Letter 52

[1] What is this, Lucilius, that drags us one way while we are heading another, and pushes us toward the very thing from which we long to retreat? What is it that struggles against our mind and does not allow us to want anything once and for all? We are tossed about among shifting purposes; we want nothing freely, nothing absolutely, nothing permanently. [2] "It is folly," you say, "in which nothing is fixed, nothing pleases for long." But how, or when, shall we tear ourselves away from it? No one is strong enough on his own to rise out of it; someone must reach out a hand, someone must lead us up. [3] Epicurus says that some men have made their way to the truth without anyone's help, building the road for themselves; these he praises most, the ones whose impulse came from within, who advanced by their own power. Others, he says, need outside help: they will not set out if no one goes before them, but they will follow well. Of these, he says, Metrodorus was one; this too is a fine character, but of the second rank. We do not belong to that first class; it goes well for us if we are received into the second. Do not despise even this kind of man, who can be saved by another's good service; even this counts for much, the will to be saved. [4] Besides these, you will find yet another kind of man, not to be scorned either: those who can be forced and driven to what is right, who need not only a guide but a helper and, so to speak, a coercer; this is the third shade of color. If you ask for an example of this kind too, Epicurus says that Hermarchus was such a man. And so he congratulates the one more warmly, but admires the other more deeply; for although both arrived at the same goal, still there is greater praise in having achieved the same result with the more difficult material. [5] For suppose two buildings have been raised up, both alike, equally lofty and magnificent. One was given a clear plot of ground, and there the work rose straight up; the other had its foundations wear out the builders, sunk into soft and oozing soil, and much labor was used up before the solid bedrock was reached. To those looking on, whatever the one builder did is in view [...], while of the other's work the larger and harder part lies hidden. [6] Some natures are easy and ready; some must be worked by hand, as they say, and are taken up with laying their own foundations. So I would call the man more fortunate who had no trouble with himself, but I would say this other man deserved better of himself, who conquered the meanness of his own nature and did not merely lead himself to wisdom but dragged himself there. [7] You may take it as certain that this hard and laborious nature has been assigned to us; we go forward through obstacles. So let us fight, let us call on the help of others. "Whom," you say, "shall I call on? This man or that?" You may also turn back to those who came before, who are at leisure; for not only those who exist now can help us, but those who once existed. [8] But from among those who exist now, let us choose not the men who rush out great words at top speed and roll out commonplaces and peddle themselves in private gatherings, but those who teach by their lives, who, when they have said what should be done, prove it by doing it, who teach what should be avoided and are never themselves caught doing what they said should be shunned. Choose as your helper the man you will admire more when you have seen him than when you have heard him. [9] Not that I would forbid you to listen also to those whose custom it is to admit the public and lecture, provided they come forward into the crowd with this aim, to become better and to make others better, and do not pursue this for the sake of self-display. For what is more disgraceful than philosophy hunting for applause? Does a sick man praise the surgeon while he is cutting? [10] Be silent, give your support, and submit yourselves to the treatment; even if you cry out, I shall hear it no differently than if you were groaning at the touch on your own diseases. Do you wish to bear witness that you are attentive and are moved by the greatness of the subject? By all means, let it be allowed: as for your judging and casting your vote for the better side, why would I not permit it? Among the followers of Pythagoras, disciples had to keep silent for five years: do you suppose, then, that they were at once free to speak and to applaud? [11] But how great is the madness of the man whom the shouts of the ignorant send away from the lecture-hall delighted! Why do you rejoice that you have been praised by men whom you yourself cannot praise? Fabianus used to lecture to the public, but he was heard with restraint; now and then a great shout of those praising him would burst out, but it was one called forth by the greatness of the subject, not by the sound of a speech that slipped out smoothly and softly. [12] Let there be some difference between the applause of the theater and that of the school: there is even a kind of elegance in praising. All things, if they are observed, are signs of everything, and you may draw evidence of character even from the smallest things: the unchaste man is revealed by his very walk, and by a movement of the hand, and sometimes by a single reply, and by a finger raised to the head, and by the turning of his eyes; the laugh reveals the scoundrel, the face and bearing reveal the madman. For these things come out into the open through their tokens: you will know what each man is like, if you observe how he praises and how he is praised. [13] From this side and that the listener stretches out his hands toward the philosopher, and a crowd of admirers stands close over his very head: he is not being praised now, if you understand it rightly, but acclaimed. Let such cries be left to those arts that have the aim of pleasing the public: let philosophy be revered. [14] Sometimes young men will have to be allowed to follow the impulse of their mind, but only when they do this out of impulse, when they cannot command silence of themselves; such applause brings some encouragement to the listeners themselves and rouses the spirits of the young. But let them be stirred to the substance, not to polished words; otherwise eloquence harms them, if it creates not a longing for the subject but for itself. [15] I shall put this off for the present; for it calls for its own long treatment: how one should lecture to the public, what a man should permit himself before the public, and what the public should be permitted in his presence. There will be no doubt that philosophy has suffered a loss, now that she has been prostituted; but she can still be displayed in her inner sanctuary, if only she has found not a peddler but a high priest. Farewell.

What is this force, Lucilius, that drags us in one direction when we are aiming in another, urging us on to the exact place from which we long to withdraw? What is it that wrestles with our spirit, and does not allow us to desire anything once for all? We veer from plan to plan. None of our wishes is free, none is unqualified, none is lasting. “But it is the fool,” you say, “who is inconsistent; nothing suits him for long.” But how or when can we tear ourselves away from this folly? No man by himself has sufficient strength to rise above it; he needs a helping hand, and some one to extricate him. Epicurus remarks that certain men have worked their way to the truth without any one’s assistance, carving out their own passage. And he gives special praise to these, for their impulse has come from within, and they have forged to the front by themselves. Again, he says, there are others who need outside help, who will not proceed unless someone leads the way, but who will follow faithfully. Of these, he says, Metrodorus was one; this type of man is also excellent, but belongs to the second grade. We ourselves are not of that first class, either; we shall be well treated if we are admitted into the second. Nor need you despise a man who can gain salvation only with the assistance of another; the will to be saved means a great deal, too. You will find still another class of man,—and a class not to be despised,—who can be forced and driven into righteousness, who do not need a guide as much as they require someone to encourage and, as it were, to force them along. This is the third variety. If you ask me for a man of this pattern also, Epicurus tells us that Hermarchus was such. And of the two last-named classes, he is more ready to congratulate the one, but he feels more respect for the other; for although both reached the same goal, it is a greater credit to have brought about the same result with the more difficult material upon which to work. Suppose that two buildings have been erected, unlike as to their foundations, but equal in height and in grandeur. One is built on faultless ground, and the process of erection goes right ahead. In the other case, the foundations have exhausted the building materials, for they have been sunk into soft and shifting ground and much labour has been wasted in reaching the solid rock. As one looks at both of them, one sees clearly what progress the former has made, but the larger and more difficult part of the latter is hidden. So with men’s dispositions; some are pliable and easy to manage, but others have to be laboriously wrought out by hand, so to speak, and are wholly employed in the making of their own foundations. I should accordingly deem more fortunate the man who has never had any trouble with himself; but the other, I feel, has deserved better of himself, who has won a victory over the meanness of his own nature, and has not gently led himself, but has wrestled his way, to wisdom. You may be sure that this refractory nature, which demands much toil, has been implanted in us. There are obstacles in our path; so let us fight, and call to our assistance some helpers. “Whom,” you say, “shall I call upon? Shall it be this man or that?” There is another choice also open to you; you may go to the ancients; for they have the time to help you. We can get assistance not only from the living, but from those of the past. Let us choose, however, from among the living, not men who pour forth their words with the greatest glibness, turning out commonplaces and holding. as it were, their own little private exhibitions,—not these, I say, but men who teach us by their lives, men who tell us what we ought to do and then prove it by practice, who show us what we should avoid, and then are never caught doing that which they have ordered us to avoid. Choose as a guide one whom you will admire more when you see him act than when you hear him speak. Of course I would not prevent you from listening also to those philosophers who are wont to hold public meetings and discussions, provided they appear before the people for the express purpose of improving themselves and others, and do not practise their profession for the sake of self-seeking. For what is baser than philosophy courting applause? Does the sick man praise the surgeon while he is operating? In silence and with reverent awe submit to the cure. Even though you cry applause, I shall listen to your cries as if you were groaning when your sores were touched. Do you wish to bear witness that you are attentive, that you are stirred by the grandeur of the subject? You may do this at the proper time; I shall of course allow you to pass judgment and cast a vote as to the better course. Pythagoras made his pupils keep silence for five years; do you think that they had the right on that account to break out immediately into applause? How mad is he who leaves the lecture-room in a happy frame of mind simply because of applause from the ignorant! Why do you take pleasure in being praised by men whom you yourself cannot praise? Fabianus used to give popular talks, but his audience listened with self-control. Occasionally a loud shout of praise would burst forth, but it was prompted by the greatness of his subject, and not by the sound of oratory that slipped forth pleasantly and softly. There should be a difference between the applause of the theatre and the applause of the school; and there is a certain decency even in bestowing praise. If you mark them carefully, all acts are always significant, and you can gauge character by even the most trifling signs. The lecherous man is revealed by his gait, by a movement of the hand, sometimes by a single answer, by his touching his head with a finger, by the shifting of his eye. The scamp is shown up by his laugh; the madman by his face and general appearance. These qualities become known by certain marks; but you can tell the character of every man when you see how he gives and receives praise. The philosopher’s audience, from this corner and that, stretch forth admiring hands, and sometimes the adoring crowd almost hang over the lecturer’s head. But, if you really understand, that is not praise; it is merely applause. These outcries should be left for the arts which aim to please the crowd; let philosophy be worshipped in silence. Young men, indeed, must sometimes have free play to follow their impulses, but it should only be at times when they act from impulse, and when they cannot force themselves to be silent. Such praise as that gives a certain kind of encouragement to the hearers themselves, and acts as a spur to the youthful mind. But let them be roused to the matter, and not to the style; otherwise, eloquence does them harm, making them enamoured of itself, and not of the subject. I shall postpone this topic for the present; it demands a long and special investigation, to show how the public should be addressed, what indulgences should be allowed to a speaker on a public occasion, and what should be allowed to the crowd itself in the presence of the speaker. There can be no doubt that philosophy has suffered a loss, now that she has exposed her charms for sale. But she can still be viewed in her sanctuary, if her exhibitor is a priest and not a pedlar. Farewell.

[1] Quid est hoc, Lucili, quod nos alio tendentes alio trahit et eo unde recedere cupimus impellit? quid colluctatur cum animo nostro nec permittit nobis quicquam semel velle? Fluctuamur inter varia consilia; nihil libere volumus, nihil absolute, nihil semper. [2] 'Stultitia' inquis 'est cui nihil constat, nihil diu placet.' Sed quomodo nos aut quando ab illa revellemus? Nemo per se satis valet ut emergat; oportet manum aliquis porrigat, aliquis educat. [3] Quosdam ait Epicurus ad veritatem sine ullius adiutorio exisse, fecisse sibi ipsos viam; hos maxime laudat quibus ex se impetus fuit, qui se ipsi protulerunt: quosdam indigere ope aliena, non ituros si nemo praecesserit, sed bene secuturos. Ex his Metrodorum ait esse; egregium hoc quoque, sed secundae sortis ingenium. Nos ex illa prima nota non sumus; bene nobiscum agitur, si in secundam recipimur. Ne hunc quidem contempseris hominem qui alieno beneficio esse salvus potest; et hoc multum est, velle servari. [4] Praeter haec adhuc invenies genus aliud hominum ne ipsum quidem fastidiendum eorum qui cogi ad rectum compellique possunt, quibus non duce tantum opus sit sed adiutore et, ut ita dicam, coactore; hic tertius color est. Si quaeris huius quoque exemplar, Hermarchum ait Epicurus talem fuisse. Itaque alteri magis gratulatur, alterum magis suspicit; quamvis enim ad eundem finem uterque pervenerit, tamen maior est laus idem effecisse in difficiliore materia. [5] Puta enim duo aedificia excitata esse, ambo paria, aeque excelsa atque magnifica. Alter puram aream accepit, illic protinus opus crevit; alterum fundamenta lassarunt in mollem et fluvidam humum missa multumque laboris exhaustum est dum pervenitur ad solidum: intuentibus quidquid fecit <alter> *** alterius magna pars et difficilior latet. [6] Quaedam ingenia facilia, expedita, quaedam manu, quod aiunt, facienda sunt et in fundamentis suis occupata. Itaque illum ego feliciorem dixerim qui nihil negotii secum habuit, hunc quidem melius de se meruisse qui malignitatem naturae suae vicit et ad sapientiam se non perduxit sed extraxit. [7] Hoc durum ac laboriosum ingenium nobis datum scias licet; imus per obstantia. Itaque pugnemus, aliquorum invocemus auxilium. 'Quem' inquis 'invocabo? Hunc aut illum?' Tu vero etiam ad priores revertere, qui vacant; adiuvare nos possunt non tantum qui sunt, sed qui fuerunt. [8] Ex his autem qui sunt eligamus non eos qui verba magna celeritate praecipitant et communes locos volvunt et in privato circulantur, sed eos qui vita docent, qui cum dixerunt quid faciendum sit probant faciendo, qui docent quid vitandum sit nec umquam in eo quod fugiendum dixerunt deprehenduntur; eum elige adiutorem quem magis admireris cum videris quam cum audieris. [9] Nec ideo te prohibuerim hos quoque audire quibus admittere populum ac disserere consuetudo est, si modo hoc proposito in turbam prodeunt, ut meliores fiant faciantque meliores, si non ambitionis hoc causa exercent. Quid enim turpius philosophia captante clamores? numquid aeger laudat medicum secantem? [10] Tacete, favete et praebete vos curationi; etiam si exclamaveritis, non aliter audiam quam si ad tactum vitiorum vestrorum ingemescatis. Testari vultis attendere vos moverique rerum magnitudine? sane liceat: ut quidem iudicetis et feratis de meliore suffragium, quidni non permittam? Apud Pythagoram discipulis quinque annis tacendum erat: numquid ergo existimas statim illis et loqui et laudare licuisse? [11] Quanta autem dementia eius est quem clamores imperitorum hilarem ex auditorio dimittunt! Quid laetaris quod ab hominibus his laudatus es quos non potes ipse laudare? Disserebat populo Fabianus, sed audiebatur modeste; erumpebat interdum magnus clamor laudantium, sed quem rerum magnitudo evocaverat, non sonus inoffense ac molliter orationis elapsae. [12] Intersit aliquid inter clamorem theatri et scholae: est aliqua et laudandi elegantia. Omnia rerum omnium, si observentur, indicia sunt, et argumentum morum ex minimis quoque licet capere: impudicum et incessus ostendit et manus mota et unum interdum responsum et relatus ad caput digitus et flexus oculorum; improbum risus, insanum vultus habitusque demonstrat. Illa enim in apertum per notas exeunt: qualis quisque sit scies, si quemadmodum laudet, quemadmodum laudetur aspexeris. [13] Hinc atque illinc philosopho manus auditor intentat et super ipsum caput mirantium turba consistit: non laudatur ille nunc, si intellegis, sed conclamatur. Relinquantur istae voces illis artibus quae propositum habent populo placere: philosophia adoretur. [14] Permittendum erit aliquando iuvenibus sequi impetum animi, tunc autem cum hoc ex impetu facient, cum silentium sibi imperare non poterunt; talis laudatio aliquid exhortationis affert ipsis audientibus et animos adulescentium exstimulat. <At> ad rem commoveantur, non ad verba composita; alioquin nocet illis eloquentia, si non rerum cupiditatem facit sed sui. [15] Differam hoc in praesentia; desiderat enim propriam et longam exsecutionem, quemadmodum populo disserendum, quid sibi apud populum permittendum sit, quid populo apud se. Damnum quidem fecisse philosophiam non erit dubium postquam prostituta est; sed potest in penetralibus suis ostendi, si modo non institorem sed antistitem nancta est. Vale. Seneca the YoungerThe Latin Library The Classics Page