Pliny, Letter 5.4

An advocate's conduct questioned in the senate

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Ep. 5.4.1Rēs parva, sed initium nōn parvae.A small matter, but the beginning of no small one. Ep. 5.4.1Vir praetōrius Sollers ā senātū petiit, ut sibi īnstituere nūndinās in agrīs suīs permitterētur.Sollers, a man of praetorian rank, asked the senate for permission to establish a market on his estates. Ep. 5.4.1Contrā dīxērunt lēgātī Vicetinōrum;The envoys of the people of Vicetia spoke against it; Ep. 5.4.1adfuit Tuscilius Nōminātus.Tuscilius Nominatus appeared for them. Ep. 5.4.2Dīlāta causa est.The case was adjourned. Ep. 5.4.2Aliō senātū Vicetinī sine advocātō intrāvērunt, dīxērunt sē dēceptōs, lāpsīne verbō, an quia ita sentiēbant.At another meeting of the senate the Vicetines came in without an advocate and said that they had been deceived, whether through a slip of the tongue or because they really thought so. Ep. 5.4.2Interrogātī ā Nepōte praetōre, quem docuissent, respondērunt quem prius.Asked by Nepos the praetor whom they had briefed, they replied, the same man as before. Ep. 5.4.2Interrogātī an tunc grātīs adfuisset, respondērunt sex mīlibus nummum;Asked whether he had appeared without a fee on that occasion, they replied, for six thousand sesterces; Ep. 5.4.2an rūrsus aliquid dedissent, dīxērunt mīlle dēnāriōs.asked whether they had given him anything a second time, they said a thousand denarii.

Ep. 5.4.2Nepōs postulāvit ut Nōminātus indūcerētur.Nepos demanded that Nominatus be brought in. Ep. 5.4.3Hāctenus illō diē.That was as far as it went that day. Ep. 5.4.3Sed quantum auguror longius rēs prōcēdet.But, as far as I can foresee, the affair will go further. Ep. 5.4.3Nam plēraque tācta tantum et omnīnō commōta lātissimē serpunt.For many things, once merely touched and stirred at all, spread very widely. Ep. 5.4.3Ērēxī aurēs tuās.I have pricked up your ears. Ep. 5.4.4Quam diū nunc oportet, quam blandē rogēs, ut reliqua cognōscās!How long, how coaxingly you must now beg in order to learn the rest! Ep. 5.4.4sī tamen nōn ante ob haec ipsa vēneris Rōmam, spectātorque mālueris esse quam lēctor.unless, that is, you come to Rome before then for this very reason, and prefer to be a spectator rather than a reader. Ep. 5.4.4Valē.Farewell.

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Grammar in this passage: indirect statement ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (94 words)

rēs, reī, f.	thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
parvus, -a, -um	little, small
sed, conj.	but
initium, -ī, n.	beginning
nōn, adv.	not
vir, virī, m.	man
praetōrius, -a, -um	of the commander (praetōria cohors: bodyguard)
sollers, -ertis	skilful, clever, ingenious
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
senātus, -ūs m.	senate
petō, -ere, -īvī or -iī, -ītus	seek, ask; attack
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.	himself, herself, itself, themselves
īnstituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtus	decide upon, determine
nūndinae, -ārum f. pl.	market day; market, trading, traffic
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
ager, agri, m.	field, land
suus, -a, -um	his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
permittō, -ere, -mīsī, -missum	allow, permit; entrust
contrā, prep, with acc.	against, contrary to
dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictus	say, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day
lēgātus, -ī, m.	ambassador
adsum, adesse, adfuī	be present, be at hand
differō, differre, distulī, dīlātum	differ; scatter, put off
causa, -ae, f.	cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
alius, -a, -ud	another, other; aliī ... aliī, some ... others
sine, prep. with abl.	without
advocātus, -ī m.	supporter in court, legal adviser, counsel; helper, friend called in
intrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	go within or into, enter
dēcipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus	catch, deceive
lābor, lābī, lapsus	slip, glide, fall
verbum, -ī, n.	word
an, conj.	or (in questions)
quia (conj.)	because
ita, adv.	in this manner, thus, so; ita ut, as
sentiō, sentīre, sēnsī, sēnsus	perceive, feel
interrogō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	ask, question
praetor, -ōris m.	praetor (legātus prō praetōre: officer with a praetor's powers)
quis, quid, interrog. pron.	who? which? what?
doceo, -ēre, -uī, -tus	teach, explain
respondeō, -spondēre, -spondī, -spōnsus	reply, answer
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
prius, adv.	before, first
tunc (adv.)	then, at that time
grātīs (adv.)	for nothing, freely; without cause
sex (indecl.)	six
mīlle, indecl. adj.	a thousand; mīlia, -ium, n. plur., thousands;
nummus, -ī, m.	coin
rūrsus, adv.	again
aliquis, -quid, indef. pron.	someone, any one, something, anything, some, any
dō, dare, dedī, datus	give
dēnārius, -ī m.	denarius, a silver coin, about a day's wage for a labourer
postulō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	ask, request, demand
indūcō, -dūcere, dūxī, -ductus	lead in or on, move, excite
hāctenus (adv.)	thus far, up to this point; so much (and no more)
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.	that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
diēs, -ēī, m. and f.	day
quantum, adv.	how much? how?
auguror, -ārī, -ātus sum	foretell; suppose, guess
longē, adv.	far
prōcēdō, -ere, -cessī, -cessum	go forward, advance
nam, conj.	for
plērīque, plēraeque, plēraque	most, very many
tangō, tangere, tetigī, tāctus	touch
tantum, adv.	so much or far, only
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
omnīnō, adv.	altogether, wholly, entirely
commoveō, -movēre, -mōvī, -mōtus	move, rouse; disturb
lātē	widely
serpō, serpere, serpsī	creep, crawl; spread gradually
ērigō, -rigere, -rēxī, -rēctus	raise or set up, raise, lift; cheer, encourage
auris, -is, f.	ear
tuus, -a, -um	thy, thine, your
quam, adv.	how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
diū, adv.	for a long time, a long time or while, long; comp
nunc, adv.	now
oportet, -ēre, oportuit (impersonal)	it is right, it is necessary
blandē (adv.)	flatteringly, in a friendly way
rogō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	ask
reliquus, -a, -um	left, the remaining, the other, the rest of
cognōscō, -gnōscere, -gnōvī, -gnitus	find out, learn; in tenses of completed action, have found out, know
sī, conj.	if
tamen, adv.	however, yet, nevertheless
ante, prep, with acc. and adv.	before
ob, prep. with acc.	on account of, for; in compounds, to, against
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.	self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus	come
spectātor, -ōris, m.	looker-on, spectator
que, enclitic conj.	and
mālō, mālle, māluī	wish rather, prefer
lēctor, -ōris m.	reader
valeō, -ēre, -uī, -itūrus	be strong or effectual, have effect, prevail

Pliny, Epistulae V. 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.