“It
is with the Emperor Nero, in the first century A.D. that we have the first
definite mention of the bag applied to reed pipes. His use of a bag is actually
confirmed by Dio Chrysdstom who mentions Nero's use of the bagpipe in the
second half of the first century A.D: “they say that he could … play
the pipe, both by means of his lips and by tucking a skin beneath his armpits”
[i]
utriculārius, -ī [2/m], the word used by Suetonius in the previous post, is a bagpipe player, not the instrument; the word is
obviously derived from: utriculus, -ī [2/m]: a small skin / leather bag
The
other word used to describe a bagpipe player is:
[ii]
ascaulēs, ascaulis [3/m] from Gk. ἀσκαύλης [askaulis], created from [i] Gk. αὐλός [aulos], a wind
instrument resembling an oboe, and [ii] Gk. ἀσκός [askos]: a skin made into a bag; the Roman
poet Martial refers to this in one of his epigrams.
The
two terms that now refer to the instrument itself are:
[i]
utriculus, -ī [2/m] (i.e. the same word that originally described the small
leather bag)
Schöttgen,
Christian (1687-1751) asks the question: An instrumentum Davidis musicum fuerit
utriculus? │ Was David’s musical instrument a bagpipe?
According
to Biblical sources, David played a lyre for King Saul but that’s not the
point: this author is arguing that it may not have been, and could have been a
bagpipe. I have no idea why he thinks that and I’m not going there.
[ii]
There is another reference to the instrument in 1512:
tībia
utriculāris: ain [= ein] sackpfeif(e); a bagpipe; bagpipes
It
does seem that in the Middle Ages, animals were big fans of bagpipes! And, when
you’re looking at those images, if you’re thinking what I think you might be
thinking, then your thinking is right!
“Musical
instruments could also invoke sexuality for a medieval audience. Wind
instruments like flutes and bagpipes were seen to resemble male genitalia,
stringed instruments had the curving body of a woman to be played, and
percussion instruments like drums were to be "banged," while cymbals
and bells kept erotic rhythms.”
Look at the following sentences and their translations
Uter ex hīs
sapiēns tibi vidētur? (Seneca) │ Which of these (two) men seems
wise to you? [literally: is seen to you]
Uter poēta ā plūribus legitur? │ Which poet is read by
most?
Cōpia frūmentī cōnficitur atque in reliquum annum servātur.
│ A supply of grain is collected and (is) kept for the rest of
the year.
Omnia furōre tempestātis miscentur. │ All things are stirred
up by the fury of the storm.
The verbs with
endings in bold are in the passive voice. Both in English and Latin, a
sentence can be active or passive, the two concepts are expressed differently
from one another.
A sentence can
be [1] active or [2] passive
[1] active:
the subject of
the sentence is performing the action:
The hunter
catches the lion.
‘Hunter’ is the
subject of the sentence and is performing the action = an active sentence; the
verb ‘catches’ is active i.e. it refers to the person / thing performing the
action
[2] passive:
The subject of
the sentence is not performing the action but is experiencing an
action performed by someone / something else which [i] may or[ii]
may not be stated.
[i] The hunter
is caught ¦ by the lion.
[ii] The hunter
is eaten.
Here, although
‘hunter’ is the grammatical subject of the sentences, it is not performing these
actions but experiencing them; ‘is caught’ and ‘is eaten’ are passive
In English,
this is expressed by the verb ‘to be’ + the past participle (e.g. ‘caught’;
‘eaten’). Latin sometimes does the same, but not in the present tense.
Image
#1: A passive sentence can be expressed in any tense; we will look here only at
the present passive, and in two stages.
Third
person singular and plural:
this is easy to conjugate since it is invariably formed by adding a distinctive
-ur to the present tense of the verb regardless of conjugation. As in
English, the passive verb still agrees with the grammatical subject of the
sentence, not the person or thing performing the action. In the same way
that the present active can translate either as a simple present or as a
present progressive / continuous in English (he praises / he is praising), so
too can the present passive (he is praised / he is being praised).
laudat │ he / she praises > laudātur │ he / she is (being) praised
laudant │ they praise > laudantur │ they are (being) praised
Active voice: Vēnātor leōnem capit. │ The hunter catches the lion.
> Passive voice: Leō ā vēnātōre capitur. │ The lion is caught by the hunter.
Active voice: Mīlitēs servōs capiunt. │ The soldiers catch the slaves.
> Passive voice: Servī ā mīlitibus capiuntur. │ The slaves are caught by the soldiers.
Image #2: further examples
You now need to
recognise the terms ‘active’ and ‘passive’ to distinguish between the different
forms as these are used in the Latin grammars; look at the four pieces of
information that describe the verb:
laudat: he/she/
it praises / is praising │ [i] 3rd person [ii] singular [iii] present
[iv] active
laudātur: he/she/it
is (being) praised │[i] 3rd person [ii] singular [iii] present [iv] passive
laudant: they praise
/ are praising │[i] 3rd person [ii] plural [iii] present [iv] active
laudantur: they
are (being) praised │[i] 3rd person [ii] plural [iii] present [iv] passive
Image #3: If,
for example, you typed ‘laudātur’ into Wiktionary, it will give you, among
others, the descriptions noted above and then lead you to the main page for
that verb which list every form that verb has. Don’t be concerned
about the reference to ‘indicative’ for the moment; that will be done later.
Orbilius magister discipulōs laudat sī dīligenter student.
Interdum ā magistrō fābulae nārrantur. Hodiē Orbilius rogat, “Dēsīderātīsne
fābulam, puerī?” “Certē, certē, fābulam longam, fābulam longam dēsīderāmus,”
puerī clāmant. Tum fābula dē Helenā, fēminā pulchrā Graecā, ab Orbiliō
nārrātur.
Sentence building; find the Latin:
a story is told
a story is told ¦ … by Orbilius
stories are told
stories are told ¦ by the teacher
[B]
“In Graeciā Helena habitat. Fēmina pulchrā ā multīs virīs amātur.
Troiānus clārus ad Graeciam nāvigat. Fēmina pulchra ā Troiānō vidētur et
amātur. Tandem Troiānus fēminam Troiam dūcit. Graecī sunt īrātī; itaque bellum
parātur. Arma et frūmentum et armātī onerāriīs ad ōrās Troiānās mittuntur. In
ōrīs Troiānīs Graecī castra pōnunt. Troia mūrō altō et portīs frimīs mūnītur.
Posteā castra Graecōrum fossā et vallō altō mūniuntur. Graecī Troiānōs nōn
timent sed ā Troiānis timentur. Diū bellum geritur. Armātī gladiīs, hastīs
sagittīs pugnant. Et Graecī et Troiānī ā virīs clārīs dūcuntur sed deī
victōriam nōn dant.”
The woman is loved
The woman is loved ¦ by many men
The woman is seen
The woman is seen ¦ by the Trojan
a war is prepared
a war is waged for a long time
Troy is fortified
Troy is fortified ¦ by a high wall
Troy is fortified by a high wall ¦ and (by) strong gates
weapons … are sent
the camp [note: castra (plural) ] (of the Greeks) is fortified
the camp (of the Greeks) is fortified ¦ bya ditch
the camp (of the Greeks) is fortified by a ditch ¦ and (by)
a high rampart
both the Greeks and the Trojans are led by famous men
[C]
Find and compare:
The Greeks [i] do not fear the Trojans but [ii] are feared
by the Trojans
[i] is an active verb and [ii] is a passive
verb; what is the difference in meaning and what is added to [ii] to make it
passive?
Tum
fīlium exspectābat │ at that time he was waiting for his son
prō
patriā pugnābat │ he was fighting / used to fight for the country
Dux
mīlitēs monēbat │ the commander was advising the soldiers
fortiter
pugnābant │ they were fighting / kept on fighting bravely
Tum tēlum
veniēbat │ then a missile / javelin was coming
[ii]
Eram
paene tūtus. │ I was almost safe.
Prō
patriā parātus erat morīrī sī necesse erat. │ He was ready to die for the
country if it was necessary.
Herī ille
caecus vir aderat. │ Yesterday that blind man was present (was here / there)
Cōpiae
hostium erant magnae │ the enemy’s troops / forces were large
[iii]
multī
vulnerābantur │ many were (being) injured
multī
necābantur │ many were (being) killed
The term imperfect
suggests in Modern English that something is wrong e.g. an imperfect piece of
work. However, the original terms [i] perfect and [ii] imperfect mean
that something is [i] finished and [ii] unfinished
Latin
uses the imperfect tense – keep in mind the idea of ‘unfinished’ – to convey
the following:
[i] an
action that was ongoing with no sense of beginning or end, an
action that took place over a period of time
fīlium
exspectābat │ he was waiting for (his) son
dux
mīlitēs monēbat │ the commander was advising the soldiers
fortiter
pugnābant │they fought [= were fighting] bravely
[ii] how
a situation generally was
cōpiae
hostium erant magnae │ the enemy’s troops / forces were large
putābam
mē tūtum │ I thought I was safe
prō
patriā parātus erat morīrī sī necesse erat │ He was ready to die for the
country if it was necessary.
[iii] an
action that used to happen i.e. it happened more than once – in grammar
this is known as frequentative:
prō
patriā pugnābat │ he used to fight for his country
[iv] an
action that kept (on) happening
fortiter
pugnābant could also mean ‘they kept (on) fighting bravely’
[v] a
sense of ‘randomness’ again with no explicit beginning or end; and, again, -ur
can be added to describe what was happening to them:
multī
vulnerābantur │ many were (being) injured
multī
necābantur │ many were killed
i.e. the
injuries and deaths did not happen all at the same time; even though death is
pretty much a completed action, the imperfect is used: yes, the soldiers were
killed but they were killed at different times over an undisclosed or vague
period of time with no indication as to when all of that started or finished
[vi] the start
(but not the finish) an action
tum tēlum
veniēbat │ then a spear came (i.e. imagine him seeing that spear as it started
coming towards him)
Context
will determine the best English translation.
All the
links concerning the imperfect tense are here:
fidicen,
fidicinis [3/m]: a lutist; a harp / lyre player; fidicina,
-ae [1/f]: a lutist; a harp / lyre player [fem.]
fistula,
-ae [1/f]: Pan pipes; shepherd’s pipes; fistulātor,
-ōris [3/m]: a player of the Pan pipes
tuba,
-ae [1/f]: trumpet
cornū,
-ūs [4/n]: horn; the cornū differed from the tuba in that it was
curved nearly in the shape of a C
tībia,
-ae [1/f]: flute; tībīcen,
tībīcinis [3/m]: a piper; flute player
choraula,
-ae [1/m]: flute player or choraulēs,
-ae [1/m]: flute player; a Greek-type noun with an accusative in -n
[1]
choraulēn meum iussī Latīnē cantāre
(Petronius: Satyricon) │ I told my flute-player to sing in Latin
[2]
Quod Thūcȳdidēs, …, Lacedaemoniōs in aciē nōn [i] tubā, sed [ii] tībiīs esse ūsōs dīcit …; quodque Hērodotus Alyattem rēgem [iii] fidicinās in prōcīnctū habuisse trādit; atque inibi quaedam
notāta
dē
Gracchī [iv] fistula contiōnāria. (Gellius)│ The
statement of … Thucydides, that the Lacedaemonians in battle did not use [i] a
trumpet but [ii] pipes…; and the remark of Herodotus that king
Alyattes had [iii] female lyre-players as part of his military
equipment; and finally, some notes on the [iv] pipe used by Gracchus
when addressing assemblies.
[3]
Female flute-players: lascīvientium dēliciae convīviōrum; the delight of
wanton banqueters
Hērodotus in Historiīs trādit, concinentēs habuit [i]
fistulātōrēs et [ii] fidicinēs atque [iii] fēminās etiam tībīcinās
in exercitū atque in prōcīnctū habuit, lascīvientium dēliciās convīviōrum. (Gellius)│
Herodotus tells us in his History, had in his army and
his battle-array orchestras of [i] pipe- and [ii] lyre-players,
and [iii] even female flute-players, such as are the delight of
wanton banqueters.
[4] Suetonius on the life of Nero …
Sub
exitū quidem vītae palam vōverat, sī sibi incolumis statūs permānsisset,
prōditūrum sē partae victōriae lūdīs etiam hydraulam et choraulam
et utriculārium │ Towards the end of his life, in fact, he had publicly
vowed that if he retained his power, he would at the games in celebration of
his victory give a performance on the water-organ, the flute,
and the bagpipes.
The
translation, however, refers to those nouns as instruments whereas they
describe the players:
hydraula,
-ae [1/m] or hydraulēs, -ae [1/m] (Gk. type; accusative in -n) < Gk. ὑδραύλης (hidraulis): one
who plays the water organ
hydraulus,
-ī [2/m]: water organ; from Greek ὕδραυλος (húdraulos, “water organ”)
putārēs
essedarium hydraulē cantante pugnāre (Petronius) │ you would have said
that a gladiator in a chariot was fighting to the accompaniment of a water-organ
player
utriculārius,
-ī [2/m]: bagpipe player
There will be a
little more on bagpipes and the players in the next post.
Caesar had not advanced far into the island, but, as
certain tribes had submitted and as winter was approaching, he decided to
return to Gaul, where he had to deal with a rising of the Morini.
Britannī lēgātōs ad Caesarem dē pāce statim mīsērunt. Caesar
pācem Britannis dēdit et obsidēs imperāvit. Inde, quia tempestās erat idōnea,
post mediam noctem nāvēs solvit et tūtus ad continentem pervēnit. Sed duae
nāvēs onerāriae quae portum capere nōn poterant, ad agrōs Morinōrum
nāvigāvērunt. Morinī impetum fēcērunt contrā mīlitēs, quī hostibus multās hōrās
resistēbant. Caesar omnēs equitēs statim mīsit. Proximō diē Titus Labiēnus cum
legiōnibus, quās ex Britanniā redūxerat, contrā Morinōs iter fēcit. Inde
Menapiī et Morinī in potestātem Caesaris sē dedērunt.
Vocabulary
continēns, continentis [3/f]: mainland
nāvīs, -is [3/f] onerāria: transport / cargo ship
tūtus, -a, -um: safe
Questions
[A] Find the Latin. Note that the literal translations can
sound a little odd in English and sometimes need to be reworked to give a more
fluent expression.
(they) … sent ambassadors / envoys … ¦ about [i.e. to
discuss; agree on terms for] peace
(he) … gave / granted peace (to the Britons)
(he) … commanded hostages
(he) … “loosened” the ships (i.e. the ships were untied from
their moorings); he set sail
(they) … reached (the continent)
(they) … sailed to the “fields” / territory (of the Morini)
(they) … made an attack / attacked
(they) … resisted the enemy
(he) … sent all the cavalry
(he) … set out i.e. marched (against the Morini)
(they) … gave themselves into the power of Caesar i.e. they
surrendered to the control of Caesar
[B] Grammar review [1]: Identify the case(s) in each of
these expressions and explain why it is used:
proximō diē
post mediam noctem
[i] hostibus [ii] multās hōrās ¦
resistēbant
[i] in potestātem [ii] Caesaris ¦ sē dedērunt
quās ex Britanniā redūxerat
[C] Grammar review [2]: give the first person singular
present tense of the following verbs from the text:
dedit
fēcērunt
mīsērunt
nāvigāvērunt
pervēnit
poterant
redūxerat
resistēbant
____________________
The Britons immediately sent envoys to Caesar to discuss
peace. Caesar granted peace to the Britons and demanded hostages. Then, because
the weather was suitable, he unmoored the ships [= set sail] after midnight and
safely reached the continent. But two cargo ships which were not able to get to
the harbour sailed to the territory of the Morini. The Morini attacked the
soldiers, who resisted the enemy for many hours. Caesar immediately sent all the
cavalry. On the next day Titus Labienus marched against the Morini with the
legions which he had brought back from Britannia. Then the Menapi and the
Morini surrendered to the control of Caesar.
