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Pliny · Epistulae III

Pliny, Letter 3.15

Judging a friend's poems

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Ep. 3.15.1Petis ut libellōs tuōs in sēcessū legam exāminem, an ēditiōne sint dignī;You ask me to read and examine your little books in my retreat, to see whether they are worthy of publication; Ep. 3.15.1adhibēs precēs, allēgās exemplum: rogās enim, ut aliquid subsicīvī temporis studiīs meīs subtraham, impertiam tuīs, adicis M. Tullium mīrā benignitāte poētārum ingenia fōvisse.you add entreaties, you cite a precedent: for you ask me to take some spare time away from my own studies and share it with yours, and you add that Marcus Tullius fostered the talents of poets with wonderful kindness. Ep. 3.15.2Sed ego nec rogandus sum nec hortandus;But I need neither to be asked nor to be urged; Ep. 3.15.2nam et poēticēn ipsam religiōsissime veneror et tē valdissimē dīligō.for I both revere poetry itself most devoutly and love you most dearly. Ep. 3.15.2Faciam ergō quod dēsīderās tam dīligenter quam libenter.So I will do what you wish as carefully as I do it gladly. Ep. 3.15.3Videor autem iam nunc posse rescrībere esse opus pulchrum nec supprimendum, quantum aestimāre licuit ex iīs quae mē praesente recitāstī, sī modo mihi nōn imposuit recitātiō tua;But I think I can already write back that the work is fine and should not be suppressed, as far as I could judge from what you read in my presence, if only your reading has not deceived me; Ep. 3.15.3legis enim suāvissimē et perītissimē.for you read most sweetly and skilfully.

Ep. 3.15.4Cōnfīdō tamen mē nōn sīc auribus dūcī, ut omnēs aculeī iūdiciī meī illārum dēlēnīmentīs refringantur: hebetentur fortasse et paulum retundantur, ēvellī quidem extorquērīque nōn possunt.Yet I trust that I am not so led by my ears that all the stings of my judgement are broken off by their charms: they may perhaps be blunted and dulled a little, but they cannot be plucked out and wrenched away. Ep. 3.15.5Igitur nōn temerē iam nunc dē ūniversitāte prōnūntiō, dē partibus experiar legendō.So it is not rashly that I pronounce on the whole already; the parts I shall test by reading. Ep. 3.15.5Valē.Farewell.

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Grammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×4

Latin vocabulary for this passage (102 words)
petō, -ere, -īvī or -iī, -ītusseek, ask; attack
ut, conj.as; when; that; ita ut, as
libellus, -ī m.little book; written document; libellus repudiī: certificate of divorce
tuus, -a, -umthy, thine, your
in, prep. with acc. and abl.with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
sēcessus, -ūs m.a withdrawing; a retreat; drain, privy
legō, legere, lēgī, lēctuschoose, pick out; read
exāminō, -āre, -āvī, -ātumweigh, test
an, conj.or (in questions)
ēditiō, -ōnis f.publication, publishing (of a book); edition
sum, esse, fuī, futūrusbe
dignus, -a, -um (+ abl.)worthy (of), deserving
adhibeō, -hibēre, -hibuī, -hibitushold to, employ, show
prex, precis f. (usu. pl.)prayer, entreaty
allēgō (adlēgō), -āre, -āvī, -ātuscite, plead, put forward (in support); depute
exemplum, -ī n.example, precedent
rogō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusask
enim, conj.for
aliquis, -quid, indef. pron.someone, any one, something, anything, some, any
subsicīvus (subsecīvus), -a, -umleft over, spare; tempora subsicīva: spare time
tempus, temporis, n.time, season
studium, -ī, n.eagerness, zeal; study, pursuit
meus, -a, -ummy, mine
subtrahō, -ere, -trāxī, -tractumtake away, withdraw
impertiō, -īre, -īvī, -ītusgive a share of, bestow
adiciō, -icere, -iēcī, -iectusthrow to, throw, hurl
mīrus, -a, -umwonderful, strange
benignitās, -tātis, f.kindness
poēta, -ae, m.poet
ingenium, -ī n.natural ability, talent, cleverness; character
foveō, -ēre, fōvī, fōtuskeep warm; cherish, favour
sed, conj.but
ego, meī, pers. pron.I
neque or nec, conj.and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
hortor, -ārī, -ātusexhort, encourage, urge
nam, conj.for
et, conj.and; et ... et, both ... and
poēticē, -ēs f.poetry, the art of poetry
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
religiōsus, -a, -umdevout, scrupulous in religion
veneror, -ārī, -ātus sumworship, revere
tū, tuī, pers. pron.thou, you
valdē, adv.very, greatly
dīligō, -ere, -lēxī, -lēctuslove, value highly
faciō, facere, fēcī, factusmake, do; iter facere, see iter
ergō (adv.)therefore, then; quid ergō? what then?
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.who, which
dēsīderō, -āre, -āvī, -ātuslong for, miss; require
tam, adv.so
dīligenter, adv.carefully, diligently
quam, adv.how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
libenter, adv.willingly, gladly
videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsussee; pass., seem
autem, conj.moreover; but, however; now
iam, adv.now, already
nunc, adv.now
possum, posse, potuībe able, have power, can
rescrībō, -ere, -scrīpsī, -scrīptumwrite again; transfer, enrol (in another unit)
opus, operis, n.work, task
pulcher, pulchra, pulchrumbeautiful
supprimō, -ere, -pressī, -pressuspress down, hold back, check
quantum, adv.how much? how?
aestimō, -āre, -āvī, -ātumvalue, reckon
licet, -ēre, -uit or -itum est, impers.is lawful or permitted
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
is, ea, id, dem. pron.this, that; he, she, it, they
praesēns, -sentis, adj.present, immediate, imminent
recitō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusread aloud
sī, conj.if
modo, adv.only
nōn, adv.not
impōnō, -pōnere, -posuī, -positusplace or lay upon, impose; embark
recitātiō, -ōnis f.public reading, recital
suāviter (adv.)pleasantly, agreeably, sweetly
perītē (adv.)skilfully, expertly
cōnfīdō, -ere, cōnfīsus sumtrust, be confident
tamen, adv.however, yet, nevertheless
sīc, adv.so, thus
auris, -is, f.ear
dūcō, dūcere, dūxī, ductuslead; make, dig; with or without in mātrimōnium, marry
omnis, -eall, every
aculeus, -ī m.sting, prick; barb, sting (of words)
iūdicium, -ī n.trial, court; judgment
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
dēlēnīmentum, -ī n.soothing charm, allurement, sop
refringō, -ere, -frēgī, -frāctumbreak open
hebetō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusmake dull, dim
fortasse (adv.)perhaps
paulum, adv.a little, somewhat
retundō, -ere, rettudī, retūsusbeat back, blunt
ēvellō, -ere, ēvellī, ēvulsumpull out
quidem, adv.in fact, indeed, certainly; nē ... quidem, not ... even
extorqueō, -ēre, -torsī, -tortuswrench away, extort
que, enclitic conj.and
igitur, conj.therefore
temerē, adv.rashly
dē, prep, with abl.down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of
ūniversitās, -ātis f.the whole, the entirety
prōnūntiō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusproclaim, announce
pars, partis, f.part, side, direction
experior, -īrī, expertus sumtry, test, experience
valeō, -ēre, -uī, -itūrusbe 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.