Book 5, Chapter 40

116 “As for deafness, what evil does it contain? Marcus Crassus was rather deaf, but there was something more troublesome: he was ill spoken of, though, as it seemed to me, unjustly. Our people generally do not know Greek, nor do Greeks know Latin. So each group is deaf to the speech of the other; and all of us, likewise, are certainly deaf to the languages we do not understand, which are countless. ‘But they do not hear the voice of a singer with the lyre.’ Nor do they hear the screech of a saw being sharpened, or the grunting of a pig being slaughtered, or, when they want to rest, the roar of the murmuring sea. And if songs happen to delight them, they should reflect, first, that many wise men lived happily before songs were invented, and next, that far greater pleasure can be gained from reading them than from hearing them.

117 “Then, just as a little while ago we led the blind toward the pleasures of hearing, so we may lead the deaf toward those of sight. For a man who can converse with himself will not miss another’s conversation.

“Let all these afflictions be heaped together: let the same man be deprived of both sight and hearing, and oppressed as well by the sharpest bodily pains. In the first place, these pains generally bring a person’s life to an end by themselves. But if by chance they are drawn out at length, yet torture him too violently for there to be any reason to endure them, what in the world, good gods, are we to trouble ourselves about? A harbor lies ready: death is there, a refuge of everlasting insensibility.

118 “When Lysimachus threatened Theodorus with death, he answered, ‘A great achievement indeed, if you have attained the power of a blister beetle!’ When Perseus begged Paulus not to lead him in his triumph, he replied, ‘That, at least, is in your own power.’ Much was said about death on the first day, when we investigated death itself, and a good deal on the next, when our subject was pain. Anyone who recalls it is in very little danger of failing to think death either desirable or, at least, not to be feared.”

116 “And just what’s bad about deafness? Marcus Crassus was rather deaf. But he had a bigger problem: he was badly spoken of, though, in my view, unfairly. Our own [Epicureans] generally don’t know Greek, and Greeks don’t know Latin. So the Greeks are deaf when our people talk, and our people are deaf when the Greeks talk. All of us, likewise, are certainly deaf in the languages we don’t understand, and there are countless ones. ‘But deaf people don’t hear a singer playing the lyre.’ They don’t hear the screech of a saw being sharpened either, or a pig’s grunting as its throat is cut, or the roar of the rumbling sea when they want to rest. And if they happen to enjoy songs, first they should think how many wise people lived happily before songs were invented. Then they should consider how much more pleasure they can get from reading them than from hearing them.

117 “A little earlier we directed blind people toward the pleasures of hearing. In the same way, we can direct deaf people toward the pleasures of sight. Anyone who can talk to himself won’t need someone else’s conversation.

“Pile everything onto one person: let him be both blind and deaf, and let the fiercest bodily pains weigh him down as well. First, pains like that generally finish a person off on their own. But suppose they happen to last a long time, yet still torture him too fiercely for there to be any reason to endure them. Good gods, why should we struggle? A harbor is ready for us, since death is right there, a shelter where we never feel anything again.

118 “When Lysimachus threatened Theodorus with death, Theodorus said, ‘A great achievement indeed, if you’ve matched the power of a blister beetle!’ Perseus begged Paulus not to lead him in his triumphal procession. Paulus replied, ‘That’s in your own power.’ We said a great deal about death on the first day, when death itself was our subject, and quite a bit on the next day too, when we discussed pain. Anyone who remembers those points is hardly in danger of failing to think death either desirable or, at least, nothing to fear.”