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Pliny · Epistulae IV

Pliny, Letter 4.26

Revising books for a governor

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Ep. 4.26.1Petis ut libellōs meōs, quōs studiōsissimē comparāstī, recognōscendōs ēmendandōsque cūrem.You ask me to see to the revision and correction of my little books, which you have most zealously acquired. Ep. 4.26.1Faciam.I will do so. Ep. 4.26.1Quid enim suscipere libentius dēbeō, tē praesertim exigente?For what ought I to undertake more gladly, especially at your request? Ep. 4.26.2Nam cum vir gravissimus doctissimus disertissimus, super haec occupātissimus, maximae prōvinciae praefutūrus, tantī putēs scrīpta nostra circumferre tēcum, quantō opere mihi prōvidendum est, nē tē haec pars sarcinārum tamquam supervacua offendat!For when you, a man most serious, most learned, most eloquent, and on top of all this most busy, about to govern a very great province, think it worth while to carry my writings around with you, how careful must I be that this part of your baggage does not annoy you as superfluous! Ep. 4.26.3Adnītar ergō, prīmum ut comitēs istōs quam commodissimōs habeās, deinde ut reversus inveniās, quōs istīs addere velīs.I shall make every effort, then, first that you may have those companions of yours in as agreeable a form as possible, and second that on your return you may find others you would like to add to them.

Ep. 4.26.3Neque enim mediocriter mē ad nova opera tū lēctor hortāris.For you, as my reader, are no small encouragement to me to take up new works. Ep. 4.26.3Valē.Farewell.

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Grammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×3, ablative absolute ×1, indirect statement ×1, purpose clauses ×2

Latin vocabulary for this passage (68 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
meus, -a, -ummy, mine
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.who, which
studiōsē (adv.)eagerly, carefully
comparō, -parāre, -parāvī, -parātusprepare, collect
recognōscō, -ere, -gnōvī, -gnitusgo over again, review, recall
ēmendō, -āre, -āvī, -ātuscorrect, make good, remove faults
que, enclitic conj.and
cūrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātumtake care of; (+ gerundive) have something done
faciō, facere, fēcī, factusmake, do; iter facere, see iter
quis, quid, interrog. pron.who? which? what?
enim, conj.for
suscipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptusundertake
libenter, adv.willingly, gladly
dēbeō, -ēre, -uī, -itusowe; with infin., ought
tū, tuī, pers. pron.thou, you
praesertim (adv.)especially
exigō, -ere, -ēgī, -āctumdrive out; finish, spend (a season)
nam, conj.for
cum, conj.when, while, after; since; although
vir, virī, m.man
gravis, -eheavy; severe, grievous, serious
doctus, -a, -umlearned, skilled, trained (in: abl.)
disertus, -a, -umeloquent, skilled in speaking
super (prep. + acc. or abl.; also adv.)over, above, on top of; upon; about, concerning
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
occupātus, -a, -umbusy, occupied, engaged
magnus, -a, -umlarge, big, great, mighty; loud
prōvincia, -ae f.province; here, the Roman Province in southern Gaul
praesum, -esse, -fuībe before, preside over, have charge of, command
tantus, -a, -umso great or much
putō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusthink
scrīptum, -ī n.something written; (pl.) writings, works
noster, -tra, -trumour
circumferō, -ferre, -tulī, -lātuscarry around
quantus, -a, -umhow great or much?
opus, operis, n.work, task
ego, meī, pers. pron.I
prōvideō, -ēre, -vīdī, -vīsumforesee; provide for
sum, esse, fuī, futūrusbe
nē, adv.not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest
pars, partis, f.part, side, direction
sarcina, -ae f.pack; (pl.) soldiers' kit
tamquam (adv., conj.)as, just as; as if
supervacuus, -a, -umsuperfluous, unnecessary, needless
offendō, -fendere, -fendī, -fēnsusoffend
adnītor, -nītī, -nīsus sumlean on; exert oneself, support (someone's cause)
ergō (adv.)therefore, then; quid ergō? what then?
prīmum, adv.first, in the first place
comes, -itis, m. and f.companion
iste, ista, istud, dem. pron.that of yours, that
quam, adv.how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
commodus, -a, -umconvenient, suitable
habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itushave, hold; consider
deinde, adv.then, next
revertor, -vertī, -versus, perf. act. -vertīturn back, return
inveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventuscome upon, find
addō, -ere, -didī, -ditusadd, put to
volō, velle, voluīwish
neque or nec, conj.and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
mediocriter (adv.)moderately (nōn mediocriter: greatly)
ad, prep. with acc.to, toward; at, near; for
novus, -a, -umnew; novissimus, last
lēctor, -ōris m.reader
hortor, -ārī, -ātusexhort, encourage, urge
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.