18.06.25: topic; ships [5]; Comenius XC; a Merchant ship (2)

[3]

The ancient is placed in the stern. │ Signum (vēxillum) pōnitur in puppī.

On the mast is the foretop, the watch-tower of the ship and on the top … a vane, to shew which way the wind standeth.

In mālō est corbis, specula nāvis et suprā … aplustre, ventōrum index.

[i] Comenius uses the archaic English word ‘ancient’, a term in heraldry to refer to a flag or banner or ensign:

signum, -ī [2/n]: a very general word meaning ‘sign’ or ‘signal’, the phrase signō datō, for example, meaning ‘after the signal had been given’ i.e. for battle to commence; in military language it can also refer to the distinctive sign (emblem, eagle, banner) of an army division

vēxillum, -ī [2/n]: flag, banner, standard

[ii] corbis, -is [3m/f]: basket

[iii] specula, -ae [1/f]: lookout, watchtower

[iv] aplustre, -is [3/n]: while Comenius refers to aplustre  as a weather vane, the word described the curved and ornamented wooden stern of a Roman ship

Image #1: aplustre from From: A school dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities (Smith, William, Sir, 1813-1893)

[4]

The ship is stayed with an anchor, │ nāvīs sistitur anc(h)orā,

the depth is fathomed with a plummet, │profunditās explōrātur bolide,

passengers walk up and down the decks, │nāvigantēs [participle: those (who are) sailing] dēambulant in tabulātō,

the sea men run to and fro through the hatches, │nautæ cursitant per forōs,

and thus, even seas are passed over.  │ atque ita, etiam maria trāiciuntur.

[i] Passives:

nāvis sistitur ¦ ancorā │ the ship is halted ¦ by an anchor

• sistō, -ere, stitī, status [3]: stop, halt

profunditās explōrātur │ the depth is explored (investigated, tested)

• profunditās, profunditātis [3/f]: depth

maria trāiciuntur │ seas are crossed over

[ii] bolis, bolidis [3/f]: this is an interesting choice of word; Comenius refers to measuring the depth of the water (and determining the characteristics of the sea floor) with a sounding line or lead line, a thin length of rope to which a lead weight –  a plummet – is attached. This was a simple and reliable tool used since the 5^th century BC, archaelogical discoveries showing that the method was employed by Greek and Roman navigators.

sed posteāquam quartādecimā nox supervēnit nāvigantibus nōbīs in Hadriā circā mediam noctem suspicābantur nautae appārēre sibi aliquam regiōnem, quī submittentēs invēnērunt passūs vīgintī et pusillum inde sēparātī invēnērunt passūs quīndecim (Vulgate)

But after the fourteenth night was come, as we were sailing in Adria, about midnight, the shipmen deemed that they discovered some country, who also sounding [literally: “lowering” i.e. a lead line], found twenty fathoms: and going on a little further, they found fifteen fathoms.

Image #2: a sailor and a man on shore both sounding the depth with a line; Olaus Magnus: On the Vast Depths of the Norwegian Coasts (1554)

However, the word itself – bolis, bolidis [3/f] – in Classical Latin refers specifically to “a fiery meteor in the shape of an arrow”; Engl: bolide, an exceptionally bright meteor; it is one of the words Pliny the Elder uses to describe different types of meteor although it is difficult to establish precise English equivalents. The Latin noun is from Greek βολίς (bolís), a javelin or dart. I can only assume Comenius uses it owing to the pointed shape of a lead plummet, or the way in which it rapidly and precisely strikes the water.

Image #3: plummet or plumb bob of a Roman mason (1^st – 3^rd century AD); the ones used by carpenters and masons do have a pointed end although the ones used for depth sounding are normally in the shape of a bell;  “plumb” is derived from Latin plumbum, -ī [2/n]: lead, hence plumbārius, -ī [2/m]: plumber

līnea, -ae [1/f]: refers to any form of line or string or thread, including fishing-line, and is also attested as referring to a plumbline used by carpenters and masons

[iii] tabulātus, -a, -um: boarded, having a floor > tabulātum, -ī [2/n]: flooring

• constrātum, -ī [2/n]: any flooring made of planks; Petronius makes specific reference to constrātum nāvis meaning the deck of a ship

[iv] forus, -ī [2/m]: gangway of a ship; Comenius uses the word to refer to openings through the deck of a ship

[v] cursitō, -āre [1]: run around; this verb has a suffix: –(i)tō; this suffix denotes a frequentative action i.e. one that is performed more than once:

• dictitō, -āre [1]: repeat, maintain i.e. keep saying something
• clāmitō, -āre [1]: yell i.e. not a single shout but a prolonged action
• vēnditō, -āre [1]: offer something, again and again, for sale