Ep. 10.98.1Amastriānōrum cīvitās, domine, et ēlegāns et ōrnāta habet inter praecipua opera pulcherrimam eandemque longissimam platēam;The city of Amastris, sir, which is both elegant and well adorned, has among its chief works a very beautiful and at the same time very long street; Ep. 10.98.1cuius ā latere per spatium omne porrigitur nōmine quidem flūmen, rē vērā cloāca foedissima, ac sīcut turpis immundissimō aspectū, ita pestilēns odōre taeterrimō.along one side of which, for its whole length, there stretches what is in name a river, but in reality a most foul sewer, and as it is disgusting with its filthy appearance, so it is pestilential with its most noisome smell. Ep. 10.98.2Quibus ex causīs nōn minus salūbritātis quam decoris interest eam contegī;For these reasons it is no less a matter of health than of beauty that it should be covered over; Ep. 10.98.2quod fīet sī permīseris cūrantibus nōbīs, nē dēsit quoque pecūnia operī tam magnō quam necessāriō.and this will be done if you permit it, under my supervision, and I shall also ensure that money is not lacking for a work as great as it is necessary.
Lectitō › Pliny the Younger › Letters, Book 10 › Pliny, Letter 10.98
Pliny · Epistulae X
Pliny, Letter 10.98
The sewer of Amastris
Read the Latin itself: tap any word for its meaning and grammar, save words to review, and keep your place.
Read in LectitōGrammar in this passage: ablative absolute ×1
Latin vocabulary for this passage (59 words)
| cīvitās, -tātis, f. | state |
| dominus, -ī m. | master, owner |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| ēlegāns, -antis | refined, tasteful, elegant |
| ōrnō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | equip, adorn |
| habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | have, hold; consider |
| inter, prep, with acc. | among, between |
| praecipuus, -a, -um | special, particular, outstanding |
| opus, operis, n. | work, task |
| pulcher, pulchra, pulchrum | beautiful |
| īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron. | the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| longus, -a, -um | long; tedious |
| platēa, -ae f. | street, open square |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| latus, lateris n. | side, flank |
| per, prep, with ace. | through, by means of |
| spatium, -ī, n. | space, interval; space of time, time |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| porrigō, -ere, -rēxī, -rēctus | stretch out, hold out, hand |
| nōmen, -minis, n. | name (that by which one is known) |
| quidem, adv. | in fact, indeed, certainly; nē ... quidem, not ... even |
| flūmen, -minis, n. | river |
| rēs, reī, f. | thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really |
| vērus, -a, -um | true; rē vērā, in truth, in fact |
| cloāca, -ae f. | sewer, drain |
| foedus, -a, -um | foul, loathsome, hideous |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| sīcut (conj.) | just as |
| turpis, -e | disgraceful |
| immundus, -a, -um | unclean, impure |
| aspectus, -ūs m. | look, appearance; sight |
| ita, adv. | in this manner, thus, so; ita ut, as |
| pestilēns, -entis | unhealthy, deadly; baneful |
| odor, -ōris, m. | smell, odor |
| taeter, -tra, -trum | foul, hideous, loathsome |
| ex, ē (prep. + abl.) | out of, from; of (ē only before consonants) |
| causa, -ae, f. | cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| minus, comp. adv. | less |
| salūbritās, -ātis f. | healthiness, wholesome conditions |
| quam, adv. | how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible |
| decus, -oris n. | honour, glory; what is fitting, propriety |
| intersum, -esse, -fuī, -futūrus | be or lie between |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| contegō, -tegere, -tēxī, -tēctus | cover |
| fīō, fierī, factus sum | be done or made, become, happen |
| sī, conj. | if |
| permittō, -ere, -mīsī, -missum | allow, permit; entrust |
| cūrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | take care of; (+ gerundive) have something done |
| nōs | plur. of ego |
| nē, adv. | not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest |
| dēsum, deesse, dēfuī | be lacking, fail |
| quoque, adv. | also |
| pecūnia, -ae, f. | money (the possession of cattle constituting wealth in early times) |
| tam, adv. | so |
| magnus, -a, -um | large, big, great, mighty; loud |
| necessārius, -a, -um; as noun, -ī m. | necessary, critical; (noun) close friend, relative |
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.