Ep. 9.8.1Sī laudātus ā tē laudāre tē coeperō, vereor nē nōn tam prōferre iūdicium meum quam referre grātiam videar.If, after being praised by you, I begin to praise you, I fear I may seem not so much to be giving my judgement as returning a favour. Ep. 9.8.1Sed licet videar, omnia scrīpta tua pulcherrima exīstimō, maximē tamen illa dē nōbīs.But though I may seem so, I think all your writings very fine, and especially those about me. Ep. 9.8.2Accidit hoc ūnā eādemque dē causā.This happens for one and the same reason. Ep. 9.8.2Nam et tū, quae dē amīcīs, optimē scrībis, et ego, quae dē mē, ut optima legō.For you write best what you write about your friends, and I read as best what is written about me. Ep. 9.8.2Valē.Farewell.
Lectitō › Pliny the Younger › Letters, Book 9 › Pliny, Letter 9.8
Pliny · Epistulae IX
Pliny, Letter 9.8
Praise returned between friends
Read the Latin itself: tap any word for its meaning and grammar, save words to review, and keep your place.
Read in LectitōGrammar in this passage: indirect statement ×1
Latin vocabulary for this passage (45 words)
| sī, conj. | if |
| laudō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum | praise |
| ā, ab (prep. + abl.) | away from, from; by (ā only before consonants) |
| tū, tuī, pers. pron. | thou, you |
| coepī, coepisse, coeptus (used in tenses of completed action) | have begun, began |
| vereor, -ērī, -itus | fear |
| nē, adv. | not; nē ... quidem, not ... even; conj., that not, lest |
| nōn, adv. | not |
| tam, adv. | so |
| prōferō, -ferre, -tulī, -lātus | bring forward, bring out |
| iūdicium, -ī n. | trial, court; judgment |
| meus, -a, -um | my, mine |
| quam, adv. | how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible |
| referō, referre, rettulī, relātus | bring or carry back, return; pedem referre, to draw back, retire, retreat; grātiam referre, see grātia |
| grātia, -ae, f. | favor; gratitude, thanks; plur., thanks; grātiās agere, to give thanks, thank; grātiam referre, to return a favor, show gratitude, requite |
| videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus | see; pass., seem |
| sed, conj. | but |
| licet, -ēre, -uit or -itum est, impers. | is lawful or permitted |
| omnis, -e | all, every |
| scrīptum, -ī n. | something written; (pl.) writings, works |
| tuus, -a, -um | thy, thine, your |
| pulcher, pulchra, pulchrum | beautiful |
| exīstimō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus | consider, believe, think |
| maximē, adv. | very greatly, exceedingly, especially |
| tamen, adv. | however, yet, nevertheless |
| ille, illa, illud, dem. pron. | that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc |
| dē, prep, with abl. | down from, from, out of; about, concerning, of |
| nōs | plur. of ego |
| accidō, -cidere, -cidī | fall to or upon; befall, happen |
| hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron. | this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter |
| ūnus, -a, -um | one; only, alone |
| īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron. | the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also |
| que, enclitic conj. | and |
| causa, -ae, f. | cause, reason; abl. causā, for the sake of |
| nam, conj. | for |
| et, conj. | and; et ... et, both ... and |
| quī, quae, quod, rel. pron. | who, which |
| amīcus, -ī, m. | friend |
| bene, adv. | well; successfully |
| scrībō, scrībere, scrīpsī, scrīptus | write |
| ego, meī, pers. pron. | I |
| ut, conj. | as; when; that; ita ut, as |
| bonus, -a, -um | good |
| legō, legere, lēgī, lēctus | choose, pick out; read |
| 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.