Ep. 10.34.1Tibi quidem secundum exempla complūrium in mentem vēnit posse collēgium fabrōrum apud Nīcomēdēnsēs cōnstituī.The idea has occurred to you, following the example of many places, that a guild of workmen could be set up at Nicomedia. Ep. 10.34.1Sed meminerīmus prōvinciam istam et praecipuē eās cīvitātēs eius modī factiōnibus esse vexātās.But let us remember that that province, and especially those cities, have been troubled by factions of this kind. Ep. 10.34.1Quodcumque nōmen ex quācumque causā dederimus iīs, quī in idem contrāctī fuerint, hetaeriae eaeque brevī fīent.Whatever name we give, and for whatever reason, to those who have been brought together for a common purpose, they will become political clubs, and quickly. Ep. 10.34.2Satius itaque est comparārī ea, quae ad coercendōs ignēs auxiliō esse possint, admonērīque dominōs praediōrum, ut et ipsī inhibeant ac, sī rēs poposcerit, accursū populī ad hoc ūtī.It is better, therefore, that the things which can help in checking fires be procured, and that owners of property be urged to put them out themselves and, if the situation demands, to make use of the crowd that runs together for this purpose.
Lectitō › Pliny the Younger › Letters, Book 10 › Pliny, Letter 10.34
Pliny · Epistulae X
Pliny, Letter 10.34
Trajan refuses a workmen's guild
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Read in LectitōGrammar in this passage: indirect statement ×2, gerunds and gerundives ×1
Latin vocabulary for this passage (58 words)
| tū, tuī, pers. pron. | thou, you |
| quidem, adv. | in fact, indeed, certainly; nē ... quidem, not ... even |
| secundum (prep. + acc.) | after, besides; along |
| exemplum, -ī n. | example, precedent |
| complūrēs, -plūra, plur. adj. | several, many |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| mēns, mentis f. | mind, spirit |
| veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus | come |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |
| collēgium (conlēgium), -ī n. | board, body of colleagues |
| faber, fabrī, m. | smith |
| apud, prep, with acc. | among, with |
| cōnstituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtus | set together or up; appoint; determine |
| sed, conj. | but |
| meminī, meminisse | remember |
| prōvincia, -ae f. | province; here, the Roman Province in southern Gaul |
| iste, ista, istud, dem. pron. | that of yours, that |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| praecipuē, adv. | especially |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| cīvitās, -tātis, f. | state |
| modus, -ī, m. | way, manner |
| factiō, -ōnis f. | party, faction |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| vexō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | harass, ravage |
| quīcumque, quaecumque, quodcumque | whoever, whatever |
| nōmen, -minis, n. | name (that by which one is known) |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| causa, -ae, f. | cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of |
| dō, dare, dedī, datus | give |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron. | the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also |
| contrahō, -ere, -trāxī, -trāctum | draw together, collect |
| hetaeria, -ae f. | club, association, society (a Greek word) |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| brevis, -e | short |
| fīō, fierī, factus sum | be done or made, become, happen |
| satius, comp. (n.) | better, preferable (satius est: it is better) |
| itaque, adv. | and so, accordingly, therefore |
| comparō, -parāre, -parāvī, -parātus | prepare, collect |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| coerceō, -ēre, coercuī, coercitum | restrain, keep in check |
| ignis, -is, m. | fire |
| auxilium, -ī, n. | help, aid |
| admoneō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | remind, warn, advise |
| dominus, -ī m. | master, owner |
| praedium, -ī n. | estate, farm |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| inhibeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | hold back, check, rein in |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| sī, conj. | if |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| poscō, poscere, poposcī | ask, demand |
| accursus (adcursus), -ūs m. | running up, onset, rush |
| populus, -ī m. | people, nation |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| ūtor, ūtī, ūsus | use |
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.