Horace, Epistles 1.4

Advice to Albius

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Epist. 1.4.1Albī, nostrōrum sermōnum candide iūdex,
quid nunc tē dīcam facere in regiōne Pedānā?Albius, honest critic of my satires, what am I to say you are doing now in the region of Pedum? Epist. 1.4.3Scrībere quod Cassī Parmēnsis opuscula vincat,
an tacitum silvās inter rēptāre salūbrīs,
5cūrantem quidquid dignum sapiente bonōque est?Writing something to outdo the little works of Cassius of Parma, or creeping silently among the healthful woods, caring for whatever is worthy of a wise and good man? Epist. 1.4.6Nōn tū corpus erās sine pectore: dī tibi fōrmam,
dī tibi dīvitiās dedērunt artemque fruendī.You were never a body without a heart: the gods gave you beauty, the gods gave you riches and the art of enjoying them. Epist. 1.4.8Quid voveat dulcī nūtrīcula maius alumnō,
quī sapere et fārī possit quae sentiat, et cui
10grātia, fāma, valētūdō contingat abundē,
et mundus vīctus nōn dēficiente crumīnā?What greater thing could a nurse pray for her sweet charge than that he be able to be wise and to speak what he feels, and that favour, fame and health should come to him abundantly, and a decent table with a purse that never runs dry?

Epist. 1.4.12Inter spem cūramque, timōrēs inter et īrās
omnem crēde diem tibi dīlūxisse suprēmum,
grāta superveniet, quae nōn spērābitur hōra.Amid hope and anxiety, amid fears and angers, believe that every day that has dawned for you is your last; the hour which is not hoped for will come as welcome. Epist. 1.4.15Mē pinguem et nitidum bene cūrātā cute vīsēs,
cum rīdēre volēs, Epicūrī dē grege porcum.As for me, when you want a laugh, you will come and find me fat and sleek with well-tended skin, a pig from Epicurus' herd.

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Grammar in this passage: indirect statement ×3, gerunds and gerundives ×1, ablative absolute ×2

Latin vocabulary for this passage (83 words)

noster, -tra, -trum	our
sermō, -ōnis, m.	conversation, talk, speech
candidus, -a, -um	shining white, bright
iūdex, iūdicis, m.	judge
quis, quid, interrog. pron.	who? which? what?
nunc, adv.	now
tū, tuī, pers. pron.	thou, you
dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictus	say, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day
faciō, facere, fēcī, factus	make, do; iter facere, see iter
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
regiō, -ōnis, f.	direction; country, region
Pedānus, -a, -um	of Pedum, a town in Latium
scrībō, scrībere, scrīpsī, scrīptus	write
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
opusculum, -ī n.	little work, short piece of writing
vincō, -ere, vīcī, victum	conquer, defeat
an, conj.	or (in questions)
tacitus, -a, -um	silent
silva, -ae, f.	wood, forest
inter, prep, with acc.	among, between
rēptō, -āre, -āvī	creep, crawl
salūber (salūbris), -bris, -bre	healthy, wholesome, beneficial
cūrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	take care of; (+ gerundive) have something done
quisquis, quidquid (quicquid)	whoever, whatever
dignus, -a, -um (+ abl.)	worthy (of), deserving
sapiēns, -entis	wise; as noun, a wise man, a philosopher
bonus, -a, -um	good
que, enclitic conj.	and
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
nōn, adv.	not
corpus, corporis, n.	body
sine, prep. with abl.	without
pectus, pectoris, n.	breast
deus, -ī, m.	god
fōrma, -ae, f.	form, appearance; beauty
dīvitiae, -ārum f. pl.	riches, wealth
dō, dare, dedī, datus	give
ars, artis, f.	art
fruor, -ī, frūctus sum (+ abl.)	enjoy
voveō, -ēre, vōvī, vōtus	vow, promise
dulcis, -e	sweet
nūtrīcula, -ae f.	nurse (affectionate), dear nurse
magnus, -a, -um	large, big, great, mighty; loud
alumnus, -ī m.	foster-child, nursling
sapiō, -ere, -īvī	be wise, have sense
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
for, fārī, fātus sum	speak, say
possum, posse, potuī	be able, have power, can
sentiō, sentīre, sēnsī, sēnsus	perceive, feel
grātia, -ae, f.	favor; gratitude, thanks; plur., thanks; grātiās agere, to give thanks, thank; grātiam referre, to return a favor, show gratitude, requite
fāma, -ae, f.	report, rumor
valētūdō, -inis f.	health, state of health; ill health
contingō, -ere, -tigī, -tāctum	touch, reach
abundē (adv.)	in plenty, more than enough
mundus, -a, -um	clean, pure (of animals fit for sacrifice)
vīctus, -ūs, m.	sustenance, food
dēficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus	fail
crumēna (crumīna), -ae f.	purse, money bag; funds
spēs, speī, f.	hope
cūra, -ae f.	care, concern (cūrae esse: to be a concern)
timor, -ōris, m.	fear
īra, -ae, f.	anger, wrath
omnis, -e	all, every
crēdō, -dere, -didī, -ditus	believe
diēs, -ēī, m. and f.	day
dīlūcēscō, -lūcēscere, -lūxī	grow light, dawn
suprēmus, -a, -um	highest, last
grātus, -a, -um	pleasing, grateful
superveniō, -īre, -vēnī, -ventum	come up, arrive
spērō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	hope
hōra, -ae, f.	hour
ego, meī, pers. pron.	I
pinguis, -e	fat
nitidus, -a, -um	shining, sleek, well-groomed
bene, adv.	well; successfully
cutis, -is f.	skin
vīsō, -ere, vīsī, vīsum	go to see, visit; look at
cum, conj.	when, while, after; since; although
rīdeō, rīdēre, rīsī, rīsus	laugh
volō, velle, voluī	wish
dē, prep, with abl.	down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of
grex, gregis m.	flock, herd; band, gang
porcus, -ī, m.	pig, hog, swine

Horace, Epistles I. Latin text: H. R. Fairclough, Horace: Satires, Epistles and Ars Poetica (Loeb, 1929), public domain; digital text from the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA. Word analysis: drafted by our own tagger (trained on the hand-checked texts on this site), with every doubtful word checked by hand. English translation and section titles: written for this app, each checked against the Latin by a second reader.