Book 1, Chapter 43
Original Latin
Esto: fortes et duri Spartiatae; magnam habet vim rei p. disciplina. quid? Cyrenaeum Theodorum, philosophum non ignobilem, nonne miramur? cui cum Lysimachus rex crucem minaretur, ‘istis, quaeso’ inquit ‘ista horribilia minitare purpuratis tuis: Theodori quidem nihil interest, humine an sublime putescat.’
Cuius hoc dicto admoneor, ut aliquid etiam de humatione et sepultura dicendum existimem, rem non difficilem, is praesertim cognitis, quae de nihil sentiendo paulo ante dicta sunt. de qua Socrates quidem quid senserit, apparet in eo libro in quo moritur, de quo iam tam multa diximus.
103 cum enim de inmortalitate animorum disputavisset et iam moriendi tempus urgeret, rogatus a Critone, quem ad modum sepeliri vellet, ‘multam vero’ inquit ‘operam, amici, frustra consumpsi; Critoni enim nostro non persuasi me hinc avolaturum neque mei quicquam relicturum. verum tamen, Crito, si me adsequi potueris aut sicubi nanctus eris, ut tibi videbitur, sepelito. sed, mihi crede, nemo me vestrum, cum hinc excessero, consequetur.’ praeclare is quidem, qui et amico permiserit et se ostenderit de hoc toto genere nihil laborare.
104 durior Diogenes, et is quidem eadem sentiens, sed ut Cynicus asperius: proici se iussit inhumatum. tum amici: ‘volucribusne et feris?’ ‘minime vero’ inquit, ‘sed bacillum propter me, quo abigam, ponitote.’ ‘qui poteris?’ illi, ‘non enim senties.’ ‘quid igitur mihi ferarum laniatus oberit nihil sentienti?’ praeclare Anaxagoras, qui cum Lampsaci moreretur, quaerentibus amicis, velletne Clazomenas in patriam, si quid accidisset, auferri, ‘nihil necesse est’ inquit, ‘undique enim ad inferos tantundem viae est.’ totaque de ratione humationis unum tenendum est, ad corpus illam pertinere, sive occiderit animus sive vigeat. in corpore autem perspicuum est vel extincto animo vel elapso nullum residere 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.
“Granted: Spartans are brave and hardy; a state’s discipline has great power. But do we not admire Theodorus of Cyrene, a philosopher of some distinction? When King Lysimachus threatened him with crucifixion, he said, ‘Please reserve those dreadful threats for your courtiers in purple. It makes no difference to Theodorus whether he rots on the ground or in the air.’
“This saying reminds me that I ought also to say something about burial and interment: no difficult matter, especially once we understand what was said a little earlier about the absence of sensation. Socrates’ opinion on it is clear in the book in which he dies, about which we have already said so much.
103 “After he had discussed the immortality of souls and the time for death was pressing close, Crito asked how he wished to be buried. ‘A great deal of my labor has been wasted, friends,’ he said, ‘for I have not persuaded our Crito that I shall fly away from here and leave nothing of myself behind. Still, Crito, if you can catch me, or find me anywhere, bury me as you think best. But believe me: not one of you will catch me once I have gone from here.’ Admirably said: he both gave his friend leave to act and showed that he had no concern at all about the whole question.
104 “Diogenes was harsher. He held the same view but expressed it more roughly, as a Cynic: he ordered that he be thrown out unburied. His friends asked, ‘For the birds and beasts?’ ‘Certainly not,’ he said, ‘but put a little stick beside me so that I can drive them away.’ ‘How will you do that?’ they said. ‘You will have no sensation.’ ‘Then how can being torn by wild beasts hurt me, if I feel nothing?’ Admirable, too, was Anaxagoras. When he was dying at Lampsacus, his friends asked whether, should anything happen to him, he wished to be taken home to Clazomenae. ‘There is no need,’ he said, ‘for the road to the underworld is the same length from everywhere.’ On the whole question of burial we must hold to one point: it concerns the body, whether the soul has perished or remains alive. And it is clear that, whether the soul is extinguished or has escaped, no sensation remains in the body.”
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.
“All right, the Spartans were hardy, courageous people. Civic training makes a powerful difference. But surely we also admire Theodorus of Cyrene, a well-known philosopher? King Lysimachus threatened him with crucifixion. ‘Please,’ he answered, ‘frighten your purple-clad courtiers with horrors like that. Whether Theodorus rots below on the ground or above it makes no difference to him.’
“That answer suggests that I should discuss laying the dead in the earth and their funeral rites as well. There isn’t much difficulty here, especially after our earlier account of the absence of feeling. To see what Socrates thought, turn to the book describing his death, which we’ve already said so much about.
103 “He had argued for the soul’s immortality, and death was pressing close. Crito asked him what burial he wanted. ‘Friends,’ he replied, ‘all that effort of mine has been wasted! Our Crito still doesn’t believe I’ll fly off and leave none of myself here. Well, Crito, catch me if you can, or find me somewhere, and you may bury me as you please. But take my word for it: when I’ve gone, none of you will catch up with me.’ What a fine answer! He left his friend free to act and made it clear that none of these matters worried him at all.
104 “Diogenes was tougher. He held the same view, but expressed it more roughly, as a Cynic would: he ordered them to throw him out unburied. His friends asked, ‘For the birds and wild animals?’ ‘Certainly not,’ he said. ‘Put a little stick beside me so I can drive them away.’ ‘How will you be able to?’ they asked. ‘You won’t feel anything.’ ‘Then why should being torn apart by animals hurt me, if I don’t feel anything?’ Anaxagoras also gave an excellent reply when he was dying at Lampsacus. His friends asked whether, if anything happened to him, he wanted to be taken home to Clazomenae. ‘There’s no need,’ he said. ‘It’s just as far to the world below from anywhere.’ On this whole question of burial, keep one thing in mind: it concerns the body, whether the soul has died or is still active. And it’s clear that no sensation remains in the body whether the soul has been put out or has escaped.”
About this section
Book 1, Chapter 43 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 43 of 189 in the work, which is kept in the Roman tradition.
Open the work page for the full contents, every edition, and the download links, or go back to Explore to browse other complete works in the Roman tradition. The reader keeps your place when you are signed in and lets you compare the original with each translation, one edition at a time.