Epist. 1.7.1Quīnque diēs tibi pollicitus mē rūre futūrum,
Sextīlem tōtum mendāx dēsīderor.Having promised you that I would be in the country for five days, I am missed, a liar, for the whole of August. Epist. 1.7.2Atque
sī mē vīvere vīs sānum rēctēque valentem,
quam mihi dās aegrō, dabis aegrōtāre timentī,
5Maecēnās, veniam, dum fīcus prīma calorque
dissignātōrem decorat līctōribus ātrīs,
dum puerīs omnis pater et mātercula pallet,
officiōsaque sēdulitās et opella forēnsis
addūcit febrīs et testāmenta resignat.And yet, if you want me to live sound and in good health, the indulgence you grant me when I am ill you will grant me, Maecenas, when I am afraid of falling ill, while the first figs and the heat adorn the undertaker with his black lictors, while every father and fond mother turns pale for the children, and dutiful attentiveness and petty business in the forum bring on fevers and unseal wills. Epist. 1.7.10Quod sī brūma nivēs Albānīs illinet agrīs,
ad mare dēscendet vātēs tuus et sibi parcet
contrāctusque leget;But if winter smears snow on the Alban fields, your bard will go down to the sea, take care of himself and read, huddled up; Epist. 1.7.12tē, dulcis amīce, revīset
cum Zephyrīs, sī concēdēs, et hirundine prīmā.he will visit you again, dear friend, with the west winds, if you allow, and the first swallow.
Epist. 1.7.14Nōn quō mōre pirīs vēscī Calaber iubet hospes,
15tū mē fēcistī locuplētem.You have made me rich, not in the way a Calabrian host bids you eat his pears. Epist. 1.7.15Vēscere, sōdēs.'Eat up, please.' Epist. 1.7.16Iam satis est.'That's enough now.' Epist. 1.7.16At tū quantum vīs tolle.'Then take as many as you like.' Epist. 1.7.16Benignē.'No, thank you.' Epist. 1.7.17Nōn invīsa ferēs puerīs mūnuscula parvīs.'They won't be unwelcome little presents to take to your little children.' Epist. 1.7.18Tam teneor dōnō, quam sī dīmittar onustus.'I am as obliged by the gift as if I were sent away loaded.' Epist. 1.7.19Ut libet;'As you like; Epist. 1.7.19haec porcīs hodiē comedenda relinquēs.you'll leave them today for the pigs to eat.' Epist. 1.7.20Prōdigus et stultus dōnat quae spernit et ōdit;The spendthrift and the fool give away what they despise and hate; Epist. 1.7.21haec seges ingrātōs tulit et feret omnibus annīs,
vir bonus et sapiēns dignīs ait esse parātus,
nec tamen ignōrat quid distent aera lupīnīs.this crop has produced ungrateful men, and will do so every year. The good and wise man says he is ready to help the deserving, yet he knows how coins differ from lupins.
Epist. 1.7.24Dignum praestābō mē etiam prō laude merentis.I will show myself worthy, too, as befits the credit of my benefactor. Epist. 1.7.25Quod sī mē nōlēs usquam discēdere, reddēs
forte latus, nigrōs angustā fronte capillōs,
reddēs dulce loquī, reddēs rīdēre decōrum et
inter vīna fugam Cinarae maerēre protervae.But if you will not let me go away anywhere, you must give back my strong lungs, the black hair on a narrow brow; give back sweet talk, give back graceful laughter, and lamenting over wine the flight of saucy Cinara. Epist. 1.7.29Forte per angustam tenuis volpēcula rīmam
30rēpserat in cumeram frūmentī, pāstaque rūrsus
īre forās plēnō tendēbat corpore frūstrā;Once a slender little fox had crept through a narrow chink into a bin of grain, and having fed, was trying in vain to get out again with its full body; Epist. 1.7.32cui mūstēla procul, sī vīs, ait, "effugere istinc,
macra cavum repetēs artum, quem macra subīstī."a weasel some way off said to it: 'If you want to escape from there, you must go back thin to the narrow hole you went in by when thin.' Epist. 1.7.34Hāc ego sī compellor imāgine, cūncta resignō;If I am challenged by this parable, I give everything back; Epist. 1.7.35nec somnum plēbis laudō satur altilium nec
ōtia dīvitiīs Arabum līberrima mūtō.I neither praise the sleep of the common people when stuffed with fowls, nor exchange my leisure, free as it is, for the riches of the Arabs.
Epist. 1.7.37Saepe verēcundum laudāstī, rēxque paterque
audīstī cōram nec verbō parcius absēns:
īnspice sī possum dōnāta repōnere laetus.You have often praised my modesty, and have heard yourself called 'king' and 'father' to your face, and not a word more sparingly behind your back: see whether I can cheerfully give back what you have given. Epist. 1.7.40Haud male Tēlemachus, prōlēs patientis Ulixeī:
"nōn est aptus equīs Ithacē locus, ut neque plānīs
porrēctus spatiīs nec multae prōdigus herbae:
Atrīdē, magis apta tibi tua dōna relinquam."Not badly did Telemachus speak, offspring of long-suffering Ulysses: 'Ithaca is no place fit for horses, as it neither stretches out in level spaces nor is lavish with much grass: son of Atreus, I shall leave your gifts, which are more fitting for you.' Epist. 1.7.44Parvum parva decent: mihi iam nōn rēgia Rōma,
45sed vacuum Tībur placet aut imbelle Tarentum.Small things suit the small: royal Rome no longer pleases me, but quiet Tibur or peaceful Tarentum. Epist. 1.7.46Strēnuus et fortis causīsque Philippus agendīs
clārus, ab officiīs octāvam circiter hōram
dum redit atque Forō nimium distāre Carīnās
iam grandis nātū queritur, cōnspēxit, ut aiunt,
50adrāsum quendam vacuā tōnsōris in umbrā
cultellō propriōs pūrgantem lēniter unguīs.Philippus, vigorous and brave and famous for pleading cases, while returning from business about the eighth hour and complaining, now advanced in years, that the Carinae were too far from the forum, caught sight, as they say, of a man close-shaven in a barber's empty booth, quietly cleaning his own nails with a little knife.
Epist. 1.7.52Dēmētrī, (puer hic nōn laevē iussa Philippī
accipiēbat) "abī, quaere et refer, unde domō, quis,
cuius fortūnae, quō sit patre quōve patrōnō."'Demetrius' (this slave took Philippus' orders not clumsily), 'go, ask and bring back word where he is from, who he is, of what standing, who is his father or patron.' Epist. 1.7.55It, redit et narrat, Volteium nōmine Mēnam,
praecōnem, tenuī cēnsū, sine crīmine, notum
et properāre locō et cessāre et quaerere et ūtī,
gaudentem parvīsque sodālibus et lare certō
et lūdīs et post dēcīsa negōtia Campō.He goes, returns and reports: Volteius Mena by name, an auctioneer, of slender means, of blameless character, known to work hard and to rest in season, to earn and to spend, delighting in humble companions and a home of his own, and in the games and, when business is done, the Campus. Epist. 1.7.60"Scītārī libet ex ipsō quodcumque refers: dīc
ad cēnam veniat."'I would like to learn from the man himself all that you report: tell him to come to dinner.' Epist. 1.7.61Nōn sānē crēdere Mēna,
mīrārī sēcum tacitus, quid multa?Mena could hardly believe it, and marvelled silently to himself; why say more?
Epist. 1.7.62Benignē,
respondet.'No, thank you,' he answers. Epist. 1.7.63Neget ille mihi?'Would he refuse me?' Epist. 1.7.63"Negat improbus et tē
neglegit aut horret."'He does refuse, the rascal, and either slights you or fears you.' Epist. 1.7.64Volteium māne Philippus
65vīlia vēndentem tunicātō scrūtā popellō
occupat et salvēre iubet prior, ille Philippō
excūsāre labōrem et mercēnnāria vincla,
quod nōn māne domum vēnisset, dēnique quod nōn
prōvīdisset eum.In the morning Philippus comes upon Volteius selling cheap trash to the tunic-clad common folk, and greets him first; he pleads to Philippus his work and the ties of his trade as excuse for not having come to his house that morning, and finally for not having seen him first. Epist. 1.7.69"Sīc ignōvisse putātō
70mē tibi, sī cēnās hodiē mēcum."'Consider that I have forgiven you on this condition, if you dine with me today.' Epist. 1.7.70Ut libet.'As you like.' Epist. 1.7.70"Ergō
post nōnam veniēs: nunc ī, rem strēnuus augē."'Then you will come after the ninth hour: now go, and work hard to increase your means.' Epist. 1.7.72Ut ventum ad cēnam est, dīcenda tacenda locūtus
tandem dormītum dīmittitur.When he came to dinner, after saying things fit and unfit to say, he is at last sent off to bed.
Epist. 1.7.73Hic ubi saepe
occultum vīsus dēcurrere piscis ad hāmum,
75māne cliēns et iam certus convīva, iubētur
rūra suburbānā indictīs comes īre Latīnīs,
impositus mannīs arvum caelumque Sabīnum
nōn cessat laudāre, videt rīdetque Philippus,
et sibi dum requiem, dum rīsūs undique quaerit,
80dum septem dōnat sēstertia, mūtua septem
prōmittit, persuādet utī mercētur agellum.When he had often been seen to dart like a fish at the hidden hook, a client in the morning and now a regular guest, he is bidden to come as companion to the estate near the city when the Latin festival is proclaimed. Set up on ponies, he does not stop praising the Sabine soil and sky. Philippus sees and laughs, and, seeking for himself relaxation and amusement from every quarter, he gives him seven thousand sesterces, promises a loan of seven more, and persuades him to buy a little farm. Epist. 1.7.82Mercātur.He buys it. Epist. 1.7.82Nē tē longīs ambāgibus ultrā
quam satis est morer, ex nitidō fit rūsticus atque
sulcōs et vīnēta crepat mera, praeparat ulmōs,
85immoritur studiīs et amōre senēscit habendī.Not to delay you with long digressions beyond what is enough, from a smart townsman he becomes a rustic and prattles of nothing but furrows and vineyards, prepares his elms, kills himself with zeal and grows old with the love of possession.
Epist. 1.7.86Vērum ubi ovēs fūrtō, morbō periēre capellae,
spem mentīta seges, bōs est ēnectus arandō,
offēnsus damnīs mediā dē nocte caballum
arripit īrātusque Philippī tendit ad aedīs.But when his sheep are lost to theft and his goats to disease, his crop has cheated his hope, his ox is worn to death by ploughing, vexed with his losses he seizes his nag in the middle of the night and makes angrily for Philippus' house. Epist. 1.7.90Quem simul aspēxit scabrum intōnsumque Philippus,
dūrus, ait, "Volteī, nimis attentusque vidēris
esse mihi."As soon as Philippus saw him rough and unshorn, 'Volteius,' he says, 'you seem to me too hard on yourself and too careful.' Epist. 1.7.92"Pol, mē miserum, patrōne, vocārēs,
sī vellēs," inquit, "vērum mihi pōnere nōmen.'By Pollux, patron,' he said, 'you would call me wretched, if you wished to give me my true name.' Epist. 1.7.94Quod tē per Genium dextramque deōsque Penātīs
95obsecrō et obtestor, vītae mē redde priōrī!"'So by your Genius and your right hand and your household gods I beg and beseech you, restore me to my former life!' Epist. 1.7.96Quī semel aspēxit, quantum dīmissa petītīs
praestent, mātūrē redeat repetatque relicta.Let him who has once seen how far what he left surpasses what he sought go back in good time and seek again what he abandoned.
Epist. 1.7.98Mētīrī sē quemque suō modulō ac pede vērum est.It is right that each should measure himself by his own rule and foot.