style or necessity?

Are you learning Latin with Wheelock's Latin 6th Edition? Here's where you can meet other learners using this textbook. Use this board to ask questions and post your work for feedback.
Post Reply
ÓBuadhaigh
Textkit Member
Posts: 107
Joined: Sat Oct 22, 2005 8:02 pm
Location: Hibernia

style or necessity?

Post by ÓBuadhaigh »

Hi folks.

I'd be grateful for any advice on sentence 15 in the Practice and Review section of chapter 21.

The sentence reads;

Many nations which lack true peace are being destroyed by wars.

Benissimus' Key has,

Multae patriae bellis delentur quae vera pace egent.

I have,

Multae nationes, quibus pace vera caret, bellis delentur.

Is there any reason not to use 'carere' here? Is there a nuance I have missed somewhere? Also, what of my use of the relative pronoun? I trust (perhaps foolishly) that I'm ok with 'nationes' as legitimate variation.

Many thanks to any who can advise.

Séan
There are 10 types of people in the world: those who understand binary and those who don't.

User avatar
Deudeditus
Textkit Enthusiast
Posts: 425
Joined: Sun Sep 04, 2005 5:15 am
Location: The world, man.
Contact:

Post by Deudeditus »

Salve, a sheain.
I had a similar problem with carere and egere, and (I believe it was Benissimus who told me) the former only implies that the subject is without the object, while the latter implies necessity.
scientia huius terrae ille caret- that man is without knowledge of this land.
scientia huius terrae ille eget- that man needs (i.e. he doesn't have them, but he should)
http://www.nd.edu/~archives/latgramm.htm is a good site to look up words pretty quickly. you could look up natio and patria and decide which one you like best, but I would go with patria, or gens, but I don't remember if Wheelocks introduces gens in this caput, so that might not be an option.
you used the relative pronoun in the ablative, it should have been in the nominative, as it is the one 'carere-ing'. Usually, the relative phrase is at the end of the sentence, but not always.

ÓBuadhaigh
Textkit Member
Posts: 107
Joined: Sat Oct 22, 2005 8:02 pm
Location: Hibernia

Post by ÓBuadhaigh »

Many thanks, Eoin, for your help.

I did wonder about the choice of verb Benissimus made. When I had made an abitrary choice and got a different answer, the alarm bells started ringing.

Thank you, too for the relative pronoun correction. It's taken me quite a while to get my head round that one. I have the unconscious habit of 'translating' an ordinary English sentence into 'Latinised' English before translating it into Latin. I outdid myself here by mentally changing the English of that clause to, "to which true peace is lacking," rather than leaving it plain and simple.

I'll have to check out the link you offered another time 'cos we're storm bound just now and I can hardly keep an internet connection going longer than 45 seconds, without a hint of exaggeration.

Thanks again!

Slán

Séan
There are 10 types of people in the world: those who understand binary and those who don't.

Post Reply