C. PLĪNIUS PRĪSCŌ SUŌ S.
[1] Angit mē Fanniae valētūdō. Contrāxit hanc dum assidet Iuniae, virginī, sponte prīmum—est enim affīnis—deinde etiam ex auctōritāte pontificum. [2] Nam virginēs, cum vī morbī ātriō Vestae cōguntur excēdere, mātrōnārum cūrae cūstōdiaeque mandantur. Quō mūnere Fannia dum sēdulō fungitur, hōc discrīmine implicita est. [3] Īnsident febrēs, tussis incrēscit; summa maciēs, summa dēfectiō. Animus tantum et spīritus viget, Helvidiō, marītō, Thraseā, patre, dignissimus; reliqua lābuntur, mēque nōn metū tantum, vērum etiam dolōre cōnficiunt. [4] Doleō enim fēminam maximam ēripī oculīs cīvitātis, nesciō an aliquid simile vīsūrīs.
Quae castitās illī, quae sānctitās, quanta gravitās, quanta cōnstantia! Bis marītum secūta in exsilium est, tertiō ipsa propter marītum relēgāta. [5] Nam cum Seneciō reus esset quod dē vītā Helvidī librōs composuisset rogātumque sē ā Fanniā in dēfēnsiōne dīxisset, quaerente mināciter Mettīō Cārō, an rogāsset respondit: ‘Rogāvī’; an commentāriōs scrīptūrō dedisset: ‘Dedī’; an sciente mātre: ‘Nesciente’; postrēmō nūllam vōcem cēdentem perīculō ēmīsit.
[6] Quīn etiam illōs ipsōs librōs, quamquam ex necessitāte et metū temporum, abolitōs senātūs cōnsultō, pūblicātīs bonīs servāvit habuit, tulitque in exsilium, exsilī causam. [7] Eadem quam iūcunda quam cōmis, quamdēnique—quod paucīs datum est—nōn minus amābilis quam veneranda! Eritne quam posteā uxōribus nostrīs ostentāre possīmus? Erit ā quā virī quoque fortitūdinis exempla sūmāmus, quam sīc cernentēs audientēsque mīrēmur, ut illās quae leguntur? [8] Ac mihi domus ipsa nūtāre, convulsaque sēdibus suīs, ruitūra suprā vidētur, licet adhūc posterōs habeat. Quantīs enim virtūtibus quantīsque factīs assequentur, ut haec nōn novissima occīderit?
[9] Mē quidem illud etiam afflīgit et torquet, quod mātrem eius, illam—nihil possum illūstrius dīcere—tantae fēminae mātrem, rūrsus videor āmittere, quam haec, ut reddit ac refert nōbīs, sīc auferet sēcum,mēque et novō pariter et rescissō vulnere afficiet. [10] Utramque coluī utramque dīlēxī: utram magis nesciō, nec discernī volēbant. Habuērunt officia mea in secundīs, habuērunt in adversīs. Ego sōlācium relēgātārum, ego ultor reversārum; nōn fēcī tamen paria atque eō magis hanc cupiō servārī, ut mihi solvendī tempora supersint. [11] In hīs eram cūrīs, cum scrīberem ad tē; quās sī deus aliquis in gaudium verterit, dē metū nōn querar. Valē.
vocabulary
angō angere ānxī ānctus (ānxus): to squeeze
valētūdō –inis, f.: good health
contrahō –trahere –trāxī –tractus: to collect; shrink because of pain
assideō (adsideō) –sidēre –sēdī –sessus: to sit by; to watch over; resemble
Iunia –ae, f.: Junia (name)
sponte: voluntarily
affīnis –e: a connection by marriage
pontifex –ficis, m.: priest
ātrium –ī n.: atrium, court2
Vesta –ae, f.: Vesta
excēdō –cēdere –cessī –cessus: to go out/away
mātrōna –ae, f.: matron
custōdia –ae, f.: custody, protection, prisoner
mandō –āre –āvī –ātus: to entrust
sēdulus –a –um: careful, cautious, purposeful
fungor fungī fūnctus sum: to perform (+ acc. or abl.)
discrīmen –inis, n.: division, crisis, difference
implicō –āre –āvī (–uī) –itus: to fold in; involve
īnsideō –ēre –sēdī –sessus: to sit or be seated on (with dat.)3
febris –is, f.: fever
tussis –is (tussēdō –inis), f.: a cough
incrēscō –crēscere –crēvī –crētus: to grow in; grow up
maciēs –ēī, f.: emaciation
dēfectiō –ōnis, f.: defection, rebellion, weakness
vigeō –ēre –uī: to flourish
Helvidius –ī, m.: Helvidius (name)
Thrasea –ae, m.: Thrasea
lābor labī lapsus sum: to glide, slip (down)
vērum: but indeed
castitās –ātis, f.: purity of morals, morality4
sānctitās –ātis, f.: sacredness
gravitās –ātis, f.: weight
cōnstantia –ae, f.: firmness, perseverance
bis: twice
relēgō –āre –āvī –ātus: to send away
Seneciō –ōnis, m.: Senecio5
quod: because
Fannia –ae, f.: Fannia (name)
dēfēnsiō –ōnis, f.: warding off, defense
mināx –ācis: projecting, overhanging
Mettius –ī, m.: Mettius (a Roman gentile name)
Cārus –ī, m.: Carus (a cognomen)
commentārius –ī, m.: a note–book, commentary
posterius: later, at a later day
ēmittō –mittere –mīsī –mīssus: to send out
aboleō –ēre –ēvī –itus: to abolish, cause to wane or waste6
cōnsultum –ī, n.: decree, decision
pūblicō –āre –āvī –ātus: to make public
bonum –ī, n.: good thing; good; blessing
iūcundus –a –um: pleasant, delightful, agreeable7
cōmis –e: courteous, friendly
amābilis –e: lovable, beloved
veneror –ārī –ātus sum (venerō –āre): to venerate
ostentō –āre –āvī –ātus: to display
fortitūdō –inis, f.: bravery
nūtō –āre –āvī –ātus: to nod; sway to and fro8
convellō –vellere –vellī –vulsus: to pull violently; pluck
ruō –ere –ī –tum: to rush
adsequor (assequor) –sequī –secūtus: to follow after
occidō –cidere –cidī –cāsus: to go down; set; fall
afflīgō –fligere –flīxī –flīctus: to beat, strike, crush9
torqueō torquēre torsī tortum: to twist
illūstris –e: bright
pariter: alike
rescindō –scindere –scidī –scissus: to tear off or away, cancel
uter utra utrum: either which (of two)10
discernō –cernere –crēvī –crētus: to distinguish one thing from another; determine
adversum –ī, n.: the opposite direction
sōlācium –i(ī), n.: comfort
ultor –ōris m.: avenger, punisher
revertor revertī reversus sum: to return