Translation Cons. Phil. Book 1 Metrum 7
Metrum 7
1 `When the stars are hidden
2 by black clouds,
3 no light
4 can they afford.
5 When the boisterous south wind
6 rolls along the sea
7 and stirs the surge,
8 the water,
9 but now as clear as glass,
10 bright as the fair sun's light,
11 is dark,
12 impenetrable to sight,
13 with stirred and scattered sand.
14 The stream,
15 that wanders
16 down the mountain's side,
17 must often find a stumbling-block,
18 a stone within its path torn
19 from the hill's own rock.
20 So too shalt thou: if thou wouldst see
21 the truth
22 in undimmed light,
23 choose the straight road,
24 the beaten path;
25 away with passing joys!
26 away with fear!
27 put vain hopes to flight!
28 and grant no place to grief!
29 Where these distractions reign,
30 the mind is clouded o'er,
31 the soul is bound in chains.'