27.02.27: Level 1; step-by-step; scaffolding [4] saying “I have” and “I like”

[C] This section builds on the two previous ones. Singular and plural nouns can be used with the patterns below.

[1] mihi est / sunt __________

Mihi est ūna ūva. | I have one grape.

• Mihi est X | I have; literally: to me (there) is __________; used with a singular noun

Mihi sunt duae ūvae. | I have two grapes.

Mihi sunt multae ūvae. | I have many grapes.

• Mihi sunt X | I have; literally: to me (there) are __________; used with a plural noun

Exercises

[i] est or sunt?

(1) Mihi __________ multī amīcī.

(2) Mihi ________ ūnus amīcus.

(3) Mihi ________ duo equī.

(4) Mihi ________ ūnum pōculum.

[ii] Complete the sentences with the correct words and endings.

(1) I have water.

Mihi ________ aqu_____.

(2) I have cheese.

Mihi ________ cāse_____.

(3) I have a friend (female).

Mihi ________ amīc_____.

(4) I have a shield.

Mihi ________ scūt_____.

(5) I have one shield.

Mihi ________ ūn_____ scūt_____.

(6) I have two horses.

Mihi ________ du_____ equ_____.

(7) I have many horses.

Mihi ________ mult_____ equ_____.

(8) I have one friend (male).

Mihi ________ ūn_____ amīc_____.

(9) I have two apples.

Mihi ________ du_____ māl_____.

(10) I have many eggs.

Mihi ________ mult_____ ōv_____.

(11) I have many maidservants.

Mihi ________ mult_____ ancill_____.

[2] __________ mē (valdē) dēlectat / dēlectant

Ūva mē dēlectat. | I like the grape.

• X mē dēlectat. | literally: X pleases / delights me > I like X (singular).

Ūvae mē dēlectant. | I like the grapes.

• X mē dēlectant. | literally: X please / delight me > I like X (plural).

Ūva mē valdē dēlectat. | I really like the grape.

• X mē valdē dēlectat. | literally: X really pleases / delights me > I really like X (singular).

Ūvae mē valdē dēlectant. | I really like (the) grapes.

• X mē valdē dēlectant. | literally: X really please / delight me > I really like X (plural).

Exercise

Here are some singular and plural nouns. How would you express that you like or really like them?

(1) singular

__________ mē (valdē) dēlectat

• cāseus: cheese
• casa: cottage
• fābula: story
• silva: forest
• villa: country house
• dōnum: gift
• vīnum: wine

(2) plural

__________ mē (valdē) dēlectant.

• fābulae: stories
• crūstula: small cakes; pastries; cookies
• dōna: gifts
• frāga: strawberries
• māla: apples
• pira: pears

LINKS

10.03.24: Talking about free time [2]: likes and dislikes

section [3] [i]

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/04/100324-talking-about-free-time-2-likes.html

https://www.facebook.com/groups/latinforstarters/posts/404742942136980

26.02.24: talking about friends and family members; mihi est / mihi sunt; conjunctions et, sed, vel

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/04/26_89.html

https://www.facebook.com/groups/latinforstarters/posts/397753762835898

____________________

[1]

[i] (1) sunt; (2) est; (3) sunt; (4) est

[ii]
(1) Mihi est aqua.
(2) Mihi est cāseus.
(3) Mihi est amīca.
(4) Mihi est scūtum.
(5) Mihi est ūnum scūtum.
(6) Mihi sunt duo equī.
(7) Mihi sunt multī equī.
(8) Mihi est ūnus amīcus.
(9) Mihi sunt duo māla.
(10) Mihi sunt multa ōva.
(11) Mihi sunt multae ancillae.

26.02.27: Level 1; First Latin Lessons (6); dative case: 1st declension; singular and plural [ii]; expressing the subject of a verb

I: Māter tua Cornēliae dōnum dat. Cornēlia fīliae agricolae dōnum ostendit. Fīlia agricolae quoque dōnum cupit, sed māter tua fīliae agricolae dōnum nōn dat.

II: Agricolae epistulās dō, et agricola mihi pecūniam dat. Agricola epistulās legit. Agricola epistulās fīliae ostendit, sed fīlia epistulās nōn legit.

III: Puella mihi casam poētae mōnstrat. Casa est parva. Poētam nōn videō, sed fīliam poētae interdum videō. Fīlia poētae parvam casam amat.

IV: Poēta fīliae pictūram dat. Fīlia poētae mihi pictūram ostendit. Pictūram laudō et poētam laudō. Fīlia poētae est laeta puella.

V: Nauta mihi fābulam narrat. Māter mea quoque mihi interdum fābulās narrat. Soror mea multās fābulās legit et saepe parvīs puellīs fābulās narrat. Parvae puellae fābulās amant.

VI: Māter mea fīliae tuae dōnum dat. Epistulās saepe nautīs dō. Agricola poētae pecūniam dat. Poēta agricolae epistulam meam ostendit. Puella nautae casam meam mōnstrat. Soror tua agricolae epistulās ostendit.

(1) vocabulary

laudō: I praise

videō: I see

cupit: (he / she / it) wishes; desires

mōnstrat: (he / she / it) points out

narrat: (he / she / it) tells, e.g. a story

ostendit: (he / she / it) shows

fābula: story

pictūra: picture

(2) expressing the subject of a verb

The subject of the verb tells you who or what is performing the action. A subject can be:

[i] a noun e.g. The farmer tells stories.

[ii] a pronoun e.g. He tells stories. ‘He’ is an example of a subject pronoun; the other English subject pronouns are I, you, he / she / it, we, they.

Latin also has subject pronouns, but they are often omitted because the ending of the verb tells you who / what the subject is. Here are examples from this and earlier passages. At this stage look for the endings:

[a]

Īnsulam amō | I love the island.

Dōnum puellīs dō. | I give a gift to the girls.

Poētam laudō. | I praise the poet.

Poētam nōn videō. | I do not see the poet.

Cūr patriam meam nōn amās? | Why do you not love my homeland?

Eurōpam saepe laudāmus, sed Americam amāmus. | We often praise Europe, but we love America.

[b] he, she, it and they are known specifically as third person pronouns; these pronouns are used when talking about someone or something; most often, they refer to a person / thing already mentioned:

I see the farmer. He is telling stories to the girls.

Again, although Latin does have 3^rd person pronouns, they are not required:

[i]

Agricolam videō. | I see the farmer.

> Fabulās puellīs narrat. | He is telling stories to the girls.

> Parvam fīliam habet. | He has a small daughter.

[ii]

Agricola parvīs puellīs fābulās narrat. | The farmer is telling stories to the little girls.

> Fābulās amant et laudant. | They love and praise the stories.

____________________

I: Your mother gives a gift to Cornelia. Cornelia shows the gift to the farmer’s daughter. The farmer’s daughter also wants the gift, but your mother does not give the gift to the farmer’s daughter.

II: I give letters to the farmer, and the farmer gives money to me. The farmer reads the letters. The farmer shows the letters to his daughter, but the daughter does not read the letters.

III: The girl shows me the poet’s house. The house is small. I do not see the poet, but I sometimes see the poet’s daughter. The poet’s daughter loves the small house.

IV: The poet gives a picture to his daughter. The poet’s daughter shows me the picture. I praise the picture and I praise the poet. The poet’s daughter is a happy girl.

V: The sailor tells me a story. My mother also sometimes tells me stories. My sister reads many stories and often tells stories to little girls. The little girls love stories.

VI: My mother gives a gift to your daughter. I often give letters to sailors. The farmer gives money to the poet. The poet shows my letter to the farmer. The girl shows my house to the sailor. Your sister shows letters to the farmer.

25.02.27: Level 4; literature; Mediaeval; Carmina Burana: Fortune plango vulnera [3]: the Wheel of Fortune

Image: the Wheel of Fortune from the Carmina Burana

Going from the left in a clockwise direction … three important tenses in one Mediaeval wheel of Doom

Left: regnābō │I shall reign

Top: regnō │ I reign

Right: regnāvī │ I (have) reigned

Bottom: sum sine regnō │ I am without a kingdom

25.02.27: Level 4; literature; Mediaeval; Carmina Burana: Fortune plango vulnera [2]: notes and vocabulary

[1]

Fortūne [ML = CL: Fortūnae] plangō vulnera │ I lament the wounds of Fortune

stillantibus ocellīs, │ with dripping [flowing / tearful] eyes

quod sua michi [ML = CL: mihi] munera / subtrahit rebellis. │ because she rebelliously withdraws her gifts from me

vērum est, quod legitur  │ It is true what is read

fronte capillāta / sed plērumque sequitur / [i] Occāsiō calvāta. │ [i] Opportunity has hair at the front, but generally a bald patch follows

“Opportunity is described as having hair only on the front of her head - she can be seized as she approaches, but once she has passed, a person grabs futilely at the back of her head.” (Betts)

calvātus, -a, -um: bare; made bald

capillātus, -a, -um: having hair

plangō, -ere, plānxī, plānctus [3]: bewail; lament; mourn

sequor, sequī, secūtus sum [3/deponent]: follow

stīllō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus [1]: drip; trickle

stillāns, stillantis: present active participle > ocellīs stillantibus │ with dripping eyes

subtrahō, -ere, -trāxī, -trāctus [3]: remove; withdraw

sua michi [dative] munera subtrahit │ She removes / takes away her gifts from me

[2] “In the second and third stanzas reference is made to the Wheel of Fortune, a common motif in the Middle Ages and often represented in art, where it was conceived as a primitive Ferris wheel accommodating four - one up, one down, one about to achieve prosperity, one about to be plunged into misery.” (Betts) 

Note in this stanza the use of perfect passive participles and adjectives derived from them

ēlātus

coronātus

beātus

privātus

In Fortūn(a)e soliō │ On the throne of Fortune

sēderam ēlātus, │ I had sat [pluperfect tense] (having been) exalted (raised up;  elevated) [perfect passive participle]

prōsperitātis ¦ variō / flōre [ablative] ¦ corōnātus; │ (having been) Crowned [perfect passive participle] ¦ with the many-coloured flower of prosperity

quicquid enim flōruī │ for however (in whatever way) I have flourished

fēlīx et beātus │ happy and blessed

nunc ā summō corruī │ Now I have fallen down from the top

glōriā prīvātus. │ (having been) deprived [perfect passive participle] of glory.

corruō, -ere, -uī, corrutus [3]: fall down

solium, -ī [2/m]: [i] seat; chair [ii] (here) throne

[i] sēderam ēlātus │ I had sat (having been) exalted (raised up)

The verb ferō (carry; bear), which will be discussed in greater depth in later posts, has unusual principal parts: ferō, ferre, tulī, lātus (why that happens will be explained)

lātus: having been carried

Those same principal parts will apply to compound forms of ferō:

ēlātus: having been lifted up

[ii] gloriā [ablative] prīvātus │ deprived of glory [literally: deprived from glory]

the ablative case can be used to express separation from something e.g. eōs timōre līberāvit │ he freed them from fear

[3]

Fortūn(a)e rota volvitur; │ the wheel of Fortune is turned

dēscendō minōrātus; │ I descend (having been) diminished

alter in altum tollitur; │ another is raised up on high

nimis exaltātus │ (having been) too exalted

rēx sedet in vertice │ the king sits at the top

caveat ruīnam! │ let him beware ruin!

nam sub axe legimus │ for below the axle we read

Hecubam rēgīnam. │ Queen Hecuba.

axis, -is [3/m]: axle (of a wheel)

minōrō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus [1] (late latin): reduce; diminish

vertex, verticis [3/m]: (here) highest point; summit; top

caveat ruīnam │ let him beware ruin; subjunctive, known in grammar as the jussive subjunctive that forms a command / suggestion usually referring to a third person rather than directly addressing somebody

Hecuba: “The name of Hecuba was a suitable inscription for the axle as she was the supreme example of Fortune's malice. From being Queen of Troy, after its sack she suffered such misery as a captive of the Greeks that the gods, out of pity, turned her into a dog.” (Betts)

25.02.27: Level 4; literature; Mediaeval; Carmina Burana: Fortune plango vulnera [1]: text / translation / pronunciation notes

In the Mediaeval world, they knew that power did not last forever; unfortunately, some of our 21^st century leaders think it does.

[1]

Fortūne plangō vulnera │ I lament the wounds of Fortune

stillantibus ocellīs, │ with dripping (flowing / tearful) eyes

quod sua michi mūnera / subtrahit rebellis. │ because she rebelliously withdraws her gifts from me

vērum est, quod legitur │ It is true what is read

fronte capillāta, / sed plērumque sequitur / Occāsiō calvāta. │ Opportunity has hair at the front, but generally a bald patch follows

[2]

In Fortūne soliō │ On the throne of Fortune

sēderam ēlātus, │ I had sat exalted (raised up;  elevated)

prōsperitātis variō / flōre corōnātus; │ Crowned with the many-coloured flower of prosperity

quicquid enim flōruī │ for however (in whatever way) I have flourished

fēlīx et beātus │ happy and blessed

nunc ā summō corruī │ now I have fallen down from the top

glōriā prīvātus. │ deprived of glory.

[3]

Fortūne rota volvitur; │ the wheel of Fortune is turned

dēscendō minōrātus; │ I descend diminished

alter in altum tollitur; │ another is raised up on high

nimis exaltātus │ too exalted

rēx sedet in vertice │ the king sits at the top

caveat ruīnam! │ let him beware ruin!

nam sub axe legimus │ for below the axle we read

Hecubam rēgīnam. │ Queen Hecuba.

Mediaeval pronunciation:

[i] fortūne = fortūnae; spelling change to reflect pronunication shift of Classical Latin /ae/ > /e/  

[ii] vulnera [vool-ne-ra]; all letter v’s in the text are pronounced as in Engl. very; CL did not have a /v/ sound but developed later; CL letter V represented a /u/ or /w/ but since this text is Mediaeval, the singers reflect the pronunciation change by this period; that pronunciation is also in Ecclesiastical Latin although this song is secular

[iii] michi = mihi

[iv] ocellīs: c + e as /che/ rather than CL hard /c/ [k]; similarly: dēscendō; vertice

[v] legitur: g + i as soft /g/ as in English /j/ rather than CL hard /g/ [as in get]; similarly: legimus; rēginam 

24.02.27: Level 3+ (review); correlatives [7] making comparisons (4) quō … eō; quantō … tantō; quālis … tālis …

[xii] quō … eō … [or: eō … quō …]

[xiii] quantō … tantō … [or: tantō … quantō …]

Both used in combination with a comparative adjective or adverb:

the more (the … er) ….  the more (the … er) e.g. the bigger the better

hominēs quō plūra habent eō cupiunt ampliōra

• The more men have, the more they desire.

quō minus cupiditātis, eō plūs auctōritātis (Livy)

• the less greed, the more weight

quae eō frūctuōsiōrēs fīunt, quō caldiōre terrā arātur (Varro)

• and they become more fruitful the warmer the ground in which ploughing takes place

quantō pulchrior tempestās erat, tantō fēlīciōrēs erāmus

• The nicer the weather was, the happier we were.

quantō erat gravior oppūgnātiō, tantō crēbriōrēs litterae mittēbantur (Caesar)

• The more severe the siege was, the more frequently letters were sent.

atque quantō, nox, fuistī longior hāc proximā, tantō brevior diēs ut fīat faciam (Plautus)

• and, Night, the longer you were than the last one, I’ll make the day so much the shorter.

quantō in pectore hanc rem meō magis volātō, tantō mī aegritūdō auctior est in animō (Plautus)

The more I keep this matter flying about in my heart [ = the more I think it over], the more my distress is increased [ = grows] in my mind.

[xiv] tālis … quālis … [or: quālis … tālis …] | of such a sort … as …

cum esset tālis quālem tē esse videō (Cicero)

• since he was such a man as I see you are

Ac sī quis est tālis quālis esse omnis oportēbat … (Cicero)

• And if there is anyone such as everybody ought to be … 

et tālis est quaeque rēs pūblica, quālis eius aut nātūra aut voluntās, quī illam regit (Cicero)

• And each state is of such a kind as either the nature or the will of the person who rules it.

A number of proverbs illustrate not only the use of this correlative but also the way in which English often does not translate them using a restricted dictionary definition as it literally occurs in Latin:

[1]

Quālis pater, tālis fīlius.

Like father, like son.

Nōn semper homō tālis est, quālis (esse) dīcitur. [Lit: He’s not always the sort of man as he’s said to be.]

• A man is not always as he is said to be.

[2]

Quālia dīxerīs, tālia audiēs. [Lit: Such things you might say, so you will hear.]

• Whatever you say, you will hear the same, i.e. If you speak good (or bad) things about other people, you will hear the same about yourself.

Tālia dicentur tibi, quālia dīxerīs ipse. [Lit: Such things will be said to you as you will say yourself.]

• Whatever you say will be said to you.

[3]

Quālis homō, tālis sermō. [Lit: As is the man, so is his speech.]

Quālia verba virī, tālis et ipse vir est. [Lit: As are the words of the man, so too is the man himself.]

Both convey the same idea:

• A man is what he says / a man is determined by his words.

Tālīs hominum ōrātiō, quālis vīta. [Lit: Such is the speech of men, so is their life.]

• Men’s words show the life they lead.

[4]

Quālīs vīs vidērī, tālis estō. [Lit: As you wish to be seen, be such]

• Be the way you want to appear.

Quālēs sumus, tālēs esse videāmur. [Lit: Let us be seen to be such as we are.]

• Let’s not pretend to be something that we’re not.

23.02.27: Level 1-2 (review): Julia (a Latin Reader) [10] (1)

ĪPHIGENĪA (1)

In Graeciā frātrēs duo, Agamemnōn et Menelāus nōmine, ōlim habitābant. Graecī frātrēs Atrīdās vocābant, quod Atreī fīliī erant, Agamemnōn omnium Argīvōrum rēx erat. Menelāus Lacedaemoniōs regēbat. Helenē, uxor Menelāī, praeclāra et fōrmōsa rēgīna, cum virō in rēgiā multōs annōs habitābat. Sed tandem Paris, Troiānōrum prīnceps, ad hospitium Menelāī vēnit.

Perfidus et ignāvus erat hospes, sed pictīs vestīmentīs, nitidīs capillīs fulgēbat. Diū in rēgiā manēbat, et grātus rēgīnae animō erat hospes fōrmōsus. Tandem nocte obscūrā Helenam fūrtim raptāvit et in nāvem imposuit. Vēla candida ventīs secundīs dedit, et trāns mare ad urbem Trōiam properāvit.

Agamemnōn, -onis [3/m]: Agamemnon, king of Argos

Argīvus, -ī [2/m]: Argive, native of Argos

Atreus, -ī [2/m]: Atreus, father of Agamemnon and Menelaus

Atrīdae, -ārum [1/m pl]: sons of Atreus

Graecia, -ae [1/f]: Greece

Helenē, -ēs [1/f]: Helen of Troy, wife of Menelaus

Lacedaemonius, -ī [2/m]: a Lacedaemonian, Spartan

Menelāus, -ī [2/m]: Menelaus, king of Sparta

Paris, -idis [3/m]: Paris, a prince of Troy

Trōia, -ae [1/f]: Troy, a town at the entrance to the Dardanelles

Trōiānus, -ī [2/m]: a Trojan

[i]

hospes, -itis [3 m/f]: guest, host

hospitium, -ī [2/n]: hospitality

nox, noctis [3/f]: night

rēgia, -ae [1/f]: palace

vestīmentum, -ī [2/n]: dress, garment

[ii]

nitidus, -a, -um: shining

obscūrus, -a, -um: dark, dim

perfidus, -a, -um: treacherous

pictus, -a, -um: painted, embroidered

[iii]

veniō, -īre [4]: come

____________________

Once upon a time in Greece there lived two brothers named Agamemnon and Menelaus. The Greeks called the brothers the Atreidae because they were the sons of Atreus. Agamemnon was king of all the Argives. Menelaus ruled the Lacedaemonians (Spartans).

Helen, the wife of Menelaus, a famous and beautiful queen, lived with her husband in the royal palace for many years. But at last Paris, prince of the Trojans, came as a guest to the house of Menelaus.

The guest was treacherous and cowardly, but he shone in colourful clothing and with gleaming hair. He stayed in the palace for a long time, and the handsome guest was pleasing to the queen's heart. At last, on a dark night, he secretly abducted Helen and placed her on a ship. He gave the white sails to favourable winds and hastened across the sea to the city of Troy.

22.02.27: Level 1; step-by-step; scaffolding [3] singular and plural

[B]

ūna ūva | one grape

duae ūvae | two grapes

multae ūvae | many grapes

Latin nouns change in the plural. At this stage, focus only on three types:

[1] ending in -a

-a > -ae

ūva: grape / a grape / the grape [Latin does not have words for ‘the’ or ‘a(n)’]

ūna ūva: one grape

ūvae: grapes

duae ūvae: two grapes

multae ūvae: many grapes

[2] ending in -us

-us > -ī

equus: (a/the) horse

ūnus equus: one horse

equī: (the) horses

duo equī: two horses

multī equī: many horses

[3] ending in -um

-um > -a

ōvum: (a/the) egg

ūnum ōvum: one egg

ōva: (the) eggs

duo ōva: two eggs

multa ōva: many eggs

Exercise

Practise the patterns with the following nouns:

(1) nouns ending in -a

__________a | (a/the) __________

ūna __________a | one __________

duae __________ae | two __________

multae __________ae | many __________

• amīca: friend (female)
• ancilla: maidservant
• fēmina: lady
• fenestra: window
• galea: helmet
• puella: girl

(2) nouns ending in -us

__________us

ūnus __________us

duo __________ī

multī __________ī

• amīcus: friend (male)
• discipulus: pupil (male)
• gladius: sword
• hortus: garden
• mūrus: wall
• servus: slave

(3) nouns ending in -um

__________um

ūnum __________um

duo __________a

multa__________a

• mālum: apple
• oppidum: town
• pirum: pear
• pōculum: cup (in Ancient Rome, a type of goblet e.g. for drinking wine)
• scūtum: shield
• templum: temple

21.02.27: Level 1; First Latin Lessons (5); dative case: 1st declension; singular and plural [i]

I: Māter mea epistulam scrībit et epistulam parvae puellae dat. Parva puella epistulam agricolae dat. Agricola epistulam legit. Agricola mihi epistulam dat. Pecūniam agricolae dō. Agricola parvae puellae pecūniam dat. Parva puella pecūniam Cornēliae dat. Cornēlia est māter parvae puellae.

II: Māter mea dōnum parvīs puellīs dat. Parvae puellae laetae sunt. Māter mea parvās puellās amat.

III: Nautae epistulās dō. Nauta epistulās incolīs īnsulārum dat. Incolae īnsulārum pecūniam nautae dant.

IV: Agricola epistulam poētae dat. Poēta pecūniam agricolae dat. Dōnum puellīs dō. Parvae puellae mihi epistulam dant. Fīlia tua pecūniam nautae dat. Nauta mihi pecūniam dat.

(1) vocabulary

• dō: I give
• dat: (he / she / it) gives
• dant: they give
• dōnum: gift
• laeta: happy
• legit: (he / she / it) reads
• māter: mother
• mihi: to me (dative case)

(2) The dative case expresses the indirect object, the person to whom, for example, something is given or said.

Poēta [A] pecūniam ¦ [B] agricolae ¦ dat.

• The poet gives [A] money ¦ [B] to the farmer.

[A] pecuniam: the direct object [accusative]

[B] agricolae: the indirect object [dative]

English can change the word order by putting the indirect object first:

The poet gives ¦ [B] the farmer [indirect object] ¦ [A] money [direct object].

At the early stages of studying Latin it is better to use the translation with to so that the Latin dative case is clearly identified.

Nauta ¦ mihi ¦ pecūniam dat.

• The sailor gives ¦ me [indirect object] ¦ money [direct object] = The sailor gives money [direct object] ¦ to me [indirect object].

Dōnum puellīs dō.

• I give the girls [indirect object] ¦ a gift [direct object] = I give a gift [direct object] ¦ to the girls [indirect object].

(3) This text deals with the dative case of 1^st declension nouns:

1^st declension: nouns end in -a

Nominative singular: puella

[i] Dative singular: puellae

Nominative plural: puellae

[ii] Dative plural: puellīs

(4)

[i] dative case singular: -ae

Parva puella epistulam agricolae dat.

[ii] dative case plural: -īs

Dōnum puellīs dō.

(5) The same endings apply to 1^st / 2^nd declension adjectives:

Māter mea … epistulam ¦ parvae puellae ¦ dat.

• My mother … gives a letter ¦ to the little girl.

Māter mea dōnum ¦ parvīs puellīs ¦ dat.

• My mother gives a gift ¦ to the little girls.

LINKS

06.03.24: introduction to the dative case

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/04/060324-introduction-to-dative-case.html

06.03.24: further practice in the dative case of first declension nouns

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/04/060324-further-practice-in-dative-case.html

all posts:

https://adckl.blogspot.com/search/label/dative%20case

____________________

I: My mother writes a letter and gives the letter to the little girl. The little girl gives the letter to the farmer. The farmer reads the letter. The farmer gives the letter to me. I give money to the farmer. The farmer gives money to the little girl. The little girl gives money to Cornelia. Cornelia is the mother of the little girl.

II: My mother gives a gift to the little girls. The little girls are happy. My mother loves the little girls.

III: I give letters to the sailor. The sailor gives letters to the inhabitants of the islands. The inhabitants of the islands give money to the sailor. The sailor gives money to me.

IV: The farmer gives a letter to the poet. The poet gives money to the farmer. I give a gift to the girls. The little girls give a letter to me. Your daughter gives money to the sailor.

20.02.27: Topic / Level 4; animals at work (1)

NOTE: the topic can be used simply to make a list of vocabulary and the basic translations. However, to illustrate the vocabulary a large number of excerpts from original literature are used.

Here, and in the next posts, we look at animals as a means of transporting either goods or people, pulling some form of vehicle or farming equipment, as well as their use in war.

[1] One of the first words you would encounter when learning Latin is equus and it is by far the most common. There are, however, some other terms which should be noted even if they rarely occur.

[i] equus, -ī [2/m]: horse

Note: vehō, -ere, vēxī, vectus [3]: convey; commonly used when referring to how somebody was transported:

Alexander equō [ablative] vehebātur  (Quintus Curtius Rufus)

literally: Alexander was conveyed by a horse, i.e. Alexander travelled by horse / rode on horseback

[ii] equa, -ae [1/f]: mare

[iii] caballus, -ī [2/m]: pack-horse; nag; workhorse

The term refers to an inferior horse; in CL caballus is found in poetic works, but its use is evident in prose from the Late Latin period, hence the derivatives cheval in French and caballo in Spanish.

Old English already had firmly established vocabulary for domestic animals: hors; mīere. However, the Latin words are evident in English derivatives e.g. equine and, via French, cavalier and chevalier < Late Latin: caballārius, -ī [2/m]: horseman; rider

[iv] canthērius, -ī [2/m]: a gelding i.e. a castrated horse;  in a transferred sense, it can refer to an impotent old man

Three quotations from Plautus, none of which present the horse (or its human equivalent!) in a positive light:

(1) This first quotation from Plautus emphasises their low value:

ego faxim mūlī, pretiō quī superant equōs, sint vīliōrēs Gallicīs canthēriīs

• I’d see to it that the mules that cost more than horses, would be cheaper than Gallic geldings.

(2) Likewise, the horses are associated with the negative portrayal of fish-sellers:

Tum piscātōrēs quī praebent populō piscēs foetidōs, quī advehuntur quadrupedantī cruciantī canthēriō,  …

• Then the fishermen that offer the people stinking fish, that are carried around on a trotting, jolting [lit: torturing] gelding, …

(3) He may be an old lecher, but he still thinks he’s in with a chance …

quamquam vetus canthērius sum, etiam nunc, ut ego opīnor, adhinnīre equolam* possum ego hanc, …

• Although I’m an old gelding, even now, I think, I can still whinny at this little mare / little filly, …

*Plautine spelling: equulus, -ī [2/m]: foal; equula, -ae [1/f]: a little mare / filly

[v] verēdus, -ī [2/m]: a fast or light breed of horse; courier’s horse; hunting-horse

From Martial:

l1: Pārcius ūtārīs, moneō, rapiente verēdō, | You should use more sparingly, I advise you, the rushing hunting-horse,

l2: Prīsce, nec in leporēs tām violentus eās. | and you should not, Priscus, go so furiously after the hares,

ll3-4: Saepe satisfēcit praedae vēnātor, et ācrī / Dēcidit excussus, nec reditūrus, equō. | The hunter has often made amends to the prey, and, shaken off, has fallen – never to return - from the fierce horse.

[2]

[i] asinus, -ī [2/m]: donkey; ass

[ii] asellus, -ī [2/m]: small donkey

[iii] asina, -ae [1/f]: female donkey; she-ass

[iv] mūlus, -ī [2/m]: mule

[v] pullus, -ī [2/m]: although the noun can refer to a chicken or any young fowl, its meaning encompasses any young animal e.g. a foal

(1) Īte in castellum, quod contrā vōs est, et statim introeuntēs illūc, inveniētis pullum ligātum, super quem nēmō adhūc hominum sēdit: solvite illum, et addūcite. (Vulgate)

• “Go to the village ahead of you, and just as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here.” 

(2) ecce rēx tuus veniet tibi iūstus et salvātor ipse pauper et ascendēns super asinum et super pullum fīlium asinae (Vulgate)

• Behold, your king comes to you! He is righteous, and having salvation; Lowly, and riding on a donkey, Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

19.02.27: Level 3+ (review); correlatives [6] making comparisons (3); totiēns … quotiēns …

[xi] totiēns … quotiēns … [or: totiēs … quotiēs …] | as often … as …

Unlike most other correlatives which can be ‘neatly’ conveyed, you cannot always mechanically translate but need to consider the most fluent rendering while retaining the underlying meaning: with totiēns … quotiēns … two actions take place with the same frequency.

The first two quotations do conform to dictionary translations of the correlative:

[A] cum tū eī contumēliōsissimē totiēns male dicās [B] quotiēns tē illī adfīnem esse dīcis (Cicero)

• since [A] you abuse him in the most insulting manner as many times [B] as you say that he is associated with you

[A] totiēns, [B] quotiēns praescrībitur, … [A] hymnum recitārimus (Cicero)

• [A] we shall recite … a hymn as often [B] as is prescribed

The order of the correlative construction may be reversed and variations in form can occur:

quotiēnscumque dīcō, totiēns mihi videor in iūdicium venīre (Cicero)

• As often as / however often I speak, I seem just as often to be brought into judgment …

At this level of Latin, you will encounter more flexible and fluent translations which will avoid awkwardness and still convey the sense of the correlative in context without rendering it so literally:

quotiēns ībis, totiēns magis placēbit quod bonum erit

[Lit: However often you go, what will be good will just as often please you more.]

In context, the quotation is from Cato’s Dē Agricultūrā:

• However often you go, a good piece of land will please you more at each visit.

Likewise, in this example, you encounter Cicero’s style of the tricolon i.e three statements which, here, are structurally identical:

(1) quotiēns coniugem, (2) quotiēns domum, (3) quotiēns patriam vidēret, totiēns sē beneficium meum vidēre (Cicero)

[Lit: [A] As often as he saw his wife, as often as his home, as often as his country, [B] so often he saw my kindness. ]

A fluent translation needs to retain the emphatic idea that both [A] and [B] happened with the same frequency. At the same time the translation should avoid clumsiness:

Every time he saw his wife, or his home, or his native land, he always recognised my kindness.

• He never saw his wife’s face, or his home, or his native land, without recognizing the debt he owed to me. [transl. Winstedt]

There is no “answer” and this correlative is only an example to show that, when translating Latin, you need to be flexible and not always use verbatim definitions from a dictionary.

In other words, dictionary definitions are a starting point, but not necessarily a solution.