16 Explōrātiō Quarta (IV) Adventure Four
Cornelia Africana, Letter to Gaius
Noun Families: 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th Declension Nouns Nominative Case
Genitive Case Accusative Case
Mōns Aventīnus, Rōma Mēnsis Maius
Q. Caeciliō Metellō Balearicō T. Quinctiō Flāminiō cōnsulibus
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Aventine Hill, Rome May, 123 BCE
hen we arrived in Rome this time, the sun was just beginning to creep over the eastern horizon. We stood in the middle of a commercial neighborhood, surrounded by storehouses, horses, and carts. Our destination was a large townhouse at the top
of the hill, a hill Latinitas said was called the Aventine. We entered the house by the back entrance to avoid attracting attention, but we stopped to witness a little drama play out in the rafters over the kitchen, where a swallow was huddled with her fledglings. One young bird sailed out of the nest, attempting to fly, but fell to the ground; immediately a passing stray dog snatched it up and carried it away, pleased with its surprise breakfast. As this pitiful scene unfolded, the mother bird chirped loudly to her young, as if to warn them, ‘Don’t follow him!
Don’t follow him!’ Latinitas simply held her hands to her head and muttered Quid ego… a, nōn possum, What I… ah, I can’t even… We had to move on.
The atrium of the house was occupied by a large crowd directing its attention at a man standing on a platform in a toga. His toga was bright white, covered in chalk dust. “He is whitened, candidus,” Latinitas explained, “because it is customary for candidates to wear a chalk-white toga; Gaius, who you see here, is up for election, and today is election day.” His slave assistants were handing out small gifts to the visitors – a coin, a loaf of bread, a piece of fruit – who shouted Avē, Gaī before departing. A few waited around for the chance to get in a word with him; some handed Gaius petitions written on small pieces of paper, wooden tablets, even pieces of pottery. We sat down out of sight in a corner as I watched the crowd intently; Latinitas jiggled my notebook to get my attention.