Pliny, Letter 4.24

Changes since Pliny's early pleading

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Ep. 4.24.1Proximē cum apud centumvirōs in quadruplicī iūdiciō dīxissem, subiit recordātiō ēgisse mē iuvenem aequē in quadruplicī.Recently, when I had spoken before the Centumviral court in the fourfold tribunal, it came back to my mind that as a young man I had pleaded likewise before the fourfold tribunal. Ep. 4.24.2Prōcessit animus ut solet longius: coepī reputāre quōs in hōc iūdiciō, quōs in illō sociōs labōris habuissem.My mind went further, as it usually does: I began to reckon whom I had had as partners in my labour in this trial, and whom in that. Ep. 4.24.2Sōlus eram quī in utrōque dīxissem: tantās conversiōnēs aut fragilitās mortālitātis aut fortūnae mōbilitās facit.I was the only one who had spoken in both: such great changes are brought about either by the frailty of mortal life or by the fickleness of fortune. Ep. 4.24.3Quīdam ex iīs quī tunc ēgerant dēcessērunt, exsulant aliī;Some of those who had pleaded then have died, others are in exile; Ep. 4.24.3huic aetās et valētūdō silentium suāsit, hic sponte beātissimō ōtiō fruitur;to this one age and ill health have counselled silence, this other of his own accord enjoys a most blessed leisure; Ep. 4.24.3alius exercitum regit, illum cīvīlibus officiīs prīncipis amīcitia exēmit.another commands an army, that one the emperor's friendship has exempted from civil duties.

Ep. 4.24.4Circā nōs ipsōs quam multa mūtāta sunt!As for ourselves, how much has changed! Ep. 4.24.4Studiīs prōcessimus, studiīs perīclitātī sumus, rūrsusque prōcessimus: prōfuērunt nōbīs bonōrum amīcitiae, bonōrum obfuerunt iterumque prōsunt.Through my studies I advanced, through my studies I was endangered, and again I advanced: the friendships of good men helped me, the friendships of good men harmed me, and now they help me again. Ep. 4.24.5Sī computēs annōs, exiguum tempus, sī vices rērum, aevum putēs;If you count the years, you would think it a short time, if the turns of fortune, an age; Ep. 4.24.6quod potest esse documentō nihil dēspērāre, nūllī reī fīdere, cum videāmus tot varietātēs tam volūbilī orbe circumagī.which can serve as a lesson to despair of nothing and to trust in nothing, since we see so many changes whirled round in so swiftly turning a circle. Ep. 4.24.7Mihi autem familiāre est omnēs cōgitātiōnēs meās tēcum commūnicāre, īsdemque tē vel praeceptīs vel exemplīs monēre, quibus ipse mē moneō;It is my habit to share all my thoughts with you, and to advise you with the same precepts or examples with which I advise myself; Ep. 4.24.7quae ratiō huius epistulae fuit.and that was the purpose of this letter.

Ep. 4.24.7Valē.Farewell.

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Grammar in this passage: indirect statement ×5

Latin vocabulary for this passage (113 words)

proximē (adv.)	most recently; nearest
cum, conj.	when, while, after; since; although
apud, prep, with acc.	among, with
centumvir, -ī m.	member of the Centumviri, the civil court for inheritance cases
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
quadruplex, -icis	fourfold; quadruplex aciēs: a battle line four deep
iūdicium, -ī n.	trial, court; judgment
dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictus	say, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day
subeō, -īre, -iī, -itus	go under; undergo, submit to, sustain, bear, endure
recordātiō, -ōnis f.	recollection, remembering
agō, agere, ēgī, āctus	drive; do; pass, lead; grātiās agere, see grātia
ego, meī, pers. pron.	I
iuvenis, -is, m.	young man, youth
aequē (adv.)	equally, just as; aequē ac: just as
prōcēdō, -ere, -cessī, -cessum	go forward, advance
animus, -ī, m.	mind; heart; spirit, courage
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
soleō, -ēre, solitus sum	be accustomed, usually do
longē, adv.	far
coepī, coepisse, coeptus (used in tenses of completed action)	have begun, began
reputō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	count, reckon among; think over
quis, quid, interrog. pron.	who? which? what?
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.	that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
socius, -ī, m.	companion, comrade, ally
labor, -ōris, m.	labor, toil
habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus	have, hold; consider
sōlus, -a, -um	alone
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
uterque, utraque, utrumque	each, either, both
tantus, -a, -um	so great or much
conversiō, -ōnis f.	turning round, revolution
aut, conj.	or; aut ... aut, either ... or
fragilitās, -ātis f.	frailty, weakness
mortālitās, -ātis f.	mortality; the human race, mankind
fortūna, -ae, f.	fortune
mōbilitās, -ātis f.	changeability, fickleness
faciō, facere, fēcī, factus	make, do; iter facere, see iter
quīdam, quaedam, quoddam, indef. pron.	a certain, certain
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)	out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
tunc (adv.)	then, at that time
dēcēdō, -cēdere, -cessī, -cessus	go away, depart
exsulō (exulō), -āre, -āvī, -ātum	be an exile, live in exile
alius, -a, -ud	another, other; aliī ... aliī, some ... others
aetās, -tātis, f.	age
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
valētūdō, -inis f.	health, state of health; ill health
silentium, -ī n.	silence; silentiō: in silence, quietly
suādeō, -ēre, suāsī, suāsus	advise, urge
sponte, f. abl. sing., modified by meā, tuā, suā	of one's own accord, voluntarily
beātus, -a, -um	happy, blessed
ōtium, -ī n.	leisure, rest; peace, quiet
fruor, -ī, frūctus sum (+ abl.)	enjoy
exercitus, -ūs, m.	army
regō, -ere, rēxī, rēctum	guide, steer, rule
cīvīlis, -e	of citizens; bellum cīvīle: civil war
officium, -ī, n.	service; duty
prīnceps, -ipis	first, chief; as noun: leader
amīcitia, -ae f.	friendship, alliance
eximō, -ere, -ēmī, -ēmptus	take away, remove; use up (a day)
circā (adv. and prep. + acc.)	around, about
nōs	plur. of ego
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.	self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
quam, adv.	how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
multus, -a, -um	much, great; plur., many
mūtō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	change
studium, -ī, n.	eagerness, zeal; study, pursuit
perīclitor, -ārī, -ātus sum	try, put to the test
rūrsus, adv.	again
que, enclitic conj.	and
prōsum, prōdesse, prōfuī	be of advantage, profit, avail, assist
bonus, -a, -um	good
obsum, -esse, -fuī	be against, harm (with dat.)
iterum, adv.	again, a second time
sī, conj.	if
computō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	count up, reckon, calculate
annus, -ī, m.	year
exiguus, -a, -um	small, scanty, short
tempus, temporis, n.	time, season
vicis (gen.), vicem f.	change, turn; in vicem: in turn
rēs, reī, f.	thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
aevum, -ī n.	age, lifetime; old age
putō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	think
possum, posse, potuī	be able, have power, can
documentum, -ī n.	lesson, warning, example
nihil, n., indecl.	nothing
dēspērō, -spērāre, -spērāvī, -spērātus	despair
nūllus, -a, -um	not any, none, no
fīdō, -ere, fīsus sum	trust, rely on (+ dat. or abl.); fīdēns, confident, bold
videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus	see; pass., seem
tot (indecl.)	so many
varietās, -ātis f.	variety; mottled color
tam, adv.	so
volūbilis, -e	spinning, rolling, turning; changeable
orbis, -is, m.	circle; orbis terrae or terrārum, circle of the earth or lands, earth, world
circumagō, -agere, -ēgī, -āctus	turn round, wheel about
autem, conj.	moreover; but, however; now
familiāris, -e; as noun, -is m.	of the household (rēs familiāris: private property); friend
omnis, -e	all, every
cōgitātiō, -ōnis f.	thought, reflection; plan, intention
meus, -a, -um	my, mine
tū, tuī, pers. pron.	thou, you
commūnicō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	share; in the Gospels also: make common, make (ritually) unclean
īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron.	the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also
vel	or; vel … vel: either … or
praeceptum, -ī n.	instruction, order
exemplum, -ī n.	example, precedent
moneō, -ēre, -uī, -itus	warn
ratiō, -ōnis, f.	plan, means, method, manner; reason; account
epistula, -ae f.	letter
valeō, -ēre, -uī, -itūrus	be 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.