Moral Letters to Lucilius Section 1

Desii iam de te esse sollicitus. Quem, inquis, deorum sponsorem accepisti? Eum scilicet, qui neminem fallit, animum recti ac boni amatorem. In tuto pars tui melior est. Potest fortuna tibi iniuriam facere; quod ad rem magis pertinet, non timeo, ne tu facias tibi. I, qua ire coepisti et in isto te vitae habitu conpone placide, non molliter.

Je ne suis plus inquiet de toi. Et quel dieu ai-je pris pour garant ? Tu le demandes ! Celui qui ne trompe personne : ton âme passionnée pour la droiture et la vertu. La meilleure partie de toi-même est hors de péril. La Fortune peut te faire tort ; mais, chose plus essentielle, je ne crains plus que tu te fasses tort à toi-même. Suis toujours ta voie : recueille-toi dans les habitudes d’une vie paisible sans mollesse.

I have already ceased to be anxious about you. “Whom then of the gods,” you ask, “have you found as your voucher?” A god, let me tell you, who deceives no one, - a soul in love with that which is upright and good. The better part of yourself is on safe ground. Fortune can inflict injury upon you; what is more pertinent is that I have no fears lest you do injury to yourself. Proceed as you have begun, and settle yourself in this way of living, not luxuriously, but calmly.