M. Therefore, this ruminating beforehand upon future evils which you see at a distance makes their approach more tolerable; and on this account what Euripides makes Theseus say is much commended. You will give me leave to translate them, as is usual with me:
“I treasured up what some learn’d sage did tell,
And on my future misery did dwell;
I thought of bitter death, of being drove
Far from my home by exile, and I strove
With every evil to possess my mind,
That, when they came, I the less care might find.”
But Euripides says that of himself, which Theseus said he had heard from some learned man, for the poet had been a pupil of Anaxagoras, who, as they relate, on hearing of the death of his son, said, “I knew that my son was mortal;” which speech seems to intimate that such things afflict those men who have not thought on them before.
Therefore, there is no doubt but that all those things which are considered evils are the heavier from not being foreseen. Though, notwithstanding this is not the only circumstance which occasions the greatest grief, still, as the mind, by foreseeing and preparing for it, has great power to make all grief the less, a man should at all times consider all the events that may befall him in this life; and certainly the excellence and divine nature of wisdom consists in taking a near view of, and gaining a thorough acquaintance with, all human affairs, in not being surprised when anything happens, and in thinking, before the event, that there is nothing but what may come to pass.
“Wherefore ev’ry man,
When his affairs go on most swimmingly,
E’en then it most behooves to arm himself
Against the coming storm: loss, danger, exile,
Returning ever, let him look to meet;
His son in fault, wife dead, or daughter sick;
All common accidents, and may have happen’d
That nothing shall seem new or strange. But if
Aught has fall’n out beyond his hopes, all that
Let him account clear gain."
“I treasured up what some learn’d sage did tell,
And on my future misery did dwell;
I thought of bitter death, of being drove
Far from my home by exile, and I strove
With every evil to possess my mind,
That, when they came, I the less care might find.”
But Euripides says that of himself, which Theseus said he had heard from some learned man, for the poet had been a pupil of Anaxagoras, who, as they relate, on hearing of the death of his son, said, “I knew that my son was mortal;” which speech seems to intimate that such things afflict those men who have not thought on them before.
Therefore, there is no doubt but that all those things which are considered evils are the heavier from not being foreseen. Though, notwithstanding this is not the only circumstance which occasions the greatest grief, still, as the mind, by foreseeing and preparing for it, has great power to make all grief the less, a man should at all times consider all the events that may befall him in this life; and certainly the excellence and divine nature of wisdom consists in taking a near view of, and gaining a thorough acquaintance with, all human affairs, in not being surprised when anything happens, and in thinking, before the event, that there is nothing but what may come to pass.
“Wherefore ev’ry man,
When his affairs go on most swimmingly,
E’en then it most behooves to arm himself
Against the coming storm: loss, danger, exile,
Returning ever, let him look to meet;
His son in fault, wife dead, or daughter sick;
All common accidents, and may have happen’d
That nothing shall seem new or strange. But if
Aught has fall’n out beyond his hopes, all that
Let him account clear gain."
—from Cicero, Tusculan Disputations 3.14
I was far from being an exemplary Boy Scout, though as the years have passed, I have come to realize how great an influence my old Scoutmaster had on the formation of my character. He was a true gentleman, and like any good gentleman, he combined a remarkable strength with a patient kindness. If I could right now be a little bit more like he was back then, I would die happy.
As is common with gruff teenagers, we would recite the Scout Oath and the Scout Law without really thinking about what they meant, and we assumed the Scout Motto, “Be Prepared”, was mainly about getting our camping gear in order.
Yet on a bitterly cold camping trip, in the harshest weather the region had seen in ages, my Scoutmaster gave a brief but profoundly moving explanation of how preparation also meant being ready to endure any hardship, not just of the body but also of the spirit.
“If your head is on straight, and your heart is in the right place, what does the cold matter? Expect everything, and then nothing will surprise you.”
Where is the “winning”? Simply in rising to the task. Both pain and death are inevitable. Now how will I make myself ready to face them with dignity? While I laughed at the phrase then, I now appreciate the old-school advice to gird my loins.
Euripides has Theseus express these principles nobly, and the statement from Anaxagoras, which I have also seen attributed to Xenophon, gives it to me far more bluntly. The final passage from Terence properly reminds us not to become complacent when fortune smiles upon us, and to always be fortified for that moment when she changes her mood. You tell me it will never happen? I assure you it will.
Some might say that Anaxagoras was being heartless, yet we should not confuse his candor with an insensitivity. That he understood why his son must die, sooner or later, does not mean he did not feel a great loss—it simply means he had already braced himself for the harsh blow.
To be calm is not the same as being uncaring. As Cicero says, this can be achieved when I make the effort to learn about all the highs and the lows of this life, to closely familiarize myself with the ways of the world. Once I am accustomed to the breadth of what may happen, I acquire the necessary depth of awareness to remain steadfast and serene.
Parents rightly wish to protect their children from danger; this does not, however, mean we should hide them away from the realities of life. Learning to cope requires becoming familiar with the lay of the land, and immediate experience, however disturbing, is often the best training for what is sure to come.
To plan for the worst is not pessimism if it is guided by a regard for the best within us.
I was far from being an exemplary Boy Scout, though as the years have passed, I have come to realize how great an influence my old Scoutmaster had on the formation of my character. He was a true gentleman, and like any good gentleman, he combined a remarkable strength with a patient kindness. If I could right now be a little bit more like he was back then, I would die happy.
As is common with gruff teenagers, we would recite the Scout Oath and the Scout Law without really thinking about what they meant, and we assumed the Scout Motto, “Be Prepared”, was mainly about getting our camping gear in order.
Yet on a bitterly cold camping trip, in the harshest weather the region had seen in ages, my Scoutmaster gave a brief but profoundly moving explanation of how preparation also meant being ready to endure any hardship, not just of the body but also of the spirit.
“If your head is on straight, and your heart is in the right place, what does the cold matter? Expect everything, and then nothing will surprise you.”
Where is the “winning”? Simply in rising to the task. Both pain and death are inevitable. Now how will I make myself ready to face them with dignity? While I laughed at the phrase then, I now appreciate the old-school advice to gird my loins.
Euripides has Theseus express these principles nobly, and the statement from Anaxagoras, which I have also seen attributed to Xenophon, gives it to me far more bluntly. The final passage from Terence properly reminds us not to become complacent when fortune smiles upon us, and to always be fortified for that moment when she changes her mood. You tell me it will never happen? I assure you it will.
Some might say that Anaxagoras was being heartless, yet we should not confuse his candor with an insensitivity. That he understood why his son must die, sooner or later, does not mean he did not feel a great loss—it simply means he had already braced himself for the harsh blow.
To be calm is not the same as being uncaring. As Cicero says, this can be achieved when I make the effort to learn about all the highs and the lows of this life, to closely familiarize myself with the ways of the world. Once I am accustomed to the breadth of what may happen, I acquire the necessary depth of awareness to remain steadfast and serene.
Parents rightly wish to protect their children from danger; this does not, however, mean we should hide them away from the realities of life. Learning to cope requires becoming familiar with the lay of the land, and immediate experience, however disturbing, is often the best training for what is sure to come.
To plan for the worst is not pessimism if it is guided by a regard for the best within us.
—Reflection written in 10/1996
IMAGE: Jusepe de Ribera, Anaxagoras (1636)
No comments:
Post a Comment