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Pliny · Epistulae I

Pliny, Letter 1.24

A small estate for Tranquillus

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Ep. 1.24.1Tranquillus contubernālis meus vult emere agellum, quem venditāre amīcus tuus dīcitur.My friend Tranquillus wants to buy a small estate which a friend of yours is said to be offering for sale. Ep. 1.24.2Rogō cūrēs, quantī aequum est emat;I ask you to see that he buys it at a fair price; Ep. 1.24.2ita enim dēlectābit ēmisse.for in that way he will be glad to have bought it. Ep. 1.24.2Nam mala ēmptiō semper ingrāta, eō maximē quod exprobrāre stultitiam dominō vidētur.For a bad purchase is always disagreeable, most of all because it seems to reproach its owner with his folly. Ep. 1.24.3In hōc autem agellō, sī modo arrīserit pretium, Tranquillī meī stomachum multa sollicitant, vīcīnitās urbis, opportūnitās viae, mediocritās vīllae, modus rūris, quī āvocet magis quam distringat.In this small estate, moreover, if only the price smiles on him, many things whet my Tranquillus' appetite: the nearness of the city, the convenience of the road, the modest size of the house, the extent of the land, which is enough to divert him rather than to occupy him.

Ep. 1.24.4Scholasticīs porrō dominīs, ut hic est, sufficit abundē tantum sōlī, ut relevāre caput, reficere oculōs, rēptāre per līmitem ūnamque sēmitam terere omnēsque vīteculās suās nōsse et numerāre arbusculās possint.For scholarly owners, such as he is, it is more than enough to have just so much soil that they can rest their head, refresh their eyes, stroll along the boundary, tread one single path, know all their little vines and count their little trees. Ep. 1.24.4Haec tibi exposuī, quō magis scīrēs, quantum esset ille mihi ego tibi dēbitūrus, sī praediolum istud, quod commendātur hīs dōtibus, tam salūbriter ēmerit ut paenitentiae locum nōn relinquat.I have set this out to you so that you may know the better how much he will owe me and I you, if he buys that little property, which is recommended by these advantages, on such good terms that it leaves no room for regret. Ep. 1.24.4Valē.Farewell.

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Grammar in this passage: indirect statement ×1, purpose clauses ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (98 words)
tranquillus, -a, -umcalm
contubernālis, -is m.tent-mate, comrade; companion who shares one's house
meus, -a, -ummy, mine
volō, velle, voluīwish
emō, -ere, ēmī, ēmptumbuy
agellus, -ī m.small field, little farm
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.who, which
venditō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusoffer for sale, peddle; cry up
amīcus, -ī, m.friend
tuus, -a, -umthy, thine, your
dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictussay, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day
rogō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusask
cūrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātumtake care of; (+ gerundive) have something done
quantus, -a, -umhow great or much?
aequus, -a, -umlevel; equal; fair
sum, esse, fuī, futūrusbe
ita, adv.in this manner, thus, so; ita ut, as
enim, conj.for
dēlectō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusplease, delight; passive: enjoy, take pleasure in
nam, conj.for
malus, -a, -umbad
ēmptiō, -ōnis f.purchase, buying; thing bought
semper, adv.always
ingrātus, -a, -umunwelcome, unpleasant; ungrateful
eō (adv.)to that place, thither; to that point (usque eō); (with comparatives) by so much, all the (more)
maximē, adv.very greatly, exceedingly, especially
quod, conj.that, in that, because
exprobrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusreproach, rebuke, blame (someone) for
stultitia, -ae f.folly, foolishness
dominus, -ī m.master, owner
videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsussee; pass., seem
in, prep. with acc. and abl.with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
autem, conj.moreover; but, however; now
sī, conj.if
modo, adv.only
arrīdeō (adrīdeō), -ēre, -rīsī, -rīsussmile at, smile
pretium, -ī, n.price, charge
stomachus, -ī m.gullet, windpipe; stomach
multus, -a, -ummuch, great; plur., many
sollicitō, -āre, -āvī, -ātumstir up, tempt
vīcīnitās, -ātis f.neighborhood; the people living nearby
urbs, urbis, f.city
opportūnitās, -ātis f.advantage, favourable feature
via, -ae, f.road, way
mediocritās, -ātis f.the middle course, moderation, the mean
vīlla, -ae, f.country-house, villa
modus, -ī, m.way, manner
rūs, rūris n.the country, countryside; (pl.) fields
āvocō, -āre, -āvī, -ātuscall away, divert
magis, comp. adv.more, rather
quam, adv.how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
distringō, -ere, -strīnxī, -strictusstretch apart; keep busy, distract
scholasticus, -a, -umof the schools (of rhetoric); (as noun) student or teacher of declamation
porrō (adv.)further on; moreover
ut, conj.as; when; that; ita ut, as
sufficiō, -ere, -fēcī, -fectusbe enough, hold out; supply
abundē (adv.)in plenty, more than enough
tantum, adv.so much or far, only
sōlum (adv.); solum, -ī n.only (nōn sōlum … sed etiam: not only … but also); ground, soil
relevō, -āre, -āvī, -ātuslift up; lighten, relieve
caput, capitis, n.head
reficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectusmake anew, renew, repair
oculus, -ī, m.eye
rēptō, -āre, -āvīcreep, crawl
per, prep, with ace.through, by means of
līmes, -itis m.path, track; boundary
ūnus, -a, -umone; only, alone
que, enclitic conj.and
sēmita, -ae f.path, track
terō, -ere, trīvī, trītusrub, wear away; tempus terere: waste time
omnis, -eall, every
vītecula, -ae f.little vine
suus, -a, -umhis, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
nōscō, -ere, nōvī, nōtumget to know (perf. nōvī: know)
et, conj.and; et ... et, both ... and
numerō (adv.)in number (saepe numerō: very often)
arbuscula, -ae f.little tree, shrub, sapling
possum, posse, potuībe able, have power, can
tū, tuī, pers. pron.thou, you
expōnō, -pōnere, -posuī, -positusput out, set forth; put on shore, land; explain
quō, adv.to what place? whither? to which place, whither; for which reason, wherefore, therefore; quō ūsque, till when? how long?
sciō, -īre, -īvī, -ītusknow
quantum, adv.how much? how?
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
ego, meī, pers. pron.I
dēbeō, -ēre, -uī, -itusowe; with infin., ought
praediolum, -ī n.small estate
iste, ista, istud, dem. pron.that of yours, that
commendō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusentrust, commit; recommend
dōs, dōtis f.dowry
tam, adv.so
salūbriter (adv.)healthily; beneficially, usefully
paenitentia, -ae f.repentance, change of heart
locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n.place, situation
nōn, adv.not
relinquō, -linquere, -līquī, -lictusleave behind, leave
valeō, -ēre, -uī, -itūrusbe 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.