Sen. 16.1Possum persequī permulta oblectāmenta rērum rūsticārum, sed ea ipsa quae dīxī sentiō fuisse longiōra.I could go through very many delights of country life, but I feel that even what I have said has been rather long. Sen. 16.1Ignōscētis autem, nam et studiō rērum rūsticārum prōvectus sum, et senectūs est nātūrā loquācior, nē ab omnibus eam vitiīs videar vindicāre.But you will forgive me, for I have been carried away by my love of country life, and old age is by nature rather talkative — so that I may not seem to clear it of every fault. Sen. 16.1Ergō in hāc vītā M'. Curius, cum dē Samnītibus, dē Sabīnīs, dē Pyrrhō triumphāvisset, cōnsūmpsit extrēmum tempus aetātis;Well then, it was in this life that Manius Curius, after he had triumphed over the Samnites, over the Sabines, over Pyrrhus, spent the last period of his life; Sen. 16.1cuius quidem ego vīllam contemplāns, abest enim nōn longē ā mē, admīrārī satis nōn possum vel hominis ipsīus continentiam vel temporum disciplīnam.and when I gaze at his country house — for it is not far from mine — I cannot sufficiently admire either the self-restraint of the man himself or the discipline of the times.
Sen. 16.56Curiō ad focum sedentī magnum aurī pondus Samnītēs cum attulissent, repudiātī sunt;When the Samnites had brought a great weight of gold to Curius as he sat by his hearth, they were rejected; Sen. 16.56nōn enim aurum habēre praeclārum sibi vidērī dīxit, sed eīs quī habērent aurum imperāre.for he said that to have gold did not seem glorious to him, but to rule those who had gold. Sen. 16.56Poteratne tantus animus efficere nōn iūcundam senectūtem?Could so great a spirit fail to make old age pleasant? Sen. 16.56Sed veniō ad agricolās, nē ā mē ipsō recēdam.But I return to the farmers, so as not to stray from my own subject. Sen. 16.56In agrīs erant tum senātōrēs, id est senēs—sī quidem arantī L. Quīnctiō Cincinnātō nūntiātum est eum dictātōrem esse factum, cuius dictātōris iussū magister equitum C. Servīlius Ahāla Sp. Maelium regnum appetentem occupātum interēmit.In those days senators, that is, 'old men', lived in the country — if indeed it was while he was ploughing that Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus was told that he had been made dictator, by whose order as dictator Gaius Servilius Ahala, master of the horse, caught and killed Spurius Maelius as he aimed at kingship.
Sen. 16.56Ā vīllā in senātum arcessēbātur et Curius et cēterī senēs, ex quō quī eōs arcessēbant viātōrēs nōminātī sunt.Curius and the other old men used to be summoned from their country houses to the senate, and from this those who summoned them were named 'wayfarers'. Sen. 16.56Num igitur hōrum senectūs miserābilis fuit, quī sē agrī cultiōne oblectābant?Was the old age of these men, then, pitiable, when they took delight in tilling the soil? Sen. 16.56Meā quidem sententiā haud sciō an nūlla beātior possit esse, neque sōlum officiō, quod hominum generī ūniversō cultūra agrōrum est salūtāris, sed et dēlectātiōne quam dīxī, et saturitāte cōpiāque rērum omnium, quae ad vīctum hominum, ad cultum etiam deōrum pertinent, ut, quoniam haec quīdam dēsīderant, in grātiam iam cum voluptāte redeāmus.In my opinion, indeed, I rather think that none can be happier, and not only for its usefulness, since the cultivation of the fields is beneficial to the whole human race, but also for the delight I have spoken of, and for the plenty and abundance of everything that pertains to the sustenance of men and also to the worship of the gods, so that, since some people long for these things, we may now make our peace with pleasure.
Sen. 16.56Semper enim bonī assiduīque dominī referta cella vīnāria, oleāria, etiam pēnāria est, vīllaque tōta locuplēs est, abundat porcō haedō agnō gallīnā, lacte cāseō melle.For the wine cellar, the oil store and the larder of a good and diligent master are always full, and the whole farmhouse is rich, abounding in pork, kid, lamb, poultry, milk, cheese and honey. Sen. 16.56Iam hortum ipsī agricolae "succīdiam alteram" appellant.Then the garden the farmers themselves call 'a second flitch'. Sen. 16.56Condītiōra facit haec supervacāneīs etiam operis aucupium atque vēnātiō.Fowling and hunting, too, in spare hours give all this extra relish. Sen. 16.57Quid dē prātōrum viriditāte aut arborum ōrdinibus aut vīneārum olīvētōrumve speciē plūra dīcam?Why should I say more of the greenness of meadows or the rows of trees or the beauty of vineyards and olive groves? Sen. 16.57Brevī praecīdam.I will cut it short. Sen. 16.57Agrō bene cultō nihil potest esse nec ūsū ūberius nec speciē ōrnātius, ad quem fruendum nōn modo nōn retardat, vērum etiam invītat atque allectat senectūs.Nothing can be richer in use or more handsome to look at than a well-tilled field, and old age not only does not hinder the enjoyment of it, but even invites and allures us to it.
Sen. 16.57Ubi enim potest illa aetās aut calēscere vel aprīcātiōne melius vel ignī, aut vicissim umbrīs aquīsve refrīgerārī salūbrius?For where can that age better warm itself, either by basking in the sun or by the fire, or in turn cool itself more healthily in shade and water? Sen. 16.57Sibi habeant igitur arma, sibi equōs, sibi hastās, sibi clāvam et pilam, sibi natātiōnēs atque cursūs;Let others, then, keep for themselves their arms, their horses, their spears, their foils and ball, their swimming and running; Sen. 16.58nōbīs senibus ex lūsiōnibus multīs tālōs relinquant et tesserās;to us old men let them leave, out of their many games, the knucklebones and dice; Sen. 16.58id ipsum ut lubēbit, quoniam sine eīs beāta esse senectūs potest.and even that as they please, since old age can be happy without them.