21.07.26; Level 3+; Subjunctive [73] dependent uses [7] cum-clauses (3) practice

Complete the Latin quotations with the verbs listed below.

Notes: All of the quotations are from a narrow selection of Cicero’s letters to Atticus. This shows not only the frequency with which cum-clauses are used, gives practice in how different tense forms in cum-clauses are translated.  Literal translations are given in brackets.

[1] With the indicative

[a]

[i] Nevertheless, I am relieved when I talk with you despite being away, and even more when I read your letters.

Tamen adlevor, cum __________ tēcum absēns, multō etiam magis, cum tuās litterās __________.

[ii] You had only just left yesterday, when Trebatius came.

Commodum discesserās heri, cum Trebātius __________.

[iii] And you generally do it most carefully, when I have told you [literally: when it has been told to you by me]

Quod dīligentissimē facere solēs, cum ā mē tibi __________.

[b] All of the following quotations refer to future actions.

[i] And that long period of time, when I shall not be (here), moves me more.

Longumque illud tempus, cum nōn __________, magis mē movet.

[ii] You will write when you [will] know

Scrībēs ad mē, cum __________.

[iii] When I see [ = I shall have seen] you, you will know.

Cum __________ tē, sciēs.

[iv] Therefore, when you can [= you will be able], that is when you have attended to [= will have given attention to] Sextus’ auction, you will come back to see us.

Quārē, cum __________, id est cum Sextī auctiōnī operam __________, revīsēs nōs.

[v] When I arrive / have arrived there [ = will have arrived], and understand / have understood [ = will have understood] what the situation is …

Cum illūc __________ __________que, quid negōtiī sit, …

[vi] But you, when you [will] have read it, will judge for yourself.

Sed tū, cum __________, exīstumābis.

[vi] When I meet [ = will have met] Brutus, I shall write everything in detail.

Brūtum cum __________, perscrībam omnia.

convēnerō; dederis; dictum est; erō; intellēxerō; lēgeris; legō; loquor; poteris; sciēs; vēnerō; vēnit; vīderō

[2] With the subjunctive

[i] It is difficult since / when I am away.

Difficile est, cum __________.

[ii] It is enough, especially since these days are being spent by you in our important business.

Satis est, praesertim cum hī tibi diēs in magnō nostrō negōtiō __________.

[iii] But since they have done everything for your sake, I am afraid …

Cum enim tuā causā __________omnia, vereor, …

[iv] Since he is acting on [using] his mother’s advice … why should I intervene?

Mātris cōnsiliō cum __________ … quid mē interpōnam?

[v] Since I was sending Alexander on that business, I gave him this letter.

Ad eam rem cum __________ Alexandrum, hās eī dedī litterās.

[vi] But as I was reading the ‘Academics’ on the boat, I noticed my mistake.

Cum autem in nāvī __________ Acadēmicōs, adgnōvī errātum meum.

[vii] We seemed to be talking to one another, when I was at Tusculum.

Conloquī vidēbāmur, in Tusculānō cum __________.

[viii] This I have written while sailing, as I was getting near to Pompeii, Aug. 19.

Haec scrīpsī nāvigāns, cum prope Pompēiānum __________, XIIII Kal.

[ix] For on the 17th, when / after I had reached Velia, Brutus heard (of it).

Nam, XVI Kal. Sept. cum __________ Veliam, Brūtus audīvit;

[x] And when / after I had heard these things …

Quae cum __________ …

[xi] After a postman had arrived without any letters from you …

Tabellārius ad mē cum sine litterīs tuīs __________…

[xii] On the 9th after I (had) got up before daybreak to go on from Sinuessa, and before dawn I had reached the Tirenian bridge at Menturnae, …

V Īdūs cum ante lūcem dē Sinuessānō __________ __________que dīlūculō ad pontem Tirēnum, …

[xiii] Your uncle, Caecilius, since he was (being) cheated out of a large sum of money by P. Varius, …

Caecilius, avunculus tuus, ā P. Variō cum magnā pecūniā __________ …

[xiv] And since these things had been done …

Quae cum __________ …

[xv] Earlier, when / since I had been informed [ = I had been made more certain] by our (friend) Atticus’ letter about your great generosity …

Anteā cum litterīs Atticī nostrī dē tuā summā līberālitāte … __________ …

absim; accēderem; audīssem; certior factus essem; cōnsūmantur; essem; essent ācta; fēcerint; fraudārētur; legerem; mitterem; surrēxissem; ūtātur; vēnissem; vēnissem; vēnisset

____________________

[1]

[a]

[i] loquor; legō

[ii] vēnit

[iii] dictum est

[b]

[i] erō

[ii] sciēs

[iii] vīderō

[iv] poteris; dederis

[v] vēnerō; intellēxerō

[vi] lēgeris

[vii] convēnerō

[2]

[i] absim

[ii] cōnsūmantur

[iii] fēcerint

[iv] ūtātur

[v] mitterem

[vi] legerem

[vii] essem

[viii] accēderem

[ix] vēnissem

[x] audīssem

[xi] vēnisset

[xii] surrēxissem; vēnissem

[xiii] fraudārētur

[xiv] essent ācta

[xv] certior factus essemTop of Form

21.07.26: Level 3 (review); Comenius (1658) CXXVI; merchandizing [4]: from the authors

Eho senex minimī pretī (Plautus)

• Hey, you worthless old man

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2025/09/051225-level-3-retort-genitive-of.html

Delphōs vēnum pecus ēgī (Pacuvius)

• I drove the cattle to Delphi for sale.

Respondē: quis mē vendit? (Plautus)

• Answer! Who’s selling me?

Nunc tūsculum ēmī hoc et corōnās flōreās (Plautus)

• Now I've bought this small amount of incense and some wreaths of flowers

tum dēnique ager emētur cum idem expediet ēmptōrī et vēnditōrī (Cicero)

• Then at last the land will be bought, when it is advantageous to both buyer and seller alike

Nunc quasi ducentīs Philippīs ēmī fīlium, quōs dare prōmīsī mīlitī (Plautus)

• Now I have, as it were, bought my son for 200 Philippi*, which I promised to give to the soldier.

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2025/03/170625-level-3-summary-of-of-uses-of_13.html

*refers to gold coins first minted in Macedonia, but not standard denominations in Ancient Rome; it is used in Plautus to describe any high value gold coins

Ūnum quodque istōrum verbum nummīs Philippīs aureīs nōn potest auferre hinc ā mē sī quis ēmptor vēnerit (Plautus)

• Not a single one of those words do I part with for golden sovereigns, if any buyer should come.

hominēs in piscīnā inventī sunt, Stratō in vincula coniectus est, atque etiam in tabernā eius nummī, nēquāquam omnēs, reperiuntur (Cicero)

• The men were found in the pool, Strato was thrown into chains, and even in his shop some coins — by no means all — were discovered.

Nam Antōnius Augustī sorōre contemptā postquam Cleopatram dūxit uxōrem, monētam eius nōmine … iussit ferīrī (Honoratus)

• For once Augustus’ sister had been rejected, and after he married Cleopatra, Antony ordered a coin to be struck in her name.

argentum afferat mercātor prō asinīs (Plautus)

• the trader may bring the money [silver] for the asses

nam commercium in eō agrō nēminī est (Cicero)

• for there are no traders in that area [literally: nobody has trading rights …]

Quis est Sergius? armiger Catilīnae, stīpātor   tuī corporis, signifer sēditiōnis, concitātor tabernāriōrum (Cicero)

• Who is Sergius? Catiline’s soldier, your bodyguard, the standard-bearer of sedition, the agitator of the shopkeepers

Tum repente Ancōnitānum quendam, L. Clōdium, pharmacopōlam circumforāneum … (Cicero)

• Then he suddenly approached a certain Lucius Clodius of Ancona, a travelling quack, …

pharmacolopōla, -ae [1/m]: somebody who sells medicines; pharmacist, but the word can also refer to a medical “quack” i.e. somebody peddling ineffective drugs. That Cicero uses the adjective circumforāneus is certainly derogatory – this salesman is itinerant, wandering from town to town and with no fixed establishment in, for example, a market place.

pharmacopōla circumforāneus

21.07.26: Level 3 (review); Comenius (1658) CXXVI; merchandizing [3]: vocabulary and notes (2) Can “warehouses” be interesting?

There is a difference between simply learning the meaning of a word on a page – and exploring the word. This is particularly beneficial in Latin since the language continues to be used over centuries, long after it was the exclusive “property” of the Romans. As you move from early Plautus through the Classical period and into the worlds of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, meanings of words can alter to reflect understanding at specific points in time. In the case of Comenius’ work, the translations of certain words and expressions provoke enquiry since the book was targeted at 17^th century concepts for 17^th century school pupils. Two occur in this text:

Mercēs, aliunde allātae, vel commūtantur in [i] domō commerciōrum, vel expōnuntur vēnum in [ii] tabernīs mercimōniōrum

[i] domus commerciōrum: common in England were corn exchanges, large buildings, often with vaulted ceilings such as the Corn Exchange at Sleaford, Lincolnshire. Many of them have been repurposed; the Corn Exchange at Stamford is now a theatre.

[ii] Charles Hoole, the translator of Comenius’ work renders in tabernīs mercimōniōrum as “warehouses” which we most often associate with large-scale storage of bulk goods prior to distribution. However, early understanding of the term also includes a place where goods were bought; the Mediaeval image clearly shows tabernae, stalls with goods on sale within a building. That original wider sense is still retained in the UK company name “Carphone Warehouse”.

During the Ancient Roman period, horreum, -ī [2/n] referred to a warehouse, storehouse or granary. The image shows horrea constructed c.145-150 at the port of Ostia

21.07.26: Level 3 (review); Comenius (1658) CXXVI; merchandizing [2]: vocabulary and notes (1)

 [i] nouns: places and activity

commercium, -ī [2/n]: trade; commerce

mercātūra, -ae [1/f]: merchandizing

also: mercātus, -ūs [4/m]

merx, mercis [3/f]: goods; merchandise

mercimōnium, -ī [2/n]: merchandise

taberna, -ae [1/f]: shop; stall

[ii] (Mercēs) … expōnuntur vēnum │ Goods … are displayed for sale

vēnum: an accusative masculine noun used in compounds to express ‘for sale’

vēnumdō, -are [1]: (literally) to give for sale; this form was shortened to vendō, -ere [3]: sell

[iii] nouns: money

monēta, -ae [1/f]: coin; money; can also refer to the place where money is produced i.e. the mint

also: nummus, -ī [2/m]: coin

pecūnia, -ae [1/f]: money

pretium, -ī [2/n]: price

[iv] nouns: measurement

lībra, -ae [1/f]: balance; pound; scales

ulna, -ae [1/f]: [i] elbow [ii] a measurement of length, an ell [England: 45 inches; Scotland: 37 inches]; the text uses eln which is a Middle English form

also: cubitum, -ī [2/n]: [i] elbow [ii] a measurement of length, a cubit, the distance from the tip of the middle finger to the elbow. This was an informal measurement but could refer to between 35 and 60cm.

Et sīc faciēs eam: trecentōrum cubitōrum erit longitūdō arcae, quīnquāgintā cubitōrum lātitūdō, et trīgintā cubitōrum altitūdō illīus. Fenestram in arcā faciēs, et in cubitō cōnsummābis summitātem eius (Vulgate)

And you shall make it in this way: the length of the ark will be three hundred cubits, the width fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits. You shall make a window in the ark, and in a cubit you shall finish the top of it

[v] nouns: people

emptor, -ōris [3/m]: purchaser; buyer < emō, -ere, ēmī, ēmptus: buy

tabernārius, -ī [2/m]: shopkeeper

venditor, -ōris [3/m]: seller

scrūtārius, -iī [2/m]: this is a rare word with different meanings [i] dealer in second-hand clothes; [ii] inspector; [iii] broker i.e. a mediator between buyer and seller. It is derived from scrūta, -ōrum [2/n/pl]: rubbish, broken trash, the word exists in English as scrutiny.

circumforāneus, -a, -us: moving from market to market; itinerant. Comenius uses the adjective as a noun to describe pedlars or hawkers i.e.those who move from place to place selling goods. The literal meaning of the adjective is ‘around the forum’ and refers to those who did not have fixed premises in the market place but wandered around it while conducting business.

mercātor, -ōris [3/m]: merchant

Tabernāriī, circumforāneī, & scrūtāriī, etiam volunt dīcī mercātōrēs │ Shopkeepers, pedlars, and brokers, would also be called merchants.

i.e. mercātor is used in a very general sense to refer to anybody who is involved in buying, selling and trading. Cicero uses the term to refer to a purchaser of goods:

… in Achāiam, Asiam, Pamphȳliam sūmptū pūblicō et lēgātiōnis nōmine mercātor signōrum tabulārumque pictārum missus est.

… he was sent at the public expense, and with the title of ambassador, into Achaia, Asia, and Pamphylia as a purchaser of statues and paintings.

[vi] verbs (1)

addīcō, -ere [3]: (here) ‘deliver’ in the sense of assign something to the highest bidder

commūtō, -āre [1]: exchange; barter

expōnō, -ere [3]: display; set out

indicō, -āre [1]: show; declare

mēnsūrō, -āre [1]: measure; estimate

ostentō, -āre [1]: show; show off; that the translator uses ‘braggeth’ is conveying the second sense

• Venditor ostentat │  the seller boasts – and they still do! You can hear them bragging loudly about their products in markets everywhere.

ponderō, -āre [1]: weigh

vendō, -ere [3]: sell

[vii]

afferō, afferre [irregular]: bring (to); convey

offerō, offerre [irreg.]: offer

irregular verbs (level 3); fero and its compounds

https://adckl.blogspot.com/search/label/irregular%20verbs%20%28level%203%29%3B%20fero%20and%20its%20compounds

verbs (2)

The text contains both [1] passive verb forms, and [2] deponent verbs

[1]

• Mercēs … commūtantur … expōnuntur vēnum … venduntur

Goods … are exchanged … (are) displayed for sale … (are) sold

Perfect passive participles:

• Mercēs … aliunde allātae … mēnsūrātae … ponderātae

Goods (having been) brought from somewhere else … (having been) measured … (having been) weighed

Passive infinitive:

• etiam volunt dīcī mercātōrēs

(They) also want to be called merchants.

https://adckl.blogspot.com/search/label/passive%20voice

[2] deponent verbs: look passive, but are active in meaning

Some 17^th century haggling:

[i] liceor, -ērī [2/deponent]: bid (for); make an offer (for)

• Emptor licētur │ The buyer ‘cheapneth’ i.e. makes a bid / an offer

[ii] By extension:

• Sī quis contrālicētur │ If any one bids against him i.e. makes a counteroffer

[iii] polliceor, -ēre [2/deponent]: promise

Comenius constructs this text well, and he shows both a passive and a deponent verb in the same sentence:

• eī rēs addīcitur [passive] quī pollicētur [deponent] plūrimum │ the thing is delivered to the one who promises the most

https://adckl.blogspot.com/search/label/deponent%20verbs

21.07.26: Level 3 (review); Comenius (1658) CXXVI; merchandizing [1]: text and translation

Merchandizing │ Mercātūra

[1]

Wares | Mercēs,

(having been) brought from other places | aliunde allātae,

are either exchanged | vel commūtantur

in an exchange, | in domō commerciōrum,

or exposed to sale [i.e. put out / displayed] | vel expōnuntur vēnum

in warehouses, | in tabernīs mercimōniōrum,

and they are sold | & venduntur

for money, | prō pecūniā (monētā),

having been either measured | vel mēnsūrātae

with an eln, | ulnā,

or weighed | vel ponderātae

in a pair of balances. | lībrā.

[2]

Shop-keepers, | Tabernāriī,

pedlars, | circumforāneī,

and brokers, | & scrūtāriī,

would also be called | etiam volunt dīcī

merchants. | mercātōrēs.

[3]

The seller | Venditor

braggeth of a thing | ostentat

that is to be sold, | rem prōmercalem,

and setteth the rate [price] of it. | & indicat pretium.

[4]

The buyer cheapneth | Emptor licētur,

and offereth the price. | & pretium offert.

If any one | Sī quis

bid against him, | contrālicētur,

the thing is delivered to him | eī rēs addīcitur

that promiseth the most. | quī pollicētur plūrimum.

20.07.26: Level 2 (review); Carolus et Maria [30] [iv] full text; grammar (2)

Longē ā scholā est mōns parvus. Quamquam iter est longum et necesse est in carrīs īre, hodiē tōtum diem ibi discipulī cum magistrā manent. Mōns est locus grātus et diēs est idōneus ad iter. Quamquam mōns nōn est altus, ē summō monte oppidum vidētis, sī caelum est clārum et nūllae nūbēs sunt in caelō. Prope montem est flūmen parvum in quō discipulī natant et paucae nāviculae videntur. Ā dextrā et trāns flūmen oppidum vidētis. In ulteriōre rīpā et inter oppidum et flūmen sunt agrī et collēs parvī.

Diū magistra et discipulī errant. Pars eōrum dēfessa est quod diū in flūmine natat. Itaque paucī in saxō magnō sedent. “Hic est locus ad cēnam idōneus,” inquit magistra. “Cupitisne hīc cēnam ēsse?” Omnēs ita cupiunt. Post cēnam discipulī fābulam dēsīderant. Prīmō magistra silet. Deinde haec nārrat:

“Undique circumspectāte, discipulī; prope hunc montem est flūmen quod Tiberis appellātur. In ulteriōre rīpā sunt agrī Etrūscōrum, hostēs Rōmānōrum, quī in illō locō moenia habent. Impetum in Rōmānōs facere cupiunt. Vigilēs quī ē vāllō prōspectant prope portās castrōrum stant. Etrūscī quoque sunt. Ubīque nūntiī currunt.”

“Ecce! Ecce!” clāmant puerī; “Rōmānī sumus. Agmen longum hostium, quī ad urbem nostram iter faciunt, paene vidēmus.”

“Silēte,” inquit magistra, “et audīte. Illīs temporibus Rōma nōn erat magna sed moenia bona habēbat. Rōma cīvēs et mīlitēs magnae virtūtis habēbat. Exercitus erat magnae virtūtis. Etrūscī quoque erant fortēs. Rōmam occupāre cupiēbant. Ūnus collis, Iāniculum appellātus, ab Etrūscīs occupātus erat. Cīvēs perterritī erant. Ab Etrūscīs superābantur. Deōs auxilium rogābant. Ipsum patrem deōrum auxilium rogābant. Illīs temporibus deī ipsī in bellō cum virīs pugnābant. Ita Rōmānī putābant. Etrūscī domum magnam praedam portāre parātī erant, sed posteā, ubi Etrūscī superātī sunt, Rōmānī maximās deīs grātiās ēgērunt.”

“Hōs Etrūscōs barbarōs nōn probō,” inquit ūnus puer parvus.

“Barbarī nōn erant,” respondet magistra. “Aedificia pulchra habēbant. Pulchrae erant pictūrae eōrum. Rēgēs et exercitum habēbant. Deī Etrūscōrum erant multī et Etrūscī cōnsilia deōrum semper sciēbant.”

Vesper est. Tempus domum īre est. Hic est fīnis fābulae.

The way in which prepositions are expressed in English and Latin are not always the same. While there can be word-for-word equivalents, the languages may convey an idea using different prepositions, or Latin sometimes uses cases or single adverbs, whereas English uses prepositions or prepositional phrases.

Find the words and phrases from the text and note the similarities and differences between the Latin and the English.

[1]

[i] across the river

[ii] after dinner

[iii] between the town and the river

[iv] (occupied) by the Etruscans

[v] near the mountain / near the gates

[vi] towards the city

[vii] (together) with the teacher / with men

[2]

[i] (look out) from the wall / fortification

[ii] from the top of the mountain

[iii] far from the school

[3]

[i] (a place) suitable for dinner

[ii] (the day is) suitable for the journey

[iii] for the whole day

[iv] (they asked the gods) for help

[v] (they wander) for a long time

[4]

[i] in war / in the sky / in that place

[ii] on a large rock

[iii] on the opposite (upper) bank

[iv] an attack on / against the Romans

[v] on the right

[vi] in those times

[vii] on all sides

____________________

[1]

[i] trāns flūmen

[ii] post cēnam

[iii] inter oppidum et flūmen

[iv] ab Etrūscīs occupātus

[v] prope montem / prope portās

[vi] ad urbem

[vii] cum magistrā / cum virīs

[2]

[i] ē vallō (prōspectant)

[ii] ē summō monte

[iii] longē ā scholā

[3]

[i] (locus) ad cēnam idōneus

[ii] (diēs est) idōneus ad iter

[iii] totum diem

[iv] deōs auxilium (rogābant)

[v] diū (errant)

[4]

[i] in bellō / in caelō / in illō locō

[ii] in saxō magnō

[iii] in ulteriōre rīpā

[iv] impetum in Rōmānōs

[v] ā dextrā

[vi] illīs temporibus

[vii] undique

19.07.26: Level 1 (review); shopping [5] dialogue (2) Wilkes; Neo-Latin; money

Omnia cōnstant centum vīgintī sēstertiīs

[1] Latin uses the ablative case to express a specific cost:

Agrum vēndidit sēstertium sex mīlibus. │ He sold the land for 6000 sesterces

sānē [i] magnō pretiō, [ii] nummīs aureīs quadringentīs (Livy) │ of course [i] at a great price, [ii]  for four hundred gold coins

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2025/03/170625-level-3-summary-of-of-uses-of_13.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y69cLzFHVUs

[2] sēstertius, -ī (2/m): sesterce; this was a standard monetary unit, and Wilkes roughly compares one sesterce to a British penny or a US cent. Thurston Peck (A Dictionary of Classical Antiquities) notes that under the early Empire it was worth about $0.05 (in early twentieth-century terms). Such comparisons are only approximate, since its value changed over time. For expressing small amounts in simple Latin dialogue, sēstertius is an appropriate and historically authentic word.

[3] HS was a common abbreviation for sesterces:

HS LXXX: 80 sesterces

[4] There were several coins in use in Ancient Rome. Bear in mind, however, that actual values fluctuated over time.

(1) as, assis [3/m]: a small coin of low value which we could equate with a penny or a cent.

The poet Catullus refers to the coin as a sign of contempt for what others think of him and his girlfriend i.e. their rumours are valueless:

Vīvāmus, mea Lesbia, atque amēmus, │ Let us live, my Lesbia, and let us love,

rūmōrēsque senum sevēriōrum │ and the rumours of rather stern old men

omnēs ūnius aestimēmus assis! │ let us value them all at a single penny!

Other terms relate to their relative value of this coin:

(2) quadrāns, quadrantis [3/m]:  a quarter of an as; not ‘quarter’ in the US sense of quarter of a dollar, but the quarter value of the already small denomination listed above

(3) sēmis, sēmissis [3/m] = half of an as

(4) dupondius, -ī [2/m] = two assēs

This is where sēstertius fits in with regard to relative value of Roman coins:

(5) sēstertius, -ī (2/m) = 2 ½ assēs

The five coins above were manufactured from base metals i.e. copper, brass or alloys.

Higher value denominations:

(6) dēnārius, -ī [2/m] = 4 sēstertiī; made of silver

The most famous — or infamous — dēnārius is the silver coin struck in 42 BC to commemorate the assassination of Julius Caesar in 44 BC by a group of senatorial conspirators (see image).

The dinar is still used in a number of countries as the official currency e.g. Algeria, Jordan and Tunisia, the name derived from Arabic دِينَار (dīnār)  < La: dēnārius; the word denier exists in French to refer to an old denomination.

(7) aureus, -ī [2/m] = 25 dēnariī; made of gold

[5] Other writers express currencies using Neo-Latin vocabulary.

lībra, -ae [1/f]: pound; originally a measurement of weight but in Mediaeval Latin also refers to a weight in silver and becomes a monetary value. This is still reflected in the symbol £ for the UK Pound Sterling i.e. L with a stroke through it.

In Traupman’s work we have:

Quantī haec cōnstant? │ How much do these (items) cost?

Decem dollarīs ex tōtō. │ Ten dollars in total.

19.07.26: Level 1 (review); shopping [4] dialogue (2) Wilkes; Neo-Latin

[1]

A: quid requīris? │ What are you looking for?

B: requīrō sex ova, quaesō. │ I am looking for six eggs, please.

A: quid aliud? │ What else?

B: ūnam lītram lactis, quaesō. │ One litre of milk, please.

A: quantī cōnstant haec omnia? │ How much do all these things cost?

B: omnia cōnstant centum vīgintī sēstertiīs. │ Everything costs one hundred and twenty sesterces.

[2]

A: salvē, domina! quid requīris? │ Hello, madam! What are you looking for?

B: requīrō duās lībrās malōrum. │ I am looking for two pounds of apples.

A: quid aliud? │ What else?

B: ūnam lībram tomātārum. │ One pound of tomatoes.

The aim of the Wilkes dialogues is to practise speaking the language in order to reinforce knowledge of grammar and vocabulary. Therefore, as with earlier dialogues, they are given a contemporary setting which does pose a challenge since they need to convey our concepts of weights, measures and prices; these often do not have equivalents in Classical Latin, or the Romans had different interpretations of measurement.  

[1] lībra, -ae [1/f]: Roman measurement of weight; the Roman pound = approximately 327g, divided into 12 ūnciae (ounces)

ūncia, -ae [1/f]: ounce

gramma, -ae [1/f]: the term exists in Classical Latin to refer to a small unit of weight < Greek γράμμα [grắmmă]; it is not identical to the modern gram of the metric system.

> chilogramma, -ae [1/f]: kilogram

chilo-, from Greek χίλιοι [khílioi] “one thousand” + gramma; the term kilo- was not used in Classical Latin

[2] “litre” is a harder “nut” to crack

https://neolatinlexicon.org/latin/liter/

The Neo-Latin Lexicon gives two possibilities:

[i] litra, -ae [1/f]

The evidence is slight, and it was not a standard Classical Latin unit of liquid measure. However, a 13th-century document contains the phrase:

cōguntur solvere ūnam Litram oleī │ they are required to pay one Litra of oil

The word comes from Greek λῑ́τρᾱ (lī́trā), originally a unit of weight. This example shows that litra could be used of a liquid measure in medieval Latin, but the attestation is isolated and does not imply common or standard usage. It provides limited — though genuine — support for using the noun as a volume term.

[ii] litrum, -ī [2/n]: there is no clear historical evidence for neuter form in -um. It may have been created to match other Neo-Latin measurement terms.

Compare:

CL: metrum, -ī [2/n]: poetic metre

> Neo-Latin: metrum = metre (unit of length)

CL: centimeter, centimetrī [2/m]: Late Latin word meaning “one who employs many metres” (a poet using numerous metrical forms)

> Neo-Latin: centimetrum, -ī [2/n]: centimetre

> Neo-Latin: chilometrum, -ī [2/n]: kilometre < χίλιοι [khílioi] + metrum

The Romans had a variety of terms to describe weights and measures. At this stage, they are beyond the scope of the work here since the purpose of this post is to enable you to express contemporary ideas with legitimate Neo-Latin when it is required.

[3] tomata, -ae [1/f]: (Neo-Latin) tomato; an alternative is:

lycopersicum, -ī [2/n]: tomato; this is a good example of scholarly or scientific vocabulary since the species originated in Central and South America and was introduced to other European colonies in the 16^th century

The word is derived from Anc. Gk. λύκος  / lúkos: “wolf” + περσικών / persikṓn “peach”; if you’re scared of wolves, you suffer from lycophobia. If you’re a lycanthrope, then you tend rapidly to grow body hair and howl a lot during a full moon.

LINKS:

[i] food and drink

https://adckl.blogspot.com/search/label/topic%3A%20food%20and%20drink

[ii] 24.03.26: Level 1 (review); presentation; asking prices

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2026/01/240326-level-1-review-presentation.html

[iii] weights and measures

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2025/11/140126-comenius-cv-geometry-vocabulary_1.html

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2025/11/140126-comenius-cv-geometry-vocabulary.html