De Clementia 14

The prince as a father

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Clem. 1.14.1Quod ergō officium eius est ?What, then, is his duty? Clem. 1.14.1Quod bonōrum parentium, quī obiūrgāre līberōs nōn numquam blandē, nōn numquam mināciter solent, aliquandō admonēre etiam verberibus.That of good parents, who are accustomed to rebuke their children sometimes gently, sometimes with threats, and at times even to admonish them with blows. Clem. 1.14.1Numquid aliquis sānus fīlium ā prīmā offēnsā exhērēdat ?Does any sane man disinherit his son for a first offence? Clem. 1.14.1Nisi magnae et multae iniūriae patientiam ēvīcērunt, nisi plūs est, quod timet, quam quod damnat, nōn accēdit ad dēcrētōrium stilum;Unless great and many injuries have overcome his patience, unless what he fears is more than what he condemns, he does not take up the pen of final decree; Clem. 1.14.1multa ante temptat, quibus dubiam indolem et peiōre iam locō positam revocet ;he first tries many things by which to recall a character still wavering and already set on a worse course; Clem. 1.14.1simul dēplōrātum est, ultima experītur.as soon as it is past hope, he tries the last resort. Clem. 1.14.1Nēmō ad supplicia exigenda pervenit, nisi quī remedia cōnsūmpsit- sumpsit.No one comes to exacting punishment except one who has exhausted the remedies.

Clem. 1.14.2Hoc, quod parentī, etiam prīncipī faciendum est, quem appellāvimus Patrem Patriae nōn adūlātiōne vānā adductī.What a parent must do, a prince must do also, whom we have called Father of his Country, not led by empty flattery. Clem. 1.14.2Cētera enim cognōmina honōrī data sunt ;For other titles have been given as honours; Clem. 1.14.2Magnōs et Fēlīcēs et Augustōs dīximus et ambitiōsae maiestātī quidquid potuimus titulōrum congessimus illīs hoc tribuentēs ;we have called them Great and Fortunate and August, and heaped on ambitious majesty every title we could, granting them this much; Clem. 1.14.2Patrem quidem Patriae appellāvimus, ut scīret datam sibi potestātem patriam, quae est temperantissima līberīs cōnsulēns suaque post illōs repōnēns.but we have called him Father of his Country so that he might know that the power given him was a father's power, which is most restrained, caring for its children and putting its own interests after theirs. Clem. 1.14.3Tardē sibi pater membra sua abscīdat, etiam, cum abscīderit- repellere, cupiat et, in abscīdendō gemat cūnctātus multum diū que ;Slowly let a father cut off his own limbs; even when he has cut them off, let him long to restore them, and in cutting let him groan, after hesitating much and long; Clem. 1.14.3prope est enim, ut libenter damnet, quī citō ;for he who condemns quickly is close to condemning gladly; Clem. 1.14.3prope est, ut inīquē pūniat, quī nimis.he who punishes too much is close to punishing unjustly.

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Grammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×3, purpose clauses ×3

Latin vocabulary for this passage (114 words)

quī, quae, quod, interrog. pron. adj.	what?
ergō (adv.)	therefore, then; quid ergō? what then?
officium, -ī, n.	service; duty
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
bonus, -a, -um	good
parēns, -entis m./f.	parent
obiūrgō, -iūrgāre, -iūrgāvī, -iūrgātus	chide, scold, reproach
līberī, -ōrum, m. plur.	children
nōn, adv.	not
numquam, adv.	never
blandē (adv.)	flatteringly, in a friendly way
mināciter (adv.)	threateningly
soleō, -ēre, solitus sum	be accustomed, usually do
aliquandō, adv.	at some time or other; finally, at length
admoneō, -ēre, -uī, -itus	remind, warn, advise
etiam, adv.	and now, also, too, even
verber, -eris n.	lash, whip; (pl.) a flogging
numquid (interrog. particle)	surely not? can it be that ...? (expects 'no'); in later Latin also a simple question
aliquis, -quid, indef. pron.	someone, any one, something, anything, some, any
sānus, -a, -um	healthy, sane (prō sānō: sensibly)
fīlius, -ī, m.	son
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
prīmus, -a, -um	first, foremost
offēnsa, -ae f.	a knock, injury; offence, discomfort
exhērēdō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	disinherit
nisi, conj.	if not, unless
magnus, -a, -um	large, big, great, mighty; loud
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
multus, -a, -um	much, great; plur., many
iniūria, -ae, f.	injury, wrong, hurt, harm
patientia, -ae f.	endurance, hardiness
ēvincō, -ere, -vīcī, -victus	overcome utterly
timeō, -ēre, -uī	fear
quam, adv.	how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
damnō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	condemn
accēdō, -ere, accessī, accessum	come near, approach; be added
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
dēcrētōrius, -a, -um	decisive, deciding; dēcrētōrius stilus: the pen that signs a sentence
stilus, -ī m.	a pointed stake, a caltrop set in the ground against attackers
ante, prep, with acc. and adv.	before
temptō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	try, attempt
dubius, -a, -um	doubtful, uncertain
indolēs, -is f.	natural character, nature, spirit
malus, -a, -um	bad
iam, adv.	now, already
locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n.	place, situation
pōnō, pōnere, posuī, positus	place, put; pōnī with in and abl., to be placed in, rest or depend on
revocō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	call back, recall
simul, adv.	at the same time; simul atque or ac, as soon as
dēplōrō, -plōrāre, -plōrāvī, -plōrātus	lament
ultimus, -a, -um	farthest, last
experior, -īrī, expertus sum	try, test, experience
nēmō, nēminis, m. and f.	no one, nobody
supplicium, -ī, n.	punishment, torture
exigō, -ere, -ēgī, -āctum	drive out; finish, spend (a season)
perveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventus	come through, come, arrive, reach
remedium, -ī, n.	remedy
cōnsūmō, -sūmere, -sūmpsī, -sūmptus	take completely, use up, consume, spend
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
prīnceps, -ipis	first, chief; as noun: leader
faciō, facere, fēcī, factus	make, do; iter facere, see iter
appellō, -pellāre, -pellāvī, -pellātus	call, name
pater, patris, m.	father
patria, -ae, f.	fatherland, country
adūlātiō, -ōnis f.	flattery, fawning
vānus, -a, -um	empty, idle, vain; in vanum: in vain
addūcō, -dūcere, -dūxī, -ductus	lead to, bring, take; induce, influence
cēterī, -ae, -a, plur. adj.	the other, the remaining, the rest of
enim, conj.	for
cognōmen, -inis n.	surname, added name, nickname
honor, -ōris, m.	honor
dō, dare, dedī, datus	give
fēlīx, -īcis	fortunate, lucky, happy
augustus, -a, -um	venerable, majestic, sacred
dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictus	say, speak; diem dīcere, to appoint or set a day
ambitiōsus, -a, -um	eager for office or popularity, ambitious
maiestās, -ātis f.	greatness, dignity, majesty
quisquis, quidquid (quicquid)	whoever, whatever
possum, posse, potuī	be able, have power, can
titulus, -ī m.	notice, inscription, label
congerō, -ere, -gessī, -gestus	heap up, bring together
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.	that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
tribuō, -ere, tribuī, tribūtum	assign, attribute
quidem, adv.	in fact, indeed, certainly; nē ... quidem, not ... even
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
sciō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus	know
suī, sibi, sē or sēsē, reflexive pron.	himself, herself, itself, themselves
potestās, -ātis f.	power, authority
patrius, -a, -um	of one's fathers, ancestral
temperāns, -antis	moderate, restrained, self-controlled
cōnsulō, -ere, -uī, -tus	consult
suus, -a, -um	his, her, its, or their own; his, her, its, their
que, enclitic conj.	and
post, adv.	after, later; prep. with acc., after, behind
repōnō, -pōnere, -posuī, -positus	put or set back; store up or away
tardē (adv.)	slowly; comp. tardius
membrum, -ī, n.	limb, member
abscīdō, -cīdere, -cīdī, -cīsus	cut away or off
cum, conj.	when, while, after; since; although
repellō, repellere, reppulī, repulsus	drive back or away, repulse, repel
cupiō, -ere, -īvī, -ītus	desire, long for, wish
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
gemō, -ere, -uī, -itus	groan; lament
cūnctor, -ārī, -ātus sum	delay, hesitate
multum, -ī, n.	much
diū, adv.	for a long time, a long time or while, long; comp
prope (adv. and prep. + acc.)	near, nearly
libenter, adv.	willingly, gladly
citō (adv.; comp. citius)	quickly, soon; citius: more quickly, without delay
inīquē (adv.)	unfairly, unjustly; wickedly
pūniō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus	punish
nimis (adv.)	too much, too

Seneca, De Clementia. Latin text: J. W. Basore, Seneca: Moral Essays I (Loeb, 1928), 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.