Sed iam prope fīnem ambulātiōnis nostrae erāmus, cum Alexander "Ecce, Rutupiās videō!" inquit. Et castellum nōn procul aberat.
Amita mea et Lȳdia, quae ante nōs adventāverant, cum nōs
vident, "Salvēte!" inquiunt;
"gaudēmus quod* ad
tempus adestis. Sed nōnne
fatīgātī estis?" [*see note]
Et patruus meus
sīc respondet: "Bene nōs habēmus. Sed nōs nōn pigēbit hīc paulum sedēre et
prandiō nōs recreāre. Hinc castellum in oculīs habēbimus. Vidētisne ruīnās? Ut
aetās omnia dēlet!" Illae rīdent; nam rēvērā fatīgātī erāmus.
Castellum
Rutupīnum, tertiō saeculō ā Rōmānīs aedificātum, in prōmunturiō lītoris situm
est. Hodiē procul ā marī iacet; sed temporibus Rōmānōrum tōtus campus, quī nunc
inter castellum et ōram maritimam iacet, pars maris erat.
Post prandium ad
castellum ipsum ambulāvimus. Ruīnae praeclārae sunt. Pars mūrōrum lateribus
Rōmānīs aedificāta est; sed multīs locīs dēlētī sunt. Mūrus quī ad
septentriōnēs spectat quadringentōs quadrāgintā pedēs longus est, vīgintī vel
trīgintā pedēs altus. Sed quondam maiōrem altitūdinem habēbat; nam fundāmenta
mūrōrum altē sub terrā iacent. In angulīs mūrōrum fundāmenta turrium vidēs.
Notes:
gaudēmus ¦ quod ad tempus adestis │ We
rejoice (we’re very happy) ¦ that you are here on time
Be careful with
this! The English translation – we rejoice ¦ that you are here – is not
an adjectival clause; in this English sentence ‘that’ is not referring to a
noun antecedent, but is used to introduce an indirect statement in the same way
as it is used in, for example:
He said ¦ that
he lived in Rome.
This is touching
on a different and extensive topic which was briefly referred to in an earlier
post on this text.
Sonnenschein does
not explain this, and it could be misleading because, in almost expressions of
indirect statement, Latin does not use quod.
Here is the
example from earlier parts of the text:
Ex Hiberniā [i] eōs
in Calēdoniam [ii] migrāvisse scrīptōrēs historicī affirmant.
> Literally:
The historical writers claim [i] them [ii] to have migrated from
Ireland to Scotland.
> The
historical writers claim ¦ that [i] they [ii] migrated …
i.e. Classical
Latin uses an entirely different construction known as the
accusative-infinitive which will soon be discussed in detail in later posts.
In Mediaeval Latin
quod is used to introduce indirect statements, and in Classical Latin it
can be used (as it is here) in very limited circumstances including after
expressions of feeling:
Quod scrībis . . . gaudeō. │ I am glad that
you write.
Faciō libenter quod
eam nōn possum praeterīre. │ I am glad that I cannot pass it by.
It may not be
‘official’, but I differentiate this usage by interpreting quod as
meaning ‘because’ e.g. I am glad because you’re writing. [expression of feeling
> why do I have that feeling? > because …]
