Pliny, Letter 10.32

Trajan on the released convicts

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Ep. 10.32.1Meminerīmus idcircō tē in istam prōvinciam missum, quoniam multa in eā ēmendanda appāruerint.Let us remember that you were sent to that province precisely because many things in it appeared to need correcting. Ep. 10.32.1Erit autem vel hoc maximē corrigendum, quod quī damnātī ad poenam erant, nōn modo eā sine auctōre, ut scrībis, līberātī sunt, sed etiam in condiciōnem probōrum ministrōrum retrahuntur.And this above all will need to be corrected: that those who had been condemned to punishment have not only been released from it without authority, as you write, but are even being brought back into the status of respectable servants. Ep. 10.32.2Quī igitur intrā hōs proximōs decem annōs damnātī nec ūllō idōneō auctōre līberātī sunt, hōs oportēbit poenae suae reddī;Those, therefore, who were condemned within these last ten years and released by no proper authority must be returned to their punishment; Ep. 10.32.2sī quī vetustiōrēs invenientur et senēs ante annōs decem damnātī, distribuāmus illōs in ea ministeria, quae nōn longē ā poenā sint.if any older cases are found, old men condemned more than ten years ago, let us assign them to those services which are not far removed from punishment.

Ep. 10.32.2Solent et ad balineum, ad pūrgātiōnēs cloācārum, item mūnītiōnēs viārum et vīcōrum darī.Such men are usually assigned to the bath, to the cleaning of sewers, and likewise to the repair of roads and streets.

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Grammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×2, ablative absolute ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (68 words)

meminī, meminisse	remember
idcircō (adv.)	for that reason
tū, tuī, pers. pron.	thou, you
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
iste, ista, istud, dem. pron.	that of yours, that
prōvincia, -ae f.	province; here, the Roman Province in southern Gaul
mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus	send
quoniam, conj.	since now, since
multus, -a, -um	much, great; plur., many
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
ēmendō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	correct, make good, remove faults
appāreō, -ēre, -uī, -itum	appear, come into view, show oneself
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
autem, conj.	moreover; but, however; now
vel	or; vel … vel: either … or
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
maximē, adv.	very greatly, exceedingly, especially
corrigō, -rigere, -rēxī, -rēctus	straighten, set right, reform
quod, conj.	that, in that, because
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
damnō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	condemn
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
poena, -ae, f.	penalty, punishment
nōn, adv.	not
modo, adv.	only
sine, prep. with abl.	without
auctor, -ōris m.	originator, instigator
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
scrībō, scrībere, scrīpsī, scrīptus	write
līberō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	set free, free, liberate, release
sed, conj.	but
etiam, adv.	and now, also, too, even
condiciō, -ōnis f.	terms; condition, status
probus, -a, -um	good, honest, upright; (of a woman) respectable
minister, -trī m.	servant, attendant, helper
retrahō, -ere, -trāxī, -tractum	drag back
igitur, conj.	therefore
intrā, prep. with acc.	within
proximus, -a, -um	nearest, next
decem, indecl. adj.	ten
annus, -ī, m.	year
neque or nec, conj.	and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
ūllus, -a, -um	any
idōneus, -a, -um	suitable, fit; favorable
oportet, -ēre, oportuit (impersonal)	it is right, it is necessary
suus, -a, -um	his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
reddō, -dere, -didī, -ditus	give back, return, restore; render
sī, conj.	if
quis, qua, quid, indef. pron.	any one, anybody, anything, some one, somebody, something
vetustus, -a, -um	old, ancient, long-established
inveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus	come upon, find
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
senex, senis, m.	old man
ante, prep, with acc. and adv.	before
distribuō, -ere, -tribuī, -tribūtum	divide up, distribute
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.	that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
ministerium, -ī n.	service, office, duty
longē, adv.	far
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
soleō, -ēre, solitus sum	be accustomed, usually do
balineum (balneum), -ī n.	bath, bathroom
pūrgātiō, -ōnis f.	cleansing, purification
cloāca, -ae f.	sewer, drain
item	likewise, also
mūnītiō, -ōnis f.	fortification, defence works
via, -ae, f.	road, way
vīcus, -ī, m.	village
dō, dare, dedī, datus	give

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.