Latin · Unit 14

Capita 26–30

Puer Romanus

Dionȳsius et Dāmoclēs; Fūnus; Tēstāmentum et līs inde orta; Rūs ītur; Dē gruibus

233 lines

Dionȳsius et Dāmoclēs (Puer Rōmānus 26)

1
Nor did Dionysius, the tyrant of Syracuse, who had such great riches and such an abundance of everything, think that he was happy.
Nequeneither, nor, and ... not
Dionȳsius,Dionysius: Dionysius (long y)
SyrācūsārumSyracusae: Syracuse (pl.)
tyrannus,tyrant
quīqui: who, which, what, that
tantāstantus: so great
habēbathabeo: have, hold; regard, consider, deem
dīvitiās,divitiae: riches (pl.), wealth
tantamquetantus: so great
rērumres: res
abundantiam,abundantia: abundance, plenty
putābatputo: think, believe, suppose, hold
sēsui: of himself (herself, itself, themselves)
essesum: be; exist
beātum.beatus: blessed, blissful
2
For when one of his flatterers, Damocles, was speaking in conversation of his forces, his wealth, the majesty of his rule, his abundance of everything and the splendour of his royal palace, and was saying that no one had ever been happier, Dionysius said, 'Would you like, then, Damocles, since this life delights you, to taste it yourself and to try my fortune?'
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When Damocles had said that he would like to, Dionysius ordered the man to be placed on a golden couch, spread with a most beautiful woven coverlet worked with splendid designs; and he decked out several sideboards with chased silver and gold.
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Then he ordered chosen boys of outstanding beauty to stand by the table, and to watch his nod and serve him carefully.
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There were perfumes and garlands; scents were burning; the tables were piled with the choicest dishes.
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Damocles thought himself a lucky man.
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In the middle of all this display Dionysius ordered a gleaming sword, hung from the ceiling by a horsehair, to be let down, so that it hung over that happy man's neck.
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And so he neither looked at those beautiful servants nor at the silver full of art; nor did he stretch out his hand to the table; by now the very garlands were slipping off.
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At last he begged the tyrant to let him go, because he no longer wanted to be happy.
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Does it not seem that Dionysius made it plain enough that there is no happiness for a man over whom some fear always hangs?

Syrācūsārum: Syracuse, from Syracusae
tyrannus: tyrant
dīvitiās: riches, wealth, from divitiae
abundantiam: abundance, plenty, from abundantia
assentātōribus: yes-man, flatterer, from assentator
Dāmoclēs: fallow
opēs: power, might, from ops
māiestātem: majesty, dignity, from majestas
dominātūs: rule, mastery
māgnificentiam: greatness, from magnificentia
aedium: temple, shrine, from aedes
dēlectat: delight, please, from delecto
dēgustāre: taste, from degusto
collocārī: place, arrange, from colloco
aureō: golden, from aureus
strātō: coverlet, from stratum
pulcherrimē: fine, beautifully
textilī: woven, from textilis
strāgulō: covering, from stragulum
māgnificīsque: prize, esteem greatly
abacōsque: small table for cruets, credence
argentō: silver, from argentum
caelātō: carve, make raised work, from caelo
dēlēctōs: pick, cull, from deligo
nūtum: nod, from nutus
intuentēs: look at, from intueor
ministrāre: attend, serve, from ministro
unguenta: oil, ointment, from unguentum
incendēbantur: set fire to, burn, from incendo
odōrēs: scent, odor, from odor
conquīsītissimīs: of, from conquiro
epulīs: courses, food, from epulae
Fortūnātus: make happy, bless, from fortuno
apparātū: prepare, fit out, from apparo
lacūnārī: paneled ceiling, from lacunarius
equīnā: concerning horses, from equinus
aptum: suitable, adapted, from aptus
impenderet: expend, spend, from impendo
beātī: happy
ministrātōrēs: female attendant, from ministrator
aspiciēbat: look, see, from aspicio
porrigēbat: stretch out, extend, from porrigo
dēfluēbant: flow, from defluo
exōrāvit: persuade, obtain, from exoro
dēclārāsse: declare, from declaro
impendeat: expend, spend, from impendeo

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Who was Dionysius?
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What did Damocles speak of in conversation?
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What did Dionysius ask him?
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What did he then order his slaves to do?
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What sort of boys did he order to stand by the table?
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What did these have to do?
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Describe the dinner and the whole display.
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What happened in the middle of the dinner?
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When Damocles saw this, how did he behave?
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What did he beg the tyrant at last?

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What is the difference between a quarrel and a brawl?
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What do we do in a mill?
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What sort of road is a path?
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What does harundo mean? Does it mean anything else?
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How do we play at dice?
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What is the difference between a mother's brother and a father's brother?
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What do flatterers do?
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What is chased gold like?
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What is a panelled ceiling?
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What is a woven coverlet?

lacūnar: paneled ceiling
textile: woven fabric, cloth

Fūnus (Puer Rōmānus 27)

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Today my father ordered us all to change our clothes because my grandfather had died.
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He was a man of advanced years, easy with everyone and kindly, and particularly good to boys.
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To me at least, whenever I visited him, he always gave cakes or some other things that boys like.
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So I was filled with the greatest grief when I heard that he had died.
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He died the day before yesterday, and my grandmother, who was there, closed his staring and stiffening eyes; and when they had been closed she called out to the body, repeating over and over 'Hail' or 'Farewell'.
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Then the body was laid on the ground and the layers-out (as it were the anointers of the skin), whom the undertakers had sent, wash it with warm water and anoint it with various perfumes.
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While this was going on my grandmother, deeply stirred in her mind, walked this way and that and cried, 'If only he were still alive; never before did I realize how dear he was to me.
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Oh foolish mortals, who wonder at nothing but what the goddess of funerals has made holy!'
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But the layers-out, when they had duly performed their duties, dressed the body in a white toga and laid it out on a couch near the entrance hall with its feet turned to the door, as though it were about to go out for the last time; the family mourned the dead man laid out in this way; and when all the rites had been performed and a coin had been placed in his mouth, so that he might not go off to that ferryman without his fare, they all went away.
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Then at last a branch of cypress was fixed to the door.

prōvectae: carry, from proveho
ergā: towards, opposite
crustula: pastry, cake, from crustulum
grāta: acceptable, pleasing, from gratus
aviaque: grandmother, from avia
exstantēs: stand forth, from exsto
rigentēsque: stiff
clausīs: cell, from clausum
inclāmābat: cry out, call upon, from inclamo
Avē: hail, from aveo
identidem: repeatedly
dēpositum: deposit, trust
pollīnctōrēs: undertaker, from pollinctor
ūnctōrēs: anointer, from unctor
libitīnāriī: undertaker, from libitinarius
calidā: hot water
unguentīsque: oil, ointment
unguunt: anoint, from ungo
mortālēs: mortal, transient, from mortalis
sacrāvit: consecrate, make sacred, from sacro
mīrēminī: be amazed, from miro
mūnera: service, from munus
cūrāvissent: arrange
vestītum: clothe, from vestio
versīs: sweep clean, from verro
novissimē: last, rear, from novissimus
necessāriī: necessary, from necessarius
trientī: sold-for-a-third, from trientius
portitōrem: ferry man, from portitor
cupressī: cypress-tree
rāmus: branch, bough
foribus: door, gate, from foris

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The next day the funeral procession was led out, and many of the family were at the funeral; four bearers (they are so called because they carry out the dead in the evening) carried the dead man out feet first on a bier; with torches lit a long procession followed, which the master of ceremonies, helped by the attendants, put in order; the flute players went first; then the hired mourning women, who had been engaged to sing the praises of the dead man with laments mixed in, then the actors and the jesters, who followed with a great noise of singing, and among them was the chief mime, who played the part of my grandfather and, as the custom is, imitated his deeds and his words.
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He did this so well that my little brother, who could not doubt that the dead man was alive again, was filled with the greatest terror.
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Next came the freedmen with caps of liberty on their heads; before the body itself the masks of the ancestors were carried, and then the family wrapped in dark clothes.
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At last we reached the burning place, where the pyre was already standing, built up like an altar.
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When the body had been placed on it, the family, with their faces turned away, lit the pyre with a burning torch; they threw scents, perfumes and other offerings into the fire; they also killed victims at the pyre to appease the ghosts; and when the pyre had burnt down and the fire had been put out and wine poured over the ashes, the bones were gathered up and put in an urn, and the urn itself in the tomb.
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When this had been done, a priest purified all who were present, sprinkling them with holy water from a branch of bay, and cried, 'It is over'; then, before they went away, they all said their last words and bade the dead man farewell.
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Not very long afterwards this epitaph was carved on the tomb:
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SACRED TO THE SPIRITS OF THE DEAD
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HERE LIES
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Marcus Cornelius Pollio

vespillōnēs: undertaker who buries paupers, from vespillo
vespertīnō: evening, from vespertinus
efferunt: boil up or over
feretrō: bier, from feretrum
efferēbant: savage, cruel
accēnsīs: attendant, from accensus
facibus: torch, firebrand, from fax
pompa: procession
dēsīgnātor: arranger
līctoribus: lictor, an attendant upon a, from lictor
ōrdinābat: order, set in order, from ordino
tībīcinēs: piper, flute player, from tibicen
incēdēbant: advance, march, from incedo
praeficae: praetor, from praefica
lāmentīs: wailing, weeping, from lamenta
condūctae: hired, from conductus
histriōnēs: actor, from histrio
scurraeque: fashionable idler, man about town
sonō: make a noise
archimīmus: chief mimic actress
mōs: custom, habit
dicta: words, from Dicte
imitābātur: imitate, from imito
frāterculus: little brother
lībertīnī: freedman, from libertinium
pilleātī: conscientious, from pilleatus
pullātīs: clad in dirty or black, from pullatus
būstum: tomb, grave-mound
āversīs: back, back, from aversum
pyram: funeral pile, pyre, from pyra
mactāvērunt: magnify, honor, from macto
combūstō: burn, injury from burning, from combustum
exstīnctōque: put out, extinguish
cinerēs: ashes, from cinis
urnae: pot, from urna
lūstrālī: relating to purification, from lustralis
Īlicet: you may go
ēlogium: clause added to will
sculptum: carve, engrave, from sculpo

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S.T.T.L. [may the earth lie light upon you.]
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From the rising sun to the marshes of Maeotis
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there is no one who can match my deeds.
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If it is right for anyone to climb into the regions of the gods,
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for me alone the great gate of heaven stands open.
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Why did my father order us to change our clothes?
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What was my grandfather like?
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What did he do whenever I visited him?
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When did he die?
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When her husband was dead, what did my grandmother do first?

exoriente: come out, come forth, from exorior
aequiperāre: become, rival, from aequiparo
queat: be able, from queo
fās: divine
endo: in
caelestum: heavenly, of heavens

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Who are the layers-out?
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What did they do after they had laid the body on the ground?
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While this was going on, what was the wife doing?
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Then, when they had performed their duties, what did the layers-out do?
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When this had been done, what did the family do?
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Why did they put a coin in the mouth of the body?
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What was done last of all?
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Why are the bearers so named?
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Who put the procession in order?
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Why were the mourning women there?

trientem: third part, third, from triens

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What did the chief mime do?
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What did the chief mime make my little brother think?
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What was the pyre that had been built up like?
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When the body had been placed on the pyre, what did the family do?
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And what did the priest do?

Tēstāmentum et līs inde orta (Puer Rōmānus 28)

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When the will had been opened and read out we found this: he had made as heirs in the first degree Livia (his wife) for a half share, and Silius (my mother's brother, and older than my father) for a third; in the second degree, Sextus Cornelius (my father) for a sixth.
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This inheritance of my father's was the Sabine farm, which was the beginning of the greatest trouble for us.
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For in the will only 'Sextus Cornelius' had been written, with the family name left out; and there was at that time another Sextus Cornelius at Rome, who, as soon as he heard about the will, claimed our farm for himself as heir.
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With his friends' help my father tried for a long time to settle the dispute; but at last he could not help summoning his opponent (Libanus was his family name) to law.
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So he went to his house and said, 'I summon you to law; follow me to the court.'
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When the man refused, my father turned to a passer-by and asked, 'May I call you to witness?' The man offers his ear, and Libanus is hauled off to law.
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At first, though, he pretended to be ill so as not to go to law; at last he said that he could not walk.
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But my father sent a cart in which he might be carried to the praetor.
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But even then Libanus refused to come out of his house, his safest refuge.
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So my father, knowing that he was staying indoors only for the sake of a trick, sent a letter and summoned him to law again.

īnstituerat: set up, establish, from instituo
dīmidiā: half
sextante: one-sixth of any unit, from sextans
hērēditās: inheritance, possession
Sabīnus: Sabine, of the Sabines
molestiae: trouble, annoyance, from molestia
adversārium: female enemy, adversary, from adversaria
Libanus: cake
tribūnal: raised platform
antestārī: surpass, excel, from antesto
auriculam: ear, from auricula
oppōnit: oppose, from oppono
refugiō: flee back
ēvocāvit: call forth, from evoco

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So Libanus, who was afraid that my father would be put in possession of his goods if he stayed hidden any longer, at last came out of his house, and my father hauled him off to law without delay.
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It was, as it happened, a lawful day (lawful days are named from 'speaking', because on these days the praetor may speak these three words
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I GRANT, I DECLARE, I AWARD
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for the praetor grants an action, declares the law, and awards the goods or the damages to one or the other of the opponents.
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Ovid Naso the poet sets this out too:
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That day will be unlawful on which the three words are unspoken;
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that will be lawful on which one may go to law.
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So my father, when they had reached the forum, set out before the praetor the suit he was bringing against the defendant, and asked for an action.
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At the same time Libanus begged that an advocate be given him to plead his case.
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When the action had been granted, my father called in a lawyer to draw up the formula; for he was afraid that if he made any mistake in framing the formula he would lose the case; then he read the formula, correctly drawn up in this way, to Libanus; he also demanded sureties who would guarantee that he would be there on the day after next, and Libanus, so as not to be thrown into prison, gave bail.

Fāstus: not forbidden
fāstī: calendar, almanac
fandō: that may be spoken
fārī: speak, from for
ADDĪCŌ: be propitious
damna: financial, from damnum
alterutrī: one, one or the other, from alteruter
nefāstus: contrary to divine law
cōram: in the presence of
reum: party in law suit, from reus
advocātus: helper, supporter
lēgulēium: pettifogging lawyer
arcessīvit: send for, summon, from arcesso
fōrmulam: shape, from formula
concipiendā: take in, receive, from concipio
vadēs: one who guarantees court appearance, from vas
spondērent: promise, give pledge, from spondeo
perendiē: day after tomorrow
vadimōnium: bail, security

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When this had been done everyone went home.
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At our house the whole day was spent in the deepest silence; indeed my father was so upset that he could eat nothing at dinner.
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So we all tried to settle the matter; my father promised that he would release the defendant from the trial if only he would give him back the farm.
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But we could in no way bring it about that he should do this.
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On the appointed day my father took himself to the praetor's court in the morning; Libanus was not yet there; for a little while it seemed that he would forfeit his bail; but at last he came and kept his bail.
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Entering the forum he said, 'Where are you, you who put me under bail?
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See, I present myself to you; do you in turn present yourself to me.'
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'I am here,' answered my father; then the other asked, 'What do you say?' and my father said to him, 'I say that the farm you hold is mine; and on that ground I call you to lay hand on it before the law'; and Libanus answered, 'Where you have called me to lay hand on it before the law, there I call you back.'
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When this had been said, the praetor declared, 'Both parties being present as witnesses, I name you that path.'
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At once the two of them set off as if they were going to bring back a clod of earth; but when the praetor said without delay, 'Come back by the path,' they both came back, and the praetor said, 'As you now hold, so may you hold; I forbid the use of force.'

absolveret: free, release, from absolvo
paululum: little bit, trifle
dēsertūrus: abandoned
vadātus: go, advance, from vador
sistō: stop, check
possidēs: seize, hold, from possideo
cōnsertum: connect, fasten, from consero
superstitibus: gods on high, celestial deities, from superstes
praesentibus: present time, from praesentia
glaebam: clod, from glaeba
Utī: in order that

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Then the action was conducted in this way.
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My father, as the man who had been turned out of possession, turned to Libanus and said, 'Since I see you before the law, I ask whether you are the warrantor (that is, the holder) from whom I may claim back my right'; then he demanded that he give security that he would do nothing to make the property worse, either by cutting down trees or by pulling down buildings.
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Then the praetor ordered each of them to pay the deposit.
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When this money had been paid, my father said again, 'Since you deny that this farm is mine, I challenge you to a deposit of five hundred; do you promise five hundred, if it is mine?'
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'Five hundred,' answered Libanus, 'I promise, if it be yours.
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And do you promise five hundred, if it be not yours?'
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And my father answered, 'I promise, if it be not mine'; then he turned to the praetor and went on in this way, 'Praetor, I ask you to give us assessors for the day after next,' and the praetor gave the assessors thus: 'Gaius Aquillius, be the judge.
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If it be proved that the Sabine farm, about which Cornelius Pollio is at law with Libanus, is Cornelius's by the law of the Romans, and it is not restored to Cornelius by Libanus, then condemn Libanus.'
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When all the assessors had been appointed in this way, my father and Libanus gave each other notice to come to the trial on the day after next.
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When this had been done everyone went home again.

possessiōne: possession, property, from possessio
possessor: owner, occupier
repetere: return to, from repeto
satisdaret: enough, adequate
dēterius: low, from deterior
abscīdendō: hew, from abscido
dēlendō: erase, wipe, from deleo
sacrāmentum: sum deposited in a civil
quīngēnāriō: five hundred
prōvocō: call forth
spondēsne: spondee
quīngentōs: five hundred
nī: if ... not
recuperātōrēs: assessor dealing w, from reciperator
perendinum: after tomorrow, from perendinus
Aquillī: silver eagle on pole, standard
Sabīnum: Sabines, people living NE of
Quirītium: citizens of Rome collectively in, from Quiris
condemnā: condemn, doom, from condemno
addictīs: person enslaved for debt or, from addictus
dēnūntiāvērunt: give notice, warn, from denuntio

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At home during dinner, when my mother noticed that my father was weighed down by such silence, she said, 'I wish your father had never died and had never left you that farm; for it gives us nothing but trouble and worry.
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Horace of course wrote
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Why should I change my Sabine valley
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for riches that bring more toil?
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But I do not know what could be more of a trouble to us at least than that Sabine farm.'
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But my father answered, 'Nothing is more talkative than a woman,' and we all went off to bed.
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On the third day we went back again to the court.
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Each judge swore in this way that he would give judgement according to his conscience: holding a stone in his right hand he said, 'If I knowingly deceive, then may Jupiter cast me out from my goods, while the city and the citadel stand safe, as I cast out this stone.'
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When this had been said he sat on the benches, as it were at the praetor's feet.
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The praetor himself, wrapped in a bordered toga, sat on the curule chair.

taciturnitāte: maintaining silence, from taciturnitas
valle: valley, from valles
permūtem: exchange, from permuto
Sabīnā: Sabines, people living NE of
operōsiōrēs: painstaking, from operosus
loquācius: talkative, loquacious, from loquax
iūdicātūrum: judge, give judgment, from judico
iūrāvit: swear, take an oath, from juro
fallō: deceive
Diēspiter: quarter tone
salvā: well, unharmed, from salvus
subselliīs: bench, from subsellium
curūlī: curule magistrate, from curulis

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How he sweated!
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Poor man, dressed in so many clothes in summertime!
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For my part I congratulated myself that I was not a praetor and was dressed in a tunic only, not in a bordered toga.
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The advocates of both sides plead their cases, but I shall leave out the speeches, so as not to bore you.
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When the case of each side had been argued to the end, the judges deliberate for a little while, then, when the votes had been cast, the praetor rose and cried, 'I give judgement for Sextus Cornelius Pollio.'
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When we heard this we were all filled with the greatest joy, and, the suit having been so well judged, we went home.
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When the will had been opened, what did we find?
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What was my father's inheritance?
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Why was it the beginning of trouble for us?
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What did my father first try to do?

sūdābat: sweat, perspire, from sudo
aestīvō: spend
taedium: weariness
perōrātā: deliver the final part of, from peroro
paulisper: for a little while
assurrēxit: rise, rise to one's feet, from assurgo
iūdicātā: judge, from judicatum
redīvimus: hangnail

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What did my father do when Libanus had refused to go to law?
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What did Libanus then do so as not to go to law?
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What then did my father do?
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Why did Libanus at last come out of his house?
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When they had reached the forum, what happened?
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What did Libanus beg?
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Why did my father call in a lawyer?
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Why did he demand sureties?
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What did my father promise to do if the farm were given back to him?
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The next day, what did he think when Libanus was not yet there?

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Why did he demand that Libanus give security?
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What did each of them promise?
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What did my mother say during dinner?
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How did the judges swear?
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In what dress was the praetor clothed?
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With what words did he award the farm to my father?

Rūs ītur (Puer Rōmānus 29)

152
The next day my father said that he would go off to this Sabine farm; and he took me with him.
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How welcome the country was to me after so much din of the city and business of the forum!
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To me at least the country always seems much better than the city.
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As Juvenal says:
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For what place have we seen so wretched, so lonely, that you would not
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think it worse to dread fires, the unceasing fall
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of houses and the thousand dangers of the cruel
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city, and poets reciting in the month of August?
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For a long time we ride through the narrowest streets, crammed with carriages and cattle, and
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'as we hurry the crowd ahead is in our way,

forīque: gangway, row of benches, from forus
Iuvenālis: youth, young man, from Juvenalis
incendia: fire, conflagration, from incendium
lāpsūs: gliding, sliding
tēctōrum: plasterer, from tector
assiduōs: constant, regular, from assiduus
artissimōs: close, firm, from artus
armentīs: herd, from armenta
cōnfertōs: crowded, from confertus

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and the people who follow press our loins in a great
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column; one man strikes with his elbow, another with a hard
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pole, another knocks a beam against my head, another a wine jar.
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My legs are thick with mud, and soon on every side I am trodden
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by a great foot, and a soldier's nail sticks in my toe;
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my tunic, just mended, is torn, a long fir tree sways
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as the waggon comes on, and other carts carry a pine,
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they nod on high and threaten the people;
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for if the axle that carries Ligurian stone has gone down
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and spilt its overturned mountain on the crowds,

cubitō: recline, lie down
assere: pole, post, from asser
dūrō: hard, rough, from durus
tīgnum: tree trunk, log
incutit: strike on or against, from incutio
metrētam: Greek liquid measure, from metreta
calcor: put shoes on, furnish with, from calceo
clāvus: club, cudgel
scinduntur: tear, rend, from scindo
sartae: make good, from sarcio
coruscat: brandish, from corusco
serrācō: kind of wagon
abiēs: fir tree
pīnum: pine, from pinus
nūtant: waver, give way, from nuto
altē: nourish, bring up, from alo
minantur: reduce, make less, from minor
prōcubuit: sink down, lie down, from procumbo
axis: axle, axis

172
what is left of the bodies? who finds the limbs, who
173
finds the bones? the whole crushed corpse of the common man perishes
174
like his breath. Meanwhile the household, knowing nothing, is already
175
washing the dishes, blowing up the brazier with puffed cheeks, rattling
176
the oiled scrapers and setting out the towels with a full flask.
177
These things the slave boys hurry over in their various ways, while he
178
now sits on the bank, a newcomer shuddering at the grim
179
ferryman, and has no hope of the boat on the muddy flood,
180
unlucky man, for he has no coin to hold out in his mouth.'
181
At last we come safely to the city boundary, and, leaving the city behind, we see the open fields.

superest: be over, survive, from supersum
obtrītum: crush, from obtero
volgī: common people, from vulgus
patellās: small dish or plate, from patella
buccā: jaw, mouth
foculum: brazier, from foculus
ūnctis: oily, greasy, from unctus
strīglibus: evil spirit
lintea: linen cloth, from linteum
gūtō: flask, from guttus
variē: different
taetrumque: foul, offensive
novīcius: new, fresh
porthmea: ferryman
caenōsī: muddy, from caenosus
gurgitis: whirlpool, from gurges
alnum: alder, from alnus
īnfēlix: unfortunate, unhappy
pōmērium: boundary of town

182
How happy all the country people seem to be!
183
For my part I could not help calling to mind the lines of Horace
184
Happy the man who, far from business,
185
like the early race of mortals,
186
works his father's fields with his own oxen,
187
free from all money-lending,
188
and is not roused as a soldier by the harsh trumpet,
189
and does not dread the angry sea,
190
and keeps away from the forum and the proud
191
doorways of the more powerful citizens.

prīsca: ancient, early, from priscus
faenore: interest, usury, from faenus
trucī: tribune, from trux

192
About midday, the journey being over, we reached our farm.
193
Far removed from the others it lay alone in a hidden valley; the bailiff received us, and when we had gone into the farmhouse he set a lunch before us that had been got ready.
194
After lunch I wandered over the whole farm, filled with the greatest wonder.
195
The bailiff explained everything to me about the various buildings and the animals.
196
The whole pleasantness of the place was very much to my liking; how well Juvenal advises us:
197
Here a little garden and a shallow well, needing no rope to draw from,
198
is poured out with an easy draught over the tender plants.
199
Live loving your hoe, the bailiff of your well-kept garden;
200
from which you could give a feast to a hundred Pythagoreans.
201
It is something, in whatever place, in whatever corner,

reconditā: hide, conceal, from recondo
vagābar: wander, from vagor
amoenitās: pleasantness, attractiveness
Hortulus: small
puteusque: well
reste: rope, cord, from restis
diffunditur: diffuse, from diffundo
haustū: drink, from haustus
vīve: alive, fresh, from vivus
bidentis: two-pronged, from bidens
epulum: courses, food
centum: one hundred
quōcumque: wherever, to
recessū: retreat, from recessus

202
to have made yourself the master of a single lizard.
203
For my part I certainly wanted nothing more than to spend my whole life on our farm.
204
How happy our 'bailiff of the well-kept garden' seemed to me, who would never leave the farm except for death.
205
But in his past life he had travelled much and had seen many states.
206
For he told me many things about other lands, but what pleased me most was the story about the cranes, which he set out to me in this way.
207
The next day, what did my father say?
208
Why did the country seem welcome to me?
209
What sort of drawbacks does Juvenal say the city has?
210
What happened to us while we ride through the streets?
211
Why does Horace say that country people are happy?

lacertae: lizard, from lacerta
gruibus: crane, from grus
incommoda: disadvantage, inconvenience, from incommodum
inesse: spend, expend, from insum

212
When did we reach our farm?
213
Who received us?
214
After lunch, what did I do?
215
Why did the bailiff seem happy to me?
216
How did I understand that he had travelled much?
217
Why is a lawful day so named?
218
Who were the assessors?
219
What is the curule chair?
220
What is a wine jar?
221
What is in a flask?

222
What did the Romans do with scrapers?
223
What is the city boundary?
224
What is money-lending?
225
What did the Pythagoreans eat?
226
What does lacerta properly mean?

strigilibus: strigil, an instrument used to, from strigilis

Dē gruibus (Puer Rōmānus 30)

227
'Cranes in the summertime, when they can no longer bear the heat of Egypt, go away; and with their wings spread like sails they are carried through the air by a straight road towards Scythia.
228
But since their ill-balanced bodies can hardly hold themselves level (for they are heavier in the middle, too far stretched out in front, and the part that touches the tail is lighter), they must (just like a ship tossed by the winds) float unsteadily in the air.
229
And since the crane has found this out either by instinct or by experience itself, it does not raise itself on high before it takes a stone in its beak, which serves it both for ballast, so that it may fly steadily, and for safety, so that it may not die.'
230
Why do the cranes go away from Egypt?
231
How are they carried through the air?
232
Why do they float unsteadily in the air?
233
Why do they hold a stone in their beak?

calōrem: heat, from calor
Aegyptī: Egyptian, from Aegyptius
amplius: great, large, from amplus
passīsque: raisin-wine
ālīs: wing, from ala
āëra: the air, from āēr
concinna: ready for use, trimmed, from concinnus
lībrāre: balance, swing, from libro
porrēcta: leek, from porrectum
caudam: tail, from cauda
flūctuent: rise in waves, surge
compertum: learn, from comperio
experientiā: trial, experiment
saburrae: gravel, from saburra
commodē: conveniently, fitly
Aegyptō: Egypt, from Aegyptus
flūctuant: rise in waves, surge, from fluctuo

The particulars

The course: Paine and Mainwaring, Prīmus Annus (Oxford, 1912) and Secundus Annus (1917); Appleton and Jones, Puer Rōmānus (1913); D'Ooge, Latin for Beginners (Boston, 1911); Ritchie, Fabulae Faciles (1903). Public domain. The teaching pages, the glosses and the narration are ours.
Reading aloud: Digital narration, directed by 1732 Studios.
The app: The course on your phone, with the drills, your place kept and the audio offline.
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The book: The Aeneid, the work this course leads to, free to read here.
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