Pliny, Letter 4.8

Pliny is made augur

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Ep. 4.8.1Grātulāris mihi quod accēperim augurātum: iūre, grātulāris, prīmum quod gravissimī prīncipis iūdicium in minōribus etiam rēbus cōnsequī pulchrum est, deinde quod sacerdōtium ipsum cum prīscum et religiōsum tum hoc quoque sacrum plānē et īnsigne est, quod nōn adimitur vīventī.You congratulate me on receiving the augurate: and rightly you congratulate me, first because it is a fine thing to win the approval of so serious an emperor even in lesser matters, and then because the priesthood itself is both ancient and sacred and also holy and distinguished in this respect, that it is not taken away from a man while he lives. Ep. 4.8.2Nam alia quamquam dignitāte propemodum paria ut tribuuntur sīc auferuntur;For other offices, although almost equal in rank, are taken away just as they are granted; Ep. 4.8.2in hōc fortūnae hāctenus licet ut darī possit.in this one fortune has power only so far as to allow it to be given. Ep. 4.8.3Mihi vērō illud etiam grātulātiōne dignum vidētur, quod successī Iūliō Frontīnō prīncipī virō, quī mē nōminātiōnis diē per hōs continuōs annōs inter sacerdōtēs nōminābat, tamquam in locum suum cooptāret;To me, indeed, this also seems worth congratulation, that I have succeeded Julius Frontinus, a leading man, who throughout these recent years, on the day of nominations, kept nominating me to the priesthood, as if he were co-opting me into his own place; Ep. 4.8.3quod nunc ēventus ita comprobāvit, ut nōn fortuītum vidērētur.and the outcome has now so confirmed this that it did not seem a matter of chance.

Ep. 4.8.4Tē quidem, ut scrībis, ob hoc maximē dēlectat augurātus meus, quod M. Tullius augur fuit.You, as you write, are delighted by my augurate above all because Marcus Tullius was an augur. Ep. 4.8.4Laetāris enim quod honōribus eius īnsistam, quem aemulārī in studiīs cupiō.For you are glad that I am following in the steps of his honours, since I long to rival him in my studies. Ep. 4.8.5Sed utinam ut sacerdōtium idem, ut cōnsulātum multō etiam iuvenior quam ille sum cōnsecūtus, ita senex saltem ingenium eius aliquā ex parte assequī possim!But if only, just as I have obtained the same priesthood, and the consulship at a much younger age than he did, so I might, as an old man at least, attain to his genius in some degree! Ep. 4.8.6Sed nīmīrum quae sunt in manū hominum et mihi et multīs contigērunt;But of course the things that lie in human hands have fallen to me and to many others; Ep. 4.8.6illud vērō ut adipīscī arduum sīc etiam spērāre nimium est, quod darī nōn nisi ā dīs potest.but that which can be given only by the gods is as hard to obtain as it is presumptuous even to hope for.

Ep. 4.8.6Valē.Farewell.

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Grammar in this passage: indirect statement ×2, purpose clauses ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (116 words)

grātulor, -ārī, -ātus sum	congratulate
ego, meī, pers. pron.	I
quod, conj.	that, in that, because
accipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus	take to oneself, receive, accept; hear; suffer
augurātus, -ūs m.	office of augur, augurship
iūs, iūris, n.	right, justice, law; iūs dīcere, to pronounce judgment; iūs iūrandum, iūris iūrandī, oath
prīmum, adv.	first, in the first place
gravis, -e	heavy; severe, grievous, serious
prīnceps, -ipis	first, chief; as noun: leader
iūdicium, -ī n.	trial, court; judgment
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
parvus, -a, -um	little, small
etiam, adv.	and now, also, too, even
rēs, reī, f.	thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
cōnsequor, -sequī, -secūtus	follow up, follow; overtake
pulcher, pulchra, pulchrum	beautiful
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
deinde, adv.	then, next
sacerdōtium, -ī n.	priesthood
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.	self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
cum, conj.	when, while, after; since; although
prīscus, -a, -um	ancient, of olden times; Prīscī Latīnī: the Old Latins
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
religiōsus, -a, -um	devout, scrupulous in religion
tum, adv.	then, at that time
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
quoque, adv.	also
sacer, sacra, sacrum	sacred, holy
plānē (adv.)	clearly, plainly
īnsignis, -e	notable, remarkable
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
nōn, adv.	not
adimō, -imere, -ēmī, -ēmptus	take to oneself, take away
vīvō, vīvere, vīxī, vīctus	live
nam, conj.	for
alius, -a, -ud	another, other; aliī ... aliī, some ... others
quamquam, conj.	however much, although
dignitās, -ātis f.	rank, standing, prestige
propemodum (adv.)	almost, nearly
pār, paris	equal
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
tribuō, -ere, tribuī, tribūtum	assign, attribute
sīc, adv.	so, thus
auferō, auferre, abstulī, ablātus	bear away, carry off
fortūna, -ae, f.	fortune
hāctenus (adv.)	thus far, up to this point; so much (and no more)
licet, -ēre, -uit or -itum est, impers.	is lawful or permitted
dō, dare, dedī, datus	give
possum, posse, potuī	be able, have power, can
vērō, adv.	in truth, indeed; however
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.	that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
grātulātiō, -ōnis f.	rejoicing, congratulation
dignus, -a, -um (+ abl.)	worthy (of), deserving
videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus	see; pass., seem
succēdō, -cēdere, -cessī, -cessus	go or come under, follow after, succeed
vir, virī, m.	man
nōminātiō, -ōnis f.	nomination (to a priesthood)
diēs, -ēī, m. and f.	day
per, prep, with ace.	through, by means of
continuus, -a, -um	continuous, successive
annus, -ī, m.	year
inter, prep, with acc.	among, between
sacerdōs, -dōtis, m. and f.	priest, priestess
nōminō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	name, mention
tamquam (adv., conj.)	as, just as; as if
locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n.	place, situation
suus, -a, -um	his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
cooptō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	elect, co-opt (as a member)
nunc, adv.	now
ēventus, -ūs m.	outcome, result
ita, adv.	in this manner, thus, so; ita ut, as
comprobō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	approve; confirm, prove right
fortuītus, -a, -um	accidental, happening by chance; n. pl., accidents
tū, tuī, pers. pron.	thou, you
quidem, adv.	in fact, indeed, certainly; nē ... quidem, not ... even
scrībō, scrībere, scrīpsī, scrīptus	write
ob, prep. with acc.	on account of, for; in compounds, to, against
maximē, adv.	very greatly, exceedingly, especially
dēlectō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	please, delight; passive: enjoy, take pleasure in
meus, -a, -um	my, mine
augur, -uris m.	augur, a priest who read the will of the gods from birds and signs
laetor, -ārī, -ātus sum	rejoice, be glad
enim, conj.	for
honor, -ōris, m.	honor
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
īnsistō, -ere, īnstitī	stand on
aemulor, -ārī, -ātus sum	try to equal, rival, imitate
studium, -ī, n.	eagerness, zeal; study, pursuit
cupiō, -ere, -īvī, -ītus	desire, long for, wish
sed, conj.	but
utinam (adv.)	if only, would that (with subjunctive)
īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron.	the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also
cōnsulātus, -ūs m.	consulship
multō, adv.	by much or far, much, far
iuvenis, -is, m.	young man, youth
quam, adv.	how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
senex, senis, m.	old man
saltem (adv.)	at least
ingenium, -ī n.	natural ability, talent, cleverness; character
aliquī, -qua, -quod, indef. pron. adj.	some, any
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)	out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
pars, partis, f.	part, side, direction
assequor, -sequī, -secūtus sum	overtake; attain, accomplish
nīmīrum (adv.)	of course, no doubt, evidently (often ironic)
manus, -ūs, f.	hand
homō, hominis, m.	man
multus, -a, -um	much, great; plur., many
contingō, -ere, -tigī, -tāctum	touch, reach
adipīscor, -ī, adeptus sum	obtain, win, gain
arduus, -a, -um	steep, difficult
spērō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	hope
nimium (adv.)	too, too much
nisi, conj.	if not, unless
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
deus, -ī, m.	god
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.