Pliny, Letter 6.4

Anxiety for his ailing wife

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Ep. 6.4.1Numquam sum magis dē occupātiōnibus meīs questus, quae mē nōn sunt passae aut proficīscentem tē valētūdinis causā in Campāniam prōsequī aut profectam ē vestīgiō subsequī.Never have I complained more of my engagements, which have not allowed me either to accompany you when you set out for Campania for the sake of your health, or to follow you at once after you had gone. Ep. 6.4.2Nunc enim praecipuē simul esse cupiēbam, ut oculīs meīs crēderem quid vīribus quid corpusculō apparārēs, ecquid dēnique sēcessūs voluptātēs regiōnisque abundantiam inoffēnsa trānsmitterēs.For now especially I longed to be with you, so that I might trust my own eyes as to what strength, what flesh you were putting on, and whether, in short, you were enjoying the pleasures of your retreat and the richness of the region without harm. Ep. 6.4.3Equidem etiam fortem tē nōn sine cūrā dēsīderārem;Indeed, even if you were strong, I should not miss you without anxiety; Ep. 6.4.3est enim suspēnsum et ānxium dē eō quem ardentissimē dīligās interdum nihil scīre.for it is a tense and anxious thing to know nothing for a time about someone you love most ardently.

Ep. 6.4.4Nunc vērō mē cum absentiae tum īnfirmitātis tuae ratiō incerta et variā sollicitūdine exterret.But now the thought both of your absence and of your illness terrifies me with an uncertain and shifting anxiety. Ep. 6.4.4Vereor omnia, imāginor omnia, quaeque nātūra metuentium est, ea maximē mihi quae maximē abōminor fingō.I fear everything, I imagine everything, and, as is the nature of those who are afraid, I picture most of all the things I most dread. Ep. 6.4.5Quō impēnsius rogō, ut timōrī meō cottīdiē singulīs vel etiam bīnīs epistulīs cōnsulās.So all the more earnestly I beg you to relieve my fear every day with one or even two letters. Ep. 6.4.5Erō enim sēcūrior dum legō, statimque timēbō cum lēgerō.For I shall be calmer while I am reading, and shall be afraid again as soon as I have read. Ep. 6.4.5Valē.Farewell.

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

Latin vocabulary for this passage (91 words)

numquam, adv.	never
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
magis, comp. adv.	more, rather
dē, prep, with abl.	down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of
occupātiō, -ōnis f.	business, engagement, being busy
meus, -a, -um	my, mine
queror, -ī, questus sum	complain
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
ego, meī, pers. pron.	I
nōn, adv.	not
patior, patī, passus, bear	suffer, allow
aut, conj.	or; aut ... aut, either ... or
proficīscor, -ficīscī, -fectus sum	set out, depart, march
tū, tuī, pers. pron.	thou, you
valētūdō, -inis f.	health, state of health; ill health
causa, -ae, f.	cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
prōsequor, -sequī, -secūtus	follow forward, follow
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)	out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
vestīgium, -ī, n.	track, foot-print
subsequor, -ī, -secūtus sum	follow closely
nunc, adv.	now
enim, conj.	for
praecipuē, adv.	especially
simul, adv.	at the same time; simul atque or ac, as soon as
cupiō, -ere, -īvī, -ītus	desire, long for, wish
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
oculus, -ī, m.	eye
crēdō, -dere, -didī, -ditus	believe
quis, quid, interrog. pron.	who? which? what?
vīs, vīs, f.	violence, force; virtue, potency, efficacy; plur. vīrēs, -ium, strength; omnibus vīribus, with all one's strength, with might and main
corpusculum, -ī n.	little body; one's poor body, health
apparō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	prepare, get ready
ecquid (adv.)	at all? (introducing an eager question: 'do you at all ...?')
dēnique, adv.	lastly, finally
sēcessus, -ūs m.	a withdrawing; a retreat; drain, privy
voluptās, -tātis, f.	pleasure
regiō, -ōnis, f.	direction; country, region
que, enclitic conj.	and
abundantia, -ae f.	plenty, wealth
inoffēnsus, -a, -um	unobstructed, smooth, uninterrupted
trānsmittō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missus	send across; cross over
equidem (adv.)	indeed, truly; for my part
etiam, adv.	and now, also, too, even
fortis, -e	brave
sine, prep. with abl.	without
cūra, -ae f.	care, concern (cūrae esse: to be a concern)
dēsīderō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	long for, miss; require
suspendō, -pendere, -pendī, -pēnsus	hang up, hang
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
ānxius, -a, -um	anxious
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
ardenter (adv.)	ardently, passionately
dīligō, -ere, -lēxī, -lēctus	love, value highly
interdum (adv.)	sometimes
nihil, n., indecl.	nothing
sciō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus	know
vērō, adv.	in truth, indeed; however
cum, conj.	when, while, after; since; although
absentia, -ae f.	absence
tum, adv.	then, at that time
īnfirmitās, -ātis f.	weakness; fickleness
tuus, -a, -um	thy, thine, your
ratiō, -ōnis, f.	plan, means, method, manner; reason; account
incertus, -a, -um	uncertain, unreliable
varius, -a, -um	various
sollicitūdō, -tūdinis, f.	anxiety, care, apprehension
exterreō, -ēre, -uī, -itus	frighten badly, terrify
vereor, -ērī, -itus	fear
omnis, -e	all, every
imāginor, -ārī, -ātus sum	picture to oneself, imagine
nātūra, -ae, f.	nature, character
metuō, -ere, metuī	fear, be afraid of
maximē, adv.	very greatly, exceedingly, especially
abōminor, -ārī, -ātus sum	detest, loathe; (pass. sense) be abhorred, be unlawful
fingō, fingere, finxī, fictus	invent, make up
impēnsē (adv.)	greatly, earnestly; comp. impēnsius, all the more
rogō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	ask
timor, -ōris, m.	fear
cottīdiē, adv.	daily, every day
singulī, -ae, -a	one at a time, single
vel	or; vel … vel: either … or
bīnī, -ae, -a	two each, two at a time
epistula, -ae f.	letter
cōnsulō, -ere, -uī, -tus	consult
sēcūrus, -a, -um	free from care, untroubled; careless (of: gen.)
dum, conj.	while, as; as long as; until
legō, legere, lēgī, lēctus	choose, pick out; read
statim, adv.	on the spot, forthwith, at once, immediately
timeō, -ēre, -uī	fear
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.