Pliny, Letter 3.12

Terms for accepting a dinner

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Ep. 3.12.1Veniam ad cēnam, sed iam nunc pacīscor, sit expedīta sit parca, Sōcraticīs tantum sermōnibus abundet, in hīs quoque teneat modum.I will come to dinner, but I make this bargain here and now: let it be simple, let it be frugal, let it abound only in Socratic conversation, and let it keep moderation even in that. Ep. 3.12.2Erunt officia antelūcāna, in quae incidere impūne nē Catōnī quidem licuit, quem tamen C. Caesar ita reprehendit ut laudet.There will be calls to pay before dawn, and not even Cato could run into those with impunity, though Gaius Caesar rebukes him in such a way as to praise him. Ep. 3.12.3Dēscrībit enim eōs, quibus obvius fuerit, cum caput ēbriī retēxissent, ērubuisse;For he describes how those who met him, when they had uncovered the drunken man's head, blushed; Ep. 3.12.3deinde adicit: "Putārēs nōn ab illīs Catōnem, sed illōs ā Catōne dēprehēnsōs."then he adds: 'You would have thought that it was not Cato who had been caught out by them, but they by Cato.' Ep. 3.12.3Potuitne plūs auctōritātis tribuī Catōnī, quam sī ēbrius quoque tam venerābilis erat?Could more authority have been attributed to Cato than if even when drunk he was so venerable?

Ep. 3.12.4Nostrae tamen cēnae, ut apparātūs et impendiī, sīc temporis modus cōnstet.Yet let our dinner have a limit in time, as in preparation and expense. Ep. 3.12.4Neque enim iī sumus quōs vituperāre nē inimīcī quidem possint, nisi ut simul laudent.For we are not the kind of men whom not even their enemies can censure without praising them at the same time. Ep. 3.12.4Valē.Farewell.

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Grammar in this passage: indirect statement ×1, purpose clauses ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (69 words)

veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus	come
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
cēna, -ae, f.	dinner
sed, conj.	but
iam, adv.	now, already
nunc, adv.	now
pacīscor, -ī, pactus sum	agree, arrange; pactus: agreed upon
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
expediō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus	free, set clear; get ready; arrange, settle
parcus, -a, -um	sparing, thrifty, frugal
Sōcraticus, -a, -um	Socratic; (m. pl. as noun) followers of Socrates
tantum, adv.	so much or far, only
sermō, -ōnis, m.	conversation, talk, speech
abundō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	overflow; have plenty of, abound in (+ abl.)
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
quoque, adv.	also
teneō, -ēre, -uī, -tus	hold, keep; hold back, restrain, stop
modus, -ī, m.	way, manner
officium, -ī, n.	service; duty
antelūcānus, -a, -um	before dawn, lasting till daybreak
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
incidō, -cidere, -cidī	fall into or upon
impūne (adv.)	without punishment
nē, adv.	not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest
quidem, adv.	in fact, indeed, certainly; nē ... quidem, not ... even
licet, -ēre, -uit or -itum est, impers.	is lawful or permitted
tamen, adv.	however, yet, nevertheless
ita, adv.	in this manner, thus, so; ita ut, as
reprehendō, -ere, -hendī, -hēnsum	blame, criticise
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
laudō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	praise
dēscrībō, -scrībere, -scrīpsī, -scrīptus	write out; mark out, arrange, plan
enim, conj.	for
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
obvius, -a, -um	in the way, meeting; sē obvium dare: come to meet
cum, conj.	when, while, after; since; although
caput, capitis, n.	head
ēbrius, -a, -um	drunk
retegō, -ere, -tēxī, -tēctum	uncover, reveal
ērubēscō, -ere, -rubuī	blush, feel ashamed
deinde, adv.	then, next
adiciō, -icere, -iēcī, -iectus	throw to, throw, hurl
putō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	think
nōn, adv.	not
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.	that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
dēprehendō, -ere, -hendī, -hēnsus	catch, seize, overtake; detect
possum, posse, potuī	be able, have power, can
multus, -a, -um	much, great; plur., many
auctōritās, -tātis f.	influence, authority, prestige
tribuō, -ere, tribuī, tribūtum	assign, attribute
quam, adv.	how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
sī, conj.	if
tam, adv.	so
venerābilis, -e	worthy of reverence, venerable
noster, -tra, -trum	our
apparātus, -ūs m.	preparation; display, splendour
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
impendium, -ī n.	expense, outlay, cost
sīc, adv.	so, thus
tempus, temporis, n.	time, season
cōnstō, -stāre, -stitī, -stātūrus	stand together, agree; consist;
neque or nec, conj.	and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
vituperō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	find fault with, blame
inimīcus, -a, -um	unfriendly, hostile
nisi, conj.	if not, unless
simul, adv.	at the same time; simul atque or ac, as soon as
valeō, -ēre, -uī, -itūrus	be strong or effectual, have effect, prevail

Pliny, Epistulae III. 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.