Ep. 10.20.1Nihil opus sit, mī Secunde cārissime, ad continendās custōdiās plūrēs commīlitōnēs convertī.There should be no need, my dearest Secundus, for more fellow-soldiers to be diverted to guarding prisoners. Ep. 10.20.1Persevērēmus in eā cōnsuētūdine quae istī prōvinciae est, ut per pūblicōs servōs custōdiantur.Let us keep to the custom of that province, that they be guarded by public slaves. Ep. 10.20.2Etenim, ut fidēliter hoc faciant, in tuā sevēritāte ac dīligentiā positum est.For it rests on your strictness and diligence that they do this faithfully. Ep. 10.20.2In prīmīs enim, sīcut scrībis, verendum est, nē, sī permisceantur servīs pūblicīs mīlitēs, mūtuā inter sē fīdūciā neglegentiōrēs sint;Above all, as you write, it is to be feared that if soldiers are mixed with the public slaves, they will become more negligent through relying on one another; Ep. 10.20.2sed et illud haereat nōbīs, quam paucissimōs ā signīs āvocandōs esse.but let us also keep fixed in mind that as few as possible should be called away from the standards.
Lectitō › Pliny the Younger › Letters, Book 10 › Pliny, Letter 10.20
Pliny · Epistulae X
Pliny, Letter 10.20
Trajan keeps public slaves as guards
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Read in LectitōGrammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×3, purpose clauses ×1
Latin vocabulary for this passage (56 words)
| nihil, n., indecl. | nothing |
| opus, operis, n. | work, task |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| meus, -a, -um | my, mine |
| cārus, -a, -um | dear, precious |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| contineō, -tinēre, -tinuī, -tentus | hold together, keep within, shut up in; bound |
| custōdia, -ae f. | guard, protection |
| plūrēs, -a, plur. adj. | more, many, several |
| commīlitō, -ōnis m. | fellow soldier, comrade |
| convertō, -vertere, -vertī, -versus | turn round, turn, change; in fugam convertere, to put to flight |
| persevērō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | persist |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| cōnsuētūdō, -inis f. | custom, habit; way of life |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| iste, ista, istud, dem. pron. | that of yours, that |
| prōvincia, -ae f. | province; here, the Roman Province in southern Gaul |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| per, prep, with ace. | through, by means of |
| pūblicus, -a, -um | public, of the state (rēs pūblica: the state) |
| servus, -ī, m. | slave, servant |
| custōdiō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus | guard |
| etenim (conj.) | for indeed, and in fact |
| fidēliter, adv. | faithfully, loyally |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| tuus, -a, -um | thy, thine, your |
| sevēritās, -ātis f. | strictness, severity |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| dīligentia, -ae, f. | care, diligence, industry |
| pōnō, pōnere, posuī, positus | place, put; pōnī with in and abl., to be placed in, rest or depend on |
| prīmus, -a, -um | first, foremost |
| enim, conj. | for |
| sīcut (conj.) | just as |
| scrībō, scrībere, scrīpsī, scrīptus | write |
| vereor, -ērī, -itus | fear |
| nē, adv. | not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest |
| sī, conj. | if |
| permisceō, -miscēre, -miscuī, -mixtus | mix together, mingle |
| mīles, mīlitis, m. | soldier |
| mūtuus, -a, -um | borrowed, lent; mutual (pecūnia mūtua: a loan) |
| inter, prep, with acc. | among, between |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| fīdūcia, -ae f. | confidence, trust, reliance |
| neglegēns, -entis | careless, negligent |
| sed, conj. | but |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| ille, illa, illud, dem. pron. | that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc |
| haereō, haerēre, haesī, haesūrus | stick; hesitate |
| nōs | plur. of ego |
| quam, adv. | how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible |
| paucī, -ae, -a, plur. adj. | few |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| signum, -ī, n. | sign, signal |
| āvocō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | call away, divert |
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.