Pliny, Letter 10.77

A centurion for Juliopolis

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Ep. 10.77.1Prōvidentissimē, domine, fēcistī, quod praecēpistī Calpurniō Macrō clārissimō virō, ut legiōnārium centuriōnem Byzantium mitteret.You acted with the greatest foresight, sir, in instructing Calpurnius Macer, a most distinguished man, to send a legionary centurion to Byzantium. Ep. 10.77.2Dispice an etiam Iūliopolītānīs similī ratiōne cōnsulendum putēs, quōrum cīvitās, cum sit perexigua, onera maxima sustinet tantōque graviōrēs iniūriās quantō est īnfirmior patitur.Consider whether you think the people of Juliopolis too should be helped in a similar way; their city, though it is very small, bears very heavy burdens and suffers wrongs that are the more serious the weaker it is. Ep. 10.77.3Quidquid autem Iūliopolītānīs praestiteris, id etiam tōtī prōvinciae prōderit.Whatever you grant the people of Juliopolis, moreover, will benefit the whole province as well. Ep. 10.77.3Sunt enim in capite Bīthȳniae, plūrimīsque per eam commeantibus trānsitum praebent.For they lie at the entrance to Bithynia and provide a passage to very many who travel through it.

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Grammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (49 words)

prōvidenter (adv.)	with foresight, prudently
dominus, -ī m.	master, owner
faciō, facere, fēcī, factus	make, do; iter facere, see iter
quod, conj.	that, in that, because
praecipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus	take beforehand, anticipate; order, charge
macer, -cra, -crum	lean, thin, meagre; (of soil) poor
clārus, -a, -um	clear, loud; famous
vir, virī, m.	man
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
legiōnārius, -a, -um	of a legion, legionary
centuriō, -ōnis m.	centurion (officer commanding about 80 men)
mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus	send
dispiciō, -ere, -spexī, -spectus	see clearly, discern
an, conj.	or (in questions)
etiam, adv.	and now, also, too, even
similis, -e	like, similar (vērī similis: likely)
ratiō, -ōnis, f.	plan, means, method, manner; reason; account
cōnsulō, -ere, -uī, -tus	consult
putō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	think
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
cīvitās, -tātis, f.	state
cum, conj.	when, while, after; since; although
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
perexiguus, -a, -um	very small
onus, oneris n.	load, weight
magnus, -a, -um	large, big, great, mighty; loud
sustineō, -tinēre, -tinuī, -tentus	hold or bear up, sustain, withstand
tantus, -a, -um	so great or much
que, enclitic conj.	and
gravis, -e	heavy; severe, grievous, serious
iniūria, -ae, f.	injury, wrong, hurt, harm
quantus, -a, -um	how great or much?
īnfirmus, -a, -um	weak
patior, patī, passus, bear	suffer, allow
quisquis, quidquid (quicquid)	whoever, whatever
autem, conj.	moreover; but, however; now
praestō, -stāre, -stitī, -stitus	stand in front; show
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
tōtus, -a, -um	all the, the whole or entire
prōvincia, -ae f.	province; here, the Roman Province in southern Gaul
prōsum, prōdesse, prōfuī	be of advantage, profit, avail, assist
enim, conj.	for
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
caput, capitis, n.	head
multus, -a, -um	much, great; plur., many
per, prep, with ace.	through, by means of
commeō, -āre, -āvī	go back and forth, visit
trānsitus, -ūs m.	crossing, passage
praebeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus	hold forth, supply, furnish, give; show, present, exhibit

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.