Book 3, Chapter 8
Original Latin
16 Veri etiam simile illud est, qui sit temperans— quem Graeci σώφρονα appellant eamque virtutem σωφροσύνην vocant, quam soleo equidem tum temperantiam, tum moderationem appellare, non numquam etiam modestiam; sed haud scio an recte ea virtus frugalitas appellari possit, quod angustius apud Graecos valet, qui frugi homines χρησίμους appellant, id est tantum modo utilis; at illud est latius; omnis enim abstinentia, omnis innocentia (quae apud Graecos usitatum nomen nullum habet, sed habere potest ἀβλάβειαν; nam est innocentia adfectio talis animi quae noceat nemini)—reliquas etiam virtutes frugalitas continet. quae nisi tanta esset, et si is angustiis, quibus plerique putant, teneretur, numquam esset L. Pisonis cognomen tanto opere laudatum.
17 sed quia, nec qui propter metum praesidium reliquit, quod est ignaviae, nec qui propter avaritiam clam depositum non reddidit, quod est iniustitiae, nec qui propter temeritatem male rem gessit, quod est stultitiae, frugi appellari solet, eo tris virtutes, fortitudinem iustitiam prudentiam, frugalitas complexa est (etsi hoc quidem commune est virtutum; omnes enim inter se nexae et iugatae sunt): reliqua igitur et quarta virtus sit ipsa frugalitas. eius enim videtur esse proprium motus animi adpetentis regere et sedare semperque adversantem libidini moderatam in omni re servare constantiam. cui contrarium vitium nequitia dicitur.
18 frugalitas, ut opinor, a fruge, qua nihil melius e terra, nequitia ab eo (etsi erit hoc fortasse durius, sed temptemus: lusisse putemur, si nihil sit) ab eo, quod nequicquam est in tali homine, ex quo idem ‘nihili’ dicitur.—qui sit frugi igitur vel, si mavis, moderatus et temperans, eum necesse est esse constantem; qui autem constans, quietum; qui quietus, perturbatione omni vacuum, ergo etiam aegritudine. et sunt illa sapientis: aberit igitur a sapiente aegritudo.
Musean translation
Complete machine-assisted translation from the Latin. Latin transcription by the Perseus Project, Trustees of Tufts University, CC BY-SA 4.0.
16 “The same reasoning is also plausible for the temperate person. The Greeks call him ‘sound-minded,’ and call this virtue ‘sound-mindedness,’ which I usually call sometimes temperance, sometimes moderation, and occasionally even restraint. Yet perhaps this virtue may rightly be called ‘worth,’ a word narrower in Greek usage, where worthy people are called ‘useful,’ meaning useful and nothing more. Our word has a wider scope: worth includes all self-restraint and all innocence, for which Greek has no customary name, though ‘harmlessness’ could serve, since innocence is a disposition of the soul that harms no one. Worth embraces the other virtues too. If it were not so great a quality, if it were confined within the narrow limits most people suppose, Lucius Piso’s surname ‘Frugi,’ meaning ‘Worthy,’ would never have been so highly praised.
17 “But since we do not ordinarily call worthy the man who deserts his post through fear, an act of cowardice, or the man who secretly fails through greed to return a deposit, an act of injustice, or the man who mismanages affairs through rashness, an act of folly, worth has embraced the three virtues of courage, justice, and practical wisdom—though this is a feature common to the virtues, since they are all linked and bound together. Let worth itself, then, be the remaining, fourth virtue. For its particular task seems to be to govern and quiet the soul’s movements of appetite, and, always resisting desire, to preserve a measured steadiness in everything. Its opposing vice is called worthlessness.
18 “The Latin word for worth, frugalitas, I believe, derives from frux, ‘fruit,’ the earth’s finest produce; nequitia, ‘worthlessness,’ derives from the fact that nothing is of any use in such a person—this may perhaps be a strained derivation, but let us try it, and be thought merely to have played if it comes to nothing. For the same reason he is called a ‘good-for-nothing.’ Whoever, then, is worthy—or, if you prefer, moderate and temperate—must be steady; whoever is steady, untroubled; whoever is untroubled, free from every disturbance, and therefore from distress as well. These qualities belong to the wise person; distress, then, will be absent from the wise.”
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.
16 “There’s another reasonable argument, about a self-controlled person. The Greeks call such a person sōphrōn, and the virtue sōphrosynē. I generally call it ‘self-control’ or ‘moderation,’ and sometimes ‘restraint.’ But perhaps the virtue could rightly be called frugalitas, ‘sound character.’ The Greek word has a narrower meaning: they call people with sound character chrēsimoi, meaning merely ‘useful.’ Our word is broader. It includes all abstinence and all harmlessness. The Greeks have no ordinary word for harmlessness, though they could use ablabeia, ‘not causing harm,’ since harmlessness is a state of mind that hurts no one. Sound character also includes the other virtues. If it weren’t so important, and were confined within the narrow limits most people assign to it, Lucius Piso’s surname Frugi would never have been so highly praised.
17 “We don’t normally describe someone as having sound character if he abandoned his post out of fear, which is cowardice; or secretly failed to return a deposit out of greed, which is injustice; or mismanaged a job through rashness, which is foolishness. So sound character embraces the three virtues of courage, justice, and practical wisdom. Of course, that’s true of the virtues generally: they’re all linked and joined together. So let sound character itself be the remaining, fourth virtue. Its special job seems to be to control and calm the mind’s impulses to get things, and to maintain a balanced steadiness in everything, always resisting uncontrolled desire. The opposite fault is called nequitia, ‘worthlessness.’
18 “I think frugalitas comes from frux, ‘produce,’ the best thing the earth brings forth. Nequitia comes from the idea that there’s nothing—nequicquam—in a person like that. That may be a bit forced, but let’s try it; if there’s nothing in it, take it as a joke. That’s also why he’s called nihili, ‘a nobody.’ So someone with sound character—or, if you prefer, someone moderate and self-controlled—must be steady. A steady person is calm. A calm person is free of all disturbance, and therefore of distress too. Those qualities belong to a wise person. So distress will be absent from a wise person.”
About this section
Book 3, Chapter 8 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 84 of 189 in the work, which is kept in the Roman tradition.
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