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Pliny · Epistulae VIII

Pliny, Letter 8.5

Macrinus loses his wife

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Ep. 8.5.1Grave vulnus Macrīnus noster accēpit: āmīsit uxōrem singulāris exemplī, etiam sī ōlim fuisset.Our friend Macrinus has received a heavy blow: he has lost a wife of exceptional character, even if she had lived in olden times. Ep. 8.5.1Vīxit cum hāc trīgintā novem annīs sine iūrgiō sine offēnsā.He lived with her for thirty-nine years without a quarrel, without offence. Ep. 8.5.1Quam illa reverentiam marītō suō praestitit, cum ipsa summam merērētur!What respect she showed her husband, though she herself deserved the highest! Ep. 8.5.1quot quantāsque virtūtēs, ex dīversīs aetātibus sūmptās, collēgit et miscuit!how many and how great were the virtues, drawn from different ages, that she gathered and blended in herself! Ep. 8.5.2Habet quidem Macrīnus grande sōlācium, quod tantum bonum tam diū tenuit, sed hinc magis exacerbātur quod āmīsit;Macrinus does indeed have a great consolation, that he held so great a blessing for so long, but for that very reason he is all the more embittered at having lost it; Ep. 8.5.2nam fruendīs voluptātibus crēscit carendī dolor.for the pain of going without grows with the enjoyment of pleasures.

Ep. 8.5.3Erō ergō suspēnsus prō homine amīcissimō, dum admittere āvocāmenta et cicātrīcem patī possit, quam nihil aequē ac necessitās ipsa et diēs longa et satietās dolōris indūcit.So I shall remain anxious for a very dear friend until he is able to admit distractions and endure a scar, which nothing brings on so well as necessity itself, length of days and the surfeit of grief. Ep. 8.5.3Valē.Farewell.

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Grammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×2

Latin vocabulary for this passage (83 words)
gravis, -eheavy; severe, grievous, serious
vulnus, vulneris, n.wound
noster, -tra, -trumour
accipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptustake to oneself, receive, accept; hear; suffer
āmittō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missussend away, lose
uxor, -ōris, f.wife
singulāris, -esingle; remarkable
exemplum, -ī n.example, precedent
etiam, adv.and now, also, too, even
sī, conj.if
ōlim, adv.once upon a time, once, formerly, of old
sum, esse, fuī, futūrusbe
vīvō, vīvere, vīxī, vīctuslive
cum, prep, with abl.with
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
trīgintā (indecl.)thirty
novem, indecl. adj.nine
annus, -ī, m.year
sine, prep. with abl.without
iūrgium, -ī n.quarrel, dispute
offēnsa, -ae f.a knock, injury; offence, discomfort
quam, adv.how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
reverentia, -ae f.respect, modesty, shyness
marītus, -ī, m.husband
suus, -a, -umhis, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
praestō, -stāre, -stitī, -stitusstand in front; show
cum, conj.when, while, after; since; although
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
summus, -a, -umuppermost, highest, greatest
mereor, -ērī, meritus sumdeserve; (dē) do service to
quot (indecl.)how many
quantus, -a, -umhow great or much?
que, enclitic conj.and
virtūs, -tūtis, f.manliness, courage, bravery
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
dīversus, -a, -umturned different ways, opposite, contrary, different
aetās, -tātis, f.age
sūmō, sūmere, sūmpsī, sūmptustake under or up, take; poenam sūmere, to exact or inflict punishment
colligō, -ere, -lēgī, -lēctumgather, collect (sē colligere: recover oneself)
et, conj.and; et ... et, both ... and
misceō, miscēre, miscuī, mīxtusmix, mingle
habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itushave, hold; consider
quidem, adv.in fact, indeed, certainly; nē ... quidem, not ... even
grandis, -elarge, big
sōlācium, -ī n.comfort, consolation
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.who, which
tantus, -a, -umso great or much
bonum, -ī n.a good thing, advantage; (pl.) goods
tam, adv.so
diū, adv.for a long time, a long time or while, long; comp
teneō, -ēre, -uī, -tushold, keep; hold back, restrain, stop
sed, conj.but
hinc, adv.from this place, hence
magis, comp. adv.more, rather
exacerbō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusprovoke, exasperate, embitter
quod, conj.that, in that, because
nam, conj.for
fruor, -ī, frūctus sum (+ abl.)enjoy
voluptās, -tātis, f.pleasure
crēscō, -ere, crēvī, crētumgrow, rise (in power)
careō, -ēre, -uībe without, lack (+ abl.)
dolor, -ōris, m.pain, grief; anger
ergō (adv.)therefore, then; quid ergō? what then?
suspendō, -pendere, -pendī, -pēnsushang up, hang
prō, prep. with abl.before, in front of; for, in behalf of; for, as; in return for, for
homō, hominis, m.man
amīcus, -ī, m.friend
dum, conj.while, as; as long as; until
admittō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missussend to, admit; allow
āvocāmentum, -ī n.distraction, diversion, recreation
cicātrīx, -īcis f.scar; mark left on a plant by a wound
patior, patī, passus, bearsuffer, allow
possum, posse, potuībe able, have power, can
nihil, n., indecl.nothing
aequē (adv.)equally, just as; aequē ac: just as
atque, ac (conj.)and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
necessitās, -ātis f.necessity, compulsion
diēs, -ēī, m. and f.day
longus, -a, -umlong; tedious
satietās, -ātis f.fullness, satiety; weariness, disgust
indūcō, -dūcere, dūxī, -ductuslead in or on, move, excite
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.