12.03.26: Maple tree tapping

Follow-up on a previous post. You don’t need to see a lot to find out a lot … and not just about maple tree tapping.

Referring to: 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/latinforstarters/posts/920664230544846

Thanks to Magister Andrews for posting this because it can be used at different levels.

(1) Follow the video and try to work out what he is saying. Listen to his accurate, clear and slowly delivered commentary.

(2) Look at the transcript below and the translation.

(3) Read through the notes which show you that, even in a short piece of Latin, there are features which occur at different stages in learning the language.

Ecce arbor. | Look! A tree.

Haec arbor est acer. | This tree is a maple.

Acer est. │ It’s a maple tree.

Et ecce! | And look!

In acere est forāmen. | In the maple there is a hole.

Forāmen fodī in acere. | I’ve drilled a hole in the maple.

Cūr forāmen fodī in acere? | Why have I drilled a hole in the maple?

Forāmen fodī quia succum aceris volō. | I've drilled the hole because I want the sap of the maple.

Forāmen fodī ut succum aceris extraham. | I've drilled the hole so that I may draw out the sap of the maple.

____________________

extrahō, -ere [3]: extract

fodiō, -ere [3-iō]: (Classical Latin) dig; mine; (here) drill

succus, -ī [2/m]: juice; sap

succulentus, -a, -um: juicy > English derivative: succulent

____________________

There are three key features in this short video, and you’ll see that I’ve titled each one according to a level i.e. it isn’t a question of trying to ‘know’ it all at the same time but to become familiar with ideas depending on where you are precisely in Latin.

Level 1

Latin nouns are grouped according to declensions based on the endings that they share.

Grammar books and vocabulary lists give you the information in slightly different ways, but this is how they are done in all posts in the group:

succus, -ī [2/m]: juice; sap

The -ī is the genitive singular of the noun, and listing that matters because, and this is only an example, nouns ending in -us may belong to different declensions; you will not be able to work that out from the nominative case alone:

succus: 2nd declension

pectus: 3rd declension

exercitus: 4th declension

However, only second declension nouns have a genitive singular in -ī: that alone tells you the declension, but I reinforce it by indicating the declension and the gender [2(nd) declension / m(asculine)]

Here is another example:

puella, -ae [1/f]: girl

The genitive singular is -ae = 1st declension + abbreviated information [1(st) declension / f(eminine)]

That is the only information you need about a noun: from that information all the other forms can be created.

You’ll see that only the genitive singular ending is given in both examples: -ī / -ae; there is no need to note the word in full because all that is changing is the ending i.e.

succus > succī

puella > puellae

Level 1+

i.e. be familiar with 1st and 2nd declensions before you move on … and up:

[i] Magister Andrews includes 3rd declension nouns; 3rd declension nouns have their own genitive singular ending in -is:

arbor, -is [3/f]: tree; again, simply the genitive case ending is given

acer, -is [3/n]: maple tree

succum aceris volō │ I want the sap of the maple tree

In acere est forāmen │ There’s a hole in the maple tree

[ii] Now look at the next one:

forāmen, forāminis [3/n]: hole

The genitive is still -is but the stem of the noun has changed: forāmin-; once you have that stem, all the other 3rd declension endings will be added to it. That is a common feature of 3rd declension nouns and there is a large number of them. When I list those with stem changes, I write it in full, for example:

nox, noctis [3/f]: night; the stem of the noun is noct-

The stem changes are not as random as they first seem, and there are many posts on the topic in the group. All of them are available in the files section:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/latinforstarters/permalink/750844210860183

https://www.facebook.com/groups/latinforstarters/permalink/750845270860077

Level 3+

A taste of things to come …

Forāmen fodī ut succum aceris extraham.

I've drilled the hole so that I (may) draw out the sap of the maple.

This is an example of the subjunctive, a lengthy and sprawling topic that is usually left to the end of Latin grammar books. The group will be looking at it in detail soon.

Here the subjunctive is used to express a purpose and there are often ‘markers’: ut (literally: so that / in order that). In this example, it could equally be translated as: I drilled the hole to draw out the sap … but, when dealing with the subjunctive – especially at the early stages – it is better to stick as close as possible to the literal meaning.

28.07.26; Level 3+; Subjunctive [77] dependent uses [8] concessive clauses (2) quamquam; quamvīs [ii] practice

Complete the quotations with the verbs listed below each exercise.

Remember: quamquam + the indicative; quamvīs + subjunctive.

Note also the different ways in which both quamvīs and quamquam can be translated to convey the concessive idea.

[1]

[i] Although you may be without your mind, without your senses, …

Quamvīs enim sine mente, sine sēnsū __________ … (Cicero)

[ii] He will speak against me in such a way, however ingenious he may be …

Ita contrā mē ille dicet, quamvīs __________ ingeniōsus (Cicero)

[iii] Although I love that woman …

Quamquam ego istanc __________ (Plautus)

[iv] Therefore, those who listen to him, however incapable of speaking they themselves are …

Itaque eum quī audiunt, quamvīs ipsī īnfantēs __________, … (Cicero)

[v] Though I’m an impotent old man …

Quamquam cantherius __________, … (Plautus)

[vi] Although all virtues are equal and alike …

Quamquam __________ omnēs virtūtēs aequālēs et parēs (Cicero)

[vii] Although I may be made of wood, …

Quamvīs __________ ligneus, … (Priapea)

[viii] Although I have nothing to do [ = there is no business for me] with that fellow …

Quamquam cum istōc mihi negōtī nihil __________ (Plautus)

[ix] Although you are angry with me …

Quamquam tū īrāta __________ mihi (Plautus)

[x] And by Hercules, although I love [ = we love] our Gnaeus* … (Cicero); *Pompey

Et mehercule, quamvīs __________ Gnaeum nostrum, … (Cicero)

amēmus; amō; es; est; sim; sint; sīs; sit; sum; sunt

[2]

[i] This place here at our house, although you may arrive suddenly, is always available.

Locus hīc apud nōs, quamvīs subitō __________, semper liber est (Plautus)

[ii] He is by no means rich to me, although he possesses many things.

Nēquāquam mihi dīves est, quamvīs multa __________ (Rutilius)

[iii] Although the matter does not please me …

Quamvīs rēs mihi nōn __________, … (Cicero)

[iv] Although the bright girl may call back a thousand times to the traveling one …

Quamvīs candida mīliēs puella euntem __________ (Catullus)

[v] Although you understand nothing, nevertheless nothing can be enjoyable for you

Quamvīs nihil __________, tamen nihil tibi potest esse iūcundum (Cicero)

[vi] Although / however much those domestic enemies do not want this …

Quamvīs hoc istī hostēs domesticī __________, … (Cicero)

[vii] Amiable as he may have been in keeping with his friends …

Quamvīs cōmis in amīcīs tuendīs __________, … (Cicero)

[viii] Although we gave / have given strict instructions to the envoys …

Quamvīs sevēra lēgātīs mandāta __________, … (Cicero)

dederīmus; fuerit; nōlint; placeat; possideat; revocet; sapiās; veniās

[3]

[i] Although that will be unpleasant for me for three days

Quamquam istud mihi __________ molestum trīduom (Plautus)

[ii] I’ll now go into this harlot’s house nomatter if she is in a rage with me

Nunc ībō intrō ad hanc meretrīcem quamquam __________ mihi (Plautus)

[iii] Although, unwillingly, I will do without you.

Quamquam invīta tē __________ (Plautus)

[iv] Now I’ve got to be a good woman unwillingly, even if I don’t want to be.

Nunc mihi bonae necessumst [necessum est] esse ingrātiīs quamquam esse __________ (Plautus)

[v] Although my master had ordered me to stay here, it’s settled: I’d rather look for trouble with profit.

Quamquam hic manēre mē erus sēsē __________; certum est, malam rem potius quaeram cum lucrō (Plautus)

[vi] Being a slave has not been very troublesome, though:

Quamquam nōn multum __________ molesta servitus (Plautus)

[vii] This man did his duty, when he confessed the truth to you, although / much as I wanted to hide my nobility carefully.

Fēcit officium hic suom, cum tibi est cōnfessus vērum, quamquam __________ sēdulō meam nōbilitātem occultāre (Plautus)

[viii] Even though you are devoted Vulcan, do you want us to burn our house down, all for your dinner or your pay? 

Quamquam Volcānō __________, cēnaene causā aut tuae mercēdis grātiā nōs nostrās aedīs postulās combūrere? (Plautus)

carēbō; erit; fuit; iusserat; nōlō; studēs; suscēnset; voluī

____________________

[1]

[i] sīs

[ii] sit

[iii] amō

[iv] sint

[v] sum

[vi] sunt

[vii] sim

[viii] est

[ix] es

[x] amēmus

[2]

[i] veniās

[ii] possideat

[iii] placeat

[iv] revocet

[v] sapiās

[vi] nōlint

[vii] fuerit

[viii] dederīmus

[3]

[i] erit

[ii] suscēnset

[iii] carēbō

[iv] nōlō

[v] iusserat

[vi] fuit

[vii] voluī

[viii] studēs

28.07.26; Level 3+; Subjunctive [76] dependent uses [8] concessive clauses (1) quamquam; quamvīs [i]

In addition to cum with the subjunctive, Latin has a range of other conjunctions that can introduce concessive clauses. Some of these conjunctions are followed by [1] the indicative of the verb, and some by [2] the subjunctive:

[1] with the indicative

quamquam: although; and yet

Examples

In the quotations below, note also that tamen (nevertheless; still) is frequently used to reinforce the concessive idea. Translators may not specifically render tamen, since it adds nothing to the meaning beyond emphasis, but it is included here.

Quamquam iam tē ipsum exspectō [present indicative], tamen istī puerō, … dā ponderōsam aliquam epistulam (Cicero)

• Although I am now waiting for you yourself, nevertheless give this man of mine a weighty letter.

Quae quamquam exigua sunt [present indicative], tamen, quoniam placet, exspectēmus (Cicero)

• And although these things are trivial, nevertheless, since it pleases you, we will wait.

Quamquam mihi ista omnia iam addicta vastitātī videntur [present indicative; passive] (Cicero)  

• Although all these now seem doomed to destruction.

Quamquam nēmō putābat [imperfect indicative] propter Clōdiānum negōtium mē illī amīcum esse dēbēre, tamen tantus fuit amor … (Cicero) 

• Although no one thought that, because of the Clodian affair, I ought to be friendly to him, nevertheless my affection was so great …

Multās ūnō tempore accēpī epistulās tuās; quae mihi, quamquam recentiōra audiēbam [imperfect indicative] ex iīs, quī ad mē veniēbant, tamen erant iūcunda (Cicero) 

• I’ve received many of your letters at the same time, and although I’ve been hearing more recent news from those who’ve been coming to me, still they were delightful.

Quamquam vidēbātur sē nōn graviter habēre [imperfect indicative; passive], tamen sum sollicitus (Cicero)

• Although it seemed that he was not seriously ill, nevertheless / still I am anxious.

Eō igitur mittēs ...quamquam ipse iam iamque aderō [future indicative] (Cicero)

• You will send (it / the letter) there, although I myself shall be there almost directly.

Quamquam ad mē scrīpsit [perfect indicative] iam Rhodō Posīdōnius … (Cicero)

• Although Posidonius has already written to me from Rhodes …

Maximē autem mē angit ratiō reliquōrum meōrum. Quae quamquam explicāta sunt [perfect indicative; passive], tamen, … conturbor… (Cicero)

• But the arranging of my balances worries me the most, and although they have been put straight, I am still anxious …

Quamquam ille pāstor Īdaeus Menelāum sōlum contempserat [pluperfect indicative] … (Cicero)

• Although that shepherd of Ida had slighted Menelaus alone …

Fuit apud mē Lamia … epistulamque ad mē attulit missam sibi ā Caesare. Quae quamquam ante data erat [pluperfect indicative; passive] quam illae Diocharīna … tamen plane declarabat …  

• (Cicero) Lamia was with me … and he brought me a letter sent to him from Caesar; and although it had been sent earlier than those of Diochares, it still plainly asserted …

[2] with the subjunctive

The word quamvīs has two different uses, and so you need to distinguish them. First, make a comparison between [i] and [ii] below:

[i] quīvīs, quaevīs, quidvīs (quodvīs) is an indefinite adjective or pronoun meaning ‘whoever; whatever; whichever’ or ‘any you please’ and was discussed here:

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2025/09/081225-level-3-indefinites-18-vis-libet.html

dīcere hīc quidvīs licet (Plautus)

• Now one can talk freely [ = say whatever one wants]

ō Cupīdō, quantus es. nam tū quemvīs cōnfīdentem facile tuīs factīs facis (Plautus)

• O Cupid, how great you are! For with your actions you easily embolden whomever you want

Note this last example; quamvīs is the accusative singular of the indefinite adjective conveying indifference of choice:

Sī bovem aut aliam quamvīs quadrupedem serpēns momorderit … (Cato)

• If a snake has bitten an ox or any other four-footed animal.

This is not the same as quamvīs acting as a conjunction which is indeclinable and means ‘although’; it is followed by a verb in the subjunctive:

[ii] quamvīs + subjunctive

Quamvīs prūdēns ad cōgitandum sīs [present subjunctive], … (Cicero) 

• Although you are careful in your judgement …

Examples

Dē Drūsī hortīs, quamvīs ab iīs abhorreās [present subjunctive], … tamen eō cōnfugiam (Cicero) 

• As for the gardens of Drusus, although you shrink from them … I will nevertheless take refuge there.

… quae quamvīs contemnātur [present subjunctive; passive] ab eīs… (Cicero)

• …and although it is despised by them …

Quamvīs nōn cūrārem [imperfect subjunctive], quid in Hispāniā fieret … (Cicero) 

• Although I did not care what would happen in Spain …

Quamvīs enim tū magna et mihi iūcunda scrīpserīs [perfect subjunctive] dē D. Brūtī adventū … (Cicero)

• For although you have written great and pleasing things to me about the arrival of D. Brutus …

Quamvīs magna ad Postumum ab eō pecūnia pervēnisset [pluperfect subjunctive]  … (Cicero)

• Although a large sum of money had come to Postumus from him.

[3] The ‘default’ translation of quamquam and quamvīs is ‘although’, but the idea may be translated in other ways:

Sed sint quamvīs bonī, nōn sunt meliōrēs quam nōs (Cicero)

• But although they are loyal / However loyal they are, they are not better than us [ = me].

Quamvīs scelerātī illī fuissent (Cicero)

literally: although those men had been / might have been guilty

> However guilty those men might have been

Context and style will determine the most appropriate rendering.

Quamvīs sit magna, tamen eam vincēs (Cicero)

• Although it is / may be great, … / However great it may be … / Let it be as great as you choose (note here the inherent sense of quamvīs) … you will, nevertheless, conquer it.

28.07.26: Level 3+; Comenius (1658) CXLIII; the besieging of a city [2] vocabulary and notes [i]

The short Latin text involves considerable study, but it is useful since it incorporates a wide range of military vocabulary.

We will clarify, when necessary, how Charles Hoole, the translator of Comenius’ work expressed the terms in 1658 – including the use of Neo-Latin –  and compare them with Roman understanding.

This provides a way into exploring extracts from the Roman authors. You will notice in the quotations that descriptions of military action can be densely packed with specialist terms and so, as we progress, we will add important vocabulary.

Vocabulary discussed in this section is marked in bold.

Obsidium Urbis

Urbs passūra obsidiōnem prīmum prōvocātur per tūbicinem et invītātur ad dēditiōnem. Quod sī abnuat facere, oppugnātur ab obsidentibus et occupātur. Vel mūrōs per scālās trānscendendō, aut diruendō arietibus, aut dēmoliendō tormentīs, vel dirumpendō portās exōstrā, vel ēiaculandō globōs tormentāriōs ē mortāriīs (ballistīs) in urbem per ballistāriōs, quī latitant post gerrās, vel subvertendō cūniculīs per fossōrēs. Obsessī dēfendunt sē dē mūrīs ignibus, lapidibus, etc., aut ērumpunt. Urbs vī expugnāta diripitur, exciditur, interdum aequātur solō.

[1] vīs, vīs [3/f]: force; power; violence; (plural) strength

Nōn vī, sed verbō. │ Not by violence, but by the word.

The plural stem of this is vīr- (strength); the presence of the /r/ can be misread as vir, -ī [2/m]: man, but the meanings are completely different

mīlitēs Rōmānī virtūte vīribusque omnēs aliōs superāvērunt │ The Roman soldiers surpassed all others in courage and strength.

vīs is also an example of a defective noun which refers to a noun where not all the case endings are attested in Classical Latin (the genitive and dative singular are lacking in normal usage); the English verb “can” is defective since there is no infinitive “to can”

[2]

porta, -ae [1/f]: gate

scāla, -ae [1/f]: ladder

mūrus, -ī [2/m]: wall

tūbicen, -inis [3/m]: trumpeter

dēditiō, -ōnis [3/f]: surrender, capitulation

ignis, -is [3/m]: fire

lapis, lapidis [3/m]: stone

[2]

[i]

obsidium, -ī [2/n], or obsidiō, -ōnis [3/f]: siege

obses, obsidis [3 m/f]: hostage

Nouns derived from the verb: obsideō, -ēre, obsēdī, obsessus [2]: besiege 

(1) obsidēns, -ntis: present active participle i.e. ‘besieging’ > obsidēns, -entis [3/m]: besieger, i.e. the one who is besieging

(2) obsessus: perfect passive participle i.e. ‘having been besieged’ > obsessī, those who are besieged

____________________

Mnesilochust Alexander, quī erit exitiō reī patriae suae; is Helenam āvēxit, cuiā causā nunc faciō obsidium Īliō (Plautus)

• Mnesilochus is Alexander, who will be the destruction of his native city; he is the one that carried off Helen, on account of whom I am now laying siege to Ilium (Troy)

Obsidiō inde urbis et mūnītiōnēs; et interdum per occāsiōnem impetus oppidānōrum in Rōmānās statiōnēs proeliaque parva fieri (Livy)

• Then came the blockade of the town and the construction of siegeworks; and sometimes when the occasion allowed an attack by the townsfolk on the Roman outposts and skirmishes [literally: small battles] would take place.

exitium, -ī [2/n]: destruction

mūnītiō, mūnītiōnis [3/f]: [i] defending, fortifying; [ii] defence, fortification

impetus, -ūs [4/m]: attack; impetus + in + acc: an attack on …

statiō, statiōnis [3/f]: (Military) post; outpost; station

proelium, -ī [2/n]: battle

27.07.26: Level 2; Comenius (1658) CXXII; city [2]

Complete the Latin text with the words listed below. Note: in this second part, a couple of words are not included in the exercise itself since they are very rare.

[Not numbered in the image:

The entrance into a city │ __________ in urbeṃ]

is made out of the suburbs (12) | fit ex __________ (12)

through a gate (13) | per __________ (13)

over the bridge (14). | super __________ (14).

The gate hath a portcullis (15) | Porta habet __________ (15)

a drawbridge (16) | __________ (16)

two-leaved doors (17) | __________ (17)

locks and bolts, as also bars (18). | clāustra & repāgula, ut & vectēs (18).

In the suburbs are gardens (19) | In suburbiīs sunt __________  (19)

and garden-houses (20) | & __________  (20)

and also burying-places (21). | ut & __________  (21).

catarāctās; coemētēria; hortī; ingressus; pontem; pontem versātilem; portam; suburbāna; suburbiō; valvās

Vocabulary and notes

clāustrum, -ī [2/n]: lock, bar

coemētērium, -ī [2/n]: cemetery, burial-place

hortus, -ī [2/m]: garden

ingressus, -ūs [4/m]: entrance

pons, pontis [3/m]: bridge

pons versātilis: the adjective refers to something that is moveable or revolving; (here) drawbridge

porta, -ae [1/f]: gate

repāgulum, -ī [2/n]: bar, bolt

suburbānum, -ī [2/n]: suburban house; in the Classical period it refers specifically to a residence outside Rome as opposed to vīlla, -ae [1/f]: country residence; estate

suburbānō facile cāreō (Cicero)

• I can easily do without a suburban residence.

suburbium, -ī [2/n]: suburb(s)

in suburbium … īre nōn sum ausus (Cicero)

• I … did not dare to go into the suburbs

valva, -ae [1/f]: door-leaf; (pl.) valvae: double doors (also in domestic dwellings)

[image: depiction of valvae from a Roman fresco]

catarācta, -ae [1/f]: [i] portcullis [ii] waterfall; floodgate; sluice

vectis, -is [3/m]: bar, lever

Livy describes soldiers opening a gate:

cataractā deiectā clausa erat; eam partim vectibus levant

• it was closed by a portcullis that had been let down; some raise this with levers

sed amplius prōdest, quod invēnit antīquitās, ut ante portam addātur prōpugnāculum, in cuius ingressū pōnitur cataracta, quae ānulīs ferreīs ac fūnibus pendet (Vegetius)

• But what antiquity has devised is of still greater advantage: that a defensive work be added in front of the gate, at whose entrance a portcullis is set, which hangs from iron rings and ropes.

The Modern English derivative cataract is from the first meaning of waterfall, or floodgate e.g. the six cataracts of the Nile, narrow strips of water between Aswan and Khartoum.

• pervenit per montēs ad cataractam ab eōque sē praecipitāns per septentriōnālem pervenit inter Elephantida et Syēnēn Thēbāicōsque in Aegyptum campōs et ibi Nīlus appellātur (Vitruvius)

It reaches the Cataract through the mountains, and rushing down northwards from there, it comes between Elephantine and Syene into the Theban plains of Egypt, where it is called the Nile.

Referring to water management, Pliny the Younger writes:

expedītum tamen erat cataractīs aquae cursum temperāre (Pliny the Younger)

• However, it was easy to regulate the flow of water by means of floodgates.

Now obsolete in English, cataract could refer to a portcullis, a grating lowered into place. From this we have the term used in ophthalmology cataract, a clouding of the lens of the eye.

https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Cataracta.html

cataracts of the Nile

26.07.26: Level 1; Comenius (1658) CXXIII; the inward parts of a city [2]

Comenius writes the text and illustrates it from a 17^th century perspective. Below are images, most of which are Roman:

25.07.26; Level 3+; Subjunctive [75] dependent uses [7] cum-clauses (5) concessive (ii) practice

Complete the Latin sentences with the verbs listed below:

[i] Although he is good, he is not wise.

Cum __________ bonus, nōn est sapiēns.

[ii] Although the old man does not have a lot of food, he nevertheless invites friends to dinner.

Cum senex multum cibum __________, amīcōs tamen ad cēnam invītat.

[iii] Although you do not want to come with me, nevertheless you have to do this.

Cum mēcum venīre __________, hoc tamen facere dēbēs.

[iv] Although you did not want to come with me, nevertheless you had to do this.

Cum mēcum venīre __________, hoc tamen facere dēbēbās.

[v] Although he knew about the affair, he nevertheless said nothing.

Cum dē rē __________, nihil tamen dīxit.

[vi] Although the farmer was poor, he was nevertheless pious and happy.

Cum agricola pauper __________, erat pius tamen et contentus.

[vii] He did nothing to help me, although he could / was able to.

Nihil mē adiūvit, cum __________. (Cicero)

[viii] Although the forces of the enemy were greater, the Romans nevertheless overcame them.

Cum cōpiae hostium __________ maiōrēs, Rōmānī tamen eās vīcērunt.

[ix] Turnus, although he was fighting very bravely, was nevertheless defeated.

Turnus, cum fortissimē __________, tamen victus est.

[x] But although I had done everything, I was not able to recover his goodwill.

Sed, cum omnia __________, … eam voluntātem eius … recūperāre nōn potuī. (Cicero)

[xi] Although I had been asked, nevertheless I did not reply.

Cum __________, tamen nōn respondī.

[xii] Cicero, although he was / had been born in a small town, nevertheless lived in Rome.

Cicerō, cum in oppidō parvō __________, Rōmae tamen vīvēbat.

essent; esset; fēcissem; nōn habeat; nātus esset; nōlīs; nōllēs; posset; pugnāret; rogātus essem; scīret; sit

____________________

[i] sit
[ii] nōn habeat
[iii] nōlīs
[iv] nōllēs
[v] scīret
[vi] esset
[vii] posset
[viii] essent
[ix] pugnāret
[x] fēcissem
[xi] rogātus essem
[xii] nātus esset

25.07.26; Level 3+; Subjunctive [74] dependent uses [7] cum-clauses (4) concessive (i)

Look at the following sentence.

[A] He is lazy ¦ but [B] he gets good results.

[A] He is lazy. [B] However / nevertheless / despite that, he gets good results.

There are two opposing ideas. [A] creates the expectation that he would not get good results, but [B] shows that, despite being lazy, this has not prevented him from achieving them.

This same idea can be expressed using what is known in grammar as a concessive construction. In English, concession can be expressed in several ways.

As a concessive clause:

• Although he is lazy, he gets good results.
• Even if he is lazy, he gets good results.
• Despite / in spite of the fact that he is lazy, he gets good results.

As a concessive phrase:

• Despite being lazy, he gets good results.

English may also reinforce concession by adding words such as nevertheless. In this example, the second part of the sentence overrides or qualifies the first.

• While we welcome the Prime Minister’s statement, we nevertheless feel that he has not gone far enough.

“Concession” refers to acceptance / recognition of a fact / admission that something is true:

While we welcome the Prime Minister’s statement …

…but that admission is then set aside in a specific way; here, it does not prevent a criticism from being made:

• … we nevertheless feel …

Latin conveys this idea in a number of ways. In this post we look at one:

Apart from expressing cause and circumstance, cum + subjunctive can also express although.

[a] Frequently this is reinforced with tamen (nevertheless), making the concessive sense clear.

Cum puellam amāret, tamen ex urbe abiit. │ Although he loved the girl, he nevertheless left the city.

Militēs, cum montēs vīdissent, tamen gāvīsī sunt. │ The soldiers, although they had seen the mountains, nevertheless rejoiced.

Cum prīmī ōrdinēs concidissent, tamen ācerrimē reliquī resistēbant. (Caesar) │ Though the first ranks had fallen, still the others resisted vigorously.

[b] However, tamen may not be used in the sentence and so careful reading – and thinking – in context is needed to identify whether the clause is concessive:

Cum hostēs fortēs essent, Rōmānī vīcērunt. │ Although the enemy were brave, the Romans won.

A way of ‘testing’ whether the sentence is expressing a concessive idea is mentally to reword it:

• The enemies were brave, but the Romans won.
• The enemies were brave. However / nevertheless / despite that, the Romans won.

i.e. despite the fact that the enemies were brave, that did not prevent the Romans from winning.

Think about it: “When / since the enemies were brave, the Romans won” does not make sense!

Examples:

[i] Cum multum labōrāverit, parum profēcit.

Think: he has worked hard, ¦ but he has made little progress

> Although he has worked hard, he has made little progress.

[ii] Cum graviter vulnerātus esset, pugnāvit.

Think: he had been seriously wounded. However / nevertheless / despite that, he fought.

> Although he had been seriously wounded, he fought.

Would any other translation of those two examples make sense?

Since he has worked hard, he has made little progress.

Since he had been seriously injured, he fought.

No, they wouldn’t. 

24.07.26; Level 3+; Comenius (1658) CXLIII; the besieging of a city [1] text and translation

Military terminology is a frequent feature of Roman writing, and there is a very wide range of vocabulary associated with it.

Roman writers usually depict what they considered important, and this can skew our perception of ordinary life, which is less frequently described in depth. We might be forgiven for thinking that Romans were perpetually fighting. In fact, although the empire’s population may have reached around 70 million, most inhabitants never directly experienced warfare, which was typically confined to particular regions.

Nevertheless, war — and success in war — was a crucial part of Roman identity, and military campaigns were recorded, from a Roman perspective, by authors such as Caesar, Livy and Tacitus. For that reason, military vocabulary is common in Latin prose.

In this short text, Comenius makes extensive use of such vocabulary and, while some of it refers to weaponry unknown to the Romans, much of what you read here forms an important part of historical writing.

The besieging of a city │ Obsidium Urbis

[1]

A city that is like to [going to / about to] endure a siege, | Urbs passūra obsidiōnem,

is first summoned by a trumpeter | prīmum prōvocātur per tūbicinem (1)

and (is) persuaded to yield. | et invītātur ad dēditiōnem.

Which if it refuseth to do, | Quod sī abnuat facere,

it is assaulted by the besiegers | oppugnātur ab obsidentibus

and (is) taken by storm. | et occupātur.

[2]

Either by climbing over the walls with scaling-ladders (2) | Vel mūrōs per scālās (2) trānscendendō,

or (by) breaking (them) down with battering-engines (3) | aut diruendō arietibus (3),

or (by) demolishing (them) with great guns (4) | aut dēmoliendō tormentīs (4),

or (by) breaking through the gates with a petard (5) | vel dirumpendō portās exōstrā (5),

or (by) casting granadoes [“grenades”; cannonballs] (6) | vel ēiaculandō globōs tormentāriōs (6),

out of mortar-pieces (7) | ē mortāriīs (ballistīs) (7),

into the city, by engineers (8) | in urbem per ballistāriōs (8),

who lye behind leaguer-baskets  (9) | quī latitant post gerrās (9),

or (by) overthrowing (it) with mines by pioneers (10) | vel subvertendō cūniculīs per fossōrēs (10).

[3]

They that are besieged defend themselves from the walls (11) | Obsessī dēfendunt sē dē mūrīs (11),

with fire and stones, &c. | ignibus, lapidibus, etc.,

or break out by force (12) | aut ērumpunt (12).

A city that is taken by storm | Urbs vī expugnāta,

is plundered, | diripitur,

destroyed, | exciditur,

and sometimes laid even with the ground. | interdum aequātur solō.

23.07.26: Level 2; Comenius (1658) CXXII; city [1]

Comenius uses many terms associated with a city’s means of defence, such terms commonly appearing in Roman descriptions of warfare. Complete the Latin text with the words listed below. Check the vocabulary list for more detailed explanations.

[1]

Of many houses is made a village (1) | Ex multīs domibus fit __________ (1)

[Not numbered in the image:

or a town, │ vel __________,]

or a city (2). | vel __________ (2).

That and this are fenced and encircled │ Istud & haec mūniuntur & cinguntur

with walls (a wall) (3) | __________ (__________) (3)

a trench (4) | __________ (4)

bulwarks (5) | __________ (5)

and pallisades (6). | & __________ (6).

Within the walls is the void place [see vocabulary notes] (7) | Intrā mūrōs est __________ (7)

outside, the ditch (8). | extrā, __________ (8).

In the walls are fortresses (9) | In moenibus sunt __________ (9)

and towers (10) | & __________ (10)

[Not numbered in the image:

watch-towers are │ __________ extant]

upon the higher places (11). | in ēditiōribus __________ (11).

aggeribus; fossa; locīs; moenibus; mūrō; oppidum; pāgus; pomoerium; propugnācula; specula; turrēs; urbs; vallīs; vallō

Vocabulary and notes

agger, -is [3/m]: earthwork, bulwark, especially defensive ramparts, dykes, dams, causeways, and piers

https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0063:entry=agger-cn

domus, -ūs [4/f]: house

fossa, -ae [1/f]: ditch; trench; moat

fossam pedum vīgintī dīrēctīs lateribus dūxit (Caesar)

• he dug a trench twenty feet deep, with perpendicular sides

[image: defensive ditch at the Antonine Wall, Scotland]

locus, -ī [2/m]: place

moenia, -um [3/n pl.]: city walls

mūrus, -ī [2/m]: wall

oppidum, -ī [2/n]: town

pāgus, -ī [2/m]: village, district

pōmoerium, -ī (pomērium, -ī) [2/n]: boundary; limits; the open space left free from buildings within and without the walls of a town (Lewis and Short); “sacred space”

aggere et fossīs et mūrō circumdat urbem; ita pōmērium prōfert (Livy)

• He surrounded the City with a rampart, trenches, and a wall, and so extended the “pomerium”.

Livy goes on to explain the meaning of pomerium, the word originally referring to Etruscan religious practices: This space, which the gods forbade men to inhabit or to till, was called “pomerium” by the Romans.

propugnāculum, -ī [2/n]: fortress, battlement

solidātī mūrī, prōpugnācula addita, auctae turrēs (Tacitus)

• The walls (were) strengthened, battlements were added, and the towers were raised in height

specula, -ae [1/f]: watchtower; lookout

in hōc iugō collēs sunt excelsī paucī, in quibus singulae turrēs speculaeque singulae perveterēs erant conlocātae, (Bellum Africum)

• On this ridge there are a few lofty hills, on which single towers and single watchtowers of great antiquity had been placed,

turris, -is [3/f] (acc. -em or -im): tower, especially military either for defence or mobile (turrēs ambulātōriae) for siege purposes

https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0063:entry=turris-cn

[image: Mediaeval siege tower]

urbs, urbis [3/f]: city

vallum, -ī [2/n]: [i] wall; rampart; entrenchment [ii] palisade, a wall of wooden stakes

castra in altitūdinem pedum XII vāllō fossāque duodēvīgintī pedum mūnīrī iubet (Caesar)

• He orders him to fortify a camp with a rampart twelve feet in height, and a trench eighteen feet in breadth.

https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0063:entry=vallum-cn

Modern English: wall < OE: weall (wall; earthwork; rampart; dam) < La: vallum; Modern German: Wall (rampart; parapet; embankment)

[image: reconstruction of a Roman palisade, Lahntal, Germany]

More information on Roman fieldworks is at:

02.01.26: Level 2; Vincent (Latin Reader); XXXVII; a storm [ii] Roman fieldworks

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2025/10/020126-level-2-vincent-latin-reader_15.html

22.07.26: Level 1; Comenius (1658) CXXIII; the inward parts of a city [1]

Could mid-17^th century kids describe their town in Latin? Yes, they could. Apart from a couple of words that need short explanation, Comenius creates a topical exercise in speaking with visual stimuli 300 years before anybody else thought it was a brilliant idea. And it was relevant to the kids because what they saw in the book, they saw in their everyday lives.

Complete each section with the nouns listed below.

[1]

Within the city are (1) streets paved with stones, │ Intrā urbem sunt (1) __________ lapidus strātae,

(2) market places, in some places with (3) galleries (here: arched walkways) │ (2) __________ , alicubi cum (3) __________

and (4) narrow lanes. │ et (4) __________ .

The public buildings are in the middle of the city, │ Pūblica aedificia sunt in mediā urbe,

(5) the church │ (5) __________

(6) the school │(6) __________

(7) the guild hall (town hall; Comenius uses the Classical Latin senate house) │(7) __________

(8) the exchange. │(8) __________ .

angiportīs; cūria; domus mercātūrae; fora; plāteae; portibus; schola; templum

[2]

[Not numbered in the image:

About the walls and the gates, │ Circā __________ et __________ , ]

(9) the magazine (i.e. the place were weapons / arms are stored) │ (9) __________

(10) the granary│ (10) __________

[Not numbered in the image:

inns │ __________

ale houses │ __________ ]

(11) cook shops│ (11) __________

(12) the Play-house │ (12) __________

(13) and the hospital.│ (13) __________.

armāmentārium; caupōnae; dīversōria; granārium; nosodochium; popīnae; theātrum; moenia; portūs

[3]

In the by-places, │ In recessibus,

(14) the houses of office [note 1] │ (14) __________

And (15) the prison │ et (15) __________

[Not numbered in the image:

In the chief steeple [note 2] │ In __________ prīmāriā]

is (16) the clock │est (16) __________

and the (17) watchmen’s dwelling. │ et habitātiō (17) __________.

carcer; foricae (cloācae); hōrologium; turre; vigilum

[4]

[Not numbered in the image:

In the streets are │ In __________ sunt]

(18) wells. │ (18) __________ .

(19) The river │ (19) __________

[Not numbered in the image:

or beck (small river; stream) │ vel __________ ]

running about the city │ urbem interfluēns

serves to wash away the filth. │ īnservit sordibus eluendīs.

(20) The tower [note 2] │ (20) __________

stands in the highest part of the city. │ exstat in summō urbis.

arx; flūvius; plāteīs; puteī; rīvus

Notes

(1) Here we have the “Old English” tradition of avoiding saying anything that could be deemed offensive and remotely ‘biological’, a tradition continuing all the way to at least the Victorians: they never talked about the ‘legs’ of a chair – but the ‘limbs’, and they never ‘went to bed’ – they ‘retired’.

This one is a tremendous example. Hoole, the schoolmaster, author and translator of Comenius, is unwilling to sully the sensitive ears of mid-17^th century schoolboys.

Back in 1658, if one was ‘caught short’, one did not use ‘public toilets’ or ‘latrines’, rather one went to the Houses of Office!

The Latin, however, is quite happy to call it what it is:

cloāca, -ae [1/f]: underground sewer

forica, -ae [1/f]: public latrine

But even Comenius avoids lātrīna, -ae [1/f]: lavatory

The refusal to mention the unmentionable bodily functions is not confined to Britain. In 1879 the Americans Lewis and Short, compilers of the Latin-English dictionary, described latrīna as ‘water-closet’; ‘privy’. At all costs, don’t actually say what it is – and the US still says “restroom”.

(2)

turris, -is [3/f]: the general word in Classical Latin for a tower, especially in military contexts.

In section [3] Comenius uses turris to refer to a steeple.

arx, arcis [3/f]: citadel; stronghold; castle, but one that is most often located in a high position.

In section [4] the translation as ‘tower’ reflects English usage e.g. The Tower of London, which is not so much a tower, but a collection of fortified buildings originally functioning as a fortress and prison.