84 RITCHIE’S FABULAE FACILES TRANSLATION 84 - THE ONE-EYED GIANT

 84 - THE ONE-EYED GIANT

This picture of Polyphemus shows quite clearly his single eye in the middle of his forhead; it is from Wikimedia and was painted by Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein 1802.

a)Postquam eá tótá nocte rémís contendérunt, postrídié ad terram ígnótam návem appulérunt. Tum, quod nátúram éius regiónis ígnórábat, ipse Ulixés cum duodecim é sociís in terram égressus loca explóráre cónstituit. Paulum á lítore prógressí ad spéluncam ingentem pervénérunt, quam habitárí sénsérunt; éius enim introitum et nátúrá locí et manú múnítum esse animadvertérunt. Mox, etsí intellegébant sé nón sine perículó id factúrós, spéluncam intrávérunt; quod cum fécissent, mágnam cópiam lactis in vásís ingentibus conditam invénérunt. Dum tamen mírantur quis in eá séde habitáret, sonitum terribilem audívérunt, et oculís ad portam tortís mónstrum horribile vídérunt, húmáná quidem specié et figúrá, sed ingentí mágnitúdine corporis. Cum autem animadvertissent mónstrum únum oculum tantum habére in mediá fronte positum, intelléxérunt hunc esse únum é Cyclópibus, dé quibus fámam iam accéperant.

b)

Some words have been chosen for special consideration and are listed below. For the words not included in this list please refer to the WORDLIST in PAGES TOP RIGHT SIDE BAR. If you need help with points of grammar raised in today's excerpt, consult ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR NOTES also top right side bar.

ea tota nocte – ablative to indicate time during which, during the whole night, or, the whole night long.

remis contenderunt – remis dat/abl pl of remus remi noun masculine of the second declension followed by third person plural perfect of contendere , stretch, strain, hurry, together meaning something like ‘they plied the oars strenuously.’

navem appulerunt – accusative (as object of the verb) of navis feminine noun of the third declension, followed by third person perfect of the third conjugation verb appulere which means force/draw towards or put ashore/land a ship.

in terram – accusative after in indicates motion into, he went into the territory, whereas ablative after in would indicate place where.

egressus – past participle of the deponent verb egredior, go out, has an active meaning, so something like ‘he, having gone out’.

paulum- adverb meaning ‘not very far’ or ‘a little way’.

a litore – ablative of the third declension neuter noun litor, litoris, after a ‘from the shore’.

progressi – masculine plural of the past participle of the verb progredior, go forward, advance; it is active as it is the participle of a deponend verb and it is plural as it refers not only to Ulysses but also to his companions so means something like ‘they advanced’.

habitari – this is the passive infinitive ‘to be inhabitated’ which should not be confused with habitare which is the active infinitive ‘to inhabit’.

senserunt – this is the third person plural perfect of sentio, sentire, sensi, sensus, think, perceive, etc. ‘they perceived, felt, thought’.

eius – genitive of the pronoun ea (see is,ea,id), meaning ‘of it’ referring to the cave.

et natura ... et manu – et ...et in close proximity means both; natura is ablative, by the nature, kind of, type of; et manu and by (human) hand.

etsi – conjunction meaning even if, though, although.

quod cum fecissent -The relative qui, quae, quod often stands at the beginning of a sentence, serving to connect it with the sentence that precedes (Allen and Greenough §308f). So here quod = et id (and when they had done this). Thanks to Mr Beyer and his Latin student for these notes!

intellegebant ... se..id facturos – as we know the Accusative Infinitive construction is required after a verb of knowing so we have here se=they followed by id facturos which is short for id facturos esse literally it going to be doing.  Later in the passage we have a similar construction: intellexerunt hunc esse  - ‘they knew him to be’ or we might say ‘they realized he was.’

dum ...mirantur – dum followed by the third person present tense of the deponent verb miror, wonder, which you will remember looks passive but is active ‘while they are wondering’, as dum takes a present tense but we would probably translate as a past tense ‘while they wondered.’

humana quidem specie et figura - Thanks to Mr Beyer and his Latin student for the following notes. This is a tricky use of quidem. Acc. to the OLD quidem can be used to introduce a concession: "admittedly, indeed, it is true." The example they give is Cicero, "factus est ille quidem consul, sed a fide iustitiaque discesset," "Admittedly / it is true that he was made consul, but he departed etc." So maybe "admittedly / it is true" of a human appearance ... but ...."

 

cum animadvertissent monstrum ...habere – notice the pluperfect subjunctive after cum introducing a clause in the past and Accusative Infinitive construction after a verb of sense perception, literally ‘they noticed the monster to have’ but we would probably express the thought as ‘they noticed that he had’.

de quibus – de is here followed by the ablative plural of the personal pronoun qui (who) as de takes the ablative, meaning ‘about whom’ or ‘concerning whom’.

iam acceperant – iam can mean now or as here, already and it is followed by the third person pluperfect of accipio, grasp, accept, hear etc. so it means something like ‘they had already heard.about’, meaning they already had knowledge of for it wasn’t the first time they had heard of the Cyclops.

c)

Note: This section is not translated into idiomatic English but is intended, together with the notes, to give you the gist of the meaning, you can then come up with your own improved translation. Note that sentences marked with * need especially to be reworked to turn them into 'proper' English.

Postquam ea tota nocte remis contenderunt,

Afterwards through the whole night they rowed,

postridie ad terram ignotam navem appulerunt.

and on the following day they put the ship ashore/landed at an unknown land

Tum, quod naturam eius regionis ignorabat,

Then, since they did not know the nature of this region

ipse Ulixes cum duodecim e sociis

Ulysses himself with twelve of his allies

in terram egressus loca explorare constituit.

having left she ship and gone into the land he decided to explore the place

Paulum a litore progressi

Having advanced a little way from the shore

ad speluncam ingentem pervenerunt,

they arrived at a huge cave

quam habitari senserunt;

which they perceived to be inhabited;

eius enim introitum et natura loci

for the entrance of it, both by the nature of the place

et manu munitum esse animadverterunt.

and by (human) hand had been fortified, they noticed.

Mox, etsi intellegebant se non sine periculo

Soon, even though they knew that they not without danger*

id facturos, speluncam intraverunt;

going to be doing this, they entered the cave*

quod cum fecissent, magnam copiam lactis

when they had done this, a great amount of milk

in vasis ingentibus conditam invenerunt.

stored in huge urns they discovered.*

Dum tamen mirantur quis in ea sede habitaret,

While however they wondered who lived in this dwelling,

sonitum terribilem audiverunt,

they heard a terrible noise,

et oculis ad portam tortis

and with eyes turned towards the opening

monstrum horribile viderunt,

they saw a horrible monster,

humana quidem specie et figura,

admittedly with a human appearance and face,

sed ingenti magnitudine corporis.

but with an enormous size of body.*

Cum autem animadvertissent monstrum

When they noticed the monster however

unum oculum tantum habere

had only one eye

in media fronte positum,

placed in the middle of his forehead,

intellexerunt hunc esse unum e Cyclopibus,

they knew him to be one of the Cyclops,

de quibus famam iam acceperant.

of whose fame/reputation they had already heard.

d) The following section is for you to copy and translate.

Postquam ea tota nocte remis contenderunt,

postridie ad terram ignotam navem appulerunt.

Tum, quod naturam eius regionis ignorabat,

ipse Ulixes cum duodecim e sociis

in terram egressus loca explorare constituit.

Paulum a litore progressi

ad speluncam ingentem pervenerunt,

quam habitari senserunt;

eius enim introitum et natura loci

et manu munitum esse animadverterunt.

Mox, etsi intellegebant se non sine periculo

id facturos, speluncam intraverunt;

quod cum fecissent, magnam copiam lactis

in vasis ingentibus conditam invenerunt.

Dum tamen mirantur quis in ea sede habitaret,

sonitum terribilem audiverunt,

et oculis ad portam tortis

monstrum horribile viderunt,

humana quidem specie et figura,

sed ingenti magnitudine corporis.

Cum autem animadvertissent monstrum

unum oculum tantum habere

in media fronte positum,

intellexerunt hunc esse unum e Cyclopibus,

de quibus famam iam acceperant.

83 RITCHIE FABULAE FACILES TRANSLATION, RITCHIE EASY STORIES TRANSLATION, GRAMMAR, LATIN LANGUAGE, BEGINNER’S LATIN, INTERMEDIATE LATIN, EASY LATIN STORIES, ULYSSES

83 RITCHIE’S FABULAE FACILES TRANSLATION – ULYSSES 83 - THE RESCUE

This lovely picture from Wikimediacommons shows us the unwilling sailors being returned to the ship by Ulysses.

a) Ulixés cum ab hórá septimá ad vesperum exspectásset, veritus né socií suí in perículó versárentur, nónnúllós é reliquís mísit, ut quae causa esset morae cógnóscerent. Hí igitur in terram exposití ad vícum quí nón longé aberat sé contulérunt; quó cum vénissent, sociós suós quasi vínó ébriós repperérunt. Tum ubi causam veniendí docuérunt, iís persuádére cónábantur ut sécum ad návem redírent. Illí tamen resistere ac manú sé défendere coepérunt, saepe clámitantés sé numquam ex eó locó abitúrós. Quae cum ita essent, núntií ré ínfectá ad Ulixem rediérunt. Hís rébus cógnitís ipse cum omnibus quí in náví relictí erant ad locum vénit; et sociós suós frústrá hortátus ut suá sponte redírent, manibus eórum post terga vinctís invítós ad návem reportávit. Tum ancorís sublátís quam celerrimé é portú solvit.
b)

Some words have been chosen for special consideration and are listed below. For the words not included in this list please refer to the WORDLIST in PAGES TOP RIGHT SIDE BAR. If you need help with points of grammar raised in today's excerpt, consult ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR NOTES also top right side bar.

cum – introducing a clause in the past tense is often followed by the subjunctive, here exspectasset (see below)
exspectasset – syncopated version of the third person singular pluperfect subjunctive, exspectavisset (the vi is often chopped out of the middle of verbs in this way).
ab hora septima - The seventh hour: the Romans divided the day from sunrise to sunset into twelve hours (horae), and the night, from sunset to sunrise into four watches called vigiliae.
veritus – Past participle of vereor (deponent verb, second conjugation). Since vereor is deponent the past participle is active in meaning and literally means ‘having feared’ but we would probably say ‘fearing that’ in English in this context. Notice also that after a verb of fearing we use ne to mean a positive, ‘fearing that’ (as opposed to fearing that not).
versarentur – third person plural imperfect subjunctive of versor, 'move, live, dwell, be'.
nonnullos – accusative plural, direct object of ‘he sent’ (misit), nonnullos means literally ‘not none’ which means of course ‘some’ or ‘several’.
e reliquis – ablative after e, literally ‘out of the remaining ones’.
cognoscerent – third person plural imperfect subjunctive of cognosco, cognoscere, find out, ascertain; it is plural as this is a purpose clause, ‘in order to find out’.
quasi vino ebrios – ‘as if with wine drunk’ ; vino is (ablative) and ebrios,  drunk, is the accusative plural masculine of the adjective ebrius, agreeing with socios).
reppererunt – third person plural perfect tense of the fourth conjugation verb repperio, repperire, repperi, reppertus, learn, find out, discover.
causam veniendi – the cause/reason of (their) coming; veniendi is the genitive gerund of venire.
iis persuadere – verbs of persuading take the dative which is why we have iis here being the dative plural of is, ‘to persuade them’.
conabantur – it looks passive but is active as it is the third person imperfect of the deponent verb conor, conari, try, which could be translated in a variety of ways: ‘they were trying’, or ‘they used to try’ or ‘they kept trying; or ‘they began to try’.
ceoperunt – third person plural perfect tense of coepio, ceopere, coepi, coeptus, begin, commence, initiate; as here, this verb is usually found in the perfect tense ‘they have begun’ which is translated as a simple past tense ‘they began’ with an infinitive ‘to defend themselves’.
ex eo loco – notice that e becomes ex before the vowel and is followed by the ablative case, literally ‘from the place’.
abituros – this is the accusative plural of the future participle abiturus; it is accusative being part of the accusative infinitive construction of indirect or reported speech ‘they said (here = clamitantes, calling out) .... that they =se (accusative)’ and as is often the case the infinitive esse is left out so instead of se abituros esse, we have se abituros. If you think of the whole clause as a sort of Yoda-speak, you can easily understand what is meant: se numquam ex eo loco abituros = they never out of the place going to leave, which we might express as ‘they would never leave the place’.
re infecta – we might want to think that the business was poisoned or infected but the adjective infectus is more likely to mean unaccomplished, incomplete, undone, as Ulysses emissaries have been unable to complete their mission which was to bring the men back.
his rebus cognitis – ablative absolute phrase meaning ‘when this things were known’ or ‘when these matters were ascertained/investigated/looked into/understood’.
hortatus – ‘having urged’ notice that the past participle of the deponent verb hortor is active in meaning.
sua sponte – sponte is the ablative of spons, spontis, the third conjugation feminine noun meaning 'free will' and means of ones own free will, voluntarily, and is used with the adjective sua in agreement, to mean of his/her/their own free will; likewise mea/tua sponte mean of my/your freewill.
ancoris sublatis – ablative construction again to mean ‘when the anchors were weighed’; in English we say weigh anchor meaning to lift/raise the anchor prior to sailing.

c)

Note: This section is not translated into idiomatic English but is intended, together with the notes, to give you the gist of the meaning; you can then come up with your own improved translation.

Ulixes cum ab hora septima ad vesperum exspectasset,

Ulysses, when he had waited from the seventh hour till evening,

veritus ne socii sui in periculo versarentur,

fearing that his allies were in danger

nonnullos e reliquis misit,

sent several of the men left,

ut quae causa esset morae cognoscerent.

in order to find out what was the reason for the delay.

Hi igitur in terram expositi

So when these men were put down on land

ad vicum qui non longe aberat se contulerunt;

they marched to the village which was not far away;

quo cum venissent,

and when they arrived there,

socios suos quasi vino ebrios reppererunt.

they found their allies as if drunk on wine.

Tum ubi causam veniendi docuerunt,

Then when they told them the reason for their coming,

iis persuadere conabantur

they kept trying to persuade them

ut secum ad navem redirent.

to return to the ship with them.

Illi tamen resistere ac manu se defendere coeperunt,

They however began to resist and defend themselves with their fists

saepe clamitantes se numquam ex eo loco abituros.

calling out often that they would never leave the place.

Quae cum ita essent,

Since this was so,

nuntii re infecta ad Ulixem redierunt.

messengers reported their unaccomplished mission to Ulysses.

His rebus cognitis ipse cum omnibus

When he knew these matters, he himself with all

qui in navi relicti erant ad locum venit;

those who remained in the ship, came to the place;

et socios suos frustra hortatus

and having urged his allies in vain

ut sua sponte redirent,

to return of their own free will,

manibus eorum post terga vinctis

after their hands were tied behind their backs,

invitos ad navem reportavit.

he brought them back unwilling to the ship.

Tum ancoris sublatis quam celerrime e portu solvit.

Then when the anchors were weighed he sailed from the port as quickly as possible.

d) The following section is for you to copy and translate.

Ulixes cum ab hora septima ad vesperum exspectasset,

veritus ne socii sui in periculo versarentur,

nonnullos e reliquis misit,

ut quae causa esset morae cognoscerent.

Hi igitur in terram expositi

ad vicum qui non longe aberat se contulerunt;

quo cum venissent,

socios suos quasi vino ebrios reppererunt.

Tum ubi causam veniendi docuerunt,

iis persuadere conabantur

ut secum ad navem redirent.

Illi tamen resistere ac manu se defendere coeperunt,

saepe clamitantes se numquam ex eo loco abituros.

Quae cum ita essent,

nuntii re infecta ad Ulixem redierunt.

His rebus cognitis ipse cum omnibus

qui in navi relicti erant ad locum venit;

et socios suos frustra hortatus

ut sua sponte redirent,

manibus eorum post terga vinctis

invitos ad navem reportavit.

Tum ancoris sublatis quam celerrime e portu solvit.

82 RITCHIE’S FABULAE FACILES TRANSLATION – ULYSSES 82 - THE LOTUS-EATERS

ULYSSES 82 - THE LOTUS-EATERS

This picture from Wikimedia commons, is of Ulysses on ship is from a mosaic at the Bardo museum.

a) Postquam tamen pauca mília passuum á lítore Tróiae progressí sunt, tanta tempestás subitó coorta est ut núlla návium cursum tenére posset, sed aliae aliás in partís disicerentur. Návis autem quá ipse Ulixés vehébátur ví tempestátis ad merídiem déláta decimó dié ad lítus Libyae appulsa est.
Ancorís iactís Ulixés cónstituit nónnúllós é sociís in terram expónere, quí aquam ad návem referrent et quális esset nátúra éius regiónis cógnóscerent. Hí igitur é náví égressí imperáta facere parábant. Dum tamen fontem quaerunt, quibusdam ex incolís obviam factí ab iís hospitió acceptí sunt. Accidit autem ut máior pars víctús eórum hominum in míró quódam frúctú quem lótum appellábant cónsisteret. Quam cum Graecí gustássent, patriae et sociórum statim oblítí cónfírmávérunt sé semper in eá terrá mánsúrós, ut dulcí illó cibó in perpetuum véscerentur.

b) Some words have been chosen for special consideration and are listed below. For the words not included in this list please refer to the WORDLIST in PAGES TOP RIGHT SIDE BAR. If you need help with points of grammar raised in today's excerpt, consult ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR NOTES also top right side bar.

pauca milia passuum – a few miles, literally a few of miles, passuum being partitive genitive after milia ‘thousand’, ‘ few thousand of steps’.

a litore – litore is ablative after the preposition a ‘from’.

progressi sunt – third person plural perfect tense of the deponent verb progredior, ‘set out’.

tanta tempestas – such a great storm; tanta as we know often introduces a result clause introduced by ‘ut’ as here, meaning ‘such a great storm that ...etc’.

coorta est – third person singular of the deponent verb co agreeing with the feminine noun tempestas, ‘storm’.

nulla navium – ‘not one of the ships, none of the ships’; navium is partitive genitive after nulla.

tenere posset – could keep, the subjunctive is used here as this is a consecutive or result clause introduced as we have already seen, by the signal word tanta ‘such a great storm .. that etc.’

aliae alias – some in one.. others in another (direction, way).

disicerentur – ‘they were driven apart’, this is the third person passive plural subjunctive of the third conjugation verb disicio, disicere, disjeci disjectus , meaning break up, drive apart, scatter.

vehebatur – third person singular passive indicative of the third conjugation verb, veho, vehere, vexi vectus, carry, bear, ride, sail, transport, meaning therefore ‘he was carried’.

delata – past participle of defero, deferre, detuli, delatus meaning ‘carried away’ or ‘carried off’. Delatus can have many meanings depending on the context (see any good dictionary); it is feminine here because it is agreeing with the third declension feminine noun navis.

appulsa est – third person singular perfect passive of appello appellere appulli appulsus, ‘landed’; it is feminine in agreement with the third declension feminine noun navis, ship, boat.

anchoris iactis – ablative absolute phrase meaning ‘when the anchors had been dropped’.

qui aquam – the qui referred to are the allies; as is often the case a relative pronoun is used to connect the purpose clause which follows with the preceding clause; qui .. referrent, ‘who were to bring back’,  subjunctive is used as this is a purpose clause.

dum quaerunt – ‘while they are looking for’, dum is followed by a present tense, sometimes called the ‘vivid present’ often used in story-telling which can be translated by a past tense. ‘while they were looking for’.

accidit .. ut – accidit is an impersonal verb meaning ‘it happened’ or ‘it came about’, introducing a result clause beginning with ut; accidit ut ..

maior pars victus – partitive genitive after the greater part (maior pars) victus ‘of the food’.

quibusdam ex incolis – literally ‘certain out of the inhabitants’ (dative as obviam facere, to come across, or bump into, is followed by the dative) , which could be translated simply as ‘some of the inhabitants’.

gustassent – ‘they had tasted’, third person plural pluperfect subjunctive of gustare, to taste; the subjunctive is used here in a cum clause in the past tense.

confirmerunt ..se.. mansuros – accusative infinitive in reported speech, or indirect discourse after confirmerunt. ‘they declared.. that they (se – accusative) ... mansuros (for the future infinitive mansuros esse, as we have seen before esse is often left out of the future infinitive).

dulci illo cibo – ablative with vescor notice the word order ‘sweet that food’ but we would probably say ‘that sweet food’.

vescerentur – third person plural imperfect subjunctive of vescor; the subjunctive is used here following ut, as this is a purpose clause ‘in order that ... etc.

c)

Note: This section is not translated into idiomatic English but is intended, together with the notes, to give you the gist of the meaning; you can then come up with your own improved translation.

Postquam tamen pauca milia passuum

a litore Troiae progressi sunt,
Now after they moved off a few miles from the shore of Troy,
tanta tempestas subito coorta est
such a great storm suddenly arose
ut nulla navium cursum tenere posset,
that none of the ships could keep its course,
sed aliae alias in partis disicerentur.
but were driven apart some one way, others another way
Navis autem qua ipse Ulixes vehebatur
The ship however in which Ulysses himself was being carried
vi tempestatis ad meridiem delata
decimo die ad litus Libyae appulsa est.
carried off by the force of the storm, towards midday of the tenth day landed on the shore of Libya.
Ancoris iactis Ulixes constituit
When the anchors had been dropped Ulysses decided
nonnullos e sociis in terram exponere,
to disembark several of his allies on land,
qui aquam ad navem referrent
to bring back water to the ship
et qualis esset natura eius regionis cognoscerent.
and to find out what was the nature of the region.
Hi igitur e navi egressi imperata facere parabant.
So these men having left the ship made ready to carry out their orders.
Dum tamen fontem quaerunt,
Now while they were looking for a spring,
quibusdam ex incolis obviam facti ab iis
hospitio accepti sunt.
having come across some of the inhabitants, welcomed by them with hospitality.
Accidit autem ut maior pars victus eorum hominum
Now it happened that the greater part of the food of these men
in miro quodam fructu quem lotum appellabant consisteret.
consisted in a certain wonderful fruit which was called lotus.
Quam cum Graeci gustassent,
When the Greeks tasted it (which when etc)
patriae et sociorum statim obliti
immediately their homeland and allies were forgotten
confirmaverunt se semper
and they declared that they always
in ea terra mansuros,
would remain in that land
ut dulci illo cibo in perpetuum vescerentur.
so that they might feed upon that sweet food forever.

d) The following section is for you to copy and translate.

Postquam tamen pauca milia passuum

a litore Troiae progressi sunt,

tanta tempestas subito coorta est

ut nulla navium cursum tenere posset,

sed aliae alias in partis disicerentur.

Navis autem qua ipse Ulixes vehebatur

vi tempestatis ad meridiem delata

decimo die ad litus Libyae appulsa est.

Ancoris iactis Ulixes constituit

nonnullos e sociis in terram exponere,

qui aquam ad navem referrent

et qualis esset natura eius regionis cognoscerent.

Hi igitur e navi egressi imperata facere parabant.

Dum tamen fontem quaerunt,

quibusdam ex incolis obviam facti

ab iis hospitio accepti sunt.

Accidit autem ut maior pars victus eorum hominum

in miro quodam fructu

quem lotum appellabant consisteret.

Quam cum Graeci gustassent,

patriae et sociorum statim obliti

confirmaverunt se semper in ea terra mansuros,

ut dulci illo cibo in perpetuum vescerentur.

81 RITCHIE’S FABULAE FACILES TRANSLATION – ULYSSES 81 – HOMEWARD BOUND

ULYSSES

 

Head of marble statue of Ulysses: Wiki commons

Ulysses, a famous Greek hero, took a prominent part in the long siege of Troy. After the fall of the city, he set out with his followers on his homeward voyage to Ithaca, an island of which he was king; but being driven out of his course by northerly winds, he was compelled to touch at the country of the Lotus-eaters, who are supposed to have lived on the north coast of Africa. Some of his comrades were so delighted with the lotus fruit that they wished to remain in the country, but Ulysses compelled them to embark again and continued his voyage. He next came to the island of Sicily, and fell into the hands of the giant Polyphémus, one of the Cyclópes. After several of his comrades had been killed by this monster, Ulysses made his escape by stratagem and reached the country of the winds. Here he received the help of Aeolus, king of the winds, and having set sail again, arrived within sight of Ithaca; but owing to the folly of his companions, the winds became suddenly adverse and he was again driven back. He then touched at an island which was the home of Circe, a powerful enchantress, who exercised her charms on his companions and turned them into swine. By the help of the god Mercury, Ulysses not only escaped this fate himself, but also forced Circe to restore her victims to human shape. After staying a year with Circe, he again set out and eventually reached his home.

ULYSSES 81 – HOMEWARD BOUND
a)Urbem Tróiam á Graecís decem annós obsessam esse satis cónstat; dé hóc enim belló Homérus, máximus poétárum Graecórum, Íliadem opus nótissimum scrípsit. Tróiá tandem per ínsidiás captá, Graecí longó belló fessí domum redíre mátúrávérunt. Omnibus rébus igitur ad profectiónem parátís návís dédúxérunt, et tempestátem idóneam nactí mágnó cum gaudió solvérunt. Erat inter prímós Graecórum Ulixés quídam, vir summae virtútis ac prúdentiae, quem dícunt nónnúllí dolum istum excógitásse quó Tróiam captam esse cónstat. Híc régnum ínsulae Ithacae obtinuerat, et pauló antequam cum reliquís Graecís ad bellum profectus est, puellam fórmósissimam, nómine Pénelopén, in mátrimónium dúxerat. Nunc igitur cum iam decem annós quasi in exsilió cónsúmpsisset, mágná cupiditáte patriae et uxóris videndae árdébat.

b)

Some words have been chosen for special consideration and are listed below. For the words not included in this list please refer to the WORDLIST in PAGES TOP RIGHT SIDE BAR. If you need help with points of grammar raised in today's excerpt, consult ESSENTIAL GRAMMAR NOTES also top right side bar.

a Graecis – by the Greeks, ablative plural.

decem annos – the accusative case is used for duration of time.
Troiam obsessam esse – accusative infinitive after constat, ‘Tory was beseiged’.
de hoc enim bello – presposition de ‘concerning, about’,takes the ablative, meaning ‘concerning, or about this war’. Notice also the position of enim, ‘for concerning/about this war’; whereas ‘for’ in English comes first, enim does not come first in its clause.
omnibus ... paratis – ablative absolute meaning ‘when everything had been made ready.’
insidias – ambush, this concerns the story of the wooden horse which was brought into the town by the Trojans in which the Greeks had concealed soldiers who upon release, attacked and captured Troy.
longo bello – ablative of cause, ‘by a long war’.
vir summae virtutis - genitive of description.
dolum istum – ‘that trick’, iste is sometimes used in a perjorative sense, the trick here refers to the Trojan horse.
maximus – superlative adjective, ‘the greatest’.
magno cum gaudio – notice that the monosyllabic preposition cum comes between the noun and its adjective, ‘with great joy’.
quem ...excogitasse – shortened or syncopated perfect active infinitive of excogitare, excogitavisse, after quem, whom (some say) to have thought up etc.

 

c)

Note: This section is not translated into idiomatic English but is intended, together with the notes, to give you the GIST of the meaning; you can then come up with your own improved translation.

Urbem Troiam a Graecis decem annos

(that) The town of Troy by the Greeks for ten years
obsessam esse satis constat;
was beseiged is well-enough known;
de hoc enim bello Homerus,
for concerning this war Homer,
maximus poetarum Graecorum,
the greatest of the Greek poets
Iliadem opus notissimum scripsit.
wrote (his) most famous work, the Iliad.
Troia tandem per insidias capta,
When Troy at length was taken by ambush
Graeci longo bello fessi
The Greeks, tired out by the long war
domum redire maturaverunt.
hastened to return home.
Omnibus rebus igitur ad profectionem paratis
Everything therefore having been made ready for departure
navis deduxerunt,
they launched the ship,
et tempestatem idoneam nacti
and when they met with suitable weather
magno cum gaudio solverunt.
they set sail with great joy.
Erat inter primos Graecorum Ulixes quidam,
There was among the best of the Greeks a certail Ulysses
vir summae virtutis ac prudentiae,
a man of the utmost virtue and wisdom,
quem dicunt nonnulli dolum istum excogitasse
who some say had thought up that trick
quo Troiam captam esse constat.
By which it is known Troy was captured.
Hic regnum insulae Ithacae obtinuerat,
He ruled the kingdom of the island of Ithica,
et paulo antequam cum reliquis Graecis
and a little while before with the remaining Greeks
ad bellum profectus est,
he set out for the war
puellam formosissimam, nomine Penelopen,
a most beautiful girl, called Penelope,
in matrimonium duxerat.
he had married.
Nunc igitur cum iam decem annos
Now therefore since ten years
quasi in exsilio consumpsisset,
as if in exile he had spent,*
magna cupiditate patriae
with great desire of his homeland
et uxoris videndae ardebat.
and of seeing his wife he was enflamed.

d) The following section is for you to copy and translate.

Urbem Troiam a Graecis decem annos

obsessam esse satis constat;

de hoc enim bello Homerus,

maximus poetarum Graecorum,

Iliadem opus notissimum scripsit.

Troia tandem per insidias capta,

Graeci longo bello fessi

domum redire maturaverunt.

Omnibus rebus igitur ad profectionem paratis

navis deduxerunt,

et tempestatem idoneam nacti

magno cum gaudio solverunt.

Erat inter primos Graecorum Ulixes quidam,

vir summae virtutis ac prudentiae,

quem dicunt nonnulli dolum istum excogitasse

quo Troiam captam esse constat.

Hic regnum insulae Ithacae obtinuerat,

et paulo antequam cum reliquis Graecis

ad bellum profectus est,

puellam formosissimam, nomine Penelopen,

in matrimonium duxerat.

Nunc igitur cum iam decem annos

quasi in exsilio consumpsisset,

magna cupiditate patriae

 

et uxoris videndae ardebat.