WJEC
Level 2 Certificate in Latin Literature
Unit 9541
Latin Literature: Themes
Section A
otium
Student Study Book (with notes)
Published by the University of Cambridge School Classics Project
Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge
11 West Road, Cambridge CB3 9DP, UK
http://www.CambridgeSCP.com
© University of Cambridge School Classics Project, 2010
Copyright
In the case of this publication, the CSCP is waiving normal copyright provisions in that copies of this material
may be made free of charge and without specific permission so long as they are for educational or
personal use within the school or institution which purchases the publication. all other forms of copying (for
example, for inclusion in another publication) are subject to specific permission from the Project.
First published 2010
2 WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium
otium
hortatio*
You may now be about to have your first encounter with a sizeable chunk of Latin written by Roman authors. It will
at first seem noticeably more difficult than what you have read previously. There is a simple explanation for this.
What you’ve read so far is mostly written by modern hacks (i.e. British schoolteachers), composing pieces of Latin
whose difficulty slowly but steadily increases to match your increasing grasp of the language. Roman authors,
of course, did not do anything like this; they did not automatically begin a work with the easiest bits and put the
hardest bits at the end. So you are likely to feel that the level of difficulty begins by rising sharply but then settles
down; your increasing experience of the language should help to make you feel steadily more comfortable.
*hortatio: speech of encouragement, e.g. delivered by general to his troops on eve of battle.
Introduction
The notes and questions in this study guide are composed particularly for students who have only a
limited amount of time with a teacher. Follow your teacher’s guidance over which notes to use and which
questions to answer. The more time you have with your teacher, the more questions can be ignored.
Most of the texts have been divided into a number of sections, usually about four lines long. The notes on each
section nearly always begin by taking you through three steps:
•
read the section (aloud if possible) or listen to the audio;
•
study the vocabulary for the section;
•
read the section (or listen to the audio) again.
You do not have to stick rigidly to these steps. You may find you make better progress by repeating a particular
step, or missing one out; you may want to vary your approach from one section to the next. Experiment with
different approaches to find the one that suits you; the aim is to prepare yourself as fully as you can for the detailed
questions that follow. You will usually find it best to finish work on each section by checking that you can translate it,
as recommended in the notes.
Some questions are comprehension questions; others ask you to analyse the grammar of a particular word or
phrase. Your teacher will tell you whether or not to use these questions. If you have access to the online version of
the text, you can click to check that your analysis is correct. Aim to develop your ability to do the analysis yourself
(e.g. in an exam!) by getting into the habit of asking yourself, before clicking, “What case is this noun?” or “What
tense is this verb?” etc. The exam will not contain grammar questions, but they are included here to help you
towards an accurate translation and a fuller understanding of the text. The Cambridge Latin Grammar can help you
to investigate the grammar in more detail.
Some questions, such as “Why do you think character so-and-so did such-and-such an action?” or “Do these lines
seem serious or light-hearted?”, have more than one possible answer. When you answer such questions, study
the text carefully and come to your own conclusion. An examiner will always give credit for any sensible answer,
particularly when you support your answer by quoting from the Latin text.
WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium 3
Martial, Epigrams V.20, The good life, lines 1-7
si tecum mihi, care Martialis,
securis liceat frui diebus,
si disponere tempus otiosum
et verae pariter vacare vitae,
nec nos atria nec domos potentum
nec lites tetricas forumque triste
nossemus nec imagines superbas;
1
2
3
4
si - if
tu, tui - you (singular); tecum: with you
ego, mei - me
carus, cara, carum - dear
Martialis, Martialis, m. - Iulius Martialis, close
friend of poet Martial
securus, secura, securum - untroubled,
carefree
licet, licere - be allowed
fruor, frui, fructus sum + abl. - enjoy
dies, diei, c. - day
si - if
dispono, disponere, disposui, dispositus arrange
tempus, temporis, n. - time
otiosus, otiosa, otiosum, n. - leisure, idle
et - and
verus, vera, verum - true, real
pariter - together, in each other’s company
4 WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium
5
5
6
7
vaco, vacare, vacavi + dat. - have time for
vita, vitae, f. - life
nec ... nec - neither ... nor
nos - we
atrium, atrii, n. - atrium nec ...
nec - neither ... nor domus,
domus, f. - house potens, gen.
potentis - powerful
nec ... nec - neither ... nor
lis, litis, f. - law-suit
tetricus, tetrica, tetricum - grim
forum, fori, n. - forum
-que - and
tristis, triste - sad
nosco, noscere - be familiar with, know
nec ... nec - neither ... nor imago,
imaginis, f. - statue, bust superbus,
superba, superbum - proud
1.
Think of examples from your own experience of one thing you do from choice and another thing you do because
you've got to. (The latter doesn't have to be connected with school: be original!) Martial's poem is partly about a
contrast of this kind, and his two contrasting descriptions convey a thumbnail impression of life in Rome.
2.
Listen to the audio on the CSCP website of lines 1-7 (up to superbas).
3.
Study the vocabulary for lines 1-4.
4.
Read lines 1-4 (aloud if possible) or listen again to the audio.
5.
Find the adjective in line 2 which describes diebus.
6.
Taking the words in the order si liceat mihi frui securis diebus tecum, care Martialis, translate lines 1-2.
7.
Notice that frui is an active infinitive (“to do something”) even though it doesn't look like one. It belongs to the
group of verbs known as "deponent verbs". Simply translate it as to enjoy.
8.
Translate si disponere as if it were si liceat nobis disponere. (The reason for this is that liceat in line 2 is
continuing to affect the sentence; the poet has talked about being allowed to enjoy carefree days and is now
talking about being allowed to do something else; he includes his friend in this, so translate as if liceat was
followed by nobis (we/us).) Then go straight on and translate the rest of line 3, looking for the infinitive which
tells you what the friends might be allowed to do.
9.
Find the adjective describing vitae in line 4. (If stuck, use the ‘Explore the passage’ activity on the
www.CambridgeSCP.com website or see the vocabulary).
10. Go straight on to translate line 4.
11. Compare the three phrases in lines 2-4 which describe the same thing in three different ways:
securis frui diebus
disponere tempus otiosum
verae vacare vitae
Does any of the phrases catch the reader's eye (or the listener's attention) more than the others? How? Might
the poet be using words (or the letters of words) in this way because of the order of the three phrases?
12. Check your translation of lines 1-4. So far, the poet is saying If I / we were allowed ... to do various things, and in
the next lines he will say what would happen, or not happen, if they were allowed.
13. Study the vocabulary for lines 5-7.
14. Read lines 5-7 (aloud if possible) or listen to the audio.
15. Find a verb in lines 5-7. Then translate the three words nec nos ... nossemus.
16. atria, domos, lites tetricas and imagines superbas are all in the same case; what is it? And are they singular
or plural? What case is potentum in line 5? So what does domos potentum mean?
17. The key words in the translation of the long sentence in lines 1-7 are If I / we were allowed to ..., we would not
be familiar with .... (Other possible translations of nec nos ... nossemus are We would know nothing of ... or We
would have nothing to do with ....) Translate lines 5-7, then go back and check that you can translate the whole
sentence so far, to the end of line 7.
18. You may have read previously about patrons and clients, and the morning visits paid by clients to their patron.
Consider the poet and his friend on the one hand, and on the other hand the potentes mentioned in line 5: who
seem to be the patrons and who seem to be the clients? Does the poet regard the atria and domos potentum
(line 5) as pleasant places to visit, or as disagreeable ones?
19. Which words in line 6 tell you whether the poet and his friend like or dislike the places listed there? The poet’s
feeling may be caused by the kind of thing that could happen to people who were unsuccessful in lawsuits (lites)
taking place in the forum, or perhaps refer to a client’s tedious task of escorting his patron to these places.
20. Romans of noble birth (the kind of people described here as potentes) usually took great pride in their
ancestors, whose statues or busts (imagines) they placed in their atria. What word does the poet use to
describe these busts? What does the word suggest about the ancestor represented by the bust? Could the poet
be hinting that the same word might apply not only to the ancestor but to somebody else?
WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium 5
Martial, The good life, lines 8-14
sed gestatio, fabulae, libelli,
Campus, porticus, umbra, Virgo, thermae,
haec essent loca semper, hi labores.
nunc vivit necuter sibi, bonosque
soles effugere atque abire sentit,
qui nobis pereunt et imputantur.
quisquam, vivere cum sciat, moratur?
8
9
10
11
sed - but
gestatio, gestationis, f. - riding
fabula, fabulae, f. - conversation
libellus, libelli, m. - book
Campus, Campi, m. - Campus Martius, a
recreational open space west of the River
Tiber
porticus, porticus, f. - colonnade
umbra, umbrae, f. - shade
Virgo, Virginis, f. - Aqua Virgo, an aqueduct
in Rome
thermae, thermarum, f. - baths
hic, haec, hoc - this
sum, esse, fui - be
loca, locorum, n. - haunts
semper - always
hic, haec, hoc - this
labor, laboris, m. - interest
nunc - at the moment
vivo, vivere, vixi - live
6 WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium
10
12
13
14
necuter, necutra, necutrum - neither (of us)
se - himself, herself, itself
bonus, bona, bonum - good
-que - and
sol, solis, m. - day
effugio, effugere, effugi - fly by
atque - and
abeo, abire, abii - leave
sentio, sentire, sensi, sensus - notice
qui, quae, quod - which
nos - us
pereo, perire, perii - be gone
et - and
imputo, imputare, imputavi, imputatus charge
quisquam, quidquam - anyone
vivo, vivere, vixi - live
cum - when
scio, scire, scivi - know how
moror, morari, moratus sum - delay, hesitate
21. Read lines 8-10 (aloud if possible) or listen to the audio. Study the vocabulary from sed to labores. Is the poet
dealing here with pleasant or unpleasant places and activities? Pick out two words for places or activities which
would be particularly important on a hot summer day in Rome. Translate lines 8-9.
22. Line 10 refers to loca and labores. In lines 8 and 9 find two examples of labores and three of loca.
23. Translate line 10. Notice two points: (i) the words si ... liceat at the start of the poem are still affecting the
sentence, and this affects the translation of essent: the poet is saying what would be the case if he and his
friend were allowed; (ii) loca and labores both involve the two friends; English would normally make this clear
by translating as if the line read nostra loca and nostri labores.
24. So the key words in lines 1-10 are: "If we were allowed (lines 1-4), we would not be going to the places
mentioned in lines 5-7, but would be doing the activities and going to the places mentioned in lines 8-10." Does
the sentence suggest that the poet and his friend are free to do these things, or are they not allowed to? In other
words, are lines 1-10 wishful thinking, on the lines of "If only things were different"? Can you suggest a reason
why the poet might be unable to live in the way described in lines 8-10?
25. Read (aloud if possible, or listen to the audio) lines 11-14. Study the vocabulary from nunc to moratur. Notice
the special meaning of nunc: the poet has been describing how he would like things to be, and now he switches
to how things really are.
26. What case is sibi? Translate nunc vivit necuter sibi; the translation of necuter will help you to pick the best
way to translate sibi in this particular sentence. What does the poet mean by living for oneself? (Some possible
clues: frui in line 2, verae ... vitae in line 4, and the contrast between lines 5-7 and 8-10.)
27. Find a verb (not in the infinitive form) in lines 11-12, and translate it, then translate the indirect statement
(accusative and two infinitives) which follows it. If stuck, try the following arrangement of word order in the
vocabulary: sentit bonos soles effugere atque abire.
28. How does sol (sun) come to mean day in line 12?
29. What does the poet mean by bonos soles effugere et abire?
(a) Days of happiness never happen
(b) Days of happiness last for ever
(c) Days of happiness pass away
30. What is the connection between vivit necuter sibi and the rest of lines 11-12?
(a) The poet and his friend are aware that time passes so they are making the most of life while they can
(b) The poet and his friend are aware that time passes but are unable to make the most of life while they
can
(c) The poet and his friend are aware that time passes but are unwilling to make the most of life while
they can
31. You have learnt that -que at the end of a word means and. Sometimes a slightly different translation will make
the sense clearer. Could the -que at the end of line 11 be translated as and yet? Or would and so be better?
Your answer to question 30 may help you here.
32. What word in line 13 is close in meaning to effugere and abire in line 12?
33. (This question may be more suitable for discussion than for individual study.) The verb imputantur in line 13
originally referred to putting something down on somebody's account. For example:
argentarius mercatori decem denarios imputat.
The banker enters ten denarii on the merchant's account (i.e. he records that he has lent the merchant
ten denarii).
So what does Martial mean when he says that the passing hours are put down on our account (nobis ...
imputantur)? Who is keeping the account? Why are Martial's words pereunt et imputantur sometimes quoted
on clocks and sundials?
34. As the vocabulary indicates, sciat in line 14 has the meaning know how to... and so must be used with an
infinitive. Find the infinitive. What does the poet mean by know how to live? Does he mean know how to keep
breathing? Or do lines 4 and 11 suggest a different meaning?
35. In line 14, the poet speaks of hesitating (moratur). Hesitating to do what?
36. Line 14 asks a question. What answer does the poet seem to have in mind?
37. Check your translation of lines 1-14.
38. Listen to the audio of the whole poem.
WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium 7
Analysis of Nouns and Adjectives
Several questions are on the case and number (singular / plural) of nouns; they are designed to give you practice
in identifying endings and using your identification to see how a noun or adjective fits into the sentence. If you are
confident you know how to do this, miss out the following examples and go straight to the questions. If you are not
so confident, study these examples, taken from Martial’s poem The good life, pages 4-7:
Example 1: to work out the case and number of vitae, line 4
The vocabulary on-screen and accompanying the passage gives the nominative as vita and the genitive as vitae.
Therefore vita is 1st declension like puella. puellae can be genitive singular, dative singular, nominative plural
or vocative plural, therefore vitae could likewise be genitive singular (of life), dative singular (to life or for life),
nominative plural (lives doing something or being the “subject” of the sentence) or vocative plural if the speaker is
talking to some lives. Of life doesn’t fit sensibly into the sentence so it isn’t genitive singular, nor would a nominative
plural fit (and anyway a nominative plural noun would have to be accompanied by a 3rd person plural verb, and
there’s no such verb in the sentence) and a vocative plural would be absurd; nobody in this sentence is talking to a
lot of lives. But a dative singular fits perfectly with vacare (have the time for life) and in fact the vocabulary helpfully
includes the word for with the translation of vacare.
This may sound like a very long procedure, but it takes longer to describe than to carry out, and the more you
practise, the quicker it will be. And very often the sense of the sentence is clear without the need for analysis. (For
example, it’s usually obvious immediately whether a vocative is, or is not, being used.) But analysis is sometimes
essential, especially when dealing with unfamiliar vocabulary. If you have access to the on-screen analysis, you can
use it as a check, but do the clicking after you’ve done your own analysis, not the other way round.
Example 2: to work out the case and number of libelli, line 8
The vocabulary on-screen and accompanying the passage gives the nominative as libellus and the genitive as
libelli. Therefore libellus is 2nd declension like servus.
servi can be genitive singular, nominative plural or vocative plural, therefore libelli could likewise be genitive
singular (of a book), nominative plural (books doing something or being the “subject” of the sentence) or vocative
plural if the speaker is talking to books. Of a book doesn’t fit sensibly into the sentence so it isn’t genitive singular;
the poet isn’t talking to books, he’s talking to his friend, so it isn’t vocative plural; but libelli fits neatly into the
sentence as nominative plural, in a string of words all in the nominative case (Martial is making a list).
Those who remember the endings of leo and mercator may wonder why libelli can’t be dative singular like leoni
(to the lion) or mercatori (to the merchant). The answer is that leo and mercator are 3rd declension (with genitive
singular ending in -is), but libellus is 2nd declension (with genitive singular ending in -i). You can’t always tell what
declension a noun belongs to by looking at its nominative singular, but from the genitive singular you always can.
This is why dictionaries and vocabularies normally list the genitive singular of a noun as well as the nominative.
8 WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium
Notes
WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium 9
Horace, Epodes II, The pleasures of country life, lines 1-4
beatus ille qui procul negotiis,
ut prisca gens mortalium,
paterna rura bobus exercet suis
solutus omni faenore,
1
2
3
beatus, beata, beatum - happy
ille, illa, illud - he, she, it
qui, quae, quod - who, which
procul + abl. - far from
negotium, negotii, n. - business
ut - like
priscus, prisca, priscum - ancient
gens, gentis, f. - race
mortalis, mortale, m. - mortal
paternus, paterna, paternum - ancestral
10 WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium
4
rus, ruris, n. - estate, farm
bos, bovis, c. - ox, cow
exerceo, exercere, exercui, exercitus cultivate
suus, sua, suum - his, her, its own
solvo, solvere, solvi, solutus - free
omnis, omne - all, every
faenus, faenoris, n. - commerce; interest (on
money)
1.
From what you know of ancient Rome, including Martial's poem The good life if you have read it, spend two
minutes thinking up as many features of country life as you can which a not-very-well-off inhabitant of the city
would have been glad to escape to, and features of city life that he would have enjoyed escaping from.
2.
Listen to the audio of lines 1-8.
3. Work through the questions on lines 1-8 in the ‘Test your understanding’ activity in the online materials that
accompany this poem in the Cambridge Latin Anthology section of the www.CambridgeSCP.comwebsite, found
by clicking on ‘Cambridge Latin Anthology’, then on ‘Verse Selections’, then on ‘otium’.
4.
Study the vocabulary for lines 1-4.
5.
The vocabulary tells you that procul, far removed from, is used with the ablative case. Find the ablative it is
being used with here.
6.
Translate line 1. If you translate ille as he, you can make your translation clearer by translating beatus as if it
were beatus est. Or translate ille as the man, in which case treating beatus as beatus est is optional. Either
way, this line (like the next) is one of the not-very-common occasions where the word order of the English
translation can be the same as in the Latin.
7.
Suggest a reason why negotiis, though it is right to translate it as business, is in fact ablative plural, not
singular.
8. What Latin word is the opposite of negotium? Hint: get rid of the NEGative.
9. What case is gens in line 2? What case is mortalium? Which of those two nouns is described by prisca?
Translate line 2.
10. What case is rura in line 3? You may find that (not counting vocatives) there are two possible cases. If unsure
which to choose, consider your translation so far and how it needs to continue, or look at the ending of the verb
(exercet: NB not exercent).
11. What case is bobus? Hint: this is an unusual ending, but it is used for the case (or cases) more usually
expressed in the 3rd declension by -ibus.
12. Find the two adjectives describing rura and bobus. Translate line 3,
13. What part of the verb is solutus in line 4? Translate it literally. Who does it describe?
(a) An ox
(b) The man who tills the land in line 3
(c) A man who lends money at interest
14. What case is omni faenore in line 4? What are the commonest translations of this case? Choose the one that
follows on most naturally from solutus, and translate line 4.
15. A revision point: omni and faenore are both in the same case and are both in the 3rd declension; why do they
have different endings? If unsure, study 3rd declension nouns and adjectives (e.g. the endings of mercator
and fortis) in the grammar book. You are quite likely to meet another example of the ablative singular of a 3rd
declension adjective before very long.
16. Check your translation of lines 1-4.
WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium 11
Horace, The pleasures of country life, lines 5-8
neque excitatur classico miles truci,
neque horret iratum mare,
forumque vitat et superba civium
potentiorum limina.
5
6
neque ... neque - neither ... nor
excito, excitare, excitavi, excitatus - rouse
classicum, classici, n. - war-trumpet
miles, militis, m. - soldier
trux, gen. trucis - grim
neque ... neque - neither ... nor
horreo, horrere, horrui - dread
iratus, irata, iratum - angry
12 WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium
5
7
8
mare, maris, n. - sea
forum, fori, n. - forum
vito, vitare, vitavi, vitatus - avoid
et - and
superbus, superba, superbum - proud
civis, civis, m. - citizen
potens, gen. potentis - powerful
limen, liminis, n. - doorway
17. Study the vocabulary for lines 5-8.
18. According to line 5, whose life differs from the farmer's life? What happens to this person and does not happen
to the farmer?
19. What case is classico? What noun is described by truci? (See question 15 if puzzled by the ending of truci.)
Translate line 5, adding the word "as" when translating miles, (i.e. as a soldier).
20. Translate line 6.
21. Why does he not shudder at the sea?
(a) Because he is not a sailor and so has nothing to do with the sea
(b) Because he is extremely brave
(c) Because he is used to the sight of the angry waves
22. What case are forum and limina in lines 7-8 and civium in line 7? forum and limina could each be one of
two cases, but it should not be difficult to decide whether the forum is doing something or somebody is doing
something to the forum. Find two adjectives. What nouns are they describing? Translate lines 7-8.
23. If you have read Martial's poem The good life, see if you can pick out, without looking back to Martial's poem,
three words in lines 7-8 of Horace's poem which were used in three of Martial 's lines to convey a very similar
idea to Horace's.
24. (This question may be more suitable for discussion than for individual study.) Martial lived a century after
Horace, and it is extremely likely that he had read Horace's poem. Does Martial use superbas in his poem in
the same way that Horace used superba - describing things but suggesting something about people? If so, who
are the people being suggested by Horace and Martial? What adjective is used by both poets, in its ordinary
form in one poem and its comparative form in the other, to refer to these people?
25. Into what room (via a short passage-way) would the limina (line 8) lead? Did Martial, in The good life, use the
word for this room? What business or ceremony (which may have been in the minds of both Horace and Martial)
often took place in this room?
26. Check your translation of lines 1-8.
WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium 13
Horace, The pleasures of country life, lines 9-14
libet iacere modo sub antiqua ilice,
modo in tenaci gramine.
labuntur altis interim ripis aquae,
queruntur in silvis aves,
fontesque lymphis obstrepunt manantibus,
somnos quod invitet leves.
9
10
11
libet, libere, libuit - be pleasant
iaceo, iacere, iacui - lie
modo ... modo - sometimes ... sometimes
sub - under
antiquus, antiqua, antiquum - old
ilex, ilicis, f. - holm-oak
modo ... modo - sometimes ... sometimes
in - on
tenax, gen. tenacis - firm
gramen, graminis, n. - grass
labor, labi, lapsus sum - flow
altus, alta, altum - high
interim - meanwhile
ripa, ripae, f. - bank
14 WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium
10
12
13
14
aqua, aquae, f. - river
queror, queri, questus sum - sing
in - in
silva, silvae, f. - wood
avis, avis, f. - bird
fons, fontis, m. - spring
-que - and
lympha, lymphae, f. - water
obstrepo, obstrepere, obstrepui - babble
mano, manare, manavi - flow
somnus, somni, m. - slumber
qui, quae, quod - who, which
invito, invitare, invitavi, invitatus - invite
levis, leve - gentle
27. Study the vocabulary for lines 9-14.
28. Listen to the audio of lines 9-14.
29. Work through the questions on lines 9-14 in the ‘Test your understanding’ activity in the online materials that
accompany this poem in the ‘Cambridge Latin Anthology’ section of the www.CambridgeSCP.com website.
30. Translate lines 9-10. They come from a later point of Horace's poem; in what way has the country scene
changed from the busy activity in line 3?
31. What case is aquae in line 11? What case is ripis? What does altis describe, the water or the banks? Does this
help you to picture whether or not the water-level is low?
32. What case is aves in line 12? What case and number is silvis? Translate lines 11-12.
33. (This question may be more suitable for discussion than for individual study.) Notice the vocabulary translation
of queruntur; suggest a reason why Horace describes the birdsong as complaint. Are the birds irritated by
something? Does it refer to some aspect of the quality of the sound, and if so, what aspect?
34. Study line 13 to settle the case of fontes. What part of the verb is manantibus? Which noun does it describe?
Translate line 13.
35. quod literally means which, referring back to the gently murmuring sounds described in line 13. But invitet is a
subjunctive, so that quod invitet is a purpose clause, and Horace imagines the stream as murmuring
deliberately, in order to invite ... or in order to induce .... What, according to Horace, is the stream trying to get its
listener to do? Translate lines 13-14.
36. Does somnos suggest a single occasion of sleep, or suggest it is something that happens regularly? How does
the analysis of the word tell you this?
37. Do you agree with Horace that the noises in line 13 (and perhaps the birdsong in line 12) would tend to send the
listener to sleep or would they be likely to do the opposite? (It may or may not be relevant that CDs which are
designed to help people relax or fall asleep often include a recording of waves regularly beating on the shore.)
38. Check your translation of lines 9-14.
39. Listen to the audio of the whole poem.
40. To what extent can you visualise the sights and imagine the sounds described by Horace? Some people are
better at this than others. Some find they can visualise or imagine more easily with their eyes shut; this may
be better attempted on your own than in company. The audio may help you to do the visualising or imagining,
especially in the last few lines where Horace uses the sound of the words to help him achieve his effect.
WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium 15
Catullus, Poem 13, Catullus invites a friend to dinner, lines 1-5
cenabis bene, mi Fabulle, apud me
paucis, si tibi di favent, diebus,
si tecum attuleris bonam atque magnam
cenam, non sine candida puella
et vino et sale et omnibus cachinnis.
1
2
3
ceno, cenare, cenavi - dine
bene - well
meus, mea, meum - my
Fabullus, Fabulli, m. - Fabullus
apud - with
ego, mei - I, me
pauci, paucae, pauca - few
si - if
tu, tui - you (singular)
deus, dei, m. - god
faveo, favere, favi + dat. - favour
dies, diei, c. - day
si - if
tu, tui - you (singular); tecum: with you
affero, afferre, attuli, adlatus - bring
bonus, bona, bonum - good
16 WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium
5
4
5
atque - and
magnus, magna, magnum - large
cena, cenae, f. - dinner
non - not
sine - without
candidus, candida, candidum - beautiful,
attractive
puella, puellae, f. - girl
et - and
vinum, vini, n. - wine
et - and
sal, salis, m. - wit; salt
et - and
omnis, omne - all
cachinnus, cachinni, m. - laugh
1.
If you have access to the Cambridge School Classics Project website, work through the ‘Test your
understanding’ questions on this poem. Click on ‘Cambridge Latin Anthology’, then on ‘verse selections’, then on
‘otium’.
2.
Study the vocabulary for lines 1-5.
3. What tense is cenabis in line 1? Translate si tibi di favent in line 2: what do you think Catullus means by this
phrase? Is it a pious phrase like “provided it is the will of the gods”, or is it like “touch wood” and “all being well”?
4.
How soon, and where, will the event described in line 1 happen? How definite is Catullus in naming the date? Is
there anything odd about this?
5. What must Fabullus bring with him, and what four items must it particularly include (lines 3-5)?
6.
How does the word for salt come to mean wit as well?
7. What does Catullus mean by asking Fabullus to bring some cachinni with him?
8.
Translate lines 1-5.
WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium 17
Catullus, Catullus invites a friend to dinner, lines 6-10
haec si, inquam, attuleris, venuste noster,
cenabis bene; nam tui Catulli
plenus sacculus est aranearum.
sed contra accipies meros amores,
seu quid suavius elegantiusve est:
6
7
8
hic, haec, hoc - this
si - if
inquam - I say
affero, afferre, attuli, adlatus - bring
venustus, venusta, venustum - charming
noster, nostra, nostrum - my friend
ceno, cenare, cenavi - dine
bene - well
nam - for
tuus, tua, tuum - your (singular)
Catullus, Catulli, m. - Catullus
plenus, plena, plenum - full
sacculus, sacculi, m. - purse
18 WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium
10
9
10
sum, esse, fui - be
aranea, araneae, f. - cobweb
sed - but
contra - in return
accipio, accipere, accepi, acceptus - receive
merus, mera, merum - undiluted
amor, amoris, m. - affection, friendship
seu - or
quid - something which
suavis, suave - sweet
elegans, gen. elegantis - exquisite, tasteful
sum, esse, fui - be
9.
Study the vocabulary for lines 6-10.
10. What is the case, number and gender of haec in line 6? There are various possibilities, but only one which
fits here with si attuleris. Check your answer from the on-screen analysis if you have access to it, or from the
Cambridge Latin Grammar, which gives the complete table of endings of hic.
11. What word, inserted in line 6, emphasises that in the rest of the line Catullus is repeating or summing up his
earlier words?
12. (This question may be more suitable for discussion than for individual study.) The vocabulary translates the
vocative venuste noster in line 6 as my charming friend. Can you suggest an alternative? Aim for a translation
which sounds natural and gives the impression of a lively young man talking to his friend. It may be helpful if you
imagine the tone of voice Catullus would use when reciting the poem. venustus seems to have been used as
slang by Catullus and his friends; the word is connected with Venus the goddess of love, and in some sentences
lovely would be a good translation, but maybe not in this one. One writer translates venuste noster as good
man, which you may feel sounds stiff and old-fashioned, while another translates it as ol' pal ol' pal, which is
lively and suitably slangy but perhaps sounds as if Catullus has been getting at the wine before the party has
even started.
13. What case is tui Catulli in line 7? Translate it. What word in line 8 does it link up with?
14. What case and number is aranearum in line 8? Translate it. What word in line 8 does it link up with? If Catullus
is telling the truth, how long ago did he last have any money?
15. Translate lines 6-8.
16. The vocabulary translates contra as in return. In return for what?
17. What tense is accipies in line 9?
18. What two-word phrase does Catullus use in line 9, apparently to describe his attitude to Fabullus?
19. The adjective which Catullus uses in line 9 to describe his affection is often used more literally to describe a
noun which occurs in line 5. What is the noun?
20. If you are unsure about the endings of suavius and elegantius in line 10, study these two sentences about one
thing being bigger than another:
elephantus est maior quam equus.
templum est maius quam navis.
What is it about elephantus and templum that causes the word for bigger to be different in the two sentences?
If you are still unsure, click on suavius and elegantius in the ‘Explore the passage’ activity or study the word
endings on the ‘Comparison of Adjectives’ page in the Cambridge Latin Grammar.
21. Translate lines 9-10.
WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium 19
Catullus, Catullus invites a friend to dinner, lines 11-14
nam unguentum dabo, quod meae puellae
donarunt Veneres Cupidinesque,
quod tu cum olfacies, deos rogabis,
totum ut te faciant, Fabulle, nasum.
11
12
13
nam - for
unguentum, unguenti, n. - perfume
do, dare, dedi, datus - give
qui, quae, quod - who, which
meus, mea, meum - my
puella, puellae, f. - girl
dono, donare, donavi, donatus - give
Venus, Veneris, f. - goddess of love
Cupido, Cupidinis, m. - god of love
-que - and
qui, quae, quod - who, which
20 WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium
14
tu, tui - you (singular)
cum - when
olfacio, olfacere, olfeci, olfactus - smell
deus, dei, m. - god
rogo, rogare, rogavi, rogatus - ask
totus, tota, totum - all
ut - to
tu, tui - you (singular)
facio, facere, feci, factus - make
Fabullus, Fabulli, m. - Fabullus
nasus, nasi, m. - nose
22. Study the vocabulary for lines 11-14.
23. In line 11, what (physical object) does the undiluted love promised by Catullus in line 9 turn out to be? It
may be relevant that the item in question could be extremely expensive and could be worn (or rather rubbed on
the body, since it came in the form of ointment) by either sex, particularly at parties, to enhance sexual
attractiveness. According to lines 11-12, who is the actual owner of the unguentum and from whom did she get
it? What does the reference in line 12 suggest about the puella mentioned in line 11?
24. What noun does the relative pronoun quod (in both lines 11 and 13) refer back to?
25. What tense is olfacies (line 13)?
26. What prediction does Catullus make in lines 13-14 about the effect the smell of the unguentum will have on
Fabullus? Why will Fabullus want the gods to do this to him?
27. cenabis (lines 1 and 7), accipies (line 9), dabo (line 11) and olfacies (line 13) are all in the same tense. What
is the tense? Why do cenabis and dabo form this tense in a different way from accipies and olfacies? If you
are unsure, study the page of the grammar book which sets out the word endings of the indicative active of
verbs.
28. What tense (an unusual one) is attuleris (line 3?) Since it refers to the same time (past, present or future) as
cenabis (lines 1 and 7), why are the two verbs in different tenses? (Hint: would both actions be performed at the
same moment, or would one come before the other?)
29. Check your translation of the whole poem.
30. Read through the poem again (aloud if possible) and / or listen to the audio.
The next two questions may be more suitable for discussion than for individual study.
31. The key phrase meros amores in line 9 does both of the two jobs Catullus wants it to do: it can describe
Catullus’ warm affectionate feelings for his friend (which is how the reader or listener takes it at first) but can
just as easily be a description of the perfume (which is what it turns out to be in line 11, where the meaning
is something like the essence of Love or Love in concentrated form). This makes the phrase a real challenge
to translators. The translation undiluted love just about fits both meanings (and would be marked right in any
exam!) but is not very natural English; can you improve on it?
32. Is the forthcoming party intended to be a foursome? Fabullus is told to bring a candida puella (and much else,
if he's going to get a dinner at all): could Catullus’ puella be coming to the party as well? It might seem rather
unkind to borrow her unguentum without inviting her. On the other hand, it seems odd that Catullus doesn't
positively state that she'll be present, and the first ten lines seem to concentrate not on Catullus’ girl but on
Fabullus and the great affection (meros amores, line 9) which Catullus has for him.
WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium 21
Ovid, Ars Amatoria I, A good place to find a girl, lines 1-4
sed tu praecipue curvis venare theatris;
haec loca sunt voto fertiliora tuo.
illic invenies quod ames, quod ludere possis,
quodque semel tangas, quodque tenere velis.
1
2
3
sed - but
tu, tui - you (singular)
praecipue - especially
curvus, curva, curvum - rounded, curved
venor, venari, venatus sum - go hunting, hunt
theatrum, theatri, n. - theatre
hic, haec, hoc - this
loca, locorum, n. - places
sum, esse, fui - be
votum, voti, n. - wish, prayer
fertilis, fertile - productive
tuus, tua, tuum - your (singular)
illic - there
invenio, invenire, inveni, inventus - find
22 WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium
4
qui, quae, quod - who, which
amo, amare, amavi, amatus - love
qui, quae, quod - who, which
ludo, ludere, lusi, lusus - string along, play
with, deceive
possum, posse, potui - be able, can
qui, quae, quod - who, which
-que - and
semel - once
tango, tangere, tetigi, tactus - touch
qui, quae, quod - who, which
-que - and
teneo, tenere, tenui, tentus - keep hold of
volo, velle, volui - wish, want
Follow your teacher's guidance in using the following notes, questions and suggestions.
1.
Study the vocabulary for lines 1-4.
2. Which word in line 1 would more usually be associated with animals?
3.
Study the form of venare. It looks like an infinitive but is in fact the imperative of the deponent verb venari. (As
with all deponent verbs, its endings are passive but its meanings are active, so venor means not I am hunted
but I hunt, and venabantur means not they were being hunted but they were hunting.)
4.
Since venare is imperative, there is a problem about translating tu. If you translate tu venare as you hunt it will
sound as if Ovid is telling somebody what they are doing, whereas in fact he is ordering or advising them. You
could simply omit tu from your translation (you will not lose marks for this!) or you could use a phrase like you
should hunt, you've got to hunt, etc.
5. What is the adjective describing theatris? You have often met phrases containing in (meaning in) with the
ablative case. For example, what does in omnibus villis mean? In poetry, the word in is often omitted; the
ablative case on its own can be used to mean in .... The phrase curvis ... theatris is an example of this. What
does it mean?
6. What do the words haec loca in line 2 refer to?
7. What is the wish (voto) referred to in line 2?
8. What word describes voto in line 2? The case of this noun-and-adjective phrase, which leads on from fertiliora,
is ablative singular, and is being used to make a comparison ([even] more productive than your wish [i.e. than
you could wish]). What does Ovid mean by saying this about the theatres?
Notice that it is quite common for the ablative to be used instead of quam to make a comparison. Translate
these two examples, which both have the same translation:
Sextus est altior quam Marcus = Sextus est altior Marco.
The second alternative literally means Sextus is taller from (i.e. measuring from) Marcus, Marcus being the
standard or baseline from which Sextus is measured.
9. What place is Ovid referring to by illic in line 3?
10. What tense is invenies?
11. Are the verbs ames (line 3), possis (line 3), tangas (line 4) and velis (line 4) in the present indicative tense or
in the present subjunctive? Check if necessary from the ‘Explore the passage’ activity on the
www.CambridgeSCP.com website or in the Cambridge Latin Grammar, noting that amo changes its endings like
porto, tango like duco, while possum and volo are irregular.
12. The subjunctives in lines 3-4 are in a string of four purpose clauses, introduced not by ut but by the relative
pronoun quod. What gender is quod? The answer may surprise you. You could either translate the four groups
of words as if the gender were feminine (a girl to love, a girl ... etc.) or translate quod literally (something to love,
something ... etc.). The second version may sound rather unkind to women, but there is no unkindness in the
original Latin.
13. Translate lines 1-4.
WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium 23
Ovid, A good place to find a girl, lines 5-10
ut redit itque frequens longum formica per agmen,
granifero solitum cum vehit ore cibum,
aut ut apes saltusque suos et olentia nactae
pascua per flores et thyma summa volant,
sic ruit ad celebres cultissima femina ludos;
copia iudicium saepe morata meum est.
5
6
7
ut - just as
redeo, redire, redii - go back
eo, ire, ii - go forth / forward
-que - and
frequens, gen. frequentis - numerous
longus, longa, longum - long
formica, formicae, f. - ant
per - in; through
agmen, agminis, n. - procession
granifer, granifera, graniferum - grain-bearing
solitus, solita, solitum - usual, customary
cum - when
veho, vehere, vexi, vectus - carry
os, oris, n. - mouth
cibus, cibi, m. - food
aut - or
ut - just as
apis, apis, f. - bee
saltus, saltus, m. - glade
-que ... et - both ... and
suus, sua, suum - his, her, its own
et - and; -que ... et = both ... and
olens, gen. olentis - fragrant
24 WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium
8
9
10
5
10
nanciscor, nancisci, nactus sum - find
pascuum, pascui, n. - pasture
per - among
flos, floris, m. - flower
et - and
thymum, thymi, n. - thyme
summus, summa, summum - tips
volo, volare, volavi - fly
sic - so
ruo, ruere, rui - rush
ad - to
celeber, celebris, celebre - crowded
cultus, culta, cultum - dolled up, smart, welldressed
femina, feminae, f. - lady, woman
ludi, ludorum, m. - games
copia, copiae, f. - abundance
iudicium, iudicii, n. - choice, decision
saepe - often
moror, morari, moratus sum - delay
meus, mea, meum - my
sum, esse, fui - be
14. Study the vocabulary for lines 5-10.
15. Lines 5-9 are a simile or comparison. Similes in everyday speech are often quite short (e.g. "she ran like
lightning" or "he looked like something the cat had brought in"). In poetry they can be very short (e.g. "as green
as emerald") or so long that they almost turn into a mini-poem on their own. In this simile, Ovid compares people
at the theatre to not one group of creatures but two. You may find it helpful to pick out and write down the Latin
for the first group of creatures (mentioned in line 5), then the second group of creatures, (line 7), then the people
who are being compared to the two groups (line 9). The whole sentence is signposted by ut in line 5 (meaning
as or just as, introducing the first creatures), aut ut in line 7 (linking the first creatures to the second) and sic in
line 10 (meaning so or in the same way) introducing the people who are being compared to the creatures. So
the structure of the sentence is: "Just as formica does one thing, or apes do another thing, in the same way
femina does a third thing."
16. What is the first creature to whom comparison is made? What case and number is it? Find an adjective
describing it. Can you find another adjective-and-noun phrase entwined with the first?
17. What have the ants gone to fetch (lines 5-6)? Where do you assume they take it when they've got it? Do they
repeat the double journey over and over again? What two words in line 5 emphasise this by their sound and
meaning?
18. per usually means through; but it sounds rather odd to say the ants move through their long line? After all, they
themselves are the long line. Do you prefer in their long line or along their long line or some other phrase? It
may help you to find a satisfactory translation if you visualise the convoy of ants and their steady progress (in
single file?) along the route formed by the earlier ants.
19. Translate lines 5-6.
20. Who are the second group of creatures mentioned by Ovid (line 7)? Find a perfect active (deponent) participle
agreeing with these creatures.
21. What case and number are the two nouns saltus and pascua (lines 7-8)? The word-endings, without the
surrounding sentence, could indicate more than one possibility; use your translation of apes ... nactae to guide
you to the correct answer. What rather uncommon declension does saltus belong to? Check its endings if
necessary in the Cambridge Latin Grammar. Find the adjectives that describe saltus and pascua.
22. What is a glade?
23. (This question may be more suitable for discussion than for individual study.) The literal translation of saltus ...
suos is their glades. But why does Ovid include the word suos? (Latin uses suus less often than we use his
or hers: he caught sight of his father would usually be patrem conspexit without suum, as opposed to patrem
suum interfecit, he killed his own father where the word suum emphasises the horror of the crime.) The literal
translation (their glades) and such versions of suos as their very own glades (other bees, keep off!)? their
favourite glades? their familiar glades? their well-loved glades? are all acceptable for exam purposes. Which do
you prefer?
24. In line 8, where do the bees fly? (The translation of per may require some thought, like the translation of per in
line 5, and again you may find it helpful to visualise the scene.)
25. Check your translation of lines 5-8.
26. In line 9, the final part of the simile begins. Find the noun that refers to the person who is compared to the
previous two groups of creatures, and find the adjective describing the noun. Translate the phrase. What does
this person do in line 9? Does the phrase refer to one particular individual or to many (just as the sentence "The
polite man always says thank you" would normally refer not to one particular man but to polite men generally)?
Find a word in line 9 and another in line 10 which strongly suggest Ovid is speaking of "many". But in translating
ruit femina, you can use either a singular or a plural translation.
27. What case is copia in line 10? What noun is described by meum?
28. Which colloquial expression best sums up the experience described in line 10?
(a) "Not much talent on show"
(b) "Spoilt for choice"
(c) "There's only one worth looking at"
29. Translate lines 9-10.
30. Look again at the simile in lines 5-10. In what way or ways does the cultissima femina resemble the formica
and the apes? Find as many similarities as you can. Does the behaviour of the women give a clue to the point
of suos in line 7? Both bees and women are making a bee-line (!) to their regular territory. Your list could include
some similarities that exist but aren't mentioned by Ovid. Are there any important differences between the
purposes of the formica and the apes on the one hand and the purposes of the cultissima femina on the other
hand? Would the word otium be suitable in one description and negotium in the other?
WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium 25
Ovid, A good place to find a girl, lines 11-12
spectatum veniunt, veniunt spectentur ut ipsae;
ille locus casti damna pudoris habet.
11
12
specto, spectare, spectavi, spectatus - watch
venio, venire, veni - come
specto, spectare, spectavi, spectatus - watch
ut - so that
ipse, ipsa, ipsum - himself, herself, itself
ille, illa, illud - that
26 WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium
locus, loci, m. - place
castus, casta, castum - chaste
damnum, damni, n. - loss, damage
pudor, pudoris, m. - modesty, sense of
shame
habeo, habere, habui, habitus - involve, have
31. Study the vocabulary for lines 11-12.
32. In line 11, who are intending to watch what? By whom do they hope to be watched themselves? The form
spectatum is an unusual one; it looks like the neuter of a perfect participle but it is known as the "supine" and is
used to indicate purpose, like a clause with ut and the subjunctive.
33. What is Ovid referring to by ille locus in line 12? What case is pudoris?
34. Translate lines 11-12.
35. If you have access to the Cambridge School Classics Project website, work through the ‘Test your
understanding’ questions on this extract. Click on ‘Cambridge Latin Anthology’, then on ‘Verse Selections’, then
on ‘otium’.
36. In which line does Ovid imply that he is speaking from first-hand experience of his subject matter?
37. Read through the extract again (aloud if possible) and / or listen to the audio.
38. (This question may be more suitable for discussion than for individual study.) Do you think young Roman males
were in serious need of advice on this topic? Or is Ovid simply seeking to entertain his readers / listeners? We
know that the Emperor Augustus, who passed a number of laws intended to improve the morals of the Roman
people, sent Ovid into exile for the last years of his life, partly as punishment for the poem Ars Amatoria, from
which this is an extract; do you think this was because the emperor didn't want his laws to be made fun of, or do
you feel he saw the poem as a serious and corrupting influence on Roman behaviour? It may be relevant that
Ovid's poem is a send-up of a particular type of Greek and Latin poetry (the technical term is "didactic" poetry)
which gave information or instruction on subjects as various as hunting (of animals, not the sort of hunting
described in line 1), astronomy, agriculture, beekeeping (does this remind you of anything in the Ovid?), fishing,
physics, volcanoes and medicine. They were in verse not prose, but in other ways were rather like modern day
manuals with titles like How to get through your driving test or How to cook or even How to pass your exam.
One can make a guess at Augustus' reaction when Ovid produced a didactic poem on How to pull birds (not that
Ovid would have put it so crudely).
Those who feel that in dealing with the two sexes Ovid is irritatingly one-sided may like to know that Ars
Amatoria Book III (which he claims he wrote in response to popular request) is addressed to girls and gives
advice on how to attract a man.
WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium 27
Additional note on adjective-and-noun phrases
(The questions here may be more suitable for discussion than for individual study: follow the guidance of your
teacher, who may want you to tackle them at a later date or to ignore them. The examples from Latin poetry are
all taken from the Ovid, Ars Amatoria extract, but of course adjective-and-noun phrases are very common in Latin
literature generally.)
(i) From the Ars Amatoria extract, collect up to ten examples of adjective-and-noun phrases, bearing in mind
that the adjective will not necessarily have the same ending as the noun it describes (for they might belong to
different declensions) but will always agree with it in case, gender and number. Some examples have already
been mentioned in the notes on the extract. Write down each adjective-and-noun phrase, ignoring any words
that separate them. Usually the adjective comes before the noun, but there are four examples in the Ovid extract
of noun before adjective.
(ii) When using adjective-and-noun phrases, Roman poets could take advantage of the fact that Latin word order is
more flexible than English. In English, word order usually points to the meaning of a sentence: "Dog bites man"
doesn't mean the same as "Man bites dog". In Latin, however, meaning is indicated less by word order and more
by word ending: canis mordet hominem and hominem mordet canis both indicate that the dog is doing the
biting. So a Roman could use word endings to establish the meaning of a sentence and use word order for other
purposes. One way in which a Roman poet could make use of Latin's flexible word order was by his handling of
adjective-and-noun phrases; often the adjective and noun are separated by another word or words, or enclosed
within or interlaced with another adjective-and-noun phrase. This was done not to baffle the poet's readers
or listeners, but to achieve an effect. For example, if an adjective appears in a line of Latin verse, the listener
will expect a noun in agreement with the adjective, and normally the listener's expectation is sooner or later
satisfied. Not that the listener is usually conscious of this. This is rather like the use of rhyme in English verse. If
you hear the first line of a couplet:
And still they gazed, and still the wonder grew,
you are subconsciously ready for a word which ends in "-ew" and are satisfied when the next line is:
That one small head could carry all he knew.
The listener can enjoy the rhyme without needing to watch out for it.
In the same way, the Roman listener who heard Ovid say curvis in reciting line 1 of this extract would be ready
(without being conscious of it) for a noun in the same case, number and gender, and at the end of the line it duly
arrives. Look back at the poem if you've forgotten it.
It might be added that the flexibility of Latin word order had a further very practical advantage for a Roman poet:
it made it somewhat easier for him to obey the strict rules of Latin metre.
(iii) It was mentioned in (i) above that a noun and adjective in the same case, gender and number do not
automatically have identical endings. But quite often, of course, they do, especially if they both belong to the 1st
and 2nd declension. The Ovid extract contains examples of an adjective and noun "rhyming" with each other in
lines 2, 6 and 8 (also others); some of these may be on your list. The example in line 6 comes close to the effect
of rhyme in English: an adjective half-way through the line has the same ending as the noun it agrees with,
which comes at the line's end.
(iv) If you are allowed to mark a copy of the text, you could underline the adjective and noun in each phrase; where
one phrase encloses or interlaces with another, use two different types of underlining (long or short? different
colours?) to distinguish the two phrases. You could then listen to the audio of the extract with the marked text
in front of you. It is possible (though some people find it easier than others) to let the eye notice the pattern of
noun-and-adjective phrases while the ear concentrates on the meaning of the whole line or sentence.
28 WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium
Notes
WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium 29
Ovid, Fasti III, How ordinary people enjoy a festival, lines 1-4
Idibus est Annae festum geniale Perennae
non procul a ripis, advena Thybri, tuis.
plebs venit ac virides passim disiecta per herbas
potat et accumbit cum pare quisque sua;
1
2
Idus, Iduum, f. - the Ides (of March)
sum, esse, fui - be
Anna, Annae, f. - Anna Perenna, a goddess
of the year
festum, festi, n. - festival
genialis, geniale - merry, joyful, jolly
Perenna, Perennae, f. - Anna Perenna, a
goddess of the year
non - not
procul - far
a - from
ripa, ripae, f. - bank
advena, advenae - foreigner
Thybris, Thybris, m. - River Tiber
tuus, tua, tuum, f. - your
30 WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium
3
4
plebs, plebis, f. - people
venio, venire, veni - come
ac - and
viridis, viride - green
passim - here and there, everywhere
disicio, disicere, disieci, disiectus - scatter
per - all over
herba, herbae, f. - grass
poto, potare, potavi, potus - drink
et - and
accumbo, accumbere, accubui - lie down
cum - with
par, paris, f. - partner
quisque, quidque - each one, every one
suus, sua, suum - his, her, its own
Follow your teacher’s guidance in using the following notes, questions and suggestions.
1.
Study the vocabulary for lines 1-4.
2.
Read lines 1-4 (aloud if possible).
3.
On what day of the month is this festival held (line 1)?
4.
The extract comes from Book III of Ovid's poem, the Fasti. Book III is about the month of March, so it is not too
difficult to guess correctly what Book II was about, and how many books of the Fasti Ovid planned to write.
5. Who is the goddess honoured by this festival?
6.
Find and translate the word in line 1 which tells you whether or not the festival was a solemn one.
7. Who does Ovid address, rather unexpectedly, in line 2, and how is that person or thing described? The source
of the Tiber was on Mount Fumaiolo, near Arretium (modern Arrezzo) and Tifernum, and if you find this area on a
map of Italy and note its distance from Rome, you may be able to explain Ovid's choice of the word advena.
8. What are we told about the distance between the site of the festival and the river banks?
9. What section of the Roman people attends the festival (line 3)?
10. From line 3, find out:
(a) whether the crowd was packed closely together
(b) whether or not this is an open-air festival.
11. In line 3, what noun is described by the participle disiecta? Find the adjective describing herbas.
12. What two activities are mentioned in line 4? Translate the last five words of the line, using the following word
order as a guide: quisque cum pare sua accumbit. Do these merrymakers arrange themselves:
(a) in large groups?
(b) in two rival teams?
(c) in pairs?!
13. Translate lines 1-4.
WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium 31
Ovid, How ordinary people enjoy a festival, lines 5-8
sub Iove pars durat, pauci tentoria ponunt,
sunt quibus e ramis frondea facta casa est;
pars, ubi pro rigidis calamos statuere columnis,
desuper extentas imposuere togas.
5
6
sub - under
Iuppiter, Iovis, m. - Jupiter
pars, partis, f. - some; part
duro, durare, duravi - endure, brave it, rough it
pauci, paucae, pauca - a few
tentorium, tentorii, n. - tent
pono, ponere, posui, positus - put up
sum, esse, fui - be
qui, quae, quod - who, which
e - out of
ramus, rami, m. - branch
frondeus, frondea, frondeum - leafy
facio, facere, feci, factus - make
casa, casae, f. - house
32 WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium
7
8
5
pars, partis, f. - some; part
ubi - when
pro - in place of
rigidus, rigida, rigidum - firm, sturdy
calamus, calami, m. - reed
statuo, statuere, statui, statutus - put up, set
up
columna, columnae, f. - column
desuper - over
extendo, extendere, extendi, extentus spread out
impono, imponere, imposui, impositus - put,
place
toga, togae, f. - toga
14. Study the vocabulary for lines 5-6. It’s often helpful to take some care over vocabulary study, not just having a
quick glance but thinking about each word and its meaning, especially when a piece of Latin (like lines 5-6 here)
contains a large number of unfamiliar words, or words with unfamiliar meanings. Whenever you can, relate the
words in the vocabulary to other Latin or English words that you know. If you study the vocabulary actively in
this way, you will find that the meanings of some or most of the words are still fixed in your mind when you look
at the text, so there is less need to keep looking from the text to the vocabulary and back again. For example, in
the vocabulary for line 5:
(i) sub Iove: the literal meaning is under Jupiter (sub is used with the ablative, and Iove is the ablative of
Iuppiter). How can under Jupiter come to mean in the open air? (Hint: if you’re in the open air and look up,
you will see one of the many things of which Jupiter was the god ....)
(ii) pars: you’ve often met this word with the meaning part. Why is it used here to indicate some and then
others of a crowd?
(iii) durat: link this word to the adjective durus, which you have often met (meaning hard and so rough or
tough, mentally or physically) and English words like “endurance” or “durable”.
(iv) tentoria: it is not difficult to see the connection between this word and its translation. But it is worth noticing
the related verb tendere, to stretch (perfect passive participle tentus, having been stretched, which is
what has been done to the tents’ canvas). Another word connected with tendere occurs in a few lines’ time.
(v) ponunt: you’ve often met ponere, to place (perfect tense posui, I placed) and when the people place
their tents, the natural English is they pitch them, or they put them up. There is another word connected
with ponere in a few lines’ time.
Obviously, you will not normally be able to study vocabulary in such a detailed way without guidance. But the
more carefully you study it, the more it will help you to make sense of the text.
15. Line 6 is difficult: a natural English translation is some build a leafy shelter from branches, while a literal
translation, showing how the words fit together, is there are those by whom a leaf-covered shelter is made from
branches. The line includes the word casa, which you may have met before with the translation little house or
cottage. Find two words, (one of them an adjective describing casa) which make it clear that the translation
shelter, given in the vocabulary, is more suitable than little house.
16. What word does Ovid use to suggest that the first of the three groups mentioned in lines 5-6 has an
uncomfortable time? What arrangements do the other two groups make to protect themselves from the weather
and have a little privacy?
17. (This question may be more suitable for discussion than for individual study.) Try to picture what the casa in line
6 might have looked like. A screen made of branches? A semi-circle of thick stakes stuck in the ground, with a
“roof” of branches laid over the top? A wigwam? (There is no “right answer” to this.)
18. Study the vocabulary for lines 7-8. Notice extentas, the perfect passive participle of extendere; Latin uses
tendere and extendere just as English uses stretch and stretch out. The English words "extent" and "extend"
may help you to remember the meaning.
Notice also imposuere. The infinitive of the verb is made up of in (meaning into or onto) + ponere (meaning to
place or to put, though you met it with a slightly different meaning in line 5). in + ponere = inponere, but if you
say inponere and imponere aloud quickly, you will see why the Romans preferred imponere.
imposuere is an alternative form of the 3rd person plural perfect, and means the same as imposuerunt:
portavere
audivere
= portaverunt
= audiverunt
= they have carried, they carried
= they have heard, they heard
imposuere = imposuerunt = they have put (something) onto (something else)
The -ere ending occurs in both prose and verse, but poets often found it more convenient than -erunt when
writing in accordance with the strict rules of Latin metre.
19. Read lines 7-8 (aloud if possible).
20. What has been driven into the ground by a fourth group of merrymakers (line 7)? It may be helpful to notice in
passing that these things must be rather thicker and stronger than you might expect from the English translation.
21. What are the calami compared to? In what way are they like the columnae of a house or temple? (Hint: what
job is done both by the calami and by the columnae?) How does Ovid's choice of words reflect the similarity?
(Hint: try saying both words aloud.)
22. Find the participle which describes togas (line 8). When the people have set the calami up, what two things
do they do to the togas? (The participle refers to the first thing they do and the verb refers to the second.) In
question 18, imposuere was translated as they have put (something) onto (something else); what did the
people put onto what? (Hint: the answer to the first “what ...?" is in line 8, but the answer to the second
"what ...?" was in line 7. It may again be helpful if you picture the scene.
23. Translate lines 5-8.
WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium 33
Ovid, How ordinary people enjoy a festival, lines 9-12
sole tamen vinoque calent annosque precantur,
quot sumant cyathos, ad numerumque bibunt;
invenies illic qui Nestoris ebibat annos,
quae sit per calices facta Sibylla suos.
9
10
sol, solis, m. - sun
tamen - however
vinum, vini, n. - wine
-que - and
caleo, calere, calui - be flushed, be warm
annus, anni, m. - year
-que - and
precor, precari, precatus sum - pray for
quot - as many as
sumo, sumere, sumpsi, sumptus - take
cyathus, cyathi, m. - serving of wine
ad - to
numerus, numeri, m. - a great number;
number
-que - and
bibo, bibere, bibi - drink
34 WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium
11
12
10
invenio, invenire, inveni, inventus - find
illic - there
qui, quae, quod - who, which
Nestor, Nestoris, m. - Nestor, a Homeric king
of great age
ebibo, ebibere, ebibi - drink
annus, anni, m. - year
qui, quae, quod - who, which
facio, facere, feci, factus - make
per - through
calix, calicis, m. - cup
facio, facere, feci, factus - make
Sibylla, Sibyllae, f. - Sibyl, a prophetess of
great age
suus, sua, suum - his, her, its own
24. Study the vocabulary for lines 9-12.
25. In line 9, what two things are the people warmed by? Might calent suggest anything else besides body
temperature? The vocabulary translation flushed, as well as the word vino, may give you a clue to one
possibility, and phrases like "on fire for" or the slang "have the hots for", together with line 4, may give you a clue
to another.
26. What case and number is annos? What does the poet mean when he says that the merrymakers pray for this?
What might be the connection between the goddess's names and the blessing that her worshippers pray for?
(Hint: what does the English word "perennial" mean?)
27. One translation of (tot) annos precantur, quot sumant cyathos (lines 9-10) is they pray for as many years as
they take cupfuls (i.e. of wine). These examples may help you to understand the meaning and remember the
translation:
ille miles tot praemia accepit quot hostes interfecit.
That soldier received as many rewards as he killed enemies.
(i.e. he received one reward for each killing)
A further example for you to try for yourself:
ille senex tot villas emit quot naves vendidit.
28. The exact meaning of ad numerum in line 10 is unclear; it could mean up to a large number or aiming at a
(large) number or keeping count of the number. The prayer in line 9 means that a man who drank 100 cyathi of
wine (1 cyathus = about 44 millilitres) would expect to live 100 years if Anna Perenna answered his prayer. How
much wine (in litres or pints) would he have drunk on this occasion?
29. Test your memory: what is the tense and translation of invenies (line 11)? (You met it in the previous extract
from Ovid.)
30. What, according to Ovid, is the person described in line 11 capable of doing? Explain in your own words what
Ovid means by this.
31. (eum) qui can be translated as (somebody) to and (invenies eam) quae (lines 11-12) can be rendered (you will
find somebody) to. The following note may help you to understand the meaning and remember the translation:
is qui (he who ...) can often be translated as the man who ...:
(is) qui cantat molestus est. (is is in brackets as it is often missed out)
The man who is singing is a pest.
The other cases of is, such as eum, can also be used with qui, to mean the man who ...:
(eum) qui cantat interficere volo. (eum is in brackets as it is often missed out)
I want to kill the man who is singing.
What would be the meaning of the feminine ea quae ..., eam quae ..., etc.?
Now compare these two examples:
(eum) facile invenies qui cantat. You will easily find the man who is singing.
(a particular man is meant, so the verb (cantat) is indicative)
(eum) facile invenies qui cantet. You will easily find the sort of man who sings.
or, You will easily find somebody to sing.
(no particular man is meant, so the verb (cantet) is subjunctive)
A further pair of examples for you to try for yourself, using the difference between indicative and subjunctive to
sort out a particular soldier from a type of soldier:
militem quaero qui numquam fugit.
militem quaero qui numquam fugiat.
32. Decide whether facta sit (from fio, I am made, I become, used as passive of facio) is indicative or subjunctive,
in order to select the correct translation of quae facta sit Sibylla (line 12) from the following pair:
(a) Somebody who has become a Sibyl
(b) Somebody to become a Sibyl
If you are stuck, another correct translation is: to be a Sibyl through her wine cups. Is it more like (a) or (b)?
33. What is meant by the old woman “becoming a Sibyl”? How will the calices enable her to achieve this? (Lines
9-10 may be helpful here.)
34. Translate lines 9-12.
WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium 35
Ovid, How ordinary people enjoy a festival, lines 13-18
illic et cantant quidquid didicere theatris,
et iactant faciles ad sua verba manus
et ducunt posito duras cratere choreas,
cultaque diffusis saltat amica comis.
cum redeunt, titubant et sunt spectacula vulgi,
et fortunatos obvia turba vocat.
13
14
15
16
illic - there
et - and
canto, cantare, cantavi - sing, chant
quidquid, n. - whatever
disco, discere, didici - learn
theatrum, theatri, n. - theatre
et - and
iacto, iactare, iactavi, iactatus - wave
facilis, facile - uninhibited
ad - to
suus, sua, suum - his, her, its own
verbum, verbi, n. - word
manus, manus, f. - hand, arm
et - and
duco, ducere, duxi, ductus - lead
pono, ponere, posui, positus, m. - put down
durus, dura, durum - clumsy
crater, crateris, m. - mixing bowl for wine
chorea, choreae, f. - dance
cultus, culta, cultum - elegant, smart, welldressed
36 WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium
15
17
18
-que - and
diffusus, diffusa, diffusum - let down, streaming
salto, saltare, saltavi - dance
amica, amicae, f. - girl, girl-friend
coma, comae, f. - hair
cum - when
redeo, redire, redii - return
titubo, titubare, titubavi - stagger
et - and
sum, esse, fui - be
spectaculum, spectaculi, n. - sight, spectacle
vulgus, vulgi, n. - public
et - and
fortunatus, fortunata, fortunatum - lucky,
blessed
obvius, obvia, obvium - along the route
turba, turbae, f. - crowd
voco, vocare, vocavi, vocatus - call
35. You have just read the four hardest lines in this selection of verse (lines 9-12), so now may be a good moment
to pause and consider your impressions so far of this lively festival. What details can you recall of sights, sounds
and behaviour? After testing your memory, you may like to look again at the text and check your grasp of the
Latin words that indicate (numbers refer to lines):
the cheerful relaxed atmosphere (1);
the river flowing nearby (2);
the grass and the clusters of groups (3) or pairs (4) spread out on it;
two sorts of shelter (5-6) and a group of tough folk who do without (5);
a makeshift gazebo (7-8);
the effects of sun and wine on the merrymakers (9);
people praying (but not as we know it?) (9);
drinking (4, 9-10) as much as possible, keeping the score (10).
36. If you can use the internet to find out who, and roughly how old, Nestor and the Sibyls were (particularly the
Sibyl at Cumae, who is probably the one Ovid has in mind here), it will be clear to you whether Ovid’s comments
on the capacity of the drinkers (11-12) are accurate or exaggerated. The links on Cambridge School Classics
Project website in the ‘Cambridge Latin Anthology’ area, via ‘Verse Selections’ and ‘otium’, under ‘Notes and
Cultural Background’, will be helpful. While looking at the website, you may be incidentally amused by their
visual comparison between Anna Perenna’s feast, (especially as described in 7-8) and ‘Tent city’.
37. Study the vocabulary for lines 13-18.
38. Read lines 13-18 (aloud if possible).
39. What do the people do in line 13? Where have they learnt the songs? Find an example of the 3rd person plural
of a verb's perfect tense ending in -ere and not in -erunt.
40. Is theatris dative plural or ablative plural, and how is it translated? (You met it with the same meaning in the
previous extract from Ovid; notice again that the ablative can be used, particularly in verse, with the meaning in
as well as by, with and from.)
41. Find the adjective describing manus in line 14. Both manus and the adjective have endings which could be
either nominative plural or accusative plural; use the rest of the sentence to decide which of the two cases they
are. What declension is manus?
42. What do the merrymakers do in line 14? As they do so, whose words do they sing? Does this contradict what
we were told in line 13? Is there any way in which both statements could be true? (There is no "right answer" to
this.)
43. What two things do the people do in line 15? What noun does duras describe, and what case and number are
the noun and adjective? What case are the other noun and adjective in line 15, and why?
44. (This question may be more suitable for discussion than for individual study.) Why is the mixing-bowl put down?
Is it being used as a marker, around which the people dance in a circle? Does it simply mean that they are
switching from boozing to dancing? (There is no "right answer" to this.)
45. What noun does culta (line 16) describe? What is she doing and what does Ovid say about her appearance?
Does the smart girl mean one particular smart girl, or does it refer to various smart girls at the festival, just as the
sentence "the clever student will see what I mean" isn't talking about just one student but about clever students
generally? (Hint: look at the number of the verb ducunt in the previous line.)
46. Where are the merry-makers going in line 17? What does Ovid say about their movement? Why do they move in
this way?
47. Which of these translations gives the most accurate literal translation of sunt spectacula vulgi, and which one
gives the clearest idea of what Ovid means?
(a) they are in sight of the crowd
(b) they make a public spectacle of themselves
(c) they are a sight for the crowd
(d) the crowd are a sight
48. Who call out to the returning merrymakers? What do they call them, and why do they call them this?
49. Translate lines 13-18.
50. Read the whole extract (aloud if possible) or listen to the audio.
51. The percentage of alcohol in ancient wine was never greater than 14% (because distillation had not been
discovered), and was often less. It was sometimes drunk neat but was more normally diluted, sometimes in as
high a proportion as 6 parts water to 1 part wine. However, spices may have increased its intoxicating effect.
WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium 37
Which word in line 15 indicates that the wine at Anna Perenna's festival was diluted, and which words in line 17
and (maybe) 15 indicate that some of those who took part were definitely drunk?
52. Read the whole extract (aloud if possible) or listen to the audio. If you can do both, i.e. read it yourself, then play
the audio, you may find this especially helpful in improving your grasp of the poem.
53. (This question may be more suitable for discussion than for individual study.) Some people have compared this
festival, as described by Ovid, to modern open-air rock festivals such as Glastonbury. What points of similarity
do you notice, and what differences?
54. (Study of the following point is not necessary for the exam: it is more suitable for advanced students but is
included because you may find it interesting.) A professional scholar has recently put forward a lively and
controversial theory about the festival of Anna Perenna. He pointed out three puzzling things about Ovid's
description:
(i) The toga (togas, line 8) was worn by the upper classes, but the festival is for the ordinary people (plebs,
line 3).
(ii) The most recent theatrical performances in Rome before Anna Perenna's festival were two months earlier,
in January. So Ovid seems to be saying that the people deliberately learnt the words of songs while they
were at the theatre (didicere theatris, line 13) retaining them in their memory and singing them (cantant)
two months later at the festival in March. But it does not sound a particularly likely or easy thing to do.
(iii) The girlfriend (amica, line 16) is described as culta (smart, well-dressed, even glamorous), which is a little
strange in a festival for ordinary folk, some of whom have been living rough (sub Iove pars durat, line 5).
The scholar's theory is that the girls are mimae, actresses who performed in coarse and often obscene mimes
in the theatres, and often led a double life as prostitutes. They have togas because that was their professional
"uniform" (the only women to wear togas were prostitutes), they dress up (culta) to add to their attractions, and
they give an outdoor performance of a mime, singing the songs they learnt (didicere) for the theatres, and then
make themselves available for sex. (The sex in line 4, accumbit cum pare quisque sua, could include both
regular and casual relationships.)
It would obviously be appropriate for the girls to perform stories about Anna Perenna herself. Ovid relates
two possible stories after the lines you have read. The first describes how, centuries before Ovid's lifetime, an
old woman called Anna Perenna provided food for the poorer people of Rome when they had gone on strike,
marched out of Rome and holed up on a hill in protest at their treatment by the rich (which is why her festival
was especially celebrated by the plebs). In the other story, Anna Perenna has become a goddess (an unusually
old one) and plays a trick on the god Mars, who is full of desire for the virgin goddess Minerva. Anna Perenna
tells Mars that she has fixed things with Minerva, who will come to meet him, veiled for secrecy, but when Mars
undresses the female who comes to him, he finds not Minerva but Anna Perenna herself. Such a story could
very easily be turned into a knockabout mime.
38 WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium
Notes
WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium 39
Pliny, Letters III.5, A day in the life of Pliny the Elder, lines 1-8
ante lucem ibat ad Vespasianum imperatorem (nam ille
quoque noctibus utebatur), deinde ad officium sibi
delegatum. reversus domum reliquum tempus studiis
dabat. saepe post cibum (qui veterum more interdiu levis
et facilis erat) aestate, si quid otii erat, iacebat in sole, liber
legebatur, adnotabat excerpebatque. nihil enim legit quod
non excerperet; dicere etiam solebat nullum librum esse
tam malum ut non aliqua parte prodesset.
1
2
3
4
5
ante - before
lux, lucis, f. - dawn
eo, ire, ii - go
ad - to
Vespasianus, Vespasiani, m. - Vespasian,
the emperor
imperator, imperatoris, m. - Emperor
nam - for
ille, illa, illud, m. - he, she, it
quoque - also
nox, noctis, f. - night
utor, uti, usus sum + abl. - make use of
deinde - then
ad - to
officium, officii, n. - duty
se - himself, herself, itself
delego, delegare, delegavi, delegatus - assign
revertor, reverti, reversus sum - return
domus, domus, f. - home
reliquus, reliqua, reliquum - remaining
tempus, temporis, n. - time
studium, studii, n. - study
do, dare, dedi, datus - devote, give
saepe - often
post - after
cibus, cibi, m. - breakfast; food
qui, quae, quod - who, which
veteres, veterum, m. - forefathers
mos, moris, m. - manner, custom
interdiu - during the day
levis, leve - light
et - and
facilis, facile - easily digested; easy
sum, esse, fui - be
aestas, aestatis, f. - summer
40 WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium
6
7
8
5
si - if
quis, quid - any; anyone, anything
otium, otii, n. - leisure time
sum, esse, fui - be
iaceo, iacere, iacui - lie
in - in
sol, solis, m. - sun
liber, libri, m. - book
lego, legere, legi, lectus - read
adnoto, adnotare, adnotavi, adnotatus make notes
excerpo, excerpere, excerpsi, excerptus take extracts
-que - and
nihil, n. - nothing
enim - for
lego, legere, legi, lectus - read
qui, quae, quod - who, which
non - not
excerpo, excerpere, excerpsi, excerptus take extracts
dico, dicere, dixi, dictus - say
etiam - indeed
soleo, solere, solitus sum - be used, be
accustomed
nullus, nulla, nullum - no
liber, libri, m. - book
sum, esse, fui - be
tam - so
malus, mala, malum - bad
ut - that
non - not
aliqui, aliqua, aliquod - some
pars, partis, f. - part
prosum, prodesse, profui - be useful
1.
Spend a minute or two thinking of times when something like a big sports event, exam or performance can
dominate your life for a time, so that your whole way of living is geared to preparing for it (practising for hours,
missing meals, going without sleep, etc.). Then imagine the same thing on a bigger scale; think of the life-style
of some real or imaginary person whose need to achieve something, often by competing with others, completely
takes over his or her life. For example, an international sports player normally spends a vast number of hours
training; a medical researcher might spend every possible moment in his laboratory if he's getting near to a
cure for a disease; a pianist, actor or singer might spend so much time practising that he or she stops leading a
normal life, because of his or her determination to become a great and famous performer.
2.
Next think about people who lead a very busy life with work or family or both, but still throw themselves into
some "spare-time" activity as energetically as the people in question 1. The man described in the following
extract was that sort of person. He is known as Pliny the Elder, described here in a letter written by his nephew
Pliny the Younger. The elder Pliny served in the army, was governor of a number of provinces and was finally
in charge of a Roman fleet on the bay of Naples, but still had enough time and energy for a continual search for
knowledge. He wrote the results of his search in numerous books, of which only his Natural History (in 37
volumes!) exists today. It is a kind of one-man Encyclopaedia Britannica or Wikipedia. Although this extract from
the younger Pliny's letter mostly describes the way his uncle learnt things out of books, Pliny the Elder also liked
to investigate things for himself, and this eventually led to his death. If you do not already know what killed him,
a translation of his nephew's famous account of his death can be found in the ‘Cambridge Latin Anthology’ area
(but not the ‘Public Examinations’ area) of the CSCP website under ‘avunculus meus’.
3.
Page 124 of the Cambridge Latin Anthology shows a 15th-century artist's idea of the elder Pliny. His left hand is
appropriately clutching a book, but you may be able to recall how very different a "book" would have looked in
Pliny the Elder's day.
4.
Study the vocabulary for lines 1-8 (up to prosum).
5.
Read lines 1-4, aloud if possible, up to dabat.
6.
In line 1, who did Pliny the Elder visit? How early? What name was given to a morning call of this kind, often
made by clients to patrons but not as early as this?
7. What did the Emperor make use of for the purpose of work (line 2)?
8. What is the point of quoque?
(a) Vespasian used the night-time as well as the day-time
(b) Vespasian was like the elder Pliny; they both worked at night
9. Where did Pliny the Elder go next (lines 2-3)? Find the perfect passive participle; what noun is it describing? His
responsibility for organising the fleet, mentioned in question 2, was carried out partly on the spot, on the bay of
Naples, but partly at Rome; this may be the job referred to here.
10. What case is reliquum tempus (line 3)? Why do the two words have different endings? (Hint: what declension
does tempus belong to? What is its gender?)
11. Translate lines 1-4 (up to dabat).
12. Read lines 4-8, aloud if possible (from saepe to prodesset).
13. Find and translate the two words in lines 4-5 describing the food which the elder Pliny took during the day. Find
and translate the phrase which indicates that he was following an example.
14. What did Pliny the Elder generally like to do in summer after having a snack? (line 5)?
15. What phrase in line 5 shows that the elder Pliny was not totally free to do what he liked? What is the Latin for
business? (Hint: the Romans regarded business as non-leisure.)
16. What was done while Pliny the Elder was sunbathing (lines 5-6)? Who do you imagine was doing this? What did
the elder Pliny do while this was going on?
17. The Romans wrote on scrolls (volumina, plural of volumen) or wax tablets (cerae or pugillares), amongst
other things. What did cerae look like? Would the elder Pliny be more likely to use cerae, or a volumen, to jot
down his notes? Which of the two would the reader read from?
18. According to lines 6-7, from which of the books that he read did the elder Pliny take notes?
(a) None of them
(b) Some of them
(c) All of them
What reason did he give (lines 7-8) for doing this?
19. Translate lines 4-8 (from saepe to prodesset).
WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium 41
Pliny, A day in the life of Pliny the Elder, lines 8-12
post solem
plerumque aqua frigida lavabatur, deinde gustabat
dormiebatque minimum; mox quasi alio die studebat in
cenae tempus. super cenam liber legebatur adnotabatur, et
quidem cursim.
8
9
10
post - after
sol, solis, m. - sun
plerumque - usually, generally
aqua, aquae, f. - water
frigidus, frigida, frigidum - cold
lavo, lavare, lavi, lautus - wash
deinde - then
gusto, gustare, gustavi - have a snack
dormio, dormire, dormivi - sleep
-que - and
minimum - a very little
mox - soon
quasi - as though
alius, alia, aliud - another
42 WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium
11
12
10
dies, diei, m. - day
studeo, studere, studui - study
in - until
cena, cenae, f. - dinner
tempus, temporis, n. - time
super - over
cena, cenae, f. - dinner
liber, libri, m. - book
lego, legere, legi, lectus - read
adnoto, adnotare, adnotavi, adnotatus make notes
et - and
quidem - indeed
cursim - quickly
20. Study the vocabulary for lines 8-12 (from post to cursim).
21. Read lines 8-12, aloud if possible (from post to cursim).
22. What was the first thing Pliny the Elder usually did after sunbathing (line 9)?
23. What were his next three activities, and when did the last activity stop (lines 9-11)?
24. Find and translate the three words in line 10 in which the younger Pliny says that after his uncle had had a short
nap he seemed to start his day all over again.
25. What was done during the meal (lines 11-12)? What aspect of this activity seems to have specially impressed
the younger Pliny? Find the word that tells you this.
26. Translate lines 8-12 (from post solem to cursim).
27. Re-arrange the following activities of Pliny the Elder into the correct order as given in lines 1-12:
(i) (Usually) Cold bath
(ii)
2nd study session
(iii) Nap
(iv) Visit emperor
(v) 2nd light snack
(vi) (Summer only) Work permitting, sunbathe, listen to reading, make notes
(vii) 1st light snack
(viii) Carry out duties
(ix) Return home
(x) Dinner (accompanied by reading and note-taking)
(xi) 1st study session
Rather than writing everything out in full, jot down (in the correct order) the Roman numeral that belongs to each
activity.
28. Are any items in the elder Pliny's daily routine still a regular feature in the present day, not so much in Britain as
in southern European countries? (Hint: see lines 5 and 10.)
WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium 43
Pliny, A day in the life of Pliny the Elder, lines 13-16
haec inter medios labores urbisque fremitum. in secessu
solum balinei tempus studiis eximebatur (cum dico ‘balinei’,
de interioribus loquor; nam dum destringitur tergiturque,
audiebat aliquid aut dictabat).
13
14
hic, haec, hoc - this
inter - in, among, between
medius, media, medium - middle
labor, laboris, m. - chore, toil
urbs, urbis, f. - city
-que - and
fremitus, fremitus, m. - bustle
in - on
secessus, secessus, m. - retreat
solus, sola, solum - only
balineum, balinei, n. - the baths
tempus, temporis, n. - time
studium, studii, n. - study
eximo, eximere, exemi, exemptus - take away
cum - when
44 WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium
15
16
15
dico, dicere, dixi, dictus - say
balineum, balinei, n. - the baths
de - about
interior, interius - inner room; inner
loquor, loqui, locutus sum - talk
nam - for
dum - while
destringo, destringere, destrinxi, destrictus scrape
tergo, tergere, tersi, tersus - dry
-que - and
audio, audire, audivi, auditus - listen
aliquis, aliquid - someone, something
aut - or
dicto, dictare, dictavi, dictatus - dictate
29. Study the vocabulary for lines 13-16 (up to dicto).
30. Read lines 13-16, aloud if possible (up to dictabat).
31. What comment does Pliny the Younger make in line 13 about the conditions in which his uncle carried on his
studies when he was in Rome?
32. When the elder Pliny was away from Rome, he had more time for study. In fact, when he was in the country,
what was the only time that his studies were interrupted, according to line 14?
33. What had interrupted the elder Pliny’s studies in Rome but did not do so in the country? (Hint: look back at line
13.)
34. Is there a way of translating eximebatur (line 14) which improves on the vocabulary translation was taken away
from ...? Would was exempt from ... be better? Or was not spent on ...? Can you suggest a translation of your
own which would make clear exactly what the younger Pliny means?
35. In what part of the baths was study impossible even for Pliny the Elder? Why do you suppose this was?
36. In the other part of the baths, what was he able to do, and what two things were being done to him while this
was going on? From your background knowledge, say how oleum and a strigil were used in this process.
37. Translate lines 13-16 (up to dictabat).
WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium 45
Pliny, A day in the life of Pliny the Elder, lines 16-20
in itinere quasi solutus
ceteris curis, huic uni vacabat: ad latus notarius cum libro et
pugillaribus, cuius manus hieme manicis muniebantur, ut
ne caeli quidem asperitas ullum studii tempus eriperet;
qua ex causa Romae quoque sella vehebatur.
16
17
18
in - on
iter, itineris, n. - journey
quasi - as though
solvo, solvere, solvi, solutus - free
ceteri, ceterae, cetera, - other
cura, curae - care, trouble, responsibility
hic, haec, hoc - this
unus, una, unum - one
vaco, vacare, vacavi + dat. - be free for
ad - at
latus, lateris, n. - side
notarius, notarii, m. - secretary
cum - with
liber, libri, m. - book
et - and
pugillares, pugillarium, m. - writing tablets
qui, quae, quod - who, which
manus, manus, f. - hand
hiems, hiemis, f. - winter
46 WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium
19
20
20
manicae, manicarum, f. - gloves
munio, munire, munivi, munitus - protect
ut - so that
ne ... quidem - not even
caelum, caeli, n. - weather
ne ... quidem - not even
asperitas, asperitatis, f. - harshness
ullus, ulla, ullum - any
studium, studii, n. - study
tempus, temporis, n. - time
eripio, eripere, eripui, ereptus - take away,
steal
qui, quae, quod - that; who, which
ex - for
causa, causae, f. - reason
Roma, Romae, f. - Rome
quoque - too, also
sella, sellae, f. - litter
veho, vehere, vexi, vectum - carry
38. Study the vocabulary for lines 16-20 (from in to veho).
39. Read lines 16-20, aloud if possible (from in to vehebatur).
40. Should in itinere (line 16) be translated as on the journey or on a journey or even on any journey? (Hint: has a
journey been mentioned already in this paragraph? If so, the will be the right translation.)
41. What did the elder Pliny seem free from, when travelling? Is this understandable? Why might a traveller
nowadays have a similar feeling, especially if he or she has switched off his or her mobile phone?
42. What was the haec una (cura) (line 17) on which Pliny the Elder was able to concentrate when travelling?
43. Who was at his side on journeys, and what did that person carry (lines 17-18)?
44. How was the secretary able to carry out his task, even in winter (line 18)?
45. What case is caeli (line 19)? What case and gender is tempus? (Hint: you met it in the same case in lines 3
and11.)
46. What was the purpose of the gloves, as stated in line 19?
47. Notice that the relative pronoun qui is often used where English uses a pronoun like "he" or "she", or an
adjective like "this" or "those":
in agros fur fugit. cuius vestigia tamen celeriter conspexi.
The thief fled into the fields. However, I soon spotted his footprints.
(Literal translation of the second sentence: Whose footprints however I soon spotted.)
in flumine crocodilus natabat. quem crocodilum servi statim petiverunt.
In the river a crocodile was swimming. The slaves at once attacked this crocodile.
(Literal translation of the second sentence: Which crocodile the slaves at once attacked.)
Choose the most natural translation of qua ex causa (line 20):
(a) which from reason
(b) for this reason
(c) out of which cause
(d) from which cause
48. What is the point of quoque (line 20)?
(a) The elder Pliny travelled in a chair when he was in Rome as well as when he was on a journey
(b) The elder Pliny, as well as his secretary, travelled in a chair
(Compare this with the way quoque was used in line 2 and discussed in question 8.)
49. Translate lines 16-20 (from in to vehebatur).
WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium 47
Pliny, A day in the life of Pliny the Elder, lines 20-23
repeto
me correptum ab eo, quod ambularem: ‘poteras’ inquit
‘has horas non perdere’; nam perire omne tempus
arbitrabatur, quod studiis non impenderetur. vale.
20
21
22
repeto, repetere, repetivi, repetitus remember
ego, mei - I, me
corripio, corripere, corripui, correptus - scold,
tell off (supply ‘esse’)
ab - by
is, ea, id, m. - he, she, it
quod - because
ambulo, ambulare, ambulavi - walk
possum, posse, potui - be able
inquit - he said
hic, haec, hoc - this
hora, horae, f. - hour
non - not
48 WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium
23
20
perdo, perdere, perdidi, perditus - waste
nam - for
pereo, perire, perii - be wasted
omnis, omne - all
tempus, temporis, n. - time
arbitror, arbitrari, arbitratus sum - believe,
think
qui, quae, quod - who, which
studium, studii, n. - study
non - not
impendo, impendere, impendi, impensus spend, devote
vale - goodbye, farewell
50. Study the vocabulary for lines 20-23 (from repeto to the end).
51. Read lines 20-23 (from repeto to the end).
52. What does the younger Pliny remember (lines 20-21)?
53. Why did his uncle scold him (line 21)?
54. What did his uncle say he could have avoided or achieved by being carried instead of walking (lines 21-22)?
55. What opinion did he have about spending time (lines 22-23), which caused him to use the word perdere (line
22) in scolding his nephew?
56. Translate lines 20-23 (from repeto to the end).
57. Listen to the audio of the extract.
58. (This question may be more suitable for discussion than for individual study.) Do you agree with the elder Pliny's
view (lines 7-8) that there is no such thing as a totally useless book?
59. (This question is more suitable for discussion than for individual study.) What are your own views about Pliny the
Elder and his lifestyle? Here is a range of opinion to get you started:
(a) He did his own thing: good luck to him
(b) He needed to get a life
(c) It wouldn't have suited me but I'm not him
(d) He missed out on a lot
(e) He can't possibly have enjoyed a life like that
(a), (b), (c), (d) and (e) do not consist of one "right" answer and four "wrong" ones. The important thing is that
you should work out your own opinion. Back up your opinion whenever possible by pointing to information in the
Latin text.
WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium 49
Pliny, Letters III.24, Ummidia Quadratilla, lines 1-4
Ummidia Quadratilla paulo minus octogensimo aetatis
anno decessit; erat femina usque ad novissimum morbum
viridis, cuius corpus compactum et robustum erat, ultra
matronalem modum.
1
2
Ummidia, Ummidiae, f. - Ummidia
Quadratilla, friend of Pliny the Younger
Quadratilla, Quadratillae, f. - Ummidia
Quadratilla, friend of Pliny the Younger
paulo - a little
minus - less
octogensimus, octogensima, octogensimum
- eightieth
aetas, aetatis, f. - life
annus, anni, m. - year
decedo, decedere, decessi - die
sum, esse, fui - be
femina, feminae, f. - woman
usque - right up
50 WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium
3
4
ad - to
novissimus, novissima, novissimum - last
morbus, morbi, m. - illness
viridis, viride - vigorous
qui, quae, quod - who
corpus, corporis, n. - body
compactus, compacta, compactum - strong
et - and
robustus, robusta, robustum - sturdy
sum, esse, fui - be
ultra - beyond
matronalis, matronale - female, of a woman
modus, modi, m. - measure
1.
Study the vocabulary for lines 1-4 (up to modum).
2.
Read lines 1-4 (up to modum) (aloud if possible) or listen to the audio on the CSCP website.
3.
How old was Ummidia Quadratilla when she died? (This is not quite such a straightforward question as it looks.)
4.
For how long did she remain generally vigorous and healthy?
5.
If you have read the extract from Ovid's How ordinary people enjoy a festival, what is the connection between
the meaning of viridis in line 3 of the Ovid extract and its meaning in line 3 here?
6.
From what you know of Roman life, suggest a reason why it would be very common for a married woman - even
an upper-class woman like Ummidia, let alone a poor one - to have stopped having a corpus compactum et
robustum (line 3) long before she had reached the age of Ummidia.
7.
Translate the heading and lines 1-4 (up to modum).
WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium 51
Pliny, Ummidia Quadratilla, lines 5-12
testamentum eius erat optimum: reliquit heredes ex
besse nepotem, ex tertia parte neptem. neptem vix novi,
nepotem familiarissime diligo, iuvenem singularem quem
etiam ei quos sanguine non attingit tamquam propinquum
amant. nam primum, quamquam pulcherrimus erat, et
puer et iuvenis omnes sermones malignorum vitavit; deinde
intra quartum et vicensimum annum maritus fuit et, si deus
adnuisset, fuisset pater.
5
6
7
8
testamentum, testamenti, n. - will
is, ea, id - he, she, it
sum, esse, fui - be
optimus, optima, optimum - excellent, very
good
relinquo, relinquere, reliqui, relictus - leave
heres, heredis, m. - heir
ex - inheriting; out of
bes, bessis, m. - two-thirds
nepos, nepotis, m. - grandson
ex - inheriting; out of
tertius, tertia, tertium - third
pars, partis, f. - part
neptis, neptis, f. - granddaughter
neptis, neptis, f. - granddaughter
vix - scarcely
novi, novisse - know
nepos, nepotis, m. - grandson
familiariter - closely
diligo, diligere, dilexi, dilectus - be fond of,
love
iuvenis, iuvenis, m. - young man
singularis, singulare - remarkable
qui, quae, quod - who
etiam - even
is, ea, id - he, she, it
qui, quae, quod - who
sanguis, sanguinis, m. - blood
non - not
attingo, attingere, attigi - be related to
52 WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium
9
10
11
12
5
10
tamquam - as
propinquus, propinqui, m. - relation, relative
amo, amare, amavi, amatus - love
nam - for primum firstly quamquam although
pulcher, pulchra, pulchrum - handsome
sum, esse, fui - be
et ... et - both ... and
puer, pueri, m. - boy
et ... et - both ... and
iuvenis, iuvenis, m. - young man
omnis, omne - all
sermo, sermonis, m. - gossip
malignus, maligna, malignum - spiteful
vito, vitare, vitavi, vitatus - avoid
deinde - then
intra - in, during
quartum et vicensimum - twenty-fourth
annus, anni, m. - year
maritus, mariti, m. - husband
sum, esse, fui - be
et - and
si - if
deus, dei, m. - god
adnuo, adnuere, adnui, adnutus - assent,
approve, grant
sum, esse, fui - be
pater, patris, m. - father
8.
Study the vocabulary for lines 5-12.
9.
Read lines 5-12 (aloud if possible).
10. What is the first thing Pliny says about Ummidia's will (line 5)? You may be able to think of possible reasons
why he describes the will in this way. (He does not give the full explanation of his remark until much later in the
letter.)
11. How many heirs has she left behind her (lines 5-6)? Who are they, and what do they get in the will?
12. What case is heredes (line 5)? (Bear in mind that if it is nominative plural, the verb will be plural too.) Notice
that this rules out the tempting translation She left something to her heirs - this would need the dative plural
heredibus. Pliny is saying something rather different: when she departed from life, she left the grandchildren
behind her.
13. How well does Pliny know Ummidia's (a) granddaughter (b) grandson (lines 6-7)?
14. Translate the noun-and-adjective phrase which Pliny uses to describe the nepotem (line 7).
15. Study these examples, which become gradually more complicated until they end with Pliny's words quem ...
amant in lines 7-9:
omnes cives eum amant.
All the citizens love him.
iuvenem, quem omnes cives amant
a young man, whom all the citizens love
iuvenem, quem omnes cives tamquam propinquum amant
a young man, whom all the citizens love as if he were a relation
iuvenem, quem etiam alieni (strangers) tamquam propinquum amant
a young man, whom even strangers love as if he were a relation
iuvenem, quem etiam ei quos raro videt tamquam propinquum amant
translated literally:
a young man, whom even those whom he rarely sees love as if he were a relation
or in slightly more natural English:
a young man, who is loved as if he were a relation even by those whom he rarely sees
Now translate Pliny's words:
iuvenem, quem etiam ei quos sanguine non attingit tamquam propinquum amant
If you find sanguine difficult, check that you know its case.
If you translate the sentence literally, you may feel you can make the meaning clearer by underlining one
particular word in the following group: as if he were a relation.
16. What does Pliny say (line 9) about the appearance of Quadratus (the grandson)?
17. What case and number are sermones and malignorum (line 10)? What does Pliny say Quadratus avoided?
What are the two stages of Quadratus' life during which he avoided this?
18. What does Pliny mean by omnes sermones malignorum vitavit?
(a) Quadratus did not take part in spiteful gossip
(b) Quadratus was not the sort of person that people gossiped about
19. Why is Pliny's comment quamquam pulcherrimus erat (line 9) relevant to his next comment (line 10) about the
lack of scandal involving Quadratus?
20. What is Pliny's next reason for praising Quadratus (line 11)? How old was Quadratus when this happened? Did
he become a father (lines 11-12)? What does Pliny say about the god?
21. (This question may be more suitable for discussion than for individual study.) Pliny's use of the word nam (line
9) shows he believes that the facts stated in lines 10-12 are reasons for Quadratus' popularity (lines 8-9). Why
should he think this? (There is no "official right answer" to this.)
22. Translate lines 5-12.
WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium 53
Pliny, Ummidia Quadratilla, lines 13-16
vixit apud aviam delicatam severissime et tamen
obsequentissime. habebat illa pantomimos fovebatque,
effusius quam decorum erat feminae nobili. hos Quadratus
non in theatro, non domi spectabat, nec illa postulabat.
13
14
15
vivo, vivere, vixi - live
apud - with, at the house of
avia, aviae, f. - grandmother
delicatus, delicata, delicatum - luxury-loving
severe - austerely
et - and
tamen - yet
obsequenter - obediently
habeo, habere, habui, habitus - have
ille, illa, illud - he, she, it
pantomimus, pantomimi, m. - pantomime
actor
foveo, fovere, fovi, fotus - dote
-que - and
effuse - extravagantly
quam - than
decorus, decora, decorum - right, proper
54 WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium
16
15
sum, esse, fui - be
femina, feminae, f. - woman
nobilis, nobile - noble, of noble birth
hic, haec, hoc - this
Quadratus, Quadrati, m. - Quadratus,
Quadratilla’s grandson
non ... non - neither ... nor
in - in
theatrum, theatri, n. - theatre
non ... non - neither ... nor
domus, domi, f. - home
specto, spectare, spectavi, spectatus - watch
nec - and not
ille, illa, illud - he, she, it
postulo, postulare, postulavi, postulatus insist, demand
23. Study the vocabulary for lines 13-16.
24. Read lines 13-16 up to postulabat (aloud if possible).
25. Where did Quadratus live (line 13)? How does Pliny describe Ummidia? How does he describe Quadratus' lifestyle (lines 13-14)?
26. Which two words are placed next to each other in line 13 and make it surprising at first sight that Quadratus' lifestyle should be described as very obedient to his grandmother? Does this suggest that Ummidia insisted that
her grandson should have the same lifestyle as herself?
27. What group of people did Ummidia own (line 14)? What is Pliny's comment on the way she treated them?
28. What are the case, number and gender of hos (line 15)? Who does hos refer to?
29. Where did Quadratus watch these people (line 16)?
(a) In the theatre
(b) At his grandmother's house
(c) At neither of these places
(d) At both these places
30. What was Ummidia's attitude to this, according to line 16?
(a) She insisted that he watch the performance
(b) She insisted that he did not watch the performance
(c) She didn't insist either way
31. Translate lines 13-16 (up to postulabat).
WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium 55
Pliny, Ummidia Quadratilla, lines 16-22
cum
studia nepotis sui mihi mandaret, dixit se solere, ut feminam
in illo otio sexus, laxare animum lusu calculorum, solere
spectare pantomimos suos, sed cum factura esset alterutrum,
semper se nepoti suo imperavisse ut abiret studeretque;
quod mihi non solum amore facere sed etiam reverentia
videbatur.
16
17
18
19
cum - when
studium, studii, n. - study nepos,
nepotis, m. - grandson suus, sua,
suum - his, her, its own ego, mei me
mando, mandare, mandavi, mandatus entrust
dico, dicere, dixi, dictus - say
se - himself, herself, itself
soleo, solere, solitus sum - be accustomed
ut - as
femina, feminae, f. - woman
in - with, in
ille, illa, illud - that
otium, otii, n. - leisure
sexus, sexus, m. - sex
laxo, laxare, laxavi, laxatus - relax
animus, animi, m. - mind
lusus, lusus, m. - game
calculi, calculorum, m. - draughts
soleo, solere, solitus sum - be accustomed
specto, spectare, spectavi, spectatus - watch
pantomimus, pantomimi, m. - pantomime
actor
56 WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium
20
21
22
20
suus, sua, suum - his, her, its own
sed - but
cum - when
facio, facere, feci, factus - do
sum, esse, fui - be
alteruter, alterutra, alterutrum - either of the
two
semper - always
se - himself, herself, itself nepos,
nepotis, m. - grandson suus, sua,
suum - his, her, its own
impero, imperare, imperavi + dat. - order
ut - to
abeo, abire, abii - go away
studeo, studere, studui - study
-que - and
qui, quae, quod - which
ego, mei - I
non solum ... sed etiam - not only ... but also
amor, amoris, m. - love
facio, facere, feci, factus - do
non solum ... sed etiam - not only ... but also
reverentia, reverentiae, f. - respect
videor, videri, visus sum - seem
32. Study the vocabulary for lines 16-22.
33. Read lines 16-22 from cum to videbatur (aloud if possible).
34. Explain in your own words what Ummidia was asking Pliny to do (lines 16-17), when she made the statement
reported in lines 17-20. (studia in Quadratus' case involved not only study of Roman law but observation of the
way it was practised in the courts, before he took his own first steps as a barrister - all this under the guidance of
Pliny, who had a very distinguished career in the courts.)
35. (This question may be more suitable for discussion than for individual study.) One translation of ut feminam in
illo otio sexus (lines 17-18) is as was natural for a woman with typically nothing to do. A more literal translation
is as a woman in that leisure of her sex. Another wordier translation might be as was natural for a woman during
those hours of leisure which the female sex enjoys. You may be able to think of a better translation for yourself;
aim at making Pliny's meaning as clear as possible.
36. Do you think Pliny's comment about women's leisure-time in lines 17-18 was true of most Roman women?
37. Can you suggest reasons why some Roman women, like Ummidia, did indeed have a lot of spare time?
38. What two things did Ummidia say she was accustomed to do in order to pass the time (lines 18-19)?
39. What tense is the participle factura (line 19), and what are the two activities referred to by alterutrum?
40. What did Ummidia tell Pliny (line 20) she had always done to her grandson when she was about to watch her
pantomime actors or play draughts?
41. Check that you know the meaning of the verb videor (infinitive videri). It is the passive of video (I see) but
usually means not I am seen but something else. What would the following two sentences mean?
servus laborabat.
servus laborare videbatur.
42. If you have studied Pliny's letter about his uncle's daily life, you may remember the phrase qua ex causa,
meaning literally for which reason but translated more naturally as for this reason. Look at the following
translations of quod mihi facere videbatur (part of lines 21-22). Which is the literal translation and which is the
more natural one?
(a) She seemed to me to be doing this ...
(b) which she seemed to me to be doing ...
43. Whether you translate quod in line 21 as this or which, what action of Ummidia (described in line 20) does quod
refer to?
44. According to lines 21-22, what two feelings towards her grandson apparently caused Ummidia to treat him in the
way described in line 21?
45. Translate lines 16-22 (from cum to videbatur).
46. (This question may be more suitable for discussion than for individual study.) It may seem puzzling that Pliny
uses amor and reverentia to explain why Ummidia sent her grandson out of the room whenever entertainment
or games were going to take place. Grandmothers don’t often behave like that to their grandchildren. Can
you suggest a reason for Ummidia’s action? Quadratus’ future career? The Roman laws on gambling? The
difference between upper-class social life in the reign of Nero (when Ummidia was young) and life at the time of
this letter, under the Emperor Trajan? You may be able to find helpful links on one or more of these topics.
47. Listen to the audio of lines 5-22.
WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium 57
Pliny, Ummidia Quadratilla, lines 23-26
miraberis, et ego miratus sum: proximis sacerdotalibus
ludis, productis in commissione pantomimis, cum simul
ego et Quadratus theatro egrederemur, dixit mihi: ‘scisne
me hodie primum vidisse saltantem aviae meae libertum?’
23
24
miror, mirari, miratus sum - be amazed
et - and
ego, mei - I
miror, mirari, miratus sum - be amazed
proximus, proxima, proximum - most recent
sacerdotalis, sacerdotale - sacerdotal, given
by priests
ludi, ludorum, m. - games, drama
competitions
produco, producere, produxi, productus enter (for a contest)
in - in
commissio, commissionis, f. - opening event
pantomimus, pantomimi, m. - pantomime
actor
cum - when
simul - together
58 WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium
25
26
25
ego, mei - I
et - and
Quadratus, Quadrati, m. - Quadratus,
Quadratilla’s grandson
theatrum, theatri, n. - theatre
egredior, egredi, egressus sum - leave
dico, dicere, dixi, dictus - say
ego, mei - I
scio, scire, scivi - know
ego, mei - I
hodie - today
primum - the first time
video, videre, vidi, visus - see
salto, saltare, saltavi - dance
avia, aviae, f. - grandmother
meus, mea, meum - my
libertus, liberti, m. - freedman
48. Study the vocabulary for lines 23-26.
49. Read lines 23-26 (aloud if possible).
50. How does Pliny think Geminus (to whom this letter is addressed) will react to the incident Pliny is about to relate
(line 23)? What was Pliny's own reaction at the time?
51. When did the incident take place (lines 23-24)?
52. How were Ummidia's pantomime actors involved in this event (line 24)?
53. What were Pliny and Quadratus doing when Quadratus made a comment to Pliny (lines 24-25)?
54. Translate scisne (line 25). It leads into an indirect statement, for which an accusative (me, line 26) and an
infinitive are used. Find the infinitive; what tense is it?
55. Translate scisne me vidisse.
56. Who does Quadratus say that he has seen, and what had that person been doing?
57. What is the point of hodie primum?
(a) Quadratus says that today he was the first person to see a particular performance
(b) Quadratus says that the first thing he did today was to see a particular performance
(c) Quadratus says that today was the first time he has seen a particular performance
58. Translate lines 23-26.
WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium 59
Pliny, Ummidia Quadratilla, lines 27-32
hoc nepos. at hercle alienissimi homines in honorem
Quadratillae (pudet me dixisse honorem) adulatione in
theatrum cursitabant exsultabant plaudebant mirabantur:
deinde singulos gestus dominae cum canticis reddebant;
qui nunc minima legata pro praemio accipient ab herede,
qui eos numquam spectabat. vale.
27
28
29
hic, haec, hoc - this
nepos, nepotis, m. - grandson
at - but
hercle! - by Hercules!
alienus, aliena, alienum - unknown, strange;
alienissimi homines: complete strangers
homo, hominis, m. - man; alienissimi
homines: complete strangers
in - in
honor, honoris, m. - honour
Quadratilla, Quadratillae, f. - Ummidia
Quadratilla, friend of Pliny the Younger
pudet, pudere, puduit - shame
ego, mei - I
dico, dicere, dixi, dictus - say
honor, honoris, m. - honour
adulatio, adulationis, f. - flattery
in - into
theatrum, theatri, n. - theatre
cursito, cursitare, cursitavi - stream
exsulto, exsultare, exsultavi - prance about
plaudo, plaudere, plausi, plausus - clap,
applaud
60 WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium
30
31
32
30
miror, mirari, miratus sum - admire
deinde - then
singulus, singula, singulum - all
gestus, gestus, m. - gesture
domina, dominae, f. - mistress
cum - with
canticum, cantici, n. - song
reddo, reddere, reddidi, redditus - copy; give
back
qui, quae, quod - who
nunc - now
minimus, minima, minimum - very small
legatum, legati, n. - legacy, bequest
pro - as
praemium, praemii, n. - reward
accipio, accipere, accepi, acceptus - receive
ab - from
heres, heredis, m. - heir
qui, quae, quod - who
is, ea, id - he, she, it
numquam - never
specto, spectare, spectavi, spectatus - watch
vale - goodbye, farewell
59. Study the vocabulary for lines 27-32.
60. Read lines 27-32 (aloud if possible).
61. Which of these translations of hoc nepos (line 27) is literally correct, and which translation brings out Pliny's
meaning most clearly? (Bear in mind Quadratus' question to Pliny in lines 25-26 and that hoc nepos = hoc
nepos dixit.)
(a) This grandson spoke.
(b) It was her own grandson that said this.
(c) The grandson said this.
62. Study the vocabulary translation of alienissimi homines (line 27); who are they being contrasted with?
63. Look ahead to the end of line 28 (in) and the whole of line 29. What does Pliny say the complete strangers were
repeatedly doing? To imagine the atmosphere you may find it helpful to think of a large football crowd whose
team has just scored, or the fans' reaction when a star performer comes onstage at a concert.
64. According to Pliny at the end of line 27 and the start of line 28, why were the fans behaving in this way when
Ummidia's pantomime actors performed? What comment does Pliny make about himself for giving this
description? What further comment does he make in line 28 on the fan-club's behaviour?
65. (This question may be more suitable for discussion than for individual study.) Why does Pliny feel ashamed that
he has used the phrase in honorem? If he was ashamed of it, why did he not cross it out?
66. What are the two further things that the fans did (line 30)?
67. In view of line 30, what seems to have happened whenever Ummidia applauded and whenever the pantomime
actors sang?
68. Which word in line 30 suggests that Pliny was not being completely accurate when he described the fan-club in
line 27 as alienissimi homines (people who had no connection with Ummidia)?
69. (This question may be more suitable for discussion than for individual study.) The fact that in line 27 Pliny
swears (find the word) suggests that he feels strongly about what he is about to describe. What does his strong
feeling in lines 27-30 seem to be? Sadness? Amazement? Anger? None of these? A mixture of these? You may
find it helpful to consider the tone in which he might have read these words aloud.
70. What will the fans who flattered Ummidia receive in her will (line 31)? Who will be responsible for handing the
money over?
71. (This question may be more suitable for discussion than for individual study.) There is an unsolved puzzle
about the praemium (line 31). Is the fan-club made up of Ummidia's clientes and / or liberti, since they would
expect a handout from their patrona? Does this fit well with the way Pliny describes them in line 27? Have
they come in hopes of a reward, such as a free meal (the name for people like that was laudiceni, people who
cheer for their dinner)? Or do they hope for a legacy when Ummidia dies? (People who behaved like that were
called captatores, legacy-chasers.) Might Ummidia have been less innocent than Pliny suggests, and has she
promised these people a reward for applauding her actors in the competition? (In the complete version of this
letter, Pliny actually refers to the reward as a theatralis operae corollarium, a tip for the hired gang at the
theatre, but it is not clear how literally he means this.) Which of all these explanations seems the likeliest to you?
Bear in mind the possibility that Pliny may be exaggerating or inaccurate. (There is no "right answer" to this.)
72. How do lines 31-32 (together with lines 5-6) explain why Pliny described Ummidia's will as optimum in line 5?
73. Pick out two ways in which Pliny makes a contrast between those who flattered Ummidia and Quadratus (lines
31-32).
74. Translate lines 27-32 and listen to the audio of lines 23-32.
WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 otium 61