Latin GCSE Avunculus Meus

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 the nights) then to the duty assigned to him.

reversus domum reliquum tempus studiis dabat

Having returned home, he would allot the rest of his time to studies.

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

Often, after food, (which after the custom of his forefathers during the day was light and easy on the stomach) in the summertime, if there was any free time, he would lie in the sun, a book would be read, he would make notes and take extracts from it.

nihil enim legit quod non excerperet;

For he read nothing which he would not make extracts from

dicere etiam solebat nullum librum esse tam malum ut non aliqua parte prodesset

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

After sunbathing, he generally bathed in cold water, then had a snack, and slept for a very short time.

mox quasi alio die studebat in cenae tempus

Soon afterwards, as if it were another day, he would study till dinner time.

super cenam liber legebatur adnotabature, et quidem cursim

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

haec inter medios labores urbisque fremitum.

These things took place during the middle of the toils and the noise of the city.

in secussu solum balinei tempus studiis eximebature (cum dico ‘balinei’, de interiorbus loquor

 In his (country) retreat, only bath time was taken away from studies (when I say 'bath', I am talking about the inner rooms

nam dum destringitur tergiturque, audiebat aliquid aut dictabat).

 for while he was being scraped and wiped down, he would listen to something or dictate.

in itinere quasi solutus ceteris curis, huic uni vacabat

On a journey, as if released from all other anxieties, he had time for this alone.

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

At his side (there would be) a secretary with a book and a writing tablet whose hands were protected with mittens in winter,

ut ne caeli quidem asperitas ullum studii tempus eriperet

so that not even the harshness of the weather might take away any study time

qua ex causa Romae quoque sella vehebatur. repeto me correptum ab eo, quod ambularem:

For this reason, he rode in a sedan chair in Rome also. I recall that I was rebuked by him because I walked:

‘poteras’ inquit ‘has horas non perdere’; nam perire omne tempus arbitrabatur, quod studiis non impenderetur. vale.

he said, "You could have not wasted these hours"; for he thought that all time, which was not spent on studies, was wasted. Farewell.