Ep. 8.13.1Probō quod libellōs meōs cum patre lēgistī.I approve of your having read my little books with your father. Ep. 8.13.1Pertinet ad profectum tuum ā disertissimō virō discere, quid laudandum quid reprehendendum, simul ita īnstituī, ut vērum dīcere assuēscās.It contributes to your progress to learn from a most eloquent man what should be praised and what criticised, and at the same time to be so trained that you grow used to speaking the truth. Ep. 8.13.2Vidēs quem sequī, cuius dēbeās implēre vestīgia.You see whom you ought to follow, in whose footsteps you ought to tread. Ep. 8.13.2Ō tē beātum, cui contigit ūnum atque idem optimum et coniūnctissimum exemplar, quī dēnique eum potissimum imitandum habēs, cui nātūra esse tē simillimum voluit!How fortunate you are, to whom it has fallen to have one and the same model both the best and the most closely connected to you, and who, in short, have as the man you should above all imitate him whom nature wished you most to resemble! Ep. 8.13.2Valē.Farewell.
Lectitō › Pliny the Younger › Letters, Book 8 › Pliny, Letter 8.13
Pliny · Epistulae VIII
Pliny, Letter 8.13
Learning from a father's example
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Read in LectitōGrammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×3, indirect statement ×2
Latin vocabulary for this passage (52 words)
| probō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | prove, show; approve |
| quod, conj. | that, in that, because |
| libellus, -ī m. | little book; written document; libellus repudiī: certificate of divorce |
| meus, -a, -um | my, mine |
| cum, prep, with abl. | with |
| pater, patris, m. | father |
| legō, legere, lēgī, lēctus | choose, pick out; read |
| pertineō, -ēre, -uī | extend, reach; tend toward, concern |
| ad, prep. with acc. | to, toward; at, near; for |
| profectus, -ūs m. | setting out, departure |
| tuus, -a, -um | thy, thine, your |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| disertus, -a, -um | eloquent, skilled in speaking |
| vir, virī, m. | man |
| discō, discere, didicī | learn |
| quis, quid, interrog. pron. | who? which? what? |
| laudō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | praise |
| reprehendō, -ere, -hendī, -hēnsum | blame, criticise |
| simul, adv. | at the same time; simul atque or ac, as soon as |
| ita, adv. | in this manner, thus, so; ita ut, as |
| īnstituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtus | decide upon, determine |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| vērum (conj.) | but, but in fact; nōn modo ... vērum etiam: not only ... but also |
| dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictus | say, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day |
| assuēscō, -ere, -suēvī, -suētus | become accustomed, get used to |
| videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus | see; pass., seem |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| sequor, sequī, secūtus | follow |
| dēbeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | owe; with infin., ought |
| impleō, -ēre, -plēvī, -plētum | fill; fulfil, complete |
| vestīgium, -ī, n. | track, foot-print |
| ō (interj.) | O! oh! |
| tū, tuī, pers. pron. | thou, you |
| beātus, -a, -um | happy, blessed |
| contingō, -ere, -tigī, -tāctum | touch, reach |
| ūnus, -a, -um | one; only, alone |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron. | the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also |
| bonus, -a, -um | good |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| coniūnctus, -a, -um | joined, connected; closely attached, intimate (coniūnctissimus: very close) |
| exemplar, -āris n. | model, pattern, example; copy, likeness |
| dēnique, adv. | lastly, finally |
| is, ea, id, dem. pron. | this, that; he, she, it, they |
| potissimum (adv.) | above all, in preference to all others |
| imitor, -ārī, -ātus sum | copy, imitate |
| habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus | have, hold; consider |
| nātūra, -ae, f. | nature, character |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| similis, -e | like, similar (vērī similis: likely) |
| volō, velle, voluī | wish |
| valeō, -ēre, -uī, -itūrus | be 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.