Moral Letters to Lucilius Section 2

Itaque tibi apud me pluribus verbis aut adfirmatione iam nil opus; intellego multum te profecisse. Quae scribis, unde veniant, scio; non sunt ficta nec colorata. Dicam tamen quid sentiam: iam de te spem habeo, nondum fiduciam. Tu quoque idem facias volo; non est, quod tibi cito et facile credas. Excute te et varie scrutare et observa; illud ante omnia vide, utrum in philosophia an in ipsa vita profeceris.

Tu n’as donc pas besoin avec moi de protestations si prodigues de mots ni si longues : je vois que tes progrès sont grands. Tes lettres, je sais ce qui les inspire : elles n’ont ni feinte, ni fausses couleurs. Je dirai toutefois ma pensée : j’ai bon espoir de toi, mais pas encore confiance entière. Je veux que tu fasses comme
moi : ne compte pas trop vite et trop aisément sur toi-même, secoue les divers replis de ton âme, scrute et observe. Avant toute chose vois si c’est spéculativement ou dans la vie pratique que tu as gagné.

Hence you no longer need to come to me with much talk and protestations; I know that you have made great progress. I understand the feelings which prompt your words; they are not feigned or specious words. Nevertheless I shall tell you what I think, - that at present I have hopes for you, but not yet perfect trust. And I wish that you would adopt the same attitude towards yourself; there is no reason why you should put confidence in yourself too quickly and readily. Examine yourself; scrutinize and observe yourself in divers ways; but mark, before all else, whether it is in philosophy or merely in life itself that you have made progress.