The Good Book_ A Secular Bible - A. C. Grayling [57]
21. But his books are now read, so he lives, and is held in the hands and hearts of men; thus he fears no passing of the years;
22. But his enemies, and even their crimes by which alone they deserved to be remembered, will soon be heard of no more.
Chapter 6
1. See! I have recalled to your memory old misfortunes, and, that you may know that even this deep wound will surely heal, I have shown you the scar of an old wound that was not less severe.
2. And so let others deal with you gently and ply soft words. I myself have determined to battle with your grief, and your eyes that are wearied and worn with weeping;
3. Which shall be checked by measures that, if so it may be, you welcome;
4. If not, even against your will, even though you hug and embrace the sorrow that you have kept alive in place of this newly lost one.
5. Otherwise what end will your grief have? Every means has been tried in vain:
6. The consolations of your friends, the persuasions of great men who were your relatives, have been exhausted;
7. Books, your love for which was a gift from your father, are now void of comfort and scarcely serve for brief distraction, and make their appeal to your unheeding eyes in vain.
8. Even time, nature’s great healer, that heals even our most grievous sorrows, in your case has lost its power.
9. Three whole years have now passed, and yet the first violence of your sorrow has in no way abated.
10. Your grief is renewed and grows stronger every day – by lingering it has established its right to stay, and has now reached the point that it is ashamed to make an end,
11. Just as all vices become deep-rooted unless they are crushed when they spring up, so, too, such a state of sadness and wretchedness,
12. With its self-afflicted torture, feeds at last upon its own bitterness, and the grief of an unhappy mind becomes a morbid pleasure.
13. And so I should have liked to approach your cure in the first stages of your sorrow;
14. While it was still young a gentler remedy might have been used to check its violence; but against inveterate evils the fight must be more vehement.
15. This is likewise true of wounds – they are easy to heal while they are still fresh and bloody,
16. But when they have festered and turned into a wicked sore, then they must be cauterised and, opened up to the very bottom, must submit to probing fingers.
17. As it is, I cannot possibly be a match for such hardened grief by being considerate and gentle; it must be challenged.
Chapter 7
1. I am aware that all those who wish to give admonition commonly begin with precepts, and end with examples.
2. But it is desirable at times to alter this practice; for different people must be dealt with differently.
3. Some are guided by reason, some must be confronted with famous names and an authority that does not leave a man’s mind free, dazzled as he is by famous deeds.
4. I shall place before your eyes only two examples – the greatest of your sex and century:
5. One, a woman who allowed herself to be swept away by grief; the other, a woman who, though she suffered a like misfortune and even greater loss,
6. Yet did not permit her ills to master her for long, but quickly restored her mind to its accustomed state.
7. They are Octavia and Livia, the first the sister of the Emperor Augustus, the other his wife.
8. They had both lost their sons, young men with the well-assured hope of becoming emperor.
9. Octavia lost Marcellus, upon whom Augustus, at once his uncle and his father-in-law, had begun to lean, upon whom he had begun to rest the burden of empire;
10. A young man of keen mind, of commanding ability, yet marked by a frugality and self-restraint that, for one of his years and wealth, commanded the highest admiration;
11. Patient under hardships, averse to pleasures, and ready to bear whatever his uncle might wish to place upon him.
12. Well had Augustus chosen a foundation