§5.33"o(/ti mo/nos o(sofo\s e)leu/qeros kai\ pa=s a)/frwn dou=los"
""
laudetur vero hic imperator aut etiam appelletur aut hoc nomine dignus putetur.
"o(/ti mo/nos o(sofo\s e)leu/qeros kai\ pa=s a)/frwn dou=los" "" Indeed, let this general be praised, or even so called, or let him be thought worthy of this name.
quo modo aut cui tandem hic libero imperabit, qui non potest cupiditatibus suis imperare? refrenet primum libidines, spernat voluptates, iracundiam teneat, coerceat avaritiam, ceteras animi labis repellat;
But how or to what free man, pray, will this man command, who cannot command his own desires? Let him first restrain his lusts, despise pleasures, hold back his anger, coerce his avarice, and repel the other blemishes of the mind; then let him begin to command others, when he himself has ceased to obey the most wicked masters, disgrace and baseness.
tum incipiat aliis imperare, cum ipse inprobissimis dominis, dedecori ac turpitudini, parere desierit: dum quidem iis oboediet, non modo imperator, sed liber habendus omnino non erit.
Indeed, as long as he obeys them, he must not only not be held a general, but not even be held free at all.
praeclare enim est hoc usurpatum a doctissimis - quorum ego auctoritate non uterer, si mihi apud aliquos agrestis haec habenda esset oratio; cum vero apud prudentissimos loquar, quibus haec inaudita non sint, cur ego simulem me, si quid in his studiis operae posuerim, perdidisse? — dictum est igitur ab eruditissimis viris nisi sapientem liberum esse neminem.
For this has been excellently maintained by the most learned men—whose authority I would not use if this speech of mine had to be delivered before some rustic people; but since I am speaking before the most sagacious men, to whom these things are not unheard of, why should I pretend that I have lost whatever effort I have put into these studies? —Therefore, it has been said by the most erudite men that no one is free except the wise man.
§5.34quid est enim libertas? potestas vivendi, ut velis.
For what is liberty? The power of living as you wish.
quis igitur vivit, ut volt, nisi qui recte vivit, qui gaudet officio, cui vivendi via considerata atque provisa est? qui ne legibus quidem propter metum paret, sed eas sequitur et colit, quod id salutare esse maxime iudicat; qui nihil dicit, nihil facit, nihil cogitat denique nisi lubenter ac libere; cuius omnia consilia resque omnes, quas gerit, ab ipso proficiscuntur eodemque referuntur, nec est ulla res, quae plus apud eum polleat quam ipsius voluntas atque iudicium; cui quidem etiam, quae vim habere maximam dicitur, Fortuna ipsa cedit, si, ut sapiens poeta dixit,
"suis ea cuique fingitur moribus. "
soli igitur hoc contingit sapienti, ut nihil faciat invitus, nihil dolens, nihil coactus.
Who then lives as he wishes, except he who lives rightly, who rejoices in duty, whose way of living has been considered and foreseen? Who obeys the laws not out of fear, but follows and respects them because he judges that to be most salutary; who says nothing, does nothing, and finally thinks nothing except willingly and freely; whose every plan and all things which he does proceed from himself and are referred back to himself, nor is there any thing which has more power with him than his own will and judgment; to whom indeed even Fortune herself, which is said to have the greatest power, yields, if, as the wise poet said, "Each man's fortune is fashioned by his own character." Therefore, it happens to the wise man alone that he does nothing unwillingly, nothing sorrowing, nothing compelled.
§5.35quod etsi ita esse pluribus verbis disserendum est, illud tamen et breve et confitendum est, nisi qui ita sit adfectus, esse liberum neminem.
And although this must be discussed with more words, that other point is both brief and must be confessed, that no one is free unless he is so disposed.
servi igitur omnes inprobi;
Therefore, all wicked men are slaves; nor is this so unexpected and wonderful in reality as it is in saying.
nec hoc tam re est quam dictu inopinatum atque mirabile: non enim ita dicunt eos esse servos, ut mancipia, quae sunt dominorum facta nexo aut aliquo iure civili, sed, si servitus sit, sicut est, oboedientia fracti animi et abiecti et arbitrio carentis suo, quis neget omnis levis, omnis cupidos, omnis denique inprobos esse servos?
For they do not say that they are slaves in the manner of bond-slaves, who have become the property of their masters by debt or by some civil law; but, if slavery is, as indeed it is, the obedience of a broken and abject mind lacking its own judgment, who would deny that all fickle men, all covetous men, and finally all wicked men are slaves?
§5.36an ille mihi liber, cui mulier imperat? cui leges inponit, praescribit, iubet, vetat quod videtur? qui nihil imperanti negare potest, nihil recusare audet? poscit, dandum est;
Or is he free to me, whom a woman commands? On whom she imposes laws, prescribes, orders, and forbids what she pleases? Who can deny nothing to her commanding, who dares refuse nothing?
vocat, veniendum; eicit, abeundum; minatur, extimescendum.
She demands, it must be given; she calls, he must come; she casts him out, he must depart; she threatens, he must tremble.
ego vero istum non modo servum, sed nequissimum servum, etiam si in amplissima familia natus sit, appellandum puto.
Indeed, I think that man should be called not only a slave, but the most worthless slave, even if he was born in a most distinguished family.
atque in pari stultitia sunt, quos signa, quos tabulae, quos caelatum argentum, quos Corinthia opera, quos aedificia magnifica nimio opere delectant.
And those whom statues, pictures, chased silver, Corinthian works, and magnificent buildings delight excessively are in equal foolishness.
"at sumus"
inquit
"principes civitatis. "
vos vero ne conservorum quidem vestrorum principes estis;
"But we are," he says, "the leaders of the state." You indeed are not even leaders of your fellow-slaves;