PART ONE
[1] Duo quīdam, cum iam in altō nāvigārent, [subjunctive: circumstantial]
- Two men, when they were sailing on the open sea
[2] et cum eōrum alterīus nāvis, alterīus onus esset, [subjunctive: circumstantial]
- and when the ship belonged to one of them and the cargo to another,
[3] naufragum quendam natantem et manūs ad sē tendentem animum advertērunt [present active participles];
- noticed a (certain) shipwrecked man swimming and holding out his hands to them;
[4] misericordiā commōtī [perfect passive participle]
- (Having been) moved by pity …
[5] … nāvem ad eum adplicārunt, [adplicārunt: syncopated verb form = adplicāvērunt]
- they brought the ship alongside him
[6] hominem ad sē sustulērunt.
- (and) took the man aboard [literally: they raised the man up to themselves]
PART TWO
In the following section two subjunctive types are being used:
[7] posteā aliquantō ipsōs quoque tempestās vehementius iactāre coepit,
- A little afterwards the storm also began to toss them about very violently
[8] usque adeō, ut dominus nāvis,
- to such a degree that the owner of the ship,
usque adeō, ut … introduces clauses of result; in Cicero’s scenario those results extend over several clauses (in italics) i.e. the acts of [A] taking refuge, [B] attempting to steer the ship and [C] falling upon the sword were results of the storm
[9] cum īdem gubernātor esset,
- since he was also the pilot,
The subjunctive clause here is a separate statement not related to result but to circumstances.
[10] in scapham cōnfugeret [A]
- took refuge in a little boat
[11] et inde fūniculō,
- and from there, by a rope,
[12] quī ā puppī religātus scapham adnexam trahēbat,
- which towed the little boat (that was) tied to the stern,
[13] nāvī, quod posset, moderārētur, [B]
- he guided the ship as best he could,
[14] ille autem, cuius mercēs erant,
- but the man to whom the cargo belonged,
[15] in gladium in nāvī ibīdem incumberet. [C]
- threw himself upon his sword right there on the ship.
PART THREE
[16] hīc ille naufragus ad gubernāculum accessit
- Then the shipwrecked man went to the steering-oar / helm
[17] et nāvī, quod potuit, est opitulātus.
- and assisted the ship as best he could.
[18] Sēdātis autem flūctibus [ablative absolute; literally: with the waves having been calmed]
- But after the waves had subsided,
[19] et tempestāte iam commūtātā [ablative absolute; literally: with the storm having now been changed]
- and the storm had passed over,
[20] nāvis in portum pervehitur.
- The ship was brought into harbour.
[21] ille autem, quī in gladium incubuerat,
- But the man who had fallen on his sword,
[22] leviter saucius
- (was) slightly wounded,
[23] facile ex vulnere est recreātus.
- easily recovered from his wound.
[24] nāvem cum onere hōrum trium suam quisque esse dīcit.
- Each one of these three men said that the ship with the cargo was his own.
Cicero introduces the scenario with a legal statute. In reality, however, he constructs the case so that all three men may have a plausible claim to the ship and its cargo.
The key issue in the law is abandonment.
[1] Did the owner of the ship technically abandon it? He took refuge in a small boat which was attached to the ship and, from there, attempted to guide it. In other words, could the scapha itself be considered part of the ship?
[2] The owner of the cargo attempted to commit suicide, thereby effectively abandoning any responsibility for the control of the vessel. Does that mean that he forfeited his claim?
[3] The rescued man remained on the ship itself, took the helm and steered the vessel safely into harbour. Does that mean that he became its legal owner?
The beauty of the exercise is that none of these questions has an obvious answer. The case is not really about maritime law at all; it is a demonstration that legal outcomes often depend not on disputed facts, but on disputed definitions of words.
