Book IIIMeditations · Liber III

It is not only that each day uses up some of our life: if we live long, the mind may fail before the body, losing the power to direct ourselves, to see our duty and to judge, while breathing, nourishment and appetite carry on. So we must hurry, both because death comes nearer every moment and because our understanding often leaves us before death does.

NonNōnnot estis hocthis tantumonly nobisnōbīsby us cogitandumcōgitandum,to be thought of singulissingulīseach diebusdiēbusdays absumiabsūmīto be used up vitamvītam,life minoremqueminōremqueand a smaller ejusdemof the same (life) superesseto remain portionemportiōnem:portionWe must not think only of this, that day by day our life is being used up and a smaller portion of it remains:Non est hoc tantum nobis cogitandum cogitandum est is the gerundive with esse, the gerundive of obligation: "(it) is to be thought of, must be thought of". The person who must do it stands in the dative, nobis "by us" (the dative of the agent), so hoc … nobis cogitandum est is "this must be thought of by us", i.e. "we must think of this". non … tantum "not only" looks ahead to sed et "but also" in the next part. Gerundive of obligation (cavenda est, agenda sunt)hoc … singulis diebus absumi vitam, minoremque ejusdem superesse portionem hoc "this" is spelled out by two accusatives with infinitives, as after a verb of thinking: absumi vitam "that life is being used up" and minorem … superesse portionem "that a smaller portion remains". singulis diebus "on each single day" is an ablative of time: "day by day". Accusative and infinitive (indirect statement)minoremque ejusdem minorem "smaller" is the comparative of parvus. ejusdem "of the same" means "of that same life": a genitive of the whole with portionem, "a smaller portion of it". sedbut etalso illudthat reputandum,to be reckoned with quod,that sisīif quisanyone diutiusdiūtiuslonger vitamvītamhis life protraxeritprōtrāxerit,he has drawn out incertumuncertain sit,it is utrumwhether mentisof his mind viresvīrēspowers pariterequally idoneasidōneāsfit sithe is habiturushabitūrusgoing to have adfor rerumrērumof things intelligentiam,understanding etand adfor contemplationemcontemplātiōnemcontemplation eamthat quaewhich adtowards rerumrērumof things divinarumdīvīnārumdivine humanarumquehūmānārumqueand human peritiamperītiamknowledge contendit.it strivesbut we must also reckon with this: that if someone draws out his life longer, it is uncertain whether he will have the powers of his mind equally fit for understanding things, and for that contemplation which strives towards knowledge of things divine and human.sed et illud reputandum reputandum, like cogitandum before it, is a gerundive of obligation, with est and nobis left out: "but this too must be reckoned with (by us)". sed et "but also" answers non … tantum "not only". Gerundive of obligation (cavenda est, agenda sunt)quod, si quis diutius vitam protraxerit, incertum sit quod "that" says what illud is. Its verb is incertum sit "it is uncertain", in the subjunctive because the clause sets out a thought to be weighed. Inside it, si quis … protraxerit "if anyone has drawn out (his life)" is a perfect subjunctive standing for a future perfect: "if anyone lives on longer". After si, quis means "anyone". Subjunctive in clauses inside reported speech or thoughtincertum sit, utrum … sit habiturus What is uncertain is an indirect question, utrum … "whether …" (utrum with no an after it is simply "whether"). Its verb is the future participle habiturus "going to have" with sit: the active periphrastic. Latin has no future subjunctive, so an indirect question about the future uses this instead: "whether he will have". Future participle with sum (moriturus sis, victurus esses)mentis vires pariter idoneas vires "powers" is the plural of vis. idoneas is predicate: "whether he will have the powers of his mind equally fit", as fit as they were before. Both ad phrases depend on idoneas: "fit for understanding things, and for that contemplation …".ad contemplationem eam quae … contendit eam "that" points ahead to the relative clause: "that contemplation which strives towards knowledge of things divine and human". contendit is indicative because it states a fact about this contemplation, not part of the uncertain thought. Relative clauses and the relative pronoun qui, quae, quod namfor sisīif deliraredēlīrāreto dote ceperitcēperit,he has begun perspiratioperspīrātiōbreathing forsan,perhaps etand nutritionūtrītiō,nourishment etand imaginatioimāginātiō,imagination etand appetitusappetītus,appetite etand istiusmodiistīusmodīof that kind reliqua,the other things neutiquamby no means deficientdēficient.they will failFor if he begins to dote, his breathing perhaps, and his nourishment, and his imagination, and his appetite, and the rest of that kind will by no means fail.si delirare ceperit … deficient A future condition: the future perfect ceperit "if he has begun" with the future deficient "will fail". Latin marks that the beginning comes first; English says "if he begins". delirare is "to go off the furrow", i.e. to be out of one's mind, to dote. ceperit is Gataker's spelling of coeperit, from coepi "begin", not from capio "take", whose perfect is also cepi. The future perfect ("if you will have done…")perspiratio forsan, et nutritio, et imaginatio, et appetitus These are the lower powers a man shares with plants and animals: breathing, taking nourishment, forming images, desire. All are subjects of deficient, and neutiquam "by no means" makes the verb negative: the body's life will go on even when the mind has gone. eathat verovērōbut visvīs,power quaquāby which sesesēsēhimself utiūtīto use possit,he can etand officiiofficiīof his duty suisuīhis own numerosnumerōsparts omnesomnēsall absolvere,to fulfil etand quaewhat (things) animoanimōin his mind conceperitconcēperithe has conceived distinctedistīnctēdistinctly explicareexplicāre,to set out etand dedēabout hochōcthis ipsoipsō,very anwhether mortemdeath sibion himself consciscerecōnscīscereto inflict debeatdēbeat,he ought considerarecōnsīderāre,to considerBut that power by which he can make use of himself, and fulfil every part of his duty, and set out clearly what he has conceived in his mind, and consider this very question, whether he ought to take his own life,ea vero vis, qua sese uti possit The subject ea … vis "that power" comes first, but its verb waits until the end of the next part, where Gataker restarts it with haec, inquam, vis. qua "by which" is an ablative of means. uti "to use" is deponent and takes the ablative, here sese "himself": the power by which a man can make use of himself, govern and direct himself. possit is subjunctive because the clause describes the kind of power. Relative clauses with the subjunctive (characteristic, ut qui)uti possit, et … absolvere, et … explicare, et … considerare All four infinitives depend on possit "he can": the power by which he can use himself, fulfil …, set out …, and consider …. The infinitive as a noun (subject, object, complement)officii sui numeros omnes absolvere numeri officii "the numbers of a duty" is an old phrase for all the parts that make a duty complete, and absolvere is "to complete, fulfil": "to carry out every part of his duty".quae animo conceperit distincte explicare quae = ea quae "the things which": the antecedent, the object of explicare, is left out. conceperit "he has conceived" is subjunctive because it stands inside the subjunctive clause of possit. Relative clauses and the relative pronoun qui, quae, quodde hoc ipso, an mortem sibi consciscere debeat de hoc ipso "about this very thing" is spelled out by an indirect question with an "whether", its verb debeat in the subjunctive: "whether he ought to inflict death on himself". mortem sibi consciscere is the usual Latin phrase for taking one's own life; the Stoics held that a man might choose this when he could no longer live as reason requires. Indirect questions etand ejusmodiejusmodīof that kind universaūniversa,all things quaewhich rationemratiōnemreason probeprobēthoroughly subactamsubāctamtrained desiderantdēsīderant,they call for haec,this inquam,I say visvīspower jamalready prorsusprōrsusutterly extinctaextīnctaextinguished jacebitjacēbit.it will lieand do all things of that kind, which call for a well-trained reason: this power, I say, will already lie utterly extinguished.et ejusmodi universa universa "all things" is a neuter plural used as a noun. It closes the list as one more thing the power can do (supply "do" from the infinitives before): "and everything of that kind". ejusmodi is the genitive ejus modi "of that kind" written as one word, so its ending never changes. Neuter plurals and adjectives used as nouns (bona, mala, omnia)rationem probe subactam subactam is the perfect participle of subigo, used of soil that has been worked over, so "trained, disciplined": "a thoroughly trained reason".haec, inquam, vis After so long a list Gataker starts the subject again: haec, inquam, vis "this power, I say" repeats ea vero vis from the beginning of the last part, and only now comes its verb, jacebit "will lie". extincta jacebit "will lie extinguished" (extincta is Gataker's spelling of exstincta): the reasoning power may be dead while the body still lives. Demonstratives: hic, ille, iste, is, ipse, idem FestinandumFestīnandum(we) must hurry itaque,therefore nonnōnnot hachācthis solasōlāonly rationeratiōne,reason quiabecause mortemdeath propiusnearer perthrough momentamōmentamoments singulasingle accedituraccēditur,there is approaching sedbut hachācfor this (reason) insuperīnsuper,besides quiabecause rerumrērumof things cogitatuscōgitātusthought etand intellectusintellēctusunderstanding antebefore mortemdeath nosnōsus saepenumerosaepenumerōoften destituitdēstituit.it desertsWe must therefore make haste, not only for this reason, that with every single moment we come nearer to death, but for this one besides, that the thought and understanding of things often deserts us before death.Festinandum Festinandum (est) "there must be hurrying". festino "hurry" has no object for a gerundive to agree with, so its gerundive of obligation stands in the neuter singular as an impersonal, with est understood: "one must hurry", "we must make haste". Gerundive of obligation (cavenda est, agenda sunt)non hac sola ratione, quia … sed hac insuper, quia hac … ratione is an ablative of cause, "for this reason", and each quia "because" says what the reason is: "not only for this reason, because …, but for this one besides, because …". With the second hac supply ratione. Causal clauses: quod, quia, siquidem, cum, quippemortem propius per momenta singula acceditur acceditur is passive, though accedo "come near" has no object: an impersonal passive, "there is an approaching", naming no one. It means "one comes nearer, we draw nearer". propius "nearer", the comparative of prope, takes an accusative like a preposition: mortem propius "nearer to death". per momenta singula "through each single moment", i.e. moment by moment. Impersonal verbs and phrases (oportet, decet, constat, attinet, detur)rerum cogitatus et intellectus … destituit Two subjects take one singular verb, as often when they form a single idea: "the thought and understanding of things deserts us". cogitatus here is not the participle of cogito but a 4th-declension noun from it, "thinking, thought"; so too intellectus "understanding".

Even the side-effects of nature's work have a charm of their own: the cracks in baking bread, split figs, over-ripe olives, drooping ears of grain, a lion's brow, a boar's foam. A man who has a feeling for the whole of nature will take pleasure in such things, and will look with chaste eyes on the ripeness of the old and the beauty of the young.

Etiamalso istudthis estis observatuobservātūto notice nonnōnnot indignum,unworthy quodthat eathose things quoqueeven quaewhich aāby naturanātūrānature genitisgenitīsthings produced superveniunt,they come upon gratiamgrātiamgrace suamtheir own quandama certain etand venustatemvenustātemcharm obtinent.they haveThis too is not unworthy of notice, that even the things which come along with what nature produces have a certain grace and charm of their own.observatu non indignum observatu is the supine in -u of observo: an ablative used with adjectives to say in what respect, "unworthy in the noticing", i.e. "unworthy to be noticed". non indignum "not unworthy" is an understatement for "well worth noticing".istud … quod istud "this" points ahead to the quod clause, which says what is worth noticing: "the fact that …". The verb obtinent is indicative because the clause states a fact.ea quoque quae a natura genitis superveniunt genitis "things produced", the perfect participle of gigno used as a noun, is dative with superveniunt "come on top of, follow upon", a compound verb; a natura "by nature" is the agent. So: "even those things which come along with what nature produces", its by-products. Examples follow. Dative with special and compound verbs (succensere, obsequi) quemadmodumfor example panispānisbread cumwhen coquitur,it is baked particulasparticulāssmall parts quasdamquāsdamcertain diffindidiffindīto be split apart cernimus.we seeFor example, when bread is baked, we see certain small parts of it split open.panis cum coquitur, particulas quasdam diffindi cernimus Read cernimus "we see" first. What we see is an accusative and infinitive, particulas quasdam diffindi "certain small parts being split apart": after verbs of seeing, as of saying, Latin uses this construction. panis "bread" belongs to the cum clause but stands in front of cum: "when bread is baked"; cum with the indicative coquitur is a plain "when". Accusative and infinitive (indirect statement) attamenand yet intercisaintercīsathings cut through etand hiantiagaping things ista,those quamvisquamvīsalthough abfrom artisof the craft pistoriaepistōriaebaker's institutoīnstitūtōintention alienaaliēna,foreign decorisdecōrisof beauty speciemlook quandama certain praebefore sesēthemselves ferunt,they carry etand comedendicomedendīof eating desideriumdēsīderiumdesire suosuōtheir own modomodōway irritantirrītant.they stir upYet those cracks and gaps, although foreign to what the baker's craft intends, show a certain look of beauty, and in their own way stir the desire to eat.intercisa et hiantia ista Two participles used as nouns with ista "those": intercisa "things cut through" (from intercīdo "cut apart", not intercĭdo "fall between") and hiantia "gaping things" (present participle of hio "gape"): "those cracks and gaps" in the crust. They are the subject of both ferunt and irritant. Participles: present, perfect, future, and as nounsquamvis ab artis pistoriae instituto aliena quamvis "although" here has no verb of its own: supply sint, "although (they are) foreign to the purpose of the baker's craft". alienus ab with the ablative is "foreign to, out of keeping with": the cracks are no part of what the baker meant to make. Concessive clauses: etiamsi, quamvis, cumdecoris speciem quandam prae se ferunt prae se ferre "to carry before oneself" means "to display, show": "they show a certain look of beauty". decoris is the genitive of decor "comeliness", which comes again later in this section as decorem.comedendi desiderium comedendi is the gerund in the genitive, "of eating", depending on desiderium: "the desire of eating", i.e. "the desire to eat". The gerund (agendo, laedendi) ficusfīcūsfigs quoquetoo ubiwhen pleneplēnēfully maturuerintmātūruerint,they have ripened dehiscuntdēhīscunt.they split openFigs too, when they are fully ripe, burst open.ficus … ubi plene maturuerint ficus is plural here, "figs": the 4th-declension nominative plural. maturuerint is the future perfect of maturesco "ripen", "when they have fully ripened": Latin marks that the ripening comes first, even in a statement of what always happens, where English says "when they are fully ripe". The same form could be read as a perfect subjunctive. The future perfect ("if you will have done…") sedand etalso inin olivisolīvīsolives praematurispraemātūrīs,over-ripe illudthat putredinipūtrēdinīto rotting vicinumvīcīnum,near gratiamgrātiamgrace peculiarempecūliārempeculiar quandama certain baccaeto the berry conciliat.it winsAnd in over-ripe olives too, that nearness to rotting gives the berry a certain peculiar grace.in olivis praematuris praematuris must here mean "over-ripe", ripe beyond the usual point, as the next words show; in classical Latin praematurus usually means "ripe too early". sed et is "and also", adding a further example.illud putredini vicinum illud … vicinum is a neuter adjective used as a noun: "that (which is) neighbouring on decay", i.e. the olive's very nearness to rotting. It is the subject of conciliat. vicinus "near" takes the dative, putredini "to rottenness". Neuter plurals and adjectives used as nouns (bona, mala, omnia)gratiam … baccae conciliat conciliare aliquid alicui is "to win something for someone", "to bring it to them": "lends the berry a peculiar grace". bacca "berry" is the usual word for the olive as a fruit. spicaespīcaeears of grain itidemlikewise deorsumdownwards vergentesvergentēs,bending etand leonisleōnisof a lion supercilium,brow etand aprorumaprōrumof boars abfrom oreōremouth diffluensdiffluēnsflowing spumaspūmafoam multaqueand many aliaother things istiusmodiistīusmodī;of that kind quaewhich seorsimsēorsimseparately siquissīquisif anyone intueaturintueātur,should look at suntthey are venustatevenustātefrom charm omniomnīall procul;farLikewise ears of grain bending downwards, and a lion's brow, and the foam flowing from the mouths of boars, and many other things of that kind, which, if one were to look at them on their own, are far from all beauty;spicae itidem deorsum vergentes, et leonis supercilium, et aprorum ab ore diffluens spuma multaque alia istiusmodi A long list of subjects: ears of grain bowing down, a lion's brow, the foam at a boar's mouth, and many other things of that kind. Their main verbs come only after procul; (adjiciunt, afficiunt); first, after Gataker's semicolon, they get a relative clause, "which … are far from all beauty". In aprorum ab ore the genitive "of boars" stands before the preposition: "from the mouth of boars".quae seorsim siquis intueatur quae "which" stands first, but it is the object of intueatur in the si clause that follows: "which, if anyone were to look at (them) on their own, are …". Latin often opens a relative clause with a subordinate clause in this way; the verb of the relative clause itself is sunt. siquis = si quis "if anyone"; the present subjunctive intueatur, from the deponent intueor, puts the case as a supposition, while sunt states the result as a fact. Conditional sentences (si, nisi, siquis)venustate omni procul procul "far off" with a plain ablative is "far from": "far from all charm". Ablative of separation (a, ab, absque, liber, immunis, alienus) quiabecause tamenyet rebusrēbusto things naturalibusnātūrālibusnatural adnascunturadnāscuntur,they grow upon etboth ornatumōrnātumornament illisillīsto them adjiciunt,they add etand contemplantiumof those looking quoquealso animosanimōsminds afficiunt.they moveyet because they grow upon natural things, they both add ornament to them and also move the minds of those who look at them.quia tamen … et ornatum illis adjiciunt, et … afficiunt Here at last are the main verbs of the long list in the last part: "yet, because they grow upon natural things, they both add ornament to them and move …". tamen "yet" answers sunt venustate omni procul: unlovely on their own, attractive as parts of nature. et … et is "both … and". Paired words: et…et, nec…nec, vel…vel, cum…tum, non tam…quam, sive…siverebus naturalibus adnascuntur adnascor (also spelt agnascor) "to grow on, be born in addition to" is deponent, passive in form but active in meaning, and takes the dative rebus naturalibus: these things grow on natural things as side-growths. Deponent verbs: passive forms, active meaningcontemplantium contemplantium is the present participle of the deponent contemplor "look at, contemplate", used as a noun in the genitive plural: "of those who look at them". Participles: present, perfect, future, and as nouns proinde,so siquissīquisif anyone animumhis mind acand cogitationemcōgitātiōnemthought noritnōrithe knows how altiusmore deeply defigeredēfīgereto fix inon eathe things quaewhich inin universoūniversōuniverse hochōcthis fiuntfīunt,they happenSo, if anyone knows how to fix his mind and thought more deeply on the things that happen in this universe,siquis … norit … defigere A future condition, finished in the next part by the future deprehendet "he will find". norit is the short form of noverit, future perfect of nosco: since novi "I have learned" means "I know", noverit "he will have learned" means "he knows". With an infinitive it is "knows how to": norit … defigere "knows how to fix". Perfect stems and short forms (norim, posuere)in ea quae in universo hoc fiunt After a verb of fixing, in takes the accusative, "onto": "(fix his mind) on the things which happen". In the second in phrase the ablative is "in": in universo hoc "in this universe", where universum, the neuter of universus "whole", is used as a noun.altius altius "more deeply" is the comparative of the adverb alte, from altus "high, deep". nihilnothing fereferēalmost etiameven inamong eiseīs,those things quaewhich quasias it were appendicisof an appendix cujusdamof a kind of locolocōin the place resrēsthings naturalesnātūrālēsnatural consequunturcōnsequuntur,they follow deprehendetdēprehendet,he will find quodwhich nonnōnnot etiamalso cumwith oblectationeoblectātiōnedelight quadamquādama certain huicto this man ipsiipsīvery commendarecommendāreto recommend sesesēsēitself videaturvideātur.it seemshe will find hardly anything, even among the things that follow natural things as a kind of appendix, that does not seem to recommend itself to this very man too, with a certain delight.nihil fere … deprehendet, quod non … videatur nihil … quod non "nothing which does not": after a negative antecedent the relative clause describes the kind of thing, so its verb videatur is subjunctive. The two negatives make a strong positive: he will find almost everything pleasing. videri "to be seen" means "to seem". Relative clauses with the subjunctive (characteristic, ut qui)quasi appendicis cujusdam loco loco with a genitive is "in the place of, by way of": "as (if in the place of) a kind of appendix". These are nature's by-products described above, which follow (consequuntur) natural things as an appendix follows a book.huic ipsi commendare sese huic ipsi "to this very man" is the one who has fixed his mind on nature; sese "itself" refers to quod, each such thing: it seems to recommend itself to him. etiam "too": not only the main works of nature but their by-products please him. quinquīnindeed etalso idemīdemthe same man ferarumferārumof wild beasts rictusrictūsgaping jaws verosvērōsreal haudnot minoreminōreless cumwith voluptatevoluptātepleasure contuebiturcontuēbitur,he will gaze at quamthan pictorumpictōrumof painters fictorumvefictōrumveor of sculptors arteby the art perthrough imitationemimitātiōnemimitation expressosexpressōs.renderedIndeed the same man will look at the real gaping jaws of wild beasts with no less pleasure than those rendered by imitation through the art of painters or sculptors.quin et idem quin et "and what is more" adds a stronger point. idem "the same man" is the one who fixes his mind on nature.haud minore cum voluptate … quam haud minore cum voluptate … quam "with no less pleasure … than": minore is the comparative of parvus, agreeing with voluptate, and quam "than" brings in the second thing compared. Between them stands the verb contuebitur "he will gaze at", future of the deponent contueor. Comparison: comparatives, superlatives, quamferarum rictus veros ferarum is from fera "wild beast", the feminine of ferus "wild" used as a noun (bestia understood). rictus is accusative plural (4th declension), "gaping jaws", and veros "real" sets them against the painted ones that follow.pictorum fictorumve arte per imitationem expressos Supply rictus with expressos "rendered, portrayed": "(jaws) portrayed by imitation through the art of painters or sculptors". A fictor is one who shapes figures, a modeller or sculptor; -ve is "or". People admire painted beasts; the real ones are as well worth seeing. tamas much vetulaeof an old woman itemlikewise vetulivevetulīveor of an old man maturitatemmātūritātemripeness quandama certain acand decoremdecōrem,comeliness quamas etalso quicquidwhatever inin puerispuerīsthe young venustatisvenustātisof charm animumthe mind allicientisattracting deprehenditurdēprehenditur,it is found castiscastīschaste oculisoculīswith eyes spectarespectāreto look at poterit.he will be ableWith chaste eyes he will be able to look on a certain ripeness and comeliness in an old woman, or likewise in an old man, as much as on whatever charm that draws the mind is found in the young.tam … quam et tam … quam "as much … as" pairs the two things he will look at: the ripeness of the old, and the charm of the young. et after quam is "also". Both are objects of spectare at the end, and the subject is still idem from the last part. Paired words: et…et, nec…nec, vel…vel, cum…tum, non tam…quam, sive…sivevetulae item vetulive vetulus, vetula "little old man, little old woman" are diminutive adjectives used as nouns; here genitive: "of an old woman, and likewise of an old man". -ve is "or".quicquid in pueris venustatis animum allicientis deprehenditur quicquid … venustatis "whatever (of) charm": the genitive of the whole after quicquid. allicientis "attracting" agrees with venustatis, and animum is its object: "whatever charm that draws the mind is found in the young". pueri here are boys or children generally. Partitive genitive (aliquid boni, nihil…)castis oculis castis oculis "with chaste eyes": he enjoys the beauty of youth as he enjoys any of nature's works, without desire. deniquedēniquein short continguntthey occur multamany things hujusmodihujusmodī,of this kind quaewhich nonnōnnot cuiviscuivīsto anyone at all suntthey are gratagrāta,pleasing sedbut illiillīto that man duntaxatonly quiquīwho adversustowards naturamnātūramnature operaqueand works ejusdemof the same animumhis mind habuerithe has had probeprobēthoroughly conciliatumconciliātum.won overIn short, many things of this kind occur which are not pleasing to just anyone, but only to the man who has his mind thoroughly reconciled to nature and her works.quae non cuivis sunt grata, sed illi duntaxat cuivis is the dative of quivis "anyone you please"; with non it means "not to everyone". grata "pleasing" takes the dative, and is understood again with illi "to that man".qui … animum habuerit probe conciliatum habere with a perfect participle agreeing with its object stresses a lasting state: animum habuerit … conciliatum "has had his mind won over", i.e. "has his mind made friendly". conciliare is "to make friendly, win over", and adversus naturam "towards nature". The perfect subjunctive habuerit describes the kind of man meant: "the sort of man who has". Relative clauses with the subjunctive (characteristic, ut qui)operaque ejusdem opera here is the neuter plural of opus "work", not the feminine noun opera "effort". ejusdem "of the same" refers to naturam: "nature and her works".

Physicians, astrologers, conquerors and philosophers all died in their turn, some in squalid ways. Life is a voyage that is over: if there is another life, the gods are there too; if there is no sensation, you will be freed from serving the body, a vessel far inferior to the mind that serves it.

HippocratesHippocratēs,Hippocrates ubiafter multosmultōsmany sustulerathe had taken away morbosmorbōs,diseases morbomorbōby a disease tandemat last etalso ipsehimself sublatussublātustaken away est.he wasHippocrates, after he had taken away many diseases, was at last himself taken away by a disease.ubi multos sustulerat morbos ubi with the pluperfect indicative means "when, after": ubi … sustulerat "after he had taken away". The verb is set inside its object phrase multos … morbos "many diseases". Temporal clauses: dum, ubi, quando, quoties, quamdiusustulerat … sublatus est Both forms come from tollo "lift, take away", whose perfect sustuli and participle sublatus look nothing like the present. tollere means "to remove" (a disease, i.e. to cure it) and also "to carry off" (a man, i.e. to kill him): the sentence plays on the two senses. Perfect stems and short forms (norim, posuere)et ipse et here is not "and" but "also, too" (= etiam): et ipse "he himself too". ChaldaeiChaldaeī,the Chaldaeans cumafter multorummultōrumof many people mortemthe death praedixissentpraedīxissent,they had foretold mortimortīto death demumdēmumat length etalso ipsiipsīthemselves concesseruntconcessērunt.they yieldedThe Chaldaeans, after they had foretold the death of many, at length themselves too yielded to death.cum multorum mortem praedixissent cum with the pluperfect subjunctive tells what had happened before the main event: "when (after) they had foretold". In narrative Latin puts such a cum clause in the subjunctive, where English has a plain "when". There is a note of contrast too: they foretold the deaths of others, yet died themselves. Clauses with cum: when, since, althoughmorti demum et ipsi concesserunt concedere "to give way, yield" takes the dative: morti concedere "to yield to death" is a gentle way of saying "to die". et ipsi "they themselves too". Dative with special and compound verbs (succensere, obsequi) Alexander,Alexander PompeiusPompēius,Pompey C.Gaius Caesar,Caesar cumafter totso many urbesurbēscities funditusutterly evertissentēvertissent,they had overthrown totso many hominumof men myriadesmyriadēstens of thousands inin praeliopraeliōbattle cecidissentcecīdissent,they had cut down ipsiipsīthemselves quoquetoo tandemat last vitavītāfrom life excesseruntexcessērunt.they departedAlexander, Pompey, Gaius Caesar, after they had utterly overthrown so many cities and cut down so many tens of thousands of men in battle, themselves too at last departed from life.Alexander, Pompeius, C. Caesar Three conquerors: Alexander the Great, Pompey the Great and Julius Caesar. C. is the regular abbreviation of the first name Gaius. The names are listed without "and", a common way of listing in Latin.cum tot urbes funditus evertissent, tot hominum myriades in praelio cecidissent One cum governs two pluperfect subjunctives, set side by side without "and"; the repeated tot "so many" binds them: "after they had overthrown so many cities, (and) cut down so many tens of thousands of men". Clauses with cum: when, since, althoughcecidissent cecīdissent, with a long i, comes from caedo, caedere, cecīdī "cut down, kill", and has an object, myriades. Do not confuse it with cecĭdissent from cado, cadere, cecĭdī "fall", which would mean "had fallen" and take no object. Without the long mark the two forms look alike. Perfect stems and short forms (norim, posuere)vita excesserunt vita excedere "to go out from life", i.e. to die. The ablative alone, without a preposition, gives the place left. Ablative of separation (a, ab, absque, liber, immunis, alienus) HeraclitusHēraclītus,Heraclitus dedēabout mundimundīof the world conflagrationecōnflagrātiōnethe conflagration cumafter prolixeprōlixēat length disseruisset,he had discoursed aquaaquāwith water intercuteunder the skin viscerain his innards distentus,swollen stercorequeand with dung oblitussmeared bubulobūbulō,of cattle interiit.he diedHeraclitus, after he had discoursed at length on the conflagration of the world, died swollen in his innards with dropsy and smeared with cow dung.de mundi conflagratione cum prolixe disseruisset cum "after" stands inside its own clause, behind de mundi conflagratione, which is put first for emphasis. Heraclitus taught that the world would end in fire; the irony is that he died of too much water. Clauses with cum: when, since, althoughaqua intercute viscera distentus aqua intercus, "water under the skin", is the Latin name for dropsy; intercus, intercutis is an adjective made from inter "between, under" and cutis "skin". aqua intercute is ablative of cause: "by dropsy". viscera is an accusative of respect with the passive participle distentus: "swollen as to his innards", i.e. "with his innards swollen". This accusative, borrowed from Greek, names the part affected. Participles: present, perfect, future, and as nounsstercoreque oblitus bubulo oblitus with a short i is the participle of oblino "smear over"; it is not oblītus "having forgotten" from obliviscor. The ancient lives of Heraclitus say he plastered himself with cow dung to cure his dropsy. bubulo "of cattle" is parted from its noun stercore by the participle. Participles: present, perfect, future, and as nouns DemocritumDēmocritumDemocritus pediculipēdiculī;lice SocratemSōcratemSocrates etiamtoo pediculipēdiculī,lice sedbut aliusmodialīusmodī,of another kind sustuleruntsustulērunt.they carried offLice carried off Democritus; lice carried off Socrates too, but lice of another kind.Democritum pediculi; Socratem etiam pediculi The objects come first and the single verb sustulerunt "carried off" comes at the end, serving both halves: Democritum and Socratem are accusative, pediculi "lice" nominative.sed aliusmodi aliusmodi = alius modi "of another kind", a genitive of description like ejusmodi. The "lice of another kind" that destroyed Socrates were the men who accused him and had him condemned to death in 399 BC. quorsumquōrsumto what end ista?these things navemnāvemthe ship conscendisticōnscendistī,you have gone on board navigastināvigāstī,you have sailed appulistiappulistī:you have come to land egredereēgredere.get outWhat is the point of all this? You have gone on board, you have sailed, you have come to land: get out.quorsum ista? quorsum (from quo vorsum "turned towards what?") means "to what end?". The verb is left out, as usual in this phrase; supply spectant "tend": "what do these things point to?", i.e. "what is the lesson of all this?" Words left out: esse, sum and others understoodnavigasti, appulisti navigasti is short for navigavisti "you have sailed": in perfects in -avi the -vi- or -ve- is often dropped (amasti, amarunt). appulisti is not shortened: it is the regular perfect of appello, appellere, appulī "bring to land", a different verb from appellare "to call". Perfect stems and short forms (norim, posuere)egredere egredere "get out, go ashore" looks like an infinitive, but it is the imperative of the deponent egredior "go out": deponents form the singular imperative in -re (loquere "speak", sequere "follow"). Life is a voyage; death is going ashore. Deponent verbs: passive forms, active meaning sisīif adto vitamvītamlife alteram;another nihil,nothing nenēnot ibithere quidem,even numinisnūminisof divinity estis inaneināne.emptyIf it is to another life, nothing, not even there, is empty of divinity.si ad vitam alteram The si clause has no verb: supply egrederis "you are going out" from egredere just before: "if (you go ashore) to another life". Marcus weighs the two things death may be, the first introduced by si "if", the second by sin "but if". Words left out: esse, sum and others understoodnihil, ne ibi quidem, numinis est inane inanis "empty" takes a genitive of what is lacking: nihil numinis est inane "nothing is empty of divinity", so the gods are there too. ne ibi quidem "not even there" is set between commas inside the clause. sinsīnbut if sensusēnsūsensation carituruscaritūrusgoing to be without sissīs,you are desinesdēsinēsyou will cease voluptatibusvoluptātibusby pleasures acand doloribusdolōribusby pains distineridistinērī;to be pulled this way and that desinesdēsinēsyou will cease vasivāsīa vessel tantotantōso much deterioridēteriōrīinferior inservireīnservīre.to serveBut if you are going to be without sensation, you will cease to be pulled this way and that by pleasures and pains; you will cease to be the servant of a vessel so much inferior.sin sensu cariturus sis sin "but if" brings in the second possibility. cariturus sis is the future participle of careo "be without" with the subjunctive of esse: "if you are going to be without". careo takes the ablative, here sensu "sensation". The subjunctive leaves the supposition open; the main verbs desines "you will cease" are plain futures. Future participle with sum (moriturus sis, victurus esses)desines voluptatibus ac doloribus distineri desino "cease" takes an infinitive. The repeated desines gives two gains of death: no more being pulled apart (distineri) by pleasures and pains, and no more slavery to the body.vasi tanto deteriori inservire The "vessel" is the body, which holds the soul; inservire "to serve" takes the dative vasi. tanto "by so much" is the ablative of the degree of difference with the comparative deteriori "worse, inferior": inferior, that is, to what serves it, the mind, as the next sentence says. Comparison: comparatives, superlatives, quam anor nonnōnnot enimfor praestantiusmore excellent estis idthat quodwhich inservitīnservit?serves cumsince alterthe one mensmēnsmind etand genius,divine spirit alterthe other limuslīmusmud etand saniessaniēsgore sit?isFor is not that which serves the more excellent? Since the one is mind and divine spirit, the other mud and gore?an non enim praestantius est an at the head of a direct question, with non, asks a question that expects the answer "yes": "or is it not so that …?", i.e. "surely … is …". praestantius "more excellent" is the comparative of praestans; id quod inservit "that which serves" is the mind, which serves the body.cum alter mens et genius, alter limus et sanies sit cum with the subjunctive sit here means "since"; the question mark carries the question on into the reason for it. One sit serves both halves: alter "the one" (the mind) is mind and divine spirit (genius, the god within each man), alter "the other" (the body) is mud and gore. alter is masculine, taking the gender of genius and limus, although the things meant (id quod inservit and vas) are neuter; Gataker's own edition (1652) prints alter … alter too. Clauses with cum: when, since, although

Do not waste what is left of life wondering what other people are doing, unless the common good requires it: think only what you could at once disclose without shame. A man so formed is a priest of the god within him, unstained by pleasure, unhurt by pain, intent on his own work and content with his lot; he cares for all men, but values the praise only of those who live according to nature.

Quodwhich superestis left vitaevītaeof life reliquum,the rest nenēdo not conterasconterāswear away inin cogitationibuscōgitātiōnibusthoughts dedēabout rebusrēbusaffairs alienisaliēnīs,other people's nisiunless siquidsīquidanything adtowards communemcommūnemcommon utilitatemūtilitātemgood spectaveritspectāverit;it bears onThe rest of your life that remains, do not wear it away in thoughts about other people's affairs, unless something in them bears on the common good;Quod superest vitae reliquum The sentence opens with its object, wrapped in a relative clause: quod superest vitae reliquum "the remainder of life which is left". reliquum "the rest" is the antecedent of quod, placed inside the relative clause after its verb, a common Latin order; it is the object of conteras. Relative clauses and the relative pronoun qui, quae, quodne conteras ne with the present subjunctive conteras forbids: "do not wear away". Latin forbids with noli and the infinitive, with ne and the perfect subjunctive, or, as here and often in general precepts, with ne and the present subjunctive. Commands: imperative, memento, ne with the perfect subjunctivenisi siquid … spectaverit nisi siquid "unless anything", i.e. "except where something …": after si, quid means "anything". spectaverit is future perfect (the perfect subjunctive has the same form), "shall have looked to": in conditions about the future Latin is exact about time where English uses a present, "unless it bears on". The future perfect ("if you will have done…") puta,say, for instance cogitandocōgitandō,by thinking quidwhat istethis man velor illethat man agat,is doing etand quorsumquōrsumto what end hocthis velor illudthat agat,he does quidwhat loquaturloquātur,he is saying quidwhat cogitetcōgitet,he is thinking quidwhat machineturmāchinētur,he is plotting etand caetera.the restfor instance, by thinking what this man or that is doing, and to what end he does this or that, what he is saying, what he is thinking, what he is plotting, and so on.puta puta, the imperative of puto "think, suppose", is used as an adverb: "say", "for instance". It brings in examples of the useless thoughts just forbidden.cogitando cogitando is the gerund of cogito in the ablative, "by thinking": it says how the rest of life would be worn away. Like a verb, it takes objects, here the questions that follow. The gerund (agendo, laedendi)quid iste vel ille agat … quid machinetur Each quid "what", and quorsum "to what end", opens an indirect question depending on cogitando; their verbs agat, loquatur, cogitet, machinetur are subjunctive, as always in indirect questions, though English uses plain statements: "what he is doing". loquatur and machinetur are deponents: passive endings, active meaning. Indirect questionset caetera et caetera "and the rest", our "etc."; caetera is Gataker's spelling of cetera. Gataker's spelling: j, caeterum, quenquam, -cunque etenimfor indeed operisof the work alienialiēnīanother's observatioobservātiō,the watching aāfrom mentisof the mind propriaeone's own custodiacustōdiāthe guarding cogitcōgitforces (one) evagariēvagārī.to strayFor watching another's work forces one to stray from guarding one's own mind.operis alieni observatio, a mentis propriae custodia Two objective genitives: operis alieni observatio "the watching of another's work" and mentis propriae custodia "the guarding of one's own mind". The comma after observatio only marks off the subject. Objective genitive (reverentia tui, cura rerum)cogit evagari cogere "to force" takes an infinitive; the person forced is not named: "forces (one) to stray". evagari is the infinitive of the deponent evagor "wander off", passive in form, active in meaning. Deponent verbs: passive forms, active meaning oportetit is necessary itaqueso inin cogitationumcōgitātiōnumof thoughts serieseriēthe train frustraneumfrūstrāneumidle etand superfluumsuperfluous omneeverything declinaredēclīnāre:to avoid curiosumcūriōsumwhat is meddlesome autembut etand malignumwhat is malicious multomultōmuch magis.moreSo in the train of your thoughts you must avoid everything idle and superfluous, but much more what is meddlesome and malicious.oportet itaque oportet "it is necessary" is impersonal: its subject is the infinitive declinare "to avoid", and the person who must do it, "you", is understood. Impersonal verbs and phrases (oportet, decet, constat, attinet, detur)frustraneum et superfluum omne omne "everything", neuter singular, is the object of declinare; frustraneum "idle, useless" (a late Latin word, from frustra "in vain") and superfluum agree with it. Neuter plurals and adjectives used as nouns (bona, mala, omnia)curiosum autem et malignum multo magis The verb is left out: supply declinare oportet, "but (you must avoid) what is meddlesome and malicious much more". multo "by much" is the ablative of the degree of difference with the comparative magis "more". Words left out: esse, sum and others understood assuefacereassuēfacereto accustom verovērōrather tetēyourself debesdēbēs,you must utto eathose things duntaxatonly cogitescōgitēs,you think dedēabout quibuswhich siquissīquisif anyone subitosubitōsuddenly tetēyou requisiveritrequīsīverit,should ask quidwhat nuncnow inin animoanimōmind versasversās?are you turning over liberelīberēfreely statimat once respondererespondēreanswer queasqueās,you could istudthis velor illud.thatRather, you must accustom yourself to think only those things about which, if someone suddenly asked you, What are you turning over in your mind now? you could at once answer freely, This, or That.assuefacere vero te debes, ut debes "you must" governs the infinitive assuefacere, and assuefacere te "to accustom yourself" takes an ut clause saying what you are to get used to: ut ea duntaxat cogites "to think only those things". Noun clauses with ut and ne (after oportet, incumbit, necesse est…)de quibus siquis … requisiverit The relative de quibus "about which" belongs with respondere queas near the end; a whole si clause is put between them: "things about which, if anyone should ask you …, you could answer". siquis = si quis "if anyone". requisiverit "should have asked" is perfect subjunctive standing for a future perfect; it is subjunctive because it sits inside the ut clause. Conditional sentences (si, nisi, siquis)quid nunc in animo versas? The question is quoted directly, without quotation marks: "What are you turning over in your mind now?" versare in animo "to turn over in the mind", i.e. to be thinking about. The question mark does not end the sentence.respondere queas, istud vel illud queas "you could" is the present subjunctive of queo "be able". The subjunctive marks the de quibus clause as describing the kind of things you should think: "such that you could answer about them". The answer itself is istud vel illud "this or that": you would simply name the thought. Relative clauses with the subjunctive (characteristic, ut qui) undefrom which palamplain fiatfīatit would become extemploextemplō,at once esseis omniaeverything apudin tetēyou simplicia,simple benevolaqueand kindly animalisanimālisof a creature sicutsīcutas being socialissociālis,social etand cogitationescōgitātiōnēsthoughts omnesomnēsall neglectimneglēctimin neglect habentis,holding quaecunquewhichever voluptatemvoluptātempleasure autor luxumluxury ulloūllōany modomodōway respiciant;look toSo from this it would at once be plain that everything in you is simple and kindly, the mark of a creature that is social, and that holds in disregard all thoughts which in any way look to pleasure or luxury;unde palam fiat extemplo, esse omnia apud te simplicia unde "from which" (from such an answer) looks back across Gataker's full stop; it gives the result of answering so, and its verb is subjunctive: palam fiat "it would become plain". What becomes plain is an accusative and infinitive: esse omnia apud te simplicia, benevolaque "that everything in you is simple and kindly". apud te "with you" here means "in you, in your mind". Accusative and infinitive (indirect statement)animalis sicut socialis, et … habentis These genitives depend on esse: everything in you "is of a creature", i.e. is the mark of a creature, as in sapientis est "it is the mark of a wise man". The creature is described twice: sicut socialis "as being social", and habentis "holding" certain thoughts neglectim "in neglect". animal is neuter, so socialis and the participle habentis are neuter genitives too. Genitive of characteristic: "it belongs to…, it is the mark of…"neglectim habentis neglectim habere "to hold in neglect", i.e. to disregard. neglectim is a rare adverb made from neglectus "neglected", like sensim from sensus.quaecunque voluptatem aut luxum ullo modo respiciant quaecunque "whichever" agrees with cogitationes: "all thoughts, whichever in any way look to pleasure or luxury". respiciant is subjunctive because the clause is part of what would become plain. The list of what such thoughts look to goes on in the next sentence. Subjunctive in clauses inside reported speech or thought autor aemulationemaemulātiōnemrivalry etiam,too autor invidentiamenvy etand suspicionemsuspīciōnem,suspicion autor aliudelse quidlibet,anything at all dedēabout quoquōwhich proloquiprōloquīto declare pudeat,it would shame hocthis tetēyou velor illudthat inin animoanimōmind habuisse.hador rivalry too, or envy and suspicion, or anything else at all about which you would be ashamed to declare that you had this or that in mind.aut aemulationem etiam, aut invidentiam et suspicionem, aut aliud quidlibet The list goes on from the previous sentence: these accusatives, like voluptatem aut luxum, are objects of respiciant: thoughts that look to pleasure or luxury, or to rivalry, envy, suspicion, or anything else. quidlibet "anything you like", i.e. "anything at all".de quo proloqui pudeat, hoc te vel illud in animo habuisse pudet "it shames" is impersonal; the person ashamed ("you") is understood, and what would bring shame is the infinitive proloqui "to declare openly". What you would declare is an accusative and infinitive: hoc te vel illud in animo habuisse "that you had this or that in mind". The subjunctive pudeat means "would shame": the clause describes the kind of thought meant. Impersonal verbs and phrases (oportet, decet, constat, attinet, detur) Vira man itaso compositus,composed quoquōso that minusthe less inin optimorumoptimōrumof the best numeronumerōthe number censeaturcēnseātur,he is counted jamnow nihilnothing est,there is cumsince deorumdeōrumof the gods sacerdossacerdōspriest acand ministerminister quidamquīdama kind of existat,he is eoqueeōqueand that quodwhich intraintrāwithin sesēhimself gerit,he carries numinenūminedeity riterītēduly utaturūtātur.he makes use ofNothing now prevents a man so composed from being counted among the best, since he is a kind of priest and minister of the gods, and duly makes use of the deity which he carries within him.Vir ita compositus, quo minus in optimorum numero censeatur, jam nihil est nihil est quo minus … "there is nothing by which … the less", i.e. "nothing prevents … from …", with the subjunctive censeatur. The subject of censeatur, vir ita compositus "a man so composed", is put first for emphasis: "nothing now prevents a man so composed from being counted among the best". Quo minus and quin after verbs of hinderingin optimorum numero in numero with a genitive, "in the number of", means "among". optimorum "the best" is the superlative of bonus, used as a noun.cum deorum sacerdos ac minister quidam existat Causal cum "since" governs two subjunctives, existat and, after the comma, utatur. existere here is little more than "to be". quidam "a certain" softens the metaphor: "a kind of priest and minister". Causal clauses: quod, quia, siquidem, cum, quippeeoque quod intra se gerit, numine rite utatur utor "use" is deponent and takes the ablative: eo numine "that deity". Between eo and numine stands the relative clause quod intra se gerit "which he carries within himself": the god within, the genius of the last section. Deponent verbs: passive forms, active meaning quodwhich hominemthe man utiqueutīqueassuredly praestetkeeps intaminatumintāminātumunstained voluptatibusvoluptātibus,by pleasures doloredolōreby pain omniomnīany illaesum,unhurt contumeliacontumēliāby insult intactumintāctum,untouched improbitatisimprobitātisof wickedness nenēnot sentientemsensible of quidem;even certaminiscertāminisof the contest praestantissimipraestantissimī,noblest nenēthat … not abby affectuaffectūpassion scilicetscīlicetthat is ulloūllōany subvertatursubvertātur,he be thrown athletamāthlētam;an athleteAnd this is what assuredly keeps the man unstained by pleasures, unhurt by any pain, untouched by insult, not even sensible of wickedness; an athlete in the noblest contest, that is, never to be thrown by any passion;quod hominem utique praestet intaminatum quod refers to numine, the god within, although Gataker puts a full stop before it; its verb praestet is subjunctive, as in a clause of characteristic: "a deity such as keeps the man unstained". praestare with an object and a predicate means "to render, keep (someone) so", and a long chain of predicates follows, all accusative and agreeing with hominem: intaminatum, illaesum, intactum, sentientem, athletam, and in the next unit imbutum and amplexantem. Relative clauses with the subjunctive (characteristic, ut qui)intaminatum voluptatibus, dolore omni illaesum, contumelia intactum Each adjective has its ablative: unstained voluptatibus "by pleasures", unhurt dolore omni "by any pain", untouched contumelia "by insult". All three begin with in- "un-" (illaesum is in + laesum). Ablative of means, cause and mannerimprobitatis ne sentientem quidem The present participle sentientem is used like an adjective and so takes a genitive, as in patiens laboris "able to bear toil": "not even sensible of wickedness". The wickedness of others does not reach him. Participles: present, perfect, future, and as nounscertaminis praestantissimi, ne ab affectu scilicet ullo subvertatur, athletam athletam certaminis praestantissimi "an athlete of the noblest contest". The ne clause, with scilicet "that is", says what the contest is: that he "should not be thrown" by any passion, like a wrestler. ab affectu gives the agent of the passive subvertatur. Noun clauses with ut and ne (after oportet, incumbit, necesse est…) justitiajūstitiāin justice penitusthrough and through imbutumimbūtum;steeped exfrom animoanimōthe heart prorsusprōrsuswholly amplexantemembracing quaecunquewhatever things exby legelēgethe law divinadīvīnādivine illiillīto him attributaattribūtaassigned contigerint.have fallensteeped through and through in justice; embracing with all his heart whatever has fallen to him, assigned by the divine law.justitia penitus imbutum; ex animo prorsus amplexantem Two more predicates of hominem: imbutum, perfect participle of imbuo "soak, steep", with the ablative justitia; and amplexantem, present participle of the deponent amplexor "embrace". ex animo "from the heart", i.e. sincerely. Participles: present, perfect, future, and as nounsquaecunque ex lege divina illi attributa contigerint The whole clause is the object of amplexantem: "whatever things have fallen to him". contingere with the dative (illi) means "to fall to someone's lot"; attributa "assigned" agrees with quaecunque. Gataker puts the verb of this "whatever" clause in the subjunctive, as a clause within a clause; classical Latin would usually have the indicative. Subjunctive in clauses inside reported speech or thought quiquīone who rarorārōseldom admodum,very necand not citracitrāwithout magnamgreat aliquamsome atqueand infor communecommūnethe common good utilemūtilemuseful occasionemoccāsiōnemoccasion advertat,he pays heed to quidwhat aliuselse quispiamanyone dicatdīcat,says faciat,does cogitetcōgitet.thinksHe is one who very seldom, and not without some great occasion useful for the common good, pays heed to what anyone else says, does, thinks.qui raro admodum … advertat A relative clause with the subjunctive describes the kind of person meant: qui … advertat "one who pays heed", "the sort to pay heed". Gataker sets it off with a full stop, but its antecedent is still hominem, the man whom the god within keeps unstained. Relative clauses with the subjunctive (characteristic, ut qui)nec citra magnam aliquam atque in commune utilem occasionem citra "short of" is Gataker's regular word for "without": "and not without some great occasion, useful for the common good". magnam, aliquam and utilem all agree with occasionem; in commune "for the common (good)" uses the neuter adjective as a noun.quid alius quispiam dicat, faciat, cogitet An indirect question, the object of advertat, with three subjunctive verbs and no "and". alius quispiam "anyone else". Indirect questions suissuīshis own enimfor duntaxatonly agendisagendīstasks intentusintent est;he is sibiqueand to himself abby universoūniversōthe universe destinatadēstinātawhat has been allotted cogitatcōgitathe thinks about assidueassiduē.constantlyFor he is intent only on his own tasks, and constantly thinks about what has been allotted to him by the universe.suis enim duntaxat agendis intentus est agendis is the gerundive of ago used as a noun: "things to be done", i.e. his own tasks. intentus "intent on" takes the dative. The gerundive with ad, in and the genitivesibique ab universo destinata destinata "things allotted", a perfect participle used as a noun, is the object of cogitat; sibi "to himself" and ab universo "by the universe" go with it. universum "the whole" is the world seen as one ordered system. Participles: present, perfect, future, and as nouns etand illathe former quidemon the one hand honestahonourable praestat,he makes istathe latter optimathe best esseare persuasumpersuāsumconvinced habet.he holdsAnd the former he makes honourable, while the latter he is convinced are the best.illa quidem … ista illa and ista pick up the two things just named: his own tasks (agendis) and what the universe allots him (destinata). quidem marks the first half of the contrast. Gataker's illa here looks back to the farther of the two, ista to the nearer. Demonstratives: hic, ille, iste, is, ipse, idemhonesta praestat praestare again means "to render, make": illa honesta praestat "he makes them honourable", i.e. he does his tasks honourably.persuasum habet persuasum habere "to have (it) persuaded" means "to be firmly convinced": habere with a perfect passive participle stresses a settled state. What he is convinced of is the accusative and infinitive ista optima esse "that these are the best". Accusative and infinitive (indirect statement) sorsthe lot enimfor unicuiqueūnīcuiqueto each one assignataassignāta,assigned etboth conducitcondūcitbenefits eieī,him etand infor eumthat finemfīnemend estwas eidemeīdemto the same man collatacollāta.givenFor the lot assigned to each one both benefits him and was given to him for that very end.et conducit ei, et in eum finem est eidem collata et … et "both … and". conducere with the dative means "to be of benefit to": the lot "benefits him". in eum finem "for that end" means for his good. est collata is the perfect passive of confero "bestow", whose participle collatus comes from a different stem; eidem "to the same man" avoids repeating ei. Paired words: et…et, nec…nec, vel…vel, cum…tum, non tam…quam, sive…sive meminithe remembers etiam,too cognatumcognātumakin esseis rationaleratiōnālerational omne:everything etand naturaenātūraeof nature ipsiusipsīusitself humanaehūmānaehuman rationemratiōnemthe principle abof unoquoqueūnōquōqueeach one hocthis exigere,demands utthat hominumof men quorumvisquōrumvīsof any whatever curamcūramcare habeat.he haveHe remembers too that everything rational is akin, and that the principle of human nature itself demands this of each one, that he care for all men, whoever they are.meminit etiam, cognatum esse meminit "he remembers" is perfect in form but present in meaning, like memini "I remember". It governs accusatives and infinitives: cognatum esse rationale omne "that everything rational is akin", rationem … exigere "that the principle … demands", and in the next sentence existimationem esse capessendam. Accusative and infinitive (indirect statement)rationale omne rationale omne "everything rational", neuter singular, means "every rational being"; it is the subject of esse, and cognatum "akin, kindred" is the predicate. Neuter plurals and adjectives used as nouns (bona, mala, omnia)hoc exigere, ut hominum quorumvis curam habeat hoc "this" points forward to the ut clause, which says what is demanded: "that he have care", i.e. that he care for others. hominum quorumvis "of any men whatever" is an objective genitive with curam; exigere ab aliquo "to demand of someone". Noun clauses with ut and ne (after oportet, incumbit, necesse est…) porroporrōfurther necnot aāfrom quibuslibetjust anyone existimationemexīstimātiōnemgood opinion esseis capessendam,to be sought sedbut abfrom eiseīsthose tantum,only quiquīwho naturaenātūraewith nature consentaneamcōnsentāneamin agreement vitamvītama life agunt.they leadFurther, that good opinion is not to be sought from just anyone, but only from those who lead a life in agreement with nature.nec a quibuslibet existimationem esse capessendam Still depending on meminit: "and that good opinion is not to be sought from just anyone". capessendam esse is the gerundive of obligation of capesso "seize eagerly, strive after", in an accusative and infinitive with existimationem: "must be sought". a quibuslibet "from anyone you like", i.e. from any and every person. Gerundive of obligation (cavenda est, agenda sunt)naturae consentaneam vitam agunt vitam agere "to lead a life"; consentaneus "in agreement with" takes the dative naturae. quiquīthose who seciussēciusotherwise vivuntvīvunt,they live qualesquālēswhat sort sintthey are domidomī,at home qualesquālēswhat sort forisforīs,abroad quomodoquōmodohow noctunoctū,by night quomodoquōmodohow interdiuinterdiūby day sesēthemselves gerant,they conduct qualesquālēswhat sort of men cumwith qualibusquālibuswhat sort volutenturvolūtentur,they wallow inin memoriamemoriāmemory habet.he keepsAs for those who live otherwise, he keeps in mind what sort they are at home, what sort abroad, how they behave by night, how by day, what sort of men they are and with what sort they wallow.qui secius vivunt, quales sint The relative clause comes first and has no antecedent: qui secius vivunt "those who live otherwise", i.e. not according to nature. They are the subject of the indirect questions that follow, all objects of in memoria habet "he keeps in mind" at the very end; their verbs sint, gerant, volutentur are subjunctive. Indirect questionsquales sint domi, quales foris domi "at home" is a locative, a case left over in a few words of place; foris "out of doors, abroad" is its opposite. The second quales borrows sint from the first.quales cum qualibus volutentur Two question words in one clause: "what sort (of men) wallow with what sort". volutari, the passive of voluto "roll", has a reflexive sense, "to roll oneself about, wallow", here in low company. The passive with a reflexive sense ("be carried away", "let yourself be…") itaqueand so laudemthe praise illorumillōrumof those nihilinihilīat nothing pendit,he values quiquīwho nenēnot sibito themselves quidemeven ipsisipsīsthemselves placent.they pleaseAnd so he values at nothing the praise of those who do not even please themselves.nihili pendit pendere "to weigh" also means "to value", and the value is put in the genitive: magni pendere "to value highly", nihili pendere "to value at nothing". nihili is the genitive of nihilum, the full form of nihil.ne sibi quidem ipsis placent placere "to please" takes the dative: sibi ipsis placent "they please themselves". ne … quidem "not even" surrounds the words it stresses: men who are not even pleasing to themselves. Dative with special and compound verbs (succensere, obsequi)

Do nothing unwillingly, selfishly, rashly or in the grip of passion, and avoid fine phrases, chatter and busyness. Let the god within you guard a mature man, a Roman and a ruler, ready to leave life when the signal comes and needing no oath or witness; be cheerful, and need no help or comfort from others: stand upright, not held upright.

Nequeneither invitusinvītusunwilling quicquamanything agasagās,you should do nequenor societatissocietātisof the fellowship communiscommūniscommon immemor,forgetful necnor nisiunless rerēthe matter probeprobēwell, thoroughly priusfirst, beforehand explorataexplōrātā,having been examined aggressus,having set about (it) necnor affectibusby passions abreptus.carried awayDo nothing unwillingly, nor forgetful of the common fellowship, nor having set about it unless the matter has first been well examined, nor carried away by passions.Neque invitus quicquam agas agas is a jussive subjunctive, a softened command in the 2nd person: "you should not do anything", i.e. "do nothing". Gataker chains the four warnings with neque … neque … nec … nec, where classical prose would say ne … neve; quicquam "anything" is the usual word after a negative. Jussive and hortatory subjunctive ("let him…", "you should…")invitus … immemor … aggressus … abreptus All four words are nominative singular masculine and describe "you", the subject of agas: do nothing (as a man) unwilling, forgetful, having set about it rashly, carried away. English turns invitus into an adverb, "unwillingly". Participles: present, perfect, future, and as nounssocietatis communis immemor immemor "forgetful" takes the genitive, like memor "mindful": "forgetful of the common fellowship", that is, acting with no regard for the human community.nisi re probe prius explorata An ablative absolute, noun re + participle explorata: "the matter having first been well examined"; with nisi, "unless the matter has first been thoroughly examined". aggressus, from the deponent aggredior, is active in meaning: "having set about it". Ablative absolute sedbut necnot sensussēnsūsthoughts tuostuōsyour exornetexōrnetlet it dress up sermonissermōnisof speech elegantiaēlegantia;elegance necnot dictionisdictiōnisof talk multaemuch fuerisfuerīs,be necnor negotiinegōtiīfor business multimultīmuch avidus.greedyBut do not let elegance of speech dress up your thoughts either; do not be a man of many words, nor greedy for much business.sed nec sensus tuos exornet sermonis elegantia A jussive subjunctive in the 3rd person: "let not elegance of speech dress up your thoughts". The subject sermonis elegantia comes last; sensus tuos is accusative plural, the object. Fine phrasing should not make thoughts look better than they are. Jussive and hortatory subjunctive ("let him…", "you should…")nec dictionis multae fueris fueris is the perfect subjunctive of esse. With a negative (ne in classical Latin, here nec), the perfect subjunctive makes a prohibition, "do not be", and refers to no past time (compare ne siveris "do not allow"). dictionis multae is a genitive of description: "(a man) of much talk". Commands: imperative, memento, ne with the perfect subjunctivenec negotii multi avidus Supply fueris again: "nor (be) greedy for much business". avidus takes the genitive of what is desired. Marcus wants to be neither a chatterer nor a busybody. faxisfaxīssee to it verovērō,but utthat quiquīwho inin tetēyou residetdwells Deus,the god praesesthe guardian sitis animantisof a living being masculimasculī,male aetateaetātein age provectiprōvectī,advanced reipublicaereīpūblicaefor the commonwealth studiosistudiōsī,devoted RomaniRōmānī,a Roman principisprīncipis;a rulerBut see to it that the god who dwells in you is the guardian of a living being that is male, advanced in age, devoted to the commonwealth, a Roman, a ruler;faxis faxis is an old form of the perfect subjunctive of facio, = feceris, kept in solemn and legal language. Here it is a softened command, "see to it, make it so", and the ut clause says what is to be brought about. Perfect stems and short forms (norim, posuere)ut qui in te residet Deus, praeses sit ut … sit "that … be" is the object of faxis. The antecedent Deus has been drawn into its own relative clause and put after it: qui in te residet Deus = Deus qui in te residet "the god who dwells in you", the subject of sit; praeses "guardian" is the predicate. Relative clauses and the relative pronoun qui, quae, quodanimantis masculi, aetate provecti, reipublicae studiosi, Romani, principis All the descriptions are genitive, agreeing with animantis "of a living being": male (that is, manly), aetate provecti "advanced in age" (ablative of respect), devoted to the state, a Roman and a ruler. Marcus is describing himself as emperor. quiquīone who itaso sesēhimself composuerit,has composed utas quiquīone who promptusprōmptusready decederedēcēdere,to depart classicumthe signal duntaxat,only quoquōby which eēfrom vitavītālife avoceturāvocētur,he is to be called away expectet.waits forone who has so composed himself, as one who, ready to depart, waits only for the signal by which he is to be called away from life.qui ita se composuerit The relative clause still describes the living being of the previous line. Its verb is subjunctive because it says what kind of man he is: "one such as has composed himself". The perfect composuerit presents the composure as already achieved. Relative clauses with the subjunctive (characteristic, ut qui)ita … ut qui promptus decedere … expectet ita … ut is here "so … as", and ut qui with the subjunctive means "as one who": he has ordered himself as a man would who waits only for the signal. promptus decedere "ready to depart" has an infinitive, a use of poetry and later Latin (classical prose prefers ad decedendum). expectet is Gataker's spelling of exspectet. Relative clauses with the subjunctive (characteristic, ut qui)classicum duntaxat, quo e vita avocetur classicum is the trumpet signal of a Roman camp, here the signal to withdraw: the soldier leaves his post in life only when he is called off. quo … avocetur has the subjunctive because it says what the signal is for: "by which he is to be called away". Purpose clauses (ut, ne, quo) quiquequīqueand who necneither juramentojūrāmentōan oath propriopropriō,of his own necnor aliusalīusother cujusquamof anyone testimoniotestimōniōthe testimony opusneed habeat.he hasand who needs neither an oath of his own nor the testimony of anyone else.opus habeat opus habere "to have need" is a later equivalent of opus est "there is need", and like it takes the ablative of the thing needed: juramento … testimonio opus habeat "has need of an oath … of testimony". The subjunctive goes on describing the kind of man meant.alius cujusquam alius is here genitive (alīus), a rare form that Gataker uses where classical writers mostly say alterius: alius cujusquam testimonio "the testimony of anyone else". His word needs no oath to back it and no witness to confirm it. porroporrōfurther vultusface adsitlet there be hilaris;cheerful animusqueand a mind itaso comparatuscomparātus,prepared utthat necneither externoexternōoutside aliquoaliquōany indigeasindigeāsyou need ministerioministeriō,service necnor tranquillitatetranquillitātea calm eaeā,that quamwhich abby aliisaliīsothers suppeditarisuppeditārīto be supplied necessenecessary sit.it isFurther, let there be a cheerful face, and a mind so prepared that you need neither any outside service, nor the kind of calm which must be supplied by others.porro vultus adsit hilaris; animusque adsit, from adesse "to be present", is a jussive subjunctive: "let there be a cheerful face". It serves for animus as well: "and (let there be) a mind so prepared …". comparatus is from comparo "prepare", not "compare". Jussive and hortatory subjunctive ("let him…", "you should…")ita comparatus, ut … indigeas ita … ut with the subjunctive gives the result: "so prepared that you need …". The person shifts from the 3rd (adsit) to the 2nd (indigeas): Marcus is talking to himself. indigere "to need" takes the ablative (ministerio, tranquillitate). Result clauses (ut after ita, tam, sic)quam ab aliis suppeditari necesse sit necesse est takes an accusative and infinitive, here quam … suppeditari, literally "which it is necessary to be supplied by others": "the kind of calm which must be supplied by others". sit is subjunctive because the clause belongs to the result clause. Accusative and infinitive (indirect statement) rectumrēctumupright deniquedēnique,in short nonnōnnot surrectumsurrēctumheld upright acand suffultumpropped up esseto be oportet.it is necessaryIn short, one must be upright, not held upright and propped up.rectum … non surrectum ac suffultum esse oportet oportet "it is right, one must" takes an infinitive with an accusative subject. Here the subject ("you", "a man") is left out, but the predicates rectum, surrectum and suffultum show it by their accusative: "(a man) must be upright, not held upright and propped up". Impersonal verbs and phrases (oportet, decet, constat, attinet, detur)rectum denique, non surrectum ac suffultum A play on words: rectus "straight, upright" is the participle of rego, and surrectus "set upright, propped up" comes from surrigo (= sub + rego) "raise up". suffultum, from suffulcio "prop up from beneath", makes the picture plainer: the good man stands by his own strength, not because others hold him up and prop him.

If you find anything in life better than justice, truth, temperance and courage, or than a mind content with itself and with fate, turn to it with all your heart. But if nothing is better than the spirit within you, give no room to anything else, such as fame, office, wealth or pleasure, for it will draw you away from your own good. Choose what is better, that is, what benefits you as a rational being, and keep your judgement clear of appearances.

SiSīif quidanything inin vitavītālife humanahūmānāhuman deprehenderisdēprehenderisyou find praestabiliuspraestābiliusbetter justitiajūstitiā,than justice veritatevēritāte,truth temperantiatemperantiā,temperance fortitudinefortitūdine;courage et,and utso that unoūnōone verboverbōin a word absolvamI may sum up omnia,everythingIf you find anything in human life better than justice, truth, temperance, courage; and, to sum everything up in one word,deprehenderis praestabilius justitia, veritate, temperantia, fortitudine After a comparative, what something is compared with can stand in the ablative without quam: praestabilius justitia "better than justice". The ablative of comparison runs through the list and on into the next line (animo ita affecto "than a mind so disposed"). Comparison: comparatives, superlatives, quamdeprehenderis deprehenderis is the future perfect, "if you (shall) have found", which English renders with the present, "if you find". It is not the future passive deprehendēris "you will be caught": here it has an object, quid. The future perfect ("if you will have done…")ut uno verbo absolvam omnia A purpose clause set in as an aside, "to sum everything up in one word", like the common ut verbo dicam "to put it in a word". What follows sums up the four virtues just named. Purpose clauses (ut, ne, quo) animoanimōthan a mind itaso affectoaffectō,disposed utthat inin eiseīs,the things quaewhich secundumaccording to rationisratiōnisof reason dictamendictāmenthe dictate peragendato be carried out sunt,are sibimetwith itself ipsiipsī,itself inin eiseīsthe things quaewhich citracitrāwithout consiliicōnsiliīof planning propriipropriīits own opemthe help obveniunt,happen fatofātōwith fate acquiescatacquiēscat.it rests contentthan a mind so disposed that in the things which must be carried out according to the dictate of reason it rests content with itself, and in the things which happen without the help of its own planning, with fate.animo ita affecto, ut animo is still an ablative of comparison after praestabilius: "(better) than a mind so disposed that …"; ita … ut with the subjunctive acquiescat gives the result. affectus is the participle of afficio, "disposed, in a certain state", not of affecto "strive after". Comparison: comparatives, superlatives, quamin eis quae … sibimet ipsi, in eis quae … fato acquiescat Two parallel halves with no connecting word. In what reason bids it do, the mind rests content "with itself" (sibimet ipsi); in what happens without its planning, it rests content "with fate" (fato). Both datives go with acquiescat; -met and ipsi add emphasis to sibi.peragenda sunt The gerundive with sunt says what must be done: "(the things which) must be carried out". citra … opem, literally "on this side of the help", is Gataker's way of saying "without the help" of one's own planning. Gerundive of obligation (cavenda est, agenda sunt) sisīif quid,anything inquam,I say praestantiusmore excellent hochōcthan this adverteris,you notice eoeōto it tetēyourself vertasvertās,turn eodemqueeōdemqueand to that same thing tanquamas bonobonōto a good praestantissimopraestantissimō,most excellent quoquōwhich fruarisfruāris,you may enjoy tototōtōwhole animoanimōwith mind facmake sure incumbasincumbās.you devote yourselfIf, I say, you notice anything more excellent than this, turn yourself to it, and make sure that you devote yourself to that same thing with your whole mind, as to the most excellent good, to enjoy it.si quid, inquam, praestantius hoc adverteris After the long list the condition is repeated, and inquam "I say" marks the restart. hoc "than this" is again an ablative of comparison and sums up everything just named. Conditional sentences (si, nisi, siquis)eo te vertas, eodemque eo "thither, to it" and eodem "to the same place" are adverbs here, not forms of is and idem agreeing with a noun: "turn yourself to it, and to that same thing …". vertas is a jussive subjunctive.quo fruaris A relative clause of purpose: "(a good) which you may enjoy", i.e. "to enjoy it". fruor is deponent and takes the ablative, here quo. Purpose clauses (ut, ne, quo)fac incumbas fac is the short imperative of facio, like dic and duc. fac incumbas = fac ut incumbas "see that you devote yourself": after fac the ut is often left out. incumbere "to lean on, throw oneself into" takes the dative, bono. Noun clauses with ut and ne (after oportet, incumbit, necesse est…) sinsīnbut if praestabiliuspraestābiliusbetter nihilnothing offenderis,you come upon geniogeniōthan the guardian spirit inin tetēyou collocatocollocātō,placed cumwhen itaso fuerithas been comparatuscomparātus,prepared utthat motusmōtūsimpulses suossuōsits omnesomnēsall sibito itself subjeceritsubjēcerit,it has brought under etand visavīsaimpressions quaequeeach diligenterdīligentercarefully exploretexplōret,it examinesBut if you come upon nothing better than the guardian spirit placed within you, when it has been so prepared that it has brought all its impulses under itself, and carefully examines every impression,sin praestabilius nihil offenderis, genio in te collocato sin "but if" answers the earlier si. genio … collocato is not an ablative absolute but another ablative of comparison after praestabilius: "nothing better than the guardian spirit placed in you". offendere here means "to come upon, find", not "to offend". Comparison: comparatives, superlatives, quamcum ita fuerit comparatus, ut cum with the subjunctive: "when it has been so prepared that …". fuerit comparatus is the perfect passive subjunctive, made of the participle and fuerit. The result clause runs on through four more verbs into the next line. Clauses with cum: when, since, althoughsubjecerit … exploret The tenses alternate: the perfects (subjecerit, and next abstraxerit, permiserit) describe what the genius has done once for all, the presents (exploret, and next impendat) what it goes on doing. Sequence of tensesvisa quaeque visa "things seen" are the impressions that the senses present to the mind, the Stoic "phantasiai", which a wise man tests before he assents. quaeque, from quisque, agrees with it: "each impression", every one of them. etand aāfrom sensuumsēnsuumof the senses affectionibusaffectiōnibus,the feelings quodwhich SocratesSōcratēsSocrates dicebatdīcēbat,used to say sesesēsēitself abstraxeritabstrāxerit;it has drawn away DeisDeīsto the gods autembut sesēitself regendumto be governed permiseritpermīserit,it has handed over hominibusqueand on men quibusvisquibusvīsany whatever curamcūramcare lubenslubēnsgladly impendat.it spendsand has drawn itself away, as Socrates used to say, from the feelings of the senses, but has handed itself over to the gods to be governed, and gladly spends its care on all men, whoever they are.quod Socrates dicebat quod is the relative pronoun referring to the whole statement, not the conjunction "that, because": "(a thing) which Socrates used to say", i.e. "as Socrates used to say". The imperfect dicebat is "used to say". Relative clauses and the relative pronoun qui, quae, quodDeis autem se regendum permiserit permittere "to hand over, entrust" takes the dative of the person (Deis) and the accusative of what is handed over (se); the gerundive regendum, agreeing with se, says for what: "has handed itself over to the gods to be governed". The gerundive with ad, in and the genitivehominibusque quibusvis curam lubens impendat curam impendere "to spend care" on someone, in the dative: "and gladly spends its care on any men whatever". lubens is the older spelling of libens "glad, willing", best turned as an adverb, "gladly". sisīif animoanimōthan a mind sicsīcso affectoaffectōdisposed inferioraīnferiōralower vilioraquevīliōraqueand cheaper caeteraother omniaall things deprehendisdēprehendis,you find nullinūllīto no aliialiīother reireīthing cuiquamwhatever locumroom concedasconcēdās,giveIf you find all other things lower and cheaper than a mind so disposed, give room to no other thing whatever,si animo sic affecto inferiora vilioraque caetera omnia deprehendis The condition is said again in other words. animo sic affecto is once more an ablative of comparison, now with inferiora vilioraque: "if you find all other things lower and cheaper than a mind so disposed". The two comparatives are predicates of caetera omnia. Comparison: comparatives, superlatives, quamnulli alii rei cuiquam All four words are dative singular feminine, agreeing with rei: "to no other thing at all". alii is the dative of alius, not a nominative plural; cuiquam "any" strengthens the negative. locum concedere "to give place, yield room" takes the dative. Indefinite pronouns: aliquis, quis, quisquam, ullus, quisque, quicunque adtowards quamwhich animoanimōyour mind devergentedēvergenteturning aside sisīif inclinaverisinclīnāverisyou lean quicquam,in the least bonumgood illudthat propriumyour own etand peculiariterpecūliāriterpeculiarly tuumyours quoquōfrom minusthe less liberelīberēfreely colascolāsyou cultivate praeferasquepraeferāsque,and prefer obstabitobstābit.it will hinderif, with your mind turning aside, you lean towards it in the least, it will prevent you from freely cultivating and preferring that good which is your own and peculiarly yours.ad quam animo devergente si inclinaveris quicquam The relative quam (the res of the previous line) belongs inside the si clause: "towards which if you lean in the least". The subject of the main verb obstabit is that same thing: "if you lean towards it at all, it will hinder you". animo devergente is an ablative absolute, "your mind turning aside"; quicquam is an adverbial accusative, "at all". Relative clauses and the relative pronoun qui, quae, quodbonum illud … quo minus libere colas praeferasque, obstabit After obstare "to stand in the way", quo minus with the subjunctive means "from (doing)": "it will prevent you from freely cultivating and preferring". The object of these verbs, bonum illud proprium et peculiariter tuum "that good which is your own and peculiarly yours", is put first of all. Quo minus and quin after verbs of hindering bonobonōthe good siquidemsīquidemfor rationaliratiōnālīrational etand publicumpūblicumthe common good spectantelooking to nihilnothing extraneumextrāneumforeign exadversumopposite, against consisterecōnsistereto take its stand fasfāsright est;it is vulgivulgī,of the crowd puta,for example existimationemexīstimātiōnem,the esteem principatusprīncipātūs,high offices divitiasdīvitiās,riches autor vitamvītama life voluptuariamvoluptuāriam.of pleasureFor it is not right that anything foreign should take its stand against the good that is rational and looks to the common good; for example, the esteem of the crowd, high offices, riches, or a life of pleasure.bono … nihil extraneum exadversum consistere fas est fas est "it is right (by divine law), it is permitted" takes an accusative and infinitive: nihil extraneum … consistere "that anything foreign take its stand". exadversum (printed ex-adversum) "opposite, face to face" is an adverb, here with the dative bono: "against the good". With nihil the sense is "it is not right that anything …". Impersonal verbs and phrases (oportet, decet, constat, attinet, detur)rationali et publicum spectante Both words agree with bono: the good that is rational and that "looks to the public", that is, aims at the common good of the community. publicum is a neuter adjective used as a noun, the object of the participle spectante. Gataker gives the participle the ending -e, which it has in the ablative; the dative is normally spectanti.vulgi, puta, existimationem, principatus, divitias puta, the imperative of puto "suppose", is used like English "say" or "for example". The accusatives that follow name the foreign things meant by nihil extraneum: the good opinion of the crowd, principatus (accusative plural, "high offices"), riches, a life of pleasure. horumhōrumof these enimfor quisquamany one sisīif veleven minimumin the least adjungereto attach itself visumvīsumseemed fuerit,has praevalebitpraevalēbitit will get the upper hand confestimcōnfestim,at once etand abripietit will carry away tetē.youFor if any one of these seems to fit in even in the least, it will at once get the upper hand, and carry you away.horum enim quisquam horum … quisquam "any one of these", with a partitive genitive, is the subject of the whole sentence: of visum fuerit in the si clause, and of praevalebit and abripiet. The neuter visum shows that Gataker is thinking of any thing on the list: fame, office, riches, pleasure. Partitive genitive (aliquid boni, nihil…)si vel minimum adjungere visum fuerit visum fuerit is the future perfect of videri "to seem", with fuerit in place of the usual erit: "if it (shall) have seemed", in English "if it seems". adjungere "to join on" has no object here: "to attach itself, fit in". vel minimum "even in the least": vel here means "even", not "or". The future perfect ("if you will have done…") atbut tutūyou simplicitersimply liberequelīberēqueand freely idthat quodwhich praestantiusbetter estis eligitoēligitō,choose eiqueeīqueand to it strenuestrēnuēvigorously adhaerescitoadhaerēscitō.clingBut you, simply and freely, choose that which is better, and cling to it vigorously.eligito … adhaerescito eligito and adhaerescito are future imperatives, formed with -to. They are the style of laws and standing rules, "you shall choose … you shall cling", and give a lasting precept rather than an order for the moment, like memento "remember". adhaerescere "to stick to" takes the dative, ei. Commands: imperative, memento, ne with the perfect subjunctive praestatis better autemand idthat quodwhich conducitcondūcit.is beneficialAnd that is better which is beneficial.praestat autem id quod conducit praestare "to stand out, excel" has a subject here, id: "that is better which is beneficial". More often it is impersonal with an infinitive, praestat … facere "it is better to do". conducere, used without an object, is "to be of benefit"; the next line says to whom it must be beneficial. itaqueso sisīif conducerecondūcereto benefit tibiyou videbiturvidēbitur,it will seem quatenusquātenusin so far as rationeratiōnewith reason praeditusendowed es,you are retineasretineās;keep sinsīn,but if quatenusquātenusin so far as animatusanimātusendowed with life esyou are tantum,only repudiesrepudiēs;rejectSo if it seems to benefit you in so far as you are endowed with reason, keep it; but if only in so far as you are a living creature, reject it;si conducere tibi videbitur videri "to seem" takes an infinitive: "if it will seem to benefit you", English "if it seems". The subject "it", the thing under consideration, is left out, and so is the object of retineas and repudies. Words left out: esse, sum and others understoodquatenus ratione praeditus es … quatenus animatus es tantum quatenus "in so far as": what benefits you as a rational being is to be kept; what benefits you only as a living creature, as it would an animal, is to be rejected. animatus "endowed with life (anima)" is the participle of animo, used like an adjective. After sin "but if", supply conducere videbitur. judiciumquejūdiciumque,and judgement quoquōso that … not minusthe less externaexternāoutward rerumrērumof things faciefaciēby the face speciequespeciēqueand appearance corrumpaturcorrumpātur,it is corrupted integrumintact servareservāreto keep curaecūraea concern sit,let it be quoquōso that rerumrērumof things examenexāmenexamination exquisitiusexquīsītiusmore exact instituasīnstituās.you may makeand let it be your concern to keep your judgement intact, so that it is not corrupted by the outward face and appearance of things, in order that you may make a more exact examination of things.judiciumque … integrum servare curae sit curae sit is a jussive subjunctive with a predicative dative: "let it be (for) a concern", i.e. "let it be your concern". What is to be your concern is the infinitive phrase judicium integrum servare "to keep your judgement intact"; the dative of the person, tibi, is left out. Dative of reference, possession and advantagequo minus externa rerum facie specieque corrumpatur Here quo minus has no verb of hindering before it and means simply "so that … not", like ne: "so that it is not corrupted by the outward face and appearance of things". The subject is judicium. Quo minus and quin after verbs of hinderingquo rerum examen exquisitius instituas quo takes the place of ut in a purpose clause that contains a comparative: quo … exquisitius "so that you may make a more exact (examination)". Literally quo is "by which (the more)". Purpose clauses (ut, ne, quo)

Never count anything useful that would make you break faith, lose your sense of shame, hate, suspect, curse, pretend, or want what must be hidden behind walls. The man who puts his mind and its virtue before everything makes no scene and needs neither solitude nor company; he neither seeks nor fears death, does not care how long his soul stays in his body, and guards only against neglecting the duties of a rational and civic being.

Nihilnothing unquamever inin pretiopretiōvalue proprōas utiliūtilīsomething useful habeashabeās,you should hold quodwhich eoeōso far tetēyou adigat,would drive utthat fidemfaith fallasfallās,you break modestiammodesty deserasdēserās,you abandon oderisōderīsyou hate quenquam,anyone suspectumsuspect habeashabeās,you hold execrerisexecrēris,you curse simulessimulēs,you pretend appetasappetāsyou desire quicquam,anything quodwhich parietesparietēswalls circumjectoscircumjectōsset around (it) velamentaquevēlāmentaqueand curtains desideretdēsīderet.needsNever value as useful anything that would drive you so far that you break faith, abandon your modesty, hate anyone, hold anyone suspect, curse, pretend, or desire anything that needs walls set around it and curtains.Nihil unquam in pretio pro utili habeas in pretio habere "to hold in value", "to prize"; pro utili "as (something) useful". habeas is a jussive subjunctive, and with nihil unquam it amounts to "never value anything as useful". Jussive and hortatory subjunctive ("let him…", "you should…")quod eo te adigat, ut quod … adigat is a relative clause of characteristic, "(anything) such as would drive you". eo is the adverb "to that point", answered by ut with the result: "so far that you break faith …". Relative clauses with the subjunctive (characteristic, ut qui)fidem fallas … oderis … execreris Seven verbs follow with no connecting words, all subjunctive in the result clause. fidem fallere is "to break one's word"; oderis is the perfect subjunctive of odi, perfect in form but present in meaning; execreris comes from the deponent exsecror "curse", which Gataker spells execror, as he spells quemquam quenquam; suspectum habeas "hold (anyone) suspect" shares quenquam with oderis. Perfect stems and short forms (norim, posuere)quod parietes circumjectos velamentaque desideret Another clause of characteristic: "(anything) such as needs walls around it and curtains", that is, anything that has to be hidden from view. desiderare here is "to need, require". Relative clauses with the subjunctive (characteristic, ut qui) quiquīhe who enimfor mentemmind geniumqueand guardian spirit eundemthe same suum,his own etand virtutisvirtūtisof the virtue hujusceof this (spirit) ritusrītūsthe rites sacrossacrōs,sacred caeteriscaeterīsto other things omnibusall antetulerit,has preferred ishe tragoediamtragedy nullamnūllamno excitat,stirs up nonnōnnot ingemiscitingemīscit,groans nonnōnnot solitudinesōlitūdine,solitude nonnōnnor frequentiafrequentiāa crowd opusneed habet:he hasFor the man who has preferred his own mind and guardian spirit, which is the same, and the sacred rites of its virtue to all other things, stirs up no tragedy, does not groan, and has no need of solitude, nor of a crowd:qui … antetulerit, is The relative clause comes first and is picked up by is: "(he) who has preferred …, he …". antefero "carry before, prefer" takes the accusative of what is preferred and the dative of what it is preferred to (caeteris omnibus). antetulerit is future perfect, "whoever has (once) preferred"; the perfect subjunctive has the same form. Relative clauses and the relative pronoun qui, quae, quodmentem geniumque eundem suum eundem agrees with genium: "his mind and his guardian spirit, (which is) the same", that is, the spirit within is nothing other than his own mind. hujusce (hujus with the strengthening -ce) refers to that spirit: "the sacred rites of its virtue", the worship that consists in its excellence. Demonstratives: hic, ille, iste, is, ipse, idemtragoediam nullam excitat tragoediam excitare "to stir up a tragedy" is to make a scene, to play the tragic hero over one's troubles. In non solitudine, non frequentia opus habet, opus habere again takes the ablative: "has no need of solitude, nor of a crowd". quodwhat estis maximummāximum,greatest victurusvīctūrusgoing to live est,he is mortisdeath necneither appetensappetēns,longing for necnor metuensmetuēns.fearingwhat is greatest, he will live neither longing for death nor fearing it.quod est maximum, victurus est quod est maximum "(a thing) which is greatest" introduces the statement that follows. victurus est is the future participle with est: "he is going to live", "he will live". victurus could also come from vinco "conquer"; here it is vivo: such a man will truly live. Future participle with sum (moriturus sis, victurus esses)mortis nec appetens, nec metuens Present participles of desiring and fearing, used as adjectives, take the genitive: appetens mortis "longing for death", metuens mortis "fearful of death". Compare amans patriae "a lover of his country". Objective genitive (reverentia tui, cura rerum) quinquīnindeed necnot tantillumthe slightest bit interesseto make a difference censebitcēnsēbit,he will think spatiospatiōa span temporisof time prolixioreprōlixiōrelonger anor contractiorecontractiōreshorter animasoul suahis corporein the body inclusainclūsashut up utaturūtātur.has the use ofIndeed, he will think it makes not the slightest difference whether his soul, shut up in his body, has the use of a longer or a shorter span of time.quin nec tantillum interesse censebit quin at the head of a clause means "indeed, nay more". interest "it makes a difference" is impersonal, here an infinitive after censebit "he will think"; nec tantillum "not the slightest bit" is an adverbial accusative. Impersonal verbs and phrases (oportet, decet, constat, attinet, detur)spatio temporis prolixiore an contractiore … utatur An indirect question with the subjunctive utatur, depending on interesse. The first alternative needs no utrum: prolixiore an contractiore "(whether) longer or shorter". uti takes the ablative: "has the use of a longer or a shorter span of time". Indirect questionsanima sua corpore inclusa The soul is the subject: "his soul, shut up in his body". corpore is an ablative of place with inclusa, without a preposition. utpoteseeing that quiquī,one who sisīif statimat once demigrandumdēmigrandummust move out fuerit,it should be perindejust as promptusprōmptusready sitis decederedēcēdere,to depart acas aliudelse quidanything agere,to do quodwhich modestemodestēwith modesty etand decoredecōrēwith decency agiagīto be done oporteat.it oughtFor he is one who, if he must move out at once, is just as ready to depart as to do anything else that ought to be done with modesty and decency.utpote qui … sit utpote qui with the subjunctive gives a reason: "seeing that he is one who …". Gataker sets it off with a full stop, but it still explains why the length of his life makes no difference to him. Relative clauses with the subjunctive (characteristic, ut qui)si statim demigrandum fuerit demigrandum is the gerundive used impersonally, with no subject: demigrandum est "there must be moving out", i.e. "one must move out". fuerit is perfect subjunctive because the condition sits inside the subjunctive qui clause; it stands for a future perfect, "if he should have to leave at once". demigrare is used of moving house: the soul leaves the body as one leaves a dwelling. Gerundive of obligation (cavenda est, agenda sunt)perinde promptus sit decedere, ac aliud quid agere perinde … ac "just as … as": "as ready to depart as to do anything else". aliud quid "something else" is a set phrase with the indefinite quid. In quod … agi oporteat the subjunctive again marks a clause of characteristic: "anything that ought to be done". hocthis autemand unumūnumone thing perall through vitamvītamlife totamtōtamwhole cavethe takes care of religiosereligiōsē,scrupulously nenēthat … not mensmēnsmind sibihis quicquamany eorumeōrumof those things subterfugiat,shirks quaewhich animantisof a living being rationalisratiōnālisrational etand civiliscīvīliscivic propriaproper suntare muneramūnera.dutiesAnd this one thing he scrupulously takes care of all through his life, that his mind does not shirk any of those things which are the duties proper to a rational and civic living being.hoc autem unum … cavet religiose, ne cavere ne with the subjunctive is "to take care that … not". hoc unum "this one thing" points forward to the ne clause. religiose "scrupulously, conscientiously" is the adverb of religiosus. Noun clauses with ut and ne (after oportet, incumbit, necesse est…)ne mens sibi quicquam eorum subterfugiat subterfugere "to slip away from, evade" takes a direct object: quicquam eorum "any of those things", with a partitive genitive. sibi is a dative of reference, "his": "that his mind does not shirk any of …". Partitive genitive (aliquid boni, nihil…)quae animantis rationalis et civilis propria sunt munera proprius "belonging to, characteristic of" takes the genitive: "which are the duties proper to a rational and civic living being". quae is the subject and munera the predicate.

In a mind that has been disciplined and cleansed there is nothing festering or underhand. Death cannot cut such a man's life short, like an actor leaving the stage in mid-play, and there is nothing in him slavish, affected, dependent or aloof, nothing that avoids scrutiny or hides.

Inin hominisof a man castigaticastīgātīdisciplined atqueand expurgatiexpūrgātīcleansed animoanimō,the mind nihilnothing suppuratisuppūrātī,festering nihilnothing impuriimpūrī,impure nihilnothing subdolisubdolīunderhand offendasoffendās.you would findIn the mind of a man who has been disciplined and cleansed you would find nothing festering, nothing impure, nothing underhand.In hominis castigati atque expurgati animo In … animo "in the mind" encloses the genitive phrase hominis castigati atque expurgati "of a man disciplined and cleansed". The two perfect participles describe a mind that has been corrected and purged of its faults.nihil suppurati, nihil impuri, nihil subdoli nihil with the genitive of a neuter adjective or participle means "nothing of …", where English says "nothing festering, nothing impure". suppurati, from suppuro "fester underneath", pictures a sore hidden under healed skin; subdoli "underhand" keeps the same idea of something concealed. Partitive genitive (aliquid boni, nihil…)offendas offendas is a present subjunctive of possibility: "you would find", not "you find". The "you" is anyone at all. offendere here has its sense "come upon, find", not "offend". Potential and deliberative subjunctive in questions nequenor verovērōindeed vitamvītamthe life hujusof this man nonnōnnot consummatamcōnsummātamcompleted fatumfātumfate unquamever abruperitabrūperit.could cut off perindejust acas sisīif tragoeduma tragic actor dixeritdīxeritwere to say quissomeone antebefore fabulamfābulamthe play peractamperāctamfinished scenascēnāthe stage cessisse.to have leftNor indeed could fate ever cut off his life unfinished. It would be just as if one were to say that a tragic actor had left the stage before the play was over.neque vero … unquam abruperit abruperit is a perfect subjunctive of possibility, like offendas before: "nor could fate ever cut off". The perfect here has no past meaning; it only softens the statement. The same form is also the future perfect indicative, so read it with the sense of "could". Potential and deliberative subjunctive in questionsvitam hujus non consummatam non consummatam goes closely with vitam: fate cannot catch his life while it is still "not completed". The good man's life is complete at every moment, whenever death comes.perinde ac si … dixerit quis perinde ac si "just as if" introduces an imagined comparison, set off by Gataker with a full stop, so its verb is subjunctive: dixerit quis "someone were to say". quis after si is the indefinite "anyone, someone". Conditional sentences (si, nisi, siquis)tragoedum … ante fabulam peractam scena cessisse What one might say is an accusative and infinitive: "that a tragic actor had left the stage". ante fabulam peractam, literally "before the play finished", is Latin's way of saying "before the play was over" (compare ante urbem conditam, "before the founding of the city"). The image: an actor who walks off in mid-play leaves his part unfinished; the good man never does. Accusative and infinitive (indirect statement) quinquīnindeed necnot servileservīleslavish quippiamanything inin eodemeōdemthe same man autor affectatumaffectātumaffected deprehendasdēprehendās,would you detect autor addictum,bound over (to others) autor abscissum,cut off (from others) autor quodanything that censuramcēnsūramscrutiny refugiat,shrinks from autor quodanything that latebraslatebrāshiding places requiratrequīrat.seeksIndeed, you would not detect anything slavish in him, or affected, or bound to others, or cut off from them, or anything that shrinks from scrutiny, or that looks for hiding places.quin nec … deprehendas quin at the head of a sentence means "indeed, what is more", adding a stronger point. nec belongs with deprehendas, a third potential subjunctive: "nor would you detect".servile quippiam … aut affectatum … aut addictum, aut abscissum All the neuter words agree with quippiam "anything": "anything slavish, or affected, or …". addictum "made over, bound" (as a debtor was bound to his creditor) and abscissum "cut off" are opposites: the good man neither hangs on others nor cuts himself off from them.aut quod censuram refugiat, aut quod latebras requirat The antecedent of quod is quippiam understood: "anything that shrinks from scrutiny". The subjunctives describe a kind of thing ("the sort of thing that would …") and also sit inside the potential statement. censura, first the censor's review of citizens, here means being examined and judged. Relative clauses with the subjunctive (characteristic, ut qui)

Revere the faculty that forms opinions: everything depends on it, so that no thought enters the mind that is out of keeping with nature and with a rational being. It requires us to judge nothing rashly, to be kind to men and to obey the gods.

FacultatemFacultātemthe faculty opinatricemopīnātrīcemopinion-forming venerarevenerāre.revereRevere the faculty that forms opinions.venerare venerare looks like an active infinitive, but veneror "revere" is deponent, and a deponent's imperative singular ends in -re: "revere!". The plural would be veneramini. Deponent verbs: passive forms, active meaningFacultatem opinatricem opinatrix is a feminine word in -trix, "she who forms opinions" (from opinor "suppose"), agreeing with the feminine facultas: "the opinion-forming faculty", the power by which we judge what things are and whether they are good. It is Gataker's word for the Greek hypolēptikē. inin hochōcthis enimfor sitaplaced, lying suntare omnia,everything utthat mentimentīin the mind tuaeyour nullanūllano insitīnsitbe in cogitatiocōgitātiōthought quaewhich veleither naturaenātūrae,with nature velor animantisof a living being rationeratiōnewith reason praeditipraeditīendowed conditioniconditiōnīthe constitution nonnōnnot sitis consentaneacōnsentānea.in agreementFor everything rests on this: that no thought be present in your mind which does not agree either with nature or with the constitution of a living being endowed with reason.in hoc … sita sunt omnia, ut hoc "this" points forward, and the ut clause says what "this" is: "everything lies in this, that …". sita sunt, from sino (perfect participle situs "placed"), means "are placed, rest, depend". Noun clauses with ut and ne (after oportet, incumbit, necesse est…)menti tuae nulla insit cogitatio insum "be in" takes the dative of the place: menti tuae "in your mind". The subjunctive insit comes from ut: "that no thought be in your mind".quae vel naturae, vel animantis ratione praediti conditioni non sit consentanea consentaneus "in agreement with" takes the dative, here two: naturae and conditioni. animantis ratione praediti "of a living being endowed with reason" depends on conditioni; praeditus takes the ablative. sit is subjunctive because the relative clause is part of the ut clause. Subjunctive in clauses inside reported speech or thought postulatrequires autemand ista,this (faculty) utthat nihilnothing temererashly statuamusstatuāmus,we decide utthat hominibustowards men benevolibenevolī,kindly DeisqueDeīsqueand to the gods obsequentesobsequentēsobedient simussīmus.we beAnd this faculty requires that we decide nothing rashly, that we be kindly towards men and obedient to the gods.postulat autem ista, ut ista must be feminine singular here, since its verb postulat is singular: "this (faculty) requires", pointing back to facultatem opinatricem. postulare ut "demand that" takes a noun clause with the subjunctive, and here there are two ut clauses side by side. Noun clauses with ut and ne (after oportet, incumbit, necesse est…)hominibus benevoli, Deisque obsequentes simus Both predicates go with simus "we be". Each takes a dative: benevoli hominibus "kindly towards men", obsequentes Deis "obedient to the gods". obsequentes is the present participle of the deponent obsequor, used here as an adjective. Dative with special and compound verbs (succensere, obsequi)

Set everything else aside and keep hold of a few truths: each of us lives only the present moment, and the rest of time is either gone or uncertain. Life is small, the corner of earth we live in is small, and even the longest fame after death is small, handed on by short-lived men who do not even know themselves.

MissisMissīslet go, set aside itaqueso rebusrēbusthings caeteriscaeterīs,other paucafew things istathese apudby tetēyou habeashabeās.you should keepSo, setting everything else aside, keep these few things by you.Missis … rebus caeteris An ablative absolute: "the other things having been let go", that is, "setting everything else aside". mittere here is "let go, dismiss", not "send". Ablative absolutepauca ista apud te habeas habeas is a present subjunctive used as a command, gentler than an imperative: "keep". apud te habere "to keep by you, have at hand". pauca ista "these few things" are the truths that follow. Jussive and hortatory subjunctive ("let him…", "you should…") meminerisquememinerīsqueand remember insuperīnsuper,besides unumquemqueūnumquemqueeach person praesenspraesēnspresent tantummodoonly aetatisaetātisof life spatium,span quodwhich punctipunctīof a point instarīnstarthe size obtinet,has viverevīvere:livesAnd remember besides that each person lives only the present span of time, which is no bigger than a point:meminerisque memineris is the perfect subjunctive of memini "remember", a verb perfect in form but present in meaning (so memento is its imperative). The subjunctive serves as a command, like habeas before: "and remember". Jussive and hortatory subjunctive ("let him…", "you should…")unumquemque … vivere After a verb of remembering comes an accusative and infinitive: "that each person lives". unumquemque is the accusative subject and praesens … spatium the object: each lives only "the present span of life". Accusative and infinitive (indirect statement)puncti instar obtinet instar is an indeclinable noun, "the likeness, the size of", and takes the genitive: puncti instar "the size of a point". instar obtinere "to hold the measure of": the present moment is no bigger than a point. reliquumthe rest of tempustime veleither jamalready exactumexāctum,spent velor inin incertoincertōuncertainty planeplānēwholly situm.placed, lyingThe rest of time is either already spent or lies wholly in uncertainty.reliquum tempus vel jam exactum, vel in incerto plane situm No verb is written: supply est with each participle, "the rest of time either has already been spent, or lies wholly in uncertainty". exactum is from exigo in its sense "complete, spend (time)"; situm, from sino, "placed", as sita sunt in §9. Words left out: esse, sum and others understoodin incerto A neuter adjective used as a noun: in incerto "in the uncertain", that is, "in uncertainty". exiguumsmall estis itaque,so quodwhat vivitvīvitlives quisque;each one exiguussmall ettoo telluristellūris,of the earth inin quoquōwhich vitamvītamhis life agit,he spends angulus:cornerSo what each man lives is small; small too is the corner of the earth in which he spends his life:exiguum est itaque, quod vivit quisque The subject of est is the whole clause quod vivit quisque "what each one lives", that is, the life he actually lives; so the predicate exiguum is neuter. quod is the object of vivit. Relative clauses and the relative pronoun qui, quae, quodexiguus et telluris, in quo vitam agit, angulus Supply est again: "small too (is) the corner of the earth". et here means "too". The noun phrase telluris … angulus is spread round the relative clause in quo vitam agit, and its head angulus waits to the end. Words left out: esse, sum and others understood exiguumsmall quiddam,a thing quaethat which eteven diutissimediūtissimēthe longest prorogaturprōrogātur,is prolonged posthumaafter death famafāma;famea small thing is fame after death, even the fame that is prolonged the longest;exiguum quiddam, quae et diutissime prorogatur, posthuma fama Again est is left out: "a small something (is) fame after death". The relative clause comes before the noun it describes: quae et diutissime prorogatur … fama "fame, even that which is prolonged the longest". Words left out: esse, sum and others understood eaqueand that homuncionumhomunciōnumof little men mortimortīto death celerrimecelerrimēvery soon concedentiumconcēdentium,giving way quiquīwho nenēnot seipsossēipsōsthemselves quidemeven probeprobēproperly norintnōrint,they know nedumnēdummuch less jamalready olimōlimlong ago defunctumdēfūnctumdead quempiam,someone successionibussuccessiōnibusby successions propagataprōpāgāta.handed onAnd that too is handed on by successions of little men who very soon give way to death, who do not properly know even themselves, much less someone long since dead.eaque … successionibus propagata Read the frame first: eaque … propagata (supply est) "and that too (is) handed on", successionibus "by successions". Everything in between describes the people through whom fame passes. eaque = et ea. Words left out: esse, sum and others understoodhomuncionum morti celerrime concedentium homuncio "little man" is a diminutive of homo, said with contempt or pity. morti concedere "to give way to death" means "to die"; the present participle in the genitive plural agrees with homuncionum: "of little men very soon to die". Participles: present, perfect, future, and as nounsqui ne seipsos quidem probe norint, nedum ne … quidem "not even" surrounds the word it stresses, seipsos. nedum "much less, still less" follows a negative and adds something even less likely: "who do not properly know even themselves, much less someone long dead". norint = noverint, "they know"; it is subjunctive because the clause describes what kind of men they are. Relative clauses with the subjunctive (characteristic, ut qui)jam olim defunctum quempiam defunctum is the perfect participle of the deponent defungor "finish, be done with (life)", the usual polite word for "dead". jam olim "already long ago". quempiam "anyone" is the object of norint understood.

Define whatever comes into the mind, so as to see it bare and whole and know its name and the names of its parts: nothing makes the mind so great as asking of each thing what use it serves in the universe, what worth it has for man, the citizen of the city on high, how long it lasts and what virtue it calls for. Whatever comes, from the gods, from fate or from a fellow man, I meet as nature's law of fellowship requires, while giving indifferent things their due value.

EisEīsto those quaewhich dixidīxīI have given monitismonitīscounsels salutaribussalūtāribus,wholesome istudthis unumūnumone thing adjectumadded sit:let (it) beTo the wholesome counsels I have given, let this one thing be added:adjectum sit adjectum sit is the perfect passive subjunctive of adjicio "add" (participle + sit), used as a command: "let (this) be added". The perfect gives the sense "let it be settled that this is added". Jussive and hortatory subjunctive ("let him…", "you should…")Eis quae dixi monitis salutaribus adjicio takes the dative of what something is added to: Eis … monitis salutaribus "to those wholesome counsels". The relative clause quae dixi "which I have spoken" sits inside the phrase. istud unum "this one thing" points forward to the ut clause. utthat definitiodēfīnītiōa definition sivesīveor descriptiodēscrīptiōdescription fiatfīatbe made semperalways reireīof the thing illiusillīusthat quaewhich subunder cogitationemcōgitātiōnemthought cadit;fallsthat a definition or description always be made of the thing that comes into your thought;ut definitio sive descriptio fiat The ut clause says what istud unum is, so it is a noun clause with the subjunctive: "that a definition or description be made". fiat is the present subjunctive of fio "be made, happen". Noun clauses with ut and ne (after oportet, incumbit, necesse est…)rei illius quae sub cogitationem cadit rei is genitive with definitio: "a definition of the thing". sub cogitationem cadere, literally "to fall under thought", means "to come into one's mind". The Stoic exercise is to define each impression as it comes. quoquōso that ipsaitself perby sesēitself nudanūdabare exaccording to naturanātūrānature suisuī,of itself eademqueand the same integra,whole perthrough partespartēsparts suisuīof itself universasūniversās,all qualequālewhat sort of quidthing sit,it is distinctedistīnctēclearly possispossīsyou can dijudicaredījūdicāre;discernso that you can clearly discern what sort of thing it is, itself by itself, stripped bare in its own nature, and the same thing whole, through all its parts;quo … possis quo "so that" introduces a purpose clause, with the subjunctive possis: "so that you may be able". quo is normally used with a comparative ("so that … the more"); Gataker uses it here as a plain "so that". Purpose clauses (ut, ne, quo)ipsa per se nuda ex natura sui, eademque integra These nominatives are the subject of the question quale quid sit, put first for weight: the thing (ipsa, i.e. the res) "itself by itself, bare in its own nature, and the same thing whole, through all its parts". Two views are asked for: the thing stripped down, and the thing taken in all its parts.quale quid sit An indirect question depending on dijudicare, so its verb sit is subjunctive. quale quid pairs the interrogative adjective quale "what sort of" with quid "what (thing)", both neuter: "what sort of thing it is". Indirect questionsex natura sui … per partes sui universas sui is the genitive of the reflexive pronoun, "of itself": "from the nature of itself", "through all the parts of itself". Classical Latin would use the possessive (natura sua, partes suas); Gataker copies the Greek. utqueand so that apudwithin tetēyourself perpendasperpendās,you may weigh etboth quodnamwhat sitis nomennōmenname ejus,its quaequeand what eorumeōrumof the things exof quibuswhich constatcōnstat,it consists etand ininto quaewhich futurumfutūrumgoing to be estit is utthat resolvaturresolvāturit is dissolved denuodēnuō,in turn, again nominanōmina.the namesand so that you may weigh within yourself both what its name is, and what are the names of the things of which it consists and into which it will in turn be dissolved.et quodnam sit nomen ejus, quaeque … nomina Two indirect questions depend on perpendas: "both what its name is, and what (are) the names …". quodnam and quae are interrogative adjectives agreeing with nomen and nomina; nomina is held back to the very end, after the two relative clauses that describe eorum. Indirect questionsfuturum est ut resolvatur futurum est ut + subjunctive, "it is going to be that …", stands in for a future passive: "into which it will be dissolved". Latin often uses this round-about form where a future passive (especially an infinitive) is awkward or lacking. Noun clauses with ut and ne (after oportet, incumbit, necesse est…) nihilnothing enimfor perindeso much magnanimitatemmagnanimitātemgreatness of mind ingenerat,produces atqueas expediteexpedītēreadily verequevērēqueand truly discutereto examine possebeing able unumquodqueūnumquodqueeach eorumeōrumof the things quaewhich inin vitavītālife contingunt;happenFor nothing produces greatness of mind so much as being able to examine, readily and truly, each of the things that happen in life;nihil … perinde … atque perinde … atque "in the same degree … as"; with nihil it makes a comparison: "nothing produces greatness of mind so much as …". atque after words of likeness or equality means "as". Paired words: et…et, nec…nec, vel…vel, cum…tum, non tam…quam, sive…siveexpedite vereque discutere posse The thing compared is an infinitive phrase used as a noun: "(as) being able to examine readily and truly". discutere first meant "shatter, scatter"; in later Latin, as here, "examine, investigate". The infinitive as a noun (subject, object, complement) eademqueand the same things sicsīcin such a way intueriintuērīlooking at semper,always utthat mentemthe mind simulat the same time subeat,it comes into qualiquālīto what kind of mundomundōworld qualemquālemwhat kind of usumūsumuse hocthis thing praebeat,it provides quamnamwhat universiūniversīof the universe respecturespectūwith respect to dignitatemdignitātemworth obtineat;it holdsand always looking at the same things in such a way that at the same time it comes into your mind what kind of use this thing provides, and to what kind of world, what worth it holds with respect to the universe;eademque sic intueri semper A second infinitive still compared with nihil: nothing produces greatness of mind so much as examining things "and always looking at the same things in such a way that …". intueri is a deponent infinitive. The infinitive as a noun (subject, object, complement)sic … ut mentem simul subeat sic … ut with the subjunctive is a result clause: "in such a way that it comes into the mind". subire mentem "to come into, occur to the mind"; what comes into the mind is the string of questions that follows. Result clauses (ut after ita, tam, sic)quali mundo qualem usum hoc praebeat Latin can put two question words in one clause: literally "this provides what kind of use to what kind of world". English must split it: "what kind of use this provides, and to what kind of world". quali mundo is dative, qualem usum accusative, both with praebeat. Indirect questionsquamnam universi respectu dignitatem obtineat respectu, ablative of respectus "regard", is used with a genitive like a preposition: universi respectu "with respect to the universe". quamnam … dignitatem "what worth", a second indirect question. quamnam,what (worth) hominemman quodas far as attinet,concerns quiquīwho civemcīvema citizen agitplays the part of civitatiscīvitātisof the city supernaeon high illiusillīus,that cujusof which reliquaeother civitatescīvitātēscities istaethose quasias it were familiaehouseholds existunt;arewhat worth, as far as man is concerned, who lives as a citizen of that city on high, of which those other cities are, as it were, households;quamnam, hominem quod attinet Supply dignitatem obtineat from the clause before: "what worth (it has) as far as man is concerned". The usual idiom is quod ad hominem attinet "as for what concerns man"; Gataker leaves out ad and puts hominem first. Words left out: esse, sum and others understoodqui civem agit agere with the accusative of a role means "to play the part of" (as agere partes): civem agit "plays the citizen", "lives as a citizen".civitatis supernae illius, cujus reliquae civitates istae quasi familiae existunt The Stoic picture: the universe is one great city of gods and men, and earthly cities are like single households within it. cujus "of which" depends on familiae: "of which those other cities are, as it were, households". existunt means simply "are". quidnamwhat sit,it is etand exof quibusnamwhat principiisprīncipiīselements consistatcōnsistat,it is made up etand quamdiuquamdiūhow long duraredūrāreto last natumnātumborn sit,it is quodthe thing that phantasiamimagination mihimy afficitaffects impraesentiarumimpraesentiārum:at presentwhat it is, and of what elements it is made up, and how long it is by nature fitted to last, this thing that is now making an impression on my mind:quidnam sit … quod phantasiam mihi afficit impraesentiarum More indirect questions, still what is to come into the mind. Their subject is held back to the end: quod phantasiam mihi afficit impraesentiarum "the thing that is now affecting my imagination", that is, making an impression on me. phantasia is the Greek word for an impression in the mind; impraesentiarum, from in praesentia rerum, means "at present". Indirect questionsdurare natum sit natus with an infinitive means "born to, made by nature to": quamdiu durare natum sit "how long it is by nature made to last". natum sit is the perfect subjunctive of the deponent nascor, subjunctive because it is an indirect question. quanamquānamwhat itemlikewise virtutevirtūtevirtue adversustowards remthing eamthis sitthere is ususūsus;need mansuetudinemānsuētūdinegentleness puta,say, for instance fortitudinefortitūdine,courage veritatevēritāte,truthfulness fidefidē,good faith simplicitatesimplicitāte,simplicity frugalitatefrūgālitāte,self-restraint anor aliaaliāother aliquaaliquā.somelikewise, what virtue is needed in dealing with it: gentleness, say, courage, truthfulness, good faith, simplicity, self-restraint, or some other.sit usus usus est with the ablative means "there is need of" (like opus est): quanam … virtute … sit usus "what virtue there is need of". Do not take usus sit as the perfect of utor "he has used": usus here is the noun "need", and the virtues are ablative because of it.mansuetudine puta, fortitudine puta, the imperative of puto "suppose", is used like an adverb: "say, for instance". The list of virtues is all in the ablative, following virtute; an alia aliqua "or some other (virtue)". dedēabout singulissingulīseach ergoergōtherefore rebusrēbusthings dicendumdīcendummust be said est;it is HocThis divinitusdīvīnitusfrom the gods venit;comesAbout each thing, therefore, one must say: This comes from the gods;dicendum est The gerundive with est, used impersonally, expresses obligation: "it must be said", that is, "one must say". Gerundive of obligation (cavenda est, agenda sunt)Hoc divinitus venit The capital letter marks the start of the words to be said; Gataker uses no quotation marks. divinitus "from heaven, by divine will". venit could also be the perfect vēnit "has come"; the sense is the same. hocthis aāfrom fatifātīof fate serieseriēthe chain connexaconnexālinked contextaquecontextāque,and woven together velor aāfrom concursuconcursūcoincidence fortuitofortuītōchance istiusmodiistīusmodī:of that kindthis from the chain of fate, linked and woven together, or from some chance coincidence of that kind:hoc a fati serie connexa contextaque Supply venit: "this (comes) from the chain of fate". The participles connexa contextaque agree with serie (ablative singular feminine): fate is pictured as a chain of causes "linked and woven together". Words left out: esse, sum and others understoodvel a concursu fortuito istiusmodi concursus fortuitus "a chance coming-together" of events. istiusmodi "of that kind" is a genitive used like an indeclinable adjective. For a Stoic even chance belongs to the web of fate. hocthis aāfrom contribulicontribūlī,a fellow tribesman congenere,a kinsman sodalesodāle;a companion quiquīwho ipsehimself quidemit is true quidwhat naturaenātūraewith nature suaehis own consentaneumcōnsentāneumin keeping sitis nescit.does not knowthis from a fellow tribesman, a kinsman, a companion; who himself, it is true, does not know what is in keeping with his own nature.a contribuli, congenere, sodale Supply venit again. The three nouns all say that the other person is one of our own: "a fellow tribesman, a kinsman, a companion". congenere is the adjective congener "akin" used as a noun. Words left out: esse, sum and others understoodqui ipse quidem … nescit quidem "it is true" grants a point that the next sentence answers with caeterum ego "but I": he does not know what suits his nature, but I do. quid … consentaneum sit is an indirect question, so its verb is subjunctive. caeterumbut ego,I cumsince norimnōrim,I know ideoideōfor that reason adversustowards illumhim benevolebenevolēkindly justequejūstēqueand justly memēmyself gerogerō,I conduct juxtajuxtāaccording to societatissocietātisof fellowship legemlēgemthe law aāby naturanātūrānature latamlātam.laid downBut since I know it, I therefore behave kindly and justly towards him, according to the law of fellowship laid down by nature.cum norim cum with the subjunctive means "since". norim is short for noverim, perfect subjunctive of nosco; because novi "I have learned" means "I know", norim means "I know". Its object, what suits nature, is understood from the sentence before. Clauses with cum: when, since, althoughme gero se gerere "to carry oneself" is the usual phrase for "to behave, conduct oneself": benevole justeque me gero "I behave kindly and justly".societatis legem a natura latam legem ferre is "to propose, enact a law", so legem … latam (from fero, perfect participle latus) is "the law laid down", and a natura names the lawgiver: "by nature". Agent with the passive: a, ab with the ablative interimat the same time tamenyet inin mediismediīsindifferent things istisistīsthose proprōaccording to reireīof the thing cujusqueeach aestimationeaestimātiōnevalue rationemratiōnemaccount ejusdemof it habeohabeō.I takeYet at the same time, in those indifferent things, I take account of each thing according to its value.in mediis istis media "the things in the middle" is the Stoic term for things neither good nor bad in themselves, such as health, wealth, reputation or death: the "indifferents". Only virtue is good and only vice bad; but even among indifferents some have more value than others. Neuter plurals and adjectives used as nouns (bona, mala, omnia)pro rei cujusque aestimatione rationem ejusdem habeo rationem habere with a genitive is "to take account of, have regard for": rationem ejusdem habeo "I take account of it". pro … aestimatione "according to the value" of each thing: I give each the weight it deserves.