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]
- How is the sun described in the first sentence?
- What is the weather like at noon?
- In what direction is the sun hurrying?
- What happens to the ground?
- “Tempestās perfrīgida fit.” [i] Does tempestās refer to a storm? [ii] What is the function of the prefix per- in “perfrīgida”?
- When and where does the snow first begin to appear?
- How do the higher places change?
- What happens to the rivers and lakes?
- Describe the sky.
- How does the writer convey the force of the winds?
- Why does the night seem threatening?
- “Multōs diēs tempestās furit. Posteā fragor ventōrum cadit. Boreās nūbēs fugat atque caelum serēnat. Omnia silent.” Explain in your own words how the weather changes.
- How are the fields and forests described?
[B] Find the Latin for:
- a little while after
- afterwards
- at one time … at another …
- day by day
- finally
- for; because
- scarcely; hardly
- then
