Book 2, Chapter 14
Original Latin
Ecquid scis igitur, si quid de Corinthiis tuis amiseris, posse habere te reliquam supellectilem salvam, virtutem autem si unam amiseris—etsi amitti non potest virtus, sed si unam confessus eris te non habere, nullam esse te habiturum?
33 num igitur fortem virum, num magno animo, num patientem, num gravem, num humana contemnentem potes dicere aut Philoctetam illum—? a te enim malo discedere, sed ille certe non fortis, qui iacet in tecto úmido, Quod éiulatu, quéstu, gemitu, frémitibus Resonándo mutum flébilis vocés refert. non ego dolorem dolorem esse nego—cur enim fortitudo desideraretur?—sed eum opprimi dico patientia, si modo est aliqua patientia; si nulla est, quid exornamus philosophiam aut quid eius nomine gloriosi sumus? pungit dolor, vel fodiat sane: si nudus es, da iugulum; sin tectus Volcaniis armis, id est fortitudine, resiste; haec enim te, nisi ita facies, custos dignitatis relinquet et deseret.
34 Cretum quidem leges, quas <sive Iuppiter> sive Minos sanxit de Iovis quidem sententia, ut poëtae ferunt, itemque Lycurgi laboribus erudiunt iuventutem, venando currendo, esuriendo sitiendo, algendo aestuando. Spartae vero pueri ad aram sic verberibus accipiuntur, ‘ut multus e visceribus sanguis exeat,’ non numquam etiam, ut, cum ibi essem, audiebam, ad necem; quorum non modo nemo exclamavit umquam, sed ne ingemuit quidem. quid ergo? hoc pueri possunt, viri non poterunt? et mos valet, ratio non valebit?
Musean translation
Complete machine-assisted translation from the Latin. Latin transcription by the Perseus Project, Trustees of Tufts University, CC BY-SA 4.0.
“You know, surely, that if you lose one piece of your Corinthian bronze, you may still have the rest of your furnishings safe; but if you lose one virtue—though virtue cannot be lost—if you admit you lack one, you will possess none at all?
33 “Can you call that Philoctetes brave, great-hearted, enduring, steadfast, indifferent to human affairs—or you—? I would rather leave you out of it. But he certainly is not brave, lying there
“‘In a damp-roofed cave,“‘Which, echoing with cries, complaints, groans, roars,“‘Though mute, sends back the mournful voices.’
“I do not deny that pain is pain—why else would courage be needed? I say that endurance can master it, if endurance exists at all. If it does not, why do we glorify philosophy, or take pride in her name? Pain pricks; let it even stab. If you are naked, offer your throat. But if you are clad in Vulcan’s armor—that is, in courage—resist. Unless you do, this guardian of your dignity will abandon and desert you.
34 “The laws of Crete, ordained either by Jupiter or by Minos with Jupiter’s approval, as the poets tell us, and those of Lycurgus too, train the young through exertion: hunting, running, hunger, thirst, cold, and heat. At Sparta boys are flogged at the altar so hard that ‘blood pours from deep within their flesh’—sometimes even to death, as I heard while I was there. Not one of them has ever cried out, or even groaned. What then? Can boys do this, and men not do it? Can custom achieve it, and reason not achieve it?”
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.
“Surely you know that if you lose a piece of your Corinthian bronze, the rest of your furnishings can still be safe. But if you lose one virtue—though virtue can’t actually be lost; rather, if you admit you don’t have one—you won’t have any of them.
33 “So can you call that Philoctetes brave, great in spirit, enduring, firm, or above human troubles? I’d rather move the example away from you. He certainly isn’t brave as he lies “‘In a damp shelter, “‘Which echoes with howling, complaints, groans, and roars, “‘And, though speechless, sends back his pitiful cries.’ “I’m not denying that pain is pain. Why else would we need courage? I am saying that endurance overcomes it, if there is such a thing as endurance. If there isn’t, why do we glorify philosophy, or boast of its name? Pain pricks you. All right, let it stab you. If you’re unarmed, offer your throat. But if you’re covered in Vulcan’s armor—that is, courage—stand your ground. If you don’t, courage, the guardian of your dignity, will leave you and abandon you.
34 “Cretan laws put young people through hardship: hunting and running, hunger and thirst, cold and heat. Whether Jupiter made those laws or Minos did, they certainly had Jupiter’s approval, according to the poets. Lycurgus’ laws provide the same training. At the Spartan altar boys take a whipping that makes ‘blood pour from deep in their bodies.’ On my visit there I heard that it sometimes even kills them. Yet not a single one has ever shouted, or so much as groaned. Are grown men incapable of what boys manage? Can habit accomplish this, and reason fail to do it?”
About this section
Book 2, Chapter 14 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 63 of 189 in the work, which is kept in the Roman tradition.
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