Pliny, Letter 9.22

Passennus Paulus recovers

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Ep. 9.22.1Magnā mē sollicitūdine affēcit Passennī Paulī valētūdō, et quidem plūrimīs iūstissimīsque dē causīs.The illness of Passennus Paulus has caused me great anxiety, and indeed for very many and very just reasons. Ep. 9.22.1Vir est optimus honestissimus, nostrī amantissimus;He is an excellent man, most honourable, and very fond of me; Ep. 9.22.1praetereā in litterīs veterēs aemulātur exprimit reddit, Propertium in prīmīs, ā quō genus dūcit, vēra subolēs eōque simillima illī in quō ille praecipuus.besides, in literature he emulates, reproduces and recreates the ancients, Propertius above all, from whom he traces his descent, a true offspring, and most like him in that in which Propertius excelled. Ep. 9.22.2Sī elegōs eius in manūs sūmpseris, legēs opus tersum molle iūcundum, et plānē in Propertī domō scrīptum.If you take his elegies into your hands, you will read a work polished, tender, delightful, and plainly written in Propertius' house. Ep. 9.22.2Nūper ad lyrica dēflexit, in quibus ita Horātium ut in illīs illum alterum effingit: putēs sī quid in studiīs cognātiō valet, et huius propinquum.Recently he has turned to lyric verse, in which he reproduces Horace as he does Propertius in the elegies: you would think, if kinship counts for anything in literature, that he is a relation of this poet too.

Ep. 9.22.2Magna varietās magna mōbilitās: amat ut quī vērissimē, dolet ut quī impatientissimē, laudat ut quī benignissimē, lūdit ut quī facētissimē, omnia dēnique tamquam singula absolvit.Great variety, great versatility: he loves like one who loves most truly, grieves like one who grieves most impatiently, praises like one who praises most kindly, jests like one who jests most wittily; in short he perfects everything as though each were his only work. Ep. 9.22.3Prō hōc ego amīcō, prō hōc ingeniō nōn minus aeger animō quam corpore ille, tandem illum tandem mē recēpī.For such a friend, for such a talent, I was no less sick in mind than he in body; at last I have got him back, at last myself. Ep. 9.22.3Grātulāre mihi, grātulāre etiam litterīs ipsīs, quae ex perīculō eius tantum discrīmen adiērunt, quantum ex salūte glōriae cōnsequentur.Congratulate me, congratulate literature itself as well, which faced as great a danger from his peril as it will gain glory from his recovery. Ep. 9.22.3Valē.Farewell.

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Grammar in this passage: indirect statement ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (101 words)

magnus, -a, -um	large, big, great, mighty; loud
ego, meī, pers. pron.	I
sollicitūdō, -tūdinis, f.	anxiety, care, apprehension
afficiō, -ere, -fēcī, -fectum	affect, afflict
valētūdō, -inis f.	health, state of health; ill health
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
quidem, adv.	in fact, indeed, certainly; nē ... quidem, not ... even
multus, -a, -um	much, great; plur., many
iūstus, -a, -um	just
que, enclitic conj.	and
dē, prep, with abl.	down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of
causa, -ae, f.	cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of
vir, virī, m.	man
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
bonus, -a, -um	good
honestus, -a, -um	respected, honourable
nōs	plur. of ego
amāns, -antis	loving, fond, devoted (to: gen.)
praetereā, adv.	besides this, besides, moreover
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
vetus, veteris	old, former
aemulor, -ārī, -ātus sum	try to equal, rival, imitate
exprimō, -primere, -pressī, -pressus	press out
reddō, -dere, -didī, -ditus	give back, return, restore; render
prīmus, -a, -um	first, foremost
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
genus, generis, n.	kind, nature
dūcō, dūcere, dūxī, ductus	lead; make, dig; with or without in mātrimōnium, marry
vērus, -a, -um	true; rē vērā, in truth, in fact
subolēs, -is f.	offspring, a child
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
similis, -e	like, similar (vērī similis: likely)
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.	that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
praecipuus, -a, -um	special, particular, outstanding
sī, conj.	if
elegī, -ōrum m. pl.	elegiac verses, elegies
manus, -ūs, f.	hand
sūmō, sūmere, sūmpsī, sūmptus	take under or up, take; poenam sūmere, to exact or inflict punishment
legō, legere, lēgī, lēctus	choose, pick out; read
opus, operis, n.	work, task
tergeō, -ēre, tersī, tersus	wipe, clean
mollis, -e	soft, weak
iūcundus, -a, -um	sweet, pleasant
plānē (adv.)	clearly, plainly
domus, -ūs, f.	house, home
scrībō, scrībere, scrīpsī, scrīptus	write
nūper, adv.	newly, lately, recently
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
lyricus, -a, -um	of the lyre, lyric
dēflectō, -ere, -flexī, -flexus	bend aside, turn off (the road)
ita, adv.	in this manner, thus, so; ita ut, as
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
alter, -era, -erum	one or the other (of two); another, second
effingō, -ere, -fīnxī, -fictus	form, portray, represent
putō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	think
quis, qua, quid, indef. pron.	any one, anybody, anything, some one, somebody, something
studium, -ī, n.	eagerness, zeal; study, pursuit
cognātiō, -ōnis f.	kinship; clan, family group
valeō, -ēre, -uī, -itūrus	be strong or effectual, have effect, prevail
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
propinquus, -a, -um; as noun, -ī m./-a f.	near; (noun) relative
varietās, -ātis f.	variety; mottled color
mōbilitās, -ātis f.	changeability, fickleness
amō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	love
vērē (adv.)	truly, really
doleō, -ēre, doluī, dolitum	grieve, be pained
impatienter (adv.)	impatiently, intolerantly
laudō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	praise
benignē, adv.	kindly
lūdō, -ere, lūsī, lūsum	play; mock, deceive
facētē (adv.)	wittily, cleverly
omnis, -e	all, every
dēnique, adv.	lastly, finally
tamquam (adv., conj.)	as, just as; as if
singulī, -ae, -a	one at a time, single
absolvō, -ere, -solvī, -solūtus	release, set free; acquit (of: gen.)
prō, prep. with abl.	before, in front of; for, in behalf of; for, as; in return for, for
amīcus, -ī, m.	friend
ingenium, -ī n.	natural ability, talent, cleverness; character
nōn, adv.	not
minus, comp. adv.	less
aeger, -gra, -grum	sick, ill; as noun, a sick man
animus, -ī, m.	mind; heart; spirit, courage
quam, adv.	how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
corpus, corporis, n.	body
tandem, adv.	at length or last, finally
recipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus	take or get back, recover; sē recipere, to betake oneself, withdraw; to collect oneself, recover
grātulor, -ārī, -ātus sum	congratulate
etiam, adv.	and now, also, too, even
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.	self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)	out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
perīculum, -ī, n.	danger, peril, risk
tantus, -a, -um	so great or much
discrīmen, -crīminis, n.	crisis, peril, danger
adeō, -īre, -iī, -itus	go to, approach
quantus, -a, -um	how great or much?
salūs, salūtis, f.	safety, deliverance, escape
glōria, -ae, f.	glory
cōnsequor, -sequī, -secūtus	follow up, follow; overtake

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.