Ep. 10.19.1Rogō, domine, cōnsiliō mē regās haesitantem, utrum per pūblicōs cīvitātium servōs, quod ūsque adhūc factum, an per mīlitēs asservāre custōdiās dēbeam.I ask, my lord, that you guide me with your advice in my uncertainty whether I ought to guard the prisoners through the public slaves of the cities, as has been done up to now, or through soldiers. Ep. 10.19.1Vereor enim, nē et per pūblicōs parum fidēliter custōdiantur, et nōn exiguum mīlitum numerum haec cūra distringat.For I fear both that they are guarded too unreliably by the public slaves and that this duty may tie up no small number of soldiers. Ep. 10.19.2Interim pūblicīs servīs paucōs mīlitēs addidī.Meanwhile I have added a few soldiers to the public slaves. Ep. 10.19.2Videō tamen perīculum esse, nē id ipsum utrīsque neglegentiae causa sit, dum commūnem culpam hī in illōs, illī in hōs regerere posse cōnfīdunt.I see, however, that there is a danger that this very thing may be a cause of negligence for both, as these trust they can shift the common blame onto those, and those onto these.
Lectitō › Pliny the Younger › Letters, Book 10 › Pliny, Letter 10.19
Pliny · Epistulae X
Pliny, Letter 10.19
Soldiers or slaves as prison guards?
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Read in LectitōLatin vocabulary for this passage (53 words)
| rogō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | ask |
| dominus, -ī m. | master, owner |
| cōnsilium, -ī, n. | advice; plan, design, purpose; prudence |
| ego, meī, pers. pron. | I |
| regō, -ere, rēxī, rēctum | guide, steer, rule |
| haesitō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | hesitate |
| utrum (conj.) | whether (utrum … an: whether … or) |
| per, prep, with ace. | through, by means of |
| pūblicus, -a, -um | public, of the state (rēs pūblica: the state) |
| cīvitās, -tātis, f. | state |
| servus, -ī, m. | slave, servant |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| ūsque, adv. | all the time; ūsque ad, as far as, until; quō ūsque, see quō |
| adhūc, adv. | to this point, up to this time, yet, still |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| an, conj. | or (in questions) |
| mīles, mīlitis, m. | soldier |
| asservō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | keep, guard, hold in custody |
| custōdia, -ae f. | guard, protection |
| dēbeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | owe; with infin., ought |
| vereor, -ērī, -itus | fear |
| enim, conj. | for |
| nē, adv. | not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| parum (comp. minus, superl. minimē) | too little; minimē: least, not at all |
| fidēliter, adv. | faithfully, loyally |
| custōdiō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus | guard |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| exiguus, -a, -um | small, scanty, short |
| numerus, -ī, m. | number |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| cūra, -ae f. | care, concern (cūrae esse: to be a concern) |
| distringō, -ere, -strīnxī, -strictus | stretch apart; keep busy, distract |
| interim (adv.) | meanwhile |
| paucī, -ae, -a, plur. adj. | few |
| addō, -ere, -didī, -ditus | add, put to |
| videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus | see; pass., seem |
| tamen, adv. | however, yet, nevertheless |
| perīculum, -ī, n. | danger, peril, risk |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| uterque, utraque, utrumque | each, either, both |
| neglegentia, -ae f. | carelessness, neglect |
| causa, -ae, f. | cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of |
| dum, conj. | while, as; as long as; until |
| commūnis, -e | common, shared, public |
| culpa, -ae f. | fault, blame |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| ille, illa, illud, dem. pron. | that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc |
| regerō, -ere, -gessī, -gestus | throw back, carry back; heap back |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |
| cōnfīdō, -ere, cōnfīsus sum | trust, be confident |
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.