LectitōOpen the reader

Lectitō › Pliny the Younger › Letters, Book 2 › Pliny, Letter 2.2

Pliny · Epistulae II

Pliny, Letter 2.2

Complaint at a friend's silence

English onlyRead it word by word

Ep. 2.2.1Īrāscor, nec liquet mihi an dēbeam, sed īrāscor.I am angry, and I am not clear whether I ought to be, but I am angry. Ep. 2.2.1Scīs, quam sit amor inīquus interdum, impotēns saepe, semper semper.You know how unfair love sometimes is, often uncontrolled, always quick to take offence over trifles. Ep. 2.2.1Haec tamen causa magna est, nesciō an iūsta;Yet this cause is a great one, whether a just one I do not know; Ep. 2.2.1sed ego, tamquam nōn minus iūsta quam magna sit, graviter īrāscor, quod ā tē tam diū litterae nūllae.but I, as if it were no less just than great, am seriously angry that for so long there have been no letters from you. Ep. 2.2.2Exōrāre mē potes ūnō modō, sī nunc saltem plūrimās et longissimās mīseris.You can win me over in one way only, if now at least you send very many and very long ones. Ep. 2.2.2Haec mihi sōla excūsātiō vēra, cēterae falsae vidēbuntur.This alone will seem to me a true excuse; all others will seem false. Ep. 2.2.2Nōn sum audītūrus "nōn eram Rōmae" vel "occupātior eram";I am not going to listen to 'I was not in Rome' or 'I was rather busy'; Ep. 2.2.2illud enim nec dī sinant, ut "īnfirmior".for as to 'I was rather unwell', may the gods not allow it.

Ep. 2.2.2Ipse ad vīllam partim studiīs partim dēsidiā fruor, quōrum utrumque ex ōtiō nāscitur.I myself am at my villa enjoying partly my studies, partly idleness, both of which are born of leisure. Ep. 2.2.2Valē.Farewell.

Read the Latin itself: tap any word for its meaning and grammar, save words to review, and keep your place.

Read in Lectitō
Latin vocabulary for this passage (72 words)
īrāscor, īrāscī, īrātusbe angry
neque or nec, conj.and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
liqueō, -ēre, licuībe clear; parum liquet, it is not clear
ego, meī, pers. pron.I
an, conj.or (in questions)
dēbeō, -ēre, -uī, -itusowe; with infin., ought
sed, conj.but
sciō, -īre, -īvī, -ītusknow
quam, adv.how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
sum, esse, fuī, futūrusbe
amor, -ōris, m.love
inīquus, -a, -umuneven; unfair
interdum (adv.)sometimes
impotēns, -entispowerless; lacking self-control, wild
saepe, adv.often, frequently
semper, adv.always
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
tamen, adv.however, yet, nevertheless
causa, -ae, f.cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of
magnus, -a, -umlarge, big, great, mighty; loud
nesciō, -scīre, -scīvīnot know, be ignorant; nesciō quis, I know not who, some one or other (nesciō is thus used with other interrogative words also)
iūstus, -a, -umjust
tamquam (adv., conj.)as, just as; as if
nōn, adv.not
minus, comp. adv.less
graviter, adv.severely, seriously
quod, conj.that, in that, because
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
tū, tuī, pers. pron.thou, you
tam, adv.so
diū, adv.for a long time, a long time or while, long; comp
litterae, -ārum f. pl.letters (of the alphabet); a letter, dispatch
nūllus, -a, -umnot any, none, no
exōrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātuswin over by asking, beg for, obtain by entreaty
possum, posse, potuībe able, have power, can
ūnus, -a, -umone; only, alone
modus, -ī, m.way, manner
sī, conj.if
nunc, adv.now
saltem (adv.)at least
multus, -a, -ummuch, great; plur., many
et, conj.and; et ... et, both ... and
longus, -a, -umlong; tedious
mittō, mittere, mīsī, missussend
sōlus, -a, -umalone
excūsātiō, -ōnis f.excuse, plea
vērus, -a, -umtrue; rē vērā, in truth, in fact
cēterī, -ae, -a, plur. adj.the other, the remaining, the rest of
falsus, -a, -umfeigned, pretended, false
videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsussee; pass., seem
audiō, -īre, -īvī, -ītushear; listen or attend to
velor; vel … vel: either … or
occupātus, -a, -umbusy, occupied, engaged
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
enim, conj.for
deus, -ī, m.god
sinō, -ere, sīvī, situsallow, permit, let
ut, conj.as; when; that; ita ut, as
īnfirmus, -a, -umweak
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
ad, prep. with acc.to, toward; at, near; for
vīlla, -ae, f.country-house, villa
partim (adv.)partly (partim … partim: some … others)
studium, -ī, n.eagerness, zeal; study, pursuit
dēsidia, -ae f.idleness, sloth
fruor, -ī, frūctus sum (+ abl.)enjoy
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.who, which
uterque, utraque, utrumqueeach, either, both
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
ōtium, -ī n.leisure, rest; peace, quiet
nāscor, -ī, nātus sumbe born; rise, begin
valeō, -ēre, -uī, -itūrusbe strong or effectual, have effect, prevail
Pliny, Epistulae II. 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.