§55.1A gestatione cum maxime venio non minus fatigatus, quam si tantum ambulassem, quantum sedi.
I have just returned from a ride, no less tired than if I had walked as far as I sat.
Labor est enim et diu ferri, ac nescio an eo maior, quia contra naturam est, quae pedes dedit, ut per nos ambularemus, oculos, ut per nos videremus.
For it is also a labor to be carried for a long time, and I suspect it is all the greater because it is contrary to nature, which gave us feet so that we might walk by ourselves, and eyes so that we might see by ourselves.
Debilitatem nobis indixere deliciae, et quod diu noluimus, posse desîmus.
Luxury has imposed weakness upon us, and what we have long been unwilling to do, we cease to be able to do.
§55.2Mihi tamen necessarium erat concutere corpus, ut sive bilis insederat faucibus, discuteretur, sive ipse ex aliqua causa spiritus densior erat, extenuaret illum iactatio, quam profuisse mihi sensi.
Yet it was necessary for me to shake up my body, so that if bile had settled in my throat, it might be dispersed, or if for some reason my breath itself was too thick, the tossing might thin it out, which I felt was beneficial to me.
Ideo diutius vehi perseveravi invitante ipso litore, quod inter Cumas et Servili Vatiae villam curvatur et hinc mari, illinc lacu velut angustum iter cluditur.
For this reason, I persevered in riding longer, as the shore itself invited me, which curves between Cumae and the villa of Servilius Vatia, and is shut in like a narrow path by the sea on one side and the lake on the other.
Erat enim a recenti tempestate spissum.
For it was packed firm from a recent storm.
Fluctus autem illud, ut scis, frequens et concitatus exaequat, longior tranquillitas solvit, cum harenis, quae umore alligantur, sucus abscessit.
On the other hand, as you know, frequent and violent waves level it, while a longer calm loosens it when the moisture, which binds the sands together, has departed.
§55.3Ex consuetudine tamen mea circumspicere coepi, an aliquid illic invenirem, quod mihi posset bono esse, et derexi oculos in villam, quae aliquando Vatiae fuit.
However, according to my habit, I began to look around to see if I could find anything there that might be of benefit to me, and I turned my eyes toward the villa which once belonged to Vatia.
In hac ille praetorius dives, nulla alia re quam otio notus, consenuit et ob hoc unum felix habebatur.
In this villa, that wealthy former praetor, known for nothing other than his leisure, grew old and was considered happy for this single reason.
Nam quotiens aliquos amicitiae Asinii Galli, quotiens Seiani odium, deinde amor merserat, aeque enim offendisse illum quam amasse periculosum fuit, exclamabant homines: "O Vatia, solus scis vivere. " §55.4At ille latere sciebat, non vivere.
For as often as the friendship of Asinius Gallus, or as often as the hatred of Sejanus, and later his love, had ruined some—for it was equally dangerous to have offended him as to have loved him—people would exclaim: "O Vatia, you alone know how to live!" But he knew how to hide, not how to live.
Multum autem interest, utrum vita tua otiosa sit an ignava.
Yet there is a great difference between whether your life is leisurely or lazy.
Numquam aliter hanc villam Vatia vivo praeteribam, quam ut dicerem: "Vatia hic situs est. "
Sed adeo, mi Lucili, philosophia sacrum quiddam est et venerabile, ut etiam, si quid illi simile est, mendacio placeat.
I never used to pass this villa while Vatia was alive without saying, "Vatia lies buried here." But to such an extent, my Lucilius, is philosophy something sacred and venerable, that even if something is similar to it, it pleases by a false pretense.
Otiosum enim hominem seductum existimat vulgus et securum et se contentum, sibi viventem, quorum nihil ulli contingere nisi sapienti potest.
For the crowd thinks that a man who is leisurely, withdrawn, secure, self-content, and living for himself is "at leisure," none of which can happen to anyone except the wise man.
§55.5Ille sollicitus scit sibi vivere? Ille enim, quod est primum, scit vivere? Nam qui res et homines fugit, quem cupiditatum suarum infelicitas relegavit, qui alios feliciores videre non potuit, qui velut timidum atque iners animal metu oblituit, ille sibi non vivit, sed, quod est turpissimum, ventri, somno, libidini.
Does that anxious man know how to live for himself? Indeed, does he know how to live at all, which is the first thing? For he who flees from affairs and men, whom the misfortune of his desires has banished, who could not bear to see others more successful, who has hidden out of fear like a timid and sluggish animal, does not live for himself, but—what is most shameful—for his belly, sleep, and lust.
Non continuo sibi vivit, qui nemini.
A man does not immediately live for himself just because he lives for no one.
Adeo tamen magna res est constantia et in proposito suo perseverantia, ut habeat auctoritatem inertia quoque pertinax.
Yet consistency and perseverance in one's purpose are so great a thing that even persistent inertia possesses a certain authority.
§55.6De ipsa villa nihil tibi possum certi scribere.
About the villa itself, I can write nothing certain to you.
Frontem enim eius tantum novi et exposita, quae ostendit etiam transeuntibus.
For I know only its front and exposed parts, which it shows even to passers-by.
Speluncae sunt duae magni operis, cuivis laxo atrio pares, manu factae, quarum altera solem non recipit, altera usque in occidentem tenet.
There are two hand-made caves of great workmanship, equal to any spacious atrium, one of which does not receive the sun, while the other keeps it until sunset.
Platanona medius rivus et a mari et ab Acherusio lacu receptus euripi modo dividit, alendis piscibus, etiam si adsidue exhauriatur, sufficiens.
A stream, drawn from both the sea and the Acherusian lake, divides a plantation of plane trees in the middle like a canal, sufficient for feeding fish even if it is constantly drained.
Sed illi, cum mare patet, parcitur; cum tempestas piscatoribus dedit ferias, manus ad parata porrigitur, Hoc tamen est commodissimum in villa, quod Baias trans parietem habet; incommodis illarum caret, voluptatibus fruitur.
But when the sea is open, that supply is spared; when a storm has given holidays to the fishermen, a hand is stretched out to what is prepared. However, this is most convenient about the villa, that it has Baiae across the wall; it lacks its inconveniences and enjoys its pleasures.
§55.7Has laudes eius ipse novi; esse illam totius anni credo.
I myself know these praises of it; I believe it is a place for the whole year.
Occurrit enim favonio et illum adeo excipit, ut Bais neget.
For it faces the west wind and receives it so fully that it denies it to Baiae.
Non stulte videtur elegisse hunc locum Vatia, in quem otium suum pigrum iam et senile conferret.
Vatia seems to have chosen this place not foolishly, in which to spend his sluggish and already senile leisure.
§55.8Sed non multum ad tranquillitatem locus confert; animus est, qui sibi commendet omnia.
But a place does not contribute much to peace of mind; it is the mind that commends everything to itself.
Vidi ego in villa hilari et amoena maestos, vidi in media solitudine occupatis similes.
I myself have seen gloomy people in a cheerful and pleasant villa, and I have seen those who look busy in the midst of complete solitude.
Quare non est quod existimes ideo parum bene conpositum esse te, quod in Campania non es.
Therefore, there is no reason for you to think that you are not well-composed because you are not in Campania.
Quare autem non es? Huc usque cogitationes tuas mitte.
But why are you not there? Send your thoughts all the way here.
§55.9Conversari cum amicis absentibus licet, et quidem quotiens velis, quamdiu velis.
It is permitted to converse with absent friends, and indeed as often as you wish, and for as long as you wish.
Magis hac voluptate, quae maxima est, fruimur, dum absumus.
We enjoy this pleasure, which is the greatest, more while we are away.
Praesentia enim nos delicatos facit, et quia aliquando una loquimur, ambulamus, consedimus, cum diducti sumus, nihil de is, quos modo vidimus, cogitamus.
For presence makes us fastidious, and because we sometimes talk, walk, and sit together, when we are parted, we think nothing of those whom we have just seen.
§55.10Et ideo aequo animo ferre debemus absentiam, quia nemo non multum etiam praesentibus abest.
And therefore we ought to bear absence with a calm mind, because no one is not far away even from those who are present.
Pone hic primum noctes separatas, deinde occupationes utrique diversas, deinde studia secreta, suburbanas profectiones; videbis non multum esse, quod nobis peregrinatio eripiat.
Place here first the separate nights, then the diverse occupations of each, then secret studies, and suburban excursions; you will see that travel does not snatch much away from us.
§55.11Amicus animo possidendus est; hic autem numquam abest.
A friend must be possessed by the mind; and the mind is never absent.
Quemcumque vult, cotidie videt.
It sees whomsoever it wishes every day.
Itaque mecum stude, mecum cena, mecum ambula.
Therefore, study with me, dine with me, walk with me.
In angusto vivebamus, si quicquam esset cogitationibus clusum.
We would live in a narrow space if anything were closed to our thoughts.
Video te, mi Lucili; cum maxime audio.
I see you, my Lucilius; I hear you at this very moment.
Adeo tecum sum, ut dubitem, an incipiam non epistulas, sed codicellos tibi scribere.
I am so much with you that I wonder whether I should begin to write you not letters, but short notes.
VALE.
FAREWELL.