- 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-lat2:64.1-64.10
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-04
Seneca discusses his spiritual bond with Lucilius and praises the soul-stirring power of the writings of the philosopher Sextius, which he read the previous day. He emphasizes the importance of respecting and building upon the philosophical heritage of past sages while adapting it to current times, expressing his deep reverence for them.
Fuisti here nobiscum. Potes queri, si here tantum.1 Ideo adieci "nobiscum." Mecum enim semper es. Intervenerant quidam amici, propter quos maior fumus fieret, non hic, qui erumpere ex lautorum culinis et terrere vigiles solet, sed hic modicus, qui hospites venisse significet.
You were with us yesterday. You can complain, if only yesterday. That is why I added “with us.” For you are always with me. Some friends had dropped in, on whose account a larger smoke would rise—not that smoke which is accustomed to burst from the kitchens of the luxurious and terrify the watchmen, but this moderate one, which indicates that guests have arrived.
Varius nobis fuit sermo, ut in convivio, nullam rem usque ad exitum adducens, sed aliunde alio transiliens. Lectus est deinde liber Quinti Sextii patris, magni, si quid mihi credis, viri et, licet neget,2 Stoici.
Our conversation was varied, as is typical at a banquet, bringing no subject to a conclusion, but leaping from one topic to another. Then a book of Quintus Sextius the father was read, a great man, if you believe me at all, and, although he may deny it, a Stoic.
Quantus in illo, di boni, vigor est, quantum animi! Hoc non in omnibus philosophis invenies; quorundam scripta clarum habentium nomen3 exanguia sunt. Instituunt, disputant, cavillantur, non faciunt animum, quia non habent; cum legeris Sextium, dices: "Vivit, viget, liber est, supra hominem est, dimittit me plenum ingentis fiduciae."
What vigor there is in him, good gods, what spirit! This you will not find in all philosophers; the writings of some who have a famous name are bloodless. They instruct, they dispute, they cavil, they do not create spirit, because they do not have it; when you read Sextius, you will say: “He lives, he is vigorous, he is free, he is above man, he dismisses me full of immense confidence.”
In qua positione mentis sim, cum hunc lego, fatebor tibi: libet omnis casus provocare, libet exclamare: "Quid cessas, fortuna? Congredere; paratum vides." Illius animum induo, qui quaerit, ubi se experiatur, ubi virtutem suam ostendat, Spumantemque dari pecora inter inertia votis4 Optat aprum aut fulvum descendere monte leonem.
In what state of mind I am when I read him, I will confess to you: I want to challenge every fortune, I want to exclaim: “Why do you delay, Fortune? Step forward; you see me ready.” I put on the mind of him who seeks where he may test himself, where he may display his virtue, and “wishes that among the sluggish herds a foaming boar might be granted to his prayers, or a tawny lion descend from the mountain.”
Libet aliquid habere quod vincam, cuius patientia exercear. Nam hoc quoque egregium Sextius habet, quod et ostendet tibi beatae vitae magnitudinem et desperationem eius non faciet; scies esse illam in excelso, sed volenti penetrabilem.
I want to have something to conquer, through the endurance of which I may be exercised. For Sextius has this excellent quality too, that he will both show you the greatness of the happy life and yet not make you despair of it; you will know that it is on a high place, but accessible to one who wills.
Hoc idem virtus tibi ipsa praestabit, ut illam admireris et, tamen speres. Mihi certe multum auferre temporis solet contemplatio ipsa sapientiae; non aliter illam intueor obstupefactus quam ipsum interim mundum, quem saepe tamquam spectator novus video.
Virtue itself will perform this same service for you, so that you admire it and yet hope for it. For my part, the contemplation of wisdom itself is accustomed to take up much of my time; I look upon it in amazement, in no other way than I sometimes look upon this universe itself, which I often view as if I were a new spectator.
Veneror itaque inventa sapientiae inventoresque; adire tamquam multorum hereditatem iuvat. Mihi ista adquisita, mihi laborata sunt. Sed agamus bonum patrem familiae; faciamus ampliora, quae accepimus. Maior ista hereditas a me ad posteros transeat. Multum adhuc restat operis multumque restabit, nec ulli nato post mille saecula praecludetur occasio aliquid adhuc adiciendi.
And so I revere the discoveries of wisdom and their discoverers; it is a pleasure to enter upon them as if they were the inheritance of many. For me those things were acquired, for me they were labored for. But let us act like a good father of a family; let us make larger what we have received. Let this heritage pass from me to posterity increased. Much work remains and much will remain, nor will any person born after a thousand ages be shut out from the opportunity of adding something further.
Sed etiam si omnia a veteribus inventa sunt, hoc semper novum erit, usus et inventorum ab aliis scientia ac dispositio. Puta relicta nobis medicamenta, quibus sanarentur oculi; non opus est mihi alia quaerere, sed haec tamen morbis et temporibus aptanda sunt. Hoc asperitas oculorum conlevatur; hoc palpebrarum crassitudo tenuatur; hoc vis subita et umor avertitur; hoc acuetur visus; teras ista oportet et eligas tempus, adhibeas singulis modum. Animi remedia inventa sunt ab antiquis; quomodo autem admoveantur aut quando, nostri operis est quaerere.5
But even if all things have been discovered by the ancients, this will always be new: the use, and the knowledge and arrangement of what has been discovered by others. Suppose that remedies have been left to us, by which our eyes might be healed; I do not need to seek others, yet these must be adapted to the diseases and the occasions. By this one the irritation of the eyes is relieved; by this one the thickness of the eyelids is thinned; by this one sudden attack and discharge is averted; by this one the vision will be sharpened. You must rub those remedies, and choose the right time, and apply the proper measure to each. The remedies of the mind have been found by the ancients; but how they should be applied, or when, is our task to inquire.
Multum egerunt, qui ante nos fuerunt, sed non peregerunt. Suspiciendi tamen sunt et ritu deorum colendi. Quidni ego magnorum virorum et imagines habeam incitamenta animi et natales celebrem? Quidni ego illos honoris causa semper appellem? Quam venerationem praeceptoribus meis debeo, eandem illis praeceptoribus generis humani, a quibus tanti boni initia fluxerunt.
Those who were before us did much, but they did not finish the work. Yet they are to be looked up to and worshipped in the manner of gods. Why should I not have the images of great men as incentives for my spirit and celebrate their birthdays? Why should I not always name them for the sake of honor? The same veneration that I owe to my own teachers, I owe to those teachers of the human race, from whom the beginnings of so great a good have flowed.
Si consulem videro aut praetorem, omnia, quibus honor haberi honori solet, faciam; equo desiliam, caput adaperiam, semita cedam. Quid ergo? Marcum Catonem utrumque et Laelium Sapientem et Socraten cum Platone et Zenonem Cleanthenque in animum meum sine dignatione summa recipiam? Ego vero illos veneror et tantis nominibus semper adsurgo. VALE.
If I see a consul or a praetor, I shall do all those things by which honor is customarily shown to office: I shall leap down from my horse, uncover my head, and give way from the path. What then? Shall I receive into my mind both Marcus Catos, and Laelius the Wise, and Socrates with Plato, and Zeno and Cleanthes, without the highest reverence? Indeed, I venerate them and always rise to such great names. FAREWELL.
- 64.1Potes queri, si here tantum.
The verb fuerim or fueris is understood after here. It means 'You can complain, if [you were with us / I was with you] only yesterday,' referring back to the physical presence mentioned in the previous sentence Fuisti here nobiscum.
- 64.2licet neget
licet with the present subjunctive (neget) forms a concessive clause meaning 'although he may deny it.' It indicates that although Sextius himself might reject the label, he is in fact a Stoic.
- 64.3quorundam scripta clarum habentium nomen
The present participle phrase clarum habentium nomen modifies the genitive plural quorundam (of some [philosophers]). The phrase means 'the writings of certain men who have a famous name,' where scripta is the subject and exanguia sunt is the predicate.
- 64.4Spumantemque dari pecora inter inertia votis
A quotation from Vergil's Aeneid (4.158). The accusative subject of the passive infinitive dari is aprum (and leonem in the next line), forming an accusative and infinitive construction dependent on optat ('he prays that a foaming boar be granted...').
- 64.8nostri operis est quaerere
nostri operis (of our work/task) is a genitive of characteristic or duty used with the copula est and the infinitive quaerere ('to seek is a part of our task' or 'it is our duty to inquire').