Ep. 15.1Mōs antīquīs fuit ūsque ad meam servātus aetātem, prīmīs epistulae verbīs adicere: "Sī valēs bene est, ego valeō."The ancients had a custom, preserved right down to my own time, of adding to the first words of a letter: 'If you are well, it is good; I am well.' Ep. 15.1Rēctē nōs dīcimus: "Sī philosophāris, bene est."We rightly say: 'If you are practising philosophy, it is good.' Ep. 15.1Valēre autem hoc dēmum est.For this alone is what being well means. Ep. 15.1Sine hōc aeger est animus.Without this the mind is sick. Ep. 15.1Corpus quoque, etiam sī magnās habet vīrēs, nōn aliter quam furiōsī aut phrenēticī validum est.The body too, even if it has great strength, is healthy only in the way that a madman's or a lunatic's is. Ep. 15.2Ergō hanc praecipuē valitūdinem cūrā, deinde et illam secundam, quae nōn magnō tibi cōnstābit, sī volueris bene valēre.So attend above all to this health, and then also to that second kind, which will not cost you much if you wish to be well. Ep. 15.2Stulta est enim, mī Lūcīlī, et minimē conveniēns litterātō virō occupātiō exercendī lacertōs et dīlātandī cervīcem ac latera firmandī;For it is foolish, my Lucilius, and not at all fitting for a man of letters, to be busy exercising the arms and broadening the neck and strengthening the sides; Ep. 15.2cum tibi fēlīciter sagīna cesserit et torī crēverint, nec vīrēs umquam opīmī bovis nec pondus aequābis.even when your fattening has gone well and your muscles have grown, you will never equal either the strength or the weight of a fatted ox.
Ep. 15.2Adice nunc, quod maiōre corporis sarcinā animus ēlīditur et minus agilis est.Add now that by a greater burden of body the mind is crushed and is less nimble. Ep. 15.2Itaque quantum potes, circumscrībe corpus tuum et animō locum laxā.So, as far as you can, keep your body within bounds and make room for the mind. Ep. 15.3Multa secuntur incommoda huic dēditōs cūrae;Many disadvantages follow those devoted to this concern; Ep. 15.3prīmum exercitātiōnēs, quārum labor spīritum exhaurit et inhabilem intentiōnī ac studiīs ācriōribus reddit.first, the exercises, whose toil drains the vital spirit and makes it unfit for concentration and for keener studies. Ep. 15.3Deinde cōpiā cibōrum subtīlitās inpedītur.Next, by an abundance of food subtlety of mind is impeded. Ep. 15.3Accēdunt pessimae notae mancipia in magisterium recepta, hominēs inter oleum et vīnum occupātī, quibus ad vōtum diēs āctus est, sī bene dēsūdāvērunt, sī in locum eius, quod efflūxit, multum pōtiōnis altius iēiūniō itūrae regessērunt.Add slaves of the worst stamp taken on as trainers, men occupied between oil and wine, for whom the day has been spent to their heart's desire if they have sweated well, if in place of what has flowed out they have poured back plenty of drink, which will sink deeper because of the fasting.
Ep. 15.3Bibere et sūdāre vīta cardiacī est.To drink and to sweat is the life of a man with a weak stomach. Ep. 15.4Sunt exercitātiōnēs et facilēs et brevēs, quae corpus et sine morā lāssent et temporī pāreant, cuius praecipua ratiō habenda est: cursus et cum aliquō pondere manūs mōtae et saltus vel ille, quī corpus in altum levat, vel ille, quī in longum mittit, vel ille, ut ita dīcam, saliāris aut, ut contumēliōsius dīcam, fullōnius;There are exercises both easy and brief, which tire the body without delay and are sparing of time, of which special account must be taken: running, and moving the hands with some weight, and jumping, either the kind that lifts the body high or the kind that sends it far, or the kind that is, so to speak, Salian, or, to put it more insultingly, the fuller's; Ep. 15.4quoius libet ex hīs ēlige ūsum rudem, facilem.choose the practice of any one of these you like, plain and easy. Ep. 15.5Quicquid faciēs, citō redī ā corpore ad animum.Whatever you do, come back quickly from body to mind. Ep. 15.5Illum noctibus ac diēbus exercē;Exercise it night and day; Ep. 15.5labōre modicō alitur ille.it is nourished by moderate labour.
Ep. 15.5Hanc exercitātiōnem nōn frīgus, nōn aestus inpediet, nē senectūs quidem.This exercise no cold, no heat will hinder, not even old age. Ep. 15.5Id bonum cūrā, quod vetustāte fit melius.Cultivate that good which grows better with age. Ep. 15.6Neque ego tē iubeō semper inminēre librō aut pugillāribus;Nor do I bid you always to be bent over a book or writing tablets; Ep. 15.6dandum est aliquod intervallum animō, ita tamen ut nōn resolvātur, sed remittātur.some respite must be given to the mind, yet in such a way that it is not unstrung but relaxed. Ep. 15.6Gestātiō et corpus concutit et studiō nōn officit;Riding in a carriage both shakes up the body and does not hinder study; Ep. 15.6possīs legere, possīs dictāre, possīs loquī, possīs audīre, quōrum nihil nē ambulātiō quidem vetat fierī.you can read, you can dictate, you can talk, you can listen, none of which even walking prevents. Ep. 15.7Nec tū intentiōnem vōcis contempserīs, quam vetō tē per gradūs et certōs modōs extollere, deinde dēprimere.Nor should you despise exercise of the voice, though I forbid you to raise it by steps and fixed scales and then lower it.
Ep. 15.7Quid sī velīs deinde quemadmodum ambulēs discere?What if you should then want to learn how to walk? Ep. 15.7Admitte istōs, quōs nova artificia docuit famēs;Admit those whom hunger has taught new arts; Ep. 15.7erit quī gradūs tuōs temperet et buccās ēdentis observet et in tantum prōcēdat, in quantum audāciam eius patientiā et crēdulitāte prōdūxeris.there will be one to regulate your steps and watch your cheeks as you eat, and go as far as you have drawn on his boldness by your patience and credulity. Ep. 15.7Quid ergō?What then? Ep. 15.7Ā clamōre prōtinus et ā summā contentiōne vōx tua incipiet?Is your voice to begin straight away with shouting and at its highest strain? Ep. 15.7Ūsque eō nātūrāle est paulātim incitārī, ut lītigantēs quoque ā sermōne incipiunt, ad vōciferātiōnem trānseunt.So natural is it to rouse oneself little by little that even people quarrelling begin with conversation and pass on to shouting. Ep. 15.7Nēmō statim Quirītium fidem inplōrat.No one at once calls on the citizens for help. Ep. 15.8Ergō utcumque tibi impetus animī suāserit, modo vehementius fac convīcium, modo lentius, prōut vōx quoque tē hortābitur, in id latus.So, however the impulse of your mind urges you, make your attack now more vehement, now gentler, as your voice too will encourage you, in that direction.
Ep. 15.8Modesta, cum recipiēs illam revocārisque, dēscendat, nōn dēcidat;Let it, when you draw it back and recall it, come down with restraint, not drop; Ep. 15.8media ōris via abeat nec indoctō et rūsticō mōre dēsaeviat.let it go off at a middle pitch and not rage in an untrained and rustic fashion. Ep. 15.8Nōn enim id agimus, ut exerceātur vōx, sed ut exerceat.For our aim is not that the voice should be exercised, but that it should exercise us. Ep. 15.9Dētrāxī tibi nōn pusillum negōtiī;I have taken no small amount of trouble off your hands; Ep. 15.9ūna mercēdula et ūnum Graecum ad haec beneficia accēdet.one little fee and one Greek saying will be added to these favours. Ep. 15.9Ecce īnsigne praeceptum: "Stulta vīta ingrāta est et trepida;Here is a remarkable precept: 'The fool's life is ungrateful and anxious; Ep. 15.9tōta in futūrum fertur."it is carried wholly towards the future.' Ep. 15.9"Quis hoc," inquis, "dīcit?"'Who,' you ask, 'says this?' Ep. 15.9Īdem quī suprā.The same man as above. Ep. 15.9Quam tū nunc vītam dīcī exīstimās stultam?What life do you think is now being called foolish?
Ep. 15.9Babae et Isiōnis?That of Baba and Isio? Ep. 15.9Nōn ita est;That is not so; Ep. 15.9nostra dīcitur, quōs caeca cupiditās in nocitūra, certē numquam satiātūra praecipitat, quibus sī quid satis esse posset, fuisset, quī nōn cōgitāmus, quam iūcundum sit nihil poscere, quam magnificum sit plēnum esse nec ex fortūnā pendēre.it is ours that is meant, we whom blind desire hurls headlong into what will harm us, and certainly will never satisfy us, we for whom, if anything could be enough, it would have been already, we who do not consider how pleasant it is to ask for nothing, how splendid it is to be full and not to depend on fortune. Ep. 15.10Subinde itaque, Lūcīlī, quam multa sīs cōnsecūtus Recordāre.So from time to time, Lucilius, recall how much you have achieved. Ep. 15.10Cum aspēxeris, quot tē antecēdant, cōgitā, quot sequantur.When you have looked at how many are ahead of you, think how many are behind. Ep. 15.10Sī vīs grātus esse adversus deōs et adversus vītam tuam, cōgitā, quam multōs antecesserīs.If you wish to be grateful towards the gods and towards your own life, think how many you have overtaken.
Ep. 15.10Quid tibi cum cēterīs?What have you to do with the rest? Ep. 15.10Tē ipse antecessistī.You have overtaken yourself. Ep. 15.11Fīnem cōnstitue, quem trānsīre nē velīs quidem, sī possīs;Set a limit which you would not even wish to pass, if you could; Ep. 15.11discēdant aliquandō ista īnsidiōsa bona et spērantibus meliōra quam adsecūtīs.let those treacherous goods depart at last, better to those who hope for them than to those who have attained them. Ep. 15.11Sī quid in illīs esset solidī, aliquandō et inplērent;If there were anything solid in them, they would at some point fill us as well; Ep. 15.11nunc hauriendum sitim concitant.as it is, they rouse the thirst of those who drink them. Ep. 15.11Mittantur speciōsī apparātūs.Let showy trappings be dismissed. Ep. 15.11Et quod futūrī temporis incerta sors volvit, quārē potius ā fortūnā inpetrem, ut det, quam ā mē, nē petam?And as for what the uncertain lot of future time rolls on, why should I rather beg fortune to give it than beg myself not to seek it? Ep. 15.11Quārē autem petam?And why should I seek it?
Ep. 15.11Oblītus fragilitātis hūmānae congeram?Am I to heap things up, forgetting human frailty? Ep. 15.11In quid labōrem?For what am I to toil? Ep. 15.11Ecce hic diēs ultimus est.Look, this day is the last. Ep. 15.11Ut nōn sit;Suppose it is not; Ep. 15.11prope ab ultimō est Valē.it is near the last. Farewell.