30.11.26: Level 4; literature; Vulgate [1]: Jesus before Pilate; Luke 23.1-7

The Vulgate – in terms of learning the language – is a fabulous “bridge” towards Classical Latin literature. The trial before Pilate uses a whole range of structures that have been discussed previously. The translation is my own and stays as close as possible to the original Latin in order to reflect the usage. Only more advanced language is highlighted together with occasional notes on other points.

The description of the trial moves rapidly and grows in intensity, Pilate caught between upholding Roman Law and the threat of local insurrection but submitting in the end to the will of both the “crowd” and religious officials motivated by self-interest and fear that the influence of Jesus is spreading. It is not simply Jesus who is on trial here, but human nature – and it is guilty as charged.

Luke 23.1-7

(1) Et surgēns omnis multitūdō eōrum, dūxērunt illum ad Pīlātum.

• And, getting up, the whole crowd of them led him to Pilate.

(2) Coepērunt autem illum accūsāre, dīcentēs: Hunc invēnīmus subvertentem gentem nostram, et prohibentem tribūta dare Caesarī, et dīcentem ¦ sē Chrīstum rēgem esse.

• And they started to accuse him, saying, “We found this man perverting our nation, and forbidding (us) to give tribute to Caesar, and saying ¦ that he is Christ, a king.”

(3) Pīlātus autem interrogāvit eum, dīcēns: Tū es rēx Iūdaeōrum? At ille respondēns ait: Tū dīcis.

• And Pilate questioned him, saying: “You are the king of the Jews?” But, replying, he said: “You say that.”

(4) Ait autem Pīlātus ad prīncipēs sacerdōtum et turbās: Nihil inveniō causae in hōc homine.

• And Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no reason to accuse this man [literally: nothing of cause in this man, i.e. no grounds to charge]”

(5) At illī invalēscēbant, ¦ dīcentēs: Commovet populum docēns per ūniversam Iūdaeam, incipiēns ā Galilaeā usque hūc.

• But they kept pressing harder, ¦ saying: “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, starting from Galilee all the way to here.”

(6) Pīlātus autem audiēns Galilaeam, interrogāvit ¦ sī homō Galilaeus esset.

• But Pilate, hearing (the mention of) Galilee, asked ¦ whether the man was a Galilean.

(7) Et ut cognōvit ¦ quod dē Hērōdis potestāte esset, ¦ remīsit eum ad Hērōdem, quī et ipse Hierosolymīs erat illīs diēbus.

• And when he learned ¦ that he was of Herod’s authority [ = under Herod’s jurisdiction], ¦ he sent him back to Herod, who himself was also at Jerusalem in those days.

Notes:

[i] Frequent use of present active participles, for example:

• Pīlātus autem audiēns Galilaeam …
• Hunc invēnīmus subvertentem …
• Coepērunt autem illum accūsāre, dīcentēs …

https://adckl.blogspot.com/search/label/present%20active%20participle

[ii] Tū dīcis: short and to the point, the use of tū explicitly contrasting what Pilate says with what Jesus has not said.

You say that; It’s you who says that; You’re the one who says that (but I haven’t); any claim to being a king would be viewed as a direct challenge to the authority of Rome and punishable by execution. It is an allegation that Jesus outrightly rejects.

[iii] indirect statement

… et dīcentem ¦ sē Chrīstum rēgem esse

Literally … and saying [literally] himself to be …

> … and saying ¦ that he is …

(a) In Classical Latin, indirect statement is normally expressed by the accusative-infinitive:

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2025/10/201225-level-3-indirect-statement.html

Note the use of sē since Jesus is allegedly referring to himself.

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2025/10/261225-level-3-indirect-statement.html

all posts: https://adckl.blogspot.com/search/label/indirect%20statement

(b) However, in Late Latin and especially in Biblical Latin, quod / quia + the subjunctive increasingly replace the classical accusative–infinitive in indirect statement.

Et ut cognōvit ¦ quod dē Hērōdis potestāte esset [CL: Et ut cognōvit eum dē Hērōdis potestāte esse]

• And when he learned ¦ that he was …

[iv] At illī invalēscēbant …

inchoative verb marked with the distinctive -sc- indicating the beginning of an action or an action that increases

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

invaleō, -ēre [2]: grow strong

invalescō, -ere [3]: grow stronger; increase in strength

i.e. there is an atmosphere of growing intensity; they became increasingly persistent

[v] interrogāvit ¦ sī homō Galilaeus esset: asked ¦ if / whether the man was a Galilean

In CL, sī normally introduces a conditional clause.

An indirect question i.e. ‘if’ in the sense of ‘whether (or not)’ is normally not introduced by sī, but there are occasional examples:

Vīsam ¦ sī domī est (Terence) 

I will go see ¦ if he is at home.

• This usage becomes common only in post-Classical / Late Latin.

[vi] ipse, ipsa, ipsum

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2025/08/111125-level-3-review-ipse-ipsa-ipsum.html