§2.1"Quare multa bonis viris adversa eveniunt? "Nihil accidere bono viro mali potest; non miscentur contraria.
"Why do many adversities happen to good men?" No evil can happen to a good man; contraries do not mix.
Quemadmodum tot amnes, tantum superne deiectorum imbrium, tanta medicatorum vis fontium non mutant saporem maris, ne remittunt quidem, ita adversarum impetus rerum viri fortis non vertit animum.
Just as so many rivers, so much rain poured down from above, so great a force of medicinal springs do not change the taste of the sea, nor even weaken it, so the onset of adversities does not turn the mind of a brave man.
Manet in statu et quicquid evenit in suum colorem trahit; est enim omnibus externis potentior.
He remains in his state and turns whatever happens into his own color; for he is more powerful than all external things.
§2.2Nec hoc dico: non sentit illa, sed vincit et alioqui quietus placidusque contra incurrentia attollitur.
Nor do I say this: that he does not feel them, but he conquers them and, otherwise quiet and placid, rises up against what rushes upon him.
Omnia adversa exercitationes putat.
He regards all adversities as exercises.
Quis autem, vir modo et erectus ad honesta, non est laboris adpetens iusti et ad officia eum periculo promptus? Cui non industrio otium poena est?
Who, indeed, provided he is a man and upright toward honorable things, is not eager for just toil and ready for duties with danger? To what industrious man is leisure not a punishment?
§2.3Athletas videmus, quibus virium cura est, eum fortissimis quibusque confligere et exigere ab is per quos certamini praeparantur, ut totis contra ipsos viribus utantur; caedi se vexarique patiuntur et si non inveniunt singulos pares, pluribus simul obiciuntur.
We see athletes, whose care is for their strength, clash with all the strongest competitors and demand of those by whom they are prepared for the contest that they use their full strength against them; they allow themselves to be beaten and harassed, and if they do not find individuals who are a match, they are pitted against several at once.
Marcet sine adversario virtus; §2.4tunc apparet quanta sit quantumque polleat, cum quid possit patientia ostendit.
Virtue withers without an adversary; then it appears how great it is and how much it prevails, when patience shows what it can do.
Scias licet idem viris bonis esse faciendum, ut dura ac difficilia non reformident nec de fato querantur, quicquid accidit boni consulant, in bonum vertant.
You may be sure that the same must be done by good men, so that they do not dread harsh and difficult things nor complain about fate, but take in good part whatever happens and turn it to good.
Non quid sed quemadmodum feras interest.
It matters not what you bear, but how you bear it.
§2.5Non vides quanto aliter patres, aliter matres indulgeant? Illi excitari iubent liberos ad studia obeunda mature, feriatis quoque diebus non patiuntur esse otiosos et sudorem illis et interdum lacrimas excutiunt; at matres fovere in sinu, continere in umbra volunt, numquam contristari, numquam flere, numquam laborare.
Do you not see how differently fathers and mothers show indulgence? The former order their children to be aroused early to undertake their studies, and even on holidays they do not allow them to be idle, squeezing sweat and sometimes tears from them; but mothers want to cherish them in their bosom, keep them in the shade, and wish them never to be saddened, never to weep, never to toil.
§2.6Patrium deus habet adversus bonos viros animum et illos fortiter amat et "Operibus," inquit, "doloribus, damnis exagitentur, ut verum colligant robur. "Languent per inertiam saginata nec labore tantum sed motu et ipso sui onere deficiunt.
God has a fatherly mind toward good men and loves them strength-fully, and says, "Let them be harassed by labors, by pains, by losses, so that they may gather true strength." Things fattened through idleness languish, and fail not only from labor but from movement and their own weight.
Non fert ullum ictum inlaesa felicitas; at cui assidua fuit cum incommodis suis rixa, callum per iniurias duxit nec ulli malo cedit sed etiam si cecidit de genu pugnat.
Unharmed prosperity does not bear any blow; but he who has had a constant struggle with his own disadvantages has developed a callus through injuries, and yields to no evil, but even if he has fallen, fights on his knee.
§2.7Miraris tu, si deus ille bonorum amantissimus, qui illos quam optimos esse atque excellentissimos vult, fortunam illis cum qua exerceantur adsignat? Ego vero non miror, si aliquando impetum capiunt spectandi magnos viros conluctantis cum aliqua calamitate.
Are you surprised if that God, who is most loving of good men, and who wants them to be as good and excellent as possible, assigns to them a fortune with which they may exercise themselves? Indeed, I am not surprised if they sometimes seize an impulse to watch great men struggling with some calamity.
§2.8Nobis interdum voluptati est, si adulescens constantis animi irruentem feram venabulo excepit, si leonis incursum interritus pertulit, tantoque hoc spectaculum est gratius, quanto id honestior fecit.
To us also it is sometimes a pleasure if a youth of constant mind has received a rushing wild beast with a hunting spear, if he has fearlessly borne the charge of a lion; and this spectacle is all the more pleasing, the more honorable the one who performed it is.
Non sunt ista, quae possint deorum in se vultum convertere, puerilia et humanae oblectamenta levitatis.
Those things are not such as can turn the gaze of the gods upon themselves; they are childish things and amusements of human levity.
§2.9Ecce spectaculum dignum ad quod respiciat intentus operi suo deus, ecce par deo dignum, vir fortis cum fortuna mala compositus, utique si et provocavit.
Behold a spectacle worthy of God, intent on his own work, to look back upon; behold a match worthy of God: a brave man paired with evil fortune, especially if he has also challenged it.
Non video, inquam, quid habeat in terris Iuppiter pulchrius, si eo convertere animum velit, quam ut spectet Catonem iam partibus non semel fractis stantem nihilo minus inter ruinas publicas rectum.
I do not see, I say, what more beautiful thing Jupiter has on earth, if he should wish to turn his mind to it, than to watch Cato, even though his faction has already been broken more than once, standing nonetheless upright amidst the public ruins.
§2.10"Licet," inquit, "omnia in unius dicionem concesserint, custodiantur legionibus terrae, classibus maria, Caesarianus portas miles obsideat; Cato qua exeat habet; una manu latam libertati viam faciet.
"Though all things," he says, "should submit to the dominion of one man, though the lands be guarded by legions, the seas by fleets, and Caesar's soldier besiege the gates, Cato has a way of escape; with one hand he will make a broad path for liberty.
Ferrum istud, etiam civili bello purum et innoxium, bonas tandem ac nobiles edet operas: libertatem, quam patriae non potuit, Catoni dabit.
That sword of yours, pure and guiltless even in civil war, will at last perform good and noble services: it will give to Cato the liberty which it could not give to his country.
Aggredere, anime, diu meditatum opus, eripe te rebus humanis.
Set about the work, my soul, so long meditated; rescue yourself from human affairs.
Iam Petreius et Iuba concucurrerunt iacentque alter alterius manu caesi.
Already Petreius and Juba have encountered each other and lie slain, each by the other's hand.
Fortis et egregia fati conventio, sed quae non deceat magnitudinem nostram; tam turpe est Catoni mortem ab ullo petere quam vitam. " §2.11Liquet mihi cum magno spectasse gaudio deos, dum ille vir, acerrimus sui vindex, alienae saluti consulit et instruit discedendum fugam, dum studia etiam nocte ultima tractat, dum gladium sacro pectori infigit, dum viscera spargit et illam sanctissimam animam indignamque quae ferro contaminaretur manu educit.
A brave and extraordinary compact of fate, yet one that does not become our greatness; it is as disgraceful for Cato to beg death from anyone as life." It is clear to me that the gods watched with great joy while that man, the most ardent champion of his own liberty, looked to the safety of others and arranged the flight of those departing, while even on his last night he pursued his studies, while he drove the sword into his sacred breast, while he scattered his entrails and with his own hand drew forth that most holy soul, unworthy to be defiled by steel.
§2.12Inde crediderim fuisse parum certum et efficax vulnus; non fuit diis immortalibus satis spectare Catonem semel.
Hence I would believe that the wound was not sufficiently sure and effective; it was not enough for the immortal gods to watch Cato only once.
Retenta ac revocata virtus est, ut in difficiliore parte se ostenderet; non enim tam magno animo mors initur quam repetitur.
His virtue was held back and recalled, so that it might show itself in a more difficult role; for death is not entered upon with as great a mind as it is repeated.
Quidni libenter spectarent alumnum suum tam claro ac memorabili exitu evadentem? Mors illos consecrat, quorum exitum et qui timent laudant.
Why should they not gladly watch their foster-son escaping by so glorious and memorable an end? Death consecrates those whose end is praised even by those who fear it.