est quod:is the reason that, with inde,this is why; similarly, though more elliptically, quod in 215 and 217.
215. in imagine tua: i.e., thinking of you.
216. interdiu: adv., by day, during the day.
ipsi…ducunt (217): in this delightful image, Pliny insists that his feet have a mind of their own!
217. aeger: sick.
218. maestus: sad, dejected.
excluso: sc. amatori; the image deliberately recalls that of the exclusus amator common in Latin elegiac poetry.
219. litibus: lis, quarrel, controversy, lawsuit.
223. olim: here, for some time.
224. illud: with nihil agere and nihil esse, which are also modified by iners and iucundum, that…doing nothing….
226. secedere: i.e., to the country, as commonly in Pliny.
studere: i.e., such subjects as rhetoric, philosophy, and literature.
nulla studia: much as Pliny longs for his quiet scholarly pursuits, his duty to his friends comes first.
227. tanti: sc. pretii, GEN. OF INDEF. VALUE, worth so much, so valuable (lit., of such great value).
228. studia ipsa: he probably had in mind such works as Cicero’s De Amicitia.
Lake Como, with the Alps in the background
Sarah Spence.
7.5
In this charming and tender epistle, one of a series to his wife Calpurnia, Pliny tells her how much he has missed her during her holiday in Campania, apparently their first time apart; written perhaps in the summer of A.D. 107.
C. Plinius Calpurniae Suae S.
Incredibile est quanto desiderio tui tenear. In causa amor primum, deinde quod non consuevimus abesse. Inde est quod 215 magnam noctium partem in imagine tua vigil exigo, inde, quod interdiu, quibus horis te visere solebam, ad diaetam tuam ipsi me, ut verissime dicitur, pedes ducunt, quod denique aeger et maestus ac similis excluso a vacuo limine recedo. Unum tempus his tormentis caret, quo in foro amicorum litibus conteror. Aestima 220 tu quae vita mea sit, cui requies in labore, in miseria curisque solacium. Vale.
8.9
In this brief note to his friend Cornelius Ursus, the recipient of several other letters on legal matters, Pliny comments on the distractions of city life and the demands of friendship; ca. A.D. 107–108.
C. Plinius Urso Suo S.
Olim non librum in manus, non stilum sumpsi; olim nescio quid sit otium, quid quies, quid denique illud iners quidem, iucundum 225 tamen nihil agere, nihil esse; adeo multa me negotia amicorum nec secedere nec studere patiuntur. Nulla enim studia tanti sunt ut amicitiae officium deseratur, quod religiosissime custodiendum studia ipsa praecipiunt. Vale.
229. Traiano Imperatori: Trajan (Marcus Ulpius Traianus) was emperor A.D. 98–117; the 10th book of Pliny’s letters includes his correspondence with the emperor, the first 14 epistles dating between 98 and his departure to Bithynia, and the remainder to the period of his governorship.
230. sollemne: customary; the fact that Pliny is inquiring to Trajan is evidence that the emperor had issued no official edict on the matter.
232. cognitionibus: cognitio, trial (here referring to formal trials at Rome); Pliny knew of these proceedings in Rome but had never participated.
233. ideo: adv., for that reason.
quatenus: adv., to what extent; the maximum penalty was death.
234. sitne: this and all the following subjunct. vbs. are IND. QUESTS.
discrimen aetatum: i.e., should old and young offenders be treated differently? Entire families were in fact subject to prosecution.
235. quamlibet teneri: those however young (tener, lit., = tender).
robustioribus: lit., stronger, more robust = older.
236. ei: dat. with prosit (from prodesse, to benefit, profit).
omnino: here, ever, at all.
desisse: i.e., to have recanted and renounced his Christianity.
237. nomen…puniantur (238): should the mere name of Christian be punished even if the person were not guilty of any crime (flagitium)? Certain organizations (collegia) had been outlawed by Trajan because they had been sources of disorder in the province, and the Christians might be prosecuted on that account; they were, besides, thought by some to be guilty of such crimes as cannibalism, based on a misunderstanding of the Eucharist.
cohaerentia: lit., adhering to = associated with.
