27.08.24: Level 2; Practice in reading the perfect tense; A First Latin Reader (Vincent) [14]

Again, notice the mixture of perfect and present tense, the latter used to make the narrative more vivid.

Inde Hannibal, postquam cōpiās trāns montēs Pȳrēnaeōs et fluvium Rhodanum dūxit, ad summās Alpēs vēnit. Sed montēs altī Poenōs impediēbant. Inde Hannibal mīlitēs convocat: ‘Ō mīlitēs,’ inquit, ‘moenia Ītaliae et Rōmae trānscendistis. Nunc via erit plāna; ūnā aut alterā pugnā arcem et caput Ītaliae in potestāte vestrā habēbitis.’ Via est difficilis, sed Poenī struem magnam arborum faciunt, arborēs incendunt, acētum īnfundunt. Tandem in Ītaliam perveniunt.

acētum, -ī [2/n]: vinegar

arx, arcis [3/f]: citadel

īnfundo, -ere, īnfūdī [3]: pour in

struēs, -is [3/f]: pile; heap

Sentence structure:

[i] Inde Hannibal, ¦ postquam cōpiās trāns montēs Pȳrēnaeōs et fluvium Rhodanum dūxit [subordinate clause of time], ¦ [i] ad summās Alpēs vēnit [principal clause].

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From there Hannibal, after he led his troops over the mountains of the Pyrenees and the river Rhone, came to the tops of the Alps. But the high mountains hindered the Carthaginians. Then Hannibal calls [called] the soldiers together: 'O soldiers,' he said, 'you have crossed over the walls of Italy and Rome. Now the road will be flat; in one battle or another you will have the citadel and the capital of Italy in your power.' The way is difficult, but the Carthaginians make [made] a great pile of trees, set fire to the trees, and pour [poured] in vinegar. At last they reach [reached] Italy.

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27.08.24: the present active participle [9]; declension [7]; other cases; Androclus et leō [2]

fera, -ae [1/f]: wild animal

lambō, -ere, lambī [3]: lick

mordeō, -ēre, momordī [2]: bite

osculō, -āre, -āvī [1]: kiss

parcō, -ere, pepercī [3]: spare; have mercy (for); the verb is followed by the dative case

sagīna, -ae [1/f]: (here) prey

scelestus, -a, -um: wicked; a wicked person

tergum, -ī [2/n]: back

trucīdō, -āre, -āvī [1]: slaughter

[A]

1. Where does this second scene take place? [1 point]
2. What three groups of people are to be thrown to the lions? [3 points]
3. What does the third spectator shout? [2 points]
4. Why does Androcles say ‘O mē miserum’? [5 points]: [i] Nunc [ii] ā leōne fugiō. [iii] Semper [iv] ab aliquō fugiō. Sed [v] iam fessus sum.
5. Why does Androcles ask the lion to spare him? [1 point]
6. In your own words, explain why the lion spares him. [3 points]
7. What does the lion tell Androcles to do? [1 point]
8. Where does the lion take him? [3 points]: Nunc ¦ [i] ex arēnā ¦ tē portō …  (Sīc ¦ [ii] per portam Circī ¦ Androclus et leō ¦ [iii] in viās ¦ effugiunt.)

[B] Find the Latin:

1. Androcles, fleeing from the lion
2. the first specator shouting out
3. the lion chasing away Androclus / making Androclus flee
4. I don’t see the lion eating but kissing the slave
5. I hear one lion slaughtering…I see another lion biting…
6. I see the guards throwing the thieves into the arena
7. I see the lion chasing away the slave / making the slave flee
8. I see the lions entering
9. I see the slave fleeing
10. It runs at the guards who flee in fear 

26.08.24: Ora Maritima 8[4]; notes

The numbers refer to notes after the text.

In numerō amīcōrum meōrum sunt duo puerī. Mārcus, puer quattuordecim annōrum, [1] mihi praecipuus amīcus est. Prope Dubrās nunc habitant, sed ex Calēdoniā oriundī sunt. [1] Nōbīs puerīs fēriae nunc sunt; nam condiscipulī sumus. [2] Inter fēriās līberī sumus scholīs. Amīcī meī mē saepe vīsitant, et ego amīcōs meōs vīsitō. Magna est inter nōs amīcitia. Ūnā ambulāmus, ūnā in undīs [5] spūmiferīs natāmus, cum nōn nimis asperae sunt. [3] Quantopere nōs puerōs lūdī pilārum in arēnā dēlectant! [4] Ut iuvat castella contrā undās spūmiferās aedificāre!

[1] Note the uses of the dative in these sentences:

 Marcus ... mihi praecipuus amicus est. │Marcus is ... a special friend to me.

Nōbīs puerīs fēriae nunc sunt. │ We boys now have holidays [= are on holiday]; literally: to us boys are now holidays.

[2] Inter fēriās līberī sumus scholīs. This is an example of the ablative of separation used without a preposition; it implies that a person or thing is separated from something else, but not in a literal / physical sense:

Inter fēriās līberī sumus scholīs. │ During the holidays we are free from lessons.

An example of this was in an earlier text:

Nunc mīlitiā vacat. │ Now he is free (retired) from the military.

[3] Quantopere nōs puerōs lūdī pilārum in arēnā dēlectant! A more natural way of translating this sentence would be: How much we boys love / We boys really love ball games on the sand! Note, however, how Latin expresses the idea:

quantopere: how greatly

[i] lūdī pilārum ¦ in arēnā: ball games ¦ on the sand

[ii] dēlectant: delight

[iii] nōs puerōs: us boys

i.e. lūdī is the subject of the sentence: games, and those games delight (dēlectant) the boys (puerōs: accusative plural).

How greatly ¦ ball games on the sand ¦ delight ¦ us boys.

[4] Ut iuvat castella contrā undās spūmiferās aedificāre!  Iuvat is the 3^rd person singular of iuvō, -āre [1] (help) but, like dēlectat, it can be used as an impersonal verb meaning ‘delight’ or ‘please’:

Ut iuvat castella contrā undās spūmiferās aedificāre!     │ Literally: How it pleases to build castles against the foaming waves! [= How much fun it is to ...]

[5] spūmifer, -a, -um: foam-bearing; foaming

The suffix -fer (bearing; carrying; bringing) is used in a number of words in Latin. Below are some examples:

• frūgifer, -a, -um: bearing fruit i.e. fruitful
• morbifer, -a, -um: bringing disease
• mortifer, -a, -um: bringing death i.e. deadly; fatal
• pācifer, -a, -um: peace bringing i.e. peaceful
• pestifer, -a, -um: bringing disease i.e. destructive
• aquilifer, -ī [2/m]: standard-bearer i.e. the one who carries the eagle
• signifer, -ī [2/m]: standard-bearer
• Lūcifer, -ī [2/m]: bringing light from Gk. φῶς (phôs, “light”) +‎ -φόρος (-phóros, “bringing”) i.e. the morning star; (Bibl.) Lucifer

Illustration of Lucifer in the first fully illustrated print edition of Dante's Divine Comedy. Woodcut for Inferno, canto 34. Petrus de Plasiis, Venice, 1491.

26.08.24: Level 1; review; practice in the cases [3](2); 1st / 2nd declension nouns and adjectives: genitive singular [2]

§12: Colloquium 

altus, -a, um: tall; high; (depending on context) deep

Gallus, -ī [2/m]: (a) Gaul

hīc: here

[i] Note that the author places a hyphen between est and ne. This is not a standard way of writing it; he only does this to show that the question is made up of two parts i.e. est (is) and ne.

[ii] In grammar -ne is called a particle i.e. it has no meaning separately nor is it classified as, for example, a noun or an adjective or an adverb but is used to add meaning to the word to which it is attached. The particle is also described as enclitic, meaning that it is attached to the end of a word.

Two other common enclitic particles are:

-que: and

-ve: or

[A] Find the Latin:

• a big town of Italy
• the gate of Rome
• the shore of Britain
• the slave’s daughter
• the spear of the Gaul [= the Gaul’s spear]
• the wall of Rome

[B] Fill in the gaps with the missing questions, phrases and words; try this before looking at the main text.

(1) __________ Hic est Gallī hasta.

(2) __________ Nōn longa est.

(3) __________ hasta Rōmāna longa? Hasta Rōmāna nōn est parva: (4) __________.

Estne mūrus Rōmae parvus? (5) __________: mūrus Rōmae est magnus. Mūrus Rōmae est (6) __________.

Estne Rōma magna? Rōma est (7) __________: Rōma est magnum oppidum Ītaliae.

Estne (8) __________ Rōmae magna? Magna est.

(9) __________ Rōma est magna et via Rōmāna est lāta.

Ubi est Britannia? (10) __________ est Britannia.

Ubi est ōra Britanniae? (11) __________.

Estne Britannia īnsula? Britannia (12) __________.

Estne Britannia (13) __________ īnsula? Britannia nōn est parva īnsula: Britannia est (14) __________ īnsula.

Ubi est (15) __________? Fīlia servī nōn hīc est: (16) __________ servus hīc est. 

altus et lātus; Cūr est porta Rōmae magna?; est īnsula parva; Estne; Estne Gallī hasta longa?; fīlia servī; hasta Rōmāna est longa; Hīc; Hīc est ōra Britanniae; magna; magnum oppidum; magnus; Nōn est parvus; parva; porta; Ubi est hasta Gallī?