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Pliny · Epistulae IX

Pliny, Letter 9.15

Peasant petitions in Tuscany

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Ep. 9.15.1Refūgeram in Tuscōs, ut omnia ad arbitrium meum facerem.I had fled to my Tuscan estate in order to do everything as I pleased. Ep. 9.15.1At hoc nē in Tuscīs quidem: tam multīs undique rūsticōrum libellīs et tam querulīs inquiētor, quōs aliquantō magis invītus quam meōs legō;But not even in Tuscany can I do this: I am disturbed by so many petitions from the peasants on every side, and such querulous ones, which I read rather more unwillingly than my own writings; Ep. 9.15.1nam et meōs invītus.for even my own I read unwillingly. Ep. 9.15.2Retractō enim āctiunculās quāsdam, quod post intercapēdinem temporis et frīgidum et acerbum est.For I am revising some short speeches, which after an interval of time is both dull and bitter work. Ep. 9.15.2Ratiōnēs quasi absente mē negleguntur.My accounts are neglected as though I were away. Ep. 9.15.3Interdum tamen equum cōnscendō et patrem familiae hāctenus agō, quod aliquam partem praediōrum, sed prō gestātiōne percurrō.Sometimes, though, I mount a horse and play the master of the house to the extent of riding over some part of my estates, but only for exercise.

Ep. 9.15.3Tū cōnsuētūdinem servā, nōbīsque sīc rūsticīs urbāna ācta perscrībe.Do you keep up your custom, and write out in full the news of the city for me, rustic as I am. Ep. 9.15.3Valē.Farewell.

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Grammar in this passage: purpose clauses ×1, ablative absolute ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (68 words)
refugiō, -fugere, -fūgīflee back, run away, retreat
in, prep. with acc. and abl.with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
ut, conj.as; when; that; ita ut, as
omnis, -eall, every
ad, prep. with acc.to, toward; at, near; for
arbitrium, -ī n.judgment, will, pleasure
meus, -a, -ummy, mine
faciō, facere, fēcī, factusmake, do; iter facere, see iter
at, conj.but
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
nē, adv.not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest
quidem, adv.in fact, indeed, certainly; nē ... quidem, not ... even
tam, adv.so
multus, -a, -ummuch, great; plur., many
undique, adv.from or on all sides
rūsticus, -a, -umrural, of the country
libellus, -ī m.little book; written document; libellus repudiī: certificate of divorce
et, conj.and; et ... et, both ... and
querulus, -a, -umcomplaining, plaintive; creaking
inquiētō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusdisturb, trouble, harass
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.who, which
aliquantō (adv.)somewhat, considerably
magis, comp. adv.more, rather
invītus, -a, -umunwilling
quam, adv.how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
legō, legere, lēgī, lēctuschoose, pick out; read
nam, conj.for
retractō, -āre, -āvī, -ātushandle again, touch again
enim, conj.for
āctiuncula, -ae f.short speech (in court)
quīdam, quaedam, quoddam, indef. pron.a certain, certain
post, adv.after, later; prep. with acc., after, behind
intercapēdō, -inis f.interval, break, pause
tempus, temporis, n.time, season
frīgidus, -a, -umcold
acerbus, -a, -umbitter, harsh, painful
sum, esse, fuī, futūrusbe
ratiō, -ōnis, f.plan, means, method, manner; reason; account
quasi, conj.as if
absum, abesse, āfuī, āfutūrusbe away, be absent, be distant; be wanting
ego, meī, pers. pron.I
neglegō, -legere, -lēxī, -lēctusdisregard, neglect
interdum (adv.)sometimes
tamen, adv.however, yet, nevertheless
equus, -ī, m.horse
cōnscendō, -scendere, -scendī, -scēnsusclimb; nāvem cōnscendere, to climb the ship, go on board, embark
pater, patris, m.father
familia, -ae f.household (incl. slaves and dependents)
hāctenus (adv.)thus far, up to this point; so much (and no more)
agō, agere, ēgī, āctusdrive; do; pass, lead; grātiās agere, see grātia
quod, conj.that, in that, because
aliquī, -qua, -quod, indef. pron. adj.some, any
pars, partis, f.part, side, direction
praedium, -ī n.estate, farm
sed, conj.but
prō, prep. with abl.before, in front of; for, in behalf of; for, as; in return for, for
gestātiō, -ōnis f.drive or walk for taking exercise in a litter; being carried
percurrō, -ere, -cucurrī, -cursusrun along, run through
tū, tuī, pers. pron.thou, you
cōnsuētūdō, -inis f.custom, habit; way of life
servō, -āre, -āvī, -ātussave, preserve
nōsplur. of ego
que, enclitic conj.and
sīc, adv.so, thus
urbānus, -a, -umof the city (Rome), urban
ācta, -ōrum n. pl.deeds, doings; public records, news (acta urbana: city news)
perscrībō, -scrībere, -scrīpsī, scrīptuswrite through or in full, describe fully, recount
valeō, -ēre, -uī, -itūrusbe strong or effectual, have effect, prevail
Pliny, Epistulae IX. 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.