Preface

I have received your letter in which you invite me to show you what kind of training, what arguments or what considerations had prepared me never to be distressed. For you said that you were personally present and had observed me after I had lost almost ail the slaves I had in the city of the Romans during a major attack of the prolonged plague, and that you had been told that even before then I had three or four times incurred similar severe losses in property.

⁽¹⁾  ἔλαβόν σου τὴν ἐπιστολὴν ἐν ᾗ παρεκάλεις μοι δηλῶσαί σοι τίς ἄσκησις ἢ λόγοι τίνες ἢ δόγματα <τίνα> παρεσκεύασάν με μηδέποτε λυπεῖσθαι. παρὼν μὲν <γὰρ> αὐτὸς ἔφης ἑωρακέναι κατά τινα τοῦ πολυχρονίου λοιμοῦ μεγάλην ἐμβολὴν ἀπολέσαντά με τοσούτους οἰκέτας οὓς σχεδὸν εἶχον ἐν τῇ Ῥωμαίων πόλει, ἀκηκοέναι δὲ καὶ πρόσθεν ἤδη μοι γεγονέναι τι τοιοῦτον εἰς χρήματά γε τρίς που καὶ τετράκις ἁδραῖς ζημίαις περιπεσόντα·

You also said that you had never seen me moved in the slightest, but that what had just happened surpasses everything that had gone before, since ail that I had stored in the warehouses by the Sacred Way was destroyed in the Great Fire

⁽²⁾  ἔφης αὐτὸς ἑωρακέναι με μηδὲ ἐπὶ βραχὺ κινηθέντα. τὸ δὲ νῦν ἔναγχός μοι συμβὰν ὑπὲρ ἅπαντα γεγονέναι τὰ πρόσθεν, ἀπο<λ>λυμένων ἐν τῇ μεγάλῃ πυρκαϊᾷ πάντων <τῶν> ἀποκειμένων μοι πραγμάτων ἐν ταῖς κατὰ τὴν ἱερὰν ὁδὸν ἀποθήκαις·  

Galen’ s losses

You said that you knew yourself how significant and substantial these losses were, but that you had heard from one of your informants that I was not grieved at ail even now, but continued cheerfully about my normal business just as before.

⁽³⁾  ὁπόσα μὲν οὖν καὶ ποῖα καὶ αὐτὸς ἔφης ἐπίστασθαι, πεπύσθαι δέ τινος <τῶν> ἀγγε<λ>λόντων σοι μηδὲν νῦν ἀνιαθῆναί με φαιδρόν τ’ <ὄντα> καὶ τὰ συνήθη πράττοντα καθάπερ ἔμπροσθεν.

You were arnazed that I was seen bearing without distress the destruction in the fire not so much of my silver, gold, silver plate and the many loan documents that were deposited there, as that of a further mass of things stored there, namely, a huge quantity of drugs of ail sorts, both simple and compound, and instruments of every kind.

⁽⁴⁾  θαυμάζειν οὐχ ὅτι καὶ ἀργυρίου καὶ χρυσίου καὶ ἀργυρωμάτων καὶ συμβολαίων πο<λ>λῶν ἀποκειμένων ἃ διεφθάρη κατὰ τὴν πυρκαϊὰν ἀλύπως ὤφθη<ν> φέρων, ἀλλ’ ὅτι πλῆθος ἄλλο τῶν ὑπ’ ἐμοῦ σε<σω>ρ<ευ>μένων αὐτοῦ, φάρμακα δὲ παντοῖα πάμπο<λ>λα, τὰ μὲν ἁπλᾶ, τὰ δὲ συγκείμενα, καὶ ἄρμενα παντοδαπά,

Some, valuable for medical purposes, I said I had lost but still hoped to replace, but that other instruments I had invented myself, making models out of wax before handing them over to the bronze-smiths, these I cannot replace without a great deal of time and effort

⁽⁵⁾  τὰ μὲν εἰς τὰς ἰατρικὰς ἐπιτήδεια χρείας <ἃ> μὲν οὖν ἔφην ἀπολέσας ἄλλα κτήσασθαι ἔτι ἐλπίζει<ν>, τὰ δὲ ὑπ’ ἐμοῦ [χρήματα] προσευρημένα [τῶν ἀρμένων] ὧν τὰ ὑποδείγματα πλάτ<τ>ων αὐτὸς ἐκ κηροῦ τοῖς χαλκεῦσιν ἐδίδουν, ὡς οὐκ ἔτ’ οἷόν τε σχεῖν ἄνευ χρόνου πο<λ>λοῦ καὶ ἀσχολίας μεγάλης,

likewise books, both those copies of the writings of ancient authors corrected by my own hand and my own compositions, as well as so-called antidotes, of which you say that you know that I had a substantial collection, notably some eighty pounds of the famous theriac, and more cinnamon than can be found in ail the retail shops put togerher, just as I had in my possession a great store of drugs that are otherwise rare.

⁽⁶⁾  ὥσπερ οὐδὲ τὰ βιβλία τά τε ἐπηνωρθωμένα [καὶ] διὰ τῆς ἐμῆς χειρὸς ἀνδρῶν παλαιῶν [τὰ] συγγράμματα τά θ’ ὑπ’ ἐμοῦ συντεθέντα, καὶ μέντοι καὶ τὰς καλουμένας ἀντιδότους ἃς εἰδέναι <ἔ>φης καί με παμπό<λ>λας ἔχοντα, μάλιστα δὲ τὴν θηριακὴν ὀνομαζομένην εἰς ὄγκον ὀγδοήκοντα λιτρῶν κιννάμωμόν τε τοσοῦτον ὅσον οὐδὲ παρὰ πᾶσιν ἅμα τοῖς ταῦτα καπηλεύουσιν ἔστιν εὑρεῖν, ὥσπερ καὶ τἄλλα πάντα σπάνια εἶναι δαψιλῆ παρ’ ἐμοί.  

You had also learned that Philistides the grammarian wasted away and died of depression and distress at the loss of his books in the fire, and that various others went around for a long while in black clothing, looking thin and pale like those in mourning.

⁽⁷⁾  πεπύσθαι δὲ ὡς καὶ Φιλ<ιστ>ίδης μὲν ὁ γραμματι- κὸς ἀπολλυμένων αὐτῷ τῶν βιβλίων κατὰ πυρκαϊὰν ἀπὸ δυσθυμίας καὶ λύπης διεφθάρη συντακείς, πολλοὶ δὲ καὶ ἄλλοι ἐν μέλασιν ἱματίοις προῄεσαν ἄχρι πολλοῦ λεπτοὶ καὶ ὠχροὶ τοῖς πενθοῦσι παραπλήσιοι.

The repositories

Indeed, because people were confident that the repositories along the Sacred Way would not be damaged by fire, they deposited there their most precious possessions, justifying their confidence on the grounds that they

were not made of wood, save for the doors, they were not near any private house, and they were under military guard because the archives of four imperial procurators were kept there.

⁽⁸⁾  θαρροῦντες γάρ τοι ταῖς κατὰ τὴν ἱερὰν ὁδὸν ἀποθήκαις ὡς δὴ οὐδὲ πεισομέναις ὑπὸ τοῦ πυρός, οἱ ἄνθρωποι τὰ τιμαλφέστατα τῶν κτημάτων ἐν αὐταῖς ἀπετίθεντο· θαρρεῖν δὲ αὐταῖς διὰ τὸ μήτε ξύλον ἔχειν αὐτὰς ὅτι μὴ κατὰ τὰς θυρίδας, μήτε τινὰ γειτνίασιν ἰδιωτικῆς οἰκίας, ἔτι τε τὸ φρουρεῖσθαι στρατιωτικῇ φρουρᾷ διὰ τὸ τεττάρων ἐπιτρόπων Καίσαρος ἀποκεῖσθαι κατὰ τὸ χωρίον ἐκεῖνο γράμματα·

For that very reason we paid a higher charge for renting rooms in those repositories, and stored our important possessions there in confidence.

⁽⁹⁾  καὶ δι’ αὐτό γε τοῦτο πλέον ἐνοίκιον ἐτελοῦμεν οἱ μεμισθωμένοι τὰ κατὰ τὰς ἀποθήκας ἐκεῖνα οἰκήματα, τά τε σπουδῆς ἄξια κτήματα θαρροῦντες ἐκεῖ[να] κατετιθέμεθα.  

Galen in Campania

But there was also a peculiar circumstance for me that added to the general disaster: because I was in the process of going away to Campania, I had put into store ail my household paraphernalia, drugs, books and no small amount of silverware, to keep them safe during my absence. So all these things that had been stored there happened to be destroyed along with my treasures. This you said that you had learned yourself from others, but that you would prefer to get a more reliable first-hand account from

me.

⁽¹⁰⁾  συνέβη δέ μοι πρὸς τῷ κοινῷ τούτῳ καὶ ἄλλο τι δυσχερὲς ἴδιον· εἰς Καμπανίαν γὰρ ἐξιών, ἅπαντα τὰ κατὰ τὴν οἰκίαν ἄρμενα καὶ φάρμακα καὶ βιβλία καὶ σκευῶν ἀργυρῶν οὐκ ὀλίγα κατετεθείμην εἰς τὴν ἀποθήκην ὡς ἀσφαλῶς φυλάττοιτο κατὰ τὴν ἀποδημίαν· τοιγαροῦν συνέβη κἀκεῖνα πάντα σὺν τοῖς κειμηλίοις ἐκεῖ σωρευ- θέντα διαφθαρῆναι. ταῦτ’ οὖν οὕτω γενόμενα καὶ αὐτὰ μὲν ἔφης πεπύσθαι, βούλεσθαι δ’ <ἀσ>φαλέστερον ἀκοῦσαι παρ’ ἐμοῦ.

For it seemed to you really amazing° that I was not grieved at all at such a total loss, and, by heaven, you appeared to me to be absolutely correct to write this, for when I heard in Campania about this destruction

I bore this ching very easily, not being disturbed for a moment.

⁽¹¹⁾  τὸ γὰρ μηδὲ τῶν τοιούτων ἁπάντων ἁπτομένων ἀνιαθῆναί με θαυ<μα>σι<ώ>τατον ἐδόκει σοι καὶ [τοῦ] πάνυ μοι τοῦτ’ ἐφαίνου γράψαι ἀληθῶς· ἐν <γὰρ> τῇ <Κ>αμπανίᾳ πυθόμ<εν>ος καὶ α<ὐτὰ> διεφθάρθαι, πάνυ ῥᾳδίως ἤνεγκα τὸ πράγμα, μήτε βραχὺ κινηθείς.

When I returned to Rome, I was bereft of everything essenrial for my practice, and  was just as conscious of it then at the time of my loss as I am today when I stand in need of this or that book, instrument or drug.

^(12a)  <ὅτε> δ’ εἰς Ῥώμη<ν> ἐν ἀπορίᾳ πάντων ἦν ὧν ἄνευ οὐδὲ[ν] οἷόν τ’ ἐστὶ ἰατρεῦσαι β<ραχεῖ> χρόνῳ τ<ῆς δ...> τοῦ πράγματος ᾐσθόμην ὥσπερ καὶ μέχρι νῦν αἰσθάνομαι καθ’ ἑκάστην ἡμέραν ἄλλοτε ἄλλου βιβλίου καὶ ἀρμένου καὶ φαρμάκου καθιστάμενος ἐν χρείᾳ.  

The contents of Roman libraries

But the worst cut of ail in the loss of my books has escaped your notice: there is no hope of recovery since ail the libraries on the Palatine were burnt on that same day.

^(12b)  τὸ γάρ τοι δεινότατον ἐπὶ τῇ τῶν βιβλίων ἀπωλείᾳ λέληθέ σε μηδὲ ἐλπίδα ἔτι τῆς κατασκευῆς ὑπολειπομένην ὡς ἂν τῶν ἐν τῷ Παλατίῳ βιβλιοθηκῶν πασῶν κατακαυθει- σῶν ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ.

For there is no possibility of finding

not ont), the rarities and works that were available nowhere else, but also copies of cornmon works that were prized because of the precision of their tee, like those of Callinus, Atticus, Peducaeus and even Aristarchus, including the two Homers, and the Plato of Panaetius and many others of that sort; within these writings were preserved things written by or copied for the individuais whose narre they bore. ‘ There were also many autograph copies of ancient grammarians, orators, doctors and philosophers

⁽¹³⁾  οὔτε οὖν ὅσα σπάνια καὶ ἀλ<λ>αχόθι μηδαμόθεν κείμενα δυνατόν ἐστιν εὑρεῖν [ἐστιν], οὔτε τῶν <ἐν> μέ-σῳ[ν], διὰ δὲ τὴν τῆς γραφῆς ἀκρίβειαν ἐσπουδασμένων, Καλλίνια καὶ Ἀττικιανὰ καὶ Πεδουκίνια καὶ μὴν Ἀριστάρ- χεια οἵτινές εἰσιν Ὅμηροι δύο καὶ Πλάτων ὁ Παναιτίου καὶ ἄλλα πολλὰ τοιαῦτα, διασῳζομένων ἐντὸς τῶν γραμμάτων ἐκείνων αὐτῶν ἃ καθ’ ἕκαστον βιβλίον ἢ ἔγραψαν ἢ ἀν<τ>εγράψαντο οἱ ἄνδρες ὧν ἦν ἐπώνυμα τὰ βιβλία. καὶ γὰρ γραμματικῶν πολλῶν αὐτόγραφα βιβλία τῶν παλαιῶν ἔκειντο καὶ ῥητόρων καὶ ἰατρῶν καὶ φιλοσόφων.

Besides these books, so numerous and so important, I also lost on that day copies of many books that had been unciear as a result of scribal inistakes, but which after correction I had had transcribed afresh to provide almost a new edition. The copying had been done so carefully that no words had been added or left out, and not even a marker, single or double, or a coronis properly placed between books. And what should I say about a stop or a comma which you know are so crucial in obscure passages that someone who attends carefully ta them has no need of an interpreter?

⁽¹⁴⁾  ἐπὶ τούτοις σὺν τοιούτοις καὶ τοσούτοις ἀπώλεσα κατὰ τὴν αὐτὴν ἡμέραν ὅσα μετὰ τὴν ἐπανόρθωσιν εἰς καθαρὸν ἔδαφος ἐγέγραπτό <μοι> βιβλία τῶν ἀσαφῶν <μέν>, ἡμαρτημένων δὲ κατὰ τὰς γραφὰς οἷον ἐμοῦ προῃρημένου ἔ<κ>δοσιν ἐμὴν ποιήσασθαι, τῶν γραφῶν εἰς ἀκρίβειαν ἐκπεπονημένων ὡς μήτε τι περιττεύειν ῥήματα μήτε ἐλλείπει<ν>, ἀλλὰ μηδὲ παραγραφὴν ἁπλῆν ἢ διπλῆν, ἢ κορωνίδα προσηκό<ν>τως τιθεμένην ἐν μέσῳ βιβλίων· τί δεῖ λέγειν περὶ στιγμῆς ἢ ὑποστιγμῆς ἃς οἶσθα τοσοῦτον δυναμένας ἐν ἀσαφέσι βιβλίοις ὥστε προσ- έχοντα τὸν νοῦν αὐταῖς ἐξηγητοῦ μὴ δεῖσθαι;  

Such.were the works ofTheophrastus, Aristotle, Eudemus, Ciytus and Phaenias, and most of Chrysippus and all the ancient doctors.

⁽¹⁵⁾  τοιαῦτα ἦν τὰ Θεοφράστου καὶ Ἀριστοτέλους καὶ Εὐδήμου καὶ Κλύτου καὶ Φαινίου βιβλία καὶ Χρυσίπ<π>ου τὰ πλεῖστα καὶ τῶν παλαιῶν ἰατρῶν πάντων.

You will be particularly distressed to learn that I had found in the Palatine libraries some books not described in the so-called Catalogues and some, on the other hand, that were clearly not the work of the author whose name they bore, being similar neither in language nor in ideas. There were also writings of Theophrastus, and especially his books on science

⁽¹⁶⁾  λυπήσει δέ σε καὶ ταῦτα μάλιστα, ὡς τῶν ἐν τοῖς καλουμένοις πίναξι [τῶν] γεγραμμένων βιβλίων ἔξωθεν εὗρόν τινα κατά [τινά] τε τὰς ἐν τῷ Παλατίῳ βιβλιοθήκας καὶ † τὰς ἐναντίω † ἃ φανερῶς <οὐκ> ἦν οὗπερ ἐπεγέγραπτο, <οὔτε> κατὰ τὴν λέξιν οὔτε κατὰ <τὴν> διάνοιαν ὁμοιούμεν<α> αὐτῷ. καὶ τὰ Θεοφράστου καὶ μάλιστα τὰ κατὰ τὰς ἐπιστημονικὰς πραγματείας—

— the other books on plants, explicated in two long treatises, cveryone has. There was also a work of the same name by Aristotle which I carefully found and transcribed but which is flow also lost, and likewise works by Theophrastus and other ancient writers that did not appear in the Catalogues, as well as others that were mentioned there, but did not circulate widely. Many of these I found in the libraries on the Palatine, and I managed to procure copies.

⁽¹⁷⁾  [ἔστιν] ἄλλα τὰ περὶ φυτῶν βιβλία κατὰ δύο πραγματείας ἐκτεταμένας ἡρμηνευμένα πάντες ἔχουσι. ἡ δ’ Ἀριστοτέλ<ους> † σύναρμος † ἀκριβῶς ἦν εὑρεθεῖσά μοι καὶ μεταγραφεῖσα, ἡ καὶ νῦν ἀπολομένη, κατὰ δὲ τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον καὶ Θεοφράστου καὶ ἄλλων τινῶν ἀνδρῶν παλαιῶν μὴ φαινόμενα κατὰ τοὺς πίνακας, τινὰ δὲ ἐν ἐκείνοις γεγραμμένα μέν, μὴ φερόμενα δ’ αὐτά. τούτων οὖν ἐγὼ πολλὰ μὲν ἐν ταῖς κατὰ τὸ Παλάτιον βιβλιοθήκαις εὗρον, τὰ δ’ † ἐναντία † κατεσκεύασα.

But now the books on the Palatine were destroyed on the same day as my own, when the fire ravaged not only the repositories by the Sacred Way, but first those at the Temple of Peace, and later those on the Palatine and at the so-called House of Tiberius, where there was also a library which was filled with many other books, but the copies, when I first came to Rome, had almosr been destroyed because of neglect on the part of those to whom they had been successively entrusted.

⁽¹⁸⁾  διεφθάρη δὲ νῦν τὰ μὲν ἐν τῷ Παλατίῳ κατὰ τὴν αὐτὴν ἡμέραν τοῖς ἡμετέροις, τῆς πυρκαϊᾶς οὐ μόνον ταῖς κατὰ τὴν ἱερὰν ὁδὸν ἀποθήκαις λυμηναμένης ἀλλὰ καὶ πρῶτον μὲν ταῖς κατὰ τὸ τῆς Εἰρήνης τέμενος, μετὰ ταῦτα δὲ ταῖς κατὰ τὸ Παλάτιόν τε καὶ τὴν Τιβεριανὴν καλου- μένην οἰκίαν, ἐν ᾗ καὶ αὐτῇ βιβλιοθήκη τις ἦν πολλῶν μὲν καὶ ἄλλων βιβλίων μεστή, † τὰ δ’ ἐναντίω † διὰ τὴν ἀμέλειαν τῶν ἑκάστοτε πιστευομένων ἐκ διαδοχῆς αὐτὰ [...] καθ’ ὃν χρόνον ἐγὼ ἀνέβην εἰς Ῥώμην πρῶτον ἐγγὺς ἦν τοῦ διεφθάρθαι.  

This cost us no little trouble to copy but now they are completely useless since the rolls could not be opened because the sheets were stuck together because of the damp, for the place is marshy and low-lying, and stifling in summer.

⁽¹⁹⁾  ταῦτ’ ἄρα καὶ κάματον ἡμῖν παρέσχεν οὐ μικρὸν ἐγγραφομένοις αὐτά· νυνὶ δὲ τελέως ἐστὶν ἄχρηστα μηδὲ ἀνελιχθῆναι δυνάμενα διὰ τὸ κεκολλῆσθαι τὰς χάρτας ὑπὸ τῆς σηπεδόνος· ἔστι γὰρ ἑλῶδές τε καὶ κοῖλον τὸ χωρίον ἐς τὰ μάλιστα, καὶ διὰ θέρους πνιγηρόν.

Galen’ s work on Old Comedy

You will perhaps find particularly distressing the fate of my work on words in Attic Greek and everyday language, which, as you know, was in two parts, one drawn from Old Comedy, the other from prose-writers. But, by chance, copies of the second pari had already been transported to Campania, and had things in Rome been burnt two months later, we would have already sent copies of ail of our works to Campania.

⁽²⁰⁾  ἴσως δέ <σ>ε λυπ<ήσ>ει καὶ ἡ τῶν Ἀττικῶν ὀνομάτων καὶ ὅσα πολιτικὰ πράγματα <καὶ ὀνόματα πραγματεία> διττὴ μὲν οὖσα καθάπερ οἶσθα, μία μὲν ἐκ τὴς παλαιᾶς κωμωδίας, ἑτέρα δὲ ἐκ τῶν ἄνευ μέτρου γραψάντων· ἀλλὰ κατὰ τύχην γε τῆς ἑτέρας εἰς Καμπανίαν ἐκεκόμιστο τἀντίγραφα. καὶ εἴ γε μετὰ δύο μήνας ἐνεπέπρηστο τὰ κατὰ τὴν Ῥώμην, ἔφθανον <ἂ>ν οὖν εἰς Καμπανίαν πασῶν τῶν ἡμετέρων πραγματειῶν τὰ ἀντίγραφα.

Everything had already been written in two copies for distribution, excluding what was meant to stay in Rome, since friends back home were asking for copies of ail my writings to be sent to them to be deposited in public libraries, just as some others had already done elsewhere with many of our books, and I was planning also te have copies of everything in Campania.

⁽²¹⁾  διπλᾶ γὰρ ἐγέγραπτο πάντα τὰ πρὸς ἔκδοσιν ἤδη, χωρὶς τῶν ἐν τῇ Ῥώμῃ μελλόντων μένειν, ἀξιούντων μὲν καὶ τῶν ἐν τῇ πατρίδι φίλων ἁπάσας αὐτοῖς πεμφθῆναι τὰς ὑπ’ ἐμοῦ γεγονυίας πραγματείας ὅπως ἐν βιβλιοθήκῃ δημοσίᾳ στῶσι, καθάπερ καὶ ἄλλοι[ς] τινὲς ἤδη πολλὰ τῶν ἡμετέρων ἐν ἄλλαις πόλεσιν ἔθηκαν, ἐννοοῦντος δὲ κἀμοῦ πάντων ἔχειν ἀντίγραφα κατὰ τὴν Καμπανίαν.

That was why there were two copies °Fall my books, excluding, as I have said, those that were going to stay in Rome.

⁽²²⁾  ἦν οὖν διὰ τοῦτο διπλὰ πάντα τὰ ἡμέτερα χωρὶς τῶν ἐν Ῥώμῃ μελλόντων μένειν ὡς ἔφην.  

But the fire broke out at the end of winter,” and I was planning to send to Campania at the beginning of summer bath what was to stay there and what was going ta be sent to Asia when the Etesian winds began to blow.

^(23a)  ἡ μὲν οὖν πυρκαϊὰ τελευτῶντος ἐξεγένετο τοῦ χειμῶνος, ἐγὼ δὲ ἐνόουν ἐν ἀρχῇ τοῦ θέρους εἰς τὴν Καμπανίαν κομίσαι τά τε αὐτόθι μέλλοντα κεῖσθαι καὶ τὰ πεμφ<θ>ησόμενα τῶν ἐ[ν]τησίων πνεόντων εἰς Ἀσίαν.

But Fate ambushed me, by destroying, along with many other of my books, most especially my work on the vocabulary of the entire Old Comedy,

^(23b)  ἐνήδρευσεν οὖν ἡμᾶς ἡ τύχη πολλὰ μὲν καὶ ἄλλα τῶν ἡμετέρων ἀφελομένη βιβλίων, οὐχ ἥκιστα δὲ καὶ τὴν τῶν ὀνομάτων πραγματείαν ἣν ἐξέλεξα[το] τῆς παλαιᾶς κωμῳδίας ὅλης,

of which, as you know, Didymus I had already made a study, both the everyday words and those requiring explanation, in fifty books, of which I made an epitome in 6,000 lines.

^(24a)  ἧς [δ’] ὡς οἶσθα καὶ τὰ πολιτικὰ ἔφθανεν Δίδυμος τά τε γλωττηματικὰ πάντα ἐξηγήσασθαι διὰ πεντήκοντα βιβλίων, ὧν καὶ αὐτῶν ἐπιτομὴν ἐπεποιήμην ἐν ἑξακισχιλίοις στίχοις.

Such a procedure seemed to be of sonie value for orators and grammarians, or in general for anyone who might want vo use an Attic idiom,

^(24b)  ἐδόκει μὲν οὖν ἡ τοιαύτη κατασκευὴ ῥήτορσί τε καὶ γραμματικοῖς εἶναι χρήσιμος ἢ οἵτινες ὅλως ἀττικίζειν βούλοιντο <ἤ> τινα

or words that have a significant

bearing on practicalities, like the question that arase recently in Rome when a respected doctor announced that groats were not yet in use in the time of Hippocrates, and that that was why in Regimen in Acute Diseases he advocated barley gruel over ail other cereal foodstuffs; for if groats had been known to the Greeks, he would not have chosen anything else in preference.

⁽²⁵⁾  καὶ τῶν εἰς τὰ πράγματα [χρήσιμα] διαφερόντων, ὁποῖόν ἐστι καὶ τὸ παρατεθὲν ἔναγχος, εἰπόντος <τινὸς> ἐν Ῥώμῃ τῶν εὐδοκιμούντων ἰατρῶν οὔπω τὴν χρῆσιν εἶναι τοῦ χόνδρου κατ<ὰ τ>οὺς Ἱπποκράτους χρόνους, διὰ τοῦτο πτισάνην αὐτὸν προκρίνειν πάντων τῶν σιτηρῶν ἐδεσμάτων ἐν τῇ διαίτῃ τῶν ὀξέων νοσημάτων, ὡς εἴ γε χόνδρος ἐγινώσκετο τοῖς Ἕλλησιν, οὐκ ἂν αὐτὸν ἕτερόν τι προελέσθαι τοῦδε.

But groats are mentioned particularly in Regimen for Health, which some ascribe to him but others to Philistion or Ariston, botte very early doctors, and also in the writers of Old Comedy. Words like abudokomas or aburtaki <and>

⁽²⁶⁾  μάλιστα μὲν οὖν καὶ κατὰ τὸ περὶ διαίτης ὑγιεινὸν ὅ τινες μέν φασι αὐτοῦ εἶναι, ἔνιοι δὲ Φιλιστίωνος, ἕτεροι δὲ Ἀρίστωνος ἀνδρῶν παλαιοτάτων, εὑρίσκεται γεγραμμένος ὁ χόνδρος, ἀλλὰ καὶ παρὰ τοῖς παλαιοῖς κωμικοῖς.  

whatever else was unclear to the audience were defined in our treatise — and was anticipated nicely in Didymus’  exposition — as foltows: emmer, chick peas, vetch, groats and the other cereals, vegetables and late-summer fruits, wines made from the marc of grapes, with or without the addition of water, bushes, fruits, plants, animals, instruments, equipment, tools, and everything else in daily

life, and their names.

⁽²⁷⁾  ἀβυδοκόμαν ἢ ἀβυρτάκην καὶ ἀλλ’ ὅσα μὴ σαφῆ τοῖς ἀκούουσιν ἦν ὥριστο κατὰ τὴν ἡμετέραν πραγματείαν—ἂ Δίδυμος ἔφθασεν ἐξηγήσασθαι καλῶς— οὑτωσί· ὄλυραι καὶ λάθυροι καὶ ὄροβοι καὶ χόνδρος τά τε ἄλλα Δημήτρια σπέρματα καὶ λάχανα καὶ ὀπῶραι καὶ θάμναι καὶ δευτερίαι καὶ θάμνοι καὶ καρποὶ καὶ βοτάναι καὶ ζῴα καὶ ἄρμενα καὶ σκεύη καὶ ὄργανα καὶ τἄλλα πολιτικὰ πράγματα καὶ ὀνόματα πάντα.

My selection of such words in Old Comedy had not yet been transferred to Campania, but luckily my selection from prose authors already had, in forty-eight large books, of which Chose with the equivalent of more than 4,000 hexameter fines will perhaps have to be divided in two

⁽²⁸⁾  τὰ μὲν οὖν [λοιπὰ] ἐκ τῆς παλαιὰς κωμῳδίας ἐξειλεγμένα τῶν τοιούτων ὀνομάτων οὐκ ἔφθασαν εἰς Καμπανίαν μετενεχθῆναι, τὰ δὲ <ἐκ τῶν> ἄνευ μέτρου γραψάντων ἤδη μετενήνεκτο κατὰ τὴν τύχην, ἐν βιβλίοις ὄντα τεσσαράκοντα ὀκτὼ μεγάλοις ὧν ἔνια διελεῖν ἴσως δεήσει δίχα πλειόνων ἢ τετρακισχιλίων ἐπῶν ἑξάριθμον ἐχόντων.

None of these lasses grieved me, even though they were substantial, valuable and hard to replace, any more than the loss ofmy own writings, which were of two kinds: some were so as well fashioned to be of use to others as well, white others were similarly produced for myself alone as an aide-mιmoire,

⁽²⁹⁾  τούτων οὖν οὐδὲν ἠνίασέ με καίτοι πολλῶν τε καὶ χρησίμων καὶ δυσπορίστων ὄντων, ὡς οὐδὲ ἡ τῶν ἡμ<ετέρ>ων ὑπομνημάτων ἀπώλεια, διττῶν κατ’ εἶδος ὄντων· ἔνια μὲν γὰρ οὕτως ἐγεγόνει σύμμετρα ὡς καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις εἶναι χρήσιμα, τινὰ δὲ ἐμοὶ μόνῳ καίτοι τὴν αὐτὴν ἔχοντα παρασκευὴν εἰς ἀνάμνησιν,

and then the very many chapter summaries of a very large number of works on medicine and philosophy. But none of this distressed me.

⁽³⁰⁾  ἔπειτα αἱ κεφαλαιώδεις πλεῖσται συνόψεις πολλῶν πάνυ βιβλίων ἰατρικῶν τε καὶ φιλοσοφ<ικ>ῶν ἀλλ’ οὐδὲ ταῦτα ἐλύπησαν.  

Galen’ s recipe collection

What then, you will say, is there even worse than ail that I have just described that could cause distress?’  Well, I shah! tell you. I was convinced that I had in my possession more remarkable drug recipes than anyone in the whole of the Roman world, some put in my way by chance, others that I had added myself.

⁽³¹⁾  τί ποτε οὖν, φήσεις, ἔτι μεῖζον ἁπάντων τῶν εἰρημένων ἐστὶν δ’ λυπεῖν <ἂν> δύναιτο; καὶ δή σοι φράσω τοῦτο· γραφὰς φαρμάκων θαυμασιωτέρας ἐπεπείσμην ἔχειν οἵας οὐδεὶς ἄλλος ἐν ἁπάσῃ τῇ πρὸς Ῥωμαίους οἰκουμένῃ, τὸ μέν τι καὶ τύχης εἰς τοῦτο συ<λ>λαμβα- νούσης, τὸ δέ τι κἀμοῦ συμπρο<σ>τιθέντος.

Fate put bath sorts in my path in rwo ways. Firstly, there was a rich man back home who wanred so rnuch to  acquire a knowledge of significant drugs that he was prepared w buy some recipes for over a hundred gold pieces. He succeeded so well that he could purchase recipes that were highly regarded not only by ail the modern doctors in Asia, but also by the ancients.

⁽³²⁾  διττὴ δὲ τύχη προὐξένησέ μοι ἕκαστα κατὰ τὴν ὁδόν, ὧν ἡ μὲν προτέρα τοιάδε τίς ἐστιν· ἀνήρ τις πλούσιος τῶν παρ’ ἡμῖν ἐσπούδασεν εὑρεῖν τὴν τῶν ἀξιολόγων φαρμάκων γνῶσιν ὡς ἑκατὸν χρυσῶν ἐνίας γραφὰς ὠνεῖσθαι πλέον, ὃ<ς> καὶ τοιοῦτον ἔργον ἐπετηδεύσατο <οἷον> μὴ μόνον ὅσα κατὰ τὴν Ἀσίαν ἦν εὐδοκιμοῦντα παρ’ ἑκάστῳ τῶν <νῦν> ἰατρῶν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν παλαιῶν ἐξωνήσασθαι.

The recipes for ail of these  drugs were carefully preserved in two folded parchment volumes, which one of his heirs, a very close friend of mine, voluntarily handed over to me without being asked

⁽³³⁾  τούτων τῶν φαρμάκων πάντων αἱ γραφαὶ κατὰ δύο διφθέρας π<τ>υκτὰς ἐφυλάττοντο μετὰ πάσης ἀσφαλείας ἅστινας τῶν κληρονομησάντων τις αὐτὸς φίλτατος ὢν ἐμοὶ μηδὲ αἰτηθεὶς αὐτομάτως ἔδωκεν.

This was my first piece of luck in acquiring an abundance of remedies, and now read of the second. When I first came to Rome in my thirty-third year, I round a fellow-citizen and schoolmate of mine called Teuthras already living in the city.n He had obtained the parchments belonging to a doctor called Eumenes, who was hirnself also from Pergamum and was a particular connoisseur of many drugs among all doctors

⁽³⁴⁾  αὕτη μὲν ἡ προτέρα τύχη τῆς τῶν φαρμάκων εὐπορίας· τήνδε δὲ <τὴν> δευτέραν ἐφ<εξ>ῆς ἄκουσον· ὡς ἐγενόμην ἐν Ῥώμη τὸ πρῶτον, ἔτος ἄγων τρίτον πρὸς τοῖς τριάκοντα, πολίτην τε καὶ συμφοιτητὴν ἐμὸν ὀνόματι Τεύθραντα διατρίβοντα κατὰ τὴν πόλιν εὗρον ὃς διεδέδεκτο τὰς Εὐμενοῦς τοῦ ἰατροῦ διφθέρας, ὄντος μὲν καὶ αὐτοῦ Περγαμηνοῦ φιλοφαρμάκου δὲ [καὶ πολυφαρ- μάκου] πάντων τῶν ἰατρῶν μάλιστα.  

These recipes had been coilected in one place from all over the world during his travels before he settled in Rome unril bis death..Teuthras, who died in the first visication of the plaque, left them to me a finie after what I said was my first arrivai in Rome.

⁽³⁵⁾  καὶ αὗται δὲ αἱ διφθέραι ἐν ἑνὶ σχεδὸν ἐξ ὅλης τῆς οἰκουμένης ἦσαν συνηθροισμέναι διὰ τὰς ἐπιγενομένας ἀποδημίας αὐτῷ μεθ’ ἃς ἐν Ῥώμῃ διετέλεσεν ἄχρι θανά- του. ταύτας οὖν τὰς διφθέρας ὁ Τεύθρας ἀποθανὼν ἐν τῇ πρώτῃ τοῦ λοιμοῦ καταβολῇ κατέλιπέ μοι μετ’ ὀλίγον χρόνον τῆς ἧς εἶπον ἀνόδου τὸ πρῶτον εἰς Ῥώμην μοι γεγονέναι.

If someone had a remarkable drug, I could get hold of it without difficulty by drawing on thcse collections and offering two or three similar ones in exchange.

⁽³⁶⁾  ἐκ τούτων οὖν τῶν παρασκευῶν εἴ τίς τι τῶν θαυμασίων εἶχε φαρμάκων ἐλάμβανον οὐ χαλεπῶς ἀντιδιδοὺς δύο καὶ τρία τῶν ὁμοίων.

Net only were ai] these parchments destroyed in the Fire — and 1 still thought this was no great loss — but so also was my treatise on the composition of drugs, which I had prepared with great precision and where described how one might malte up the most important drugs; only my prescriptions for a few drugs were preserved because rhey had been earlier given to colleagues

⁽³⁷⁾  οὐ μόνον οὖν ἀπώλοντο κατὰ τὴν πυρκαϊὰν αἱ διφθέραι πᾶσαι—καὶ γὰρ καὶ τοῦτο ἔτι μικρὸν ἐνόμιζον—, ἀλλὰ πραγματεία μοι γεγονυῖα μετὰ πολλῆς ἀκριβείας ἡ περὶ συνθέσεως φαρμάκων ἐν ᾗ πῶς αὐτὸς ἄν τις συνθείη [φαρμάκων] ἐμήνυον τὰ δοκιμώτατα· καὶ μόναι φαρμάκων σῴζονται ὀλίγων γραφαὶ φθάνουσαι διδόσθαι τοῖς ἑταίροις.  

But perhaps you will say that your desire has been aroused, and that you want w know more about how I was not grieved like other men at the loss of such a great varier),of possessions, any of which by itself would have made other men extremely distressed, but I put up very easily with what had happened.

⁽³⁸⁾  ἴσως ἂν οὖν φήσεις ἐπιτάττεσθαί σου τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν καὶ βούλεσθαι μᾶλλον γνῶναι πῶς ἀπολέσας τοσαύτην ποικιλίαν κτημάτων ὧν ἕκαστον αὐτὸ καθ’ ἑαυτὸ μόνον λυπηρότατον ἂν ἐγένετο τοῖς ἄλλοις ἀνθρώποις, οὐκ ἠνιάθην ὡς ἕτεροί τινες, ἀλλὰ πάνυ <ῥαδίως> ἤνεγκα τὸ συμβάν.

I have two answers ta this; one you ought to remernber since you often heard me telling stories such as the one of which I shah] now begin to remind you The pleasure-bving Aristippus,dissatisfied with a frugal lifestyle, gave daily sumptuous banquets and substantial cash donations to the sexier of the prostitutes of his day — yet the man himself still went without many things.

⁽³⁹⁾  ἐγὼ δέ σοι διττὴν ἀπόκρισιν πρὸς τοῦτο ποιήσομαι, τὴν μὲν ἑτέραν ὑπὲρ ἧς ἀναμνησθῆναί σε χρὴ πολλάκις ἀκηκοότα διερχομένου <ἐμοῦ> τοιούτους λόγους ὧν καὶ νῦν ἄρξομαι τῆς ἀναμνήσεως· φιλότιμος Ἀρίστιππος, οὐκ ἀρκούμενος διαίτῃ εὐτελεῖ ἀλλὰ καὶ πολυτελείαις ὄψων [ἂν] ἑκάστης ἡμέρας διδοὺς ἀργύριον ἑκάστοτε δαψιλὲς ταῖς θερμοτέραις τῶν κατ’ αὐτὸν ἑταιρῶν—ὅμως καὶ ἔτι πολλῶν δεόμενος ὁ ἀνὴρ ἐκεῖνος—,

One day, returning from the Piraeus — he used to go everywhere on foot, not just quite short journeys, as here, but also long ones — when he saw that his servant was unable to keep up with his Joad (he was carrying a bag full of gold), he told him to empty out as much as would make the test easy to carry.

⁽⁴⁰⁾  ἀνιών ποτε ἐκ Πειραιῶς—εἰώθει ἀεὶ βαδίζειν οὐ μόνον τὰς οὕτω βραχείας ὁδούς, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς μακράς—, ἐπειδὴ ἐθεάσατο τὸν οἰκέτην μὴ δυνάμενον ἕπεσθαι τῷ φορτίῳ—φασκώλιον δὲ ἦν τοῦτο χρυσίων μεστόν—, ἐκέλευσεν ἀποχέαι τοσοῦτον ὡς τὸ λοιπὸν εὔφορον αὐτῷ γενέσθαι.  

Here is another example of the same attitude. He had back home four fields, but because of some bad turn in bis affairs, he lost one, so that he then had three.

⁽⁴¹⁾  κατὰ τὴν αὐτὴν οὖν γνώμην ἔπραξε καὶ τάδε· τέσσαρας ἔχων ἀγροὺς ἐπὶ τῆς πατρίδος ἕνα τινὰ περίστασιν τῶν πραγμάτων ἐξ αὐτῶν ἀπήλασεν ὡς λοιπὸν ἔχειν τρεῖς.

One of his fellow-citizens was eager to commiserate with him when they met, but Aristippus said with a laugh: Why should you commiserate with me for having three fields when you haven’ t even one? Or should I commiserate with you?’ , showing very neatly what you have often heard me say, that one should not locus on what has been lost, but consider how those who have inherited three fields from their father will not abidem looking at others with thirty.

⁽⁴²⁾  ἀπαντήσας οὖν τις τῶν πολιτῶν ἕτοιμος ἦν ἐπὶ τῇ ζημίᾳ συλλυπεῖσθαι· γελάσας οὖν ὁ Ἀρίστιππος ἔφη· “τί μᾶλλον ἐμοὶ <σὺ> συλλυπήσῃ τρεῖς ἀγροὺς ἔχοντι τοιούτους οἷον <ἕνα> μόνον αὐτὸς ἔχεις ἢ ἐγώ σοι συλλυπήσομαι;”   πάνυ καλῶς ἐνδεικνύμενος ὃ πολλάκις ἤκουσας παρ’ ἐμοῦ λεγόμενον ὡς οὐ χρὴ πρός τι τῶν ἀπολλυμένων ἐμβλέπειν καὶ λογίζεσθαι πῶς οἱ τρεῖς ἀγροὺς δεξάμενοι τοῦ πατρὸς οὐκ ἀνέξονται βλέπειν ἑτέρους ἔχοντας τριάκοντα·

And if they have thirty, they are going te look at others with fifty, unril they thetnselves get fifty, and, similarly if they have that, they are going ro look at as many others with seventy, and if they get that, they are going to look to those who have more than a hundred, gradually progressing w wanting everything.” And so they are always going ro be poor, since their desire is never satisfied.

⁽⁴³⁾  καὶ γὰρ ἐὰν τριάκοντα ἔχωσιν, ἑτέρους ὄψονται πεντήκοντα ἔχοντας· ἐὰν <κατὰ> ταὐτὰ πάλιν αὐτοὶ κτήσωνται τοσούτους, ἔχοντας ὄψονταί τινας ἄλλους ἑβδομήκοντα, κἂν ἐκείνους ἔχωσιν, ἄλλους θεάσονται πλείους τῶν ἑκατὸν ἔχοντας, ὥστε κατὰ βραχὺ προϊόντες ἁπάντων ἐπιθυμήσουσιν, καὶ κατὰ τοῦτο ἀεὶ πένητες ἔσονται, μὴ πληρουμένης αὐτῶν τῆς ἐπιθυμίας.  

But if someone is not looking all the time at the number of fields that someone else has but at what is enough for his own outgoings, he will bear unconcernedly the loss of what is superfluous.

⁽⁴⁴⁾  ἐὰν δέ τις μὴ πόσους ἀγροὺς ἄλλος ἔχει διὰ τέλους σκοπῇ, ἀλλ’ ἤ<δη> τοὺς ἰδίοις ἀναλώμασιν ἐξαρκοῦντας αὐτῷ, τὴν τῶν περιττωμάτων ἀπώλειαν ἀκηδῶς οἴσει.

But if someone with just a single field loses that, he will be completely impoverished, and so will be justifiably grieved, but if someone has lost one field out of four, he will be in exactly the same position as someone who has had three from the start. So it is no great thing not to be distressed when one still has three fields, whereas it is for someone who has never had a single field to bear his poverty without distress, as Crates did, and even more so, if he never even had a house, like Diogenes

⁽⁴⁵⁾  ἐὰν μὲν γάρ τις ἕνα μόνον ἔχων ἀγρὸν ἀπολέσῃ τοῦτον, ἄπορο<ς> ἔσται παντάπασιν, ὥστε εἰκότως ἀνιαθήσεται, ἕνα δὲ ἀπολέσας <τις> ἐκ τῶν τεσσάρων, ἐν ἴσῳ καταστήσεται τοῖς τρεῖς ἔχουσιν ἐξ ἀρχῆς, ὥστε τούτῳ μὲν μέγα οὐδὲν μὴ λυπεῖσθαι <τῷ> τρεῖς ἀγροὺς ὑπολοίπους ἔχοντι, μέγα δὲ τὸ τὸν μηδὲ ἕνα κεκτημένον ἀγρὸν ἀλύπως φέρειν πενίαν ὡς ὁ Κράτης ἔφερε, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο μάλλον εἴ <τις> μηδὲ οἰκίαν ἔχει[ν] καθάπερ ὁ Διογένης.

So it was no great thing for me not to be grieved at all at the loss of my property, for what was left was much more than sufficient.

⁽⁴⁶⁾  οὐκοῦν ἐμοὶ τί πρᾶγμα μέγα μηδ’ ὅλως ἀνιαθέντι διὰ χρημάτων ἀπώλειαν; ἦν γὰρ ἀεὶ τὰ λειπόμενα πολὺ πλέω τῶν ἱκανῶν.

Indeed one should rather pity someone

who spends in a year° ten thousand drachmas out of an income of ten times that, and then is distressed at the loss of thirty thousand. Even if he were regularly to lose the other ninety thousand, it would not be natural to be so grieved, when his ten thousand is enough to keep him.

⁽⁴⁷⁾  ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον ἄξιόν ἐστιν ἐλεήσαι τὸν ἀναλίσκοντα μὲν <ἐν> ἐνιαυτῷ μυρίας δραχμὰς ἐκ προσόδων μυριάδων δέκα, λυπούμενον δὲ ἐπὶ τρισμυρίων ἀπωλείᾳ· κατὰ φύσιν γὰρ ἦν μηδὲ εἰ τὰς ἀπολοίπους ἐννέα μυριάδας ἀπόλλυσιν ἑκάστοτε, μηδὲ οὕτως ἀνιᾶσθαι, τῶν γε μυρίων ἱκανῶς αὐτὸν τρεφουσῶν.  

As it is, the insatiability of such individuals makes us regard with amazement those who are doing nothing amazing: we should be amazed, if at all, at those who are not upset even when they have lost everything, like Zeno of Citium, who, they say, at the report of a shipwreck in which he had lost everything, remarked, `You’ ve done us a favour, Fate, by driving us to the philosopher’ s cloak and the Stoa.

⁽⁴⁸⁾  ἀλλὰ καὶ ἡ τῶν τοιούτων ἀνθρώπων ἀπληστία θαυμάζεσθαι πεποίηκεν ἡμᾶς τοὺς μηδὲν θαυμαστὸν ἐργαζομένους· ἐκείνους δ’ εἴπερ ἄρα θαυμάζεσθαι προσήκει ὅσοι πάντα ἀπολέσαντες οὐδ’ ὅλως ἀνιῶνται, καθάπερ ὁ Κιτιεὺς Ζήνων, ὥς φ<ασιν>, ἀπαγγελθείσης αὐτῷ ναυαγίας ἐν ᾗ πάντα ἀπώλεσεν· “εὖ γε ποιεῖς,” εἶπεν, “ὦ τύχη, συνελαύ<νου>σα ἡμᾶς εἰς τὸν τρίβωνα καὶ τὴν στοάν”.

So it was no great thing for me to despise the loss of various of my possessions, or my place at the Imperial court, which I never wanted to have, but was forced into by Fate, and which I tried to refuse not once or twice but many times.

⁽⁴⁹⁾  ὥστε οὐδ’ ἐμοὶ μέγα τι πέπρακται καταφρονήσαντι παντοδαπῆς ἀπωλείας κτημάτων, ὥσπερ τὴς ἐν αὐλῇ μοναρχικῇ διατριβῆς ἣν οὐ μόνον οὐκ ἐπεθύμησα τότ’ ἔχειν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς τύχης βιαίως εἰς αὐτὴν ἑλκούσης ἀντέσχον οὐχ ἅπαξ οὐδὲ δὶς ἀλλὰ καὶ πολλάκις·

It was no great thing to avoid the madness

of most people, since I cared little for life at the Imperial court,

^(50a)  οὐδὲ γὰρ οὐδὲ τοῦτο μέγα μὴ μανῆναι τὴν μανίαν πολλῶν τῶν ἐν αὐλῇ βασιλικῇ κατ<ολι>γορήσαντα,

but not to be distressed at the loss of ail my drugs, ail my books, and, besides, the recipes of major drugs, as well as the writings on them I had prepared for publication along with many other treatises, any one of which by itself would have shown the great efforts I have put in gladly throughout my life, that is already a prime display of nobility and nigh on magnanimity.

^(50b)  ἀλλὰ τὸ πάντα μὲν ἀπολέσαντα <τὰ> φάρμακα, πάντα δὲ <τὰ> βιβλία, καὶ προσέτι τὰς γραφὰς τῶν ἀξιολόγων φαρμάκων, ἔτι τε τὰς περὶ αὐτῶν ἐκδόσεις γεγονυίας ἅμα πραγματείαις πολλαῖς ἄλλαις καὶ ὧν ἑκάστη μόνη γεγονυῖα τὴν καθ’ ὅλον τὸν βίον ἱκανὴν φιλοπονίαν ἐδείκνυτο μὴ λυπηθῆναι γενναῖον ἤδη τοῦτο καὶ μεγαλοψυχίας ἐχόμενον ἐπίδειγμα πρῶτον.  

What led me to such magnanimity you already know first because you were brought up with me from the start and educated alongside me, but, secondly, there was what I derived in addition from my experience of events in Rome.

⁽⁵¹⁾  εἰς δὲ τὴν τοιαύτην μεγαλοψυχίαν ἤγαγέ με πρῶτον μὲν καὶ ἃ σὺ γινώσκεις αὐτός, ὡς ἂν ἐξ ἀρχῆς συναναστραφεὶς καὶ συμπαιδευθεὶς ἡμῖν [ἔφης], δεύτερον <δὲ> τὰ προσγινόμενα κατὰ τὴν Ῥώμην ἐξ ἐμπειρίας πραγμάτων.

For you are well aware that observation of politics is a good teacher by reminding us of the actions of chance. What Euripides put into the mouth of Theseus somewhere is true above all, as you will recognize when you hear:

⁽⁵²⁾  εὖ γὰρ ἴσθι, παιδεύει καὶ θέα πραγμάτων πολιτικῶν ἀναμιμνῄσκουσα τῶν τῆς τύχης ἔργων· ὃ γὰρ ἐποίησεν Εὐριπίδης λέγοντά πως τὸν Θησέα, παντὸς μᾶλλον ἀληθές ἐστιν· ἀκούσας δὲ τῶν ἐπῶν εἴσει·

As I once learned from a wise man, I fell to considering disasters constantly, Adding for myself exile from my native land, Untimely deaths and other ways of misfortune, So that, should I ever suffer any of what I was imagining, It might not gnaw at my soul because it was a novel arrivai

ἐγὼ δὲ παρὰ σοφοῦ τινος μαθὼν εἰς φροντίδ’ ἀεὶ συμφορὰς ἐβαλλόμην, φυγάς τ’ ἐμαυτῷ προστιθεὶς πάτρας ἐμῆς θανάτους τ’ ἀώρους καὶ κακῶν ἄλλας ὁδούς, ἵν’, εἴ τι πάσχοιμ’ ὧν ἐδόξαζόν ποτε, μή μοι νεῶρες προσπεσὸν ψυχὴν δάκῃ.

The wise man constantly reminds himself of everything that he might possibly suffer, and someone who is not a wise man, provided that he does not live like an animal, is in some way also stimulated to a knowledge of the human condition by the realities of daily life.

⁽⁵³⁾  ὁ μὲν οὖν σοφὸς ἀνὴρ ἑαυτὸν ἀναμιμνήσκει διὰ παντὸς ὧν ἐνδέχεται παθεῖν, ὁ δὲ μὴ σοφὸς μέν, οὖ μὴν ὥσπερ βόσκημα ζῶν, ἐκ τῶν ὁσημέραι γινομένων ἐπεγεί- ρεταί πως καὶ αὐτὸς εἰς τὴν τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων πραγμάτων γνῶσιν.  

Life under Commodus

You yourself, I believe, are convinced that the crimes committed by Commodus in a few years are worse than any νn the whole 0f recorded history. 5o when I saw all of these things happening daily, I schooled my imagination to prepare For the total loss of everything that I had.

⁽⁵⁴⁾  πέπεισαι δ’ οἶμαι καὶ αὐτὸς παρ’ ὅλον τὸν χρόνον, ὡς τὰς ἱστορίας ἔγραψαν οἱ τοῦτ’ ἔργο<ν> ἔχοντες, ἥττω γεγονέναι κακὰ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ὧν νῦν ἔπραξεν Κόμοδος ὀλίγοις ἔτεσιν, ὥστε καθ’ ἑκάστην ἡμέραν κἀγὼ θεώμενος ἕκαστον αὐτῶν ἐγύμνασά μου τὰς φαντασίας πρὸς ἀπώλειαν πάντων ὧν ἔχω,

As well as being moved to pity myself  I also expected to be sent co a desert island, like other innocent victims. When someone expected to be sent to a desert island with the total loss of everything he had, he prepared himself  to bear it, and, if he lost only a part, he was not going to be distressed since he was not deprived of the rest.

⁽⁵⁵⁾  μετὰ τοῦ καὶ αὐτὸς ἐπικλασθῆναι προσδοκήσας, ὥσπερ ἄλλοι μηδὲ ἀδικήσαντες, εἰς νῆσον πεμφθῆναι ἔρημον· ὅπου δ’ εἰς νῆσον τοιαύτην τις πεμφθῆναι προσδοκήσας ἅμ<α> τῇ πάντων ἀπωλείᾳ τῶν <κτημάτων> ὧν εἶχε παρεσκεύασεν ἑαυτὸν ἀνασχέσθαι, ἦ που κατά τι ἀπολέσας <γοῦν μη>δενὸς τῶν ἄλλων κτημάτων ἀφαιρεθείς, <οὐκ ἂν> ἔμελλε λυπηθήσεσθαι.

For myself, having found by experi-

ence that argument in Euripides to be the truest of all, I advise you to train your soul’ s imagination wo cope with almost any turn of events.

⁽⁵⁶⁾  ἐγὼ τοίνυν πεπειραμένος τῶν ἄλλων ἀληθέστατον εἶναι τὸν Εὐριπίδου λόγον, ἀσκεῖν παρακελεύομαι τὰς φαντασίας σου τῆς ψυχῆς μόνον οὐ καθ’ ἑκάστην καιροῦ ῥοπήν.

Galen’ s Family

This prescription cannot be given to those with no natural aptIrude for courage or without an excellent education, which a generous fare vouchsafed to me. For example, since you were educated with me, you know well

⁽⁵⁷⁾  τοῦτο δ’ οὐ δύναται προσγενέσθαι τοῖς μὴ πεφυκόσιν εὖ πρὸς ἀνδρείαν, μήτ’ ἀρίστη παιδεία χρησαμένοις, ἣν ἐμοὶ προὐξένησε τύχη τις ἀγαθή.  

what sort of man my father was; every time I remember him, I feel my soul improved. For there was no other man like him who honoured justice and self-control so much, indeed, they came naturally to him without the need for philosophical arguments.

⁽⁵⁸⁾  ὥς που καὶ σὺ παιδευθεὶς σὺν ἡμῖν, οἶσθα ὁποῖον ἦν μοι πατὴρ οἵου ἐγὼ καὶ ἀναμιμνησκόμενος <ἑκάστο>τε βελτίων ἐμ<αυτοῦ> τὴν ψυχὴν αἰσθάνομαι γινόμενος. οὐ γὰρ ἄλλος ἀνθρώπων τις <οὕτως> ἀκριβῶς ὡς καὶ οὗτος ἐτίμησε δικαιοσύνην τε καὶ σωφροσύνην καὶ δι’ αὐτὰς κἀκείνας ἔσχε φύσει τοῦτο χωρὶς τῶν ἐκ φιλοσοφίας λόγων.

He did not consort with philosophers in his yουth, being trained from childhood in virtue as well as in architecture by his father, my grandfather, in both of which he was himself supreme. My father used to say that he had followed him in the same way of life, and his father, i.e. his own grandfather, an architect, the second as a land-surveyor.

⁽⁵⁹⁾  οὐ γὰρ ὡμίλησε φιλοσόφοις ἐν νεότητι, παρὰ τῷ πατρὶ μὲν ἑαυτοῦ, πάππῳ δὲ ἐμῷ, τὸ μὲν κατὰ τὴν ἀρετήν, τὸ δὲ κατὰ τὴν ἀρχιτεκτονίαν ἐκ παιδὸς ἀσκηθεὶς ἐν οἷς καὶ αὐτὸ ἐκείνῳ ἦν πρῶτον· ἔλεγε δὲ αὐτὸν ὁ πατὴρ τοιοῦτον βεβιωκέναι βίον ὅποιον καὶ αὐτός· ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν ἐκείνου πατέρα καὶ τὸν πάππον ὁμοίως ἔφη <βε>βιωκέναι, τὸν μὲν ἀρχιτέκτονα, τὸν δὲ γεωμέτρην γενόμενον.

So you may suppose that I  am naturally like my forebears because I was born like this and, moreo­ver, because I had an identical upbringing, I have a similar disposition of soul to them.

⁽⁶⁰⁾  νόμιζε δὴ οὖν κἀμὲ καὶ φύσει μὲν ὅμοιον τοῖς προγόνοις ὄντα γενέσθαι τοιοῦτον καὶ μέντοι καὶ παιδευθέντα τὴν αὐτὴν αὐτοῖς παιδείαν ὁμοίαν ἐκείνοις σχεῖν διάθεσιν τῆς ψυχῆς.

I know that my father despised human affairs as of little worth, and this is exactly the same for me in my old age.

⁽⁶¹⁾  οἶδα δέ μου τὸν πατέρα καταφρονοῦντα τῶν ἀν- θρωπίνων πραγμάτων ὡς μικρῶν, ὅπερ κἀμοὶ μάλιστα νῦν γέγονεν ἐν γήρᾳ.  

Furthermore, he regarded those who pursued a life of pleasure as just like the birds  which we see being dragged around Rome by their owners to mount females For a fee. But he never praised those who despise such pleasures and who are simply satisfied that their soul is never pained or distressed, proclaiming that the good was of its own nature something bigger and better than this, not confined to being merely free from pain and distress.

⁽⁶²⁾  καὶ μὴν καὶ τοὺς ἥδιστα βεβιωκότας οὐδὲν ἔσχε πλείω τῶν οἰωνῶν τούτων οὓς κατὰ <τὴν> τῶν Ῥωμαίων πόλιν ὁρῶμεν ὑπὸ τῶν δεσποτῶν περιαγομένους ἕνεκα τοῦ τὰς θηλείας ὀχεύειν ἐπὶ μισθῷ· τοὺς δὲ τῶν τοιούτων ἡδονῶν καταφρονοῦντας, ἀρκουμένους δὲ τῷ μήτε ἀλγεῖν μήτε λυπεῖσθαι τὴν ψυχήν, οὐδέποτε ἐπῄνεσεν ἀπομαν- τευόμενος μεῖζόν τι καὶ κρεῖττον <ὃν> τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἰδίαν ἔχειν φύσιν, οὐκ ἐν μόνῳ τῷ μήτε ἀλγεῖν μήτε λυπεῖσθαι περιγραφόμενον.

But if someone will move away from this and hold that the good is a knowledge of matters both human and divine, then I see that mankind possesses only a very small part of this, and that, if it is so very small, we cannot have a precise knowledge of everything else also.!

⁽⁶³⁾  ἀλλ’ ἐὰν καὶ τούτων τις ἀποχωρήσας ἐπισ<τ>ήμην θείων καὶ ἀνθρωπίνων πραγμάτων ἡγήσηται τὸ ἀγαθὸν ὑπάρχειν, ἐλαχίστου μορίου τούτου ὁρῶ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους μετέχοντας· εἰ δὲ τοῦτο ἐλάχιστον, δῆλον ὅτι καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων ἀκριβῆ γνῶσιν οὐκ ἔχομεν·

But someone who has not even a general knowledge of of matters human and divine can neither make even in part or scientifically a decision on what to choose or what to avoid. So for my part, supposed that participating in politics and being in charge of people was difficult, and also I saw that the generality of them was not at all helped by the earnest endeavour of those who were decent human beings.

⁽⁶⁴⁾  ὁ γὰρ ἐν τῷ καθόλου μὴ γινώσκων ὅποια τά τε θεῖα καὶ τὰ ἀνθρώπινα πράγματά εἰσιν, οὐδ’ ἐν τῷ κατὰ μέρος, οὐδ’ ἐπιστημονικῶς τι ἑλέσθαι καὶ φυγεῖν δύναται. καὶ διὰ τοῦτο καὶ τὸ πολιτεύεσθαι καὶ προνοεῖν ἀνθρώπων ὑπέλαβον χαλεπὸν ἅμα τῷ μηδ’ ὠφελουμένους τι τοὺς πολλοὺς ὁρᾶν ὑπὸ τῆς τῶν καλῶν καὶ ἀγαθῶν ἀνδρῶν σπουδῆς.

Brought up in this way of thinking, I always consider all these things as of little value, so how could I suppose leisure, instruments, drugs, books, reputation and riches to be precious? And if someone regards all these as of little value, why should he worry about them, or be worried by them?

⁽⁶⁵⁾  ἐν τούτῳ τρεφόμενος ἀεὶ τῷ λογισμῷ μικρὰ πάντα εἶναι νομίζω. καὶ σχολὴν καὶ ἄρμενα καὶ φάρμακα καὶ βιβλία καὶ δόξαν καὶ πλοῦτον <πῶς ἂν> ἄξια σπουδῆς ὑπολάβοιμι; τῷ δ’ ἡγουμένῳ μικρὰ πάντα εἶναι, τί ἂν ἐπὶ τούτοις ἀπό τε αὐτῶν εἴη φροντίς;  

It follows also that someone who supposes that he has been deprived of something big must always be distressed and fret, unlike the person who thinks them small and continues to despise them.

⁽⁶⁶⁾  ἀκόλουθον γάρ ἐστι τῷ μὲν ὑπολαβόντι μεγαλεῖα ἐστερῆσθαι, λυπεῖσθαί τε καὶ φροντίζειν ἀεί, τῷ δὲ σμικρῶν ἀεὶ διὰ τέλους καταφρονοῦντι, <μηδέποτε λυ- πεῖσθαι>.

If you peruse what I have written about each of these things, you will discover that I have not just baldly declared my opinion about each of these trivial matters but provided a logical proof. And, by God, I did not do this with zealous enthusiasm or as something tremendous, but simply as a sort of hobby.

⁽⁶⁷⁾  ὅτι δὲ ἕκαστον ὧν εἶπον σμικρῶν εἶναι οὐχ ἁπλῶς ἀπεφηνάμην ἀλλὰ μετὰ πολλῆς <ἀκριβείας> εἴσει τὰ γεγραμμένα μοι περὶ τούτων ἑκάστου διελθὼν ἃ εὑρήσει<ς· ἀλλὰ> μὰ τοὺς θεοὺς οὐδὲ αὐτὰ μετὰ σπουδῆς, οὐδὲ ὡς μέγα τι πράττων, ἀλλ’ ἐν παιδιᾶς μο<ίρᾳ> συνέθηκα.

Some people consider that remaining undisturbed is something good, although I know that neither I nor any other human being nor any animal supports this, for I see all of them wishing to be activelyengaged in both mind and body: but we have established this in several of

our tracts, especially in Against (or On) Ερicurus.l

⁽⁶⁸⁾  τὴν γὰρ ἀοχλ<ησ>ίαν τινὲς ἀγαθὸν νομίζουσιν εἶναι δ’ οὔτε ἐμαυτὸν οὔτε ἄλλον ἄνθρωπον οὔτε ζῳόν τι φέρον οἶδα· πάντα γὰρ ἐνεργεῖν ὁρῶ βουλόμενα καὶ κατὰ σῶμα καὶ κατὰ ψυχήν· ἀλλὰ τοῦτ’ αὐτὸ διὰ πολλῶν ὑπομνήσεων ἐπεστησάμην ἐν ἄλλοις τέ τισι κἀν τῷ κατ’ Ἐπίκουρον.  

The voice of experience

Finally, while I believe I have responded completely to the question you raised about avoiding distress, I do hold the view, nevertheless, that this requires a further definition.

⁽⁶⁹⁾  τελείως μὲν οὖν <οἶμαι> ἀποκρίνασθαί σοι πρὸς τὴν ἐρώτησιν ἣν ἐποιήσω περὶ τῆς ἀλυπ[ησ]ίας, ἀτὰρ οὖν ἡγοῦμαι διορισμόν τινα προσθεῖναι.

Since you say that you have never seen me distressed, you may possibly imagine that I am going to make the same pronouncement as some of the philosophers who promise that the philosopher will never suffer distress.

⁽⁷⁰⁾  τάχα γὰρ οἴει με, καθάπερ ἔνιοι τῶν φιλοσόφων ὑπέσχοντο μηδ<έποτε> μηδὲ νῦν λυπηθήσεσθαι τῶν [φιλο]σόφων, οὕτως καὶ αὐτὸν ἀποφαίνεσθαι καὶ μάλιστα, ἐπειδὴ φὴς ἑωρακέναι με μηδέποτε λυπούμενον.

Now I cannot say if there is anyone so wise that he is entirely free from affections, but I have a precise knowledge of the degree to which I am such a one: I do not care about the loss of possessions without quite being deprived of them all and sent to a desert island, or of bodily pain without quite making light of being placed in the bull of Phalaris.

⁽⁷¹⁾  ἐγὼ δὲ εἰ μέν τίς ἐστιν τοιοῦτος σοφὸς ὡς ἀπαθὴς εἶναι τὸ πᾶν, οὐκ ἔχω λέγειν, τοῦ δ’ αὐτὸς εἶναι τοιοῦτος ἀκριβὴ γνῶσιν ἔχω· χρημάτων μὲν γὰρ ἀπωλείας καταφ<ρ>ονῶ μέχρι τοῦ μὴ πάντων ἀποστερηθεὶς εἰς νῆσον ἐρήμην πεμφθῆναι, πόνου δὲ σωματικοῦ μέχρι τοῦ μὴ καταφρονεῖν ἐπάγ[γελ]εσθαι τῷ Φαλάριδος ταύρῳ.

What will distress me is the ruination of my homeland, or a friend being punished by a tyrant, and other similar things,

^(72a)  λυπήσει δέ με καὶ πατρὶς ἀνάστατος γενομένη καὶ φίλος ὑπὸ τυράννου κολαζόμενος ὅσα τ’ ἄλλα τοιαῦτα.

and I pray to the gods [har none of this should ever happen to me. So since nothing of this sort has happened to me until now, you have thus seen never seen me distressed.

^(72b)  καὶ θεοῖς εὔχομαι μηδέν μοι τούτων συμβῆναί ποτε· καὶ διότι μέχρι τοῦ δεῦρό μοι μηδὲν τοιοῦτον συνέβη, διὰ τοῦτο ἄλυπόν με τεθέασαι.

I am surprised at Musonius who used regularly to announce, so they say, `Zeus, send me any eventuality. My prayer is entirely the opposite: `Zeus, do not send me an eventuality that  can cause me to become grieved.’

⁽⁷³⁾  θαυμάζω δὲ Μουσόνιον ἑκάστοτε λέγειν εἰθισ- μένον, ὥς φασι, ὦ Ζεῦ, πέμπε περίστασιν. ἐγὼ δὲ τουναν- τίον εὔχομαι διὰ παντός, ὦ Ζεῦ, μηδεμίαν μοι πέμψῃς περίστασιν ἀνιᾶσαί με δυναμένην.  

So as far as my bodily health is concerned, I pray continually for good health, not wanting a broken head in order to display courage, and even though I have thought it right to train my imagination to face every disaster with moderation, I would never pray to meet with anything that could distress me.

⁽⁷⁴⁾  οὕτω δὲ καὶ περὶ τῆς τοῦ σώματος ὑγείας εὔχομαι διὰ παντὸς ὑγιαίνειν αὐτὸ βουλόμενος <ἀλλ’> οὐ καταγεί- σης τῆς κεφαλῆς ἐπιδείξασθαι καρτερίαν· ἀσκεῖν <δ’> ἀξιώσας τὰς φαντασίας εἰς ἅπαν δεινόν, ὡς μετρίως ἐνεγ- κεῖν αὐτό, περιπεσεῖν [δὲ] οὐκ ἂν εὐξαίμην οὐδενὶ τῶν λυπῆσαί με δυναμένων.

I am keenly aware that I depend on the quality of the condition of both my body and my soul, and so I would not like anything to arise from any external cause that could destroy my health or any bad turn that could overpower the condition of my soul.

⁽⁷⁵⁾  αἰσθάνομαι γὰρ ἀκριβῶς ἐγὼ παρακολουθῶν τῇ ποιότητι τῆς ἐμῆς ἕξεως ἣν ἔχω κατὰ τὸ σῶμα καὶ τὴν ψυχήν· οὔκουν οὔτε τι τῶν ἔξωθεν αἰτίων τηλικοῦτόν τι γενέσθαι βουλοίμην <ἂν> ὡς διαφθεῖραί μου τὴν ὑγείαν, οὔτε περίστασιν ἰσχυροτέραν τῆς κατὰ τὴν ἐμὴν ψυχὴν ἕξεως.

Not that I neglect their welfare, but I always try, as far as is in my power, to endow them with sufficient strength to withstand whatever distresses them. Even if I do not expect my body to have the strength of  BJP Hercules or my soul to be like that which some attribute to the wise men, ++I think it better not to abandon deliberately any form of training.

⁽⁷⁶⁾  οὐ μὴν ἀμελῶ γε τῆς εὐεξίας αὐτῶν, ἀλλὰ διὰ παντὸς ὅση δύναμις ἐμοὶ ᾖ, ῥώμην ἀμφοτέροις ἐντεθῆναι πειρῶμαι τοσαύτην ὡς ἀντέχειν δύνασθαι τοῖς λυποῦσιν αὐτά. καὶ γὰρ εἰ μήτε τὸ σῶμα τὴν Ἡρακλέους ῥώμην ἕξειν ἐλπίζω μήτε τὴν ψυχὴν ἣν ἔνιοί φασι ὑπάρχειν τοῖς σοφοῖς, βέλτιον εἶναι νομίζω μηδεμίαν ἄσκησιν ἑκόντα παραλιπεῖν.

For I greatly approve of Theseus’  speech, when he says for Euripides:

As I once learned from with a wise man, I fell to considering disasters constantly, Adding for myself exile from my native land, Untimely deaths and other ways of misfortune, So that, should I ever sυffer any of what I was imagining,  Ir might not gnaw at my soul because it was a nοvel arrival.

⁽⁷⁷⁾  ἐπαινῶ γὰρ πάνυ τὸ Θησέως ὅ<σ>περ ὑπὲρ Εὐριπίδου κατὰ τάδε τὰ ἔπη φησίν· ἐγὼ δὲ παρά τινος σοφοῦ μαθὼν εἰς φροντίδ’ ἀεὶ συμφορὰς ἐβαλλόμην, φυγάς τ’ ἐμαυτῷ προστιθεὶς πάτρας ἐμῆς θανάτους τ’ ἀώρους καὶ κακῶν ἄλλας ὁδούς, ἵν’, εἴ τι πάσχοιμ’ ὧν ἐδόξαζόν ποτε, μάτην <νεῶρες> προσπεσὸν ψυχὴν δάκῃ.  

This is the only straining I find helpful against painful bad turns.

^(78a) καὶ μόνην γε ταύτην εὑρίσκω πρὸς τὰς ἀνιαρὰς περιστάσεις.

For I am never above all of them, and thus I try regularly to say to my associates that I never claim to be able to do what I have not in fact displayed in practice, namely that I make light of the loss of money provided that I have enough left to avoid hunger, cold, and thirst, and I do not complain about painful troubles provided that they still allow me this, to talk with a friend and to follow what is being read by someone reading to me-

^(78b) οὐ μὴν ὑπεράνω πασῶν εἰμι καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τοῖς συνήθεσιν ἑκάστοτε λέγειν πειρώμενος, ὡς οὐδὲν οὐδέποτε ἐπαγγειλάμενος ἱκανὸς εἶναι ποιεῖν ὃ καὶ μὴ διὰ τῶν ἔργων ἐπεδειξάμην, ὅτι χρημάτων μὲν ἀπώλειας ἁπάσης καταφρονῶ μέχρις ἂν ὑπολείπηται τοσαύτη κτῆσις αὐτῶν ὡς μήτε πεινῆν μήτε ῥιγοῦν <μήτε διψᾶν> [τὸ γὰρ διψῆν ὑπάρχει καὶ αὐτὸ τούτοις ἕπεσθαι], ἀλγημάτων δὲ μέχρις ἂν ἐπιτρέπηταί μοι καὶ [τοῦ]τὸ δύνασθαι διαλεχθῆναι φίλῳ καί τινος ἀναγινώσκοντός μοι βιβλίον ἕπεσθαι τοῖς λεγομένοις

for severe pains of these kinds deprive us of these — and in such circumstances 1 am glad merely to be able to display endurance.

^(79a) —ὁ γὰρ ἰσχυροὶ πόνοι τούτων ἡμᾶς στερίσκουσι—· ἀγαπᾶν δὲ <δεῖ> ἐν αὐτοῖς εἴ τις καρτερίαν ἐπιδείξασθαι ἐδυνήθη.

In writing for others on avoiding distress I have given you some advice that is superfluous for you, for I have been aware from the start that, both by nature and by education, you always prefer simple food and dress, and are most restrained in sexual matters, whereas those who are thereby enslaved are compelled to require ever more money.

^(79b) τὰ δ’ ἄλλα γεγραφὼς εἰς ἀλυπ[ησ]ίαν συνεβούλευ- σα περιττά σοι λέγειν ὃν ἐξ ἀρχῆς οἶδα καὶ φύσει καὶ παιδείᾳ τοῖς εὐτελέσιν ἐδέσμασι καὶ ἱματίοις ἀεὶ χρώμενον, ἀφροδισίων τε ἐγκρατέστατον οἷς οἱ δουλεύοντες ἀναγκά- ζονται δεῖσθαι χρημάτων πλειόνων,

If they are not rich, they first weep and groan day and night, and then are forced to remain awake at night, looking for means whereby to fulfil their desires; if they do not find them, they howl, and if they do, they are not satisfied, and thus descend to this extremely wretched existence because of their insatiable desires.

⁽⁸⁰⁾ εἴτε δὲ μὴ πλουτοῦσι, πρῶτον οἰμώζουσι καὶ στένουσι μεθ’ ἡμέραν καὶ νύκτα, εἴτ’ ἐξ ὧν <οὐκ> ἀπορήσουσιν ὡς ἐμπιπλάναι τὰς ἐπιθυμίας σκοπούμενοι, δι’ ὅλων τῶν νυκτῶν ἀγρυπνεῖν ἀναγκάζονται, καὶ μὴ τυχόντες μὲν αὐτῶν ὠρύονται, τυχόντες δὲ οὐκ ἐμπίπλανται, τοῦτο δὲ τῷ μοχθηροτέρῳ βίῳ περιπίπτουσι ταῖς ἀπλήστοις ἐπιθυμίαις.

Who then are not distressed like most people? Those who have only a  moderate attachment to esteem, wealth, reputation and political power; but where someone is found with an immoderate attachment to them, he is condemned to the most unfortunate existence, knowing nothing about the virtue of the soul or its dοminance, He will also increase his vices as well as his constant distress at being unable to attain what he intended.

⁽⁸¹⁾ προσγίνονται τίνες οὖν οὐχ ὡς οἱ πολλοὶ λυποῦνται; οἳ μετρίως ἅπτονται τιμῆς καὶ πλούτου καὶ δόξης καὶ δυνάμεως πολιτικῆς, ὧν [γὰρ] ἂν τούτων εὑρεθῇ τις ἀμέτρως, κακοδαιμονέστατα βιοῦν ἀναγκάζεται, ψυχῆς μὲν ἀρετὴν μηδὲ τὴν ἀρχὴν ὅλως τίς ἐστιν ἐπιστάμενος, αὐξήσας δὲ τὰς ἐν αὐτῇ κακίας ἅμα τῷ λυπεῖσθαι διὰ παντὸς ὡς ἂν οὗ προὔθετο τυχεῖν οὐ δυνάμενος·

For the greatest of desires involve an unattainable goal, so that no one naturally would put his trust in them or in anyone who would ever do so.

⁽⁸²⁾ αἱ γάρ τοι μέγισται τῶν ἐπιθυμιῶν ἀπλήρωτον ἔχουσι τὸν σκοπόν, ὥστε οὐδεὶς <ἂν> πιστεύσειε κατὰ φύσιν διακείμενος ὥσπερ οὐδὲ τῷ ποτε πιστεύοντι.

But experience is indeed a teacher of the unexpected. I once  dared to enquire of a man with thousands, seven thousand or more, why he didn’ t share it with others, or enjoy it. He responded by saying that we should look after our possessions just as carefully as we look after the parts  of our body.

⁽⁸³⁾ ἀλλ’ ἡ πεῖρα καὶ τῶν ἀπροσδοκήτων διδάσκαλος γίνεται· καί τινος ἐτόλμησα πυθέσθαι τὰς μυριάδας μὲν ἔχοντος, ἑπτακισχιλίους ἢ πλείονας, οὔτε δὲ κοινω- νοῦν<τος> ὧν εἶχεν ἑτέροις, οὔτ’ ἀπολαβόντος· ὁ δὲ ἀπε- κρίνατο· καθάπερ τὰ τοῦ σώματος μόρια διαφυλάττομεν, οὔτω χρῆναι καὶ τὰ χρήματα διαφυλάττειν ἑκάστῳ.

Annoyed at his response, I went off and dictated, as I usually did, a book in Wealthy Money-lovers, which I have sent you.

⁽⁸⁴⁾ ὀργισθεὶς ἐπὶ τῷ λόγῳ τοῦ ἀνδρός, ὑπηγόρευσα χωρισθεὶς ὥσπερ εἴωθα βιβλίον περὶ τῶν φιλοχρημάτων πλουσίων ὃ καὶ αὐτὸ σοὶ πέπομφα. τέλος Γαληνοῦ περὶ ἀλυπ[ησ]ίας.