Miraculous man. Seneca, Epistles 4.41.3-4
Seneca
argues that good human character commands awe and worship in the same
way that great works of nature do. Whenever we refuse to act hastily
in ways that reflect fear or lust or jealousy, our action partakes in
the beauty of the gods.
Si
tibi occurrerit vetustis arboribus et solitam altitudinem egressis
frequens lucus et conspectum caeli ramorum aliorum alios protegentium
summovens obtentu (†),
illa proceritas silvae et secretum loci et admiratio umbrae in aperto
tam densae atque continuae fidem tibi numinis faciet. Si quis specus
saxis penitus exesis montem suspenderit, non manu factus, sed
naturalibus causis in tantam laxitatem excavatus, animum tuum quadam
religionis suspicione percutiet. Magnorum fluminum capita veneramur;
subita ex abdito vasti amnis eruptio aras habet; coluntur aquarum
calentium fontes, et stagna quaedam vel opacitas vel immensa altitudo
sacravit.
Si
hominem videris interritum periculis, intactum cupiditatibus, inter
adversa felicem, in mediis tempestatibus placidum, ex superiore loco
homines videntem, ex aequo deos, non subibit te veneratio eius? non
dices, ista res maior est altiorque quam ut credi similis huic in
quo est corpusculo possit? Vis isto divina descendit.
If
ever you find a grove thick with ancient trees taller than usual, so
that its layers of branches reaching over one another remove all
sight of heaven, it will make you believe in divine powers: the
loftiness of such woods, the mystery of their location, and the
wonder of their shade, so dense and impenetrable in the midst of
otherwise open spaces, will see to that. A cave that breaks the
mountain's bulk, eating deep into the rock, its vast halls carved
huge by natural causes rather than human hands: this too will smite
your mind with a glimpse of some real religion. We worship the heads
of great streams. The site where a mighty river erupts suddenly into
our midst from hidden depths holds shrines and altars for us. Hot
springs are tended with cult, and even some stagnant pools are
hallowed by the darkness or immense depth of their water.
If
you see a man undaunted by danger, untouched by desire, happy in his
trials, at peace in the midst of storms, looking down on humanity
from high ground, where he sees the gods as equals, will you not feel
the urge to worship him? Will you not say, “This figure is loftier
and greater than would seem possible for anything in such a small
body? A divine power here descends!”
---
(†)
MSS read summovens, sub
movens, or summoventus.
I have followed Hense: summovens obtentu.