Find the Latin in the word cloud:
(the sun) rises
he / she sets out
he / she threatens
I am angry
I linger
I wander
they promise
they return
they use
we follow
we lie
we return
you (pl.) encourage
you (pl.) fear
you (pl.) try
you (sg.) admire
you (sg.) go out
you (sg.) speak
cōnāminī; ēgrederis; hortāminī; īrāscor; loqueris; mentīmur; minātur; mīrāris; moror; oritur; pollicentur; proficīscitur; regredimur; revertuntur; sequimur; ūtuntur; vagor; verēminī
Dē hieme
Hieme sōl humilis ab austrō vidētur. Merīdiē vix calēscit. Brevissimī diēs, noctēs longissimae sunt. Nam ad occāsum properat sōl hībernus; nox hīberna morātur ac tardātur. In diēs frīgēscit. Terra frīgore et pruīnā rigēscit. Tempestās perfrīgida fit.
Prīmā hieme nix in altīs montibus esse incipit. Cōpia nivis in diēs crēscit. Omnia loca superiōra paulātim nive albēscunt. Flūmina et lacūs rigent gelū. Post paulō īnferiōra quoque loca nive alba sunt. Caelum iam serēnum iam nūbibus obscūrum est.
Tum dēmum summa* hiems in terram ruit. Ventī per terrās turbine flant. Omnia furōre tempestātis miscentur. Nox ātra terrae impendet. Hiems omnia nive cingit. Multōs diēs tempestās furit. Posteā fragor ventōrum cadit. Boreās nūbēs fugat atque caelum serēnat. Omnia silent. Tum sōl, lūna et lūcida sīdera omnēs agrōs silvāsque nive candidās dēspiciunt.
Vocabulary
humilis, -e: low
vidētur: (it) is seen
occāsus, -ūs [4/m]: (here) West
morātur: lingers
tardātur: is delayed
incipiō, -ere; incēpī [3-iō]: begin
superior [m/f], -ius [n]: higher
rigeō, -ere; - [2]: become solid; stiffen
īnferior [m/f], -ius [n]: lower
summa* hiems: the depth of winter
ruō, -ere; ruī [2]: rush; tumble; fall
turbō, -īnis [3/m]: whirlwind; tornado
furor, -ōris [3/m]: rage; madness; fury
miscentur: (they) are mixed
āter, ātra, -um: black; dark
impendeō, -ere; - [2] + dat: hang over
cingō, -ere; cīnxī [3]: surround
furō, -ere; furuī [3]: rage; rave
fragor, -ōris [3/m]: noise; din
boreās, -ae [1/m]: North wind
dēspiciō, -ere; dēspexī [3]: look down on
*summus, -a, -um: [i] highest; greatest [ii] top - although summus is an adjective, it is often translated into English as a noun ‘the top of’ i.e. conveying the highest point either physically or with abstract concepts:
Cōnsul ipse vir summae dignitātis fuit. │ The consul himself was a man of the greatest worth.
summī et infimī │ the highest and the lowest (people)
Summā celeritāte ad silvam contendit. │He made for the forest with the utmost speed.
Avēs in summīs arboribus erant. │ The birds were in the treetops.
Poēta versōs summā vōce recitābat. │The poet was reciting the verses at the top of voice.
Novum templum in summō monte aedificaverunt. │ They’ve built a new temple on the top of the mountain.
Summā aestāte sōl maximē ārdet. │The sun burns the most at the height of summer.
Erat hiems summa, tempestās perfrīgida, imber maximus. (Cicero) │ It was the depth of winter, the weather was very cold, and the rain was very heavy.
[A]
[B] Find the Latin for:
Below are a list of common deponent verbs; take some time to memorise these and bear in mind that they are not passive. The perfect active participle can be misleading i.e. secūtus sum = I followed, not I was followed.
conor, conārī, cōnātus sum [1/dep]: try
hortor, hortārī, hortātus sum [1/dep]: encourage
miror, mirāri, mīrātus sum [1/dep]: wonder; be amazed
minor, minārī, minātus sum [1/dep]: threaten
____________________
polliceor, pollicērī, pollicitus sum [2/dep]: promise
vereor, vererī, veritus sum [2/dep]: fear; be afraid
____________________
īrāscor, īrāscī, īrātus sum [3/dep]: be angry
loquor, loquī, locūtus sum [3/dep]: speak
nascor, nascī, nātus sum [3/dep]: be born
proficiscor, proficisci, profectus sum [3/dep]: set out
sequor, sequī, secūtus sum [3/dep]: follow
utor, utī, ūsus sum [3/dep]: use
____________________
aggredior, aggredī, aggressūs sum [3-iō/dep]: attack
congredior, congredī, congressus sum [3-iō/dep]: meet; come together
egredior, egredī, ēgressus sum [3-iō/dep]: go out; disembark
progredior, progredī, prōgressus sum [3-iō/dep]: advance; go forward
morior, morī, mortuus sum [3-iō/dep]: die
____________________
mentior, mentīrī, mentitus sum [4/dep]: lie
orior, orīrī, ortūs sum [4/dep]: arise
[2] Image: examples of deponent verbs in simple sentences.
Sōl in oriente oritur. │ The sun rises in the east.
Caesar ē castrīs proficīscitur. │ Caesar sets out from the camp.
Nautae ē nāvī ēgrediuntur. │ The sailors disembark from the ship.
Domum revertor. │ I return home.
Ōrātor magnā vōce loquitur. │ The orator speaks in a loud voice.
Caesar cōpiās suās hortātur. │ Caesar encourages his troops.
Pulchritūdinem puellae mīrāmur. │ We admire the girl’s beauty.
Mīles gladiō ūtitur. │ The soldier uses a sword.
NON SEQUITUR: The English expression
‘non sequitur’ from Latin sequor means a statement that does
not logically follow from what has been said before:
“Since you are a good person, I, therefore, am a good person.”
Here are a few lines from the Mediaeval song ‘In taberna
quando sumus’ describing the fate of those who gamble; morantur is
a deponent verb, whereas the other verbs in bold are passive:
Sed in ludo qui morantur │ But those
who linger in the game [= who don’t stop playing]
ex his quidam denudantur │ Some of
them are stripped bare
quidam ibi vestiuntur, │ Some are
dressed there [= some win clothes]
quidam saccis induuntur. │ Some are
dressed in sacks.
Ibi nullus timet mortem │ Nobody fears death there
sed pro Baccho mittunt sortem │ But they throw the dice in the name of Bacchus.
Dē autumnō
Autumnō sōl paulātim ad austrum dēscendit. Singulī diēs breviōrēs fīunt. Singulae item noctēs longiōrēs sunt. Tempestās frīgidior esse incipit. Prīmō autumnō arborēs frūctibus curvant. Zephyrus lēniter spīrat. Sōl autumnī iam nōn ūrit. Autumnus omnibus grātus est.
Frīgus autem in diēs singulōs crēscit. Folia arborum paulātim variōs trahunt colōrēs. Terra frīgēscit. Iam agrī māne pruīnā albēscere incipient. Herba paulātim moritur. Tum dēmum folia ārēscunt, moriuntur, cadunt. Hinc atque hinc pīnūs nigrae stant. Reliquae arborēs nūdae foliīs* sunt. Avēs in austrum migrant. Hominēs mātūrant ultimōs frūctūs legere, bovēs ex agrīs colligere, omnia in hiemem parāre.
Extrēmō autumnō caelum nūbibus nigrēscit. Ventus saevit atque arboribus sonat. Madēns auster gelidum imbrem fert. Omnēs hominēs tēctum petunt et circum focum suum congregantur.
*Reliquae arborēs nūdae foliīs sunt. │ The rest of the trees are (literally) bare of leaves i.e. they have no leaves, are without leaves; this is an example of the ablative of separation. The term is used to refer the idea of something / someone being deprived of / freed from / in need of something. We’ll look at it again when a summary of all the ablative uses will be discussed.
Vocabulary
paulātim: gradually
Item: just like
curvō, -āre; curvāvī [1]: bend
zephyrus, -ī [2/m]: the west wind
lēniter: slowly
moritur: (it) dies; is dying
moriuntur: (they) die; are dying
tum dēmum: finally
pīnūs, -ūs [4/f] or -ī [2/f]: pine tree
hinc atque hinc: on each side
mātūrō, -āre; mātūrāvī [1]: rush; hasten
madēns, -entis: dripping
tectum, -ī [2/n]: roof; shelter (can also refer to ‘house’)
focus, -ī [2/m] fireplace; hearth
congregō, -āre, -āvī [1]: gather together
[A]
[B] Identify [i] the case and [ii] the number of the following nouns from the text, and [iii] give the nominative singular of the noun:
[C] Identify the case of the word in bold and explain why that case is being used.
[i] movement towards a place
[ii] movement out of a place
[iii] surrounding
Image #1: Apēs per agrōs vagantur. │ The bees wander through fields.
vagor, vagārī, vagātus (sum) [1/dep(onent)]: wander
[i] My own “shorthand” for this is to include the abbreviation ‘dep’ to show that it is a deponent verb rather than a passive one
[ii] as mentioned in the previous post, these verbs conjugate like any other passive verb but their meaning is active
[iii] image #2: deponent verbs can belong to any one of the conjugations
When reading, you will come across a mixture of passive and deponent verbs in the same text.
[i] passive
cōpia frūmentī cōnficitur │ a quantity of grain is produced
flōrēs aperiuntur │ flowers open (are opened)
frūmentum … in reliquum annum servātur │ the grain … is kept for the rest of the year
frūmentum mātūrum metitur │ ripe grain is harvested
omnia calōre ūruntur │ all things are burned by the heat
[ii] deponent
apēs per agrōs vagantur │ bees wander through the fields
avēs ex austrō revertuntur │ birds return from the south
bovēs … herbā pāscuntur │ cattle … feed on grass
herba ē terrā nāscitur │ grass grows / springs forth (is born) from the ground
Dē aestāte
Aestāte sōl altus in caelō est. Sōl aestātis calidus est. Nōs calōre suō ūrit. Terra calida est. Caelum serēnum atque caeruleum est. Diēs longissimī, noctēs brevissimae sunt. Prīmā aestāte rūra flōrea sunt. Omnia flōrent. Apēs per agrōs vagantur. Mel dulce ē floribus legunt. Cōpiam mellis sibi faciunt atque in hiemem servant. Cōpia pābulī esse incipit. Frūctūs mātūrēscere incipiunt.
Hominēs pābulum metere incipiunt. Cōpiam pābulī equīs et bōbus cōnficiunt atque in hiemem servant. Frūctūs mātūrōs legere incipiunt. Cōpiam frūctuum sibi cōnficiunt atque in hiemem servant. Mediā aestāte frūmenta mātūrēscunt. Agrīs color est aureus. Frūmentum mātūrum metitur. Cōpia frūmentī cōnficitur atque in reliquum annum servātur. Extrēmā aestāte omnia calōre ūruntur. Agrī āridī sunt. Flōrēs ārēscunt. Herba ārēscit. Bovēs inopiā aquae labōrant. Omnia sitī labōrant. Omnia umbrās arborum et frīgus petunt.
Vocabulary
ūrō, -ere; ussī [3]: burn
rūs, rūris [3/n]: country(side)
flōreus, -a, -um: flowery
vagantur: (they) wander
cōpia, -ae [1/f]: supply; abundance
sibi: (here) for themselves
pābulum, -ī [2/n]: food; (also food for animals)
mātūrēscō, -ere; mātūruī [3]: ripen; mature
metō, -ere; messuī [3]: reap; harvest
metitur: (it) is reaped / harvested
reliquus, -a, -um: remaining
servātur: (it) is kept
ārēscō, -ere; aruī [3]: wither; become dry
inopia, -ae [1/f]: scarcity; lack
sītis, -is [3/f ; no pl.; acc. sg. sitim]: thirst
umbra, -ae [1/f]: shade
[A]
[B] Review the grammar terms; the following are examples of which grammatical features listed below?
[C] Identify the case and number of the 4th declension noun:
The previous text contained three verbs that were highlighted in the vocabulary list:
Avēs ex austrō revertuntur. │ The birds return from the south.
Bovēs iterum … herbā pāscuntur. │ The cattle again … graze on the grass.
Herba ē terrā nāscitur. │ Grass springs forth (is born) from the ground.
There is a group of verbs in Latin known as deponent that have passive forms but active meanings. At this stage it is best to remember two terms:
[i] An active verb is one where the subject performs the action.
The farmers harvest grain = active sentence
Agricolae frūmentum metunt.
The soldier killed the king = active sentence
Mīles rēgem interfēcit.
[ii] A passive verb is one where the subject experiences the action.
The grain is harvested by the farmers = passive sentence
Frūmentum ab agricolīs metitur.
The king was killed by the soldier = passive sentence
Rēx ā mīlite interfectus est.
With deponent verbs, however, the opposite is taking place; that’s not the be-all and end-all explanation, but it is enough for now. Deponent verbs look like passive verbs but they are active, the subject performing the action and not experiencing it.
Examples:
sequor = I follow, not I am followed!
ūtor = I use, not I am being used!
The deponent verbs only have three principal parts:
sequor, sequī, secūtus sum [3/dep]: follow
[1] sequor; first person singular present tense; I follow, not *I am followed*
[2] sequī; infintive; to follow, not *to be followed*
The third principal part is not passive in meaning but rather the meaning of a perfect tense of an active verb; it will still agree in gender and number with the subject of the verb like the perfect passive participle, but what looks like a passive is, in fact, active.
[3] secūtus, -a sum; perfect active; I (have) followed, not *I have been / was followed*
secūtus, -a est │ he / she followed
secūtī, -ae sumus │ we (m/f) followed
[1] revertor; first person singular; I return
[2] revertī; infinitive; to return
[3] reversus, -a (sum); perfect active participle; I (have) returned
The next three readings on the seasons will give further examples of deponent verbs at which point we will look at them in more detail. There is a high risk of becoming tied in knots with long-winded explanations as to why such verbs exist, some writers on Latin grammar trying to analyse each deponent verb to work out why a passive form is being used when an active sense is meant. Given that there are over 500 deponent verbs in Latin, it seems to me to be a time-consuming wild goose chase. The best approach is to note deponent verbs when they occur and, for the moment, simply note that deponent verbs are passive in form but active in meaning.
The Latin Tutorial video will give you an overview of the deponent verbs:
Dē vēre
Vēre sōl in caelō scandit. Singulī diēs longiōrēs fīunt. Singulae noctēs breviōrēs fīunt. Sōl vēris calēscit. Nix hiemis liquēscit. Auster pluviam fert. Herba ē terrā nāscitur. Nūdī agrī iterum viridēs fīunt. Arborēs folia prōdūcunt. Avēs ex austrō revertuntur. Silvae cantū sonant. Flōrēs aperiuntur.
Iuvat in agrōs silvāsque exīre. Bovēs iterum per collēs et vallēs herbā pāscuntur. Virī et puerī cum equīs exeunt. In agrīs labōrant. Agrōs arant. Sēmina et arborēs serunt. Arborēs serit dīligēns agricola, quārum adspiciet frūctum ipse numquam. Serit arborēs, quae alterī saeculō prōsint.
Vocabulary: note in particular the words in bold
scandō, -ere; scandī [3]: ascend
singulus, -a, -um: (here) one by one; one at a time
auster, -trī [2/m]: the south wind
nāscitur: is born
prōdūcō,-ere; prōdūxī [3]: produce
revertuntur: (they) return
sonō, -āre; sonuī [1]: resound
aperiuntur: (they) are being opened
iuvat [+ īnfīnītīve]: it is pleasing [to ...]
pāscuntur [+ abl.]: (they) feed [on ...]
sēmen, seminis [3/n]: seed
sērō, -ere; sēvī [3]: sow; plant
ipse: himself
alter, -a, -um: (here) the next
saeculum, -ī [2/n]: generation; century
prōsum, prōdesse; prōfuī [+ dat.]: be of benefit [to...]
[A]
[B] Review the grammar terms; the following are examples of which grammatical features listed below?
adspiciet
aperiuntur
calēscit; liquēscit
cantū; fructum
cum equīs; ē terrā; ex austrō; dē vēre
in agrōs; in agrīs
longiōrēs; breviōrēs
per collēs / per vallēs
quae; quārum
viridēs; diligēns
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNwBExn1zgg
This song is packed with aspects of Latin that have been
covered in the posts since the group started. If you’ve been following the
posts, or the other site, or you’re using your own resources, songs like this
really help you to see where you are, and / or point to areas that still need
to be looked at.
1st declension nouns
angaria, -ae [1/f]: (original meaning) compulsory service to
a lord (very apt in this song)
c(h)orda, -ae [1/f]: string (of a musical instrument)
fortūna, -ae [1/f]: fortune; fate
hōra, -ae [1/f]: hour
lūna, -ae [1/f]: moon
mora, -ae [1/f]: delay
rota, -ae [1/f]: wheel
hāc in hōrā: (ablative) in this
hour
sine morā: (ablative) without delay
Note: in Mediaeval Latin spelling there is shift from /ae/
to /e/to reflect pronunciation change e.g. saepe (often) > sepe; puellae >
puelle, there’s an interesting example in this song:
Corde pulsum tangite. This is from chorda, -ae
[1/f]: string of a musical instrument.
Chordae pulsum tangite │ literally: touch the
beat of the string; pluck the vibrating string
The other Mediaeval spelling to note is michi;
Classical Latin: mihi
2nd declension nouns
dorsum, -ī [2/n]: back
lūdus, -ī [2/m]: game
pulsus, -ī [2/m]: beat; pulse; strike
per ludum: (accusative) through(out)
/ during the game
3rd declension nouns
mēns, mentis [3/f]: mind
sors, sortis [3/f]: fate
egestās, egestātis [3/f]: poverty; want; need
potestās, potestātis[3/f]: power
virtūs, virtūtis [3/f]: virtue
salūs, salūtis [3/f]: safety; security; health
scelus, sceleris [3/n]: evil deed; wickedness
4th and 5th declension nouns
status, -ūs [4/m]: state; condition
aciēs, aciēī [5/f]: sharpness; keeness
glaciēs, glaciēī [5/f]: ice
statū (ablative) variābilis: changeable in state
/ condition
1st / 2nd declension adjectives
contrārius, -a, -um: contrary; conflicting
malus, -a, -um: bad; evil
nūdus, -a, -um: bare
vānus, -a, -um: vain; empty; deceptive
Note: these words below are not actually adjectives although
they have exactly the same endings
affectus, -a, -um: (here) weakened; impaired
dēfectus, -a, -um: tired; worn out
obumbrātus, -a, -um: darkened; shadowed
vēlātus, -a, -um: wrapped; veiled
In English, if we say, for example, the letter was written,
these words, known in grammar as passive participles, have the same meaning;
they will be discussed in a later post.
3rd declension adjectives
dētestābilis, -e: abominable; detestable
dissolūbilis, -e: dissoluble
fortis, -e: strong; brave
immānis, -e: immense; enormous; (here) inhuman
inānis, -e: empty; meaningless
variābilis, -e: variable; changeable
volūbilis, -e: turning; spinning
1st conjugation verbs
cūrō, cūrāre [1]: take care of; heal; cure
obdūrō, obdūrāre [1]: harden; persist
3rd conjugation verbs
crēscō, crēscere [3]: grow
dēcrēscō, dēcrēscere [3]: decrease
dissolvō, dissolvere [3]: dissolve
plangō, plangere [3]: lament
sternō, sternere [3]: knock to the ground; strike down
tangō, tangere [3]: touch; strike
Irregular
ferō, ferre: bring
The only verb that I’m not going to say anything about is:
michi quoque niteris │you bear upon me too
That involves an aspect of Latin verbs that will take quite
some time to explain. It’s best just to note it.
And take a close look at the image because there are three
verb tenses around the image of the king:
rēgnō, rēgnāre, rēgnāvī [1]: rule; reign
rēgnō: I rule / I am ruling
rēgnābō: I shall rule
rēgnāvī: I (have) ruled
I used this song to check how I was doing when learning the language. I didn’t jump into the works of Cicero; I went for Mediaeval song lyrics because they still contain all the major points of Latin.
Despite this song complaining about the vagaries of fate
that are beyond our control, whoever wrote O Fortuna in the early 13th century
probably had fate on his side. A century or so later the Black Death wiped out
an estimated 50,000,000 people including perhaps 50% of the European
population; nobody knew what caused it and nobody knew how to stop it. They
just had to accept their fate.
How ironic it is to listen to this song, with Carl Orff’s
towering and dark composition, performed by the Edinburgh Festival choir – in a
silent and locked down Scotland – at the mercy of a global pandemic which, at
first, had no cure. The pleasure in their faces at the end is probably when
restrictions were relaxed a little.
Whatever was going to happen at that time, it was out of our
hands.
Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi │Fate, the Empress of the World
In this post I have given the Latin lyrics together with an
English translation as close as possible to the original. In the next post I’ll
give vocabulary and notes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNwBExn1zgg
O Fortuna │O Fortune
velut luna │just like the moon
statu variabilis │variable in state
semper crescis │(you are) always growing
(waxing)
aut decrescis │ or decreasing (waning)
vita detestabilis │detestable life
nunc obdurat │now it oppresses
et tunc curat │and then it
soothes (heals)
ludo mentis aciem │keeness of mind with a game (it plays
with mental clarity)
egestatem │poverty
potestatem │power
dissolvit ut glaciem. │it melts (them) like ice.
Sors immanis │Fate, monstrous
et inanis │and empty
rota tu volubilis │you turning wheel
status malus │evil condition
vana salus │ empty (worthless) security (a false sense of
security / well-being)
semper dissolubilis│always dissoluble (fading to nothing)
obumbrata │shadowed
et velata │and veiled
michi quoque niteris │you bear upon me too
nunc per ludum│dorsum nudum│fero tui sceleris. │Now through
the game of your wickedness I bear a naked back [= my back is bare]
Sors salutis│The fate of health
et virtutis│and virtue
michi nunc contraria, │are now against me
est affectus│weakened
et defectus│worn out (“weighted down” in some translations)
semper in angaria. │always in slavery
Hac in hora│in this hour
sine mora│without delay
corde pulsum tangite; │touch the beat of the string
quod per sortem│because through fate
sternit fortem, │she strikes down the strong
mecum omnes plangite! │Everybody weep with
me!