Book 5, Chapter 6
Original Latin
15 Facile patior te isto modo agere, etsi iniquum est praescribere mihi te, quem ad modum a me disputari velis. sed quaero, utrum aliquid actum superioribus diebus an nihil arbitremur.
Actum vero, et aliquantum quidem.
Atqui, si ita est, profligata iam haec et paene ad exitum adducta quaestio est.
Quo tandem modo?
Quia motus turbulenti iactationesque animorum incitatae et impetu inconsiderato elatae rationem omnem repellentes vitae beatae nullam partem relinquunt. quis enim potest mortem aut dolorem metuens, quorum alterum saepe adest, alterum semper impendet, esse non miser? quid, si idem, quod plerumque fit, paupertatem ignominiam infamiam timet, si debilitatem caecitatem, si denique, quod non singulis hominibus, sed potentibus populis saepe contigit, servitutem?
16 potest ea timens esse quisquam beatus? quid, qui non modo ea futura timet, verum etiam fert sustinetque praesentia—adde eodem exilia luctus orbitates: qui rebus his fractus aegritudine eliditur, potest tandem esse non miserrimus? quid vero? illum, quem libidinibus inflammatum et furentem videmus, omnia rabide adpetentem cum inexplebili cupiditate, quoque affluentius voluptates undique hauriat, eo gravius ardentiusque sitientem, nonne recte miserrimum dixeris? quid? elatus ille levitate inanique laetitia exultans et temere gestiens nonne tanto miserior, quanto sibi videtur beatior? ergo ut hi miseri, sic contra illi beati, quos nulli metus terrent, nullae aegritudines exedunt, nullae libidines incitant, nullae futtiles laetitiae exultantes languidis liquefaciunt voluptatibus. ut maris igitur tranquillitas intellegitur nulla ne minima quidem aura fluctus commovente, sic animi quietus et placatus status cernitur, cum perturbatio nulla est, qua moveri queat. quodsi est qui vim fortunae, qui omnia humana, quae cuique accidere possunt, tolerabilia ducat, ex quo nec timor eum nec angor attingat, idemque si nihil concupiscat, nulla ecferatur animi inani voluptate, quid est cur is non beatus sit?
17 et si haec virtute efficiuntur, quid est cur virtus ipsa per se non efficiat beatos?
Musean translation
Complete machine-assisted translation from the Latin. Latin transcription by the Perseus Project, Trustees of Tufts University, CC BY-SA 4.0.
15 “I readily allow you to proceed in that way, though it is unfair for you to prescribe how I am to argue. But I ask whether we think we achieved anything on the preceding days, or nothing.”
“Certainly we achieved something, and a considerable amount.”
“Well then, if that is so, this inquiry is already far advanced and almost brought to its conclusion.”
“How, exactly?”
“Because turbulent movements and agitations of the mind, roused and swept along by reckless impulse, driving all reason out, leave no room for a happy life. For how can anyone be other than unhappy who fears death or pain, one of which is often present, while the other always hangs over us? What if he also fears poverty, disgrace, and ill repute, as people generally do; or disability and blindness; or finally slavery, which has often befallen not merely individuals but powerful nations?
16 “Can anyone who fears these things be happy? And what of someone who not only fears their coming but actually bears and endures them? Add exile, mourning, and the loss of children: broken by these things and crushed by grief, can he be anything but utterly unhappy? Again, consider the man we see burning and raging with desire, grasping ravenously at everything with an appetite that cannot be filled, thirsting more fiercely and intensely the more freely he drinks in pleasures from every side. Would you not rightly call him utterly unhappy? And what of the man carried away by frivolity, exulting in empty joy and leaping about without restraint? Is he not the more unhappy the happier he thinks himself? As these people are unhappy, then, so those are happy whom no fears terrify, no griefs consume, no desires inflame, and no outbursts of foolish joy dissolve in enervating pleasures. Just as we understand the sea’s tranquility to mean that no breeze, not even the slightest, stirs its waves, so we recognize the mind’s quiet and peaceful state when no disturbance exists to shake it. Suppose someone considers the violence of fortune, and every human circumstance that can befall anyone, endurable, so that neither fear nor anguish touches him. Suppose also that he desires nothing and is carried away by no empty pleasure of the mind. Why should he not be happy?
17 “And if virtue produces these results, why should virtue not, of itself and by itself, make us happy?”
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.
15 “I’m perfectly willing to let you take that approach. Still, it’s unfair for you to dictate how I should make my argument. But let me ask you: do we think we accomplished anything on the previous days, or nothing at all?”
“We certainly did accomplish something, and quite a lot.”
“Then if that’s so, this question is already largely settled, and we’re almost at the end of it.”
“How, exactly?”
“Because wild disturbances and violent upheavals toss the mind about. They rush ahead on reckless impulse and push all reason aside. They leave no room for a happy life. How can someone who fears death or pain avoid being unhappy? Pain is often with us; death is always hanging over us. What if, as usually happens, he also fears poverty, disgrace, and a bad reputation? What if he fears disability and blindness? Or finally, slavery, which has often happened not just to individuals but to powerful nations?
16 “Can anyone who fears these things be happy? And what about someone who not only fears their coming but actually bears and endures them now? Add exile, bereavement, and the loss of children to the list. When these things break him and grief crushes him, can he be anything but utterly unhappy? Or take the person we see on fire with desire, out of his mind, going after everything in a frenzy with an appetite that can’t be filled. The more pleasure he draws in from every direction, the stronger and fiercer his thirst becomes. Wouldn’t you be right to call him utterly unhappy? And the person carried away by shallow, empty delight, jumping for joy and getting wildly excited for no reason—isn’t he more unhappy the happier he thinks he is? So these people are unhappy. The opposite people are happy: no fears frighten them, no grief eats away at them, no desires drive them on, no worthless bursts of joy dissolve them in enfeebling pleasures. We recognize a calm sea when not even the slightest breeze stirs its surface. In the same way, we recognize a quiet, peaceful mind when there’s no disturbance capable of shaking it. Suppose someone considers the force of fortune and all the human experiences that can happen to anyone bearable, so that neither fear nor distress touches him. Suppose he also craves nothing and isn’t carried away by any empty pleasure in his mind. Why wouldn’t he be happy?
17 “And if virtue brings this about, why wouldn’t virtue itself make people happy, all on its own?”
About this section
Book 5, Chapter 6 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 154 of 189 in the work, which is kept in the Roman tradition.
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