Good health is to be secured by attention to our bodies, and by observing what things benefit or injure us; by temperance in living, which tends to preserve the body; by refraining from sensuality; in short, by employing the skill of those who have devoted themselves to its study. LEISURE. Publium Scipionem, Marce fili, eum, qui primus Africanus appellatus est, dicere solitum scripsit Cato, qui fuit fere ejus æqualis, Numquam se minus otiosum esse, quum cum otiosus; nec minus solum, quam cum solus esset. Magnifica vero vox, et magno viro, ac sapiente digna: quæ declarat, illum et in otio de negotiis cogitare, et in solitudine secum loqui solitum; ut neque cessaret umquam, et interdum colloquio alterius non egeret. Itaque duæ res, quæ languorem afferunt ceteris, illum acuebant, otium, et solitudo. My son Marcus, Cato tells us that Publius Scipio, he who was called Africanus the Elder, used to say 66 that he was never less at leisure than when he was at leisure, nor less alone than when he was alone." A splendid saying, and worthy of a great and wise man, which shews that he used to deliberate on affairs in his leisure hours, and to converse with himself when he was alone, so that he never was idle, and sometimes did not require the society of others. Therefore the two things which cause ennui to othersnamely, retirement and solitude-roused him. NOTHING EXPEDIENT WHICH IS NOT ALSO VIRTUOUS. Offic. iii. 7. Nihil vero utile, quod non idem honestum : nihil honestum, quod non idem utile sit, sæpe testatur: negatque, ullam pestem majorem in vitam hominum invasisse, quam eorum opinionem, qui ista distraxerint. He often assures us that there is nothing expedient which is not also honourable, nothing honourable which is not also expedient; and he maintains that there is no greater injury done to men than of those who try to separate them. GUILT IN THE HESITATION OF A WICKED ACT. Offic. iii. 8. In ipsâ dubitatione facinus inest, etiamsi ad id non pervenerint. Wickedness resides in the very hesitation about an act, even though it be not perpetrated. THE TRUE WAY OF LIFE. Offic. iii. 10. Qui stadium, currit, eniti et contendere debet, quam maxime possit, ut vincat: supplantare eum, quicum certet, aut manu depellere, nullo modo debet; sic in vitâ sibi quemque petere, quod pertineat ad usum, non iniquum est alteri deripere, jus non est. He who runs in a racecourse ought to exert himself as much as he can to conquer, but ought by no means to trip up, or throw down the man with whom he is contending; so in the affairs of life there is nothing wrong in a man trying to obtain what may be for his advantage, yet roguery is unlawful. IGNORANCE OF ANOTHER NOT TO BE PREYED ON. Offic. iii. 17. Neminem id agere, ut ex alterius prædetur inscientiâ. No one should act so as to take advantage of the ignorance of his neighbour. MAN OF INTEGRITY. Cum enim fidem alicujus, bonitatemque laudant; dignum esse dicunt, quicum in tenebris mices. For when they praise the faith, the honour, the goodness of a man, they say, "He is one with whom we may play at odd and even in the dark." PERJURY. Offic. iii. 29. Non enim falsum jurare, perjurare est: sed, quod ex animi tui sententiâ jurâris, sicut verbis concipitur more nostro, id non facere, perjurium est. For to swear falsely is not at all times to be accounted perjury, but not to perform that which you have sworn according to the intentions of your mind-"ex animi tui sententiâ," as our law books have it-is perjury. IPSE DIXIT. Nec vero probare soleo id, quod de Pythagoreis accepimus: quos ferunt, si quid affirmarent in disputando, cum ex iis quæreretur, quare ita esset, respondere solitos, ipse dixit; ipse autem, erat Pythagoras. Nor am I accustomed to approve of that which we have heard about the Pythagoreans, whom they say used to answer, when they made an assertion in discussing a subject, if they were asked why it was so, "He himself has said it." Now this "he" was Pythagoras. AN APE. Nat. D. i. 35. Simia quam similis, turpissima bestia, nobis ! TIME DESTROYS THE FICTIONS OF ERROR. Opinionum enim commenta delet dies: naturæ judicia confirmat. Time destroys the erroneous opinions of man, but confirms the judgments of nature. How GOD IS TO BE WORSHIPPED. Nat. D. ii. 28. Cultus autem deorum, est optimus, idemque castissimus, atque sanctissimus, plenissimusque pietatis, ut eos semper purâ, integrâ, incorruptâ et mente, et voce veneremur; non enim philosophi solum, verum etiam majores nostri superstitionem a religione separaverunt. The best, the purest, the most holy worship of the gods, and that which is most consistent with our duty, is to worship them always with purity and sincerity of words and thoughts; for not only philosophers, but even our ancestors have drawn a distinction between superstition and religion. GOD. Nat. D. ii. 30. Nihil est præstantius Deo; ab eo igitur necesse est mundum regi. Nulli igitur est naturæ obediens aut subjectus Deus. Omnem ergo regit ipse naturam. Nothing is superior to God; He must therefore govern the world. God is subject to no principle of nature, therefore He rules the whole of nature. ELOQUENCE. Nat. D. ii. 59. Jam vero domina rerum (ut vos soletis dicere) eloquendi vis, quam est præclara, quamque divina? quæ primum effi cit, ut ea, quæ ignoramus, discere et ea, quæ scimus, alios docere possimus. Deinde hâc cohortamur, hâc persuademus, hâc consolamur afflictos, hâc deducimus perterritos a timore, hâc gestientes comprimimus, hâc cupiditates, iracundiasque restinguimus; hæc nos juris, legum, urbium societate devinxit: hæc a vitâ immani, et ferâ segregavit. How noble and divine is eloquence! which is the mistress of all things, as you are accustomed to say. Which, in the first place, enables us to learn those things of which we are ignorant, and to teach others those things which we know; by this we exhort; by this we persuade; by this we console the afflicted; by this we dissipate the fears of the frightened; by this we restrain the eager; by this we put an end to passions and desires; it is this that has bound mankind by the community of privileges, of laws, towns, and civil society; this it is which has removed us far from the ills of a savage and barbarous life. MAN. Terrenorum item commodorum omnis est in homine dominatus. Nos campis, nos montibus fruimur: nostri sunt amnes, nostri lacus nos fruges serimus, nos arbores: nos aquarum inductionibus terris fœcunditatem damus; nos flumina arcemus, dirigimus, avertimus: nostris denique manibus in rerum naturâ quasi alteram naturam efficere conamur. Everything that the earth produces belongs to man: we enjoy the fields and the mountains; ours are the rivers and the lakes; we sow corn and plant trees; we give fruitfulness to the earth by irrigating the ground; we confine, direct, and turn the course of rivers; in short, by our proceedings we endeavour to form, as it were, a second nature. INSPIRATION. Nat. D. ii. 66. Nemo vir magnus sine aliquo afflatu divino umquam fuit. No man was ever great without divine inspiration. REASONING OFTEN DARKENS MATTERS. Nat. D. iii. 4. Perspicuitas enim argumentatione elevatur. The clearest subjects are often obscured by lengthened reasoning. PREDESTINATION. Divin. i. 55. Quod cum ita sit, nihil est factum, quod non futurum fuerit, eodemque modo nihil est futurum, cujus non causas idipsum efficientes, natura contineat. Since this is so, nothing has ever happened which has not been predestinated, and in the same way nothing will ever occur the predisposing causes for which may not be found in nature. IMPOSTORS. Divin. i. 58. Non habeo denique nauci Marsum augurem, In short, I care nothing for the Marsian augurs, nor the village haruspices, nor strolling astrologers, nor for the gypsy priests of Isis, nor for the interpreters of dreams; for these possess neither science nor art, but are superstitious priests and impudent impostors. They are either lazy or mad, or act to gain a livelihood; knowing not the right path themselves, they pretend to shew it to others, promising riches to gain a penny. TEACHERS. Divin. ii. 2. Quod enim munus reipublicæ afferre majus, meliusve possumus, quam si docemus, atque erudimus juventutem! What nobler employment, or more advantageous to the state, than that of the man who instructs the rising generation! A WISE PROPHET. Divin. ii. 5.. Bene qui conjiciet, vatem hunc perhibebo optimum. The best guesser I shall always call the most sagacious prophet. |