Moral Letters to Lucilius Section 10

Maximum malum iudicabis mortem, cum in illa nihil sit mali, nisi quod ante ipsam est, timeri. Exterrebunt te non tantum pericula, sed suspiciones; vanis semper agitaberis. Quid enim proderit evasisse tot urbes Argolicas mediosque fugam tenuisse per hostis? Ipsa pax timores sumministrabit. Ne tutis quidem habebitur fides consternata semel mente; quae ubi consuetudinem pavoris inprovidi fecit, etiam ad tutelam salutis suae inhabilis est. Non enim vitat, sed fugit. Magis autem periculis patemus aversi.

Le plus grand des maux, penses-tu, c’est la mort ? Mais il n’y a de mal en elle que ce qui la précède, la peur. Tu t’effrayeras et du péril et de l’ombre du péril ; des chimères t’agiteront sans cesse. Car que te servira

D’avoir franchi tant d’hostiles cités,

Tant de bords dangereux par le Grec habités ?

La paix même sera pour toi fertile en alarmes. Ton âme une fois découragée, l’abri le plus sûr n’aura pas ta confiance ; et dès que le sentiment irréfléchi de la peur tourne en habitude, il paralyse jusqu’à l’instinct de la conservation. Il n’évite pas, il fuit : et l’on donne plus de prise aux dangers en leur tournant le dos.

Or you may rate death as the worst of evils, although there is really no evil therein except that which precedes death’s coming - fear. You will be frightened out of your wits, not only by real, but by fancied dangers, and will be tossed for ever on the sea of illusion. What benefit will it be to Have threaded all the towns of Argolis, A fugitive through midmost press of foes? For peace itself will furnish further apprehension. Even in the midst of safety you will have no confidence if your mind has once been given a shock; once it has acquired the habit of blind panic, it is incapable of providing even for its own safety. For it does not avoid danger, but runs away. Yet we are more exposed to danger when we turn our backs.