Lettres à Lucilius Section 8

Hoc ne nobis quoque eveniat, quaeramus, quid sit bonum, varia eius interpretatio fuit, alius illud aliter expressit. Quidam ita finiunt: bonum est quod invitat animos, quod ad se vocat. Huic statim opponitur: quid, si invitat quidem, sed in perniciem? Scis, quam multa mala blanda sint. verum et veri simile inter se differunt; ita quod bonum est, vero iungitur; non est enim bonum nisi verum est. At quod invitat ad se et adlicefacit, veri simile est; subripit, sollicitat, adtrahit.

les uns l’ont défini ou décrit d’une manière, les autres d’une autre. Quelques-uns disent : « Le bien, c’est ce qui invite l’esprit et
l’appelle à soi. » D’autres aussitôt de répondre : « Comment ! même s’il invite l’homme à sa perte ? » Tu sais : il y a bien des maux qui séduisent. Le vrai et le vraisemblable diffèrent entre eux. Ainsi, le bien se joint au vrai ; car il n’est de bien que le vrai, mais ce qui invite, ce qui allèche, n’est que vraisemblable :

Now, lest this happen also in our own case, let us ask what is the Good. It has been explained in various ways; different men have described it in different ways. Some define it in this way. “That which attracts and calls the spirit to itself is a Good.” But the objection at once comes up - what if it does attract, but straight to ruin? You know how seductive many evils are. That which is true differs from that which looks like the truth; hence the Good is connected with the true, for it is not good unless it is also true. But that which attracts and allures, is only like the truth; it steals your attention, demands your interest, and draws you to itself.