Pliny, Letter 1.6

Pliny goes hunting with his tablets

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Ep. 1.6.1Rīdēbis, et licet rīdeās.You will laugh, and you may well laugh. Ep. 1.6.1Ego, ille quem nōstī, aprōs trēs et quidem pulcherrimōs cēpī.I, the man you know, have caught three boars, and very fine ones too. Ep. 1.6.1"Ipse?"'You yourself?' Ep. 1.6.1inquis.you say. Ep. 1.6.1Ipse;I myself; Ep. 1.6.1nōn tamen ut omnīnō ab inertiā meā et quiēte discēderem.yet not so as to depart altogether from my indolence and repose. Ep. 1.6.1Ad rētia sedēbam;I was sitting by the nets; Ep. 1.6.1erat in proximō nōn vēnābulum aut lancea, sed stilus et pugillārēs;close at hand there was no hunting-spear or lance, but a stylus and writing-tablets; Ep. 1.6.1meditābar aliquid ēnotābamque, ut sī manūs vacuās, plēnās tamen cērās reportārem.I was thinking something over and jotting it down, so that if I brought home empty hands, I might at least bring full wax tablets. Ep. 1.6.2Nōn est quod contemnās hoc studendī genus;There is no reason for you to despise this way of studying; Ep. 1.6.2mīrum est ut animus agitātiōne mōtūque corporis excitētur;it is remarkable how the mind is stirred by the activity and movement of the body; Ep. 1.6.2iam undique silvae et sōlitūdō ipsumque illud silentium quod vēnātiōnī datur, magna cōgitātiōnis incitāmenta sunt.moreover the woods all around, and the solitude, and that very silence which is given to hunting, are great incentives to thought.

Ep. 1.6.3Proinde cum vēnābere, licēbit auctōre mē ut pānārium et lagunculam sīc etiam pugillārēs ferās: experiēris nōn Diānam magis montibus quam Minervam inerrāre.So when you go hunting, you will be allowed, on my authority, to take your writing-tablets just as you take your bread-basket and flask: you will find that Minerva roams the mountains no less than Diana. Ep. 1.6.3Valē.Farewell.

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Grammar in this passage: purpose clauses ×2, gerunds and gerundives ×1, ablative absolute ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (81 words)

rīdeō, rīdēre, rīsī, rīsus	laugh
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
licet, -ēre, -uit or -itum est, impers.	is lawful or permitted
ego, meī, pers. pron.	I
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.	that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
nōscō, -ere, nōvī, nōtum	get to know (perf. nōvī: know)
aper, aprī, m.	wild boar
trēs, tria, plur. adj.	three
quidem, adv.	in fact, indeed, certainly; nē ... quidem, not ... even
pulcher, pulchra, pulchrum	beautiful
capiō, capere, cēpī, captus	take, catch, seize; receive, suffer; adopt
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.	self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
inquam, inquis, inquit, defective verb	I say, you say, he says
nōn, adv.	not
tamen, adv.	however, yet, nevertheless
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
omnīnō, adv.	altogether, wholly, entirely
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
inertia, -ae f.	inactivity, idleness, sloth
meus, -a, -um	my, mine
quiēs, quiētis, f.	rest, repose
discēdō, -cēdere, -cessī, -cessus	go apart, withdraw, depart
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
rēte, -is n.	net
sedeō, sedēre, sēdī, sessus	sit
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
proximus, -a, -um	nearest, next
vēnābulum, -ī n.	hunting spear
aut, conj.	or; aut ... aut, either ... or
lancea, -ae f.	lance, spear
sed, conj.	but
stilus, -ī m.	a pointed stake, a caltrop set in the ground against attackers
pugillārēs, -ium m. pl.	writing tablets, notebook
meditor, -ārī, -ātus sum	think over, plan; practise, train for
aliquis, -quid, indef. pron.	someone, any one, something, anything, some, any
ēnotō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	note down, make a note of
que, enclitic conj.	and
sī, conj.	if
manus, -ūs, f.	hand
vacuus, -a, -um	empty
plēnus, -a, -um	full
cēra, -ae f.	wax; a wax-covered writing tablet
reportō, -portāre, -portāvī, -portātus	carry or bring back
quod, conj.	that, in that, because
contemnō, -ere, -tempsī, -temptus	despise, scorn, think little of
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
studeō, -ēre, -uī	be eager, give attention, apply oneself
genus, generis, n.	kind, nature
mīrus, -a, -um	wonderful, strange
animus, -ī, m.	mind; heart; spirit, courage
agitātiō, -ōnis f.	rapid movement, brandishing
mōtus, -ūs m.	motion, movement; uprising
corpus, corporis, n.	body
excitō, -citāre, -citāvī, -citātus	call out, arouse
iam, adv.	now, already
undique, adv.	from or on all sides
silva, -ae, f.	wood, forest
sōlitūdō, -inis f.	loneliness; a wilderness, desert
silentium, -ī n.	silence; silentiō: in silence, quietly
vēnātiō, -ōnis, f.	hunting
dō, dare, dedī, datus	give
magnus, -a, -um	large, big, great, mighty; loud
cōgitātiō, -ōnis f.	thought, reflection; plan, intention
incitāmentum, -ī n.	incentive, spur
proinde (adv.)	therefore, accordingly; so then
cum, conj.	when, while, after; since; although
vēnor, -ārī, -ātus sum	hunt
auctor, -ōris m.	originator, instigator
pānārium, -ī n.	bread-basket
laguncula, -ae f.	small flask, little bottle
sīc, adv.	so, thus
etiam, adv.	and now, also, too, even
ferō, ferre, tulī, lātus	bear, bring
experior, -īrī, expertus sum	try, test, experience
magis, comp. adv.	more, rather
mōns, montis, m.	mountain
quam, adv.	how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
inerrō, -āre, -āvī	wander about in, hover before
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.