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Pliny · Epistulae VIII

Pliny, Letter 8.10

A granddaughter's miscarriage

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Ep. 8.10.1Quō magis cupis ex nōbīs pronepōtēs vidēre, hōc trīstior audiēs neptem tuam abortum fēcisse, dum sē praegnantem esse puellāriter nescit, ac per hoc quaedam custōdienda praegnantibus omittit, facit omittenda.The more you long to see great-grandchildren from us, the sadder you will be to hear that your granddaughter has miscarried, since, in girlish fashion, she did not know she was pregnant, and so neglected certain things that pregnant women must observe and did things that should be avoided. Ep. 8.10.1Quem errōrem magnīs documentīs expiāvit, in summum perīculum adducta.She has paid for this mistake with severe lessons, having been brought into the gravest danger. Ep. 8.10.2Igitur, ut necesse est graviter accipiās senectūtem tuam quasi parātīs posterīs dēstitūtam, sīc dēbēs agere dīs grātiās, quod ita tibi in praesentiā pronepōtēs negāvērunt, ut servārent neptem, illōs redditūrī, quōrum nōbīs spem certiōrem haec ipsa quamquam parum prosperē explōrāta fēcunditās facit.So, though you must necessarily take it hard that your old age has been robbed, as it were, of descendants already on the way, you ought equally to give thanks to the gods that they have denied you great-grandchildren for the present in such a way as to save your granddaughter, and that they will give them back, a hope which this very fertility, though tested with too little success, makes more certain for us.

Ep. 8.10.3Īsdem nunc ego tē quibus ipsum mē hortor moneō cōnfirmō.I now exhort, advise and encourage you with the same thoughts with which I encourage myself. Ep. 8.10.3Neque enim ardentius tū pronepōtēs quam ego līberōs cupiō, quibus videor ā meō tuōque latere prōnum ad honōrēs iter et audīta lātius nōmina et nōn subitās imāginēs relictūrus.For you do not long for great-grandchildren more ardently than I long for children, to whom I think I shall leave, from my side and from yours, an easy road to office, names widely heard, and ancestral portraits not newly made. Ep. 8.10.3Nāscantur modo et hunc nostrum dolōrem gaudiō mūtent.Only let them be born and turn this grief of ours into joy. Ep. 8.10.3Valē.Farewell.

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Grammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×2, indirect statement ×3, ablative absolute ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (98 words)
quō, adv.to what place? whither? to which place, whither; for which reason, wherefore, therefore; quō ūsque, till when? how long?
magis, comp. adv.more, rather
cupiō, -ere, -īvī, -ītusdesire, long for, wish
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
nōsplur. of ego
pronepōs, -ōtis m.great-grandson
videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsussee; pass., seem
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
trīstis, -esad, gloomy
audiō, -īre, -īvī, -ītushear; listen or attend to
neptis, -is f.granddaughter
tuus, -a, -umthy, thine, your
abortus, -ūs m.miscarriage
faciō, facere, fēcī, factusmake, do; iter facere, see iter
dum, conj.while, as; as long as; until
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.himself, herself, itself, themselves
praegnāns, -antispregnant
sum, esse, fuī, futūrusbe
puellāriter (adv.)girlishly, like a young girl
nesciō, -scīre, -scīvīnot know, be ignorant; nesciō quis, I know not who, some one or other (nesciō is thus used with other interrogative words also)
atque, ac (conj.)and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
per, prep, with ace.through, by means of
quīdam, quaedam, quoddam, indef. pron.a certain, certain
custōdiō, -īre, -īvī, -ītusguard
omittō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missuslet go, neglect, disregard, throw away, lose
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.who, which
error, -ōris m.wandering; mistake, error
magnus, -a, -umlarge, big, great, mighty; loud
documentum, -ī n.lesson, warning, example
expiō, -piāre, -piāvī, -piātusexpiate
in, prep. with acc. and abl.with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
summus, -a, -umuppermost, highest, greatest
perīculum, -ī, n.danger, peril, risk
addūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductuslead to, bring, take; induce, influence
igitur, conj.therefore
ut, conj.as; when; that; ita ut, as
necesse, indecl. adj.necessary
graviter, adv.severely, seriously
accipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptustake to oneself, receive, accept; hear; suffer
senectūs, -tūtis f.old age
quasi, conj.as if
parō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusmake ready, prepare
posterī, -ōrum m. pl.descendants, posterity
dēstituō, -ere, -stituī, -stitūtumleave in the lurch, abandon
sīc, adv.so, thus
dēbeō, -ēre, -uī, -itusowe; with infin., ought
agō, agere, ēgī, āctusdrive; do; pass, lead; grātiās agere, see grātia
deus, -ī, m.god
grātia, -ae, f.favor; gratitude, thanks; plur., thanks; grātiās agere, to give thanks, thank; grātiam referre, to return a favor, show gratitude, requite
quod, conj.that, in that, because
ita, adv.in this manner, thus, so; ita ut, as
tū, tuī, pers. pron.thou, you
praesentia, -ae, f.the present
negō, -āre, -āvī, -ātussay no or not, deny, refuse
servō, -āre, -āvī, -ātussave, preserve
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
reddō, -dere, -didī, -ditusgive back, return, restore; render
spēs, speī, f.hope
certus, -a, -umdetermined, fixed, certain; certiōrem facere, to make more certain, inform
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
quamquam, conj.however much, although
parum (comp. minus, superl. minimē)too little; minimē: least, not at all
prosperē (adv.)successfully, favourably
explōrō, -plōrāre, -plōrāvī, -plōrātussearch out, explore
fēcunditās, -ātis f.fertility, fruitfulness
īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron.the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also
nunc, adv.now
ego, meī, pers. pron.I
hortor, -ārī, -ātusexhort, encourage, urge
moneō, -ēre, -uī, -ituswarn
cōnfirmō, -firmāre, -firmāvī, -firmātusstrengthen, establish; declare, assert
neque or nec, conj.and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
enim, conj.for
ardenter (adv.)ardently, passionately
quam, adv.how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
līberī, -ōrum, m. plur.children
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
meus, -a, -ummy, mine
que, enclitic conj.and
lātus, -a, -umbroad, wide
prōnus, -a, -umleaning forward; inclined, prone (to)
ad, prep. with acc.to, toward; at, near; for
honor, -ōris, m.honor
iter, itineris, n.a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march
et, conj.and; et ... et, both ... and
lātēwidely
nōmen, -minis, n.name (that by which one is known)
nōn, adv.not
subitus, -a, -umsudden
imāgō, -inis f.likeness, image, portrait
relinquō, -linquere, -līquī, -lictusleave behind, leave
nāscor, -ī, nātus sumbe born; rise, begin
modo, adv.only
noster, -tra, -trumour
dolor, -ōris, m.pain, grief; anger
gaudium, -ī, n.gladness, joy
mūtō, -āre, -āvī, -ātuschange
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.