Cicerōnis fīlius
“The Son of Cicero”
Part I textbook
pages 143 - 144
lines 45 - 63
Cicerōnis fīlius: introduction
Part of the second half of your final exam will deal
with the story Cicerōnis fīlius ("The Son of
Cicero"), which is in the Appendix of the Part I
textbook (the pinkish book).
Cicerōnis fīlius: background
Cicerōnis fīlius deals with Cicero, a famous
Roman lawyer and statesman, his son Marcus,
and the rest of their family. If you take Latin II,
you will hear much more about Cicero and
Marcus. They play an important role in Rome's
history and in the life of Quintus, the "hero" of the
Latin stories in our textbook.
Cicerōnis fīlius: background
Quintus and his father Flaccus moved to Rome at
a pivotal moment in the city's history (Quintus and
Flaccus came to Rome around 50 B.C.). At that
time Rome's government was in turmoil.
Cicerōnis fīlius: background
The republic, which had been founded about 450
years ago, was struggling to manage the city and
all of her territories. Ambitious individuals and
small groups of people were trying to seize power
for themselves. Cicero was one of the Roman
leaders who believed that Rome should try to
maintain her republican government. However,
he had powerful enemies.
Cicerōnis fīlius: exam info.
For the exam you will be tested on lines 45 - 63 of
Cicerōnis fīlius. This part of the story deals with
Marcus' education as a young boy, one of his
family's homes, and a tumultuous year in Cicero's
life. You will have to answer questions about the
grammar and content of this excerpt. You will see
questions about…
Cicerōnis fīlius: exam info.
Parts of speech. You will be given several Latin words
from the story and asked to identify their part of speech
(noun, verb, adjective, adverb, or pronoun).
What happened? You will also have to answer true/false
and multiple choice questions about specific details from
the story.
Translation. You will be given Latin phrases from the
story and asked to choose the best possible English
translation for them.
Timeline. You will be asked to put the events of the story
into chronological order.
Cicerōnis fīlius: how to translate
In order to prepare for this part of the exam, you
should first work on translating Cicerōnis fīlius. I
recommend taking this in several steps.
Cicerōnis fīlius: how to translate
1. Read it aloud. First read over lines 45 - 63
aloud.
Cicerōnis fīlius: how to translate
2. Read it silently. Then read over them silently,
making a mental note of words or phrases that
seem familiar (it's OK if you don't know everything
about these words yet; just make a mental note if
a particular word seems familiar).
Cicerōnis fīlius: how to translate
3. Look up unfamiliar words. Now look through
each sentence and make a note of which words
seem unfamiliar. Look in the right margin and in
the glossary of the textbook to see if you can find
out the meanings of these unfamiliar words.
Cicerōnis fīlius: how to translate
4. Chunk and translate. Now let's break each
sentence down into smaller segments (this
process, remember, is called chunking). We will
use punctuation marks, conjunctions, and
prepositional phrases to help us chunk. Once we
have chunked each sentence, you should try to
translate each chunk into English. Then try to put
the small chunks into English sentences that
make sense.
Cicerōnis fīlius: how to translate
After chunking. Once we have chunked each
sentence, you should try to translate each chunk
into English. Then try to put the small chunks into
English sentences that make sense.
I will translate the first two sentences to help you
get started.
Sentence I
• Marcum iam cūrat nōn nūtrix sed
paedagōgus Graecus.
•
•
paedagōgus = tutor
nūtrix = nurse
Sentence I: chunked!
– Marcum iam cūrat nōn nūtrix
– sed paedagōgus Graecus
•
sed = conjunction (but)
•
•
paedagōgus = tutor
nūtrix = nurse
Sentence I: translated!
– Marcum iam cūrat nōn nūtrix
• Now (iam) a nurse (nūtrix) does not look after
(cūrat nōn) Marcus (Marcum)
– sed paedagōgus Graecus
• but (sed) a Greek tutor (paedagōgus Graecus).
•
sed = conjunction (but)
•
•
paedagōgus = tutor
nūtrix = nurse
Sentence II
• ille Marcum litterās docet et Latinās et
Graecās; plērumque Marcō Graecē
dīcit.
•
Graecē = in Greek
Sentence II: chunked!
– ille Marcum … docet
– litterās … et Latinās et Graecās;
– plērumque Marcō Graecē dīcit
•
•
et … et … = conjunctions (both … and)
; = punctuation
•
Graecē = in Greek
Sentence II: translated!
– ille Marcum … docet
• He (ille) teaches (docet) Marcus (Marcum)
– litterās … et Latinās et Graecās;
• both Latin and Greek (et Latinās et Graecās) letters
(litterās);
– plērumque Marcō Graecē dīcit
• he usually (plērumque) speaks (dīcit) to Marcus (Marcō) in
Greek (Graecē).
•
•
et … et … = conjunctions (both … and)
; = punctuation
•
Graecē = in Greek
Sentence III
• ille studia nōn amat; nam semper
lūdere cupit.
•
studia = his studies
Sentence III: chunked!
– ille studia nōn amat;
– nam semper lūdere cupit
•
; = punctuation
•
studia = his studies
Sentence IV
• sed Graecē et dīcere et scrībere
gradātim discit.
•
•
•
Graecē = in Greek
gradātim = little by little
discit = learns
Sentence IV: chunked!
– sed … gradātim discit
– Graecē et dīcere et scrībere
•
et … et … = conjunctions (both … and)
•
•
•
Graecē = in Greek
gradātim = little by little
discit = learns
Sentence V
• ubi venit aestās, tōta familia ab urbe in
collēs abit ad vīllam rūsticam; nam
calōrēs aestātis in urbe ferre nōn
possunt.
•
•
aestās = summer
calōrēs = the heat(s)
Sentence V: chunked!
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
ubi venit aestās,
tōta familia … abit
ab urbe
in collēs
ad vīllam rūsticam;
nam calōrēs aestātis … ferre nōn possunt
in urbe
•
•
, & ;= punctuation
ab urbe, in collēs, ad vīllam rūsticam, in urbe = prepositional phrases
•
•
aestās = summer
calōrēs = the heat(s)
Sentence VI
• ibi Marcus fēriās agit.
•
fēriās agit = is on holiday
•
This sentence has no extra punctuation, conjunctions, or prepositional
phrases, so we do not need to chunk it.
Sentence VII
• cōnsōbrīnus eius Quīntus ad vīllam
saepe venit.
•
cōnsōbrīnus eius = his cousin
Sentence VII: chunked!
– cōnsōbrīnus eius Quīntus … saepe venit
– ad vīllam
•
ad vīllam = prepositional phrase
•
cōnsōbrīnus eius = his cousin
Sentence VIII
• puerī in agrīs lūdunt, fundum vīsunt,
piscēs in flūmine capiunt.
•
•
•
fundum = the farm
vīsunt = visit
piscēs = fish
Sentence VIII: chunked!
– puerī … lūdunt,
– in agrīs
– fundum vīsunt,
– piscēs … capiunt
– in flūmine
•
•
, & , = punctuation
in agrīs, in flūmine = prepositional phrases
•
•
•
fundum = the farm
vīsunt = visit
piscēs = fish
Sentence IX
• cum autumnus adest, in urbem
redeunt.
Sentence IX: chunked!
– cum autumnus adest,
– … redeunt
– in urbem
•
•
, = punctuation
in urbem = prepositional phrase
Sentence X
• hīs fēriīs Marcus valdē gaudet.
•
hīs fēriīs agit = (in) this holiday
•
This sentence has no extra punctuation, conjunctions, or prepositional
phrases, so we do not need to chunk it.
Sentence XI
• ubi Marcus septimum annum agit,
inimīcī lēgem in Cicerōnem ferunt.
•
•
•
agit = begins, turns, starts
inimīcī = enemies
lēgem in … ferunt = pass/bring a law against
Sentence XI: chunked!
– ubi Marcus septimum annum agit,
– inimīcī lēgem … ferunt
– in Cicerōnem
•
•
, = punctuation
in Cicerōnem = prepositional phrase
•
•
•
agit = begins, turns, starts
inimīcī = enemies
lēgem in … ferunt = pass/bring a law against
Sentence XII
• ille inimīcōs valdē timet cōnstituitque in
exsilium fugere.
•
exsilium = exile
Sentence XII: chunked!
– ille inimīcōs valdē timet
– cōnstituitque … fugere
– in exsilium
•
•
-que = conjunction
in exsilium = prepositional phrase
•
exsilium = exile
Sentence XIII
• Terentiam iubet Rōmā abīre et in vīllā
rūsticā manēre.
Sentence XIII: chunked!
– Terentiam iubet Rōmā abīre
– et … manēre
– in vīllā rūsticā
•
•
et = conjunction (and)
in vīllā rūsticā = prepositional phrase
Sentence XIV
• trīstis Rōmā discēdit et ad Graeciam
nāvigat.
•
discēdit = goes away
Sentence XIV: chunked!
– trīstis Rōmā discēdit
– et … nāvigat
– ad Graeciam
•
•
et = conjunction (and)
ad Graeciam = prepositional phrase
•
discēdit = goes away
Sentence XV
• Terentia tōtam familiam ad vīllam dūcit
ibique manet dum Cicerō abest.
Sentence XV: chunked!
– Terentia tōtam familiam … dūcit
– ad vīllam
– ibique manet
– dum Cicerō abest
•
•
•
ad vīllam = prepositional phrase
-que = conjunction (and)
dum = conjunction (while)
Sentence XVI
• Marcus patrem dēsīderat sed gaudet
quod fēriās tam longās agit.
•
dēsīderat = misses
Sentence XVI: chunked!
– Marcus patrem dēsīderat
– sed gaudet
– quod fēriās tam longās agit
•
•
sed = conjunction (but)
quod = conjunction (because)
•
dēsīderat = misses
Sentence XVII
• intereā Cicerō epistolās miserās ad
Terentiam scrībit semperque cupit
Rōmam redīre.
Sentence XVII: chunked!
– intereā Cicerō epistolās miserās … scrībit
– ad Terentiam
– semperque cupit Rōmam redīre
•
•
ad Terentiam = prepositional phrase
-que = conjunction (and)
Sentence XVIII
• sed proximō annō amīcī eius novam
lēgem ferunt eumque ex exsiliō
revocant.
•
proximō annō = the next year
Sentence XVIII: chunked!
– sed proximō annō amīcī eius novam lēgem
ferunt
– eumque … revocant
– ex exsiliō
•
•
-que = conjunction (and)
ex exsiliō = prepositional phrase
•
proximō annō = the next year
Further questions?
If you have further questions about this story,
please feel free to contact your instructor.
Good luck on the exam!
“Valēte discipulī!”