Ep. 10.78.1Ea condiciō est cīvitātis Byzantiōrum cōnfluente undique in eam commeantium turbā, ut secundum cōnsuētūdinem praecēdentium temporum honōribus eius praesidiō centuriōnis legiōnāriī cōnsulendum habuerīmus.Such is the situation of the city of Byzantium, with a crowd of travellers flowing into it from every side, that, in keeping with the custom of earlier times, we have thought it right to support its magistrates with the protection of a legionary centurion. Ep. 10.78.1Sī Iūliopolītānīs succurrendum eōdem modō putāverimus, onerābimus nōs exemplō;If we decide that the people of Juliopolis should be helped in the same way, we shall burden ourselves with a precedent; Ep. 10.78.2plūrēs enim eō quantō īnfirmiōrēs erunt idem petent.for more cities will make the same request, the more so the weaker they are. Ep. 10.78.2Fīdūciam eam dīligentiae tuae habeō, ut crēdam tē omnī ratiōne id āctūrum, nē sint obnoxiī iniūriīs.I have such confidence in your diligence that I believe you will take every measure to ensure that they are not exposed to wrongs. Ep. 10.78.3Sī quī autem sē contrā disciplīnam meam gesserint, statim coerceantur;If any people behave contrary to my discipline, let them be restrained at once; Ep. 10.78.3aut, sī plūs admīserint quam ut in rē praesentī satis pūniantur, sī mīlitēs erunt, lēgātīs eōrum quod dēprehenderis notum faciēs aut, sī in urbem versus ventūrī erunt, mihi scrībēs.or, if they commit offences too great to be adequately punished on the spot, if they are soldiers, you will make what you discover known to their commanders, or, if they are travelling on towards Rome, you will write to me.
Lectitō › Pliny the Younger › Letters, Book 10 › Pliny, Letter 10.78
Pliny · Epistulae X
Pliny, Letter 10.78
Trajan refuses a new precedent
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Read in LectitōGrammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×2, purpose clauses ×3
Latin vocabulary for this passage (73 words)
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| condiciō, -ōnis f. | terms; condition, status |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| cīvitās, -tātis, f. | state |
| cōnfluō, -ere, -flūxī | flow together; flock together, gather |
| undique, adv. | from or on all sides |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| commeō, -āre, -āvī | go back and forth, visit |
| turba, -ae f. | crowd |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| secundum (prep. + acc.) | after, besides; along |
| cōnsuētūdō, -inis f. | custom, habit; way of life |
| praecēdō, -ere, -cessī, -cessum | go before; surpass |
| tempus, temporis, n. | time, season |
| honor, -ōris, m. | honor |
| praesidium, -ī, n. | protection; guard, escort |
| centuriō, -ōnis m. | centurion (officer commanding about 80 men) |
| legiōnārius, -a, -um | of a legion, legionary |
| cōnsulō, -ere, -uī, -tus | consult |
| habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | have, hold; consider |
| sī, conj. | if |
| succurrō, -ere, -currī, -cursum | run to help, aid |
| īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron. | the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also |
| modus, -ī, m. | way, manner |
| putō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | think |
| onerō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | load, burden |
| nōs | plur. of ego |
| exemplum, -ī n. | example, precedent |
| plūrēs, -a, plur. adj. | more, many, several |
| enim, conj. | for |
| eō (adv.) | to that place, thither; to that point (usque eō); (with comparatives) by so much, all the (more) |
| quantus, -a, -um | how great or much? |
| īnfirmus, -a, -um | weak |
| petō, -ere, -īvī or -iī, -ītus | seek, ask; attack |
| fīdūcia, -ae f. | confidence, trust, reliance |
| dīligentia, -ae, f. | care, diligence, industry |
| tuus, -a, -um | thy, thine, your |
| crēdō, -dere, -didī, -ditus | believe |
| tū, tuī, pers. pron. | thou, you |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| ratiō, -ōnis, f. | plan, means, method, manner; reason; account |
| agō, agere, ēgī, āctus | drive; do; pass, lead; grātiās agere, see grātia |
| nē, adv. | not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest |
| obnoxius, -a, -um | liable, exposed; indebted, under obligation (to: dat.) |
| iniūria, -ae, f. | injury, wrong, hurt, harm |
| quis, qua, quid, indef. pron. | any one, anybody, anything, some one, somebody, something |
| autem, conj. | moreover; but, however; now |
| suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron. | himself, herself, itself, themselves |
| contrā, prep, with acc. | against, contrary to |
| disciplīna, -ae f. | training, discipline |
| meus, -a, -um | my, mine |
| gerō, gerere, gessī, gestus | carry, wear; carry on, do |
| statim, adv. | on the spot, forthwith, at once, immediately |
| coerceō, -ēre, coercuī, coercitum | restrain, keep in check |
| aut, conj. | or; aut ... aut, either ... or |
| plūs (adv.) | more |
| admittō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missus | send to, admit; allow |
| quam, adv. | how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| praesēns, -sentis, adj. | present, immediate, imminent |
| satis, adv. | enough, sufficiently |
| pūniō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus | punish |
| mīles, mīlitis, m. | soldier |
| lēgātus, -ī, m. | ambassador |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| dēprehendō, -ere, -hendī, -hēnsus | catch, seize, overtake; detect |
| nōtus, -a, -um | known, well-known, famous |
| faciō, facere, fēcī, factus | make, do; iter facere, see iter |
| urbs, urbis, f. | city |
| versus (adv.) | toward, in the direction of (often after ad or in + acc.) |
| veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus | come |
| ego, meī, pers. pron. | I |
| scrībō, scrībere, scrīpsī, scrīptus | write |
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.