Seneca, Letters 1

Ep. 1.1.1Ita fac, mī Lūcīlī;

Do this, my Lucilius:

Note. The Moral Letters are addressed to Seneca's younger friend Lucilius, and this is the first of 124. mī Lūcīlī: vocative; mī is the vocative of meus, and names in -ius have a vocative in -ī. Ita fac: 'do so', pointing forward to the advice that follows.

Ep. 1.1.1vindicā tē tibi, et tempus, quod adhūc aut auferēbātur aut subripiēbātur aut excidēbat, collige et servā.

claim yourself for yourself, and gather and keep the time which until now was being taken from you, or stolen from you, or was slipping away.

Note. vindicā tē tibi: a legal phrase. vindicāre is to claim someone as free (or as one's own property); Seneca tells Lucilius to claim himself back from the things that use him up. auferēbātur … subripiēbātur … excidēbat: three imperfects, three ways time is lost (taken openly, stolen, simply slipping away); collige et servā are the two remedies.

Ep. 1.1.1Persuādē tibi hoc sīc esse, ut scrībō: quaedam tempora ēripiuntur nōbīs, quaedam subdūcuntur, quaedam effluunt.

Convince yourself that it is just as I write: some of our time is snatched from us, some is quietly taken away, some flows away.

Note. Persuādē tibi: 'persuade yourself', i.e. 'be sure'. hoc sīc esse: indirect statement, 'that this is so'. quaedam tempora … quaedam … quaedam: a tricolon matching the three verbs of the first sentence: ēripiuntur (snatched), subdūcuntur (quietly withdrawn), effluunt (flow away).

Ep. 1.1.1Turpissima tamen est iactūra, quae per neglegentiam fit.

Yet the most shameful loss is the one that comes about through carelessness.

Note. Turpissima: superlative of turpis, 'most shameful'. The worst loss is the one we cause ourselves, per neglegentiam.

Ep. 1.1.1Et sī volueris attendere, maxima pars vītae ēlābitur male agentibus, magna nihil agentibus, tōta vīta aliud agentibus.

And if you are willing to pay attention, the greatest part of life slips away from those who do wrong, a large part from those who do nothing, the whole of life from those who are doing something else.

Note. volueris: future perfect of volō, 'if you are willing'. The sentence is a famous tricolon: male agentibus / nihil agentibus / aliud agentibus, 'doing wrong / doing nothing / doing something other (than what matters)'. The participles are datives of disadvantage, 'slips away from those who…'. Each limb grows: maxima pars, magna (pars), tōta vīta.

Ep. 1.1.2Quem mihi dabis, quī aliquod pretium temporī pōnat, quī diem aestimet, quī intellegat sē cōtīdiē morī?

Whom will you show me who sets any value on time, who puts a price on a day, who understands that he is dying every day?

Note. Quem mihi dabis: 'whom will you give me', i.e. 'show me a man who…'. The relative clauses quī … pōnat, … aestimet, … intellegat are subjunctive because they describe the kind of man (relative clauses of characteristic). sē cottīdiē morī: indirect statement; morī is the infinitive of the deponent morior. The Stoic thought: we die a little every day.

Ep. 1.1.2In hōc enim fallimur, quod mortem prōspicimus;

For in this we are deceived, that we look ahead to death;

Note. quod mortem prōspicimus: 'in that we look ahead to death', as if it lay only in the future.

Ep. 1.1.2magna pars eius iam praeterit.

a great part of it has already gone by.

Note. eius: 'of it', i.e. of death. praeterit here is perfect (a contracted form of praeteriit): 'has passed'. The time we have already lived is time death already owns.

Ep. 1.1.2Quicquid aetātis retrō est, mors tenet.

Whatever part of our life lies behind us, death holds.

Note. Quicquid aetātis: 'whatever of (our) lifetime', a partitive genitive with quicquid. retrō est: 'is behind (us)'.

Ep. 1.1.2Fac ergō, mī Lūcīlī, quod facere tē scrībis, omnēs hōrās conplectere.

So, my Lucilius, do what you write that you are doing: embrace every hour.

Note. quod facere tē scrībis: 'what you write that you are doing'; Seneca writes as if answering a letter from Lucilius. complectere: present imperative of the deponent complector (here spelled conplectere), 'embrace'.

Ep. 1.1.2Sīc fīet, ut minus ex crāstinō pendeās, sī hodiernō manum iniēceris.

So it will come about that you depend less on tomorrow, if you lay hold of today.

Note. Sīc fīet ut: 'so it will happen that'. ex crāstinō pendeās: 'hang on tomorrow', depend on it. hodiernō manum inieceris: 'lay a hand on today', another legal image (manūs iniectiō, seizing what is yours); inieceris is future perfect in the condition.

Ep. 1.1.2Dum differtur, vīta trānscurrit.

While life is put off, it runs past.

Note. differtur: passive of differō, 'is put off'. A short, pointed sentence: the putting-off itself is how life runs past.

Ep. 1.1.3Omnia, Lūcīlī, aliēna sunt, tempus tantum nostrum est.

Everything, Lucilius, belongs to others; time alone is ours.

Note. Omnia … aliēna sunt, tempus tantum nostrum est: everything else is 'another's' (on loan from fortune); only time is truly ours. tantum is the adverb 'only'.

Ep. 1.1.3In huius reī ūnīus fugācis ac lūbricae possessiōnem nātūra nōs mīsit, ex quā expellit quīcumque vult.

Nature has put us in possession of this one thing, fleeting and slippery, from which anyone who wishes can drive us out.

Note. In huius reī … possessiōnem: 'into the possession of this one thing'. fugācis ac lūbricae: 'fleeting and slippery', describing reī. ex quā expellit quīcumque vult: 'from which whoever wishes can evict (us)', again legal language of property.

Ep. 1.1.3Et tanta stultitia mortālium est, ut quae minima et vīlissima sunt, certē reparābilia, imputārī sibi, cum impetrāvēre, patiantur;

And so great is the foolishness of mortals that they allow the smallest and cheapest things, things that can certainly be replaced, to be charged to their account when they have obtained them;

Note. tanta … ut … patiantur: a result clause. quae minima et vīlissima sunt … imputārī sibi … patiantur: 'they allow things that are smallest and cheapest to be charged to them', i.e. they feel indebted for trivial gifts. impetrāvēre = impetrāvērunt, the shorter perfect ending.

Ep. 1.1.3nēmō sē iūdicet quicquam dēbēre, quī tempus accēpit, cum interim hoc ūnum est, quod nē grātus quidem potest reddere.

no one thinks he owes anything when he has received time, although this is the one thing that not even a grateful man can pay back.

Note. nēmō sē iūdicet: the subjunctive continues the result clause. quī tempus accēpit: 'who has received (someone's) time'. nē grātus quidem: 'not even a grateful man'. Time given can never be repaid.

Ep. 1.1.4Interrogābis fortasse, quid ego faciam, quī tibi ista praecipiō.

You will perhaps ask what I am doing, I who give you this advice.

Note. quid ego faciam: indirect question, so the subjunctive. quī tibi ista praecipiō: 'I who instruct you in these things'; ista has a slightly dismissive or ironic tone ('these precepts of mine').

Ep. 1.1.4Fatēbor ingenuē: quod apud luxuriōsum sed dīligentem ēvenit, ratiō mihi cōnstat inpēnsae.

I will confess frankly: as happens with a man who is extravagant but careful, my account of expenses balances.

Note. Fatēbor: future of the deponent fateor. quod apud luxuriōsum sed dīligentem ēvenit: 'as happens with an extravagant but careful man'. ratiō mihi cōnstat impēnsae: 'my account of expenditure balances': Seneca keeps a ledger of how he spends his time, as a careful spendthrift keeps one of his money.

Ep. 1.1.4Nōn possum mē dīcere nihil perdere, sed quid perdam et quārē et quemadmodum, dīcam;

I cannot say that I lose nothing, but I will tell you what I lose, and why, and how;

Note. quid perdam et quārē et quemadmodum: three indirect questions depending on dīcam, 'I shall tell (you) what I lose, why and how'.

Ep. 1.1.4causās paupertātis meae reddam, sed ēvenit mihi, quod plērīsque nōn suō vitiō ad inopiam redāctīs: omnēs ignōscunt, nēmō succurrit.

I will give the reasons for my poverty, but what happens to me is what happens to most people brought to want through no fault of their own: everyone forgives, no one helps.

Note. ēvenit mihi quod plērīsque: 'the same happens to me as to most people'. nōn suō vitiō: 'through no fault of their own'. omnēs ignōscunt, nēmō succurrit: a typically Senecan antithesis in four words.

Ep. 1.1.5Quid ergō est?

So what is the point?

Note. Quid ergō est?: 'What then is the case?', a conversational turn: Seneca comes to his conclusion.

Ep. 1.1.5Nōn putō pauperem, cui quantulumcumque superest, sat est.

I do not think a man poor who is satisfied with whatever little is left to him.

Note. Nōn putō pauperem (esse): 'I do not consider (a man) poor'. cui quantulumcumque superest, sat est: 'for whom whatever little is left is enough'. sat is a short form of satis.

Ep. 1.1.5Tū tamen mālō servēs tua, et bonō tempore incipiēs.

Still, I would rather you kept what is yours, and you will begin at a good time.

Note. mālō servēs tua: 'I prefer that you keep what is yours'; mālō (from mālō, mālle) takes a subjunctive without ut. bonō tempore incipiēs: 'you will begin at a good time', i.e. while you are still young.

Ep. 1.1.5Nam ut vīsum est maiōribus nostrīs, sēra parsimōnia in fundō est.

For, as our ancestors thought, thrift comes too late when you reach the bottom of the jar.

Note. ut vīsum est maiōribus nostrīs: 'as it seemed to our ancestors'. sēra parsimōnia in fundō est: a proverb (from Hesiod, Works and Days): 'thrift at the bottom (of the jar) comes too late'.

Ep. 1.1.5Nōn enim tantum minimum in īmō, sed pessimum remanet.

For what remains at the bottom is not only the least, but the worst.

Note. nōn tantum … sed: 'not only … but'. minimum, pessimum: superlatives of parvus and malus. The dregs left at the bottom of a wine jar are both little and bad, like the last years of a wasted life.

Ep. 1.1.5Valē.

Farewell.

Note. Valē: imperative of valeō, 'be well', the standard close of a Roman letter.