Ep. 52.1Quid est hoc, Lūcīlī, quod nōs aliō tendentēs aliō trahit et eō, unde recēdere cupimus, inpellit?What is this, Lucilius, which drags us in one direction when we are heading in another, and pushes us towards the very place from which we long to withdraw? Ep. 52.1Quid conluctātur cum animō nostrō nec permittit nōbīs quicquam semel velle?What is it that wrestles with our mind and does not allow us to will anything once and for all? Ep. 52.1Flūctuāmur inter varia cōnsilia.We waver between different plans. Ep. 52.1Nihil līberē volumus, nihil absolūtē, nihil semper.We will nothing freely, nothing absolutely, nothing always. Ep. 52.2"Stultitia," inquis, "est, cui nihil cōnstat, nihil diū placet."'It is folly,' you say, 'for which nothing is settled, nothing pleases for long.' Ep. 52.2Sed quōmodo nōs aut quandō ab illā revellēmus?But how or when shall we tear ourselves away from it? Ep. 52.2Nēmō per sē satis valet ut ēmergat;No one by himself is strong enough to emerge; Ep. 52.2oportet manum aliquis porrigat, aliquis ēdūcat.someone must stretch out a hand, someone must lead him out. Ep. 52.3Quōsdam ait Epicūrus ad vēritātem sine ūllīus adiūtōriō exīsse, fēcisse sibi ipsōs viam.Epicurus says that some men have made their way out to the truth without anyone's help, that they made a path for themselves.
Ep. 52.3Hōs maximē laudat, quibus ex sē impetus fuit, quī sē ipsī prōtulērunt.These he praises most, who had their impulse from within, who brought themselves forward. Ep. 52.3Quōsdam indigēre ope aliēnā, nōn itūrōs, sī nēmō praecesserit, sed bene secūtūrōs.Some, he says, need another's help, and will not go if no one has gone ahead, but will follow well. Ep. 52.3Ex hīs Mētrodōrum ait esse;Of these, he says, Metrodorus is one; Ep. 52.3ēgregium hoc quoque, sed secundae sortis ingenium.this too is an excellent mind, but of the second class. Ep. 52.3Nōs ex illā prīmā notā nōn sumus;We are not of that first rank; Ep. 52.3bene nōbīscum agitur, sī in secundam recipimur.it goes well with us if we are admitted to the second. Ep. 52.3Nē hunc quidem contempserīs hominem, quī aliēnō beneficiō esse salvus potest;Do not despise even this man, who can be saved by another's kindness; Ep. 52.3et hoc multum est, velle servārī.this too is much, to wish to be saved. Ep. 52.4Praeter haec adhūc inveniēs genus aliud hominum nē ipsum quidem fastīdiendum eōrum, quī cōgī ad rēctum conpellīque possunt, quibus nōn duce tantum opus sit, sed adiūtōre et, ut ita dīcam, coāctōre.Besides these you will find yet another class of men, not to be scorned either, those who can be forced and driven to what is right, who need not only a guide but a helper and, so to speak, someone to compel them.
Ep. 52.4Hic tertius color est.This is the third type. Ep. 52.4Sī quaeris huius quoque exemplar, Hermarchum ait Epicūrus tālem fuisse.If you ask for an example of this too, Epicurus says that Hermarchus was such a man. Ep. 52.4Itaque alterī magis grātulātur, alterum magis suspicit;And so he congratulates the one more, but admires the other more; Ep. 52.4quamvīs enim ad eundem fīnem uterque pervēnerit, tamen maior est laus idem effēcisse in difficiliōre māteriā.for although both have reached the same goal, still the credit is greater for having achieved the same result with more difficult material. Ep. 52.5Putā enim duo aedificia excitāta esse, ab īmō disparia, aequē excelsa atque magnifica.For suppose that two buildings have been raised, unlike from the bottom up, equally tall and magnificent. Ep. 52.5Alterum pūram āream accēpit;One received a clean site; Ep. 52.5illīc prōtinus opus crēvit.there the work rose at once. Ep. 52.5Alterum fundāmenta lassārunt in mollem et fluvidam humum missa multumque labōris exhaustum est, dum pervenītur ad solidum.In the other, the foundations, sunk into soft and shifting soil, wore out the builders, and much labour was spent before solid ground was reached.
Ep. 52.5Intuentī ambō quicquid fēcit alter in apertō est, alterīus magna pars et difficilior latet.To one who looks at both, whatever one builder did is in plain view; the greater and more difficult part of the other's work lies hidden. Ep. 52.6Quaedam ingenia facilia, expedīta, quaedam manū, quod aiunt, facienda sunt et in fundāmentīs suīs occupāta.Some minds are easy and ready; some must be worked by hand, as they say, and are busy with their own foundations. Ep. 52.6Itaque illum ego fēlīciōrem dīxerim, quī nihil negōtiī sēcum habuit, hunc quidem melius dē sē meruisse, quī malignitātem nātūrae suae vīcit et ad sapientiam sē nōn perdūxit, sed extrāxit.And so I would call the one more fortunate who has had no trouble with himself, but the other, I would say, has deserved better of himself, who has overcome the meanness of his own nature and has not led himself to wisdom but dragged himself there. Ep. 52.7Hoc dūrum ac labōriōsum ingenium nōbīs datum sciās licet.You may be sure that this hard and laborious kind of mind has been given to us.
Ep. 52.7Īmus per obstantia.We are going through obstacles. Ep. 52.7Itaque pugnēmus, aliquōrum invocēmus auxilium.So let us fight, let us call on the help of others. Ep. 52.7"Quem," inquis, "invocābō?'Whom,' you say, 'shall I call on? Ep. 52.7Hunc aut illum?"This man or that?' Ep. 52.7Tū vērō etiam ad priōrēs revertere, quī vacant;Go back also to those of earlier times, who are at leisure; Ep. 52.7adiuvāre nōs possunt nōn tantum quī sunt, sed quī fuērunt.not only those who are living can help us, but those who have lived. Ep. 52.8Ex hīs autem, quī sunt, ēligāmus nōn eōs, quī verba magnā celeritāte praecipiant et commūnēs locōs volvunt et in prīvātō circulantur, sed eōs, quī vītā docent, quī cum dīxērunt, quid faciendum sit, probant faciendō, quī docent, quid vītandum sit, nec umquam in eō, quod fugiendum dīxērunt, dēprehenduntur.But from among those who are living, let us choose not those who pour out words at great speed and roll out commonplaces and give private shows like street performers, but those who teach by their life, who, when they have said what should be done, prove it by doing it, who teach what should be avoided and are never caught doing what they have said should be shunned.
Ep. 52.8Eum ēlige adiūtōrem, quem magis admīrēris, cum vīderis quam cum audieris.Choose as your helper one whom you admire more when you see him than when you hear him. Ep. 52.9Nec ideō tē prohibuerim hōs quoque audīre, quibus admittere populum ac disserere cōnsuētūdō est, sī modo hōc prōpositō in turbam prōdeunt, ut meliōrēs fīant faciantque meliōrēs, sī nōn ambitiōnis hoc causā exercent.Not that I would forbid you to listen also to those whose custom it is to admit the public and lecture, provided they come before the crowd with this purpose, to become better and to make others better, and do not practise this for the sake of ambition. Ep. 52.9Quid enim turpius philosophiā captante clamōrēs?For what is more shameful than philosophy angling for applause? Ep. 52.9Numquid aeger laudat medicum secantem?Does a sick man praise the surgeon who is cutting him? Ep. 52.10Tacēte, favēte et praebēte vōs cūrātiōnī.Be silent, keep a reverent hush, and submit yourselves to treatment. Ep. 52.10Etiam sī exclāmāveritis, nōn aliter audiam, quam sī ad tāctum vitiōrum vestrōrum ingemēscātis.Even if you cry out, I shall hear it as nothing else than your groaning at the touching of your vices.
Ep. 52.10Testārī vultis adtendere vōs movērīque magnitūdine rērum?Do you wish to bear witness that you are paying attention and are moved by the greatness of the subject? Ep. 52.10Sānē liceat;Very well, let it be allowed; Ep. 52.10ut quidem iūdicētis et ferātis dē meliōre suffrāgium, quidnī nōn permittam?why indeed should I not permit you to judge and to cast your vote for the better course? Ep. 52.10Apud Pȳthagoram discipulīs quīnque annīs tacendum erat;In Pythagoras' school the pupils had to keep silent for five years; Ep. 52.10numquid ergō exīstimās statim illīs et loquī et laudāre licuīsse?do you suppose, then, that they were allowed at once both to speak and to applaud? Ep. 52.11Quanta autem dēmentia eius est, quem clamōrēs inperītōrum hilarem ex audītōriō dīmittunt?But how great is the madness of the man whom the shouts of the ignorant send away from the lecture hall in high spirits! Ep. 52.11Quid laetāris, quod ab hominibus hīs laudātus es, quōs nōn potes ipse laudāre?Why do you rejoice that you have been praised by men whom you yourself cannot praise?
Ep. 52.11Disserēbat populō Fabiānus, sed audiēbātur modestē.Fabianus used to lecture to the public, but he was listened to with restraint. Ep. 52.11Ērumpēbat interdum magnus clamor laudantium, sed quem rērum magnitūdō ēvocāverat, nōn sonus inoffēnsē ac molliter ōrātiōnis ēlāpsae.Now and then a great shout of praise would burst out, but one called forth by the greatness of the subject, not by the sound of a speech gliding smoothly and softly. Ep. 52.12Intersit aliquid inter clamōrem theātrī et scholae;Let there be some difference between the shouting of the theatre and that of the school; Ep. 52.12est aliqua et laudandī decentia.there is a certain decorum in praising too. Ep. 52.12Omnia rērum omnium, sī observentur, indicia sunt et argūmentum mōrum ex minimīs quoque licet capere: inpudīcum et incessus ostendit et manus mōta et ūnum interdum respōnsum et relātus ad caput digitus et flexus oculōrum.All things, if they are observed, are signs of all things, and evidence of character can be taken even from the smallest details: the lewd man is revealed by his gait, by a movement of his hand, sometimes by a single answer, by his finger raised to his head, by the turn of his eyes.
Ep. 52.12Inprobum rīsus, īnsānum vultus habitusque dēmōnstrat.Laughter shows the wicked man, face and bearing the madman. Ep. 52.12Illa enim in apertum per notās exeunt;For those qualities come out into the open through signs; Ep. 52.12quālis quisque sit, sciēs, sī quemadmodum laudet, quemadmodum laudētur, aspēxeris.you will know what each man is like if you observe how he praises and how he is praised. Ep. 52.13Hinc atque illinc philosophō manūs audītor intentat et super ipsum caput mīrantium turba cōnsistit;From this side and that the audience stretch out their hands towards the philosopher, and the admiring crowd stands right over his head; Ep. 52.13nōn laudātur ille nunc, sī intellegis, sed conclāmātur.he is not being praised now, if you understand, but merely hailed with shouts. Ep. 52.13Relinquantur istae vōcēs illīs artibus, quae prōpositum habent populō placēre;Let those cries be left to the arts whose aim is to please the people; Ep. 52.13philosophia adōrētur.let philosophy be worshipped. Ep. 52.14Permittendum erit aliquandō iuvenibus sequī impetum animī, tunc autem, cum hoc ex impetū facient, cum silentium sibi imperāre nōn poterunt.Young men must sometimes be allowed to follow the impulse of their spirits, but only when they do this from impulse, when they cannot command silence on themselves.
Ep. 52.14Tālis laudātiō aliquid exhortātiōnis adfert ipsīs audientibus et animōs adulēscentium exstimulat.Praise of that kind brings some encouragement to the listeners themselves and spurs on the minds of the young. Ep. 52.14Ad rem commoveantur, nōn ad verba conpositā;Let them be stirred by the subject, not by well-arranged words; Ep. 52.14aliōquīn nocet illīs ēloquentia, sī nōn rērum cupiditātem facit, sed suī.otherwise eloquence harms them, if it creates a desire not for the subject but for itself. Ep. 52.15Differam hoc in praesentiā;I shall put this off for the present; Ep. 52.15dēsīderat enim propriam et longam exsecūtiōnem, quemadmodum populō disserendum, quid sibi apud populum permittendum sit, quid populō apud sē.for it requires a long treatment of its own: how one should lecture to the public, what liberties the speaker should allow himself before the public, and what the public should be allowed before him. Ep. 52.15Damnum quidem fēcisse philosophiam nōn erit dubium, postquam prōstitūta est.There will certainly be no doubt that philosophy has suffered harm since it has been put up for sale. Ep. 52.15Sed potest in penetrālibus suīs ostendī, sī modo nōn īnstitōrem, sed antistitem nancta est.But it can be displayed in its own sanctuary, provided it has found not a huckster but a priest.
Ep. 52.15Valē.Farewell.