The barber store, again? Absolutely! /  by Anthony Gibbins

This isn’t the first time I’ve touched on the Ablative Absolute, and I doubt it will be the last. It is one of the first grammatical features of Latin that really grabbed my attention, I think because it seemed so very different from anything I’d seen in English.

Follow this sequence of Sentences, taking your time to understand each one and the changes that occur between them.

Marcellus involucrum in sinu ponit. deinde tonstrinam intrat. Marcellus puts the envelope in his pocket. Then he enters the barber shop.

Marcellus involucrum in sinu posuit. nunc tonstrinam intrat. Marcellus put the envelope in his pocket. Now he is entering the barber shop.

involucrum in sinu positum est. nunc Marcellus tonstrinam intrat. The envelope was placed in the pocket. Now Marcellus is entering the barber shop.

involucro in sinu posito, Marcellus tonstrinam intrat. The envelope having been placed in [his] pocket, Marcellus enters the barber shop.

The final Sentence contains an Ablative Absolute; involucro posito the envelope having been placed. Ablative because both involucro and posito are in the Ablative Case. Absolute because that expression is grammatically unattached (Absolute) from the remainder of the Sentence.

The envelope having been placed in [his] pocket, Marcellus enters the barber shop and greets Alan in a friendly manner. Alan, who is not busy, responds in a friendly manner, ‘Hello, Marcellus’.

finding your purpose /  by Anthony Gibbins

Why do we do the things we do? Most often there is a reason, or Purpose, behind our actions. The Latin language has numerous ways to express Purpose. Let’s take a look at a few of them.

We will begin with two simple sentences. Marcellus ad argentariam it. Marcellus is going to the bank. Marcellus pecuniam Augusto tradit. Marcellus is handing over the money to Augustus.

Now, let’s make the second action the Purpose of the first; Marcellus is going to the bank to hand over money to Augustus.

Because He Wants: This is a little inelegant, but why not. Marcellus ad argentariam it quod pecuniam Augusto tradere cupit. Marcellus is going to the bank because he wants to hand over money to Augustus.

Purpose Clause: This is very common. The little Adverb ut has a myriad of uses (we saw one on the previous page). Included in these is signposting the coming of a Purpose Clause. A Purpose Clause also requires a change in the Mood of the Verb, which is as simple (and as complicated) as changing tradit to tradat. Marcellus ad argentariam it ut pecuniam Augusto tradat. Marcellus is going to the bank in order to hand over money to Augustus.

Gerund or Gerundive: Both of these can be used with the Preposition ad to express purpose. I will give the Gerund first, followed by the Gerundive. Both mean the same. Marcellus ad argentariam it ad pecuniam Augusto tradendum. Marcellus ad argentariam it ad pecuniam Augusto tradendam.

For the Sake of: Both the Gerund and Gerundive may be used in the Genitive (Possessive) Case with the Noun causa (a Noun with many a meaning). Marcellus ad argentariam it pecuniam Augusto tradendi causa. Marcellus ad argentariam it pecuniae Augusto tradendae causa. Both mean Marcellus is going to the bank for the sake of handing over money to Augustus.

The Supine: The Supine can be used to express Purpose, but only after Verbs that express movement. Luckily, it is going expresses movement. Marcellus ad argentariam it pecuniam Augusto traditum.

The Future Participle: While the Future Participle literally means something like about to hand over, Latin speakers recognise this in context as another way of expressing Purpose. Marcellus ad argentariam it pecuniam Augusto traditurus. Literally, Marcellus is going to the bank about to hand over money to Augustus.

The Infinitive: Probably best to avoid this. Poets do it. And it becomes popular in later Latin, for example in the Biblia Sacra. But if you are trying to impress someone with your knowledge of Classical Latin, the above examples will do a far better job. Marcellus ad argentariam it tradere pecuniam Augusto.

He has in mind to go to the bank to hand over the envelope to Augustus, the manager of the bank. Firstly, however, he wishes to visit the barber.

A Cabinet of Curiosities /  by Anthony Gibbins

The Verb memini appears in the Perfect Tense when referring to the Present. Hence, ambulavisti you ran, scivisti you knew, circumminxisti* you urinated around in a circle, but meministi you remember.

The Verb debeo has two separate but complimentary meanings, I owe and I ought. multam pecuniam argentariae debeo. I owe much money to the bank. ad terram novam navigare debeo. I ought to sail to a new land.

The Adverb saltem appears to offer some sort of consolation, as in saltem ad sanitatem rediit. At least he returned to sanity.

* You may question the usefulness of the Verb circummingere. I know of only one usage, in a story about a werewolf, or versipellis. A solider, so the story goes, removed all his clothing by the side of the road, placed them in a pile then urinated around them in a circle. The clothes turned to stone, the soldier into a wolf. The wolf then ran into the forest. Supposedly the clothes would return to their normal form upon the return of the versipellis.

Marcellus, as you perhaps remember, owes much money to the bank. At least he now has one hundred dollars in this envelope.

happier than usual /  by Anthony Gibbins

happy, happier, happiest : All three are, of course, Adjectives. In grammatical terms, they are adjectives of differing Degree. The three Degrees of an Adjective (or Adverb, but that’s another story) are Positive (happy), Comparative (happier) and Superlative (happiest).

Marcellus est laetus. Marcellus is happy. Claudia est laetior quam Marcellus. Claudia is happier than Marcellus. Claudia est laetissima. Claudia is very happy. Claudia est quam laetissima. Claudia is so very, very happy.

The last is a rather loose translation, but it helps show the varying roles of the word quam when used in conjunction with Comparative and Superlative Adjectives. Used with a Comparative it means than. Used with a Superlative it simply adds emphasis.

Miranda est fortis. Miranda is brave. Miranda est fortior quam multi homines. Miranda is braver than many people. Miranda est fortissima. Maranda is very brave. Miranda est quam fortissima. Miranda is, like, so incredibly brave.

There is a way of using a Comparative Adjective without quam, and this is by tweaking the ending of the Noun-With-Which-The-Thing-Is-Being-Compared. (Is there a specific term for that?)

Claudia est laetior quam Marcellus. = Claudia est laetior Marcello.

Miranda est fortior quam multi homines. = Miranda est fortior multis hominibus.

For those of you who care to know such things, the tweaking of the N.W.W.T.T.I.B.C. puts it into the Ablative Case, and the new form is called an Ablative of Comparison.

Nearly there. solitum is a Noun, made from an Adjective, made form a Verb. The Verb is soleo I am accustomed, as in soleo in horto ambulare I am accustomed to walking in the garden. From this comes the Adjective solitus usual, accustomed, normal, as in via solita adveniam I will arrive by the usual road. And from this comes the Noun solitum what is normal, the norm.

solitum can be very useful when used with a Comparative Adjective as an Ablative of Comparison. For example: Marcellus est laetior solito Marcellus is happier than usual.

This morning (literally, today in the morning) our Marcellus rises happier than usual. For yesterday he sold the picture which was hanging in the Highlander.

The Story So Far: All you need to know before reading Episode Five /  by Anthony Gibbins

Are you new to Legonium? Or have you forgotten some of what you have read? My advice would be to read or reread episodes 1 to 4. But, if that is not an option, this handy ‘story so far’ will bring you up to speed.

Marcellus is a painter who lives in a small loft apartment over a French restaurant (that sells pizza). He loves painting but it does not bring in a lot of money. He owes a lot of money to the bank, and if he falls behind in his payments he risks losing his home. As the story starts he needs $100 in a hurry. Luckily he has a picture of a ship for sale, a sailing ship (does that count as chiasmus?). It is hanging in the local tavern pool hall, the Montanus (Highlander).

The first time we see the Montanus, Claudia and Miranda have met there to play pool. Miranda is a police officer who protects the town. She lives in the apartment below Marcellus’. Claudia, among other things, has an enthusiasm for ancient monuments. Claudia returns to the Montanus and sees a sailor from out of town looking at Marcellus’ picture. She offers to sell it to him, then takes the $100 to Marcellus. Marcellus is happy and puts the money in an envelope.

Claudia had seen the sailor once before. In a complete homage-to-slash-rip-off-of The Cambridge Latin Course, the sailor enters the barber store of Alan and recites a rude verse. Claudia, at the time, was waiting for a haircut. But the barber was busy trimming the beard of an old man (whom we will see again, briefly, in episode 5). Alan seems very meticulous in hair hygiene. After each cut he sweeps the floor, puts the hair in a sack, and throws it in the dumpster behind the restaurant. This is labored by the story in ways that we can only hope will pay off.

The sailor is carrying a suitcase which he takes to a small room on the roof of the building that holds the pool hall. He hands it to a pair of criminal looking types, who give him a large diamond in return. They enter the small room to open the suitcase, but then the episode ends in something of a cliffhanger and we are told we will learn of the case’s contents in episode 5. So annoying.

There is a mysterious woman with ninja like skills who has been watching the small room on the roof of the building that holds the pool hall. Her name is… oh, we don’t know yet. We also saw her once on the roof of the bank. The bank is run by the bank manager, Augustus. He seems nice enough. He washes the bank clock himself, and seemed genuinely concerned when he received the memo saying that Marcellus might lose his home. But that is okay, because Marcellus has $100 in an envelope that he will take to the bank today.

There is at least one kid in town. He wears an awesome Space-Legoman t-shirt. And he was the only one to notice Pico as he ran through the restaurant to get to the kitchen. Pico is a cat who sometimes pretends that he is a dragon.

There. All caught up. *Smile*

Hello reader. It is a joy for me to see you here again. As the title signifies, today’s story is not about a person, but about an envelope.

the end of episode 4 /  by Anthony Gibbins

Another month, another episode of Legonium. I hope that you continue to enjoy the story and will return December 1st to discover what is in the suitcase. Remember that the entire pars quinta will be published on the first of the month, and that the blogs will continue day by day after that. Until then, I hope your days are happy ones.

Do you want to know what is in the suitcase?

Without a doubt! But it is not yet time to tell you (literally, to make you more certain). If you want to know what is inside, it will be necessary for you to return. I will wait for you. Bye!

cinematography /  by Anthony Gibbins

It can be very hard (almost impossible) to get a camera inside some of these small spaces. But here I think it worked to my advantage.

The man and the woman enter the room and open the suitcase with great care. Surely you want to know what is inside?

Gaius Plinius Secundus on diamonds and mining /  by Anthony Gibbins

Gaius Plinius Secundus was born in AD 23 or 24. His great work, Historia Naturalis, is an encyclopedic account of the natural sciences, interspersed with essays and digressions on the achievements of humankind and contains, according to Pliny himself, 20 000 facts, taken from 2 000 works by 100 authors. In truth, however, the work quotes over 146 Roman and 327 non-Roman authors! I’m not sure that the facts have ever been recounted. Here, as our sailor obtains a gemstone in exchange for a suitcase, are Plinius’ thoughts on diamonds and mining;

on diamonds

The diamond, known for a long time only to kings, and even then to very few of them, has greater value than any other human possession, and not merely than any other gemstone.

on mining

In some places we dig for riches, when our life style requires gold, silver, electrum and copper; and in others out of sheer self-indulgence, when gems and pigments for wall-paintings are required; and yet in other places we dig with sheer recklessness when iron is needed – a metal even more welcome than gold amid the bloodsheds of war.

We search for riches deep within the bowels of the earth where the spirits of the dead have their abode, as though the part we walk upon is not sufficiently bountiful and productive.

But what the earth has hidden and kept underground – those things that cannot be found immediately – destroy us and drive us to our depths. As a result, the mind boggles at the thought of the long term effect of draining the earth’s resources and the full impact of greed. How innocent, how happy, indeed how comfortable, life might be if it coveted nothing from anywhere other than the surface of the earth – in brief, nothing except what is immediately available.  

The woman gives a precious gem, taken from out of her pocket, to the sailor. The sailor, once the suitcase has been given to the woman, departs without a word.