Ep. 3.17.1Rēctēnē omnia, quod iam prīdem epistulae tuae cessant?Is all well, since your letters have now long ceased? Ep. 3.17.1An omnia rēctē, sed occupātus es tū?Or is all well, but you are busy? Ep. 3.17.1An tū nōn occupātus, sed occāsiō scrībendī vel rāra vel nūlla?Or are you not busy, but the opportunity for writing rare or non-existent? Ep. 3.17.2Exime hunc mihi scrūpulum, cui pār esse nōn possum, exime autem vel datā operā tabellāriō missō.Relieve me of this anxiety, which I cannot cope with; relieve it, even by sending a courier on purpose. Ep. 3.17.2Ego viāticum, ego etiam praemium dabō, nūntiet modo quod optō.I will pay his travel expenses, I will even give him a reward, if only he brings the news I hope for. Ep. 3.17.3Ipse valeō, sī valēre est suspēnsum et ānxium vīvere, exspectantem in hōrās timentemque prō capite amīcissimō, quidquid accidere hominī potest.I myself am well, if it is being well to live in suspense and anxiety, expecting hour by hour, and fearing for the life of my dearest friend, whatever can befall a man. Ep. 3.17.3Valē.Farewell.
Lectitō › Pliny the Younger › Letters, Book 3 › Pliny, Letter 3.17
Pliny · Epistulae III
Pliny, Letter 3.17
Anxious for news of a friend
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: gerunds and gerundives ×1, ablative absolute ×2
Latin vocabulary for this passage (55 words)
| rēctē (adv.) | rightly, properly; safely |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| quod, conj. | that, in that, because |
| iam, adv. | now, already |
| prīdem (adv.) | long ago; iam prīdem: long since |
| epistula, -ae f. | letter |
| tuus, -a, -um | thy, thine, your |
| cessō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | stop, cease, rest; be idle |
| an, conj. | or (in questions) |
| sed, conj. | but |
| occupō, -cupāre, -cupāvī, -cupātus | seize; fill |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| tū, tuī, pers. pron. | thou, you |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| occāsiō, -ōnis, f. | chance, opportunity |
| scrībō, scrībere, scrīpsī, scrīptus | write |
| vel | or; vel … vel: either … or |
| rārus, -a, -um | scattered, few |
| nūllus, -a, -um | not any, none, no |
| eximō, -ere, -ēmī, -ēmptus | take away, remove; use up (a day) |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| ego, meī, pers. pron. | I |
| scrūpulus, -ī m. | worry, anxiety, scruple |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| pār, paris | equal |
| possum, posse, potuī | be able, have power, can |
| autem, conj. | moreover; but, however; now |
| dō, dare, dedī, datus | give |
| opera, -ae, f. | effort, work, labor |
| tabellārius, -ī m. | letter-carrier, courier |
| mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus | send |
| viāticum, -ī n. | travel money, provisions for a journey; savings |
| etiam, adv. | and now, also, too, even |
| praemium, -ī, n. | reward |
| nūntiō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | report, announce |
| modo, adv. | only |
| optō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | wish for, desire; pray for |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| valeō, -ēre, -uī, -itūrus | be strong or effectual, have effect, prevail |
| sī, conj. | if |
| suspendō, -pendere, -pendī, -pēnsus | hang up, hang |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| ānxius, -a, -um | anxious |
| vīvō, vīvere, vīxī, vīctus | live |
| exspectō, -spectāre, -spectāvī, -spectātus | look out for, wait for, await, expect; wait |
| in, prep. with acc. and abl. | with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on |
| hōra, -ae, f. | hour |
| timeō, -ēre, -uī | fear |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| prō, prep. with abl. | before, in front of; for, in behalf of; for, as; in return for, for |
| caput, capitis, n. | head |
| amīcus, -ī, m. | friend |
| quisquis, quidquid (quicquid) | whoever, whatever |
| accidō, -cidere, -cidī | fall to or upon; befall, happen |
| homō, hominis, m. | man |
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.