Ep. 2.6.1Longum est altius repetere nec rēfert, quemadmodum acciderit, ut homō minimē familiāris cēnārem apud quendam, ut sibi vidēbātur, lautum et dīligentem, ut mihi, sordidum simul et sūmptuōsum.It would take long to go further back, and it does not matter, how it came about that I, hardly an intimate of his, was dining with a man who was, as he thought, elegant and careful, but, as I thought, mean and extravagant at the same time. Ep. 2.6.2Nam sibi et paucīs opīma quaedam, cēterīs vīlia et minūta pōnēbat.For he served certain rich dishes to himself and a few others, cheap scraps to the rest. Ep. 2.6.2Vīnum etiam parvolīs lagunculīs in tria genera discrīpserat, nōn ut potestās ēligendī, sed nē iūs esset recūsandī, aliud sibi et nōbīs, aliud minōribus amīcīs - nam gradātim amīcōs habet -, aliud suīs nostrīsque lībertīs.Even the wine he had divided, in tiny little flasks, into three kinds, not so that there might be the power of choosing, but so that there might be no right of refusing: one for himself and for us, another for his lesser friends – for he has his friends in grades –, another for his freedmen and ours.
Ep. 2.6.3Animadvertit quī mihi proximus recumbēbat, et an probārem interrogāvit.The man reclining next to me noticed, and asked whether I approved. Ep. 2.6.3Negāvī.I said no. Ep. 2.6.3"Tū ergō" inquit "quam cōnsuētūdinem sequeris?"'Then what practice do you follow?' he said. Ep. 2.6.3"Eadem omnibus pōnō;'I serve the same to everyone; Ep. 2.6.3ad cēnam enim, nōn ad notam invītō cūnctīsque rēbus exaequō, quōs mēnsā et torō aequāvī."for I invite people to dinner, not to be marked down, and in all things I treat as equals those whom I have made equal at my table and on my couch.' Ep. 2.6.4"Etiamnē lībertōs?"'Even freedmen?' Ep. 2.6.4"Etiam;'Even them; Ep. 2.6.4convīctōrēs enim tunc, nōn lībertōs putō."for at that time I regard them as fellow guests, not as freedmen.' Ep. 2.6.4Et ille: "Magnō tibi cōnstat."And he said: 'It costs you a great deal.' Ep. 2.6.4"Minimē."'Not at all.' Ep. 2.6.4"Quī fierī potest?"'How can that be?' Ep. 2.6.4"Quia scīlicet lībertī meī nōn idem quod ego bibunt, sed idem ego quod lībertī."'Because, of course, my freedmen do not drink what I drink, but I drink what my freedmen drink.' Ep. 2.6.5Et herculē sī gulae temperēs, nōn est onerōsum quō ūtāris ipse commūnicāre cum plūribus.And, by Hercules, if you restrain your gluttony, it is no burden to share with several others what you use yourself.
Ep. 2.6.5Illa ergō reprimenda, illa quasi in ōrdinem redigenda est, sī sūmptibus parcās, quibus aliquantō rēctius tuā continentiā quam aliēnā contumēliā cōnsulās.That, then, must be checked, that must be reduced, as it were, to the ranks, if you would be sparing of expense, for which you would provide far more properly by your own self-restraint than by insulting others. Ep. 2.6.6Quōrsus haec?Where is all this leading? Ep. 2.6.6nē tibi, optimae indolis iuvenī, quōrundam in mēnsā luxuria speciē frūgālitātis impōnat.To this: that the extravagance of certain people at table may not impose on you, a young man of the finest character, under the guise of thrift. Ep. 2.6.6Convenit autem amōrī in tē meō, quotiēns tāle aliquid inciderit, sub exemplō praemonēre, quid dēbeās fugere.It befits my love for you, whenever anything of the kind occurs, to warn you beforehand by an example of what you ought to avoid. Ep. 2.6.7Igitur mementō nihil magis esse vītandum quam istam luxuriae et sordium novam societātem;Remember, then, that nothing is more to be shunned than this novel alliance of extravagance and meanness; Ep. 2.6.7quae cum sint turpissima discrēta ac sēparāta, turpius iunguntur.for though these are most disgraceful when kept distinct and apart, they are more disgraceful joined together.
Ep. 2.6.7Valē.Farewell.