Ep. 10.116.1Quī virīlem togam sūmunt vel nūptiās faciunt vel ineunt magistrātum vel opus pūblicum dēdicant, solent tōtam būlēn atque etiam ē plēbe nōn exiguum numerum vocāre bīnōsque dēnāriōs vel singulōs dare.Those who take the toga of manhood or marry or enter upon a magistracy or dedicate a public work usually invite the whole council and even a considerable number from the common people, and give each two denarii or one. Ep. 10.116.1Quod an celebrandum et quātenus putēs, rogō scrībās.I ask you to write whether you think this should be practised, and to what extent. Ep. 10.116.2Ipse enim, sīcut arbitror, praesertim ex sollemnibus causīs, concēdendum iūs istud invītātiōnis, ita vereor nē iī quī mīlle hominēs, interdum etiam plūrēs vocant, modum excēdere et in speciem incidere videantur videantur.For my own part, while I think that this right of invitation should be allowed, especially on ceremonial occasions, I fear that those who invite a thousand people, and sometimes even more, may seem to exceed due measure and to fall into the category of a public dole.
Lectitō › Pliny the Younger › Letters, Book 10 › Pliny, Letter 10.116
Pliny · Epistulae X
Pliny, Letter 10.116
Mass invitations and handouts
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Read in LectitōGrammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×2, indirect statement ×1
Latin vocabulary for this passage (60 words)
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| virīlis, -e | of a man, male; n. pl. as noun: a man's private parts |
| toga, -ae f. | toga, the Roman citizen's garment of peace |
| sūmō, sūmere, sūmpsī, sūmptus | take under or up, take; poenam sūmere, to exact or inflict punishment |
| vel | or; vel … vel: either … or |
| nūptiae, -ārum f. pl. | wedding, marriage |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| ineō, -īre, -iī, -itus | go into, enter; adopt |
| magistrātus, -ūs m. | magistrate, official |
| opus, operis, n. | work, task |
| pūblicus, -a, -um | public, of the state (rēs pūblica: the state) |
| dēdicō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | dedicate, consecrate |
| soleō, -ēre, solitus sum | be accustomed, usually do |
| tōtus, -a, -um | all the, the whole or entire |
| bulē, -ēs f. | council (of a Greek city), city senate |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| etiam, adv. | and now, also, too, even |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| plēbs, plēbis f. | the common people |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| exiguus, -a, -um | small, scanty, short |
| numerus, -ī, m. | number |
| vocō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | call, summon |
| bīnī, -ae, -a | two each, two at a time |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| dēnārius, -ī m. | denarius, a silver coin, about a day's wage for a labourer |
| singulī, -ae, -a | one at a time, single |
| dō, dare, dedī, datus | give |
| an, conj. | or (in questions) |
| celebrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | throng; keep (a festival), celebrate |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| quātenus (adv.) | how far, to what extent |
| putō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | think |
| rogō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | ask |
| scrībō, scrībere, scrīpsī, scrīptus | write |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| enim, conj. | for |
| sīcut (conj.) | just as |
| arbitror, -ārī, -ātus | consider, think, judge |
| praesertim (adv.) | especially |
| sollemnis, -e | solemn, ritual, customary |
| causa, -ae, f. | cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of |
| concēdō, -cēdere, -cessī, -cessus | grant, yield |
| iūs, iūris, n. | right, justice, law; iūs dīcere, to pronounce judgment; iūs iūrandum, iūris iūrandī, oath |
| iste, ista, istud, dem. pron. | that of yours, that |
| invītātiō, -ōnis f. | invitation |
| ita, adv. | in this manner, thus, so; ita ut, as |
| vereor, -ērī, -itus | fear |
| nē, adv. | not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| mīlle, indecl. adj. | a thousand; mīlia, -ium, n. plur., thousands; |
| homō, hominis, m. | man |
| interdum (adv.) | sometimes |
| plūrēs, -a, plur. adj. | more, many, several |
| modus, -ī, m. | way, manner |
| excēdō, -cēdere, -cessī, -cessus | go out or forth, depart |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| speciēs, -ēī, f. | sight, appearance, shape |
| incidō, -cidere, -cidī | fall into or upon |
| videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus | see; pass., seem |
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.