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Pliny · Epistulae VII

Pliny, Letter 7.32

Tiro's visit and the freed slaves

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Ep. 7.32.1Dēlector iūcundum tibi fuisse Tīrōnis meī adventum;I am delighted that the arrival of my friend Tiro was pleasant to you; Ep. 7.32.1quod vērō scrībis oblātā occāsiōne prōcōnsulis plūrimōs manūmissōs, ūnicē laetor.but what you write, that on the occasion of the proconsul's presence a great many slaves were freed, gives me singular joy. Ep. 7.32.1Cupiō enim patriam nostram omnibus quidem rēbus augērī, maximē tamen cīvium numerō: id enim oppidīs firmissimum ōrnāmentum.For I desire our native town to grow in every respect, but above all in the number of its citizens: for that is the surest ornament of towns. Ep. 7.32.2Illud etiam mē nōn ut ambitiōsum sed tamen iuvat, quod adicis tē mēque et grātiārum āctiōne et laude celebrātōs.This too pleases me, not as one seeking popularity, but still it pleases me, that you add that both you and I were celebrated with thanks and praise. Ep. 7.32.2Est enim, ut Xenophōn ait, utique sī tē, merērī putēs te mereri putes.For, as Xenophon says, praise is the sweetest thing to hear, especially if you think you deserve it.

Ep. 7.32.2Valē.Farewell.

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Grammar in this passage: ablative absolute ×1, indirect statement ×2

Latin vocabulary for this passage (54 words)
dēlectō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusplease, delight; passive: enjoy, take pleasure in
iūcundus, -a, -umsweet, pleasant
tū, tuī, pers. pron.thou, you
sum, esse, fuī, futūrusbe
meus, -a, -ummy, mine
adventus, -ūs, m.approach, arrival
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.who, which
vērō, adv.in truth, indeed; however
scrībō, scrībere, scrīpsī, scrīptuswrite
offerō, offerre, obtulī, oblātusbear to, proffer, offer
occāsiō, -ōnis, f.chance, opportunity
prōcōnsul, -ulis m.proconsul, governor
multus, -a, -ummuch, great; plur., many
manūmittō, -ere, -mīsī, -missusset free (a slave)
ūnicē (adv.)singularly, above all
laetor, -ārī, -ātus sumrejoice, be glad
cupiō, -ere, -īvī, -ītusdesire, long for, wish
enim, conj.for
patria, -ae, f.fatherland, country
noster, -tra, -trumour
omnis, -eall, every
quidem, adv.in fact, indeed, certainly; nē ... quidem, not ... even
rēs, reī, f.thing, matter, affair, circumstance, situation; rē vērā, in truth, in fact, really
augeō, -ēre, auxī, auctumincrease, enlarge
maximē, adv.very greatly, exceedingly, especially
tamen, adv.however, yet, nevertheless
cīvis, -is, m. and f.citizen, fellow-citizen, subject
numerus, -ī, m.number
is, ea, id, dem. pron.this, that; he, she, it, they
oppidum, -ī, n.town
firmus, -a, -umstrong, steadfast
ōrnāmentum, -ī n.honour, distinction; ornament
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
etiam, adv.and now, also, too, even
ego, meī, pers. pron.I
nōn, adv.not
ut, conj.as; when; that; ita ut, as
ambitiōsus, -a, -umeager for office or popularity, ambitious
sed, conj.but
iuvō, -āre, iūvī, iūtumhelp
quod, conj.that, in that, because
adiciō, -icere, -iēcī, -iectusthrow to, throw, hurl
que, enclitic conj.and
et, conj.and; et ... et, both ... and
grātia, -ae, f.favor; gratitude, thanks; plur., thanks; grātiās agere, to give thanks, thank; grātiam referre, to return a favor, show gratitude, requite
āctiō, -ōnis f.doing, action; a public act or measure
laus, laudis f.praise, glory
celebrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusthrong; keep (a festival), celebrate
āiō (defective)say, affirm; ut aiunt: as they say
utique (adv.)certainly, by all means; yes indeed
sī, conj.if
mereor, -ērī, meritus sumdeserve; (dē) do service to
putō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusthink
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.