Chapter V.

The upright does nothing that is contrary to duty, even though there is a hope of keeping it secret. To point this out the tale about the ring of Gyges was invented by the philosophers. Exposing this, he brings forward known and true examples from the life of David and John the Baptist.

29. To lay down here already the result of our discussion, as though we had already ended it, we declare it a fixed rule, that we must never aim at anything but what is virtuous.604    Cic. de Off. III. 7, § 33. The wise man does nothing but what can be done openly and without falseness,605    Cic. de Off. III. 7, § 37. nor does he do anything whereby he may involve himself in any wrong-doing, even where he may escape notice. For he is guilty in his own eyes, before being so in the eyes of others; and the publicity of his crime does not bring him more shame than his own consciousness of it. This we can show, not by the made-up stories which philosophers use, but from the true examples of good men.

30. I need not, therefore, imagine a great chasm in the earth, which had been loosened by heavy rains, and had afterwards burst asunder, as Plato does.606    Cic. de Off. III. 9. For he makes Gyges descend into that chasm, and to meet there that iron horse of the fable that had doors in its sides. When these doors were opened, he found a gold ring on the finger of a dead man, whose corpse lay there lifeless. He desiring the gold took away the ring. But when he returned to the king’s shepherds, to whose number he belonged, by chance having turned the stone inwards towards the palms of his hands, he saw all, yet was seen by none. Then when he turned the ring to its proper position, he was again seen by all. On becoming conscious of this strange power, by the use of the ring he committed adultery with the queen, killed the king, and took possession of the kingdom after slaying all the rest, who he thought should be put to death, so that they might be no hindrance to him.

31. Give, says Plato, this ring to a wise man, that when he commits a fault he may by its help remain unnoticed; yet he will be none the more free from the stain of sin than if he could not be hid. The hiding-place of the wise lies not in the hope of impunity but in his own innocency. Lastly, the law is not laid down for the just but for the unjust.607    1 Tim. i. 9. For the just has within himself the law of his mind, and a rule of equity and justice. Thus he is not recalled from sin by fear of punishment, but by the rule of a virtuous life.

32. Therefore, to return to our subject, I will now bring forward, not false examples for true, but true examples in place of false. For why need I imagine a chasm in the earth, and an iron horse and a gold ring found on the fingers of a dead man; and say that such was the power of this ring, that he who wore it could appear at his own will, but if he did not wish to be seen, he could remove himself out of the sight of those who stood by, so as to seem to be away. This story, of course, is meant to answer the question whether a wise man, on getting the opportunity of using that ring so as to be able to hide his crimes, and to obtain a kingdom,—whether, I say, a wise man would be unwilling to sin and would consider the stain of sin far worse than the pains of punishment, or whether he would use it for doing wickedness in the hope of not being found out? Why, I say, should I need the pretence of a ring, when I can show from what has been done that a wise man, on seeing he would not only be undetected in his sin, but would also gain a kingdom if he gave way to it, and who, on the other hand, noted danger to his own safety if he did not commit the crime, yet chose to risk his own safety so as to be free from crime, rather than to commit the crime and so gain the kingdom.

33. When David fled from the face of King Saul,608    1 Sam. [1 Kings] xxvi. 2. because the king was seeking him in the desert with three thousand chosen men to put him to death, he entered the king’s camp and found him sleeping. There he not only did him no injury, but actually guarded him from being slain by any who had entered with him. For when Abishai said to him: “The Lord hath delivered thine enemy into thine hand this day, now therefore I will slay him,” he answered: “Destroy him not, for who can stretch forth his hand against the Lord’s anointed, and be guiltless?” And he added: “As the Lord liveth, unless the Lord shall smite him, or his day shall come to die, or he shall die in battle, and it be laid to me, the Lord forbid that I should stretch out my hand against the Lord’s anointed.”609    1 Sam. [1 Kings] xxvi. 8–10.

34. Therefore he did not suffer him to be slain, but removed only his spear, which stood by his head, and his cruse of water. Then, whilst all were sleeping, he left the camp and went across to the top of the hill, and began to reproach the royal attendants, and especially their general Abner, for not keeping faithful watch over their lord and king. Next, he showed them where the king’s spear and cruse were which had stood at his head. And when the king called to him, he restored the spear, and said: “The Lord render to every man his righteousness and faithfulness, for the Lord delivered thee into my hand, but I would not avenge myself on the Lord’s anointed.”610    1 Sam. [1 Kings] xxvi. 23. Even whilst he said this, he feared his plots and fled, changing his place in exile. However, he never put safety before innocency, seeing that when a second opportunity was given him of killing the king, he would not use the chance that came to him, and which put in his reach certain safety instead of fear, and a kingdom instead of exile.

35. Where was the use of the ring in John’s case,611    S. Matt. xiv. 3. who would not have been put to death by Herod if he had kept silence? He could have kept silence before him so as to be both seen and yet not killed. But because he not only could not endure to sin himself to protect his own safety, but could not bear and endure even another’s sin, he brought about the cause of his own death. Certainly none can deny that he might have kept silence, who in the case of Gyges deny that he could have remained invisible by the help of the ring.

36. But although that fable has not the force of truth, yet it has this much to go upon, that if an upright man could hide himself, yet he would avoid sin just as though he could not conceal himself; and that he would not hide his person by putting on a ring, but his life by putting on Christ. As the Apostle says: “Our life is hid with Christ in God.”612    Col. iii. 3. Let, then, no one here strive to shine, let none show pride, let none boast. Christ willed not to be known here, He would not that His Name should be preached in the Gospel whilst He lived on earth. He came to lie hid from this world. Let us therefore likewise hide our life after the example of Christ, let us shun boastfulness, let us not desire to be made known. It is better to live here in humility, and there in glory. “When Christ,” it says, “shall appear, then shall we also appear with Him in glory.”613    Col. iii. 4.

115 CAPUT V.

Justum nihil agere quod sit contra officium, etiamsi latendi spem habuerit; ad hoc ipsum significandum 0153Cfabulam de Gygis annulo excogitatam esse a philosophis, qua explosa, Davidis ac Joannis Baptistae certa et vera exempla proferuntur.

29. Sed jam ut etiam in hoc libro ponamus fastigium, in quo velut in fine disputationis nostrae dirigamus sententiam: ut nihil expetendum sit, nisi quod honestum. Nihil agit sapiens, nisi quod cum sinceritate, sine fraude sit: neque quidquam facit, in quo se crimine quoquam obliget, etiamsi latere possit. Sibi enim est reus priusquam caeteris; nec tam pudenda 0154A apud eum publicatio flagitii, quam conscientia est. Quod non fictis fabulis, ut philosophi disputabant, sed verissimis justorum virorum exemplis docere possumus.

30. Non igitur ego simulabo terrae hiatum, quae magnis quibusdam dissiluerit soluta imbribus, in quem descendisse Gyges, atque ibi fabularum illum equum aeneum offendisse a Platone inducitur, qui in lateribus suis fores haberet: quas ubi aperuit, animadvertit annulum aureum in digito mortui hominis, cujus illic exanimum corpus jaceret, aurique avarum sustulisse annulum. Sed cum se ad pastores recepisset regios de quorum ipse numero foret, casu quodam, quod palam ejus annuli ad palmam converterat, ipse omnes videbat, atque a nullo videbatur: 0154B deinde cum in locum suum revocasset annulum, videbatur ab omnibus. Cujus solers factus miraculi, per annuli opportunitatem reginae stupro potitus, necem regi intulit, caeterisque interemptis, quos necandos putaverat, ne sibi impedimento forent, Lydiae regnum adeptus est.

31. Da, inquit, hunc annulum sapienti, ut beneficio ejus possit latere, cum deliquerit: non enim minus fugiet peccatorum contagium, quam si non possit latere. Non enim latebra sapienti spes impunitatis, sed innocentia est. Denique lex non justo, sed injusto posita est (I Tim. I, 9); quia justus legem habet mentis suae, et aequitatis ac justitiae suae normam: ideoque non terrore poenae revocatur a culpa, sed honestatis regula.

0154C 32. Ergo ut ad propositum redeamus, non fabulosa pro veris, sed vera pro fabulosis exempla proferam. Quid enim mihi opus est fingere hiatum terrae, equum aeneum, annulumque aureum in digito defuncti repertum; cujus annuli tanta sit vis, ut pro arbitrio suo qui eum sit indutus annulum, 116 appareat, cum velit: cum autem nolit, e conspectu se praesentium subtrahat, ut praesens non possit videri? Nempe eo tendit istud, utrum sapiens etiam si isto utatur annulo, quo possit propria flagitia celare, et 0155A regnum assequi; nolitne peccare, et gravius ducat sceleris contagium poenarum doloribus: an vero spe impunitatis utatur ad perpetrandum scelus? Quid, inquam, mihi opus est figmento annuli, cum possim docere ex rebus gestis quod vir sapiens cum sibi in peccato non solum latendum, sed etiam regnandum videret, si peccatum admitteret; contra autem periculum salutis cerneret, si declinaret flagitium; elegerit tamen magis salutis periculum, ut vacaret flagitio, quam flagitium quo sibi regnum pararet?

33. Denique David cum fugeret a facie regis Saul, quod eum rex cum tribus millibus virorum electorum ad inferendam necem in deserto quaereret, ingressus in castra regis, cum dormientem offendisset, non solum ipse non percussit, sed etiam protexit; ne ab 0155B aliquo qui simul ingressus fuerat, perimeretur. Nam cum diceret ei Abessa: Conclusit hodie Dominus inimicum tuum in manibus tuis, et nunc occidam eum? respondit: Non consumas eum, quoniam quis injiciet manum suam in christum Domini, et purus erit? Et addidit: Vivit Dominus, quoniam nisi Dominus percusserit illum, aut nisi hora illius venerit, ut moriatur,aut in pugna discesserit, et apponatur mihi; non sit a Domino injicere manum meam in christum Domini (I Reg. XXVI, 8 et seq.).

34. Itaque non permisit necari eum, sed solam lanceam quae erat ad caput ejus, et lenticulam sustulit. Itaque dormientibus cunctis, egressus de castris transivit in cacumen montis, et coarguere coepit stipatores regios, et praecipue principem militiae Abner, 0155C quod nequaquam fidam custodiam regi et domino suo adhiberet: denique demonstraret, ubi esset lancea regis, vel lenticula quae erat ad caput ejus. Et appellatus a rege lanceam reddidit: Et Dominus, inquit, restituat unicuique justitias suas, et fidem suam: sicut tradidit te Dominus in manus meas, et noluivindicare manu mea in christum Domini. Et cum haec diceret, timebat tamen insidias ejus, et fugit, sedem exsilio mutans. Nec tamen salutem praetulit innocentiae, cum jam secundo facultate sibi tributa regis necandi, noluisset uti occasionis beneficio: quae et securitatem salutis metuenti, et regnum offerebat exsuli.

35. Ubi opus fuit Joanni Gygeo annulo, qui si tacuisset, non esset occisus ab Herode (Marc. VI, 18)? 0156A Praestare hoc illi potuit silentium suum, ut et videretur et non occideretur: sed quia non solum 117 peccare se propter salutis defensionem passus non est, sed ne alienum quidem peccatum ferre ac perpeti potuit; ideo in se causam necis excitavit. Certe hoc negare non possunt potuisse fieri ut taceret, qui de illo Gyge negant potuisse fieri ut annuli beneficio absconderetur.

36. Sed fabula, etsi vim non habet veritatis, hanc tamen rationem habet, ut si possit celare se vir justus; tamen ita peccatum declinet, quasi celare non possit: nec personam suam indutus annulum, sed vitam suam Christum indutus abscondat, sicut Apostolus ait: Quia vita nostra abscondita est cum Christo in Deo (Coloss. III, 3). Nemo ergo hic fulgere quaerat, nemo sibi arroget, nemo se jactet 0156B (Luc. IX, 36). Nolebat se Christus hic cognosci, nolebat praedicari in Evangelio nomen suum, cum in terris versaretur: venit ut lateret saeculum hoc. Et nos ergo simili modo abscondamus vitam nostram Christi exemplo, fugiamus jactantiam, praedicari non exspectemus. Melius est hic esse in humilitate, ibi in gloria. Cum Christus, inquit, apparuerit, tunc et vos cum illo apparebitis in gloria (Coloss. III, 4).