[77] (1) Sed enim iste, ut est reī modicus, speī immodicus, parī avāritiā et egestāte tōtum Pudentillae quadrāgiēns praesūmptiōne cassā dēvorārat eōque mē āmōliendum ratus, quō facilius Pontiānī facilitātem, Pudentillae sōlitūdinem circumvenīret, īnfit generum suum obiūrgāre, quod mātrem suam mihi dēsponderat. (2) Suādet quam prīmum ex tantō perīculō, dum licet, pedem referat, rem mātris ipse potius habeat quam hominī extrāriō sciēns trānsmittat. (3) Nī ita faciat, inicit scrūpulum amantī adulēscentulō veterātor, minātur sē fīliam abductūrum.
(4) Quid multīs? Iuvenem simplicem, praetereā novae nūptae inlecebrīs obfrēnātum suō arbitrātū dē viā dēflectit. (5) It ille ad mātrem verbōrum Rufīnī gerulus, sed, nēquicquam temptātā eius gravitāte, ultrō ipse levitātis et incōnstantiae increpitus reportat ad socerum haud mollia: (6) mātrī suae praeter ingenium placidissimum immōbilī īram quoque suā expostulātiōne accessisse, nōn mediocre pertināciae alimentum; (7) respondisse eam dēnique nōn clam sē esse Rufīnī exōrātiōne sēcum expostulārī; eō vel magis sibi auxilium marītī adversum eius dēspērātam avāritiam comparandum.
Vocabulary
modicus –a –um: moderate, modest, temperate
immodicus –a –um: excessive
avāritia avāritiae f.: greed
egestās –ātis f.: poverty, need, want
Pudentilla –ae f.: Aemila Pudentilla, married first to Sicinius Amicus and then to Apuleius; mother of Sicinius Pontianus and Sicinius Pudens
(2)
quādrāgiē(n)s: 4 million
praesūmptiō –ōnis f.: anticipation
cassus –a –um: futile, empty
dēvorō dēvorāre dēvorāvī dēvorātus: to swallow, devour, gobble up
āmōlior āmōlīrī āmōlītus: to get rid of
Pontiānus –ī m.: Sicinius Pontianus: Roman knight, elder son of Sicinius Amicus and Aemilia Pudentilla, now dead
(3)
facilitās –ātis f.: easiness, good nature
sōlitūdō –inis f.: solitude, loneliness
circumveniō circumvenīre circumvēnī circumventus: to get around, circumvent
īnfit: begins, starts
gener generī m.: son–in–law
obiurgō –āre –āvī –ātum: scold, chide, criticize
dēspondeō –spondēre –spondī –sponsum: to promise, betroth, pledge
suādeō suādēre suāsī suāsus: to recommend
(4)
extrārius –a –um: outside (the family)
trānsmittō –ere –mīsī –missus: to send across; bear or convey across or over
iniciō –ere –iēcī –iectum: to instill
(5)
scrūpulus –ī m.: a worry, anxiety
adolēscentulus adulēscentulī m.: young man
veterātor –ōris m.: a crafty person, sly fox
minor minārī minātus sum: to threaten
abdūcō abdūcere abdūxī abductus: to lead/take away
simplex –icis: artless, naïve, lacking guile
nupta –ae f.: wife, bride
(6)
inlecebra illecebra illecebrae f.: allurement, attraction
obfrēnātus or offrēnātus –a –um: bridled, curbed, tamed
dēflectō –ere –flexī –flexus: to turn aside
Rūfīnus –ī m.: Herennius Rufinus: allegedly son of a bankrupt father, father of (Herennia)
gerulus –ī m.: a carrier, porter
nēquī[c]quam: in vain
gravitās gravitātis f.: seriousness of purpose
ultrō: furthermore, beyond
(7)
levitās –ātis f.: fickleness
incōnstantia –ae f.: inconsistency, inconstancy
increpō increpāre increpavī/increpuī increpatus/increpitus: to rebuke, chastise, criticize loudly
reportō reportāre reportāvī reportātus: to carry back
socer socerī m.: father–in–law
immōbilis –e: unmoved, determined
expostulātiō –ōnis f.: complaint
mediocris mediocris mediocre: moderate
pertinācia –ae f.: perseverance, stubbornness
placidus –a –um: easygoing, serene
(8)
alimentum -ī n.: fuel
clam: without the knowledge of (+ abl.)
Rūfīnus –ī m.: Herennius Rufinus: allegedly son of a bankrupt father, father of (Herennia)
exōrātiō –ōnis f.: an entreaty, prayer
expostulō expostulāre: to demand
marītus -ī m.: husband
dēspērātus -a -um: desperate
avāritia avāritiae f.: greed
comparō (1): to get, acquire