Ep. 43.1Quōmodo hoc ad mē pervēnerit quaeris, quis mihi id tē cōgitāre narrāverit, quod tū nūllī narrāverās?Do you ask how this reached me, who told me that you were thinking of what you had told no one? Ep. 43.1Is quī scit plūrumum, rūmor.The one who knows the most: rumour. Ep. 43.1"Quid ergō?"'What then?' Ep. 43.1inquis, "Tantus sum, ut possim excitāre rūmōrem?"you say. 'Am I so important that I can stir up rumour?' Ep. 43.1Nōn est quod tē ad hunc locum respiciēns mētiāris;There is no reason why you should measure yourself by looking back to this place; Ep. 43.1ad istum respice, in quō morāris.look to the place where you are staying. Ep. 43.2Quicquid inter vīcīna ēminet, magnum est illīc, ubi ēminet.Whatever stands out among its neighbours is great there, where it stands out. Ep. 43.2Nam magnitūdō nōn habet modum certum;For greatness has no fixed measure; Ep. 43.2comparātiō illam aut tollit aut dēprimit.comparison either raises it or lowers it. Ep. 43.2Nāvis, quae in flūmine magna est, in marī parvula est.A ship which is large on a river is very small on the sea. Ep. 43.2Gubernāculum, quod alterī nāvī magnum, alterī exiguum est.A rudder which is large for one ship is tiny for another.
Ep. 43.3Tū nunc in prōvinciā, licet contemnās ipse tē, magnus es.You are now, in your province, a great man, though you may despise yourself. Ep. 43.3Quid agās, quemadmodum cēnēs, quemadmodum dormiās, quaeritur, scītur;What you do, how you dine, how you sleep, is asked about and known; Ep. 43.3eō tibi dīligentius vīvendum est.all the more carefully, then, must you live. Ep. 43.3Tunc autem fēlīcem esse tē iūdicā, cum poteris in pūblicō vīvere, cum tē parietēs tuī tegent, nōn abscondent, quōs plērumque circumdatōs nōbīs iūdicāmus nōn ut tūtius vīvāmus, sed ut peccēmus occultius.But only judge yourself happy when you can live in public, when your walls will cover you, not conceal you, walls which we generally believe are built around us not so that we may live more safely but so that we may sin more secretly. Ep. 43.4Rem dīcam, ex quā mōrēs aestimēs nostrōs: vix quemquam inveniēs, quī possit apertō ōstiō vīvere.I shall tell you something from which you may judge our morals: you will scarcely find anyone who can live with his door open. Ep. 43.4Iānitōrēs cōnscientia nostra, nōn superbia opposuit;It is our conscience, not our pride, that has set doorkeepers in the way; Ep. 43.4sīc vīvimus, ut dēprendī sit subitō adspicī.we live in such a way that to be suddenly seen is to be caught.
Ep. 43.4Quid autem prōdest recondere sē et oculōs hominum aurēsque vītāre?But what use is it to hide oneself and shun the eyes and ears of men? Ep. 43.5Bona cōnscientia turbam advocat, mala etiam in sōlitūdine ānxia atque sollicita est.A good conscience calls in the crowd; a bad one is anxious and troubled even in solitude. Ep. 43.5Sī honesta sunt quae facis, omnēs sciant, sī turpia, quid rēfert nēminem scīre, cum tū sciās?If what you do is honourable, let everyone know it; if it is shameful, what does it matter that no one knows, when you know? Ep. 43.5Ō tē miserum, sī contemnis hunc testem!How wretched you are if you despise this witness! Ep. 43.5Valē.Farewell.