Read the text for understanding and then look at the words
and phrases in bold, all of which are discussed in the note.
Dēlectāmenta puerōrum
[Ora Maritima: Sonnenschein (1902)]
In numerō amīcōrum meōrum sunt duō puerī. Marcus, puer
quattuordecim annōrum, mihi praecipuus amīcus est. Prope Dubrās nunc habitant,
sed ex Calēdoniā oriundī sunt. Nōbīs puerīs fēriae nunc sunt; nam condiscipulī
sumus. Inter fēriās līberī sumus scholīs. Amīcī meī mē saepe vīsitant, et ego
amīcos meōs vīsitō. Magna est inter nōs amīcitia. Ūnā ambulāmus, ūnā in undīs
spūmiferīs natāmus, cum nōn nimis asperae sunt. Quantopere nōs puerōs lūdī
pilārum in arēnā dēlectant! Ut iuvat castella contrā undās spūmiferās
aedificāre!
Nōbīs puerīs fēriae plēnae sunt gaudiōrum ā māne usque ad
vesperum. Nōnnumquam in scaphā cum Petrō nāvigāmus. Petrus est adulescentulus
vīgintī annōrum. Petrī scapha nōn sōlum rēmīs sed etiam vēlīs apta est.
Plērumque rēmigāmus, sed nōnnumquam vēla damus, cum ventus nōn nimis asper est.
Petrus scapham gubernat et vēlīs ministrat. Nōs puerī scapham
bellam laudāmus et amāmus.
Vocabulary
dēlectāmentum: amusement
praecipuus, -a, um: chief, especial, particular
condiscipulus: schoolmate
amīcitia: friendship
ūnā: together
castellum: castle
spūmifer, -a, -um: foamy
gaudium: joy
nimis: too
asper, -a, -um: rough
lūdus: game
pila: ball
ut: how
iuvat: it delights
contrā: against
ā māne: from morning
usque ad vesperum: right on until evening
nōnnumquam: sometimes (lit. not never)
adulescentulus: a young man
nōn sōlum ... sed etiam: not only ... but also
rēmus: oar
vēlum: sail (of a ship)
aptus, -a, -um: fitted; adapted; suitable
plērumque: mostly; generally
rēmigāre: to row
gubernāre: to steer
ministrāre: to attend
Notes
[1] puer quattuordecim annōrum: lit: a boy
¦ of fourteen years [genitive plural] = a 14 year old boy
[2] amīcus praecipuus: a special friend;
you can also say amīcus optimus: a very good friend / best friend
[3] Nōbīs puerīs fēriae nunc
sunt: a good example of the dative of possession being used with a pronoun and
a noun. Literal meaning: to us boys [there] are now holidays =
we boys now have holidays = we boys are now on holiday.
[4] Inter fēriās līberī sumus scholīs:
During the holidays we are free from the schools; scholīs is
in the ablative case. Again, you see another use of the ablative called
the ablative of separation i.e. when X is, in some way,
separated from Y. This is commonly found with the verb liberāre (to
free somebody from something) and, as here, the adjective līber,
-a, -um.
[5] Ut iuvat castella contrā undās
spūmiferās aedificāre! The verb iuvāre has two
meanings [i] to help, and [ii] to please / delight; here it is the second
meaning and is used with an infinitive aedificāre: How it pleases
to build … A more fluent translation would be “How (we) like building… / How
fun it is to build …
Remember the rule of translation: [i] Translate as closely
as possible to the original to analyse how the sentence is structured and [ii]
when you have that clear in your mind, rework the sentence if necessary into
more fluent English. There will soon be more information on iuvāre.
[6] Nōbīs puerīs fēriae plēnae sunt
gaudiōrum...The holidays are full of joys for us boys i.e. the
dative is being used to express for whose benefit something
exists. Again, “full of joys” sounds somewhat stilted; “full of fun” would
convey the same meaning.
[7] Petrī scapha … vēlīs apta est: Peter’s
boat is fitted for sails; the adjective aptus, -a, -um is,
like amīcus, cārus, grātus and proximus,
one which is followed by the dative case.
[8] nōnnumquam vēla damus: sometimes we set the
sails i.e. unfurl sails and raise them; the phrase can also mean ‘set sail’
[9] Petrus ... vēlīs [dative plural]
ministrat. Peter attends to / takes care of the
sails.
No comments:
Post a Comment