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Pliny · Epistulae VIII

Pliny, Letter 8.1

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Ep. 8.1.1Iter commodē explicuī, exceptō quod quīdam ex meīs adversam valētūdinem ferventissimīs aestibus contrāxērunt.I have completed my journey comfortably, except that some of my household have fallen ill in the scorching heat. Ep. 8.1.2Encolpius quidem lēctor, ille sēria nostra ille dēliciae, exasperātīs faucibus pulvere sanguinem rēiēcit.Indeed Encolpius my reader, he who is both my serious business and my delight, has had his throat inflamed by the dust and has brought up blood. Ep. 8.1.2Quam trīste hoc ipsī, quam acerbum mihi, sī is cui omnis ex studiīs grātia inhabilis studiīs fuerit!How sad this would be for him, how bitter for me, if he whose every charm comes from literary pursuits should be made unfit for those pursuits! Ep. 8.1.2Quis deinde libellōs meōs sīc leget, sīc amābit?Who then will read my little books like that, love them like that? Ep. 8.1.3Quem aurēs meae sīc sequentur?Whom will my ears follow like that? Ep. 8.1.3Sed dī laetiōra prōmittunt.But the gods promise happier things. Ep. 8.1.3Stetit sanguis, resēdit dolor.The bleeding has stopped, the pain has subsided. Ep. 8.1.3Praetereā continēns ipse, nōs sollicitī, medicī dīligentēs.Besides, he himself is abstemious, we are anxious, the doctors are attentive.

Ep. 8.1.3Ad hoc salūbritās caelī, sēcessus quiēs tantum salūtis quantum ōtiī pollicentur.On top of this, the healthiness of the climate, and the retirement and quiet, promise as much recovery as leisure. Ep. 8.1.3Valē.Farewell.

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Grammar in this passage: ablative absolute ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (70 words)
iter, itineris, n.a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march
commodē (adv.)conveniently, easily, well
explicō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusunfold, spread out; set out, explain
excipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptustake out or up, receive, welcome, entertain
quod, conj.that, in that, because
quīdam, quaedam, quoddam, indef. pron.a certain, certain
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
meus, -a, -ummy, mine
adversus, -a, -umfacing; unfavourable, unsuccessful
valētūdō, -inis f.health, state of health; ill health
fervēns, -entisboiling, hot; impetuous, ardent, fiery
aestus, -ūs m.heat; tide
contrahō, -ere, -trāxī, -trāctumdraw together, collect
quidem, adv.in fact, indeed, certainly; nē ... quidem, not ... even
lēctor, -ōris m.reader
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
sērius, -a, -umserious; (n. pl. as noun) serious matters
noster, -tra, -trumour
dēliciae, -ārum f. pl.delights, luxuries, pleasures
exasperō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusroughen; irritate, aggravate, provoke
faucēs, -ium f. pl.throat; narrow pass, gorge
pulvis, -eris m.dust
sanguis, sanguinis, m.blood
rēiciō, -ere, rēiēcī, rēiectumthrow back, drive back
quam, adv.how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
trīstis, -esad, gloomy
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
acerbus, -a, -umbitter, harsh, painful
ego, meī, pers. pron.I
sī, conj.if
is, ea, id, dem. pron.this, that; he, she, it, they
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.who, which
omnis, -eall, every
studium, -ī, n.eagerness, zeal; study, pursuit
grātia, -ae, f.favor; gratitude, thanks; plur., thanks; grātiās agere, to give thanks, thank; grātiam referre, to return a favor, show gratitude, requite
inhabilis, -eunwieldy, awkward; unsuited (to)
sum, esse, fuī, futūrusbe
quis, quid, interrog. pron.who? which? what?
deinde, adv.then, next
libellus, -ī m.little book; written document; libellus repudiī: certificate of divorce
sīc, adv.so, thus
legō, legere, lēgī, lēctuschoose, pick out; read
amō, -āre, -āvī, -ātuslove
auris, -is, f.ear
sequor, sequī, secūtusfollow
sed, conj.but
deus, -ī, m.god
laetus, -a, -umglad, joyful
prōmittō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missussend or put forth, promise
stō, stāre, stetī, statusstand
resīdō, -sīdere, -sēdīsettle down, subside
dolor, -ōris, m.pain, grief; anger
praetereā, adv.besides this, besides, moreover
continēns, -entis, f.'mainland, continent
nōsplur. of ego
sollicitus, -a, -umtroubled, anxious
medicus, -ī m.doctor
dīligēns, -entiscareful, attentive, conscientious
ad, prep. with acc.to, toward; at, near; for
salūbritās, -ātis f.healthiness, wholesome conditions
caelum, -ī, n.heaven, sky
sēcessus, -ūs m.a withdrawing; a retreat; drain, privy
quiēs, quiētis, f.rest, repose
tantus, -a, -umso great or much
salūs, salūtis, f.safety, deliverance, escape
quantus, -a, -umhow great or much?
ōtium, -ī n.leisure, rest; peace, quiet
polliceor, -licērī, -licituspromise
valeō, -ēre, -uī, -itūrusbe strong or effectual, have effect, prevail
Pliny, Epistulae VIII. 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.