Ep. 10.111.1Sīcut largītiōnēs ex pūblicō fierī mandāta prohibent, ita, nē multōrum sēcūritās subruātur, factās ante aliquantum temporis retractārī atque in irritum vindicārī nōn oportet.Just as my instructions forbid grants to be made from public funds, so, in order that the security of many may not be undermined, those made some considerable time ago should not be reopened and declared void. Ep. 10.111.1Quidquid ergō ex hāc causā āctum ante vīgintī annōs erit, omittāmus.Let us, therefore, leave aside whatever was done in this matter twenty years ago. Ep. 10.111.1Nōn minus enim hominibus cuiusque locī quam pecūniae pūblicae cōnsultum volō.For I wish the people of each place to be provided for no less than the public funds.
Lectitō › Pliny the Younger › Letters, Book 10 › Pliny, Letter 10.111
Pliny · Epistulae X
Pliny, Letter 10.111
Trajan lets old grants stand
Read the Latin itself: tap any word for its meaning and grammar, save words to review, and keep your place.
Read in LectitōLatin vocabulary for this passage (42 words)
| sīcut (conj.) | just as |
| largītiō, -ōnis f. | lavish giving, bribery |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| pūblicum, -ī n. | open street, public place |
| fīō, fierī, factus sum | be done or made, become, happen |
| mandātum, -ī n. | order, instruction, message |
| prohibeō, -hibēre, -hibuī, -hibitus | hold back, prevent, hinder |
| ita, adv. | in this manner, thus, so; ita ut, as |
| nē, adv. | not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest |
| multus, -a, -um | much, great; plur., many |
| sēcūritās, -ātis f. | freedom from care, composure |
| subruō, -ere, -ruī, -rutum | undermine, dig under |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| ante, prep, with acc. and adv. | before |
| aliquantus, -a, -um | some, a fair amount (aliquantum itineris: some way) |
| tempus, temporis, n. | time, season |
| retractō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | handle again, touch again |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| irritus, -a, -um | invalid, of no effect; irritum facere: make void, cancel |
| vindicō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | punish; claim |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| oportet, -ēre, oportuit (impersonal) | it is right, it is necessary |
| quisquis, quidquid (quicquid) | whoever, whatever |
| ergō (adv.) | therefore, then; quid ergō? what then? |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| causa, -ae, f. | cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of |
| agō, agere, ēgī, āctus | drive; do; pass, lead; grātiās agere, see grātia |
| vīgintī, indecl. adj. | twenty |
| annus, -ī, m. | year |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| omittō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missus | let go, neglect, disregard, throw away, lose |
| minus, comp. adv. | less |
| enim, conj. | for |
| homō, hominis, m. | man |
| quisque, quaeque, quidque, indef. pron. | each |
| locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n. | place, situation |
| quam, adv. | how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible |
| pecūnia, -ae, f. | money (the possession of cattle constituting wealth in early times) |
| pūblicus, -a, -um | public, of the state (rēs pūblica: the state) |
| cōnsulō, -ere, -uī, -tus | consult |
| volō, velle, voluī | wish |
Pliny, Epistulae X. 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.