Latin

21/11/2018 The Linguistics Research Center
Latin Online
Series Introduction
Winfred P. Lehmann and Jonathan Slocum
Latin is probably the easiest of the older languages for speakers of English to learn, both because of their
earlier relationship and because of the long use of Latin as the language of educational, ecclesiastical, legal
and political affairs in western culture. Moreover, we use the Latin alphabet, so that the language is read
without di culty. On the other hand, the sentence structure and number of forms require a great deal of
attention, since the words of sentences are placed for their emphasis, rather than in accordance with a pattern
like that of the English Subject-Verb-Object sentence. It is essential, then, to learn the basic in ections of nouns
and verbs.
1. The Latin alphabet and pronunciation.
The Latin alphabet was taken over from the Greek through Etruscan. The order of the letters is therefore much
the same as in Greek, as is also true of most of their pronunciation. The 23-letter alphabet is as follows:
ABCDEFGHIKLMNOPQRSTVXYZ
English has maintained this order with a few modi cations. In Latin the letter I was used both for its vocalic
value and to represent the sound y as in yet. An elongated form of the letter, J, was later introduced. But this is
generally pronounced today as in jam, while the letter Y represents the consonantal value of I. Similarly, the
Latin letter V was used to represent both the vocalic value of U as in hue, and the sound w as in wet. A rounded
form, U, was introduced to represent the vowel, and a doubled form, W, was introduced to represent the
consonantal value. It might also be noted that the third letter of the alphabet was pronounced with its value in
cat, rather than with its value in cent or in our pronunciation of Caesar.
The chief difference in pronunciation of these letters has to do with the vowels. The consonants are
pronounced like their principal pronunciations in English. Whether long or short, the vowels are pronounced as
in the languages of Europe. It might be noted, however, that when Latin was spoken in everyday use, it was
pronounced in accordance with the pronunciation of the native language in the country, so that the
pronunciation in Italy differed considerably from that in France or Germany, not to speak of England. But today
it is pronounced as we assume it was in the Classical period of Latin, that is, at the beginning of our era. Its
pronunciation is simple, if one remembers a few key words. Latin i and e are pronounced as in English cliché;
Latin a is pronounced as in father; Latin o is pronounced as in so, and u as in sue. When two vowels are found in
the same syllable, each has its normal value; the rst syllable of Caesar was then pronounced with the a as in
father and the e as in cliché, so that it was similar to our pronunciation of the pronoun I.
Unlike English, Latin has few silent letters. A line of verse may then be read with every letter pronounced, such
as the rst line of Vergil's Aeneid:
https://lrc.la.utexas.edu/eieol_printable/latol 1/121
Arma virumque canō, Trōiae qui primus ab ōris

'I sing of the arms and the man, who rst [came] from the shores of Troy'
Or the rst line of Caesar's Gallic Wars:
Gallia est omnis divisa in partēs trēs

'Gaul as a whole is divided into three parts'
2. The vocabulary.
English and Latin belong to the Indo-European language family; their earlier versions separated from each other
over three thousand years ago. And until this century, much university instruction was carried on in Latin.
Moreover, it was taught to many students from the high school years onward through college. University
scholars often spoke to one another in Latin, as do members of the Vatican to this day. As a result, English
shares many of the same words, especially in technical elds, although in modi ed form. Nonetheless it is
useful to relate such words to their Latin counterparts.
Some words have undergone little change so that their roots are close to those of their Latin equivalents, if
spelled somewhat differently, for example English spew, Latin spuere, English stand, Latin stāre. But most of the
common words that the two languages share by inheritance are somewhat concealed, many of them because
of a massive change of consonants in Germanic before the modern era. This change was described by the
great German scholar Jakob Grimm and is known as Grimm's law, which is listed even in smaller dictionaries of
English. At this time, p, t, k were changed to sounds that today are represented by f, th, h. Among examples are
Latin pater vs. English father, Latin mater vs. English mother, and Latin cornu vs. English horn. And the sounds
represented as bh, dh, gh in Indo-European were changed to the sounds that today are represented by b, d, g.
These were also changed in Latin, where bh is represented by f, as in Latin frater vs. English brother; similarly, dh
in Latin is also represented by f, as in Latin foris vs. English door; and gh is in Latin represented by h among
other developments, as in Latin hanser, later anser vs. English goose. And d, g were changed to t, k (b was rare in
Indo-European); compare Latin edere vs. English eat, Latin gelidus vs. English cold.
It is interesting to compare such cognate words, but the changes that both languages have undergone often
conceal the relationships, as for the numerals for four and ve. Most of the others are transparently related, in
spite of the changes: Latin ūnus, one; duo, two; trēs, three; qua uor, four; quinque, ve; sex, six; septem, seven; octo,
eight; novem, nine; decem, ten. Since dictionaries often provide the Latin cognates of English entries, control over
the Latin vocabulary can be gained by noting them.
By far the greatest number of similar words are found in technical language, where English simply took over the
Latin terms as industrial, political and technological affairs became more complex, especially in the last several
centuries; ecclesiastical terms were taken over as England was christianized. The words were pronounced in
accordance with the English spellings, rather than with their pronunciation in Latin. Some examples from these
specialties are cited here.
The industrial and technological spheres include such words as arbitrate, agent, auction, calculate, contract,
junction, labor, premium, propeller, science, specimen. The political and legal sphere includes such terms as
a davit, alias, alibi, divorce, habeas corpus, injunction, subpoena. The ecclesiastical sphere includes such
words as altar, confession, doctrine, in del, repent, salvation, trinity. And other words belong to our every day
vocabulary, such as animal, bonus, inertia, minimum, recipe, stimulus, vacuum. Thanks to the great number of
such importations from Latin, it is relatively easy to learn its vocabulary.
3. The sentence structure of Latin.

As is clear from the earlier quotations, the sentence order of Latin may differ considerably from that of English.
In an earlier form of Latin, the verb was placed last in the sentence, as in the rst clause of the Aeneid. But its
position in the rst line of Gallic Wars is quite different. The different positions are possible because of Latin
in ections. In English we generally have to place together verbal phrases like 'is divided'; we can place some
adverbs between them, as in 'is often divided', but we cannot ordinarily put numerals or adjectives after the
nouns they modify, as is done in partes tres. English has strict rules of placement; Latin on the other hand can
move elements around for stylistic purposes, so that instead of writing omnis Gallia, the order that Caesar used
is quite acceptable, as is that of partes tres.
In examining a Latin text, one should rst identify the verb, whose forms are identi able through their
in ections. Similarly, the subject, if it is included in addition to the marker in the verb, should be identi ed.
Clearly there is no such subject for canō, so that one translates it with the subject ('I') indicated by its in ection.
Verb forms ending in -ō have a rst person subject, in contrast with the second person canis 'you sing', canit
'he/she sings'. It is useful, therefore, to memorize the basic in ections of verbs. Similarly, the subject can be
identi ed by its form. Gallia, like many nouns, has feminine gender, and its nominative form ends in -a.
As illustrated by these brief passages, the key to reading Latin is provided by knowledge of its in ections. While
these are numerous, memorization of the basic in ections of nouns and verbs is generally adequate.
4. The forms of Latin.

4.1 Nouns, adjectives and pronouns.
These three parts of speech are in ected for ve cases, besides a case of address called the vocative. The
cases are as follows:
Nominative, the case of the subject;
Genitive, the case indicating possession -- possessive, in grammars of English
Dative, the case of the indirect object
Accusative, the case of the direct object -- objective, in grammars of English
Ablative, the case indicating separation
Case forms may also be determined by prepositions.
In English, only the nominative, genitive/possessive and accusative/objective have been maintained, and the
last only in pronouns: I is nominative, my is genitive, me is accusative. Nouns simply have a nominative and a
possessive, as in dog, dog's. Adjectives are not in ected.
Latin nouns are also in ected based on --
number, that is, singular and plural.
three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter.
ve declensions.
Paradigms are given in the various lessons. For illustration here, forms of nouns are shown in the rst
declension (most of which are feminine like via 'way'), and in the second declension (many of which are
masculine such as numerus 'number'), and also the forms of the pronoun ego 'I':
Sg. Pl. Sg. Pl. Sg. Pl.
Nom. via viae numerus numerī ego nōs
Gen. viae viārum numerī numerōrum meī nostrum
Dat. viae viīs numerō numerīs mihi nōbis
Acc. viam viās numerum numerōs mē nos
Abl. viā viīs numerō numerīs mē nōbis
The vocative in the rst declension is the same as the nominative; in the second declension it ends in e, so that
a slave, servus, would be called by saying serve.
4.2 Verbs.
Like nouns, verbs have many in ections based on:
active vs. passive voice;
indicative vs. subjunctive mood;
three tenses: present, past or imperfect, and future. Of these there are two sets: the simple present
set and the perfect set. The perfect forms indicate a state or completion.
The conjugations are given below. Here only a sketch is provided for understanding of the various forms and
their relation to one another with rst singular examples of the verb laudō 'I praise.'
Active voice Passive voice
Indicative Subjunctive Indicative Subjunctive
Present
laudō laudem laudor lauder
Imperfect
laudābam laudārem laudābar laudārer
Future
laudābō laudābor
Perfect
laudāvī laudāverim laudātus sum laudātus sim
Past Perfect
laudāveram laudāvissem laudātus eram laudātus essem
Future Perfect
laudāvero laudātus ero
In addition there are imperative forms, in nitives, participles, a gerund, and a supine. The imperative forms are
rare in written texts, and are not illustrated here.
The present in nitive active is laudāre. The present participle active is laudans. The present in nitive passive is
laudārī. The perfect participle passive is laudātus.
Because four forms provide su cient information to produce the others for a verb, dictionaries and grammars
list four principal parts. These are: the rst person singular present active, e.g. laudō; the rst person singular
perfect active, e.g. laudāvī; the perfect participle passive, e.g. laudātus; and the present in nitive active, e.g.
laudāre. It is especially important to note these for verbs of the third conjugation, because these are often
irregular, e.g. edō 'I eat', ēdī, ēsus, edere; faciō 'I do', fēcī, factus, facere; scribō 'I write', scripsī, scriptus, scribere.
(Dictionaries and grammars may give the principal parts with the in nitive as second form; they may also give
the neuter form of the perfect participle passive, e.g. factum.)
4.3 The other parts of speech.

In addition to these four parts of speech, Latin includes adverbs, conjunctions, interjections, and prepositions.
Since their functions are comparable to those of their English counterparts, they will not be discussed here.
5. Examples of texts.
Proverbs or passages from literary gures are often cited, also in English works. A few will be given here to
illustrate the use of forms and patterns of syntax.
Caesar: Vēnī, vīdī, vīcī.

'I came, I saw, I conquered.' [three perfect forms]
Ferē libenter homines id quod volunt credunt.

'Nearly always people believe willingly that which they wish.'
Cicero: Salus populī suprema est lex.

'The welfare of the people is the supreme law.'
Silent enim legēs inter arma.

'Laws indeed are silent in war.'
Horace: Ira furor brevis est.

'Anger is brief madness.'
Integer vitae, scelerisque purus.

'Blameless in life, and free of sins.'
Dulce et decorum est pro patriā morī.

'It is sweet and honorable to die for the fatherland.'
Terence: Homo sum; humanī nil ā mē alienum putō.

'I am a man; I believe that nothing human is foreign to me.'
Nummumst iam dictum quod non dictum sit prius.

'Nothing has yet been said that has not been said earlier.'
Virgil: Equō nē credite, Teucrī,

Quidquid id est, timeō Danaōs et dona ferentīs.
'Do not trust in the horse, Trojans,
Whatever it is, I fear the Greeks also [when they] are bringing gifts.'
Hōs successus alit; possunt, quia posse videntur.

'Success nourishes them; they can because they think they can.'
Related Language Courses at UT

Most but not all language courses taught at The University of Texas concern modern languages; however,
numerous courses in Latin, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, are taught in the Department of
Classics (http://www.utexas.edu/cola/depts/classics/) (link opens in a new browser window). Online language
courses for college credit are offered through the University Extension (http://www.utexas.edu/ce/uex/online/)
(new window).
Italic Resources Elsewhere
Our Web Links (https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/lrc/extras/links.php) page includes pointers to Italic resources

elsewhere (https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/lrc/extras/links.php#Italic).
Latin Online
Lesson 1
This selection is taken from Livy's History of Rome, Book I.1.7-11. It describes the arrival of Aeneas and his
troops in Latium after the fall of Troy. The account is mythological, presumably originated to provide the
Romans with a pedigree comparable to that of the Greeks. It is given here partly to relate the myth, and partly to
provide a narrative account parallel to the opening of Vergil's Aeneid, the text for the tenth unit.
The author, Titus Livius, referred to as Livy (59 B.C. - 17 A.D.), was born in Patavium, modern Padua, to an
aristocratic family. He was well educated in Latin and Greek, and also in literature and rhetoric. While details of
his life are scanty, it is assumed that he settled in Rome about 17 B.C., when he began his history. He was a
friend of Emperor Augustus, and apparently so situated that he was able to devote himself to his great
historical work. As may be assumed from this selection, he was primarily concerned with glorifying his country,
for which he incorporated myths as well as facts. He was and is greatly admired for his control of the language,
which as in this selection often leads to intricate and lengthy sentences.
Reading and Textual Analysis
The selection is the latter part of the account of the landing. Aeneas and his men are reported to have sailed
north from Sicily, with nothing in their possession but their ships and weapons. They landed to obtain supplies.
The local king, Latinus, set out to drive them off, but as stated here he rst arranged a parley with Aeneas.
Cum instructae acies constitissent, priusquam signa canerent, processisse Latinum inter primores ducemque
advenarum evocasse ad conloquium.
cum -- conjunction; <cum> since, when -- when

instructae -- adjective; nominative plural feminine of <instructus, instructa, instructum> arranged, ready --
ready
acies -- noun, feminine; nominative plural of <acies, aciei> line of battle -- lines of battle
constitissent -- verb; 3rd person plural pluperfect subjunctive of
<cōnstituō, cōnstituere, cōnstituī, cōnstitūtum> decide -- had drawn up
priusquam -- adverb; <priusquam> before -- before
signa -- noun, neuter; nominative plural of <signum, signi> sign -- signals
canerent -- verb; 3rd person plural imperfect subjunctive of <canō, canere, cecinī, cantum> sing -- had
sounded
processisse -- verb; perfect in nitive of <prōcēdō, procedere, processī, processum> advance -- advanced
Latinum -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <Latinus, Latini> Latinus -- Latinus
inter -- preposition; <inter> between, among -- among
primores -- adjective used as substantive; accusative plural masculine of <primoris, primoris, primore>
chieftain, leader -- his chieftains
ducemque -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <dux, ducis> leader + conjunction; <-que> and -- and
... the leader
advenarum -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of <advena, advenae> stranger, foreigner -- of the strangers
evocasse -- verb; perfect in nitive of <ēvocō, evocare, evocāvī, evocatum> call forth, summon -- summoned
ad -- preposition; <ad> to, towards -- to
conloquium -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <conloquium, conloqui> conference -- a conference
Percunctatum deinde qui mortales essent, unde aut quo casu profecti domo quidve quaerentes in agrum
Laurentinum exissent.
percunctatum -- deponent verb; 3rd person perfect passive indicative of

<percūnctor, percunctārī, percunctātus sum> inquire with est understood -- he inquired
deinde -- adverb; <deinde> then -- then
qui -- interrogative pronoun; nominative plural masculine of <quis, quis, quid> who, what -- what
mortales -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <mortalis, mortalis, mortale> mortal -- men
essent -- verb; 3rd person plural imperfect subjunctive of <sum, esse, fuī> I am -- they might be
unde -- adverb; <unde> from whence -- from which place
aut -- conjunction; <aut> or -- or at least
quo -- adverb; <quo> what -- by which
casu -- noun, masculine; ablative singular of <casus, casus> fall, misfortune, chance -- chance
profecti -- deponent verb; nominative plural masculine of perfect participle passive of
<proficīscor, proficiscī, profectus sum> set out -- had set out
domo -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <domus, domi> house -- from home
quidve -- interrogative pronoun; accusative singular neuter of <quis, quis, quid> who, what + conjunction;
<-ve> or -- or what
quaerentes -- verb; nominative plural masculine of present participle of
<quaerō, quaerere, quaesīvī, quaesītum> look for, search -- seeking
in -- preposition; <in> in, on -- in
agrum -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <ager, agri> land -- into the lands
Laurentinum -- adjective; accusative singular masculine of <Laurentinus, Laurentina, Laurentinum>
Laurentinus -- of Laurentum
exissent -- verb; 3rd person plural pluperfect subjunctive of <exeō, exire, exiī, exitum> go out, leave -- they
had gone out to
Postquam audierit multitudinem Troianos esse, ducem Aeneam, filium Anchisae et Veneris, cremata patria
domo profugos sedem condendaeque urbi locum quaerere.
postquam -- conjunction; <postquam> after -- after

audierit -- verb; 3rd person singular perfect subjunctive of <audiō, audīre, audīvī, audītum> hear -- he
heard
multitudinem -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <multitudo, multitudinis> multitude -- people
Troianos -- adjective; accusative plural masculine of <Troianus, Troiana, Troianum> Trojan -- Trojans
esse -- verb; in nitive of <sum, esse, fuī> I am -- were
ducem -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <dux, ducis> leader -- leader
Aeneam -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <Aeneas, Aeneae> Aeneas -- Aeneas
filium -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <filius, filii> son -- son
Anchisae -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of <Anchises, Anchisae> Anchises -- Anchises
et -- conjunction; <et> and -- and
Veneris -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <Venus, Veneris> Venus -- Venus
cremata -- verb; ablative singular feminine of perfect passive participle of
<cremō, cremāre, cremāvī, cremātum> burn -- having been burnt
patria -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <patria, patriae> fatherland -- fatherland
domo -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <domus, domi> house -- home
profugos -- adjective; accusative plural masculine of <profugus, profuga, profugum> fugitive -- fugitives
sedem -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <sedes, sedis> seat, habitation -- dwelling place
condendaeque -- verbal adjective; dative singular feminine of <condō, condere, condidī, conditum> found
+ conjunction; <-que> and -- and for founding
urbi -- noun, feminine; dative singular of <urbs, urbis> city -- city
locum -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <locus, loci> place -- place
quaerere -- verb; in nitive of <quaerō, quaerere, quaesīvī, quaesītum> look for, search -- to seek
Et nobilitatem admiratum gentis virique et animum vel bello vel paci paratum, dextra data fidem futurae
amicitiae sanxisse.

nobilitatem -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <nobilitas, nobilitatis> renown -- renown
admiratum -- deponent verb; perfect participle passive accusative singular masculine of
<admīror, admirārī, admirātus sum> admire -- admiring
gentis -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <gens, gentis> race, clan -- of the race
virique -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of <vir, viri> man + conjunction; <-que> and -- and of the man
et -- conjunction; <et> and -- as well as
animum -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <animus, animi> soul, mind -- spirit
vel -- conjunction; <vel> either - or -- either
bello -- noun, neuter; dative singular of <bellum, belli> war -- for war
vel -- conjunction; <vel> either - or -- or
paci -- noun, feminine; dative singular of <pax, pacis> peace -- for peace
paratum -- verb; accusative singular masculine of perfect participle passive of
<parō, parāre, parāvī, parātum> prepare, obtain -- prepared
dextra -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <dextra, dextrae> right hand -- right hand
data -- verb; ablative singular feminine of perfect participle passive of <dō, dare, dedī, dātum> give --
having been given
fidem -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <fides, fidei> faith, pledge -- pledge
futurae -- future participle; genitive singular feminine of <sum, esse, fuī> I am -- (of) future
amicitiae -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <amicitia, amicitiae> friendship -- of friendship
sanxisse -- verb; perfect in nitive of <sanciō, sancīre, sānxī, sānctum> enact -- he enacted
Inde foedus ictum inter duces, inter exercitus salutationem factam.
inde -- adverb; <inde> from that -- then

foedus -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <foedus, foederis> treaty -- a treaty
ictum -- defective verb; 3rd person singular perfect passive indicative of <īcere, īcī, ictum> strike with est
understood -- was made
inter -- preposition; <inter> between, among -- between
duces -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <dux, ducis> leader -- the leaders
inter -- preposition; <inter> between, among -- between
exercitus -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <exercitus, excercitus> army -- the armies
salutationem -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <salutatio, salutationis> saluting -- saluting
factam -- verb; 3rd person singular perfect passive indicative of <faciō, facere, fēcī, factum> do, make --
was carried out
Aeneam apud Latinum fuisse in hospitio.
Aeneam -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <Aeneas, Aeneae> Aeneas -- Aeneas

apud -- preposition; <apud> among, with -- at (Latinus') house
fuisse -- verb; perfect in nitive of <sum, esse, fuī> I am -- was
hospitio -- noun, neuter; ablative singular of <hospitium, hospitii> hospitality -- hospitality
Ibi Latinum apud penates deos domesticum publico adiunxisse foedus filia Aeneae in matrimonium data.
ibi -- adverb; <ibi> there, then -- thereupon

apud -- preposition; <apud> among, with -- in the presence of
penates -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <Penates, Penatium> household gods -- household gods
deos -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <deus, dei> god -- gods
domesticum -- adjective; accusative singular neuter of <domesticus, domestica, domesticum> domestic --
domestic
publico -- adjective; ablative singular neuter of <publicus, publica, publicum> public -- in public
adiunxisse -- verb; perfect in nitive of <adiungō, adjungere, adjūnxī, adjūnctum> add -- added
foedus -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <foedus, foederis> treaty -- treaty
filia -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <filia, filiae> daughter -- daughter
Aeneae -- noun, masculine; dative singular of <Aeneas, Aeneae> Aeneas -- to Aeneas
matrimonium -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <matrimonium, matrimoni> marriage -- marriage
data -- verb; ablative singular feminine of perfect participle passive of <dō, dare, dedī, dātum> give --
having given
Ea res utique Troianis spem adfirmat tandem stabili certaque sede finiendi erroris.
ea -- demonstrative pronoun; nominative singular feminine of <is, ea, id> him, her, this -- this
res -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of <res, rei> thing, matter -- event
utique -- adverb; <utique> certainly -- de nitely
Troianis -- adjective used as substantive; dative plural masculine of <Troianus, Troiana, Troianum> Trojan
-- for the Trojans
spem -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <spes, spei> hope -- hope
adfirmat -- verb; 3rd person singular present indicative of <adfīrmō, adfirmāre, adfirmāvī, adfirmātum>
con rm -- con rmed
tandem -- adverb; <tandem> nally -- nally
stabili -- adjective; ablative singular feminine of <stabilis, stabilis, stabile> stable -- stable
certaque -- adjective; ablative singular feminine of <certus, certa, certum> certain + conjunction; <-que>
and -- and secure
sede -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <sedes, sedis> seat, habitation -- home
finiendi -- verb; gerund(ive) genitive singular masculine of <finiō, finīre, finīvī, finītum> nish, end -- ended
erroris -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of <error, erroris> wandering -- their wandering
Oppidum condunt.
oppidum -- noun, neuter; accusative singular <oppidum, oppidi> city -- a city

condunt -- verb; 3rd person plural present indicative of <condō, condere, condidī, conditum> found -- they
founded
Aeneas a nomine uxoris Lavinium appellat.
Aeneas -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Aeneas, Aeneae> Aeneas -- Aeneas

a -- preposition; <ab> from, after -- after
nomine -- noun, neuter; ablative singular of <nomen, nominis> name -- the name
uxoris -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <uxor, uxoris> wife -- of his wife
Lavinium -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <Lavinium, Lavinii> Lavinium -- Lavinium
appellat -- verb; 3rd person singular present indicative of <appellō, appellāre, appellāvī, appellātum> call --
called
Lesson Text
Cum instructae acies constitissent, priusquam signa canerent, processisse Latinum inter primores
ducemque advenarum evocasse ad conloquium. Percunctatum deinde qui mortales essent, unde aut quo
casu profecti domo quidve quaerentes in agrum Laurentinum exissent. Postquam audierit multitudinem
Troianos esse, ducem Aeneam, filium Anchisae et Veneris, cremata patria domo profugos sedem
condendaeque urbi locum quaerere. Et nobilitatem admiratum gentis virique et animum vel bello vel
paci paratum, dextra data fidem futurae amicitiae sanxisse. Inde foedus ictum inter duces, inter exercitus
salutationem factam. Aeneam apud Latinum fuisse in hospitio. Ibi Latinum apud penates deos
domesticum publico adiunxisse foedus filia Aeneae in matrimonium data. Ea res utique Troianis spem
adfirmat tandem stabili certaque sede finiendi erroris. Oppidum condunt. Aeneas a nomine uxoris
Lavinium appellat.
Translation
When the arranged lines of battle had been drawn up, before the signals were sounded, Latinus advanced
among his chieftains and summoned the leader of the strangers to a conference. He then asked what
men they were, where they had come from, what misfortune had caused them to leave their home, and
what they were seeking in the land of Laurentinum. After he heard that the people were Trojans and their
leader was Aeneas, the son of Anchises and Venus, and that their city had been burned, and driven from
their home they were seeking a dwelling place and a site where they might build a city, in admiration of
both the renown of the race and the spirit of the hero who was prepared either for war or for peace, he
gave him his right hand and enacted a pledge of future friendship. A treaty was then struck by the
leaders, and the armies saluted. Aeneas received guest friendship with Latinus. And then Latinus in the
presence of his household gods added to the public treaty a domestic one by giving his daughter in
marriage to Aeneas. This event de nitely con rmed the hope of the Trojans of having ended their
wanderings in a stable and certain home. They founded a city. Aeneas called it Lavinium after the name
of his wife.
Grammar
1 Latin, a Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) Language.
The basic word order of Latin is SOV. Typical sentences then have the verb in nal position, as in the sentence
Oppidum condunt. Because personal subjects are included in the verb form, a separate subject may be lacking.
A fuller pattern is found in the following sentence: Aeneas ab nomine uxoris Lavinium appellat. The sentence also
includes an adverbial phrase placed, as frequently, before the object, which typically stands directly before the
verb. Similar sentences are found at the beginning of this passage.
2 Modi cations of the basic sentence pattern, with non- nite forms making up the verbs in clauses.
Like many writers in the Classic Latin period, Livy introduced many modi cations of the basic sentence pattern.
As in this passage, he often used clauses with nominal forms of verbs, such as in nitives, participles, gerunds
and gerundives rather than nite verbs.
Among them are clauses consisting of an in nitive with an accusative as subject, as in processisse Latīnum
'Latinus advanced', (Latinum) evocāsse 'Latinus summoned', Latīnum adiunxisse 'Latinus added'. As in the
translations here, these are best treated as nite clauses in English. But many in nitives are used, like in
English, as complements to nite verbs, e.g. postquam audierit multitudinem Trōiānōs esse 'after he heard that the
people were Trojans'.
Participles may also be used instead of nite verbs, as in Inde foedus ictum 'Then a treaty was struck'. Such
clauses may be viewed as simple sentences with a form of 'be' as verb omitted. The passage contains many
examples, such as percunctatum, profectī, quaerentēs and so on. But a highly characteristic use of participles in
Latin is found with both a noun and a participle in the ablative case -- the so-called ablative absolute
construction. These are comparable to subordinate clauses; an example is dextrā datā, literally 'the right hand
given' but often best treated as a nite clause as in 'he gave him his right hand'. The later example, filiā datā,
literally 'daughter given', could be treated similarly, though here it is translated as a participial clause.
Gerundives are adjectival and gerunds are nominals that may be in ected in the oblique cases. They are
characterized by an -nd- ending. An example of a gerundive in the text is condendae urbī 'for founding a city'. An
example of a gerund is finiendī erroris 'for ending of their wandering'.
As this text illustrates, classical Latin syntax is highly stylized. It should be noted that it contains few particles.
These are used in many languages for indicating emphasized items. In Latin such emphasis is indicated by
shifts in word order, and often with separation of connected words. Besides shifts in word order, the in ection
of nouns and of verbs is highly important for conveying nuances of meaning in the language.
3 Noun in ection.
Latin nouns are classed in ve declensions that are determined by their endings. In this unit we will exemplify
the rst declension, which has nal -a in the stem form, e.g. patria 'fatherland', and the second, most of which
have nal -us (from Proto-Indo-European -os), e.g. filius 'son'. Second declension nouns with bases ending in -r,
e.g. vir 'man', may lack the nal ending. Neuter nouns end in -um.
Nouns are in ected for gender, number, and case. There are three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter.
Most nouns of the rst declension are feminine; those of the second are masculine, e.g. filius 'son', or neuter,
e.g. bellum 'war'.
There are two numbers: singular, and plural.
There are ve cases -- plus the vocative, a case of address for nouns to which it may apply, such as proper
nouns. In declensions, the cases are listed as follows; the basic uses given here:
Nominative, the case of the subject

Genitive, the case indicating possession and relationship
Dative, the case of the indirect object and to indicate direction
Accusative, the case of the direct object
Ablative, the case indicating separation

1st declension 2nd declension

Case Sg. Pl. Sg. Pl. Sg. Pl. Sg. Pl.
Nom. patria patriae | filius filiī vir virī bellum bella
Gen. patriae patriārum | filiī filiōrum virī virōrum bellī bellōrum
Dat. patriae patriīs | filiō filiīs virō virīs bellō bellīs
Acc. patriam patriās | filium filiōs virum virōs bellum bella
Abl. patriā patriīs | filiō filiīs virō virīs bellō bellīs
Greek nouns of the rst declension, e.g. Aeneas and Anchises, have a nal -s in the nominative, but are regular in
the other cases. Like other rst declension nouns they have -a in the vocative.
The vocative of regular second declension nouns ends in -e, e.g. filie 'oh son'; those nouns ending in -r have no
ending, e.g. vir 'oh man'.
Adjectives are in ected like nouns, but may be in ected for all three genders, e.g. m. certus, f. certa, n. certum
'certain'.
4 Verb in ection.
Verbs are classed in four conjugations, in accordance with their stem vowels:
1. those with in nitive ending in -āre belong to the rst conjugation;

2. those ending in -ēre belong to the second;
3. those ending in -ere belong to the third;
4. those ending in -īre belong to the fourth.
Verbs are in ected for two voices (active and passive), six tenses (present, imperfect, future, perfect, past
perfect and future perfect), and for two moods (indicative and subjunctive). In addition there are two numbers
(singular and plural), and three persons ( rst, second, and third). Moreover, there is an imperative for second
and third persons.
Verbs have nominal forms: three in nitives (present, perfect, and future), two participles (present and future), a
gerund, gerundive, and a supine.
Dictionaries list verbs in their rst person singular present indicative, or a comparable form if the verb in
question is in ected only in the passive. Moreover, dictionaries and grammars provide four principal parts, from
which all forms can be made. These are given below, with examples from each of the four conjugations.
Pres. Pres. Perf. Perf. Part.

Conj.
Indic. In n. Indic. Passive
1 laudō 'praise' laudāre laudāvī laudātum
2 moneō 'advise' monēre monuī monītum
3 tegō 'cover' tegere tēxī tectum
4 audiō 'hear' audīre audīvī audītum
Although the texts included in the ten units present historical and literary information, so that verbs are chie y
in the third person, the six present indicative forms are given here to provide a basis for recognizing all forms.
Conjugation
1 2 3 4
1 sg. laudō moneō tegō audiō
2 sg. laudās monēs tegis audīs
3 sg. laudat monet tegit audit
1 pl. laudāmus monēmus tegimus audīmus
2 pl. laudātis monētis tegitis audītis
3 pl. laudant monent tegunt audiunt
5 The phonological system.

The phonological system of Latin is remarkably simple. It consists of sixteen consonants and ve vowels,
which may be long or short. In printed texts, length is not usually marked; when it is, a macron is placed over
the long vowels.
The system is as follows:
Labials Dentals Palato-velars
Voiceless: p t k (also spelled c and q)
Voiced: b d g
Fricatives: f s h
Nasals: m n ŋ (before k, g)
Semivowels: w (v) j (often spelled i)

Liquids: l r

Vowels: i u
e o
a
The vowels have "continental" values: i and e are pronounced as in cliché; a as in father, o as in note, u as in
ute.
Diphthongs are pronounced as sequences of the two successive vowels, e.g. ae as in aisle, oe as in soil, ei as in
rein, au as in rout.
Latin has a stress accent. In words of more than one syllable, the stress falls on the second to last syllable if it
is long, but if not, then on the third to last.
Latin Online
Lesson 2
This selection is taken from Book 2, Section 10 of Livy's history. It deals with an episode in the struggle of the
Romans to maintain themselves. Aeneas is assumed to have landed in Latium shortly before 750 B.C. In the
following 250 years the Romans maintained themselves, but had con icts with other peoples, especially the
Etruscans.
The Etruscans were at the gates of Rome in 503, and set out to enter the city over a bridge across the Tiber
River. The Romans retreated over it into the city and set out to destroy it. While they were doing so, it was
defended by three men. Horatius Cocles asked the two others to withdraw as well and then held off the
Etruscans by himself until the bridge was destroyed. He then plunged into the river and swam across in full
armor. The episode was greatly celebrated. It formed the topic of the poem on Horatius in Thomas Babingdon
Macaulay's Lays of Ancient Rome of 1842. (A passage after the sentence ending in pontis was omitted, to avoid
undue length of this selection.)
Cum hostes adessent, pro se quisque in urbem ex agris demigrant, urbem ipsam saepiunt praesidiis.

hostes -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of <hostis, hostis> enemy -- enemies
adessent -- verb; 3rd person plural imperfect subjunctive of <adsum, adesse, adfuī> be present -- appeared
pro -- preposition; <pro> for, before -- for
se -- re exive pronoun; ablative of <sui> self -- self
quisque -- inde nite pronoun; nominative singular masculine of <quisque, quaeque, quodque> everyone --
each for himself
urbem -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <urbs, urbis> city -- into the city
ex -- preposition; <ex> out of, from -- from
agris -- noun, masculine; ablative plural of <ager, agri> land -- the elds
demigrant -- verb; 3rd person plural present indicative of <dēmigrō, dēmigrāre, dēmigrāvi, dēmigrātum>
withdraw -- withdrew
urbem -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <urbs, urbis> city -- urbs
ipsam -- intensive pronoun; accusative singular feminine of <ipse, ipsa, ipsum> self -- itself
saepiunt -- verb; 3rd person plural present indicative of <saepiō, saepīre, saepsī, saeptum> surround -- they
surrounded
praesidiis -- noun, neuter; dative plural of <praesidium, praesidii> guard -- with guards
Alia muris, alia Tiberi obiecto videbantur tuta.
alia -- pronominal adjective; nominative plural neuter of <alius, alia, aliud> other, some -- some parts
muris -- noun, masculine; ablative plural of <murus, muri> wall -- by walls
alia -- pronominal adjective; nominative plural neuter of <alius, alia, aliud> other, some -- other parts
Tiberi -- noun, masculine; ablative singular of <Tiber, Tiberis> Tiber -- by the Tiber
obiecto -- verb; ablative singular masculine of perfect participle passive of
<obiciō, obicere, obiēcī, obiectum> oppose -- in front of them
videbantur -- verb; 3rd person imperfect passive of <videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsum> see -- seemed
tuta -- adjective; nominative plural neuter of <tutus, tuta, tutum> safe -- secure
Pons sublicius iter paene hostibus dedit, ni unus vir fuisset, Horatius Cocles.
pons -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <pons, pontis> bridge -- the bridge
sublicius -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <sublicius, sublicia, sublicium> resting on piles --
resting on piles
iter -- noun, neuter; accusative singular <iter, itineris> way -- way
paene -- adverb; <paene> almost -- almost
hostibus -- noun, masculine; dative plural of <hostis, hostis> enemy -- to the enemies
dedit -- verb; 3rd person singular perfect of <dō, dare, dedī, dātum> give -- provided
ni -- conjunction; <ni> if not, unless -- if there had not
unus -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <unus, una, unum> one, alone -- one
vir -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <vir, viri> man -- man
fuisset -- verb; 3rd person singular past perfect subjunctive of <sum, esse, fuī> I am -- had been
Horatius -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Horatius, Horati> Horatius -- Horatius
Cocles -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Cocles, Coclitis> Cocles -- Cocles
Id munimentum illo die fortuna urbis Romanae habuit.
id -- demonstrative pronoun; accusative singular neuter of <is, ea, id> him, her, this -- (on) this
munimentum -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <munimentum, munimenti> defence -- defence
illo -- demonstrative pronoun; ablative singular masculine of <ille, illa, illud> he, she, that -- on that
die -- noun, masculine; ablative singular of <dies, diei> day -- day
fortuna -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of <fortuna, fortunae> fortune -- fortune
urbis -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <urbs, urbis> city -- city
Romanae -- adjective; genitive singular feminine of <Romanus, Romana, Romanum> Roman -- of Rome
habuit -- verb; 3rd person singular perfect of <habeō, habēre, habuī, habitum> have -- depended
Qui positus forte in statione pontis. [Sentences omi ed at this point.]
qui -- relative pronoun; nominative singular masculine of <qui, quae, quod> who, which, what, that -- he
positus -- verb; nominative singular masculine of perfect participle passive of
<pōnō, ponere, posuī, positum> place, situate -- placed himself
forte -- adjective; ablative singular masculine of <fortis, fortis, forte> strong -- in a mighty way
in -- preposition; <in> in, on -- on
statione -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <statio, stationis> station, guard -- guard
pontis -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of <pons, pontis> bridge -- of the bridge
Circumferens inde truces minaciter oculos ad proceres Etruscorum nunc singulos provocare, nunc increpare
omnes.
circumferens -- verb; present participle nominative singular masculine of

<circumferō, circumferre, circumtūlī, circumlātum> carry around -- darting
inde -- adverb; <inde> from that -- then
truces -- adjective; accusative plural masculine of <trux, trucis> erce -- erce
minaciter -- adverb; <minaciter> threateningly -- threateningly
oculos -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <oculus, oculi> eye -- glances
ad -- preposition; <ad> to, towards -- at
proceres -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <procer, proceris> nobleman -- chiefs
Etruscorum -- adjective used as substantive; genitive plural masculine of <Etruscus, Etrusca, Etruscum>
Etruscan -- of the Etruscans
nunc -- adverb; <nunc> now -- now
singulos -- adjective; accusative plural masculine of <singulus, singula, singulum> single, individual -- as
individuals
provocare -- verb; present in nitive of <prōvocō, provocāre, provocāvī, provocātum> challenge -- he
challenged
nunc -- adverb; <nunc> now -- now
increpare -- verb; present in nitive of <increpō, increpāre, increpuī, increpitum> scold, rebuke -- he
rebuked
omnes -- adjective; accusative plural masculine of <omnis, omnis, omne> all -- all of them
Servitia regum superborum, suae libertatis immemores alienam oppugnatum venire.
servitia -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of <servitium, servitii> servitude -- as servants

regum -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of <rex, regis> king -- of kings
superborum -- adjective; genitive plural masculine of <superbus, superba, superbum> haughty -- haughty
suae -- possessive pronoun; genitive singular feminine of <suus, sua, suum> own -- their own
libertatis -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <libertas, libertatis> liberty -- of ...liberty
immemores -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <immemor, immemoris> heedless -- heedless
alienam -- adjective; accusative singular feminine of <alienus, aliena, alienum> foreign, un tting -- of
others
oppugnatum -- verb; perfect participle passive of <oppūgnō, oppugnāre, oppugnāvī, oppugnātum>
overthrow -- to overthrow
venire -- verb; present in nitive of <veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventum> come -- were coming
Cunctati aliquamdiu sunt, dum alius alium, ut proelium incipiant, circumspectant
cunctati -- deponent verb; 3rd person plural perfect of <cunctor, cunctāri, cunctātus sum> hesitate with
sunt -- hesitating
aliquamdiu -- adverb; <aliquamdiu> for a while -- for a while
sunt -- auxiliary verb; 3rd person plural present of <sum, esse, fuī> I am with cunctati -- ...
dum -- conjunction; <dum> while -- while
alius -- pronominal adjective; nominative singular masculine of <alius, alia, aliud> other, some -- one
alium -- pronominal adjective; accusative singular masculine of <alius, alia, aliud> other, some -- the other
ut -- conjunction; <ut> that, so that -- that
proelium -- noun, neuter; accusative singular <proelium, proelii> battle -- battle
incipiant -- verb; 3rd person plural present subjunctive of <incipiō, incipere, incēpī, inceptum> begin -- they
might begin
circumspectant -- verb; 3rd person plural present indicative of
<circumspectō, circumspectāre, circumspectāvī, circumspectātum> look around -- looked
Pudor deinde commovit aciem, et clamore sublato undique in unum hostem tela coniciunt.
pudor -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <pudor, pudoris> shame -- shame

deinde -- adverb; <deinde> then -- then
commovit -- verb; 3rd person singular present of <commoveō, commovēre, commōvī, commōtum> move
-- moved
aciem -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <acies, aciei> line of battle -- line of battle
clamore -- noun, masculine; ablative singular of <clamor, clamoris> shout -- shout
sublato -- verb; ablative singular masculine of perfect participle of <sufferō, sufferre, sustulī, sublātum>
take up, lift -- having been started
undique -- adverb; <undique> from every quarter -- from all sides
in -- preposition; <in> in, on -- at
unum -- adjective; accusative singular masculine of <unus, una, unum> one, alone -- a single
hostem -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <hostis, hostis> enemy -- enemy
tela -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of <telum, teli> weapon, spear -- their javelins
coniciunt -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <cōniciō, conicere, coniēcī, coniectum> throw -- they threw
Quae cum in obiecto cuncta scuto haesissent, neque ille minus obstinatus ingenti pontem obtineret gradu.
quae -- relative pronoun; nominative plural neuter of <qui, quae, quod> who, which, what, that -- these
cum -- conjunction; <cum> since, when -- while
obiecto -- verb; ablative singular neuter of perfect participle passive of <obiciō, obicere, obiēcī, obiectum>
oppose -- opposed
cuncta -- adjective; nominative plural neuter of <cunctus, cuncta, cunctum> all -- all
scuto -- noun, neuter; ablative singular of <scutum, scuti> shield -- shield
haesissent -- verb; 3rd person plural pluperfect subjunctive of <haereō, haerēre, haesī, haesūrum> stick --
stuck
neque -- adverb; <neque> neither ... nor -- no
ille -- demonstrative pronoun; nominative singular masculine of <ille, illa, illud> he, she, that -- he
minus -- adverb; <minus> less -- less
obstinatus -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <obstinatus, obstinata, obstinatum> obstinate --
obstinately
ingenti -- adjective; ablative singular masculine of <ingens, ingentis> great -- strong
pontem -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <pons, pontis> bridge -- the bridge
obtineret -- verb; 3rd person singular imperfect subjunctive of <obtineō, obtinēre, obtenuī, obtentum> hold
-- he holds
gradu -- noun, masculine; ablative singular of <gradus, gradus> step -- position
Iam impetu conabantur detrudere virum, cum simul fragor rupti pontis, simul clamor Romanorum alacritate
perfecti operis sublatus, pavore subito impetum sustinuit.
iam -- adverb; <iam> already -- just as

impetu -- noun, masculine; ablative singular of <impetus, impetus> attack, charge -- by a charge
conabantur -- deponent verb; 3rd person plural imperfect passive of <cōnor, conārī, conātus sum> attempt,
aim -- they tried
detrudere -- verb; in nitive of <dētrūdō, dētrūdere, dētrūsī, dētrūsum> dislodge -- to dislodge
virum -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <vir, viri> man -- the man
simul -- adverb; <simul> at the same time -- at the same time
fragor -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <fragor, fragoris> crashing, noise -- the crash
rupti -- verb; genitive singular masculine of perfect participle passive of <rumpō, rumpere, rūpī, ruptus>
break -- broken
pontis -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of <pons, pontis> bridge -- the bridge
simul -- adverb; <simul> at the same time -- and simultaneously
clamor -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <clamor, clamoris> shout -- the shouting
Romanorum -- adjective used as substantive; genitive plural masculine of
<Romanus, Romana, Romanum> Roman -- of the Romans
alacritate -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <alacritas, alacritatis> delight -- in delight
perfecti -- adjective; genitive singular neuter of <perfectus, perfecta, perfectum> complete -- completed
operis -- noun, neuter; genitive singular of <opus, operis> work -- at the ... work
sublatus -- verb; nominative singular masculine of perfect participle passive of
<sufferō, sufferre, sustulī, sublātum> take up, lift -- elated
pavore -- noun, masculine; ablative singular of <pavor, pavoris> fear, dread -- with dread
subito -- adjective; ablative singular masculine of <subitus, subita, subitum> sudden -- sudden
impetum -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <impetus, impetus> attack, charge -- their charge
sustinuit -- verb; 3rd person singular perfect of <sustineō, sustinēre, sustinuī, sustentum> hold back -- held
back
Tum Cocles "Tiberine pater," inquit, "te sancte precor, haec arma et hunc militem propitio flumine accipias."
tum -- adverb; <tum> then -- then

Cocles -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Cocles, Coclitis> Cocles -- Cocles
Tiberine -- adjective; vocative singular masculine of <Tiberinus, Tiberini> Tiberinus -- Tiberinus
pater -- noun, masculine; vocative singular of <pater, patris> father -- father
inquit -- defective verb; 3rd person singular present indicative of <inquam> say -- said
te -- pronoun; accusative singular masculine of <tu> you -- you
sancte -- adjective; vocative singular masculine of <sanctus, sancta, sanctum> holy -- holy one
precor -- deponent verb; 1st person singular present indicative of <precor, precārī, precātus sum> pray -- I
pray
haec -- demonstrative pronoun; accusative plural neuter of <hic, haec, hoc> there, this -- these
arma -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of <arma, armorum> arms -- armor
hunc -- demonstrative pronoun; accusative singular masculine of <hic, haec, hoc> there, this -- this
militem -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <miles, militis> soldier -- soldier
propitio -- adjective; ablative singular neuter of <propitius, propitia, propitium> propitious -- propitious
flumine -- noun, neuter; ablative singular of <flumen, fluminis> river -- with stream
accipias -- verb; 2nd person singular present subjunctive of <accipiō, accipere, accēpī, acceptum> receive --
receive
Ita sic armatus in Tiberim desiluit multisque superincidentibus telis incolumis ad suos tranavit
ita -- adverb; <ita> thus -- in this manner

sic -- adverb; <sic> so, thus -- so
armatus -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <armatus, armata, armatum> armed -- armed
in -- preposition; <in> in, on -- into
Tiberim -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <Tiber, Tiberis> Tiber -- the Tiber
desiluit -- verb; 3rd person singular perfect of <dēsiliō, dēsilīre, dēsiluī, dēsultus> jump down -- he jumped
down
multisque -- adjective; dative plural neuter of <multus, multa, multum> many + conjunction; <-que> and --
and with many
superincidentibus -- verb; ablative plural neuter of present participle of <superincidō, superincindere> fall
down -- falling down
telis -- noun, neuter; ablative plural of <telum, teli> weapon, spear -- spears
incolumis -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <incolumis, incolumis, incolume> unharmed --
unharmed
suos -- possessive pronoun; accusative plural masculine of <suus, sua, suum> own -- his own
tranavit -- verb; 3rd person singular perfect of <trānō, tranāre, tranāvī> swim across -- he swam across
rem ausus plus famae habituram ad posteros quam fidei.
rem -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <res, rei> thing, matter -- act
ausus -- verb; nominative singular masculine of perfect participle passive of <audeō, audēre, ausus sum>
dare to do -- having dared to do
plus -- adjective used as substantive; accusative singular neuter of <plus> more -- more
famae -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <fama, famae> report, talk -- fame
habituram -- verb; accusative singular feminine of future participle active of
<habeō, habēre, habuī, habitum> have -- which would have
ad -- preposition; <ad> to, towards -- among
posteros -- adjective used as substantive; accusative plural masculine of <posteri, posterae, postera>
future generations -- future generations
quam -- adverb used as conjunction; <quam> than -- than
fidei -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <fides, fidei> faith, pledge -- belief
Lesson Text
Cum hostes adessent, pro se quisque in urbem ex agris demigrant, urbem ipsam saepiunt praesidiis. Alia
muris, alia Tiberi obiecto videbantur tuta. Pons sublicius iter paene hostibus dedit, ni unus vir fuisset,
Horatius Cocles. Id munimentum illo die fortuna urbis Romanae habuit. Qui positus forte in statione
pontis. [Sentences omi ed at this point.] Circumferens inde truces minaciter oculos ad proceres Etruscorum
nunc singulos provocare, nunc increpare omnes. Servitia regum superborum, suae libertatis immemores
alienam oppugnatum venire. Cunctati aliquamdiu sunt, dum alius alium, ut proelium incipiant,
circumspectant Pudor deinde commovit aciem, et clamore sublato undique in unum hostem tela
coniciunt. Quae cum in obiecto cuncta scuto haesissent, neque ille minus obstinatus ingenti pontem
obtineret gradu. Iam impetu conabantur detrudere virum, cum simul fragor rupti pontis, simul clamor
Romanorum alacritate perfecti operis sublatus, pavore subito impetum sustinuit. Tum Cocles "Tiberine
pater," inquit, "te sancte precor, haec arma et hunc militem propitio flumine accipias." Ita sic armatus in
Tiberim desiluit multisque superincidentibus telis incolumis ad suos tranavit rem ausus plus famae
habituram ad posteros quam fidei.
Translation
When the enemies appeared, the Romans withdrew, everyone for himself, from the elds into the city, and
they surrounded the city itself with guards. Some parts seemed to be secure by their walls, others by the
Tiber in front of them. The bridge resting on piles almost provided a way in to the enemies, if there had
not been one man, Horatius Cocles. He was the defense on the day that the fortune of the city of Rome
depended. He by chance was placed on guard of the bridge. ... Then darting around erce glances
threateningly at the chiefs of the Etruscans, he now challenged them individually, now rebuked all of them
as servants of haughty kings heedless of their own liberty who were coming to overthrow that of others.
They hesitated for a while -- one looked after the other that they might begin the battle. Then they moved
the line of battle, and with a haughty shout they threw their spears from all sides at a single enemy. When
these all struck on his opposing shield, he no less obstinately held the bridge with great dispatch. Just as
they tried to dislodge him by a charge, at the same time the crash of the falling bridge and the shouting of
the Roman elated with delight at the completed work checked the charge with sudden dread. Then
Cocles said: "Father Tiber, I pray you, oh holy one, that you receive these arms and this soldier with a
propitious stream." In the manner armed as he was, he jumped down into the Tiber, and unharmed by the
falling spears he swam across to his own. He had dared to perform a deed that would have more favor
than belief among future generations.
Grammar
6 Historical Present.
The historical present, also known as the dramatic present, refers to use of the present tense with past
meaning. As the alternate designation indicates, it may be found where the author seeks to accentuate a
statement. Used in older English literature, as by Shakespeare, it now is pretty well restricted to popular
narration, as when a narrator uses sequences like "an' then he says...." Instances are found in these selections,
such as adfirmat, condunt, and appellat in the rst unit, adessent, demigrant, and saepiunt in the second; these
forms in the rst sentence of the second selection were clearly used to re ect the dangerous situation for the
Romans. In nitives may be used similarly, e.g. evocāre and quaerere in the rst unit.
7 The subjunctive.
Beside the indicative mood, which expresses certainty, subjunctive mood forms are found for the present, the
preterite, the perfect, and the pluperfect, active and passive. As a general characteristic, the subjunctive forms
indicate uncertainty. In keeping with this meaning, they are used in many subordinate clauses introduced by
conjunctions and pronouns. A typical use is found in the rst sentence of this selection, cum hostēs adessent...,
and also in the rst sentence of the initial unit, cum ... constitissent.... The uncertainty is greater in the second
sentence of that unit, where a question is asked: quī mortalēs essent and at its conclusion exissent. A use without
conjunction is found in the prayer of Horatius to the Tiber: precor ... accipiās 'I ask that you accept.' As in this
translation, subjunctive forms may correspond to English sentences that express fact, but often they are best
represented by modal auxiliaries.
In the identi cation of verbal forms of these texts, those in the indicative are not especially so noted.
8 The third declension of nouns.
While nouns of the rst and second declensions have bases ending in vowels and are accordingly regular,
those of the third conjugation end in consonants or -i, with a possible consequent modi cation of the base in
some forms. An example is the word for king, rex, which has a base ending in -g; when the nominative ending -s
is added, the -g- is devoiced, and the two sounds are represented by -x. When the ending begins with a vowel,
however, the base is unmodi ed, as in the genitive regis. Other modi cations of bases may be determined from
dictionary entries, which typically provide the genitive as well as the nominative.
Nouns in this declension may be masculine, feminine or neuter. Like the endings of the base, the gender must
be noted from the dictionary entries.
Nom sg rex pons genus homo urbs
Gen sg regis pontis generis hominis urbis
Dat sg regī pontī generī hominī urbī
Acc sg regem pontem genus hominem urbem
Abl sg rege ponte genere homine urbe
Nom pl regēs pontēs genera hominēs urbēs
Gen pl regum pontum generum hominum urbium
Dat pl regibus pontibus generibus hominibus urbibus
Acc pl regēs pontēs genera hominēs urbēs
Abl pl regibus pontibus generibus hominibus urbibus
9 The perfect forms of verbs.

The perfect system of verbs is parallel to the present system. It consists of the simple perfect, the pluperfect or
past perfect, and the future perfect, with indicative and subjunctive forms except for the future perfect, and
passive forms beside the active. In general it implies past time, often with the meaning of completed action.
As the forms in these two units indicate, it is made in a variety of ways. In the rst conjugation, as well as the
fourth, it is generally made with a -v- su x and further endings. In the second conjugation, and also the fourth,
the marker is often -u-. The third conjugation verbs have a variety of markers, among them -s-. The differences
among verbs provide the reason for learning the principal parts of verbs; these are generally included in
dictionary entries. Examples are given here of the verbs cited in the section 4 of the grammar as well as forms
of dō and haereō. Instead of the ending -erunt in the third plural, a short form -ere may be found, both with long -
e-.
1 sg laudāvī monuī tēxī audīvī dedī haesī
2 sg laudāvistī monuistī texistī audivīstī dēdīstī haesistī
3 sg laudāvit monuit tēxit audīvit dēdit haesit
1 pl laudāvimus monuimus tēximus audīvimus dēdimus haesimus
2 pl laudāvistis monuistis tēxistis audīvistis dēdistis haesistis
3 pl laudāvērunt monuērunt tēxērunt audīvērunt dēderunt haeserunt
10 Prepositions.
Most prepositions govern the accusative case, as do ad and apud found in these units, as well as ante 'before',
contra 'against', inter 'among', per 'through', post 'after', trans 'across', and many others. In and sub 'under',
however, govern the accusative case when indicating direction, and the ablative when indicating place.
Latin Online
Lesson 3
In Book 6 of The Gallic War, Julius Caesar (100 - 44 B.C.) decided to describe the people of Gaul and of
Germania. He has given us a brief anthropological account of their customs and activities. Only selections can
be included here, but these indicate the differences between the two peoples.
The people of Gaul had obviously been in uenced by the Greeks and Romans, while the people of Germania
have resisted such in uences. The account of the people of Germania consequently provides information on
the conditions that applied in previous centuries, possibly even in late Indo-European times. On the other hand,
the singling out of the classes of Druids and Knights, beside the common members of their society, shows a
striking resemblance to the castes of Indian society, where the Brahmans or priests had the highest status,
followed by the Kshatriyas or warriors. But in contrast with the two further Indian castes of Vaishyas and
Shudras those not in these two Gallic classes were lumped together, and regarded much like the Indian
outcastes. It is questionable, then, whether there is a historic connection between the Gallic class system and
the Indian caste system.
Quoniam ad hunc locum perventum est, non alienum esse videtur de Galliae Germaniaeque moribus et quo
differant hae nationes inter sese proponere.
quoniam -- conjunction; <quoniam> since -- since

hunc -- demonstrative pronoun; accusative singular masculine of <hic, haec, hoc> there, this -- this
locum -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <locus, loci> place -- place
perventum -- verb; 3rd person singular perfect passive of <perveniō, pervenīre, pervēnī, perventum>
arrive, reach with est -- has been reached
est -- auxiliary verb; 3rd person singular present of <sum, esse, fuī> I am with perventum -- ...
non -- adverb; <non> not -- not
alienum -- adjective; accusative singular neuter of <alienus, aliena, alienum> foreign, un tting -- un tting
esse -- verb; in nitive of <sum, esse, fuī> I am -- be
videtur -- verb; 3rd person singular present passive of <videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsum> see -- seem
de -- preposition; <de> from, about -- about
Galliae -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <Gallia, Galliae> Gaul -- of Gaul
Germaniaeque -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <Germania, Germaniae> Germania + conjunction;
<-que> and -- and of Germania
moribus -- noun, masculine; ablative plural of <mos, moris> custom -- practices
quo -- interrogative pronoun; ablative singular neuter of <quis, quis, quid> who, what -- how
differant -- verb; 3rd person singular present subjunctive of <differō, differre, distulī, dīlātum> differ --
differ
hae -- demonstrative pronoun; nominative plural feminine of <hic, haec, hoc> there, this -- these
nationes -- noun, feminine; nominative plural of <natio, nationis> nation -- nations
sese -- re exive pronoun; accusative of <sui> self -- one another
proponere -- verb; in nitive of <prōpōnō, proponere, proposuī, propositum> point out, set forth -- to point
out
In omni Gallia eorum hominum, qui aliquo sunt numero atque honore, genera sunt duo.

omni -- adjective; ablative singular feminine of <omnis, omnis, omne> all -- all of
Gallia -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <Gallia, Galliae> Gaul -- Gaul
eorum -- demonstrative pronoun; genitive plural masculine of <is, ea, id> him, her, this -- those
hominum -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of <homo, hominis> man, human -- humans
qui -- relative pronoun; nominative plural masculine of <qui, quae, quod> who, which, what, that -- who
aliquo -- pronoun adjective; ablative singular masculine of <aliqui, aliqua, aliquod> some, any -- some
sunt -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <sum, esse, fuī> I am -- are
numero -- noun, masculine; ablative singular of <numerus, numeri> class, number, repute -- esteem
atque -- conjunction; <atque> and -- and
honore -- noun, masculine; ablative singular of <honos, honoris> honor, distinction -- distinction
genera -- noun, neuter; nominative plural of <genus, generis> kind, class -- kinds
sunt -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <sum, esse, fuī> I am -- there are
duo -- number; <duo, duae, duo> two -- two
Nam plebes paene servorum habetur loco, quae nihil audet per se, nullo adhibetur consilio.
nam -- conjunction; <nam> for -- for

plebes -- noun, feminine; nominative plural of <plebs, plebis> common people -- the common people
paene -- adverb; <paene> almost -- almost
servorum -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of <servus, servi> slave -- of slaves
habetur -- verb; 3rd person singular present passive of <habeō, habēre, habuī, habitum> have -- are
regarded
loco -- noun, masculine; ablative singular of <locus, loci> place -- in the position of, as
quae -- relative pronoun; nominative singular feminine of <qui, quae, quod> who, which, what, that -- who
nihil -- noun; indeclinable <nihil> nothing -- nothing
audet -- verb; 3rd person singular present of <audeō, audēre, ausus sum> dare to do -- dares
per -- preposition; <per> through, by -- by
se -- re exive pronoun; accusative of <sui> self -- themselves
nullo -- adjective; ablative singular neuter of <nullus, nulla, nullum> no, none -- not ... any
adhibetur -- verb; 3rd person singular present passive of <adhibeō, adhibēre, adhibuī, adhibitum> turn to,
treat -- are ...taken as of
consilio -- noun, neuter; ablative singular of <consilium, consilii> counsel -- account
Plerique, cum aut aere alieno aut magnitudine tributorum aut iniuria potentiorum premuntur, sese in
servitutem dicant nobilibus.
plerique -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <plerusque, pleraeque, pleraque> most, the majority
-- most of them
cum -- conjunction; <cum> since, when -- since
aut -- conjunction; <aut> or -- either
aere -- noun, neuter; ablative singular of <aes, aeris> metal, copper, money -- by debt
alieno -- adjective; ablative singular neuter of <alienus, aliena, alienum> foreign, un tting -- of another
aut -- conjunction; <aut> or -- or
magnitudine -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <magnitudo, magnitudinis> size -- by the size
tributorum -- noun, neuter; genitive plural of <tributum, tributi> speci c payment, tribute -- of their
payments
iniuria -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <iniuria, injuriae> wrong, harsh treatment -- harsh treatment
potentiorum -- adjective used as substantive; genitive plural masculine of comparative of
<potens, potentis> powerful -- of the more powerful
premuntur -- verb; 3rd person plural present passive of <premō, pemere, pressī, pressum> press, oppress
-- are oppressed
sese -- re exive pronoun; accusative of <sui> self -- themselves
servitutem -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <servitus, servitutis> servitude, slavery -- slavery
dicant -- verb; 3rd person plural present subjunctive of <dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictum> say, state, declare --
declare
nobilibus -- adjective; dative plural masculine of <nobilis, nobilis, nobile> famous, noble -- to the nobles
In hos eadem omnia sunt iura, quae dominis in servos.
in -- preposition; <in> in, on -- over

hos -- demonstrative pronoun; accusative plural masculine of <hic, haec, hoc> there, this -- those
eadem -- demonstrative pronoun; nominative plural neuter of <idem, eadem, idem> the same -- the same
omnia -- adjective; nominative plural neuter of <omnis, omnis, omne> all -- all
iura -- noun, neuter; nominative plural of <ius, iuris> right -- rights
quae -- relative pronoun; nominative plural neuter of <qui, quae, quod> who, which, what, that -- which
dominis -- noun, masculine; dative plural of <dominus, domini> lord, master -- masters (have)
in -- preposition; <in> in, on -- over
servos -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <servus, servi> slave -- slaves
Sed de his duobus generibus alterum est druidum, alterum equitum.
sed -- conjunction; <sed> but -- in fact

de -- preposition; <de> from, about -- of
his -- demonstrative pronoun; ablative plural neuter of <hic, haec, hoc> there, this -- these
duobus -- number; ablative plural neuter of <duo, duae, duo> two -- two
generibus -- noun, neuter; ablative plural of <genus, generis> kind, class -- classes
alterum -- pronoun adjective; nominative singular neuter of <alter, altera, alterum> the one, the other -- the
one
est -- verb; 3rd person singular present of <sum, esse, fuī> I am -- consists of
druidum -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of <druides, druidum> Druids -- Druids
other
equitum -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of <eques, equitis> horseman, knight -- knights
Illi rebus divinis intersunt, sacrificia publica ac privata procurant, religiones interpretantur.
illi -- demonstrative pronoun; nominative plural masculine of <ille, illa, illud> he, she, that -- these
rebus -- noun, feminine; dative plural of <res, rei> thing, matter -- matters
divinis -- adjective; dative plural feminine of <divinus, divina, divinum> divine, sacred -- sacred
intersunt -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <intersum, interesse, interfuī> lie between, concern -- are
concerned with
sacrificia -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of <sacrificium, sacrifici> sacri ce -- sacri ces
publica -- adjective; accusative plural neuter of <publicus, publica, publicum> public -- public
ac -- conjunction; <ac> and -- and
privata -- adjective; accusative plural neuter of <privatus, privata, privatum> private, individual -- private
procurant -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <prōcūrō, prōcūrāre, prōcūrāvi, prōcūrātum> take care of --
they take care of
religiones -- noun, feminine; accusative plural of <religio, religionis> religious practice -- religious matters
interpretantur -- deponent verb; 3rd person plural present of <interpretor, interpretāri, interpretātus sum>
interpret -- they interpret
Ad hos magnus adulescentium numerus disciplinae causa concurrit, magnoque hi sunt apud eos honore.

hos -- demonstrative pronoun; accusative plural masculine of <hic, haec, hoc> there, this -- these
magnus -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <magnus, magna, magnum> great, large -- large
adulescentium -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of <adulescens, adulescentis> young people -- the young
people
numerus -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <numerus, numeri> class, number, repute -- number
disciplinae -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <disciplina, disciplinae> discipline, education --
instruction
causa -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <causa, causae> cause, reason -- for the sake of
concurrit -- verb; 3rd person singular present of <concurrō, concurrere, concurrī, concursum> assemble,
come together -- come together
magnoque -- adjective; ablative singular masculine of <magnus, magna, magnum> great, large +
conjunction; <-que> and -- and ... great
hi -- demonstrative pronoun; nominative plural masculine of <hic, haec, hoc> there, this -- these
apud -- preposition; <apud> among, with -- among
eos -- demonstrative pronoun; accusative plural masculine of <is, ea, id> him, her, this -- them
honore -- noun, masculine; ablative singular of <honos, honoris> honor, distinction -- in ... honor
Nam fere de omnibus controversiis publicis privatisque constituunt, et, si quid admissum facinus, si caedes
facta, si de heriditate de finibus controversia est, idem decernunt, praemia poenasque constituunt.

fere -- adverb; <fere> almost -- almost
de -- preposition; <de> from, about -- concerning
omnibus -- adjective; ablative plural feminine of <omnis, omnis, omne> all -- all
controversiis -- noun, feminine; ablative plural of <controversia, controversiae> controversy --
controversies
publicis -- adjective; ablative plural feminine of <publicus, publica, publicum> public -- public
privatisque -- adjective; ablative plural feminine of <privatus, privata, privatum> private, individual +
conjunction; <-que> and -- and private
constituunt -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <cōnstituō, cōnstituere, cōnstituī, cōnstitūtum> decide --
they decide
si -- conjunction; <si> if -- if
quid -- inde nite pronoun; nominative singular neuter of <quis, quis, quid> someone, anything -- any
admissum -- verb; nominative singular neuter of perfect participle passive of
<admi ō, admi ere, admīsī, admīssum> let, go, commit -- has been committed
facinus -- noun, neuter; nominative singular of <facinus, facinoris> crime -- crime
caedes -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of <caedes, caedis> murder -- murder
facta -- verb; nominative singular feminine of perfect participle passive of <faciō, facere, fēcī, factum> do,
make -- has been done
heriditate -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <heriditas, heriditatis> heredity, inheritance -- inheritance
finibus -- noun, masculine; ablative plural of <finis, finis> border, limit -- boundaries
controversia -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of <controversia, controversiae> controversy --
controversy
est -- verb; 3rd person singular present of <sum, esse, fuī> I am -- there is
idem -- demonstrative pronoun; accusative singular neuter of <idem, eadem, idem> the same -- all the
same
decernunt -- verb; 3rd person singular present of <dēcernō, decernere, decrēvī, decrētum> decide -- they
decide
praemia -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of <praemium, praemii> reward -- rewards
poenasque -- noun, feminine; accusative plural of <poena, poenae> punishment, penalty + conjunction;
<-que> and -- and penalties
constituunt -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <cōnstituō, cōnstituere, cōnstituī, cōnstitūtum> decide --
they decide
Si qui aut privatus aut populus eorum decreto non stetit, sacrificiis interdicunt.
qui -- inde nite pronoun; nominative singular masculine of <qui, qua(e), quod> some, any -- any (one)
privatus -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <privatus, privata, privatum> private, individual --
private
populus -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <populus, populi> people -- public
eorum -- demonstrative pronoun; genitive plural masculine of <is, ea, id> him, her, this -- their
decreto -- noun, neuter; ablative singular of <decretum, decreti> decision -- by ... decree
stetit -- verb; 3rd person singular perfect of <stō, stāre, stēti, statum> stand, abide -- does ... abide
sacrificiis -- noun, neuter; ablative plural of <sacrificium, sacrifici> sacri ce -- from the sacri ces
interdicunt -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <interdīcō, interdicere, interdīxi, interdictum> prohibit --
they ban (him)
Haec poena apud eos est gravissima.
haec -- demonstrative pronoun; nominative singular feminine of <hic, haec, hoc> there, this -- this
poena -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of <poena, poenae> punishment, penalty -- punishment
eos -- demonstrative pronoun; accusative plural masculine of <is, ea, id> him, her, this -- them
est -- verb; 3rd person singular present of <sum, esse, fuī> I am -- is
gravissima -- adjective; nominative singular feminine of superlative of <gravis, gravis, grave> grave,
serious -- severest
Magnum ibi numerum versuum ediscere dicuntur.
magnum -- adjective; accusative singular masculine of <magnus, magna, magnum> great, large -- large
ibi -- adverb; <ibi> there, then -- there
numerum -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <numerus, numeri> class, number, repute -- number
versuum -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of <versus, versus> verse -- of verses
ediscere -- verb; in nitive of <ēdiscō, ēdiscere, ēdidici, -> learn, memorize -- (they) memorize
dicuntur -- verb; 3rd person plural present passive of <dīcō, dīcere, dīxī, dictum> say, state, declare -- they
say, it is said
Itaque annos nonnulli vicenos in disciplina permanent.
itaque -- adverb; <itaque> and also -- also

annos -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <annus, anni> year -- years
nonnulli -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <nonnullus, nonulla, nonullum> some -- some
vicenos -- adjective; accusative plural masculine of <vicenus, viceni> twenty -- twenty
disciplina -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <disciplina, disciplinae> discipline, education -- training
permanent -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <permaneō, permanēre, permansī, permansum> stay,
continue -- remain
Neque fas esse existimant ea li eris mandare, cum in reliquis fere rebus, publicis privatisque rationibus
Graecis li eris utantur.
neque -- adverb; <neque> neither ... nor -- nor

fas -- noun, neuter; nominative singular of <fas, -> right -- right
esse -- verb; in nitive of <sum, esse, fuī> I am -- to be
existimant -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <existimō, existimāre, existimāvī, existimātum> judge,
consider -- do they consider
ea -- demonstrative pronoun; accusative plural neuter of <is, ea, id> him, her, this -- these things
li eris -- noun, feminine; ablative plural of <li era, li erae> letter -- to letters, to writing
mandare -- verb; in nitive of <mando, mandāre, mandāvī, mandātum> commit -- to commit
cum -- conjunction; <cum> since, when -- because
reliquis -- adjective; ablative plural feminine of <reliquus, reliqua, reliquum> remaining, rest -- remaining
rebus -- noun, feminine; ablative plural of <res, rei> thing, matter -- matters
publicis -- adjective; ablative plural feminine of <publicus, publica, publicum> public -- public
privatisque -- adjective; ablative plural feminine of <privatus, privata, privatum> private, individual +
conjunction; <-que> and -- and private
rationibus -- noun, feminine; ablative plural of <ratio, rationis> account, affair -- in . . .affairs
Graecis -- adjective; ablative plural feminine of <Graecus, Graeca, Graecum> Greek -- Greek
li eris -- noun, feminine; ablative plural of <li era, li erae> letter -- letters
utantur -- deponent verb; 3rd person plural present of <ūtor, ūtī, ūsus sum> use -- they use
Lesson Text
Quoniam ad hunc locum perventum est, non alienum esse videtur de Galliae Germaniaeque moribus et
quo differant hae nationes inter sese proponere. In omni Gallia eorum hominum, qui aliquo sunt numero
atque honore, genera sunt duo. Nam plebes paene servorum habetur loco, quae nihil audet per se, nullo
adhibetur consilio. Plerique, cum aut aere alieno aut magnitudine tributorum aut iniuria potentiorum
premuntur, sese in servitutem dicant nobilibus. In hos eadem omnia sunt iura, quae dominis in servos.
Sed de his duobus generibus alterum est druidum, alterum equitum. Illi rebus divinis intersunt, sacrificia
publica ac privata procurant, religiones interpretantur. Ad hos magnus adulescentium numerus
disciplinae causa concurrit, magnoque hi sunt apud eos honore. Nam fere de omnibus controversiis
publicis privatisque constituunt, et, si quid admissum facinus, si caedes facta, si de heriditate de finibus
controversia est, idem decernunt, praemia poenasque constituunt. Si qui aut privatus aut populus eorum
decreto non stetit, sacrificiis interdicunt. Haec poena apud eos est gravissima. Magnum ibi numerum
versuum ediscere dicuntur. Itaque annos nonnulli vicenos in disciplina permanent. Neque fas esse
existimant ea li eris mandare, cum in reliquis fere rebus, publicis privatisque rationibus Graecis li eris
utantur.
Translation
Since I have come to this point, it does not seem inappropriate to set forth the customs of Gaul and of
Germania, and how these nations differ among each other. . . . In all Gaul there are two classes of
humans who are of de nite account and honor. But the common people are regarded almost at the level
of slaves, who dare to do nothing by themselves and are taken as of no account. And most, since they are
either oppressed by debt or by a great amount of tribute or by crimes of the more powerful, commit
themselves in slavery to the nobles. They have indeed among these all the rights as masters over slaves.
Of these two classes the one consists of Druids, the other of Knights. The former are concerned with
divine worship; they handle public and private sacri ces, and they interpret religious matters. A great
number of the youth gather around them for the sake of education, and they are held among these in
great honor. For they make decisions about almost all public and private controversies, and if any crime
has been committed, if a murder has been done, if there is controversy about boundaries, they decide the
same, they determine rewards and punishments. If any one, either private or public, does not abide by
their decree, they ban him from sacri ces. This punishment is the most serious among them. ... It is said
that they memorize a great number of verses (in the Druidic schools). And for that reason some remain
twenty years in training. Nor do they think it proper to commit these to writing, while in almost all other
things, in public and private matters, they use Greek letters.
Grammar
11 Deponents.
Deponents are verbs that are passive in form but have active meaning. The meaning is typically one of state
rather than vigorous action; the passive developed out of a stative conjugation in early Indo-European, and
deponents re ect this meaning rather than that of a pure passive. In this unit, the deponents interpretor
'interpret' and utor 'use' are found. The previous units included precor 'ask' and profiscor 'set out'. None of these
meanings indicates action as do verbs like concurrō 'run together' or constituō 'place'. Deponents are labeled as
such in dictionaries.
12 The Passive.
As in the English verb system, the passive indicates that the subject of the verb is affected by rather than
performing some action. In English the passive consists of compound forms, such as "they were invited by the
organizers," in contrast with "the organizers invited them."
The in ectional system of the passive is parallel to that of the active. Examples of the present indicative
passive are given here for the verbs illustrating the four conjugations in Unit 1. Since the imperfect is treated in
section 14, the third singular and third plural imperfect is given here for the passive.
Present Indicative Passive
1 sg laudor moneor tegor audior
2 sg laudāris monēris tegeris audiēris
3 sg laudātur monētur tegitur audītur
1 pl laudāmur monēmur tegimur audīmur
2 pl laudāminī monēmini tegimini audīminī
3 pl laudantur monentur teguntur audiuntur
Imperfect Indicative Passive in the third persons
3 sg laudābātur monēbātur tegēbātur audiēbātur
3 pl laudābantur monēbantur tegēbantur audiēbantur
The perfect conjugation forms are made with the past participle accompanied by forms of the verb sum. They
are accordingly easy to note and translate. Third singular forms are given here for the perfect and pluperfect of
the four conjugations.
Perfect
3 sg laudātus est monitus est tectus est audītus est
Pluperfect
3 sg laudātus erat monitus erat tectus erat audītus erat
13 The Fourth and Fifth Declensions of Nouns.
The fourth and fth declensions include relatively few nouns. The nominative in the fourth ending in -us, like the
second declension; but the u-vowel is basically long, which is the ending also for neuters in the declension, e.g.
cornu. The nominative in the fth declension ends in -es; the declension includes few nouns, among them
however the frequent dies 'day' and res 'thing'.
Fourth Declension Fifth declension
Nom sg tribus 'tribe' cornu 'horn' diēs 'day' rēs 'thing'
Gen sg tribūs cornūs dieī reī
Dat sg tribuī cornu dieī reī
Acc sg tribum cornu diem rem
Abl sg tribū cornū diē rē
Nom pl tribūs cornua diēs rēs
Gen pl tribuum cornuum diērum rērum
Dat pl tribubus cornibus diēbus rēbus
Acc pl tribūs cornua diēs rēs
Abl pl tribubus cornibus diēbus rēbus
14 The Imperfect, Indicative, and Subjunctive.

The imperfect is made with a ba-su x in the indicative, and an re-su x in the subjunctive. Since the endings are
identical throughout the four conjugations, examples from only the rst and third will be given here.
First Conjugation Third Conjugation
1 sg laudābam laudārem tegēbam tegerem
2 sg laudābās laudārēs tegēbās tegerēs
3 sg laudābat laudāret tegēbat tegeret
1 pl laudābāmus laudārēmus tegēbāmus tegerēmus
2 pl laudābātis laudārētis tegēbātis tegerētis
3 pl laudābant laudārent tegēbant tegerent
15 Conjunctions.
As in English, conjunctions connect words, phrases, clauses, and sentences. They are straightforward lexical
items, and the common ones are readily memorized. Lists of various kinds of the common coordinating
conjunctions are given here.
Coordinating conjunctions: et, -que, atque, 'and', ac, neque 'and not'
Disjunctive conjunctions: aut, vel, -ve 'or'
Adversative conjunctions: at, autem, sed, tamen 'but, nevertheless'
Of the conjunctions introducing clauses, two have occurred: postquam 'after' and cum 'when, since, because'.
Latin Online
Lesson 4
Members of the second class in Indian society are designated Kshatriyas, or the powerful; in contrast, they are
referred to as Equites, horsemen or knights, in Celtic society. The term may well have been introduced from
Roman society, where it was used to designate the members of the equestrian order that occupied the position
between the Senate and the Plebs or common people. Here only sections of Caesar's description can be
included.

In giving further information about this class, Caesar discusses the religious practices of the Gauls, their gods,
and family relationships. Of further interest is the tradition that they are all descended from Dis, a term related
to the word deus 'god', but referring to an underworld deity. As a result, they refer to periods of time by nights
rather than days; we have a result of this in our word fortnight, a shortening of fourteen nights for two weeks.
Here, the military and administrative practices are excerpted.
Alterum genus est equitum.
other
genus -- noun, neuter; nominative singular <genus, generis> kind, class -- class
est -- verb; 3rd person singular present of <sum, esse, fuī> I am -- is (that of the)
equitum -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of <eques, equitis> horseman, knight -- knights
Hi, cum est usus atque aliquod bellum incidit (quod fere ante Caesaris adventum quotannis accidere solebat,
uti aut ipsi iniurias inferrent aut illatas propulsarent), omnes in bello versantur.
hi -- demonstrative pronoun; nominative plural masculine of <hic, haec, hoc> there, this -- these
usus -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <usus, usus> use, practice -- occasion
atque -- conjunction; <atque> and -- and especially
aliquod -- pronoun adjective; nominative singular neuter of <aliqui, aliqua, aliquod> some, any -- some
bellum -- noun, neuter; nominative singular of <bellum, belli> war -- war
incidit -- verb; 3rd person singular present of <incidō, incidere, incidī,-> fall in, occur -- occurs
quod -- relative pronoun; nominative singular neuter of <qui, quae, quod> who, which, what, that -- which
ante -- preposition; <ante> before -- before
Caesaris -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of <Caesar, Caesaris> Caesar -- Caesar's
adventum -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <adventus, adventus> arrival, coming -- coming
quotannis -- adverb; <quotannis> yearly -- every year
accidere -- verb; in nitive of <accidō, accidere, accidī, -> fall to, come, happen -- happen
solebat -- verb; 3rd person singular imperfect of <sōleō, solēre, solitum> be accustomed -- was
accustomed to
uti -- conjunction; <uti> that, so that -- as
ipsi -- intensive pronoun; nominative plural masculine of <ipse, ipsa, ipsum> self -- they themselves
iniurias -- noun, feminine; accusative plural <iniuria, injuriae> wrong, harsh treatment -- attacks
inferrent -- verb; 3rd person plural imperfect subjunctive of <inferō, inferre, intulī, inlātum> introduce,
produce -- would produce
illatas -- verb; accusative plural feminine of perfect participle passive of <inferō, inferre, intulī, inlātum>
introduce, produce -- produced
propulsarent -- verb; 3rd person plural imperfect subjunctive of <prōpulsō, propulsāre, propulsātus, ->
ward off, repulse -- would repulse
omnes -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <omnis, omnis, omne> all -- all
bello -- noun, neuter; ablative singular of <bellum, belli> war -- war
versantur -- verb; 3rd person plural present passive of <versō, versāre, versāvī, versātum> turn often; pass.
be involved -- are engaged
Atque eorum ut quisque est venere copiisque amplissimus, ita plurimos circum se ambactos clientesque habet.
atque -- conjunction; <atque> and -- and indeed

eorum -- demonstrative pronoun; genitive plural masculine of <is, ea, id> him, her, this -- of them
ut -- adverb; <ut> as, where -- as
each
venere -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <venus, veneris> grace, esteem -- esteem
copiisque -- noun, feminine; ablative plural of <copia, copiae> abundance, wealth + conjunction; <-que> and
-- and wealth
amplissimus -- adjective; nominative singular masculine superlative of <amplius> great, distinguished --
most distinguished
ita -- adverb; <ita> thus -- accordingly
plurimos -- adjective; accusative plural masculine of superlative of <multus, multa, multum> many -- the
most
circum -- preposition; <circum> around -- around
se -- re exive pronoun; accusative of <sui> self -- himself
ambactos -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <ambactus, ambacti> dependent -- subordinates
clientesque -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <cliens, clientis> retainer + conjunction; <-que> and --
and retainers
habet -- verb; 3rd person singular present of <habeō, habēre, habuī, habitum> have -- he has
Hanc unam gratiam potentiamque noverunt.
hanc -- demonstrative pronoun; accusative singular feminine of <hic, haec, hoc> there, this -- This
unam -- adjective; accusative singular feminine of <unus, una, unum> one, alone -- the one
gratiam -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <gratia, gratiae> esteem, regard -- esteem
potentiamque -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <potentia, potentiae> power + conjunction; <-que>
and -- and power
noverunt -- verb; 3rd person plural perfect of <nōscō, nōscere, nōvī, nōtum> be acquainted with, get to
know -- have come to know
Natio est omnis Gallorum admodum dedita religionibus.
natio -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of <natio, nationis> nation -- nation

omnis -- adjective; nominative singular feminine of <omnis, omnis, omne> all -- the entire
Gallorum -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of <Galli, Gallorum> the Gauls -- of the Gauls
admodum -- adverb; <admodum> completely -- completely
dedita -- adjective; nominative singular feminine of <deditus, dedita, deditum> devoted, addicted --
devoted to
religionibus -- noun, feminine; dative plural of <religio, religionis> religious practice -- religious practices
Atque ob eam causam, qui sunt adfecti gravioribus morbis quique in proeliis periculisque versantur, aut pro
victimis homines immolant aut se immolaturos vovent, administrisque ad ea sacrificia druidibus utuntur.
[Section omi ed at this point.]
atque -- conjunction; <atque> and -- and indeed

ob -- preposition; <ob> because of -- for
eam -- demonstrative pronoun; accusative singular feminine of <is, ea, id> him, her, this -- this
causam -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <causa, causae> cause, reason -- reason
qui -- relative pronoun; nominative plural masculine of <qui, quae, quod> who, which, what, that -- those
who
adfecti -- verb; nominative plural masculine of perfect participle passive of
<adficiō, adficere, adfēcī, adfectum> a ict -- a icted
gravioribus -- adjective; ablative plural masculine of comparative of <gravis, gravis, grave> grave, serious
-- with more serious
morbis -- noun, masculine; ablative plural of <morbus, morbi> illness -- illnesses
quique -- relative pronoun; nominative plural masculine of <qui, quae, quod> who, which, what, that +
conjunction; <-que> and -- and those who
proeliis -- noun, neuter; ablative plural of <proelium, proelii> battle -- battles
periculisque -- noun, neuter; ablative plural of <periculum, periculi> danger + conjunction; <-que> and --
and in dangers
versantur -- verb; 3rd person plural present passive of <versō, versāre, versāvī, versātum> turn often; pass.
be involved -- are involved
pro -- preposition; <pro> for, before -- as
victimis -- noun, feminine; ablative plural of <victima, victimae> sacri ce -- sacri ces
homines -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <homo, hominis> man, human -- people
immolant -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <immolō, immolāre, immolāvī, immolātum> sacri ce,
immolate -- sacri ce
se -- re exive pronoun; accusative of <sui> self -- they themselves
immolaturos -- verb; accusative plural masculine of future participle of
<immolō, immolāre, immolāvī, immolātum> sacri ce, immolate -- will be sacri ced
vovent -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <voveo, vovēre, vōvī, vōtum> vow -- they vow
administrisque -- noun, masculine; ablative plural of <administer, administri> administrator + conjunction;
<-que> and -- and ...as administrators
ad -- preposition; <ad> to, towards -- for
ea -- demonstrative pronoun; accusative plural neuter of <is, ea, id> him, her, this -- those
sacrificia -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of <sacrificium, sacrifici> sacri ce -- sacri ces
druidibus -- noun, masculine; ablative plural of <druides, druidum> Druids -- Druids
utuntur -- deponent verb; 3rd person plural present of <ūtor, ūtī, ūsus sum> use -- they use
Quae civitates commodius suam rem publicam administrare existimantur, habent legibus sanctum, si quis
quid de re publica a finitimis rumore aut fama accepterit, uti ad magistratum deferat neve cum quo alio
communicet.
quae -- relative pronoun; nominative plural feminine of <qui, quae, quod> who, which, what, that -- the ...
that
civitates -- noun, feminine; nominative plural of <civitas, civitatis> state -- states
commodius -- adjective; comparative accusative singular neuter of <commodus, commoda, commodum>
used adverbially = complete, advantageous -- more advantageously
suam -- possessive pronoun; accusative singular feminine of <suus, sua, suum> own -- their
rem -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <res, rei> thing, matter -- affairs
publicam -- adjective; accusative singular feminine of <publicus, publica, publicum> public -- public
administrare -- verb; in nitive of <administrō, administrāre, administrāvī, administrātum> administer,
conduct -- to conduct
existimantur -- verb; 3rd person plural present passive of <existimō, existimāre, existimāvī, existimātum>
judge, consider -- are considered
habent -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <habeō, habēre, habuī, habitum> have -- have
legibus -- noun, feminine; ablative plural of <lex, legis> law -- by law
sanctum -- verb; accusative singular neuter of perfect participle passive of
<sanciō, sancīre, sānxī, sānctum> enact -- prescribed
quis -- inde nite pronoun; nominative singular masculine of <quis, quis, quid> someone, anything --
anyone
quid -- inde nite pronoun; accusative singular neuter of <quis, quis, quid> someone, anything -- anything
re -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <res, rei> thing, matter -- affair
publica -- adjective; ablative singular feminine of <publicus, publica, publicum> public -- public
a -- preposition; <ab> from, after -- from
finitimis -- adjective used as substantive; ablative plural masculine of <finitimus, finitima, finitimum>
bordering, neighbor -- neighbors
rumore -- noun, masculine; ablative singular of <rumor, rumoris> murmur, rumor -- by rumor
fama -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <fama, famae> report, talk -- report
accepterit -- verb; 3rd person singular perfect subjunctive of <acceptō, acceptāre, acceptāvī, acceptātum>
receive -- might learn
uti -- conjunction; <uti> that, so that -- that
magistratum -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <magistratus, magistratus> magistrate -- a
magistrate
deferat -- verb; 3rd person singular present subjunctive of <dēferō, deferre, detulī, delātum> report --
should report
neve -- conjunction; <neve> and not, nor -- and not
cum -- preposition; <cum> with -- with
quo -- inde nite pronoun; ablative singular masculine of <quis, quis, quid> someone, anything -- anyone
alio -- pronominal adjective; ablative singular masculine of <alius, alia, aliud> other, some -- else
communicet -- verb; 3rd person singular present subjunctive of
<commūnicō, commūnicāre, commūnicāvī, commūnicātum> communicate -- share
Quod saepe homines temerarios atque imperitos falsis rumoribus terreri et ad facinus impelli et de summis
rebus consilium capere cognitum est.
quod -- conjunction; <quod> that, because -- because

saepe -- adverb; <saepe> often -- often
homines -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <homo, hominis> man, human -- people
temerarios -- adjective; accusative plural masculine of <temerarius, temeraria, temerarium> rash,
indiscreet -- indiscreet
atque -- conjunction; <atque> and -- and also
imperitos -- adjective; accusative plural masculine of <imperitus, imperita, imperitum> inexperienced --
inexperienced
falsis -- adjective; ablative plural masculine of <falsus, falsa, falsum> false -- by false
rumoribus -- noun, masculine; ablative plural of <rumor, rumoris> murmur, rumor -- rumors
terreri -- verb; passive in nitive of <terreō, terrēre, terruī, territus> terrify, frighten -- are frightened
facinus -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <facinus, facinoris> crime -- crime
impelli -- verb; passive in nitive of <impellō, impellere, impulī, impulsum> drive, move -- be driven
summis -- adjective; ablative plural feminine of <summus, summa, summum> highest with rebus -- the
general (welfare)
rebus -- noun, feminine; ablative plural of <res, rei> thing, matter -- welfare (see above)
consilium -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <consilium, consilii> counsel with capere -- to form plans,
make decisions
capere -- verb; in nitive of <capiō, capere, cēpī, captum> take, seize -- to make
cognitum -- adjective; accusative singular neuter of <cognitus, cognita, cognitum> known -- known
est -- verb; 3rd person singular present of <sum, esse, fuī> I am -- it is
Magistratus quae visa sunt occultant quaeque esse ex usu iudicaverunt multitudini produnt.
magistratus -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of <magistratus, magistratus> magistrate -- The

magistrates
quae -- relative pronoun; accusative plural neuter of <qui, quae, quod> who, which, what, that -- what
visa -- verb; accusative plural neuter of participle perfect passive of <videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsum> see --
seem proper
sunt -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <sum, esse, fuī> I am -- be
occultant -- 3rd person plural present of; <occultō, occultāre, occultāvī, occultātum> conceal -- conceal
quaeque -- relative pronoun; accusative plural neuter of <qui, quae, quod> who, which, what, that +
conjunction; <-que> and -- and what
esse -- verb; in nitive of <sum, esse, fuī> I am -- be
ex -- preposition; <ex> out of, from -- of
usu -- noun, masculine; ablative singular of <usus, usus> use, practice -- bene t
iudicaverunt -- verb; 3rd person plural perfect of <iūdicō, iūdicāre, iūdicāvī, iūdicātum> decide -- decide
multitudini -- noun, feminine; dative singular of <multitudo, multitudinis> multitude -- to the common
people
produnt -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <prōdō, prodere, prodīdī, proditum> put forth, make known
-- make known
De re publica nisi per concilium loqui non conceditur.

re -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <res, rei> thing, matter -- affairs
publica -- adjective; ablative singular feminine of <publicus, publica, publicum> public -- public
nisi -- conjunction; <nisi> if not, unless -- unless
per -- preposition; <per> through, by -- by means of
concilium -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <concilium, concilii> council, assembly -- an assembly
loqui -- deponent verb; in nitive of <loquor, loquī, locutus sum> speak -- speak
conceditur -- verb; 3rd person singular present passive of <concēdō, concedere, concessī, concessum>
grant, allow -- it is allowed
Lesson Text
Alterum genus est equitum. Hi, cum est usus atque aliquod bellum incidit (quod fere ante Caesaris
adventum quotannis accidere solebat, uti aut ipsi iniurias inferrent aut illatas propulsarent), omnes in
bello versantur. Atque eorum ut quisque est venere copiisque amplissimus, ita plurimos circum se
ambactos clientesque habet. Hanc unam gratiam potentiamque noverunt. Natio est omnis Gallorum
admodum dedita religionibus. Atque ob eam causam, qui sunt adfecti gravioribus morbis quique in
proeliis periculisque versantur, aut pro victimis homines immolant aut se immolaturos vovent,
administrisque ad ea sacrificia druidibus utuntur. [Section omi ed at this point.] Quae civitates commodius
suam rem publicam administrare existimantur, habent legibus sanctum, si quis quid de re publica a
finitimis rumore aut fama accepterit, uti ad magistratum deferat neve cum quo alio communicet. Quod
saepe homines temerarios atque imperitos falsis rumoribus terreri et ad facinus impelli et de summis
rebus consilium capere cognitum est. Magistratus quae visa sunt occultant quaeque esse ex usu
iudicaverunt multitudini produnt. De re publica nisi per concilium loqui non conceditur.
Translation
The knights are the other class. When there is an occasion and especially when a war arises (which
would happen almost yearly before Caesar's arrival, so that either they themselves would carry out
attacks or would repulse such), these are all engaged in war. And as each is most distinguished in
esteem and by wealth, he accordingly has the most subordinates and retainers about him. They have
recognized this as the single basis of esteem and power.
The entire nation of the Gauls is greatly devoted to religious affairs. And for that reason those who are
a icted with more serious illnesses and those who are involved in battles and dangers either sacri ce
people as victims or they vow that they themselves will be sacri ced; and they make use of Druids as
administrators for those sacri ces. [Section omitted at this point.]
The states that are considered to administer their public affairs more advantageously have it prescribed
by law that, if anyone might learn anything about public affairs from neighbors by rumor or report, he
should report it to a magistrate and not communicate with anyone else. For it is known that indiscreet
and inexperienced men are often frightened by false rumors, and are driven to crime or to make decisions
concerning the general welfare. Magistrates conceal what seems best, and they decide what is of use
and provide it for the common people. It is not allowed to speak about public matters except by means of
an assembly.
Grammar
16 Relative Clauses.
Relative clauses are introduced primarily by the relative pronouns, quī 'who', quae 'who', quod 'what', and their
in ected forms. A number of examples have occurred in the texts here, such as (bellum) quod in the rst
sentence of this lesson. The forms are as follows:
Singular Plural
Masc Fem Neut Masc Fem Neut
Nom quī quae quod | quī quae quae
Gen cūius cūius cūius | quōrum quārum quōrum
Dat cuī cuī cuī | quibus quibus quibus
Acc quem quam quod | quos quās quae
Abl quō quā quō | quibus quibus quibus
Another relative pronoun is quisquis 'whoever'. It is in ected like the interrogative pronoun quis 'who', which will
be introduced in Lesson 5.
17 Adjectives and their Comparison.

Adjectives are in ected like nouns. Many of them are in ected in accordance with the rst and second
declensions, such as magnus, magna, magnum 'great'. Others are in ected in accordance with the third
declension, such as acer, acris, acre 'sharp'. The declension of any adjective is noted in dictionaries.
As in English there are three degrees of comparison: Positive, Comparative and Superlative. The Comparative is
made by adding -ior, the Superlative by adding -issimus. An example is clarus, clarior, clarissimus 'clear, clearer,
clearest'. Many of the most common adjectives are irregular, such as their counterparts in English, like bonus,
melior, optimus 'good, better, best'. Another example is magnus, maior, maximus 'great, greater, greatest'. These
too are noted in dictionaries.
18 More Nouns in the Third Declension.

As noted earlier, nouns in the third declension end in consonants, so that there may be changes in form of the
stem, especially in the nominative. Examples are given here for some of the sub-classes with the words pēs
'foot', pater 'father', sermo 'speech', finis 'end', nox 'night'.
Singular
Nom pēs pater sermo finis nox
Gen pedis patris sermonis finis noctis
Dat pedī patrī sermonī finī noctī
Acc pedem patrem sermonem finem noctem
Abl pede patre sermone fine nocte
Plural
Nom pedēs patrēs sermonēs finēs noctēs
Gen pedum patrum sermonum finium noctium
Dat pedibus patribus sermonibus finibus noctibus
Acc pedēs patrēs sermonēs finēs noctēs
Abl pedibus patribus sermonibus finibus noctibus
19 Verb Forms of sum.

As in English, forms of the verb esse 'to be' are irregular. They are also common, used as auxiliaries as well as
straightforwardly. Accordingly they should be noted. The indicative active forms are listed below.
Present Past Future Perfect Pluperfect Future Perfect
1 sg sum eram erō fuī fueram fuerō
2 sg es erās eris fuistī fuerās fueris
3 sg est erat erit fuit fuerat fuerit
1 pl sumus erāmus erimus fuimus fuerāmus fuerimus
2 pl estis erātis eritis fuistis fuerātis fueritis
3 pl sunt erant erunt fuērunt fuerant fuerint
20 Adverbs.
Adverbs must be noted as independent lexical items. Those that are based on adjectives in the rst and
second declensions end in -e, such as male 'badly' from malus 'bad', bene 'well' from bonus 'good'. Those based on
adjectives of the third declension end in -ter, such as graviter 'heavily' from gravis 'heavy'.
Like adjectives, they may have comparative and superlative forms. Those with forms from regular in ections
have endings in -ius for the comparative and -e for the superlative, for example alte 'highly', altius 'more highly'
and altissime 'most highly'. But some of the most frequent have irregular forms, such as bene, melius, optime 'well,
better, best', multum, magis, maxime 'much, more, most'. These must be noted in dictionaries.
Latin Online
Lesson 5
After describing the civilization of the Gauls, Caesar has a brief but highly interesting section on the Germani.
We may almost conclude from it that they had maintained the way of life we assume for the late Indo-European
period. Their gods are those of the culture of the steppes. They are basically hunter-gatherers. Warfare makes
up their principal activity. And in contrast with the Gauls they have no speci c classes; this is in keeping with
Meillet's conclusion that the Indo-Europeans were basically democratic, and also individualistic.
Caesar goes on to describe the large forests to the east, and some of the animals, such as the elk and the ure-
oxen, noting how the Germans hunt them by having them fall in pits. The most interesting part of his account is
that given here.
Germani multum ab hac consuetudine differunt.
Germani -- adjective used as substantive; nominative plural masculine of

<Germanus, Germana, Germanum> Germani -- The Germani
multum -- adverb; <multum> greatly -- greatly
ab -- preposition; <ab> from, after -- from
hac -- demonstrative pronoun; ablative singular feminine of <hic, haec, hoc> there, this -- this
consuetudine -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <consuetudo, consuetudinis> custom, way of life --
way of life
differunt -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <differō, differre, distulī, dīlātum> differ -- differ
Nam neque druides habent, qui rebus divinis praesint, neque sacrificiis student.

neque -- adverb; <neque> neither ... nor -- neither
druides -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <druides, druidum> Druids -- Druids
habent -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <habeō, habēre, habuī, habitum> have -- do they have
rebus -- noun, feminine; dative plural of <res, rei> thing, matter -- matters
divinis -- adjective; dative plural feminine of <divinus, divina, divinum> divine, sacred -- divine
praesint -- verb; 3rd person plural present subjunctive of <praesum, praesse, praefuī> have charge of,
preside over -- preside over
sacrificiis -- noun, neuter; ablative plural of <sacrificium, sacrifici> sacri ce -- sacri ces
student -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <studeō, studēre, studuī> give attention, be devoted -- they are
devoted to
Deorum numero eos solos ducunt, quos cernunt et quorum aperte opibus iuvantur, Solem et Vulcanum et
Lunam, reliquos ne fama quidem acceperunt.
deorum -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of <deus, dei> god -- of the gods
numero -- noun, masculine; ablative singular of <numerus, numeri> class, number, repute -- among the
number
eos -- demonstrative pronoun; accusative plural masculine of <is, ea, id> him, her, this -- those
solos -- adjective; accusative plural masculine of <solus, sola, solum> alone -- only
ducunt -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <dūcō, dūcere, dūxī, ductum> lead, consider -- they consider
quos -- relative pronoun; accusative plural masculine of <qui, quae, quod> who, which, what, that -- whom
cernunt -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <cernō, cernere, crēvī, certum> discern, see -- they see
quorum -- relative pronoun; genitive plural masculine of <qui, quae, quod> who, which, what, that -- whose
aperte -- adverb; <aperte> openly -- openly
opibus -- noun, feminine; dative plural of <ops, opis> assistance, wealth, resources -- assistance
iuvantur -- verb; 3rd person plural present passive of <iuvō, iuvāre, iūvī, iūtum> assist, help -- they are
helped
Solem -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <Sol, Solis> sun -- the sun
Vulcanum -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <Vulcanus, Vulcani> Vulcan, the re-god -- re
Lunam -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <Luna, Lunae> Luna, the moon-god -- the moon
reliquos -- adjective used as substantive; accusative plural masculine of <reliquus, reliqua, reliquum>
remaining, rest -- the rest
ne -- adverb; <ne> not -- not
fama -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <fama, famae> report, talk -- by report
quidem -- adverb; <quidem> in fact, even -- even
acceperunt -- verb; 3rd person plural perfect of <accipiō, accipere, accēpī, acceptum> receive -- they have
learned
Vita omnis in venationibus atque in studiis rei militaris consistit.
vita -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of <vita, vitae> life -- life

omnis -- adjective; nominative singular feminine of <omnis, omnis, omne> all -- (Their) whole
venationibus -- noun, feminine; ablative plural of <venatio, venationis> hunting -- hunting
studiis -- noun, neuter; ablative plural of <studium, studii> application, study -- application
rei -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <res, rei> thing, matter -- to ...affairs
militaris -- adjective; genitive singular feminine of <militaris, militaris, militare> military -- military
consistit -- verb; 3rd person singular present of <cōnsistō, cōnsistere, cōnstitī, cōnstitum> stand still,
consist in -- consists
Ab parvulis labori ac duritiae student.

parvulis -- adjective used as substantive; ablative plural masculine of <parvulus, parvula, parvulum>
childhood -- childhood
labori -- noun, masculine; dative singular of <labor, laboris> labor, effort -- exertion
duritiae -- noun, feminine; dative singular of <duritia, duritiae> hardship -- hardship
devoted to
Qui diutissime impuberes permanserunt, maximam inter suos ferunt laudem.
qui -- relative pronoun; nominative plural masculine of <qui, quae, quod> who, which, what, that -- (those)
who
diutissime -- adverb; superlative of <diu> long -- longest
impuberes -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <impubes, impuberis> youthful, chaste -- as virgins
permanserunt -- verb; 3rd person plural perfect of <permaneō, permanēre, permansī, permansum> stay,
continue -- have stayed
maximam -- adjective; accusative singular feminine superlative of <magnus, magna, magnum> great,
large -- greatest
suos -- possessive pronoun; accusative plural masculine of <suus, sua, suum> own -- their fellows
ferunt -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <ferō, ferre, tulī, lātum> bear, carry -- maintain
laudem -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <laus, laudis> praise -- praise
Hoc ali staturam, ali vires nervosque confirmari putant.
hoc -- demonstrative pronoun; ablative singular neuter of <hic, haec, hoc> there, this -- by this
ali -- pronominal adjective; nominative plural masculine of <alius, alia, aliud> other, some -- on the one
hand
staturam -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <statura, staturae> stature, height -- height
ali -- pronominal adjective; nominative plural masculine of <alius, alia, aliud> other, some -- on the other
hand
vires -- noun, feminine; accusative plural of <vis, vis> power, strength -- strength
nervosque -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <nervus, nervi> muscle + conjunction; <-que> and --
and muscles
confirmari -- verb; in nitive passive of <cōnfīrmō, cōnfīrmāre, cōnfīrmāvī, cōnfīrmātum> make rm,
strengthen -- are strengthened
putant -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <putō, putāre, putāvī, putātum> think -- think
Intra annum vero vicesimum feminae notitiam habuisse in turpissimis habent rebus.
intra -- preposition; <intra> within, during -- before

annum -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <annus, anni> year -- year
vero -- adverb; <vero> truly, but -- truly
vicesimum -- adjective; accusative singular masculine of <vicesimus, vicesima, vicesimum> twentieth --
twentieth
feminae -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <femina, feminae> woman -- of a woman
notitiam -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <notitia, notitiae> familiarity, carnal knowledge -- carnal
knowledge
habuisse -- verb; perfect in nitive of <habeō, habēre, habuī, habitum> have -- to have had
in -- preposition; <in> in, on -- among
turpissimis -- adjective; ablative plural feminine superlative of <turpis, turpis, turpe> shameful, disgraceful
-- disgraceful
habent -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <habeō, habēre, habuī, habitum> have -- consider
rebus -- noun, feminine; ablative plural of <res, rei> thing, matter -- things
Cuius rei nulla est occultatio, quod et promiscue in fluminibus perluntur et pellibus aut parvis renonum
tegimentis utuntur magna corporis parte nuda.
cuius -- relative pronoun; genitive singular feminine of <qui, quae, quod> who, which, what, that -- of which
rei -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <res, rei> thing, matter -- matter
nulla -- adjective; nominative singular feminine of <nullus, nulla, nullum> no, none -- no
occultatio -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of <occultatio, occultationis> secrecy -- secrecy
quod -- conjunction; <quod> that, because -- because
et -- conjunction; <et> and -- both
promiscue -- adverb; <promiscue> promiscuous -- promiscuously
fluminibus -- noun, neuter; ablative plural of <flumen, fluminis> river -- the rivers
perluntur -- verb; 3rd person plural present passive of <perluō, perluere, perluī, perlūtum> wash, bathe --
they bathe
pellibus -- noun, feminine; ablative plural of <pellis, pellis> skin, hide -- hides
parvis -- adjective; ablative plural neuter of <parvus, parva, parvum> small -- small
renonum -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of <reno, renonis> deer-skin -- of deer-skins
tegimentis -- noun, neuter; ablative plural of <tegumen, teguminis> clothing, covering -- clothing
utuntur -- deponent verb; 3rd person plural present of <ūtor, ūtī, ūsus sum> use -- they wear
magna -- adjective; ablative singular feminine of <magnus, magna, magnum> great, large -- with a large
corporis -- noun, neuter; genitive singular of <corpus, corporis> body -- of the body
parte -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <pars, partis> part -- part
nuda -- adjective; ablative singular feminine of <nudus, nuda, nudum> bare, naked -- bare
Agriculturae non student, maiorque pars eorum victus in lacte, caseo, carne consistit.
agriculturae -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <agricultura, agriculturae> agriculture -- agriculture

devoted to
maiorque -- adjective; nominative singular feminine comparative of <magnus, magna, magnum> great,
large + conjunction; <-que> and -- and the greater
pars -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of <pars, partis> part -- part
eorum -- demonstrative pronoun; genitive plural masculine of <is, ea, id> him, her, this -- of their
victus -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of <victus, victus> sustenance, food -- food
lacte -- noun, neuter; ablative singular of <lac, lactis> milk -- milk
caseo -- noun, masculine; ablative singular of <caseus, casei> cheese -- cheese
carne -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <caro, carnis> meat -- (and) meat
consistit -- verb; 3rd person singular present of <cōnsistō, cōnsistere, cōnstitī, cōnstitum> stand still,
consist in -- consists of
Neque quisquam agri modum certum aut fines habet proprios.

quisquam -- inde nite pronoun; nominative singular masculine of <quisquis, quaeque, quicquid> whoever,
whatever -- anyone
agri -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of <ager, agri> land -- of land
modum -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <modus, modi> kind -- amount
certum -- adjective; accusative singular masculine of <certus, certa, certum> certain -- xed
fines -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <finis, finis> border, limit -- boundaries
habet -- verb; 3rd person singular present of <habeō, habēre, habuī, habitum> have -- has
proprios -- adjective; accusative plural masculine of <proprius, propria, proprium> proper, own -- (his)
own
Sed magistratus ac principes in annos singulos gentibus cognationibusque hominum, qui una coierunt,
quantum et quo loco visum est agri a ribuunt atque anno post alio transire cogunt.
sed -- conjunction; <sed> but -- but

magistratus -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of <magistratus, magistratus> magistrate -- magistrates
principes -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of <princeps, principis> chief -- chiefs
annos -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <annus, anni> year -- years
singulos -- adjective; accusative plural masculine of <singulus, singula, singulum> single, individual --
separate
gentibus -- noun, feminine; dative plural of <gens, gentis> race, clan -- to tribes
cognationibusque -- noun, feminine; dative plural of <cognatio, cognationis> blood-relations, kindred +
conjunction; <-que> and -- and to clans
hominum -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of <homo, hominis> man, human -- of persons
una -- adverb; <una> at the same place, together -- together
coierunt -- verb; 3rd person plural perfect of <coeo, coīre, coivī, coitum> come together, be assembled --
have assembled
quantum -- adverb; <quantum> as much -- as much
quo -- interrogative pronoun; ablative singular masculine of <qui, quae, quod> which, what -- whatever
loco -- noun, masculine; ablative singular of <locus, loci> place -- place
visum -- verb; 3rd person singular perfect passive of <videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsum> see with est -- seems
best
est -- auxiliary verb; 3rd person singular present of <sum, esse, fuī> I am with perventum -- ...
agri -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of <ager, agri> land -- land
a ribuunt -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <a ribuō, a ribuere, a ribuī, a ribūtum> assign -- assign
anno -- noun, masculine; ablative singular of <annus, anni> year -- year
post -- adverb; <post> after -- after
alio -- adverb; <alio> somewhere else -- to another place
transire -- verb; present in nitive of <trānseō, transīre, transīvī, transitum> go over -- to go
cogunt -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <cōgō, cōgere, coēgi, cōactum> collect, compel -- they compel
Eius rei multas adferunt causas:
eius -- demonstrative pronoun; genitive singular feminine of <is, ea, id> him, her, this -- for this
rei -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <res, rei> thing, matter -- matter
multas -- adjective; accusative plural feminine of <multus, multa, multum> many -- many
adferunt -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <adferō, adferre, a ulī, adlātum> bring, convey -- state
causas -- noun, feminine; accusative plural of <causa, causae> cause, reason -- reasons
ne adsidua consuetudine capti studium belli gerendi agricultura commutent;
ne -- conjunction; <ne> so that not -- so that not

adsidua -- adjective; ablative singular feminine of <adsiduus, adsidua, adsiduum> constant, continued --
by continued
consuetudine -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <consuetudo, consuetudinis> custom, way of life --
custom
capti -- verb; perfect participle passive of <capiō, capere, cēpī, captum> take, seize -- induced
studium -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <studium, studii> application, study -- pursuit
belli -- noun, neuter; genitive singular of <bellum, belli> war -- war
gerendi -- verb; gerund(ive) genitive singular neuter of <gerō, gerere, gessī, gestum> bear, carry out, wear --
of carrying out
agricultura -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <agricultura, agriculturae> agriculture -- for agriculture
commutent -- verb; 3rd person plural present subjunctive of
<commūtō, commūtāre, commūtāvi, commūtātum> change, exchange -- exchange
ne latos fines parare studeant, potentioresque humiliores possessionibus expellant;

latos -- adjective; accusative plural masculine of <latus, lata, latum> broad -- extensive
fines -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <finis, finis> border, limit -- lands
parare -- verb; present in nitive of <parō, parāre, parāvī, parātum> prepare, obtain -- to obtain
studeant -- verb; 3rd person singular present subjunctive of <studeō, studēre, studuī> give attention, be
devoted -- they might become devoted to
potentioresque -- adjective used as substantive; nominative plural masculine comparative of
<potens, potentis> powerful + conjunction; <-que> and -- and the more powerful
humiliores -- adjective; accusative plural masculine comparative of <humilis, humilis, humile> low, small
-- the lower
possessionibus -- noun, feminine; ablative plural of <possessio, possessionis> possession -- from their
possessions
expellant -- verb; 3rd person plural present subjunctive of <expellō, expellere, expulī, expulsum> drive out
-- drive
ne accuratius ad frigora atque aestus vitandos aedificent;

accuratius -- adverb; comparative of <accurate> carefully -- more carefully
frigora -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of <frigus, frigoris> cold -- cold
aestus -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <aestus, aestus> heat -- heat
vitandos -- verb; verbal adjective of <vitō, vitāre, vitāvī, vitātus> avoid, evade -- avoiding
aedificent -- verb; 3rd person plural present subjunctive of <aedificō, aedificāre, aedificāvī, aedificātum>
build -- they might build
ne qua oriatur pecuniae cupiditas, qua ex re factiones dissensionesque nascuntur.

qua -- inde nite pronoun; nominative singular feminine of <qui, qua(e), quod> some, any -- some
oriatur -- deponent verb; 3rd person singular present subjunctive of <orior, orīrī, ortus sum> arise -- might
arise
pecuniae -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <pecunia, pecuniae> money -- for money
cupiditas -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of <cupiditas, cupiditatis> desire -- desire
qua -- relative pronoun; ablative singular feminine of <qui, quae, quod> who, which, what, that -- which
re -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <res, rei> thing, matter -- matter
factiones -- noun, feminine; nominative plural of <factio, factionis> faction -- factions
dissensionesque -- noun, feminine; nominative plural of <dissensio, dissensionis> dissension + conjunction;
<-que> and -- and dissensions
nascuntur -- deponent verb; 3rd person plural present of <nāscor, nāscī, nātus sum> be produced, arise --
would arise
ut animi aequitate plebem contineant, cum suas quisque opes cum potentissimis aequari videat.
ut -- conjunction; <ut> that, so that -- so that

animi -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of <animus, animi> soul, mind -- of spirit
aequitate -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <aequitas, aequitatis> uniformity, calmness -- in calmness
plebem -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <plebs, plebis> common people -- the common people
contineant -- verb; 3rd person plural present subjunctive of <contineō, continēre, continuī, contentum>
connect, maintain -- they might maintain
suas -- possessive pronoun; accusative plural feminine of <suus, sua, suum> own -- his own
someone
opes -- noun, feminine; accusative plural of <ops, opis> assistance, wealth, resources -- means
potentissimis -- adjective; dative plural masculine superlative of <potens, potentis> powerful -- the most
powerful
aequari -- deponent verb; passive in nitive of <aequō, aequāre, aequāvī, aequātus> to make equal,
smoothe -- be equal to
videat -- verb; 3rd person singular present subjunctive of <videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsum> see -- see
Lesson Text
Germani multum ab hac consuetudine differunt. Nam neque druides habent, qui rebus divinis praesint,
neque sacrificiis student. Deorum numero eos solos ducunt, quos cernunt et quorum aperte opibus
iuvantur, Solem et Vulcanum et Lunam, reliquos ne fama quidem acceperunt. Vita omnis in venationibus
atque in studiis rei militaris consistit. Ab parvulis labori ac duritiae student. Qui diutissime impuberes
permanserunt, maximam inter suos ferunt laudem. Hoc ali staturam, ali vires nervosque confirmari
putant. Intra annum vero vicesimum feminae notitiam habuisse in turpissimis habent rebus. Cuius rei
nulla est occultatio, quod et promiscue in fluminibus perluntur et pellibus aut parvis renonum tegimentis
utuntur magna corporis parte nuda. Agriculturae non student, maiorque pars eorum victus in lacte,
caseo, carne consistit. Neque quisquam agri modum certum aut fines habet proprios. Sed magistratus ac
principes in annos singulos gentibus cognationibusque hominum, qui una coierunt, quantum et quo loco
visum est agri a ribuunt atque anno post alio transire cogunt. Eius rei multas adferunt causas: ne
adsidua consuetudine capti studium belli gerendi agricultura commutent; ne latos fines parare studeant,
potentioresque humiliores possessionibus expellant; ne accuratius ad frigora atque aestus vitandos
aedificent; ne qua oriatur pecuniae cupiditas, qua ex re factiones dissensionesque nascuntur. ut animi
aequitate plebem contineant, cum suas quisque opes cum potentissimis aequari videat.
Translation
The Germani differ a great deal from this way of life. They have no Druids who preside over their divine
affairs; nor are they devoted to sacri ces. They consider in the number of their gods only those whom
they see and by whose assistance they are openly helped, the Sun and the Fire-god and the Moon; they
have not even heard of the rest by report. Their whole life consists of hunting and of the pursuit of
military affairs. From youth they are devoted to work and hardship. Those who remain celibate longest
enjoy the greatest praise among their fellows. Some think that height, others that strength and sinews are
strengthened by this. They truly consider it among the most disgraceful matters to have had intercourse
with a woman before their twentieth year. There is no secrecy in the matter for they bathe promiscuously
in the rivers and they wear skins or small coverings of deer skins with a large part of their body nude.
They do not practice agriculture; the greater part of their food consists of milk, cheese, and meat. Nor
does anyone have a de nite amount of land or xed boundaries. But the magistrates and chiefs every
year assign to the tribes and to related people who have grouped together, as much land and in whatever
place seems best. And in the next year they compel them to move. They adduce many reasons for this
matter: so that they would not change their zeal for warfare to agriculture, tempted by continuous
association; so that they would not desire to acquire broad territories, and the more powerful might expel
the weaker; so that they would not build more carefully against cold and heat; so that a desire for money
would not arise, from which factions and dissentions might be produced; so that they might keep the
common people in calmness of spirit, with each seeing his own means as equal to those of the most
powerful.
Grammar
21 Personal and Re exive Pronouns.
As we have noted, and as is clear from the texts in the rst ve lessons, few particles are used in Latin. On the
other hand, pronouns are used to indicate relationships between words, clauses and sentences. The pronouns
concerned are chie y those labeled descriptive and relative, since historical texts use few personal pronouns,
in part because the item in question is provided by the verb form. Nonetheless it is necessary to be aware of
them, and accordingly they are given here.
The rst and second person pronouns are also used as re exives. The third person pronoun is re exive, and is
used for all three genders in the plural as well as the singular. The dative accordingly may mean 'to himself, to
herself, to itself, to themselves.'
1st Person 2nd Person 3rd Person
Singular Plural Singular Plural
Nom ego 'I' nōs 'we' tū 'thou' vōs 'you'
Gen meī nostrum, nostrī tui vestrum, vestrī suī
Dat mihi nōbis tibī vōbis sibī
Acc mē nōs tē vōs sē, sēsē
Abl mē nōbis tē vōbis sē, sēsē
The adjectival forms of these pronouns, known as possessives, are in ected in all cases and genders. They
are: meus, mea, meum 'my', tuus, tua, tuum 'thy', suus, sua, suum 'his, her, its, their', noster, nostra, nostrum 'our', vester,
vestra, vestrum 'your'.
22 Descriptive Pronouns.
These pronouns, which are also referred to as determinative or determiners or even demonstrative, are among
the most frequent. They may be translated with forms of 'this' or with personal pronouns like 'he' or with other
elements like 'the same'. The genitive and dative forms are the same for all three genders, except for the
genitive plural where the feminine has -a- rather than -o-.
is 'he, she, this'
Singular Plural
Nom is ea id iī eae ea
Gen ēius ēius ēius eōrum eārum eōrum
Dat eī eī eī iīs iīs iīs
Acc eum eam id eōs eās ea
Abl eō eā eō iīs iīs iīs
idem 'the same'
Nom īdem eadem idem idem eaedem eadem
Gen ēiusdem ēiusdem ēiusdem eōrumdem eārumdem eōrumdem
Dat eīdem eīdem eīdem īsdem īsdem īsdem
Acc eundem eandem idem eōsdem eāsdem eadem
Abl eōdem eādem eōdem īsdem īsdem īsdem
hic 'this'
Nom hic haec hoc hī hae haec
Gen hūius hūius hūius hōrum hārum hōrum
Dat huīc huīc huīc hīs hīs hīs
Acc hunc hanc hoc hōs hās haec
Abl hōc hāc hōc hīs hīs hīs
ille 'that, such'
Nom ille illa illud illī illae illa
Gen illīus illīus illīus illōrum illārum illōrum
Dat illī illī illī illīs illīs illīs
Acc illum illam illud illōs illās illa
Abl illō illā illō illīs illīs illīs
23 The Intensive Pronoun ipse 'self'.
Singular Plural
Nom ipse ipsa ipsum ipsī ipsae ipsa
Gen ipsīus ipsīus ipsīus ipsōrum ipsārum ipsōrum
Dat ipsī ipsī ipsī ipsīs ipsīs ipsīs
Acc ipsum ipsam ipsum ipsōs ipsās ipsa
Abl ipsō ipsā ipsō ipsīs ipsīs ipsīs
24 The Relative Pronoun quī 'who'.
Singular Plural
Nom quī quae quod quī quae quae
Gen cūius cūius cūius quōrum quārum quōrum
Dat cuī cuī cuī quibus quibus quibus
Acc quem quam quod quōs quās quae
Abl quō quā quō quibus quibus quibus
Inde nite relatives are quicumque 'whoever' and quisquis 'whoever', quidquid 'whatever'. The rst element of
quicumque may be declined like the simple relative pronoun. The elements of quisquis may be declined like the
interrogative pronoun, as demonstrated by the form quidquid; but other forms rarely occur.
25 The Interrogative and Inde nite Pronouns.

The interrogative pronoun when used as a noun is quis 'who?'; when used as an adjective it is qui, as in qui homo
'Which man?'; it is in ected like the relative pronoun.
Singular Plural
Nom quis quis quid quī quae quae
Gen cūius cūius cūius quōrum quārum quōrum
Dat cuī cuī cuī quibus quibus quibus
Acc quem quem quid quōs quās quae
Abl quō quā quō quibus quibus quibus
Quis is also used as inde nite pronoun, noun, and adjective. When used as an adjective, the nominative forms
are qui, quae and quod; when used as a noun, the neuter is quid.
Latin Online
Lesson 6
About a hundred and fty years after Caesar wrote his Gallic War, the historian Tacitus produced a treatise on
the Germani. We know less about Cornelius Tacitus than we do about Julius Caesar. He was apparently born
around 55 A.D. and died around 120 A.D. He enjoyed a ne career in various government positions. Among his
works, in addition to a history of his time known as Historiae and his Annales on the period from the death of
Augustus Caesar in 14 A.D. to 68 A.D., is a work entitled De Moribus et Populis Germaniae 'Concerning the
customs and peoples of Germania', or more simply Germania. While some authors in Classical times, among
them Herodotus, Livy and Caesar, included brief accounts of other peoples in their writings, Tacitus' Germania
is the only anthropological account of a people that we have from the period.
In his description of the public and private life of the German peoples, Tacitus gives us a much more
comprehensive picture than did Caesar. On the other hand, their way of life seems much the same as it was in
Caesar's day. At one point Tacitus does indicate that they have taken on some customs from outside, as in the
brief statement iam et pecuniam accipere docuimus 'we have brought them also to accept money', but, as the
excerpt given here shows, their habitations and clothing remained much the same.
Nullas Germanorum populis urbes habitari satis notum est, ne pati quidem inter se iunctas sedes.
nullas -- adjective; accusative plural feminine of <nullus, nulla, nullum> no, none -- no
Germanorum -- adjective used as substantive; genitive plural masculine of
<Germanus, Germana, Germanum> Germani -- of the Germani
populis -- noun, masculine; ablative plural of <populus, populi> people -- by the peoples
urbes -- noun, feminine; accusative plural of <urbs, urbis> city -- cities
habitari -- verb; passive in nitive of <habitō, habitāre, habitāvī, habitātum> inhabit -- are inhabited
satis -- adverb; <satis> adequately, su ciently -- quite
notum -- verb; nominative singular neuter of perfect participle passive of <nōscō, nōscere, nōvī, nōtum> be
acquainted with, get to know -- known
est -- verb; 3rd person singular present of <sum, esse, fuī> I am -- it is
ne -- conjunction; <ne> so that not -- that ... not
pati -- deponent verb; in nitive passive of <patior, patī, passus sum> suffer, endure -- they permit
se -- re exive pronoun; accusative of <sui> self -- themselves
iunctas -- adjective; accusative plural feminine of <iunctus, iuncta, iunctum> joined, united -- connected
sedes -- noun, feminine; accusative plural of <sedes, sedis> seat, habitation -- habitations
Colunt discreti ac diversi, ut fons, ut campus, ut nemus placuit.
colunt -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <colō, colere, coluī, cultum> dwell in, cultivate -- They live
discreti -- verb; nominative plural masculine perfect participle passive of
<discernō, discernere, discrēvī, discrētum> separate, divide -- separately
ac -- conjunction; <ac> and -- as well as
diversi -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <diversus, diversa, diversum> contrary, diverse --
diversely
ut -- adverb; <ut> as, where -- where
fons -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of <fons, fontis> spring -- a spring
campus -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <campus, campi> plain, open eld -- an open eld
nemus -- noun, neuter; nominative singular of <nemus, nemoris> grove -- a grove
placuit -- verb; 3rd person singular perfect of <placeō, placēre, placuī, placitum> please -- as they please
Vicos locant non in nostrum morem conexis et cohaerentibus aedificiis.
vicos -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <vicus, vici> village -- villages

locant -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <locō, locāre, locāvī, locātus> place, arrange -- they arrange
in -- preposition; <in> in, on -- in accordance with
nostrum -- possessive pronoun; accusative singular masculine of <noster, nostra, nostrum> our -- our
morem -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <mos, moris> custom -- custom
conexis -- adjective; ablative plural neuter of <conexus, conexa, conexum> adjoining -- adjoining
cohaerentibus -- ablative plural neuter of; <cohaerens, cohaerentis> continuous, adjoining -- continuous
aedificiis -- noun, neuter; ablative plural of <aedificium, aedificii> building -- buildings
Suam quisque domum spatio circumdat, sive adversus casus ignis remedium sive inscientia aedificandi.
suam -- possessive pronoun; accusative singular feminine of <suus, sua, suum> own -- his
everyone
domum -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <domus, domi> house -- house
spatio -- noun, neuter; dative singular of <spatium, spatii> space -- space
circumdat -- verb; 3rd person singular present of <circumdō, circumdare, circumdedī, circumdātum>
surround -- surrounds
sive -- conjunction; <sive> or if, whether ... or -- whether
adversus -- adverb; <adversus> opposite to, against -- against
casus -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <casus, casus> fall, misfortune, chance -- hazard
ignis -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of <ignis, ignis> re -- of re
remedium -- noun, neuter; nominative singular of <remedium, remedii> remedy, assistance -- as a remedy
sive -- conjunction; <sive> or if, whether ... or -- or
inscientia -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <inscientia, inscientiae> ignorance -- through ignorance
aedificandi -- verb; genitive of gerund(ive) of <aedificō, aedificāre, aedificāvī, aedificātum> build -- of
construction
Ne caementorum quidem apud illos aut tegularum usus.
ne -- adverb; <ne> not -- not

caementorum -- noun, neuter; genitive plural of <caementum, caementi> quarry-stone -- of quarry-stones
illos -- demonstrative pronoun; accusative plural masculine of <ille, illa, illud> he, she, that -- them
tegularum -- noun, feminine; genitive plural of <tegula, tegulae> tile -- of tiles
usus -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <usus, usus> use, practice -- use
Materia ad omnia utuntur informi et citra speciem aut delectationem.
materia -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <materia, materiae> material -- material

omnia -- adjective used as substantive; accusative plural neuter of <omnis, omnis, omne> all -- everything
utuntur -- deponent verb; 3rd person plural present of <ūtor, ūtī, ūsus sum> use -- they use
informi -- adjective; ablative singular feminine of <informis, informis, informe> unshapely, hideous --
unshapely
citra -- preposition; <citra> on this side of, without -- without
speciem -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <species, speciei> appearance -- pleasing appearance
delectationem -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <delectatio, delectationis> pleasure, delight --
beauty
Quaedam loca diligentius illinunt terra ita pura ac splendente, ut picturam ac liniamenta colorum imitetur.
quaedam -- inde nite pronoun; nominative plural neuter of <quidam, quaedam, quoddam> a certain, some
-- some
loca -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of <locus, loci> place -- places
diligentius -- adverb; comparative of <diligenter> industriously -- very industriously
illinunt -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <illinō, illere, illēvī, illitum> spread over -- they spread, smear
terra -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <terra, terrae> earth, land -- with earth
ita -- adverb; <ita> thus -- so
pura -- adjective; ablative singular feminine of <purus, pura, purum> pure -- pure
ac -- conjunction; <ac> and -- and also
splendente -- verb; ablative singular feminine of present participle of <splendeo, splendere, -, -> shine, be
bright -- shiny
picturam -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <pictura, picturae> painting -- a painting
ac -- conjunction; <ac> and -- and also
liniamenta -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of <liniamentum, liniamenti> line, designs -- designs
colorum -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of <color, coloris> color -- of colors
imitetur -- deponent verb; 3rd person singular subjunctive present of <imitor, imitāre, imitātum> imitate,
resemble -- they resemble
Solent et subterraneos specus aperire eosque multo insuper fimo onerant suffugium hiemis et receptaculum
frugibus.
solent -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <sōleō, solēre, solitum> be accustomed -- They are accustomed
et -- conjunction; <et> and -- also
subterraneos -- adjective; accusative plural masculine of <subterraneus, subterranei> underground --
underground
specus -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <specus, specus> cave, pit -- pits
aperire -- verb; in nitive of <aperiō, aperīre, aperuī, apertum> open -- to open
eosque -- demonstrative pronoun; accusative plural masculine of <is, ea, id> him, her, this + conjunction;
<-que> and -- and them
multo -- adjective; ablative singular masculine of <multus, multa, multum> many -- with much
insuper -- adverb; <insuper> above, on top -- on top
fimo -- noun, masculine; ablative singular of <fimus, fimi> dung -- dung
onerant -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <onerō, onerāre, onerāvī, onerātum> load, burden -- they cover
suffugium -- noun, neuter; nominative singular of <suffugium, suffugii> refuge, shelter -- as a shelter
hiemis -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <hiems, hiemis> winter -- from the winter
receptaculum -- noun, neuter; nominative singular of <receptaculum, receptaculi> receptacle, storage
place -- storage place
frugibus -- noun, feminine; dative plural of <frux, frugis> fruit, produce -- for fruit
Quia rigorem frigorum eius modi loci molliunt, et si quando hostis advenit, aperta populatur.
quia -- conjunction; <quia> because -- because

rigorem -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <rigor, rigoris> rigor -- rigor
frigorum -- noun, neuter; genitive plural of <frigus, frigoris> cold -- of the cold
eius -- demonstrative pronoun; genitive singular masculine of <is, ea, id> him, her, this -- of that
modi -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of <modus, modi> kind -- kind
loci -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of <locus, loci> place -- places
molliunt -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <molliō, mollīre, mollīvī, mollītum> moderate, soften --
moderate
quando -- adverb; <quando> ever, at some time -- at some time
hostis -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <hostis, hostis> enemy -- an enemy
advenit -- verb; 3rd person singular present of <adveniō, advenīre, advenī, adventum> arrive, appear --
arrived
aperta -- adjective; nominative plural neuter of <apertus, aperta, apertum> open -- the open things
populatur -- deponent verb; 3rd person singular present passive of <populor, populāri, populatus sum>
devastate, plunder -- he would plunder
Abdita autem et defossa aut ignorantur aut eo ipso fallunt, quod quaerenda sunt.
abdita -- adjective used as substantive; nominative plural neuter of <abditus, abdita, abditum> hidden
place -- the hidden places
autem -- conjunction; <autem> but -- but
defossa -- participle used as substantive; nominative plural neuter of perfect participle passive of
<dēfodiō, defossere, defōdī, defossum> dig deep, hide -- the caves
ignorantur -- verb; 3rd person plural present passive of <īgnōrō, īgnōrāre, īgnōrāvi, īgnōrātum> ignore, be
unknown -- remain unknown
eo ipso -- demonstrative pronoun; ablative singular neuter of <is, ea, id> him, her, this + intensive pronoun;
<ipse, ipsa, ipsum> self -- by that very reason
fallunt -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <fallō, fallere, fefellī, falsum> deceive, elude -- they elude
quod -- relative pronoun; nominative singular neuter of <qui, quae, quod> who, which, what, that -- what
quaerenda -- verbal adjective; nominative plural neuter of <quaerō, quaerere, quaesīvī, quaesītum> look
for, search -- to be sought
sunt -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <sum, esse, fuī> I am -- they are
Tegumen omnibus sagum fibula aut, si desit, spina consertum.
tegumen -- noun, neuter; nominative singular of <tegumen, teguminis> clothing, covering -- The covering
omnibus -- adjective; dative plural masculine of <omnis, omnis, omne> all -- for all
sagum -- noun, neuter; nominative singular of <sagum, sagi> rough mantle -- (is) a rough mantle
fibula -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <fibula, fibulae> brooch -- with a brooch
desit -- verb; 3rd person singular present subjunctive of <desum, deesse, defuī> be lacking -- is unavailable
spina -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <spina, spinae> thorn -- a thorn
consertum -- verb; nominative singular neuter of perfect participle passive of
<cōnserō, cōnserere, cōnseruī, cōnsertum> connect -- held together
Cetera intecti totos dies iuxta focum atque ignem agunt.
cetera -- adverb; <cetera> otherwise -- Otherwise

intecti -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <intectus, intecta, intectum> uncovered -- naked
totos -- adjective; accusative plural masculine of <totus, tota, totum> entire -- entire
dies -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <dies, diei> day -- days
iuxta -- preposition; <iuxta> near -- near
focum -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <focus, foci> re-place, hearth -- the hearth
ignem -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <ignis, ignis> re -- the re
agunt -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <agō, agere, ēgī, āctum> move, conduct -- they spend
Locupletissimi reste distinguuntur, non fluitante, sicut Sarmatae ac Parthi, sed stricta et singulos artus
exprimente.
locupletissimi -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of superlative of <locuples, locupletis> rich in

lands, wealthy -- The wealthy
reste -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <restis, restis> undergarment -- by an undergarment
distinguuntur -- verb; 3rd person plural present passive of <dīstinguō, dīstinguere, dīstinxī, dīstinctum>
divide, distinguish -- are distinguished
fluitante -- verb; ablative singular feminine of present participle of <fluitō, fluitāre, fluitāvī, -> ow --
owing
sicut -- adverb; <sicut> as, like -- like
Sarmatae -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of <Sarmatae, Sarmatarum> Sarmatians -- the Sarmatians
Parthi -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of <Parthi, Parthorum> Parthians -- Parthians
stricta -- adjective; ablative singular feminine of <strictus, stricta, strictum> drawn together, tight -- tight
singulos -- adjective; accusative plural masculine of <singulus, singula, singulum> single, individual -- the
individual
artus -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <artus, artus> joints, limbs -- limbs
exprimente -- verb; ablative singular feminine of present participle of
<exprimō, exprimere, expressī, expressum> express -- revealing
Gerunt et ferarum pelles, proximi ripae neglegenter, ulteriores exquisitius, ut quibus nullus per commercia
cultus.
gerunt -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <gerō, gerere, gessī, gestum> bear, carry out, wear -- They wear
ferarum -- noun, feminine; genitive plural of <fera, ferae> wild beast -- of wild animals
pelles -- noun, feminine; accusative plural of <pellis, pellis> skin, hide -- hides
proximi -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <proximus, proxima, proximum> next to -- (those)
next to
ripae -- noun, feminine; dative singular of <ripa, ripae> river-bank -- the river (= Rhine and Danube)
neglegenter -- adverb; <neglegenter> carelessly -- with no discrimination
ulteriores -- adjective used as substantive; nominative plural masculine of <ulterior, ulterioris> farther,
remote -- those more remote
exquisitius -- adverb; comparative of <exquisitus, exquisita, exquisitum> exquisitely -- more exquisitely
ut -- adverb; <ut> as, where -- seeing that
quibus -- relative pronoun; dative plural masculine of <qui, quae, quod> who, which, what, that -- for them
nullus -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <nullus, nulla, nullum> no, none -- (there is) no
per -- preposition; <per> through, by -- through
commercia -- noun, feminine; accusative plural of <commercium, commerci> commerce -- through
commerce
cultus -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <cultus, cultus> care, culture -- re nement
Eligunt feras et detracta velamina spargunt maculis pellibusque beluarum, quas exterior Oceanus atque
ignotum mare gignit.
eligunt -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <ēligō, ēlegere, elēgī, elēctum> choose, select -- they select
feras -- noun, feminine; accusative plural of <fera, ferae> wild beast -- (the hides of) wild beasts
detracta -- verb; perfect participle passive of <dētrahō, detrahere, dētraxī, detractum> take off, remove --
removed
velamina -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of <velamen, velaminis> cover, clothing -- clothing
spargunt -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <spargō, spargere, sparsī, sparsum> strew, sprinkle -- they
distribute
maculis -- noun, feminine; ablative plural of <macula, maculae> spot -- with spots
pellibusque -- noun, feminine; ablative plural of <pellis, pellis> skin, hide + conjunction; <-que> and -- and
with hides
beluarum -- noun, feminine; genitive plural of <belua, beluae> wild animal, monster -- of wild animals
quas -- relative pronoun; accusative plural feminine of <qui, quae, quod> who, which, what, that -- which
exterior -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <exterior, exterioris> outer -- the outer
Oceanus -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Oceanus, Oceani> ocean -- ocean
ignotum -- adjective; nominative singular neuter of <ignotus, ignota, ignotum> unknown -- an unknown
mare -- noun, neuter; nominative singular of <mare, maris> sea -- sea
gignit -- verb; 3rd person singular present of <gīgnō, genere, genuī, genitum> generate, produce --
produces
Nec alius feminis quam viris habitus, nisi quod feminae saepius lineis amictibus velantur eosque purpura
variant.
nec -- adverb; <nec> neither ... nor -- not

alius -- pronominal adjective; nominative singular masculine of <alius, alia, aliud> other, some -- different
feminis -- noun, feminine; dative plural of <femina, feminae> woman -- for the women
viris -- noun, masculine; dative plural of <vir, viri> man -- for the men
habitus -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <habitus, habitus> clothing, dress -- clothing
nisi -- conjunction; <nisi> if not, unless -- except
quod -- conjunction; <quod> that, because -- that
feminae -- noun, feminine; nominative plural of <femina, feminae> woman -- the women
saepius -- adverb; comparative of <saepe> often -- more often
lineis -- adjective; dative plural masculine of <lineus, linea, lineum> axen -- by axen
amictibus -- noun, masculine; dative plural of <amictus, amictus> outer garment -- outer garments
velantur -- verb; 3rd person plural present passive of <vēlō, velāre, velāvī, velātum> cover -- are covered
eosque -- demonstrative pronoun; accusative plural masculine of <is, ea, id> him, her, this + conjunction;
<-que> and -- and those
purpura -- ablative singular feminine of; <purpura, purpurae> purple, purple cloth -- with purple cloth
variant -- verb, 3rd person plural present of; <variō, variāre, variāvī, variātum> variegate -- they variegate
Partemque vestitus superioris in manicas non extendunt; nudae brachia ac lacertos; sed et proxima pars
pectoris patet.
partemque -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <pars, partis> part + conjunction; <-que> and -- And
...part
vestitus -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of <vestitus, vestitus> clothing -- of their ... clothing
superioris -- adjective; genitive singular masculine comparative of <superus, supera, superum> higher,
gods -- upper
in -- preposition; <in> in, on -- into
manicas -- noun, feminine; accusative plural of <manicae, manicarum> long sleeves -- sleeves
extendunt -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <extendō, extendere, extendī, extēnsum> extend -- they
extend
nudae -- adjective; nominative plural feminine of <nudus, nuda, nudum> bare, naked -- (are) bare
brachia -- noun, neuter; nominative plural of <brachium, brachi> lower arm -- (their) lower arms
lacertos -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <lacertus, lacerti> upper arm -- (their) upper arms
sed -- conjunction; <sed> but -- but, in fact
proxima -- adjective; nominative singular feminine superlative of <prope> near -- nearest
pars -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of <pars, partis> part -- part
pectoris -- noun, neuter; genitive singular of <pectus, pectoris> breast -- of their breast
patet -- verb; 3rd person singular present of <pateō, patēre, patuī, -> lie open, be exposed -- lies open
Lesson Text
Nullas Germanorum populis urbes habitari satis notum est, ne pati quidem inter se iunctas sedes. Colunt
discreti ac diversi, ut fons, ut campus, ut nemus placuit. Vicos locant non in nostrum morem conexis et
cohaerentibus aedificiis. Suam quisque domum spatio circumdat, sive adversus casus ignis remedium
sive inscientia aedificandi. Ne caementorum quidem apud illos aut tegularum usus. Materia ad omnia
utuntur informi et citra speciem aut delectationem. Quaedam loca diligentius illinunt terra ita pura ac
splendente, ut picturam ac liniamenta colorum imitetur. Solent et subterraneos specus aperire eosque
multo insuper fimo onerant suffugium hiemis et receptaculum frugibus. Quia rigorem frigorum eius
modi loci molliunt, et si quando hostis advenit, aperta populatur. Abdita autem et defossa aut ignorantur
aut eo ipso fallunt, quod quaerenda sunt. Tegumen omnibus sagum fibula aut, si desit, spina consertum.
Cetera intecti totos dies iuxta focum atque ignem agunt. Locupletissimi reste distinguuntur, non
fluitante, sicut Sarmatae ac Parthi, sed stricta et singulos artus exprimente. Gerunt et ferarum pelles,
proximi ripae neglegenter, ulteriores exquisitius, ut quibus nullus per commercia cultus. Eligunt feras et
detracta velamina spargunt maculis pellibusque beluarum, quas exterior Oceanus atque ignotum mare
gignit. Nec alius feminis quam viris habitus, nisi quod feminae saepius lineis amictibus velantur eosque
purpura variant. Partemque vestitus superioris in manicas non extendunt; nudae brachia ac lacertos; sed
et proxima pars pectoris patet.
Translation
It is well known that cities are not inhabited by the peoples of the Germani, indeed that connected
habitations are not permitted among them. They live separately and independently, where a spring, an
open eld or a wood has pleased them. They do not arrange their villages according to our custom, with
adjoining and continuous buildings. Each surrounds his house with an open space, whether as a remedy
against the occurrence of re, or because of ignorance of construction. There is not even use of quarry-
stones or tiles among them. For all things they use unshapely materials, without pleasant appearance or
beauty. Some places they smear so carefully with such pure and shiny earth that they resemble a painting
and designs of colors. And they also dig underground pits and cover them with much dung on top, for a
shelter from the winter and a storage place for fruits. Because those places moderate the rigorous cold;
and when an enemy appears, he would plunder only the open things. For the hidden places and the caves
remain unknown or they elude them because they would have to be sought out.
The clothing for all is a rough mantle held together with a brooch or if that is lacking by a thorn.
Otherwise they are unclothed; they spend entire days in this way near the hearth and re. Only the richest
are distinguished by an undergarment, not owing, like those of the Sarmatians and Parthians, but tight
and revealing all the limbs. They also wear hides of wild animals, those along the river not discriminating
among them, but those more remote also more exquisitely. Because there is no culture through
commerce there! They select the hides and spread the removed coverings with spots and hides of wild
animals that the outer ocean and an unknown sea produce.
The clothing of the women does not differ from that of the men, except that they often are covered with
axen outer garments and those they variegate with purple cloth. And they do not extend part of their
upper clothing to their arms. Their lower and upper arms are bare. In fact, the nearest part of their breast
also lies open.
Grammar
26 The importance of verb forms.
As we have noted, verbs are highly important for understanding and translating Latin. They often include the
subject of a sentence. They also vary in form, so that they indicate the writer's intention, whether factual,
hypothetical, or the like.
Besides active and passive voices and indicative and subjunctive moods, verbs in general have two systems,
those based on the present tense and representing time of action, those based on the perfect tense and
representing aspect as well as time of action. The twofold set may be determined from the lists of principal
parts of verbs, as we may illustrate with an example of the patterns found in dictionaries:
dōnō 'I give', dōnāvī 'I have given', dōnātum 'given', dōnāre 'to give'.
From the rst and last of these principal parts, one determines the forms of the present system; from the
second one determines the forms of the perfect system. The third form is the perfect participle passive, which
is used in making some of the passive forms, and it is often used as an adjective.
There are four conjugations, based on differing stems. The verbs of the rst conjugation have stems ending in
long -ā-, such as dōnō, donāre 'give'; those of the second conjugation have stems ending in long -ē-, such as habeō,
habēre 'have'; those of the third conjugation have stems ending in short -e-, such as tegō, tegere 'cover'; those of
the fourth conjugation have stems ending in long -ī-, such as audiō, audīre 'hear'. To provide an overview of the
numerous forms for any verb, we will give all forms of a verb of the rst conjugation, because they are the most
regular. We assume that with these lists you will be able to recognize any verb form, not that you will memorize
them unless you so choose. Many of the forms are unlikely to occur in the narrative texts included here, such
as the imperatives; these may however occur in poetry, especially drama. But they are most likely to occur in
everyday conversation.
27 The Present Tense forms of the rst conjugation verb dōnō, and the rst singular forms of the three other
conjugations.
1st conjugation
Active Voice Passive Voice
1 sg dōnō dōnem dōnor dōner
2 sg dōnās dōnēs dōnāris dōnēris
3 sg dōnat dōnet dōnātur dōnētur
1 pl dōnāmus dōnēmus dōnāmur dōnēmur
2 pl dōnātis dōnētis dōnāminī dōnēminī
3 pl dōnant dōnent dōnantur dōnentur
2nd conjugation
1 sg habeō habeam habeor habear
3rd conjugation
1 sg tegō tegam tegor tegar
4th conjugation
1 sg audiō audiam audior audiar
28 The Imperfect Tense forms of the rst conjugation verb dōnō, and the rst singular forms of the three other
conjugations.
1st conjugation
1 sg dōnābam dōnārem dōnābar dōnārer
2 sg dōnābās dōnārēs dōnābāris dōnārētis
3 sg dōnābat dōnāret dōnābātur dōnārētur
1 pl dōnābāmus dōnārēmus dōnābāmur dōnārēmus
2 pl dōnābātis dōnārētis dōnābāminī dōnārēmini
3 pl dōnābant dōnārent dōnābantur dōnārentur
2nd conjugation
1 sg habēbam habērem habēbar habērer
3rd conjugation
1 sg tegēbam tegerem tegēbar tegerer
4th conjugation
1 sg audiēbam audīrem audiēbar audīrer
29 The Forms of the Future. Note that there is no subjunctive.
1st conjugation
1 sg dōnābō dōnābor
2 sg dōnābis dōnāberis
3 sg dōnābit dōnābitur
1 pl dōnābimus dōnābimur
2 pl dōnābitis dōnābiminī
3 pl dōnābunt dōnābuntur
2nd conjugation
1 sg habēbō habēbor
3rd conjugation
1 sg tegam tegar
4th conjugation
1 sg audiam audiar
30 The forms of the Imperative, the Present In nitive, and the Present and Future Participles.
Imperative
1st conjugation
2 sg pres dōnā dōnāre
2 pl pres dōnāte dōnāminī
2 sg fut dōnātō dōnātor
2 pl fut dōnātōte dōnantor
2nd conjugation
2 sg pres habē habēre
2 pl pres habēte habēminī
2 sg fut habētō habētor
2 pl fut habētōte habentor
3rd conjugation
2 sg pres tege tegere
2 pl pres tegite tegiminī
2 sg fut tegitō tegitor
2 pl fut tegitōte teguntor
4th conjugation
2 sg pres audī audīre
2 pl pres audīte audīminī
2 sg fut audītō audītor
2 pl fut audītōte audiuntor
In nitive
1st conjugation
pres dōnāre dōnāri
2nd conjugation
pres habēre habērī
3rd conjugation
pres tegere tegī
4th conjugation
pres audīre audīrī
Participle
1st conjugation
pres dōnāns
fut dōnātūrus
2nd conjugation
pres habēns
fut habitūrus
3rd conjugation
pres tegēns
fut tēctūrus
4th conjugation
pres audiēns
fut audītūrus
Latin Online
Lesson 7
Ennius, 239-169 BC, was born in southern Italy, at Rudiae, twenty miles from Brundisium. Besides Latin he
spoke Greek and Oscan. Having joined the Roman army, he was brought to Rome and settled there for the rest
of his life. He supported himself by teaching Greek, as well as through his writing. He had contacts with other
literary gures of his day, though it is unclear whether Plautus was among them. Among his works were
tragedies, poems and most important, the Annals, which, like the Homeric poems, is composed in dactylic
hexameters. Beginning with its background at Troy, the Annals covered the history of Rome until shortly before
the time of the death of Ennius.
This selection is taken from the Annals of Ennius. The text was "edited and translated" by E. H. Warmington in
his four volumes of Remains of Old Latin I, page 30 (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1961, Loeb Classical
Library No.294). It is of interest for its account of the naming of Rome, the contest between the two brothers,
Romulus and Remus, and the account of the augury, as well as for an example of archaic Latin. Warmington
has modi ed the spelling, so that it is in keeping with the conventions of classical Latin. There are, then, few
differences in this text from the written language several centuries later. The Annals have come down to us in
fragments, which Warmington has assembled; among these, this selection is relatively lengthy.
Curantes magna cum cura tum cupientes

Regni dant operam simul auspicio augurioque;
..........in monte..........
curantes -- verb; nominative plural masculine of present participle of <cūrō, cūrāre, cūrāvī, cūrātum> care
-- caring
magna -- adjective; ablative singular feminine of <magnus, magna, magnum> great, large -- great
cum -- conjunction; <cum> since, when -- with
cura -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <cura, curae> care -- care
cupientes -- verb; nominative plural masculine of present participle of <cupiō, cupere, cupīvī, cupītum>
desire -- desiring
regni -- noun, neuter; genitive singular of <regnum, regni> kingship, supreme power -- supreme power
dant -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <dō, dare, dedī, dātum> give -- they give
operam -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <opera, operae> work, service, attention -- attention
simul -- adverb; <simul> at the same time -- simultaneously
auspicio -- noun, neuter; dative singular of <auspicium, auspicii> divination by the ight of birds -- to the
omen from the birds
augurioque -- noun, masculine; dative singular of <augurium, augurii> interpretation of omens, augury +
conjunction; <-que> and -- and to their interpretation
monte -- noun, masculine; ablative singular of <mons, montis> mountain -- a mountain
Remus auspicio se devovet atque secundam

solus avem servat. At Romulus pulcher in alto
quaerit Aventino, servat genus altivolentum.
Remus -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Remus, Remi> Remus -- Remus

auspicio -- noun, neuter; dative singular of <auspicium, auspicii> divination by the ight of birds -- to the
omen from the birds
se -- re exive pronoun; accusative of <sui> self -- himself
devovet -- verb; 3rd person singular present, of <dēvoveō, dēvovēre, dēvōvī, dēvōtum> devote -- devotes
secundam -- adjective; accusative singular feminine of <secundus, secunda, secundum> second, favorable
-- favorable
solus -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <solus, sola, solum> alone -- by himself
avem -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <avis, avis> bird -- bird
servat -- verb; 3rd person singular present of <servō, servāre, servāvī, servātum> guard, keep, watch --
watches
at -- adverb; <at> and -- but
Romulus -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Romulus, Romuli> Romulus -- Romulus
pulcher -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <pulcher, pulchra, pulchrum> beautiful, excellent --
handsome
alto -- adjective; ablative singular masculine of <altus, alta, altum> high, deep -- high
quaerit -- verb; 3rd person singular present of <quaerō, quaerere, quaesīvī, quaesītum> look for, search --
searches
Aventino -- noun, masculine; ablative singular of <Aventinus, Aventini> Aventine -- Aventine
servat -- verb; 3rd person singular present of <servō, servāre, servāvī, servātum> guard, keep, watch --
watches
genus -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <genus, generis> kind, class -- class
altivolentum -- adjective; genitive plural neuter of <altivolans, altivolantis> high ying -- high ying
Certabant urbem Romam Remoramve vocarent.
certabant -- verb; 3rd person plural imperfect of <certō, certāre, certāvī, certātum> ght, contend -- they
were contending
urbem -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <urbs, urbis> city -- the city
Romam -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <Roma, Romae> Rome -- Rome
Remoramve -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <Remora, Remorae> Remora + conjunction; <-ve> or
-- or Remora
vocarent -- verb; 3rd person plural imperfect subjunctive of <vocō, vocāre, vocāvī, vocātum> call --
(whether) they would call
Omnibus cura viris uter esset induperator:
omnibus -- adjective; dative plural masculine of <omnis, omnis, omne> all -- among all
cura -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of <cura, curae> care -- (there was) concern
viris -- noun, masculine; dative plural of <vir, viri> man -- the men
uter -- pronoun; nominative singular masculine of <uter, utra, utrum> which of two -- which of the two
esset -- verb; 3rd person singular imperfect subjunctive of <sum, esse, fuī> I am -- would be
induperator -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <induperator, induperatoris> commander in chief,
emperor -- commander
exspectant, veluti consul quom mi ere signum

volt, omnes avidi spectant ad carceris oras
quam mox emi at pictis e faucibus currus.
exspectant -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <exspectō, exspectāre, exspectāvī, exspectātum> wait for --
they wait
veluti -- adverb; <veluti> as, like -- as
consul -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <consul, consulis> consul -- the consul
quom -- conjunction; <quom> when -- when
mi ere -- verb; in nitive of <mi ō, mi ere, mīsī, missum> send, give -- to give
signum -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <signum, signi> sign -- the signal
volt -- verb; 3rd person singular present of <volō, velle, voluī> wish, determine -- decides
omnes -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <omnis, omnis, omne> all -- all
avidi -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <avidus, avida, avidum> eager -- eagerly
spectant -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <spectō, spectāre, spectāvī, spectātum> look, gaze -- gaze
ad -- preposition; <ad> to, towards -- at
carceris -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of <carcer, carceris> prison, starting-place in a race-course --
of the starting-place
oras -- noun, feminine; accusative plural of <ora, orae> mouth, boundary, coast -- the front
quam -- relative pronoun; accusative singular feminine of <qui, quae, quod> who, which, what, that --
which
mox -- adverb; <mox> soon -- soon
emi at -- verb; 3rd person singular present subjunctive of <ēmi ō, ēmi ere, ēmīsī, ēmīssum> send out --
he will send
pictis -- adjective; ablative plural feminine of <pictus, picta, pictum> painted -- painted
e -- preposition; <ex> out of, from -- from
faucibus -- noun, feminine; ablative plural of <fauces, faucis> throat, entrance -- the...entrance
currus -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <currus, currus> chariot -- the chariots
sic exspectabat populus atque ora tenebat,

rebus utri magni victoria sit data regni.
sic -- adverb; <sic> so, thus -- so

exspectabat -- verb; 3rd person singular imperfect of <exspectō, exspectāre, exspectāvī, exspectātum> wait
for -- were waiting
populus -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <populus, populi> people -- the people
ora -- noun, feminine; accusative plural of <ora, orae> mouth, boundary, coast -- their tongues
tenebat -- verb; 3rd person singular imperfect of <teneō, tenēre, tenuī, -> hold, control, understand --
holding
rebus -- noun, feminine; ablative plural of <res, rei> thing, matter -- by the events
utri -- pronoun; dative singular masculine of <uter, utra, utrum> which of two -- to which of the two
magni -- adjective; genitive singular neuter of <magnus, magna, magnum> great, large -- of great
victoria -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of <victoria, victoriae> victory -- the victory
sit -- auxiliary verb; 3rd person singular perfect subjunctive passive of <sum, esse, fuī> I am with data --
would be
data -- verb; 3rd person singular perfect subjunctive passive of <dō, dare, dedī, dātum> give -- given
regni -- noun, neuter; genitive singular of <regnum, regni> kingship, supreme power -- authority
Interea sol albus recessit in infera noctis.
interea -- adverb; <interea> in the meantime -- In the meantime

sol -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <sol, solis> sun -- the... sun
albus -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <albus, alba, album> white -- white
recessit -- verb; 3rd person singular perfect of <recēdō, rēcedere, rēcessī, rēcessum> retire, withdraw -- had
withdrawn
in -- preposition; <in> in, on -- to
infera -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of <inferus, inferi> lower part -- depths
noctis -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <nox, noctis> night -- of night
Exin candida se radiis dedit icta foras lux.
exin -- adverb; <exin> after that, then -- then

candida -- adjective; nominative singular feminine of <candidus, candida, candidum> clear -- clear
se -- re exive pronoun; accusative of <sui> self -- itself
radiis -- noun, masculine; ablative plural of <radius, radii> rod, beam -- with beams
dedit -- verb; 3rd person singular perfect of <dō, dare, dedī, dātum> give -- gave
icta -- defective verb; nominative singular feminine of perfect participle passive of <īcere, īcī, ictum> strike
-- struck
foras -- adverb; <foras> forth, out -- out
lux -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of <lux, lucis> light -- light
et simul ex alto longe pulcherruma praepes

laeva volavit avis, simul aureus exoritur sol.

alto -- adjective used as substantive; ablative singular neuter of <altus, alta, altum> high, deep -- heaven
longe -- adverb; <longe> by far -- by far
pulcherruma -- adjective; nominative singular feminine superlative of <pulcher, pulchra, pulchrum>
beautiful, excellent -- the most excellent
praepes -- adjective; nominative singular feminine of <praepes, praepetis> of good omen, favorable --
favorable
laeva -- adjective; nominative singular feminine of <laevus, laeva, laevum> left -- left
volavit -- verb; 3rd person singular perfect of <volō, volāre, volāvī, volātum> y -- ew
avis -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of <avis, avis> bird -- bird
aureus -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <aureus, aurea, aureum> golden -- the golden
exoritur -- deponent verb; 3rd person singular imperfect of <exorior, exorīrī, exortus sum> arise, appear --
arose
sol -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <sol, solis> sun -- sun
Cedunt de caelo ter qua uor corpora sancta

avium, praepetibus sese pulchrisque locis dant.
cedunt -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <cēdō, cedere, cessī, cessum> go from, depart -- come down
de -- preposition; <de> from, about -- from
caelo -- noun, neuter; ablative singular of <caelum, caeli> sky, heavens -- the sky
ter -- number; <ter> three -- three
qua uor -- number; <qua uor> four -- four
corpora -- noun, neuter; nominative plural of <corpus, corporis> body -- bodies
sancta -- adjective; nominative plural neuter of <sanctus, sancta, sanctum> holy -- holy
avium -- noun, feminine; genitive plural of <avis, avis> bird -- of birds
praepetibus -- adjective; dative plural masculine of <praepes, praepetis> of good omen, favorable -- to
propitious
sese -- re exive pronoun; accusative of <sui> self -- themselves
pulchrisque -- adjective; dative plural masculine of <pulcher, pulchra, pulchrum> beautiful, excellent +
conjunction; <-que> and -- and beautiful
locis -- noun, masculine; dative plural of <locus, loci> place -- places
dant -- verb; 3rd person plural present of <dō, dare, dedī, dātum> give -- arrange
Conspicit inde sibi data Romulus esse propritim

auspicio regni stabilita scamna solumque.
conspicit -- verb; 3rd person singular present of <cōnspiciō, conspicere, conspēxī, conspectum> perceive --
perceives
inde -- adverb; <inde> from that -- From that
sibi -- re exive pronoun; dative of <sui> self -- to him
data -- verb; nominative plural neuter of perfect participle passive of <dō, dare, dedī, dātum> give -- were
given
Romulus -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Romulus, Romuli> Romulus -- Romulus
propritim -- adverb; <propritim> as one's own -- as his own
auspicio -- noun, neuter; ablative singular of <auspicium, auspicii> divination by the ight of birds -- by the
auspices
regni -- noun, neuter; genitive singular of <regnum, regni> kingship, supreme power -- of supreme power
stabilita -- verb; accusative plural neuter of perfect participle passive of
<stabiliō, stabilīre, stabilīvī, stabilītus> establish, con rm -- con rmed
scamna -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of <scamnum, scamni> bench, seat -- the throne
solumque -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <solum, soli> foundation + conjunction; <-que> and -- and
the land
Lesson Text
Curantes magna cum cura tum cupientes

Regni dant operam simul auspicio augurioque;
..........in monte..........
Remus auspicio se devovet atque secundam
solus avem servat. At Romulus pulcher in alto
quaerit Aventino, servat genus altivolentum.
Certabant urbem Romam Remoramve vocarent.
Omnibus cura viris uter esset induperator:
exspectant, veluti consul quom mi ere signum
volt, omnes avidi spectant ad carceris oras
quam mox emi at pictis e faucibus currus.
sic exspectabat populus atque ora tenebat,
rebus utri magni victoria sit data regni.
Interea sol albus recessit in infera noctis.
Exin candida se radiis dedit icta foras lux.
et simul ex alto longe pulcherruma praepes
laeva volavit avis, simul aureus exoritur sol.
Cedunt de caelo ter qua uor corpora sancta
avium, praepetibus sese pulchrisque locis dant.
Conspicit inde sibi data Romulus esse propritim
auspicio regni stabilita scamna solumque.
Translation
Then with very great care and desiring the supreme power, they turn their attention at the same time to
watching and to divination by the ight of birds ... on a hill. Remus devotes himself to the auspices and by
himself looks for a favorable bird. But handsome Romulus searches on high Aventine, and looks for the
high- ying kind. They contested whether they would call the city Rome or Remora. There is anxiety
among all the men to see which of the two would be supreme chief. They are expectant, as when the
consul will give the signal, and all look eagerly at the boundaries of the area to see how soon he will send
out the chariots from the painted jaws. So the people were waiting and holding their tongues, looking
forward to see to which of the two the victory of great authority would be given by the events. In the
meantime the white sun has gone down to the depths of night. Then the clear light thrust out with its
rays; and at the same time from far on high a most beautiful prophet of a bird ew at the left, at the same
time as the gold sun rose. Three or four holy birds y down from the heavens, and establish themselves
on places that are auspicious and beautiful. From that Romulus sees that the established seat and throne
of supreme power have been given to him as his own.
Grammar
31 The Perfect System.
The perfect system is comparable in tenses and moods to the present system. Its basic meaning is a state as
a result of completed action. In many ways the difference is comparable to that in English. The past or
imperfect simply indicates a situation or an action in past time; the perfect however has the additional
connotation of completed action. We can say: "I went to town yesterday" but not "I have gone to town
yesterday". The speci cation provided by the adverb "yesterday" does not permit a verbal form that indicates a
state. At times, then, the Latin perfect may be translated with a present tense form.
32 The Perfect Tense forms of the rst conjugation verb dono an the rst singular forms of the three other
conjugations.
1st conjugation
1 sg dōnāvī dōnāverim dōnātus sum dōnātus sim
2 sg dōnāvistī dōnāveris dōnātus es dōnātus sīs
3 sg dōnāvit dōnāverit dōnātus est dōnātus sit
1 pl dōnāvimus dōnāverīmus dōnātī sumus dōnātī sīmus
2 pl dōnāvistis dōnaverītis dōnātī estis dōnātī sītis
3 pl dōnāvērunt dōnāverint dōnātī sunt dōnātī sint
2nd conjugation
1 sg habuī habuerim habitus sum habitus sim
3rd conjugation
1 sg tēxī tēxerim tēctus sum tēctus sim
4th conjugation
1 sg audīvī audīverim audītus sum audītus sim
33 The Pluperfect Tense forms of the rst conjugation verb dōnō, and the rst singular forms of the three other
conjugations.
1st conjugation
1 sg dōnāveram dōnāvissem dōnātus eram dōnātus essem
2 sg dōnāverās dōnāvissēs dōnātus erās dōnātus essēs
3 sg dōnāverat dōnāvisset dōnātus erat dōnātus esset
1 pl dōnāverāmus dōnāvissēmus dōnātī erāmus dōnātī essēmus
2 pl dōnāverātis dōnāvissētis dōnātī erātis dōnātī essētis
3 pl dōnāverant dōnāvissent dōnātī erant dōnātī essent
2nd conjugation
1 sg habueram habuissem habitus eram habitus essem
3rd conjugation
1 sg tēxeram tēxissem tēctus eram tēctus essem
4th conjugation
1 sg audīveram audīvissem audītus eram audītus essem
N.B. The full form for the 4th conjugation, Active voice, Indicative mood, Pluperfect tense is exempli ed above
by audiveram; however, according to Leumann et al., Vol. I., p. 598, the -v- has often been omitted since the time
of Plautus. Therefore, Pluperfect forms such as audieram may be observed in later texts, like the one in our
Lesson 10.
34 The Future Perfect Tense forms of the rst conjugation verb dono, and the rst singular forms of the three
other conjugations.
1st conjugation
1 sg dōnāverō dōnātus erō
2 sg dōnāveris dōnātus eris
3 sg dōnāverit dōnātus erit
1 pl dōnāverimus dōnātī erimus
2 pl dōnāveritis dōnātī eritis
3 pl dōnāverint dōnātī erunt
2nd conjugation
1 sg habuerō habitus erō
3rd conjugation
1 sg tēxerō tēctus erō
4th conjugation
1 sg audīverō audītus erō
35 The forms of the Perfect In nitive and Participle, with a brief statement on irregular conjugations.
In nitive Participle
1st conjugation
perf dōnāvisse dōnātus
2nd conjugation
perf habuisse habitus
3rd conjugation
perf tēxisse tēctus
4th conjugation
perf audīvisse audītus
These forms have been given to provide an overview of the conjugations. A few statements provide
information on additional patterns.
1. As we have noted, deponent verbs have the forms of the passive.

2. Some common verbs have irregular forms. These are given in dictionaries; as examples, a few are given
here with their principal parts.
dō, dedī, datum, dare 'give'
eō, iī, itum, īre 'go'
ferō, tulī, lātum ferre 'bear'
fiō, factus, fierī 'become'
possum, potuī, posse 'be able'
volō, voluī, velle 'wish'
3. The in ections are best determined from grammars.
Latin Online
Lesson 8
St. Augustine -- Aurelius Augustinus -- was born in North Africa at Tagaste in Numidia on November 13, 354
A.D. He was trained to be a rhetorician. While his mother was a Christian, he did not adopt Christianity until
387. In 395 he became Bishop of Hippo, and lived there until his death. With Ambrose, Jerome, and Gregory the
Great he is considered one of the four great Fathers of the Church. Among his other notable works are De
Doctrina Christiana and the City of God.
This section is a part of Book I, Section 8 of the Confessions. In Book I, St. Augustine describes his childhood.
This section is remarkable for its account of his learning to talk. Few authors reach back into their infancy as
St. Augustine does. Somewhat earlier in Book I, he notes that as an infant he was unable to communicate
effectively. He would toss about his limbs and utter sounds that corresponded to his wishes, but others were
unable to understand him. The selection may also illustrate how he depicted his personal feelings throughout
his autobiography, an ability for which he has been greatly admired. The language is comparable with that of
the great period of Classical Latin, though written four centuries later. This selection provides an example of
conversational Latin, in contrast with the language of the previous texts.
Non enim eram infans, qui non farer, sed iam puer loquens eram.

enim -- conjunction; <enim> for, indeed -- for
eram -- verb; 1st person singular imperfect of <sum, esse, fuī> I am -- was
infans -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <infans, infantis> infant -- an infant
qui -- relative pronoun; nominative singular masculine of <qui, quae, quod> who, which, what, that -- that
farer -- deponent verb; 1st person singular imperfect subjunctive of <for, fārī, fātus sum> talk -- could talk
iam -- adverb; <iam> already -- already
puer -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <puer, pueri> boy -- boy
loquens -- deponent verb; nominative singular masculine of present participle of
<loquor, loquī, locutus sum> speak -- speaking
eram -- verb; 1st person singular imperfect of <sum, esse, fuī> I am -- I was
Et memini hoc, et unde loqui didiceram, post adverti.

memini -- defective verb; 1st person singular perfect of <memini> remember -- I remember
hoc -- demonstrative pronoun; accusative singular neuter of <hic, haec, hoc> there, this -- this
unde -- adverb; <unde> from whence -- how
loqui -- deponent verb; in nitive of <loquor, loquī, locutus sum> speak -- to speak
didiceram -- verb; 1st person singular pluperfect of <discō, discere, didicī, -> learn -- I learned
post -- adverb; <post> after -- afterwards
adverti -- verb; 1st person singular perfect of <advertō, advertere, advertī, adversum> turn to, note -- I
noted
Non enim docebant me maiores homines, praebentes mihi verba certo aliquo ordine doctrinae sicut paulo post
li eras.

enim -- conjunction; <enim> for, indeed -- for
docebant -- verb; 3rd person plural imperfect of <doceō, docēre, docuī, doctum> teach -- did...teach
me -- pronoun; accusative singular of <ego> I -- me
maiores -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of comparative of <magnus, magna, magnum> great,
large -- older
homines -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of <homo, hominis> man, human -- people
praebentes -- verb; nominative plural masculine present participle of
<praebeō, praebēre, praebuī, praebitus> offer, provide -- by providing
mihi -- pronoun; dative singular of <ego> I -- me
verba -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of <verbum, verbi> word -- words
certo -- adjective; ablative singular masculine of <certus, certa, certum> certain -- in a certain
aliquo -- pronoun adjective; ablative singular masculine of <aliqui, aliqua, aliquod> some, any -- given
ordine -- noun, masculine; ablative singular of <ordo, ordinis> order -- order
doctrinae -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <doctrina, doctrinae> teaching -- of teaching
sicut -- adverb; <sicut> as, like -- as
paulo -- adverb; <paulo> little -- a little
post -- adverb; <post> after -- later
li eras -- noun, feminine; accusative plural of <li era, li erae> letter -- (they did) the letters
Sed ego ipse mente, quem dedisti mihi, deus meus, cum gemitibus et vocibus variis et variis membrorum
motibus edere vellem sensa cordis mei, ut voluntati pareretur.

ego -- pronoun; nominative singular of <ego> I -- I
ipse -- intensive pronoun; nominative singular masculine of <ipse, ipsa, ipsum> self -- myself
mente -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <mens, mentis> mind -- with the mind
quem -- relative pronoun; accusative singular masculine of <qui, quae, quod> who, which, what, that -- that
dedisti -- verb; 2nd person singular perfect of <dō, dare, dedī, dātum> give -- thou hast given
deus -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <deus, dei> god -- God
meus -- pronoun; nominative singular masculine of <meus, mea, meum> my -- my
cum -- conjunction; <cum> since, when -- with
gemitibus -- noun, masculine; ablative plural of <gemitus, gemitus> sign, groan -- groans
vocibus -- noun, feminine; ablative plural of <vox, vocis> voice -- voices
variis -- adjective; ablative plural feminine of <varius, varia, varium> various -- various
variis -- adjective; ablative plural masculine of <varius, varia, varium> various -- with various
membrorum -- noun, neuter; genitive plural of <membrum, membri> member -- of my members
motibus -- noun, masculine; ablative plural of <motus, motus> movement -- movements
edere -- verb; in nitive of <ēdō, ēdere, ēdidī, ēditum> give out -- to express
vellem -- verb; 1st person singular imperfect subjunctive of <volō, velle, voluī> wish, determine -- I might
wish
sensa -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of <sensa, sensorum> ideas -- the ideas
cordis -- noun, neuter; genitive singular of <cor, cordis> heart -- heart
mei -- pronoun; genitive singular neuter of <meus, mea, meum> my -- of my
voluntati -- noun, feminine; dative singular of <voluntas, voluntatis> will, desire -- my desire
pareretur -- verb; 3rd person singular subjunctive imperfect passive of <pāreō, parēre, pāruī, -> comply --
were in accordance with
Nec valerem quae volebam omnia nec quibus volebam omnibus.
nec -- adverb; <nec> neither ... nor -- neither

valerem -- verb; 1st person singular imperfect subjunctive of <valeō, valēre, valuī, -> be able -- I was not
able (to express)
quae -- relative pronoun; accusative plural neuter of <qui, quae, quod> who, which, what, that -- that
volebam -- verb; 1st person singular imperfect of <volō, velle, voluī> wish, determine -- I wanted
omnia -- adjective; accusative plural neuter of <omnis, omnis, omne> all -- all the things
nec -- adverb; <nec> neither ... nor -- nor
quibus -- relative pronoun; ablative plural neuter of <qui, quae, quod> who, which, what, that -- with (the
expressions)
volebam -- verb; 1st person singular imperfect of <volō, velle, voluī> wish, determine -- I wished
omnibus -- adjective; ablative plural neuter of <omnis, omnis, omne> all -- all
Pensabam memoria.
pensabam -- verb; 1st person singular imperfect of <pēnsō, pēnsāre, pēnsāvī, pēnsātus> weigh, ponder -- I
pondered
memoria -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <memoria, memoriae> memory, remembrance -- in
remembrance
Cum ipsi appellabant rem aliquam et cum secundum eam vocem corpus ad aliquid movebant, videbam et
tenebam hoc ab eis vocari rem illam, quod sonabant, cum eam vellent ostendere.

ipsi -- intensive pronoun; nominative plural masculine of <ipse, ipsa, ipsum> self -- they
appellabant -- verb; 3rd person plural imperfect of <appellō, appellāre, appellāvī, appellātum> call --
designated
rem -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <res, rei> thing, matter -- thing
aliquam -- pronoun adjective; accusative singular feminine of <aliqui, aliqua, aliquod> some, any -- any
secundum -- preposition; <secundum> following -- after
eam -- demonstrative pronoun; accusative singular feminine of <is, ea, id> him, her, this -- that
vocem -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <vox, vocis> voice -- sound
corpus -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <corpus, corporis> body -- (their) body
aliquid -- inde nite pronoun; accusative singular neuter of <aliquis, aliquis, aliquid> anyone -- something
movebant -- verb; 3rd person plural imperfect of <moveō, movēre, mōvi, mōtus> move -- they moved
videbam -- verb; 1st person singular imperfect of <videō, vidēre, vīdī, vīsum> see -- I observed
tenebam -- verb; 1st person singular imperfect of <teneō, tenēre, tenuī, -> hold, control, understand -- I
understood
ab -- preposition; <ab> from, after -- by
eis -- demonstrative pronoun; ablative plural masculine of <is, ea, id> him, her, this -- them
vocari -- verb; passive in nitive of <vocō, vocāre, vocāvī, vocātum> call -- named
rem -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <res, rei> thing, matter -- thing
illam -- demonstrative pronoun; accusative singular feminine of <ille, illa, illud> he, she, that -- that
quod -- conjunction; <quod> that, because -- in that
sonabant -- verb; 3rd person plural imperfect of <sonō, sonāre, sonuī, sonitus> pronounce -- they
pronounced (it)
eam -- demonstrative pronoun; accusative singular feminine of <is, ea, id> him, her, this -- it
vellent -- verb; 3rd person plural imperfect subjunctive of <volō, velle, voluī> wish, determine -- they
wanted
ostendere -- verb; in nitive of <ostendō, ostendere, ostendī, ostentum> show, point out -- to point out
Hoc autem eos velle, ex motu corporis aperiebatur, tamquam verbis naturalibus omnium gentium.
autem -- conjunction; <autem> but -- but
eos -- demonstrative pronoun; accusative plural masculine of <is, ea, id> him, her, this -- they
velle -- verb; in nitive of <volō, velle, voluī> wish, determine -- (they) wished (to indicate)
motu -- noun, masculine; ablative singular of <motus, motus> movement -- the movement
corporis -- noun, neuter; genitive singular of <corpus, corporis> body -- of their body
aperiebatur -- verb; 3rd person singular imperfect passive of <aperiō, aperīre, aperuī, apertum> open -- it
was disclosed
tamquam -- adverb; <tamquam> just as, as if -- as if it were
verbis -- noun, neuter; ablative plural of <verbum, verbi> word -- by the ... words
naturalibus -- adjective; ablative plural neuter of <naturalis, naturalis, naturale> natural -- natural
omnium -- adjective; genitive plural feminine of <omnis, omnis, omne> all -- of all
gentium -- noun, feminine; genitive plural of <gens, gentis> race, clan -- peoples
Quae fiunt vultu et nutu oculorum ceterorumque membrorum actu et sonitu vocis indicante affectionem animi
in petendis, habendis, reiciendis fugiendisve rebus.
quae -- relative pronoun; nominative plural neuter of <qui, quae, quod> who, which, what, that -- which
fiunt -- defective verb; 3rd person plural present of <fio, fierī> be made -- are made
vultu -- noun, masculine; ablative singular of <vultus, vultus> expression, face -- by facial expression
nutu -- noun, masculine; ablative singular of <nutus, nutus> nod, expression -- by the cast
oculorum -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of <oculus, oculi> eye -- of the eyes
ceterorumque -- adjective; genitive plural neuter of <ceteri, ceterae, cetera> other + conjunction; <-que> and
-- and of other
membrorum -- noun, neuter; genitive plural of <membrum, membri> member -- members
actu -- noun, masculine; ablative singular of <actus, actus> gesture, expression -- by the action
sonitu -- noun, masculine; ablative singular of <sonitus, sonitus> sound -- by the sound
vocis -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <vox, vocis> voice -- of the voice
indicante -- verb; ablative singular masculine of present participle of
<indicō, indicāre, indicāvī, indicātum> indicate -- indicating
affectionem -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <affectio, affectionis> affection -- the feelings
animi -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of <animus, animi> soul, mind -- of the mind
petendis -- verbal adjective; ablative plural feminine of <petō, petere, petīvī, petītum> seek -- seeking
habendis -- verb; ablative plural feminine of present participle of <habeō, habēre, habuī, habitum> have --
possessing
reiciendis -- verb; ablative plural feminine of present participle of <rēiciō, rēicere, rējēcī, rējectum> push
back, reject -- rejecting
fugiendisve -- verb; ablative plural feminine of present participle of <fugiō, fūgī> ee, avoid + conjunction;
<-ve> or -- avoiding
rebus -- noun, feminine; ablative plural of <res, rei> thing, matter -- things
Ita verba in variis sententiis locis suis posita et crebro audita quarum rerum signa essent paulatim colligebam.
ita -- adverb; <ita> thus -- in this way

verba -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of <verbum, verbi> word -- words
variis -- adjective; ablative plural feminine of <varius, varia, varium> various -- various
sententiis -- noun, feminine; dative plural of <sententia, sententiae> sentence -- sentences
locis -- noun, masculine; dative plural of <locus, loci> place -- places
suis -- possessive pronoun; dative plural masculine of <suus, sua, suum> own -- in their proper
posita -- verb; accusative plural neuter of perfect participle passive of <pōnō, ponere, posuī, positum>
place, situate -- put
crebro -- adverb; <crebro> frequently, often -- often
audita -- verb; accusative plural neuter of perfect participle passive of <audiō, audīre, audīvī, audītum>
hear -- heard
quarum -- relative pronoun; genitive plural feminine of <qui, quae, quod> who, which, what, that -- of which
rerum -- noun, feminine; genitive plural of <res, rei> thing, matter -- things
signa -- noun, neuter; nominative plural of <signum, signi> sign -- signs
essent -- verb; 3rd person plural imperfect subjunctive of <sum, esse, fuī> I am -- they were
paulatim -- adverb; <paulatim> gradually -- gradually
colligebam -- verb; 1st person singular imperfect of <colligō, collēgī, colligere, collēctum> collect -- I
collected
Edomito in eis signis ore, per haec enuntiabam.
edomito -- verb; ablative singular neuter of perfect participle passive of

<ēdomō, edomāre, edomuī, ēdomitum> conquer, subdue -- conquered
in -- preposition; <in> in, on -- to
eis -- demonstrative pronoun; dative plural neuter of <is, ea, id> him, her, this -- those
signis -- noun, neuter; dative plural of <signum, signi> sign -- signs
ore -- noun, neuter; ablative singular of <os, oris> mouth -- mouth
per -- preposition; <per> through, by -- by means of
haec -- demonstrative pronoun; accusative plural neuter of <hic, haec, hoc> there, this -- them
enuntiabam -- verb; 1st person singular imperfect of <ēnūntiō, ēnūtiāre, ēnuntiāvī, ēnuntiātum> speak,
express -- I expressed myself
Sic cum his, inter quos eram, voluntatum enuntiandarum signa communicavi.
sic -- adverb; <sic> so, thus -- So

his -- demonstrative pronoun; ablative plural masculine of <hic, haec, hoc> there, this -- those
quos -- relative pronoun; accusative plural masculine of <qui, quae, quod> who, which, what, that -- whom
eram -- verb; 1st person singular imperfect of <sum, esse, fuī> I am -- I was
voluntatum -- noun, feminine; genitive plural of <voluntas, voluntatis> will, desire -- of the desires
enuntiandarum -- verbal adjective; genitive plural feminine of <ēnūntiō, ēnūtiāre, ēnuntiāvī, ēnuntiātum>
speak, express -- to be expressed (by me)
signa -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of <signum, signi> sign -- signs
communicavi -- verb; 1st person singular perfect of
<commūnicō, commūnicāre, commūnicāvī, commūnicātum> communicate -- I communicated
Lesson Text
Non enim eram infans, qui non farer, sed iam puer loquens eram. Et memini hoc, et unde loqui
didiceram, post adverti. Non enim docebant me maiores homines, praebentes mihi verba certo aliquo
ordine doctrinae sicut paulo post li eras. Sed ego ipse mente, quem dedisti mihi, deus meus, cum
gemitibus et vocibus variis et variis membrorum motibus edere vellem sensa cordis mei, ut voluntati
pareretur. Nec valerem quae volebam omnia nec quibus volebam omnibus. Pensabam memoria. Cum
ipsi appellabant rem aliquam et cum secundum eam vocem corpus ad aliquid movebant, videbam et
tenebam hoc ab eis vocari rem illam, quod sonabant, cum eam vellent ostendere. Hoc autem eos velle, ex
motu corporis aperiebatur, tamquam verbis naturalibus omnium gentium. Quae fiunt vultu et nutu
oculorum ceterorumque membrorum actu et sonitu vocis indicante affectionem animi in petendis,
habendis, reiciendis fugiendisve rebus. Ita verba in variis sententiis locis suis posita et crebro audita
quarum rerum signa essent paulatim colligebam. Edomito in eis signis ore, per haec enuntiabam. Sic cum
his, inter quos eram, voluntatum enuntiandarum signa communicavi.
Translation
For I was no longer an infant that could not speak, but was already a speaking boy. And I remember this
well and later noted how I rst learned to speak. The older people did not teach me by providing words to
me in a certain given order of instruction, as they did the letters later. But by the mind that Thou, my God,
gave me, I on my own with grunts, varieties of voices and various motions of my body tried to express the
ideas of my heart, that were in accordance with my desires. But I neither could express everything I
wanted to, nor with all the expressions I wanted. Then I pondered when remembering. When they
designated a thing, and when after that they moved their body toward something, I observed it and
understood that this was the thing named by them in that they pronounced it when they wanted to point it
out. And that they meant this or that thing was discovered by me through the motion of their body, as by
the natural words (language) of all peoples. These are made by facial expression and by the cast of the
eyes, by the acts of other members, and by the sound of the voice indicating the feelings of the mind,
whether in desiring, enjoying, rejecting or avoiding anything. And in this way I gradually collected the
words in various sentences that were put in their proper places and often heard for the things of which
they were the signs. And when my mouth was conquered for these signs, I expressed my wishes by
means of them. In this way, I communicated with those with whom I was, the signs of the desires I
wished to express.
Grammar
36 The Declension of Substantives.
In earlier lessons, beginning with Grammar Selection 3, we have given examples of the declension of nouns. As
we noted in the grammar selections on verbs, recognition of in ected forms is especially important for
understanding Latin, since it includes few particles and much of the information for interpreting sentences is
found in in ections. By way of summary, as well as information on the in ection of adjectives, an overall
picture of substantival in ection will be given here. Since adjectives are in ected in general like nouns, though
most of them in two or three genders, they may serve to provide examples of the in ection of substantives in
general.
37 Substantives with In ections of the First and Second Declensions.

A large number of adjectives are listed in dictionaries with endings in -us, e.g. magnus 'large'. These have their
in ected forms in the masculine and neuter genders according to the second declension, in the feminine
gender according to the rst. The paradigm of magnus provides an example.
Singular Plural
Nom magnus magna magnum magnī magnae magna
Gen magnī magnae magnī magnōrum magnārum magnōrum
Dat magnō magnae magnō magnīs magnīs magnīs
Acc magnum magnam magnum magnōs magnās magna
Abl magnō magnā magnō magnīs magnīs magnīs
Most second declension nouns with stems ending in -ro- reduce the ending to -r, rather than -rus. Among them
are common nouns like puer 'boy' and vir 'man'. Apart from these forms in the nominative, they have the regular
in ections, e.g. genitives puerī and virī, etc. In the same way, parallel adjectives are listed in dictionaries with
endings in -er, e.g. dexter 'right', genitive dexterī; ruber 'red', by contrast, has the genitive rubrī.
Pronominal adjectives ending in -us have their genitive and dative singulars in ected like pronouns, that is with -
īus and -ī in the three genitives singular, e.g. solus 'alone', gen.sg. solīus, gen.sg. solī. Other examples are: totus
'whole', alīus 'other', nullus 'none', totus 'whole', unus 'one'. Similarly, those ending in -er, such as uter 'which of
two', gen. utrīus, dat. utrī, as well as alter 'the other' and neuter 'neither'.
38 Substantives with In ections of the Third Declension.

Like nouns of the third declension, adjectives in this declension have stems ending in consonants rather than in
-a and -u- < -o-. Accordingly the nominative may differ in form of stem from the other cases, e.g. acer 'sharp' but
oblique cases with stem acr-; some adjectives are regular, on the other hand, e.g. celer 'swift', celer-. The stems
may be determined from dictionary entries.
Moreover, many adjectives of the third declension are in ected in only two genders, e.g. masc. gravis, nt. grave
'heavy'. The comparatives have bases ending in -r, which is replaced by -s in the neuter nom. and acc., e.g.
melior, nt. melius, gen. melioris 'better'.
Some adjectives of the declension are in ected only in one gender; among these the present particles, such as
donans, gen. donantis 'giving'. After their stem has been determined, the in ections of these two groups are like
those of the adjectives in ected in the three genders.
Singular Plural
Nom acer acris acre acrēs acrēs acria
Gen acris acris acris acrium acrium acrium
Dat acrī acrī acrī acribus acribus acribus
Acc acrem acrem acre acrīs acrīs acria
Abl acrī acrī acrī acribus acribus acribus
By way of summary, and review of examples in previous grammar sections, examples are given here of third
declension nouns in the nominative and genitive singular with stems ending in various consonants.
Stems ending in obstruents:

masc. princeps, principis 'chief'; miles, militis 'soldier'; pēs, pedis 'foot'; rex, regis 'king; neut. caput, capitis 'head';
cor, cordis 'heart'.
Stems ending in resonants:

masc. pater, patris 'father'; victor, victoris 'victor'; consul, consulis 'consul; neut. ebur, eboris 'ivory'; tuber, tuberis
'swelling'.
Stems ending in nasals:
masc. sermo, sermonis 'speech'; fem. virgo, virginis 'virgin'; neut. nomen, nominis 'name'.
Stems ending in -s, most of which are neuters:
genus, generis 'race'; corpus, corporis 'body'; masc. flōs, flōris ' ower'; fem. tellus, telluris 'earth'.
Stems ending in -i, most of which are masculine or feminine:
The nominative ends in -is, like the genitive, e.g. finis 'end, gen. finis; and the genitive plural ends in -ium, e.g.
finium. Neuters may have no ending, e.g. animal 'animal, animalis, gen.pl. animalium. Similarly, adjectives of
the third declension have their genitive plural ending in -ium, as in the paradigm of acer above.
The third declension also includes irregular nouns. Among these are vīs 'force, acc.sg. vim, nom.pl. vīres; bōs
'cow' gen.sg. bovis, nom.pl. boves; Iuppiter 'Jupiter', gen.sg. Iovis.
The in ection of nouns in the fourth and fth declensions has been given in Grammar Selection 13. These
declensions have no adjectives.
The chief purpose for a reading knowledge of noting the declensions is to determine the form given in
dictionaries. It is given with additional forms that illustrate the rest of the declined forms.
39 Comparison of Adjectives.
As in English, there are three degrees of comparison: Positive, Comparative and Superlative. Adjectives are
listed in dictionaries in their Positive form, e.g. gravis 'heavy'. The Comparative has two endings, in accordance
with such adjectives in the third declension, e.g. masc. and fem. gravior, neut. gravius 'heavier'. The superlative
is made with the -issimus ending, and in ected in accordance with adjectives in the rst and second
declensions.
In Classical Latin the construction of the Comparative with a Standard has that indicated by quam 'than', e.g.
gravior quam aquā 'heavier than water'. The Standard is often in the ablative case, which in the rst declension
has a long -a ending. In older Latin, and occasionally in Classical Latin, the Standard is placed before the
Comparative form and has the ablative case, e.g. aquā gravior.
40 Formation of Adverbs.
Many adverbs are listed in dictionaries, and accordingly de ned there. When adverbs are made from adjectives
that are in ected according to the rst and second declensions, they have an -e ending, e.g. alte 'highly'. Other
endings are -(i)ter, as in graviter 'heavily', -tim as in privatim 'privatively', -um as in multum 'much'. Some adverbs
have changes in the stem, such as bene 'well' beside bonus 'good'.
Comparative and Superlative forms may be illustrated by those of alte, i.e. altius 'more highly', altissime 'most
highly'. As in English, these forms may be irregular for common adverbs, e.g. bene, melius, optime 'good, better,
best'; male, peius, pessime 'bad, worse, worst; multum, plus, plurimum 'much, more, most'.
Latin Online
Lesson 9
Einhard, author of the biography of Charlemagne, was closely involved with the church. Born about 770 and
died on 14 March 840, he was singled out for his capabilities by his abbot, Baugulf, and sent to the school in
the palace of Charlemagne. The head of the school was Alcuin, who was also an adviser to Charlemagne. In
this way Einhard became a member of the court, and upon the entry of Alcuin to a monastery he became his
successor in the school. He remained close to Charlemagne until his death in 814, and then continued as
adviser to the following rulers until he, too, entered a monastery around 820. While his Vita Karoli Magni is his
most highly regarded work, other writings of his have survived, among them many letters.

This selection is from the second part of Einhard's brief biography, which deals with the personal qualities of
the emperor. In the rst part he described Charlemagne's military and diplomatic undertakings. These were
highly successful, leading to the expansion and establishment of the Frankish state. While the rst part is of
interest for the history of the period, the second provides interesting information about Charlemagne's
capabilities and more general activities, such as his support of the indigenous language. Among other
contributions, he devised Frankish names for the months, such as Uuintarmanoth for January, Ostarmanoth for
April, and so on. He also identi ed twelve winds in place of the earlier four, and gave them names as well. The
work ends with a lengthy account of his will.
Erat eloquentia copiosus et exuberans poteratque quicquid vellet apertissime exprimere.
erat -- verb; 3rd person singular imperfect of <sum, esse, fuī> I am -- He was
eloquentia -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <eloquentia, eloquentiae> eloquence -- in eloquence
copiosus -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <copiosus, copiosa, copiosum> rich -- outstanding
exuberans -- defective verb; nominative singular masculine of present participle of
<exūberō, exūberāre, -, -> be abundant -- superb
poteratque -- verb; 3rd person singular imperfect of <possum, posse, potuī> be able + conjunction; <-que>
and -- and could
quicquid -- inde nite pronoun; accusative singular neuter of <quisquis, quaeque, quicquid> whoever,
whatever -- whatever
vellet -- verb; 3rd person singular imperfect subjunctive of <volō, velle, voluī> wish, determine -- he wished
apertissime -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of superlative of <apertus, aperta, apertum> open
-- very clearly
exprimere -- verb; in nitive of <exprimō, exprimere, expressī, expressum> express -- express
Nec patrio tantum sermone contentus, etiam peregrinis linguis ediscendis operam impendit.
nec -- adverb; <nec> neither ... nor -- And not

patrio -- adjective; ablative singular masculine of <patrius, patria, patrium> paternal -- with ...native
tantum -- adverb; <tantum> only -- only
sermone -- noun, masculine; ablative singular of <sermo, sermonis> language -- language
contentus -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <contentus, contenta, contentum> content --
satis ed
etiam -- adverb; <etiam> also, even -- also
peregrinis -- adjective; ablative plural feminine of <peregrinus, peregrini> foreign -- foreign
linguis -- noun, feminine; ablative plural of <lingua, linguae> tongue, language -- languages
ediscendis -- ablative plural feminine of gerund(ive) of; <ēdiscō, ēdiscere, ēdidici, -> learn, memorize -- in
learning
operam -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <opera, operae> work, service, attention -- effort
impendit -- verb; 3rd person singular perfect of <impendō, impendere, impendī, impēnsum> expend,
devote -- expended
In quibus Latinam ita didicit, ut aeque illa ac patria lingua orare sit solitus, Graecam vero melius intellegere
quam pronuntiare poterat.
in -- preposition; <in> in, on -- Among

quibus -- relative pronoun; dative plural feminine of <qui, quae, quod> who, which, what, that -- which
Latinam -- adjective; accusative singular feminine of <Latinus, Latina, Latinum> Latin -- Latin
ita -- adverb; <ita> thus -- so (well)
didicit -- verb; 3rd person singular perfect of <discō, discere, didicī, -> learn -- knew
aeque -- adverb; <aeque> equally -- to the same extent
illa -- demonstrative pronoun; ablative singular feminine of <ille, illa, illud> he, she, that -- it
patria -- adjective; ablative singular feminine of <patrius, patria, patrium> paternal -- (his) native
lingua -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <lingua, linguae> tongue, language -- language
orare -- verb; in nitive of <ōrō, ōrāre, ōrāvī, ōrātum> speak -- to speak
sit -- verb; 3rd person singular subjunctive present of <sum, esse, fuī> I am -- he was
solitus -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <solitus, solita, solitum> accustomed -- accustomed
Graecam -- adjective; accusative singular feminine of <Graecus, Graeca, Graecum> Greek -- Greek
vero -- adverb; <vero> truly, but -- but
melius -- adverb; <melius> better -- better
intellegere -- verb; in nitive of <intellegō, intellegere, intellēxī, intellēctum> understand -- understand
pronuntiare -- verb; in nitive of <pronuntiō, pronuntiāre, pronuntiāvī, pronuntiātum> pronounce -- speak
poterat -- verb; 3rd person singular imperfect of <possum, posse, potuī> be able -- he could
Adeo quidem facundus erat, ut etiam dicaculus appareret.
adeo -- adverb; <adeo> so, so much -- so

quidem -- adverb; <quidem> in fact, even -- in fact
facundus -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <facundus, facunda, facundum> uent, eloquent --
eloquent
erat -- verb; 3rd person singular imperfect of <sum, esse, fuī> I am -- He was
etiam -- adverb; <etiam> also, even -- rather
dicaculus -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <dicaculus, dicacula, dicaculum> effusive --
effusive
appareret -- verb; 3rd person singular imperfect subjunctive of <appāreō, apparēre, apparuī, -> be visible,
seem -- seemed
Artes liberales studiosissime coluit, earumque doctores plurimum veneratus magnis adficiebat honoribus.
artes -- noun, feminine; accusative plural of <ars, artis> skill, art -- arts
liberales -- adjective; accusative plural feminine of <liberalis, liberalis, liberale> liberal -- (the) liberal
studiosissime -- adverb; superlative of <studiosus, studiosa, studiosum> eager, studious -- very studiously
coluit -- verb; 3rd person singular perfect of <colō, colere, coluī, cultum> dwell in, cultivate -- He cultivated
earumque -- demonstrative pronoun; genitive plural feminine of <is, ea, id> him, her, this + conjunction;
<-que> and -- and ... of them
doctores -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <doctor, doctoris> teacher -- the instructors
plurimum -- adverb; <plurimum> very much, especially -- especially
veneratus -- deponent verb; perfect participle passive of <veneror, venerārī, venerātus sum> honor,
venerate -- venerating
magnis -- adjective; ablative plural masculine of <magnus, magna, magnum> great, large -- with great
adficiebat -- verb; 3rd person singular imperfect of <adficiō, adficere, adfēcī, adfectum> a ict -- he treated
honoribus -- noun, masculine; ablative plural of <honos, honoris> honor, distinction -- honors
In discenda grammatica Petrum Pisanum diaconem senem audivit.
in -- preposition; <in> in, on -- For the purpose of

discenda -- verbal adjective; ablative singular feminine of <discō, discere, didicī, -> learn -- learning
grammatica -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <grammatica, grammaticae> grammar -- grammar
Petrum -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <Petrus, Petri> Peter -- Peter
Pisanum -- adjective; accusative singular masculine of <Pisanus, Pisana, Pisanum> Pisan -- of Pisa
diaconem -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <diaco, diaconis> deacon -- deacon
senem -- adjective; accusative singular masculine of <senex, senis> aged -- the aged
audivit -- verb; 3rd person singular perfect of <audiō, audīre, audīvī, audītum> hear -- he was taught by
In ceteris disciplinis Albinum cognomento Alcoinum, item diaconem, de Bri ania Saxonici generis hominem,
virum undecumque doctissimum praeceptorem habuit, apud quem et rethoricae et dialecticae, praecipue
tamen astronomiae ediscendae plurimum et temporis et laboris impertivit.
in -- preposition; <in> in, on -- In

ceteris -- adjective; ablative plural feminine of <ceteri, ceterae, cetera> other -- the other
disciplinis -- noun, feminine; ablative plural of <disciplina, disciplinae> discipline, education -- disciplines
Albinum -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <Albinus, Albini> Albinus -- Albinus
cognomento -- noun, neuter; ablative singular of <cognomentum, cognomenti> surname -- with the
surname
Alcoinum -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <Alcuinus, Alcuini> Alcuin -- Alcuin
item -- adverb; <item> also -- also
diaconem -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <diaco, diaconis> deacon -- a deacon
de -- preposition; <de> from, about -- from
Bri ania -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <Bri ania, Bri aniae> Britain -- Britain
Saxonici -- adjective; genitive singular neuter of <Saxonicus, Saxonici> Saxon -- of Saxon
generis -- noun, neuter; genitive singular of <genus, generis> kind, class -- race
hominem -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <homo, hominis> man, human -- a human
virum -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <vir, viri> man -- man
undecumque -- adverb; <undecumque> from every side -- in all respects
doctissimum -- adjective; accusative singular masculine superlative of <doctus, docta, doctum> learned --
the most learned
praeceptorem -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <praeceptor, praeceptoris> teacher -- as teacher
habuit -- verb; 3rd person singular perfect of <habeō, habēre, habuī, habitum> have -- he had
apud -- preposition; <apud> among, with -- with
quem -- relative pronoun; accusative singular masculine of <qui, quae, quod> who, which, what, that --
whom
rethoricae -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <rhetorica, rhetoricae> rhetoric -- rhetoric
dialecticae -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <dialectica, dialecticae> logic -- logic
praecipue -- adverb; <praecipue> chie y -- chie y
tamen -- conjunction; <tamen> nevertheless, but -- however
astronomiae -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <astronomia, astronomiae> astronomy -- astronomy
ediscendae -- verb; genitive singular feminine gerund(ive) of <ēdiscō, ēdiscere, ēdidici, -> learn, memorize --
for learning
plurimum -- adjective used as substantive; accusative singular neuter superlative of
<multus, multa, multum> many -- a great deal
temporis -- noun, neuter; genitive singular of <tempus, temporis> time -- of time
laboris -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of <labor, laboris> labor, effort -- of effort
impertivit -- verb; 3rd person singular perfect of <impertiō, impertīre, impertīvī, impertītus> devote --
devoted
Discebat artem computandi et intentione sagaci siderum cursum curiosissime rimabatur.
discebat -- verb; 3rd person singular imperfect of <discō, discere, didicī, -> learn -- He learned
artem -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <ars, artis> skill, art -- the art
computandi -- verb; genitive of gerund(ive) of <computō, computāre, computāvī, computātum> compute --
of computing
intentione -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <intentio, intentionis> effort -- effort
sagaci -- adjective; ablative singular feminine of <sagax, sagacis> keen, sagacious -- with ... keen
siderum -- noun, neuter; genitive plural of <sidus, sideris> constellation, heavenly body -- of the heavenly
bodies
cursum -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <cursus, cursus> course -- the course
curiosissime -- adverb; superlative of <curiosus, curiosa, curiosum> diligent -- most diligently
rimabatur -- deponent verb; 3rd person singular imperfect of <rimor, rimāri, rimātus sum> search, explore
-- he explored
Temptabat et scribere tabulasque et codicellos ad hoc in lecto sub cervicalibus circumferre solebat, ut, cum
vacuum tempus esset, manum li eris effigiendis adsuesceret.
temptabat -- verb; 3rd person singular imperfect of <temptō, temptāre, temptāvī, temptātum> attempt --
He tried
scribere -- verb; in nitive of <scrībō, scribere, scrīpsī, scriptum> write -- to write
tabulasque -- noun, feminine; accusative plural of <tabula, tabulae> tablet + conjunction; <-que> and -- and
...tablets
codicellos -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <codicelli, codicellorum> notebook -- notebooks
hoc -- demonstrative pronoun; ablative singular neuter of <hic, haec, hoc> there, this -- this (purpose)
in -- preposition; <in> in, on -- (to have) in
lecto -- noun, masculine; ablative singular of <lectus, lecti> bed -- bed
sub -- preposition; <sub> under -- under
cervicalibus -- noun, neuter; ablative plural of <cervical, cervicalis> pillow -- the pillows
circumferre -- verb; in nitive of <circumferō, circumferre, circumtūlī, circumlātum> carry around -- to carry
around
solebat -- verb; 3rd person singular imperfect of <sōleō, solēre, solitum> be accustomed -- he was
accustomed
vacuum -- adjective; nominative singular neuter of <vacuus, vacua, vacuum> empty, free -- free
tempus -- noun, neuter; nominative singular of <tempus, temporis> time -- time
esset -- verb; 3rd person singular imperfect subjunctive of <sum, esse, fuī> I am -- there might be
manum -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <manus, manus> hand -- (his) hand
li eris -- noun, feminine; ablative plural of <li era, li erae> letter -- letters
effigiendis -- verb; ablative plural feminine of gerund(ive) of <effingō, effingere, effinxī, effīctum> form -- at
forming
adsuesceret -- verb; 3rd person singular imperfect subjunctive of
<adsuēscō, adsuescere, adsuescēvī, adsuescētum> accustom -- he tried
Sed parum successit labor praeposterus ac sero inchoatus.

parum -- adverb; <parum> too little -- very little
successit -- verb; 3rd person singular perfect of <succēdō, succedere, successī, sucessum> enter, succeed --
had ... success
labor -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <labor, laboris> labor, effort -- (his) effort
praeposterus -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <praeposterus, praepostera, praeposterum>
unseasonable -- at the wrong time
sero -- adverb; <sero> too late -- too late
inchoatus -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <incohatus, incohata, incohatum> begun -- begun
Lesson Text
Erat eloquentia copiosus et exuberans poteratque quicquid vellet apertissime exprimere. Nec patrio
tantum sermone contentus, etiam peregrinis linguis ediscendis operam impendit. In quibus Latinam ita
didicit, ut aeque illa ac patria lingua orare sit solitus, Graecam vero melius intellegere quam pronuntiare
poterat. Adeo quidem facundus erat, ut etiam dicaculus appareret. Artes liberales studiosissime coluit,
earumque doctores plurimum veneratus magnis adficiebat honoribus. In discenda grammatica Petrum
Pisanum diaconem senem audivit. In ceteris disciplinis Albinum cognomento Alcoinum, item diaconem,
de Bri ania Saxonici generis hominem, virum undecumque doctissimum praeceptorem habuit, apud
quem et rethoricae et dialecticae, praecipue tamen astronomiae ediscendae plurimum et temporis et
laboris impertivit. Discebat artem computandi et intentione sagaci siderum cursum curiosissime
rimabatur. Temptabat et scribere tabulasque et codicellos ad hoc in lecto sub cervicalibus circumferre
solebat, ut, cum vacuum tempus esset, manum li eris effigiendis adsuesceret. Sed parum successit labor
praeposterus ac sero inchoatus.
Translation
He was outstanding in eloquence and could express excellently whatever he wished. And not satis ed
with just his paternal language, he also expended effort in learning foreign languages. Among these he
knew Latin so well that he could speak it with the same control as his native language. But Greek he
could understand better than speak. He was in fact so eloquent in speech that at times he seemed
effusive. He cultivated the liberal arts very studiously, and in the instruction of these he treated his
teachers with great honor. In learning grammar he was taught by the aged deacon, Peter the Pisan. In the
other disciplines he had as teacher Albinus, with the surname Alcuin, also a deacon, a Saxon from Britain,
a very learned man in all respects. With him he devoted effort and time to learn rhetoric and logic, but
chie y astronomy. He learned the art of computing and with keen effort he explored the course of the
heavenly bodies. He also tried to write, and was accustomed to carry about tablets and notebooks to
have under his pillow for this purpose, so that when there might be time he could apply his hand to
writing letters. But he had very little success since his work was at the wrong time and begun too late.
Grammar
41 Simple Sentences.
In the basic word order of Latin the verb stands last in the sentence, as was noted in Grammar section 1. A
fuller example than that given there is:
Aenēas ā nomine uxoris Lavinium appellat.

Aeneas calls it Lavinia from the name of his wife.
If, as here, a subject is included, it typically stands initially. Adverbial expressions and objects follow it. The
same order is found in coordinate sentences, as in this sentence from Lesson 5:
Agriculturae nōn student, maiorque pars eōrum victus in lacte, caseō, carne consistit.
They do not practice agriculture, and the major part of their food consists of milk, cheese and meat.
We have also noted that the extensive in ection of nouns and verbs enables authors to modify the basic order,
as for indicating emphasis on speci c words; the nal placement of laudem in the next example provides an
illustration.
42 Complex Sentences.
As modi ers of a basic sentence, relative clauses may precede them, as in the following example from Lesson
5:
Quī diutissime impuberēs permanserunt, maximum inter suōs ferunt laudem.

Those who remain chaste longest have the greatest praise among them.
When modifying speci c nouns, on the other hand, relative clauses may follow, e.g.
Nam neque druidēs habent, quī rebus divinīs praesint.

For they do not have Druids who preside over religious matters.
Subordinate clauses introduced by conjunctions also may follow the basic clause, e.g.
Cūius reī nulla est occultatio, quod et promiscue in fluminibus perluntur.

Nothing of this matter is hidden, because they bathe promiscuously in rivers.
43 The Use of In nitives.

In nitives may stand as complements to verbs, as in English, as in this example from lesson 6:
Solent et subterraneōs specūs aperire.

They are also accustomed to open up underground caves.
In such uses, they may correspond to subordinate clauses, as in this example from Lesson 8:
Hoc autem eos velle, ex motu corporis aperiabatur.

But that they wished this was apparent from the motion of their body.
A favorite construction in Latin is made by using accusatives as subjects of in nitives, in the so-called
accusative with in nitive construction, e.g. Lesson 5:
Hōc alī staturam, alī vires nervōsque confirmārī putant.

Some think that height, others that sinews are strengthened by this.
44 Uses of Participles.
Participles are used as substantives, chie y as adjectives. Since the perfect passive forms consist of the
perfect participle passive with forms of esse 'be', such participles may be used alone, in view of the fact that
forms of esse are often elided, as in this example from Lesson 1:
Inde foedus ictum inter ducēs.

Then a treaty was struck by the leaders.
Participles are also used frequently with nouns as abbreviations of subordinate clauses in the ablative absolute
construction, as in the following examples from Lesson 1:
crematā patriā
their fatherland had been burned
dextrā datā
(right hand given) He gave him his right hand.
45 Lengthy Sentences.
Sentences may be long and complex, especially in the writings of the historians. Caesar writes more succinctly.
For understanding the complex sentences, one must simply identify individual clauses and interpret them in
turn, as in the following example from Lesson 1:
Postquam audierit multitudinem Trōiānōs esse, ducem Aeneam, filium Anchisae et Veneris, crematā
patriā domō profugōs sedem condendaeque urbī locum quaerere.
After the initial clause, Postquam audierit, there is a construction of the accusative with in nitive: multitudinem
Trōiānōs esse. This is followed by a clause in which the verb is lacking, and that in turn by an appositive clause:
ducem Aeneam, filium ... The next two words make up an ablative absolute construction: crematā patriā. These
are followed by two clauses in which the verbs are participles. And nally there is another in nitive clause
introduced by the verb audierit.
As edited in Lesson 1, this is treated here as a complete sentence; but strictly speaking it is actually a
subordinate clause introduced by postquam, that stands before the basic clause: fidem ... sanxisse 'he enacted a
pledge'. That in turn includes a number of subordinate clauses or their variants. Once again, the key to
understanding such complex sentences is provided by the in ections.
Latin Online
Lesson 10
The great epic poet, Virgil -- Virgilius Maro -- was born on October 15, 70 B.C. in Cisalpine Gaul, where his father
reputedly had a small estate. He received an excellent education, after which he returned to the estate and
began his writings. Besides the Aeneid, these include the Eclogues and the Georgica. He later became an
intimate of the court of the Emperor, Caesar Augustus, and thanks to his patronage was able to enjoy a life of
leisure. Among other friends, he was highly respected by Horace. He died on September 22, 19 B.C. in
Brundisium, in the company of the Emperor on their return to Italy from Athens.
The Aeneid was the last of his great works. With its glori cation of the founders of Rome, it re ects his
attachment to the Roman court. Written in hexameters, it is patterned after the Homeric epics. These begin
with a word characterizing them -- the Iliad with the word for wrath, the Odyssey with the word for man. Virgil
innovated by giving two words as indicating the central content of the epic -- arms and the man. Milton
followed him in this respect, beginning Paradise Lost with the line: Of man's rst disobedience and the fruit of
that forbidden tree... The Aeneid was widely read throughout the Middle Ages and later. In earlier times, every
educated person could recite its beginning verses. There are numerous translations into verse and prose --
among those into verse, one by John Dryden published in 1697, and another by William Morris published in
1875. There are also numerous editions and commentaries.

The Aeneid builds on the tradition of the founding of Rome as depicted by Livy in the texts of the rst two
lessons of LATOL, especially the rst. Ascribing the early era to one of the Trojan heroes, it provides a similar
function as that of the Homeric epics for the Greeks in proposing a long and illustrious history of the Romans.
The rst six books with their climax in the stay of Aeneas with Dido and then his departure from her
foreshadow the con ict between Rome and Carthage. The sixth book includes the visit of Aeneas to Hades,
where he sees Dido, but she disdains him after her suicide. The book is said to have greatly in uenced Dante in
his production of The Divine Comedy. The second six books deal with the landing in Latium and the conquest of
Italy by Aeneas, which was accomplished in twenty days. But as with Livy, the gap between the arrival of
Aeneas in Italy, presumably in the twelfth century, and the actual founding of Rome by Romulus, presumably in
the eighth, is passed over. Aeneas himself was killed in a battle; his body was not found, and by one tradition it
was assumed that he was carried up to heaven.
Arma virumque cano, Trojae qui primus ab oris

Italiam fato profugus Laviniaque venit
Litora -- multum ille et terris jactatus et alto
Vi superum, saevae memorem Junonis ob iram,
Multa quoque et bello passus, dum conderet urbem
Inferretque deos Latio -- genus unde Latinum
Albanique patres atque altae moenia Romae.
arma -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of <arma, armorum> arms -- arms

virumque -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <vir, viri> man + conjunction; <-que> and -- and a
man
cano -- verb; 1st person singular present of <canō, canere, cecinī, cantum> sing -- I sing about
Trojae -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <Troja, Trojae> Troy -- of Troy
qui -- relative pronoun; nominative singular masculine of <qui, quae, quod> who, which, what, that -- who
primus -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <primus, prima, primum> rst -- as the rst
oris -- noun, feminine; ablative plural of <ora, orae> mouth, boundary, coast -- the coasts
Italiam -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <Italia, Italiae> Italy -- to Italy
fato -- noun, neuter; ablative singular of <fatum, fati> fate, divine utterance -- by fate
profugus -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <profugus, profuga, profugum> fugitive -- in ight
Laviniaque -- adjective; accusative plural neuter of <Lavinius, Lavinia, Lavinium> Lavinian + conjunction;
<-que> and -- and to the Lavinian
venit -- verb; 3rd person singular perfect of <veniō, venīre, vēnī, ventum> come -- came
litora -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of <litus, litoris> shore -- shores
multum -- adverb; <multum> greatly -- very much
ille -- demonstrative pronoun; nominative singular masculine of <ille, illa, illud> he, she, that -- he
terris -- noun, feminine; ablative plural of <terra, terrae> earth, land -- on land
jactatus -- verb; nominative singular masculine of perfect passive participle of
<jactō, jactāre, jactāvī, jactātum> throw -- tossed about
alto -- adjective used as substantive; ablative singular neuter of <altus, alta, altum> high, deep -- on sea
vi -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <vis, vis> power, strength -- by the power
superum -- adjective used as substantive; genitive masculine plural of <superus, supera, superum> higher,
gods -- of the gods
saevae -- adjective; genitive singular feminine of <saevus, saeva, saevum> erce, cruel -- of erce
memorem -- adjective; accusative singular feminine of <memor, memoris> mindful, remembering --
relentless
Junonis -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <Juno, Junonis> Juno -- of Juno
ob -- preposition; <ob> because of -- because of
iram -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <ira, irae> anger -- anger
multa -- adjective; accusative plural neuter of <multus, multa, multum> many -- many things
quoque -- adverb; <quoque> also -- also
bello -- noun, neuter; ablative singular of <bellum, belli> war -- in battle
passus -- deponent verb; nominative singular masculine of perfect participle passive of
<patior, patī, passus sum> suffer, endure -- he suffered
dum -- conjunction; <dum> while -- while
conderet -- verb; 3rd person singular subjunctive imperfect of <condō, condere, condidī, conditum> found
-- he founded
urbem -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <urbs, urbis> city -- the city
inferretque -- verb; 3rd person singular subjunctive imperfect of <inferō, inferre, intulī, inlātum> introduce,
produce + conjunction; <-que> and -- and brought in
deos -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <deus, dei> god -- the gods
Latio -- noun, neuter; dative singular of <Latium, Latii> Latium -- to Latium
genus -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <genus, generis> kind, class -- the race
unde -- adverb; <unde> from whence -- from which place
Latinum -- adjective; accusative singular neuter of <Latinus, Latina, Latinum> Latin -- Latin
Albanique -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <Albanus, Albana, Albanum> Alban + conjunction;
<-que> and -- and the Alban
patres -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <pater, patris> father -- fathers
altae -- adjective; genitive singular feminine of <altus, alta, altum> high, deep -- of lofty
moenia -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of <moenia, moenium> walls -- the walls
Romae -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of <Roma, Romae> Rome -- Rome
Musa, mihi causas memora, quo numine laeso

Quidve dolens regina deum tot volvere casus
Insignem pietate virum, tot adire labores
Impulerit. Tantaene animis caelestibus irae?
Musa -- noun, feminine; vocative singular of <Musa, Musae> Muse -- Oh Muse,

causas -- noun, feminine; accusative plural of <causa, causae> cause, reason -- the reasons
memora -- verb; 2nd person singular imperative of <memorō, memorāre, memorāvī, memorātus> relate,
tell -- tell
quo -- interrogative pronoun; ablative singular neuter of <qui, quae, quod> which, what -- for what
numine -- noun, neuter; ablative singular of <numen, numinis> authority -- authority
laeso -- verb; perfect participle passive of <laedō, laedere, laesī, laesum> strike, offend -- offended
quidve -- interrogative pronoun; accusative singular neuter of <quis, quis, quid> who, what + conjunction;
<-ve> or -- or ... what
dolens -- verb; nominative singular feminine of present participle of <doleō, dolēre, doluī, dolitum> suffer,
be angry -- angry
regina -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of <regina, reginae> queen -- queen
deum -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of <deus, dei> god -- of the gods
tot -- adjective number; <tot> so much, so many -- so many
volvere -- verb; in nitive of <volvō, volvere, volvī, volūtum> pass through, undergo -- to undergo
casus -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <casus, casus> fall, misfortune, chance -- misfortunes
insignem -- adjective; accusative singular masculine of <insignis, insignis, insigne> distinguished --
distinguished
pietate -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <pietas, pietatis> piety -- for piety
virum -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <vir, viri> man -- a man
tot -- adjective number; <tot> so much, so many -- so many
adire -- verb; in nitive of <adeō, adīre, adiī, adītum> approach, encounter -- to encounter
labores -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <labor, laboris> labor, effort -- hardships
impulerit -- verb; 3rd person singular perfect of <impellō, impellere, impulī, impulsum> drive, move --
drove
tantaene -- adjective; nominative plural feminine of <tantus, tanta, tantum> such + interrogative adverb;
<-ne> ... -- Are such
animis -- noun, masculine; dative plural of <animus, animi> soul, mind -- minds
caelestibus -- adjective; dative plural feminine of <caelestis, caelestis, caeleste> celestial -- in the celestial
irae -- noun, feminine; nominative plural of <ira, irae> anger -- angers
Urbs antiqua fuit (Tyrii tenuere coloni)

Karthago, Italiam contra Tiberinaque longe
Ostia, dives opum studiisque asperrima belli.
urbs -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of <urbs, urbis> city -- city

antiqua -- adjective; nominative singular feminine of <antiquus, antiqua, antiquum> ancient -- an ancient
fuit -- verb; 3rd person singular perfect of <sum, esse, fuī> I am -- There was
Tyrii -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of <Tyrius, Tyria, Tyrium> Tyrian -- Tyrian
tenuere -- verb; 3rd person plural perfect of <teneō, tenēre, tenuī, -> hold, control, understand -- controlled
coloni -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of <colonus, coloni> farmer, settler -- settlers
Karthago -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of <Karthago, Karthaginis> Carthage -- Carthage
Italiam -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <Italia, Italiae> Italy -- Italy
contra -- preposition; <contra> opposite, facing -- opposite
Tiberinaque -- adjective; accusative plural neuter of <Tiberinus, Tiberina, Tiberinum> of Tiber +
conjunction; <-que> and -- and the Tiberine
longe -- adverb; <longe> by far -- and far from
ostia -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of <ostium, ostii> mouth, entrance -- the mouths
dives -- adjective; nominative singular feminine of <dives, divitis> rich -- rich in
opum -- noun, feminine; genitive plural of <ops, opis> assistance, wealth, resources -- wealth
studiisque -- noun, neuter; ablative plural of <studium, studii> application, study + conjunction; <-que> and
-- and the ... pursuits
asperrima -- adjective; nominative singular feminine superlative of <asper, aspera, asperum> rough, harsh
-- harshest
belli -- noun, neuter; genitive singular of <bellum, belli> war -- of war
quam Juno fertur terris magis omnibus unam

posthabita coluisse Samo: hic illius arma,
hic currus fuit; hoc regnum dea gentibus esse,
si qua fata sinant, iam tum tenditque fovetque.
quam -- relative pronoun; accusative singular feminine of <qui, quae, quod> who, which, what, that -- It
Juno -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of <Juno, Junonis> Juno -- Juno
fertur -- verb; 3rd person singular present passive of <ferō, ferre, tulī, lātum> bear, carry -- is said
terris -- noun, feminine; ablative plural of <terra, terrae> earth, land -- lands
magis -- adverb; <magis> more -- more than
omnibus -- adjective; ablative plural feminine of <omnis, omnis, omne> all -- all
unam -- adjective; accusative singular feminine of <unus, una, unum> one, alone -- alone
posthabita -- verb; ablative singular feminine of perfect passive participle of
<posthabeō, posthabēre, posthabuī, posthabitum> place after, esteem less -- was esteemed less
coluisse -- verb; in nitive perfect of <colō, colere, coluī, cultum> dwell in, cultivate -- to have cherished
Samo -- noun, feminine; ablative singular of <Samos, Sami> Samos -- even Samos
hic -- adverb; <hīc> here, now -- here (were)
illius -- demonstrative pronoun; genitive singular feminine of <ille, illa, illud> he, she, that -- her
arma -- noun, neuter; nominative plural of <arma, armorum> arms -- arms
hic -- adverb; <hīc> here, now -- here
currus -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <currus, currus> chariot -- her chariot
fuit -- verb; 3rd person singular perfect of <sum, esse, fuī> I am -- was
hoc -- demonstrative pronoun; nominative singular neuter of <hic, haec, hoc> there, this -- this
regnum -- noun, neuter; nominative singular of <regnum, regni> kingship, supreme power -- the leading
kingdom
dea -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of <dea, deae> goddess -- the goddess
gentibus -- noun, feminine; dative plural of <gens, gentis> race, clan -- among the peoples
qua -- inde nite pronoun; ablative singular feminine of <quis, quis, quid> someone, anything -- by some
way
fata -- noun, neuter; nominative plural of <fatum, fati> fate, divine utterance -- the fates
sinant -- verb; 3rd person plural present subjunctive of <sinō, sinere, sīvī> permit, allow -- would permit it
iam -- adverb; <iam> already -- already
tenditque -- verb; 3rd person singular present of <tendō, tenere, tenuī, tentum> stretch, pursue +
conjunction; <-que> and -- she both pursued
fovetque -- verb; 3rd person singular present of <foveō, fovēre, fōvī, fōtum> warm, favor + conjunction;
<-que> and -- and favored it
Progeniem sed enim Troiano a sanguine duci

audierat Tyrias olim quae verteret arces.
progeniem -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <progenies, -> offspring, race -- a race
enim -- conjunction; <enim> for, indeed -- indeed
Troiano -- adjective; ablative singular masculine of <Troianus, Troiana, Troianum> Trojan -- Trojan
a -- preposition; <ab> from, after -- from
sanguine -- noun, masculine; ablative singular of <sanguis, sanguinis> blood -- blood
duci -- verb; in nitive passive of <dūcō, dūcere, dūxī, ductum> lead, consider -- would be drawn
audierat -- verb; 3rd person singular pluperfect of <audiō, audīre, audīvī, audītum> hear -- she had heard
Tyrias -- adjective; accusative plural feminine of <Tyrius, Tyria, Tyrium> Tyrian -- Tyrian
olim -- adverb; <olim> some day -- some
quae -- relative pronoun; nominative singular feminine of <qui, quae, quod> who, which, what, that -- which
verteret -- verb; 3rd person singular imperfect subjunctive of <vertō, vertere, vertī, versum> turn, overturn
-- would overturn
arces -- noun, feminine; accusative plural of <arx, arcis> citadel, fortress -- citadels
Lesson Text
Arma virumque cano, Trojae qui primus ab oris

Italiam fato profugus Laviniaque venit
Litora -- multum ille et terris jactatus et alto
Vi superum, saevae memorem Junonis ob iram,
Multa quoque et bello passus, dum conderet urbem
Inferretque deos Latio -- genus unde Latinum
Albanique patres atque altae moenia Romae.
Musa, mihi causas memora, quo numine laeso
Quidve dolens regina deum tot volvere casus
Insignem pietate virum, tot adire labores
Impulerit. Tantaene animis caelestibus irae?
Urbs antiqua fuit (Tyrii tenuere coloni)
Karthago, Italiam contra Tiberinaque longe
Ostia, dives opum studiisque asperrima belli.
quam Juno fertur terris magis omnibus unam
posthabita coluisse Samo: hic illius arma,
hic currus fuit; hoc regnum dea gentibus esse,
si qua fata sinant, iam tum tenditque fovetque.
Progeniem sed enim Troiano a sanguine duci
audierat Tyrias olim quae verteret arces.
Translation
I sing of arms and the man, who as rst (among the Romans) came from the coasts of Troy to the
Lavinian shores in ight driven by fate. Tossed about on lands and the sea by the might of the gods, he
suffered many things also in battle through the relentless anger of erce Juno as he brought the gods to
Latium, whence the Latin race and the Alban fathers and also the walls of lofty Rome.
Remind me of the causes, oh Muse, offended for what authority, or angry at what the queen of the gods
caused a man outstanding in piety to undergo so many troubles, to suffer so many labors. Are there such
angers in the celestial minds?
There was an ancient city (Tyrian colonists maintained it), Carthage, a long way opposite Italy and the
mouths of the Tiber, rich in wealth and very erce in the pursuits of war, which alone Juno is said to have
cherished more than all others, even esteeming Samos less. Here were her arms; here, her chariot. This
was the ruling power among the races for the goddess, and as the fates permitted, she favored and
supported it. But she had heard that a race from Trojan blood would at some time overturn the Tyrian
citadels.
Grammar
46 Texts.
As a result of the long and detailed attention, the texts of the Latin authors have been xed. For example, the
texts of the rst two lessons are identical in the publication by Mauritius Mueller (Leipzig: Teubner, 1892) and
that of the Loeb Classical Library published in 1919 and reprinted numerous times to 1998. And the text of
Einhard's biography of Charlemagne was xed after numerous other editions in that of O. Holder-Egger
(Hannover, 1911), which has subsequently been reprinted.
Unless a text with extensive commentary is desired, readers of the Latin texts will do well to use the editions of
the Loeb Classical Library, which have the added advantage of including translations. These are readily
available from the Harvard University Press (Cambridge, Mass. and London, England). The texts that have been
widely read in schools and universities, such as those of Caesar and Virgil, are readily available. They have been
published with introductions and commentaries, often also with glossaries. References may be found in
catalogues of libraries and publishers.
47 Grammars.
In much the same way, the grammars of Latin are based on long attention. The fullest grammar is that of Manu
Leumann, Joh. Bapt. Hofmann and Anton Szantyr, Lateinische Grammatik. I. Laut-und Formenlehre (Munich:
Beck, 1977), II. Syntax und Stilistik (Munich: Beck, 1965). For ready reference, most readers will nd useful a
shorter grammar, such as A Latin Grammar of 1903, by William Gardner Hale and Carl Darling Buck
(Tuscaloosa: Alabama University Press, 1966).
For a historical treatment, see the Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, by Carl Darling Buck (Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1933). A successor is the New Comparative Grammar of Greek and Latin, by
Andrew L. Sihler (Oxford: University Press, 1995); it is written like a novel -- no references, no bibliography.
48 Dictionaries.
Dictionaries of various extent are also readily available. A Latin Dictionary, by Charlton T. Lewis and Charles
Short (Oxford University Press, 1956) is extensive. The companion Elementary Latin Dictionary by Lewis (Oxford
University Press, 1969) is also comprehensive, and less costly.
49 Specialized handbooks.
As catalogues in libraries and in lists of the concerned publishers indicate, one may readily nd handbooks
dealing with all aspects of Roman culture and history. Among examples, the Oxford University Press (2001
Evans Road, Cary, NC 27513) has published The Oxford History of the Roman World, eds. John Boardman,
Jasper Gri n, Oswyn Murray (2001), The Oxford Illustrated History of the Roman World by the same editors
(2001), Handbook to Life in Ancient Rome, by Lesley Adkins and Roy A. Adkins (1998), Slaves and Masters in the
Roman Empire, by K.R.Bradley (1987), Rome, by M. Rostovtzeff (1960), among many other more specialized
works. References works like A Smaller Classical Dictionary, ed. E.H.Blakeney (New ork: Dutton, 1928) provide
compact entries on persons, places and things in the Roman and Greek world.
One should not overlook the essays in encyclopedias, such as those in the celebrated 13th edition of the
Encyclopedia Brittanica. These deal with various aspects of culture and history.
50 The Legacy of the Roman World.

The Roman world has exerted massive in uence on the western world, as its linguistic effects and institutions
indicate. An example is Salus Mundi 'welfare or prosperity of the world', the name of the foundation that
sponsored the present work. Among many other examples, we may cite Cursor Mundi, the name of an English
epic poem of the 13th century that sketches the history of the world according to the Old and New Testaments.
Its unidenti ed author explains the title with the lines:
Cursur of werld man aght it call

For almast it overrennes all.
(Cf. Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. 7, p. 650. London: The Encyclopedia Britannica Co., 1926, 13th ed.) Another
expression, E pluribus unum -- one out of many -- was selected as characterizing the United States. And Summa
cum laude -- with the highest praise -- indicates academic excellence.
James Bradstreet Greenough and George Lyman Kittredge state in their work Words and their Ways in English
Speech (New York: Macmillan, 1902) p. 93: "The in uence of Latin is not con ned to the technical vocabulary. It
is felt in almost every sentence that we utter. It pervades the whole system of English speech." A sentence like
the rst in this section provides ample support for the statement. They also point to the Roman numerals and
the symbol &c for Latin et cetera. Moreover, they cite doublets, like reason, ration and ratio, the rst of which was
taken from the Old French re ex of the Latin word, the second somewhat later from French in military use, and
the last directly from Latin in mathematical use.
The institutions are of lesser concern here, but as the linguistic importations indicate, they as well as our
clerical, military and educational terms are heavily based on those developed in the Roman world. Such effects
indicate excellent reasons for reading Latin texts, as promoted by this series of online lessons.

Latin

Transféré par

Informations du document

Description originale:

Copyright

Formats disponibles

Partager ce document

Partager ou intégrer le document

Options de partage

Avez-vous trouvé ce document utile ?

Ce contenu est-il inapproprié ?

Droits d'auteur :

Formats disponibles

Latin

Transféré par

Droits d'auteur :

Formats disponibles

21/11/2018 The Linguistics Research Center

1. The Latin alphabet and pronunciation.

Arma virumque canō, Trōiae qui primus ab ōris

Or the rst line of Caesar's Gallic Wars:

Gallia est omnis divisa in partēs trēs

3. The sentence structure of Latin.

4. The forms of Latin.

Nominative, the case of the subject;

Genitive, the case indicating possession -- possessive, in grammars of English

Dative, the case of the indirect object

Accusative, the case of the direct object -- objective, in grammars of English

Ablative, the case indicating separation

Case forms may also be determined by prepositions.

Latin nouns are also in ected based on --

number, that is, singular and plural.

three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter.

Sg. Pl. Sg. Pl. Sg. Pl.

Nom. via viae numerus numerī ego nōs

Gen. viae viārum numerī numerōrum meī nostrum

Dat. viae viīs numerō numerīs mihi nōbis

Acc. viam viās numerum numerōs mē nos

Abl. viā viīs numerō numerīs mē nōbis

Like nouns, verbs have many in ections based on:

active vs. passive voice;

indicative vs. subjunctive mood;

Active voice Passive voice

Indicative Subjunctive Indicative Subjunctive

laudō laudem laudor lauder

laudābam laudārem laudābar laudārer

laudāvī laudāverim laudātus sum laudātus sim

laudāveram laudāvissem laudātus eram laudātus essem

laudāvero laudātus ero

4.3 The other parts of speech.

Caesar: Vēnī, vīdī, vīcī.

Ferē libenter homines id quod volunt credunt.

Cicero: Salus populī suprema est lex.

Silent enim legēs inter arma.

Horace: Ira furor brevis est.

Integer vitae, scelerisque purus.

Dulce et decorum est pro patriā morī.

Terence: Homo sum; humanī nil ā mē alienum putō.

Nummumst iam dictum quod non dictum sit prius.

Virgil: Equō nē credite, Teucrī,

Hōs successus alit; possunt, quia posse videntur.

Related Language Courses at UT

Italic Resources Elsewhere

Our Web Links (https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/lrc/extras/links.php) page includes pointers to Italic resources

Reading and Textual Analysis

cum -- conjunction; <cum> since, when -- when

percunctatum -- deponent verb; 3rd person perfect passive indicative of

postquam -- conjunction; <postquam> after -- after

et -- conjunction; <et> and -- and

Inde foedus ictum inter duces, inter exercitus salutationem factam.

inde -- adverb; <inde> from that -- then

Aeneam apud Latinum fuisse in hospitio.

Aeneam -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of <Aeneas, Aeneae> Aeneas -- Aeneas

ibi -- adverb; <ibi> there, then -- thereupon

oppidum -- noun, neuter; accusative singular <oppidum, oppidi> city -- a city

Aeneas a nomine uxoris Lavinium appellat.

Aeneas -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Aeneas, Aeneae> Aeneas -- Aeneas

There are two numbers: singular, and plural.

Nominative, the case of the subject

Case Sg. Pl. Sg. Pl. Sg. Pl. Sg. Pl.