- 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-lat2:69.1-69.6
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-11-05
Seneca advises Lucilius to stop changing locations and to remain in one place to allow his leisure and spiritual healing to take root, while encouraging him to resist the rewards of vice and prepare to welcome death.
Mutare te loca et aliunde alio transilire nolo; primum, quia tam frequens migratio instabilis animi est.1 Coalescere otio non potest, nisi desit circumspicere et errare. Ut animum possis continere, primum corporis tui fugam siste.
I do not wish you to change your location and to leap from one place to another; first, because such frequent migration is a sign of an unstable mind. One cannot settle down in leisure unless one ceases to look around and wander. In order that you may be able to control your mind, first stop the flight of your body.
Deinde plurimum remedia continuata proficiunt. Interrumpenda non est quies et vitae prioris oblivio. Sine dediscere oculos tuos,2 sine aures adsuescere sanioribus verbis. Quotiens processeris, in ipso transitu aliqua, quae renovent cupiditates tuas, tibi occurrent.
Secondly, continuous remedies are of the greatest benefit. Quiet and the forgetfulness of your former life must not be interrupted. Allow your eyes to unlearn, and allow your ears to get used to sounder words. As often as you go out, on the very journey things will meet you that will renew your desires.
Quemadmodum ei, qui amorem exuere conatur, evitanda est omnis admonitio dilecti corporis, nihil enim facilius quam amor recrudescit, ita qui deponere vult desideria rerum omnium, quarum cupiditate flagravit, et oculos et aures ab iis, quae reliquit, avertat. Cito rebellat adfectus.
Just as he who endeavors to rid himself of love must avoid every reminder of the beloved body—for nothing flares up again more easily than love—so he who wishes to put aside his desires for all the things for which he burned with passion should turn away both his eyes and his ears from what he has left behind. Passion quickly rebels.
Quocumque se verterit, pretium aliquod praesens occupationis suae aspiciet. Nullum sine auctoramento3 malum est. Avaritia pecuniam promittit, luxuria multas ac varias voluptates, ambitio purpuram et plausum et ex hoc potentiam et quicquid potest potentia. Mercede te vitia sollicitant; hic tibi gratis vivendum est.
Wherever he turns, he will see some present reward for his occupation. No evil is without its hire. Avarice promises money, luxury many and various pleasures, ambition the purple and applause, and from this, power and whatever power can do. The vices entice you with a reward; here you must live for nothing.
Vix effici toto saeculo potest, ut vitia tam longa licentia tumida subigantur et iugum accipiant, nedum, si tam breve tempus intervallis caedimus. Unam quamlibet rem vix ad perfectum perducit adsidua vigilia et intentio.
It can scarcely be brought about in a whole lifetime that vices, swollen by such long license, are subdued and accept the yoke, let alone if we cut up so short a time with interruptions. Constant watchfulness and concentration can scarcely bring any single thing to perfection.
Si me quidem velis audire, hoc meditare et exerce, ut mortem et excipias et, si ita res suadebit, accersas. Interest nihil, illa ad nos veniat an ad illam nos. Illud imperitissimi cuiusque verbum falsum esse tibi ipse persuade: "Bella res est mori sua morte.4" Nemo moritur nisi sua morte. Illud praeterea tecum licet cogites: nemo nisi suo die moritur. Nihil perdis ex tuo tempore; nam quod relinquis, alienum est VALE.
If you indeed wish to listen to me, meditate on this and practice it: to welcome death and, if circumstances so advise, to summon it. It makes no difference whether it comes to us or we go to it. Persuade yourself that that saying of the most ignorant is false: “It is a beautiful thing to die one’s own death.” No one dies except by his own death. Besides, you may reflect on this: no one dies except on his own day. You lose nothing of your own time; for what you leave behind belongs to another. FAREWELL.
- 69.1instabilis animi est
A genitive of characteristic (or description), meaning "is characteristic of an unstable mind" or "is a sign of an unstable mind."
- 69.2Sine dediscere oculos tuos
The imperative of sino (to allow/let), followed by the accusative and infinitive construction where 'oculos tuos' is the subject of the infinitive 'dediscere' (to unlearn/forget). It means allowing one's eyes to become unaccustomed to former sights.
- 69.4auctoramento
Originally referring to the enlistment money or contract-sum paid to a gladiator. Here it is used metaphorically for the "reward" or "inducement" that every vice offers to entice a person.
- 69.6sua morte
In contrast to the popular expression "one's own death" (meaning a natural death in old age), Seneca plays on the philosophical paradox that everyone dies only by their own death (the death allotted to them). Therefore, the common saying that "it is a fine thing to die one's own death" is asserted to be fundamentally false (falsum).