Chapter 44
STOP THIEF! Marcus et Sextus ē lūdō ēgressī ūnā cum Eucleide et alterō servō domum
ībant. Subitō Eucleidēs puerīs, “Vultisne ad thermās īre?” inquit.
Quibus verbīs audītīs, puerī maximē gaudēbant. Mox ad thermās advēnērunt et
in apodytērium intrāvērunt, quod iam erat plēnum puerōrum quī ē lūdō ēgressī eō
cum paedagōgīs vēnerant. Ibi vestīmenta exuēbant.
Marcus, vestīmentīs exūtīs, “Nunc in palaestram exeāmus,” inquit. At Eucleidēs,
“Minimē!” inquit. “Pater tuus mē iussit vōs ante nōnam hōram redūcere.” Deinde
alterī servō, cui nōmen erat Asellus, “Hīc manē!” inquit. “Vestīmenta dīlignter
custōdī! Hīc enim solent esse multī fūrēs quī vestīmenta surrepta in urbe vēndunt.”
Cui Asellus respondit, “Ego semper vestīmenta dīligenter custōdiō. Nēmō
vestīmenta, mē custōde, surripere potest.”
Tum puerī, vestīmentīs trāditīs, in tepidārium intrāvērunt et inde in caldārium, ubi
erat magna turba hominum. Subitō tamen exclāmāvit Sextus, “Aeger sum. Hunc
calōrem patī nōn possum. Exībō et ad apodytērium regrediar.”
5
10
Dum ē tepidāriō exit, Asellum prope vestīmenta sedentem cōnspexit. Dormiēbat
Asellus. Eō ipsō tempore vestīmenta ā servō quōdam surripiēbantur. “Quod ubi
vīdit Sextus, “Prehende fūrem!” exclāmāvit. Simul fūr clāmōrem Sextī audīvit, simul
Asellus ē sellā exsiluit, simul Sextus ad iānuam cucurrit. Fūr in palaestram cōnfūgit,
nam sē in turbā cēlāre in animō habēbat. Cum tamen inde in viam ēvadere nōn
posset, in frīgidārium fūgit.
Sextus tamen fūrem cōnspectum subsequēbātur. Fūr, Sextō vīsō, iam valdē
timēbat. In pavīmentō lāpsus in aquam frīgidam cecidit. Statim in aquam dēsiluit
Sextus. Fūrem ex aquā trahere cōnābātur; sed frūstrā. Cum tamen adiūvissent
adstantēs, fūr ā Sextō captus ex aquā extractus est. Quem captum Sextus dominō
trādidit.
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20
25
1. What happened as the boys when the boys left school?
2. Who did they find in the apodyterium?
3. What did they do before going into the palaestra?
4. What orders did Cornelius give Eucleides?
5. What did Eucleides have to say to Asellus?
6. What was Asellus’s response?
7. What did the boys do with their clothes?
8. Where do they go?
9. What is wrong with Sextus?
10. What two things did Sextus see in the apodyterium?
11. Three things happened at the same time. What were they?
12. What plan did the thief have?
13. Why did he abandon this plan?
14. What did Sextus do?
15. Describe the chase scene between the thief and Sextus.
16. Did Sextus catch the thief?
Takes two independent clauses and puts one in the ablative, often with a participle.
verba grammatici audivit, sed manum non extendit.Sextus
Verbis grammatici auditis, Sextus manum non extendit.
pecuniam dedit et deinde vinum bibit.Titus
Pecuniā datā,
Titus vinum bibit.
Notice the noun involved in the ablative absolute is not grammatically connected to the rest of the sentence.
Pueri in ludo clamabant et grammaticus iratus fiebat.
Pueris in ludo clamantibus, grammaticus iratus fiebat.
Eucleides in luto collapsus est et praedones ridentes discesserunt.
Eucleide in luto collapso, praedones ridentes discesserunt.
The AA is a substitution for a dependent clause.
Pecuniā datā, Titus vinum bibit means:
•Titus pecuniam dedit et deinde vinum bibit.
•Titus, cum pecuniam dedisset, vinum bibit.
Or even, with a change of emphasis:
•Titus, qui pecuniam dedit, vinum bibit.
Easiest way to translate an ablative absolute:
•Perfect participle: when the noun had been participled
•Present participle: when/while the noun was participling.
Try these sentences with ablative absolutes. Remember:
•Perfect Participle: when the noun had been participled
•Present Participle: when/while the noun was participling
1. Sexto reducto, Cornelius iratus erat.
2. Lupo conspecto, Sextus arborem ascendit.
3. Sexto conspecto, Davus ex horto celeriter cucurrit.
4. Baculo rapto, Cornelius Sextum verberabat.
5. Insulā incendente, incolae in viam evadebant.
6. Corneliā sedente, Aurelia atrium ingressa est.
7. Marco recitante, grammaticus alios discipulos spectabat.
Now YOU try it.
How do you say…
•After the clothes had been stolen (surripio, surripere, surripui, surreptus)
Vestimentis surreptis
•After the clothes had been guarded (custodio, custodire, custodivi, custoditus)
Vestimentis custoditis
•After the money had been guarded
Pecuniā custoditā
•After the boys had left (egredior, egredi, egressus sum)
Pueris egressis
Let’s try it with present participles
How do you say…
•While the thief was running away (confugio, confugere)
fure confugiente
•As the boys were listening (audio, audire)
pueris audientibus
•As the teacher was speaking (loquor, loqui)
grammatico loquente
•As the men were taking off their clothes (exuo, exuere)
viris / hominibus vestimenta exuentibus
What happened first, handing over the clothes or entering the tepidarium? How does Latin show this?
When are the boys running ahead? Before Cornelius calls them back, or while Cornelius calls them back? How does
Latin show this time relationship?
The participle in an AA shows its time relationship to the main verb in what is becoming a familiar pattern:
•Perfect Participle: action before that of the main verb.
Vestimentis servo traditis, Titus tepidarium intravit.
When the clothes had been handed over to his slave, Titus entered the tepidarium.
•Present Participle: action at the same time as that of the main verb.
Cornelio revocante, pueri praecurrerunt.
As Cornelius was recalling (them), the boys ran on ahead.
Using vocabulary review sheets for verbs, supply a participle for these sentences.
Try perfect participles first, then present.
Fure __________, Sextus clamavit.
Sene cum amicis __________, Titus risit.
Discipulis ___________, grammaticus discessit.
Let’s practice showing time relationship in AAs
How do you translate the underlined words:
•When they had taken off their clothes, they entered the warm room.
vestimentis exutis
•While Asellus was sleeping, a certain slave was stealing the clothes.
Asello dormiente
•The thief, when he had seen Sextus, was very afraid.
Sexto viso
•When the thief had been handed over to his master, Sextus was happy.
fure domino tradito
An ablative absolute can consist of two nouns (with the verb esse implied)
An ablative absolute can consist of a noun and an adjective (with esse implied)
Assume the presence of esse when translating such AAs
Palaemone grammatico, Sextus miser erat.
With Palaemon as his teacher, Sextus was unhappy..
Since Palaemon was his teacher, Sextus was unhappy.
Eucleide aegro, pueris in urbem exire non licuit.
Eucleides being sick, the boys weren’t allowed to go out into the city.
Cornelio domino, omnes servi strenue laborant.
With Cornelius as a master, all the slaves work hard.
Since they have Cornelius as a master, all the slaves work hard.
Augusto principe, Iesus in nostrā terrā natus est.
When Augustus was emperor, Jesus was born on our earth.
Let’s sum up:
•An Ablative Absolute replaces an independent clause.
•The noun involved in an AA cannot be a grammatical part of the rest of the sentence (i.e., the subject, DO, indirect object, possessor, etc.)
•An AA can consist of:
•A noun and a participle [most common]
•Two nouns (implied present tense of esse)
•A noun and an adjective (implied present tense of esse)
•A perfect participle shows action in the absolute that happened before the action of the main verb: when the noun had been participled.
•A present participle shows action in the absolute that happens at the same time as that of the main verb: while/as the noun was participling.
If you want to get brave, you can try different ways of translating an AA.
Verbis grammati auditis, Sextus manum non extendit.
•Circumstantial: When the words of the teacher had been heard, Sextus did not hold out his hand.
•Causal: Because the words of the teacher had been heard, Sextus did not hold out his hand.
•Concessive: Although the words of the teacher had been heard, Sextus did not hold out his hand.
Use the translation that makes the most sense, and work the AA into the sentence in good English:
Although he had heard the teacher’s words, Sextus did not hold out his hand.
Draw pictures of these sentences. Do your best to show time relationships.
1. Fure conspecto, Sextus in palaestram cucurrit.
2. Fure vestimenta surripiente, Asellus in apodyterio dormiebat.
3. Sexto dormitante, discipuli versus Aeneidis recitabant.
4. Clamore Sexti audito, fur in palaestram confugit.
5. Fur capto, Sextus ab omnibus laudatus est.
6. Palaemo grammatico, Sextus domum saepe missus est.
7. Asello custode, fur tamen vestimenta puerorum surripuit.
8. Adstantibus appropinquantibus, fur ex aqua a Sexto extractus est.
Group Activity: Write a “Wave”
Groups 0f 3-5 Write 5 sentences story in Latin using
these Ablatives AbsoluteSene prehensoMuliere resistentePrincipe mortuo
Rehearse and be ready to act out according to instructions
From St Bernard:
"In periculis, in angustiis, in rebus dubiis, Mariam cogita, Mariam invoces. . . Ipsam sequens, non devias; ipsam rogans, non desperas; ipsam cogitans, non erras; ipsa tenente, non corruis; ipsa protegente, non metuis; ipsa duce, non fatigaris, ipsa propitia, pervenis. . . "
"Amid dangers, difficulties, and doubts, think of Mary, invoke Mary's aid.... If you follow her, you will not stray; if you entreat her, you will not lose hope; if you reflect upon her, you will not err; if she supports you, you will not fall; if she protects you, you will not fear; if she leads you, you will not grow weary; if
she is propitious, you will reach your goal...."
Marcus et Sextus ē lūdō ēgress___ ūnā cum Eucleide et alterō servō
dom____ ībant. Subitō Eucleidēs puerīs, “Vultisne ad thermās īre?” inquit.
Qu______ verbis audīt______, puerī maximē gaudēbant. Mox ad
thermās advēnērunt et in apodytērium intrāvērunt, quod iam erat plēnum
puer______ quī ē lūdō ēgress_____ eō cum paedagōgīs vēnerant. Ibi
vestīmenta exuēbant.
Marcus, vestīmentīs exūt_____, “Nunc in palaestram exeāmus,” inquit. At
Eucleidēs, “Minimē!” inquit. “Pater tuus mē iussit vōs ante nōnam hōram
redūcere.” Deinde alterī servō, cui nōmen erat Asellus, “Hīc manē!” inquit.
“Vestīmenta dīlignter custōdī! Hīc enim solent esse mult____ fūr____ quī
vestīmenta surrept_____ in urbe vēndunt.”
Cui Asellus respondit, “Ego semper vestīmenta dīligenter custōdiō. Nēmō
vestīmenta, mē custōd_____, surripere potest.”
Tum puerī, vestīment______ trādit______, in tepidārium intrāvērunt et
inde in caldāri______, ubi erat magna turba homin_____. Subitō tamen
exclāmāvit Sextus, “Aeger sum. Hunc calōr______ patī nōn possum. Exībō
et ad apodytērium regrediar.”
Dum ē tepidāriō exit, Asellum prope vestīmenta sedent______
cōnspexit. Dormiēbat Asellus. Eō ipsō tempore vestīmenta ā servō
qu______dam surripiēbantur. “Quod ubi vīdit Sextus, “Prehende fūr______!”
exclāmāvit. Simul fūr clāmōrem Sext_____ audīvit, simul Asellus ē sellā
exsiluit, simul Sextus ad iānuam cucurrit. Fūr in palaestram cōnfūgit, nam sē
in turbā cēlāre in animō habēbat. Cum tamen inde in viam ēvadere nōn
posset, in frīgidāri______ fūgit.
Sextus tamen fūr______ cōnspect______ subsequēbātur. Fūr, Sextō
vīs____, iam valdē timēbat. In pavīmentō lāpsus in aqu______ frīgid______
cecidit. Statim in aquam dēsiluit Sextus. Fūrem ex aqu_______ trahere
cōnābātur; sed frūstrā. Cum tamen adiūvissent adstant______, fūr ā Sextō
capt____ ex aquā extract______ est. Quem captum Sextus domin_____
trādidit.
An Unexpected Bath At Trimalchio’s Petronius, Satyricon 72-73
Introduction
To the citizens of the Roman Empire, a bath was more than just a method for cleansing the body.
It was a social ritual and an integral part of the day’s routine. Romans would go to the baths to
exercise, relax, or informally attend to important business. Socializing on a grand scale would be
done at the large public thermae, but wealthy citizens might have their own balneae that were as
refreshing but not as large as the public baths. These might be private clubs or smaller baths
attached to urban villas of the upper class. Although smaller than the thermae, the balneae would
still have a caldarium, tepidarium, and frigidarium. Vitruvius, a Roman architect, wrote that the
location of the bath in a villa should “face away from the north and northeast” and that “the hot and
tepid baths should be lighted from the southwest,” thus taking advantage of solar energy. In
Britain and other colder parts of the Empire, the hypocaust systems that heated the bath would
double as the central heating for the entire villa. In the second century B.C., these household
baths began to be constructed commonly in the homes of wealthy people and enabled them to
avoid the more democratic thermae.
In the Satyricon, Petronius gives us a comic glimpse of how these private baths might have been
utilized by the willing and the not-so-willing. His three anti-heroes, Encolpius (the narrator), his
slave Giton, and his companion Ascyltos (note the Greek endings on the second and third names),
accept an invitation to a dinner party given by Trimalchio, a freedman who has amassed an
incredible fortune. During the lavish and lengthy affair, our friends are treated not only to displays
of Trialchio’s fantastic wealth in the world of the living, but also to a glimpse of how he will show his
riches and opulence after he dies. A detailed description of his tomb reduces himself and his
guests to weeping and lamenting, and Trimalchio then suggests that a jump in his hot tub would
cheer everyone up.
“Quod nobis mori necesse est,” inquit Trimalchio, “vivere iam debemus. Coniciamus nos in
balneas. Tum videbo vos felices et non paenitebit. Sic calent balneae tamquam furnus.”
“Vero, vero,” inquit Habinnas, “de unā die duas facere optimum est,” nudisque consurrexit
pedibus et Trimalchionem gaudentem subsequi coepit.
Ego respiciens ad Ascylton, “Quid cogitas?” inquam. “Ego enim si videro balneas, statim
expirabo.”
“Assentemur,” inquit ille, “et dum illi balneas petunt, nos in turbā exibimus.”
Cum haec placuissent, Giton nos per porticum duxit et ad ianuam venimus, ubi canis catenarius
nos magno tumultu excepit et Ascyltos perterritus in piscinam cecidit. Ego quoque ebrius, qui etiam
pictum timueram canem, dum natanti auxilium fero, in eandem piscinam tractus sum. Servavit nos
tamen atriensis, qui et canem placavit et nos trementes extraxit in siccum.
Cum frigidi petissemus ab atriense ut nos extra ianuam emitteret, “Erras,” inquit, “si
putas te exire hac posse qua venisti. Nemo umquam convivarum per eandem ianuam
emissus est; aliā intrant, aliā exeunt.”
Rogavimus atriensem ut nos ad balneas intravimus, angustas et similes cisternae
frigidariae, in quibus Trimalchio rectus stabat. Ac ne sic quidem putidissimam eius
iactationem licuit effugere.
“Nihil,” inquit, “melius est quam sine turbā lavari. In hoc loco aliquando pistrinum
fuit.” Deinde defessus consedit. Invitatus balnearum sono diduxit usque ad cameram
os ebrium et coepit Menecratis cantica lacerare, sicut illi dicebant qui linguam eius
intellegebant.
Ceteri convivae circum labrum manibus iunctis currebant et risu ingenti clamabant.
Alii autem restrictis manibus anulos de pavimento conabantur tollere aut posito genu
cervices post terga flectere et pedes tangere. Nos, dum alii sibi ludos faciunt, in
aquam descendimus.