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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