- 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-lat2:11.1-11.10
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-02
Triggered by a young friend's blushing, Seneca argues that natural bodily responses like blushing and trembling cannot be overcome even by wisdom, and advises keeping a virtuous person like Cato or Laelius as a mental guardian or exemplar to regulate one's conduct.
Locutus est mecum amicus tuus bonae indolis, in quo quantum esset animi, quantum ingenii, quantum iam etiam profectus, sermo primus ostendit. Dedit nobis gustum, ad quem respondebit. Non enim ex praeparato locutus est, sed subito deprehensus. Ubi se colligebat, verecundiam, bonum in adulescente signum, vix potuit excutere; adeo illi ex alto suffusus est rubor. Hic illum, quantum suspicor, etiam cum se confirmaverit et omnibus vitiis exuerit, sapientem quoque sequetur. Nulla enim sapientia naturalia corporis vitia ponuntur. Quicquid infixum et ingenitum est, lenitur arte, non vincitur.
Your friend of good character has spoken with me, and his first conversation showed how much spirit he has, how much talent, and indeed how much progress already. He gave us a foretaste, to which he will correspond. For he did not speak from preparation, but was caught off guard. When he was collecting himself, he could scarcely shake off his modesty—a good sign in a young man—so deeply was the blush poured over him from within. This blush, as far as I suspect, will follow him also when he has strengthened himself and stripped off all vices, and even when he becomes a wise man. For by no wisdom are the natural defects of the body put aside. Whatever is fixed and inborn is softened by art, not conquered.
Quibusdam etiam constantissimis in conspectu populi sudor erumpit, non aliter quam fatigatis et aestuantibus solet, quibusdam tremunt genua dicturis,1 quorundam dentes colliduntur, lingua titubat, labra concurrunt. Haec nec disciplina nec usus umquam excutit, sed natura vim suam exercet et illo vitio sui etiam robustissimos admonet.
Even in some of the most resolute men, sweat breaks out in the sight of the public, not otherwise than it is wont to do for those who are fatigued and hot; the knees of some tremble when they are about to speak, the teeth of some chatter, the tongue hesitates, the lips press together. Neither training nor experience ever shakes these things off, but nature exerts her power and warns even the strongest of their own particular weakness.
Inter haec esse et ruborem scio, qui gravissimis quoque viris subitus adfunditur. Magis quidem in iuvenibus apparet, quibus et plus caloris est et tenera frons; nihilominus et veteranos et senes tangit. Quidam numquam magis, quam cum erubuerint, timendi sunt, quasi omnem verecundiam effuderint.
Among these things I know that blushing also belongs, which is suddenly poured over even the most serious men. It appears indeed more in young people, who have both more heat and a tender forehead; nevertheless, it touches both veterans and old men. Some are never more to be feared than when they have blushed, as if they have poured out all their modesty.
Sulla tunc erat violentissimus, cum faciem eius sanguis invaserat. Nihil erat mollius ore Pompei; numquam non coram pluribus rubuit, utique in contionibus. Fabianum, cum in senatum testis esset inductus, erubuisse memini, et hic2 illum mire pudor decuit.
Sulla was then most violent, when blood had invaded his face. Nothing was softer than the countenance of Pompey; he never failed to blush in the presence of many, especially in public assemblies. I remember that Fabianus blushed when he was brought into the senate as a witness, and on this occasion this modesty wonderfully became him.
Non accidit hoc ab infirmitate mentis, sed a novitate rei, quae inexercitatos, etiamsi non concutit, movet naturali in hoc facilitate corporis pronos.3 Nam ut quidam boni sanguinis sunt, ita quidam incitati et mobilis et cito in os prodeuntis.
This does not happen from weakness of mind, but from the novelty of the situation, which, even if it does not shatter the untrained, moves them, being prone to this by a natural susceptibility of the body. For just as some are of good blood, so some are of blood that is excited, mobile, and quickly coming forth into the face.
Haec, ut dixi, nulla sapientia abigit; alioquin haberet rerum naturam sub imperio, si omnia eraderet vitia. Quaecumque adtribuit condicio nascendi et corporis temperatum, cum multum se diuque animus conposuerit, haerebunt. Nihil horum vetari potest, non magis quam accersi.
These things, as I said, no wisdom drives away; otherwise wisdom would have the nature of things under its command if it erased all defects. Whatever the condition of birth and the temperament of the body have assigned will cling, even when the mind has composed itself much and for a long time. None of these things can be forbidden, any more than they can be summoned.
Artifices scaenici, qui imitantur adfectus, qui metum et trepidationem exprimunt, qui tristitiam repraesentant, hoc indicio imitantur verecundiam: deiciunt enim vultum, verba submittunt, figunt in terram oculos et deprimunt. Ruborem sibi exprimere non possunt; nec prohibetur hic nec adducitur. Nihil adversus haec sapientia promittit, nihil proficit; sui iuris sunt, iniussa veniunt, iniussa discedunt.
Stage actors who imitate emotions, who express fear and trepidation, who represent sadness, imitate modesty by this sign: they cast down their countenance, lower their voices, fix and depress their eyes upon the ground. They cannot express a blush for themselves; this is neither prevented nor summoned. Wisdom promises nothing against these things, accomplishes nothing; they are under their own law, they come unbidden, they depart unbidden.
Iam clausulam epistula poscit. Accipe, et quidem utilem ac salutarem, quam te affigere animo volo: "Aliquis vir bonus nobis4 diligendus est ac semper ante oculos habendus, ut sic tamquam illo spectante vivamus et omnia tamquam illo vidente faciamus."
Now the letter demands its conclusion. Receive one, and indeed a useful and salutary one, which I want you to fix in your mind: “We must choose some good man and always keep him before our eyes, so that we may live as if he were watching and do everything as if he were seeing us.”
Hoc, mi Lucili, Epicurus praecepit. Custodem nobis et paedagogum dedit, nec immerito. Magna pars peccatorum tollitur, si peccaturis testis adsistit. Aliquem habeat animus, quem vereatur, cuius auctoritate etiam secretum suum sanctius faciat. O felicem illum, qui non praesens tantum, sed etiam cogitatus emendat! O felicem, qui sic aliquem vereri potest, ut ad memoriam quoque eius se conponat atque ordinet! Qui sic aliquem vereri potest, cito erit verendus.
This, my Lucilius, Epicurus prescribed. He gave us a guardian and a tutor, and not without reason. A large part of sins is removed if a witness stands by those who are about to sin. Let the mind have someone whom it fears, by whose authority it may make even its secret place more holy. Oh happy is he who corrects not only when present, but even when thought of! Oh happy is he who can so revere someone that he composes and orders himself even at his memory! He who can so revere someone will soon be revered himself.
Elige itaque Catonem. Si hic tibi videtur nimis rigidus, elige remissioris animi virum Laelium. Elige eum, cuius tibi placuit et vita et oratio et ipse animum ante se ferens vultus; illum tibi semper ostende vel custodem vel exemplum. Opus est, inquam, aliquo, ad quem mores nostri se ipsi exigant; nisi ad regulam prava non corriges. VALE.
Choose therefore Cato. If he seems to you too rigid, choose Laelius, a man of a gentler mind. Choose him whose life, speech, and very face revealing the soul before it have pleased you; always show him to yourself either as a guardian or as an exemplar. There is need, I say, of someone by whom our characters may regulate themselves; you will not correct what is crooked except by a ruler. FAREWELL.
- 11.2dicturis
Dative plural of the active future participle of 'dico' (to speak), used substantively. It functions as a dative of reference or possession modifying 'tremunt genua' (knees tremble), meaning 'for those who are about to speak'. In modern translations, it is often rendered possessively (e.g., 'the knees of those who are about to speak').
- 11.4hic
A demonstrative pronoun in the nominative masculine singular, referring back to the preceding noun 'rubor' (blush, masculine). It is translated as 'this blush'. While taking it as the adverb 'hic' (here) is grammatically possible, interpreting it as a pronoun serving as the subject of 'sequetur' fits the context better, indicating that this physical trait of blushing will follow him even when he becomes a wise man.
- 11.5pronos
An adjective in the accusative masculine plural, agreeing with 'inexercitatos' (the untrained), which is the object of 'movet' in the relative clause 'quae... movet'. It functions predicatively, indicating that the novelty of the situation moves the untrained who are already predisposed or prone to this bodily reaction.
- 11.8nobis
The dative of agent used with the gerundives 'diligendus est' and 'habendus est'. It indicates the logical subject of the obligation: 'we must love' and 'we must keep'. It is the dative form of the first-person plural pronoun.