- Source
- Seneca, Lucius Annaeus. Ad Lucilium Epistulae Morales, Vol 1-3. Gummere, Richard Mott, editor. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd., 1917-1925.
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
- Languages
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:latinLit:phi1017.phi015.humanitext-lat2:1.1-1.5
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-03
Seneca urges Lucilius to reclaim and protect his time, emphasizing the importance of seizing today rather than depending on tomorrow. He shares his own practice of tracking time and advises Lucilius to guard his remaining time before it is too late.
Ita fac, mi Lucili; vindica te tibi, et tempus, quod adhuc aut auferebatur aut subripiebatur aut excidebat, collige et serva. Persuade tibi hoc sic esse, ut scribo: quaedam tempora eripiuntur nobis, quaedam subducuntur, quaedam effluunt. Turpissima tamen est iactura, quae per neglegentiam fit. Et si volueris attendere, maxima pars vitae elabitur male agentibus,1 magna nihil agentibus, tota vita aliud agentibus.
Do so, my Lucilius; claim yourself for yourself, and collect and guard the time which until now was either being taken away, or stolen, or slipping away. Persuade yourself that this is just as I write: some times are snatched from us, some are subtly withdrawn, some flow away. Yet the most shameful loss is that which happens through negligence. And if you are willing to pay attention, the greatest part of life slips away from those acting badly, a large part from those doing nothing, and the entire life from those doing something else.
Quem mihi dabis, qui aliquod pretium tempori ponat, qui diem aestimet, qui intellegat se cotidie mori? In hoc enim fallimur, quod2 mortem prospicimus; magna pars eius iam praeterit. Quicquid aetatis retro est, mors tenet. Fac ergo, mi Lucili, quod facere te scribis, omnes horas conplectere. Sic fiet, ut minus ex crastino pendeas, si hodierno manum inieceris. Dum differtur, vita transcurrit.
Whom will you show me who puts any price on time, who values a day, who understands that he dies daily? For in this we are mistaken, that we look forward to death; a great part of it has already passed. Whatever of our lifetime is behind us, death holds. Therefore, do, my Lucilius, what you write that you are doing: embrace every hour. Thus it will happen that you will depend less on tomorrow, if you lay hands on today. While it is being deferred, life rushes past.
Omnia, Lucili, aliena sunt, tempus tantum nostrum est. In huius rei unius fugacis ac lubricae possessionem natura nos misit, ex qua expellit quicumque vult. Et tanta stultitia mortalium est, ut quae minima et vilissima sunt, certe reparabilia, imputari sibi, cum impetravere, patiantur;3 nemo se iudicet quicquam debere, qui tempus accepit, cum interim hoc unum est, quod ne gratus quidem potest reddere.
Everything, Lucilius, belongs to others; time alone is ours. Nature has put us into possession of this single, fleeting and slippery thing, from which anyone who wishes expels us. And so great is the folly of mortals that they allow things which are most insignificant and cheap, and certainly replaceable, to be charged to them when they have obtained them; yet no one who has received time judges himself to owe anything, whereas in the meantime this is the only thing which not even a grateful person can return.
Interrogabis fortasse, quid ego faciam, qui tibi ista praecipio. Fatebor ingenue: quod apud luxuriosum sed diligentem evenit, ratio mihi constat inpensae. Non possum me dicere nihil perdere, sed quid perdam et quare et quemadmodum, dicam; causas paupertatis meae reddam, sed evenit mihi, quod plerisque non suo vitio ad inopiam redactis: omnes ignoscunt, nemo succurrit.
Perhaps you will ask what I myself am doing, I who prescribe these things to you. I will confess candidly: what happens in the case of a luxurious but careful person, my account of expense balances. I cannot say that I lose nothing, but I will tell what I am losing, and why, and how; I will render the causes of my poverty, but it happens to me as it does to most people who have been reduced to want through no fault of their own: everyone forgives, no one helps.
Quid ergo est? Non puto pauperem, cui quantulumcumque superest, sat est. Tu tamen malo serves4 tua, et bono tempore incipies. Nam ut visum est maioribus nostris, sera parsimonia in fundo est. Non enim tantum minimum in imo, sed pessimum remanet. VALE.
What is it then? I do not consider a person poor for whom however little remains is enough. Yet I prefer that you keep your own, and you will begin in good time. For as it seemed to our ancestors, thrift is too late at the bottom of the jar. For not only does the smallest amount remain at the bottom, but the worst. FAREWELL.
- 1.1male agentibus
Dative plural of the present participle agens. It functions as a dative of reference or disadvantage/separation with the verb elabitur ('slips away from...'). The subsequent phrases nihil agentibus and aliud agentibus follow the same construction.
- 1.2In hoc ... quod
The demonstrative pronoun hoc (ablative as the object of the preposition in) and the quod-clause (a noun clause with the indicative prospicimus) are in apposition, meaning 'in this respect, namely that...'.
- 1.3imputari sibi ... patiantur
The subjunctive verb patiantur ('they allow') within the ut-clause takes the passive infinitive imputari ('to be charged') as its complement. The reflexive pronoun sibi (dative) refers back to the subject of the clause (mortalium).
- 1.5malo serves
A noun clause with the conjunction ut omitted (serves is the second-person singular present subjunctive) functioning as the object of the verb of wishing malo ('I prefer/wish that...').