Optional Latin Challenge: Aeneid, Book IV, vv. 586-596

The Optional Latin Challenge this week includes some arduous but compelling lines about Dido's dolor and furor: Book IV, vv. 586-596. Try some or all of these for fun, and the reward will be the usual satisfaction in a job well done. Do it for the virtus! Errare est humanum. And use the notes below. They're not as detailed as usual, but e-mail me or leave a comment if you get absolutely stuck, or ask me in class.

1. 586: begin the sentence with ut: here it means "when" or "as"

2. 586-87: the two direct objects of the verb here are accusatives with infinitives.

3. 587: aequatis = is the perfect passive participle (the fourth principal part of the verb), declined like a first and second declension adjective. A participle is a verbal adjective: this would literally be translated "leveled" or "having been leveled," but "favorable" is more common here. You can read more about perfect passive participles here.

4. 588: portus = acc. plural of the 4th-declension noun, portus, -us, m.

5. 589: percussa is another perfect passive participle (see note 3) in form, but is here translated with the MIDDLE voice (don't ask:; it's just like the active voice here), "having struck."

6. 590: flaventisque abscissa comas = abscissa flaventes comas. Abscissa is another perfect passive participle (see note 3). It is used with what we call an accusative of respect: in respect to comas flaventis (flaventis is an alternative acc. pl. form for a 3rd declension adjective. We haven't learned the 3rd declension adjectives yet, but they're declined much like 3rd-declension nouns).

7. 590: ibit = "will go" A future form of the irregular verb, eo.

8. 592: sequentur is a future form of sequor, a deponent verb (which forms we haven't learned yet). The -ntur ending is translated exactly like the -nt ending of other verbs (3rd plural).

9. 593: ite = plural imperative for irregular verb , eo (go!).

10. 594: ferte, plural imperative of irregular verb, fero (bear or carry or something more polished for translation!)

11. 595: loquor = dico. It is the present first person sing. of deponent verb (endings of which we don't know yet). It means: "I speak." See note 8 for more information.

12. 595: quid = what? (interrogative pronoun); quae = what and modifies insania (interrog. adjective).

Homework due Feb. 22

Wheelock, Chapter 12: pp. 78-80, learn vocab.; P&R, odd; Sententiae, all; and read "Pliny Writes..."

Finish Book IV of the Aeneid.

Optional Latin Virgil Challenge TBA Friday!

Dido

Dido Buiilding Carthage, Joseph Mallord William Turner, 1815


Death of Dido, Rubens, 1640



Death of Dido, Andrea Sacchi, 17th century

Optional Latin Challenge: Aeneid, Book IV, vv. 160-170

It's time for the Optional Latin Aeneid challenge: if you attempt Book IV, lines 160-170, you will undoubtedly win virtus or pietas, and maybe a piece of Valentine candy left over from my box (doubtful). Use the notes below. E-mail me or leave a comment if you have questions.

Remember: there is lots of hyperbaton (which literally means "a walking over"), a separation of words, particularly adjectives from nouns here. EX. v. 160, magna misceri murmure = magna murmure misceri.

A few things you need to know:

1. line 160: misceri means "to be mixed" and is what we call a present PASSIVE infinitive. The infinitive we recognize, miscere (2nd principal part of misceo, "mix"), is a present ACTIVE infinitive, and means "to mix." In the ACTIVE voice, the subject DOES the action (it "mixes." In the PASSIVE voice, the subject RECEIVES the action, or is acted upon (it "is mixed".)

2. line 161: insequitur means "follows": the ending "tur" is the 3rd person singular form of a deponent verb, which we haven't learned yet. Worry about the form later!

3. line 162: commixta = "mixed" or "having been mixed": the 4th principal part, or perfect passive participle, of commisceo, which is declined with 1st and 2nd declension endings (like magnus, -a, -um). (For more information about participles, go here. )

4. line 163: metu is the abl. sing. form of a 4th declension noun (we haven't learned these yet.)

5. line 163: petiere is an alternate form of the third person plural perfect of peto: sought. The perfect tense describes a completed action in the past and is translated here: "(they) sought," though sometimes it is translated as "(they) have sought." The perfect comes from the 3rd principal part of the verb, petii or peti(v)i. Take off the -i and add perfect endings. The 3rd plural perfect ending is erunt or -ere.

6 line 167: fulsere is an alternate 3rd person plural form of the perfect tense of fulg(e)o and means "flashed" or "shone." (see note above.)

7. line 168: ulularunt = ululaverunt. Yet another alternate form of the 3rd person plural perfect of ululo (1), meaning "wailed." (See note for line 166).

8. End 170 with fuit, the 3rd person plural perfect of sum, esse, fui, futurum. It means "was," and comes from the third principal part. (See note for line 166.)

Enjoy!

Virgil Strikes Back!

We're not the only ones reading Book II of the Aeneid this winter. In the New York Times book blog, Paper Cuts, Steve Coates compares two translations of Virgil's scene of the murder of Priam by Pyrrhus (also known as Neoptolemus, the name Coates uses here). Read about it here: Virgil Strikes Back!

Homework Assignment for Feb. 16

Wheelock, Chapter 11: p. 71, learn vocab., P&R, 1-8, 14, 15, & Sententiae even, p. 72; read Cicero Denounces Catiline," p. 73.

Read Aeneid, half of Book IV (yes, we are skipping Book III!). Fagles, pp. 127-139; Latin lines 1-357.

Optional Latin Aeneid assignment TBA!

Optional Latin Challenge: Aeneid, Book 2, lines 550-558

Here's your chance to translate a few lines of the Aeneid on your own. This is not required! Some necessary grammar and notes appear below, but I'll leave you to look up the vocabulary (use the glossary in your Virgil book, and a few of my notes that appear at the end of this post). If you have a problem that I haven't addressed in the notes, e-mail me or leave a comment. Remember that the Romans are very big on hyperbaton (separating adjectives and nouns, for instance, so you have to "walk over" words to reunite the ones that belong together). Bonam fortunam! (this phrase is an exclamatory accusative, by the way!) We'll go over this passage in class.

Book 2, lines 550-58: the scene where Pyrrhus kills Priam.

GRAMMAR: There are two grammatical elements you have to recognize to read this Latin: (1) the perfect tense of the verb (a snap!) and present active participles (equally a snap!)

(1) The perfect tense of the verb is formed from the third principal part.

Amavi (I loved, I have loved) Monui (I warned, I have warned) Duxi (I led, I have led), etc.

To conjugate, you add perfect endings. The form you see repeatedly in these lines is the third person singular, the ending "t." It looks like this:

amavit (he, she, it loved, has loved) duxit (he, she, it led, has led), etc.

(2) The present active participle is translated with an "-ing" ending. It is a verbal adjective that will agree with the noun it modifies in gender, number, and case.

Here are some examples of English participles: praising, loving, leading.

The woman praising the football player loved sports.

The man singing the song is a tenor.

I saw the dog barking.

To form the Latin present active participle, you take the present stem (the second principal part minus -re) and add 3rd declension endings. A few endings, however, differ slightly from the 3rd declension nouns you have learned, and I will indicate these with an asterix.

SING. M&F
nom. laudans (-ns)
gen. laudantis (-ntis)
dat. laudanti (-nti)
acc. laundantem (-ntem)
abl. laudanti (-nti) * (sometimes -nte)

PLURAL
nom. laudantes (-ntes)
gen. laudantium (-ntium)*
dat. laudantibus (-ntibus)
acc. laudantes (-ntes)
abl. laudantibus (-ntibus)

THE NEUTER 3RD-DECLENSION ADJECTIVES ARE EXACTLY THE SAME EXCEPT FOR THE ACC. SING.. AND PLURAL NOM. & ACC. FORMS:

Neuter nom. sing. and acc. singular: laudans (the nom. & acc. are the same)

Neuter nom. pl. and acc. pl.: laudantia (-ntia)*

NOTES

V. 550: "Die!" (imperative of a deponent verb, which we haven't learned yet, and the end of a quote from Pyrrhus)

v. 551 dicens and trementem are both present active participles

v. 552 lapsantem is a pres. active participle

V. 553 laeva and dextra refer to the left hand and right hand respectively.

v. 554 extulit comes from effero, an irregular verb.

555 tulit comes from fero; videntem is a present active participle

Note

I'm a little behind and will post the Optional Latin Challenge (Virgil in Latin) tomorrow. See you then!

Laocoon Art

Laocoon by El Greco



Famous Laocoon sculpture.

Assignment due Feb. 9, Chapter 10

Wheelock, Chapter 10, pp. 64-67: Learn vocab.; do Practice & Review, 6-12; Sententiae Antiquae, odd.

-- Read story on hand-out.

--Finish Aeneid Book II in English translation.

--Optional Latin Aeneid translation TBA!