§105.1Quae observanda tibi sint, ut tutior vivas, dicam.
I shall tell you what things must be observed by you, so that you may live more safely.
Tu tamen sic audias censeo ista praecepta, quomodo si tibi praeciperem, qua ratione bonam valitudinem in Ardeatino tuereris.
However, I think you should hear these precepts in the same way as if I were prescribing to you how you should maintain good health in your Ardean estate.
Considera, quae sint, quae hominem in perniciem hominis instigent: invenies spem, invidiam, odium, metum, contemptum.
Consider what things they are that instigate a man to the destruction of a man: you will find hope, envy, hatred, fear, and contempt.
§105.2Ex omnibus istis adeo levissimum est contemptus, ut multi in illo remedii causa delituerint.
Out of all these, contempt is so very light that many have hidden themselves in it for the sake of a remedy.
Quem quis contemnit, violat sine dubio, sed transit; nemo homini contempto pertinaciter, nemo diligenter nocet.
He whom one despises, one undoubtedly violates, but passes by; no one harms a despised man persistently, no one diligently.
Etiam in acie iacens praeteritur, cum stante pugnatur.
Even in the battle-line, he who lies down is passed over, while the fight is with him who stands.
§105.3Spem inproborum vitabis, si nihil habueris, quod cupiditatem alienam et inprobam inritet, si nihil insigne possederis.
You will avoid the hope of the wicked if you have nothing that irritates another's wicked desire, if you possess nothing remarkable.
Concupiscuntur enim etiam parva, si notabilia sunt, si rara.
For even small things are coveted, if they are notable, if they are rare.
Invidiam effugies, si te non ingesseris oculis, si bona tua non iacta veris, si scieris in sinu gaudere.
You will escape envy if you do not thrust yourself into people's eyes, if you do not boast of your goods, if you know how to rejoice in your bosom.
§105.4Odium aut est ex offensa: hoc vitabis neminem lacessendo; aut gratuitum: a quo te sensus communis tuebitur.
Hatred is either from offense—this you will avoid by provoking no one—or gratuitous, from which common sense will protect you.
Fuit hoc multis periculosum; quidam odium habuerunt nec inimicum.
This has been dangerous to many; some have had hatred without even an enemy.
Illud, ne timearis, praestabit tibi et fortunae mediocritas et ingenii lenitas; eum esse te homines sciant, quem offendere sine periculo possint; reconciliatio tua et facilis sit et certa.
That you are not feared, this will be guaranteed to you both by the mediocrity of your fortune and the mildness of your disposition; let men know that you are such a person whom they can offend without danger; let your reconciliation be both easy and sure.
Timeri autem tam domi molestum est quam foris, tam a servis quam a liberis.
But to be feared is as troublesome at home as abroad, as much by slaves as by free men.
Nulli non ad nocendum satis virium est.
There is no one who does not have enough strength to do harm.
Adice nunc, quod qui timetur, timet; nemo potuit terribilis esse secure.
Add now to this, that he who is feared, fears; no one could be terrible and secure at the same time.
§105.5Contemptus superest, cuius modum in sua potestate habet, qui illum sibi adiunxit, qui contemnitur quia voluit, non quia debuit.
Contempt remains, the control of which is in the power of him who has attached it to himself, who is despised because he wished to be, not because he deserved to be.
Huius incommodum et artes bonae discutiunt et amicitiae eorum, qui apud aliquem potentem potentes sunt, quibus adplicari expediet, non inplicari, ne pluris remedium quam periculum constet.
The inconvenience of this is dispelled both by good arts and by the friendships of those who are powerful with some powerful person, to whom it will be expedient to attach oneself, not to entangle oneself, lest the remedy cost more than the danger.
§105.6Nihil tamen aeque proderit quam quiescere et minimum cum aliis loqui, plurimum secum.
Yet nothing will be of equal benefit as to keep quiet and talk very little with others, and very much with oneself.
Est quaedam dulcedo sermonis, quae inrepit et eblanditur et non aliter quam ebrietas aut amor secreta producit.
There is a certain sweetness of conversation that creeps in and flatters, and, no differently than drunkenness or love, draws out secrets.
Nemo quod audierit, tacebit.
No one will keep silent about what he has heard.
Nemo quantum audierit, loquetur.
No one will speak only as much as he has heard.
Qui rem non tacuerit, non tacebit auctorem.
He who has not kept the matter silent will not keep the author silent.
Habet unusquisque aliquem, cui tantum credat, quantum ipsi creditum est.
Everyone has someone whom he trusts as much as he himself was trusted.
Ut garrulitatem suam custodiat et contentus sit unius auribus, populum faciet, si quod modo secretum erat, rumor est.
Even though he guards his talkativeness and is content with the ears of one person, he will create a crowd, if what was just now a secret is a rumor.
§105.7Securitatis magna portio est nihil inique facere.
A great portion of security is to do nothing unjustly.
Confusam vitam et perturbatam inpotentes agunt; tantum metuunt, quantum nocent, nec ullo tempore vacant.
Those lacking self-control lead a confused and troubled life; they fear as much as they do harm, and are never at leisure.
Trepidant enim, cum fecerunt, haerent; conscientia aliud agere non patitur ac subinde respondere ad se cogit.
For they tremble when they have done it, and hesitate; conscience does not allow them to do anything else and constantly forces them to answer to themselves.
Dat poenas quisquis expectat; quisquis autem meruit, expectat.
Whoever expects punishment pays the penalty; and whoever has deserved it, expects it.
§105.8Tutum aliqua res in mala conscientia praestat, nulla securum; putat enim se, etiam si non deprenditur, posse deprendi.
In a bad conscience, some circumstance may guarantee safety, but nothing guarantees security; for a person thinks that, even if he is not caught, he can be caught.
Et inter somnos movetur et, quotiens alicuius scelus loquitur, de suo cogitat; non satis illi obliteratum videtur, non satis tectum.
Even during sleep he is troubled, and as often as he speaks of someone else's crime, he thinks of his own; it does not seem to him sufficiently effaced, not sufficiently covered.
Nocens habuit aliquando latendi fortunam, numquam fiduciam.
The guilty man has sometimes had the fortune of hiding, but never the security.
VALE.
FAREWELL.