37. The Lacus Albānus, the Alban Lake, filling the crater of an extinct volcano east of Rome mediā in Ītaliā, in central Italy.
Explōrātiō Septima Decima (XVII) Adventure Seventeen
Third Declension Adjective Forms
Substantive Use of Adjectives, Reviewed
Introduction to Deponent Verbs
Quintus Horatius Flaccus (Horace)
Where and When Are We Today?
Lacus Albānus, Ītalia
Mēnsis Māius
M. Liciniō Crassō Frūgī Cn. Cornēliō Lentulō cōnsulibus
Alban Lake, Italy
May, 14 BCE
On the evening of our next visit, I was feeling down. Some of the symptoms of my illness, which had been in remission, were returning. The doctor’s office was supposed to contact me, but although I waited all afternoon for the call, they never did. I had no idea when I would be feeling better, whether I would ever finish school or land a job or be able to shape my future in a world that, honestly, felt like it was falling apart at the seams; on top of it all, it had been such a long time since I’d been able to see my friends in person and give them a hug. Things were getting to me.
There was another small thing bugging me. The words I heard the child speak on the first night Latinitas visited – the words which had inspired me to follow her on these wild adventures – were just as mysterious to me as ever, despite all the lessons. I could no longer remember the specific sounds, only the melody of its voice. When Latinitas arrived I told her this, and communicated, in what I said and in what I didn’t say, that I wasn’t sure I wanted to continue. She nodded and asked me a question.
“Let me ask you something. A year ago, did you ever expect what has happened to you recently to happen?”
I laughed and said no.
“There are periods of time when so many changes occur in the world, and so quickly, that it can take your breath away. Trust me, you have no idea how many periods like this I have witnessed. But the thing is, they don’t last forever. Your race, the human race, has an enormous talent for creating routines, and this power will assert itself soon. Some parts of the world you used to know will be gone forever. Some people you love, you will never see again. Sunt lacrimae rērum, there are tears for the world. But there will always be enough left for you to make a life from and call it good. I’ve walked your neighborhood and watched people living out their days, just like we do when we go back to Rome. I can tell you, based on all the people of good will I’ve seen, based on all the resources that are out there, that there will be enough. You may not live the same life as your parents or grandparents, but there will be enough.”
She stood near the window diū, for a long time, her face silhouetted by a beautiful sunset. I didn’t know what to make of this; it sounded a bit ominous, but her voice was calm. To change the topic, I asked her about the voice of the child again.
“It’s funny you should ask…,” she replied, and handed me the familiar cup. The taste of the beverage brought immediate recognition: herbs, citrus, and the sea. I took a deep drink and…
We were standing atop a ridge, looking out over a wide lake a mile or two across. The ridge wrapped nearly all the way around the lake, and in a flash it came to me where we were: this was the lacus Albānus, the Alban lake, filling its ancient crater, its deep blue waters sprinkled with white caps. It was a blue, sunny day, and the fields around us were full of white and yellow wildflowers. A stiff breeze blew my hair into my face and tickled my earring. When it died down, I could hear music rising from below: the song of pipes, stringed instruments of some kind, and tambourines playing a simple triple rhythm.
Latinitas led me to a rocky outcrop from which we had a view straight down. There was a pebble beach on the lake; what looked like a trail started there and zig-zagged through the trees. About halfway up we could see a procession consisting of maybe a hundred people, led by four men carrying a litter. Something that looked a woman was standing on the litter, but the way it swayed revealed that it was actually a statue.
“That’s Venus,” Latinitas informed me. “They just finished washing her in the lake and dressing her in new clothes. Once they reach the top, they are going to install her in that shrine over there,” – she pointed to a wooden shrine, about the size of a garage, draped in garlands of flowers – “which will be her new home. Some goddesses like to stay at home. That was never my style; I prefer to wander. And please, never, ever sacrifice an animal for me!”
We sat down in the shrine out of the wind. I took out my notebook, which was nearly half full now. “No statues either,” she added. “Just practice writing Latin, or speaking it, and you will stay on my good side.”
“I love all my words equally, but here are some that people seem to find extra nice.”
Vocabulary
First Declension Noun
|
Latin Noun |
Noun Gender |
English Meaning |
|
lacrima, lacrim-ae |
f. |
tear |
Second Declension Neuter Noun
|
Latin Noun |
Noun Gender |
English Meaning |
|
somnium, somni-ī |
n. |
dream |
Third Declension Nouns
|
Latin Noun |
Noun Gender |
English Meaning |
|
virgō, virgin-is |
f. |
young woman; virgin; maiden |
|
iuvenis, iuven-is |
m./f. |
young person; (a) youth “This word is usually masculine, referring to a young man or men.” |
Third Declension Neuter Noun
|
Latin Noun |
Noun Gender |
English Meaning |
|
nūmen, nūmin-is |
n. |
divinity |
Adverbs
|
Latin Adverb |
English Meaning |
|
diū |
for a long time |
|
parum |
not enough; not |
|
rūrsus |
again |
Interrogative
|
Latin Interrogative |
English Meaning |
|
cūr |
why? |
Preposition
|
Latin Preposition + Case |
English Meaning |
|
sub + abl. / acc. |
under; below; beneath |
Third Declension Adjectives
“These next words are all adjectives. Unlike the adjectives you have learned so far (US-A-UM adjectives, also known as first and second declension adjectives), these new ones are all third declension in form.”
Vocabulary
Third Declension Adjectives
|
Latin Adjective |
English Meaning |
|
dulc-is, dulce |
sweet |
|
moll-is, molle |
soft |
|
nōbil-is, nōbile |
famous; distinguished; noble |
|
omn-is, omne |
every (sg.), all (pl.) |
|
volucer, volucr-is, volucre |
flying; winged |
Third Declension Adjective Forms
Why are there just two endings, if there are three genders, and what’s up with the last one, which has three forms?
“Good questions. If there are two forms, the first one is the nominative singular form when the adjective modifies either a masculine or a feminine noun. The second form is the nominative singular form when it modifies a neuter noun. The stem is found by removing the –is ending from the nominative singular masculine/feminine form. Below are the endings; they are all i-stem third declension endings; they can be thought of as ‘super i-stems’ because they also have –ī in the ablative singular (not the usual –e):”
Third Declension Adjective Forms: Masculine/Feminine, and Neuter (2 Nominative Forms)
|
|
Gender |
|
|
Singular |
Masc./Fem. |
Neuter |
|
Nom. |
dulc-is |
dulc-e |
|
Gen. |
dulc-is |
dulc-is |
|
Dat. |
dulc-ī |
dulc-ī |
|
Acc. |
dulc-em |
dulc-e |
|
Abl. |
dulc-ī |
dulc-ī |
|
Plural |
|
|
|
Nom. |
dulc-ēs |
dulc-ia |
|
Gen. |
dulc-ium |
dulc-ium |
|
Dat. |
dulc-ibus |
dulc-ibus |
|
Acc. |
dulc-īs /-ēs |
dulc-ia |
|
Abl. |
dulc-ibus |
dulc-ibus |
“There are, however, some third declension adjectives, like volucer, volucr-is, volucre that have three nominative forms: the form ending –er is the masculine nominative singular; in all other cases, genders, and numbers, the endings are just like those of dulc–is, dulce, shown above. The stem is formed from the feminine nominative singular, which ends in –is.”
Third Declension Adjective Forms: Masculine, Feminine, and Neuter (3 Nominative Forms)
|
|
Gender |
||
|
Singular |
Masc. |
Fem. |
Neuter |
|
Nom. |
volucer |
volucr-is |
volucr-e |
|
Gen. |
volucr-is |
volucr-is |
|
|
Dat. |
volucr-ī |
volucr-ī |
|
|
Acc. |
volucr-em |
volucr-e |
|
|
Abl. |
volucr-ī |
volucr-ī |
|
|
Plural |
|
|
|
|
Nom. |
volucr-ēs |
volucr-ia |
|
|
Gen. |
volucr-ium |
volucr-ium |
|
|
Dat. |
volucr-ibus |
volucr-ibus |
|
|
Acc. |
volucr-īs /-ēs |
volucr-ia |
|
|
Abl. |
volucr-ibus |
volucr-ibus |
|
“Occasionally third declension adjectives will have regular third declension forms, such as the genitive plural without the expected –i– for i-stems: volucrum, ‘of winged beings/birds’.
Substantive Use of Adjectives, Reviewed
“Recall that adjectives can be used like nouns – the substantive use of adjectives. This is also true of third declension adjectives:”
Substantive Use of Adjectives: Examples
|
Omnis (m./f. nom. sg.) hoc scit. |
Every person knows this. |
|
Amāmus omnia (ntr. acc. pl.). |
We love all things / everything. |
|
Omnēs (m./f. acc. pl.) manēre dux iussit. |
The leader ordered everybody / all people to stay. |
Drill
“Write out all the case forms of the adjective omn-is, omne.”
Exercises 1-5
“Put the noun and adjective in the specified case form, so that they agree in case, gender, and number. Remember that the gender of the noun determines the gender of the adjective, and keep in mind that the noun and adjective may belong to different declensions.”
1. nūmen, nūmin-is, n. + omn-is, omne: accusative plural form
2. iuvenis, iuven-is, m./f. + moll-is, molle: nominative plural form
3. virgō, virgin-is, f. + nōbil-is, nōbile: accusative singular form
4. lacrima, lacrim-ae, f. + dulc-is, dulce: ablative plural form
5. somnium, somni-ī, n. + volucer, volucr-is, volucre: nominative singular form
Exercises 6-17
“Today, underline any adjective you encounter along with any noun that it modifies, and mark the gender, case, and number. Then translate.”
6. Mollēs sunt amōris dulcis vōcēs.
7. Videtne quisquam somnium dulce omnī nocte?
8. Cūr vītam mollem agere cupis?
9. Dī omnēs huic rēgnō nōbilī diū pepercērunt.
10. Parum nōbilis mihi esse vidētur haec sēdēs.
11. Lacrimae dulcēs cadere incipient cum hunc iuvenem vidēbis.
12. Nōn valēs; vīrēs enim omnēs tuae tibi dēficere videntur.
13. Omnis nōmina nōbilia, ōra pulchra, etiam vōcēs nōtās laudat.
14. Quam diū etiam furor tuus nōs ēlūdet? “A line from Cicero against Catiline. The verb ēlūdō, elūd-ere means ‘to mock’, and quam means ‘how?’.”
15. These wars will be waged again by a harsh god and necessity.
16. Flying Cupid with his sweet mother was confusing my soul with another love.
17. Under the command of the gods, all (things) are changed.
The procession was coming closer now; we could not see them, but we heard the tromp of their feet, and the clear tink-tonk-tonk of a single hand-harp being played.
“I want to teach you one more thing before they arrive. Do you remember passive voice verbs?”
I do.
Introduction to Deponent Verbs
“There are some verbs in Latin that are passive voice in form but active voice in meaning. Such verbs are called deponent verbs, and almost all of their forms are passive. Let’s start with two examples, the first an A-verb (1st conjugation verb) and the second an I-verb (3rd conjugation verb); put these in your vocabulary:”
Vocabulary
Deponent A-Verb (First Conjugation)
|
Latin Verb |
English Meaning |
|
precor, precārī |
to pray |
Deponent I-Verb (Third Conjugation)
|
Latin Verb |
English Meaning |
|
sequor, sequ-ī |
to follow |
“You can tell that these verbs are deponents because the first two principal parts are passive in form (since no active forms exist): precor and sequor are the first-person singular, present passive forms; precārī and sequī are the present passive infinitive forms.”
“Precor, although its form is the first-person singular, present passive, means ‘I pray’ (not ‘I am prayed’); precārī, although its form is the present passive infinitive, means ‘to pray’ (not ‘to be prayed’). The same is true of all the other forms that have a personal ending showing person, number and tense: they look passive but you translate them like they were active. So, in the present tense you would translate like this:”
Deponent A-Verb Present Tense Example
|
Verb Stem + Ending |
English Translation |
||
|
Singular |
Plural |
Singular |
Plural |
|
precor |
precāmur |
I pray |
we pray |
|
precāris/āre |
precāminī |
you pray |
you all pray |
|
precātur |
precantur |
he, she, it prays |
they pray |
Deponent I-Verb Present Tense Example
|
Verb Stem + Ending |
English Translation |
||
|
Singular |
Plural |
Singular |
Plural |
|
sequor |
sequimur |
I follow |
we follow |
|
sequeris/ere |
sequiminī |
you follow |
you all follow |
|
sequitur |
sequunt |
he, she, it follows |
they follow |
Oh, I said, nōn sequitur – right?
“Right! Literally, ‘it does not follow.’
“The imperfect and future tenses of deponent verbs work the same way – active in form but passive in meaning:”
Deponent A-Verb Imperfect Tense Example
|
Verb Stem + Ending |
English Translation |
||
|
Singular |
Plural |
Singular |
Plural |
|
precābar |
precābāmur |
I was praying |
we were praying |
|
precābāris/bāre |
precābāminī |
you were praying |
you all were praying |
|
precābātur |
precabantur |
he, she, it was praying |
they were praying |
Deponent I-Verb Imperfect Tense Example
|
Verb Stem + Ending |
English Translation |
||
|
Singular |
Plural |
Singular |
Plural |
|
sequēbar |
sequēbāmur |
I was following |
we were following |
|
sequēbāris/bāre |
sequēbāminī |
you were following |
you all were following |
|
sequēbātur |
sequēbantur |
he, she, it was following |
they were following |
Deponent A-Verb Future Tense Example
|
Verb Stem + Ending |
English Translation |
||
|
Singular |
Plural |
Singular |
Plural |
|
precābor |
precābimur |
I will pray |
we will pray |
|
precāberis/bere |
precābiminī |
you will pray |
you all will pray |
|
precābitur |
precabuntur |
he, she, it will pray |
they will pray |
Deponent I-Verb Future Tense Example
|
Verb Stem + Ending |
English Translation |
||
|
Singular |
Plural |
Singular |
Plural |
|
sequar |
sequēmur |
I will follow |
we will follow |
|
sequēris/ēre |
sequēminī |
you will follow |
you all follow |
|
sequētur |
sequentur |
he, she, it will follow |
they will follow |
“We will talk about the perfect tense forms of deponents another day. But that’s a good start for deponent verbs.”
Exercises 18-24
18. Quandō hoc signum cernēs? Quandō nōs sequēris?
19. Itaque omnis gēns nūminibus suīs precātur.
20. Quis meīs sub signīs mē sequī et bellum gerere cupit?
21. Precanturne hostēs ūllīs nūminibus?
22. This young woman was following a sweet young man for a long time.
23. Therefore we were praying, and you all need to pray.
24. A distinguished leader follows virtue, even by a harsh road.
Quintus Horatius Flaccus (Horace)
Once the procession reached the top of the ridge, the crowd gathered around the statue on the litter. The litter-bearers carried Venus over to her shrine and put her on a pedestal. The statue was made of bright white marble; its face had dark gems for eyes and was shining with oil and perfume. Incense was burning on the altar and the air was heavy with fragrance. Several women stepped forward and wrapped more garlands around the statue, tying them to nearby cedarwood beams so that Venus looked like she was bound in place.
The participants next turned their attention to a choir of boys and girls who, to judge by their missing teeth, were somewhere between 6 and 12 years old. They were dressed in their best clothes, their hair oiled and styled. They began singing a hymn for Venus which lasted a good long time. I could not understand the lyrics at all; Latinitas explained that this was because they spoke a very archaic form of Latin. As they sang, they did a simple dance that involved stomping or hopping on the ground in a kind of waltz rhythm, 1-2-3, 1-2-3; according to Latinitas this was called Salian dancing.
When they were done, everyone turned their attention to a short, chubby, bald old man with a big wide face. He climbed up on a small wooden platform so it would be easier to see him; as he passed the children, he gave them kisses or messed up their hair. Some adults began to call his name: Horātī, Horātī. He was joined by a young man who introduced him to the crowd.
“This is the poet Horace,” Latinitas said, “Quintus Horatius Flaccus. He has been invited here by Paulus Maximus, who is introducing him, to read a dedicatory poem for the installation of Venus’ statue.”
Horace addressed the crowd, doing imitations of people I did not know; he made a lot of jokes, to judge by the laughter that his remarks elicited. He seemed very friendly and was constantly shifting his moods and facial expressions. Then, turning to face the statue, he began reciting a poem he had composed for the occasion, which went like this:
Horace, Carmen 4.1, Excerpt
“Match the bolded words of the English translation to the Latin original.”
Intermissa, Venus, diū rūrsus bella movēs? Parce, precor, precor.
Nōn sum quālis eram bonae sub rēgnō Cinarae. Dēsine, dulcium
māter saeva Cupīdinum, circā lustra decem flectere mollibus
iam dūrum imperiīs: abī, quō blandae iuvenum tē revocant precēs.
Wars interrupted so long – are you setting them in motion again, Venus?
Spare (me), I pray, I pray. I am not like I was under the reign of good Cinara.
Cease, savage mother of sweet Cupids, to steer around-a-tenth-five-year-cycle
me, now hardened to your soft commands; go away where the flattering prayers
of youths call you.
Tempestīvius in domum Paulī purpureīs alēs olōribus
cōmissābere Maximī, sī torrēre iecur quaeris idōneum;
namque et nōbilis et decēns et prō sollicitīs nōn tacitus reīs
et centum puer artium lātē signa feret mīlitiae tuae.
It is rather time that you bring your party, flying on purple swans,
to the house of Paulus Maximus, if you seek a liver prime for your roasting;
For he is a noble and decent and for anxious defendants not silent,
and he, a boy of a hundred arts, will carry the flags of your service far and wide.
Et, quandōque potentior largī mūneribus rīserit aemulī,
Albānōs prope tē lacūs pōnet marmoream sub trabe citreā.
Illīc plūrima nāribus dūcēs tūra, lyrāque et Berecyntiā
dēlectābere tībiā mixtīs carminibus nōn sine fistulā;
And once he, superior in his gifts, laughs at a lavish rival,
he will set you up near the Alban lakes, in marble, under cedar beams.
There you will draw much incense through your nose, and delight
in songs mixed with the lyre and Berecyntian flute, not without the pipe.
Illīc bis puerī diē nūmen cum tenerīs virginibus tuum
laudantēs, pede candidō in mōrem Salium ter quatient humum.
Mē nec fēmina nec puer iam nec spēs animī crēdula mūtuī
nec certāre iuvat merō nec vincīre novīs tempora flōribus.
There twice a day the boys with the tender maidens, praising
your divinity, will, with white foot, shake the ground three times in Salian custom.
No woman, no boy, no credulous hope for a mutual mind
helps me, nor does competing at wine, or binding my forehead with new flowers.
Sed cūr heu, Ligurīne, cūr mānat rāra meās lacrima per genās?
Cūr fācunda parum decōrō inter verba cadit lingua silentiō?
Nocturnīs ego somniīs iam captum teneō, iam volucrem sequor
tē per grāmina Mārtiī Campī, tē per aquās, dūre, volūbilīs.
But why, alas, Ligurinus, why does the rare tear drip across my cheeks?
Why does an eloquent tongue falter in between words in a silence not suitable?
In nocturnal dreams I hold you, now a captive, now on wings, as I follow
you across the grass of the Campus Martius, you across the rolling waters, harsh one.
When he was done, he climbed down from the platform and ran after the crowd of children, who shrieked and dispersed into the surrounding meadow; Horace had a slight limp and did not bother to chase them.
What followed was, well, something you would find familiar if you saw it – a cookout. The only difference is that the animal was killed on the spot, sacrificed to Venus. We lingered on the edge of the crowd; Latinitas made conversation with some people, and thankfully, she did not grab me and make me practice my Latin. I had my eye on the kids, and I realized that they were playing a game that we would call hide-and-seek. A searcher would cover his or her eyes and count while the children hid. When the searcher came looking for them, they would yell hīc, here!, and run for the shrine, which was apparently the safe space. While Latinitas was making conversation, I joined them for a few rounds, and managed not to get tagged. I’m not going to boast too much about my success at the game, because I was more than twice as old as some of them.
It was when I decided to stop that I heard words that stopped me in my tracks. It came from one of the children who was in hiding, who had been looking curiously at my purple bathrobe. I heard the very same phrase that I heard the first night I met Latinitas. This time, after I repeated it for Latinitas, she helped me distinguish and understand the words.
The pronunciation, as I mentioned earlier, was a little old-fashioned; but basically what the child was saying was this:
Purpureā istā cum togā rēgālis esse vidēre.
With that purple toga you seem to be royalty!
So what does that mean? I asked her.
“The Romans have always associated the color purple with the dress of kings. And that bathrobe of yours… well, it’s purple.”
But why did I hear that phrase the night I met you?
She looked me in the eye for the longest time. Then she shrugged her shoulders… and we were instantly transported back to my apartment, which looked the same as always.
But I did not feel the same. Royalty? What was that about?
Reading: Horace’s Retreat
|
Fundum habeō. Vocāmus ‘fundum’ sēdem hūmānam cum agrīs. Cum Rōmae sum, fundum meum tōtō pectore meō cupiō. Dūrum est iter ad fundum – hoc iter ōdī! – sed id faciō nam fundum amō. Fundus meus in montibus iacet. Hic fundus sīc stat: cum sōl venit, latus dextrum fundī videt; deinde, cum sōl discēdit, latus sinistrum videt. Itaque, sōl tōtum fundum omnī diē videt. Nocte multa sīdera supera in caelō videō. |
|
|
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fundus, fund-ī, m. estate; farm Rōmae in Rome sōl, sōl-is, m. sun latus, later-is, n. side |
|
|
|
Fundus meus fontem habet. Hic fōns est caput flūminis. Magnus est fōns, itaque nōmen suum flūminī dat. Nūllum aliud flūmen est tam clārum. Nam dulcēs sunt aquae fontis. Commodae quoque multīs rēbus sunt hae aquae. Cum sitiō, aquae mihi nectar esse videntur (dī et deae sōlī nectar bibunt). Cum aegrōtō, bibō hās aquās et mox valeō. Saepe aegrōtō, itaque saepe ab hōc fonte bibō. Aquas hās cupiō plus quam eās Rōmae. |
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|
|
fōns, font-is, m. spring; fountain tam so sitiō, sit-īre, sitīv-ī to be thirsty nectar, nectar-is, n. nectar aegrōtō, aegrōt-āre, aegrōtāv-ī to be ill bibō, bib-ere, bib-ī to drink saepe often |
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Aquae bonae et sōl bonus bonōs faciunt agrōs meōs. Hī agrī ferunt multōs frūctūs dulcēs. Per tōtum annum cōpiam frūctuum in agrīs inveniō. Pecora quoque vīvunt in agrīs meīs. Multa capita sunt in pecoribus meīs. Pauca habent cornua magna; ad ea nōn adeō! Et volucria videō audiōque per agrōs et montēs. Cum videō fundum hunc – fontem, agrōs, pecora – cūrās meās relinquō; tūtus sum et vītam bonam agō. Pulchra et cāra mihi est faciēs huius fundī. |
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frūctus, frūct-ūs, m. fruit; produce pecus, pecor-is, n. herd |
38. Līberī ludentēs in sculptūrā marmoreā, saeculō secundō post Christum; children playing on a marble relief sculpture, from the second century CE.
