Ep. 51.1Quōmodo quisque potest, mī Lūcīlī!Each man as best he can, my Lucilius! Ep. 51.1Tū istīc habēs Aetnam, ēditum illum ac nōbilissimum Siciliae montem, quem quārē dīxerit Messāla ūnicum, sīve Valgius, apud utrumque enim lēgī, nōn reperiō, cum plūrima loca ēvomant ignem, nōn tantum ēdita, quod crēbrius ēvenit, vidēlicet quia ignis in altissimum effertur, sed etiam iacentia.You have Etna there, that lofty and most famous mountain of Sicily, which Messala, or Valgius, for I have read it in both, called unique, though I cannot discover why, since very many places belch out fire, not only lofty ones, where it happens more often, evidently because fire is carried up to the highest point, but low-lying ones too. Ep. 51.1Nōs utcumque possumus, contentī sumus Bāīs, quās posterō diē quam adtigeram relīquī, locum ob hoc dēvītandum, cum habeat quāsdam nātūrālēs dōtēs, quia illum sibi celebrandum luxuria dēsūmpsit.We, as best we can, are content with Baiae, which I left the day after I reached it, a place to be avoided for this reason, although it has certain natural gifts, that luxury has chosen it for her own resort. Ep. 51.2"Quid ergō?'What then?
Ep. 51.2Ūllī locō indīcendum est odium?"Must we declare hatred against any place?' Ep. 51.2Minimē.Not at all. Ep. 51.2Sed quemadmodum aliqua vestis sapientī ac probō virō magis convenit quam aliqua, nec ūllum colōrem ille ōdit, sed aliquem parum putat aptum esse frūgālitātem professō;But just as one garment suits a wise and upright man better than another, and he hates no colour, but thinks some colour hardly fitting for one who professes frugality; Ep. 51.2sīc regiō quoque est, quam sapiēns vir aut ad sapientiam tendēns dēclīnet tamquam aliēnam bonīs mōribus.so too there is a district which a wise man, or one striving towards wisdom, would avoid as foreign to good morals. Ep. 51.3Itaque dē sēcessū cōgitāns numquam Canōpum ēliget, quamvīs nēminem Canōpus esse frūgī vetet, nē Bāiās quidem;And so, when thinking of retirement, he will never choose Canopus, although Canopus forbids no one to be frugal, nor Baiae either; Ep. 51.3dēversōrium vitiōrum esse coepērunt.they have begun to be an inn for vices. Ep. 51.3Illīc sibi plūrimum luxuria permittit, illīc, tamquam aliqua licentia dēbeātur locō, magis solvitur.There luxury permits itself the most, there, as though some licence were owed to the place, it is more unrestrained.
Ep. 51.4Nōn tantum corporī, sed etiam mōribus salūbrem locum ēligere dēbēmus.We ought to choose a place healthy not only for the body but also for the character. Ep. 51.4Quemadmodum inter tortōrēs habitāre nōlim, sīc nē inter popīnās quidem.Just as I would not wish to live among torturers, so I would not wish to live among cookshops either. Ep. 51.4Vidēre ēbriōs per lītora errantēs et cōmessātiōnēs nāvigantium et symphōniārum cantibus strepentēs lacūs et alia, quae velut solūta lēgibus luxuria nōn tantum peccat, sed pūblicat, quid necesse est?What need is there to see drunkards wandering along the shores, and the revels of boating parties, and lakes resounding with the songs of choirs, and other things which luxury, as though released from the laws, not only commits but makes public? Ep. 51.5Id agere dēbēmus, ut irrītāmenta vitiōrum quam longissimē profugiāmus.We ought to make it our aim to flee as far as possible from the incitements to vice. Ep. 51.5Indūrandus est animus et ā blandīmentīs voluptātum procul abstrahendus.The mind must be hardened and drawn far away from the allurements of pleasures.
Ep. 51.5Ūna Hannibalem hīberna solvērunt et indomitum illum nivibus atque Alpibus virum ēnervāvērunt fōmenta Campāniae.A single winter's quarters undid Hannibal, and the comforts of Campania unnerved that man whom snows and Alps had not tamed. Ep. 51.5Armīs vīcit, vitiīs victus est.He conquered with arms; he was conquered by vices. Ep. 51.6Nōbīs quoque mīlitandum est, et quidem genere mīlitiae, quō numquam quiēs, numquam ōtium datur.We too must serve as soldiers, and indeed in a kind of warfare in which no rest, no leisure is ever granted. Ep. 51.6Dēbellandae sunt in prīmīs voluptātēs, quae, ut vidēs, saeva quoque ad sē ingenia rapuērunt.First of all, pleasures must be vanquished, which, as you see, have carried off even fierce natures to themselves. Ep. 51.6Sī quis sibi prōposuerit quantum operis adgressus sit, sciet nihil dēlicātē, nihil molliter esse faciendum.If anyone sets before himself how great a task he has undertaken, he will know that nothing must be done delicately, nothing softly. Ep. 51.6Quid mihi cum istīs calentibus stagnīs?What have I to do with those hot pools? Ep. 51.6Quid cum sūdātōriīs, in quae siccus vapor corpora exhausūrus inclūditur?What with sweating rooms, into which dry steam is shut to drain the body?
Ep. 51.6Omnis sūdor per labōrem exeat.Let all sweat come out through toil. Ep. 51.7Sī facerēmus, quod fēcit Hannibal, ut interruptō cursū rērum omissōque bellō fovendīs corporibus operam darēmus, nēmō nōn intempestīvam dēsidiam victōrī quoque, nēdum vincentī, perīculōsam meritō reprehenderet;If we were to do what Hannibal did, breaking off the course of events and abandoning the war to devote our efforts to pampering our bodies, everyone would rightly censure an untimely idleness, dangerous even to a victor, let alone to one still winning; Ep. 51.7minus nōbīs quam illīs Pūnica signa sequentibus licet, plūs perīculī restat cēdentibus, plūs operis etiam persevērantibus.less is permitted to us than to those who followed the Punic standards; more danger remains if we give way, more toil even if we persevere. Ep. 51.8Fortūna mēcum bellum gerit;Fortune is waging war with me; Ep. 51.8nōn sum imperāta factūrus.I am not going to do what she commands. Ep. 51.8Iugum nōn recipiō, immō, quod maiōre virtūte faciendum est, excutiō.I do not accept the yoke; rather, which needs greater courage, I shake it off. Ep. 51.8Nōn est ēmolliendus animus;The mind must not be softened; Ep. 51.8sī voluptātī cesserō, cēdendum est dolōrī, cēdendum est labōrī, cēdendum est paupertātī;if I yield to pleasure, I must yield to pain, I must yield to toil, I must yield to poverty; Ep. 51.8idem sibi in mē iūris esse volet et ambitiō et īra;ambition and anger will both want the same rights over me; Ep. 51.8inter tot adfectūs distrahar, immō discerpar.I shall be pulled apart among so many passions, or rather torn to pieces.
Ep. 51.9Lībertās prōposita est;Freedom is set before us; Ep. 51.9ad hoc praemium labōrātur.it is for this prize that we toil. Ep. 51.9Quae sit lībertās, quaeris?Do you ask what freedom is? Ep. 51.9Nūllī reī servīre, nūllī necessitātī, nūllīs cāsibus, fortūnam in aequum dēdūcere.To be a slave to no thing, to no necessity, to no chance events, to bring fortune down to level terms. Ep. 51.9Quō diē illā mē intellēxerō plūs posse, nīl poterit.On the day I understand that I am more powerful than she, she will have no power. Ep. 51.9Ego illam feram, cum in manū mors sit?Shall I put up with her, when death is in my hands? Ep. 51.10Hīs cōgitātiōnibus intentum loca sēria sānctaque ēligere oportet.A man intent on these thoughts ought to choose places that are serious and pure. Ep. 51.10Effēminat animōs amoenitās nimia nec dubiē aliquid ad corrumpendum vigōrem potest regiō.Too much pleasantness makes minds effeminate, and without doubt a district has some power to corrupt vigour. Ep. 51.10Quamlibet viam iūmenta patiuntur, quōrum dūrāta in asperō ungula est;Beasts of burden whose hooves have been hardened on rough ground endure any road; Ep. 51.10in mollī palūstrīque pāscuō sagīnāta citō subteruntur.those fattened in soft and marshy pasture are quickly worn down.
Ep. 51.10Et fortior mīles ex cōnfragōsō venit;And the braver soldier comes from rugged country; Ep. 51.10segnis est urbānus et verna.the townsman and the home-bred slave are sluggish. Ep. 51.10Nūllum labōrem recūsant manūs, quae ad arma ab arātrō trānsferuntur;Hands that are transferred from the plough to arms refuse no toil; Ep. 51.10in prīmō dēficit pulvere ille ūnctus et nitidus.that sleek and oiled fellow gives out at the first dust. Ep. 51.11Sevērior locī disciplīna firmat ingenium aptumque magnīs cōnātibus reddit.The sterner discipline of a place strengthens the character and makes it fit for great endeavours. Ep. 51.11Līternī honestius Scīpiō quam Bāīs exulābat;Scipio spent his exile more honourably at Liternum than he would have at Baiae; Ep. 51.11ruīna eius nōn est tam molliter conlocanda.a downfall such as his should not be housed so softly. Ep. 51.11Illī quoque, ad quōs prīmōs fortūna populī Rōmānī pūblicās opēs trānstulit, C. Marius et Cn. Pompeius et Caesar extrūxērunt quidem vīllās in regiōne Bāiānā, sed illās inposuērunt summīs iugīs montium.Those too to whom the fortune of the Roman people first transferred the public resources, Gaius Marius and Gnaeus Pompey and Caesar, did build country houses in the district of Baiae, but they set them on the topmost ridges of the hills.
Ep. 51.11Vidēbātur hoc magis mīlitāre, ex ēditō speculārī lātē longēque subiecta.This seemed more soldierly, to look out from a height far and wide over what lay below. Ep. 51.11Aspice, quam positiōnem ēlēgerint, quibus aedificia excitāvērunt locīs et quālia;Look at the position they chose, the places on which they raised their buildings and what kind of buildings they were; Ep. 51.11sciēs nōn vīllās esse, sed castra.you will know that they are not country houses but camps. Ep. 51.12Habitātūrum tū putās umquam fuisse in mīcā Catōnem, ut praenāvigantēs adulterās dīnumerāret et tot genera cumbārum variīs colōribus picta et fluvitantem tōtō lacū rosam, ut audīret canentium nocturna convīcia?Do you think Cato would ever have lived in a dainty pavilion, so that he might count the adulteresses sailing past, and so many kinds of boats painted in various colours, and the roses floating all over the lake, so that he might hear the nightly brawling of singers? Ep. 51.12Nōnne ille manēre intrā vallum māluisset, quod in ūnam noctem manū suā ipse dūxisset?Would he not rather have stayed within a rampart which he had himself traced with his own hand for a single night?
Ep. 51.12Quidnī māllet, quisquis vir est, somnum suum classicō quam symphōniā rumpī?Why would not anyone who is a man prefer to have his sleep broken by a trumpet than by a choir? Ep. 51.13Sed satis diū cum Bāīs lītigāvimus, numquam satis cum vitiīs, quae, ōrō tē, Lūcīlī, persequere sine modō, sine fīne.But we have quarrelled with Baiae long enough, though never enough with vices, which, I beg you, Lucilius, pursue without measure and without end. Ep. 51.13Nam illīs quoque nec fīnis est nec modus.For they too have neither end nor measure. Ep. 51.13Prōice quaecumque cor tuum laniant, quae sī aliter extrahī nequīrent, cor ipsum cum illīs revellendum erat.Throw away whatever tears at your heart; if these things could not be pulled out otherwise, the heart itself should have been torn out with them. Ep. 51.13Voluptātēs praecipuē exturbā et invīsissimās habē;Above all drive out pleasures and hold them most hateful; Ep. 51.13latrōnum mōre, quōs Aegyptiī vocant in, hoc nōs amplectuntur ut, strangulent strangulent.like the robbers whom the Egyptians call 'philetae', they embrace us in order to strangle us. Ep. 51.13Valē.Farewell.