Inconsistency of the Will and the Need for Guidance — Seneca the Younger, Moral Letters to Lucilius 52.1–52.7, Latin & English

§52.1

Quid est hoc, Lucili, quod nos alio tendentes alio trahit et eo, unde recedere cupimus, inpellit? Quid conluctatur cum animo nostro nec permittit nobis quicquam semel velle?¹ Fluctuamur inter varia consilia. Nihil libere volumus, nihil absolute, nihil semper.

What is this, Lucilius, that drags us in one direction when we are aiming in another, and drives us to the very place from which we desire to withdraw? What struggles with our mind, and does not allow us to will anything once and for all? We fluctuate between various plans. We will nothing freely, nothing absolutely, nothing always.

§52.2

"Stultitia," inquis, "est, cui² nihil constat, nihil diu placet." Sed quomodo nos aut quando ab illa revellemus? Nemo per se satis valet ut emergat; oportet manum aliquis porrigat, aliquis educat.

”It is folly,” you say, “to which nothing is constant, nothing pleases for long.” But how or when shall we tear ourselves away from it? No one is strong enough by himself to emerge; someone must stretch out a hand, someone must lead us out.

§52.3

Quosdam ait Epicurus ad veritatem sine ullius adiutorio exisse, fecisse sibi ipsos viam. Hos maxime laudat, quibus ex se impetus fuit, qui se ipsi protulerunt. Quosdam indigere ope aliena, non ituros, si nemo praecesserit, sed bene secuturos. Ex his Metrodorum ait esse; egregium hoc quoque, sed secundae sortis ingenium. Nos ex illa prima nota non sumus; bene nobiscum agitur, si in secundam recipimur. Ne hunc quidem contempseris hominem, qui alieno beneficio esse salvus potest; et hoc multum est, velle servari.

Epicurus says that some have gone out to the truth without any man’s help, having made a way for themselves. These he praises most, who had the impulse from within themselves, who brought themselves forward. Others, he says, need help from without, and will not go unless someone goes before, but will follow well. Of these he says Metrodorus was one; this too is an excellent character, but of the second class. We are not of that first stamp; it goes well with us if we are received into the second. Do not despise even this man, who can be saved by another’s benefit; even this is much, to want to be saved.

§52.4

Praeter haec adhuc invenies genus aliud hominum ne ipsum quidem fastidiendum eorum, qui cogi ad rectum conpellique possunt, quibus non duce tantum opus sit, sed adiutore et, ut ita dicam, coactore. Hic tertius color est. Si quaeris huius quoque exemplar, Hermarchum ait Epicurus talem fuisse. Itaque alteri magis gratulatur, alterum magis suspicit;³ quamvis enim ad eundem finem uterque pervenerit, tamen maior est laus idem effecisse in difficiliore materia.

Besides these you will still find another class of men, not to be despised either, of those who can be forced and compelled to the right, who need not only a leader but a helper and, so to speak, a compeller. This is the third type. If you ask for an example of this too, Epicurus says Hermarchus was such. Therefore he congratulates the one more, but admires the other more; for although both reached the same end, yet greater is the praise to have accomplished the same thing in more difficult material.

§52.5

Puta enim duo aedificia excitata esse, ab imo disparia, aeque excelsa atque magnifica. Alterum puram aream accepit; illic protinus opus crevit. Alterum fundamenta lassarunt⁴ in mollem et fluvidam humum missa multumque laboris exhaustum est, dum pervenitur ad solidum. Intuenti ambo quicquid fecit alter in aperto est, alterius magna pars et difficilior latet.

For imagine that two buildings have been erected, differing from the foundation, but equally lofty and magnificent. One received a clear plot; there the work immediately grew. The other exhausted the builders with foundations sunk into soft and shifting ground, and much labor was spent until solid ground was reached. To one looking at both, whatever the one did is in the open; of the other, a great and more difficult part lies hidden.

§52.6

Quaedam ingenia facilia, expedita, quaedam manu, quod aiunt, facienda sunt et in fundamentis suis occupata. Itaque illum ego feliciorem dixerim, qui nihil negotii secum habuit, hunc quidem melius de se meruisse,⁵ qui malignitatem naturae suae vicit et ad sapientiam se non perduxit, sed extraxit.

Some characters are easy and expeditious; some must be made “by hand,” as they say, and are occupied in their own foundations. Therefore I would call the former more fortunate, who had no trouble with himself, but the latter has indeed deserved better of himself, who conquered the malignancy of his nature and did not merely lead himself to wisdom, but dragged himself out to it.

§52.7

Hoc durum ac laboriosum ingenium nobis datum scias licet. Imus per obstantia. Itaque pugnemus, aliquorum invocemus auxilium. "Quem," inquis, "invocabo? Hunc aut illum? "Tu vero etiam ad priores revertere, qui vacant; adiuvare nos possunt non tantum qui sunt, sed qui fuerunt.

You may know that this hard and laborious character has been given to us. We go through obstacles. Therefore let us fight, let us invoke the aid of some. “Whom,” you say, “shall I invoke? This man or that?” Nay, return even to the men of former times, who have leisure; not only those who are, but those who have been, can help us.

Syntax notes5 items

52.1semel velle
The adverb semel (once, once for all) here implies consistency of will, i.e., 'to hold a decision firmly once made,' in contrast to the unstable, ever-shifting desires of daily life.
52.2cui
The dative singular of the relative pronoun, cui, refers to stultitia (folly) as its antecedent, functioning as a dative of possession or reference ('to which nothing is constant...').
52.4alteri magis gratulatur, alterum magis suspicit
The dative alteri refers to the second class (Metrodorus), while the accusative alterum refers to the third class (Hermarchus), who had more difficult material. It contrasts 'congratulating' those with easier paths and 'admiring' those who overcame more difficult raw material.
52.5fundamenta lassarunt
The verb lassarunt (a syncopated form of lassaverunt) is the perfect of the transitive lassare (to exhaust). The subject is the plural 'foundations' (fundamenta), which metaphorically 'exhausted' the implicit object (the builders or workmen).
52.6melius de se meruisse
An idiomatic expression based on bene/melius mereri de... (to deserve well of / render service to). Combined with the reflexive pronoun se, it means 'to have deserved better of oneself,' indicating that the person has achieved a more praiseworthy victory over their own nature.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-25) · Revision history (1, latest 2026-09-21)

2026-09-21 AI review — note 1

urn:cts:latinLit:phi1017.phi015.humanitext-lat2:52.1-52.7