25. The entrance to the Caupona Restaurant in modern Pompeii, Italy; caupōna is the Latin term for a roadside tavern or inn.

Explōrātiō Duodecima (XII) Adventure Twelve

Where and When Are We Today?

Vocabulary

Exercises 1-9

Sulpicia

Sulpicia, Poem 1, Excerpt

Passive Voice, Present System (Present, Imperfect, Future Tenses)

Active and Passive Personal Endings, Compared

Present Tense Passive Voice Forms: A-Verbs and E-Verbs

Ablative of Means and Ablative of Personal Agent with a Passive Voice Verb

Vocabulary

How to Translate a Sentence with a Passive Voice Verb

Exercises 10-13

Imperfect Tense Passive Voice Forms: A-Verbs and E-Verbs

Exercises 14-17

Future Tense Passive Voice Forms: A-Verbs and E-Verbs

Exercises 18-21

Present Tense Passive Voice Infinitive Forms: A-Verbs and E-Verbs

Present Tense Passive Voice Imperative Forms: A-Verbs and E-Verbs

Drill

The Passive Voice Verb videor, vidērī

Vocabulary

Exercises 22-27

Sulpicia: Poems 2, 3, and 6

Poem 2

Poem 3, Excerpt

Poem 6

Where and When Are We Today?

Etrūria, Ītalia

Mēnsis Iulius

M. Aciliō Glabriōne C. Fonteiō Capitōne cōnsulibus

Tuscany, Italy

July, 33 BCE

The asinus, or donkey, on which I found myself riding was a bit larger than a pony. While it was twitchy, it was not impossible to hold onto, and I only fell off twice during the seven miles we rode before reaching our stop. Our journey this morning had started at the stone arches of the Milvian Bridge, the Pōns Mulvius, just north of the city, which carried us over the Tiber. From there we followed the cobblestones of the Via Cassia into the montēs beyond, a place the earliest Romans considered Etruscan territory. There was a fair amount of traffic heading contrā nōs, in the other direction – several carts full of lumber and building stone, peasants driving donkeys piled with firewood or cheese. At one point a group of red-caped equitēs rode by us at full speed and nearly knocked me over; the one traffic rule here was that if you were larger or more important, you had the right of way. Aside from us, the only other traveler heading our direction was the carriage we were trailing. Its iron hoop wheels clanked loudly over the stones as it was pulled along by a pair of mules.

Near the river it was hot and humid, but as we climbed into the mountains the air turned noticeably drier and fresher. At one point I turned backward to see if I could catch a glimpse of the city, but as soon as I did so, I fell off my ass.

When I told Latinitas this, she either did not understand my joke or did not find it funny. She fed my donkey a carrot and helped me to remount, all business.

“Don’t ever look back at a town you are leaving; it’s very bad luck, you know. Just look forward and hold on tight. To keep your mind off Rome I’m going to recite some words for you to repeat. You can write them down when we stop:”

Vocabulary

2nd Declension Neuter Nouns

Latin Noun	Noun Gender	English Meaning
arma, arm-ōrum	n.	weapons; arms “This word is only used in the plural.”
arbitrium, arbitri-ī	n.	decision; judgment
caelum, cael-ī	n.	sky; heaven
castra, castr-ōrum,	n.	(military) camp “This word is only used in the plural, but it is usually singular in meaning.”
cōnsilium, cōnsili-ī	n.	plan; advice; ability to plan; council

US-A-UM Adjectives

Latin Adjective	English Meaning
hūmānus, hūmān-a, hūmānum	human
paucī, pauc-ae, pauca	few “This word is only used in the plural.”
sōlus, sōl-a, sōlum (gen. sg. sōlīus; dat. sg. sōlī)	alone; only
superus, super-a, superum	high; above
tōtus, tōt-a, tōtum (gen. sg. tōtīus; dat. sg. tōtī)	whole; entire; all

Pronoun

Latin Pronoun	English Meaning
quisquam (m., f.), quicquam/quidquam (n.)	anyone; anything “This word is formed like the interrogative quis, quid, plus the suffix –quam.”

“Now jot down and try these sentences:”

Exercises 1-9

1. Vīdistīne quemquam oculīs tuīs?

2. Hī paucī ad oppidum īvērunt.

3. Rēs hūmānās dī superī in caelō semper miscent.

4. Cīvitās tōta arbitrium et cōnsilium rēgis laudāre coepit.

5. Tot mīlitēs in castrīs manent; nōnne timēs?

6. Ego sōlus haec incommoda meminī.

7. Ingeniō et armīs Caesar laudem multam habuit.

8. A few of the Roman (women) returned, but many remained.

9. Who has praised dignity more than beauty?

Once I did so, Latinitas explained why the carriage we were following was of interest:

Sulpicia

“There’s a young woman being carried inside it named Sulpicia. Her grandfather, Servius Sulpicius Rufus, was the man who wrote the letter of consolation to Cicero you read yesterday. His son – Sulpicia’s father – passed away a year or two ago. So she was sent with her mother to the house of her uncle Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus, an important senator and ally of Octavian, as well as a poet and patron of the arts.”

“Sulpicia is turning 19 today. She is a poet of considerable skill and talent, and writes in a form called elegiac couplets, which is rather trendy these days. Her uncle Messalla recommended that she write about safe, conventional themes – hymns to the gods, poems about the months of the year. Because her poems will be circulated, he wanted to protect her fāma, her reputation. While observing the letter of his request, Sulpicia managed to produce something a little racier and erotic. One that she finished recently about March, mēnsis Martius, the month of Mars, is actually an ode to Venus, the goddess of love. It starts like this:”

Sulpicia, Poem 1, Excerpt

Sulpicia est tibi culta tuīs, Mars magne, kalendīs;

spectātum ē caelō, sī sapis, ipse venī;

hoc Venus īgnōscet; at tū, violente, cavētō

nē tibi mīrantī turpiter arma cadant.

Sulpicia is dressed up for you, great Mars, on your Kalends day:

you’ll come from the sky to watch her in person, if you have any taste.

Venus will forgive this: but you, god of violence, watch out:

while you admire her, your weapons may drop – what a disgrace!

“Mars is Venus’ lover. Kind of cheeky to steal Venus’ man, no?”

For a moment we lost sight of the carriage as it went behind a bend in the road. Once we turned the corner, we saw it pulled over at a taberna, a tavern. Sulpicia stepped out and went inside, accompanied by an old nurse and a younger attendent.

“All of her life Sulpicia has had problems with her health – chronic fatigue, problems with her digestion, mysterious pains. A week ago Messalla called the doctor for her. The doctor recommended that now, during the Dog Days of summer, which are particularly unhealthy, she should leave the city and spend time in the countryside. Taking this advice, Messalla directed that Sulpicia be sent to his country estate in Arretium; that’s where she is headed. Spending time in a villa is not exactly a hardship. Still, she is a city girl and finds the country isolating and boring.”

“And there’s more to the story. Sulpicia, you see, is in madly love with a client of Messalla’s, a man she calls ‘Cerinthus’. Since today is her birthday, and she expected to see Cerinthus this evening at her party, you can imagine her disappointment. But we have news from Messalla, right here,” Latinitas said, holding up a set of wax tablets, “which we are going to deliver to her when she comes out of the tavern.”

After tying up our animals, we sat down in the shade of a lovely little flower garden behind the inn. A sign by the door indicated the name of the proprietor: Syrisca. It was a nickname, meaning she was from Syria.

Passive Voice, Present System (Present, Imperfect, Future Tenses)

“What a beautiful space, no? What do you say we learn a new feature of verbs while we wait? So let us come back to the language, and fill in a few more gaps in your knowledge. Every English and Latin verb has a feature that is called voice. There are two voices in Latin, active and passive. All the verb forms we have studied so far have been active. The active voice signals that the subject is performing the action of the verb. For example, in the sentence ‘I call him’, the subject ‘I’ is doing the action of calling.”

“The passive voice signals that the subject of the verb is the recipient of the action of the verb. ‘I am called by him’, for example. Here, the subject ‘I’ is the recipient of the action of calling; the ‘him’ is the one who performs the action.”

“In English, passive verbs consist of two parts: (1) a form of the verb ‘to be’ (such as ‘is’, ‘am’, ‘will be’, etc.) and (2) a form called a participle, which is often ‘verb+ed’, like ‘loved’. For example: ‘they (1) are (2) loved’. Notice the two parts in these English passive verbs, a form of the verb ‘to be’, and the participle:”

English Passive Voice Examples

I (1) am (2) loved

he (1) was being (2) called

you (1) will be (2) moved

“Infinitives can also be passive: ‘to be called’, ‘to be loved’. Imperatives, too, can be passive: ‘Be moved!’”

“Latin passive verbs have a distinctive set of personal endings that replace the active personal endings in the present, imperfect, and future tenses. These endings all contain the characteristic letter –r–, except for the 2nd person plural:”

Active and Passive Personal Endings, Compared

	Active		Passive
	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
1st	-ō or -m	-mus	-r	–mur
2nd	-s	-tis	–ris/-re	–minī
3rd	-t	-nt	–tur	–ntur

Present Tense Passive Voice Forms: A-Verbs and E-Verbs

“In the present tense, the first person singular passive voice form has a short –o– before the -r personal ending. In the present tense, the third person singular passive voice form has a long vowel: -ātur for A-Verbs, -ētur for E-Verbs (the active voice forms, by contrast, have a short vowel: -at, -et).”

“These are the passive voice forms in the present tense for A-Verbs and E-Verbs:”

A-Verb Present Tense Passive Voice Forms

Passive Voice Endings		Verb Stem + Passive Voice Endings		English Meaning
Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
-or	-āmur	rogor	rogāmur	I am asked	we are asked
-āris/āre	-āminī	rogāris/āre	rogāminī	you are asked	you all are asked
-ātur	-antur	rogātur	rogantur	he, she, it is asked	they are asked

E-Verb Present Tense Passive Voice Forms

Passive Voice Endings		Verb Stem + Passive Voice Endings		English Meaning
Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
-eor	-ēmur	habeor	habēmur	I am held	we are held
-ēris/ēre	-ēminī	habēris/ēre	habēminī	you are held	you all are held
-ētur	-entur	habētur	habentur	he, she, it is held	they are held

Ablative of Means and Ablative of Personal Agent with a Passive Voice Verb

“In English, a passive voice verb is often accompanied by a prepositional phrase starting with ‘by’ that says by what or by whom the action was accomplished: I am moved by your speech (a thing), I am asked by you (a person).”

“In Latin, there are two ways to express this. When the action is done by a thing, use the bare ablative, with no preposition. This is the ablative of means, which I have taught you:”

Ablative of Means with a Passive Verb: Example

Īrā moveor, amōre exercentur.	I am moved by anger, they are exercised by love.

“If the action is instead done by a person, use the preposition ab or ā plus the ablative. In the context of a passive voice verb, this preposition should be translated ‘by’. This is called ablative of personal agent:”

Vocabulary

Latin Preposition + Case	English Meaning
ā / ab + ablative	by “A new meaning for a word you’ve already learned.”

Ablative of Personal Agent with a Passive Verb: Examples

Signum ab duce datur.	The signal is being given by the leader.
Honōrēs ā malīs nōn amantur.	Honors are not loved by bad men.

How to Translate a Sentence with a Passive Voice Verb

“When you mark up a sentence, write ‘pass.’ for any passive verb form; you can add ‘act.’ for active verb form:”

Translating from Latin to English with a Passive Voice Verb: Example

I. Spem habēmus cum ab duce exercentur.

II. Spem (acc. sg.) habēmus (1st pl. pres. act.) cum ab dūce exercentur (3rd pl. pres. pass.).

III. We have (1st pl. pres. act.) hope (acc. d.o.) when they are trained (3rd pl. pres. pass.) by the leader (abl. of personal agent).

Exercises 10-13

10. Tot virī vōcibus Epicūrī mūtantur.

11. Vōs ā cōnsule parāre iubēminī.

12. The city is preserved by the goddess.

13. We are taught by necessity.

Imperfect Tense Passive Voice Forms: A-Verbs and E-Verbs

“Now to the passive endings of the imperfect tense. There is nothing unusual here, only the application of the new personal endings and the long vowel in the third person singular: –bātur (the third person singular active imperfect is –bat, with a short –a-).”

A-Verb Imperfect Tense Passive Voice Forms

Passive Voice Endings		Verb Stem + Passive Voice Endings		English Meaning
Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
-ā-bar	-ā-bāmur	rogābar	rogābāmur	I was being asked	we were being asked
-ā-bāris/bāre	-ā-bāminī	rogābāris/bāre	rogābāminī	you were being asked	you all were begin asked
-ā-bātur	-ā-bantur	rogābātur	rogābantur	he, she, it was being asked	they were being asked

E-Verb Imperfect Tense Passive Voice Forms

Passive Voice Endings		Verb Stem + Passive Voice Endings		English Meaning
Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
-ē-bar	-ē-bāmur	habēbar	habēbāmur	I was being held	were being held
-ē-bāris/bāre	-ē-bāminī	habēbāris/bāre	habēbāminī	you were being held	you all were being held
-ē-bātur	-ē-bantur	habēbātur	habēbantur	he, she, it was being held	they were being held

Exercises 14-17

14. Cūncta vōcibus falsīs miscēbantur.

15. Ab ūnō cīve docēbāmur.

16. Aliquid cārum ab hīs habēbātur.

17. Previously you were being changed by love.

Future Tense Passive Voice Forms: A-Verbs and E-Verbs

“These are the passive forms of the future tense. There is one irregular vowel here: the second-singular is –beris/bere, with an e (contrast the second person singular future active: –bis)”

A-Verb Future Tense Passive Voice Forms

Passive Voice Endings		Verb Stem + Passive Voice Endings		English Meaning
Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
-ā-bor	-ā-bimur	rogābor	rogābimur	I will be asked	we will be asked
-ā-beris/bere	-ā-biminī	rogāberis/bere	rogābiminī	you will be asked	you all will be asked
-ā-bitur	-ā-buntur	rogābitur	rogābuntur	he, she, it will be asked	they will be asked

E-Verb Future Tense Passive Voice Forms

Passive Voice Endings		Verb Stem + Passive Voice Endings		English Meaning
Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural	Singular	Plural
-ē-bor	-ē-bimur	habēbor	habēbimur	I will be held	we will be held
-ē-beris/bere	-ē-biminī	habēberis/bere	habēbiminī	you will be held	you all will be held
-ē-bitur	-ē-buntur	habēbitur	habēbuntur	he, she, it will be held	they will be held

Exercises 18-21

18. Alius dolōre mūtābitur, alius amōre.

19. Tū a populō bonus esse habēbere.

20. A deīs cīvitātem servāre iubēbimur.

21. Will the leader be loved by the soldiers?

Present Tense Passive Voice Infinitive Forms: A-Verbs and E-Verbs

“The present tense passive voice infinitives for both A-verbs and E-verbs end with long –ī. They can be translated ‘to be (verb)ed’:”

Present Tense Passive Voice Infinitive Forms: A-Verbs and E-Verbs

Verb Conjugation	Passive Infinitive Ending	Passive Infinitive Example	English Meaning
A-Verbs (1st Conj.)	-ārī	rogārī	to be asked
E-Verbs (2nd Conj.)	-ērī	habērī	to be held

Present Tense Passive Voice Imperative Forms: A-Verbs and E-Verbs

“The present tense passive voice imperatives are rare. The forms are identical to the 2nd person present tense forms you just learned, with the ending –re (not the alternative form –ris) for the singular and –minī for the plural:”

Present Tense Passive Voice Imperative Forms: A-Verbs and E-Verbs

Verb Conjugation	Singular Ending	Plural Ending	Singular Example	Plural Example	English Meaning
A-Verbs (1st Conj.)	-āre	-āminī	amāre	amāminī	Be loved!	Be loved (you all)!
E-Verbs (2nd Conj.)	-ēre	-ēminī	habēre	habēminī	Be held!	Be held (you all)!

“You can distinguish these imperatives because imperatives will usually be the first word in their sentence, and they will be addressed to someone.”

Drill

“Take the verb amō, amāre, amāvī, ‘to love’, and write its 18 passive voice forms in present, imperfect, and future tenses, three tenses, along with the passive infinitive and passive imperative forms, and translate all the forms.”

The Passive Voice Verb videor, vidērī

Vocabulary

2nd Conjugation (E-Verb)

Latin Verb	English Meaning
videor, vid-ērī	to seem; to appear; to seem right

“The passive voice forms of videō, vidēre, ‘to see’ – videor, vidērī, and so on – can be translated ‘be seen’, but they are usually best translated into English as ‘seem’ or ‘appear’.”

“In English, ‘seem’ or ‘appear’ often has an infinitive ‘to be’, followed by a predicate, and a person to whom the subject appears – not always in that order. Latin does something similar: a subject seems or appears (passive form like videor) to be (an infinitive) a predicate (nominative) to someone (dative).”

“In Latin that person to whom the subject seems is a dative of reference (see Explōrātiō Octāva: Dative of Reference).”

Latin Sentence with Passive Voice videor, vidērī: Example

I. Tibi dīvīna esse videor.

II. Tibi (dat. sg.) dīvīna (nom. sg. fem.) esse (infin.) videor (1st sg. pres. pass.).

III. I seem/appear (1st sg. pres. pass.) to be (infin.) divine (pred. nom.) to you (dat. of ref.).

“When the 3rd person singular form vidētur appears without a predicate nominative, the verb can mean ‘to seem (good)’ – that is, to seem like a good idea, or something you approve of.”

Latin Sentence with Passive Voice vidētur, No Predicate: Example

I. Ad oppidum, sī vōbīs vidētur, īte.

II. Ad oppidum, sī vōbīs (dat./abl. pl.) vidētur (3rd sg. pres. pass.), īte (2nd pl. impv.).

III. Go (2nd pl. impv.) to the city (prep.), if it seems good (3rd sg. pres. pass.) to you all (dat. of ref.).

Exercises 22-27

22. Cum signum manū unīus dabitur, servābimur.

23. Mihi malus esse vidēre, inimīce. Nōn interībis?

24. Cui bona vidēbere? Quis nunc tē adībit?

25. Byrrhia, quid tibi vidētur? Adeōne ad eum? “Byrrhia is the name of comic character.”

26. Be taught by my words!

27. He ordered one man to be prepared on the right, another on the left.

Sulpicia: Poems 2, 3, and 6

As Sulpicia came out of the building, Latinitas went up to her and handed her the letter on the tablets.

Ecce, litterae ab avunculō tuō. “Here, a letter from your uncle.”

Sulpicia grabbed the letter out of her hands and quickly broke the wax seal. It was a short message. She skimmed it and exclaimed Sublātum! Iter sublātum!, ‘Cancelled! The journey’s been cancelled!’ Agite, agite, Bura et mea nūtrix. Nunc iam Rōmam redīmus; hōc rūre horridō discēdēmus. ‘Come on, come on, Bura and my nurse. Now, now we are returning to Rome. We will depart from this horrible countryside’.”

It seemed that we had done a good thing. Why did Messalla change his mind? I asked.

“Before she departed this morning, Sulpicia left a copy of a poem in Messalla’s bedroom, one she wrote last night.”

Poem 2

See if you can match the Latin words in bold with the English translation:

Invīsus nātālis adest, quī rūre molestō

et sine Cērinthō trīstis agendus erit.

Dulcius urbe quid est? An vīlla sit apta puellae

atque Arrentīnō frīgidus amnis agrō?

Iam nimium Messalla meī studiōse, quiescās;

heu tempestīvae, saeve propinque, viae!

Hīc animum sēnsūsque meōs abducta relinquō:

arbitriō quamvīs nōn sinis esse meō.

A hateful birthday is here, which, in the annoying countryside,

and without Cerinthus, will have to be spent depressed.

What is sweeter than the city? Is a villa really suitable

for a girl, and a cold stream in Arrentine land?

Already, Messalla, too studious over me, give it a rest;

alas, cruel relative, a journey at this time!

Here, abducted, I leave behind my mind and feelings:

although you do not allow me to exist under my own judgment.

“Sulpicia is a very good poet, which means she writes in a very compressed, challenging Latin. You have just encountered some of the features that make it hard. It is unusually tricky. Messalla was impressed by her ars.”

Sulpicia took the tablet into the tavern, where she held it by the fire until the wax was soft enough for her to write on it again. She thought for a moment, dashed off a few words, and handed the tablet back to Latinitas, adding hoc Cerinthō, “This for Cerinthus.”

As the carriage was pulling out and we began riding back to Rome, Syrisca stepped out and began shouting. She was yelling at us for leaving without spending any money: Igitur nīl vultis? Est hic munda Ceres, est Amor, est Bromius! “So you want nothing? There is clean Ceres here, there is Love, there is Bromius!”

Latinitas helped me understand the names.

“Ceres is the goddess of grain, and means ‘bread’, and Bromius is Bacchus, the god of wine, and means wine.”

I nodded and turned back to look at her, and again I fell off my ass. Latinitas rolled her eyes, and let me struggle back on by myself. Once we were riding again and I caught up to her, she handed me the wax tablets that Sulpicia had given her.

“Here, read the message Sulpicia is sending to Cerinthus. Open it.”

It was a short message that read:

Poem 3, Excerpt

Scīs? Iter ex animō sublātum triste puellae!

Nātālī Rōmae iam licet esse suō.

You know what? The depressing journey has been erased from your girl’s mind!

Now it is allowed to be in Rome on her own birthday.

“But,” Latinitas continued, handing me another tablet that she had hidden up her sleeve, “in the near future Sulpicia will write the following poem to Cerinthus.”

Poem 6

See if you can complete the English translation for the Latin words in bold:

Nē tibi sim, mea lūx, aequē iam fervida cūra

ac videor paucōs ante fuisse diēs,

sī quicquam tōtā commīsī stulta iuventā,

cuius mē fatear paenituisse magis,

hesternā quam tē sōlum quod nocte relīquī,

ardōrem cupiēns dissimulāre meum.

May I not be to you, ____________ ____________, now such a burning ____________

as ____________ to have been a ____________ ____________ previously,

if I – stupid I! – have committed ____________ in the ____________ of my young life

that I’d confess I regretted ____________,

than the fact that yesterday ____________ I left you ____________,

because I was longing to disguise my flame.

“It would seem that Sulpicia’s affections for Cerinthus, and his for her, were not without challenges. Sulpicia’s poems survived and now you can find them in library books, on the internet, in many different places.”

26. Portrait from the house of Terentius Neo, a baker, in Pompeii; the man (Terentius?) holds a rotulus (book-roll), and the woman (his wife?) holds tabellae (‘wax writing tablet’), which would be filled with cēra (‘wax’) and a stilus (‘pen’). circa (‘around’) 50-79 CE.