§64.1Fuisti here nobiscum.
You were with us yesterday.
Potes queri, si here tantum.
You can complain, if only yesterday.
Ideo adieci "nobiscum. "Mecum enim semper es.
That is why I added "with us." For you are always with me.
Intervenerant quidam amici, propter quos maior fumus fieret, non hic, qui erumpere ex lautorum culinis et terrere vigiles solet, sed hic modicus, qui hospites venisse significet.
Some friends had dropped in, on whose account a larger smoke would rise—not that smoke which is accustomed to burst from the kitchens of the luxurious and terrify the watchmen, but this moderate one, which indicates that guests have arrived.
§64.2Varius nobis fuit sermo, ut in convivio, nullam rem usque ad exitum adducens, sed aliunde alio transiliens.
Our conversation was varied, as is typical at a banquet, bringing no subject to a conclusion, but leaping from one topic to another.
Lectus est deinde liber Quinti Sextii patris, magni, si quid mihi credis, viri et, licet neget, Stoici.
Then a book of Quintus Sextius the father was read, a great man, if you believe me at all, and, although he may deny it, a Stoic.
§64.3Quantus in illo, di boni, vigor est, quantum animi! Hoc non in omnibus philosophis invenies;
What vigor there is in him, good gods, what spirit!
quorundam scripta clarum habentium nomen exanguia sunt.
This you will not find in all philosophers; the writings of some who have a famous name are bloodless.
Instituunt, disputant, cavillantur, non faciunt animum, quia non habent; cum legeris Sextium, dices: "Vivit, viget, liber est, supra hominem est, dimittit me plenum ingentis fiduciae. "
They instruct, they dispute, they cavil, they do not create spirit, because they do not have it; when you read Sextius, you will say: "He lives, he is vigorous, he is free, he is above man, he dismisses me full of immense confidence." In what state of mind I am when I read him, I will confess to you: I want to challenge every fortune, I want to exclaim: "Why do you delay, Fortune?
§64.4In qua positione mentis sim, cum hunc lego, fatebor tibi: libet omnis casus provocare, libet exclamare: "Quid cessas, fortuna? Congredere; paratum vides. "Illius animum induo, qui quaerit, ubi se experiatur, ubi virtutem suam ostendat, Spumantemque dari pecora inter inertia votis Optat aprum aut fulvum descendere monte leonem. §64.5Libet aliquid habere quod vincam, cuius patientia exercear.
Step forward; you see me ready." I put on the mind of him who seeks where he may test himself, where he may display his virtue, and "wishes that among the sluggish herds a foaming boar might be granted to his prayers, or a tawny lion descend from the mountain." I want to have something to conquer, through the endurance of which I may be exercised.
Nam hoc quoque egregium Sextius habet, quod et ostendet tibi beatae vitae magnitudinem et desperationem eius non faciet; scies esse illam in excelso, sed volenti penetrabilem.
For Sextius has this excellent quality too, that he will both show you the greatness of the happy life and yet not make you despair of it; you will know that it is on a high place, but accessible to one who wills.
§64.6Hoc idem virtus tibi ipsa praestabit, ut illam admireris et, tamen speres.
Virtue itself will perform this same service for you, so that you admire it and yet hope for it.
Mihi certe multum auferre temporis solet contemplatio ipsa sapientiae; non aliter illam intueor obstupefactus quam ipsum interim mundum, quem saepe tamquam spectator novus video.
For my part, the contemplation of wisdom itself is accustomed to take up much of my time; I look upon it in amazement, in no other way than I sometimes look upon this universe itself, which I often view as if I were a new spectator.
§64.7Veneror itaque inventa sapientiae inventoresque; adire tamquam multorum hereditatem iuvat.
And so I revere the discoveries of wisdom and their discoverers; it is a pleasure to enter upon them as if they were the inheritance of many.
Mihi ista adquisita, mihi laborata sunt.
For me those things were acquired, for me they were labored for.
Sed agamus bonum patrem familiae; faciamus ampliora, quae accepimus.
But let us act like a good father of a family; let us make larger what we have received.
Maior ista hereditas a me ad posteros transeat.
Let this heritage pass from me to posterity increased.
Multum adhuc restat operis multumque restabit, nec ulli nato post mille saecula praecludetur occasio aliquid adhuc adiciendi.
Much work remains and much will remain, nor will any person born after a thousand ages be shut out from the opportunity of adding something further.
§64.8Sed etiam si omnia a veteribus inventa sunt, hoc semper novum erit, usus et inventorum ab aliis scientia ac dispositio.
But even if all things have been discovered by the ancients, this will always be new: the use, and the knowledge and arrangement of what has been discovered by others.
Puta relicta nobis medicamenta, quibus sanarentur oculi; non opus est mihi alia quaerere, sed haec tamen morbis et temporibus aptanda sunt.
Suppose that remedies have been left to us, by which our eyes might be healed; I do not need to seek others, yet these must be adapted to the diseases and the occasions.
Hoc asperitas oculorum conlevatur; hoc palpebrarum crassitudo tenuatur; hoc vis subita et umor avertitur; hoc acuetur visus;
By this one the irritation of the eyes is relieved; by this one the thickness of the eyelids is thinned; by this one sudden attack and discharge is averted; by this one the vision will be sharpened.
teras ista oportet et eligas tempus, adhibeas singulis modum.
You must rub those remedies, and choose the right time, and apply the proper measure to each.
Animi remedia inventa sunt ab antiquis; quomodo autem admoveantur aut quando, nostri operis est quaerere.
The remedies of the mind have been found by the ancients; but how they should be applied, or when, is our task to inquire.
§64.9Multum egerunt, qui ante nos fuerunt, sed non peregerunt.
Those who were before us did much, but they did not finish the work.
Suspiciendi tamen sunt et ritu deorum colendi.
Yet they are to be looked up to and worshipped in the manner of gods.
Quidni ego magnorum virorum et imagines habeam incitamenta animi et natales celebrem? Quidni ego illos honoris causa semper appellem? Quam venerationem praeceptoribus meis debeo, eandem illis praeceptoribus generis humani, a quibus tanti boni initia fluxerunt.
Why should I not have the images of great men as incentives for my spirit and celebrate their birthdays? Why should I not always name them for the sake of honor? The same veneration that I owe to my own teachers, I owe to those teachers of the human race, from whom the beginnings of so great a good have flowed.
§64.10Si consulem videro aut praetorem, omnia, quibus honor haberi honori solet, faciam; equo desiliam, caput adaperiam, semita cedam.
If I see a consul or a praetor, I shall do all those things by which honor is customarily shown to office: I shall leap down from my horse, uncover my head, and give way from the path.
Quid ergo? Marcum Catonem utrumque et Laelium Sapientem et Socraten cum Platone et Zenonem Cleanthenque in animum meum sine dignatione summa recipiam? Ego vero illos veneror et tantis nominibus semper adsurgo.
What then? Shall I receive into my mind both Marcus Catos, and Laelius the Wise, and Socrates with Plato, and Zeno and Cleanthes, without the highest reverence? Indeed, I venerate them and always rise to such great names.
VALE.
FAREWELL.