EPISTLE LXXIII.
for him to enjoy rich leisure, control of his own time, and a tranquillity uninterrupted by public employments.
Shepherd! a god this leisure gave to me,
For he shall be my god eternally.[1]
11. And if even such leisure as that of our poet owes a great debt to its author, though its greatest boon is this:
As thou canst see,
He let me turn my cattle out to feed,
And play what fancy pleased on rustic reed;[2]
how highly are we to value this leisure of the philosopher, which is spent among the gods, and makes us gods? 12. Yes, that is what I mean, Lucilius; and I invite you to heaven by a short cut.
Sextius used to say that Jupiter had no more power than the good man. Of course, Jupiter has more gifts which he can offer to mankind; but when you are choosing between two good men, the richer is not necessarily the better, any more than, in the case of two pilots of equal skill in managing the tiller, you would call him the better whose ship is larger and more imposing. 13. In what respect is Jupiter superior to our good man? His goodness lasts longer; but the wise man does not set a lower value upon himself, just because his virtues are limited by a briefer span. Or take two wise men; he who has died at a greater age is not happier than he whose virtue has been limited to fewer years: similarly, a god has no advantage over a wise man in point of happiness,[3] even though he has such an advantage in point of years. That virtue is not greater which lasts longer. 14. Jupiter possesses all things, but he has surely given over the possession of
- ↑ Vergil, Eclogue, i. 6 f. Vergil owes a debt to the Emperor, and regards him as a “god” because of the bestowal of earthly happiness; how much greater is the debt of the philosopher, who has the opportunity to study heavenly things!
- ↑ Vergil, Eclogue, i. 9 f.
- ↑ In the Christian religion, God is everything; among the Stoics, the wise man is equal to the gods. Cf., for example, Ep. xli. 4.
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