§116.1Utrum satius sit modicos habere adfectus an nullos, saepe quaesitum est.
Whether it is better to have moderate emotions or none at all, has often been asked.
Nostri illos expellunt, Peripatetici temperant.
Our school banishes them, the Peripatetics temper them.
Ego non video, quomodo salubris esse aut utilis possit ulla mediocritas morbi.
I do not see how any moderation of a disease can be healthy or useful.
Noli timere; nihil eorum, quae tibi non vis negari, eripio.
Do not fear; I am snatching away nothing of those things which you do not wish to be denied to you.
Facilem me indulgentemque praebebo rebus, ad quas tenetis et quas aut necessarias vitae aut utiles aut iucundas putas; detraham vitium.
I shall show myself easy and indulgent toward those things to which you cling, and which you think either necessary, useful, or pleasant for life; I shall only withdraw the vice.
Nam cum tibi cupere interdixero, velle permittam, ut eadem illa intrepidus facias, ut certiore consilio, ut voluptates ipsas magis sentias; quidni ad te magis perventurae sint, si illis imperabis, quam si servies?
For when I forbid you to desire, I shall permit you to will, so that you may do those very same things without fear, with surer counsel, and that you may feel the pleasures themselves more; why should they not come to you more, if you command them, than if you serve them?
§116.2"Sed naturale est," inquis, "ut desiderio amici torquear; da ius lacrimis tam iuste cadentibus.
"But it is natural," you say, "to be tortured by the longing for a friend; give due right to tears falling so justly.
Naturale est opinionibus hominum tangi et adversis contristari; quare mihi non permittas hunc tam honestum malae opinionis metum? "Nullum est vitium sine patrocinio; nulli non initium verecundum est et exorabile, sed ab hoc latius funditur.
It is natural to be touched by the opinions of men and to be saddened by adversity; why do you not permit me this so honorable fear of a bad reputation?" There is no vice without a defender; every vice has a modest and exorable beginning, but from this it spreads more widely.
Non obtinebis, ut desinat, si incipere permiseris.
You will not obtain that it should end, if you permit it to begin.
§116.3Inbecillus est primo omnis adfectus.
Every emotion is weak at first.
Deinde ipse se concitat et vires, dum procedit, parat; excluditur facilius quam expellitur.
Then it rouses itself and gathers strength as it proceeds; it is shut out more easily than it is expelled.
Quis negat omnis adfectus a quodam quasi naturali fluere principio? Curam nobis nostri natura mandavit, sed huic ubi nimium indulseris, vitium est.
Who denies that all emotions flow from a certain, as it were, natural principle? Nature has committed to us the care of ourselves, but when you indulge in this too much, it is a vice.
voluptatem natura necessariis rebus admiscuit, non ut illam peteremus, sed ut ea, sine quibus non possumus vivere, grata nobis illius faceret accessio; suo veniat iure, luxuria est.
Nature has mixed pleasure with necessary things, not that we should seek it, but that its addition should make those things without which we cannot live pleasant to us; if it should come by its own right, it is luxury.
Ergo intrantibus resistamus, quia facilius, ut dixi, non recipiuntur quam exeunt.
Therefore, let us resist them as they enter, because, as I have said, they are more easily not admitted than sent out.
"Aliquatenus," inquis, "dolere, aliquatenus timere permitte"; sed illud "aliquatenus "longe producitur nec ubi vis, accipit finem.
"Permit me to grieve to some extent, and to fear to some extent," you say; but that "to some extent" is drawn out far, and does not accept an end where you wish.
§116.4Sapienti non sollicite custodire se tutum est, et lacrimas suas et voluptates ubi volet sistet; nobis quia non est regredi facile, optimum est omnino non progredi.
For the wise man, to guard himself is safe without anxiety, and he will stop his tears and his pleasures where he wishes; for us, since retreat is not easy, it is best not to progress at all.
§116.5Eleganter mihi videtur Panaetius respondisse adulescentulo cuidam quaerenti, an sapiens amaturus esset.
Panaetius seems to me to have answered elegantly to a certain young man asking whether the wise man would love.
"De sapiente," inquit, "videbimus; mihi et tibi, qui adhuc a sapiente longe absumus, non est committendum, ut incidamus in rem commotam, inpotentem, alteri emancupatam, vilem sibi.
"Concerning the wise man," he said, "we shall see; for me and you, who are still far removed from the wise man, we must not commit ourselves to falling into a state turbulent, powerless, enslaved to another, worthless to itself.
Sive enim non respuit, humanitate eius inritamur, sive contempsit, superbia accendimur.
For if she does not reject us, we are provoked by her kindness, or if she despises us, we are inflamed by her pride.
Aeque facilitas amoris quam difficultas nocet; facilitate capimur, cum difficultate certamus.
The ease of love harms as much as its difficulty; we are captured by ease, and we contend with difficulty.
Itaque conscii nobis inbecillitatis nostrae quiescamus.
Therefore, conscious of our weakness, let us remain quiet.
Nec vino infirmum animum committamus nec formae nec adulationi nec ullis rebus blande trahentibus. " §116.6Quod Panaetius de amore quaerenti respondit, hoc ego de omnibus adfectibus dico.
Nor let us commit our weak mind to wine, nor to beauty, nor to flattery, nor to any things that drag us flatteringly." What Panaetius answered to the inquirer about love, this I say about all emotions.
Quantum possumus, nos a lubrico recedamus; in sicco quoque parum fortiter stamus.
As much as we can, let us withdraw from the slippery place; even on dry ground we stand none too firmly.
§116.7Occurres hoc loco mihi illa publica contra Stoicos voce: "Nimis magna promittitis, nimis dura praecipitis.
You will oppose me at this point with that common voice against the Stoics: "You promise too great things, you command too hard things.
Nos homunciones sumus, omnia nobis negare non possumus.
We are mere puny men, we cannot deny ourselves everything.
Dolebimus, sed parum; concupiscemus, sed temperate; irascemur, sed placabimur. "Scis, quare non possumus ista?
We shall grieve, but only a little; we shall desire, but temperately; we shall be angry, but we shall be appeased." Do you know why we cannot do those things?
§116.8Quia nos posse non credimus.
Because we do not believe we can.
Immo mehercules aliud est in re: vitia nostra quia amamus, defendimus et malumus excusare illa quam excutere.
Indeed, by Hercules, there is another thing in the matter: because we love our vices, we defend them and prefer to excuse them rather than shake them off.
Satis natura homini dedit roboris, si illo utamur, si vires nostras colligamus ac totas pro nobis, certe non contra nos concitemus.
Nature has given enough strength to man, if we would use it, if we would collect our forces and rouse them all for us, certainly not against us.
Nolle in causa est, non posse praetenditur.
Unwillingness is the cause, inability is pretended.
VALE.
FAREWELL.