Statim puella, patre
ignōrante, ipsum ā vinculis līberāvit et cum eō ad patriam suam fūgit. Cum
vērō ad patrem suum venisset, ait eī pater: “Ō fīlī, dē tuō adventū
gaudeō. Sed dīc mihī, quālis est ista puella, quam tēcum dūxistī!”
Ait ille: “Fīlia
rēgis est, quam in uxōrem habeō.”
Ait pater: “Sub
poenā amissiōnis hērēditātis tuae nōlō, ut eam in uxōrem dūcās.”
Ait ille: “Ō
pater, quid dīcis! Plus eī teneor, quam tibī. Quandō captus eram in manū
inimīcī et fortiter vinculātus, tibī prō meā redemptiōne scrīpsī, et nōluistī
mē redimere. Ipsa vērō nōn tantum ā carcere, sed ā perīculō mortis mē
līberāvit; ideō eam in uxōrem dūcere volō.”
Ait pater: “Fīlī,
probō tibī, quod nōn possīs in eam cōnfīdere et per consequēns
nūllō modō in uxōrem dūcere. Patrem proprium dēcēpit, quandō, ipsō ignōrante,
tē ā carcere līberāvit. Prō quā līberātiōne pater eius multa perdidit, qu(a)e
prō tuā redemptiōne habuisset. Ergō vidētur, quod tū nōn possīs
in eam cōnfīdere et per consequēns nūllō modō in uxōrem dūcere. Item alia ratiō
est. Ista licet tē līberāvit, hoc fuit causa libīdinis, ut posset tē in
virum habēre, et ideō quia eius libīdō erat causa līberātiōnis tuae, nōn mihī
vidētur, quod uxor tua erit.”
Vocabulary
[i]
amissiō, -ōnis
[3/f]: loss
herēditās, -ātis
[3/f]: inheritance
libidō, -inis
[3/f]: desire, passion, lust
poena, -ae [1/f]:
penalty
[ii]
cōnfīdō,
cōnfīdere, cōnfīsus sum [3 semi-deponent]: to trust, rely on
Notes
[1] Ablative
absolute using present active participles:
patre
ignōrante
literally: with
the father not knowing
> without her
father’s knowledge
ipsō ignōrante
literally: with he
himself not knowing
> without his
knowledge
https://adckl.blogspot.com/search/label/ablative%20absolute
[2]
Ista licet
tē līberāvit, …
Although she freed you …
[3] Ista
licet tē līberāvit, …
Although she
freed you, …
The use of iste,
ista, istud in a pejorative way – which was common in CL – is lost by the
Mediaeval period; the demonstrative pronouns is, hic, ille
and iste are used interchangeably although, in this particular text,
given the father’s disdain of the girl, the original negative connotation could
still be understood.
[2] Mediaeval use
of quod in indirect statements:
probō tibī, quod
nōn possīs in eam cōnfīdere
I prove to you that
you would not be able to trust her
Ergō vidētur, quod
tū nōn possīs in eam cōnfīdere
Therefore, it
seems that you would not be able to trust her
nōn mihī vidētur, quod
uxor tua erit.
It does not seem
to me that she will be your wife
Subjunctive
usage
[i] Cum
vērō ad patrem suum venisset, …
But when she
had come to his father …
cum-clause:
circumstance
https://adckl.blogspot.com/search/label/subjunctive%3A%20cum-clauses
[ii] nōlō, ut
eam in uxōrem dūcās
I do not wish
you to take her as your
wife.
wishing; when
negative: also known as prohibition
https://adckl.blogspot.com/search/label/subjunctive%3A%20verbs%20of%20wishing
[iii] pater eius
multa perdidit qu(a)e prō tuā redemptiōne habuisset
her father lost many
things, which he would have received for your ransom
relative clause of
characteristic i.e. referring to the type of thing the father would have
received
The pluperfect
subjunctive conveys contrary-to-fact i.e. it refers to a situation that
happened in the past and cannot be altered: he would have had many
things, but he did not receive them.
https://adckl.blogspot.com/search/label/subjunctive%3A%20characteristic
[iv] … quod
tū nōn possīs in eam cōnfīdere
… that you
could not / would not be able to trust her
potential
https://adckl.blogspot.com/search/label/subjunctive%3A%20potential
[v] hoc fuit causā
libīdinis, ut posset tē in virum habēre
this was for the
sake of desire, so that she might be able to have you as a husband
purpose
https://adckl.blogspot.com/search/label/subjunctive%3A%20purpose
____________________
Immediately the
girl, without her father’s knowledge, freed him from his chains and fled with
him to his homeland. But when she had come to his father, the father said to
her: “O son, I rejoice at your arrival. But tell me, what sort of girl is this
whom you have brought with you?”
He said: “She is
the king’s daughter, whom I have as my wife.”
The father said:
“Under pain of losing your inheritance, I do not wish you to take her as your
wife.”
He said: “O
father, what are you saying! I am more obliged to her than to you. When I was
captured in the hand of an enemy and strongly bound in chains, I wrote to you
about my ransom, and you were unwilling to ransom me. But she not only freed me
from prison, but also from the danger of death; therefore I wish to take her as
my wife.”
The father said:
“Son, I prove to you that you could
not trust her and consequently in no way can you take her as your wife. She
deceived her own father when, without his knowledge, she freed you from prison.
For that liberation her father lost much, which he would have received for your
ransom. Therefore it seems that you would not be able to trust her and
consequently in no way can you take her as your wife. Likewise there is another
reason. Although she freed you, this was for the sake of desire, so that she
might be able to have you as a husband, and therefore because her desire was
the cause of your liberation, it does not seem to me that she will be your
wife.”
