Pliny the Elder - Translation

ante lucem ibat ad Vespasianum imperatorem (nam ille quoque noctibus utebature), deinde ad officium sibi delegatum.

Before dawn he used to go to the emperor Vespasian (for he also used to make use of the nights), then to the duty assigned to him.

reversus domum reliquum tempus studiis dabat.

Having returned home he used to devote the remaining time to his studies.

saepe post cibum (qui veterum more interdiu levis et facilis erat) aestate, si quid otii erat, iacebat in sole, liber legebatur, adnotabat excerpebatque

Often after breakfast (which, in the manner of our forefathers during the day was light and easily digested) in the summer, if there was any lesiure time, he used to lie in the sun, a book was read, and he used to make notes and extracts.

nihil enim legit quod non excerperet; dicrere etiam solebay nollum librum esse tam malum ut non aliqua parte prodesset.

For he read nothing which he didn't take extracts from; indeed he used to say that no book was so bad that it was not useful in some part.

post solem plerumque aqua frigida lavabatur, deinde gustabat dormiebatque minimum; mox quasi alio die studebat in cenae tempus.

After time in the sun he was usually washed in cold water, then he used to have a snack and sleep a very little; soon, as though in another day, he used to study until dinner time.

super cenam liber legebatur adnotabatur, et quidem cursim.

Over dinner a book was read and notes made, and indeed very quickly.

haec inter medios labores urbisque fremitum.

He did these things in the middle of chores and the bustle of the city

in secussu solum balinei tempus studiis eximebatur (cum dico 'balinei', de interioribus loquor; nam dum destringitur tergiturque, audiebat aliquid aut dictabat).

On retreat only the time in the baths was taken away from his studies (when I say 'in the baths', I am talking about the inner rooms; for while he was being scraped and dried, he used to listen to something or dictate).

in itinere quasi solutus ceteris curis, huic uni vacabat

On a journey as though free from other cares, he was free for one thing:

: ad latus notarius cum libro et pugillaribus, cuius manus hieme manicis muniebantur,

at his side was a secretary with a book and writing tablets, whose hands were protected in winter by gloves,

ut ne caeli quidem asperitas ullum studii tempus eriperet; qua ex causa Romae quoque sella vehebatur.

so that not even the harshness of the weather should steal any time for study; for that reason he used to be carried in a litter in Rome too.

repeto me correptum ab eo, quod ambularem: 'poteras' inquit 'has horas non perdere'; nam perire omne tempus arbitrabatur, quod studiis non impenderetur. Vale.

I remember that I was scolded by him, because I used to walk: "You were able," he said, "not to waste these hours," for he believed that all time was wasted which was not spent on studies. Goodbye.