| A | B |
|---|
| quomodo quisque potest (facere), (faciat) | just as each man is able (to act), (let him act) |
| mi Lucili | my dear Lucili |
| tu istic habes Aetnam | you over there have Etna |
| nobilissimum montem Siciliae | that famous mountain of Sicily |
| quem quare Messala dixerit unicum | which why Messala called unique |
| sive Valgius | or whether Valgius |
| legi enim apud utrumque | For I have bee reading in both |
| non reperio | I (can) not discover |
| cum plurima loca evomant ignem | since very many places belch forth fire |
| non tantum edita | not only lofty places |
| quod evenit crebrius | which happens more commonly |
| videlicet quia ignis | obviously because fire |
| effertur in altissimum | is carried up to the highest point |
| sed etiam iacentia | but also low-lying places |
| nos, utrumque possumus | as for us, however we are able |
| sumus contenti Bais; quas | we are satisfied with Baiae; which |
| postero die quam attigeram | on the day after I had arrived |
| reliqui, locum devitandum | I left, a place to be avoided |
| ob hoc, cum | on account of this fact -although |
| habeat quasdam naturales dotes | it has certain natural attractions |
| quia luxuria desumpsit illum | that luxury has selected it |
| celebrandum sibi | as to be frequented for itself |
| quid ergo? | what then? |
| ulli loco | to any place |
| est odium indicendum? | is disapproval to be formally declared? |
| minime | not at all |
| sed quemadmodum aliqua vestis | but just one particular coat |
| sapienti ac probo viro | for a wise and honest man |
| convenit magis quam aliqua, | is suitable more than another coat |
| nec ille odit ullum colorem | and not is he hating any particular colour |
| sed putat aliquem | but he thinks some (colour) |
| esse parum aptum | to be too little fitting |
| professo frugalitatem | for a man having professed simplicity of life |
| sic est regio quoque | so there is a district also |
| quam sapiens vir | which the wise man |
| aut tendens ad sapientiam | or the man striving towards wisdom |
| declinet | should avoid |
| tamquam alienam bonis moribus | as being foreign to good habits of life |
| itaque cogitans de secessu | so if thinking about retirement |
| numquam eliget Canopum | never will he select Canopus |
| quamvis Canopus vetet neminem | although Canopus forbids no-one |
| esse frugi | to do the right thing |
| ne Baias quidem | nor either Baiae |
| coeperunt esse deversorium vitiorum | have begun to be a resort of vices |
| illic | At Baiae |
| luxuria permittit sibi plurimum | luxury indulges to itself the utmost |
| illic tamquam | at Baiae as if |
| aliqua licentia debeatur loco | a certain licence is obliged to the place |
| solvitur magis | it is loosed more |
| debeamus eligere locum | we ought to select a place |
| salubrem non tantum corpori | wholesome not only for the body |
| sed etiam moribus | but also for our ways of life |
| quemadmodum nolim habitare | just as I would not like to live |
| inter tortores sic | amidst tortures, so |
| ne quidem inter popinas | nor either amidst cafes |
| videre ebrios errantes per litora | to witness drunks wandering along the beaches |
| et comessationes navigantium | and the partyings of the sailing crowd |
| et lacus strepentes | and the lakes racketing |
| cantibus symphoniarum | with the songs of the singing groups |
| et alia quae | and all the other things which |
| velut soluta legibus | as if freed from the laws |
| luxuria non tantum peccat | luxury not merely sins |
| sed publicat | but advertises publicly |
| quid necesse est? | why is this necessary |
| debemus agere id | we ought to strive for this |
| profugiamus quam longissime | that we should flee as far away as possible |
| irritamenta vitiorum | from the encouragements of the vices |
| animus est indurandus | our spirit is to be toughened |
| et a blandimentis voluptatum | and from the allurements of pleasure |
| abstrahendus procul | to be taken off far away |
| una hiberna solverunt Hannibalem | A single winter-quarters loosed Hannibal |
| et illum virum | and that man |
| indomitum nivibus atque Alpibus | undefeated by the snows and the Alps |
| fomenta Campaniae enervaverunt | the soothing warmth of Campania debilitated |
| armis vicit | by weapons he was victorious |
| vitiis victus est | by vices he was defeated |
| nobis quoque militandum est | for us too is to be served in war |
| et quidem genere militiae | and indeed in a type of warfare |
| quo numquam datur quies | in which never is given rest |
| numquam otium | never relaxation |
| debellandae in primis sunt voluptates | to be defeated in particular are pleasures |
| quae ut vides | which as you see |
| rapuerunt ad se | have carried off to themselves |
| quoque saeva ingenia | even tough characters |
| si quis proposuerit sibi | if a man will have imagined for himself |
| quantum operis aggressus sit | how much of a task he has entered upon |
| sciet nihil esset | he will know nothing to be |
| faciendum delicate, nihil molliter | to be done daintily, nothing effeminately |
| Quid mihi | What for me |
| cum istis calentibus stagnis? | with those steaming-hot baths? |
| quid cum sudatoriis | what with (those) sweating-rooms |
| in quae siccus vapor includitur | into which dry steam is pumped in |
| exhaususrus corpora | being about to drain the men's bodies |
| sudor omnis exeat per laborem | sweat let it all flow out via hard exercise |
| si faceremus quod Hannibal fecit | If we were to be doing what Hannibal did |
| ut cursu rerum interrupto | that with the course of events interrupted |
| que bello omisso | and with the war having been put aside |
| daremus operam | we were to give our effort |
| corporibus fovendis | to our bodies being coddled |
| nemo non merito reprehenderet | no-one would not quite rightly blame |
| desidiam intempestivam | our inaction at the wrong time |
| periculosam quoque victori | fraught with peril even for a conqueror |
| nedum vincenti | even more so for conquering |
| licet minus nobis | it is permissible less to us |
| quam illis sequentibus | than to those men following |
| signa Punica | the battle standards of Carthage |
| plus periculi restat cedentibus | more of danger is in store (for us) slackening |
| plus operis etiam perseverantibus | more of hard work even (for us) pressing on |
| fortuna gerit bellum mecum | fortune is waging war with me |
| non sum facturus imperata | I am not going to carry out her commands |
| iugum non recipio | the yoke I do not accept |
| immo | no, more than that |
| quod est faciendum maiore virtute | what is to be done with greater courage |
| excutio | I shake off |
| animus est non emolliendus | my spirit is not must-be-pampered |
| si cessero voluptati | if I shall have yielded to pleasure |
| cedendum est labori | it must-be-yielded to toil |
| cedendum est paupertati | it must-be-yielded to poverty |
| et ambitio et ira volet | both ambition and anger will want |
| idem iuris in me | the same amount of right into me |
| esse sibi | to be to themselves |
| inter tot affectus | amid so many desires |
| distrahar | I shall be pulled in all directions |
| immo discerpar | no rather, I shall be ripped to pieces |
| libertas est proposita | freedom is set before my eyes |
| laboratur ad hoc praemium | it is being striven towards that reward |
| quaeris quae sit libertas? | you ask what is freedom? |
| servire nulli rei | to be a slave to no thing |
| nulli necessitati, nullis casibus | to no necessity, to no change happenings |
| deducere fortunam | to bring down fortune |
| in aequum | into a level equal |
| quo die intellexero | on which day I shall once have realised |
| illam posse plus | her to have more power than me |
| poterit nil | she will have no power |
| ego feram illam | shall I endure her |
| cum mors sit in manu? | when death is in (my own) hands? |
| oportet intentum | is is appropriate for one focused |
| his cogitationibus | upon these thoughts |
| eligere loca seria sanctaque | to choose places austere and pure |
| nimia amoenitas | overly beautiful surroundings |
| effeminat animos | feminises men's spirits |
| nec dubie regio | and undoubtedly one's place of residence |
| potest aliquid | has considerable power |
| ad vigorem corrumpendum | towards one's vigour being impaired |
| iumenta patiuntur quamlibet viam | yoke-animals can endure any sort of road |
| quorum ungula | of whom the hoofs |
| durata est in aspero | has been hardened on rough ground |
| saginata | having been fattened |
| in molli palustrique pascuo | on soft and marshy grazing-land |
| cito subteruntur | quickly are worn out |
| et fortior miles | and the tougher sort of soldier |
| venit et confragoso | comes from rugged country |
| urbanus et verna est segnis | the town- and home-bred is sluggish |
| manus recusant nullum laborem | those hands refuse no toil |
| quae transferuntur ab arato ad arma | which are switched from the plough to weapons |
| ille unctus et nitidus | but that sleek and smooth |
| deficit in primo pulvere | falters amid the first dust |
| severior disciplina loci | the more rugged discipline of the place |
| firmat ingenium | strengthens the character |
| que reddit aptum magnis conatibus | and renders it fit for great undertakings |
| Scipio exulabat honestius | Scipio spent his exile more honourably |
| Literni quam Bais | at Liternum than at Baiae |
| ruina eiusmodi | a ruin of that sort |
| non est collocanda tam molliter | is not to-be-located in so luxurious a place |
| illi quoque ad quos primos | those also to whom first |
| fortuna populi Romani | the fortune of the Roman people |
| transtulit publicas opes | transferred state wealth |
| C. Marius et Cn. Pompeius et Caesar | Caius Marius, Gnaeus Pompey, and Caesar |
| quidem extruxerunt villas | indeed did build villas |
| in Baiana regione | in the Baiae-an region |
| sed imposuerunt illas | but they set them |
| summis iugis montium | on the topmost peaks of the hills |
| hoc videbatur magis militare | this seemed more soldier-like |
| ex edito speculari | from a high point to gaze down upon |
| subiecta late longeque | things laid out below them far and wide |
| Aspice quam positionem elegerint | note what situation they chose |
| quibus locis excitaverint aedificia | in which places they erected their buildings |
| et qualia | and of what sort |
| scies non esse villas | you will know them not to be country-villas |
| sed castra | but military-camps |
| tu putas umquam M. Catonem | do you suppose ever Marcus Cato |
| fuisse habitaturum illic | to have been about to dwell in that place |
| ut dinumeraret adulteras | so that he might count the loose women |
| praenavigantes | sailing past |
| et tot genera cumbarum | and so many kinds of barges |
| picta variis coloribus | painted in all sorts of colours |
| et rosam fluvitantem toto lacu | and the rose wafting over the whole lake |
| ut audiret | that he might hear |
| nocturna convicia canentium | the night-time brawls of people singing |
| nonne ille maluisset | would not he have preferred |
| manere intra vallum | to remain within a trench |
| quod ipse duxisset sua manu | which himself had built with his own hand |
| in unam noctem | for a single night |
| quidni mallet | would not anyone prefer |
| quisquis est vir | whoever is a real man |
| suum somnum rumpi | his slumber to be broken |
| classico quam symphonia | by a war-trumpet than by a choir |
| sed litigavimus cum Bais | But we have been quarelling with Baiae |
| satis diu | long enough |
| numquam satis cum vitiis | but never long enough with vices |
| quae oro te Lucili | which I beseech you, O Lucilius |
| persequere sine modo, sine fine | hunt down! without limit, without end |
| nam illis quoque | for to them as well |
| nec finis est nec modus | neither is there any limit nor end. |
| proice | cast away from you |
| quaecumque laniant tuum cor | whatever may be rending your heart |
| quae si nequirent extrahi | which if they are unable to be pulled out |
| aliter cor ipsum | by any other way your heart itself |
| erat revellendum cum illis | was must-be-plucked out along with them |
| praecipue exturba voluptates | above all, drive out! pleasures |
| et habe invisissimas | and hold them as most hateful |
| more latronum | in the same way of thieves |
| quos Aegyptii vocant 'philetas' | whom the Egyptians call lovers |
| emplectuntur nos in hoc | they embrace us for this purpose |
| ut strangulent | that they may strangle us |
| Vale | Farewell |
