Moral Letters to Lucilius Section 17

Quoniam coepi tibi exponere, quanto maiore impetu ad philosophiam iuvenis accesserim quam senex pergam, non pudebit fateri, quem mihi amorem Pythagoras iniecerit. Sotion dicebat, quare ille animalibus abstinuisset, quare postea Sextius. Dissimilis utrique causa erat, sed utrique magnifica.

Puisque je t’ai commencé l’histoire des premières ferveurs de ma jeunesse philosophique, suivies des tiédeurs du vieil âge, je puis sans rougir t’avouer de quel beau feu Sotion m’a enflammé pour Pythagore. Il expliquait pourquoi ce philosophe et, après lui, Sextius s’étaient abstenus de la chair des animaux. Leurs motifs à chacun différaient, mais tous deux en avaient d’admirables.

Inasmuch as I have begun to explain to you how much greater was my impulse to approach philosophy in my youth than to continue it in my old age, I shall not be ashamed to tell you what ardent zeal Pythagoras inspired in me. Sotion used to tell me why Pythagoras abstained from animal food, and why, in later times, Sextius did also. In each case, the reason was different, but it was in each case a noble reason.