Ep. 3.1.1Nesciō an ūllum iūcundius tempus exēgerim, quam quō nūper apud Spurinnam fuī, adeō quidem ut nēminem magis in senectūte, sī modo senēscere datum est, aemulārī velim;I doubt whether I have ever spent a pleasanter time than the one I spent recently with Spurinna, so much so indeed that there is no one I would rather imitate in old age, if only it is granted me to grow old; Ep. 3.1.1nihil est enim illō vītae genere distīnctius.for nothing is more orderly than that way of life. Ep. 3.1.2Mē autem ut certus sīderum cursus ita vīta hominum disposita dēlectat.For my part, just as the fixed course of the stars delights me, so does a well-ordered human life. Ep. 3.1.2Senum praesertim: nam iuvenēs cōnfūsa adhūc quaedam et quasi turbāta nōn indecent, senibus placida omnia et ōrdināta conveniunt, quibus industria sēra turpis ambitiō est.Of old men especially: for in the young a certain confusion and, as it were, disorder is still not unbecoming, but to the old everything calm and ordered is fitting, for whom activity taken up late is a disgraceful ambition.
Ep. 3.1.3Hanc rēgulam Spurinna cōnstantissimē servat;This rule Spurinna keeps most steadfastly; Ep. 3.1.3quīn etiam parva haec - parva sī nōn cōtīdiē fīant - ōrdine quōdam et velut orbe circumagit.indeed even these small matters — small, that is, if they did not happen every day — he goes through in a fixed order and, as it were, in a cycle. Ep. 3.1.4Māne lectulō continētur, hōrā secundā calceōs poscit, ambulat mīlia passuum tria nec minus animum quam corpus exercet.In the morning he keeps to his couch; at the second hour he calls for his shoes, walks three miles, and exercises his mind no less than his body. Ep. 3.1.4Sī adsunt amīcī, honestissimī sermōnēs explicantur;If friends are with him, the most worthy conversations unfold; Ep. 3.1.4sī nōn, liber legitur, interdum etiam praesentibus amīcīs, sī tamen illī nōn gravantur.if not, a book is read, sometimes even when friends are present, provided, however, that they do not mind. Ep. 3.1.5Deinde cōnsīdit, et liber rūrsus aut sermō librō potior;Then he sits down, and there is the book again, or conversation, which is better than a book; Ep. 3.1.5mox vehiculum ascendit, assūmit uxōrem singulāris exemplī vel aliquem amīcōrum, ut mē proximē.next he gets into his carriage and takes with him his wife, a woman of singular excellence, or one of his friends, as he took me recently.
Ep. 3.1.6Quam pulchrum illud, quam dulce sēcrētum!How fine, how sweet that privacy is! Ep. 3.1.6quantum ibi antīquitātis!How much of the old days there is in it! Ep. 3.1.6quae facta, quōs virōs audiās!What deeds, what men you may hear of! Ep. 3.1.6quibus praeceptīs imbuāre!With what precepts you may be steeped! Ep. 3.1.6quamvīs ille hoc temperāmentum modestiae suae indīxerit, nē praecipere videātur.although he has imposed this restraint on his modesty, that he should not seem to be giving instruction. Ep. 3.1.7Perāctīs septem mīlibus passuum iterum ambulat mīlle, iterum resīdit vel sē cubiculō ac stilō reddit.When seven miles have been covered he walks another mile, then sits again or betakes himself to his room and his pen. Ep. 3.1.7Scrībit enim et quidem utrāque linguā lyrica doctissima;For he writes lyric poems, and very learned ones, in both languages; Ep. 3.1.7mīra illīs dulcēdō, mīra suāvitās, mīra hilaritās, cuius grātiam cumulat sānctitās scrībentis.they have a wonderful sweetness, a wonderful charm, a wonderful gaiety, whose grace is heightened by the purity of their author. Ep. 3.1.8Ubi hōra balineī nūntiāta est - est autem hieme nōna, aestāte octāva -, in sōle, sī caret ventō, ambulat nūdus.When the hour of the bath has been announced — it is the ninth in winter, the eighth in summer — he walks naked in the sun, if there is no wind.
Ep. 3.1.8Deinde movētur pilā vehementer et diū;Then he exercises with a ball, vigorously and for a long time; Ep. 3.1.8nam hōc quoque exercitātiōnis genere pugnat cum senectūte.for with this kind of exercise too he does battle with old age. Ep. 3.1.8Lōtus accubat et paulisper cibum differt;After bathing he lies down and puts off his meal for a little while; Ep. 3.1.8interim audit legentem remissius aliquid et dulcius.meanwhile he listens to someone reading something lighter and more pleasant. Ep. 3.1.8Per hoc omne tempus līberum est amīcīs vel eadem facere vel alia sī mālint.Throughout all this time his friends are free to do the same things, or others if they prefer. Ep. 3.1.9Appōnitur cēna nōn minus nitida quam frūgī, in argentō pūrō et antīquō;Dinner is served, no less elegant than frugal, on plain and antique silver; Ep. 3.1.9sunt in ūsū et Corinthia, quibus dēlectātur nec afficitur.Corinthian bronzes too are in use, which he takes pleasure in without being obsessed by them. Ep. 3.1.9Frequenter cōmoedīs cēna distinguitur, ut voluptātēs quoque studiīs condiantur.Often the dinner is interspersed with comic actors, so that pleasures too may be seasoned with learning.
Ep. 3.1.9Sūmit aliquid dē nocte et aestāte;He takes something from the night, even in summer; Ep. 3.1.9nēminī hoc longum est;no one finds this long; Ep. 3.1.9tantā cōmitāte convīvium trahitur.with such geniality is the meal drawn out. Ep. 3.1.10Inde illī post septimum et septuāgēnsimum annum aurium oculōrum vigor integer, inde agile et vīvidum corpus sōlaque ex senectūte prūdentia.Hence, after his seventy-seventh year, his ears and eyes are unimpaired in their vigour, hence his body is nimble and lively, and from old age he has only its wisdom. Ep. 3.1.11Hanc ego vītam vōtō et cōgitātiōne praesūmō, ingressūrus avidissimē, ut prīmum ratiō aetātis receptuī canere permīserit.This is the life I anticipate in my prayers and thoughts, and I shall enter upon it most eagerly as soon as the reckoning of my age permits me to sound the retreat. Ep. 3.1.11Interim mīlle labōribus conteror, quōrum mihi et sōlācium et exemplum est īdem Spurinna;Meanwhile I am worn down by a thousand labours, for which this same Spurinna is both my consolation and my example; Ep. 3.1.12nam ille quoque, quoad honestum fuit, obiit officia, gessit magistrātūs, prōvinciās rēxit, multōque labōre hoc ōtium meruit.for he too, as long as it was honourable, undertook duties, held magistracies, governed provinces, and by much labour earned this leisure.
Ep. 3.1.12Igitur eundem mihi cursum, eundem terminum statuō, idque iam nunc apud tē subsignō ut, sī mē longius ēvehī vīderis, in iūs vocēs ad hanc epistulam meam et quiēscere iubeās, cum inertiae crīmen effūgerō.Therefore I set myself the same course, the same goal, and I put my signature to it with you here and now, so that, if you see me carried further, you may summon me to court on the strength of this letter of mine and order me to rest, once I have escaped the charge of idleness. Ep. 3.1.12Valē.Farewell.