LESSON
OBJECTIVES
• To learn more about
the travels of Aeneas
• To learn the difference
between transitive and
intransitive verbs
• To learn the ablative of
agent construction
Aeneas soci6s convocavi\ et verba Iecit:
"In terra nova sumus. Sed dei praesidium nostrum sunt. Deis vitam
committite. Neque terra neque aqua nos 1 terret. Inveniemus viam aut 1 us
faciemus. Italia nostra erit. Ibi et terminus malorum nostrorum et otium 2 him
3
perpetuum a Troianis invenientur. Ibi patria erit et nova Troia. E patria nova s4 name (acc.)
which
numquam excedemus."
5
who
Tum Aeneas cum uno socio e castris excessit. Loe~ explOrare maturavit. 6 dative
Venus mater eum 2 vidit et appellavit. N.Omen 3 oppid!, quod 4 appellatur
Carthago et in Africa est, et nomen reginae, quae 5 est Dido, Aeneae6 V enu~
nuntiat. Via Aeneae a dea monstratur; Aeneas processit et magnum oppidum 10
In Carthage, Dido, sympathetic
to the Trojans' woes, wekomed
them and had a great banquet
prepared. Afterwards, Aeneas,
at Dido's insistence, reluctantly
told of the havoc of the fall of
Troy and his pain at having to
flee in obedience to the will of
the gods. Can you identify some
of the events connected with
the Trojan War as shown in this
sixteenth-century enamel?
LESSON
XXVlll
IN
AFRICA
AENEAS
AUXILIUM
ACCIPIT.
191
7
whom
8
ablative
9
had separated
10
excellent
11
/u ' /us (Iyo '/us)
12
you
15
13
Love, the Roman god Cupid
14
deum ... lulum, believe the god to
be lulus
20
vidit. In medio oppido templum erat. Ad templum regina Dido cum paucis
sociis venit. lbi erant reliqui Troiani quos 7 undae ab Aenea8 separaverant9 •
Dido mala Troianorum audit et <licit:
"Auxilio meo aut in ltaliam aut in Siciliam commodeJv~nietis , amici. Sed
si gratum est in nostra patria manere, oppidum nostrutn est vestrum et
praesidium habebitis."
Tum magna cena et cibi egregii 10 a regina parantur. Aeneas nilntium ad
filium, qui Iiilus 11 appellatur, mittit; nfintius <licit:
"Propera ad oppidum, Iiile. Pater te 12 exspectat."
Sed in loco Ifill Venus deum Amorem 13 mittit. Sed et Aeneas et reliqui
Troiani deum credunt esse lfilum 14 • Tum Amor reginam afficit, et Dido
Aeneam amare incipit.
Questions
J. What does Aeneas tell his comrades about the gods?
2. How _does he e~press his determination to get to Italy?
3. What will be found in Italy and why does he speak of a nova Troia
(line 5)?
4. Why did Aeneas leave the camp?
5. Who saw him leave and met him?
6. What information did he receive from her?
7. Who was at the temple when Aeneas and his comrade got there?
8. What choices did Dido offer Aeneas after hearing his troubles? Were
they helpful?
9. To whom does Aeneas send a message, and what was it?
10. What is the paradoxical (unexpected) result?
...
~
,.. •
~~,.."
<"rr
VOCABULARY
Noun
praesi 'dium, praesi 'di n. guard, protection
Verb
appel'Io, appella're, appella'vi, [appella'tus]
call, name
(appellate)
Conjunctions
aut or
aut..• aut either . .. or
et... et both ... and
ne'que (or nee) and not, nor
ne'que ... ne'que neither . . . nor
192
UN IT
V
ROMAN
POETS,
GODS,
AND
HEROIC
JOURNEYS
r-='1>~
;r
-----------~-
0
~ _.,r,;,.""'
~ ...
·~---. .. ,,~ ,>
''.r.>-' -s'"''-•~"Y.....-'JWl!'l":~
""''l'Q>
'""-s'Y'.?r1'111"ft'"FFJ~~~'O;-.,_-.,,.. -
~
...-...--.;a; -
1
GRAMMAR
Transitive and Intransitive Verbs
When the action of a verb is carried over to a direct object, i.e.,. when
the action affects a person or a thing or produces a result, then that verb is
transitive, literally, "going across" (trans) to an object.
Puerum amat.
Viam miiniverunt.
She loves the boy. (transitive)
They built a road. (transitive)
An intransitive verb is one that does not have a direct object.
Marcus excedit.
In aqua Claudia mansit.
Marcus departs. (intransitive)
Claudia stayed in the water.
(intransitive)
In Englisq and normally in Latin, transitive verbs are the only verbs used
in the passive voice.
Some Latin verbs that are intransitive can be used either transitively or
intransitively in English.
Anna laborat.
(not in Latin)
In casam currit.
(not in Latin)
Anna is working. (intransitive)
He works the brakes. (transitive)
He runs into the house. (intransitive)
She runs the sideshow. (transitive)
Ablative of Agent
Let us see what happens when the two sentences containing transitive
verbs are turned around and the verb becomes passive.
Anna aquam portat.
Aqua ab Anna portatur.
Anna is carrying the water.
The water is carried by Anna.
Viros video.
Viri a me videntur.
I see the men.
The men are seen by me.
In English and Latin, if
the verb has a direct
object, it is transitive in
that sentence. If it does
not, it is intransitive. A
verb that can be used in the
passive can also be called
transitive. Experience and
common sense will tell
you the intransitive Latin
verbs that cannot be used
in the passive.
The banquet in Carthage was
followed by a hunt. Young lulus
(upper right), eager for big game,
charges ahead. Dido is in the
center, while Aeneas (lower
left) points to the stag in the
clearing.
Observe that in both English and Latin: (a) the direct object of the
active verb becomes the subject of the passive verb; (b) the subject of the
active verb becomes the object of a preposition (a, ab, by), indicating the
agent; (c) the verb ending changes from active to passive and may change
person (the second example) to agree with the new subject. However, its
tense remains the same.
Distinguish carefully between the ablative of agent and the ablative of
means, both of which are often translated with by. Remember that
"means" refers to a thing, while "agent" refers to a person. Besides, the
ablative of means is never used with a preposition, but the ablative of agent
LESSON
XXVlll
IN
AFRICA
AENEAS
AUXILIUM
ACCIPIT.
19J
is never used without the preposition a (ab). This preposition means by
only when used before nouns referring to persons and with passive verbs.
Puella poena terretur.
Remind students that
agent involves three "p's":
person, passive, and
preposition.
PueIla a pueris terretur.
The girl is scared by punishment.
(means)
The girl is scared by the boys.
(agent)
Oral Practice
A. Tell whether the words in italics require the ablative of means or the
ablative of agent construction.
1. I was hit by a stone.
2. He was liked by everybody.
3. The game will be won by our team.
4. This book was bought by me with my own money.
5. John will be sent for by messenger, Mary by letter.
6. The note had been written by hand and not with a word processor.
B. Change the following from active to passive, or from passive to active.
Then translate each sentence.
1. Vir librum videt.
2. Pueri verba tua exspectabant.
3. Oppida a popul6 reguntur.
4. Reliqua pecunia ab amico meo accipietur.
5. Multi socii ad medium oppidum a nuntio convocabantur.
Agreement
In both English and Latin, when two subjects are connected by or (aut),
either . .. or (aut... aut), neither . .. nor (neque ... neque), the verb agrees
with the nearer subject: Neither the boys nor the girl is in the forest.
Neque pueri neque puella in silva est.
·Exercises
A. Translate the following sentences.
1. Aut pueri aut viri equos ad agros reducent.
2. Neque servus neque equus in viis videbitur.
3. Equus puerum trahit; puer ab equo trahitur.
4. Marcus amicus verus a multis viris appellabatur.
5. Neque praemia neque auxilium a sociis nostris mittitur.
6. Multa praemia a reliquis pueris puellisque grate accipientur.
7. Magister pueros puellasque docebat; pueri puellaeque a magistro
docebantur.
194
UN IT
V
ROMAN
POETS,
GODS,
AND
HEROIC
JOURNEYS
B. Translate the following sentences into Latin.
1. The letter was (being) written by my friend.
2. Friendly words were (being) spoken by the foreign queen.
3. The grain will be dragged by wagon to the town.
4. The men see few houses; few houses are seen by the men.
5. Neither water nor grain is carried by the rest of the settlers.
Did You Know?
The Roman matrona (matron) enjoyed high respect and influence in
the ancient world. Upon marriage, a Roman woman acquired a social
position never attained by the women of ancient Greece. A Roman
matron was not kept at home in special quarters as were Greek women.
She directed the management of the household to include the early
education of her children, supervised the tasks of the household slaves,
and even on occasion exercised political influence.
• What is meant by taking an appeal to a higher court? Why is
such a court called an appellate court? What is meant by an
appellation? Carthage is a town name in eleven states; Cartago
is in California.
• Study the following English phrases borrowed from Latin.
terra firma solid earth (as opposed to water and air)
In Deo speramus. In God we trust. (motto of Brown
University)
Pauci quos aequus amat Iuppiter. (Only) the few whom
fair-minded Jupiter loves (succeed).
• Explain Elizabeth regina, abbreviated ER on British coins.
Terra non firma
LESSON
XXVlll
IN
AFRICA
AENEAS
AUXILIUM
ACCIPIT.
195