Pliny, Letter 7.26

Lessons of sickness

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Ep. 7.26.1Nūper mē cuiusdam amīcī languor admonuit, optimōs esse nōs dum īnfirmī sumus.Lately the illness of a certain friend reminded me that we are at our best while we are ill. Ep. 7.26.1Quem enim īnfirmum aut avāritia aut libīdō sollicitat?For what sick man is troubled by avarice or lust? Ep. 7.26.2Nōn amōribus servit, nōn appetit honōrēs, opēs neglegit et quantulumcumque, ut relictūrus, satis habet.He is no slave to love affairs, he does not covet honours, he disregards wealth, and however little he has, he thinks it enough, as one who is about to leave it behind. Ep. 7.26.2Tunc deōs tunc hominem esse sē meminit, invidet nēminī nēminem mīrātur nēminem dēspicit, ac nē sermōnibus quidem malignīs aut attendit aut alitur: balinea imāginātur et fontēs.It is then that he remembers there are gods, then that he is a man; he envies no one, admires no one, despises no one, and does not even pay attention to malicious gossip or feed on it: it is baths and springs he dreams of. Ep. 7.26.3Haec summa cūrārum, summa vōtōrum mollemque in posterum et pinguem, sī contingat ēvādere, hoc est innoxiam beātamque dēstinat vītam.This is the sum of his cares, the sum of his prayers, and he resolves on a life for the future, should he chance to escape, that is easy and comfortable, that is, harmless and happy.

Ep. 7.26.4Possum ergō quod plūrimīs verbīs, plūrimīs etiam volūminibus philosophī docēre cōnantur, ipse breviter tibi mihique praecipere, ut tālēs esse sānī persevērēmus, quālēs nōs futūrōs profitēmur īnfirmī.So I can briefly prescribe to you and to myself what philosophers try to teach with a great many words and even a great many volumes: that in health we should continue to be such as we promise to be when ill. Ep. 7.26.4Valē.Farewell.

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Grammar in this passage: indirect statement ×2

Latin vocabulary for this passage (85 words)

nūper, adv.	newly, lately, recently
ego, meī, pers. pron.	I
quīdam, quaedam, quoddam, indef. pron.	a certain, certain
amīcus, -ī, m.	friend
languor, -ōris m.	faintness, weariness
admoneō, -ēre, -uī, -itus	remind, warn, advise
bonus, -a, -um	good
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
nōs	plur. of ego
dum, conj.	while, as; as long as; until
īnfirmus, -a, -um	weak
quī, quae, quod, interrog. pron. adj.	what?
enim, conj.	for
aut, conj.	or; aut ... aut, either ... or
avāritia, -ae f.	greed
libīdō, -inis f.	desire, lust; caprice
sollicitō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	stir up, tempt
nōn, adv.	not
amor, -ōris, m.	love
serviō, -ire, -īvī, -ītus	be subject to, serve
appetō, -petere, -petīvī, -petītus	draw near
honor, -ōris, m.	honor
ops, opis f.; pl. opēs, -um	help; (pl.) resources, wealth, power
neglegō, -legere, -lēxī, -lēctus	disregard, neglect
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
quantuluscumque, -acumque, -umcumque	however small, however little
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
relinquō, -linquere, -līquī, -lictus	leave behind, leave
satis, adv.	enough, sufficiently
habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus	have, hold; consider
tunc (adv.)	then, at that time
deus, -ī, m.	god
homō, hominis, m.	man
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.	himself, herself, itself, themselves
meminī, meminisse	remember
invideō, -ēre, invīdī, invīsum (+ dat.)	envy, be jealous of
nēmō, nēminis, m. and f.	no one, nobody
mīror, -ārī, -ātus	wonder, wonder at
dēspiciō, -ere, -spexī, -spectum	look down on, despise
atque, ac (conj.)	and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
nē, adv.	not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest
sermō, -ōnis, m.	conversation, talk, speech
quidem, adv.	in fact, indeed, certainly; nē ... quidem, not ... even
malignus, -a, -um	spiteful; (of light) scanty
attendō, -tendere, -tendī, -tentus	turn one's mind to, pay attention, notice
alō, -ere, -uī, -tus	nourish
balineum (balneum), -ī n.	bath, bathroom
imāginor, -ārī, -ātus sum	picture to oneself, imagine
fōns, fontis, m.	fountain, spring
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
summa, -ae f.	total, sum; supreme command
cūra, -ae f.	care, concern (cūrae esse: to be a concern)
vōtum, -ī n.	vow; wish, prayer
mollis, -e	soft, weak
que, enclitic conj.	and
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
posterus, -a, -um	following, next
pinguis, -e	fat
sī, conj.	if
contingō, -ere, -tigī, -tāctum	touch, reach
ēvādō, -vādere, -vāsī, -vāsus	go forth, get away, escape
innoxius, -a, -um	harmless; innocent
beātus, -a, -um	happy, blessed
dēstinō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	fasten, make fast
vīta, -ae, f.	life
possum, posse, potuī	be able, have power, can
ergō (adv.)	therefore, then; quid ergō? what then?
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
multus, -a, -um	much, great; plur., many
verbum, -ī, n.	word
etiam, adv.	and now, also, too, even
volūmen, -inis n.	roll (of writing), book
philosophus, -ī m.	philosopher
doceo, -ēre, -uī, -tus	teach, explain
cōnor, -ārī, -ātus	try, attempt
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.	self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
breviter (adv.)	briefly, in a few words
tū, tuī, pers. pron.	thou, you
praecipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus	take beforehand, anticipate; order, charge
tālis, -e	such
sānus, -a, -um	healthy, sane (prō sānō: sensibly)
persevērō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	persist
quālis, -e	of what sort? what kind of?
profiteor, -ērī, -fessus sum	declare openly; offer oneself as
valeō, -ēre, -uī, -itūrus	be 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.