Sed iam prope fīnem ambulātiōnis nostrae erāmus, cum Alexander "Ecce, Rutupiās videō!" inquit. Et castellum nōn procul aberat.
Amita mea et Lȳdia, quae ante nōs adventāverant, cum nōs vident, "Salvēte!" inquiunt; "gaudēmus quod* ad tempus adestis. Sed nōnne fatīgātī estis?" [*see note]
Et patruus meus sīc respondet: "Bene nōs habēmus. Sed nōs nōn pigēbit hīc paulum sedēre et prandiō nōs recreāre. Hinc castellum in oculīs habēbimus. Vidētisne ruīnās? Ut aetās omnia dēlet!" Illae rīdent; nam rēvērā fatīgātī erāmus.
Castellum Rutupīnum, tertiō saeculō ā Rōmānīs aedificātum, in prōmunturiō lītoris situm est. Hodiē procul ā marī iacet; sed temporibus Rōmānōrum tōtus campus, quī nunc inter castellum et ōram maritimam iacet, pars maris erat.
Post prandium ad castellum ipsum ambulāvimus. Ruīnae praeclārae sunt. Pars mūrōrum lateribus Rōmānīs aedificāta est; sed multīs locīs dēlētī sunt. Mūrus quī ad septentriōnēs spectat quadringentōs quadrāgintā pedēs longus est, vīgintī vel trīgintā pedēs altus. Sed quondam maiōrem altitūdinem habēbat; nam fundāmenta mūrōrum altē sub terrā iacent. In angulīs mūrōrum fundāmenta turrium vidēs.
Notes:
gaudēmus ¦ quod ad tempus adestis │ We rejoice (we’re very happy) ¦ that you are here on time
Be careful with this! The English translation – we rejoice ¦ that you are here – is not an adjectival clause; in this English sentence ‘that’ is not referring to a noun antecedent, but is used to introduce an indirect statement in the same way as it is used in, for example:
He said ¦ that he lived in Rome.
This is touching on a different and extensive topic which was briefly referred to in an earlier post on this text.
Sonnenschein does not explain this, and it could be misleading because, in almost expressions of indirect statement, Latin does not use quod.
Here is the example from earlier parts of the text:
Ex Hiberniā [i] eōs in Calēdoniam [ii] migrāvisse scrīptōrēs historicī affirmant.
> Literally: The historical writers claim [i] them [ii] to have migrated from Ireland to Scotland.
> The historical writers claim ¦ that [i] they [ii] migrated …
i.e. Classical Latin uses an entirely different construction known as the accusative-infinitive which will soon be discussed in detail in later posts.
In Mediaeval Latin quod is used to introduce indirect statements, and in Classical Latin it can be used (as it is here) in very limited circumstances including after expressions of feeling:
Quod scrībis . . . gaudeō. │ I am glad that you write.
Faciō libenter quod eam nōn possum praeterīre. │ I am glad that I cannot pass it by.
It may not be ‘official’, but I differentiate this usage by interpreting quod as meaning ‘because’ e.g. I am glad because you’re writing. [expression of feeling > why do I have that feeling? > because …]
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