Lucretia: Paragon of Virtue—Additional Notes for Translation
N.B. These notes should be used in conjunction with the facing Vocabulary that is attached to the
story. These notes assume you understand basic language terms associated with learning Latin.
Furthermore, they also assume you are using the vocabulary provided and looking up words you
do not know or have forgotten.
Lines 1-3 (Rōma...laudāre)

There are two instances of the word cum in this section. One is the regular preposition,
followed by the usual ablative, the other is the conjunction introducing a cum-clause
using a subjunctive verb.

Line 3: quisque, quidque = a pronoun (cf. quis, quid) meaning “each, each one”; the
genitive singular is cuiusque, cuiusque. Can you see how it declines now?
Lines 4-7 (Collātīnus...Discēdāmus!)

Line 4: praestāre is a compound verb and, as such, will take a dative instead of the usual
accusative direct object.

Line 5: Nōs cōnferāmus: look up the verb conferre in Chapter 52 on p. 301. Us this
verb being used reflexively here? If you’re not sure, ask a neighbor.
o Also, regarding cōnferāmus, this is subjunctive mood, present tense. The
irregular verb ferō and its compounds use a vowel shift of “a,” so the present
subjunctive conjugates as conferam, conferās, ... conferant.
o Both cōnferāmus and, on line 7, Discēdāmus are present subjunctive. What use
of the subjunctive must these be? They’re in independent clauses, there’s no
utinam, and there’s no punctuation indicating they’re asking a question...

Lines 5-6: quid mea uxor nunc agat (this is an example of “indirect question,” which,
like indirect statement, is part of a general topic known as “indirect discourse.” Indirect
question is actually easier than indirect statement. Nobody needs to become accusative,
and no verbs need to become infinitives that weren’t already infinitives. The only change
that happens is that the main verb inside of the indirect question becomes subjunctive.
o Direct question: Quid mea uxor nunc agit?
o Indirect question: [“Adam’s Apple” verb action] quid mea uxor nunc agat.
o One more example not related to this story:

Direct question: “Where do you live?” ubi habitās?

Indirect questions:

“She is asking where you live.” rōgās ubi habitēs.

“We don’t know where you live.” nescīmus ubi habitēs.

“They forgot where you had lived.” amīsērunt ubi habitāvisses.
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Lucretia: Paragon of Virtue—Additional Notes for Translation
Lines 7-11 (Cum...revēnit)

Line 9: sed lānam dūcentem invēnērunt: you have lānam as an object of dūcentem,
but there is no noun for dūcentem to modify in this part of the sentence. What must be
the word that it modifies? Logically based on the rest of the sentence, who is being
described by the participle dūcentem?

Line 10: Quam pulchra et pudīca Lucrētia esset: this is the indirect question, with the
word quam translating as “how” (remember we learned quam can be “how” when used as
an adverb modifying another adjective, such as quam facilis haec lingua est!, “How
easy this language is!” The “Adam’s Apple” verb is vidēret (line 9).
Lines 12-16 (Cum,...discessit)

Line 12: cēnā oblātā: what case is both of these words? One is a noun, the other is a
perfect passive participle.
o Of what more recent grammatical construction is this phrase an example? Do you
remember how to translate this very literally?
o How can you figure out what verb oblātā comes from? First, remove the prefix
(ob—). Then, see if you recognize the principal part that is left. Once you realize
what verb you are dealing with, you just put the prefix back onto it and look it up.

Line 12: cēnā oblātā is subordinate to Cum....ductus esset, an cum- clause.

Line 15: māllet: this is the imperfect subjunctive of malō, malle, maluī, an irregular verb.
Notice that, although this verb malō (like volō, velle) is irregular, nevertheless it forms
its imperfect subjunctive by following the regular rules, taking the 2nd principal part,
malle, and adding the personal ending –t.

Line 15: What type of cum clause do you know you have when you see tamen in the
main clause?

Line 16: eius: who is the antecedent of this pronoun? Logically, whose pudīcitiam does
it make sense (with respect to the plot) for the subject to have overcome (vīcit, line 15)?
Lines 17-20 (Sed...dīxit)

Line 18: nē: What kind of subjunctive dependent clause do we have introduced here?

Line 18: vidērētur: imperfect, passive subjunctive. In the passive voice, videō is often
best translated as “seem,” therefore vidētur = “he seems” and vidēbantur = “they
seemed.”

Line 19: meā culpā: what case and construction? Hint: we haven’t seen this one in a
long while, but it was introduced to you at the very end of Latin I / as a review item near
the start of this year. The verb absolvō is key to this. Later in the same sentence, poenā
is the same case and construction.
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