16.11.24: level 2; degrees of comparison [8]; translation of comparatives

The comparative may not always be translated as ____er or more ____ but as [i] rather + adjective or [ii] too + adjective

Where no obvious comparison is being made:

‘Mīles fortior est.’ could equally be translated as ‘The soldier is braver’ or ‘The soldier is rather brave’

‘hoc difficilius est’ / this is more difficult / this is rather difficult / this is too difficult; context will determine whether rather / too + adjective is preferable to a comparative.

If, however, a comparison is clearly being made (with something or someone else) then only a translation as a comparative will be used:

Mīles fortior quam agricola est. / The soldier is braver than the farmer.

16.11.24: level 2; degrees of comparison [7]; object of comparison (2); [i] tam … quam …; [ii] minus … quam …, and [iii] the bigger the better!

[1] Two people / things being compared may be the same i.e. a comparative of equality. English uses “X is as [adjective] as Y” e.g. John is as tall as Peter. Alternatively, a person / thing may not be as big as someone / something else. In this type of construction a comparative adjective is not used – either in English or in Latin.

To express this idea Latin uses (nōn) tam [adjective] quam …

Antōnius est tam [altus] quam Lūcius. │ Antonius is as [tall] as Lucius.

Tam esse clēmēns tyrannus quam rēx importūnus potest (Cicero) │ A tyrant may be as mild as a king may be harsh

Via Latīna nōn tam longa est quam via Appia. │The Latin Road is not as long as the Appian Way.

Nōn enim tam praeclārum est scīre Latīnē quam turpe nescīre (Cicero) │ For it is not as praiseworthy to know Latin as it is shameful to not know it.

From “In taberna quando sumus” (Medieval)

Tam prō Pāpā quam prō rēge / bibunt omnēs sine lēge │ Without restraint they all drink [literally] as to the Pope as to the king [ = equally to the Pope and to the king; they drink as many toasts to the Pope as they do to the king]

[2] one may be less than as opposed to more than

minus … quam …

Canis minus vēlōx quam cervus est. │ A dog is less swift than a deer.

Mīles minus fortis quam prūdēns est. │ The soldier is less brave than wise. 

English may “play around” with translations of “less” i.e. “The dog is slower than a deer / isn’t as swift as a deer” and “The soldier is not so much brave as wise”.

[3] “The bigger, the better / the more the merrier”

[a] quantō [+ comparative] … tantō [+ comparative] / the ____ er … the ____ er

Quantō pulchrior tempestās erat, tantō fēlīciōrēs erāmus. │ The nicer the weather was, the happier we were.

[b] quō [+ comp.] … hōc (eō) [+ comp.] / the ____ er … the ____ er

Quō pulchrior tempestās erat, hōc fēlīciōrēs erāmus. │ The nicer the weather was, the happier we were.

Quō quis est fortior, eō est generōsior.  │ The braver someone is, the nobler he is.

Quō quid est melius, eō rārius est. │ The better a thing, the rarer it is.

15.11.24: Level 1; review; practice in the cases; 3rd declension nouns [3]

Match the English and Latin sentences; focus on the nouns in bold since they are all 3^rd declension:

[C]

sōl, -is [3/m]: sun

lūx, lūcis [3/f]: light

vōx, vōcis [3/f]: voice

lēx, lēgis [3/f]: law

Nominative

[1] The light of the moon is silver.

[2] Your voice is loud.

[3] The law is bad.

Genitive

[4] The light of the sun is gold.

[5] The sound of your voice is loud.

[6] I am a guardian of the law.

Accusative

[7] I see the light of the moon.

[8] We hear a loud voice.

Ablative

[9] He is standing in the light.

[10] He attacks the town at first light [= at dawn]

[11] He shouts in a loud voice.

• Cūstōs lēgis sum.
• In lūce stat.
• Lēx est mala.
• Lūx lūnae argentea est.
• Magnam vōcem audīmus.
• Lūx sōlis aurea est.
• Prīmā lūce oppidum oppugnat.
• Vōx tua magna est.
• Sonus tuae vōcis est magnus.
• Lūcem lūnae videō.
• Vōce magnā clāmat.

[D]

cūstōs, cūstōdis [3/m]: guard(ian)

lapis, lapidis [3/m]: stone; precious stone; jewel

pēs, pedis [3/m]: foot

Nominative

[1] He is the guardian of the gate.

[2] The guard defends the gate.

[3] There is the guard.

[4] I am a guardian of the law.

[5] My foot is large.

[6] The stone is large.

[7] The colour of the stone is beautiful.

Genitive

[8] Here is your footprint [= here is the trace of your foot]

[9] The colour of the stone is beautiful.

Dative

[10] The commander gives the signal to the guard.

Accusative

[11] I see the guardian of the gate.

[12] He injures the foot with a spear.

[13] The siege machine hurls a stone.

Ablative

[14] I’m standing with the guard near the gate.

[15] He is standing on one foot.

[16] He wounds the barbarian with [by means of] a stone.

• Tormentum lapidem mittit. 
• Cūstōdem portae videō.
• Pēs meus est magnus. 
• Pede ūnō stat.
• Cūstōs lēgis sum.
• Magnus est lapis. 
• Lapide barbarum vulnerat. 
• Ibi est cūstōs. 
• Hic est vestīgium pedis  tuī. 
• Cūstōs portam dēfendit.
• Dux cūstōdī signum dat.
• Hasta pedem vulnerat. 
• Cūstōs portae est.
• Color lapidis est pulcher.  (x2)
• Cum cūstōde prope portam stō. 

14.11.24: Level 2; Practice in reading the perfect tense; a First Latin Reader (Vincent) [30]

Posteā multōs diēs erant tempestātēs, quae Rōmānōs in castrīs continēbant et hostēs ā pugnā prohibēbant. Interim Britannī nūntiōs ad partēs multās mīsērunt et auxilium rogāvērunt. Magna multitūdō equitum et peditum ad castra Britannōrum venit. Inde Caesar, quia habēbat trecentōs equitēs, quōs Commius Atrebās trānsportāverat ex Galliā, legiōnēs suās prō castrīs īnstituit. Britannī, quī impetum mīlitum Rōmānōrum sustinēre nōn poterant, terga vertērunt. Inde Caesar, postquam agrōs hostium vastāvit et aedificia multa incendit, cōpiās ad castra dūxit.

Atrebās, Atrebātis [3/m]: Atrabatian, a member of the Atrebātēs, a Celtic tribe

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

īnstituō, -ere, -uī [3]: set up; arrange

Questions

Six of the following statements are correct:

1. A storm prevented the Romans from fighting.
2. Atrebas had brought cavalry from Gaul.
3. Caesar had 300 horses.
4. Caesar led the troops to the camp and destroyed the fields.
5. Caesar’s troops burned a building.
6. Cavalry and infantry came to the aid of the Britons.
7. Legions were inside the camp.
8. Messengers were sent to the Britons.
9. The Britons asked for help.
10. The Britons could not withstand the Romans’ attack.
11. The enemy prevented the Romans from leaving the camp.
12. The enemy’s fields were destroyed.
13. The Romans could not fight because of storms.
14. The Romans could not withstand the Britons’ attack.

Military vocabulary: verbs

If you’re reading a report in a newspaper about, for example, a crime, the same vocabulary and phrases will come up again and again. The same applies to the many accounts of battles in Latin; vocabulary related to the nouns concerning warfare have already been given in five previous posts:

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/08/180924-level-1-military-vocabulary-1.html

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/08/180924-level-1-military-vocabulary-2.html

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/09/180924-level-1-military-vocabulary-3.html

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/09/180924-level-1-military-vocabulary-4.html

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/09/180924-level-1-military-vocabulary-5.html

Here we can begin to list verbs and phrases that are very common in this type of writing:

(1) dūcō, -ere, dūxī [3]: lead; redūcō: lead back

(2) incendō, -ere, incendī [3]: set (something) on fire; burn

(3) ([i] nuntiōs [ii] lēgātōs) mittō, -ere, mīsī [3]: send ([i] messengers [ii] envoys (ambassadors), people to negotiate)

(4) prohibeō, -ēre, -uī [2]: hold back; prevent; keep (somebody) away from something; tempestatēs … hostēs ā pugnā prohibēbant │ Storms … prevented the enemy from fighting (kept them away from the fight)

(5) (auxilium) rogō, -āre, -āvī [1] ask for (help); English needs ‘for’ whereas the Latin verb is followed by an accusative

(6) (impetum) sustineō, -ēre, -uī [2]: withstand (an attack)

(7) ([i] cōpiās [ii] equitēs [iii] peditēs) trānsportō, -āre, -āvī [1]: transport ([i] troops [ii] cavalry [iii] infantry)

(8) vastō, -āre, -āvī [1]: lay waste; agrōs vastāvit: he laid waste the fields, which sounds rather odd in English but really means he flattened the place!

(9) vertō, -ere, vertī [3]: turn (away); tergum, -ī [2/n]: back; tergum or terga vertērunt: they turned their backs i.e. retreated; were on the run

____________________

Afterwards there were storms for many days, which kept the Romans in their camp and prevented the enemy from fighting. Meanwhile the Britons sent messengers to many parts / everywhere and asked for help. A great multitude / a huge number of cavalry and infantry came to the camp of the Britons. Then Caesar, because he had three hundred horsemen, whom Commius,  an Atrebatian had transported from Gaul, set up his legions before the camp. The Britons, who could not withstand the onslaught of the Romans, turned tail. Then Caesar, after he had laid waste the fields of the enemy and set fire to many buildings, led the troops to the camp.