15.04.24: describing the weather; introduction [1]

We Brits have a reputation for talking (all the time) about our weather, but the Roman historian Tacitus talked about our weather too. The extract below is given with a full translation because the aim is not to understand all the Latin in it but to pick out a lot of useful vocabulary to get started.

Caelum crēbrīs imbribus ac nebulīs foedum; asperitās frīgōrum abest. Diērum spatia ultrā nostrī orbis mēnsūram; nox clāra et extrēmā Britanniae parte brevis, ut fīnem atque initium lūcis exiguō discrīmine internōscās. Quod sī nūbēs nōn officiant, aspicī per noctem sōlis fulgōrem, nec occīdere et exurgēre, sed trānsīre adfirmant. (Tacitus: Agricola)

The weather is foul, with dense cloud and rain; but severity of cold is unknown. The days exceed in length those of our part of the world, the night is bright, and in the extreme north so short that ¦ between sunlight and dawn [literally: between the end and the beginning of light] you can perceive but a slight distinction. So, they say, if no clouds intervene the sun’s brightness is visible all night, not setting and rising but simply transiting.

A number of grammatical topics can stem from talking about the weather, and two (asterisked*) which will be discussed in later posts appear here.

asperitās, asperitātis [3/f]: severity; harshness

*brevis, -e: short (3rd declension adjective; coming up soon)

caelum, -ī [2/n]: weather; sky

clārus, -a, -um: clear

*diēs, diēī [5m/f]: day (the last declension to be covered, and it won’t take long); can also refer to ‘daylight’

exsurgō, exsurgere [3]: rise up

foedus, -a, -um: foul

frīgor, frīgōris [3/n]: cold

fulgor, fulgōris [3/m]: [i] (here) brightness; gleam [ii] lightning

imber, imbris [3/m]: rain

lūx, lūcis [3/f]: light; daylight (and can also be used to refer to ‘dawn’)

nūbēs, nūbis [3/f]: cloud

nebula, -ae [1/f]: cloud

nox, noctis [3/f]: night

occidō, occidere [3]: go down; set (of the sun); note: not occīdō, occīdere [3] (with long /ī/) which means ‘kill’

sōl, -is [3/m]: sun

We might feel sorry for the soldiers posted at Hadrian’s Wall; they would probably have preferred the more pleasant climate of Hispania!