From the Belly of the Beast! or The Wooden Horse Part 10 of 12 / by Anthony Gibbins

The Wooden Horse. Part 10. As we await the October 1 arrival of Legonium pars tertia, here is some complete nonsense in 12 parts.

From the translation of The Aeneid, Book II by John Dryden

Meantime the rapid heav'ns roll'd down the light,

And on the shaded ocean rush'd the night;

Our men, secure, nor guards nor sentries held,

But easy sleep their weary limbs compell'd.

The Grecians had embark'd their naval pow'rs

From Tenedos, and sought our well-known shores,

Safe under covert of the silent night,

And guided by th' imperial galley's light;

When Sinon, favor'd by the partial gods,

Unlock'd the horse, and op'd his dark abodes;

Restor'd to vital air our hidden foes,

Who joyful from their long confinement rose.

 

eadem : idem is another demonstrative adjective, this one meaning ‘the same’. Here it is feminine, singular and ablative to ‘agree with’ nocte.

nocte : nox is a feminine noun meaning ‘night’. Here it is in the ablative case. The ablative is capable of expressing a wide range of ideas. Here it is expressing the time when an action occurred. Together with eadem, eadem nocte can be understood as ‘on the same night’.

Graeci : Graecus we have seen to mean ‘Greek’ or ‘a Greek’. Here it is masculine and plural, meaning ‘the Greeks’. It is in the nominative case to indicate that it is the subject of the verb.

ex : ex is a preposition meaning ‘out of’. As for all prepositions, we must learn the case that follows ex. It is the ablative case.

equo : equus we are most familiar with, but here it appears for the first time in the ablative case. The ablative case indicates that equo is forming a prepositional phrase with ex. Together ex equo means ‘out of the horse’.

emergunt : emergere is a verb that means ‘to emerge’ or ‘to extricate one’s self.’ It is third person plural, because its subject is Graeci. It is in the present tense despite describing a past action, because the author wishes to create a sense of energy and excitement.

Translation: On the same night the Greeks emerged out of the horse.