De regulo

Latin Learning Latin
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(I feel some guilt when I post so many questions to these forums, since it seems that benissimus fields virtually all of them. I certainly don’t object to benissimus’ rapid and loyal assistance - in fact, I admire and appreciate it immensely - but I hope that he enjoys correcting and advising as much as I enjoy being corrected and advised.)

I am currently working through Regulus, the translation of Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s classic work The Little Prince. The following sentences come from the dedication and the first chapter, and I have a variety of questions about them. As always, I solicit and welcome the expertise of the gracious members of this forum!

Quod si omnes hae excuastiones non satis valebunt, morem eis geram et librum hunc ad puerum illum inscribam ex quo ad hanc aetatem adolevit.

But if all these excuses are not satisfactory, I will bear to them the habit and I will dedicate this book to that boy from which he grew to this age.

What does “morem eis geram” mean? Is that an idiom?

Tum ego de eis quae in dumetis ac paludibus illis casu fiunt multum mecum cogitavi et ipse perfeci ut miniatula cerula aliquid pingerem.

Then I thought a lot to myself about the things that took place by chance in the thickets and those swamps and I myself saw to it that I drew something with a red crayon.

Is “perficio ut (subj)” a somewhat stronger equivalent of “facio ut (subj)”?

Inter adultos homines multum versatus sum et eos ex proximo loco vidi.

I lived a while among grown ups and I saw them from the closest place.

Is “ex proximo loco” an idiom for “close up”?

Quotiens enim aliquis eorum mihi nonnullius mentis compos esse videbatur, experiebar eum adhibita prima illa pictura quam semper servavi.

For as often as one of them seemed to me to be in possession of some intelligence, I tested him, that first picture having been brought out which I had always kept.

Am I right to think that “adhibita prima illa pictura” is an ablative absolute? Obviously, there’s a better way to translate this sentence, but I was going with extreme literal.

…sed, quo facilius intellegeret, de chartulis (quam pontis lusionem vocant), de pila Scotica, de re publica focalibusque loquebar.

…But, so that he would understand more easily, I spoke of cards (which they call the game of bridge, of the Scottish ball, of the republic [politics?] and of ties.

Is “pila Scotica” a modern Latin rendering of “football”? Also, “de re publica” equivalent to “of politics”?

Ille autem multum gaudebat se cum tam sano viro consuetudinem jungere.

That one was very glad to join himself with such a sensible man (in?) habit.

Why “consuetudinem” in accusative? Accusative of respect to distinguish from “sano viro,” ablative of characteristic?

Maximas gratias vobis ago et semper agam.

David

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morem alicui gerere is precisely idiomatic; it means ‘to obey’ or ‘to comply with’. Idioms can be tricky, but you seem to have a very good sense of when something suspicious is happening, even if you can’t quite pin down a meaning. The only solution is to look up words constantly! When you think you know that a phrase has an idiomatic turn, look up both words (begin with the word you think will have the least dictionary definitions, in most cases the noun) and you will probably find something. Look up mos in your dictionary and if it doesn’t have a blurb on morem gerere, it’s time to buy a new dictionary.

Yes, perficio ut is an intensified form of facio ut.

“up close” for ex proximo loco looks good. If you have doubts, sift through the (long) definition of locus.

For adhibita illa prima pictura you would feel more comfortable with adhibenda illa prima pictura, wouldn’t you? I don’t think that an English translation of either sentence would differ much. adhibita pictura is indeed an abl. abs. and there are quite a few ways to translate such a form. “I tested him by holding out that first picture which I always kept.”
However, it is possible that a more idiomatic meaning of adhibere is in play. The verb is more often used to mean “use” in a general sense. Context is the judge here. The phrase could thus be “I tested him after I used (looked at? recalled?) that first picture” or something along those lines, where the relationship of the abl. abs. to the main verb is subtly different.

My bet is that pila Scotica is golf. Football (American soccer) is translated by a different expression that now escapes me.

res publica could be correctly translated as politics, though the plural would be better suited to express that level of generality. The singular tends toward the more specific: “the state of the country” (meaning this country).

consuetudo is frequently used in a more concrete sense to mean simply “company” (i.e. “the company one keeps”). So: “he was very happy to join his company to such a sensible man”, which isn’t quite English yet, but you see what it means. The phrasing is a bit turgid overwrought, I’d say, even for Latin.

These are remarkably perceptive questions and you’re obviously doing very well for yourself as a sensitive reader. Keep up the good work.

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Maximas gratias tibi, adz000, both for your prompt answers and your compliments! I must admit that the “perceptive” questions you praise may to some extent owe to my previous reading of Le Petit Prince (in French, mostly), which gives me some sense of what the meaning should be. Still, it is of the utmost satisfaction to me that, with a good (enough) dictionary, with patience, and with the help of others, I am able to read Regulus in Latin as well.

No doubt, more questions are to come!

David

PS - I also purchased a student’s edition of the first book of the Aeneid, but I am afraid that the unbelievable flexibility of syntax is altogether too overwhelming for me.