§67.7"Quis tamen umquam hoc sibi optavit? "Quaedam vota aperta et professa sunt, cum particulatim fiunt, quaedam latent, cum uno voto multa conprensa sunt.
"Yet who ever wished this for himself?" (you will say). Some wishes are open and professed when they are made in detail; some are hidden when many things are comprehended in a single wish.
Tamquam opto mihi vitam honestam.
For instance, I wish for myself an honorable life.
Vita autem honesta actionibus variis constat; in hac est Reguli arca, Catonis scissum manu sua vulnus, Rutili exilium, calix venenatus, qui Socraten transtulit e carcere in caelum.
But an honorable life consists of various actions; in this is the box of Regulus, the wound of Cato torn open by his own hand, the exile of Rutilius, the poisoned cup which transferred Socrates from prison to heaven.
Ita cum optavi mihi vitam honestam, et haec optavi, sine quibus interdum honesta non potest esse.
Therefore, when I wished for myself an honorable life, I also wished for these things, without which at times an honorable life cannot exist.
§67.8"
O terque quaterque beati. Quis ante ora patrum Troiae sub moenibus altis
Contigit oppetere!
"
Quid interest, optes hoc alicui an optabile fuisse fatearis?
"O thrice and four times blessed, Whose lot it was to meet death before the faces of their fathers Under the high walls of Troy! "What difference does it make whether you wish this for someone or confess that it was desirable for them?
§67.9Decius se pro re publica devovit; in medios hostes concitato equo mortem petens inruit.
Decius devoted himself for the republic; spurring his horse, he rushed into the midst of the enemy, seeking death.
Alter post hunc, paternae virtutis aemulus, conceptis sollemnibus ac iam familiaribus verbis in aciem confertissiman incucurrit, de hoc sollicitus tantum, ut litaret, optabilem rem putans bonam mortem.
Another after him, a rival of his father's virtue, having pronounced the solemn and by now family-standard words, charged into the thickest of the battle line, concerned only about this, that his sacrifice might be acceptable, thinking a noble death a desirable thing.
Dubitas ergo, an optimum sit memorabilem mori et in aliquo opere virtutis?
Do you doubt, then, whether it is best to die in a memorable way and in some work of virtue?
§67.10Cum aliquis tormenta fortiter patitur, omnibus virtutibus utitur.
When anyone endures tortures bravely, he makes use of all virtues.
Fortasse una in promptu sit et maxime appareat patientia.
Perhaps one, namely patience, is in readiness and is most apparent.
Ceterum illic est fortitudo, cuius patientia et perpessio et tolerantia rami sunt.
But there is courage, of which patience, endurance, and tolerance are branches.
Illic est prudentia, sine qua nullum initur consilium, quae suadet, quod effugere non possis, quam fortissime ferre.
There is prudence, without which no plan is undertaken, which advises you to bear as bravely as possible what you cannot escape.
Illic est constantia, quae deici loco non potest et propositum nulla vi extorquente dimittit.
There is constancy, which cannot be cast down from its position and abandons its purpose under no extorting force.
Illic est individuus ille comitatus virtutum: quicquid honeste fit, una virtus facit, sed ex consilii sententia.
There is that inseparable company of virtues: whatever is done honorably, a single virtue does it, but in accordance with the judgment of the council.
Quod autem ab omnibus virtutibus conprobatur, etiam si ab una fieri videtur, optabile est.
But what is approved by all virtues, even if it seems to be done by one, is desirable.
§67.11Quid? Tu existimas ea tantum optabilia esse, quae per voluptatem et otium veniunt, quae excipiuntur foribus ornatis? Sunt quaedam tristis voltus bona.
What? Do you think that those things only are desirable which come through pleasure and leisure, which are welcomed at decorated doors? There are some goods of a grim countenance.
Sunt quaedam vota, quae non gratulantium coetu, sed adorantium venerantiumque celebrantur.
There are some wishes which are celebrated not by a crowd of people offering congratulations, but of those adoring and venerating.
§67.12Ita tu non putas Regulum optasse, ut ad Poenos perveniret? Indue magni viri animum et ab opinionibus volgi secede paulisper.
So you do not think that Regulus wished to reach the Carthaginians? Put on the mind of a great man and withdraw for a little while from the opinions of the common crowd.
Cape, quantam debes, virtutis pulcherrimae ac magnificentissimae speciem, quae nobis non ture nec sertis, sed sudore et sanguine colenda est.
Take, as fully as you ought, the likeness of that most beautiful and magnificent virtue, which must be worshiped by us not with incense or garlands, but with sweat and blood.
§67.13Adspice M. Catonem sacro illi pectori purissimas manus admoventem et vulnera parum alte demissa laxantem.
Look at Marcus Cato applying his most pure hands to that sacred breast and tearing open the wounds that were not deep enough.
Utrum tandem illi dicturus es "vellem quae velles "et "moleste fero" an "feliciter quod agis"?
Will you, pray, say to him "I could wish what you wished" and "I am sorry," or "Success to what you do"?
§67.14Hoc loco mihi Demetrius noster occurrit, qui vitam securam et sine ullis fortunae incursionibus mare mortuum vocat. Nihil habere, ad quod exciteris, ad quod te concites, cuius denuntiatione et incursu firmitatem animi tui temptes, sed in otio inconcusso iacere non est tranquillitas; malacia est.
At this point our friend Demetrius occurs to me, who calls a life secure and without any incursions of fortune a "dead sea." To have nothing to excite you, nothing to urge you on, nothing by whose threat and attack you may test the firmness of your mind, but to lie in undisturbed leisure, is not tranquility; it is a dead calm.
§67.15Attalus Stoicus dicere solebat: "malo me fortuna in castris suis quam in deliciis habeat.
Attalus the Stoic used to say: "I prefer that fortune keep me in its camp rather than in its pleasures.
Torqueor, sed fortiter; bene est.
I am tortured, but bravely; it is well.
Occidor, sed fortiter; bene est. "Audi Epicurum, dicet et "dulce est. "Ego tam honestae rei ac severae numquam molle nomen inponam.
I am killed, but bravely; it is well." Listen to Epicurus; he will even say "It is sweet." I will never bestow a soft name upon so honorable and severe a matter.
§67.16Uror, sed invictus.
I am burned, but undefeated.
Quidni hoc optabile putem — non quod urit me ignis, sed quod non vincit? Nihil est virtute praestantius, nihil pulchrius.
Why should I not think this desirable — not because the fire burns me, but because it does not conquer me? Nothing is more excellent than virtue, nothing more beautiful.
Et bonum est et optabile, quicquid ex huius geritur imperio.
Whatever is done under its command is both good and desirable.
VALE.
FAREWELL.