Pliny, Letter 6.19

Why land prices have risen

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Ep. 6.19.1Scīs tū accessisse pretium agrīs, praecipuē suburbānīs?Do you know that the price of land has gone up, especially near the city? Ep. 6.19.1Causa subitae cāritātis rēs multīs agitāta sermōnibus.The cause of the sudden dearness is a matter much discussed in conversation. Ep. 6.19.1Proximīs comitiīs honestissimās vōcēs senātūs expressit: "Candidātī nē convīventur, nē mittant mūnera, nē pecūniās dēpōnant."At the last elections the senate gave voice to a most honourable resolution: 'Candidates shall not give dinners, shall not send presents, shall not deposit money.' Ep. 6.19.2Ex quibus duo priōra tam apertē quam immodice fīēbant;Of these the first two were being done as openly as they were excessively; Ep. 6.19.2hoc tertium, quamquam occultārētur, prō compertō habēbātur.this third, although it was concealed, was held to be known for certain. Ep. 6.19.3Homullus deinde noster vigilanter ūsus hōc cōnsēnsū senātūs sententiae locō postulāvit, ut cōnsulēs dēsīderium ūniversōrum notum prīncipī facerent, peterentque sīcut aliīs vitiīs huic quoque prōvidentia suā occurreret.Then our friend Homullus, vigilantly making use of this agreement of the senate, demanded, when called on for his opinion, that the consuls should make the wish of all known to the prince, and ask that he should meet this evil too with his foresight, as he had other vices.

Ep. 6.19.4Occurrit;He has met it; Ep. 6.19.4nam sūmptūs candidātōrum, foedōs illōs et īnfāmēs, ambitūs lēge restrīnxit;for he has restrained by the law on bribery the expenses of candidates, those foul and disgraceful expenses; Ep. 6.19.4eōsdem patrimōniī tertiam partem cōnferre iussit in ea quae solō continērentur, dēfōrme arbitrātus - et erat - honōrem petītūrōs urbem Ītaliamque nōn prō patriā sed prō hospitiō aut stabulō quasi peregrīnantēs habēre.and he has ordered them to invest a third of their fortune in property consisting of land, thinking it unseemly — as it was — that those who were seeking office should treat Rome and Italy not as their country but as an inn or a lodging-house, as if they were travellers. Ep. 6.19.5Concursant ergō candidātī;So the candidates are rushing about; Ep. 6.19.5certātim quidquid vēnāle audiunt ēmptitant, quoque sint plūra vēnālia efficiunt.they vie with one another in buying up whatever they hear is for sale, and so bring it about that more is for sale. Ep. 6.19.6Proinde sī paenitet tē Italicōrum praediōrum, hoc vēndendī tempus tam herculē quam in prōvinciīs comparandī, dum īdem candidātī illīc vēndunt ut hīc emant.So if you are tired of your Italian estates, this, by Hercules, is as good a time for selling them as for buying in the provinces, while these same candidates are selling there in order to buy here.

Ep. 6.19.6Valē.Farewell.

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Grammar in this passage: indirect statement ×2, gerunds and gerundives ×2

Latin vocabulary for this passage (122 words)

sciō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus	know
tū, tuī, pers. pron.	thou, you
accēdō, -ere, accessī, accessum	come near, approach; be added
pretium, -ī, n.	price, charge
ager, agri, m.	field, land
praecipuē, adv.	especially
suburbānus, -a, -um	near the city, suburban
causa, -ae, f.	cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of
subitus, -a, -um	sudden
cāritās, -ātis f.	dearness; love, affection
rēs, reī, f.	thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
multus, -a, -um	much, great; plur., many
agitō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	drive about; discuss, debate
sermō, -ōnis, m.	conversation, talk, speech
proximus, -a, -um	nearest, next
comitia, -ōrum n. pl.	the assembly of the Roman people for voting; elections
honestus, -a, -um	respected, honourable
vōx, vōcis, f.	voice; word
senātus, -ūs m.	senate
exprimō, -primere, -pressī, -pressus	press out
candidātus, -ī m.	candidate for office
nē, adv.	not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest
convīvor, -ārī, -ātus sum	feast together, give dinners
mittō, mittere, mīsī, missus	send
mūnus, mūneris, n.	service, office, duty; present, gift
pecūnia, -ae, f.	money (the possession of cattle constituting wealth in early times)
dēpōnō, -pōnere, -posuī, -positus	put down, deposit; lay aside, give up; ē memoriā dēpōnere, to forget
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)	out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
duo, -ae, -o, plur. adj.	two
prior, prius	earlier, former; in front (priōrēs: those in front)
tam, adv.	so
apertē (adv.)	openly, plainly
quam, adv.	how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
immodicus, -a, -um	excessive, unrestrained
fīō, fierī, factus sum	be done or made, become, happen
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
tertius, -a, -um	third
quamquam, conj.	however much, although
occultō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	hide, conceal
prō, prep. with abl.	before, in front of; for, in behalf of; for, as; in return for, for
comperiō, -īre, comperī, compertum	find out, learn
habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus	have, hold; consider
deinde, adv.	then, next
noster, -tra, -trum	our
vigilanter (adv.)	watchfully; with greater effort
ūtor, ūtī, ūsus	use
cōnsēnsus, -ūs, m.	agreement, consent
sententia, -ae, f.	opinion; purpose
locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n.	place, situation
postulō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	ask, request, demand
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
cōnsul, -ulis m.	consul (one of Rome's two chief magistrates)
dēsīderium, -ī, n.	desire, longing
ūniversus, -a, -um	all together, whole, entire, all
nōtus, -a, -um	known, well-known, famous
prīnceps, -ipis	first, chief; as noun: leader
faciō, facere, fēcī, factus	make, do; iter facere, see iter
petō, -ere, -īvī or -iī, -ītus	seek, ask; attack
que, enclitic conj.	and
sīcut (conj.)	just as
alius, -a, -ud	another, other; aliī ... aliī, some ... others
vitium, -ī n.	fault, vice
quoque, adv.	also
prōvidentia, -ae f.	foresight
suus, -a, -um	his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
occurrō, -currere, -currī, -cursus	run against, meet
nam, conj.	for
sūmptus, -ūs m.	expense
foedus, -a, -um	foul, loathsome, hideous
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.	that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
īnfāmis, -e	of ill repute, notorious
ambitus, -ūs m.	canvassing for office; bribery at elections (lēgēs ambitus: the bribery laws)
lēx, lēgis f.	law
restringō, -ere, -strīnxī, -strictus	restrain, limit; tie back
īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron.	the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also
patrimōnium, -ī n.	inheritance, family estate
pars, partis, f.	part, side, direction
cōnferō, cōnferre, contulī, conlātus	bring together; grant, confer; sē cōnferre, to betake oneself, make one's way
iubeō, iubēre, iussī, iussus	bid, order, command
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
sōlum (adv.); solum, -ī n.	only (nōn sōlum … sed etiam: not only … but also); ground, soil
contineō, -tinēre, -tinuī, -tentus	hold together, keep within, shut up in; bound
dēfōrmis, -e	misshapen, ugly
arbitror, -ārī, -ātus	consider, think, judge
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
honor, -ōris, m.	honor
urbs, urbis, f.	city
nōn, adv.	not
patria, -ae, f.	fatherland, country
sed, conj.	but
hospitium, -ī, n.	hospitality
aut, conj.	or; aut ... aut, either ... or
stabulum, -ī, n.	standing-place, stall, stable, inclosure
quasi, conj.	as if
peregrīnor, -ārī, -ātus sum	travel abroad, be a stranger
concursō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	run about, rush to and fro
ergō (adv.)	therefore, then; quid ergō? what then?
certātim (adv.)	eagerly, vying with one another
quisquis, quidquid (quicquid)	whoever, whatever
vēnālis, -e	for sale; venal, open to bribery
audiō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus	hear; listen or attend to
ēmptitō, -āre	buy up, keep buying
plūrēs, -a, plur. adj.	more, many, several
efficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectus	make or work out, accomplish, effect
proinde (adv.)	therefore, accordingly; so then
sī, conj.	if
paeniteō, -ēre, -uī	cause regret; impersonal: it causes regret (to)
Italicus, -a, -um	Italian; bellum Italicum: the Social War of 91–88 BC between Rome and its Italian allies
praedium, -ī n.	estate, farm
vēndō, -ere, vēndidī, vēnditum	sell
tempus, temporis, n.	time, season
hercle (interj.)	by Hercules!, indeed
prōvincia, -ae f.	province; here, the Roman Province in southern Gaul
comparō, -parāre, -parāvī, -parātus	prepare, collect
dum, conj.	while, as; as long as; until
illīc (adv.)	there
hīc, adv.	here; hereupon
emō, -ere, ēmī, ēmptum	buy
valeō, -ēre, -uī, -itūrus	be strong or effectual, have effect, prevail

Pliny, Epistulae VI. 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.