C. PLĪNIUS AVĪTŌ SUŌ S.
Longum est, altius repetere nec refert, quemadmodum acciderit ut homō minimē familiāris cēnārem apud quendam, ut sibi vidēbātur, lautum et dīligentem, ut mihi, sordidum simul et sūmptuōsum. [2] Nam sibi et paucīs opīma quaedam, cēterīs vīlia et minūta pōnēbat. Vīnum etiam parvolīs lagunculīs in tria genera dīscrīpserat, nōn ut potestās ēligendī, sed nē iūs esset recūsandī. Aliud sibi et nōbīs, aliud minōribus amīcīs (nam gradātim amīcōs) habet, aliud suīs nostrīsque lībertīs. [3] Animadvertit quī mihi proximus recumbēbat, et an probārem interrogāvit. Negāvī. 'Tū ergō' inquit 'quam cōnsuētūdinem sequeris?' 'Eadem omnibus pōnō; ad cēnam enim, nōn ad notam invītō cūnctīsque rēbus exaequō, quōs mēnsā et torō aequāvī.' [4] 'Etiamne lībertōs?' 'Etiam; convictōrēs enim tunc, nōn lībertōs putō.' Et ille: 'Magnō tibi cōnstat.' 'Minime.' 'Quī fierī potest?' 'Quia scīlicet lībertī meī nōn īdem quod ego bibunt, sed idem ego quod lībertī.' [5] Et, hercule, sī gulae temperēs, nōn est onerōsum quō ūtāris ipse commūnicāre cum plūribus. Illa ergō reprimenda, illa quasi in ōrdinem redigenda est, sī sūmptibus parcās, quibus aliquantō rēctius tua continentia quam aliēna contumēlia cōnsulās.
[6] Quōrsus haec? Nē tibi, optimae indolis iuvenī, quōrundam in mēnsā luxuriā speciē frūgālitātis impōnat. Convenit autem amōrī in tē meō, quotiēns tāle aliquid incīderit, sub exemplō praemonēre, quid dēbeās fugere. [7] Igitur mementō nihil magis esse vītandum quam istam luxuriae et sordium novam societātem; quae cum sint turpissima discrēta ac sēparāta, turpius iunguntur. Valē.
vocabulary
altē: aloft, on high
rēfert rēferre rētulit: to it concerns
familiāris –e: domestic, intimate
cēnō –āre –āvī –ātus: to dine
lautus (lotus) –a –um: washed; neat
dīligēns –ntis: careful
sordidus –a –um: dirty, sordid2
sūmptuōsus –a –um: expensive
opīmus –a –um: rich, fertile
vīlis –e: cheap
minūtus –a –um: small
parvulus –a –um: very small
laguncula –ae, f.: a small flask, small bottle
dīscrībō –scribere –scrīpsī –scrīptus: to distribute, divide up, allot
recūsō –āre –āvī –ātus: to refuse
gradātim: step by step
lībertus –ī, m.: freedman
animadvertō –tere –tī –sus: to turn to, give mind to3
recumbō recumbere recubuī: to lie down again; sink down
cēna –ae, f.: dinner
nota –ae, f.: mark, note
invītō –āre –āvī –ātus: to invite
exaequō –aequāre –aequāvi –aeqātus: to make equal
torum –ī, n. (also torus –ī m.): bed, couch, cushion; swelling
aequō –āre –āvī –ātus: to make level, equalize
convictor –ōris, m.: intimate friend, companion4
quī: in what manner? how?
bibō bibere bibī: to drink
hercle (hercule): by Hercules!
gula –ae, f.: the gullet, throat
temperō –āre –āvī –ātus: to moderate
onerōsus –a –um: burdensome
commūnicō –āre –āvī –ātus: to communicate
reprimō reprimere repressī repressus: to restrain
redigō redigere redēgī redāctum: to drive back
sūmptus –ūs, m.: outlay, expense, cost, charge
aliquantō: by some little
continentia –ae, f.: a restraint
contumēlia –ae f.: insult
quōrsum (quōrsus): to what place6
indoles –is, f.: that which is bred within; natural disposition; genius
iuvenis –is, m.: youth
frūgālitās –ātis, f.: thriftiness, frugality
praemoneō –monēre –monuī –monitum: to forewarn, advise
luxuria luxuriae, f.: luxury7
sordēs –is, f.: filth; greed
societās –tātis, f.: partnership
discernō –ere –crēvī –crētus: to distinguish one thing from another; determine
sēparātus –a –um: separated, different
turpiter: in an unbecoming or disgraceful manner