Pliny, Letter 9.31

Thanks for a book of praise

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Ep. 9.31.1Postquam ā tē recessī, nōn minus tēcum, quam cum ad tē fuī.After I left you, I was no less with you than when I was at your side. Ep. 9.31.1Lēgī enim librum tuum identidem repetēns ea maximē - nōn enim mentiar -, quae dē mē scrīpsistī, in quibus quidem percōpiōsus fuistī.For I read your book, going over again and again above all — for I will not lie — what you wrote about me, on which you were indeed most copious. Ep. 9.31.1Quam multa, quam varia, quam nōn eadem dē eōdem nec tamen dīversa dīxistī!How many things, how varied, how far from the same you said about the same man, and yet not contradictory! Ep. 9.31.2Laudem pariter et grātiās agam?Shall I praise you and thank you at the same time? Ep. 9.31.2Neutrum satis possum et, sī possem, timērem nē arrogāns esset ob ea laudāre, ob quae grātiās agerem.I can do neither sufficiently and, if I could, I should fear that it would be arrogant to praise you for the very things for which I was thanking you. Ep. 9.31.2Ūnum illud addam, omnia mihi tantō laudābiliōra vīsa quantō iūcundiōra, tantō iūcundiōra quantō laudābiliōra erant.I will add just this, that everything seemed to me all the more praiseworthy for being so delightful, and all the more delightful for being so praiseworthy.

Ep. 9.31.2Valē.Farewell.

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Latin vocabulary for this passage (56 words)

postquam, conj.	later than, after, when
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
tū, tuī, pers. pron.	thou, you
recēdō, -ere, -cessī, -cessum	go back, withdraw, retire
nōn, adv.	not
minus, comp. adv.	less
quam, adv.	how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
cum, conj.	when, while, after; since; although
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
legō, legere, lēgī, lēctus	choose, pick out; read
enim, conj.	for
liber, librī m.	book; record
tuus, -a, -um	thy, thine, your
identidem (adv.)	again and again
repetō, -ere, -petīvī, -petītum	demand back; seek again
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
maximē, adv.	very greatly, exceedingly, especially
mentior, -īrī, -ītus sum	lie, tell a lie
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
dē, prep, with abl.	down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of
ego, meī, pers. pron.	I
scrībō, scrībere, scrīpsī, scrīptus	write
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
quidem, adv.	in fact, indeed, certainly; nē ... quidem, not ... even
percōpiōsus, -a, -um	very copious, very full
multus, -a, -um	much, great; plur., many
varius, -a, -um	various
īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron.	the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also
neque or nec, conj.	and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
tamen, adv.	however, yet, nevertheless
dīversus, -a, -um	turned different ways, opposite, contrary, different
dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictus	say, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day
laudō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	praise
pariter (adv.)	equally, alike; at the same time
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
grātia, -ae, f.	favor; gratitude, thanks; plur., thanks; grātiās agere, to give thanks, thank; grātiam referre, to return a favor, show gratitude, requite
agō, agere, ēgī, āctus	drive; do; pass, lead; grātiās agere, see grātia
neuter, neutra, neutrum	neither
satis, adv.	enough, sufficiently
possum, posse, potuī	be able, have power, can
sī, conj.	if
timeō, -ēre, -uī	fear
nē, adv.	not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest
arrogāns, -antis	arrogant, presumptuous
ob, prep. with acc.	on account of, for; in compounds, to, against
ūnus, -a, -um	one; only, alone
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.	that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
addō, -ere, -didī, -ditus	add, put to
omnis, -e	all, every
tantus, -a, -um	so great or much
laudābilis, -e	praiseworthy, commendable
videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus	see; pass., seem
quantus, -a, -um	how great or much?
iūcundus, -a, -um	sweet, pleasant
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.