25.12.25: Comenius (1658) LVIII: a Banquet [8] the Mildenhall Treasure; links

Image #1: the Mildenhall Treasure (on display at the British Museum)

Discovered in 1942 near Mildenhall in Suffolk, the 34 pieces of Roman silver tableware from the 4^th century are the most valuable Roman objects ever found in Britain.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mildenhall_Treasure

Links to earlier posts:

11.03.24: food and drink

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/04/110324-food-and-drink.html

12.03.24: breakfast time

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/04/120324-breakfast-time.html

12.03.24: lunch, dinner ... and a shortage of beer!

https://adckl.blogspot.com/search?q=shortage+of+beer

18.03.24: storing dormice

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/04/180324-storing-dormice.html

Image #2: glīrārium, -ī [2/m]: terracotta pot used for storing and fattening edible dormice

13.08.24: follow-up; food and drink [2] vocabulary and notes [1]

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/06/130824-follow-up-food-and-drink-2.html

13.08.24: follow-up; food and drink [3] vocabulary and notes [2]

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/06/130824-follow-up-food-and-drink-3.html

13.08.24: follow-up; food and drink [4] start your own Roman bakery

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/06/130824-follow-up-food-and-drink-4-start.html

Image #3: the Triclinium

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

https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0063:entry=triclinium-cn

https://www.vroma.org/vromans/bmcmanus/triclinium.html

25.12.25: Comenius (1658) LVIII: a Banquet [7] from the authors [iii] Trimalchio (2) comments

The entire scene is excessive and emphasises Trimalchio’s lack of social propriety.  Overly dressed, he is carried in – presumably on a lectica –with musical accompaniment, most guests repressing their laughter upon witnessing this desire to impress, but some cannot restrain themselves since they also know when you have or haven’t got style. That his head is shaven could serve as a reminder of his former status as a slave, simultaneously celebrating the pinnacle of social standing now reached.  However, the ‘etiquette’ for using a napkin – both then and now – is to place it upon one’s lap, not tuck it around the neck like a bib, which divulges his vulgarity. Moreover, the napkin itself, complete with tassels, is a mark of flamboyancy. 

Trimalchio does not belong to the senatorial class despite which the napkin displays a broad purple stripe, which would imply that he does. According to Pliny, the right to wear a gold ring was mainly confined to free-born equestrians (Naturalis Historia 33.32), yet Trimalchio sports two rings, one of which is gilded and the other made of iron i.e. neither are made of solid gold; both, like Trimalchio himself, are superficial. Marshall* points out that stars were commonly found on Roman amulets to ward off the evil eye. Note Petronius’ use of “ut mihi vidēbātur” i.e. there is a difference between what Trimalchio is attempting to suggest and the reality. 

Trimalchio, anxious to show off as much of his wealth as possible, deliberately bares his arm to reveal the gold bracelet and ivory bangle, the term armilla often referring specifically to the arm bracelet worn by gladiators.

It is a well staged display but fools nobody. Trimalchio is one of a long line of similar characters in literature and popular entertainment. British comedy is full of people who pretend to be what they’re not.  We may think of Derek Trotter’s desperate attempts to be sophisticated in the comedy series Only Fools and Horses. Despite his ‘gold’ rings and bracelet, and despite his trying, and failing, to speak in French, he can never quite rid himself of the cloth cap, the symbol of his origin. Equally, we may smile thinking of Hyacinth Bucket (which she pronounces as bouquet) who, while organising her upper middle class candlelight suppers, continually tries to conceal her working class relatives.

The Russians have a word for Trimalchio’s character – poshlost’ (пошлость) – meaning vulgarity, banality or tastelessness. Indeed, Russian literature has its own Trimalchio in the form of the coarse Prisypkin from Mayakovsky’s The Bedbug (Kлоп; 1929). A former worker (not dissimilar to Trimalchio’s former position as a slave), Prisypkin becomes obsessed with status and consumerism, adopting bourgeois habits and changing his name from the common Ivan to the aristocratic sounding Pierre.

The Romans laughed at Trimalchio – and we still laugh at those like him.

* Catalogue of the Finger Rings, Greek, Etruscan and Roman, in the Department of Antiquities, British Museum (London: 1907)

25.12.25: Comenius (1658) LVIII: a Banquet [6] from the authors [iii] Trimalchio (1) text, translation and vocabulary

Cēna Trimalchiōnis │ The Dinner of Trimalchio

Trimlachio is a character in the Satyricon (1^st c. AD) by Petronius. A former slave and now a successful wine merchant, Trimalchio is the stereotypical “nouveau riche”, an ostentatious man anxious to show off his wealth but, as Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby sang in 1964, “You've either got or you haven't got style” – and Trimalchio doesn’t. Petronius makes that clear by the visual description.

[1] In hīs erāmus lautitiīs, cum ipse Trimalchio ad symphōniam allātus est positusque inter cervīcālia minūtissima expressit imprūdentibus rīsum.

In hīs erāmus lautitiīs, │ We were (engaged) in these luxuries

cum ipse Trimalchio ¦ ad symphōniam ¦ allātus est │ when Trimalchio himself was carried in ¦ to the sound of music

positusque inter cervīcālia minūtissima │ and placed among very small cushions

expressit imprūdentibus rīsum │ (which) forced a laugh from the less wary

cervīcal(e), -is [3/n]: cushion

exprimō, -ere, -pressī [3]: force out; exhibit

lautitia, -ae [1/f]: luxury; delicacy

symphōnia, -ae [1/f]: music; band of musicians

[2] Palliō enim coccineō adrāsum exclūserat caput circāque onerātās veste cervīcēs lāticlāviam immīserat mappam fimbriīs hinc atque illinc pendentibus.

Palliō enim coccineō ¦ adrāsum exclūserat caput │ For from a scarlet cloak ¦ (his) shaven head stuck out

pallium, -iī [2/n]: cloak

coccineus, -a, -um: scarlet-colored

exclūdō, -ere, -clūsī [3]: thrust out

adrādō, -rādere, -rāsī, -rāsus [3]: shave

circāque onerātās veste cervīcēs lāticlāviam immīserat mappam fimbriīs hinc atque illinc pendentibus.

circāque ¦ onerātās veste ¦ cervīcēs │ and around his neck, ¦ laden with clothing,

lāticlāviam immīserat mappam │ he had put on a napkin with a broad purple stripe

fimbriīs hinc atque illinc pendentibus │ with fringes hanging here and there

cervīx, cervīcis [3/f]: neck; sometimes used in plural (cervīces), but translate as singular

fimbria, -ae [1/f]: fringe

lāticlāvius, -a, -um: having a broad purple stripe; the purple stripe indicates belonging to the senatorial class; Trimalchio does not belong to that class but is merely pretending

mappa, -ae [1/f]: napkin

[3]  Habēbat etiam in minimō digitō sinistrae manūs ānulum grandem subaurātum, extrēmō vērō articulō digitī sequentis minōrem, ut mihi vidēbātur, tōtum aureum, sed plānē ferreīs velutī stēllīs ferrumīnātum.

Habēbat etiam in minimō digitō sinistrae manūs ānulum grandem subaurātum, │ On the little finger of his left hand he had an enormous gilt ring

extrēmō vērō articulō digitī sequentis minōrem, │ and a smaller one on the top joint of the next finger,

ut mihi vidēbātur, tōtum aureum, │ as it seemed to me, completely gold

sed plānē ferreīs velutī stēllīs ferrumīnātum. │ but was actually soldered as if with iron stars.

articulus, -ī [2/m]: joint (of a finger)

extrēmus, -a, -um: at the tip (extrēmī digitī: finger tips)

ferrūminō [1] (here) solder

subaurātus, -a, -um: gilt; covered in a thin layer of gold or covered with gold leaf or paint i.e. not real gold

[4] Et nē hās tantum ostenderet dīvitiās, dextrum nūdāvit lacertum armillā aureā cultum et eborēō circulō lāminā splendente cōnexō.

Et nē hās tantum ostenderet dīvitiās, │ Literally: In order that he might not display only these riches i.e. he wanted to display more; more fluent rendering would be “to show off more of his wealth” or “in case his wealth would not be sufficiently displayed”

dextrum nūdāvit lacertum ¦ armillā aureā cultum │ he bared his right arm ¦ adorned with a gold bracelet

et eborēō circulō ¦ lāminā splendente cōnexō │ and an ivory hoop, clasped with gleaming metal plate

armilla, -ae [2/f]: (arm) bracelet

colō, colere, -uī, cultus [3]: adorn

cōnectō, -ere, -nexuī, -nexus [3]: connect; join; fasten

eborēus, -a, -um: ivory

lāmina, -ae [1/f]: metal plate

24.12.25: Level 1; Carolus et Maria [21][i] text, vocabulary, notes

Carolus et Maria XXI

[1] Ubi est avunculus? Is abest. Domī in Britanniā manet. Itaque sine amīcīs quattuor Americānī per Germāniam eunt. Ibī nūllī amīcī eōs salūtant, sed omnēs Germāniam probant quod populus est benignus et Americānīs nōn est inimīcus. Quamquam agrī et silvae sunt grāta, et Americānī rūs laudant, oppida, quoque, sunt pulchra. Per terram Germānōrum flūmen Rhēnus fluit. Sī Carolus undique circumspectat multōs agrōs prope flūmen videt. Ruīnās aedificiī antīquī videt. Carolus fābulās dē Germāniā legit.

[2] Ōlim Germānī erant barbarī quī cum Rōmānīs pugnābant. Trāns flūmen Gallī quī erant Germānīs inimīcī habitābant. Illī barbarī agrōs Galliae saepe oppugnābant occupābantque et oppida eōrum dēlēre cupiēbant, nam hostēs erant. Interdum Gallī ā Rōmānīs auxilium postulābant, nam sōlī cum barbarīs sine satis magnīs cōpiīs pugnāre nōn audēbant. Posteā Caesar barbarōs superāvit et multōs in vincula iēcit. Gallī Caesarem iuvērunt. Ubi Carolus hās rēs dē Caesare et barbarīs legit eum omnēs rēs dē bellō scīre putat.

[3] In viā oppidī in quō Carolus nunc manet vir caecus saepe stat. Ōlim erat mīles Germānus. Nunc nōn est armātus. Celeriter nōn ambulat. Tardus et caecus est. Sine amīcīs et pecūniā vīta eius nōn est semper grāta. Quamquam pecūniam nōn postulat, Carolus, tamen, eī pecūniam dat.

[4] “Cūr es caecus?” rogat puer.

“Nocte ubi mīlitēs dormiēbant, castra nostra ab hostibus expugnābantur,” respondet vir. “Paene dēlēta sunt. Sine auxiliō prope ruīnās aedificī manēbāmus. Sociī perīculum nostrum esse magnum nōn sciēbant. Diū auxilium sociōrum exspectābāmus.”

“Quis tē servāvit?” rogat Carolus.

“Socius meus quī aderat mē servāvit,” inquit vir, “et mē ab hostibus mōvit. Nōs nōn vidēbāmur quod erat nox. Quamquam oculī meī vulnerātī erant, tamen socius meus mē iuvābat et ab hostibus nōn captī sumus.”

Mīles caecus socium suum semper laudat.

Vocabulary

barbarus, -ī [2/m]: foreigner; savage; uncivilised man; also (adjective) barbarus, -a, -um: foreign, strange, uncivilised, barbaric

vinculum, -ī [2/n]: chain

rūs, rūris [3/n]: countryside

celer, -is, -e: quick; celeriter: quickly

inimīcus, -a, -um: unfriendly; hostile

• populus … Americānīs [dative plural] nōn est inimīcus │ the people … are not hostile towards the Americans

suus, -a, -um: his / her / its / their (own) i.e. suus refers back to the subject of the sentence:

• Mīles caecus socium suum semper laudat. │ The blind soldier always praises his (own) comrade.

expugnō, -āre, -āvī [1]: take by storm; capture

servō, -āre, -āvī [1]: save

dēleō, -ēre, -ēvī; perfect passive participle: dēletus, -a, um (having been) destroyed

• castra nostra ab hostibus expugnābantur … Paene dēlēta sunt. │ Our camp … was taken by storm / captured by the enemy … it was almost destroyed
• castra, -ōrum [2/n/pl]: camp; a plural noun in Latin although, in English, it translates as a singular

moveō, -ēre, mōvī [2]: move

dormiō, -īre, dormiī / dormīvī [4]: sleep

sciō, -īre, sciī / scīvī [4]: know

nam: for; because

Notes

[1] Sociī ¦ perīculum nostrum esse magnum nōn sciēbant. │ Literally: The allies did not know ¦ our danger to be great i.e. …did not know that our danger was great; the English construction with ‘that’ is not used in Classical Latin:

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2025/05/310825-level-1-readings-18-damocles.html

[2] Ubi Carolus hās rēs dē Caesare … legit eum omnēs rēs dē bellō scīre putat. │ When Carolus reads these things about Caesar … he thinks that he knows everything about war.

Who is Carolus talking about? Is he talking about Caesar or about himself? In English, this is not clear. In Latin, however, there is a distinction made: eum refers to somebody else whereas sē refers to oneself.

(1) eum omnēs rēs dē bellō (2) scīre putat │ Literally: he thinks (1) him (2) to know everything about war = He (Carolus) thinks that he (somebody else i.e. Caesar) knows everything about war

Compare:

(1) sē omnēs rēs dē bellō scīre putat │ Literally: he thinks (1) himself (2) to know everything about war = He (Carolus) thinks that he (himself) knows everything about war

23.12.25: Level 3: indirect statement; the accusative-infinitive [3]; predicative nominative > accusative

Look at this example:

Tū es sapiēns. │ You are wise.

The adjective sapiēns is in the nominative case after the verb ‘to be’; this is called the predicative nominative.

When the sentence becomes indirect, the predicative nominative will also go into the accusative case:

Tū es ¦ sapiēns [nominative]. │ You are ¦ wise.

> Credō ¦ tē ¦ sapientem [accusative] ¦ esse. │ I believe ¦ that you are ¦ wise.

Further examples:

Magister meus ¦ homō doctus [nominative] ¦ est. │ My teacher is ¦ an educated man.

> Crēdō ¦ magistrum meum ¦ hominem doctum [accusative] ¦ esse. │ I believe ¦ that my teacher is ¦ an educated man.

Iūlia est bona discipula [nominative]. │ Julia is ¦ a good student.

> Magister dīcit ¦ Iūliam ¦ bonam discipulam [accusative] ¦ esse. │ The teacher says ¦ that Julia is ¦ a good student.

Tellūs ¦ magna ¦ est. │ The Earth is ¦ large.

> Legimus ¦ tellūrem magnam esse. │ We read ¦ that the Earth is ¦ large.

23.12.25: Level 3; Zeuxis and Parrhasius

Zeuxis et Parrhasius pictōrēs celeberrimī fuērunt. Hī ōlim inter sē dē arte contendēbant. Zeuxīs prīmō ūvās pīnxit. Avēs in tabulam advolābant, ūvās comedere cupientēs. Tum Parrhasius pannum pīnxit. Zeuxis autem artificiī huius modī ignārus, Parrhasiō dīxit: "Aufer pannum; tabulam vidēre volō." Mox intellēctō errōre dīxit: "Ā tē victus sum: ego enim avēs dēcēpī, tū autem ipsum Zeuxin."

artificium, -ī [2/n]: various meanings [i] skill; knowledge; talent [ii] (negative) cunning; trick

auferō, auferre, abstulī, ablātus: take away; ferō, ferre and its compounds has an irregular imperative: aufer(te)!

ignārus, -a, -um: ignorant, unaware; artificiī [genitive] ¦ huius modī ignārus│ unaware of a trick ¦ of this kind

intellēctō errōre │ literally: with the mistake having been understood; an ablative absolute (with X having been Y-ed), but how would it more neatly translate into English? There are several possibilities.

Avēs in tabulam advolābant │ Literally: the birds were flying towards the painting; a reasonable enough translation of the imperfect tense, but in what other ways can the imperfect be rendered?

pannus, -ī [2/m]: cloth

____________________

Zeuxis and Parrhasius were very famous painters. These (men) / they once competed with each other in their art. Zeuxis first painted grapes. Birds flew / started flying / kept on flying towards the painting, wanting to eat the grapes. Then Parrhasius painted a cloth. But Zeuxis, unaware of this kind of trick, said to Parrhasius: "Take away the cloth; I want to see the painting." Soon, having realised his mistake / realising his mistake / after he’d realised the mistake, he said: "I have been defeated by you: for I deceived birds, but you (have deceived) Zeuxis himself."