01.04.24: Review of 3rd declension nouns [3]; ablative of manner

Same as before: just keep looking at those 3rd declension nouns in bold because they’re so common in the literature. Translation in the comments.

DĒ CERTĀMINIBUS RŌMĀNĪS

[Chesnutt: the Road to Latin (1933)]

Populus Rōmānus lūdōs et spectācula amābat. Erant lūdī gladiatōriī, certāmina quadrīgārum, alia spectācula. Rōmānī lūdōs gladiātōriōs et certāmina quadrīgārum libenter spectābant. Certāmen quadrīgārum in Circō Maximō erat et populō Rōmānō maximē acceptum erat. Multitūdō virōrum et fēminārum et līberōrum certāmen quadrīgārum magnō cum studiō spectābat. Prīncipium certāminis quadrīgārum ā dominō lūdōrum nūntiābātur. Tum spectātōrēs cum studiō aurīgās salūtābant.

Saepe aurīga erat servus. Corpus aurīgae aut rubrā aut albā tunicā tegēbātur. Colōre tunicae Rōmānī corpus aurīgae cernēbant. Pulchra erat aurīgae magnitūdō corporis. Maximā cum celeritāte equī currēbant. Corpora equōrum erant pulchra. Spectātōrēs corpora equōrum laudābant. Victōrī certāminis quadrīgārum palma ā dominō lūdōrum dabātur. Mūnus erat aurīgae grātum. Multa mūnera pulchra victōrī ā spectātōribus dabantur. Hodiē Cornēlius cum fīliīs Lūciō et Aulō Circum Maximum iterum intrant. Ibi puerī certāmen quadrīgārum maximō studiō spectant. Clāmōrēs spectātōrum Circum Maximum complent.

Vocabulary

(a) 3rd declension nouns

• celeritās, celeritātis [3/f]: speed
• certāmen, -inis [3/n]: contest; race
• color, colōris [3/m]: colour
• corpus, corporis [3/n]: body
• magnitūdō, magnitūdinis [3/f]: greatness; size
• magnitūdō corporis: stature
• mūnus, mūneris [3/n]: gift; reward
• spectātor, spectātōris [3/m]: spectator

(b) other words

• acceptus, -a, -um: acceptable; pleasing
• cernō, cernere [3]: detect; distinguish
• compleō, complēre [2]: fill; cover
• gladiatōrius, -a, -um: gladiatorial
• quadrīga, -ae [1/m]: charioteer
• quadrigae (plural): a four horse team for chariot racing
• studium, -ī [2/n]: eagerness; enthusiasm
• tegō, tegere [3]: protect; cover
• palma, -ae [1/f]: “ The palm branch bestowed by both Greeks and Romans upon victorious athletes and drivers in the race-course. In works of art, therefore, it symbolizes victory.” (Thurston Peck)

Notes

[1] Keep looking out for the case endings!

Certamen … populō Rōmānō [dative] maximē acceptum erat. The contest … was very greatly pleasing to the Roman people.

Mūnus erat aurīgae [dative] grātum. The gift / reward was pleasing to the charioteer i.e. The charioteer liked the gift.

[2] ablative of manner

• cum studiō: with enthusiasm
• magnō cum studiō: with great enthusiasm
• maximō studiō: with the greatest enthusiasm
• maximā cum celeritāte: with the greatest / very great speed

In grammar this is known as the ablative of manner

The horse runs with great speed. The sentence describes how the horse runs i.e. the manner in which it runs.

To express this Latin does the following:

preposition cum (with) + ablative

cum celeritāte: with speed; the preposition must be included

When an adjective is involved, the preposition is optional, but, if it is used, it goes between the adjective and the noun:

maximā cum celeritāte: with the greatest speed

Ibi puerī certāmen quadrīgārum ¦ maximō studiō [preposition omitted] ¦ spectant.

There the boys watch the chariot race with the greatest enthusiasm.

[3] Some more examples of the passive in this text:

[i] Prīncipium certāminis quadrīgārum ¦ ā dominō ¦ lūdōrum nūntiābātur.

The start of the chariot race was announced ¦ by the master of the games.

We looked at that in the previous post. The person by whom something is done is expressed by ā + ablative.

Now look at this one:

[ii] Corpus aurīgae aut rubrā aut albā tunicā tegēbātur.

The charioteer’s body was protected by either a red or white tunic.

The thing by which something is done is expressed by the ablative alone.

[iii] Latin word order is flexible and the more involved the sentence becomes, the more you need to look closely at the case endings. Find the nominative first.

Victōrī [dative] certāminis quadrīgārum ¦ [1] palma [nominative] ¦ ā dominō lūdōrum ¦ dābatur.

A palm was given ¦ to the winner of the chariot race ¦ by the master of the games.

Multa [1] mūnera [nominative] pulchra ¦ victōrī [dative] ¦ ā spectātōribus ¦ dabantur.

Many beautiful gifts ¦ were given ¦ to the winner ¦ by the spectators.

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The Roman people loved games and spectacles. There were gladiatorial contests, chariot races, and other spectacles. The Romans enjoyed watching the gladiatorial games and the chariot races. There was a chariot race in the Circus Maximus, ¦ and it was very greatly pleasing to the people of Rome [= the Roman people really liked it]. A large number [a crowd] of men and women and children watched the chariot race with great enthusiasm. The start of the chariot race was announced by the master of the games. Then they greeted the charioteers with eagerness.

Often the driver was a slave. The body of the charioteer was protected by either a red or a white tunic. They distinguished [could make out] the body of the Roman charioteer by the colour of his tunic. The charioteer had beautiful stature. The horses ran with the greatest speed. The bodies of the horses were beautiful. The spectators praised the bodies of the horses. A palm was given to the winner of the chariot race by the master of the games. The gift pleased the charioteer. Many beautiful gifts were given to the winner by the spectators. Today, Cornelius goes again with his sons Lucius and Aulus into the Circus Maximus again. There, the boys watch the chariot race with great eagerness. The shouts of the spectators fill the Circus Maximus.

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