Ep. 10.30.1Secundum mandāta mea fēcit Semprōnius Caeliānus mittendō ad tē eōs, dē quibus cognōscī oportēbit, an capitāle supplicium meruisse videantur.Sempronius Caelianus acted in accordance with my instructions in sending to you those about whom it will have to be determined whether they appear to have deserved capital punishment. Ep. 10.30.1Rēfert autem, voluntāriī sē obtulerint an lēctī sint vel etiam vicāriī datī.It matters, however, whether they offered themselves as volunteers, or were chosen by levy, or were even supplied as substitutes. Ep. 10.30.2Lēctī sī sunt, inquīsītiō peccāvit;If they were chosen, the inquiry was at fault; Ep. 10.30.2sī vicāriī datī, penes eōs culpa est quī dedērunt;if they were supplied as substitutes, the blame lies with those who supplied them; Ep. 10.30.2sī ipsī, cum habērent condiciōnis suae cōnscientiam, vēnērunt, animadvertendum in illōs erit.if they came of their own accord, though aware of their status, they will have to be punished. Ep. 10.30.2Neque enim multum interest, quod nōndum per numerōs distribūtī sunt.For it makes little difference that they have not yet been assigned to units. Ep. 10.30.2Ille enim diēs, quō prīmum probātī sunt, vēritātem ab iīs orīginis suae exēgit.The very day on which they were first approved demanded from them the truth about their origin.
Lectitō › Pliny the Younger › Letters, Book 10 › Pliny, Letter 10.30
Pliny · Epistulae X
Pliny, Letter 10.30
Trajan on the slave recruits
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Read in LectitōGrammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×2, indirect statement ×1
Latin vocabulary for this passage (59 words)
| secundum (prep. + acc.) | after, besides; along |
| mandātum, -ī n. | order, instruction, message |
| meus, -a, -um | my, mine |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus | send |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| tū, tuī, pers. pron. | thou, you |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| dē, prep, with abl. | down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| cognōscō, -gnōscere, -gnōvī, -gnitus | find out, learn; in tenses of completed action, have found out, know |
| oportet, -ēre, oportuit (impersonal) | it is right, it is necessary |
| an, conj. | or (in questions) |
| capitālis, -e | deadly; involving death |
| supplicium, -ī, n. | punishment, torture |
| mereō, -ēre, meruī, meritus | deserve, earn |
| videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus | see; pass., seem |
| rēfert, rēferre, rētulit (impers.) | it matters, it is of importance |
| autem, conj. | moreover; but, however; now |
| voluntārius, -a, -um | willing; (m. pl. as noun) volunteers |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| offerō, offerre, obtulī, oblātus | bear to, proffer, offer |
| legō, legere, lēgī, lēctus | choose, pick out; read |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| vel | or; vel … vel: either … or |
| etiam, adv. | and now, also, too, even |
| vicārius, -ī m. | substitute, deputy, successor |
| dō, dare, dedī, datus | give |
| sī, conj. | if |
| inquīsītiō, -ōnis f. | search, investigation, inquiry |
| peccō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | do wrong |
| penes (prep. + acc.) | in the hands of, in the power of |
| culpa, -ae f. | fault, blame |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | have, hold; consider |
| condiciō, -ōnis f. | terms; condition, status |
| suus, -a, -um | his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their |
| cōnscientia, -ae f. | awareness; consciousness of guilt, guilty conscience |
| veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus | come |
| animadvertō, -vertere, -vertī, -versus | turn the mind to, observe |
| 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 |
| neque or nec, conj. | and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not |
| enim, conj. | for |
| multum, -ī, n. | much |
| intersum, -esse, -fuī, -futūrus | be or lie between |
| quod, conj. | that, in that, because |
| nōndum, adv. | not yet |
| per, prep, with ace. | through, by means of |
| numerus, -ī, m. | number |
| distribuō, -ere, -tribuī, -tribūtum | divide up, distribute |
| diēs, -ēī, m. and f. | day |
| prīmum, adv. | first, in the first place |
| probō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | prove, show; approve |
| vēritās, -ātis f. | truth |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| orīgō, -inis f. | origin, beginning, source; ancestry |
| exigō, -ere, -ēgī, -āctum | drive out; finish, spend (a season) |
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.