EPTI'm struggeling a little with a translation of Seneca's De Vita Beata.
Here's the entire text:
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1. 'Quare ille philosophiae studiosus est et tam diues uitam agit? Quare opes contemnendas dicit et habet, uitam contemnendam putat et tamen uiuit, ualetudinem contemnendam, et tamen illam diligentissime tuetur atque optimam mauult? Et exilium uanum nomen putat et ait "quid enim est mali mutare regiones?" et tamen, si licet, senescit in patria? Et inter longius tempus et breuius nihil interesse iudicat, tamen, si nihil prohibet, extendit aetatem et in multa senectute placidus uiret?'
2. Ait ista debere contemni, non ne habeat, sed ne sollicitus habeat; non abigit illa a se, sed abeuntia securus prosequitur. Diuitias quidem ubi tutius fortuna deponet quam ibi unde sine querella reddentis receptura est?
3. Nec enim se sapiens indignum ullis muneribus fortuitis putat: non amat diuitias sed mauult; non in animum illas sed in domum recipit.
Basically, I'm struggeling with sentence 2. "Struggeling" is a euphemism, that one is complete unitelligible for me.
Google translate is pretty useless in regard to latin:
"He says these things ought to be despised, not to not having them, but not to worried about having".
Might anyone be able to translate that one for me, either in English or German?
Sentence 3 wouldn't hurt as well, just for the sake of comparison.
Thanks guys.
€: Also, not sure if that guy is a total douchebag or kind of cool.
On the one hand, he seems kind of progressive about slavery, but then again he was filthy rich, had slaves themselves and didn't quite live the "Stoa" at all...
