06.01.27: Vincent and the Headache (3); step-by-step; saying what’s wrong with you [i]

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Caput multum dolet | I have a bad headache

One of the reasons to practise speaking the language, rather than only reading it, is that what the Romans said on a daily basis did not involve those lengthy speeches of Cicero. They used simple constructions just as we do today. By extracting them, particular features of the language can be reinforced in a practical way.

The Roman author Juvenal was worried about falling roof tiles. If you’re still beginning Latin, then just read the English and picture in your mind what Roman streets were really like!

Respice nunc alia ac dīversa perīcula noctis: | Now look at other, quite different dangers of the night:

quod spatium tēctīs sublīmibus unde cerebrum  / testa* ferit, … | how much room there is – from those lofty roofs — for a potsherd to smash your skull!

*potsherd: a broken shard of pottery

… quotiēns rīmōsa et curta fenestrīs / vāsa cadant, quantō percussum pondere signent / et laedant silicem,  | How often cracked and battered pots fall from windows, striking the pavement with such weight that they mark and mar the stone!

… possīs ignāvus habērī │ You might be thought a fool,

et subitī cāsus inprōvidus, … │ and careless of sudden disaster,

ad cēnam sī intestātus eās: │ if you go out to dinner without first making your will

If a roof tile fell on a Roman’s head then, apart from some undoubtedly ‘colourful’ language, he most likely said:

Caput (mihi) dolet! | Literally: the head is causing pain (to me) = My head hurts / I have a headache

And it’s not really any different from equivalents in some other modern languages:

Fr: la tête me fait mal; Gmn: der Kopf tut mir weh

Both the French and German literally say: “The head makes / does pain to me”. There are other ways of expressing those ideas in French and German, but the ones noted here are remarkably similar to Latin.

X mihi ¦ dolet | X (whatever is it) causes / is causing pain ¦ to me.

Dorsum mihi dolet. │My back is hurting. (My back is causing me pain.)

If the cause of the pain is plural, then the verb ending changes:

Dēns mihi dolet. │ My tooth hurts.

Dentēs mihi dolent. | My teeth hurt.

Exercises:

[1] Practise saying what’s wrong with you using these singular nouns:

__________ mihi dolet

[a]

1. auris: ear
2. caput: head
3. dēns: tooth
4. nāsus: nose
5. oculus: eye

[b]

1. bracchium: arm
2. collum: neck
3. dorsum: back
4. umerus: shoulder
5. pectus: chest; breast
6. venter: stomach

[c] 

1. manus: hand
2. digitus: finger

[d]

1. calcāneum: heel
2. crūs: leg
3. genū: knee
4. pēs: foot

[2] Now here are some plural forms:

__________ mihi dolent

1. aurēs: ears
2. dentēs: teeth
3. digitī: fingers
4. manūs: hands
5. oculī: eyes
6. pedēs: feet

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