§56.1Peream, si est tam necessarium quam videtur silentium in studia seposito.
May I perish if silence is as necessary as it seems for one who has withdrawn for study.
Ecce undique me varius clamor circumsonat.
Behold, from all sides a varied clamor resounds around me.
Supra ipsum balneum habito.
I live right above a bathhouse.
Propone nunc tibi omnia genera vocum, quae in odium possunt aures adducere: cum fortiores exercentur et manus plumbo graves iactant, cum aut laborant aut laborantem imitantur, gemitus audio, quotiens retentum spiritum remiserunt, sibilos et acerbissimas respirationes; cum in aliquem inertem et hac plebeia unctione contentum incidi, audio crepitum inlisae manus umeris, quae prout plana pervenit aut concava, ita sonum mutat.
Imagine now for yourself every kind of voice that can bring ears to hatred: when the stronger men exercise and swing hands heavy with lead, when they either toil or mimic one who toils, I hear groans, as often as they release their pent-up breath, and hisses and extremely harsh respirations; when I fall in with some lazy fellow who is content with this cheap massage, I hear the slap of a hand striking his shoulders, which changes its sound according as it lands flat or cupped.
Si vero pilicrepus supervenit et numerare coepit pilas, actum est.
But if a ball-player comes along and begins to count the balls, it is all over.
§56.2Adice nunc scordalum et furem deprensum et illum, cui vox sua in balineo placet.
Add now the brawler, and the thief caught in the act, and the man who is pleased with his own voice in the bath.
Adice nunc eos, qui in piscinam cum ingenti inpulsae aquae sono saliunt.
Add now those who leap into the pool with a huge splash of struck water.
Praeter istos, quorum, si nihil aliud, rectae voces sunt, alipilum cogita tenuem et stridulam vocem, quo sit notabilior, subinde exprimentem nec umquam tacentem, nisi dum vellit alas et alium pro se clamare cogit.
Besides these, whose voices are at least normal, think of the hair-plucker, constantly expressing a thin and shrill voice so that he may be more noticeable, and never keeping silent, except when he is plucking armpits and forcing someone else to shriek in his place.
Iam libari varias exclamationes et botularium et crustularium et omnes popinarum institores mercem sua quadam et insignita modulatione vendentis.
Then there are the various cries of the pastry-seller, the sausage-seller, the confectioner, and all the shopkeepers of the cookshops selling their wares with their own peculiar and distinctive modulation.
§56.3"O te," inquis, "ferreum aut surdum, cui mens inter tot clamores tam varios, tam dissonos constat, cum Chrysippum nostrum adsidua salutatio perducat ad mortem. "At mehercules ego istum fremitum non magis curo quam fluctum aut deiectum aquae, quamvis audiam cuidam genti hanc unam fuisse causam urbem suam transferendi, quod fragorem Nili cadentis ferre non potuit.
"O you," you say, "iron-willed or deaf, whose mind stands firm among so many clamors so varied, so discordant, while our Chrysippus is driven to death by constant salutations." But by Hercules, I care no more for that rumble than for a wave or a waterfall, although I hear that for a certain nation this was the sole reason for moving their city, because they could not bear the roar of the falling Nile.
§56.4Magis mihi videtur vox avocare quam crepitus.
It seems to me that a human voice distracts more than a mere noise.
Illa enim animum adducit, hic tantum aures implet ac verberat.
For the former draws the mind, while the latter only fills and beats upon the ears.
In his, quae me sine avocatione circumstrepunt, essedas transcurrentes pono et fabrum inquilinum et serrarium vicinum, aut hunc, qui ad Metam Sudantem tubulas experitur et tibias, nec cantat, sed exclamat.
Among those things which clatter around me without causing distraction, I place the passing carriages, the resident craftsman, the neighboring sawyer, or this man who, near the Meta Sudans, is testing trumpets and flutes, and does not play music but shrieks.
§56.5Etiamnunc molestior est mihi sonus, qui intermittitur subinde quam qui continuatur.
Even now, a sound that is interrupted now and then is more annoying to me than one that is continuous.
Sed iam me sic ad omnia ista duravi, ut audire vel pausarium possim voce acerbissima remigibus modos dantem.
But I have already so hardened myself against all these things, that I can even listen to the boatswain directing the rowers with his extremely harsh voice.
Animum enim cogo sibi intentum esse nec avocari ad externa; omnia licet foris resonent, dum intus nihil tumultus sit, dum inter se non rixentur cupiditas et timor, dum avaritia luxuriaque non dissideant nec altera alteram vexet.
For I force my mind to be intent upon itself and not to be distracted by external things; everything may resound outside, provided that there is no tumult within, as long as desire and fear do not quarrel with each other, as long as avarice and luxury are not at variance and one does not vex the other.
Nam quid prodest totius regionis silentium, si adfectus fremunt?
For what does the silence of a whole district profit, if the passions are raging?
§56.6"
Omnia noctis erant placida composta quiete.
"All things were settled in the gentle quiet of night.
"
Falsum est.
"This is false.
Nulla placida est quies, nisi qua ratio conposuit.
No quiet is gentle except that which reason has composed.
Nox exhibet molestiam, non tollit, et sollicitudines mutat.
Night displays annoyance, it does not remove it, and it changes anxieties.
Nam dormientium quoque insomnia tam turbulenta sunt quam dies.
For the dreams of those who sleep are also as turbulent as the day.
Illa tranquillitas vera est, in quam bona mens explicatur,
That is true tranquility into which a good mind unfolds.
§56.7Aspice illum, cui somnus laxae domus silentio quaeritur, cuius aures ne quis agitet sonus, omnis servorum turba conticuit et suspensum accedentium propius vestigium ponitur; huc nempe versatur atque illuc, somnum inter aegritudines levem captans.
Look at that man for whom sleep is sought in the silence of a spacious house, whose ears lest any sound should disturb, the whole crowd of slaves has fallen silent and the step of those approaching closer is placed suspensively; yet he tosses indeed this way and that, catching a light sleep amidst his anxieties.