Moral Letters to Lucilius Section 19

Invenitur, qui dicat sapientem corpore parum prospero usum nec miserum esse nec beatum. Hic quoque fallitur, exaequat enim fortuita virtutibus et tantundem tribuit honestis quantum honestate carentibus. Quid autem foedius, quid indignius quam comparari veneranda contemptis? Veneranda enim sunt iustitia, pietas, fides, fortitudo, prudentia; e contrario vilia sunt, quae saepe contingunt pleniora vilissimis, crus solidum et lacertus et dentes et tororum sanitas firmitasque.

Nous trouvons des gens qui nous disent que le sage mal partagé corporellement n’est ni malheureux ni heureux. Ceux-là aussi se trompent : ils mettent les avantages fortuits au niveau des vertus, et n’accordent pas plus aux choses honnêtes qu’à celles qui le sont le moins. Or quoi de plus indigne, de plus révoltant que de comparer des choses respectables à celles qui méritent le dédain ? La vénération est due à la justice, à la piété, à la loyauté, au courage, à la prudence ; ce qui est vil au contraire, c’est ce dont souvent les plus vils mortels sont le plus largement pourvus :

We meet with one person who maintains that a wise man who has met with bodily misfortune is neither wretched nor happy. But he also is in error, for he is putting the results of chance upon a parity with the virtues, and is attributing only the same influence to things that are honourable as to things that are devoid of honour. But what is more detestable and more unworthy than to put contemptible things in the same class with things worthy of reverence! For reverence is due to justice, duty, loyalty, bravery, and prudence; on the contrary, those attributes are worthless with which the most worthless men are often blessed in fuller measure, - such as a sturdy leg, strong shoulders, good teeth, and healthy and solid muscles.