Ep. 2.1Ex iīs quae mihi scrībis, et ex iīs quae audiō, bonam spem dē tē concipiō;From what you write to me, and from what I hear, I conceive good hope of you; Ep. 2.1nōn discurris nec locōrum mūtātiōnibus inquiētāris.you do not rush about, nor are you unsettled by changes of place. Ep. 2.1Aegrī animī ista iactātiō est.That tossing about belongs to a sick mind. Ep. 2.1Prīmum argūmentum conpositae mentis exīstimō posse cōnsistere et sēcum morārī.I consider the first proof of a well-ordered mind to be the ability to stay in one place and to dwell with oneself. Ep. 2.2Illud autem vidē, nē ista lēctiō auctōrum multōrum et omnis generis volūminum habeat aliquid vagum et īnstabile.But see to this, that your reading of many authors and of books of every kind does not have something wandering and unsteady about it. Ep. 2.2Certīs ingeniīs inmorārī et innūtrīrī oportet, sī velīs aliquid trahere, quod in animō fidēliter sedeat.You must linger over a few chosen minds and be nourished by them, if you wish to draw from them something that will settle faithfully in your mind.
Ep. 2.2Nūsquam est, quī ubīque est.He who is everywhere is nowhere. Ep. 2.2Vītam in peregrīnātiōne exigentibus hoc ēvenit, ut multa hospitia habeant, nūllās amīcitiās.This is what happens to those who spend their life travelling abroad: they have many hosts, but no friendships. Ep. 2.2Idem accidat necesse est iīs, quī nūllīus sē ingeniō familiāriter applicant, sed omnia cursim et properantēs trānsmittunt.The same must needs befall those who attach themselves closely to no one's mind, but pass everything by in a rush and a hurry. Ep. 2.3Nōn prōdest cibus nec corporī accēdit, quī statim sūmptus ēmittitur;Food does no good and is not taken into the body if it is expelled as soon as it is eaten; Ep. 2.3nihil aequē sānitātem impedit quam remediōrum crēbra mūtātiō;nothing hinders health so much as frequent changing of remedies; Ep. 2.3nōn venit vulnus ad cicātrīcem, in quō medicāmenta temptantur;a wound does not come to a scar if medicines are being tried out on it; Ep. 2.3nōn convalēscit planta, quae saepe trānsfertur.a plant does not grow strong if it is often moved. Ep. 2.3Nihil tam ūtile est, ut in trānsitū prōsit.Nothing is so useful that it can be of benefit in passing.
Ep. 2.3Distringit librōrum multitūdō.A multitude of books distracts. Ep. 2.3Itaque cum legere nōn possīs, quantum habuerīs, satis est habēre, quantum legās.And so, since you cannot read as much as you may possess, it is enough to possess as much as you can read. Ep. 2.4"Sed modo," inquis, "hunc librum ēvolvere volō, modo illum."'But,' you say, 'I want to unroll this book now, and now that one.' Ep. 2.4Fastīdientis stomachī est multa dēgustāre;It is the mark of a squeamish stomach to taste many things; Ep. 2.4quae ubi varia, sunt et dīversa, inquinant, nōn alunt.and when these are varied and diverse, they defile and do not nourish. Ep. 2.4Probātōs itaque semper lege, et sī quandō ad aliōs dēvertī libuerit, ad priōrēs redī.So always read authors of proven worth, and if ever you feel like turning aside to others, return to the earlier ones. Ep. 2.4Aliquid cōtīdiē adversus paupertātem, aliquid adversus mortem auxiliī comparā, nec minus adversus cēterās pestēs;Each day procure some help against poverty, some against death, and no less against the other plagues; Ep. 2.4et cum multa percurrēns, ūnum excerpe, quod illō diē concoquās.and when you have run through many things, pick out one to digest that day.
Ep. 2.5Hoc ipse quoque faciō;This is what I do myself too; Ep. 2.5ex plūribus, quae lēgī, aliquid adprehendō.out of the many things I have read, I lay hold of something. Ep. 2.5Hodiernum hoc est, quod apud Epicūrum nanctus sum;Today's is this, which I came upon in Epicurus; Ep. 2.5soleō enim et in aliēna castra trānsīre, nōn tamquam trānsfuga, sed tamquam explōrātor.for I am in the habit of crossing even into the enemy's camp, not as a deserter, but as a scout. Ep. 2.6"Honesta," inquit, "rēs est laeta paupertās."'Cheerful poverty,' he says, 'is an honourable thing.' Ep. 2.6Illa vērō nōn est paupertās, sī laeta est.But it is not poverty at all, if it is cheerful. Ep. 2.6Nōn quī parum habet, sed quī plūs cupit, pauper est.It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, who is poor. Ep. 2.6Quid enim rēfert, quantum illī in arcā, quantum in horreīs iaceat, quantum pāscat aut fēneret, sī aliēnō inminet, sī nōn adquīsīta sed adquīrenda computat?For what does it matter how much lies in his strongbox, how much in his granaries, how many beasts he grazes or how much money he lends at interest, if he hangs over another's goods, if he counts not what he has acquired but what he has yet to acquire?
Ep. 2.6Quis sit dīvitiārum modus, quaeris?Do you ask what the limit of wealth is? Ep. 2.6Prīmus habēre quod necesse est, proximus quod sat est.First, to have what is necessary; next, to have what is enough. Ep. 2.6Valē.Farewell.