Ep. 9.20.1Tua vērō epistula tantō mihi iūcundior fuit quantō longior erat, praesertim cum dē libellīs meīs tōta loquerētur;Your letter was all the more pleasant to me for being so long, especially since it spoke entirely of my little books; Ep. 9.20.1quōs tibi voluptātī esse nōn mīror, cum omnia nostra perinde ac nōs amēs.I am not surprised that they give you pleasure, since you love everything of mine just as you love me. Ep. 9.20.2Ipse cum maximē vindēmiās gracilēs quidem, ūberiōrēs tamen quam exspectāveram colligō, sī colligere est nōn numquam dēcerpere ūvam, torculum invīsere, gustāre dē lacū mustum, obrēpere urbānīs, quī nunc rūsticīs praesunt mēque notāriīs et lēctōribus relīquērunt.At this very moment I am gathering the grape harvest, thin indeed, yet more plentiful than I had expected — if it is gathering now and then to pluck a grape, look in at the press, taste the must from the vat, and steal up on my city slaves, who are now in charge of the country slaves and have left me to my secretaries and readers. Ep. 9.20.2Valē.Farewell.
Lectitō › Pliny the Younger › Letters, Book 9 › Pliny, Letter 9.20
Pliny · Epistulae IX
Pliny, Letter 9.20
Gathering a thin vintage
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Read in LectitōGrammar in this passage: indirect statement ×1
Latin vocabulary for this passage (57 words)
| tuus, -a, -um | thy, thine, your |
| vērō, adv. | in truth, indeed; however |
| epistula, -ae f. | letter |
| tantus, -a, -um | so great or much |
| ego, meī, pers. pron. | I |
| iūcundus, -a, -um | sweet, pleasant |
| sum, esse, fuī, futūrus | be |
| quantus, -a, -um | how great or much? |
| longus, -a, -um | long; tedious |
| praesertim (adv.) | especially |
| cum, conj. | when, while, after; since; although |
| dē, prep, with abl. | down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of |
| libellus, -ī m. | little book; written document; libellus repudiī: certificate of divorce |
| meus, -a, -um | my, mine |
| tōtus, -a, -um | all the, the whole or entire |
| loquor, loquī, locūtus | speak |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| tū, tuī, pers. pron. | thou, you |
| voluptās, -tātis, f. | pleasure |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| mīror, -ārī, -ātus | wonder, wonder at |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| noster, -tra, -trum | our |
| perinde (adv.) | in the same way, equally; haud perinde: not so much |
| atque, ac (conj.) | and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants) |
| nōs | plur. of ego |
| amō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | love |
| ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron. | self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very |
| maximē, adv. | very greatly, exceedingly, especially |
| vindēmia, -ae f. | grape harvest, vintage; grapes |
| gracilis, -e | slender, thin, fine |
| quidem, adv. | in fact, indeed, certainly; nē ... quidem, not ... even |
| ūber, -eris (adj.) | fertile, rich, abundant; laden (with fruit: abl.) |
| tamen, adv. | however, yet, nevertheless |
| quam, adv. | how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible |
| exspectō, -spectāre, -spectāvī, -spectātus | look out for, wait for, await, expect; wait |
| colligō, -ere, -lēgī, -lēctum | gather, collect (sē colligere: recover oneself) |
| sī, conj. | if |
| numquam, adv. | never |
| dēcerpō, -ere, -cerpsī, -cerptus | pluck off, pick |
| ūva, -ae f. | grape; bunch of grapes |
| torculum, -ī n. | wine-press, oil-press |
| invīsō, -ere, -vīsī, -vīsus | go to see, visit |
| gustō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | taste |
| lacus, -ūs, m. | lake |
| mustum, -ī n. | new wine, unfermented grape juice; vintage |
| obrēpō, -ere, -rēpsī, -rēptum | creep up on, steal over |
| urbānus, -a, -um | of the city (Rome), urban |
| nunc, adv. | now |
| rūsticus, -a, -um | rural, of the country |
| praesum, -esse, -fuī | be before, preside over, have charge of, command |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| notārius, -ī m. | shorthand writer, secretary |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| lēctor, -ōris m. | reader |
| relinquō, -linquere, -līquī, -lictus | leave behind, leave |
| valeō, -ēre, -uī, -itūrus | be 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.