Moral Letters to Lucilius Section 1

Eam partem philosophiae, quae dat propria cuique personae praecepta nec in universum conponit hominem, sed marito suadet quomodo se gerat adversus uxorem, patri quomodo edueet educet liberos, domino quomodo servos regat, quidam solam receperunt, ceteras quasi extra utilitatem nostram vagantes reliquerunt, tamquam quis posset de parte suadere nisi qui summam prius totius vitae complexus est.

Cette partie de la philosophie qui donne les préceptes propres à chaque personne, qui ne forme point l’homme en général, mais qui prescrit au mari la conduite à tenir avec sa femme, au père la manière d’élever ses enfants, au maître celle de gouverner ses esclaves, a été seule admise par quelques esprits. Ils ont laissé là tout le reste qu’ils tenaient pour pures digressions en dehors de l’utile, comme si l’on pouvait donner conseil sur des cas spéciaux sans avoir d’abord embrassé tout l’ensemble de la vie humaine.

That department of philosophy which supplies precepts appropriate to the individual case, instead of framing them for mankind at large - which, for instance, advises how a husband should conduct himself towards his wife, or how a father should bring up his children, or how a master should rule his slaves - this department of philosophy, I say, is accepted by some as the only significant part, while the other departments are rejected on the ground that they stray beyond the sphere of practical needs - as if any man could give advice concerning a portion of life without having first gained a knowledge of the sum of life as a whole!