Moral Letters to Lucilius Section 9

primi sunt, qui sapientiam nondum habent, sed iam in vicinia eius constiterant. Tamen etiam quod prope est, extra est. Qui sint hi quaeris? Qui omnes iam adfectus ac vitia posuerunt, quae erant complectenda, didicerunt, sed illis adhuc inexperta fiducia est. Bonum suum nondum in usu habent, iam tamen in illa, quae fugerunt, decidere non possunt. Iam ibi sunt, unde non est retro lapsus, sed hoc illis de se nondum liquet; quod in quadam epistula scripsisse me memini, scire se nesciunt. Iam contigit illis bono suo frui, nondum confidere.

La première comprend ceux qui n’ont pas encore la sagesse, mais qui déjà ont pris pied dans son voisinage. Toutefois, si près qu’on soit du but, on est en deçà. « Quels sont ces hommes, demandes-tu ? » Ceux qui ont déjà dépouillé et passions et vices, qui ont appris à quoi ils doivent s’attacher, mais dont la confiance
n’est pas allée jusqu’à l’épreuve et qui n’ont point usé de leur trésor. Néanmoins la situation qu’ils ont fui, ils n’y peuvent plus retomber ; ils en sont à ce point où l’on ne glisse plus en arrière ; mais ce n’est pas encore à leurs yeux chose bien claire, et, comme je me rappelle l’avoir écrit dans une de mes lettres, ils ne savent pas qu’ils savent.

First come those who have not yet attained wisdom but have already gained a place near by. Yet even that which is not far away is still outside. These, if you ask me, are men who have already laid aside all passions and vices, who have learned what things are to be embraced; but their assurance is not yet tested. They have not yet put their good into practice, yet from now on they cannot slip back into the faults which they have escaped. They have already arrived at a point from which there is no slipping back, but they are not yet aware of the fact; as I remember writing in another letter, “They are ignorant of their knowledge.” It has now been vouchsafed to them to enjoy their good, but not yet to be sure of it.