75 Explōrātiō Septima Decima (XVII) Adventure Seventeen

Horace, Carmina 4.1

Third Declension Adjectives Introduction to Deponent Verbs

Lacus Albānus, Italia Mēnsis Maia

Sextō Pompeiō Sextō Appuleiō cōnsulibus

O
Alban Lake, Italy May, 14 BCE

n 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 Albanus, 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.”

 

First Conjugation (A-Verbs)

certō, cert-āre, certāv-īto compete

laudō, laud-āre, laudāv-īto praise

 

First Declension Noun

lacrima, lacrim-aef.tear

 

Second Declension Neuter Noun

somnium, somni-īn.dream

 

Third Declension Nouns

virgō, virgin-isf.young woman; virgin; maiden

nūmen, nūmin-isn.divinity

 

Adverbs

diūfor a long time

parumnot, not enough

rūrsusagain

 

Interrogative

cūrwhy?

 

Preposition

sub + abl. or acc.under

 

US-A-UM Adjectives

blandus, bland-a, blandum flattering decōrus, decōr-a, decōrum suitable, decent mūtuus, mūtu-a, mūtuummutual

“I have seven more words for you that are all adjectives, but they are Third Declension in form:”

 

dulc-is, dulcesweet

iuven-is, iuveneyoung

moll-is, mollesoft

nōbil-is, nōbilefamous

omn-is, omneevery (sg.), all (pl.)

quāl-is, quālewhat kind of; like