§118.1Exigis a me frequentiores epistulas.
You demand more frequent letters from me.
Rationes conferamus; solvendo non eris.
Let us compare accounts; you will not be solvent.
Convenerat quidem, ut tua priora essent, tu scriberes, ego rescriberem.
To be sure, it had been agreed that yours should come first, that you should write and I should reply.
Sed non ero difficilis; bene credi tibi scio.
But I will not be difficult; I know that credit is safely given to you.
Itaque in anticessum dabo nec faciam, quod Cicero, vir disertissimus, facere Atticum iubet, ut etiam "si rem nullam habebit, quod in buccam venerit, scribat. " §118.2Numquam potest deesse, quod scribam, ut omnia illa, quae Ciceronis implent epistulas, transeam: quis candidatus laboret; quis alienis, quis suis viribus pugnet; quis consulatum fiducia Caesaris, quis Pompei, quis arcae petat; quam durus sit faenerator Caecilius, a quo minoris centesimis propinqui nummum movere non possint.
Therefore, I shall pay in advance and shall not do what Cicero, that most eloquent of men, orders Atticus to do: namely, that even "if he has nothing to write about, he should write whatever comes into his head." There can never be a lack of things for me to write, even though I pass over all those things which fill Cicero's letters: which candidate is in difficulties; who fights with someone else's strength, who with his own; who seeks the consulship relying on Caesar, who on Pompey, who on his own strongbox; how harsh the usurer Caecilius is, from whom his own relatives cannot borrow a penny at less than one percent.
Sua satius est mala quam aliena tractare, se excutere et videre, quam multarum rerum candidatus sit, et non suffragari.
It is better to treat one's own evils than those of others, to examine oneself and see of how many things one is a candidate, and not to vote.
§118.3Hoc est, mi Lucili, egregium, hoc securum ac liberum, nihil petere et tota fortunae comitia transire.
This, my Lucilius, is excellent, this is secure and free: to seek nothing and to pass by all the elections of fortune.
Quam putas esse iucundum tribubus vocatis, eum candidati in templis suis pendeant et alius nummos pronuntiet, alius per sequestrem agat, alius eorum manus osculis conterat, quibus designatus contingendam manum negaturus est, omnes attoniti vocem praeconis exspectent, stare otiosum et spectare illas nundinas nec ementem quicquam nec vendentem?
How pleasant do you think it is, when the tribes have been called, while the candidates hang in suspense in their temples, and one promises money, another acts through an intermediary, and another wears away with kisses the hands of those to whom, once designated, he will refuse his hand to be touched, and everyone anxiously awaits the voice of the herald, to stand idle and watch that market, buying nothing and selling nothing?
§118.4Quanto hic maiore gaudio fruitur, qui non praetoria aut consularia comitia securus intuetur, sed magna illa, in quibus alii honores anniversarios petunt, alii perpetuas potestates, alii bellorum eventus prosperos triumphosque, alii divitias, alii matrimonia ac liberos, alii salutem suam suorumque! Quanti animi res est solum nihil petere, nulli supplicare, et dicere: "Nihil mihi tecum, fortuna.
How much greater joy does he enjoy, who calmly looks not upon the praetorian or consular elections, but upon those great elections, in which some seek annual honors, others perpetual powers, some prosperous outcomes of wars and triumphs, others riches, some marriages and children, others their own safety and that of their family! What a great mind it takes to be the only one to seek nothing, to supplicate no one, and to say: "I have nothing to do with you, Fortune.
Non facio mei tibi copiam.
I do not make myself available to you.
Scio apud te Catones repelli, Vatinios fieri.
I know that in your court Catos are rejected, and Vatiniuses are made.
Nihil rogo. "Hoc est privatam facere fortunam.
I ask for nothing." This is to make fortune one's own private affair.
§118.5Licet ergo haec in vicem scribere et hanc semper integram egerere materiam circumspicientibus tot milia hominum inquieta, qui ut aliquid pestiferi consequantur, per mala nituntur in malum petuntque mox fugienda aut etiam fastidienda.
Therefore we may write these things to each other and always draw from this inexhaustible material, looking around at so many thousands of restless men, who, in order to attain something harmful, strive through evils towards evil, and seek what must soon be fled from or even loathed.
§118.6Cui enim adsecuto satis fuit, quod optanti nimium videbatur? Non est, ut existimant homines, avida felicitas, sed pusilla; itaque neminem satiat.
For to whom, once he has attained it, was that sufficient which seemed too much when he was wishing for it? Good fortune is not, as men think, greedy, but rather petty; therefore it satisfies no one.
Tu ista credis excelsa, quia longe ab illis iaces; ei vero, qui ad illa pervenit, humilia sunt.
You believe those things to be lofty, because you lie far away from them; but to him who has reached them, they are low.
Mentior, nisi adhuc quaerit escendere; istud, quod tu summum putas, gradus est.
I am a liar if he does not still seek to ascend; that which you think is the summit is but a step.
§118.7Omnes autem male habet ignorantia veri; tamquam ad bona feruntur decepti rumoribus, deinde mala esse aut inania aut minora quam speraverint, adepti ac multa passi vident.
But the ignorance of the truth afflicts all; deceived by rumors, they are carried towards things as if they were goods, then, having attained them and suffered much, they see that they are evils, or empty, or smaller than they had hoped.
Maiorque pars miratur ex intervallo fallentia, et vulgo bona pro magnis sunt.
And the greater part marvels at things that deceive from a distance, and to the crowd, goods are taken for great things.
§118.8Hoc ne nobis quoque eveniat, quaeramus, quid sit bonum, varia eius interpretatio fuit, alius illud aliter expressit.
Lest this should happen to us as well, let us seek what the good is. Its interpretation has been various; one has expressed it in one way, another in another.
Quidam ita finiunt: "bonum est quod invitat animos, quod ad se vocat. "Huic statim opponitur: quid, si invitat quidem, sed in perniciem? Scis, quam multa mala blanda sint.
Some define it thus: "The good is that which invites minds, which calls them to itself." To this it is immediately objected: what if it invites indeed, but to destruction? You know how many evils are alluring.
verum et veri simile inter se differunt; ita quod bonum est, vero iungitur; non est enim bonum nisi verum est.
The true and the truth-like differ from each other; thus what is good is joined with the true; for it is not a good unless it is true.
At quod invitat ad se et adlicefacit, veri simile est; subripit, sollicitat, adtrahit.
But that which invites to itself and allures is truth-like; it creeps in, it solicits, it attracts.