Ep. 18.1December est mēnsis;It is the month of December; Ep. 18.1cum maximē cīvitās sūdat.just now the city is sweating most of all. Ep. 18.1Iūs luxuriae pūblicae datum est.Licence has been granted to public luxury. Ep. 18.1Ingentī apparātū sonant omnia, tamquam quicquam inter Sāturnālia intersit et diēs rērum agendārum.Everything resounds with huge preparations, as though there were any difference between the Saturnalia and working days. Ep. 18.1Adeō nihil interest, ut nōn videātur mihi errāsse, quī dīxit ōlim mēnsem Decembrem fuisse, nunc annum.So little difference is there that he does not seem to me to have been wrong who said that once December was a month, but now it is a year. Ep. 18.2Sī tē hīc habērem, libenter tēcum cōnferrem, quid exīstimārēs esse faciendum: utrum nihil ex cōtīdiānā cōnsuētūdine movendum an, nē dissidēre vidērēmur cum pūblicīs mōribus, et hilarius cēnandum et exuendam togam.If I had you here, I would gladly confer with you about what you thought ought to be done: whether nothing should be changed in our daily routine, or whether, so as not to seem at odds with public custom, we should both dine more merrily and put off the toga.
Ep. 18.2Nam quod fierī nisi in tumultū et trīstī tempore cīvitātis nōn solēbat, voluptātis causā ac fēstōrum diērum vestem mūtāvimus.For we have changed our dress for the sake of pleasure and for festival days, something which used not to happen except in a time of upheaval and sorrow for the state. Ep. 18.3Sī tē bene nōvī, arbitrī partibus fūnctus nec per omnia nōs similēs esse pilleātae turbae voluissēs nec per omnia dissimilēs;If I know you well, acting the part of an arbiter you would have wished us to be neither like the capped crowd in all things nor unlike it in all things; Ep. 18.3nisi forte hīs maximē diēbus animō imperandum est, ut tunc voluptātibus sōlus abstineat, cum in illās omnis turba prōcubuit;unless perhaps it is on these days most of all that the mind must be commanded to abstain alone from pleasures, just when the whole crowd has sunk down into them; Ep. 18.3certissimum enim argūmentum firmitātis suae capit, sī ad blanda et in luxuriam trahentia nec it nec abdūcitur.for it gains the surest proof of its own firmness if it neither goes nor is drawn away towards things that are alluring and lead to luxury.
Ep. 18.4Hoc multō fortius est, ēbriō ac vomitante populō siccum ac sōbrium esse, illud temperātius, nōn excerpere sē nec īnsignīrī nec miscērī omnibus et eadem, sed nōn eōdem modō, facere.The one is much braver, to stay dry and sober while the people are drunk and vomiting; the other more moderate, not to single oneself out or make oneself conspicuous, nor yet to mingle with everyone, but to do the same things, though not in the same way. Ep. 18.4Licet enim sine luxuriā agere fēstum diem.For one may keep a festival day without luxury. Ep. 18.5Cēterum adeō mihi placet temptāre animī tuī firmitātem, ut ex praeceptō magnōrum virōrum tibi quoque praecipiam: interpōnās aliquot diēs, quibus contentus minimō ac vīlissimō cibō, dūrā atque horridā veste dīcās tibi: "Hoc est quod timēbātur?"However, I am so keen to test the firmness of your mind that, following the precept of great men, I shall give you a precept too: set aside some days in which, content with the scantiest and cheapest food and with rough and coarse clothing, you say to yourself: 'Is this what was feared?' Ep. 18.6In ipsā sēcūritāte animus ad difficilia sē praeparet et contrā iniūriās fortūnae inter beneficia firmētur.It is in the very midst of security that the mind should prepare itself for hardships, and be strengthened against the injuries of fortune amid her favours.
Ep. 18.6Mīles in mediā pāce dēcurrit, sine ūllō hoste vallum iacit et supervacuō labōre lassātur, ut sufficere necessāriō possit.The soldier performs manoeuvres in the midst of peace, throws up a rampart with no enemy in sight, and wearies himself with needless toil, so that he may be equal to necessary toil. Ep. 18.6Quem in ipsā rē trepidāre nōlueris, ante rem exerceās.If you do not want a man to panic in the actual crisis, train him before it. Ep. 18.6Hoc secūtī sunt, quī omnibus mēnsibus paupertātem imitātī prope ad inopiam accessērunt, nē umquam expavēscerent quod saepe didicissent.This is the course followed by those who, imitating poverty every month, came close to want, so that they might never be terrified by what they had often rehearsed. Ep. 18.7Nōn est nunc quod exīstimēs mē dīcere Tīmōnēās cēnās et pauperum cellās, et quicquid aliud est, per quod luxuria dīvitiārum taediō lūdit;You need not think now that I mean Timon-style dinners and paupers' cells, and whatever else luxury plays with out of boredom with riches; Ep. 18.7grabātus ille vērus sit et sagum et pānis dūrus ac sordidus.let the pallet be a real one, and the cloak, and the bread hard and coarse.
Ep. 18.7Hōc trīduō et quatriduō fer, interdum plūribus diēbus, ut nōn lūsus sit, sed experīmentum;Endure this for three or four days, sometimes for more, so that it may be not a game but a trial; Ep. 18.7tunc, mihi crēde, Lūcīlī, exultābis dipondiō satur et intellegēs ad sēcūritātem nōn opus esse fortūnā;then, believe me, Lucilius, you will leap for joy when filled for two pennies, and you will understand that there is no need of fortune for freedom from care; Ep. 18.7hoc enim, quod necessitātī sat est, dat et īrāta.for what is enough for necessity she gives even when angry. Ep. 18.8Nōn est tamen quārē tū multum tibi facere videāris.Yet there is no reason for you to think you are doing much. Ep. 18.8Faciēs enim, quod multa mīlia servōrum, multa mīlia pauperum faciunt;For you will be doing what many thousands of slaves, many thousands of poor men do; Ep. 18.8illō nōmine tē suspice, quod faciēs nōn coāctus, quod tam facile erit tibi illud patī semper quam aliquandō experīrī.admire yourself on this account, that you will do it unforced, that it will be as easy for you to endure it always as to try it now and then.
Ep. 18.8Exerceāmur ad pālum.Let us train at the post. Ep. 18.8Et nē inparātōs fortūna dēprehendat, fīat nōbīs paupertās familiāris.And so that fortune may not catch us unprepared, let poverty become familiar to us. Ep. 18.8Sēcūrius dīvitēs erimus, sī scierimus, quam nōn sit grave pauperēs esse.We shall be rich with less anxiety if we know how far from burdensome it is to be poor. Ep. 18.9Certōs habēbat diēs ille magister voluptātis Epicūrus, quibus malignē famem extingueret, vīsūrus, an aliquid dēesset ex plēnā et cōnsummātā voluptāte, vel quantum dēesset et an dignum quod quis magnō labōre pēnsāret.Epicurus, that master of pleasure, used to have fixed days on which he would satisfy his hunger stingily, to see whether anything was lacking from full and complete pleasure, or how much was lacking, and whether it was worth making up with great labour. Ep. 18.9Hoc certē in hīs epistulīs ait, quās scrīpsit Charīnō magistrātū ad Polyaenum.At least he says this in those letters which he wrote to Polyaenus in the archonship of Charinus. Ep. 18.9Et quidem glōriātur nōn tōtō asse sē pāscī, Mētrodōrum, quī nōndum tantum prōfēcerit, tōtō.And indeed he boasts that he is fed for less than a penny, but Metrodorus, who had not yet made so much progress, for a whole penny.
Ep. 18.10In hōc tū vīctū saturitātem putās esse?Do you think there is a full stomach in fare like this? Ep. 18.10Et voluptās est.There is pleasure too. Ep. 18.10Voluptās autem nōn illa levis et fugāx et subinde reficienda, sed stabilis et certa.And not that light and fleeting pleasure which must be constantly renewed, but a pleasure that is stable and sure. Ep. 18.10Nōn enim iūcunda rēs est aqua et polenta aut frustum hordeāceī pānis, sed summa voluptās est posse capere etiam ex hīs voluptātem et ad id sē dēdūxisse, quod ēripere nūlla fortūnae inīquitās possit.For water and barley-meal or a crust of barley bread is not a delightful thing, but the highest pleasure is to be able to draw pleasure even from these, and to have brought oneself down to what no unfairness of fortune can snatch away. Ep. 18.11Līberāliōra alimenta sunt carceris, sēpositōs ad capitāle supplicium nōn tam angustē, quī occīsūrus est, pāscit Quanta est animī magnitūdō ad id suā sponte dēscendere, quod nē ad extrēma quidem dēcrētīs timendum sit!Prison fare is more generous; those set aside for capital punishment are not fed so meanly by the man who is going to kill them. How great a greatness of mind it is to descend of one's own accord to what need not be feared even by those condemned to the uttermost!
Ep. 18.11Hoc est praeoccupāre tēla fortūnae.This is to forestall the weapons of fortune. Ep. 18.12Incipe ergō, mī Lūcīlī, sequī hōrum cōnsuētūdinem et aliquōs diēs dēstinā, quibus sēcēdās ā tuīs rēbus minimōque tē faciās familiārem;Begin, then, my Lucilius, to follow the custom of these men and appoint some days on which you may withdraw from your affairs and make yourself familiar with very little; Ep. 18.12incipe cum paupertāte habēre commercium.begin to have dealings with poverty. Ep. 18.12"Audē, hospes, contemnere opēs et tē quoque dignum Finge deō."'Dare, stranger, to despise wealth, and you too fashion yourself worthy of the god.' Ep. 18.13Nēmō alius est deō dignus quam quī opēs contempsit.No one else is worthy of the god than he who has despised wealth. Ep. 18.13Quārum possessiōnem tibi nōn interdīcō, sed efficere volō, ut illās intrepidē possideās;I do not forbid you to possess it, but I want to bring it about that you possess it without fear; Ep. 18.13quod ūnō cōnsequeris modō, sī tē etiam sine illīs beātē vīctūrum persuāseris tibi, sī illās tamquam exitūrās semper aspēxeris.and this you will achieve in one way only, if you persuade yourself that you will live happily even without it, if you always look on it as about to depart.
Ep. 18.14Sed iam incipiāmus epistulam conplicāre.But now let us begin to fold up the letter. Ep. 18.14"Prius," inquis, "redde quod dēbēs."'First,' you say, 'pay what you owe.' Ep. 18.14Dēlēgābō tē ad Epicūrum;I shall refer you to Epicurus; Ep. 18.14ab illō fīet numerātiō: "Inmodica īra gignit īnsāniam."the payment will be made by him: 'Immoderate anger begets madness.' Ep. 18.14Hoc quam vērum sit, necesse est sciās, cum habueris et servum et inimīcum.How true this is you are bound to know, since you have had both a slave and an enemy. Ep. 18.15In omnēs persōnās hic exārdēscit affectus;This passion blazes up against all sorts of people; Ep. 18.15tam ex amōre nāscitur quam ex odiō, nōn minus inter sēria quam inter lūsūs et iocōs.it is born as much from love as from hatred, no less amid serious matters than amid sport and jest. Ep. 18.15Nec interest, ex quam magnā causā nāscātur, sed in quālem perveniat animum.Nor does it matter how great the cause it springs from, but what kind of mind it reaches. Ep. 18.15Sīc ignis nōn rēfert quam magnus, sed quō incidat.So with fire it does not matter how great it is, but where it falls.
Ep. 18.15Nam etiam maximum solida nōn recēpērunt;For solid things do not catch even the greatest fire; Ep. 18.15rūrsus ārida et corripī facilia scintillam quoque fovent ūsque in incendium.on the other hand, things that are dry and easily kindled nurse even a spark into a conflagration. Ep. 18.15Ita est, mī Lūcīlī, ingentis īrae exitus furor est, et ideō īra vītanda est nōn moderātiōnis causā, sed sānitātis.So it is, my Lucilius: the outcome of great anger is madness, and therefore anger must be avoided not for the sake of moderation, but for the sake of sanity. Ep. 18.15Valē.Farewell.