Ep. 1.11.1Ōlim mihi nūllās epistulās mittis.For a long time now you have sent me no letters. Ep. 1.11.1Nihil est, inquis, quod scrībam.There is nothing, you say, for me to write. Ep. 1.11.1At hoc ipsum scrībe, nihil esse quod scrībās, vel sōlum illud unde incipere priōrēs solēbant: "Sī valēs, bene est;Then write just this, that there is nothing for you to write, or only that phrase with which our forefathers used to begin: 'If you are well, that is good; Ep. 1.11.1ego valeō."I am well.' Ep. 1.11.2Hoc mihi sufficit;That is enough for me; Ep. 1.11.2est enim maximum.for it is the greatest thing. Ep. 1.11.2Lūdere mē putās?Do you think I am joking? Ep. 1.11.2sēriō petō.I ask in earnest. Ep. 1.11.2Fac sciam quid agās, quod sine sollicitūdine summā nescīre nōn possum.Let me know what you are doing, for I cannot be ignorant of it without the greatest anxiety. Ep. 1.11.2Valē.Farewell.
Lectitō › Pliny the Younger › Letters, Book 1 › Pliny, Letter 1.11
Pliny · Epistulae I
Pliny, Letter 1.11
A plea for a letter
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Read in LectitōGrammar in this passage: indirect statement ×1
Latin vocabulary for this passage (40 words)
| ōlim, adv. | once upon a time, once, formerly, of old |
| ego, meī, pers. pron. | I |
| nūllus, -a, -um | not any, none, no |
| epistula, -ae f. | letter |
| mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus | send |
| nihil, n., indecl. | nothing |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| inquam, inquis, inquit, defective verb | I say, you say, he says |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| scrībō, scrībere, scrīpsī, scrīptus | write |
| at, conj. | but |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| vel | or; vel … vel: either … or |
| sōlum (adv.); solum, -ī n. | only (nōn sōlum … sed etiam: not only … but also); ground, soil |
| ille, illa, illud, dem. pron. | that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc |
| unde, adv. | whence |
| incipiō, -ere, incēpī, inceptum | begin |
| prior, prius | earlier, former; in front (priōrēs: those in front) |
| soleō, -ēre, solitus sum | be accustomed, usually do |
| sī, conj. | if |
| valeō, -ēre, -uī, -itūrus | be strong or effectual, have effect, prevail |
| bene, adv. | well; successfully |
| sufficiō, -ere, -fēcī, -fectus | be enough, hold out; supply |
| enim, conj. | for |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| lūdō, -ere, lūsī, lūsum | play; mock, deceive |
| putō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | think |
| sēriō (adv.) | seriously, in earnest |
| petō, -ere, -īvī or -iī, -ītus | seek, ask; attack |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| sciō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus | know |
| quis, quid, interrog. pron. | who? which? what? |
| agō, agere, ēgī, āctus | drive; do; pass, lead; grātiās agere, see grātia |
| sine, prep. with abl. | without |
| sollicitūdō, -tūdinis, f. | anxiety, care, apprehension |
| summus, -a, -um | uppermost, highest, greatest |
| nesciō, -scīre, -scīvī | not know, be ignorant; nesciō quis, I know not who, some one or other (nesciō is thus used with other interrogative words also) |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |
Pliny, Epistulae I. Latin text: the Perseus digital text of Pliny's Letters, 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.