Chapter VII — All Fortune Is Good

The Text

Chapter VII

'Dost thou, then, see the consequence of all that we have said?'

'Nay; what consequence?'

'That absolutely every fortune is good fortune.'

'And how can that be?' said I.

'Attend,' said she. 'Since every fortune, welcome and unwelcome alike, has for its object the reward or trial of the good, and the punishing or amending of the bad, every fortune must be good, since it is either just or useful.'

'The reasoning is exceeding true,' said I, 'the conclusion, so long as I reflect upon the providence and fate of which thou hast taught me, based on a strong foundation. Yet, with thy leave, we will count it among those which just now thou didst set down as paradoxical.'

'And why so?' said she.

'Because ordinary speech is apt to assert, and that frequently, that some men's fortune is bad.'

'Shall we, then, for awhile approach more nearly to the language of the vulgar, that we may not seem to have departed too far from the usages of men?'

'At thy good pleasure,' said I.

'That which advantageth thou callest good, dost thou not?'

'Certainly.'

'And that which either tries or amends advantageth?'

'Granted.'

'Is good, then?'

'Of course.'

'Well, this is their case who have attained virtue and wage war with adversity, or turn from vice and lay hold on the path of virtue.'

'I cannot deny it.'

'What of the good fortune which is given as reward of the good—do the vulgar adjudge it bad?'

'Anything but that; they deem it to be the best, as indeed it is.'

'What, then, of that which remains, which, though it is harsh, puts the restraint of just punishment on the bad—does popular opinion deem it good?'

'Nay; of all that can be imagined, it is accounted the most miserable.'

'Observe, then, if, in following popular opinion, we have not ended in a conclusion quite paradoxical.'

'How so?' said I.

'Why, it results from our admissions that of all who have attained, or are advancing in, or are aiming at virtue, the fortune is in every case good, while for those who remain in their wickedness fortune is always utterly bad.'

'It is true,' said I; 'yet no one dare acknowledge it.'

'Wherefore,' said she, 'the wise man ought not to take it ill, if ever he is involved in one of fortune's conflicts, any more than it becomes a brave soldier to be offended when at any time the trumpet sounds for battle. The time of trial is the express opportunity for the one to win glory, for the other to perfect his wisdom. Hence, indeed, virtue gets its name, because, relying on its own efficacy, it yieldeth not to adversity. And ye who have taken your stand on virtue's steep ascent, it is not for you to be dissolved in delights or enfeebled by pleasure; ye close in conflict—yea, in conflict most sharp—with all fortune's vicissitudes, lest ye suffer foul fortune to overwhelm or fair fortune to corrupt you. Hold the mean with all your strength. Whatever falls short of this, or goes beyond, is fraught with scorn of happiness, and misses the reward of toil. It rests with you to make your fortune what you will. Verily, every harsh-seeming fortune, unless it either disciplines or amends, is punishment.'

Song VIIThe Hero's Path.

Ten years a tedious warfare raged, Ere Ilium's smoking ruins paid For wedlock stained and faith betrayed, And great Atrides' wrath assuaged.

But when heaven's anger asked a life, And baffling winds his course withstood, The king put off his fatherhood, And slew his child with priestly knife.

When by the cavern's glimmering light His comrades dear Odysseus saw In the huge Cyclops' hideous maw Engulfed, he wept the piteous sight.

But blinded soon, and wild with pain— In bitter tears and sore annoy— For that foul feast's unholy joy Grim Polyphemus paid again.

His labours for Alcides win A name of glory far and wide; He tamed the Centaur's haughty pride, And from the lion reft his skin.

The foul birds with sure darts he slew; The golden fruit he stole—in vain The dragon's watch; with triple chain From hell's depths Cerberus he drew.

With their fierce lord's own flesh he fed The wild steeds; Hydra overcame With fire. 'Neath his own waves in shame Maimed Achelous hid his head.

Huge Cacus for his crimes was slain; On Libya's sands Antæus hurled; The shoulders that upheld the world The great boar's dribbled spume did stain.

Last toil of all—his might sustained The ball of heaven, nor did he bend Beneath; this toil, his labour's end, The prize of heaven's high glory gained.

Brave hearts, press on! Lo, heavenward lead These bright examples! From the fight Turn not your backs in coward flight; Earth's conflict won, the stars your meed!

A new modern English rendering, made from the Latin with AI assistance — a reading aid, not a scholarly edition.

Chapter VII

"Do you now see, then, what follows from all these things we have said?"

"What, then?" I said.

"That every fortune," she said, "is wholly good."

"And how can that be?" I said.

"Attend," she said. "Since all fortune, whether pleasant or harsh, is bestowed either for the sake of rewarding or exercising the good, or of punishing or correcting the wicked, all of it is good, since it is agreed to be either just or useful."

"This reasoning is indeed exceedingly true," I said, "and, if I consider the providence and fate which you taught a little while ago, it is an opinion resting on firm strength. But let us count it, if you please, among those which you a little while ago set down as unbelievable."

"Why?" she said.

"Because common human speech uses, and indeed often, the saying that some people's fortune is bad."

"Do you wish, then," she said, "that we approach for a little while the speech of the crowd, lest we seem to have withdrawn too far from human usage?"

"As you please," I said.

"Do you not, then, judge that to be good which benefits?"

"That is so," I said.

"And that which either exercises or corrects, does it benefit?"

"I admit it," I said.

"It is good, then?"

"How not?"

"But this belongs to those who, set in virtue, wage war against hardships, or who, turning aside from vices, seize the path of virtue."

"I cannot deny it," I said.

"What, then, of the pleasant fortune that is given to the good as a reward — does the crowd judge it to be bad?"

"By no means. On the contrary, they judge it to be best, as in truth it is."

"What of the remaining fortune which, since it is harsh, restrains the bad with just punishment — does the people think it good?"

"On the contrary," I said, "they judge it the most wretched of all that can be imagined."

"See, then," she said, "lest, following the opinion of the people, we have concluded something quite unbelievable."

"What?" I said.

"For from the things that have been granted," she said, "it comes about that, of those who are either in possession of, or in progress toward, or in the attainment of virtue, all fortune, whatever it may be, is good; but for those remaining in wickedness, all fortune is the worst."

"This is true," I said, "though no one would dare to confess it."

"For this reason," she said, "the wise man ought not to take it ill, as often as he is brought into a struggle with fortune, just as it does not befit a brave man to be indignant as often as the din of war has sounded. For to each of them the very difficulty is the material — to the one for spreading his glory, to the other for shaping his wisdom. From this, too, it is called virtue, because, relying on its own strength, it is not overcome by adversities. For you, set in the progress of virtue, have not come to dissolve in delights and grow faint with pleasure. You join battle, all too sharply, with every fortune, lest either the sad oppress you or the pleasant corrupt you. Hold the middle with firm strength. Whatever either stops short below or advances beyond has contempt for happiness, and has not the reward of labor. For it is placed in your hand to shape for yourselves what fortune you prefer; for all fortune that seems harsh, unless it either exercises or corrects, punishes."

Song VIIThe Hero's Path

Atrides, the avenger, having waged war for twice five years, atoned for his brother's lost marriage-bed with the ruins of Phrygia.

He, while he longed to give sails to the Greek fleet and bought the winds with blood, put off the father and, a grim priest, sealed the wretched throat of his daughter.

The Ithacan wept for his lost companions, whom fierce Polyphemus, sprawling in his vast cave, sank in his monstrous belly. Yet, raging, his blind face repaid his joy with mournful tears.

Hard labors make Hercules renowned: he tamed the proud Centaurs, took the spoil from the savage lion, pierced the birds with sure arrows, snatched the apples from the watching dragon, his left hand heavier with the golden metal, dragged Cerberus in a triple chain.

Victorious, he is said to have set down the cruel master as fodder for his savage mares. The Hydra perished, its venom burned away. Achelous, the river, his brow disfigured, hid his shamed face beneath his banks.

He laid Antaeus low on the Libyan sands; Cacus glutted Evander's wrath; and the bristly boar marked with foam the shoulders that the high heaven was to press upon.

His last labor lifted the sky on an unbending neck, and again, as the prize of his last labor, he earned the sky.

Go now, you brave, where the lofty road of great example leads. Why, sluggish, do you bare your backs in flight? The earth, once overcome, grants the stars.