Defense of the Philosopher Fabianus's Style — Seneca the Younger, Moral Letters to Lucilius 100.1–100.7, Latin & English

§100.1

Fabiani Papiri libros, qui inscribuntur Civilium, legisse te cupidissime scribis, et non respondisse expectationi tuae, deinde oblitus de philosopho agi¹ conpositionem eius accusas. Puta esse quod dicis et effundi verba, non figi; primum habet ista res suam gratiam et est decor proprius orationis leniter lapsae. Multum enim interesse existimo, utrum exciderit an fluxerit. Adice nunc, quod in hoc quoque, quod dicturus sum, ingens differentia est: Fabianus mihi non effundere videtur orationem, sed fundere; adeo larga est et sine perturbatione, non sine cursu tamen veniens.

You write that you have read the books of Fabianus Papirius, which are entitled On Civil Affairs, with the greatest eagerness, and that they did not answer your expectation; then, forgetting that it is a philosopher who is being discussed, you accuse his composition. Suppose it is as you say, and that his words are poured out, not fixed; in the first place, that very thing has its own grace, and there is a beauty proper to a gently flowing discourse. For I think it makes a great difference whether a style has slipped out or flowed out. Add to this also that in what I am about to say there is a huge difference: Fabianus seems to me not to pour forth (*effundere*) his speech, but to pour it out (*fundere*); so abundant is it, coming without agitation, yet not without a steady course.

§100.2

Illud plane fatetur et praefert, non esse tractatam nec diu tortam. Sed ita, ut vis, esse credamus; mores ille, non verba conposuit et animis scripsit ista, non auribus.

He plainly confesses and shows that his style has not been laboured over or twisted for a long time. But let us believe it to be as you wish; he composed characters, not words, and wrote those things for minds, not for ears.

§100.3

Praeterea ipso dicente² non vacasset tibi partes intueri, adeo te summa rapuisset; et fere quae inpetu placent, minus praestant ad manum relata. Sed illud quoque multum est primo aspectu oculos occupasse, etiam si contemplatio diligens inventura est quod arguat.

Furthermore, if he himself were speaking, you would not have had leisure to examine the parts, so much would the whole have swept you away; and generally, things which please by their momentum, perform less well when brought close to hand. But it is also a great thing to have captured the eyes at first glance, even if diligent scrutiny is going to find something to criticize.

§100.4

Si me interrogas, maior ille est, qui iudicium abstulit quam qui meruit;³ et scio hunc tutiorem esse, scio audacius sibi de futuro promittere. Oratio sollicita philosophum non decet; ubi tandem erit fortis et constans, ubi periculum sui faciet, qui timet verbis?

If you ask me, he is greater who has carried away judgement than he who has deserved it; and I know that the latter is safer, I know that he promises himself more boldly concerning the future. An anxious speech does not become a philosopher; where, pray, will he be brave and constant, where will he put himself to the proof, who is afraid of words?

§100.5

Fabianus non erat neglegens in oratione, sed securus. Itaque nihil invenies sordidum: electa verba sunt, non captata nec huius saeculi more contra naturam suam posita et inversa, splendida tamen, quamvis sumantur e medio. Sensus honestos et magnificos habes, non coactos in sententiam, sed latius dictos. videbimus, quid parum recisum sit, quid parum structum, quid non huius recentis politurae; cum circumspexeris omnia, nullas videbis angustias inanis.

Fabianus was not negligent in his speech, but carefree. Therefore you will find nothing sordid: the words are chosen, not hunted after, nor, according to the fashion of this age, placed contrary to their nature and inverted, yet they are splendid, although they are taken from common usage. You have noble and magnificent sentiments, not forced into a maxim, but expressed more broadly. We shall see what is insufficiently pruned, what is insufficiently structured, what is not of this recent polish; when you have looked around at everything, you will see no empty narrowness.

§100.6

Desit sane⁴ varietas marmorum et concisura aquarum cubiculis interfluentium et pauperis cella et quicquid aliud luxuria non contenta decore simplici miscet; quod dici solet, domus recta est. Adice nunc, quod de compositione non constat. Quidam illam volunt esse ex horrido comptam, quidam usque eo aspera gaudent, ut etiam quae mollius casus explicuit, ex industria dissipent et clausulas abrumpant, ne ad expectatum respondeant.

Let there indeed be lacking the variety of marbles, and the channel of waters flowing between bedrooms, and the “poor man’s cell”, and whatever else luxury, not content with simple beauty, mixes in; as the saying goes, “the house is straight”. Add to this now that there is no agreement about composition. Some wish it to be smoothed out from a rough state; some delight in harshness to such a degree that they industriously break up even those passages which chance has unfolded more softly, and cut off their clausulae, lest they answer to the expected cadence.

§100.7

Lege Ciceronem: compositio eius una est, pedem curvat lenta et sine infamia mollis. At contra Pollionis Asinii salebrosa et exiliens et ubi minime exspectes, relictura. Denique omnia apud Ciceronem desinunt, aput Pollionem cadunt exceptis paucissimis, quae ad certum modum et ad unum exemplar adstricta sunt. videatur;⁵ et consilii et animi satis; a nitore et iucunditate Ciceronis ita longe abest, ut videri possit saeculo prior.

Read Cicero: his composition is uniform, it curves its foot slowly and is soft without infamy. But on the contrary, that of Asinius Pollio is rough and leaping, and ready to leave you where you least expect it. Finally, all things in Cicero end, in Pollio they fall, with very few exceptions, which are bound to a certain rhythm and to a single pattern. Let him seem so; he has enough of both judgment and spirit; yet he is so far removed from the brilliance and pleasantness of Cicero that he might seem to belong to an earlier century.

Syntax notes5 items

100.1de philosopho agi
The passive infinitive agi (from ago) is used impersonally with the prepositional phrase de philosopho, meaning "that a philosopher is being discussed." The entire clause acts as the object of the participle oblitus ("forgetting").
100.3ipso dicente
Ablative absolute construction consisting of the pronoun ipso and the present participle dicente, representing a conditional circumstance: "if he himself were speaking."
100.4maior ille est, qui iudicium abstulit quam qui meruit
Here, iudicium abstulit ("carried away judgement") refers to overwhelming the listeners so as to suspend their critical faculties, while qui meruit ("deserved it") refers to one who earns approval through careful and flawless execution. The two are contrasted with the comparative maior.
100.6Desit sane
Third-person singular present subjunctive of desum, accompanied by the particle sane, expressing concession ("let there indeed be lacking" or "even if it is lacking").
100.7videatur
The word videatur ("let him seem so" or "he may seem") at the beginning of the clause is a third-person singular subjunctive of concession or assumption, with Asinius Pollio understood as the subject from the preceding context.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-22)

2026-09-22 AI review — source 1

urn:cts:latinLit:phi1017.phi015.humanitext-lat2:100.1-100.7