Moral Letters to Lucilius Section 15

Denique nullum animal pars est alterius animalis. Iustitia autem pars est animi; non est ergo animal, videor mihi in re confessa perdere operam; magis enim indignandum de isto quam disputandum est. Nullum animal alteri par est. Circumspice omnium corpora: nulli non et color proprius est et figura sua et magnitudo.

Enfin, aucun animal ne fait partie d’un autre ; or la justice fait partie de l’âme, ce n’est donc pas un animal.

Mais, ce me semble, je perds ma peine à démontrer une chose avouée. Il y a de quoi se dépiter ici, plutôt que matière à discuter. Nul animal n’est pareil à un autre. Considère-les tous : il n’en est point qui n’ait sa couleur propre, sa figure, ses proportions à lui.

Again, no living thing is part of another living thing. But Justice is a part of the soul; therefore Justice is not a living thing. It looks as if I were wasting time over something that is an acknowledged fact; for one ought to decry such a topic rather than debate it. And no two living things are equal. Consider the bodies of all beings: every one has its particular colour, shape, and size.