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{ Category Archives } Latin

Unde ille habitus, unde deformitas?

Livy, Ab Urbe Condita 2.23: Sabino bello ait se militantem, quia propter populationes agri non fructu modo caruerit, sed villa incensa fuerit, direpta omnia, pecora abacta, tributum iniquo suo tempore imperatum, æs alienum fecisse. He said he served in the Sabine War and that he had not only lost his harvest on account of the pillaging, […]

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They corrupt.

Cicero, De Lege Agraria 2.97: Singularis homo privatus, nisi magna sapientia praeditus, vix cancellis et regionibus offici magnis in fortunis et copiis continetur. A private individual, unless he is endowed with great wisdom, is hardly restrained by the bars and boundaries of his position when among great wealth and power. I’ve been posting these less […]

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Vitruvius on perspective.

Vitruvius, advising proportions of an architrave should vary depending on how high they are relative to the ground (De Architectura 3.5): Quo altius enim scandit oculi species, non facile persecat aëris crebritatem, dilapsa itaque altitudinis spatio et viribus, exstructam incertam modulorum renuntiat sensibus quantitatem. For, given how high the eye’s view is rising, it’s not […]

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A pox on parasites.

Plautus (Captivi 4.4): DÄ­Ä“s|pÄ­tÄ“r | tÄ“ dÄ«|qu(e), Ä’rgăsÄ­|lÄ•, pÄ“r|dānt Ä“t | vÄ“ntrÄ“m | tÅ­Å«m, părăsÄ«|tōsqu(e) ōm|nÄ«s, Ä“t | quÄ« pōs|thāc cÄ“|nām pără|sÄ«tÄ«s | dăbÄ«t. May Jupiter and the gods destroy you and your belly, Ergasilus—and all freeloaders—and whoever from now on offers dinner to freeloaders! I think I’ve gotten the hang of scanning these Plautine […]

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Arrogance!

Ovid (Metamorphoses 15.871–2): Jāmqu(e) ŏpÅ­s | Ä“xÄ“|gÄ«, quōd | nÄ“c JŏvÄ­s | Ä«ră nÄ•c | Ä«gnÄ«s nÄ“c pŏtÄ•|rÄ«t fÄ“r|rÅ«m nÄ•c Ä•|dāx ăbŏ|lÄ“rÄ• vÄ•|tÅ«stās. And now I have completed a work that neither the wrath of Jupiter nor fire nor the sword nor gluttonous Time can do away with. Because just being ære perennius is underachieving. […]

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Haven't done one of these in a while.

Plautus (Mostellaria, 490–5). ―Ăĭt vÄ“|nÄ«ss(e) Ä«l|l(um) Ä«n sōm|nÄ«s ād | sÄ“ mōr|tŭōm. ―NÄ“mp(e) er|g(o) Ä«n sōm|nÄ«s? ―Ĭtă. |SÄ“d āus|cÅ«ltā | mŏdŏ. Ä‚Ä­t Ä«l|l(um) hōc pāc|tō sÄ­bÄ­ | dÄ«xÄ«s|sÄ• mōr|tŭōm. ―Īn sōm|nÄ«s? ―MÄ«|rÅ«m quÄ«n | vÄ­gÄ­lān|tÄ« dÄ«|cÄ•rÄ“t, qu(i) ăbhÄ«nc | sÄ“xā|gÄ«nt(a) ān|nōs ōc|cÄ«sÅ«s | fŏrÄ“t. ĪntÄ“r|d(um) Ä­nÄ“p|tÄ“ stÅ«l|tÅ­s Ä“s. | QuÄ«n tÅ« | tăcÄ“s? “He said a […]

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More fun with stress accent.

Horace (Epistulae 1.15): Ä€d mărÄ• | cÅ«m vÄ“|nÄ«, gÄ•nÄ•|rōs(um) Ä“t | lÄ“nÄ• rÄ•|quÄ«rō, quōd cÅ«|rās ăbÄ­g|āt, quōd | cÅ«m spÄ“ | dÄ«vÄ­tÄ• | mānÄ“t Ä«n vÄ“|nās ănÄ­|mÅ«mquÄ• mÄ•|Å«m, quōd | vÄ“rbă mÄ­|nÄ«strÄ“t, quōd mÄ“ | LÅ«cā|næ jÅ­vÄ•|nÄ“m cōm|mÄ“ndÄ•t ă|mÄ«cæ. When I go to the sea, I need a smooth [wine] with a good lineage, to […]

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The pyramids of Porsena’s tomb.

Pliny the Elder, quoting Varro (Naturalis Historia 36.19): supra id quadratum pyramides stant quinque, quattuor in angulis et in medio una, imæ latæ pedum quinum septuagenum, altæ centenum quinquagenum ita fastigatæ, ut in summo orbis aëneus et petasus unus omnibus sit inpositus […] supra quem orbem quattuor pyramides insuper singulæ stant altæ pedum centenum, supra […]

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Scanning Plautus

Plautus (Casina 39-42): Īs sÄ“r|vōs, sÄ•d ăb|hÄ«nc ān|nōs fāc|t(um) Ä“st sÄ“|dÄ•cÄ«m, quōm cōn|spÄ­cā|tÅ«st prÄ«|mÅ­lō | crÄ•pÅ«s|cÅ­lō pÅ­Ä“l|l(am) Ä“xpō|nÄ«, ădÄ­t | Ä“xtÄ“m|pl(o) ād mÅ­lÄ­|Ä•rÄ“m, qu(æ) Ä«ll(am) Ä“x|pōnÄ“|bāt: ō|rāt, Å­t Ä•|ām dÄ“t | sÄ­bÄ­ This servant—now, this happened sixteen years ago, when he managed to see a little girl being abandoned, at first light—immediately went up to […]

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Sheaves and blocks.

Vitruvius (De Architectura 10.2): In trocleam induntur orbiculi duo per axiculos versationes habentes. Two pulley wheels are inserted into the block, turning on its axles. From what I can tell so far, classical Latin does not seem to have a word exactly corresponding to ‘pulley’; there was the sheave—the grooved wheel itself—orbiculus, and there was […]

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