Level 4; literature; Mediaeval; tempus est iocundum (Codex Buranus c1230) [2] translation; notes

repost from: https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/06/040724-tempus-est-iocundum-2.html

This is a ‘gentler’ version of the same song but still has that Mediaeval colour.

Note: for those who have been following the posts and / or the alternative site, every feature of Latin has been discussed before, and so this is a tremendous example of all the jigsaw pieces coming together.

Each verse is only a couple of lines. I’ll begin with verse #1 [V1] and the refrain

[V1] Tempus est iocundum, ō virginēs, modo congaudēte vōs iuvenēs │ The time is pleasing, you virgins, just rejoice, you young men

congaudeō, congaudēre [2]: (Late Latin) rejoice; here it’s in the imperative / command form (talking to more than one person) i.e. gaudēte

• iocundus, -a, -um (Late Latin): joyful (CL: iūcundus)
• iuvenis, -is [3/m]: young man
• tempus, temporis [3/n]: time
• virgō, virginis [3/f]: girl; maiden; virgin

Chorus: it has a very good example of different noun and adjective types working together

Ō, ō, tōtus flōreō! │Oh, oh, I am blossoming!

iam amōre virginālī tōtus ārdeō, novus, novus amor est, quō pereō. │ I’m totally burning with first love, it’s a new, new love from which I’m dying

• ārdeō, ārdēre [2]: burn
• flōreō, flōrēre [2]: bloom; blossom; flower
• tōtus, -a, -um: completely; the grammar FBI will say that it should be tōta because a girl is singing! It didn’t seem to bother them in 1230.
• pereō, perīre: die; perish; it’s come up before: eō, īre (go) can have prefixes to change its meaning
• amōre pereō: the ablative expresses the cause; I am burning with [because of] love

But, here’s the grammar point to note

• amor, amōris [3/m]: love; a third declension noun
• novus, -a, -um: new; a 1st/ 2nd declension adjective
• virginālis, -e: maidenly (or ‘first’ in the sense of your ‘first love’); a 3rd declension adjective

[i] iam amōre [3rd declension noun] virginālī [3rd declension adjective] tōtus ārdeō

• I am completely burning with first love

[ii] novus, novus [1st/ 2nd declension adjective] amor [3rd declension noun] est, quō pereō

• It is a new, new love from which I’m dying.

The adjective and the noun agree in gender, number and case but they retain their own endings.

Here are the rest of the verses:

[V2] Cantat philomena sīc dulciter, et modulāns audītur; intus caleō │The nightingale sings so sweetly, and it is heard singing, and I am hot inside

• caleō, calēre [2]: to be hot (check the posts on weather!)
• cantō, cantāre [1]: sing
• dulcis, -e [3]: sweet; and there is an example of how Latin forms some adverbs: dulciter: sweelty
• intus: (adverb) within; inside
• modulāns, modulantis [3]: (here) singing

Note: passive

• audit: he / she / it hears
• audītur: he / she / it is heard

[V3] Flōs est puellārum, quam dīligō, et rosa rosārum, quam sepe videō; │ She is the flower of the girls whom I love, and the rose of the roses whom I often see

• dīligō, dīligere [3]: love
• flōs, flōris [3/m]: flower
• sepe = saepe (often); Mediaeval spelling shift from /ae/ > /e/ to reflect pronunciation change
• videō, vidēre [2]: see

[V4] Mea mē cōnfortat prōmissiō, mea mē dēportat negātiō. │ My promise strengthens me, my refusal carries me away

[V5] Mea mēcum lūdit virginitās, mea mē dētrūdit simplicitās. │My virginity plays with me, my innocence pushes me down

Note: in some versions the ‘mea’ becomes ‘tua’ i.e. your promise strengthens me etc. I’m following the exact lyrics from the Youtube version.

• cōnfortō, cōnfortō [1]: strengthen
• dēportō, dēportāre [1]: carry off
• dētrūdō, dētrūdere [3]: push down
• lūdo, lūdere [3]: play
• mē¦cum: with me

Four 3rd declension nouns that always have the same type of stem change: -iō, -tās

• negatiō, negātiōnis [3/f]: refusal
• prōmissiō, prōmissiōnis [3/f]: promise
• simplicitās, simplicitātis [3/f]: innocence; simplicity
• virginitās, virginitātis [3/f]: maidenhood; virginity

[V6] Sile, philomēna, prō tempore, surge cantilēna dē pectore. │Be silent, nightingale, for a while, rise up, song, from (my) breast

• sileō, silēre [2]: be silent; imperative / command talking to one person i.e. sile
• surgō, surgere [3]: arise; imperative / command talking to one person i.e. surge
• cantilēna, -ae [1/f]: (old) song
• pectus, pectoris [3/m]: breast

[V7] Tempore brūmālī vir patiēns, animō vernālī lascīviēns. │In the winter time a man (is) patient, frisky with the breath of spring

• animus, -ī [2/m]: soul; ‘life force’, but ‘the breath / spirit of spring’ is quite neat
• vir, -ī [2/m]: man

2 adjectives to describe seasons

• brūmālis, -is [3]: winter; wintry; ablative of time when: tempore brūmālī (in the winter time)
• vernālis, -e [3]: spring

Note the regular stem changes of these types ending in -ns

patiēns, patientis [3]: patient

lascīviēns, lascīvientis [3]: frolicking; “frisky”

[V8] Venī, domicella, cum gaudiō, venī, venī, pulchra, iam pereō. │Come, maiden, with joy, come, come, beautiful (girl), I’m dying now

• domicella, -ae [1/f]: (Mediaeval) young lady; maiden
• gaudium, -ī [2/n]: joy
• preposition cum + ablative
• pulcher, pulchra, pulchrum: beautiful
• veniō, venīre [4]: come; imperative / command form talking to one person i.e. venī 

Level 4; literature; Mediaeval; the song that wakes the dead - tempus est iocundum (Codex Buranus c1230) [1] text

repost from: https://adckl.blogspot.com/2024/06/040724-song-that-wakes-dead-tempus-est.html

Codex Buranus (c.1230)

Tempus est iocundum

[v1] Tempus est iocundum, ō virginēs, modo congaudēte vōs iuvenēs,

Refrain

Ō, ō, tōtus flōreō!

Iam amōre virginālī tōtus ārdeō, novus, novus amor est, quō pereō.

[v2] Cantat philomena sīc dulciter, et modulāns audītur; intus caleō

[v3] Flōs est puellārum, quam dīligō, et rosa rosārum, quam sepe videō;

[v4] Mea mē cōnfortat prōmissiō, mea mē dēportat negātiō.

[v5] Mea mēcum lūdit virginitās, mea mē dētrūdit simplicitās.

[v6] Sile, philomēna, prō tempore, surge cantilēna dē pectore.

[v7] Tempore brūmālī vir patiēns, animō vernālī lascīviēns.

[v8] Venī, domicella, cum gaudiō, venī, venī, pulchra, iam pereō.

Level 4; listening; Nūntiī Latīnī [4]

Imperātor Iapōniae Akihītō potestātem dēposuit. Kalendīs Maiīs Naruhītō fīlius maximus nātū illī successit. In Iapōniā Imperātor hīs ducentīs annīs numquam sē mūnere abdicāvit, sed petītū imperātōris Akihītō, quī octōgintā quīnque annōs nātus valētūdine labōrat, lēx mūtāta est. Dynastīa Iapōniae, quae potestātem inde ā quīntō saeculō tenet, est in mundō vetustissima.

[i] The article concerns:

A: a royal death

B: an abdication

C: a political overthrow

D: the birth of a son

[ii] When did this take place?

[iii] Who is the successor? (2)

[iv] When was the last time such a decision was taken?

[v] Who has made this request?

[vi] How old is he?

[vii] Why did he make this request?

[viii] What has been changed?

[ix] What two pieces of information are given about the dynasty? (2)

____________________

[i] B

[ii] May 1st

[iii] Naruhito (1); Akihito's eldest son (1)

[iv] more than 200 years ago / over 200 years previously

[v] the Emperor (Akihito)

[vi] 85

[vii] (suffering from) ill health / health reasons

[viii] the law

[ix] has held power since the fifth century (1); oldest in the world (1)

____________________

Emperor Akihito has abdicated. On 1 May, his eldest son, Naruhito, succeeded him. In Japan, no emperor has abdicated from office during the previous two hundred years, but at the request of Emperor Akihito, who at the age of eighty-five is suffering from ill health, the law has been changed. The Japanese dynasty, which has held power since the fifth century, is the oldest in the world.

Level 3+ (review); correlatives [2]

[1] Both Latin and English can extend the correlative beyond a simple pair:

nōn committendae eius modī perīculō, ut aut interīre aut aperīrī aut intercipī possint (Cicero)

• (Letters) of that kind should not be entrusted to danger, so that they might either be lost, or opened, or intercepted

ita multa vel īrācundē vel īnsolenter vel in omnī genere stultitiae īnsulsē adrogantur (Cicero)

• And so many things are arrogantly claimed in a tasteless way, either in anger, or insolently, or in every kind of foolishness

nec amantius nec honōrificentius nec cōpiōsius potuisse dīcī (Cicero)

• It could have been said neither more affectionately, nor more honourably, nor more fully.

Here, stylistically it sounds odd in English and so the sentence could equally be translated as:

• It could not have been said either more affectionately, or more honourably, or more fully.

[2] The highly emphatic Cicero …

As an orator Cicero was famous for his devastating legal and political speeches, a skill so formidable that it ultimately contributed to his own murder. He would use a number of devices in order to emphasise a point or to build anticipation – not unlike our contemporary politicians.

[i] In section [1] above you will note that the repetition of the correlative creates three statements that are grammatically similar or identical:

(1) nec amantius (2) nec honōrificentius (3) nec cōpiōsius potuisse dīcī

This is known as a tricolon, a very common feature of Cicero’s oratorical style although it is also used, as here, in his letters.

[ii] Likewise, in a letter to Atticus, the repetition of et extends beyond a mere correlative:

Tū autem, quī saepissimē cūram et angōrem animī meī sermōne et cōnsiliō levāstī tuō, quī mihi et in pūblicā rē socius et in prīvātīs omnibus cōnscius et omnium meōrum sermōnum et cōnsiliōrum particeps esse solēs, ubinam es?

• “But you — who have very often relieved the care and distress of my mind by your conversation and your advice, who are both my partner in public affairs and my confidant in all private matters, and are accustomed to share in all my conversations and my plans — where are you?”

This is an example of a crescendo: a lengthy accumulation of ideas showing how indispensable Atticus is to him, leading to a final dramatic statement.

Level 3+ (review); correlatives [1] introduction; et … et; aut … aut …; vel … vel; neque (nec) … neque (nec)

Reference list: each of the correlatives will be covered in depth with explanations and examples in this and the subsequent posts:

Reference list:

[i] et … et … | both … and …

[ii] aut … aut … | either … or …

[iii] vel … vel … | either … or …

[iv] nec (neque) … nec (neque) … | neither … nor …

[v] nōn sōlum / tantum / modo  … sed etiam … | not only … but also …

[vi] modo … modo … | now … now …; at one moment …. at another (moment) …

[vii] sīve (seu) … sīve (seu) … | whether … or …

[viii] (nōn) tam … quam … | (not) as / so … as …

[ix] tot … quot … | as many … as …

[x] tantum … quantum … | as much … as …

[xi] totiē(n)s … quotiē(n)s … | as often … as …

[xii] eō … quō … | the more … the more …

[xiii] tantō … quantō … | the more … the more …

[xiv] tālis … quālis … | of such a sort … as …

Introduction

[1]

He is both honest …

She is either Italian …

They are neither on holiday …

The three statements above give ‘half the story’; both, either, and neither signal that there is a second part to the sentence which is related to the first and completes the entire statement.

He is (1) both honest (2) and kind.

She is (1) either Italian (2) or Spanish.

They are (1) neither on holiday (2) nor at home.

[2]

both … and…

either … or …

neither … nor …

These are known as correlatives and are used to form correlative pairs i.e. two related statements.

[3] Latin uses correlatives in the same way, but note the following general remarks:

(1) Correlatives may be formed with identical words, for example:

et … et …

modo … modo …

(2) They may be formed with different words, for example:

nōn sōlum … sed etiam …

totiēns … quotiēns …

(3) They may reverse the order of the two parts, for example:

eō … quō [or: quō … eō]

tantō … quantō [or: quantō … tantō …]

(4) These posts deal with the most commonly occurring correlatives although Roman authors may at times use different combinations.

(5) It is important to note that dictionary translations of correlatives do not always neatly adapt to English renderings of the original Latin text; flexibility and creativity may be needed to convey the idea of the Latin correlative in a fluent way.

In this post we will focus on:

[i] et … et …

[ii] aut … aut …

[iii] vel … vel …

[iv] nec (neque) … nec (neque) …

et: and

aut / vel: or

nec (neque): and not / nor

As individual words, they have their own meanings. We look here at how the meaning changes when they are used in pairs:

[i] et … et … | both … and …

mihi enim perspecta est et ingenuitās et magnitūdō animī tuī (Cicero)

• For I have clearly perceived both your integrity and the greatness of your spirit.

quod ad mē dē rē pūblicā scrībis, disputās tū quidem et amanter et prūdenter (Cicero)

• As for what you write to me about the state, you argue both affectionately and wisely.

[ii] aut … aut … | either … or …

nōn dubitābam, quīn tē ille aut Dyrrachī aut in istīs locīs uspiam vīsūrus esset (Cicero)

• I had no doubt that he would see you either at Dyrrachium or somewhere in those places.

nam ad mē … maximē pertinet nēminem esse meōrum, quī aut tē nōn amet aut abs tē nōn amētur (Cicero)

• For it concerns me very much that there is no one of my people who either does not love you or is not loved by you.

[iii] vel … vel … | either … or …

fuit omnīnō difficile nōn obsequī vel amīcissimō hominī Lentulō, vel Metellō (Cicero)

• It was altogether difficult not to comply either with the very friendly man Lentulus or with Metellus.

nusquam facilius hanc miserrimam vītam vel sustentābō vel, quod multō est melius, abiēcerō (Cicero)

• Nowhere will I more easily either endure this most wretched life or — what is much better — cast it off.

[iv] nec (neque) … nec (neque) … | neither … nor …

nec mihi cōnsilium nec cōnsōlātiō dēesset (Cicero)

• I would lack neither counsel nor consolation

atque in eō neque auctōritāte neque grātiā pugnat (Cicero)

• and in that matter he fights with neither authority nor influence

neque mē tibi neque quemquam antepōnō (Cicero)

• I place neither myself nor anybody else before you

The following example contains an emphatic double negative:

nam cētera nōn possunt habēre eandem neque vim neque venustātem (Cicero)

[Lit: *cannot have … neither … nor …*]

In English such a construction has to be reworked so that one of the negative expressions is cancelled out and becomes positive:

• For the other things cannot have either the same force or charm.

Level 4; literature; Mediaeval; Gesta Rōmānōrum; Filia Piratae [3]

Puella audiēns istās ratiōnēs ait: “Ad prīmam respondeō, quandō dīcis, quod ego dēcēpī patrem meum proprium, quod nōn est vērum. Ille dēcīpitur, quī in aliquō bonō dīminuitur. Sed pater meus tam locuplēs est, quod alicuius auxiliō nōn indiget. Cum hoc perpendī, iuvenem istum ā carcere līberāvī, et sī pater meus prō eō redemptiōnem accēpisset, nōn multum propter hoc dītior fuisset, et tū per redemptiōnem dēpauperātus essēs. Ergō in istō actū tē salvāvī, quod redemptiōnem nōn dēdistī, et patrī meō nūllam iniūriam fēcī.

Ad aliam ratiōnem, quandō dīcis, quod ego ex libīdine hoc fēcī, respondeō: hoc nūllō modō potest fierī, quia libīdō aut est propter pulchritūdinem aut propter dīvitiās aut propter fortitūdinem. Sed fīlius tuus nūllum istōrum habuit, quia pulchritūdō eius per carcerem erat annihilāta; nec dīves fuit, quia nōn habuit, unde sē ipsum redimeret; nec fortis, quia fortitūdinem perdidit per carceris macerātiōnem. Ergō sōla pietās mē movēbat, quod ipsum līberāvī.

Pater hoc audiēns nōn potuit fīlium arguere ulterius. Fīlius ergō cum magnā solennitāte eam in uxōrem dūxit et in pāce vītam fīnīvit.

Vocabulary

[i]

[1] Look out for variant spellings:

sollemnitās, -tātis [3/f]: solemnity; formality

here: solennitāte; the consonant cluster of -mn- often occurs in Mediaeval writing as -mpn- / -mnn- / -nn-, for example:

sollemnis, -e > sollempnis

[ii]

arguō, -ere, -uī, argūtus [3]: (here) blame

dēpauperō, -āre, -āvī, -ātus [1] (Mediaeval) impoverish

indigeō, -ēre, -uī [2]: need, want, require, lack

+ ablative: alicuius auxiliō nōn indiget | he does not need the help of anybody

perpendō, -ere, -pendī, -pensus [3]: consider, examine (carefully), ponder

[iii]

dītior: wealthier; comparative of dīves, divitis

locuplēs, -ētis: wealthy

Notes

Mediaeval features

[i] quod introducing indirect statement:

quandō dīcis, quod ego dēcēpī patrem meum proprium

when you say that I deceived my own father

quandō dīcis, quod ego ex libīdine hoc fēcī

when you say that I did this out of desire

[ii] quod introducing clause of result:

pater meus tam locuplēs est, quod alicuius auxiliō nōn indiget

my father is so wealthy that he has no need of anyone’s help

Subjunctive usage

[i] sī pater meus prō eō redemptiōnem accepisset, nōn multum propter hoc dītior fuisset et tū per redemptiōnem dēpauperātus essēs.

if my father had received a ransom for him, he would not have been much richer because of it, and you would have been impoverished through the ransom

conditional clause: past contrary-to-fact

https://adckl.blogspot.com/2026/04/140926-level-3-conditional-clauses-9.html

[ii] quia nōn habuit, unde sē ipsum redimeret

… because he had nothing with which he could ransom himself

characteristic

https://adckl.blogspot.com/search/label/subjunctive%3A%20characteristic

____________________

The girl, hearing these arguments, said: “To the first I reply: when you say that I deceived my own father, that is not true. He is deceived who is diminished in some good. But my father is so wealthy that he has no need of anyone’s help. When I considered this, I freed that young man from prison, since if my father had received a ransom for him, he would not have been much richer because of it, and you would have been impoverished through the ransom. Therefore in that action I saved you by not giving the ransom, and I did no injury to my father.

To the second argument, when you say that I did this out of desire, I reply that this can in no way be the case, because desire exists either on account of beauty, or wealth, or strength. But your son had none of these, since his beauty had been destroyed by imprisonment; nor was he rich, because he had nothing with which to ransom himself; nor was he strong, because he had lost his strength through the weakening of prison. Therefore only compassion moved me, when I freed him.”

The father, hearing this, was no longer able to accuse his son further. Therefore the son, with great solemnity, took her as his wife, and ended his life in peace.

Level 4; listening; Nūntiī Latīnī [3]

Manifēstātiōnēs tumultuōsae Parīsiīs et in aliīs Franciae regiōnibus diē Sabbatī continuābantur. Autoraedae cremābantur et fenestrae tabernārum frangēbantur. Damna Parīsiīs maiōra erant quam ante septimānam. Bruno Le Maire, minister ab aerāriō pūblicō, violentiam tumultuantium oeconomiae catastrophicam appellāvit. Praesertim mercātōrēs, caupōnāriī et gestōrēs dēversōriōrum damna cēpērunt.

[i] True or false?

[a] Demonstrations began on Saturday.

[b] The demonstrations were only in Paris.

[ii] What was burned?

[iii] What was smashed?

[iv] The damage in Paris was worse compared to ….

[v] Who is Bruno Le Maire?

[vi] How did he describe the damage?

[vii] Which three groups of people particularly suffered losses?

____________________

[i]

[a] false; they continued on Saturday

[b] false; in Paris and in other regions of France

[ii] cars

[iii] shop windows

[iv] a week ago / the previous week

[v] Minister of Public Finance

[vi] catastrophic for the economy

[vii] shopkeepers; café and restaurant owners; hoteliers

____________________

Violent demonstrations continued in Paris and in other regions of France on Saturday. Cars were burned and shop windows were smashed. The damage in Paris was greater than a week earlier. Bruno Le Maire, the minister of public finance, described the violence of the rioters as catastrophic for the economy. Merchants, café and restaurant owners, and hotel operators in particular suffered losses.