Epist. 1.5.1Sī potes Archiacīs convīva recumbere lectīs
nec modicā cēnāre timēs holus omne patella,
suprēmō tē sōle domī, Torquāte, manēbō,
vīna bibēs iterum Taurō diffūsa palūstrīs
5inter Minturnās Sinuessānumque Petrīnum.If you can bear to recline as a guest on couches made by Archias, and are not afraid to dine on a dish of greens of every kind from a modest platter, I shall wait for you at home at sunset, Torquatus. You will drink wine bottled in Taurus' second consulship, between marshy Minturnae and Petrinum near Sinuessa. Epist. 1.5.6Sī melius quid habēs, arcesse, vel imperium fer.If you have anything better, send for it, or submit to my orders. Epist. 1.5.7Iamdūdum splendet focus et tibi munda supellex,
mitte levīs spēs et certāmina dīvitiārum
et Moschī causam: crās nātō Caesare fēstus
10dat veniam somnumque diēs;The hearth has long been gleaming and the furniture is tidy for you. Put away light hopes and the contest for riches and Moschus' case: tomorrow, the day made festive by Caesar's birth grants leave to lie in; Epist. 1.5.10impūne licēbit
aestīvam sermōne benignō tendere noctem.we may, without penalty, prolong the summer night with kindly talk.
Epist. 1.5.12Quō mihi fortūnam, sī nōn concēditur ūtī?What is fortune to me, if I am not allowed to use it? Epist. 1.5.13Parcus ob hērēdis cūram nimiumque sevērus
adsidet īnsānō, pōtāre et spargere flōrēs
15incipiam, patiarque vel incōnsultus habērī.The man who scrimps and is too strict out of concern for his heir sits next to a madman. I shall begin to drink and scatter flowers, and I shall even put up with being thought reckless. Epist. 1.5.16Quid nōn ēbrietās dissignat ?What does drunkenness not unlock? Epist. 1.5.16Operta reclūdit,
spēs iubet esse ratās, ad proelia trūdit inertem,
sollicitīs animīs onus eximit, addocet artēs.It opens what is hidden, bids hopes come true, pushes the coward into battle, takes the burden from anxious minds, teaches new skills. Epist. 1.5.19Fēcundī calicēs quem nōn fēcēre disertum?Whom have brimming cups not made eloquent? Epist. 1.5.20Contrāctā quem nōn in paupertāte solūtum?Whom, pinched by poverty, have they not set free? Epist. 1.5.21Haec ego prōcūrāre et idōneus imperor et nōn
invītus, nē turpe torāl, nē sordida mappa
corrūget nārīs, nē nōn et cantharus et lanx
ostendat tibi tē, nē fīdōs inter amīcōs
25sit quī dicta forās ēlīminet, ut coeat pār
iungāturque parī.These things I am charged to see to, and I am both fit and not unwilling: that no unsightly coverlet, no dirty napkin make you wrinkle your nose, that tankard and dish show you yourself, that among faithful friends there be no one to carry what is said out of doors, that like may meet and be joined with like.
Epist. 1.5.26Butram tibi Septiciumque,
et nisi cēna prior potiorque puella Sabīnum
dētinet, adsūmam.For you I shall bring Butra and Septicius, and Sabinus, unless an earlier dinner and a girl he prefers detain him. Epist. 1.5.28Locus est et plūribus umbrīs:
sed nimis arta premunt olidae convīvia caprae,
30tū quotus esse velīs rescrībe et rēbus omissīs
ātria servantem postīcō falle clientem.There is room for several 'shadows' too; but the smell of goats oppresses parties too crowded. Write back how many you would like to be, and, leaving business aside, give the slip by the back door to the client guarding your hall.