinds of goods2 and let them really be kinds of goods1 provided no regard is had to the body and to external circumstances1 as entitled to the appellation of good in any other sense than because we are obliged to use them3 but let those other divine goods spread themselves far in every direction1 and reach the very heavens4 ,why1 then1 may ,i not call him happy1 nay1 the happiest of men1 who has attained them8 ,shall a wise man be afraid of pain8 which is1 indeed1 the greatest enemy to our opinion4 ,for ,i am persuaded that we are prepared and fortified sufficiently1 by the disputations of the foregoing days1 against our own death or that of our friends1 against grief1 and the other perturbations of the mind4 ,but pain seems to be the sharpest adversary of virtue2 that it is which menaces us with burning torches2 that it is which threatens to crush our fortitude1 and greatness of mind1 and patience4 ,shall virtue1 then1 yield to this8 ,shall the happy life of a wise and consistent man succumb to this8 ,good4 ,gods6 how base would this be6 ,spartan boys will bear to have their bodies torn by rods without uttering a groan4 ,i myself have seen at ,lacedmon troops of young men1 with incredible earnestness contending together with their hands and feet1 with their teeth and nails1 nay1 even ready to expire1 rather than own themselves conquered4 ,is any country of barbarians more uncivilized or desolate than ,india8 ,yet they have among them some that are held for wise men1 who never wear any clothes all their life long1 and who bear the snow of ,caucasus1 and the piercing cold of winter1 without any pain2 and who if they come in contact with fire endure being burned without a groan4 ,the women1 too1 in ,india1 on the death of their husbands have a regular contest1 and apply to the judge to have it determined which of them was best beloved by him2 for it is customary there for one man to have many wives4 ,she in whose favor it is determined exults greatly1 and being attended by her relations1 is laid on the funeral pile with her husband2 the others1 who are postponed1 walk away very much dejected4 ,custom can never be superior to nature1 for nature is never to be got the better of4 ,but our minds are infected by sloth and idleness1 and luxury1 and languor1 and indolence3 we have enervated them by opinions and bad customs4 ,who is there who is unacquainted with the customs of the ,egyptians8 ,their minds being tainted by pernicious opinions1 they are ready to bear any torture rather than hurt an ibis1 a snake1 a cat1 a dog1 or a crocodile2 and should any one inadvertently have hurt any of these animals1 he will submit to any punishment4 ,i am speaking of men only4 ,as to the beasts1 do they not bear cold and hunger1 running about in woods1 and on mountains and deserts8 ,will they not fight for their young ones till they are wounded8 ,are they afraid of any attacks or blows8 ,i mention not what the ambitious will suffer for honor's sake1 or those who are desirous of praise on account of glory1 or lovers to gratify their lust4 ,life is full of such instances4 ,,xxviii4 ,but let us not dwell too much on these questions1 but rather let us return to our subject4 ,i say1 and say again1 that happiness will submit even to be tormented2 and that in pursuit of justice1 and temperance1 and still more especially and principally fortitude1 and greatness of soul1 and patience1 it will not stop short at sight of the executioner2 and when all other virtues proceed calmly to the torture1 that one will never halt1 as ,i said1 on the outside and threshold of the prison2 for what can be baser1 what can carry a worse appearance1 than to be left alone1 separated from those beautiful attendants8 ,not1 however1 that this is by any means possible2 for neither can the virtues hold together without happiness1 nor happiness without the virtues2 so that they will not suffer her to desert them1 but will carry her along with them1 to whatever torments1 to whatever pain they are led4 ,for it is the peculiar quality of a wise man to do nothing that he may repent of1 nothing against his inclination1 but always to act nobly1 with constancy1 gravity1 and honesty2 to depend on nothing as certainty2 to wonder at nothing1 when it falls out1 as if it appeared strange and unexpected to him2 to be independent of every one1 and abide by his own opinion4 ,for my part1 ,i cannot form an idea of anything happier than this4 ,the conclusion of the ,stoics is indeed easy2 for since they are persuaded that the end of good is to live agreeably to nature1 and to be consistent with that--as a wise man should do so1 not only because it is his duty1 but because it is in his power--it must1 of course1 follow that whoever has the chief good in his power has his happiness so too4 ,and thus the life of a wise man is always happy4 ,you have here what ,i think may be confidently said of a happy life2 and as things now stand1 very truly also1 unless you can advance something better4 ,,xxix4 ,a4 ,indeed ,i cannot2 but ,i should be glad to prevail on you1 unless it is troublesome 7as you are under no confinement from obligations to any particular sect1 but gather from all of them whatever strikes you most as having the appearance of probability71 as you just now seemed to advise the ,peripatetics and the ,old ,academy boldly to speak out without reserve1 that wise men are always the happiest--,i should be glad to hear how you think it consistent for them to say so1 when you have said so much against that opinion1 and the conclusions of the ,stoics4 ,m4 ,i will make use1 then1 of that liberty which no one has the privilege of using in philosophy but those of our school1 whose discourses determine nothing1 but take in everything1 leaving them unsupported by the authority of any particular person1 to be judged of by others1 according to their weight4 ,and as you seem desirous of knowing how it is that1 notwithstanding the different opinions of philosophers with regard to the ends of goods1 virtue has still sufficient security for the effecting of a happy life--which security1 as we are informed1 ,carneades used indeed to dispute against2 but he disputed as against the ,stoics1 whose opinions he combated with great zeal and vehemence4 ,i1 however1 shall handle the question with more temper2 for if the ,stoics have rightly settled the ends of goods1 the affair is at an end2 for a wise man must necessarily be always happy4 ,but let us examine1 if we can1 the particular opinions of the others1 that so this excellent decision1 if ,i may so call it1 in favor of a happy life1 may be agreeable to the opinions and discipline of all4 ,,xxx4 ,these1 then1 are the opinions1 as ,i think1 that are held and defended--the first four are simple ones3 that nothing is good but what is honest1 according to the ,stoics2 nothing good but pleasure1 as ,epicurus maintains2 nothing good but a freedom from pain1 as ,hieronymus#fb asserts2 nothing good but an enjoyment of the principal1 or all1 or the greatest goods of nature1 as ,carneades maintained against the ,stoics--these are simple1 the others are mixed propositions4 ,then there are three kinds of goods3 the greatest being those of the mind2 the next best those of the body2 the third are external goods1 as the ,peripatetics call them1 and the ,old ,academics differ very little from them4 ,dinomachus#fc and ,callipho#fd have coupled pleasure with honesty2 but ,diodorus#fe the ,peripatetic has joined indolence to honesty4 ,these are the opinions that have some footing2 for those of ,aristo1#ff ,pyrrho1#fg ,herillus1#fh and of some others1 are quite out of date4 ,now let us see what weight these men have in them1 excepting the ,stoics1 whose opinion ,i think ,i have sufficiently defended2 and indeed ,i have explained what the ,peripatetics have to say2 excepting that ,theophrastus1 and those who followed him1 dread and abhor pain in too weak a manner4 ,the others may go on to exaggerate the gravity and dignity of virtue1 as usual2 and then1 after they have extolled it to the skies1 with the usual extravagance of good orators1 it is easy to reduce the other topics to nothing by comparison1 and to hold them up to contempt4 ,they who think that praise deserves to be sought after1 even at the expense of pain1 are not at liberty to deny those men to be happy who have obtained it4 ,though they may be under some evils1 yet this name of happy has a very wide application4 ,,xxxi4 ,for even as trading is said to be lucrative1 and farming advantageous1 not because the one never meets with any loss1 nor the other with any damage from the inclemency of the weather1 but because they succeed in general2 so life may be properly called happy1 not from its being entirely made up of good things1 but because it abounds with these to a great and considerable degree4 ,by this way of reasoning1 then1 a happy life may attend virtue even to the moment of execution2 nay1 may descend with her into ,phalaris's bull1 according to ,aristotle1 ,xenocrates1 ,speusippus1 ,polemon2 and will not be gained over by any allurements to forsake her4 ,of the same opinion will ,calliphon and ,diodorus be2 for they are both of them such friends to virtue as to think that all things should be discarded and far removed that are incompatible with it4 ,the rest seem to be more hampered with these doctrines1 but yet they get clear of them2 such as ,epicurus1 ,hieronymus1 and whoever else thinks it worth while to defend the deserted ,carneades3 for there is not one of them who does not think the mind to be judge of those goods1 and able sufficiently to instruct him how to despise what has the appearance only of good or evil4 ,for what seems to you to be the case with ,epicurus is the case also with ,hieronymus and ,carneades1 and1 indeed1 with all the rest of them2 for who is there who is not sufficiently prepared against death and pain8 ,i will begin1 with your leave1 with him whom we call soft and voluptuous4 ,what6 does he seem1 to you to be afraid of death or pain when he calls the day of his death happy2 and who1 when he is afflicted by the greatest pains1 silences them all by recollecting arguments of his own discovering8 ,and this is not done in such a manner as to give room for imagining that he talks thus wildly from some sudden impulse2 but his opinion of death is1 that on the dissolution of the animal all sense is lost2 and what is deprived of sense is1 as he thinks1 what we have no concern at all with4 ,and as to pain1 too1 he has certain rules to follow then3 if it be great1 the comfort is that it must be short2 if it be of long continuance1 then it must be supportable4 ,what1 then8 ,do those grandiloquent gentlemen state anything better than ,epicurus in opposition to these two things which distress us the most8 ,and as to other things1 do not ,epicurus and the rest of the philosophers seem sufficiently prepared8 ,who is there who does not dread poverty8 ,and yet no true philosopher ever can dread it4 ,,xxxii4 ,but with how little is this man himself satisfied6 ,no one has said more on frugality4 ,for when a man is far removed from those things which occasion a desire of money1 from love1 ambition1 or other daily extravagance1 why should he be fond of money1 or concern himself at all about it8 ,could the ,scythian ,anacharsis#fi disregard money1 and shall not our philosophers be able to do so8 ,we are informed of an epistle of his in these words3 ,anacharsis to ,hanno1 greeting4 ,my clothing is the same as that with which the ,scythians cover themselves2 the hardness of my feet supplies the want of shoes2 the ground is my bed1 hunger my sauce1 my food milk1 cheese1 and flesh4 ,so you may come to me as to a man in want of nothing4 ,but as to those presents you take so much pleasure in1 you may dispose of them to your own citizens1 or to the immortal ,gods4 ,and almost all philosophers1 of all schools1 excepting those who are warped from right reason by a vicious disposition1 might have been of this same opinion4 ,socrates1 when on one occasion he saw a great quantity of gold and silver carried in a procession1 cried out1 ,how many things are there which ,i do not want6 ,xenocrates1 when some ambassadors from ,alexander had brought him fifty talents1 which was a very large sum of money in those times1 especially at ,athens1 carried the ambassadors to sup in the ,academy1 and placed just a sufficiency before them1 without any apparatus4 ,when they asked him1 the next day1 to whom he wished the money which they had for him to be paid3 ,what6 said he1 did you not perceive by our slight repast of yesterday that ,i had no occasion for money8 ,but when he perceived that they were somewhat dejected1 he accepted of thirty minas1 that he might not seem to treat with disrespect the king's generosity4 ,but ,diogenes took a greater liberty1 like a ,cynic1 when ,alexander asked him if he wanted anything3 ,just at present1 said he1 ,i wish that you would stand a little out of the line between me and the sun1 for ,alexander was hindering him from sunning himself4 ,and1 indeed1 this very man used to maintain how much he surpassed the ,persian king in his manner of life and fortune2 for that he himself was in want of nothing1 while the other never had enough2 and that he had no inclination for those pleasures of which the other could never get enough to satisfy himself2 and that the other could never obtain his4 ,,xxxiii4 ,you see1 ,i imagine1 how ,epicurus has divided his kinds of desires1 not very acutely perhaps1 but yet usefully3 saying that they are partly natural and necessary2 partly natural1 but not necessary2 partly neither4 ,that those which are necessary may be supplied almost for nothing2 for that the things which nature requires are easily obtained4 ,as to the second kind of desires1 his opinion is that any one may easily either enjoy or go without them4 ,and with regard to the third1 since they are utterly frivolous1 being neither allied to necessity nor nature1 he thinks that they should be entirely rooted out4 ,on this topic a great many arguments are adduced by the ,epicureans2 and those pleasures which they do not despise in a body1 they disparage one by one1 and seem rather for lessening the number of them2 for as to wanton pleasures1 on which subject they say a great deal1 these1 say they1 are easy1 common1 and within any one's reach2 and they think that if nature requires them1 they are not to be estimated by birth1 condition1 or rank1 but by shape1 age1 and person3 and that it is by no means difficult to refrain from them1 should health1 duty1 or reputation require it2 but that pleasures of this kind may be desirable1 where they are attended with no inconvenience1 but can never be of any use4 ,and the assertions which ,epicurus makes with respect to the whole of pleasure are such as show his opinion to be that pleasure is always desirable1 and to be pursued merely because it is pleasure2 and for the same reason pain is to be avoided1 because it is pain4 ,so that a wise man will always adopt such a system of counterbalancing as to do himself the justice to avoid pleasure1 should pain ensue from it in too great a proportion2 and will submit to pain1 provided the effects of it are to produce a greater pleasure3 so that all pleasurable things1 though the corporeal senses are the judges of them1 are still to be referred to the mind1 on which account the body rejoices while it perceives a present pleasure2 but that the mind not only perceives the present as well as the body1 but foresees it while it is coming1 and even when it is past will not let it quite slip away4 ,so that a wise man enjoys a continual series of pleasures1 uniting the expectation of future pleasure to the recollection of what he has already tasted4 ,the like notions are applied by them to high living2 and the magnificence and expensiveness of entertainments are deprecated1 because nature is satisfied at a small expense4 ,,xxxiv4 ,for who does not see this1 that an appetite is the best sauce8 ,when ,darius1 in his flight from the enemy1 had drunk some water which was muddy and tainted with dead bodies1 he declared that he had never drunk anything more pleasant2 the fact was1 that he had never drunk before when he was thirsty4 ,nor had ,ptolemy ever eaten when he was hungry2 for as he was travelling over ,egypt1 his company not keeping up with him1 he had some coarse bread presented him in a cottage1 upon which he said1 ,nothing ever seemed to him pleasanter than that bread4 ,they relate1 too1 of ,socrates1 that1 once when he was walking very fast till the evening1 on his being asked why he did so1 his reply was that he was purchasing an appetite by walking1 that he might sup the better4 ,and do we not see what the ,lacedmonians provide in their ,phiditia8 where the tyrant ,dionysius supped1 but told them he did not at all like that black broth1 which was their principal dish2 on which he who dressed it said1 ,it was no wonder1 for it wanted seasoning4 ,dionysius asked what that seasoning was2 to which it was replied1 ,fatigue in hunting1 sweating1 a race on the banks of ,eurotas1 hunger and thirst1 for these are the seasonings to the ,lacedmonian banquets4 ,and this may not only be conceived from the custom of men1 but from the beasts1 who are satisfied with anything that is thrown before them1 provided it is not unnatural1 and they seek no farther4 ,some entire cities1 taught by custom1 delight in parsimony1 as ,i said but just now of the ,lacedmonians4 ,xenophon has given an account of the ,persian diet1 who never1 as he saith1 use anything but cresses with their bread2 not but that1 should nature require anything more agreeable1 many things might be easily supplied by the ground1 and plants in great abundance1 and of incomparable sweetness4 ,add to this strength and health1 as the consequence of this abstemious way of living4 ,now1 compare with this those who sweat and belch1 being crammed with eating1 like fatted oxen2 then will you perceive that they who pursue pleasure most attain it least2 and that the pleasure of eating lies not in satiety1 but appetite4 ,,xxxv4 ,they report of ,timotheus1 a famous man at ,athens1 and the head of the city1 that having supped with ,plato1 and being extremely delighted with his entertainment1 on seeing him the next day1 he said1 ,your suppers are not only agreeable while ,i partake of them1 but the next day also4 ,besides1 the understanding is impaired when we are full with overeating and drinking4 ,there is an excellent epistle of ,plato to ,dion's relations1 in which there occurs as nearly as possible these words3 ,when ,i came there1 that happy life so much talked of1 devoted to ,italian and ,syracusan entertainments1 was noways agreeable to me2 to be crammed twice a day1 and never to have the night to yourself1 and the other things which are the accompaniments of this kind of life1 by which a man will never be made the wiser1 but will be rendered much less temperate2 for it must be an extraordinary disposition that can be temperate in such circumstances4 ,how1 then1 can a life be pleasant without prudence and temperance8 ,hence you discover the mistake of ,sardanapalus1 the wealthiest king of the ,assyrians1 who ordered it to be engraved on his tomb1 ,i still have what in food ,i did exhaust2 ,but what ,i left1 though excellent1 is lost4 ,what less than this1 says ,aristotle1 could be inscribed on the tomb1 not of a king1 but an ox8 ,he said that he possessed those things when dead1 which1 in his lifetime1 he could have no longer than while he was enjoying them4 ,why1 then1 are riches desired8 ,and wherein doth poverty prevent us from being happy8 ,in the want1 ,i imagine1 of statues1 pictures1 and diversions4 ,but if any one is delighted with these things1 have not the poor people the enjoyment of them more than they who are the owners of them in the greatest abundance8 ,for we have great numbers of them displayed publicly in our city4 ,and whatever store of them private people have1 they cannot have a great number1 and they but seldom see them1 only when they go to their country seats2 and some of them must be stung to the heart when they consider how they came by them4 ,the day would fail me1 should ,i be inclined to defend the cause of poverty4 ,the thing is manifest2 and nature daily informs us how few things there are1 and how trifling they are1 of which she really stands in need4 ,,xxxvi4 ,let us inquire1 then1 if obscurity1 the want of power1 or even the being unpopular1 can prevent a wise man from being happy4 ,observe if popular favor1 and this glory which they are so fond of1 be not attended with more uneasiness than pleasure4 ,our friend ,demosthenes was certainly very weak in declaring himself pleased with the whisper of a woman who was carrying water1 as is the custom in ,greece1 and who whispered to another1 ,that is he--that is ,demosthenes4 ,what could be weaker than this8 and yet what an orator he was6 ,but although he had learned to speak to others1 he had conversed but little with himself4 ,we may perceive1 therefore1 that popular glory is not desirable of itself2 nor is obscurity to be dreaded4 ,i came to ,athens1 saith ,democritus1 and there was no one there that knew me3 this was a moderate and grave man who could glory in his obscurity4 ,shall musicians compose their tunes to their own tastes8 and shall a philosopher1 master of a much better art1 seek to ascertain1 not what is most true1 but what will please the people8 ,can anything be more absurd than to despise the vulgar as mere unpolished mechanics1 taken singly1 and to think them of consequence when collected into a body8 ,these wise men would contemn our ambitious pursuits and our vanities1 and would reject all the honors which the people could voluntarily offer to them2 but we know not how to despise them till we begin to repent of having accepted them4 ,there is an anecdote related by ,heraclitus1 the natural philosopher1 of ,hermodorus1 the chief of the ,ephesians1 that he said that all the ,ephesians ought to be punished with death for saying1 when they had expelled ,hermodorus out of their city1 that they would have no one among them better than another2 but that if there were any such1 he might go elsewhere to some other people4 ,is not this the case with the people everywhere8 ,do they not hate every virtue that distinguishes itself8 ,what6 was not ,aristides 7,i had rather instance in the ,greeks than ourselves7 banished his country for being eminently just8 ,what troubles1 then1 are they free from who have no connection whatever with the people8 ,what is more agreeable than a learned retirement8 ,i speak of that learning which makes us acquainted with the boundless extent of nature and the universe1 and which even while we remain in this world discovers to us both heaven1 earth1 and sea4 ,,xxxvii4 ,if1 then1 honor and riches have no value1 what is there else to be afraid of8 ,banishment1 ,i suppose2 which is looked on as the greatest evil4 ,now1 if the evil of banishment proceeds not from ourselves1 but from the froward disposition of the people1 ,i have just now declared how contemptible it is4 ,but if to leave one's country be miserable1 the provinces are full of miserable men1 very few of the settlers in which ever return to their country again4 ,but exiles are deprived of their property6 ,what1 then6 has there not been enough said on bearing poverty8 ,but with regard to banishment1 if we examine the nature of things1 not the ignominy of the name1 how little does it differ from constant travelling6 in which some of the most famous philosophers have spent their whole life1 as ,xenocrates1 ,crantor1 ,arcesilas1 ,lacydes1 ,aristotle1 ,theophrastus1 ,zeno1 ,cleanthes1 ,chrysippus1 ,antipater1 ,carneades1 ,pantius1 ,clitomachus1 ,philo1 ,antiochus1 ,posidonius1 and innumerable others1 who from their first setting-out never returned home again4 ,now1 what ignominy can a wise man be affected with 7for it is of such a one that ,i am speaking7 who can be guilty of nothing which deserves it8 for there is no occasion to comfort one who is banished for his deserts4 ,lastly1 they can easily reconcile themselves to every accident who measure all their objects and pursuits in life by the standard of pleasure2 so that in whatever place that is supplied1 there they may live happily4 ,thus what ,teucer said may be applied to every case3 ,wherever ,i am happy is my country4 ,socrates1 indeed1 when he was asked where he belonged to1 replied1 ,the world2 for he looked upon himself as a citizen and inhabitant of the whole world4 ,how was it with ,t4 ,altibutius8 ,did he not follow his philosophical studies with the greatest satisfaction at ,athens1 although he was banished8 which1 however1 would not have happened to him if he had obeyed the laws of ,epicurus and lived peaceably in the republic4 ,in what was ,epicurus happier1 living in his own country1 than ,metrodorus1 who lived at ,athens8 ,or did ,plato's happiness exceed that of ,xenocrates1 or ,polemo1 or ,arcesilas8 ,or is that city to be valued much that banishes all her good and wise men8 ,demaratus1 the father of our ,king ,tarquin1 not being able to bear the tyrant ,cypselus1 fled from ,corinth to ,tarquinii1 settled there1 and had children4 ,was it1 then1 an unwise act in him to prefer the liberty of banishment to slavery at home8 ,,xxxviii4 ,besides the emotions of the mind1 all griefs and anxieties are assuaged by forgetting them1 and turning our thoughts to pleasure4 ,therefore1 it was not without reason that ,epicurus presumed to say that a wise man abounds with good things1 because he may always have his pleasures2 from whence it follows1 as he thinks1 that that point is gained which is the subject of our present inquiry1 that a wise man is always happy4 ,what6 though he should be deprived of the senses of seeing and hearing8 ,yes2 for he holds those things very cheap4 ,for1 in the first place1 what are the pleasures of which we are deprived by that dreadful thing1 blindness8 ,for though they allow other pleasures to be confined to the senses1 yet the things which are perceived by the sight do not depend wholly on the pleasure the eyes receive2 as is the case when we taste1 smell1 touch1 or hear2 for1 in respect of all these senses1 the organs themselves are the seat of pleasure2 but it is not so with the eyes4 ,for it is the mind which is entertained by what we see2 but the mind may be entertained in many ways1 even though we could not see at all4 ,i am speaking of a learned and a wise man1 with whom to think is to live4 ,but thinking in the case of a wise man does not altogether require the use of his eyes in his investigations2 for if night does not strip him of his happiness1 why should blindness1 which resembles night1 have that effect8 ,for the reply of ,antipater the ,cyrenaic to some women who bewailed his being blind1 though it is a little too obscene1 is not without its significance4 ,what do you mean8 saith he2 do you think the night can furnish no pleasure8 ,and we find by his magistracies and his actions that old ,appius1#gj too1 who was blind for many years1 was not prevented from doing whatever was required of him with respect either to the republic or his own affairs4 ,it is said that ,c4 ,drusus's house was crowded with clients4 ,when they whose business it was could not see how to conduct themselves1 they applied to a blind guide4 ,,xxxix4 ,when ,i was a boy1 ,cn4 ,aufidius1 a blind man1 who had served the office of prtor1 not only gave his opinion in the ,senate1 and was ready to assist his friends1 but wrote a ,greek history1 and had a considerable acquaintance with literature4 ,diodorus the ,stoic was blind1 and lived many years at my house4 ,he1 indeed1 which is scarcely credible1 besides applying himself more than usual to philosophy1 and playing on the flute1 agreeably to the custom of the ,pythagoreans1 and having books read to him night and day1 in all which he did not want eyes1 contrived to teach geometry1 which1 one would think1 could hardly be done without the assistance of eyes1 telling his scholars how and where to draw every line4 ,they relate of ,asclepiades1 a native of ,eretria1 and no obscure philosopher1 when some one asked him what inconvenience he suffered from his blindness1 that his reply was1 ,he was at the expense of another servant4 ,so that1 as the most extreme poverty may be borne if you please1 as is daily the case with some in ,greece1 so blindness may easily be borne1 provided you have the support of good health in other respects4 ,democritus was so blind he could not distinguish white from black2 but he knew the difference between good and evil1 just and unjust1 honorable and base1 the useful and useless1 great and small4 ,thus one may live happily without distinguishing colors2 but without acquainting yourself with things1 you cannot2 and this man was of opinion that the intense application of the mind was taken off by the objects that presented themselves to the eye2 and while others often could not see what was before their feet1 he travelled through all infinity4 ,it is reported also that ,homer#ga was blind1 but we observe his painting as well as his poetry4 ,what country1 what coast1 what part of ,greece1 what military attacks1 what dispositions of battle1 what array1 what ship1 what motions of men and animals1 can be mentioned which he has not described in such a manner as to enable us to see what he could not see himself8 ,what1 then6 can we imagine that ,homer1 or any other learned man1 has ever been in want of pleasure and entertainment for his mind8 ,were it not so1 would ,anaxagoras1 or this very ,democritus1 have left their estates and patrimonies1 and given themselves up to the pursuit of acquiring this divine pleasure8 ,it is thus that the poets who have represented ,tiresias the ,augur as a wise man and blind never exhibit him as bewailing his blindness4 ,and ,homer1 too1 after he had described ,polyphemus as a monster and a wild man1 represents him talking with his ram1 and speaking of his good fortune1 inasmuch as he could go wherever he pleased and touch what he would4 ,and so far he was right1 for that ,cyclops was a being of not much more understanding than his ram4 ,,xl4 ,now1 as to the evil of being deaf4 ,m4 ,crassus was a little thick of hearing2 but it was more uneasiness to him that he heard himself ill spoken of1 though1 in my opinion1 he did not deserve it4 ,our ,epicureans cannot understand ,greek1 nor the ,greeks ,latin3 now1 they are deaf reciprocally as to each other's language1 and we are all truly deaf with regard to those innumerable languages which we do not understand4 ,they do not hear the voice of the harper2 but1 then1 they do not hear the grating of a saw when it is setting1 or the grunting of a hog when his throat is being cut1 nor the roaring of the sea when they are desirous of rest4 ,and if they should chance to be fond of singing1 they ought1 in the first place1 to consider that many wise men lived happily before music was discovered2 besides1 they may have more pleasure in reading verses than in hearing them sung4 ,then1 as ,i before referred the blind to the pleasures of hearing1 so ,i may the deaf to the pleasures of sight3 moreover1 whoever can converse with himself doth not need the conversation of another4 ,but suppose all these misfortunes to meet in one person3 suppose him blind and deaf--let him be afflicted with the sharpest pains of body1 which1 in the first place1 generally of themselves make an end of him2 still1 should they continue so long1 and the pain be so exquisite1 that we should be unable to assign any reason for our being so afflicted--still1 why1 good ,gods6 should we be under any difficulty8 ,for there is a retreat at hand3 death is that retreat--a shelter where we shall forever be insensible4 ,theodorus said to ,lysimachus1 who threatened him with death1 ,it is a great matter1 indeed1 for you to have acquired the power of a ,spanish fly6 ,when ,perses entreated ,paulus not to lead him in triumph1 ,that is a matter which you have in your own power1 said ,paulus4 ,i said many things about death in our first day's disputation1 when death was the subject2 and not a little the next day1 when ,i treated of pain2 which things if you recollect1 there can be no danger of your looking upon death as undesirable1 or1 at least1 it will not be dreadful4 ,that custom which is common among the ,grecians at their banquets should1 in my opinion1 be observed in life3 ,drink1 say they1 or leave the company2 and rightly enough2 for a guest should either enjoy the pleasure of drinking with others1 or else not stay till he meets with affronts from those that are in liquor4 ,thus1 those injuries of fortune which you cannot bear you should flee from4 ,,xli4 ,this is the very same which is said by ,epicurus and ,hieronymus4 ,now1 if those philosophers1 whose opinion it is that virtue has no power of itself1 and who say that the conduct which we denominate honorable and laudable is really nothing1 and is only an empty circumstance set off with an unmeaning sound1 can nevertheless maintain that a wise man is always happy1 what1 think you1 may be done by the ,socratic and ,platonic philosophers8 ,some of these allow such superiority to the goods of the mind as quite to eclipse what concerns the body and all external circumstances4 ,but others do not admit these to be goods2 they make everything depend on the mind3 whose disputes ,carneades used1 as a sort of honorary arbitrator1 to determine4 ,for1 as what seemed goods to the ,peripatetics were allowed to be advantages by the ,stoics1 and as the ,peripatetics allowed no more to riches1 good health2 and other things of that sort than the ,stoics1 when these things were considered according to their reality1 and not by mere names1 his opinion was that there was no ground for disagreeing4 ,therefore1 let the philosophers of other schools see how they can establish this point also4 ,it is very agreeable to me that they make some professions worthy of being uttered by the mouth of a philosopher with regard to a wise man's having always the means of living happily4 ,,xlii4 ,but as we are to depart in the morning1 let us remember these five days' discussions2 though1 indeed1 ,i think ,i shall commit them to writing3 for how can ,i better employ the leisure which ,i have1 of whatever kind it is1 and whatever it be owing to8 ,and ,i will send these five books also to my friend ,brutus1 by whom ,i was not only incited to write on philosophy1 but1 ,i may say1 provoked4 ,and by so doing it is not easy to say what service ,i may be of to others4 ,at all events1 in my own various and acute afflictions1 which surround me on all sides1 ,i cannot find any better comfort for myself4 ,,the ,,nature ,,of ,,the ,,gods4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,book ,i4 ,i4 ,there are many things in philosophy1 my dear ,brutus1 which are not as yet fully explained to us1 and particularly 7as you very well know7 that most obscure and difficult question concerning the ,nature of the ,gods1 so extremely necessary both towards a knowledge of the human mind and the practice of true religion3 concerning which the opinions of men are so various1 and so different from each other1 as to lead strongly to the inference that ignorance#gb is the cause1 or origin1 of philosophy1 and that the ,academic philosophers have been prudent in refusing their assent to things uncertain3 for what is more unbecoming to a wise man than to judge rashly8 or what rashness is so unworthy of the gravity and stability of a philosopher as either to maintain false opinions1 or1 without the least hesitation1 to support and defend what he has not thoroughly examined and does not clearly comprehend8 ,in the question now before us1 the greater part of mankind have united to acknowledge that which is most probable1 and which we are all by nature led to suppose1 namely1 that there are ,gods4 ,protagoras#gc doubted whether there were any4 ,diagoras the ,melian and ,theodorus of ,cyrene entirely believed there were no such beings4 ,but they who have affirmed that there are ,gods1 have expressed such a variety of sentiments on the subject1 and the disagreement between them is so great1 that it would be tiresome to enumerate their opinions2 for they give us many statements respecting the forms of the ,gods1 and their places of abode1 and the employment of their lives4 ,and these are matters on which the philosophers differ with the most exceeding earnestness4 ,but the most considerable part of the dispute is1 whether they are wholly inactive1 totally unemployed1 and free from all care and administration of affairs2 or1 on the contrary1 whether all things were made and constituted by them from the beginning2 and whether they will continue to be actuated and governed by them to eternity4 ,this is one of the greatest points in debate2 and unless this is decided1 mankind must necessarily remain in the greatest of errors1 and ignorant of what is most important to be known4 ,,ii4 ,for there are some philosophers1 both ancient and modern1 who have conceived that the ,gods take not the least cognizance of human affairs4 ,but if their doctrine be true1 of what avail is piety1 sanctity1 or religion8 for these are feelings and marks of devotion which are offered to the ,gods by men with uprightness and holiness1 on the ground that men are the objects of the attention of the ,gods1 and that many benefits are conferred by the immortal ,gods on the human race4 ,but if the ,gods have neither the power nor the inclination to help us2 if they take no care of us1 and pay no regard to our actions2 and if there is no single advantage which can possibly accrue to the life of man2 then what reason can we have to pay any adoration1 or any honors1 or to prefer any prayers to them8 ,piety1 like the other virtues1 cannot have any connection with vain show or dissimulation2 and without piety1 neither sanctity nor religion can be supported2 the total subversion of which must be attended with great confusion and disturbance in life4 ,i do not even know1 if we cast off piety towards the ,gods1 but that faith1 and all the associations of human life1 and that most excellent of all virtues1 justice1 may perish with it4 ,there are other philosophers1 and those1 too1 very great and illustrious men1 who conceive the whole world to be directed and governed by the will and wisdom of the ,gods2 nor do they stop here1 but conceive likewise that the ,deities consult and provide for the preservation of mankind4 ,for they think that the fruits1 and the produce of the earth1 and the seasons1 and the variety of weather1 and the change of climates1 by which all the productions of the earth are brought to maturity1 are designed by the immortal ,gods for the use of man4 ,they instance many other things1 which shall be related in these books2 and which would almost induce us to believe that the immortal ,gods had made them all expressly and solely for the benefit and advantage of men4 ,against these opinions ,carneades has advanced so much that what he has said should excite a desire in men who are not naturally slothful to search after truth2 for there is no subject on which the learned as well as the unlearned differ so strenuously as in this2 and since their opinions are so various1 and so repugnant one to another1 it is possible that none of them may be1 and absolutely impossible that more than one should be1 right4 ,,iii4 ,now1 in a cause like this1 ,i may be able to pacify well-meaning opposers1 and to confute invidious censurers1 so as to induce the latter to repent of their unreasonable contradiction1 and the former to be glad to learn2 for they who admonish one in a friendly spirit should be instructed1 they who attack one like enemies should be repelled4 ,but ,i observe that the several books which ,i have lately published#gd have occasioned much noise and various discourse about them2 some people wondering what the reason has been why ,i have applied myself so suddenly to the study of philosophy1 and others desirous of knowing what my opinion is on such subjects4 ,i likewise perceive that many people wonder at my following that philosophy#ge chiefly which seems to take away the light1 and to bury and envelop things in a kind of artificial night1 and that ,i should so unexpectedly have taken up the defence of a school that has been long neglected and forsaken4 ,but it is a mistake to suppose that this application to philosophical studies has been sudden on my part4 ,i have applied myself to them from my youth1 at no small expense of time and trouble2 and ,i have been in the habit of philosophizing a great deal when ,i least seemed to think about it2 for the truth of which ,i appeal to my orations1 which are filled with quotations from philosophers1 and to my intimacy with those very learned men who frequented my house and conversed daily with me1 particularly ,diodorus1 ,philo1 ,antiochus1 and ,posidonius1#gf under whom ,i was bred2 and if all the precepts of philosophy are to have reference to the conduct of life1 ,i am inclined to think that ,i have advanced1 both in public and private affairs1 only such principles as may be supported by reason and authority4 ,,iv4 ,but if any one should ask what has induced me1 in the decline of life1 to write on these subjects1 nothing is more easily answered2 for when ,i found myself entirely disengaged from business1 and the commonwealth reduced to the necessity of being governed by the direction and care of one man1#gg ,i thought it becoming1 for the sake of the public1 to instruct my countrymen in philosophy1 and that it would be of importance1 and much to the honor and commendation of our city1 to have such great and excellent subjects introduced in the ,latin tongue4 ,i the less repent of my undertaking1 since ,i plainly see that ,i have excited in many a desire1 not only of learning1 but of writing2 for we have had several ,romans well grounded in the learning of the ,greeks who were unable to communicate to their countrymen what they had learned1 because they looked upon it as impossible to express that in ,latin which they had received from the ,greeks4 ,in this point ,i think ,i have succeeded so well that what ,i have done is not1 even in copiousness of expression1 inferior to that language4 ,another inducement to it was a melancholy disposition of mind1 and the great and heavy oppression of fortune that was upon me2 from which1 if ,i could have found any surer remedy1 ,i would not have sought relief in this pursuit4 ,but ,i could procure ease by no means better than by not only applying myself to books1 but by devoting myself to the examination of the whole body of philosophy4 ,and every part and branch of this is readily discovered when every question is propounded in writing2 for there is such an admirable continuation and series of things that each seems connected with the other1 and all appear linked together and united4 ,v4 ,now1 those men who desire to know my own private opinion on every particular subject have more curiosity than is necessary4 ,for the force of reason in disputation is to be sought after rather than authority1 since the authority of the teacher is often a disadvantage to those who are willing to learn2 as they refuse to use their own judgment1 and rely implicitly on him whom they make choice of for a preceptor4 ,nor could ,i ever approve this custom of the ,pythagoreans1 who1 when they affirmed anything in disputation1 and were asked why it was so1 used to give this answer3 ,he himself has said it2 and this he himself1 it seems1 was ,pythagoras4 ,such was the force of prejudice and opinion that his authority was to prevail even without argument or reason4 ,they who wonder at my being a follower of this sect in particular may find a satisfactory answer in my four books of ,academical ,questions4 ,but ,i deny that ,i have undertaken the protection of what is neglected and forsaken2 for the opinions of men do not die with them1 though they may perhaps want the author's explanation4 ,this manner of philosophizing1 of disputing all things and assuming nothing certainly1 was begun by ,socrates1 revived by ,arcesilaus1 confirmed by ,carneades1 and has descended1 with all its power1 even to the present age2 but ,i am informed that it is now almost exploded even in ,greece4 ,however1 ,i do not impute that to any fault in the institution of the ,academy1 but to the negligence of mankind4 ,if it is difficult to know all the doctrines of any one sect1 how much more is it to know those of every sect6 which1 however1 must necessarily be known to those who resolve1 for the sake of discovering truth1 to dispute for or against all philosophers without partiality4 ,i do not profess myself to be master of this difficult and noble faculty2 but ,i do assert that ,i have endeavored to make myself so2 and it is impossible that they who choose this manner of philosophizing should not meet at least with something worthy their pursuit4 ,i have spoken more fully on this head in another place4 ,but as some are too slow of apprehension1 and some too careless1 men stand in perpetual need of caution4 ,for we are not people who believe that there is nothing whatever which is true2 but we say that some falsehoods are so blended with all truths1 and have so great a resemblance to them1 that there is no certain rule for judging of or assenting to propositions2 from which this maxim also follows1 that many things are probable1 which1 though they are not evident to the senses1 have still so persuasive and beautiful an aspect that a wise man chooses to direct his conduct by them4 ,,vi4 ,now1 to free myself from the reproach of partiality1 ,i propose to lay before you the opinions of various philosophers concerning the nature of the ,gods1 by which means all men may judge which of them are consistent with truth2 and if all agree together1 or if any one shall be found to have discovered what may be absolutely called truth1 ,i will then give up the ,academy as vain and arrogant4 ,so ,i may cry out1 in the words of ,statius1 in the ,synephebi1 ,ye ,gods1 ,i call upon1 require1 pray1 beseech1 entreat1 and implore the attention of my countrymen all1 both young and old2 yet not on so trifling an occasion as when the person in the play complains that1 ,in this city we have discovered a most flagrant iniquity3 here is a professed courtesan1 who refuses money from her lover2 but that they may attend1 know1 and consider what sentiments they ought to preserve concerning religion1 piety1 sanctity1 ceremonies1 faith1 oaths1 temples1 shrines1 and solemn sacrifices2 what they ought to think of the auspices over which ,i preside2#gh for all these have relation to the present question4 ,the manifest disagreement among the most learned on this subject creates doubts in those who imagine they have some certain knowledge of the subject4 ,which fact ,i have often taken notice of elsewhere1 and ,i did so more especially at the discussion that was held at my friend ,c4 ,cotta's concerning the immortal ,gods1 and which was carried on with the greatest care1 accuracy1 and precision2 for coming to him at the time of the ,latin holidays1#gi according to his own invitation and message from him1 ,i found him sitting in his study1#hj and in a discourse with ,c4 ,velleius1 the senator1 who was then reputed by the ,epicureans the ablest of our countrymen4 ,q4 ,lucilius ,balbus was likewise there1 a great proficient in the doctrine of the ,stoics1 and esteemed equal to the most eminent of the ,greeks in that part of knowledge4 ,as soon as ,cotta saw me1 ,you are come1 says he1 very seasonably2 for ,i am having a dispute with ,velleius on an important subject1 which1 considering the nature of your studies1 is not improper for you to join in4 ,,vii4 ,indeed1 says ,i1 ,i think ,i am come very seasonably1 as you say2 for here are three chiefs of three principal sects met together4 ,if ,m4 ,piso#ha was present1 no sect of philosophy that is in any esteem would want an advocate4 ,if ,antiochus's book1 replies ,cotta1 which he lately sent to ,balbus1 says true1 you have no occasion to wish for your friend ,piso2 for ,antiochus is of the opinion that the ,stoics do not differ from the ,peripatetics in fact1 though they do in words2 and ,i should be glad to know what you think of that book1 ,balbus4 ,i8 says he4 ,i wonder that ,antiochus1 a man of the clearest apprehension1 should not see what a vast difference there is between the ,stoics1 who distinguish the honest and the profitable1 not only in name1 but absolutely in kind1 and the ,peripatetics1 who blend the honest with the profitable in such a manner that they differ only in degrees and proportion1 and not in kind4 ,this is not a little difference in words1 but a great one in things2 but of this hereafter4 ,now1 if you think fit1 let us return to what we began with4 ,with all my heart1 says ,cotta4 ,but that this visitor 7looking at me71 who is just come in1 may not be ignorant of what we are upon1 ,i will inform him that we were discoursing on the nature of the ,gods2 concerning which1 as it is a subject that always appeared very obscure to me1 ,i prevailed on ,velleius to give us the sentiments of ,epicurus4 ,therefore1 continues he1 if it is not troublesome1 ,velleius1 repeat what you have already stated to us4 ,i will1 says he1 though this new-comer will be no advocate for me1 but for you2 for you have both1 adds he1 with a smile1 learned from the same ,philo to be certain of nothing4#hb ,what we have learned from him1 replied ,i1 ,cotta will discover2 but ,i would not have you think ,i am come as an assistant to him1 but as an auditor1 with an impartial and unbiassed mind1 and not bound by any obligation to defend any particular principle1 whether ,i like or dislike it4 ,,viii4 ,after this1 ,velleius1 with the confidence peculiar to his sect1 dreading nothing so much as to seem to doubt of anything1 began as if he had just then descended from the council of the ,gods1 and ,epicurus's intervals of worlds4 ,do not attend1 says he1 to these idle and imaginary tales2 nor to the operator and builder of the ,world1 the ,god of ,plato's ,timus2 nor to the old prophetic dame1 the ,greek3 ,pronoia of the ,stoics1 which the ,latins call ,providence2 nor to that round1 that burning1 revolving deity1 the ,world1 endowed with sense and understanding2 the prodigies and wonders1 not of inquisitive philosophers1 but of dreamers6 ,for with what eyes of the mind was your ,plato able to see that workhouse of such stupendous toil1 in which he makes the world to be modelled and built by ,god8 ,what materials1 what tools1 what bars1 what machines1 what servants1 were employed in so vast a work8 ,how could the air1 fire1 water1 and earth pay obedience and submit to the will of the architect8 ,from whence arose those five forms1#hc of which the rest were composed1 so aptly contributing to frame the mind and produce the senses8 ,it is tedious to go through all1 as they are of such a sort that they look more like things to be desired than to be discovered4 ,but1 what is more remarkable1 he gives us a world which has been not only created1 but1 if ,i may so say1 in a manner formed with hands1 and yet he says it is eternal4 ,do you conceive him to have the least skill in natural philosophy who is capable of thinking anything to be everlasting that had a beginning8 ,for what can possibly ever have been put together which cannot be dissolved again8 ,or what is there that had a beginning which will not have an end8 ,if your ,providence1 ,lucilius1 is the same as ,plato's ,god1 ,i ask you1 as before1 who were the assistants1 what were the engines1 what was the plan and preparation of the whole work8 ,if it is not the same1 then why did she make the world mortal1 and not everlasting1 like ,plato's ,god8 ,,ix4 ,but ,i would demand of you both1 why these world-builders started up so suddenly1 and lay dormant for so many ages8 ,for we are not to conclude that1 if there was no world1 there were therefore no ages4 ,i do not now speak of such ages as are finished by a certain number of days and nights in annual courses2 for ,i acknowledge that those could not be without the revolution of the world2 but there was a certain eternity from infinite time1 not measured by any circumscription of seasons2 but how that was in space we cannot understand1 because we cannot possibly have even the slightest idea of time before time was4 ,i desire1 therefore1 to know1 ,balbus1 why this ,providence of yours was idle for such an immense space of time8 ,did she avoid labor8 ,but that could have no effect on the ,deity2 nor could there be any labor1 since all nature1 air1 fire1 earth1 and water would obey the divine essence4 ,what was it that incited the ,deity to act the part of an dile1 to illuminate and decorate the world8 ,if it was in order that ,god might be the better accommodated in his habitation1 then he must have been dwelling an infinite length of time before in darkness as in a dungeon4 ,but do we imagine that he was afterward delighted with that variety with which we see the heaven and earth adorned8 ,what entertainment could that be to the ,deity8 ,if it was any1 he would not have been without it so long4 ,or were these things made1 as you almost assert1 by ,god for the sake of men8 ,was it for the wise8 ,if so1 then this great design was adopted for the sake of a very small number4 ,or for the sake of fools8 ,first of all1 there was no reason why ,god should consult the advantage of the wicked2 and1 further1 what could be his object in doing so1 since all fools are1 without doubt1 the most miserable of men1 chiefly because they are fools8 ,for what can we pronounce more deplorable than folly8 ,besides1 there are many inconveniences in life which the wise can learn to think lightly of by dwelling rather on the advantages which they receive2 but which fools are unable to avoid when they are coming1 or to bear when they are come4 ,x4 ,they who affirm the world to be an animated and intelligent being have by no means discovered the nature of the mind1 nor are able to conceive in what form that essence can exist2 but of that ,i shall speak more hereafter4 ,at present ,i must express my surprise at the weakness of those who endeavor to make it out to be not only animated and immortal1 but likewise happy1 and round1 because ,plato says that is the most beautiful form2 whereas ,i think a cylinder1 a square1 a cone1 or a pyramid more beautiful4 ,but what life do they attribute to that round ,deity8 ,truly it is a being whirled about with a celerity to which nothing can be even conceived by the imagination as equal2 nor can ,i imagine how a settled mind and happy life can consist in such motion1 the least degree of which would be troublesome to us4 ,why1 therefore1 should it not be considered troublesome also to the ,deity8 ,for the earth itself1 as it is part of the world1 is part also of the ,deity4 ,we see vast tracts of land barren and uninhabitable2 some1 because they are scorched by the too near approach of the sun2 others1 because they are bound up with frost and snow1 through the great distance which the sun is from them4 ,therefore1 if the world is a ,deity1 as these are parts of the world1 some of the ,deity's limbs must be said to be scorched1 and some frozen4 ,these are your doctrines1 ,lucilius2 but what those of others are ,i will endeavor to ascertain by tracing them back from the earliest of ancient philosophers4 ,thales the ,milesian1 who first inquired after such subjects1 asserted water to be the origin of things1 and that ,god was that mind which formed all things from water4 ,if the ,gods can exist without corporeal sense1 and if there can be a mind without a body1 why did he annex a mind to water8 ,it was ,anaximander's opinion that the ,gods were born2 that after a great length of time they died2 and that they are innumerable worlds4 ,but what conception can we possibly have of a ,deity who is not eternal8 ,anaximenes1 after him1 taught that the air is ,god1 and that he was generated1 and that he is immense1 infinite1 and always in motion2 as if air1 which has no form1 could possibly be ,god2 for the ,deity must necessarily be not only of some form or other1 but of the most beautiful form4 ,besides1 is not everything that had a beginning subject to mortality8 ,,xi4 ,anaxagoras1 who received his learning from ,anaximenes1 was the first who affirmed the system and disposition of all things to be contrived and perfected by the power and reason of an infinite mind2 in which infinity he did not perceive that there could be no conjunction of sense and motion1 nor any sense in the least degree1 where nature herself could feel no impulse4 ,if he would have this mind to be a sort of animal1 then there must be some more internal principle from whence that animal should receive its appellation4 ,but what can be more internal than the mind8 ,let it1 therefore1 be clothed with an external body4 ,but this is not agreeable to his doctrine2 but we are utterly unable to conceive how a pure simple mind can exist without any substance annexed to it4 ,alcmon of ,crotona1 in attributing a divinity to the sun1 the moon1 and the rest of the stars1 and also to the mind1 did not perceive that he was ascribing immortality to mortal beings4 ,pythagoras1 who supposed the ,deity to be one soul1 mixing with and pervading all nature1 from which our souls are taken1 did not consider that the ,deity himself must1 in consequence of this doctrine1 be maimed and torn with the rending every human soul from it2 nor that1 when the human mind is afflicted 7as is the case in many instances71 that part of the ,deity must likewise be afflicted1 which cannot be4 ,if the human mind were a ,deity1 how could it be ignorant of any thing8 ,besides1 how could that ,deity1 if it is nothing but soul1 be mixed with1 or infused into1 the world8 ,then ,xenophanes1 who said that everything in the world which had any existence1 with the addition of intellect1 was ,god1 is as liable to exception as the rest1 especially in relation to the infinity of it1 in which there can be nothing sentient1 nothing composite4 ,parmenides formed a conceit to himself of something circular like a crown4 7,he names it ,stephane47 ,it is an orb of constant light and heat around the heavens2 this he calls ,god2 in which there is no room to imagine any divine form or sense4 ,and he uttered many other absurdities on the same subject2 for he ascribed a divinity to war1 to discord1 to lust1 and other passions of the same kind1 which are destroyed by disease1 or sleep1 or oblivion1 or age4 ,the same honor he gives to the stars2 but ,i shall forbear making any objections to his system here1 having already done it in another place4 ,,xii4 ,empedocles1 who erred in many things1 is most grossly mistaken in his notion of the ,gods4 ,he lays down four natures#hd as divine1 from which he thinks that all things were made4 ,yet it is evident that they have a beginning1 that they decay1 and that they are void of all sense4 ,protagoras did not seem to have any idea of the real nature of the ,gods2 for he acknowledged that he was altogether ignorant whether there are or are not any1 or what they are4 ,what shall ,i say of ,democritus1 who classes our images of objects1 and their orbs1 in the number of the ,gods2 as he does that principle through which those images appear and have their influence8 ,he deifies likewise our knowledge and understanding4 ,is he not involved in a very great error8 ,and because nothing continues always in the same state1 he denies that anything is everlasting1 does he not thereby entirely destroy the ,deity1 and make it impossible to form any opinion of him8 ,diogenes of ,apollonia looks upon the air to be a ,deity4 ,but what sense can the air have8 or what divine form can be attributed to it8 ,it would be tedious to show the uncertainty of ,plato's opinion2 for1 in his ,timus1 he denies the propriety of asserting that there is one great father or creator of the world2 and1 in his book of ,laws1 he thinks we ought not to make too strict an inquiry into the nature of the ,deity4 ,and as for his statement when he asserts that ,god is a being without any body--what the ,greeks call ,greek3 asmatos--it is certainly quite unintelligible how that theory can possibly be true2 for such a ,god must then necessarily be destitute of sense1 prudence1 and pleasure2 all which things are comprehended in our notion of the ,gods4 ,he likewise asserts in his ,timus1 and in his ,laws1 that the world1 the heavens1 the stars1 the mind1 and those ,gods which are delivered down to us from our ancestors1 constitute the ,deity4 ,these opinions1 taken separately1 are apparently false2 and1 together1 are directly inconsistent with each other4 ,xenophon has committed almost the same mistakes1 but in fewer words4 ,in those sayings which he has related of ,socrates1 he introduces him disputing the lawfulness of inquiring into the form of the ,deity1 and makes him assert the sun and the mind to be ,deities3 he represents him likewise as affirming the being of one ,god only1 and at another time of many2 which are errors of almost the same kind which ,i before took notice of in ,plato4 ,,xiii4 ,antisthenes1 in his book called the ,natural ,philosopher1 says that there are many national and one natural ,deity2 but by this saying he destroys the power and nature of the ,gods4 ,speusippus is not much less in the wrong2 who1 following his uncle ,plato1 says that a certain incorporeal power governs everything2 by which he endeavors to root out of our minds the knowledge of the ,gods4 ,aristotle1 in his third book of ,philosophy1 confounds many things together1 as the rest have done2 but he does not differ from his master ,plato4 ,at one time he attributes all divinity to the mind1 at another he asserts that the world is ,god4 ,soon afterward he makes some other essence preside over the world1 and gives it those faculties by which1 with certain revolutions1 he may govern and preserve the motion of it4 ,then he asserts the heat of the firmament to be ,god2 not perceiving the firmament to be part of the world1 which in another place he had described as ,god4 ,how can that divine sense of the firmament be preserved in so rapid a motion8 ,and where do the multitude of ,gods dwell1 if heaven itself is a ,deity8 ,but when this philosopher says that ,god is without a body1 he makes him an irrational and insensible being4 ,besides1 how can the world move itself1 if it wants a body8 ,or how1 if it is in perpetual self-motion1 can it be easy and happy8 ,xenocrates1 his fellow-pupil1 does not appear much wiser on this head1 for in his books concerning the nature of the ,gods no divine form is described2 but he says the number of them is eight4 ,five are moving planets2#he the sixth is contained in all the fixed stars2 which1 dispersed1 are so many several members1 but1 considered together1 are one single ,deity2 the seventh is the sun2 and the eighth the moon4 ,but in what sense they can possibly be happy is not easy to be understood4 ,from the same school of ,plato1 ,heraclides of ,pontus stuffed his books with puerile tales4 ,sometimes he thinks the world a ,deity1 at other times the mind4 ,he attributes divinity likewise to the wandering stars4 ,he deprives the ,deity of sense1 and makes his form mutable2 and1 in the same book again1 he makes earth and heaven ,deities4 ,the unsteadiness of ,theophrastus is equally intolerable4 ,at one time he attributes a divine prerogative to the mind2 at another1 to the firmament2 at another1 to the stars and celestial constellations4 ,nor is his disciple ,strato1 who is called the naturalist1 any more worthy to be regarded2 for he thinks that the divine power is diffused through nature1 which is the cause of birth1 increase1 and diminution1 but that it has no sense nor form4 ,,xiv4 ,zeno 7to come to your sect1 ,balbus7 thinks the law of nature to be the divinity1 and that it has the power to force us to what is right1 and to restrain us from what is wrong4 ,how this law can be an animated being ,i cannot conceive2 but that ,god is so we would certainly maintain4 ,the same person says1 in another place1 that the sky is ,god2 but can we possibly conceive that ,god is a being insensible1 deaf to our prayers1 our wishes1 and our vows1 and wholly unconnected with us8 ,in other books he thinks there is a certain rational essence pervading all nature1 indued with divine efficacy4 ,he attributes the same power to the stars1 to the years1 to the months1 and to the seasons4 ,in his interpretation of ,hesiod's ,theogony1#hf he entirely destroys the established notions of the ,gods2 for he excludes ,jupiter1 ,juno1 and ,vesta1 and those esteemed divine1 from the number of them2 but his doctrine is that these are names which by some kind of allusion are given to mute and inanimate beings4 ,the sentiments of his disciple ,aristo are not less erroneous4 ,he thought it impossible to conceive the form of the ,deity1 and asserts that the ,gods are destitute of sense2 and he is entirely dubious whether the ,deity is an animated being or not4 ,cleanthes1 who next comes under my notice1 a disciple of ,zeno at the same time with ,aristo1 in one place says that the world is ,god2 in another1 he attributes divinity to the mind and spirit of universal nature2 then he asserts that the most remote1 the highest1 the all-surrounding1 the all-enclosing and embracing heat1 which is called the sky1 is most certainly the ,deity4 ,in the books he wrote against pleasure1 in which he seems to be raving1 he imagines the ,gods to have a certain form and shape2 then he ascribes all divinity to the stars2 and1 lastly1 he thinks nothing more divine than reason4 ,so that this ,god1 whom we know mentally and in the speculations of our minds1 from which traces we receive our impression1 has at last actually no visible form at all4 ,,xv4 ,persus1 another disciple of ,zeno1 says that they who have made discoveries advantageous to the life of man should be esteemed as ,gods2 and the very things1 he says1 which are healthful and beneficial have derived their names from those of the ,gods2 so that he thinks it not sufficient to call them the discoveries of ,gods1 but he urges that they themselves should be deemed divine4 ,what can be more absurd than to ascribe divine honors to sordid and deformed things2 or to place among the ,gods men who are dead and mixed with the dust1 to whose memory all the respect that could be paid would be but mourning for their loss8 ,chrysippus1 who is looked upon as the most subtle interpreter of the dreams of the ,stoics1 has mustered up a numerous band of unknown ,gods2 and so unknown that we are not able to form any idea about them1 though our mind seems capable of framing any image to itself in its thoughts4 ,for he says that the divine power is placed in reason1 and in the spirit and mind of universal nature2 that the world1 with a universal effusion of its spirit1 is ,god2 that the superior part of that spirit1 which is the mind and reason1 is the great principle of nature1 containing and preserving the chain of all things2 that the divinity is the power of fate1 and the necessity of future events4 ,he deifies fire also1 and what ,i before called the ethereal spirit1 and those elements which naturally proceed from it--water1 earth1 and air4 ,he attributes divinity to the sun1 moon1 stars1 and universal space1 the grand container of all things1 and to those men likewise who have obtained immortality4 ,he maintains the sky to be what men call ,jupiter2 the air1 which pervades the sea1 to be ,neptune2 and the earth1 ,ceres4 ,in like manner he goes through the names of the other ,deities4 ,he says that ,jupiter is that immutable and eternal law which guides and directs us in our manners2 and this he calls fatal necessity1 the everlasting verity of future events4 ,but none of these are of such a nature as to seem to carry any indication of divine virtue in them4 ,these are the doctrines contained in his first book of the ,nature of the ,gods4 ,in the second1 he endeavors to accommodate the fables of ,orpheus1 ,musus1 ,hesiod1 and ,homer to what he has advanced in the first1 in order that the most ancient poets1 who never dreamed of these things1 may seem to have been ,stoics4 ,diogenes the ,babylonian was a follower of the doctrine of ,chrysippus2 and in that book which he wrote1 entitled ,a ,treatise concerning ,minerva1 he separates the account of ,jupiter's bringing-forth1 and the birth of that virgin1 from the fabulous1 and reduces it to a natural construction4 ,,xvi4 ,thus far have ,i been rather exposing the dreams of dotards than giving the opinions of philosophers4 ,not much more absurd than these are the fables of the poets1 who owe all their power of doing harm to the sweetness of their language2 who have represented the ,gods as enraged with anger and inflamed with lust2 who have brought before our eyes their wars1 battles1 combats1 wounds2 their hatreds1 dissensions1 discords1 births1 deaths1 complaints1 and lamentations2 their indulgences in all kinds of intemperance2 their adulteries2 their chains2 their amours with mortals1 and mortals begotten by immortals4 ,to these idle and ridiculous flights of the poets we may add the prodigious stories invented by the ,magi1 and by the ,egyptians also1 which were of the same nature1 together with the extravagant notions of the multitude at all times1 who1 from total ignorance of the truth1 are always fluctuating in uncertainty4 ,now1 whoever reflects on the rashness and absurdity of these tenets must inevitably entertain the highest respect and veneration for ,epicurus1 and perhaps even rank him in the number of those beings who are the subject of this dispute2 for he alone first founded the idea of the existence of the ,gods on the impression which nature herself hath made on the minds of all men4 ,for what nation1 what people are there1 who have not1 without any learning1 a natural idea1 or prenotion1 of a ,deity8 ,epicurus calls this ,greek3 prolpsis2 that is1 an antecedent conception of the fact in the mind1 without which nothing can be understood1 inquired after1 or discoursed on2 the force and advantage of which reasoning we receive from that celestial volume of ,epicurus concerning the ,rule and ,judgment of ,things4 ,,xvii4 ,here1 then1 you see the foundation of this question clearly laid2 for since it is the constant and universal opinion of mankind1 independent of education1 custom1 or law1 that there are ,gods1 it must necessarily follow that this knowledge is implanted in our minds1 or1 rather1 innate in us4 ,that opinion respecting which there is a general agreement in universal nature must infallibly be true2 therefore it must be allowed that there are ,gods2 for in this we have the concurrence1 not only of almost all philosophers1 but likewise of the ignorant and illiterate4 ,it must be also confessed that the point is established that we have naturally this idea1 as ,i said before1 or prenotion1 of the existence of the ,gods4 ,as new things require new names1 so that prenotion was called ,greek3 prolpsis by ,epicurus2 an appellation never used before4 ,on the same principle of reasoning1 we think that the ,gods are happy and immortal2 for that nature which hath assured us that there are ,gods has likewise imprinted in our minds the knowledge of their immortality and felicity2 and if so1 what ,epicurus hath declared in these words is true3 ,that which is eternally happy cannot be burdened with any labor itself1 nor can it impose any labor on another2 nor can it be influenced by resentment or favor3 because things which are liable to such feelings must be weak and frail4 ,we have said enough to prove that we should worship the ,gods with piety1 and without superstition1 if that were the only question4 ,for the superior and excellent nature of the ,gods requires a pious adoration from men1 because it is possessed of immortality and the most exalted felicity2 for whatever excels has a right to veneration1 and all fear of the power and anger of the ,gods should be banished2 for we must understand that anger and affection are inconsistent with the nature of a happy and immortal being4 ,these apprehensions being removed1 no dread of the superior powers remains4 ,to confirm this opinion1 our curiosity leads us to inquire into the form and life and action of the intellect and spirit of the ,deity4 ,,xviii4 ,with regard to his form1 we are directed partly by nature and partly by reason4 ,all men are told by nature that none but a human form can be ascribed to the ,gods2 for under what other image did it ever appear to any one either sleeping or waking8 and1 without having recourse to our first notions1#hg reason itself declares the same2 for as it is easy to conceive that the most excellent nature1 either because of its happiness or immortality1 should be the most beautiful1 what composition of limbs1 what conformation of lineaments1 what form1 what aspect1 can be more beautiful than the human8 ,your sect1 ,lucilius 7not like my friend ,cotta1 who sometimes says one thing and sometimes another71 when they represent the divine art and workmanship in the human body1 are used to describe how very completely each member is formed1 not only for convenience1 but also for beauty4 ,therefore1 if the human form excels that of all other animal beings1 as ,god himself is an animated being1 he must surely be of that form which is the most beautiful4 ,besides1 the ,gods are granted to be perfectly happy2 and nobody can be happy without virtue1 nor can virtue exist where reason is not2 and reason can reside in none but the human form2 the ,gods1 therefore1 must be acknowledged to be of human form2 yet that form is not body1 but something like body2 nor does it contain any blood1 but something like blood4 ,though these distinctions were more acutely devised and more artfully expressed by ,epicurus than any common capacity can comprehend2 yet1 depending on your understanding1 ,i shall be more brief on the subject than otherwise ,i should be4 ,epicurus1 who not only discovered and understood the occult and almost hidden secrets of nature1 but explained them with ease1 teaches that the power and nature of the ,gods is not to be discerned by the senses1 but by the mind2 nor are they to be considered as bodies of any solidity1 or reducible to number1 like those things which1 because of their firmness1 he calls ,greek3 ,steremnia2#hh but as images1 perceived by similitude and transition4 ,as infinite kinds of those images result from innumerable individuals1 and centre in the ,gods1 our minds and understanding are directed towards and fixed with the greatest delight on them1 in order to comprehend what that happy and eternal essence is4 ,,xix4 ,surely the mighty power of the ,infinite ,being is most worthy our great and earnest contemplation2 the nature of which we must necessarily understand to be such that everything in it is made to correspond completely to some other answering part4 ,this is called by ,epicurus ,greek3 isonomia2 that is to say1 an equal distribution or even disposition of things4 ,from hence he draws this inference1 that1 as there is such a vast multitude of mortals1 there cannot be a less number of immortals2 and if those which perish are innumerable1 those which are preserved ought also to be countless4 ,your sect1 ,balbus1 frequently ask us how the ,gods live1 and how they pass their time8 ,their life is the most happy1 and the most abounding with all kinds of blessings1 which can be conceived4 ,they do nothing4 ,they are embarrassed with no business2 nor do they perform any work4 ,they rejoice in the possession of their own wisdom and virtue4 ,they are satisfied that they shall ever enjoy the fulness of eternal pleasures4 ,,xx4 ,such a ,deity may properly be called happy2 but yours is a most laborious ,god4 ,for let us suppose the world a ,deity--what can be a more uneasy state than1 without the least cessation1 to be whirled about the axle-tree of heaven with a surprising celerity8 ,but nothing can be happy that is not at ease4 ,or let us suppose a ,deity residing in the world1 who directs and governs it1 who preserves the courses of the stars1 the changes of the seasons1 and the vicissitudes and orders of things1 surveying the earth and the sea1 and accommodating them to the advantage and necessities of man4 ,truly this ,deity is embarrassed with a very troublesome and laborious office4 ,we make a happy life to consist in a tranquillity of mind1 a perfect freedom from care1 and an exemption from all employment4 ,the philosopher from whom we received all our knowledge has taught us that the world was made by nature2 that there was no occasion for a workhouse to frame it in2 and that1 though you deny the possibility of such a work without divine skill1 it is so easy to her1 that she has made1 does make1 and will make innumerable worlds4 ,but1 because you do not conceive that nature is able to produce such effects without some rational aid1 you are forced1 like the tragic poets1 when you cannot wind up your argument in any other way1 to have recourse to a ,deity1 whose assistance you would not seek1 if you could view that vast and unbounded magnitude of regions in all parts2 where the mind1 extending and spreading itself1 travels so far and wide that it can find no end1 no extremity to stop at4 ,in this immensity of breadth1 length1 and height1 a most boundless company of innumerable atoms are fluttering about1 which1 notwithstanding the interposition of a void space1 meet and cohere1 and continue clinging to one another2 and by this union these modifications and forms of things arise1 which1 in your opinions1 could not possibly be made without the help of bellows and anvils4 ,thus you have imposed on us an eternal master1 whom we must dread day and night4 ,for who can be free from fear of a ,deity who foresees1 regards1 and takes notice of everything2 one who thinks all things his own2 a curious1 ever-busy ,god8 ,hence first arose your ,greek3 ,heimarmen1 as you call it1 your fatal necessity2 so that1 whatever happens1 you affirm that it flows from an eternal chain and continuance of causes4 ,of what value is this philosophy1 which1 like old women and illiterate men1 attributes everything to fate8 ,then follows your ,greek3 mantik1 in ,latin called divinatio1 divination2 which1 if we would listen to you1 would plunge us into such superstition that we should fall down and worship your inspectors into sacrifices1 your augurs1 your soothsayers1 your prophets1 and your fortune-tellers4 ,epicurus having freed us from these terrors and restored us to liberty1 we have no dread of those beings whom we have reason to think entirely free from all trouble themselves1 and who do not impose any on others4 ,we pay our adoration1 indeed1 with piety and reverence to that essence which is above all excellence and perfection4 ,but ,i fear my zeal for this doctrine has made me too prolix4 ,however1 ,i could not easily leave so eminent and important a subject unfinished1 though ,i must confess ,i should rather endeavor to hear than speak so long4 ,,xxi4 ,cotta1 with his usual courtesy1 then began4 ,velleius1 says he1 were it not for something which you have advanced1 ,i should have remained silent2 for ,i have often observed1 as ,i did just now upon hearing you1 that ,i cannot so easily conceive why a proposition is true as why it is false4 ,should you ask me what ,i take the nature of the ,gods to be1 ,i should perhaps make no answer4 ,but if you should ask whether ,i think it to be of that nature which you have described1 ,i should answer that ,i was as far as possible from agreeing with you4 ,however1 before ,i enter on the subject of your discourse and what you have advanced upon it1 ,i will give you my opinion of yourself4 ,your intimate friend1 ,l4 ,crassus1 has been often heard by me to say that you were beyond all question superior to all our learned ,romans2 and that few ,epicureans in ,greece were to be compared to you4 ,but as ,i knew what a wonderful esteem he had for you1 ,i imagined that might make him the more lavish in commendation of you4 ,now1 however1 though ,i do not choose to praise any one when present1 yet ,i must confess that ,i think you have delivered your thoughts clearly on an obscure and very intricate subject2 that you are not only copious in your sentiments1 but more elegant in your language than your sect generally are4 ,when ,i was at ,athens1 ,i went often to hear ,zeno1 by the advice of ,philo1 who used to call him the chief of the ,epicureans2 partly1 probably1 in order to judge more easily how completely those principles could be refuted after ,i had heard them stated by the most learned of the ,epicureans4 ,and1 indeed1 he did not speak in any ordinary manner2 but1 like you1 with clearness1 gravity1 and elegance2 yet what frequently gave me great uneasiness when ,i heard him1 as it did while ,i attended to you1 was to see so excellent a genius falling into such frivolous 7excuse my freedom71 not to say foolish1 doctrines4 ,however1 ,i shall not at present offer anything better2 for1 as ,i said before1 we can in most subjects1 especially in physics1 sooner discover what is not true than what is4 ,,xxii4 ,if you should ask me what ,god is1 or what his character and nature are1 ,i should follow the example of ,simonides1 who1 when ,hiero the tyrant proposed the same question to him1 desired a day to consider of it4 ,when he required his answer the next day1 ,simonides begged two days more2 and as he kept constantly desiring double the number which he had required before instead of giving his answer1 ,hiero1 with surprise1 asked him his meaning in doing so3 ,because1 says he1 the longer ,i meditate on it1 the more obscure it appears to me4 ,simonides1 who was not only a delightful poet1 but reputed a wise and learned man in other branches of knowledge1 found1 ,i suppose1 so many acute and refined arguments occurring to him1 that he was doubtful which was the truest1 and therefore despaired of discovering any truth4 ,but does your ,epicurus 7for ,i had rather contend with him than with you7 say anything that is worthy the name of philosophy1 or even of common-sense8 ,in the question concerning the nature of the ,gods1 his first inquiry is1 whether there are ,gods or not4 ,it would be dangerous1 ,i believe1 to take the negative side before a public auditory2 but it is very safe in a discourse of this kind1 and in this company4 ,i1 who am a priest1 and who think that religions and ceremonies ought sacredly to be maintained1 am certainly desirous to have the existence of the ,gods1 which is the principal point in debate1 not only fixed in opinion1 but proved to a demonstration2 for many notions flow into and disturb the mind which sometimes seem to convince us that there are none4 ,but see how candidly ,i will behave to you3 as ,i shall not touch upon those tenets you hold in common with other philosophers1 consequently ,i shall not dispute the existence of the ,gods1 for that doctrine is agreeable to almost all men1 and to myself in particular2 but ,i am still at liberty to find fault with the reasons you give for it1 which ,i think are very insufficient4 ,,xxiii4 ,you have said that the general assent of men of all nations and all degrees is an argument strong enough to induce us to acknowledge the being of the ,gods4 ,this is not only a weak1 but a false1 argument2 for1 first of all1 how do you know the opinions of all nations8 ,i really believe there are many people so savage that they have no thoughts of a ,deity4 ,what think you of ,diagoras1 who was called the atheist2 and of ,theodorus after him8 ,did not they plainly deny the very essence of a ,deity8 ,protagoras of ,abdera1 whom you just now mentioned1 the greatest sophist of his age1 was banished by order of the ,athenians from their city and territories1 and his books were publicly burned1 because these words were in the beginning of his treatise concerning the ,gods3 ,i am unable to arrive at any knowledge whether there are1 or are not1 any ,gods4 ,this treatment of him1 ,i imagine1 restrained many from professing their disbelief of a ,deity1 since the doubt of it only could not escape punishment4 ,what shall we say of the sacrilegious1 the impious1 and the perjured8 ,if ,tubulus ,lucius1 ,lupus1 or ,carbo the son of ,neptune1 as ,lucilius says1 had believed that there were ,gods1 would either of them have carried his perjuries and impieties to such excess8 ,your reasoning1 therefore1 to confirm your assertion is not so conclusive as you think it is4 ,but as this is the manner in which other philosophers have argued on the same subject1 ,i will take no further notice of it at present2 ,i rather choose to proceed to what is properly your own4 ,i allow that there are ,gods4 ,instruct me1 then1 concerning their origin2 inform me where they are1 what sort of body1 what mind1 they have1 and what is their course of life2 for these ,i am desirous of knowing4 ,you attribute the most absolute power and efficacy to atoms4 ,out of them you pretend that everything is made4 ,but there are no atoms1 for there is nothing without body2 every place is occupied by body1 therefore there can be no such thing as a vacuum or an atom4 ,,xxiv4 ,i advance these principles of the naturalists without knowing whether they are true or false2 yet they are more like truth than those statements of yours2 for they are the absurdities in which ,democritus1 or before him ,leucippus1 used to indulge1 saying that there are certain light corpuscles--some smooth1 some rough1 some round1 some square1 some crooked and bent as bows--which by a fortuitous concourse made heaven and earth1 without the influence of any natural power4 ,this opinion1 ,c4 ,velleius1 you have brought down to these our times2 and you would sooner be deprived of the greatest advantages of life than of that authority2 for before you were acquainted with those tenets1 you thought that you ought to profess yourself an ,epicurean2 so that it was necessary that you should either embrace these absurdities or lose the philosophical character which you had taken upon you2 and what could bribe you to renounce the ,epicurean opinion8 ,nothing1 you say1 can prevail on you to forsake the truth and the sure means of a happy life4 ,but is that the truth8 for ,i shall not contest your happy life1 which you think the ,deity himself does not enjoy unless he languishes in idleness4 ,but where is truth8 ,is it in your innumerable worlds1 some of which are rising1 some falling1 at every moment of time8 ,or is it in your atomical corpuscles1 which form such excellent works without the direction of any natural power or reason8 ,but ,i was forgetting my liberality1 which ,i had promised to exert in your case1 and exceeding the bounds which ,i at first proposed to myself4 ,granting1 then1 everything to be made of atoms1 what advantage is that to your argument8 ,for we are searching after the nature of the ,gods2 and allowing them to be made of atoms1 they cannot be eternal1 because whatever is made of atoms must have had a beginning3 if so1 there were no ,gods till there was this beginning2 and if the ,gods have had a beginning1 they must necessarily have an end1 as you have before contended when you were discussing ,plato's world4 ,where1 then1 is your beatitude and immortality1 in which two words you say that ,god is expressed1 the endeavor to prove which reduces you to the greatest perplexities8 ,for you said that ,god had no body1 but something like body2 and no blood1 but something like blood4 ,,xxv4 ,it is a frequent practice among you1 when you assert anything that has no resemblance to truth1 and wish to avoid reprehension1 to advance something else which is absolutely and utterly impossible1 in order that it may seem to your adversaries better to grant that point which has been a matter of doubt than to keep on pertinaciously contradicting you on every point3 like ,epicurus1 who1 when he found that if his atoms were allowed to descend by their own weight1 our actions could not be in our own power1 because their motions would be certain and necessary1 invented an expedient1 which escaped ,democritus1 to avoid necessity4 ,he says that when the atoms descend by their own weight and gravity1 they move a little obliquely4 ,surely1 to make such an assertion as this is what one ought more to be ashamed of than the acknowledging ourselves unable to defend the proposition4 ,his practice is the same against the logicians1 who say that in all propositions in which yes or no is required1 one of them must be true2 he was afraid that if this were granted1 then1 in such a proposition as ,epicurus will be alive or dead to-morrow1 either one or the other must necessarily be admitted2 therefore he absolutely denied the necessity of yes or no4 ,can anything show stupidity in a greater degree8 ,zeno1#hi being pressed by ,arcesilas1 who pronounced all things to be false which are perceived by the senses1 said that some things were false1 but not all4 ,epicurus was afraid that if any one thing seen should be false1 nothing could be true2 and therefore he asserted all the senses to be infallible directors of truth4 ,nothing can be more rash than this2 for by endeavoring to repel a light stroke1 he receives a heavy blow4 ,on the subject of the nature of the ,gods1 he falls into the same errors4 ,while he would avoid the concretion of individual bodies1 lest death and dissolution should be the consequence1 he denies that the ,gods have body1 but says they have something like body2 and says they have no blood1 but something like blood4 ,,xxvi4 ,it seems an unaccountable thing how one soothsayer can refrain from laughing when he sees another4 ,it is yet a greater wonder that you can refrain from laughing among yourselves4 ,it is no body1 but something like body6 ,i could understand this if it were applied to statues made of wax or clay2 but in regard to the ,deity1 ,i am not able to discover what is meant by a quasi-body or quasi-blood4 ,nor indeed are you1 ,velleius1 though you will not confess so much4 ,for those precepts are delivered to you as dictates which ,epicurus carelessly blundered out2 for he boasted1 as we see in his writings1 that he had no instructor1 which ,i could easily believe without his public declaration of it1 for the same reason that ,i could believe the master of a very bad edifice if he were to boast that he had no architect but himself3 for there is nothing of the ,academy1 nothing of the ,lyceum1 in his doctrine2 nothing but puerilities4 ,he might have been a pupil of ,xenocrates4 ,o ye immortal ,gods1 what a teacher was he6 ,and there are those who believe that he actually was his pupil2 but he says otherwise1 and ,i shall give more credit to his word than to another's4 ,he confesses that he was a pupil of a certain disciple of ,plato1 one ,pamphilus1 at ,samos2 for he lived there when he was young1 with his father and his brothers4 ,his father1 ,neocles1 was a farmer in those parts2 but as the farm1 ,i suppose1 was not sufficient to maintain him1 he turned school-master2 yet ,epicurus treats this ,platonic philosopher with wonderful contempt1 so fearful was he that it should be thought he had ever had any instruction4 ,but it is well known he had been a pupil of ,nausiphanes1 the follower of ,democritus2 and since he could not deny it1 he loaded him with insults in abundance4 ,if he never heard a lecture on these ,democritean principles1 what lectures did he ever hear8 ,what is there in ,epicurus's physics that is not taken from ,democritus8 ,for though he altered some things1 as what ,i mentioned before of the oblique motions of the atoms1 yet most of his doctrines are the same2 his atoms--his vacuum--his images--infinity of space--innumerable worlds1 their rise and decay--and almost every part of natural learning that he treats of4 ,now1 do you understand what is meant by quasi-body and quasi-blood8 ,for ,i not only acknowledge that you are a better judge of it than ,i am1 but ,i can bear it without envy4 ,if any sentiments1 indeed1 are communicated without obscurity1 what is there that ,velleius can understand and ,cotta not8 ,i know what body is1 and what blood is2 but ,i cannot possibly find out the meaning of quasi-body and quasi-blood4 ,not that you intentionally conceal your principles from me1 as ,pythagoras did his from those who were not his disciples2 or that you are intentionally obscure1 like ,heraclitus4 ,but the truth is 7which ,i may venture to say in this company71 you do not understand them yourself4 ,,xxvii4 ,this1 ,i perceive1 is what you contend for1 that the ,gods have a certain figure that has nothing concrete1 nothing solid1 nothing of express substance1 nothing prominent in it2 but that it is pure1 smooth1 and transparent4 ,let us suppose the same with the ,venus of ,cos1 which is not a body1 but the representation of a body2 nor is the red1 which is drawn there and mixed with the white1 real blood1 but a certain resemblance of blood2 so in ,epicurus's ,deity there is no real substance1 but the resemblance of substance4 ,let me take for granted that which is perfectly unintelligible2 then tell me what are the lineaments and figures of these sketched-out ,deities4 ,here you have plenty of arguments by which you would show the ,gods to be in human form4 ,the first is1 that our minds are so anticipated and prepossessed1 that whenever we think of a ,deity the human shape occurs to us4 ,the next is1 that as the divine nature excels all things1 so it ought to be of the most beautiful form1 and there is no form more beautiful than the human2 and the third is1 that reason cannot reside in any other shape4 ,first1 let us consider each argument separately4 ,you seem to me to assume a principle1 despotically ,i may say1 that has no manner of probability in it4 ,who was ever so blind1 in contemplating these subjects1 as not to see that the ,gods were represented in human form1 either by the particular advice of wise men1 who thought by those means the more easily to turn the minds of the ignorant from a depravity of manners to the worship of the ,gods2 or through superstition1 which was the cause of their believing that when they were paying adoration to these images they were approaching the ,gods themselves4 ,these conceits were not a little improved by the poets1 painters1 and artificers2 for it would not have been very easy to represent the ,gods planning and executing any work in another form1 and perhaps this opinion arose from the idea which mankind have of their own beauty4 ,but do not you1 who are so great an adept in physics1 see what a soothing flatterer1 what a sort of procuress1 nature is to herself8 ,do you think there is any creature on the land or in the sea that is not highly delighted with its own form8 ,if it were not so1 why would not a bull become enamored of a mare1 or a horse of a cow8 ,do you believe an eagle1 a lion1 or a dolphin prefers any shape to its own8 ,if nature1 therefore1 has instructed us in the same manner1 that nothing is more beautiful than man1 what wonder is it that we1 for that reason1 should imagine the ,gods are of the human form8 ,do you suppose if beasts were endowed with reason that every one would not give the prize of beauty to his own species8 ,,xxviii4 ,yet1 by ,hercules 7,i speak as ,i think76 though ,i am fond enough of myself1 ,i dare not say that ,i excel in beauty that bull which carried ,europa4 ,for the question here is not concerning our genius and elocution1 but our species and figure4 ,if we could make and assume to ourselves any form1 would you be unwilling to resemble the sea-triton as he is painted supported swimming on sea-monsters whose bodies are partly human8 ,here ,i touch on a difficult point2 for so great is the force of nature that there is no man who would not choose to be like a man1 nor1 indeed1 any ant that would not be like an ant4 ,but like what man8 ,for how few can pretend to beauty6 ,when ,i was at ,athens1 the whole flock of youths afforded scarcely one4 ,you laugh1 ,i see2 but what ,i tell you is the truth4 ,nay1 to us who1 after the examples of ancient philosophers1 delight in boys1 defects are often pleasing4 ,alcus was charmed with a wart on a boy's knuckle2 but a wart is a blemish on the body2 yet it seemed a beauty to him4 ,q4 ,catulus1 my friend and colleague's father1 was enamored with your fellow-citizen ,roscius1 on whom he wrote these verses3 ,as once ,i stood to hail the rising day1 ,roscius appearing on the left ,i spied3 ,forgive me1 ,gods1 if ,i presume to say ,the mortal's beauty with th' immortal vied4 ,roscius more beautiful than a ,god6 yet he was then1 as he now is1 squint-eyed4 ,but what signifies that1 if his defects were beauties to ,catulus8 ,,xxix4 ,i return to the ,gods4 ,can we suppose any of them to be squint-eyed1 or even to have a cast in the eye8 ,have they any warts8 ,are any of them hook-nosed1 flap-eared1 beetle-browed1 or jolt-headed1 as some of us are8 ,or are they free from imperfections8 ,let us grant you that4 ,are they all alike in the face8 ,for if they are many1 then one must necessarily be more beautiful than another1 and then there must be some ,deity not absolutely most beautiful4 ,or if their faces are all alike1 there would be an ,academy#ij in heaven2 for if one ,god does not differ from another1 there is no possibility of knowing or distinguishing them4 ,what if your assertion1 ,velleius1 proves absolutely false1 that no form occurs to us1 in our contemplations on the ,deity1 but the human8 ,will you1 notwithstanding that1 persist in the defence of such an absurdity8 ,supposing that form occurs to us1 as you say it does1 and we know ,jupiter1 ,juno1 ,minerva1 ,neptune1 ,vulcan1 ,apollo1 and the other ,deities1 by the countenance which painters and statuaries have given them1 and not only by their countenances1 but by their decorations1 their age1 and attire2 yet the ,egyptians1 the ,syrians1 and almost all barbarous nations1#ia are without such distinctions4 ,you may see a greater regard paid by them to certain beasts than by us to the most sacred temples and images of the ,gods2 for many shrines have been rifled1 and images of the ,deities have been carried from their most sacred places by us2 but we never heard that an ,egyptian offered any violence to a crocodile1 an ibis1 or a cat4 ,what do you think1 then8 ,do not the ,egyptians esteem their sacred bull1 their ,apis1 as a ,deity8 ,yes1 by ,hercules6 as certainly as you do our protectress ,juno1 whom you never behold1 even in your dreams1 without a goat-skin1 a spear1 a shield1 and broad sandals4 ,but the ,grecian ,juno of ,argos and the ,roman ,juno are not represented in this manner2 so that the ,grecians1 the ,lanuvinians1 and we1 ascribe different forms to ,juno2 and our ,capitoline ,jupiter is not the same with the ,jupiter ,ammon of the ,africans4 ,,xxx4 ,therefore1 ought not a natural philosopher--that is1 an inquirer into the secrets of nature--to be ashamed of seeking a testimony to truth from minds prepossessed by custom8 ,according to the rule you have laid down1 it may be said that ,jupiter is always bearded1 ,apollo always beardless2 that ,minerva has gray and ,neptune azure eyes2 and1 indeed1 we must then honor that ,vulcan at ,athens1 made by ,alcamenes1 whose lameness through his thin robes appears to be no deformity4 ,shall we1 therefore1 receive a lame ,deity because we have such an account of him8 ,consider1 likewise1 that the ,gods go by what names we give them4 ,now1 in the first place1 they have as many names as men have languages2 for ,vulcan is not called ,vulcan in ,italy1 ,africa1 or ,spain1 as you are called ,velleius in all countries4 ,besides1 the ,gods are innumerable1 though the list of their names is of no great length even in the records of our priests4 ,have they no names8 ,you must necessarily confess1 indeed1 they have none2 for what occasion is there for different names if their persons are alike8 ,how much more laudable would it be1 ,velleius1 to acknowledge that you do not know what you do not know than to follow a man whom you must despise6 ,do you think the ,deity is like either me or you8 ,you do not really think he is like either of us4 ,what is to be done1 then8 ,shall ,i call the sun1 the moon1 or the sky a ,deity8 ,if so1 they are consequently happy4 ,but what pleasures can they enjoy8 ,and they are wise too4 ,but how can wisdom reside in such shapes8 ,these are your own principles4 ,therefore1 if they are not of human form1 as ,i have proved1 and if you cannot persuade yourself that they are of any other1 why are you cautious of denying absolutely the being of any ,gods8 ,you dare not deny it--which is very prudent in you1 though here you are not afraid of the people1 but of the ,gods themselves4 ,i have known ,epicureans who reverence#ib even the least images of the ,gods1 though ,i perceive it to be the opinion of some that ,epicurus1 through fear of offending against the ,athenian laws1 has allowed a ,deity in words and destroyed him in fact2 so in those his select and short sentences1 which are called by you ,greek3 kyriai doxai1#ic this1 ,i think1 is the first3 ,that being which is happy and immortal is not burdened with any labor1 and does not impose any on any one else4 ,,xxxi4 ,in his statement of this sentence1 some think that he avoided speaking clearly on purpose1 though it was manifestly without design4 ,but they judge ill of a man who had not the least art4 ,it is doubtful whether he means that there is any being happy and immortal1 or that if there is any being happy1 he must likewise be immortal4 ,they do not consider that he speaks here1 indeed1 ambiguously2 but in many other places both he and ,metrodorus explain themselves as clearly as you have done4 ,but he believed there are ,gods2 nor have ,i ever seen any one who was more exceedingly afraid of what he declared ought to be no objects of fear1 namely1 death and the ,gods1 with the apprehensions of which the common rank of people are very little affected2 but he says that the minds of all mortals are terrified by them4 ,many thousands of men commit robberies in the face of death2 others rifle all the temples they can get into3 such as these1 no doubt1 must be greatly terrified1 the one by the fears of death1 and the others by the fear of the ,gods4 ,but since you dare not 7for ,i am now addressing my discourse to ,epicurus himself7 absolutely deny the existence of the ,gods1 what hinders you from ascribing a divine nature to the sun1 the world1 or some eternal mind8 ,i never1 says he1 saw wisdom and a rational soul in any but a human form4 ,what6 did you ever observe anything like the sun1 the moon1 or the five moving planets8 ,the sun1 terminating his course in two extreme parts of one circle1#id finishes his annual revolutions4 ,the moon1 receiving her light from the sun1 completes the same course in the space of a month4#ie ,the five planets in the same circle1 some nearer1 others more remote from the earth1 begin the same courses together1 and finish them in different spaces of time4 ,did you ever observe anything like this1 ,epicurus8 ,so that1 according to you1 there can be neither sun1 moon1 nor stars1 because nothing can exist but what we have touched or seen4#if ,what6 have you ever seen the ,deity himself8 ,why else do you believe there is any8 ,if this doctrine prevails1 we must reject all that history relates or reason discovers2 and the people who inhabit inland countries must not believe there is such a thing as the sea4 ,this is so narrow a way of thinking that if you had been born in ,seriphus1 and never had been from out of that island1 where you had frequently been in the habit of seeing little hares and foxes1 you would not1 therefore1 believe that there are such beasts as lions and panthers2 and if any one should describe an elephant to you1 you would think that he designed to laugh at you4 ,,xxxii4 ,you indeed1 ,velleius1 have concluded your argument1 not after the manner of your own sect1 but of the logicians1 to which your people are utter strangers4 ,you have taken it for granted that the ,gods are happy4 ,i allow it4 ,you say that without virtue no one can be happy4 ,i willingly concur with you in this also4 ,you likewise say that virtue cannot reside where reason is not4 ,that ,i must necessarily allow4 ,you add1 moreover1 that reason cannot exist but in a human form4 ,who1 do you think1 will admit that8 ,if it were true1 what occasion was there to come so gradually to it8 ,and to what purpose8 ,you might have answered it on your own authority4 ,i perceive your gradations from happiness to virtue1 and from virtue to reason2 but how do you come from reason to human form8 ,there1 indeed1 you do not descend by degrees1 but precipitately4 ,nor can ,i conceive why ,epicurus should rather say the ,gods are like men than that men are like the ,gods4 ,you ask what is the difference2 for1 say you1 if this is like that1 that is like this4 ,i grant it2 but this ,i assert1 that the ,gods could not take their form from men2 for the ,gods always existed1 and never had a beginning1 if they are to exist eternally2 but men had a beginning3 therefore that form1 of which the immortal ,gods are1 must have had existence before mankind2 consequently1 the ,gods should not be said to be of human form1 but our form should be called divine4 ,however1 let this be as you will4 ,i now inquire how this extraordinary good fortune came about2 for you deny that reason had any share in the formation of things4 ,but still1 what was this extraordinary fortune8 ,whence proceeded that happy concourse of atoms which gave so sudden a rise to men in the form of ,gods8 ,are we to suppose the divine seed fell from heaven upon earth1 and that men sprung up in the likeness of their celestial sires8 ,i wish you would assert it2 for ,i should not be unwilling to acknowledge my relation to the ,gods4 ,but you say nothing like it2 no1 our resemblance to the ,gods1 it seems1 was by chance4 ,must ,i now seek for arguments to refute this doctrine seriously8 ,i wish ,i could as easily discover what is true as ,i can overthrow what is false4 ,,xxxiii4 ,you have enumerated with so ready a memory1 and so copiously1 the opinions of philosophers1 from ,thales the ,milesian1 concerning the nature of the ,gods1 that ,i am surprised to see so much learning in a ,roman4 ,but do you think they were all madmen who thought that a ,deity could by some possibility exist without hands and feet8 ,does not even this consideration have weight with you when you consider what is the use and advantage of limbs in men1 and lead you to admit that the ,gods have no need of them8 ,what necessity can there be of feet1 without walking2 or of hands1 if there is nothing to be grasped8 ,the same may be asked of the other parts of the body1 in which nothing is vain1 nothing useless1 nothing superfluous2 therefore we may infer that no art can imitate the skill of nature4 ,shall the ,deity1 then1 have a tongue1 and not speak--teeth1 palate1 and jaws1 though he will have no use for them8 ,shall the members which nature has given to the body for the sake of generation be useless to the ,deity8 ,nor would the internal parts be less superfluous than the external4 ,what comeliness is there in the heart1 the lungs1 the liver1 and the rest of them1 abstracted from their use8 ,i mention these because you place them in the ,deity on account of the beauty of the human form4 ,depending on these dreams1 not only ,epicurus1 ,metrodorus1 and ,hermachus declaimed against ,pythagoras1 ,plato1 and ,empedocles1 but that little harlot ,leontium presumed to write against ,theophrastus3 indeed1 she had a neat ,attic style2 but yet1 to think of her arguing against ,theophrastus6 ,so much did the garden of ,epicurus#ig abound with these liberties1 and1 indeed1 you are always complaining against them4 ,zeno wrangled4 ,why need ,i mention ,albutius8 ,nothing could be more elegant or humane than ,phdrus2 yet a sharp expression would disgust the old man4 ,epicurus treated ,aristotle with great contumely4 ,he foully slandered ,phdo1 the disciple of ,socrates4 ,he pelted ,timocrates1 the brother of his companion ,metrodorus1 with whole volumes1 because he disagreed with him in some trifling point of philosophy4 ,he was ungrateful even to ,democritus1 whose follower he was2 and his master ,nausiphanes1 from whom he learned nothing1 had no better treatment from him4 ,,xxxiv4 ,zeno gave abusive language not only to those who were then living1 as ,apollodorus1 ,syllus1 and the rest1 but he called ,socrates1 who was the father of philosophy1 the ,attic buffoon1 using the ,latin word ,scurra4 ,he never called ,chrysippus by any name but ,chesippus4 ,and you yourself a little before1 when you were numbering up a senate1 as we may call them1 of philosophers1 scrupled not to say that the most eminent men talked like foolish1 visionary dotards4 ,certainly1 therefore1 if they have all erred in regard to the nature of the ,gods1 it is to be feared there are no such beings4 ,what you deliver on that head are all whimsical notions1 and not worthy the consideration even of old women4 ,for you do not seem to be in the least aware what a task you draw on yourselves1 if you should prevail on us to grant that the same form is common to ,gods and men4 ,the ,deity would then require the same trouble in dressing1 and the same care of the body1 that mankind does4 ,he must walk1 run1 lie down1 lean1 sit1 hold1 speak1 and discourse4 ,you need not be told the consequence of making the ,gods male and female4 ,therefore ,i cannot sufficiently wonder how this chief of yours came to entertain these strange opinions4 ,but you constantly insist on the certainty of this tenet1 that the ,deity is both happy and immortal4 ,supposing he is so1 would his happiness be less perfect if he had not two feet8 ,or cannot that blessedness or beatitude--call it which you will 7they are both harsh terms1 but we must mollify them by use7--can it not1 ,i say1 exist in that sun1 or in this world1 or in some eternal mind that has not human shape or limbs8 ,all you say against it is1 that you never saw any happiness in the sun or the world4 ,what1 then8 ,did you ever see any world but this8 ,no1 you will say4 ,why1 therefore1 do you presume to assert that there are not only six hundred thousand worlds1 but that they are innumerable8 ,reason tells you so4 ,will not reason tell you likewise that as1 in our inquiries into the most excellent nature1 we find none but the divine nature can be happy and eternal1 so the same divine nature surpasses us in excellence of mind2 and as in mind1 so in body8 ,why1 therefore1 as we are inferior in all other respects1 should we be equal in form8 ,for human virtue approaches nearer to the divinity than human form4 ,,xxxv4 ,to return to the subject ,i was upon4 ,what can be more childish than to assert that there are no such creatures as are generated in the ,red ,sea or in ,india8 ,the most curious inquirer cannot arrive at the knowledge of all those creatures which inhabit the earth1 sea1 fens1 and rivers2 and shall we deny the existence of them because we never saw them8 ,that similitude which you are so very fond of is nothing to the purpose4 ,is not a dog like a wolf8 ,and1 as ,ennius says1 ,the monkey1 filthiest beast1 how like to man6 ,yet they differ in nature4 ,no beast has more sagacity than an elephant2 yet where can you find any of a larger size8 ,i am speaking here of beasts4 ,but among men1 do we not see a disparity of manners in persons very much alike1 and a similitude of manners in persons unlike8 ,if this sort of argument were once to prevail1 ,velleius1 observe what it would lead to4 ,you have laid it down as certain that reason cannot possibly reside in any but the human form4 ,another may affirm that it can exist in none but a terrestrial being2 in none but a being that is born1 that grows up1 and receives instruction1 and that consists of a soul1 and an infirm and perishable body2 in short1 in none but a mortal man4 ,but if you decline those opinions1 why should a single form disturb you8 ,you perceive that man is possessed of reason and understanding1 with all the infirmities which ,i have mentioned interwoven with his being2 abstracted from which1 you nevertheless know ,god1 you say1 if the lineaments do but remain4 ,this is not talking considerately1 but at a venture2 for surely you did not think what an encumbrance anything superfluous or useless is1 not only in a man1 but a tree4 ,how troublesome it is to have a finger too much6 ,and why so8 ,because neither use nor ornament requires more than five2 but your ,deity has not only a finger more than he wants1 but a head1 a neck1 shoulders1 sides1 a paunch1 back1 hams1 hands1 feet1 thighs1 and legs4 ,are these parts necessary to immortality8 ,are they conducive to the existence of the ,deity8 ,is the face itself of use8 ,one would rather say so of the brain1 the heart1 the lights1 and the liver2 for these are the seats of life4 ,the features of the face contribute nothing to the preservation of it4 ,,xxxvi4 ,you censured those who1 beholding those excellent and stupendous works1 the world1 and its respective parts--the heaven1 the earth1 the seas--and the splendor with which they are adorned2 who1 contemplating the sun1 moon1 and stars2 and who1 observing the maturity and changes of the seasons1 and vicissitudes of times1 inferred from thence that there must be some excellent and eminent essence that originally made1 and still moves1 directs1 and governs them4 ,suppose they should mistake in their conjecture1 yet ,i see what they aim at4 ,but what is that great and noble work which appears to you to be the effect of a divine mind1 and from which you conclude that there are ,gods8 ,i have1 say you1 a certain information of a ,deity imprinted in my mind4 ,of a bearded ,jupiter1 ,i suppose1 and a helmeted ,minerva4 ,but do you really imagine them to be such8 ,how much better are the notions of the ignorant vulgar1 who not only believe the ,deities have members like ours1 but that they make use of them2 and therefore they assign them a bow and arrows1 a spear1 a shield1 a trident1 and lightning2 and though they do not behold the actions of the ,gods1 yet they cannot entertain a thought of a ,deity doing nothing4 ,the ,egyptians 7so much ridiculed7 held no beasts to be sacred1 except on account of some advantage which they had received from them4 ,the ibis1 a very large bird1 with strong legs and a horny long beak1 destroys a great number of serpents4 ,these birds keep ,egypt from pestilential diseases by killing and devouring the flying serpents brought from the deserts of ,lybia by the south-west wind1 which prevents the mischief that may attend their biting while alive1 or any infection when dead4 ,i could speak of the advantage of the ichneumon1 the crocodile1 and the cat2 but ,i am unwilling to be tedious2 yet ,i will conclude with observing that the barbarians paid divine honors to beasts because of the benefits they received from them2 whereas your ,gods not only confer no benefit1 but are idle1 and do no single act of any description whatever4 ,,xxxvii4 ,they have nothing to do1 your teacher says4 ,epicurus truly1 like indolent boys1 thinks nothing preferable to idleness2 yet those very boys1 when they have a holiday1 entertain themselves in some sportive exercise4 ,but we are to suppose the ,deity in such an inactive state that if he should move we may justly fear he would be no longer happy4 ,this doctrine divests the ,gods of motion and operation2 besides1 it encourages men to be lazy1 as they are by this taught to believe that the least labor is incompatible even with divine felicity4 ,but let it be as you would have it1 that the ,deity is in the form and image of a man4 ,where is his abode8 ,where is his habitation8 ,where is the place where he is to be found8 ,what is his course of life8 ,and what is it that constitutes the happiness which you assert that he enjoys8 ,for it seems necessary that a being who is to be happy must use and enjoy what belongs to him4 ,and with regard to place1 even those natures which are inanimate have each their proper stations assigned to them3 so that the earth is the lowest2 then water is next above the earth2 the air is above the water2 and fire has the highest situation of all allotted to it4 ,some creatures inhabit the earth1 some the water1 and some1 of an amphibious nature1 live in both4 ,there are some1 also1 which are thought to be born in fire1 and which often appear fluttering in burning furnaces4 ,in the first place1 therefore1 ,i ask you1 ,where is the habitation of your ,deity8 ,secondly1 ,what motive is it that stirs him from his place1 supposing he ever moves8 ,and1 lastly1 since it is peculiar to animated beings to have an inclination to something that is agreeable to their several natures1 what is it that the ,deity affects1 and to what purpose does he exert the motion of his mind and reason8 ,in short1 how is he happy8 how eternal8 ,whichever of these points you touch upon1 ,i am afraid you will come lamely off4 ,for there is never a proper end to reasoning which proceeds on a false foundation2 for you asserted likewise that the form of the ,deity is perceptible by the mind1 but not by sense2 that it is neither solid1 nor invariable in number2 that it is to be discerned by similitude and transition1 and that a constant supply of images is perpetually flowing on from innumerable atoms1 on which our minds are intent2 so that we from that conclude that divine nature to be happy and everlasting4 ,,xxxviii4 ,what1 in the name of those ,deities concerning whom we are now disputing1 is the meaning of all this8 ,for if they exist only in thought1 and have no solidity nor substance1 what difference can there be between thinking of a ,hippocentaur and thinking of a ,deity8 ,other philosophers call every such conformation of the mind a vain motion2 but you term it the approach and entrance of images into the mind4 ,thus1 when ,i imagine that ,i behold ,t4 ,gracchus haranguing the people in the ,capitol1 and collecting their suffrages concerning ,m4 ,octavius1 ,i call that a vain motion of the mind3 but you affirm that the images of ,gracchus and ,octavius are present1 which are only conveyed to my mind when they have arrived at the ,capitol4 ,the case is the same1 you say1 in regard to the ,deity1 with the frequent representation of which the mind is so affected that from thence it may be clearly understood that the ,gods#ih are happy and eternal4 ,let it be granted that there are images by which the mind is affected1 yet it is only a certain form that occurs2 and why must that form be pronounced happy8 why eternal8 ,but what are those images you talk of1 or whence do they proceed8 ,this loose manner of arguing is taken from ,democritus2 but he is reproved by many people for it2 nor can you derive any conclusions from it3 the whole system is weak and imperfect4 ,for what can be more improbable than that the images of ,homer1 ,archilochus1 ,romulus1 ,numa1 ,pythagoras1 and ,plato should come into my mind1 and yet not in the form in which they existed8 ,how1 therefore1 can they be those persons8 ,and whose images are they8 ,aristotle tells us that there never was such a person as ,orpheus the poet2#ii and it is said that the verse called ,orphic verse was the invention of ,cercops1 a ,pythagorean2 yet ,orpheus1 that is to say1 the image of him1 as you will have it1 often runs in my head4 ,what is the reason that ,i entertain one idea of the figure of the same person1 and you another8 ,why do we image to ourselves such things as never had any existence1 and which never can have1 such as ,scyllas and ,chimras8 ,why do we frame ideas of men1 countries1 and cities which we never saw8 ,how is it that the very first moment that ,i choose ,i can form representations of them in my mind8 ,how is it that they come to me1 even in my sleep1 without being called or sought after8 ,,xxxix4 ,the whole affair1 ,velleius1 is ridiculous4 ,you do not impose images on our eyes only1 but on our minds4 ,such is the privilege which you have assumed of talking nonsense with impunity4 ,but there is1 you say1 a transition of images flowing on in great crowds in such a way that out of many some one at least must be perceived6 ,i should be ashamed of my incapacity to understand this if you1 who assert it1 could comprehend it yourselves2 for how do you prove that these images are continued in uninterrupted motion8 ,or1 if uninterrupted1 still how do you prove them to be eternal8 ,there is a constant supply1 you say1 of innumerable atoms4 ,but must they1 for that reason1 be all eternal8 ,to elude this1 you have recourse to equilibration 7for so1 with your leave1 ,i will call your ,greek3 ,isonomia71#ajj and say that as there is a sort of nature mortal1 so there must also be a sort which is immortal4 ,by the same rule1 as there are men mortal1 there are men immortal2 and as some arise from the earth1 some must arise from the water also2 and as there are causes which destroy1 there must likewise be causes which preserve4 ,be it as you say2 but let those causes preserve which have existence themselves4 ,i cannot conceive these your ,gods to have any4 ,but how does all this face of things arise from atomic corpuscles8 ,were there any such atoms 7as there are not71 they might perhaps impel one another1 and be jumbled together in their motion2 but they could never be able to impart form1 or figure1 or color1 or animation1 so that you by no means demonstrate the immortality of your ,deity4 ,,xl4 ,let us now inquire into his happiness4 ,it is certain that without virtue there can be no happiness2 but virtue consists in action3 now your ,deity does nothing2 therefore he is void of virtue1 and consequently cannot be happy4 ,what sort of life does he lead8 ,he has a constant supply1 you say1 of good things1 without any intermixture of bad4 ,what are those good things8 ,sensual pleasures1 no doubt2 for you know no delight of the mind but what arises from the body1 and returns to it4 ,i do not suppose1 ,velleius1 that you are like some of the ,epicureans1 who are ashamed of those expressions of ,epicurus1#aja in which he openly avows that he has no idea of any good separate from wanton and obscene pleasures1 which1 without a blush1 he names distinctly4 ,what food1 therefore1 what drink1 what variety of music or flowers1 what kind of pleasures of touch1 what odors1 will you offer to the ,gods to fill them with pleasures8 ,the poets indeed provide them with banquets of nectar and ambrosia1 and a ,hebe or a ,ganymede to serve up the cup4 ,but what is it1 ,epicurus1 that you do for them8 ,for ,i do not see from whence your ,deity should have those things1 nor how he could use them4 ,therefore the nature of man is better constituted for a happy life than the nature of the ,gods1 because men enjoy various kinds of pleasures2 but you look on all those pleasures as superficial which delight the senses only by a titillation1 as ,epicurus calls it4 ,where is to be the end of this trifling8 ,even ,philo1 who followed the ,academy1 could not bear to hear the soft and luscious delights of the ,epicureans despised2 for with his admirable memory he perfectly remembered and used to repeat many sentences of ,epicurus in the very words in which they were written4 ,he likewise used to quote many1 which were more gross1 from ,metrodorus1 the sage colleague of ,epicurus1 who blamed his brother ,timocrates because he would not allow that everything which had any reference to a happy life was to be measured by the belly2 nor has he said this once only1 but often4 ,you grant what ,i say1 ,i perceive2 for you know it to be true4 ,i can produce the books1 if you should deny it2 but ,i am not now reproving you for referring all things to the standard of pleasure3 that is another question4 ,what ,i am now showing is1 that your ,gods are destitute of pleasure2 and therefore1 according to your own manner of reasoning1 they are not happy4 ,,xli4 ,but they are free from pain4 ,is that sufficient for beings who are supposed to enjoy all good things and the most supreme felicity8 ,the ,deity1 they say1 is constantly meditating on his own happiness1 for he has no other idea which can possibly occupy his mind4 ,consider a little2 reflect what a figure the ,deity would make if he were to be idly thinking of nothing through all eternity but ,it is very well with me1 and ,i am happy2 nor do ,i see why this happy ,deity should not fear being destroyed1 since1 without any intermission1 he is driven and agitated by an everlasting incursion of atoms1 and since images are constantly floating off from him4 ,your ,deity1 therefore1 is neither happy nor eternal4 ,epicurus1 it seems1 has written books concerning sanctity and piety towards the ,gods4 ,but how does he speak on these subjects8 ,you would say that you were listening to ,coruncanius or ,scvola1 the high-priests1 and not to a man who tore up all religion by the roots1 and who overthrew the temples and altars of the immortal ,gods2 not1 indeed1 with hands1 like ,xerxes1 but with arguments2 for what reason is there for your saying that men ought to worship the ,gods1 when the ,gods not only do not regard men1 but are entirely careless of everything1 and absolutely do nothing at all8 ,but they are1 you say1 of so glorious and excellent a nature that a wise man is induced by their excellence to adore them4 ,can there be any glory or excellence in that nature which only contemplates its own happiness1 and neither will do1 nor does1 nor ever did anything8 ,besides1 what piety is due to a being from whom you receive nothing8 ,or how can you1 or any one else1 be indebted to him who bestows no benefits8 ,for piety is only justice towards the ,gods2 but what right have they to it1 when there is no communication whatever between the ,gods and men8 ,and sanctity is the knowledge of how we ought to worship them2 but ,i do not understand why they are to be worshipped1 if we are neither to receive nor expect any good from them4 ,,xlii4 ,and why should we worship them from an admiration only of that nature in which we can behold nothing excellent8 and as for that freedom from superstition1 which you are in the habit of boasting of so much1 it is easy to be free from that feeling when you have renounced all belief in the power of the ,gods2 unless1 indeed1 you imagine that ,diagoras or ,theodorus1 who absolutely denied the being of the ,gods1 could possibly be superstitious4 ,i do not suppose that even ,protagoras could1 who doubted whether there were ,gods or not4 ,the opinions of these philosophers are not only destructive of superstition1 which arises from a vain fear of the ,gods1 but of religion also1 which consists in a pious adoration of them4 ,what think you of those who have asserted that the whole doctrine concerning the immortal ,gods was the invention of politicians1 whose view was to govern that part of the community by religion which reason could not influence8 ,are not their opinions subversive of all religion8 ,or what religion did ,prodicus the ,chian leave to men1 who held that everything beneficial to human life should be numbered among the ,gods8 ,were not they likewise void of religion who taught that the ,deities1 at present the object of our prayers and adoration1 were valiant1 illustrious1 and mighty men who arose to divinity after death8 ,euhemerus1 whom our ,ennius translated1 and followed more than other authors1 has particularly advanced this doctrine1 and treated of the deaths and burials of the ,gods2 can he1 then1 be said to have confirmed religion1 or1 rather1 to have totally subverted it8 ,i shall say nothing of that sacred and august ,eleusina1 into whose mysteries the most distant nations were initiated1 nor of the solemnities in ,samothrace1 or in ,lemnos1 secretly resorted to by night1 and surrounded by thick and shady groves2 which1 if they were properly explained1 and reduced to reasonable principles1 would rather explain the nature of things than discover the knowledge of the ,gods4 ,,xliii4 ,even that great man ,democritus1 from whose fountains ,epicurus watered his little garden1 seems to me to be very inferior to his usual acuteness when speaking about the nature of the ,gods4 ,for at one time he thinks that there are images endowed with divinity1 inherent in the universality of things2 at another1 that the principles and minds contained in the universe are ,gods2 then he attributes divinity to animated images1 employing themselves in doing us good or harm2 and1 lastly1 he speaks of certain images of such vast extent that they encompass the whole outside of the universe2 all which opinions are more worthy of the country#ajb of ,democritus than of ,democritus himself2 for who can frame in his mind any ideas of such images8 who can admire them8 who can think they merit a religious adoration8 ,but ,epicurus1 when he divests the ,gods of the power of doing good1 extirpates all religion from the minds of men2 for though he says the divine nature is the best and the most excellent of all natures1 he will not allow it to be susceptible of any benevolence1 by which he destroys the chief and peculiar attribute of the most perfect being4 ,for what is better and more excellent than goodness and beneficence8 ,to refuse your ,gods that quality is to say that no man is any object of their favor1 and no ,gods either2 that they neither love nor esteem any one2 in short1 that they not only give themselves no trouble about us1 but even look on each other with the greatest indifference4 ,,xliv4 ,how much more reasonable is the doctrine of the ,stoics1 whom you censure8 ,it is one of their maxims that the wise are friends to the wise1 though unknown to each other2 for as nothing is more amiable than virtue1 he who possesses it is worthy our love1 to whatever country he belongs4 ,but what evils do your principles bring1 when you make good actions and benevolence the marks of imbecility6 ,for1 not to mention the power and nature of the ,gods1 you hold that even men1 if they had no need of mutual assistance1 would be neither courteous nor beneficent4 ,is there no natural charity in the dispositions of good men8 ,the very name of love1 from which friendship is derived1 is dear to men2#ajc and if friendship is to centre in our own advantage only1 without regard to him whom we esteem a friend1 it cannot be called friendship1 but a sort of traffic for our own profit4 ,pastures1 lands1 and herds of cattle are valued in the same manner on account of the profit we gather from them2 but charity and friendship expect no return4 ,how much more reason have we to think that the ,gods1 who want nothing1 should love each other1 and employ themselves about us6 ,if it were not so1 why should we pray to or adore them8 ,why do the priests preside over the altars1 and the augurs over the auspices8 ,what have we to ask of the ,gods1 and why do we prefer our vows to them8 ,but ,epicurus1 you say1 has written a book concerning sanctity4 ,a trifling performance by a man whose wit is not so remarkable in it1 as the unrestrained license of writing which he has permitted himself2 for what sanctity can there be if the ,gods take no care of human affairs8 ,or how can that nature be called animated which neither regards nor performs anything8 ,therefore our friend ,posidonius has well observed1 in his fifth book of the ,nature of the ,gods1 that ,epicurus believed there were no ,gods1 and that what he had said about the immortal ,gods was only said from a desire to avoid unpopularity4 ,he could not be so weak as to imagine that the ,deity has only the outward features of a simple mortal1 without any real solidity2 that he has all the members of a man1 without the least power to use them--a certain unsubstantial pellucid being1 neither favorable nor beneficial to any one1 neither regarding nor doing anything4 ,there can be no such being in nature2 and as ,epicurus said this plainly1 he allows the ,gods in words1 and destroys them in fact2 and if the ,deity is truly such a being that he shows no favor1 no benevolence to mankind1 away with him6 ,for why should ,i entreat him to be propitious8 ,he can be propitious to none1 since1 as you say1 all his favor and benevolence are the effects of imbecility4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,book ,,ii4 ,i4 ,when ,cotta had thus concluded1 ,velleius replied3 ,i certainly was inconsiderate to engage in argument with an ,academician who is likewise a rhetorician4 ,i should not have feared an ,academician without eloquence1 nor a rhetorician without that philosophy1 however eloquent he might be2 for ,i am never puzzled by an empty flow of words1 nor by the most subtle reasonings delivered without any grace of oratory4 ,but you1 ,cotta1 have excelled in both4 ,you only wanted the assembly and the judges4 ,however1 enough of this at present4 ,now1 let us hear what ,lucilius has to say1 if it is agreeable to him4 ,i had much rather1 says ,balbus1 hear ,cotta resume his discourse1 and demonstrate the true ,gods with the same eloquence which he made use of to explode the false2 for1 on such a subject1 the loose1 unsettled doctrine of the ,academy does not become a philosopher1 a priest1 a ,cotta1 whose opinions should be1 like those we hold1 firm and certain4 ,epicurus has been more than sufficiently refuted2 but ,i would willingly hear your own sentiments1 ,cotta4 ,do you forget1 replies ,cotta1 what ,i at first said--that it is easier for me1 especially on this point1 to explain what opinions those are which ,i do not hold1 rather than what those are which ,i do8 ,nay1 even if ,i did feel some certainty on any particular point1 yet1 after having been so diffuse myself already1 ,i would prefer now hearing you speak in your turn4 ,i submit1 says ,balbus1 and will be as brief as ,i possibly can2 for as you have confuted the errors of ,epicurus1 my part in the dispute will be the shorter4 ,our sect divide the whole question concerning the immortal ,gods into four parts4 ,first1 they prove that there are ,gods2 secondly1 of what character and nature they are2 thirdly1 that the universe is governed by them2 and1 lastly1 that they exercise a superintendence over human affairs4 ,but in this present discussion let us confine ourselves to the first two articles1 and defer the third and fourth till another opportunity1 as they require more time to discuss4 ,by no means1 says ,cotta1 for we have time enough on our hands2 besides that1 we are now discussing a subject which should be preferred even to serious business4 ,,ii4 ,the first point1 then1 says ,lucilius1 ,i think needs no discourse to prove it2 for what can be so plain and evident1 when we behold the heavens and contemplate the celestial bodies1 as the existence of some supreme1 divine intelligence1 by which all these things are governed8 ,were it otherwise1 ,ennius would not1 with a universal approbation1 have said1 ,look up to the refulgent heaven above1 ,which all men call1 unanimously1 ,jove4 ,this is ,jupiter1 the governor of the world1 who rules all things with his nod1 and is1 as the same ,ennius adds1 ----of ,gods and men the sire1#ajd an omnipresent and omnipotent ,god4 ,and if any one doubts this1 ,i really do not understand why the same man may not also doubt whether there is a sun or not4 ,for what can possibly be more evident than this8 ,and if it were not a truth universally impressed on the minds of men1 the belief in it would never have been so firm2 nor would it have been1 as it is1 increased by length of years1 nor would it have gathered strength and stability through every age4 ,and1 in truth1 we see that other opinions1 being false and groundless1 have already fallen into oblivion by lapse of time4 ,who now believes in ,hippocentaurs and ,chimras8 ,or what old woman is now to be found so weak and ignorant as to stand in fear of those infernal monsters which once so terrified mankind8 ,for time destroys the fictions of error and opinion1 while it confirms the determinations of nature and of truth4 ,and therefore it is that1 both among us and among other nations1 sacred institutions and the divine worship of the ,gods have been strengthened and improved from time to time4 ,and this is not to be imputed to chance or folly1 but to the frequent appearance of the ,gods themselves4 ,in the war with the ,latins1 when ,a4 ,posthumius1 the dictator1 attacked ,octavius ,mamilius1 the ,tusculan1 at ,regillus1 ,castor and ,pollux were seen fighting in our army on horseback2 and since that the same offspring of ,tyndarus gave notice of the defeat of ,perses2 for as ,p4 ,vatienus1 the grandfather of the present young man of that name1 was coming in the night to ,rome from his government of ,reate1 two young men on white horses appeared to him1 and told him that ,king#aje ,perses was that day taken prisoner4 ,this news he carried to the senate1 who immediately threw him into prison for speaking inconsiderately on a state affair2 but when it was confirmed by letters from ,paullus1 he was recompensed by the senate with land and immunities4#ajf ,nor do we forget when the ,locrians defeated the people of ,crotone1 in a great battle on the banks of the river ,sagra1 that it was known the same day at the ,olympic ,games4 ,the voices of the ,fauns have been often heard1 and ,deities have appeared in forms so visible that they have compelled every one who is not senseless1 or hardened in impiety1 to confess the presence of the ,gods4 ,,iii4 ,what do predictions and foreknowledge of future events indicate1 but that such future events are shown1 pointed out1 portended1 and foretold to men8 ,from whence they are called omens1 signs1 portents1 prodigies4 ,but though we should esteem fabulous what is said of ,mopsus1#ajg ,tiresias1#ajh ,amphiaraus1#aji ,calchas1#aaj and ,helenus#aaa 7who would not have been delivered down to us as augurs even in fable if their art had been despised71 may we not be sufficiently apprised of the power of the ,gods by domestic examples8 ,will not the temerity of ,p4 ,claudius1 in the first ,punic war1 affect us8 who1 when the poultry were let out of the coop and would not feed1 ordered them to be thrown into the water1 and1 joking even upon the ,gods1 said1 with a sneer1 ,let them drink1 since they will not eat2 which piece of ridicule1 being followed by a victory over his fleet1 cost him many tears1 and brought great calamity on the ,roman people4 ,did not his colleague ,junius1 in the same war1 lose his fleet in a tempest by disregarding the auspices8 ,claudius1 therefore1 was condemned by the people1 and ,junius killed himself4 ,coelius says that ,p4 ,flaminius1 from his neglect of religion1 fell at ,thrasimenus2 a loss which the public severely felt4 ,by these instances of calamity we may be assured that ,rome owes her grandeur and success to the conduct of those who were tenacious of their religious duties2 and if we compare ourselves to our neighbors1 we shall find that we are infinitely distinguished above foreign nations by our zeal for religious ceremonies1 though in other things we may be only equal to them1 and in other respects even inferior to them4 ,ought we to contemn ,attius ,navius's staff1 with which he divided the regions of the vine to find his sow8#aab ,i should despise it1 if ,i were not aware that ,king ,hostilius had carried on most important wars in deference to his auguries2 but by the negligence of our nobility the discipline of the augury is now omitted1 the truth of the auspices despised1 and only a mere form observed2 so that the most important affairs of the commonwealth1 even the wars1 on which the public safety depends1 are conducted without any auspices2 the ,peremnia#aac are discussed2 no part of the ,acumina#aad performed2 no select men are called to witness to the military testaments2#aae our generals now begin their wars as soon as they have arranged the ,auspicia4 ,the force of religion was so great among our ancestors that some of their commanders have1 with their faces veiled1 and with the solemn1 formal expressions of religion1 sacrificed themselves to the immortal ,gods to save their country4#aaf ,i could mention many of the ,sibylline prophecies1 and many answers of the haruspices1 to confirm those things1 which ought not to be doubted4 ,,iv4 ,for example3 our augurs and the ,etrurian haruspices saw the truth of their art established when ,p4 ,scipio and ,c4 ,figulus were consuls2 for as ,tiberius ,gracchus1 who was a second time consul1 wished to proceed to a fresh election1 the first ,rogator1#aag as he was collecting the suffrages1 fell down dead on the spot4 ,gracchus nevertheless went on with the assembly1 but perceiving that this accident had a religious influence on the people1 he brought the affair before the senate4 ,the senate thought fit to refer it to those who usually took cognizance of such things4 ,the haruspices were called1 and declared that the man who had acted as ,rogator of the assembly had no right to do so2 to which1 as ,i have heard my father say1 he replied with great warmth1 ,have ,i no right1 who am consul1 and augur1 and favored by the ,auspicia8 ,and shall you1 who are ,tuscans and ,barbarians1 pretend that you have authority over the ,roman ,auspicia1 and a right to give judgment in matters respecting the formality of our assemblies8 ,therefore1 he then commanded them to withdraw2 but not long afterward he wrote from his province#aah to the college of augurs1 acknowledging that in reading the books#aai he remembered that he had illegally chosen a place for his tent in the gardens of ,scipio1 and had afterward entered the ,pomoerium1 in order to hold a senate1 but that in repassing the same ,pomoerium he had forgotten to take the auspices2 and that1 therefore1 the consuls had been created informally4 ,the augurs laid the case before the senate4 ,the senate decreed that they should resign their charge1 and so they accordingly abdicated4 ,what greater example need we seek for8 ,the wisest1 perhaps the most excellent of men1 chose to confess his fault1 which he might have concealed1 rather than leave the public the least atom of religious guilt2 and the consuls chose to quit the highest office in the ,state1 rather than fill it for a moment in defiance of religion4 ,how great is the reputation of the augurs6 ,and is not the art of the soothsayers divine8 ,and must not every one who sees what innumerable instances of the same kind there are confess the existence of the ,gods8 ,for they who have interpreters must certainly exist themselves2 now1 there are interpreters of the ,gods2 therefore we must allow there are ,gods4 ,but it may be said1 perhaps1 that all predictions are not accomplished4 ,we may as well conclude there is no art of physic1 because all sick persons do not recover4 ,the ,gods show us signs of future events2 if we are occasionally deceived in the results1 it is not to be imputed to the nature of the ,gods1 but to the conjectures of men4 ,all nations agree that there are ,gods2 the opinion is innate1 and1 as it were1 engraved in the minds of all men4 ,the only point in dispute among us is1 what they are4 ,v4 ,their existence no one denies4 ,cleanthes1 one of our sect1 imputes the way in which the idea of the ,gods is implanted in the minds of men to four causes4 ,the first is that which ,i just now mentioned--the foreknowledge of future things4 ,the second is the great advantages which we enjoy from the temperature of the air1 the fertility of the earth1 and the abundance of various benefits of other kinds4 ,the third cause is deduced from the terror with which the mind is affected by thunder1 tempests1 storms1 snow1 hail1 devastation1 pestilence1 earthquakes often attended with hideous noises1 showers of stones1 and rain like drops of blood2 by rocks and sudden openings of the earth2 by monstrous births of men and beasts2 by meteors in the air1 and blazing stars1 by the ,greeks called comet1 by us crinit1 the appearance of which1 in the late ,octavian war1#abj were foreboders of great calamities2 by two suns1 which1 as ,i have heard my father say1 happened in the consulate of ,tuditanus and ,aquillius1 and in which year also another sun 7,p4 ,africanus7 was extinguished4 ,these things terrified mankind1 and raised in them a firm belief of the existence of some celestial and divine power4 ,his fourth cause1 and that the strongest1 is drawn from the regularity of the motion and revolution of the heavens1 the distinctness1 variety1 beauty1 and order of the sun1 moon1 and all the stars1 the appearance only of which is sufficient to convince us they are not the effects of chance2 as when we enter into a house1 or school1 or court1 and observe the exact order1 discipline1 and method of it1 we cannot suppose that it is so regulated without a cause1 but must conclude that there is some one who commands1 and to whom obedience is paid4 ,it is quite impossible for us to avoid thinking that the wonderful motions1 revolutions1 and order of those many and great bodies1 no part of which is impaired by the countless and infinite succession of ages1 must be governed and directed by some supreme intelligent being4 ,,vi4 ,chrysippus1 indeed1 had a very penetrating genius2 yet such is the doctrine which he delivers1 that he seems rather to have been instructed by nature than to owe it to any discovery of his own4 ,if1 says he1 there is anything in the universe which no human reason1 ability1 or power can make1 the being who produced it must certainly be preferable to man4 ,now1 celestial bodies1 and all those things which proceed in any eternal order1 cannot be made by man2 the being who made them is therefore preferable to man4 ,what1 then1 is that being but a ,god8 ,if there be no such thing as a ,deity1 what is there better than man1 since he only is possessed of reason1 the most excellent of all things8 ,but it is a foolish piece of vanity in man to think there is nothing preferable to him4 ,there is1 therefore1 something preferable2 consequently1 there is certainly a ,god4 ,when you behold a large and beautiful house1 surely no one can persuade you it was built for mice and weasels1 though you do not see the master2 and would it not1 therefore1 be most manifest folly to imagine that a world so magnificently adorned1 with such an immense variety of celestial bodies of such exquisite beauty1 and that the vast sizes and magnitude of the sea and land were intended as the abode of man1 and not as the mansion of the immortal ,gods8 ,do we not also plainly see this1 that all the most elevated regions are the best1 and that the earth is the lowest region1 and is surrounded with the grossest air8 so that as we perceive that in some cities and countries the capacities of men are naturally duller1 from the thickness of the climate1 so mankind in general are affected by the heaviness of the air which surrounds the earth1 the grossest region of the world4 ,yet even from this inferior intelligence of man we may discover the existence of some intelligent agent that is divine1 and wiser than ourselves2 for1 as ,socrates says in ,xenophon1 from whence had man his portion of understanding8 ,and1 indeed1 if any one were to push his inquiries about the moisture and heat which is diffused through the human body1 and the earthy kind of solidity existing in our entrails1 and that soul by which we breathe1 and to ask whence we derived them1 it would be plain that we have received one thing from the earth1 another from liquid1 another from fire1 and another from that air which we inhale every time that we breathe4 ,,vii4 ,but where did we find that which excels all these things--,i mean reason1 or 7if you please1 in other terms7 the mind1 understanding1 thought1 prudence2 and from whence did we receive it8 ,shall the world be possessed of every other perfection1 and be destitute of this one1 which is the most important and valuable of all8 ,but certainly there is nothing better1 or more excellent1 or more beautiful than the world2 and not only there is nothing better1 but we cannot even conceive anything superior to it2 and if reason and wisdom are the greatest of all perfections1 they must necessarily be a part of what we all allow to be the most excellent4 ,who is not compelled to admit the truth of what ,i assert by that agreeable1 uniform1 and continued agreement of things in the universe8 ,could the earth at one season be adorned with flowers1 at another be covered with snow8 ,or1 if such a number of things regulated their own changes1 could the approach and retreat of the sun in the summer and winter solstices be so regularly known and calculated8 ,could the flux and reflux of the sea and the height of the tides be affected by the increase or wane of the moon8 ,could the different courses of the stars be preserved by the uniform movement of the whole heaven8 ,could these things subsist1 ,i say1 in such a harmony of all the parts of the universe without the continued influence of a divine spirit8 ,if these points are handled in a free and copious manner1 as ,i purpose to do1 they will be less liable to the cavils of the ,academics2 but the narrow1 confined way in which ,zeno reasoned upon them laid them more open to objection2 for as running streams are seldom or never tainted1 while standing waters easily grow corrupt1 so a fluency of expression washes away the censures of the caviller1 while the narrow limits of a discourse which is too concise is almost defenceless2 for the arguments which ,i am enlarging upon are thus briefly laid down by ,zeno3 ,,viii4 ,that which reasons is superior to that which does not2 nothing is superior to the world2 the world1 therefore1 reasons4 ,by the same rule the world may be proved to be wise1 happy1 and eternal2 for the possession of all these qualities is superior to the want of them2 and nothing is superior to the world2 the inevitable consequence of which argument is1 that the world1 therefore1 is a ,deity4 ,he goes on3 ,no part of anything void of sense is capable of perception2 some parts of the world have perception2 the world1 therefore1 has sense4 ,he proceeds1 and pursues the argument closely4 ,nothing1 says he1 that is destitute itself of life and reason can generate a being possessed of life and reason2 but the world does generate beings possessed of life and reason2 the world1 therefore1 is not itself destitute of life and reason4 ,he concludes his argument in his usual manner with a simile3 ,if well-tuned pipes should spring out of the olive1 would you have the slightest doubt that there was in the olive-tree itself some kind of skill and knowledge8 ,or if the plane-tree could produce harmonious lutes1 surely you would infer1 on the same principle1 that music was contained in the plane-tree4 ,why1 then1 should we not believe the world is a living and wise being1 since it produces living and wise beings out of itself8 ,,ix4 ,but as ,i have been insensibly led into a length of discourse beyond my first design 7for ,i said that1 as the existence of the ,gods was evident to all1 there was no need of any long oration to prove it71 ,i will demonstrate it by reasons deduced from the nature of things4 ,for it is a fact that all beings which take nourishment and increase contain in themselves a power of natural heat1 without which they could neither be nourished nor increase4 ,for everything which is of a warm and fiery character is agitated and stirred up by its own motion4 ,but that which is nourished and grows is influenced by a certain regular and equable motion4 ,and as long as this motion remains in us1 so long does sense and life remain2 but the moment that it abates and is extinguished1 we ourselves decay and perish4 ,by arguments like these1 ,cleanthes shows how great is the power of heat in all bodies4 ,he observes that there is no food so gross as not to be digested in a night and a day2 and that even in the excrementitious parts1 which nature rejects1 there remains a heat4 ,the veins and arteries seem1 by their continual quivering1 to resemble the agitation of fire2 and it has often been observed when the heart of an animal is just plucked from the body that it palpitates with such visible motion as to resemble the rapidity of fire4 ,everything1 therefore1 that has life1 whether it be animal or vegetable1 owes that life to the heat inherent in it2 it is this nature of heat which contains in itself the vital power which extends throughout the whole world4 ,this will appear more clearly on a more close explanation of this fiery quality1 which pervades all things4 ,every division1 then1 of the world 7and ,i shall touch upon the most considerable7 is sustained by heat2 and first it may be observed in earthly substances that fire is produced from stones by striking or rubbing one against another2 that the warm earth smokes#aba when just turned up1 and that water is drawn warm from well-springs2 and this is most especially the case in the winter season1 because there is a great quantity of heat contained in the caverns of the earth2 and this becomes more dense in the winter1 and on that account confines more closely the innate heat which is discoverable in the earth4 ,x4 ,it would require a long dissertation1 and many reasons would require to be adduced1 to show that all the seeds which the earth conceives1 and all those which it contains having been generated from itself1 and fixed in roots and trunks1 derive all their origin and increase from the temperature and regulation of heat4 ,and that even every liquor has a mixture of heat in it is plainly demonstrated by the effusion of water2 for it would not congeal by cold1 nor become solid1 as ice or snow1 and return again to its natural state1 if it were not that1 when heat is applied to it1 it again becomes liquefied and dissolved1 and so diffuses itself4 ,therefore1 by northern and other cold winds it is frozen and hardened1 and in turn it dissolves and melts again by heat4 ,the seas likewise1 we find1 when agitated by winds1 grow warm1 so that from this fact we may understand that there is heat included in that vast body of water2 for we cannot imagine it to be external and adventitious heat1 but such as is stirred up by agitation from the deep recesses of the seas2 and the same thing takes place with respect to our bodies1 which grow warm with motion and exercise4 ,and the very air itself1 which indeed is the coldest element1 is by no means void of heat2 for there is a great quantity1 arising from the exhalations of water1 which appears to be a sort of steam occasioned by its internal heat1 like that of boiling liquors4 ,the fourth part of the universe is entirely fire1 and is the source of the salutary and vital heat which is found in the rest4 ,from hence we may conclude that1 as all parts of the world are sustained by heat1 the world itself also has such a great length of time subsisted from the same cause2 and so much the more1 because we ought to understand that that hot and fiery principle is so diffused over universal nature that there is contained in it a power and cause of generation and procreation1 from which all animate beings1 and all those creatures of the vegetable world1 the roots of which are contained in the earth1 must inevitably derive their origin and their increase4 ,,xi4 ,it is nature1 consequently1 that continues and preserves the world1 and that1 too1 a nature which is not destitute of sense and reason2 for in every essence that is not simple1 but composed of several parts1 there must be some predominant quality--as1 for instance1 the mind in man1 and in beasts something resembling it1 from which arise all the appetites and desires for anything4 ,as for trees1 and all the vegetable produce of the earth1 it is thought to be in their roots4 ,i call that the predominant quality1#abb which the ,greeks call ,greek3 hgemonikon2 which must and ought to be the most excellent quality1 wherever it is found4 ,that1 therefore1 in which the prevailing quality of all nature resides must be the most excellent of all things1 and most worthy of the power and pre-eminence over all things4 ,now1 we see that there is nothing in being that is not a part of the universe2 and as there are sense and reason in the parts of it1 there must therefore be these qualities1 and these1 too1 in a more energetic and powerful degree1 in that part in which the predominant quality of the world is found4 ,the world1 therefore1 must necessarily be possessed of wisdom2 and that element1 which embraces all things1 must excel in perfection of reason4 ,the world1 therefore1 is a ,god1 and the whole power of the world is contained in that divine element4 ,the heat also of the world is more pure1 clear1 and lively1 and1 consequently1 better adapted to move the senses than the heat allotted to us2 and it vivifies and preserves all things within the compass of our knowledge4 ,it is absurd1 therefore1 to say that the world1 which is endued with a perfect1 free1 pure1 spirituous1 and active heat1 is not sensitive1 since by this heat men and beasts are preserved1 and move1 and think2 more especially since this heat of the world is itself the sole principle of agitation1 and has no external impulse1 but is moved spontaneously2 for what can be more powerful than the world1 which moves and raises that heat by which it subsists8 ,,xii4 ,for let us listen to ,plato1 who is regarded as a ,god among philosophers4 ,he says that there are two sorts of motion1 one innate and the other external2 and that that which is moved spontaneously is more divine than that which is moved by another power4 ,this self-motion he places in the mind alone1 and concludes that the first principle of motion is derived from the mind4 ,therefore1 since all motion arises from the heat of the world1 and that heat is not moved by the effect of any external impulse1 but of its own accord1 it must necessarily be a mind2 from whence it follows that the world is animated4 ,on such reasoning is founded this opinion1 that the world is possessed of understanding1 because it certainly has more perfections in itself than any other nature2 for as there is no part of our bodies so considerable as the whole of us1 so it is clear that there is no particular portion of the universe equal in magnitude to the whole of it2 from whence it follows that wisdom must be an attribute of the world2 otherwise man1 who is a part of it1 and possessed of reason1 would be superior to the entire world4 ,and thus1 if we proceed from the first rude1 unfinished natures to the most superior and perfect ones1 we shall inevitably come at last to the nature of the ,gods4 ,for1 in the first place1 we observe that those vegetables which are produced out of the earth are supported by nature1 and she gives them no further supply than is sufficient to preserve them by nourishing them and making them grow4 ,to beasts she has given sense and motion1 and a faculty which directs them to what is wholesome1 and prompts them to shun what is noxious to them4 ,on man she has conferred a greater portion of her favor2 inasmuch as she has added reason1 by which he is enabled to command his passions1 to moderate some1 and to subdue others4 ,,xiii4 ,in the fourth and highest degree are those beings which are naturally wise and good1 who from the first moment of their existence are possessed of right and consistent reason1 which we must consider superior to man and deserving to be attributed to a ,god2 that is to say1 to the world1 in which it is inevitable that that perfect and complete reason should be inherent4 ,nor is it possible that it should be said with justice that there is any arrangement of things in which there cannot be something entire and perfect4 ,for as in a vine or in beasts we see that nature1 if not prevented by some superior violence1 proceeds by her own appropriate path to her destined end2 and as in painting1 architecture1 and the other arts there is a point of perfection which is attainable1 and occasionally attained1 so it is even much more necessary that in universal nature there must be some complete and perfect result arrived at4 ,many external accidents may happen to all other natures which may impede their progress to perfection1 but nothing can hinder universal nature1 because she is herself the ruler and governor of all other natures4 ,that1 therefore1 must be the fourth and most elevated degree to which no other power can approach4 ,but this degree is that on which the nature of all things is placed2 and since she is possessed of this1 and she presides over all things1 and is subject to no possible impediment1 the world must necessarily be an intelligent and even a wise being4 ,but how marvellously great is the ignorance of those men who dispute the perfection of that nature which encircles all things2 or who1 allowing it to be infinitely perfect1 yet deny it to be1 in the first place1 animated1 then reasonable1 and1 lastly1 prudent and wise6 ,for how without these qualities could it be infinitely perfect8 ,if it were like vegetables1 or even like beasts1 there would be no more reason for thinking it extremely good than extremely bad2 and if it were possessed of reason1 and had not wisdom from the beginning1 the world would be in a worse condition than man2 for man may grow wise1 but the world1 if it were destitute of wisdom through an infinite space of time past1 could never acquire it4 ,thus it would be worse than man4 ,but as that is absurd to imagine1 the world must be esteemed wise from all eternity1 and consequently a ,deity3 since there is nothing existing that is not defective1 except the universe1 which is well provided1 and fully complete and perfect in all its numbers and parts4 ,,xiv4 ,for ,chrysippus says1 very acutely1 that as the case is made for the buckler1 and the scabbard for the sword1 so all things1 except the universe1 were made for the sake of something else4 ,as1 for instance1 all those crops and fruits which the earth produces were made for the sake of animals1 and animals for man2 as1 the horse for carrying1 the ox for the plough1 the dog for hunting and for a guard4 ,but man himself was born to contemplate and imitate the world1 being in no wise perfect1 but1 if ,i may so express myself1 a particle of perfection2 but the world1 as it comprehends all1 and as nothing exists that is not contained in it1 is entirely perfect4 ,in what1 therefore1 can it be defective1 since it is perfect8 ,it cannot want understanding and reason1 for they are the most desirable of all qualities4 ,the same ,chrysippus observes also1 by the use of similitudes1 that everything in its kind1 when arrived at maturity and perfection1 is superior to that which is not--as1 a horse to a colt1 a dog to a puppy1 and a man to a boy--so whatever is best in the whole universe must exist in some complete and perfect being4 ,but nothing is more perfect than the world1 and nothing better than virtue4 ,virtue1 therefore1 is an attribute of the world4 ,but human nature is not perfect1 and nevertheless virtue is produced in it3 with how much greater reason1 then1 do we conceive it to be inherent in the world6 ,therefore the world has virtue1 and it is also wise1 and consequently a ,deity4 ,,xv4 ,the divinity of the world being now clearly perceived1 we must acknowledge the same divinity to be likewise in the stars1 which are formed from the lightest and purest part of the ether1 without a mixture of any other matter2 and1 being altogether hot and transparent1 we may justly say they have life1 sense1 and understanding4 ,and ,cleanthes thinks that it may be established by the evidence of two of our senses--feeling and seeing--that they are entirely fiery bodies2 for the heat and brightness of the sun far exceed any other fire1 inasmuch as it enlightens the whole universe1 covering such a vast extent of space1 and its power is such that we perceive that it not only warms1 but often even burns3 neither of which it could do if it were not of a fiery quality4 ,since1 then1 says he1 the sun is a fiery body1 and is nourished by the vapors of the ocean 7for no fire can continue without some sustenance71 it must be either like that fire which we use to warm us and dress our food1 or like that which is contained in the bodies of animals4 ,and this fire1 which the convenience of life requires1 is the devourer and consumer of everything1 and throws into confusion and destroys whatever it reaches4 ,on the contrary1 the corporeal heat is full of life1 and salutary2 and vivifies1 preserves1 cherishes1 increases1 and sustains all things1 and is productive of sense2 therefore1 says he1 there can be no doubt which of these fires the sun is like1 since it causes all things in their respective kinds to flourish and arrive to maturity2 and as the fire of the sun is like that which is contained in the bodies of animated beings1 the sun itself must likewise be animated1 and so must the other stars also1 which arise out of the celestial ardor that we call the sky1 or firmament4 ,as1 then1 some animals are generated in the earth1 some in the water1 and some in the air1 ,aristotle#abc thinks it ridiculous to imagine that no animal is formed in that part of the universe which is the most capable to produce them4 ,but the stars are situated in the ethereal space2 and as this is an element the most subtle1 whose motion is continual1 and whose force does not decay1 it follows1 of necessity1 that every animated being which is produced in it must be endowed with the quickest sense and the swiftest motion4 ,the stars1 therefore1 being there generated1 it is a natural inference to suppose them endued with such a degree of sense and understanding as places them in the rank of ,gods4 ,,xvi4 ,for it may be observed that they who inhabit countries of a pure1 clear air have a quicker apprehension and a readier genius than those who live in a thick1 foggy climate4 ,it is thought likewise that the nature of a man's diet has an effect on the mind2 therefore it is probable that the stars are possessed of an excellent understanding1 inasmuch as they are situated in the ethereal part of the universe1 and are nourished by the vapors of the earth and sea1 which are purified by their long passage to the heavens4 ,but the invariable order and regular motion of the stars plainly manifest their sense and understanding2 for all motion which seems to be conducted with reason and harmony supposes an intelligent principle1 that does not act blindly1 or inconsistently1 or at random4 ,and this regularity and consistent course of the stars from all eternity indicates not any natural order1 for it is pregnant with sound reason1 not fortune 7for fortune1 being a friend to change1 despises consistency74 ,it follows1 therefore1 that they move spontaneously by their own sense and divinity4 ,aristotle also deserves high commendation for his observation that everything that moves is either put in motion by natural impulse1 or by some external force1 or of its own accord2 and that the sun1 and moon1 and all the stars move2 but that those things which are moved by natural impulse are either borne downward by their weight1 or upward by their lightness2 neither of which things could be the case with the stars1 because they move in a regular circle and orbit4 ,nor can it be said that there is some superior force which causes the stars to be moved in a manner contrary to nature4 ,for what superior force can there be8 ,it follows1 therefore1 that their motion must be voluntary4 ,and whoever is convinced of this must discover not only great ignorance1 but great impiety likewise1 if he denies the existence of the ,gods2 nor is the difference great whether a man denies their existence1 or deprives them of all design and action2 for whatever is wholly inactive seems to me not to exist at all4 ,their existence1 therefore1 appears so plain that ,i can scarcely think that man in his senses who denies it4 ,,xvii4 ,it now remains that we consider what is the character of the ,gods4 ,nothing is more difficult than to divert our thoughts and judgment from the information of our corporeal sight1 and the view of objects which our eyes are accustomed to2 and it is this difficulty which has had such an influence on the unlearned1 and on philosophers#abd also who resembled the unlearned multitude1 that they have been unable to form any idea of the immortal ,gods except under the clothing of the human figure2 the weakness of which opinion ,cotta has so well confuted that ,i need not add my thoughts upon it4 ,but as the previous idea which we have of the ,deity comprehends two things--first of all1 that he is an animated being2 secondly1 that there is nothing in all nature superior to him--,i do not see what can be more consistent with this idea and preconception than to attribute a mind and divinity to the world1#abe the most excellent of all beings4 ,epicurus may be as merry with this notion as he pleases2 a man not the best qualified for a joker1 as not having the wit and sense of his country4#abf ,let him say that a voluble round ,deity is to him incomprehensible2 yet he shall never dissuade me from a principle which he himself approves1 for he is of opinion there are ,gods when he allows that there must be a nature excellently perfect4 ,but it is certain that the world is most excellently perfect3 nor is it to be doubted that whatever has life1 sense1 reason1 and understanding must excel that which is destitute of these things4 ,it follows1 then1 that the world has life1 sense1 reason1 and understanding1 and is consequently a ,deity4 ,but this shall soon be made more manifest by the operation of these very things which the world causes4 ,,xviii4 ,in the mean while1 ,velleius1 let me entreat you not to be always saying that we are utterly destitute of every sort of learning4 ,the cone1 you say1 the cylinder1 and the pyramid1 are more beautiful to you than the sphere4 ,this is to have different eyes from other men4 ,but suppose they are more beautiful to the sight only1 which does not appear to me1 for ,i can see nothing more beautiful than that figure which contains all others1 and which has nothing rough in it1 nothing offensive1 nothing cut into angles1 nothing broken1 nothing swelling1 and nothing hollow2 yet as there are two forms most esteemed1#abg the globe in solids 7for so the ,greek word ,greek3 sphaira1 ,i think1 should be construed71 and the circle1 or orb1 in planes 7in ,greek1 ,greek3 kyklos72 and as they only have an exact similitude of parts in which every extreme is equally distant from the centre1 what can we imagine in nature to be more just and proper8 ,but if you have never raked into this learned dust#abh to find out these things1 surely1 at all events1 you natural philosophers must know that equality of motion and invariable order could not be preserved in any other figure4 ,nothing1 therefore1 can be more illiterate than to assert1 as you are in the habit of doing1 that it is doubtful whether the world is round or not1 because it may possibly be of another shape1 and that there are innumerable worlds of different forms2 which ,epicurus1 if he ever had learned that two and two are equal to four1 would not have said4 ,but while he judges of what is best by his palate1 he does not look up to the palace of heaven1 as ,ennius calls it4 ,,xix4 ,for as there are two sorts of stars1#abi one kind of which measure their journey from east to west by immutable stages1 never in the least varying from their usual course1 while the other completes a double revolution with an equally constant regularity2 from each of these facts we demonstrate the volubility of the world 7which could not possibly take place in any but a globular form7 and the circular orbits of the stars4 ,and first of all the sun1 which has the chief rank among all the stars1 is moved in such a manner that it fills the whole earth with its light1 and illuminates alternately one part of the earth1 while it leaves the other in darkness4 ,the shadow of the earth interposing causes night2 and the intervals of night are equal to those of day4 ,and it is the regular approaches and retreats of the sun from which arise the regulated degrees of cold and heat4 ,his annual circuit is in three hundred and sixty-five days1 and nearly six hours more4#acj ,at one time he bends his course to the north1 at another to the south1 and thus produces summer and winter1 with the other two seasons1 one of which succeeds the decline of winter1 and the other that of summer4 ,and so to these four changes of the seasons we attribute the origin and cause of all the productions both of sea and land4 ,the moon completes the same course every month which the sun does in a year4 ,the nearer she approaches to the sun1 the dimmer light does she yield1 and when most remote from it she shines with the fullest brilliancy2 nor are her figure and form only changed in her wane1 but her situation likewise1 which is sometimes in the north and sometimes in the south4 ,by this course she has a sort of summer and winter solstices2 and by her influence she contributes to the nourishment and increase of animated beings1 and to the ripeness and maturity of all vegetables4 ,,xx4 ,but most worthy our admiration is the motion of those five stars which are falsely called wandering stars2 for they cannot be said to wander which keep from all eternity their approaches and retreats1 and have all the rest of their motions1 in one regular constant and established order4 ,what is yet more wonderful in these stars which we are speaking of is that sometimes they appear1 and sometimes they disappear2 sometimes they advance towards the sun1 and sometimes they retreat2 sometimes they precede him1 and sometimes follow him2 sometimes they move faster1 sometimes slower1 and sometimes they do not stir in the least1 but for a while stand still4 ,from these unequal motions of the planets1 mathematicians have called that the great year#aca in which the sun1 moon1 and five wandering stars1 having finished their revolutions1 are found in their original situation4 ,in how long a time this is effected is much disputed1 but it must be a certain and definite period4 ,for the planet ,saturn 7called by the ,greeks ,greek3 ,phainon71 which is farthest from the earth1 finishes his course in about thirty years2 and in his course there is something very singular1 for sometimes he moves before the sun1 sometimes he keeps behind it2 at one time lying hidden in the night1 at another again appearing in the morning2 and ever performing the same motions in the same space of time without any alteration1 so as to be for infinite ages regular in these courses4 ,beneath this planet1 and nearer the earth1 is ,jupiter1 called ,greek3 ,phaethn1 which passes the same orbit of the twelve signs#acb in twelve years1 and goes through exactly the same variety in its course that the star of ,saturn does4 ,next to ,jupiter is the planet ,mars 7in ,greek1 ,greek3 ,pyroeis71 which finishes its revolution through the same orbit as the two previously mentioned1#acc in twenty-four months1 wanting six days1 as ,i imagine4 ,below this is ,mercury 7called by the ,greeks ,greek3 ,stilbn71 which performs the same course in little less than a year1 and is never farther distant from the sun than the space of one sign1 whether it precedes or follows it4 ,the lowest of the five planets1 and nearest the earth1 is that of ,venus 7called in ,greek ,greek3 ,phsphoros74 ,before the rising of the sun1 it is called the morning-star1 and after the setting1 the evening-star4 ,it has the same revolution through the zodiac1 both as to latitude and longitude1 with the other planets1 in a year1 and never is more than two#acd signs from the sun1 whether it precedes or follows it4 ,,xxi4 ,i cannot1 therefore1 conceive that this constant course of the planets1 this just agreement in such various motions through all eternity1 can be preserved without a mind1 reason1 and consideration2 and since we may perceive these qualities in the stars1 we cannot but place them in the rank of ,gods4 ,those which are called the fixed stars have the same indications of reason and prudence4 ,their motion is daily1 regular1 and constant4 ,they do not move with the sky1 nor have they an adhesion to the firmament1 as they who are ignorant of natural philosophy affirm4 ,for the sky1 which is thin1 transparent1 and suffused with an equal heat1 does not seem by its nature to have power to whirl about the stars1 or to be proper to contain them4 ,the fixed stars1 therefore1 have their own sphere1 separate and free from any conjunction with the sky4 ,their perpetual courses1 with that admirable and incredible regularity of theirs1 so plainly declare a divine power and mind to be in them1 that he who cannot perceive that they are also endowed with divine power must be incapable of all perception whatever4 ,in the heavens1 therefore1 there is nothing fortuitous1 unadvised1 inconstant1 or variable3 all there is order1 truth1 reason1 and constancy2 and all the things which are destitute of these qualities are counterfeit1 deceitful1 and erroneous1 and have their residence about the earth#ace beneath the moon1 the lowest of all the planets4 ,he1 therefore1 who believes that this admirable order and almost incredible regularity of the heavenly bodies1 by which the preservation and entire safety of all things is secured1 is destitute of intelligence1 must be considered to be himself wholly destitute of all intellect whatever4 ,i think1 then1 ,i shall not deceive myself in maintaining this dispute upon the principle of ,zeno1 who went the farthest in his search after truth4 ,,xxii4 ,zeno1 then1 defines nature to be an artificial fire1 proceeding in a regular way to generation2 for he thinks that to create and beget are especial properties of art1 and that whatever may be wrought by the hands of our artificers is much more skilfully performed by nature1 that is1 by this artificial fire1 which is the master of all other arts4 ,according to this manner of reasoning1 every particular nature is artificial1 as it operates agreeably to a certain method peculiar to itself2 but that universal nature which embraces all things is said by ,zeno to be not only artificial1 but absolutely the artificer1 ever thinking and providing all things useful and proper2 and as every particular nature owes its rise and increase to its own proper seed1 so universal nature has all her motions voluntary1 has affections and desires 7by the ,greeks called ,greek3 hormas7 productive of actions agreeable to them1 like us1 who have sense and understanding to direct us4 ,such1 then1 is the intelligence of the universe2 for which reason it may be properly termed prudence or providence 7in ,greek1 ,greek3 pronoia71 since her chiefest care and employment is to provide all things fit for its duration1 that it may want nothing1 and1 above all1 that it may be adorned with all perfection of beauty and ornament4 ,,xxiii4 ,thus far have ,i spoken concerning the universe1 and also of the stars2 from whence it is apparent that there is almost an infinite number of ,gods1 always in action1 but without labor or fatigue2 for they are not composed of veins1 nerves1 and bones2 their food and drink are not such as cause humors too gross or too subtle2 nor are their bodies such as to be subject to the fear of falls or blows1 or in danger of diseases from a weariness of limbs4 ,epicurus1 to secure his ,gods from such accidents1 has made them only outlines of ,deities1 void of action2 but our ,gods being of the most beautiful form1 and situated in the purest region of the heavens1 dispose and rule their course in such a manner that they seem to contribute to the support and preservation of all things4 ,besides these1 there are many other natures which have with reason been deified by the wisest ,grecians1 and by our ancestors1 in consideration of the benefits derived from them2 for they were persuaded that whatever was of great utility to human kind must proceed from divine goodness1 and the name of the ,deity was applied to that which the ,deity produced1 as when we call corn ,ceres1 and wine ,bacchus2 whence that saying of ,terence1#acf ,without ,ceres and ,bacchus1 ,venus starves4 ,and any quality1 also1 in which there was any singular virtue was nominated a ,deity1 such as ,faith and ,wisdom1 which are placed among the divinities in the ,capitol2 the last by milius ,scaurus1 but ,faith was consecrated before by ,atilius ,calatinus4 ,you see the temple of ,virtue and that of ,honor repaired by ,m4 ,marcellus1 erected formerly1 in the ,ligurian war1 by ,q4 ,maximus4 ,need ,i mention those dedicated to ,help1 ,safety1 ,concord1 ,liberty1 and ,victory1 which have been called ,deities1 because their efficacy has been so great that it could not have proceeded from any but from some divine power8 ,in like manner are the names of ,cupid1 ,voluptas1 and of ,lubentine ,venus consecrated1 though they were things vicious and not natural1 whatever ,velleius may think to the contrary1 for they frequently stimulate nature in too violent a manner4 ,everything1 then1 from which any great utility proceeded was deified2 and1 indeed1 the names ,i have just now mentioned are declaratory of the particular virtue of each ,deity4 ,,xxiv4 ,it has been a general custom likewise1 that men who have done important service to the public should be exalted to heaven by fame and universal consent4 ,thus ,hercules1 ,castor and ,pollux1 sculapius1 and ,liber became ,gods 7,i mean ,liber#acg the son of ,semele1 and not him#ach whom our ancestors consecrated in such state and solemnity with ,ceres and ,libera2 the difference in which may be seen in our ,mysteries4#aci ,but because the offsprings of our bodies are called ,liberi 7children71 therefore the offsprings of ,ceres are called ,liber and ,libera 7,libera#adj is the feminine1 and ,liber the masculine72 thus likewise ,romulus1 or ,quirinus--for they are thought to be the same--became a ,god4 ,they are justly esteemed as ,deities1 since their souls subsist and enjoy eternity1 from whence they are perfect and immortal beings4 ,there is another reason1 too1 and that founded on natural philosophy1 which has greatly contributed to the number of ,deities2 namely1 the custom of representing in human form a crowd of ,gods who have supplied the poets with fables1 and filled mankind with all sorts of superstition4 ,zeno has treated of this subject1 but it has been discussed more at length by ,cleanthes and ,chrysippus4 ,all ,greece was of opinion that ,coelum was castrated by his son ,saturn1#ada and that ,saturn was chained by his son ,jupiter4 ,in these impious fables1 a physical and not inelegant meaning is contained2 for they would denote that the celestial1 most exalted1 and ethereal nature--that is1 the fiery nature1 which produces all things by itself--is destitute of that part of the body which is necessary for the act of generation by conjunction with another4 ,,xxv4 ,by ,saturn they mean that which comprehends the course and revolution of times and seasons2 the ,greek name for which ,deity implies as much1 for he is called ,greek3 ,kronos1 which is the same with ,greek3 ,chronos1 that is1 a space of time4 ,but he is called ,saturn1 because he is filled 7saturatur7 with years2 and he is usually feigned to have devoured his children1 because time1 ever insatiable1 consumes the rolling years2 but to restrain him from immoderate haste1 ,jupiter has confined him to the course of the stars1 which are as chains to him4 ,jupiter 7that is1 juvans pater7 signifies a helping father1 whom1 by changing the cases1 we call ,jove1#adb a juvando4 ,the poets call him father of ,gods and men2#adc and our ancestors the most good1 the most great2 and as there is something more glorious in itself1 and more agreeable to others1 to be good 7that is1 beneficent7 than to be great1 the title of most good precedes that of most great4 ,this1 then1 is he whom ,ennius means in the following passage1 before quoted-- ,look up to the refulgent heaven above1 ,which all men call1 unanimously1 ,jove3 which is more plainly expressed than in this other passage#add of the same poet-- ,on whose account ,i'll curse that flood of light1 ,whate'er it is above that shines so bright4 ,our augurs also mean the same1 when1 for the thundering and lightning heaven1 they say the thundering and lightning ,jove4 ,euripides1 among many excellent things1 has this3 ,the vast1 expanded1 boundless sky behold1 ,see it with soft embrace the earth enfold2 ,this own the chief of ,deities above1 ,and this acknowledge by the name of ,jove4 ,,xxvi4 ,the air1 according to the ,stoics1 which is between the sea and the heaven1 is consecrated by the name of ,juno1 and is called the sister and wife of ,jove1 because it resembles the sky1 and is in close conjunction with it4 ,they have made it feminine1 because there is nothing softer4 ,but ,i believe it is called ,juno1 a juvando 7from helping74 ,to make three separate kingdoms1 by fable1 there remained yet the water and the earth4 ,the dominion of the sea is given1 therefore1 to ,neptune1 a brother1 as he is called1 of ,jove2 whose name1 ,neptunus--as ,portunus1 a portu1 from a port--is derived a nando 7from swimming71 the first letters being a little changed4 ,the sovereignty and power over the earth is the portion of a ,god1 to whom we1 as well as the ,greeks1 have given a name that denotes riches 7in ,latin1 ,dis2 in ,greek1 ,greek3 ,ploutn71 because all things arise from the earth and return to it4 ,he forced away ,proserpine 7in ,greek called ,greek3 ,persephon71 by which the poets mean the seed of corn1 from whence comes their fiction of ,ceres1 the mother of ,proserpine1 seeking for her daughter1 who was hidden from her4 ,she is called ,ceres1 which is the same as ,geres--a gerendis frugibus#ade--;from bearing fruit1 the first letter of the word being altered after the manner of the ,greeks1 for by them she is called ,greek3 ,dmtr1 the same as ,greek3 ,gmtr4#adf ,again1 he 7qui magna vorteret7 who brings about mighty changes is called ,mavors2 and ,minerva is so called because 7minueret1 or minaretur7 she diminishes or menaces4 ,,xxvii4 ,and as the beginnings and endings of all things are of the greatest importance1 therefore they would have their sacrifices to begin with ,janus4#adg ,his name is derived ab eundo1 from passing2 from whence thorough passages are called jani1 and the outward doors of common houses are called janu4 ,the name of ,vesta is1 from the ,greeks1 the same with their ,greek3 ,hestia4 ,her province is over altars and hearths2 and in the name of this ,goddess1 who is the keeper of all things within1 prayers and sacrifices are concluded4 ,the ,dii ,penates1 household ,gods1 have some affinity with this power1 and are so called either from penus1 all kind of human provisions1 or because penitus insident 7they reside within71 from which1 by the poets1 they are called penetrales also4 ,apollo1 a ,greek name1 is called ,sol1 the sun2 and ,diana1 ,luna1 the moon4 ,the sun 7sol7 is so named either because he is solus 7alone71 so eminent above all the stars2 or because he obscures all the stars1 and appears alone as soon as he rises4 ,luna1 the moon1 is so called a lucendo 7from shining72 she bears the name also of ,lucina3 and as in ,greece the women in labor invoke ,diana ,lucifera1 so here they invoke ,juno ,lucina4 ,she is likewise called ,diana omnivaga1 not a venando 7from hunting71 but because she is reckoned one of the seven stars that seem to wander4#adh ,she is called ,diana because she makes a kind of day of the night2#adi and presides over births1 because the delivery is effected sometimes in seven1 or at most in nine1 courses of the moon2 which1 because they make mensa spatia 7measured spaces71 are called menses 7months74 ,this occasioned a pleasant observation of ,timus 7as he has many74 ,having said in his history that the same night in which ,alexander was born1 the temple of ,diana at ,ephesus was burned down1 he adds1 ,it is not in the least to be wondered at1 because ,diana1 being willing to assist at the labor of ,olympias1#aej was absent from home4 ,but to this ,goddess1 because ad res omnes veniret--she has an influence upon all things--we have given the appellation of ,venus1#aea from whom the word venustas 7beauty7 is rather derived than ,venus from venustas4 ,,xxviii4 ,do you not see1 therefore1 how1 from the productions of nature and the useful inventions of men1 have arisen fictitious and imaginary ,deities1 which have been the foundation of false opinions1 pernicious errors1 and wretched superstitions8 ,for we know how the different forms of the ,gods--their ages1 apparel1 ornaments2 their pedigrees1 marriages1 relations1 and everything belonging to them--are adapted to human weakness and represented with our passions2 with lust1 sorrow1 and anger1 according to fabulous history3 they have had wars and combats1 not only1 as ,homer relates1 when they have interested themselves in two different armies1 but when they have fought battles in their own defence against the ,titans and giants4 ,these stories1 of the greatest weakness and levity1 are related and believed with the most implicit folly4 ,but1 rejecting these fables with contempt1 a ,deity is diffused in every part of nature2 in earth under the name of ,ceres1 in the sea under the name of ,neptune1 in other parts under other names4 ,yet whatever they are1 and whatever characters and dispositions they have1 and whatever name custom has given them1 we are bound to worship and adore them4 ,the best1 the chastest1 the most sacred and pious worship of the ,gods is to reverence them always with a pure1 perfect1 and unpolluted mind and voice2 for our ancestors1 as well as the philosophers1 have separated superstition from religion4 ,they who prayed whole days and sacrificed1 that their children might survive them 7ut superstites essent71 were called superstitious1 which word became afterward more general2 but they who diligently perused1 and1 as we may say1 read or practised over again1 all the duties relating to the worship of the ,gods1 were called religiosi--religious1 from relegendo--reading over again1 or practising2 as elegantes1 elegant1 ex eligendo1 from choosing1 making a good choice2 diligentes1 diligent1 ex diligendo1 from attending on what we love2 intelligentes1 intelligent1 from understanding--for the signification is derived in the same manner4 ,thus are the words superstitious and religious understood2 the one being a term of reproach1 the other of commendation4 ,i think ,i have now sufficiently demonstrated that there are ,gods1 and what they are4 ,,xxix4 ,i am now to show that the world is governed by the providence of the ,gods4 ,this is an important point1 which you ,academics endeavor to confound2 and1 indeed1 the whole contest is with you1 ,cotta2 for your sect1 ,velleius1 know very little of what is said on different subjects by other schools4 ,you read and have a taste only for your own books1 and condemn all others without examination4 ,for instance1 when you mentioned yesterday#aeb that prophetic old dame ,greek3 ,pronoia1 ,providence1 invented by the ,stoics1 you were led into that error by imagining that ,providence was made by them to be a particular ,deity that governs the whole universe1 whereas it is only spoken in a short manner2 as when it is said ,the commonwealth of ,athens is governed by the council1 it is meant of the ,areopagus2#aec so when we say ,the world is governed by providence1 we mean by the providence of the ,gods4 ,to express ourselves1 therefore1 more fully and clearly1 we say1 ,the world is governed by the providence of the ,gods4 ,be not1 therefore1 lavish of your railleries1 of which your sect has little to spare3 if ,i may advise you1 do not attempt it4 ,it does not become you1 it is not your talent1 nor is it in your power4 ,this is not applied to you in particular who have the education and politeness of a ,roman1 but to all your sect in general1 and especially to your leader#aed--;a man unpolished1 illiterate1 insulting1 without wit1 without reputation1 without elegance4 ,,xxx4 ,i assert1 then1 that the universe1 with all its parts1 was originally constituted1 and has1 without any cessation1 been ever governed by the providence of the ,gods4 ,this argument we ,stoics commonly divide into three parts2 the first of which is1 that the existence of the ,gods being once known1 it must follow that the world is governed by their wisdom2 the second1 that as everything is under the direction of an intelligent nature1 which has produced that beautiful order in the world1 it is evident that it is formed from animating principles2 the third is deduced from those glorious works which we behold in the heavens and the earth4 ,first1 then1 we must either deny the existence of the ,gods 7as ,democritus and ,epicurus by their doctrine of images in some sort do71 or1 if we acknowledge that there are ,gods1 we must believe they are employed1 and that1 too1 in something excellent4 ,now1 nothing is so excellent as the administration of the universe4 ,the universe1 therefore1 is governed by the wisdom of the ,gods4 ,otherwise1 we must imagine that there is some cause superior to the ,deity1 whether it be a nature inanimate1 or a necessity agitated by a mighty force1 that produces those beautiful works which we behold4 ,the nature of the ,gods would then be neither supreme nor excellent1 if you subject it to that necessity or to that nature1 by which you would make the heaven1 the earth1 and the seas to be governed4 ,but there is nothing superior to the ,deity2 the world1 therefore1 must be governed by him3 consequently1 the ,deity is under no obedience or subjection to nature1 but does himself rule over all nature4 ,in effect1 if we allow the ,gods have understanding1 we allow also their providence1 which regards the most important things2 for1 can they be ignorant of those important things1 and how they are to be conducted and preserved1 or do they want power to sustain and direct them8 ,ignorance is inconsistent with the nature of the ,gods1 and imbecility is repugnant to their majesty4 ,from whence it follows1 as we assert1 that the world is governed by the providence of the ,gods4 ,,xxxi4 ,but supposing1 which is incontestable1 that there are ,gods1 they must be animated1 and not only animated1 but endowed with reason--united1 as we may say1 in a civil agreement and society1 and governing together one universe1 as a republic or city4 ,thus the same reason1 the same verity1 the same law1 which ordains good and prohibits evil1 exists in the ,gods as it does in men4 ,from them1 consequently1 we have prudence and understanding1 for which reason our ancestors erected temples to the ,mind1 ,faith1 ,virtue1 and ,concord4 ,shall we not then allow the ,gods to have these perfections1 since we worship the sacred and august images of them8 ,but if understanding1 faith1 virtue1 and concord reside in human kind1 how could they come on earth1 unless from heaven8 ,and if we are possessed of wisdom1 reason1 and prudence1 the ,gods must have the same qualities in a greater degree2 and not only have them1 but employ them in the best and greatest works4 ,the universe is the best and greatest work2 therefore it must be governed by the wisdom and providence of the ,gods4 ,lastly1 as we have sufficiently shown that those glorious and luminous bodies which we behold are ,deities--,i mean the sun1 the moon1 the fixed and wandering stars1 the firmament1 and the world itself1 and those other things also which have any singular virtue1 and are of any great utility to human kind--it follows that all things are governed by providence and a divine mind4 ,but enough has been said on the first part4 ,,xxxii4 ,it is now incumbent on me to prove that all things are subjected to nature1 and most beautifully directed by her4 ,but1 first of all1 it is proper to explain precisely what that nature is1 in order to come to the more easy understanding of what ,i would demonstrate4 ,some think that nature is a certain irrational power exciting in bodies the necessary motions4 ,others1 that it is an intelligent power1 acting by order and method1 designing some end in every cause1 and always aiming at that end1 whose works express such skill as no art1 no hand1 can imitate2 for1 they say1 such is the virtue of its seed1 that1 however small it is1 if it falls into a place proper for its reception1 and meets with matter conducive to its nourishment and increase1 it forms and produces everything in its respective kind2 either vegetables1 which receive their nourishment from their roots2 or animals1 endowed with motion1 sense1 appetite1 and abilities to beget their likeness4 ,some apply the word nature to everything2 as ,epicurus does1 who acknowledges no cause1 but atoms1 a vacuum1 and their accidents4 ,but when we#aee say that nature forms and governs the world1 we do not apply it to a clod of earth1 or piece of stone1 or anything of that sort1 whose parts have not the necessary cohesion1#aef but to a tree1 in which there is not the appearance of chance1 but of order and a resemblance of art4 ,,xxxiii4 ,but if the art of nature gives life and increase to vegetables1 without doubt it supports the earth itself2 for1 being impregnated with seeds1 she produces every kind of vegetable1 and embracing their roots1 she nourishes and increases them2 while1 in her turn1 she receives her nourishment from the other elements1 and by her exhalations gives proper sustenance to the air1 the sky1 and all the superior bodies4 ,if nature gives vigor and support to the earth1 by the same reason she has an influence over the rest of the world2 for as the earth gives nourishment to vegetables1 so the air is the preservation of animals4 ,the air sees with us1 hears with us1 and utters sounds with us2 without it1 there would be no seeing1 hearing1 or sounding4 ,it even moves with us2 for wherever we go1 whatever motion we make1 it seems to retire and give place to us4 ,that which inclines to the centre1 that which rises from it to the surface1 and that which rolls about the centre1 constitute the universal world1 and make one entire nature2 and as there are four sorts of bodies1 the continuance of nature is caused by their reciprocal changes2 for the water arises from the earth1 the air from the water1 and the fire from the air2 and1 reversing this order1 the air arises from fire1 the water from the air1 and from the water the earth1 the lowest of the four elements1 of which all beings are formed4 ,thus by their continual motions backward and forward1 upward and downward1 the conjunction of the several parts of the universe is preserved2 a union which1 in the beauty we now behold it1 must be eternal1 or at least of a very long duration1 and almost for an infinite space of time2 and1 whichever it is1 the universe must of consequence be governed by nature4 ,for what art of navigating fleets1 or of marshalling an army1 and--to instance the produce of nature--what vine1 what tree1 what animated form and conformation of their members1 give us so great an indication of skill as appears in the universe8 ,therefore we must either deny that there is the least trace of an intelligent nature1 or acknowledge that the world is governed by it4 ,but since the universe contains all particular beings1 as well as their seeds1 can we say that it is not itself governed by nature8 ,that would be the same as saying that the teeth and the beard of man are the work of nature1 but that the man himself is not4 ,thus the effect would be understood to be greater than the cause4 ,,xxxiv4 ,now1 the universe sows1 as ,i may say1 plants1 produces1 raises1 nourishes1 and preserves what nature administers1 as members and parts of itself4 ,if nature1 therefore1 governs them1 she must also govern the universe4 ,and1 lastly1 in nature's administration there is nothing faulty4 ,she produced the best possible effect out of those elements which existed4 ,let any one show how it could have been better4 ,but that can never be2 and whoever attempts to mend it will either make it worse1 or aim at impossibilities4 ,but if all the parts of the universe are so constituted that nothing could be better for use or beauty1 let us consider whether this is the effect of chance1 or whether1 in such a state they could possibly cohere1 but by the direction of wisdom and divine providence4 ,nature1 therefore1 cannot be void of reason1 if art can bring nothing to perfection without it1 and if the works of nature exceed those of art4 ,how is it consistent with common-sense that when you view an image or a picture1 you imagine it is wrought by art2 when you behold afar off a ship under sail1 you judge it is steered by reason and art2 when you see a dial or water-clock1#aeg you believe the hours are shown by art1 and not by chance2 and yet that you should imagine that the universe1 which contains all arts and the artificers1 can be void of reason and understanding8 ,but if that sphere which was lately made by our friend ,posidonius1 the regular revolutions of which show the course of the sun1 moon1 and five wandering stars1 as it is every day and night performed1 were carried into ,scythia or ,britain1 who1 in those barbarous countries1 would doubt that that sphere had been made so perfect by the exertion of reason8 ,,xxxv4 ,yet these people#aeh doubt whether the universe1 from whence all things arise and are made1 is not the effect of chance1 or some necessity1 rather than the work of reason and a divine mind4 ,according to them1 ,archimedes shows more knowledge in representing the motions of the celestial globe than nature does in causing them1 though the copy is so infinitely beneath the original4 ,the shepherd in ,attius1#aei who had never seen a ship1 when he perceived from a mountain afar off the divine vessel of the ,argonauts1 surprised and frighted at this new object1 expressed himself in this manner3 ,what horrid bulk is that before my eyes1 ,which o'er the deep with noise and vigor flies8 ,it turns the whirlpools up1 its force so strong1 ,and drives the billows as it rolls along4 ,the ocean's violence it fiercely braves2 ,runs furious on1 and throws about the waves4 ,swiftly impetuous in its course1 and loud1 ,like the dire bursting of a show'ry cloud2 ,or1 like a rock1 forced by the winds and rain1 ,now whirl'd aloft1 then plunged into the main4 ,but hold6 perhaps the ,earth and ,neptune jar1 ,and fiercely wage an elemental war2 ,or ,triton with his trident has o'erthrown ,his den1 and loosen'd from the roots the stone2 ,the rocky fragment1 from the bottom torn1 ,is lifted up1 and on the surface borne4 ,at first he is in suspense at the sight of this unknown object2 but on seeing the young mariners1 and hearing their singing1 he says1 ,like sportive dolphins1 with their snouts they roar2#afj and afterward goes on1 ,loud in my ears methinks their voices ring1 ,as if ,i heard the ,god ,sylvanus sing4 ,as at first view the shepherd thinks he sees something inanimate and insensible1 but afterward1 judging by more trustworthy indications1 he begins to figure to himself what it is2 so philosophers1 if they are surprised at first at the sight of the universe1 ought1 when they have considered the regular1 uniform1 and immutable motions of it1 to conceive that there is some ,being that is not only an inhabitant of this celestial and divine mansion1 but a ruler and a governor1 as architect of this mighty fabric4 ,,xxxvi4 ,now1 in my opinion1 they#afa do not seem to have even the least suspicion that the heavens and earth afford anything marvellous4 ,for1 in the first place1 the earth is situated in the middle part of the universe1 and is surrounded on all sides by the air1 which we breathe1 and which is called aer1#afb which1 indeed1 is a ,greek word2 but by constant use it is well understood by our countrymen1 for1 indeed1 it is employed as a ,latin word4 ,the air is encompassed by the boundless ether 7sky71 which consists of the fires above4 ,this word we borrow also1 for we use ther in ,latin as well as aer2 though ,pacuvius thus expresses it1 --,this1 of which ,i speak1 ,in ,latin's coelum1 ther call'd in ,greek4 ,as though he were not a ,greek into whose mouth he puts this sentence2 but he is speaking in ,latin1 though we listen as if he were speaking ,greek2 for1 as he says elsewhere1 ,his speech discovers him a ,grecian born4 ,but to return to more important matters4 ,in the sky innumerable fiery stars exist1 of which the sun is the chief1 enlightening all with his refulgent splendor1 and being by many degrees larger than the whole earth2 and this multitude of vast fires are so far from hurting the earth1 and things terrestrial1 that they are of benefit to them2 whereas1 if they were moved from their stations1 we should inevitably be burned through the want of a proper moderation and temperature of heat4 ,,xxxvii4 ,is it possible for any man to behold these things1 and yet imagine that certain solid and individual bodies move by their natural force and gravitation1 and that a world so beautifully adorned was made by their fortuitous concourse8 ,he who believes this may as well believe that if a great quantity of the one-and-twenty letters1 composed either of gold or any other matter1 were thrown upon the ground1 they would fall into such order as legibly to form the ,annals of ,ennius4 ,i doubt whether fortune could make a single verse of them4 ,how1 therefore1 can these people assert that the world was made by the fortuitous concourse of atoms1 which have no color1 no quality--which the ,greeks call ,greek3 poiots1 no sense8 or that there are innumerable worlds1 some rising and some perishing1 in every moment of time8 ,but if a concourse of atoms can make a world1 why not a porch1 a temple1 a house1 a city1 which are works of less labor and difficulty8 ,certainly those men talk so idly and inconsiderately concerning this lower world that they appear to me never to have contemplated the wonderful magnificence of the heavens2 which is the next topic for our consideration4 ,well1 then1 did ,aristotle#afc observe3 ,if there were men whose habitations had been always underground1 in great and commodious houses1 adorned with statues and pictures1 furnished with everything which they who are reputed happy abound with2 and if1 without stirring from thence1 they should be informed of a certain divine power and majesty1 and1 after some time1 the earth should open1 and they should quit their dark abode to come to us1 where they should immediately behold the earth1 the seas1 the heavens2 should consider the vast extent of the clouds and force of the winds2 should see the sun1 and observe his grandeur and beauty1 and also his generative power1 inasmuch as day is occasioned by the diffusion of his light through the sky2 and when night has obscured the earth1 they should contemplate the heavens bespangled and adorned with stars1 the surprising variety of the moon in her increase and wane1 the rising and setting of all the stars1 and the inviolable regularity of their courses2 when1 says he1 they should see these things1 they would undoubtedly conclude that there are ,gods1 and that these are their mighty works4 ,,xxxviii4 ,thus far ,aristotle4 ,let us imagine1 also1 as great darkness as was formerly occasioned by the irruption of the fires of ,mount tna1 which are said to have obscured the adjacent countries for two days to such a degree that no man could recognize his fellow2 but on the third1 when the sun appeared1 they seemed to be risen from the dead4 ,now1 if we should be suddenly brought from a state of eternal darkness to see the light1 how beautiful would the heavens seem6 ,but our minds have become used to it from the daily practice and habituation of our eyes1 nor do we take the trouble to search into the principles of what is always in view2 as if the novelty1 rather than the importance1 of things ought to excite us to investigate their causes4 ,is he worthy to be called a man who attributes to chance1 not to an intelligent cause1 the constant motion of the heavens1 the regular courses of the stars1 the agreeable proportion and connection of all things1 conducted with so much reason that our intellect itself is unable to estimate it rightly8 ,when we see machines move artificially1 as a sphere1 a clock1 or the like1 do we doubt whether they are the productions of reason8 ,and when we behold the heavens moving with a prodigious celerity1 and causing an annual succession of the different seasons of the year1 which vivify and preserve all things1 can we doubt that this world is directed1 ,i will not say only by reason1 but by reason most excellent and divine8 ,for without troubling ourselves with too refined a subtlety of discussion1 we may use our eyes to contemplate the beauty of those things which we assert have been arranged by divine providence4 ,,xxxix4 ,first1 let us examine the earth1 whose situation is in the middle of the universe1#afd solid1 round1 and conglobular by its natural tendency2 clothed with flowers1 herbs1 trees1 and fruits2 the whole in multitudes incredible1 and with a variety suitable to every taste3 let us consider the ever-cool and running springs1 the clear waters of the rivers1 the verdure of their banks1 the hollow depths of caves1 the cragginess of rocks1 the heights of impending mountains1 and the boundless extent of plains1 the hidden veins of gold and silver1 and the infinite quarries of marble4 ,what and how various are the kinds of animals1 tame or wild8 ,the flights and notes of birds8 ,how do the beasts live in the fields and in the forests8 ,what shall ,i say of men1 who1 being appointed1 as we may say1 to cultivate the earth1 do not suffer its fertility to be choked with weeds1 nor the ferocity of beasts to make it desolate2 who1 by the houses and cities which they build1 adorn the fields1 the isles1 and the shores8 ,if we could view these objects with the naked eye1 as we can by the contemplation of the mind1 nobody1 at such a sight1 would doubt there was a divine intelligence4 ,but how beautiful is the sea6 ,how pleasant to see the extent of it6 ,what a multitude and variety of islands6 ,how delightful are the coasts6 ,what numbers and what diversity of inhabitants does it contain2 some within the bosom of it1 some floating on the surface1 and others by their shells cleaving to the rocks6 ,while the sea itself1 approaching to the land1 sports so closely to its shores that those two elements appear to be but one4 ,next above the sea is the air1 diversified by day and night3 when rarefied1 it possesses the higher region2 when condensed1 it turns into clouds1 and with the waters which it gathers enriches the earth by the rain4 ,its agitation produces the winds4 ,it causes heat and cold according to the different seasons4 ,it sustains birds in their flight2 and1 being inhaled1 nourishes and preserves all animated beings4 ,,xl4 ,add to these1 which alone remaineth to be mentioned1 the firmament of heaven1 a region the farthest from our abodes1 which surrounds and contains all things4 ,it is likewise called ether1 or sky1 the extreme bounds and limits of the universe1 in which the stars perform their appointed courses in a most wonderful manner2 among which1 the sun1 whose magnitude far surpasses the earth1 makes his revolution round it1 and by his rising and setting causes day and night2 sometimes coming near towards the earth1 and sometimes going from it1 he every year makes two contrary reversions#afe from the extreme point of its course4 ,in his retreat the earth seems locked up in sadness2 in his return it appears exhilarated with the heavens4 ,the moon1 which1 as mathematicians demonstrate1 is bigger than half the earth1 makes her revolutions through the same spaces#aff as the sun2 but at one time approaching1 and at another receding from1 the sun1 she diffuses the light which she has borrowed from him over the whole earth1 and has herself also many various changes in her appearance4 ,when she is found under the sun1 and opposite to it1 the brightness of her rays is lost2 but when the earth directly interposes between the moon and sun1 the moon is totally eclipsed4 ,the other wandering stars have their courses round the earth in the same spaces1#afg and rise and set in the same manner2 their motions are sometimes quick1 sometimes slow1 and often they stand still4 ,there is nothing more wonderful1 nothing more beautiful4 ,there is a vast number of fixed stars1 distinguished by the names of certain figures1 to which we find they have some resemblance4 ,,xli4 ,i will here1 says ,balbus1 looking at me1 make use of the verses which1 when you were young1 you translated from ,aratus1#afh and which1 because they are in ,latin1 gave me so much delight that ,i have many of them still in my memory4 ,as then1 we daily see1 without any change or variation1 --the rest#afi ,swiftly pursue the course to which they're bound2 ,and with the heavens the days and nights go round2 the contemplation of which1 to a mind desirous of observing the constancy of nature1 is inexhaustible4 ,the extreme top of either point is call'd ,the pole4#agj ,about this the two ,greek3 ,arktoi are turned1 which never set2 ,of these1 the ,greeks one ,cynosura call1 ,the other ,helice4#aga ,the brightest stars1#agb indeed1 of ,helice are discernible all night1 ,which are by us ,septentriones call'd4 ,cynosura moves about the same pole1 with a like number of stars1 and ranged in the same order3 ,this#agc the ,phoenicians choose to make their guide ,when on the ocean in the night they ride4 ,adorned with stars of more refulgent light1 ,the other#agd shines1 and first appears at night4 ,though this is small1 sailors its use have found2 ,more inward is its course1 and short its round4 ,,xlii4 ,the aspect of those stars is the more admirable1 because1 ,the ,dragon grim between them bends his way1 ,as through the winding banks the currents stray1 ,and up and down in sinuous bending rolls4#age ,his whole form is excellent2 but the shape of his head and the ardor of his eyes are most remarkable4 ,various the stars which deck his glittering head2 ,his temples are with double glory spread2 ,from his fierce eyes two fervid lights afar ,flash1 and his chin shines with one radiant star2 ,bow'd is his head2 and his round neck he bends1 ,and to the tail of ,helice#agf extends4 ,the rest of the ,dragon's body we see#agg at every hour in the night4 ,here#agh suddenly the head a little hides ,itself1 where all its parts1 which are in sight1 ,and those unseen in the same place unite4 ,near to this head ,is placed the figure of a man that moves ,weary and sad1 which the ,greeks ,engonasis do call1 because he's borne#agi ,about with bended knee4 ,near him is placed ,the crown with a refulgent lustre graced4 ,this indeed is at his back2 but ,anguitenens 7the ,snake-holder7 is near his head3#ahj ,the ,greeks him ,ophiuchus call1 renown'd ,the name4 ,he strongly grasps the serpent round ,with both his hands2 himself the serpent folds ,beneath his breast1 and round his middle holds2 ,yet gravely he1 bright shining in the skies1 ,moves on1 and treads on ,nepa's#aha breast and eyes4 ,the ,septentriones#ahb are followed by-- ,arctophylax1#ahc that's said to be the same ,which we ,botes call1 who has the name1 ,because he drives the ,greater ,bear along ,yoked to a wain4 ,besides1 in ,botes1 ,a star of glittering rays about his waist1 ,arcturus called1 a name renown'd1 is placed4#ahd ,beneath which is ,the ,virgin of illustrious form1 whose hand ,holds a bright spike4 ,,xliii4 ,and truly these signs are so regularly disposed that a divine wisdom evidently appears in them3 ,beneath the ,bear's#ahe head have the ,twins their seat1 ,under his chest the ,crab1 beneath his feet ,the mighty ,lion darts a trembling flame4#ahf ,the ,charioteer ,on the left side of ,gemini we see1#ahg ,and at his head behold fierce ,helice2 ,on his left shoulder the bright ,goat appears4 ,but to proceed-- ,this is indeed a great and glorious star1 ,on th' other side the ,kids1 inferior far1 ,yield but a slender light to mortal eyes4 ,under his feet ,the horned bull1#ahh with sturdy limbs1 is placed3 his head is spangled with a number of stars2 ,these by the ,greeks are called the ,hyades1 from raining2 for ,greek3 hyein is to rain3 therefore they are injudiciously called ,sucul by our people1 as if they had their name from ,greek3 hys1 a sow1 and not from ,greek3 hy4 ,behind the ,lesser ,bear1 ,cepheus#ahi follows with extended hands1 ,for close behind the ,lesser ,bear he comes4 ,before him goes ,cassiopea#aij with a faintish light2 ,but near her moves 7fair and illustrious sight67 ,andromeda1#aia who1 with an eager pace1 ,seems to avoid her parent's mournful face4#aib ,with glittering mane the ,horse#aic now seems to tread1 ,so near he comes1 on her refulgent head2 ,with a fair star1 that close to him appears1 ,a double form#aid and but one light he wears2 ,by which he seems ambitious in the sky ,an everlasting knot of stars to tie4 ,near him the ,ram1 with wreathed horns1 is placed2 by whom ,the ,fishes#aie are2 of which one seems to haste ,somewhat before the other1 to the blast ,of the north wind exposed4 ,,xliv4 ,perseus is described as placed at the feet of ,andromeda3 ,and him the sharp blasts of the north wind beat4 ,near his left knee1 but dim their light1 their seat ,the small ,pleiades#aif maintain4 ,we find1 ,not far from them1 the ,lyre#aig but slightly join'd4 ,next is the winged ,bird1#aih that seems to fly ,beneath the spacious covering of the sky4 ,near the head of the ,horse#aii lies the right hand of ,aquarius1 then all ,aquarius himself4#bjj ,then ,capricorn1 with half the form of beast1 ,breathes chill and piercing colds from his strong breast1 ,and in a spacious circle takes his round2 ,when him1 while in the winter solstice bound1 ,the sun has visited with constant light1 ,he turns his course1 and shorter makes the night4#bja ,not far from hence is seen ,the ,scorpion#bjb rising lofty from below2 ,by him the ,archer1#bjc with his bended bow2 ,near him the ,bird1 with gaudy feathers spread2 ,and the fierce ,eagle#bjd hovers o'er his head4 ,next comes the ,dolphin2#bje ,then bright ,orion1#bjf who obliquely moves2 he is followed by ,the fervent ,dog1#bjg bright with refulgent stars3 next the ,hare follows#bjh ,unwearied in his course4 ,at the ,dog's tail ,argo#bji moves on1 and moving seems to sail2 ,o'er her the ,ram and ,fishes have their place2#baj ,the illustrious vessel touches1 in her pace1 ,the river's banks2#baa which you may see winding and extending itself to a great length4 ,the ,fetters#bab at the ,fishes' tails are hung4 ,by ,nepa's#bac head behold the ,altar stand1#bad ,which by the breath of southern winds is fann'd2 near which the ,centaur#bae ,hastens his mingled parts to join beneath ,the ,serpent1#baf there extending his right hand1 ,to where you see the monstrous ,scorpion stand1 ,which he at the bright ,altar fiercely slays4 ,here on her lower parts see ,hydra#bag raise ,herself2 whose bulk is very far extended4 ,amid the winding of her body's placed ,the shining ,goblet2#bah and the glossy ,crow#bai ,plunges his beak into her parts below4 ,antecanis beneath the ,twins is seen1 ,call'd ,procyon by the ,greeks4#bbj ,can any one in his senses imagine that this disposition of the stars1 and this heaven so beautifully adorned1 could ever have been formed by a fortuitous concourse of atoms8 ,or what other nature1 being destitute of intellect and reason1 could possibly have produced these effects1 which not only required reason to bring them about1 but the very character of which could not be understood and appreciated without the most strenuous exertions of well-directed reason8 ,,xlv4 ,but our admiration is not limited to the objects here described4 ,what is most wonderful is that the world is so durable1 and so perfectly made for lasting that it is not to be impaired by time2 for all its parts tend equally to the centre1 and are bound together by a sort of chain1 which surrounds the elements4 ,this chain is nature1 which being diffused through the universe1 and performing all things with judgment and reason1 attracts the extremities to the centre4 ,if1 then1 the world is round1 and if on that account all its parts1 being of equal dimensions and relative proportions1 mutually support and are supported by one another1 it must follow that as all the parts incline to the centre 7for that is the lowest place of a globe7 there is nothing whatever which can put a stop to that propensity in the case of such great weights4 ,for the same reason1 though the sea is higher than the earth1 yet because it has the like tendency1 it is collected everywhere1 equally concentres1 and never overflows1 and is never wasted4 ,the air1 which is contiguous1 ascends by its lightness1 but diffuses itself through the whole2 therefore it is by nature joined and united to the sea1 and at the same time borne by the same power towards the heaven1 by the thinness and heat of which it is so tempered as to be made proper to supply life and wholesome air for the support of animated beings4 ,this is encompassed by the highest region of the heavens1 which is called the sky1 which is joined to the extremity of the air1 but retains its own heat pure and unmixed4 ,,xlvi4 ,the stars have their revolutions in the sky1 and are continued by the tendency of all parts towards the centre4 ,their duration is perpetuated by their form and figure1 for they are round2 which form1 as ,i think has been before observed1 is the least liable to injury2 and as they are composed of fire1 they are fed by the vapors which are exhaled by the sun from the earth1 the sea1 and other waters2 but when these vapors have nourished and refreshed the stars1 and the whole sky1 they are sent back to be exhaled again2 so that very little is lost or consumed by the fire of the stars and the flame of the sky4 ,hence we ,stoics conclude--which ,pantius#bba is said to have doubted of--that the whole world at last would be consumed by a general conflagration1 when1 all moisture being exhausted1 neither the earth could have any nourishment1 nor the air return again1 since water1 of which it is formed1 would then be all consumed2 so that only fire would subsist2 and from this fire1 which is an animating power and a ,deity1 a new world would arise and be re-established in the same beauty4 ,i should be sorry to appear to you to dwell too long upon this subject of the stars1 and more especially upon that of the planets1 whose motions1 though different1 make a very just agreement4 ,saturn1 the highest1 chills2 ,mars1 placed in the middle1 burns2 while ,jupiter1 interposing1 moderates their excess1 both of light and heat4 ,the two planets beneath ,mars#bbb obey the sun4 ,the sun himself fills the whole universe with his own genial light2 and the moon1 illuminated by him1 influences conception1 birth1 and maturity4 ,and who is there who is not moved by this union of things1 and by this concurrence of nature agreeing together1 as it were1 for the safety of the world8 ,and yet ,i feel sure that none of these reflections have ever been made by these men4 ,,xlvii4 ,let us proceed from celestial to terrestrial things4 ,what is there in them which does not prove the principle of an intelligent nature8 ,first1 as to vegetables2 they have roots to sustain their stems1 and to draw from the earth a nourishing moisture to support the vital principle which those roots contain4 ,they are clothed with a rind or bark1 to secure them more thoroughly from heat and cold4 ,the vines we see take hold on props with their tendrils1 as if with hands1 and raise themselves as if they were animated2 it is even said that they shun cabbages and coleworts1 as noxious and pestilential to them1 and1 if planted by them1 will not touch any part4 ,but what a vast variety is there of animals6 and how wonderfully is every kind adapted to preserve itself6 ,some are covered with hides1 some clothed with fleeces1 and some guarded with bristles2 some are sheltered with feathers1 some with scales2 some are armed with horns1 and some are furnished with wings to escape from danger4 ,nature hath also liberally and plentifully provided for all animals their proper food4 ,i could expatiate on the judicious and curious formation and disposition of their bodies for the reception and digestion of it1 for all their interior parts are so framed and disposed that there is nothing superfluous1 nothing that is not necessary for the preservation of life4 ,besides1 nature has also given these beasts appetite and sense2 in order that by the one they may be excited to procure sufficient sustenance1 and by the other they may distinguish what is noxious from what is salutary4 ,some animals seek their food walking1 some creeping1 some flying1 and some swimming2 some take it with their mouth and teeth2 some seize it with their claws1 and some with their beaks2 some suck1 some graze1 some bolt it whole1 and some chew it4 ,some are so low that they can with ease take such food as is to be found on the ground2 but the taller1 as geese1 swans1 cranes1 and camels1 are assisted by a length of neck4 ,to the elephant is given a hand1#bbc without which1 from his unwieldiness of body1 he would scarce have any means of attaining food4 ,,xlviii4 ,but to those beasts which live by preying on others1 nature has given either strength or swiftness4 ,on some animals she has even bestowed artifice and cunning2 as on spiders1 some of which weave a sort of net to entrap and destroy whatever falls into it1 others sit on the watch unobserved to fall on their prey and devour it4 ,the naker--by the ,greeks called ,pinna--has a kind of confederacy with the prawn for procuring food4 ,it has two large shells open1 into which when the little fishes swim1 the naker1 having notice given by the bite of the prawn1 closes them immediately4 ,thus1 these little animals1 though of different kinds1 seek their food in common2 in which it is matter of wonder whether they associate by any agreement1 or are naturally joined together from their beginning4 ,there is some cause to admire also the provision of nature in the case of those aquatic animals which are generated on land1 such as crocodiles1 river-tortoises1 and a certain kind of serpents1 which seek the water as soon as they are able to drag themselves along4 ,we frequently put duck-eggs under hens1 by which1 as by their true mothers1 the ducklings are at first hatched and nourished2 but when they see the water1 they forsake them and run to it1 as to their natural abode3 so strong is the impression of nature in animals for their own preservation4 ,,xlix4 ,i have read that there is a bird called ,platalea 7the shoveller71 that lives by watching those fowls which dive into the sea for their prey1 and when they return with it1 he squeezes their heads with his beak till they drop it1 and then seizes on it himself4 ,it is said likewise that he is in the habit of filling his stomach with shell-fish1 and when they are digested by the heat which exists in the stomach1 they cast them up1 and then pick out what is proper nourishment4 ,the sea-frogs1 they say1 are wont to cover themselves with sand1 and moving near the water1 the fishes strike at them1 as at a bait1 and are themselves taken and devoured by the frogs4 ,between the kite and the crow there is a kind of natural war1 and wherever the one finds the eggs of the other1 he breaks them4 ,but who is there who can avoid being struck with wonder at that which has been noticed by ,aristotle1 who has enriched us with so many valuable remarks8 ,when the cranes#bbd pass the sea in search of warmer climes1 they fly in the form of a triangle4 ,by the first angle they repel the resisting air2 on each side1 their wings serve as oars to facilitate their flight2 and the basis of their triangle is assisted by the wind in their stern4 ,those which are behind rest their necks and heads on those which precede2 and as the leader has not the same relief1 because he has none to lean upon1 he at length flies behind that he may also rest1 while one of those which have been eased succeeds him1 and through the whole flight each regularly takes his turn4 ,i could produce many instances of this kind2 but these may suffice4 ,let us now proceed to things more familiar to us4 ,the care of beasts for their own preservation1 their circumspection while feeding1 and their manner of taking rest in their lairs1 are generally known1 but still they are greatly to be admired4 ,l4 ,dogs cure themselves by a vomit1 the ,egyptian ibis by a purge2 from whence physicians have lately--,i mean but few ages since--greatly improved their art4 ,it is reported that panthers1 which in barbarous countries are taken with poisoned flesh1 have a certain remedy#bbe that preserves them from dying2 and that in ,crete1 the wild goats1 when they are wounded with poisoned arrows1 seek for an herb called dittany1 which1 when they have tasted1 the arrows 7they say7 drop from their bodies4 ,it is said also that deer1 before they fawn1 purge themselves with a little herb called hartswort4#bbf ,beasts1 when they receive any hurt1 or fear it1 have recourse to their natural arms3 the bull to his horns1 the boar to his tusks1 and the lion to his teeth4 ,some take to flight1 others hide themselves2 the cuttle-fish vomits#bbg blood2 the cramp-fish benumbs2 and there are many animals that1 by their intolerable stink1 oblige their pursuers to retire4 ,,li4 ,but that the beauty of the world might be eternal1 great care has been taken by the providence of the ,gods to perpetuate the different kinds of animals1 and vegetables1 and trees1 and all those things which sink deep into the earth1 and are contained in it by their roots and trunks2 in order to which every individual has within itself such fertile seed that many are generated from one2 and in vegetables this seed is enclosed in the heart of their fruit1 but in such abundance that men may plentifully feed on it1 and the earth be always replanted4 ,with regard to animals1 do we not see how aptly they are formed for the propagation of their species8 ,nature for this end created some males and some females4 ,their parts are perfectly framed for generation1 and they have a wonderful propensity to copulation4 ,when the seed has fallen on the matrix1 it draws almost all the nourishment to itself1 by which the foetus is formed2 but as soon as it is discharged from thence1 if it is an animal that is nourished by milk1 almost all the food of the mother turns into milk1 and the animal1 without any direction but by the pure instinct of nature1 immediately hunts for the teat1 and is there fed with plenty4 ,what makes it evidently appear that there is nothing in this fortuitous1 but the work of a wise and foreseeing nature1 is1 that those females which bring forth many young1 as sows and bitches1 have many teats1 and those which bear a small number have but few4 ,what tenderness do beasts show in preserving and raising up their young till they are able to defend themselves6 ,they say1 indeed1 that fish1 when they have spawned1 leave their eggs2 but the water easily supports them1 and produces the young fry in abundance4 ,,lii4 ,it is said1 likewise1 that tortoises and crocodiles1 when they have laid their eggs on the land1 only cover them with earth1 and then leave them1 so that their young are hatched and brought up without assistance2 but fowls and other birds seek for quiet places to lay in1 where they build their nests in the softest manner1 for the surest preservation of their eggs2 which1 when they have hatched1 they defend from the cold by the warmth of their wings1 or screen them from the sultry heat of the sun4 ,when their young begin to be able to use their wings1 they attend and instruct them2 and then their cares are at an end4 ,human art and industry are indeed necessary towards the preservation and improvement of certain animals and vegetables2 for there are several of both kinds which would perish without that assistance4 ,there are likewise innumerable facilities 7being different in different places7 supplied to man to aid him in his civilization1 and in procuring abundantly what he requires4 ,the ,nile waters ,egypt1 and after having overflowed and covered it the whole summer1 it retires1 and leaves the fields softened and manured for the reception of seed4 ,the ,euphrates fertilizes ,mesopotamia1 into which1 as we may say1 it carries yearly new fields4#bbh ,the ,indus1 which is the largest of all rivers1#bbi not only improves and cultivates the ground1 but sows it also2 for it is said to carry with it a great quantity of grain4 ,i could mention many other countries remarkable for something singular1 and many fields1 which are1 in their own natures1 exceedingly fertile4 ,,liii4 ,but how bountiful is nature that has provided for us such an abundance of various and delicious food2 and this varying with the different seasons1 so that we may be constantly pleased with change1 and satisfied with abundance6 ,how seasonable and useful to man1 to beasts1 and even to vegetables1 are the ,etesian winds#bcj she has bestowed1 which moderate intemperate heat1 and render navigation more sure and speedy6 ,many things must be omitted on a subject so copious--and still a great deal must be said--for it is impossible to relate the great utility of rivers1 the flux and reflux of the sea1 the mountains clothed with grass and trees1 the salt-pits remote from the sea-coasts1 the earth replete with salutary medicines1 or1 in short1 the innumerable designs of nature necessary for sustenance and the enjoyment of life4 ,we must not forget the vicissitudes of day and night1 ordained for the health of animated beings1 giving them a time to labor and a time to rest4 ,thus1 if we every way examine the universe1 it is apparent1 from the greatest reason1 that the whole is admirably governed by a divine providence for the safety and preservation of all beings4 ,if it should be asked for whose sake this mighty fabric was raised1 shall we say for trees and other vegetables1 which1 though destitute of sense1 are supported by nature8 ,that would be absurd4 ,is it for beasts8 ,nothing can be less probable than that the ,gods should have taken such pains for beings void of speech and understanding4 ,for whom1 then1 will any one presume to say that the world was made8 ,undoubtedly for reasonable beings2 these are the ,gods and men1 who are certainly the most perfect of all beings1 as nothing is equal to reason4 ,it is therefore credible that the universe1 and all things in it1 were made for the ,gods and for men4 ,but we may yet more easily comprehend that the ,gods have taken great care of the interests and welfare of men1 if we examine thoroughly into the structure of the body1 and the form and perfection of human nature4 ,there are three things absolutely necessary for the support of life--to eat1 to drink1 and to breathe4 ,for these operations the mouth is most aptly framed1 which1 by the assistance of the nostrils1 draws in the more air4 ,,liv4 ,the teeth are there placed to divide and grind the food4#bca ,the fore-teeth1 being sharp and opposite to each other1 cut it asunder1 and the hind-teeth 7called the grinders7 chew it1 in which office the tongue seems to assist4 ,at the root of the tongue is the gullet1 which receives whatever is swallowed3 it touches the tonsils on each side1 and terminates at the interior extremity of the palate4 ,when1 by the motions of the tongue1 the food is forced into this passage1 it descends1 and those parts of the gullet which are below it are dilated1 and those above are contracted4 ,there is another passage1 called by physicians the rough artery1#bcb which reaches to the lungs1 for the entrance and return of the air we breathe2 and as its orifice is joined to the roots of the tongue a little above the part to which the gullet is annexed1 it is furnished with a sort of coverlid1#bcc lest1 by the accidental falling of any food into it1 the respiration should be stopped4 ,as the stomach1 which is beneath the gullet1 receives the meat and drink1 so the lungs and the heart draw in the air from without4 ,the stomach is wonderfully composed1 consisting almost wholly of nerves2 it abounds with membranes and fibres1 and detains what it receives1 whether solid or liquid1 till it is altered and digested4 ,it sometimes contracts1 sometimes dilates4 ,it blends and mixes the food together1 so that it is easily concocted and digested by its force of heat1 and by the animal spirits is distributed into the other parts of the body4 ,,lv4 ,as to the lungs1 they are of a soft and spongy substance1 which renders them the most commodious for respiration2 they alternately dilate and contract to receive and return the air1 that what is the chief animal sustenance may be always fresh4 ,the juice1#bcd by which we are nourished1 being separated from the rest of the food1 passes the stomach and intestines to the liver1 through open and direct passages1 which lead from the mesentery to the gates of the liver 7for so they call those vessels at the entrance of it74 ,there are other passages from thence1 through which the food has its course when it has passed the liver4 ,when the bile1 and those humors which proceed from the kidneys1 are separated from the food1 the remaining part turns to blood1 and flows to those vessels at the entrance of the liver to which all the passages adjoin4 ,the chyle1 being conveyed from this place through them into the vessel called the hollow vein1 is mixed together1 and1 being already digested and distilled1 passes into the heart2 and from the heart it is communicated through a great number of veins to every part of the body4 ,it is not difficult to describe how the gross remains are detruded by the motion of the intestines1 which contract and dilate2 but that must be declined1 as too indelicate for discourse4 ,let us rather explain that other wonder of nature1 the air1 which is drawn into the lungs1 receives heat both by that already in and by the coagitation of the lungs2 one part is turned back by respiration1 and the other is received into a place called the ventricle of the heart4#bce ,there is another ventricle like it annexed to the heart1 into which the blood flows from the liver through the hollow vein4 ,thus by one ventricle the blood is diffused to the extremities through the veins1 and by the other the breath is communicated through the arteries2 and there are such numbers of both dispersed through the whole body that they manifest a divine art4 ,why need ,i speak of the bones1 those supports of the body1 whose joints are so wonderfully contrived for stability1 and to render the limbs complete with regard to motion and to every action of the body8 ,or need ,i mention the nerves1 by which the limbs are governed--their many interweavings1 and their proceeding from the heart1#bcf from whence1 like the veins and arteries1 they have their origin1 and are distributed through the whole corporeal frame8 ,,lvi4 ,to this skill of nature1 and this care of providence1 so diligent and so ingenious1 many reflections may be added1 which show what valuable things the ,deity has bestowed on man4 ,he has made us of a stature tall and upright1 in order that we might behold the heavens1 and so arrive at the knowledge of the ,gods2 for men are not simply to dwell here as inhabitants of the earth1 but to be1 as it were1 spectators of the heavens and the stars1 which is a privilege not granted to any other kind of animated beings4 ,the senses1 which are the interpreters and messengers of things1 are placed in the head1 as in a tower1 and wonderfully situated for their proper uses2 for the eyes1 being in the highest part1 have the office of sentinels1 in discovering to us objects2 and the ears are conveniently placed in a high part of the person1 being appointed to receive sound1 which naturally ascends4 ,the nostrils have the like situation1 because all scent likewise ascends2 and they have1 with great reason1 a near vicinity to the mouth1 because they assist us in judging of meat and drink4 ,the taste1 which is to distinguish the quality of what we take2 is in that part of the mouth where nature has laid open a passage for what we eat and drink4 ,but the touch is equally diffused through the whole body1 that we may not receive any blows1 or the too rigid attacks of cold and heat1 without feeling them4 ,and as in building the architect averts from the eyes and nose of the master those things which must necessarily be offensive1 so has nature removed far from our senses what is of the same kind in the human body4 ,,lvii4 ,what artificer but nature1 whose direction is incomparable1 could have exhibited so much ingenuity in the formation of the senses8 ,in the first place1 she has covered and invested the eyes with the finest membranes1 which she hath made transparent1 that we may see through them1 and firm in their texture1 to preserve the eyes4 ,she has made them slippery and movable1 that they might avoid what would offend them1 and easily direct the sight wherever they will4 ,the actual organ of sight1 which is called the pupil1 is so small that it can easily shun whatever might be hurtful to it4 ,the eyelids1 which are their coverings1 are soft and smooth1 that they may not injure the eyes2 and are made to shut at the apprehension of any accident1 or to open at pleasure2 and these movements nature has ordained to be made in an instant3 they are fortified with a sort of palisade of hairs1 to keep off what may be noxious to them when open1 and to be a fence to their repose when sleep closes them1 and allows them to rest as if they were wrapped up in a case4 ,besides1 they are commodiously hidden and defended by eminences on every side2 for on the upper part the eyebrows turn aside the perspiration which falls from the head and forehead2 the cheeks beneath rise a little1 so as to protect them on the lower side2 and the nose is placed between them as a wall of separation4 ,the hearing is always open1 for that is a sense of which we are in need even while we are sleeping2 and the moment that any sound is admitted by it we are awakened even from sleep4 ,it has a winding passage1 lest anything should slip into it1 as it might if it were straight and simple4 ,nature also hath taken the same precaution in making there a viscous humor1 that if any little creatures should endeavor to creep in1 they might stick in it as in bird-lime4 ,the ears 7by which we mean the outward part7 are made prominent1 to cover and preserve the hearing1 lest the sound should be dissipated and escape before the sense is affected4 ,their entrances are hard and horny1 and their form winding1 because bodies of this kind better return and increase the sound4 ,this appears in the harp1 lute1 or horn2#bcg and from all tortuous and enclosed places sounds are returned stronger4 ,the nostrils1 in like manner1 are ever open1 because we have a continual use for them2 and their entrances also are rather narrow1 lest anything noxious should enter them2 and they have always a humidity necessary for the repelling dust and many other extraneous bodies4 ,the taste1 having the mouth for an enclosure1 is admirably situated1 both in regard to the use we make of it and to its security4 ,,lviii4 ,besides1 every human sense is much more exquisite than those of brutes2 for our eyes1 in those arts which come under their judgment1 distinguish with great nicety2 as in painting1 sculpture1 engraving1 and in the gesture and motion of bodies4 ,they understand the beauty1 proportion1 and1 as ,i may so term it1 the becomingness of colors and figures2 they distinguish things of greater importance1 even virtues and vices2 they know whether a man is angry or calm1 cheerful or sad1 courageous or cowardly1 bold or timorous4 ,the judgment of the ears is not less admirably and scientifically contrived with regard to vocal and instrumental music4 ,they distinguish the variety of sounds1 the measure1 the stops1 the different sorts of voices1 the treble and the base1 the soft and the harsh1 the sharp and the flat1 of which human ears only are capable to judge4 ,there is likewise great judgment in the smell1 the taste1 and the touch2 to indulge and gratify which senses more arts have been invented than ,i could wish3 it is apparent to what excess we have arrived in the composition of our perfumes1 the preparation of our food1 and the enjoyment of corporeal pleasures4 ,,lix4 ,again1 he who does not perceive the soul and mind of man1 his reason1 prudence1 and discernment1 to be the work of a divine providence1 seems himself to be destitute of those faculties4 ,while ,i am on this subject1 ,cotta1 ,i wish ,i had your eloquence3 how would you illustrate so fine a subject6 ,you would show the great extent of the understanding2 how we collect our ideas1 and join those which follow to those which precede2 establish principles1 draw consequences1 define things separately1 and comprehend them with accuracy2 from whence you demonstrate how great is the power of intelligence and knowledge1 which is such that even ,god himself has no qualities more admirable4 ,how valuable 7though you ,academics despise and even deny that we have it7 is our knowledge of exterior objects1 from the perception of the senses joined to the application of the mind2 by which we see in what relation one thing stands to another1 and by the aid of which we have invented those arts which are necessary for the support and pleasure of life4 ,how charming is eloquence6 ,how divine that mistress of the universe1 as you call it6 ,it teaches us what we were ignorant of1 and makes us capable of teaching what we have learned4 ,by this we exhort others2 by this we persuade them2 by this we comfort the afflicted2 by this we deliver the affrighted from their fear2 by this we moderate excessive joy2 by this we assuage the passions of lust and anger4 ,this it is which bound men by the chains of right and law1 formed the bonds of civil society1 and made us quit a wild and savage life4 ,and it will appear incredible1 unless you carefully observe the facts1 how complete the work of nature is in giving us the use of speech2 for1 first of all1 there is an artery from the lungs to the bottom of the mouth1 through which the voice1 having its original principle in the mind1 is transmitted4 ,then the tongue is placed in the mouth1 bounded by the teeth4 ,it softens and modulates the voice1 which would otherwise be confusedly uttered2 and1 by pushing it to the teeth and other parts of the mouth1 makes the sound distinct and articulate4 ,we ,stoics1 therefore1 compare the tongue to the bow of an instrument1 the teeth to the strings1 and the nostrils to the sounding-board4 ,,lx4 ,but how commodious are the hands which nature has given to man1 and how beautifully do they minister to many arts6 ,for1 such is the flexibility of the joints1 that our fingers are closed and opened without any difficulty4 ,with their help1 the hand is formed for painting1 carving1 and engraving2 for playing on stringed instruments1 and on the pipe4 ,these are matters of pleasure4 ,there are also works of necessity1 such as tilling the ground1 building houses1 making cloth and habits1 and working in brass and iron4 ,it is the business of the mind to invent1 the senses to perceive1 and the hands to execute2 so that if we have buildings1 if we are clothed1 if we live in safety1 if we have cities1 walls1 habitations1 and temples1 it is to the hands we owe them4 ,by our labor1 that is1 by our hands1 variety and plenty of food are provided2 for1 without culture1 many fruits1 which serve either for present or future consumption1 would not be produced2 besides1 we feed on flesh1 fish1 and fowl1 catching some1 and bringing up others4 ,we subdue four-footed beasts for our carriage1 whose speed and strength supply our slowness and inability4 ,on some we put burdens1 on others yokes4 ,we convert the sagacity of the elephant and the quick scent of the dog to our own advantage4 ,out of the caverns of the earth we dig iron1 a thing entirely necessary for the cultivation of the ground4 ,we discover the hidden veins of copper1 silver1 and gold1 advantageous for our use and beautiful as ornaments4 ,we cut down trees1 and use every kind of wild and cultivated timber1 not only to make fire to warm us and dress our meat1 but also for building1 that we may have houses to defend us from the heat and cold4 ,with timber likewise we build ships1 which bring us from all parts every commodity of life4 ,we are the only animals who1 from our knowledge of navigation1 can manage what nature has made the most violent--the sea and the winds4 ,thus we obtain from the ocean great numbers of profitable things4 ,we are the absolute masters of what the earth produces4 ,we enjoy the mountains and the plains4 ,the rivers and the lakes are ours4 ,we sow the seed1 and plant the trees4 ,we fertilize the earth by overflowing it4 ,we stop1 direct1 and turn the rivers3 in short1 by our hands we endeavor1 by our various operations in this world1 to make1 as it were1 another nature4 ,,lxi4 ,but what shall ,i say of human reason8 ,has it not even entered the heavens8 ,man alone of all animals has observed the courses of the stars1 their risings and settings4 ,by man the day1 the month1 the year1 is determined4 ,he foresees the eclipses of the sun and moon1 and foretells them to futurity1 marking their greatness1 duration1 and precise time4 ,from the contemplation of these things the mind extracts the knowledge of the ,gods--a knowledge which produces piety1 with which is connected justice1 and all the other virtues2 from which arises a life of felicity1 inferior to that of the ,gods in no single particular1 except in immortality1 which is not absolutely necessary to happy living4 ,in explaining these things1 ,i think that ,i have sufficiently demonstrated the superiority of man to other animated beings2 from whence we should infer that neither the form and position of his limbs nor that strength of mind and understanding could possibly be the effect of chance4 ,,lxii4 ,i am now to prove1 by way of conclusion1 that every thing in this world of use to us was made designedly for us4 ,first of all1 the universe was made for the ,gods and men1 and all things therein were prepared and provided for our service4 ,for the world is the common habitation or city of the ,gods and men2 for they are the only reasonable beings3 they alone live by justice and law4 ,as1 therefore1 it must be presumed the cities of ,athens and ,lacedmon were built for the ,athenians and ,lacedmonians1 and as everything there is said to belong to those people1 so everything in the universe may with propriety be said to belong to the ,gods and men1 and to them alone4 ,in the next place1 though the revolutions of the sun1 moon1 and all the stars are necessary for the cohesion of the universe1 yet may they be considered also as objects designed for the view and contemplation of man4 ,there is no sight less apt to satiate the eye1 none more beautiful1 or more worthy to employ our reason and penetration4 ,by measuring their courses we find the different seasons1 their durations and vicissitudes1 which1 if they are known to men alone1 we must believe were made only for their sake4 ,does the earth bring forth fruit and grain in such excessive abundance and variety for men or for brutes8 ,the plentiful and exhilarating fruit of the vine and the olive-tree are entirely useless to beasts4 ,they know not the time for sowing1 tilling1 or for reaping in season and gathering in the fruits of the earth1 or for laying up and preserving their stores4 ,man alone has the care and advantage of these things4 ,,lxiii4 ,thus1 as the lute and the pipe were made for those1 and those only1 who are capable of playing on them1 so it must be allowed that the produce of the earth was designed for those only who make use of them2 and though some beasts may rob us of a small part1 it does not follow that the earth produced it also for them4 ,men do not store up corn for mice and ants1 but for their wives1 their children1 and their families4 ,beasts1 therefore1 as ,i said before1 possess it by stealth1 but their masters openly and freely4 ,it is for us1 therefore1 that nature hath provided this abundance4 ,can there be any doubt that this plenty and variety of fruit1 which delight not only the taste1 but the smell and sight1 was by nature intended for men only8 ,beasts are so far from being partakers of this design1 that we see that even they themselves were made for man2 for of what utility would sheep be1 unless for their wool1 which1 when dressed and woven1 serves us for clothing8 ,for they are not capable of anything1 not even of procuring their own food1 without the care and assistance of man4 ,the fidelity of the dog1 his affectionate fawning on his master1 his aversion to strangers1 his sagacity in finding game1 and his vivacity in pursuit of it1 what do these qualities denote but that he was created for our use8 ,why need ,i mention oxen8 ,we perceive that their backs were not formed for carrying burdens1 but their necks were naturally made for the yoke1 and their strong broad shoulders to draw the plough4 ,in the ,golden ,age1 which poets speak of1 they were so greatly beneficial to the husbandman in tilling the fallow ground that no violence was ever offered them1 and it was even thought a crime to eat them3 ,the ,iron ,age began the fatal trade ,of blood1 and hammer'd the destructive blade2 ,then men began to make the ox to bleed1 ,and on the tamed and docile beast to feed#bch4 ,,lxiv4 ,it would take a long time to relate the advantages which we receive from mules and asses1 which undoubtedly were designed for our use4 ,what is the swine good for but to eat8 whose life1 ,chrysippus says1 was given it but as salt#bci to keep it from putrefying2 and as it is proper food for man1 nature hath made no animal more fruitful4 ,what a multitude of birds and fishes are taken by the art and contrivance of man only1 and which are so delicious to our taste that one would be tempted sometimes to believe that this ,providence which watches over us was an ,epicurean6 ,though we think there are some birds--the alites and oscines#bdj1 as our augurs call them--which were made merely to foretell events4 ,the large savage beasts we take by hunting1 partly for food1 partly to exercise ourselves in imitation of martial discipline1 and to use those we can tame and instruct1 as elephants1 or to extract remedies for our diseases and wounds1 as we do from certain roots and herbs1 the virtues of which are known by long use and experience4 ,represent to yourself the whole earth and seas as if before your eyes4 ,you will see the vast and fertile plains1 the thick1 shady mountains1 the immense pasturage for cattle1 and ships sailing over the deep with incredible celerity2 nor are our discoveries only on the face of the earth1 but in its secret recesses there are many useful things1 which being made for man1 by man alone are discovered4 ,,lxv4 ,another1 and in my opinion the strongest1 proof that the providence of the ,gods takes care of us is divination1 which both of you1 perhaps1 will attack2 you1 ,cotta1 because ,carneades took pleasure in inveighing against the ,stoics2 and you1 ,velleius1 because there is nothing ,epicurus ridicules so much as the prediction of events4 ,yet the truth of divination appears in many places1 on many occasions1 often in private1 but particularly in public concerns4 ,we receive many intimations from the foresight and presages of augurs and auspices2 from oracles1 prophecies1 dreams1 and prodigies2 and it often happens that by these means events have proved happy to men1 and imminent dangers have been avoided4 ,this knowledge1 therefore--call it either a kind of transport1 or an art1 or a natural faculty--is certainly found only in men1 and is a gift from the immortal ,gods4 ,if these proofs1 when taken separately1 should make no impression upon your mind1 yet1 when collected together1 they must certainly affect you4 ,besides1 the ,gods not only provide for mankind universally1 but for particular men4 ,you may bring this universality to gradually a smaller number1 and again you may reduce that smaller number to individuals4 ,,lxvi4 ,for if the reasons which ,i have given prove to all of us that the ,gods take care of all men1 in every country1 in every part of the world separate from our continent1 they take care of those who dwell on the same land with us1 from east to west2 and if they regard those who inhabit this kind of great island1 which we call the globe of the earth1 they have the like regard for those who possess the parts of this island--,europe1 ,asia1 and ,africa2 and therefore they favor the parts of these parts1 as ,rome1 ,athens1 ,sparta1 and ,rhodes2 and particular men of these cities1 separate from the whole2 as ,curius1 ,fabricius1 ,coruncanius1 in the war with ,pyrrhus2 in the first ,punic war1 ,calatinus1 ,duillius1 ,metellus1 ,lutatius2 in the second1 ,maximus1 ,marcellus1 ,africanus2 after these1 ,paullus1 ,gracchus1 ,cato2 and in our fathers' times1 ,scipio1 ,llius4 ,rome also and ,greece have produced many illustrious men1 who we cannot believe were so without the assistance of the ,deity2 which is the reason that the poets1 ,homer in particular1 joined their chief heroes--,ulysses1 ,agamemnon1 ,diomedes1 ,achilles--to certain ,deities1 as companions in their adventures and dangers4 ,besides1 the frequent appearances of the ,gods1 as ,i have before mentioned1 demonstrate their regard for cities and particular men4 ,this is also apparent indeed from the foreknowledge of events1 which we receive either sleeping or waking4 ,we are likewise forewarned of many things by the entrails of victims1 by presages1 and many other means1 which have been long observed with such exactness as to produce an art of divination4 ,there never1 therefore1 was a great man without divine inspiration4 ,if a storm should damage the corn or vineyard of a person1 or any accident should deprive him of some conveniences of life1 we should not judge from thence that the ,deity hates or neglects him4 ,the ,gods take care of great things1 and disregard the small4 ,but to truly great men all things ever happen prosperously2 as has been sufficiently asserted and proved by us ,stoics1 as well as by ,socrates1 the prince of philosophers1 in his discourses on the infinite advantages arising from virtue4 ,,lxvii4 ,this is almost the whole that hath occurred to my mind on the nature of the ,gods1 and what ,i thought proper to advance4 ,do you1 ,cotta1 if ,i may advise1 defend the same cause4 ,remember that in ,rome you keep the first rank2 remember that you are ,pontifex2 and as your school is at liberty to argue on which side you please#bda1 do you rather take mine1 and reason on it with that eloquence which you acquired by your rhetorical exercises1 and which the ,academy improved2 for it is a pernicious and impious custom to argue against the ,gods1 whether it be done seriously1 or only in pretence and out of sport4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,book ,,iii4 ,i4 ,when ,balbus had ended this discourse1 then ,cotta1 with a smile1 rejoined1 ,you direct me too late which side to defend2 for during the course of your argument ,i was revolving in my mind what objections to make to what you were saying1 not so much for the sake of opposition1 as of obliging you to explain what ,i did not perfectly comprehend2 and as every one may use his own judgment1 it is scarcely possible for me to think in every instance exactly what you wish4 ,you have no idea1 ,o ,cotta1 said ,velleius1 how impatient ,i am to hear what you have to say4 ,for since our friend ,balbus was highly delighted with your discourse against ,epicurus1 ,i ought in my turn to be solicitous to hear what you can say against the ,stoics2 and ,i therefore will give you my best attention1 for ,i believe you are1 as usual1 well prepared for the engagement4 ,i wish1 by ,hercules6 ,i were1 replies ,cotta2 for it is more difficult to dispute with ,lucilius than it was with you4 ,why so8 says ,velleius4 ,because1 replies ,cotta1 your ,epicurus1 in my opinion1 does not contend strongly for the ,gods3 he only1 for the sake of avoiding any unpopularity or punishment1 is afraid to deny their existence2 for when he asserts that the ,gods are wholly inactive and regardless of everything1 and that they have limbs like ours1 but make no use of them1 he seems to jest with us1 and to think it sufficient if he allows that there are beings of any kind happy and eternal4 ,but with regard to ,balbus1 ,i suppose you observed how many things were said by him1 which1 however false they may be1 yet have a perfect coherence and connection2 therefore1 my design1 as ,i said1 in opposing him1 is not so much to confute his principles as to induce him to explain what ,i do not clearly understand3 for which reason1 ,balbus1 ,i will give you the choice1 either to answer me every particular as ,i go on1 or permit me to proceed without interruption4 ,if you want any explanation1 replies ,balbus1 ,i would rather you would propose your doubts singly2 but if your intention is rather to confute me than to seek instruction for yourself1 it shall be as you please2 ,i will either answer you immediately on every point1 or stay till you have finished your discourse4 ,,ii4 ,very well1 says ,cotta2 then let us proceed as our conversation shall direct4 ,but before ,i enter on the subject1 ,i have a word to say concerning myself2 for ,i am greatly influenced by your authority1 and your exhortation at the conclusion of your discourse1 when you desired me to remember that ,i was ,cotta and ,pontifex2 by which ,i presume you intimated that ,i should defend the sacred rites and religion and ceremonies which we received from our ancestors4 ,most undoubtedly ,i always have1 and always shall defend them1 nor shall the arguments either of the learned or unlearned ever remove the opinions which ,i have imbibed from them concerning the worship of the immortal ,gods4 ,in matters of religion ,i submit to the rules of the high-priests1 ,t4 ,coruncanius1 ,p4 ,scipio1 and ,p4 ,scvola2 not to the sentiments of ,zeno1 ,cleanthes1 or ,chrysippus2 and ,i pay a greater regard to what ,c4 ,llius1 one of our augurs and wise men1 has written concerning religion1 in that noble oration of his1 than to the most eminent of the ,stoics3 and as the whole religion of the ,romans at first consisted in sacrifices and divination by birds1 to which have since been added predictions1 if the interpreters#bdb of the ,sibylline oracle or the aruspices have foretold any event from portents and prodigies1 ,i have ever thought that there was no point of all these holy things which deserved to be despised4 ,i have been even persuaded that ,romulus1 by instituting divination1 and ,numa1 by establishing sacrifices1 laid the foundation of ,rome1 which undoubtedly would never have risen to such a height of grandeur if the ,gods had not been made propitious by this worship4 ,these1 ,balbus1 are my sentiments both as a priest and as ,cotta4 ,but you must bring me to your opinion by the force of your reason3 for ,i have a right to demand from you1 as a philosopher1 a reason for the religion which you would have me embrace4 ,but ,i must believe the religion of our ancestors without any proof4 ,,iii4 ,what proof1 says ,balbus1 do you require of me8 ,you have proposed1 says ,cotta1 four articles4 ,first of all1 you undertook to prove that there are ,gods2 secondly1 of what kind and character they are2 thirdly1 that the universe is governed by them2 lastly1 that they provide for the welfare of mankind in particular4 ,thus1 if ,i remember rightly1 you divided your discourse4 ,exactly so1 replies ,balbus2 but let us see what you require4 ,let us examine1 says ,cotta1 every proposition4 ,the first one--that there are ,gods--is never contested but by the most impious of men2 nay1 though it can never be rooted out of my mind1 yet ,i believe it on the authority of our ancestors1 and not on the proofs which you have brought4 ,why do you expect a proof from me1 says ,balbus1 if you thoroughly believe it8 ,because1 says ,cotta1 ,i come to this discussion as if ,i had never thought of the ,gods1 or heard anything concerning them4 ,take me as a disciple wholly ignorant and unbiassed1 and prove to me all the points which ,i ask4 ,begin1 then1 replies ,balbus4 ,i would first know1 says ,cotta1 why you have been so long in proving the existence of the ,gods1 which you said was a point so very evident to all1 that there was no need of any proof8 ,in that1 answers ,balbus1 ,i have followed your example1 whom ,i have often observed1 when pleading in the ,forum1 to load the judge with all the arguments which the nature of your cause would permit4 ,this also is the practice of philosophers1 and ,i have a right to follow it4 ,besides1 you may as well ask me why ,i look upon you with two eyes1 since ,i can see you with one4 ,,iv4 ,you shall judge1 then1 yourself1 says ,cotta1 if this is a very just comparison2 for1 when ,i plead1 ,i do not dwell upon any point agreed to be self-evident1 because long reasoning only serves to confound the clearest matters2 besides1 though ,i might take this method in pleading1 yet ,i should not make use of it in such a discourse as this1 which requires the nicest distinction4 ,and with regard to your making use of one eye only when you look on me1 there is no reason for it1 since together they have the same view2 and since nature1 to which you attribute wisdom1 has been pleased to give us two passages by which we receive light4 ,but the truth is1 that it was because you did not think that the existence of the ,gods was so evident as you could wish that you therefore brought so many proofs4 ,it was sufficient for me to believe it on the tradition of our ancestors2 and since you disregard authorities1 and appeal to reason1 permit my reason to defend them against yours4 ,the proofs on which you found the existence of the ,gods tend only to render a proposition doubtful that1 in my opinion1 is not so2 ,i have not only retained in my memory the whole of these proofs1 but even the order in which you proposed them4 ,the first was1 that when we lift up our eyes towards the heavens1 we immediately conceive that there is some divinity that governs those celestial bodies2 on which you quoted this passage-- ,look up to the refulgent heaven above1 ,which all men call1 unanimously1 ,jove2 intimating that we should invoke that as ,jupiter1 rather than our ,capitoline ,jove#bdc1 or that it is evident to the whole world that those bodies are ,gods which ,velleius and many others do not place even in the rank of animated beings4 ,another strong proof1 in your opinion1 was that the belief of the existence of the ,gods was universal1 and that mankind was daily more and more convinced of it4 ,what6 should an affair of such importance be left to the decision of fools1 who1 by your sect especially1 are called madmen8 ,v4 ,but the ,gods have appeared to us1 as to ,posthumius at the ,lake ,regillus1 and to ,vatienus in the ,salarian ,way3 something you mentioned1 too1 ,i know not what1 of a battle of the ,locrians at ,sagra4 ,do you believe that the ,tyndarid1 as you called them2 that is1 men sprung from men1 and who were buried in ,lacedmon1 as we learn from ,homer1 who lived in the next age--do you believe1 ,i say1 that they appeared to ,vatienus on the road mounted on white horses1 without any servant to attend them1 to tell the victory of the ,romans to a country fellow rather than to ,m4 ,cato1 who was at that time the chief person of the senate8 ,do you take that print of a horse's hoof which is now to be seen on a stone at ,regillus to be made by ,castor's horse8 ,should you not believe1 what is probable1 that the souls of eminent men1 such as the ,tyndarid1 are divine and immortal1 rather than that those bodies which had been reduced to ashes should mount on horses1 and fight in an army8 ,if you say that was possible1 you ought to show how it is so1 and not amuse us with fabulous old women's stories4 ,do you take these for fabulous stories8 says ,balbus4 ,is not the temple1 built by ,posthumius in honor of ,castor and ,pollux1 to be seen in the ,forum8 ,is not the decree of the senate concerning ,vatienus still subsisting8 ,as to the affair of ,sagra1 it is a common proverb among the ,greeks2 when they would affirm anything strongly1 they say ,it is as certain as what passed at ,sagra4 ,ought not such authorities to move you8 ,you oppose me1 replies ,cotta1 with stories1 but ,i ask reasons of you#bdd4 99 99 99 ,,vi4 ,we are now to speak of predictions4 ,no one can avoid what is to come1 and1 indeed1 it is commonly useless to know it2 for it is a miserable case to be afflicted to no purpose1 and not to have even the last1 the common comfort1 hope1 which1 according to your principles1 none can have2 for you say that fate governs all things1 and call that fate which has been true from all eternity4 ,what advantage1 then1 is the knowledge of futurity to us1 or how does it assist us to guard against impending evils1 since it will come inevitably8 ,but whence comes that divination8 ,to whom is owing that knowledge from the entrails of beasts8 ,who first made observations from the voice of the crow8 ,who invented the ,lots8#bde ,not that ,i give no credit to these things1 or that ,i despise ,attius ,navius's staff1 which you mentioned2 but ,i ought to be informed how these things are understood by philosophers1 especially as the diviners are often wrong in their conjectures4 ,but physicians1 you say1 are likewise often mistaken4 ,what comparison can there be between divination1 of the origin of which we are ignorant1 and physic1 which proceeds on principles intelligible to every one8 ,you believe that the ,decii1#bdf in devoting themselves to death1 appeased the ,gods4 ,how great1 then1 was the iniquity of the ,gods that they could not be appeased but at the price of such noble blood6 ,that was the stratagem of generals such as the ,greeks call ,greek3 stratgma1 and it was a stratagem worthy such illustrious leaders1 who consulted the public good even at the expense of their lives3 they conceived rightly1 what indeed happened1 that if the general rode furiously upon the enemy1 the whole army would follow his example4 ,as to the voice of the ,fauns1 ,i never heard it4 ,if you assure me that you have1 ,i shall believe you1 though ,i really know not what a ,faun is4 ,,vii4 ,i do not1 then1 ,o ,balbus1 from anything that you have said1 perceive as yet that it is proved that there are ,gods4 ,i believe it1 indeed1 but not from any arguments of the ,stoics4 ,cleanthes1 you have said1 attributes the idea that men have of the ,gods to four causes4 ,in the first place 7as ,i have already sufficiently mentioned71 to a foreknowledge of future events2 secondly1 to tempests1 and other shocks of nature2 thirdly1 to the utility and plenty of things we enjoy2 fourthly1 to the invariable order of the stars and the heavens4 ,the arguments drawn from foreknowledge ,i have already answered4 ,with regard to tempests in the air1 the sea1 and the earth1 ,i own that many people are affrighted by them1 and imagine that the immortal ,gods are the authors of them4 ,but the question is1 not whether there are people who believe that there are ,gods1 but whether there are ,gods or not4 ,as to the two other causes of ,cleanthes1 one of which is derived from the great abundance of desirable things which we enjoy1 the other from the invariable order of the seasons and the heavens1 ,i shall treat on them when ,i answer your discourse concerning the providence of the ,gods--a point1 ,balbus1 upon which you have spoken at great length4 ,i shall likewise defer till then examining the argument which you attribute to ,chrysippus1 that if there is in nature anything which surpasses the power of man to produce1 there must consequently be some being better than man4 ,i shall also postpone1 till we come to that part of my argument1 your comparison of the world to a fine house1 your observations on the proportion and harmony of the universe1 and those smart1 short reasons of ,zeno which you quote2 and ,i shall examine at the same time your reasons drawn from natural philosophy1 concerning that fiery force and that vital heat which you regard as the principle of all things2 and ,i will investigate1 in its proper place1 all that you advanced the other day on the existence of the ,gods1 and on the sense and understanding which you attributed to the sun1 the moon1 and all the stars2 and ,i shall ask you this question over and over again1 ,by what proofs are you convinced yourself there are ,gods8 ,,viii4 ,i thought1 says ,balbus1 that ,i had brought ample proofs to establish this point4 ,but such is your manner of opposing1 that1 when you seem on the point of interrogating me1 and when ,i am preparing to answer1 you suddenly divert the discourse1 and give me no opportunity to reply to you2 and thus those most important points concerning divination and fate are neglected which we ,stoics have thoroughly examined1 but which your school has only slightly touched upon4 ,but they are not thought essential to the question in hand2 therefore1 if you think proper1 do not confuse them together1 that we in this discussion may come to a clear explanation of the subject of our present inquiry4 ,very well1 says ,cotta4 ,since1 then1 you have divided the whole question into four parts1 and ,i have said all that ,i had to say on the first1 ,i will take the second into consideration2 in which1 when you attempted to show what the character of the ,gods was1 you seemed to me rather to prove that there are none2 for you said that it was the greatest difficulty to draw our minds from the prepossessions of the eyes2 but that as nothing is more excellent than the ,deity1 you did not doubt that the world was ,god1 because there is nothing better in nature than the world1 and so we may reasonably think it animated1 or1 rather1 perceive it in our minds as clearly as if it were obvious to our eyes4 ,now1 in what sense do you say there is nothing better than the world8 ,if you mean that there is nothing more beautiful1 ,i agree with you2 that there is nothing more adapted to our wants1 ,i likewise agree with you3 but if you mean that nothing is wiser than the world1 ,i am by no means of your opinion4 ,not that ,i find it difficult to conceive anything in my mind independent of my eyes2 on the contrary1 the more ,i separate my mind from my eyes1 the less ,i am able to comprehend your opinion4 ,,ix4 ,nothing is better than the world1 you say4 ,nor is there1 indeed1 anything on earth better than the city of ,rome2 do you think1 therefore1 that our city has a mind2 that it thinks and reasons2 or that this most beautiful city1 being void of sense1 is not preferable to an ant1 because an ant has sense1 understanding1 reason1 and memory8 ,you should consider1 ,balbus1 what ought to be allowed you1 and not advance things because they please you4 ,for that old1 concise1 and1 as it seemed to you1 acute syllogism of ,zeno has been all which you have so much enlarged upon in handling this topic3 ,that which reasons is superior to that which does not2 nothing is superior to the world2 therefore the world reasons4 ,if you would prove also that the world can very well read a book1 follow the example of ,zeno1 and say1 ,that which can read is better than that which cannot2 nothing is better than the world2 the world therefore can read4 ,after the same manner you may prove the world to be an orator1 a mathematician1 a musician--that it possesses all sciences1 and1 in short1 is a philosopher4 ,you have often said that ,god made all things1 and that no cause can produce an effect unlike itself4 ,from hence it will follow1 not only that the world is animated1 and is wise1 but also plays upon the fiddle and the flute1 because it produces men who play on those instruments4 ,zeno1 therefore1 the chief of your sect1 advances no argument sufficient to induce us to think that the world reasons1 or1 indeed1 that it is animated at all1 and consequently none to think it a ,deity2 though it may be said that there is nothing superior to it1 as there is nothing more beautiful1 nothing more useful to us1 nothing more adorned1 and nothing more regular in its motions4 ,but if the world1 considered as one great whole1 is not ,god1 you should not surely deify1 as you have done1 that infinite multitude of stars which only form a part of it1 and which so delight you with the regularity of their eternal courses2 not but that there is something truly wonderful and incredible in their regularity2 but this regularity of motion1 ,balbus1 may as well be ascribed to a natural as to a divine cause4 ,x4 ,what can be more regular than the flux and reflux of the ,euripus at ,chalcis1 the ,sicilian sea1 and the violence of the ocean in those parts#bdg where the rapid tide ,does ,europe from the ,libyan coast divide8 ,the same appears on the ,spanish and ,british coasts4 ,must we conclude that some ,deity appoints and directs these ebbings and flowings to certain fixed times8 ,consider1 ,i pray1 if everything which is regular in its motion is deemed divine1 whether it will not follow that tertian and quartan agues must likewise be so1 as their returns have the greatest regularity4 ,these effects are to be explained by reason2 but1 because you are unable to assign any1 you have recourse to a ,deity as your last refuge4 ,the arguments of ,chrysippus appeared to you of great weight2 a man undoubtedly of great quickness and subtlety 7,i call those quick who have a sprightly turn of thought1 and those subtle whose minds are seasoned by use as their hands are by labor73 ,if1 says he1 there is anything which is beyond the power of man to produce1 the being who produces it is better than man4 ,man is unable to make what is in the world2 the being1 therefore1 that could do it is superior to man4 ,what being is there but a ,god superior to man8 ,therefore there is a ,god4 ,these arguments are founded on the same erroneous principles as ,zeno's1 for he does not define what is meant by being better or more excellent1 or distinguish between an intelligent cause and a natural cause4 ,chrysippus adds1 ,if there are no ,gods1 there is nothing better than man2 but we cannot1 without the highest arrogance1 have this idea of ourselves4 ,let us grant that it is arrogance in man to think himself better than the world2 but to comprehend that he has understanding and reason1 and that in ,orion and ,canicula there is neither1 is no arrogance1 but an indication of good sense4 ,since we suppose1 continues he1 when we see a beautiful house1 that it was built for the master1 and not for mice1 we should likewise judge that the world is the mansion of the ,gods4 ,yes1 if ,i believed that the ,gods built the world2 but not if1 as ,i believe1 and intend to prove1 it is the work of nature4 ,,xi4 ,socrates1 in ,xenophon1 asks1 ,whence had man his understanding1 if there was none in the world8 ,and ,i ask1 ,whence had we speech1 harmony1 singing2 unless we think it is the sun conversing with the moon when she approaches near it1 or that the world forms an harmonious concert1 as ,pythagoras imagines8 ,this1 ,balbus1 is the effect of nature2 not of that nature which proceeds artificially1 as ,zeno says1 and the character of which ,i shall presently examine into1 but a nature which1 by its own proper motions and mutations1 modifies everything4 ,for ,i readily agree to what you said about the harmony and general agreement of nature1 which you pronounced to be firmly bound and united together1 as it were1 by ties of blood2 but ,i do not approve of what you added1 that it could not possibly be so1 unless it were so united by one divine spirit4 ,on the contrary1 the whole subsists by the power of nature1 independently of the ,gods1 and there is a kind of sympathy 7as the ,greeks call it7 which joins together all the parts of the universe2 and the greater that is in its own power1 the less is it necessary to have recourse to a divine intelligence4 ,,xii4 ,but how will you get rid of the objections which ,carneades made8 ,if1 says he1 there is no body immortal1 there is none eternal2 but there is no body immortal1 nor even indivisible1 or that cannot be separated and disunited2 and as every animal is in its nature passive1 so there is not one which is not subject to the impressions of extraneous bodies2 none1 that is to say1 which can avoid the necessity of enduring and suffering3 and if every animal is mortal1 there is none immortal2 so1 likewise1 if every animal may be cut up and divided1 there is none indivisible1 none eternal1 but all are liable to be affected by1 and compelled to submit to1 external power4 ,every animal1 therefore1 is necessarily mortal1 dissoluble1 and divisible4 ,for as there is no wax1 no silver1 no brass which cannot be converted into something else1 whatever is composed of wax1 or silver1 or brass may cease to be what it is4 ,by the same reason1 if all the elements are mutable1 every body is mutable4 ,now1 according to your doctrine1 all the elements are mutable2 all bodies1 therefore1 are mutable4 ,but if there were any body immortal1 then all bodies would not be mutable4 ,every body1 then1 is mortal2 for every body is either water1 air1 fire1 or earth1 or composed of the four elements together1 or of some of them4 ,now1 there is not one of all these elements that does not perish2 for earthly bodies are fragile3 water is so soft that the least shock will separate its parts1 and fire and air yield to the least impulse1 and are subject to dissolution2 besides1 any of these elements perish when converted into another nature1 as when water is formed from earth1 the air from water1 and the sky from air1 and when they change in the same manner back again4 ,therefore1 if there is nothing but what is perishable in the composition of all animals1 there is no animal eternal4 ,,xiii4 ,but1 not to insist on these arguments1 there is no animal to be found that had not a beginning1 and will not have an end2 for every animal being sensitive1 they are consequently all sensible of cold and heat1 sweet and bitter2 nor can they have pleasing sensations without being subject to the contrary4 ,as1 therefore1 they receive pleasure1 they likewise receive pain2 and whatever being is subject to pain must necessarily be subject to death4 ,it must be allowed1 therefore1 that every animal is mortal4 ,besides1 a being that is not sensible of pleasure or pain cannot have the essence of an animal2 if1 then1 on the one hand1 every animal must be sensible of pleasure and pain1 and if1 on the other1 every being that has these sensations cannot be immortal1 we may conclude that as there is no animal insensible1 there is none immortal4 ,besides1 there is no animal without inclination and aversion--an inclination to that which is agreeable to nature1 and an aversion to the contrary3 there are in the case of every animal some things which they covet1 and others they reject4 ,what they reject are repugnant to their nature1 and consequently would destroy them4 ,every animal1 therefore1 is inevitably subject to be destroyed4 ,there are innumerable arguments to prove that whatever is sensitive is perishable2 for cold1 heat1 pleasure1 pain1 and all that affects the sense1 when they become excessive1 cause destruction4 ,since1 then1 there is no animal that is not sensitive1 there is none immortal4 ,,xiv4 ,the substance of an animal is either simple or compound2 simple1 if it is composed only of earth1 of fire1 of air1 or of water 7and of such a sort of being we can form no idea72 compound1 if it is formed of different elements1 which have each their proper situation1 and have a natural tendency to it--this element tending towards the highest parts1 that towards the lowest1 and another towards the middle4 ,this conjunction may for some time subsist1 but not forever2 for every element must return to its first situation4 ,no animal1 therefore1 is eternal4 ,but your school1 ,balbus1 allows fire only to be the sole active principle2 an opinion which ,i believe you derive from ,heraclitus1 whom some men understand in one sense1 some in another3 but since he seems unwilling to be understood1 we will pass him by4 ,you ,stoics1 then1 say that fire is the universal principle of all things2 that all living bodies cease to live on the extinction of that heat2 and that throughout all nature whatever is sensible of that heat lives and flourishes4 ,now1 ,i cannot conceive that bodies should perish for want of heat1 rather than for want of moisture or air1 especially as they even die through excess of heat2 so that the life of animals does not depend more on fire than on the other elements4 ,however1 air and water have this quality in common with fire and heat4 ,but let us see to what this tends4 ,if ,i am not mistaken1 you believe that in all nature there is nothing but fire1 which is self-animated4 ,why fire rather than air1 of which the life of animals consists1 and which is called from thence anima1#bdh the soul8 ,but how is it that you take it for granted that life is nothing but fire8 ,it seems more probable that it is a compound of fire and air4 ,but if fire is self-animated1 unmixed with any other element1 it must be sensitive1 because it renders our bodies sensitive2 and the same objection which ,i just now made will arise1 that whatever is sensitive must necessarily be susceptible of pleasure and pain1 and whatever is sensible of pain is likewise subject to the approach of death2 therefore you cannot prove fire to be eternal4 ,you ,stoics hold that all fire has need of nourishment1 without which it cannot possibly subsist2 that the sun1 moon1 and all the stars are fed either with fresh or salt waters2 and the reason that ,cleanthes gives why the sun is retrograde1 and does not go beyond the tropics in the summer or winter1 is that he may not be too far from his sustenance4 ,this ,i shall fully examine hereafter2 but at present we may conclude that whatever may cease to be cannot of its own nature be eternal2 that if fire wants sustenance1 it will cease to be1 and that1 therefore1 fire is not of its own nature eternal4 ,,xv4 ,after all1 what kind of a ,deity must that be who is not graced with one single virtue1 if we should succeed in forming this idea of such a one8 ,must we not attribute prudence to a ,deity8 a virtue which consists in the knowledge of things good1 bad1 and indifferent4 ,yet what need has a being for the discernment of good and ill who neither has nor can have any ill8 ,of what use is reason to him8 of what use is understanding8 ,we men1 indeed1 find them useful to aid us in finding out things which are obscure by those which are clear to us2 but nothing can be obscure to a ,deity4 ,as to justice1 which gives to every one his own1 it is not the concern of the ,gods2 since that virtue1 according to your doctrine1 received its birth from men and from civil society4 ,temperance consists in abstinence from corporeal pleasures1 and if such abstinence hath a place in heaven1 so also must the pleasures abstained from4 ,lastly1 if fortitude is ascribed to the ,deity1 how does it appear8 ,in afflictions1 in labor1 in danger8 ,none of these things can affect a ,god4 ,how1 then1 can we conceive this to be a ,deity that makes no use of reason1 and is not endowed with any virtue8 ,however1 when ,i consider what is advanced by the ,stoics1 my contempt for the ignorant multitude vanishes4 ,for these are their divinities4 ,the ,syrians worshipped a fish4 ,the ,egyptians consecrated beasts of almost every kind4 ,the ,greeks deified many men2 as ,alabandus#bdi at ,alaband1 ,tenes at ,tenedos2 and all ,greece pay divine honors to ,leucothea 7who was before called ,ino71 to her son ,palmon1 to ,hercules1 to sculapius1 and to the ,tyndarid2 our own people to ,romulus1 and to many others1 who1 as citizens newly admitted into the ancient body1 they imagine have been received into heaven4 ,these are the ,gods of the illiterate4 ,,xvi4 ,what are the notions of you philosophers8 ,in what respect are they superior to these ideas8 ,i shall pass them over2 for they are certainly very admirable4 ,let the world1 then1 be a ,deity1 for that1 ,i conceive1 is what you mean by ,the refulgent heaven above1 ,which all men call1 unanimously1 ,jove4 ,but why are we to add many more ,gods8 ,what a multitude of them there is6 ,at least1 it seems so to me2 for every constellation1 according to you1 is a ,deity3 to some you give the name of beasts1 as the goat1 the scorpion1 the bull1 the lion2 to others the names of inanimate things1 as the ship1 the altar1 the crown4 ,but supposing these were to be allowed1 how can the rest be granted1 or even so much as understood8 ,when we call corn ,ceres1 and wine ,bacchus1 we make use of the common manner of speaking2 but do you think any one so mad as to believe that his food is a ,deity8 ,with regard to those who1 you say1 from having been men became ,gods1 ,i should be very willing to learn of you1 either how it was possible formerly1 or1 if it had ever been1 why is it not so now8 ,i do not conceive1 as things are at present1 how ,hercules1 ,burn'd with fiery torches on ,mount ,oeta1 as ,accius says1 should rise1 with the flames1 ,to the eternal mansions of his father4 ,besides1 ,homer also says that ,ulysses#bej met him in the shades below1 among the other dead4 ,but yet ,i should be glad to know which ,hercules we should chiefly worship2 for they who have searched into those histories1 which are but little known1 tell us of several4 ,the most ancient is he who fought with ,apollo about the ,tripos of ,delphi1 and is son of ,jupiter and ,lisyto2 and of the most ancient ,jupiters too1 for we find many ,jupiters also in the ,grecian chronicles4 ,the second is the ,egyptian ,hercules1 and is believed to be the son of ,nilus1 and to be the author of the ,phrygian characters4 ,the third1 to whom they offered sacrifices1 is one of the ,idi ,dactyli4#bea ,the fourth is the son of ,jupiter and ,asteria1 the sister of ,latona1 chiefly honored by the ,tyrians1 who pretend that ,carthago#beb is his daughter4 ,the fifth1 called ,belus1 is worshipped in ,india4 ,the sixth is the son of ,alcmena by ,jupiter2 but by the third ,jupiter1 for there are many ,jupiters1 as you shall soon see4 ,,xvii4 ,since this examination has led me so far1 ,i will convince you that in matters of religion ,i have learned more from the pontifical rites1 the customs of our ancestors1 and the vessels of ,numa1#bec which ,llius mentions in his little ,golden ,oration1 than from all the learning of the ,stoics2 for tell me1 if ,i were a disciple of your school1 what answer could ,i make to these questions8 ,if there are ,gods1 are nymphs also ,goddesses8 ,if they are ,goddesses1 are ,pans and ,satyrs in the same rank8 ,but they are not2 consequently1 nymphs are not ,goddesses4 ,yet they have temples publicly dedicated to them4 ,what do you conclude from thence8 ,others who have temples are not therefore ,gods4 ,but let us go on4 ,you call ,jupiter and ,neptune ,gods2 their brother ,pluto1 then1 is one2 and if so1 those rivers also are ,deities which they say flow in the infernal regions--,acheron1 ,cocytus1 ,pyriphlegethon2 ,charon also1 and ,cerberus1 are ,gods2 but that cannot be allowed2 nor can ,pluto be placed among the ,deities4 ,what1 then1 will you say of his brothers8 ,thus reasons ,carneades2 not with any design to destroy the existence of the ,gods 7for what would less become a philosopher871 but to convince us that on that matter the ,stoics have said nothing plausible4 ,if1 then1 ,jupiter and ,neptune are ,gods1 adds he1 can that divinity be denied to their father ,saturn1 who is principally worshipped throughout the ,west8 ,if ,saturn is a ,god1 then must his father1 ,coelus1 be one too1 and so must the parents of ,coelus1 which are the ,sky and ,day1 as also their brothers and sisters1 which by ancient genealogists are thus named3 ,love1 ,deceit1 ,fear1 ,labor1 ,envy1 ,fate1 ,old ,age1 ,death1 ,darkness1 ,misery1 ,lamentation1 ,favor1 ,fraud1 ,obstinacy1 the ,destinies1 the ,hesperides1 and ,dreams2 all which are the offspring of ,erebus and ,night4 ,these monstrous ,deities1 therefore1 must be received1 or else those from whom they sprung must be disallowed4 ,,xviii4 ,if you say that ,apollo1 ,vulcan1 ,mercury1 and the rest of that sort are ,gods1 can you doubt the divinity of ,hercules and sculapius1 ,bacchus1 ,castor and ,pollux8 ,these are worshipped as much as those1 and even more in some places4 ,therefore they must be numbered among the ,gods1 though on the mother's side they are only of mortal race4 ,aristus1 who is said to have been the son of ,apollo1 and to have found out the art of making oil from the olive2 ,theseus1 the son of ,neptune2 and the rest whose fathers were ,deities1 shall they not be placed in the number of the ,gods8 ,but what think you of those whose mothers were ,goddesses8 ,they surely have a better title to divinity2 for1 in the civil law1 as he is a freeman who is born of a freewoman1 so1 in the law of nature1 he whose mother is a ,goddess must be a ,god4 ,the isle ,astypala religiously honor ,achilles2 and if he is a ,deity1 ,orpheus and ,rhesus are so1 who were born of one of the ,muses2 unless1 perhaps1 there may be a privilege belonging to sea marriages which land marriages have not4 ,orpheus and ,rhesus are nowhere worshipped2 and if they are therefore not ,gods1 because they are nowhere worshipped as such1 how can the others be ,deities8 ,you1 ,balbus1 seemed to agree with me that the honors which they received were not from their being regarded as immortals1 but as men richly endued with virtue4 ,but if you think ,latona a ,goddess1 how can you avoid admitting ,hecate to be one also1 who was the daughter of ,asteria1 ,latona's sister8 ,certainly she is one1 if we may judge by the altars erected to her in ,greece4 ,and if ,hecate is a ,goddess1 how can you refuse that rank to the ,eumenides8 for they also have a temple at ,athens1 and1 if ,i understand right1 the ,romans have consecrated a grove to them4 ,the ,furies1 too1 whom we look upon as the inspectors into and scourges of impiety1 ,i suppose1 must have their divinity too4 ,as you hold that there is some divinity presides over every human affair1 there is one who presides over the travail of matrons1 whose name1 ,natio1 is derived a nascentibus1 from nativities1 and to whom we used to sacrifice in our processions in the fields of ,arda2 but if she is a ,deity1 we must likewise acknowledge all those you mentioned1 ,honor1 ,faith1 ,intellect1 ,concord2 by the same rule also1 ,hope1 ,juno1 ,moneta1#bed and every idle phantom1 every child of our imagination1 are ,deities4 ,but as this consequence is quite inadmissible1 do not you either defend the cause from which it flows4 ,,xix4 ,what say you to this8 ,if these are ,deities1 which we worship and regard as such1 why are not ,serapis and ,isis#bee placed in the same rank8 ,and if they are admitted1 what reason have we to reject the ,gods of the barbarians8 ,thus we should deify oxen1 horses1 the ibis1 hawks1 asps1 crocodiles1 fishes1 dogs1 wolves1 cats1 and many other beasts4 ,if we go back to the source of this superstition1 we must equally condemn all the ,deities from which they proceed4 ,shall ,ino1 whom the ,greeks call ,leucothea1 and we ,matuta1 be reputed a ,goddess1 because she was the daughter of ,cadmus1 and shall that title be refused to ,circe and ,pasiphae1#bef who had the sun for their father1 and ,perseis1 daughter of the ,ocean1 for their mother8 ,it is true1 ,circe has divine honors paid her by our colony of ,circum2 therefore you call her a ,goddess2 but what will you say of ,medea1 the granddaughter of the ,sun and the ,ocean1 and daughter of etes and ,idyia8 ,what will you say of her brother ,absyrtus1 whom ,pacuvius calls gialeus1 though the other name is more frequent in the writings of the ancients8 ,if you did not deify one as well as the other1 what will become of ,ino8 for all these ,deities have the same origin4 ,shall ,amphiaraus and ,tryphonius be called ,gods8 ,our publicans1 when some lands in ,boeotia were exempted from the tax1 as belonging to the immortal ,gods1 denied that any were immortal who had been men4 ,but if you deify these1 ,erechtheus surely is a ,god1 whose temple and priest we have seen at ,athens4 ,and can you1 then1 refuse to acknowledge also ,codrus1 and many others who shed their blood for the preservation of their country8 ,and if it is not allowable to consider all these men as ,gods1 then1 certainly1 probabilities are not in favor of our acknowledging the ,divinity of those previously mentioned beings from whom these have proceeded4 ,it is easy to observe1 likewise1 that if in many countries people have paid divine honors to the memory of those who have signalized their courage1 it was done in order to animate others to practise virtue1 and to expose themselves the more willingly to dangers in their country's cause4 ,from this motive the ,athenians have deified ,erechtheus and his daughters1 and have erected also a temple1 called ,leocorion1 to the daughters of ,leus4#beg ,alabandus is more honored in the city which he founded than any of the more illustrious ,deities2 from thence ,stratonicus had a pleasant turn--as he had many--when he was troubled with an impertinent fellow who insisted that ,alabandus was a ,god1 but that ,hercules was not2 ,very well1 says he1 then let the anger of ,alabandus fall upon me1 and that of ,hercules upon you4 ,,xx4 ,do you not consider1 ,balbus1 to what lengths your arguments for the divinity of the heaven and the stars will carry you8 ,you deify the sun and the moon1 which the ,greeks take to be ,apollo and ,diana4 ,if the moon is a ,deity1 the morning-star1 the other planets1 and all the fixed stars are also ,deities2 and why shall not the rainbow be placed in that number8 for it is so wonderfully beautiful that it is justly said to be the daughter of ,thaumas4#beh ,but if you deify the rainbow1 what regard will you pay to the clouds8 for the colors which appear in the bow are only formed of the clouds1 one of which is said to have brought forth the ,centaurs2 and if you deify the clouds1 you cannot pay less regard to the seasons1 which the ,roman people have really consecrated4 ,tempests1 showers1 storms1 and whirlwinds must then be ,deities4 ,it is certain1 at least1 that our captains used to sacrifice a victim to the waves before they embarked on any voyage4 ,as you deify the earth under the name of ,ceres1#bei because1 as you said1 she bears fruits 7a gerendo71 and the ocean under that of ,neptune1 rivers and fountains have the same right4 ,thus we see that ,maso1 the conqueror of ,corsica1 dedicated a temple to a fountain1 and the names of the ,tiber1 ,spino1 ,almo1 ,nodinus1 and other neighboring rivers are in the prayers#bfj of the augurs4 ,therefore1 either the number of such ,deities will be infinite1 or we must admit none of them1 and wholly disapprove of such an endless series of superstition4 ,,xxi4 ,none of all these assertions1 then1 are to be admitted4 ,i must proceed now1 ,balbus1 to answer those who say that1 with regard to those deified mortals1 so religiously and devoutly reverenced1 the public opinion should have the force of reality4 ,to begin1 then3 they who are called theologists say that there are three ,jupiters2 the first and second of whom were born in ,arcadia2 one of whom was the son of ther1 and father of ,proserpine and ,bacchus2 the other the son of ,coelus1 and father of ,minerva1 who is called the ,goddess and inventress of war2 the third one born of ,saturn in the isle of ,crete1#bfa where his sepulchre is shown4 ,the sons of ,jupiter 7,greek3 ,dioskouroi7 also1 among the ,greeks1 have many names2 first1 the three who at ,athens have the title of ,anactes1#bfb ,tritopatreus1 ,eubuleus1 and ,dionysus1 sons of the most ancient king ,jupiter and ,proserpine2 the next are ,castor and ,pollux1 sons of the third ,jupiter and ,leda2 and1 lastly1 three others1 by some called ,alco1#bfc ,melampus1 and ,tmolus1 sons of ,atreus1 the son of ,pelops4 ,as to the ,muses1 there were at first four--,thelxiope1 ,aoede1 ,arche1 and ,melete--daughters of the second ,jupiter2 afterward there were nine1 daughters of the third ,jupiter and ,mnemosyne2 there were also nine others1 having the same appellations1 born of ,pierus and ,antiopa1 by the poets usually called ,pierides and ,pieri4 ,though ,sol 7the sun7 is so called1 you say1 because he is solus 7single72 yet how many suns do theologists mention8 ,there is one1 the son of ,jupiter and grandson of ther2 another1 the son of ,hyperion2 a third1 who1 the ,egyptians say1 was of the city ,heliopolis1 sprung from ,vulcan1 the son of ,nilus2 a fourth is said to have been born at ,rhodes of ,acantho1 in the times of the heroes1 and was the grandfather of ,jalysus1 ,camirus1 and ,lindus2 a fifth1 of whom1 it is pretended1 ,aretes and ,circe were born at ,colchis4 ,,xxii4 ,there are likewise several ,vulcans4 ,the first 7who had of ,minerva that ,apollo whom the ancient historians call the tutelary ,god of ,athens7 was the son of ,coelus2 the second1 whom the ,egyptians call ,opas1#bfd and whom they looked upon as the protector of ,egypt1 is the son of ,nilus2 the third1 who is said to have been the master of the forges at ,lemnos1 was the son of the third ,jupiter and of ,juno2 the fourth1 who possessed the islands near ,sicily called ,vulcani1#bfe was the son of ,menalius4 ,one ,mercury had ,coelus for his father and ,dies for his mother2 another1 who is said to dwell in a cavern1 and is the same as ,trophonius1 is the son of ,valens and ,phoronis4 ,a third1 of whom1 and of ,penelope1 ,pan was the offspring1 is the son of the third ,jupiter and ,maia4 ,a fourth1 whom the ,egyptians think it a crime to name1 is the son of ,nilus4 ,a fifth1 whom we call1 in their language1 ,thoth1 as with them the first month of the year is called1 is he whom the people of ,pheneum#bff worship1 and who is said to have killed ,argus1 to have fled for it into ,egypt1 and to have given laws and learning to the ,egyptians4 ,the first of the sculapii1 the ,god of ,arcadia1 who is said to have invented the probe and to have been the first person who taught men to use bandages for wounds1 is the son of ,apollo4 ,the second1 who was killed with thunder1 and is said to be buried in ,cynosura1#bfg is the brother of the second ,mercury4 ,the third1 who is said to have found out the art of purging the stomach1 and of drawing teeth1 is the son of ,arsippus and ,arsinoe2 and in ,arcadia there is shown his tomb1 and the wood which is consecrated to him1 near the river ,lusium4 ,,xxiii4 ,i have already spoken of the most ancient of the ,apollos1 who is the son of ,vulcan1 and tutelar ,god of ,athens4 ,there is another1 son of ,corybas1 and native of ,crete1 for which island he is said to have contended with ,jupiter himself4 ,a third1 who came from the regions of the ,hyperborei#bfh to ,delphi1 is the son of the third ,jupiter and of ,latona4 ,a fourth was of ,arcadia1 whom the ,arcadians called ,nomio1#bfi because they regarded him as their legislator4 ,there are likewise many ,dianas4 ,the first1 who is thought to be the mother of the winged ,cupid1 is the daughter of ,jupiter and ,proserpine4 ,the second1 who is more known1 is daughter of the third ,jupiter and of ,latona4 ,the third1 whom the ,greeks often call by her father's name1 is the daughter of ,upis#bgj and ,glauce4 ,there are many also of the ,dionysi4 ,the first was the son of ,jupiter and ,proserpine4 ,the second1 who is said to have killed ,nysa1 was the son of ,nilus4 ,the third1 who reigned in ,asia1 and for whom the ,sabazia#bga were instituted1 was the son of ,caprius4 ,the fourth1 for whom they celebrate the ,orphic festivals1 sprung from ,jupiter and ,luna4 ,the fifth1 who is supposed to have instituted the ,trieterides1 was the son of ,nysus and ,thyone4 ,the first ,venus1 who has a temple at ,elis1 was the daughter of ,coelus and ,dies4 ,the second arose out of the froth of the sea1 and became1 by ,mercury1 the mother of the second ,cupid4 ,the third1 the daughter of ,jupiter and ,diana1 was married to ,vulcan1 but is said to have had ,anteros by ,mars4 ,the fourth was a ,syrian1 born of ,tyro1 who is called ,astarte1 and is said to have been married to ,adonis4 ,i have already mentioned one ,minerva1 mother of ,apollo4 ,another1 who is worshipped at ,sais1 a city in ,egypt1 sprung from ,nilus4 ,the third1 whom ,i have also mentioned1 was daughter of ,jupiter4 ,the fourth1 sprung from ,jupiter and ,coryphe1 the daughter of the ,ocean2 the ,arcadians call her ,coria1 and make her the inventress of chariots4 ,a fifth1 whom they paint with wings at her heels1 was daughter of ,pallas1 and is said to have killed her father for endeavoring to violate her chastity4 ,the first ,cupid is said to be the son of ,mercury and the first ,diana2 the second1 of ,mercury and the second ,venus2 the third1 who is the same as ,anteros1 of ,mars and the third ,venus4 ,all these opinions arise from old stories that were spread in ,greece2 the belief in which1 ,balbus1 you well know1 ought to be stopped1 lest religion should suffer4 ,but you ,stoics1 so far from refuting them1 even give them authority by the mysterious sense which you pretend to find in them4 ,can you1 then1 think1 after this plain refutation1 that there is need to employ more subtle reasonings8 ,but to return from this digression4 ,,xxiv4 ,we see that the mind1 faith1 hope1 virtue1 honor1 victory1 health1 concord1 and things of such kind1 are purely natural1 and have nothing of divinity in them2 for either they are inherent in us1 as the mind1 faith1 hope1 virtue1 and concord are2 or else they are to be desired1 as honor1 health1 and victory4 ,i know indeed that they are useful to us1 and see that statues have been religiously erected for them2 but as to their divinity1 ,i shall begin to believe it when you have proved it for certain4 ,of this kind ,i may particularly mention ,fortune1 which is allowed to be ever inseparable from inconstancy and temerity1 which are certainly qualities unworthy of a divine being4 ,but what delight do you take in the explication of fables1 and in the etymology of names8--that ,coelus was castrated by his son1 and that ,saturn was bound in chains by his son6 ,by your defence of these and such like fictions you would make the authors of them appear not only not to be madmen1 but to have been even very wise4 ,but the pains which you take with your etymologies deserve our pity4 ,that ,saturn is so called because se saturat annis1 he is full of years2 ,mavors1 ,mars1 because magna vortit1 he brings about mighty changes2 ,minerva1 because minuit1 she diminishes1 or because minatur1 she threatens2 ,venus1 because venit ad omnia1 she comes to all2 ,ceres1 a gerendo1 from bearing4 ,how dangerous is this method6 for there are many names would puzzle you4 ,from what would you derive ,vejupiter and ,vulcan8 ,though1 indeed1 if you can derive ,neptune a nando1 from swimming1 in which you seem to me to flounder about yourself more than ,neptune1 you may easily find the origin of all names1 since it is founded only upon the conformity of some one letter4 ,zeno first1 and after him ,cleanthes and ,chrysippus1 are put to the unnecessary trouble of explaining mere fables1 and giving reasons for the several appellations of every ,deity2 which is really owning that those whom we call ,gods are not the representations of deities1 but natural things1 and that to judge otherwise is an error4 ,,xxv4 ,yet this error has so much prevailed that even pernicious things have not only the title of divinity ascribed to them1 but have also sacrifices offered to them2 for ,fever has a temple on the ,palatine hill1 and ,orbona another near that of the ,lares1 and we see on the ,esquiline hill an altar consecrated to ,ill-fortune4 ,let all such errors be banished from philosophy1 if we would advance1 in our dispute concerning the immortal ,gods1 nothing unworthy of immortal beings4 ,i know myself what ,i ought to believe2 which is far different from what you have said4 ,you take ,neptune for an intelligence pervading the sea4 ,you have the same opinion of ,ceres with regard to the earth4 ,i cannot1 ,i own1 find out1 or in the least conjecture1 what that intelligence of the sea or the earth is4 ,to learn1 therefore1 the existence of the ,gods1 and of what description and character they are1 ,i must apply elsewhere1 not to the ,stoics4 ,let us proceed to the two other parts of our dispute3 first1 whether there is a divine providence which governs the world2 and lastly1 whether that providence particularly regards mankind2 for these are the remaining propositions of your discourse2 and ,i think that1 if you approve of it1 we should examine these more accurately4 ,with all my heart1 says ,velleius1 for ,i readily agree to what you have hitherto said1 and expect still greater things from you4 ,i am unwilling to interrupt you1 says ,balbus to ,cotta1 but we shall take another opportunity1 and ,i shall effectually convince you4 ,but#bgb 99 99 99 ,,xxvi4 ,shall ,i adore1 and bend the suppliant knee1 ,who scorn their power and doubt their deity8 ,does not ,niobe here seem to reason1 and by that reasoning to bring all her misfortunes upon herself8 ,but what a subtle expression is the following6 ,on strength of will alone depends success2 a maxim capable of leading us into all that is bad4 ,though ,i'm confined1 his malice yet is vain1 ,his tortured heart shall answer pain for pain2 ,his ruin soothe my soul with soft content1 ,lighten my chains1 and welcome banishment6 ,this1 now1 is reason2 that reason which you say the divine goodness has denied to the brute creation1 kindly to bestow it on men alone4 ,how great1 how immense the favor6 ,observe the same ,medea flying from her father and her country3 ,the guilty wretch from her pursuer flies4 ,by her own hands the young ,absyrtus slain1 ,his mangled limbs she scatters o'er the plain1 ,that the fond sire might sink beneath his woe1 ,and she to parricide her safety owe4 ,reflection1 as well as wickedness1 must have been necessary to the preparation of such a fact2 and did he too1 who prepared that fatal repast for his brother1 do it without reflection8 ,revenge as great as ,atreus' injury ,shall sink his soul and crown his misery4 ,,xxvii4 ,did not ,thyestes himself1 not content with having defiled his brother's bed 7of which ,atreus with great justice thus complains1 ,when faithless comforts1 in the lewd embrace1 ,with vile adultery stain a royal race1 ,the blood thus mix'd in fouler currents flows1 ,taints the rich soil1 and breeds unnumber'd woes7-- did he not1 ,i say1 by that adultery1 aim at the possession of the crown8 ,atreus thus continues3 ,a lamb1 fair gift of heaven1 with golden fleece1 ,promised in vain to fix my crown in peace2 ,but base ,thyestes1 eager for the prey1 ,crept to my bed1 and stole the gem away4 ,do you not perceive that ,thyestes must have had a share of reason proportionable to the greatness of his crimes--such crimes as are not only represented to us on the stage1 but such as we see committed1 nay1 often exceeded1 in the common course of life8 ,the private houses of individual citizens1 the public courts1 the senate1 the camp1 our allies1 our provinces1 all agree that reason is the author of all the ill1 as well as of all the good1 which is done2 that it makes few act well1 and that but seldom1 but many act ill1 and that frequently2 and that1 in short1 the ,gods would have shown greater benevolence in denying us any reason at all than in sending us that which is accompanied with so much mischief2 for as wine is seldom wholesome1 but often hurtful in diseases1 we think it more prudent to deny it to the patient than to run the risk of so uncertain a remedy2 so ,i do not know whether it would not be better for mankind to be deprived of wit1 thought1 and penetration1 or what we call reason1 since it is a thing pernicious to many and very useful to few1 than to have it bestowed upon them with so much liberality and in such abundance4 ,but if the divine will has really consulted the good of man in this gift of reason1 the good of those men only was consulted on whom a well-regulated one is bestowed3 how few those are1 if any1 is very apparent4 ,we cannot admit1 therefore1 that the ,gods consulted the good of a few only2 the conclusion must be that they consulted the good of none4 ,,xxviii4 ,you answer that the ill use which a great part of mankind make of reason no more takes away the goodness of the ,gods1 who bestow it as a present of the greatest benefit to them1 than the ill use which children make of their patrimony diminishes the obligation which they have to their parents for it4 ,we grant you this2 but where is the similitude8 ,it was far from ,deianira's design to injure ,hercules when she made him a present of the shirt dipped in the blood of the ,centaurs4 ,nor was it a regard to the welfare of ,jason of ,pher that influenced the man who with his sword opened his imposthume1 which the physicians had in vain attempted to cure4 ,for it has often happened that people have served a man whom they intended to injure1 and have injured one whom they designed to serve2 so that the effect of the gift is by no means always a proof of the intention of the giver2 neither does the benefit which may accrue from it prove that it came from the hands of a benefactor4 ,for1 in short1 what debauchery1 what avarice1 what crime among men is there which does not owe its birth to thought and reflection1 that is1 to reason8 ,for all opinion is reason3 right reason1 if men's thoughts are conformable to truth2 wrong reason1 if they are not4 ,the ,gods only give us the mere faculty of reason1 if we have any2 the use or abuse of it depends entirely upon ourselves2 so that the comparison is not just between the present of reason given us by the ,gods1 and a patrimony left to a son by his father2 for1 after all1 if the injury of mankind had been the end proposed by the ,gods1 what could they have given them more pernicious than reason8 for what seed could there be of injustice1 intemperance1 and cowardice1 if reason were not laid as the foundation of these vices8 ,,xxix4 ,i mentioned just now ,medea and ,atreus1 persons celebrated in heroic poems1 who had used this reason only for the contrivance and practice of the most flagitious crimes2 but even the trifling characters which appear in comedies supply us with the like instances of this reasoning faculty2 for example1 does not he1 in the ,eunuch1 reason with some subtlety8-- ,what1 then1 must ,i resolve upon8 ,she turn'd me out-of-doors2 she sends for me back again2 ,shall ,i go8 no1 not if she were to beg it of me4 ,another1 in the ,twins1 making no scruple of opposing a received maxim1 after the manner of the ,academics1 asserts that when a man is in love and in want1 it is pleasant ,to have a father covetous1 crabbed1 and passionate1 ,who has no love or affection for his children4 ,this unaccountable opinion he strengthens thus3 ,you may defraud him of his profits1 or forge letters in his name1 ,or fright him by your servant into compliance2 ,and what you take from such an old hunks1 ,how much more pleasantly do you spend it6 ,on the contrary1 he says that an easy1 generous father is an inconvenience to a son in love2 for1 says he1 ,i can't tell how to abuse so good1 so prudent a parent1 ,who always foreruns my desires1 and meets me purse in hand1 ,to support me in my pleasures3 this easy goodness and generosity ,quite defeat all my frauds1 tricks1 and stratagems4#bgc ,what are these frauds1 tricks1 and stratagems but the effects of reason8 ,o excellent gift of the ,gods6 ,without this ,phormio could not have said1 ,find me out the old man3 ,i have something hatching for him in my head4 ,,xxx4 ,but let us pass from the stage to the bar4 ,the prtor#bgd takes his seat4 ,to judge whom8 ,the man who set fire to our archives4 ,how secretly was that villany conducted6 ,q4 ,sosius1 an illustrious ,roman knight1 of the ,picene field1#bge confessed the fact4 ,who else is to be tried8 ,he who forged the public registers--,alenus1 an artful fellow1 who counterfeited the handwriting of the six officers4#bgf ,let us call to mind other trials3 that on the subject of the gold of ,tolosa1 or the conspiracy of ,jugurtha4 ,let us trace back the informations laid against ,tubulus for bribery in his judicial office2 and1 since that1 the proceedings of the tribune ,peduceus concerning the incest of the vestals4 ,let us reflect upon the trials which daily happen for assassinations1 poisonings1 embezzlement of public money1 frauds in wills1 against which we have a new law2 then that action against the advisers or assisters of any theft2 the many laws concerning frauds in guardianship1 breaches of trust in partnerships and commissions in trade1 and other violations of faith in buying1 selling1 borrowing1 or lending2 the public decree on a private affair by the ,ltorian ,law2#bgg and1 lastly1 that scourge of all dishonesty1 the law against fraud1 proposed by our friend ,aquillius2 that sort of fraud1 he says1 by which one thing is pretended and another done4 ,can we1 then1 think that this plentiful fountain of evil sprung from the immortal ,gods8 ,if they have given reason to man1 they have likewise given him subtlety1 for subtlety is only a deceitful manner of applying reason to do mischief4 ,to them likewise we must owe deceit1 and every other crime1 which1 without the help of reason1 would neither have been thought of nor committed4 ,as the old woman wished ,that to the fir which on ,mount ,pelion grew ,the axe had ne'er been laid1#bgh so we should wish that the ,gods had never bestowed this ability on man1 the abuse of which is so general that the small number of those who make a good use of it are often oppressed by those who make a bad use of it2 so that it seems to be given rather to help vice than to promote virtue among us4 ,,xxxi4 ,this1 you insist on it1 is the fault of man1 and not of the ,gods4 ,but should we not laugh at a physician or pilot1 though they are weak mortals1 if they were to lay the blame of their ill success on the violence of the disease or the fury of the tempest8 ,had there not been danger1 we should say1 who would have applied to you8 ,this reasoning has still greater force against the ,deity4 ,the fault1 you say1 is in man1 if he commits crimes4 ,but why was not man endued with a reason incapable of producing any crimes8 ,how could the ,gods err8 ,when we leave our effects to our children1 it is in hopes that they may be well bestowed2 in which we may be deceived1 but how can the ,deity be deceived8 ,as ,phoebus when he trusted his chariot to his son ,phathon1 or as ,neptune when he indulged his son ,theseus in granting him three wishes1 the consequence of which was the destruction of ,hippolitus8 ,these are poetical fictions2 but truth1 and not fables1 ought to proceed from philosophers4 ,yet if those poetical ,deities had foreseen that their indulgence would have proved fatal to their sons1 they must have been thought blamable for it4 ,aristo of ,chios used often to say that the philosophers do hurt to such of their disciples as take their good doctrine in a wrong sense2 thus the lectures of ,aristippus might produce debauchees1 and those of ,zeno pedants4 ,if this be true1 it were better that philosophers should be silent than that their disciples should be corrupted by a misapprehension of their master's meaning2 so if reason1 which was bestowed on mankind by the ,gods with a good design1 tends only to make men more subtle and fraudulent1 it had been better for them never to have received it4 ,there could be no excuse for a physician who prescribes wine to a patient1 knowing that he will drink it and immediately expire4 ,your ,providence is no less blamable in giving reason to man1 who1 it foresaw1 would make a bad use of it4 ,will you say that it did not foresee it8 ,nothing could please me more than such an acknowledgment4 ,but you dare not4 ,i know what a sublime idea you entertain of her4 ,,xxxii4 ,but to conclude4 ,if folly1 by the unanimous consent of philosophers1 is allowed to be the greatest of all evils1 and if no one ever attained to true wisdom1 we1 whom they say the immortal ,gods take care of1 are consequently in a state of the utmost misery4 ,for that nobody is well1 or that nobody can be well1 is in effect the same thing2 and1 in my opinion1 that no man is truly wise1 or that no man can be truly wise1 is likewise the same thing4 ,but ,i will insist no further on so self-evident a point4 ,telamon in one verse decides the question4 ,if1 says he1 there is a ,divine ,providence1 ,good men would be happy1 bad men miserable4 ,but it is not so4 ,if the ,gods had regarded mankind1 they should have made them all virtuous2 but if they did not regard the welfare of all mankind1 at least they ought to have provided for the happiness of the virtuous4 ,why1 therefore1 was the ,carthaginian in ,spain suffered to destroy those best and bravest men1 the two ,scipios8 ,why did ,maximus#bgi lose his son1 the consul8 ,why did ,hannibal kill ,marcellus8 ,why did ,cann deprive us of ,paulus8 ,why was the body of ,regulus delivered up to the cruelty of the ,carthaginians8 ,why was not ,africanus protected from violence in his own house8 ,to these1 and many more ancient instances1 let us add some of later date4 ,why is ,rutilius1 my uncle1 a man of the greatest virtue and learning1 now in banishment8 ,why was my own friend and companion ,drusus assassinated in his own house8 ,why was ,scvola1 the high-priest1 that pattern of moderation and prudence1 massacred before the statue of ,vesta8 ,why1 before that1 were so many illustrious citizens put to death by ,cinna8 ,why had ,marius1 the most perfidious of men1 the power to cause the death of ,catulus1 a man of the greatest dignity8 ,but there would be no end of enumerating examples of good men made miserable and wicked men prosperous4 ,why did that ,marius live to an old age1 and die so happily at his own house in his seventh consulship8 ,why was that inhuman wretch ,cinna permitted to enjoy so long a reign8 ,,xxxiii4 ,he1 indeed1 met with deserved punishment at last4 ,but would it not have been better that these inhumanities had been prevented than that the author of them should be punished afterward8 ,varius1 a most impious wretch1 was tortured and put to death4 ,if this was his punishment for the murdering ,drusus by the sword1 and ,metellus by poison1 would it not have been better to have preserved their lives than to have their deaths avenged on ,varius8 ,dionysius was thirty-eight years a tyrant over the most opulent and flourishing city2 and1 before him1 how many years did ,pisistratus tyrannize in the very flower of ,greece6 ,phalaris and ,apollodorus met with the fate they deserved1 but not till after they had tortured and put to death multitudes4 ,many robbers have been executed2 but the number of those who have suffered for their crimes is short of those whom they have robbed and murdered4 ,anaxarchus1#bhj a scholar of ,democritus1 was cut to pieces by command of the tyrant of ,cyprus2 and ,zeno of ,elea#bha ended his life in tortures4 ,what shall ,i say of ,socrates1#bhb whose death1 as often as ,i read of it in ,plato1 draws fresh tears from my eyes8 ,if1 therefore1 the ,gods really see everything that happens to men1 you must acknowledge they make no distinction between the good and the bad4 ,,xxxiv4 ,diogenes the ,cynic used to say of ,harpalus1 one of the most fortunate villains of his time1 that the constant prosperity of such a man was a kind of witness against the ,gods4 ,dionysius1 of whom we have before spoken1 after he had pillaged the temple of ,proserpine at ,locris1 set sail for ,syracuse1 and1 having a fair wind during his voyage1 said1 with a smile1 ,see1 my friends1 what favorable winds the immortal ,gods bestow upon church-robbers4 ,encouraged by this prosperous event1 he proceeded in his impiety4 ,when he landed at ,peloponnesus1 he went into the temple of ,jupiter ,olympius1 and disrobed his statue of a golden mantle of great weight1 an ornament which the tyrant ,gelo#bhc had given out of the spoils of the ,carthaginians1 and at the same time1 in a jesting manner1 he said that a golden mantle was too heavy in summer and too cold in winter2 and then1 throwing a woollen cloak over the statue1 added1 ,this will serve for all seasons4 ,at another time1 he ordered the golden beard of sculapius of ,epidaurus to be taken away1 saying that it was absurd for the son to have a beard1 when his father had none4 ,he likewise robbed the temples of the silver tables1 which1 according to the ancient custom of ,greece1 bore this inscription1 ,to the good ,gods1 saying he was willing to make use of their goodness2 and1 without the least scruple1 took away the little golden emblems of victory1 the cups and coronets1 which were in the stretched-out hands of the statues1 saying he did not take1 but receive them2 for it would be folly not to accept good things from the ,gods1 to whom we are constantly praying for favors1 when they stretch out their hands towards us4 ,and1 last of all1 all the things which he had thus pillaged from the temples were1 by his order1 brought to the market-place and sold by the common crier2 and1 after he had received the money for them1 he commanded every purchaser to restore what he had bought1 within a limited time1 to the temples from whence they came4 ,thus to his impiety towards the ,gods he added injustice to man4 ,,xxxv4 ,yet neither did ,olympian ,jove strike him with his thunder1 nor did sculapius cause him to die by tedious diseases and a lingering death4 ,he died in his bed1 had funeral honors#bhd paid to him1 and left his power1 which he had wickedly obtained1 as a just and lawful inheritance to his son4 ,it is not without concern that ,i maintain a doctrine which seems to authorize evil1 and which might probably give a sanction to it1 if conscience1 without any divine assistance1 did not point out1 in the clearest manner1 the difference between virtue and vice4 ,without conscience man is contemptible4 ,for as no family or state can be supposed to be formed with any reason or discipline if there are no rewards for good actions nor punishment for crimes1 so we cannot believe that a ,divine ,providence regulates the world if there is no distinction between the honest and the wicked4 ,but the ,gods1 you say1 neglect trifling things3 the little fields or vineyards of particular men are not worthy their attention2 and if blasts or hail destroy their product1 ,jupiter does not regard it1 nor do kings extend their care to the lower offices of government4 ,this argument might have some weight if1 in bringing ,rutilius as an instance1 ,i had only complained of the loss of his farm at ,formi2 but ,i spoke of a personal misfortune1 his banishment4#bhe ,,xxxvi4 ,all men agree that external benefits1 such as vineyards1 corn1 olives1 plenty of fruit and grain1 and1 in short1 every convenience and property of life1 are derived from the ,gods2 and1 indeed1 with reason1 since by our virtue we claim applause1 and in virtue we justly glory1 which we could have no right to do if it was the gift of the ,gods1 and not a personal merit4 ,when we are honored with new dignities1 or blessed with increase of riches2 when we are favored by fortune beyond our expectation1 or luckily delivered from any approaching evil1 we return thanks for it to the ,gods1 and assume no praise to ourselves4 ,but who ever thanked the ,gods that he was a good man8 ,we thank them1 indeed1 for riches1 health1 and honor4 ,for these we invoke the all-good and all-powerful ,jupiter2 but not for wisdom1 temperance1 and justice4 ,no one ever offered a tenth of his estate to ,hercules to be made wise4 ,it is reported1 indeed1 of ,pythagoras that he sacrificed an ox to the ,muses upon having made some new discovery in geometry2#bhf but1 for my part1 ,i cannot believe it1 because he refused to sacrifice even to ,apollo at ,delos1 lest he should defile the altar with blood4 ,but to return4 ,it is universally agreed that good fortune we must ask of the ,gods1 but wisdom must arise from ourselves2 and though temples have been consecrated to the ,mind1 to ,virtue1 and to ,faith1 yet that does not contradict their being inherent in us4 ,in regard to hope1 safety1 assistance1 and victory1 we must rely upon the ,gods for them2 from whence it follows1 as ,diogenes said1 that the prosperity of the wicked destroys the idea of a ,divine ,providence4 ,,xxxvii4 ,but good men have sometimes success4 ,they have so2 but we cannot1 with any show of reason1 attribute that success to the ,gods4 ,diagoras1 who is called the atheist1 being at ,samothrace1 one of his friends showed him several pictures#bhg of people who had endured very dangerous storms2 ,see1 says he1 you who deny a providence1 how many have been saved by their prayers to the ,gods4 ,ay1 says ,diagoras1 ,i see those who were saved1 but where are those painted who were shipwrecked8 ,at another time1 he himself was in a storm1 when the sailors1 being greatly alarmed1 told him they justly deserved that misfortune for admitting him into their ship2 when he1 pointing to others under the like distress1 asked them if they believed ,diagoras was also aboard those ships8 ,in short1 with regard to good or bad fortune1 it matters not what you are1 or how you have lived4 ,the ,gods1 like kings1 regard not everything4 ,what similitude is there between them8 ,if kings neglect anything1 want of knowledge may be pleaded in their defence2 but ignorance cannot be brought as an excuse for the ,gods4 ,,xxxviii4 ,your manner of justifying them is somewhat extraordinary1 when you say that if a wicked man dies without suffering for his crimes1 the ,gods inflict a punishment on his children1 his children's children1 and all his posterity4 ,o wonderful equity of the ,gods6 ,what city would endure the maker of a law which should condemn a son or a grandson for a crime committed by the father or the grandfather8 ,shall ,tantalus' unhappy offspring know ,no end1 no close1 of this long scene of woe8 ,when will the dire reward of guilt be o'er1 ,and ,myrtilus demand revenge no more8#bhh ,whether the poets have corrupted the ,stoics1 or the ,stoics given authority to the poets1 ,i cannot easily determine4 ,both alike are to be condemned4 ,if those persons whose names have been branded in the satires of ,hipponax or ,archilochus#bhi were driven to despair1 it did not proceed from the ,gods1 but had its origin in their own minds4 ,when we see gistus and ,paris lost in the heat of an impure passion1 why are we to attribute it to a ,deity1 when the crime1 as it were1 speaks for itself8 ,i believe that those who recover from illness are more indebted to the care of ,hippocrates than to the power of sculapius2 that ,sparta received her laws from ,lycurgus#bij rather than from ,apollo2 that those eyes of the maritime coast1 ,corinth and ,carthage1 were plucked out1 the one by ,critolaus1 the other by ,hasdrubal1 without the assistance of any divine anger1 since you yourselves confess that a ,deity cannot possibly be angry on any provocation4 ,,xxxix4 ,but could not the ,deity have assisted and preserved those eminent cities8 ,undoubtedly he could2 for1 according to your doctrine1 his power is infinite1 and without the least labor2 and as nothing but the will is necessary to the motion of our bodies1 so the divine will of the ,gods1 with the like ease1 can create1 move1 and change all things4 ,this you hold1 not from a mere phantom of superstition1 but on natural and settled principles of reason2 for matter1 you say1 of which all things are composed and consist1 is susceptible of all forms and changes1 and there is nothing which cannot be1 or cease to be1 in an instant2 and that ,divine ,providence has the command and disposal of this universal matter1 and consequently can1 in any part of the universe1 do whatever she pleases3 from whence ,i conclude that this ,providence either knows not the extent of her power1 or neglects human affairs1 or cannot judge what is best for us4 ,providence1 you say1 does not extend her care to particular men2 there is no wonder in that1 since she does not extend it to cities1 or even to nations1 or people4 ,if1 therefore1 she neglects whole nations1 is it not very probable that she neglects all mankind8 ,but how can you assert that the ,gods do not enter into all the little circumstances of life1 and yet hold that they distribute dreams among men8 ,since you believe in dreams1 it is your part to solve this difficulty4 ,besides1 you say we ought to call upon the ,gods4 ,those who call upon the ,gods are individuals4 ,divine ,providence1 therefore1 regards individuals1 which consequently proves that they are more at leisure than you imagine4 ,let us suppose the ,divine ,providence to be greatly busied2 that it causes the revolutions of the heavens1 supports the earth1 and rules the seas2 why does it suffer so many ,gods to be unemployed8 ,why is not the superintendence of human affairs given to some of those idle ,deities which you say are innumerable8 ,this is the purport of what ,i had to say concerning the ,nature of the ,gods2 not with a design to destroy their existence1 but merely to show what an obscure point it is1 and with what difficulties an explanation of it is attended4 ,,xl4 ,balbus1 observing that ,cotta had finished his discourse--,you have been very severe1 says he1 against a ,divine ,providence1 a doctrine established by the ,stoics with piety and wisdom2 but1 as it grows too late1 ,i shall defer my answer to another day4 ,our argument is of the greatest importance2 it concerns our altars1#bia our hearths1 our temples1 nay1 even the walls of our city1 which you priests hold sacred2 you1 who by religion defend ,rome better than she is defended by her ramparts4 ,this is a cause which1 while ,i have life1 ,i think ,i cannot abandon without impiety4 ,there is nothing1 replied ,cotta1 which ,i desire more than to be confuted4 ,i have not pretended to decide this point1 but to give you my private sentiments upon it2 and am very sensible of your great superiority in argument4 ,no doubt of it1 says ,velleius2 we have much to fear from one who believes that our dreams are sent from ,jupiter1 which1 though they are of little weight1 are yet of more importance than the discourse of the ,stoics concerning the nature of the ,gods4 ,the conversation ended here1 and we parted4 ,velleius judged that the arguments of ,cotta were truest2 but those of ,balbus seemed to me to have the greater probability4#bib ,,on ,,the ,,commonwealth4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,preface ,,by ,,the ,,editor4 ,this work was one of ,cicero's earlier treatises1 though one of those which was most admired by his contemporaries1 and one of which he himself was most proud4 ,it was composed #ed ,b4,c4 ,it was originally in two books3 then it was altered and enlarged into nine1 and finally reduced to six4 ,with the exception of the dream of ,scipio1 in the last book1 the whole treatise was lost till the year #ahbb1 when the librarian of the ,vatican discovered a portion of them among the palimpsests in that library4 ,what he discovered is translated here2 but it is in a most imperfect and mutilated state4 ,the form selected was that of a dialogue1 in imitation of those of ,plato2 and the several conferences were supposed to have taken place during the ,latin holidays1 #abi ,b4,c41 in the consulship of ,caius ,sempronius1 ,tuditanus1 and ,marcus ,aquilius4 ,the speakers are ,scipio ,africanus the younger1 in whose garden the scene is laid2 ,caius ,llius2 ,lucius ,furius ,philus2 ,marcus ,manilius2 ,spurius ,mummius1 the brother of the taker of ,corinth1 a ,stoic2 ,quintus lius ,tubero1 a nephew of ,africanus2 ,publius ,rutilius ,rufus2 ,quintus ,mucius ,scvola1 the tutor of ,cicero2 and ,caius ,fannius1 who was absent1 however1 on the second day of the conference4 ,in the first book1 the first thirty-three pages are wanting1 and there are chasms amounting to thirty-eight pages more4 ,in this book ,scipio asserts the superiority of an active over a speculative career2 and after analyzing and comparing the monarchical1 aristocratic1 and democratic forms of government1 gives a preference to the first2 although his idea of a perfect constitution would be one compounded of three kinds in due proportion4 ,there are a few chasms in the earlier part of the second book1 and the latter part of it is wholly lost4 ,in it ,scipio was led on to give an account of the rise and progress of the ,roman ,constitution1 from which he passed on to the examination of the great moral obligations which are the foundations of all political union4 ,of the remaining books we have only a few disjointed fragments1 with the exception1 as has been before mentioned1 of the dream of ,scipio in the sixth4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,introduction ,,to ,,the ,,first ,,book1 ,,by ,,the ,,original ,,translator4 ,cicero introduces his subject by showing that men were not born for the mere abstract study of philosophy1 but that the study of philosophic truth should always be made as practical as possible1 and applicable to the great interests of philanthropy and patriotism4 ,cicero endeavors to show the benefit of mingling the contemplative or philosophic with the political and active life1 according to that maxim of ,plato--,happy is the nation whose philosophers are kings1 and whose kings are philosophers4 ,this kind of introduction was the more necessary because many of the ancient philosophers1 too warmly attached to transcendental metaphysics and sequestered speculations1 had affirmed that true philosophers ought not to interest themselves in the management of public affairs4 ,thus1 as ,m4 ,villemain observes1 it was a maxim of the ,epicureans1 ,sapiens ne accedat ad rempublicam 7,let no wise man meddle in politics74 ,the ,pythagoreans had enforced the same principle with more gravity4 ,aristotle examines the question on both sides1 and concludes in favor of active life4 ,among ,aristotle's disciples1 a writer1 singularly elegant and pure1 had maintained the pre-eminence of the contemplative life over the political or active one1 in a work which ,cicero cites with admiration1 and to which he seems to have applied for relief whenever he felt harassed and discouraged in public business4 ,but here this great man was interested by the subject he discusses1 and by the whole course of his experience and conduct1 to refute the dogmas of that pusillanimous sophistry and selfish indulgence by bringing forward the most glorious examples and achievements of patriotism4 ,in this strain he had doubtless commenced his exordium1 and in this strain we find him continuing it at the point in which the palimpsest becomes legible4 ,he then proceeds to introduce his illustrious interlocutors1 and leads them at first to discourse on the astronomical laws that regulate the revolutions of our planet4 ,from this1 by a very graceful and beautiful transition1 he passes on to the consideration of the best forms of political constitutions that had prevailed in different nations1 and those modes of government which had produced the greatest benefits in the commonwealths of antiquity4 ,this first book is1 in fact1 a splendid epitome of the political science of the age of ,cicero1 and probably the most eloquent plea in favor of mixed monarchy to be found in all literature4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,book ,i4 ,i4 ,without the virtue of patriotism1 neither ,caius ,duilius1 nor ,aulus ,atilius1#bic nor ,lucius ,metellus1 could have delivered ,rome by their courage from the terror of ,carthage2 nor could the two ,scipios1 when the fire of the second ,punic ,war was kindled1 have quenched it in their blood2 nor1 when it revived in greater force1 could either ,quintus ,maximus#bid have enervated it1 or ,marcus ,marcellus have crushed it2 nor1 when it was repulsed from the gates of our own city1 would ,scipio have confined it within the walls of our enemies4 ,but ,cato1 at first a new and unknown man1 whom all we who aspire to the same honors consider as a pattern to lead us on to industry and virtue1 was undoubtedly at liberty to enjoy his repose at ,tusculum1 a most salubrious and convenient retreat4 ,but he1 mad as some people think him1 though no necessity compelled him1 preferred being tossed about amidst the tempestuous waves of politics1 even till extreme old age1 to living with all imaginable luxury in that tranquillity and relaxation4 ,i omit innumerable men who have separately devoted themselves to the protection of our ,commonwealth2 and those whose lives are within the memory of the present generation ,i will not mention1 lest any one should complain that ,i had invidiously forgotten himself or some one of his family4 ,this only ,i insist on--that so great is the necessity of this virtue which nature has implanted in man1 and so great is the desire to defend the common safety of our country1 that its energy has continually overcome all the blandishments of pleasure and repose4 ,,ii4 ,nor is it sufficient to possess this virtue as if it were some kind of art1 unless we put it in practice4 ,an art1 indeed1 though not exercised1 may still be retained in knowledge2 but virtue consists wholly in its proper use and action4 ,now1 the noblest use of virtue is the government of the ,commonwealth1 and the carrying-out in real action1 not in words only1 of all those identical theories which those philosophers discuss at every corner4 ,for nothing is spoken by philosophers1 so far as they speak correctly and honorably1 which has not been discovered and confirmed by those persons who have been the founders of the laws of states4 ,for whence comes piety1 or from whom has religion been derived8 ,whence comes law1 either that of nations1 or that which is called the civil law8 ,whence comes justice1 faith1 equity8 ,whence modesty1 continence1 the horror of baseness1 the desire of praise and renown8 ,whence fortitude in labors and perils8 ,doubtless1 from those who have instilled some of these moral principles into men by education1 and confirmed others by custom1 and sanctioned others by laws4 ,moreover1 it is reported of ,xenocrates1 one of the sublimest philosophers1 that when some one asked him what his disciples learned1 he replied1 ,to do that of their own accord which they might be compelled to do by law4 ,that citizen1 therefore1 who obliges all men to those virtuous actions1 by the authority of laws and penalties1 to which the philosophers can scarcely persuade a few by the force of their eloquence1 is certainly to be preferred to the sagest of the doctors who spend their lives in such discussions4 ,for which of their exquisite orations is so admirable as to be entitled to be preferred to a well-constituted government1 public justice1 and good customs8 ,certainly1 just as ,i think that magnificent and imperious cities 7as ,ennius says7 are superior to castles and villages1 so ,i imagine that those who regulate such cities by their counsel and authority are far preferable1 with respect to real wisdom1 to men who are unacquainted with any kind of political knowledge4 ,and since we are strongly prompted to augment the prosperity of the human race1 and since we do endeavor by our counsels and exertions to render the life of man safer and wealthier1 and since we are incited to this blessing by the spur of nature herself1 let us hold on that course which has always been pursued by all the best men1 and not listen for a moment to the signals of those who sound a retreat so loudly that they sometimes call back even those who have made considerable progress4 ,,iii4 ,these reasons1 so certain and so evident1 are opposed by those who1 on the other side1 argue that the labors which must necessarily be sustained in maintaining the ,commonwealth form but a slight impediment to the vigilant and industrious1 and are only a contemptible obstacle in such important affairs1 and even in common studies1 offices1 and employments4 ,they add the peril of life1 that base fear of death1 which has ever been opposed by brave men1 to whom it appears far more miserable to die by the decay of nature and old age than to be allowed an opportunity of gallantly sacrificing that life for their country which must otherwise be yielded up to nature4 ,on this point1 however1 our antagonists esteem themselves copious and eloquent when they collect all the calamities of heroic men1 and the injuries inflicted on them by their ungrateful countrymen4 ,for on this subject they bring forward those notable examples among the ,greeks2 and tell us that ,miltiades1 the vanquisher and conqueror of the ,persians1 before even those wounds were healed which he had received in that most glorious victory1 wasted away in the chains of his fellow-citizens that life which had been preserved from the weapons of the enemy4 ,they cite ,themistocles1 expelled and proscribed by the country which he had rescued1 and forced to flee1 not to the ,grecian ports which he had preserved1 but to the bosom of the barbarous power which he had defeated4 ,there is1 indeed1 no deficiency of examples to illustrate the levity and cruelty of the ,athenians to their noblest citizens--examples which1 originating and multiplying among them1 are said at different times to have abounded in our own most august empire4 ,for we are told3 of the exile of ,camillus1 the disgrace of ,ahala1 the unpopularity of ,nasica1 the expulsion of ,lnas1#bie the condemnation of ,opimius1 the flight of ,metellus1 the cruel destruction of ,caius ,marius1 the massacre of our chieftains1 and the many atrocious crimes which followed4 ,my own history is by no means free from such calamities2 and ,i imagine that when they recollect that by my counsel and perils they were preserved in life and liberty1 they are led by that consideration to bewail my misfortunes more deeply and affectionately4 ,but ,i cannot tell why those who sail over the seas for the sake of knowledge and experience should wonder at seeing still greater hazards braved in the service of the ,commonwealth4 ,,iv4 ,since1 on my quitting the consulship1 ,i swore in the assembly of the ,roman people1 who re-echoed my words1 that ,i had saved the ,commonwealth1 ,i console myself with this remembrance for all my cares1 troubles1 and injuries4 ,although my misfortune had more of honor than misfortune1 and more of glory than disaster2 and ,i derive greater pleasure from the regrets of good men than sorrow from the exultation of the worthless4 ,but even if it had happened otherwise1 how could ,i have complained1 as nothing befell me which was either unforeseen1 or more painful than ,i expected1 as a return for my illustrious actions8 ,for ,i was one who1 though it was in my power to reap more profit from leisure than most men1 on account of the diversified sweetness of my studies1 in which ,i had lived from boyhood--or1 if any public calamity had happened1 to have borne no more than an equal share with the rest of my countrymen in the misfortune--,i nevertheless did not hesitate to oppose myself to the most formidable tempests and torrents of sedition1 for the sake of saving my countrymen1 and at my own proper danger to secure the common safety of all the rest4 ,for our country did not beget and educate us with the expectation of receiving no support1 as ,i may call it1 from us2 nor for the purpose of consulting nothing but our convenience1 to supply us with a secure refuge for idleness and a tranquil spot for rest2 but rather with a view of turning to her own advantage the nobler portion of our genius1 heart1 and counsel2 giving us back for our private service only what she can spare from the public interests4 ,v4 ,those apologies1 therefore1 in which men take refuge as an excuse for their devoting themselves with more plausibility to mere inactivity do certainly not deserve to be listened to2 when1 for instance1 they tell us that those who meddle with public affairs are generally good-for-nothing men1 with whom it is discreditable to be compared1 and miserable and dangerous to contend1 especially when the multitude is in an excited state4 ,on which account it is not the part of a wise man to take the reins1 since he cannot restrain the insane and unregulated movements of the common people4 ,nor is it becoming to a man of liberal birth1 say they1 thus to contend with such vile and unrefined antagonists1 or to subject one's self to the lashings of contumely1 or to put one's self in the way of injuries which ought not to be borne by a wise man4 ,as if to a virtuous1 brave1 and magnanimous man there could be a juster reason for seeking the government than this--to avoid being subjected to worthless men1 and to prevent the ,commonwealth from being torn to pieces by them2 when1 even if they were then desirous to save her1 they would not have the power4 ,,vi4 ,but this restriction who can approve1 which would interdict the wise man from taking any share in the government beyond such as the occasion and necessity may compel him to8 ,as if any greater necessity could possibly happen to any man than happened to me4 ,in which1 how could ,i have acted if ,i had not been consul at the time8 and how could ,i have been a consul unless ,i had maintained that course of life from my childhood which raised me from the order of knights1 in which ,i was born1 to the very highest station8 ,you cannot produce extempore1 and just when you please1 the power of assisting a commonwealth1 although it may be severely pressed by dangers1 unless you have attained the position which enables you legally to do so4 ,and what most surprises me in the discourses of learned men1 is to hear those persons who confess themselves incapable of steering the vessel of the ,state in smooth seas 7which1 indeed1 they never learned1 and never cared to know7 profess themselves ready to assume the helm amidst the fiercest tempests4 ,for those men are accustomed to say openly1 and indeed to boast greatly1 that they have never learned1 and have never taken the least pains to explain1 the principles of either establishing or maintaining a commonwealth2 and they look on this practical science as one which belongs not to men of learning and wisdom1 but to those who have made it their especial study4 ,how1 then1 can it be reasonable for such men to promise their assistance to the ,state1 when they shall be compelled to it by necessity1 while they are ignorant how to govern the republic when no necessity presses upon it1 which is a much more easy task8 ,indeed1 though it were true that the wise man loves not to thrust himself of his own accord into the administration of public affairs1 but that if circumstances oblige him to it1 then he does not refuse the office1 yet ,i think that this science of civil legislation should in no wise be neglected by the philosopher1 because all resources ought to be ready to his hand1 which he knows not how soon he may be called on to use4 ,,vii4 ,i have spoken thus at large for this reason1 because in this work ,i have proposed to myself and undertaken a discussion on the government of a state2 and in order to render it useful1 ,i was bound1 in the first place1 to do away with this pusillanimous hesitation to mingle in public affairs4 ,if there be any1 therefore1 who are too much influenced by the authority of the philosophers1 let them consider the subject for a moment1 and be guided by the opinions of those men whose authority and credit are greatest among learned men2 whom ,i look upon1 though some of them have not personally governed any state1 as men who have nevertheless discharged a kind of office in the republic1 inasmuch as they have made many investigations into1 and left many writings concerning1 state affairs4 ,as to those whom the ,greeks entitle the ,seven ,wise ,men1 ,i find that they almost all lived in the middle of public business4 ,nor1 indeed1 is there anything in which human virtue can more closely resemble the divine powers than in establishing new states1 or in preserving those already established4 ,,viii4 ,and concerning these affairs1 since it has been our good fortune to achieve something worthy of memorial in the government of our country1 and also to have acquired some facility of explaining the powers and resources of politics1 we can treat of this subject with the weight of personal experience and the habit of instruction and illustration4 ,whereas before us many have been skilful in theory1 though no exploits of theirs are recorded2 and many others have been men of consideration in action1 but unfamiliar with the arts of exposition4 ,nor1 indeed1 is it at all our intention to establish a new and self-invented system of government2 but our purpose is rather to recall to memory a discussion of the most illustrious men of their age in our ,commonwealth1 which you and ,i1 in our youth1 when at ,smyrna1 heard mentioned by ,publius ,rutilius ,rufus1 who reported to us a conference of many days in which1 in my opinion1 there was nothing omitted that could throw light on political affairs4 ,,ix4 ,for when1 in the year of the consulship of ,tuditanus and ,aquilius1 ,scipio ,africanus1 the son of ,paulus milius1 formed the project of spending the ,latin holidays at his country-seat1 where his most intimate friends had promised him frequent visits during this season of relaxation1 on the first morning of the festival1 his nephew1 ,quintus ,tubero1 made his appearance2 and when ,scipio had greeted him heartily and embraced him--,how is it1 my dear ,tubero1 said he1 that ,i see you so early8 ,for these holidays must afford you a capital opportunity of pursuing your favorite studies4 ,ah6 replied ,tubero1 ,i can study my books at any time1 for they are always disengaged2 but it is a great privilege1 my ,scipio1 to find you at leisure1 especially in this restless period of public affairs4 ,you certainly have found me so1 said ,scipio1 but1 to speak truth1 ,i am rather relaxing from business than from study4 ,nay1 said ,tubero1 you must try to relax from your studies too1 for here are several of us1 as we have appointed1 all ready1 if it suits your convenience1 to aid you in getting through this leisure time of yours4 ,i am very willing to consent1 answered ,scipio1 and we may be able to compare notes respecting the several topics that interest us4 ,x4 ,be it so1 said ,tubero2 and since you invite me to discussion1 and present the opportunity1 let us first examine1 before any one else arrives1 what can be the nature of the parhelion1 or double sun1 which was mentioned in the senate4 ,those that affirm they witnessed this prodigy are neither few nor unworthy of credit1 so that there is more reason for investigation than incredulity4#bif ,ah6 said ,scipio1 ,i wish we had our friend ,pantius with us1 who is fond of investigating all things of this kind1 but especially all celestial phenomena4 ,as for my opinion1 ,tubero1 for ,i always tell you just what ,i think1 ,i hardly agree in these subjects with that friend of mine1 since1 respecting things of which we can scarcely form a conjecture as to their character1 he is as positive as if he had seen them with his own eyes and felt them with his own hands4 ,and ,i cannot but the more admire the wisdom of ,socrates1 who discarded all anxiety respecting things of this kind1 and affirmed that these inquiries concerning the secrets of nature were either above the efforts of human reason1 or were absolutely of no consequence at all to human life4 ,but1 then1 my ,africanus1 replied ,tubero1 of what credit is the tradition which states that ,socrates rejected all these physical investigations1 and confined his whole attention to men and manners8 ,for1 with respect to him what better authority can we cite than ,plato8 in many passages of whose works ,socrates speaks in such a manner that even when he is discussing morals1 and virtues1 and even public affairs and politics1 he endeavors to interweave1 after the fashion of ,pythagoras1 the doctrines of arithmetic1 geometry1 and harmonic proportions with them4 ,that is true1 replied ,scipio2 but you are aware1 ,i believe1 that ,plato1 after the death of ,socrates1 was induced to visit ,egypt by his love of science1 and that after that he proceeded to ,italy and ,sicily1 from his desire of understanding the ,pythagorean dogmas2 that he conversed much with ,archytas of ,tarentum and ,timus of ,locris2 that he collected the works of ,philolaus2 and that1 finding in these places the renown of ,pythagoras flourishing1 he addicted himself exceedingly to the disciples of ,pythagoras1 and their studies2 therefore1 as he loved ,socrates with his whole heart1 and wished to attribute all great discoveries to him1 he interwove the ,socratic elegance and subtlety of eloquence with somewhat of the obscurity of ,pythagoras1 and with that notorious gravity of his diversified arts4 ,,xi4 ,when ,scipio had spoken thus1 he suddenly saw ,lucius ,furius approaching1 and saluting him1 and embracing him most affectionately1 he gave him a seat on his own couch4 ,and as soon as ,publius ,rutilius1 the worthy reporter of the conference to us1 had arrived1 when we had saluted him1 he placed him by the side of ,tubero4 ,then said ,furius1 ,what is it that you are about8 ,has our entrance at all interrupted any conversation of yours8 ,by no means1 said ,scipio1 for you yourself too are in the habit of investigating carefully the subject which ,tubero was a little before proposing to examine2 and our friend ,rutilius1 even under the walls of ,numantia1 was in the habit at times of conversing with me on questions of the same kind4 ,what1 then1 was the subject of your discussion8 said ,philus4 ,we were talking1 said ,scipio1 of the double suns that recently appeared1 and ,i wish1 ,philus1 to hear what you think of them4 ,,xii4 ,just as he was speaking1 a boy announced that ,llius was coming to call on him1 and that he had already left his house4 ,then ,scipio1 putting on his sandals and robes1 immediately went forth from his chamber1 and when he had walked a little time in the portico1 he met ,llius1 and welcomed him and those that accompanied him1 namely1 ,spurius ,mummius1 to whom he was greatly attached1 and ,c4 ,fannius and ,quintus ,scvola1 sons-in-law of ,llius1 two very intelligent young men1 and now of the qustorian age4#big ,when he had saluted them all1 he returned through the portico1 placing ,llius in the middle2 for there was in their friendship a sort of law of reciprocal courtesy1 so that in the camp ,llius paid ,scipio almost divine honors1 on account of his eminent renown in war and in private life2 in his turn ,scipio reverenced ,llius1 even as a father1 because he was older than himself4 ,then after they had exchanged a few words1 as they walked up and down1 ,scipio1 to whom their visit was extremely welcome and agreeable1 wished to assemble them in a sunny corner of the gardens1 because it was still winter2 and when they had agreed to this1 there came in another friend1 a learned man1 much beloved and esteemed by all of them1 ,m4 ,manilius1 who1 after having been most warmly welcomed by ,scipio and the rest1 seated himself next to ,llius4 ,,xiii4 ,then ,philus1 commencing the conversation1 said3 ,it does not appear to me that the presence of our new guests need alter the subject of our discussion1 but only that it should induce us to treat it more philosophically1 and in a manner more worthy of our increased audience4 ,what do you allude to8 said ,llius2 or what was the discussion we broke in upon8 ,scipio was asking me1 replied ,philus1 what ,i thought of the parhelion1 or mock sun1 whose recent apparition was so strongly attested4 ,llius4 ,do you say then1 my ,philus1 that we have sufficiently examined those questions which concern our own houses and the ,commonwealth1 that we begin to investigate the celestial mysteries8 ,and ,philus replied3 ,do you think1 then1 that it does not concern our houses to know what happens in that vast home which is not included in walls of human fabrication1 but which embraces the entire universe--a home which the ,gods share with us1 as the common country of all intelligent beings8 ,especially when1 if we are ignorant of these things1 there are also many great practical truths which result from them1 and which bear directly on the welfare of our race1 of which we must be also ignorant4 ,and here ,i can speak for myself1 as well as for you1 ,llius1 and all men who are ambitious of wisdom1 that the knowledge and consideration of the facts of nature are by themselves very delightful4 ,llius4 ,i have no objection to the discussion1 especially as it is holiday-time with us4 ,but cannot we have the pleasure of hearing you resume it1 or are we come too late8 ,philus4 ,we have not yet commenced the discussion1 and since the question remains entire and unbroken1 ,i shall have the greatest pleasure1 my ,llius1 in handing over the argument to you4 ,llius4 ,no1 ,i had much rather hear you1 unless1 indeed1 ,manilius thinks himself able to compromise the suit between the two suns1 that they may possess heaven as joint sovereigns without intruding on each other's empire4 ,then ,manilius said3 ,are you going1 ,llius1 to ridicule a science in which1 in the first place1 ,i myself excel2 and1 secondly1 without which no one can distinguish what is his own1 and what is another's8 ,but to return to the point4 ,let us now at present listen to ,philus1 who seems to me to have started a greater question than any of those that have engaged the attention of either ,publius ,mucius or myself4 ,,xiv4 ,then ,philus said3 ,i am not about to bring you anything new1 or anything which has been thought over or discovered by me myself4 ,but ,i recollect that ,caius ,sulpicius ,gallus1 who was a man of profound learning1 as you are aware1 when this same thing was reported to have taken place in his time1 while he was staying in the house of ,marcus ,marcellus1 who had been his colleague in the consulship1 asked to see a celestial globe which ,marcellus's grandfather had saved after the capture of ,syracuse from that magnificent and opulent city1 without bringing to his own home any other memorial out of so great a booty2 which ,i had often heard mentioned on account of the great fame of ,archimedes2 but its appearance1 however1 did not seem to me particularly striking4 ,for that other is more elegant in form1 and more generally known1 which was made by the same ,archimedes1 and deposited by the same ,marcellus in the ,temple of ,virtue at ,rome4 ,but as soon as ,gallus had begun to explain1 in a most scientific manner1 the principle of this machine1 ,i felt that the ,sicilian geometrician must have possessed a genius superior to anything we usually conceive to belong to our nature4 ,for ,gallus assured us that that other solid and compact globe was a very ancient invention1 and that the first model had been originally made by ,thales of ,miletus4 ,that afterward ,eudoxus of ,cnidus1 a disciple of ,plato1 had traced on its surface the stars that appear in the sky1 and that many years subsequently1 borrowing from ,eudoxus this beautiful design and representation1 ,aratus had illustrated it in his verses1 not by any science of astronomy1 but by the ornament of poetic description4 ,he added that the figure of the globe1 which displayed the motions of the sun and moon1 and the five planets1 or wandering stars1 could not be represented by the primitive solid globe2 and that in this the invention of ,archimedes was admirable1 because he had calculated how a single revolution should maintain unequal and diversified progressions in dissimilar motions4 ,in fact1 when ,gallus moved this globe1 we observed that the moon succeeded the sun by as many turns of the wheel in the machine as days in the heavens4 ,from whence it resulted that the progress of the sun was marked as in the heavens1 and that the moon touched the point where she is obscured by the earth's shadow at the instant the sun appears opposite4#bih 99 99 99 ,,xv4 99 99 99#bii ,i had myself a great affection for this ,gallus1 and ,i know that he was very much beloved and esteemed by my father ,paulus4 ,i recollect that when ,i was very young1 when my father1 as consul1 commanded in ,macedonia1 and we were in the camp1 our army was seized with a pious terror1 because suddenly1 in a clear night1 the bright and full moon became eclipsed4 ,and ,gallus1 who was then our lieutenant1 the year before that in which he was elected consul1 hesitated not1 next morning1 to state in the camp that it was no prodigy1 and that the phenomenon which had then appeared would always appear at certain periods1 when the sun was so placed that he could not affect the moon with his light4 ,but do you mean1 said ,tubero1 that he dared to speak thus to men almost entirely uneducated and ignorant8 ,scipio4 ,he did1 and with great 99 99 99 for his opinion was no result of insolent ostentation1 nor was his language unbecoming the dignity of so wise a man3 indeed1 he performed a very noble action in thus freeing his countrymen from the terrors of an idle superstition4 ,,xvi4 ,and they relate that in a similar way1 in the great war in which the ,athenians and ,lacedmonians contended with such violent resentment1 the famous ,pericles1 the first man of his country in credit1 eloquence1 and political genius1 observing the ,athenians overwhelmed with an excessive alarm during an eclipse of the sun which caused a sudden darkness1 told them1 what he had learned in the school of ,anaxagoras1 that these phenomena necessarily happened at precise and regular periods when the body of the moon was interposed between the sun and the earth1 and that if they happened not before every new moon1 still they could not possibly happen except at the exact time of the new moon4 ,and when he had proved this truth by his reasonings1 he freed the people from their alarms2 for at that period the doctrine was new and unfamiliar that the sun was accustomed to be eclipsed by the interposition of the moon1 which fact they say that ,thales of ,miletus was the first to discover4 ,afterward my friend ,ennius appears to have been acquainted with the same theory1 who1 writing about #cejcjj years after the foundation of ,rome1 says1 ,in the nones of ,june the sun was covered by the moon and night4 ,the calculations in the astronomical art have attained such perfection that from that day1 thus described to us by ,ennius and recorded in the pontifical registers1 the anterior eclipses of the sun have been computed as far back as the nones of ,july in the reign of ,romulus1 when that eclipse took place1 in the obscurity of which it was affirmed that ,virtue bore ,romulus to heaven1 in spite of the perishable nature which carried him off by the common fate of humanity4 ,,xvii4 ,then said ,tubero3 ,do not you think1 ,scipio1 that this astronomical science1 which every day proves so useful1 just now appeared in a different light to you1#cja 99 99 99 which the rest may see4 ,moreover1 who can think anything in human affairs of brilliant importance who has penetrated this starry empire of the gods8 ,or who can think anything connected with mankind long who has learned to estimate the nature of eternity8 or glorious who is aware of the insignificance of the size of the earth1 even in its whole extent1 and especially in the portion which men inhabit8 ,and when we consider that almost imperceptible point which we ourselves occupy unknown to the majority of nations1 can we still hope that our name and reputation can be widely circulated8 ,and then our estates and edifices1 our cattle1 and the enormous treasures of our gold and silver1 can they be esteemed or denominated as desirable goods by him who observes their perishable profit1 and their contemptible use1 and their uncertain domination1 often falling into the possession of the very worst men8 ,how happy1 then1 ought we to esteem that man who alone has it in his power1 not by the law of the ,romans1 but by the privilege of philosophers1 to enjoy all things as his own2 not by any civil bond1 but by the common right of nature1 which denies that anything can really be possessed by any one but him who understands its true nature and use2 who reckons our dictatorships and consulships rather in the rank of necessary offices than desirable employments1 and thinks they must be endured rather as acquittances of our debt to our country than sought for the sake of emolument or glory--the man1 in short1 who can apply to himself the sentence which ,cato tells us my ancestor ,africanus loved to repeat1 that he was never so busy as when he did nothing1 and never less solitary than when alone4 ,for who can believe that ,dionysius1 when after every possible effort he ravished from his fellow-citizens their liberty1 had performed a nobler work than ,archimedes1 when1 without appearing to be doing anything1 he manufactured the globe which we have just been describing8 ,who does not see that those men are in reality more solitary who1 in the midst of a crowd1 find no one with whom they can converse congenially than those who1 without witnesses1 hold communion with themselves1 and enter into the secret counsels of the sagest philosophers1 while they delight themselves in their writings and discoveries8 ,and who would think any one richer than the man who is in want of nothing which nature requires2 or more powerful than he who has attained all that she has need of2 or happier than he who is free from all mental perturbation2 or more secure in future than he who carries all his property in himself1 which is thus secured from shipwreck8 ,and what power1 what magistracy1 what royalty1 can be preferred to a wisdom which1 looking down on all terrestrial objects as low and transitory things1 incessantly directs its attention to eternal and immutable verities1 and which is persuaded that though others are called men1 none are really so but those who are refined by the appropriate acts of humanity8 ,in this sense an expression of ,plato or some other philosopher appears to me exceedingly elegant1 who1 when a tempest had driven his ship on an unknown country and a desolate shore1 during the alarms with which their ignorance of the region inspired his companions1 observed1 they say1 geometrical figures traced in the sand1 on which he immediately told them to be of good cheer1 for he had observed the indications of ,man4 ,a conjecture he deduced1 not from the cultivation of the soil which he beheld1 but from the symbols of science4 ,for this reason1 ,tubero1 learning and learned men1 and these your favorite studies1 have always particularly pleased me4 ,,xviii4 ,then ,llius replied3 ,i cannot venture1 ,scipio1 to answer your arguments1 or to maintain the discussion either against you1 ,philus1 or ,manilius4#cjb 99 99 99 ,we had a friend in ,tubero's father's family1 who in these respects may serve him as a model4 ,sextus so wise1 and ever on his guard4 ,wise and cautious indeed he was1 as ,ennius justly describes him--not because he searched for what he could never find1 but because he knew how to answer those who prayed for deliverance from cares and difficulties4 ,it is he who1 reasoning against the astronomical studies of ,gallus1 used frequently to repeat these words of ,achilles in the ,iphigenia#cjc3 ,they note the astrologic signs of heaven1 ,whene'er the goats or scorpions of great ,jove1 ,or other monstrous names of brutal forms1 ,rise in the zodiac2 but not one regards ,the sensible facts of earth1 on which we tread1 ,while gazing on the starry prodigies4 ,he used1 however1 to say 7and ,i have often listened to him with pleasure7 that for his part he thought that ,zethus1 in the piece of ,pacuvius1 was too inimical to learning4 ,he much preferred the ,neoptolemus of ,ennius1 who professes himself desirous of philosophizing only in moderation2 for that he did not think it right to be wholly devoted to it4 ,but though the studies of the ,greeks have so many charms for you1 there are others1 perhaps1 nobler and more extensive1 which we may be better able to apply to the service of real life1 and even to political affairs4 ,as to these abstract sciences1 their utility1 if they possess any1 lies principally in exciting and stimulating the abilities of youth1 so that they more easily acquire more important accomplishments4 ,,xix4 ,then ,tubero said3 ,i do not mean to disagree with you1 ,llius2 but1 pray1 what do you call more important studies8 ,llius4 ,i will tell you frankly1 though perhaps you will think lightly of my opinion1 since you appeared so eager in interrogating ,scipio respecting the celestial phenomena2 but ,i happen to think that those things which are every day before our eyes are more particularly deserving of our attention4 ,why should the child of ,paulus milius1 the nephew of milius1 the descendant of such a noble family and so glorious a republic1 inquire how there can be two suns in heaven1 and not ask how there can be two senates in one ,commonwealth1 and1 as it were1 two distinct peoples8 ,for1 as you see1 the death of ,tiberius ,gracchus1 and the whole system of his tribuneship1 has divided one people into two parties4 ,but the slanderers and the enemies of ,scipio1 encouraged by ,p4 ,crassus and ,appius ,claudius1 maintained1 after the death of these two chiefs1 a division of nearly half the senate1 under the influence of ,metellus and ,mucius4 ,nor would they permit the man#cjd who alone could have been of service to help us out of our difficulties during the movement of the ,latins and their allies towards rebellion1 violating all our treaties in the presence of factious triumvirs1 and creating every day some fresh intrigue1 to the disturbance of the worthier and wealthier citizens4 ,this is the reason1 young men1 if you will listen to me1 why you should regard this new sun with less alarm2 for1 whether it does exist1 or whether it does not exist1 it is1 as you see1 quite harmless to us4 ,as to the manner of its existence1 we can know little or nothing2 and even if we obtained the most perfect understanding of it1 this knowledge would make us but little wiser or happier4 ,but that there should exist a united people and a united senate is a thing which actually may be brought about1 and it will be a great evil if it is not2 and that it does not exist at present we are aware2 and we see that if it can be effected1 our lives will be both better and happier4 ,,xx4 ,then ,mucius said3 ,what1 then1 do you consider1 my ,llius1 should be our best arguments in endeavoring to bring about the object of your wishes8 ,llius4 ,those sciences and arts which teach us how we may be most useful to the ,state2 for ,i consider that the most glorious office of wisdom1 and the noblest proof and business of virtue4 ,in order1 therefore1 that we may consecrate these holidays as much as possible to conversations which may be profitable to the ,commonwealth1 let us beg ,scipio to explain to us what in his estimation appears to be the best form of government4 ,then let us pass on to other points1 the knowledge of which may lead us1 as ,i hope1 to sound political views1 and unfold the causes of the dangers which now threaten us4 ,,xxi4 ,when ,philus1 ,manilius1 and ,mummius had all expressed their great approbation of this idea#cje 99 99 99 ,i have ventured to open our discussion in this way1 not only because it is but just that on ,state politics the chief man in the ,state should be the principal speaker1 but also because ,i recollect that you1 ,scipio1 were formerly very much in the habit of conversing with ,pantius and ,polybius1 two ,greeks1 exceedingly learned in political questions1 and that you are master of many arguments by which you prove that by far the best condition of government is that which our ancestors have handed down to us4 ,and as you1 therefore1 are familiar with this subject1 if you will explain to us your views respecting the general principles of a state 7,i speak for my friends as well as myself71 we shall feel exceedingly obliged to you4 ,,xxii4 ,then ,scipio said3 ,i must acknowledge that there is no subject of meditation to which my mind naturally turns with more ardor and intensity than this very one which ,llius has proposed to us4 ,and1 indeed1 as ,i see that in every profession1 every artist who would distinguish himself1 thinks of1 and aims at1 and labors for no other object but that of attaining perfection in his art1 should not ,i1 whose main business1 according to the example of my father and my ancestors1 is the advancement and right administration of government1 be confessing myself more indolent than any common mechanic if ,i were to bestow on this noblest of sciences less attention and labor than they devote to their insignificant trades8 ,however1 ,i am neither entirely satisfied with the decisions which the greatest and wisest men of ,greece have left us2 nor1 on the other hand1 do ,i venture to prefer my own opinions to theirs4 ,therefore1 ,i must request you not to consider me either entirely ignorant of the ,grecian literature1 nor yet disposed1 especially in political questions1 to yield it the pre-eminence over our own2 but rather to regard me as a true-born ,roman1 not illiberally instructed by the care of my father1 and inflamed with the desire of knowledge1 even from my boyhood1 but still even more familiar with domestic precepts and practices than the literature of books4 ,,xxiii4 ,on this ,philus said3 ,i have no doubt1 my ,scipio1 that no one is superior to you in natural genius1 and that you are very far superior to every one in the practical experience of national government and of important business4 ,we are also acquainted with the course which your studies have at all times taken2 and if1 as you say1 you have given so much attention to this science and art of politics1 we cannot be too much obliged to ,llius for introducing the subject3 for ,i trust that what we shall hear from you will be far more useful and available than all the writings put together which the ,greeks have written for us4 ,then ,scipio replied3 ,you are raising a very high expectation of my discourse1 such as is a most oppressive burden to a man who is required to discuss grave subjects4 ,and ,philus said3 ,although that may be a difficulty1 my ,scipio1 still you will be sure to conquer it1 as you always do2 nor is there any danger of eloquence failing you1 when you begin to speak on the affairs of a commonwealth4 ,,xxiv4 ,then ,scipio proceeded3 ,i will do what you wish1 as far as ,i can2 and ,i shall enter into the discussion under favor of that rule which1 ,i think1 should be adopted by all persons in disputations of this kind1 if they wish to avoid being misunderstood2 namely1 that when men have agreed respecting the proper name of the matter under discussion1 it should be stated what that name exactly means1 and what it legitimately includes4 ,and when that point is settled1 then it is fit to enter on the discussion2 for it will never be possible to arrive at an understanding of what the character of the subject of the discussion is1 unless one first understands exactly what it is4 ,since1 then1 our investigations relate to a commonwealth1 we must first examine what this name properly signifies4 ,and when ,llius had intimated his approbation of this course1 ,scipio continued3 ,i shall not adopt1 said he1 in so clear and simple a manner that system of discussion which goes back to first principles2 as learned men often do in this sort of discussion1 so as to go back to the first meeting of male and female1 and then to the first birth and formation of the first family1 and define over and over again what there is in words1 and in how many manners each thing is stated4 ,for1 as ,i am speaking to men of prudence1 who have acted with the greatest glory in the ,commonwealth1 both in peace and war1 ,i will take care not to allow the subject of the discussion itself to be clearer than my explanation of it4 ,nor have ,i undertaken this task with the design of examining all its minuter points1 like a school-master2 nor will ,i promise you in the following discourse not to omit any single particular4 ,then ,llius said3 ,for my part1 ,i am impatient for exactly that kind of disquisition which you promise us4 ,,xxv4 ,well1 then1 said ,africanus1 a commonwealth is a constitution of the entire people4 ,but the people is not every association of men1 however congregated1 but the association of the entire number1 bound together by the compact of justice1 and the communication of utility4 ,the first cause of this association is not so much the weakness of man as a certain spirit of congregation which naturally belongs to him4 ,for the human race is not a race of isolated individuals1 wandering and solitary2 but it is so constituted that even in the affluence of all things and without any need of reciprocal assistance1 it spontaneously seeks society4 ,,xxvi4 ,it is necessary to presuppose these original seeds1 as it were1 since we cannot discover any primary establishment of the other virtues1 or even of a commonwealth itself4 ,these unions1 then1 formed by the principle which ,i have mentioned1 established their headquarters originally in certain central positions1 for the convenience of the whole population2 and having fortified them by natural and artificial means1 they called this collection of houses a city or town1 distinguished by temples and public squares4 ,every people1 therefore1 which consists of such an association of the entire multitude as ,i have described1 every city which consists of an assemblage of the people1 and every commonwealth which embraces every member of these associations1 must be regulated by a certain authority1 in order to be permanent4 ,this intelligent authority should always refer itself to that grand first principle which established the ,commonwealth4 ,it must be deposited in the hands of one supreme person1 or intrusted to the administration of certain delegated rulers1 or undertaken by the whole multitude4 ,when the direction of all depends on one person1 we call this individual a king1 and this form of political constitution a kingdom4 ,when it is in the power of privileged delegates1 the ,state is said to be ruled by an aristocracy2 and when the people are all in all1 they call it a democracy1 or popular constitution4 ,and if the tie of social affection1 which originally united men in political associations for the sake of public interest1 maintains its force1 each of these forms of government is1 ,i will not say perfect1 nor1 in my opinion1 essentially good1 but tolerable1 and such that one may accidentally be better than another3 either a just and wise king1 or a selection of the most eminent citizens1 or even the populace itself 7though this is the least commendable form71 may1 if there be no interference of crime and cupidity1 form a constitution sufficiently secure4 ,,xxvii4 ,but in a monarchy the other members of the ,state are often too much deprived of public counsel and jurisdiction2 and under the rule of an aristocracy the multitude can hardly possess its due share of liberty1 since it is allowed no share in the public deliberation1 and no power4 ,and when all things are carried by a democracy1 although it be just and moderate1 yet its very equality is a culpable levelling1 inasmuch as it allows no gradations of rank4 ,therefore1 even if ,cyrus1 the ,king of the ,persians1 was a most righteous and wise monarch1 ,i should still think that the interest of the people 7for this is1 as ,i have said before1 the same as the ,commonwealth7 could not be very effectually promoted when all things depended on the beck and nod of one individual4 ,and though at present the people of ,marseilles1 our clients1 are governed with the greatest justice by elected magistrates of the highest rank1 still there is always in this condition of the people a certain appearance of servitude2 and when the ,athenians1 at a certain period1 having demolished their ,areopagus1 conducted all public affairs by the acts and decrees of the democracy alone1 their ,state1 as it no longer contained a distinct gradation of ranks1 was no longer able to retain its original fair appearance4 ,,xxviii4 ,i have reasoned thus on the three forms of government1 not looking on them in their disorganized and confused conditions1 but in their proper and regular administration4 ,these three particular forms1 however1 contained in themselves1 from the first1 the faults and defects ,i have mentioned2 but they have also other dangerous vices1 for there is not one of these three forms of government which has not a precipitous and slippery passage down to some proximate abuse4 ,for1 after thinking of that endurable1 or1 as you will have it1 most amiable king1 ,cyrus--to name him in preference to any one else--then1 to produce a change in our minds1 we behold the barbarous ,phalaris1 that model of tyranny1 to which the monarchical authority is easily abused by a facile and natural inclination4 ,and1 in like manner1 along-side of the wise aristocracy of ,marseilles1 we might exhibit the oligarchical faction of the thirty tyrants which once existed at ,athens4 ,and1 not to seek for other instances1 among the same ,athenians1 we can show you that when unlimited power was cast into the hands of the people1 it inflamed the fury of the multitude1 and aggravated that universal license which ruined their ,state4#cjf 99 99 99 ,,xxix4 ,the worst condition of things sometimes results from a confusion of those factious tyrannies into which kings1 aristocrats1 and democrats are apt to degenerate4 ,for thus1 from these diverse elements1 there occasionally arises 7as ,i have said before7 a new kind of government4 ,and wonderful indeed are the revolutions and periodical returns in natural constitutions of such alternations and vicissitudes1 which it is the part of the wise politician to investigate with the closest attention4 ,but to calculate their approach1 and to join to this foresight the skill which moderates the course of events1 and retains in a steady hand the reins of that authority which safely conducts the people through all the dangers to which they expose themselves1 is the work of a most illustrious citizen1 and of almost divine genius4 ,there is a fourth kind of government1 therefore1 which1 in my opinion1 is preferable to all these3 it is that mixed and moderate government which is composed of the three particular forms which ,i have already noticed4 ,,xxx4 ,llius4 ,i am not ignorant1 ,scipio1 that such is your opinion1 for ,i have often heard you say so4 ,but ,i do not the less desire1 if it is not giving you too much trouble1 to hear which you consider the best of these three forms of commonwealths4 ,for it may be of some use in considering#cjg 99 99 99 ,,xxxi4 99 99 99 ,and each commonwealth corresponds to the nature and will of him who governs it4 ,therefore1 in no other constitution than that in which the people exercise sovereign power has liberty any sure abode1 than which there certainly is no more desirable blessing4 ,and if it be not equally established for every one1 it is not even liberty at all4 ,and how can there be this character of equality1 ,i do not say under a monarchy1 where slavery is least disguised or doubtful1 but even in those constitutions in which the people are free indeed in words1 for they give their suffrages1 they elect officers1 they are canvassed and solicited for magistracies2 but yet they only grant those things which they are obliged to grant whether they will or not1 and which are not really in their free power1 though others ask them for them8 ,for they are not themselves admitted to the government1 to the exercise of public authority1 or to offices of select judges1 which are permitted to those only of ancient families and large fortunes4 ,but in a free people1 as among the ,rhodians and ,athenians1 there is no citizen who#cjh 99 99 99 ,,xxxii4 99 99 99 ,no sooner is one man1 or several1 elevated by wealth and power1 than they say that 99 99 99 arise from their pride and arrogance1 when the idle and the timid give way1 and bow down to the insolence of riches4 ,but if the people knew how to maintain its rights1 then they say that nothing could be more glorious and prosperous than democracy2 inasmuch as they themselves would be the sovereign dispensers of laws1 judgments1 war1 peace1 public treaties1 and1 finally1 of the fortune and life of each individual citizen2 and this condition of things is the only one which1 in their opinion1 can be really called a commonwealth1 that is to say1 a constitution of the people4 ,it is on this principle that1 according to them1 a people often vindicates its liberty from the domination of kings and nobles2 while1 on the other hand1 kings are not sought for among free peoples1 nor are the power and wealth of aristocracies4 ,they deny1 moreover1 that it is fair to reject this general constitution of freemen1 on account of the vices of the unbridled populace2 but that if the people be united and inclined1 and directs all its efforts to the safety and freedom of the community1 nothing can be stronger or more unchangeable2 and they assert that this necessary union is easily obtained in a republic so constituted that the good of all classes is the same2 while the conflicting interests that prevail in other constitutions inevitably produce dissensions2 therefore1 say they1 when the senate had the ascendency1 the republic had no stability2 and when kings possess the power1 this blessing is still more rare1 since1 as ,ennius expresses it1 ,in kingdoms there's no faith1 and little love4 ,wherefore1 since the law is the bond of civil society1 and the justice of the law equal1 by what rule can the association of citizens be held together1 if the condition of the citizens be not equal8 ,for if the fortunes of men cannot be reduced to this equality--if genius cannot be equally the property of all--rights1 at least1 should be equal among those who are citizens of the same republic4 ,for what is a republic but an association of rights8#cji 99 99 99 ,,xxxiii4 ,but as to the other political constitutions1 these democratical advocates do not think they are worthy of being distinguished by the name which they claim4 ,for why1 say they1 should we apply the name of king1 the title of ,jupiter the ,beneficent1 and not rather the title of tyrant1 to a man ambitious of sole authority and power1 lording it over a degraded multitude8 ,for a tyrant may be as merciful as a king may be oppressive2 so that the whole difference to the people is1 whether they serve an indulgent master or a cruel one1 since serve some one they must4 ,but how could ,sparta1 at the period of the boasted superiority of her political institution1 obtain a constant enjoyment of just and virtuous kings1 when they necessarily received an hereditary monarch1 good1 bad1 or indifferent1 because he happened to be of the blood royal8 ,as to aristocrats1 ,who will endure1 say they1 that men should distinguish themselves by such a title1 and that not by the voice of the people1 but by their own votes8 ,for how is such a one judged to be best either in learning1 sciences1 or arts8#caj 99 99 99 ,,xxxiv4 99 99 99 ,if it does so by hap-hazard1 it will be as easily upset as a vessel if the pilot were chosen by lot from among the passengers4 ,but if a people1 being free1 chooses those to whom it can trust itself--and1 if it desires its own preservation1 it will always choose the noblest--then certainly it is in the counsels of the aristocracy that the safety of the ,state consists1 especially as nature has not only appointed that these superior men should excel the inferior sort in high virtue and courage1 but has inspired the people also with the desire of obedience towards these1 their natural lords4 ,but they say this aristocratical ,state is destroyed by the depraved opinions of men1 who1 through ignorance of virtue 7which1 as it belongs to few1 can be discerned and appreciated by few71 imagine that not only rich and powerful men1 but also those who are nobly born1 are necessarily the best4 ,and so when1 through this popular error1 the riches1 and not the virtue1 of a few men has taken possession of the ,state1 these chiefs obstinately retain the title of nobles1 though they want the essence of nobility4 ,for riches1 fame1 and power1 without wisdom and a just method of regulating ourselves and commanding others1 are full of discredit and insolent arrogance2 nor is there any kind of government more deformed than that in which the wealthiest are regarded as the noblest4 ,but when virtue governs the ,commonwealth1 what can be more glorious8 ,when he who commands the rest is himself enslaved by no lust or passion2 when he himself exhibits all the virtues to which he incites and educates the citizens2 when he imposes no law on the people which he does not himself observe1 but presents his life as a living law to his fellow-countrymen2 if a single individual could thus suffice for all1 there would be no need of more2 and if the community could find a chief ruler thus worthy of all their suffrages1 none would require elected magistrates4 ,it was the difficulty of forming plans which transferred the government from a king into the hands of many2 and the error and temerity of the people likewise transferred it from the hands of the many into those of the few4 ,thus1 between the weakness of the monarch and the rashness of the multitude1 the aristocrats have occupied the middle place1 than which nothing can be better arranged2 and while they superintend the public interest1 the people necessarily enjoy the greatest possible prosperity1 being free from all care and anxiety1 having intrusted their security to others1 who ought sedulously to defend it1 and not allow the people to suspect that their advantage is neglected by their rulers4 ,for as to that equality of rights which democracies so loudly boast of1 it can never be maintained2 for the people themselves1 so dissolute and so unbridled1 are always inclined to flatter a number of demagogues2 and there is in them a very great partiality for certain men and dignities1 so that their equality1 so called1 becomes most unfair and iniquitous4 ,for as equal honor is given to the most noble and the most infamous1 some of whom must exist in every ,state1 then the equity which they eulogize becomes most inequitable--an evil which never can happen in those states which are governed by aristocracies4 ,these reasonings1 my ,llius1 and some others of the same kind1 are usually brought forward by those that so highly extol this form of political constitution4 ,,xxxv4 ,then ,llius said3 ,but you have not told us1 ,scipio1 which of these three forms of government you yourself most approve4 ,scipio4 ,you are right to shape your question1 which of the three ,i most approve1 for there is not one of them which ,i approve at all by itself1 since1 as ,i told you1 ,i prefer that government which is mixed and composed of all these forms1 to any one of them taken separately4 ,but if ,i must confine myself to one of these particular forms simply and exclusively1 ,i must confess ,i prefer the royal one1 and praise that as the first and best4 ,in this1 which ,i here choose to call the primitive form of government1 ,i find the title of father attached to that of king1 to express that he watches over the citizens as over his children1 and endeavors rather to preserve them in freedom than reduce them to slavery4 ,so that it is more advantageous for those who are insignificant in property and capacity to be supported by the care of one excellent and eminently powerful man4 ,the nobles here present themselves1 who profess that they can do all this in much better style2 for they say that there is much more wisdom in many than in one1 and at least as much faith and equity4 ,and1 last of all1 come the people1 who cry with a loud voice that they will render obedience neither to the one nor the few2 that even to brute beasts nothing is so dear as liberty2 and that all men who serve either kings or nobles are deprived of it4 ,thus1 the kings attract us by affection1 the nobles by talent1 the people by liberty2 and in the comparison it is hard to choose the best4 ,llius4 ,i think so too1 but yet it is impossible to despatch the other branches of the question1 if you leave this primary point undetermined4 ,,xxxvi4 ,scipio4 ,we must then1 ,i suppose1 imitate ,aratus1 who1 when he prepared himself to treat of great things1 thought himself in duty bound to begin with ,jupiter4 ,llius4 ,wherefore ,jupiter8 and what is there in this discussion which resembles that poem8 ,scipio4 ,why1 it serves to teach us that we cannot better commence our investigations than by invoking him whom1 with one voice1 both learned and unlearned extol as the universal king of all gods and men4 ,how so8 said ,llius4 ,do you1 then1 asked ,scipio1 believe in nothing which is not before your eyes8 whether these ideas have been established by the chiefs of states for the benefit of society1 that there might be believed to exist one ,universal ,monarch in heaven1 at whose nod 7as ,homer expresses it7 all ,olympus trembles1 and that he might be accounted both king and father of all creatures2 for there is great authority1 and there are many witnesses1 if you choose to call all many1 who attest that all nations have unanimously recognized1 by the decrees of their chiefs1 that nothing is better than a king1 since they think that all the ,gods are governed by the divine power of one sovereign2 or if we suspect that this opinion rests on the error of the ignorant1 and should be classed among the fables1 let us listen to those universal testimonies of erudite men1 who have1 as it were1 seen with their eyes those things to the knowledge of which we can hardly attain by report4 ,what men do you mean8 said ,llius4 ,those1 replied ,scipio1 who1 by the investigation of nature1 have arrived at the opinion that the whole universe is animated by a single ,mind#caa4 99 99 99 ,,xxxvii4 ,but if you please1 my ,llius1 ,i will bring forward evidences which are neither too ancient nor in any respect barbarous4 ,those1 said ,llius1 are what ,i want4 ,scipio4 ,you are aware that it is now not four centuries since this city of ours has been without kings4 ,llius4 ,you are correct2 it is less than four centuries4 ,scipio4 ,well1 then1 what are four centuries in the age of a state or city8 is it a long time8 ,llius4 ,it hardly amounts to the age of maturity4 ,scipio4 ,you say truly2 and yet not four centuries have elapsed since there was a king in ,rome4 ,llius4 ,and he was a proud king4 ,scipio4 ,but who was his predecessor8 ,llius4 ,he was an admirably just one2 and1 indeed1 we must bestow the same praise on all his predecessors as far back as ,romulus1 who reigned about six centuries ago4 ,scipio4 ,even he1 then1 is not very ancient4 ,llius4 ,no2 he reigned when ,greece was already becoming old4 ,scipio4 ,agreed4 ,was ,romulus1 then1 think you1 king of a barbarous people8 ,llius4 ,why1 as to that1 if we were to follow the example of the ,greeks1 who say that all people are either ,greeks or barbarians1 ,i am afraid that we must confess that he was a king of barbarians2 but if this name belongs rather to manners than to languages1 then ,i believe the ,greeks were just as barbarous as the ,romans4 ,then ,scipio said3 ,but with respect to the present question1 we do not so much need to inquire into the nation as into the disposition4 ,for if intelligent men1 at a period so little remote1 desired the government of kings1 you will confess that ,i am producing authorities that are neither antiquated1 rude1 nor insignificant4 ,,xxxviii4 ,then ,llius said3 ,i see1 ,scipio1 that you are very sufficiently provided with authorities2 but with me1 as with every fair judge1 authorities are worth less than arguments4 ,scipio replied3 ,then1 ,llius1 you shall yourself make use of an argument derived from your own senses4 ,llius4 ,what senses do you mean8 ,scipio4 ,the feelings which you experience when at any time you happen to feel angry with any one4 ,llius4 ,that happens rather oftener than ,i could wish4 ,scipio4 ,well1 then1 when you are angry1 do you permit your anger to triumph over your judgment8 ,no1 by ,hercules6 said ,llius2 ,i imitate the famous ,archytas of ,tarentum1 who1 when he came to his villa1 and found all its arrangements were contrary to his orders1 said to his steward1 ,ah6 you unlucky scoundrel1 ,i would flog you to death1 if it were not that ,i am in a rage with you4 ,capital1 said ,scipio4 ,archytas1 then1 regarded unreasonable anger as a kind of sedition and rebellion of nature which he sought to appease by reflection4 ,and so1 if we examine avarice1 the ambition of power or of glory1 or the lusts of concupiscence and licentiousness1 we shall find a certain conscience in the mind of man1 which1 like a king1 sways by the force of counsel all the inferior faculties and propensities2 and this1 in truth1 is the noblest portion of our nature2 for when conscience reigns1 it allows no resting-place to lust1 violence1 or temerity4 ,llius4 ,you have spoken the truth4 ,scipio4 ,well1 then1 does a mind thus governed and regulated meet your approbation8 ,llius4 ,more than anything upon earth4 ,scipio4 ,then you would not approve that the evil passions1 which are innumerable1 should expel conscience1 and that lusts and animal propensities should assume an ascendency over us8 ,llius4 ,for my part1 ,i can conceive nothing more wretched than a mind thus degraded1 or a man animated by a soul so licentious4 ,scipio4 ,you desire1 then1 that all the faculties of the mind should submit to a ruling power1 and that conscience should reign over them all8 ,llius4 ,certainly1 that is my wish4 ,scipio4 ,how1 then1 can you doubt what opinion to form on the subject of the ,commonwealth8 in which1 if the ,state is thrown into many hands1 it is very plain that there will be no presiding authority2 for if power be not united1 it soon comes to nothing4 ,,xxxix4 ,then ,llius asked3 ,but what difference is there1 ,i should like to know1 between the one and the many1 if justice exists equally in many8 ,and ,scipio said3 ,since ,i see1 my ,llius1 that the authorities ,i have adduced have no great influence on you1 ,i must continue to employ you yourself as my witness in proof of what ,i am saying4 ,in what way1 said ,llius1 are you going to make me again support your argument8 ,scipio4 ,why1 thus3 ,i recollect1 when we were lately at ,formi1 that you told your servants repeatedly to obey the orders of more than one master only4 ,llius4 ,to be sure1 those of my steward4 ,scipio4 ,what do you at home8 ,do you commit your affairs to the hands of many persons8 ,llius4 ,no1 ,i trust them to myself alone4 ,scipio4 ,well1 in your whole establishment1 is there any other master but yourself8 ,llius4 ,not one4 ,scipio4 ,then ,i think you must grant me that1 as respects the ,state1 the government of single individuals1 provided they are just1 is superior to any other4 ,llius4 ,you have conducted me to this conclusion1 and ,i entertain very nearly that opinion4 ,,xl4 ,and ,scipio said3 ,you would still further agree with me1 my ,llius1 if1 omitting the common comparisons1 that one pilot is better fitted to steer a ship1 and a physician to treat an invalid1 provided they be competent men in their respective professions1 than many could be1 ,i should come at once to more illustrious examples4 ,llius4 ,what examples do you mean8 ,scipio4 ,do not you observe that it was the cruelty and pride of one single ,tarquin only that made the title of king unpopular among the ,romans8 ,llius4 ,yes1 ,i acknowledge that4 ,scipio4 ,you are also aware of this fact1 on which ,i think ,i shall debate in the course of the coming discussion1 that after the expulsion of ,king ,tarquin1 the people was transported by a wonderful excess of liberty4 ,then innocent men were driven into banishment2 then the estates of many individuals were pillaged1 consulships were made annual1 public authorities were overawed by mobs1 popular appeals took place in all cases imaginable2 then secessions of the lower orders ensued1 and1 lastly1 those proceedings which tended to place all powers in the hands of the populace4 ,llius4 ,i must confess this is all too true4 ,all these things now1 said ,scipio1 happened during periods of peace and tranquillity1 for license is wont to prevail when there is little to fear1 as in a calm voyage or a trifling disease4 ,but as we observe the voyager and the invalid implore the aid of some one competent director1 as soon as the sea grows stormy and the disease alarming1 so our nation in peace and security commands1 threatens1 resists1 appeals from1 and insults its magistrates1 but in war obeys them as strictly as kings2 for public safety is1 after all1 rather more valuable than popular license4 ,and in the most serious wars1 our countrymen have even chosen the entire command to be deposited in the hands of some single chief1 without a colleague2 the very name of which magistrate indicates the absolute character of his power4 ,for though he is evidently called dictator because he is appointed 7dicitur71 yet do we still observe him1 my ,llius1 in our sacred books entitled ,magister ,populi 7the master of the people74 ,this is certainly the case1 said ,llius4 ,our ancestors1 therefore1 said ,scipio1 acted wisely4#cab 99 99 99 ,,xli4 ,when the people is deprived of a just king1 as ,ennius says1 after the death of one of the best of monarchs1 ,they hold his memory dear1 and1 in the warmth ,of their discourse1 they cry1 ,o ,romulus6 ,o prince divine1 sprung from the might of ,mars ,to be thy country's guardian6 ,o our sire6 ,be our protector still1 ,o heaven-begot6 ,not heroes1 nor lords alone1 did they call those whom they lawfully obeyed2 nor merely as kings did they proclaim them2 but they pronounced them their country's guardians1 their fathers1 and their ,gods4 ,nor1 indeed1 without cause1 for they added1 ,thou1 ,prince1 hast brought us to the gates of light4 ,and truly they believed that life and honor and glory had arisen to them from the justice of their king4 ,the same good-will would doubtless have remained in their descendants1 if the same virtues had been preserved on the throne2 but1 as you see1 by the injustice of one man the whole of that kind of constitution fell into ruin4 ,i see it indeed1 said ,llius1 and ,i long to know the history of these political revolutions both in our own ,commonwealth and in every other4 ,,xlii4 ,and ,scipio said3 ,when ,i shall have explained my opinion respecting the form of government which ,i prefer1 ,i shall be able to speak to you more accurately respecting the revolutions of states1 though ,i think that such will not take place so easily in the mixed form of government which ,i recommend4 ,with respect1 however1 to absolute monarchy1 it presents an inherent and invincible tendency to revolution4 ,no sooner does a king begin to be unjust than this entire form of government is demolished1 and he at once becomes a tyrant1 which is the worst of all governments1 and one very closely related to monarchy4 ,if this ,state falls into the hands of the nobles1 which is the usual course of events1 it becomes an aristocracy1 or the second of the three kinds of constitutions which ,i have described2 for it is1 as it were1 a royal--that is to say1 a paternal--council of the chief men of the ,state consulting for the public benefit4 ,or if the people by itself has expelled or slain a tyrant1 it is moderate in its conduct as long as it has sense and wisdom1 and while it rejoices in its exploit1 and applies itself to maintaining the constitution which it has established4 ,but if ever the people has raised its forces against a just king and robbed him of his throne1 or1 as has frequently happened1 has tasted the blood of its legitimate nobles1 and subjected the whole ,commonwealth to its own license1 you can imagine no flood or conflagration so terrible1 or any whose violence is harder to appease than this unbridled insolence of the populace4 ,,xliii4 ,then we see realized that which ,plato so vividly describes1 if ,i can but express it in our language4 ,it is by no means easy to do it justice in translation3 however1 ,i will try4 ,when1 says ,plato1 the insatiate jaws of the populace are fired with the thirst of liberty1 and when the people1 urged on by evil ministers1 drains in its thirst the cup1 not of tempered liberty1 but unmitigated license1 then the magistrates and chiefs1 if they are not utterly subservient and remiss1 and shameless promoters of the popular licentiousness1 are pursued1 incriminated1 accused1 and cried down under the title of despots and tyrants4 ,i dare say you recollect the passage4 ,yes1 said ,llius1 it is familiar to me4 ,scipio4 ,plato thus proceeds3 ,then those who feel in duty bound to obey the chiefs of the ,state are persecuted by the insensate populace1 who call them voluntary slaves4 ,but those who1 though invested with magistracies1 wish to be considered on an equality with private individuals1 and those private individuals who labor to abolish all distinctions between their own class and the magistrates1 are extolled with acclamations and overwhelmed with honors1 so that it inevitably happens in a commonwealth thus revolutionized that liberalism abounds in all directions1 due authority is found wanting even in private families1 and misrule seems to extend even to the animals that witness it4 ,then the father fears the son1 and the son neglects the father4 ,all modesty is banished2 they become far too liberal for that4 ,no difference is made between the citizen and the alien2 the master dreads and cajoles his scholars1 and the scholars despise their masters4 ,the young men assume the gravity of sages1 and sages must stoop to the follies of children1 lest they should be hated and oppressed by them4 ,the very slaves even are under but little restraint2 wives boast the same rights as their husbands2 dogs1 horses1 and asses are emancipated in this outrageous excess of freedom1 and run about so violently that they frighten the passengers from the road4 ,at length the termination of all this infinite licentiousness is1 that the minds of the citizens become so fastidious and effeminate1 that when they observe even the slightest exertion of authority they grow angry and seditious1 and thus the laws begin to be neglected1 so that the people are absolutely without any master at all4 ,then ,llius said3 ,you have very accurately rendered the opinions which he expressed4 ,,xliv4 ,scipio4 ,now1 to return to the argument of my discourse4 ,it appears that this extreme license1 which is the only liberty in the eyes of the vulgar1 is1 according to ,plato1 such that from it as a sort of root tyrants naturally arise and spring up4 ,for as the excessive power of an aristocracy occasions the destruction of the nobles1 so this excessive liberalism of democracies brings after it the slavery of the people4 ,thus we find in the weather1 the soil1 and the animal constitution the most favorable conditions are sometimes suddenly converted by their excess into the contrary1 and this fact is especially observable in political governments2 and this excessive liberty soon brings the people collectively and individually to an excessive servitude4 ,for1 as ,i said1 this extreme liberty easily introduces the reign of tyranny1 the severest of all unjust slaveries4 ,in fact1 from the midst of this unbridled and capricious populace1 they elect some one as a leader in opposition to their afflicted and expelled nobles3 some new chief1 forsooth1 audacious and impure1 often insolently persecuting those who have deserved well of the ,state1 and ready to gratify the populace at his neighbor's expense as well as his own4 ,then1 since the private condition is naturally exposed to fears and alarms1 the people invest him with many powers1 and these are continued in his hands4 ,such men1 like ,pisistratus of ,athens1 will soon find an excuse for surrounding themselves with body-guards1 and they will conclude by becoming tyrants over the very persons who raised them to dignity4 ,if such despots perish by the vengeance of the better citizens1 as is generally the case1 the constitution is re-established2 but if they fall by the hands of bold insurgents1 then the same faction succeeds them1 which is only another species of tyranny4 ,and the same revolution arises from the fair system of aristocracy when any corruption has betrayed the nobles from the path of rectitude4 ,thus the power is like the ball which is flung from hand to hand3 it passes from kings to tyrants1 from tyrants to the aristocracy1 from them to democracy1 and from these back again to tyrants and to factions2 and thus the same kind of government is seldom long maintained4 ,,xlv4 ,since these are the facts of experience1 royalty is1 in my opinion1 very far preferable to the three other kinds of political constitutions4 ,but it is itself inferior to that which is composed of an equal mixture of the three best forms of government1 united and modified by one another4 ,i wish to establish in a commonwealth a royal and pre-eminent chief4 ,another portion of power should be deposited in the hands of the aristocracy1 and certain things should be reserved to the judgment and wish of the multitude4 ,this constitution1 in the first place1 possesses that great equality without which men cannot long maintain their freedom2 secondly1 it offers a great stability1 while the particular separate and isolated forms easily fall into their contraries2 so that a king is succeeded by a despot1 an aristocracy by a faction1 a democracy by a mob and confusion2 and all these forms are frequently sacrificed to new revolutions4 ,in this united and mixed constitution1 however1 similar disasters cannot happen without the greatest vices in public men4 ,for there can be little to occasion revolution in a state in which every person is firmly established in his appropriate rank1 and there are but few modes of corruption into which we can fall4 ,,xlvi4 ,but ,i fear1 ,llius1 and you1 my amiable and learned friends1 that if ,i were to dwell any longer on this argument1 my words would seem rather like the lessons of a master1 and not like the free conversation of one who is uniting with you in the consideration of truth4 ,i shall therefore pass on to those things which are familiar to all1 and which ,i have long studied4 ,and in these matters ,i believe1 ,i feel1 and ,i affirm that of all governments there is none which1 either in its entire constitution or the distribution of its parts1 or in the discipline of its manners1 is comparable to that which our fathers received from our earliest ancestors1 and which they have handed down to us4 ,and since you wish to hear from me a development of this constitution1 with which you are all acquainted1 ,i shall endeavor to explain its true character and excellence4 ,thus keeping my eye fixed on the model of our ,roman ,commonwealth1 ,i shall endeavor to accommodate to it all that ,i have to say on the best form of government4 ,and by treating the subject in this way1 ,i think ,i shall be able to accomplish most satisfactorily the task which ,llius has imposed on me4 ,,xlvii4 ,llius4 ,it is a task most properly and peculiarly your own1 my ,scipio2 for who can speak so well as you either on the subject of the institutions of our ancestors1 since you yourself are descended from most illustrious ancestors1 or on that of the best form of a constitution which1 if we possess 7though at this moment we do not1 still71 when we do possess such a thing1 who will be more flourishing in it than you8 or on that of providing counsels for the future1 as you1 who1 by dispelling two mighty perils from our city1 have provided for its safety forever8 ,,fragments4 ,,xlviii4 ,as our country is the source of the greatest benefits1 and is a parent dearer than those who have given us life1 we owe her still warmer gratitude than belongs to our human relations4 99 99 99 ,nor would ,carthage have continued to flourish during six centuries without wisdom and good institutions4 99 99 99 ,in truth1 says ,cicero1 although the reasonings of those men may contain most abundant fountains of science and virtue2 still1 if we compare them with the achievements and complete actions of statesmen1 they will seem not to have been of so much service in the actual business of men as of amusement for their leisure4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,introduction ,,to ,,the ,,second ,,book1 ,,by ,,the ,,original ,,translator4 ,in this second book of his ,commonwealth1 ,cicero gives us a spirited and eloquent review of the history and successive developments of the ,roman constitution4 ,he bestows the warmest praises on its early kings1 points out the great advantages which had resulted from its primitive monarchical system1 and explains how that system had been gradually broken up4 ,in order to prove the importance of reviving it1 he gives a glowing picture of the evils and disasters that had befallen the ,roman ,state in consequence of that overcharge of democratic folly and violence which had gradually gained an alarming preponderance1 and describes1 with a kind of prophetic sagacity1 the fruit of his political experience1 the subsequent revolutions of the ,roman ,state1 which such a state of things would necessarily bring about4 ,,book ,,ii4 ,i4 ,when1 therefore1 he observed all his friends kindled with the desire of hearing him1 ,scipio thus opened the discussion4 ,i will commence1 said ,scipio1 with a sentiment of old ,cato1 whom1 as you know1 ,i singularly loved and exceedingly admired1 and to whom1 in compliance with the judgment of both my parents1 and also by my own desire1 ,i was entirely devoted during my youth2 of whose discourse1 indeed1 ,i could never have enough1 so much experience did he possess as a statesman respecting the republic which he had so long governed1 both in peace and war1 with so much success4 ,there was also an admirable propriety in his style of conversation1 in which wit was tempered with gravity2 a wonderful aptitude for acquiring1 and at the same time communicating1 information2 and his life was in perfect correspondence and unison with his language4 ,he used to say that the government of ,rome was superior to that of other states for this reason1 because in nearly all of them there had been single individuals1 each of whom had regulated their commonwealth according to their own laws and their own ordinances4 ,so ,minos had done in ,crete1 and ,lycurgus in ,sparta2 and in ,athens1 which experienced so many revolutions1 first ,theseus1 then ,draco1 then ,solon1 then ,clisthenes1 afterward many others2 and1 lastly1 when it was almost lifeless and quite prostrate1 that great and wise man1 ,demetrius ,phalereus1 supported it4 ,but our ,roman constitution1 on the contrary1 did not spring from the genius of one individual1 but from that of many2 and it was established1 not in the lifetime of one man1 but in the course of several ages and centuries4 ,for1 added he1 there never yet existed any genius so vast and comprehensive as to allow nothing at any time to escape its attention2 and all the geniuses in the world united in a single mind could never1 within the limits of a single life1 exert a foresight sufficiently extensive to embrace and harmonize all1 without the aid of experience and practice4 ,thus1 according to ,cato's usual habit1 ,i now ascend in my discourse to the origin of the people1 for ,i like to adopt the expression of ,cato4 ,i shall also more easily execute my proposed task if ,i thus exhibit to you our political constitution in its infancy1 progress1 and maturity1 now so firm and fully established1 than if1 after the example of ,socrates in the books of ,plato1 ,i were to delineate a mere imaginary republic4 ,,ii4 ,when all had signified their approbation1 ,scipio resumed3 ,what commencement of a political constitution can we conceive more brilliant1 or more universally known1 than the foundation of ,rome by the hand of ,romulus8 ,and he was the son of ,mars3 for we may grant this much to the common report existing among men1 especially as it is not merely ancient1 but one also which has been wisely maintained by our ancestors1 in order that those who have done great service to communities may enjoy the reputation of having received from the ,gods1 not only their genius1 but their very birth4 ,it is related1 then1 that soon after the birth of ,romulus and his brother ,remus1 ,amulius1 ,king of ,alba1 fearing that they might one day undermine his authority1 ordered that they should be exposed on the banks of the ,tiber2 and that in this situation the infant ,romulus was suckled by a wild beast2 that he was afterward educated by the shepherds1 and brought up in the rough way of living and labors of the countrymen2 and that he acquired1 when he grew up1 such superiority over the rest by the vigor of his body and the courage of his soul1 that all the people who at that time inhabited the plains in the midst of which ,rome now stands1 tranquilly and willingly submitted to his government4 ,and when he had made himself the chief of those bands1 to come from fables to facts1 he took ,alba ,longa1 a powerful and strong city at that time1 and slew its king1 ,amulius4 ,,iii4 ,having acquired this glory1 he conceived the design 7as they tell us7 of founding a new city and establishing a new state4 ,as respected the site of his new city1 a point which requires the greatest foresight in him who would lay the foundation of a durable commonwealth1 he chose the most convenient possible position4 ,for he did not advance too near the sea1 which he might easily have done with the forces under his command1 either by entering the territory of the ,rutuli and ,aborigines1 or by founding his citadel at the mouth of the ,tiber1 where many years after ,ancus ,martius established a colony4 ,but ,romulus1 with admirable genius and foresight1 observed and perceived that sites very near the sea are not the most favorable positions for cities which would attain a durable prosperity and dominion4 ,and this1 first1 because maritime cities are always exposed1 not only to many attacks1 but to perils they cannot provide against4 ,for the continued land gives notice1 by many indications1 not only of any regular approaches1 but also of any sudden surprises of an enemy1 and announces them beforehand by the mere sound4 ,there is no adversary who1 on an inland territory1 can arrive so swiftly as to prevent our knowing not only his existence1 but his character too1 and where he comes from4 ,but a maritime and naval enemy can fall upon a town on the sea-coast before any one suspects that he is about to come2 and when he does come1 nothing exterior indicates who he is1 or whence he comes1 or what he wishes2 nor can it even be determined and distinguished on all occasions whether he is a friend or a foe4 ,,iv4 ,but maritime cities are likewise naturally exposed to corrupt influences1 and revolutions of manners4 ,their civilization is more or less adulterated by new languages and customs1 and they import not only foreign merchandise1 but foreign fashions1 to such a degree that nothing can continue unalloyed in the national institutions4 ,those who inhabit these maritime towns do not remain in their native place1 but are urged afar from their homes by winged hope and speculation4 ,and even when they do not desert their country in person1 still their minds are always expatiating and voyaging round the world4 ,nor1 indeed1 was there any cause which more deeply undermined ,corinth and ,carthage1 and at last overthrew them both1 than this wandering and dispersion of their citizens1 whom the passion of commerce and navigation had induced to abandon the cultivation of their lands and their attention to military pursuits4 ,the proximity of the sea likewise administers to maritime cities a multitude of pernicious incentives to luxury1 which are either acquired by victory or imported by commerce2 and the very agreeableness of their position nourishes many expensive and deceitful gratifications of the passions4 ,and what ,i have spoken of ,corinth may be applied1 for aught ,i know1 without incorrectness to the whole of ,greece4 ,for the ,peloponnesus itself is almost wholly on the sea-coast2 nor1 besides the ,phliasians1 are there any whose lands do not touch the sea2 and beyond the ,peloponnesus1 the nianes1 the ,dorians1 and the ,dolopes are the only inland people4 ,why should ,i speak of the ,grecian islands1 which1 girded by the waves1 seem all afloat1 as it were1 together with the institutions and manners of their cities8 ,and these things1 ,i have before noticed1 do not respect ancient ,greece only2 for which of all those colonies which have been led from ,greece into ,asia1 ,thracia1 ,italy1 ,sicily1 and ,africa1 with the single exception of ,magnesia1 is there that is not washed by the sea8 ,thus it seems as if a sort of ,grecian coast had been annexed to territories of the barbarians4 ,for among the barbarians themselves none were heretofore a maritime people1 if we except the ,carthaginians and ,etruscans2 one for the sake of commerce1 the other of pillage4 ,and this is one evident reason of the calamities and revolutions of ,greece1 because she became infected with the vices which belong to maritime cities1 which ,i just now briefly enumerated4 ,but yet1 notwithstanding these vices1 they have one great advantage1 and one which is of universal application1 namely1 that there is a great facility for new inhabitants flocking to them4 ,and1 again1 that the inhabitants are enabled to export and send abroad the produce of their native lands to any nation they please1 which offers them a market for their goods4 ,v4 ,by what divine wisdom1 then1 could ,romulus embrace all the benefits that could belong to maritime cities1 and at the same time avoid the dangers to which they are exposed1 except1 as he did1 by building his city on the bank of an inexhaustible river1 whose equal current discharges itself into the sea by a vast mouth1 so that the city could receive all it wanted from the sea1 and discharge its superabundant commodities by the same channel8 ,and in the same river a communication is found by which it not only receives from the sea all the productions necessary to the conveniences and elegances of life1 but those also which are brought from the inland districts4 ,so that ,romulus seems to me to have divined and anticipated that this city would one day become the centre and abode of a powerful and opulent empire2 for there is no other part of ,italy in which a city could be situated so as to be able to maintain so wide a dominion with so much ease4 ,,vi4 ,as to the natural fortifications of ,rome1 who is so negligent and unobservant as not to have them depicted and deeply stamped on his memory8 ,such is the plan and direction of the walls1 which1 by the prudence of ,romulus and his royal successors1 are bounded on all sides by steep and rugged hills2 and the only aperture between the ,esquiline and ,quirinal mountains is enclosed by a formidable rampart1 and surrounded by an immense fosse4 ,and as for our fortified citadel1 it is so secured by a precipitous barrier and enclosure of rocks1 that1 even in that horrible attack and invasion of the ,gauls1 it remained impregnable and inviolable4 ,moreover1 the site which he selected had also an abundance of fountains1 and was healthy1 though it was in the midst of a pestilential region2 for there are hills which at once create a current of fresh air1 and fling an agreeable shade over the valleys4 ,,vii4 ,these things he effected with wonderful rapidity1 and thus established the city1 which1 from his own name ,romulus1 he determined to call ,rome4 ,and in order to strengthen his new city1 he conceived a design1 singular enough1 and even a little rude1 yet worthy of a great man1 and of a genius which discerned far away in futurity the means of strengthening his power and his people4 ,the young ,sabine females of honorable birth who had come to ,rome1 attracted by the public games and spectacles which ,romulus then1 for the first time1 established as annual games in the circus1 were suddenly carried off at the feast of ,consus#cac by his orders1 and were given in marriage to the men of the noblest families in ,rome4 ,and when1 on this account1 the ,sabines had declared war against ,rome1 the issue of the battle being doubtful and undecided1 ,romulus made an alliance with ,tatius1 ,king of the ,sabines1 at the intercession of the matrons themselves who had been carried off4 ,by this compact he admitted the ,sabines into the city1 gave them a participation in the religious ceremonies1 and divided his power with their king4 ,,viii4 ,but after the death of ,tatius1 the entire government was again vested in the hands of ,romulus1 although1 besides making ,tatius his own partner1 he had also elected some of the chiefs of the ,sabines into the royal council1 who on account of their affectionate regard for the people were called patres1 or fathers4 ,he also divided the people into three tribes1 called after the name of ,tatius1 and his own name1 and that of ,locumo1 who had fallen as his ally in the ,sabine war2 and also into thirty curi1 designated by the names of those ,sabine virgins1 who1 after being carried off at the festivals1 generously offered themselves as the mediators of peace and coalition4 ,but though these orders were established in the life of ,tatius1 yet1 after his death1 ,romulus reigned with still greater power by the counsel and authority of the senate4 ,,ix4 ,in this respect he approved and adopted the principle which ,lycurgus but little before had applied to the government of ,lacedmon2 namely1 that the monarchical authority and the royal power operate best in the government of states when to this supreme authority is joined the influence of the noblest of the citizens4 ,therefore1 thus supported1 and1 as it were1 propped up by this council or senate1 ,romulus conducted many wars with the neighboring nations in a most successful manner2 and while he refused to take any portion of the booty to his own palace1 he did not cease to enrich the citizens4 ,he also cherished the greatest respect for that institution of hierarchical and ecclesiastical ordinances which we still retain to the great benefit of the ,commonwealth2 for in the very commencement of his government he founded the city with religious rites1 and in the institution of all public establishments he was equally careful in attending to these sacred ceremonials1 and associated with himself on these occasions priests that were selected from each of the tribes4 ,he also enacted that the nobles should act as patrons and protectors to the inferior citizens1 their natural clients and dependants1 in their respective districts1 a measure the utility of which ,i shall afterward notice4--,the judicial punishments were mostly fines of sheep and oxen2 for the property of the people at that time consisted in their fields and cattle1 and this circumstance has given rise to the expressions which still designate real and personal wealth4 ,thus the people were kept in order rather by mulctations than by bodily inflictions4 ,x4 ,after ,romulus had thus reigned thirty-seven years1 and established these two great supports of government1 the hierarchy and the senate1 having disappeared in a sudden eclipse of the sun1 he was thought worthy of being added to the number of the ,gods--an honor which no mortal man ever was able to attain to but by a glorious pre-eminence of virtue4 ,and this circumstance was the more to be admired in the case of ,romulus because most of the great men that have been deified were so exalted to celestial dignities by the people1 in periods very little enlightened1 when fiction was easy and ignorance went hand-in-hand with credulity4 ,but with respect to ,romulus we know that he lived less than six centuries ago1 at a time when science and literature were already advanced1 and had got rid of many of the ancient errors that had prevailed among less civilized peoples4 ,for if1 as we consider proved by the ,grecian annals1 ,rome was founded in the seventh ,olympiad1 the life of ,romulus was contemporary with that period in which ,greece already abounded in poets and musicians--an age when fables1 except those concerning ancient matters1 received little credit4 ,for1 one hundred and eight years after the promulgation of the laws of ,lycurgus1 the first ,olympiad was established1 which indeed1 through a mistake of names1 some authors have supposed constituted1 by ,lycurgus likewise4 ,and ,homer himself1 according to the best computation1 lived about thirty years before the time of ,lycurgus4 ,we must conclude1 therefore1 that ,homer flourished very many years before the date of ,romulus4 ,so that1 as men had now become learned1 and as the times themselves were not destitute of knowledge1 there was not much room left for the success of mere fictions4 ,antiquity indeed has received fables that have at times been sufficiently improbable3 but this epoch1 which was already so cultivated1 disdaining every fiction that was impossible1 rejected#cad 99 99 99 ,we may therefore1 perhaps1 attach some credit to this story of ,romulus's immortality1 since human life was at that time experienced1 cultivated1 and instructed4 ,and doubtless there was in him such energy of genius and virtue that it is not altogether impossible to believe the report of ,proculus ,julius1 the husbandman1 of that glorification having befallen ,romulus which for many ages we have denied to less illustrious men4 ,at all events1 ,proculus is reported to have stated in the council1 at the instigation of the senators1 who wished to free themselves from all suspicion of having been accessaries to the death of ,romulus1 that he had seen him on that hill which is now called the ,quirinal1 and that he had commanded him to inform the people that they should build him a temple on that same hill1 and offer him sacrifices under the name of ,quirinus4 ,,xi4 ,you see1 therefore1 that the genius of this great man did not merely establish the constitution of a new people1 and then leave them1 as it were1 crying in their cradle2 but he still continued to superintend their education till they had arrived at an adult and wellnigh a mature age4 ,then ,llius said3 ,we now see1 my ,scipio1 what you meant when you said that you would adopt a new method of discussing the science of government1 different from any found in the writings of the ,greeks4 ,for that prime master of philosophy1 whom none ever surpassed in eloquence1 ,i mean ,plato1 chose an open plain on which to build an imaginary city after his own taste--a city admirably conceived1 as none can deny1 but remote enough from the real life and manners of men4 ,others1 without proposing to themselves any model or type of government whatever1 have argued on the constitutions and forms of states4 ,you1 on the contrary1 appear to be about to unite these two methods2 for1 as far as you have gone1 you seem to prefer attributing to others your discoveries1 rather than start new theories under your own name and authority1 as ,socrates has done in the writings of ,plato4 ,thus1 in speaking of the site of ,rome1 you refer to a systematic policy1 to the acts of ,romulus1 which were many of them the result of necessity or chance2 and you do not allow your discourse to run riot over many states1 but you fix and concentrate it on our own ,commonwealth4 ,proceed1 then1 in the course you have adopted2 for ,i see that you intend to examine our other kings1 in your pursuit of a perfect republic1 as it were4 ,,xii4 ,therefore1 said ,scipio1 when that senate of ,romulus which was composed of the nobles1 whom the king himself respected so highly that he designated them patres1 or fathers1 and their children patricians1 attempted after the death of ,romulus to conduct the government without a king1 the people would not suffer it1 but1 amidst their regret for ,romulus1 desisted not from demanding a fresh monarch4 ,the nobles then prudently resolved to establish an interregnum--a new political form1 unknown to other nations4 ,it was not without its use1 however1 since1 during the interval which elapsed before the definitive nomination of the new king1 the ,state was not left without a ruler1 nor subjected too long to the same governor1 nor exposed to the fear lest some one1 in consequence of the prolonged enjoyment of power1 should become more unwilling to lay it aside1 or more powerful if he wished to secure it permanently for himself4 ,at which time this new nation discovered a political provision which had escaped the ,spartan ,lycurgus1 who conceived that the monarch ought not to be elective--if indeed it is true that this depended on ,lycurgus--but that it was better for the ,lacedmonians to acknowledge as their sovereign the next heir of the race of ,hercules1 whoever he might be3 but our ,romans1 rude as they were1 saw the importance of appointing a king1 not for his family1 but for his virtue and experience4 ,,xiii4 ,and fame having recognized these eminent qualities in ,numa ,pompilius1 the ,roman people1 without partiality for their own citizens1 committed itself1 by the counsel of the senators1 to a king of foreign origin1 and summoned this ,sabine from the city of ,cures to ,rome1 that he might reign over them4 ,numa1 although the people had proclaimed him king in their ,comitia ,curiata1 did nevertheless himself pass a ,lex ,curiata respecting his own authority2 and observing that the institutions of ,romulus had too much excited the military propensities of the people1 he judged it expedient to recall them from this habit of warfare by other employments4 ,,xiv4 ,and1 in the first place1 he divided severally among the citizens the lands which ,romulus had conquered1 and taught them that even without the aid of pillage and devastation they could1 by the cultivation of their own territories1 procure themselves all kinds of commodities4 ,and he inspired them with the love of peace and tranquillity1 in which faith and justice are likeliest to flourish1 and extended the most powerful protection to the people in the cultivation of their fields and the enjoyment of their produce4 ,pompilius likewise having created hierarchical institutions of the highest class1 added two augurs to the old number4 ,he intrusted the superintendence of the sacred rites to five pontiffs1 selected from the body of the nobles2 and by those laws which we still preserve on our monuments he mitigated1 by religious ceremonials1 the minds that had been too long inflamed by military enthusiasm and enterprise4 ,he also established the ,flamines and the ,salian priests and the ,vestal ,virgins1 and regulated all departments of our ecclesiastical policy with the most pious care4 ,in the ordinance of sacrifices1 he wished that the ceremonial should be very arduous and the expenditure very light4 ,he thus appointed many observances1 whose knowledge is extremely important1 and whose expense far from burdensome4 ,thus in religious worship he added devotion and removed costliness4 ,he was also the first to introduce markets1 games1 and the other usual methods of assembling and uniting men4 ,by these establishments1 he inclined to benevolence and amiability spirits whom the passion for war had rendered savage and ferocious4 ,having thus reigned in the greatest peace and concord thirty-nine years--for in dates we mainly follow our ,polybius1 than whom no one ever gave more attention to the investigation of the history of the times--he departed this life1 having corroborated the two grand principles of political stability1 religion and clemency4 ,,xv4 ,when ,scipio had concluded these remarks1 ,is it not1 said ,manilius1 a true tradition which is current1 that our king ,numa was a disciple of ,pythagoras himself1 or that at least he was a ,pythagorean in his doctrines8 ,for ,i have often heard this from my elders1 and we know that it is the popular opinion2 but it does not seem to be clearly proved by the testimony of our public annals4 ,then ,scipio replied3 ,the supposition is false1 my ,manilius2 it is not merely a fiction1 but a ridiculous and bungling one too2 and we should not tolerate those statements1 even in fiction1 relating to facts which not only did not happen1 but which never could have happened4 ,for it was not till the fourth year of the reign of ,tarquinius ,superbus that ,pythagoras is ascertained to have come to ,sybaris1 ,crotona1 and this part of ,italy4 ,and the sixty-second ,olympiad is the common date of the elevation of ,tarquin to the throne1 and of the arrival of ,pythagoras4 ,from which it appears1 when we calculate the duration of the reigns of the kings1 that about one hundred and forty years must have elapsed after the death of ,numa before ,pythagoras first arrived in ,italy4 ,and this fact1 in the minds of men who have carefully studied the annals of time1 has never been at all doubted4 ,o ye immortal ,gods6 said ,manilius1 how deep and how inveterate is this error in the minds of men6 ,however1 it costs me no effort to concede that our ,roman sciences were not imported from beyond the seas1 but that they sprung from our own indigenous and domestic virtues4 ,,xvi4 ,you will become still more convinced of this fact1 said ,africanus1 when tracing the progress of our ,commonwealth as it became gradually developed to its best and maturest condition4 ,and you will find yet further occasion to admire the wisdom of our ancestors on this very account1 since you will perceive1 that even those things which they borrowed from foreigners received a much higher improvement among us than they possessed in the countries from whence they were imported among us2 and you will learn that the ,roman people was aggrandized1 not by chance or hazard1 but rather by counsel and discipline1 to which fortune indeed was by no means unfavorable4 ,,xvii4 ,after the death of ,king ,pompilius1 the people1 after a short period of interregnum1 chose ,tullus ,hostilius for their king1 in the ,comitia ,curiata2 and ,tullus1 after ,numa's example1 consulted the people in their curias to procure a sanction for his government4 ,his excellence chiefly appeared in his military glory and great achievements in war4 ,he likewise1 out of his military spoils1 constructed and decorated the ,house of ,comitia and the ,senate-house4 ,he also settled the ceremonies of the proclamation of hostilities1 and consecrated their righteous institution by the religious sanction of the ,fetial priests1 so that every war which was not duly announced and declared might be adjudged illegal1 unjust1 and impious4 ,and observe how wisely our kings at that time perceived that certain rights ought to be allowed to the people1 of which we shall have a good deal to say hereafter4 ,tullus did not even assume the ensigns of royalty without the approbation of the people2 and when he appointed twelve lictors1 with their axes to go before him#cae 99 99 99 ,,xviii4 99 99 99 ,manilius4 ,this ,commonwealth of ,rome1 which you are so eloquently describing1 did not creep towards perfection2 it rather flew at once to the maturity of its grandeur4 ,scipio4 ,after ,tullus1 ,ancus ,martius1 a descendant of ,numa by his daughter1 was appointed king by the people4 ,he also procured the passing of a law#caf through the ,comitia ,curiata respecting his government4 ,this king having conquered the ,latins1 admitted them to the rights of citizens of ,rome4 ,he added to the city the ,aventine and ,clian hills2 he distributed the lands he had taken in war2 he bestowed on the public all the maritime forests he had acquired2 and he built the city ,ostia1 at the mouth of the ,tiber1 and colonized it4 ,when he had thus reigned twenty-three years1 he died4 ,then said ,llius3 ,doubtless this king deserves our praises1 but the ,roman history is obscure4 ,we possess1 indeed1 the name of this monarch's mother1 but we know nothing of his father4 ,it is so1 said ,scipio2 but in those ages little more than the names of the kings were recorded4 ,,xix4 ,for the first time at this period1 ,rome appears to have become more learned by the study of foreign literature2 for it was no longer a little rivulet1 flowing from ,greece towards the walls of our city1 but an overflowing river of ,grecian sciences and arts4 ,this is generally attributed to ,demaratus1 a ,corinthian1 the first man of his country in reputation1 honor1 and wealth2 who1 not being able to bear the despotism of ,cypselus1 tyrant of ,corinth1 fled with large treasures1 and arrived at ,tarquinii1 the most flourishing city in ,etruria4 ,there1 understanding that the domination of ,cypselus was thoroughly established1 he1 like a free and bold-hearted man1 renounced his country1 and was admitted into the number of the citizens of ,tarquinii1 and fixed his residence in that city4 ,and having married a woman of the city1 he instructed his two sons1 according to the method of ,greek education1 in all kinds of sciences and arts4#cag 99 99 99 ,,xx4 99 99 99 ,one of these sons was easily admitted to the rights of citizenship at ,rome2 and on account of his accomplished manners and learning1 he became a favorite of our king ,ancus to such a degree that he was a partner in all his counsels1 and was looked upon almost as his associate in the government4 ,he1 besides1 possessed wonderful affability1 and was very kind in assistance1 support1 protection1 and even gifts of money1 to the citizens4 ,when1 therefore1 ,ancus died1 the people by their unanimous suffrages chose for their king this ,lucius ,tarquinius 7for he had thus transformed the ,greek name of his family1 that he might seem in all respects to imitate the customs of his adopted countrymen74 ,and when he1 too1 had procured the passing of a law respecting his authority1 he commenced his reign by doubling the original number of the senators4 ,the ancient senators he called patricians of the major families 7patres majorum gentium71 and he asked their votes first2 and those new senators whom he himself had added1 he entitled patricians of minor families4 ,after this1 he established the order of knights1 on the plan which we maintain to this day4 ,he would not1 however1 change the denomination of the ,tatian1 ,rhamnensian1 and ,lucerian orders1 though he wished to do so1 because ,attus ,nvius1 an augur of the highest reputation1 would not sanction it4 ,and1 indeed1 ,i am aware that the ,corinthians were remarkably attentive to provide for the maintenance and good condition of their cavalry by taxes levied on the inheritance of widows and orphans4 ,to the first equestrian orders ,lucius also added new ones1 composing a body of three hundred knights4 ,and this number he doubled1 after having conquered the quicoli1 a large and ferocious people1 and dangerous enemies of the ,roman ,state4 ,having likewise repulsed from our walls an invasion of the ,sabines1 he routed them by the aid of his cavalry1 and subdued them4 ,he also was the first person who instituted the grand games which are now called the ,roman ,games4 ,he fulfilled his vow to build a temple to the all-good and all-powerful ,jupiter in the ,capitol--a vow which he made during a battle in the ,sabine war--and died after a reign of thirty-eight years4 ,,xxi4 ,then ,llius said3 ,all that you have been relating corroborates the saying of ,cato1 that the constitution of the ,roman ,commonwealth is not the work of one man1 or one age2 for we can clearly see what a great progress in excellent and useful institutions was continued under each successive king4 ,but we are now arrived at the reign of a monarch who appears to me to have been of all our kings he who had the greatest foresight in matters of political government4 ,so it appears to me1 said ,scipio2 for after ,tarquinius ,priscus comes ,servius ,sulpicius1 who was the first who is reported to have reigned without an order from the people4 ,he is supposed to have been the son of a female slave at ,tarquinii1 by one of the soldiers or clients of ,king ,priscus2 and as he was educated among the servants of this prince1 and waiting on him at table1 the king soon observed the fire of his genius1 which shone forth even from his childhood1 so skilful was he in all his words and actions4 ,therefore1 ,tarquin1 whose own children were then very young1 so loved ,servius that he was very commonly believed to be his own son1 and he instructed him with the greatest care in all the sciences with which he was acquainted1 according to the most exact discipline of the ,greeks4 ,but when ,tarquin had perished by the plots of the sons of ,ancus1 and ,servius 7as ,i have said7 had begun to reign1 not by the order1 but yet with the good-will and consent1 of the citizens--because1 as it was falsely reported that ,priscus was recovering from his wounds1 ,servius1 arrayed in the royal robes1 delivered judgment1 freed the debtors at his own expense1 and1 exhibiting the greatest affability1 announced that he delivered judgment at the command of ,priscus--he did not commit himself to the senate2 but1 after ,priscus was buried1 he consulted the people respecting his authority1 and1 being authorized by them to assume the dominion1 he procured a law to be passed through the ,comitia ,curiata1 confirming his government4 ,he then1 in the first place1 avenged the injuries of the ,etruscans by arms4 ,after which#cah 99 99 99 ,,xxii4 99 99 99 he enrolled eighteen centuries of knights of the first order4 ,afterward1 having created a great number of knights from the common mass of the people1 he divided the rest of the people into five classes1 distinguishing between the seniors and the juniors4 ,these he so constituted as to place the suffrages1 not in the hands of the multitude1 but in the power of the men of property4 ,and he took care to make it a rule of ours1 as it ought to be in every government1 that the greatest number should not have the greatest weight4 ,you are well acquainted with this institution1 otherwise ,i would explain it to you2 but you are familiar with the whole system1 and know how the centuries of knights1 with six suffrages1 and the first class1 comprising eighty centuries1 besides one other century which was allotted to the artificers1 on account of their utility to the ,state1 produce eighty-nine centuries4 ,if to these there are added twelve centuries--for that is the number of the centuries of the knights which remain#cai--the entire force of the ,state is summed up2 and the arrangement is such that the remaining and far more numerous multitude1 which is distributed through the ninety-six last centuries1 is not deprived of a right of suffrage1 which would be an arrogant measure2 nor1 on the other hand1 permitted to exert too great a preponderance in the government1 which would be dangerous4 ,in this arrangement1 ,servius was very cautious in his choice of terms and denominations4 ,he called the rich assidui1 because they afforded pecuniary succor#cbj to the ,state4 ,as to those whoso fortune did not exceed #aejj pence1 or those who had nothing but their labor1 he called them proletarii classes1 as if the ,state should expect from them a hardy progeny#cba and population4 ,even a single one of the ninety-six last centuries contained numerically more citizens than the entire first class4 ,thus1 no one was excluded from his right of voting1 yet the preponderance of votes was secured to those who had the deepest stake in the welfare of the ,state4 ,moreover1 with reference to the accensi1 velati1 trumpeters1 hornblowers1 proletarii#cbb 99 99 99 ,,xxiii4 99 99 99 ,that that republic is arranged in the best manner which1 being composed in due proportions of those three elements1 the monarchical1 the aristocratical1 and the democratic1 does not by punishment irritate a fierce and savage mind4 99 99 99 ,a similar institution prevailed at ,carthage1 which was sixty-five years more ancient than ,rome1 since it was founded thirty-nine years before the first ,olympiad2 and that most ancient law-giver ,lycurgus made nearly the same arrangements4 ,thus the system of regular subordination1 and this mixture of the three principal forms of government1 appear to me common alike to us and them4 ,but there is a peculiar advantage in our ,commonwealth1 than which nothing can be more excellent1 which ,i shall endeavor to describe as accurately as possible1 because it is of such a character that nothing analogous can be discovered in ancient states2 for these political elements which ,i have noticed were so united in the constitutions of ,rome1 of ,sparta1 and of ,carthage1 that they were not counterbalanced by any modifying power4 ,for in a state in which one man is invested with a perpetual domination1 especially of the monarchical character1 although there be a senate in it1 as there was in ,rome under the kings1 and in ,sparta1 by the laws of ,lycurgus1 or even where the people exercise a sort of jurisdiction1 as they used in the days of our monarchy1 the title of king must still be pre-eminent2 nor can such a state avoid being1 and being called1 a kingdom4 ,and this kind of government is especially subject to frequent revolutions1 because the fault of a single individual is sufficient to precipitate it into the most pernicious disasters4 ,in itself1 however1 royalty is not only not a reprehensible form of government1 but ,i do not know whether it is not far preferable to all other simple constitutions1 if ,i approved of any simple constitution whatever4 ,but this preference applies to royalty so long only as it maintains its appropriate character2 and this character provides that one individual's perpetual power1 and justice1 and universal wisdom should regulate the safety1 equality1 and tranquillity of the whole people4 ,but many privileges must be wanting to communities that live under a king2 and1 in the first place1 liberty1 which does not consist in slavery to a just master1 but in slavery to no master at all#cbc 99 99 99 ,,xxiv4 99 99 99 ,let us now pass on to the reign of the seventh and last king of ,rome1 ,tarquinius ,superbus4 ,and even this unjust and cruel master had good fortune for his companion for some time in all his enterprises4 ,for he subdued all ,latium2 he captured ,suessa ,pometia1 a powerful and wealthy city1 and1 becoming possessed of an immense spoil of gold and silver1 he accomplished his father's vow by the building of the ,capitol4 ,he established colonies1 and1 faithful to the institutions of those from whom he sprung1 he sent magnificent presents1 as tokens of gratitude for his victories1 to ,apollo at ,delphi4 ,,xxv4 ,here begins the revolution of our political system of government1 and ,i must beg your attention to its natural course and progression4 ,for the grand point of political science1 the object of our discourses1 is to know the march and the deviations of governments1 that when we are acquainted with the particular courses and inclinations of constitutions1 we may be able to restrain them from their fatal tendencies1 or to oppose adequate obstacles to their decline and fall4 ,for this ,tarquinius ,superbus1 of whom ,i am speaking1 being first of all stained with the blood of his admirable predecessor on the throne1 could not be a man of sound conscience and mind2 and as he feared himself the severest punishment for his enormous crime1 he sought his protection in making himself feared4 ,then1 in the glory of his victories and his treasures1 he exulted in insolent pride1 and could neither regulate his own manners nor the passions of the members of his family4 ,when1 therefore1 his eldest son had offered violence to ,lucretia1 daughter of ,tricipitinus and wife of ,collatinus1 and this chaste and noble lady had stabbed herself to death on account of the injury she could not survive--then a man eminent for his genius and virtue1 ,lucius ,brutus1 dashed from his fellow-citizens this unjust yoke of odious servitude2 and though he was but a private man1 he sustained the government of the entire ,commonwealth1 and was the first that taught the people in this ,state that no one was a private man when the preservation of our liberties was concerned4 ,beneath his authority and command our city rose against tyranny1 and1 stirred by the recent grief of the father and relatives of ,lucretia1 and with the recollections of ,tarquin's haughtiness1 and the numberless crimes of himself and his sons1 they pronounced sentence of banishment against him and his children1 and the whole race of the ,tarquins4 ,,xxvi4 ,do you not observe1 then1 how the king sometimes degenerates into the despot1 and how1 by the fault of one individual1 a form of government originally good is abused to the worst of purposes8 ,here is a specimen of that despot over the people whom the ,greeks denominate a tyrant4 ,for1 according to them1 a king is he who1 like a father1 consults the interests of his people1 and who preserves those whom he is set over in the very best condition of life4 ,this indeed is1 as ,i have said1 an excellent form of government1 yet still liable1 and1 as it were1 inclined1 to a pernicious abuse4 ,for as soon as a king assumes an unjust and despotic power1 he instantly becomes a tyrant1 than which nothing baser or fouler1 than which no imaginable animal can be more detestable to gods or men2 for though in form a man1 he surpasses the most savage monsters in ferocious cruelty4 ,for who can justly call him a human being1 who admits not between himself and his fellow-countrymen1 between himself and the whole human race1 any communication of justice1 any association of kindness8 ,but we shall find some fitter occasion of speaking of the evils of tyranny when the subject itself prompts us to declare against them who1 even in a state already liberated1 have affected these despotic insolencies4 ,,xxvii4 ,such is the first origin and rise of a tyrant4 ,for this was the name by which the ,greeks choose to designate an unjust king2 and by the title king our ,romans universally understand every man who exercises over the people a perpetual and undivided domination4 ,thus ,spurius ,cassius1 and ,marcus ,manlius1 and ,spurius ,mlius1 are said to have wished to seize upon the kingly power1 and lately ,tiberius ,gracchus incurred the same accusation4#cbd 99 99 99 ,,xxviii4 99 99 99 ,lycurgus1 in ,sparta1 formed1 under the name of ,elders1 a small council consisting of twenty-eight members only2 to these he allotted the supreme legislative authority1 while the king held the supreme executive authority4 ,our ,romans1 emulating his example1 and translating his terms1 entitled those whom he had called ,elders1 ,senators1 which1 as we have said1 was done by ,romulus in reference to the elect patricians4 ,in this constitution1 however1 the power1 the influence1 and name of the king is still pre-eminent4 ,you may distribute1 indeed1 some show of power to the people1 as ,lycurgus and ,romulus did1 but you inflame them1 with the thirst of liberty by allowing them even the slightest taste of its sweetness2 and still their hearts will be overcast with alarm lest their king1 as often happens1 should become unjust4 ,the prosperity of the people1 therefore1 can be little better than fragile1 when placed at the disposal of any one individual1 and subjected to his will and caprices4 ,,xxix4 ,thus the first example1 prototype1 and original of tyranny has been discovered by us in the history of our own ,roman ,state1 religiously founded by ,romulus1 without applying to the theoretical ,commonwealth which1 according to ,plato's recital1 ,socrates was accustomed to describe in his peripatetic dialogues4 ,we have observed ,tarquin1 not by the usurpation of any new power1 but by the unjust abuse of the power which he already possessed1 overturn the whole system of our monarchical constitution4 ,let us oppose to this example of the tyrant another1 a virtuous king--wise1 experienced1 and well informed respecting the true interest and dignity of the citizens--a guardian1 as it were1 and superintendent of the ,commonwealth2 for that is a proper name for every ruler and governor of a state4 ,and take you care to recognize such a man when you meet him1 for he is the man who1 by counsel and exertion1 can best protect the nation4 ,and as the name of this man has not yet been often mentioned in our discourse1 and as the character of such a man must be often alluded to in our future conversations1 ,i shall take an early opportunity of describing it4#cbe 99 99 99 ,,xxx4 99 99 99 ,plato has chosen to suppose a territory and establishments of citizens1 whose fortunes were precisely equal4 ,and he has given us a description of a city1 rather to be desired than expected2 and he has made out not such a one as can really exist1 but one in which the principles of political affairs may be discerned4 ,but for me1 if ,i can in any way accomplish it1 while ,i adopt the same general principles as ,plato1 ,i am seeking to reduce them to experience and practice1 not in the shadow and picture of a state1 but in a real and actual ,commonwealth1 of unrivalled amplitude and power2 in order to be able to point out1 with the most graphic precision1 the causes of every political good and social evil4 ,for after ,rome had flourished more than two hundred and forty years under her kings and interreges1 and after ,tarquin was sent into banishment1 the ,roman people conceived as much detestation of the name of king as they had once experienced regret at the death1 or rather disappearance1 of ,romulus4 ,therefore1 as in the first instance they could hardly bear the idea of losing a king1 so in the latter1 after the expulsion of ,tarquin1 they could not endure to hear the name of a king4#cbf 99 99 99 ,,xxxi4 99 99 99 ,therefore1 when that admirable constitution of ,romulus had lasted steadily about two hundred and forty years4 99 99 99 ,the whole of that law was abolished4 ,in this humor1 our ancestors banished ,collatinus1 in spite of his innocence1 because of the suspicion that attached to his family1 and all the rest of the ,tarquins1 on account of the unpopularity of their name4 ,in the same humor1 ,valerius ,publicola was the first to lower the fasces before the people1 when he spoke in the assembly of the people4 ,he also had the materials of his house conveyed to the foot of ,mount ,velia1 having observed that the commencement of his edifice on the summit of this hill1 where ,king ,tullius had once dwelt1 excited the suspicions of the people4 ,it was the same man1 who in this respect pre-eminently deserved the name of ,publicola1 who carried in favor of the people the first law received in the ,comitia ,centuriata1 that no magistrate should sentence to death or scourging a ,roman citizen who appealed from his authority to the people4 ,and the pontifical books attest that the right of appeal had existed1 even against the decision of the kings4 ,our augural books affirm the same thing4 ,and the ,twelve ,tables prove1 by a multitude of laws1 that there was a right of appeal from every judgment and penalty4 ,besides1 the historical fact that the decemviri who compiled the laws were created with the privilege of judging without appeal1 sufficiently proves that the other magistrates had not the same power4 ,and a consular law1 passed by ,lucius ,valerius ,politus and ,marcus ,horatius ,barbatus1 men justly popular for promoting union and concord1 enacted that no magistrate should thenceforth be appointed with authority to judge without appeal2 and the ,portian laws1 the work of three citizens of the name of ,portius1 as you are aware1 added nothing new to this edict but a penal sanction4 ,therefore ,publicola1 having promulgated this law in favor of appeal to the people1 immediately ordered the axes to be removed from the fasces1 which the lictors carried before the consuls1 and the next day appointed ,spurius ,lucretius for his colleague4 ,and as the new consul was the oldest of the two1 ,publicola ordered his lictors to pass over to him2 and he was the first to establish the rule1 that each of the consuls should be preceded by the lictors in alternate months1 that there should be no greater appearance of imperial insignia among the free people than they had witnessed in the days of their kings4 ,thus1 in my opinion1 he proved himself no ordinary man1 as1 by so granting the people a moderate degree of liberty1 he more easily maintained the authority of the nobles4 ,nor is it without reason that ,i have related to you these ancient and almost obsolete events2 but ,i wished to adduce my instances of men and circumstances from illustrious persons and times1 as it is to such events that the rest of my discourse will be directed4 ,,xxxii4 ,at that period1 then1 the senate preserved the ,commonwealth in such a condition that though the people were really free1 yet few acts were passed by the people1 but almost all1 on the contrary1 by the authority1 customs1 and traditions of the senate4 ,and over all the consuls exercised a power--in time1 indeed1 only annual1 but in nature and prerogative completely royal4 ,the consuls maintained1 with the greatest energy1 that rule which so much conduces to the power of our nobles and great men1 that the acts of the commons of the people shall not be binding1 unless the authority of the patricians has approved them4 ,about the same period1 and scarcely ten years after the first consuls1 we find the appointment of the dictator in the person of ,titus ,lartius4 ,and this new kind of power--namely1 the dictatorship--appears exceedingly similar to the monarchical royalty4 ,all his power1 however1 was vested in the supreme authority of the senate1 to which the people deferred2 and in these times great exploits were performed in war by brave men invested with the supreme command1 whether dictators or consuls4 ,,xxxiii4 ,but as the nature of things necessarily brought it to pass that the people1 once freed from its kings1 should arrogate to itself more and more authority1 we observe that after a short interval of only sixteen years1 in the consulship of ,postumus ,cominius and ,spurius ,cassius1 they attained their object2 an event explicable1 perhaps1 on no distinct principle1 but1 nevertheless1 in a manner independent of any distinct principle4 ,for recollect what ,i said in commencing our discourse1 that if there exists not in the ,state a just distribution and subordination of rights1 offices1 and prerogatives1 so as to give sufficient domination to the chiefs1 sufficient authority to the counsel of the senators1 and sufficient liberty to the people1 this form of the government cannot be durable4 ,for when the excessive debts of the citizens had thrown the ,state into disorder1 the people first retired to ,mount ,sacer1 and next occupied ,mount ,aventine4 ,and even the rigid discipline of ,lycurgus could not maintain those restraints in the case of the ,greeks4 ,for in ,sparta itself1 under the reign of ,theopompus1 the five magistrates whom they term ,ephori1 and in ,crete ten whom they entitle ,cosmi1 were established in opposition to the royal power1 just as tribunes were added among us to counterbalance the consular authority4 ,,xxxiv4 ,there might have been a method1 indeed1 by which our ancestors could have been relieved from the pressure of debt1 a method with which ,solon the ,athenian1 who lived at no very distant period before1 was acquainted1 and which our senate did not neglect when1 in the indignation which the odious avarice of one individual excited1 all the bonds of the citizens were cancelled1 and the right of arrest for a while suspended4 ,in the same way1 when the plebeians were oppressed by the weight of the expenses occasioned by public misfortunes1 a cure and remedy were sought for the sake of public security4 ,the senate1 however1 having forgotten their former decision1 gave an advantage to the democracy2 for1 by the creation of two tribunes to appease the sedition of the people1 the power and authority of the senate were diminished2 which1 however1 still remained dignified and august1 inasmuch as it was still composed of the wisest and bravest men1 who protected their country both with their arms and with their counsels2 whose authority was exceedingly strong and flourishing1 because in honor they were as much before their fellow-citizens as they were inferior in luxuriousness1 and1 as a general rule1 not superior to them in wealth4 ,and their public virtues were the more agreeable to the people1 because even in private matters they were ready to serve every citizen1 by their exertions1 their counsels1 and their liberality4 ,,xxxv4 ,such was the situation of the ,commonwealth when the qustor impeached ,spurius ,cassius of being so much emboldened by the excessive favor of the people as to endeavor to make himself master of monarchical power4 ,and1 as you have heard1 his own father1 having said that he had found that his son was really guilty of this crime1 condemned him to death at the instance of the people4 ,about fifty-four years after the first consulate1 ,spurius ,tarpeius and ,aulus ,aternius very much gratified the people by proposing1 in the ,comitia ,centuriata1 the substitution of fines instead of corporal punishments4 ,twenty years afterward1 ,lucius ,papirius and ,publius ,pinarius1 the censors1 having by a strict levy of fines confiscated to the ,state the entire flocks and herds of many private individuals1 a light tax on the cattle was substituted for the law of fines in the consulship of ,caius ,julius and ,publius ,papirius4 ,,xxxvi4 ,but1 some years previous to this1 at a period when the senate possessed the supreme influence1 and the people were submissive and obedient1 a new system was adopted4 ,at that time both the consuls and tribunes of the people abdicated their magistracies1 and the decemviri were appointed1 who were invested with great authority1 from which there was no appeal whatever1 so as to exercise the chief domination1 and to compile the laws4 ,after having composed1 with much wisdom and equity1 the ,ten ,tables of laws1 they nominated as their successors in the ensuing year other decemviri1 whose good faith and justice do not deserve equal praise4 ,one member of this college1 however1 merits our highest commendation4 ,i allude to ,caius ,julius1 who declared respecting the nobleman ,lucius ,sestius1 in whose chamber a dead body had been exhumed under his own eyes1 that though as decemvir he held the highest power without appeal1 he still required bail1 because he was unwilling to neglect that admirable law which permitted no court but the ,comitia ,centuriata to pronounce final sentence on the life of a ,roman citizen4 ,,xxxvii4 ,a third year followed under the authority of the same decemvirs1 and still they were not disposed to appoint their successors4 ,in a situation of the ,commonwealth like this1 which1 as ,i have often repeated1 could not be durable1 because it had not an equal operation with respect to all the ranks of the citizens1 the whole public power was lodged in the hands of the chiefs and decemvirs of the highest nobility1 without the counterbalancing authority of the tribunes of the people1 without the sanction of any other magistracies1 and without appeal to the people in the case of a sentence of death or scourging4 ,thus1 out of the injustice of these men1 there was suddenly produced a great revolution1 which changed the entire condition of the government1 or they added two tables of very tyrannical laws1 and though matrimonial alliances had always been permitted1 even with foreigners1 they forbade1 by the most abominable and inhuman edict1 that any marriages should take place between the nobles and the commons--an order which was afterward abrogated by the decree of ,canuleius4 ,besides1 they introduced into all their political measures corruption1 cruelty1 and avarice4 ,and indeed the story is well known1 and celebrated in many literary compositions1 that a certain ,decimus ,virginius was obliged1 on account of the libidinous violence of one of these decemvirs1 to stab his virgin daughter in the midst of the forum4 ,then1 when he in his desperation had fled to the ,roman army which was encamped on ,mount ,algidum1 the soldiers abandoned the war in which they were engaged1 and took possession of the ,sacred ,mount1 as they had done before on a similar occasion1 and next invested ,mount ,aventine in their arms4#cbg ,our ancestors knew how to prove most thoroughly1 and to retain most wisely4 99 99 99 ,,xxxviii4 ,and when ,scipio had spoken in this manner1 and all his friends were awaiting in silence the rest of his discourse1 then said ,tubero3 ,since these men who are older than ,i1 my ,scipio1 make no fresh demands on you1 ,i shall take the liberty to tell you what ,i particularly wish you would explain in your subsequent remarks4 ,do so1 said ,scipio1 and ,i shall be glad to hear4 ,then ,tubero said3 ,you appear to me to have spoken a panegyric on our ,commonwealth of ,rome exclusively1 though ,llius requested your views not only of the government of our own ,state1 but of the policy of states in general4 ,i have not1 therefore1 yet sufficiently learned from your discourse1 with respect to that mixed form of government you most approve1 by what discipline1 moral and legal1 we may be best able to establish and maintain it4 ,,xxxix4 ,africanus replied3 ,i think that we shall soon find an occasion better adapted to the discussion you have proposed1 respecting the constitution and conservatism of states4 ,as to the best form of government1 ,i think on this point ,i have sufficiently answered the question of ,llius4 ,for in answering him1 ,i1 in the first place1 specifically noticed the three simple forms of government--monarchy1 aristocracy1 and democracy2 and the three vicious constitutions contrary to them1 into which they often degenerate2 and ,i said that none of these forms1 taken separately1 was absolutely good2 but ,i described as preferable to either of them that mixed government which is composed of a proper amalgamation of these simple ingredients4 ,if ,i have since depicted our own ,roman constitution as an example1 it was not in order to define the very best form of government1 for that may be understood without an example2 but ,i wished1 in the exhibition of a mighty commonwealth actually in existence1 to render distinct and visible what reason and discourse would vainly attempt to display without the assistance of experimental illustration4 ,yet1 if you still require me to describe the best form of government1 independent of all particular examples1 we must consult that exactly proportioned and graduated image of government which nature herself presents to her investigators4 ,since you 99 99 99 this model of a city and people#cbh 99 99 99 ,,xl4 99 99 99 which ,i also am searching for1 and which ,i am anxious to arrive at4 ,llius4 ,you mean the model that would be approved by the truly accomplished politician8 ,scipio4 ,the same4 ,llius4 ,you have plenty of fair patterns even now before you1 if you would but begin with yourself4 ,then ,scipio said3 ,i wish ,i could find even one such1 even in the entire senate4 ,for he is really a wise politician who1 as we have often seen in ,africa1 while seated on a huge and unsightly elephant1 can guide and rule the monster1 and turn him whichever way he likes by a slight admonition1 without any actual exertion4 ,llius4 ,i recollect1 and when ,i was your lieutenant ,i often saw1 one of these drivers4 ,scipio4 ,thus an ,indian or ,carthaginian regulates one of these huge animals1 and renders him docile and familiar with human manners4 ,but the genius which resides in the mind of man1 by whatever name it may be called1 is required to rein and tame a monster far more multiform and intractable1 whenever it can accomplish it1 which indeed is seldom4 ,it is necessary to hold in with a strong hand that ferocious#cbi 99 99 99 ,,xli4 99 99 99 beast1 denominated the mob1 which thirsts after blood to such a degree that it can scarcely be sated with the most hideous massacres of men4 99 99 99 ,but to a man who is greedy1 and grasping1 and lustful1 and fond of wallowing in voluptuousness4 ,the fourth kind of anxiety is that which is prone to mourning and melancholy1 and which is constantly worrying itself4 ,the next paragraph1 ,esse autem angores1 etc41 is wholly unintelligible without the context4 ,as an unskilful charioteer is dragged from his chariot1 covered with dirt1 bruised1 and lacerated4 ,the excitements of men's minds are like a chariot1 with horses harnessed to it2 in the proper management of which1 the chief duty of the driver consists in knowing his road3 and if he keeps the road1 then1 however rapidly he proceeds1 he will encounter no obstacles2 but if he quits the proper track1 then1 although he may be going gently and slowly1 he will either be perplexed on rugged ground1 or fall over some steep place1 or at least he will be carried where he has no need to go4#ccj ,,xlii4 99 99 99 can be said4 ,then ,llius said3 ,i now see the sort of politician you require1 on whom you would impose the office and task of government1 which is what ,i wished to understand4 ,he must be an almost unique specimen1 said ,africanus1 for the task which ,i set him comprises all others4 ,he must never cease from cultivating and studying himself1 that he may excite others to imitate him1 and become1 through the splendor of his talents and enterprises1 a living mirror to his countrymen4 ,for as in flutes and harps1 and in all vocal performances1 a certain unison and harmony must be preserved amidst the distinctive tones1 which cannot be broken or violated without offending experienced ears2 and as this concord and delicious harmony is produced by the exact gradation and modulation of dissimilar notes2 even so1 by means of the just apportionment of the highest1 middle1 and lower classes1 the ,state is maintained in concord and peace by the harmonic subordination of its discordant elements3 and thus1 that which is by musicians called harmony in song answers and corresponds to what we call concord in the ,state--concord1 the strongest and loveliest bond of security in every commonwealth1 being always accompanied by justice and equity4 ,,xliii4 ,and after this1 when ,scipio had discussed with considerable breadth of principle and felicity of illustration the great advantage that justice is to a state1 and the great injury which would arise if it were wanting1 ,pilus1 one of those who were present at the discussion1 took up the matter and demanded that this question should be argued more carefully1 and that something more should be said about justice1 on account of a sentiment that was now obtaining among people in general1 that political affairs could not be wholly carried on without some disregard of justice4 ,,xliv4 99 99 99 to be full of justice4 ,then ,scipio replied3 ,i certainly think so4 ,and ,i declare to you that ,i consider that all ,i have spoken respecting the government of the ,state is worth nothing1 and that it will be useless to proceed further1 unless ,i can prove that it is a false assertion that political business cannot be conducted without injustice and corruption2 and1 on the other hand1 establish as a most indisputable fact that without the strictest justice no government whatever can last long4 ,but1 with your permission1 we have had discussion enough for the day4 ,the rest--and much remains for our consideration--we will defer till to-morrow4 ,when they had all agreed to this1 the debate of the day was closed4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,introduction ,,to ,,the ,,third ,,book1 ,,by ,,the ,,original ,,translator4 ,cicero here enters on the grand question of ,political ,justice1 and endeavors to evince throughout the absolute verity of that inestimable proverb1 ,honesty is the best policy1 in all public as well as in all private affairs4 ,st4 ,augustine1 in his ,city of ,god1 has given the following analysis of this magnificent disquisition3 ,in the third book of ,cicero's ,commonwealth 7says he7 the question of ,political ,justice is most earnestly discussed4 ,philus is appointed to support1 as well as he can1 the sophistical arguments of those who think that political government cannot be carried on without the aid of injustice and chicanery4 ,he denies holding any such opinion himself2 yet1 in order to exhibit the truth more vividly through the force of contrast1 he pleads with the utmost ingenuity the cause of injustice against justice2 and endeavors to show1 by plausible examples and specious dialectics1 that injustice is as useful to a statesman as justice would be injurious4 ,then ,llius1 at the general request1 takes up the plea for justice1 and maintains with all his eloquence that nothing could be so ruinous to states as injustice and dishonesty1 and that without a supreme justice1 no political government could expect a long duration4 ,this point being sufficiently proved1 ,scipio returns to the principal discussion4 ,he reproduces and enforces the short definition that he had given of a commonwealth--that it consisted in the welfare of the entire people1 by which word 'people' he does not mean the mob1 but the community1 bound together by the sense of common rights and mutual benefits4 ,he notices how important such just definitions are in all debates whatever1 and draws this conclusion from the preceding arguments--that the ,commonwealth is the common welfare whenever it is swayed with justice and wisdom1 whether it be subordinated to a king1 an aristocracy1 or a democracy4 ,but if the king be unjust1 and so becomes a tyrant2 and the aristocracy unjust1 which makes them a faction2 or the democrats unjust1 and so degenerate into revolutionists and destructives--then not only the ,commonwealth is corrupted1 but in fact annihilated4 ,for it can be no longer the common welfare when a tyrant or a faction abuse it2 and the people itself is no longer the people when it becomes unjust1 since it is no longer a community associated by a sense of right and utility1 according to the definition4--,aug4 ,civ4 ,dei4 #c-ba4 ,this book is of the utmost importance to statesmen1 as it serves to neutralize the sophistries of ,machiavelli1 which are still repeated in many cabinets4 ,,book ,,iii4 ,i4 99 99 99#cca ,cicero1 in the third book of his treatise ,on a ,commonwealth1 says that nature has treated man less like a mother than a step-dame1 for she has cast him into mortal life with a body naked1 fragile1 and infirm1 and with a mind agitated by troubles1 depressed by fears1 broken by labors1 and exposed to passions4 ,in this mind1 however1 there lies hidden1 and1 as it were1 buried1 a certain divine spark of genius and intellect4 ,though man is born a frail and powerless being1 nevertheless he is safe from all animals destitute of voice2 and at the same time those other animals of greater strength1 although they bravely endure the violence of weather1 cannot be safe from man4 ,and the result is1 that reason does more for man than nature does for brutes2 since1 in the latter1 neither the greatness of their strength nor the firmness of their bodies can save them from being oppressed by us1 and made subject to our power4 99 99 99 ,plato returned thanks to nature that he had been born a man4 ,,ii4 99 99 99 aiding our slowness by carriages1 and when it had taught men to utter the elementary and confused sounds of unpolished expression1 articulated and distinguished them into their proper classes1 and1 as their appropriate signs1 attached certain words to certain things1 and thus associated1 by the most delightful bond of speech1 the once divided races of men4 ,and by a similar intelligence1 the inflections of the voice1 which appeared infinite1 are1 by the discovery of a few alphabetic characters1 all designated and expressed2 by which we maintain converse with our absent friends1 by which also indications of our wishes and monuments of past events are preserved4 ,then came the use of numbers--a thing necessary to human life1 and at the same time immutable and eternal2 a science which first urged us to raise our views to heaven1 and not gaze without an object on the motions of the stars1 and the distribution of days and nights4 ,,iii4 99 99 99#ccb ,then appeared the sages of philosophy1 whose minds took a higher flight1 and who were able to conceive and to execute designs worthy of the gifts of the ,gods4 ,wherefore let those men who have left us sublime essays on the principles of living be regarded as great men--which indeed they are--as learned men1 as masters of truth and virtue2 provided that these principles of civil government1 this system of governing people1 whether it be a thing discovered by men who have lived amidst a variety of political events1 or one discussed amidst their opportunities of literary tranquillity1 is remembered to be1 as indeed it is1 a thing by no means to be despised1 being one which causes in first-rate minds1 as we not unfrequently see1 an incredible and almost divine virtue4 ,and when to these high faculties of soul1 received from nature and expanded by social institutions1 a politician adds learning and extensive information concerning things in general1 like those illustrious personages who conduct the dialogue in the present treatise1 none will refuse to confess the superiority of such persons to all others2 for1 in fact1 what can be more admirable than the study and practice of the grand affairs of state1 united to a literary taste and a familiarity with the liberal arts8 or what can we imagine more perfect than a ,scipio1 a ,llius1 or a ,philus1 who1 not to omit anything which belonged to the most perfect excellence of the greatest men1 joined to the examples of our ancestors and the traditions of our countrymen the foreign philosophy of ,socrates8 ,wherefore he who had both the desire and the power to acquaint himself thoroughly both with the customs and the learning of his ancestors appears to me to have attained to the very highest glory and honor4 ,but if we cannot combine both1 and are compelled to select one of these two paths to wisdom--though to some people the tranquil life spent in the research of literature and arts may appear to be the most happy and delectable--yet1 doubtless1 the science of politics is more laudable and illustrious1 for in this political field of exertion our greatest men have reaped their honors1 like the invincible ,curius1 ,whom neither gold nor iron could subdue4 ,,iv4 99 99 99#ccc that wisdom existed still4 ,there existed this general difference between these two classes1 that among the one the development of the principles of nature is the subject of their study and eloquence1 and among the other national laws and institutions form the principal topics of investigation4 ,in honor of our country1 we may assert that she has produced within herself a great number1 ,i will not say of sages 7since philosophy is so jealous of this name71 but of men worthy of the highest celebrity1 because by them the precepts and discoveries of the sages have been carried out into actual practice4 ,and1 moreover1 though there have existed1 and still do exist1 many great and glorious empires1 yet since the noblest masterpiece of genius in the world is the establishment of a state and commonwealth which shall be a lasting one1 even if we reckon but a single legislator for each empire1 the number of these excellent men will appear very numerous4 ,to be convinced of this1 we have only to turn our eyes on any nation of ,italy1 ,latium1 the ,sabines1 the ,volscians1 the ,samnites1 or the ,etrurians1 and then direct our attention to that mighty nation of the ,greeks1 and then to the ,assyrians1 ,persians1 and ,carthaginians1 and#ccd 99 99 99 ,v4 99 99 99 ,scipio and his friends having again assembled1 ,scipio spoke as follows3 ,in our last conversation1 ,i promised to prove that honesty is the best policy in all states and commonwealths whatsoever4 ,but if ,i am to plead in favor of strict honesty and justice in all public affairs1 no less than in private1 ,i must request ,philus1 or some one else1 to take up the advocacy of the other side2 the truth will then become more manifest1 from the collision of opposite arguments1 as we see every day exemplified at the ,bar4 ,and ,philus replied3 ,in good truth1 you have allotted me a very creditable cause when you wish me to undertake the defence of vice4 ,perhaps1 said ,llius1 you are afraid1 lest1 in reproducing the ordinary objections made to justice in politics1 you should seem to express your own sentiments2 though you are universally respected as an almost unique example of the ancient probity and good faith2 nor is it unknown how familiar you are with the lawyer-like habit of disputing on both sides of a question1 because you think that this is the best way of getting at the truth4 ,and ,philus said3 ,very well2 ,i obey you1 and wilfully1 with my eyes open1 ,i will undertake this dirty business2 because1 since those who seek for gold do not flinch at the sight of the mud1 so we who are searching for justice1 which is far more precious than gold1 are bound to shrink from no annoyance4 ,and ,i wish1 as ,i am about to make use of the antagonist arguments of a foreigner1 ,i might also employ a foreign language4 ,the pleas1 therefore1 now to be urged by ,lucius ,furius ,philus are those once employed by the ,greek ,carneades1 a man who was accustomed to express whatever served his turn4#cce 99 99 99#ccf,let it be understood1 therefore1 that ,i by no means express my own sentiments1 but those of ,carneades1 in order that you may refute this philosopher1 who was wont to turn the best causes into joke1 through the mere wantonness of wit4 ,,vi4 ,he was a philosopher of the ,academic ,school2 and if any one is ignorant of his great power1 and eloquence1 and acuteness in arguing1 he may learn it from the mention made of him by ,cicero or by ,lucilius1 when ,neptune1 discoursing on a very difficult subject1 declares that it cannot be explained1 not even if hell were to restore ,carneades himself for the purpose4 ,this philosopher1 having been sent by the ,athenians to ,rome as an ambassador1 discussed the subject of justice very amply in the hearing of ,galba and ,cato the ,censor1 who were the greatest orators of the day4 ,and the next day he overturned all his arguments by others of a contrary tendency1 and disparaged justice1 which the day before he had extolled2 speaking not indeed with the gravity of a philosopher whose wisdom ought to be steady1 and whose opinions unchangeable1 but in a kind of rhetorical exercise of arguing on each side--a practice which he was accustomed to adopt1 in order to be able to refute others who were asserting anything4 ,the arguments by which he disparaged justice are mentioned by ,lucius ,furius in ,cicero2 ,i suppose1 since he was discussing the ,commonwealth1 in order to introduce a defence and panegyric of that quality without which he did not think a commonwealth could be administered4 ,but ,carneades1 in order to refute ,aristotle and ,plato1 the advocates of justice1 collected in his first argument everything that was in the habit of being advanced on behalf of justice1 in order afterward to be able to overturn it1 as he did4 ,,vii4 ,many philosophers indeed1 and especially ,plato and ,aristotle1 have spoken a great deal of justice1 inculcating that virtue1 and extolling it with the highest praise1 as giving to every one what belongs to him1 as preserving equity in all things1 and urging that while the other virtues are1 as it were1 silent and shut up1 justice is the only one which is not absorbed in considerations of self-interest1 and which is not secret1 but finds its whole field for exercise out-of-doors1 and is desirous of doing good and serving as many people as possible2 as if1 forsooth1 justice ought to exist in judges only1 and in men invested with a certain authority1 and not in every one6 ,but there is no one1 not even a man of the lowest class1 or a beggar1 who is destitute of opportunities of displaying justice4 ,but because these philosophers knew not what its essence was1 or whence it proceeded1 or what its employment was1 they attributed that first of all virtues1 which is the common good of all men1 to a few only1 and asserted that it aimed at no advantage of its own1 but was anxious only for that of others4 ,so it was well that ,carneades1 a man of the greatest genius and acuteness1 refuted their assertions1 and overthrew that justice which had no firm foundation2 not because he thought justice itself deserving of blame1 but in order to show that those its defenders had brought forward no trustworthy or strong arguments in its behalf4 ,justice looks out-of-doors1 and is prominent and conspicuous in its whole essence4 ,which virtue1 beyond all others1 wholly devotes and dedicates itself to the advantage of others4 ,,viii4 99 99 99 ,both to discover and maintain4 ,while the other1 ,aristotle1 has filled four large volumes with a discussion on abstract justice4 ,for ,i did not expect anything grand or magnificent from ,chrysippus1 who1 after his usual fashion1 examines everything rather by the signification of words than the reality of things4 ,but it was surely worthy of those heroes of philosophy to ennoble by their genius a virtue so eminently beneficent and liberal1 which everywhere exalts the social interests above the selfish1 and teaches us to love others rather than ourselves4 ,it was worthy of their genius1 we say1 to elevate this virtue to a divine throne1 not far from that of ,wisdom4 ,and certainly they neither wanted the will to accomplish this 7for what else could be the cause of their writing on the subject1 or what could have been their design87 nor the genius1 in which they excelled all men4 ,but the weakness of their cause was too great for either their intention or their eloquence to make it popular4 ,in fact1 this justice on which we reason is a civil right1 but no natural one2 for if it were natural and universal1 then justice and injustice would be recognized similarly by all men1 just as the heat and cold1 sweetness and bitterness4 ,,ix4 ,now1 if any one1 carried in that chariot of winged serpents of which the poet ,pacuvius makes mention1 could take his flight over all nations and cities1 and accurately observe their proceedings1 he would see that the sense of justice and right varies in different regions4 ,in the first place1 he would behold among the unchangeable people of ,egypt1 which preserves in its archives the memory of so many ages and events1 a bull adored as a ,deity1 under the name of ,apis1 and a multitude of other monsters1 and all kinds of animals admitted by the same nation into the number of the ,gods4 ,in the next place1 he would see in ,greece1 as among ourselves1 magnificent temples consecrated by images in human form1 which the ,persians regarded as impious2 and it is affirmed that the sole motive of ,xerxes for commanding the conflagration of the ,athenian temples was the belief that it was a superstitious sacrilege to keep confined within narrow walls the ,gods1 whose proper home was the entire universe4 ,but afterward ,philip1 in his hostile projects against the ,persians1 and ,alexander1 who carried them into execution1 alleged this plea for war1 that they were desirous to avenge the temples of ,greece1 which the ,greeks had thought proper never to rebuild1 that this monument of the impiety of the ,persians might always remain before the eyes of their posterity4 ,how many--such as the inhabitants of ,taurica along the ,euxine ,sea2 as the ,king of ,egypt1 ,busiris2 as the ,gauls and the ,carthaginians--have thought it exceedingly pious and agreeable to the ,gods to sacrifice men6 ,and1 besides1 the customs of life are so various that the ,cretans and tolians regard robbery as honorable4 ,and the ,lacedmonians say that their territory extends to all places which they can touch with a lance4 ,the ,athenians had a custom of swearing1 by a public proclamation1 that all the lands which produced olives and corn were their own4 ,the ,gauls consider it a base employment to raise corn by agricultural labor1 and go with arms in their hands1 and mow down the harvests of neighboring peoples4 ,but we ourselves1 the most equitable of all nations1 who1 in order to raise the value of our vines and olives1 do not permit the races beyond the ,alps to cultivate either vineyards or oliveyards1 are said in this matter to act with prudence1 but not with justice4 ,you see1 then1 that wisdom and policy are not always the same as equity4 ,and ,lycurgus1 that famous inventor of a most admirable jurisprudence and most wholesome laws1 gave the lands of the rich to be cultivated by the common people1 who were reduced to slavery4 ,x4 ,if ,i were to describe the diverse kinds of laws1 institutions1 manners1 and customs1 not only as they vary in the numerous nations1 but as they vary likewise in single cities--in this one of ours1 for example--,i could prove that they have had a thousand revolutions4 ,for instance1 that eminent expositor of our laws who sits in the present company--,i mean ,manilius--if you were to consult him relative to the legacies and inheritances of women1 he would tell you that the present law is quite different from that he was accustomed to plead in his youth1 before the ,voconian enactment came into force--an edict which was passed in favor of the interests of the men1 but which is evidently full of injustice with regard to women4 ,for why should a woman be disabled from inheriting property8 ,why can a vestal virgin become an heir1 while her mother cannot8 ,and why1 admitting that it is necessary to set some limit to the wealth of women1 should ,crassus's daughter1 if she be his only child1 inherit thousands without offending the law1 while my daughter can only receive a small share in a bequest4#ccg 99 99 99 ,,xi4 99 99 99 ,if this justice were natural1 innate1 and universal1 all men would admit the same law and right1 and the same men would not enact different laws at different times4 ,if a just man and a virtuous man is bound to obey the laws1 ,i ask1 what laws do you mean8 ,do you intend all the laws indifferently8 ,but neither does virtue permit this inconstancy in moral obligation1 nor is such a variation compatible with natural conscience4 ,the laws are1 therefore1 based not on our sense of justice1 but on our fear of punishment4 ,there is1 therefore1 no natural justice2 and hence it follows that men cannot be just by nature4 ,are men1 then1 to say that variations indeed do exist in the laws1 but that men who are virtuous through natural conscience follow that which is really justice1 and not a mere semblance and disguise1 and that it is the distinguishing characteristic of the truly just and virtuous man to render every one his due rights8 ,are we1 then1 to attribute the first of these characteristics to animals8 ,for not only men of moderate abilities1 but even first-rate sages and philosophers1 as ,pythagoras and ,empedocles1 declare that all kinds of living creatures have a right to the same justice4 ,they declare that inexpiable penalties impend over those who have done violence to any animal whatsoever4 ,it is1 therefore1 a crime to injure an animal1 and the perpetrator of such crime#cch 99 99 99 ,,xii4 ,for when he#cci inquired of a pirate by what right he dared to infest the sea with his little brigantine3 ,by the same right1 he replied1 which is your warrant for conquering the world4 99 99 99 ,wisdom and prudence instruct us by all means to increase our power1 riches1 and estates4 ,for by what means could this same ,alexander1 that illustrious general1 who extended his empire over all ,asia1 without violating the property of other men1 have acquired such universal dominion1 enjoyed so many pleasures1 such great power1 and reigned without bound or limit8 ,but justice commands us to have mercy upon all men1 to consult the interests of the whole human race1 to give to every one his due1 and injure no sacred1 public1 or foreign rights1 and to forbear touching what does not belong to us4 ,what is the result1 then8 ,if you obey the dictates of wisdom1 then wealth1 power1 riches1 honors1 provinces1 and kingdoms1 from all classes1 peoples1 and nations1 are to be aimed at4 ,however1 as we are discussing public matters1 those examples are more illustrious which refer to what is done publicly4 ,and since the question between justice and policy applies equally to private and public affairs1 ,i think it well to speak of the wisdom of the people4 ,i will not1 however1 mention other nations1 but come at once to our own ,roman people1 whom ,africanus1 in his discourse yesterday1 traced from the cradle1 and whose empire now embraces the whole world4 ,justice is#cdj 99 99 99 ,,xiii4 ,how far utility is at variance with justice we may learn from the ,roman people itself1 which1 declaring war by means of the fecials1 and committing injustice with all legal formality1 always coveting and laying violent hands on the property of others1 acquired the possession of the whole world4 ,what is the advantage of one's own country but the disadvantage of another state or nation1 by extending one's dominions by territories evidently wrested from others1 increasing one's power1 improving one's revenues1 etc48 ,therefore1 whoever has obtained these advantages for his country--that is to say1 whoever has overthrown cities1 subdued nations1 and by these means filled the treasury with money1 taken lands1 and enriched his fellow-citizens--such a man is extolled to the skies2 is believed to be endowed with consummate and perfect virtue2 and this mistake is fallen into not only by the populace and the ignorant1 but by philosophers1 who even give rules for injustice4 ,,xiv4 99 99 99 ,for all those who have the right of life and death over the people are in fact tyrants2 but they prefer being called by the title of king1 which belongs to the all-good ,jupiter4 ,but when certain men1 by favor of wealth1 birth1 or any other means1 get possession of the entire government1 it is a faction2 but they choose to denominate themselves an aristocracy4 ,if the people gets the upper hand1 and rules everything after its capricious will1 they call it liberty1 but it is in fact license4 ,and when every man is a guard upon his neighbor1 and every class is a guard upon every other class1 then because no one trusts in his own strength1 a kind of compact is formed between the great and the little1 from whence arises that mixed kind of government which ,scipio has been commending4 ,thus justice1 according to these facts1 is not the daughter of nature or conscience1 but of human imbecility4 ,for when it becomes necessary to choose between these three predicaments1 either to do wrong without retribution1 or to do wrong with retribution1 or to do no wrong at all1 it is best to do wrong with impunity2 next1 neither to do wrong nor to suffer for it2 but nothing is more wretched than to struggle incessantly between the wrong we inflict and that we receive4 ,therefore1 he who attains to that first end#cda 99 99 99 ,,xv4 ,this was the sum of the argument of ,carneades3 that men had established laws among themselves from considerations of advantage1 varying them according to their different customs1 and altering them often so as to adapt them to the times2 but that there was no such thing as natural law2 that all men and all other animals are led to their own advantage by the guidance of nature2 that there is no such thing as justice1 or1 if there be1 that it is extreme folly1 since a man would injure himself while consulting the interests of others4 ,and he added these arguments1 that all nations who were flourishing and dominant1 and even the ,romans themselves1 who were the masters of the whole world1 if they wished to be just--that is to say1 if they restored all that belonged to others--would have to return to their cottages1 and to lie down in want and misery4 ,except1 perhaps1 of the ,arcadians and ,athenians1 who1 ,i presume1 dreading that this great act of retribution might one day arrive1 pretend that they were sprung from the earth1 like so many field-mice4 ,,xvi4 ,in reply to these statements1 the following arguments are often adduced by those who are not unskilful in discussions1 and who1 in this question1 have all the greater weight of authority1 because1 when we inquire1 ,who is a good man8--understanding by that term a frank and single-minded man--we have little need of captious casuists1 quibblers1 and slanderers4 ,for those men assert that the wise man does not seek virtue because of the personal gratification which the practice of justice and beneficence procures him1 but rather because the life of the good man is free from fear1 care1 solicitude1 and peril2 while1 on the other hand1 the wicked always feel in their souls a certain suspicion1 and always behold before their eyes images of judgment and punishment4 ,do not you think1 therefore1 that there is any benefit1 or that there is any advantage which can be procured by injustice1 precious enough to counterbalance the constant pressure of remorse1 and the haunting consciousness that retribution awaits the sinner1 and hangs over his devoted head4#cdb 99 99 99 ,,xvii4 ,our philosophers1 therefore1 put a case4 ,suppose1 say they1 two men1 one of whom is an excellent and admirable person1 of high honor and remarkable integrity2 the latter is distinguished by nothing but his vice and audacity4 ,and suppose that their city has so mistaken their characters as to imagine the good man to be a scandalous1 impious1 and audacious criminal1 and to esteem the wicked man1 on the contrary1 as a pattern of probity and fidelity4 ,on account of this error of their fellow-citizens1 the good man is arrested and tormented1 his hands are cut off1 his eyes are plucked out1 he is condemned1 bound1 burned1 exterminated1 reduced to want1 and to the last appears to all men to be most deservedly the most miserable of men4 ,on the other hand1 the flagitious wretch is exalted1 worshipped1 loved by all1 and honors1 offices1 riches1 and emoluments are all conferred on him1 and he shall be reckoned by his fellow-citizens the best and worthiest of mortals1 and in the highest degree deserving of all manner of prosperity4 ,yet1 for all this1 who is so mad as to doubt which of these two men he would rather be8 ,,xviii4 ,what happens among individuals happens also among nations4 ,there is no state so absurd and ridiculous as not to prefer unjust dominion to just subordination4 ,i need not go far for examples4 ,during my own consulship1 when you were my fellow-counsellors1 we consulted respecting the treaty of ,numantia4 ,no one was ignorant that ,quintus ,pompey had signed a treaty1 and that ,mancinus had done the same4 ,the latter1 being a virtuous man1 supported the proposition which ,i laid before the people1 after the decree of the senate4 ,the former1 on the other side1 opposed it vehemently4 ,if modesty1 probity1 or faith had been regarded1 ,mancinus would have carried his point2 but in reason1 counsel1 and prudence1 ,pompey surpassed him4 ,whether#cdc 99 99 99 ,,xix4 ,if a man should have a faithless slave1 or an unwholesome house1 with whose defect he alone was acquainted1 and he advertised them for sale1 would he state the fact that his servant was infected with knavery1 and his house with malaria1 or would he conceal these objections from the buyer8 ,if he stated those facts1 he would be honest1 no doubt1 because he would deceive nobody2 but still he would be thought a fool1 because he would either get very little for his property1 or else fail to sell it at all4 ,by concealing these defects1 on the other hand1 he will be called a shrewd man--as one who has taken care of his own interest2 but he will be a rogue1 notwithstanding1 because he will be deceiving his neighbors4 ,again1 let us suppose that one man meets another1 who sells gold and silver1 conceiving them to be copper or lead2 shall he hold his peace that he may make a capital bargain1 or correct the mistake1 and purchase at a fair rate8 ,he would evidently be a fool in the world's opinion if he preferred the latter4 ,,xx4 ,it is justice1 beyond all question1 neither to commit murder nor robbery4 ,what1 then1 would your just man do1 if1 in a case of shipwreck1 he saw a weaker man than himself get possession of a plank8 ,would he not thrust him off1 get hold of the timber himself1 and escape by his exertions1 especially as no human witness could be present in the mid-sea8 ,if he acted like a wise man of the world1 he would certainly do so1 for to act in any other way would cost him his life4 ,if1 on the other hand1 he prefers death to inflicting unjustifiable injury on his neighbor1 he will be an eminently honorable and just man1 but not the less a fool1 because he saved another's life at the expense of his own4 ,again1 if in case of a defeat and rout1 when the enemy were pressing in the rear1 this just man should find a wounded comrade mounted on a horse1 shall he respect his right at the risk of being killed himself1 or shall he fling him from the horse in order to preserve his own life from the pursuers8 ,if he does so1 he is a wise man1 but at the same time a wicked one2 if he does not1 he is admirably just1 but at the same time stupid4 ,,xxi4 ,scipio4 ,i might reply at great length to these sophistical objections of ,philus1 if it were not1 my ,llius1 that all our friends are no less anxious than myself to hear you take a leading part in the present debate1 especially as you promised yesterday that you would plead at large on my side of the argument4 ,if you cannot spare time for this1 at any rate do not desert us2 we all ask it of you4 ,llius4 ,this ,carneades ought not to be even listened to by our young men4 ,i think all the while that ,i am hearing him that he must be a very impure person2 if he be not1 as ,i would fain believe1 his discourse is not less pernicious4 ,,xxii4#cdd ,true law is right reason conformable to nature1 universal1 unchangeable1 eternal1 whose commands urge us to duty1 and whose prohibitions restrain us from evil4 ,whether it enjoins or forbids1 the good respect its injunctions1 and the wicked treat them with indifference4 ,this law cannot be contradicted by any other law1 and is not liable either to derogation or abrogation4 ,neither the senate nor the people can give us any dispensation for not obeying this universal law of justice4 ,it needs no other expositor and interpreter than our own conscience4 ,it is not one thing at ,rome1 and another at ,athens2 one thing to-day1 and another to-morrow2 but in all times and nations this universal law must forever reign1 eternal and imperishable4 ,it is the sovereign master and emperor of all beings4 ,god himself is its author1 its promulgator1 its enforcer4 ,and he who does not obey it flies from himself1 and does violence to the very nature of man4 ,and by so doing he will endure the severest penalties even if he avoid the other evils which are usually accounted punishments4 ,,xxiii4 ,i am aware that in the third book of ,cicero's treatise on the ,commonwealth 7unless ,i am mistaken7 it is argued that no war is ever undertaken by a well-regulated commonwealth unless it be one either for the sake of keeping faith1 or for safety2 and what he means by a war for safety1 and what safety he wishes us to understand1 he points out in another passage1 where he says1 ,but private men often escape from these penalties1 which even the most stupid persons feel--want1 exile1 imprisonment1 and stripes--by embracing the opportunity of a speedy death2 but to states death itself is a penalty1 though it appears to deliver individuals from punishment4 ,for a state ought to be established so as to be eternal3 therefore1 there is no natural decease for a state1 as there is for a man1 in whose case death is not only inevitable1 but often even desirable2 but when a state is put an end to1 it is destroyed1 extinguished4 ,it is in some degree1 to compare small things with great1 as if this whole world were to perish and fall to pieces4 ,in his treatise on the ,commonwealth1 ,cicero says those wars are unjust which are undertaken without reason4 ,again1 after a few sentences1 he adds1 ,no war is considered just unless it be formally announced and declared1 and unless it be to obtain restitution of what has been taken away4 ,but our nation1 by defending its allies1 has now become the master of all the whole world4 ,,xxiv4 ,also1 in that same treatise on the ,commonwealth1 he argues most strenuously and vigorously in the cause of justice against injustice4 ,and since1 when a little time before the part of injustice was upheld against justice1 and the doctrine was urged that a republic could not prosper and flourish except by injustice1 this was put forward as the strongest argument1 that it was unjust for men to serve other men as their masters2 but that unless a dominant state1 such as a great republic1 acted on this injustice1 it could not govern its provinces2 answer was made on behalf of justice1 that it was just that it should be so1 because slavery is advantageous to such men1 and their interests are consulted by a right course of conduct--that is1 by the license of doing injury being taken from the wicked--and they will fare better when subjugated1 because when not subjugated they fared worse3 and to confirm this reasoning1 a noble instance1 taken1 as it were1 from nature1 was added1 and it was said1 ,why1 then1 does ,god govern man1 and why does the mind govern the body1 and reason govern lust1 and the other vicious parts of the mind8 ,,xxv4 ,hear what ,tully says more plainly still in the third book of his treatise on the ,commonwealth1 when discussing the reasons for government4 ,do we not1 says he1 see that nature herself has given the power of dominion to everything that is best1 to the extreme advantage of what is subjected to it8 ,why1 then1 does ,god govern man1 and why does the mind govern the body1 and reason govern lust and passion and the other vicious parts of the same mind8 ,listen thus far2 for presently he adds1 ,but still there are dissimilarities to be recognized in governing and in obeying4 ,for as the mind is said to govern the body1 and also to govern lust1 still it governs the body as a king governs his subjects1 or a parent his children2 but it governs lust as a master governs his slaves1 because it restrains and breaks it4 ,the authority of kings1 of generals1 of magistrates1 of fathers1 and of nations1 rules their subjects and allies as the mind rules bodies2 but masters control their slaves1 as the best part of the mind--that is to say1 wisdom--controls the vicious and weak parts of itself1 such as lust1 passion1 and the other perturbations4 ,for there is a kind of unjust slavery when those belong to some one else who might be their own masters2 but when those are slaves who cannot govern themselves1 there is no injury done4 ,,xxvi4 ,if1 says ,carneades1 you were to know that an asp was lying hidden anywhere1 and that some one who did not know it was going to sit upon it1 whose death would be a gain to you1 you would act wickedly if you did not warn him not to sit down4 ,still1 you would not be liable to punishment2 for who could prove that you had known8 ,but we are bringing forward too many instances2 for it is plain that unless equity1 good faith1 and justice proceed from nature1 and if all these things are referred to interest1 a good man cannot be found4 ,and on these topics a great deal is said by ,llius in our treatise on the ,republic4 ,if1 as we are reminded by you1 we have spoken well in that treatise1 when we said that nothing is good excepting what is honorable1 and nothing bad excepting what is disgraceful4 99 99 99 ,,xxvii4 ,i am glad that you approve of the doctrine that the affection borne to our children is implanted by nature2 indeed1 if it be not1 there can be no conection between man and man which has its origin in nature4 ,and if there be not1 then there is an end of all society in life4 ,may it turn out well1 says ,carneades1 speaking shamelessly1 but still more sensibly than my friend ,lucius or ,patro3 for1 as they refer everything to themselves1 do they think that anything is ever done for the sake of another8 ,and when they say that a man ought to be good1 in order to avoid misfortune1 not because it is right by nature1 they do not perceive that they are speaking of a cunning man1 not of a good one4 ,but these arguments are argued1 ,i think1 in those books by praising which you have given me spirits4 ,in which ,i agree that an anxious and hazardous justice is not that of a wise man4 ,,xxviii4 ,and again1 in ,cicero1 that same advocate of justice1 ,llius1 says1 ,virtue is clearly eager for honor1 nor has she any other reward2 which1 however1 she accepts easily1 and exacts without bitterness4 ,and in another place the same ,llius says3 ,when a man is inspired by virtue such as this1 what bribes can you offer him1 what treasures1 what thrones1 what empires8 ,he considers these but mortal goods1 and esteems his own divine4 ,and if the ingratitude of the people1 and the envy of his competitors1 or the violence of powerful enemies1 despoil his virtue of its earthly recompense1 he still enjoys a thousand consolations in the approbation of conscience1 and sustains himself by contemplating the beauty of moral rectitude4 ,,xxix4 99 99 99 ,this virtue1 in order to be true1 must be universal4 ,tiberius ,gracchus continued faithful to his fellow-citizens1 but he violated the rights and treaties guaranteed to our allies and the ,latin peoples4 ,but if this habit of arbitrary violence begins to extend itself further1 and perverts our authority1 leading it from right to violence1 so that those who had voluntarily obeyed us are only restrained by fear1 then1 although we1 during our days1 may escape the peril1 yet am ,i solicitous respecting the safety of our posterity and the immortality of the ,commonwealth itself1 which1 doubtless1 might become perpetual and invincible if our people would maintain their ancient institutions and manners4 ,,xxx4 ,when ,llius had ceased to speak1 all those that were present expressed the extreme pleasure they found in his discourse4 ,but ,scipio1 more affected than the rest1 and ravished with the delight of sympathy1 exclaimed3 ,you have pleaded1 my ,llius1 many causes with an eloquence superior to that of ,servius ,galba1 our colleague1 whom you used during his life to prefer to all others1 even to the ,attic orators and never did ,i hear you speak with more energy than to-day1 while pleading the cause of justice#cde 99 99 99 99 99 99 ,that two things were wanting to enable him to speak in public and in the forum1 confidence and voice4 ,,xxxi4 99 99 99 ,this justice1 continued ,scipio1 is the very foundation of lawful government in political constitutions4 ,can we call the ,state of ,agrigentum a commonwealth1 where all men are oppressed by the cruelty of a single tyrant--where there is no universal bond of right1 nor social consent and fellowship1 which should belong to every people1 properly so named8 ,it is the same in ,syracuse--that illustrious city which ,timus calls the greatest of the ,grecian towns4 ,it was indeed a most beautiful city2 and its admirable citadel1 its canals distributed through all its districts1 its broad streets1 its porticoes1 its temples1 and its walls1 gave ,syracuse the appearance of a most flourishing state4 ,but while ,dionysius its tyrant reigned there1 nothing of all its wealth belonged to the people1 and the people were nothing better than the slaves of one master4 ,thus1 wherever ,i behold a tyrant1 ,i know that the social constitution must be not merely vicious and corrupt1 as ,i stated yesterday1 but in strict truth no social constitution at all4 ,,xxxii4 ,llius4 ,you have spoken admirably1 my ,scipio1 and ,i see the point of your observations4 ,scipio4 ,you grant1 then1 that a state which is entirely in the power of a faction cannot justly be entitled a political community8 ,llius4 ,that is evident4 ,scipio4 ,you judge most correctly4 ,for what was the ,state of ,athens when1 during the great ,peloponnesian war1 she fell under the unjust domination of the thirty tyrants8 ,the antique glory of that city1 the imposing aspect of its edifices1 its theatre1 its gymnasium1 its porticoes1 its temples1 its citadel1 the admirable sculptures of ,phidias1 and the magnificent harbor of ,pirus--did they constitute it a commonwealth8 ,llius4 ,certainly not1 because these did not constitute the real welfare of the community4 ,scipio4 ,and at ,rome1 when the decemvirs ruled without appeal from their decisions1 in the third year of their power1 had not liberty lost all its securities and all its blessings8 ,llius4 ,yes2 the welfare of the community was no longer consulted1 and the people soon roused themselves1 and recovered their appropriate rights4 ,,xxxiii4 ,scipio4 ,i now come to the third1 or democratical1 form of government1 in which a considerable difficulty presents itself1 because all things are there said to lie at the disposition of the people1 and are carried into execution just as they please4 ,here the populace inflict punishments at their pleasure1 and act1 and seize1 and keep possession1 and distribute property1 without let or hinderance4 ,can you deny1 my ,llius1 that this is a fair definition of a democracy1 where the people are all in all1 and where the people constitute the ,state8 ,llius4 ,there is no political constitution to which ,i more absolutely deny the name of a commonwealth than that in which all things lie in the power of the multitude4 ,if a commonwealth1 which implies the welfare of the entire community1 could not exist in ,agrigentum1 ,syracuse1 or ,athens when tyrants reigned over them--if it could not exist in ,rome when under the oligarchy of the decemvirs--neither do ,i see how this sacred name of commonwealth can be applied to a democracy and the sway of the mob2 because1 in the first place1 my ,scipio1 ,i build on your own admirable definition1 that there can be no community1 properly so called1 unless it be regulated by a combination of rights4 ,and1 by this definition1 it appears that a multitude of men may be just as tyrannical as a single despot2 and it is so much the worse1 since no monster can be more barbarous than the mob1 which assumes the name and appearance of the people4 ,nor is it at all reasonable1 since the laws place the property of madmen in the hands of their sane relations1 that we should do the very reverse in politics1 and throw the property of the sane into the hands of the mad multitude#cdf 99 99 99 ,,xxxiv4 99 99 99 ,it is far more rational to assert that a wise and virtuous aristocratical government deserves the title of a commonwealth1 as it approaches to the nature of a kingdom4 ,and much more so in my opinion1 said ,mummius4 ,for the unity of power often exposes a king to become a despot2 but when an aristocracy1 consisting of many virtuous men1 exercise power1 that is the most fortunate circumstance possible for any state4 ,however this be1 ,i much prefer royalty to democracy2 for that is the third kind of government which you have remaining1 and a most vicious one it is4 ,,xxxv4 ,scipio replied3 ,i am well acquainted1 my ,mummius1 with your decided antipathy to the democratical system4 ,and1 although1 we may speak of it with rather more indulgence than you are accustomed to accord it1 ,i must certainly agree with you1 that of all the three particular forms of government1 none is less commendable than democracy4 ,i do not agree with you1 however1 when you would imply that aristocracy is preferable to royalty4 ,if you suppose that wisdom governs the ,state1 is it not as well that this wisdom should reside in one monarch as in many nobles8 ,but we are led away by a certain incorrectness of terms in a discussion like the present4 ,when we pronounce the word aristocracy1 which1 in ,greek1 signifies the government of the best men1 what can be conceived more excellent8 ,for what can be thought better than the best8 ,but when1 on the other hand1 the title king is mentioned1 we begin to imagine a tyrant2 as if a king must be necessarily unjust4 ,but we are not speaking of an unjust king when we are examining the true nature of royal authority4 ,to this name of king1 therefore1 do but attach the idea of a ,romulus1 a ,numa1 a ,tullus1 and perhaps you will be less severe to the monarchical form of constitution4 ,mummius4 ,have you1 then1 no commendation at all for any kind of democratical government8 ,scipio4 ,why1 ,i think some democratical forms less objectionable than others2 and1 by way of illustration1 ,i will ask you what you thought of the government in the isle of ,rhodes1 where we were lately together2 did it appear to you a legitimate and rational constitution8 ,mummius4 ,it did1 and not much liable to abuse4 ,scipio4 ,you say truly4 ,but1 if you recollect1 it was a very extraordinary experiment4 ,all the inhabitants were alternately senators and citizens4 ,some months they spent in their senatorial functions1 and some months they spent in their civil employments4 ,in both they exercised judicial powers2 and in the theatre and the court1 the same men judged all causes1 capital and not capital4 ,and they had as much influence1 and were of as much importance as 99 99 99 ,,fragments4 ,,xxxvi4 ,there is therefore some unquiet feeling in individuals1 which either exults in pleasure or is crushed by annoyance4 ,the next is an incomplete sentence1 and1 as such1 unintelligible4 ,the ,phoenicians were the first who by their commerce1 and by the merchandise which they carried1 brought avarice and magnificence and insatiable degrees of everything into ,greece4 ,sardanapalus1 the luxurious king of ,assyria1 of whom ,tully1 in the third book of his treatise on the ,republic1 says1 ,the notorious ,sardanapalus1 far more deformed by his vices than even by his name4 ,what is the meaning1 then1 of this absurd acceptation1 unless some one wishes to make the whole of ,athos a monument8 ,for what is ,athos or the vast ,olympus8 99 99 99 ,,xxxvii4 ,i will endeavor in the proper place to show it1 according to the definitions of ,cicero himself1 in which1 putting forth ,scipio as the speaker1 he has briefly explained what a commonwealth and what a republic is2 adducing also many assertions of his own1 and of those whom he has represented as taking part in that discussion1 to the effect that the ,state of ,rome was not such a commonwealth1 because there has never been genuine justice in it4 ,however1 according to definitions which are more reasonable1 it was a commonwealth in some degree1 and it was better regulated by the more ancient than by the later ,romans4 ,it is now fitting that ,i should explain1 as briefly and as clearly as ,i can1 what1 in the second book of this work1 ,i promised to prove1 according to the definitions which ,cicero1 in his books on the ,commonwealth1 puts into the mouth of ,scipio1 arguing that the ,roman ,state was never a commonwealth2 for he briefly defines a commonwealth as a state of the people2 the people as an assembly of the multitude1 united by a common feeling of right1 and a community of interests4 ,what he calls a common feeling of right he explains by discussion1 showing in this way that a commonwealth cannot proceed without justice4 ,where1 therefore1 there is no genuine justice1 there can be no right1 for that which is done according to right is done justly2 and what is done unjustly cannot be done according to right1 for the unjust regulations of men are not to be called or thought rights2 since they themselves call that right 7jus7 which flows from the source of justice3 and they say that that assertion which is often made by some persons of erroneous sentiments1 namely1 that that is right which is advantageous to the most powerful1 is false4 ,wherefore1 where there is no true justice there can be no company of men united by a common feeling of right2 therefore there can be no people 7populus71 according to that definition of ,scipio or ,cicero3 and if there be no people1 there can be no state of the people1 but only of a mob such as it may be1 which is not worthy of the name of a people4 ,and thus1 if a commonwealth is a state of a people1 and if that is not a people which is not united by a common feeling of right1 and if there is no right where there is no justice1 then the undoubted inference is1 that where there is no justice there is no commonwealth4 ,moreover1 justice is that virtue which gives every one his own4 ,no war can be undertaken by a just and wise state unless for faith or self-defence4 ,this self-defence of the ,state is enough to insure its perpetuity1 and this perpetuity is what all patriots desire4 ,those afflictions which even the hardiest spirits smart under--poverty1 exile1 prison1 and torment--private individuals seek to escape from by an instantaneous death4 ,but for states1 the greatest calamity of all is that of death1 which to individuals appears a refuge4 ,a state should be so constituted as to live forever4 ,for a commonwealth there is no natural dissolution as there is for a man1 to whom death not only becomes necessary1 but often desirable4 ,and when a state once decays and falls1 it is so utterly revolutionized1 that1 if we may compare great things with small1 it resembles the final wreck of the universe4 ,all wars undertaken without a proper motive are unjust4 ,and no war can be reputed just unless it be duly announced and proclaimed1 and if it be not preceded by a rational demand for restitution4 ,our ,roman ,commonwealth1 by defending its allies1 has got possession of the world4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,introduction ,,to ,,the ,,fourth ,,book1 ,,by ,,the ,,original ,,translator4 ,in this fourth book ,cicero treats of morals and education1 and the use and abuse of stage entertainments4 ,we retain nothing of this important book save a few scattered fragments1 the beauty of which fills us with the greater regret for the passages we have lost4 ,,book ,,iv4 ,,fragments4 ,i4 99 99 99 ,since mention has been made of the body and of the mind1 ,i will endeavor to explain the theory of each as well as the weakness of my understanding is able to comprehend it--a duty which ,i think it the more becoming in me to undertake1 because ,marcus ,tullius1 a man of singular genius1 after having attempted to perform it in the fourth book of his treatise on the ,commonwealth1 compressed a subject of wide extent within narrow limits1 only touching lightly on all the principal points4 ,and that there might be no excuse alleged for his not having followed out this topic1 he himself has assured us that he was not wanting either in inclination or in anxiety to do so2 for1 in the first book of his treatise on ,laws1 when he was touching briefly on the same subject1 he speaks thus3 ,this topic ,scipio1 in my opinion1 has sufficiently discussed in those books which you have read4 ,and the mind itself1 which sees the future1 remembers the past4 ,well did ,marcus ,tullius say1 ,in truth1 if there is no one who would not prefer death to being changed into the form of some beast1 although he were still to retain the mind of a man1 how much more wretched is it to have the mind of a beast in the form of a man6 ,to me this fate appears as much worse than the other as the mind is superior to the body4 ,tullius says somewhere that he does not think the good of a ram and of ,publius ,africanus identical4 ,and also by its being interposed1 it causes shade and night1 which is adapted both to the numbering of days and to rest from labor4 ,and as in the autumn he has opened the earth to receive seeds1 in winter relaxed it that it may digest them1 and by the ripening powers of summer softened some and burned up others4 ,when the shepherds use 99 99 99 for cattle4 ,cicero1 in the fourth book of his ,commonwealth1 uses the word armentum1 and armentarius1 derived from it4 ,,ii4 ,the great law of just and regular subordination is the basis of political prosperity4 ,there is much advantage in the harmonious succession of ranks and orders and classes1 in which the suffrages of the knights and the senators have their due weight4 ,too many have foolishly desired to destroy this institution1 in the vain hope of receiving some new largess1 by a public decree1 out of a distribution of the property of the nobility4 ,,iii4 ,consider1 now1 how wisely the other provisions have been adopted1 in order to secure to the citizens the benefits of an honest and happy life2 for that is1 indeed1 the grand object of all political association1 and that which every government should endeavor to procure for the people1 partly by its institutions1 and partly by its laws4 ,consider1 in the first place1 the national education of the people--a matter on which the ,greeks have expended much labor in vain1 and which is the only point on which ,polybius1 who settled among us1 accuses the negligence of our institutions4 ,for our countrymen have thought that education ought not to be fixed1 nor regulated by laws1 nor be given publicly and uniformly to all classes of society4 ,for#cdg 99 99 99 ,according to ,tully1 who says that men going to serve in the army have guardians assigned to them1 by whom they are governed the first year4 ,,iv4 ,in our ancient laws1 young men were prohibited from appearing naked in the public baths1 so far back were the principles of modesty traced by our ancestors4 ,among the ,greeks1 on the contrary1 what an absurd system of training youth is exhibited in their gymnasia6 ,what a frivolous preparation for the labors and hazards of war6 what indecent spectacles1 what impure and licentious amours are permitted6 ,i do not speak only of the ,eleans and ,thebans1 among whom1 in all love affairs1 passion is allowed to run into shameless excesses2 but the ,spartans1 while they permit every kind of license to their young men1 save that of violation1 fence off1 by a very slight wall1 the very exception on which they insist1 besides other crimes which ,i will not mention4 ,then ,llius said3 ,i see1 my ,scipio1 that on the subject of the ,greek institutions1 which you censure1 you prefer attacking the customs of the most renowned peoples to contending with your favorite ,plato1 whose name you have avoided citing1 especially as 99 99 99 ,v4 ,so that ,cicero1 in his treatise on the ,commonwealth1 says that it was a reproach to young men if they had no lovers4 ,not only as at ,sparta1 where boys learn to steal and plunder4 ,and our master ,plato1 even more than ,lycurgus1 who would have everything to be common1 so that no one should be able to call anything his own property4 ,i would send him to the same place whither he sends ,homer1 crowned with chaplets and anointed with perfumes1 banishing him from the city which he is describing4 ,,vi4 ,the judgment of the censor inflicts scarcely anything more than a blush on the man whom he condemns4 ,therefore as all that adjudication turns solely on the name 7nomen71 the punishment is called ignominy4 ,nor should a prefect be set over women1 an officer who is created among the ,greeks2 but there should be a censor to teach husbands to manage their wives4 ,so the discipline of modesty has great power4 ,all women abstain from wine4 ,and also if any woman was of bad character1 her relations used not to kiss her4 ,so petulance is derived from asking 7petendo72 wantonness 7procacitas7 from procando1 that is1 from demanding4 ,,vii4 ,for ,i do not approve of the same nation being the ruler and the farmer of lands4 ,but both in private families and in the affairs of the ,commonwealth ,i look upon economy as a revenue4 ,faith 7fides7 appears to me to derive its name from that being done 7fit7 which is said4 ,in a citizen of rank and noble birth1 caressing manners1 display1 and ambition are marks of levity4 ,examine for a while the books on the ,republic1 and learn that good men know no bound or limit in consulting the interests of their country4 ,see in that treatise with what praises frugality1 and continency1 and fidelity to the marriage tie1 and chaste1 honorable1 and virtuous manners are extolled4 ,,viii4 ,i marvel at the elegant choice1 not only of the facts1 but of the language4 ,if they dispute 7jurgant74 ,it is a contest between well-wishers1 not a quarrel between enemies1 that is called a dispute 7jurgium71 ,therefore the law considers that neighbors dispute 7jurgare7 rather than quarrel 7litigare7 with one another4 ,the bounds of man's care and of man's life are the same2 so by the pontifical law the sanctity of burial 99 99 99 ,they put them to death1 though innocent1 because they had left those men unburied whom they could not rescue from the sea because of the violence of the storm4 ,nor in this discussion have ,i advocated the cause of the populace1 but of the good4 ,for one cannot easily resist a powerful people if one gives them either no rights at all or very little4 ,in which case ,i wish ,i could augur first with truth and fidelity 99 99 99 ,,ix4 ,cicero saying this in vain1 when speaking of poets1 ,and when the shouts and approval of the people1 as of some great and wise teacher1 has reached them1 what darkness do they bring on6 what alarms do they cause6 what desires do they excite6 ,cicero says that if his life were extended to twice its length1 he should not have time to read the lyric poets4 ,x4 ,as ,scipio says in ,cicero1 ,as they thought the whole histrionic art1 and everything connected with the theatre1 discreditable1 they thought fit that all men of that description should not only be deprived of the honors belonging to the rest of the citizens1 but should also be deprived of their franchise by the sentence of the censors4 ,and what the ancient ,romans thought on this subject ,cicero informs us1 in those books which he wrote on the ,commonwealth1 where ,scipio argues and says 99 99 99 ,comedies could never 7if it had not been authorized by the common customs of life7 have made theatres approve of their scandalous exhibitions4 ,and the more ancient ,greeks provided a certain correction for the vicious taste of the people1 by making a law that it should be expressly defined by a censorship what subjects comedy should treat1 and how she should treat them4 ,whom has it not attacked8 or1 rather1 whom has it not wounded8 and whom has it spared8 ,in this1 no doubt1 it sometimes took the right side1 and lashed the popular demagogues and seditious agitators1 such as ,cleon1 ,cleophon1 and ,hyperbolus4 ,we may tolerate that2 though indeed the censure of the magistrate would1 in these cases1 have been more efficacious than the satire of the poet4 ,but when ,pericles1 who governed the ,athenian ,commonwealth for so many years with the highest authority1 both in peace and war1 was outraged by verses1 and these were acted on the stage1 it was hardly more decent than if1 among us1 ,plautus and ,nvius had attacked ,publius and ,cnus1 or ,ccilius had ventured to revile ,marcus ,cato4 ,our laws of the ,twelve ,tables1 on the contrary--so careful to attach capital punishment to a very few crimes only--have included in this class of capital offences the offence of composing or publicly reciting verses of libel1 slander1 and defamation1 in order to cast dishonor and infamy on a fellow-citizen4 ,and they have decided wisely2 for our life and character should1 if suspected1 be submitted to the sentence of judicial tribunals and the legal investigations of our magistrates1 and not to the whims and fancies of poets4 ,nor should we be exposed to any charge of disgrace which we cannot meet by legal process1 and openly refute at the bar4 ,in our laws1 ,i admire the justice of their expressions1 as well as their decisions4 ,thus the word pleading signifies rather an amicable suit between friends than a quarrel between enemies4 ,it is not easy to resist a powerful people1 if you allow them no rights1 or next to none4 ,the old ,romans would not allow any living man to be either praised or blamed on the stage4 ,,xi4 ,cicero says that comedy is an imitation of life2 a mirror of customs1 an image of truth4 ,since1 as is mentioned in that book on the ,commonwealth1 not only did schines the ,athenian1 a man of the greatest eloquence1 who1 when a young man1 had been an actor of tragedies1 concern himself in public affairs1 but the ,athenians often sent ,aristodemus1 who was also a tragic actor1 to ,philip as an ambassador1 to treat of the most important affairs of peace and war4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,introduction ,,to ,,the ,,fifth ,,book1 ,,by ,,the ,,original ,,translator4 ,in this fifth book ,cicero explains and enforces the duties of magistrates1 and the importance of practical experience to all who undertake their important functions4 ,only a few fragments have survived the wreck of ages and descended to us4 ,,book ,v4 ,,fragments4 ,i4 ,ennius has told us-- ,of men and customs mighty ,rome consists2 which verse1 both for its precision and its verity1 appears to me as if it had issued from an oracle2 for neither the men1 unless the ,state had adopted a certain system of manners--nor the manners1 unless they had been illustrated by the men--could ever have established or maintained for so many ages so vast a republic1 or one of such righteous and extensive sway4 ,thus1 long before our own times1 the force of hereditary manners of itself moulded most eminent men2 and admirable citizens1 in return1 gave new weight to the ancient customs and institutions of our ancestors4 ,but our age1 on the contrary1 having received the ,commonwealth as a finished picture of another century1 but one already beginning to fade through the lapse of years1 has not only neglected to renew the colors of the original painting1 but has not even cared to preserve its general form and prominent lineaments4 ,for what now remains of those antique manners1 of which the poet said that our ,commonwealth consisted8 ,they have now become so obsolete and forgotten that they are not only not cultivated1 but they are not even known4 ,and as to the men1 what shall ,i say8 ,for the manners themselves have only perished through a scarcity of men2 of which great misfortune we are not only called to give an account1 but even1 as men accused of capital offences1 to a certain degree to plead our own cause in connection with it4 ,for it is owing to our vices1 rather than to any accident1 that we have retained the name of republic when we have long since lost the reality4 ,,ii4 99 99 99 ,there is no employment so essentially royal as the exposition of equity1 which comprises the true interpretation of all laws4 ,this justice subjects used generally to expect from their kings4 ,for this reason1 lands1 fields1 woods1 and pastures were reserved as the property of kings1 and cultivated for them1 without any labor on their part1 in order that no anxiety on account of their personal interests might distract their attention from the welfare of the ,state4 ,nor was any private man allowed to be the judge or arbitrator in any suit2 but all disputes were terminated by the royal sentence4 ,and of all our ,roman monarchs1 ,numa appears to me to have best preserved this ancient custom of the kings of ,greece4 ,for the others1 though they also discharged this duty1 were for the main part employed in conducting military enterprises1 and in attending to those rights which belonged to war4 ,but the long peace of ,numa's reign was the mother of law and religion in this city4 ,and he was himself the author of those admirable laws which1 as you are aware1 are still extant4 ,and this character is precisely what belongs to the man of whom we are speaking4 99 99 99 ,,iii4 ,scipio4 ,ought not a farmer to be acquainted with the nature of plants and seeds8 ,manilius4 ,certainly1 provided he attends to his practical business also4 ,scipio4 ,do you think that knowledge only fit for a steward8 ,manilius4 ,certainly not1 inasmuch as the cultivation of land often fails for want of agricultural labor4 ,scipio4 ,therefore1 as the steward knows the nature of a field1 and the scribe knows penmanship1 and as both of them seek1 in their respective sciences1 not mere amusement only1 but practical utility1 so this statesman of ours should have studied the science of jurisprudence and legislation2 he should have investigated their original sources2 but he should not embarrass himself in debating and arguing1 reading and scribbling4 ,he should rather employ himself in the actual administration of government1 and become a sort of steward of it1 being perfectly conversant with the principles of universal law and equity1 without which no man can be just3 not unfamiliar with the civil laws of states2 but he will use them for practical purposes1 even as a pilot uses astronomy1 and a physician natural philosophy4 ,for both these men bring their theoretical science to bear on the practice of their arts2 and our statesman should do the same with the science of politics1 and make it subservient to the actual interests of philanthropy and patriotism4 99 99 99 ,,iv4 99 99 99 ,in states in which good men desire glory and approbation1 and shun disgrace and ignominy4 ,nor are such men so much alarmed by the threats and penalties of the law as by that sentiment of shame with which nature has endowed man1 which is nothing else than a certain fear of deserved censure4 ,the wise director of a government strengthens this natural instinct by the force of public opinion1 and perfects it by education and manners4 ,and thus the citizens are preserved from vice and corruption rather by honor and shame than by fear of punishment4 ,but this argument will be better illustrated when we treat of the love of glory and praise1 which we shall discuss on another occasion4 ,v4 ,as respects the private life and the manners of the citizens1 they are intimately connected with the laws that constitute just marriages and legitimate offspring1 under the protection of the guardian deities around the domestic hearths4 ,by these laws1 all men should be maintained in their rights of public and private property4 ,it is only under a good government like this that men can live happily--for nothing can be more delightful than a well-constituted state4 ,on which account it appears to me a very strange thing what this 99 99 99 ,,vi4 ,i therefore consume all my time in considering what is the power of that man1 whom1 as you think1 we have described carefully enough in our books4 ,do you1 then1 admit our idea of that governor of a commonwealth to whom we wish to refer everything8 ,for thus1 ,i imagine1 does ,scipio speak in the fifth book3 ,for as a fair voyage is the object of the master of a ship1 the health of his patient the aim of a physician1 and victory that of a general1 so the happiness of his fellow-citizens is the proper study of the ruler of a commonwealth2 that they may be stable in power1 rich in resources1 widely known in reputation1 and honorable through their virtue4 ,for a ruler ought to be one who can perfect this1 which is the best and most important employment among mankind4 ,and works in your literature rightly praise that ruler of a country who consults the welfare of his people more than their inclinations4 ,,vii4 ,tully1 in those books which he wrote upon the ,commonwealth1 could not conceal his opinions1 when he speaks of appointing a chief of the ,state1 who1 he says1 must be maintained by glory2 and afterward he relates that his ancestors did many admirable and noble actions from a desire of glory4 ,tully1 in his treatise on the ,commonwealth1 wrote that the chief of a state must be maintained by glory1 and that a commonwealth would last as long as honor was paid by every one to the chief4 ,the next paragraph is unintelligible4 ,which virtue is called fortitude1 which consists of magnanimity1 and a great contempt of death and pain4 ,,viii4 ,as ,marcellus was fierce1 and eager to fight1 ,maximus prudent and cautious4 ,who discovered his violence and unbridled ferocity4 ,which has often happened not only to individuals1 but also to most powerful nations4 ,in the whole world4 ,because he inflicted the annoyances of his old age on your families4 ,,ix4 ,cicero1 in his treatise on the ,commonwealth1 says1 ,as ,menelaus of ,lacedmon had a certain agreeable sweetness of eloquence4 ,and in another place he says1 ,let him cultivate brevity in speaking4 ,by the evidence of which arts1 as ,tully says1 it is a shame for the conscience of the judge to be misled4 ,for he says1 ,and as nothing in a commonwealth ought to be so uncorrupt as a suffrage and a sentence1 ,i do not see why the man who perverts them by money is worthy of punishment1 while he who does so by eloquence is even praised4 ,indeed1 ,i myself think that he who corrupts the judge by his speech does more harm than he who does so by money1 because no one can corrupt a sensible man by money1 though he may by speaking4 ,and when ,scipio had said this1 ,mummius praised him greatly1 for he was extravagantly imbued with a hatred of orators4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,introduction ,,to ,,the ,,sixth ,,book4 ,in this last book of his ,commonwealth1 ,cicero labors to show that truly pious philanthropical and patriotic statesmen will not only be rewarded on earth by the approval of conscience and the applause of all good citizens1 but that they may expect hereafter immortal glory in new forms of being4 ,to illustrate this1 he introduces the ,dream of ,scipio1 in which he explains the resplendent doctrines of ,plato respecting the immortality of the soul with inimitable dignity and elegance4 ,this ,somnium ,scipionis1 for which we are indebted to the citation of ,macrobius1 is the most beautiful thing of the kind ever written4 ,it has been intensely admired by all ,european scholars1 and will be still more so4 ,there are two translations of it in our language2 one attached to ,oliver's edition of ,cicero's ,thoughts1 the other by ,mr4 ,danby1 published in #ahbi4 ,of these we have freely availed ourselves1 and as freely we express our acknowledgments4 ,,book ,,vi4 ,,scipio',s ,,dream4 ,i4 ,therefore you rely upon all the prudence of this rule1 which has derived its very name 7prudentia7 from foreseeing 7a providendo74 ,wherefore the citizen must so prepare himself as to be always armed against those things which trouble the constitution of a state4 ,and that dissension of the citizens1 when one party separates from and attacks another1 is called sedition4 ,and in truth in civil dissensions1 as the good are of more importance than the many1 ,i think that we should regard the weight of the citizens1 and not their number4 ,for the lusts1 being severe mistresses of the thoughts1 command and compel many an unbridled action4 ,and as they cannot be satisfied or appeased by any means1 they urge those whom they have inflamed with their allurements to every kind of atrocity4 ,,ii4 ,which indeed was so much the greater in him because though the cause of the colleagues was identical1 not only was their unpopularity not equal1 but the influence of ,gracchus was employed in mitigating the hatred borne to ,claudius4 ,who encountered the number of the chiefs and nobles with these words1 and left behind him that mournful and dignified expression of his gravity and influence4 ,that1 as he writes1 a thousand men might every day descend into the forum with cloaks dyed in purple4 ,the next paragraph is unintelligible4 ,for our ancestors wished marriages to be firmly established4 ,there is a speech extant of ,llius with which we are all acquainted1 expressing how pleasing to the immortal gods are the 99 99 99 and 99 99 99 of the priests4 ,,iii4 ,cicero1 writing about the ,commonwealth1 in imitation of ,plato1 has related the story of the return of ,er the ,pamphylian to life2 who1 as he says1 had come to life again after he had been placed on the funeral pile1 and related many secrets about the shades below2 not speaking1 like ,plato1 in a fabulous imitation of truth1 but using a certain reasonable invention of an ingenious dream1 cleverly intimating that these things which were uttered about the immortality of the soul1 and about heaven1 are not the inventions of dreaming philosophers1 nor the incredible fables which the ,epicureans ridicule1 but the conjectures of wise men4 ,he insinuates that that ,scipio who by the subjugation of ,carthage obtained ,africanus as a surname for his family1 gave notice to ,scipio the son of ,paulus of the treachery which threatened him from his relations1 and the course of fate1 because by the necessity of numbers he was confined in the period of a perfect life1 and he says that he in the fifty-sixth year of his age 99 99 99 ,,iv4 ,some of our religion who love ,plato1 on account of his admirable kind of eloquence1 and of some correct opinions which he held1 say that he had some opinions similar to my own touching the resurrection of the dead1 which subject ,tully touches on in his treatise on the ,commonwealth1 and says that he was rather jesting than intending to say that was true4 ,for he asserts that a man returned to life1 and related some stories which harmonized with the discussions of the ,platonists4 ,v4 ,in this point the imitation has especially preserved the likeness of the work1 because1 as ,plato1 in the conclusion of his volume1 represents a certain person who had returned to life1 which he appeared to have quitted1 as indicating what is the condition of souls when stripped of the body1 with the addition of a certain not unnecessary description of the spheres and stars1 an appearance of circumstances indicating things of the same kind is related by the ,scipio of ,cicero1 as having been brought before him in sleep4 ,,vi4 ,tully is found to have preserved this arrangement with no less judgment than genius4 ,after1 in every condition of the ,commonwealth1 whether of leisure or business1 he has given the palm to justice1 he has placed the sacred abodes of the immortal souls1 and the secrets of the heavenly regions1 on the very summit of his completed work1 indicating whither they must come1 or rather return1 who have managed the republic with prudence1 justice1 fortitude1 and moderation4 ,but that ,platonic relater of secrets was a man of the name of ,er1 a ,pamphylian by nation1 a soldier by profession1 who1 after he appeared to have died from wounds received in battle1 and twelve days afterward was about to receive the honors of the funeral pile with the others who were slain at the same time1 suddenly either recovering his life1 or else never having lost it1 as if he were giving a public testimony1 related to all men all that he had done or seen in the days that he had thus passed between life and death4 ,although ,cicero1 as if himself conscious of the truth1 grieves that this story has been ridiculed by the ignorant1 still1 avoiding giving an example of foolish reproach1 he preferred speaking of the relater as of one awakened from a swoon rather than restored to life4 ,,vii4 ,and before we look at the words of the dream we must explain what kind of persons they are by whom ,cicero says that even the account of ,plato was ridiculed1 who are not apprehensive that the same thing may happen to them4 ,nor by this expression does he wish the ignorant mob to be understood1 but a kind of men who are ignorant of the truth1 though pretending to be philosophers with a display of learning1 who1 it was notorious1 had read such things1 and were eager to find faults4 ,we will say1 therefore1 who they are whom he reports as having levelled light reproaches against so great a philosopher1 and who of them has even left an accusation of him committed to writing1 etc4 ,the whole faction of the ,epicureans1 always wandering at an equal distance from truth1 and thinking everything ridiculous which they do not understand1 has ridiculed the sacred volume1 and the most venerable mysteries of nature4 ,but ,colotes1 who is somewhat celebrated and remarkable for his loquacity among the pupils of ,epicurus1 has even recorded in a book the bitter reproaches which he aims at him4 ,but since the other arguments which he foolishly urges have no connection with the dream of which we are now talking1 we will pass them over at present1 and attend only to the calumny which will stick both to ,cicero and ,plato1 unless it is silenced4 ,he says that a fable ought not to have been invented by a philosopher1 since no kind of falsehood is suitable to professors of truth4 ,for why1 says he1 if you wish to give us a notion of heavenly things and to teach us the nature of souls1 did you not do so by a simple and plain explanation8 ,why was a character invented1 and circumstances1 and strange events1 and a scene of cunningly adduced falsehood arranged1 to pollute the very door of the investigation of truth by a lie8 ,since these things1 though they are said of the ,platonic ,er1 do also attack the rest of our dreaming ,africanus4 ,,viii4 ,this occasion incited ,scipio to relate his dream1 which he declares that he had buried in silence for a long time4 ,for when ,llius was complaining that there were no statues of ,nasica erected in any public place1 as a reward for his having slain the tyrant1 ,scipio replied in these words3 ,but although the consciousness itself of great deeds is to wise men the most ample reward of virtue1 yet that divine nature ought to have1 not statues fixed in lead1 nor triumphs with withering laurels1 but some more stable and lasting kinds of rewards4 ,what are they8 said ,llius4 ,then1 said ,scipio1 suffer me1 since we have now been keeping holiday for three days1 99 99 99 etc4 ,by which preface he came to the relation of his dream2 pointing out that those were the more stable and lasting kinds of rewards which he himself had seen in heaven reserved for good governors of commonwealths4 ,,ix4 ,when ,i had arrived in ,africa1 where ,i was1 as you are aware1 military tribune of the fourth legion under the consul ,manilius1 there was nothing of which ,i was more earnestly desirous than to see ,king ,masinissa1 who1 for very just reasons1 had been always the especial friend of our family4 ,when ,i was introduced to him1 the old man embraced me1 shed tears1 and then1 looking up to heaven1 exclaimed--,i thank thee1 ,o supreme ,sun1 and ye also1 ye other celestial beings1 that before ,i depart from this life ,i behold in my kingdom1 and in this my palace1 ,publius ,cornelius ,scipio1 by whose mere name ,i seem to be reanimated2 so completely and indelibly is the recollection of that best and most invincible of men1 ,africanus1 imprinted in my mind4 ,after this1 ,i inquired of him concerning the affairs of his kingdom4 ,he1 on the other hand1 questioned me about the condition of our ,commonwealth1 and in this mutual interchange of conversation we passed the whole of that day4 ,x4 ,in the evening we were entertained in a manner worthy the magnificence of a king1 and carried on our discourse for a considerable part of the night4 ,and during all this time the old man spoke of nothing but ,africanus1 all whose actions1 and even remarkable sayings1 he remembered distinctly4 ,at last1 when we retired to bed1 ,i fell into a more profound sleep than usual1 both because ,i was fatigued with my journey1 and because ,i had sat up the greatest part of the night4 ,here ,i had the following dream1 occasioned1 as ,i verily believe1 by our preceding conversation2 for it frequently happens that the thoughts and discourses which have employed us in the daytime produce in our sleep an effect somewhat similar to that which ,ennius writes happened to him about ,homer1 of whom1 in his waking hours1 he used frequently to think and speak4 ,africanus1 ,i thought1 appeared to me in that shape1 with which ,i was better acquainted from his picture than from any personal knowledge of him4 ,when ,i perceived it was he1 ,i confess ,i trembled with consternation2 but he addressed me1 saying1 ,take courage1 my ,scipio2 be not afraid1 and carefully remember what ,i shall say to you4 ,,xi4 ,do you see that city ,carthage1 which1 though brought under the ,roman yoke by me1 is now renewing former wars1 and cannot live in peace8 7and he pointed to ,carthage from a lofty spot1 full of stars1 and brilliant1 and glittering7--to attack which city you are this day arrived in a station not much superior to that of a private soldier4 ,before two years1 however1 are elapsed1 you shall be consul1 and complete its overthrow2 and you shall obtain1 by your own merit1 the surname of ,africanus1 which as yet belongs to you no otherwise than as derived from me4 ,and when you have destroyed ,carthage1 and received the honor of a triumph1 and been made censor1 and1 in quality of ambassador1 visited ,egypt1 ,syria1 ,asia1 and ,greece1 you shall be elected a second time consul in your absence1 and1 by utterly destroying ,numantia1 put an end to a most dangerous war4 ,but when you have entered the ,capitol in your triumphal car1 you shall find the ,roman ,commonwealth all in a ferment1 through the intrigues of my grandson ,tiberius ,gracchus4 ,,xii4 ,it is on this occasion1 my dear ,africanus1 that you show your country the greatness of your understanding1 capacity1 and prudence4 ,but ,i see that the destiny1 however1 of that time is1 as it were1 uncertain2 for when your age shall have accomplished seven times eight revolutions of the sun1 and your fatal hours shall be marked put by the natural product of these two numbers1 each of which is esteemed a perfect one1 but for different reasons1 then shall the whole city have recourse to you alone1 and place its hopes in your auspicious name4 ,on you the senate1 all good citizens1 the allies1 the people of ,latium1 shall cast their eyes2 on you the preservation of the ,state shall entirely depend4 ,in a word1 if you escape the impious machinations of your relatives1 you will1 in quality of dictator1 establish order and tranquillity in the ,commonwealth4 ,when on this ,llius made an exclamation1 and the rest of the company groaned loudly1 ,scipio1 with a gentle smile1 said1 ,i entreat you1 do not wake me out of my dream1 but have patience1 and hear the rest4 ,,xiii4 ,now1 in order to encourage you1 my dear ,africanus1 continued the shade of my ancestor1 to defend the ,state with the greater cheerfulness1 be assured that1 for all those who have in any way conduced to the preservation1 defence1 and enlargement of their native country1 there is a certain place in heaven where they shall enjoy an eternity of happiness4 ,for nothing on earth is more agreeable to ,god1 the ,supreme ,governor of the universe1 than the assemblies and societies of men united together by laws1 which are called states4 ,it is from heaven their rulers and preservers came1 and thither they return4 ,,xiv4 ,though at these words ,i was extremely troubled1 not so much at the fear of death as at the perfidy of my own relations1 yet ,i recollected myself enough to inquire whether he himself1 my father ,paulus1 and others whom we look upon as dead1 were really living4 ,yes1 truly1 replied he1 they all enjoy life who have escaped from the chains of the body as from a prison4 ,but as to what you call life on earth1 that is no more than one form of death4 ,but see2 here comes your father ,paulus towards you6 ,and as soon as ,i observed him1 my eyes burst out into a flood of tears2 but he took me in his arms1 embraced me1 and bade me not weep4 ,,xv4 ,when my first transports subsided1 and ,i regained the liberty of speech1 ,i addressed my father thus3 ,thou best and most venerable of parents1 since this1 as ,i am informed by ,africanus1 is the only substantial life1 why do ,i linger on earth1 and not rather haste to come hither where you are8 ,that1 replied he1 is impossible3 unless that ,god1 whose temple is all that vast expanse you behold1 shall free you from the fetters of the body1 you can have no admission into this place4 ,mankind have received their being on this very condition1 that they should labor for the preservation of that globe which is situated1 as you see1 in the midst of this temple1 and is called earth4 ,men are likewise endowed with a soul1 which is a portion of the eternal fires which you call stars and constellations2 and which1 being round1 spherical bodies1 animated by divine intelligences1 perform their cycles and revolutions with amazing rapidity4 ,it is your duty1 therefore1 my ,publius1 and that of all who have any veneration for the ,gods1 to preserve this wonderful union of soul and body2 nor without the express command of ,him who gave you a soul should the least thought be entertained of quitting human life1 lest you seem to desert the post assigned you by ,god himself4 ,but rather follow the examples of your grandfather here1 and of me1 your father1 in paying a strict regard to justice and piety2 which is due in a great degree to parents and relations1 but most of all to our country4 ,such a life as this is the true way to heaven1 and to the company of those1 who1 after having lived on earth and escaped from the body1 inhabit the place which you now behold4 ,,xvi4 ,this was the shining circle1 or zone1 whose remarkable brightness distinguishes it among the constellations1 and which1 after the ,greeks1 you call the ,milky ,way4 ,from thence1 as ,i took a view of the universe1 everything appeared beautiful and admirable2 for there those stars are to be seen that are never visible from our globe1 and everything appears of such magnitude as we could not have imagined4 ,the least of all the stars was that removed farthest from heaven1 and situated next to the earth2 ,i mean our moon1 which shines with a borrowed light4 ,now1 the globes of the stars far surpass the magnitude of our earth1 which at that distance appeared so exceedingly small that ,i could not but be sensibly affected on seeing our whole empire no larger than if we touched the earth1 as it were1 at a single point4 ,,xvii4 ,and as ,i continued to observe the earth with great attention1 ,how long1 ,i pray you1 said ,africanus1 will your mind be fixed on that object8 why don't you rather take a view of the magnificent temples among which you have arrived8 ,the universe is composed of nine circles1 or rather spheres1 one of which is the heavenly one1 and is exterior to all the rest1 which it embraces2 being itself the ,supreme ,god1 and bounding and containing the whole4 ,in it are fixed those stars which revolve with never-varying courses4 ,below this are seven other spheres1 which revolve in a contrary direction to that of the heavens4 ,one of these is occupied by the globe which on earth they call ,saturn4 ,next to that is the star of ,jupiter1 so benign and salutary to mankind4 ,the third in order is that fiery and terrible planet called ,mars4 ,below this1 again1 almost in the middle region1 is the sun--the leader1 governor1 and prince of the other luminaries2 the soul of the world1 which it regulates and illumines2 being of such vast size that it pervades and gives light to all places4 ,then follow ,venus and ,mercury1 which attend1 as it were1 on the sun4 ,lastly1 the moon1 which shines only in the reflected beams of the sun1 moves in the lowest sphere of all4 ,below this1 if we except that gift of the ,gods1 the soul1 which has been given by the liberality of the ,gods to the human race1 everything is mortal1 and tends to dissolution2 but above the moon all is eternal4 ,for the earth1 which is the ninth globe1 and occupies the centre1 is immovable1 and1 being the lowest1 all others gravitate towards it4 ,,xviii4 ,when ,i had recovered myself from the astonishment occasioned by such a wonderful prospect1 ,i thus addressed ,africanus3 ,pray what is this sound that strikes my ears in so loud and agreeable a manner8 ,to which he replied3 ,it is that which is called the music of the spheres1 being produced by their motion and impulse2 and being formed by unequal intervals1 but such as are divided according to the justest proportion1 it produces1 by duly tempering acute with grave sounds1 various concerts of harmony4 ,for it is impossible that motions so great should be performed without any noise2 and it is agreeable to nature that the extremes on one side should produce sharp1 and on the other flat sounds4 ,for which reason the sphere of the fixed stars1 being the highest1 and being carried with a more rapid velocity1 moves with a shrill and acute sound2 whereas that of the moon1 being the lowest1 moves with a very flat one4 ,as to the earth1 which makes the ninth sphere1 it remains immovably fixed in the middle or lowest part of the universe4 ,but those eight revolving circles1 in which both ,mercury and ,venus are moved with the same celerity1 give out sounds that are divided by seven distinct intervals1 which is generally the regulating number of all things4 ,this celestial harmony has been imitated by learned musicians both on stringed instruments and with the voice1 whereby they have opened to themselves a way to return to the celestial regions1 as have likewise many others who have employed their sublime genius while on earth in cultivating the divine sciences4 ,by the amazing noise of this sound the ears of mankind have been in some degree deafened2 and indeed hearing is the dullest of all the human senses4 ,thus1 the people who dwell near the cataracts of the ,nile1 which are called ,catadupa#cdh1 are1 by the excessive roar which that river makes in precipitating itself from those lofty mountains1 entirely deprived of the sense of hearing4 ,and so inconceivably great is this sound which is produced by the rapid motion of the whole universe1 that the human ear is no more capable of receiving it than the eye is able to look steadfastly and directly on the sun1 whose beams easily dazzle the strongest sight4 ,while ,i was busied in admiring the scene of wonders1 ,i could not help casting my eyes every now and then on the earth4 ,,xix4 ,on which ,africanus said1 ,i perceive that you are still employed in contemplating the seat and residence of mankind4 ,but if it appears to you so small1 as in fact it really is1 despise its vanities1 and fix your attention forever on these heavenly objects4 ,is it possible that you should attain any human applause or glory that is worth the contending for8 ,the earth1 you see1 is peopled but in a very few places1 and those1 too1 of small extent2 and they appear like so many little spots of green scattered through vast1 uncultivated deserts4 ,and those who inhabit the earth are not only so remote from each other as to be cut off from all mutual correspondence1 but their situation being in oblique or contrary parts of the globe1 or perhaps in those diametrically opposite to yours1 all expectation of universal fame must fall to the ground4 ,,xx4 ,you may likewise observe that the same globe of the earth is girt and surrounded with certain zones1 whereof those two that are most remote from each other1 and lie under the opposite poles of heaven1 are congealed with frost2 but that one in the middle1 which is far the largest1 is scorched with the intense heat of the sun4 ,the other two are habitable1 one towards the south1 the inhabitants of which are your antipodes1 with whom you have no connection2 the other1 towards the north1 is that which you inhabit1 whereof a very small part1 as you may see1 falls to your share4 ,for the whole extent of what you see is1 as it were1 but a little island1 narrow at both ends and wide in the middle1 which is surrounded by the sea which on earth you call the great ,atlantic ,ocean1 and which1 notwithstanding this magnificent name1 you see is very insignificant4 ,and even in these cultivated and well-known countries1 has yours1 or any of our names1 ever passed the heights of the ,caucasus or the currents of the ,ganges8 ,in what other parts to the north or the south1 or where the sun rises and sets1 will your names ever be heard8 ,and if we leave these out of the question1 how small a space is there left for your glory to spread itself abroad2 and how long will it remain in the memory of those whose minds are now full of it8 ,,xxi4 ,besides all this1 if the progeny of any future generation should wish to transmit to their posterity the praises of any one of us which they have heard from their forefathers1 yet the deluges and combustions of the earth1 which must necessarily happen at their destined periods1 will prevent our obtaining1 not only an eternal1 but even a durable glory4 ,and1 after all1 what does it signify whether those who shall hereafter be born talk of you1 when those who have lived before you1 whose number was perhaps not less1 and whose merit certainly greater1 were not so much as acquainted with your name8 ,,xxii4 ,especially since not one of those who shall hear of us is able to retain in his memory the transactions of a single year4 ,the bulk of mankind1 indeed1 measure their year by the return of the sun1 which is only one star4 ,but when all the stars shall have returned to the place whence they set out1 and after long periods shall again exhibit the same aspect of the whole heavens1 that is what ought properly to be called the revolution of a year1 though ,i scarcely dare attempt to enumerate the vast multitude of ages contained in it4 ,for as the sun in old time was eclipsed1 and seemed to be extinguished1 at the time when the soul of ,romulus penetrated into these eternal mansions1 so1 when all the constellations and stars shall revert to their primary position1 and the sun shall at the same point and time be again eclipsed1 then you may consider that the grand year is completed4 ,be assured1 however1 that the twentieth part of it is not yet elapsed4 ,,xxiii4 ,wherefore1 if you have no hopes of returning to this place where great and good men enjoy all that their souls can wish for1 of what value1 pray1 is all that human glory1 which can hardly endure for a small portion of one year8 ,if1 then1 you wish to elevate your views to the contemplation of this eternal seat of splendor1 you will not be satisfied with the praises of your fellow-mortals1 nor with any human rewards that your exploits can obtain2 but ,virtue herself must point out to you the true and only object worthy of your pursuit4 ,leave to others to speak of you as they may1 for speak they will4 ,their discourses will be confined to the narrow limits of the countries you see1 nor will their duration be very extensive2 for they will perish like those who utter them1 and will be no more remembered by their posterity4 ,,xxiv4 ,when he had ceased to speak in this manner1 ,i said1 ,o ,africanus1 if indeed the door of heaven is open to those who have deserved well of their country1 although1 indeed1 from my childhood ,i have always followed yours and my father's steps1 and have not neglected to imitate your glory1 still1 ,i will from henceforth strive to follow them more closely4 ,follow them1 then1 said he1 and consider your body only1 not yourself1 as mortal4 ,for it is not your outward form which constitutes your being1 but your mind2 not that substance which is palpable to the senses1 but your spiritual nature4 ,know1 then1 that you are a ,god--for a ,god it must be1 which flourishes1 and feels1 and recollects1 and foresees1 and governs1 regulates and moves the body over which it is set1 as the ,supreme ,ruler does the world which is subject to him4 ,for as that ,eternal ,being moves whatever is mortal in this world1 so the immortal mind of man moves the frail body with which it is connected4 ,,xxv4 ,for whatever is always moving must be eternal2 but that which derives its motion from a power which is foreign to itself1 when that motion ceases must itself lose its animation4 ,that alone1 then1 which moves itself can never cease to be moved1 because it can never desert itself4 ,moreover1 it must be the source1 and origin1 and principle of motion in all the rest4 ,there can be nothing prior to a principle1 for all things must originate from it2 and it cannot itself derive its existence from any other source1 for if it did it would no longer be a principle4 ,and if it had no beginning1 it can have no end2 for a beginning that is put an end to will neither be renewed by any other cause1 nor will it produce anything else of itself4 ,all things1 therefore1 must originate from one source4 ,thus it follows that motion must have its source in something which is moved by itself1 and which can neither have a beginning nor an end4 ,otherwise all the heavens and all nature must perish1 for it is impossible that they can of themselves acquire any power of producing motion in themselves4 ,,xxvi4 ,as1 therefore1 it is plain that what is moved by itself must be eternal1 who will deny that this is the general condition and nature of minds8 ,for as everything is inanimate which is moved by an impulse exterior to itself1 so what is animated is moved by an interior impulse of its own2 for this is the peculiar nature and power of mind4 ,and if that alone has the power of self-motion1 it can neither have had a beginning1 nor can it have an end4 ,do you1 therefore1 exercise this mind of yours in the best pursuits4 ,and the best pursuits are those which consist in promoting the good of your country4 ,such employments will speed the flight of your mind to this its proper abode2 and its flight will be still more rapid1 if1 even while it is enclosed in the body1 it will look abroad1 and disengage itself as much as possible from its bodily dwelling1 by the contemplation of things which are external to itself4 ,this it should do to the utmost of its power4 ,for the minds of those who have given themselves up to the pleasures of the body1 paying1 as it were1 a servile obedience to their lustful impulses1 have violated the laws of ,god and man2 and therefore1 when they are separated from their bodies1 flutter continually round the earth on which they lived1 and are not allowed to return to this celestial region till they have been purified by the revolution of many ages4 ,thus saying1 he vanished1 and ,i awoke from my dream4 ,a ,,fragment4 ,and although it is most desirable that fortune should remain forever in the most brilliant possible condition1 nevertheless1 the equability of life excites less interest than those changeable conditions wherein prosperity suddenly revives out of the most desperate and ruinous circumstances4 ,,the ,,end4 ,,footnotes3 #a ,archilochus was a native of ,paros1 and flourished about #gad-fgf ,b4,c4 ,his poems were chiefly ,iambics of bitter satire4 ,horace speaks of him as the inventor of ,iambics1 and calls himself his pupil4 ,parios ego primus ,iambos ,ostendi ,latio1 numeros animosque secutus ,archilochi1 non res et agentia verba ,lycamben4 ,epist4 ,i4 xix4 #be4 ,and in another place he says1 ,archilochum proprio rabies armavit ,iambo--,a4,p4 #gd4 #b ,this was ,livius ,andronicus3 he is supposed to have been a native of ,tarentum1 and he was made prisoner by the ,romans1 during their wars in ,southern ,italy2 owing to which he became the slave of ,m4 ,livius ,salinator4 ,he wrote both comedies and tragedies1 of which ,cicero 7,brutus #ah7 speaks very contemptuously1 as ,livian fabul non satis dign qu iterum legantur--not worth reading a second time4 ,he also wrote a ,latin ,odyssey1 and some hymns1 and died probably about #bba ,b4,c4 #c ,c4 ,fabius1 surnamed ,pictor1 painted the temple of ,salus1 which the dictator ,c4 ,junius ,brutus ,bubulus dedicated #cjb ,b4,c4 ,the temple was destroyed by fire in the reign of ,claudius4 ,the painting is highly praised by ,dionysius1 xvi4 #f4 #d ,for an account of the ancient ,greek philosophers1 see the sketch at the end of the ,disputations4 #e ,isocrates was born at ,athens #dcf ,b4,c4 ,he was a pupil of ,gorgias1 ,prodicus1 and ,socrates4 ,he opened a school of rhetoric1 at ,athens1 with great success4 ,he died by his own hand at the age of ninety-eight4 #f ,so ,horace joins these two classes as inventors of all kinds of improbable fictions3 ,pictoribus atque poetis ,quidlibet audendi semper fuit qua potestas4--,a4 ,p4 #i4 ,which ,roscommon translates3 ,painters and poets have been still allow'd ,their pencil and their fancies unconfined4 #g ,epicharmus was a native of ,cos1 but lived at ,megara1 in ,sicily1 and when ,megara was destroyed1 removed to ,syracuse1 and lived at the court of ,hiero1 where he became the first writer of comedies1 so that ,horace ascribes the invention of comedy to him1 and so does ,theocritus4 ,he lived to a great age4 #h ,pherecydes was a native of ,scyros1 one of the ,cyclades2 and is said to have obtained his knowledge from the secret books of the ,phoenicians4 ,he is said also to have been a pupil of ,pittacus1 the rival of ,thales1 and the master of ,pythagoras4 ,his doctrine was that there were three principles 7,greek3 ,zeus1 or ther2 ,greek3 ,chthn1 or ,chaos2 and ,greek3 ,chronos1 or ,time7 and four elements 7,fire1 ,earth1 ,air1 and ,water71 from which everything that exists was formed4--,vide ,smith's ,dict4 ,gr4 and ,rom4 ,biog4 #i ,archytas was a native of ,tarentum1 and is said to have saved the life of ,plato by his influence with the tyrant ,dionysius4 ,he was especially great as a mathematician and geometrician1 so that ,horace calls him ,maris et terra numeroque carentis aren ,mensorem4 ,od4 i4 #bh4a4 ,plato is supposed to have learned some of his views from him1 and ,aristotle to have borrowed from him every idea of the ,categories4 #aj ,this was not ,timus the historian1 but a native of ,locri1 who is said also in the ,de ,finibus 7c4 #bi7 to have been a teacher of ,plato4 ,there is a treatise extant bearing his name1 which is1 however1 probably spurious1 and only an abridgment of ,plato's dialogue ,timus4 #aa ,dicarchus was a native of ,messana1 in ,sicily1 though he lived chiefly in ,greece4 ,he was one of the later disciples of ,aristotle4 ,he was a great geographer1 politician1 historian1 and philosopher1 and died about #bhe ,b4,c4 #ab ,aristoxenus was a native of ,tarentum1 and also a pupil of ,aristotle4 ,we know nothing of his opinions except that he held the soul to be a harmony of the body2 a doctrine which had been already discussed by ,plato in the ,phdo1 and combated by ,aristotle4 ,he was a great musician1 and the chief portions of his works which have come down to us are fragments of some musical treatises4--,smith's ,dict4 ,gr4 and ,rom4 ,biog42 to which source ,i must acknowledge my obligation for nearly the whole of these biographical notes4 #ac ,the ,simonides here meant is the celebrated poet of ,ceos1 the perfecter of elegiac poetry among the ,greeks4 ,he flourished about the time of the ,persian war4 ,besides his poetry1 he is said to have been the inventor of some method of aiding the memory4 ,he died at the court of ,hiero1 #dfg ,b4,c4 #ad ,theodectes was a native of ,phaselis1 in ,pamphylia1 a distinguished rhetorician and tragic poet1 and flourished in the time of ,philip of ,macedon4 ,he was a pupil of ,isocrates1 and lived at ,athens1 and died there at the age of forty-one4 #ae ,cineas was a ,thessalian1 and 7as is said in the text7 came to ,rome as ambassador from ,pyrrhus after the battle of ,heraclea1 #bhj ,b4,c41 and his memory is said to have been so great that on the day after his arrival he was able to address all the senators and knights by name4 ,he probably died before ,pyrrhus returned to ,italy1 #bgf ,b4,c4 #af ,charmadas1 called also ,charmides1 was a fellow-pupil with ,philo1 the ,larissan of ,clitomachus1 the ,carthaginian4 ,he is said by some authors to have founded a fourth academy4 #ag ,metrodorus was a minister of ,mithridates the ,great2 and employed by him as supreme judge in ,pontus1 and afterward as an ambassador4 ,cicero speaks of him in other places 7,de ,orat4 ii4 #hh7 as a man of wonderful memory4 #ah ,quintus ,hortensius was eight years older than ,cicero2 and1 till ,cicero's fame surpassed his1 he was accounted the most eloquent of all the ,romans4 ,he was ,verres's counsel in the prosecution conducted against him by ,cicero4 ,seneca relates that his memory was so great that he could come out of an auction and repeat the catalogue backward4 ,he died #ej ,b4,c4 #ai ,this treatise is one which has not come down to us1 but which had been lately composed by ,cicero in order to comfort himself for the loss of his daughter4 #bj ,the epigram is1 ,greek3 ,eipas ,hlie chaire1 ,kleombrotos ,hmbrakits hlat' aph' hypslou teicheos eis ,aidn1 axion ouden idn thanatou kakon1 alla ,platnos hen to peri psychs gramm' analexamenos4 ,which may be translated1 perhaps1 ,farewell1 ,o sun1 ,cleombrotus exclaim'd1 ,then plunged from off a height beneath the sea2 ,stung by pain1 of no disgrace ashamed1 ,but moved by ,plato's high philosophy4 #ba ,this is alluded to by ,juvenal3 ,provida ,pompeio dederat ,campania febres ,optandas3 sed mult urbes et publica vota ,vicerunt4 ,igitur ,fortuna ipsius et ,urbis1 ,servatum victo caput abstulit4--,sat4 x4 #bhc4 #bb ,pompey's second wife was ,julia1 the daughter of ,julius ,csar1 she died the year before the death of ,crassus1 in ,parthia4 ,virgil speaks of ,csar and ,pompey as relations1 using the same expression 7socer7 as ,cicero3 ,aggeribus socer ,alpinis atque arce ,monoeci ,descendens1 gener adversis instructus ,eois4--n4 vi4 #hcj4 #bc ,this idea is beautifully expanded by ,byron3 ,yet if1 as holiest men have deem'd1 there be ,a land of souls beyond that sable shore ,to shame the doctrine of the ,sadducee ,and sophist1 madly vain or dubious lore1 ,how sweet it were in concert to adore ,with those who made our mortal labors light1 ,to hear each voice we fear'd to hear no more4 ,behold each mighty shade reveal'd to sight1 ,the ,bactrian1 ,samian sage1 and all who taught the right6 ,childe ,harold1 ii4 #bd ,the epitaph in the original is3 ,greek3 xein' angeilon ,lakedaimoniois hoti tde keimetha1 tois keinn peithomenoi nomimois4 #be ,this was expressed in the ,greek verses1 ,greek3 ,archs men m phynai epichthonioisin ariston1 phynta d' hops kista pylas ,aidyo persai which by some authors are attributed to ,homer4 #bf ,this is the first fragment of the ,cresphontes4--,ed4 ,var4 vii41 p4 #eid4 ,greek3 ,edei gar hmas syllogon poioumenous ,ton phynta thrnein1 eis hos' erchetai kaka4 ,ton d' au thanonta kai ponn pepaumenon chairontas euphmointas ekpemein domn #bg ,the ,greek verses are quoted by ,plutarch3 ,greek3 pou npie1 lithioi phrenes andrn ,euthynoos keitai moiridi thanat ,ouk n gar zein kalon aut oute goneusi4 #bh ,this refers to the story that when ,eumolpus1 the son of ,neptune1 whose assistance the ,eleusinians had called in against the ,athenians1 had been slain by the ,athenians1 an oracle demanded the sacrifice of one of the daughters of ,erechtheus1 the ,king of ,athens4 ,and when one was drawn by lot1 the others voluntarily accompanied her to death4 #bi ,menoeceus was son of ,creon1 and in the war of the ,argives against ,thebes1 ,teresias declared that the ,thebans should conquer if ,menoeceus would sacrifice himself for his country2 and accordingly he killed himself outside the gates of ,thebes4 #cj ,the ,greek is1 ,greek3 mde moi aklaustos thanatos moloi1 alla philoisi poisaimi thann algea kai stonachas4 #ca ,soph4 ,trach4 #ajdg4 #cb ,the lines quoted by ,cicero here appear to have come from the ,latin play of ,prometheus by ,accius2 the ideas are borrowed1 rather than translated1 from the ,prometheus of schylus4 #cc ,from exerceo4 #cd ,each soldier carried a stake1 to help form a palisade in front of the camp4 #ce ,insania--from in1 a particle of negative force in composition1 and sanus1 healthy1 sound4 #cf ,the man who first received this surname was ,l4 ,calpurnius ,piso1 who was consul1 #acc ,b4,c41 in the ,servile ,war4 #cg ,the ,greek is1 ,greek3 ,alla moi oidanetai kradi chol hoppot' ekeinou ,mnsomai hos m' asyphlon en ,argeioisin erexen4--,il4 ix4 #fdb4 ,i have given ,pope's translation in the text4 #ch ,this is from the ,theseus3 ,greek3 ,eg de touto para sophou tinos mathn eis phrontidas noun symphoras t' eballomn phygas t' emaut prostitheis patras ems4 thanatous t' arous1 kai kakn allas hodous hs1 ei ti paschoim' n edoxazon pote ,m moi neorton prospeson mallon dakoi4 #ci ,ter4 ,phorm4 ,,ii4 i4 #aa4 #dj ,this refers to the speech of ,agamemnon in ,euripides1 in the ,iphigenia in ,aulis1 ,greek3 ,zl se1 geron1 zl d' andrn hos akindynon bion exeperas'1 agns1 akles4--v4 #ae4 #da ,this is a fragment from the ,hypsipyle3 ,greek3 ,ephy men oudeis hostis ou ponei brotn thaptei te tekna chater' au ktatai nea1 autos te thnskei4 kai tad' achthontai brotoi eis gn pherontes gn anankais d' echei bion therizein hste karpimon stachyn4 #db ,greek3 ,pollas ek kephals prothelymnous helketo chaitas4--,il4 x4 #ae4 #dc ,greek3 toi ho kappedion to ,alion oios alato hon thymon katedn1 paton anthrpn aleeinn4--,il4 vi4 #bja4 #dd ,this is a translation from ,euripides3 ,greek3 ,hsth' himeros m' hyplthe g te k' ouran lexai molous deuro ,mdeias tychas4--,med4 #eg4 #de ,greek3 ,lin gar polloi kai eptrimoi mata panta piptousin1 pote ken tis anapneuseie ponoio2 alla chr ton men katathaptemen1 hos ke thansi1 nlea thymon echontas1 ep' mati dakrysantas4-- ,hom4 ,il4 xix4 #bbf4 #df ,this is one of the fragments of ,euripides which we are unable to assign to any play in particular2 it occurs ,var4 ,ed4 ,tr4 ,inc4 #afg4 ,greek3 ,ei men tod' mar prton n kakoumen kai m makran d dia ponn enaustoloun eikos sphadazein n an1 hs neozyga plon1 chalinon artis dedegmenon nyn d' amblys eimi1 kai katrtyks kakn4 #dg ,this is only a fragment1 preserved by ,stobus3 ,greek3 ,tous d' an megistous kai sophtatous phreni toiousd' idois an1 oios esti nyn hode1 kals kaks prassonti symparainesai hotan de daimn andros eutychous to prin mastig' epis tou biou palintropon1 ta polla phrouda kai kaks eirmena4 #dh ,greek3 k4 ,oukoun ,promtheu touto gignskeis hoti orgs nosouss eisin iatroi logoi4 ,pr4 ean tis en kair ge malthass kear kai m sphrignta thymon ischnain bia4-- sch4 ,prom4 v4 #cgh4 #di ,cicero alludes here to ,il4 vii4 #baa1 which is thus translated by ,pope3 ,his massy javelin quivering in his hand1 ,he stood the bulwark of the ,grecian band2 ,through every ,argive heart new transport ran1 ,all ,troy stood trembling at the mighty man3 ,e'en ,hector paused1 and with new doubt oppress'd1 ,felt his great heart suspended in his breast2 ',twas vain to seek retreat1 and vain to fear1 ,himself had challenged1 and the foe drew near4 ,but ,melmoth 7,note on the ,familiar ,letters of ,cicero1 book ii4 ,let4 #bc7 rightly accuses ,cicero of having misunderstood ,homer1 who by no means represents ,hector as being thus totally dismayed at the approach of his adversary2 and1 indeed1 it would have been inconsistent with the general character of that hero to have described him under such circumstances of terror4 ,greek3 ,ton de kai ,argeioi meg' egtheon eisorontes1 ,tras de tromos ainos hyplythe gyia hekaston1 ,hektori d' aut thymos eni stthessi patassen4 ,but there is a great difference1 as ,dr4 ,clarke remarks1 between ,greek3 thymos eni stthessi patassen and ,greek3 karde ex stthen ethrsken1 or ,greek3 tromos ainos hyplythe gyia4--,the ,trojans1 says ,homer1 trembled at the sight of ,ajax1 and even ,hector himself felt some emotion in his breast4 #ej ,cicero means ,scipio ,nasica1 who1 in the riots consequent on the reelection of ,tiberius ,gracchus to the tribunate1 #acc ,b4,c41 having called in vain on the consul1 ,mucius ,scvola1 to save the republic1 attacked ,gracchus himself1 who was slain in the tumult4 #ea ,morosus is evidently derived from mores--,morosus1 mos1 stubbornness1 self-will1 etc4--,riddle and ,arnold1 ,lat4 ,dict4 #eb ,in the original they run thus3 ,greek3 ,ouk estin ouden deinon hd' eipein epos1 ,oude pathos1 oude xymphora thelatos hs ouk an aroit' achthos anthrpon physis4 #ec ,this passage is from the ,eunuch of ,terence1 act i41 sc4 #a1 #ad4 #ed ,these verses are from the ,atreus of ,accius4 #ee ,this was ,marcus ,atilius ,regulus1 the story of whose treatment by the ,carthaginians in the first ,punic ,war is well known to everybody4 #ef ,this was ,quintus ,servilius ,cpio1 who1 #aje ,b4,c41 was destroyed1 with his army1 by the ,cimbri1 it was believed as a judgment for the covetousness which he had displayed in the plunder of ,tolosa4 #eg ,this was ,marcus ,aquilius1 who1 in the year #hh ,b4,c41 was sent against ,mithridates as one of the consular legates2 and1 being defeated1 was delivered up to the king by the inhabitants of ,mitylene4 ,mithridates put him to death by pouring molten gold down his throat4 #eh ,this was the elder brother of the triumvir ,marcus ,crassus1 #hg ,b4,c4 ,he was put to death by ,fimbria1 who was in command of some of the troops of ,marius4 #ei ,lucius ,csar and ,caius ,csar were relations 7it is uncertain in what degree7 of the great ,csar1 and were killed by ,fimbria on the same occasion as ,octavius4 #fj ,m4 ,antonius was the grandfather of the triumvir2 he was murdered the same year1 #hg ,b4,c41 by ,annius1 when ,marius and ,cinna took ,rome4 #fa ,this story is alluded to by ,horace3 ,districtus ensis cui super impi ,cervice pendet non ,sicul dapes ,dulcem elaborabunt saporem1 ,non avium citharve cantus ,somnum reducent4--iii4 #a4 #ag4 #fb ,hieronymus was a ,rhodian1 and a pupil of ,aristotle1 flourishing about #cjj ,b4,c4 ,he is frequently mentioned by ,cicero4 #fc ,we know very little of ,dinomachus4 ,some ,,mss4 have ,clitomachus4 #fd ,callipho was in all probability a pupil of ,epicurus1 but we have no certain information about him4 #fe ,diodorus was a ,syrian1 and succeeded ,critolaus as the head of the ,peripatetic ,school at ,athens4 #ff ,aristo was a native of ,ceos1 and a pupil of ,lycon1 who succeeded ,straton as the head of the ,peripatetic ,school1 #bgj ,b4,c4 ,he afterward himself succeeded ,lycon4 #fg ,pyrrho was a native of ,elis1 and the originator of the sceptical theories of some of the ancient philosophers4 ,he was a contemporary of ,alexander4 #fh ,herillus was a disciple of ,zeno of ,cittium1 and therefore a ,stoic4 ,he did not1 however1 follow all the opinions of his master3 he held that knowledge was the chief good4 ,some of the treatises of ,cleanthes were written expressly to confute him4 #fi ,anacharsis was 7,herod41 iv41 #gf7 son of ,gnurus and brother of ,saulius1 ,king of ,thrace4 ,he came to ,athens while ,solon was occupied in framing laws for his people2 and by the simplicity of his way of living1 and his acute observations on the manners of the ,greeks1 he excited such general admiration that he was reckoned by some writers among the ,seven ,wise ,men of ,greece4 #gj ,this was ,appius ,claudius ,ccus1 who was censor #caj ,b4,c41 and who1 according to ,livy1 was afflicted with blindness by the ,gods for persuading the ,potitii to instruct the public servants in the way of sacrificing to ,hercules4 ,he it was who made the ,via ,appia4 #ga ,the fact of ,homer's blindness rests on a passage in the ,hymn to ,apollo1 quoted by ,thucydides as a genuine work of ,homer1 and which is thus spoken of by one of the most accomplished scholars that this country or this age has ever produced3 ,they are indeed beautiful verses2 and if none worse had ever been attributed to ,homer1 the ,prince of ,poets would have had little reason to complain4 ,he has been describing the ,delian festival in honor of ,apollo and ,diana1 and concludes this part of the poem with an address to the women of that island1 to whom it is to be supposed that he had become familiarly known by his frequent recitations3 ,greek3 ,chairete d' hymeis pasai1 emeio de kai metopisthe mnsasth'1 hoppote ken tis epichthonin anthrpn enthad' aneirtai xeinos talapeirios elthn kourai1 tis d' hymmin anr hdistos aoidn enthade pleitai kai te terpesthe malista2 hymeis d' eu mala pasai hypokrinasthe aph' hmn1 ,typhlos anr1 oikei de ,chi eni paipaloess1 tou pasai metopisthen aristeuousin aoidai4 ,virgins1 farewell--and oh6 remember me ,hereafter1 when some stranger from the sea1 ,a hapless wanderer1 may your isle explore1 ,and ask you1 ',maids1 of all the bards you boast1 ,who sings the sweetest1 and delights you most8' ,oh6 answer all1 ',a blind old man1 and poor1 ,sweetest he sings1 and dwells on ,chios' rocky shore4' ,coleridge's ,introduction to the ,study of the ,greek ,classic ,poets4 #gb ,some read scientiam and some inscientiam2 the latter of which is preferred by some of the best editors and commentators4 #gc ,for a short account of these ancient ,greek philosophers1 see the sketch prefixed to the ,academics 7,classical ,library74 #gd ,cicero wrote his philosophical works in the last three years of his life4 ,when he wrote this piece1 he was in the sixty-third year of his age1 in the year of ,rome #gji4 #ge ,the ,academic4 #gf ,diodorus and ,posidonius were ,stoics2 ,philo and ,antiochus were ,academics2 but the latter afterward inclined to the doctrine of the ,stoics4 #gg ,julius ,csar4 #gh ,cicero was one of the ,college of ,augurs4 #gi ,the ,latin ,feri was originally a festival of the ,latins1 altered by ,tarquinius ,superbus into a ,roman one4 ,it was held in the ,alban ,mount1 in honor of ,jupiter ,latiaris4 ,this holiday lasted six days3 it was not held at any fixed time2 but the consul was never allowed to take the field till he had held them4--,vide ,smith1 ,dict4 ,gr4 and ,rom4 ,ant41 p4 #dad4 #hj ,exhedra1 the word used by ,cicero1 means a study1 or place where disputes were held4 #ha ,m4 ,piso was a ,peripatetic4 ,the four great sects were the ,stoics1 the ,peripatetics1 the ,academics1 and the ,epicureans4 #hb ,it was a prevailing tenet of the ,academics that there is no certain knowledge4 #hc ,the five forms of ,plato are these3 ,greek3 ousia1 tauton1 heteron1 stasis1 kinsis4 #hd ,the four natures here to be understood are the four elements--fire1 water1 air1 and earth2 which are mentioned as the four principles of ,empedocles by ,diogenes ,laertius4 #he ,these five moving stars are ,saturn1 ,jupiter1 ,mars1 ,mercury1 and ,venus4 ,their revolutions are considered in the next book4 #hf ,or1 ,generation of the ,gods4 #hg ,the ,greek3 prolpsis of ,epicurus1 before mentioned1 is what he here means4 #hh ,greek3 ,steremnia is the word which ,epicurus used to distinguish between those objects which are perceptible to sense1 and those which are imperceptible2 as the essence of the ,divine ,being1 and the various operations of the divine power4 #hi ,zeno here mentioned is not the same that ,cotta spoke of before4 ,this was the founder of the ,stoics4 ,the other was an ,epicurean philosopher whom he had heard at ,athens4 #ij ,that is1 there would be the same uncertainty in heaven as is among the ,academics4 #ia ,those nations which were neither ,greek nor ,roman4 #ib ,sigilla numerantes is the common reading2 but ,p4 ,manucius proposes venerantes1 which ,i choose as the better of the two1 and in which sense ,i have translated it4 #ic ,fundamental doctrines4 #id ,that is1 the zodiac4 #ie ,the moon1 as well as the sun1 is indeed in the zodiac1 but she does not measure the same course in a month4 ,she moves in another line of the zodiac nearer the earth4 #if ,according to the doctrines of ,epicurus1 none of these bodies themselves are clearly seen1 but simulacra ex corporibus effluentia4 #ig ,epicurus taught his disciples in a garden4 #ih ,by the word ,deus1 as often used by our author1 we are to understand all the ,gods in that theology then treated of1 and not a single personal ,deity4 #ii ,the best commentators on this passage agree that ,cicero does not mean that ,aristotle affirmed that there was no such person as ,orpheus1 but that there was no such poet1 and that the verse called ,orphic was said to be the invention of another4 ,the passage of ,aristotle to which ,cicero here alludes has1 as ,dr4 ,davis observes1 been long lost4 #ajj ,a just proportion between the different sorts of beings4 #aja ,some give quos non pudeat earum ,epicuri vocum2 but the best copies have not non2 nor would it be consistent with ,cotta to say quos non pudeat1 for he throughout represents ,velleius as a perfect ,epicurean in every article4 #ajb ,his country was ,abdera1 the natives of which were remarkable for their stupidity4 #ajc ,this passage will not admit of a translation answerable to the sense of the original4 ,cicero says the word amicitia 7friendship7 is derived from amor 7love or affection74 #ajd ,this manner of speaking of ,jupiter frequently occurs in ,homer1 ----,greek3 patr andrn te then te1 and has been used by ,virgil and other poets since ,ennius4 #aje ,perses1 or ,perseus1 the last king of ,macedonia1 was taken by ,cnus ,octavius1 the prtor1 and brought as prisoner to ,paullus milius1 #afg ,b4,c4 #ajf ,an exemption from serving in the wars1 and from paying public taxes4 #ajg ,mopsus4 ,there were two soothsayers of this name3 the first was one of the ,lapith1 son of ,ampycus and ,chloris1 called also the son of ,apollo and ,hienantis2 the other a son of ,apollo and ,manto1 who is said to have founded ,mallus1 in ,asia ,minor1 where his oracle existed as late as the time of ,strabo4 #ajh ,tiresias was the great ,theban prophet at the time of the war of the ,seven against ,thebes4 #aji ,amphiaraus was ,king of ,argos 7he had been one of the ,argonauts also74 ,he was killed after the war of the ,seven against ,thebes1 which he was compelled to join in by the treachery of his wife ,eriphyle1 by the earth opening and swallowing him up as he was fleeing from ,periclymenus4 #aaj ,calchas was the prophet of the ,grecian army at the siege of ,troy4 #aaa ,helenus was a son of ,priam and ,hecuba4 ,he is represented as a prophet in the ,philoctetes of ,sophocles4 ,and in the neid he is also represented as king of part of ,epirus1 and as predicting to neas the dangers and fortunes which awaited him4 #aab ,this short passage would be very obscure to the reader without an explanation from another of ,cicero's treatises4 ,the expression here1 ad investigandum suem regiones vine terminavit1 which is a metaphor too bold1 if it was not a sort of augural language1 seems to me to have been the effect of carelessness in our great author2 for ,navius did not divide the regions1 as he calls them1 of the vine to find his sow1 but to find a grape4 #aac ,the ,peremnia were a sort of auspices performed just before the passing a river4 #aad ,the ,acumina were a military auspices1 and were partly performed on the point of a spear1 from which they were called ,acumina4 #aae ,those were called testamenta in procinctu1 which were made by soldiers just before an engagement1 in the presence of men called as witnesses4 #aaf ,this especially refers to the ,decii1 one of whom devoted himself for his country in the war with the ,latins1 #cdj ,b4,c41 and his son imitated the action in the war with the ,samnites1 #bie ,b4,c4 ,cicero 7,tusc4 i4 #cg7 says that his son did the same thing in the war with ,pyrrhus at the battle of ,asculum1 though in other places 7,de ,off4 iii4 #d7 he speaks of only two ,decii as having signalized themselves in this manner4 #aag ,the ,rogator1 who collected the votes1 and pronounced who was the person chosen4 ,there were two sorts of ,rogators2 one was the officer here mentioned1 and the other was the ,rogator1 or speaker of the whole assembly4 #aah ,which was ,sardinia1 as appears from one of ,cicero's epistles to his brother ,quintus4 #aai ,their sacred books of ceremonies4 #abj ,the war between ,octavius and ,cinna1 the consuls4 #aba ,this1 in the original1 is a fragment of an old ,latin verse1 ----,terram fumare calentem4 #abb ,the ,latin word is principatus1 which exactly corresponds with the ,greek word here used by ,cicero2 by which is to be understood the superior1 the most prevailing excellence in every kind and species of things through the universe4 #abc ,the passage of ,aristotle to which ,cicero here refers is lost4 #abd ,he means the ,epicureans4 #abe ,here the ,stoic speaks too plain to be misunderstood4 ,his world1 his mundus1 is the universe1 and that universe is his great ,deity1 in quo sit totius natur principatus1 in which the superior excellence of universal nature consists4 #abf ,athens1 the seat of learning and politeness1 of which ,balbus will not allow ,epicurus to be worthy4 #abg ,this is ,pythagoras's doctrine1 as appears in ,diogenes ,laertius4 #abh ,he here alludes to mathematical and geometrical instruments4 #abi ,balbus here speaks of the fixed stars1 and of the motions of the orbs of the planets4 ,he here alludes1 says ,m4 ,bonhier1 to the different and diurnal motions of these stars2 one sort from east to west1 the other from one tropic to the other3 and this is the construction which our learned and great geometrician and astronomer1 ,dr4 ,halley1 made of this passage4 #acj ,this mensuration of the year into three hundred and sixty-five days and near six hours 7by the odd hours and minutes of which1 in every fifth year1 the dies intercalaris1 or leap-year1 is made7 could not but be known1 ,dr4 ,halley states1 by ,hipparchus1 as appears from the remains of that great astronomer of the ancients4 ,we are inclined to think that ,julius ,csar had divided the year1 according to what we call the ,julian year1 before ,cicero wrote this book2 for we see1 in the beginning of it1 how pathetically he speaks of ,csar's usurpation4 #aca ,the words of ,censorinus1 on this occasion1 are to the same effect4 ,the opinions of philosophers concerning this great year are very different2 but the institution of it is ascribed to ,democritus4 #acb ,the zodiac4 #acc ,though ,mars is said to hold his orbit in the zodiac with the rest1 and to finish his revolution through the same orbit 7that is1 the zodiac7 with the other two1 yet ,balbus means in a different line of the zodiac4 #acd ,according to late observations1 it never goes but a sign and a half from the sun4 #ace ,these1 ,dr4 ,davis says1 are arial fires2 concerning which he refers to the second book of ,pliny4 #acf ,in the ,eunuch of ,terence4 #acg ,bacchus4 #ach ,the son of ,ceres4 #aci ,the books of ,ceremonies4 #adj ,this ,libera is taken for ,proserpine1 who1 with her brother ,liber1 was consecrated by the ,romans2 all which are parts of nature in prosopopoeias4 ,cicero1 therefore1 makes ,balbus distinguish between the person ,liber1 or ,bacchus1 and the ,liber which is a part of nature in prosopopoeia4 #ada ,these allegorical fables are largely related by ,hesiod in his ,theogony4 ,horace says exactly the same thing3 ,hc arte ,pollux et vagus ,hercules ,enisus arces attigit igneas3 ,quos inter ,augustus recumbens ,purpureo bibit ore nectar4 ,hc te merentem1 ,bacche pater1 tu ,vexere tigres indocili jugum ,collo ferentes3 hc ,quirinus ,martis equis ,acheronta fugit4--,hor4 iii4 #c4 #i4 #adb ,cicero means by conversis casibus1 varying the cases from the common rule of declension2 that is1 by departing from the true grammatical rules of speech2 for if we would keep to it1 we should decline the word ,jupiter1 ,jupiteris in the second case1 etc4 #adc ,pater divmque hominumque4 #add ,the common reading is1 planiusque alio loco idem2 which1 as ,dr4 ,davis observes1 is absurd2 therefore1 in his note1 he prefers planius quam alia loco idem1 from two copies1 in which sense ,i have translated it4 #ade ,from the verb gero1 to bear4 #adf ,that is1 mother earth4 #adg ,janus is said to be the first who erected temples in ,italy1 and instituted religious rites1 and from whom the first month in the ,roman calendar is derived4 #adh ,stell vagantes4 #adi ,noctu quasi diem efficeret4 ,ben ,jonson says the same thing3 ,thou that mak'st a day of night1 ,goddess excellently bright4--,ode to the ,moon4 #aej ,olympias was the mother of ,alexander4 #aea ,venus is here said to be one of the names of ,diana1 because ad res omnes veniret2 but she is not supposed to be the same as the mother of ,cupid4 #aeb ,here is a mistake1 as ,fulvius ,ursinus observes2 for the discourse seems to be continued in one day1 as appears from the beginning of this book4 ,this may be an inadvertency of ,cicero4 #aec ,the senate of ,athens was so called from the words ,greek3 ,areios ,pagos1 the ,village1 some say the ,hill1 of ,mars4 #aed ,epicurus4 #aee ,the ,stoics4 #aef ,by nulla cohrendi natura--if it is the right1 as it is the common reading--,cicero must mean the same as by nulla crescendi natura1 or coalescendi1 either of which ,lambinus proposes2 for1 as the same learned critic well observes1 is there not a cohesion of parts in a clod1 or in a piece of stone8 ,our learned ,walker proposes sola cohrendi natura1 which mends the sense very much2 and ,i wish he had the authority of any copy for it4 #aeg ,nasica ,scipio1 the censor1 is said to have been the first who made a water-clock in ,rome4 #aeh ,the ,epicureans4 #aei ,an old ,latin poet1 commended by ,quintilian for the gravity of his sense and his loftiness of style4 #afj ,the shepherd is here supposed to take the stem or beak of the ship for the mouth1 from which the roaring voices of the sailors came4 ,rostrum is here a lucky word to put in the mouth of one who never saw a ship before1 as it is used for the beak of a bird1 the snout of a beast or fish1 and for the stem of a ship4 #afa ,the ,epicureans4 #afb ,greek1 ,greek3 ar2 ,latin1 aer4 #afc ,the treatise of ,aristotle1 from whence this is taken1 is lost4 #afd ,to the universe the ,stoics certainly annexed the idea of a limited space1 otherwise they could not have talked of a middle2 for there can be no middle but of a limited space3 infinite space can have no middle1 there being infinite extension from every part4 #afe ,these two contrary reversions are from the tropics of ,cancer and ,capricorn4 ,they are the extreme bounds of the sun's course4 ,the reader must observe that the astronomical parts of this book are introduced by the ,stoic as proofs of design and reason in the universe2 and1 notwithstanding the errors in his planetary system1 his intent is well answered1 because all he means is that the regular motions of the heavenly bodies1 and their dependencies1 are demonstrations of a divine mind4 ,the inference proposed to be drawn from his astronomical observations is as just as if his system was in every part unexceptionably right3 the same may be said of his anatomical observations4 #aff ,in the zodiac4 #afg ,ibid4 #afh ,these verses of ,cicero are a translation from a ,greek poem of ,aratus1 called the ,phnomena4 #afi ,the fixed stars4 #agj ,the arctic and antarctic poles4 #aga ,the two ,arctoi are northern constellations4 ,cynosura is what we call the ,lesser ,bear2 ,helice1 the ,greater ,bear2 in ,latin1 ,ursa ,minor and ,ursa ,major4 #agb ,these stars in the ,greater ,bear are vulgarly called the ,seven ,stars1 or the ,northern ,wain2 by the ,latins1 ,septentriones4 #agc ,the ,lesser ,bear4 #agd ,the ,greater ,bear4 #age ,exactly agreeable to this and the following description of the ,dragon is the same northern constellation described in the map by ,flamsteed in his ,atlas ,coelestis2 and all the figures here described by ,aratus nearly agree with the maps of the same constellations in the ,atlas ,coelestis1 though they are not all placed precisely alike4 #agf ,the tail of the ,greater ,bear4 #agg ,that is1 in ,macedon1 where ,aratus lived4 #agh ,the true interpretation of this passage is as follows3 ,here in ,macedon1 says ,aratus1 the head of the ,dragon does not entirely immerge itself in the ocean1 but only touches the superficies of it4 ,by ortus and obitus ,i doubt not but ,cicero meant1 agreeable to ,aratus1 those parts which arise to view1 and those which are removed from sight4 #agi ,these are two northern constellations4 ,engonasis1 in some catalogues called ,hercules1 because he is figured kneeling ,greek3 en gonasin 7on his knees74 ,greek3 ,engonasin kaleous'1 as ,aratus says1 they call ,engonasis4 #ahj ,the crown is placed under the feet of ,hercules in the ,atlas ,coelestis2 but ,ophiuchus 7,greek3 ,ophiouchos71 the ,snake-holder1 is placed in the map by ,flamsteed as described here by ,aratus2 and their heads almost meet4 #aha ,the ,scorpion4 ,ophiuchus1 though a northern constellation1 is not far from that part of the zodiac where the ,scorpion is1 which is one of the six southern signs4 #ahb ,the ,wain of seven stars4 #ahc ,the ,wain-driver4 ,this northern constellation is1 in our present maps1 figured with a club in his right hand behind the ,greater ,bear4 #ahd ,in some modern maps ,arcturus1 a star of the first magnitude1 is placed in the belt that is round the waist of ,botes4 ,cicero says subter prcordia1 which is about the waist2 and ,aratus says ,greek3 hypo zn1 under the belt4 #ahe ,sub caput ,arcti1 under the head of the ,greater ,bear4 #ahf ,the ,crab is1 by the ancients and moderns1 placed in the zodiac1 as here1 between the ,twins and the ,lion2 and they are all three northern signs4 #ahg ,the ,twins are placed in the zodiac with the side of one to the northern hemisphere1 and the side of the other to the southern hemisphere4 ,auriga1 the ,charioteer1 is placed in the northern hemisphere near the zodiac1 by the ,twins2 and at the head of the ,charioteer is ,helice1 the ,greater ,bear1 placed2 and the ,goat is a bright star of the first magnitude placed on the left shoulder of this northern constellation1 and called ,capra1 the ,goat4 ,hoedi1 the ,kids1 are two more stars of the same constellation4 #ahh ,a constellation2 one of the northern signs in the zodiac1 in which the ,hyades are placed4 #ahi ,one of the feet of ,cepheus1 a northern constellation1 is under the tail of the ,lesser ,bear4 #aij ,grotius1 and after him ,dr4 ,davis1 and other learned men1 read ,cassiepea1 after the ,greek ,greek3 ,kassiepeia1 and reject the common reading1 ,cassiopea4 #aia ,these northern constellations here mentioned have been always placed together as one family with ,cepheus and ,perseus1 as they are in our modern maps4 #aib ,this alludes to the fable of ,perseus and ,andromeda4 #aic ,pegasus1 who is one of ,perseus and ,andromeda's family4 #aid ,that is1 with wings4 #aie ,aries1 the ,ram1 is the first northern sign in the zodiac2 ,pisces1 the ,fishes1 the last southern sign2 therefore they must be near one another1 as they are in a circle or belt4 ,in ,flamsteed's ,atlas ,coelestis one of the ,fishes is near the head of the ,ram1 and the other near the ,urn of ,aquarius4 #aif ,these are called ,virgili by ,cicero2 by ,aratus1 the ,pleiades1 ,greek3 ,pliades2 and they are placed at the neck of the ,bull2 and one of ,perseus's feet touches the ,bull in the ,atlas ,coelestis4 #aig ,this northern constellation is called ,fides by ,cicero2 but it must be the same with ,lyra2 because ,lyra is placed in our maps as ,fides is here4 #aih ,this is called ,ales ,avis by ,cicero2 and ,i doubt not but the northern constellation ,cygnus is here to be understood1 for the description and place of the ,swan in the ,atlas ,coelestis are the same which ,ales ,avis has here4 #aii ,pegasus4 #bjj ,the ,water-bearer1 one of the six southern signs in the zodiac3 he is described in our maps pouring water out of an urn1 and leaning with one hand on the tail of ,capricorn1 another southern sign4 #bja ,when the sun is in ,capricorn1 the days are at the shortest2 and when in ,cancer1 at the longest4 #bjb ,one of the six southern signs4 #bjc ,sagittarius1 another southern sign4 #bjd ,a northern constellation4 #bje ,a northern constellation4 #bjf ,a southern constellation4 #bjg ,this is ,canis ,major1 a southern constellation4 ,orion and the ,dog are named together by ,hesiod1 who flourished many hundred years before ,cicero or ,aratus4 #bjh ,a southern constellation1 placed as here in the ,atlas ,coelestis4 #bji ,a southern constellation1 so called from the ship ,argo1 in which ,jason and the rest of the ,argonauts sailed on their expedition to ,colchos4 #baj ,the ,ram is the first of the northern signs in the zodiac2 and the last southern sign is the ,fishes2 which two signs1 meeting in the zodiac1 cover the constellation called ,argo4 #baa ,the river ,eridanus1 a southern constellation4 #bab ,a southern constellation4 #bac ,this is called the ,scorpion in the original of ,aratus4 #bad ,a southern constellation4 #bae ,a southern constellation4 #baf ,the ,serpent is not mentioned in ,cicero's translation2 but it is in the original of ,aratus4 #bag ,a southern constellation4 #bah ,the ,goblet1 or ,cup1 a southern constellation4 #bai ,a southern constellation4 #bbj ,antecanis1 a southern constellation1 is the ,little ,dog1 and called ,antecanis in ,latin1 and ,greek3 ,prokyn in ,greek1 because he rises before the other ,dog4 #bba ,panstius1 a ,stoic philosopher4 #bbb ,mercury and ,venus4 #bbc ,the proboscis of the elephant is frequently called a hand1 because it is as useful to him as one4 ,they breathe1 drink1 and smell1 with what may not be improperly called a hand1 says ,pliny1 bk4 viii4 c4 #aj4--;,,davis4 #bbd ,the passage of ,aristotle's works to which ,cicero here alludes is entirely lost2 but ,plutarch gives a similar account4 #bbe ,balbus does not tell us the remedy which the panther makes use of2 but ,pliny is not quite so delicate3 he says1 excrementis hominis sibi medetur4 #bbf ,aristotle says they purge themselves with this herb after they fawn4 ,pliny says both before and after4 #bbg ,the cuttle-fish has a bag at its neck1 the black blood of which the ,romans used for ink4 ,it was called atramentum4 #bbh ,the ,euphrates is said to carry into ,mesopotamia a large quantity of citrons1 with which it covers the fields4 #bbi ,q4 ,curtius1 and some other authors1 say the ,ganges is the largest river in ,india2 but ,ammianus ,marcellinus concurs with ,cicero in calling the river ,indus the largest of all rivers4 #bcj ,these ,etesian winds return periodically once a year1 and blow at certain seasons1 and for a certain time4 #bca ,some read mollitur1 and some molitur2 the latter of which ,p4 ,manucius justly prefers1 from the verb molo1 molis2 from whence1 says he1 molares dentes1 the grinders4 #bcb ,the weasand1 or windpipe4 #bcc ,the epiglottis1 which is a cartilaginous flap in the shape of a tongue1 and therefore called so4 #bcd ,cicero is here giving the opinion of the ancients concerning the passage of the chyle till it is converted to blood4 #bce ,what ,cicero here calls the ventricles of the heart are likewise called auricles1 of which there is the right and left4 #bcf ,the ,stoics and ,peripatetics said that the nerves1 veins1 and arteries come directly from the heart4 ,according to the anatomy of the moderns1 they come from the brain4 #bcg ,the author means all musical instruments1 whether string or wind instruments1 which are hollow and tortuous4 #bch ,the ,latin version of ,cicero is a translation from the ,greek of ,aratus4 #bci ,chrysippus's meaning is1 that the swine is so inactive and slothful a beast that life seems to be of no use to it but to keep it from putrefaction1 as salt keeps dead flesh4 #bdj ,ales1 in the general signification1 is any large bird2 and oscinis is any singing bird4 ,but they here mean those birds which are used in augury3 alites are the birds whose flight was observed by the augurs1 and oscines the birds from whose voices they augured4 #bda ,as the ,academics doubted everything1 it was indifferent to them which side of a question they took4 #bdb ,the keepers and interpreters of the ,sibylline oracles were the ,quindecimviri4 #bdc ,the popular name of ,jupiter in ,rome1 being looked upon as defender of the ,capitol 7in which he was placed71 and stayer of the ,state4 #bdd ,some passages of the original are here wanting4 ,cotta continues speaking against the doctrine of the ,stoics4 #bde ,the word sortes is often used for the answers of the oracles1 or1 rather1 for the rolls in which the answers were written4 #bdf ,three of this eminent family sacrificed themselves for their country2 the father in the ,latin war1 the son in the ,tuscan war1 and the grandson in the war with ,pyrrhus4 #bdg ,the ,straits of ,gibraltar4 #bdh ,the common reading is1 ex quo anima dicitur2 but ,dr4 ,davis and ,m4 ,bouhier prefer animal1 though they keep anima in the text1 because our author says elsewhere1 animum ex anima dictum1 ,tusc4 ,i4 #a4 ,cicero is not here to be accused of contradictions1 for we are to consider that he speaks in the characters of other persons2 but there appears to be nothing in these two passages irreconcilable1 and probably anima is the right word here4 #bdi ,he is said to have led a colony from ,greece into ,caria1 in ,asia1 and to have built a town1 and called it after his own name1 for which his countrymen paid him divine honors after his death4 #bej ,our great author is under a mistake here4 ,homer does not say he met ,hercules himself1 but his ,greek3 ,eidlon1 his visionary likeness2 and adds that he himself ,greek3 met' athanatoisi theoisi terpetai en thalis1 kai echei kallisphyrou ,hbn1 paida ,dios megaloio kai ,hrs chrysopedilou4 which ,pope translates-- ,a shadowy form1 for high in heaven's abodes ,himself resides1 a ,god among the ,gods2 ,there1 in the bright assemblies of the skies1 ,he nectar quaffs1 and ,hebe crowns his joys4 #bea ,they are said to have been the first workers in iron4 ,they were called ,idi1 because they inhabited about ,mount ,ida in ,crete1 and ,dactyli1 from ,greek3 daktyloi 7the fingers71 their number being five4 #beb ,from whom1 some say1 the city of that name was called4 #bec ,capeduncul seem to have been bowls or cups1 with handles on each side1 set apart for the use of the altar4--,,davis4 #bed ,see ,cicero de ,divinatione1 and ,ovid4 ,fast4 #bee ,in the consulship of ,piso and ,gabinius sacrifices to ,serapis and ,isis were prohibited in ,rome2 but the ,roman people afterward placed them again in the number of their gods4 ,see ,tertullian's ,apol4 and his first book ,ad ,nationes1 and ,arnobius1 lib4 #b4--;,,davis4 #bef ,in some copies ,circe1 ,pasiphae1 and a are mentioned together2 but a is rejected by the most judicious editors4 #beg ,they were three1 and are said to have averted a plague by offering themselves a sacrifice4 #beh ,so called from the ,greek word ,greek3 thaumaz1 to wonder4 #bei ,she was first called ,geres1 from gero1 to bear4 #bfj ,the word is precatione1 which means the books or forms of prayers used by the augurs4 #bfa ,cotta's intent here1 as well as in other places1 is to show how unphilosophical their civil theology was1 and with what confusions it was embarrassed2 which design of the ,academic the reader should carefully keep in view1 or he will lose the chain of argument4 #bfb ,anactes1 ,greek3 ,anaktes1 was a general name for all kings1 as we find in the oldest ,greek writers1 and particularly in ,homer4 #bfc ,the common reading is ,aleo2 but we follow ,lambinus and ,davis1 who had the authority of the best manuscript copies4 #bfd ,some prefer ,phthas to ,opas 7see ,dr4 ,davis's edition72 but ,opas is the generally received reading4 #bfe ,the ,lipari ,isles4 #bff ,a town in ,arcadia4 #bfg ,in ,arcadia4 #bfh ,a northern people4 #bfi ,so called from the ,greek word ,greek3 nomos1 lex1 a law4 #bgj ,he is called ,greek3 pis in some old ,greek fragments1 and ,greek3 ,oupis by ,callimachus in his hymn on ,diana4 #bga ,greek3 ,sabazios1 ,sabazius1 is one of the names used for ,bacchus4 #bgb ,here is a wide chasm in the original4 ,what is lost probably may have contained great part of ,cotta's arguments against the providence of the ,stoics4 #bgc ,here is one expression in the quotation from ,ccilius that is not commonly met with1 which is prstigias prstrinxit2 ,lambinus gives prstinxit1 for the sake1 ,i suppose1 of playing on words1 because it might then be translated1 ,he has deluded my delusions1 or stratagems2 but prstrinxit is certainly the right reading4 #bgd ,the ancient ,romans had a judicial as well as a military prtor2 and he sat1 with inferior judges attending him1 like one of our chief-justices4 ,sessum it prtor1 which ,i doubt not is the right reading1 ,lambinus restored from an old copy4 ,the common reading was sessum ite precor4 #bge ,picenum was a region of ,italy4 #bgf ,the sex primi were general receivers of all taxes and tributes2 and they were obliged to make good1 out of their own fortunes1 whatever deficiencies were in the public treasury4 #bgg ,the ,ltorian ,law was a security for those under age against extortioners1 etc4 ,by this law all debts contracted under twenty-five years of age were void4 #bgh ,this is from ,ennius-- ,utinam ne in nemore ,pelio securibus ,csa cecidisset abiegna ad terram trabes4 ,translated from the beginning of the ,medea of ,euripides-- ,greek3 ,md' en napaisi ,plion pesein pote tmtheisa peuk4 #bgi ,q4 ,fabius ,maximus1 surnamed ,cunctator4 #bhj ,diogenes ,laertius says he was pounded to death in a stone mortar by command of ,nicocreon1 tyrant of ,cyprus4 #bha ,elea1 a city of ,lucania1 in ,italy4 ,the manner in which ,zeno was put to death is1 according to ,diogenes ,laertius1 uncertain4 #bhb ,this great and good man was accused of destroying the divinity of the ,gods of his country4 ,he was condemned1 and died by drinking a glass of poison4 #bhc ,tyrant of ,sicily4 #bhd ,the common reading is1 in tympanidis rogum inlatus est4 ,this passage has been the occasion of as many different opinions concerning both the reading and the sense as any passage in the whole treatise4 ,tympanum is used for a timbrel or drum1 tympanidia a diminutive of it4 ,lambinus says tympana were sticks with which the tyrant used to beat the condemned4 ,p4 ,victorius substitutes tyrannidis for tympanidis4 #bhe ,the original is de amissa salute2 which means the sentence of banishment among the ,romans1 in which was contained the loss of goods and estate1 and the privileges of a ,roman2 and in this sense ,l',abb d',olivet translates it4 #bhf ,the forty-seventh proposition of the first book of ,euclid is unanimously ascribed to him by the ancients4 ,dr4 ,wotton1 in his ,reflections upon ,ancient and ,modern ,learning1 says1 ,it is indeed a very noble proposition1 the foundation of trigonometry1 of universal and various use in those curious speculations about incommensurable numbers4 #bhg ,these votive tables1 or pictures1 were hung up in the temples4 #bhh ,this passage is a fragment from a tragedy of ,attius4 #bhi ,hipponax was a poet at ,ephesus1 and so deformed that ,bupalus drew a picture of him to provoke laughter2 for which ,hipponax is said to have written such keen iambics on the painter that he hanged himself4 ,lycambes had promised ,archilochus the poet to marry his daughter to him1 but afterward retracted his promise1 and refused her2 upon which ,archilochus is said to have published a satire in iambic verse that provoked him to hang himself4 #bij ,cicero refers here to an oracle approving of his laws1 and promising ,sparta prosperity as long as they were obeyed1 which ,lycurgus procured from ,delphi4 #bia ,pro aris et focis is a proverbial expression4 ,the ,romans1 when they would say their all was at stake1 could not express it stronger than by saying they contended pro aris et focis1 for religion and their firesides1 or1 as we express it1 for religion and property4 #bib ,cicero1 who was an ,academic1 gives his opinion according to the manner of the ,academics1 who looked upon probability1 and a resemblance of truth1 as the utmost they could arrive at4 #bic ,i4e41 ,regulus4 #bid ,i4e41 ,fabius4 #bie ,it is unnecessary to give an account of the other names here mentioned2 but that of ,lnas is probably less known4 ,he was ,publius ,popillius ,lnas1 consul #acb ,b4,c41 the year after the death of ,tiberius ,gracchus1 and it became his duty to prosecute the accomplices of ,gracchus1 for which he was afterward attacked by ,caius ,gracchus with such animosity that he withdrew into voluntary exile4 ,cicero pays a tribute to the energy of ,opimius in the first ,oration against ,catiline1 c4 iii4 #bif ,this phenomenon of the parhelion1 or mock sun1 which so puzzled ,cicero's interlocutors1 has been very satisfactorily explained by modern science4 ,the parhelia are formed by the reflection of the sunbeams on a cloud properly situated4 ,they usually accompany the coron1 or luminous circles1 and are placed in the same circumference1 and at the same height4 ,their colors resemble that of the rainbow2 the red and yellow are towards the side of the sun1 and the blue and violet on the other4 ,there are1 however1 coron sometimes seen without parhelia1 and vice vers4 ,parhelia are double1 triple1 etc41 and in #afbi1 a parhelion of five suns was seen at ,rome1 and another of six suns at ,arles1 #afff4 #big ,there is a little uncertainty as to what this age was1 but it was probably about twenty-five4 #bih ,cicero here gives a very exact and correct account of the planetarium of ,archimedes1 which is so often noticed by the ancient astronomers4 ,it no doubt corresponded in a great measure to our modern planetarium1 or orrery1 invented by the earl of that name4 ,this elaborate machine1 whose manufacture requires the most exact and critical science1 is of the greatest service to those who study the revolutions of the stars1 for astronomic1 astrologic1 or meteorologic purposes4 #bii ,the end of the fourteenth chapter and the first words of the fifteenth are lost2 but it is plain that in the fifteenth it is ,scipio who is speaking4 #cjj ,there is evidently some error in the text here1 for ,ennius was born #eae ,a4,u4,c41 was a personal friend of the elder ,africanus1 and died about #ege ,a4,u4,c41 so that it is plain that we ought to read in the text #eej1 not #cej4 #cja ,two pages are lost here4 ,afterward it is again ,scipio who is speaking4 #cjb ,two pages are lost here4 #cjc ,both ,ennius and ,nvius wrote tragedies called ,iphigenia4 ,mai thinks the text here corrupt1 and expresses some doubt whether there is a quotation here at all4 #cjd ,he means ,scipio himself4 #cje ,there is again a hiatus4 ,what follows is spoken by ,llius4 #cjf ,again two pages are lost4 #cjg ,again two pages are lost4 ,it is evident that ,scipio is speaking again in cap4 xxxi4 #cjh ,again two pages are lost4 #cji ,again two pages are lost4 #caj ,here four pages are lost4 #caa ,here four pages are lost4 #cab ,two pages are missing here4 #cac ,a name of ,neptune4 #cad ,about seven lines are lost here1 and there is a great deal of corruption and imperfection in the next few sentences4 #cae ,two pages are lost here4 #caf ,the ,lex ,curiata de ,imperio1 so often mentioned here1 was the same as the ,auctoritas ,patrum1 and was necessary in order to confer upon the dictator1 consuls1 and other magistrates the imperium1 or military command3 without this they had only a potestas1 or civil authority1 and could not meddle with military affairs4 #cag ,two pages are missing here4 #cah ,here two pages are missing4 #cai ,i have translated this very corrupt passage according to ,niebuhr's emendation4 #cbj ,assiduus1 ab re dando4 #cba ,proletarii1 a prole4 #cbb ,here four pages are missing4 #cbc ,two pages are missing here4 #cbd ,two pages are missing here4 #cbe ,here twelve pages are missing4 #cbf ,sixteen pages are missing here4 #cbg ,here eight pages are missing4 #cbh ,a great many pages are missing here4 #cbi ,several pages are lost here2 the passage in brackets is found in ,nonius under the word exulto4 #ccj ,this and other chapters printed in smaller type are generally presumed to be of doubtful authenticity4 #cca ,the beginning of this book is lost4 ,the two first paragraphs come1 the one from ,st4 ,augustine1 the other from ,lactantius4 #ccb ,eight or nine pages are lost here4 #ccc ,here six pages are lost4 #ccd ,here twelve pages are missing4 #cce ,we have been obliged to insert two or three of these sentences between brackets1 which are not found in the original1 for the sake of showing the drift of the arguments of ,philus4 ,he himself was fully convinced that justice and morality were of eternal and immutable obligation1 and that the best interests of all beings lie in their perpetual development and application4 ,this eternity of ,justice is beautifully illustrated by ,montesquieu4 ,long1 says he1 before positive laws were instituted1 the moral relations of justice were absolute and universal4 ,to say that there were no justice or injustice but that which depends on the injunctions or prohibitions of positive laws1 is to say that the radii which spring from a centre are not equal till we have formed a circle to illustrate the proposition4 ,we must1 therefore1 acknowledge that the relations of equity were antecedent to the positive laws which corroborated them4 ,but though ,philus was fully convinced of this1 in order to give his friends ,scipio and ,llius an opportunity of proving it1 he frankly brings forward every argument for injustice that sophistry had ever cast in the teeth of reason4--,by the original ,translator4 #ccf ,here four pages are missing4 ,the following sentence is preserved in ,nonius4 #ccg ,two pages are missing here4 #cch ,several pages are missing here4 #cci ,he means ,alexander the ,great4 #cdj ,six or eight pages are lost here4 #cda ,a great many pages are missing here4 #cdb ,six or eight pages are missing here4 #cdc ,several pages are lost here4 #cdd ,this and the following chapters are not the actual words of ,cicero1 but quotations by ,lactantius and ,augustine of what they affirm that he said4 #cde ,twelve pages are missing here4 #cdf ,eight pages are missing here4 #cdg ,six or eight pages are missing here4 #cdh ,catadupa1 from ,greek3 kata and ,greek3 doipos1 noise4