Pliny, Letter 9.34

Should my freedman read my verses?

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Ep. 9.34.1Explicā aestum meum: audiō mē male legere, dumtaxat versūs;Resolve my perplexity: I hear that I read badly — verse, that is; Ep. 9.34.1ratiōnēs enim commodē, sed tantō minus versūs.speeches I read well enough, but verse all the worse. Ep. 9.34.1Cōgitō ergō recitātūrus familiāribus amīcīs experīrī lībertum meum.So, as I am about to give a recital to my close friends, I am thinking of trying out my freedman. Ep. 9.34.1Hoc quoque familiāre, quod ēlēgī nōn bene sed melius - sciō - lēctūrum, sī tamen nōn fuerit perturbātus.This too is a mark of intimacy, that I have chosen one who will read not well, but better than I — I know it — provided he does not get flustered. Ep. 9.34.2Est enim tam novus lēctor quam ego poēta.For he is as new a reader as I am a poet. Ep. 9.34.2Ipse nesciō, quid illō legente interim faciam, sedeam dēfīxus et mūtus et similis ōtiōsō an, ut quīdam, quae prōnūntiābit, murmure oculīs manū prōsequar.I myself do not know what I am to do while he is reading, whether to sit fixed and silent and like an idle onlooker, or, as some do, to accompany what he recites with murmur, eyes and hand.

Ep. 9.34.2Sed putō mē nōn minus male saltāre quam legere.But I think I dance no less badly than I read. Ep. 9.34.2Iterum dīcam, explicā aestum meum vērēque rescrībe, num sit melius pessimē legere quam ista vel nōn facere vel facere.I say it again: resolve my perplexity, and write back truthfully whether it is better to read very badly than either to do those things or not to do them. Ep. 9.34.2Valē.Farewell.

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Grammar in this passage: indirect statement ×3, ablative absolute ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (71 words)

explicō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	unfold, spread out; set out, explain
aestus, -ūs m.	heat; tide
meus, -a, -um	my, mine
audiō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus	hear; listen or attend to
ego, meī, pers. pron.	I
male, adv.	badly, ill
legō, legere, lēgī, lēctus	choose, pick out; read
dumtaxat (adv.)	only, merely; at least
versus, -ūs m.	line (of writing), verse
ratiō, -ōnis, f.	plan, means, method, manner; reason; account
enim, conj.	for
commodē (adv.)	conveniently, easily, well
sed, conj.	but
tantus, -a, -um	so great or much
minus, comp. adv.	less
cōgitō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	consider, think over
ergō (adv.)	therefore, then; quid ergō? what then?
recitō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	read aloud
familiāris, -e; as noun, -is m.	of the household (rēs familiāris: private property); friend
amīcus, -ī, m.	friend
experior, -īrī, expertus sum	try, test, experience
lībertus, -ī m.	freedman (a former slave, in relation to his former master)
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
quoque, adv.	also
quod, conj.	that, in that, because
ēligō, -ere, ēlēgī, ēlēctum	pick out, choose
nōn, adv.	not
bene, adv.	well; successfully
sciō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus	know
sī, conj.	if
tamen, adv.	however, yet, nevertheless
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
perturbō, -turbāre, -turbāvi, -turbātus	greatly disturb, disturb, agitate, throw into confusion
tam, adv.	so
novus, -a, -um	new; novissimus, last
lēctor, -ōris m.	reader
quam, adv.	how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
poēta, -ae, m.	poet
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.	self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
nesciō, -scīre, -scīvī	not know, be ignorant; nesciō quis, I know not who, some one or other (nesciō is thus used with other interrogative words also)
quis, quid, interrog. pron.	who? which? what?
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.	that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
interim (adv.)	meanwhile
faciō, facere, fēcī, factus	make, do; iter facere, see iter
sedeō, sedēre, sēdī, sessus	sit
dēfīgō, -ere, -fīxī, -fīxus	drive in, fix firmly
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
mūtus, -a, -um	dumb, silent, speechless
similis, -e	like, similar (vērī similis: likely)
ōtiōsus, -a, -um	at leisure, quiet; as noun: a peaceful citizen
an, conj.	or (in questions)
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
quīdam, quaedam, quoddam, indef. pron.	a certain, certain
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
prōnūntiō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	proclaim, announce
murmur, -uris n.	murmur, muttering
oculus, -ī, m.	eye
manus, -ūs, f.	hand
prōsequor, -sequī, -secūtus	follow forward, follow
putō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	think
saltō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	dance
iterum, adv.	again, a second time
dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictus	say, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day
vērē (adv.)	truly, really
que, enclitic conj.	and
rescrībō, -ere, -scrīpsī, -scrīptum	write again; transfer, enrol (in another unit)
num, adv., introducing a question to which a negative answer is expected	untranslatable
bonus, -a, -um	good
iste, ista, istud, dem. pron.	that of yours, that
vel	or; vel … vel: either … or
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.