Labōrō, apart from meaning ‘work’ can also refer to ‘suffering (from something)’ similar to the English derivative ‘to labour’, the ailment from which you are suffering expressed by the ablative of cause:
morbus, -ī [m/2]: disease; illness
Senex morbō
gravī laborat. │The old man is suffering from a serious disease.
Similarly:
Aeger morbō
gravī aegrotabat. │ The
sick man was ill with a serious disease.
Frīgore
tremēbam. │ I was shivering with cold
Exercise
Say what
you are suffering from using labōrō with the ailment in the ablative
case:
febris, -is [3/f]: fever
fatīgātiō, fatīgātiōnis [3/f]: tiredness
gravēdō, gravēdinis [3/f]: head cold
īnsomnia, -ae [1/f]: sleeplessness
According to
the Roman poet Juvenal, the chances of sustaining an injury in the city are
quite high:
And now let’s
consider all the other varied dangers, at night:
What a long way
it is for a tile from the highest roof to fall
On your head;
how often a cracked and leaky pot plunges down
From a sill;
what a crash when they strike the pavement, chipping
And cracking
the stones. If you go out to dinner without making
A will, you’re
thought of as simply careless, dismissive of those
Tragic events
that occur: there are as many opportunities to die,
As there are
open windows watching you, when you go by, at night.
So I’d make a
wretched wish and a prayer, as you go, that they’ll
Rest content
with simply emptying their brimming pots over you.
Juvenal: Satires III
