Pliny Flashcards
ante lucem ibat ad Vespanianum imperatorem
Before light, he used to go to the emperor Vespasian,
(nam ille quoque noctibus utebatur)
(for he also used to make use of the nights)
deinde ad officium sibi delegatum.
then to the duty which had been assigned to him.
reversus domum reliquum tempus studiis dabat.
After he returned home, he used to give the remaining time to his studies.
saepe post cibum (qui veterum more interdiu levis et facilis erat) aestate,
Often after food, (which in the custom of his forefathers was during the day light and easily digested), in the summer,
si quid otii erat, iacebat in sole,
if there was any leisure, he used to lie in the sun,
liber legebatur, adnotabat excerpebatque.
a book was read and he made notes on it and made extracts from it.
nihil enim legit quod non excerperet;
For he read nothing which he did not make extracts from;
dicere etiam solebat nullum librum esse tam malum ut non aliqua parte prodesset.
he also used to say that there was no book so bad that it was no use in some part.
post solem plerumque aqua frigida lavabatur,
After the sun he was usually washed with cold water,
deinde gustabat dormiebatque minimum;
then he used to have a snack and sleep very little;
mox quasi alio die studebat in cenae tempus.
soon as if on another day he used to study until dinner time.
super cenam liber legebatur adnotabatur, et quidem cursim
Over dinner a book was read and made notes on, and indeed rapidly.
haec inter medios labores urbisque fremitum.
He did these things in the middle of his toils and the bustle of the city.
in secessu solum balinei tempus studiis eximebatur
Away from the city only the time of the baths was taken away from his studies
(cum dico ‘balinei’ de interioribus loquor; nam dum destringitur tergiturque audiebat aliquid aut dictabat).
(when I say ‘baths’ I am talking about the inner rooms; for while he was rubbed down and dried, he used to listen to something or was dictating).
in itinere quasi solutus ceteris curis huic uni vacabat:
On a journey, as if freed from other cares, he used to devote himself to this one concern:
ad latus notarius cum libro et pugillaribus,
at his side there was a secretary with a book and writing tablets,
cuius manus hieme manicis muniebantur,
whose hands were protected from the winter by long sleeves,
ut ne caeli quidem asperitas ullum studii tempus eriperet;
so that not even the harshness of the weather would take away any study time;
qua ex causa Romae quoque sella vehebatur.
for this reason he was also carried in a chair at Rome.
repeto me correptum ab eo, quod ambularem:
I remember that I was scolded by him because I used to walk:
inquit ‘poteras has horas non perdere’,
he said ‘you could not waste these hours’;
nam perire omne tempus arbitrabatur quod studiis non impenderetur. vale.
for he thought that all time was wasted which was not devoted to studies. Goodbye.
