80 RITCHIE’S FABULAE FACILES TRANSLATION – THE ARGONAUTS 80 – MEDEA KILLS HER SONS

THE ARGONAUTS 80. - MEDEA KILLS HER SONS

This is the last ‘episode’ in the sad story of Medea and Jason.  I shall be taking a break till the New Year when we will continue with Ulysses. 

Happy Christmas and Happy New Year to all you Latin Learners out there – and to all those who have joined our Latin learning community – Welcome! to visitors from:

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THIS PICTURE OF A PAINTING OF MEDEA AND HER SONS BY EUGENE DELACROIX (1865) CAN BE SEEN AT THE LOUVRE IN PARIS. (Pic from Wiki commons).

a) Vix vestem induerat Glaucé cum dolórem gravem per omnia membra sénsit, et pauló post crúdélí cruciátú adfecta é vítá excessit. Hís rébus gestís Médéa furóre atque ámentiá impulsa fíliós suós necávit; tum mágnum sibi fore perículum arbitráta sí in Thessaliá manéret, ex eá regióne fugere cónstituit. Hóc cónstitútó sólem órávit ut in tantó perículó auxilium sibi praebéret. Sól autem hís precibus commótus currum mísit cui erant iúnctí dracónés álís ínstrúctí. Médéa nón omittendam tantam occásiónem arbitráta currum ascendit, itaque per áera vecta incolumis ad urbem Athénás pervénit. Iásón ipse breví tempore míró modó occísus est. Accidit síve cású síve cónsilió deórum ut sub umbrá návis suae, quae in lítus subducta erat, dormíret. Mox návis, quae adhúc érécta steterat, in eam partem ubi Iásón iacébat subitó délapsa virum ínfélícem oppressit.



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.

induerat – pluperfect active of induere, ‘she had put on’.

per omnia – per the preposition per is followed by the accusative case, here the accusative plural of membrum, neuter noun second declension.

paulo post – a little after

e vita excessit – literally ‘out of life she went away’ but we would probably say ‘she passed away’.

his rebus gestis – ablative phrase, literally ‘these things done/carried out’. in the sense of ‘when these things had been accomplished/done’.

furore atque amentia – words which are close in meaning are often joined by atque as here, literally this phrase means ‘with irage and with madness’ but we might say something like, ‘in a mad rage’.

tum magnum sibi fore periculum arbitrata  - literally: ‘then great to herself going to be the danger thinking’ ; the past participle of deponent verbs is used in an active sense here.

ex ea regione – out of this region, the preposition e meaning ‘out of, away’ becomes ex before a vowel and is followed by the ablative.

hoc constituto – ablative absolute phrase meaning something ‘this decided  upon’ or ‘when she had resolved to do this’.

ut ... auxilium sibi praeberet – literally ‘that ...help to her he might supply’.

his precibus commotus – ablative pl of hic  agreeing with ablative plural of the third declension feminine noun prex, precis, followed by the past participle commotus , which when you put it altogether means literally ‘by these prayers having been moved’

per aera vecta – literally ‘through the air transported’; the preposition per takes the accusative so you might have thought that aera should have ended in m but aer is one of those many words taken from Greek which retains its Greek accusative ending ‘a’.

ad urbem Athenas – the preposition ad is followed by the accusative case; notice that Athens is a plural feminine noun; notice also that whereas we say ‘the city OF Athens’ this is expressed in Latin as ‘the city Athens’.

Iason ipse – the ipse is included for emphasis, ‘Jason himself’.

brevi tempore – ablative of time ‘in a short time’.

miro  modo – ablative of manner ‘in a marvelous/strange/amazing way’.

accidit – ‘it happened’ or ‘it came to pass’.

sive ... sive ... – either ... or, whether ... or ...

casu ... consilio – ablatives of cause, ‘whether by chance ... or by design (i.e. having planned it).

sub umbra – the preposition sub meaning under is followed by the ablative here umbra which means ‘in the shade/shadow’ followed by the genitive of the third declension feminine noun navis which is the same as the nominative.which is one of the family of parasyllabic i-stem nouns (see Grammar Notes right sidebar).

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.

Dont’ forget this is a GIST Translation intended to give you an idea of what the words mean and the lines marked with * in particular need to be reworked to sound like ‘proper’ English.

Vix vestem induerat Glauce

Glauce had hardly put on the dress

cum dolorem gravem

when a serious pain

per omnia membra sensit,

throughout all her limbs she felt,*

et paulo post crudeli cruciatu adfecta

and a little after by a cruel torture having been afflicted*

e vita excessit.

she passed away.

His rebus gestis

When these things had been accomplished

Medea furore atque amentia impulsa

Medea, driven into a mad rage

filios suos necavit;

killed her own children;

tum magnum sibi fore periculum arbitrata

then thinking that she was going to be in great danger

si in Thessalia maneret,

if she were to remain in Thessaly,

ex ea regione fugere constituit.

to flee from the region she decided.

Hoc constituto solem oravit

When she had decided this she prayed to the sun

ut in tanto periculo auxilium sibi praeberet.

that in such great danger help to her might supply *

Sol autem his precibus commotus

Now the sun, moved by these prayers

currum misit cui erant iuncti

sent a chariot to which were joined

dracones alis instructi.

dragons equipped with wings

Medea non omittendam tantam occasionem

Medea not neglecting such a great opportunity

arbitrata currum ascendit,

decided to climb onto the chariot,

itaque per aera vecta incolumis

and so through the air was carried safely

ad urbem Athenas pervenit.

and reached the city of Athens.

Iason ipse brevi tempore

Jason himself in a short time

miro modo occisus est.

in a marvelous way.

Accidit sive casu sive consilio deorum

It happened whether by chance or by design of the gods

ut sub umbra navis suae,

that in the shade of his ship,

quae in litus subducta erat, dormiret.

which on to the shore had been hauled, he was sleeping.

Mox navis, quae adhuc erecta steterat,

Soon the ship, which till now had remained upright,

in eam partem ubi Iason iacebat

on to that place where Jason was lying

subito delapsa virum infelicem oppressit.

suddenly collapsed down, (and) fell down on the unfortuante man.

d) The following section is for you to copy and compose your own improved translation.

Vix vestem induerat Glauce

cum dolorem gravem

per omnia membra sensit,

et paulo post crudeli cruciatu adfecta

e vita excessit.

His rebus gestis

Medea furore atque amentia impulsa

filios suos necavit;

tum magnum sibi fore

periculum arbitrata

si in Thessalia maneret,

ex ea regione fugere constituit.

Hoc constituto solem oravit

ut in tanto periculo auxilium sibi praeberet.

Sol autem his precibus commotus

currum misit cui erant iuncti

dracones alis instructi.

Medea non omittendam tantam occasionem

arbitrata currum ascendit,

itaque per aera vecta incolumis

ad urbem Athenas pervenit.

Iason ipse brevi tempore

miro modo occisus est.

Accidit sive casu sive consilio deorum

ut sub umbra navis suae,

quae in litus subducta erat, dormiret.

Mox navis, quae adhuc erecta steterat,

in eam partem ubi Iason iacebat

subito delapsa virum infelicem oppressit.

79 RITCHIE’S FABULAE FACILES TRANSLATION THE ARGONAUTS 79 - A FATAL GIFT

THE ARGONAUTS 79. - A FATAL GIFT

This picture from Wikimedia Commons is of the Medea Sarcophagus (in the Altes museum in Berlin). Wiki also provide the following description from left to right of the picture:
Medea sends her two sons to deliver a golden wreath and a precious garment to Glauce, the betrothed of Medea's former lover Jason, depicted on the left.
The garment, which was poisoned, catches fire and burns Glauce alive. Her father, king Creon, is standing next to her.
Medea is about to murder her two sons, who are still playing in front of her.
Medea enters a chariot driven by dragons. She takes the bodies of her dead children with her.

Isn’t it fantastic! Sorry if I have given away more of the story than you would have liked, but I think it is such a great picture and I just had to share it with you!

a) Iásón et Médéa é Thessaliá expulsí ad urbem Corinthum vénérunt, cúius urbis Creón quídam régnum tum obtinébat. Erat autem Creontí fília úna, nómine Glaucé. Quam cum vídisset, Iásón cónstituit Médéae uxórí suae núntium mittere eó cónsilió, ut Glaucén in mátrimónium dúceret. At Médéa ubi intelléxit quae ille in animó habéret, írá graviter commóta iúre iúrandó cónfírmávit sé tantam iniúriam ultúram. Hóc igitur cónsilium cépit. Vestem parávit summá arte textam et variís colóribus ínfectam; hanc mortiferó quódam venénó tinxit, cúius vís tális erat ut sí quis eam vestem induisset, corpus éius quasi ígní úrerétur. Hóc factó vestem ad Glaucén mísit; illa autem nihil malí suspicáns dónum libenter accépit, et vestem novam móre féminárum statim induit.

 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.

e – preposition ‘from’ followed by ablative case.

expulsi – perfect past participle ‘having been expelled/thrown out’

ad – preposition ‘towards’ followed by accusative case.

venerunt – third person plural perfect of venire.

cuius urbis – genitive of feminine relative adjective (qui quae quod), agreeing with genitive of third declension feminine noun urbs, urbis meaning therefore ‘of which town’.

Creon quidam – Creon, the name of the ruler (you will notice that names usually come first in this kind of phrase) followed by the indefinite adjective quidam ‘a certain’, together therefore ‘a certain Creon’,

regnum tum obtinebat – Literally, ‘the royal power/kingdom – at that time – was holding (imperfect singular of obtinere)’ but perhaps the meaning is better grasped ‘was ruling at that time’.

Erat autem Creonti – Literally, there was –now/however – to Creon (dative) meaning ‘Creon had’ . The verb sum with a dative noun or pronoun is often used to express possession ‘est mihi = I have; cui erant = to which there were = which had (see Hercules second labour).

nomine – ablative ‘by name’, or as we would probably say ‘called’.

Quam cum vidisset – quam is here what is sometimes called a connecting relative. This means that it connects this sentence to the one before as quam refers to Creon’s daughter who has just been mentioned. Literally it is ‘whom when he had seen’ but we would probably say something like ‘when he saw her, Jason etc’.

nuntium – a message, notice, announcement; in this context it means a notice of divorce, which given the circumstances seems somewhat harsh, don’t you think?.

ut Glaucen in matrimonium duceret – a purpose clause after ut takes the verb in the subjunctive ‘to marry Glauce’. Ducere came to mean marry, because the bridegroom led his bride in a wedding procession to his own home so it can only be used of a man; when a woman marries the word used is nubere (to put on a veil) and can only be used of a woman.

quae in animo haberet – Literally, what (things) he was having  (subjunctive) in his mind better understood by ‘what he intended’.

confirmavit – confirmare can mean to confirm, strenthen, and to assert positively, declare, or pledge.

jure jurandum – ablative of jusjurandum, oath, which is often written separately, as here, means ‘by an oath’.

ulturam – as often happens with the future infinitive in the accusative and infinitive construction esse is omitted. We have the accusative and infinitive as this is another example of reported speech, or indirect discourse if you prefer, she pledged that  etc.; her words were ‘I will be avenged’ being reported as ‘she said she would be avenged’.

mortifero quodam veneno - ablative phrase, notice the word order; literally 'with a deadly certain poison' which we would probably express as 'with a certain deadly poison'. Don't forget that Latin often employs a different word order from what we are used to, but we can usually tell which words belong together by their case and number.

ut si quis ... induisset – ‘such that if someone (quis is the indefinite pronoun) should put it on’.

quasi igni ureretur – literally, as if with fire (ablative of the third declension noun ignis ignis) he/she/it was being burned (third person singular imperfect passive subjunctive of uro, urere).  Notice that ignis is one of the third declension nouns that take i in the ablative singular (not e).  We have here the imperfect subjunctive as quasi introduces an imagined comparison.

nihil mali – literally, nothing of bad, this is the partitive genitive and is often to be found after a word indicating a quantity or amount of something (compare plus cibi – ‘more food’, literally ‘more of food’.; we would say ‘nothing bad.’

more feminarum – ablative of mos custom, in the way of, as is the custom of followed by the genitive plural of femina ‘as is the custom of women’.

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. Lines marked with an * in particular need to be reworked to sound like proper English.

Iason et Medea e Thessalia expulsi

After Jason and Medea were expelled from Thessaly

ad urbem Corinthum venerunt,

the came to the city of Corinth,

cuius urbis Creon quidam

(of) which city a certain Creon

regnum tum obtinebat.

at that time was ruling.

Erat autem Creonti filia una,

Now Creon had a daughter,

nomine Glauce.

called Glauce.

Quam cum vidisset,

When he had seen her,

Iason constituit Medeae uxori suae

Jason decided to his wife Medea*

nuntium mittere

a notice of divorce to send*

eo consilio,

of his decision,

ut Glaucen in matrimonium duceret.

to marry Glauce.

At Medea ubi intellexit

But Medea when she realised

quae ille in animo haberet,

what he intended

ira graviter commota

felt very angry

iure iurando confirmavit

and pledged on oath

se tantam iniuriam ulturam.

to avenge herself of such a great wrong.

Hoc igitur consilium cepit.

So she hatched this plot.

Vestem paravit summa arte textam

She prepared a garment woven with great skill

et variis coloribus infectam;

and of various colours dyed;*

hanc mortifero quodam veneno tinxit,

this she soaked with a certain deadly poison,

cuius vis talis erat

which was of such potency

ut si quis eam vestem induisset,

that when anyone put that garment on,

corpus eius quasi igni ureretur.

her body would seem as if consumed by fire.

Hoc facto vestem ad Glaucen misit;

When this was done she gave the garment to Glauce

illa autem nihil mali suspicans

She however suspecting nothing bad

donum libenter accepit,

accepted the gift gladly,

et vestem novam

and the new garment

more feminarum statim induit.

as is the custom with women, she put on at once.

d) The following section is for you to copy and compose your own translation.

Iason et Medea e Thessalia expulsi

ad urbem Corinthum venerunt,

cuius urbis Creon quidam

regnum tum obtinebat.

Erat autem Creonti filia una,

nomine Glauce.

Quam cum vidisset,

Iason constituit Medeae

uxori suae nuntium mittere eo consilio,

ut Glaucen in matrimonium duceret.

At Medea ubi intellexit

quae ille in animo haberet,

ira graviter commota

iure iurando confirmavit

se tantam iniuriam ulturam.

Hoc igitur consilium cepit.

Vestem paravit summa arte textam

et variis coloribus infectam;

hanc mortifero quodam veneno tinxit,

cuius vis talis erat

ut si quis eam vestem induisset,

corpus eius quasi igni ureretur.

Hoc facto vestem ad Glaucen misit;

illa autem nihil mali suspicans

donum libenter accepit,

et vestem novam

more feminarum statim induit.

78 RITCHIE’S FABULAE FACILES TRANSLATION – THE ARGONAUTS 78 – A DANGEROUS EXPERIMENT

THE ARGONAUTS 78 – A DANGEROUS EXPERIMENT

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This lovely picture of a relief of the Peliades and Medea is from Wiki Commons.

a)Dum fíliae régis hóc míráculum stupentés intuentur, Médéa ita locúta est: "Vidétis quantum valeat medicína. Vós igitur, sí vultis patrem vestrum in aduléscentiam redúcere, id quod fécí ipsae faciétis. Vós patris membra in vás conicite; ego herbás magicás praebébó." Quod ubi audítum est, fíliae régis cónsilium quod dedisset Médéa nón omittendum putávérunt. Patrem igitur Peliam necávérunt et membra éius in vás aéneum coniécérunt; nihil autem dubitábant quín hóc máximé eí prófutúrum esset. At rés omnínó aliter événit ac spéráverant, Médéa enim nón eásdem herbás dedit quibus ipsa úsa erat. Itaque postquam diú frústrá exspectávérunt, patrem suum ré vérá mortuum esse intelléxérunt. Hís rébus gestís Médéa sé cum coniuge suó régnum acceptúram esse spérábat; sed cívés cum intellegerent quó modó Peliás periisset, tantum scelus aegré tulérunt. Itaque Iásone et Médéá é régnó expulsís Acastum régem creávérunt.

 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 ... intuentor – dum in Latin takes a present tense if it means while but can be translated by a past tense in English.

stupentes – present active participle as adjective agreeing with filiae, ‘astounded, stupified, amazed.’

intuentur – third person plural present tense of the deponent verb intueor, ‘look, gaze, regard, stare’ which looks passive but is active ‘they are looking’.

ita locuta est – literally ‘spoke thus’, locuta est being perfect of the deponent verb loquor which looks passive but is active, but we would probably say ‘said this’.

valeat – third person singular present active subjunctive of valeo, valere ‘be well, strong, powerful, effective etc.’

reducere – to bring back.

ipsae – you youselves.

facietis – second person plural future tense of the verb facio, facere, feci, factus, ‘you will do’.

conicite – second person plural imperative present tense of coniciere meaning therefore ‘throw’ (you plural – see Persons in Grammar Notes top right of sidebar).

vos conicite ... ego praebeo – you will have noticed that usually we do not use the personal pronouns (I, you, he etc) as the ending of the verb indicates who the person is but they are used for emphasis and contrast, as here, when the meaning is ‘You do this and I’ll do that’.

Quod ubi auditum est – literally ‘which when it was heard’. Quod is here called a connecting relative as it connects the sentence with the one before, we would probably say ‘when this was heard’.

putaverunt – third person plural perfect tense of putare, meaning therefore ‘they thought’ . Notice the word order – this sentence needs to be turned around to make any sense in English, we would probably say ‘the king’s daughters thought etc.

usa erat – 'she had used', third person singular pluperfect of utor, uti, usus sum, third conjugation deponent verb which takes the ablative case hence we have ‘quibus’.

re vera – really

his rebus gestis – ablative absolute, ‘when these things were done/accomplished/carried out’.

quod feci ipsae facietis – literally: quod – ‘that which’; feci – first person perf facere ‘I have done’; ipsae – yourselves; facietis - second person plural future of the verb facio, facere, feci, factus, ‘you will do’; the indicative future is sometimes used in the way of command (imperative).

aegre tulerunt – tulerunt is third person plural perfect of fero, ‘they took it badly’ or ‘they were very angry/vexed/indignant.

Acastum regem creaverunt -  notice the double accusative – ‘they made Acastus king.’

 

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.

Dum filiae regis

While the king’s daughters

hoc miraculum stupentes intuentur,

observe this miracle amazed,

Medea ita locuta est:

Medea spoke thus:

"Videtis quantum valeat medicina.

You see how effective is the medicine.

Vos igitur, si vultis patrem vestrum

You therefore, if you want your father

in adulescentiam reducere,

to be brought back to youth,

id quod feci ipsae facietis.

that which I have done you youselves will do.

Vos patris membra in vas conicite;

Throw your father’s limbs in a pot;

ego herbas magicas praebebo."

I will supply the magical herbs."

Quod ubi auditum est,

When they heard this,

filiae regis consilium

the king’s daughters - the plan

quod dedisset Medea

which Medea had suggested

non omittendum putaverunt.

ought not to be disregarded  - they thought

Patrem igitur Peliam necaverunt

Therefore they killed their father Pelias

et membra eius in vas aeneum coniecerunt;

and tossed his limbs into a copper pot;

nihil autem dubitabant

for they did not in the slightest doubt

quin hoc maxime ei profuturum esset.

but that this would do him the utmost good.

At res omnino aliter evenit ac speraverant,

But the affair turned out completely other than they had hoped,

Medea enim non easdem herbas dedit

For Medea did not give the same herbs

quibus ipsa usa erat.

which she herself had used.

Itaque postquam diu frustra exspectaverunt,

And so after they waited for a long time in vain,

patrem suum re vera

their father really

mortuum esse intellexerunt.

was dead they realized.

His rebus gestis Medea se

When these things had been done Medea herself

cum coniuge suo

together with her spouse

regnum accepturam esse sperabat;

was hoping she would take over the kingdom;

sed cives cum intellegerent

but the citizens when they realized

quo modo Pelias periisset,

in what way Pelias had perished,

tantum scelus aegre tulerunt.

at such great wickeness were indignant.

Itaque Iasone et Medea

And so Jason and Medea

e regno expulsis

being driven out from the kingdom

Acastum regem creaverunt.

they made Acastus king.

d) The following section is for you to copy and compose your own translation.

Dum filiae regis

hoc miraculum stupentes intuentur,

Medea ita locuta est:

"Videtis quantum valeat medicina.

Vos igitur, si vultis patrem vestrum

in adulescentiam reducere,

id quod feci ipsae facietis.

Vos patris membra in vas conicite;

ego herbas magicas praebebo."

Quod ubi auditum est,

filiae regis consilium

quod dedisset Medea

non omittendum putaverunt.

Patrem igitur Peliam necaverunt

et membra eius in vas aeneum coniecerunt;

nihil autem dubitabant

quin hoc maxime ei profuturum esset.

At res omnino aliter evenit ac speraverant,

Medea enim non easdem herbas dedit

quibus ipsa usa erat.

Itaque postquam diu frustra exspectaverunt,

patrem suum re vera

mortuum esse intellexerunt.

His rebus gestis Medea se

cum coniuge suo

regnum accepturam esse sperabat;

sed cives cum intellegerent

quo modo Pelias periisset,

tantum scelus aegre tulerunt.

Itaque Iasone et Medea

e regno expulsis

Acastum regem creaverunt.

77 - RITCHIE’S FABULAE FACILES TRANSLATION – THE ARGONAUTS 77 – THE MAGIC ARTS

I love this painting of Medea by Anthony Frederick Augustus Sandys (painted 1866). (Pic from Wiki media Commons). She looks somewhat worried as she mixes her magical potion don't you think?  She reminds me of an American actress who appears regularly in tv cop series but I can't think of her name.

THE ARGONAUTS 77. -  THE MAGIC ARTS

a)Hís rébus cógnitís Médéa rem aegré tulit, et régní cupiditáte adducta mortem régí per dolum ínferre cónstituit. Hóc cónstitútó ad fíliás régis vénit atque ita locúta est: "Vidétis patrem vestrum aetáte iam esse cónfectum neque ad labórem régnandí perferendum satis valére. Vultisne eum rúrsus iuvenem fierí?" Tum fíliae régis ita respondérunt: "Num hóc fierí potest? Quis enim umquam é sene iuvenis factus est?" At Médéa respondit: "Mé medicínae summam habére scientiam scítis. Nunc igitur vóbis démónstrábó quó modó haec rés fierí possit." Postquam fínem loquendí fécit, arietem aetáte iam cónfectum interfécit et membra éius in váse aéneó posuit, atque ígní suppositó in aquam herbás quásdam infúdit. Tum, dum aqua effervésceret, carmen magicum cantábat. Mox ariés é váse exsiluit et víribus refectís per agrós currébat.
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.

his rebus cognitis – ablative absolute, ‘these things having been found out’, but we would probably say ‘when Medea found out she ... etc’

rem aegre tulit – rem, accusative singular of the fifth declension noun res meaning, matter, affair, thing, aegre is an adverb ‘badly’ coming before the verb as we expect and tulit third person singular perfect active of the verb fero, ferre, tuli, which has many meanings one of which is  ‘take’, so altogether something like our expression ‘she took it badly’.

regni cupiditate adducta – led by a desire for the kingdom.

mortem regi ... constituit – to make even a gist translation intelligible you have to turn this around, it means ‘death - to the king - through a trick - to bring about - she decided’

filias regis – the daughters (accusative plural of filia) of the king (genitive of rex), or ‘the king’s daughters’.

ita locutus est – this she spoke, ita ‘thus, in this way’, locutus est, third person singular perfect tense active of the deponent verb loquor, ‘she spoke’, together being ‘thus she spoke’ but we would probably say: ‘she said this’.

vestrum – ‘your’, when talking to more than one person, accusative singular masculine adjective agreeing with the masc acc noun patrem.

aetate – ablative of cause from the feminine third declension noun aetas, aetatis, ‘age’, meaning ‘with age, by age’.

ad laborem regnandi perferendum satis valere – for the work of ruling enduring enough being well, with the sense ‘being well enough to endure the work of being ruler’. 

vultisne – the enclitic ne (or add-on) is added to the first word to turn a statement into a question, vultis= you want, vultisne= do you want?.

Num hoc fieri potest? – Num introduces a question which expects a negative answer: hoc fieri potest – literally, ‘this to happen it can’ or ‘this can happen’, so num hoc fieri potest? means something like, ‘Surely this can’t happen?’ or ‘This can’t happen can it?’

e sene – ablative after the preposition e (ex before a vowel) from the adjective and noun senex, senis ‘old, aged’, meaning ‘from being old’, or ‘from being an old man’.

vobis demonstrabo – vobis is dative plural, meaning ‘I will show to you’ but in English we say ‘I will show you’.

quo modo haec fieri possit – in what way this thing may be brought about/may happen’, so we put ‘how this can be done’.

me .habere.. scitis – Accusative Infinitive construction, ‘you know me to have a great deal of knowledge etc.’ but we would probably say ‘You know that I have etc.’

igni supposito – ablative absolute again, meaning ‘having put the fire under’.

in aquam – accusative after in here as it means ‘into’.

herbas quasdam – certain (unspecified) herbs.

e vase – e followed by ablative of vas, vasis, third declension neuter noun, ‘dish, pot’.

viribus refectis – ablative phrase, ‘with his strength renewed’.

per agros – the preposition per ‘through’ takes the accusative, here the acc plural of ager, -i masc second declension noun, meaning therefore ‘through the fields’.

 

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.

His rebus cognitis

When these things were found out

Medea rem aegre tulit,

Medea took it badly

et regni cupiditate adducta

and led by a desire to rule

mortem regi per dolum inferre constituit.

she decided to bring about death to the king by a trick

Hoc constituto ad filias regis venit

Having decided this she came to the daughters of the king

atque ita locuta est:

and said this:

"Videtis patrem vestrum

You see your father

aetate iam esse confectum neque

is now worn out with age and is not

ad laborem regnandi perferendum

for carrying on the work of ruling

satis valere.

sufficiently strong.

Vultisne eum rursus iuvenem fieri?"

Do you want to see him become young again?

Tum filiae regis ita responderunt:

Then the daughters of the king answered thus:

"Num hoc fieri potest?

Surely this can’t happen?

Quis enim umquam

For who ever

e sene iuvenis factus est?"

from and old man has been made young?

At Medea respondit:

But Medea answered:

"Me medicinae

I, of medicinal arts

summam habere scientiam scitis.

have the greatest knowledge you know.

Nunc igitur vobis demonstrabo

Now therefore I will show you

quo modo haec res fieri possit."

in what way this thing can happen.

Postquam finem loquendi fecit,

After she finished speaking,

arietem aetate iam confectum

a ram already worn out with age

interfecit et membra eius

she killed and its limbs

in vase aeneo posuit,

she put in a brass pot,

atque igni supposito

and having put a light

in aquam herbas quasdam infudit.

poured into the water certain herbs.

Tum, dum aqua effervesceret,

Then, while the water was bubbling,

carmen magicum cantabat.

she sang a magical song.

Mox aries e vase exsiluit

Soon the ram jumped out of the pot

et viribus refectis per agros currebat.

and with strength renewed he was running through the fields.

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

His rebus cognitis

Medea rem aegre tulit,

et regni cupiditate adducta

mortem regi per dolum inferre constituit.

Hoc constituto ad filias regis venit

atque ita locuta est:

"Videtis patrem vestrum

aetate iam esse confectum

neque ad laborem regnandi

perferendum satis valere.

Vultisne eum rursus iuvenem fieri?"

Tum filiae regis ita responderunt:

"Num hoc fieri potest?

Quis enim umquam

e sene iuvenis factus est?"

At Medea respondit:

"Me medicinae

summam habere scientiam scitis.

Nunc igitur vobis demonstrabo

quo modo haec res fieri possit."

Postquam finem loquendi fecit,

arietem aetate iam confectum

interfecit et membra eius

in vase aeneo posuit,

atque igni supposito

in aquam herbas quasdam infudit.

Tum, dum aqua effervesceret,

carmen magicum cantabat.

Mox aries e vase exsiluit

et viribus refectis per agros currebat.