Book 5, Chapter 41

“For my part, I think we should observe in life the rule that holds at Greek drinking parties: ‘Let him drink or let him leave.’ And rightly so. A man should either share the pleasure of drinking equally with the others or leave beforehand, so that, sober himself, he does not fall victim to the violence of the drunken. In the same way, by withdrawing you may leave behind the blows of fortune that you cannot bear. Hieronymus says these very same things as Epicurus, in exactly the same words.

119 “But if the philosophers who hold that virtue has no worth in itself, and who call everything we describe as honorable and praiseworthy an empty thing adorned with the hollow sound of a word—if even they think the wise man is always happy, what position should philosophers descended from Socrates and Plato take? Some of them say that the goods of the mind are so preeminent that they overwhelm bodily and external goods; others do not even count these latter things as goods, but place everything in the mind.

120 “Carneades used to judge their dispute like an arbitrator chosen as a mark of honor. Whatever the Peripatetics called goods the Stoics regarded as advantages; yet when these things were weighed in reality, not in words, the Peripatetics assigned no more value to wealth, good health, and other things of the same kind than the Stoics did. He therefore denied that there was any ground for disagreement. So let the philosophers of the other schools see for themselves how they can maintain this position. I am grateful, nonetheless, that in speaking of the wise man’s unceasing capacity to live well, they openly profess something worthy of a philosopher’s voice.

121 “But since we must leave in the morning, let us hold these five days of discussion in our memories. I think I shall also write them down—for how can we make better use of this leisure, such as it is?—and we shall send this second set of five books to our friend Brutus, who has not only urged us to write on philosophy but challenged us to do so. How much we shall benefit others in this work I could not readily say; but for my own bitterest griefs, and the many troubles surrounding me on every side, no other relief could be found.”

“I think the rule at Greek banquets should apply to life as well. The rule says, ‘Drink, or get out.’ Quite right, too. Either share the other guests’ enjoyment of drinking or make your exit first, so you don’t stay sober and get caught in drunken violence. That’s how to leave behind the blows of fortune when you cannot bear them: make your escape. Hieronymus gives this very advice in precisely the words Epicurus uses.

119 “Some philosophers hold that virtue has no value in itself. They say everything we call morally right and praiseworthy is something empty, dressed up with a meaningless sound. Yet if even they think a wise person is always happy, what are the philosophers who follow Socrates and Plato supposed to do? Some of them say the mind’s good qualities have such superiority that they overwhelm the bodily and external goods. Others don’t even regard those things as good and place everything in the mind.

120 “Carneades used to decide their dispute like an unofficial arbitrator. Whatever the Peripatetics considered goods, the Stoics considered advantages. And when you weighed the actual things rather than the words, the Peripatetics didn’t assign any more value to wealth, good health, or other things of that kind than the Stoics did. So he said there was no reason for disagreement. Let the philosophers of the other schools work out for themselves how they can maintain this position. Still, I’m grateful to them for making a declaration worthy of philosophers about wise people’s lasting ability to live well.

121 “Since we’re leaving tomorrow morning, let’s commit our five days of conversations to memory. I expect I’ll put them in writing as well. Whatever we make of this leisure of ours, how could we spend it better? We’ll send another five books to our friend Brutus. He has done more than urge me to write philosophy: he’s pressed me to take it up. I can’t readily say what benefit my writing will have for anyone else. But nothing else could be found to ease the most bitter grief I feel and all the different troubles pressing in on me from every direction.”