Pliny Letters 'Regulus' Flashcards
assem para et accipe auream fabulam, fabulas immo;
Get a penny out and hear an excellent story, or rather, stories;
- chiastic
- heightens contrast
C. PLINIUS CALVISIO SUO S.
Caius Pliny sends greetings to his friend Calvisius.
nam me priorum nova admonuit,
For the new story has reminded me of earlier stories,
- juxtaposition
- old+new together
nec refert a qua incipiam.
and it does not matter with which I shall begin.
Verania graviter iacebat: ad hanc Regulus venit.
Verania was lying gravely ill; Regulus came to her.
Primum impudentiam hominis, qui venerit ad aegram,
Firstly the shamelessness of the man, in coming to a sick woman
cuius marito inimicissimus, ipsi invisissimus fuerat!
to whose husband he had been the greatest enemy, and by Verania herself had also been very detested!
- hissing sounds
- hatred,dislike, ssssnake
- he prosecuted Piso and and mutilated his head
esto, si venit tantum; at ille etiam proximus toro sedit;
It would have been enough if he had only visited her; but he even sat very close to her bed;
-superlative, reinforced by etiam
quo die, qua hora nata esset interrogavit.
he asked her on what day and at what hour she had been born.
- Asyndeton, lack of connection
- quickens pace
- ablatives “time, when”
ubi audivit, componit vultum, intendit oculos, movet labra,
When he heard, he fixed his expression, strained his eyes, moved his lips,
- historic present
- Asyndeton
- quickens pace
- dramatic
- vivid
agitat digitos, computat. nihil.
moved his fingers quickly and made calculations. Nothing.
- verb first
- shows he is in the act of thinking,confusion
ubi diu miseram exspectatione suspendit,
When he had kept the wretched woman in suspense for a long time,
- emphatic positioning
- diu, miseram, shows length of her misery
‘habes’ inquit ‘climacterium tempus sed evades.
He says “you have a critical situation but you will escape it.
quod ut tibi magis liqueat, haruspicem consulam,
So that it may become clearer to you, I will consult a soothsayer
quem frequenter expertus sum.’
whom I have used frequently.’
sine mora, sacrificium facit, affirmat exta cum siderum
Without delay, he made a sacrifice and declared that the entrails
- historic present, vividness
- Asyndeton
significatione congruere.
agreed with the indication of the stars.
illa, ut in periculo credula, poscit testamentum,
Verania, as you might expect in a dangerous situation, was ready to believe anything, asked for her will and
legatum Regulo scribit.
wrote a legacy for Regulus.
mox ingravescit, clamat moriens hominem scelestum
Soon she grew worse, and dying she shouted that the man was wicked,
-hominem the species- a creature not a man (virum)
perfidumque ac plus etiam quam periurum esse,
treacherous and even more than perjured,
- PER strengthens wickedness
- perjury was the worse form of deceit, worse than an oath breaker
qui sibi per salutem filii peieravisset.
Since he had sworn falsely to her on the safety of his son.
facit hoc Regulus non minus scelerate quam frequenter,
Regulus does this as wickedly as he does it often,
-facit, emphatic, action first (before kindness)
Quod iram deorum, quos ipse cotidie fallit, in caput infelicis pueri detestatur.
Since he calls down the anger of the gods, whom he himself cheats daily, on the head of the unfortunate boy.
-the boy died 5yrs later
Velleius Blaesus, ille dives consularis, novissima velutadine conflictabatur:
Velleius Blasus, that wealthy ex-consul, was afflicted with a terminal illness:
cupiebat mutare testamentum.
he wanted to change his will.
Regulus, qui sperabat aliquid ex novo testamento,
Regulus, who was hoping for something from the new will,
quia nuper captare eum coeperat, medicos hortari
because he had recently begun to win his favour, encouraged the doctors
- captare, friendship implies legacy hunting
- hortari, historic infinitives, emphasises urgency
et rogare ut quoquo modo vitam hominis prorogarent.
and asked them to prolong the man’s life by whatever means they could.
postquam signatum est testamentum, mutat personam,
After the will was signed, Regulus changed his tune,
- mutat,changed
- personam is a mask worn by actors, hidden face
vertit adlocutionem eisdemque medicis:
altered his tone and said to these doctors:
‘quousque’ inquit ‘miserum cruciatis?
“How ling are you going to torture the wretched man?
cur invidetis bona morte, cui dare vitam non potestis?’
Wy do you begrudge him a good death to a man to whom you cannot give life?”
- contrast
- chiasmus
- aggressive
moritur Blaesus et, tamquam omnia audivisset, Regulo ne tantulum quidem.
Blaesus died and, as if he had heard everything, did not leave Regulus the least amount
- moritor, emphatic
- tantulum: diminuitive, omission of main verb shows informality
