Ep. 37.1Quod maximum vinculum est ad bonam mentem, prōmīsistī virum bonum, sacrāmentō rogātus es.The strongest bond towards a sound mind is this: you have promised to be a good man, you have been sworn in by the oath. Ep. 37.1Dērīdēbit tē, sī quis tibi dīxerit mollem esse mīlitiam et facilem.Anyone who tells you that this service is soft and easy will be making fun of you. Ep. 37.1Nōlō tē dēcipī.I do not want you to be deceived. Ep. 37.1Eadem honestissimī huius et illīus turpissimī auctōrāmentī verba sunt: "Ūrī, vincīrī ferrōque necārī."The words of this most honourable engagement and of that most shameful one are the same: 'To be burned, to be bound, and to be killed by the sword.' Ep. 37.2Ab illīs, quī manūs harēnae locant et ēdunt ac bibunt, quae per sanguinem reddant, cavētur, ut ista vel invītī patiantur;From those who hire out their hands to the arena, and who eat and drink what they must pay back with their blood, a guarantee is taken that they will endure these things even against their will; Ep. 37.2ā tē, ut volēns libēnsque patiāris.from you, that you will endure them willingly and gladly.
Ep. 37.2Illīs licet arma summittere, misericordiam populī temptāre;They may lower their arms and appeal to the pity of the people; Ep. 37.2tū neque summittēs nec vītam rogābis.you will neither lower yours nor beg for your life. Ep. 37.2Rēctō tibi invictōque moriendum est.You must die upright and unconquered. Ep. 37.2Quid porrō prōdest paucōs diēs aut annōs lucrificāre?Besides, what profit is it to gain a few days or years? Ep. 37.2Sine missiōne nāscimur.We are born without hope of discharge. Ep. 37.3"Quōmodo ergō," inquis, "mē expediam?"'How then,' you say, 'shall I get myself free?' Ep. 37.3Effugere nōn potes necessitātēs, potes vincere.You cannot escape necessities, but you can overcome them. Ep. 37.3"Fit via vī.'Force makes a way.' Ep. 37.3" Et hanc tibi viam dabit philosophia.And philosophy will give you this way. Ep. 37.3Ad hanc tē cōnfer, sī vīs salvus esse, sī sēcūrus, sī beātus, dēnique sī vīs esse, quod est maximum, līber.Betake yourself to her if you want to be safe, if untroubled, if happy, and finally, what is greatest, if you want to be free. Ep. 37.3Hoc contingere aliter nōn potest.This cannot come about in any other way.
Ep. 37.4Humilis rēs est stultitia, abiecta, sordida, servīlis, multīs affectibus et saevissimīs subiecta.Folly is a low thing, abject, mean, servile, subject to many passions, and those most savage. Ep. 37.4Hōs tam gravēs dominōs, interdum alternīs imperantēs, interdum pariter, dīmittit ā tē sapientia, quae sōla lībertās est.These masters, so oppressive, sometimes ruling in turn, sometimes together, are dismissed from you by wisdom, which alone is freedom. Ep. 37.4Ūna ad hanc fert via, et quidem rēcta;One road leads to her, and a straight one at that; Ep. 37.4nōn aberrābis.you will not go astray. Ep. 37.4Vāde certō gradū;Walk with a sure step; Ep. 37.4sī vīs omnia tibi subicere, tē subice ratiōnī;if you wish to subject all things to yourself, subject yourself to reason; Ep. 37.4multōs rēgēs sī ratiō tē rēxerit.you will rule many, if reason has ruled you. Ep. 37.4Ab illā discēs, quid et quemadmodum adgredī dēbeās;From her you will learn what you should undertake and in what way; Ep. 37.4nōn incidēs rēbus.you will not blunder into things. Ep. 37.5Nēminem mihi dabis, quī sciat, quōmodo quod vult, coeperit velle;You will not show me anyone who knows how he came to wish for what he wishes; Ep. 37.5nōn cōnsiliō adductus illō, sed inpetū inpāctus est.he was not led to it by deliberation, but driven by impulse.
Ep. 37.5Nōn minus saepe fortūna in nōs incurrit quam nōs in illam.Fortune runs into us no less often than we run into her. Ep. 37.5Turpe est nōn īre, sed ferrī et subitō in mediō turbine rērum stupentem quaerere: "Hūc ego quemadmodum vēnī?"It is shameful not to walk but to be carried along, and suddenly, in the midst of the whirlwind of affairs, to ask in bewilderment: 'How did I come here?' Ep. 37.5Valē.Farewell.