Ep. 10.65.1Magna, domine, et ad tōtam prōvinciam pertinēns quaestiō est dē condiciōne et alimentīs eōrum, quōs vocant "threptous".There is an important question, sir, and one which concerns the whole province, about the status and maintenance of those whom they call 'foundlings'. Ep. 10.65.2In quā ego audītīs cōnstitūtiōnibus prīncipum, quia nihil inveniēbam aut proprium aut ūniversāle, quod ad Bīthȳnōs referrētur, cōnsulendum tē exīstimāvī, quid observārī vellēs;In this matter, having heard the rulings of the emperors, since I found nothing either specific or general which applied to the Bithynians, I thought I should consult you on what you wished to be observed; Ep. 10.65.2neque putāvī posse mē in eō, quod auctōritātem tuam posceret, exemplīs esse contentum.nor did I think that in a matter which required your authority I could be content with precedents. Ep. 10.65.3Recitābātur autem apud mē ēdictum, quod dīcēbātur dīvī Augustī, ad Andaniam pertinēns;An edict was read out before me, said to be of the deified Augustus, relating to Andania; Ep. 10.65.3recitātae et epistulae dīvī Vespasiānī ad Lacedaemoniōs et dīvī Titī ad eōsdem et Achaeōs et Domitiānī ad Avidium Nigrīnum et Armenium Brocchum prōcōnsulēs, item ad Lacedaemoniōs;letters were read out too of the deified Vespasian to the Spartans, and of the deified Titus to the same and to the Achaeans, and of Domitian to the proconsuls Avidius Nigrinus and Armenius Brocchus, and likewise to the Spartans; Ep. 10.65.3quae ideō tibi nōn mīsī, quia et parum ēmendāta et quaedam nōn certae fideī vidēbantur, et quia vēra et ēmendāta in scrīniīs tuīs esse crēdēbam.I have not sent these to you because they seemed both inaccurate and in some cases of doubtful authenticity, and because I believed that true and accurate copies were in your archives.
Lectitō › Pliny the Younger › Letters, Book 10 › Pliny, Letter 10.65
Pliny · Epistulae X
Pliny, Letter 10.65
The status of foundlings
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Read in LectitōGrammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×1, ablative absolute ×1, indirect statement ×3
Latin vocabulary for this passage (65 words)
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| dominus, -ī m. | master, owner |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| tōtus, -a, -um | all the, the whole or entire |
| prōvincia, -ae f. | province; here, the Roman Province in southern Gaul |
| pertineō, -ēre, -uī | extend, reach; tend toward, concern |
| quaestiō, -ōnis f. | inquiry, examination |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| dē, prep, with abl. | down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of |
| condiciō, -ōnis f. | terms; condition, status |
| alimentum, -ī n. | food, nourishment |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| vocō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | call, summon |
| threptus, -ī m. | foundling raised as a slave |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| ego, meī, pers. pron. | I |
| audiō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus | hear; listen or attend to |
| cōnstitūtiō, -ōnis f. | setting up, establishing; ante cōnstitūtiōnem mundī: before the world was founded |
| prīnceps, -ipis | first, chief; as noun: leader |
| quia (conj.) | because |
| nihil, n., indecl. | nothing |
| inveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus | come upon, find |
| aut, conj. | or; aut ... aut, either ... or |
| proprius, -a, -um | one's own, private; characteristic (of) |
| ūniversālis, -e | universal, general |
| referō, referre, rettulī, relātus | bring or carry back, return; pedem referre, to draw back, retire, retreat; grātiam referre, see grātia |
| cōnsulō, -ere, -uī, -tus | consult |
| tū, tuī, pers. pron. | thou, you |
| exīstimō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | consider, believe, think |
| quis, quid, interrog. pron. | who? which? what? |
| observō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | watch; keep, respect |
| volō, velle, voluī | wish |
| neque or nec, conj. | and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not |
| putō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | think |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |
| auctōritās, -tātis f. | influence, authority, prestige |
| tuus, -a, -um | thy, thine, your |
| poscō, poscere, poposcī | ask, demand |
| exemplum, -ī n. | example, precedent |
| contentus, -a, -um | content, satisfied (+ abl.) |
| recitō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | read aloud |
| autem, conj. | moreover; but, however; now |
| apud, prep, with acc. | among, with |
| ēdictum, -ī n. | proclamation, edict (of a magistrate) |
| dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictus | say, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day |
| dīvus, -ī m. (gen. pl. also dīvum, dīvom) | god |
| epistula, -ae f. | letter |
| īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron. | the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also |
| Armenius, -a, -um | Armenian; as noun, an Armenian; pl. the Armenians |
| prōcōnsul, -ulis m. | proconsul, governor |
| item | likewise, also |
| ideō (adv.) | for that reason, therefore |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus | send |
| parum (comp. minus, superl. minimē) | too little; minimē: least, not at all |
| ēmendō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | correct, make good, remove faults |
| quīdam, quaedam, quoddam, indef. pron. | a certain, certain |
| certus, -a, -um | determined, fixed, certain; certiōrem facere, to make more certain, inform |
| fidēs, -eī f. | faith, trust; pledge |
| videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus | see; pass., seem |
| vērus, -a, -um | true; rē vērā, in truth, in fact |
| scrīnium, -ī n. | a case or box for papers, document box |
| crēdō, -dere, -didī, -ditus | believe |
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.