Pliny, Letter 9.29

Many things done moderately

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Ep. 9.29.1Ut satius ūnum aliquid īnsigniter facere quam plūra mediocriter, ita plūrima mediocriter, sī nōn possīs ūnum aliquid īnsigniter.Just as it is better to do one thing outstandingly than many things moderately, so it is better to do a great many things moderately, if you cannot do one thing outstandingly. Ep. 9.29.1Quod intuēns ego variīs mē studiōrum generibus nūllī satis cōnfīsus experior.With this in view I try my hand at various kinds of literature, having enough confidence in none. Ep. 9.29.2Proinde, cum hoc vel illud legēs, ita singulīs veniam ut nōn singulīs dabis.So when you read this piece or that, you will pardon each one on the grounds that it does not stand alone. Ep. 9.29.2An cēterīs artibus excūsātiō in numerō, litterīs dūrior lēx, in quibus difficilior effectus est?Or is number an excuse in the other arts, while for literature, in which achievement is harder, the law is stricter? Ep. 9.29.2Quid autem ego dē veniā quasi ingrātus?But why do I talk of pardon, as if I were ungrateful? Ep. 9.29.2Nam sī eā facilitāte proxima accēperis quā priōra, laus potius spēranda quam venia obsecranda est.For if you receive my latest pieces with the same kindness as the earlier ones, praise is rather to be hoped for than pardon begged.

Ep. 9.29.2Mihi tamen venia sufficit.For me, however, pardon is enough. Ep. 9.29.2Valē.Farewell.

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Grammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×2

Latin vocabulary for this passage (63 words)

ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
satius, comp. (n.)	better, preferable (satius est: it is better)
ūnus, -a, -um	one; only, alone
aliquis, -quid, indef. pron.	someone, any one, something, anything, some, any
īnsigniter (adv.)	remarkably, outstandingly
faciō, facere, fēcī, factus	make, do; iter facere, see iter
quam, adv.	how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
plūrēs, -a, plur. adj.	more, many, several
mediocriter (adv.)	moderately (nōn mediocriter: greatly)
ita, adv.	in this manner, thus, so; ita ut, as
multus, -a, -um	much, great; plur., many
sī, conj.	if
nōn, adv.	not
possum, posse, potuī	be able, have power, can
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
intueor, -tuērī, -tuitus	look upon, behold
ego, meī, pers. pron.	I
varius, -a, -um	various
studium, -ī, n.	eagerness, zeal; study, pursuit
genus, generis, n.	kind, nature
nūllus, -a, -um	not any, none, no
satis, adv.	enough, sufficiently
cōnfīdō, -ere, cōnfīsus sum	trust, be confident
experior, -īrī, expertus sum	try, test, experience
proinde (adv.)	therefore, accordingly; so then
cum, conj.	when, while, after; since; although
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
vel	or; vel … vel: either … or
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.	that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
legō, legere, lēgī, lēctus	choose, pick out; read
singulī, -ae, -a	one at a time, single
venia, -ae f.	pardon, forgiveness
dō, dare, dedī, datus	give
an, conj.	or (in questions)
cēterī, -ae, -a, plur. adj.	the other, the remaining, the rest of
ars, artis, f.	art
excūsātiō, -ōnis f.	excuse, plea
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
numerus, -ī, m.	number
littera, -ae f.	letter (of the alphabet); pl. letter, writing
dūrus, -a, -um	hard; harsh; difficult
lēx, lēgis f.	law
difficilis, -e	not easy, difficult
effectus, -ūs m.	result, accomplishment, success
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
quis, quid, interrog. pron.	who? which? what?
autem, conj.	moreover; but, however; now
dē, prep, with abl.	down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of
quasi, conj.	as if
ingrātus, -a, -um	unwelcome, unpleasant; ungrateful
nam, conj.	for
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
facilitās, -ātis f.	easiness of manner, good nature, approachability
proximus, -a, -um	nearest, next
accipiō, -cipere, -cēpī, -ceptus	take to oneself, receive, accept; hear; suffer
prior, prius	earlier, former; in front (priōrēs: those in front)
laus, laudis f.	praise, glory
potius (adv.)	rather
spērō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	hope
obsecrō, -secrāre, -secrāvī, -secrātus	beseech, entreat
tamen, adv.	however, yet, nevertheless
sufficiō, -ere, -fēcī, -fectus	be enough, hold out; supply
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.