10.05.25: Level 1; readings [12]: Gods on stage

Tum Epicharmus: “Et Cornēlia et tū, Mārce, in theātrō libenter fābulās spectātis. Itaque tibi certē Amphitruō Plautī nōtus est: Iuppiter cum Mercuriō Alcmēnae appropinquat…”

Et Mārcus: “Mihi cūnctae fābulae Plautī nōtae sunt cūnctaeque mē dēlectant, imprīmīs autem Amphitruō. Nihil magis rīdeō, quam cum Mercurius scālās portāre dēbet.”

Epicharmus autem: “Gaudēmus igitur et ego et tū in theātrō, et tē et mē iuvat fābulās Plautī spectāre.”

Nunc Mārcus rīdet et “Vōs Graecī”, inquit, “nōs Rōmānōs ēloquentiā superātis. Nōn ignōrō. Ecce, ā vōbīs victus neque tamen maestus sum. Vōs nōn iam vituperō, sed vōbīscum rīdeō.”

Et Dēmarātus: “Gaudeō, quod nōbīscum rīdēs, Mārce; nam iuvat rīdēre.”

Amphitruō: Amphitryon, title of a play by Plautus

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This text focuses on the 1^st and 2^nd person personal pronouns i.e. the equivalents of ‘I’, ‘me’, ‘you’, ‘we’, ‘us’ etc. Most of these are used in the text and the full table is given in the image. These will be reviewed and discussed in more depth later but begin by recognising them and note in particular the use of the preposition cum (with) since it is attached to the end of the pronoun i.e. nōbīscum (with us) vōbīscum (with you); that is the only preposition which acts in that way.

[1] Nominative

Et [i] ego et [ii] tū │ both [ii] you and [i] I:

Gaudēmus … et ego et tū in theātrō │ Both you and I … rejoice in the theatre i.e. being in theatre

Et Cornēlia et tū …│ Both you and Cornelia …

Et Cornēlia et tū … libenter fābulās spectātis │ Both you … and Cornelia … like to watch plays

[2] Accusative

Et [ii] tē et [i] mē iuvat │ It pleases both [ii] you and [i] me …

et tē et mē iuvat fābulās Plautī spectāre │ Literally: it pleases both you and me to watch the plays of Plautus = you and I like to watch …

cūnctaeque mē dēlectant │ and they all delight me

Vōs nōn iam vituperō │ I no longer scold you (plural)

[3] Two cases in the same sentence:

“Vōs [nominative] Graecī”, inquit, “nōs [accusative] Rōmānōs ēloquentiā superātis. │ “You Greeks,” he says, “conquer us Romans with eloquence.”

[4] Dative

Mihi cūnctae fābulae Plautī nōtae sunt │ All the plays of Plautus are well-known to me

… tibi … Amphitruō Plautī nōtus est │ Plautus’s “Amphitryon” is … well-known to you

[5] Ablative

nōbīscum rīdēs │ you laugh with us

vōbīscum rīdeō │ I laugh with you (plural)

ā vōbīs victus │ conquered by you (plural)