Latin for Beginners, Benjamin Leonard D'Ooge [easy novels to read .TXT] 📗

ferae multae. Multi Germānii in oppidīs magnis et in vīcīs parvīs habitant et multī sunt agricolae bonī. Bella Germānōrum sunt magna et clāra. Populus Germāniae bellum et proelia amat et saepe cum finitimīs pugnat. Fluvius Rhēnus est fīnitimus oppidīs[1] multīs et clārīs.

[Footnote 1: Dative with «fīnitimus». (See §43.)]

LESSON XIII

SECOND DECLENSION (Continued)

[Special Vocabulary]

  NOUNS
  «ager, agrī», m., field (acre)
  «cōpia, -ae», f., plenty, abundance (copious); plur., troops,
     forces
  «Cornēlius, Cornē´lī», m., Cornelius
  «lōrī´ca, -ae», f., coat of mail, corselet
  «praemium, praemī», n., reward, prize (premium)
  «puer, puerī», m., boy (puerile)
  «Rōma, -ae», f., Rome
  «scūtum, -ī», n., shield (escutcheon)
  «vir, virī», m., man, hero (virile)

  ADJECTIVES
  «legiōnārius, -a, -um»,[A] legionary, belonging to the legion.
     As a noun, «legiōnāriī, -ōrum», m., plur., legionary soldiers
  «līber, lībera, līberum», free (liberty) As a noun. «līberī, -ōrum»,
     m., plur., children (lit. the freeborn)
  «pulcher, pulchra, pulchrum», pretty, beautiful

  PREPOSITION
  «apud», among, with acc.

  CONJUNCTION
  «sed», but

    [Footnote A: The genitive singular masculine of adjectives in «-ius»
    ends in «-iī» and the vocative in «-ie»; not in «-ī», as in nouns.]

«91.» «Declension of Nouns in -er and -ir.» In early Latin all the masculine nouns of the second declension ended in «-os». This «-os» later became «-us» in words like «servus», and was dropped entirely in words with bases ending in «-r», like «puer», boy; «ager», field; and «vir», man. These words are therefore declined as follows:

«92.» «puer», m., boy «ager», m., field «vir», m., man BASE «puer-» BASE «agr-» BASE «vir-»

          SINGULAR TERMINATIONS
  Nom. puer ager vir ——
  Gen. puerī agrī virī -ī
  Dat. puerō agrō virō -ō
  Acc. puerum agrum virum -um
  Abl. puerō agrō virō -ō

          PLURAL
  Nom. puerī agrī virī -ī
  Gen. puerōrum agrōrum virōrum -ōrum
  Dat. puerīs agrīs virīs -īs
  Acc. puerōs agrōs virōs -ōs
  Abl. puerīs agrīs virīs -īs

    a. The vocative case of these words is like the nominative,
    following the general rule (§74.a).

b. The declension differs from that of «servus» only in the nominative and vocative singular.

c. Note that in «puer» the «e» remains all the way through, while in «ager» it is present only in the nominative. In «puer» the «e» belongs to the base, but in «ager» (base «agr-») it does not, and was inserted in the nominative to make it easier to pronounce. Most words in «-er» are declined like «ager». The genitive shows whether you are to follow «puer» or «ager».

«93.» Masculine adjectives in «-er» of the second declension are declined like nouns in «-er». A few of them are declined like «puer», but most of them like «ager». The feminine and neuter nominatives show which form to follow, thus,

  MASC. FEM. NEUT.
  līber lībera līberum (free)
     is like «puer»
  pulcher pulchra pulchrum (pretty)
     is like «ager»

For the full declension in the three genders, see §469.b. c.

«94.» Decline together the words «vir līber», «terra lībera», «frūmentum līberum», «puer pulcher», «puella pulchra», «oppidum pulchrum»

«95.» ITALIA[1]

First learn the special vocabulary, p. 286.

Magna est Italiae fāma, patriae Rōmānōrum, et clāra est Rōma, domina orbis terrārum.[2] Tiberim,[3] fluvium Rōmānum, quis nōn laudat et pulchrōs fluviō fīnitimōs agrōs? Altōs mūrōs, longa et dūra bella, clārās victōriās quis nōn laudat? Pulchra est terra Italia. Agrī bonī agricolīs praemia dant magna, et equī agricolārum cōpiam frūmentī ad oppida et vīcōs portant. In agrīs populī Rōmānī labōrant multī servī. Viae Italiae sunt longae et lātae. Fīnitima Italiae est īnsula Sicilia.

[Footnote 1: In this selection note especially the emphasis as shown by the order of the words.]

[Footnote 2: «orbis terrārum», of the world.]

[Footnote 3: «Tiberim», the Tiber, accusative case.]

«96.» DIALOGUE MARCUS AND CORNELIUS

  C. Ubi est, Mārce, fīlius tuus? Estne in pulchrā terrā Italiā?
  M. Nōn est, Cornēlī, in Italiā. Ad fluvium Rhēnum properat cum cōpiīs
    Rōmānīs quia est[4] fāma Novī bellī cum Germānīs. Līber Germāniae
    populus Rōmānōs Nōn amat.
  C. Estne fīlius tuus copiārum Rōmānārum lēgātus?
  M. Lēgātus nōn est, sed est apud legiōnāriōs.
  C. Quae[5] arma portat[6]?
  M. Scūtum magnum et lōrīcam dūram et galeam pulchram portat.
  C. Quae tēla portat?
  M. Gladium et pīlum longum portat.
  C. Amatne lēgātus fīlium tuum?
  M. Amat, et saepe fīliō meō praemia pulchra et praedam multam dat.
  C. Ubi est terra Germānōrum?
  M. Terra Germānōrum, Cornēlī est fīnitima Rhēnō, fluviō magnō et altō.

    [Footnote 4: «est», before its subject, there is; so «sunt»,
    there are.]

    [Footnote 5: «Quae», what kind of, an interrogative adjective
    pronoun.]

    [Footnote 6: What are the three possible translations of the present
    tense?]

[Illustration: LEGIONARIUS]

LESSON XIV THE POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVE PRONOUNS

[Special Vocabulary]

  NOUNS
  «auxilium, auxi´lī», n., help, aid (auxiliary)
  «castrum, -ī», n., fort (castle); plur., camp (lit. forts)
  «cibus, -ī», m., food
  «cōnsilium, cōnsi´lī», n., plan (counsel)
  «dīligentia, -ae», f.. diligence, industry
   magister, magistrī, m., master, teacher[A]

  ADJECTIVES
  «aeger, aegra, aegrum», sick
  «crēber, crēbra, crēbrum», frequent
  «miser, misera, miserum», wretched, unfortunate (miser)

    [Footnote A: Observe that «dominus», as distinguished from
    «magister», means master in the sense of owner.]

«97.» Observe the sentences

This is my shield This shield is mine

In the first sentence my is a possessive adjective; in the second mine is a possessive pronoun, for it takes the place of a noun, this shield is mine being equivalent to this shield is my shield. Similarly, in Latin the possessives are sometimes adjectives and sometimes pronouns.

«98.» The possessives my, mine, your, yours, etc. are declined like adjectives of the first and second declensions.

               SINGULAR
  1st Pers. meus, mea, meum my, mine
  2d Pers. tuus, tua, tuum your, yours
  3d Pers. suus, sua, suum his (own), her (own),
                                           its (own)
               PLURAL
  1st Pers. noster, nostra, nostrum our, ours
  2d Pers. vester, vestra, vestrum your, yours
  3d Pers. suus, sua, suum their (own), theirs

NOTE. «Meus» has the irregular vocative singular masculine «mī», as «mī fīlī», O my son.

    a. The possessives agree with the name of the thing possessed in
    gender, number, and case. Compare the English and Latin in

      Sextus is calling «his» boy «Sextus» } «suum puerum vocat»
      Julia is calling «her» boy «Iūlia» }

    Observe that «suum» agrees with «puerum», and is unaffected by the
    gender of Sextus or Julia.

    b. When your, yours, refers to one person, use «tuus»; when to
    more than one, «vester»; as,

      Lesbia, your wreaths are pretty
        «Corōnae tuae, Lesbia, sunt pulchrae»
      Girls, your wreaths are pretty
        «Corōnae vestrae, puellae, sunt pulchrae»

c. «Suus» is a reflexive possessive, that is, it usually stands in the predicate and regularly refers back to the subject. Thus, «Vir suōs servōs vocat» means The man calls his (own) slaves. Here his («suōs») refers to man («vir»), and could not refer to any one else.

d. Possessives are used much less frequently than in English, being omitted whenever the meaning is clear without them. (Cf. §22.a.) This is especially true of «suus, -a, -um», which, when inserted, is more or less emphatic, like our his own, her own, etc.

«99.» EXERCISES

First learn the special vocabulary, p. 286.

I. 1. Mārcus amīcō Sextō cōnsilium suum nūntiat 2. Est cōpia frūmentī in agrīs nostrīs. 3. Amīcī meī bonam cēnam ancillae vestrae laudant 4. Tua lōrīca, mī fīlī, est dūra. 5. Scūta nostra et tēla, mī amīce, in castrls Rōmānīs sunt. 6. Suntne virī patriae tuae līberī? Sunt. 7. Ubi, Cornēlī, est tua galea pulchra? 8. Mea galea, Sexte, est in casā meā. 9. Pīlum longum est tuum, sed gladius est meus. 10. Iūlia gallīnās suās pulchrās amat et gallīnae dominam suam amant. 11. Nostra castra sunt vestra. 12. Est cōpia praedae in castrīs vestrīs. 13. Amīcī tuī miserīs et aegrīs cibum et pecūniam saepe dant.

II. 1. Our teacher praises Mark’s industry. 2. My son Sextus is carrying his booty to the Roman camp.[1] 3. Your good girls are giving aid to the sick and wretched.[2] 4. There are [3] frequent battles in our villages. 5. My son, where is the lieutenant’s food? 6. The camp is mine, but the weapons are yours.

[Footnote 1: Not the dative. Why?]

[Footnote 2: Here the adjectives sick and wretched are used like nouns.]

[Footnote 3: Where should «sunt» stand? Cf. I. 2 above.]

[Illustration: AGRICOLA ARAT]

LESSON XV THE ABLATIVE DENOTING WITH

[Special Vocabulary]

  NOUNS
  «carrus, -ī», m., cart, wagon
  «inopia, -ae», f., want, lack; the opposite of «cōpia»
  «studium, studī», n., zeal, eagerness (study)

  ADJECTIVES
  «armātus, -a, -um», armed
  «īnfīrmus, -a, -um», week, feeble (infirm)
   vali´dus, -a, -um, strong, sturdy

  VERB
  «mātūrat», he (she, it) hastens. Cf. properat

  ADVERB
  «iam», already, now

«-que», conjunction, and; an enclitic (cf. §16) and always added to the second of two words to be connected, as «arma tēla´que», arms and weapons.

«100.» Of the various relations denoted by the ablative case (§50) there is none more important than that expressed in English by the preposition with. This little word is not so simple as it looks. It does not always convey the same meaning, nor is it always to be translated by «cum». This will become clear from the following sentences:

a. Mark is feeble with (for or because of) want of food b. Diana kills the