Pliny the Younger (Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, 61-113 C.E.) was a lawyer, author, and magistrate in Rome.  One of his most famous letters is his exchange with the Emperor Trajan about the Christians in Bithynia and Pontus (in modern Turkey) where Pliny served as the governor.  Pliny seeks Trajan’s advice about the Christians in his province.   

Christianus, -a, -um - Christian

frequenter -  frequently (adv.)

quomodo - in what way, how?

tertio: “for the third time”

libellus, -i m. - little book, pamphlet

tus, turis n. - incense

male dicebant Christo: “to speak badly against Christ” i.e. to denounce Christ

edictum, -i n. - proclamation, edict

necesse (indecl.) - necessary

ancilla, -ae f. - female servant, handmaid

veritas, -tatis f. - truth

tormentum, -i n. - punishment

superstitio, -onis f. - superstition, unreasonable religious belief

Apuleius’ Metamorphoses (or The Golden Ass) is one of the best sources on the cult of Isis,  the Egyptian deity who was seen as a protector and law-giver. The novel chronicles the misadventures of Lucius, a young man transformed into a jackass through his relentless curiosity about magic.  In this passage, Lucius finds salvation and regains his human form through the grace of Isis who appears to him.

Ecce: “Behold!” (interjection to call attention or to show surprise)

Lucius, -i m. - Lucius (central figure in Apuleius, Metamorphoses)

Isis, Isidis f. - Isis (Egyptian deity)

elementum, -i n. - first principle, element

progenies, -ei f. - offspring

uniformis, -e - having one shape, uniform

salubris, -e - health-giving, healthful

multiformis, -e - many-shaped (related to uniformis above)

species, -ei f. - aspect, appearance

primigenii Phryges: “First-born Phyrgians.” Phrygians were the inhabitants of Phrygia (Asia Minor) where ancient Troy was located.

Pessinuntiam deorum matrem: “Pessinuntian mother of the gods” - a cult name for the Phrygian goddess Cybele (Roman Magna Mater).

autochthones Attici: “people of Attica, born from the earth.” Attica is the region of Greece surrounding Athens.

Cecropeiam Minervam: “Cecropian Minerva.” Cecrops was a mythical king of Athens who was born from the earth; Minerva (Greek Athena) is the goddess of war, wisdom, and handicrafts.

Cyprius, -a, -um - Cyprian, from the island of Cyprus

Paphiam Venerem: “Venus from Paphos.”  Paphos was an important cult center of Aphrodite (Roman Venus) on the island of Cyprus.

Cretes sagittiferi: “arrow-bearing Cretans.”  The people who lived on the Greek island of Crete were famous archers.

Dictynnam Dianam: “Diana Dictynna.” Dictynna (“of the hunting nets”) was one of the cult names of the goddess Diana (Greek Artemis)

Siculi trilingues: “triple-tongued Sicilians.” The people of Sicily were said to have spoken three languages during the history of their island: Sicilian, Greek, and, finally, Latin.

Stygiam Proserpinam: “Stygian Persephone.”  The river Styx was the river of the Underworld where the goddess Persephone ruled beside her husband Hades.

Eleusinus, -a, -um - Eleusinian, inhabitant of Eleusis, Greece which was the site of the main cult of Demeter.

Actaeam Cererem: “Actaean  [of Attica] Ceres” Ceres (Greek Demeter) was the goddess of agriculture 

Iunonem: Juno (Greek Hera), wife of Jupiter (Greek Zeus), was the queen of the gods and goddess of marriage.

Hecatam: Hecate, the goddess of magic, ghosts, and necromancy.

Rhamnusiam: “Rhamnusia,” a cult name of Nemesis, the goddess of retribution and punishment for evil deeds.  Rhamnus in Greece is the site of one of her temples.

Aethiopes, -um m. pl. - Ethiopians

Aegyptius, -a, -um - Egyptian

caerimonia, -ae f. - sacred rite, religious ceremony

regina, -ae f. - queen

Lucretius (99-55 B.C.E.) was an Epicurean philosopher. His only surviving work is de Rerum Naturā, a didactic poem in six books of Latin hexameters. The poem instructs readers in Epicurean philosophy, including an atomic theory that explains how all matter in the universe is made by the chance union of indivisible, indestructible particles, and not by the will of the Roman gods. In the passage below, Lucretius depicts Epicurus as a visionary who releases humans from the oppression of irrational religious obligation through knowledge of the workings of the universe.  

religio, -onis f. - religious obligation (for a deeper understanding of this term see Springer’s “The Role of Religio, Solvo and Ratio in Lucretius” CW 1977 [55-61])

opprimō, -primere, -pressī, -pressum - to press down, suppress

insto, -stare, -stiti, -statum - to press upon, threaten (+ dat.)

obsistō, -sistere, -stitī, -stitum - oppose, resist

fulmen, fulminis n. - lightening, thunderbolt

minitanti murmure: “with menacing crash”

vividus, -a, -um - full of life, vigorous

extra - outside of, beyond (+ acc.) 

flammo (1) - to kindle, blaze

victoria, -ae f. - victory

exaequo (1) - to make even or equal (make (acc.) equal to (dat.))