Text (Scipio had managed to beat Rome's most dangerous enemy, the Carthaginian Hannibal, in Africa. This is a description of his arrival in Rome afterwards:) Iam nonnullas horas magna multitudo hominum victorem legionesque eius exspectat. Subito unus ex multitudine: "Videtisne agmen primum? Iam tubae, iam carmina militum sonant!" "Africane! Africane!" "Quid clamant homines? Num Scipioni novum nomen datum est?" "Certe! Victor Africani belli a senatoribus nomine Africani honoratus est, quod Poenos foedere coercuit." "Specta corpora elephantorum! Quanta quamque firma sunt! Nonne tu quoque terreris?" "Utrum milites nostri magis robore eorum an stridore territi sunt?" "Ignoro: Equidem et magnitudine corporum et stridore terreor." "Ecce! Scipio ipse adest! Macte, Africane! E summo discrimine Romam servavisti! Lumen et decus populi Romani es!" "Bonis cum ominibus Romam intras!" "Nunc tempora laeta erunt, nunc bello et operibus Martis liberati erimus!" --------------------------- Reading vocabulary you needn't learn: Scipio, -onis: Scipio honorare: to honour stridor, -oris: the trumpeting (of the elephants) macte: Live long! Mars, Martis: Roman god of war Vocabulary
| hora, -ae | hour | hour |
| agmen, -minis n | military expedition, campaign; group | L28: agitare |
| carmen, -minis n | song, poem | |
| discrimen, -minis n | difference; danger; decision | discrimination |
| lumen, -minis n | light, lamp; brightness | |
| nomen, -minis n | name; term; concept | nominate |
omen, -minis n |
omen, sign, foreboding |
omen |
| corpus, -oris n | body, corpse | corpse |
| decus, -oris n | honour, dignity, ornament | decoration |
| tempus, -oris n | time, point of time; situation | temporal |
| robur, -oris n | strength; elite troop |
D: robust |
| foedus, -eris n | agreement, alliance | federal; L6: fidus |
| opus, -eris n | work, labour, deed | operation; opera |
| magnitudo, -dinis f | magnitude, importance | magnitude; L6: magnus |
| legio, -onis f | legion (4200-6000 men) | legion |
| senator, -oris m | senator (member of the senate) | senator |
| quantus, -a, -um | how big? | quantum; I: quanti? |
| -ne? | (question particle, answer is open) | D: ..., ne? |
| nonne? | not? didn't you? hopefully? (question particle, answer "yes" is expected) | |
| utrum... an? | (whether)... or (particle for a choice question) | L17: regnum |
| agmen primum | vanguard | |
| in tempore | at the right time |
Practise the vocabulary of this lesson by matching it. Grammar As promised, we continue practising the Consonantic Declension. This lesson features neuter words of the Consonantic Declension for the first time, namely the ones going -men -> -minis ; -us -> oris and -us -> eris . This isn't a problem if you keep in mind the two rules that are valid for every neuter word in Latin: 1. The Accusative is always the same as the Nominative; 2. The Nominative plural always ends in -a . These are the only differences between neuter words of the Consonantic Declension and masculine / feminine words. Let's have one example, for comparison: victor as a masculine noun and nomen as a neuter noun. Nom. Sg.: victor / nomen Gen. Sg.: victor-is / nomin-is Dat. Sg.: victor-i / nomin-i Acc. Sg.: victor-em / nomen Abl. Sg.: victor-e / nomin-e Nom. Pl..: victor-es / nomin-a Gen. Pl.: victor-um / nomin-um Dat. Pl.: victor-ibus / nomin-ibus Acc. Pl.: victor-es / nomin-a Abl. Pl..: victor-ibus / nomin-ibus A very small additional chapter of grammar: questions. You already know questions that are formed with question words like "Quis" or "Cur". You have also used "Num" to introduce a yes/no question. Now, here's a summary of all ways of introducing a yes/no question: 1. Adding -ne to the predicate --> Question is neutral 2. Using "num" --> Expected answer is "No" 3. Using "nonne" --> Expected answer is "Yes" Additionally, you could form a choice question with utrum... an, where utrum is placed at the beginning of the question and an is put between the alternatives. For example: Utrum milites secundo bello Punico robore an disciplina servati sunt? = Were the soldiers in the 2nd Punic war saved by their strength or their discipline? Exercise Put the word "tempus" through this scheme: Genitive -> Plural -> Dative -> Ablative -> Singular -> Accusative -> Plural -> Nominative Singular (If you don't understand what is asked, see lesson 7 for an example of this exercise type) Information on Scipio Information on Hannibal Exercise answers: tempus, temporis, temporum, temporibus, temporibus, tempore, tempus, tempora, tempus