Moral Letters to Lucilius Section 2

Duram tibi legem videor ponere, cum poetarum Graecorum maximus ius flendi dederit in unum dumtaxat diem, cum dixerit etiam Niobam de cibo cogitasse? Quaeris, unde sint lamentationes, unde inmodici fletus? Per lacrimas argumenta desiderii quaerimus et dolorem non sequimur, sed ostendimus. Nemo tristis sibi est. O infelicem stultitiam! Est aliqua et doloris ambitio.

et pourtant le prince des poètes grecs n’accorde le droit de pleurer que pour un seul jour ; et il a dit que Niobé même songea à prendre de la nourriture. Veux-tu savoir d’où viennent les lamentations, les pleurs immodérés ? On veut afficher par là ses regrets : on ne cède pas à son affliction, on en fait parade. Ce n’est point pour ce qu’on souffre qu’on est triste. Déplorable folie !

Do you think that the law which I lay down for you is harsh, when the greatest of Greek poets has extended the privilege of weeping to one day only, in the lines where he tells us that even Niobe took thought of food? Do you wish to know the reason for lamentations and excessive weeping? It is because we seek the proofs of our bereavement in our tears, and do not give way to sorrow, but merely parade it. No man goes into mourning for his own sake. Shame on our ill-timed folly! There is an element of self-seeking even in our sorrow.