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Pliny · Epistulae IX

Pliny, Letter 9.40

Winter days at Laurentum

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Ep. 9.40.1Scrībis pergrātās tibi fuisse litterās meās, quibus cognōvistī quemadmodum in Tuscīs ōtium aestātis exigerem;You write that my letter was very welcome to you, from which you learned how I spend my summer leisure on my Tuscan estate; Ep. 9.40.1requīris quid ex hōc in Laurentīnō hieme permūtem.you ask what I change of this at my Laurentine villa in winter. Ep. 9.40.2Nihil, nisi quod merīdiānus somnus eximitur multumque dē nocte vel ante vel post diem sūmitur, et, sī agendī necessitās īnstat, quae frequēns hieme, nōn iam cōmoedō vel lyristae post cēnam locus, sed illa, quae dictāvī, identidem retractantur, ac simul memoriae frequentī ēmendātiōne prōficitur.Nothing, except that the midday sleep is dropped and much is taken from the night, either before or after daylight, and, if the need of pleading presses, as it often does in winter, there is no longer room after dinner for a comic actor or a lyre-player, but what I have dictated is gone over again and again, and at the same time my memory profits from the frequent correction. Ep. 9.40.3Habēs aestāte hieme cōnsuētūdinem;You have my habits in summer and winter; Ep. 9.40.3addās hūc licet vēr et autumnum, quae inter hiemem aestātemque media, ut nihil dē diē perdunt, dē nocte parvolum acquīrunt.you may add spring and autumn to these, which, lying between winter and summer, lose nothing of the day and gain a little from the night.

Ep. 9.40.3Valē.Farewell.

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Grammar in this passage: indirect statement ×1, gerunds and gerundives ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (70 words)
scrībō, scrībere, scrīpsī, scrīptuswrite
pergrātus, -a, -umvery welcome, very pleasing
tū, tuī, pers. pron.thou, you
sum, esse, fuī, futūrusbe
litterae, -ārum f. pl.letters (of the alphabet); a letter, dispatch
meus, -a, -ummy, mine
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.who, which
cognōscō, -gnōscere, -gnōvī, -gnitusfind out, learn; in tenses of completed action, have found out, know
quemadmodum (adv.)how, in what way; just as
in, prep. with acc. and abl.with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
ōtium, -ī n.leisure, rest; peace, quiet
aestās, -tātis, f.summer
exigō, -ere, -ēgī, -āctumdrive out; finish, spend (a season)
requīrō, -ere, -quīsīvī, -quīsītuslook for, ask after; need
quis, quid, interrog. pron.who? which? what?
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
hiems, hiemis f.winter
permūtō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusexchange, give in exchange (for: abl.)
nihil, n., indecl.nothing
nisi, conj.if not, unless
quod, conj.that, in that, because
merīdiānus, -a, -ummidday, noonday; merīdiānum tempus, midday, noon
somnus, -ī, m.sleep, drowsiness
eximō, -ere, -ēmī, -ēmptustake away, remove; use up (a day)
multum, -ī, n.much
que, enclitic conj.and
dē, prep, with abl.down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of
nox, noctis, f.night
velor; vel … vel: either … or
ante, prep, with acc. and adv.before
post, adv.after, later; prep. with acc., after, behind
diēs, -ēī, m. and f.day
sūmō, sūmere, sūmpsī, sūmptustake under or up, take; poenam sūmere, to exact or inflict punishment
et, conj.and; et ... et, both ... and
sī, conj.if
agō, agere, ēgī, āctusdrive; do; pass, lead; grātiās agere, see grātia
necessitās, -ātis f.necessity, compulsion
īnstō, -āre, -stitīpress on; be at hand
frequēns, -entiscrowded, in great numbers; frequent
nōn, adv.not
iam, adv.now, already
cōmoedus, -ī m.comic actor, performer of comedy
lyristēs, -ae m.lyre-player
cēna, -ae, f.dinner
locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n.place, situation
sed, conj.but
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
dictō, -āre, -āvī, -ātussay repeatedly; dictate
identidem (adv.)again and again
retractō, -āre, -āvī, -ātushandle again, touch again
atque, ac (conj.)and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
simul, adv.at the same time; simul atque or ac, as soon as
memoria, -ae, f.memory
ēmendātiō, -ōnis f.correction, revision
prōficiō, -ere, -fēcī, -fectumaccomplish, make progress
habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itushave, hold; consider
cōnsuētūdō, -inis f.custom, habit; way of life
addō, -ere, -didī, -ditusadd, put to
hūc, adv.to this place, hither
licet, -ēre, -uit or -itum est, impers.is lawful or permitted
vēr, vēris n.spring
autumnus, -ī m.autumn
inter, prep, with acc.among, between
medius, -a, -ummid, middle
ut, conj.as; when; that; ita ut, as
perdō, -dere, -didī, -ditusdestroy, ruin; lose, waste
parvulus, -a, -umvery small, petty
acquīrō (adquīrō), -ere, -quīsīvī, -quīsītusacquire, gain, obtain, get in addition
valeō, -ēre, -uī, -itūrusbe 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.