23.10.24: Level 2; reading; dē porculō [4]; future perfect tense [1]; introduction

Dē porculō [4]

Senex igitur ad vaccam īvit, cui, “Dā mihi lac,” inquit. Vacca tamen, “Dā mihi herbās,” respondit. “namque nisi herbās mihi dederis, lac tibi nōn dabō.” Itaque senex ad agricolam īvit, cui, “Dā mihi herbās,” inquit. Sed agricola senem aquam adportāre iussit. “Namque,” inquit, “nisi aquam in hāc urnā adportāverīs, herbās tibi nōn dabō.” Senex igitur urnam laetus cēpit sed – ēheu! – urna forāmen maximum habēbat, per quod aqua semper effluēbat. Senex autem lapidem in urnam posuit et sīc aquam ad agricolam adportāvit. Agricola igitur senī herbās dedit, quās vaccae dedit, quae lac eī dedit, quod fēlī dedit, quae mūrem fugāvit, quī fūnem ēdit, quī fīlium suspendit, quī bovem interfēcit, quī aquam bibit, quī ignem exstīnxit, quī baculum ussit, quod canem pulsāvit, quī porculum momordit. Sīc igitur porculus tandem per portam intrāvit.

Vocabulary

effluō, -ere, efflūxī [3]: flow out

forāmen, forāminis [3/n]: hole

lapis, lapidis [3/m]: stone

urna, -ae [1/f]: urn; medium-sized vessel for carrying water

Questions

[A]

1. Quid dīxit senex vaccae?
2. Quid dīxit vacca senī?
3. Quis lac non dabit nisi senex ei herbas dederit?
4. Cui senex dīxit: “Dā mihi herbās”?
5. Quem agricola aquam adportāre iussit?
6. Quid agricola non dabit nisi senex aquam adportaverit?

[B]

1. What was the problem with the urn? [2]
2. How did the old man solve the problem? [1]
3. In which order are the following mentioned?

Agricola igitur senī herbās dedit, quās vaccae dedit, quae lac eī dedit, quod fēlī dedit, quae mūrem fugāvit, quī fūnem ēdit, quī fīlium suspendit, quī bovem interfēcit, quī aquam bibit, quī ignem exstīnxit, quī baculum ussit, quod canem pulsāvit, quī porculum momordit.

the cat; the cow; the dog; the farmer; the fire; the grass; the little pig; the milk; the mouse; the old man; the ox; the rope; the son; the stick; the water

Introduction to the future perfect tense

Here are three sentences from the whole text posts [1] - [4]

[1] “Cum bōs aquam [i] biberit, ¦ fortasse aqua ignem [ii] exstinguet.”

[2] “Sī mūrem [i] fugāverō, ¦ sine dubiō quam maximē [ii] sitiam.”

[3] “nisi herbās mihi [i] dederis, ¦ lac tibi nōn [ii] dabō”

Point #1: the three sentences refer to events in the future

Point #2: event [i] will (or will not happen) before event [ii] but – to be absolutely precise – event [i] will have happened before event [ii] will happen

Take a look at the two possible English translations [A] and [B] of the Latin verbs in bold. In the speaker’s mind, these events will (or will not) happen at an unspecified or specific point in time in the future. 

An English speaker may opt for [A] but the Latin verbs are closer – although not identical – to the [B] translations.

[1] “Cum bōs aquam biberit, fortasse aqua ignem exstinguet.”

[A] When / once the ox drinks [present tense] the water, perhaps the water will put out the fire.

or [B] When / once the ox has drunk [perfect tense] the water, perhaps the water will put out the fire.

[2] “Sī mūrem fugāverō, sine dubiō quam maximē sitiam.”

[A] If I chase [present tense] the mouse away, I’ll undoubtedly be as thirsty as possible.

or [B] If I’ve chased [perfect tense] the mouse away, I’ll undoubtedly be as thirsty as possible.

[3] “nisi herbās mihi dederis, lac tibi nōn dabō”

nisi: unless; if not

[A]

If you don’t give [present tense] me the grass, I won’t give you milk. / Unless you give [present tense] me the grass, I won’t give you milk

or [B]

If you haven’t given me [perfect tense] the grass, I won’t give you milk. / Unless you’ve given [perfect tense] me the grass, I won’t give you milk.

Our point of interest are the [B] translations:

[i] When / Once you’ve done your homework (at some point in the future), ¦ [ii] you’ll be able to go out i.e. [i] will have happened before [ii] will happen

[i] If you’ve written up the minutes by 4pm (at a specific point in the future), ¦ [ii] you’ll be able to leave early.

[i] Unless you’ve painted that wall this afternoon (at a specific point in the future), ¦ [ii] I won’t pay you.

[i] If you haven’t washed the dishes (at some point in the future), ¦ [ii] I’m going to leave you.

[i] If you haven’t washed the dishes by the time I get back (at a specific point in the future), ¦ [ii] you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.

English, to emphasise completion, can sometimes make use of the multi-purpose “get” e.g. When / once you’ve got your homework done …;  if you’ve not got those dishes washed …

Latin also conveys this sense of completion but interprets it differently because the action to be completed is in the future i.e. [i] X will have happened and then [ii] Y will happen. 

Latin uses a tense called the future perfect, which we’re going to look at in the next post.

This is what Latin is literally saying, even if English can render it in different ways. It is the first part of the sentence where English and Latin do not match.

[1]

[i] Cum bōs aquam biberit [future perfect; Engl. ≠ Latin], ¦ [ii] fortasse aqua ignem exstinguet [future; Engl. = Latin].

> [i] Literally: when the ox will have drunk the water ¦ [ii] perhaps the water will put out the fire.

> [i] When the ox drinks / has drunk the water, ¦ [ii] perhaps the water will put out the fire.

[2]

[i] Sī mūrem fugāverō [future perfect], ¦ sine dubiō quam maximē sitiam.

> [i] Literally: If I will have chased away the mouse, ¦ [ii] I’ll undoubtedly be as thirsty as possible.

> [i] If I chase / have chased the mouse away, ¦ [ii] I’ll undoubtedly be as thirsty as possible.

[3]

[i] nisi herbās mihi dederis [future perfect], ¦ [ii] I won’t give you milk.

> [i] Literally: Unless you will have given me the grass … or: “If you will not have given me the grass …” ¦ [ii] I won’t give you milk.

> [i] Unless you give / have given me the grass, ¦ [ii] I won’t give you the milk

or > [i] If you don’t give / haven’t given me the grass, ¦ [ii] I won’t give you the milk.