Ep. 9.36.1Quaeris, quemadmodum in Tuscīs diem aestāte dispōnam.You ask how I arrange my day in summer on my Tuscan estate. Ep. 9.36.1Ēvigilō cum libuit, plērumque circā hōram prīmam, saepe ante, tardius rārō.I wake when I please, usually about the first hour, often before, rarely later. Ep. 9.36.1Clausae fenestrae manent;The windows stay shut; Ep. 9.36.1mīrē enim silentiō et tenebrīs ab iīs quae āvocant abductus et līber et mihi relictus, nōn oculōs animō sed animum oculīs sequor, quī eadem quae mēns vident, quotiēns nōn vident alia.for in silence and darkness I am wonderfully withdrawn from what distracts me, free and left to myself, and I do not make my mind follow my eyes but my eyes follow my mind, for they see what the mind sees, whenever they see nothing else. Ep. 9.36.2Cōgitō, sī quid in manibus, cōgitō ad verbum scrībentī ēmendantīque similis, nunc pauciōra nunc plūra, ut vel difficile vel facile compōnī tenērīve potuērunt.I think over anything I have in hand, think it over word for word like a man writing and correcting, now less, now more, according as it could be composed and retained with difficulty or with ease.
Ep. 9.36.2Notārium vocō et diē admissō quae fōrmāveram dictō;I call my secretary and, letting in the daylight, dictate what I had shaped; Ep. 9.36.2abit rūrsusque revocātur rūrsusque dīmittitur.he goes away, is called back again, and is again dismissed. Ep. 9.36.3Ubi hōra quarta vel quīnta - neque enim certum dīmēnsumque tempus -, ut diēs suāsit, in xystum mē vel cryptoporticum cōnferō, reliqua meditor et dictō.At the fourth or fifth hour — for the time is not fixed and measured — as the weather suggests, I betake myself to the terrace or the covered colonnade, and think over and dictate the rest. Ep. 9.36.3Vehiculum ascendō.I get into a carriage. Ep. 9.36.3Ibi quoque idem quod ambulāns aut iacēns;There too I do the same as when walking or lying down; Ep. 9.36.3dūrat intentiō mūtātiōne ipsā refecta.my concentration lasts, refreshed by the very change. Ep. 9.36.3Paulum redormiō, Dein ambulō, mox ōrātiōnem Graecam Latīnamve clārē et intentē nōn tam vōcis causā quam stomachī legō;I sleep a little more, then walk, then read aloud a Greek or Latin speech, clearly and attentively, not so much for the sake of my voice as of my digestion; Ep. 9.36.3pariter tamen et illa firmātur.yet the voice is strengthened at the same time.
Ep. 9.36.4Iterum ambulō ungor exerceor lavor.Again I walk, am oiled, take exercise, and bathe. Ep. 9.36.4Cēnantī mihi, sī cum uxōre vel paucīs, liber legitur;While I dine, if with my wife or a few friends, a book is read aloud; Ep. 9.36.4post cēnam cōmoedia aut lyristēs;after dinner a comic actor or a lyre-player; Ep. 9.36.4mox cum meīs ambulō, quōrum in numerō sunt ērudītī.then I walk with my household, among whom are some learned men. Ep. 9.36.4Ita variīs sermōnibus vespera extenditur, et quamquam longissimus diēs bene conditur.So the evening is drawn out with varied conversation, and the day, even the longest, is well laid to rest. Ep. 9.36.5Nōn numquam ex hōc ōrdine aliqua mūtantur;Sometimes some things in this routine are changed; Ep. 9.36.5nam, sī diū iacuī vel ambulāvī, post somnum dēmum lēctiōnemque nōn vehiculō sed, quod brevius quia vēlōcius, equō gestor.for if I have lain or walked for a long time, only after my sleep and reading do I take exercise, not in a carriage but on horseback, which is shorter because quicker. Ep. 9.36.5Interveniunt amīcī ex proximīs oppidīs, partemque diēī ad sē trahunt interdumque lassō mihi opportūnā interpellātiōne subveniunt.Friends come in from the neighbouring towns and draw part of the day to themselves, and sometimes, when I am tired, come to my aid with a timely interruption.
Ep. 9.36.6Vēnor aliquandō, sed nōn sine pugillāribus, ut quamvīs nihil cēperim nōn nihil referam.I hunt now and then, but not without my writing tablets, so that even if I have caught nothing I may still bring something back. Ep. 9.36.6Datur et colōnīs, ut vidētur ipsīs, nōn satis temporis, quōrum mihi agrestēs querēlae litterās nostrās et haec urbāna opera commendant.Time is given too to my tenants — not enough, as they themselves think — whose rustic complaints make my literary work and these urban occupations all the more welcome to me. Ep. 9.36.6Valē.Farewell.