Latin for Learners: 05/25/25

Sunday, May 25, 2025

03.09.25: Level 1; readings [20]; Davus lies

Having returned home, Davus now has to explain to his master where he had been all the time – and he tells an amazing tale:

Modo Viā Lātā (1) ībam, sed ecce: Gallus, vir firmus, mē capessit et clāmat:

“Quō vadis, furcifer?”

Ego trepidō et: “Vā-vādō”, inquam, “vādēbam…”

Gallus autem: “Nunc vāde mēcum! Nisi vadēs, tē traham!”

Ego ā nōnnūllīs virīs auxilium petō, virīque ē Gallō quaerunt: “Quō puerum dūcere parās?”

Tum Gallus: “Fugitīvus est, dominusque puerum suum repetit. Officia quidem spernit, sed mox in agrīs labōrābit!”

Statim virī rīdent et: “Pete ab aliīs auxilium, et tū, Galle, trahe puerum! Vādite!”

Cēdēbam igitur cum Gallō, diūque mē trahēbat; ego autem ā deīs auxilium petēbam – et ecce: Ēvādō, ad dominum meum properō, cūnctīsque deīs grātus sum!

(1) Viā Latā [ablative] ībam │ I was walking on the Via Lata (name of a street in Rome)

The text has many examples of third conjugation verbs. We can use the verb lūdō, lūdere [3]: ‘play’ as an example:

Present tense

lūdō, -ere [3]: to play; note the difference between 2^nd and 3^rd conjugation infinitives:

respondeō, respondēre [2]: reply; the infinitive ending has a long and stressed ē [re-spon-dḗ-re]

lūdō, lūdere [3]: play; the infinitive ending has a short and unstressed e [lū́-dĕ-re]

The 3^rd conjugation is formed by removing the infinitive ending i.e. lūd¦ere > lūd- to which the following endings are added; the accent [ ́] mark [e.g. lū́dō] is only there to indicate where the verb is stressed; it will not be used elsewhere and is not a feature of written Latin.

lū́dō: I play, am playing; personal ending is added directly to the stem

lū́dimus: we play

lū́dis: you (sg.) play; personal ending + stem vowel -i-

lū́dit: he / she / it plays

lū́dimus: we play

lū́ditis: you (pl.) play

lū́dunt: they play; personal ending + stem vowel -u-

Imperative (command)

Lūde! Play! (talking to one person); lūdite! Play! (talking to more than one person)

Exercise: Read through the text and find the Latin for:

(he) catches me
Go with me!
Go! (i.e. both of you)
He is rejecting his duties
I am going …
I escape
I seek help
Men are asking
Seek help (from others)!
The master wants the boy back.
Where are you going to?
Where are you preparing to take [ = lead] the boy to?
You … drag the boy (off)!

The text also introduces the imperfect and future tenses of 3^rd conjugation verbs:

[2] The imperfect tense is formed in the same way as 1^st and 2^nd conjugation verbs

The -re of the infintive is removed to form the stem but the /e/ become long: lūde¦re > lūdē-

To this stem the imperfect endings are added; note the change in stress marked here for reference

lūdḗ¦bam: I was playing / used to play

lūdḗ¦bās: you (sg.) were playing

lūdḗ¦bat: he / she / it was playing

lūdē¦bā́mus: we were playing

lūdē¦bā́tis: you (pl.) were playing

lūdḗ¦bant: they were playing

From the text:

vādēbam │ I was going / walking

cēdēbam cum Gallō │ (here) I was departing with the Gaul

mē trahēbat │He was dragging me

auxilium petēbam │ I was seeking help /support

[3] The future tense of 3^rd conjugation verbs does not have the same endings as the 1^st and 2^nd conjugation; the future tense endings are added directly to the stem of the verb:

lū́d¦am: I shall play

lū́dēs: you (sg.) will play

lū́det: he / she / it will play

lūdḗmus: we will play

lūdḗtis: you (pl.) will play

lū́dent: they will play

From the text:

Nisi vadēs, tē traham! │ Unless you go [literally: unless you will go], I shall drag you!

Links: 3^rd conjugation verbs

11.03.24: introduction to 3rd conjugation verbs ... and how to be a worthless dice player!

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/04/110324-introduction-to-3rd-conjugation.html

https://www.facebook.com/groups/latinforstarters/posts/405326338745307/

11.03.24: 3rd conjugation verbs: ways of learning [1]

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/04/110324-3rd-conjugation-verbs-ways-of.html

https://www.facebook.com/groups/latinforstarters/posts/405433262067948/

11.03.24: simple practice for the 3rd conjugation

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/04/110324-simple-practice-for-3rd.html

https://www.facebook.com/groups/latinforstarters/posts/405447698733171/

11.03.24: 3rd conjugation verbs: ways of learning [2]

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/04/110324-ways-of-learning.html

https://www.facebook.com/groups/latinforstarters/posts/405500248727916/

24.10.24: Level 1; review; practice in the verbs [8]; 3rd conjugation

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/09/241024-level-1-review-practice-in-verbs.html

https://www.facebook.com/groups/latinforstarters/posts/560489039895702/

03.09.25: Level 1; readings [19]; Roaming Davus; eō, īre and its compounds; present, imperfect and future tenses

While Marcus talks with his friends, he sees Davus, the slave of one of his friends, passing by the inn. Since that one likes to roam in the city, Marcus calls him:

M: Heus tū, quō is?

D: Eō, ehem, immō vērō ībam, nam nunc tū mē tenēs et rogās…

M: Quō ībās, furcifer?

D: Ībāmus, Mārce, nam Gallus mēcum it…

M: Sī Gallus tēcum ībit, tūtus ībis. Cōnstat enim cūnctōs Gallōs virōs firmōs esse.

D: Sed meus Gallus vir firmus nōn est. Ecce, ante templum stat neque in templum īre audet propter tē; timidus enim est.

M: Appāret nōnnūllōs Gallōs timidōs esse. Sed satis dē Gallīs! Quō nunc ībitis?

[D: tacet]

M: Respondēbō prō tē: “Per cūnctās viās ībimus, cūncta templa praeteribimus, postrēmō ad circum adībimus, quō cūnctī ōtiōsī eunt.”

[D: rīdet]

M: Quid rīdēs? Vōs nōn in circum ībitis, sed statim ad dominōs vestrōs redībitis neque per cūnctās viās errābitis. Quid exspectātis? Ī, Dāve! Abī, Galle! Properāte! Abīte!

eō, īre [irregular]: go, and its compounds

[1] Image #1: the verb eō, īre (go) is irregular in the present tense but its imperfect and future tense forms are regular. At first sight, the verb seems unusual in that its stem (apart from the 3^rd person plural present tense) is formed from a single vowel, but the personal endings are simply added to that stem:

[a] present tense

eō │ I (am) go(ing)

is │ You (singular) (are) go(ing)

it│He / she / it goes / is going

īmus │ We (are) go(ing)

ītis│ You (plural) (are) go(ing)

eunt │ They (are) go(ing)

[b] The imperfect and future tenses add the endings to the single vowel stem ī-

ībam, ībās etc.

ībō, ībis etc.

[c] The imperative (command) form is a single vowel in the singular to which -te is regularly added when the command is plural:

ī! go! (singular); īte! go! (plural)

[d] to eō, īre prefixes can be added which specify the type of movement involved, for example:

abeō, abīre: go away

adēō, adīre: approach; go towards

trānseō, trānsīre: go across

Regardless of the prefix, the verb itself will always be conjugated in the same way in the present, imperfect and future tenses.

Image #2 shows many of the prefixed verbs of eō, īre

Examples from the text:

[i] Present

Quō is? │ Where are you going to?

Gallus mēcum it │ The Gaul is going with me.

… quō cūnctī ōtiōsī eunt. │ … where all the idlers go to.

[ii] Imperfect

ībam │ I was going

ībāmus │ we were going

[iii] Future

Sī Gallus tēcum ībit, tūtus ībis │If the Gaul goes [literally: will go] with you, you will go safely.

Quō nunc ībitis? │ Where will you (pl.) go to now?

Per cūnctās viās ībimus │ We will go through all the streets.

Ad circum adībimus │ We will approach / go to(wards) the circus.

Cūncta templa praeteribimus │ We will go past all the temples.

Vōs nōn in circum ībitis, sed statim ad dominōs vestrōs redībitis │ You (pl.) will not go into the circus, but (you [pl.]) will immediately go back / return to your masters.

[iv] Imperative

Ī, Dāve! │ Go, Davus!

Abī, Galle! │ Go away, Gaul!

Note in the first two examples the use of the vocative case in -e since Davus and the Gaul (Gallus) are each addressed directly.

Abīte! │ Go away! (addressing more than one person)

[v] Infinitive

neque in templum īre audet │ and he does not dare to go into the temple

[e] All previous posts on this topic are available as one file here:

https://mega.nz/file/2YlhgZAI#ND1ssYsC85ylcjS9EVHKcY2d4GthuGxSua7P-lG9Ebw

Separate links are listed below:

16.03.24: eō, īre [irregular]: go; compounds of eō, īre

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/04/160324-eo-ire-irregular-go-compounds-of.html

https://www.facebook.com/groups/latinforstarters/posts/407788755165732/

15.05.24: review; eō, īre: go [1]

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/05/150524-review-eo-ire-go-1.html

https://www.facebook.com/groups/latinforstarters/posts/443145798296694/

16.05.24: review; eō, īre [2]

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/05/160524-review-eo-ire-2.html

https://www.facebook.com/groups/latinforstarters/posts/443763864901554/

17.05.24: eō, īre with prefixes [1]

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/05/170524-eo-ire-with-prefixes-1.html

https://www.facebook.com/groups/latinforstarters/posts/444399821504625/

17.05.24: eō, īre with prefixes [2]

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/05/170524-eo-ire-with-prefixes-2.html

https://www.facebook.com/groups/latinforstarters/posts/444400401504567/

02.09.25: Level 3; Sonnenschein; Prō Patriā [9]; Anglī et Saxonēs [1]

Inter cēnam nōs puerī “Quis hoc castellum dēlēvit?” inquimus. Et patruus meus “Dē fortūnā castellī nihil cōnstat” inquit; “aetās fortasse mūrōs dēlēvit. Sed vōs mihi respondēte. Cuius nōmen hīc praecipuō honōre habētur?” Aqua haerēbat: nihil habuimus respondēre. Et amita mea “Nōnne memoriā tenētis?” inquit. Tum Lȳdia, quae librum dē historiā Anglicā in manibus nūper habuerat, “Anglī et Saxonēs” inquit “in hunc angulum Cantiī cursum tenuērunt.” Et ille “Vērum est” inquit; “nam annō quadringentēsimō quadrāgēsimō nōnō Hengistus et Horsa ad īnsulam Tanatim, quae tum rēvērā īnsula erat, nāvēs suās applicāvērunt. Locus ipse duo tantum vel tria mīlia passuum ā castellō Rutupīnō iacet.” Tum illa “Nōnne ab angulō Cantiī Anglī nōmen suum habuērunt?” Nōs puerī rīsimus. Sed amita mea “Sīc nūper affirmāvit vir doctus. Atque nōmen ipsum Cantiī nihil aliud significat quam prōmunturium vel angulum.” Tum patruus meus “Sed Tacitus populum Germāniae Īnferiōris commemorat quī nōmen habēbat Anglōrum; pars Suēbōrum erant.” Et Lȳdia “Fortasse in angulō Germāniae habitābant” inquit. Et ille “In paenīnsulā Cimbricā rēvērā habitāsse affirmantur; et duo illa verba ‘angulus’ et ‘Cantium’ Germānica sunt.”

Notes

[1] aqua haerēbat < aqua haeret: literally ‘the water stops’ = I am, we are etc. at a loss; haereō, -ēre [2]: stick

[2] In paenīnsulā Cimbricā rēvērā habitāsse affirmantur. │ They are claimed in fact to have lived on the Cimbrian peninsula.

habitāsse; much more will be said about this in a later post. There are two points, however, to note at the moment:

[1] this is a perfect active infinitive meaning ‘to have done’ (something)

[i] the perfect active infinitive is formed from the perfect stem: habitō, -āre, habitāvī

[ii] Remove the -ī > habitāv-

[iii] add -isse > habitāvisse │ to have lived

01.09.25: topic; Dialogī puerīlēs (Simon Roeth: 1556) [2] dē scholā (iii) links for review

verb conjugations: present tense

interrogō, -āre [1]: ask

recitō, -āre [1]: recite

rūminō, -āre [1]: think over

doceō, -ēre [2]: teach

respondeō, -ēre [2]: reply

taceō, -ēre [2]: be quiet

canō, -ere [3]: sing

colligō, -ere [3]: collect

legō, -ere [3]: read

repetō, -ere [3]: repeat

scrībō, -ere [3]: write

oboediō, -īre [4]: obey

1^st conjugation

https://mega.nz/file/yYtDTBJb#x6MNIqoFJb_As9X2_9BsmnGZOzMOaoxAj7K-B4lG3uo

2^nd conjugation

https://mega.nz/file/mQFijRxD#aCvwzNlq3dHeEP7hr7VGmdLry_1z6cCoGYFAhdh8K6g

3^rd and 3-iō conjugation

https://mega.nz/file/PZFEAIaL#rAlmUqjUcF0fjIlKKbqo0F0MWGj0FQB5zIvwHM2EpVo

4^th conjugation

https://mega.nz/file/jUVwAQaT#HnIrEIqAdtRrB4xOxakJ0v80ekm6Y60xt6xXhp0q5pA

[2] eō, īre [irr.] go, and its compounds

Quō eunt bēluae. │ (And) beasts / brutes go there.

Redeunt hominēs. │ Men return.

https://mega.nz/file/2YlhgZAI#ND1ssYsC85ylcjS9EVHKcY2d4GthuGxSua7P-lG9Ebw

16.03.24: eō, īre [irregular]: go; compounds of eō, īre

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/04/160324-eo-ire-irregular-go-compounds-of.html

https://www.facebook.com/groups/latinforstarters/posts/407788755165732/

15.05.24: review; eō, īre: go [1]

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/05/150524-review-eo-ire-go-1.html

https://www.facebook.com/groups/latinforstarters/posts/443145798296694/

16.05.24: review; eō, īre [2]

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/05/160524-review-eo-ire-2.html

https://www.facebook.com/groups/latinforstarters/posts/443763864901554/

17.05.24: eō, īre with prefixes [1]

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/05/170524-eo-ire-with-prefixes-1.html

https://www.facebook.com/groups/latinforstarters/posts/444399821504625/

17.05.24: eō, īre with prefixes [2]

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/05/170524-eo-ire-with-prefixes-2.html

https://www.facebook.com/groups/latinforstarters/posts/444400401504567/

01.09.25: topic; Dialogī puerīlēs (Simon Roeth: 1556) [2] dē scholā (ii) vocabulary, notes, exercises

[1] belua, -ae [1/f]: (large) beast; monster; (referring to people) beast; brute. It’s a rather negative view of school children! The original German is unvernünftige Tiere: ‘unreasonable’ or ‘unwise’ animals.

[2] littera, -ae [1/f] [i] letter (i.e. of the alphabet) [ii] in the plural [a] ‘letter’ i.e. a written communication which, although plural in Latin, can refer to one or more letters [b] literature [c] knowledge; scholarship e.g. a man of letters

[3] museum, -ī [2/n]: this word as meaning ‘school’ occurs in other works from this period (Comenius uses it in 1658 to refer to a ‘study’ room); from Anc. Gk. Μουσεῖον [Mouseîon: a shrine of the Muses]

Originally a temple of the Muses, then a place dedicated to the works of the Muses. In this sense the most remarkable and most important museum of antiquity was that established at Alexandria by Ptolemy Philadelphus in the first half of the third century B.C., or perhaps by his father, Ptolemy Soter. This institution contributed very largely towards the preservation and extension of Greek literature and learning.

https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0062:entry=museum-harpers

The nouns schola, -ae [1/f] (the title of the dialogue) and lūdus, -ī [2/m] are the nouns used to refer to a school.

[4] Nouns that refer to character or attitude can have far wider meanings than they may at first suggest, derivatives often being more specific than was the case in original CL.

pietās, pietātis [3/f]: in Roth’s original 16^th century work he uses: Gotsforcht [= Modern German Gottesfurcht: fear of God] and so ‘piety’, ‘duty to God’ is what he means. The noun, however, can also refer more generally to dutiful conduct (a sense of duty), loyalty (e.g. to one’s parents), patriotism i.e. although it is used in the text in a religious sense, it may not have that implication elsewhere.

[5] mōs, mōris [3/m]: behaviour; conduct; habit; custom

[6] Note the two different and common ways in which Latin forms adverbs from adjectives:

avidus, -a, -um: (here) eager, enthusiastic > avidē: eagerly; enthusiastically

dīligens: diligent; careful > dīligenter: diligently; carefully

fidēlis, -e: faithful > fidēliter: faithfully

[7] Match the English with the Latin in the word cloud

answer

ask

be quiet

learn

listen

obey

read

recite

repeat

return

sing

speak Latin

teach

think over

write

auscultāre; canere; discere; docēre; interrogāre; īre; legere; loquī latīne; obēdīre (oboedīre); recitāre; redīre; repetere; respondēre; rūmināre; scrībere; tacēre