The Fall of Troy or The Wooden Horse Part 12 of 12

The Wooden Horse. Part 12. 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

Now peals of shouts come thund'ring from afar,

Cries, threats, and loud laments, and mingled war:

The noise approaches, tho' our palace stood

Aloof from streets, encompass'd with a wood.

Louder, and yet more loud, I hear th' alarms

Of human cries distinct, and clashing arms.

Fear broke my slumbers; I no longer stay,

But mount the terrace, thence the town survey,

And hearken what the frightful sounds convey.

tum : tum, as we have already seen, is an adverb meaning ‘then’.

reliqui Graeci : reliquus Graecus, as we have also already seen, means ‘left over Greek’. We last met the reliqui Graeci (those who did not board the horse) when they sailed off to Tenedos. Now they have returned to be the plural nominative subjects of this sentence.

urbem : urbs is a feminine noun meaning ‘city’. Here it is in its singular (there is but one Troy) accusative form. It is the object of the verb.

Troiam : Troia is the Latin name for the city Troy. It is in the accusative case so that, along with urbem, it can be the object of the verb. It is interesting to note that, where English would say ‘the city of Troy’, Latin prefers ‘the city Troy’, although we can understand it either way.

expugnant : expugnare is a verb that means ‘to storm’ or ‘to conquer’. Here it is in the present tense, despite describing a past action, to create a sense of excitement. It is third person plural as its subject, reliqui Graeci, requires this. Its object is urbem Troiam.

Translation: Then the other Greeks storm the city of Troy.

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Kylo’s Return! or The Wooden Horse Part 11 of 12

The Wooden Horse. Part 11. 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

A nameless crowd succeed; their forces join

T' invade the town, oppress'd with sleep and wine.

Those few they find awake first meet their fate;

Then to their fellows they unbar the gate.

custodes : custos is another noun that takes its gender from the actual gender of the individual. It means guard. custodes is plural. It is nominative, to indicate that it is the subject.

portarum : porta is a feminine noun meaning ‘gate’. portarum is plural to indicate the presence of multiple gates (despite what the picture might suggest). It is in the genitive case, indicating that it means ‘of the gates’.

sine : sine is a preposition that means ‘without’. It is always followed by a noun (or pronoun) in the ablative case.

mora : mora is a feminine noun meaning ‘delay’. Here it is singular and ablative. It is ablative to indicate that it forms a prepositional phrase together with sine.

occisi sunt : occidere is a verb that means ‘to kill’. occisi sunt is the only passive verb in this story. All the other verbs have been active. Passive verbs have a subject, just like active verbs, but with a passive verb the subject isn’t doing something, it is having something done to it. And in this case, it’s pretty nasty. occisi sunt is third person plural, because the subject custodes requires that. It is in the perfect tense, to indicate an action that was completed in the past.

Translation: The guards of the gates were slaughtered without delay.

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From the Belly of the Beast! or The Wooden Horse Part 10 of 12

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.

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Yikes! or The Wooden Horse Part 9 of 12

The Wooden Horse. Part 9. 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

All vote t' admit the steed, that vows be paid

And incense offer'd to th' offended maid.

A spacious breach is made; the town lies bare;

Some hoisting-levers, some the wheels prepare

And fasten to the horse's feet; the rest

With cables haul along th' unwieldly beast.

Each on his fellow for assistance calls;

At length the fatal fabric mounts the walls,

Big with destruction. Boys with chaplets crown'd,

And choirs of virgins, sing and dance around.

Thus rais'd aloft, and then descending down,

It enters o'er our heads, and threats the town.

equum : equus is a noun that we have become very familiar with. Here it is in the accusative case to indicate that it is the object of the verb.

tamen : tamen is an adverb meaning ‘however’ or ‘nevertheless’. Here the idea is something like, Laocoon tried to dissuade them, the Trojans tamen carried out what they were planning.

stulti: stultus is a rather nasty adjective meaning ‘foolish’ or ‘silly’. Here it is masculine, plural and in the nominative case to ‘agree with’ cives.

cives : civis is a noun meaning ‘citizen’. Like sacerdos on the previous page, the gender of civis depends on the gender of the individual. In Latin, as in many of the Romance languages, if even a single individual in a group identifies as male, the entire group is treated as masculine. So, cives is masculine.

in : in is that clever preposition that can mean ‘in/on’ or ‘into/onto’ depending on the case that follows it.

urbem : urbs is a feminine noun that means ‘the city’. Here it is singular, referring to the one and only Troy. It is in the accusative case to indicate that it is forming a prepositional phrase with in and that in is to be understood as ‘into’.

traxerunt : trahere is a verb that we have met previously in the infinitive form meaning ‘to drag’. Here it is third person plural because it has a third person plural subject, cives. It is in the perfect tense as it describes an action that was completed in the past. Its object is equum.

Translation: The foolish citizens nevertheless dragged the horse into the city.

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Laocoon or The Wooden Horse Part 8 of 12

The Wooden Horse. Part 8. 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

Laocoon, follow'd by a num'rous crowd,

Ran from the fort, and cried, from far, aloud:

'O wretched countrymen! what fury reigns?

What more than madness has possess'd your brains?

Think you the Grecians from your coasts are gone?

And are Ulysses' arts no better known?

This hollow fabric either must inclose,

Within its blind recess, our secret foes;

Or 't is an engine rais'd above the town,

T' o'erlook the walls, and then to batter down.

Somewhat is sure design'd, by fraud or force:

Trust not their presents, nor admit the horse.'

Laocoon : Laocoon is a Greek proper name. (The two o’s at the end, by the way, are pronounced separately.) Laocoon, as we are about to find out, was a Trojan priest of the sea god Neptune. He attempted to discouraged the Trojans from bringing the horse into Troy. He was killed by two giant serpents that came out of the sea. His name is in the nominative case to indicate that he is the subject of the verb.

autem : autem is a conjunction. Like prepositions, there is absolutely no change to their form. autem is best understood here as ‘however’, ‘but’ or ‘on the other hand’. The point is, some Trojans wanted to drag the horse onto the citadel, Laocoon autem had other ideas.

Neptuni: Neptunus is the Roman god of the sea. Here the name is in the genitive case and is singular. The genitive, you may remember, has as its main task the indication of possession, like an ‘s in English. So, here, we understand Neptuni as something like ‘Neptune’s’ or ‘of Neptune’.

sacerdos : sacerdos is a noun meaning ‘priest’. The gender of sacerdos is common, which means that the grammatical gender will depend entirely on the gender of the individual. Laocoon identifies as male, so we treat sacerdos as a masculine noun. sacerdos is nominative because it is giving us further detail about Laocoon, who was also in the nominative.

hoc : hic we saw on the previous page functioning as a demonstrative adjective, meaning ‘this’. Here it is functioning as a demonstrative pronoun, also meaning ‘this’. Because it is singular and neuter, it is best thought of as ‘this thing’. Because it is in the accusative, we know it to be the object of the verb. In this sentence, hoc refers to the very idea of bringing the horse into the city.

dissuasit : dissuadere is a verb that means ‘to advise against’ or ‘discourage’. It is third person singular because its subject Laocoon is third person singular. It is perfect because it describes an action completed in the past. The object is hoc.

Translation: Laocoon, however, a priest of Neptune, discouraged this.

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The Trojans Divided or The Wooden Horse Part 7 of 12

The Wooden Horse. Part 7. 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

Thymoetes first ('t is doubtful whether hir'd,

Or so the Trojan destiny requir'd)

Mov'd that the ramparts might be broken down,

To lodge the monster fabric in the town.

But Capys, and the rest of sounder mind,

The fatal present to the flames designed,

Or to the wat'ry deep; at least to bore

The hollow sides, and hidden frauds explore.

The giddy vulgar, as their fancies guide,

With noise say nothing, and in parts divide.

nonnulli : nonnullus is an adjective made up of two words, non (not) and nullus (none). So, nonnullus means ‘not none’ and is best understood as ‘some’. We saw on the last page how an adjective can stand in for a noun, and that is exactly what is happening here. nonnulli is shorthand for nonnulli Troianorum, meaning ‘some of the Trojans’. It is nominative to indicate that it is the subject of the verb.

hunc : hic is the demonstrative adjective meaning ‘this’. hunc is the masculine, singular and accusative form. It is in this form to ‘agree with’ equum.

equum: equus means ‘horse’ and is in its singular and accusative form. It is a masculine noun. It is in the accusative to indicate that it is the object of the verb.

in : in is a preposition. You may remember from an earlier page that in can mean either ‘into/onto’ or ‘in/on’ depending on the case of the noun (or pronoun) that follows it. If it is followed by the accusative case – and it is here – it means ‘into/onto’.

arcem : arx is a feminine noun meaning ‘citadel’. It is in the singular accusative form to show that it is one citadel, and that it is forming a prepositional phrase with in, where in mean ‘onto’.  

trahere : trahere is a verb that means ‘to drag’. It is actually the root of the word ‘tractor’. It is here in its present infinitive form (the form that means ‘to drag’). Some verbs, such as velle, might require an infinitive verb to complete their meaning. trahere is doing that job here.

voluerunt : velle is a verb that means ‘to wish’ or ‘to be willing’. velle is a verb that often requires a second verb in its infinitive form to complete its meaning, in this case trahere. Here voluerunt is in the third person plural form because the subject nonnulli is also third person plural. It is in the perfect tense to indicate that the action was completed in the past.

Translation: Some wanted to drag this horse onto the citadel.

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The Pile by Pallas Raised to Ruin Troy or The Wooden Horse Part 6 of 12

The Wooden Horse. Part 6. 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

The Trojans, coop'd within their walls so long,

Unbar their gates, and issue in a throng,

Like swarming bees, and with delight survey

The camp deserted, where the Grecians lay:

There was their fleet conceal'd. We thought, for Greece

Their sails were hoisted, and our fears release.

Part on the pile their wond'ring eyes employ:

The pile by Pallas rais'd to ruin Troy.

mox : mox is another adverb. It means ‘soon’.

Troiani : Troianus is an adjective meaning ‘Trojan’, but in this sentence the adjective is playing the part of a noun. This is far more common in Latin than in English, but English does have its examples. Think of ‘Only the good die young.’ By being masculine and plural, Troiani shows itself to mean ‘Trojan men or people’. It is nominative to show itself to be the subject of the verb.

equum ligneum: equus ligneus means ‘wooden horse’. We have seen these words together a few times now, so let’s deal with equum ligneum as a single ‘noun phrase’. It is in the accusative case to indicate that it is the object of the verb and it means, of course, ‘wooden horse’.

ante : ante is a preposition, so we need to know both what it means and what case it is followed by. It means ‘before’ or ‘in front of’ and is followed by the accusative case.

moenia : moenia is one of a relatively small group of Latin nouns that only appears in the plural form. It means ‘the walls or fortifications of a city’. Here it is in the accusative case, to indicate that it forms a prepositional phrase together with ante.

vident : videre is a verb that means ‘to see’. It is third person plural because its subject Troiani is third person plural also. It is in the present tense to create a sense of excitement.

Translation: Soon the Trojans saw the wooden horse before the city’s walls.

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Summer on Tenedos or The Wooden Horse Part 5 of 12

The Wooden Horse. Part 5. 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

In sight of Troy lies Tenedos, an isle

(While Fortune did on Priam's empire smile)

Renown'd for wealth; but, since, a faithless bay,

Where ships expos'd to wind and weather lay.

There was their fleet conceal'd. We thought, for Greece

Their sails were hoisted, and our fears release.

tum : tum is another adverb, so – again – it does not have case or number or anything of that kind. tum, like deinde, means ‘next’ or ‘then’. Although you may remember that deinde could also mean ‘from that place’, which tum cannot.

reliqui : reliquus is an adjective meaning ‘left behind’ or ‘remaining’. Here it is masculine, plural and nominative in order to agree with ‘Graeci’.

Graeci : Graecus, as we have seen, is a masculine noun meaning ‘a Greek’. Here it is plural because there are more than one of them and nominative, because it is the subject of the verb.

ad : ad is a preposition. We have seen that prepositions do not alter their form, although we do need to learn the case of the noun (or pronoun) that follows them. ad is always followed by the accusative case. It means ‘to’ or ‘towards’ with a verb that implies motion and ‘at’ with a verb that doesn’t. For example, ‘she walks to the table’ vs ‘she sits at the table’.

insulam : insula is a feminine noun meaning ‘island’. The island in question is Tenedos, just off the coast of Troy. Here it is accusative to indicate that it forms a prepositional phrase along with ad. It is singular because there is just the one of them.

propinquam : propinquus is an adjective meaning ‘near’ or ‘neighbouring’. Its form is feminine, singular and accusative to 'agree with' insulam.

se : se is the reflexive pronoun referring back to the subject. On the previous page we saw the less usual form sese. It is accusative to indicate that the Graeci did something to themselves. Or, to put it another way, that it is the object.

recipiunt : recipere is a verb meaning, among other things, ‘to take back’. It is often used, as here, with the reflexive pronoun to mean ‘retreat’. recipiunt is third person plural, because we have a third person plural subject. It is present tense. Literally it means ‘they are taking themselves back’. There is no way, however, that it is actually describing an action occurring in the present, so the author must be doing this to create a sense of excitement. We will understand recipiunt as ‘they retreated’.

Translation: Then the left over Greeks retreated to a neighbouring island.

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