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.