Authors/John of Salisbury/Metalogicon/Liber 4/Caput 29

Chapter 29

Latin	English
CAP. XXIX. Quod temeritas adolescentiae reprimenda, et quare Mercurius societur Philologiae, et quae sint praecipue expetenda. [0932D]	Chapter 29. That the temerity of adolescence should be restrained; why eloquence weds philology; and what should be our main objectives.
Non tamen ea licentia est indulgendum gymnasiorum exercitiis quae, quasi iocus quidam et palaestra philosophiae agitantur in spe proficiendi, ut in annos maturiores, aut in studia graviora protendantur. Scurriles ineptiae, insulsa loquacitas, et clamosa, itemque levitas puerilis, cum prima lanugine deponenda sunt. Haec siquidem agere, est philosophum diffiteri, et ad male sanos accedere.	Our tolerance of these exercises of the schools, which are, so to speak, games in the gymnasium of philosophy, indulged in for the purpose of developing proficiency [in the young], should not, however, be extended into more mature years and more serious studies. Facetious folly, noisy [volubility], empty loquacity, and puerile silliness, should all be set aside, as soon as the first soft beard begins to appear on one’s face. To indulge in the foregoing [on reaching maturity] is to throw away one’s birthright as a philosopher, and to class oneself as a fool.
Unde, ut a fabulis instruamur, Mercurius, eloquentiae praesul, hortatu matris in Philologiae nuptias transit ab adolescentia prima, eo quod iam pubentes genae, seminudum eum incedere, chlamydeque indutum [0933A] parva, invelatumque caetera, humerorum cacumen obnubere, sine magno risu Cypridis, non sinebant. Cypris enim, quae mistura interpretabatur, vigens in eis, qui sapientiae et eloquentiae mistura condiuntur, inermis, nudae ventosaeque facundiae deridet ineptias. Latet autem sensum hominis, quem multa cogitantem terrena inhabitatio deprimit, trium, maxime expetendorum, arcana praestantissimaque natura. Haec autem sunt vera bonitas, veritas sincera, ratio incorrupta et certa. Horum tamen quasi olfaciens dulcedinem natura humana, cui Deus sicut in libro Sirac legitur: Posuit oculum supra cor, ut ostenderet magnalia operum suorum, ut laudaretur in bonitate, et glorificaretur in mirabilibus suis (Eccli. XVII) : horum, inquam, dulcedinem [0933B] sentiens, appetit nosse verum, apprehendere bonum, et ei, ne dispendium patiatur, firmiter adhaerere. Appetitus enim hic naturaliter a Deo insitus est homini, etsi per naturam sine gratia perficere non possit.	According to the lesson of the allegory, as soon as he reached adolescence, Mercury, the god of eloquence, in accordance with the exhortations of his mother, wed Philology. For “the fact that his cheeks were already beginning to show the down of manhood meant that he could no longer go about half naked, with only a short cape over his shoulders, without provoking Venus to peals of laughter.” Venus, who represents the happy combination of wisdom and eloquence, derides the foolishness of nude, unarmed, windy eloquence. The secret and most excellent nature of the three things which are most desirable, is hidden from the senses of man. For man, preoccupied with earthly things, is weighted down by his terrestrial environment. The aforesaid three things, which we should prefer to aught else, are genuine goodness, unadulterated truth, and sound, trustworthy reasoning. Human nature, “to whose heart,” God, as we read in the book of the son of Sirac, “has given vision, so that the greatness of his own works may become manifest,” and that He may be praised in his goodness, and glorified in his wonders, [human nature] desires both to know the truth, and to apprehend and hold fast to what is good. This appetite [for truth, goodness, and reason] has been implanted in man’s nature by God; but it cannot obtain its objectives by nature alone, for it also needs the assistance of grace.
Unde tres sorores, filias Phronesis, fabulosa gentium finxit antiquitas, Philologiam, Philosophiam et Philocaliam. Genus Philosophiae et Philocaliae Augustinus, Philologiae Marcianus, sed cognationem trium indicat Aesopus.	According to ancient pagan allegory, there were three sisters, Love of Reason, Love of Wisdom, and Love of the Beautiful, who were all daughters of Prudence. Augustine explains the nature of Love of Wisdom and Love of the Beautiful, Martianus expounds on that of Love of Reason, and Aesop indicates the inter-relationship existing between the three.
Ergo quia veram bonitatem, sapientiam, rationem, etsi polliceri sibi arroganter non audeat, affectat tamen indesinenter humana infirmitas, versatur in amore istorum, donec amoris exercitio per gratiam, res ipsas quas desiderat, assequatur. Has quidem affectiones Phronesis parit, quia sapor, qui humanae [0933C] naturae dulcescit, ad veri bonique provocat appetitum. Nam fronwð Graece dicitur sapio, quod quidem saporem appetitus potius exprimit, quam sapientiam, quae in divinorum contemplatione consistit. Illa enim, non Phronesis, sed sofiva appellatur.	Although human infirmity dares not arrogantly promise these [three] to itself, it continually seeks after them, namely, after true goodness, wisdom, and reason, and it is occupied in loving them, until, by the exercise of love with the help of grace, it [ultimately] attains the objects of its affection. Prudence it is that elicits this affection [for reason, wisdom, and beauty], as their savour increases in sweetness, and begets an appetite for what is true and good. The Greek frono [the root of Fronesis] means “I relish,” and refers more to appetitive delight than to wisdom, which consists in the contemplation of divine things. The latter [contemplation of divine things] is called Sophia [Wisdom] rather than Fronesis [Prudence].