Referring to:
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1557269026025911
Salvēte sodālēs. | Greetings, companions / friends.
Ut valētis? | How are you (all)?
Vidēsne hanc bēstiam? | Do you see this beast / creature?
Anguis venēnātus est. | It is a venomous
snake.
Anglicē ‘copperhead’ appellātur. | In English, it is called
a “copperhead.”
Eius modī anguēs saepe videō in silvā natiōnālī Sam Houston
… | I often see snakes of this kind in the Sam Houston National Forest …
… quae ad septentriōnēs Hustōniae sita est. | … which is
located to the north of Houston.
Itaque, noctū, semper mihi cavendum est … |
Therefore, at night, I must always be careful …
… et lūmine ūtendum … | … and use a
light / flashlight …
… nōn quod tenebrās timeam … |
… not because I fear the darkness …
… sed quia eōs calcāre nōlim. | … but because I
do not want / I would not wish to step on them.
____________________
[1] anguis, -is [3 m/f]: snake; serpent
latet anguis in herbā (Virgil) | a snake is
hiding in the grass, from which is derived the phrase we use to describe a
large number of politicians - and Virgil knew about them in 37 BC
also: serpēns, serpentis [3 m/f]: snake; serpent
[2] venēnum, -ī [2/n]: poison
venēnō, -āre [1]: to poison
venēnātus, -a, -um: poisoned i.e. if it has happened to you;
poisonous i.e. if it contains poison
These are handy words to know since it was a Roman method of
getting rid of ‘snakes in the grass’.
[3] tenebrae, -ārum [1/f/pl]: darkness; in Latin, the noun
is plural
There are a few more advanced points of language in
Vincent’s video.
[4] mihi … cavendum est … ūtendum …;
this seems an odd construction to us since there is no exact equivalent; we’ll
use a more straightforward example:
legō, -ere [3]: read > legendus, -a, -um: it
literally means ‘which is to be read’. In grammar it is known as a
gerundive of obligation i.e. it expresses what needs to be / has to be / ought
to be etc. done.
hic liber legendus est: this book is to be /
needs to be / ought to be read
If who needs to do it is referred to, that
is in the dative:
Hic liber (1) tibi (2) legendus est |
literally: this book is (1) for you (2) to be read = you
need to read this book
In the expressions used by Vincent, they are impersonal i.e.
they do not agree with any noun and use the neuter form
Mihi cavendum est … et … ūtendum |
literally: it is for me to be guarded against … and to
be used = I need to be careful … and (to) use
[5]
(1) … nōn quod tenebrās timeam … | … not
because I fear the darkness …
(2) … sed quia eōs calcāre nōlim. | … but
because I do not want to step on them.
In both of these expressions, Vincent uses the subjunctive forms
of the verb.
(1) quod: because – is not usually followed by the
subjunctive, but can be when a reason is reported i.e. what somebody else said:
[a] Dormīre nōn poterat quod ānxius erat (indicative)
[b] Dormīre nōn poterat quod ānxius esset (subjunctive)
Both mean: He could not sleep because he was worried.
However, [a] presents it as factual whereas [b] implies
that, for example, this was something the writer was told. One way English
could convey [b] would be: He couldn’t sleep because, he said, he
was worried.
… nōn quod tenebrās timeam … | … not
because I (might) fear the darkness … (i.e. in case you’re
thinking that)
23.08.26; Level 3+; Subjunctive [90] dependent uses [15] reported / indirect reason: quod and quia
https://adckl.blogspot.com/2026/03/230826-level-3-subjunctive-90-dependent.html
(2) Nōlim expresses a negative wish i.e. I would
not want; just because you would not want something to happen does not mean
that it won’t, which is an underlying meaning of the subjunctive.
However, for Vincent’s sake, let’s hope he doesn’t stand on
them!
The other subjunctive verb that commonly illustrates this
idea is velim = I would like. Maybe you would
like to become a millionaire but there's no guarantee that you will!
German ich möchte and Spanish quisiera mean
‘I would like’ – and both are subjunctive.
23.06.26; Level 3+; Subjunctive [58] dependent uses [4] verbs
of wishing (2)
https://adckl.blogspot.com/2026/02/230626-level-3-subjunctive-58-dependent.html
[6] One final point …
Listen carefully to Vincent’s pronunciation of: mihi
cavendum est; he doesn’t talk like Cicero, but like a character in a
Plautus play which, at ‘street level’, was more akin to how your average Roman
spoke. Moreover, in the plays, such pronunciation is actually conveyed in
writing.
What you hear is mī [ = mihi] cavendumst i.e.
the /m/ (most likely nasalised) of -um + the /e/ of est
are combined into one sound.
