Epist. 1.2.1Troiam bellī scrīptōrem.The writer of the Trojan war. Epist. 1.2.1Maxime Lollī,
dum tū dēclāmās Rōmae, Praeneste relēgī;Lollius Maximus, while you declaim at Rome, I have been rereading at Praeneste; Epist. 1.2.3quī quid sit pulchrum, quid turpe, quid ūtile, quid nōn,
plānius ac melius Chrysippō et Crantore dīcit,
5cūr ita crēdiderim, nisi quid tē distinet, audī.he tells what is fine, what is base, what is useful, what not, more plainly and better than Chrysippus and Crantor; why I have come to think so, listen, unless something keeps you busy. Epist. 1.2.6Fābula, quā Paridis propter narrātur amōrem
Graecia barbariae lentō collīsa duellō,
stultōrum rēgum et populōrum continet aestūs.The story in which Greece, on account of the love of Paris, is told to have clashed with the barbarian world in a long war, contains the passions of foolish kings and peoples. Epist. 1.2.9Antēnor cēnset bellī praecīdere causam:
10quid Paris?Antenor proposes to cut away the cause of the war: what of Paris? Epist. 1.2.10Ut salvus regnet vīvatque beātus
cōgī posse negat.He says he cannot be compelled to reign in safety and live in happiness.
Epist. 1.2.11Nestor compōnere lītīs
inter Pēlīdēn festīnat et inter Atrīdēn;Nestor hastens to settle the quarrels between the son of Peleus and the son of Atreus; Epist. 1.2.13hunc amor, īra quidem commūniter ūrit utrumque,
quidquid dēlīrant rēgēs, plectuntur Achīvī.love burns this one, anger indeed burns both alike; whatever folly the kings commit, the Achaeans are punished. Epist. 1.2.15Sēditiōne, dolīs, scelere atque libīdine et īrā
Īliacōs intrā mūrōs peccātur et extrā.Through sedition, guile, crime, lust and anger, wrong is done within the walls of Troy and outside them. Epist. 1.2.17Rūrsus, quid virtūs et quid sapientia possit,
ūtile prōposuit nōbīs exemplar Ulixēn,
quī domitor Troiae multōrum prōvidus urbēs
20et mōrēs hominum īnspēxit, lātumque per aequor,
dum sibi, dum sociīs reditum parat, aspera multa
pertulit, adversīs rērum immersābilis undīs.Again, of what virtue and wisdom can do he has set before us a useful example in Ulysses, who, as conqueror of Troy, looked with foresight on the cities and customs of many men, and, while he sought a return for himself and his comrades over the broad sea, endured many hardships, never sunk by the adverse waves of fortune.
Epist. 1.2.23Sīrēnum vōcēs et Circae pōcula nōstī;You know the Sirens' voices and Circe's cups; Epist. 1.2.24quae sī cum sociīs stultus cupidusque bibisset,
25sub dominā meretrīce fuisset turpis et excors,
vīxisset canis immundus vel amīca lutō sūs.had he drunk these, foolish and greedy, along with his comrades, he would have been, under a harlot mistress, base and witless, and would have lived as an unclean dog or a sow fond of mud. Epist. 1.2.27Nōs numerus sumus et frūgēs cōnsūmere nātī,
spōnsī Pēnelopae nebulōnēs, Alcinoīque
in cute cūrandā plūs aequō operāta iuventūs,
30cui pulchrum fuit in mediōs dormīre diēs et
ad strepitum citharae cessātum dūcere cūram.We are mere numbers, born to consume the fruits of the earth, Penelope's suitors, good-for-nothings, Alcinous' young men busied more than was right in caring for their skins, who thought it fine to sleep till midday and to lull their cares to rest to the sound of the lyre. Epist. 1.2.32Ut iugulent hominem, surgunt dē nocte latrōnēs;To cut a man's throat, robbers rise by night; Epist. 1.2.33ut tē ipsum servēs, nōn expergīsceris?to save yourself, will you not wake up?
Epist. 1.2.33Atquī
sī nōlēs sānus, currēs hydrōpicus;And yet if you will not run while healthy, you will run when dropsical; Epist. 1.2.34et nī
35poscēs ante diem librum cum lūmine, sī nōn
intendēs animum studiīs et rēbus honestīs,
invidiā vel amōre vigil torquēbere.and unless you call for a book and a lamp before daylight, unless you bend your mind to studies and honourable pursuits, you will lie awake tortured by envy or love. Epist. 1.2.37Nam cūr
quae laedunt oculum festīnās dēmere;For why do you hurry to remove what hurts your eye; Epist. 1.2.38sī quid
est animum, differs cūrandī tempus in annum?but if something is eating your mind, put off the time for curing it for a year? Epist. 1.2.40Dīmidium factī quī coepit habet;He who has begun has half the deed done; Epist. 1.2.40sapere audē;dare to be wise; Epist. 1.2.41incipe!begin! Epist. 1.2.41Quī rēctē vīvendī prōrogat hōram,
rūsticus exspectat dum dēfluat amnis;He who puts off the hour of living rightly waits, like the rustic, for the river to run dry; Epist. 1.2.42at ille
lābitur et lābētur in omne volūbilis aevum
Quaeritur argentum puerīsque beāta creandīs
45uxor, et incultae pācantur vōmere silvae:
quod satis est cui contingit, nihil amplius optet.but it glides on and will glide on, rolling, for all time. Money is sought, and a wife rich enough to bear children, and untilled woods are tamed by the ploughshare: let him who has been granted what is enough wish for nothing more.
Epist. 1.2.47Nōn domus et fundus, nōn aeris acervus et aurī
aegrōtō dominī dēdūxit corpore febris,
nōn animō cūrās;Not house and estate, not a heap of bronze and gold, has drawn fever from the sick body of its owner, nor cares from his mind; Epist. 1.2.49valeat possessor oportet,
50sī comportātīs rēbus bene cōgitat ūtī.the possessor must be well, if he thinks to make good use of the things he has amassed. Epist. 1.2.51Quī cupit aut metuit, iuvat illum sīc domus et rēs,
ut lippum pictae tabulae, fōmenta podagram,
auriculās citharae collēctā sorde dolentīs.Whoever desires or fears, his house and property delight him as much as painted pictures delight sore eyes, poultices the gout, lyres ears aching with gathered dirt. Epist. 1.2.54Sincērum est nisi vās, quodcumque īnfundis acēscit.Unless the vessel is clean, whatever you pour into it turns sour. Epist. 1.2.55Sperne voluptātēs;Scorn pleasures; Epist. 1.2.55nocet ēmpta dolōre voluptās,
semper avārus eget;pleasure bought with pain does harm; the greedy man is always in want; Epist. 1.2.56certum vōtō pete fīnem.seek a fixed limit for your desire. Epist. 1.2.57Invidus alterīus macrēscit rēbus opīmīs;The envious man grows thin at another's rich possessions; Epist. 1.2.58invidiā Siculī nōn invēnēre tyrannī
maius tormentum, quī nōn moderābitur īrae,
60īnfectum volet esse, dolor quod suāserit et mēns,
dum poenās odiō per vim festīnat inultō,
īra furor brevis est: animum rege;the tyrants of Sicily found no greater torment than envy. He who will not govern his anger will wish undone what resentment and temper prompted, while he hastens violently to exact penalties for his unsated hatred. Anger is a brief madness: rule your mind; Epist. 1.2.62quī nisi pāret
imperat;unless it obeys, it commands; Epist. 1.2.63hunc frēnīs, hunc tū compesce catēnā.restrain it with reins, restrain it with a chain.
Epist. 1.2.64Fingit equum tenerā docilem cervīce magister
65īre viam quā mōnstret eques;The trainer shapes the horse, while its neck is tender, to be docile and go the way the rider shows; Epist. 1.2.65vēnāticus, ex quō
tempore cervīnam pellem lātrāvit in aulā,
mīlitat in silvīs catulus, nunc adhibē pūrō
pectore verba puer, nunc tē meliōribus offer,
quō semel est imbūta recēns, servābit odōrem
70testa diū.the hound pup, from the time it barked at a deer's hide in the yard, does service in the woods. Now, while a boy, drink in my words with a pure heart, now offer yourself to your betters; the jar will long keep the scent with which it was once steeped when new. Epist. 1.2.70Quod sī cessās aut strēnuus anteīs,
nec tardum opperior nec praecēdentibus īnstō.But if you lag behind or stride on ahead, I neither wait for the slow nor press after those in front.