There are 2 set texts for the Prose Paper in the GCSE Latin exam (2014).
They are: Pliny’s ‘Regulus’ and Apuleius’ ‘sage Thessalae: The Witches of Thessaly’
There will be two other texts in the same exam paper, but we are not doing those.
DO NOT ATTEMPT the OTHER TEXTS!
You will be asked questions on:
Content – who is speaking, what did they say, what happened next, etc.
Translation – a few lines of the Latin must be translated into English.
Literary Style – how does the author make the story interesting, worth reading,
dramatic etc.
Personal Response – how effective do you think the author was at telling the story,
which bits did you like or dislike, and why.
See the other download for examples of how to answer Literary Style and Personal
Response questions.
Text 1: Pliny’s ‘Regulus’.
C. Plinius Calvisio suo S.
assem para et accipe auream fabulam, fabulas immo; nam me priorum nova
admonuit, nec refert a qua incipiam. Verania graviter iacebat: ad hanc Regulus venit.
primum impudentiam hominis, qui venerit ad aegram, cuius marito inimicissimus, ipsi
invisissimus fuerat! esto, si venit tantum; at ille etiam proximus toro sedit; quo die,
qua hora nata esset interrogavit. ubi audivit, componit vultum, intendit oculos, movet
labra, agitat digitos, computat. nihil. ubi diu miseram exspectatione suspendit,
"habes" inquit, "climactericum tempus sed evades. quod ut tibi magis liqueat,
haruspicem consulam, quem frequenter expertus sum." sine mora sacrificium facit,
affirmat exta cum siderum significatione congruere. illa, ut in periculo credula, poscit
testamentum, legatum Regulo scribit. mox ingravescit, clamat moriens hominem
scelestum perfidumque ac plus etiam quam periurum esse, qui sibi per salutem filii
peieravisset. facit hoc Regulus non minus scelerate quam frequenter, quod iram
deorum, quos ipse cotidie fallit, in caput infelicis pueri detestatur.
Velleius Blaesus, ille dives consularis, novissima valetudine conflicatbatur: cupiebat
mutare testamentum. Regulus, qui sperabat aliquid ex novo testament, quia nuper
captare eum coeperat, medicos hortari et rogare ut quoquo modo vitam hominis
prorogarent. postquam signatum est testamentum, mutat personam, vertit
adlocutionem eisdem medicis, ‘quousque’ inquit ‘miserum cruciatis? cur invidetis
bona morte, cui dare vitam non potestis?’ moritur Blaesus et, tamquam omnia
audivisset, Regulo ne tantalum quidem.
Gaius Plinius sends his greetings to Calvisius.
Get your penny ready, and receive a golden story – stories, rather – for a new story
reminds me of earlier [ones], and it doesn’t matter with which [story] I shall start.
Verania was lying [in bed] seriously ill: Regulus came to her. First of all the
impudence of the man, who came to a sick lady, [and] whose husband he was a real
enemy to, and who was very detested by [the lady] herself! It would have been
enough, if he had only come; but he even sat next to her on her bed; and he asked
her what day, what hour she had been born. When he heard [this information] he
composed his face, stared intently, started moving his lips, moving his fingers
quickly, making calculations. Nothing. When he had kept the poor lady in suspense
for ages, he said, “You have reached a dangerous time, but you will recover. So that
I can make it even more clear to you, I shall consult a soothsayer, whom I use
frequently myself.” Without delay he made a sacrifice; he declared the entrails to be
in accordance with the meaning of the stars. And she, ready to believe [anyone] in a
time of danger, asked for her will, and wrote down a legacy for Regulus. Soon she
grew worse, and as she died she shouted that he was a wicked man and a
treacherous one and worse than someone who broke his oath, [because he was a
man] who had sworn a false oath to her on the life of his own son. Regulus does this
as wickedly as he does it often, because he calls down the anger of the gods, whom
he deceives every day, onto the head of the unfortunate boy.
Velleius Blaesus, that rich ex-consul, was afflicted by a terminal illness: he desired to
change his will. Regulus, who hoped [to get] something from a new will, because he
had begun to recently try to win his favour, encouraged the doctors and asked them
to prolong the man’s life in whatever way [they could]. After the will was signed, he
changed his tune, altered his tone and said to the same doctors, ‘How long are you
[going to go on] torturing the poor man? Why do you begrudge him a good death, [a
man] to whom you are not able to give life?’ Blaesus died and, as if he had heard
everything, [he left] nothing at all to Regulus.
Text 2: Apuleius’ ‘sagae Thessalae: The Witches of Thessaly.’
PART 1
Lucius is traveling through Thessaly, in Greece. By chance he meets a lady called
Byrrhaena, who invites him to a dinner party. At the party, Lucius is asked what he
thinks of Thessaly; he replies that he is impressed but worried by stories he has
heard about the local witches, who are in the habit of cutting pieces of flesh from
corpses. One of the guests laughingly points to a man hidden away at a table in the
corner of the room, saying that he has suffered this fate while still alive. The man,
whose name is Thelyphron, is urged by Byrrhaena to tell Lucius his story. He
reluctantly agrees.
iuvenis ego Mileto profectus ad spectaculum Olympicum, cum haec etiam loca
provinciae clarae visitare cuperem, peragrata tota Thessalia Larissam perveni. ac
dum urbem pererrans tenuato viatico paupertati meae fomenta quaero, medio in foro
senem conspicio. insistebat lapidem magnaque voce praedicabat, si quis mortuum
custodire vellet, magnum praemium accepturum esse. et cuidam praetereunti ‘quid
hoc’ inquam ‘audio? hic mortui solent aufugere?’
‘tace,’ respondit ille. ‘nam puer et satis peregrinus es,
meritoque nescis in Thessalia te esse, ubi sagae ora mortuorum semper
demorsicant, quae sunt illis artis magicae supplementa.’
contra ego ‘quali custodela’ inquam ‘opus est?’
‘iam primum’ respondit ille ‘totam noctem eximie vigilandum est apertis et inconivis
oculis semper in cadaver intentis, nec acies usquam devertenda est, cum illae
pessimae sagae latenter arrepant, forma in quodvis animal conversa. nam et aves et
canes et mures immo vero etiam muscas, induunt.’
PART 2
The man ends with a warning that if someone fails to deliver the body intact in the
morning, he is forced to replace missing pieces of flesh with pieces sliced from his
own face.
his cognitis animum meum commasculo et statim accedens senem ‘clamare’ inquam
‘iam desine. adest custos paratus.’ vix finieram et statim me perducit ad domum
quandam, ubi demonstrat matronam flebilem fuscis vestimentis contectam. illa
surrexit et ad cubiculum me induxit. ibi corpus splendentibus linteis coopertum manu
revelavit. ubi singula anxie demonstravit, exit.
PART 3
Thelyphron begins his vigil.
sic desolatus ad cadaveris solacium, perfrictis oculis et paratis ad vigiliam, dum
animum meum
noctem
permulcebam cantationibus, usque ad mediam
pervigilabam. tum autem mihi formido cumulatior cum
repente introrepens mustela contra me constitit oculosque in me fixit. tanta fiducia in
tantulo animali mihi turbavit animum. denique sic illi ‘abi’ inquam ‘scelesta bestia,
antequam meam vim celeriter experiaris! abi!’ mustela terga vertit et e cubiculo
protinus exit. sine mora somnus tam profundus me repente demergit, ut ne deus
quidem Delphicus ipse facile discernere posset ex duobus nobis iacentibus, quis
esset magis mortuus.
tandem prima luce expergitus et magno pavore perterritus cadaver accurro, et
admoto lumine revelatoque eius vultu, omnia diligenter inspicio: nihil deest. ecce
uxor misera flens introrumpit: cadavere inspecto reddit sine mora praemium.
PART 4
While I was recovering my strength in the street next to the house, the body was
brought out. Because it was the body of one of the leading citizens, it was carried in
procession around the forum according to local custom. As this was taking place, an
old man suddenly appeared. He was weeping and tearing out his fine white hair. He
ran up to the bier and embraced it. Amid sobs and groans he cried out:
‘per fidem vestram’ inquit ‘cives, per pietatem publicam, perempto civi subsistite et
extremum facinus istius feminae nefariae scelestaeque severiter vindicate. haec
enim nec ullus alius miserum iuvenem, sororis meae filium, in adulteri gratiam et ob
praedam hereditariam exstinxit veneno.’
illa, lacrimis effusis quamque sanctissime poterat adiurans cunctos deos, tantum
scelus abnuebat. ergo senex ille: ‘veritatis arbitrium in divinam providentiam
ponamus. Zatchlas adest Aegyptius propheta notissimus, qui mihi promisit se pro
magno praemio spiritum istius cadaveris paulisper ab inferis reducturum esse
corpusque animaturum.’
PART 5
The prophet was stirred into action. He took a special herb and laid it three times on
the mouth of the dead man. Then he took another and put it on his breast. Then he
turned to face the east and in silence prayed to the sacred disc of the rising sun. The
people waited in expectation of a miracle.
immitto me turbae et pone ipsum lectulum lapidem insistens omnia curiosis oculis
spectabam. iam tumore pectus cadaveris extolli, iam spiritu corpus impleri. et surgit
cadaver et profatur: ‘cur, oro, me post Lethaea pocula iam Stygiis paludibus
innatantem ad momentariae vitae officia reducitis? desine iam, precor, desine, ac me
in meam quietem permitte.’
haec vox de corpore audita est, sed propheta aliquanto commotior ‘quin narras’
inquit ‘populo omnia de morte tua?’
respondet ille de lectulo et imo cum gemitu populum sic adloquitur: ‘malis novae
nuptae artibus peremptus et addictus noxio poculo, torurn tepentem adultero reddidi.
dabo vobis documenta veritatis perlucida, et quod prorsus alius nemo cognoverit vel
ominaverit indicabo.’
tunc digito me demonstrans: ‘nam cum corporis mei custos hic sagacissimus
exsertam vigiliam mihi teneret, sagae quaedam exuviis meis imminentes
forrna mutata apparuerunt. cum industriam sedulam eius fallere non
potuissent, postremo iniecta somni nebula eum in profundam quietem
sepeliverunt. tum me nomine excitare coeperunt neque prius desierunt
quam dum hebetes artus mei et membra frigida ad artis magicae obsequia
segniter nituntur. hic autem, qui vivus erat, et tantum sopore mortuus, idem
mecum nomen forte habet. ad suum nomen igitur ignarus exsurgit, et, in exanimis
umbrae modum ultro gradiens, ianuam adit. quamquam fores cubiculi diligenter
occlusae erant, per quoddam foramen prosectis naso prius ac mox auribus lanienam
pro me passus est. tum sagae ceram in modum prosectarum formatam aurium et
applicant nasumque similem prosecto comparant. et nunc stat miser hic, praemium
non industriae sed lanienae consecutus.’
his dictis perterritus temptare formam incipio. manu nasum prehendo: sequitur;
aures pertracto: deruunt. ac dum turba directis digitis et nutibus me denotat, inter
pedes circurnstantium frigido sudore defluens effugio. nec postea sic debilis ac sic
ridiculus ad patriam redire potui, sed capillis hinc inde deiectis aurium vulnera celavi,
nasi vero dedecus linteolo isto decenter obtexi.
The Witches of Thessaly: Translation
Part 1
Lucius is traveling through Thessaly, in Greece. By chance he meets a lady called
Byrrhaena, who invites him to a dinner party. At the party, Lucius is asked what he
thinks of Thessaly; he replies that he is impressed but worried by stories he has
heard about the local witches, who are in the habit of cutting pieces of flesh from
corpses. One of the guests laughingly points to a man hidden away at a table in the
corner of the room, saying that he has suffered this fate while still alive. The man,
whose name is Thelyphron, is urged by Byrrhaena to tell Lucius his story. He
reluctantly agrees.
When I was a young man I set out from Miletus for the Olympic Games. Since I
desired to visit these places of the famous province as well, I travelled through the
whole of Thessaly and arrived at Larissa. But while I was wandering through the city
and my travelling allowance was becoming small, I sought a remedy for my poverty.
In the middle of the forum I caught sight of an old man. He was standing on a rock
and in a loud voice was proclaiming that if anyone wanted to guard a dead body, he
would receive a big reward. And to someone passing by I said, ‘What’s this I hear?
Are the dead accustomed to run away here?’
‘Hush!’ he replied. ‘For you are [only] a boy and obviously not from round here.
Naturally you don’t know that you are in Thessaly, where the witches are always
biting out pieces from the faces of dead people, which they use [literally, are for
them] as extra ingredients for their magic arts. ‘
In answer I said, ‘What sort of protection is needed?’
‘First of all,’ he replied, ‘[you] must stay awake perfectly for the whole night and
[keep] your eyes open sleeplessly fixed on the body, and you must not glance
anywhere else, since those very evil witches secretly creep up, changing their shape
into any animal they like. For they take the form of birds and dogs and mice and
even indeed flies.’
Part 2
The man ends with a warning that if someone fails to deliver the body intact in the
morning, he is forced to replace missing pieces of flesh with pieces sliced from his
own face.
Hearing this I strengthened my spirit and straightaway going up to the old man I said,
‘Now stop shouting! Your guard is here ready [and waiting]!’ I had scarcely finished
and he immediately took me to some house [or other], where he pointed out a
weeping woman wrapped up in dark clothing. She got up and took me into the
bedroom. There with her hand she uncovered a body wrapped up in shining white
linen sheets, and when she had anxiously checked the individual features, she left.
Part 3
Thelyphron begins his vigil.
Thus, left alone to comfort the dead body, I rubbed my eyes and prepared myself for
the watch. While I was calming down my mind with little songs, I kept myself awake
right up to the middle of the night. But then my fear increased when suddenly
creeping in a weasel stood in front of me and fixed its eyes on me. So great selfconfidence in so small an animal alarmed my mind. Finally I said as follows to it: ‘Go
away, wicked beast, before you feel my strength! Go away!’
The weasel turned its back and left the bedroom straightaway. Without delay now a
sleep so deep overwhelmed me, that not even the god of Delphi himself could easily
have been able to tell from the two of lying there, who was the more dead.
At last at first light I awoke and with great panic, terrified, I ran over to the body. I
moved the lamp closer and uncovered the face, and I inspected everything carefully.
Nothing was missing. Behold! The miserable wife, still weeping, burst in: she
inspected the body and handed over the reward without delay.
Part 4
While I was recovering my strength in the street next to the house, the body was
brought out. Because it was the body of one of the leading citizens, it was carried in
procession around the forum according to local custom. As this was taking place, an
old man suddenly appeared. He was weepingand tearingout his fine white hair. He
ran up to the bier and embraced it. Amid sobs and groans he cried out:
‘For the sake of your honour,’ he said, ‘citizens, for public duty, help a citizen who
has been murdered and take severe vengeance for the vilest crime [committed by] a
wicked and terrible woman. For this [woman] and no other killed by poison this poor
young man, the son of my sister, for the sake of adultery and to get an inheritance.’
The woman, with tears running down [her face] and calling on all the gods as piously
as she could, denied the terrible crime. Therefore the old man [said], ‘Let us put the
judgement of the truth in divine providence. Zatchlas is here present – an Egyptian
prophet – very famous – who promised to me that for a big reward he would bring
back from the underworld the spirit of the dead body and would bring the corpse
back to life.’
Part 5
The prophet was stirred into action. He took a special herb and laid it three times on
the mouth of the dead man. Then he took another and put it on his breast. Then he
turned to face the east and in silence prayed to the sacred disc of the rising sun. The
people waited in expectation of a miracle.
I pushed into the crowd and standing on a rock behind the very bed I started to
watch with curious eyes. Now the chest of the dead body started to rise and swell,
now the body started to fill with breath. And the body rose up and spoke out: ‘Why, I
beg, do you bring me back to the duties of a short-lived life, after I had drunk from
the waters of Lethe [literally, after the cups of Lethe], while I was swimming down the
Stygian lakes? Cease, I beg, cease! And allow me my peace!’
This was the voice of the corpse heard, but the prophet said a little more forcefully,
‘Why don’t you tell the people all about your death?’
The [corpse] replied from the bed and with a deep groan spoke as follows to the
people: ‘Murdered by the evil arts of a new wife and a victim of a poisoned cup, I
returned to a bed still warm from an adulterer. I shall give you very clear proof of the
truth, and I shall indicate [something] which absolutely no-one else knows or [can]
predict.’
Then, pointing at me with his finger: ‘For when this very keen-witted guard of my
body held an intensive watch for me, certain appeared, having changed their shape,
threatening my remains. Since they were unable to deceive his determined efforts,
finally they brought in a cloud of sleep and buried him in the deepest rest. Then they
started to wake me up [by calling me] by name and they did not give up until my
heavy joints and cold limbs were slowly struggling to obey their magic arts. But this
man here, who was alive, and only dead in deep sleep, by chance had the same
name as me. Therefore he rose to his own name – unbeknown – and, moving
mechanically in the manner of a lifeless ghost, went up to the door. Although the
doors of the bedroom had been carefully closed, through a hole were cut off his nose
first and soon his ears and he suffered the mutilation instead of me. Then the
witches attached to him some wax in the form of the ears which they had cut off and
replaced a nose similar to the one they had cut off. And now the poor man stands
here, having earned the reward not of his industry but of his mutilation.’
Terrified by these words I began to check my features. With my hand I touched my
nose: it came off. I touched my ears: they fell off. And while the crowd identified me
pointing their fingers and nodding [at me], dripping in a cold sweat, through the feet
of those standing around, I ran away. Afterwards, thus maimed and thus ludicrous I
was not able to return to my homeland, but I concealed my wound with my hair
grown long on this side and that over my ears, and I covered up my nose with this
patch [as] decently [as I could].