good; but Nature, in preparing and producing many
great things excellently ordered and of great usefulness,
found that some drawbacks came as a result, and thus
these were not in conformity with the original design
and purpose; they came about as a sequel to the work,
they existed only as consequences. For the formation
of the human body, Chrysippus said, the finest idea
as well as the very utility of the work demanded that
the head should be composed of a tissue of thin, fine
bones; but because of that it was bound to have the
disadvantage of not being able to resist blows.
Nature made health, and at the same time it was necessary
by a kind of concomitance that the source of diseases
should be opened up. The same thing applies with
regard to virtue; the direct action of Nature, which
brought it forth, produced by a counter stroke the
brood of vices. I have not translated literally,
for which reason I give here the actual Latin of Aulus
Gellius, for the benefit of those who understand that
language (Aul. Gellius, lib. 6, cap. 1):
“Idem Chrysippus in eod. lib. (quarto, [Greek:
peri pronoias]) tractat consideratque, dignumque esse
id quaeri putat, [Greek: ei hai ton anthropon
nosoi kata physin gignontai]. Id est, naturane
ipsa rerum, vel providentia quae compagem hanc mundi
et [259] genus hominum fecit, morbos quoque et debilitates
et aegritudines corporum, quas patiuntur homines,
fecerit. Existimat autem non fuisse hoc principale
naturae consilium, ut faceret homines morbis obnoxios.
Nunquam enim hoc convenisse naturae auctori parentique
rerum omnium bonarum. Sed quum multa, inquit,
atque magna gigneret, pareretque aptissima et utilissima,
alia quoque simul agnata sunt incommoda iis ipsis,
quae faciebat, cohaerentia: eaque non per naturam,
sed per sequelas quasdam necessarias facta dicit,
quod ipse appellat [Greek: kata parakolouthesin].
Sicut, inquit, quum corpora hominum natura fingeret,
ratio subtilior et utilitas ipsa operis postulavit
ut tenuissimis minutisque ossiculis caput compingeret.
Sed hanc utilitatem rei majoris alia quaedam incommoditas
extrinsecus consecuta est, ut fieret caput tenuiter
munitum et ictibus offensionibusque parvis fragile.
Proinde morbi quoque et aegritudines partae sunt, dum
salus paritur. Sic Hercle, inquit, dum virtus
hominibus per consilium naturae gignitur, vitia ibidem
per affinitatem contrariam nata sunt.” I
do not think that a pagan could have said anything
more reasonable, considering his ignorance of the
first man’s fall, the knowledge of which has
only reached us through revelation, and which indeed
is the true cause of our miseries. If we had
sundry like extracts from the works of Chrysippus,
or rather if we had his works, we should have a more
favourable idea than we have of the beauty of his
genius.’