Language teachers sometimes use the term “exploiting” a
text. That doesn’t mean copying its content – which is pointless plagiarism –
but identifying vocabulary, phrases and grammar which can be used in any
context. The Wilkes extracts show some simple examples of that.
How did the Romans attract somebody’s attention in the
street? Again, what may seem straightforward in English or other languages,
takes a bit of digging in Latin.
Dā mihi veniam: excuse me
The Roman poet Catullus is well-known for his on-off love
entaglements with his “fairweather” girlfriend, Lesbia. Lesbia, however, was
not his only target …
I commend myself and my lover to you, Aurelius. I come
with a modest request that, — if you longed for anything with your heart which
you desired chaste and untouched — you will preserve my boyfriend's chastity
from — I do not say from the people: I fear not at all those who hurry along
the thoroughfares here and there occupied on their own business: in truth, my
fear is from you…
I’ve often wondered why, if Catullus was so keen to preserve
this young man’s chastity, he introduced him to his mate Aurelius who – and
Catullus already knew it – would do anything but preserve it! Anyway, that
group of poems called the Juventius cycle is a juicy little soap opera which is
worth a read even in English. Did Aurelius grant Catullus that modest favour
and keep his hands off Juventius? You’ll have to read it for yourself.
That was a roundabout way of introducing a word:
Commendō tibi mē ac meōs amōrēs, / Aurēlī. Veniam petō
pudentem, ¦ I commend myself and my lover to you, Aurelius. / I come with a
modest request.
[i] Mī gnāte, dā veniam hanc mihi:
redūce illam. (Terence) ¦ My son, do grant me this indulgence:
take her back.
[ii] Date nōbis hanc veniam.
(Cicero) ¦ Give us this indulgence. [Cicero often
wrote “we / us” when referring to himself]
Two for the price of one!
[iii] Dā mihi hanc veniam,
[ii] ignōsce, īrāta nē siēs. (Plautus) ¦ [i] Grant
me pardon; [ii] forgive (me), don't be angry.
So, the phrase dā mihi veniam can be used
to ask somebody for a favour. Whether or not it was actually used in the street
is another matter. Wilkes, however, writing for modern needs, uses it as an
equivalent of “Pardon me” or along the lines of “Would you do me a favour?”
Traupman, on the other hand, uses ignōsco, ignōscere[3]:
forgive; pardon. The verb takes the dative:
- ignōsce mihi:
pardon me
Of course, unless we accidentally step on somebody’s foot,
the English phrase “Pardon me” is just a polite way of attracting somebody’s
attention whereas in Classical Latin it generally refers to a request for
forgiveness if you’ve done something wrong. But, again, if your aim is purely
to speak Latin, then it’s perfectly acceptable, but the verb crops up a lot in
the literature and so it's useful to know.
And so, have we reached a definitive conclusion? Probably
not, but what does matter is that you can get some important points out of the
two extracts, and we’ll focus on one here:
Dā mihi … Give (to) me …
- Dā
mihi, quaesō, illum librum. Please give me that book.
- Dā
mihi, quaesō, pōculum vīnī. Please give me a glass of wine.
- Dā
mihi ducentōs nummōs … tē obsecrō. (Plautus) ¦ Give me two
hundred … coins, I implore you.
- Dā
mihi argentum. (Plautus) ¦ Give me the silver (i.e. money; Fr. argent:
money or silver)
And here’s a spot of upset from Plautus where the phrase is
used. In bold are some handy words to say in the bank when they refuse to give
you a loan!
“Vir summē populī, stabulum servitūtium, / scortōrum
līberātor, sūduculum flagrī, / compedium trītor, pistrīnōrum
cīvitās, / perenniserve, lurcō, edāx, fūrāx, fugāx,
/ cedo sīs mī argentum, dā mihi argentum, impudēns, / possum
ā tē exigere argentum?”
“Fellow, dregs of the populace, you stable for she-slaves,
you liberator of harlots, you surface for the lash, you wearer-out
of the fetters, you citizen of the treadmill, you slave
everlastingly, you gormandizer, glutton, pilferer, runaway,
give me the money, will you. Give me the money, impudence. Can
I get the money out of you?”
And another jig-saw piece: Possum ¦ ā tē
¦ exigere [infinitive] ¦ argentum? Can I get = Am I
able ¦ to get ¦ the money ¦ from you?
And if you regret having called the bank manager a liberator
of harlots, you can say: ignōsce mihi (forgive me).
There are far stronger insults - including doing unspeakable things with vegetables - but you need to ask Catullus about them!
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