Ep. 9.1An meritō reprehendat in quādam epistulā Epicūrus eōs, quī dīcunt sapientem sē ipsō esse contentum et propter hoc amīcō nōn indigēre, dēsīderās scīre.You want to know whether Epicurus is right to criticise, in a certain letter, those who say that the wise man is content with himself and for that reason does not need a friend. Ep. 9.1Hoc obicitur Stilbōnī ab Epicūrō et iīs quibus summum bonum vīsum est animus inpatiēns.This is the charge Epicurus brings against Stilbo and those who have held that the highest good is a mind that does not suffer. Ep. 9.2In ambiguitātem incidendum est, sī exprimere ūnō verbō citō voluerimus et inpatientiam dīcere dicere.We are bound to fall into ambiguity if we try to render ἀπάθεια quickly in one word and call it 'impatience'. Ep. 9.2Poterit enim contrārium eī, quod significāre volumus, intellegī.For it could be understood as the opposite of what we wish to signify. Ep. 9.2Nōs eum volumus dīcere, quī respuat omnis malī sēnsum;We wish to speak of the man who rejects all feeling of evil; Ep. 9.2accipiētur is, quī nūllum ferre possit malum.he will be taken to be one who can endure no evil.
Ep. 9.2Vidē ergō, num satius sit aut invulnerābilem animum dīcere aut animum extrā omnem patientiam positum.Consider, then, whether it would be better to speak either of an invulnerable mind or of a mind placed beyond all suffering. Ep. 9.3Hoc inter nōs et illōs interest: noster sapiēns vincit quidem incommodum omne, sed sentit;This is the difference between us and them: our wise man does indeed overcome every misfortune, but he feels it; Ep. 9.3illōrum nē sentit quidem.theirs does not even feel it. Ep. 9.3Illud nōbīs et illīs commūne est: sapientem sē ipsō esse contentum.This we have in common with them: that the wise man is content with himself. Ep. 9.3Sed tamen et amīcum habēre vult et vīcīnum et contubernālem, quamvīs sibi ipse sufficiat.But nevertheless he wishes to have a friend, a neighbour and a companion, although he is sufficient for himself. Ep. 9.4Vidē quam sit sē contentus;See how content with himself he is; Ep. 9.4aliquandō suī parte contentus est.sometimes he is content with a part of himself. Ep. 9.4Sī illī manum aut morbus aut hostis excīderit, sī quis oculum vel oculōs cāsus excusserit, reliquiae illī suae satisfacient, et erit inminūtō corpore et amputātō tam laetus, quam integrō fuit.If disease or an enemy should cut off his hand, if some accident should strike out an eye or both eyes, what remains of him will satisfy him, and he will be as cheerful with his body impaired and maimed as he was when it was whole.
Ep. 9.4Sed quae sī dēsunt, nōn dēsīderat, nōn dēesse māvult.But while he does not long for what he lacks, he prefers not to lack it. Ep. 9.5Ita sapiēns sē contentus est, nōn ut velit esse sine amīcō, sed ut possit.Thus the wise man is content with himself, not in that he wishes to be without a friend, but in that he can be. Ep. 9.5Et hoc, quod dīcō "possit," tāle est: āmissum aequō animō fert.And this 'can' that I speak of means this: he bears the loss of one with a calm mind. Ep. 9.5Sine amīcō quidem numquam erit.But without a friend he will never be. Ep. 9.5In suā potestāte habet, quam citō reparet.It is in his own power how quickly he replaces him. Ep. 9.5Quōmodo sī perdiderit Phīdiās statuam, prōtinus alteram faciet;Just as Phidias, if he loses a statue, will at once make another; Ep. 9.5sīc hic faciendārum amīcitiārum artifex substituet alium in locum āmissī.so this craftsman in the making of friendships will put another in place of the one he lost. Ep. 9.6Quaeris, quōmodo amīcum citō factūrus sit;You ask how he will make a friend quickly; Ep. 9.6dīcam, sī illud mihi tēcum converterit, ut statim tibi solvam, quod dēbeō, et quantum ad hanc epistulam, paria faciāmus.I will tell you, if we agree on this between us, that I may pay you at once what I owe and, as far as this letter is concerned, we may be quits.
Ep. 9.6Hecatōn ait: "Ego tibi mōnstrābō amātōrium sine medicāmenta, sine herbā, sine ūllīus venēficae carmine: sī vīs amārī, amā."Hecato says: 'I will show you a love potion without drugs, without herbs, without any witch's spell: if you wish to be loved, love.' Ep. 9.6Habet autem nōn tantum ūsus amīcitiae veteris et certae magnam voluptātem, sed etiam initium et comparātiō novae.Moreover, not only the practice of an old and settled friendship holds great pleasure, but also the beginning and acquiring of a new one. Ep. 9.7Quod interest inter metentem agricolam et serentem, hoc inter eum, quī amīcum parāvit et quī parat.The difference there is between the farmer who reaps and the farmer who sows is the difference between the man who has gained a friend and the man who is gaining one. Ep. 9.7Attalus philosophus dīcere solēbat iūcundius esse amīcum facere quam habēre, quōmodo artificī iūcundius pingere est quam pīnxisse.The philosopher Attalus used to say that it is more pleasant to make a friend than to have one, just as it is more pleasant for an artist to paint than to have painted.
Ep. 9.7Illa in opere suō occupāta sollicitūdō ingēns oblectāmentum habet in ipsā occupātiōne.That anxious care absorbed in one's own work holds an immense delight in the very absorption. Ep. 9.7Nōn aequē dēlectātur, quī ab opere perfectō remōvit manum.The man who has taken his hand away from a finished work does not take equal delight. Ep. 9.7Iam frūctū artis suae fruitur;Now he enjoys the fruit of his art; Ep. 9.7ipsā fruēbātur arte, cum pingeret.it was the art itself he enjoyed while he was painting. Ep. 9.7Frūctuōsior est adulēscentia līberōrum, sed īnfantia dulcior.The youth of our children is more fruitful, but their infancy is sweeter. Ep. 9.8Nunc ad prōpositum revertāmur.Now let us return to our subject. Ep. 9.8Sapiēns, etiam sī contentus est sē, tamen habēre amīcum vult, sī nihil aliud, ut exerceat amīcitiam, nē tam magna virtūs iaceat, nōn ad hoc, quod dīcēbat Epicūrus in hāc ipsā epistulā, "ut habeat, quī sibi aegrō adsideat, succurrat in vincula coniectō vel inopī," sed ut habeat aliquem, cui ipse aegrō adsideat, quem ipse circumventum hostīlī custōdiā līberet.The wise man, even if he is content with himself, still wishes to have a friend, if for no other reason, in order to exercise friendship, so that so great a virtue may not lie idle, not for the purpose Epicurus spoke of in this very letter, 'that he may have someone to sit by him when he is sick, to help him when he is thrown into chains or in want,' but that he may have someone by whom he himself may sit when that one is sick, someone whom he himself may free when he is beset by an enemy's guard.
Ep. 9.8Quī sē spectat et propter hoc ad amīcitiam venit, male cōgitat.He who looks to himself and comes to friendship for that reason reckons wrongly. Ep. 9.8Quemadmodum coepit, sīc dēsinet: parāvit amīcum adversum vincla lātūrum opem;As he began, so he will end: he has gained a friend who will bring him help against chains; Ep. 9.8cum prīmum crepuerit catēna, discēdet.as soon as the chain has rattled, the friend will depart. Ep. 9.9Hae sunt amīcitiae, quās temporāriās populus appellat;These are the friendships which people call 'fair-weather'; Ep. 9.9quī ūtilitātis causā adsūmptus est, tamdiū placēbit, quamdiū ūtilis fuerit.he who has been taken up for the sake of advantage will please only as long as he is useful. Ep. 9.9Hāc rē flōrentēs amīcōrum turba circumsedet;That is why a crowd of friends besets those who are flourishing; Ep. 9.9circā ēversōs sōlitūdō est, et inde amīcī fugiunt, ubi probantur.around those who are ruined there is loneliness, and friends flee from the very place where they are tested. Ep. 9.9Hāc rē ista tot nefāria exempla sunt aliōrum metū relinquentium, aliōrum metū prōdentium.That is why there are all those wicked examples of some deserting out of fear, of others betraying out of fear.
Ep. 9.9Necesse est initia inter sē et exitūs congruant.Beginnings and endings must agree with each other. Ep. 9.9Quī amīcus esse coepit, quia expedit, et dēsinet, quia expedit.He who has begun to be a friend because it pays will also cease because it pays. Ep. 9.9Placēbit aliquod pretium contrā amīcitiam, sī ūllum in illā placet praeter ipsam.Some reward will be preferred to friendship, if anything in it is valued besides friendship itself. Ep. 9.10In quid amīcum parō?For what purpose do I gain a friend? Ep. 9.10Ut habeam prō quō morī possim, ut habeam quem in exilium sequar, cuius mē mortī oppōnam et inpendam.That I may have someone for whom I can die, someone whom I may follow into exile, someone whose death I may put myself in the way of, spending myself for him. Ep. 9.10Ista, quam tū dēscrībis, negōtiātiō est, nōn amīcitia, quae ad commodum accēdit, quae quid cōnsecūtūra sit spectat.What you describe is a business deal, not a friendship, which approaches for the sake of profit and looks to what it will gain. Ep. 9.11Nōn dubiē habet aliquid simile amīcitiae affectus amantium;Without doubt the passion of lovers has something resembling friendship; Ep. 9.11possīs dīcere illam esse īnsānam amīcitiam.you could say that it is friendship gone mad.
Ep. 9.11Numquid ergō quisquam amat lucrī causā?Does anyone, then, love for the sake of gain? Ep. 9.11Numquid ambitiōnis aut glōriae?Or for ambition or glory? Ep. 9.11Ipse per sē amor omnium aliārum rērum neglegēns animōs in cupiditātem fōrmae nōn sine spē mūtuae cāritātis accendit.Love, of itself, heedless of all other things, kindles minds with desire for beauty, not without hope of affection in return. Ep. 9.11Quid ergō?What then? Ep. 9.11Ex honestiōre causā coit turpis adfectus?Does a base passion unite people from a more honourable motive? Ep. 9.12"Nōn agitur," inquis, "nunc dē hōc, an amīcitia propter sē ipsam adpetenda sit."'The question now,' you say, 'is not whether friendship is to be sought for its own sake.' Ep. 9.12Immō vērō nihil magis probandum est.On the contrary, nothing needs to be proved more. Ep. 9.12Nam sī propter sē ipsam expetenda est, potest ad illam accēdere quī sē ipsō contentus est.For if it is to be sought for its own sake, he who is content with himself can approach it. Ep. 9.12"Quōmodo ergō ad illam accēdit?"'How, then, does he approach it?' Ep. 9.12Quōmodo ad rem pulcherrimam, nōn lucrō captus nec varietāte fortūnae perterritus.As one approaches a most beautiful thing, not captured by gain nor terrified by the changeableness of fortune.
Ep. 9.12Dētrahit amīcitiae maiestātem suam, quī illam parat ad bonōs cāsūs.He robs friendship of its majesty who gains it for good fortune. Ep. 9.13Sē contentus est sapiēns.The wise man is content with himself. Ep. 9.13Hoc, mī Lūcīlī, plērīque perperam interpretantur;This, my Lucilius, most people interpret wrongly; Ep. 9.13sapientem undique submovent et intrā cutem suam cōgunt.they remove the wise man from every side and confine him within his own skin. Ep. 9.13Distinguendum autem est, quid et quātenus vōx ista prōmittat;But we must distinguish what that saying promises and how far; Ep. 9.13sē contentus est sapiēns ad beātē vīvendum, nōn ad vīvendum.the wise man is content with himself for living happily, not for living. Ep. 9.13Ad hoc enim multīs illī rēbus opus est, ad illud tantum animō sānō et ērēctō et dēspiciente fortūnam.For the latter he needs many things, for the former only a mind sound and upright and looking down on fortune. Ep. 9.14Volō tibi Chrysippī quoque distīnctiōnem indicāre.I want to point out to you Chrysippus' distinction too. Ep. 9.14Ait sapientem nūllā rē egēre, et tamen multīs illī rēbus opus esse.He says that the wise man lacks nothing, and yet he needs many things.
Ep. 9.14"Contrā stultō nūllā rē opus est, nūllā enim rē ūtī scit, sed omnibus eget."'The fool, on the other hand, needs nothing, for he knows how to use nothing, but he lacks everything.' Ep. 9.14Sapientī et manibus et oculīs et multīs ad cōtīdiānum ūsum necessāriīs opus est, eget nūllā rē.The wise man needs both hands and eyes and many things necessary for daily use; he lacks nothing. Ep. 9.14Egēre enim necessitātis est, nihil necesse sapientī est.For to lack implies necessity, and nothing is necessary to the wise man. Ep. 9.15Ergō quamvīs sē ipsō contentus sit, amīcīs illī opus est.Therefore, although he is content with himself, he needs friends. Ep. 9.15Hōs cupit habēre quam plūrimōs, nōn ut beātē vīvat;He wants to have as many of them as possible, not in order to live happily; Ep. 9.15vīvet enim etiam sine amīcīs beātē.for he will live happily even without friends. Ep. 9.15Summum bonum extrīnsecus īnstrūmenta nōn quaerit.The highest good does not seek its instruments from outside. Ep. 9.15Domī colitur, ex sē tōtum est.It is cultivated at home, it arises wholly from itself. Ep. 9.15Incipit fortūnae esse subiectum, sī quam partem suī forīs quaerit.It begins to be subject to fortune if it seeks any part of itself outside.
Ep. 9.16"Quālis tamen futūra est vīta sapientis, sī sine amīcīs relinquātur in custōdiam coniectus, vel in aliquā gente aliēnā dēstitūtus, vel in nāvigātiōne longā retentus, aut in dēsertum lītus ēiectus?"'Yet what kind of life will the wise man's be, if he is left without friends, thrown into prison, or abandoned among some foreign people, or detained on a long voyage, or cast up on a deserted shore?' Ep. 9.16Quālis est Iovis, cum resolūtō mundō et dīs in ūnum cōnfūsīs paulisper cessante nātūrā adquiēscit sibi cōgitātiōnibus suīs trāditus.Such as is the life of Jupiter, when, the universe dissolved and the gods merged into one, with nature ceasing for a little while, he rests in himself, given over to his own thoughts. Ep. 9.16Tāle quiddam sapiēns facit;Something of that kind the wise man does; Ep. 9.16in sē reconditur, sēcum est.he withdraws into himself, he is with himself. Ep. 9.17Quamdiū quidem illī licet suō arbitriō rēs suās ōrdināre, sē contentus est et dūcit uxōrem;As long, indeed, as he is allowed to order his affairs as he thinks fit, he is content with himself and takes a wife; Ep. 9.17sē contentus est et līberōs tollit;he is content with himself and raises children; Ep. 9.17sē contentus est et tamen nōn vīveret, sī foret sine homine vīctūrus.he is content with himself, and yet he would not live if he had to live without a human being.
Ep. 9.17Ad amīcitiam fert illum nūlla ūtilitās sua, sed nātūrālis inrītātiō.It is no advantage of his own that draws him to friendship, but a natural impulse. Ep. 9.17Nam ut aliārum nōbīs rērum innāta dulcēdō est, sīc amīcitiae.For just as an inborn sweetness attaches for us to other things, so it does to friendship. Ep. 9.17Quōmodo sōlitūdinis odium est et adpetītiō societātis, quōmodo hominem hominī nātūra conciliat, sīc īnest huic quoque reī stimulus, quī nōs amīcitiārum adpetentēs faciat.Just as there is a hatred of solitude and a longing for society, just as nature unites man to man, so in this matter too there is an innate spur to make us eager for friendships. Ep. 9.18Nihilōminus cum sit amīcōrum amantissimus, cum illōs sibi comparet, saepe praeferat, omne intrā sē bonum terminābit et dīcet, quod Stilbōn ille dīxit, Stilbōn quem Epicūrī epistula īnsequitur;Nevertheless, though he is most devoted to his friends, though he compares them with himself and often prefers them, he will confine all good within himself and will say what that Stilbo said, the Stilbo whom Epicurus' letter attacks; Ep. 9.18hic enim captā patriā, āmissīs līberīs, āmissā uxōre cum ex incendiō pūblicō sōlus et tamen beātus exīret, interrogantī Dēmētriō, cui cognōmen ab exitiō urbium Poliorcētēs fuit, numquid perdidisset, "Omnia," inquit, "bona mea mēcum sunt."for when his country had been captured, his children lost, his wife lost, and he was coming out of the general conflagration alone and yet happy, to Demetrius, who had the surname Poliorcetes from his destruction of cities, when he asked whether he had lost anything, he said: 'All my goods are with me.' Ep. 9.19Ecce vir fortis ac strēnuus!There is a brave and vigorous man!
Ep. 9.19Ipsam hostis suī victōriam vīcit.He conquered the very victory of his enemy. Ep. 9.19"Nihil," inquit, "perdidī";'I have lost nothing,' he says; Ep. 9.19dubitāre illum coēgit, an vīcisset.he forced the man to doubt whether he had conquered. Ep. 9.19"Omnia mea mēcum sunt;"'All that is mine is with me;' Ep. 9.19hoc ipsum est nihil bonum putāre, quod ēripī possit.this is the very thing: to think nothing good that can be snatched away. Ep. 9.19Mīrāmur animālia quaedam, quae per mediōs ignēs sine noxā corporum trānseant;We marvel at certain animals which pass through the midst of fire without harm to their bodies; Ep. 9.19quantō hic mīrābilior vir, quī per ferrum et ruīnās et ignēs inlaesus et indemnis ēvāsit!how much more marvellous is this man, who came out through sword and ruins and fire unhurt and without loss! Ep. 9.19Vidēs, quantō facilius sit tōtam gentem quam ūnum virum vincere?Do you see how much easier it is to conquer a whole nation than one man? Ep. 9.19Haec vōx illī commūnis est cum Stōicō.This saying he shares with the Stoic. Ep. 9.19Aequē et hic intācta bona per concremātās urbēs fert.He too carries his goods untouched through burnt-out cities.
Ep. 9.19Sē enim ipsō contentus est.For he is content with himself. Ep. 9.19Hōc fēlīcitātem suam fīne dēsignat.By this limit he marks out his happiness. Ep. 9.20Nē exīstimēs nōs sōlōs generōsa verba iactāre;Do not think that we alone fling about noble words; Ep. 9.20et ipse Stilbōnis obiūrgātor Epicūrus similem illī vōcem ēmīsit, quam tū bonī cōnsule, etiam sī hunc diem iam expūnxī.Epicurus himself, the critic of Stilbo, uttered a saying like his, which you must take in good part, even if I have already struck this day off the account. Ep. 9.20"Sī cui," inquit, "sua nōn videntur amplissima, licet tōtīus mundī dominus sit, tamen miser est."'If anyone,' he says, 'does not think what he has most ample, though he be master of the whole world, he is still wretched.' Ep. 9.20Vel sī hōc modō tibi melius ēnūntiārī vidētur,— id enim agendum est, ut nōn verbīs serviāmus, sed sēnsibus,—: "Miser est, quī sē nōn beātissimum iūdicat, licet imperet mundō."Or, if it seems to you better expressed in this way, for our aim must be to serve not words but meanings: 'Wretched is the man who does not judge himself most happy, though he rule the world.' Ep. 9.21Ut sciās autem hōs sēnsūs esse commūnēs, nātūrā scīlicet dictante, apud poētam cōmicum inveniēs: "Nōn est beātus, esse sē quī nōn putat."And so that you may know that these thoughts are common, nature evidently dictating them, you will find in a comic poet: 'He is not happy who does not think he is.' Ep. 9.21Quid enim rēfert, quālis status tuus sit, sī tibi vidētur malus?For what does it matter what your condition is, if it seems bad to you?
Ep. 9.22"Quid ergō?"'What then?' Ep. 9.22inquis.you say. Ep. 9.22"Sī beātum sē dīxerit ille turpiter dīves et ille multōrum dominus sed plūrium servus, beātus suā sententiā fīet?"'If that man shamefully rich and that man master of many but slave of more should call himself happy, will he become happy by his own verdict?' Ep. 9.22Nōn quid dīcat, sed quid sentiat, rēfert, nec quid ūnō diē sentiat, sed quid adsiduē.It matters not what he says, but what he feels, and not what he feels on one day, but what he feels constantly. Ep. 9.22Nōn est autem quod vereāris, nē ad indignum rēs tanta perveniat;But there is no reason for you to fear that so great a thing will come to someone unworthy; Ep. 9.22nisi sapientī sua nōn placent.only to the wise man is what is his own pleasing. Ep. 9.22Omnis stultitia labōrat fastīdiō suī.All folly suffers from disgust with itself. Ep. 9.22Valē.Farewell.