Pliny, Letter 1.19

A gift to make a knight

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Ep. 1.19.1Mūniceps tū meus et condiscipulus et ab ineunte aetāte contubernālis, pater tuus et mātrī et avunculō meō, mihi etiam quantum aetātis dīversitās passa est, familiāris: magnae et gravēs causae, cūr suscipere augēre dignitātem tuam dēbeam.You are my fellow townsman, my schoolfellow and my companion from early youth; your father was a close friend of my mother and my uncle, and of me too, as far as the difference in age allowed: these are great and serious reasons why I ought to take up and increase your standing. Ep. 1.19.2Esse autem tibi centum mīlium cēnsum, satis indicat quod apud nōs decuriō es.That you have a property qualification of a hundred thousand sesterces is shown well enough by the fact that you are a town councillor among us. Ep. 1.19.2Igitur ut tē nōn decuriōne sōlum vērum etiam equite Rōmānō perfruāmur, offerō tibi ad implendās equestrēs facultātēs trecenta mīlia nummum.So, in order that we may enjoy you not only as a councillor but also as a Roman knight, I offer you three hundred thousand sesterces to make up the equestrian qualification.

Ep. 1.19.3Tē memorem huius mūneris amīcitiae nostrae diūturnitās spondet: ego nē illud quidem admoneō, quod admonēre dēbērem, nisi scīrem sponte factūrum, ut dignitāte ā mē datā quam modestissimē ut ā mē datā ūtāre.The length of our friendship guarantees that you will be mindful of this gift: I do not even give you the advice I ought to give, if I did not know you would act so of your own accord, that you should use the rank given you by me as modestly as befits one given by me. Ep. 1.19.4Nam sollicitius custōdiendus est honor, in quō etiam beneficium amīcī tuendum est.For an honour must be guarded with more care when in it a friend's kindness too must be protected. Ep. 1.19.4Valē.Farewell.

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Grammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×3, purpose clauses ×1, ablative absolute ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (82 words)

mūniceps, -cipis m.	citizen of a municipium, townsman
tū, tuī, pers. pron.	thou, you
meus, -a, -um	my, mine
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
condiscipulus, -ī m.	fellow pupil, fellow disciple
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
ineō, -īre, -iī, -itus	go into, enter; adopt
aetās, -tātis, f.	age
contubernālis, -is m.	tent-mate, comrade; companion who shares one's house
pater, patris, m.	father
tuus, -a, -um	thy, thine, your
māter, mātris, f.	mother
avunculus, -ī m.	uncle (mother's brother)
ego, meī, pers. pron.	I
etiam, adv.	and now, also, too, even
quantum, adv.	how much? how?
dīversitās, -ātis f.	difference, variety; contrast, contradiction
patior, patī, passus, bear	suffer, allow
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
familiāris, -e; as noun, -is m.	of the household (rēs familiāris: private property); friend
magnus, -a, -um	large, big, great, mighty; loud
gravis, -e	heavy; severe, grievous, serious
causa, -ae, f.	cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of
cūr, adv.	why
suscipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus	undertake
augeō, -ēre, auxī, auctum	increase, enlarge
dignitās, -ātis f.	rank, standing, prestige
dēbeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus	owe; with infin., ought
autem, conj.	moreover; but, however; now
centum, indecl. adj.	one hundred
mīlle, indecl. adj.	a thousand; mīlia, -ium, n. plur., thousands;
cēnsus, -ūs m.	count, census
satis, adv.	enough, sufficiently
indīcō, -ere, -dīxī, -dictum	proclaim, call (a meeting)
quod, conj.	that, in that, because
apud, prep, with acc.	among, with
nōs	plur. of ego
decuriō, -ōnis m.	cavalry officer, decurion
igitur, conj.	therefore
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
nōn, adv.	not
sōlum (adv.); solum, -ī n.	only (nōn sōlum … sed etiam: not only … but also); ground, soil
vērum (conj.)	but, but in fact; nōn modo ... vērum etiam: not only ... but also
eques, equitis m.	horseman; (pl.) cavalry
Rōmānus, -a, -um	Roman
perfruor, -fruī, -frūctus sum	enjoy to the full (+ abl.)
offerō, offerre, obtulī, oblātus	bear to, proffer, offer
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
impleō, -ēre, -plēvī, -plētum	fill; fulfil, complete
equester, -tris, -tre	of cavalry
facultās, -tātis, f.	possibility, opportunity, chance, means
trecentī, -ae, -a	three hundred
nummus, -ī, m.	coin
memor, -oris	mindful, remembering (+ gen.)
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
mūnus, mūneris, n.	service, office, duty; present, gift
amīcitia, -ae f.	friendship, alliance
noster, -tra, -trum	our
diūturnitās, -ātis f.	long duration
spondeō, -ēre, spopondī, spōnsus	promise solemnly; stand surety, guarantee (a debt)
nē, adv.	not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.	that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
quidem, adv.	in fact, indeed, certainly; nē ... quidem, not ... even
admoneō, -ēre, -uī, -itus	remind, warn, advise
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
nisi, conj.	if not, unless
sciō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus	know
sponte, f. abl. sing., modified by meā, tuā, suā	of one's own accord, voluntarily
faciō, facere, fēcī, factus	make, do; iter facere, see iter
dō, dare, dedī, datus	give
quam, adv.	how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
modestē, adv.	with restraint, in good order, calmly
ūtor, ūtī, ūsus	use
nam, conj.	for
sollicitē (adv.)	anxiously, carefully, with great care
custōdiō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus	guard
honor, -ōris, m.	honor
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
beneficium, -ī, n.	well-doing, kindness, service, benefit
amīcus, -ī, m.	friend
tueor, -ērī, tuitus sum	watch over, protect, defend
valeō, -ēre, -uī, -itūrus	be strong or effectual, have effect, prevail

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.