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Pliny · Epistulae X

Pliny, Letter 10.114

Councillors from other cities

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Ep. 10.114.1Lēge, domine, Pompeiā permissum Bithynicīs cīvitātibus ascrībere sibi quōs vellent cīvēs, dum nē quem eārum cīvitātium, quae sunt in Bīthȳniā.By the Pompeian law, sir, the Bithynian cities are permitted to enrol as their citizens whomever they wish, provided they enrol no one belonging to those cities which are in Bithynia. Ep. 10.114.1Eādem lēge sancītur, quibus dē causīs ē senātū ā cēnsōribus ēiciantur.The same law lays down for what reasons people may be expelled from the senate by the censors. Ep. 10.114.2Inde mē quīdam ex cēnsōribus cōnsulendum putāvērunt, an ēicere dēbērent eum quī esset alterīus cīvitātis.Hence some of the censors thought they should consult me whether they ought to expel a man who was a citizen of another city. Ep. 10.114.3Ego quia lēx sīcut ascrībī cīvem aliēnum vetābat, ita ēicī ē senātū ob hanc causam nōn iubēbat, praetereā, quod affirmābātur mihi in omnī cīvitāte plūrimōs esse būleutās ex aliīs cīvitātibus, futūrumque ut multī hominēs multaeque cīvitātēs concuterentur eā parte lēgis, quae iam prīdem cōnsēnsū quōdam exolēvisset, necessārium exīstimāvī cōnsulere tē, quid servandum putārēs.Since the law, while it forbade the enrolling of a citizen of another city, did not order expulsion from the senate for this reason, and since, moreover, I was assured that in every city there were a great many councillors from other cities, and that many men and many cities would be thrown into disorder by that part of the law which had long since fallen into disuse by a kind of general consent, I thought it necessary to consult you on what you thought should be observed.

Ep. 10.114.3Capita lēgis hīs litterīs subiēcī.I have appended to this letter the chapters of the law.

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Grammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×2, indirect statement ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (67 words)
lēx, lēgis f.law
dominus, -ī m.master, owner
permittō, -ere, -mīsī, -missumallow, permit; entrust
Bithynicus, -a, -umBithynian
cīvitās, -tātis, f.state
ascrībō (adscrībō), -ere, -scrīpsī, -scrīptusadd in writing; enrol, register (as a citizen)
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.himself, herself, itself, themselves
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.who, which
volō, velle, voluīwish
cīvis, -is, m. and f.citizen, fellow-citizen, subject
dum, conj.while, as; as long as; until
nē, adv.not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest
quis, qua, quid, indef. pron.any one, anybody, anything, some one, somebody, something
is, ea, id, dem. pron.this, that; he, she, it, they
sum, esse, fuī, futūrusbe
in, prep. with acc. and abl.with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron.the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also
sanciō, -īre, sānxī, sānctummake binding, ratify
quī, quae, quod, interrog. pron. adj.what?
dē, prep, with abl.down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of
causa, -ae, f.cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
senātus, -ūs m.senate
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
cēnsor, -ōris m.censor, the magistrate who kept the citizen and senate rolls and could expel unworthy senators
ēiciō, -ere, -iēcī, -iectusthrow out; sē ēicere: rush out
inde (adv.)from there; then
ego, meī, pers. pron.I
quīdam, quaedam, quoddam, indef. pron.a certain, certain
cōnsulō, -ere, -uī, -tusconsult
putō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusthink
an, conj.or (in questions)
dēbeō, -ēre, -uī, -itusowe; with infin., ought
alter, -era, -erumone or the other (of two); another, second
quia (conj.)because
sīcut (conj.)just as
aliēnus, -a, -umbelonging to another, out of place
vetō, -āre, vetuī, vetitumforbid
ita, adv.in this manner, thus, so; ita ut, as
ob, prep. with acc.on account of, for; in compounds, to, against
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
nōn, adv.not
iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussusbid, order, command
praetereā, adv.besides this, besides, moreover
quod, conj.that, in that, because
affirmō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusassert, declare firmly
omnis, -eall, every
multus, -a, -ummuch, great; plur., many
būleuta, -ae m.councillor, member of a Greek city council
alius, -a, -udanother, other; aliī ... aliī, some ... others
que, enclitic conj.and
ut, conj.as; when; that; ita ut, as
homō, hominis, m.man
concutiō, -ere, -cussī, -cussusshake violently; shake, weaken
pars, partis, f.part, side, direction
iam, adv.now, already
prīdem (adv.)long ago; iam prīdem: long since
cōnsēnsus, -ūs, m.agreement, consent
exolēscō, -ere, -olēvī, -olētusgrow out of use, fade away, be forgotten
necessārius, -a, -um; as noun, -ī m.necessary, critical; (noun) close friend, relative
exīstimō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusconsider, believe, think
tū, tuī, pers. pron.thou, you
quis, quid, interrog. pron.who? which? what?
servō, -āre, -āvī, -ātussave, preserve
caput, capitis, n.head
litterae, -ārum f. pl.letters (of the alphabet); a letter, dispatch
subiciō, -icere, -iēcī, -iectusthrow or place under
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.