Ancient Numismatics

No Latin this time, just a quick note. As a collector of Roman coins, HobbyBlog caught my eye. Anyone interested in ancient numismatics should also check out FORVM. The discussion board there is an excellent place to ask questions and learn about ancient coin collecting. The Romans minted in such large numbers that authentic coins (especially bronze coins from the 3rd century A.D. and onwards) may be purchased for a few dollars. (Sadly, the beautiful silver denarius of Augustus pictured here cannot...) There are plenty of ancient coin dealers on e-bay, but of course caveat emptor - it's always a good idea to educate yourself before making any large purchaes.

(There, I did sneak some Latin in.)

Sententiae

Nothing too involved tonight, just some quick sentences from Wheelock (chapter 10). First the Latin, then my translations and comments...

1. officium meum faciam
2. semper magno cum timore incipio dicere
3. fata viam invenient
4. vive memor mortis; fugit hora

1. 'I will do my duty.'
   This is Terence. I like this sentence - sounds neat, short, to the point...


2. 'I always begin to speak with great fear.'
   Adapted from Cicero. When I read through this, I wasn't sure if magno was modifying timore or not. It feels like magno should be after cum, but that's just my bias from English I suppose. If it was a dative, for example, I think it could be 'I always begin to speak to a great man with fear.'


3. 'The Fates will find a way.'
   So says Vergil.


4. 'Live mindful of death; time flees.'
   Happy thoughts... adapted from Persius.

Ok, getting sleepy. bonam noctem!

non vitae, sed scholae

Non vitae, sed scholae, discimus.
- Seneca the Younger, Epistulae Morales 106.12

This was a new use of the dative for me - 'dative of purpose'. Not a tricky concept, but nevertheless one that ambushed me when I came across this sentence.

Translated, this means, 'We do not learn for life, but for the lecture-hall.' This seems like an odd thing for Seneca to say, until we put it in context and realize that he was indicating the reality of the matter, not trying to suggest that it is how the world should be.

Seneca is misquoted all over the internet as 'Non scholae, sed vitae, discimus.' This, of course, has the appealing sentiment of 'We learn for life, not for school.'

What's in a name?

Vergil or Virgil? Which is correct?

Vergil's full name was Publius Vergilius Maro... so where did 'Virgil' come from? Professor William Harris offers some possibilities in his essay on The Secret Life of a Very Private Poet:

Donatus adds that Vergil was so pure in life, in speech and in spirit, that he was nicknamed "Parthenias" or "The Maiden" at Naples, where he habitually lived. (One thinks of "virgo", and the variant spelling of the name Virgilius, perhaps stemming from his mother's dream that she would bring forth a "rod" or virga.....)

One is certainly tempted to make the connection between Virgil and the Latin virgo, virginis m. (maiden, virgin)... (Harris continues to discuss possibilities for the origin of his nickname Parthenias.)

On this topic, N. S. Gill notes:

According to Gilbert Highet in The Classical Tradition, the misspelling (Virgil) began early, possibly as the result of Vergil's nickname Parthenias which was based on the poet's sexual restraint. In the Middle Ages the name Virgil was thought to refer to his magical (as in the virga magic wand) powers.

Thus, considered a wizard (and prophet) in medieval times, the alternate spelling may stem from the connection with virga, -ae f. (a rod, wand, broom).

(...then again, maybe someone just misspelled his name along the way, and it caught on...)

voces noctis

(meant to post this last night but Blogger was down...)

fessus sum, sed scribam. hodie longum erat, et tolerare laborem vix poteram. nunc requiescam -- fenestra aperta est et voces noctis audio.

Phew. Speaking of labour... three simple sentences but so much work! I tried to fit in some of the stuff I've been learning recently... third declension & third conjugation. I'm not entirely sure about the 'longum' - I was trying to say 'today was long', but I didn't really know what gender to use. The neuter seemed most appropriate.

I think tomorrow I'll try some Latin -> English instead.

Lingua Latina Per Se Illustrata

I recently purchased Lingua Latina per se Illustrata, Pars I: Familia Romana and thought I'd mention it here. As the author, Hans Orberg, describes it,

"LINGUA LATINA provides a Latin text that students can read and understand immediately without any need for translation. In this text every sentence is intelligible per se because the meaning and function of all new words and forms is made plain by the context or by illustrations or marginal notes."

The whole thing is in Latin (really! - even the copyright reads 'omnia proprietatis iura reservantur'), and I think it accomplishes its task quite well - I find myself picking up new vocabulary straight from context. It's wonderful reading through a paragraph without having to dive for a dictionary. It's also nice to read and understand in Latin without having to translate into English as I go along. Hopefully one day I'll be able to read Vergil with as much confidence...

Update: As pointed out in the comments, a second book is also available: Lingua Latina per se Illustrata, Pars II: Roma Aeterna.

adnotatio prima

Salve, quid agis? Haec adnotatio in ephemeride meo est prima in lingua latina. Si erro, mone me et relinque sententias tuas, amabo te. Scribam cras denuo.

Well, there's my first entry in Latin. I was trying say something like, "This note in my journal is the first in Latin. If I err, advise me and leave your thoughts [ie. comments], please. I will write again tomorrow."

I imagine the Latin sounds rather clumsy, but it's a start. :)

Hic-Haec-Hoc-off

So, having reached chapter 9 of Wheelock, I've been practicing my newly-learned 'hic-haec-hoc's. I confess I'm not quite as hardcore as this girl yet, but maybe one day I too will be able to recite all 30 forms in 5 seconds while standing on my head...

Singular

	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nom.	hic	haec	hoc
Gen.	huius	huius	huius
Dat.	huic	huic	huic
Acc.	hunc	hanc	hoc
Abl.	hoc	hac	hoc

Plural

	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nom.	hi	hae	haec
Gen.	horum	harum	horum
Dat.	his	his	his
Acc.	hos	has	haec
Abl.	his	his	his

Hello World

If you're here (and you are not, in fact, me), then you are probably wondering why this blog exists. Simply put, I am trying to learn latin and thought that a journal of my studies might be helpful. I haven't quite determined why it will be helpful, but we'll see.

In any event, it's fun. :)

There will likely be random musings about various other (probably classics-related) topics. Comments are encouraged...especially if you notice a mistake in my latin (I imagine there will be plenty of them!)

valete!
(I had to have some latin in my first post...)