# Latin for beginners (1911)/Reading Matter/P. Cornelius Lentulus The story of a Roman boy

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P. CORNELIUS LENTULUS: THE STORY OF A ROMAN BOY
LXI. PUBLIUS IS BORN NEAR POMPE′II
P. Cornēlius Lentulus, adulēscēns Rōmānus, amplissimā familiā nātus est; nam pater eius, Mārcus, erat dux perītissimus, cuius virtūte et cōnsiliō multae victōriae reportātae erant; atque māter eius, Iūlia, ā clārissimīs maiōribus orta est. Nōn vērō in urbe sed rūrī Pūblius 5 natus est, et cum mātre habitābat in villā quae in maris lītore et sub rādīcibus magnī montis sita erat. Mōns autem erat Vesuvius et parva
PUERI ROMANI
urbs Pompēiī octo milia passuum aberat. In Italiā antīquā erant plūrimae quidem villae et pulchrae, sed inter hās omnīs nūlla erat pul chrior quam villa Mārcī Iūliaeque. Frōns villae mūrō ā maris fluctibus mūniēbātur. Hinc mare et litora et insulae longē lātēque cōnspicī ac saepe nāvēs longae et onerāriae poterant. Ā tergō et ab utrōque latere agrī ferācissimi patēbant. Undique erat magna variōrum flōrum cōpia et multa ingentium arborum genera quae aestāte umbram ​dēfessis agricolīs grātissimam adferēbant Praetereā erant in agrīs stabulīsque multa animālium genera, nōn sōlum equī et bovēs sed etiam rārae avēs. Etiam erat magna piscīna plēna piscium; nam Rōmānī piscīs dīligenter colēbant.
LXII. HIS LIFE ON THE FARM
Huius villae Dāvus, servus Marcī, est vīlicus et cum Lesbiā uxōre omnia cūrat. Vīlicus et uxor in casā humilī, mediīs in agrīs sitā, habitant. Ā prīmā lūce ūsque ad vesperum sē gravibus labōribus exercent ut omnīs rēs bene gerant. Plūrima enim sunt officia Dāvī et Lesbiae. Vīlicus servōs regit nē tardī sint; mittit aliōs quī agrōs arent, aliōs quī hortōs inrigent, et opera in tōtum diem impōnit. Lesbia autem omnibus vestīmenta parat, cibum coquit, pānem facit. CASA ROMANA Nōn longē ab hōrum casā et in summō colle situm surgēbat domicilium ipsīus dominī dominaeque amplissimum. Ibi plūris annōs Pūblius cum mātre vītam fēlicem agēbat; nam pater eius, Mārcus, in terrīs longinquīs gravia reī pūblicae bella gerēbat nec domum reverfl poterat. Neque puerō quidem molestum est rūrī vīvere. Eum multae rēs dēlectant Magnopere amat silvās, agrōs, equōs, bovēs, galllnās, avīs, reliquaque animālia. Saepe plūrīs hōrās ad mare sedet quō melius fluctūs et nāvis spectet. Nec omninō sine comitibus erat, quod Lȳdia, Dāvī fīlia, quae erat eiusdem aetātis, cum eō adhūc infante lūdēbat, inter quōs cum annīs amīcitia crēscēbat. Lȳdia nūllum alium ducem dēligēbat et Pūblius ab puellae latere rārō ​ discēdébat. Itaque sub clārō Italiae sōle Pūblius et Lȳdia, amīcī fidelissiml, per campōs collīsque cotidiē vagābantur. Modo in silvā finitimā ludēbant ubi Pūblius sagittīs celeribus avīs dēiciēbat et Lȳdia corōnis variōrum flōrum comās suas ōrnābat; modo aquam et cibum portābant ad Dāvum servōsque dēfessōs quī agrōs colēbant; modo in casā parvā aut horās laetās in lūdō cōnsūmēbant aut auxilium dabant Lesbiae, quae cibum virō et servīs parābat vel aliās rēs domesticās agēbat.
LXIII. MARCUS LENTULUS, THE FATHER OF PUBLIUS, IS SHIPWRECKED • JULIA RECEIVES A LETTER FROM HIM
Iam Pūblius decem annōs habēbat cum M. Cornelius Lentulus, pater eius, quī quīnque annōs grave bellum in Asia gerēbat, nōn sine glōriā domum revertēbātur. Namque multa secunda proelia fēcerat, maximās hostium cōpiās dēlēverat, multās urbīs populō Rōmānō inimīcās cēperat. Prīmum nūntius pervēnit quī ā Lentulō missus erat ut profectiōnem suam nuntiāret. Deinde plūrīs diēs reditum virī optimī māter fīliusque exspectābant et animīs sollicitīs deōs immortālīs frūstrā colēbant. Tum dēmum hās litterās summō cum gaudiō accēpērunt:
“Mārcus lūliae suae salūtem dīcit. Sī valēs, bene est; ego valeō. Ex Graeciā, quō praeter spem et opiniōnem hodiē pervēnī, hās litterās ad tē scrībō. Namque nāvis nostra frācta est; nōs autem — dis est grātia — incolumēs sumus. Ex Asiae portū nāvem lēnī ventō solvimus. Postquam "altum mare tenuimus nec iam ūllae terrae appāruerunt, caelum undique et undique fluctūs, subitō magna tempestās coorta est et nāvem vehementissimē adflīxit. Ventīs fluctibusque ​adflictātī nee sōlem discernere nee cursum tenēre poterāmus et omnia praesentem mortem intentabant. Trīs diēs et trīs noctīs sine rēmis vēlīsque agimur. Quārtō diē prīmum terra visa est et violenter in saxa, quae nōn longē ā lītore aberant, dēiectī sumus. Tum vērō maiōra perīcula timēbāmus ; sed nauta quīdam, vir fortissimus, ex nāve in fluctūs iratōs dēsiluit ut fūnem ad litus portāret; quam rem summō labōre vix effēcit. Ita omnēs servātī sumus. Grātiās igitur et honōrem Neptūnō debēmus, qui deus nōs ē perīculō ēripuit. Nunc Athēnis sum, quō cōnfūgī ut mihi paucās horās ad quiētem darem. Quam prīmum autem aliam nāvem condūcam ut iter ad Italiam reliquum cōnficiam et domum ad meōs cārōs revertar. Salūtā nostrum Pūblium amīcissimē et valētūdinem tuam cūrā dīligenter. Kalendīs Martiīs.”
LXIV. LENTULUS REACHES HOME • PUBLIUS VISITS POMPEII WITH HIS FATHER
Post paucōs diēs nāvis M. Cornēlī Lentulī portum Misēnī petiit, quī portus nōn longē ā Pompēiīs situs est; quō in portū classis Rōmāna pōnebātur et ad pugnās nāvālīs ōrnābātur. Ibi nāvēs omnium generum cōnspicī poterant. Iamque incrēdibilī celeritāte nāvis longa quā Lentulus vehēbātur litorī adpropinquāvit; nam nōn sōlum ventō sed etiam rēmīs impellēbātur. In altā puppe stābat gubernātor et nōn procul aliquī mīlitēs Rōmānī cum armīs splendidīs, inter quōs clārissimus erat Lentulus. Deinde servī rēmīs contendere cessāvērunt; nautae vēlum contrāxērunt et ancorās iēcērunt. Lentulus statim ē nāvī egressus est et ad villam suam properāvit. Eum Iūlia, Pūblius, tōtaque familia excēpērunt. Quī complexus, quanta gaudia fuērunt!
Postrīdiē eius diēī Lentulus fīliō suō dixit, “Venī, mī Pūblī, mēcum. ​Pompēiōs iter hodiē faciam. Māter tua suādet ut frūctūs et cibāria emam. Namque plūrīs amīcōs ad cānam vocāvimus et multīs rēbus egemus. Ea hortātur ut quam prīmum proficīscāmur.” “Libenter, mī pater,” “Tēcum esse mihi semper est grātum; nec Pompēiōs umquam vīdī. Sine morā proficīscī parātus sum.” Tum celeriter currum cōnscendērunt et ad urbis mūrōs vectī sunt. Stabiānā portā urbem ingressī sunt. Pūblius strātās viās mīrātur et saxa altiōra quae in mediō disposita erant et altās orbitās quās rotae inter haec saxa fēcerant. Etiam strepitum mīrātur, multitūdinem, carrōs, fontīs, domōs, tabernās, forum cum statuīs, templīs, reliquīsque aedificiīs pūblicīs.
LXV. A DAY AT POMPEII
Apud forum ē currū dēscendērunt et Lentulus dīxit, “Hīc sunt multa tabernārum genera, mī Pūblī. Ecce, trāns viam est popīna! Hoc genus tabernārum cibāria vēndit. Frūctūs quoque ante iānuam stant. Ibi cibāria mea emam.” “Optimē,” respondit Pūblius. “At ubi mī pater, crūstula emere possumus? Namque māter nōbīs imperāvit ut haec quoque parārēmus. Timeō ut ista popīna vendat crūstula.” “Bene dĪcis," inquit Lentulus. “At nonne vidĒs illum fontem ā dextrā ubi aqua per leōnis caput fluit? In illō ipsō locō est tabema pistōris quī sine dubiō vēndit crūstula.”
Brevi tempore omnia erant parāta, iamque quīnta hōra erat. Deinde Lentulus et fīlius ad caupōnam properāvērunt, quod famē et ​sitī urgébantur. Ibi sub arboris umbrā sēdērunt et puerō imperāvērunt ut sibi cibum et vīnum daret. Huic imperiō puer celeriter pāruit. Tum laetī sē ex labōre refēcērunt.
Post prandium profectī sunt ut alia urbis spectācula vidērent. Illō tempore fuērunt Pompēiīs multa templa, duo theātra, thermae magnumque amphitheātrum, quae omnia post paucōs annōs flammīs atque incendiīs Vesuvī et terrae mōtū dēlēta sunt. Ante banc calamitātem autem hominēs nihil dē monte veritī sunt. In amphitheātrō quidem Pūblius morārī cupīvit ut spectācula gladiātōria vidēret, quae in illum ipsum diem prōscrīpta erant et iam rē vērā incēperant. Sed Lentulus dīxit, “Morārī, Pūblī, vereor ut possīmus. Iam decima hōra est et via est longa. Tempus suādet ut quam prīmum domum revertāmur.” Itaque servō imperāvit ut equōs iungeret, et sōlis occāsū ad vīllam pervēnērunt
LXVI. LENTULUS ENGAGES A TUTOR FOR HIS SON
Ā prīmls annīs quidem lūlia ipsa fīlium suum docuerat, et Pūblius nōn sōlum pūrē et Latīnē loquī poterat sed etiam commodē legēbat et scrībēbat. Iam Ennium aliōsque poētās lēgerat. Nunc vērō Pūblius duodecim annōs habebat; itaque eī pater bonum magistrum, virum omnī doctrīnā et virtūte ōrnātissimum, parāvit, quī Graeca, mūsicam, aliāsque artīs docēret. Namque illīs temporibus omnēs ferē gentēs Graecē loquēbantur. Cum Pūbliō aliī puerī, Lentulī amīcōrum ​fīliī, discēbant. Nam saepe apud Rōmānōs mōs erat nōn in lūdum fīliōs mittere sed domī per magistrum docēre. Cotidiē discipulī cum magistrō in peristȳlō Marcī domūs sedēbant. Omnēs puerī bullam auream, orīginis honestae signum, in collō gerēbant, et omnēs togā praetextā amictī erant, quod nōndum sēdecim annōs nātī sunt.
TABULA ET STILUS
SCENE IN SCHOOL • AN EXERCISE IN COMPOSITION
    Discipulī. Salvē, magister.
    Magister. Vōs quoque omnēs, salvēte.Tabulāsne portāvistis et stilōs?
    D. Portāvimus.
    M. Iam fābulam Aesōpī discēmus. Ego legam, vōs in tabulīs scrībite. Et tū, Pūblī, dā mihi ē capsā Aesōpī volūmen. Iam audīte omnēs: Vulpēs et Ūva.
    Vulpēs ōlim famē coācta ūvam dēpendentem vīdit. Ad ūvam saliēbat, sūmere cōnāns. Frūstrā diū cōnāta, tandem irāta erat et salīre cessāns dīxit: "Illa ūva est acerba; acerbam ūvamnihil moror."
    Omnia'ne scrīpsistis, puerī?
    D. Omnia, magister.
LXVII. PUBLIUS GOES TO ROME TO FINISH HIS EDUCATION
lamque Pūblius, quindecim annōs nātus, prīmis litterarum dementīs cōnfectīs, Rōmam petere voluit ut scholās grammaticōrum et philosophōrum frequentāret. Et facillimē patrī suō, quī ipse philosophiae studiō tenēbatur, persuāsit. Itaque omnibus rēbus ad profectiōnem comparātīs, pater fīliusque equis animōsis vectī ad magnam urbem profectī sunt. Eōs proficiscentīs Iūlia tōtaque familia vōtis precibusque prōsecūtae sunt. Tum per loca plāna et collīs silvīs vestītōs viam ingressī sunt ad Nōlam, quod oppidum eōs hospitiō modicō excēpit. Nōlae duās horās morāti sunt, quod sōl meridiānus ārdēbat. Tum rēctā viā circiter vīgintī mīlia passuum Capuam, ad īnsignem Campāniae urbem, contendērunt. Eō multā nocte defessi pervenerunt. Postridiē eius diēī, somnō et cibō recreātī, Capuā discessērunt et viam Appiam ingressī, quae Capuam tangit et ūsque ad urbem Rōmam dūcit, ante merīdiem Sinuessam pervēnērunt, quod oppidum tangit mare. Inde prīmā lūce proficīscentēs Formiās properāvērunt, ubi Cicerō, ōrātor clārissimus, quī forte apud vīllam suam erat, eōs benignē excēpit. Hinc itinere vīgintī quīnque mīlium passuum factō, Tarracīnam, oppidum in saxīs altissimis situm, vidērunt. Iamque nōn longē aberant palūdēs magnae, quae multa mīlia passuum undique patent. Per eās pedestris via est gravis et in nāve viātōrēs vehuntur. Itaque equīs relictīs Lentulus et Pūblius nāvem cōnscendērunt, et, ūnā nocte in trānsitū cōnsūmptā, Forum Appi vēnērunt Tum brevī tempore Arīcia eōs excēpit. Hoc oppidum, in colle ​situm, ab urbe Rōmā sēdecim mīlia passuum abest. Inde dēclīvis via ūsque ad lātum campum dūcit ubi Rōma stat. Quem ad locum ubi Pūblius vēnit et Rōmam adhūc remōtam, maximam tōtius orbis terrārum urbem, cōnspēxit, summā admīrātiōne et gaudiō adfectus est. Sine morā dēscendērunt, et, mediō intervāllō quam celerrimē superātō, urbem portā Capēnā ingressī sunt.
LXVIII. PUBLIUS PUTS ON THE TOGA VIRILIS
Pūblius iam tōtum annum Rōmae morābātur multaque urbis omnes Publius spectācula viderat et multōs sibi amīcōs parāverat. Eī omnēs favēbant; dē eō omnēs bene spērāre poterant. BULLA Cotīdiē Pūblius scholās philosophōrum et grammaticōrum tantō studiō frequentābat ut aliīs clārum exemplum praebēret. Saepe erat cum patre in cūriā; quae rēs effēcit ut summōs reī pūblicae virōs et audīret et vidēret. Ubi sēdecim annōs nātus est, bullam auream et togam praetextam mōre Rōmānō dēposuit atque virīlem togam sūmpsit. Virīlis autem toga erat omninō alba, sed praetexta clāvum purpureum in margine habēbat. Dēpōnere praetextam togam et sūmere virīlem togam erat rēs grātissima puerō Rōmānō, quod posteā vir et cīvis Rōmānus habēbātur.
Hīs rēbus gestīs Lentulus ad uxōrem suam hās litterās scrīpsit:
Plate IV
“ECCE CAESAR NUNC TRIUMPHAT” (See page 224)
LXIX. PUBLIUS JOINS CAESAR'S ARMY IN GAUL
Pūblius iam adulēscēns postquam togam virīlem sūmpsit, aliīs rēbus studēre incēpit et praesertim ūsū armōrum sē dīligenter exercuit. Magis magisque amāvit illās artīs quae mīlitārem animum dēlectant. Iamque erant quī eī cursum mīlitārem praedīcerent. Nec sine causā, quod certē patris īnsigne exemplum ita multum trahēbat. "Paucīs ante annīs C. lūlius Caesar, ducum Rōmānōrum maximus, cōnsul creātus erat et hōc tempore in Galliā bellum grave gerēbat. Atque in exercitū eius plūrēs adulēscentēs mīlitābant, apud quōs erat amīcus quīdam Pūblī. Ille Pūblium crēbris litterīs vehementer hortābātur ut iter in Galliam faceret. Neque Pūblius rēcūsāvit, et, multīs amīcīs ad portam urbis prōsequentibus, ad Caesaris castra profectus est. Quārtō diē postquam iter ingressus est, ad Alpīs, montīs altissimōs, pervēnit. Hīs summā difficultāte superātis, tandem Gallōrum in finibus erat. Prīmō autem veritus est ut castrīs Rōmānīs adpropinquāre posset, quod Gallī, maximīs cōpiīs coāctīs, Rōmānōs obsidēbant et viās omnīs iam clauserant. Hīs rēbus commōtus Pūblius vestem Gallicam induit nē ā Gallīs caperētur, et ita per hostium cōpiās incolumis ad castra ​pervenīre potuit. Intrā mūnītiōnēs acceptus, ā Caesare benignē exceptus est. Imperātor fortem adulēscentem amplissimīs verbīs laudāvit et eum tribūnum mīlitum creāvit.
HOW THE ROMANS MARCHED AND CAMPED
Exercitus quī in hostium fīnibus bellum gerit multīs perīculīs circumdatus est. Quae perīcula ut vitārent, Rōmānī summam curam IMPEDIMENTA adhibēre solēbant. Adpropinquantēs cōpiīs hostium agmen ita dispōnēbant ut imperātor ipse cum plūribus legiōnibus expeditis prīmum agmen dūceret. Post eās cōpiās impedīmenta tōtius exercitūs
* ↑ This story is fiction with certain historical facts in Cæsar's career as a setting. However, the events chronicled might have happened, and no doubt did happen to many a Roman youth.
* ↑ A Roman had three names, as, Pūblius (given name), Cornēlius (name of the gēns or clan), Lentulus (family name).
* ↑ Abl. of source, which is akin to the abl. of separation (§ 501. 32).
* ↑ virtūte, § 501. 24.
* ↑ rūrī, § 501. 36. 1.
* ↑ mīlia, § 501. 21.
* ↑ passuum, § 501. 11.
* ↑ cōnspicī, infin. with poterant, § 215. Consult the map of Italy for the approximate location of the villa.
* ↑ aestāte, § 501. 35.
* ↑ How are the forms of sum translated when they precede the subject?
* ↑ The vīlicus was a slave who acted as overseer of a farm. He directed the farming operations and the sale of the produce.
* ↑ sē, reflexive pron., object of exercent.
* ↑ For the construction, see § 501. 40.
* ↑ in, for.
* ↑ annōs, § 501. 21.
* ↑ domum, § 501. 20.
* ↑ rūrī, § 501. 36. i.
* ↑ hōrās, cf. annōs, line 17.
* ↑ quō . . . spēctet, §§ 349, 350.
* ↑ sagittīs, § 501. 24
* ↑ was ten years old.
* ↑ annōs, § 501. 21.
* ↑ domum, § 501. 20.
* ↑ populō, dat. with inimīcās, cf. § 501. 16.
* ↑ Lentulō, § 501. 33.
* ↑ ut nūntiāret, § 501. 40.
* ↑ diēs, cf. annōs, I.9.
* ↑ animīs, abl. of manner. Do you see one in line 15?
* ↑ This is the usual form for the beginning of a Latin letter. First we have the greeting, and then the expression Si vales, etc. The date of the letter is usually given at the end, and also the place of writing, if not previously mentioned in the letter.
* ↑ quō, where.
* ↑ dīs est grātia, thank God, in our idiom.
* ↑ Asia refers to the Roman province of that name in Asia Minor.
* ↑ altum mare tenuimus, we were well out to sea.
* ↑ nec iam, and no longer.
* ↑ adflictātī, perf. passive part tossed about.
* ↑ What construction?
* ↑ diē, §501. 35.
* ↑ ut. . .portāret, § 501. 40.
* ↑ Athēnis, § 501. 36. 1.
* ↑ darem, cf. portāret l. 6
* ↑ Why not ad domum?
* ↑ Kalendīs Mārtiīs, the Calends or first of March; abl. of time, giving the date of the letter.
* ↑ Misenum had an excellent harbor, and under the emperor Augustus became the chief naval station of the Roman fleet. See map of Italy.
* ↑ Why is the infinitive used with cessāvērunt?
* ↑ See Plate I, Frontispiece.
* ↑ Observe that these words are exclamatory.
* ↑ Postrīdiē eius diēī, on the next day.
* ↑ What construction follows suādeō? § 501. 41.
* ↑ rēbus, § 501. 32.
* ↑ This is the abl. of the way by which motion takes place, sometimes called the abl. of route. The construction comes under the general head of the abl. of means. For the scene here described, see Plate II, p. 53, and notice especially the stepping-stones for crossing the street (saxa quae in mediō disposita erant).
* ↑ The forum of Pompeii was surrounded by temples, public halls, and markets of various sorts. Locate Pompeii on the map.
* ↑ We say, this kind of shop; Latin, this kind of shops.
* ↑ ut … pararemus, § 501. 41.
* ↑ How is ut translated after a verb of fearing? How nē? Cf. § 501. 42.
* ↑ tempore, § 501. 35.
* ↑ quīnta hōra. The Romans numbered the hours of the day consecutively from sunrise to sunset, dividing the day, whether long or short, into twelve equal parts.
* ↑ famē shows a slight irregularity in that the abl. ending -e is long.
* ↑ sitis, thirst, has -im in the ace. sing., -ī in the abl. sing., and no plural.
* ↑ Observe that the reflexive pronoun sibi does not here refer to the subject of the subordinate clause in which it stands, but to the subject of the main clause. This so-called indirect use of the reflexive is often found in object clauses of purpose.
* ↑ What case? Cf. § 501. 14.
* ↑ sē, cf. p. 205, l. 7, and note.
* ↑ Pompēiīs, § 501. 36. 1.
* ↑ nihil … veriti sunt, had no fears of the mountain.
* ↑ in, for.
* ↑ rē vērā, in fact.
* ↑ vereor ut, § 501. 42.
* ↑ occāsū, § 501. 35.
* ↑ pūrē … poterat, freely, could speak Latin well. "What is the literal translation?
* ↑ Ennium, the father of Latin poetry.
* ↑ duodecim … habēbat, cf. p. 206, 1. 8, and note.
* ↑ virum, etc., a very well-educated and worthy man. Observe the Latin equivalent.
* ↑ quī … docēret, a relative clause of purpose. Cf. §§ 349, 350.
* ↑ In Caesar's time Greek was spoken more widely in the Roman world than any other language.
* ↑ fīliī, in apposition with puerī.
* ↑ nōn … mittere. This infinitive clause is the subject of erat. Cf. § 216. The same construction is repeated in the next clause, domī … docere. The object of docēre is filiōs understood.
* ↑ The peristyle was an open court surrounded by a colonnade.
* ↑ At the age of sixteen a boy laid aside the bulla and the toga praetexta and assumed the toga virīlis or manly gown.
* ↑ annōs, § 501. 21. The expression nōndum sēdecim annōs nātī sunt means literally, they were born not yet sixteen years. This is the usual expression for age. What is the English equivalent?
* ↑ Tablets were thin boards of wood smeared with wax. The writing was done with a stylus, a pointed instrument like a pencil, made of bone or metal, with a knob at the other end. The knob was used to smooth over the wax in making erasures and corrections.
* ↑ Aesopi, the famous Greek to whom are ascribed most of the fables current in the ancient world.
* ↑ A cylindrical box for holding books and papers, shaped like a hatbox.
* ↑ Ancient books were written on rolls made of papyrus.
* ↑ nihil moror, I care nothing for.
* ↑ quīndecim, etc., cf. p. 210, l. 5, and note.
* ↑ prīmīs … cōnfectīs, abl. abs. Cf. § 501. 28.
* ↑ patrī, dat. with persuāsit.
* ↑ omnibus … comparātis, abl. abs. Cf. § 501. 28.
* ↑ vectī, perf. pass. part, of vehō.
* ↑ What is there peculiar about the gender of this word?
* ↑ Nōlae, locative case, §501.36.2.
* ↑ viā, cf. portā, p. 208, l. 7, and note.
* ↑ What construction?
* ↑ Eō, adv. there.
* ↑ Postrīdiē eius diēī, on the next day.
* ↑ viam Appiam, the most famous of all Roman roads, the great highway from Rome to Tarentum and Brundisium, with numerous branches. Locate on the map the various towns that are mentioned in the lines that follow.
* ↑ Formiās, Formiae one of the most beautiful spots on this coast, and a favorite site for the villas of rich Romans.
* ↑ itinere … factō, abl. abs. The gen. mīlium modifies itinere.
* ↑ equīs relictīs. What construction? Point out a similar one in the next line.
* ↑ morābātur, translate as if pluperfect.
* ↑ sibi, for himself.
* ↑ Eī, why dat?
* ↑ dē … poterant, in English, all regarded him as a very promising youth; but what does the Latin say?
* ↑ ut … praebēret, § 501. 43.
* ↑ cūriā, a famous building near the Roman Forum.
* ↑ ut … audīret et vidēret, § 501. 44.
* ↑ sēdecim, etc., cf. p. 210, 1. 5, and note.
* ↑ bullam, cf. p. 210, 1. 3, and note 4.
* ↑ These infinitive clauses are the subject of erat. Cf. § 216.
* ↑ Hīs rēbus gestīs, i.e. the assumption of the toga virīlis and attendant ceremonies.
* ↑ Compare the beginning of this letter with the one on page 206.
* ↑ surrēxī, from surgō.
* ↑ The Lares were the spirits of the ancestors, and were worshiped as household gods. All that the house contained was confided to their care, and sacrifices were made to them daily.
* ↑ quī … dēdūcerent, § 350.
* ↑ magna, great things a neuter adj. used as a noun.
* ↑ aequālibus, § 501. 34.
* ↑ Cūrā ut valeās, take good care of your health. How does the Latin express this idea?
* ↑ Abl. of means.
* ↑ sē, reflexive object of exercuit.
* ↑ quī … praedicerent, §501.45.
* ↑ ita multum trahēbat, had a great influence in that direction.
* ↑ Paucīs ante annīs, a few yean before: in Latin, before by a few years, ante being an adverb and annīs abl. of degree of difference.
* ↑ ut … faceret, f 501. 41.
* ↑ ut, how translated here? Sec § 501. 43.
* ↑ The military tribune was a commissioned officer nearly corresponding to our rank of colonel. The tribunes were often inexperienced men, so Caesar did not allow them much responsibility.
* ↑ Quae perīcula, object of vitarent. It is placed first to make a proper connection with the preceding sentence.
* ↑ ut … dūceret, § 501. 43.
* ↑ expedītīs, i.e. without baggage and ready for action.
* ↑ impedimenta. Much of the baggage was carried in carts and on beasts of burden, as is shown above; but, besides this, each soldier (unless expeditus) carried a heavy pack. See also picture, p. 159.
References