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

a slave who acted as overseer of a farm. He directed the farming operations and the sale of the produce.]

[Footnote 2: «se», reflexive pron., object of «exercent».]

[Footnote 3: For the construction, see §501.40.]

[Footnote 4: «in», for.]

[Footnote 5: «annōs», §501.21.]

[Footnote 6: «domum», §501.20.]

[Footnote 7: «rūrī», §501.36.1.]

[Footnote 8: «hōrās», cf. «annōs», line 17.]

[Footnote 9: «quō … spectet», §§349, 350.]

[Footnote 10: «sagittis», §501.24.]

LXIII. MARCUS LENTULUS, THE FATHER OF PUBLIUS, IS SHIPWRECKED · JULIA RECEIVES A LETTER FROM HIM

Iam Pūblius[1] decem annōs habēbat cum M.Cornēlius Lentulus, pater eius, quī quīnque annōs[2] grave bellum in Asiā gerēbat, non sine glōriā domum[3] revertēbātur. Namque multa secunda proelia fēcerat, maximās hostium cōpiās dēlēverat, multās urbīs populo[4] Rōmānō inimīcās cēperat. Primum nūntius pervēnit quī ā Lentulō[5] missus erat[6] ut profectiōnem suam nūntiāret. Deinde plūrīs diēs[7] reditum virī optimī māter fīliusque exspectābant et animīs[8] sollicitis deōs immortālīs frūstrā colēbant. Tum dēmum hās litterās summo cum gaudiō accēpērunt:

[9]“Mārcus Iūliae suac salūtem dīcit. Sī valēs, bene est; ego valeō. Ex Graeciā, quō[10] praeter spem et opīniōnem hodiē pervēnī, hās litterās ad tē scribō. Namque nāvis nostra frācta est; nōs autem—[11]dīs est gratia—incolumes sumus. Ex Asiae[12] portū nāvem lēnī ventō solvimus. Postquam[13] altum mare tenuimus [14]nec iam ūllae terrae appāruērunt, caelum undique et undique fluctūs, subitō magna tempestās coorta est et nāvem vehementissimē adflīxit. Ventīs fluctibusque adflīctātī[15] nec sōlem discernere nec cursum tenēre poterāmus et omnia praesentem mortem intentābant. Trīs diēs[16] et trīs noctīs[16] sine rēmīs vēlīsque agimur. Quārtō diē[17] prīmum terra vīsa est et violenter in saxa, quae nōn longē ā lītore aberant, dēiectī sumus. Tum vērō maiōra perīcula timēbāmus; sed nauta quīdam, vir fortissimus, ex nāve in fluctūs īrātōs dēsiluit [18]ut fūnem ad lītus portāret; quam rem summō labōre vix effēcit. Ita omnēs servātī sumus. Grātiās igitur et honōrem Neptūnō dēbēmus, quī deus nōs ē perīculō ēripuit. Nunc Athēnīs[19] sum, quō cōnfūgī ut mihi paucās hōrās ad quiētem darem.[20] Quam prīmum autem aliam nāvem condūcam ut iter ad Italiam reliquum cōnficiam et domum[21] ad meōs cārōs revertar. Salūtā nostrum Pūblium amīcissimē et valētūdinem tuam cūrā dīligenter. [22]Kalendīs Mārtiīs.”

[Footnote 1: was ten years old.]

[Footnote 2: «annōs», §501.21.]

[Footnote 3: «domum», §501.20.]

[Footnote 4: «populō», dat. with inimīcās, cf. §501.16.]

[Footnote 5: «Lentulō», §501.33.]

[Footnote 6: «ut … nūntiāret», §501.40.]

[Footnote 7: «diēs», cf. annōs, 1. 9.]

[Footnote 8: «animīs», abl. of manner. Do you see one in line 15?]

[Footnote 9: This is the usual form for the beginning of a Latin letter. First we have the greeting, and then the expression Sī valēs, etc. The date of the letter is usually given at the end, and also the place of writing, if not previously mentioned in the letter.]

[Footnote 10: «quō», where.]

[Footnote 11: «dīs est grātia», thank God, in our idiom.]

    [Footnote 12: Asia refers to the Roman province of that name in Asia
    Minor.]

[Footnote 13: «altum mare tenuimus», we were well out to sea.]

[Footnote 14: «nec iam», and no longer.]

[Footnote 15: «adflīctātī», perf. passive part. tossed about.]

[Footnote 16: What construction?]

[Footnote 17: «diē», §501.35.]

[Footnote 18: «ut … portāret», §501.40.]

[Footnote 19: «Athēnīs», §501.36.1.]

[Footnote 20: «darem», cf. «portāret», l. 6.]

[Footnote 21: Why not «ad domum»?]

[Footnote 22: «Kalendīs Mārtiīs», the Calends or first of March; abl. of time, giving the date of the letter.]

LXIV. LENTULUS REACHES HOME · PUBLIUS VISITS POMPEII WITH HIS FATHER

Post paucōs diēs nāvis M. Cornēlī Lentulī portum Mīsēnī[1] petiit, quī portus nōn longē ā Pompēiīs situs est; quō in portū classis Rōmānā pōnēbātur et ad pugnās nāvālīs ōrnābātur. Ibi nāvēs omnium generum cōnspicī poterant. Iamque incrēdibilī celeritāte nāvis longa quā Lentulus vehēbātur lītorī adpropinquāvit; nam nōn sōlum ventō sed etiam rēmīs impellēbātur. In altā puppe stābat gubernātor et nōn procul aliquī mīlitēs Rōmānī cum armīs splendidīs, inter quōs clārissimus erat Lentulus. Deinde servī rēmīs contendere cessāvērunt[2]; nautae vēlum contrāxērunt et ancorās iēcērunt. Lentulus statim ē nāvī ēgressus est et[3] ad villam suam properāvit. Eum Iūlia, Pūblius, tōtaque familia excēpērunt. [4]Quī complexūs, quanta gaudia fuērunt!

Postrīdiē eius diēī Lentulus fīliō suō dīxit, “Venī, mī Pūblī, mēcum. Pompēiōs iter hodiē faciam. Māter tua suādet[5] ut frūctūs et cibāria emam. Namque plūrīs amīcōs ad cēnam vocāvimus et multīs rēbus[6] egēmus. Ea hortātur ut quam prīmum proficīscāmur.” “Libenter, mī pater,” inquit Pūblius. “Tēcum esse mihi semper est grātum; nec Pompēiōs umquam vīdī. Sine morā proficīscī parātus sum.” Tum celeriter currum cōnscendērunt et ad urbis mūrōs vectī sunt. Stabiānā portā[7] urbem ingressī sunt. Pūblius strātās viās mīrātur et saxa altiōra quae in mediō disposita erant et altās orbitās quās rotae inter haec saxa fēcerant. Etiam strepitum mīrātur, multitūdinem, carrōs, fontīs, domōs, tabernās, forum[8] cum statuīs, templīs, reliquīsque aedificiīs pūblicīs.

[Footnote 1: Misenum had an excellent harbor, and under the emperor Augustus became the chief naval station of the Roman fleet. See map of Italy.]

[Footnote 2: Why is the infinitive used with «cessāvērunt»?]

[Footnote 3: See Plate I, Frontispiece.]

[Footnote 4: Observe that these words are exclamatory.]

[Footnote 5: What construction follows «suādeō»? §501.41.]

[Footnote 6: «rēbus», §501.32.]

[Footnote 7: This is the abl. of the way by which motion takes place, sometimes called the abl. of route. The construction comes under the general head of the abl. of means. For the scene here described, see Plate II, p. 53, and notice especially the stepping-stones for crossing the street («saxa quae in mediō disposita erant»).]

[Footnote 8: The forum of Pompeii was surrounded by temples, public halls, and markets of various sorts. Locate Pompeii on the map.]

LXV. A DAY AT POMPEII

Apud forum ē currū dēscendērunt et Lentulus dīxit, “Hīc sunt multa tabernārum genera, mī Pūblī. Ecce, trāns viam est popīna! [1]Hoc genus tabernārum cibāria vēndit. Frūctūs quoque ante iānuam stant. Ibi cibāria mea emam.” “Optimē,” respondit Pūblius. “At ubi, mī pater, crūstula emere possumus? Namque māter nōbīs imperāvit [2]ut haec quoque parārēmus. Timeō ut[3] ista popīna vēndat crūstula.” “Bene dīcis,” inquit Lentulus. “At nōnne vidēs illum fontem ā dextrā ubi aqua per leōnis caput fluit? In illō ipsō locō est taberna pīstōris quī sine dubiō vēndit crūstula.”

Brevī tempore[4] omnia erant parāta, iamque [5]quīnta hōra erat. Deinde Lentulus et fīlius ad caupōnam properāvērunt, quod famē[6] et sitī[7] urgēbantur. Ibi sub arboris umbrā sēdērunt et puerō imperāvērunt ut sibi[8] cibum et vīnum daret. Huic imperiō[9] puer celeriter pāruit. Tum laetī sē[10] ex labōre refēcērunt.

Post prandium prefectī sunt ut alia urbis spectācula vidērent. Illō tempore fuērunt Pompēiīs[11] multa templa, duo theātra, thermae magnumque amphitheātrum, quae omnia post paucōs annōs flammīs atque incendiīs Vesuvī et terrae mōtū dēlēta sunt. Ante hanc calamitātem autem hominēs [12]nihil dē monte veritī sunt. In amphitheātrō quidem Pūblius morārī cupīvit ut spectācula gladiātōria vidēret, quae in[13] illum ipsum diem prōscrīpta erant et iam [14]rē vērā incēperant. Sed Lentulus dīxit, “Morārī, Pūblī, [15]vereor ut possīmus. Iam decima hōra est et via est longa. Tempus suādet ut quam prīmum domum revertāmur.” Itaque servō imperāvit ut equōs iungeret, et sōlis occāsū[16] ad vīllam pervēnērunt.

[Footnote 1: We say, this kind of shop; Latin, this kind of shops.]

[Footnote 2: «ut … parārēmus», §501.41.]

[Footnote 3: How is «ut» translated after a verb of fearing? How «nē»? Cf. §501.42.]

[Footnote 4: «tempore», §501.35.]

[Footnote 5: «quīnta hōra». The Romans numbered the hours of the day consecutively from sunrise to sunset, dividing the day, whether long or short, into twelve equal parts.]

    [Footnote 6: «famē» shows a slight irregularity in that the abl.
    ending «-e» is long.]

    [Footnote 7: «sitis», thirst, has «-im» in the acc. sing., «-ī» in
    the abl. sing., and no plural.]

[Footnote 8: Observe that the reflexive pronoun «sibi» does not here refer to the subject of the subordinate clause in which it stands, but to the subject of the main clause. This so-called indirect use of the reflexive is often found in object clauses of purpose.]

[Footnote 9: What case? Cf. §501.14.]

[Footnote 10: «sē», cf. p. 205, l. 7, and note.]

[Footnote 11: «Pompēiīs», §501.36.1.]

[Footnote 12: «nihil … veritī sunt», had no fears of the mountain.]

[Footnote 13: «in», for.]

[Footnote 14: «rē vērā», in fact.]

[Footnote 15: «vereor ut», §501.42.]

[Footnote 16: «occāsū», §501.35.]

LXVI. LENTULUS ENGAGES A TUTOR FOR HIS SON

Ā prīmīs annīs quidem Iūlia ipsa fīlium suum docuerat, et Pūblius nōn sōlum [1]pūrē et Latīnē loquī poterat sed etiam commodē legēbat et scrībēbat. Iam Ennium[2] aliōsque poētās lēgerat. Nunc vērō Pūblius [3]duodecim annōs habēbat; itaque eī pater bonum magistrum, [4]virum omnī doctrīnā et virtūte ōrnātissimum, parāvit, [5]quī Graeca, mūsicam, aliāsque artīs docēret. [6]Namque illīs temporibus omnēs ferē gentēs Graecē loquēbantur. Cum Pūbliō aliī puerī, Lentulī amīcōrum fīliī,[7] discēbant. Nam saepe apud Rōmānōs mōs erat [8]nōn in lūdum fīliōs mittere sed domī per magistrum docēre. Cotīdiē discipulī cum magistrō in peristȳlō[9] Mārcī domūs sedēbant. Omnēs puerī bullam auream, orīginis honestae signum, in collō gerēbant, et omnēs togā praetextā amictī erant, [10]quod nōndum sēdecim annōs[11] nātī sunt.

    [Footnote 1: «pūrē … poterat», freely, could speak Latin well.
    What is the literal translation?]

[Footnote 2: «Ennium», the father of Latin poetry.]

[Footnote 3: «duodecim … habēbat», cf. p. 206, l. 8, and note.]

    [Footnote 4: «virum», etc., a very well-educated and worthy man.
    Observe the Latin equivalent.]

    [Footnote 5: «quī … docēret», a relative clause of purpose. Cf. §§
    349, 350.]

    [Footnote 6: In Cæsar’s time Greek was spoken more widely in the
    Roman world than any other language.]

[Footnote 7: «fīliī», in apposition with «puerī».]

[Footnote 8: «nōn … mittere». This infinitive clause is the subject of «erat». Cf. §216. The same construction is repeated in the next clause, «domī … docēre». The object of «docēre» is «fīliōs» understood.]

    [Footnote 9: The peristyle was an open court surrounded by a
    colonnade.]

    [Footnote 10: At the age of sixteen a boy laid aside the bulla
    and the toga praetexta and assumed toga virīlis or manly gown.]

[Footnote 11: «annōs», §501.21. The expression «nōndum sēdecim annōs nātī sunt» means literally, they were born not yet sixteen years. This is the usual expression for age. What is the English equivalent?]

[Illustration: TABULA ET STILUS]

SCENE IN SCHOOL · AN EXERCISE IN COMPOSITION

DISCIPULĪ. Salvē, magister.
MAGISTER. Vōs quoque omnēs, salvēte. [1]Tabulāsne portāvistis et
  stilōs?
D. Portāvimus.
M. Iam fābulam Aesōpī[2] discēmus. Ego legam, vōs in tabulīs scrībite.
  Et tū, Pūblī, dā mihi ē capsā[3] Aesōpī volūmen.[4] Iam audīte
  omnēs: Vulpēs