On Leisure Chapter 5

Solemus dicere summum bonum esse secundum naturam vivere. Natura nos ad utrumque genuit, et contemplationi rerum et actioni. Nunc id probemus, quod prius diximus. Quid porro ? Hoc non erit probatum, si se unusquisque consuluerit, quantam cupidinem habeat ignota noscendi, quam ad omnis fabulas excitetur ? Navigant quidam et labores peregrinationis longissimae una mercede perpetiuntur cognoscendi aliquid abditum remotum- que. Haec res ad spectacula populos contrahit, haec cogit praeclusa rimari, secretiora exquirere, antiquitates evolvere, mores barbararum audire gentium. Curiosum nobis natura ingenium dedit et artis sibi ac pulchritudinis suae conscia spectatores nos tantis rerum spectaculis genuit, perditura fructum sui, si tam magna, tam clara, tam subtiliter ducta, tam nitida et non uno genere formosa soli- tudini ostenderet. Ut scias illam spectari voluisse, non tantum aspici, vide quem nobis locum dederit. In media nos sui parte constituit et circumspectum omnium nobis dedit; nec erexit tantummodo hominem, sed etiam habilem contemplationi factura, ut ab ortu sidera in occasum labentia prosequi posset et vultum suum circumferre cum toto, sublime fecit illi caput et collo flexili imposuit; deinde sena per diem, sena per noctem signa perducens nullam non partem sui explicuit, ut per haec, quae optulerat oculis eius, cupiditatem faceret etiam ceterorum. Nec enim omnia nec tanta visimus quanta sunt, sed acies nostra aperit sibi investigandi viam et fundamenta vero iacit, ut inquisitio transeat ex apertis in obscura et aliquid ipso mundo inveniat antiquius : unde ista sidera exierint ; quis fuerit universi status, antequam singula in partes discederent ; quae ratio mersa et confusa diduxerit ; quis loca rebus adsignaverit, suapte natura gravia descenderint, evolaverint levia, an praeter nisum pondusque corporum altior aliqua vis legem singulis dixerit ; an illud verum sit, quo maxime probatur homines divini esse spiritus, partem ac veluti scintillas quasdam astrorum in terram desiluisse atque alieno loco haesisse. Cogitatio nostra caeli munimenta perrumpit nec contenta est id, quod ostenditur, scire. " Illud," inquit, "scrutor, quod ultra mundum iacet, utrumne profunda vastitas sit an et hoc ipsum terminis suis cludatur ; qualis sit habitus exclusis, informia et confusa sint, in omnem partem tantundem loci obtinentia, an et illa in aliquem cultum discripta sint ; huic cohaereant mundo, an longe ab hoc secesserint et hic vacuo volutentur ; individua sint, per quae struitur omne quod natum futurumque est, an continua eorum materia sit et per totum mutabilis ; utrum contraria inter se elementa sint, an non pugnent sed per diversa con- Spirent." Ad haec quaerenda natus, aestima, quam non multum acceperit temporis, etiam si illud totum sibi vindicat. Cui licet nihil facilitate eripi, nihil neglegentia patiatur excidere, licet horas suas avarissime servet et usque in ultimum aetatis humanae terminum procedat nec quicquam illi ex eo, quod natura constituit, fortuna concutiat, tamen homo ad immortalium cognitionem nimis mortalis est. Ergo secundum naturam vivo, si totum me illi dedi, si illius admirator cultorque sum. Natura autem utrumque facere me voluit, et agere et contemplationi vacare. Utrumque facio, quoniam ne contemplatio quidem sine actione est.

We have a habit of saying that the highest good is to live according to nature: now nature has produced us for both purposes, for contemplation and for action. Let us now prove what we said before: nay, who will not think this proved if he bethinks himself how great a passion he has for discovering the unknown? how vehemently his curiosity is roused by every kind of romantic tale. Some men make long voyages and undergo the toils of journeying to distant lands for no reward except that of discovering something hidden and remote. This is what draws people to public shows, and causes them to pry into everything that is closed, to puzzle out everything that is secret, to clear up points of antiquity, and to listen to tales of the customs of savage nations. Nature has bestowed upon us an inquiring disposition, and being well aware of her own skill and beauty, has produced us to be spectators of her vast works, because she would lose all the fruits of her labour if she were to exhibit such vast and noble works of such complex construction, so bright and beautiful in so many ways, to solitude alone. That you may be sure that she wishes to be gazed upon, not merely looked at, see what a place she has assigned to us: she has placed us in the middle of herself and given us a prospect all around. She has not only set man erect upon his feet, but also with a view to making it easy for him to watch the heavens, she has raised his head on high and connected it with a pliant neck, in order that he might follow the course of the stars from their rising to their setting, and move his face round with the whole heaven. Moreover, by carrying six constellations across the sky by day, and six by night, she displays every part of herself in such a manner that by what she brings before man’s eyes she renders him eager to see the rest also. For we have not beheld all things, nor yet the true extent of them, but our eyesight does but open to itself the right path for research, and lay the foundation, from which our speculations may pass from what is obvious to what is less known, and find out something more ancient than the world itself, from whence those stars came forth: inquire what was the condition of the universe before each of its elements were separated from the general mass: on what principle its confused and blended parts were divided: who assigned their places to things, whether it was by their own nature that what was heavy sunk downwards, and what was light flew upwards, or whether besides the stress and weight of bodies some higher power gave laws to each of them: whether that greatest proof that the spirit of man is divine be true, the theory, namely, that some parts and as it were sparks of the stars have fallen down upon earth and stuck there in a foreign substance. Our thought bursts through the battlements of heaven, and is not satisfied with knowing only what is shown to us: “I investigate,” it says, “that which lies without the world, whether it be a bottomless abyss, or whether it also is confined within boundaries of its own: what the appearance of the things outside may be, whether they be shapeless and vague, extending equally in every direction, or whether they also are arranged in a certain kind of order: whether they are connected with this world of ours, or are widely separated from it and welter about in empty space: whether they consist of distinct atoms, of which everything that is and that is to be, is made, or whether their substance is uninterrupted and all of it capable of change: whether the elements are naturally opposed to one another, or whether they are not at variance, but work towards the same end by different means.” Since man was born for such speculations as these, consider how short a time he has been given for them, even supposing that he makes good his claims to the whole of it, allows no part of it to be wrested from him through good nature, or to slip away from him through carelessness; though he watches over all his hours with most miserly care, though he live to the extreme confines of human existence, and though misfortune take nothing away from what Nature bestowed upon him, even then man is too mortal for the comprehension of immortality. I live according to Nature, therefore, if I give myself entirely up to her, and if I admire and reverence her. Nature, however, intended me to do both, to practise both contemplation and action: and I do both, because even contemplation is not devoid of action.

Prouvons le premier de ces deux points. Eh ! ne sera-t-il pas prouvé pour quiconque, se consultant soi-même, verra quelle immense soif de connaître est en nous, combien les récits même les plus fabuleux éveillent notre intérêt ? Il est des hommes qui affrontent les mers et les fatigues des plus longs voyages pour le seul avantage de découvrir quelque secret reculé loin d’eux. Ce même instinct attire aux spectacles des peuples entiers, nous pousse à percer toute barrière, à explorer toute chose occulte, à dérouler les fastes antiques, à entendre conter les mœurs des nations barbares. La nature nous a donné un génie avide de savoir ; et parce qu’elle avait conscience de son art et de sa beauté, elle nous a créés spectateurs de ses sublimes scènes. Elle perdait le fruit de son œuvre, si des merveilles si hautes, si subtiles dans leur mécanisme, si splendides, et toutes diversement belles, n’avaient que la solitude pour témoin. Pour te convaincre qu’elle veut une attention sérieuse, non un simple coup d’œil, vois quel poste elle nous a assigné. C’est au centre d’elle-même qu’elle nous a établis, c’est tout le cercle de l’univers qu’elle nous a livré pour point de vue. Elle a donné à l’homme une attitude droite ; et de plus, afin que son œil, fait pour la contemplation, suivît sans peine le cours des astres de leur lever à leur coucher, et qu’il pût tourner son visage vers tous les points de la sphère mobile, elle a voulu qu’il portât la tête haute et placée sur un cou flexible. Puis elle a produit sur la scène six de ses signes pour le jour et les six autres pour la nuit : elle a étalé tous ses charmes visibles, et par ce qu’elle offrait à ses regards lui a inspiré un vif désir de connaître le reste. Nous ne pouvons ni tout voir ni saisir toute l’étendue de ce que nous voyons ; mais notre regard, à force d’investigations, s’ouvre la voie et jette les fondements du vrai ; ce qu’il découvre le met sur la trace de ce qui demeure obscur, et il arrive à un principe antérieur au monde même. D’où ces astres sont-ils sortis ? Quel fut l’état de l’univers avant que ses éléments se distribuassent en parties distinctes ? Quelle intelligence débrouilla l’informe chaos ? qui assigna sa place à chaque chose ? Est-ce d’eux-mêmes et par leur nature que les corps pesants sont descendus, que les corps légers ont pris leur essor ; ou plutôt, indépendamment des poids et des tendances, est-ce une force supérieure qui a réglé leurs lois respectives ? Est-il vrai, et ce serait la grande preuve que l’homme émane du souffle divin, est-il vrai qu’une particule et comme des étincelles du feu céleste, tombées ici-bas, se sont fixées sur une argile qui leur était étrangère ? La pensée de l’homme force jusqu’aux remparts du ciel ; c’est peu pour elle de connaître les choses visibles : je veux savoir, se dit-elle, ce qui existe au delà des cieux, si c’est un espace sans fond, ou une nouvelle enceinte qui a ses limites, quelles substances s’y trouvent et sous quel aspect. Sont-elles informes, confuses, occupant dans toutes leurs dimensions le même espace ; ont-elles aussi leurs beautés quelconques et leur classement ? Sont-elles liées à notre système ou reculées au loin et roulant dans le vide ? Est-ce d’atomes indivisibles que procède tout ce qui est né et tout ce qui sera, ou la matière des corps est-elle continue et muable dans son entier ? Les éléments luttent-ils entre eux, ou loin d’être une guerre, leur action diverse ne concourt-elle pas à un but unique ? Juge combien l’homme, né pour ces recherches, a reçu peu de temps en partage, se le réservât-il même tout entier ; n’en laissât-il rien ravir par trop de facilité, rien échapper par négligence, et, rigoureusement avare de ses heures, parvînt-il au terme de la plus longue vie humaine, sans que rien de ce qu’a fait pour lui la nature fût bouleversé par la Fortune, toujours est-il que pour atteindre aux immortels secrets l’homme est trop voisin de la mort. Donc je vis selon la nature si je me suis donné à elle tout entier, si je lui voue mon admiration et mon culte. Or la nature a voulu que je fisse deux choses : agir et vaquer à la contemplation. Je les fais toutes deux, car la contemplation même n’est pas sans action.