Ep. 32.1Inquīrō dē tē et ab omnibus scīscitor, quī ex istā regiōne veniunt, quid agās, ubi et cum quibus morēris.I ask about you, and inquire of everyone who comes from your region what you are doing, where and with whom you are spending your time. Ep. 32.1Verba dare nōn potes;You cannot deceive me; Ep. 32.1tēcum sum.I am with you. Ep. 32.1Sīc vīve, tamquam quid faciās audītūrus sim, immō tamquam vīsūrus.Live as though I were going to hear what you do, or rather as though I were going to see it. Ep. 32.1Quaeris quid mē maximē ex iīs, quae dē tē audiō, dēlectet?Do you ask what delights me most of all that I hear about you? Ep. 32.1Quod nihil audiō, quod plērīque ex hīs, quōs interrogō, nesciunt quid agās.That I hear nothing, that most of those I question do not know what you are doing. Ep. 32.2Hoc est salūtāre, nōn conversārī dissimilibus et dīversa cupientibus.This is what is healthy: not to associate with people unlike yourself and with desires different from your own. Ep. 32.2Habeō quidem fīdūciam nōn posse tē dētorquērī mānsūrumque in prōpositō, etiam sī sollicitantium turba circumeat.I am confident indeed that you cannot be turned aside and that you will hold to your purpose, even if a crowd of tempters surrounds you.
Ep. 32.2Quid ergō est?What then? Ep. 32.2Nōn timeō, nē mūtent tē, timeō, nē inpediant.I do not fear that they will change you; I fear that they will hinder you. Ep. 32.2Multum autem nocet etiam quī morātur, utique in tantā brevitāte vītae, quam breviōrem incōnstantia facimus aliud eius subinde atque aliud facientēs initium.And even one who delays you does great harm, especially when life is so short, and we make it shorter by our inconstancy, making one fresh beginning of it after another. Ep. 32.2Dīdūcimus illam in particulās ac lancināmus.We split it into little pieces and tear it to shreds. Ep. 32.3Properā ergō, Lūcīlī cārissime, et cōgitā quantum additūrus celeritātī fuerīs, sī ā tergō hostis īnstāret, sī equitem adventāre suspicārēris ac fugientium premere vestīgia.Hurry, then, dearest Lucilius, and think how much you would add to your speed if an enemy were pressing at your back, if you suspected that cavalry were approaching and following hard on the tracks of the fugitives. Ep. 32.3Fit hoc, premeris;This is happening: you are being pressed; Ep. 32.3accelerā et ēvāde, perdūc tē in tūtum et subinde cōnsīderā, quam pulchra rēs sit cōnsummāre vītam ante mortem, deinde expectāre sēcūrum reliquam temporis suī partem, nihil sibi, in possessiōne beātae vītae positum, quae beātior nōn fit, sī longior.speed up and escape, bring yourself to safety, and consider again and again what a fine thing it is to complete one's life before death, and then to await the remaining portion of one's time free from care, claiming nothing for oneself, established in possession of a happy life, which does not become happier by becoming longer.
Ep. 32.4Ō quandō illud vidēbis tempus, quō sciēs tempus ad tē nōn pertinēre, quō tranquillus placidusque eris et crāstinī neglegēns ut in summā tuī satietāte!Oh, when will you see that time when you will know that time is no concern of yours, when you will be tranquil and calm and careless of tomorrow, as one who has his fill of himself! Ep. 32.4Vīs scīre, quid sit, quod faciat hominēs avidōs futūrī?Do you want to know what it is that makes people greedy for the future? Ep. 32.4Nēmō sibi contigit.No one has come into possession of himself. Ep. 32.4Optāvērunt itaque tibi alia parentēs tuī;And so your parents wished other things for you; Ep. 32.4sed ego contrā omnium tibi eōrum contemptum optō, quōrum illī cōpiam.but I, on the contrary, wish you contempt for all those things of which they wished you abundance. Ep. 32.4Vōta illōrum multōs conpīlant, ut tē locuplētent.Their prayers plunder many people in order to enrich you. Ep. 32.4Quicquid ad tē trānsferunt, alicui dētrahendum est.Whatever they transfer to you must be taken away from someone. Ep. 32.5Optō tibi tuī facultātem, ut vagīs cōgitātiōnibus agitāta mēns tandem resistat et certa sit, ut placeat sibi et intellēctīs vērīs bonīs, quae, simul intellēcta sunt, possidentur, aetātis adiectiōne nōn egeat.I wish you possession of yourself, so that your mind, tossed about by wandering thoughts, may at last stand firm and be steady, that it may be content with itself and, having understood the true goods, which are possessed as soon as they are understood, may have no need of added years.
Ep. 32.5Ille dēmum necessitātēs supergressus est et exauctōrātus ac līber, quī vīvit vītā perāctā.He alone has risen above necessities, and is discharged and free, who lives when his life is complete. Ep. 32.5Valē.Farewell.