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.
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