Book 4, Chapter 18
Original Latin
41 Qui modum igitur vitio quaerit, similiter facit, ut si posse putet eum qui se e Leucata praecipitaverit sustinere se, cum velit. ut enim id non potest, sic animus perturbatus et incitatus nec cohibere se potest nec, quo loco vult, insistere. omninoque, quae crescentia perniciosa sunt, eadem sunt vitiosa nascentia;
42 aegritudo autem ceteraeque perturbationes amplificatae certe pestiferae sunt: igitur etiam susceptae continuo in magna pestis parte versantur. etenim ipsae se impellunt, ubi semel a ratione discessum est, ipsaque sibi imbecillitas indulget in altumque provehitur imprudens nec reperit locum consistendi. quam ob rem nihil interest, utrum moderatas perturbationes adprobent an moderatam iniustitiam, moderatam ignaviam, moderatam intemperantiam; qui enim vitiis modum apponit, is partem suscipit vitiorum; quod cum ipsum per se odiosum est, tum eo molestius, quia sunt in lubrico incitataque semel proclivi labuntur sustinerique nullo modo possunt.
Musean translation
Complete machine-assisted translation from the Latin. Latin transcription by the Perseus Project, Trustees of Tufts University, CC BY-SA 4.0.
41 “Someone who looks for a limit to vice acts like a person who thinks that, after leaping from the cliff at Leucas, he can stop himself whenever he wishes. Just as that is impossible, so an agitated and excited soul can neither restrain itself nor halt where it chooses. In general, things that become destructive as they grow are already defective at their birth.
42 “Distress and the other disturbances are certainly ruinous when they increase; therefore, as soon as they are admitted, they already contain a large measure of ruin. Once reason has been abandoned, they drive themselves onward; weakness indulges itself and is carried unawares into deep water, finding no place to stand. There is consequently no difference between approving moderate disturbances and approving moderate injustice, moderate cowardice, or moderate intemperance. Anyone who sets a limit to vices accepts a share of them. This is hateful in itself, and all the more troubling because they stand on slippery ground: once set in motion, they slide downhill and cannot possibly be checked.”
Plain English translation
Complete independent machine-assisted translation directly from the Latin. Latin transcription by the Perseus Project, Trustees of Tufts University, CC BY-SA 4.0.
41 “Setting a limit on a defect makes as much sense as imagining that, after leaping off Leucas, you could halt your fall at will. You can’t do that. Neither can a mind in an excited disturbance restrain itself or come to a halt wherever it chooses. Whatever becomes ruinous through growth is already wrong at its beginning.
42 “Enlarged distress and the other enlarged disturbances are certainly destructive. Even on first entering the mind, therefore, they contain a substantial element of destruction. Leave reason once, and the disturbances supply their own momentum. Weakness gives itself permission, drifts unwittingly into deep water, and can’t find a foothold. Accepting them in moderation is consequently just like accepting injustice, cowardice, or lack of self-control in moderation. To allow a defect within limits is to admit part of that defect. Besides being hateful in itself, this is particularly troublesome because the footing is slippery. Once moving, defects slide down the slope beyond any possibility of checking them.”
About this section
Book 4, Chapter 18 is part of Tusculan Disputations by Marcus Tullius Cicero. This page sets the Latin original beside 2 direct-source translations, so any line can be checked against the source. It is chapter 128 of 189 in the work, which is kept in the Roman tradition.
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