Iam Barbātus Syrum temptat. Gladiī crepant, populus adversāriōs incitat, nam pugnae turbam valdē dēlectant. Etiam Mārcus gaudet et clāmat, nam lūdōs et pugnās libenter spectat; Cornēliam autem lūdī nōn dēlectant: itaque sedet et tacet. Mārcus amīcam rogat: “Cūr pugna tē nōn dēlectat?” Cornēlia nōn respondet. Subitō Syrus adversārium temptat, vulnerat. Turba clāmat, sed Cornēlia lacrimās nōn iam tenet. Neque Mārcum nunc lūdus dēlectat.
Dē vēre
Vēre sōl in caelō scandit. Singulī diēs longiōrēs
fīunt. Singulae noctēs breviōrēs fīunt. Sōl vēris calēscit. Nix hiemis
liquēscit. Auster pluviam fert. Herba ē terrā nāscitur. Nūdī agrī iterum
viridēs fīunt. Arborēs folia prōdūcunt. Avēs ex austrō revertuntur. Silvae
cantū sonant. Flōrēs aperiuntur.
Iuvat in agrōs silvāsque exīre. Bovēs iterum per
collēs et vallēs herbā pāscuntur. Virī et puerī cum equīs exeunt. In agrīs
labōrant. Agrōs arant. Sēmina et arborēs serunt. Arborēs serit dīligēns
agricola, quārum adspiciet frūctum ipse numquam. Serit arborēs, quae alterī
saeculō prōsint.
Vocabulary: note in particular the words in bold
scandō, -ere; scandī [3]: ascend
singulus, -a, -um: (here) one by one; one at a time
auster, -trī [2/m]: the south wind
nāscitur: is born
prōdūcō,-ere; prōdūxī [3]: produce
revertuntur: (they) return
sonō, -āre; sonuī [1]: resound
aperiuntur: (they) are being opened
iuvat [+ īnfīnītīve]: it is pleasing [to ...]
pāscuntur [+ abl.]: (they) feed [on ...]
sēmen, seminis [3/n]: seed
sērō, -ere; sēvī [3]: sow; plant
ipse: himself
alter, -a, -um: (here) the next
saeculum, -ī [2/n]: generation; century
prōsum, prōdesse; prōfuī [+ dat.]: be of benefit
[to...]
[A]
[B] Review the grammar terms; the following are examples of which grammatical features listed below?
adspiciet
aperiuntur
calēscit; liquēscit
cantū; fructum
cum equīs; ē terrā; ex austrō; dē
vēre
in agrōs; in agrīs
longiōrēs; breviōrēs
per collēs / per vallēs
quae; quārum
viridēs; diligēns
The previous text contained three verbs that were highlighted in the vocabulary list:
Avēs ex austrō revertuntur. │ The birds return
from the south.
Bovēs iterum … herbā pāscuntur. │ The cattle
again … graze on the grass.
Herba ē terrā nāscitur. │ Grass springs
forth (is born) from the ground.
There is a group of verbs in Latin known as deponent
that have passive forms but active meanings. At this stage it is
best to remember two terms:
[i] An active verb is one where the subject
performs the action.
The farmers harvest grain = active sentence
Agricolae frūmentum metunt.
The soldier killed the king = active sentence
Mīles rēgem interfēcit.
[ii] A passive verb is one where the subject
experiences the action.
The grain is harvested by the farmers = passive
sentence
Frūmentum ab agricolīs metitur.
The king was killed by the soldier = passive
sentence
Rēx ā mīlite interfectus est.
With deponent verbs, however, the opposite is taking
place; that’s not the be-all and end-all explanation, but it is enough for
now. Deponent verbs look like passive verbs but they are active, the subject performing
the action and not experiencing it.
Examples:
sequor = I follow, not I am followed!
ūtor = I use, not I am being used!
The deponent verbs only have three principal parts:
sequor, sequī, secūtus sum [3/dep]: follow
[1] sequor; first person singular present tense; I
follow, not *I am followed*
[2] sequī; infintive; to follow, not *to be
followed*
The third principal part is not passive in
meaning but rather the meaning of a perfect tense of an active verb; it
will still agree in gender and number with the subject of the verb like the
perfect passive participle, but what looks like a passive is, in fact,
active.
[3] secūtus, -a sum; perfect active; I
(have) followed, not *I have been / was followed*
secūtus, -a est │ he / she followed
secūtī, -ae sumus │ we (m/f) followed
[1] revertor; first person singular; I return
[2] revertī; infinitive; to return
[3] reversus, -a (sum); perfect active
participle; I (have) returned
The next three readings on the seasons will give
further examples of deponent verbs at which point we will look at them in more
detail. There is a high risk of becoming tied in knots with long-winded
explanations as to why such verbs exist, some writers on Latin grammar trying
to analyse each deponent verb to work out why a passive form is being used when
an active sense is meant. Given that there are over 500 deponent verbs in
Latin, it seems to me to be a time-consuming wild goose chase. The best
approach is to note deponent verbs when they occur and, for the moment, simply
note that deponent verbs are passive in form but active in meaning.
The Latin Tutorial video will give you an overview of the deponent verbs:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/latinforstarters/posts/690389376905667
We
all approach learning in a different way. In terms of the Latin language, I
deliberately structured the posts in three levels, discussing points in, as
best as possible, an order according to relative importance, difficulty and a
logical progression. The last one, for me, matters because one point of
language may well be dependent upon another, in other words you can’t do [B] quadratic
equations if you can’t [A] add, subtract etc.
Vincent’s videos are a case in point: he produces short, focussed work
which contains a range of language at different levels. When he has posted
them, I’ve written detailed notes on them but, at times, I have deliberately
said “Just note that for the moment” because, to deal with that feature
in depth requires knowledge of something that has gone before.
Vincent
has used many deponent verbs in his work. Deponent verbs are structured
in exactly the same way as passive verbs. Therefore, all the posts on the
passive were done first, but now we can look at deponent verbs in detail. Note
the verbs in bold.
Mihi
valdē placent calidissimī diēs │ I really like very hot days [ = very hot days
are very pleasing to me]
nam
possum sōlus vel ūnā cum cane meō ut soleō deambulāre in silvā. │ for I
can – alone or together with my dog, as
I usually do – go for a walk in the forest. [soleō, -ēre (2): be accustomed
(to doing something)]
Aliī
enim domī manent aut natātōrium petunt │ Because others stay at home or
head for the swimming pool [natātorium, -ī (2/n) Neo-Latin: swimming
pool < natātōrius, -a, -um (Late Latin) adj: swimming, swimmer]
[ii]
vītandī calōris [i] causā. │ to avoid the heat [literally: [i]
for the sake of ¦ [ii] avoiding the heat]*
*This
is a gerundive: coming soon at Level 3!
Ego
autem aequō animō patior. │ I, however, bear (it) with an even
mind.
Immō saepe fruor calōre. │ What’s
more (on the contrary), I often enjoy the heat.
Fruor ārdōribus sōlis. │ I enjoy the
burning heat (Latin can use a plural) of the sun.
Libentissimē
in sōle deambulō, versor. │ With great pleasure [libentissimē:
(literally) very eagerly / willingly] I go for a walk in the sun (and) stay
around here. [versor: tricky verb, at times, to translate neatly; the idea
is to be somewhere, move around in a particular place]
Ergō
nunc laetus sum. │ Therefore, I’m happy.
Focus
on these three verbs as a way into deponent verbs:
fruor:
I enjoy
patior:
I bear; endure
versor:
I move around
Those
three verbs have what looks like passive endings e.g. laudor: I am
praised. However, they do not refer to something being done
to Vincent i.e. they are not passive. This type of verb is known as a
deponent verb – it looks passive but is active in meaning – and
will be the first language topic of Level 3.
