Ep. 10.13.1Cum sciam, domine, ad testimōnium laudemque mōrum meōrum pertinēre tam bonī prīncipis iūdiciō exōrnārī, rogō dignitātī, ad quam mē prōvexit indulgentia tua, vel augurātum vel septemvirātum, quia vacant adicere dignēris, ut iūre sacerdōtiī precārī deōs prō tē pūblicē possim, quōs nunc precor pietāte prīvātā.Since I know, my lord, that it contributes to the testimony and praise of my character to be honoured by the judgement of so good an emperor, I ask that you deign to add to the rank to which your indulgence has advanced me either an augurship or a place among the Septemviri, since both are vacant, so that by right of priesthood I may pray publicly for you to the gods to whom I now pray in private devotion.
Lectitō › Pliny the Younger › Letters, Book 10 › Pliny, Letter 10.13
Pliny · Epistulae X
Pliny, Letter 10.13
Pliny asks for a priesthood
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Read in LectitōGrammar in this passage: indirect statement ×1
Latin vocabulary for this passage (41 words)
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| sciō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus | know |
| dominus, -ī m. | master, owner |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| testimōnium, -ī n. | evidence, proof |
| laus, laudis f. | praise, glory |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| mōs, mōris, m. | way, manner, habit, custom |
| meus, -a, -um | my, mine |
| pertineō, -ēre, -uī | extend, reach; tend toward, concern |
| tam, adv. | so |
| bonus, -a, -um | good |
| prīnceps, -ipis | first, chief; as noun: leader |
| iūdicium, -ī n. | trial, court; judgment |
| exōrnō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | equip, furnish; adorn |
| rogō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | ask |
| dignitās, -ātis f. | rank, standing, prestige |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| ego, meī, pers. pron. | I |
| prōvehō, -vehere, -vexī, -vectus | carry forward |
| indulgentia, -ae f. | kindness, indulgence, favour |
| tuus, -a, -um | thy, thine, your |
| vel | or; vel … vel: either … or |
| augurātus, -ūs m. | office of augur, augurship |
| septemvirātus, -ūs m. | office of septemvir (one of a board of seven, e.g. priests or land commissioners) |
| quia (conj.) | because |
| vacō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | be empty, be unoccupied |
| adiciō, -icere, -iēcī, -iectus | throw to, throw, hurl |
| dignor, -ārī, -ātus sum | think worthy of (+ abl.) |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| iūs, iūris, n. | right, justice, law; iūs dīcere, to pronounce judgment; iūs iūrandum, iūris iūrandī, oath |
| sacerdōtium, -ī n. | priesthood |
| precor, -ārī, -ātus sum | pray, beg |
| deus, -ī, m. | god |
| prō, prep. with abl. | before, in front of; for, in behalf of; for, as; in return for, for |
| tū, tuī, pers. pron. | thou, you |
| pūblicē (adv.) | officially, as a state |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |
| nunc, adv. | now |
| pietās, -ātis f. | dutifulness, devotion to family and gods |
| prīvātus, -a, -um | private |
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.