In Orberg LLPSI he has Dido imploring Aeneas to stay in Karthage (Orberg's marginal notes are inserted in square brackets [ ]):
'...Ego per has lacrimas, per dextram tuam, per conubium nostrum te oro: si quid bene de te merui [bene merere de aliquo = bene facere alicui], aut si tibi dulce fuit quidquam meum, miserere [misereri (alicuius) = miserari (aliquem)] mei et muta istam mentem!
Three questions:
1) ...si quid bene de te merui [bene merere de aliquo = bene facere alicui]
'...if I deserve better ....'?
2) ...aut si tibi dulce fuit quidquam meum...
...or if anything of mine done sweetly / good for you....'?
3) ...,miserere mei et muta istam mentem..
...take pity on my (mind?) and change that (your) mind...?
Now: miserere is (if his explanation in square brackets is to be followed)
a) the imperative of the passive form of :
misereo, miserere, miserui, miseritus ?
...meaning '...take pity ...!'
but then he explains the meaning as follows: misereri (alicuius) = miserari (aliquem). Trying to understand this explanation I did some digging....
'miserari' is
b) the passive infinitive of:
misero, miserare, miseravi, miseratus
c) the infinitive of the deponent:
miseror, miserari, miseratus sum
or, according to Whitakkers words....
d) miser.ere PRES PASSIVE SUB 2 S
of: misero, miserare, miseravi, miseratus V [XXXCO]
e) miser.ere V 2 1 PRES PASSIVE IND 2 S
misereo, miserere, miserui, miseritus V [XXXBO]
or
misereo, miserere, miserui, misertus V [DXXCO] Late
or
f) SUB 2 S
of: miseror, miserari, miseratus sum V DEP [XXXDO]
or
g) IND 2 S
misereor, misereri, miseritus sum V DEP [XXXBO]
or
misereor, misereri, misertus sum V DEP [DXXCO]
At which point I'm - er - a little confused....
There appear to be more forms of miser- meaning take pity than I've had hot dinners....
