Ep. 5.1Quod pertināciter studēs et omnibus omissīs hoc ūnum agis, ut tē meliōrem cōtīdiē faciās, et probō et gaudeō, nec tantum hortor, ut persevērēs, sed etiam rogō.That you study persistently and, leaving everything else aside, pursue this one aim, to make yourself better every day, I both approve and rejoice, and I do not only urge you to persevere, but I even beg you. Ep. 5.1Illud autem tē admoneō, nē eōrum mōre, quī nōn prōficere sed cōnspicī cupiunt, faciās aliqua, quae in habitū tuō aut genere vītae notābilia sint.But I warn you of this: do not, after the fashion of those who desire not to make progress but to be looked at, do things that would be conspicuous in your dress or way of life. Ep. 5.2Asperum cultum et intōnsum caput et neglegentiōrem barbam et indictum argentō odium et cubīle humī positum, et quicquid aliud ambitiō nempe perversā viā sequitur, ēvītā.Avoid rough attire, unshorn hair, a rather neglected beard, a declared hatred of silver, a bed laid on the ground, and whatever else ambition pursues by a perverse path. Ep. 5.2Satis ipsum nōmen philosophiae, etiam sī modestē trāctētur, invidiōsum est;The very name of philosophy, even if it is handled modestly, is unpopular enough; Ep. 5.2quid sī nōs hominum cōnsuētūdinī coeperimus excerpere?what if we begin to withdraw ourselves from the customs of men?
Ep. 5.2Intus omnia dissimilia sint, frōns populō nostra conveniat.Within, let everything be different; let our outward face conform with the people. Ep. 5.3Nōn splendeat toga, nē sordeat quidem.Let our toga not be glittering, nor yet dirty. Ep. 5.3Nōn habeāmus argentum, in quod solidī aurī caelātūra dēscenderit, sed nōn putēmus frūgālitātis indicium aurō argentōque caruisse.Let us not have silver into which embossed work of solid gold has been sunk, but let us not think it a sign of frugality to have done without gold and silver. Ep. 5.3Id agāmus, ut meliōrem vītam sequāmur quam vulgus, nōn ut contrāriam;Let us aim at following a better life than the crowd, not a contrary one; Ep. 5.3aliōquīn quōs ēmendārī volumus, fugāmus ā nōbīs et āvertimus.otherwise we drive away from us and turn aside those whom we wish to be reformed. Ep. 5.3Illud quoque efficimus, ut nihil imitārī velint nostrī, dum timent, nē imitanda sint omnia.We bring about this too, that they are unwilling to imitate anything of ours, while they fear that they would have to imitate everything. Ep. 5.4Hoc prīmum philosophia prōmittit, sēnsum commūnem, hūmānitātem et congregātiōnem.This is the first thing philosophy promises: fellow-feeling, humanity and sociability.
Ep. 5.4Ā quā professiōne dissimilitūdō nōs sēparābit.From this profession our unlikeness to others will separate us. Ep. 5.4Videāmus, nē ista, per quae admīrātiōnem parāre volumus, rīdicula et odiōsa sint.Let us take care that those things by which we wish to win admiration are not ridiculous and hateful. Ep. 5.4Nempe prōpositum nostrum est secundum nātūram vīvere;Our purpose, surely, is to live according to nature; Ep. 5.4hoc contrā nātūram est, torquēre corpus suum et facilēs ōdisse munditiās et squālōrem adpetere et cibīs nōn tantum vīlibus ūtī sed taetrīs et horridīs.it is contrary to nature to torment one's body, to hate simple cleanliness, to seek out squalor, and to use food not only cheap but foul and repellent. Ep. 5.5Quemadmodum dēsīderāre dēlicātās rēs luxuriae est, ita ūsitātās et nōn magnō parābilēs fugere dēmentiae.Just as it is a mark of luxury to long for dainty things, so it is a mark of madness to shun ordinary things that can be had at no great cost. Ep. 5.5Frūgālitātem exigit philosophia, nōn poenam, potest autem esse nōn incompta frūgālitās.Philosophy demands frugality, not penance; and frugality need not be unkempt. Ep. 5.5Hic mihi modus placet: temperētur vīta inter bonōs mōrēs et pūblicōs;This is the measure that pleases me: let our life be balanced between good morals and public ones; Ep. 5.5suspiciant omnēs vītam nostram, sed agnōscant.let all men look up to our life, but let them recognise it.
Ep. 5.6"Quid ergō?'What then? Ep. 5.6Eadem faciēmus, quae cēterī?Shall we do the same things as everyone else? Ep. 5.6Nihil inter nōs et illōs intererit?"Will there be no difference between us and them?' Ep. 5.6Plūrimum.A very great one. Ep. 5.6Dissimilēs esse nōs vulgō sciat, quī īnspēxerit propius.Let anyone who has looked more closely know that we are unlike the crowd. Ep. 5.6Quī domum intrāverit, nōs potius mīrētur quam supellectilem nostram.Let anyone who has entered our house admire us rather than our furniture. Ep. 5.6Magnus ille est, quī fictilibus sīc ūtitur quemadmodum argentō.He is a great man who uses earthenware as he uses silver. Ep. 5.6Nec ille minor est, quī sīc argentō ūtitur quemadmodum fictilibus.Nor is he a lesser man who uses silver as he uses earthenware. Ep. 5.6Īnfirmī animī est patī nōn posse dīvitiās.It is the mark of a weak mind to be unable to endure riches. Ep. 5.7Sed ut huius quoque diēī lucellum tēcum commūnicem, apud Hecatōnem nostrum invēnī cupiditātium fīnem etiam ad timōris remedia prōficere.But to share with you this day's small profit too, I have found in our Hecato that the limiting of desires also helps as a remedy for fear.
Ep. 5.7"Dēsinēs," inquit, "timēre, sī spērāre dēsieris."'You will cease to fear,' he says, 'if you have ceased to hope.' Ep. 5.7Dīcēs: "Quōmodo ista tam dīversa pariter eunt?"You will say: 'How do things so different go side by side?' Ep. 5.7Ita est, mī Lūcīlī: cum videantur dissidēre, coniūncta sunt.So it is, my Lucilius: though they seem to be at odds, they are joined together. Ep. 5.7Quemadmodum eadem catēna et custōdiam et mīlitem cōpulat, sīc ista, quae tam dissimilia sunt, pariter incēdunt;Just as the same chain binds together the prisoner and the soldier guarding him, so these, which are so unlike, march side by side; Ep. 5.7spem metus sequitur.fear follows hope. Ep. 5.8Nec mīror ista sīc īre;Nor am I surprised that they go together thus; Ep. 5.8utrumque pendentis animī est, utrumque futūrī exspectātiōne sollicitī.both belong to a mind in suspense, both to a mind anxious with expectation of the future. Ep. 5.8Maxima autem utrīusque causa est, quod nōn ad praesentia aptāmur, sed cōgitātiōnēs in longinqua praemittimus.But the chief cause of both is that we do not adapt ourselves to the present, but send our thoughts ahead into the distance.
Ep. 5.8Itaque prōvidentia, maximum bonum condiciōnis hūmānae, in malum versa est.And so foresight, the greatest good of the human condition, has been turned into an evil. Ep. 5.9Ferae perīcula, quae vident, fugiunt;Wild beasts flee the dangers they see; Ep. 5.9cum effūgēre, sēcūrae sunt;when they have escaped them, they are free from care; Ep. 5.9nōs et ventūrō torquēmur et praeteritō.we are tormented both by what is to come and by what is past. Ep. 5.9Multa bona nostra nōbīs nocent, timōris enim tormentum memoria redūcit, prōvidentia anticipat.Many of our goods harm us, for memory brings back the torment of fear, and foresight anticipates it. Ep. 5.9Nēmō tantum praesentibus miser est.No one is wretched only from present things. Ep. 5.9Valē.Farewell.