04.09.24: adverbs [2](1); -ē; -ter (1)

We first focus on the formation of adverbs which are the equivalent of English –ly. These are known as adverbs of manner since they describe how an action was performed.

[i] 1st / 2^nd declension adjectives remove the ending, and -ē is added to the stem

• cār¦us: dear > cār¦ē: dearly
• cert¦us [certain] > certē [certainly]
• laet¦us [happy] > laetē [happily]
• lāt¦us: far; broad > lātē: widely; broadly; far and wide; everywhere
• pulcher, pulchr¦a, -um > pulchr¦ē [beautifully]
• note: bonus > bene: well

One proverb helps you remember this ending:

festinā lentē: hasten slowly [ = the more hurry, the less speed]

[ii] 3^rd declension adjectives form adverbs with the ending –ter; remove the /s/ of the gen. sg. to find the stem to which –ter is added:

• celer > gen. sg. celeri[s] > celeri- > celeri|ter: quickly
• fortis > gen. sg. forti[s] > forti- > fortiter: bravely
• ācer > gen. sg. ācri[s] > ācri- > ācriter: sharply; strongly
• fēlix > gen. sg. fēlīci[s] > fēlīci- > fēlīciter: happily; fortunately
• mendāx > gen. sg. mendāci[s] > mendāci- > mendāciter: falsely; deceptively

fortiter: bravely

fideliter: faithfully

feliciter: happily

[iii] 3^rd declension adjectives ending in –ns are formed by the removal of /s/ of the nom. sg. –ter then being added to the stem; note the shortening of /ē/ > /e/

• dīligēn[s] > dīligen¦ter: diligently; carefully
• libēn[s] > liben¦ter: willingly
• potēn[s] > poten¦ter: powerfully
• prūdēn[s] > prūdenter: wisely; prudently
• sapiēn[s] > sapienter: wisely

[iv] Note that there are adjectives which form their adverbs in irregular ways:

• facilis > facile: easily
• difficilis > difficilē: with difficulty

03.09.24: Level 1; Ora Maritima [10](1)

Nōn procul ā Dubrīs est scopulus altus, unde ōceanum et nāvigia et ōram maritimam spectās. Locus in fābulā commemorātus est, ubi Leir, rēgulus Britannōrum antīquōrum, fortūnam suam mīseram dēplōrat, stultitiam suam culpat, fīliās suās animī ingrātī accūsat. Scopulus ex poētā nōminātus est. Nam in fābulā est locus ubi vir generōsus, amīcus fīdus rēgulī, dē scopulō sē praecipitāre parat; sed fīlius suus vīrum ex perīculō servat. Fīlium fīdum laudō. Nōs puerī locum saepe vīsitāmus.

____________________

Not far from Dover there is a high cliff, from which you (can) look at the ocean and the ships and the coast. The place is commemorated in the story, when Leir, the ruler of the ancient Britons, laments his miserable fortune, blames his foolishness, and accuses his daughters of ingratitude [literally: an ungrateful mind]. The cliff is named after the poet. For in the story there is a place where a noble man, a faithful friend of the ruler, prepares to throw himself off the cliff; but his own son saves the man from danger. I praise the faithful son. We boys often visit the place.

____________________

03.09.24: Level 1; review; practice in the cases [4](4); 1st / 2nd declension nouns and adjectives: accusative plural (2)

[1]

parvus, -a, -um: small

Nominative plural

In oppidō sunt tabernae parvae. │ There are small shops in the town.

Accusative plural

Tabernās parvās in oppidō videō. │ I see small shops in the town.

[2]

Rōmānus, -a, -um: Roman

Nominative plural

In lūdō sunt discipulī Rōmānī. │ There are Roman students in the school.

Accusative plural

Discipulōs Rōmānōs in lūdō videō. │ I see Roman students in the school.

[3]

antiquus, -a, -um: ancient

Nominative plural

In oppidō sunt templa antiqua. │ There are ancient temples in the town.

Accusative plural

Templa antiqua in oppidō videō. │ I see ancient temples in the town.

Lectiō §21

superō, superāre [1]: conquer; overcome

occupō, occupāre [1]: occupy

pācō, pacāre [1]: pacify; subdue

expugnō, expugnāre [1]: take by storm; assault

vastō vastāre [1]: lay waste; devastate; ravage

These sentences begin to put the cases together:

[1] Nominative and accusative plural

Rōmānī ¦ Gallōs / Germānōs / Britannōs ¦ superant. │[i] The Romans [nominative: subject of the sentence] ¦ conquer ¦ [ii] the Gauls / Germans / Britons [accusative: direct object of the sentence].

____________________

[i] Rōmānī ¦ [ii] Belgās ¦ superant. │ [i] The Romans ¦ conquer ¦ [ii] the Belgae.

[i] Rōmānī ¦ [ii] insulās ¦ occupant. │[i] The Romans ¦ occupy ¦ [ii] islands.

[i] Rōmānī ¦ [ii] multās insulās ¦ occupant. │[i] The Romans ¦ occupy ¦ [ii] many islands.

[i] Rōmānī ¦ [ii] tōtās provinciās ¦ pācant. │[i] The Romans ¦ subdue ¦ [ii] whole provinces.

____________________

[i] Rōmānī ¦ [ii] oppida ¦ occupant. ││[i] The Romans ¦ occupy ¦ [ii] towns.

[i] Rōmānī ¦ [ii] plūs quam centum oppida ¦ expugnant. │ [i] The Romans ¦ storm ¦ [ii] more than 100 towns.

[i] Rōmānī ¦ [ii] multa castella ¦ expugnant. │ [i] The Romans ¦ storm ¦ [ii] many castles / forts.

____________________

[2] Nominative, accusative and genitive plural

[i] Rōmānī [nominative] ¦ [ii] portās [accusative] ¦ [iii] oppidōrum [genitive] occupant. │ [i] The Romans ¦ occupy ¦ [ii] the gates ¦ [iii] of the towns.

[i] Rōmānī ¦ [ii] mūrōs ¦ [iii] oppidōrum ¦ expugnant. │ [i] The Romans ¦ storm ¦ [ii] the walls ¦ [iii] of the towns.

[i] Rōmānī ¦ [ii] agrōs ¦ [iii] barbarōrum ¦ vastant. │ [i] The Romans ¦ ravage / devastate / lay waste ¦ [ii] the fields ¦ [iii] of the barbarians.

[i] Rōmānī ¦ [ii] viās ¦ [iii] prōvinciārum ¦ occupant. │ The Romans occupy the roads of the provinces.

Rōmānī Gallōs superant — Rōmānī Germānōs superant — Rōmānī Belgās superant — Rōmānī Britannōs superant — Rōmānī īnsulās occupant — Rōmānī oppida occupant — Rōmānī portās oppidōrum occupant — Rōmānī viās īnsulārum occupant — multa castella expugnant — plūs quam centum oppida expugnant — mūrōs oppidōrum expugnant — agrōs barbarōrum vastant — multās īnsulās occupant —  viās prōvinciārum occupant. Rōmānī tōtās provinciās pācant.

03.09.24: Level 1; review; practice in the cases [4](3); 1st / 2nd declension nouns and adjectives: accusative plural (1)

[1]

Nominative singular

Quid est hoc? │ What is that?

> Fenēstra est. │ It’s a window.

> Ūna fenestra est. │ There’s one window.

Accusative singular

Quid vidēs? │ What do you see?

> Fenēstram videō. │ I see a window.

> Ūnam fenēstram videō. │ I see one window.

____________________

Nominative plural

Quot fenēstrae sunt? │ How many windows are there?

> Duae / trēs fenēstrae sunt. │ There are three windows.

Accusative plural

Quot fenēstrās vidēs? │ How many windows do you see?

> Duās / trēs fenēstrās videō. │ I see two / three windows.

____________________

[2]

Nominative singular

Quid est hoc? │ What is that?

> Equus est. │ It’s a horse.

> Ūnus equus est. │ There’s one horse.

Accusative singular

Quid vidēs? │ What do you see?

> Equum videō. │ I see a horse.

> Ūnum equum videō. │ I see one horse.

____________________

Nominative plural

Quot equī sunt? │ How many horses are there?

> Duo / trēs equī sunt. │ There are two / three horses.

Accusative plural

Quot equōs vidēs? │ How many horses do you see?

> Duōs / trēs equōs videō. │ I see two / three horses.

[3]

Nominative singular

Quid est hoc? │ What is that?

Hoc est templum. │ That’s a temple.

Unum templum est. │ There’s one temple.

Accusative singular

Quid vidēs? │ What do you see?

> Templum videō. │ I see a temple.

> Ūnum templum videō. │ I see one temple.

____________________

Nominative plural

Quot templa sunt? │ How many temples are there?

> Duo templa sunt. │ There are two temples.

> Tria templa sunt. │ There are three temples.

Accusative plural

Quot templa vidēs? │ How many temples do you see?

> Duo / tria templa videō. │ I see two temples.

Image #1: Note: ūnus, -a, -um does not mean ‘a / an’ in Classical Latin although it did evolve into, for example, French un(e) which does mean that; ūnus, -a, -um was only used to express a number. In Classical Latin there is no indefinite or definite article i.e. no words for ‘a(n)’ or ‘the’.

Note how the numbers 1-3 change according to case and gender.

Image #2:

[A] Lectiō §20: nominative plural

barba, -ae [1/f]: beard

gena, -ae [1/f]: cheek

palma, -ae [1/f]: palm (of the hand)

capillus, -ī [2/m]: hair; can be singular or plural

digitus, -ī [2/m]:finger

humerus,-ī [2/n]: shoulder

lacertus, -ī [2/m]: upper arm

lingua, -ae [1/f]: tongue

nāsus, -ī [2/m]: nose

oculus, -ī [2/m]: eye

bracchium, -ī [2/n]: forearm; arm

collum, -ī [2/n]: neck

labrum, -ī [2/n]: lip

tergum, -ī [2/n]: back

Image #3:

[B] Viva voce

Accusative singular and plural

Quid tangis? │ What are you touching?

Nāsum tangō │ I’m touching (my) nose

[i] Which pupil (1^st to 15^th) is touching …

• two shoulders
• two forearms
• the tongue
• the upper arms
• the hair
• the lips
• the neck
• two cheeks
• the back
• one upper arm
• one lip
• one finger
• one cheek
• four fingers
• eyes

[ii] Who is touching [a] his beard and [b] only one eye!

02.09.24: Level 2; Practice in reading the perfect tense; A First Latin Reader (Vincent) [17]

Scīpiō, quī erat imperātor Rōmānus in Āfricā, Hannibalem prope Zamam vīcit. Ubi Hannibal ex Āfricā excessit, Scīpiō pācem cum Poenīs fēcit. Poenī nāvēs longās, quās Scīpiō incendit, elephantōs, omnēs captīvōs Rōmānīs dedērunt. Inde Scīpiō cum cōpiīs discessit et ad Siciliam nāvigāvit. Postquam mīlitēs Rōmam mīsit, Scīpiō iter per Ītaliam fēcit et Rōmam pervēnit. Argentum multum cīvitātī, quadringentōs assēs mīlitibus dedit. Propter victōriās Rōmānī Scīpiōnem ‘Āfricānum’ appellāvērunt.

Sentence structure

What types of clauses are in italics?

Scīpiō, quī erat imperātor Rōmānus in Āfricā, Hannibalem prope Zamam vīcit.

Poenī nāvēs longās, quās Scīpiō incendit, elephantōs, omnēs captīvōs Rōmānīs dedērunt.

Ubi Hannibal ex Āfricā excessit, Scīpiō pācem cum Poenīs fēcit.

[a] Postquam mīlitēs Rōmam mīsit, ¦ [b] Scīpiō iter per Ītaliam fēcit ¦ et [c] Rōmam pervēnit. 

____________________

Scipio, who was the Roman commander in Africa, defeated Hannibal near Zama. When Hannibal left Africa, Scipio made peace with the Carthaginians. The Carthaginians gave long ships, which Scipio set on fire, the elephants, and all the captives to the Romans. From there Scipio left with his troops and sailed to Sicily. After he sent the soldiers to, Scipio made a journey / marched through Italy and reached Rome. He gave a great deal of silver to the city, (and) four hundred asses to the soldiers. Because of his victories, the Romans called Scipio 'African'.

____________________

“quadringentōs assēs mīlitibus dedit”

as, assis [3/m]: a Roman coin; it had the lowest value and was sometimes referred to in literature with the sense of worthlessness (compare Engl. a penny-worth)

Vīvāmus, mea Lesbia, atque amēmus, │ Let us live, my Lesbia, and let us love,

rūmōrēsque senum sevēriōrum │ And the rumours of rather stern old men

omnēs ūnīus aestimēmus assis! │ Let us value them all at one penny!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scipio_Africanus

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Zama

02.09.24: adverbs [1](3); Latin tutorial

 

02.09.24: adverbs [1](2); introduction

Ever since the group began, adverbs have been used without looking at them in much detail although lists of time phrases have been included which act as adverbs. 

You probably were taught at school – not just in English but in other languages too – that an adjective ‘modifies’ or 'describes' a noun i.e. gives extra information about a noun, for example a loud noise.

When an English speaker thinks of the word adverb, two thoughts most often come to mind: 

[i] an adverb modifies / describes a verb

[ii] the ending is -ly

> He spoke slow¦ly.

But that is a “quick fix” explanation.

Image #1: an adverb modifies:

1. a verb e.g. he spoke loudly / quietly / angrily
2. an adjective e.g. very / rather / unbearably loud
3. another adverb e.g. he spoke fairly loudly / extremely quietly / quite angrily
4. A whole sentence e.g. Luckily, they still had some bread left.

The same functions apply in Latin.

Image #2: adverbs - both in English and Latin - often don't end in -ly and the Latin equivalent,  and at times can be created with using more than one word. There are so many of them that it would be impossible to list every one that exists. It is also useful, although not essential, to group the adverbs according to type when learning them.

Image #3: we’ll look at four ways of creating adverbs and adverbial phrases because, to a large extent, English and Latin match although they don’t always end up in the same boxes. Below is a summary of what the posts will cover.

[1] Engl. addition of -ly │ La. -ē / -ter

[i] La. -ē

dear > dearly │ cārus > cārē

happy > happily │ laetus > laetē

[ii] La. –(i)ter

brave > bravely │ fortis > fortiter

cruel > cruelly │ crūdēlis > crūdēliter

[2] a single word not formed from an adjective:

always │ semper

here │ ibi

therefore │ ergō

yesterday │ herī

Latin’s case system can come into play when adverbs are formed for example a case can express the idea in a single word which, in English, needs a preposition. However, as mentioned above, once that adverb has been created, it will not change:

at night │ nocte

at home │ domī

[3] adverbial phrases: two or more words that, individually, are not adverbs but, when used together, act as adverbs to give additional information about the action:

The Greeks attacked Troy for many years. │ Graecī Troiam multōs annōs oppugnāvērunt.

I’ll return within a few days. │ Paucīs diēbus redībō.

Again, note that Latin uses its case system whereas English needs a preposition.

[4] prepositional phrases; like [3] above these words individually are not adverbs but can function as adverbial phrases when combined:

I go towards the camp. │ Ad castra eō.

02.09.24: adverbs [1](1); Alice in Adverbland

From Alicia in Terra Mirabili, the Latin translation by Clive Carruthers of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

In these three short extracts you can see a very large part of what is going to be discussed in a number of posts.

Adverbs exist in various forms in Latin: adverbs can by created by using specific endings (e.g. celeriter; maeste; confestim), or words that are adverbs in themselves with no endings (e.g. nunc, ibi, tum) or by the use of the cases (e.g. solum; certō). We will also look at adverbial phrases e.g. magnis litteris (in large letters) which are made up of words that are not adverbs but, when working together, do act as adverbs. The posts will also lead to further information on the ablative case that has a big role to play when dealing with adverbs.

We’ll look at the adverbs in groups based upon [i] how they are formed and [ii] what the adverbs describe.

It isn’t quite the “wonderland” that it first appears to be.

[1]

Nunc ibi invenit ampullam parvam ('Certo non hic erat antea,' inquit Alicia), cuius circum cervices alligatus est titulus chartaceus. In eo magnis litteris belle scriptum est: HAURI ME.

Now she found a little bottle there, ("which certainly was not here before," said Alice,) and tied round the neck of the bottle was a paper label, with the words "DRINK ME," beautifully printed on it in large letters.

[2]

Lepus Martius horologium prehendit, maesteque id intuitus est. Tum in poculum theae id immersit, et iterum intuitus est. Sed solum iteravit id quod prius dixit: 'Optimum vere butyrum fuit!'

The March Hare took the watch and looked at it gloomily: then he dipped it into his cup of tea, and looked at it again: but he only repeated what he had said before, "It truly was the best butter.”

[3]

Quamquam hac subita mutatione ¦ multum territa est, tempus non esse perdendum putabat; nam celeriter deminuebatur. Itaque confestim partem frusti alterius edere coepit. Mentum eius tam arte contra pedem compressum est ut os aperire vix posset. Postremo autem hoc effecit…

She was a good deal frightened ¦ by this very sudden change, but she felt that there was no time to be lost, as she was shrinking rapidly; so she set to work at once to eat some of the other bit. Her chin was pressed so closely against her foot, that there was hardly room [La. she was barely able] to open her mouth; but she did it at last…

01.09.24: Level 1; Ora Maritima [9](3)

The numbers refer to notes after the text.

[i] Nōbīs puerīs fēriae plēnae sunt gaudiōrum ā māne usque ad vesperum. Nōnnumquam in scaphā cum Petrō nāvigāmus. Petrus est adulescentulus vīgintī annōrum. Petrī scapha nōn sōlum [ii] rēmīs sed etiam vēlīs apta est. Plērumque rēmigāmus, sed nōnnumquam vēla damus, cum ventus nōn nimis asper est. Petrus scapham gubernat et [iii] vēlīs ministrat. Nōs puerī scapham bellam laudāmus et amāmus.

Dative case: usage

[i] Nōbis puerīs fēriae plēnae sunt gaudiōrum │ The holidays are full of joys [= fun] for us boys; it could also translate as “We boys have holidays full of fun” [literally: to us boys are holidays full of fun]

[ii] Petrī scapha nōn sōlum rēmīs [dat.] sed etiam vēlīs [dat.] apta est. │Peter’s boat is suitable not only for oars but also for sails.

aptus belongs to a group of adjectives which are followed by the dative case; these adjectives when translated are normally followed in English by ‘to(wards)’ or ‘for’ with meanings related to fitness, likeness, relationships, and nearness. Whatever quality the adjective denotes e.g. ‘suitable’, ‘hostile’, ‘friendly’ the following noun or pronoun is in the dative since the adjective refers to that word.

fitness                                              

• accomodatus, -a, -um: adapted (to)
• aptus, -a, -um: fitted (to)
• ūtilis, -e: useful (for)

relationships

• amīcus, -a, -um: friendly (to)
• inīmicus, -a, -um: hostile (to)
• molestus, -a, -um: troublesome

suitability

• idōneus, -a, -um; opportūnus, -a, -um: suitable

nearness

• fīnitimus, -a, -um; propinquus, -a, -um; vīcīnus, -a, -um: neighbouring

similarity

• similis, -e: similar (to)
• dissimilis, -e: dissimilar (to)
• pār, paris: equal (to)

[iii] Petrus ... vēlīs ministrat. │ Peter attends to the sails.

01.09.24: Level 1; review; practice in the cases [4](2); 1st / 2nd declension nouns and adjectives: accusative singular (2)

Colloquium

The teacher asks the pupils what they saw today:

Quid ¦ vīdistis ¦ hodiē? │ What ¦ did you see ¦ today?

Each in turn says what they saw.

Discipulus prīmus: the first pupil

Discipulus secundus: the second pupil

Discipulus tertius: the third pupil

Etc.

Which student (1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd etc.) saw …

a donkey

a farmer

a gate

a Gaul

a German

a Greek

a sailor

a temple

a town

a wall

Brutus

Diana’s shrine

Geta

Here are some things you may have seen. Change them into the accusative e.g.

porta > portam vīdī │ I saw / have seen a gate

Brutus > Brutum vīdī │ I saw / have seen Brutus

templum > templum vīdī │ I saw / have seen a temple

amīcus (friend [masc.])

discipulus (pupil [masc.])

hortus (garden)

lūdus (school)

medicus (doctor)

____________________

amīca (friend [fem.])

discipula (pupil [fem.])

taberna (shop)

puella (girl)

vacca (cow)

____________________

theātrum (theatre)

thermopolium (shop selling hot food)

macellum (market)

cubiculum (bedroom)

librārium (bookcase; book shelf)

01.09.24: Level 1; review; practice in the cases [4](1); 1st / 2nd declension nouns and adjectives: accusative singular (1)

[1]

Nominative singular: pecūnia (money)

Accusative singular: pecūniam

Pecūniam habet [direct object of the sentence] │(s)he has money

multus, -a, -um: much; a lot (of)

Multam pecūniam habet / (s)he has much (a lot of) money

[2]

Nominative singular: servus

Accusative singular: servum

Servum habet [direct object of the sentence] │(s)he has a slave

bonus, -a, um: good

Servum bonum habet │ (s)he has a good slave

[3]

Nominative singular: scūtum

Accusative singular: scūtum [no change]

Scūtum habet [direct object of the sentence] │ (s)he has a shield

lātus, -a, -um: wide

Scūtum lātum habet │ (s)he has a wide shield

Lectiō §16

vulnerat: injures

equus, -ī [2/m]: horse

Hasta barbarum vulnerat — hasta Gallum vulnerat — hasta Rōmānum vulnerat. [2] Geta Dāvum vulnerat — Dāvus Getam nōn vulnerat — Geta scūtum habet — Dāvus nōn habet scūtum — Geta equum habet — Dāvus nōn habet equum — Geta equum incitat — Dāvus Getam fugat — sed Getam nōn vulnerat — nam Geta bonum equum et scūtum lātum habet.

Lectiō §17

occupat: occupies

saepe: often

tōtus, -a, -um: all; the whole

castellum, -ī [2/n]: castle

mehercule! by Hercules!

quid? what?

Caesar īnsulam occupat. Īnsula magna est. Sed Caesar saepe īnsulam magnam occupat. Ōra īnsulae longa est. Sed Caesar tōtam ōram occupat. Mūrus oppidī est altus. Sed Caesar mūrum occupat. Oppidum magnum est. Sed oppidum occupat. Oppidum habet castellum. Castellum est magnum. Sed Caesar castellum occupat. Est via lāta et bona. Viam occupat Caesar. Mehercule! quid nōn occupat Caesar?

01.09.24: Follow-up; Level 2; Perseus cartoon [2]; perfect passive

Referring to: https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/07/010924-level2-story-of-perseus.html

What you see in these extracts from the cartoon are all the key points of the perfect passive. This post is simply giving an overviewof how this form of the verb works; it will be covered in greater detail later.

Image #1: Danaē, Perseī māter, magnopere territa est.│Danae, the mother of Perseus, was greatly frightened.

Present tense of the verb sum, esse + the perfect passive  participle: 

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/07/280824-follow-up-on-previous-post-how_79.html

This is an example of the perfect passive, the equivalent of English “This book was written by Charles Dickens” or “He has been injured by an arrow.”

The participle will agree with the subject: Danaē, Perseī māter, magnopere territa est.

The major difference between Latin and English is that, while English uses “was” plus the past participle, Latin uses the present tense of the verb sum, esse (to be).

Some further examples from the entire text:

Image #2: Postquam arca ad lītus appulsa est, … │ After the chest / ark was driven on to the shore, …

Images #3 and #4: The perfect passive with the passive agent i.e. the person by whom the action was performed; the passive agent is expressed by ā / ab + the ablative case:

Postquam breve tempus ¦ ā piscātōre quōdam ¦ reperta est, … │ After a short time she was found ¦ by a certain fisherman.

… et ad domum rēgis Polydectis adducta est. │ … and (was) brought to the house of King Polyectes.

Image #5

Cēterae Gorgōnēs [feminine plural] statim ē somnō excitātae sunt [feminine plural], et … ¦ īrā ¦ commōtae sunt [feminine plural]. │ The rest of the Gorgons were immediately awakened from (their) sleep and … were filled with rage [= literally: moved by anger]. 

Note here that they are filled with rage i.e. it is not a person who is performing this action but the means by which they became angry; Latin uses no preposition here.

[i] Postquam breve tempus ¦ ā piscātōre quōdam ¦ reperta est, … │ After a short time she was found ¦ by a certain fisherman.

[ii] Gorgōnēs … ¦ īrā ¦ commōtae sunt. │ The Gorgons were (literally) moved ¦ by anger.

Image #6: There are two possibilities of translation depending upon context:

Referring to the Gorgons …

Capita enim eārum anguibus omnīnō contēcta erant. Manus etiam ex āere factae erant.

Here, the imperfect tense of sum, esse is being used:

For their heads were completely covered with snakes. Their hands were also made of bronze.

The participles are acting like adjectives here, simply describing what they looked like rather than something that happened to the Gorgons. However, using the imperfect tense can also convey “had been (done)” i.e. the first part of the sentence could equally translate as: “Their heads had been completely covered with snakes.”

From the text:

Tum ad rūpem vēnit ubi Andromeda vīncta erat. │ Then he came to the rock where Andromeda had been tied.

Some more examples from the text of the perfect passive without further comment:

ā deō iussus est │ he was commanded by the god

in āera sublātus est. │ he was carried up into the air

Mox tamen ¦ ā Perseō ¦ ictū graviōre ¦ vulnerāta est. Tum iterum sē in undās mersit, neque posteā vīsa est. │ Soon, however, it was wounded ¦ by a more serious / heavier blow ¦ from Perseus. Then again it plunged itself into the waves, and afterwards was not seen again.

01.09.24: Follow-up; Level 2; Perseus cartoon [1]; passive - present, imperfect, future

Referring to: https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/07/010924-level2-story-of-perseus.html

The cartoon uses an adapted story from Ritchie. This book, first published in 1884, was titled “Fabulae Faciles (simple stories): A First Latin Reader”. The words “first” and "simple" tell you a lot about the amount of time devoted to the teaching of Latin when the book was initially published. Nowadays, I doubt very much that “Fabulae Faciles” could ever be considered an easy book for beginners. However, looking back through the posts both here and on the other site, it is certainly a book for those reaching the end of Level 2.

At this stage I only want to comment on one aspect of Latin that is in the text: the passive. I’ll divide this into two posts. The entire text is in the third person i.e. talking about what a person or people did. For our purposes that makes it easier to handle: we’re dealing with parts of the jigsaw, not all of them.

The opening sections give you an overview; we’ll look in this post at the first two:

[1]

Present passive

Poēta fābulam nārrat. │ The poet tells a story.

This is an active sentence i.e. the subject (poēta) is performing the action.

Now we turn it around:

The story [i] is told │ [ii] by the poet.

This is a passive sentence i.e. [i] the subject (fābula) is not performing the action but experiencing the action and [ii] the person by whom the action is performed – known in grammar as the passive agent – is expressed by ā / ab + the ablative case.

Fābula ¦ ā poētā ¦ nārrātur.

For the 3rd person singular and plural present tense, all that happens is that -ur is added to the verb.

From the entire text:

Image #1: Haec nārrantur ¦ ā poētīs ¦ dē Perseō. │ These (things) are told ¦ by the poets about Perseus.

Image #2: Dum haec geruntur, fremitus terribilis audītur; simul mōnstrum horribilī speciē procul cōnspicitur. │ While these things are happening [= literally: are being carried out], a terrible roar is heard; at the same time a monster of terrible appearance is spotted from afar.

This is a feature of Latin that is common in the literature i.e. the use of the present tense rather than the past to make the action appear more vivid. In the cartoon, the translation uses the past tense even though the verbs are in the present.

The same applies to this example from the text:

Mare autem intereā undique sanguine īnficitur. │ Meanwhile, however, the sea is [transl. was] contaminated everywhere with blood.

[2] The addition of -ur to the 3rd person present tense also applies to [i] the imperfect tense and [ii] the future tense

Poēta carmen scrībēbat. │ The poet was writing a song.

Carmen ¦ ā poētā ¦ scrībēbātur. │ A song was being written ¦ by the poet.

Image #3: Avus eius Ācrisius appellābāt¦ur. │ His grandfather was called Acrisius.

[ii] Although there are no future passives in the text, the same rule applies i.e. add -ur to the 3rd person singular or plural of the future tense:

Poētae multās fabulās dē Perseō nārrābunt. │ The poets will tell many tales about Perseus.

> Multae fābulae dē Perseō nārrābunt¦ur│ Many tales will be told about Perseus.

 

01.09.24: Level2; the Story of Perseus

 

31.08.24: Level 2; Practice in reading the perfect tense; A First Latin Reader (Vincent) [16]

Proximō annō Hannibal, ubi cōpiās dūxit ex hībernīs, iter Cannās fēcit et castra prope oppidum posuit. Posteā, quia Rōmānī cōpiās contrā Poenōs dūcēbant, Hannibal Gallōs et Hispānōs in cornū laevō locāvit, Numidās in cornū dextrō, agmen medium cum peditibus tenuit. Poenī Rōmānōs magnā cum caede superant, multōs necant aut vulnerant aut capiunt. Magnus est timor inter Rōmānōs. Sed Hannibal mīlitēs nōn contrā Rōmam, sed Capuam dūxit. Mora Poenōrum oppidum servāvit.

cornū, -ūs [4/n]: (here) the wing of an army

hībernum, -ī [2/n]: winter; (here) in plural: winter quarters

Cannās [accusative plural] │ to Cannae; Cannae is a plural noun; when expressing movement to a town, the accusative alone is used without a preposition. Similarly: Athēnās [accusative plural of Athēnae] │ to Athens

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The next year Hannibal, when he had led the troops from (their) winter quarters, marched to Cannae and placed a camp [encamped] near the town. Afterwards, because the Romans were leading troops against the Carthaginians, Hannibal placed the Gauls and the Spaniards in the left column / wing, the Numidians in the right column / wing, and held the middle column with the infantry. The Carthaginians overcome / overcame the Romans with great slaughter, they kill(ed) or wound(ed) or capture(d) many [killing or wounding or capturing many]. There is / was great fear among the Romans. But Hannibal led the soliders not against Rome, but (against) Capua. The delay of the Carthaginians saved the town.

____________________

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cannae

https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Cannae

“Cannae is the greatest ambush in ancient history”

31.08.24: Level 2; the present active participle [11] (2); participles as nouns (2)

A good way to remember this use may be to drink a toast to them! In the Mediaeval Latin song ‘In taberna quando sumus’, the singers find any excuse to have a drink by toasting everyone they can think of! Here are toasts ten to thirteen! The lyrics  again show that the present active participle can stand alone and refer to the person performing the action.

prō nāvigantibus  │for the ones sailing / those [who are] sailing

prō discordantibus │for the ones quarrelling / those [who are] quarrelling

prō paenitentibus │for the ones repenting / those [who are] repenting

prō iter agentibus │for the ones travelling / those [who are] travelling