On the Firmness of the Wise Person Chapter 6

Cogita nunc, an huic fur aut calumniator aut vicinus impotens aut dives aliquis regnum orbae senectutis exercens facere iniuriam possit, cui bellum et hostis et ille egregiam artem quassandarum urbium professus eripere nihil potuit. Inter micantis ubique gladios et militarem in rapina tumultum, inter flammas et sanguinem stragemque impulsae civitatis, inter fragorem templorum super deos suos cadentium uni homini pax fuit. Non est itaque, quod audax iudices promissum, cuius tibi, si parum fidei habeo, sponsorem dabo. Vix enim credis tantum firmitatis in hominem aut tantam animi magnitudinem cadere ; sed is prodit in medium qui dicat : " Non est quod dubites, an attollere se homo natus supra humana possit, an dolores, damna, ulcerationes, vulnera, magnos motus rerum circa se frementium securus aspiciat et dura placide ferat et secunda moderate, nec illis cedens nec his fretus, unus idemque inter diversa sit nec quicquam suum nisi se putet, et se quoque ea parte qua melior est. En adsum hoc vobis probaturus, sub isto tot civitatium eversore munimenta incussu arietis labefieri et turrium altitudinem cuniculis ac latentibus fossis repente desidere et aequaturum editissimas arces aggerem crescere, at nulla machinamenta posse reperiri, quae bene fundatum animum agitent. Erepsi modo e ruinis domus et incendis undique relucentibus flammas per sanguinem fugi; filias meas quis casus habeat, an peior publico, nescio ; solus et senior et hostilia circa me omnia videns tamen integrum incolumemque esse censum meum profiteor. Teneo, habeo quicquid mei habui. Non est quod me victum victoremque te credas. Vicit fortuna tua fortunam meam. Caduca illa et dominum mutantia ubi sint nescio ; quod ad res meas pertinet, mecum sunt, mecum erunt. Perdiderunt isti divites patrimonia, libidinosi amores suos et magno pudoris impendio dilecta scorta, ambitiosi curiam et forum et loca exercendis in publico vitiis destinata ; feneratores perdiderunt tabellas, quibus avaritia falso laeta divitias imaginatur. Ego quidem omnia integra illibataque habeo. Proinde istos interroga qui flent, lamentantur, qui strictis gladiis nuda pro pecunia corpora opponunt, qui hostem onerato sinu fugiunt." Ergo ita habe. Serene, perfectum illum virum, humanis divinisque virtutibus plenum, nihil perdere. Bona eius solidis et inexsuperabilibus munimentis praecincta sunt. Non Babylonios illis muros contuleris, quos Alexander intravit, non Carthaginis aut Numantiae moenia una manu capta, non Capitolium arcemve, habent ista hostile vestigium. Illa, quae sapientem tuentur, et a flamma et ab incursu tuta sunt, nullum introitum praebent, excelsa, inexpugnabilia, diis aequa.

Consider now, whether any thief, or false accuser, or headstrong neighbour, or rich man enjoying the power conferred by a childless old age, could do any injury to this man, from whom neither war nor an enemy whose profession was the noble art of battering city walls could take away anything. Amid the flash of swords on all sides, and the riot of the plundering soldiery, amid the flames and blood and ruin of the fallen city, amid the crash of temples falling upon their gods, one man was at peace. You need not therefore account that a reckless boast, for which I will give you a surety, if my words goes for nothing. Indeed, you would hardly believe so much constancy or such greatness of mind to belong to any man; but here a man comes forward to prove that you have no reason for doubting that one who is but of human birth can raise himself above human necessities, can tranquilly behold pains, losses, diseases, wounds, and great natural convulsions roaring around him, can bear adversity with calm and prosperity with moderation, neither yielding to the former nor trusting to the latter, that he can remain the same amid all varieties of fortune, and think nothing to be his own save himself, and himself too only as regards his better part. “Behold,” says he, “I am here to prove to you that although, under the direction of that destroyer of so many cities, walls may be shaken by the stroke of the ram, lofty towers may be suddenly brought low by galleries and hidden mines, and mounds arise so high as to rival the highest citadel, yet that no siege engines can be discovered which can shake a well-established mind. I have just crept from amid the ruins of my house, and with conflagrations blazing all around I have escaped from the flames through blood. What fate has befallen my daughters, whether a worse one than that of their country, I know not. Alone and elderly, and seeing everything around me in the hands of the enemy, still I declare that my property is whole and untouched. I have, I hold whatever of mine I have ever had. There is no reason for you to suppose me conquered and yourself my conqueror. It is your fortune which has overcome mine. As for those fleeting possessions which change their owners, I know not where they are; what belongs to myself is with me, and ever will be. I see rich men who have lost their estates; lustful men who have lost their loves, the courtesans whom they cherished at the cost of much shame; ambitious men who have lost the senate, the law courts, the places set apart for the public display of men’s vices; usurers who have lost their account-books, in which avarice vainly enjoyed an unreal wealth; but I possess everything whole and uninjured. Leave me, and go and ask those who are weeping and lamenting over the loss of their money, who are offering their bare breasts to drawn swords in its defence, or who are fleeing from the enemy with weighty pockets.” See then, Serenus, that the perfect man, full of human and divine virtues, can lose nothing; his goods are surrounded by strong and impassable walls. You cannot compare with them the walls of Babylon, which Alexander entered, nor the fortifications of Carthage and Numantia, won by one and the same hand, nor the Capitol and citadel of Rome, which are branded with the marks of the victors’ insults; the ramparts which protect the wise man are safe from fire and hostile invasion; they afford no passage; they are lofty, impregnable, divine.

Ne juge donc pas téméraire l’annonce que je t’ai faite si dans ma bouche elle a peu de créance, je t’offre un garant. Tu as peine à croire que tant de fermeté chez un homme, tant de grandeur d’âme soit possible ; mais si je le fais comparaître, si lui-même te dit : « N’en doute pas, quiconque naît homme peut s’élever au-dessus des choses humaines ; douleurs, pertes, tribulations, blessures, révolutions qui grondent autour de lui, il peut tout envisager sans pâlir, supporter avec calme les disgrâces, et le bonheur avec modération, sans ployer sous les unes, sans se fier à l’autre, rester égal et le même dans les conjonctures les plus diverses, et penser que rien n’est à lui que lui seul, c’est-à-dire encore la meilleure partie de son être. Oui, et me voici pour exemple : que sous ce renverseur de villes les fortifications s’ébranlent au choc du bélier ; que les orgueilleuses tours, sapées par les mines et les voies souterraines , s’affaissent tout à coup ; que ses terrasses montent au niveau des plus hautes citadelles, je le défie d’inventer des machines qui donnent à l’âme bien assise la moindre secousse. Je me suis tout à l’heure arraché des ruines de ma maison à la lueur d’un embrasement général, j’ai fui la flamme à travers le sang. À quel sort sont livrées mes filles ; est-il pire que le sort de tous ? je l’ignore. Seul et chargé d’ans, ne voyant rien que d’hostile autour de moi, je déclare néanmoins que mes biens sont saufs et intacts, je garde, j’ai encore tout ce que j’avais à moi. Tu n’as pas lieu, Démétrius, de me juger vaincu, de te croire mon vainqueur : ta fortune a vaincu ma fortune. Ces choses périssables et qui changent de maître, je ne sais où elles ont passé : quant à mon véritable avoir, il est, il sera toujours avec moi. Ces autres riches ont perdu leurs patrimoines ; les libertins leurs amours et leurs courtisanes si scandaleusement aimées ; les intrigants le sénat, le forum et les lieux consacrés à l’exercice public de tous les vices ; l’usurier a perdu ces registres où l’avarice, dans ses fausses joies, suppute d’imaginaires richesses ; moi, j’emporte la mienne entière et sans dommage. Adresse-toi donc à ceux qui pleurent, qui se lamentent, qui, pour sauver leur or, opposent leurs corps nus aux glaives menaçants, qui fuient l’ennemi la bourse pleine. » Oui, Sérénus, reconnais que cet homme accompli, comblé des vertus humaines et divines, ne saurait rien perdre. Ses trésors sont enceints de fermes et insurmontables remparts, auxquels il ne faut comparer ni les murs de Babylone où Alexandre a pénétré, ni ceux de Carthage ou de Numance qu’un même bras a conquises, ni le Capitole ou sa citadelle qui gardent la trace de l’ennemi. Les murailles qui défendent le sage sont à l’abri de la flamme et des incursions ; elles n’offrent point de brèche, elles sont hautes, imprenables, au niveau du séjour des dieux.