Avunculus Meus

Latin

1haec 2inter 3medios 4labores 5 6fremitum 7urbisque.

1in 2secessu 3solum 4balinei 5tempus 6eximebatur 7studiis

1(cum 2dico 3'balinei', 4loquor 5de 6interioribus;

1nam 2dum 3destringitur 4 5tergiturque, 6audiebat 7aliquid 8aut 9dictabat).

1in 2itinere 3quasi 4solutus 5ceteris 6curis, 7vacabat 8huic 9uni:

1ad 2latus 3notarius 4cum 5libro 6et 7pugillaribus, 8cuius 9manus 10muniebantur 11manicis 12hieme,

1ut 2ne 3quidem 5caeli 4asperitas 7ullum 8studii 9tempus 6eriperet;

1ex 2qua 3causa 4vehebatur 5sella 6Romae 7quoque.

1repeto 2me 3correptum 4ab 5eo, 6quod 7ambularem:

1inquit 2'poteras' 3'non 4perdere 5has 6horas';

1nam 2arbitrabatur 3omne 4tempus 9perire 5quod 6non 7impenderetur 8studiis.

1vale.

English

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

in his (country) retreat, only bath time was taken away from studies

(when I say 'bath', I am talking about the inner (rooms);

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

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

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

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

For this reason, he rode in a sedan chair in Rome also.

I recall that I was rebuked by him, because I walked:

he said, 'You could have not wasted these hours';

for he thought that all time, which was not spent on studies, was wasted.

Farewell.

Stylistic Features

Juxtaposition — haec inter medios labores Emphatic Limitation — solum... eximebatur Parenthetical Precision — cum dico 'balinei' Paired Passives — destringitur tergiturque Metaphor — quasi solutus ceteris curis Alliteration — manus... manicis muniebantur Direct Speech — 'poteras' inquit Metaphor of Death — perire omne tempus

Juxtaposition — haec inter medios labores urbisque fremitum

Line 1

What's happening: The opening sentence juxtaposes the uncle's intensive study routine (haec) with the backdrop of Rome's bustling urban life (medios labores urbisque fremitum). The onomatopoeic fremitum ('roar/noise') makes the city's chaos vivid, heightening the contrast with scholarly concentration. The uncle's routine didn't happen in peaceful seclusion — it happened in the middle of everything.

In an exam: "The juxtaposition of haec (referring to the studious routine) with medios labores urbisque fremitum creates a powerful contrast between intellectual discipline and urban chaos. The word fremitum is particularly effective in evoking the noise of Rome, emphasising the uncle's remarkable powers of concentration."

Emphatic Limitation — solum balinei tempus... eximebatur

Line 2

What's happening: The emphatic solum ('only') highlights the extraordinary nature of this single exception. That bathing was the ONLY activity that interrupted study makes the uncle's dedication seem almost inhuman. And the passive eximebatur ('was taken away') is wonderfully revealing — it suggests that study was the uncle's natural state, and time was forcibly removed from scholarship rather than voluntarily given to bathing. Even this concession to hygiene is presented as a loss.

In an exam: "The emphatic solum emphasises that bath time was the singular exception to constant study, whilst the passive eximebatur implies that study was the uncle's default mode of existence — time was 'taken away' from scholarship rather than 'given to' bathing. The grammatical voice reveals the uncle's priorities."

Parenthetical Precision — cum dico 'balinei', de interioribus loquor

Line 2

What's happening: Pliny interrupts himself to clarify exactly which part of the bath he means — only the innermost washing rooms. This scholarly precision, this compulsive need to be exactly right, mirrors the uncle's own fastidious approach to knowledge. Even in describing his uncle, Pliny cannot help being precise. The aside also minimises the uncle's concession — it wasn't even the full bath experience, just the essential scrubbing.

In an exam: "The parenthetical self-correction demonstrates Pliny's inherited scholarly precision. By distinguishing between the bath complex and its inner rooms, he shows that even the uncle's concession to bathing was minimised to the absolute essential. The aside also reveals Pliny's own epistolary style — learned, precise, and digressive."

Paired Passives / Asyndeton — destringitur tergiturque

Line 2

What's happening: The paired passives destringitur tergiturque ('he was scraped and wiped') connected only by the minimal -que create breathless pace. But the real brilliance is the contrast that follows: while these passive actions are done to him, the uncle remains intellectually active — audiebat...aut dictabat. His body is passive; his mind is relentlessly active. He's being bathed like an object while functioning like a scholar.

In an exam: "The paired passives destringitur tergiturque with their rapid rhythm emphasise the uncle's remarkable multitasking. While being physically tended to (passive), he remained intellectually active (active verbs audiebat...dictabat), showing study permeated even the most personal moments of daily life."

Metaphor — quasi solutus ceteris curis

Line 3

What's happening: The metaphor quasi solutus ('as if released') paradoxically presents travel — normally restrictive — as a form of freedom. The uncle is 'freed' not to relax but to concentrate entirely on study, inverting conventional expectations. Most Romans would consider being stuck in a sedan chair a limitation; for the uncle, it was liberation from everything that wasn't study. The word solutus (unbound, loosened) carries connotations of chains being removed.

In an exam: "The metaphor quasi solutus ceteris curis paradoxically presents the restrictions of travel as liberation. Being confined to a sedan chair freed the uncle from other obligations, allowing exclusive devotion to scholarship — a characteristic inversion of conventional values that reveals his unique priorities."

Alliteration — manus... manicis muniebantur

Line 4

What's happening: The alliterative sequence manus... manicis muniebantur draws attention to the elaborate measures taken to protect the secretary's ability to write. The repeated 'm' sounds create a sense of wrapping, protection, and careful preparation — almost mirroring the physical act of pulling on mittens. The detail is absurd and wonderful: even the weather was not allowed to interfere with note-taking. The uncle had thought of everything.

In an exam: "The alliteration of manus...manicis muniebantur emphasises the meticulous practical preparations supporting the uncle's scholarly obsession. Even the harshness of weather could not be permitted to interrupt study — the sound pattern reinforces the sense of careful, thorough protection of the writing hand."

Direct Speech — 'poteras' inquit 'has horas non perdere'

Line 6

What's happening: The direct quotation makes the uncle's voice ring out across the centuries. The interruption of the speech by inquit creates the effect of an impatient, sharp rebuke — 'You COULD HAVE,' he said, 'not wasted these hours.' The word order is devastating: poteras (the wasted potential) comes first, the most cutting word. And note who's being rebuked: young Pliny himself, for the crime of walking when he could have been carried and reading.

In an exam: "The use of direct speech with inquit splitting the quotation creates vivid immediacy. Placing poteras first emphasises the uncle's frustration at wasted potential, whilst perdere ('to waste') reveals his extreme view that any unproductive time constituted a genuine loss."

Metaphor of Death — perire omne tempus... quod studiis non impenderetur

Line 7

What's happening: The verb perire ('to perish/die') transforms the uncle's attitude from mere preference into existential philosophy. Time that isn't spent studying doesn't just pass — it dies. This is the uncle's philosophical manifesto in miniature: wasted time is equivalent to a small death, and every unproductive hour is a piece of life that has been killed. It's extreme, it's magnificent, and it explains everything about his behaviour.

In an exam: "The metaphor perire omne tempus equates wasted time with death itself, revealing the uncle's profound philosophical conviction. The passive subjunctive impenderetur in the relative clause presents study as the only means of redeeming time from oblivion — a fitting final statement of his life's principle."

Stylistic Features

Notes