Hugo of St. Victor: DIDASCALICON

Philosophia dividitur in theoricam, practicam, mechanicam, logicam. theorica dividitur in theologiam, physicam, mathematicam. mathematica dividitur in arithmeticam, musicam, geometriam, astronomiam.

Philosophy is divided into theoretic, practical, mechanical, logical. the theoretic is divided into theology, physics, mathematics. the mathematic is divided into arithmetic, music, geometry, astronomy.

practica dividitur in solitariam, privatam, publicam. mechanica dividitur in lanificium, armaturam, navigationem, agriculturam, venationem, medicinam, theatricam. logica dividitur in grammaticam, dissertivam.

the practical is divided into solitary, private, public. the mechanical is divided into wool‑craft (weaving), armament, navigation, agriculture, venery (hunting), medicine, theatrical art. logic is divided into grammar, dissertative (dialectic).

dissertiva dividitur in demonstrationem, probabilem, sophisticam. probabilis dividitur in dialecticam, rhetoricam. in hac divisione solummodo divisivae partes philosophiae continentur.

the dissertive is divided into demonstration, the probable, the sophistic. the probable is divided into dialectic and rhetoric. in this division only the divisive parts of philosophy are contained.

sunt aliae adhuc subdivisiones istarum partium, sed istae nunc sufficere possunt. [765C] in his igitur si solum numerum respicis, invenies xxi; si gradus computare volueris, xxviii reperies. auctores harum scientiarum diversi leguntur.

There are still other subdivisions of those parts, but these can now suffice. [765C] Among these, therefore, if you look only at the number, you will find 21; if you wish to compute the degrees, you will discover 28. Diverse authors of these sciences are read.

alii incipiendo, alii augendo, alii perficiendo artes invenerunt, sicque eiusdem artis plures saepe referuntur auctores. ex his paucorum nomina subter annumerabo.

Some, by beginning, others by augmenting, others by perfecting, invented the arts, and thus several authors of the same art are often reported. Of these, I will enumerate below the names of a few.

CAPUT II

CHAPTER 2

De auctoribus artium.

On the authors of the arts.

Theologus apud Graecos Linus fuit, apud Latinos, Varro, et nostri temporis, Ioannes Scotus de decem categoriis in Deum. physicam naturalem, apud Graecos, Thales Milesius unus de septem sapientibus repperit, apud Latinos, Plinius descripsit. arithmeticam Samius Pythagoras invenit, Nicomachus scripsit.

The Theologian among the Greeks was Linus; among the Latins, Varro; and of our time, John Scotus on the ten Categories concerning God. Natural physics, among the Greeks, Thales of Miletus, one of the Seven Sages, discovered; among the Latins, Pliny described. Arithmetic, Pythagoras the Samian discovered, Nicomachus wrote.

apud Latinos primum Apuleius, deinde Boethius transtulit. hic etiam Pythagoras Mathen tetrados fecit, [765D] id est, librum de doctrina quadrivii, et Y ad similitudinem vitae humanae invenit. musicae repertorem Moyses dicit fuisse Tubal, qui fuit de stirpe Cain, Graeci Pythagoram, alii Mercurium, qui primus tetrachordum instituit, alii Linum, vel Zetum, vel Amphionem.

among the Latins, first Apuleius, then Boethius translated it. here also Pythagoras made the Mathen of the tetrad, [765D] that is, a book on the doctrine of the quadrivium, and he discovered the Y in the likeness of human life. Moses says the discoverer of music was Tubal, who was of the stock of Cain; the Greeks, Pythagoras; others, Mercury, who first instituted the tetrachord; others, Linus, or Zetus, or Amphion.

geometriam apud Aegyptum primum dicunt esse repertam, cuius auctor apud Graecos optimus Euclides fuit. huius artem transtulit Boethius. Eratosthenes quoque sagacissimus in geometria, qui ambitum orbis repperit.

They say geometry was first discovered in Egypt, whose best author among the Greeks was Euclid. Boethius translated this art. Eratosthenes also, most sagacious in geometry, discovered the circumference (ambit) of the world.

[766B] dicunt quidam quod Cham filius Noe astronomiam primus invenerit. Chaldaei primum astrologiam docuerunt, secundum nativitatis observantiam. Iosephus autem asseverat Abraham primum instituisse Aegyptios astrologiam.

[766B] some say that Cham, the son of Noah, first discovered astronomy. The Chaldeans first taught astrology, according to the observance of nativity. Josephus, however, asserts that Abraham first instructed the Egyptians in astrology.

astronomiam Ptolomaeus rex Aegypti reparavit. hic etiam canones instituit quibus cursus astrorum invenitur. aiunt quidam Nemroth gigantem summum fuisse astrologum, sub cuius nomine etiam astronomia invenitur.

King Ptolemy of Egypt restored astronomy. He also established canons by which the courses of the stars are discovered. Some say that Nimrod the giant was a supreme astrologer, under whose name astronomy also is found.

Graeci dicunt hanc artem ab Atlante prius excogitatam, propter quod etiam caelum sustinuisse fertur. ethicae inventor Socrates fuit, de qua viginti quattuor libros secundum positivam iustitiam scripsit. deinde Plato discipulus eius libros multos De republica secundum utramque iustitiam, naturalem scilicet et positivam, conscripsit.

The Greeks say that this art was first devised by Atlas, on account of which he is also said to have borne the heavens. The inventor of ethics was Socrates, about which he wrote twenty-four books according to positive justice. Then Plato, his disciple, composed many books On the Republic according to both kinds of justice, namely natural and positive.

[766C] deinde Tullius in Latino sermone libros De republica ordinavit. Fronto quoque philosophus scripsit librum Strategematon, id est, militaris suavitatis. mechanica diversos habuit auctores.

[766C] then Tullius, in the Latin tongue, set in order books On the Republic. Fronto too, a philosopher, wrote the book Strategematon, that is, of military suavity. mechanics had various authors.

Hesiodus Ascraeus primus apud Graecos in describendis rebus rusticis studuit, deinde Democritus. magnus quoque Carthaginiensis in viginti octo voluminibus studium agriculturae conscripsit, apud Romanos primus Cato De agricultura instituit, quod deinde Marcus Terentius expolivit. Vergilius quoque Georgica fecit, deinde Cornelius et Iulius Atticus, Aemilianus sive Columella insignis orator, qui totum corpus disciplinae huius complexus est.

Hesiod the Ascraean was the first among the Greeks to apply himself to describing rustic matters, then Democritus. Mago the Carthaginian likewise set down the study of agriculture in twenty-eight volumes; among the Romans, first Cato instituted On Agriculture, which Marcus Terentius afterward polished. Virgil also made the Georgics, then Cornelius and Julius Atticus, Aemilianus or Columella, a distinguished orator, who embraced the whole corpus of this discipline.

Vitruvius quoque De architectura, Palladius De agricultura. [766D] lanificii usum apud Graecos primam Minervam monstrasse ferunt. hanc etiam primam telam ordinasse, lanas colorasse, olivae quoque et fabricae inventricem fuisse credunt.

Vitruvius also On Architecture, Palladius On Agriculture. [766D] they report that Minerva was the first to show the use of wool-working among the Greeks. they also believe that she first set the loom in order, dyed the wools, and was the inventress of the olive and of craftsmanship.

ab ipsa Daedalus didicit, et ipse post eam fabricam fecisse creditur. apud Aegyptum autem Isis filia Inachi usum serendi lini repperit, et qualiter inde vestimenta fierent, monstravit. similiter lanae usum ibidem ipsa repperit.

From her herself Daedalus learned, and he himself, after her, is believed to have made the workshop. In Egypt, moreover, Isis, daughter of Inachus, discovered the use of sowing flax, and showed how garments would be made from it. Likewise, she herself there discovered the use of wool.

in Lybia primum usus lanae exortus est a templo Ammonis. Ninus rex Assyriorum primus bella movit. Vulcanum primum fabrum fuisse credunt, divina autem historia, Tubal.

In Libya the first use of wool arose from the temple of Ammon. Ninus, king of the Assyrians, first set wars in motion. They believe Vulcan was the first smith, but divine history says: Tubal.

[767A] primus Prometheus ferreo circulo lapidem imprimens usum anuli invenit. navigii usum Pelasgi primi invenerunt. Ceres primum in Graecia apud Eleusim usum frumenti invenit, Isis in Aegypto.

[767A] Prometheus first, by pressing a stone into an iron circle, discovered the use of the ring. The Pelasgi were the first to discover the use of the ship. Ceres first in Greece, at Eleusis, discovered the use of grain, Isis in Egypt.

Pilumnus in Italia usum frumenti et farris et ritum molendi et pinsendi, Tagus in Hispania ritum serendi. Osiris apud Aegyptum cultum vinearum repperit, Liber apud Indos. Daedalus primus mensam et sellam fecit.

Pilumnus in Italy discovered the use of grain and of spelt and the rite of milling and pounding, Tagus in Spain the rite of sowing. Osiris in Egypt discovered the cultivation of vineyards, Liber among the Indians. Daedalus first made a table and a chair.

Apicius quidam primus composuit apparatum coquinae, qui tandem in ea, consumptis bonis, morte voluntaria periit. medicinae auctor apud Graecos Apollo fuit, hanc filius eius Aesculapius laude et opere ampliavit, qui postquam fulmine periit. diu medendi cura intermissa est latuitque per annos paene quingentos, [767B] usque ad tempus Artaxerxis regis.

A certain Apicius first composed the apparatus of the kitchen; he, at length, in that pursuit, his goods consumed, perished by voluntary death. The author of medicine among the Greeks was Apollo; this his son Aesculapius amplified by praise and by work, who, after he perished by a thunderbolt, for a long time the care of healing was intermitted and lay hidden for nearly five hundred years, [767B] up to the time of King Artaxerxes.

tunc eam revocavit in lucem Hippocrates, Asclepio patre genitus in insula Coo. ludi a Lydis initium sumpsisse creduntur, qui ex Asia venientes in Etruria consederunt sub Tyrreno duce, ibique inter ceteros superstitionum suarum ritus spectacula instituerunt, quem morem Romani imitati sunt, accersitis inde artificibus, indeque ludi a Lydis vocati sunt. litterae Hebraeorum a Moyse per legem initium sumpsisse creduntur, Chaldaeorum et Syrorum per Abraham.

then Hippocrates, begotten of his father Asclepius on the island of Cos, called it back into the light. Games are believed to have taken their beginning from the Lydians, who, coming from Asia, settled in Etruria under the leader Tyrrhenus, and there, among the rest of the rites of their superstitions, they established spectacles; which custom the Romans imitated, having summoned artificers from there, and from there the games were named from the Lydians. The letters of the Hebrews are believed to have taken their beginning from Moses through the Law, those of the Chaldaeans and Syrians from Abraham.

Aegyptiorum litteras Isis invenit; Graecorum, Phoenices, quas Cadmus a Phoenice in Graeciam attulit. Carmentis, mater Evandri, quae proprio nomine Nicostrata vocabatur, Latinas litteras repperit. divinam historiam primus Moyses scripsit.

Isis invented the letters of the Egyptians; for the Greeks, the Phoenicians, which Cadmus brought from Phoenicia into Greece. Carmentis, the mother of Evander, who by her own name was called Nicostrata, discovered the Latin letters. Moses first wrote the divine history.

Apud gentiles primus [767C] Dares Phrygius Troianam historiam edidit, quam in foliis palmarum ab eo scriptam esse ferunt. post Daretem, in Graecia Herodotus historicus primus habitus est, post quem Pherecydes hisdem temporibus claruit quibus Esdras legem scripsit. fabulas primum invenisse creditur Alcmon Crotoniensis.

Among the gentiles first [767C] Dares the Phrygian published a Trojan history, which they say was written by him on palm leaves. after Dares, in Greece Herodotus was held the first historian, after whom Pherecydes was illustrious in the same times in which Esdras wrote the law. fables are believed to have been first invented by Alcmon the Crotonian.

Aegyptus mater est artium, inde in Graeciam, deinde in Italiam venerunt. in ea primum grammatica reperta est tempore Osiris, mariti Isidis. in ea quoque dialectica primum inventa est a Parmenide, qui civitates et coetus hominum fugiens in rupe consedit non modico tempore, sicque dialecticam excogitavit, unde et rupes Parmenidis appellata est.

Egypt is the mother of the arts; from there they came into Greece, then into Italy. In it first grammar was discovered in the time of Osiris, the husband of Isis. In it also dialectic was first invented by Parmenides, who, fleeing cities and gatherings of men, settled upon a rock for no small time, and thus excogitated dialectic, whence also the rock was called the Rock of Parmenides.

Plato autem post mortem Socratis magistri sui amore sapientiae Aegyptum demigravit, [767D] ibique perceptis liberalibus studiis, Athenas rediit, et apud Academiam, villam suam, coadunatis discipulis, philosophiae studiis operam dedit. hic primum logicam rationalem Graecis instituit, quam postea Aristoteles, discipulus eius, ampliavit, perfecit et in artem redegit. Marcus Terentius Varro primus dialecticam de Graeco in Latinum transtulit.

Plato, however, after the death of Socrates his teacher, migrated to Egypt for love of wisdom, [767D] and there, having received the liberal studies, he returned to Athens; and at the Academy, his villa, with his disciples gathered together, he devoted himself to the studies of philosophy. Here he first instituted rational logic for the Greeks, which afterward Aristotle, his disciple, enlarged, perfected, and reduced into an art. Marcus Terentius Varro was the first to translate dialectic from Greek into Latin.

postea Cicero Topica invenit. Demosthenes, fabri filius, apud Graecos rhetoricae repertor creditur, Tisias apud Latinos, Corax apud Syracusas. haec ab Aristotele et Gorgia et Hermagora in Graeco scripta est, translata in Latinum a Tullio, Quintiliano et Titiano.

afterwards Cicero invented the Topics. Demosthenes, a smith’s son, among the Greeks is believed to be the discoverer of rhetoric, Tisias among the Latins, Corax among the Syracusans. This was written in Greek by Aristotle and Gorgias and Hermagoras, translated into Latin by Tullius, Quintilian, and Titianus.

CAPUT III

CHAPTER 3

[768A] Quae artes praecipue legendae sint.

[768A] Which arts ought especially to be read.

Ex his autem omnibus scientiis supra enumeratis, septem specialiter discreverant antiqui in studiis suis ad opus erudiendorum, in quibus tantam utilitatem esse prae ceteris omnibus perspexerunt, ut, quisquis harum disciplinam firmiter percepisset, ad aliarum notitiam postea inquirendo magis et exercendo quam audiendo perveniret. sunt enim quasi optima quaedam instrumenta et rudimenta quibus via paratur animo ad plenam philosophicae veritatis notitiam. hinc trivium et quadrivium nomen accepit, eo quod his, quasi quibusdam viis, vivax animus ad secreta sophiae introeat.

Out of all these sciences enumerated above, the ancients, in their studies for the work of educating, set apart seven in particular, in which they perceived there to be so great a utility before all the others that whoever had firmly grasped the discipline of these would thereafter arrive at the knowledge of the others more by inquiring and by exercising than by hearing. For they are, as it were, certain most excellent instruments and rudiments by which a way is prepared for the mind to the full knowledge of philosophical truth. Hence it received the name Trivium and Quadrivium, because by these, as by certain ways, the lively mind enters into the secrets of wisdom.

nemo tunc temporis nomine magistri dignus videbatur, qui non harum septem scientiam profiteri posset. [768B] Pythagoras quoque hanc in studiis suis consuetudinem servasse legitur, ut usque ad septenium, secundum numerum videlicet septem liberalium artium, nullus discipulorum suorum de his quae ab ipso dicebantur rationem poscere auderet, sed fidem dare verbis magistri quousque omnia audivisset, sicque iam per semetipsum rationem eorum posset invenire. has septem tanto studio quidam didicisse leguntur, ut plane omnes ita in memoria tenerent, ut, quascunque scripturas deinde ad manum sumpsissent, quascumque quaestiones solvendas aut comprobandas proposuissent, ex his regulas et rationes ad definiendum id de quo ambigeretur folia librorum revolvendo non quaererent, sed statim singula corde parata haberent.

no one at that time seemed worthy of the name of master who could not profess knowledge of these seven. [768B] Pythagoras too is read to have kept this custom in his studies, that up to a septennium—according, namely, to the number of the seven liberal arts—none of his disciples would dare to demand a rationale for the things that were being said by him, but would give credence to the master’s words until he had heard everything, and thus already by himself could discover their rationale. certain men are read to have learned these seven with such zeal that they held all of them so in memory that, whatever writings thereafter they took into their hands, whatever questions they set forth to be solved or proved, they would not, by turning the leaves of books, seek from these the rules and reasons for defining that about which there was ambiguity, but would have each particular straightway prepared in their heart.

[768C] hinc profecto accidit tot eo tempore fuisse sapientes ut plura ipsi scriberent quam nos legere possimus. scholares vero nostri aut nolunt aut nesciunt modum congruum in discendo servare, et idcirco multos studentes, paucos sapientes invenimus. mihi vero videtur non minori cura providendum esse lectori, ne in studiis inutilibus operam suam expendat quam ne in bono et utili proposito tepidus remaneat.

[768C] hence indeed it has happened that there were so many wise men at that time that they themselves wrote more than we are able to read. our scholars, however, either are unwilling or do not know how to keep a congruent method in learning, and therefore we find many students, few wise. it seems to me that no less care must be provided for the reader, lest he expend his effort in useless studies, than that he not remain tepid in a good and useful purpose.

malum est bonum negligenter agere, peius est in vanum labores multos expendere. sed quia non omnes hanc discretionem habere possunt, ut intelligant quid sibi expediat, idcirco, quae scripturae mihi utiliores videantur, lectori breviter demonstrabo, ac deinde de modo quoque discendi pauca adnectam.

it is an evil to do a good thing negligently, it is worse to expend many labors in vain. but because not all can have this discretion, so as to understand what is expedient for themselves, therefore I will briefly demonstrate to the reader which writings seem more useful to me, and then I will also append a few things about the mode of learning.

CAPUT IV

CHAPTER 4

[768D] De duobus generibus scripturarum.

[768D] On the two kinds of scriptures.

Duo sunt genera scripturarum. primum genus est earum quae propriae artes appellantur. secundum est earum quae sunt appendicia artium.

There are two kinds of writings. the first kind is of those which are called the proper arts. the second is of those which are the appendices of the arts.

artes sunt quae philosophiae supponuntur, id est, quae aliquam certam et determinatam partem philosophiae materiam habent, ut est grammatica, dialectica, et ceterae huiusmodi. appendentia artium sunt quae tantum ad philosophiam spectant, id est, quae in aliqua extra philosophiam materia versantur. aliquando tamen quaedam ab artibus discerpta sparsim et confuse attingunt, vel si simplex narratio est, viam ad philosophiam praeparant.

the arts are those which are subordinated to philosophy, that is, which have as their material some certain and determinate part of philosophy, as are grammar, dialectic, and others of this sort. the appendices of the arts are those which only look toward philosophy, that is, which are occupied with some subject-matter outside philosophy. sometimes, however, certain things detached from the arts touch upon it here and there and confusedly; or, if it is a simple narration, they prepare the way to philosophy.

huiusmodi sunt omnia poetarum carmina, ut sunt tragoediae, comoediae, satirae, heroica quoque et lyrica, [769A] et iambica, et didascalica quaedam, fabulae quoque et historiae, illorum etiam scripta quos nunc philosophos appellare solemus, qui et brevem materiam longis verborum ambagibus extendere consueverunt, et facilem sensum perplexis sermonibus obscurare. vel etiam diversa simul compilantes, quasi de multis coloribus et formis, unam picturam facere. nota quae tibi distinxi.

Such are all the poems of the poets—such as tragedies, comedies, satires, heroic and lyric pieces, [769A] and iambics, and certain didactic works—fables too and histories; likewise the writings of those whom we are now accustomed to call philosophers, who are wont both to stretch brief material with long circumlocutions of words, and to obscure an easy sense with perplexed discourses; or else, compiling diverse things at once, to make one picture, as it were, from many colors and forms. Note the items I have distinguished for you.

duo sunt, artes et appendicia artium. sed inter haec tanta mihi distantia esse videtur, ut ille ait:

There are two: the arts and the appendices of the arts. But between these so great a distance seems to me to exist, as that man says:

Lenta salix quantum pallenti cedit olivae,
Puniceis humilis quantum saliunca rosetis.

As far as the pliant willow yields to the pallid olive,
so far the humble wild nard to the Tyrian-crimson rose-beds.

ita ut quicumque ad scientiam pertingere cupit, si relicta veritate artium reliquis se implicare voluerit, materiam laboris, [769B] ut non dicam infinitam, plurimam inveniat et fructum exiguum. denique artes sine appendiciis suis perfectum facere lectorem possunt, illa sine artibus nihil perfectionis conferre valent, maxime cum nihil in se expetendum habeant unde lectorem invitent nisi traductum ab artibus et accommodatum, neque quisquam in eis quaerat nisi quod artium est. quapropter mihi videtur primum operam dandam esse artibus ubi fundamenta sunt omnium, et pura simplexque veritas aperitur, maxime his septem quas praedixi, quae totius philosophiae instrumenta sunt.

so that whoever longs to reach knowledge, if, the truth of the Arts having been left behind, he should wish to entangle himself in the rest, will find material for toil—[769B] not to say infinite, very plentiful—and meager fruit. Finally, the arts without their appendices are able to make a reader perfect; those (appendices) without the arts are worth nothing to confer perfection, especially since they have in themselves nothing to be sought by which they might invite the reader, except what is derived from the arts and accommodated, nor does anyone seek in them anything except what belongs to the arts. Wherefore it seems to me that effort must first be given to the arts, where are the foundations of all things, and pure and simple truth is laid open—especially to those seven which I have foretold, which are the instruments of all philosophy.

deinde cetera quoque, si vacat, legantur, quia aliquando plus delectare solent seriis admixta ludicra, et raritas pretiosum facit bonum. sic in medio fabulae cursu inventam sententiam avidius aliquando retinemus. [769C] verumtamen in septem liberalibus artibus fundamentum est omnis doctrinae, quae prae ceteris omnibus ad manum habendae sunt, utpote sine quibus nihil solet aut potest disciplina philosophica explicare et definire.

then let the rest also, if there is leisure, be read, because sometimes ludic things mixed with serious matters are wont to delight more, and rarity makes a good precious. thus a sentence discovered in the middle course of a fable we sometimes retain more eagerly. [769C] nevertheless, in the seven liberal arts is the foundation of all doctrine, which, before all the others, are to be kept at hand, inasmuch as without them the philosophical discipline is accustomed, or able, to explain and define nothing.

hae quidem ita sibi cohaerent et alternis vicissim rationibus indigent, ut si vel una defuerit, ceterae philosophum facere non possunt. unde mihi errare videntur qui non attendentes talem in artibus cohaerentiam quasdam sibi ex ipsis eligunt, et, ceteris intactis, in his se posse fieri perfectos putant.

These indeed so cohere with one another and, in turn, by reciprocal rationales have need of each other, that if even one were lacking, the rest could not make a philosopher. Whence those seem to me to err who, not attending to such coherence in the arts, select certain ones for themselves from them, and, with the others left untouched, think that in these they can be made perfect.

CAPUT V

CHAPTER 5

Unicuique arti quod suum est tribuendum esse.

That to each art what is its own ought to be attributed.

[769D] Est rursum alius error non multo minor isto, quem summopere vitare oportet. sunt enim quidam, qui licet ex his quae legenda sunt nihil praetermittant, nulli tamen arti quod suum est tribuere norunt, sed in singulis legunt omnes. in grammatica de syllogismorum ratione disputant, in dialectica inflexiones casuales inquirunt, et quod magis irrisione dignum est, in titulo totum paene legunt librum, et 'incipit' tertia vix lectione expediunt.

[769D] There is again another error not much smaller than that one, which above all ought to be avoided. For there are certain people who, although they omit nothing of the things that are to be read, nevertheless do not know how to attribute to any art what is its own, but in each single discipline they read everything. In grammar they dispute about the rationale of syllogisms, in dialectic they inquire into case inflections, and—what is more worthy of derision—in the title they read almost the whole book, and they scarcely dispatch the “incipit” by the third reading.

non alios docent huiusmodi, sed ostentant suam scientiam. sed utinam quales mihi, tales omnibus apparerent! [770A] attende quam perversa sit haec consuetudo, cum profecto quanto magis superflua aggregaveris, tanto minus ea quae utilia sunt capere possis vel retinere.

Such men do not teach others of this sort, but ostentate their own science. But would that they appeared to all such as they appear to me! [770A] Attend how perverse this consuetude is, since indeed the more you aggregate superfluities, so much the less you are able to apprehend or retain the things that are useful.

in qualibet igitur arte duo nobis maxime discernenda sunt et distinguenda, primum, qualiter oporteat de ipsa arte agere, secundum, qualiter oporteat ipsius artis rationes quibuslibet aliis rebus accommodare. duo sunt, agere de arte, et agere per artem. verbi gratia, agere de arte, ut est agere de grammatica, agere per artem, ut est agere grammatice.

In any art, therefore, two things must especially be discerned and distinguished by us: first, how it is fitting to treat concerning the art itself; second, how it is fitting to accommodate the reasons/principles of the art to any other things. There are two things: to act about the art, and to act through the art. For example, to act about the art, as is to treat about grammar; to act through the art, as is to act grammatically.

distingue haec duo, agere de grammatica, et agere grammatice. de grammatica agit, qui regulas de vocibus datas et praecepta ad hanc artem pertinentia tractat. grammatice agit omnis qui regulariter loquitur vel scribit.

Distinguish these two: to deal with grammar, and to act grammatically. He deals with grammar who treats the rules given concerning words and the precepts pertinent to this art. Everyone acts grammatically who speaks or writes according to rule.

agere igitur de grammatica quibusdam tantummodo scripturis, ut Prisciano, Donato, Servio convenit, agere vero grammatice, omnibus. cum igitur de qualibet arte agimus, maxime in docendo, ubi omnia ad compendium restringenda sunt [770B] et ad facilem intelligentiam evocanda, sufficere debet id de quo agitur quantum brevius et apertius potest explanare, ne si alienas nimium rationes multiplicaverimus, magis turbemus quam aedificemus lectorem. non omnia dicenda sunt quae dicere possumus, ne minus utiliter dicantur ea quae dicere debemus.

to treat therefore about grammar by certain writings only, as by Priscian, Donatus, Servius, befits certain persons alone; but to act grammatically befits all. therefore, when we deal about any art, especially in teaching, where all things must be restricted to a compendium [770B] and summoned to an easy understanding, it ought to suffice to explain as briefly and as openly as possible that about which one is treating, lest, if we multiply too much foreign rationales, we trouble rather than edify the reader. not all things that we can say are to be said, lest the things that we ought to say be said less usefully.

id tandem in unaquaque arte quaeras quod ad eam specialiter pertinere constiterit. deinde cum legeris artes, et quid uniuscuiusque sit proprium agnoveris disputando et conferendo, tunc demum rationes singularum invicem conferre licebit, et ex alterna consideratione vicissim quae minus prius intellexeras investigare. noli multiplicare diverticula quoadusque semitas didiceris.

At length, in each art seek what has been established to pertain specially to it. Then, when you have read the arts, and by disputing and conferring have recognized what is proper to each, then at last it will be permitted to compare the rationales of each with one another, and from alternate consideration in turn to investigate what you had previously understood less. Do not multiply detours until you have learned the paths.

securus discurres cum errare non timueris.

You will range securely when you have not feared to err.

CAPUT VI

CHAPTER 6

[770C] Quid sit necessarium studio.

[770C] What is necessary for study.

Tria sunt studentibus necessaria: natura, exercitium, disciplina. in natura consideratur ut facile audita percipiat et percepta firmiter retineat; in exercitio, ut labore et sedulitate naturalem sensum excolat; in disciplina, ut laudabiliter vivens mores cum scientia componat. de his tribus per singula modo introductionis pauca perstringemus.

Three things are necessary for students: nature, exercise, discipline. In nature it is considered that he may easily perceive what is heard and may firmly retain what has been perceived; in exercise, that by labor and sedulity he may cultivate the natural sense; in discipline, that, living laudably, he may compose his morals with knowledge. Concerning these three we will, for each in turn, briefly touch a few points by way of introduction.

CAPUT VII

CHAPTER 7

[771B] Hoc ad naturam de ingenio.

[771B] So much for nature concerning innate talent.

Qui doctrinae operam dant, ingenio simul et memoria pollere debent, quae duo in omni studio et disciplina ita sibi cohaerent, ut si desit alterum, neminem alterum ad perfectum ducere possit, sicut nulla prodesse possunt lucra ubi deest custodia, et incassum receptacula munit qui quod recondat non habuerit. ingenium invenit et memoria custodit sapientiam. [771C] ingenium est vis quaedam naturaliter animo insita per se valens.

Those who apply themselves to doctrine ought to be strong both in ingenuity and in memory, which two in every study and discipline so cohere to each other that, if the one is lacking, the other can lead no one to perfection, just as no lucre can profit where custody is lacking, and in vain does he fortify receptacles who will not have that which to lay away. ingenuity discovers and memory guards wisdom. [771C] ingenuity is a certain force naturally implanted in the mind, strong in itself.

ingenium a natura proficiscitur, usu iuvatur, immoderato labore retunditur, et temperato acuitur exercitio. unde satis eleganter a quodam dictum est: Volo tandem tibi parcas, labor est in chartis, curre per aera. duo sunt quae ingenium exercent: lectio et meditatio.

Ingenuity proceeds from nature, is aided by use, is blunted by immoderate labor, and by tempered exercise is sharpened. Whence it was said quite elegantly by a certain person: I wish at last that you spare yourself; the labor is on the papers; run through the air. There are two things which exercise ingenuity: reading and meditation.

lectio est, cum ex his quae scripta sunt, regulis et praeceptis informamur. trimodum est lectionis genus: docentis, discentis, vel per se inspicientis. dicimus enim 'lego librum illi,' et 'lego librum ab illo,' et 'lego librum.' in lectione maxime consideranda sunt ordo et modus.

reading is, when from those things which are written, we are formed by rules and precepts. the genre of reading is threefold: of one teaching, of one learning, or of one inspecting by himself. for we say, namely, ‘lego librum illi,’ and ‘lego librum ab illo,’ and ‘lego librum.’ in reading, order and mode are especially to be considered.

CAPUT VIII

CHAPTER 8

De ordine legendi.

On the order of reading.

Ordo consideratur alius in disciplinis, ut si dixerim grammaticam dialectica antiquiorem vel arithmeticam priorem musica, [771D] alius in libris, ut si dixero Catilinarium Iugurthino priorem, alius in narratione, quae est in continua serie, alius in expositione. ordo in disciplinis attenditur secundum naturam, in libris secundum personam auctoris vel subiectam materiam, in narratione secundum dispositionem, quae duplex est; naturalis, videlicet quando res eo refertur ordine quo gesta est, et artificialis, id est, quando id quod postea gestum est prius narratur, et quod prius, postmodum dicitur, in expositione consideratur ordo secundum inquisitionem. expositio tria continet, litteram, sensum, sententiam.

Order is considered one way in the disciplines, as if I should say that grammar is more ancient than dialectic or arithmetic prior to music, [771D] another in books, as if I should say the Catilinarian earlier than the Jugurthine, another in narration, which is in a continuous series, another in exposition. order in the disciplines is attended to according to nature, in books according to the person of the author or the subject-matter, in narration according to disposition, which is twofold; natural, namely when the thing is referred in that order in which it was done, and artificial, that is, when that which was done later is narrated earlier, and what was earlier is said afterward; in exposition order is considered according to inquiry. exposition contains three things, the letter, the sense, the judgment.

littera est congrua ordinatio dictionum, quod etiam constructionem vocamus. sensus est facilis quaedam et aperta significatio, quam littera prima fronte praefert. [772A] sententia est profundior intelligentia, quae nisi expositione vel interpretatione non invenitur.

letter is the congruent ordering of words, which we also call construction. sense is a certain easy and open signification, which the letter presents at first glance. [772A] sententia is a deeper intelligence, which is not found except by exposition or interpretation.

in his ordo est, ut primum littera, deinde sensus, deinde sententia inquiratur. quo facto, perfecta est expositio.

In these, the order is that first the letter, then the sense, then the sententia be inquired into. Once this has been done, the exposition is complete.

CAPUT IX

CHAPTER 9

De modo legendi.

On the manner of reading.

Modus legendi in dividendo constat. omnis divisio incipit a finitis, et ad infinita usque progreditur. omne autem finitum magis notum est et scientia comprehensibile.

The mode of reading consists in dividing. every division begins from finite things, and advances right up to infinite things. yet every finite thing is more known and comprehensible to science.

doctrina autem ab his quae magis nota sunt incipit, et per eorum notitiam ad scientiam eorum quae latent pertingit. praeterea ratione investigamus, ad quam proprie pertinet dividere, quando ab universalibus ad particularia descendimus dividendo [772B] et singulorum naturas investigando. omne namque universale magis est determinatum suis particularibus.

But doctrine begins from those things which are more known, and through their acquaintance reaches to the science of those things which lie hidden. Moreover, we investigate by reason, to which it properly pertains to divide, when from universals to particulars we descend by dividing [772B] and by investigating the natures of singulars. For every universal is more determined by its particulars.

quando ergo discimus, ab his incipere debemus quae magis sunt nota et determinata et complectentia, sicque paulatim descendendo, et per divisionem singula distinguendo, eorum quae continentur naturam investigare.

when therefore we learn, we ought to begin from those things which are more known and determined and encompassing, and thus, by descending little by little and distinguishing the individual things through division, to investigate the nature of those things which are contained.

CAPUT X

CHAPTER 10

De meditatione.

On meditation.

Meditatio est cogitatio frequens cum consilio, quae causam et originem, modum et utilitatem uniuscuiusque rei prudenter investigat. meditatio principium sumit a lectione, nullis tamen stringitur regulis aut praeceptis lectionis. delectatur enim quodam aperto decurrere spatio, ubi liberam contemplandae veritati aciem affigat, et nunc has, [772C] nunc illas rerum causas perstringere, nunc autem profunda quaeque penetrare, nihil anceps, nihil obscurum relinquere.

Meditation is frequent thinking with counsel, which prudently investigates the cause and origin, the mode and utility of each thing. meditation takes its beginning from reading, yet is constrained by no rules or precepts of reading. For it delights to run through a certain open space, where it may fix a free gaze upon the truth to be contemplated, and now to touch upon these, [772C] now those causes of things, and now to penetrate whatever is profound, leaving nothing doubtful, nothing obscure.

principium ergo doctrinae est in lectione, consummatio in meditatione, quam si quis familiarius amare didicerit eique saepius vacare voluerit, iucundam valde reddit vitam, et maximam in tribulatione praestat consolationem. ea enim maxime est, quae animam a terrenorum actuum strepitu segregat, et in hac vita etiam aeternae quietis dulcedinem quodammodo praegustare facit. cumque iam per ea quae facta sunt eum qui fecit omnia quaerere didicerit et intelligere, tunc animum pariter et scientia erudit et laetitia perfundit, unde fit ut maximum in meditatione sit oblectamentum.

Therefore the beginning of doctrine is in reading, the consummation in meditation; and if anyone has learned to love this more familiarly and has wished to be free for it more often, it renders life very delightful, and affords the greatest consolation in tribulation. For it is especially this which segregates the soul from the din of earthly acts, and even in this life makes it, in a certain way, to pre-taste the sweetness of eternal quiet. And when already through the things that have been made he has learned to seek and to understand him who made all things, then it at once both educates the spirit with science and suffuses it with joy, whence it comes about that in meditation there is the greatest delight.

tria sunt genera meditationis. [772D] unum constat in circumspectione morum, aliud in scrutatione mandatorum, tertium in investigatione divinorum operum. mores sunt in vitiis et virtutibus.

There are three kinds of meditation. [772D] One consists in the circumspection of morals, another in the scrutiny of the commandments, a third in the investigation of divine works. Morals are in vices and virtues.

mandatum divinum, aliud praecipiens, aliud promittens, aliud terrens. opus Dei est, et quod creat potentia, et quod moderatur sapientia, et quod cooperatur gratia. quae omnia, quanta sint admiratione digna, tanto magis quisque novit, quanto attentius Dei mirabilia meditari consuevit.

the divine mandate: one enjoining, another promising, another threatening. the work of God is both what His power creates, and what His wisdom moderates, and what His grace cooperates in. all which things—how worthy they are of admiration—each one knows the more, the more attentively he has been accustomed to meditate upon the marvels of God.

CAPUT XI

CHAPTER 11

De memoria.

On memory.

De memoria hoc maxime in praesenti praetermittendum non esse existimo, quod sicut ingenium dividendo investigat et invenit, ita memoria colligendo custodit. oportet ergo ut, quae discendo divisimus, commendanda memoriae colligamus. colligere est ea de quibus prolixius vel scriptum vel disputatum est [773A] ad brevem quandam et compendiosam summam redigere, quae a maioribus epilogus, id est, brevis recapitulatio supradictorum appellata est.

On memory I consider this especially ought not to be omitted at present: that just as ingenuity, by dividing, investigates and discovers, so memory, by gathering, guards. Therefore it is proper that the things which, in learning, we have divided, we gather up to be commended to memory. To collect is to reduce to a certain brief and compendious summary those matters about which there has been more prolix writing or disputation [773A]; which by the elders was called an epilogue, that is, a brief recapitulation of the above-said.

habet namque omnis tractatio aliquod principium, cui tota rei veritas et vis sententiae innititur, et ad ipsum cuncta alia referuntur. hoc quaerere et considerare colligere est. unus fons est et multi rivuli, quid anfractus fluminum sequeris?

For every tractation has some principle, on which the whole truth of the matter and the force of the sentence leans, and to it all other things are referred. To seek and consider this is to collect. There is one fountain and many rivulets; why do you follow the meanderings of the rivers?

tene fontem et totum habes. hoc idcirco dico, quoniam memoria hominis hebes est et brevitate gaudet, et, si in multa dividitur, fit minor in singulis. debemus ergo in omni doctrina breve aliquid et certum colligere, quod in arcula memoriae recondatur, unde postmodum, cum res exigit, reliqua deriventur.

Keep to the source and you have the whole. I say this for this reason, since the memory of man is dull and rejoices in brevity; and, if it is divided among many things, it becomes lesser in each. Therefore we ought in every doctrine to collect something brief and certain, which may be stowed in the little coffer of memory, whence afterward, when the matter demands, the remaining things may be derived.

hoc etiam saepe replicare et de ventre memoriae ad palatum revocare necesse est, [773B] ne longa intermissione obsoleat. unde rogo te, o lector, ne nimium laeteris si multa legeris, sed si multa intellexeris nec tantum intellexeris sed retinere potueris. alioquin nec legere multum prodest, nec intelligere.

It is necessary also to replicate this often and to call it back from the belly of memory to the palate, [773B] lest by a long intermission it grow obsolete. Whence I ask you, O reader, not to rejoice too much if you have read many things, but if you have understood many things, and not only understood but been able to retain them. Otherwise neither to read much profits, nor to understand.

quare superius me dixisse recolo eos qui doctrinae operam dant ingenio et memoria indigere.

Therefore I recall that I said above that those who give their effort to doctrine need ingenuity and memory.

CAPUT XII

CHAPTER 12

De disciplina.

On discipline.

Sapiens quidam cum de modo et forma discendi interrogaretur: Mens, inquit, humilis, studium quaerendi, vita quieta, scrutinium tacitum, paupertas, terra aliena, haec reserare solent multis obscura legendi. audierat, puto, quod dictum est: Mores ornant scientiam, [773C] et ideo praeceptis legendi, praecepta quoque vivendi, adiungit, ut et modum vitae suae et studii sui rationem lector agnoscat. illaudabilis est scientia quam vita maculat impudica.

A certain wise man, when he was asked about the mode and form of learning: “A mind,” he says, “humble, a zeal of seeking, a quiet life, a silent scrutiny, poverty, alien soil—these are wont to unbolt for many the obscurities of reading.” he had heard, I suppose, what is said: “Morals adorn knowledge,” [773C] and therefore to the precepts of reading he also joins precepts of living, so that the reader may acknowledge both the mode of his life and the reason of his study. Illaudable is the knowledge which an impudent life stains.

et idcirco summopere cavendum ei qui quaerit scientiam, ut non negligat disciplinam.

and therefore he who seeks knowledge must be most careful not to neglect discipline.

CAPUT XIII

CHAPTER 13

De humilitate.

On humility.

Principium autem disciplinae humilitas est, cuius cum multa sint documenta, haec tria praecipue ad lectorem pertinent: primum, ut nullam scientiam, nullam scripturam vilem teneat, secundum, ut a nemine discere erubescat, tertium, ut cum scientiam adeptus fuerit, ceteros non contemnat. multos hoc decipit, quod ante tempus, sapientes videri volunt. hinc namque in quendam elationis tumorem prorumpunt, [773D] ut iam et simulare incipiant quod non sunt et quod sunt erubescere, eoque longius a sapientia recedunt quo non esse sapientes, sed putari putant.

but the beginning of discipline is humility, of which, though there are many documents, these three especially pertain to the reader: first, that he hold no knowledge, no scripture as vile; second, that he not be ashamed to learn from anyone; third, that when he shall have attained knowledge, he not contemn the others. many are deceived by this, that before the time they wish to seem wise. hence indeed they burst forth into a certain tumor of elation, [773D] so that now they both begin to simulate what they are not, and to be ashamed of what they are, and they recede so much the farther from wisdom, the more they think it is not to be wise, but to be thought so.

eiusmodi multos novi, qui, cum primis adhuc elementis indigeant, non nisi summis interesse dignantur, et ex hoc solummodo se magnos fieri putant, si magnorum et sapientium vel scripta legerint vel audierint verba. 'nos,' inquiunt, 'vidimus illos. nos ab illis legimus.

of such a kind I know many, who, although they still lack the first elements, deign to engage only with the highest things, and from this alone think that they become great, if they have either read the writings of the great and the wise or heard their words. 'we,' they say, 'we have seen those men. we have read from them.

saepe nobis loqui illi solebant. illi summi, illi famosi, cognovertunt nos.' sed utinam me nemo agnoscat et ego cuncta noverim! Platonem vidisse, non intellexisse gioriamini.

they were often accustomed to speak with us. those supreme, those famous, have recognized us.' but would that no one may recognize me, and that I may know all things! you glory in having seen Plato, not in having understood him.

puto indignum vobis est deinceps ut me audiatis. non ego sum Plato, nec Platonem videre merui. sufficit vobis: ipsum philosophiae fontem potastis, sed utinam adhuc sitiretis!

I think it is unworthy of you, henceforth, to listen to me. I am not Plato, nor have I deserved to see Plato. It suffices for you: you have drunk the very fountain of philosophy, but would that you were still thirsting!

rex post aurea pocula de vase bibit testeo. quid erubescitis? [774A] Platonem audistis, audiatis et Chrysippum.

the king, after golden goblets, drinks from an earthenware vase. why do you blush? [774A] You have heard Plato; hear Chrysippus as well.

in proverbio dicitur: Quod tu non nosti, fortassis novit Ofellus. nemo est cui omnia scire datum sit, neque quisquam rursum cui aliquid speciale a natura accepisse non contigerit. prudens igitur lector omnes libenter audit, omnia legit, non scripturam, non personam, non doctrinam spernit.

in a proverb it is said: "What you do not know, perhaps Ofellus knows." there is no one to whom it has been granted to know all things, nor, conversely, is there anyone to whom it has not happened to have received some special thing from nature. therefore the prudent reader willingly hears all, reads everything, and despises neither the writing, nor the person, nor the doctrine.

indifferenter ab omnibus quod sibi deesse videt quaerit, nec quantum sciat, sed quantum ignoret, considerat. hinc illud Platonicum aiunt: Malo aliena verecunde discere, quam mea impudenter ingerere. cur enim discere erubescis, et nescire non verecundaris?

indifferently he seeks from all whatever he sees to be lacking to himself, and he considers not how much he knows, but how much he is ignorant of. Hence they say that Platonic dictum: I prefer to learn others’ things modestly, rather than to impudently thrust forward my own. For why do you blush to learn, and are not ashamed to be ignorant?

pudor iste maior est illo. aut quid summa affectas cum tu iaceas in imo? considera potius quid vires tuae ferre valeant.

That shame is greater than that one. Or why do you aim at the heights when you lie at the lowest? Rather consider what your powers are able to bear.

aptissime incedit, qui incedit ordinate. [774B] quidam dum magnum saltum facere volunt, praecipitium incidunt. noli ergo nimis festinare.

He proceeds most aptly who proceeds in an orderly way. [774B] Some, while they wish to make a great leap, fall into a precipice. Do not therefore hasten too much.

hoc modo citius ad sapientiam pertinges. ab omnibus libenter disce quod tu nescis, quia humilitas commune tibi facere potest quod natura cuique proprium fecit. sapientior omnibus eris, si ab omnibus discere volueris.

In this way you will more quickly attain to wisdom. From all, learn gladly what you do not know, because humility can make common to you what nature has made proper to each. You will be wiser than all, if you are willing to learn from all.

qui ab omnibus accipiunt, omnibus ditiores sunt. nullam denique scientiam vilem teneas, quia omnis scientia bona est. nullam, si vacat, scripturam vel saltem legere contemnas.

Those who receive from all are richer than all. In short, hold no science cheap, because every science is good. Despise no writing; if there is leisure, at least read.

si nihil lucraris, nec perdis aliquid, maxime cum nulla scriptura sit, secundum meam aestimationem, quae aliquid expetendum non proponat, si convenienti loco et ordine tractetur; [774C] quae non aliquid etiam speciale habeat, quod diligens verbi scrutator alibi non inventum, quanto rarius, tanto gratius carpat. nihil tamen bonum est quod melius tollit. si omnia legere non potes, ea quae sunt utiliora lege.

If you gain nothing, neither do you lose anything, especially since, in my estimation, there is no writing which does not set forth something to be sought, if it be handled in a suitable place and order; [774C] which does not also have something special that a diligent scrutinizer of the word—something not found elsewhere—the rarer, the more gratifying, will cull. Nevertheless, nothing is good that removes what is better. If you cannot read all things, read those which are more useful.

etiam si omnia legere potueris, non tamen idem omnibus labor impendendus est. sed quaedam ita legenda sunt ne sint incognita, quaedam vero ne sint inaudita, quia aliquando pluris esse credimus quod non audivimus, et facilius aestimatur res cuius fructus agnoscitur. videre nunc potes quam necessaria tibi sit haec humilitas, ut nullam scientiam vilipendas et ab omnibus libenter discas.

even if you could read everything, nevertheless the same labor is not to be expended on all. but certain things are to be read lest they be unknown, and others lest they be unheard; for sometimes we believe to be of greater value what we have not heard, and a thing whose fruit is recognized is more easily esteemed. now you can see how necessary this humility is for you: that you vilipend no science, and that you gladly learn from everyone.

similiter tibi quoque expedit, ut, cum tu aliquid sapere coeperis, ceteros non contemnas. [774D] hoc autem tumoris vitium hinc quibusdam accidit, quod suam scientiam nimis diligenter inspiciunt, et cum sibi aliquid esse visi fuerint, alios, quos non noverunt, tales nec esse nec potuisse fieri putant. hinc etiam ebullit, quod nugigeruli nunc quidam, nescio unde, gloriantes, priores patres simplicitatis arguunt, et secum natam, secum morituram credunt sapientiam.

Similarly, it is expedient for you also that, when you have begun to taste wisdom in something, you do not despise the rest. [774D] But this vice of tumor (swelling) happens to certain people for this reason: that they inspect their own science too diligently, and when they have seemed to themselves to be something, they think that others, whom they do not know, are not such, nor could have become such. From this too there boils up that certain trifle-bearers now, I know not whence, boasting, accuse the earlier fathers of simplicity, and believe wisdom to have been born with themselves and to die with themselves.

in divinis eloquiis ita simplicem loquendi modum esse aiunt, ut in eis magistros audire non oporteat, posse satis quemque proprio ingenio veritatis arcana penetrare. corrugant nasum et valgium torquent in lectores divinitatis, et non intelligunt quod Deo iniuriam faciunt, cuius verba pulchro quidem vocabulo simplicia, sed sensu pravo insipida praedicant. non est mei consilii huiusmodi imitari.

In the divine utterances they say that there is so simple a mode of speaking that one ought not to listen to teachers in them, that each person is sufficiently able by his own native genius to penetrate the arcana of truth. They wrinkle the nose and twist a wryness at the readers of divinity, and they do not understand that they do an injury to God, whose words they proclaim simple indeed under a fair name, but insipid by a perverse sense. It is not my counsel to imitate such men.

bonus enim lector humilis debet esse et mansuetus, [775A] a curis inanibus et voluptatum illecebris prorsus alienus, diligens et sedulus, ut ab omnibus libenter discat, numquam de scientia sua praesumat, perversi dogmatis auctores quasi venena fugiat, diu rem pertractare antequam iudicet discat, non videri doctus, sed esse quaerat, dicta sapientium intellecta diligat, et ea semper coram oculis quasi speculum vultus sui tenere studeat. et si qua forte obscuriora intellectum eius non admiserint, non statim in vituperium prorumpat, ut nihil bonum esse credat, nisi quod ipse intelligere potuit. haec est humilitas disciplinae legentium.

for a good reader ought to be humble and meek, [775A] altogether alien from empty cares and the allurements of pleasures, diligent and sedulous, so that he may willingly learn from all, may never presume upon his own science, may flee the authors of perverse dogma as if poisons, may learn to handle the matter for a long time before he judges, may seek not to seem learned, but to be, may love the sayings of the wise, once understood, and may strive to hold them always before his eyes as a mirror of his own face. and if perchance some more obscure things do not admit his understanding, let him not straightway burst forth into vituperation, so as to believe that nothing is good except what he himself was able to understand. this is the humility of the discipline of readers.

CAPUT XIV

CHAPTER 14

De studio quaerendi.

On the study of inquiry.

[775B] Studium quaerendi ad exercitium pertinet, in quo exhortatione magis quam doctrina lector indiget. qui enim diligenter inspicere voluerit quid antiqui propter amorem sapientiae pertulerint, quam memoranda posteris virtutis suae monimenta reliquerint, quamlibet suam diligentiam inferiorem esse videbit. alii calcabant honores, alii proiecerunt divitias, alii acceptis iniuriis gaudebant, alii poenas spreverunt, alii contubernia hominum deserentes, ultimos recessus et secreta eremi penetrantes, soli se philosophiae dedicabant, ut eo contemplationi vacarent liberius, quo nullis quae virtutis iter impedire solent cupiditatibus animum subiecissent.

[775B] The zeal of seeking pertains to exercise, in which the reader needs exhortation rather than doctrine. For whoever will have wished to look diligently at what the ancients have endured on account of love of wisdom, what monuments of their virtue, to be remembered by posterity, they have left behind, will see that his own diligence is inferior, however great it may be. Some were trampling honors underfoot, others cast away riches, others rejoiced at injuries received, others despised punishments; others, abandoning the companionships of men and penetrating the farthest recesses and the secrets of the desert, dedicated themselves solely to philosophy, so that they might be free for contemplation the more liberally, in proportion as they had subjected their mind to no desires which are wont to impede the path of virtue.

Parmenides philosophus quindecim annis in rupe Aegyptia consedisse legitur. et Prometheus ob immodicam meditandi curam in monte [775C] Caucaso vulturi expositus memoratur. quia enim sciebant verum bonum non in aestimatione hominum sed in pura conscientia esse absconditum, et eos iam non homines esse, qui rebus perituris inhaerentes bonum suum non agnoscerent, ideo, quantum mente et intelligentia a ceteris differrent, ipsa locorum distantia demonstrabant, ne una teneret habitatio quos non eadem sociabat intentio.

Parmenides the philosopher is read to have sat for fifteen years on an Egyptian rock. And Prometheus, on account of an immoderate care for meditating, is recounted as having been exposed to a vulture on Mount [775C] Caucasus. For they knew that the true good was hidden not in the estimation of men but in pure conscience, and that those who, clinging to perishable things, did not acknowledge their own good were no longer men; therefore, in proportion as they differed from the rest in mind and intelligence, they made this manifest by the very distance of places, lest one habitation should hold those whom the same intention did not associate.

quidam philosopho referebat dicens: Numquid non vides quia te derident homines? et ille: Ipsi me, inquit, derident, et eos asini. cogita si potes, quanti aestimaverit laudari ab his, a quibus nec vituperari timuit.

A certain man reported to a philosopher, saying: Do you not see that men deride you? And he: They themselves, he said, deride me—and donkeys, them. Consider, if you can, how highly he esteemed being lauded by those by whom he did not even fear to be vituperated.

de alio rursum legitur, [775D] quod post omnia disciplinarum studia et artium acumina ad opus figuli descenderit. et alterius cuiusdam discipuli cum laudibus magistrum suum efferrent, inter cetera nec sutoriae peritia eum carere gloriati sunt. hanc igitur diligentiam in nostris lectoribus es se vellem, ut numquam in eis senesceret sapientia.

of another it is read again, [775D] that after all the studies of the disciplines and the acumen of the arts he descended to the work of a potter. and when the disciples of a certain other, as they were extolling their teacher with praises, boasted among other things that he did not lack even shoemaking expertise. this diligence, therefore, I would wish to be in our readers, so that wisdom might never grow old in them.

sola Abisag Sunamitis senem David calefecit quia amor sapientiae etiam marcescente corpore dilectorem suum non deserit. omnes paene virtutes corporis mutantur in senibus, et crescente sola sapientia, decrescunt cetera. senectus enim illorum qui adolescentiam suam honestis actibus instruxerunt, aetate fit doctior, usu tristior, processu temporis sapientior, et veterum studiorum dulcissimos fructus metit.

Abishag the Shunammite alone warmed the old man David, because the love of wisdom, even with the body withering, does not desert its lover. Almost all the virtues of the body are altered in the aged, and with wisdom alone increasing, the rest decrease. For the old age of those who furnished their adolescence with honorable acts becomes more learned with age, graver through experience, wiser with the process of time, and reaps the sweetest fruits of former studies.

unde et sapiens ille vir Graeciae, Themistocles, [776A] cum expletis centum septem annis se mori cerneret, dixisse fertur se dolere quod egrederetur de vita quando sapere coepisset. Plato lxxxi anno scribens mortuus est. Socrates xcviiii annos in docendi scribendique dolore laboreque complevit.

whence also that wise man of Greece, Themistocles, [776A] when, with one hundred seven years completed, he perceived himself to be dying, is said to have said that he was grieved that he was departing from life when he had begun to be wise. Plato died, writing, in his 81st year. Socrates completed 99 years in the pain and labor of teaching and writing.

taceo ceteros philosophos, Pythagoram, Democritum, Xenocratem, Zenonem, et Eleantem qui iam aetate longaeva in sapientiae studiis floruerunt.

keeping silence about the other philosophers, Pythagoras, Democritus, Xenocrates, Zeno, and the Eleatic, who already, in a long-lived age, flourished in the studies of wisdom.

Ad poetas venio, Homerum, Hesiodum, Simonidem, Tersicorum, qui grandes natu cycneum nescio quid et solito dulcius vicina morte cecinerunt. Sophocles cum post nimiam senectutem, et rei familiaris neglegentiam, a filiis accusaretur amentiae, Oedippi fabulam, quam nuper scripserat, recitavit iudici, et tantum sapientiae in aetate iam fracta specimen dedit, [776B] ut severitatem tribunalium in favorem theatri converteret. nec mirum cum etiam Cato censorius et Romani generis disertissimus, iam senex graecas litteras discere nec erubuerit nec desperaverit.

I come to the poets, Homer, Hesiod, Simonides, Tersicorus, who, great in age, sang I know not what swan-song, and, with death near, more sweetly than usual. Sophocles, when, after excessive old age and neglect of household affairs, he was accused by his sons of madness, recited to the judge the fable of Oedipus which he had recently written, and gave such a specimen of wisdom in an age now broken, [776B] that he turned the severity of the tribunals into favor for the theatre. Nor is it a wonder, since even Cato the Censor, most eloquent of the Roman race, already an old man, neither blushed to learn Greek letters nor despaired of it.

certe Homerus refert quod de lingua Nestoris, iam vetuli et paene decrepiti, dulcior melle oratio fluxerit. animadverte igitur quantum amaverint sapientiam quos nec decrepita aetas ab eius inquisitione potuit revocare. iste igitur tantus amor sapientiae, tanta in senibus prudentiae abundantia, congrue etiam ex ipsius supradicti nominis interpretatione colligitur.

Certainly Homer relates that from the tongue of Nestor, already quite aged and almost decrepit, an oration sweeter than honey flowed. Observe, therefore, how greatly they loved wisdom, whom not even decrepit age could call back from its investigation. Therefore such great love of wisdom, such abundance of prudence in old men, is congruently also gathered from the interpretation of the aforesaid name itself.

interpretatur enim Abisag, pater meus superfluus, vel, patris mei rugitus, ex quo ostenditur abundantissimum, et ultra humanam vocem [776C] in senibus divini sermonis tonitruum commorari. verbum namque superfluum in hoc loco plenitudinem, non redundantiam, significat. porro Sunamitis in lingua nostra coccinea dicitur, quod satis convenienter fervorem sapientiae significare potest.

for Abisag is interpreted as “my father superfluous,” or “the roaring of my father,” whence it is shown that a most abundant, and beyond the human voice [776C], thunder of divine discourse abides in the elderly. for the word “superfluous” in this place signifies fullness, not redundancy. moreover, Sunamitis in our language is called “scarlet,” which can quite suitably signify the fervor of wisdom.

CAPUT XV

CHAPTER 15

De quattuor reliquis praeceptis.

On the four remaining precepts.

Quattuor quae sequuntur sic alternatim disposita sunt, ut alterum semper ad disciplinam, alterum ad exercitium spectet.

The four that follow are thus disposed alternately, so that the one always looks toward discipline, the other toward exercise.

CAPUT XVI

CHAPTER 16

De quiete.

On rest.

Vitae quies, sive interior, ut mens per illicita desideria non discurrat, sive exterior, ut otium et opportunitas honestis et utilibus studiis suppetat, utraque ad disciplinam pertinet.

The quiescence of life, whether interior, so that the mind does not run about through illicit desires, or exterior, so that leisure and opportunity are supplied for honorable and useful studies, both pertain to discipline.

CAPUT XVII

CHAPTER 17

[776D] De scrutinio.

[776D] On the scrutiny.

Scrutinium autem, id est, meditatio, ad exercitium spectat. videtur autem scrutinium sub studio quaerendi contineri. quod, si verum est, superfluo repetitur, cum in superiori parte annumeratum sit.

Scrutiny, that is, meditation, pertains to exercise. Moreover, scrutiny seems to be contained under the study of seeking; which, if it is true, is repeated superfluously, since it has been enumerated in the superior part.

sed sciendum est hanc inter haec duo esse differentiam, quod studium quaerendi instantiam significat operis, scrutinium vero diligentiam meditationis. opus peragunt labor et amor, consilium pariunt cura et vigilia. in labore est, ut agas, in amore, ut perficias.

but it must be known that there is this difference between these two, that the study of seeking signifies the insistence of the work, but scrutiny the diligence of meditation. labor and love carry the work through; care and vigil beget counsel. in labor it lies, that you act; in love, that you bring it to perfection.

in cura est, ut provideas, in vigilia, ut attendas. isti sunt quattuor pedisequi qui portant lecticam philologiae, quia mentem exercent cui sapientia praesidet. cathedra quippe philologiae sedes est sapientiae, quae his suppositis gestari dicitur, quoniam in his se exercendo promovetur.

in care, that you may provide; in vigil, that you may attend. these are the four foot-servants who carry the litter of philology, because they exercise the mind over which sapience presides. for indeed the cathedra of philology is the seat of sapience, which is said to be borne with these placed beneath, since by exercising itself in these it is promoted.

[777A] unde pulchre iuvenes propter robur a fronte lecticam tenere dicuntur, videlicet, philos et kophos, id est, amor et labor, quia foris opus peragunt; a posteriori, puellae, videlicet, philemia et agrimnia, quod interpretatur cura et vigilia, quia intus in secreto consilium pariunt. sunt quidam qui putant per cathedram philologiae humanum corpus significari, cui anima rationalis praesidet, quod ministri quattuor portant, id est, quattuor elementa componunt, e quibus duo superiora, id est, ignis et aer, actu et nomine masculina sunt, duo vero inferiora, id est, terra et aqua, feminina.

[777A] whence aptly the youths, on account of strength, are said to hold the litter at the front, namely, Philos and Kophos, that is, Love and Labor, because they accomplish the work on the outside; from the rear, the girls, namely, Philemia and Agrimnia, which is interpreted Care and Vigil, because within, in secret, they beget counsel. There are some who think that by the cathedra of philology the human body is signified, over which the rational soul presides, which four ministers carry, that is, the four elements compose, of which the two higher, that is, fire and air, are masculine in act and in name, but the two lower, that is, earth and water, feminine.

CAPUT XVIII

CHAPTER 18

De parcitate.

On parsimony.

[777B] Paupertatem quoque lectoribus suadere voluit, id est, superflua non sectari, quod maxime ad disciplinam spectat. Pinguis enim venter, ut dicitur, tenuem non gignit sensum. sed quid ad haec scholares nostri temporis respondere poterunt, qui non solum in studiis suis frugalitatem sequi contemnunt, sed etiam supra id quod sunt divites videri laborant?

[777B] He also wished to urge poverty upon the readers, that is, not to pursue superfluities, which most especially pertains to discipline. For a fat belly, as it is said, does not beget a subtle sense. but what to these things will the scholars of our time be able to respond, who not only disdain to follow frugality in their studies, but even labor to seem rich beyond what they are?

[778A] nec iam quid didicerit quisque iactitat, sed quid expenderit. sed fortassis quia magistros suos imitari nolunt, de quibus, quid satis digne dicam, non invenio.

[778A] nor now does each person vaunt what he has learned, but what he has expended. but perhaps because they are unwilling to imitate their masters, about whom I do not find what to say that is sufficiently worthy.

CAPUT XIX

CHAPTER 19

De exsilio.

On exile.

Postremo terra aliena posita est, quae et ipsa quoque hominem exercet. omnis mundus philosophantibus exsilium est, quia tamen, ut ait quidam: Nescio qua natale solum dulcedine cunctos Ducit, et immemores non sinit esse sui. magnum virtutis principium est, ut discat paulatim exercitatus animus visibilia haec et transitoria primum commutare, ut postmodum possit etiam derelinquere.

At last a foreign land is set, which even itself also exercises a man. For those philosophizing the whole world is exile, and yet, as a certain one says: I know not by what sweetness the native soil leads all and does not allow them to be unmindful of itself. A great beginning of virtue it is, that the mind, exercised, may learn little by little first to change these visible and transitory things, so that afterward it may be able even to abandon them.

[778B] delicatus ille est adhuc cui patria dulcis est; fortis autem iam, cui omne solum patria est; perfectus vero, cui mundus totus exsilium est. ille mundo amorem fixit, iste sparsit, hic exstinxit. ego a puero exsulavi, et scio quo maerore animus artum aliquando pauperis tugurii fundum deserat, qua libertate postea marmoreos lares et tecta laqueata despiciat.

[778B] delicate is he still to whom the fatherland is sweet; strong already, he for whom every soil is a fatherland; but perfect, he for whom the whole world is exile. The first fixed his love on the world, the second scattered it, the third extinguished it. I have lived as an exile from boyhood, and I know with what grief the spirit sometimes leaves the narrow plot of a poor man’s hut, and with what freedom thereafter it despises marble Lares and coffered roofs.