LectitōOpen the reader

Lectitō › Pliny the Younger › Letters, Book 6 › Pliny, Letter 6.30

Pliny · Epistulae VI

Pliny, Letter 6.30

Repairs to an old Campanian villa

English onlyRead it word by word

Ep. 6.30.1Dēbēmus mehercule nātālēs tuōs perinde ac nostrōs celebrāre, cum laetitia nostrōrum ex tuīs pendeat, cuius dīligentiā et cūrā hīc hilarēs istīc sēcūrī sumus.By Hercules, we ought to celebrate your birthday just as we celebrate our own, since the happiness of ours depends on yours, by whose diligence and care we are cheerful here and free from anxiety there. Ep. 6.30.2Vīlla Camilliāna, quam in Campāniā possidēs, est quidem vetustāte vexāta;The Camillian villa, which you own in Campania, is indeed damaged by age; Ep. 6.30.2et tamen, quae sunt pretiōsiōra, aut integra manent aut levissimē laesa sunt.and yet the more valuable parts either remain intact or are only very slightly damaged. Ep. 6.30.3Attendimus ergō, ut quam salūberrime reficiantur.So we are seeing to it that they are restored as soundly as possible. Ep. 6.30.3Ego videor habēre multōs amīcōs, sed huius generis, cuius et tū quaeris et rēs exigit, prope nēminem.I seem to have many friends, but of the kind that you are looking for and the matter demands, almost none. Ep. 6.30.4Sunt enim omnēs togātī et urbānī;For they are all men of the toga and of the city; Ep. 6.30.4rūsticōrum autem praediōrum administrātiō poscit dūrum aliquem et agrestem, cui nec labor ille gravis nec cūra sordida nec trīstis sōlitūdō videātur.but the management of country estates calls for someone tough and rustic, to whom that labour will not seem heavy, nor the care demeaning, nor the solitude gloomy.

Ep. 6.30.5Tū dē Rūfō honestissimē cōgitās;You are thinking most honourably of Rufus; Ep. 6.30.5fuit enim fīliō tuō familiāris.for he was a close friend of your son. Ep. 6.30.5Quid tamen nōbīs ibi praestāre possit ignōrō, velle plūrimum crēdō.What, though, he can do for us there I do not know; that he wants to do a great deal I believe. Ep. 6.30.5Valē.Farewell.

Read the Latin itself: tap any word for its meaning and grammar, save words to review, and keep your place.

Read in Lectitō

Grammar in this passage: purpose clauses ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (89 words)
dēbeō, -ēre, -uī, -itusowe; with infin., ought
mehercule, mehercle (interj.)by Hercules!, so help me, truly
nātālis, -eof birth (diēs nātālis: birthday)
tuus, -a, -umthy, thine, your
perinde (adv.)in the same way, equally; haud perinde: not so much
atque, ac (conj.)and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
noster, -tra, -trumour
celebrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusthrong; keep (a festival), celebrate
cum, conj.when, while, after; since; although
laetitia, -ae, f.joy
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
pendeō, -ēre, pependīhang, be suspended; hover
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.who, which
dīligentia, -ae, f.care, diligence, industry
et, conj.and; et ... et, both ... and
cūra, -ae f.care, concern (cūrae esse: to be a concern)
hīc, adv.here; hereupon
hilaris, -echeerful, in good spirits
istīc (adv.)there, where you are
sēcūrus, -a, -umfree from care, untroubled; careless (of: gen.)
sum, esse, fuī, futūrusbe
vīlla, -ae, f.country-house, villa
Camilliānus, -a, -umof Camillus (name of a villa in Campania)
in, prep. with acc. and abl.with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
possideō, -sidēre, -sēdī, -sessushold, possess
quidem, adv.in fact, indeed, certainly; nē ... quidem, not ... even
vetustās, -ātis f.age, antiquity; the distant past
vexō, -āre, -āvī, -ātumharass, ravage
tamen, adv.however, yet, nevertheless
pretiōsus, -a, -umcostly, precious
aut, conj.or; aut ... aut, either ... or
integer, -gra, -grumuntouched, fresh, whole
maneō, manēre, mānsī, mānsusremain
leviter, adv.slightly
laedō, -ere, laesī, laesushurt, injure; break (an oath)
attendō, -tendere, -tendī, -tentusturn one's mind to, pay attention, notice
ergō (adv.)therefore, then; quid ergō? what then?
ut, conj.as; when; that; ita ut, as
quam, adv.how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
salūber (salūbris), -bris, -brehealthy, wholesome, beneficial
reficiō, -ficere, -fēcī, -fectusmake anew, renew, repair
ego, meī, pers. pron.I
videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsussee; pass., seem
habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itushave, hold; consider
multus, -a, -ummuch, great; plur., many
amīcus, -ī, m.friend
sed, conj.but
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
genus, generis, n.kind, nature
tū, tuī, pers. pron.thou, you
quaerō, quaerere, quaesīvī, quaesītusseek; ask, inquire
rēs, reī, f.thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
exigō, -ere, -ēgī, -āctumdrive out; finish, spend (a season)
prope (adv. and prep. + acc.)near, nearly
nēmō, nēminis, m. and f.no one, nobody
enim, conj.for
omnis, -eall, every
togātus, -a, -umwearing the toga; Gallia togata: Gaul this side of the Alps, whose people had Roman citizenship
urbānus, -a, -umof the city (Rome), urban
rūsticus, -a, -umrural, of the country
autem, conj.moreover; but, however; now
praedium, -ī n.estate, farm
administrātiō, -ōnis f.management, use; working, operation
poscō, poscere, poposcīask, demand
dūrus, -a, -umhard; harsh; difficult
aliquis, -quid, indef. pron.someone, any one, something, anything, some, any
agrestis, -eof the country, rustic; boorish
neque or nec, conj.and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
labor, -ōris, m.labor, toil
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
gravis, -eheavy; severe, grievous, serious
sordidus, -a, -umdirty; mean, base, of low status
trīstis, -esad, gloomy
sōlitūdō, -inis f.loneliness; a wilderness, desert
dē, prep, with abl.down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of
honestē, adv.honorably, decently
cōgitō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusconsider, think over
fīlius, -ī, m.son
familiāris, -e; as noun, -is m.of the household (rēs familiāris: private property); friend
quis, quid, interrog. pron.who? which? what?
nōsplur. of ego
ibi, adv.in that place, there
praestō, -stāre, -stitī, -stitusstand in front; show
possum, posse, potuībe able, have power, can
ignōrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusbe ignorant of
volō, velle, voluīwish
plūrimum (adv.)most, very much (plūrimum posse: be most powerful)
crēdō, -dere, -didī, -ditusbelieve
valeō, -ēre, -uī, -itūrusbe 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.