De Clementia 22

Why punishment should be sparing

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Clem. 1.22.1Trānseāmus ad aliēnās iniūriās, in quibus vindicandīs haec tria lēx secūta est, quae prīnceps quoque sequī dēbet : aut ut eum, quem pūnit, ēmendet, aut ut poena eius cēterōs meliōrēs reddat, aut ut sublātīs malīs sēcūriōrēs cēterī vīvant.Let us pass on to injuries done to others, in avenging which the law has pursued these three aims, which the prince also ought to pursue: either to reform the man it punishes, or to make others better by his punishment, or that others may live more securely when the wicked are removed. Clem. 1.22.1Ipsōs facilius ēmendābis minōre poenā ;The offenders themselves you will reform more easily with a lesser punishment; Clem. 1.22.1dīligentius enim vīvit, cui aliquid integrī superest.for a man lives more carefully when something of his good name is left intact. Clem. 1.22.1Nēmō dignitātī perditae parcit;No one spares a dignity already lost; Clem. 1.22.1impūnitātis genus est iam nōn habēre poenae locum.it is a kind of impunity to have no room left for punishment. Clem. 1.22.2Cīvitātis autem mōrēs magis corrigit parcitās animadversiōnum;The morals of the state, moreover, are better corrected by sparing use of punishments; Clem. 1.22.2facit enim cōnsuētūdinem peccandī multitūdō peccantium, et minus gravis nota est, quam turba damnātiōnum levat, et sevēritās, quod maximum remedium habet, adsiduitāte āmittit auctōritātem.for the number of wrongdoers creates a habit of wrongdoing, and the mark of disgrace is less heavy when a crowd of convictions lightens it, and severity, by being constant, loses the authority which is its greatest remedy.

Clem. 1.22.3Cōnstituit bonōs mōrēs cīvitātī prīnceps et vitia ēluit, sī patiēns eōrum est, nōn tamquam probet, sed tamquam invītus et cum magnō tormentō ad castīgandum veniat.A prince establishes good morals in the state and washes away vices if he is patient with them, not as though he approved, but as though he came to punish unwillingly and with great anguish. Clem. 1.22.3Verēcundiam peccandī facit ipsa clēmentia regentis ;The very clemency of the ruler makes men ashamed to do wrong; Clem. 1.22.3gravior multō poena vidētur, quae ā mītī virō cōnstituitur.a punishment seems much heavier when it is fixed by a gentle man.

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Grammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×4

Latin vocabulary for this passage (91 words)

trānseō, -īre, -iī, -itus	go across or over, cross
ad, prep. with acc.	to, toward; at, near; for
aliēnus, -a, -um	belonging to another, out of place
iniūria, -ae, f.	injury, wrong, hurt, harm
in, prep. with acc. and abl.	with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.	who, which
vindicō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	punish; claim
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.	this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
trēs, tria, plur. adj.	three
lēx, lēgis f.	law
sequor, sequī, secūtus	follow
sum, esse, fuī, futūrus	be
prīnceps, -ipis	first, chief; as noun: leader
quoque, adv.	also
dēbeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus	owe; with infin., ought
aut, conj.	or; aut ... aut, either ... or
ut, conj.	as; when; that; ita ut, as
is, ea, id, dem. pron.	this, that; he, she, it, they
pūniō, -īre, -īvī, -ītus	punish
ēmendō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	correct, make good, remove faults
poena, -ae, f.	penalty, punishment
cēterī, -ae, -a, plur. adj.	the other, the remaining, the rest of
bonus, -a, -um	good
reddō, -dere, -didī, -ditus	give back, return, restore; render
tollō, tollere, sustulī, sublātus	lift, raise; take away, remove; ancorās tollere, to weigh anchor
malus, -a, -um	bad
sēcūrus, -a, -um	free from care, untroubled; careless (of: gen.)
vīvō, vīvere, vīxī, vīctus	live
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.	self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
facile, adv.	easily
parvus, -a, -um	little, small
dīligenter, adv.	carefully, diligently
enim, conj.	for
aliquis, -quid, indef. pron.	someone, any one, something, anything, some, any
integer, -gra, -grum	untouched, fresh, whole
supersum, -esse, -fuī	be over or left, remain
nēmō, nēminis, m. and f.	no one, nobody
dignitās, -ātis f.	rank, standing, prestige
perdō, -dere, -didī, -ditus	destroy, ruin; lose, waste
parcō, -ere, pepercī, parsūrus	spare, show mercy to (+ dat.)
impūnitās, -ātis f.	freedom from punishment
genus, generis, n.	kind, nature
iam, adv.	now, already
nōn, adv.	not
habeō, -ēre, -uī, -itus	have, hold; consider
locus, -ī, m., plur. loca, -orum, n.	place, situation
cīvitās, -tātis, f.	state
autem, conj.	moreover; but, however; now
mōs, mōris, m.	way, manner, habit, custom
magis, comp. adv.	more, rather
corrigō, -rigere, -rēxī, -rēctus	straighten, set right, reform
parcitās, -ātis f.	sparingness, moderation
animadversiō, -ōnis f.	notice; censure, punishment
faciō, facere, fēcī, factus	make, do; iter facere, see iter
cōnsuētūdō, -inis f.	custom, habit; way of life
peccō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	do wrong
multitūdō, -tūdinis, f.	multitude
et, conj.	and; et ... et, both ... and
minus, comp. adv.	less
gravis, -e	heavy; severe, grievous, serious
nota, -ae f.	mark, sign; brand, stigma
turba, -ae f.	crowd
damnātiō, -ōnis f.	condemnation
levō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	lift; lighten, relieve
sevēritās, -ātis f.	strictness, severity
magnus, -a, -um	large, big, great, mighty; loud
remedium, -ī, n.	remedy
assiduitās (adsiduitās), -ātis f.	persistence, constant attendance; continual repetition
āmittō, -mittere, -mīsī, -missus	send away, lose
auctōritās, -tātis f.	influence, authority, prestige
cōnstituō, -stituere, -stituī, -stitūtus	set together or up; appoint; determine
vitium, -ī n.	fault, vice
ēluō, -ere, -luī, -lūtus	wash out, wash away
sī, conj.	if
patiēns, -entis	patient, able to endure
tamquam (adv., conj.)	as, just as; as if
probō, -āre, -āvī, -ātum	prove, show; approve
sed, conj.	but
invītus, -a, -um	unwilling
cum, prep, with abl.	with
tormentum, -ī n.	artillery, siege engine
castīgō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus	punish, rebuke; correct, check
veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventus	come
verēcundia, -ae f.	modesty, respect, deference
clēmentia, -ae, f.	mercy, kindness
regō, -ere, rēxī, rēctum	guide, steer, rule
multō, adv.	by much or far, much, far
videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsus	see; pass., seem
ā, ab (prep. + abl.)	away from, from; by (ā only before consonants)
mītis, -e	mild, gentle (adv. mītissimē: as gently as possible)
vir, virī, m.	man

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.