Letter 119

Whenever I have discovered something, I do not wait until you say "Share it!"; I say it to myself on your behalf. You ask what it is that I have found? Open your purse: it is pure profit. I will teach you how you can become rich as fast as possible. How eagerly you want to hear it! And not without reason: I will lead you by a short cut to the greatest riches. You will need a creditor, however: to be able to do business, you must take on debt. But I do not want you to borrow through an intermediary, nor do I want brokers tossing your name about. I will furnish you a ready creditor, that famous one of Cato's: you will borrow from yourself. However little it is, it will be enough, provided that whatever is lacking we seek from ourselves. For there is no difference, my dear Lucilius, between not desiring something and possessing it. The upshot in either case is the same: you will not be tormented. And I am not prescribing that you deny anything to nature - she is stubborn, she cannot be overcome, she demands what is hers - but that you should recognize that whatever exceeds nature is granted on sufferance, not necessary. I am hungry: I must eat. Whether this bread is the common sort or fine wheaten bread has nothing to do with nature: she does not want the belly to be delighted but filled. I am thirsty: whether this water is what I have drawn from the nearest lake or what I have shut up in a quantity of snow, so that it is chilled by a coldness not its own, has nothing to do with nature. She commands this one thing: that the thirst be quenched. Whether the cup is gold or crystal or murrine [a costly fluorspar vessel] or a beaker from Tibur or the hollow of one's hands makes no difference. Look to the end of all things, and you will let go of what is superfluous. Hunger summons me: let my hand reach out to whatever is nearest; hunger itself will commend to me whatever I lay hold of. A hungry man scorns nothing. You ask, then, what it was that delighted me? It seems to me admirably said: "The wise man is the keenest seeker of natural riches." "You offer me a gift," you say, "on an empty dish. What is this? I had already gotten my money-bags ready; I was looking around for what sea to launch myself into as a trader, what public revenue contract to handle, what merchandise to send for." This is a swindle - to teach poverty when you have promised riches. "So you judge a man poor who lacks nothing?" By his own merit, you say, and that of his endurance, not by Fortune's. Do you then refuse to judge him rich for the very reason that his riches cannot give out? Would you rather have much or enough? He who has much craves more, which is proof that he does not yet have enough; he who has enough has attained what never fell to the rich man's lot: a stopping point. Or do you suppose these are not riches simply because no one has been proscribed on account of them? because on account of them no son has forced poison on anyone, no wife on anyone? because in war they are safe? because in peace they are untroubled? because it is neither dangerous to hold them nor laborious to manage them? "But he has too little who only just escapes cold, hunger, and thirst." Jupiter has no more. What is enough is never too little, and what is not enough is never much. After conquering Darius and the Indians, Alexander is poor. Am I lying? He searches for something to make his own, he ransacks unknown seas, he sends new fleets into the Ocean and bursts through the very barriers, so to speak, of the world. What is enough for nature is not enough for the man. Someone has been found who could lust after something more, when everything was his: so great is the blindness of minds, and so great, once a man has made his way, is each one's forgetfulness of his own beginnings. He who not long ago was the disputed master of an obscure corner is gloomy when, the limit of the lands having been reached, he must return through a world that is his own. Money has never made anyone rich; on the contrary, it has struck into everyone a greater craving for itself. You ask what the cause of this is? He who has more begins to be able to have more. To sum up: from those whose names are reckoned alongside Crassus and Licinus, drag forward into the open whichever one you please; let him bring his fortune, and let him add up at once everything he has and everything he hopes for: that man, if you trust me, is poor; if you trust yourself, he may become poor. But this man here, who has arranged his affairs to fit what nature requires, is not only beyond the feeling of poverty but beyond the fear of it. Yet, so you may know how difficult it is to confine one's means to nature's measure, this very man whom we have pared down, whom you call poor, has even something superfluous. But wealth dazzles the crowd and turns it toward itself, if a great deal of cash is carried out of some house, if much gold is overlaid even on its roof, if the household staff is choice in physique or conspicuous in dress. The happiness of all such men looks outward, to the public; but that man whom we have withdrawn both from the people and from Fortune is blessed inwardly. For as for those in whom busy poverty has falsely usurped the name of riches, they have riches in the way we are said to "have" a fever, when in fact it has us. We are accustomed, on the contrary, to say "a fever holds him": in the same way we should say "riches hold him." There is nothing, then, that I would rather have urged on you than this, of which no one is warned enough: that you measure all things by natural desires, which can be satisfied either for nothing or for little - only do not mix vices into your desires. You ask at what kind of table, with what kind of silver, by how well-matched and smooth-cheeked attendants the food is brought? Nature desires nothing besides the food itself. Hunger is not ambitious; it is content to come to an end, and does not much care by what means it ends. These are the torments of an unhappy luxury: it looks for how it may be hungry again even after being full, how it may not fill the belly but cram it, how it may call back a thirst already laid to rest by the first drink. And so Horace splendidly denies that it matters to one's thirst from what cup, or by how elegant a hand, the water is served. For if you judge it to matter to you how long-haired the boy is, and how transparent the cup he holds out to you, you are not thirsty. Among her other gifts, nature has granted us this chief one: that she has shaken off all squeamishness from necessity. Superfluous things admit of fastidiousness: "this is too unbecoming, that too unrefined, this offends my eyes." It was so arranged by that Founder of the world who laid out for us the laws of living, that we should be sound, not pampered: for soundness, everything is prepared and ready at hand; for self-indulgence, everything is procured wretchedly and anxiously. Let us therefore use this gift of nature, counting it among the great ones, and let us reflect that on no count has she deserved better of us than this: that whatever is desired out of necessity is taken without disgust. Farewell.

Whenever I have made a discovery, I do not wait for you to cry “Shares!” I say it to myself in your behalf. If you wish to know what it is that I have found, open your pocket; it is clear profit. What I shall teach you is the ability to become rich as speedily as possible. How keen you are to hear the news! And rightly; I shall lead you by a short cut to the greatest riches. It will be necessary, however, for you to find a loan; in order to be able to do business, you must contract a debt, although I do not wish you to arrange the loan through a middle-man, nor do I wish the brokers to be discussing your rating. I shall furnish you with a ready creditor, Cato’s famous one, who says: “Borrow from yourself!” No matter how small it is, it will be enough if we can only make up the deficit from our own resources. For, my dear Lucilius, it does not matter whether you crave nothing, or whether you possess something. The important principle in either case is the same—freedom from worry. But I do not counsel you to deny anything to nature—for nature is insistent and cannot be overcome; she demands her due—but you should know that anything in excess of nature’s wants is a mere “extra” and is not necessary. If I am hungry, I must eat. Nature does not care whether the bread is the coarse kind or the finest wheat; she does not desire the stomach to be entertained, but to be filled. And if I am thirsty, Nature does not care whether I drink water from the nearest reservoir, or whether I freeze it artificially by sinking it in large quantities of snow. Nature orders only that the thirst be quenched; and it does not matter whether it be a golden, or crystal, or murrine goblet, or a cup from Tibur, or the hollow hand. Look to the end, in all matters, and then you will cast away superfluous things. Hunger calls me; let me stretch forth my hand to that which is nearest; my very hunger has made attractive in my eyes whatever I can grasp. A starving man despises nothing. Do you ask, then, what it is that has pleased me? It is this noble saying which I have discovered: “The wise man is the keenest seeker for the riches of nature.” “What,” you ask, “will you present me with an empty plate? What do you mean? I had already arranged my coffers; I was already looking about to see some stretch of water on which I might embark for purposes of trade, some state revenues that I might handle, and some merchandise that I might acquire. That is deceit—showing me poverty after promising me riches.” But, friend, do you regard a man as poor to whom nothing is wanting? “It is, however,” you reply, “thanks to himself and his endurance, and not thanks to his fortune.” Do you, then, hold that such a man is not rich, just because his wealth can never fail? Would you rather have much, or enough? He who has much desires more—a proof that he has not yet acquired enough; but he who has enough has attained that which never fell to the rich man’s lot—a stopping-point. Do you think that this condition to which I refer is not riches, just because no man has ever been proscribed as a result of possessing them? Or because sons and wives have never thrust poison down one’s throat for that reason? Or because in war-time these riches are unmolested? Or because they bring leisure in time of peace? Or because it is not dangerous to possess them, or troublesome to invest them? “But one possesses too little, if one is merely free from cold and hunger and thirst.” Jupiter himself however, is no better off. Enough is never too little, and not-enough is never too much. Alexander was poor even after his conquest of Darius and the Indies. Am I wrong? He seeks something which he can really make his own, exploring unknown seas, sending new fleets over the Ocean, and, so to speak, breaking down the very bars of the universe. But that which is enough for nature, is not enough for man. There have been found persons who crave something more after obtaining everything; so blind are their wits and so readily does each man forget his start after he has got under way. He who was but lately the disputed lord of an unknown corner of the world, is dejected when, after reaching the limits of the globe, he must march back through a world which he has made his own. Money never made a man rich; on the contrary, it always smites men with a greater craving for itself. Do you ask the reason for this? He who possesses more begins to be able to possess still more. To sum up, you may hale forth for our inspection any of the millionaires whose names are told off when one speaks of Crassus and Licinus. Let him bring along his rating and his present property and his future expectations, and let him add them all together: such a man, according to my belief, is poor; according to yours, he may be poor some day. He, however, who has arranged his affairs according to nature’s demands, is free from the fear, as well as from the sensation, of poverty. And in order that you may know how hard it is to narrow one’s interests down to the limits of nature—even this very person of whom we speak, and whom you call poor, possesses something actually superfluous. Wealth, however, blinds and attracts the mob, when they see a large bulk of ready money brought out of a man’s house, or even his walls crusted with abundance of gold, or a retinue that is chosen for beauty of physique, or for attractiveness of attire. The prosperity of all these men looks to public opinion; but the ideal man, whom we have snatched from the control of the people and of Fortune, is happy inwardly. For as far as those persons are concerned, in whose minds bustling poverty has wrongly stolen the title of riches—these individuals have riches just as we say that we “have a fever,” when really the fever has us. Conversely, we are accustomed to say: “A fever grips him.” And in the same way we should say: “Riches grip him.” There is therefore no advice—and of such advice no one can have too much—which I would rather give you than this: that you should measure all things by the demands of Nature; for these demands can be satisfied either without cost or else very cheaply. Only, do not mix any vices with these demands. Why need you ask how your food should be served, on what sort of table, with what sort of silver, with what well-matched and smooth-faced young servants? Nature demands nothing except mere food. Dost seek, when thirst inflames thy throat, a cup of gold? Dost scorn all else but peacock’s flesh or turbot When the hunger comes upon thee? Hunger is not ambitious; it is quite satisfied to come to an end; nor does it care very much what food brings it to an end. Those things are but the instruments of a luxury which is not “happiness”; a luxury which seeks how it may prolong hunger even after repletion, how to stuff the stomach, not to fill it, and how to rouse a thirst that has been satisfied with the first drink. Horace’s words are therefore most excellent when he says that it makes no difference to one’s thirst in what costly goblet, or with what elaborate state, the water is served. For if you believe it to be of importance how curly-haired your slave is, or how transparent is the cup which he offers you, you are not thirsty. Among other things, Nature has bestowed upon us this special boon: she relieves sheer necessity of squeamishness. The superfluous things admit of choice; we say: “That is not suitable”; “this is not well recommended”; “that hurts my eyesight.” The Builder of the universe, who laid down for us the laws of life, provided that we should exist in well-being, but not in luxury. Everything conducive to our well-being is prepared and ready to our hands; but what luxury requires can never be got together except with wretchedness and anxiety. Let us therefore use this boon of Nature by reckoning it among the things of high importance; let us reflect that Nature’s best title to our gratitude is that whatever we want because of sheer necessity we accept without squeamishness. Farewell.

(1) Quotiens aliquid inueni, non expecto donec dicas 'in commune': ipse mihi dico. Quid sit quod inuenerim quaeris? Sinum laxa, merum lucrum est. Docebo quomodo fieri diues celerrime possis. Quam ualde cupis audire! nec inmerito: ad maximas te diuitias conpendiaria ducam. Opus erit tamen tibi creditore: ut negotiari possis, aes alienum facias oportet, sed nolo per intercessorem mutueris, nolo proxenetae nomen tuum iactent. (2) Paratum tibi creditorem dabo Catonianum illum, a te mutuum sumes. Quantulumcumque est, satis erit si, quidquid deerit, id a nobis petierimus. Nihil enim,mi Lucili, interest utrum non desideres an habeas. Summa rei in utroque eadem est: non torqueberis. Nec illud praecipio, ut aliquid naturae neges — contumax est, non potest uinci, suum poscit — sed ut quidquid naturam excedit scias precarium esse, non necessarium. (3) Esurio: edendum est. Utrum hic panis sit plebeius an siligineus ad naturam nihil pertinet: illauentrem non delectari uult sed impleri. Sitio: utrum haec aqua sit quamex lacu proximo excepero an ea quam multa niue clusero, ut rigore refrigeretur alieno, ad naturam nihil pertinet. Illa hoc unum iubet, sitim extingui; utrum sit aureum poculum an crustallinum an murreum an Tiburtinus calixan manus concaua, nihil refert. (4) Finem omnium rerum specta, et superuacua dimittes. Fames me appellat: ad proxima quaeque porrigatur manus; ipsa mihi commendabit quodcumque conprendero. Nihil contemnit esuriens. (5) Quid sit ergo quod me delectauerit quaeris? Videtur mihi egregie dictum, 'sapiens diuitiarum naturalium est quaesitor acerrimus'. 'Inanime' inquis 'lance muneras. Quid est istud? Ego iam paraueram fiscos; circumspiciebam in quod me mare negotiaturus inmitterem, quod publicum agitarem, quas arcesserem merces. Decipere est istud, docere paupertatem cum diuitias promiseris. 'Ita tu pauperem iudicas cui nihil deest? 'Suo' inquis 'et patientiae suae beneficio, non fortunae. ' Ideo ergo illum non iudicas diuitem quia diuitiae eius desinere non possunt? (6) Utrum mauis habere multum an satis? Qui multum habet plus cupit, quod est argumentum nondum illum satis habere; qui satis habet consecutus est quod numquam diuiti contigit, finem. An has ideo non putas esse diuitias quia propter illas nemo proscriptus est? quia propter illas nulli uenenum filius, nulli uxor inpegit? quia in bello tutae sunt? quia in pace otiosae? quia nec habere illas periculosum est nec operosum disponere? (7) 'At parum habet qui tantum non alget, non esurit, non sitit. ' Plus Iuppiter non habet. Numquam parum est quod satis est, et numquam multum est quod satis non est. Post Dareum et Indos pauper est Alexander. Mentior? Quaerit quod suum faciat, scrutatur maria ignota, in oceanum classes nouas mittit et ipsa, ut ita dicam, mundi claustra perrumpit. Quod naturae satis est homini non est. (8) Inuentus est qui concupisceret aliquid post omnia: tanta est caecitas mentium et tanta initiorum suorum unicuique, cum processit, obliuio. Ille modo ignobilis anguli non sine controuersia dominus tacto fine terrarum per suum rediturus orbem tristis est. (9) Neminem pecunia diuitem fecit, immo contra nulli non maiorem sui cupidinem incussit. Quaeris quae sit huius rei causa? plus incipit habere posse qui plus habet. Ad summam quem uoles mihi ex his quorum nomina cum Crasso Licinoque numerantur in medium licet protrahas; adferat censum et quidquid habet et quidquid sperat simul conputet: iste, si mihi credis, pauper est, si tibi, potest esse. (10) At hic qui se ad quod exigit natura composuit non tantum extra sensum est paupertatis sed extra metum. Sed ut scias quam difficile sit res suas ad naturalem modum coartare, hic ipse quem circumcidimus, quem tu uocas pauperem, habet aliquid et superuacui. (11) At excaecant populum et in se conuertunt opes, si numerati multum ex aliqua domo effertur, si multum auri tecto quoque eius inlinitur, si familia aut corporibus electa aut spectabilis cultu est. Omnium istorum felicitas in publicum spectat: ille quem nos et populo et fortunae subduximus beatus introsum est. (12) Nam quod ad illos pertinet apud quos falso diuitiarum nomen inuasit occupata paupertas, sic diuitias habent quomodo habere dicimur febrem, cum illa nos habeat. E contrario dicere solemus 'febris illum tenet': eodem modo dicendum est 'diuitiae illum tenent'. Nihil ergo monuisse te malim quam hoc, quod nemo monetur satis, ut omnia naturalibus desideriis metiaris, quibus aut gratis satis fiat aut paruo: tantum miscere uitia desideriis noli. (13) Quaeris quali mensa, quali argento, quam paribus ministeriis et leuibus adferatur cibus? Nihil praeter cibum natura desiderat. (14) Ambitiosa non est fames, contenta desinere est; quo desinat non nimis curat. Infelicis luxuriae ista tormenta sunt: quaerit quemadmodum post saturitatem quoque esuriat, quemadmodum non impleat uentrem sed farciat, quemadmodum sitim prima potione sedatam reuocet. Egregie itaque Horatius negat ad sitim pertinere quo poculo (aquae) aut quam eleganti manu ministretur. Nam si pertinere ad te iudicas quam crinitus puer et quam perlucidum tibi poculum porrigat, non sitis. (15) Inter reliqua hoc nobis praestitit natura praecipuum, quod necessitati fastidium excussit. Recipiunt superuacua dilectum: 'hoc parum decens, illud parum lautum, oculos hoc meos laedit'. Id actum est ab illo mundi conditore, qui nobis uiuendi iura discripsit, ut salui essemus, non ut delicati: ad salutem omnia parata sunt et in promptu, delicis omnia misere ac sollicite comparantur. (16) Utamur ergo hoc naturae beneficio inter magna numerando et cogitemus nullo nomine melius illam meruisse de nobis quam quia quidquid ex necessitate desideratur sine fastidio sumitur. Vale.