Epist. 1.6.1Nīl admīrārī prope rēs est ūna, Numīcī,
sōlaque quae possit facere et servāre beātum,
hunc sōlem et stellās et dēcēdentia certīs
tempora mōmentīs sunt quī formīdine nūllā
5imbūtī spectent: quid cēnsēs mūnera terrae,
quid maris extrēmōs Arābās dītantis et Indōs,
lūdicra quid, plausūs et amīcī dōna Quirītis,
quō spectanda modō, quō sēnsū crēdis et ōre?To marvel at nothing, Numicius, is almost the one and only thing that can make and keep a man happy. This sun and the stars and the seasons passing at fixed intervals, there are some who can gaze on them imbued with no dread: what do you think of the gifts of the earth, what of the sea that enriches the far Arabs and Indians, what of the shows, the applause and the favours of the friendly citizen, in what way do you believe they should be viewed, with what feeling and expression? Epist. 1.6.9Quī timet hīs adversa, ferē mīrātur eōdem
10quō cupiēns pactō: pavor est utrōbīque molestus,
imprōvīsa simul speciēs exterret utrumque.He who fears their opposites marvels in much the same way as he who desires: in either case agitation is a nuisance, as soon as an unforeseen sight startles either man.
Epist. 1.6.12Gaudeat an doleat, cupiat metuatne, quid ad rem,
sī, quicquid vīdit melius peiusve suā spē,
dēfīxīs oculīs animōque et corpore torpet?Whether he rejoices or grieves, desires or fears, what does it matter, if, whenever he has seen anything better or worse than he expected, he is numbed, eyes fixed, in mind and body? Epist. 1.6.15Īnsānī sapiēns nōmen ferat, aequus inīquī,
ultrā quam satis est Virtūtem sī petat ipsam.Let the wise man bear the name of madman, the just man of unjust, if he seeks even Virtue herself beyond what is enough. Epist. 1.6.17Ī nunc, argentum et marmor vetus aeraque et artēs
suspice, cum gemmīs Tyriōs mīrāre colōrēs;Go now, gaze up at silver and ancient marble and bronzes and works of art, marvel at Tyrian colours with your gems; Epist. 1.6.19gaudē quod spectant oculī tē mīlle loquentem;rejoice that a thousand eyes watch you as you speak; Epist. 1.6.20nāvus māne forum et vespertīnus pete tēctum,
nē plūs frūmentī dōtālibus ēmetat agrīs
Mūtus et (indignum, quod sit peiōribus ortus)
hic tibi sit potius quam tū mīrābilis illī.go busily to the forum in the morning and home in the evening, lest Mutus reap more grain from his dowry fields and (shameful, since he is born of worse stock) he be a marvel to you rather than you to him.
Epist. 1.6.24Quidquid sub terrā est, in aprīcum prōferet aetās,
25dēfodiet condetque nitentia, cum bene notum
porticus Agrippae, via tē cōnspēxerit Appī,
īre tamen restat Numa quō dēvēnit et Ancus.Whatever is under the earth, time will bring into the sunlight; it will bury and hide what now shines. When Agrippa's colonnade and the Appian Way have seen you well known, it still remains for you to go where Numa and Ancus have gone. Epist. 1.6.28Sī latus aut rēnēs morbō temptantur acūtō,
quaere fugam morbī, vīs rēctē vīvere: quis nōn?If your side or kidneys are attacked by sharp disease, seek escape from the disease. You wish to live rightly: who does not? Epist. 1.6.30Sī Virtūs hoc ūna potest dare, fortis omissīs
hoc age dēliciīs.If Virtue alone can give this, boldly drop your pleasures and set to work. Epist. 1.6.31Virtūtem verba putās et
lūcum ligna: cavē nē portus occupet alter,
nē Cibyrātica, nē Bīthȳna negōtia perdās;You think virtue is mere words, and a sacred grove firewood: take care that no rival reaches harbour before you, that you do not lose your Cibyran and Bithynian business; Epist. 1.6.34mīlle talenta rotundentur, totidem altera, porrō et
35tertia succēdant et quae pars quadret acervum.let a thousand talents be rounded off, as many again, and further a third thousand follow, and the part that squares the heap.
Epist. 1.6.36Scīlicet uxōrem cum dōte fidemque et amīcōs
et genus et fōrmam rēgīna Pecūnia dōnat,
ac bene nummātum decorat Suādēla Venusque,
mancupiīs locuplēs eget aeris Cappadocum rēx:
40nē fuerīs hic tū.Of course Queen Money bestows a wife with dowry, credit and friends, birth and beauty, and Persuasion and Venus grace the man well supplied with cash. The king of the Cappadocians is rich in slaves but short of coin: do not be like him. Epist. 1.6.40Chlamydēs Lūcullus, ut aiunt,
sī posset centum scaenae praebēre rogātus,
quī possum tot?Lucullus, as they say, when asked whether he could provide a hundred cloaks for the stage: 'How can I provide so many?' Epist. 1.6.42Ait;he says; Epist. 1.6.42"tamen et quaeram et quot habēbō
mittam:" post paulō scrībit sibi mīlia quīnque
esse domī chlamydum;'yet I shall look, and send what I have.' A little later he writes that he has five thousand cloaks at home; Epist. 1.6.44partem vel tolleret omnīs,
45exīlis domus est, ubi nōn et multa supersunt
et dominum fallunt et prōsunt fūribus.the man could take part of them or all. It is a poor house where there is not much to spare that escapes the master's notice and benefits thieves.
Epist. 1.6.46Ergō
sī rēs sōla potest facere et servāre beātum,
hoc prīmus repetās opus, hoc postrēmus omittās.So if wealth alone can make and keep you happy, be the first to return to this task, the last to leave it. Epist. 1.6.49Sī fortūnātum speciēs et grātia praestat,
50mercēmur servum, quī dictet nōmina, laevum
quī fodicet latus et cōgat trāns pondera dextram
porrigere: "hic multum in Fabiā valet, ille Velīnā;If display and popularity make a man fortunate, let us buy a slave to tell us names, to nudge our left side and make us stretch our right hand out across the obstacles: 'This man has much influence in the Fabian tribe, that one in the Veline; Epist. 1.6.53cui libet hic fascēs dabit ēripietque curūle
cui volet importūnus ebur."this one will give the fasces to whom he pleases, and, if he is crossed, will snatch the ivory chair from whom he will.' Epist. 1.6.54Frāter, pater adde:
55ut cuique est aetās, ita quemque facētus adoptā.Add 'brother', 'father': adopt each one charmingly, according to his age. Epist. 1.6.56Sī bene quī cēnat bene vīvit, lūcet, eāmus
quō dūcit gula;If he who dines well lives well, it is daylight, let us go where our gullet leads; Epist. 1.6.57piscēmur, vēnēmur, ut ōlim
Gargilius, quī māne plagās, vēnābula, servōs
differtum trānsīre forum populumque iubēbat,
60ūnus ut ē multīs populō spectante referret
ēmptum mūlus aprum, crūdī tumidīque lavēmur,
quid deceat, quid nōn, oblītī, Caerite cērā
dignī, rēmigium vitiōsum Ithacēnsis Ulixeī,
cui potior patria fuit interdicta voluptās.let us fish, let us hunt, as Gargilius once did, who used to order nets, spears and slaves to cross the crowded forum in the morning, so that one mule out of many, while the people watched, might bring back a boar he had bought; let us bathe, undigested and bloated, forgetting what is seemly and what is not, deserving the Caerite register, like the vicious crew of Ithacan Ulysses, to whom forbidden pleasure was dearer than their homeland.
Epist. 1.6.65Sī, Mimnermus utī cēnset, sine amōre iocīsque
nīl est iūcundum, vīvās in amōre iocīsque?.If, as Mimnermus holds, nothing is pleasant without love and jests, live amid love and jests. Epist. 1.6.67Vīve, valē!Live, farewell! Epist. 1.6.67Sī quid nōvistī rēctius istīs,
candidus impertī;If you know anything more right than these precepts, share it frankly; Epist. 1.6.68sī nīl, hīs ūtere mēcum.if not, use these with me.