A: Quō vīs īre? │ Where do you want to go to?
B: Ubi est stadium, quaesō? │ Where’s the stadium please?
A: [i] Rēctā perge per trēs
vīcōs usque ad theātrum; [ii] dein tē verte
dextrōrsum [iii] et prōcēde usque ad secundum compitum.
[iv] Stadium est ab laevā.
[i] Go straight ahead for
three blocks* as far as the theatre; [ii] then turn right [iii] and go on to
the second intersection.** [iv] The stadium is on the left.
B: Et ubi est gymansium? │ And where is the gymnasium?
A: [i] Haud procul
est ā stadiō. [ii] Ubi stadium praeterieris, [iii] rēctā perge
per duōs vīcōs; [iv] ibi stat templum in angulō. [vi] Tē verte
sinistrōrsum et [vii] ambulā per trēs vīcōs. [viii] Cōnspiciēsdein
gymnasium prope moenia.
[i] It’s not far from the
stadium. [ii] When you’ve passed the stadium, [iii] carry straight on for two
blocks; [iv] a temple stands on the corner there. [vi] Turn left and [vii] walk
for three blocks. [viii] You’ll then see the gymnasium near the walls.
B: Estne popīna in vīcīniā? │ Is there a restaurant in the vicinity?
Ā: Est popīna in omnī ferē
angulō. │ There’s a restaurant on almost every corner.
[1] ubi? where? (no
movement); quō? to where? (movement towards); unde? from
where? (movement from)
[2] vicus:
Traupman uses this word to refer to the equivalent of US city blocks, but in
Ancient Rome it can refer to a neighbourhood or a row of houses. The word also
means ‘village’.
[3] usque ad +
accusative: as far as; all the way up to; Fr. jusqu’à; Gmn. bis zu
[4] dein;
deinde: then
[5] prōcēdō,
prōcēdere [3]: proceed; advance; go forward
[6] **competum:
intersection; again, Traupman is using this in a contemporary context. In
Classical Latin compitum is usually plural i.e. compita meaning
‘crossroads’.
[7] laevus, -a, -um,
a synonym for sinister, sinistra, sinistrum:
left
- ā / ab laevā; ā
sinistrā: on the left
- ā dextrā: on the right
[8] procul [ā + ablative]:
far [from]; haud procul [ā + ablative]: not far [from]
[9] praetereō,
praeterīre [irr.]: go past; this is simply a compound of the
verb eō, īre [irr.]: go + praeter- (‘past’)
- Vīllam praetereō sciēns.
(Terence) ¦ I purposely pass by the house.
In The Captives by
Plautus, the character Ergasilus complains about the pigs being fed by the
baker …
- … quārum odōre praeterīre
nēmō pistrīnum potest ¦ through the stench of which nobody
can pass by a baker’s shop.
Again, note the form of the
verb in the text: Ubi stadium praeterieris, literally: When
you will have passed by the stadium [= when you’ve passed by];
don’t be concerned by the tense at the moment.
[10] angulus:
corner
[11] cōnspiciō,
cōnspicere [3-iō]: see; watch; catch sight of
The future tense is used
here: Cōnspiciēs dein gymnasium ¦ You’ll then see the
gymnasium. We will start looking at different tenses in the upcoming posts, and
so, again, I wouldn’t be distracted by it at this stage.
[12] omnis [masc.
/ fem.], omne [neut.]: all; every. Here it is in the ablative case: in omnī ferē
angulō ¦ on almost every corner. This is the kind of word that,
when you see it in a table, it can seem overwhelming, but it is so important
and so common that I’ve posted the forms of it for reference so
that you can spot them when reading. It will come up again. Knowledge of words
like omnis will come gradually with reading and I certainly
wouldn’t recommend learning to ‘recite’ it just now. Its endings, however, do
matter a lot as you'll see when we begin looking at other noun declensions.
But you have probably see
this word elsewhere:
- Labor omnia vincit:
work conquers all things
If somebody is omniscient,
they know everything; from Latin omnis (everything) and sciēns
(knowing) < sciō, scīre [4]: know
And the next time you’re
travelling on a “bus”, you’re travelling on a Latin word: omnibus (for
everybody)
The word compitum (compita)
generally refers to "a place where several ways meet"; the
image posted is the closest we'll get to one in Pompeii. The second image shows
a house and workshop (fabrica) on a street corner.
I've posted the declension
of omnis for reference rather than rote learning. And, if you
want to learn it, you can wear it!
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