Ep. 41.1Facis rem optimam et tibi salūtārem, sī, ut scrībis, persevērās īre ad bonam mentem, quam stultum est optāre, cum possīs ā tē impetrāre.You are doing an excellent thing and one wholesome for you if, as you write, you persevere in going towards a sound mind, which it is foolish to pray for when you can obtain it from yourself. Ep. 41.1Nōn sunt ad caelum ēlevandae manūs nec exōrandus aedituus, ut nōs ad aurem simulācrī, quasi magis exaudīrī possīmus, admittat;We need not lift our hands to heaven, nor beg the temple-keeper to let us up to the ear of the statue, as if we could be heard better that way; Ep. 41.1prope est ā tē deus, tēcum est, intus est.God is near you, he is with you, he is within. Ep. 41.2Ita dīcō, Lūcīlī: sacer intrā nōs spīritus sedet, malōrum bonōrum que nostrōrum observātor et.custōsI say this, Lucilius: a holy spirit dwells within us, the observer and guardian of our bad deeds and our good. Ep. 41.2Hic prōut ā nōbīs trāctātus est, ita nōs ipse trāctat.As he has been treated by us, so he himself treats us.
Ep. 41.2Bonus vērō vir sine deō nēmō est;No man, indeed, is good without God; Ep. 41.2an potest aliquis suprā fortūnam nisi ab illō adiūtus exurgere?or can anyone rise above fortune unless helped by him? Ep. 41.2Ille dat cōnsilia magnifica et ērēcta.He gives counsels noble and upright. Ep. 41.2In ūnōquōque virōrum bonōrum "Quis deus incertum est, habitat deus."In each good man 'which god it is is uncertain, but a god dwells there.' Ep. 41.3Sī tibi occurrerit vetustīs arboribus et solitam altitūdinem ēgressīs frequēns lūcus et cōnspectum caelī rāmōrum aliōrum aliōs prōtegentium summovēns obtentū, illa prōcēritās silvae et sēcrētum locī et admīrātiō umbrae in apertō tam dēnsae atque continuae fidem tibi nūminis faciet.If you come upon a grove thick with ancient trees that have risen beyond the usual height, shutting out the sight of the sky by the screen of branches sheltering one another, the loftiness of the forest, the seclusion of the place, and your wonder at a shade so dense and unbroken in the open will give you belief in a divine presence. Ep. 41.3Sī quis specus saxīs penitus exēsīs montem suspenderit, nōn manū factus, sed nātūrālibus causīs in tantam laxitātem excavātus, animum tuum quādam religiōnis suspīciōne percutiet.If some cave, its rocks eaten deep away, holds a mountain suspended over it, not made by hand but hollowed out to such a spaciousness by natural causes, it will strike your mind with a certain inkling of the sacred.
Ep. 41.3Magnōrum flūminum capita venerāmur;We venerate the sources of great rivers; Ep. 41.3subita ex abditō vāstī amnis ēruptiō ārās habet;the sudden bursting forth of a vast stream from a hidden place has altars; Ep. 41.3coluntur aquārum calentium fontēs, et stagna quaedam vel opācitās vel inmēnsa altitūdō sacrāvit.springs of hot water are worshipped, and certain pools have been made sacred by either their darkness or their immense depth. Ep. 41.4Sī hominem vīderis interritum perīculīs, intāctum cupiditātibus, inter adversa fēlīcem, in mediīs tempestātibus placidum, ex superiōre locō hominēs videntem, ex aequō deōs, nōn subībit tē venerātiō eius?If you see a man undaunted by dangers, untouched by desires, happy in adversity, calm in the midst of storms, viewing men from a higher place and the gods from an equal one, will not reverence for him steal over you? Ep. 41.4Nōn dīcēs: "Ista rēs maior est altiorque quam ut crēdī similis huic, in quō est, corpusculō possit?Will you not say: 'This thing is greater and loftier than could be believed to resemble this paltry body in which it dwells? Ep. 41.4Vīs istō dīvīna dēscendit."A divine power has come down into that man.' Ep. 41.5Animum excellentem, moderātum, omnia tamquam minōra trānseuntem, quicquid timēmus optāmusque rīdentem, caelestis potentia agitat.A mind outstanding, controlled, passing over all things as lesser, laughing at whatever we fear and pray for, is stirred by a heavenly power.
Ep. 41.5Nōn potest rēs tanta sine adminiculō nūminis stāre.So great a thing cannot stand without the support of a deity. Ep. 41.5Itaque maiōre suī parte illīc est, unde dēscendit.Therefore in the greater part of itself it is there, whence it came down. Ep. 41.5Quemadmodum radiī sōlis contingunt quidem terram, sed ibi sunt, unde mittuntur;Just as the rays of the sun do indeed touch the earth, but are there whence they are sent; Ep. 41.5sīc animus magnus ac sacer et in hōc dēmissus, ut propius dīvīna nōssēmus, conversātur quidem nōbīscum, sed haeret orīginī suae;so a great and holy mind, sent down for this purpose, that we might know divine things more closely, does indeed dwell among us, but clings to its origin; Ep. 41.5illinc pendet, illūc spectat ac nītitur, nostrīs tamquam melior interest.on that it depends, towards that it looks and strives; it takes part in our affairs as a better being. Ep. 41.6Quis est ergō hic animus?What, then, is this mind? Ep. 41.6Quī nūllō bonō nisi suō nitet;One that shines with no good but its own; Ep. 41.6quid enim est stultius quam in homine aliēna laudāre?for what is more foolish than to praise in a man what belongs to another?
Ep. 41.6Quid eō dēmentius, quī ea mīrātur, quae ad alium trānsferrī prōtinus possunt?What is more mad than one who admires things which can be transferred at once to someone else? Ep. 41.6Nōn faciunt meliōrem equum aureī frēnī.Golden bridles do not make a horse better. Ep. 41.6Aliter leō aurātā iubā mittitur, dum contractātur et ad patientiam recipiendī ōrnāmentī cōgitur fatīgātus, aliter incultus, integrī spīritūs;A lion with a gilded mane, while he is being handled and, worn out, forced to put up with the decoration, is sent into the arena in one way, an untamed one, his spirit unbroken, in quite another; Ep. 41.6hic scīlicet inpetū ācer, quālem illum nātūra esse voluit, speciōsus ex horridō, cuius hic decor est, nōn sine timōre aspicī, praefertur illī languidō et bratteātō.this one, of course, fierce in his charge, as nature wished him to be, handsome in his shagginess, whose beauty is this, that he cannot be looked on without fear, is preferred to that languid, gilded one. Ep. 41.7Nēmō glōriārī nisi suō dēbet.No one ought to glory except in what is his own.
Ep. 41.7Vītem laudāmus, sī frūctū palmitēs onerat, sī ipsa pondere ad terram eōrum, quae tulit, adminicula dēdūcit;We praise a vine if it loads its shoots with fruit, if by the weight of what it has borne it itself drags its props down to the ground; Ep. 41.7num quis huic illam praeferret vītem, cui aureae ūvae, aurea folia dēpendent?would anyone prefer to this vine one from which golden grapes and golden leaves hang? Ep. 41.7Propria virtūs est in vīte fertilitās, in homine quoque id laudandum est, quod ipsīus est.The proper virtue in a vine is fruitfulness; in a man too what must be praised is what is his own. Ep. 41.7Familiam fōrmōsam habet et domum pulchram, multum serit, multum fēnerat;He has a handsome household of slaves and a beautiful house, he sows much, he lends much at interest; Ep. 41.7nihil hōrum in ipsō est, sed circā ipsum.none of these things is in him, but around him. Ep. 41.8Laudā in illō, quod nec ēripī potest nec darī, quod proprium hominis est.Praise in him what can neither be snatched away nor given, what is proper to man.
Ep. 41.8Quaeris quid sit?You ask what it is? Ep. 41.8Animus et ratiō in animō perfecta.The mind, and reason perfected in the mind. Ep. 41.8Ratiōnāle enim animal est homō.For man is a rational animal. Ep. 41.8Cōnsummātur itaque bonum eius, sī id inplēvit, cui nāscitur.His good, therefore, is made complete if he has fulfilled that for which he is born. Ep. 41.9Quid est autem, quod ab illō ratiō haec exigat?And what is it that this reason demands of him? Ep. 41.9Rem facillimam, secundum nātūram suam vīvere.The easiest thing of all: to live according to his own nature. Ep. 41.9Sed hanc difficilem facit commūnis īnsānia;But the madness common to all makes this difficult; Ep. 41.9in vitia alter alterum trūdimus.we push one another into vices. Ep. 41.9Quōmodo autem revocārī ad salūtem possunt, quōs nēmō retinet, populus inpellit?And how can those be called back to health whom no one holds back and the crowd drives on? Ep. 41.9Valē.Farewell.