§103.1Quid ista circumspicis, quae tibi possunt fortasse evenire, sed possunt et non evenire? Incendium dico, ruinam, alia, quae nobis incidunt, non insidiantur; illa potius vide, illa devita, quae nos observant, quae captant.
Why do you look around at those things which can perhaps happen to you, but can also not happen? I mean fire, collapse, and other things which fall upon us but do not lie in wait for us; look rather at those things, avoid those things which watch us, which target us.
Rariores sunt casus, etiam si graves, naufragium facere, vehiculo everti; ab homine homini cotidianum periculum.
Shipwreck and being thrown from a carriage, even if serious, are rarer occurrences; danger from man to man is a daily affair.
Adversus hoc te expedi, hoc intentis oculis intuere.
Prepare yourself against this, look upon this with intent eyes.
Nullum est malum frequentius, nullum pertinacius, nullum blandius.
No evil is more frequent, none more persistent, none more flattering.
§103.2Ac tempestas minatur antequam surgat, crepant aedificia antequam corruant, praenuntiat fumus incendium; subita est ex homine pernicies et eo diligentius tegitur, quo propius accedit.
And a storm threatens before it rises, buildings creak before they fall, smoke foretells fire; ruin from man is sudden, and it is concealed all the more carefully the closer it approaches.
Erras, si istorum tibi qui occurrunt vultibus credis; hominum effigies habent, animos ferarum, nisi quod illarum perniciosus est primus incursus; quos transiere, non quaerunt.
You are mistaken if you trust the faces of those who meet you; they have the form of men, but the hearts of wild beasts, except that the first charge of wild beasts is the dangerous one, and they do not seek out those whom they have passed.
Numquam enim illas ad nocendum nisi necessitas incitat; aut fame aut timore coguntur ad pugnam; homini perdere hominem libet.
For necessity never incites them to harm; they are forced into battle either by hunger or by fear; but for man, it is a pleasure to destroy man.
§103.3Tu tamen ita cogita, quod ex homine periculum sit, ut cogites, quod sit hominis officium.
Yet, think of the danger that comes from man in such a way that you also think of what the duty of man is.
Alterum intuere, ne laedaris, alterum ne laedas.
Look upon the one so that you may not be harmed, and upon the other so that you may not harm.
Commodis omnium laeteris, movearis incommodis et memineris, quae praestare debeas, quae cavere.
Rejoice in the advantages of all, be moved by their disadvantages, and remember what you ought to perform and what you ought to avoid.
§103.4Sic vivendo quid consequaris? Non te ne noceant, sed ne fallant.
By living in this way, what will you achieve? Not that they will not harm you, but that they will not deceive you.
Quantum potes autem, in philosophiam recede: illa te sinu suo proteget, in huius sacrario eris aut tutus aut tutior.
As much as you can, however, retreat into philosophy: she will protect you in her bosom; in her sanctuary, you will be either safe or safer.
Non arietant inter se nisi in eadem ambulantes via.
Men do not collide with one another unless they are walking in the same path.
Ipsam autem philosophiam non debebis iactare; multis fuit periculi causa insolenter tractata et contumaciter.
But you must not boast of philosophy itself; for many, when treated insolently and stubbornly, it has been the cause of danger.
§103.5Tibi vitia detrahat, non aliis exprobret.
Let it strip away your own vices, not reproach those of others.
Non abhorreat a publicis moribus nec hoc agat, ut quicquid non facit, damnare videatur.
Let it not shrink from public customs, nor act in such a way as to seem to condemn whatever it does not do.
Licet sapere sine pompa, sine invidia.
One is permitted to be wise without display, and without envy.
VALE.
FAREWELL.