Dumque sacrum paro, et (enall.) velo tempora vitta, "Sacra quàm suus facio barbarior locus." 55. "This is the rite of the nation. But from what city do you come? Or why have you made such a voyage in a ship so little fortunate ?" She said; and, the name of their country having been told her, the pious virgin Finds them to be inhabitants of her own city. "Ritus is sum genti. E quâ tu tamen urbe venio? Quòve peto (sync.) parum faustus puppis iter ?" Consors sum urbs comperio suus. 56. “But let one of you," she said, "fall a victim in our rites. Let the other go as a messenger to my native land." Pylades, ready to die, urges his beloved Orestes to go. He refuses; and each contends to die in the stead of the other. "Alter at vestrum," inquam, "cado hostia sacra. Ad patrius sedes eo nuntius alter." Pylades eo jubeo carus periturus Orestes. Hic nego; uterque inque vicis pugno morior. 57. While the honourable youths carry on this contest of love, She writes to her brother a letter. She gave her written commands to her brother, and he, to whom they were intrusted, (Behold an instance of the vicissitude of human affairs,) was her brother. Dum pulcher juvenis perago certamen amor, Fratri mandatum do, quique ille dor, Frater (humanos casus aspicio) sum. 58. There is no delay; they hurry away the statues of Diana from the temple, And a ship carries them secretly through the immense waters. The wonderful friendship of these youths, although so many years have passed, Has even now great renown in Scythia. Nec mora; templo rapio simulachrum Diana, Clamque per immensus fero (enall.) puppis aqua. Synonymous Words. 59. There is no need of envy; far from me be the ap plause of the crowd; He who is wise should find a source of joy in the retirement of his own breast. Nihil (sync.) opus sum invidia; procul absum gloria vulgus ; 60. You, Zoïlus, who are well dressed, ridicule my threadbare garments. They are indeed threadbare, but, Zoïlus, they are my own. Qui pexor (enall.) pulchrè, rideo meus tritus, Zoilus. 61. He, when the expected day of death approaches, Looks forward to eternal life; he, triumphing in a better hope, Even now anticipates in hope the joys of the inhabitants of heaven. Hic, cùm maturus dies mors advenio (enall.), ævum 62. Let the ox plough, or let him impute his death to advanced years. Let the sheep afford us the means of defence against the cold north wind. Let the full she-goats bring their udders to be milked by our hands. Bos aro, aut lethum senior imputo annus. 63. The sacred spring is clear, and more transparent than a crystal stream; Many think that a deity inhabits it. Above it the water-loving lotos spreads its branches, As though it were itself a grove; the earth around it is always green with soft turf. Sum nitidus vitreusque magis lucidus (enall.) fluvius. Supra qui ramus expando aquaticus lotos, Unus sylva; tener cespes terra vireo. 64. Let riches be heaped up together; whither glory or whither ambition leads, There go, surrounded by a crowded throng of dependants, greeting you early in the morning. But what need is there of many words? You are at length Brought to this point, that you exclaim, "Alas, how much vanity is there in worldly things!" Cumulor (enall.) divitiæ; duco quò gloria quòve Ambitio, stipatus pergo examen densus Manè salutans. Quid multa? Huc denique volvor eòdem, -ut exclamo (enall.), “ Heu, quantum inane in res!” 65. Pluto himself appears seated on a rough throne, awful in gloomy Majesty; his huge sceptre appears frightful in the dismal Shade: a gloomy cloud renders his lofty brow More terrible; and the sternness of his dreadful form becomes more appalling. Ipse, fultus rudis solium, nigerque verendus Sceptrum (enall.) situ; sublimis caput mostissimus nebula 66. As the sea quivers when it is brushed by a gentle breeze, As the tender branch of the ash is shaken by the warm south wind, So you might have seen my pale limbs tremble; The bed was shaken by my body, that was laid on it. Ut æquor fit tremulum tenuis cùm stringor ventus, Quassus ab corpus, quod impositus sum (enall.) lectus sum. 67. The land of the Romans had not anciently any skilful husbandmen; Fierce wars wholly occupied its active inhabitants. There was more honour in the sword than in the curved plough; The neglected land produced but little to its owner. Non habeo terra peritus antiquè (enall.) colcnus; Plus sum in ferrum quàm curvus honor aratrum; Neglectus dominus paucus (enall.) produco ager. 68. You are accustomed often to ask me, Priscus, what sort of man I should be, If I were suddenly to be made rich and become powerful. Do you then think that any one can say what his future conduct will be? Tell me now, if you were to become a lion, what sort of a lion should you be? Sæpè quæro soleo, qualis sum, Priscus, futurus, Quisquam possum puto mos (enall.) dico futurus? 69. Let him commend the repast of a short meal, and salutary Justice, and the laws, and peace with her oper gates. Let him faithfully keep secrets intrusted to him; let him pray and beseech the gods That prosperity may return to the wretched, and forsake the haughty. Is dapes commendo mensa exiguus, et (enall.) saluber Ut redeo infelix, desero fortuna ambitiosus. 70. But he calls the land his own, as far as where the planted poplar Prevents by fixed boundaries the disputes of neighbours; as though Any thing could be his own, which in a moment of the fleeting hour, At one time by solicitation, at another by purchase, at another by violence, at another by the last fate of man, May change its masters, and fall into another's power. Sed appello usque suum, quà populus adsitus certus Refugio limes vicinus (enall.) jurgium; tanquam Sum proprium quisquam, punctum qui fluxus hora, Nunc prece, nunc pretium, nunc violentia, nunc sors supremus, ELLIPSIS. Ellipsis is the omission of a word or of several words in a sentence. When the omitted word or words may be found in some other part of the sentence, the ellipsis is termed lax or loose; as the omission of noram before catulos, and of similes after hados: the ellipsis is termed strict, when the omitted word does not occur in any part of the sentence; as the omission of esse after catulos, of suis before matribus, of ego before nóram, of negotia after magna, and of ego before solebam, in the following lines: Sic canibus catulos similes, sic matribus hædos If all the words which are omitted by the strict and lax ellipsis in the preceding lines were supplied, they would be written thus: Sic ego nóram catulos esse similes canibus, sic suis matribus hædos esse similes Ego nôram; sic parvis negotiis componere magna negotia ego sole bam. Every word that may be omitted in English by the figure ellipsis, without injuring the sense, may most commonly be omitted also in Latin. The use of ellipsis much more frequent in the Latin than it is in the English language; it must not therefore be inferred from the preceding remark, that those words only may be left out in translating an English sentence into Latin, which may be omitted without injury to the sense in the original. Nothing but a considerable knowledge of the idiom of the language, and of the usage of its writers, can be a sufficient guide for the introduction of this figure. The following ob servations refer only to those instances of the strict ellipsis, which are of the most common occurrence, and must not consequently be considered as affording a comprehensive view of the subject. The nouns homo, verbum, and res or negotium, are often omitted; as, rari for rari homines, paucis for paucis verbis: Apparent rari nantes in gurgite vasto. Atque huic responsum paucis ita reddidit heros. A pronoun, that is not peculiarly emphatic, is generally omitted when it is the nominative to a verb, and sometimes when it is the case following a verb, especially before the relative qui: the pronouns possessive also are often omit ted; as, Vel tu, quod superest, infesto fulmine morti, The verb sum is frequently omitted; as, Fama, malum quo non aliud velocius ullum, Conjunctions are sometimes omitted; as, Ferte citi flammas, date vela, impellite remos. The omission of conjunctions is termed asyndeton, and the repetition of them, when the sense does not require it, polysyndeton. These figures are often introduced into a sentence solely for the sake of giving to the style a greater variety; yet they have sometimes a striking and expressive effect. Asyndeton has been used to represent more forcibly the rapidity of an action, or the eagerness of a speaker; polysyndeton, by retarding the course of a sentence, and thus presenting every part of it more distinctly to the mind, has sometimes been rendered expressive of dignity, slowness and solemnity. In imitation of a Greek mode of expression, the accusative case is sometimes used after a verb passive, a participle or an adjective, the preposition secundum, or some other word of similar meaning, being understood; as, tempora for circa tempora: Populeis adsunt evincti tempora ramis. Many of the lines in the following exercises will require an alteration in the arrangement of the words, as well as the introduction of the figure ellipsis, before they can be formed into verses. |