Dē porculō [2]
Itaque senex sēcum reputāvit, “Cum ignis baculum usserit,
fortasse baculum canem pulsābit.” Itaque senex ignem baculum ūrere iussit, sed
ignis nōluit. Senex igitur iam īnsānus sibi dīxit, “Cum aqua ignem exstīnxerit,
fortasse ignis baculum ūret.” Itaque aquam ignem exstinguere iussit, sed aqua
hoc facere recūsāvit. Senex igitur īnsānior sibi dīxit. “Cum bōs aquam biberit,
fortasse aqua ignem exstinguet.” Bovem igitur aquam bibere iussit, quod bōs
facere recūsāvit. Senex igitur īnsānissimus sibi dīxit, “Cum fīlius meus bovem
interfēcerit, fortasse bōs aquam bibet.” Fīlium igitur bovem interficere
iussit, quī senī “Ō senex,” inquit, “abī in malam rem!”
Vocabulary and notes
exstinguō, -ere, exstīnxī [3]: put out (e.g. a fire)
recūsō, -āre, -avī [1]: refuse
ūrō, -ere, ussī [3]: burn
Notes
[i] bōs, bovis [3 m/f]: ox, cow, bull; a head of cattle;
this is a rare occurrence of a noun that has multiple possiblities for certain
forms; Wiktionary lists them all, but some of them are very infrequent, one of
them only appearing once in a Latin inscription. However, if it exists (even
once), it will be listed.
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bos#Noun_13
Posted is the declension with the most common endings.
[ii] The text shows you the three degrees of an adjective
positive: insānus, -a, -um │ mad; demented
comparative: insānior [masc. / fem.], insānius
[neut.] │crazier; more demented
superlative: insānissim¦us, -a, -um │craziest;
most demented; also: very mad
The comparative and superlative will be the next topic.
[iii]
senex sēcum reputāvit │ the old man thought to himself
[literally: ‘together with himself’]
senex … sibi dīxit │ the old man said to himself
[iv]
Abi in malam rem! Literally: go into the bad thing =
get knotted, take a hike, get lost … and possibly other more “colourful” phrases
A nice 1912 translation:
Abi in malam rem, ludis me. (Plautus) │
Away with you to utter perdition! You are trifling with me.
crux, crucis [3/f]: wooden frame for crucifixion, especially
a cross
ī / abī in malam crucem! │ Literally: go / go away
onto the evil / bad cross = go and be hanged, go to the devil etc.
The Victorians liked ‘perdition’ in their translations; here’s
an 1895 translation of Plautus:
ī in malam crucem │ Away with you to utter perdition!
Vah, apage tē ā mē! (Plautus) │ Get away with you
from me!
And, my favourite, an absolutely priceless one from
Suetonius …
Abī Morbōviam! │ Go away to disease land!
Questions
[A] Who said what? Fill in the blanks with the word listed
below.
Quid dīxit senex ignī? │ “__________ baculum!”
Quid dīxit baculum? │ “__________”
Quid dīxit senex aquae? │ “__________ ignem!”
Quid dīxit aqua? │ “__________”
Quid dīxit senex bovī? │ “__________ aquam!”
Quid dīxit bōs? │ “Aquam __________ nōlō.”
Quid dīxit senex fīliō suō? │ “__________ bovem!”
Quid dīxit fīlius patrī suō? │“__________ in malam rem!”
abī; bibe; bibere; exstingue; interfice; nōlō; recūsō; ūre
[B] In which order are the following first referred
to?
The old man thought that perhaps …
his son would kill the ox
the fire would burn the stick
the ox would drink the water
the stick would beat the dog
the water would put out the fire
[C] Take a look at these sentences from the text and
complete the translations using the words listed below. Don’t think about
the Latin verb forms – not yet; once the whole text is completed, we will
look at these in detail. The main aim at this point is to understand meaning
rather than be side-tracked by grammar.
[i] Senex sēcum reputāvit:
“Cum ignis baculum usserit, fortasse baculum canem pulsābit.”
When the fire __________ the stick, perhaps the stick __________
the dog.
[ii] Senex iam īnsānus sibi dīxit:
“Cum aqua ignem exstīnxerit, fortasse ignis baculum ūret.”
When the water __________ the fire, perhaps the fire __________
the stick.
[iii] Senex īnsānior sibi dīxit.
“Cum bōs aquam biberit, fortasse aqua ignem exstinguet.”
When the ox __________ the water, perhaps the water __________
the fire.
[iv] Senex igitur īnsānissimus sibi dīxit:
“Cum fīlius meus bovem interfēcerit, fortasse bōs
aquam bibet.”
When my son __________ the ox, perhaps the ox __________ the
water.
has burned; has drunk; has killed; has put out; will beat; will
burn; will drink; will put out
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