86 RITCHIE’S FABULAE FACILES TRANSLATION – 86 - A DESPERATE SITUATION

86 - A DESPERATE SITUATION  

 This picture shows Ulysses giving wine to Polyphemus to make him drunk. 

a)

Dum haec geruntur, Graecórum animós tantus terror occupávit ut né vócem quidem édere possent, sed omní spé salútis dépositá mortem praesentem exspectárent. Polyphémus, postquam famés hác tam horribilí céná dépulsa est, humí próstrátus somnó sé dedit. Quod cum vídisset Ulixés, tantam occásiónem reí gerendae nón omittendam arbitrátus, in eó erat ut pectus mónstrí gladió tránsfígeret. Cum tamen nihil temeré agendum exístimáret, cónstituit explóráre, antequam hóc faceret, quá ratióne ex spéluncá évádere possent. At cum saxum animadvertisset quó introitus obstrúctus erat, nihil sibi prófutúrum intelléxit sí Polyphémum interfécisset. Tanta enim erat éius saxí mágnitúdó ut né á decem quidem hominibus ámovérí posset. Quae cum ita essent, Ulixés hóc cónátú déstitit et ad sociós rediit; quí cum intelléxissent quó in locó rés essent, núllá spé salútis oblátá dé fortúnís suís déspéráre coepérunt. Ille tamen né animós démitterent vehementer hortátus est; démónstrávit sé iam anteá é multís et mágnís perículís évásisse, neque dubium esse quín in tantó discrímine dí auxilium látúrí essent.

 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.

dum haec geruntur – dum following by present tense in Latin, meaning literally while these things are being carried out, probably better expressed by ‘while this was going on.’

ne ... quidem - ne ...quidem, 'not ... even.' The word which ‘even’ modifies must stand between ne and quidem.

ut ....possent – possent is third person imperfect subjunctive (they were able) in a result clause after tantus, ‘so great that ... result/or consequence etc’. Tantus as we have seen before, can be a signal word for a following result clause.

humi - locative case meaning 'on the ground.'

prostratus – this is the perfect passive participle of prosterno, prosternere, prostavi, prostatus, meaning ‘knock over, prostrate’ but it doesn’t mean ‘having been knocked down’ as this is an example of what is sometimes referred to as the reflexive use of the passive, in which the subject is represented as acting upon itself, so it means something like ‘thrown himself down, throwing himself down’.

somno se dedit – ablative of the masculine second declension noun somnus, ‘to sleep’ followed by reflexive se, followed by third person singular perfect of dare, altogether meaning ‘gave himself up to sleep’.

tantam occásiónem  - -we should be on the look out for a subjunctive verb in result clause after tantam ...’such a great opportunity .... that ...result/consequence’.

rei gerendae  -  (opportunity) ‘of/for doing something, for action.'

nón omittendam arbitrátus – omittendam is the gerundive or future participle of omitto meaning something like, ‘deserving to be missed’ or here the opposite with non, followed by arbitratus, past participle of the first conjugation deponent verb arbitor and as we know the past participle of deponent verbs are active in meaning so altogether it means, ‘should not be missed, he believed/thought’..

in eo ... transfigeret – in eo , which is here followed by the subjunctive, means to be on the point of doing something, or being just about to do something, so in eo ... transfigeret means he was on the point of piercing ...etc. Transfigeret is third person singular imperfect subjunctive of transfigo.

nihil temere agendum-  nothing, followed by temere, adverb rashly, followed by agendum, gerundive or future passive participle, which has the idea of ‘should be, or ought to be, must be, or worthy of being etc’ so together meaning something like, ‘nothing should be done rashly’.

nihil sibi profuturum – nihil proesse, means to be of no benefit, or advantage and sibi is dative of advantage or disadvantage, so together it means nothing to him advantage or as we would more likely express this, 'it would be of no advantage to him, or it would be of no benefit to him.'

Tanta ... erat   magnitudo.- again, look out for a result clause after tanta with following subjunctive, ‘so great was the size .... that ... result/consequence’.

ne a decem quidem – ne... quidem again, not even by ten etc.

hoc conatu destitit. – hoc conatu is ablative of separation as it accompanies destitit, third person perfect singular of the third conjugation verb, desisto, desistere, destitit, destitus, meaning to stop, cease, refrain from doing something.

Quae cum ita essent - literally, ‘which things since so they were’, probably better expressed as ‘And as things stood thus or as this was the case etc.’.

quo in loco res essent – similar to the above, literally translated, in which place things were, but we would probably say something like ‘how things stood’.

nulla spe oblata -  'since no hope of safety presented itself.'

e multis et magnis periculis - -e, from, followed by ablative, multis et magnis. We often find two adjectives with the same noun joined by et, as here with multis et magnis, whereas in English we would simply say ‘many great dangers’.

di ...laturi essent – literally, ‘the gods going to bring help were’, probably better expressed as ‘the gods would bring help’. As there is no future subjunctive in Latin we have this construction which is the future participle and imperfect subjunctive.

 

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. Sentences marked with *need particular attention to turn them into correct English.

Dum haec geruntur,

while this is going on

Graecorum animos tantus terror occupavit

such a great fear occupied the minds of the greeks

ut ne vocem quidem edere possent,

that they could not even utter a sound

sed omni spe salutis deposita

but all hope of safety having been laid aside

mortem praesentem exspectarent.

they expected imminent death.

Polyphemus, postquam

Polyphemus, after

fames hac tam horribili cena depulsa est,

his hunger, with such a horrible meal, having driven off*

humi prostratus somno se dedit.

lying down on the ground he gave himself up to sleep

Quod cum vidisset Ulixes,

When Ulysses saw this,

tantam occasionem rei gerendae

such an opportunity of doing something

non omittendam arbitratus,

not to be missed, he considered

in eo erat ut pectus

he was on the point that the breast*

monstri gladio transfigeret.

of the monster with a sword he would pierce.*

Cum tamen nihil temere

Since however nothing rashly

agendum existimaret,

to be done, he considered,

constituit explorare,

he decided to explore,

antequam hoc faceret,

before doing this,

qua ratione ex spelunca evadere possent.

by what method they might escape from the cave.

At cum saxum animadvertisset

But when he had noticed the rock

quo introitus obstructus erat,

by which the entrance was blocked

nihil sibi profuturum intellexit

nothing would be of benefit to him he realized

si Polyphemum interfecisset.

if he killed Polyphemus.

Tanta enim erat eius saxi magnitudo

for  such was the size of this rock

ut ne a decem quidem hominibus

that not even by ten men

amoveri posset.

could it be moved.

Quae cum ita essent,

And as things stood thus

Ulixes hoc conatu destitit

Ulysses gave up this attempt

et ad socios rediit;

and returned to the allies;

qui cum intellexissent

who when they had realised

quo in loco res essent,

in which place things were,*

nulla spe salutis oblata

no hope of safety having presented itself/arisen

de fortunis suis desperare coeperunt.

they began to despair of their fortune

Ille tamen ne animos demitterent

He however (told them) not to lose heart

vehementer hortatus est;

fiercely having encouraged (them);

demonstravit se iam antea

he pointed out that they had already before

e multis et magnis periculis evasisse,

from many great dangers to have escaped,*

neque dubium esse quin

and there was no doubt but that

in tanto discrimine

in such a crisis

di auxilium laturi essent.

the gods would bring help.

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

Dum haec geruntur,

Graecorum animos tantus terror occupavit

ut ne vocem quidem edere possent,

sed omni spe salutis deposita

mortem praesentem exspectarent.

Polyphemus, postquam

fames hac tam horribili cena depulsa est,

humi prostratus somno se dedit.

Quod cum vidisset Ulixes,

tantam occasionem rei gerendae

non omittendam arbitratus,

in eo erat ut pectus

monstri gladio transfigeret.

Cum tamen nihil temere

agendum existimaret,

constituit explorare,

antequam hoc faceret,

qua ratione ex spelunca evadere possent.

At cum saxum animadvertisset

quo introitus obstructus erat,

nihil sibi profuturum intellexit

si Polyphemum interfecisset.

Tanta enim erat eius saxi magnitudo

ut ne a decem quidem

hominibus amoveri posset.

Quae cum ita essent,

Ulixes hoc conatu destitit

et ad socios rediit;

qui cum intellexissent quo in loco res essent,

nulla spe salutis oblata

de fortunis suis desperare coeperunt.

Ille tamen ne animos demitterent

vehementer hortatus est;

demonstravit se iam antea

e multis et magnis periculis evasisse,

neque dubium esse quin

in tanto discrimine di auxilium laturi essent.

 

85 RITCHIE’S FABULAE FACILES TRANSLATION – 85 - THE GIANT'S SUPPER

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RITCHIE’S FABULAE FACILES TRANSLATION – 85 - THE GIANT'S SUPPER

This picture shows the Cyclops returning to his cave only to find Ulysses and his men there.

a)

Cyclópés autem pástórés erant quídam quí ínsulam Siciliam et praecipué montem Aetnam incolébant; ibi enim Volcánus, praeses fabrórum et ígnis repertor, cúius serví Cyclópés erant, officínam suam habébat.

Graecí igitur simul ac mónstrum vídérunt, terróre paene exanimátí in interiórem partem spéluncae refúgérunt et sé ibi abdere cónábantur. Polyphémus autem (síc enim Cyclóps appellábátur) pecus suum in spéluncam compulit; deinde, cum saxó ingentí portam obstrúxisset, ígnem in mediá spéluncá fécit. Hóc factó, oculó omnia perlústrábat, et cum sénsisset hominés in interióre parte spéluncae esse abditós, mágná vóce exclámávit: "Quí hominés estis? Mercátórés an latrónés?" Tum Ulixés respondit sé neque mercátórés esse neque praedandí causá vénisse; sed á Tróiá redeuntís ví tempestátum á réctó cursú dépulsós esse. Órávit etiam ut sibi sine iniúriá abíre licéret. Tum Polyphémus quaesívit ubi esset návis quá vectí essent; sed Ulixés cum sibi máximé praecavendum esse bene intellegeret, respondit návem suam in rúpís coniectam omnínó fráctam esse. Polyphémus autem núlló respónsó dató duo é sociís manú corripuit, et membrís eórum dívulsís carnem dévoráre coepit.

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.

Cyclopes – the Cyclops were a race of one-eyed giants of whom Polyphemus is the most famous.

Volcanus – Vulcan, the god of fire and volcanoes who was reputed to live under the volcano Etna in Sicily.

praeses fabrorum – nominative of praeses, praesidis, protector or patron, followed by genitive of the second declension masculine noun faber, fabri, together meaning something like ‘patron of craftsmen’.

quidam – quidam is masculine plural of the indefinite pronoun and adjective (quidam, quaedam, quoddam), meaning ‘a certain’.

insulam Siciliam – notice that in Latin we say ‘the island Sicily’ not the island of Sicily as in English, which is quite logical as the island does not belong to Sicily.

incolebant – masculine plural imperfect tense of , indicating a continued, or repeated action in the past, ‘they used to inhabit/live’.

cuius – genitive of qui (who), meaning therefore ‘of whom’.

terrore paene exanimati – terrore, ablative of terror ‘with fear’, follwed by the adverb paene ‘almost’, then exanimati, ‘past participle plural used as adjective literally meaning ‘deprived of life’, we might say ‘almost scared out of their wits’ or ‘greatly alarmed’.

in interiorem partem – notice that in can be followed by the ablative or the accusative; ablative when referring to place where and accusative, as here, when indicating motion into; we have in speluncam ‘into the cave’ later in the passage. 

se - 'they,' refers to Ulysses and his companions.

appellabatur – third person singular imperfect passive, ‘he was called’.

pecus – accusative of the fourth declension noun pecus pecus, ‘flock’.

cum saxo ingenti – cum ‘with’ is followed by the ablative, literally ‘with a rock huge’.

obstruxisset – ‘he blocked up’, third person singular pluperfect subjunctive active (of the verb obstruo, obstruere, obstruxi, obstructus, blockade, block up, barricade; the subjunctive is often used in a clause in the past tense after cum.

in media spelunca – in followed by ablative to indicate place where, ‘in the middle of the cave’.

hoc facto – ablative phrase, ‘when he had done this’.

oculo omnia perlustrabat – oculo – ablative ‘with his eye’, followed by omnia, accusative plural noun ‘all things’, followed by ‘perlustrabat, third person singular imperfect tense of the first conjugation verb perlustro, ‘to cast one’s eyes over, to scrutinize; so altogether it means something like ‘with his eye he looked closely all around at everything’.

cum sensisset – subjunctive again in a past tense clause after cum, here third person singular pluperfect subjunctive of sentio, sentire, sensi, sensus, perceive, think, feel etc. meaning something like ‘since he sensed’.

Ulixes respondit – notice that after respondit we have the Accusative Infinitive construction – ‘he answered that they were not merchants nor had they come to plunder/rob him. Respondit se neque ... esse etc’. His actual words would have been ‘Neque mercatores sumus neque praedandi causa venimus’ e

/an accusative in

praedandi causa - 'to steal, in order to steal.' Purpose is often expressed by causa with the genitive of the gerund or gerundive.

a Troia - The preposition a is sometimes used with names of towns, with the meaning 'from, from the direction of Troy’.

vi tempestatum – vi is ablative of vis, ‘by the force of the storm’.

a recto cursu – ablative after a, in this instance to express ‘from the right course’.

depulsi sumus – plural masculine nominative of the past participle of the verb depello, depellere, depulsi, depulsus, ‘push/force away’, so meaning something like ‘we were forced off course’.

ubi esse nave – Accusative Infinitive after he enquired; literally, ‘he asked where to be the ship etc’ but we would probably say he asked where was the ship or he asked where the ship was; his actual words were probably ‘Ubi est navis etc?’.

sibi ... praecavendum esse – This is the impersonal passive and means something like ‘they ought to be on their guard’ ; sibi is dative of agent which is commonly found with the gerundive in this type of expression.

in rupis – in can mean in or on, as here with the sense ‘on to the rocks’.

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.

Cyclopes autem pastores erant quidam

Now the Cyclops were certain shepherds

qui insulam Siciliam

who on the island of Sicily

et praecipue montem Aetnam incolebant;

and especially the mountain Etna inhabited;

ibi enim Volcanus, praeses fabrorum et ignis repertor,

for there Vulcan, patron of craftsmen and inventor of fire

cuius servi Cyclopes erant, officinam suam habebat.

whose servants the Cyclops were, had his workshop.

Graeci igitur simul ac monstrum viderunt,

The Greeks therefore as soon as they saw the monster

terrore paene exanimati

from fear having almost passed out

in interiorem partem speluncae refugerunt

fled into the interior part of a cave

et se ibi abdere conabantur.

and they tried to hide themselves there.

Polyphemus autem (sic enim Cyclops appellabatur)

but Polyphemus (for so the Cyclops was called)

pecus suum in speluncam compulit;

drove his flock into the cave;

deinde, cum saxo ingenti portam obstruxisset,

then, with a huge rock blocked the entrance,

ignem in media spelunca fecit.

(and) made a fire in the middle of the cave.

Hoc facto, oculo omnia perlustrabat,

Having done this he looked around at everything with his eye

et cum sensisset homines

and since he sensed men

in interiore parte speluncae esse abditos,

in the interior part of the cave to be hidden

magna voce exclamavit:

in a loud voice he called out:

"Qui homines estis?

What (kind of) men are you?

Mercatores an latrones?"

Merchants or robbers?

Tum Ulixes respondit se neque mercatores esse

Then Ulysses answered that they were not merchants

neque praedandi causa venisse;

nor for the purpose of plundering to have come;

sed a Troia redeuntis vi tempestatum

but returning from Troy, by the force of the storm

a recto cursu depulsos esse.

to have been pushed off the right course.

Oravit etiam ut sibi sine iniuria abire liceret.

He asked furthermore that he permit them to leave without harm

Tum Polyphemus quaesivit ubi esset navis

Then Polyphemus enquired where the ship was

qua vecti essent; sed Ulixes cum

by which they had been transported ; but Ulysses, since

sibi maxime praecavendum esse bene intellegeret,

he well knew they ought to be very much on their guard

respondit navem suam in rupis coniectam

answered that his ship, thrown on the rocks

omnino fractam esse.

was completely broken up.

Polyphemus autem nullo responso dato

Polyphemus however having given no reply

duo e sociis manu corripuit,

grasped two of the allies with his hand

et membris eorum divulsis

and having torn away their limbs

carnem devorare coepit.

began to devour the flesh.

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

Cyclopes autem pastores erant quidam

qui insulam Siciliam

et praecipue montem Aetnam incolebant;

ibi enim Volcanus, praeses fabrorum et ignis repertor,

cuius servi Cyclopes erant, officinam suam habebat.

Graeci igitur simul ac monstrum viderunt,

terrore paene exanimati

in interiorem partem speluncae refugerunt

et se ibi abdere conabantur.

Polyphemus autem (sic enim Cyclops appellabatur)

pecus suum in speluncam compulit;

deinde, cum saxo ingenti portam obstruxisset,

ignem in media spelunca fecit.

Hoc facto, oculo omnia perlustrabat,

et cum sensisset homines

in interiore parte speluncae esse abditos,

magna voce exclamavit:

"Qui homines estis? Mercatores an latrones?"

Tum Ulixes respondit se neque mercatores esse

neque praedandi causa venisse;

sed a Troia redeuntis vi tempestatum

a recto cursu depulsos esse.

Oravit etiam ut sibi sine iniuria abire liceret.

Tum Polyphemus quaesivit ubi esset navis

qua vecti essent; sed Ulixes cum sibi

maxime praecavendum esse bene intellegeret,

respondit navem suam in rupis coniectam

omnino fractam esse.

Polyphemus autem nullo responso dato

duo e sociis manu corripuit,

et membris eorum divulsis carnem devorare coepit.