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Seneca · De Clementia

De Clementia 6

All of us have done wrong

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Clem. 1.6.1Cōgitātō, in hāc cīvitāte, in quā turba per lātissima itinera sine intermissiōne dēfluēns ēlīditur, quotiēns aliquid obstitit, quod cursum eius velut torrentis rapidī morārētur, in quā tribus eōdem tempore theātrīs caveae postulantur, in quā cōnsūmitur, quidquid terrīs omnibus arātur, quanta sōlitūdō ac vāstitās futūra sit, sī nihil relinquitur, nisi quod iūdex sevērus absolverit.Consider: in this city, where a crowd flowing without pause through the broadest streets is crushed whenever something stands in the way to check its course like a rushing torrent, where the seats of three theatres are in demand at the same time, where whatever is ploughed in all lands is consumed, what a solitude and wasteland there would be if nothing were left except what a severe judge would acquit. Clem. 1.6.2Quotus quisque ex quaesītōribus est, quī nōn ex ipsā eā lēge teneātur, quā quaerit ?How few of the investigators are there who are not liable under the very law by which they investigate? Clem. 1.6.2quotus quisque accūsātor vacat culpā ?how few accusers are free from guilt? Clem. 1.6.2Et nesciō, an nēmō ad dandam veniam difficilior sit, quam quī illam petere saepius meruit.And I rather think no one is harder in granting pardon than the man who has more often deserved to ask for it.

Clem. 1.6.3Peccāvimus omnēs, aliī gravia, aliī leviōra, aliī ex dēstinātā, aliī forte impulsī aut aliēnā nēquitiā ablātī ;We have all sinned, some gravely, some more lightly, some on purpose, some driven by chance or carried away by another's wickedness; Clem. 1.6.3aliī in bonīs cōnsiliīs parum fortiter stetimus et innocentiam invītī ac retinentēs perdidimus ;some of us have stood too feebly by good resolutions and have lost our innocence unwillingly and while clinging to it; Clem. 1.6.3nec dēlīquimus tantum, sed ūsque ad extrēmum aevī dēlinquēmus.and not only have we done wrong, but we shall go on doing wrong to the very end of life. Clem. 1.6.4Etiam sī quis tam bene iam pūrgāvit animum, ut nihil obturbāre eum amplius possit ac fallere, ad innocentiam tamen peccandō pervēnit.Even if someone has already cleansed his mind so well that nothing can disturb or deceive him any more, still he has arrived at innocence by way of sinning.

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Grammar in this passage: gerunds and gerundives ×2, indirect statement ×1

Latin vocabulary for this passage (111 words)
cōgitō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusconsider, think over
in, prep. with acc. and abl.with acc.: into, onto, against; with abl.: in, on
hic, haec, hoc, dem. pron.this; ille ... hīc, that ... this, the former ... the latter
cīvitās, -tātis, f.state
quī, quae, quod, rel. pron.who, which
turba, -ae f.crowd
per, prep, with ace.through, by means of
lātus, -a, -umbroad, wide
iter, itineris, n.a going, journey, march; iter facere, to journey, march
sine, prep. with abl.without
intermissiō, -ōnis f.pause, interruption; sine intermissiōne: unceasingly
dēfluō, -ere, -flūxīflow down, fall down
ēlīdō, -ere, -līsī, -līsusdash out, dash down
quotiēns (adv.)how many times; as often as
aliquis, -quid, indef. pron.someone, any one, something, anything, some, any
obstō, -stāre, -stitīstand in the way, block, oppose (+ dat.)
cursus, -ūs, m.running, speed; course, route, voyage; race
is, ea, id, dem. pron.this, that; he, she, it, they
veluteven or just as, as
torrēns, -entis m.torrent, rushing stream; winter stream
rapidus, -a, -umswift; consuming, fierce
moror, -ārī, -ātusdelay, linger, stay
trēs, tria, plur. adj.three
īdem, eadem, idem, dem. pron.the same; sometimes to be translated likewise, also
tempus, temporis, n.time, season
theātrum, -ī n.theatre
cavea, -ae f.seating area of a theatre; the spectators; cage, enclosure
postulō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusask, request, demand
cōnsūmō, -sūmere, -sūmpsī, -sūmptustake completely, use up, consume, spend
quisquis, quidquid (quicquid)whoever, whatever
terra, -ae, f.land, earth
omnis, -eall, every
arō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusplow
quantus, -a, -umhow great or much?
sōlitūdō, -inis f.loneliness; a wilderness, desert
atque, ac (conj.)and; after comparisons: as, than (ac only before consonants)
vāstitās, -ātis f.desolation, devastation
sum, esse, fuī, futūrusbe
sī, conj.if
nihil, n., indecl.nothing
relinquō, -linquere, -līquī, -lictusleave behind, leave
nisi, conj.if not, unless
iūdex, iūdicis, m.judge
sevērus, -a, -umstern, strict, severe
absolvō, -ere, -solvī, -solūtusrelease, set free; acquit (of: gen.)
quotus, -a, -umwhich in number, how many; quotus quisque: how few, scarcely anyone
quisque, quaeque, quidque, indef. pron.each
ex, ē (prep. + abl.)out of, from; of (ē only before consonants)
quaesītor, -ōris m.investigator, judge of an inquiry
nōn, adv.not
ipse, ipsa, ipsum, intensive pron.self, himself, herself, itself, themselves; often to be rendered by very
lēx, lēgis f.law
teneō, -ēre, -uī, -tushold, keep; hold back, restrain, stop
quaerō, quaerere, quaesīvī, quaesītusseek; ask, inquire
accūsātor, -ōris m.accuser, prosecutor
vacō, -āre, -āvī, -ātumbe empty, be unoccupied
culpa, -ae f.fault, blame
et, conj.and; et ... et, both ... and
nesciō, -scīre, -scīvīnot know, be ignorant; nesciō quis, I know not who, some one or other (nesciō is thus used with other interrogative words also)
an, conj.or (in questions)
nēmō, nēminis, m. and f.no one, nobody
ad, prep. with acc.to, toward; at, near; for
dō, dare, dedī, datusgive
venia, -ae f.pardon, forgiveness
difficilis, -enot easy, difficult
quam, adv.how? as; than; with superl., as ... as possible
ille, illa, illud, dem. pron.that; he, she, it, they; ille ... hīc, see hīc
petō, -ere, -īvī or -iī, -ītusseek, ask; attack
saepe, adv.often, frequently
mereō, -ēre, meruī, meritusdeserve, earn
peccō, -āre, -āvī, -ātumdo wrong
alius, -a, -udanother, other; aliī ... aliī, some ... others
gravis, -eheavy; severe, grievous, serious
levis, -elight, slight
dēstinō, -āre, -āvī, -ātumfasten, make fast
forte, adv.by chance, accidentally
impellō, -pellere, -pulī, -pulsusdrive or urge on, incite, urge
aut, conj.or; aut ... aut, either ... or
aliēnus, -a, -umbelonging to another, out of place
nēquitia, -ae f.worthlessness, slackness
auferō, auferre, abstulī, ablātusbear away, carry off
bonus, -a, -umgood
cōnsilium, -ī, n.advice; plan, design, purpose; prudence
parum (comp. minus, superl. minimē)too little; minimē: least, not at all
fortiter, adv.bravely
stō, stāre, stetī, statusstand
innocentia, -ae f.blamelessness, integrity
invītus, -a, -umunwilling
retineō, -tinēre, -tinuī, -tentushold or keep back, keep, restrain; hold fast
perdō, -dere, -didī, -ditusdestroy, ruin; lose, waste
neque or nec, conj.and not, nor; neque ... neque, neither ... nor; neque enim, for ... not
dēlinquō, -ere, -līquī, -lictusfail, do wrong, offend
tantum, adv.so much or far, only
sed, conj.but
ūsque, adv.all the time; ūsque ad, as far as, until; quō ūsque, see quō
extrēmus, -a, -umlast, extreme, furthest
aevum, -ī n.age, lifetime; old age
etiam, adv.and now, also, too, even
quis, qua, quid, indef. pron.any one, anybody, anything, some one, somebody, something
tam, adv.so
bene, adv.well; successfully
iam, adv.now, already
pūrgō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusmake clean, clean, cleanse
animus, -ī, m.mind; heart; spirit, courage
ut, conj.as; when; that; ita ut, as
obturbō, -āre, -āvī, -ātusdisturb, confuse; interrupt, shout down
amplius (adv.)more, further
possum, posse, potuībe able, have power, can
fallō, fallere, fefellī, falsusdeceive
tamen, adv.however, yet, nevertheless
perveniō, -venīre, -vēnī, -ventuscome through, come, arrive, reach
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.