Book 4, Chapter 30
Original Latin
64 Sed aegritudini, de qua satis est disputatum, finitimus est metus, de quo pauca dicenda sunt. est enim metus, ut aegritudo praesentis, sic ille futuri mali. itaque non nulli aegritudinis partem quandam metum esse dicebant, alii autem metum praemolestiam appellabant, quod esset quasi dux consequentis molestiae. quibus igitur rationibus instantia feruntur, eisdem contemnuntur sequentia. nam videndum est in utrisque, ne quid humile summissum molle ecfeminatum fractum abiectumque faciamus. sed quamquam de ipsius metus inconstantia inbecillitate levitate dicendum est, tamen multum prodest ea, quae metuuntur, ipsa contemnere. itaque sive casu accidit sive consilio, percommode factum est, quod eis de rebus quae maxime metuuntur, de morte et de dolore, primo et proxumo die disputatum est. quae si probata sunt, metu magna ex parte liberati sumus.
Musean translation
Complete machine-assisted translation from the Latin. Latin transcription by the Perseus Project, Trustees of Tufts University, CC BY-SA 4.0.
64 “But fear is close to distress, of which we have said enough, and we must say a little about it. For fear concerns a future evil, just as distress concerns a present one. Some therefore called fear a kind of distress; others called it anticipatory vexation, since it is, as it were, the forerunner of the vexation that follows. By the same arguments, then, that enable us to bear what is upon us, we make light of what is to come. In both cases we must take care to do nothing abject, submissive, soft, unmanly, broken-spirited, or base. But although we must speak of fear’s own instability, weakness, and fickleness, it is still a great help to make light of the very things that are feared. So, whether by chance or design, it was most convenient that on the first and following day we discussed the things most feared, death and pain. If those arguments have won acceptance, we have been freed from fear in large measure.”
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.
64 “But we’ve discussed distress enough. Fear is close to it, and we need to say a little about that. Just as distress concerns a present evil, fear concerns a future one. So some used to call fear a kind of distress; others called it ‘trouble in advance,’ because it was like a guide leading the trouble that followed. The arguments that help us bear what’s upon us also help us disregard what’s coming. In both cases, we must take care not to do anything low, submissive, soft, unmanly, broken, or abject. We need to discuss the instability, weakness, and unreliability of fear itself. Even so, it helps a great deal to look down on the actual things we fear. So, whether by chance or design, it worked out very conveniently that we discussed death and pain, the things most feared, on the first and second days. If those arguments have convinced us, we’ve been freed from fear to a large extent.”
About this section
Book 4, Chapter 30 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 part 140 of 189 in the work, which is kept in the Roman tradition.
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