19.09.24: Level 1; Ora Maritima 11[4]; notes

Magister noster vir doctus est, sed [1] lūdōrum perītus. [2] Nōbīs puerīs cārus est. Inter fēriās patruum meum interdum vīsitat. Dextra magistrī nostrī valida est, et puerī pigrī nec dextram nec magistrum amant.

 “Nōn amo tē, Sabidī, nec possum dīcere quārē.

Hōc tantum possum dīcere: nōn amo tē.”*

Magistrum nōn amant quia librōs Graecōs et Latīnōs nōn amant. Nam discipulī scholae nostrae linguīs antīquīs operam dant, atque scientiīs mathēmaticīs. [2] Magistrō nostrō magna cōpia est librōrum pulchrōrum. Schola nostra antīqua et clāra est: nōn solum librīs sed etiam lūdīs operam damus. Schola nostra nōn in Cantiō est. In vīcō nostrō est lūdus litterārius, [3] crēber puerīs et puellīs, līberīs agricolārum. Sed ego cum Marcō et Alexandrō, amīcīs meīs, ad Ventam Belgārum discipulus sum.

Vocabulary

dextra, -ae [1/f] right hand

doctus, -a, -um: educated; learned

lūdus litterārius: primary school

Venta Belgārum: town in Britannia (Winchester)

[1] perītus, -a, -um [+ genitive]: skilled [in]

lūdōrum perītus: skilled in games

[2] Dative usage:

[i] Nōbīs puerīs cārus est. │He is dear to us boys [= we boys like him a lot]

[ii] Magistrō nostrō ¦ magna cōpia [ii] est ¦ librōrum pulchrōrum.

Literally: [i] To our teacher ¦ [ii] there is a large quantity ¦ of beautiful books = Our teacher has a large number of beautiful books.

[3] crēber, crēbra, crēbrum [+ ablative case]: thick; dense; (here) crowded / packed [with]

lūdus … crēber puerīs et puellīs, līberīs agricolārum.  │ a school … packed with boys and girls, the children of farmers.

*The lines quoted in the text are from the Roman poet Martial: Epigram XXXII

“Nōn amo tē, Sabidī, nec possum dīcere quārē. │ I do not like you, Sabidius, nor can I say why.

Hōc tantum possum dīcere: nōn amo tē.” │ Only this I can say: I do not like you.

I don’t like you, Sabidius, and tell you why I cannot. / I can only tell you this: like you, no I do not.

There’s a story attached to this:

The English poet Tom Brown (1662 – 1704) had been expelled from an Oxford college, the Dean of which – John Fell – said that Brown could be reinstated if he could immediately translate this epigram. Brown replied:

I do not love thee, Dr Fell,

The reason why I cannot tell;

But this I know, and know full well,

I do not love thee, Dr Fell.

The story – unverified – is that Fell was impressed by the translation and Brown was allowed to continue at Oxford.