on the threshold /  by Anthony Gibbins

Marcellus, who owes a good deal of money to the bank, is intimidated by its imposing structure. He stands frozen on the threshold for a short moment, unwilling or unable to enter. He seems anxious.

The limen threshold plays an important part in Latin literature. In erotic elegy, the shut-out-lover spends a good deal of time on the wrong side of the threshold wishing to be let in. So much time, in fact, that there is a ancient literary term (Greek) for the genre: paraclausithyron (παρακλαυσίθυρον). Here is an example from Ovid. The translation is by Peter Green.

          Who but a soldier or lover would put up with freezing

          Nights – rain, snow, sleet? The first

          Goes out on patrol to observe the enemy’s movements,

           The other watches his rival, an equal foe.

          A soldier lays siege to cities, a lover to girls’ houses,

          The one assaults city gates, the other front doors.

The idea of love as conquest is all too familiar.

The bank has large glass double-doors (fores). Our Marcellus, the doors having been opened, waits on the threshold for-a-short-time (paulisper). He seems anxious.

birota /  by Anthony Gibbins

 

birota is an example of one way in which modern Latin handles concepts that the Romans had no word for. bi- is a prefix meaning consisting of, having, measuring, etc two of the things named.

Here are some cool examples from classical Latin; biceps two-headed, biclinium a dining-couch on which two persons can recline, bicodulus having two tails, bicornis two horned, bidens having two permanent teeth, biduum a period of two days, biennium a period of two years, bifer bearing fruit or flowers twice a year, biformatus (of a monster) consisting of two parts of different creatures, such as the minotaur, bigae a chariot drawn by two horses, bigarius, a driver of said chariot.

rota means wheel. Now, the Oxford Latin Dictionary has no entry for the word birota, but according to other (admittedly less reliable) sources it was used by the Romans to mean a two-wheeled cart, usually drawn by three mules, used for transporting commercial goods and one or two passengers. Which certainly makes sense. Today it is the generally agreed upon word for bicycle.

Riding a bicycle is a Passive activity in Latin. The Verb veho, vehere, vexi, vectum means to carry or convey. vehit means he, she or it carries or conveys. vehitur means he, she or it is carried or is conveyed. birota is in the Ablative Case and means by a bicycle.

Marcellus now at last walks straight to the bank. Do you see the young man who is riding a bicycle (literally, who is conveyed by a bicycle)? He is taking food someplace.

thank you /  by Anthony Gibbins

When learning a language, thank you is one of the first things you learn. But when learning a so-called Dead Language – like Latin – these niceties are too often ignored.

I once had a German friend staying with me who asked to be taught some Latin. I lent her the Oxford Latin Course and she turned out to be a very quick learner – not surprising, as she had already mastered German, English and a good deal of French. After completing Chapter 7 she lamented that she had not yet learnt to say thank you but could easily form tuum amicum mortuum e casa in hortum tecum portare possum. I am able to carry your dead friend out of the house and into the garden with you. Fortunately, that never became necessary.

Thank you, in its standard form, is gratias tibi ago. Literally, something like I drive-forth thanks for the benefit of you. Hence in today’s story Marcellus multas gratias Alano agit. Marcellus drives-forth much thanks for the benefit of Alan.

The appropriate response, by the way, is libenter. This is an Adverb meaning with pleasure, willingly, gladly.

Soon, the hair having been cut, Marcellus gives much thanks to Alan and exits (from out of) the barber shop. Alan meanwhile sweeps the pavement with his broom.

quid est pellicula? /  by Anthony Gibbins

Today’s page defines theatrum cinematographeum as aedificium quod homines visitant ut pelliculas spectent. But what is a pellicula?

Well, first of all, the word pellicula is an example of a Diminutive. A Diminutive is a form of a Noun (or occasionally Adjective) implying smallness, either actual or imagined to convey affection, scorn or some other feeling. The word duckling is a Diminutive of duck, booklet of book, novelette of novel, Tommy of Thomas, hanky of handkerchief and rivulet of river.

The Latin poet Catullus loves a good Diminutive. In the dedication of his poetry he refers to his own work as his libellus, a Diminutive of liber book. In my favourite Catullus poem – XIII – he refers to his money pouch as his sacculus, a Diminutive of saccus. When the passer sparrow of his girlfriend dies, he refers to her eyes, swollen with tears, as turgiduli ocelli. ocellus is a Diminutive of oculus eye and turgidulus a Diminutive of turgidus swollen. How very cute(sy)!

pellicula is a Diminutive of pellis skin or hide. pellis refers primarily to the skin of an animal, and when used to refer to human skin implies that it is unkempt in condition. Skin removed from the animal’s body for human use, as a blanket or tent, can also be called a pellis. You will have heard of the pellis aurea Golden Fleece. Someone who changes form, such as a werewolf, is a versipellis, from verto I turn.

In classical Latin, the Diminutive pellicula also meant skin, but not just of an animal. pellicula could also refer to the (much finer) skin of fruit. In modern Latin the word began to be used for photographic film, and thence, as in English, pellicula began to mean movie.

Perhaps you do not know what a theatrum cinematographeum is. It is a building which people visit to watch films. Do you like to watch films?

hey, it's him! /  by Anthony Gibbins

ecce! Scipio is that small boy with the awesome t-shirt who saw Pico walking through the restaurant way back in episode 3.

But, more importantly, how great is it that heus is a Latin word! The Oxford Latin Dictionary, which usually has plenty to say about everything, defines it thus;

heus, interjection (used to attract a person’s attention).

When the Trojan hero Aeneas meets his mother, the goddess Venus, in Book I of the Aeneid she greets him and his friend with a cheery heus, iuvenes! Hey, young men! If that seems a little casual for the goddess of love and desire, know that she was in disguise at the time, hoping to convince her son that she was a young Spartan woman out hunting.

‘Hey,’ Scipio responds to his father as he exits. ‘I should like to visit the theatrum cinematographeum, but I have no money. The kind father gives money to his son.

Scipio (et quo it Claudia?) /  by Anthony Gibbins

There is a good reason why Alan’s son is called Scipio. I plan to jump the shark one day with a full episode of Legonium that is a kid’s dream. It will give me an excuse to throw into Legonium the whole gambit of Lego – werewolves, dragons, Doctor Who, Ghostbusters, Harry Potter, and an AT-AT walker.

The episode will be called somnium Scipionis.

And do you like Claudia’s backpack? It belongs to Finn the Human and came in the Lego Dimensions Adventure Time Level Pack. I’ve only ever watched about three episodes of Adventure Time, but I’ve heard it's very good – especially for teenagers. You are probably wondering where Claudia is going. I cannot wait to show you!

Marcellus sits in the seat. While Alan is cutting Marcellus’ hair, Scipio, Alan’s son, lightly knocks on the window. ‘Hello!’ Alan happily shouts to his son as he exits.

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.