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Cicero

On Fate Passage 14

Passage 14 of 48

Canonical reference 14

Latin

perseus-cicero-de_fato-lat

Etenim si illud vere conectitur: Si oriente Canicula natus es, in mari non moriere , primumque quod est in conexo: Natus es oriente Canicula , necessarium est (omnia enim vera in praeteritis necessaria sunt, ut Chrysippo placet dissentienti a magistro Cleanthe, quia sunt inmutabilia nec in falsum e vero praeterita possunt convertere); si igitur, quod primum in conexo est, necessarium est, fit etiam, quod consequitur, necessarium. Quamquam hoc Chrysippo non videtur valere in omnibus; sed tamen, si naturalis est causa, cur in mari Fabius non moriatur, in mari Fabius mori non potest.

English AI-generated translation, non-official

Codex gpt-5.6-sol · Non-official working translation · 2026-09-11

For if this conditional is true: “If you were born when the Dog Star was rising, you will not die at sea,” and the first clause of the conditional, “You were born when the Dog Star was rising,” is necessary, since all truths about the past are necessary, according to Chrysippus, who here disagrees with his teacher Cleanthes, because they are immutable and past events cannot be changed from true to false, then, if the first clause of the conditional is necessary, its consequence also becomes necessary. Chrysippus does not, indeed, think this holds in every case. Nevertheless, if there is a natural cause why Fabius should not die at sea, Fabius cannot die at sea.

French AI-generated translation, non-official

Codex gpt-5.6-sol · Non-official working translation · 2026-09-11

En effet, si cette implication est vraie: « Si tu es né au lever de la Canicule, tu ne mourras pas en mer », et si le premier terme de l’implication, « Tu es né au lever de la Canicule », est nécessaire, car toutes les vérités passées sont nécessaires selon Chrysippe, qui s’oppose ici à son maître Cléanthe, puisqu’elles sont immuables et que le passé ne peut passer du vrai au faux, alors, si le premier terme de l’implication est nécessaire, sa conséquence devient elle aussi nécessaire. Chrysippe ne juge certes pas ce raisonnement valable dans tous les cas; pourtant, s’il existe une cause naturelle pour laquelle Fabius ne mourra pas en mer, Fabius ne peut mourir en mer.

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