26.09.24: Level 2; Ora Maritima [24] and [25] (6); grammar notes; gerundives

“inter Dubrās et Rutupiās est locus ad nāvigia applicanda idōneus”

“locus idōneus est ad cōpiās explicandās”

”Audācia aquiliferī laudanda erat”

Note the -nd- + -us, -a, -um adjective ending; these are examples of gerundives, an unusual construction in Latin which literally means X [noun] is to be Y-ed. The closest we have in English is, for example, “That wall needs to be painted / needs painting” or “That problem is for you to solve.”

The dictionaries give a literal and generally clumsy sounding translation but show that it the gerundive acts as an adjective describing what is to be done to the noun.

applicand¦us, -a, -um: (which is) to be attached

explicandus, -a, -um: (which is) to be deployed

laudandus, -a, -um: (which is) to be praised

Example: legendus, -a, -um

Literally: (which is) to be read

Hic liber legendus est │ literally: this book is to be read, but can be translated in other ways e.g. “this book needs to be read”  or “this book is worth reading”

Audācia aquiliferī laudanda erat. │ the boldness of the standard-bearer was to be praised [ = praiseworthy]

It is also found with ‘ad’ to indicate purpose:

inter Dubrās et Rutupiās est locus ad nāvigia applicanda idōneus │ between Dover and Richborough is a place suitable for vessels to be brought to land

locus idōneus est ad cōpiās explicandās │ it’s a suitable place for forces to be deployed

These two examples keep close to the literal translation i.e. ‘to be brought to land’ and ‘to be deployed’. However, the translations could equally be:

inter Dubrās et Rutupiās est locus ad nāvigia applicanda idōneus │ between Dover and Richborough is a place suitable for vessels to be brought to land

> Between Dover and Richborough is a place suitable to land vessels.

locus idōneus est ad cōpiās explicandās │ it’s a suitable place for forces to be deployed

> It’s a suitable place to deploy forces.

Now, the passive idea in the gerundive is missing in the translation.

Two examples from previous posts

[i] Mēnsē proximō ībō prīmum ad Iowa ¦ ad amīcum vīsitandum.  

Literally: Next month I’ll first go to Iowa ¦ to a friend who is to be visited.

> Next month I’ll first go to Iowa ¦ to visit a friend.

i.e. English uses an infinitive: to visit whereas Latin uses a gerundive that agrees in gender, number and case with the noun indicating what is to be done to that noun.

[ii] Venīte mēcum ¦ ad eōs spectandōs.

Literally: Come with me ¦ to them that need to be looked at

> Come with me ¦ to look at them.

More information on the gerundive can be found here:

https://www.thelatinlibrary.com/101/GerundGerundive.pdf

The gerundive will be discussed again in later posts.