Pliny, Letter 7.3

A summons back to Rome

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Ep. 7.3.1Tantane persevērantiā tū modo in Lūcāniā, modo in Campāniā?Are you, with such perseverance, now in Lucania, now in Campania? Ep. 7.3.1"Ipse enim" inquis "Lūcānus, uxor Campāna."'Why,' you say, 'I am a Lucanian myself, and my wife is Campanian.' Ep. 7.3.2Iūsta causa longiōris absentiae, nōn perpetuae tamen.A fair reason for a longer absence, but not for a permanent one. Ep. 7.3.2Quīn ergō aliquandō in urbem redīs?Why then do you not come back to the city some time? Ep. 7.3.2ubi dignitās honor amīcitiae tam superiōrēs quam minōrēs.where there are rank, office, and friendships with those above you as well as those below. Ep. 7.3.2Quoūsque regnābis?How long will you play the king? Ep. 7.3.2quoūsque vigilābis cum volēs, dormiēs quamdiū volēs?how long will you stay awake when you like, and sleep as long as you like? Ep. 7.3.2quoūsque calceī nūsquam, toga fēriāta, līber tōtus diēs?how long will there be no shoes anywhere, your toga on holiday, the whole day free? Ep. 7.3.3Tempus est tē revīsere molestiās nostrās, vel ob hoc sōlum nē voluptātēs istae satietāte languēscant.It is time for you to revisit our troubles, if only so that those pleasures of yours do not grow faint from surfeit.

Ep. 7.3.3Salūtā paulisper, quō sit tibi iūcundius salūtārī;Pay calls for a little while, so that it may be more pleasant for you to receive them; Ep. 7.3.3terere in hāc turbā, ut tē sōlitūdō dēlectet.be jostled in this crowd, so that solitude may delight you. Ep. 7.3.4Sed quid imprūdēns quem ēvocāre cōnor retardō?But why do I thoughtlessly hold back the man I am trying to call out? Ep. 7.3.4Fortasse enim hīs ipsīs admonēris, ut tē magis ac magis ōtiō involvās;For perhaps by these very words you are being prompted to wrap yourself more and more in leisure; Ep. 7.3.4quod ego nōn abrumpī sed intermittī volō.and that leisure I want not broken off but interrupted. Ep. 7.3.5Ut enim, sī cēnam tibi facerem, dulcibus cibīs ācrēs acūtōsque miscērem, ut obtūsus illīs et oblītus stomachus hīs excitārētur, ita nunc hortor ut iūcundissimum genus vītae nōn nūllīs interdum quasi acōribus condiās.For just as, if I were giving you dinner, I would mix sharp and tangy dishes with sweet ones, so that a stomach dulled and cloyed by the latter might be roused by the former, so now I urge you to season your most pleasant way of life from time to time with a few sharp flavours, as it were.

Ep. 7.3.5Valē.Farewell.

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Grammar in this passage: purpose clauses ×2

Latin vocabulary for this passage (110 words)

tantus, -a, -um	so great or much
persevērantia, -ae f.	persistence, perseverance
tū, tuī, pers. pron.	thou, you
modo, adv.	only
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.	self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
enim, conj.	for
inquam, inquis, inquit, defective verb	I say, you say, he says
Lūcānus, -a, -um	Lucanian, of Lucania in southern Italy; as noun, a Lucanian
uxor, -ōris, f.	wife
Campānus, -a, -um	Campanian, of Campania (or Capua)
iūstus, -a, -um	just
causa, -ae, f.	cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of
longus, -a, -um	long; tedious
absentia, -ae f.	absence
nōn, adv.	not
perpetuus, -a, -um	continuous, perpetual; in perpetuum, for all time, forever
tamen, adv.	however, yet, nevertheless
quīn, conj.	so that ... not, but that, but
ergō (adv.)	therefore, then; quid ergō? what then?
aliquandō, adv.	at some time or other; finally, at length
urbs, urbis, f.	city
redeō, -īre, -iī, -itus	go back, return
ubi, adv.	where; conj., when
dignitās, -ātis f.	rank, standing, prestige
honor, -ōris, m.	honor
amīcitia, -ae f.	friendship, alliance
tam, adv.	so
superior, -ius, adj.	higher; former, previous, preceding
quam, adv.	how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
parvus, -a, -um	little, small
quoūsque (adv.)	how long? until when?
regnō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	reign, rule
vigilō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	stay awake, keep watch; be watchful
cum, conj.	when, while, after; since; although
volō, velle, voluī	wish
dormiō, -īre, -īvī	sleep
quamdiū (adv., conj.)	how long; as long as
calceus, -ī, m.	shoe
nūsquam, adv.	nowhere
toga, -ae f.	toga, the Roman citizen's garment of peace
fēriātus, -a, -um	on holiday; diēs fēriātus: holiday
līber, lībera, līberum	free
tōtus, -a, -um	all the, the whole or entire
diēs, -ēī, m. and f.	day
tempus, temporis, n.	time, season
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
revīsō, -ere	go back to see, revisit
molestia, -ae, f.	annoyance
noster, -tra, -trum	our
vel	or; vel … vel: either … or
ob, prep. with acc.	on account of, for; in compounds, to, against
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
sōlum (adv.); solum, -ī n.	only (nōn sōlum … sed etiam: not only … but also); ground, soil
nē, adv.	not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest
voluptās, -tātis, f.	pleasure
iste, ista, istud, dem. pron.	that of yours, that
satietās, -ātis f.	fullness, satiety; weariness, disgust
languēscō, -ere, languī	grow faint, wilt, droop; weaken
salūtō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	greet; pay a morning call on
paulisper (adv.)	for a short time
quō, adv.	to what place? whither? to which place, whither; for which reason, wherefore, therefore; quō ūsque, till when? how long?
iūcundus, -a, -um	sweet, pleasant
terō, -ere, trīvī, trītus	rub, wear away; tempus terere: waste time
turba, -ae f.	crowd
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
sōlitūdō, -inis f.	loneliness; a wilderness, desert
dēlectō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	please, delight; passive: enjoy, take pleasure in
sed, conj.	but
quis, quid, interrog. pron.	who? which? what?
imprūdēns, -entis	off guard, unaware
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
ēvocō, -vocāre, -vocāvī, -vocātus	call out, challenge
cōnor, -ārī, -ātus	try, attempt
retardō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	hold back, slow down, check
fortasse (adv.)	perhaps
admoneō, -ēre, -uī, -itus	remind, warn, advise
magis, comp. adv.	more, rather
atque, ac (conj.)	and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
ōtium, -ī n.	leisure, rest; peace, quiet
involvō, -ere, -volvī, -volūtus	roll up, wrap, envelop
ego, meī, pers. pron.	I
abrumpō, -ere, -rūpī, -ruptus	break off, cut short
intermittō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missus	leave off, interrupt; let pass; pass., be left between, intervene, elapse
sī, conj.	if
cēna, -ae, f.	dinner
faciō, facere, fēcī, factus	make, do; iter facere, see iter
dulcis, -e	sweet
cibus, -ī, m.	food
ācer, ācris, ācre	sharp, shrill
acūtus, -a, -um	sharp, pointed
que, enclitic conj.	and
misceō, miscēre, miscuī, mīxtus	mix, mingle
obtūsus, -a, -um	blunt, dull; unfeeling
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.	that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
oblīvīscor, -līvīscī, -lītus	forget
stomachus, -ī m.	gullet, windpipe; stomach
excitō, -citāre, -citāvī, -citātus	call out, arouse
ita, adv.	in this manner, thus, so; ita ut, as
nunc, adv.	now
hortor, -ārī, -ātus	exhort, encourage, urge
genus, generis, n.	kind, nature
vīta, -ae, f.	life
nūllus, -a, -um	not any, none, no
interdum (adv.)	sometimes
quasi, conj.	as if
acor, -ōris m.	sourness, sharp taste; sharp (spicy) food
condiō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus	season, flavour; preserve
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.