“Why do the good meet with so many adversities?” (you ask). No evil
thing can befall a good man; things in their nature contradictory may
not be commingled. Just as so many rivers, so much water falling from
the clouds above, so great a number of springs impregnated with mineral
substances, do not change the saltness of the sea, do not even dilute
it; so the assaults of adversity produce no change in the spirit of a
brave man. He remains steadfast, and whatever betides he gains for his
colors, for he is stronger than all external circumstances. I do not, it
is true, say, that he is insensible to them, but that he triumphs over
them, and, moreover, remains calm and serene in spite of obstacles. All
untoward events he regards as so much drill. Besides, is there any man
who is only an admirer of noble deeds, that is not eager for honest
toil, or ready to do his duty with alacrity even in the face of danger?
To what industrious man is not inactivity a punishment? We see athletes,
whose purpose is to develop their bodily strength, matching themselves
with the most doughty antagonists, and requiring those who prepare them
for a contest to use all their strength against their pupils; they allow
themselves to be smitten and buffeted, and if they do not find suitable
single antagonists they pit themselves against several at the same time.
3. When virtue has no antagonist it becomes enervated; then only does it
appear what its true character is, how strong, how virile it is when
patient endurance shows what it can accomplish. You surely know that
good men must do the same thing, to the end that they may not fear what
is hard or formidable, nor complain about fate. Whatever happens, let
the good bear it patiently and turn it to good uses. Not what we bear
but how we bear it, is the important thing. Do you not see how
differently fathers and mothers show their love for their children? The
former want their sons to be aroused early in order that they may betake
themselves to their studies; their vacations even they would not have
them pass in idleness, and they draw sweat and sometimes even tears from
the youths; but mothers want to fondle them on their bosom, keep them in
the shade; they would never have them weep, never be sad, never undergo
toil.
4. God has a father’s feelings toward good men and ardently loves them,
and says: “By labors, sorrows, privations, let them be tried in order
that they may gain real strength.” Animals that are being fattened grow
languid by their inactivity, and by the weight of their own bodies
become incapable not only of work, but of movement. Unalloyed felicity
cannot withstand any shock, but a constant struggle against obstacles
hardens a man against injuries, and he does not succumb to any disaster,
for even if he falls, he fights on his knees.
5. Are you surprised if God, who is a most devoted friend of the good,
and who wishes them to attain the highest degree of perfection, assigns
them a place in which they are to be disciplined? Verily, I am not
surprised that sometimes a desire seizes the the gods to behold great
men struggling against some misfortune. To us mortals it at times
affords pleasure to see a courageous youth await with the hunting spear,
the onset of some wild beast, or if with unblanched cheek he thrusts
back the attack of a lion; and the spectacle is agreeable in proportion
to the rank of him who exhibits it.
6. These are not the sights that attract the attention of the gods, but
childish pastimes and the pleasures of men who have no serious aims.
Behold a spectacle worthy of a god who is intensely interested in his
work; behold a pair of champions worthy of god, a brave man pitted
against adverse fortune, especially if he himself be the challenging
party. I do not see, I say, what more agreeable sight on earth Jupiter
can look upon, if he turns his attention thither, than to behold Cato,
after his party had been more than once defeated, standing erect,
nevertheless, amid the ruins of the republic.
7. Said he, “Though everything has yielded to the behests of one man;
though the lands be guarded by legions and the seas by fleets and the
soldiers of Caesar keep watch at our gates, there is a way of escape for
Cato. Single-handed will he make a broad way for liberty; this sword,
pure and untarnished even in civil strife, shall at length perform a
worthy and noble deed; the liberty it could not give to his country, it
shall give to Cato. Perform my soul, a deed long meditated, free thyself
from earthly concerns!
8. Already Petreius and Juba have turned their swords against each other
and lie dead, slain with mutual hands. A brave and glorious covenant to
die was that, but one that was unworthy of my greatness; it is as
ignoble for Cato to beg for death at the hands of another as (to beg
for) life.” I am sure the gods looked with keen satisfaction when that
hero, the intrepid liberator of himself, takes counsel for the safety of
others and provides a way of escape for the fugitives; when he pursues
his studies far even into that final night; when he thrusts the sword
into his own sacred breast; when he disembowels himself and sets free
with his own hand that purest spirit unworthy to be contaminated with a
sword.
9. Hence I would fain believe that the thrust was badly directed and the
wound not fatal; it was not enough for the immortal gods to have beheld
Cato once only; his courage was restrained and called back that it might
show itself in a more difficult part. For death may be said not so much
to have come upon so great a soul as to have been sought by it. Why
should they not rejoice to see their favorite pass from life in a way so
glorious and memorable? Death deifies those whose departure fills with
admiration even those who stand aghast at the manner of it.