§41.1Facis rem optimam et tibi salutarem, si, ut scribis, perseveras ire ad bonam mentem, quam stultum est optare, cum possis a te impetrare.
You are doing a very good thing and one salutary for yourself, if, as you write, you persevere in going toward a sound mind, which it is foolish to pray for when you can obtain it from yourself.
Non sunt ad caelum elevandae manus nec exorandus aedituus, ut nos ad aurem simulacri, quasi magis exaudiri possimus, admittat; prope est a te deus, tecum est, intus est.
Hands are not to be raised to heaven, nor is a temple-keeper to be entreated to admit us to the ear of the statue, as if we could be heard better; God is near you, He is with you, He is within.
' §41.2Ita dico, Lucili: sacer intra nos spiritus sedet, malorum honorumque nostrorum observator et custos.
I say this, Lucilius: a sacred spirit dwells within us, the observer and guardian of our evils and our goods.
Hic prout a nobis tractatus est, ita nos ipse tractat.
As this spirit has been treated by us, so it treats us in turn.
Bonus vero vir sine deo nemo est; an potest aliquis supra fortunam nisi ab illo adiutus exurgere? Ille dat consilia magnifica et erecta.
Indeed, no one is a good man without God; can anyone rise above fortune unless aided by Him? He gives noble and lofty counsels.
In unoquoque virorum bonorum
"
Quis deus incertum est, habitat deus. "
In every single one of good men, "What god it is is uncertain, but a god dwells.
§41.3Si tibi occurrerit vetustis arboribus et solitam altitudinem egressis frequens lucus et conspectum caeli ramorum aliorum alios protegentium summovens obtentu, illa proceritas silvae et secretum loci et admiratio umbrae in aperto tam densae atque continuae fidem tibi numinis faciet.
"If you come upon a thick grove of ancient trees that have surpassed their usual height, shutting out the view of the sky by the barrier of branches protecting one another, that loftiness of the forest, the solitude of the place, and the wonder of a shadow so dense and unbroken in the open will produce in you a belief in a deity.
Si quis specus saxis penitus exesis montem suspenderit, non manu factus, sed naturalibus causis in tantam laxitatem excavatus, animum tuum quadam religionis suspicione percutiet.
If some cave, with rocks deeply eaten away, supports a mountain, not made by hand but hollowed out by natural causes to such a vastness, it will strike your mind with a certain suspicion of religion.
Magnorum fluminum capita veneramur; subita ex abdito vasti amnis eruptio aras habet; coluntur aquarum calentium fontes, et stagna quaedam vel opacitas vel inmensa altitudo sacravit Si hominem videris interritum periculis, intactum cupiditatibus, inter adversa felicem, in mediis tempestatibus placidum, ex superiore loco homines videntem, ex aequo deos, non subibit te veneratio eius?
We venerate the sources of great rivers; the sudden burst of a vast stream from its hiding-place has its altars; the springs of hot waters are worshiped, and certain pools are consecrated either by their darkness or their immense depth. If you see a man unterrified by dangers, untouched by desires, happy in adversity, calm in the midst of storms, looking down upon men from a higher place, and upon gods on an equal footing, will not a veneration of him steal over you?
§41.4Non dices: "Ista res maior est altiorque quam ut credi similis huic, in quo est, corpusculo possit? Vis isto divina descendit. " §41.5Animum excellentem, moderatum, omnia tamquam minora transeuntem, quicquid timemus optamusque ridentem, caelestis potentia agitat.
Will you not say: "This thing is greater and higher than can be believed to be similar to this poor body in which it resides? A divine power has descended into it." A mind that is excellent, moderated, passing over all things as if they were minor, laughing at whatever we fear and desire, is driven by a heavenly power.
Non potest res tanta sine adminiculo numinis stare.
So great a thing cannot stand without the support of a deity.
Itaque maiore sui parte illic est, unde descendit.
Therefore, in its greater part, it is there from whence it descended.
Quemadmodum radii solis contingunt quidem terram, sed ibi sunt, unde mittuntur; sic animus magnus ac sacer et in hoc demissus, ut propius divina nossemus, conversatur quidem nobiscum, sed haeret origini suae; illinc pendet, illuc spectat ac nititur, nostris tamquam melior interest.
Just as the rays of the sun indeed touch the earth, but are in the place from whence they are sent; so a great and sacred mind, sent down into this body so that we might know divine things more closely, indeed converses with us, but clings to its origin; from there it hangs, thither it looks and strives, and is present among our affairs as a superior being.
§41.6Quis est ergo hic animus? Qui nullo bono nisi suo nitet; quid enim est stultius quam in homine aliena laudare? Quid eo dementius, qui ea miratur, quae ad alium transferri protinus possunt? Non faciunt meliorem equum aurei freni.
What, then, is this mind? It is one that shines with no good except its own; for what is more foolish than to praise in a man things that belong to another? What is more mad than he who admires those things which can immediately be transferred to someone else? Golden bridles do not make a horse better.
Aliter leo aurata iuba mittitur, dum contractatur et ad patientiam recipiendi ornamenti cogitur fatigatus, aliter incultus, integri spiritus;
In one way a lion with a gilded mane is sent in, while he is handled and, being exhausted, is forced to the patience of receiving ornament; in another way, an untamed one of unbroken spirit.
hic scilicet inpetu acer, qualem illum natura esse voluit, speciosus ex horrido, cuius hic decor est, non sine timore aspici, praefertur illi languido et bratteato.
The latter, to be sure, fierce in his attack, such as nature willed him to be, beautiful in his wildness, whose glory is this, to be looked upon not without fear, is preferred to that sluggish and gold-leafed one.
§41.7Nemo gloriari nisi suo debet.
No one ought to glory except in his own.
Vitem laudamus, si fructu palmites onerat, si ipsa pondere ad terram eorum, quae tulit, adminicula deducit; num quis huic illam praeferret vitem, cui aureae uvae, aurea folia dependent? Propria virtus est in vite fertilitas, in homine quoque id laudandum est, quod ipsius est.
We praise a vine if it loads its branches with fruit, if by the very weight of what it has borne it drags down its supports to the earth; would anyone prefer to this vine that one from which golden grapes and golden leaves hang? The proper virtue in a vine is fertility; in a man also, that which is his own ought to be praised.
Familiam formosam habet et domum pulchram, multum serit, multum fenerat; nihil horum in ipso est, sed circa ipsum.
He has a handsome household of slaves and a beautiful house, he sows much, he lends much on interest; none of these is in himself, but around him.
§41.8Lauda in illo, quod nec eripi potest nec dari, quod proprium hominis est.
Praise in him that which can neither be snatched away nor given, which is proper to man.
Quaeris quid sit? Animus et ratio in animo perfecta.
Do you ask what it is? It is the mind, and reason perfected in the mind.
Rationale enim animal est homo.
For man is a rational animal.
Consummatur itaque bonum eius, si id inplevit, cui nascitur.
Therefore, his good is consummated if he has fulfilled that for which he was born.
§41.9Quid est autem, quod ab illo ratio haec exigat? Rem facillimam, secundum naturam suam vivere.
But what is it that this reason demands of him? A very easy thing, to live according to his own nature.
Sed hanc difficilem facit communis insania; in vitia alter alterum trudimus.
But common madness makes this difficult; we push one another into vices.
Quomodo autem revocari ad salutem possunt, quos nemo retinet, populus inpellit? VALE.
How, moreover, can those be recalled to safety whom no one holds back, and the crowd drives forward? FAREWELL.