19.08.24: Level 1; Maxey (10) [5]; verb conjugations; links to previous posts

Nox est et noctū agricolae agrōs nōn cūrant. Noctū mātrēs cēnam nōn parant. Noctū discipulī dēfessī in scholā nōn labōrant et linguam Latīnam nōn discunt. Sed noctū nautae saepe labōrant.

Nox est et ibi medicus ambulat. Medicus noster nōn est, sed medicus puerī. Nunc medicus properat sed est tardus. In silvā properat. Puer, fīlius agricolae, in casā est aeger. Medicus, vir clārus et benignus, ad casam agricolae properat quod puer est aeger. Nox est et medicus sōlus ambulat. Amīcī cum medicō nōn ambulant. Sōlus properat. Tardus est quod lūna est obscūra. Medicus lūnam clāram vidēre cupit. Stellae quoque sunt obscūrae et medicus nōn clārē videt. Puer laetus nōn est. Aeger et miser est. Ubi nōs aegrī sumus, miserī sumus nōs quoque. Puer sōlus est, sed sōlus esse nōn cupit. Amīcōs bonōs vidēre cupit. Lūnam et stellās nōn videt quod obscūrae sunt. Puer aeger medicum benignum exspectat sed medicus est tardus.

Nunc medicus iānuam agricolae aperit et puerum aegrum spectat. Medicus est puerō benignus. Puerō fābulās longās et bonās nārrat. Ex fenestrīs puer et medicus silvam spectant sed stellās et lūnam nōn vident. Nunc medicus iānuam claudit. Ex casā agricolae properat et ad silvam ambulat.

____________________

ambulō, ambulāre [1]: walk

cūrō, cūrāre [1]: look after; take care of

exspectō, exspectāre [1]: wait for

nārrō, nārrāre [1]: narrate; tell (e.g. a story)

parō, parāre [1]: prepare

properō, properāre [1]: hurry

spectō, spectāre [1]: look at; watch

____________________

videō, vidēre [2]: see

____________________

claudō, claudere [3]: close

discō, discere [3]: learn

____________________

cupiō, cupere [3-iō]: desire; want

____________________

aperiō, aperīre [4]: open

Links to all posts on the present tense of the four conjugations and the imperative forms of the verb

[1] 1st conjugation

25.02.24: verbs; first conjugation present tense

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/04/verbs-first-conjugation-present-tense.html

25.02.24: ways of learning; derivatives and detective work!

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/04/ways-of-learning-derivatives-and.html

25.02.04: verb translation [1]

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/04/look-at-images-and-translate-these.html

25.02.24: verb translation [2]

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/04/look-at-images-and-translate-phrases.html

[2] 2nd conjugation

01.03.24: 2nd conjugation verbs

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/04/010324-2nd-conjugation-verbs.html

01.03.24: 2nd conjugation verbs; present tense

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/04/010324-2nd-conjugation-verbs-present.html

01.03.24: second conjugation

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/04/010324-second-conjugation.html

01.03.24: Some simple practice with 2nd conjugation verbs.

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/04/010324-some-simple-practice-with-2nd.html

[3] 3rd conjugation

11.03.24: introduction to 3rd conjugation verbs ... and how to be a worthless dice player!

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/04/110324-introduction-to-3rd-conjugation.html

11.03.24: 3rd conjugation verbs: ways of learning

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/04/110324-3rd-conjugation-verbs-ways-of.html

11.03.24: simple practice for the 3rd conjugation

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/04/110324-simple-practice-for-3rd.html

[4] Principal parts of verbs

13.03.24: Daily routine [1]; the principal parts of verbs

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/04/130324-daily-routine-1-principal-parts.html

13.03.24: principal parts of verbs

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/04/130324-principal-parts-of-verbs.html

[5] 4th conjugation

17.03.24: 4th conjugation; reading

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/04/170324-4th-conjugation-reading.html

17.03.24: examples of fourth conjugation verbs

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/04/170324-examples-of-fourth-conjugation.html

17.03.24: practice in the 4th conjugation

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/04/170324-practice-in-4th-conjugation.html

[6] 3rd-iō conjugation

18.03.04: 3rd-iō conjugation

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/04/180304-3rd-io-conjugation.html

18.03.24: practice in the 3-iō conjugation

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/04/180324-practice-in-3-io-conjugation.html

[7] imperative

22.03.24: imperatives [1]: telling people to do something

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/04/220324-imperatives-1-telling-people-to.html

22.03.24: imperatives [2]; telling people not to do something

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/04/220324-imperatives-2-telling-people-not.html

23.03.24: video; imperatives

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/04/230324-video-imperatives.html

18.08.24: follow-up; food and drink [10]; how to eat a banana in Latin

I’ve no plans to go into such detail with every fruit listed in the original post! Most of the fruits are “uncontroversial” – the Romans had lots of grapes – but there are, however, some which are not Classical Latin and the origins of which are quite interesting to research.

[i] mūsa, -ae [1/f]: (Mediaeval) banana (from Arabic وْزَة mawza)

From “The journey of Symon Semeonis from Ireland to the Holy Land” (MS written some time between 1335 and 1352), the author using a Latinised version of the Arabic word.

Nōn enim sunt arboris pōma, sed cujusdam herbe [= CL herbae] in altum crēscentis ad modum arboris, que [= CL quae] mūsa appellātur. │ They're not fruit from a tree, but from a plant that grows up in the manner of the trees, called the musa.

It’s no different from the way in which English can adopt words with minimal or no change. The word ‘robot’, for example, comes from Czech, and the same criteria apply when considering its legitimacy. The word has an attested source:

‘robot’ from Czech robota (servitude) “Coined in the 1920 science-fiction play R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots) by Karel Čapek) … taken into English without change.”

There is a difference; had ‘robot’ simply remained as a one-off term used in that play, it would never have been considered a valid English word. However, it spread into other works of Science-Fiction and into technology. Consequently, it falls under the category of common parlance and is listed in the dictionaries. That criterion does not apply to Latin:

[ii] Pliny the Elder in Naturalis Historia refers to the fruit commonly found among the Sydraci, a tribe in India:

Folium ālās avium imitātur, longitūdine trium cubitōrum, lātitūdine duum. Frūctum cortice ēmittit admīrābilem sūcī dulcēdine, ut ūnō quaternōs satiet. Arborī nōmen pālae, pōmō ariēnae. │ Its leaf copies the wings of birds, being three cubits in length and two in width. It produces its fruit from its bark, and the fruit is astonishing in its sweetness, one being enough for four people. The name of the tree is the pala, and ariena that of the fruit.

He is referring to the banana tree and its fruit.

ariēna, -ae [1/f]: banana

pāla, -ae [1/f] [i] shovel; spade [ii] banana tree

These words – pāla with the meaning of banana tree – are only attested once in all of the CL literature i.e. in the extract above from Pliny the Elder. It’s been suggested that the word ariēna is from an unattested adjective namely ariēnus (ram-shaped) from the well-attested ariēs, arietis [3/m]: ram, referring to the shape of the fruit. It’s a good example of what the origin of the word might be, but it isn’t certain.

Where a dictionary states that a word is “rare” or with “two or three citations”, it indicates that it may be attested only once or in very few documents. A single attestation, however, is considered sufficient.

18.08.24: Level 2; Practice in reading the perfect tense; A First Latin Reader (Vincent) [10]

Quia Volscī, quī in Latiō habitābant, arma contrā populum Rōmānum parābant, Rōmānī Camillum dictātōrem creāvērunt. Rōmānī cōpiās in trēs partēs dīvīsērunt; ūna pars contrā Volscōs properāvit. Inde Rōmānī castra Volscōrum prope Lānuvium oppugnāvērunt. Volscī vallum arboribus multīs mūnīvērunt, sed Rōmānī arborēs, quae erant in vāllō, incendērunt et Volscōs fugāvērunt.

Volscī vallum arboribus multīs [ablative] mūnīvērunt │ The Volsci fortified the walls with [= by means of] many trees. This is known as the ablative of means or instrument:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TWKlRYqNvs

____________________

Because the Volsci, who lived in Latium, were preparing arms against the Roman people, the Romans made Camillus dictator. The Romans divided the troops into three parts; one part rushed against the Volscians. Then the Romans attacked the camp of the Volsci near Lanuvium. The Volsci fortified the rampart with many trees, but the Romans set fire to the trees that were in the wall, and they put the Volsci to flight / chased the Volsci away.

____________________

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lanuvium

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Furius_Camillus

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vallum

https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0063:entry=vallum-cn

17.08.24: Level 2; the present active participle [5]; declension [3]; accusative [1]

The key point to remember is that participles act like adjectives i.e. they agree in gender, number and case with the noun they describe.

[1] Nominative singular (all genders): -ns

[2] Accusative singular:

[i] masculine / feminine: -ntem

[ii] neuter = nominative: -ns

[3] Nominative and accusative plural:

[i] masculine / feminine: -ntēs

[ii] neuter: -ntia

[1] nominative

• puer lacrimāns: a crying boy = a boy [who is] crying
• puella lacrimāns: a crying girl = a girl [who is] crying
• aedificium ārdēns: a burning building

 [2(i)] accusative singular: masculine / feminine

•  Mārcus puerum / puellam vīdit. │ Marcus saw the boy / the girl.
• Mārcus puerum Rōmānum / puellam Rōmānam vīdit. │ Marcus saw the Roman boy / girl.
• Mārcus puerum / puellam lacrimantem vīdit. │ Marcus saw the crying boy / girl = Marcus saw the boy / girl crying [= who was crying].

 [2(ii)] accusative singular: neuter

Cīvēs fortēs in aedificium ārdēns propter parvōs līberōs intrāvērunt. │ The brave citizens entered / went into the burning building on account of the small children.

[3(i)]

• Mārcus gladiatōrēs spectāvit. │ Marcus watched the gladiators.
• Mārcus gladiatōrēs fortēs spectāvit. │ Marcus watched the brave gladiators.
• Mārcus gladiatōrēs pugnantēs spectāvit. │ Marcus watched the gladiators fighting.

[3(ii)] This last example shows two participles:

Puella aedificia ārdentia [accusative] ¦ vidēns [nominative] ¦ flēbat. │ The girl ¦ seeing ¦ the burning buildings wept.

Puella is the subject of the sentence and she is the one who is seeing. Therefore, the nominative of the participle is used i.e. vidēns. What did she see? She saw burning buildings, the accusative plural of a neuter noun, and the ending is the same as the nominative plural i.e. ardentia.

16.08.24: follow-up; food and drink [9]; getting to grips with fruit

If you want to know about Roman fruits, you can ask Pliny the Elder although you may need to find a needle in a haystack because he sometimes only mentions them once!

Naturalis Historia comprises 37 books in 10 volumes, the first ten of which were published in 77AD. Pliny the Elder was in the process of completing the rest of them when, in 79AD, he decided to investigate a certain erupting volcano - and that was the last we ever saw of him. His nephew, Pliny the Younger, who wrote the Vesuvius letters, published the remaining volumes posthumously.

Image: first page of the 1469 edition of Pliny the Elder’s Naturalis Historia. Further posts will include quotations from the work.

16.08.24: Level 1; Ora Maritima [7](3)

Vocabulary

castellum, -ī [2/n]: castle

clivus, -ī [2/m]: slope; hill

commentārius, -ī [2/m]: diary; journal

consecrātus, -a, -um: consecrated

erat: he / she / it was

fretum, -ī [2/n]: channel; estuary; strait

gramineus, -a, -um: grassy

navigium, -ī [2/n]: vessel; ship

pharus, -ī [2/f]: lighthouse

post Chrīstum nātum: after the birth of Christ

quondam: at one time; formerly

saeculum, -ī [2/n]: century

scriptitō, -āre [1]: write often

signum, -ī [2/n]: flag

specula, -ae [1/f]: watchtower

velum, -ī [2/n]: sail (of a ship)

Note:

secundō saeculō: in the second century; Latin uses the ablative to indicate a specific point in time or time period

[A] These four statements are wrong. What should they be?

1. The author writes his journal when he’s at school.
2. They sometimes visit Dover.
3. The town’s far away.
4. There’s a castle near the town.

[B] 

1. What is in the castle?
2. How are the walls described?
3. What did the Romans use this location for?
4. Where is the consecrated building?
5. In what century was there a Christian church?
6. Some of these ships are known as ‘castella’ (castle liners). How do the ships indicate that?
7. To which part of the image posted does each sentence [1] to [4] refer?

[1] Castellum in prōmunturiō ōrae maritimae stat. [2] Post castellum sunt clīvī grāmineī et lātī. [3] Ex castellō fretum Gallicum spectās. [4] Ante oculōs sunt vēla alba multōrum nāvigiōrum

15.08.24: Level 1; Maxey (10) [4]: 1st / 2nd declension adjectives; nominative and accusative singular and plural

bonus, bona, bonum

The adjectives are called 1^st / 2^nd declension adjectives because they have the same endings as 1^st and 2^nd declension nouns.

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Latin_for_beginners_(1911)/Part_II/Lesson_XI

When they are listed in vocabularies, they are shown with the masculine, feminine and neuter nominative singular e.g.

bonus, a, -um: good

Almost all 1^st / 2^nd declension adjectives have the nominative masculine singular in -us. A small number end in -er but for the rest of the declension they have the same endings. Note that some of them e.g. aeger (sick) lose the /e/ as soon as the endings are added. The nominative and accusative singular and plural of neuter nouns have the same ending.

miser, -a, -um: wretched; miserable

aeger, aegra, aegrum: sick

Image: the table shows the nominative and accusative singular and plural of all three genders although the text only deals with the masculine and feminine.

Note: the nominative and accusative singular and plural of the neuter adjectives have the same endings.

15.08.24: Level 1; Maxey (10) [3]

Find the adjectives in the text and note the endings:

Nominative Singular

• I am happy (masculine).
• Are you sick (masculine)?
• Is this boy happy?
• The boy is not happy.
• He is sick and miserable.
• The doctor, a well-known and kind man …
• …but he is late.
• I am happy (feminine).
• Are you sick (feminine)?
• The moon is dark / indistinct.

Accusative singular

• (He) waits for the kind doctor.
• He looks at the sick boy.
• They do not learn the Latin language.
• The doctor wants to see the bright moon

Nominative plural

• We are happy (masculine).
• We are not sick (masculine).
• Are you sick, boys?
• These boys are miserable.
• The exhausted pupils (don’t work in school).
• We are happy (feminine).
• We are not sick (feminine).
• Are you sick, girls?
• The stars are dark.

Accusative plural

• He wants to see (his) good friends.
• He tells long and good stories.

Nox est et noctū agricolae agrōs nōn cūrant. Noctū mātrēs cēnam nōn parant. Noctū discipulī dēfessī in scholā nōn labōrant et linguam Latīnam nōn discunt. Sed noctū nautae saepe labōrant.

Nox est et ibi medicus ambulat. Medicus noster nōn est, sed medicus puerī. Nunc medicus properat sed est tardus. In silvā properat. Puer, fīlius agricolae, in casā est aeger. Medicus, vir clārus et benignus, ad casam agricolae properat quod puer est aeger. Nox est et medicus sōlus ambulat. Amīcī cum medicō nōn ambulant. Sōlus properat. Tardus est quod lūna est obscūra. Medicus lūnam clāram vidēre cupit. Stellae quoque sunt obscūrae et medicus nōn clārē videt. Puer laetus nōn est. Aeger et miser est. Ubi nōs aegrī sumus, miserī sumus nōs quoque. Puer sōlus est, sed sōlus esse nōn cupit. Amīcōs bonōs vidēre cupit. Lūnam et stellās nōn videt quod obscūrae sunt. Puer aeger medicum benignum exspectat sed medicus est tardus.

Nunc medicus iānuam agricolae aperit et puerum aegrum spectat. Medicus est puerō benignus. Puerō fābulās longās et bonās nārrat. Ex fenestrīs puer et medicus silvam spectant sed stellās et lūnam nōn vident. Nunc medicus iānuam claudit. Ex casā agricolae properat et ad silvam ambulat.

 

15.08.24: Level 1; Maxey (10) [2]; 1st / 2nd declension adjectives: nominative / accusative singular and plural

1^st / 2^nd declension adjectives: nominative / accusative singular and plural

Nox est et noctū agricolae agrōs nōn cūrant. Noctū mātrēs cēnam nōn parant. Noctū discipulī dēfessī in scholā nōn labōrant et linguam Latīnam nōn discunt. Sed noctū nautae saepe labōrant.

Nox est et ibi medicus ambulat. Medicus noster nōn est, sed medicus puerī. Nunc medicus properat sed est tardus. In silvā properat. Puer, fīlius agricolae, in casā est aeger. Medicus, vir clārus et benignus, ad casam agricolae properat quod puer est aeger. Nox est et medicus sōlus ambulat. Amīcī cum medicō nōn ambulant. Sōlus properat. Tardus est quod lūna est obscūra. Medicus lūnam clāram vidēre cupit. Stellae quoque sunt obscūrae et medicus nōn clārē videt. Puer laetus nōn est. Aeger et miser est. Ubi nōs aegrī sumus, miserī sumus nōs quoque. Puer sōlus est, sed sōlus esse nōn cupit. Amīcōs bonōs vidēre cupit. Lūnam et stellās nōn videt quod obscūrae sunt. Puer aeger medicum benignum exspectat sed medicus est tardus.

Nunc medicus iānuam agricolae aperit et puerum aegrum spectat. Medicus est puerō benignus. Puerō fābulās longās et bonās nārrat. Ex fenestrīs puer et medicus silvam spectant sed stellās et lūnam nōn vident. Nunc medicus iānuam claudit. Ex casā agricolae properat et ad silvam ambulat.

Esne aeger, discipule? Nōn sum aeger. Laetus sum. Laetus sum quod nōn es aeger.

Esne aegra, puella? Minimē. Nōn sum aegra. Laeta sum. Laeta sum quod nōn es aegra.

Estne hic puer laetus? Hic puer nōn est laetus. Hic puer est miser.

Haec puella est laeta. Haec puella nōn est aegra.

Misera sum quod puer nōn est laetus.

Miser sum quod puella est aegra.

Estisne, puerī, aegrī? Minimē. Nōn sumus aegrī. Laetī sumus. Laeta sum quod nōn estis aegrī.

Estisne aegrae, puellae? Nōn sumus aegrae. Laetae sumus. Laetus sum quod estis laetae.

Hī puerī nōn sunt laetī. Hi puerī sunt miserī.

Hae puellae nōn sunt aegrae.

[A] Read the text and match the English with the Latin adjectives in the word cloud.

• dark / indistinct
• exhausted
• good
• happy
• kind
• late
• long
• sick; ill
• well-known; bright
• wretched; miserable

[B] Match the Latin and English forms of the verb sum, esse: to be

14.08.24: follow-up; food and drink [8]; the kivium question

Words can have long, complex and, at times, vague and, the topic here, disputed “biographies”.

The post listing the names of fruit originally appeared in a different group where the word kivium (kiwi) was questioned. According to a member of that group, there could be no Classical Latin word given that the Romans did not have kiwi fruit and, therefore, was most likely invalid.

While the writer is correct in that the Romans did not have kiwis, he did not take it to its logical conclusion that there were other fruits which they didn’t have e.g. pineapples and tomatoes despite which Latin does have words for them, and he did not question those. He’s right that there is no Classical Latin word for kiwi – or pineapple or tomato. However, that there are no Latin words for them is not the case.

Long after Latin was under the “ownership” of the Romans, it continued to develop through the Mediaeval and Renaissance periods, and to embrace new vocabulary. As discoveries were made we can read documents pertaining to, for example, botany, zoology and medicine which were written in Latin because the language was in common use amongst the universities. An academic in England could write research in Latin and know that it could be read in institutions throughout Europe. A post some time back dealt with observations of the weather; it is written in Latin but by a researcher in Bohemia in the 18th century.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neo-Latin

Latin did not stop after the Renaissance. It continues to incorporate new vocabulary thereby allowing us to talk about football, supermarkets, car parks … and flying saucers! Cicero didn’t talk about any of those, but people still want to speak or write Latin and to relate it to the contemporary world around them. Latin can facilitate that, and, personally, I think that, by active use of the language, it helps to reinforce the grammar. If we were to classify Latin as “dead” on the basis that there are no native speakers left, then, by analogy, Esperanto should never have been created by Zamenhof since there were never any native speakers in the first place!

While the main aim of this group is to present the Latin language in order, in the long term, to be able to read the Roman authors, it does not preclude discussing Latin that does not belong to the Classical period provided that it is attested using a legitimate source.

Below are links to sites which will list vocabulary that is not Classical Latin

https://neolatinlexicon.org/latin/

https://latinlexicon.org/latinitas_recens_latine.php

https://neolatinlexicon.org/sources/

https://www.vatican.va/.../rc_latinitas_20040601_lexicon...

https://la.wikipedia.org/wiki/Index_verborum_neolatinorum

https://archive.org/det.../revisedmedievall0000lath/mode/2up

(Note: this link requires a log-in)

The other source is Traupman’s Conversational Latin for Oral Proficiency which is packed with Neo-Latin vocabulary; the book is copyright – all I’m saying is “Seek and ye shall find” 

On file in the group:

[i] a primer of Medieval Latin (Beeson)

[ii] calepinusnovus2002-french-latin.pdf

[iii] calepinusnovus2002-latin-french.pdf

[iv] Centre for Mediaeval Studies: core Mediaeval Latin vocabulary

[v] index verborum neolatinorum – Vicipaedia

[vi] lexicon_latinum_morgan.pdf

If you look up a word in Wiktionary – and it isn’t there or the meaning isn’t the same – you can’t conclude that it doesn’t exist. If you move on to Lewis and Short and you get a similar result, you can’t conclude that it doesn’t exist. Before firing missiles on FB or challenging your opponent in Latin Scrabble, you may need to do a bit of digging!

Image #1:

https://neolatinlexicon.org/latin/kiwi/

Source: LRL - Lexicon Recentioris Latinitatis (Vatican)

Image #2: examples of Neo-Latin from Traupman

Image #3: introduction to the Primer of Medieval Latin (Beeson); the introduction to this book (p13ff) is interesting in that it gives a great deal of information about the differences between Mediaeval and Classical Latin, and refers to the creation of new words or changes in their meanings.

 

14.08.24: follow-up; food and drink [7]; bust your lip and become part of history!

This is a superb contemporary example of what Classicists have been doing for centuries (I don't mean busting their lips but, judging by some of the arguments on FB, it's possible):

You may not have heard of Nathan Hope, but he does have a claim to fame. Below is information from Wikipedia and I have put some key points in italics:

“The first known use of the word ‘selfie’ in any paper or electronic medium appeared in an Australian internet forum on 13 September 2002 … in a post by Nathan Hope. … Hope later dismissed the notion that he coined the term, describing it as "something that was just common slang at the time, used to describe a picture of yourself … By 2013, the word "selfie" had become commonplace enough to be monitored for inclusion in the online version of the Oxford English Dictionary, …”

[1] The term was coined i.e. somebody invented the word. We have evidence in Latin of many words appearing during the Mediaeval and Renaissance periods, the latter in particular relating to research, where new words are coined or reworked from Classical Latin to convey, for example, types of flowers or fruit or species of animals.

[2] According to Hope, “selfie” was already in common use i.e. neither he nor anybody else would be able to indicate when it was first said. However, the reference to ‘paper or electronic medium’ is the key point. This is attestation i.e. the documented existence of a word which, nowadays, would include its use on TV or a recording.

In terms of Latin, attestation is very important since it not only helps us to decide whether a disputed grammatical construction is accurate or whether a word is used with a particular meaning, but also indicates whether a word actually exists and the historical period when it is first recorded. Who said it first cannot be determined, but where it first appeared can be, and it is listed as a legitimate word.

[3] The inclusion of the word in the OED is a result of common parlance i.e. a word or phrase that, initially, is not considered an official part of the language but, over time and with increased usage, is finally accepted. That, however, is not a consideration in Latin. Pliny the Elder is the only known Roman writer to use the word ūndēcentum for ‘99’; we can assume others used it i.e. it was common parlance, but, even if it only appears once, that is sufficient for it to be valid.

If, in 2000 years’ time, there’s an argument on FB about whether the word “selfie” existed in the, by then, Ancient English language, they’ll point triumphantly to Nathan Hope and his busted lip.

14.08.24: follow-up; food and drink [6]; solve the mystery

Spot the odd man out!

Image #1: Take a look at the fruits in the mosaic. Something seems to be in that dish which shouldn’t be there. Why shouldn’t it be there? What could it actually be? Do we go with the “conspiracy theorists” that the Romans were way ahead of Christopher Columbus despite the fact that the Romans were adept at congratulating themselves, yet wrote nothing about it?

Links to different explanations are below

Image #2: closer .....

https://eyesofrome.com/blog/eyes-on-storytelling/mystery-in-an-ancient-mosaic?fbclid=IwY2xjawEpjfxleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHZJ_KqfSVt93-T7yrXzoJ__6iOnybVpKhrrqZUox_3ZRLHX546SIv9Ewuw_aem_aYutsvw1Qcy0AqbzZ7HRrA

https://www.academia.edu/109061154/Is_It_a_Roman_Pineapple_No_Its_Rather_a_Roman_Celeriac_or_Something_Similar?fbclid=IwY2xjawEpjlVleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHbvoK2yDiAqC6FVCNKLe117Hz-GG9fTriS1yQKSTrazaSIFmMTHve05tAQ_aem_zVue2WAri8jzN2LLfOHRQg

14.08.24: Level 2; Practice in reading the perfect tense; A First Latin Reader (Vincent) [9]

Brennus, quī erat rēx Gallōrum, cōpiās Rōmānās superāvit et Rōmae appropinquābat. Sed Rōmānī fēminās et puellās et puerōs in locum tūtum mīsērunt; mīlitēs Capitōlium dēfendēbant. Gallī, ubi oppidum intrāvērunt, senātōrēs, quī sōlī sedēbant in forō, necāvērunt et Capitōlium oppugnāvērunt. Noctū Gallī ad summum Capitōlium viā sēcrētā ascendēbant, sed Rōmānī in Capitōliō ānserēs multōs, quī erant sacrī deae Iūnōnī, habēbant. Ānserēs, ubi Gallōs vīdērunt, cūstōdēs Rōmānōs clāmōre magnō excitāvērunt et Capitōlium servāvērunt.

[i] summus, -a, -um: highest; greatest; it can be used to convey the English noun “the top” for example:

summus mons: the top of the mountain

Gallī ad summum Capitōlium … ascendēbant │ The Gauls went up to the top of the Capitoline Hill

[ii] dative usage

appropinquō, -āre, -āvī [1]: approach; the verb is followed by the dative case

Rōmae appropinquābat │ (Brennus) … was approaching Rome.

… ānserēs multōs, quī erant sacrī deae Iūnōnī  [dative] │ … many geese which were sacred to the goddess Juno

[iii] ablative usage

Gallī ad summum Capitōlium viā sēcrētā ascendēbant │  the Gauls ascended to the top of the Capitoline Hill by a secret way

cūstōdēs Rōmānōs clāmōre magnō excitāvērunt │ they roused the Roman guards with a great cry

[iv] Two points to note about the following extracts:

Image:  sentence structure

[1] Look out for words that indicate clauses in a sentence:

Gallī, ¦ ubi oppidum intrāvērunt, ¦ senātōrēs, ¦ quī sōlī sedēbant in forō, ¦ necāvērunt ¦ et Capitōlium oppugnāvērunt. │ The Gauls, when they entered the town, killed the senators who were sitting alone in the Forum and attacked the Capitoline Hill.

Ānserēs, ¦ ubi Gallōs vīdērunt, ¦ cūstōdēs Rōmānōs clāmōre magnō excitāvērunt ¦ et Capitōlium servāvērunt. │ The geese, when they saw the Gauls, roused the Roman guards with a great cry and saved the Capitoline Hill.

[2] Note that, whereas English often begins a sentence with ‘when’, Latin tends to rework it so that the subject comes first:

Gallī, ubi oppidum intrāvērunt, …. │ The Gauls, when they entered the town … =  When the Gauls entered the town …

Ānserēs, ¦ ubi Gallōs vīdērunt, … │ The geese, when they saw the Gauls … = When the geese saw the Gauls …

____________________

Brennus, who was king of the Gauls, overcame the Roman forces and was approaching Rome. But the Romans sent the women and girls and boys were sent to a safe place; the soldiers were defending the Capitoline Hill. When the Gauls entered the town, they killed the senators who were sitting alone in the forum, and attacked the Capitoline Hill. At night the Gauls went up to the top of the Capitoline Hill by a secret way, but the Romans had many geese on the Capitoline Hill, which were sacred to the goddess Juno. When the geese saw the Gauls, they roused the Roman guards with a great cry and saved the Capitoline Hill.

____________________

13.08.24: follow-up; food and drink [4] start your own Roman bakery

Even if we’re not sure exactly what certain types of Roman food looked like, we do know exactly what Roman bread looked like.

Image #1: fresco from Pompeii showing a customer buying bread

Image #2: carbonized bread from Pompeii

Image #3: And, if you want to bake it, the link will take you to a pdf file with the recipe

https://www.getty.edu/education/teachers/classroom_resources/tips_tools/downloads/making_roman_bread.pdf