# Prīmus et Secundus Annus, Capita 36–40

Puer Romanus

Pyrrhī medicus; Mārcus Atilius Rēgulus; Theātrum; Dē alcibus; Circus Māximus

Source: https://1732studios.com/courses/la/16. Data: https://1732studios.com/courses/la/16.json.

## Pyrrhī medicus (Puer Rōmānus 36)

**1** Ōlim, ut scītis omnēs, populō Rōmānō Pyrrhus, rēx Ēpīrōtārum, bellum ultrō intulit.  
Once, as you all know, Pyrrhus, king of the Epirotes, made war on the Roman people of his own accord.

**2** Nam cum Rōmānōs potentēs vidēret Apollinem dē bellō cōnsuluit.  
For when he saw that the Romans were powerful he consulted Apollo about the war.

**3** Ille ambiguē respondit ‘Āiō tē Rōmānōs vincere posse’.  
The god answered ambiguously, 'I say that you the Romans can conquer.'

**4** Hoc ad sē dictum ratus contrā Rōmānōs vēnit, adversus quōs variō ēventū pūgnābat.  
Thinking that this was said in his own favour, he came against the Romans, and fought them with varying success.

**5** Diū dē summō imperiō inter eum et Fabricium, imperātōrem Rōmānum, erat certāmen.  
For a long time there was a struggle for the supreme command between him and Fabricius, the Roman general.

**6** Perfuga quondam ab eō in castra Fabricī vēnit, eīque est pollicitus, sī praemium sibi posuisset, sē, ut clam vēnisset, sīc clam in Pyrrhī castra reditūrum, et eum venēnō necātūrum.  
One day a deserter came from him into Fabricius' camp, and promised him that, if he set a reward for him, he would go back secretly into Pyrrhus' camp, as he had come secretly, and would kill him with poison.

**7** Hunc Fabricius redūcendum cūrāvit ad Pyrrhum; idque ēius factum laudātum ā senatū est.  
Fabricius had this man taken back to Pyrrhus; and that action of his was praised by the senate.

**8** Nam sī glōriae causā imperium expetendum est, scelus absit, in quō nōn potest esse glōria; sīn ipsae opēs expetuntur quōquō modō, nōn poterunt ūtilēs esse cum īnfāmiā.  
For if empire is to be sought for glory's sake, let crime be far from it, in which there can be no glory; but if wealth itself is sought by any means whatever, it cannot be of use along with disgrace.

**9** Quod posteā Rēgulus quoque iterum arguit.  
Which Regulus too proved again afterwards.

**10** Cūr grātiās advenae ēgī?  
Why did I thank the stranger?

**11** Cūr omnēs postrīdiē convēnimus?  
Why did we all gather the next day?

**12** Quae cum vīdisset quid dīxit Sulpicius?  
When he had seen this, what did Sulpicius say?

**13** Cuī quid respondit frāter meus?  
And what did my brother answer him?

**14** Quid ōlim fēcit Pyrrhus?  
What did Pyrrhus once do?

**15** Cūr Apollinem cōnsuluit?  
Why did he consult Apollo?

**16** Quid respondit Apollō?  
What did Apollo answer?

**17** Quō respōnsō audītō quid fēcit Pyrrhus?  
When he had heard this answer, what did Pyrrhus do?

**18** Inter quōs erat dē summō imperiō certāmen?  
Between whom was there a struggle for the supreme command?

**19** Quid prōmīsit perfuga?  
What did the deserter promise?

| word | gloss |
|---|---|
| Pyrrhus | funeral pile, pyre |
| cōnsuluit | ask information, from consulo |
| ambiguē | ambiguously, equivocally |
| ēventū | occurrence, event, from eventus |
| Fabricium | skillful, from Fabricius |
| certāmen | struggle, contest |
| Perfuga | deserter |
| pollicitus | promise, from polliceor |
| expetendum | ask for, from expeto |
| sīn | but if |
| quōquō | wherever, in whatever place |
| īnfāmiā | disgrace, dishonor |
| arguit | prove, argue, from arguo |

## Mārcus Atilius Rēgulus (Puer Rōmānus 37)

**20** Hic erat vir ēgregiā virtūte quī prīmō Carthāginiēnsēs plūribus proeliīs vīcit, tandem tamen ab iīs duce Xanthippō Lacedaemoniō victus captusque, Rōmam mīssus est, dē captīvīs commūtandīs āctūrus, fidē datā, sē, sī nihil perfēcisset, reditūrum.  
This was a man of outstanding courage who at first beat the Carthaginians in several battles, but was at last beaten and taken by them under the leadership of Xanthippus the Spartan, and was sent to Rome to treat about an exchange of prisoners, having given his word that he would come back if he achieved nothing.

**21** Ille Rōmam cum vēnisset, in senātum indūctus, Rōmānīs persuāsit nē pāx cum Poenīs fieret; illōs enim frāctōs tot cāsibus spem nūllam habēre; sē tantī nōn esse, ut tot mīlia captīvōrum propter ūnum sē et senem, et paucōs, quī ex Rōmānīs captī essent, redderentur.  
When he had come to Rome and had been brought into the senate, he persuaded the Romans not to make peace with the Carthaginians; for they, he said, were broken by so many disasters and had no hope; and he himself was not worth so much that so many thousands of prisoners should be given back for one old man like himself and for the few Romans who had been taken.

**22** Senātūs cōnsultō hanc in sententiam factō, ipse Carthāginem rediit; suādentibusque Rōmānīs ut Rōmae manēret, negāvit sē in eā urbe mānsūrum, in quā postquam Āfrīs servisset, dīgnitātem honestī cīvis habēre nōn posset.  
When the senate's decree had been made to this effect, he himself went back to Carthage; and when the Romans urged him to stay at Rome, he refused to stay in the city in which, after serving the Africans, he could not keep the standing of an honourable citizen.

**23** Regrēssus igitur ad Āfricam exquīsītissimīs suppliciīs interfectus est.  
So when he had gone back to Africa he was put to death with the most elaborate tortures.

**24** Sed quam praeclāram fāmam sibi parābat!  
But what a splendid fame he was winning for himself!

**25** Audīte enim id quod dīcit Horātius.  
Listen to what Horace says.

**26** Hoc cāverat mēns prōvida Rēgulī  
This the far-seeing mind of Regulus had foreseen

**27** dissentientis condiciōnibus  
as he refused the shameful

**28** foedīs, et exemplō trahentis  
terms, and by his example drew

**29** perniciem veniēns in aevum,  
ruin on the age to come,

**30** sī nōn perīret immiserābilis  
if the captive youth were not to perish

**31** captīva pūbēs. ‘Sīgna ego Pūnicīs  
unpitied. 'I have seen the standards

**32** adfīxa dēlūbrīs et arma  
fixed up in Punic shrines, and arms

**33** mīlitibus sine caede,’ dīxit,  
taken from our soldiers without bloodshed,' he said,

**34** ‘dērepta vīdī; vīdī ego cīvium  
'I have seen the arms of citizens

**35** retorta tergō bracchia līberō  
twisted back behind free shoulders

**36** portāsque nōn clausās, et arva  
and gates unclosed, and fields

**37** Mārte colī populāta nostrō.  
laid waste by our own war being tilled.

**38** Aurō repēnsus scīlicet ācrior  
Bought back with gold the soldier will return

**39** mīles redībit. Flāgitiō additis  
keener, no doubt. You are adding loss

**40** damnum; neque āmīssōs colōrēs  
to shame; nor does wool once dyed

**41** lāna refert medicāta fūcō,  
bring back the colours it has lost,

**42** nec vēra virtus, cum semel excidit,  
nor does true courage, once it has fallen away,

**43** cūrat repōnī dēteriōribus.  
care to be restored to the worse sort.

**44** Sī pūgnat extrīcāta dēnsīs  
If a doe fights when she has been freed

**45** cerva plagīs, erit ille fortis  
from the thick nets, then he will be brave

**46** quī perfidīs sē crēdidit hostibus,  
who has trusted himself to treacherous enemies,

**47** et Mārte Poenōs prōteret alterō,  
and he will crush the Carthaginians in a second war

**48** quī lōra restrīctīs lacertīs  
who, helpless, has felt the thongs

**49** sēnsit iners timuitque mortem.  
on his bound arms and has feared death.

**50** Hic, unde vītam sūmeret īnscius,  
This man, not knowing how to keep his life,

**51** pācem duellō mīscuit. Ō pudor!  
has mixed peace with war. Oh the shame!

**52** Ō māgna Carthāgō, probrōsīs  
Oh mighty Carthage, raised the higher

**53** altior Ītaliae ruīnīs!’  
on the disgraceful ruins of Italy!'

**54** Fertur pudīcae cōniugis ōsculum  
They say that he put from him the kiss of his chaste wife

**55** parvōsque nātōs ut capitis minor  
and his little children, as a man who had lost his rights,

**56** ab sē remōvisse et virīlem  
and grimly set his manly

**57** torvus humī posuisse vultum,  
face on the ground,

**58** dōnec labantēs cōnsiliō patrēs  
until by counsel never given at any other time

**59** fīrmāret auctor numquam aliās datō,  
he strengthened the wavering senators as their adviser,

**60** interque maerentēs amīcōs  
and amid his grieving friends

**61** ēgregius properāret exsul.  
hurried away, a glorious exile.

**62** atquī sciēbat quae sibi barbarus  
And yet he knew what the barbarian

**63** tortor parāret; nōn aliter tamen  
torturer was preparing for him; all the same

**64** dīmōvit obstantēs propinquōs  
he pushed aside the kinsmen who stood in his way

**65** et populum reditūs morantem,  
and the people who delayed his return,

**66** quam sī clientum longa negōtia,  
just as if he were leaving the long business of his clients,

**67** dīiūdicātā līte, relinqueret,  
a lawsuit settled,

**68** tendēns Venāfrānōs in agrōs  
and making for the fields of Venafrum

**69** aut Lacedaemonium Tarentum.  
or Spartan Tarentum.

**70** Quālis erat M. Atilius Rēgulus?  
What was Marcus Atilius Regulus like?

**71** Contrā quōs pūgnāvit?  
Against whom did he fight?

**72** Ā quō victus est?  
By whom was he beaten?

**73** Cūr Rōmam mīssus est?  
Why was he sent to Rome?

**74** Quid prōmīsit sē factūrum esse sī nihil perfēcisset?  
What did he promise to do if he achieved nothing?

**75** Quid Rōmānīs persuāsit?  
What did he persuade the Romans to do?

**76** Quid dē Carthāginiēnsibus dīxit?  
What did he say about the Carthaginians?

**77** Quid dē sē ipsō?  
What about himself?

**78** Quid eī cōnātī sunt Rōmānī suādēre?  
What did the Romans try to urge him to do?

**79** Quid respondit? Quid posteā eī accidit?  
What did he answer? What happened to him afterwards?

**80** Cūr dissēnsit Rēgulus condiciōnibus?  
Why did Regulus refuse the terms?

**81** Quid dīxit sē vīdisse in dēlūbrīs Pūnicīs?  
What did he say he had seen in the Punic shrines?

**82** Quando erit ille fortis quī sē hostibus perfidīs crēdidit?  
When will the man who has trusted himself to treacherous enemies be brave?

**83** Cūr ab sē nātōs parvōs remōvit Rēgulus?  
Why did Regulus put his little children from him?

**84** Cum ut exsul properāret Carthāginem quid sciēbat?  
When he hurried to Carthage as an exile, what did he know?

**85** Quid est fūcus?  
What is dye?

**86** Quibus rēbus cervās capimus?  
With what things do we catch does?

**87** Quid facit tortor?  
What does a torturer do?

**88** Quae sunt clientum negōtia?  
What is the business of clients?

**89** Quis lītem dīiūdicat?  
Who settles a lawsuit?

| word | gloss |
|---|---|
| commūtandīs | change, from commuto |
| indūctus | lead in, bring in, from induco |
| cāsibus | cottage, hut, from casus |
| cōnsultō | lawyer, jurist, from consultum |
| suādentibusque | persuasion |
| exquīsītissimīs | sought out, exquisite |
| suppliciīs | punishment, suffering, from supplicium |
| prōvida | prophetic, from providus |
| dissentientis | dissent, disagree, from dissentio |
| condiciōnibus | agreement, from condicio |
| perniciem | ruin, from pernicies |
| aevum | time, time of life |
| immiserābilis | unpitied |
| captīva | prisoner, captive |
| pūbēs | adult, grown-up |
| adfīxa | fixtures pertaining thereto |
| dēlūbrīs | shrine, from delubrum |
| retorta | twist back, from retorqueo |
| populāta | ravage, devastate, from populo |
| repēnsus | weigh, from rependo |
| Flāgitiō | shame, disgrace, from flagitium |
| lāna | wool |
| refert | bring, from refero |
| medicāta | heal, cure, from medico |
| fūcō | dye, from fucus |
| extrīcāta | disentangle, extricate, from extrico |
| perfidīs | faithless, treacherous, from perfidus |
| prōteret | crush, tread under foot, from protero |
| restrīctīs | draw tight, from restringo |
| iners | helpless, weak |
| pudor | decency, shame |
| probrōsīs | shameful, from probrosus |
| ruīnīs | fall, from ruina |
| pudīcae | chaste, modest, from pudicus |
| ōsculum | kiss |
| virīlem | manly, from virilis |
| torvus | pitiless |
| labantēs | totter, be ready to fall, from labo |
| maerentēs | grieve, be sad, from maereo |
| exsul | exile, banished person |
| atquī | but, yet |
| tortor | torturer |
| dīmōvit | put, dismiss |
| reditūs | return, going back |
| clientum | retainer, dependent, from cliens |
| dīiūdicātā | decide, settle, from dijudico |
| Lacedaemonium | basin, from Lacedaemonii |
| suādēre | urge, recommend, from suadeo |

## Theātrum (Puer Rōmānus 38)

**90** Nūdius tertius Rōmam rediimus et pater mē sinit sēcum ad theātrum īre.  
The day before yesterday we came back to Rome and my father lets me go with him to the theatre.

**91** In quattuordecim ōrdinibus, quippe quī equestrī nātus sit locō, sedēbat; namque post senātōrēs ex vetere īnstitūtō quattuordecim graduum ōrdinēs equestrī ōrdinī assīgnātī sunt.  
He sat in the fourteen rows, since he was born of the knightly order; for by an old rule fourteen rows of seats behind the senators have been set aside for the knightly order.

**92** Postquam cōnsēdimus, pater aurī meae ōre suō admōtō susurrāns ‘Vidēsne’ inquit ‘senem istum prōmīssā barbā, quī, dēsīgnātōre appropinquante, ē locō suō semper cēdit et quasi currit per ōrdinēs equestrēs?’  
After we had sat down, my father put his mouth to my ear and whispered, 'Do you see that old man with the long beard, who, whenever the usher comes near, always gives up his place and as it were runs along the knights' rows?'

**93** ‘Cūr, pater,’ rogāvī ‘ita agit?  
'Why, father,' I asked, 'does he do that?

**94** Dēsīgnātōrem vidētur timēre’.  
He seems to be afraid of the usher.'

**95** ‘Et iūre timet’ respondit pater ‘nam cēnsū equestrī caret; itaque nōn licet eī inter hōs ōrdinēs sedēre.  
'And he is right to be afraid,' answered my father, 'for he has not the knight's property; and so he is not allowed to sit among these rows.

**96** Nēmo enim inter equestrēs adscrībī potest cuī nōn sint quadringenta sēstertia’.  
For no one can be enrolled among the knights who has not four hundred thousand sesterces.'

**97** Adhūc loquente patre, dēsīgnātōrem iterum hominī appropinquantem vīdī et quid esset ēventūrum mīrābar, cum ‘Spectā’ inquit pater ‘quid sit factūrus; rīdiculam enim agit rem, et omnibus lūdibriō est; īmmō vērō Mārtiālis poēta carmen scrīpsit ut eum irrīdeat’.  
While my father was still speaking I saw the usher coming near the man again and wondered what would happen, when my father said, 'Watch what he is going to do; for he makes himself ridiculous, and everyone laughs at him; indeed Martial the poet wrote a poem to make fun of him.'

**98** Tum vērō Nannēium vīdī (ita enim mihi pater dīxit hominem appellārī) dēsīgnātōrī cēdere dōnec ad ultimam sēdem quartīdecimī ōrdinis perventum est.  
Then I saw Nannius (for that is what my father told me the man was called) giving way to the usher until he reached the last seat of the fourteenth row.

**99** Sed nē hanc quidem sēdem retinēre potuit et ā dēsīgnātōre dīmōtus est.  
But he could not keep even this seat and was moved off by the usher.

**100** Genū igitur flexō apud hanc sēdem manēbat, ut vidērētur inter equitēs sedēre, quamquam rē vērā nūllam obtinēbat sēdem, sed extrā ōrdinēs in foribus erat.  
So he stayed on one bent knee beside this seat, so as to seem to be sitting among the knights, although in fact he had no seat at all, but was outside the rows in the gangway.

**101** Mihi certē ita rīsum movit ut posterō diē carmen sine morā legere cuperem quod pater mihi dīxit Mārtiālem scrīpsisse; eō magis legere cupiēbam quod virum ipsum vīderam.  
For my part it made me laugh so much that the next day I wanted to read without delay the poem my father told me Martial had written; I wanted to read it all the more because I had seen the man himself.

**102** Et putō vōs quoque quī dē homine iam nunc audīveritis omnēs velle audīre.  
And I think that you too, who have now heard about the man, all want to hear it.

**103** Audīte igitur:—  
Listen, then:

**104** Sedēre prīmō solitus in gradū semper  
Nannius, who was always used to sit in the first row

**105** tunc, cum licēret occupāre, Nannēius  
in the days when one might take a seat,

**106** bis excitātus terque trānstulit castra,  
twice and three times turned out, shifted his camp,

**107** et inter ipsās paene tertius sellās  
and almost third among the very chairs

**108** post Gāiumque Lūciumque cōnsēdit;  
sat down behind Gaius and Lucius;

**109** illinc cucullō prōspicit caput tēctus  
from there he peers out with his head covered by a hood

**110** oculōque lūdōs spectat indecēns ūnō,  
and unbecomingly watches the games with one eye,

**111** et hinc miser dēiectus in viam trānsit,  
and driven from here, poor man, he moves into the gangway,

**112** subselliōque sēmifultus extrēmō  
and half-propped on the end of a bench,

**113** et male receptus alterō genū iactat  
badly received, he makes out with one knee

**114** equitī sedēre Lēitōque sē stāre.  
to the knight that he is sitting, and to Leitus that he is standing.

**115** Nunc autem ad theātrum redeāmus, nam carmen posterō modo diē lēgī.  
But now let us go back to the theatre, for I read the poem only the next day.

**116** Simul atque aulaeum mīttitur histriōnemque vidēmus in scaenā stantem, quantum audiō strepitum!  
As soon as the curtain is let down and we see the actor standing on the stage, what a din I hear!

**117** Īmmō vērō vōx histriōnis plaudentium sonum nōn ēvaluit pervincere.  
Indeed the actor's voice could not get the better of the sound of the applause.

**118** Tragoedia quaedam agēbātur, sed inter tot plaudentium strepitum nīl audīre poteram.  
A tragedy was being acted, but amid so much noise of applause I could hear nothing.

**119** Neque rē vērā spectātōribus placuit, nam mediam inter tragoediam clāmāre incēpērunt et poscere ut ursī vel pugilēs adhibērentur.  
Nor did it really please the audience, for in the middle of the tragedy they began to shout and to demand that bears or boxers be brought on.

**120** Deinde turmae equitum peditumque catervae trāns scaenam currunt; sequuntur rēgēs manibus retortīs, esseda, pīlenta, nāvēs, panthērae, camēlī, elephantī, tantaque omnium rērum animāliumque multitūdō ut mē quidem tam longae pompae mox taedēret.  
Then squadrons of horsemen and companies of foot soldiers run across the stage; there follow kings with their hands tied behind them, chariots, carriages, ships, panthers, camels, elephants, and so great a crowd of all sorts of things and animals that I at any rate soon grew sick of so long a procession.

**121** Nec nōn spectātōrum clāmōrēs molestiam mihi afferunt, namque ut Horātius dīcit  
And the shouts of the audience are a nuisance to me too, for as Horace says

**122** Gargānum mūgīre putēs nemus aut mare Tūscum,  
You would think that the Garganian wood or the Tuscan sea were roaring,

**123** tantō cum strepitū lūdī spectantur et artēs.  
so great is the din with which the shows and the performances are watched.

**124** Tandem autem fīnis aderat et dum aulaeum tollitur rem mīrābilem vīdī, nam Britannōrum figūrae in ipsō aulaeō erant intextae; cum igitur aulaeum tollerētur ipsī Britannī manibus suīs id tollere vidēbantur.  
But at last the end was at hand, and while the curtain is raised I saw a wonderful thing, for figures of Britons had been woven into the curtain itself; and so, while the curtain was being raised, the Britons themselves seemed to be raising it with their own hands.

**125** Equidem vērō putāvī vīvōs eōs esse gigantas, sed postquam ē theātrō discessum est pater mihi tōtam rem exposuit.  
For my part I thought that they were living giants, but after we had left the theatre my father explained the whole thing to me.

**126** Ubi sēdimus in theātrō?  
Where did we sit in the theatre?

**127** Quibus licet hīs in ōrdinibus sedēre?  
Who are allowed to sit in these rows?

**128** Quid facit dēsīgnātor?  
What does the usher do?

**129** Quālis erat Nannēius?  
What was Nannius like?

**130** Cūr timēbat dēsīgnātōrem?  
Why was he afraid of the usher?

**131** Cūr dē eō carmen scrīpsit Mārtiālis?  
Why did Martial write a poem about him?

**132** Cum ad ultimam sēdem perventum esset quid fēcit Nannēius?  
When he had reached the last seat, what did Nannius do?

**133** Cūr hoc fēcit?  
Why did he do this?

**134** Ita mihi rīsum mōvit ut quid facere cuperem?  
It made me laugh so much that I wanted to do what?

**135** Cūr putō vōs quoque carmen velle audīre?  
Why do I think that you too want to hear the poem?

**136** Quid in theātrō agēbātur?  
What was being acted in the theatre?

**137** Quōmodo intellēxī tragoediam nōn placēre spectātōribus?  
How did I understand that the tragedy did not please the audience?

**138** Quid poposcērunt spectātōrēs?  
What did the audience demand?

**139** Quid trāns scaenam cucurrit?  
What ran across the stage?

**140** Quid mihi accidit omnia haec spectantī?  
What happened to me as I watched all this?

**141** Quid aulaeō erat intextum?  
What had been woven into the curtain?

**142** Quid putāvī dum aulaeum tollitur?  
What did I think while the curtain is raised?

**143** Quōmodo invēnī gigantas nōn esse vīvōs?  
How did I find out that the giants were not alive?

**144** Quid est cucullus?  
What is a hood?

**145** Quis erat Lēitus?  
Who was Leitus?

| word | gloss |
|---|---|
| quattuordecim | fourteen |
| assīgnātī | assign, distribute, from assigno |
| admōtō | move to, from admoveo |
| susurrāns | mutter, whisper, from susurro |
| dēsīgnātōre | arranger |
| Dēsīgnātōrem | arranger |
| adscrībī | add, insert, from adscribo |
| sēstertia | 1000 sestertii, from sestertium |
| lūdibriō | mockery, from ludibrium |
| dēsīgnātōrī | arranger |
| ultimam | far |
| sēdem | seat, from sedes |
| quartīdecimī | four |
| dīmōtus | put, dismiss |
| flexō | bend, curve |
| trānstulit | transport, from transfero |
| Lūciumque | pike |
| cucullō | hood, cowl, from cucullus |
| prōspicit | foresee, from prospicio |
| oculōque | eye |
| indecēns | put in or on, from indeceo |
| dēiectus | slope, sloping surface, from dejectus |
| subselliōque | bench |
| sēmifultus | half-propped |
| redeāmus | return, go back |
| aulaeum | canopy |
| histriōnemque | actor |
| scaenā | theater stage, "boards" |
| ēvaluit | increase in strength, from evalesco |
| pervincere | conquer completely, from pervinco |
| Tragoedia | tragedy |
| ursī | she-bear, from ursus |
| pugilēs | handful, a amount that can, from pugil |
| turmae | troop, squadron, from turma |
| catervae | crowd, from caterva |
| esseda | war chariot |
| pīlenta | luxurious carriage used by women, from pilentum |
| panthērae | leopard, from panthera |
| camēlī | camel, from camelus |
| animāliumque | animal, living thing |
| Gargānum | fish-sauce, from Garganus |
| mūgīre | low, bellow, from mugio |
| Tūscum | frankincense, from Tusci |
| intextae | weave, embroider, from intexo |
| gigantas | giant |

## Dē alcibus (Puer Rōmānus 39)

**146** Dum domum redīmus dē tantā animālium varietāte in scaenā vīsā disserēbāmus, paterque dīxit absurdum esse hās omnēs ferās; ē regiōne quamque sibi idōneā, Rōmam comportāre.  
As we went home we were talking about the great variety of animals we had seen on the stage, and my father said that it was absurd to bring all these wild beasts to Rome, each from the region that suited it.

**147** ‘Mox et alcem’ inquit ‘arcessent’, et mihi negantī mē scīre quāle animal esset alcēs, ‘Hārum’ est cōnsimilis caprīs figūra’ dīxit, ‘et varietās pellium, sed magnitūdine paulō antecēdunt mutilaeque sunt cornibus, et crūra sine nōdīs articulīsque habent, neque quiētis causā prōcumbunt, neque, sī quō afflīctae cāsū concidērunt, ērigere sēsē aut sublevāre possunt.  
'Soon,' he said, 'they will send for the elk as well'; and when I said that I did not know what sort of animal an elk was, he said, 'Their shape is much like that of goats, and the markings of their hides, but they are a little larger in size and have stunted horns, and their legs have no joints or knuckles, and they do not lie down for rest, nor, if they have been struck down by some chance and have fallen, can they raise or lift themselves up.

**148** Hīs sunt arborēs prō cubīlibus; ad eās sē applicant atque ita paulum modo reclīnātae quiētem capiunt.  
Trees are their beds; they lean against them and so, leaning back only a little, take their rest.

**149** Quārum ex vēstīgiīs cum est animadversum ā vēnātōribus, quō sē recipere cōnsuērint, omnēs eō locō aut rādīcibus subruunt, aut accīdunt arborēs, tantum ut summa speciēs eārum stantium relinquātur.  
And when it has been noticed by the hunters from their tracks where they usually take themselves, they either undermine all the trees in that place at the roots or cut into them, so that only the outward look of them standing is left.

**150** Hūc cum sē cōnsuētūdine suā reclīnāvērunt īnfīrmās arborēs pondere afflīgunt atque ūnā ipsae concidunt.  
When they have leaned back here in their usual way they bring the weak trees down with their weight and fall along with them.

**151** Quō modō quippe quae surgere nōn possint facile ā vēnātōribus capiuntur.’  
In this way, since they cannot get up, they are easily caught by the hunters.'

**152** Haec dum fābula nārrātur celeriter domum pervēnimus, ubi ego quidem tot rēbus vīsīs dēfatīgātus cubitum sine morā abiī, et dum in lectō crūra quasi in circulum, fēlis īnstar, colligō, dīs grātiās ēgī quod nōn nātus eram alcēs.  
While this story is being told we quickly reached home, where I, worn out with seeing so many things, went off to bed without delay, and while I gather up my legs in the bed as it were into a circle, like a cat, I gave thanks to the gods that I had not been born an elk.

**153** Tanta erat animālium varietās ut ego — (mīrārī).  
So great was the variety of animals that I ___ (to wonder).

**154** Alcēs prō cubīlibus ūtuntur — (arborēs).  
Elks use ___ (trees) for beds.

**155** Vēnātor animadvertit quō alcēs — (sē recipere).  
The hunter notices where the elks ___ (to take themselves).

**156** Īnfīrmae tantō pondere afflīguntur arborēs ut — (dēcidere).  
The weak trees are struck down by so great a weight that ___ (to fall down).

| word | gloss |
|---|---|
| varietāte | variety, difference, from varietas |
| disserēbāmus | unfasten, unbar |
| absurdum | out of tune, discordant, from absurdus |
| alcem | moose, elk, from alces |
| arcessent | send for, summon |
| cōnsimilis | like, very similar |
| caprīs | he-goat, billy-goat, from caper |
| antecēdunt | precede, go before, from antecedo |
| mutilaeque | maimed, broken, from mutilus |
| nōdīs | knot, from nodus |
| articulīsque | joint, from articulus |
| afflīctae | overthrow, from adfligo |
| concidērunt | fall down, from concido |
| applicant | connect, place near, from adplico |
| reclīnātae | bend back, from reclino |
| vēstīgiīs | footprint, track, from vestigium |
| cōnsuērint | accustom oneself, from consuesco |
| rādīcibus | root, from radix |
| subruunt | undermine, from subruo |
| īnfīrmās | week, feeble, from infirmus |
| pondere | weight, burden, from pondus |
| circulum | circle, from circulus |
| fēlis | cat, from feles |
| dēcidere | fall down, from decido |

## Circus Māximus (Puer Rōmānus 40)

**157** Posterō diē ut lūdōrum spectācula vidērem ad Circum Māximum mē contulī.  
The next day I took myself to the Circus Maximus to see the shows of the games.

**158** Per tōtum hunc circum longa spīna, ut mūrus, quattuor pedēs alta, medium dīvidit spatium; apud utrumque fīnem stat mēta prope quam aurīgae currūs vertere solent.  
Through the whole of this circus a long barrier, like a wall four feet high, divides the middle of the course; at each end stands a turning-post, near which the charioteers usually turn their chariots.

**159** Īmmō vērō optimus quisque aurīga semper cōnātur currum quam proximē regere et mētam modo nōn rotīs suīs rādere, namque ut Horātius dīcit:—  
Indeed every best charioteer always tries to steer his chariot as close as possible and all but to graze the post with his wheels, for as Horace says:

**160** Sunt quōs curriculō pulverem Olympicum  
There are those whom it delights to have gathered Olympic dust

**161** collēgisse iuvat, mētaque fervidīs  
with the racing car, and the post shunned by the burning

**162** ēvītāta rotīs palmaque nōbilis  
wheels and the noble palm

**163** terrārum dominōs ēvehit ad deōs.  
lift them up as lords of the earth to the gods.

**164** Prīmum certāmen erat quadrīgārum.  
The first contest was of four-horse chariots.

**165** Simul atque cōnsul, mappā ad terram iactā, sīgnum dedit ē carceribus ērūpērunt quadrīgae et sēsē in stadium effūdērunt; tōtum stadium strepitū curruum crepitantium complēbātur; pulvis in altum glomerābātur; ūnā omnēs inter sē commīxtī stimulīs nōn parcēbant, ut alter alterius rotās frementēsque equōs superāret.  
As soon as the consul had thrown down the napkin and given the signal, the chariots burst out of the starting stalls and poured into the course; the whole course was filled with the din of the rattling chariots; the dust rose in a cloud on high; all mixed together they did not spare the goad, each trying to get past the other's wheels and snorting horses.

**166** Nam cōnfertī equī aliī aliōrum aurīgārum in terga rotāsque curruum spūmam fervidōsque fundunt flātūs.  
For the crowded horses pour their foam and their burning breath on the backs of the other charioteers and on the wheels of their chariots.

**167** Spectātōrēs aliī aliās factiōnēs strepitū clāmōribusque faventium incitant; nunc prasina, nunc russāta priōrem occupat locum; sed cēdit albātae et haec venetae.  
The spectators urge on one party or another with the din and shouting of their supporters; now the green, now the red takes the first place; but it gives way to the white, and the white to the blue.

**168** Ego quidem albātae favēbam factiōnī, diūque prīmus currēbat aurīga meus.  
I, for my part, was supporting the white party, and for a long time my charioteer was running first.

**169** Sub ultimam mētam iam currum agēns (septiēns enim tōtum ēmētiuntur stadium) propius propiusque admovēbat rotam fūnālīque ad dextram equō habēnās laxābat, sinistrum cohibēbat.  
As he was driving his chariot to the last turn (for they measure out the whole course seven times) he brought his wheel nearer and nearer, and gave the trace-horse on the right its head and held in the left one.

**170** Et hāc quidem tenus rēctī omnēs stetērunt currūs; deinde vērō prasinae factiōnis contumācēs equī currum vī auferunt, et ex adversō, cum sextus iam septimusque cōnficerētur cursus, frontēs caeruleīs impingunt quadrīgīs; unde ūnō ex malō alius alium cōnfringit et incidit.  
And up to this point all the chariots stood upright; but then the unruly horses of the green party carry the chariot away by force, and head on, when the sixth and now the seventh lap was being run, they drive their heads into the blue four-horse team; and from that one mishap one chariot smashes another and crashes.

**171** Tōtus iam cursus curruum naufragiīs replētus est.  
By now the whole course was filled with the wrecks of chariots.

**172** Quod ubi cōnspexit russātus aurīga, extrā orbitam dēflectit, et frēna inhibet, dum praetervehātur aliōs.  
When the red charioteer saw this, he turns aside out of the track and holds in his reins, until he can drive past the others.

**173** Intereā albātus ille, cuī ego favēbam, postrēmus omnium ultimō locō equōs agēbat, namque in fīne certam spem victōriae pōnēbat; quī simul āc vīdit russātum illum sōlum relictum, vēlōcium equōrum auribus acūtum flagellī sonum incutiēns, īnsequitur; et aequātīs iugīs ambo ferēbantur; modō hic, modo ille equōrum capitibus alterius quadrīgam superābat.  
Meanwhile that white driver, whom I was supporting, was driving his horses last of all in the last place, for he was setting his sure hope of victory in the finish; and as soon as he saw that the red driver was left alone, he strikes the sharp sound of his whip on the ears of his swift horses and follows him; and the two were carried along with their teams level; now one, now the other was ahead of the other's chariot by the horses' heads.

**174** Et reliquōs quidem omnēs cursūs īnfēlix ille albātus rēctō currū exēgerat; deinde dum habēnas flectentī sinistrōrsum equō remīttit, imprūdēns in mētam impingit, frāctīsque rotīs ē currū volvitur implicāturque lōrīs; illō autem in terram prōlāpsō, dissipātī sunt equī medium per stadium, russātusque ille palmam tulit.  
And all the remaining laps that unlucky white driver had run with his chariot upright; then, while he gives the reins to the horse turning to the left, he drives without thinking into the post, and with his wheels broken he is thrown out of the chariot and tangled in the straps; and when he had fallen to the ground, his horses were scattered through the middle of the course, and that red driver won the palm.

**175** Fautōrēs tamen albātae factiōnis ut vīdērunt illum currū excussum modo rapī per terram, modo caelum versus crūra prōtendere, clārīs lāmentīs adolēscentis vicem dēplōrāvērunt, dōnec cēterī aurīgae, vix tandem equōrum cursū cohibitō, solvērunt eum cruōre adeō foedātum ut amīcōrum nēmo corpus āgnōsceret.  
But when the supporters of the white party saw him flung from the chariot, now dragged along the ground, now stretching his legs towards the sky, they wept aloud over the young man's fate, until the other charioteers, having with difficulty at last held in the course of the horses, freed him, so fouled with blood that none of his friends knew the body.

**176** Dēscrībe Circum.  
Describe the Circus.

**177** Quid facere cōnātur aurīga?  
What does the charioteer try to do?

**178** Quid factum est antequam cursus fieret?  
What was done before the race took place?

**179** Quid prīmum erat certāmen?  
What was the first contest?

**180** Quot factiōnēs erant?  
How many parties were there?

**181** Date factiōnum nōmina.  
Give the names of the parties.

**182** Quis vīcit?  
Who won?

**183** Quid dē aurīgīs dīcit Horātius?  
What does Horace say about charioteers?

**184** Dēscrībe curruum certāmen.  
Describe the chariot race.

| word | gloss |
|---|---|
| spīna | thorn |
| rādere | shave, from rado |
| curriculō | act of running, from curriculum |
| pulverem | dust, powder, from pulvis |
| iuvat | help, assist, from juvo |
| fervidīs | glowing, from fervidus |
| ēvītāta | shun, avoid, from evito |
| ēvehit | carry away, convey out, from eveho |
| quadrīgārum | four horse chariot, from quadrigae |
| mappā | white cloth |
| carceribus | prison, jail, from carcer |
| ērūpērunt | burst, from erumpo |
| stadium | stade, Greek measure of distance |
| crepitantium | rattle, from crepito |
| complēbātur | fill, from compleo |
| glomerābātur | collect, amass |
| commīxtī | intermingle, mix together, from commisceo |
| stimulīs | spur, from stimulus |
| frementēsque | roar |
| spūmam | foam, froth, from spuma |
| fervidōsque | glowing |
| flātūs | blowing |
| factiōnēs | party, faction, from factio |
| clāmōribusque | shout, outcry |
| incitant | enrage, from incito |
| prasina | leek-green, from prasinus |
| russāta | red, from russatus |
| albātae | clothed in white, from albatus |
| venetae | blue, from Venetus |
| septiēns | seven times, from septies |
| ēmētiuntur | measure out, from emetior |
| propiusque | near, nearly |
| fūnālīque | torch of wax or tallow |
| habēnās | halter, rein, from habena |
| laxābat | loosen, slaken, from laxo |
| cohibēbat | hold together, contain, from cohibeo |
| tenus | as far as, to the |
| contumācēs | proud, from contumax |
| septimusque | seven |
| impingunt | thrust, strike or dash against, from impingo |
| cōnfringit | break up, from confringo |
| replētus | fill again, from repleo |
| orbitam | wheel-track, rut, from orbita |
| frēna | bridle |
| inhibet | restrain, curb, from inhibeo |
| praetervehātur | sail by, pass by |
| russātum | red |
| vēlōcium | swift, quick |
| flagellī | whip, lash, from flagellum |
| quadrīgam | four horse chariot |
| flectentī | bend, curve, from flecto |
| sinistrōrsum | to the left, from sinistrorsus |
| frāctīsque | break, shatter |
| implicāturque | entangled, confused |
| prōlāpsō | glide or slip forwards, fall, from prolabor |
| dissipātī | scatter, disperse, from dissipo |
| Fautōrēs | patron, protector, from fautor |
| prōtendere | stretch out, extend, from protendo |
| vicem | turn, change, from vicis |
| dēplōrāvērunt | weep, from deploro |
| cruōre | blood, from cruor |
| foedātum | defile, from foedo |