Based on English version <Essays> translated with an introduction by J. M. Cohen publshed by Penguin Books.
1 Introduction
Immortalia mortali sermone notantes
Expressing immortal things in mortal words.
Lucretius, V, 121
2 Book one Chapter 8 On idleness
Sicut aquae tremulum labris ubi lumen abenis sole repercussum, aut radiantis imagine Lunae omnia pervolitat late loca, iamque sub auras erigitur, summique ferit laquearia tecti.
As water, trembling in a brass bowl, reflects the sun's light or the form of the shining moon, and so the bright beams flit in all directions, darting up at times to strike the lofty frettd ceilings.
Virgil, Aeneid, VIII, 22
velut aegri somnia, vanae finguntur species
Unreal monsters are imagined, like a sick man's dreams.
Horace, Ars Poetica, 7
Quisquis ubique habitat, Maxime, nusquam habitat.
A man who lives everywhere, Maximus, lives nowhere.
Martial, VII
variam semper dant otia mentem
Leisure always breeds an inconstant mind.
Lucan, IV, 704
3 Book one Chapter 19 That no man should be called happy until after his death
Scilicet ultima semper expectanda dies homini est, dicique beatus ante obitum nemo supremaque funera debet.
One should always wait till a man's last day, and never call him happy before his death and funeral.
Ovid, Metamorphoses,III, 135
Usque adeo res humanas vis abdita quaedam obterit, et pulchros fasces saevasque secures proculcare, ac ludibrio sibi habere videtur.
There is a dark power, hostile to human affairs, that tramples the fine (consular) fasces and cruel axes underfoot, and makes a silly toy of them.
Lucretius, V, 1233
Nunc verae voces tum demum pectore ab imo eliciuntur, et eripitur persona, manet res.
Not till then are true words drawn up from the depths of the heart; the mask is torn off and the reality is exposed.
Lucretius, III, 57
4 Book one Chapter 21 On the power of the imagination
Ut quasi transactis saepe omnibus rebus profundant fluminis ingentis fluctus, vestemque cruentent.
As if they were performing the entire act, the mighty wave gushes forth and stains their garments.
Lucretius, IV, 1035
Vota puer solvit, qui femina voverat Iphis.
Iphis as a man fulfilled the vows he had made as a woman.
Ovid, Metamorphoses, IX, 793
Dum spectant oculi laesos, laeduntur et ipsi multaque corporibus transitione nocent.
When their eyes behold others in pain, they feel pain themselves, and so many ills pass from body to body.
Ovid, De Remedio Amoris, 615
Nescio quis teneros oculus mihi fascinat agnos.
Some evil eye has bewitched my young lambs.
Virgil, Ecologues, III, 103
5. Book one Chapter 22 That one man's profit is another's loss
Nam quodcumque suis mutatum finibus exit, continuo hoc mors est illius, quod fuit ante.
Whenever a thing changes and alters its nature, at that moment comes the death of what is was before.
Lucretius, II 753 and III, 519
6 Book one Chapter 26 On the education of children
Che non men che sapper dubbiar m'aggrada
It pleases me as much to doubt as to know.
Dante, Inferno, XI, 93
vitamque sub dio et trepidis agat in rebus.
To live under the open sky, and among dangers.
Horace, Odes, III, ii, 5
Quae tellus sit lenta gelu, quae putris ab aestu, ventus in Italiam qui bene vela ferat.
What land is benumbed with cold, what land crumbling with heat, and which is the fair wind that blows towards Italy.
Propertius, IV, iii, 39
quid fas optare, quid asper utile nummus habet, patriae carisque propinquis quantum elargiri deceat, quem te deus esse iussit et humana qua parte locatus es in re, ... quid sumus et quidnam victuri gignimur.
What it is right to desire, what hard-earned money is useful for, how much should be bestowed on country and dear kindred, what sort of man God intended you to be, and for what place in the commonwealth he marked you out ... what we are and what life we are born to lead.
Persius, Satires, III, 69-72 and 67
Et quo quemque modo fugiatque feratque laborem
And how to avoid or endure each kind of hardship.
Virgil, Aeneid, III 459 (rightly fugiasque ferasque)
sapere aude: incipe. qui recte vivendi prorogal horam, rusticus expectat dum defluat amnis: at ille labitur et labetur in omne volubilis aevum.
Dare to be wise! Begin now. The man who puts off the day when he will live rightly is like the peasant who waits for the river to drain away. But it flows on, and will flow on for ever.
Horace, Epistles, I, ii, 40
Quid moveant Pisces animosaque signa Leonis, lotus et Hesperia quid Capricornus aqua.
What is the influence of Pisces, and of the fierce constellation of the Lion, and of Capricorn bathed in the Hesperian Sea.
Propertius, IV, i, 85
Deprendas animi tormenta latentis in aegro corpore, deprendas et gaudia; sumit utrumque inde habitum facies.
You can detect the mental torments concealed within a sick body, and you can also detect joy: the faces reflects both states.
Juvenal, Satires, IX, 18
Udum et molle lutum est, nunc nunc properandus et acri fingendus sine fine rota.
The clay is moist and soft, let us hasten and shape it on the sharp, revolving wheel.
Persius, Satires, III, 23
petite hinc puerique senesque finem animo certum miserisque viatica canis.
Yound men and old, take from here a fixed aim for your minds, and provide for the wretchedness of old age.
Persius, Satires, V, 64
Aeque pauperibus prodest, locupletibus aeque, et, neglecta, aeque pueris senibusque nocebit.
It is equally profitable to poor and rich and, to neglect it, will harm boys and old men alike.
Horace, Epistles, I, i, 25
Omnis Aristippum decuit color, et status, et res.
Every condition, situation, and circumstance fitted Aristippus.
Horace, Epistles, I, xvii, 23
uem duplici panno patientia velat mirabor, vitae via si conversa decebit, personamque feret non inconcinnus utramque.
Who after carefully dressing himself in a lined garment, can change his way of life, and can play both roles with equal ease. Such a man I admire.
Horace, Epistles, xvii, 25-26 and 29
Verbaque provisam rem non invita sequentur.
When the matter is ready the words will follow freely.
Horace, Ars Poetica, 311
Emmunctae naris, durus componere versus.
His nose is good, but he composes harsh verses.
Horace, Satires, I, v, 8
tempora certa modosque, et quod prius ordine verbum est posterius facias, praeponens ultima primis, invenias etiam disiecti membra poetare.
Take away the rhythm and the metre, and put the first word last and the last first; still the scattered limbs are those of a poet.
Horace, Satires, I, v, 58-59 and 62
Haec demum sapiet dictio, quae feriet
Striking speech is good speech.
Epitaph of Lucan
Alter ab undecimo tum me iam acceperat annus.
I had hardly reached the age of twelve.
Virgil, Ecologues, VIII, 40
7 Book one Chapter 27 That it is folly to measure truth and error by our own capacity
Somnia, terrores magicos, miracula, sagas, nocturnos lemures portentaque Thessla.
Deams, superstitious horrors, wonders, witches, nocturnal spectres, and Thessalian prodigies.
Horace, Epistles, II, ii, 208
Iam enmo, fessus satiate videndi, suspicere in coeli dignatur lucida templa.
Weary and sated with seeing, no man today deigns to lift his eyes to the luminous spaces of the sky.
Lucretius, II, 1038
si nunc primum mortalibus adsint ex improviso, ceu sint objecta repente, nil magis his rebus poterat mirabile dici, aut minus ante quod auderent fore credere gentes?
If these things were, for the first time, unexpectedly presented to mortals, or were suddenly exposed before them, could anything be thought of as more marvellous, or less like what people had previously dared to think possible?
Lucretius, II, 1033
Scilicet et fluvius, qui non est maximus, ei estqui non ante aliquem maiorem vidit, et ingens arbor homoque videtur; et omnia de genere omni maxima quae vidit quisque, haec ingentia fingit.
So it is that a river which is not very great seems so to one who has never seen one greater. A tree or a man appears huge in the same way. Everything of any kind seems to a man colossal if he has not seen anything bigger.
Lucretius, VI, 674
8 Book one Chapter 28 On friendship
Desinit in piscem mulier formosa superne.
A beautiful woman that tails off into a fish.
Horace, Ars Poetica, 4
et ipse notus in fratres animi paterni.
Noted for my fatherly love for my brothers.
Horace, Odes, II, ii, 6
neque enim est dea mescia mostri qua dulcem curis miscet amaritiem.
For I am not unknown to the goddess who mingles a sweet bitterness with her tortures.
Caltullus, Epigrams, LXVIII, 17
Come segue la lepre il cacciatore
Al freddo, al caldo, alla montagna, al lito;
Ne piu l'estima poi che presa vede,
Et sol dietro a chi fugge affretta il piede.
So the hunter follows the hare, in cold and heat, on the mountain and along the shore; but once he has caught it, he cares no more for it, he only chases what flies from him.
Ariosto, Orlando furioso, X, vii
Mihi sic usus est; tibi, ut opus est facto, face.
This is my habit; as for you, do as you think best.
Terence, Heautontimoroumenos, I, i, 28
Nil ego contulerim iucundo sanus amico.
So long as I am in my senses, I shall find nothing to compare with pleasant friend.
Horace, Satires, I, v, 44
quem semper acerbum, semper bonoratum (sic, di, voluistis) habebo.
Which will ever be bitter to me and ever sacred- such, O Gods, has been
your will.
Virgil, Aeneid, V, 49
Nec fas esse ulla me voluptate hic frui decrevi, tantisper dum ille
abest meus particeps.
I have resolved to enjoy no pleasures, while he is not here to share
them with me.
Terence, Heautontimoroumenos, I, i, 97
Illam meae si partem animar tulit maturior vis, quid moror altera, nec
carus aeque, nec superstes integer? Ille dies utramque duxit ruinam.
If a premature death has taken away the half of my life, why should I,
the other half, linger on, since I love myself less and have not
survived whole? The same day destroyed us both.
Horace, Odes, II, xvii, 5
Quis desiderio sit pudor aut modus tam cari capitis?
What shame or restraint should there be, in mourning so dear a head?
Horace, Odes, I, xxiv, 1
O misero frater adempte mihi!
Omnia tecum una perierunt gaudia mostra,
quae tuus in vita dulcis alebat amor.
Tu mea, tu moriens fregisti commoda, frater;
tecum una tota est nostra sepulta anima,
cujus ego interitu tota de mente fugavi
haec studia atque omnes delicias animi.
alloquar? audieri nunquam tua verba loquentem?
Nunquam ego te, vita frate amabilior,
aspiciam posthac? at certe semper amabo.
How sad I am to have lost you, brother! With you have perished all the
joys which your sweet friendship gave to my life. In your death,
brother, you have destroyed all my comforts, and both our souls are
buried with you. Since you died I have completely abandoned reading and
all the delights of the mind. Shall I speak with you again? Shall I
never hear you talking again? Shall I never look on you again, oh
brother dearer to me than life? But certainly I shall always love you.
Catullus, lxviii, 20 and lxv, 9
9 Book one Chapter 31 On cannibals
Haec loca, vi quondam et vasta convulsa ruina, dissiluisse ferunt, cum protinus utraque tellus una foret.
They say that these lands were once violently rent by a great convulsion. Until then the two lands were one.
Virgil, Aeneid, III, 414
sterilisque diu palus aptaque remis vicinas urbes alit, et grave sentit aratrum.
Long a sterile marsh, on which men rowed, it now feeds the neighbouring towns and feels the weight of the plough.
Horace, Ars Poetica, 65
Et veniunt ederae sponte sua melius, surgit et in solis formosior arbutus antris, et volucres nulla dulcius arte canunt.
The ivy grows best when it grows wild, and the arbutus is most lovely when it grows in some solitary cleft; birds sing most sweetly untaught.
Propertius, I, ii, 10
Hos natura modos primum dedit.
These are the first laws that nature gave.
Virgil, Georgis, II, 20
Vascones, fama est, alimentis talibus usi produxere animas.
They say that the Gascons prolonged their lives with such food.
Juvenal, xv, 93
victoria nulla est quam quae confessos animo quoque subjugat hostes.
There is no victory, except when the enemy in his own mind acknowledges himself beaten.
Claudian, On the sixth Consulate of Honorius, 248
10 Book one Chapter 36 On the custom of wearing clothes
Proptereaque fere res omnes aut corio sunt, aur seta, aut conchis, aut callo, aut cortice tectae.
And for this reason, almost all things are covered with hide, or bristles, or shells, or hard skin, or bark.
Lucretius, IV, 935
tam vertice nudo excipere insanos imbres coelique ruinam.
With bare head he received the furious rain, and torrents falling from heaven.
Silius Italicus, I, 250
Nudaque consistunt formam servantia testae vina, nec hausta meri, sed data frusta bibunt.
And the wine ready for serving keeps the shape of the jar. They do not drink it neat, but hand it out in lumps.
Ovid, Tristia, III, x, 23
11 Book one Chapter 47 On the uncertainty of our judgement
Vinse Hannibal, et non seppe usar' poi
Ben la vittoriosa sua ventura.
Hannibal conquered, but then did not know how to make profitable use of his victory.
Petrarch, Sonnet, LXXXVII
Dum fortuna calet, dum conficit omnia terror.
When fortunne is aglow, and terror is all-conquering.
Lucan, VII, 734
Vincitur haud gratis iugulo qui provocat hostem.
A man who offers his throat to an enemy sells his life dear.
Lucan, VII, 734
Et male consultis pretium est: prudentia fallax, nec fortuna probat causas sequiturque merentes; sed vaga per cunctos nullo discrimine fertur; scilicet est aliud quod nos cogatque regatque maius, et in proprias ducat mortalia leges.
Often bad advice is of value, while good is deceptive. Fortune does not examine reasons or reward the deserving, but wanders where is will, guided by no discrimination. There is indeed a stronger power which controls us and rules us, and holds mortal laws subject to its own laws.
Manilius, iv, 95
12 Book one Chapter 50 On Democritus and Heraclitus
alter ridebat, quoties a limine moverat unum protuleratque pedem; flebat contrarius alter.
The one laughed from the moment he put one foot over his doorstep, the other, on the contrary, wept.
Juvenal, x, 28
13 Book one Chapter 55 On smells
Mulier tum bene olet, ubi nihil olet.
A woman has a good smell when she has no smell.
Mostellaria, I, iii, 117
Rides nos, Coracine, nil olentes, malo quam bene olere, nil olere.
You laugh at me, Coracinus, because I use no scent. I has rather smell of nothing than smell sweet. Martial, VI, lv, 4
Posthume, non bene olet, qui bene semper ole.
Posthumus, the man who always smells sweet does not smell sweet.
Martial, II, xii, 4
Namque sagacius unus odoror, Polypus, an gravis hirsutis cubet hircus in alis, quam canis acer ubi lateat sus.
For my nose is sharper, Polypus, at smelling the rank goat-smell of hairy armpits, than a dog at scenting our hidden game.
Horace, Epodes, XII, 4
14 Book two Chapter 8 On the affection of fathers for their children
et errat longe, mea quidem sententia, qui imperium credat esse gravius aut stablius vi quod fit, quam illud quod amicitia adiungitur.
A man is very wrong, at least in my opinion, who believes that power is stronger and more durable when imposed by force than when procured by friendship.
Terence, Adelphi, I, i, 40
Ma hor congiunto a giovinetta sposa,
Lieto homai de'figli, era invilito
Negli affetti di padre e di marito.
But now, wedded to a young wife and blessed with children, his affections as husband and father had weakened him.
Tasso, Gerusalemme liberata, X, 39
Solve senescentem mature sanus eqqum, ne peccet ad extremum ridendus, et ilia ducat.
Be wise in time, and unharness the ageing horse, lest in the end he fail ridiculously, and become broken winded.
Horace, Epistles, I, i, 8
Ille solus nescit omnia.
He alone is in complete ignorance.
Terence, Adelphi, IV, ii, 9
Tentatum mollescit ebur, positoque rigore subsedit digitis.
The ivory grows sofe at his touch; it loses hardness and yields to his fingers.
Ovid, Metamorphoses, x, 283
15 Book two Chapter 10 On books
Has suas ad metas sudet oportet equus.
This is the goal towards which my horse shold strain.
Propertius, IV, i, 70
O seclum insipiens et infacetum!
Oh tasteless and ignorant age!
Catullus, xliii, 8
liquidus puroque simillimus amni.
Flowing and like a pure stream.
Horace, Epistles, II, ii, 120
Excursusque breves tentat.
He attempts only short flights.
Virgil, Georgics, IV, 194
ego vero me minus diu senem esse mallem, quam esse senem, antequam essem.
For my part, I should prefer to have a shorter old age than to be old before my time.
Cicero, De Senectute, X
16 Book two Chapter 11 On cruelty
Deliberata morte ferocior.
More courageous after resolving to die.
Horace, Odes, I, xxxvii, 29
Haud ignarus quantum nova gloria in armis, et praedulce decus primo certamine possit.
Knowing how potent is a new-born pride in arms, and the hope of winning glory in the first battle.
Virgil, Aeneid, XI, 154
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