Book 1, Chapter 38
Original Latin
itaque non deterret sapientem mors,
91 quae propter incertos casus cotidie imminet, propter brevitatem vitae numquam potest longe abesse, quo minus in omne tempus rei p. suisque consulat, cum posteritatem ipsam, cuius sensum habiturus non sit, ad se putet pertinere. quare licet etiam mortalem esse animum iudicantem aeterna moliri, non gloriae cupiditate, quam sensurus non sis, sed virtutis, quam necessario gloria, etiamsi tu id non agas, consequatur.
Natura vero <si> se sic habet, ut, quo modo initium nobis rerum omnium ortus noster adferat, sic exitum mors, ut nihil pertinuit ad nos ante ortum, sic nihil post mortem pertinebit. in quo quid potest esse mali, cum mors nec ad vivos pertineat nec ad mortuos?
92 alteri nulli sunt, alteros non attinget. quam qui leviorem faciunt, somni simillimam volunt esse: quasi vero quisquam ita nonaginta annos velit vivere, ut, cum sexaginta confecerit, reliquos dormiat; ne sui quidem id velint, non modo ipse. Endymion vero, si fabulas audire volumus, ut nescio quando in Latmo obdormivit, qui est mons Cariae, nondum, opinor, est experrectus. num igitur eum curare censes, cum Luna laboret, a qua consopitus putatur, ut eum dormientem oscularetur? quid curet autem, qui ne sentit quidem? habes somnum imaginem mortis eamque cotidie induis: et dubitas quin sensus in morte nullus sit, cum in eius simulacro videas esse nullum sensum?
Musean translation
Complete machine-assisted translation from the Latin. Latin transcription by the Perseus Project, Trustees of Tufts University, CC BY-SA 4.0.
“Thus the wise man is not deterred by death,
91 “which threatens him daily through the uncertainty of chance and can never be far away because life is short, from providing for his country and his own people for all time. He considers even posterity, of which he will have no awareness, to be his concern. So even one who judges the soul mortal may undertake works for eternity, not from a desire for glory, which he will not feel, but for virtue, which glory must follow, even if that is not his aim.
“But <if> the order of nature is such that our birth brings us the beginning of all things and death their end, then, just as nothing concerned us before birth, nothing will concern us after death. What evil can there be in this, when death concerns neither the living nor the dead?
92 “The latter do not exist; the former it will not touch. Those who try to make death less formidable would have it closely resemble sleep. As though anyone would wish to live ninety years on the condition that, after completing sixty, he slept through the rest! Not even his family would wish it, much less the man himself. As for Endymion, if we care to listen to fables, he fell asleep at some distant time on Latmus, a mountain in Caria, and has not yet awakened, I believe. Do you suppose, then, that he cares when the Moon is eclipsed—the Moon who is thought to have put him to sleep so that she might kiss him as he slept? How could he care, when he does not even feel? You have in sleep an image of death, and every day you assume it. Do you doubt, then, that there is no sensation in death, when you see that its likeness has no sensation?”
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.
“So death doesn’t stop a wise person
91 “from planning for his country and his family for all time to come. Unpredictable accidents threaten him with death every day, and life is so short that death can never be far away. Yet he considers that future generations themselves concern him, even though he won’t be aware of them. So even someone who thinks the soul is mortal can work on things that will last forever. He won’t do it from a desire for fame, which he won’t feel, but from a desire for virtue, which fame necessarily follows, even if he isn’t aiming at it.
“Suppose, though, that nature makes birth the start of everything for us and death the end. Nothing before we were born mattered to us; nothing after we’ve died will matter either. How does that involve any evil? Neither living people nor dead people have anything to do with death:
92 “the dead aren’t there, and it won’t touch the living. To make it seem less serious, people compare it closely to sleep. But who would choose a ninety-year life if, on reaching sixty, he had to sleep away every remaining year? His own family wouldn’t choose that, much less he himself. Take Endymion, if you’re prepared to hear a myth. Long ago he went to sleep on Latmus, the mountain in Caria, and, I believe, still hasn’t woken. They say the Moon put him to sleep to kiss him while he slept. When she is eclipsed, do you think he cares? He feels nothing; what could he care about? You have in sleep a picture of death, and every day you take on that likeness. You see no sensation in the picture. How can you still doubt that death itself has none?”
About this section
Book 1, Chapter 38 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 38 of 189 in the work, which is kept in the Roman tradition.
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