Ep. 10.117.1Meritō verēris, nē in speciem incidat invītātiō quae, et in numerō modum excēdit et quasi per corpora nōn, virītim singulōs ex nōtitiā ad sollemnēs sportulās contrahit contrahit.You rightly fear that an invitation may fall into the category of a public dole when it both exceeds due measure in numbers and brings people together for the ceremonial handouts as it were by whole bodies, and not individually as personal acquaintances. Ep. 10.117.1Sed ego ideō prūdentiam tuam ēlēgī, ut fōrmandīs istīus prōvinciae mōribus ipse moderārēris et ea cōnstituerēs, quae ad perpetuam eius prōvinciae quiētem essent prōfutūra.But I chose your prudence precisely so that you yourself might regulate the shaping of the manners of that province and lay down those things which would contribute to the lasting peace of the province.
Lectitō › Pliny the Younger › Letters, Book 10 › Pliny, Letter 10.117
Pliny · Epistulae X
Pliny, Letter 10.117
Trajan on mass invitations
Read the Latin itself: tap any word for its meaning and grammar, save words to review, and keep your place.
Read in LectitōGrammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×1, purpose clauses ×1
Latin vocabulary for this passage (43 words)
| meritō (adv.) | deservedly, rightly |
| vereor, -ērī, -itus | fear |
| nē, adv. | not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest |
| 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 |
| invītātiō, -ōnis f. | invitation |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| numerus, -ī, m. | number |
| modus, -ī, m. | way, manner |
| excēdō, -cēdere, -cessī, -cessus | go out or forth, depart |
| quasi, conj. | as if |
| per, prep, with ace. | through, by means of |
| corpus, corporis, n. | body |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| virītim (adv.) | man by man, to each individually |
| singulī, -ae, -a | one at a time, single |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| nōtitia, -ae f. | knowledge, acquaintance |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| sollemnis, -e | solemn, ritual, customary |
| sportula, -ae f. | little basket; dole, handout of money or food |
| contrahō, -ere, -trāxī, -trāctum | draw together, collect |
| sed, conj. | but |
| ego, meī, pers. pron. | I |
| ideō (adv.) | for that reason, therefore |
| prūdentia, -ae, f. | prudence |
| tuus, -a, -um | thy, thine, your |
| ēligō, -ere, ēlēgī, ēlēctum | pick out, choose |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| fōrmō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | shape, form, fashion |
| iste, ista, istud, dem. pron. | that of yours, that |
| prōvincia, -ae f. | province; here, the Roman Province in southern Gaul |
| mōs, mōris, m. | way, manner, habit, custom |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| moderor, -ārī, -ātus sum | control, manage, check |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| cōnstituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtus | set together or up; appoint; determine |
| perpetuus, -a, -um | continuous, perpetual; in perpetuum, for all time, forever |
| quiēs, quiētis, f. | rest, repose |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| prōsum, prōdesse, prōfuī | be of advantage, profit, avail, assist |
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.