04.05.27: Level 4; literature; Vulgate: The Parable of the Good Samaritan [Luke 10:25–37] (3); narrative structure; the rule of three; the tricolon

[25] Et ecce quīdam lēgisperītus surrēxit tentāns illum, et dīcēns: Magister, quid faciendō vītam aeternam possidēbō?

[26] At ille dīxit ad eum: In lēge quid scrīptum est? quōmodo legis?

[27] Ille respondēns dīxit: Dīligēs Dominum Deum tuum ex tōtō corde tuō, et ex tōtā animā tuā, et ex omnibus virtūtibus tuīs, et ex omnī mente tuā: et proximum tuum sīcut tēipsum.

[28] Dīxitque illī: Rēctē respondistī: hoc fac, et vīvēs.

[29] Ille autem volēns iūstificāre sēipsum, dīxit ad Iēsum: Et quis est meus proximus?

[30] Suscipiēns autem Iēsūs, dīxit: Homō quīdam dēscendēbat ab Ierusālem in Ierīchō, et incīdit in latrōnēs, quī etiam dēspoliāvērunt eum: et plāgīs impositīs abiērunt sēmivīvō relictō.

[31] Accidit autem ut sacerdōs quīdam dēscenderet eādem viā: et vīsō illō praeterīvit.

[32] Similiter et Lēvīta, cum esset secus locum, et vidēret eum, pertrānsiit.

[33] Samarītānus autem quīdam iter faciēns, vēnit secus eum: et vidēns eum, misericordiā mōtus est.

[34]  Et (1) appropiāns alligāvit vulnera eius, (2) īnfundēns oleum et vīnum: et (3) impōnēns illum in iūmentum suum, dūxit in stabulum, et cūram eius ēgit.

[35] Et alterā diē prōtulit duōs dēnāriōs, et dedit stabulāriō, et ait: Cūram illīus habē: et quodcumque superērogāverīs, ego cum redierō reddam tibi.

[36] Quis hōrum trium vidētur tibi proximus fuisse illī, quī incīdit in latrōnēs?

[37] At ille dīxit: Quī fēcit misericordiam in illum. Et ait illī Iēsūs: Vāde, et tū fac similiter.

[1] The purpose of a Parable is to convey a moral or spiritual concept in short and simple terms. It is also generalised, hence the use of:

quīdam lēgisperītus: a certain lawyer / expert in the law

homō quīdam: a certain man

sacerdōs quīdam: a certain priest

Samarītānus … quīdam: a certain Samaritan

i.e. the parable applies to everybody and is not narrowed by references to specific individuals or periods of time.

[2] Note the means by which statements can be succinctly expressed:

[i] present active participle, for example:

l25: tentāns illum, et dīcēns |  testing him, and saying

[ii] ablative absolute constructions comprising two words:

l30: plāgīs impositīs |  with blows having been inflicted

l30: sēmivīvō relictō | with him having been left half alive

l31: visō illō:  with him having been seen

Such literal translations – although the first step in comprehending meaning – need to be reworked depending upon context, for example:

l31: visō illō praeterīvit

There are various possibilities including:

[i] When he saw him, he passed by.

[ii] After / once he had seen him, he passed by.

[iii] Having seen him / (upon) seeing him, he passed by.

[3] An interesting feature is the structure of lines 31-33. It is neither being flippant, nor undermining the moral value of the lines to observe that, given that the parable is compressed storytelling, it parallels the structure of a three part joke.

Exposition (setting the scene and circumstances): Three men are stranded on a desert island and find a magic lantern. A genie pops out and grants each of them one single wish.

(1) Setup: The first man says, "I wish I was back home with my family." Flash! He vanishes.

(2) Reinforcement: The second man says, "I wish I was back home in my warm bed." Flash! He vanishes. This establishes the pattern with the same or similar language and recounting of events.

(3) Subversion (the ‘punchline’): The third man looks around at the empty beach and says, "Wow, I feel so lonely now. I wish my two friends were back here with me!"

Line 3 undermines the expectation established in lines 1 and 2.

Compare that structure with lines 30-33:

Line 30: exposition

Homō quīdam dēscendēbat ab Ierusālem in Ierīchō, et incīdit in latrōnēs, quī etiam dēspoliāvērunt eum: et plāgīs impositīs abiērunt sēmivīvō relictō. 

• "A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, who also stripped him: after they had beaten him, they departed, having abandoned him half alive.”

(1) Line 31: set up

Accidit autem ut sacerdōs quīdam dēscenderet eādem viā: et vīsō illō praeterīvit. 

• “It happened that a certain priest was going down the same road, and when he saw him, he passed by.”

(2) Line 32: reinforcement

Similiter et Lēvīta, cum esset secus locum, et vidēret eum, pertrānsiit. 

• “And similarly, a Levite, when he was beside the place and saw him, passed by.” 

(3) Line 33: subversion i.e. what is expected based upon the content of lines 31-32 is reversed:

Samarītānus autem quīdam iter faciēns, vēnit secus eum: et vidēns eum, misericordiā mōtus est. 

• “But a certain Samaritan, while travelling, came beside him: and seeing him, was moved by pity.” 

While this parable is, of course, in no way light-hearted, it is –  like the account of the Trial of Jesus – a striking example of highly focused narrative technique, in which moral teaching is delivered in a form that is concise, memorable, and free of superfluous detail. Noticeable also is the implication of hypocrisy on the part of the priest and the Levite without this being specifically expressed.

[4] The “rule of three” is a common feature of, for example, our contemporary advertising and political slogans:

NIKE: (1) JUST (2) DO (3) IT

McDONALD’S: I’M LOVIN’ IT

PEACE! LAND! BREAD!

Ideas are conveyed in groups of three because our minds absorb that information quickly:

LOOK RIGHT, LOOK LEFT, LOOK RIGHT AGAIN

Such a structure is not new. In this triumphant line, we see it:

VENI, VIDI, VICI: three ‘messages’, poetically bound by three identical perfect tense forms and the alliteration of V.

[i] The parable divides the key events into three but with similar lexis that combines them.

[ii] Note also line 34:

(1) appropiāns alligāvit vulnera eius, (2) īnfundēns oleum et vīnum: (3) et impōnēns illum …

The term when dealing with Latin Literature is the tricolon. Below are links which discuss the tricolon and, in particular, Cicero’s frequent use of the device.

29.04.24: the tomb of Scipio Barbatus; I’m lovin’ it

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/05/290424-tomb-of-scipio-barbatus-im-lovin.html

29.05.24: level 2; a side note

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/05/290524-level-2-side-note.html

07.04.25: Level 3; deponent verbs (9); perfect, pluperfect and future perfect tenses

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2025/01/070425-level-3-deponent-verbs-9-perfect.html

30.01.26: Level 3; indirect statement; the accusative-infinitive [16]; the perfect passive infinitive [iv]; reading

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2025/11/300126-level-3-indirect-statement.html

24.04.26: Describing objects [17]; Cicero against Verres, ‘the art thief’

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2026/01/240426-describing-objects-17-cicero.html

07.06.26; Level 3+; Subjunctive [49] passive forms [ii] imperfect passive (3) anatomy of a sentence; Cicero’s rhetorical style

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2026/02/070626-level-3-subjunctive-49-passive.html

19.02.27: Level 3+ (review); correlatives [6] making comparisons (3); totiēns … quotiēns …

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2026/07/190227-level-3-review-correlatives-6.html

23.01.27: Level 3+ (review); correlatives [2]

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2026/07/230127-level-3-review-correlatives-2.html

15.04.27: Topic / Level 4; transport [6]: wheeled vehicles (6) raeda; Cicero and the defence of Milo [i]

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2026/09/150427-topic-level-4-transport-6.html

16.04.27: Topic / Level 4; transport [7]: wheeled vehicles (7) raeda; Cicero and the defence of Milo [ii]

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2026/09/160427-topic-level-4-transport-7.html

03.05.27: Topic / Level 4; transport [12]; on water [ii]

[1] scapha, -ae [1/f]: skiff; light boat

(1) In translation, scapha may simply be rendered as ‘boat’ – but not ship, since the term does not convey a large vessel:

potuimus vix obtinēre scapham (Vulgate)

• we were able, with difficulty, to secure the boat

(2) Comenius (1685) uses scapha to describe a way in which sailors might escape from a ship-wreck i.e. in the equivalent of a lifeboat (illustrated below):

Quīdam ēvādunt, vel tabulā (7), ac ēnatandō, vel scaphā (8)

• Some escape, either on a plank, 7. and by swimming, or in the boat, 8.

This reflects the description given in Harper’s Dictionary of Classical Antiquities:

“A skiff or cutter carried on large vessels to be lowered for use as required” (Thurston Peck)

(3) Similarly, Caesar uses the term to refer to ‘skiffs’, small boats that are attached to larger vessels:

quod cum animadvertisset Caesar, scaphās longārum nāvium, item speculātōria nāvigia mīlitibus complērī iussit

• When Caesar had noticed this, he ordered the skiffs of the long ships, and likewise the reconnaissance vessels, to be filled with soldiers.

nāvigium speculātōrium: reconnaissance vessel

(4) This line from Plautus clearly indicates the difference in size:

Illa autem virgō atque altera itidem ancillula dē nāvī timidae dēsuluērunt* in scapham

* = desiluerunt

• The young girl, however, and another little maid likewise, both afraid, have leapt down from the ship into a little boat.

(5)

Intereā ex secundō commeātū quem ā Siciliā mīserat Aliēnus, nāvis ūna in quā fuerat Q. Cominius et L. Ticida equitēs Rōmānī, ab residuā classe cum errāvisset dēlātaque esset ventō ad Thapsōn, ā Vergiliō scaphīs nāviculīsque āctuāriīs excepta est et ad Scīpiōnem adducta. (Dē Bellō Āfricō)

• Meanwhile, from the second supply convoy which Alienus had sent from Sicily, one ship—in which the Roman knights, Quintus Cominius and Lucius Ticida, had been, since they had strayed from the rest of the fleet and had been carried by the wind toward Thapsus, was intercepted by Vergilius with skiffs and fast light-vessels, and brought before Scipio.

classis, -is [3/f]: fleet

commeātus, -ūs [4/m]: (supply) convoy

[2] cymba, -ae [1/f] / cumba, -ae [1/f]: small boat; dinghy

< Anc. Gk. κύμβη [kúmbē]: [i] hollow of a vessel: drinking cup, bowl; [ii] (Phoenician) boat.

Abī tū: appellant hūc ad mōlem nostram nāviculam . . . Tum interibi locī cōnscendō cumbam piscātōriam, . . . veniō, iacitur anchora, inhibent lēniter. (Afranius)

• Go on, you: they are bringing a small boat right here to our pier ... Then, meanwhile at that place, I board a fishing skiff ... I arrive; the anchor is cast; they gently row backwards."

mōlēs, -is [3/f]: (here) pier; jetty

[3] ratis, -is [3/f]: raft

hic subsecūtus quō modō trānsierit, utrum ratī an piscātōriō nāvigiō, nēmō sciēbat (Rufus)

• How this man, having followed closely, crossed over – whether by raft or by a fishing boat – no one knew

[4] lembus, -ī [2/m]: small fast boat; cutter

Note that, in all three quotations below, general reference is made to ships, but lembus is identified as a specific type. Some translations may not specifically convey this. However, I have consistently used ‘cutter’ to distinguish it from other ships.

(1) The size of the lembus in comparison with other large warships which could have up to four banks of oars is shown by Livy’s reference to this vessel’s limited number of oars:

nāvēs quās cīvitātibus maritimīs adēmisset redderet nēve ipse nāvem ūllam praeter duōs lembōs, quī nōn plūs quam sēdecim rēmīs agerentur, habēret (Livy)

He was to return the ships which he had taken away from the maritime states, and he himself was not to have any ship except two cutters, which were to be propelled by not more than sixteen oars.

(2) C. Popilius, …, postquam dēbellātum in Macedoniā et statiōne summōtōs hostium lembōs audīvit, dīmissīs et ipse Attalī nāvibus … nāvigāre Aegyptum pergit, … (Livy)

Gaius Popilius, … after he heard that the war in Macedonia had been brought to an end and the cutters of the enemy had been removed from their station, and once the ships of Attalus had been dismissed he himself proceeded to sail toward Egypt, …

maritimus, -a, -um: maritime; pertaining to the sea

rēmus, -ī [2/m]: oar

(3) The noun can be associated with pirate ships, fast and able to inflict damage:

From Plautus:

Nicobulus: Periī hercle, lembus ille mihi laedit latus.

• By Hercules, I’m ruined, that cutter is crashing into my side.          

Chrysalus: Is erat commūnis cum hospite et praedōnibus. …

• It was jointly owned by your friend and pirates. …

Chrysalus: Is lembus nostrae nāvī īnsidiās dabat.

• This cutter was lying in wait for our ship.