Moral Letters to Lucilius Section 33

Nunc manibus rapidis opus est, nunc arte magistra. Voluptas ex omni quaeritur. Nullum intra se manet vitium; in avaritiam luxuria praeceps est. Honesti oblivio invasit. Nihil turpest, cuius placet pretium. Homo, sacra res homini, iam per lusum ac iocum occiditur et quem erudiri ad inferenda accipiendaque vulnera nefas erat, is iam nudus inermisque producitur satisque spectaculi ex homine mors est.

On court au plaisir par toutes voies ; tout vice a franchi sa limite. Le luxe pousse à la cupidité ; l’oubli de l’honnête a prévalu ; la honte n’est jamais où nous invite le gain. L’homme, chose sacrée pour l’homme, vois-le égorgé par jeu et par passe-temps ; l’instruire à faire et à recevoir des blessures était déjà impie, et voilà qu’on l’expose aux coups nu et sans armes ; tout le spectacle qu’on attend de l’homme, c’est sa mort.

One needs the rapid hand, the master-craft. Men seek pleasure from every source. No vice remains within its limits; luxury is precipitated into greed. We are overwhelmed with forgetfulness of that which is honourable. Nothing that has an attractive value, is base. Man, an object of reverence in the eyes of man, is now slaughtered for jest and sport; and those whom it used to be unholy to train for the purpose of inflicting and enduring wounds, are thrust forth exposed and defenceless; and it is a satisfying spectacle to see a man made a corpse.