Ep. 24.1Sollicitum esse tē scrībis dē iūdiciī ēventū, quod tibi furor inimīcī dēnūntiat, exīstimās mē suāsūrum, ut meliōra tibi ipse prōpōnās et adquiēscās speī blandae.You write that you are anxious about the outcome of a lawsuit with which the fury of an enemy threatens you, and you think I shall urge you to picture better things for yourself and to rest in pleasant hope. Ep. 24.1Quid enim necesse est mala accersere, satis citō patienda cum vēnerint, praesūmere ac praesēns tempus futūrī metū perdere?For why must one summon up evils, which will have to be endured soon enough when they come, anticipate them, and waste the present time through fear of the future? Ep. 24.1Est sine dubiō stultum, quia quandōque sīs futūrus miser, esse iam miserum.It is without doubt foolish to be wretched already because at some time you are going to be wretched. Ep. 24.1Sed ego aliā tē ad sēcūritātem viā dūcam: sī vīs omnem sollicitūdinem exuere, quicquid verēris nē ēveniat, ēventūrum utique prōpōne, et quodcumque est illud malum, tēcum ipse mētīre ac timōrem tuum taxā;But I shall lead you to peace of mind by another road: if you want to throw off all anxiety, picture whatever you fear may happen as certain to happen, and whatever that evil is, measure it out within yourself and assess your fear; Ep. 24.2intellegēs profectō aut nōn magnum aut nōn longum esse, quod metuis.you will surely see that what you dread is either not great or not long.
Ep. 24.3Nec diū exempla, quibus cōnfirmēris, colligenda sunt;Nor need examples to strengthen you be gathered for long; Ep. 24.3omnis illa aetās tulit.every age has produced them. Ep. 24.3In quamcumque partem rērum vel cīvīlium vel externārum memoriam mīseris, occurrent tibi ingenia aut profectūs aut inpetūs magnī.To whatever area of history, whether of our own state or of foreign ones, you send your memory, you will meet characters of great progress or of great impulse. Ep. 24.3Numquid accidere tibi, sī damnāris, potest dūrius quam ut mittāris in exilium, ut dūcāris in carcerem?Can anything harsher happen to you, if you are condemned, than to be sent into exile, or to be led off to prison? Ep. 24.3Numquid ultrā quicquam ūllī timendum est quam ut ūrātur, quam ut pereat?Is there anything more for anyone to fear than to be burned, than to perish? Ep. 24.3Singula ista cōnstitue et contemptōrēs eōrum citā, quī nōn quaerendī, sed ēligendī sunt.Set out each of these one by one, and call up those who have despised them, who need not be searched for, but only chosen. Ep. 24.4Damnātiōnem suam Rutilius sīc tulit, tamquam nihil illī molestum aliud esset quam quod male iūdicārētur.Rutilius bore his condemnation as if nothing in it troubled him except that he was being judged unjustly.
Ep. 24.4Exilium Metellus fortiter tulit, Rutilius etiam libenter;Metellus bore exile bravely, Rutilius even gladly; Ep. 24.4alter, ut redīret, reī pūblicae praestitit, alter reditum suum Sullae negāvit, cui nihil tunc negābātur.the one granted his return as a favour to the state, the other refused his return to Sulla, to whom nothing was refused at that time. Ep. 24.4In carcere Sōcratēs disputāvit et exīre, cum essent quī prōmitterent fugam, nōluit remānsitque, ut duārum rērum gravissimārum hominibus metum dēmeret, mortis et carceris.Socrates held discussions in prison, and refused to leave, though there were men who promised him escape; he stayed, so as to free mankind from the fear of two most grievous things, death and prison. Ep. 24.5Mūcius ignibus manum inposuit.Mucius placed his hand in the fire. Ep. 24.5Acerbum est ūrī;It is bitter to be burned; Ep. 24.5quantō acerbius, sī id tē faciente patiāris!how much more bitter, if you suffer it by your own doing! Ep. 24.5Vidēs hominem nōn ērudītum nec ūllīs praeceptīs contrā mortem aut dolōrem subōrnātum, mīlitārī tantum rōbore īnstrūctum, poenās ā sē inritī cōnātūs exigentem;You see a man not learned, not equipped with any precepts against death or pain, furnished only with a soldier's strength, exacting a penalty from himself for a failed attempt; Ep. 24.5spectātor dēstillantis in hostīlī foculō dexterae stetit nec ante remōvit nūdīs ossibus fluentem manum, quam ignis illī ab hoste subductus est.he stood watching his right hand dripping away on the enemy's brazier, and did not withdraw the melting hand from the bare bones until the fire was taken away from him by the enemy.
Ep. 24.5Facere aliquid in illīs castrīs fēlīcius potuit, nihil fortius.He could have done something more successful in that camp, nothing braver. Ep. 24.5Vidē quantō ācrior sit ad occupanda perīcula virtūs quam crūdēlitās ad inroganda: facilius Porsenna Mūciō ignōvit, quod voluerat occīdere, quam sibi Mūcius, quod nōn occīderat.See how much keener virtue is to seize on danger than cruelty is to inflict it: Porsenna more easily forgave Mucius for having wanted to kill him than Mucius forgave himself for not having killed him. Ep. 24.6"Dēcantātae," inquis, "in omnibus scholīs fābulae istae sunt;'Those stories,' you say, 'have been sung over and over in all the schools; Ep. 24.6iam mihi, cum ad contemnendam mortem ventum fuerit, Catōnem narrābis."next, when we come to despising death, you will tell me about Cato.' Ep. 24.6Quidnī ego narrem ultimā illā nocte Platōnis librum legentem positō ad caput gladiō?Why should I not tell of him, reading a book of Plato on that last night, with a sword laid at his head? Ep. 24.6Duo haec in rēbus extrēmīs īnstrūmenta prōspexerat, alterum ut vellet morī, alterum, ut posset.He had provided these two instruments for his final extremity, the one so that he might be willing to die, the other so that he might be able to.
Ep. 24.6Compositīs ergō rēbus, utcumque compōnī frāctae atque ultimae poterant, id agendum exīstimāvit, nē cui Catōnem aut occīdere licēret aut servāre contingeret.So, having set his affairs in order, as far as affairs broken and at their end could be set in order, he thought he must make sure that no one should be allowed to kill Cato or have the chance to save him. Ep. 24.7Et strictō gladiō, quem ūsque in illum diem ab omnī caede pūrum servāverat: "Nihil," inquit, "ēgistī, fortūna, omnibus cōnātibus meīs obstandō.And drawing the sword, which until that day he had kept pure of all bloodshed, he said: 'You have achieved nothing, Fortune, by blocking all my efforts. Ep. 24.7Nōn prō meā adhūc sed prō patriae lībertāte pugnāvī, nec agēbam tantā pertināciā, ut līber, sed ut inter līberōs vīverem.Until now I have fought not for my own freedom but for my country's, and I was not acting with such persistence in order to live free, but to live among the free. Ep. 24.7Nunc quoniam dēplōrātae sunt rēs generis hūmānī, Catō dēdūcātur in tūtum."Now, since the affairs of the human race are beyond hope, let Cato be led away to safety.' Ep. 24.8Inpressit deinde mortiferum corporī vulnus.Then he drove a deadly wound into his body.
Ep. 24.8Quō obligātō ā medicīs cum minus sanguinis habēret, minus vīrium, animī idem, iam nōn tantum Caesarī sed sibi īrātus nūdās in vulnus manūs ēgit et generōsum illum contemptōremque omnis potentiae spīritum nōn ēmīsit, sed ēiēcit.When the doctors had bound it up and he had less blood, less strength, but the same spirit, angry now not only with Caesar but with himself, he thrust his bare hands into the wound, and that noble spirit, which scorned all power, he did not let go but hurled out. Ep. 24.9Nōn in hoc exempla nunc congerō, ut ingenium exerceam, sed ut tē adversus id, quod maximē terribile vidētur, exhorter.I am not heaping up examples now in order to exercise my wit, but in order to encourage you against what seems most terrible. Ep. 24.9Facilius autem exhortābor, sī ostenderō nōn fortēs tantum virōs hoc mōmentum efflandae animae contempsisse, sed quōsdam ad alia ignāvōs in hāc rē aequāsse animum fortissimōrum, sīcut illum Cn. Pompēī socerum Scīpiōnem, quī contrāriō in Āfricam ventō relātus cum tenērī nāvem suam vīdisset ab hostibus, ferrō sē trānsverberāvit et quaerentibus, ubi imperātor esset, "Imperātor," inquit, "sē bene habet."And I shall encourage you more easily if I show that not only brave men have despised this moment of breathing out the soul, but that some, cowardly in other respects, have in this matter equalled the courage of the bravest, like that Scipio, father-in-law of Gnaeus Pompey, who, driven back to Africa by a contrary wind, when he saw that his ship was held by the enemy, ran himself through with a sword, and when men asked where the commander was, said, 'The commander is well.' Ep. 24.10Vōx haec illum parem maiōribus fēcit et fātālem Scīpiōnibus in Āfricā glōriam nōn est interrumpī passa.This saying made him equal to his ancestors and did not allow the glory destined for the Scipios in Africa to be broken off.
Ep. 24.10Multum fuit Carthāginem vincere, sed amplius mortem.It was a great thing to conquer Carthage, but a greater to conquer death. Ep. 24.10"Imperātor," inquit, "sē bene habet."'The commander,' he said, 'is well.' Ep. 24.10An aliter dēbēbat imperātor, et quidem Catōnis, morī?Should a commander have died otherwise, and indeed Cato's commander? Ep. 24.11Nōn revocō tē ad historiās nec ex omnibus saeculīs contemptōrēs mortis, quī sunt plūrimī, colligō.I am not calling you back to the histories, nor am I collecting from every century those who despised death, who are very many. Ep. 24.11Respice ad haec nostra tempora, dē quōrum languōre ac dēliciīs querimur;Look back at these times of ours, whose sluggishness and luxury we complain of; Ep. 24.11omnis ōrdinis hominēs suggerent, omnis fortūnae, omnis aetātis, quī mala sua morte praecīderint.they will supply men of every rank, of every fortune, of every age, who have cut short their misfortunes by death. Ep. 24.11Mihi crēde, Lūcīlī, adeō mors timenda nōn est, ut beneficiō eius nihil timendum sit.Believe me, Lucilius, death is so far from being something to fear that, thanks to it, nothing is to be feared.
Ep. 24.11Sēcūrus itaque inimīcī minās audī.So listen to your enemy's threats without anxiety. Ep. 24.12Et quamvīs cōnscientia tibi tua fīdūciam faciat, tamen quia multa extrā causam valent, et quod aequissimum est spērā, et ad id tē quod est inīquissimum conparā.And although your conscience gives you confidence, yet because many things count for much besides the merits of the case, both hope for what is most just and prepare yourself for what is most unjust. Ep. 24.12Illud autem ante omnia mementō, dēmere rēbus tumultum ac vidēre, quid in quāque rē sit;But remember this before everything: to strip things of their commotion and to see what there is in each thing; Ep. 24.12sciēs nihil esse in istīs terribile nisi ipsum timōrem.you will know that there is nothing terrible in them except fear itself. Ep. 24.13Quod vidēs accidere puerīs, hoc nōbīs quoque maiusculīs puerīs ēvenit: illī quōs amant, quibus adsuēvērunt, cum quibus lūdunt, sī persōnātōs vident, expavēscunt.What you see happen to children happens to us too, who are slightly bigger children: those whom they love, to whom they are accustomed, with whom they play, if they see them wearing masks, they are terrified.
Ep. 24.13Nōn hominibus tantum, sed rēbus persōna dēmenda est et reddenda faciēs sua.Not only from men but from things the mask must be removed and their own face restored. Ep. 24.14Quid mihi gladiōs et ignēs ostendis et turbam carnificum circā tē frementem?Why do you show me swords and fires and a crowd of executioners roaring around you? Ep. 24.14Tolle istam pompam, sub quā latēs et stultōs territās!Take away that pomp beneath which you hide and frighten fools! Ep. 24.14Mors es, quam nūper servus meus, quam ancilla contempsit.You are death, whom my slave lately despised, whom my maidservant despised. Ep. 24.14Quid tū rūrsus mihi flagella et eculeōs magnō apparātū explicās?Why do you once more unfold whips and racks before me with great display? Ep. 24.14Quid singulīs articulīs singula māchināmenta, quibus extorqueantur, aptāta et mīlle alia īnstrūmenta excarnificandī particulātim hominis?Why the separate devices fitted to each separate joint, to wrench them apart, and a thousand other instruments for butchering a man piece by piece? Ep. 24.14Pōne ista, quae nōs obstupefaciunt.Put away those things which stun us. Ep. 24.14Iubē conticīscere gemitūs et exclāmātiōnēs et vōcum inter lacerātiōnem ēlīsārum acerbitātem!Order the groans and cries to fall silent, and the bitterness of the voices forced out amid the torture!
Ep. 24.14Nempe dolor es, quem podagricus ille contemnit, quem stomachicus ille in ipsīs dēliciīs perfert, quem in puerperiō puella perpetitur.Surely you are pain, which that man with gout despises, which that dyspeptic endures in the midst of his luxuries, which a girl bears to the end in childbirth. Ep. 24.14Levis es, sī ferre possum, brevis es, sī ferre nōn possum.You are light if I can bear you, you are short if I cannot bear you. Ep. 24.15Haec in animō volūtā, quae saepe audīstī, saepe dīxistī.Turn these things over in your mind, which you have often heard and often said. Ep. 24.15Sed an vērē audierīs, an vērē dīxerīs, effectū proba.But whether you have truly heard them, whether you have truly said them, prove by the result. Ep. 24.15Hoc enim turpissimum est, quod nōbīs obicī solet, verba nōs philosophiae, nōn opera trāctāre.For this is the most shameful charge that is usually thrown at us, that we deal in the words of philosophy, not its works. Ep. 24.15Quid, tū nunc prīmum tibi mortem inminēre scīstī, nunc exilium, nunc dolōrem?What, have you only now learned that death hangs over you, only now exile, only now pain?
Ep. 24.15In haec nātus es.You were born to these things. Ep. 24.15Quicquid fierī potest, quasi futūrum cōgitēmus.Whatever can happen, let us think of as going to happen. Ep. 24.16Quod facere tē moneō, sciō certē tē fēcisse;What I advise you to do, I know for certain you have done; Ep. 24.16nunc admoneō, ut animum tuum nōn mergās in istam sollicitūdinem.now I urge you not to drown your mind in that anxiety of yours. Ep. 24.16Hebetābitur enim et minus habēbit vigōris, cum exurgendum erit.For it will be dulled and have less vigour when it has to rise up. Ep. 24.16Abdūc illum ā prīvātā causā ad pūblicam.Lead it away from your private case to the case of all. Ep. 24.16Dīc mortāle tibi et fragile corpusculum esse, cui nōn ex iniūriā tantum aut ex potentiōris vīribus dēnūntiābitur dolor.Tell yourself that you have a mortal and fragile body, which will be threatened with pain not only from injury or from the force of the more powerful. Ep. 24.16Ipsae voluptātēs in tormenta vertuntur, epulae crūditātem adferunt, ēbrietātēs nervōrum torpōrem tremōremque, libīdinēs pedum, manuum, articulōrum omnium dēprāvātiōnēs.Pleasures themselves turn into torments: feasts bring indigestion, drunken bouts numbness and trembling of the sinews, lusts deformities of the feet, the hands, and all the joints.
Ep. 24.17Pauper fīam;I shall become poor; Ep. 24.17inter plūrēs erō.I shall be among the majority. Ep. 24.17Exul fīam;I shall become an exile; Ep. 24.17ibi mē nātum putābō, quō mittar.I shall think I was born in the place to which I am sent. Ep. 24.17Alligābor;I shall be put in chains; Ep. 24.17quid enim?what of it? Ep. 24.17Nunc solūtus sum?Am I free of bonds now? Ep. 24.17Ad hoc mē nātūra grave corporis meī pondus adstrīnxit.Nature has bound me to this heavy weight of my body. Ep. 24.17Moriar;I shall die; Ep. 24.17hoc dīcis, dēsinam aegrōtāre posse, dēsinam alligārī posse, dēsinam morī posse.what you are saying is: I shall cease to be able to fall sick, cease to be able to be bound, cease to be able to die. Ep. 24.18Nōn sum tam ineptus, ut Epicūrēam cantilēnam hōc locō persequar et dīcam vānōs esse īnferōrum metūs, nec Ixīonem rotā volvī nec saxum umerīs Sīsyphī trūdī in adversum nec ūllīus viscera et renāscī posse cōtīdiē et carpī;I am not so foolish as to run through the Epicurean refrain at this point and say that the terrors of the underworld are empty, that Ixion is not whirled on a wheel, nor a rock pushed uphill on the shoulders of Sisyphus, nor anyone's entrails able to grow again every day and be torn away; Ep. 24.18nēmō tam puer est, ut Cerberum timeat et tenebrās et lārvālem habitum nūdīs ossibus cohaerentium.no one is so much a child as to fear Cerberus and the darkness and the ghostly shape of those held together by bare bones.
Ep. 24.18Mors nōs aut cōnsūmit aut exuit.Death either consumes us or sets us free. Ep. 24.18Ēmissīs meliōra restant onere dētrāctō, cōnsūmptīs nihil restat, bona pariter malaque submōta sunt.For those released, better things remain once the burden is removed; for those consumed, nothing remains: goods and evils alike have been taken away. Ep. 24.19Permitte mihi hōc locō referre versum tuum, sī prius admonuerō, ut tē iūdicēs nōn aliīs scrīpsisse ista, sed etiam tibi.Allow me at this point to quote a line of yours, once I have first reminded you to consider that you wrote those words not for others only, but also for yourself. Ep. 24.19Turpe est aliud loquī, aliud sentīre;It is shameful to say one thing and feel another; Ep. 24.19quantō turpius aliud scrībere, aliud sentīre!how much more shameful to write one thing and feel another! Ep. 24.19Meminī tē illum locum aliquandō trāctāsse, nōn repente nōs in mortem incidere, sed minūtātim prōcēdere;I remember that you once handled that theme, that we do not fall into death suddenly, but advance towards it little by little; Ep. 24.19cōtīdiē morimur.we die every day.
Ep. 24.20Cōtīdiē enim dēmitur aliqua pars vītae, et tunc quoque, cum crēscimus, vīta dēcrēscit.For every day some part of life is taken away, and even when we are growing, life is shrinking. Ep. 24.20Īnfantiam āmīsimus, deinde pueritiam, deinde adulēscentiam.We have lost infancy, then boyhood, then youth. Ep. 24.20Ūsque ad hesternum, quicquid trānsīt temporis, perit;Right up to yesterday, whatever time has passed is lost; Ep. 24.20hunc ipsum, quem agimus, diem cum morte dīvidimus.this very day which we are spending we share with death. Ep. 24.20Quemadmodum clepsydram nōn extrēmum stillicidium exhaurit, sed quicquid ante dēflūxit, sīc ultima hōra, quā esse dēsinimus, nōn sōla mortem facit, sed sōla cōnsummat;Just as it is not the last drop that empties the water-clock, but whatever has flowed out before, so the final hour in which we cease to exist does not by itself cause death, but by itself completes it; Ep. 24.20tunc ad illam pervenīmus, sed diū venīmus.at that moment we arrive at death, but we have been coming for a long time. Ep. 24.21Haec cum dēscrīpsissēs quō solēs ōre, semper quidem magnus, numquam tamen ācrior quam ubi vēritātī commodās verba, dīxistī: "Mors nōn ūna venit, sed quae rapit, ultima mors est."When you had described this in your usual style, always lofty, but never keener than when you fit your words to the truth, you said: 'Death comes not once; the death that takes us off is the last death.' Ep. 24.21Mālō tē legās quam epistulam meam.I would rather you read yourself than my letter.
Ep. 24.21Appārēbit enim tibi hanc, quam timēmus, mortem extrēmam esse, nōn sōlam.For it will become clear to you that this death which we fear is the last, not the only one. Ep. 24.22Videō quō spectēs;I see what you are looking for; Ep. 24.22quaeris, quid huic epistulae īnfulserim, quod dictum alicuius animōsum, quod praeceptum ūtile.you are asking what I have packed into this letter, what spirited saying of some writer, what useful precept. Ep. 24.22Ex hāc ipsā māteriā, quae in manibus fuit, mittētur aliquid.Something will be sent from this very subject which has been in hand. Ep. 24.22Obiūrgat Epicūrus nōn minus eōs, quī mortem concupīscunt, quam eōs, quī timent, et ait: "Rīdiculum est currere ad mortem taediō vītae, cum genere vītae, ut currendum ad mortem esset, effēcerīs."Epicurus rebukes those who long for death no less than those who fear it, and says: 'It is absurd to run to death out of weariness of life, when it is by your way of life that you have made it necessary to run to death.' Ep. 24.23Item aliō locō dīcit: "Quid tam rīdiculum quam adpetere mortem, cum vītam inquiētam tibi fēcerīs metū mortis?"Likewise he says in another place: 'What is so absurd as to seek death, when you have made your life restless through fear of death?' Ep. 24.23Hīs adiciās et illud eiusdem notae licet, tantam hominum inprūdentiam esse, immō dēmentiam, ut quīdam timōre mortis cōgantur ad mortem.You may add to these this further saying of the same stamp, that men's folly, or rather madness, is so great that some are driven to death by the fear of death.
Ep. 24.24Quicquid hōrum trāctāveris, cōnfirmābis animum vel ad mortis vel ad vītae patientiam.Whichever of these you dwell on, you will strengthen your mind for enduring either death or life. Ep. 24.24In utrumque enim monendī ac firmandī sumus, et nē nimis amēmus vītam et nē nimis ōderīmus.For we must be warned and strengthened in both directions, so that we neither love life too much nor hate it too much. Ep. 24.24Etiam cum ratiō suādet fīnīre sē, nōn temerē nec cum prōcursū capiendus est inpetus.Even when reason advises us to make an end of ourselves, the impulse is not to be seized rashly or with a headlong rush. Ep. 24.25Vir fortis ac sapiēns nōn fugere dēbet ē vītā, sed exīre.The brave and wise man ought not to flee from life, but to leave it. Ep. 24.25Et ante omnia ille quoque vītētur affectus, quī multōs occupāvit, libīdō moriendī.And above all let that emotion too be avoided which has taken hold of many, the lust for dying. Ep. 24.25Est enim, mī Lūcīlī, ut ad alia, sīc etiam ad moriendum incōnsulta animī inclīnātiō, quae saepe generōsōs atque ācerrimae indolis virōs corripit, saepe ignāvōs iacentēsque;For there is, my Lucilius, as towards other things, so also towards dying, an ill-considered leaning of the mind, which often seizes noble men of the keenest temperament, and often the cowardly and the downcast; Ep. 24.25illī contemnunt vītam, hī gravantur.the former despise life, the latter are weighed down by it.
Ep. 24.26Quōsdam subit eadem faciendī videndīque satietās et vītae nōn odium sed fastīdium, in quod prōlābimur ipsā inpellente philosophiā, dum dīcimus: "Quoūsque eadem?Some are overcome by a surfeit of doing and seeing the same things, and not a hatred of life but a distaste for it, into which we slip with philosophy itself urging us on, while we say: 'How long the same things? Ep. 24.26Nempe expergīscar dormiam, ēsuriam fastīdiam, algēbō aestuābō.I shall wake, of course, and sleep, be hungry and be sated, be cold and be hot. Ep. 24.26Nūllīus reī fīnis est, sed in orbem nexa sunt omnia, fugiunt ac secuntur.Nothing has an end, but all things are linked in a circle; they flee and they follow. Ep. 24.26Diem nox premit, diēs noctem, aestās in autumnum dēsinit, autumnō hiemps īnstat, quae vērē conpescitur;Night presses on day, day on night, summer ends in autumn, upon autumn winter presses hard, and is checked by spring; Ep. 24.26omnia sīc trānseunt ut revertantur.all things pass on only to return. Ep. 24.26Nihil novī faciō, nihil novī videō;I do nothing new, I see nothing new; Ep. 24.26fit aliquandō et huius reī nausiā."at some point one grows sick even of this.' Ep. 24.26Multī sunt, quī nōn acerbum iūdicent vīvere, sed supervacuum.There are many who judge living to be not bitter, but superfluous.
Ep. 24.26Valē.Farewell.