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Seneca · Epistulae Morales 2–52

Seneca, Letter 34

A pupil who outruns his teacher

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Ep. 34.1Crēscō et exultō et discussā senectūte recalēscō, quotiēns ex iīs, quae agis ac scrībis, intellegō, quantum tē ipse, nam turbam ōlim relīquerās, superiēceris.I grow and exult and, shaking off old age, I grow warm again whenever I understand from what you are doing and writing how far you have surpassed yourself, for the crowd you had left behind long ago. Ep. 34.1Sī agricolam arbor ad frūctum perducta dēlectat, sī pāstor ex fētū gregis suī capit voluptātem, sī alumnum suum nēmō aliter intuētur quam ut adulēscentiam illīus suam iūdicet;If a tree brought to bear fruit delights the farmer, if a shepherd takes pleasure from the young of his flock, if no one looks upon his foster-child except in such a way as to judge that child's youth his own; Ep. 34.1quid ēvenīre crēdis iīs, quī ingenia ēducāvērunt et quae tenera fōrmāvērunt adulta subitō vident?what do you think happens to those who have trained minds, and suddenly see grown up what they shaped while it was tender? Ep. 34.2Adserō tē mihi;I claim you for myself; Ep. 34.2meum opus es.you are my work.

Ep. 34.2Ego quom vīdissem indolem tuam, iniēcī manum, exhortātus sum, addidī stimulōs nec lentē īre passus sum, sed subinde incitāvī;When I had seen your character, I laid my hand on you, urged you on, applied the spurs, and did not allow you to go slowly, but kept goading you on; Ep. 34.2et nunc idem faciō, sed iam currentem hortor et invicem hortantem.and now I do the same, but by now I am urging one who is already running, and who urges me in turn. Ep. 34.3"Quid aliud?"'What else?' Ep. 34.3inquis;you say; Ep. 34.3"adhūc volō."'So far I only have the will.' Ep. 34.3In hōc plūrimum est, nōn sīc quōmodo prīncipia tōtīus operis dīmidium occupāre dīcuntur;In this lies the greatest part, not in the way in which beginnings are said to take up half of the whole task; Ep. 34.3ista rēs animō cōnstat.this matter rests on the mind. Ep. 34.3Itaque pars magna bonitātis est velle fierī bonum.And so a great part of goodness is the will to become good. Ep. 34.3Scīs quem bonum dīcam?Do you know whom I call good?

Ep. 34.3Perfectum, absolūtum, quem malum facere nūlla vīs, nūlla necessitās possit.The perfect, complete man, whom no force, no necessity, can make bad. Ep. 34.4Hunc tē prōspiciō, sī persevērāveris et incubueris et id ēgeris, ut omnia facta dictaque tua inter sē congruant ac respondeant sibi et ūnā fōrmā percussa sint.Such a man I foresee in you, if you persevere and apply yourself and make it your aim that all your deeds and words agree with one another, correspond to each other, and are struck from a single die. Ep. 34.4Nōn est huius animus in rēctō, cuius ācta discordant.That man's mind is not upright whose actions are at odds. Ep. 34.4Valē.Farewell.

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Grammar in this passage: ablative absolute ×1, purpose clauses ×2, indirect statement ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (131 words)
crēscō, -ere, crēvī, crētumgrow, rise (in power)
et, conj.and; et ... et, both ... and
exsultō, -āre, -āvīleap up; exult, revel, run riot
discutiō, -ere, -cussī, -cussusshatter; clear away
senectūs, -tūtis f.old age
recalēscō, -ere, -caluīgrow warm again, regain one's ardour
quotiēns (adv.)how many times; as often as
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
is, ea, id, dem. pron.this, that; he, she, it, they
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.who, which
agō, agere, ēgī, āctusdrive; do; pass, lead; grātiās agere, see grātia
atque, ac (conj.)and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
scrībō, scrībere, scrīpsī, scrīptuswrite
intellegō, -legere, -lēxī, -lēctusperceive, understand
quantum, adv.how much? how?
tū, tuī, pers. pron.thou, you
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
nam, conj.for
turba, -ae f.crowd
ōlim, adv.once upon a time, once, formerly, of old
relinquō, -linquere, -līquī, -lictusleave behind, leave
superiaciō, -ere, -iēcī, -iectusthrow over, fling over; overtop
sī, conj.if
agricola, -ae m.farmer, tiller of the soil
arbor, -oris, f.tree
ad, prep. with acc.to, toward; at, near; for
frūctus, -ūs, m.enjoyment; fruit
perdūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductuslead or bring through, lead, bring
dēlectō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusplease, delight; passive: enjoy, take pleasure in
pāstor, -tōris, m.shepherd
fētus, -ūs m.offspring, young; fruit, produce (of plants)
grex, gregis m.flock, herd; band, gang
suus, -a, -umhis, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
capiō, capere, cēpī, captustake, catch, seize; receive, suffer; adopt
voluptās, -tātis, f.pleasure
alumnus, -ī m.foster-child, nursling
nēmō, nēminis, m. and f.no one, nobody
aliter, adv.in another way, otherwise, differently
intueor, -tuērī, -tuituslook upon, behold
quam, adv.how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
ut, conj.as; when; that; ita ut, as
adulēscentia, -ae, f.youth
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
iūdicō, -āre, -āvī, -ātumjudge, decide
quis, quid, interrog. pron.who? which? what?
ēveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventuscome out; turn out, happen, befall
crēdō, -dere, -didī, -ditusbelieve
ingenium, -ī n.natural ability, talent, cleverness; character
ēducō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusbring up, rear, raise (children)
tener, -era, -erumyoung, tender
fōrmō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusshape, form, fashion
adultus, -a, -umgrown up, full-grown, mature
subitō, adv.unexpectedly, suddenly
videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsussee; pass., seem
assero (adserō), -ere, -seruī, -sertumlay claim to, claim
ego, meī, pers. pron.I
meus, -a, -ummy, mine
opus, operis, n.work, task
sum, esse, fuī, futūrusbe
cum, conj.when, while, after; since; although
indolēs, -is f.natural character, nature, spirit
tuus, -a, -umthy, thine, your
iniciō, -icere, -iēcī, -iectusthrow in or upon; cause, inspire
manus, -ūs, f.hand
exhortor, -ārī, -ātus sumencourage, urge on
addō, -ere, -didī, -ditusadd, put to
stimulus, -ī m.goad; in Caesar an iron spike set in the ground
neque or nec, conj.and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
lentē (adv.; comp. lentius)slowly
eō, īre, iī, itusgo
patior, patī, passus, bearsuffer, allow
sed, conj.but
subinde (adv.)immediately after; repeatedly, from time to time
incitō, -āre, -āvī, -ātumstir up, provoke
nunc, adv.now
īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron.the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also
faciō, facere, fēcī, factusmake, do; iter facere, see iter
iam, adv.now, already
currō, currere, cucurrī, cursusrun
hortor, -ārī, -ātusexhort, encourage, urge
invicem (adv.)in turn, mutually; ad invicem: to one another
alius, -a, -udanother, other; aliī ... aliī, some ... others
inquam, inquis, inquit, defective verbI say, you say, he says
adhūc, adv.to this point, up to this time, yet, still
volō, velle, voluīwish
in, prep. with acc. and abl.with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
multus, -a, -ummuch, great; plur., many
nōn, adv.not
sīc, adv.so, thus
quōmodo (adv.)how; in what way
prīncipium, -ī n.beginning; prīncipiō, in the first place
tōtus, -a, -umall the, the whole or entire
dīmidium, -ī n.half
occupō, -cupāre, -cupāvī, -cupātusseize; fill
dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictussay, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day
iste, ista, istud, dem. pron.that of yours, that
rēs, reī, f.thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
animus, -ī, m.mind; heart; spirit, courage
cōnstō, -stāre, -stitī, -stātūrusstand together, agree; consist;
itaque, adv.and so, accordingly, therefore
pars, partis, f.part, side, direction
magnus, -a, -umlarge, big, great, mighty; loud
bonitās, -ātis f.goodness, fertility (of land)
fīō, fierī, factus sumbe done or made, become, happen
bonus, -a, -umgood
sciō, -īre, -īvī, -ītusknow
perfectus, -a, -umcomplete, perfect; blameless
absolvō, -ere, -solvī, -solūtusrelease, set free; acquit (of: gen.)
malus, -a, -umbad
nūllus, -a, -umnot any, none, no
vīs, vīs, f.violence, force; virtue, potency, efficacy; plur. vīrēs, -ium, strength; omnibus vīribus, with all one's strength, with might and main
necessitās, -ātis f.necessity, compulsion
possum, posse, potuībe able, have power, can
prōspiciō, -ere, -spexī, -spectumlook ahead, provide for (+ dat.)
persevērō, -āre, -āvī, -ātumpersist
incumbō, -ere, -cubuī, -cubitumlean on; throw oneself into, devote oneself to
omnis, -eall, every
factum, -ī n.deed, act
dictum, -ī n.word, order (dictō audiēns: obedient)
que, enclitic conj.and
inter, prep, with acc.among, between
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.himself, herself, itself, themselves
congruō, -ere, -uīagree, fit, coincide
respondeō, -spondēre, -spondī, -spōnsusreply, answer
ūnus, -a, -umone; only, alone
fōrma, -ae, f.form, appearance; beauty
percutiō, -cutere, -cussī, -cussusstrike through, strike
rēctus, -a, -umdirect, straight
discordō, -ārebe at odds, quarrel, disagree
valeō, -ēre, -uī, -itūrusbe strong or effectual, have effect, prevail
Seneca, Epistulae Morales 2–52. Latin text: R. M. Gummere, Seneca: Ad Lucilium Epistulae Morales (Loeb, 1917–25), public domain; digital text from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA. Word analysis: drafted by our own tagger (trained on the hand-checked texts on this site), with every doubtful word checked by hand. English translation and section titles: written for this app, each checked against the Latin by a second reader.