78. Domina Philosophia Boēthium iacentem adloquitur; Lady Philosophy addresses Boethius as he lies down. From a miniature illustration to the Consolation of Philosophy that accompanied a popular French translation of the work, created in 1477.

Explōrātiō Trīcēnsima Sexta (XXXVI) Adventure Thirty-Six

Where and When Are We Today?

Anonymous, from the Carmina Burāna

Boēthius

Vocabulary

Exercises 1-4

Clauses Introduced by dum

Vocabulary

Exercises 5-7

Relative Clauses of Characteristic, Purpose, and Result

Relative Clauses of Characteristic

Relative Clauses of Purpose

Relative Clauses of Result

Exercises 8-13

Ablative of Specification and Ablative of Description

Exercises 14-16

The Irregular Verb sum: fore and forem

The Future Infinitive fore

Alternative Imperfect Subjunctive Forms

Exercises 17-18

Boēthius, Dē Cōnsōlātiōne Philosophiae

Where and When Are We Today?

Tīcīnum, Ītalia

Mēnsis Aprīlis

Flāviō Iūstīnō Augustō Venantiō Opiliōne cōnsulibus

Pavia, Italy

April, 524 CE

You’ve now heard about all my visits to the world of ancient Rome – all except the very last. Of all the trips we made, this was, in some respects, the most unbelievable. And that is the real reason why it took me so long to write down this account of my adventures.

Soon after Latinitas stopped visiting me, our explorations started to feel to me like a long, weird dream. If she hadn’t given me the as coin and the tunic, it’s possible I would have just dismissed all of them as delusions. But there they are: I still carry the as with me everywhere I go, and I have it on my desk right now as I write. The tunic sits in my bottom dresser drawer next to some sweaters. I still have and treasure my old Latin notebook, with its dirt-smudged pages and doodles and notes I made to myself. These three objects serve to remind me that our journeys were real, but for a long time I could not bring myself to write about them, much less tell anyone about what happened.

I finished college a few months after the visits stopped. I attended law school for a year, dropped out, then became a real estate agent and discovered that I was good at it. A few years later I got in a car accident that put me in the hospital for a month, then fell in love with one of the witnesses to the accident, whom I later married. Over time I also developed an inexplicable obssession with zoning regulations – the laws about what kinds of structures can be built in which places – and ran for an open spot on our city’s zoning board; I now lead a national organization that is focused on zoning reform.

Years passed; my partner and I raised three wonderful children. Once they left the house, two things happened that finally pushed me to write this book. First, I started to have lucid dreams in which I would relive our explorations of the ancient world. Some dreams were long, some short, some boring, some highly emotional, but all featured little twists and variations on the original experiences. After a few such dreams I began to worry that they would contaminate my real memories so much that I would be unable to tell them apart. The other thing that happened was this. One day, when we were cleaning, my partner asked me about the tunic. I said it was a gift from an old friend – which was true – and shared a few boring details about Latinitas. But I wanted to tell my partner the full story, from start to finish, with all the amazing parts. And so I came to the realization that I had to write this book.

Writing the first thirty-five chapters was not hard, because their lessons were straightforward and remarkably fresh in my mind. But this last visit was another matter. I am still not sure what to make of it, or how to describe what it meant. At any rate, this is what happened.

The year of our last adventure fell at the beginning of a time that people used to call ‘the Dark Ages’. The Roman Empire had collapsed in western Europe and given way to an assortment of local kingdoms. But it was, of course, not literally dark in Pavia, the city in northern Italy that we were visiting. The air was foggy, but it was clear that there was plenty of business and activity going on. The styles had changed since our last visit, reflecting the tastes of the Goths who now governed these kingdoms; and people’s language was changing too. Theodoric the Great, the current king of Italy, was born in the land that today we call Austria. In the street I hear Latin, but also Gothic. As Latinitas pointed out to me, people in the marketplace were speaking a hybrid language with elements of both.

I listened to passersby for a while, then turned to ask her about the odd design embroidered on the robe she was wearing today. It was a kind of ladder or scale, with the Greek letter thēta at the top and pē at the bottom. It reminded me of some kind of sorority symbol, but it only had two letters, not three.

“Oh, that. Yes, the thēta stands for theorēticē, ‘theorical’ and the pē stands for practicē, ‘practical’. That’s all.”

Before I could ask any more questions, Latinitas led me down to the Ticinus river, which ran through the middle of the city and offered us a good view up and down its banks. She gestured to it with a wooden staff which she was carrying today.

“It was right here in Pavia that the western Roman empire finally died,” she remarked, while plucking a pair of daisies from the grass to put behind her ear. “About fifty years ago the last Roman emperor, a young man of sixteen named Romulus Augustulus, was trapped in this city along with his father, Orestes, who had arranged for his son to be made emperor. The Gothic general Odoacer had chased the two of them here along with their pitiful army, then laid siege to the city, which quickly surrendered and was plundered. Orestes, who posed the real threat to Odoacer, was put to death, his body tossed in the river. As for Romulus Augustulus, he was sent down to Naples to live out the rest of his life in retirement.”

He retired at sixteen?

“He was forced to retire. Think of it as a form of lifelong house arrest. Speaking of which…”

Once again she turned around rather abruptly and marched me to a church just a few blocks away. As churches go it was not very impressive; in fact it struck me that all the buildings in Pavia, while relatively new and tidy, were smaller and less extravagant than what I had been used to seeing; some even had thatch roofs. Attached to the side of the church was a small cell about the side of a shed, with a guard sitting in front of it, half-singing songs to himself to pass the time. Latinitas smiled at him and handed him one of her daisies; he took it and promptly fell into a deep sleep. She then chanted a little poem over him.

 

The song sounded familiar. Only later did I recognize it as the poem she had me read on her first visit. It is a poem that comes from a Medieval anthology called the Carmina Burāna.

Boēthius

“The prisoner in this cella,” she explained, “is a man, Anicius Mānlius Sevērīnus Boēthius; the people of your day simply call him Boethius. He is a philosopher, and one of the last people in this part of the world to be fluent in philosophical Greek. He is also a powerful Roman administrator, who’s seen both of his two sons appointed consul. But, as often happens to powerful people, he has been caught up in intrigues at the court of Theodoric and accused of conspiring with the enemies of the king. Theodoric ordered him to be thrown in prison, and a few weeks from now, as part of a purge, he will be put to death.”

“Boethius is working right now on a book that will become famous after his death: the Cōnsōlātiō Philosophiae. I have been helping him write it, and I will show you some of it when we go in. But before that happens, you need to finish your last Latin lesson.”

This is it? I asked, suddenly struck by the reality that this was our last exploratio.

“It is. You will never stop learning more about Latin, just as you can never stop learning more about any language. Languages are too vast for any one human to fully master them, and that is why,” she said, with a knowing look, “you think of us as gods. Every author and every speaker of Latin has his or her own brand of language, with favorite words and quirks of grammar. But I have given you enough Latin so that, with a little help from dictionaries and other documents, you can figure out what texts say, and what they really mean,” she added, again looking at me significantly. “You have been a fine student. I’m sure you be able to absorb and understand what I teach you today. So now, for the last time, take out your notebook.”

“Let’s start with some vocabulary, which you will encounter in Boethius’ book.”

Vocabulary

A-Verb (First Conjugation)

Latin Verb	English Meaning
cūrō, cūrāre, cūrāvī, cūrātus	to care for; look after

E-Verb (Second Conjugation)

Latin Verb	English Meaning
soleō, solēre, solitus sum	to be accustomed; to be usual “Semi-deponent.”

I-Verbs (Third Conjugation)

Latin Verb	English Meaning
alō, alere, aluī, altus / alitus	to nourish; sustain
permittō, permittere, permīsī, permissus	to let go; allow; permit

Deponent I-Verb (Third Conjugation)

Latin Verb	English Meaning
queror, querī, questus sum	to complain; lament

Second Declension Nouns

Latin Noun	Noun Gender	English Meaning
aevum, -ī	n.	age; time; antiquity
humus, -ī	f.	ground “The form humī means ‘on the ground’ (locative case).”
morbus, -ī	m.	disease; sickness

Fourth Declension Noun

Latin Noun	Noun Gender	English Meaning
gradus, -ūs	m.	step

Fifth Declension Nouns

Latin Noun	Noun Gender	English Meaning
aciēs, -ēī	f.	edge; sharpness (of vision); line of battle
speciēs, -ēī	f.	appearance

US-A-UM Adjective (First and Second Declension Adjectives)

Latin Adjective	English Meaning
aeger, aegra, aegrum	sick; weary
extrēmus, -a, -um	farthest; the edge of; bottom
īnferus, -a, -um	low “The superlative form is īnfimus, -a, -um or īmus, -a, -um.”
maestus, -a, -um	sad
plēnus, -a, -um	full “What one is ‘full of’ or ‘full with’ goes in the genitive or ablative.”

Conjunction

Latin Conjunction	English Meaning
quamvīs	although; however you want “Also an adverb meaning ‘ever so’, ‘very much’.”

Preposition

Latin Preposition + Case	English Meaning
ultrā + acc.	beyond; further “Also an adverb.”

 

Clauses Introduced by dum

“A small word you have seen before, dum, is used to introduce a subordinate clause, but it has a few different meanings. With an indicative verb it means ‘while’. With a subjunctive verb, it can mean ‘while’ or ‘until’ (implying expectation), or ‘provided that’. The context will help you to decide which meaning of dum with a subjunctive verb is correct in a sentence.”

Vocabulary

Conjunction

Latin Conjunction	English Meaning
dum	while (with indicative); while; until; provided that (with subjunctive)

Clauses Introduced by dum: Examples

Dum anima est, spēs esse dīcitur.

While there is life (a soul), there is said to be hope.

est is indicative; dum means ‘while’

Illa quidem dum tē fugeret, hydrum nōn vīdit.

While that woman was fleeing you, she did not see the serpent.

fugeret is imperfect subjunctive; dum means ‘while’

Manēbāmus dum nāvēs advenīrent.

We were waiting until the ships would arrive / for the ships to arrive.

advenīrent is imperfect subjunctive; dum means ‘until’ (implying expectation)

Ōderint, dum metuant.

Let them hate, provided that they fear.

metuant is present subjunctive; dum means ‘provided that’ (ōderint is perfect subjunctive, jussive)

 

Relative Clauses of Characteristic, Purpose, and Result

“Now we are going to talk one last time about relative clauses. A relative clause can contain a subjunctive verb instead of an indicative one. There are three different reasons why it might do so that affect the English translation. It may be a relative clause of characteristic, which describes a typical feature of a person or thing; a relative clause of purpose, which describes an action someone or something intends to perform; or a relative clause of result, which describes the outcome of an action. The context will help you to decide which kind of relative clause with the subjunctive you have. Let’s consider each type and learn how to identify and translate them.”

Relative Clauses of Characteristic

“A relative clause of characteristic defines a type: ‘he is the kind of guy who...’. Typically, the subjunctive verb requires no special translation. Often the verb in the main clause is sum.”

Relative Clauses of Characteristic: Examples

Erant quī cēnsērent...

There were (those) who were proposing...

cēnsērent is imperfect subjunctive; note erant in the main clause

Quaesō, Chārīne, quoniam nōn potest id fierī quod vīs, id velīs quod possit.

Please, Charinus, because that which you wish for cannot happen, you should wish for that which can.

possit is present subjunctive

Relative Clauses of Purpose

“A relative clause of purpose is similar to a purpose clause: you can add ‘may’ when you translate a present subjunctive, or ‘might’ when you translate an imperfect subjunctive; sometimes it will sound best in English to rephrase using ‘for’, ‘supposed to’, ‘intended to’ and similar phrases.”

Relative Clauses of Purpose: Examples

Scrībēbat ōrātiōnēs quās aliī dīcerent.

He wrote speech which other men might deliver / for other men to deliver.

dīcerent is imperfect subjunctive

Campum Mārtium vīcīnum Tiberī dēlēgērunt, in quō iuventūs post exercitium armōrum sūdōrem pulveremque dīlueret.

They chose a part of the Campus Martius near the Tiber in which the youth might wash off / were supposed to wash off their sweat and dust after their exercise in arms.

dīlueret is imperfect subjunctive

Relative Clauses of Result

“A relative clause of result is similar to a result clause: the relative pronoun is often best translated ‘that’ (like ut introducing a result clause).”

Relative Clauses of Result: Example

Nēmō est tam senex quī sē annum nōn putet posse vīvere.

Nobody is so old that he does not think that he can live a year (more).

putet is present subjunctive; notice tam in the main clause

 

Ablative of Specification and Ablative of Description

“Let’s now look at the ablative case one more time. You remember the translations that correspond to f.w.i.b.: from, with, in by. Sometimes ‘at’ or ‘by’ is used with a time word like nocte or diē for indicating the time when something happens.”

“Another use of the ablative without a preposition is to qualify a word, typically an adjective, to specify the area to which the word applies. This is called the ablative of specification. An ablative of specification is typically best translated with the preposition ‘at’ or ‘in’, or with the phrase ‘with respect to’.”

Ablative of Specification: Example

Bonus cōnsiliō erat vir.

The man was good with respect to his judgement.

ablative cōnsiliō gives specification to the adjective bonus

“An ablative noun modified by an ablative adjective, without a prepostion, can be used to give a description. This is called the ablative of description. It can be translated using the preposition ‘of’, or with the phrase ‘characterized by’.”

Ablative of Description: Example

Mulier summō ingeniō erat.

She was a woman of the highest (utmost) talent.

ablative ingeniō, with ablative summō in agreement gives a description

 

The Irregular Verb sum: fore and forem

“One last thing. The verb sum has a form, fore, which is an alternative form in two parts of its conjugation.”

The Future Infinitive fore

“First, fore can be used as the future infinitive, replacing the longer form futūrum, -am, -um esse. It is often used in indirect statement.”

Examples of fore, Future Infinitive of sum, in Indirect Statement

Spērō nostram amīcitiam posteritātī nōtam fore.

I hope that our friendship will be known to posterity.

Putābam tē hīc tūtissimum fore.

I thought that you would be most safe here.

Alternative Imperfect Subjunctive Forms

“Secondly, when fore has personal endings, it serves as an alternative form of the imperfect subjunctive of sum (essem, essēs, etc.). There is no difference of meaning.”

Alternative Imperfect Subjunctive Forms of sum, esse

Singular	Plural
forem	forēmus
forēs	forētis
foret	forent

“Again, the forms above can be used interchangeably with the forms below.”

Singular	Plural
essem	essēmus
essēs	essētis
esset	essent

Example of Imperfect Subjunctive Form forem, forēs

Eam hominem esse arbitrātī sumus quamvīs sapientiae tam plēna foret ut dea esse vidērētur.

We judged that she was a human being although she was so full of wisdom that she seemed to be a goddess.

 

Boēthius, Dē Cōnsōlātiōne Philosophiae

When that was finished we stepped into Boethius’ cella. I was immediately surprised, because Boethius recognized Latinitas and began talking to her at once, as if they were old acquaintances. He seemed to be complaining about something, but he spoke too fast for me to follow, so I was not sure what it was all about; Latinitas answered him at length. Boethius then picked up a piece of paper with a carmen written on it, which he recited. Latinitas shook her head, as if finding it inadequate, and went on again. When she finished, he nodded, apparently agreeing to what she said, and began to write something, very deliberately, all while I sat there and watched in amazement, because I had never seen Latinitas interact with someone like this before.

When he was finished with his writing, Latinitas walked over to him and placed the other daisy behind his ear. Boethius immediately fell asleep, like the guard outside had. She felt his forehead, as if checking to make sure he was not feverish, then, satisfied, turned back to me again.

“Here,” she said, handing me a copy of Boethius’ manuscript. “Read this. It comes from the beginning of his work, right after his first short poem.” The Consolation, you see, is a mix of poetry and prose.

She fed me vocabulary I did not know, but I managed to get the sense of it. The work takes the form of a dialogue, one between Boethius and a woman he calls Philosophia, and addresses as his domina. Translate it for yourself, and you will understand why I found this visit so bewildering.

 

When I finished translating this text, I sat for a while in deep thought; then went through it all again; then flipped forward to skim several of the chapters that follow. Boethius was clearly talking about Latinitas, who had visited him in his cell, just like she had visited me. Except the odd thing was that he did not call her by that name; instead, he called her Lady Philosophy, Domina Philosophia. So who was she? Was she Latinitas, the goddess (as I thought of her) of the Latin language? Or was she Philosophia, the personification of philosophy? Or was she some kind of Muse, or force, or being… or what?

When I asked her this question, she gently clasped my head in her hands. She looked me straight in the eye for what seemed like an eternity, then planted a kiss on my forehead, which returned me to my apartment.

And after that I never saw her in the physical world again.