Level 3+; P. Cornelius Lentulus: The Story Of A Roman Boy [2]

LXII. HIS LIFE ON THE FARM

Subjunctives are indicated in bold and comments are given in the notes following the text.

Part One

Huius villae Dāvus, servus Marcī, est vīlicus et cum Lesbiā uxōre omnia cūrat. Vīlicus et uxor in casā humilī, mediīs in agrīs sitā, habitant. Ā prīmā lūce ūsque ad vesperum sē gravibus labōribus exercent ut omnīs rēs bene gerant. Plūrima enim sunt officia Dāvī et Lesbiae. Vīlicus servōs regit nē tardī sint; mittit aliōs quī agrōs arent, aliōs quī hortōs inrigent, et opera in tōtum diem impōnit. Lesbia autem omnibus vestīmenta parat, cibum coquit, pānem facit. 

Part One: Comprehension

What are the roles of Dāvus, the farm overseer? (8 marks)

Part Two

Nōn longē ab hōrum casā et in summō colle situm surgēbat domicilium ipsīus dominī dominaeque amplissimum. Ibi plūrēs annōs Pūblius cum mātre vītam fēlicem agēbat; nam pater eius, Mārcus, in terrīs longinquīs gravia reī pūblicae bella gerēbat nec domum revertī poterat. Neque puerō quidem molestum est rūrī vīvere. Eum multae rēs dēlectant. Magnopere amat silvās, agrōs, equōs, bovēs, gallīnās, avēs, reliquaque animālia. Saepe plūrēs hōrās ad mare sedet quō melius fluctūs et nāvēs spectet. Nec omninō sine comitibus erat, quod Lȳdia, Dāvī fīlia, quae erat eiusdem aetātis, cum eō adhūc infante lūdēbat, inter quōs cum annīs amīcitia crēscēbat. Lȳdia nūllum alium ducem dēligēbat et Pūblius ab puellae latere rārō discēdēbat. Itaque sub clārō Italiae sōle Pūblius et Lȳdia, amīcī fidelissimī, per campōs collēsque cotidiē vagābantur. Modo in silvā finitimā ludēbant ubi Pūblius sagittīs celeribus avēs dēiciēbat et Lȳdia corōnīs variōrum flōrum comās suās ōrnābat; modo aquam et cibum portābant ad Dāvum servōsque dēfessōs quī agrōs colēbant; modo in casā parvā aut horās laetās in lūdō cōnsūmēbant aut auxilium dabant Lesbiae, quae cibum virō et servīs parābat vel aliās rēs domesticās agēbat.

Part Two: Comprehension

Below are eight references to information in the passage. They are not in the order in which they appear in the text. Put the references in the correct order, using numbers 1–8.

Publius watching the sea _____

Reason for the father’s absence _____

Location of the master’s house _____

Publius and Lydia helping the household workers _____

Publius’s feelings about country life _____

Lydia’s relationship with Publius _____

Publius’s life with his mother _____

Publius and Lydia spending time together outdoors _____

Part Two: language

[1] Give the nominative singular of the following nouns:

[i] aetātis

[ii] comitibus

[iii] ducem

[iv] latere

[v] rūrī

[2] Give the nominative masculine singular of the following words:

[i] eiusdem

[ii] fēlicem

[iii] ipsīus

[iv] plūrēs

[v] quōs

[3] Identify the word type:

[i] amplissimum

[ii] adhūc

[iii] inter

[iv] melius

[v] nec

____________________

Entire text: notes on the subjunctive

All the subjunctives are present tense, and all show purpose

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

[i] … sē gravibus labōribus exercent ¦ ut omnīs rēs bene gerant; ut: introduces a positive purpose clause i.e. so that something happens / may happen

• They exhaust themselves with heavy work ¦ so that they manage everything well.

[ii] Vīlicus servōs regit ¦ nē tardī sint; nē introduces a negative purpose clause i.e. that something does not / may not happen

• The steward controls the slaves ¦ so that they are not late.

[iii] mittit aliōs ¦ (1) quī agrōs arent, aliōs ¦ (2) quī hortōs inrigent; quī is used instead of ut when specifically referring to people who are to perform the task

• He sends some ¦ (1) to plough [= who are to plough] the fields (and) others ¦ (2) to water [ = who are to water] the gardens.

[iv] Saepe plūrīs hōrās ad mare sedet ¦ quō melius fluctūs et nāvēs spectet; quō is used when there is a comparative in the purpose clause

• He often sits by the sea for several hours ¦ so that he may watch the waves and ships better.

____________________

Part One: Comprehension

in charge of / looks after everything on the estate │ omnia cūrat (1)

works from early morning until evening │ ā prīmā lūce ūsque ad vesperum (1)

works hard / undertakes heavy labour │ sē gravibus labōribus exercent (1)

ensures everything is well managed │ ut omnīs rēs bene gerant (1)

supervises / controls the slaves │ servōs regit (1)

makes sure the slaves are not late │ nē tardī sint (1)

sends some slaves to plough the fields │ mittit aliōs quī agrōs arent (1)

sends some slaves to water the gardens │ aliōs quī hortōs inrigent (1)

organises / assigns work for the whole day │ opera in tōtum diem impōnit (1)

Part Two: comprehension

Publius watching the sea [5] │ … ad mare sedet quō melius fluctūs et nāvēs spectet

Reason for the father’s absence [3] │pater eius, Mārcus, in terrīs longinquīs gravia reī pūblicae bella gerēbat nec domum revertī poterat

Location of the master’s house [1] │nōn longē ab hōrum casā et in summō colle situm surgēbat domicilium ipsīus dominī dominaeque amplissimum

Publius and Lydia helping the household workers [8] │modo aquam et cibum portābant ad Dāvum servōsque dēfessōs quī agrōs colēbant

Publius’s feelings about country life [4] │neque puerō quidem molestum est rūrī vīvere … magnopere amat silvās, agrōs, equōs, bovēs, gallīnās, avēs

Lydia’s relationship with Publius [6] │Lȳdia, Dāvī fīlia, quae erat eiusdem aetātis … cum eō adhūc infante lūdēbat

Publius’s life with his mother [2] │ibi plūrēs annōs Pūblius cum mātre vītam fēlicem agēbat

Publius and Lydia spending time together outdoors [7] │itaque sub clārō Italiae sōle … per campōs collēsque cotidiē vagābantur

Part Two: language

[1]

[i] aetās

[ii] comes

[iii] dux

[iv] latus

[v] rūs

[2]

[i] īdem

[ii] fēlix

[iii] ipse

[iv] plūs

[v] quī

[3]

[i] superlative adjective

[ii] adverb

[iii] preposition

[iv] comparative adverb

[v] coordinating conjunctio