Lettres à Lucilius Section 2

Illud plane fatetur et praefert, non esse tractatam nec diu tortam. Sed ita, ut vis, esse credamus; mores ille, non verba conposuit et animis scripsit ista, non auribus.

Elle annonce et révèle clairement qu’on ne l’a ni façonnée ni longtemps tourmentée. Mais, croyons-le comme toi : il a fait de la morale, non du style ; il a écrit pour l’âme et point pour l’oreille.

Fabianus seems to me to have not so much an “efflux” as a “flow” of words: so copious is it, without confusion, and yet not without speed. This is indeed what his style declares and announces - that he has not spent a long time in working his matter over and twisting it into shape. But even supposing the facts are as you would have them; the man was building up character rather than words, and was writing those words for the mind rather than for the ear.