27.03.24: the imperfect tense [8]

Britannia antiqua (excerpts) [3]; translation in the comments

Hīc amita mea “Nōnne in oppidīs habitābant?” inquit. Et ille “Oppida aedificābant,” inquit “sed, sī Gāius Iūlius vēra affirmat, oppida Britannōrum antīquōrum loca firmāta erant, nōn loca ubi habitābant. Sed Britannia merīdiāna crēbra erat incolīs et aedificiīs. Sīc narrat Caesar in librō quintō Bellī Gallicī. Multī ūnā habitābant, ut putō.” “Itaque nōn plānē barbarī erant," inquit amita mea. Et ille: “Incolae Cantiī agrī cultūrae operam dabant, atque etiam mercātūrae. Nam Venetī ex Galliā in Britanniam mercātūrae causā nāvigābant. Britannī frūmentum, armenta, aurum, argentum, ferrum, coria, catulōs vēnāticōs, servōs et captīvōs exportābant; frēna, vitrea, gemmās, cētera importābant. Itaque mediocriter hūmānī erant, nec multum dīversī ā Gallīs.”

Vocabulary

catulus: young dog; puppy

catulus vēnāticus: young hunting dog

firmātus, -a, -um: fortified

frēnum: bridle

locus: place; this noun has two plurals [i] locī (places) [ii] loca: region; geographical area

mediocriter: moderately; tolerably

mercātūra: commerce

plānē: altogether

Venetī: a tribe on the west coast of Gaul

vitreus, -a, -um: made of glass; vitrea (plural): things made of glass i.e. glass vessels

Notes

[1] hīc: blink and you’ll miss it! Hīc with a long /ī/ is not the same as hic [with a short /i/], haec, hoc: this. Hīc with long /ī/ means “here” or “at this place”; in the text the best translation would be “at this point”

[2] inquit: he / she says or said depending on context

Note also: “… inquit amita mea. Et ille: …” ¦ “…my aunt said. And he (said) …”; the word for “said” (inquit) is not repeated. It often occurs in this kind of “he said, she said” exchange. The verb ait [(s)he says / said] is also frequently found.

[3] vērus, -a, -um: true; vēra, literally “true things”: the truth

[4] creber, crebra, crebrum: crowded; followed by the ablative: crēbra erat incolīs et aedificiīs ¦ crowded with inhabitants and buildings

[5] puto, putāre [1]: think; ut putō “as I think” can translate as “in my opinion”

[6] causā: “for the sake of”; follows its noun and takes the genitive: mercātūrae causā ¦ for the sake ofcommerce

[7] nec multum dīversī … and not much different …

See the next post for notes on ille.

Note below and image from Salisbury Museum

“These gold coins from about 100 BC were discovered in south Wiltshire, the only hoard of its type from the area. The coins were minted by the local Durotriges tribe. The use of gold, combined with the elaborate decoration on the coins, point to the wealth and power of this tribe.”

 

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 At this point my aunt said, "They lived in towns, didn’t they?" And he said, "They used to build towns," but, if Gaius Julius is stating the truth, the towns of the ancient Britons were fortified places, not the places where they dwelt. But southern Britain was packed with inhabitants and buildings. Caesar talks about it in that way in the fifth book of the Gallic War. Many lived together, I think.” "And so, they were not altogether barbarians," said my aunt. And he said: "The inhabitants of Kent gave attention to agriculture, and also to trade. For the Veneti sailed from Gaul to Britain for commercial purposes. The Britons used to export grain, cattle, gold, silver, iron, leather, young hunting dogs, slaves, and captives; they would import bridles, glassware, gems, and other things. Therefore, they were tolerably humane, and not much different from the Gauls."