Ep. 1.8.1Peropportūnē mihi redditae sunt litterae tuae quibus flāgitābās, ut tibi aliquid ex scrīptīs meīs mitterem, cum ego id ipsum dēstināssem.Your letter, in which you pressed me to send you something of my writings, was delivered most opportunely, since I had already intended to do that very thing. Ep. 1.8.1Addidistī ergō calcāria sponte currentī, pariterque et tibi veniam recūsandī labōris et mihi exigendī verēcundiam sustulistī.So you have spurred a willing horse, and have removed both your own excuse for declining the labour and my diffidence in asking it of you. Ep. 1.8.2Nam nec mē timidē ūtī decet eō quod oblātum est, nec tē gravārī quod dēpoposcistī.For it is neither fitting for me to make timid use of what has been offered, nor for you to make difficulties about what you have demanded. Ep. 1.8.2Nōn est tamen quod ab homine dēsidiōsō aliquid novī operis exspectēs.There is no reason, however, for you to expect any new work from an idle man. Ep. 1.8.2Petītūrus sum enim ut rūrsus vacēs sermōnī quem apud mūnicipēs meōs habuī bibliothēcam dēdicātūrus.For I am going to ask you to give your time once more to the speech I delivered before my fellow townsmen when I was about to dedicate a library.
Ep. 1.8.3Meminī quidem tē iam quaedam adnotāsse, sed generāliter;I remember, indeed, that you have already made some notes, but in general terms; Ep. 1.8.3ideō nunc rogō ut nōn tantum ūniversitātī eius attendās, vērum etiam particulās quā solēs līmā persequāris.so I now ask you not only to attend to it as a whole, but also to go through its smaller parts with your file, as you usually do. Ep. 1.8.3Erit enim et post ēmendātiōnem līberum nōbīs vel pūblicāre vel continēre.For even after correction I shall be free either to publish it or to keep it back. Ep. 1.8.4Quīn immō fortasse hanc ipsam cūnctātiōnem nostram in alterutram sententiam ēmendātiōnis ratiō dēdūcet, quae aut indignum ēditiōne dum saepius retractat inveniet, aut dignum dum id ipsum experītur efficiet.Indeed, perhaps the process of correction will itself bring this hesitation of mine down on one side or the other, since by going over it repeatedly it will either find it unworthy of publication or, by that very testing, make it worthy. Ep. 1.8.5Quamquam huius cūnctātiōnis meae causae nōn tam in scrīptīs quam in ipsō māteriae genere cōnsistunt: est enim paulō quasi glōriōsius et ēlātius.And yet the reasons for my hesitation lie not so much in the writing as in the very nature of the subject: it is, as it were, a little too boastful and lofty.
Ep. 1.8.5Onerābit hoc modestiam nostram, etiamsī stilus ipse pressus dēmissusque fuerit, proptereā quod cōgimur cum dē mūnificentiā parentum nostrōrum tum dē nostrā disputāre.This will burden my modesty, even if the style itself is restrained and subdued, because I am compelled to speak both of the generosity of my forebears and of my own. Ep. 1.8.6Anceps hic et lūbricus locus est, etiam cum illī necessitās lēnōcinātur.This is a dangerous and slippery place, even when necessity pleads in its favour. Ep. 1.8.6Etenim sī aliēnae quoque laudēs parum aequīs auribus accipī solent, quam difficile est obtinēre, nē molesta videātur ōrātiō dē sē aut dē suīs disserentis!For if even praise of others is usually received with less than fair ears, how difficult it is to ensure that the speech of a man discoursing on himself or his family does not seem tiresome! Ep. 1.8.6Nam cum ipsī honestātī tum aliquantō magis glōriae eius praedicātiōnīque invidēmus, atque ea dēmum rēctē facta minus dētorquēmus et carpimus, quae in obscūritāte et silentiō repōnuntur.For we grudge virtue itself, and still more its glory and the proclaiming of it, and we are least inclined to distort and carp at those good deeds which are laid away in obscurity and silence.
Ep. 1.8.7Quā ex causā saepe ipse mēcum, nōbīsne tantum, quidquid est istud, composuisse an et aliīs dēbeāmus.For this reason I often ask myself whether I ought to have composed this, whatever it is, for myself only, or for others as well. Ep. 1.8.7Ut nōbīs, admonet illud, quod plēraque quae sunt agendae reī necessāria, eadem perācta nec ūtilitātem parem nec grātiam retinent.That it was for myself, I am reminded by the fact that most things which are necessary for carrying out an undertaking retain neither the same usefulness nor the same favour once it is done. Ep. 1.8.8Ac, nē longius exempla repetāmus, quid ūtilius fuit quam mūnificentiae ratiōnem etiam stilō prōsequī?And, not to seek examples further afield, what was more useful than to follow up the reasoning of my generosity with the pen as well? Ep. 1.8.8Per hoc enim assequēbāmur, prīmum ut honestīs cōgitātiōnibus immorārēmur, deinde ut pulchritūdinem illārum longiōre tractātū pervidērēmus, postrēmō ut subitae largītiōnis comitem paenitentiam cavērēmus.For by this I achieved, first, that I dwelt on honourable thoughts, next, that I perceived their beauty by longer handling, and lastly, that I guarded against the regret that accompanies sudden lavishness.
Ep. 1.8.8Nāscēbātur ex hīs exercitātiō quaedam contemnendae pecūniae.From these arose a kind of training in despising money. Ep. 1.8.9Nam cum omnēs hominēs ad custōdiam eius nātūra restrīnxerit, nōs contrā multum ac diū pēnsitātus amor līberālitātis commūnibus avāritiae vinculīs eximēbat, tantōque laudābilior mūnificentia nostra fore vidēbātur, quod ad illam nōn impetū quōdam, sed cōnsiliō trahēbāmur.For although nature has bound all men to guard it, the love of liberality, long and much weighed, released me, by contrast, from the common chains of avarice, and my generosity seemed likely to be all the more praiseworthy because I was drawn to it not by some impulse but by deliberation. Ep. 1.8.10Accēdēbat hīs causīs, quod nōn lūdōs aut gladiātōrēs sed annuōs sūmptūs in alimenta ingenuōrum pollicēbāmur.There was added to these reasons the fact that I was promising not games or gladiators but an annual sum for the maintenance of freeborn children. Ep. 1.8.10Oculōrum porrō et aurium voluptātēs adeō nōn egent commendātiōne, ut nōn tam incitārī dēbeant ōrātiōne quam reprimī;Pleasures of the eyes and ears, moreover, are so far from needing recommendation that they ought not so much to be encouraged by a speech as restrained; Ep. 1.8.11ut vērō aliquis libenter ēducātiōnis taedium labōremque suscipiat, nōn praemiīs modo vērum etiam exquīsītīs adhortātiōnibus impetrandum est.but to get someone to take on willingly the tedium and toil of bringing up children, one must use not only rewards but also carefully chosen exhortations.
Ep. 1.8.12Nam sī medicī salūbrēs sed voluptāte carentēs cibōs blandiōribus alloquiīs prōsequuntur, quantō magis decuit pūblicē cōnsulentem ūtilissimum mūnus, sed nōn perinde populāre, cōmitāte ōrātiōnis indūcere?For if doctors accompany wholesome but unpleasant food with coaxing words, how much more was it fitting for one who was looking after the public good to introduce a most useful but not equally popular gift with courteous speech? Ep. 1.8.12praesertim cum ēnītendum habērēmus, ut quod parentibus dabātur et orbīs probārētur, honōremque paucōrum cēterī patienter et exspectārent et merērentur.especially as I had to strive to ensure that what was given to parents should be approved by the childless too, and that the rest should patiently both wait for and deserve the privilege of a few. Ep. 1.8.13Sed ut tunc commūnibus magis commodīs quam prīvātae iactantiae studēbāmus, cum intentiōnem effectumque mūneris nostrī vellēmus intellegī, ita nunc in ratiōne ēdendī verēmur, nē forte nōn aliōrum ūtilitātibus sed propriae laudī servīsse videāmur.But just as then I was more concerned with the common good than with private display, when I wanted the purpose and effect of my gift to be understood, so now, in the matter of publishing, I fear that I may perhaps seem to have served not the benefit of others but my own praise.
Ep. 1.8.14Praetereā meminimus quantō maiōre animō honestātis frūctus in cōnscientiā quam in fāmā repōnātur.Besides, I remember how much nobler it is to lay up the reward of virtue in one's conscience than in one's reputation. Ep. 1.8.14Sequī enim glōria, nōn appetī dēbet, nec, sī cāsū aliquō nōn sequātur, idcircō quod glōriam meruit minus pulchrum est.For glory ought to follow, not to be sought, and if by some chance it does not follow, what deserved glory is no less fine for that. Ep. 1.8.15Iī vērō, quī benefacta sua verbīs adōrnant, nōn ideō praedicāre quia fēcerint, sed ut praedicārent fēcisse crēduntur.But those who adorn their good deeds with words are believed not to proclaim them because they did them, but to have done them in order to proclaim them. Ep. 1.8.15Sīc quod magnificum referente aliō fuisset, ipsō quī gesserat recēnsente vānēscit;So what would have been magnificent if another reported it vanishes when it is recounted by the man who did it; Ep. 1.8.15hominēs enim cum rem dēstruere nōn possunt, iactātiōnem eius incessunt.for when men cannot destroy a deed, they attack the boasting of it.
Ep. 1.8.15Ita sī silenda fēceris, factum ipsum, sī laudanda nōn sileās, ipse culpāris.Thus if you have done things that should be kept quiet, the deed itself is blamed; if you do not keep quiet about things that deserve praise, you yourself are blamed. Ep. 1.8.16Mē vērō pecūliāris quaedam impedit ratiō.But in my case a particular reason stands in the way. Ep. 1.8.16Etenim hunc ipsum sermōnem nōn apud populum, sed apud decuriōnēs habuī, nec in propatulō sed in cūriā.For I delivered this very speech not before the people but before the town council, and not in the open but in the council-house. Ep. 1.8.17Vereor ergō ut sit satis congruēns, cum in dīcendō assentātiōnem vulgī acclāmātiōnemque dēfūgerim, nunc eādem illā ēditiōne sectārī, cumque plēbem ipsam, cui cōnsulēbātur, līmine cūriae parietibusque discrēverim, nē quam in speciem ambitiōnis inciderem, nunc eōs etiam, ad quōs ex mūnere nostrō nihil pertinet praeter exemplum, velut obviā ostentātiōne conquīrere.I fear, then, that it may be hardly consistent, when in speaking I avoided the approval and applause of the crowd, now to pursue those same things by publication, and when I separated the very common people whose interests were being looked after by the threshold and walls of the council-house, so as not to fall into any appearance of courting favour, now to seek out by a kind of forward display even those to whom nothing from my gift belongs except the example.
Ep. 1.8.18Habēs cūnctātiōnis meae causās;You have the reasons for my hesitation; Ep. 1.8.18obsequar tamen cōnsiliō tuō, cuius mihi auctōritās prō ratiōne sufficiet.I shall nevertheless follow your advice, whose authority will be reason enough for me. Ep. 1.8.18Valē.Farewell.