From Jānua (Iānua) linguārum reserāta (The Gate of Languages
Unlocked) by Comenius, first published in 1631. The image shows the English
publication of 1643.
The very first chapter uses two verb forms we have already
covered: [i] the imperative i.e. the command form telling you to do something
and [ii] the future tense of the first and second conjugations:
Venīte puerī │ Come children
Discite latīnam linguam │ Learn the
Latin language
Pulchram et ēlegantem │ Beautiful and elegant
Comprehendite │ Understand it
Prō vestrō captū │ According to your capacity
Et variās rēs │ and various things
Sapientiæ sēmina │ the seeds of wisdom
Deus vōs iuvābit │ God will help you
Praeceptōrēs amābunt │ Teachers will
love you
Aliī laudābunt │ Others will praise you
Ipsī gaudēbitis │ You yourselves will
rejoice
Sī prīncipium difficile │ If the beginning is hard
Medium erit facile │ The middle will
be easy
Fīnis iūcundus │ The end pleasant
***
You might want to remember those last three lines from a
17th century Latin teacher.
“Crāsne erit Mārcus Rōmae?” Rogat Tullia. “Rōmae erunt multī
virī et fēminae quod lūdī celebrantur. Fortasse Marcus ibi erit,” respondet
Cornēlius. “Fortasse Mārcum vidēbimus,” clāmant puerī et in domicilium
properant.
[1] Identify:
[i] the verbs in the future tense; remember -bō / -bi- /
-bu-
[ii] the verbs in the present tense
[2] What’s the purpose of -ur in: “lūdī celebrantur”?
Note:
“Ego libenter ambulābō, ¦ sī Aulus ambulābit”
Spot the difference:
I shall willingly go [future] ¦ if Aulus goes [present].
Latin:
[i] “Ego libenter ambulābō [future = English],
[ii] ... sī Aulus ambulābit [future]”
English uses the present tense [...if Aulus goes], but Latin
uses the future tense i.e. literally: ...if Aulus will go.
Because the imperfect tense of all four conjugations and the future tense of the 1st and 2nd conjugations have a characteristic /b/ in the endings, they can easily be misread. Which of the following verbs are imperfect, and which are future? Look out for the characteristic /ba//bā/ of the imperfect tense and /bō/ /bi/ and /bu/ of the future. What are the meanings in English?
Ad locum ubi proelium erat Britannōrum cum Rōmānīs ābimus.
We’ll go (away) to the place where there was a
battle between the Britons and the Romans.
Posted are the three tenses covered so far of eō,
īre: go. Look in particular at the similarity between the imperfect and the
future. You need to remember two things:
[i] -ba- / -bā- : those are imperfect tense markers
[ii] -bō / -bi- / -bu- : those are future tense markers; they’re
not the only ones but it’s important to become familiar with them because,
owing to the presence of the /b/ they can be misread for the imperfect.
Postrīdiē caelum serēnum erat. On the following
day the sky was clear.
Nūper, dum Marcus et Alexander mēcum erant...
Recently, while Mark and Alexander were with me...
Quotā horā paratī eritis? At what time will
you be ready?
Quotā hōrā cēnāre poteritis? At what time will
you be able to have dinner?
The more Latin you read, the more that different tenses will
be thrown at you! Here are the irregular verbs sum, esse: be,
and possum, posse: to be able in the three tenses
covered so far in the posts. You can see that possum, posse is
essentially the same verb as sum, esse with pot- or pos- (referring
to ability).
Read the text for
understanding using the vocabulary and notes to help you. Focus on the verbs in
bold; they are all in the future tense.
Vestīgia Rōmānōrum
[Ora Maritima
(Sonnenschein)]
Nūper, dum Marcus et Alexander
mēcum erant, patruō meō “Quantopere mē dēlectābit” inquam “locum
vīsitāre ubi oppidum Rōmānum quondam stābat.” Et Alexander “Monstrā nōbīs,”
inquit “amābō tē, ruīnās castellī Rutupīnī.” Tum patruus meus
“Longa est via,” inquit “sed aliquandō monstrābō. Crās, sī vōbīs
grātum erit, ad locum ubi proelium erat Britannōrum cum
Rōmānīs abībimus. Ambulābitisne nōbīscum, Marce et
Alexander?” “Ego verō” inquit Marcus “tēcum libenter ambulābō”; et
Alexander “Mihi quoque pergrātum erit, sī nōbīs sepulchra
Britannārum et Rōmānōrum monstrābis.” Sed patruus meus “Festīna
lentē” inquit; “nullae sunt ibi reliquiae sepulchrōrum, et virī doctī dē locō
proeliī disputant. Sed quotā horā paratī eritis?” “Quintā hōrā”
inquiunt.
Postrīdiē caelum
serēnum erat. Inter ientāculum amita mea “Quotā hōrā” inquit “in viam vōs dabitis?
et quotā hōrā cēnāre poteritis?” Et patruus meus “Quintā hōrā
Marcus et Alexander Dubrīs adventābunt; intrā duās hōrās ad locum
proeliī ambulāre poterimus; post ūnam hōram redambulābimus;
itaque hōrā decimā vel undecimā domī erimus, ut spērō.” Tum ego
“Nōnne iēiunī erimus,” inquam “sī nihil ante vesperum gustābimus?”
“Prandium vōbīscum portāte” inquit amita mea; “ego crustula et pōma cūrābō.”
adventō, adventāre
[1]: arrive
aliquandō: one day
i.e. (at) sometime
crās: tomorrow
crustulum, -ī
[2/n]: small cake or pastry; biscuit
disputō, disputāre
[1]: dispute; argue
doctus, -a, -um:
educated
Dubrae [plural
noun]: Dover; Marcus et Alexander Dubrīs [ablative plural]
adventābunt: Mark and Alexander will be arriving from Dover
grātus, -a, -um:
pleasing > pergrātus, -a, -um: very pleasing
gustō, gustāre [1]:
taste; eat a little; have a light meal
inquam: I say;
inquit: he / she says; inquiunt: they say; note: depending on context these can
translate as past tenses
monstrō, monstrāre
[1]: show
nūllus, -a, -um: no
i.e. not any
nuper: recently
postrīdiē: on the
following day
quantopere: how
greatly
quondam: at one
time
redambulō,
redambulāre [1]: walk back
Rutupīnus,-a, -um:
belonging to Richborough; see image posted: Richborough Roman fort and
amphitheatre
serēnus, -a, um:
clear
Notes:
[1] “Quotā hōrā”
inquit “in viam vōs dabitis? Literally: At what time will
you give yourselves to the road? [= At what time will you start / set
off?]
Dux bellum amat. Libenter dux armātōs ad bellum dūcit. Vīta
ducis perīculōrum est plēna; sed ducis virtus est magna. Ducī patria est cāra.
Saepe patria ducem vocat; tum ā duce armātī ad bellum dūcuntur. Erant apud
Rōmānōs multī et clārī ducēs. Statuae ducum clārōrum in forō Rōmānō vidēbantur.
Bellum ducibus Rōmānīs erat semper grātum quod spolia erant multa. Nōs ducēs
Rōmānōs laudāmus et fābulās dē ducibus legimus. Mīles bellum amat. Virtūs
mīlitis est magna. Victōria mīlitī est grāta; itaque prō patriā dīligenter
pugnat. Pāx quoque mīlitem dēlectat et ā mīlite laudāntur. Apud Rōmānōs erant
multī et clārī mīlitēs. Victōriae mīlitum Rōmānōrum erant multae. Saepe magnī
triumphī agēbantur. Triumphī et ducibus et mīlitibus erant grātī. Populus
Rōmānus mīlitēs laudābat quod multa spolia ā ducibus mīlitibusque Rōmam
portābantur. Lēx antīqua erant: victōrī sunt spolia.
MĪLITĒS RŌMĀNĪ
Auctōritās Rōmāna erat magna quod Rōma tot mīlitēs habēbat.
Mīlitēs erant peditēs et equitēs. Eques equum habēbat et ab equō pugnābat.
Pedes equum nōn habēbat; pedibus pugnābat. Equitēs proelium committēbant sed
peditēs pīlīs et gladiīs proelium gerēbant. Arma peditis erant lōrīca, galea,
scutum, gladius. In sinistrā scūtum, in dextrā pīlum portābantur. Interdum
mīlitēs Rōmānī oppidum oppugnābant, et magnī lapidēs in mūrōs oppidī
mittēbantur. Virtūs mīlitum Rōmānōrum erant magna. Ā rēgibus et prīncipibus multārum
terrārum Rōmānī timēbantur quod fāma mīlitum Rōmānōrum erat magna. Līberī rēgum
et prīncipum saepe erant obsidēs Rōmānōrum et Rōmam dūcēbantur. Multā fābulās
dē obsidibus Rōmānōrum legimus.
[1] This time, all I’ll do is give the nominative singular
of the 3rd declension nouns. What would the genitive singular be? That’s what
you need to form the stem for all the other endings. All you have to do is look
through the two short texts and you will see the stem change, for example:
rēx > then look for another form of that word where the
stem change is showing (rēg¦ibus) and add -is to the stem: > rēg¦is
dux, du __ is [3/m]: leader
pēs, pe __ is [3/m]: foot
lapis, lap__ __ is [3/m]: stone
obses, obs __ __ is [3/m]: hostage
eques, __________ [3/m]: horseman
mīles, __________ [3/m]: soldier
pedes, __________ [3/m]: foot soldier
prīnceps, __________ [3/m]: chief
[2] Other vocabulary
lōrīca, -ae [1/f]: corselet; armour
pīlum, -ī [2/n]: javelin; spear
tot: so many
[3] Which words go where? Look at the extracts from the text
and fill in the blanks with the words listed.
about; by; commander; commanders; have; led; on foot; read;
seen; soldiers; to; used; were
1. Tum ā duce armātī ad bellum dūcuntur.
Then armed men are __________ to war by the __________.
2. Statuae ducum clārōrum in forō Rōmānō vidēbantur.
The statues of famous __________ were __________ in the
Roman forum.
3. Multa spolia ā ducibus mīlitibusque Rōmam portābantur.
Many spoils __________ carried __________ the commanders and
the __________ to Rome.
4. Nōs … fābulās dē ducibus legimus.
We __________ tales __________ the commanders.
5. Victōrī sunt spolia.
Spoils __________ the victor.
6. Pedes equum nōn habēbat; pedibus pugnābat.
The foot soldier did not __________ a horse; he __________
to fight __________.
That we can watch a video of three lads playing football
with a description in Latin is a remarkable testimony to the “staying power” of
this language. Some debate goes on (elsewhere) as to whether or not Latin is a
“dead” language with the usual tedious analysis of the term “dead”. The boys
couldn’t have made that video in Hieroglyphics or Etruscan, but they could in
Latin because Latin, for centuries after the Romans, continued to grow, evolve
and be used throughout the loosely described “Late Latin” period, the Dark
Ages, the Middle Ages and into the 17th and 18th centuries as a common language
for academics to publish their works throughout Europe. It was the language of
the monasteries and the Church, Comenius wrote an entire school book in the
17th century describing every conceivable concept that the kids at that time
would need, and he had no hesitation in incorporating Latin words that existed
by his time even if they hadn’t existed or had different meanings in the
Classical period. 17th century kids could talk about their world in the same
way as the boys here talk about theirs. And in the 21st century Latin words
have been adapted to suit contemporary needs.
While the focus of the group is Classical Latin, it’s
interesting to mark time for a moment and reflect: the Romans never played in
the Premier League but the language of Plautus 200 years BCE can still be used
to describe what’s going on in a football match.
That doesn’t sound dead to me.
The New Latin expressions have come from Traupman’s Conversational
Latin for Oral Proficiency, extracts from which have been used in earlier
posts. If you are looking for New Latin, a good source is also:
https://neolatinlexicon.org/
eāmus: this is a subjunctive form of the verb eō,
īre: go. Here it means “let’s go”; don’t get involved with subjunctives if
you’re a starter in Latin.
campus, -ī [2/m]: plain; natural field (as opposed to ager, agrī,
which refers to a cultivated field)