Pliny, Letter 8.19

Literature as comfort in grief

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Ep. 8.19.1Et gaudium mihi et sōlācium in litterīs, nihilque tam laetum quod hīs laetius, tam trīste quod nōn per hās minus trīste.I find both joy and consolation in literature, and nothing is so happy as to be happier than literature, nothing so sad that it is not less sad through it. Ep. 8.19.1Itaque et īnfirmitāte uxōris et meōrum perīculō, quōrundam vērō etiam morte turbātus, ad ūnicum dolōris levāmentum studia cōnfūgī, quae praestant ut adversa magis intellegam sed patientius feram.So, troubled by my wife's ill health and the danger of my household, and indeed by the death of some, I have fled to my studies as the one relief for my grief, which make me understand my misfortunes better but bear them more patiently. Ep. 8.19.2Est autem mihi mōris, quod sum datūrus in manūs hominum, ante amīcōrum iūdiciō exāmināre, in prīmīs tuō.It is my custom, however, to test what I am about to put into people's hands by the judgement of my friends first, and of you above all. Ep. 8.19.2Proinde sī quandō, nunc intende librō quem cum hāc epistulā accipiēs, quia vereor nē ipse ut trīstis parum intenderim.So, if ever, give your attention now to the book which you will receive with this letter, since I fear that I myself, being sad, have given it too little attention.

Ep. 8.19.2Imperāre enim dolōrī ut scrīberem potuī;For I could command my grief so far as to write; Ep. 8.19.2ut vacuō animō laetōque, nōn potuī.so far as to write with a mind free and cheerful, I could not. Ep. 8.19.2Porrō ut ex studiīs gaudium sīc studia hilaritāte prōveniunt.Moreover, just as joy comes from studies, so studies come from cheerfulness. Ep. 8.19.2Valē.Farewell.

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Grammar in this passage: purpose clauses ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (78 words)

et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
gaudium, -ī, n.	gladness, joy
ego, meī, pers. pron.	I
sōlācium, -ī n.	comfort, consolation
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
littera, -ae f.	letter (of the alphabet); pl. letter, writing
nihil, n., indecl.	nothing
que, enclitic conj.	and
tam, adv.	so
laetus, -a, -um	glad, joyful
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
trīstis, -e	sad, gloomy
nōn, adv.	not
per, prep, with ace.	through, by means of
minus, comp. adv.	less
itaque, adv.	and so, accordingly, therefore
īnfirmitās, -ātis f.	weakness; fickleness
uxor, -ōris, f.	wife
meus, -a, -um	my, mine
perīculum, -ī, n.	danger, peril, risk
quīdam, quaedam, quoddam, indef. pron.	a certain, certain
vērō, adv.	in truth, indeed; however
etiam, adv.	and now, also, too, even
mors, mortīs, f.	death
turbō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	confuse, throw into disorder, disturb, trouble
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
ūnicus, -a, -um	one and only; unique, unequalled
dolor, -ōris, m.	pain, grief; anger
levāmentum, -ī n.	relief, alleviation, consolation
studium, -ī, n.	eagerness, zeal; study, pursuit
cōnfugiō, -fugere, -fūgī	flee for refuge
praestō, -stāre, -stitī, -stitus	stand in front; show
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
adversus, -a, -um	facing; unfavourable, unsuccessful
magis, comp. adv.	more, rather
intellegō, -legere, -lēxī, -lēctus	perceive, understand
sed, conj.	but
patienter (adv.)	patiently
ferō, ferre, tulī, lātus	bear, bring
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
autem, conj.	moreover; but, however; now
mōs, mōris, m.	way, manner, habit, custom
dō, dare, dedī, datus	give
manus, -ūs, f.	hand
homō, hominis, m.	man
ante, prep, with acc. and adv.	before
amīcus, -ī, m.	friend
iūdicium, -ī n.	trial, court; judgment
exāminō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	weigh, test
prīmus, -a, -um	first, foremost
tuus, -a, -um	thy, thine, your
proinde (adv.)	therefore, accordingly; so then
sī, conj.	if
quandō (adv.)	when; (after sī) ever
nunc, adv.	now
intendō, -tendere, -tendī, -tentus	stretch out; stretch, draw, aim
liber, librī m.	book; record
cum, prep, with abl.	with
epistula, -ae f.	letter
accipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus	take to oneself, receive, accept; hear; suffer
quia (conj.)	because
vereor, -ērī, -itus	fear
nē, adv.	not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.	self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
parum (comp. minus, superl. minimē)	too little; minimē: least, not at all
imperō, -perāre, -perāvī, -perātus	command, order, enjoin
enim, conj.	for
scrībō, scrībere, scrīpsī, scrīptus	write
possum, posse, potuī	be able, have power, can
vacuus, -a, -um	empty
animus, -ī, m.	mind; heart; spirit, courage
porrō (adv.)	further on; moreover
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)	out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
sīc, adv.	so, thus
hilaritās, -ātis f.	cheerfulness, merriment
prōveniō, -īre, -vēnī, -ventus	come forth, grow; turn out
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.