Petrarch ad Familiares 1.1
to Lodewijk Heyligen, 'Socrates'
Commentary by Nate Carney; revised and edited by Jacques Bailly

Introduction
Petrarch, a central and founding figure of the Renaissance and Humanism, lived from 1304-1374 and worked on his extensive letter collection in the 1350's. He is a founder of 'humanism,' which, properly understood does not recognize its clarion call in the 'liberté, égalité, fraternité' of atheistic, 'enlightened' and revolutionary France, nor in the American slogan of 'all men are created equal', but harks rather to the great legacy of humankind as represented by eternal monuments written or wrought, revelatory of insights, thoughts, researches, demonstrable in works of art, painting, poetry, sculpture, architecture, music, religion and philosophy, palpable in the god-like power and responsibility of the statesperson and the field marshal steeped in and enamored of this legacy with a view to the public or political act, willing to wage war and to intercess between vulgus and deus in an attempt to extend the privilege of μέθεξις  (participation) to as many as the fates, who oft demand bloodshed as their sacrificial price, allow; all of which suggest for the future the vast potential of a human grown dull and insensate, or at least offer a hope and an opportunity for reverence to those with a higher calling, and a challenge to the fearless who demand more of life. Only this legacy and its avatars, not the ordinary flesh and bone specimens of us featherless bipeds, are humanitas. Such ideas did Petrarch represent, and one who burns with indignation at the abuse of the vulgar and the enemies of humanity might find his second in Aulus Gellius, who says
Qui verba Latina fecerunt quique his probe usi sunt “humanitatem” non id esse voluerunt quod vulgus existimat quodque a Graecis φιλανθρωπία dicitur et significat dexteritatem quandam benivolentiamque erga omnis homines promiscam; sed “humanitatem” appellaverunt id propemodum quod Graeci παιδείαν vocant, nos “eruditionem institutionemque in bonas artes” dicimus. Quas qui sinceriter percupiunt adpetuntque, hi sunt vel maxime humanissimi. Huius enim scientiae cura et disciplina ex universis animantibus uni homini data est idcircoque “humanitas” appellata est.
Aside from his general role in the above-mentioned movements, Petrarch is known for his works in both Italian and Latin. He wrote important poetry in Italian (and poetry in Latin, including the unfinished epic Africa), which became important in the standardization of the Italian language; the collections of his epistles, in Latin (in two main sets, the Familiares and Seniles), are of vital importance not only for an insight into the general and timeless knowledge they contain but also for their information on the era and about Petrarch himself. It has been said that we know more about Petrarch than about any man that lived before him (similarly we know more about Cicero than any Roman because of Cicero's letters). They also reveal the incredible capacity Petrarch had to live up to the style and latinity of the Roman giants, especially Cicero. P. composed many other prose works, essays, biographies, invectives, etc. As to his 'career,' in his early life he studied law for several years (from the ages 12-19), more as an obligation than as a vocation. Thereafter he worked for the church and as an ambassador, which positions gave him ample opportunity to write and to travel.

This letter was sent to its recipient with the date of January, 1350. Presumably written at some time between 1348 and this date, during which period the Black Death had begun and continued to ravage Italy and the rest of western Europe. Petrarch was in Padua, northern Italy, the letter was sent to Lodewijk Heyligen, Petrarch's dear friend in Provence, southern France, whom he designates Socrates out of respect (and for the sake of anonymity). Heyligen (1304, the same birth year as Petrarch, - 1361) was a Flemish monk and music theorist working for the cardinal Colonna in Avignon. P. is fleeing from the plague; he went from Parma to Padua (both northern Italy) between 1348 and 1349, and to Provence in '51; thus if we take the letter at face value (migraturi) we would presume it to have been composed during this transition to Padua; but it was sent to Socrates with a date of early 1350.
    The two friends had known one another since 1330 (their mid-20s) when Petrarch had made a visit to Colonna. Some 20 letters from Petrarch to Heyligen survive. It is indicated in this letter that 'Socrates' was the one who asked Petrarch to collect his letters into a volume. Some five years previously Petrarch had made the monumental re-discovery of many of Cicero's letters (ad Atticum), unknown to the world for hundreds of years, and this also served as inspiration. The 24 volumes that would ultimately make up Petrarch's Epistolae Familiares include 350 letters, written between 1325 and 1366. Petrarch didn't begin the task of forming or editing the collection until around the time the present letter was composed, and it was completed in its first form by the end of the 1350s; it was later expanded (1366) to its final extent. The present letter serves as the dedicatory epistle. Although in this letter P. seems like an aged man looking over his life and his output from a mature perspective, quite aware of the bleakness of much of human things, it is interesting to keep in mind that P. was in his mid-40s when he composed the letter and would live for another thirty years.

This text, the first letter of the first book of Petrarch's Epistolae Familiares (or as he christens it in this epistle, Familiarium Rerum Liber), is taken from the online Corpus Corporum, repositorium operum Latinorum apud universitatem Turicensem found at http://www.mlat.uzh.ch/MLS/, which in turn took the text from the Biblioteca Italiana from Sapienza University of Rome.

Works Consulted or Cited:
Lewis & Short's Latin dictionary
Woodcock, A New Latin Syntax
Aldo Bernardo (transl.), Letters on Familiar Matters (Rerum Familiarium Libri): Vol. 1: Books I-VIII
Giuseppe Fracassetti's 1867 edition of the letters is occasionally consulted
Grimes, Kristen Ina. “Petrarch's Epistolary Ego and the Authorizing Maternal.” The Journal of the Midwest Modern Language Association, vol. 44, no. 1, 2011, pp. 43–63. www.jstor.org/stable/23621444.

Commentary

Ad Socratem suum.

1. The letter begins with a sense of despair, a lamentation brought about by the plague.

[1] Quid vero nunc agimus, frater? Ecce, iam fere omnia tentavimus, et nusquam requies. Quando illam expectamus? ubi eam querimus? Tempora, ut aiunt, inter digitos effluxerunt; spes nostrae veteres cum amicis sepultae sunt.

 agimus... tentavimus ... etc.: so-called 'plurals of modesty': can be translated in singular. | et nusquam requies: sc. est or invenitur or the like. | illam: refers to the most recent nounof the same gender. | Tempora: interesting plural: cf. English 'times change.' | cum amicis sepultae sunt: a reference to the plague.

2. In 1348, the Black Death began ravaging Italy and western Europe. Ironically, the material goods, obtained by trade, which P. contrasts with lost loved ones, were perhaps connected to the source of the plague, fleas on rats on trade ships. A letter written by the addressee, Socrates, or Heyligen, survives in which he, too, ascribes the disease to merchant ships from the east. Petrarch ends the section with a pessimistic prognostication, before transitioning to a new subject.
[2] Millesimus trecentesimus quadragesimus octavus annus est, qui nos solos atque inopes fecit; neque enim ea nobis abstulit, quae Indo aut Caspio Carpathiove mari restaurari queant: irreparabiles sunt ultimae iacturae; et quodcunque mors intulit, immedicabile vulnus est. Unum est solamen: sequemur et ipsi quos praemisimus. Quae quidem expectatio quam brevis futura sit, nescio; hoc scio, quod longa esse non potest. Quantulacunque sane est, non potest esse non molesta.

 Millesimus trecentesimus quadragesimus octavus: 1348, the peak of the Black Death. | neque enim ea nobis abstulit: dative nobis is indirect object of abstulit (from us rather than the more usual to us, but still an indirect object, related to the dative of advantage and disadvantage).  | queant: subjunctive in relative clause of characteristic. | Indo aut Caspio Carpathiove mari: the Indus and the Caspian sea stand for the remotest borders of the known world: Carpathio refers to waters around the Greek islands of Crete and Rhodes. | quos praemisimus: i.e. into the afterlife; antecedent of quos is the omitted direct object of sequemur. | quae expectatio: the "wait" until death; quae is a 'linking relative' which links sentences and does not start a subordinate relative clause, translatable by 'this'; quae expectatio is subject of sit, while quam brevis and futura are predicate nominatives. | futura sit: subj. indirect question. | quod: 'that,' introducing a substantive clause presented as a fact (hence indicative), here in apposition to hoc: see A&G 572.

3. P. begins discussing here his collection of books and written materials, much of which is in bad physical condition.
[3] Sed a querelis saltem in principio temperandum est. Tibi, frater, quaenam tui cura sit, quid de te ipso cogites, ignoro; ego iam sarcinulas compono, et (quod migraturi solent) quid mecum deferam, quid inter amicos partiar, quid ignibus mandem, circumspicio. Nichil enim venale michi est. Sum sane ditior seu, verius, impeditior quam putabam: multa michi scriptorum diversi generis supellex domi est, sparsa quidem et neglecta. Perquisivi situ iam squalentes arculas, et scripturas carie semesas pulverulentus explicui. Importunus michi mus nocuit atque edacissimum tineae vulgus; et palladias res agentem inimica Palladis turbavit aranea.
sed a querilis...temperandum est: a mild form of praeteritio, i.e. saying what you won't say or do and thereby saying or doing it; temperandum est impersonal gerundive with force of obligation. | tibi, ... tui .... te ipso ... ego: emphatic contrast and hence ego. tibi is a loose dative of reference: 'as far as you are concerned.' tui is the genitive pronoun tui, used exclusively for objective or subjective genitive, "care of yourself." | quaenam: -nam can be attached as an enclitic like -que: in interrogatives, -nam is 'emphatic,' showing emotion. | sit, cogites: subjunctives in indirect questions. | iam sarcinulas compono: iam can just about always be translated as 'at this point': compono is present progressive 'I am putting together.' | quod migraturi solent: quod 'a thing which' has as antecedent circumspicio and the indirect questions depending on it. migraturi literally 'those who are about to travel.' solent has an understood infinitive meaning 'do' or the like dependent on it. | quid mecum deferam, quid inter amicos partiar, quid ignibus mandem, circumspicio: circumspicio is present progressive 'I am looking around to see.' deferam, partiar, mandem are subjunctives in indirect questions. | multa ... sparsa ... neglecta: all modify supellex. | michi: possessive, as in mihi liber est = "I have a book." | diversi generis: genitive of description governed by scriptorum. | domi: locative. | situ iam squalentes: somewhat like English "rotting in place," an emphatic expression. | carie: abl. of agent or means. | pulverulentus: Petrarch is dusty. | agentem palladias res: agentem must modify an understood me adapted from earlier michi. Pallas Athena (Minerva) is goddess of intellectual pursuits: hence they are palladiae res. | aranea Palladis:  Athena once turned Arachne into a spider, hence aranea Palladis. edacissimum tineae vulgus and inimica Palladis aranea are sufficiently parallel to Virgil's Georgics iv 246-47 that the similarity is not likely and accident:
aut dirum tiniae genus, aut invisa Minervae
 laxos in foribus suspendit aranea casses.
P. may refer to the same lines in De Remediis Utriusque Fortunae, dialogue six, De Ingenio, when he says nihil vero philosophanti molestius quam sophista: ideo invisam Palladi vinxere veteres araneam, cuius subtile opus tenues telae sunt, sed fragiles, nullique usui. The subtle sophists are compared to spiders spinning delicate webs.

[4] At first Petrarch wanted to burn it all and save the effort of organization; then he decided to examine his old writings.
[4] Sed nichil est quod non frangat durus et iugis labor. Confusis itaque circumventus literarum cumulis et informi papiro obsitus, primum quidem cepi impetum cun[c]ta flammis exurere et laborem inglorium vitare; deinde, ut cogitationes e cogitationibus erumpunt, ‘Et quid’ inquam, ‘prohibet, velut e specula fessum longo itinere viatorem, in terga respicere et gradatim adolescentiae tuae curas metientem recognoscere? ’ Vicit haec sententia; sicut enim non magnificus, sic non inamoenus labor visus est, quid quo tempore cogitassem, recordari.

frangat: subj. in relative clause of characteristic. | primum cepi impetum: impetum capere 'have an impulse' seems to have taken a genitive gerund the handful of times it occurs with a verbal in Classical Latin, all in Seneca and Suetonius, but there is no reason why it cannot take an infinitive. | longo itinere: abl. of cause. | viatorem and metientem: both modifying Petrarch himself (the 'you' of tuae), the object of prohibet and subject of respicere and recognoscere. | tuae: 'your' addressing himself. | prohibet ... : prohibeo can take an acc. + inf. object clause, as it does here. | Vicit haec sententia: when used to refer back, hic, haec, hoc refers to the nearer of the options mentioned (to look through the papers rather than burn them). | quid quo tempore cogitassem: indirect question, introduced by double interrogatives, takes subjunctive cogitassem in secondary sequence. | labor visus est ... recordari: visus est has an understood esse as complementary infinitive; recordari is the logical subject of visus est, while labor is the logical predicate nominative: but grammatically, labor is the subject, and recordari is predicate nominative, if visus est is to agree with its subject.

Subordination map of Vicit haec sententia; sicut enim non magnificus, sic non inamoenus labor visus est, quid quo tempore cogitassem recordari.
[5] P. describes his impressions upon going over his old material.
[5] Sed temere congesta nullo ordine versanti, mirum dictu quam discolor et quam turbida rerum facies occurreret; ut quaedam, non tam specie illorum quam intellectus mei acie mutata, vix ipse cognoscerem; alia vero non sine voluptate quadam retroacti temporis memoriam excitarent.
congesta: neuter accusative object of versanti. | nullo ordine: ablative of manner modifying versanti | versanti: sc. mihi, a dative with occurreret. | mirum dictu: sc. erat, the main clause: dictu is a rare supine in the wild! | occurreret: imperfect subjunctive (secondary sequence) in indirect question introduced by quam 'how?' and dependent on supine dictu. | ut quaedam ... vix cognoscerem; alia ... excitarent: result clauses, secondary sequence, dependent on mirum dictu erat. | tam...quam: correlatives; 'so much ... as ... .' | intellectus: 4th declension genitive. | specie, acie mutata: ablative absolute expressing cause; alternatively, mutata could modify quaedam, in which case specie and acie would be ablative of instrument/cause. | ut quaedam ... cognoscerem, alia ... excitarent: subjunctives in result clause in past narrative (historic/secondary tense); cf. Woodcock §164 with the note there. | retroacti temporis: gen. governed by memoriam.

[6] The style or type of his works is described, which leads to comments on the rhetorical or polished style; its spread from Sicily to Greece to Rome.
[6] Et erat pars soluto gressu libera, pars frenis homericis astricta, quoniam ysocraticis habenis raro utimur; pars autem, mulcendis vulgi auribus intenta, suis et ipsa legibus utebatur. Quod genus, apud Siculos, ut fama est, non multis ante saeculis renatum, brevi per omnem Italiam ac longius manavit, apud Graecorum olim ac Latinorum vetustissimos celebratum; siquidem et Athicos et Romanos vulgares rithmico tantum carmine uti solitos accepimus.
soluto gressu: abl. of description (describing the writing style). | frenis homericis: i.e. by poetic epic meter (dactylic hexameter). Around this time, P. was writing Africa, an unfinished epic poem about the period of the Second Punic War. | ysocraticis habenis: utor takes abl. 'Isocratean strictures': i.e. regulated or conscientious and rhetorical prose. Isocrates, 436-338, Athenian, one of the canonical ten Attic orators, founded a school of rhetoric: he attempts a mean between the more purely rhetorically-oriented Gorgias and the ethical teaching of Plato. | suis et ipsa legibus: et ipse an emphatic way to say 'oneself' (L&S ipse IC2γ) the et is adverbial ('also,' 'even,' 'too'), associating the aures and leges of the vulgus; the ablative is governed by utebatur; 'directed to the ears of the crowd, it also used their laws.' | Quod genus: the Isocratean (or more generally sophistic or rhetorical) type of speech. quod here is a linking relative, translatable by 'this.' | Siculos: Sicilians. Petrarch refers to the fact that Corax, Tisias, and Gorgias, early sophists, were all from Sicily. | non multis saeculis: ablative of time during/within which. non multis is a litotes meaning 'many.' | renatum: one cannot help but think of the 'Renaissance' of which Petrarch was a founding part: among its chief aims was to give birth to a new flowering of Antiquity. | uti: 'employ,' complementary infinitive dependent on solitos (sc. esse), which itself is infinitive in indirect speech after accepimus. | vulgares: this word for 'common,' 'belonging to the masses' does not necessarily have the same pejorative/evaluative connotations as 'vulgar,' but it can. | rithmico tantum carmine: this seems to be an idea that people spoke musically and thus greatly respected sonorous, well-placed speech. It would be interesting to know more about this claim. tantum is adverbial.

[7] P. is pulled from nostalgic perusal of his earlier work by greater tasks and the shortness and uncertainty of how much time he has left.
[7] Haec itaque variarum rerum tanta colluvio aliquot me diebus occupatum habuit; et licet dulcedine non parva atque amore ad proprias inventiones insito retraherer, vicit tamen caritas maiorum operum, quae iam diutius interrupta, non sine expectatione multorum de manibus meis pendent; vicit recordatio vitae brevis. Timui, fateor, insidias; quid enim, quaeso, fugacius vita est, quid morte sequacius?
aliquot diebus: abl. of length of time. | me occupatum habuit:  habeo + double accusative: commonly one is a perfect participle L&S II.C.2. | dulcedine parva, amore insito: ablatives of agent or cause. insito from insero, 'inborn,' 'innate.' | amore ad proprias inventiones insito: perhaps a generic claim about people, that they naturally like their own creations, or a more personal one about P. himself. | retraherer: subjunctive after concessive licet, 'although,' imperfect for past time. | vita, morte: ablatives of comparison after fugacius and sequacius.

[8] P. elaborates on his tasks and the need to focus.
[8] Subiit animum quae iecissem fundamenta, quid michi laborum vigiliarumque restaret: temeritas, immo vero insania visa est, in tam brevi et incerto tempore tot longos certosque labores amplecti, et vix ad singula suffecturum ingenium in diversa distrahere; praesertim cum, ut nosti, labor alius me maneat, tanto preclarior quanto plus solidae laudis est in actionibus quam in verbis.

Sentence structure:
 [9] P. burned many writings.
 
[9] Quid multa? incredibilem forte rem audies, veram tamen: mille, vel eo amplius, seu omnis generis sparsa poemata seu familiares epystolas — non quia nichil in eis placuisset, sed quia plus negotii quam voluptatis inerat — Vulcano corrigendas tradidi. Non sine suspirio quidem — quid enim mollitiem fateri pudeat? —; sed occupato animo quamvis acri remedio succurrendum erat, et tanquam in alto praegravata navis, relevanda preciosarum etiam iactu rerum.
quid multa: elliptical for something like quid ego multa verba dicam? | eo amplius: eo is abl. of comparison and refers back to mille (which is grammatically singular). | omnis generis: genitive of quality. | sparsa poemata: sparsa can mean 'in circulation,' somehow 'published.' | placuisset: subjunctive as denial of presumed, suggested, or rejected cause; cf. Woodcock §243. | Vulcano corrigendas tradidi: i.e. over to the fire to "correct." Vulcan (Greek Hephaestus) is god of fire, metalworking, the forge. | plus negotii quam voluptatis: again, plus takes a genitive, where English often uses 'more' as an adjective. | pudeat: potential subj. | occupato animo: dative of beneficiary with succurendum erat (verbs of helping often take dative). | quamvis acri remedio: ablative of means; quamvis could be adverbial 'however', 'to whatever degree', modifying acri, or the more normal quamvis conjunction, 'although by a bitter remedy, it had to be helped'. | in alto: 'on the deep (sea),' a common meaning of the phrase. | preciosarum etiam iactu: iactu abl. of means; note the etiam: such words often get neglected though their contribution to the tone of a sentence is significant.

[10] Petrarch let another stack of writings survive, avowedly only because it didn't seem worth the effort to burn it (there is reason to treat this claim as a stance: the letters themselves seem worth preserving, and Petrarch took some pains with them).

[10] Ceterum, illis ardentibus, pauca quidem animadverti in angulo iacentia, quae vel casu magis quam consilio servata vel pridem a familiaribus transcripta, cun[c]ta vincenti senio restiterant. Pauca, dixi; vereor ne lectori multa, scriptori autem longe nimia videantur. His ego indulgentior fui: vivere passus sum, non illorum dignitati, sed labori meo consulens; nichil enim negotii praeferebant.
Ceterum: adverbial 'still,' 'nevertheless,' especially paired with contrasting quidem. | illis ardentibus: abl. absolute, referring to the materials consigned to the flames. | casu: i.e. by chance. | consilio: i.e. intentionally. | pauca, iacentia, quae, servata, transcripta, cuncta, multa, nimia: all in agreement. | vincenti senio: dat. with verb resisto; the writings were fighting off age but losing the battle. | videantur: subj. in fear clause; lectori/scriptori are governed by this verb as datives of person concerned. | dignitati and labori meo: datives with consulens. | negotii: partitive gen. with nihil.

[11] P. decides to send the prose to Socrates and the poetry to Barbatus Sulmonensis, the addressee of several other letters. Imagining the two of them admonishing him not to destroy these works kept P. from burning them. Self-disparaginely, P. makes quite an effort to emphasize how trivial and unimportant his own writings are, (but can he mean it?).
[11] Ea vero duorum amicorum libranti ingenia hac lance partiri visum est, ut prosa tibi, carmen Barbato nostro cederet; sic enim et vos olim optare solitos et me pollicitum esse memineram. Itaque cun[c]ta passim occursantia uno impetu vastanti et ne his quidem — ut tunc erat animus — parsuro, vestrum alter ad levam, alter ad dextram adesse visus, et apprehensa manu, ne fidem meam et spes vestras uno igne consumerem, familiariter admonere. Haec illis evadendi praecipua causa fuit; alioquin, crede michi, cum reliquis arsissent.
ea ... partiri visum est: 'pregnant' use of visum est ('pregnant' means it has some extra meaning in addition to the 'norma' meaning, here 'seemed good'); if partiri is deponent, ea is the object of partiri; if a real passive (the verb goes both ways), ea is subject of partiri in indirect speech; the meaning is more or less the same either way. | duorum amicorum ingenia: possessive genitives modifying ingenia, which is direct object of libranti. | libranti (sc. mihi): dative with visum est. | hac lance: abl. of means; the 'scale' measures his friends, their personalities, talents, or preferences. | cederet: subjunctive in secondary sequence purpose clause. | occursantia: object of vastanti. | vastanti, parsuro (sc. mihi): datives with visus (sc. est). | ne his quidem: his dative with parco. | vestrum alter ... alter: vestrum is partitive gen. with alter; one alter is S., the other is Barbatus. | apprehensa manu: abl. of attendant circumstances or absolute. | fidem meam: the fidem placed in P. by his friends S. and Barbatus. | ne ... consumerem: subj. indirect command in secondary sequence following visus admonere. | admonere: complementary inf. dependent on visus, parallel to adesse. | illis: dat. of advantage with causa evadendi; refers to the preserved works. | arsissent: subjunctive in past unreal apodosis.

[12] P. self-deprecatingly hands over his writing to S. The self-deprecation can be read in many ways: insecurity, modesty, false modesty, reverence of antique authors as superior, a rhetorical stance, etc.

[12] Haec ergo, quae nunc tibi de virili reliquiarum illarum parte obveniunt, qualicunque sunt, non solum aequo, quin etiam avido animo perleges. Non audeo illud Apuleii Madaurensis in comune iactare: «Lector, intende: laetaberis»; unde enim michi id fidutiae, ut lectori delectationem laetitiamve pollicear?
ergo...perleges: P. continues to deprecate his writings (qualicunque sunt): cf. P.'s words addressed to Cicero at Epistulae 20.4: Epystolas tuas ... avidissime perlegi. | qualicunque: it is not clear what case of qualis, quale this is: it should be nom. pl. as subject of sunt: -cunque/-cumque can be added to certain words, and has the same meaning as indefinite '-ever' does in English. | quin etiam: Classical Latin would likely use sed etiam here. | tibi: dative with obveniunt. | de virili ... parte: in legal language, virilis pars refers to each person's allotted inheritance. | aequo/avido animo: abl. of manner: imagine people reading a will eagerly (avido), not just neutrally (aequo). | Apuleius Madaurensis: Madaura, a city in Numidia (modern-day Algeria) + -ensis forms a geographical adjective; Apuleius, author of Metamorphosis, aka The Golden Ass, a Latin-language novel, was from Madaura; the quotation is from Metamorphosis 1.1.18. | in comune: i.e. to say it with Apuleius. comune is more often spelled commune. | fidutiae: partitive genitive governed by id, 'that bit', 'that amount' (see L&S is, ea, id, I.C.1); fidutia is late for fiducia, as the Latin c in this context was no longer pronounced hard /k/ and thus sounded similar to the t; the effects of palatalization had made t and c homophones by the time of Renaissance-era Latin. | pollicear: subj. in result clause.

[13] P. considers Socrates biased, as a good friend often is.
[13] Leges tamen ista, mi Socrates, et ut es amantissimus tuorum, fortasse laetabere, cuiusque animum probas, delectaberis stilo. Quid enim refert quanta sit forma nonnisi amantis subitura iudicium? supervacuo comitur quae iam placet. Siquid hic sane meum placet, non id meum fateor, sed tuum: hoc est, non ingenii mei sed amicitiae tuae laus est.
tuorum: 'yours,' namely people important to or associated with S. | ut es: ut "just as" + indicative. | fortasse laetabere: instead of the Apuleian laetaberis (both forms are 2nd person singular). | cuiusque animum probas, delectaberis stilo: cf. Schopenhauer's 'style is the physiognomy of the mind' (opening line of On Style); cuiusque = cuius + -que (not quisque 'each') with -que linking fortasse laetabere with delectaberis; supply eius (possessive gen. with stilo) to correlate with cuius; stilo is ablative with delectaberis, 'you will be pleased.' | quanta sit forma: the meaning of quanta forma is nebulous; perhaps the 'magnitude' of the style, the 'grandness' of style, or just its positive qualities, as P. begins to discuss in the next paragraph; sit is subjunctive in indirect question. | nonnisi: nonnisi= non + nisi, with non modifying subitura, and nisi 'except/unless' modifying amantis: the effect is that nonnisi translates well as 'only.' | supervacuo: adverb. | siquid hic meum ... id ... meum ... tuum: siquid, meum, id, meum, and tuum all refer to the same thing, namely any piece of P.'s writing which S. likes; siquid = si aliquid; hic is adverbial 'here (in this collection of letters),' which makes siquid hic meum 'if anything here of mine ....' | hoc est: equivalent to English "that is" or "i.e."; hoc refers to the whole thought of the previous sentence. | ingenii mei...amicitiae tuae: ingenii mei  is objective genitive governed by laus (his genius is being praised), while amicitiae tuae is subjective genitive (S.'s friendship is doing the praising).

[14] P. disavows experience in powerful oratorical style, cites Cicero and Cato as illustrious orators, and then reaffirms that he has no such style.
[14] Nulla hic equidem magna vis dicendi; quippe quae nec michi adest, et quam, si plane afforet, stilus iste non recipit; ut quam nec Cicero ipse, in ea facultate praestantissimus, epystolis suis inseruit certe, nec libris in quibus est «aequabile» quoddam, ut ipse ait, «et temperatum orationis genus»; eximiam illam vim lucidumque et rapidum et exundans flumen eloquentiae in orationibus suis exercuit. Quo genere infinities pro amicis, saepe adversus reipublicae suosque hostes usus est Cicero; quo pro aliis saepe, pro se “quater et quadragies” Cato; quod quidem genus inexpertum michi est;
quippe quae nec mihi adest: quippe signals a causal clause, quae is a linking relative referring back to vis, and mihi is dative of ownership, which makes this clause mean "Because that (large style of speaking) is not in me" or "Since I don't have that (style)." | stilus iste: the 'pen' is metonymy for 'style' (stilus is also the etymon of 'style'). | afforet: alternate form of imperfect subjunctive of adsum in present unreal conditional protasis (the other alternate is adesset). | recipit: apodosis to afforet, which makes this a mixed condition; note that stilus is the subject of recipit, which amounts to personification of stilus. | ut quam: ut + a relative signals an illustration or explanation and can be translated as "as is natural for one which Cicero himself ... " or more briefly and less specifically as "Since/seeing that Cicero himself did not put it ... ." | ea facultate: i.e. the capacity to use magna vis dicendi. | Cicero ... epystolis ... libris ... orationibus: broadly speaking, Cicero's works are of three sorts: letters, philosophical treatises, and orations, in each of which he uses a different style. P. quotes from de Officiis 1.3.1: Quam ob rem magnopere te hortor, mi Cicero, ut non solum orationes meas, sed hos etiam de philosophia libros, qui iam illis fere se aequarunt, studiose legas, -- vis enim maior in illis dicendi,--sed hoc quoque colendum est aequabile et temperatum orationis genus. "Which is why I so urge you, my Cicero, to not only studiously read my orations but also my books on philosophy, which are just about as long as the orations, for there is more forceful speech in the orations, but a more tempered and even style of speaking should be cultivated as well." | vim ... flumen ... exercuit: the core of the sentence is a verb and two objects: the rest modifies one or the other of the objects. | quo genere: namely, the powerful oratorical style, ablative with usus est. | infinities: -iens/-ies added to a number stem means ' (number) times.' | pro amicis ... adversus reipublicae suosque hostes: Cicero's orations could be divided into defense (pro amicis) and prosecution (adversus ____), which can in turn be considered public or personal (adversus reipublicae hostes and adversus suos hostes); reipublicae is a genitive noun, but is parallel in thought to the accusative adjective suos, and both depend on hostes: English often does something similar when it says things like "enemies of mine and of the state," where 'mine' and 'state' are parallel in thought but different grammatically. | Cato: sc. usus est from previous clause. | Cato: Cato the Elder (234-149), a renowned Roman figure. | quater et quadragies: Pliny Natural History 7.100 reports itaque sit proprium Catonis quater et quadragiens causam dixisse, nec quemquam saepius postulatum et semper absolutum ('Accordingly let it be unique to Cato that he plead 44 cases and that no one was more often accused and always absolved').

[15] P. says he is by nature more solitary, unconcerned with publicity and wealth, and has never been involved in anything requiring oratorical skill. The last sentence is pithily formulated and so reminiscent of Seneca.
[15] nam et a reipublicae muneribus abfui et fama mea, tenui murmure forsan interdum et sibilis lacessita clandestinis, nullum hactenus quod ulciscerer vel vitarem[,] iudiciarium vulnus excepit; et verbalem ferre opem alienis vulneribus non est nostrae professionis. Neque enim aut tribunal ambire aut locare linguam didici, adversante penitus et reluctante natura, quae me silentii ac solitudinis amatorem fecit, fori hostem, pecuniae contemptorem; sed bene habet, quando me eius rei non egentem fecit, cuius forte inopem fecerat si egerem.
 adversante et reluctante natura: ablative absolute with causal force; a good English translation would probably add "my" to "nature." | eius rei: genitive with egentem. | cuius: genitive with inopem. | bene habet: 'it is well', 'it's alright'; habeo + adverb = esse + adjective, technically a 'middle' voice; if you know Greek, this is similar to ἔχω + adv. = 'to be' + adj. | egerem: subjunctive in a present unreal protasis: this is a 'mixed' condition.

[16] P. declares that S. will have to enjoy a more ordinary style, and that he has never desired to please everyone.
[16] Omissa illa igitur oratoria dicendi vi, qua nec egeo nec abundo et quam, si exuberet, ubi exerceam non habeo, hoc mediocre domesticum et familiare dicendi genus amice leges, ut reliqua, et boni consules, his quibus in comuni sermone utimur, aptum accomodatumque sententiis. Sed non omnes tales iudices habebo; neque enim aut idem omnes sentiunt aut similiter amant omnes. Quomodo autem omnibus placerem, cui placere paucis semper studium fuit?
placerem: imperfect potential subjunctive indicates that the opportunity is passed (cf. Woodcock §121); 'how could I have...'; placere takes dative (omnibus, paucis). | omnes sentiunt...amant omnes: the second omnes, while optional, creates a chiastic and balanced structure.

[17] P. suggests that judgement is compromised by love, hate, and envy: the effect of both love and envy is the same, and hate does not apply here, says P.

 [17] Triplex est profecto veri iudicii venenum: amor, odium, invidia. Illud autem vide, ne nimium nos amando, vulgare coegeris quae melius latuissent; ut enim tibi amor, sic aliis forte aliud officiet. Inter amoris autem et invidiae caecitatem, causa quidem plurimum, effectu nichil interest. Odium, quod medio loco numeraveram, nec mereor certe nec metuo.

illud vide ne coegeris: illud "the following" pleonastically referring to the ne clause; coegeris is subjunctive in purpose clause ('consider what I have said, in order that you may not have been compelled...'); an 'epistolary' perfect, since it refers to time after S. has read the epistles (thus also the pluperfect latuissent); coegeris governs complementary infinitive vulgare, which has an understood subject me. | nimium amando: ablative gerund, causal. | latuissent: subj. in relative clause of characteristic; the hypothetical context verging on a contrary-to-fact also suggests the subjunctive. | tibi/aliis: datives governed by officiet. | causa, effectu: ablative of respect. | plurimum and nichil: adverbial accusatives. | numeraveram: epistolary pluperfect, viewed from the reader's perspective: he 'enumerated' while writing, he 'had enumerated' from the perspective of the reader's time.

[18] Perhaps Socrates will keep the letters to himself, enjoy them, appreciate them, without sharing or publicizing them. This would suit P. well.
[18] Sed fieri potest ut nugas meas tibi habere, tibi legere nilque in eis aliud quam nostros ac nostrorum casus meminisse cogites; in quo rem michi pergratam feceris; sic enim et petitio tua non neglecta videbitur et fama mea tuta erit.
nugas meas: could be a reference to Catullus 1:
Cui dono lepidum novum libellum
 arida modo pumice expolitum?
 Corneli, tibi: namque tu solebas
 meas esse aliquid putare nugas.
Especially apt here because the lines begin Catullus' poetry collection and are also an explicit dedication to a friend. The poem is explicitly cited in a later Petrarchan letter, Seniles xi.3: 'solet enim, ut Catulli Veronensis verbo utar, meas aliquid putare nugas', and he is thought to have owned one of the three surviving medieval manuscripts of Catullus. | tibi habere, tibi legere, ... meminisse: complementary infinitives after cogites; tibi habere 'keep to yourself.' | nilque in eis aliud; sc. facere. | cogites: subjunctive in result clause. | feceris: future perfect. | petitio tua: i.e. his request to gather and publish the epistles.

[19] P. suggests his letters lack consistency and are hard to enjoy, even by a friend.
[19] Alioquin, nisi supervacuo nosmet ipsos favore decipimus, quonam modo amicum licet, nisi sit idem alter ego, lecturum haec sine fastidio arbitremur, diversa invicem et adversa, in quibus non idem stilus, non una scribentis intentio, quippe cum pro varietate rerum variae affectus animus illa dictaverit, raro quidem laetus, maestus saepe?
Sentence analysis: N.B. word- and clause-order has been changed in some places to make things clearer:
alter ego: the expression is likely a nod to Aristotle's theory of friendship (that a true friend is 'another self' as found in Nicomachean Ethics IX).

[20] P. suggests that the great letter-writers of antiquity, Epicurus, Cicero, and Seneca, wrote to a very select group of correspondents, and in this they had the advantage over P., a disingenuous suggestion ignoring how many letters were surely lost.
[20] Epycurus, philosophus vulgo infamis sed maiorum iudicio magnus, epystolas suas duobus aut tribus inscripsit: Ydomeneo, Polieno et Metrodoro; totidem paene suas Cicero: Bruto, Athico et Ciceronibus suis, fratri scilicet ac filio; Seneca perpaucas praeterquam Lucilio suo scribit. Promptum opus et felicissimi successus nosse collocutoris sui animum, unius assuevisse ingenio, scire quid illum audire iuvet, quid te loqui deceat.
Epycurus...magnus: Epicurus and his philosophy had and still have an undeserved reputation for hedonism. | iudicio: abl. of respect/specification. | duobus aut tribus: in spite of '2 or 3,' P. mentions 3: the modern transliterations of their names are Idomeneus (c. 325 – c. 270 BCE), Polyaenus (c. 340 – c. 285 BCE), and Metrodorus (331/0–278/7 BCE)), all from Lampsacus and among Epicurus' (341-270BCE) most important and closest direct disciples; clearly, transliteration rules have changed; the three surviving letters of Epicurus quoted by Diogenes Laertius are addressed to yet 3 other figures, Menoeceus, Herodotus, and Pythocles. | totidem paene suas Cicero: = totidem amicis paene suas epistolas inscripsit Cicero; those of Cicero's letters which Petrarch had rediscovered at Verona in 1345: the Epistulae ad Brutum (26 letters written over 4 months in 43 BCE to Brutus, the conspirator against Caesar), Epistulae ad Atticum, (16 books written over 25 years to C.'s close friend Atticus), and Epistolae ad Quintum Fratrem (3 books written over 5-6 years to his brother Quintus). Petrarch did not know of Cicero's Ad Familiares, in 16 books, written over 20+ years to many different people: Coluccio Salutati rediscovered them at Florence in 1389. | Seneca: the surviving 124 letters are addressed to Lucilius; a small collection of 14 letters allegedly between Seneca and the apostle Paul are considered forgeries; perpaucas (sc. litteras) indicates that perhaps P. thought Seneca had some other correspondents. | perpaucas (sc. litteras) praeterquam Lucilio suo scribit: praeterquam "beside," "except" does not affect the case of what follows it.  | felicissimi successus: genitive of quality/characteristic dependent on opus, which is in apposition to the subject infinitive nosse. | nosse, assuevisse, and scire: a list of 3 nominative subjects; an understood est supplies the verb; and promptum opus et felicissimi successus is a predicate nominative phrase (consisting of opus + adjective promptum + genitive of description felicissimi successus). | collocutoris sui: sui, "one's," refers to the generic "one." | ingenio: dative of advantage governed by assuevisse. | te: subject of loqui. | iuvet, deceat: subjunctives in indirect question.

[21] P. has wandered throughout his life, facing constant change and variation of circumstances; he puts Odysseus to shame in this regard.
[21] Michi autem sors longe alia; nempe cui usque ad hoc tempus vita paene omnis in peregrinatione transacta est. Ulixeos errores erroribus meis confer: profecto, si nominis et rerum claritas una foret, nec diutius erravit ille nec latius.
Michi (and cui): datives of ownership; antecedent of cui is michi. | sors: subject; supply est. | omnis: nominative modifying vita. | confer: imperative. | Ulixeos errores: Ulixeos could be accusative adjective agreeing with errores, but more likely -eos is the Greek genitive ending of Odysseus' name ( Ὀδυσσέως in gen.). | si nominis et rerum claritas una foret: nominis refers to the reputation or report, whereas rerum refers to 'the facts' or 'reality' (imagining that one can speak of the 'reality' of a character such as Odysseus); foret, an alternate form of esset, is subjunctive in present unreal protasis; una 'unified,' 'consistent.' | diutius: Odysseus wandered for 10 years between the end of the Trojan war and his return to Ithaca; understand quam ego after diutius/latius.

[22] P. was conceived and born in exile; all life may be short, but death was always close to P. His mother almost died in giving birth.
[22] Ille patrios fines iam senior excessit; cum nichil in ulla aetate longum sit, omnia sunt in senectute brevissima. Ego, in exilio genitus, in exilio natus sum, tanto matris labore tantoque discrimine, ut non obstetricum modo sed medicorum iudicio diu exanimis haberetur; ita periclitari cepi antequam nascerer et ad ipsum vitae limen auspicio mortis accessi.
iam senior: Odysseus was roughly 30 years of age at the beginning of the Trojan War. | sit: subjunctive in cum concessive clause. | senectute: perhaps just part of a truism, but a bit of an exaggeration if meant to be applied to Odysseus. | tanto labore/discrimine: abl. of attendant circumstances, setting up ut result clause. | non modo ... sed ... : "not only... but ... ." | iudicio: abl. of agent with haberetur. | haberetur: subj. in result clause, secondary tense governed by natus sum; subject is P.'s mother; exanimis is predicate nominative. | periclitari cepi: an unusual meaning of capio which can take the infinitive, meaning "be susceptible to." | nascerer: subjunctive after antequam, Woodcock §228b; secondary tense governed by cepi. | auspicio: an ablative of manner or specification, "under a premonition of death."

[23] P.'s father fled to Aretium; after a short time they wandered through Tuscany, with P. entrusted to a strong youth carrying him in linen wrappings like a hobo carrying his sack on a stick. Both almost drowned in crossing the Arno.
[23] Meminit haud ignobilis Italiae civitas, Aretium, quo pulsus patria pater magna cum bonorum acie confugerat. Inde mense septimo sublatus sum totaque Tuscia circumlatus praevalidi cuiusdam adolescentis dextera; qui — quoniam iuvat laborum discriminumque meorum tecum primitias recordari — linteo obvolutum, nec aliter quam Metabus Camillam, nodoso de stipite pendentem, ne contactu tenerum corpus offenderet, gestabat. Is, in transitu Arni fluminis, lapsu equi effusus, dum honus sibi creditum servare nititur, violento gurgite prope ipse periit.
Meminit ... civits, Aretium: Aretium = Arezzo, personified as 'remembering.' | quo: 'whither.' | patria: abl. of separation after pulsus. | magna cum bonorum acie: abl. of accompaniment; bonorum likely refers to fellow exiles. | mense septimo: abl. of time at which. | Tuscia: the ancient area of the Etruscans, Etruria, acquired the name Tuscia under the Romans, and included Tuscany and more. | dextera sc. manu: abl. of means. | qui... (sc. me) ... gestabat: the subject and verb are separated by 25 words; baby P. (understood me) is modified by obvolutum and pendentem; tenerum corpus (sc. meum) refers to P. as well. | Metabus Camillam: Aeneid xi.535-566 relates that King Metabus of the Volsci, father of Camilla, was expelled with his infant daughter. When they came to the river Amasenus, Metabus tied Camilla to a spear, which he threw across the river. He then swam across to retrieve her. | contactu: abl. of means. | ne ... offenderet: subjunctive in purpose clause, secondary sequence. | Arni: the Arnus river, modern Arno. | lapsu: ablative of cause. | honus: i.e. onus, acc. agreeing with creditum. | violento gurgite: abl. of cause/means.

[24] Pisa was the end of that wandering, but at 7 years of age he went to Gaul and almost died in a shipwreck near Marseilles.
[24] Finis Tusci erroris Pisae; unde rursus aetatis anno septimo divulsus ac maritimo itinere transvectus in Gallias, hibernis aquilonibus haud procul Massilia naufragium passus, parum abfui quin ab ipso rursus novae vitae vestibulo revocarer.
Finis ... Pisae: (sc. erat). | tusci: gen. adjective agreeing with erroris, 'Tuscan.' | Pisae: plural, an ancient Etrurian town, modern Pisa. | anno septimo: abl. of time at which. | maritimo itinere: abl. of means. | Gallias: Gaul, in plural because there were two, Transalpine and Cisalpine Gaul. | hibernis aquilonibus: abl. of cause. | haud procul: litotic for 'near.' Massilia: ablative of separation, with procul; Massilia = Marseilles, ancient port city in southern France. | novae vitae vestibulo: he has progressed from the threshold (limen) in §22 to the vestibule, 'entranceway' of life. | parum abfui quin ... revocarer: literally, "I was too little away from that I was not recalled" which effectively means "I was almost recalled"; quin + subjunctive (revocarer) introducing a result clause after a negated or virtually negated verb (parum abfui) is normal; revocarer is euphemistic for death.

[25] P. breaks off, saying it suffices to say that he has lived in perilous times, as S. knows well.
[25] Sed quo rapior, oblitus propositi? Inde nimirum usque ad hanc aetatem aut nulla prorsus aut rarissima subsistendi respirandique facultas fuit; et quot inter errandum periculorum timorumve species pertulerim, praeter me unum nemo te melius novit. Quae idcirco memorare nunc libuit, ut memineris me inter pericula natum, inter pericula senuisse; si modo iam senui, et non graviora michi in senio reservantur.
quo: 'whither.' | rapior: although reminiscent of the literally meant pulsus, divulsus, and revocarer of previous sections, this word is figuratively meant and applies to the writing of the letter, its narrative path. | propositi: verbs of memory/forgetting often take genitive. usque ad: usque is an adverb that usually goes right before and modifies a preposition and means "all the way" or something similar. | inter errandum: inter governs accusative gerund errandum (A&G 506), 'while wandering.' | species: quot modifies species, which is the direct object of pertulerim and governs genitives periculorum timorumve. | pertulerim: subjunctive in indirect question introduced by quot; primary sequence dependent on novi, a perfect with present meaning. | te: abl. of comparison after melius. | quae: object of memorare. | libuit: epistolary tense. | idcirco ... ut memineris: idcirco 'for this reason/purpose,' sets up the purpose clause ut memineris; memini is a perfect with present meaning, like novi. | natum: sc. esse. | si modo iam ... et non: si modo "if only" frequently takes indicative (in spite of being similar to a proviso clause, which usually takes subjunctive). The exact path of the logic of this sentence is not clear, but its meaning is tolerably clear: P. is emphasizing that he has lived among perils, but still greater perils may await.

[26] Everyone has difficulties, but some have it worse.
[26] Haec autem, etsi comunia sint omnibus intrantibus in hanc vitam — neque enim “militia” solum, sed pugna “est vita hominis super terram” — sunt tamen alia alii et longe diversum pugnae genus; et quamvis quenque sua praegravent, tamen revera inter eas quibus premimur sarcinas, multum refert.

comunia: governs datives omnibus intrantibus. | sint:  etsi 'although' + subjunctive for concessive sense (that it is concessive is confirmed by sunt tamen...); the subjunctive also implies that this is not the speaker's claim but someone else's (or a general idea), though Petrarch does agree with it. | militia...terram: a quotation from Job 7.1; in the context of Job, militia is figurative for 'hard service,' but P. reminds us that militia is 'military' with pugna: P's thought is that all must serve, but not all will see active combat, and not all active combat is equal. | alia alii: alia accusative plural, alii dative singular: 'different people have different troubles'. | et...genus: understand est. | quenque: = quemque. | quamvis quenque sua (sc. pericula) praegravent: subjunctive in concessive clause. | quibus: abl. of agent referring to sarcinas. | multum: adverb.

[27] Because of his itinerant life, P. has met many (notos), but made few true friends. Because he wrote differently to each, he is worried that might make him a hypocrite.
[27] In his ergo vitae tempestatibus, ut ad rem redeam, nullo portu anchoram longum in tempus iaciens, quot veros amicos nescio, quorum et iudicium anceps et penuria ingens est, notos autem innumerabiles quaesivi. Multis itaque multumque animo et conditione distantibus scribere contigit; tam varie ut ea nunc relegens, interdum pugnantia locutus ipse michi videar. Quod propemodum coactum me fecisse fatebitur quisquis in se simile aliquid expertus est.
ad rem: to the subject at hand, to the main point. | redeam: subj. in purpose clause. | longum in tempus: while in tempus can mean 'for a short time,' in Classical Latin, longum in tempus does not occur: it may be a later idiom. The meaning is obvious. | iaciens: nominative present participle agreeing with subject of quaesivi, governing direct object anchoram. | nullo portu: locatival ablative. | veros amicos/notos innumerabiles: parallel accusatives governed by quaesivi; nescio governs only quot. | quorum: objective gen. governed by iudicium and penuria. | iudicium anceps: meaning it is difficult to tell whether they are veros, and they must share one's own judgement for it to hold true. | penuria ingens: true friends are rare. | multum animo et conditione distantibus: animo and conditione are ablatives of respect explicating distantibus, which agrees with multis; both multis and distantibus are datives governed by scribere, which is complementary infinitive after impersonal contigit 'it fell to my lot'; multum is adverbial modifying distantibus. | pugnantia: acc. plural governing dative mihi and governed by locutus. | videar: subj. in result clause set up by tam varie. | quod: object of fecisse; refers to writing conflicting things from previous sentence. | quisquis: "whoever," subject of expertus est and also fatebitur.

[28] Considering the audience is paramount for a writer. One must write or speak to different people in different ways.

[28] Prima quidem scribentis cura est, cui scribat attendere; una enim et quid et qualiter ceterasque circumstantias intelliget. Aliter virum fortem, aliter ignavum decet alloqui; aliter iuvenem inexpertum, aliter vitae muneribus functum senem; aliter prosperitate tumidum, aliter adversitate contractum; aliter denique studiosum literisque et ingenio clarum, aliter vero non intellecturum siquid altius loquaris.
scribat: subjunctive in indirect question, or rel. clause of characteristic (the meaning is roughly the same); subject of this verb and intelliget is the writer, the scribens. | attendere: infinitive subject of est, appositive to cura. | una: adverb, = 'together,' 'all at once', 'at the same time'. | decet alloqui: decet is the main verb and alloqui is its infinitive subject, which is modified by every aliter; each acc. after an aliter is a direct object of alloqui; note that the aliter phrases grow in length, a crescendo. | functum muneribus: fungor takes ablative. | prosperitate/adversitate/literis/ingenio: could be abl. of respect or cause. | denique: indicates that this will be the last example. | altius: an ' intensive' comparative: translate with 'rather' or 'quite.' | loquaris: 2nd-person generalizing subjunctive, potential; (could also be viewed as protasis verb of future more or less vivid conditional; the apodosis verb being in the future, intellecturum; with a conditional in indirect speech, we are not able to tell whether an idea of potentiality was in the author's mind; whether it was thought of as someone who will not (future indicative) understand or who would not (present subjunctive) understand if, etc.).

[29] Human minds and spirits are as different as human faces, and each is different at different times: the writer must adapt to the recipient and the occasion.
[29] Infinitae sunt varietates hominum, nec maior mentium similitudo quam frontium; et sicut non diversorum modo, sed unius stomacum non idem cibus omni tempore delectat, sic idem animus non uno semper nutriendus stilo est; ut geminus sit labor: cogitare quisnam ille sit cui scribere propositum est, qualiterve tunc affectus, cum ea quae scribere instituis lecturus est.

mentium/frontium: minds v. faces: all are unique. | diversorum...unius: several different people v. one person. | uno stilo: abl. of means, agent. | sit (1): subjunctive in result clause. | cogitare: infinitive in apposition to labor; cogitare governs quisnam and qualiter  indirect questions. | sit (2): subjunctive in indirect question. | propositum est: impersonal. | affectus: presumably the participle agreeing with ille with an understood erit, not the noun; either way understand sit. | tunc ... cum: correlated "at that time ..., when ...." | lecturus est: alternative to the simple perfect.

[30] P worries that his efforts to adapt to addressees and occasions could give the appearance of hypocrisy or dissemblance, and so asks Socrates to help him avoid that by controlling who has access to the letters.

[30] Quibus ego difficultatibus multum a me ipso differre compulsus sum; quod ne michi ab iniquis iudicibus vitio verteretur, partim beneficio ignis obtinui, partim tu michi praestiteris, si clanculum suppressoque nomine ista possederis. Quae si inter paucos superstites amicos occultare non potes, quoniam linceos oculos habet amicitia nilque amicorum visui impervium est, admone ut siquid horum apud eos substiterit, quamprimum abiciant, nequa in eis rerum aut verborum mutatione turbentur.

quibus difficultatibus: abl. of cause. | ego: emphatic. | quod: object of obtinui and praestiteris, refers to the thought that he has been at odds with himself, in other words somehow been dishonest, dissembling, deceptive. | michi vitio: double dative construction. | verteretur: subj. in purpose clause, secondary sequence. | suppressoque nomine: abl. absolute. | praestiteris, possederis: future perfect. | paucos superstites: only a few remain after the plague. | linceos: i.e. lynceos from Lynceus, an Argonaut famed for his sharp sight. | visui: dative with impervium. | siquid horum apud eos substiterit: verb is future perfect (future-more-vivid protasis) with quid as subject; 'if any of these writings should come to their notice' (Bernardo's translation of this section takes this phrase to refer to the original letters which have now been edited by P.; if any of them are still in the possession of the original addressee, they ought to be destroyed, so that no offense is taken by the changed versions now being prepared. To get this from the Latin seems difficult, unless substiterit indicates a 'replacement' or 'substitute' version of the letters in question). | abiciant: subj. indirect command. | nequa ... mutatione: abl. of cause, means; qua = aliqua modifying mutatione, which refers to inconsistencies in eis, the letters. | turbentur: subj. in purpose clause; the worry is lest S.'s friends be upset by the fluctuations in P.'s manner of expression or reports of deeds contained in his writings (according to Bernardo, as compared with the original versions). It is likely that P. has in his mind his own reaction upon reading Cicero's letters. He was famously disappointed and wrote a letter to Cicero telling him so; but perhaps now that P. has examined his own inconsistencies in dealing with various people he is more lenient toward C.? (This suggestion loses validity if, again, the reference is merely to different versions of the same letter, per Bernardo).

[31] P. didn't compose the letters with a mind to publishing a collection or for art's sake. Now, gathered into a collection, repetition becomes an artistic weakness which P. has had to revise away.
[31] Ita enim accidit ut, qui haec in unam congeriem redigi nunquam aut tibi ut peteres aut michi ut assentirer venturum in animum suspicabar, laborem fugiens, passim in una dictum epystola in altera repeterem meisque, ut ait Terrentius, pro meis uterer. Novissime, cum multis annis edita et ad diversas mundi plagas ire iussa unum in tempus locumque convenissent, facile deformitas uniti corporis apparuit, quae per membra tegebatur, et verbum quod semel in una epystola positum delectabat, in toto opere saepius repetitum fastidio esse coepit: uni itaque relinquendum, de reliquis eradendum fuit.
Terrentius: Terence, the early comic dramatist; meisque abl. with uterer, meaning that he didn't expend effort (fugiens laborem) to vary his language. Perhaps a reference to Plautus Rudens 971-75: Ecquem esse dices in mari piscem meum? / quos cum capio, siquidem cepi, mei sunt; habeo pro meis, / nec manu adseruntur neque illinc partem quisquam postulat. / in foro palam omnes vendo pro meis venalibus. / mare quidem commune certost omnibus. The sea of language is theoretically common to the men who speak it, but expressions one fishes out become one's own. Common patterns tend to dominate unless care is taken to avoid them. | Novissime: 'very recently.' | convenissent: circumstantial cum clause. | multis annis: abl. of time during which. | ad diversas mundi plagas ire iussa: i.e. letters which were sent all over the world to their various recipients; ire is complementary after iussa. | unum in tempus: cf. longum in tempus in §27. | per membra: i.e. in isolation. | fastidio: dative of purpose/result (predicative dative). | uni ... relinquendum/eradendum: agree with verbum/quod/positum/repetitum; verbum seems to mean 'expression' rather than single word; uni dative.

[32] P. also edited out personal or trivial matters that would not matter to posterity. Cicero was teased for such mundaneness in his letters by Seneca, but P. nevertheless takes Cicero as his epistolary model more so than Seneca.
[32] Multa quoque de familiaribus curis, tunc forte dum scriberentur cognitu non indigna, nunc quamvis cupido lectori gravia, detraxi, memor in hoc irrisum a Seneca Ciceronem; quanquam in his epystolis magna ex parte Ciceronis potius quam Senecae morem sequar. Seneca enim, quicquid moralitatis in omnibus fere libris suis erat, in epystolis congessit; Cicero autem philosophica in libris agit, familiaria et res novas ac varios illius saeculi rumores in epystolis includit. De quibus quid Seneca sentiat, ipse viderit; michi, fateor, peramoena lectio est; relaxat enim ab intentione illa rerum difficilium, quae perpetua quidem frangit animum, intermissa delectat.

multa: dir. obj. of detraxi. | scriberentur: subjunctive after dum; cf. Woodcock §221 Note iii: 'Dum in this sense means practically the same as cum with the imperfect subjunctive in narrative...the construction of the two is apt to be confused'; in earlier Latin such an expression called for the indicative. | cognitu: supine with non indigna (supine is common with (in)dignus, -a, -um). | quamvis cupido lectori gravia: quamvis 'exceedingly,' 'however much you will,' modifies cupido, which modifies lectori, which is dative of reference attached to gravia, which modifies multa (as does indigna). | memor in hoc irrisum a Seneca Ciceronem: irrisum (sc. esse) Ciceronem is ind. speech dependent on memor; in hoc 'for this,' uses in because of in-risum, and refers to the sort of details P. removed from the letters, perhaps a reference to Seneca's 21st letter, where we find Nomen Attici perire Ciceronis epistulae non sinunt. Nihil illi profuisset gener Agrippa et Tiberius progener et Drusus Caesar pronepos; inter tam magna nomina taceretur nisi <sibi> Cicero illum adplicuisset. (Cicero's letters do not allow the name of Atticus to perish. His son-in-law Agrippa and grandson-in-law Tiberius and great grandson Drusus Caesar would be of use to him: he would have been forgotten among so many great names unless Cicero had attached himself to him.) or more so to the 118th letter, where we find nec faciam quod Cicero, vir disertissimus, facere Atticum iubet, ut etiam 'si rem nullam habebit, quod in buccam venerit scribat'. Numquam potest deesse quod scribam, ut omnia illa quae Ciceronis implent epistulas transeam: quis candidatus laboret; quis alienis, quis suis viribus pugnet; quis consulatum fiducia Caesaris, quis Pompei, quis arcae petat; quam durus sit fenerator Caecilius, a quo minoris centesimis propinqui nummum movere non possint. Sua satius est mala quam aliena tractare... ("I will not do what the most learned Cicero bids Atticus to do, namely 'write' even 'if he has nothing which comes to his tongue.' I cannot run out of things to write, even if I pass over all those thing which fill the letters of Cicero: which candidate struggles; who quarrels with others, who with his own people; who seeks the consulship relying on Caesar, who on Pompey, who on his own money; how harsh Caecilius is as a lender, whose friends can't get a dollar at less than a per cent.  It is quite enough to deal with one's own ills rather than other people's.")  | sequar: subjunctive after quamquam. | sentiat: subjunctive in indirect question. | ipse viderit: 'let him take care of that himself,' a jussive subjunctive. | peramoena lectio est: because he goes on to say that it is a break from rerum difficilium, this may refer to reading Cicero's letters, or possibly Seneca's.

NOTA BENE: [32a], [32b], etc. are from older editions of this letter (e.g. by Giuseppe Fracassetti), which have a passage at this point which the current text source omits, as does Bernardo's fairly recent English translation.

[32a] [Nam Sidonii temeritatem admirari vix sufficio: nisi forte temerarius ipse sim, qui temerarium illum dicam, dum sales eius seu tarditatis meae, seu illius stili obice, seu fortassis (nam unumquodque possibile est) scripturae vitio non satis intelligo. Unum utique non me fugit, irrisum et a Sidonio Ciceronem.

obice: ablative of cause, which takes genitives of material tarditatis meae and illius stili. | vitio: another abl. of cause, parallel to obice, also taking a genitive (scripturae). | irrisum (sc. esse)  et a Sidonio Ciceronem: this acc. + inf. construction acts like a noun and is in apposition to unum, which is the subject of fugit. This must refer to a passage in the Epistolae of Sidonius Apollinaris (430-489 CE) in the very first, introductory letter of his letter collection: nam de Marco Tullio silere me in stylo epistolari melius puto, quem nec Julius Titianus totum sub nominibus illustrium feminarum digna similitudine expressit. Propter quod illum ceteri quique Frontonianorum, utpote consectaneum aemulati, cum veternorum dicendi genus imitarentur, oratorum simiam nuncupaverunt. ("For I think it better to remain silent about Cicero on epistolary style, which Julius Titianus did not entirely manage to reproduce with adequate similarity in his Letters of Illustrious Women, and on account of which the rest of Fronto's followers, as is natural for rivals in imitation (since they were imitating the speaking style of the ancients), called him the 'ape of orators.'") Petrarch clearly takes this negatively as against Cicero, but it is not: Sidonius is rather modest and is pointing out the foibles of Fronto's followers and Julius Titianus, not Cicero's.

[32b] P. is incensed that Sidonius had the temerity to assault and mock Cicero's style and consider himself an orator comparable to Cicero. P. himself finds fault with Cicero in this very letter, but not for style or as an orator.

[32b] O libertas, ne, si dicam 'audacia,' quos temeritatis nomen offendit exasperem: inventum esse hominem latinum, qui non dico aliquid (ut et Senecam, et iam hinc me ipsum excusem: vix est enim humanum omni reprehensione caruisse), sed eloquentiam, aut stilum, aut omnino dicendi genus Ciceronis irrideat. Atque hoc Sidonius ausus est! Alvernus orator non Latio se fingere fratrem, ut ait ille (quod ipsum satis erat audaciae), sed aemulum, et (quod est gravius) irrisorem, atque illi detrahere, cui omnes deferunt praeter paucos illius coaetaneos ac concives: quos presentium comes haud dubie torsit, et in voces compulit invidia; quam nec Sidonio causam locus, nec tempus indulserat. Quo magis magisque animum viri miror, ut contra indubitatum eloquentiae principem eloquentiae studiosus insurgeret, alio saeculo, atque alio natus orbe.    

ne ... exasperem: negative purpose clause to explain his choice of the word libertas instead of audacia: the omitted antecedent of quos is the direct object of exasperem. | si dicam: protasis, likely future less vivid, but it could be subjunctive simply because subordinate to a subjunctive: the apodosis is the purpose clause exasperem. | qui ... irrideat: subject + subjunctive in a relative clause of purpose. | non dico aliquid, sed eloquentiam, aut stilum, aut omnino dicendi genus Ciceronis: all of this is an extended direct object of irrideat. non dico aliquid, sed ... = "I don't mean just anything, but ...." | ut ... excusem: parenthetical purpose clause. | caruisse: subject infinitive of est humanum. Careo takes ablative. | Alvernus orator non Latio se fingere fratrem: a nod to Lucan's Bellum Civile 1.427 Arvernique, ausi Latio se fingere fratres / sanguine ab Iliaco populi. | Alvernus orator (sc. ausus est): Sidonius was bishop of Auvergne ('Alvernus' is from the name of the Arverni tribe, which became 'Auvergne'). | quod ipsum: refers to the idea that someone like Sidonius could fancy himself a brother to Cicero. | satis audaciae: satis often takes a genitive. | illi detrahere: illi = Ciceroni: detrahere takes dative. | illius coaetaneos: coevals of Cicero, probably (e.g. Brutus, who was an 'Atticist' as opposed to the 'Asiatic' Cicero), but perhaps coevals of Sidonius. | presentium comes: 'retinue of those present,' but present where/when? | in voces: i.e. 'into speaking' (cf. in vocem rumpo). | quam nec Sidonio causam locus, nec tempus indulserat: i.e. Sidonius' time and place gave him no reason to challenge Cicero. | animum: animus means "haughtiness, arrogance" here. | ut ... insurgeret: result clause dependent on animum. | natus: a circumstantial participle modifying the subject of insurgeret. Probably with concessive meaning, "although born."

[32c] P. Can think of no excuse for Sidonius, and even if P. is mistaken about Sidonius, he prefers to stay mistaken, because Cicero is the prince of orators.

[32c] Et sane cuncta versanti nihil occurrit, quo vel docti hominis ignorantiam accusare possim, vel iniuriam excusare, nihilque quod suspicer perversitatem fuisse iudicii, non naturae. Falli tamen in hoc possum, ut in multis: in eo certe non fallor, vel si fallor, cum multis longeque clarissimis falli iuvat, quod solutae facundiae principatus, contradictoribus late victis, unius Ciceronis est proprius: quo luce clarior fit vel morum vel intellectus obliquitas contrarium asserentis.

versanti (sc. mihi): dat. participle (with cuncta as direct object) dependent on occurit. | docti hominis ignorantiam: namely, the ignorance of Sidonius. | possim: subjunctive in relative clause of characteristic, a purpose clause. | iniuriam: namely, Sidonius' insult to Cicero. | quod suspicer perversitatem iudicii: relative clause of characteristic with quod as subject of fuisse (perversitatem is predicate accusative with fuisse). | iudicii ... naturae (sc. Sidonii): genitives dependent on perversitate. | in eo certe non fallor: eo refers forward to the quod clause. | quod ... est: quod "the fact that" + indicative, as usual. | principatus: modified by proprius and the predicate genitive Ciceronis unius. | contradictoribus late victis: ablative absolute. | quo luce clarior fit: quo is ablative of instrument and refers to the whole thought of the previous clause rather than one specific thing in it; luce is abl. of comparison with clarior. | obliquitas: subject of fit, obliquitas has a subjective genitive (asserentis, which takes contrarium as direct object) and an objective genitive (vel morum vel intellectus).

[32d] Ille tamen adducit nescio quem Julium Titianum, et nescio quos Frontonianos suae irrisionis auctores: quibus ego simulque omnibus idem sentientibus una voce respondeo hoc solum: sicut equidem verum est illud Senecae, quoniam quidquid habet Romana facundia, quod insolenti Graeciae aut opponat, aut praeferat, circa Ciceronem effloruit: verumque illud Quintiliani ubi inter multa et gloriosa praeconia viri huius, dono quodam providentiae genitum, dicit, in quo totas virtutes suas eloquentia experiretur: et post multa quibus hoc probat: Quare, inquit, non immerito ab omnibus aetatis suae regnare in iudiciis dictus est: apud posteros vero id consequutus, ut 'Cicero' iam non hominis nomen, sed eloquentiae habeatur. Hunc igitur spectemus: hoc propositum nobis exemplum sit. Ille se profecisse sciat cui Cicero valde placebit: sicut haec, inquam, vera sunt, sic illud quoque verissimum, quibus displiceat Ciceronis oratio, vel non nosse veram perfectamque facundiam, vel odisse. Hanc ego calumniam indiscussam transire non potui, quamquam valde festinem. Ad rem redeo.]

Ille: Sidonius. | nescio quem Julium Titianum: nescio + qu- = "some-," here "some (one named) Julius Titianus," "a certain Julius Titianus": he wrote fables and taught oratory to Maximinus II. | Frontonianos: those who share Fronto's tastes in oratory (Fronto is Marcus Cornelius Fronto (100-160's CE)). Here, -ianus, -a, -um added to Fronto makes the nonce word 'Frontonians.' | suae: Sidonius'. | illud Senecae: a good illustrative example of where illud can mean "the following." | quidquid habet Romana facundia, quod insolenti Graeciae aut opponat, aut praeferat, circa Ciceronem effloruit: a quote from Seneca Controversiae 1.1.6: quidquid is object of habet and subject of effloruit and antecedent of quod, which introduces a relative clause of purpose (hence subjunctives opponat and praeferat): compare English "Whatever he has in mind to say is fine." oppono and praefero take dative. | dono quodam providentaie genitum in quo totas virtutes suas eloquentia experiretur: a quote from Quintilian Institutio Oratoria X.I.109.6; genitum (sc. esse) modifies an understood Ciceronem, and Cicero is the antecedent of quo; experiretur is subjunctive in a relative clause of characteristic, a purpose clause. | post multa: between the first quotation and the next quotation, Quintilian says multa. | quibus hoc probat (sc. Quintilianus): quibus is ablative of instrument; hoc is direct object. | Quare non immerito ... valde placebit: a quote from Quintilian Institutio Oratoria X.I.112. | id consequutus, ut ...: id looks forward to ut and needn't be translated. Technically, I suppose the ut clause is in apposition to id. | nomen: "reputation": compare English "win a name for oneself." Understand nomen with eloquentiae too. | spectemus and sit and sciat: jussive subjunctives. | hoc propositum: "the following idea" referring to the idea in the next sentence. | haec ... illud: haec refers backwards to the contents of what has just been quoted, while illud refers forward to the thought of the end of the sentence. | displiceat: subjunctive in a relative clause of characteristic. | vel non nosse veram perfectamque facundiam, vel odisse: accusative (sc. se) + infinitives that depend on verissimum. The antecedent of quibus is omitted, but it refers to the same people as the understood se. The superlative is figurative, of course: there are no degrees of truth. | festinem: subjunctive in a concessive clause, although quamquam regularly took the indicative in Cicero's Latin. | ad rem: namely, the matter of this letter, which P. was talking about before the digression about Cicero's eloquence.

[33] P. has written in a familiar style whose chief goal has been either to tell his addressee how he is doing or to inform his addressee of something they might not know: that style is based on a programmatic clause in Cicero's first letter to his brother Quintus (1.1.37.12).

 [33] Multa igitur hic familiariter ad amicos, inter quos et ad te ipsum, scripta comperies, nunc de publicis privatisque negotiis, nunc de doloribus nostris, quae nimis crebra materia est, aut aliis de rebus quas casus obvias fecit. Nichil quasi aliud egi nisi ut animi mei status, vel siquid aliud nossem, notum fieret amicis; probabatur enim michi quod prima ad fratrem epystola Cicero idem ait, esse «epystolae proprium, ut is ad quem scribitur de his rebus quas ignorat certior fiat».

The first sentence works well if we understand multa scripta comperies multiple times (it only occurs in the first clause):

Alternatively, the nunc clauses and the aut clause can be understood as in apposition to scripta: understanding scripta comperies with them is simply an expansion of this alternative.

multa: modifies scripta and is the direct object of comperies, a typical sentence word order for P (namely, verb is at the end, the initial word and the word just before the verb go together and bracket predicate bits). | igitur: this comes abruptly after the digression, which may be a left over sign that the digression was worked in later, if it was. | quas casus obvias fecit: casus is subject, quas is direct object, and obvias is a second accusative, as in 'this makes me happy.' Note that this too follows the order identified just now: initial word, predicate material, partner of initial word, verb.  | nisi ut: 'except to' + status notum fieret: subjunctive in purpose clause. Note that status is the subject of fieret, and notum is a predicate nominative, but it is neuter, "a known thing," rather than agreeing in gender with status. | nossem: past general protasis made subjunctive by influence of subordinate (result) clause. | prima epystola: ablative of place. | Cicero idem: idem fairly frequently accompanies proper names, often with an added iste or ille or the like. | quod ... esse epystolae proprium: quod is object of ait, and is then later expanded by an appositive accusative  + infinitive. | scribitur: epystola is subject. | ut certior fiat: nominal ut clause in apposition to proprium.

[34] P. explains the title of his letter collection: epystola had been used in titles of such things too much before (by himself too), so Petrarch named it Familiarium Rerum Liber.
[34] Atque ea michi tituli fuit occasio; de quo aliquando cogitanti, quamvis epystolarum nomen consentaneum rebus esset, quia tamen et multi veterum eo usi erant et ipse ego varium carmen ad amicos, de quo paulo supra mentio incidit, eodem praenotabam, bis eo uti piguit, novumque ideo placuit nomen, ut Familiarium Rerum Liber diceretur.
occasio: a good instance of what is called a "false friend": namely, inspite of being its etymon, occasio does not mean 'occasion,' but rather 'favorable moment,' 'opportunity.' | cogitanti: dative governed by piguit and placuit, more than 30 words on in the sentence. | epystolarum: genitive of definition (aka 'appositional') governed by nomen. | rebus: dative with consentaneum. | esset: quamvis 'although' introduces subjunctive, which has potential force here as well: 'although it would be...'. | de quo paulo supra mentio incidit: Petrarch refers to the poetry sent to Barbatus mentioned in §11 above; paulo abl. of degree modifying supra. | usi erant: pluperfect governing ablative eo. | diceretur: subjunctive in result clause.

[35] P. further describes the collection. A bit of the refined, more of the familiar, though this was adorned with the occasional moral or general observation, in Ciceronian fashion.
[35] In quo pauca scilicet admodum exquisite, multa familiariter deque rebus familiaribus scripta erant; etsi interdum, exigente materia, simplex et inelaborata narratio quibusdam interiectis moralibus condiatur; quod et ab ipso Cicerone servatum est.
exigente materia: abl. absolute. | quibusdam interiectis moralibus: abl. instrumental, adverbial to condiatur. | condiatur: subj. after etsi, which, like the other concessive conjunctions, took subjunctive in later Latin.

[36] P. has said all this out of fear of critics who judge others but are safe from criticism by writing nothing themselves; they are like lubberly folk on shore opining about the skill of a ship captain.
[36] Et haec tam multa quidem de tam parva re loqui, censorum praemordacium iubet metus; qui, nichil scribentes quod iudicari queat, de aliorum iudicant ingeniis. Impudentissima temeritas, quae solo silentio tuta est: complosis in litore manibus sedenti, facile est ferre quam velit de gubernatoris arte sententiam.
loqui: complementary infinitive (to iubet) with an understood me as subject and haec tam multa as direct object. | tam ... tam: adverbs modifying multa and parva. | censorum praemordacium: objective genitive dependent on metus. | qui: subject of iudicant; antecedent is censorum. | de aliorum ... ingeniis: Petrarch often puts things between the start of a phrase (de) and its end (ingeniis), such as iudicant here. | quod: relative pronoun; antecedent is nichil. | queat: subjunctive in relative clause of characteristic. | solo silentio: abl. of cause. | complosis...sententiam: cf. the English phrases 'armchair general' or 'backseat driver'. | complosis manibus: abl. of attendant circumstances; hands were clapped to express strong emotion (in later Latin, says L&S, such as Petronius or Seneca); perhaps the image is of one vehemently expressing an opinion. | sedenti: dative dependent on facile est: the subject of est is ferre. | quam ... sententiam: sententiam is the antecedent of quam; note once again that the start of a phrase (quam) and its end (sententiam) surround a verb and another phrase de arte. | velit: subjunctive in indirect question: understand another ferre ('report') with it.

[37] Petrarch asks Socrates to keep these writings safe like a treasure, although revision is ongoing.
[37] Adversus hanc proterviam latebris saltem tuis horridula haec atque improvide nobis elapsa defendito. Illam vero non Phidiae Minervam, ut ait Cicero, sed qualemcunque animi mei effigiem atque ingenii simulacrum multo michi studio dedolatum, si unquam supremam illi manum imposuero, cum ad te venerit, secure qualibet in arce constituito.
latebris tuis: instrumental abl.; a latebra is a hiding place, here likely a place of refuge. | horridula haec atque improvide nobis delapsa: these neuter things, described deprecatingly, are P.'s letters and constitute a large accusative direct object of defendito; improvide is an adverb modifying elapsa, which takes an ablative of separation nobis. | defendito, constitutito: so-called 'future' imperatives; Woodcock §126 Note i says, 'the future imperative expresses an order that is not to be obeyed immediately,' but often there is little detectable difference in meaning from a regular imperative. | Illam  non Phidiae Minervam ...: Illam, Minervam, qualemcumque effigiem, simulacrum dedolatum, and illi all refer to his letter collection, which is direct object of constituito;  Phidias' statue of Athena was a famous sculpture of the Periclean era (mid-5th century BC) of Athens: by saying it is not that, isn't he perhaps hinting or admitting that they are important (to him)? | ut ait Cicero: refers to 1) De Oratore 2.73, In his operibus si quis illam artem comprehenderit, ut tamquam Phidias Minervae signum efficere possit, non sane, quem ad modum, <ut> in clipeo idem artifex, minora illa opera facere discat, laborabit. ('In these works if anyone masters the skill so that like Phidias he can make a likeness of Minerva, like that artist, he will not struggle to learn to make the smaller works on the shield.') 2) Paradoxa Stoicorum, Praefatio §5, Hoc tamen opus in acceptum ut referas, nihil postulo; non enim est tale, ut in arce poni possit quasi illa Minerva Phidiae, sed tamen ut ex eadem officina exisse appareat. ('I do not expect that you consider this work a debt, for it is not so great that it could be placed in a citadel like Phidias' Minerva, but that it could seem to have come from the same workshop.') | multo studio: abl. of means. | supremam manum: literally "the last hand," that is 'the finishing touch'. | venerit: future perfect. | qualibet in arce: the Minerva statue was set up on the citadel of the Acropolis.

[38] Petrarch asks S. to conceal the decline in the strength and force of his style from the early letters to the later ones.
[38] Haec hactenus. Illud libentius, si liceret, silentio tegerem; sed ingens morbus non facile occultatur; erumpit enim et indicio suo proditur. Pudet vitae in mollitiem dilapsae: ecce enim, quod epystolarum ordo ipse testabitur, primo michi tempore sermo fortis ac sobrius, bene valentis index animi, fuerat, adeo ut non me solum sed saepe alios consolarer; sequentia in dies fragiliora atque humiliora sunt, neque sat virilibus referta querimoniis. Illa praecipue ut occultare studeas, precor.

haec hactenus: literally 'these things up to this point,' idiomatic Latin for 'so much for these things,' indicates a change in subject or mood. | Illud: 'the following,' referring to 'ingens morbus' soon to come. | si liceret...tegerem: subjunctives in the protasis and apodosis of a present unreal conditional. | indicio suo: abl. of means or cause. | vitae...dilapsae: impersonal verbs of feeling such as pudet govern a genitive of the cause of the sentiment. | ordo epystolarum: the order of the book of letters he has composed. | primo tempore: abl. of time at which, referring to his younger days. | consolarer: subjunctive in result clause introduced by adeo ut. | in dies: 'in days' is idiomatic for 'day by day.' | virilibus querimoniis: abl. with referta; P. suggests that querimoniae are a sign of strength. | studeas: subjunctive in indirect command dependent on precor.

[39] Petrarch would rather have left out such indictments or confused the order, but S. has copies of so many of the letters that he couldn't be fooled.
[39] Quid enim alii dicerent, cum ipse relegens erubescam? ergo ego in adolescentia vir fuero, ut in senectute puer essem? Infelix et execranda perversitas: fuit animus vel mutare ordinem vel subtrahere tibi penitus ista quae damno! Neutro circumveniri posse visus eras, qui et flebilium exempla et omnium cum consule diem tenes.
dicerent: imperfect potential subjunctive used as in a present unreal conditional apodosis. | erubescam: subjunctive in circumstantial cum clause. | essem: subjunctive in purpose clause; the imperfect tense is due to the past sense of the future perfect verb; here 'will I have been' is very close to 'will it prove to be the case that I was'; there is thus some fluidity in the form of the verb used in such main clauses depending on the writer's point of view; essem tells us how fuero is to be read. | fuit animus, etc.: animus = 'intention' or the like, so this means 'I was of a mind to...' and governs an infinitive. | neutro (sc. modo): i.e. by neither method. | et flebilium exempla et omnium cum consule diem: exempla are copies of certain of P.'s flebilium (sc. epistolarum), while cum consule diem means the date of the letters (years were kept by consulships in classical Rome: the expression is figurative here). S. therefore already knows what P. wrote and when he wrote it, so P. cannot hope to deceive S.

[40] In younger days, P. resisted and helped others resist fortune's assaults, but his pace and spirit began to flag, and he has descended to lamentations.
[40] Ad excusationum igitur arma confugio. Lassavit me longo et gravi proelio fortuna. Dum spiritus dumque animus fuit, et ipse restiti et ad resistendum alios cohortatus sum. Ubi hostis viribus atque impetu labare michi pes atque animus coepit, excidit confestim sermo ille magnificus et ad haec quae modo displicent lamenta descendi.
ad: the object of ad is arma, upon which the genitive excusationum depends. | longo et gravi proelio: abl. of means, instrumental. | ad resistendum: gerund with ad expresses purpose. | hostis: genitive. | viribus atque impetu: ablatives of cause. | labare: complementary infinitive after coepit. | mihi: dative of ownership with pes atque animus. | haec: modifies lamenta. | modo: 'only'. | confugio, cohortatus, confestim: the con- prefix adds little to the verbs; confestim perhaps chosen because it continues the con- pattern; the effect seems to be an intensification of P.'s statements. | ad haec quae modo displicent lamenta discendi: haec lamenta is the object of ad; modo means 'only.'

[41] Previously, friends helped him withstand any wound of fortune--he wept piteously--but now he has been bereft of almost all friends by one blow, the plague.
[41] Qua in re excuset me forsitan amicorum pietas, quibus salvis ad nullum fortunae vulnus ingemui; eisdem mox una paene omnibus ruina obrutis, et mundo insuper moriente, inhumani potius quam fortis visum est non moveri. Ante hoc tempus quis me unquam de exilio, de morbo, de iudicio, de comitiis, de ullis fori turbinibus; quis me de paterna domo, de fortunis perditis, de gloria imminuta, de pecunia dilata, de absentia amicorum, flebiliter agentem audivit?
excuset: potential subjunctive with forsitan. | quibus salvis: abl. of attendant circumstances. | eisdem...obrutis, mundo...moriente: ablatives absolute. | una ruina: abl. of cause, a reference to the plague. | inhumani, fortis: gen. of quality, qualifying non moveri, which is the subject of est. | me...flebiliter agentem audivit: me is separated from flebiliter agentem by a long sequence of rhetorically repetitive de phrases.

[42] Cicero, although respected by Petrarch, is harshly criticized for not being able to handle adverse fortune and for praising people and then turning around and finding fault with them. Petrarch felt so strongly about Cicero that he wrote letters to him (de Rebus Familiaribus book 24 letters 3 and 4).
[42] Quibus quidem in molestiis tam molliter agit Cicero, ut quantum stilo delector tantum saepe sententia offendar. Adde litigiosas epystolas et adversus clarissimos atque ab eodem paulo ante laudatissimos viros iurgia ac probra, mira cum animi levitate; quibus legendis delinitus pariter et offensus, temperare michi non potui quominus, ira dictante, sibi tanquam coaetaneo amico, familiaritate quae michi cum illius ingenio est, quasi temporum oblitus, scriberem et quibus in eo dictis offenderer admonerem.
stilo/sententia: stilo abl. with delector; sententia abl. with offendar. | offendar: subjunctive in result clause introduced by tam...ut. | iurgia/probra: parallel to epystolas as objects of adde. | adversus clarissimos atque ... laudatissimos viros: adversus + acc. = 'against.' | quibus legendis: gerundive ablative of cause, 'by reading which.' | delinitus: alternative form of delenitus, 'charmed', 'captivated', from delenio. | quominus ...  scriberem et ... admonerem: subjunctives in result clause introduced by quominus, which is typically used after negated leading verbs of hindering such as non potui temperare. | ira dictante: abl. absolute. | sibi: Cicero; this dative and coaetaneo amico are governed by scriberem. | familiaritate: abl. of manner or means, antecedent of quae. |  quibus in eo dictis offenderer: 'by which things said in him (Cicero) I was offended'; cf. similar sententia offendar at the start of this section; offenderer subjunctive in relative causal clause; the antecedent of quibus would have been dicta as the direct object of admonerem, but it was instead included in the relative clause as part of quibus dictis.

[43] Petrarch has found such inconsistency in Seneca's Octavia as well, and also in Varro and Virgil, so he wrote to them as well (book 24, letters 5, 6, and 11of de Rebus Familiaribus). Note: many modern scholars do not believe Seneca wrote Octavia: as was the case with Sidonius in §32a-c, here again P. does not have the benefit of the cumulative wisdom of modern philology.

[43] Quae michi cogitatio principium fuit ut et Senecae tragediam quae inscribitur Octavia post annos relegens parili impetu eidem quoque, ac deinde, varia occurrente materia, Varroni Virgilioque atque aliis scriberem; e quibus aliquas in extrema parte huius operis inserui, quae, nisi praemonitum, lectorem subita possent admiratione perfundere; quaedam in illo publico incendio periere.
principium: predicate nominative. | parili impetu: abl. of cause; perhaps Petrarch was disturbed by the contrast between Seneca's tragedies and his philosophy. | eidem: Seneca. | varia occurrente materia: abl. absolute; perhaps this materia consisted of more works by these authors which had been previously unknown to P., as happened with respect to Cicero. | Varroni: Varro, 116-27 BCE, called 'most learned of the Romans' by Quintilian; of his prolific works, only those on agriculture and the Latin language, along with fragments, survive. | scriberem: subjunctive in result clause after principium fuit ut; governs datives eidem, Varroni, Virgilio, aliis. | aliquas: sc. epistolas. | huius operis: the collection of letters sent (or dedicated) to Socrates with the present letter. | possent: subjunctive in relative clause of characteristic. | subita admiratione: admiratio = 'astonishment' rather than 'admiration.' | incendio: the fire described earlier in the letter.

[44] In contrast to the pessimism in parts of this letter, Petrarch winds up with an optimistic and strong outlook. Only death will force him to stop striving in both word and deed.
[44] Talis ille vir tantus in doloribus suis fuit; talis ego in meis fueram. Hodie, ut scias praesentem animi mei habitum — neque enim invidiosum fuerit id michi tribuere, quod imperitis evenire ait Seneca —, factus sum ex ipsa desperatione securior. Quid enim metuat, qui totiens cum morte luctatus sit? 'Una salus victis, nullam sperare salutem.' Animosius in dies agere videbis, animosius loqui; et siquid forte stilo dignum se obtulerit, erit stilus ipse nervosior. Multa sane se offerent: scribendi enim michi vivendique unus, ut auguror, finis erit.
ille vir: Cicero. | fueram: i.e. in his younger days. | scias: subjunctive in purpose clause. | fuerit: future perfect. | Seneca: Naturales Quaestiones 6.2.1-2, imperitis magna fit ex desperatione securitas. Hoc itaque generi humano dictum puta quod illis subita captivitate inter ignes et hostem stupentibus dictum est: 'Una salus victis nullam sperare salutem. Si vultis nihil timere, cogitate onmia esse metuenda. ("for the ignorant, a great calmness results from hopelessness. So apply to the whole human race the saying,  which was said (by Virgil) to those who were struck by suddenly being caught between flames and the enemy: 'the only salvation for the conquered is to have no hope.' If you want to fear nothing, hold that everything is to be feared." The quoted gobbet is line 354 of Virgil, Aeneid II. | metuat: potential subjunctive, understand ille as antecedent to qui. | luctatus sit: subjunctive in relative clause of characteristic. | 'una...salutem': Virgil's Aeneid II 354, also quoted in the Seneca passage quoted above; sperare is a predicate nominative infinitve in apposition to salus; est is understood. | animosius agere videbis: understand me as subject of agere, which is modified by animosius; parallel in Seneca the Elder's Controversiae 9: si efficio ut qui cecidit patrem possit absolvi, pro hoc animosius agam, ut dignus sit supplicio nisi praemio fuerit. | stilo: abl. with dignum; here stilo means 'the pen, writing.' | obtulerit: future perfect, future more vivid protasis. | scribendi, vivendi: genitive gerunds governed by finis.

[45] Petrarch says that he will continue his correspondence, which started in his youth, until his death. He sees it as a duty, a welcome one, that will be levied on him until his death.
[45] Sed cum cetera suos fines aut habeant aut sperent, huius operis, quod sparsim sub primum adolescentiae tempus inceptum iam aetate provectior recolligo et in libri formam redigo, nullum finem amicorum caritas spondet, quibus assidue respondere compellor; neque me unquam hoc tributo multiplex occupationum excusatio liberat. Tum demum et michi immunitatem huius muneris quaesitam et huic operi positum finem scito, cum me defunctum et cunctis vitae laboribus absolutum noveris. Interea iter inceptum sequar, non prius viae quam lucis exitum operiens; et quietis michi loco fuerit dulcis labor.
habeant/sperent: subjunctives in cum concessive clause; cetera is subject. | huius operis: objective gen. governed by nullum finem although separated from it by a substantial relative clause. | aetate: abl. of respect with provectior. | hoc tributo: abl. of separation with liberat; an economic metaphor (letters are an exchange: paying 'tribute' is the duty of writing back). | huic operi: dative governed by positum finem. | scito: future imperative. | tum demum...cum: correlatives. | cunctis laboribus: abl. of separation with absolutum. | loco: locatival abl. governing quietis: cf. English "in place of" or "in lieu of". | noveris, fuerit: future perfect. | viae and lucis: genitives dependent on exitum.

[46] P. says he put the strongest writings at the start and the end, as a good orator or general does with the means at their disposal. Then P. says he is determined to be strong, come what may.
[46] Ceterum, quod et rhetores et bellorum duces solent, infirmioribus in medium coniectis, dabo operam ut sicut prima libri frons, sic extrema acies virilibus sententiis firma sit; velo eo amplius quo vivendo magis ac magis induruisse videor contra impetus atque iniurias fortunae. Denique quis inter experimenta rerum sim futurus, profiteri minime ausim; sed hoc animo sum, ut nulli amplius rei succumbam: "Si fractus illabatur orbis, impavidum ferient ruinae." Ita me Maronis Flaccique sententiis armatum scito, quas olim lectas et saepe laudatas, nunc tandem in extremis casibus meas facere ipsa inevitabilis fati necessitate didici.
Ceterum: adverbial "with respect to the rest," hence, in idiomatic English, "besides," "what is more," or "in addition." | quod ... solent: quod is direct object of solent and refers to paying attention to the arrangement of troops/letters described in the rest of the sentence; translation will have to be loose, perhaps "a thing which," or "as." | infirmioribus coniectis: abl. absolute; just as generals keep their weakest men in the middle, so rhetors reserve their best material for the exordium and the peroration. | virilibus sententiis: abl. of respect/means with firma. | sit: subjunctive in purpose clause. | velo eo amplius quo vivendo: velo eo is most likely the equivalent of Classical vel eo, and Fracassetti's edition does print vel eo amplius quo, which makes easier sense as "all the more so since in life I seem ... ." If the text really should be velo eo, and velo is abl. of velum, then perhaps velo is ablative of means/cause, referring to the idea of bookending his letters with strong sentiments at the end: "all the more under the flag/sail/veil (velo used metaphorically) by which in living I seem ... ." He used the phrase velo eo/ vel eo above in §9, mille, velo eo amplius, seu omnis generis sparsa poemata seu familiares epystolas... Vulcano corrigendas tradidi. There, it is more definitely vel eo and not abl. of velum. | sim futurus: subjunctive in indirect question governed by profiteri. | ausim: potential subjunctive; Woodcock §119, with reference to the potential subj.: 'there is usually no observable distinction in sense between the present and the perfect tenses'; ausim is among the verbs Woodcock lists as 'differing from the indicative [of the same verb] only in being milder and more deprecatory'. | hoc animo: abl. of quality or description. | nulli rei: dative with succumbam. | succumbam: subjunctive in result clause. | si...ruinae: quoted from Horace, Carmina, Bk. III, 3.7-8, which speaks of a Iustum et tenacem propositi virum "a constant man of just purpose" being unswerving and solid, who will stand firm even if the world crashes in ruins upon him. | illabatur: subjunctive in protasis of future less vivid conditional. | Maronis Flaccique: Publius Virgilius Maro (Virgil) and Quintus Horatius Flaccus (Horace). | armatum: sc. esse. | facere: as a complementary infinitve with didici, facere takes a double accusative quas (sententias) lectas et laudatas and meas. | ipsa necessitate: abl. of means.

[47] P. comes to a close and thanks Socrates for the conversation and the company which has lasted from morn till night as he wrote this letter.
[47] Dulce michi colloquium tecum fuit, cupideque et quasi de industria protractum; vultum enim tuum retulit per tot terras et maria teque michi presentem fecit usque ad vesperam, cum matutino tempore calamum cepissem. Diei iam et epystolae finis adest.
colloquium: subject of fuit, retulit, fecit. | vultum tuum: object of retulit. | per tot terras et maria: i.e. across the distance that separates them; used figuratively, since even in that time, southern France and northern Italy are not separated by many seas or lands. | matutino tempore: abl. of time at which. | cepissem: subjunctive in concessive cum clause.

[48] P. has sent S. this many-colored fabric, and will continuously strive to improve it. Among other things, P. hopes it will further the reputation of S., although S. does not need P.'s help to thrive. Still, P. hopes that S. will be the Atticus to his Cicero, the Lucilius to his Seneca, etc.
[48] Haec igitur tibi, frater, diversicoloribus, ut sic dicam, liciis texta dicaverim; ceterum, si stabilis sedes et frustra semper quaesitum otium contigerit, quod iam hinc ostendere se incipit, nobiliorem et certe uniformem telam tuo nomine meditor ordiri. Vellem ex his paucis esse, qui famam promittere possunt et praestare; sed ipse vi propria in lucem venies, alis ingenii subvectus nichilque auxilii mei egens. Profecto tamen, si inter tot difficultates assurgere potuero, tu olim Ydomeneus, tu Athicus, tu Lucilius meus eris. Vale.
diversicoloribus liciis: abl. with texta, emphasizing that the collection is a varied one. | dicam: subjunctive in a purpose clause that is a parenthetical, 'so to speak,' drawing attention to the metaphor of writing as weaving. | texta: textum meant "weaving" in Classical Latin, but came to mean "text" in medieval Latin. P. is working the metaphorical text-as-weaving. | dicaverim: hortatory; 'may I have done so'; the perfect subjunctive at the end of a writing to signal its conclusion is somewhat formulaic. | contigerit (sc. mihi): future perfect. | quod: nominative subject of incipit, referring not to otium but to the whole idea of the next clause; translate quod as "as" or "a thing which"; cf. similar quod in §46; se refers back to quod. | hinc: "from this place," i.e. from the current collection of letters. | nobiliorem et certe uniformem telam ... meditor ordiri: P. plans to continue working on the weaving to make it better. | tuo nomine: abl. of cause, 'in your name.' | vellem: past potential subjunctive. | esse qui: the omitted antecedent of qui is 'writings' or 'letters' or the like, addressed to or speaking about S. and so able to promote his fama. | vi propria: abl. of means. | alis: abl. of means from ala "wing." | auxilii mei: gen. with nihil, partitive; nihil, mostly indeclinable, is abl. with egens. | Ydomeneus, Athicus, Lucilius: correspondents of Epicurus, Cicero, and Seneca, respectively.

Text

N.B. Spelling of Latin varied over the ages: for instance, the text used as a base here was printed with -e for -ae (-æ) (E.g., nostrae is written nostre). Here and there newer spellings have been altered to reflect Classical Latin orthography (because we assume people will be familiar with that spelling whether or not they are familiar with later spelling patterns). Relatively easily identifiable spellings, such as nichil for nihil, michi for mihi, have usually been left unaltered. This text is not meant to be a scholarly critical text, but a serviceable text from which to start explorations.

Vocabulary
abicio, abicere, abieci, abiectus, throw away
absentia, -ae, f., absence
absolvo, absolvere, absolui, absolutus, free
absum, abesse, abfui, abfuturus, be away from, be absent, be far from be removed from, not be suitable for (meaning often needs to be adjusted to fit context)
abundo (1), overflow
ac (=atque)
accedo, accedere, accessi, accessum, reach, arrive at
accido, accidere, accidi, happen, occur
accipio, accipere, accepi, acceptus, accept, receive
accomodatus, -a, -um, suited (+dat.)
accuso (1), reproach, blame, accuse
acer, acris, keen
acies, -ei, f., keenness, acuteness; battle line, array
actio, -onis, f., deed
addo, addere, addidi, additus, add
adduco, adducere, adduxi, adductum,
adeo, to such a degree, so much
admiratio, -onis, f., wonder, admiration
admiror (1), admire, wonder at
admodum, quite, absolutely, just
admoneo, admonere, admonui, admonitus, tell, suggest, warn, instruct, advise
adolescens, -entis, a youth
adolescentia, -ae, f., youth
adsum, adesse, adfui, adfuturus, be present
adversitas, -atis, f., dire straits, adversity
adverso (1), oppose
adversus (+acc), vis-a-vis, against, in the face of
adversus, -a, -um, contrary, opposed
aemulus, -a, -um, striving with, rivalling
aequabilis, -e, fair, just, evenhanded, consistent
aequus, -a, -um, fair, tempered
aetas, aetatis, f., age, era
affectus, -us, m., affect, emotional state, mood
afficio, afficere, affeci, affectus, affect (someone), grace (s.o. with), inflict on (s.o.)
afforet, see adsum
ago, agere, egi, actum, act, carry on, behave
ala, -ae, f., wing
alienus, -a, -um, another's
alioquin, besides, moreover
aliquando, at some time; finally
aliquot, some, several, a few
aliter, otherwise, in another way
alloquor, alloqui, allocutus, address, speak to
altius, more elevatedly, in higher manner
altus, -a, -um, high, deep (used of the sea, similar to "the deep" in English)
amans, -antis, participle of amo, love
amantissimus, -a, -um, superlative of amans, -antis, participle of amo, love
amator, -oris, m., lover
ambio, ambire, ambi(v), ambitus, solicit for favor
amicitia, -ae, f., friendship
amicus, -i, m., friend
amor, -oris, m., love
amplector, -i, amplexus, embrace
amplius, more
anceps, ancipitis, going both ways, two-edged, twofold
anchora, -ae, f., anchor
angulus, -i, m., corner, nook
animadverto, animadvertere, animadverti, animadversum, notice, attend to, give heed to, regard, observe
animosus, -a, um, courageous, energetic, strong
annus, -i, m., year
ante (adv.), before
antequam, before
appareo, apparere, apparui, apparitum, appear, be seen
apprehendo, apprehendere, apprehensi, apprehensus, take hold of, seize
aptus, -a, -um, suited, appropriate (+ dat.)
apud + acc., among
aquilo, -onis, the north wind
aranea, -ae, f., spider
arbitror (1), think, judge
arcula, -ae, f., small box, casket
ardeo, ardere, arsi, arsum, be on fire, burn, blaze
Aretium, modern Arezzo
armo (1), arm, take up arms
Arnus, -i, m., Arno (river)
ars, artis, f., skill, craft
arx, arcis, f., stronghold
assentior, assentiri, assensus sum, agree
assero, asserere, assevi, assitum, assert, state; grasp; protect
assidue, carefully
assuesco, assuescere, assuevi, assuetus, to become accustomed to (+ dat.)
assurgo, assurgere, assurrexi, assurrectus, soar, grow, life oneself
astringo, astringere, astrixi, astrictum, bind, tie, close
attendo, attendere, attendi, attentus, pay attention to, consider
auctor, -oris, m., author, originator
audacia, -ae, f., recklessness, daring
audeo, audere, ausus sum, dare
aufero, auferre, abstuli, ablatus, take away, remove
auguror (1), surmise, conjecture
auris, -is, f., ear
auspicium, -i, n., omen, premonition
auxilium, -i, help, aid
avidus, -a, -um, greedy, keen
bellum, -i, n., war
beneficium, -i, n., benefit
bis, twice
caecitas, -atis, f., blindness
calamus, -i, m., reed (pen for writing)
calumnia, -ae, f., insult, slander
capio, capere, cepi, captus, be susceptible to, be of a nature to (+ inf.); take up, take, grab
careo, carere, carui, lack (+ abl.)
caries, cariei, f., dry rot, rottenness
caritas, -atis, f, regard, esteem, love
carmen, carminis, n., song
casus, -us, m., event, occurence, happening, accident, fortune, chance
causa, -ae, f., cause, reason
cecitas, = caecitas
cedo, cedere, cecidi, cessum, fall to someone's lot (+dat.)
censor, censoris, m., critic
certe, certainly
certior fio, be informed
certiorem facere, inform
certus, -a, -um, certain
ceterum, adv., still, nevertheless; moreover
cibus, -i, m., food
circa, + acc., around, about
circumfero, circumferre, circumtuli, circumlatus, carry around
circumlatus (participle of circumfero)
circumspicio, circumspicere, circumspexi, circumspectus, look around, examine
circumstantia, -ae, f., circumstances, condition
circumvenio, -venire, -veni, -ventus,
circumvenio, -venire, -veni, -ventus, encompass, surround
civitas, -atis, f., city, state
clanculum, secretly, privately
clandestinus, -a, -um, secret, concealed
clarissimus, -a, -um, most illustrious, very illustrious
claritas, -atis, f., illustriousness, fame
clarus, -a, -um, illustrious, famous
coetaneus, -a, - um, coeval, contemporary
cogitatio, -onis, f., thought
cogito (1), think, ponder
cognitus, -us, m., a coming to know, a knowing
cogo, cogere, coegi, coactus, force, compel
cohortor (1), urge
collocutor, -oris, m, discussion partner
colloquium, -i, n., conversation
colluvium, -i, n, cesspool, mire
comes, comitis, m. or f., companion
comitium, -i, n., election, assembly
como, comere, compsi, comptum, comb, dress, adorn
compello, compellere, compuli, compulsus, impel, move, compel, constrain, force
comperio, comperire, comperi, compertus, find, discover
complodo, complodere, complosi, complosus, strike (hands) together, clap
compono, componere, composui, compositum, put together, assemble
comunis, commune, common, held in common, shared (in commune = together with)
comunis, comune = communis, commune
concivis, -is, m., fellow citizen
condio, condire, condivi, conditus, spice, season, ornament, make pleasant
conditio, -onis, f., situation, circumstances
confero, conferre, contuli, collatus, compare
confestim, without delay, suddently
confugio, confugere, confugi, confugitus, flee, take refuge
confundo, confundere, confusi, confusus, muddle, mingle, combine
congeries, -ei, f., heap, pile
congero, congerere, congessi, congestum, bring together, gather, collect
conicio, conicere, conieci, coniectus, assign, make go
consentaneus, -a, -um, suited, fit
consequor, consequi, consequutus, acquire, obtain
consilium, -i, n., plan, purpose, intention
consolor (1), comfort, cheer
constituo, constituere, constitui, constitutum, establish, put, place, set
consul, -is, m., consul
consulo, consulere, consului, consultum, consider, consult, reflect upon (+ dat.); consulo aliquid boni = be well satisfied with
consumo, comsumere, consumpsi, consumptum, use up, squander, waste, annihilate, destroy
contactus, -us, m., contact, touching
contemptor, -oris, m., despiser
contingo, contingere, contigi, contactum, reach, attain; happen (to one), befall
contra, against (+acc.)
contractus, -a, -um, restricted, limited
contradictor, -oris, m., naysayer, opponent
contrarius, -a, -um, opposite (used as a noun, contrarium, -i, n., the opposite)
convenio, convenire, conveni, conventus, come together
corpus, -oris, n., body
corrigo, corrigere, correxi, correctum, set right, bring into order, set straight
creber, crebra, repeated, frequent
credo, credere, credidi, creditus, believe, trust (+dat.)
creo, credere, credidi, creditus. entrust
cumulus, -i, m., pile
cuntus, -a, -um = cunctus, -a, -um, all, whole
cupide, eagerly, zealously
cupidus, -a, -um, greedy, desirous
cura, -ae, f., care, concern, trouble
damno (1), condemn
decet, decuit, to be becoming, to become, to beseem
decipio, decipere, decepi, deceptus, deceive
dedolo (1), carve, shape, hew
defendo, defendere, defendi, defensum, defend, protect
defero, deferre, detuli, delatum, bring, take; defer (to, + dat.)
deformitas, -atis, f., deformity
defungor, defungi, defunctus, die
deinde, then, next
delectatio, -onis, delight
delecto (1), delight, please, charm, amuse
delinio, delinire, delinivi, delinitus, charm, bewitch
demum, finally
denique, finally, at length
descendo, descendere, descendi, descensus, go down, descend
desperatio, -onis, f., desperation, hopelessness
detraho, detrahere, detraxi, detractum, disparage (+ dat.); remove
dexter, dextera, dexterum, right (as opposed to left)
dico (1), dedicate, consecrate, set apart, proclaim
dicto (1), assert, dictate; order, prescribe
dies, diei, m., day
differo, differre, distuli, dilatum, differ, be different; scatter, disperse
difficilis, -e, difficult, hard
difficultas, -atis, f., difficulty
digitus, -i, m., finger
dignitas, -atis, f., worthiness, dignity
dignus, -a, -um, worthy
dilabor, dilabi, dilapsus, slip away, dissolve
dis, ditis, rich
disco, discere, didici, discitus, learn
discolor, -oris, of varied colors, of different kinds, various
discrimen, -inis, n., risk, danger, hazard
displiceo, displicere, displicui, displicitum, displease
distans, -antis, remote, far away, distant
distraho, distrahere, distraxi, distractum, divide, pull apart
diu, for a long time, long
diutius, longer, for a longer time
divello, divellere, divulsi, divulsus, tear away, remove
diversicolor, -oris, m., diverse color
diversus, -a, -um, different, varied, variegated
doctus, -a, -um, learned
dolor, -oris, m., pain, grief
domesticus, -a, -um, domestic, familiar, household
domus, domus, f., house, household
dubie, doubtfully
dulcedo, dulcedinis, f., sweetness
dulcis, dulce, sweet, gentle
dum, while
durus, -a, -um, hard
dux, ducis, m., leader, general
ecce, behold!, lo!
edax, edacis, voracious
edo, edere, edidi, editum, put forth, publish
effectus, -us, m., effect, result
effigies, effigiei, f., likeness, copy, imitation
effloresco, efflorescere, efflorui, bloom, flourish
effluo, effluere, effluxi, effluctus, flow out, flow away
effundo, effundere, effudi, effusus, knock off
egeo, egere, egui, be in need of (+gen.)
elabor, elabi, elapsus, slip away
eloquentia, -ae, f., eloquence
epistula, -ae, f., letter, written communication
Epycurus (=Epicurus)
epystola, = epistula
epistula/epistola, -ae, f., letter
equabile, = aequabile
equus, -a, -um, = aequus, -a, -um
equus, -i, m., horse
erado eradere, erasi, erasum, remove, eradicate
erro (1), wander
error, -oris, m., wandering
erubesco, erubescere, erubui, blush, feel ashamed
erumpo, erumpere, erupi, eruptum, break out, burst forth, erupt
etas = aetas
etiam, even
etsi, even if
evado, evadere, evasi, evasus, escape, get away
evenio, evenire, eveni, eventum, occur, happen
exanimis, -e, dead, stillborn
exaspero (1), irritate, provoke
excedo excedere, excessi, excessus, leave, depart
excido, excidere, excidi, fall away, escape, slip out
excipio, excipere, excepi, exceptum,
excito (1), rouse, stir up, stimulate
excusatio, -onis, f., excuse
excuso (1), make an excuse for, excuse, pardon
execro (1), curse, abhor
exemplum, -i, n., model, precedent, example
exerceo, exercere, exercui, exercitus, practice
exigo, exigere, exegi, exactum, demand, require
exilium, exili, n., exile, banishment
eximius, -a, -um, smallest
exitus, -us, m., end, death, departure
expectatio, -onis, f., longing, desire, expectation, wait, waiting
expecto (1), await, hope for, expect
experimentum, proof, test, trial
experior, experiri, expertus sum, experience
exquisite, carefully, accurately
extremus, -a, -um, farthest, hindmost, last, extreme, furthest
exubero (1), to come forth in abundance
exundans, -antis, overflowing
exuro, exurere, exussi, exustum, burn up, consume
facultas, -atis, f., ability, opportunity, capacity; ability, skill
facundia, -ae, f., eloquence, facundity, fluency
fallo, fallere, fefelli, falsum, deceive
fama, -ae, f., rumor, report
familiaris, -e, private, friendly
familiaritas, -atis, f., intimacy, friendship
familiariter, in a friendly fashion
fastidium, -i, n., distaste, loathing, aversion
fateor, fateri, fassus sum, confess
fatum, fati, n., fate
favor, -oris, m., partiality, bias, good will
felix, felicis, lucky, fortunate
fere, almost, just about
ferio, ferire, hit, strike, slay
fessus, -a, -um, exhausted
festino (1), hurry, hasten
fides, fidei, f., faith
fiducia, -ae, f., trust, confidence, assurance
fidutia, = fiducia
filius, -i, m., son
fingo, fingere, finxi, fictus, imagine, conceive, think
finis, finis, m., end, finish; end, goal; border; plural = territory
fio, fieri, factus sum, become, be made
firmus, -a, -um, strong, steady
flebilis, -e, deplorable, lamentable
flebiliter, with tears, tearfully
flumen, -inis, n., river
forma, -ae, f., appearance, looks, form
forsan, = forsitan, perhaps
forsitan, perhaps
fortasse, perhaps
fortassis, perhaps
forte, by chance
fortis, forte, brave
fortuna, -ae, f., luck, fortune; wealth, property
forum, -i, n., public place, market, forum, court
fragilis, -e, fragile
frango, frangere, fregi, fractus, break
frater, fratris, m., brother
frenum, freni, n., curb, bridle
frons, frontis, f., forehead; appearance, face, front
frustra, in vain
fugax, fugacis, fleeing, fleeting
fugio, fugere, fugi, fugitum, flee, avoid, shun
fundamentum, -i, n., foundation
fungor, fungi, functus sum, perform, execute (takes abl.)
Gallia, -ae, f., Gaul
geminus, -a, -um, twin
genitus, -a, -um, begotten (past participle of gigno, gignere, genui, genitus)
genus, generis, n., type, kind
gesto (1), bear, carry
gigno, gignere, genui, genitum, beget, bear, bring forth
gloria, -ae, f., glory, renown
gloriosus, -a, -um, renowned, glorious
gradatim, step by step
gravis, grave, serious
gressus, -us, m., a stepping, going, course, way
gubernator, -oris, m., steerer
gurges, gurgitis, m., whirlpool
habena, -ae, f., rein, thong
habeo, habere, habui, habitus, have; tibi habere 'keep to yourself'
habitus, -us, m., state, condition
hactenus, up to this point
haud, hardly
hibernus, -a, um, of winter
hinc, from here, hence; hence, on this account
hodie, today
honus, see onus
horridulus, -a, -um, simple, rough, unpolished (of style)
hostis, hostis, m., enemy
humilis, -e, lowly, humble
iaceo, iacere, iacui, iacitus, be thrown, lie
iacio, iacere, ieci, iacere, cast, set, lay, build, found, throw, set
iacto (1), boast of (+ acc.)
iactura, -ae, f., loss, sacrifice
iactus, -us, m., a throwing, dumping, casting away
idcirco, for that reason, which is why
idem, eadem, idem, the same
ideo, for that reason
igitur, therefore
ignavus, -a, -um, idle, sluggish, slothful
ignis, -e, m., fire
ignobilis, -e, disreputable, ignoble
ignorantia, -ae, f., ignorance
ignoro (1), not know
illabor, illabi, illapsus, fall, slip, slide
immedicabilis, -e, unremediable, untreatable
immerito, undeservedly
imminuo, imminuere, imminui, imminutus, diminish
immunitas, -atis, f., immunity, freedom from taxes
imo/immo, nay
impavidus, -a, -um, fearless, intrepid
impeditus, -a, -um, burdened, weighed down
imperitus, -a, -um, unskilled, ignorant
impervius, -a, -um, inaccessible
impetus, -us, m., attack, assault; impulse (impetum capere, have an impulse)
impono, imponere, imposui, impositum, put on, set
importunus, -a, -um, rude, savage, violent
improvide, thoughtlessly, recklessly
impudens, impudentis, impudent, disrespectful
in dies, day by day
inamenus/inamoenus, -a, -um, disagreeable
incendium, -i, n., conflagration, fire
incido, incidere, incidi, incasum, occur, happen
incipio, incipere, incepi, inceptum, begin
includo, includere, inclusi, inclusum, include
incredibilis, -e, remarkable, unbelievable
inde, thence
index, indicis, m.f., indicator, proof, sign
indicium, indicii, n., evidence, disclosure
indignus, -a, -um, unworthy
indiscussus, -a, -um, not discussed
indubitatus, -a, -um, undoubted, certain
indulgens, indulgentis, be kind, tender indulgent to
indulgeo, indulgere, indulsi, indultum, grant, bestow
induresco, indurescere, indurui, become hard, harden
industria, -ae, f., industry, diligence (de industria = on purpose, diligently)
inelaboratus, -a, -um, unstudies, not worked up
inevitabilis, -e, unavoidable
inexpertus, -a, -um, untried, unexperienced
infamis, -e, disreputable, infamous
infelix, -icis, unlucky, unfortunate
infero, inferre, intuli, illatus, introduce, cause, produce
infinities, numberless times, endlessly
infinitus, -a, -um, numberless
infirmus, -a, -um, weak
informis, -e, shapeless, unformed
ingemo, ingemere, ingemui, ingemitus, groan
ingenium, -i, n., character, genius
ingens, ingentis, huge, large
inglorius, -a, -um, not glorious, thankless, without fame
inhumanus, -a, -um, inhuman, rude, mean
inimicus, -a, -um, unfriendly
iniquus, -a, -um, hurtful, bad
iniuria, -ae, f., harm, injury
innumerabilis, -e, countless
inops, inopis, destitute, needy, resourceless, impoverished, helpless
inquam, inquis, inquit, say (takes direct speech)
insania, -ae, f., madness, insanity
inscribo, inscribere, inscripsi, inscriptum, entitle
inscribo, inscribere, inscripsi, inscriptum, entitle, give a name to
insero, inserere, inserui, insertum, bring into, introduce; graft on, insert; implant, be innate
insidiae, -arum, f. pl., ambush, trickery, trap, plot
insolens, insolentis, haughty
instituo, instituere, institui, institutum, establish, found, set up
insum, inesse, infui,
insuper, on top (of it, that)
insurgo, insurgere, insurrexi, insurrectum
intellectus, -us, m., intellect, mind
intelligo/intellego, intellegere, intellexi, intellectum, understand
intendo, intendere, intendi, intentum/intensum, pay attention to, direct one's thought to (+ animum sometimes)
intentio, -onis, f., exertion, attention, purpose, design
intentus, -a, -um, intent upon (+dat.)
inter, between (+ acc.)
interdum, at times, sometimes
interea, meanwhile
interest, interesse, interfuit, there is a difference
interjicio, interjicere, interjeci, interjectus, throw in, intermix
intermitto, intermittere, intermisi, intermissus, interrupt, suspend
interruptus, -a, -um, broken, interrupted
intro (1), enter
invenio, invenire, inveni, inventum, find
inventio, -onis, f., creation
invicem, in turn, by turns
invidia, -ae, f., envy, hate, jealousy
invidiosus, -a, -um, hateful, arousing envy
ira, -ae, f., anger
irrideo, irridere, irrisi, irrisum, laugh at
irrisio, -onis, f., mockery
irrisor, -oris, m., mocker
ita, thus, so
itaque, and thus, and so, thus
iter, itineris, n., path, voyage
iubeo, iubere, iussi, iussus
iudex, iudicis, m., judge
iudiciarius, -a, -um, of the courts
iudicium, -i, n., judgement
iudico (1), judge
iugis, -e, continual, perpetual
iurgium, -i, n., abuse, invective
iuvenis, iuvenis, youthful
iuvo (1), help, aid; please, delight
labo (1), totter, give way, be unsteady
labor, -oris, m., labor, struggle, work
lacesso, lacessere, lacessi(v)i, lacessitum, provoke. irritate, attack, arouse, stimulate
laetitia, -ae, f., happiness, joy
laetor, rejoice, feel joy
laetus, -a, -um, happy
lamentum, -i, n., groaning, lament
lanx, lanis, f., scale, balance
lapsus, -us, m., slipping
lasso (1), exhaust, tire
late, widely
latebra, -ae, f., hiding place
lateo, latere, latui, lie hidden
Latius, -a, -um, of Latium, Roman
latus, -a, -um, wide, broad
laudatus, -a, -um, praised
laudo (1), praise
laus, laudis, f., praise
lectio, -onis, f., a reading
lector, -oris, m., reader
lego, legere, legi, lectus, read
letitia, = laetitia
letor (1), = laetor
letus = laetus
levitas, -atis, f., fickleness; levity
levus/laevus, -a, -um, left
lex, legis, f., law
libentius, quite willingly
liber, libera, liberum, free, unrestricted
liber, libri, m., book
libero (1), free
libertas, -atis, f., freedom
libet, libuit, libitum, it pleases
libro (1), weigh, ponder, consider
licet, it is permitted, it is allowed, one may (can take a subjunctive or an infinitive); although
licium, -i, n., thread (in weaving)
limen, liminis, n., threshold
linceus, -a, -um = lynceus, -a, -um
lingua, -ae, f., tongue
linteum, -i, n., linen cloth
litera/littera, -ae, f., letter (alphabet); pl. or sg., letter (sent to someone)
litigiosus, -a, -um, quarrelsome
litus, litoris, n., shore
loco (1), rent, hire out
locus, =i, m., place
longe, far, by far
lucidus, -a, -um, light, bright
luctor (1), fight (against), struggle
lux, lucis, f., light
lynceus, -a, -um, sharp-sighted (like Lynceus, the Argonaut)
magis, more
magnificus, -a, -um, elevated, distinguished, noble
mando (1), hand over, entrust
maneo, manere, mansi, mansum, remain, stay
mano (1), flow
manus, manus, f., hand; band, troop
maritimus, -a, -um, marine, on the sea
Massilia, -ae, f., Marseilles (a Greek colony, a city in Gallia Narbonensis)
mater, matris, f., mother
materia, -ae, f., material, subject matter
matutinus, -a, -um, of morning
medicus, -i, m., doctor
mediocris, -e, ordinary, middling
meditor (1), have in mind, intend
medium, -i, n., middle
medius, -a, -um, middle (an adj. in Latin, but mostly a noun in English)
melior, melius, better
melius, better (adv.)
membrum, -i, n., part
memini, meminisse, remember, be mindful of (a defective verb: perfect has present meaning)
memor, memoris, mindful, remembering
memoro (1), mention, recount
mens, mentis, f., mind
mensis, mensis, m., month
mentio, -onis, f., mention
mereor, mereri, merui, meritus, deserve, be entitled, merit
mestus/maestus, -a, -um, sad
metior, metiri, mensus, measure, judge, estimate
metuo, metuere, metui, metutum, fear, be afraid
metus, -us, m., fear
michi = mihi
migro (1), depart, migrate
militia, -ae, f., military service
millesimus, -a, -um, 1000th
minime, least, not
miror (1), wonder, wonder at, be amazed at
mirus, -a, -um, amazing, wonderful
mirus, -a, -um, wondrous
modo, just now
modus, measure, way, manner, kind
molestia, -ae, f., trouble, annoyance, vexation
molestus, -a, -um, annoying, displeasing
molliter, softly, gently
mollities, -ei., m., softness, weakness
moralis, -e, moral, belonging to morals
moralitas, -atis, f., morality; character
morbus, -i, m., disease, sickness
mores, morum, m., pl., character
morior, moriri, mortuus sum, die
mors, mortis, f., death
mos, moris, m., custom, habit
moveo, movere, movi, motus, move
mox, soon
mulceo, mulcere, mulsi, mulsum, soothe, appease
multiplex, multiplicis, complext
multum, adverb, a lot, a great deal, very much
mundus, -i, m., world, humankind
munus, muneris, n., duty; office
murmur, murmuris, n., murmur, rumbling
mus, muris, m., mouse
mutatio, -onis, f., change
muto (1), change
narratio, -onis, f., story-telling, story
nascor, nasci, natus, be born, be begotten
natus, -a, -um, born (past participle of nascor)
naufragium, -e, n., shipwreck
navis, navis, f., ship
neglego, neglegere, neglegi, neglectus, not care about, neglect
negotium, -i, n., business
nempe, without doubt, of course
nequa = ne (ali)qua
nervosus, -a, -um, vigorous
nescio qu-, some- (nescio does not take indirect statement in such phrases and does not affect the syntax in any way)
nescio quis, someone
nescio, not know, be ignorant
neuter, neutra, neutrum, neither
neutro, to neither side
nichil = nihil
nil = nihil= nichil
nimirum, doubtless, surely
nimis, too, overly
nimius, -a, -um, excessive, too
nisi, unless
nitor, niti, nisus sum, strive
noceo, nocere, nocui, nocitum, harm (+ dat.)
nodosus, -a, -um, full of knots
nomen, nominis, n., reputation
nonnisi = non + nisi
nosco, noscere, novi, notum, get to know (perfect means "know")
nosse, = novisse, from nosco, noscere, novi, notus (the perfect means "know")
nossem = novissem, from nosco, noscere, novi, notum, get to know (perfect means "know")
nosti (= novisti)
notus, -a, -um, known, acquainted (participle of nosco)
novi, perfect of nosco, get to know: novi has present meaning 'know'
novissime, very recently
novus, -a, -um, new
nuga, -ae, f., trifle, nugget
numero (1), number, place, count
nunquam, never
nusquam, nowhere
nutrio, nutrire, nutrivi, nutritum, feed, nourish
obex, obicis, m. or f., barrier
obliquitas, -atis, f., hostility, envy
obliviscor, oblivisci, oblitus sum, forget
obruo, obruere, obrui, obrutus, crush, ruin
obsero, obserere, obsevi, obsitum, cover over, fill with
obstetrix, -icis, f., midwife
obtineo, obtinere, obtinui, obtentus, possess, occupy, take hold of
obvenio, obvenire, obveni, obventus, fall to one's lot (cf. cedo)
obvius, -a, -um, in the way, obvium facere = 'put in one's way'
obvolvo, obvolvere, obvolvi, obvolutus, wrapped up
occasio, -onis, f., opportunity, favorable moment
occulto (1), hide, conceal, cover up
occupatio, -onis, f., business, occupation
occupatus, -a, -um, busy, engaged
occupo (1), employ, occupy, engross
occurro, occurrere, occucurri, occursum, come to mind, occur; come to, meet
occurso (1), appear to the mind, suggest itself, appear, present oneself to
octavus, -a, -um, 8th
oculus,-i, m., eye
odi, odisse, hate (perfect with present meaning)
odium, -i, n., hatred
offendo, offendere, offendi, offensus, offend, affront, displease, mortify, shock; strike, thrust
offero, offerre, obtuli, oblatus, offer, cause, present
officio, officere, offeci, offectum, hinder, get in the way of, oppose, obstruct
omitto (omittere, omisi, omissum, neglect, disregard, dismiss
omnino, in general, generally
onus/honus, oneris, n., burden
operio, operire, operui, opertus, cover, conceal, bury, shut, close
oppono, opponere, opposui, oppositum, oppose, set over against
ops, opis, f., help, aid, support
opto (1), wish for
opus, operis, n., deed, action, accomplishment, work, oeuvre
oratio, -onis, f., speech, oration
oratorius, -a, -um, oratorical, having to do with oratory
orbis, orbis, m., world
ordior, ordiri, orsus sum, begin
ordo, ordinis, m., order
ostendo, ostendere, ostendi, ostensum, show, demonstrate
otium, -i, n, leisure
paene, almost
palladius, -a, -um, having to do with Pallas (Athena)
Pallas, Palladis, Pallas (Athena)
papirus/papyrus, -i, m., paper
parco, parcere, peperci parsus, spare (+ dat.)
parilis, -e, equal, like
pariter, alike, equally
pars, partis, f., part, section
partim, partly
partio, partire, parti(v)i, partitum, divide
partior, partiri, partitus sum, divide, share
parum, too little, insufficiently
parvus, -a, -um, small
passim, at random, here and there, scattered
pater, patris, m., father
paternus, -a, -um, paternal, of (one's) father
patior, pati, passus sum, endure, suffer, undergo, experience
patrius, -a, -um, belonging to one's native land, of home
paucus, -a, -um, few
pecunia, -ae, f., money
pendeo, pendere, pependi, depend, hang
pene = paene
paene, almost
penitus, deeply, entirely, altogether
penuria, -ae, f., scarcity, need, low supply
peramoenus, -a, -um, extremely pleasant
perdo, perdere, perdidi, perditus, lose
peregrinatio, -onis, f., traveling
pereo, perire, peri(v)i, peritus, perish, be ruined
perfectus, -a, -um, complete, perfected
perfero, perferre, pertuli, perlatus, bear, support, or endure to the end
perfundo, perfundere, perfudi, perfusus, bathe, overwhelm, flood
pergratus, -a, -um, quite grateful
periclitari, be in danger, to risk life and limb
periculum, -i, n., peril, danger
perlego, perlegere, perlexi, perlectum, read through
perpauci, -ae, -a, very few
perpetuus, -a, -um, everlasting
perquiro, perquirere, qerquisivi, perquisitus, search for; examine
perversitas, -atis, f., twistedness, perversity, untowardness
pes, pedis, m., foot
petitio, -onis, f., request
peto, petere, petivi, petitum, seek
philosophicus, -a, -um, philosophical
pietas, -atis, f., piety
piget, pigere, piguit, it pains, it irks
placeo, placere, placui, placitus, please
plaga, -ae, f., blow, stroke, wound
plane, clearly
plurimum, (adverb) a great deal, a lot, very much
plus, more (in singular, plus is a noun +gen.; in plural, plures/pluria is an adjective)
poema, poematis, n., poem, compositoin
polliceor, polliceri, pollicitus, promise
pono, ponere, posui, positum, put, place; specify, put down, posit
portus, -us, m., port
possibilis, -e, possible
possideo, possidere, possedi, possessum, own, possess
post, + acc., after
posteri, -orum, m., pl., coming generations
potius, more (adv.), rather
prae- (same as pre-: look under both)
praeconium, -i, n., praise; proclamation
praefero, praeferre, praetuli, praelatus, place before, display
praegravo (1), weigh heavily on, weigh down, burden
praesens, -entis, present; a person of the present time, a person present in a place
praeter, except for, beyond  (+acc.)
praevalidus, -a, -um, very strong
pre- (same as prae-: look under both)
preciosus, -a, -um, of great value, costly, precious
precipue, especially
precipuus/praecipuus, -a, -um, especial, principal, extraordinary
preciosus, -a, -um, of great value, costly, precious
preclarus, -a, -um, very famous, very illustrious
precor (1), pray
praefero, praeferre, praetuli, praelatus, offer, present
pregravatus/praegravatus, -a, -um, heavily loaded
prelium/proelium, -i, n., battle
premitto/praemitto, praemittere, praemisi, praemissum, send on ahead
premo, premere, pressi, pressus, press, burden
premoneo, praemonere, praemonui, praemonitus, forewarn
premordax, -acis, very sharp, stinging
prenoto (1), entitle
presens = praesens
presertim/praesertim, especially
prestans, -antis, excelling
presto, praestare, praestiti, praestitum/praestatum, offer, furnish, present, supply, provide
preter = praeter
preterquam/praeterquam, beside, except
pretiosus, see preciosus
pridem, long ago, long since
primitiae, -arum, first fruits, beginnings
primus, -a, -um, first
princeps, principis, m., chief, foremost person
principatus, -us, m., leadership, chief command
principium, -i, n., beginning
prius, before, earlier
privatus, -a, um, private
pro (+abl.), on behalf of, for
probo (1), approve, think correct; examine, test, try
probrum, -i, n., abuse, insult
procul, far, far off, far from
prodo, prodere, prodidi, proditum, reveal
profecto, actually, assuredly, indeed, really
professio, -onis, f., business, profession
proficio, proficere, profeci, profectum, make progress
profiteor, profiteri, professus sum, profess, proclaim
prohibeo, prohibere, prohibui, prohibitum, prevent, hinder
promitto, promittere, promisi, promissus, promise
promptus, -a, -um, obvious, manifest
prope, nearly, almost
propemodum, nearly, almost
propositum, -i, n., design, purpose, intention, plan, main idea
proprius, -a, -um, one's own
prorsus, exactly, precisely, absolutely
prosa, -ae, f., prose
prosperitas, -atis, f., success, prosperity
protervia, -ae, f., wantonness, impudence
protraho, protrahere, protraxi, protractus, prolong, protract
provectus, -a, -um, advanced
providentia, -ae, f., destiny, providence
publicus, -a, -um, public
pudet, pudere, puduit, puditum est, it shames, it causes shame (infinitive is usually the subject)
puer, pueri, m., boy
pugna, -ae, f., fight
pugno (1), fight
pulsus, (participle of pello) driven
pulverulentus, -a, -um, dusty
quadragesimus, -a, -um, 40th
quadragies (= quadragiens), 40 times
quaero, quaerere, quaesivi, quaesitum, seek, search
quaeso, quaesere, quaesivi, seek, pray, beg
qualiscunque, of whatever quality/value/sort
qualiter, in what way
quamprimum, as soon as possible
quamquam, although, notwithstanding
quamvis, although
quando, when
quanquam = quamquam
quantuluscunque, quantulacunque, quantulumcunque, of whatever size/length, however small/short/little
quare, for which reason, which is why
quasi, about, nearly, almost; as if, at it were
quater, 4 times
quenque = quemque, acc. m. sg. of quisque
queo, be able
queo, quere, quivi, quitum, be able
querela, -ae, f., complaining, complaint
querimonia, -ae, f., lamentation, complaining
quero = quaero
quesitum = quaesitum
queso = quaeso
quies, quietis, f., quiet, sleep, rest
quilibet, quaelibet, quodlibet, whoever, whichever (you please)
quin etiam, nay even (used to correct)
quin, (a tricky conjunction: look up its usage)
quinam, quaenam, quodnam, who/which/what (pray)
quippe, namely (indicates causal clause/phrase)
quisnam, quaenam, quidnam, who then, which, what
quisquis, quicquid, who-, what-ever
quominus, so that ... not, lest (used after certain verbs, such as "I couldn't help but..." or "I don't doubt that ...")
quomodo, how, in what way
quoniam, since
quot, how many (indeclinable)
rapidus, -a, -um, swift, quick
rapio, rapere, rapui, raptus, snatch, carry away
raro, rarely
rarus, -a, -um, rare
recipio, recipere, recepi, receptus, admit, accept
recolligo, recolligere, recollegi, recollectus, take up again
recordatio, -onis, f., remembrance, calling to mind
recordor (1), be mindful of, call to mind, remember, recall
redeo, redire, redi(v)i, reditum, return, go back
redigo, redigere, redegi, redactum, collect, call in, gather; render
refero, referre, retuli, relatus, bring back, return
refert, it matters, it is important
refertus, -a, -um, full (of + gen. or abl.)????
regno (1), rule, reign
relaxo (1), ease, relax, alleviate
relego, relegere, relegi, relectus, reread
relevo (1), make lighter, lighten
relinquo, relinquere, reliqui, relictum, leave
reliquiae, -arum, remains, remnant, rest
reliquus, -a, -um, remaining, the rest
relucto(1), resist, oppose
remedium, -i, n., remedy, cure
renascor, renasci, renatus, rise again, be renewed, be born again
repeto, repetere, repetivi, repetitum, repeat
reprehensio, -onis, f., castigation, censure
requies, -etis, f., rest, respite
reservo (1), keep, save up, keep back
resisto, resistere, restiti, stay, stop, take a stand
respiro (1), breathe, take a breath, catch one's breath
respondeo, respondere, respondi, responsum, answer, reply
respublica (= res publica), reipublicae, f., republic
restauro (1), restore, repair
resto, -stare, restiti, remain, be left
rethores = rhetores
retraho, retrahere, retraxi, retractum, draw back, drag back
retroago, -agere, -egi, -actus, drive back, reverse
revera = re vera, in truth, truly
revoco (1), recall, call back
rhetor, rhetoris, m., speaker, orator
rithmicus/rhythmicus, -a, -um, rhythmic
ruina, -ae, f., ruin, destruction
rumor, -oris, m., rumor, hearsay
rursus, again, back
sal, salis, m., salt; wit, shrewdness (often plural)
saltem, at least, at all events, anyhow, in any case
salus, -utis, f., safety
salvus, -a, -um, safe, sound, unharmed
sarcina, -ae, f., baggage, burden, pack
sarcinula, -ae, f., little bundle, pack
sat, enough
scilicet, namely, viz.
scriptor, -oris, m., writer
scriptura, -ae, f., a writing
seculum, -i, n., an age, generation, the people of a time, era
secure, safely, securely
securus, -a, -um, safe, free of worry
sedeo, sedere sedi, sessum, sit
sedes, sedis, f., settlement, residence, home
semel, once, at one time, together, simultaneously
semesus, -a, -um, half-eaten
senectus, senectutis, f., old age
senesco, senescere, senui, grow old, become old
senex, senis, m., old man
senior, -oris, quite old
senium, -i, n., old age, debility, decline, decay
sententia, -ae, f., opinion, sentiment, thought
sentio, sentire, sensi, sensum, feel, perceive; believe, feel, sense
sepe/saepe, often
sepulio, sepelire, sepelivi, sepultum, bury
sequax, -acis, readily following, avidly pursuing
sequor, sequi, secutus, follow
sermo, -onis, m., speech, style, discourse, way of speaking
servo (1), preserve, save
seu ... seu  (= sive ... sive), whether ... or
sibilus, -a, -um, whistling, hissing
sicut, just as, as; so, just so, thus
silentium, -i, n., silance
similis, -e, similar, like
similiter, likewise
similitudo, -inis, f., similarity
simplex, -icis, simple
simulacrum, -i, n., likeness, statue
sine + abl., without
singuli, -ae, -a, separate, single, individual
siquid = si + quid
situs, -us, m., neglect; mold
sobrius, -a, -um, moderate, sober
solamen, -inis, n., solace, relief
soleo, solere, solitus, be accustomed to, be wont to, be in the habit of
solidus, -a, -um, substantial, genuine, true
solitudo, -inis, f., solitude
solutus, -a, -um, loose, free, relaxed, unfettered, unrestrained (past participle of solvo)
sors, sortis, f., lot, portion
spargo, spargere, sparsi, sparsum, thrown about, tossed here and there, spread abroad, distribute
sparsim, in scattered fashion, here and there
species, -ei, f., sight, appearance
specto (1), observe, inspect, look at
specula, -ae, f., watchtower, height, vantage point
spiritus, -us, m., breath, breath of life
spondeo, spondere, spopondi, sponsus, pledge, promise
squaleo, squalere, squalui, be rough, be filthy, be neglected
stabilis, stabile, steady, constant
status, -us, m., state, condition
stilus, -i, m., pen, quill
stipes, stipitis, m., stake, pole
stomachus, -i, m., taste, liking, stomach
stomacus = stomachus
studeo, studere, studui, be eager, be zealous
studiosus, -a, -um, studious, assiduous, anxious, zealous, eager
studium, -i, n., zeal, eagerness
subeo, subire, subi(v)i, subitum, enter one's mind (+ animum); undergo, submit to, endure
subitus, -a, -um, sudden
sublatus (participle of tollo)
subsisto, subsistere, substiti, halt, take a break, stay in one place
substo, substare, substiti, be among, be present
subtraho, subtrahere, subtraxi, subtractum, take away, remove
subveho, subvehere, subvexi, subvectus, convey up
successus, -us, m., success, happy outcome
succumbo, succumbere, succubui, succubitum, surrender, submit, yield
succurro, succurrere, succurri, succursum, hasten to the aid of, help, assist
sufficio, sufficere, suffeci, suffectum, be sufficient, suffice, be enough, satisfy, meet the task of (+inf.)
supellex, supellectilis, f., household goods, stuff
superstes, superstitis, survivor, witness, by-stander,
supervacuo, unnecessarily, superfluously, needlessly, uselessly
supervacuus, -a, -um, needless, superfluous
supprimo, supprimere, suppressi, suppressus, check, keep down, restrain, suppress
supra, above
supremus, -a, -um, ultimate, last, final
suspicor (1), suspect, suppose
suspirium, -i, n., sigh, deep breath
tam, so, to such a degree
tanquam, as if
tarditas, -atis, f., slowness
tego, tegere, texi, tectum, cover, protect, hide, conceal
tela, -ae, f., web (weaving)
temerarius, -a, -um, casual, accidental, rash, reckless
temere, accidentally, heedlessly, randomly
temeritas, -atis, f., daring, recklessness, brashness
tempero (1), control, regulate, temper, forbear, restrain oneself
tempestas, -atis, f., storm
teneo, tenere, tenui, tentum, hold
tener, teneris, tender, delicate
tento (1), attempt, try
tenuis, tenue, slim, trifling, slight, subtle
tergum, -i, n., back, rear
terra, -ae, f., land
testor (1), bear witness, show, make known
textum, -i, n., a weaving; text, writing
timeo, timere, timui, be afraid
timor, timoris, m., fear, dread, apprehension
tinea, -ae, f., bookworm
titulus, -i, m., distinction, honor
tollo, tollere, sustuli, sublatus, remove
torqueo, torquere, torsi, torsum, twist, torture,
tot, so many
totidem, the same number, just as many
totiens, so many times
trado, tradere, tradidi, traditus, hand over
transago, transagere, transegi, transactus, pass thru
transcribo, transcribere, transcripsi, transcriptum, copy, transcribe
transeo, transire, transivi, transitus, go past, go by
transitus, -us, m., crossing
transveho, transvehere, transvexi, transvectus, carry across
trecentesimus, -a, -um, 300th
tribunal, -alis, a seat of judgement
tribuo, tribuere, tribui, tributus, attribute
tributum, -i, n., payment due
triplex, triplicis, threefold
tum, then
tumidus, -a, -um, swollen, fat
turbidus, -a, -um, stirred up, disordered
turbo (1), throw into disarray, disorder
turbo, turbinis, m., whirlwind
Tuscus, -a, -um, Tuscan
tutus, -a, -um, safe
ulciscor, ulcisci, ultus, avenge oneself on, take vengeance on
una, at once, at the same time, together
uniformis, -e, unifrom
unio, unire, univi, unitus, unite
unquam/umquam, ever
unus, -a, -um, one, single, united
unusquisque, unaquaeque, unumquodque, = unus + quisque, each, each one
usque, all the way (usually with a preposition, such as ad, up to: can be local or temporal)
utique, at least, especially, undoubtedly
valde, very much, really, strongly
valeo, valere, valui, be strong, be healthy
varietas, -atis, f., diversity, variety
varius, -a, um, varied
Varro, Varronis = Marcus Terentius Varro
vasto (1), destroy, lay waste
vel, or
velo (1), cover
venalis, -e, for sale, purchasable
venenum, -i, n., potion, poison, venom
verbalis, -e, verbal
verbum, -i, n., word
vereor, vereri, veritus, fear
vero, truly, but
verso (1), think over, think about, reflect on
verto, vertere, verti, versum, turn
verus, -a, -um, true
vespera, -ae, f., evening
vestibulum, -i, n., forecourt, vestibule
vetus, veteris, old, of old, ancient
vetustus, -a, -um, aged, old
viator, -oris, m., traveler
vie = viae
vigiliae, -arum, f. (can be used in pl.: singular in English), vigilance
vinco, vincere, vici, victum, conquer, overcome
violentus, -a, um, strong
vires, virium, f. pl., strength
Virgilius, -i, = Virgil
virilis pars, share (e.g. of an inheritance)
virilis, -e, manly
vis, viris, f., strength
visus, -us, m., vision, sight
vita, -ae, f., life
vitium, -i, n., fault, defect
vito (1), avoid
vivo, vivere, vixi, victus, live
vix, hardly
voluptas, -atis, f., pleasure
vox, vocis, f., voice
vulgaris, -e, usual, everyday, belonging to the masses
vulgo (1), publish, distribute to the masses
vulgo, generally, before the world, openly
vulgus, -i, n., crowd, throng
vulnus, vulneris, n., wound
vultus, -us, m., face
ysocraticus, -a, -um, Socratic


[1] Quid vero nunc agimus, frater? Ecce, iam fere omnia tentavimus, et nusquam requies. Quando illam
expectamus? ubi eam querimus? Tempora, ut aiunt, inter digitos effluxerunt; spes nostre veteres cum
amicis sepulte sunt. [2] Millesimus trecentesimus quadragesimus octavus annus est, qui nos solos atque
inopes fecit; neque enim ea nobis abstulit, que Indo aut Caspio Carpathio ve mari restaurari queant:
irreparabiles sunt ultime iacture; et quodcunque mors intulit, immedicabile vulnus est. Unum est
solamen: sequemur et ipsi quos premisimus. Que quidem expectatio quam brevis futura sit, nescio; hoc
scio, quod longa esse non potest. Quantulacunque sane est, non potest esse non molesta. [3] Sed a
querelis saltem in principio temperandum est. Tibi, frater, quenam tui cura sit, quid de te ipso cogites,
ignoro; ego iam sarcinulas compono, et quod migraturi solent, quid mecum deferam, quid inter amicos
partiar, quid ignibus mandem, circumspicio. Nichil enim venale michi est. Sum sane ditior seu, verius,
impeditior quam putabam: multa michi scriptorum diversi generis supellex domi est, sparsa quidem et
neglecta. Perquisivi situ iam squalentes arculas, et scripturas carie semesas pulverulentus explicui.
Importunus michi mus nocuit atque edacissimum tinee vulgus; et palladias res agentem inimica
Palladis turbavit aranea. [4] Sed nichil est quod non frangat durus et iugis labor. Confusis itaque
circumventus literarum cumulis et informi papiro obsitus, primum quidem cepi impetum cunta flammis
exurere et laborem inglorium vitare; deinde, ut cogitationes e cogitationibus erumpunt, ‘Et quid’
inquam, ‘prohibet, velut e specula fessum longo itinere viatorem, in terga respicere et gradatim
adolescentie tue curas metientem recognoscere? ’ Vicit hec sententia; sicut enim non magnificus, sic
non inamenus labor visus est, quid quo tempore cogitassem recordari. [5] Sed temere congesta nullo
ordine versanti, mirum dictu quam discolor et quam turbida rerum facies occurreret; ut quedam, non
tam specie illorum quam intellectus mei acie mutata, vix ipse cognoscerem; alia vero non sine
voluptate quadam retroacti temporis memoriam excitarent. [6] Et erat pars soluto gressu libera, pars
frenis homericis astricta, quoniam ysocraticis habenis raro utimur; pars autem, mulcendis vulgi auribus
intenta, suis et ipsa legibus utebatur. Quod genus, apud Siculos, ut fama est, non multis ante seculis
renatum, brevi per omnem Italiam ac longius manavit, apud Grecorum olim ac Latinorum
vetustissimos celebratum; siquidem et Athicos et Romanos vulgares rithmico tantum carmine uti solitos
accepimus. [7] Hec itaque variarum rerum tanta colluvio aliquot me diebus occupatum habuit; et licet
dulcedine non parva atque amore ad proprias inventiones insito retraherer, vicit tamen caritas maiorum
operum, que iam diutius interrupta, non sine expectatione multorum de manibus meis pendent; vicit
recordatio vite brevis. Timui, fateor, insidias; quid enim, queso, fugacius vita est, quid morte
sequacius? [8] Subiit animum que iecissem fundamenta, quid michi laborum vigiliarumque restaret:
temeritas, imo vero insania visa est in tam brevi et incerto tempore tot longos certosque labores
amplecti, et vix ad singula suffecturum ingenium in diversa distrahere; presertim cum, ut nosti, labor
alius me maneat, tanto preclarior quanto plus solide laudis est in actionibus quam in verbis. [9] Quid
multa? incredibilem forte rem audies, veram tamen: mille, vel eo amplius, seu omnis generis sparsa
poemata seu familiares epystolas — non quia nichil in eis placuisset, sed quia plus negotii quam
voluptatis inerat — Vulcano corrigendas tradidi. Non sine suspirio quidem — quid enim mollitiem
fateri pudeat? —; sed occupato animo quamvis acri remedio succurrendum erat, et tanquam in alto
pregravata navis, relevanda preciosarum etiam iactu rerum.
[10] Ceterum, illis ardentibus, pauca quidem animadverti in angulo iacentia, que vel casu magis quam
consilio servata vel pridem a familiaribus transcripta, cunta vincenti senio restiterant. Pauca, dixi;
vereor ne lectori multa, scriptori autem longe nimia videantur. His ego indulgentior fui: vivere passus
sum, non illorum dignitati, sed labori meo consulens; nichil enim negotii preferebant. [11] Ea vero
duorum amicorum libranti ingenia hac lance partiri visum est, ut prosa tibi, carmen Barbato nostro
cederet; sic enim et vos olim optare solitos et me pollicitum esse memineram. Itaque cunta passim
occursantia uno impetu vastanti et ne his quidem — ut tunc erat animus — parsuro, vestrum alter ad
levam, alter ad dextram adesse visus, et apprehensa manu, ne fidem meam et spes vestras uno igne
consumerem, familiariter admonere. Hec illis evadendi precipua causa fuit; alioquin, crede michi, cum
reliquis arsissent.
[12] Hec ergo, que nunc tibi de virili reliquiarum illarum parte obveniunt, qualicunque sunt, non solum
equo, quin etiam avido animo perleges. Non audeo illud Apuleii Madaurensis in comune iactare:
«Lector, intende: letaberis»; unde enim michi id fidutie, ut lectori delectationem letitiam ve pollicear?
[13] Leges tamen ista, mi Socrates, et ut es amantissimus tuorum, fortasse letabere, cuiusque animum
probas, delectaberis stilo. Quid enim refert quanta sit forma nonnisi amantis subitura iudicium?
supervacuo comitur que iam placet. Siquid hic sane meum placet, non id meum fateor, sed tuum: hoc
est, non ingenii mei sed amicitie tue laus est. [14] Nulla hic equidem magna vis dicendi; quippe que nec
michi adest, et quam, si plane afforet, stilus iste non recipit; ut quam nec Cicero ipse, in ea facultate
prestantissimus, epystolis suis inseruit certe, nec libris in quibus est «equabile» quoddam, ut ipse ait,
«et temperatum orationis genus»; eximiam illam vim lucidumque et rapidum et exundans flumen
eloquentie in orationibus suis exercuit. Quo genere infinities pro amicis, sepe adversus reipublice
suosque hostes usus est Cicero; quo pro aliis sepe, pro se “quater et quadragies” Cato; quod quidem
genus inexpertum michi est; [15] nam et a reipublice muneribus abfui et fama mea, tenui murmure
forsan interdum et sibilis lacessita clandestinis, nullum hactenus quod ulciscerer vel vitarem,
iudiciarium vulnus excepit; et verbalem ferre opem alienis vulneribus non est nostre professionis.
Neque enim aut tribunal ambire aut locare linguam didici, adversante penitus et reluctante natura, que
me silentii ac solitudinis amatorem fecit, fori hostem, pecunie contemptorem; sed bene habet, quando
me eius rei non egentem fecit, cuius forte inopem fecerat si egerem. [16] Omissa illa igitur oratoria
dicendi vi, qua nec egeo nec abundo et quam, si exuberet, ubi exerceam non habeo, hoc mediocre
domesticum et familiare dicendi genus amice leges, ut reliqua, et boni consules, his quibus in comuni
sermone utimur, aptum accomodatumque sententiis. Sed non omnes tales iudices habebo; neque enim
aut idem omnes sentiunt aut similiter amant omnes. Quomodo autem omnibus placerem, cui placere
paucis semper studium fuit? [17] Triplex est profecto veri iudicii venenum: amor, odium, invidia. Illud
autem vide, ne nimium nos amando, vulgare coegeris que melius latuissent; ut enim tibi amor, sic aliis
forte aliud officiet. Inter amoris autem et invidie cecitatem, causa quidem plurimum, effectu nichil
interest. Odium, quod medio loco numeraveram, nec mereor certe nec metuo. [18] Sed fieri potest ut
nugas meas tibi habere, tibi legere nilque in eis aliud quam nostros ac nostrorum casus meminisse
cogites; in quo rem michi pergratam feceris; sic enim et petitio tua non neglecta videbitur et fama mea
tuta erit. [19] Alioquin, nisi supervacuo nosmet ipsos favore decipimus, quonam modo amicum licet,
nisi sit idem alter ego, lecturum hec sine fastidio arbitremur, diversa invicem et adversa, in quibus non
idem stilus, non una scribentis intentio, quippe cum pro varietate rerum varie affectus animus illa
dictaverit, raro quidem letus, mestus sepe?
[20] Epycurus, philosophus vulgo infamis sed maiorum iudicio magnus, epystolas suas duobus aut
tribus inscripsit: Ydomeneo, Polieno et Metrodoro; totidem pene suas Cicero: Bruto, Athico et
Ciceronibus suis, fratri scilicet ac filio; Seneca perpaucas preterquam Lucilio suo scribit. Promptum
opus et felicissimi successus nosse collocutoris sui animum, unius assuevisse ingenio, scire quid illum
audire iuvet, quid te loqui deceat. [21] Michi autem sors longe alia; nempe cui usque ad hoc tempus
vita pene omnis in peregrinatione transacta est. Ulixeos errores erroribus meis confer: profecto, si
nominis et rerum claritas una foret, nec diutius erravit ille nec latius. [22] Ille patrios fines iam senior
excessit; cum nichil in ulla etate longum sit, omnia sunt in senectute brevissima. Ego, in exilio genitus,
in exilio natus sum, tanto matris labore tantoque discrimine, ut non obstetricum modo sed medicorum
iudicio diu exanimis haberetur; ita periclitari cepi antequam nascerer et ad ipsum vite limen auspicio
mortis accessi. [23] Meminit haud ignobilis Italie civitas, Aretium, quo pulsus patria pater magna cum
bonorum acie confugerat. Inde mense septimo sublatus sum totaque Tuscia circumlatus prevalidi
cuiusdam adolescentis dextera; qui — quoniam iuvat laborum discriminumque meorum tecum
primitias recordari — linteo obvolutum, nec aliter quam Metabus Camillam, nodoso de stipite
pendentem, ne contactu tenerum corpus offenderet, gestabat. Is, in transitu Arni fluminis, lapsu equi
effusus, dum honus sibi creditum servare nititur, violento gurgite prope ipse periit. Finis tusci erroris,
[24] Pise; unde rursus etatis anno septimo divulsus ac maritimo itinere transvectus in Gallias, hibernis
aquilonibus haud procul Massilia naufragium passus, parum abfui quin ab ipso rursus nove vite
vestibulo revocarer. [25] Sed quo rapior, oblitus propositi? Inde nimirum usque ad hanc etatem aut
nulla prorsus aut rarissima subsistendi respirandique facultas fuit; et quot inter errandum periculorum
timorum vespecies pertulerim, preter me unum nemo te melius novit. Que idcirco memorare nunc
libuit, ut memineris me inter pericula natum, inter pericula senuisse; si modo iam senui, et non graviora
michi in senio reservantur. [26] Hec autem, etsi comunia sint omnibus intrantibus in hanc vitam —
neque enim “militia” solum, sed pugna “est vita hominis super terram” — sunt tamen alia alii et longe
diversum pugne genus; et quamvis quenque sua pregravent, tamen revera inter eas quibus premimur
sarcinas, multum refert. [27] In his ergo vite tempestatibus, ut ad rem redeam, nullo portu anchoram
longum in tempus iaciens, quot veros amicos nescio, quorum et iudicium anceps et penuria ingens est,
notos autem innumerabiles quesivi. Multis itaque multumque animo et conditione distantibus scribere
contigit; tam varie ut ea nunc relegens, interdum pugnantia locutus ipse michi videar. Quod
propemodum coactum me fecisse fatebitur quisquis in se simile aliquid expertus est. [28] Prima quidem
scribentis cura est, cui scribat attendere; una enim et quid et qualiter ceterasque circumstantias
intelliget. Aliter virum fortem, aliter ignavum decet alloqui; aliter iuvenem inexpertum, aliter vite
muneribus functum senem; aliter prosperitate tumidum, aliter adversitate contractum; aliter denique
studiosum literisque et ingenio clarum, aliter vero non intellecturum siquid altius loquaris.
[29] Infinite sunt varietates hominum, nec maior mentium similitudo quam frontium; et sicut non
diversorum modo, sed unius stomacum non idem cibus omni tempore delectat, sic idem animus non
uno semper nutriendus stilo est; ut geminus sit labor: cogitare quisnam ille sit cui scribere propositum
est, qualiter ve tunc affectus, cum ea que scribere instituis lecturus est. [30] Quibus ego difficultatibus
multum a me ipso differre compulsus sum; quod ne michi ab iniquis iudicibus vitio verteretur, partim
beneficio ignis obtinui, partim tu michi prestiteris, si clanculum suppressoque nomine ista possederis.
Que si inter paucos superstites amicos occultare non potes, quoniam linceos oculos habet amicitia
nilque amicorum visui impervium est, admone ut siquid horum apud eos substiterit, quamprimum
abiciant, nequa in eis rerum aut verborum mutatione turbentur. [31] Ita enim accidit ut qui hec in unam
congeriem redigi nunquam aut tibi ut peteres aut michi ut assentirer, venturum in animum suspicabar,
laborem fugiens, passim in una dictum epystola in altera repeterem meisque, ut ait Terrentius, pro meis
uterer. Novissime, cum multis annis edita et ad diversas mundi plagas ire iussa unum in tempus
locumque convenissent, facile deformitas uniti corporis apparuit, que per membra tegebatur, et verbum
quod semel in una epystola positum delectabat, in toto opere sepius repetitum fastidio esse cepit: uni
itaque relinquendum, de reliquis eradendum fuit.
[32] Multa quoque de familiaribus curis, tunc forte dum scriberentur cognitu non indigna, nunc
quamvis cupido lectori gravia, detraxi, memor in hoc irrisum a Seneca Ciceronem; quanquam in his
epystolis magna ex parte Ciceronis potius quam Senece morem sequar. Seneca enim, quicquid
moralitatis in omnibus fere libris suis erat, in epystolis congessit; Cicero autem philosophica in libris
agit, familiaria et res novas ac varios illius seculi rumores in epystolis includit. De quibus quid Seneca
sentiat, ipse viderit; michi, fateor, peramena lectio est; relaxat enim ab intentione illa rerum difficilium,
que perpetua quidem frangit animum, intermissa delectat.
[Nam Sidonii temeritatem admirari vix sufficio: nisi forte temerarius ipse sim, qui temerarium illum
dicam, dum sales eius seu tarditatis meae, seu illius stili obice, seu fortassis (nam unumquodque
possibile est) scripturae vitio non satis intelligo. Unum utique non me fugit, irrisum et a Sidonio
Ciceronem. O libertas, ne, si dicam audacia, quos temeritatis nomen offendit exasperem: inventum esse
hominem latinum, qui non dico aliquid (ut et Senecam, et iam hinc me ipsum excusem: vix est enim
humanum omni reprehensione caruisse), sed eloquentiam, aut stilum, aut omnino dicendi genus
Ciceronis irrideat. Atque hoc Sidonius ausus est! Alvernus orator non Latio se fingere fratrem, ut ait ille
(quod ipsum satis erat audaciae), sed aemulum, et (quod est gravius) irrisorem, atque illi detrahere, cui
omnes deferunt praeter paucos illius coaetaneos ac concives: quos presentium comes haud dubie torsit,
et in voces compulit invidia; quam nec Sidonio causam locus, nec tempus indulserat. Quo magis
magisque animum viri miror, ut contra indubitatum eloquentiae primcipem eloquentiae studiosus
insurgeret, alio saeculo, atque alio natus orbe. Et sane cuncta versanti nihil occurrit, quo vel docti
hominis ignorantiam accusare possim, vel iniuriam excusare, nihilque quod suspicer perversitatem
fuisse iudicii, non naturae. Falli tamen in hoc possum, ut in multis: in eo certe non fallor, vel si fallor,
cum multis longeque clarissimis falli iuvat, quod solutae facundiae principatus, contradictoribus late
victis, unius Ciceronis est proprius: quo luce clarior fit el morum vel intellectus obliquitas contrarium
asserentis. Ille tamen adducit nescio quem Julium Titianum, et nescio quos Frontonianos suae irrisionis
auctores: quibus ego simulque omnibus idem sentientibus una voce respondeo hoc solum: sicut
equidem verum est illud Senecae, quoniam quidquid habet Romana facundia, quod insolenti Graeciae
aut opponat, aut praeferat, circa Ciceronem effloruit: verumque illud Quintiliani ubi inter multa et
gloriosa praeconia viri huius, dono quodam providentiae riretur: et post multa quibus hoc probat:
Quare, inquit, non immerito ab omnibus aetatis suae regnare in iudiciis dictus est: apud posteros vero
id consequutus, ut Cicero iam non hominis nomen, sed eloquentiae habeatur. Hunc igitur spectemus:
hoc propositum nobis exemplum sit. Ille se profecisse sciat cui Cicero valde placebit: sicut haec,
inquam, vera sunt, sic illud quoque verissimum, quibus displiceat Ciceronis oratio, vel non nosse veram
perfectamque facundiam, vel odisse. Hanc ego calumniam indiscussam transire non potui, quamquam
valde festinem. Ad rem redeo.]
[33] Multa igitur hic familiariter ad amicos, inter quos et ad te ipsum, scripta comperies, nunc de
publicis privatisque negotiis, nunc de doloribus nostris, que nimis crebra materia est, aut aliis de rebus
quas casus obvias fecit. Nichil quasi aliud egi nisi ut animi mei status, vel siquid aliud nossem, notum
fieret amicis; probabatur enim michi quod prima ad fratrem epystola Cicero idem ait, esse «epystole
proprium, ut is ad quem scribitur de his rebus quas ignorat certior fiat». [34] Atque ea michi tituli fuit
occasio; de quo aliquando cogitanti, quamvis epystolarum nomen consentaneum rebus esset, quia
tamen et multi veterum eo usi erant et ipse ego varium carmen ad amicos, de quo paulo supra mentio
incidit, eodem prenotabam, bis eo uti piguit, novumque ideo placuit nomen, ut Familiarium Rerum
Liber diceretur. [35] In quo pauca scilicet admodum exquisite, multa familiariter deque rebus
familiaribus scripta erant; etsi interdum, exigente materia, simplex et inelaborata narratio quibusdam
interiectis moralibus condiatur; quod et ab ipso Cicerone servatum est. [36] Et hec tam multa quidem
de tam parva re loqui, censorum premordacium iubet metus; qui, nichil scribentes quod iudicari queat,
de aliorum iudicant ingeniis. Impudentissima temeritas, que solo silentio tuta est: complosis in litore
manibus sedenti, facile est ferre quam velit de gubernatoris arte sententiam. [37] Adversus hanc
proterviam latebris saltem tuis horridula hec atque improvide nobis elapsa defendito. Illam vero non
Phidie Minervam, ut ait Cicero, sed qualemcunque animi mei effigiem atque ingenii simulacrum multo
michi studio dedolatum, si unquam supremam illi manum imposuero, cum ad te venerit, secure qualibet
in arce constituito.
[38] Hec hactenus. Illud libentius, si liceret, silentio tegerem; sed ingens morbus non facile occultatur;
erumpit enim et indicio suo proditur. Pudet vite in mollitiem dilapse: ecce enim, quod epystolarum ordo
ipse testabitur, primo michi tempore sermo fortis ac sobrius, bene valentis index animi, fuerat, adeo ut
non me solum sed sepe alios consolarer; sequentia in dies fragiliora atque humiliora sunt, neque sat
virilibus referta querimoniis. Illa precipue ut occultare studeas, precor. [39] Quid enim alii dicerent,
cum ipse relegens erubescam? ergo ego in adolescentia vir fuero, ut in senectute puer essem? Infelix et
execranda perversitas: fuit animus vel mutare ordinem vel subtrahere tibi penitus ista que damno!
Neutro circumveniri posse visus eras, qui et flebilium exempla et omnium cum consule diem tenes.
[40] Ad excusationum igitur arma confugio. Lassavit me longo et gravi prelio fortuna. Dum spiritus
dumque animus fuit, et ipse restiti et ad resistendum alios cohortatus sum. Ubi hostis viribus atque
impetu labare michi pes atque animus cepit, excidit confestim sermo ille magnificus et ad hec que
modo displicent, lamenta descendi. [41] Qua in re excuset me forsitan amicorum pietas, quibus salvis
ad nullum fortune vulnus ingemui; eisdem mox una pene omnibus ruina obrutis, et mundo insuper
moriente, inhumani potius quam fortis visum est non moveri. Ante hoc tempus quis me unquam de
exilio, de morbo, de iudicio, de comitiis, de ullis fori turbinibus; quis me de paterna domo, de fortunis
perditis, de gloria imminuta, de pecunia dilata, de absentia amicorum, flebiliter agentem audivit? [42]
Quibus quidem in molestiis tam molliter agit Cicero, ut quantum stilo delector tantum sepe sententia
offendar. Adde litigiosas epystolas et adversus clarissimos atque ab eodem paulo ante laudatissimos
viros iurgia ac probra, mira cum animi levitate; quibus legendis delinitus pariter et offensus, temperare
michi non potui quominus, ira dictante, sibi tanquam coetaneo amico, familiaritate que michi cum illius
ingenio est, quasi temporum oblitus, scriberem et quibus in eo dictis offenderer admonerem. [43] Que
michi cogitatio principium fuit ut et Senece tragediam que inscribitur Octavia, post annos relegens
parili impetu eidem quoque, ac deinde, varia occurrente materia, Varroni Virgilioque atque aliis
scriberem; e quibus aliquas in extrema parte huius operis inserui, que, nisi premonitum, lectorem subita
possent admiratione perfundere; quedam in illo publico incendio periere. [44] Talis ille vir tantus in
doloribus suis fuit; talis ego in meis fueram. Hodie, ut scias presentem animi mei habitum — neque
enim invidiosum fuerit id michi tribuere, quod imperitis evenire ait Seneca —, factus sum ex ipsa
desperatione securior. Quid enim metuat, qui totiens cum morte luctatus sit?
Una salus victis, nullam sperare salutem.
Animosius in dies agere videbis, animosius loqui; et siquid forte stilo dignum se obtulerit, erit stilus
ipse nervosior. Multa sane se offerent: scribendi enim michi vivendique unus, ut auguror, finis erit. [45]
Sed cum cetera suos fines aut habeant aut sperent, huius operis, quod sparsim sub primum adolescentie
tempus inceptum iam etate provectior recolligo et in libri formam redigo, nullum finem amicorum
caritas spondet, quibus assidue respondere compellor; neque me unquam hoc tributo multiplex
occupationum excusatio liberat. Tum demum et michi immunitatem huius muneris quesitam et huic
operi positum finem scito, cum me defunctum et cuntis vite laboribus absolutum noveris. Interea iter
inceptum sequar, non prius vie quam lucis exitum operiens; et quietis michi loco fuerit dulcis labor.
[46] Ceterum, quod et rethores et bellorum duces solent, infirmioribus in medium coniectis, dabo
operam ut sicut prima libri frons, sic extrema acies virilibus sententiis firma sit; velo eo amplius quo
vivendo magis ac magis induruisse videor contra impetus atque iniurias fortune. Denique quis inter
experimenta rerum sim futurus, profiteri minime ausim; sed hoc animo sum, ut nulli amplius rei
succumbam:
Si fractus illabatur orbis,
Impavidum ferient ruine.
Ita me Maronis Flaccique sententiis armatum scito, quas olim lectas et sepe laudatas, nunc tandem in
extremis casibus meas facere ipsa inevitabilis fati necessitate didici.
[47] Dulce michi colloquium tecum fuit, cupideque et quasi de industria protractum; vultum enim tuum
retulit per tot terras et maria teque michi presentem fecit usque ad vesperam, cum matutino tempore
calamum cepissem. Diei iam et epystole finis adest. [48] Hec igitur tibi, frater, diversicoloribus, ut sic
dicam, liciis texta dicaverim; ceterum, si stabilis sedes et frustra semper quesitum otium contigerit,
quod iam hinc ostendere se incipit, nobiliorem et certe uniformem telam tuo nomine meditor ordiri.
Vellem ex his paucis esse, qui famam promittere possunt et prestare; sed ipse vi propria in lucem
venies, alis ingenii subvectus nichilque auxilii mei egens. Profecto tamen, si inter tot difficultates
assurgere potuero, tu olim Ydomeneus, tu Athicus, tu Lucilius meus eris. Vale.