Translation in the comments
DĒ CERTĀMINIBUS QUADRĪGĀRUM
[Chesnutt: the Road to Latin
(1933)]
Nunc Cornēlius cum fīliīs Circum
Maximum intrat. Magnō cum gaudiō puerī in subselliīs sedent. Circus Maximus
puerōs dēlectat. Circus Maximus est aedificium longum. In mediō Circō Maximō
est magna arēna. Sōl arēnam illūminat. Cirum arēnam sunt
subsellia. Dē subselliīs spectātōrēs lūdōs spectant. In Circō Maximō sunt
multa genera hominum. Sunt ducēs, mercātōrēs,
agricolae, servī. Dē subseliīs puerī magnō studiō arēnam spectant. Arēna mūrō
angustō dīviditur. Nōmen mūrī angustī est “spīna.” In spīnā sunt
statuae clārōrum aurīgārum et equōrum. Prope terminōs spīnae sunt columnae
altae. Columnae sunt mētae. In summā spīnā prope mētās iūdicēs stant.
Circum spīnam equī volant.
“Nōnne est tempus certāminis,
pater?” rogant puerī.
“Nōndum, meī fīliī,” respondet
Cornēlius. “Ante certāmen semper est pompa. Pompa per viās ad
Circum Maximum iter facit. In pompā sunt equī, aurīgae, virī
clārī, imāginēs pulchrae deōrum. Mox pompa portam intrābit et
per arēnam veniet.”
“Porta aperītur,” clāmat Lūcius.
“Pompa venit!”
Post pompam spectātōrēs signum certāminis exspectant.
Signum ā dominō lūdōrum datur; quadrīgae maximā cum celeritāte in
arēnam volant. Per septem spatia equī circum spīnam volant. Vulnera aurīgārum
sunt multa. Interdum aurīgae interficiuntur quod super capita et corpora miserōrum
reliquae quadrīgae volant.
“Meus aurīga est in spatiō
extrēmō,” clāmat Aulus. “Volat circum mētam extrēmam. Reliquōs aurīgās
relinquit. Est victor!”
Vocabulary
(a) 3rd declension nouns
dux, ducis [3/m]: leader;
commander; ruler
genus, generis [3/n]: type
imāgō, imāginis [3/f]: image
iter, itineris [3/n]: journey
- iter faciō, facere [3-iō]: make one’s way
iūdex, iūdicis [3/m]: judge
mercātor, mercātōris [3/m]:
merchant
nōmen, nōminis [3/n]: name
vulnus, vulneris [3/n]: wound
(b) Other words
angustus, -a, -um: narrow
dīvidō, dīvidere [3]: divide
extrēmus, -a, -um: outermost;
furthest
mēta, -ae [1/f]: turning point;
winning post (of the racecourse)
nōndum: not yet
relinquō, relinquere [3]: leave
behind
reliquus, -a, -um: remaining
sōl, -is [3/m]: sun
spatium, -ī [2/n]: space;
distance between two points; period of time; (here) lap (of a race)
spīna, -ae [1/f] [i] backbone;
spine [ii] (here) a long low wall along the centre of the racecourse
subsellium, -ī [2/n]: low bench
super + accusative: upon; over;
on the top of
terminus, -ī [2/m]: end; boundary
line
volō, volāre [1]: fly
Notes
[1]
medius, -a, -um: middle
summus, -a, -um: highest;
greatest; top [Engl. deriv. “summit”]
These two are adjectives but, in
English, we generally have to rework them into nouns:
- in mediā urbe: in the centre of the city
- in mediō Circō Maximō: in the middle of the Circus Maximus
- in summō monte: at the top of the mountain
- in summā spīnā: on the top of the “spina”
[2] More examples of the passive;
look out for -ur
Portam aperiō: I open the gate
> Porta aperītur: the
gate is being opened
Mīles aurīgam interficit: the
soldier kills the charioteer
> Aurīgae interficiuntur:
the charioteers are killed
[i] signum ¦ ā dominō lūdōrum
¦ datur: the signal is given ¦ by the master of the games
If something is done by a person:
ā + ablative
arēna ¦ mūrō angustō ¦
dīviditur: the arena is divided ¦ by a narrow wall
[ii] If something is done by
a thing, the ablative alone is used
[3] Mox pompa portam intrābit et
per arēnam veniet. Soon the procession will enter the
gate and will come through the arena. That’s the first glimpse
of the Latin future tense; it’s coming very soon.
____________________
Now Cornelius enters the Circus
Maximus with his sons. The boys sit on the benches with great joy. The Circus
Maximus delights the boys [= the boys really like …]. The Circus Maximus is a
long building. In the middle of the Circus Maximus is a large arena. The sun
illuminates the arena. There are benches around the arena. The spectators watch
the games from the benches. There are many kinds of people in the Circus
Maximus. There are leaders, merchants, farmers, and slaves. From the benches
the boys look at the arena with great enthusiasm. The arena is divided by a
narrow wall. The name of the narrow wall is the spīna. On the low dividing wall
are statues of famous charioteers and horses. Near the ends of the wall are
tall columns. The columns are goals. On top of the wall near the goal the
judges stand. The horses fly around the spīna.
"It’s time for the contest,
isn’t it father?" the boys ask. "Not yet, my sons," answers
Cornelius. “There is always a parade before the competition. The parade travels
through the streets to the Circus Maximus. In the parade are horses,
charioteers, well-known men, beautiful images of the gods. Soon the parade will
enter the gate and come through the arena.
"The gate is being
opened!" shouts Lucius. "The parade is coming!"
After the parade, the spectators
wait for the signal for the contest. The signal is given by the master of the
games; the chariots fly into the arena with great speed. For seven laps the
horses fly around the low dividing wall. The wounds of the charioteers are many
[= The charioteers have …]. Sometimes the drivers are killed because the rest
of the chariots fly over the heads and bodies of the poor men.
"My driver is on the last
lap," shows Aulus. “He’s flying around the furthest goal. He’s leaving the
rest of the charioteers behind. He is the winner!”
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