https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pv2rBVkfsDY
[9] In Germāniam nōn pervēnī quī honōribus tuīs essem subsidiō, barbare. │ I didn’t come to Germania / I haven’t reached Germania to support your advancement, Barbarian.
- perveniō, -venīre, -vēnī [4]: come, arrive, reach
- subsidium, -ī [2/n]: help, support, aid
- honor, honōris [3/m]: honour, but it is also the term used amongst the Romans to refer to a hierarchy of political offices (cursus honōrum) that an aspiring citizen could hold and which, if he played his cards right, could lead to the ultimate position of a consul of Rome; this is why “advancement” is a very good translation of the word
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cursus_honorum
In Germāniam nōn pervēnī [i] quī honōribus tuīs essem [ii] subsidiō, barbare.
[i] In Germāniam nōn pervēnī …quī … essem …subsidiō
As in the previous notes: the imperfect subjunctive of esse but it has a different function here.
He sent [i] the soldiers to the camp ¦ [ii] to kill the enemy; ‘to kill the enemy’ expresses purpose and we already know that the soldiers are to do that.
In Latin this is not expressed by an infinitive as in English but with a construction using ‘who’ (quī / quae) + the subjunctive; a literal translation: He sent the soldiers to the camp ¦ who were to kill / who would (might) kill the enemy i.e. that’s what they would do but, at the point at which the statement is made, they hadn’t done it yet.
I didn’t come to Germania ¦ (very literally) who might / would be / act as a means of support … = I didn’t come to Germania to support (your advancement)
[ii] quī essem honōribus tuīs subsidiō: this is an example of what is known in grammar as a predicative dative; there is something similar in English although it doesn’t match the Latin dative:
- How can I be ¦ of assistance to you?
- I don’t think that’s ¦ of much use.
- I did it ¦ as a favour to him.
- I use these glasses as ¦ a means of protection.
- That is ¦ (a cause) of great concern to me.
- That’s ¦ (a source) of benefit
Latin uses the dative case, very often with the verb esse, to express the purpose of the noun or the result which is achieved by the noun; translations may include ‘as a’, ‘a cause of’, ‘a source of’ or ‘a means of’ although English may omit it:
- Puella mihi est cūrae │The girl is a concern / (a source / cause) of concern to me i.e. the noun serves the purpose of causing concern
This construction most often appears not only with the noun that expresses the purpose but also the person / thing for whom / which the purpose is intended: both are in the dative case; in grammar this is known as the double dative
- bellum est [i] exitiō (dative) ¦ [ii] incolīs (dative)│ war brings destruction to the inhabitants = Literally: war is [i] a source / cause of destruction ¦ [ii] to the inhabitants
- Illa fēmina, quae līberōs interfēcit [i] odiō (dative) [ii] omnibus (dative) est. │ That woman who killed her own children is hated by everyone = Literally … is [i] a source of hatred [ii] for everybody
- Caesar omnem ex castrīs equitātum [ii] suīs (dative) [i] auxiliō (dative) mīsit. (Caesar) │ Caesar sent all the cavalry in the camp [i] as a relief (for the purpose of relief) [ii] to his men.
This is exactly what is being used in the extract:
- In Germāniam nōn pervēnī quī honōribus tuīs essem subsidiō, …. │ I didn’t come to Germania as (a means of) support ¦ for your advancement …
More information at this stage can be found here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aA-LqaKZy-4
[10] Veniam ā tē petō, lēgāte, sed virī meī cōnsimilēs tibi opus erunt. │ Forgive me, governor, but you will need men like me.
cōnsimilis, -e: alike; very similar; this adjective can either be followed by the dative or, here, the genitive: meī [genitive] cōnsimilēs │ similar to me
- petō, -ere, -ī(v)ī [3]: ask (for); beg; seek
- venia, -ae [1/f]: forgiveness; veniam ā tē petō │ I seek forgiveness from you
- opus erunt: this construction with opus was discussed here (the first excerpt from Barbarians):
https://www.facebook.com/groups/latinforstarters/posts/620459540565318/
https://adckl2.blogspot.com/2025/02/level-3-barbarians-1.html
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