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Quid/Quod est tibi nōmen ?
Mihi nōmen (Anglicum/Sīnicum/Latīnum) est_______ Unde es? Britannus/a sum Canādiānus /a Coreānus/a Francogāllus/a Germānus/a Sīnēnsis Austrāliānus/-a Martiānus/-a Quem quaestum facis?/Quid est officium tuum? Quō mūnere fungeris? Sum argentārius/a - grammaticus/a - professor medicus/a - investigātor/investigātrix - custōs pūblicus/a - diurnārius/a - advocātus/a - magister/magistra Latīnitātis - sacerdōs – historicus/a - scrīptor/scrīptrix - mercātor/mercātrix - officiālis pūblicus/a īnsidiātor/ īnsidiātrix - fūnambulus/-a |
What’s your name
My (English/Chinese/Latin) name is _________ Where are you from ? I’m British Canadian Korean French German Chinese Australian Martian How do you make a living? What is your job? What post are you in? I’m a banker - language teacher - professor doctor – researcher - policeman journalist – lawyer – Latin teacher - priest historian - writer - businessman – civil servant – assassin - tight-rope walker |
respiciō, respicere, respexī, respectum look back at, take notice of quaesō please (literally: `I ask’)
aliquandō sometimes, for once rēs pūblica, reī pūblicae f republic, state orior, orīrī, ortus sum rise, be sprung from quī, quid who, which, that (interrogative pronoun) quibus ortus sīs: indirect question (with perfect subjunctive) dependent on cōnsīderā ; the reference is to Anthony’s grandfather who had died fighting on the side of the senatorial elite against the populist general, Marius, quibuscum...mēcum: the preposition cum acts as a `postposition’ with some xcommon pronouns.obtrectō, vīvō, vīvere, vīxī live. Subjunctive again in a reported question, volō, velle, voluī want, wish (volēs is future tense). redeō, redīre, rediī, reditum return grātia, -ae f favour, grace dē, about tē yourself tū the subject pronoun is used here for emphasis and for contrast with the accusative tē videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsum see (vīdēris is perfect subjunctive used in place of the imperative. ipse, ipsa, ipsum self (emphatic); translated `myself’ when used in the nominative with a 1st person singular verb. profiteor, -fitērī, -fessus sum make a declaration, dēfendō, -er, -fendī, -fēnsum defend adulescēns, entis m young man dēserō, -ere, –seruī, -sertum desert. senex, senis m old man contemnō, -ere, -tempsī , -temptum despise. Catilīna. -ae m leader of an attemted overthrow of the government which Cicero suppressed, as consul in 63 B.C. gladius, -ī m sword. pertimēscō, -ere, -timuī be very scared of. tuus, -a, -um your exsilium, -ī n um quin indeed, that not. corpus, corporis n body libenter gladly. offerō, offerre, obtulī, oblātum. offer (obtulerim is perfect subjunctive used instead of the more usual present in the sernse `I would offer’. repraesentō, -ārī, -sentāvi, -sentātum revive. mors, mortis f death. lībertas, lībertātis f cīvitās, cīvitātis f state possum, posse, posuī be able. |
aliquandō at long last dolor, dolōris m sorrow, pain populus, -ī m, people pariō, parere, peperī, partum give birth to (present subjunctive in purpose clause). quod that which. iam now, already, diū for a long time, parturiō, -turīre, -turīvī/-turiī, -turītum be pregnant with (Cicero is referring to the struggle to secure republican freedom against those wishing to establish their own dictatorship.) etenim and indeed, for. sī if abhinc ago annus, -ī m year. prope nearly. vīgintī twenty. hic, haec, hōc this (hōc ipsō in templō, in this very temple – referring to the Templeof Concord in which Cicero had made his fourth speech against Catiline.
negō (1) deny. immatūrus, -a, um, premature, too early; posse mortem immatūram (accusative and infinitive in indirect statement) `that death can betoo early’ cōnsulārīs, cōnsulāris m man whohas been consul. quantō (by) how much verius more truly nunc now. mihi (dative) for me. vērō, indeed. cōnscrīptī patrēs, `enrolled fathers’, the title by which the assembled senators were addressed, perfungor, -fungī, -functus sum carry out. iīs = eīs (ablative plural of is, ea, id). adipiscor, adipiscī, adeptus sum obtain. gerō, gerere, gessī, gestum achieve. faciō, facere, fēcī, factum do rēbus iīs: refers both to the office Cicero obtained and to the things he achieved in it. duo two modo only optō (1) wish for, ūnum one (thing) morior, morī, mortuus sum die. līber, lībera, līberum free. relinquō, -er, -līquī, -lictum leave hōc: ablative of comparison (`than this’) maius greater dīs: contracted abl. plural of deus, god) immortālis, -e immortal do, dare, dedī, datum give alterum the other (thing) cuique (dative of quisque, quaeque, quidque, each ēveniō, -īre, ēvēnī, ēventum turn out (subjunctive in the wish clause dependent on ut). ut (with indicative) as dē concerning. mereor, merērī, meritus sum deserve |
ut (with indicative) when, as
veniō, -īre, vēnī, ventum come Arpīnas, Arpīnātis (adj) belonging to Arpinum Cicero’s home-town, 65 miles SE of Rome). The word here is in the neuter accusative, with a word like praedium (-ī n, `estate’) understood. frāter, frātris m brother appāreō, -ēre, apparuī. appear cum (conjunction) when, since (used here, as often, with plpf subjunctive]. prīmus, -a, -um first; in prīmīs, (at) first sermō, -ōnis m conversation, talk nōbīs…fuit: literally `to us (dat.) conversation was about you and that [was] a lot’ (i.e. `we had a conversation about you and it was a long one’; prn. is is masc referring to sermō) ex eō: `from that’, i.e. afterwards, subsequently ea quae (n.pl.) `things which’. fuerāmus….locūtī: plpf of loquor (loquī, locūtus sum) would normally be locutī erāmus but Cicero has substituted fuērāmus (`we had been’) for erāmus and fronted the auxiliary, probably to emphasise this was something they had aready talked about some time before inter nōs (acc.): `between ourselves’, `with each other’..soror, sorōris f sister (Quintus’s wife Pomponia was Atticus’s sister) Tusculānus, -a, -um (adj.) connected with Tusculum, a small town 15 miles SE of Rome where Cicero often stayed on route to Arpinum (see map). A word like praediō (estate) is again to be understood with the adjective tam so (going with the adjective mītis, -e mild.) plācō (1) appease, make calm tum at that time etiam sī even if quī, qua/quae, quod (adj.) any ratiō, ratiōnis f method, thinking, accounting sumptus, -ūs m spending, consumption, expenses dē ratiōne sumptūs = about the expense accounts; |
offēnsiō, -iōnis f offence
ille sīc diēs: `that day [went] thus’ postrīdiē on the next day ex Arpinātī from the Arpinum estate’ proficīscor. –ficīscī, -fectus sum set out Arcānus, -a, -um of Arcae (town between Arpinum and Aquinum.) maneō, -ēre, mānsī, mānsum remain faciō, facere, fēcī, factum make; fēcit ut + subj: caused it to happen that..; Quintus was probably required to preside over a local festival Aquīnum, -ī n town of Aquinum (see map); Aquīnī is locative. prandeō, -ēre, prandī, prānsum have lunch n nōstī = nōvistī (you know – pft, of nōscō, -ere, ōvī, nōtum get to know) fundus, -ī m farm quō to where hūmānus, -a, -um humane, considerate invītō (1) call in acciō, -īre, -īvī/-iī, -ītum summon (future perfect may be meant to emphasise Quintus wil lhave finished bringing in the men by the time Pomponia has the women ready, but it might also have been regarded as more polite than the simple future) possum, posse, potuī be able dulcius, sweeter mihi quidem ut vīsum = as it seemed at any rate to me. idque `and that’ cum….tum: not only but also verbum, -ī n word animus, -ī m spirit vultus, -ūs m face, expression. at but illa she audientibus nōbīs (abl. absol.): `as we listened’, `in our hearing’ ego ipsa I myself hīc here hospita, -ae f guest; the word can also mean `hostess’ but her meaning is clearly `I’m only a guest here’! opīnor, -ārī, -ātus sum believe antecēdō, -ere, -cessī, -cessum go ahead ex eō..quod = for the reason that. Stātius, -ī m: a favourite slave or freedman of Quintus and evidently object of Pomponia’s jealousy. prandium, -ī n lunch en look! see! haec: `these things’ (i.e `this kind of thing’) patior, patī, passus sum suffer cotīdiē daily |
dīcō, -ere, dīxī, dictum say
quis, quid who, what quaesō please (lit: `I ask’) istūc to that point (quid…istūc erat: `what was wrong with that,? magnum a lot, plenty (lit: `big’) itaque and so ipse, ipsa, ipsum self (emphatic) commōveō, -ēre, -mōvī, -mōtum stir up, excite, disturb absurdus, -a, um absurd asper, aspera, asperum rough (-ē is the adverbial termination) absurdē et asperē: note the alliteration verbum, -ī n vultus, -ūs m face, expression respondeō, -ēre, -ondī, -ōnsum reply dissimulō (1) disguise (feelings) doleō, -ēre, doluī be in pain or sorrow discumbō, -ere, -cubuī, -cubitum lie down separately (to eat); at a formal meal, the diners would lie down on couches arranged on three sides of the table. omnis, -e all praeter except ille, illa, illud that (used often smply for `her’, `him’ etc.) cuī: dative of relative pronuoun (`to/for whom’) tamen however dē from mittō, -ere, mīsī, missum send (presumably food was sent to Pomponia’s room where she was sulking) reiciō, -icere, -iēcī, -iectum reject, throw back quid multa (lit `what many?’ )`what’s the point of saying more?’ meō frātre…tuā sorōre: ablatives of comparison (= quam meus frāter/tua soror). The order in the second parallel statement (ablative, comparative) reverses that in the first (comparative, ablative), a figure of speech kown as chiasmus, frequently used for emphasis. Kennedy and Davies suggest that its use here is rather tactless on Cicero’s part! lēnis,-e mild, gentle (used in neuter comparative) visum est: seemed, was seen (videō, -ēre, vīdī, vīsum) praetereō. –īre, iī, -itum pass over quae tum mihi maior, maius bigger stomachus, -ī m stomach, annoyance. |
mihi maiōrī stomachō …fuērunt: were a bigger annoyance (literally `for a bigger annoyance’) to me than to Quintus himself’ (`double dative ‘construction)
inde from that point Aquīnum: `to Aquīnum’ (accus. of destination with place name);. in Arcānō: `at the Arcan estate’ remaneō, -ēre, -mānsī, -mānsum remain. Aquīnum ad mē: `to Aquinum to me’ (ie `to me at Aquinum’; the Latin order logically puts the town first then the person who had to be found inside it). postrīdiē on the next day māne in the morning vēnit: note long vowel in perfect stem of veniō nārrō (1) narrate, tell sēcum: literally `with self’, referring back to Quīntus as subject of nārrāvit; in reported speech the relative ponoun may refer either to the subject of the accusative-infinitive clause or to the subj, of the whole sentence illam: her dormiō, -īre, -īvī/iī, -ītum sleep volō, velle, voluī wish ; voluisse is perf. infinitive (`to have wished’) discessūra: fem. of future participle from discēdō, -ere, -cessī, -cessum, depart cum discessūra esset: `when she was about to leave’ fuisse:`to have been’ (perf. inf. of sum) eiusmodī : of that kind quālis, -e of which/what (sort) vīdissem: subjunctive (pluperfect) in a subordinate clause within a reported statement. Quid quaeris: `what are you looking for?’ (i.e `What more do you need to know?’) vel ipsī; `even to [Pomponia] herself’ licet: it is permissible (used here with subjunctive rather than the more usual dative and infinitive) hoc dīcās: `that you should say this’ hūmānitās, -tātis f humanity, kindness, good nature dēsum, dēesse, dēfuī: be lacking eī…dēfuisse: (lit: `to her to have been lacking’): `that she lacked kindness’ iūdicium, -ī n judgement; meō iūdiciō: `in my judgement’ illō diē: on that day. diē dēfuisse: note the alliteration |
TULLIUS Cicero refers to himself by his nōmen (clan name) and adds the names of other family members who also send greetings to Tiro.
TIRŌNĪ: `to Tiro’, a slave of Cicero’s freed in 53 B.C. and thereafter known as Marcus Tullius Tirō. He served as Cicero’s secretary and published his correspondence after his death. SAL. PLŪR. DĪC: i.e. salūtem plūrimam dīcit (`says very much greeting’), a standard opening for a letter, CICERŌ: i.e. Cicero’s son, who had the same three names as hs father but, as customary, was referred to in the family by his cognōmen alone. Q.FRĀTER: Cicero’s brother Quintus. Q.F.: Quīntus fīlius, i.e. Cicero’s nephew. varius, -a, -um various, diverse afficiō, afficiere, affēcī, affectum affect pāgina, -ae f page prior, -ius first, earlier perturbō (1) disturb, upset paullum, a little (adv) alter, altera, alterum (the)other recreō (1) revive, refresh quārē for reach reason (lit:: `by which thing’) nunc now quidem indeed dubitō (1) doubt quīn that, whereby not (used after negative verbs of doubting). quoad intil, as long as plānus, -a, -um flat, obvious valeō, -ēre, valuī be well, be strong (subjunctive is used after quoad when the focus is on what is anticipated, not on actually occurs) nāvigātiō, -ōnis f voyage via -ae f road committō, -ere, -mīsī, -missum, entrust, commit (subjunctive is needed in a quīn clause but also here gives idea of obligation) satis enough matūrē early. satis…vīderō…vīderō: future perfects used here as focus is on a future point at which Cicero will already have seen Tiro. dē about, concerning medicus, -ī m doctor et: here meaning `also’ existimō (1) think of, estimate bene existimārī: `to be well thought of’ (i.e. `that he is well thought of’; acusative subject fir the infinitive (e.g. eum) is understood) scrībō, -ere, |
scrīpsī, scrīptum write sīc thus audiō, -īre, -īvī, -ītum hear
cūrātiō, -iōnis f cure, treatment probō (1) approve of; iūs, iūris n soup, broth dandum: gerundive of obligation from dō, dare, dedī, datum give tibi nōn dandum tibi nōn fuit: `should not have been given to you’ (tibi could theoretically also mean `by you’ but this would not make sense) cum since (with subjunctive essēs) κακοστόμαχος (cacostomachos) Greek for `with a bad stomach’) sed tamen however accūrāte in detail, with care Lysō, Lysōnis a Greek in whose house at Patras (a port city, now the regional capital of southern Greece) Tiro was staying. Curius, -ī m a Roman money-lender living in Patras. suāvis, -e agreeable officium, -ī n duty hūmānitās, -ātis f kindness in eīs: `in them’ (i.e. among the many things C. put in the letter vidērētur: `if it should seem [good]’ trā(ns)ferō, -ferre, -tulī, -lātum carry across, transfer ut…trāferret: sunbjuctive clause of reported request or command (`that he should bring you over…) ad sē: `to himself’, i.e. to Curius’s own house noster,, -tra, -trum our; omnis, -e all, every vereor, -ērī, veritus sum fear negligēns, -entis careless; the comparative here has the sense `rather careless’ omnēs Graecī = omnēs Graecī sunt negligentiōrēs nē..sit: `that he may be’; Latin uses nē after a verb of fearing because the clause is in origin a wish that the thing feared will not happen deinde then quod because, quum = cum (when) litterāe, -ārumf.pl. accipiō, -ere, -cēpī, -ceptum receive nūllus, -a, -um none remittō, -ere, -mīsī, -missum send back laudō (1) praise igitur therefore, quid faciendum sit: `what should be done’ (gerundive of obligation, subjunctive in a reported question) iūdicō (1) judge |
ille, illa, illud that
mī: masc. voc. sing. form of meus (`my dear Tiro’) rogō (1) ask, request sumptus, -ūs m expense; sumptū is an alternative form of the more usual dative sumptuī, parcō, -ere, pepercī/parsī spare (with dat.) sumptū nē parcās: subjunctive in indirect command clause, with sumptū placed before nē for emphasis ūllus, -a, -um any rēs, rēī f thing, affair quod which (refers to feminine rē but attracted into the neuter to agree with its complement, opus) opus, operis n work, necessity quod….opus sit: `which may be necessary’ (the more usual construction would be with ablative of thing needed – quā opus sit (`of which there may be need’); sit is subjunctive as it is inside the subjunctive nē…parcās clause. ad for purpose of valētūdō, -tūdinis f health scrībō, -ere, scrīpsī, scrīptum write quod dīxissēs…dāret: `[saying that] he should give what you had said’ (indirect command clause with ut understood). Presumably Tiro had asked Curius for money. medicus, -ī m doctor ipse, -a, -um self (emphatic) putō (1) think aliquis, aliquid someone/something dandum: gerundive of obligation (`needing to be given’) quō:literally `by which’, this ablative relative pronoun was regularly used in place of ut in purpose clause containing a comparative adjective, studiōsus, -a, -um enthusiastic, devoted innumerābilis, -e innumerable tuus, -a, -um your officium, -ī n duty, service in mē: to me (literally ‘into me’), domesticus, -a, -um domestic forēnsis, -e concerning the courts urbānus, -a, -um in the city (i.e. in Rome) prōvinciālis, -e in the provinces prīvātus, -a, -um private pūblicus, -a, -um public studia, -ōrum n studies litterae, -ārum f. pl correspondence, writings (Cicero might be referring just to his letters but more likely both to these and to his philosophical essays) vincō, -ere, vīcī, victum overcome. |
spērō (1) hope validus, -a, -um well
vīceris…vīderis: as at the start of the letter, Cicero uses a double future perfect for emphasis. Tiro will please Cicero more by getting well than by all the services he has previously done him. bellus, -a, -um handsome,agrreable, neat (a very common word in collqiual Latin , which has survived as French bel, belle etc.) sī rēctē erit: `if it will be correctly’, i.e. `if all goes well’. Mescīnius, -ī m Mescinius Rufus, who had been Cicero’s quaestor (finance officer) when he was governor of Cicilia in 52 B.C. Although Cicero elsewhere says he was a poor and dishonest administrator he evidently thought he would make a good travelling companion. dēcursūrum: future particple from dēcurrō (`journey down’), used here as an abbreviation of the future infinitive dēcursūrum esse in a reported statement dependent on putō. The Romans spoke of `coming down’ from a province as we do of `coming down from university’. inhūmānus, -a, -um unkind ut mihi vīsus est:`as he seemed to me’, i.e. `as my impression was’ dīligō, -ere, dīlēxī, dīlēctum be fond of, have a high opinion of (the word used in the Latin Vulgate for `love’ in the Christian sense) cum…tum: both…and cōnsulito: a more formal version of the regular imperative cōnsule (from cōnsulō, -er, -suluī, -sultum consult, have concern for) dīligēns, -entis diligent, careful nāvigātiō, -ōnis f voyage nūllus, -a, -um no, none iam now festīnō (1) hurry volō, velle, voluī wish, want labōrō (1) be troubled, work nihil…sīs: lit. `I am troubled about nothing except that you be well’ (i.e. `My only concern is for your recovery’). The subjunctive (sīs) clause is expressing Cicero’s wish. |