De la brièveté de la vie Chapitre 17

Ipsae voluptates eorum trepidae et variis ter- roribus inquietae sunt subitque cum maxime exsultantis sollicita cogitatio : " Haec quam diu ? " Ab hoc affectu reges suam flevere potentiam, nec illos magnitudo fortunae suae delectavit, sed venturus aliquando finis exterruit. Cum per magna camporum spatia porrigeret exercitum nec numerum eius sed mensuram conprenderet Persarum rex insolentissimus, lacrimas profudit, quod intra centum annos nemo ex tanta iuventute superfuturus esset. At illis admoturus erat fatum ipse qui flebat perditurusque alios in mari, alios in terra, alios proelio, alios fuga et intra exiguum tempus consumpturus illos, quibus centesimum annum timebat. Quid, quod gaudia quoque eorum trepida sunt ? Non enim solidis causis innituntur, sed eadem qua oriuntur vanitate turbantur. Qualia autem putas esse tempora etiam ipsorum confessione misera, cum haec quoque, quibus se attollunt et super hominem efferunt, parum sincera sint ? Maxima quaeque bona sollicita sunt nec ulli fortunae minus bene quam optimae creditur ; alia felicitate ad tuendam felicitatem opus est et pro ipsis quae successere votis vota facienda sunt. Omne enim quod fortuito obvenit instabile est, quoque altius surrexerit, opportunius est in occasum. Neminem porro casura delectant ; miserrimam ergo necesse est, non tantum brevissimam, vitam esse eorum, qui magno parant labore, quod maiore possideant. Operose adsecuntur quae volunt, anxii tenent quae adsecuti sunt ; nulla interim numquam amplius redi- turi temporis ratio est. Novae occupationes veteribus substituuntur, spes spem excitat, ambitionem ambitio. Miseriarum non finis quaeritur, sed materia mutatur. Nostri nos honores torserunt ? Plus temporis alieni auferunt. Candidati laborare desimus ? Suffragatores incipimus. Accusandi deposimus molestiam ? Iudicandi nanciscimur. Iudex desit esse ? Quaesitor est. Alienorum bonorum mercennaria procuratione consenuit ? Suis opibus distinetur. Marium caliga dimisit ? Consulatus exercet. Quintius dictaturam properat pervadere ? Ab aratro revocabitur. Ibit in Poenos nondum tantae maturus rei Scipio ; victor Hannibalis, victor Antiochi, sui consulatus decus, fraterni sponsor, ni per ipsum mora esset, cum Iove reponeretur ; civiles servatorem agitabunt seditiones et post fastiditos a iuvene diis aequos honores iam senem contumacis exili delectabit ambitio. Num- quam derunt vel felices vel miserae sollicitudinis causae; per occupationes vita trudetur. Otium numquam agetur, semper optabitur.

Such men’s very pleasures are restless and disturbed by various alarms, and at the most joyous moment of all there rises the anxious thought: “How long will this last?” This frame of mind has led kings to weep over their power, and they have not been so much delighted at the grandeur of their position, as they have been terrified by the end to which it must some day come. That most arrogant Persian king, when his army stretched over vast plains and could not be counted but only measured, burst into tears at the thought that in less than a hundred years none of all those warriors would be alive: yet their death was brought upon them by the very man who wept over it, who was about to destroy some of them by sea, some on land, some in battle, and some in flight, and who would in a very short space of time put an end to those about whose hundredth year he showed such solicitude. Why need we wonder at their very joys being mixed with fear? they do not rest upon any solid grounds, but are disturbed by the same emptiness from which they spring. What must we suppose to be the misery of such times as even they acknowledge to be wretched, when even the joys by which they elevate themselves and raise themselves above their fellows are of a mixed character. All the greatest blessings are enjoyed with fear, and no thing is so untrustworthy as extreme prosperity: we require fresh strokes of good fortune to enable us to keep that which we are enjoying, and even those of our prayers which are answered require fresh prayers. Everything for which we are dependent on chance is uncertain: the higher it rises, the more opportunities it has of falling. Moreover, no one takes any pleasure in what is about to fall into ruin: very wretched, therefore, as well as very short must be the lives of those who work very hard to gain what they must work even harder to keep: they obtain what they wish with infinite labour, and they hold what they have obtained with fear and trembling. Meanwhile they take no account of time, of which they will never have a fresh and larger supply: they substitute new occupations for old ones, one hope leads to another, one ambition to another: they do not seek for an end to their wretchedness, but they change its subject. Do our own preferments trouble us? nay, those of other men occupy more of our time. Have we ceased from our labours in canvassing? then we begin others in voting. Have we got rid of the trouble of accusation? then we begin that of judging. Has a man ceased to be a judge? then he becomes an examiner. Has he grown old in the salaried management of other people’s property? then he becomes occupied with his own. Marius is discharged from military service; he becomes consul many times: Quintius is eager to reach the end of his dictatorship; he will be called a second time from the plough: Scipio marched against the Carthaginians before he was of years sufficient for so great an undertaking; after he has conquered Hannibal, conquered Antiochus, been the glory of his own consulship and the surety for that of his brother, he might, had he wished it, have been set on the same pedestal with Jupiter; but civil factions will vex the saviour of the state, and he who when a young man disdained to receive divine honours, will take pride as an old man in obstinately remaining in exile. We shall never lack causes of anxiety, either pleasurable or painful: our life will be pushed along from one business to another: leisure will always be wished for, and never enjoyed.

Pourquoi leurs joies mêmes sont-elles si inquiètes ? C’est qu’elles ne reposent point sur des bases solides ; et le même néant d’où elles sortent fait leur instabilité. Or que penser de leurs moments malheureux, comme ils les appellent eux-mêmes, quand ceux dont ils sont si fiers et qui les placent à leurs yeux au-dessus de l’humanité sont mêlés de tant d’amertumes ? Toute extrême jouissance a ses sollicitudes ; et la plus riante fortune est celle à laquelle on a le moins droit de se fier. Un succès pour s’affermir a besoin d’un succès nouveau ; pour les vœux accomplis il faut faire encore d’autres vœux. Car rien de ce qu’élève le hasard n’a de consistance : plus l’édifice gagne en hauteur, plus il est sujet à crouler ; et nul ne trouve de charme à ce qui menace ruine. Nécessairement donc elle est des plus malheureuses, non pas seulement des plus courtes, la vie de ceux qui acquièrent à grand’peine ce qu’ils ne garderont qu’avec plus de peine encore : que d’efforts pour atteindre ce qu’ils ambitionnent, que d’anxiétés pour retenir ce qu’ils ont atteint ! Et en attendant on ne tient nul compte d’un temps qui ne reviendra plus. De nouvelles agitations succèdent aux premières, une espérance en éveille une autre, l’ambition appelle l’ambition. On ne cherche pas la fin de ses misères, on en change l’objet . Nos honneurs ont fait nos tortures ? le soin d’y pousser autrui nous prendra encore plus de temps. Candidats, sommes-nous à la fin de nos brigues ? nous commençons à briguer pour les autres. Avons-nous déposé le rôle fâcheux d’accusateurs ? nous passons à celui de juges. Cessons-nous de juger ? nous voilà rapporteurs. A-t-on vieilli dans la gestion mercenaire des biens d’autrui ? c’est des siens mêmes qu’on se fait esclave. Marius échange la chaussure de soldat contre les soucis de consul. Si Quintius se hâte de terminer sa dictature, c’est de la charrue qu’on le rappellera. Scipion va marcher contre les Carthaginois, peu mûr d’années pour une si haute entreprise ; vainqueur d’Annibal, vainqueur d’Antiochus, il illustre son consulat, il cautionne celui de son frère ; on va même, s’il ne s’en défend, l’associer à Jupiter ; puis ce glorieux sauveur, en butte aux orages des factions, qui, jeune homme, aura dédaigné les honneurs presque de l’apothéose, mettra dans un exil obstiné la jouissance et l’ambition de ses vieux jours . Jamais ne nous manqueront, soit dans le bonheur, soit dans la disgrâce, les motifs d’inquiétude : mille embarras nous couperont les voies du repos ; sans jamais en jouir, nous y aspirerons toujours .