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A92911
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Twenty and two epistles of Lucius Annæus Seneca, the philosopher translated out of the originall, into English verse.; Epistulae morales ad Lucillium. English. 1654
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Seneca, Lucius Annaeus, ca. 4 B.C.-65 A.D.
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1654
(1654)
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Wing S2530; ESTC R42606
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41,401
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89
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friend as Candidates from thence Are stil'd good men and as when one we meet Whose name we cannot hit on him we greet With this term Sir Let that pass But if thou Think'st thou maist any for thy friend avow And yet on him not as much trust confer As on thy selfe thou dost extreamly erre And not to the full worth true friendship prize In all things therefore with thy Friend advise But first consult on him We should not spare To trust when friendship 's made we must beware Before 't be done But they these duties mix Confusedly who their affections fix ' Gainst Theophrastus rule ere they have ground And love not after they have reason found Consider long whether thou should'st admit One to thy friendship having found him fit Take him into thy brest as freely ' impart To him as to thy selfe what 's in thy heart How 's ' ever live thou so as not to feare Thy foe should of thy actions witness beare But because some things oftentimes arise Which a familiar trust makes secrecies Let thy friend all thy cares all thy thoughts know Thou't make him faithfull if thou think'st him so For many fearing fraud do fraud invite And by mistrust give other men a right T' offend Why should I then a word suppress Before my friend or with him think I 'm less Alone then with my selfe some men unfold To all they meet what onely should be told To friends and what concerns them most expose To ev'ry eare Some againe doubt ev'n those They have in most esteeme and if they could Locking all secrets in their brest they would Conceale them from themselves Wee must do neither For both are alwayes to be cenfurd either To credit all or none But th' one is sure A fault more candid th' other more secure So mayest thou tax both them that never Are quiet and them that are quiet ever For 't is not to be called industrie To take delight in turmoyles but a high Tumultuousnesse of minde nor is it rest Which ev'ry kind of motion does molest But languishment Take then into thy thought What I have from Pamponius beene taught To darknesse some themselves so much inure That all that 's in the light they think obscure These should be intermixt and by compact In acting we should rest in resting act Consult with Nature she will guide thee right And tell thee she hath made both day and night EPIST. IV. PRoceed as th' hast begun and make what hast Thou canst that thou the longer mayst Enioy a well-reform'd and compos'd minde And truly that inioyment thou wilt find Even while thou dost reforme even while thou dost Compose But yet that other pleasur 's most To be esteem'd that from a minde proceeds Wherin no impure thought or motion breeds Thinke but what ioy thou hadst when laying down The robe of youth thou didst assume the gown And wert allowd to plead Expect far more When having all thy childish thoughts giv'n ore The knowledge of Philosophie shall then Bring thee into the fellow-ship of men For hitherto not only we possesse Childhood but what 's more grievous childishnes And worse indeed than that we gravely sit Like old men yet the errors doe commit Of children nay of infants these at light They at false things but we at both take fright Then go thou on and somthings will appeare Lesse to be fear'd because they bring much feare No evill is the greatest that is last Death comes and we therat might be agast If it could stay with us but this is sure It either will not come or not indure But thou wilt say it is a rigid thing That wee our lives to slight our minds should bring Dost thou not see upon what slender ground Life is dispis'd by many one is found Himselfe t' have strangled at a wentches dore Meerly for love an other man before His Masters wrath he 'd longer undergo From the house top himselfe did headlong throw A third that fled away himselfe hath slaine Rather than he would be brought back againe Thinke not but vertue may effect as much As needlesse feare Life 's not secure to such As use too great endeavour to prolong The date therof accounting it among Their great good-fortunes that th' have liv'd to see So many Consulls Our sole care should bee With full resolved mindes our life to leave Which many hold as fast and strictly cleave Thereto as men grasp Brires and Thorns when they Are by a furious torrent born away Man for the most part miserably tosses Himselfe 'tween fear of death and frequent crosses Of life and though he lives unwillingly Yet notwithstanding knows not how to die The way to make life pleasant then to us Is not to be thereof solicitous No good can the possessor please unless His minde to leave it be in readiness And we can part with nothing with less paine Than what once lost cannot be wish'd again Wherefore perswade thy selfe to be prepar'd To fare but as the greatest men have far'd A Pupil and an Eunuch Pompey's head Commanded a fierce Parthian his rage fed With Crassus bloud and Lepidus his neck Submitted was at Caius Caesar's beck To Decius the Tribune and his own Left to Cherea Fortune hath rais'd none To so great height to whom her menaces Have been inferior to her promises Doe not on this tranquility relie The Sea does change in twinkling of an eye And oftentimes a ship the very day 'T is flatter'd with a calme is cast away Think that a Thiefe or foe his sword may set Against thy breast and lest there should be yet A greater power wanting there 's no slave But of thy life the full command may have For this is fure whos'ever does resigne The care of his owne life is Lord of thine If to those Presidents thou 't have recourse Which by close wiles or open fraud or force Have perish'd thou wilt finde the wrath of Slaves T' have brought as many people to their graves As that of Kings What is it then to thee In what authority or pow'r they be Whom thou dost feare since there is none but may Act what thou fear'st What if thy foe shall lay Hands on thee accidentally that soe Will onely send thee where thou wert to goe Do not deceive thy selfe but think that thou Didst alwayes suffer what thou suffer'st now I tell thee from the houre thou first took'st breath Thou hast been dayly going towards death These and the like we often must revolve If we on that last houre will well resolve The feare whereof makes carefulness attend On all the rest But that I may now end My letter take what hath contentment bred In me to day and this I gathered Out of an others Orchard 'T is great Treasure When poverty with natures Law keeps measure This Law of nature what it is behold To keep our selves from hunger thirst and cold If we meer thirst and hunger would prevent We need
brought As an example or a guardian For as I say 't is needfull t' have a man After whose manners we our own may square Without a rule faults uncorrected are EPIST. XII WHer ' ere I goe signes of my age appeare I com into my countrey house and there Complaine of the expence which the decayes Are like to put me to my Bayliefe says The fault is not in him he to uphold The thing does what he can but th' house is old This house I built what fate doe I lie under When walls of mine own age thus fall in sunder The next occasion I take to chide I frowning say it cannot be denied These plane-trees are neglected for they beare No leaves their drie bowes shrivell ev'ry where How full of mosse their bodies are no doubt This could not be had they been dig'd about And water'd Straight way by my Gemins he Protests and swears there wants no industrie To make them thrive But to prevent my rage Tells me the cause of fading is their age These trees I planted and first saw them grow What difference then tweene us to th' gate I goe Aske whos ' this so decreped and decayd And at the dore as dead men are is layd For he the potter was whence came he why Do'st thou take care of strangers corps say I. But he replies sir doe not you me know I 'm he on whom you used to bestow So many fairings I Felicius am Phylositus the Bayliefs son the same That made you sport This dotard sure mistakes Say I turnes child and childish pastime makes And it is very likely his teeth too Fall from his gums as childrens use to doe I owe this to my country house that I My old age whereso'ere I looke descry Let 's then embrace and love it for 't is fraught With pleasure if we use it as we ought Apples are best when they are almost gon And childhood is most comely when 't is don Wine-drinkers in the last carouse delight That drowne their cares inebriat's them out-right All pleasure reserves that which is most sweet Untill the last and we our age may greet With no small joy at least if that age be Declining not decrepid though I see Even such as stand upon the utmost brink Of life their pleasures have or we may think To need no pleasure serves in stead of pleasure Do ubtlesse to banish lusts hath no small measure Of sweetness But thou 't say it irksome is T' have death before our eyes I answer this Ought ever to be lookt upon as well By yong men as by old Death does not tell The yeers of men nor summon by a role None is so old but he without controle May hope to live a day and yet a day Is a degree of life our whole age may Be found by observation to consist Of parts which many orbes together twist One whereof all begirts which we may call Our birth day reaching to our funerall Another the full space of youth unfolds And one our childhood in it's circle holds Ther 's then a yeare in which all times inclos'd Whereof b'ing multiply'd our lives composd A month hath a lesse orbe a day the least Yet this begins and ends from East to West And therefore Heracletus whose known marke Was from darke sayings to be called darke Was wont to say one daye 's the same withall This hath by sundry men had severall Interpretations he sayd it was The same in houres and that for truth must passe Because if from a day the time proceeds Of four and twenty houres all dayes must needs Be equall in themselves for the night hath That which the day hath lost Another saith One day is equall in similitude To all The longest time cannot include More then one day light darkenesse and Th' alternate course by which the world does stand Longer or shorter makes no difference For there is still the same circumference We therefore all our dayes must so dispose As if we finisht and compleated life like those Who use in armies to bring up the reare Pacuvius who by abiding there Made Syri'a his owne countrey when with wine And funerall Feasts he usd t'inshrine From supper to his chamber borne with rites And lewd applause of his stale catamites Causd this to be with aery musick sung He ' hath liv'd he ' hath livd and thus his whole house rung What he with an ill conscience did we may Do with a good and blith and jocond say As oft as we our selves to sleepe present I' have liv'd and past the time that nature lent If God be pleasd to ad another day We should receive it thank efully and may A count him very happy and a man Fixt in th' injoyment of himselfe that can Expect the morrow without anxious care Whosoere says I have lived does prepare To rise next day to profit t is fit now I finish my Epistle But sayst thou Shall it to me without advantage come Feare not it shall bring some Why said I some Much. For what words more excellentcan be Than these which I give him to send to thee To live in need is ill but 't is agreed Ther 's no necessity to live in need Why should I not say none since ev'ry where The way to liberty is short and cleare Thankes be to God no man is forc't to live We to necessity it selfe may give The law But thou wilt say this came From Epicurus why do'st thou lay claime To what 's anothers what is true is mine His sayings I 'll inculcate with designe T' have such as so ingage to men that they Value their persons more then what they say In the assurance of this truth to rest Those things belong to all which are the best EPIST. XIII I Know thou hast much courage for I find That even before I seasoned thy mind With precepts which are wholsome prevaile Against adversity thou didst not faile To satisfie thy selfe ' gainst fortune's power And much more then when she began to lower And made thee come to handy blows whereby Thou hadst occasion thy strength to try For as we never can be confident Till threatning dangers sundry feares present And sometimes set upon us So the stout And constant mind resolving to cast out All base subjection to anothers will Is trie'd by danger that 's the touch-stone still He is not like the combate to make good That hath no scars He who hath oft lost bloud And in the fight grated his teeth and though Repulsd hath rush'd againe upon his foe He who though often falling letting not His courage fall as often up hath got Will enter with more confidence the list Then let me in this similie persist Fortune hath oft lay'n heavy on thee yet Thou didst not yield but alwayes from her get Returning with more courage vertue thrive's By provocation and by wounds revives Yet if thou thinkst it meet from me accept Some aide by which thou 't