Avunculus meus translation

Ante lucem ibat ad Vespasianum imperatorem (nam ille

Before dawn he used to go to the emperor Vespasian (for he

Quoque noctibus utebatur), deinde ad officium sibi delegaum.

also made use of the nights), then he would carry out the duty assigned to him.

reversus domum reliquum tempus studiis dabat.

After returning home, he devoted the remaining time to his studies.

Saepe post cibum (qui veterum more interdiu levis et facilis erat)

Often after his food (which during the day was light and easily digested according to the custom of his forefathers)

Aestate, si quid otii erat, iacebat in sole,

in the summer, if there was time for any leisure, he would lie in the sun,

liber legebatur, adnotabat excerpebatque.

a book would be read and he would take notes and extracts.

nihil enim legit quod non excerperet; dicere etiam solebat

For he would read nothing from which he could not take extracts; he even used to say

Nullum librum esse tam malum ut non aliqua parte prodesset

that no book was so bad that it was not of use in some way.

post solem plerumque aqua frigida lavabatur, deinde

After being in the sun, he was usually washed in cold water, then

gustabat dormiebatque minim; mox quasi alio die

he would have a small snack and sleep a very short time; soon, as if it were another day,

Studebat in cenae tempus

he would study until dinner time.

Super cenam liber legebatur adnotabatur, et quidem cursim.

Over dinner a book would be read and notes would be taken, and indeed rapidly,

haec inter medios labores urbisque fremitum.

He did all these things in the midst of his duties and the bustle of the city.

in secessu solum balinei tempus studiis eximebatur

Away from the city, the only time taken away from his studies was for bathing,

(Cum dico ‘balinei’, de interioribus loquor; nam dum

when I say ‘bathing’, I am speaking about the inner rooms; for while

destringitur tergiturque, audiebat aliquid aut dictabat).

being rubbed down and dried, he would listen to something or dictate).

In itinere quasi solutus ceteris curis, huic uni vacabat:

On a journey as if freed from other cares, he would make time for this one thing:

ad latus notarius cum libro et pugillaribus,

his secretary was at his side with a book and writing tablets,

Cuius manus hieme manicis muniebantur,

whose hands were protected by long sleeves in the winter,

ut ne caeli quidem asperitas ullum studii tempus eriperet;

so that not even the harshness of the weather could take away any time from study.

qua ex cause Romae quoque sella vehebatur.

For this reason also he was carried about Rome on a litter.

Repeto me correptum ab eo, quod ambularem;

I remember being scolded by him because i was walking:

‘Poteras’ inquit ‘has horas non pedere’;

’You should not waste these hours’ he said;

nam perire omne tempus arbitrabatur, quod studiis

For he thought that all time which was not spent on study

non impendebatur. Vale

was wasted. Goodbye.