Pliny, Letter 4.10

Sabina's flawed legacy to Modestus

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Ep. 4.10.1Scrībis mihi Sabīnam, quae nōs relīquit hērēdēs, Modestum servum suum nūsquam līberum esse iussisse, eīdem tamen sīc ascrīpsisse lēgātum: "Modestō quem līberum esse iussī".You write to me that Sabina, who left us her heirs, nowhere ordered her slave Modestus to be free, but nevertheless wrote him a legacy in these words: 'To Modestus, whom I have ordered to be free'. Ep. 4.10.2Quaeris quid sentiam.You ask what I think. Ep. 4.10.2Contulī cum perītīs iūris.I have consulted legal experts. Ep. 4.10.2Convenit inter omnēs nec lībertātem dēbērī quia nōn sit data, nec lēgātum quia servō suō dederit.They all agree that neither freedom is owed, because it was not given, nor the legacy, because she gave it to her own slave. Ep. 4.10.2Sed mihi manifestus error vidētur, ideōque putō nōbīs quasi scrīpserit Sabīna faciendum, quod ipsa scrīpsisse sē crēdidit.But to me it seems an obvious mistake, and so I think we ought to do, as if Sabina had written it, what she herself believed she had written. Ep. 4.10.3Cōnfīdō accessūrum tē sententiae meae, cum religiōsissime soleās custōdīre dēfūnctōrum voluntātem, quam bonīs hērēdibus intellēxisse prō iūre est.I am confident you will come round to my view, since you are accustomed to guard the wishes of the dead most scrupulously, and for good heirs, to have understood those wishes is as good as law.

Ep. 4.10.3Neque enim minus apud nōs honestās quam apud aliōs necessitās valet.For with us honour has no less force than necessity has with others. Ep. 4.10.4Morētur ergō in lībertāte sinentibus nōbīs, fruātur lēgātō quasi omnia dīligentissimē cāverit.So let him remain in freedom with our consent, and let him enjoy the legacy as if she had provided for everything with the greatest care. Ep. 4.10.4Cāvit enim, quae hērēdēs bene ēlēgit.For she did provide, in choosing her heirs well. Ep. 4.10.4Valē.Farewell.

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Grammar in this passage: indirect statement ×3, gerunds and gerundives ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (77 words)

scrībō, scrībere, scrīpsī, scrīptus	write
ego, meī, pers. pron.	I
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
nōs	plur. of ego
relinquō, -linquere, -līquī, -lictus	leave behind, leave
hērēs (haerēs), -ēdis m.	heir
modestus, -a, -um	moderate, restrained, modest
servus, -ī, m.	slave, servant
suus, -a, -um	his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
nūsquam, adv.	nowhere
līber, lībera, līberum	free
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussus	bid, order, command
īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron.	the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also
tamen, adv.	however, yet, nevertheless
sīc, adv.	so, thus
ascrībō (adscrībō), -ere, -scrīpsī, -scrīptus	add in writing; enrol, register (as a citizen)
lēgātum, -ī n.	legacy, bequest
quaerō, quaerere, quaesīvī, quaesītus	seek; ask, inquire
quis, quid, interrog. pron.	who? which? what?
sentiō, sentīre, sēnsī, sēnsus	perceive, feel
cōnferō, cōnferre, contulī, conlātus	bring together; grant, confer; sē cōnferre, to betake oneself, make one's way
cum, prep, with abl.	with
perītus, -a, -um (+ gen.)	skilled, experienced (in)
iūs, iūris, n.	right, justice, law; iūs dīcere, to pronounce judgment; iūs iūrandum, iūris iūrandī, oath
conveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus	come together, assemble
inter, prep, with acc.	among, between
omnis, -e	all, every
neque or nec, conj.	and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
lībertās, -tātis, f.	freedom, liberty
dēbeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus	owe; with infin., ought
quia (conj.)	because
nōn, adv.	not
dō, dare, dedī, datus	give
sed, conj.	but
manifestus, -a, -um	plain, clear; caught in the act
error, -ōris m.	wandering; mistake, error
videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus	see; pass., seem
ideō (adv.)	for that reason, therefore
que, enclitic conj.	and
putō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	think
quasi, conj.	as if
faciō, facere, fēcī, factus	make, do; iter facere, see iter
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.	self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.	himself, herself, itself, themselves
crēdō, -dere, -didī, -ditus	believe
cōnfīdō, -ere, cōnfīsus sum	trust, be confident
accēdō, -ere, accessī, accessum	come near, approach; be added
tū, tuī, pers. pron.	thou, you
sententia, -ae, f.	opinion; purpose
meus, -a, -um	my, mine
cum, conj.	when, while, after; since; although
religiōsus, -a, -um	devout, scrupulous in religion
soleō, -ēre, solitus sum	be accustomed, usually do
custōdiō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus	guard
dēfungor, -fungī, -fūnctus sum	finish, be done with; dēfūnctus: dead
voluntās, -tātis, f.	wish, will
bonus, -a, -um	good
intellegō, -legere, -lēxī, -lēctus	perceive, understand
prō, prep. with abl.	before, in front of; for, in behalf of; for, as; in return for, for
enim, conj.	for
minus, comp. adv.	less
apud, prep, with acc.	among, with
honestās, -ātis f.	honor, integrity
quam, adv.	how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
alius, -a, -ud	another, other; aliī ... aliī, some ... others
necessitās, -ātis f.	necessity, compulsion
valeō, -ēre, -uī, -itūrus	be strong or effectual, have effect, prevail
moror, -ārī, -ātus	delay, linger, stay
ergō (adv.)	therefore, then; quid ergō? what then?
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
sinō, -ere, sīvī, situs	allow, permit, let
fruor, -ī, frūctus sum (+ abl.)	enjoy
dīligenter, adv.	carefully, diligently
caveō, cavēre, cāvī, cautus	beware, take care; be on one's guard against, beware of
bene, adv.	well; successfully
ēligō, -ere, ēlēgī, ēlēctum	pick out, choose

Pliny, Epistulae IV. 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.