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Cicero is now going to spend a long, long time explaining that Boys Will Be Boys, now that he's finished up on But Girls Must Be Perfectly Virtuous At All Times. I'm afraid it's a bit tedious, though there are a few good metaphors in there.
Chapter 41
And so some said that wise men do everything for the sake of pleasures, and educated men have not fled from this shameless statement; others have thought duty must be joined with pleasure, so that they may join things fighting most greatly amongst themselves by their speaking ability; those who thought that there was one straight path to praise with work, and are now almost the only ones left in the schools.* For nature itself produced many blandishments for us, by which virtue is lulled to sleep for a time; nature displayed many slippery paths to adolescence, on which that age is scarcely able to stand or walk along without some catastrophe or slipping; nature gave a variety of the most pleasant things, by which not only this age but even a more mature one is caught.
Chapter 42
For this reason, if you discover the sort of man who despises the beauty of things with his eyes, who is taken by no smell, no touch, no taste, who excludes all pleasantness from his ears, then I and a few others will think the gods were strongly favorable to this man; many, however, will think the gods hated him.
Therefore, let this deserted and uncultivated path, blocked by leaves and underbrush, be deserted. Let some playfulness be given to the age; let adolescence be more free; let not all things be denied for pleasures; let that true and straight path not always win; let passion and pleasure occasionally conquer reason, so long as that is held in this manner with rule and moderation. Let a young man leave unharmed his own modesty, let him not spoil another's modesty, let him not waste its inheritance, let him not be destroyed by debt, let him not attack another's home and family, let him not not cause disgrace to chastity, a stain on integrity, infamy on good men, let him not terrify anyone with force, let him not be involved in crimes, let him be free from wickedness.** Finally, when he has indulged in pleasures, when he has given something of his time toward the playfulness of the age, and towards those empty pleasures of youth, at last he'll turn himself towards concern for domestic matters, political matters, and public matters, so that he'll be seen to rejected, sated, and despise, having experienced them, those things which he had not examined with rationality before.
Chapter 43
And indeed, judges, many were the best men and most famous citizens in our memory and the memory of our fathers and ancestors, whose exceptional virtues--once the passions of adolescence had simmered down--sprang up when they were older. I don't want to name anyone out of those men, but for you yourselves to remember them. For I do not wish to join even the least mistake of any strong and illustrious man with the greatest praise. But if I did wish to do this, I would mention many of the highest and most decorated men, some of whom would be named for too much freedom in adolescence, some for excessive luxury, some for the size of their debts, their expenses, their passions, which--covered up by their many virtues afterward--anyone might defend with the excuse of adolescence.
Chapter 44
But truly, in Marcus Caelius--for I will speak now confidently about his honest pursuits, although I dare to disclose certain things, relying freely on your wisdom--no luxuries will be discovered, no expenses, no debt, no passion for parties and debauchery. Indeed, this vice of appetite and gluttony not only does not lessen the age in men but increases it. However, those loves and "affairs" as they're called , which aren't usually bothersome for long to those endowed with stronger spirit--for they bloom up and wither early on and quickly--never held this man preoccupied or entangled.
---
* Or possibly "the only ones abandoned in the schools." The verb is a little unclear. In any case, let me assure you that this simplistic rendering of the Epicurean, Stoic, and Academic belief systems does no justice to any of them. Especially the first.
** All this "let" is in the sense of "May he!" rather than "Allow him to", which is a little harder to convey in English.
Chapter 41
And so some said that wise men do everything for the sake of pleasures, and educated men have not fled from this shameless statement; others have thought duty must be joined with pleasure, so that they may join things fighting most greatly amongst themselves by their speaking ability; those who thought that there was one straight path to praise with work, and are now almost the only ones left in the schools.* For nature itself produced many blandishments for us, by which virtue is lulled to sleep for a time; nature displayed many slippery paths to adolescence, on which that age is scarcely able to stand or walk along without some catastrophe or slipping; nature gave a variety of the most pleasant things, by which not only this age but even a more mature one is caught.
Chapter 42
For this reason, if you discover the sort of man who despises the beauty of things with his eyes, who is taken by no smell, no touch, no taste, who excludes all pleasantness from his ears, then I and a few others will think the gods were strongly favorable to this man; many, however, will think the gods hated him.
Therefore, let this deserted and uncultivated path, blocked by leaves and underbrush, be deserted. Let some playfulness be given to the age; let adolescence be more free; let not all things be denied for pleasures; let that true and straight path not always win; let passion and pleasure occasionally conquer reason, so long as that is held in this manner with rule and moderation. Let a young man leave unharmed his own modesty, let him not spoil another's modesty, let him not waste its inheritance, let him not be destroyed by debt, let him not attack another's home and family, let him not not cause disgrace to chastity, a stain on integrity, infamy on good men, let him not terrify anyone with force, let him not be involved in crimes, let him be free from wickedness.** Finally, when he has indulged in pleasures, when he has given something of his time toward the playfulness of the age, and towards those empty pleasures of youth, at last he'll turn himself towards concern for domestic matters, political matters, and public matters, so that he'll be seen to rejected, sated, and despise, having experienced them, those things which he had not examined with rationality before.
Chapter 43
And indeed, judges, many were the best men and most famous citizens in our memory and the memory of our fathers and ancestors, whose exceptional virtues--once the passions of adolescence had simmered down--sprang up when they were older. I don't want to name anyone out of those men, but for you yourselves to remember them. For I do not wish to join even the least mistake of any strong and illustrious man with the greatest praise. But if I did wish to do this, I would mention many of the highest and most decorated men, some of whom would be named for too much freedom in adolescence, some for excessive luxury, some for the size of their debts, their expenses, their passions, which--covered up by their many virtues afterward--anyone might defend with the excuse of adolescence.
Chapter 44
But truly, in Marcus Caelius--for I will speak now confidently about his honest pursuits, although I dare to disclose certain things, relying freely on your wisdom--no luxuries will be discovered, no expenses, no debt, no passion for parties and debauchery. Indeed, this vice of appetite and gluttony not only does not lessen the age in men but increases it. However, those loves and "affairs" as they're called , which aren't usually bothersome for long to those endowed with stronger spirit--for they bloom up and wither early on and quickly--never held this man preoccupied or entangled.
---
* Or possibly "the only ones abandoned in the schools." The verb is a little unclear. In any case, let me assure you that this simplistic rendering of the Epicurean, Stoic, and Academic belief systems does no justice to any of them. Especially the first.
** All this "let" is in the sense of "May he!" rather than "Allow him to", which is a little harder to convey in English.