Seneca Letter LXIV
Commentary by Nick Velez, edited by Jacques Bailly
Introduction
“It is a credit to Seneca’s instincts as a writer that he did not
allow the Stoic principle that the emotions must be suppressed (Ep.
85.3—5, 116.1) to enfeeble the vigor of his Latin prose.” (Wilson,
p. 434)
Letter 64 showcases Seneca’s pointed style and ingenuity,
characterized by lively clarity and straightforwardness, alongside
complexity and playfulness. On display is Seneca’s trademark
rhetorical style, replete with apostrophe, questions and answers,
and inner speech. Strong rhetoric is at work, and the energy and
strength of conviction is apparent (some people consider such
apparently emotional qualities ironic in light of the stoic idea
that emotions are to be extirpated: but the sage is utterly
committed to one and only one thing, her virtue).
Text
LXIV. SENECA LUCILIO SUO SALUTEM
[1] Fuisti here nobiscum. Potes queri, si here tantum; ideo adieci
'nobiscum'; mecum enim semper es. Intervenerant quidam amici propter
quos maior fumus fieret, non hic qui erumpere ex lautorum culinis et
terrere vigiles solet, sed hic modicus qui hospites venisse
significet. [2] Varius nobis fuit sermo, ut in convivio, nullam rem
usque ad exitum adducens sed aliunde alio transiliens. Lectus est
deinde liber Quinti Sextii patris, magni, si quid mihi credis, viri,
et licet neget Stoici. [3] Quantus in illo, di boni, vigor est,
quantum animi! Hoc non in omnibus philosophis invenies: quorundam
scripta clarum habentium nomen exanguia sunt. Instituunt, disputant,
cavillantur, non faciunt animum quia non habent: cum legeris
Sextium, dices, 'vivit, viget, liber est, supra hominem est,
dimittit me plenum ingentis fiduciae'. [4] In qua positione mentis
sim cum hunc lego fatebor tibi: libet omnis casus provocare, libet
exclamare, 'quid cessas, fortuna? congredere: paratum vides'. Illius
animum induo qui quaerit ubi se experiatur, ubi virtutem suam
ostendat: spumantemque dari pecora inter inertia votis
optat aprum
aut fulvum descendere monte leonem. [5] Libet aliquid habere quod
vincam, cuius patientia exercear. Nam hoc quoque egregium Sextius
habet, quod et ostendet tibi beatae vitae magnitudinem et
desperationem eius non faciet: scies esse illam in excelso, sed
volenti penetrabilem. [6] Hoc idem virtus tibi ipsa praestabit, ut
illam admireris et tamen speres. Mihi certe multum auferre temporis
solet contemplatio ipsa sapientiae; non aliter illam intueor
obstupefactus quam ipsum interim mundum, quem saepe tamquam
spectator novus video. [7] Veneror itaque inventa sapientiae
inventoresque; adire tamquam multorum hereditatem iuvat. Mihi ista
acquisita, mihi laborata sunt. Sed agamus bonum patrem familiae,
faciamus ampliora quae accepimus; maior ista hereditas a me ad
posteros transeat. Multum adhuc restat operis multumque restabit,
nec ulli nato post mille saecula praecludetur occasio aliquid adhuc
adiciendi. [8] Sed etiam si omnia a veteribus inventa sunt, hoc
semper novum erit, usus et inventorum ab aliis scientia ac
dispositio. Puta relicta nobis medicamenta quibus sanarentur oculi:
non opus est mihi alia quaerere, sed haec tamen morbis et temporibus
aptanda sunt. Hoc asperitas oculorum collevatur; hoc palpebrarum
crassitudo tenuatur; hoc vis subita et umor avertitur; hoc acuetur
visus: teras ista oportet et eligas tempus, adhibeas singulis modum.
Animi remedia inventa sunt ab antiquis; quomodo autem admoveantur
aut quando nostri operis est quaerere. [9] Multum egerunt qui ante
nos fuerunt, sed non peregerunt. Suspiciendi tamen sunt et ritu
deorum colendi. Quidni ego magnorum virorum et imagines habeam
incitamenta animi et natales celebrem? quidni ego illos honoris
causa semper appellem? Quam venerationem praeceptoribus meis debeo,
eandem illis praeceptoribus generis humani, a quibus tanti boni
initia fluxerunt. [10] Si consulem videro aut praetorem, omnia
quibus honor haberi honori solet faciam: equo desiliam, caput
adaperiam, semita cedam. Quid ergo? Marcum Catonem utrumque et
Laelium Sapientem et Socraten cum Platone et Zenonem Cleanthenque in
animum meum sine dignatione summa recipiam? Ego vero illos veneror
et tantis nominibus semper assurgo. Vale.
Commentary
Seneca begins with a paradoxical statement: Fuisti here nobiscum.
What follows is a description of what happened yesterday. But if
Lucilius was with them, then Lucilius already knows about the
events, and describing the goings-on is superfluous. Ergo Lucilius
was not physically with them and does not know what went on. Seneca
adds another paradoxical facet: the "us" referred to is not just
Seneca, for Lucilius is always with Seneca. And so there is no need
to say that he was with Seneca yesterday in particular. The solution
to the latter paradoxical facet is that some friends who came as
guests make up the "us" and make the event worth reporting. As to
the first paradoxical facet, that Lucilius was with them although he
did not know it, Seneca is playing with the notion of physical
presence versus intellectual and perhaps emotional. Seneca
frequently uses "presence" as an adjustable concept: when it suits
him, he emphasizes absence and its downsides, and when it suits him,
he emphasizes that friends are permanently present to each other,
even when separated by distance (cf. Letter 35). Thus Seneca
explains here that when he says Fuisti here nobiscum,
Lucilius should understand that Seneca is always with him, but
yesterday in particular, when Seneca had friends over for a meal,
Lucilius was present with all of them, just not physically.
Next, Seneca introduces a dynamic of wealth and luxury versus
sufficiency and simplicity. Seneca trumpets the fact that the meal
was not a no-expenses-spared extravaganza, the sort which worries
the firefighters of Rome because of the great kitchen fires, but
rather a modest meal with friends. Smoke is the metonymical device
he uses to indicate that: a great deal of smoke from the kitchen
would indicate a banquet (or a fire out of control), while a bit
more smoke than usual merely indicates that more food is being
prepared. Everyone knows that Seneca was rich as Croesus, and so
this sort of talk of the wealthy versus the modest Seneca might be
taken as Seneca exhibiting some insecurity about his
ethical/philosophical credentials and whether he lives according to
his own ideals, or it might even be seen as undermining his thought
completely, if one is cynical and uncharitable. See Andrews, 'Did
Seneca Practise the Ethics of His “Epistles”?'. Marcus Wilson’s
summation is charitable and apt: “[Seneca] advocates neither poverty
nor bad writing, but perceives a perversity in the pursuit of wealth
and eloquence for their own sakes.” (Wilson, p. 437)
This and the following section is as close as Seneca gets to the
sort of exchange of little pleasantries, news about activities,
gossip, and other transactions which is often found in letters
between friends.
[1] Fuisti here nobiscum. Potes queri, si here tantum; ideo
adieci 'nobiscum'; mecum enim semper es. Intervenerant quidam amici
propter quos maior fumus fieret, non hic qui erumpere ex lautorum
culinis et terrere vigiles solet, sed hic modicus qui hospites
venisse significet.
si here tantum (sc. dico or perhaps fuisti
nobiscum): here is a quotation from the previous
sentence: editors rarely use quotation marks in Latin texts, for
some odd reason. This is a simple present open conditional: potes
in the present indicative. For the more grammatically
advanced: note that in exception to the normal rule the verb
possum is used even in contrary-to-fact conditionals in
the indicative (the contrary-to-factness is held to reside in the
infinitive dependent on possum, and that infinitive cannot
be made subjunctive), and so this conditional could be contrary to
fact, in which case we would need to supply dicerem or fueris
nobiscum not dico or fuisti nobiscum:
because the verb is omitted, we cannot tell which type of
conditional we have here. In meaning, they amount to much the same
thing, however. Perhaps someone has devoted detailed study to this
issue. | fumus: metonymy for fire. | Lautorum
culinis: because food is one area where wealth could be
vaunted and obvious, it is a fitting way to obliquely discuss
wealth. Seneca seems to be drawing a comparison between himself and
the wealthy, ironic considering Seneca's huge fortunes. But the
wealthy need not be extravagant, and if one puts aside jealousy and
resentment, it can be seen that the wealthy can be more or less
virtuous, more or less moderate. | non hic ... sed hic:
both occurrences of hic refer to fumus.
2.
Seneca describes the conversation over the meal as light, leading
nowhere in particular, after which a reading from the work of
Quintus Sextius occurred. Quintus Sextius the Elder was a Roman
philosopher, fl. c. 50 BC who apparently worked in a Stoic and
Pythagorean vein (both he and Pythagoras didn't eat meat, for
instance). Most of what we know about Quintus Sextius comes from
Seneca.
Note that although Cicero prides himself on bringing philosophy into
Latin, there were evidently other Romans active in philosophy at the
same time!
[2] Varius nobis fuit sermo, ut in convivio, nullam rem usque
ad exitum adducens sed aliunde alio transiliens. Lectus est deinde
liber Quinti Sextii patris, magni, si quid mihi credis, viri, et
licet neget Stoici.
sermo: the subject of fuit and modified in the
predicate by 5 items: 1) varius, 2) nobis (dative
of ownership = noster), 3) ut in convivio (ut
= "as"), 4) adducens, which takes nullam rem as
direct object and is modified by usque ad exitum as an
adverbial prepositional phrase, and 5) transiliens, which
takes adverbial aliunde alio. In English, it may be best to
translate the two participial phrases as finite verbs. | aliunde
alio: remember that when two ali- forms occur in the
same clause, there is a trick to the translation. For example,
alius aliud dicit means "different people say different
things" or "one says one thing, another says another thing." |
Lectus est ... Stoici: note the unusual placement of the
verb at the beginning, which allows Stoici to take up the
emphatic last position. While one cannot say what such a placement
"means," it does add a certain feel to the prose, a certain
artfulness and variety. | Quinti Sextii: Quintus
Sextius is modified by the rest of the sentence, which
identifies 4 significant qualities of the man: 1) patris,
2) magni, 3) (si quid mihi credis) viri, and 4) (licet
neget) Stoici. | si quid mihi credis: a
parenthetical clause that applies to viri. | quid:
"after si, nisi, num and ne, all the
ali-'s drop away." | licet neget:
treat this clause as if it were in parentheses. licet is not
the impersonal verb, but the conjunction "although," and it takes a
subjunctive.
3. Seneca sings the praises of Quintus Sextius, particularly
his vigor and protreptic effectiveness. Seneca is likely simply
describing other philosophy as exanguia as a foil to
highlight the motivational power of Quintus Sextius, rather than
having some specific bloodless philosophers or works in mind. But it
is not unreasonable to call some philosophy bloodless. After all,
protreptic is just one genre of philosophy, and a preliminary at
that, and once one is hooked, a good deal of hard work, not all of
it thrilling, must be put in to bear philosophy's fruit.
Two clusters of verbs fire in rapid succession: first instituunt,
disputant, cavillantur and non faciunt animum,
in asyndeton (i.e. there are no connecting conjunctions). Likewise,
legeris, dices, vivit, viget and est, separated
by a word here and there, fired off in rapid succession, with vivit,
viget, liber es in the center in asyndeton. The first
cluster represents what Seneca criticizes in other philosophers: exanguia
sunt. The second group exemplifies what Seneca likes in a
philosopher—vigor, with the lively punctuating alliteration and
assonance of vivit, viget, liber est particularly
memorable. Dare we say that the form of Seneca's prose is imitating
the content? that his prose is exemplifying vigor and conviction?
Note also that in the sequence vivit, viget, liber est, supra hominem
est, dimittit me plenum ingentis fiduciae, each element is
longer than the last (a 'crescendo').
[3] Quantus in illo, di boni, vigor est, quantum animi! Hoc
non in omnibus philosophis invenies: quorundam scripta clarum
habentium nomen exanguia sunt. Instituunt, disputant, cavillantur,
non faciunt animum quia non habent: cum legeris Sextium, dices,
'vivit, viget, liber est, supra hominem est, dimittit me plenum
ingentis fiduciae'.
di boni: vocative. | quantum animi: animi is
partitive genitive with quantum. | Hoc: acc.
sg., refers to the qualities identified in the previous sentence.
Whereas English teachers and professors tell us to avoid using
"this" without identifying what it refers to in our prose, here a
good Latin author does just that, not for the first or last time.
| quorundam: Seneca politely refrains from naming these
bores. Or perhaps he is merely creating an empty foil to highlight
how excited he was by Quintus Sextius. Seneca uses quidam
occasionally where we would like to know if he has particular people
in mind: cf. the unnamed quidam of Letter 118 §§8,10,
and 12. | quorundam scripta clarum habentium nomen:
interlaced word order. scripta = subj. of sunt. clarum
nomen is the direct object of quorundam habentium,
which is possessive genitive dependent on scripta. | exanguia:
= exsanguia, predicate nominative. | faciunt
animum quia non habent (sc. animum): animum facere
and animum habere are somewhat idiomatic, and mean
something like "muster courage/passion/conviction" and "have
courage/passion/confidence." cf. Livy ab Urbe Condita
25.23.17 animum faceret and Cic. ad Fam.
12.6.2.6 fac animum tantum habeas. The pointed
antithesis adds to the feel of Seneca's style. | cum
legeris Sextium, dices: the same grammatical pattern as a
future more vivid conditional: future perfect, then future.
| dices: direct quotation is used here, and the modern
editor has used quotation marks to let us know that: Seneca brings
Lucilius' voice to life in an "internal speech" (cf. Wilson, p.
432). | supra hominem: the stoics held that a sage is on the
same level as the gods (save for being mortal).
[4] In qua positione mentis sim cum hunc lego fatebor tibi:
libet omnis casus provocare, libet exclamare, 'quid cessas, fortuna?
congredere: paratum vides'. Illius animum induo qui quaerit ubi se
experiatur, ubi virtutem suam ostendat: spumantemque dari pecora
inter inertia votis
optat aprum aut fulvum descendere monte leonem.
sim: subjunctive in an Indirect Question with fatebor. |
lego: indicative, which indicates that this cum clause
is not part of the indirect question, because clauses subordinate to
indirect questions are usually in the subjunctive. That pattern
notwithstanding, the cum clause does make best sense as part
of the question that is reported indirectly rather than as modifying
fatebor. | libet: an impersonal verb, but that does
not mean that the best English translation need be impersonal. "I
want" is a fine idiomatic English translation. | Fortuna…vides:
more internal speech. Seneca is fond of using personification to
enliven his letters, and regularly addresses human anxieties,
particularly Fortuna, “the enemy of philosophy” (Wilson, p. 434).
Fortune is philosophy's enemy, because she throws pleasant and
unpleasant things at the good and bad alike and so seems to make
ethical living pointless. There is an undeniable vigor in this
engagement; the direct question to Fortuna followed by the
imperative is confrontational and violent. | cessas:
from
cesso, cessare, cessavi, cessatus. | congredere:
imperative. | paratum vides: paratum modifies
something as the object of vides: supply me (or
maybe a word for "a person," virum would do). | ubi:
ubi is a relative adverb, which makes these relative clauses
of purpose (whence subjunctive). | spumantemque ... leonem:
these are two accusative with infinitive constructions that are both
objects of optat. The words are also a quotation from
Vergil, Aeneid, iv.158 f. (Seneca quotes Virgil often). The
passage from the Aeneid describes the boy Ascanius who seeks
wilder, more savage game to challenge him. The metaphor builds until
we learn what Seneca is after, the philosophical counterpart to the
spumantem aprum or fulvum leonem.
5. One of Sextius' great attractions for Seneca is the
ability to depict the happy life in a way that does not cause
despair of ever attaining it. That is attractive, because a common
criticism of stoicism is that there are no sages and it is
impossible to become one, that the happy life of the stoic sage is a
mirage. Seneca says that Sextius rises to that challenge and shows
how the happy life is exalted but achievable.
[5] Libet aliquid habere quod vincam, cuius patientia
exercear. Nam hoc quoque egregium Sextius habet, quod et ostendet
tibi beatae vitae magnitudinem et desperationem eius non faciet:
scies esse illam in excelso, sed volenti penetrabilem.
quod vincam, cuius patientia exercear: another pair of
relative clauses of purpose (subjunctive). | cuius
patientia: cuius is an objective genitive dependent
on the ablative of means patientia. | hoc quoque
egregium: refers to the quod clause that follows.
| quod: "the fact that," "that" + indicative, used to
present something as a fact. | desperationem eius non
faciet: translate facio as "cause," "create." eius
is an objective genitive that goes with desperationem and
refers to vita beata from the previous clause.
[6] Hoc idem virtus tibi ipsa praestabit, ut illam
admireris et tamen speres. Mihi certe multum auferre temporis solet
contemplatio ipsa sapientiae; non aliter illam intueor obstupefactus
quam ipsum interim mundum, quem saepe tamquam spectator novus video.
Hoc idem: acc. direct object. The nominal
ut clause that follows is in apposition to hoc idem.
The word idem "the same" is used because the ut clause
matches the previous section's description of the good life as
exalted but attainable. | Mihi certe ... sapientiae:
the word order is far from English, which would be ipsa
contemplatio (subject) + sapientiae (objective
genitive) + solet auferre (main verb plus complementary
infinitive) + multum temporis (direct object + partitive
genitive) + mihi (indirect object "from me"). | spectator
novus: in apposition to the subject in video, which
would be ego if emphatically expressed.
[7] Veneror itaque inventa sapientiae inventoresque; adire
tamquam multorum hereditatem iuvat. Mihi ista acquisita, mihi
laborata sunt. Sed agamus bonum patrem familiae, faciamus ampliora
quae accepimus; maior ista hereditas a me ad posteros transeat.
Multum adhuc restat operis multumque restabit, nec ulli nato post
mille saecula praecludetur occasio aliquid adhuc adiciendi.
Adquisita (sc. sunt). | mihi ... mihi:
repetitions in asyndeton. Both are dative of advantage. | agamus
... faciamus: hortatory subjunctives. | transeat:
jussive subjunctive. | adiciendi: gerund. Genitive of
definition as in English "a matter of money" (the matter is
money) or "a ring of gold" (the ring is gold). aliquid is
direct object of adiciendi, and adhuc modifies it
adverbially.
8. There is a fair bit of medical terminology here, but it
seems to refer to well known matters rather than special technical
matters. According to ancient theories, thinness and thickness of
bodily humors as well as various excesses, abundances, strong
qualities and weak qualities all figure into health. We don't need
to understand more than that to get Seneca's points here.
[8] Sed etiam si omnia a veteribus inventa sunt, hoc semper
novum erit, usus et inventorum ab aliis scientia ac dispositio. Puta
relicta nobis medicamenta quibus sanarentur oculi: non opus est mihi
alia quaerere, sed haec tamen morbis et temporibus aptanda sunt. Hoc
asperitas oculorum collevatur; hoc palpebrarum crassitudo tenuatur;
hoc vis subita et umor avertitur; hoc acuetur visus: teras ista
oportet et eligas tempus, adhibeas singulis modum. Animi remedia
inventa sunt ab antiquis; quomodo autem admoveantur aut quando
nostri operis est quaerere.
hoc semper ... scientia ac dispositio: hoc, novum,
scientia, and dispositio are nominative: usus
is genitive. | Puta…medicamenta…: Seneca frequently
uses medical metaphors in his writings (Summers, p. lxxviii). Puta
is imperative, and is idiomatically similar to the phrase "take for
example" in English. | sanarentur: relative clause of
chraracteristic, perhaps specifically purpose. | temporibus:
refers to the stages of a disease. | hoc ..., hoc ...,
hoc ..., hoc ...: asyndeton and anaphora: stylistic
contrivances. hoc is ablative. | aptanda sunt:
future passive periphrastic, translated with a notion of obligation.
| collevatur: OLD says "smooth" for collevo,
but there are two verbs levo, one of which is "smooth" and
the other is "lighten, ease." The second would make better sense
here, and so perhaps should be in the OLD. | oportet:
often takes a "semi-independent" subjunctive (teras, eligas
and adhibeas here): by "semi-independent" is meant that
there is no subordinating conjunction such as ut to
introduce the subjunctive clause. | quomodo autem
admoveantur aut quando: indirect questions dependent
on quaerere, hence subjunctive. Understand admoveantur
with both quomodo and quando. | nostri
operis: predicate genitive after est (quaerere
quomodo et quando adhibeantur is the subject of est).
[9] Multum egerunt qui ante nos fuerunt, sed non peregerunt.
Suspiciendi tamen sunt et ritu deorum colendi. Quidni ego magnorum
virorum et imagines habeam incitamenta animi et natales celebrem?
quidni ego illos honoris causa semper appellem? Quam venerationem
praeceptoribus meis debeo, eandem illis praeceptoribus generis
humani, a quibus tanti boni initia fluxerunt.
egerunt: ago has myriad meanings. Here it just means
"do." The per- in peregerunt makes it mean "do thoroughly."
Note the pointed formulation. | suspiciendi ...sunt ...
colendi: future passive paraphrastics. | quidni ...
quidni: rhetorical questions with deliberative subjunctives habeam,
celebrem and appellem. | magnorum
virorum: genitive dependent on imagines and natales:
note that the et ... et ... "both ... and ..." construction
indicates to the reader that the genitive must go with both.
| incitamenta animi: in apposition to imagines
and natales. Consider: imaginem incitamentum habeo
means "I consider the image a stimulus." | honoris
causa: causa is a postpositive that takes the
genitive.
10. Seneca makes a bit of a sudden leap at the end of the
letter (as he often does: those who have read several Senecan
letters know to expect that there might be such a surprise tidbit at
the end). He talks of praetor and consul and the honor with which
one treats them (interesting as a part of "everyday life" behavior).
What does this have to do with what Seneca has been discussing? The
next sentences tie it back to his heroes, the great figures of the
past, whose discoveries he has been discussing. The effect is to
further exalt them.
[10] Si consulem videro aut praetorem, omnia quibus honor
haberi honori solet faciam: equo desiliam, caput adaperiam, semita
cedam. Quid ergo? Marcum Catonem utrumque et Laelium Sapientem et
Socraten cum Platone et Zenonem Cleanthenque in animum meum sine
dignatione summa recipiam? Ego vero illos veneror et tantis
nominibus semper assurgo. Vale.
Si ... faciam: future more vivid conditional with future
perfect in the protasis (videro) and future in the apodoses (omnia
faciam, ... desiliam, ... adaperiam, ... cedam. and
perhaps recipiam much later). The three short phrases in
asyndeton, equo desiliam, caput adaperiam, and semita
cedam, are in apposition to omnia faciam.
| quibus honor haberi honori solet: grammatically, we
have a dative of means quibus, subject honor,
complementary infinitive haberi, dative of purpose honori,
and main verb of relative clause solet. Stylistically, note
the alliteration and repetition of honor in two different
cases. Semantically, note that honor is used in close
succession with two different meanings: "public office" and "honor,
praise, respect." | Quid ergo: Seneca knows that he
has seemingly changed the subject with the consul and praetor in the
last sentence. Thus he asks, "What of it?" to heighten the impact of
the point to come, which he then makes. | Marcum Catonem
utrumque et Laelium sapientem: Marcus Cato the elder (234-149
BCE), a statesman and author, and Cato the Younger (95-46 BCE), his
grandson, a stoic statesman. Gaius Laelius (c. 188-129 BCE), consul
in 140 BCE. | Socraten cum Platone et Zenonem
Cleanthenque: Socraten and Cleanthen are
Greek accusatives (the Greek ending of the accusative of those names
was a nu, which transliterates as n). Socrates (469-399 BCE) is
considered the initiator of the Greek ethical philosophical
tradition in which Seneca works. Plato (428-347BCE) is the author
who delivers Socrates (Socrates himself wrote nothing). Zeno of
Citium (334-262 BCE) is the founder of the Stoic school and its
first head. Cleanthes (c. 330-c. 230 BCE) is Zeno's successor.
| recipiam: future perhaps in parallel with the earler
futures of the apodosis in the section's first sentence. Or perhaps
a deliberative subjunctive. It amounts to the same thing in meaning.
References:
Andrews, Alfred C. “Did Seneca Practise the Ethics of His
‘Epistles’?” The Classical Journal, Vol. 25, No. 8 (May,
1930), 611—625.
Brennan, Tad, The Stoic Life: Emotions, Duties, and Fate.
Clarendon Press: Oxford, 2005.
Coleman, Robert. “The Artful Moralist: A Study of Seneca’s
Epistolary Style,” The Classical Quarterly, Vol. 24, No. 2
(Dec., 1974), 276—289.
Summers, Walter C., Select Letters of Seneca. St. Martin’s
Press: New York, 1962.
Wilson, Marcus, “Rhetoric and the Younger Seneca,” in A
Companion to Roman Rhetoric, edited by William Dominik and Jon
Hall. Blackwell Publishing: Oxford, 2007, 425—438.
Vocabulary
accipio, accipere, accepi, acceptum, receive
acquiro, acquirere, acquisivi, acquisitum, obtain, procure, get
acuo, acuere, acui, acutum, rouse, sharpen, make keen
adaperio, adaperire, adaperui, adapertum, uncover, bare
adduco, adducere, adduxi, adductum, bring
adeo, adire, adivi, aditum, approach
adhibeo, adhibere, adhibui, adhibitum, apply, use, employ
adhuc, still, yet, up to this point, up to now
adicio, see adjicio
adjicio, adjicere, adjeci, adjectum, add
admiror (1), admire, be amazed at, wonder at
admoveo, admovere, admovi, admotum, apply, bring to bear on
ago, agere, egi, actum, perform, fill the role of; do
alio, adv., to another place, elsewhere
aliquid, adv. acc., at all
aliter, otherwise
aliunde, from elsewhere, from one place
amicus, -i, m., friend
amplius, -a, -um, ample
animus, -a, m., courage, confidence, spirit; spirit, soul
antiquus, -a, -um, ancient, old
aper, apris, m., boar
appello (1), appeal to, call upon
apto (1), adapt, fit, apply, adjust
asperitas, -atis, f., roughness, harshness, dryness
assurgo, assurgere, assurrexi, assurrectum, rise up, stand, give
preference to, yield to (out of respect)
aufero, auferre, abstuli, ablatus, take away, remove
aut, or
autem, however
averto, avertere, averti, aversum, fend off, turn away, avert
beatus, -a, -um, blessed
bonus, -a, -um, good
caput, capitis, n., head
casus, -us, m., (mis)fortune, chance event
causa (postpositive, + gen.), for the sake of
cavillor (1), make insignificant points, quibble
cedo, cedere, cessi, cessum, yield
celebro (1), celebrate
certe, certainly
cesso (1), stop, cease
clarus, -a, -um, illustrious
collevo (1), make smooth; relieve?
colo, colerem colui, cultum, tend, take care of, cultivate
congredior, congredi, congressus sum, come meet, go meet, visit
consul, consulis, m., consul
contemplatio, -onis, f., consideration, contemplation
convivium, -i, n., dinner party, banquet
crassitudo, -inis, f., thickness
credo, credere, credidi, creditum, believe
culina, -ae, f., kitchen
debeo, deberem debui, debitum, owe
deinde, then, next
descendere
desilio, desilire, desilui, jump down
desperatio, -onis, f., lack of hope, despair
deus, dei, m., god
dignatio, -onis, f., esteem, regard, respect
dimitto, dimittere, dimisi, dimissum, send away, dismiss
dispositio, -onis, f., management, arrangement, ordering
do, dare, dedi, datus, give, grant
egregius, -a, -um, extraordinary
eligo, eligere, elegi, electum, choose, elect, select
enim, conj., for
equus, -i, m., horse
erumpo, erumpere, erupi eruptum, burst forth
exanguis, -e, bloodless, feeble, weak
excelsus, -a, -um, exalted ; in excelso in a high station, in a
lofty place
exclamo (1), exclaim
exerceo, exercere, exercui, exercitum, XXXXXX
exitus, -i, m., conclusion
experior, experiri, expertus sum, test, try, prove
exsanguis (see exanguis)
familia, -ae, f., household
fateor, fateri, fassus sum, proclaim
fiducia, trust, belief, confidence, courage
fio, fieri, factus sum, come to be, happen
fluo, fluere, fluxi, fluxum, flow
fortuna, -ae, f., fortune, luck
fulvus, -a, -um, tawny
fumus, -i, m., smoke
genus, generis, n., race, kind
here, yesterday
hereditas, -atis, f., inheritance, heritage
honor, honoris, m., honor; public office
hospis, -hospitis, m., guest, visitor
humanus, -a, -um, human
idem, adv., likewise
ideo, therefore, so
imago, imaginis, f., image
incitamentum, -i, n., stimulus, incitement, inducement
induo, induere, indui, indutum, put on, assume, wear
iners, inertis, sluggish, idle
ingens, ingentis, huge, great
initium, -i, n., beginning
instituo, instituere, institui, institutum, set up, construct
inter (prep. + acc.) among, between
interim, sometimes; meanwhile
intervenio, intervenire, interveni, interventum, interrupt
intueor, intueri, intuitus sum, behold, look at
invenio, invenire, inveni, inventum, find, discover
inventor, -oris, m., discoverer
inventum, -i, n., invention, discovery, contrivance
itaque, thus
iuvat, it pleases, it is pleasing
laboro (1), elaborate, make, prepare
lautus,-a, -um, (perf, participle of lavo), elegant, refined
lego, legere, legi, lectus, read
leo, -leonis, m., lion
liber, libera, -um, free
liber, libri, m., book
libet, it is pleasing, one is of a mind to
licet, although
magnitudo, magnitudinis, f., size, extent
magnus, -a, -um, great, large
maior, maius, more, greater
medicamentum, -i, n., medicine, drug, remedy
mens, mentis, f., mind
mille (indeclinable adj. in the singular), a thousand
modicus, -a, -um, moderate
modus, -i, m., proper measure, the right amount
mons, montis, m., mountain
morbus, -i, n., disease, disorder
mundus, -i, m., world, universe
nam, conj., for
natalis, natalis, m., birthday
nego (1), deny
nomen, nominis, n., name, reputation, renown, and, by
figurative shifts, title, authority; personage
novus, -a, -um, novel, new; inexperienced, new
obstupefacio, obstupefacere, obstupefeci, obstupefactum, astonish,
astound, amaze
occasio, -onis, f., opportunity, fit time, occasion
oculus, -i, m., eye
oportet, oportere, oportui, it is necessary, it is proper, it is
reasonable
opto (1), wish, desire
opus est (+ dat. of person + abl. of thing or infinitive), there
is need of ..., (some person) needs (a thing/to X))
opus, operis, n., task, work, business
ostendo, ostendere, ostendi, ostensum, show
spumo (1), foam, froth
palpebra, -ae, f., eyelid
paratus, -a, um, ready
pater, patris, m., father
patientia, -ae, f., endurance, patience
pecus, -oris, n., livestock
penetrabilis, -e, enterable, attainable
perago, peragere, peregi, peractum, carry through, finish,
accomplish
philosophus, -i, m., philosopher
plenus, -a, -um, full
positio, -onis, f., state, situation, state of mind
posteri, -orum, descendants
praeceptor, -oris, m., teacher
praecludo, praecludere, praeclusi, praeclusum, forbid access to,
close to, shut to
praesto, praestare, praestiti, show, demonstrate
praetor, praetoris, m., a kind of Roman magistrate
propter (prep. +acc.), on account of, because of
provoco (1), appeal, challenge
puta (imperative of puto), as for instance, as for example, take
for example
puto (1), think of, consider
quaero, quaerere ,quaesivi, quaesitum, seek, look for
quando, when
quantus, -a, um, how much
queror, queri, questus sum, complain
quid, if after si, nisi, num, or ne, = ali-quid
quid, why
quidam, quaedam, quoddam, certain, a/an, some
quidni, why not
quomodo, how, in what manner
quoque, too, also
recipio, recipere, recepi, receptum, accept, take in
relinquo, relinquere, reliqui, relictum, leave behind, bequeath,
hand down
remedium, -i, n., cure, remedy
resto, restare, restiti, remain
ritus, -us, m., rite, ceremony
saeculum, -i, n., generation
saepe, often
sano (1), heal, cure
sapiens, sapientis, wise
sapientia, -ae, f., wisdom
scientia, -ae, f., knowledge
scio, scire, scivi, scitum, know
semita, -ae, f., narrow path
semper, always
sermo, -onis, m., conversation
significo (1), indicate
sine (+abl.), without
singuli, -ae, -a, one apiece, each, singly
soleo, solere, solui, solitum, be accustomed, be in the habit of
spectator, looker-on, spectator
spero (1), hope for
subitus, -a, -um, sudden
supra (+acc.), above, beyond
suspicio, suspicere, suspexi, suspectum, examine, look (up) at; be
sceptical of; admire
tamen, nevertheless
tamquam, as if, as it were
tantum, adv., only
tempus, temporis, n., time (also used in Plural much as in
English)
tenuo (1), attenuate, dilute
tero, terere, trivi, tritum, grind, rub
terreo, terrere, terrui, territum, scare, terrify
transeo, transire, transivi, transitum, go over, pass over
transilio, transilire, transilivi/-ui, hasten; leap
ubi, where
umor, -oris, m., fluid, liquid
usque, all the way (+ad)
usus, -us, m., use, employment, application
uterque, utraque, utrumque, each
vale/valete, farewell (from valeo, be strong, be well)
varius, -a, -um, varied
veneratio, -onis, f., admiration, respect
veneror (1), worship, revere
vetus, veteris, old, earlier, ancient
video, videre, vidi, visum, see
vigeo, vigere, be vigorous
vigil, vigilis, guard, watchman sentinel
vigor, -oris, m., strength
vinco, vincere, vici, victum, conquer
vir, -i, m., man
virtus, -utis, f., virtue, excellence
vis, (gen. sg. very rare), f. , force, shock, violence
visus, -us, m., sight
vita, -ae, f., life
vivo, vivere, vixi, victum, live
volens, volentis, (participle of volo)
votum, -i, n., prayer, vow