I need grammar practice!

[Lysandra]

The context, by the way, is that Cicero was very weak and unhealthy (he had a tall and thin neck, among other things), and he spoke with no variety and no breaks, with everything very loud, so his doctors thought that this was unhealthy for him.

Interesting!

 

[Dantius]

Here's the original passage, if you're interested:
erat eo tempore in nobis summa gracilitas et infirmitas corporis, procerum et tenue collum: qui habitus et quae figura non procul abesse putatur a vitae periculo, si accedit labor et laterum magna contentio. eoque magis hoc eos quibus eram carus commovebat, quod omnia sine remissione, sine varietate, vi summa vocis et totius corporis contentione dicebam. Itaque cum me et amici et medici hortarentur ut causas agere desisterem, quodvis potius periculum mihi adeundum quam a sperata dicendi gloria discedendum putavi. sed cum censerem remissione et moderatione vocis et commutato genere dicendi me et periculum vitare posse et temperatius dicere, ut consuetudinem dicendi mutarem, ea causa mihi in Asiam proficiscendi fuit. itaque cum essem biennium versatus in causis et iam in foro celebratum meum nomen esset, Roma sum profectus.

 

[Pacifica]

The context, by the way, is that Cicero was very weak and unhealthy (he had a tall and thin neck, among other things)

 

[Lysandra]

huic tam perplexae legationi quia non satis in promptu erat, quid responderet, legatos se missurum ad eos dixit, qui de iis, quae ad illos seque communiter pertinerent, loquerentur.

Before I attempt a translation, I was wondering what the best translation is for legatio. I’ve seen it several times before in Cicero, but I’m not sure whether to translate it as legations or embassies or something else.

 

[Dantius]

It's probably "embassy" here. It's a group of ambassadors in this context.

 

[Lysandra]

Hmm...this sentence is really confusing me (you might say it's tam perplexus ). I mean I understand each of the words, but I just can't put it all together. This is what I have for the first part:

To this very confused embassy because he had not been within easy enough reach

I don't know what to do with satis, and I'm probably overthinking it.

 

[Dantius]

You're close. "perplexus" here means "confusing" rather than "confused". The subject of "erat" is not "he", but "it" (quid responderet). You could translate "in promptu" as "clear" or something like that. It's hard to translate it literally.

 

[Lysandra]

To this very confusing embassy because what had been said had not been clear enough, he said that he had sent embassies to them who spoke about the things which concerned them and himself in common.

 

[Dantius]

"what had been said" — "responderet" is a form of "to respond". Here the sense is almost deliberative, like "what he should respond".
"had not been" — tense
"he had sent" — tense as well
"qui ... loquerentur" — it's impossible to tell grammatically, but this is a relative clause of purpose, not just a factual relative clause like "who spoke"

 

[Lysandra]

To this very confusing embassy because what he should respond was not clear enough, he said that he would send embassies to them who would speak about the things which concerned them and himself in common.

 

[Lysandra]

Btw, after I've finished this sentence, could you ask me to translate something from Catullus, Propertius, Horace or Ovid? Those are the four authors I need to study for my upcoming exam.

 

[Dantius]

To this very confusing embassy because what he should respond was not clear enough, he said that he would send embassies to them who would speak about the things which concerned them and himself in common.

The second "embassies" would probably be better translated as "ambassadors" (it's legatos, not legationes).
Other than that, you've got it, though it would be good to rearrange the word order: "because it was not clear enough what he should respond to this very confusing embassy..."

 

[Pacifica]

Btw, after I've finished this sentence, could you ask me to translate something from Catullus, Propertius, Horace or Ovid?Those are the four authors I need to study for my upcoming exam.

Here's some Catullus:

Quaeris, quot mihi basiationes
tuae, Lesbia, sint satis superque.
quam magnus numerus Libyssae harenae
lasarpiciferis iacet Cyrenis
oraclum Iovis inter aestuosi
et Batti veteris sacrum sepulcrum;
aut quam sidera multa, cum tacet nox,
furtivos hominum vident amores:
tam te basia multa basiare
vesano satis et super Catullo est,
quae nec pernumerare curiosi
possint nec mala fascinare lingua.

 

[Lysandra]

Thanks!

You ask, Lesbia, how many kisses of yours
are enough and more for me.
As many as the great number of Libyan sands
that lie on silphium-bearing Cyrene
between the oracle of Jove
and sacred tomb of the fiery old Battus;
or as many as the stars, when the night is silent,
that watch the silent love affairs of men:
to kiss you so many kisses
is enough and more for crazy Catullus,
which neither the curious are able to count
nor an evil tongue to curse.

 

[Pacifica]

Good, except aestuosi seems to be going with Iovis.

 

[AoM]

*unleashes inner teacher*

Translate the following passage and answer the questions below.

Propertius - II.34b (line numbers added for questions)

me iuvet hesternis positum languere corollis, 1
quem tetigit iactu certus ad ossa deus.
Actia Vergilium custodis litora Phoebi,
Caesaris et fortis dicere posse ratis,
qui nunc Aeneae Troiani suscitat arma 5
iactaque Lavinis moenia litoribus.
cedite Romani scriptores, cedite Grai!
nescio quid maius nascitur Iliade.

corolla, ae - little crown/garland
suscito (1) - lift up, raise, arouse, awaken

1. What is the mood of iuvet and why? (line 1)

2. Lines 1, 3, and 6 employ the same poetic device. Name the device.

3. What is the antecedent of qui? (line 5)

4. What is the case of Iliade and why? (line 8)

 

[Dantius]

I'm trying to find the main verb of the second sentence and not succeeding. All I see are infinitives and a relative clause. Does the "iuvet" carry on to the next sentence?

 

[AoM]

I'm trying to find the main verb of the second sentence and not succeeding. All I see are infinitives and a relative clause. Does the "iuvet" carry on to the next sentence?

Spoiler

I hadn't considered that, but I'm not sure it works. I was thinking implied indirect speech or some sort of exclamation. It definitely caught me off guard.

 

[Dantius]

Spoiler

It could be an exclamatory infinitive, just without the "ne" (a similar construction to "mene incepto desistere victam?" in the Aeneid), I guess.

 

[Lysandra]

*unleashes inner teacher*

Translate the following passage and answer the questions below.

Propertius - II.34b (line numbers added for questions)

me iuvet hesternis positum languere corollis, 1
quem tetigit iactu certus ad ossa deus.
Actia Vergilium custodis litora Phoebi,
Caesaris et fortis dicere posse ratis,
qui nunc Aeneae Troiani suscitat arma 5
iactaque Lavinis moenia litoribus.
cedite Romani scriptores, cedite Grai!
nescio quid maius nascitur Iliade.

corolla, ae - little crown/garland
suscito (1) - lift up, raise, arouse, awaken

1. What is the mood of iuvet and why? (line 1)

2. Lines 1, 3, and 6 employ the same poetic device. Name the device.

3. What is the antecedent of qui? (line 5)

4. What is the case of Iliade and why? (line 8)

I'll answer the questions first because if I get the questions wrong then my translation will also be wrong. So for number 1, I believe iuuet is a jussive subjunctive.