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Pliny · Epistulae IV

Pliny, Letter 4.16

A packed centumviral court

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Ep. 4.16.1Gaudē meō, gaudē tuō, gaudē etiam pūblicō nōmine: adhūc honor studiīs dūrat.Rejoice on my account, rejoice on your own, rejoice too on the public account: honour still endures for literary studies. Ep. 4.16.1Proximē cum dictūrus apud centumvirōs essem, adeundī mihi locus nisi ā tribūnālī, nisi per ipsōs iūdicēs nōn fuit;Recently, when I was about to speak before the Centumviral court, I had no way of getting in except from the tribunal, except through the judges themselves; Ep. 4.16.1tantā stīpātiōne cētera tenēbantur.so densely packed was every other part. Ep. 4.16.2Ad hoc quīdam ōrnātus adulēscēns scissīs tunicīs, ut in frequentiā solet fierī, sōlā vēlātus togā perstitit et quidem hōrīs septem.Besides, a certain well-dressed young man, his tunics torn, as tends to happen in a crowd, stood his ground covered only by his toga, and that for seven hours. Ep. 4.16.3Nam tam diū dīxī magnō cum labōre, maiōre cum frūctū.For I spoke that long, with great effort but greater reward. Ep. 4.16.3Studeāmus ergō nec dēsidiae nostrae praetendāmus aliēnam.Let us study, then, and not plead the idleness of others as an excuse for our own.

Ep. 4.16.3Sunt quī audiant, sunt quī legant, nōs modo dignum aliquid auribus dignum chartīs ēlabōrēmus.There are people to listen, there are people to read; let us only produce something worthy of their ears, worthy of the paper. Ep. 4.16.3Valē.Farewell.

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Grammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×1, ablative absolute ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (75 words)
gaudeō, gaudēre, gāvīsusbe glad, rejoice
meus, -a, -ummy, mine
tuus, -a, -umthy, thine, your
etiam, adv.and now, also, too, even
pūblicus, -a, -umpublic, of the state (rēs pūblica: the state)
nōmen, -minis, n.name (that by which one is known)
adhūc, adv.to this point, up to this time, yet, still
honor, -ōris, m.honor
studium, -ī, n.eagerness, zeal; study, pursuit
dūrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusharden, toughen
proximē (adv.)most recently; nearest
cum, conj.when, while, after; since; although
dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictussay, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day
apud, prep, with acc.among, with
centumvir, -ī m.member of the Centumviri, the civil court for inheritance cases
sum, esse, fuī, futūrusbe
adeō, -īre, -iī, -itusgo to, approach
ego, meī, pers. pron.I
locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n.place, situation
nisi, conj.if not, unless
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
tribūnal, -ālis n.platform, tribunal (where a magistrate sat to judge)
per, prep, with ace.through, by means of
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
iūdex, iūdicis, m.judge
nōn, adv.not
tantus, -a, -umso great or much
stīpātiō, -ōnis f.crowd, throng
cēterī, -ae, -a, plur. adj.the other, the remaining, the rest of
teneō, -ēre, -uī, -tushold, keep; hold back, restrain, stop
ad, prep. with acc.to, toward; at, near; for
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
quīdam, quaedam, quoddam, indef. pron.a certain, certain
ōrnātus, -a, -umequipped, fitted out
adulēscēns, -entis, m.youth, young man
scindō, -ere, scidī, scissumtear down, cut
tunica, -ae f.tunic
ut, conj.as; when; that; ita ut, as
in, prep. with acc. and abl.with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
frequentia, -ae f.crowd, throng; full attendance
soleō, -ēre, solitus sumbe accustomed, usually do
fīō, fierī, factus sumbe done or made, become, happen
sōlus, -a, -umalone
vēlō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusveil, cover
toga, -ae f.toga, the Roman citizen's garment of peace
perstō, -āre, -stitī, -stātumstand firm; persist
et, conj.and; et ... et, both ... and
quidem, adv.in fact, indeed, certainly; nē ... quidem, not ... even
hōra, -ae, f.hour
septemseven
nam, conj.for
tam, adv.so
diū, adv.for a long time, a long time or while, long; comp
magnus, -a, -umlarge, big, great, mighty; loud
cum, prep, with abl.with
labor, -ōris, m.labor, toil
frūctus, -ūs, m.enjoyment; fruit
studeō, -ēre, -uībe eager, give attention, apply oneself
ergō (adv.)therefore, then; quid ergō? what then?
neque or nec, conj.and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
dēsidia, -ae f.idleness, sloth
noster, -tra, -trumour
praetendō, -ere, -tendī, -tentushold out in front; put forward, make a pretext of
aliēnus, -a, -umbelonging to another, out of place
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.who, which
audiō, -īre, -īvī, -ītushear; listen or attend to
legō, legere, lēgī, lēctuschoose, pick out; read
nōsplur. of ego
modo, adv.only
dignus, -a, -um (+ abl.)worthy (of), deserving
aliquis, -quid, indef. pron.someone, any one, something, anything, some, any
auris, -is, f.ear
charta, -ae f.sheet of papyrus, paper; (pl.) writings, volumes
ēlabōrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātuswork out, produce with effort
valeō, -ēre, -uī, -itūrusbe strong or effectual, have effect, prevail
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.