Pliny's Letters- 9.19 (Letter 37)- The Consular Orders His Tomb

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  • Created by: Lydia22
  • Created on: 26-12-15 18:11
IGNIFICAS legisse te in quadam epistula mea iussisse Verginium Rufum inscribi sepulcro suo:
you mention that you have read in a certain letter of mine that Verginius Rufus has ordered this to be inscribed on his tomb.
1 of 14
"Hic situs est Rufus, pulso qui Vindice quondam Imperium adseruit non sibi, sed patriae."
"Rufus is placed here, who once, when Vindex had been repelled, claimed power not for himself but for his country."
2 of 14
Reprehendis, quod iusserit, addis etiam melius rectiusque Frontinum, quod vetuerit omnino monumentum sibi fieri, meque ad extremum, quid de utroque sentiam, consulis.
you criticise that he ordered this, you even add that Frontius did better and more correctly, because he completly forbade any monument to be made for himself, and towards the end of your letter you consult me what i feel about both.
3 of 14
Utrumque dilexi, miratus sum magis, quem tu reprehendis, atque ita miratus, ut non putarem satis unquam laudari posse, cuius nunc mihi subeunda defensio est.
i loved both; i admired mor ethe man that you criticise, and i admired him in such a way that i do not think that he, whose defense i must now undertake, can never be praised enough.
4 of 14
Omnes ego, qui magnum aliquod memorandumque fecerunt, non modo venia, verum etiarn laude dignissimos iudico si immortalitatem, quam meruere, sectantur victurique nominis famam supremis etiam titulis prorogare nituntur.
i judge all those, who have done something great and worthy of mention, not only most deserving of pardon but even of praise, if they pursue the immortality they deserve, and if they strive to prolong the reputation of a name which will live on even
5 of 14
Nec facile quemquam nisi Verginium invenio, cuius tanta in praedicando verecundia quanta gloria ex facto.
i do not easily find anyone except Verginius, whose modesty in self-publicity is as great as his glory from action.
6 of 14
Ipse sum testis, familiariter ab eo dilectus probatusque, semel omnino me audiente provectum, ut de rebus suis hoc unum referret, ita secum aliquando Cluvium locutum:
I myself, being loved by him as a friend and recommended by him, am a witness that only once in total when i was listening, did he advance himself, when he was reporting this one thing about his own affairs, that sometime Cluvius spoke with him in
7 of 14
"Scis, Vergini, quae historiae fides debeatur; proinde si quid in historiis meis legis aliter ac velis, rogo ignoscas."
"do you know Verginius what trustworthiness is required for history? so then, if you read anything in my histories other than what you want, i ask you to forgive me."
8 of 14
Ad hoc ille: "Tune, Cluvi, ignoras, ideo me fecisse, quod feci, ut esset liberum vobis scribere, quae libuisset?"
to this he said, "Do you not know, Cluvius, that I have done what i have done for the very purpose so that you would be free to write what you pleased?"
9 of 14
Age dum, hunc ipsum Frontinum in hoc ipso, in quo tibi parcior videtur et pressior, comparemus.
come then, let us compare this Frontius himself in this matter itself, in which he seems to you to be rather sparing and reserved.
10 of 14
Vetuit exstrui monumentum; sed quibus verbis? "Impensa monumenti supervacua est; memoria nostri durabit, si vita meruimus."
he forbade a monument to be built but with which words? "the cost of a monument is superfluous; a monuement to us will last, if we have deserved it from our life."
11 of 14
An restrictius arbitraris per orbem terrarum legendum dare duraturam memoriam suam, quam uno in loco duobus versiculis signare, quod feceris?
or do you think it more reserved to give a message that his memory would endure, to be read throughout the whole world than to signify what you have done in one place in two little verses?
12 of 14
Quamquam non habeo propositum illum reprehendendi, sed hunc tuendi; cuius quae potest apud te iustior esse defensio quam ex collatione eius, quem praetulisti?
though i do not have any reason for criticising that man proposed by you, but i do not have a reason for defending this man; what defence of this man can be more just in your view than one from comparison of him with the man you prefer?
13 of 14
Meo quidem iudicio neuter culpandus, quorum uterque ad gloriam pari cupiditate, diverso itinere contendit, alter, dum expetit debitos titulos; alter, dum mavult videri contempsisse. Vale.
in my opinion, indeed, neither of them is blameworthy, since each of them strove towards glory with equal desire, but by different roads; one while he seeks the inscriptions he was owed, the other while he prefers to seem to have depised them. bye.
14 of 14

Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

"Hic situs est Rufus, pulso qui Vindice quondam Imperium adseruit non sibi, sed patriae."

Back

"Rufus is placed here, who once, when Vindex had been repelled, claimed power not for himself but for his country."

Card 3

Front

Reprehendis, quod iusserit, addis etiam melius rectiusque Frontinum, quod vetuerit omnino monumentum sibi fieri, meque ad extremum, quid de utroque sentiam, consulis.

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

Utrumque dilexi, miratus sum magis, quem tu reprehendis, atque ita miratus, ut non putarem satis unquam laudari posse, cuius nunc mihi subeunda defensio est.

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

Omnes ego, qui magnum aliquod memorandumque fecerunt, non modo venia, verum etiarn laude dignissimos iudico si immortalitatem, quam meruere, sectantur victurique nominis famam supremis etiam titulis prorogare nituntur.

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
View more cards

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