- 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-lat2:46.1-46.3
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-03
The author reports that he read the book sent by his friend in one sitting, captivated by its extraordinary sweetness and style, and praises its talent and structure. He postpones a detailed judgment until a second reading, while congratulating his friend on being a happy man who gives no cause for anyone to lie to him.
Librum tuum, quem mihi promiseras, accepi et tamquam lecturus ex commodo adaperui ac tantum degustare volui. Deinde blanditus est ipse, ut procederem longius. Qui quam disertus fuerit, ex hoc intellegas licet;1 levis mihi visus est, cum esset nec mei nec tui corporis,2 sed qui primo aspectu aut Titi Livii aut Epicuri posset videri. Tanta autem dulcedine me tenuit et traxit, ut illum sine ulla dilatione perlegerim. Sol me invitabat, fames admonebat, nubes minabantur; tamen exhausi totum.
I have received your book, which you had promised me, and opened it as if to read it at my leisure, intending only to have a taste of it. But then, it fell to teasing me to go further. How eloquent it was, you may understand from this: it seemed light to me, although it was of a bulk belonging neither to my body nor to yours, but such as at first sight might seem to belong to Titus Livius or Epicurus. Yet it held and drew me with such great sweetness that I read it through without any delay. The sun was inviting me, hunger was warning me, clouds were threatening; yet I drained the whole.
Non tantum delectatus, sed gavisus sum. Quid ingenii iste habuit, quid animi! Dicerem, quid inpetus, si interquievisset, si ex intervallo surrexisset;3 nunc non fuit inpetus, sed tenor, conpositio virilis et sancta; nihilominus interveniebat dulce illud et loco lene. Grandis, erectus es; hoc te volo tenere, sic ire. Fecit aliquid et materia; ideo eligenda est fertilis, quae capiat ingenium, quae incitet.
I was not only delighted, but gladdened. What talent it had, what spirit! I should have said, “what impulse,” if it had rested, if it had risen at intervals; but as it was, there was no impulse, but an even flow, a manly and solemn composition; nevertheless, that sweetness intervened, gentle in the right place. You are grand, upright; I want you to hold onto this, to go on in this way. The subject matter also did something; therefore, a fertile subject should be chosen, such as can grasp the talent and incite it.
De libro plura scribam cum illum retractavero; nunc parum mihi sedet iudicium, tamquam audierim illa, non legerim. Sine me et inquirere. Non est quod verearis; verum audies. O te hominem felicem,4 quod nihil habes, propter quod quisquam tibi tam longe mentiatur! Nisi quod5 iam etiam ubi causa sublata est, mentimur consuetudinis causa. VALE.
I shall write more about the book when I have reread it; at present, my judgment is not sufficiently settled, just as if I had heard those words, not read them. Allow me also to investigate. There is no reason for you to fear; you will hear the truth. Oh, happy man that you are, in that you have nothing for the sake of which anyone would lie to you from so far away! Except that now, even where the cause has been removed, we lie for the sake of habit. FAREWELL.
- 46.1ex hoc intellegas licet
The verb 'licet' (it is permitted) directly takes the present subjunctive 'intellegas' without 'ut', forming an idiomatic expression meaning 'you may understand from this' or 'it is allowed for you to understand.'
- 46.1nec mei nec tui corporis
Genitive of description or quality. Here, 'corpus' (body) refers to the physical volume of the book or the scale and bulk of the author's style.
- 46.2Dicerem, quid inpetus, si interquievisset, si ex intervallo surrexisset
A mixed contrary-to-fact conditional sentence. The protases (the 'si'-clauses: 'interquievisset', 'surrexisset') are in the pluperfect subjunctive, representing a past contrary-to-fact situation, while the apodosis ('Dicerem') is in the imperfect subjunctive, expressing a present contrary-to-fact statement ('I would say [now]... if it had...').
- 46.3O te hominem felicem
Accusative of exclamation, introduced by the interjection 'O' to express strong emotion or exclamation.
- 46.3Nisi quod
An idiomatic formula meaning 'except that' or 'only that,' introducing a qualification or reservation to the preceding positive statement.