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Pliny · Epistulae VII

Pliny, Letter 7.18

Endowing a public feast safely

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Ep. 7.18.1Dēlīberās mēcum quemadmodum pecūnia, quam mūnicipibus nostrīs in epulum obtulistī, post tē quoque salva sit.You consult me about how the money which you have offered our fellow townsmen for a public feast may be kept safe after your death too. Ep. 7.18.1Honesta cōnsultātiō, nōn expedīta sententia.An honourable question, but not an easy one to answer. Ep. 7.18.1Numerēs reī pūblicae summam: verendum est nē dīlābātur.Suppose you pay the sum over to the town: there is a danger that it may be frittered away. Ep. 7.18.1Dēs agrōs: ut pūblicī neglegentur.Suppose you give land: as public property it will be neglected. Ep. 7.18.2Equidem nihil commodius inveniō, quam quod ipse fēcī.For my part I find nothing more suitable than what I did myself. Ep. 7.18.2Nam prō quīngentīs mīlibus nummum, quae in alimenta ingenuōrum ingenuārumque prōmīseram, agrum ex meīs longē plūris āctōrī pūblicō mancipāvī;For in place of the five hundred thousand sesterces that I had promised for the maintenance of freeborn boys and girls, I conveyed to the town's agent a piece of land of my own worth much more; Ep. 7.18.2eundem vectīgālī impositō recēpī, trīcēna mīlia annua datūrus.I took the same land back with a rent charge imposed on it, undertaking to pay thirty thousand a year.

Ep. 7.18.3Per hoc enim et reī pūblicae sors in tūtō nec reditus incertus, et ager ipse propter id quod vectīgal lārgē supercurrit, semper dominum ā quō exerceātur inveniet.In this way the town's capital is safe and the income not uncertain, and the land itself, because its yield far exceeds the rent charge, will always find an owner to work it. Ep. 7.18.4Nec ignōrō mē plūs aliquantō quam dōnāsse videor ērogāvisse, cum pulcherrimī agrī pretium necessitās vectīgālis īnfrēgerit.Nor am I unaware that I have paid out somewhat more than I appear to have given, since the burden of the rent charge has lowered the value of a very fine estate. Ep. 7.18.5Sed oportet prīvātīs ūtilitātibus pūblicās, mortālibus aeternās anteferre, multōque dīligentius mūnerī suō cōnsulere quam facultātibus.But one ought to put public advantage before private, eternal before mortal, and to look far more carefully to one's gift than to one's means. Ep. 7.18.5Valē.Farewell.

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Grammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×1, ablative absolute ×1, indirect statement ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (102 words)
dēlīberō, -āre, -āvī, -ātumconsider, deliberate
ego, meī, pers. pron.I
quemadmodum (adv.)how, in what way; just as
pecūnia, -ae, f.money (the possession of cattle constituting wealth in early times)
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.who, which
mūniceps, -cipis m.citizen of a municipium, townsman
noster, -tra, -trumour
in, prep. with acc. and abl.with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
epulum, -ī n.public banquet, feast
offerō, offerre, obtulī, oblātusbear to, proffer, offer
post, adv.after, later; prep. with acc., after, behind
tū, tuī, pers. pron.thou, you
quoque, adv.also
salvus, -a, -umsafe, unharmed
sum, esse, fuī, futūrusbe
honestus, -a, -umrespected, honourable
cōnsultātiō, -ōnis f.consultation, deliberation
nōn, adv.not
expediō, -īre, -īvī, -ītusfree, set clear; get ready; arrange, settle
sententia, -ae, f.opinion; purpose
numerō, -āre, -āvī, -ātuscount, number; reckon, count as
rēs, reī, f.thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
pūblicus, -a, -umpublic, of the state (rēs pūblica: the state)
summa, -ae f.total, sum; supreme command
vereor, -ērī, -itusfear
nē, adv.not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest
dīlābor, -lābī, -lāpsus sumslip away, melt away, scatter
dō, dare, dedī, datusgive
ager, agri, m.field, land
ut, conj.as; when; that; ita ut, as
neglegō, -legere, -lēxī, -lēctusdisregard, neglect
equidem (adv.)indeed, truly; for my part
nihil, n., indecl.nothing
commodus, -a, -umconvenient, suitable
inveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventuscome upon, find
quam, adv.how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
faciō, facere, fēcī, factusmake, do; iter facere, see iter
nam, conj.for
prō, prep. with abl.before, in front of; for, in behalf of; for, as; in return for, for
quīngentī, -ae, -afive hundred
mīlle, indecl. adj.a thousand; mīlia, -ium, n. plur., thousands;
nummus, -ī, m.coin
alimentum, -ī n.food, nourishment
ingenuus, -a, -umfreeborn; as noun, a freeborn man
que, enclitic conj.and
prōmittō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missussend or put forth, promise
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
meus, -a, -ummy, mine
longē, adv.far
multus, -a, -ummuch, great; plur., many
āctor, -ōris m.a driver (of cattle), herdsman; agent, manager; doer
mancipō, -āre, -āvī, -ātustransfer, make over; enslave, give up (to)
īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron.the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also
vectīgal, -ālis n.tax, revenue
impōnō, -pōnere, -posuī, -positusplace or lay upon, impose; embark
recipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptustake or get back, recover; sē recipere, to betake oneself, withdraw; to collect oneself, recover
trīcēnī, -ae, -athirty each
annuus, -a, -umfor a year, yearly
per, prep, with ace.through, by means of
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
enim, conj.for
et, conj.and; et ... et, both ... and
sors, sortis, f.lot
tūtum, -ī n.safety, a safe place; in tūtō: in safety
neque or nec, conj.and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
reditus, -ūs, m.return
incertus, -a, -umuncertain, unreliable
propter, prep. with acc.on account of, because of
is, ea, id, dem. pron.this, that; he, she, it, they
quod, conj.that, in that, because
lārgē (adv.)generously, lavishly
supercurrō, -ererun beyond, exceed, surpass
semper, adv.always
dominus, -ī m.master, owner
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
exerceō, -ercēre, -ercuī, -ercitusexercise
ignōrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusbe ignorant of
plūs (adv.)more
aliquantō (adv.)somewhat, considerably
dōnō, -āre, -āvī, -ātumgive; present (someone with something)
videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsussee; pass., seem
ērogō, -āre, -āvī, -ātuspay out, spend
cum, conj.when, while, after; since; although
pulcher, pulchra, pulchrumbeautiful
pretium, -ī, n.price, charge
necessitās, -ātis f.necessity, compulsion
īnfringō, -ere, -frēgī, -frāctusbreak, crush; weaken
sed, conj.but
oportet, -ēre, oportuit (impersonal)it is right, it is necessary
prīvātus, -a, -umprivate
ūtilitās, -ātis f.usefulness, advantage
mortālis, -emortal
aeternus, -a, -umeverlasting, eternal
anteferō, -ferre, -tulī, -lātuscarry in front; prefer, rank above
multō, adv.by much or far, much, far
dīligenter, adv.carefully, diligently
mūnus, mūneris, n.service, office, duty; present, gift
suus, -a, -umhis, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
cōnsulō, -ere, -uī, -tusconsult
facultās, -tātis, f.possibility, opportunity, chance, means
valeō, -ēre, -uī, -itūrusbe strong or effectual, have effect, prevail
Pliny, Epistulae VII. 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.