Ep. 5.6.1Amāvī cūram et sollicitūdinem tuam, quod cum audīssēs mē aestāte Tuscōs meōs petītūrum, nē facerem suāsistī, dum putās īnsalūbrēs.I loved your care and concern, in that when you heard I was going to my Tuscan estate in the summer, you advised me not to, thinking it unhealthy. Ep. 5.6.2Est sānē gravis et pestilēns ōra Tuscōrum, quae per lītus extenditur;The coast of Etruria which stretches along the shore is, to be sure, oppressive and unhealthy; Ep. 5.6.2sed hī procul ā marī recessērunt, quīn etiam Appennīnō salūberrimō montium subiacent.but my estate lies far back from the sea, and indeed it sits below the Apennines, the healthiest of mountains. Ep. 5.6.3Atque adeō ut omnem prō mē metum pōnās, accipe temperiem caelī regiōnis situm vīllae amoenitātem, quae et tibi audītū et mihi relātū iūcunda erunt.And so, that you may set aside all fear on my account, hear about the climate, the lie of the land and the charm of the house, which will be pleasant for you to hear and for me to tell. Ep. 5.6.4Caelum est hieme frīgidum et gelidum;The climate in winter is cold and frosty; Ep. 5.6.4myrtōs oleās quaeque alia assiduō tepōre laetantur, aspernātur ac respuit;myrtles, olives and whatever else thrives on constant warmth it rejects and spurns; Ep. 5.6.4laurum tamen patitur atque etiam nitidissimam prōfert, interdum sed nōn saepius quam sub urbe nostrā necat.yet it tolerates the laurel and even produces it very glossy, and kills it sometimes, but not more often than in the neighbourhood of our city.
Ep. 5.6.5Aestātis mīra clēmentia: semper āēr spīritū aliquō movētur, frequentius tamen aurās quam ventōs habet.The summer is wonderfully mild: the air is always stirred by some breath of wind, though it has breezes more often than winds. Ep. 5.6.6Hinc senēs multī: videās avōs proavōsque iam iuvenum, audiās fābulās veterēs sermōnēsque maiōrum, cumque vēnerīs illō putēs aliō tē saeculō nātum.Hence the many old men: you may see grandfathers and great-grandfathers of men already grown, hear old stories and the talk of our ancestors, and when you arrive there you may think you were born in another age. Ep. 5.6.7Regiōnis fōrma pulcherrima.The shape of the countryside is very beautiful. Ep. 5.6.7Imāgināre amphitheātrum aliquod immēnsum, et quāle sōla rērum nātūra possit effingere.Picture an immense amphitheatre, such as only nature could create. Ep. 5.6.7Lāta et diffūsa plānitiēs montibus cingitur, montēs summā suī parte prōcēra nemora et antīqua habent.A broad, spreading plain is ringed by mountains, and the mountains have tall, ancient woods on their highest parts. Ep. 5.6.8Frequēns ibi et varia vēnātiō.There is plentiful and varied hunting there. Ep. 5.6.8Inde caeduae silvae cum ipsō monte dēscendunt.From there woods for cutting come down with the mountainside itself.
Ep. 5.6.8Hās inter pinguēs terrēnīque collēs - neque enim facile usquam saxum etiam sī quaerātur occurrit - plānissimīs campīs fertilitāte nōn cēdunt, opīmamque messem sērius tantum, sed nōn minus percoquunt.Between these are rich, earthy hills — for it is not easy to come across rock anywhere, even if you look for it — which yield nothing in fertility to the flattest fields, and ripen a rich harvest, only later, but no less fully. Ep. 5.6.9Sub hīs per latus omne vīneae porriguntur, ūnamque faciem longē lātēque contexunt;Below them vineyards stretch along every slope and weave a single surface far and wide; Ep. 5.6.9quārum ā fīne īmōque quasi margine arbusta nāscuntur.at their end, at their lowest edge as it were, plantations of trees spring up. Ep. 5.6.10Prāta inde campīque, campī quōs nōn nisi, ingentēs bovēs et fortissima arātra perfringunt: tantīs glaebīs tenācissimum sōlum cum prīmum prōsecātur assurgit, ut nōnō dēmum sulcō perdomētur.Then come meadows and fields, fields which only huge oxen and the strongest ploughs can break up: the very stiff soil, when first cut, rises in such great clods that it is only tamed at the ninth furrow.
Ep. 5.6.11Prāta flōrida et gemmea trifolium aliāsque herbās tenerās semper et mollēs et quasi novās alunt.The meadows, flowery and jewelled, nourish clover and other grasses, always tender and soft and seemingly fresh. Ep. 5.6.11Cūncta enim perennibus rīvīs nūtriuntur;For everything is fed by never-failing streams; Ep. 5.6.11sed ubi aquae plūrimum, palūs nūlla, quia dēvexa terra, quidquid liquōris accēpit nec absorbuit, effundit in Tiberim.but where there is most water there is no marsh, because the sloping land pours whatever moisture it receives and does not absorb into the Tiber. Ep. 5.6.12Mediōs ille agrōs secat nāvium patiēns omnēsque frūgēs dēvehit in urbem, hieme dumtaxat et vērē;The Tiber cuts through the middle of the fields, navigable for ships, and carries all the produce down to the city, though only in winter and spring; Ep. 5.6.12aestāte summittitur immēnsīque flūminis nōmen ārentī alveō dēserit, autumnō resūmit.in summer it sinks, abandons the name of a mighty river in its dry bed, and takes it back in autumn. Ep. 5.6.13Magnam capiēs voluptātem, sī hunc regiōnis situm ex monte prōspexeris.You will feel great pleasure if you look out over this landscape from the mountain.
Ep. 5.6.13Neque enim terrās tibi sed fōrmam aliquam ad eximiam pulchritūdinem pictam vidēberis cernere: eā varietāte, eā dēscrīptiōne, quōcumque inciderint oculī, reficientur.For you will seem to see not land but a picture of extraordinary beauty: such is the variety, such the arrangement, that wherever your eyes fall they will be refreshed. Ep. 5.6.14Vīlla in colle īmō sita prōspicit quasi ex summō: ita leviter et sēnsim clīvō fallente cōnsurgit, ut cum ascendere tē nōn putēs, sentiās ascendisse.The house, set at the foot of a hill, has a view as if from the top: it rises so gently and gradually, the slope deceiving you, that when you do not think you are climbing, you find you have climbed. Ep. 5.6.14Ā tergō Appennīnum, sed longius habet;Behind, it has the Apennines, but some distance off; Ep. 5.6.14accipit ab hōc aurās quamlibet serēnō et placidō diē, nōn tamen ācrēs et immodicās, sed spatiō ipsō lassās et īnfrāctās.from them it receives breezes on even the clearest and calmest day, yet not sharp or excessive ones, but wearied and broken by the very distance. Ep. 5.6.15Magnā suī parte merīdiem spectat aestīvumque sōlem ab hōrā sextā, hībernum aliquantō mātūrius quasi invītat, in porticum lātam et prō modō longam.A large part of it faces south, and seems to invite the summer sun from midday, and the winter sun rather earlier, into a portico that is broad and long in proportion.
Ep. 5.6.15Multa in hāc membra, ātrium etiam ex mōre veterum.There are many rooms in this part, and even an atrium in the old style. Ep. 5.6.16Ante porticum xystus in plūrimās speciēs distīnctus concīsusque buxō;In front of the portico is a terrace laid out in many shapes and edged with box; Ep. 5.6.16dēmissus inde prōnusque pulvīnus, cui bēstiārum effigiēs invicem adversās buxus īnscrīpsit;from it slopes down a bank on which box has traced the figures of animals facing one another; Ep. 5.6.16acanthus in plānō, mollis et paene dīxerim liquidus.on the level is acanthus, soft and almost, I might say, flowing. Ep. 5.6.17Ambit hunc ambulātiō pressīs variēque tōnsīs viridibus inclūsa;Round this runs a walk enclosed by low, variously clipped shrubs; Ep. 5.6.17ab hīs gestātiō in modum circī, quae buxum multifōrmem humilēsque et retentās manū arbusculās circumit.beyond these is a drive in the shape of a circus, which surrounds box cut into many shapes and dwarf trees kept down by hand. Ep. 5.6.17Omnia māceriā mūniuntur: hanc gradāta buxus operit et subtrahit.Everything is protected by a wall: box, rising in tiers, covers and hides it.
Ep. 5.6.18Prātum inde nōn minus nātūrā quam superiōra illa arte vīsendum;Beyond that is a meadow, as worth seeing for its nature as those earlier parts are for their art; Ep. 5.6.18campī deinde porrō multaque alia prāta et arbusta.then, further off, fields and many other meadows and plantations. Ep. 5.6.19Ā capite porticūs triclīnium excurrit;From the head of the portico a dining-room projects; Ep. 5.6.19valvīs xystum dēsinentem et prōtinus prātum multumque rūris videt, fenestrīs hāc latus xystī et quod prōsilit vīllae, hāc adiacentis hippodromī nemus comāsque prōspectat.through its folding doors it sees the end of the terrace and, beyond it, the meadow and a wide stretch of countryside, while through its windows it looks out on one side upon the side of the terrace and the part of the house that juts out, on the other upon the grove and foliage of the adjoining hippodrome. Ep. 5.6.20Contrā mediam ferē porticum diaeta paulum recēdit, cingit āreolam, quae quattuor platanīs inumbrātur.Roughly opposite the middle of the portico a suite of rooms is set a little back; it surrounds a small court shaded by four plane trees.
Ep. 5.6.20Inter hās marmoreō labrō aqua exundat circumiectāsque platanōs et subiecta platanīs lēnī aspergine fovet.Among these, water overflows from a marble basin and refreshes the surrounding plane trees and the ground beneath them with a gentle spray. Ep. 5.6.21Est in hāc diaetā dormītōrium cubiculum quod diem clamōrem sonum exclūdit, iūnctaque eī cōtīdiāna amīcōrumque cēnātiō: āreolam illam, porticūs alam eademque omnia quae porticus adspicit.In this suite there is a bedroom for sleeping which shuts out daylight, noise and sound, and joined to it a dining-room for everyday use and for friends: it looks out on that small court, on the wing of the portico, and on everything the portico looks out on. Ep. 5.6.22Est et aliud cubiculum ā proximā platanō viride et umbrōsum, marmore excultum podiō tenus, nec cēdit grātiae marmoris rāmōs īnsidentēsque rāmīs avēs imitāta pictūra.There is also another bedroom, green and shady from the nearest plane tree, decorated with marble up to the dado, and a painting of branches and of birds perched on the branches yields nothing to the charm of the marble.
Ep. 5.6.23Fonticulus in hōc, in fonte crātēr;In this room is a little fountain, and in the fountain a bowl; Ep. 5.6.23circā sīpunculī plūrēs miscent iūcundissimum murmur.around it a number of small pipes blend a most delightful murmur. Ep. 5.6.23In cornū porticūs amplissimum cubiculum triclīniō occurrit;In the corner of the portico a very large bedroom faces the dining-room; Ep. 5.6.23aliīs fenestrīs xystum, aliīs dēspicit prātum, sed ante piscīnam, quae fenestrīs servit ac subiacet, strepitū vīsūque iūcunda;from some windows it looks down on the terrace, from others on the meadow, but first on a fishpond, which lies beneath the windows and serves them, pleasant both to hear and to see; Ep. 5.6.24nam ex ēditō dēsiliēns aqua suscepta marmore albēscit.for the water, leaping down from a height, foams white as the marble receives it. Ep. 5.6.24Idem cubiculum hieme tepidissimum, quia plūrimō sōle perfunditur.This same bedroom is very warm in winter, because it is flooded with abundant sun. Ep. 5.6.25Cohaeret hypocauston et, sī diēs nūbilus, immissō vapōre sōlis vicem supplet.A heated room adjoins it, and if the day is cloudy, steam is let in to take the place of the sun.
Ep. 5.6.25Inde apodytērium balineī laxum et hilare excipit cella frīgidāria, in quā baptistērium amplum atque opācum.Next, a spacious and cheerful undressing room of the baths leads into the cold room, in which there is a large, shaded swimming bath. Ep. 5.6.25Sī natāre lātius aut tepidius velīs, in āreā piscīna est, in proximō puteus, ex quō possīs rūrsus astringī, sī paeniteat tepōris.If you want to swim more widely or in warmer water, there is a pool in the courtyard, and close by a well, from which you can brace yourself again if you tire of the warmth. Ep. 5.6.26Frīgidāriae cellae cōnectitur media, cui sōl benignissimē praestō est;Joined to the cold room is the intermediate one, which the sun most kindly attends; Ep. 5.6.26caldāriae magis, prōminet enim.the hot room more so, for it projects. Ep. 5.6.26In hāc trēs dēscēnsiōnēs, duae in sōle, tertia ā sōle longius, ā lūce nōn longius.In this there are three plunge baths, two in the sun, the third further from the sun, but no further from the light. Ep. 5.6.27Apodytēriō superpositum est sphaeristērium, quod plūra genera exercitātiōnis plūrēsque circulōs capit.Above the undressing room is a ball court, which can take several kinds of exercise and several groups of players.
Ep. 5.6.27Nōn procul ā balineō scālae, quae in cryptoporticum ferunt prius ad diaetās trēs.Not far from the baths is a staircase leading to a covered arcade, first passing three suites of rooms. Ep. 5.6.27Hārum alia āreolae illī, in quā platanī quattuor, alia prātō, alia vīneīs imminet dīversāsque caelī partēs ut prōspectus habet.Of these one overlooks that small court with the four plane trees, another the meadow, another the vineyards, and they have views of different quarters of the sky. Ep. 5.6.28In summā cryptoporticū cubiculum ex ipsā cryptoporticū excīsum, quod hippodromum vīneās montēs intuētur.At the top of the covered arcade is a bedroom cut out of the arcade itself, which looks out on the hippodrome, the vineyards and the mountains. Ep. 5.6.28Iungitur cubiculum obvium sōlī, maximē hībernō.Adjoining it is a bedroom open to the sun, especially the winter sun. Ep. 5.6.28Hinc orītur diaeta, quae vīllae hippodromum adnectit.From here begins a suite which links the hippodrome to the house. Ep. 5.6.28Haec faciēs, hic ūsus ā fronte.Such is the appearance, such the use, of the front. Ep. 5.6.29Ā latere aestīva cryptoporticus in ēditō posita, quae nōn adspicere vīneās sed tangere vidētur.At the side is a summer covered arcade set on high ground, which seems not to look at the vineyards but to touch them.
Ep. 5.6.29In mediā triclīnium salūberrimum afflātum ex Appennīnīs vallibus recipit;In the middle of it a dining-room receives a most healthy breeze from the valleys of the Apennines; Ep. 5.6.29post lātissimīs fenestrīs vīneās, valvīs aequē vīneās sed per cryptoporticum quasi admittit.at the back it lets in the vineyards through very wide windows, and through its folding doors the vineyards too, but by way of the arcade, as it were. Ep. 5.6.30Ā latere triclīniī quod fenestrīs caret, scālae convīviō ūtilia sēcrētiōre ambitū suggerunt.Along the side of the dining-room that has no windows, a staircase by a more private route supplies what is needed for a dinner party. Ep. 5.6.30In fīne cubiculum, cui nōn minus iūcundum prōspectum cryptoporticus ipsa quam vīneae praebent.At the end is a bedroom, to which the arcade itself offers no less pleasant a view than the vineyards. Ep. 5.6.30Subest cryptoporticus subterrāneae similis;Beneath is a covered arcade like an underground one; Ep. 5.6.30aestāte inclūsō frīgore riget contentaque āere suō nec dēsīderat aurās nec admittit.in summer it is chilly with the cold shut inside, and, content with its own air, it neither needs breezes nor admits them.
Ep. 5.6.31Post utramque cryptoporticum, unde triclīnium dēsinit, incipit porticus ante medium diem hīberna, inclīnātō diē aestīva.Behind both covered arcades, where the dining-room ends, begins a portico which is wintry before midday and summery as the day declines. Ep. 5.6.31Hāc adeuntur diaetae duae, quārum in alterā cubicula quattuor, alterā tria ut circumit sōl aut sōle ūtuntur aut umbrā.By it you reach two suites, in one of which there are four bedrooms, in the other three, and as the sun moves round they enjoy either sun or shade. Ep. 5.6.32Hanc dispositiōnem amoenitātemque tēctōrum longē longēque praecēdit hippodromus.Far, far surpassing this arrangement and charm of the buildings is the hippodrome. Ep. 5.6.32Medius patēscit statimque intrantium oculīs tōtus offertur, platanīs circumitur;It lies open in the middle and presents itself whole to the eyes of those entering at once; it is surrounded by plane trees; Ep. 5.6.32illae hederā vestiuntur utque summae suīs ita īmae aliēnīs frondibus virent.these are clothed with ivy, and so they are green at the top with their own leaves and at the bottom with another's.
Ep. 5.6.32Hedera truncum et rāmōs pererrat vīcīnāsque platanōs trānsitū suō cōpulat.The ivy wanders over trunk and branches and links neighbouring plane trees by passing across. Ep. 5.6.32Hās buxus interiacet;Between them is box; Ep. 5.6.32exteriōrēs buxōs circumvenit laurus, umbraeque platanōrum suam cōnfert.laurel surrounds the outer box trees and adds its shade to the shade of the planes. Ep. 5.6.33Rēctus hic hippodromī līmes in extrēmā parte hēmicycliō frangitur mūtatque faciem: cupressīs ambītur et tegitur, dēnsiōre umbrā opācior nigriorque;Here the straight boundary of the hippodrome is broken at the far end by a semicircle and changes its appearance: it is surrounded and covered by cypresses, darker and blacker with denser shade; Ep. 5.6.33interiōribus circulīs - sunt enim plūrēs - pūrissimum diem recipit.in its inner circles — for there are several — it receives the clearest daylight. Ep. 5.6.34Inde etiam rosās effert, umbrārumque frīgus nōn ingrātō sōle distinguit.From there it even produces roses, and relieves the coolness of the shade with not unwelcome sun. Ep. 5.6.34Fīnītō variō illō multiplicīque curvāmine rēctō līmitī redditur nec huic ūnī, nam viae plūrēs intercēdentibus buxīs dīviduntur.When that varied and manifold curve is finished, it returns to the straight boundary, and not to that alone, for several paths are divided by box hedges running between.
Ep. 5.6.35Alibī prātulum, alibī ipsa buxus intervenit in fōrmās mīlle dēscrīpta, litterās interdum, quae modo nōmen dominī dīcunt modo artificis: alternīs mētulae surgunt, alternīs īnserta sunt pōma, et in opere urbānissimō subita velut illātī rūris imitātiō.Here a small lawn, there the box itself comes in between, laid out in a thousand shapes, sometimes letters, which spell now the owner's name, now the craftsman's: in places little obelisks rise, in places fruit trees are set among them, and in this most urbane work there is a sudden imitation, as it were, of countryside brought in. Ep. 5.6.35Medium spatium breviōribus utrimque platanīs adōrnātur.The middle space is adorned on both sides with shorter plane trees. Ep. 5.6.36Post hās acanthus hinc inde lūbricus et flexuōsus, deinde plūrēs figūrae plūraque nōmina.Behind these, on this side and that, is acanthus, slippery and winding, then more figures and more names. Ep. 5.6.36In capite stibadium candidō marmore vīte prōtegitur;At the head is a semicircular couch of white marble, shaded by a vine; Ep. 5.6.36vītem quattuor columellae Carystiae subeunt.four slender columns of Carystian marble support the vine.
Ep. 5.6.36Ex stibadiō aqua velut expressa cubantium pondere sīpunculīs effluit, cavātō lapide suscipitur, gracilī marmore continētur atque ita occultē temperātur, ut impleat nec redundet.From the couch water flows out through small pipes, as though pressed out by the weight of those reclining, is received in a hollowed stone, held in a delicate marble basin, and so secretly regulated that it fills it without overflowing. Ep. 5.6.37Gustātōrium graviorque cēna marginī impōnitur, levior nauculārum et avium figūrīs innatāns circumit.The appetisers and the heavier dishes are set on the rim, while the lighter ones float round in vessels shaped like little boats and birds. Ep. 5.6.37Contrā fōns ēgerit aquam et recipit;Opposite, a fountain throws out water and takes it back; Ep. 5.6.37nam expulsa in altum in sē cadit iūnctīsque hiātibus et absorbētur et tollitur.for the water, forced up high, falls back on itself and, through connected openings, is both swallowed and raised up. Ep. 5.6.37Ē regiōne stibadiī adversum cubiculum tantum stibadiō reddit ōrnātūs, quantum accipit ab illō.Facing the couch, a bedroom opposite gives back to the couch as much beauty as it receives from it.
Ep. 5.6.38Marmore splendet, valvīs in viridia prōminet et exit, alia viridia superiōribus īnferiōribusque fenestrīs suspicit dēspicitque.It gleams with marble; through its folding doors it projects and comes out into the greenery, and through its upper and lower windows looks up and down on other greenery. Ep. 5.6.38Mox zōthēcula refugit quasi in cubiculum idem atque aliud.Next a little alcove withdraws, as if into the same bedroom and yet another one. Ep. 5.6.38Lectus hīc et undique fenestrae, et tamen lūmen obscūrum umbrā premente.There is a couch here and windows on every side, and yet the light is dim, with the shade pressing in. Ep. 5.6.39Nam laetissima vītis per omne tēctum in culmen nītitur et ascendit.For a most luxuriant vine climbs over the whole building and mounts to the roof-ridge. Ep. 5.6.39Nōn secus ibi quam in nemore iaceās, imbrem tantum tamquam in nemore nōn sentiās.You may lie there just as in a grove, only you would not feel the rain as you would in a grove. Ep. 5.6.40Hīc quoque fōns nāscitur simulque subdūcitur.Here too a fountain springs up and at once disappears.
Ep. 5.6.40Sunt locīs plūribus disposita sedīlia ē marmore, quae ambulātiōne fessōs ut cubiculum ipsum iuvant.In many places there are marble seats, which help those tired by walking just as the bedroom itself does. Ep. 5.6.40Fonticulī sedīlibus adiacent;Little fountains lie beside the seats; Ep. 5.6.40per tōtum hippodromum inductī strepunt rīvī, et quā manus dūxit sequuntur: hīs nunc illa viridia, nunc haec, interdum simul omnia lavantur.throughout the whole hippodrome channelled streams murmur and follow wherever the hand has led them: by them now these plants, now those, and sometimes all at once, are watered. Ep. 5.6.41Vītāssem iam dūdum nē vidērer argūtior, nisi prōposuissem omnēs angulōs tēcum epistulā circumīre.I would long ago have avoided seeming too fussy, had I not set out to go round every corner with you in my letter. Ep. 5.6.41Neque enim verēbar nē labōriōsum esset legentī tibi, quod vīsentī nōn fuisset, praesertim cum interquiēscere, sī libēret, dēpositāque epistulā quasi residēre saepius possēs.For I was not afraid that it would be wearisome for you to read what would not have been wearisome to visit, especially since you could pause, if you liked, and, putting the letter down, sit down to rest, as it were, more often.
Ep. 5.6.41Praetereā indulsī amōrī meō;Besides, I have indulged my love; Ep. 5.6.41amō enim, quae maximā ex parte ipse incohāvī aut incohāta percoluī.for I love what I have largely begun myself or, once begun, have finished. Ep. 5.6.42In summā - cūr enim nōn aperiam tibi vel iūdicium meum vel errōrem?In short — for why should I not reveal to you either my judgement or my error? Ep. 5.6.42- prīmum ego officium scrīptōris exīstimō, titulum suum legat atque identidem interroget sē quid coeperit scrībere, sciatque sī māteriae immorātur nōn esse longum, longissimum sī aliquid accersit atque attrahit.— I consider the first duty of a writer to be that he should read his title and ask himself again and again what he has set out to write, and know that if he dwells on his subject he is not long, but very long if he fetches in and drags in something extra. Ep. 5.6.43Vidēs quot versibus Homērus, quot Vergilius arma hic Aenēae Achillis ille dēscrībat;You see in how many lines Homer, in how many Vergil describes the arms, the latter of Aeneas, the former of Achilles; Ep. 5.6.43brevis tamen uterque est quia facit quod īnstituit.yet each is brief, because he does what he set out to do.
Ep. 5.6.43Vidēs ut Arātus minūtissima etiam sīdera cōnsectētur et colligat;You see how Aratus tracks down and gathers even the tiniest stars; Ep. 5.6.43modum tamen servat.yet he keeps within measure. Ep. 5.6.43Nōn enim excursus hic eius, sed opus ipsum est.For this is not a digression of his, but the work itself. Ep. 5.6.44Similiter nōs ut "parva magnīs", cum tōtam vīllam oculīs tuīs subicere cōnāmur, sī nihil inductum et quasi dēvium loquimur, nōn epistula quae dēscrībit sed vīlla quae dēscrībitur magna est.Likewise with me, to compare 'small with great', when I try to set the whole house before your eyes, if I say nothing irrelevant and as it were off the road, it is not the letter which describes but the house which is described that is large. Ep. 5.6.44Vērum illūc unde coepī, nē secundum lēgem meam iūre reprēndar, sī longior fuerō in hōc in quod excessī.But back to where I began, so that I may not rightly be censured under my own law if I am too long in this digression I have made. Ep. 5.6.45Habēs causās cūr ego Tuscōs meōs Tusculānīs Tīburtīnīs Praenestīnīsque praepōnam.There you have my reasons for preferring my Tuscan estate to my places at Tusculum, Tibur and Praeneste.
Ep. 5.6.45Nam super illa quae rettulī, altius ibi ōtium et pinguius eōque sēcūrius: nūlla necessitās togae, nēmō accersītor ex proximō, placida omnia et quiēscentia, quod ipsum salūbritātī regiōnis ut pūrius caelum, ut āēr liquidior accēdit.For besides what I have mentioned, the leisure there is deeper and richer and therefore more carefree: no need for a toga, no one calling me from next door, everything calm and quiet, which itself adds to the healthiness of the region, as does the purer sky and the clearer air. Ep. 5.6.46Ibi animō, ibi corpore maximē valeō.There I am at my healthiest in mind and in body. Ep. 5.6.46Nam studiīs animum, vēnātū corpus exerceō.For I exercise my mind with study and my body with hunting. Ep. 5.6.46Meī quoque nūsquam salūbrius dēgunt;My household, too, lives nowhere more healthily; Ep. 5.6.46ūsque adhūc certē nēminem ex iīs quōs ēdūxeram mēcum, - venia sit dictō - ibi āmīsī.up till now, at any rate, I have not lost there — pardon my saying so — a single one of those I brought with me. Ep. 5.6.46Dī modo in posterum hoc mihi gaudium, hanc glōriam locō servent!Only may the gods preserve this joy for me, and this glory for the place, in the future!
Ep. 5.6.46Valē.Farewell.