Pliny the Elder Flashcards - Analysis

‘ante lucem’ Ln1

means 'before light' or 'before dawn' in Latin. This highlights the workings of the patron client relationship in Roman society and emphasizes the dedication of clients who would seek the favor of their patrons by arriving early

‘delegatum (est)’ Ln3

brevity

‘studiis’ - Ln3

the motif of studies is introduced here for the first of many times to emphasize learning and knowledge, and that that was what Uncle Pliny spent his free time doing

‘Si Quid Otii’ -Ln5

partitive genitive implies Uncle pliny rarely had time for leisure and often prioritized his responsibilities over relaxation.

‘legebatur, adnotabat excerpebatque”

rapid flow of verbs - triplet - to speed up the daily routine and convey a sense of continuous activity.

‘Lavabatur… gustabat… dormiebat’

continued verb theme from above - since pliny wishes to emphasise studiebat, he rushed the rest of the routine and leaves out the detail of the rest of the routine to highlight his focused dedication to studies, suggesting that daily activities were mere background to his intellectual pursuits.

‘quasi alio die studiebat in cenae tempus’

‘alio die’ - shows the dedication to his studies, indicating that Pliny often prioritizes learning even during mealtimes, illustrating a relentless pursuit of knowledge. It also shows that his studies are his relaxation. It is also seen as unusual for both the roman and modern reader to read over dinner universally acknowledged as an indicator of his commitment to education, setting him apart in both his time and ours - ‘cenae tempus’ is placed emphatically at the end as though to emphasise this.

‘Super cenam’

refers to studying or engaging in intellectual pursuits even during meals, highlighting Pliny's commitment to education and juxtaposing ordinary activities with scholarly dedication. Position at start of sentence used to emphasise this effect

‘Legebatur, adnotabatur’

the use of the passive voice here to vary the style to underline the unusuality of this routine

‘cursim’

unusual to end a sentence with an adverb, but pliny creates variatio both to reinforce the novelty of the routine as well as the intellectual capacity of his Uncle

Ln 13 - brevity - ‘fecit’ is missing

Pliny is careful to show his Uncle is not lazy - he manages to fit his study in between everything else

‘in secessu’

in retreat - a deliberate portrayal of Uncle pliny working where he really should be relaxing - most wealthy romans would go to the country to relax, but Uncle Pliny studies instead - highlighted by the passive verb - eximebatur

quasi solutus ceteris curis

Uncle Pliny is a studious man - in fact, his studies provide relaxation and a break from life

‘manicus muniebantur’

Pliny goes into little detail about how his Uncle journeys, but offers this micro detail of his secretary having long sleeves - here Pliny is making a point of his uncles obsession with maximising every opportunity for reading - so that the harsh weather couldn’t take time away

‘nam peririe omne tempus arbitrabatur, quod studiis non impernderetur. Vale’

Pliny finishes with a moral - all time is wasted that is not spent studying - and uses himself as the butt of this lesson