Lingua Latina

Latin Learning Latin
1

Salvete omnes iterum,

Am just after finishing Cap XL in Lingua Latina, and the following lines caused me some difficulty. Would be grateful if anyone voudl cast some light upon them:

Sed quid sacrificia mulierem furentem iuvant

I can’t figure out the use of “quid” here. “sacrificia” is neuter plural, so quid shouldn’t agree with it. Unless I’m missing something extremely obvious.

Dixit, et os impressa toro…

Again, I can’t see how “impressa” agrees with either “os” or Dido herself.

Tu regere imperio populos, Romane, memento

What on earth is “memento”?? I figure it’s related to memini, meminisse but can’t place it for sure. Also, anyone have a translation for “nolito”. Again, related to nolo I’m sure, but can’t pin it down.

Thanks…

2

Sed quid sacrificia mulierem furentem iuvant
“But what/how do sacrifices help/benefit/avail an angry woman?”

Dixit, et os impressa toro…
“And [she] buried [as to] her face in the bed, she said…” = “And, with her face buried in the bed, she said…”, in accusative of specification // per accusativum synecdochicum (vide A&G §397b sectio trecenti nonaginta septem pars b)

memento = “remember” (pres. act. imp. 2nd pers. sing. // tempore praesenti vocis activae modo imperativo personae secundae numeri singularis
nolito = “be unwilling” (fut. act. imp. 2nd and 3rd pers. sing // tempore futuro vocis activae modo imperativo personae et secundae et tertiae numeri singularis

3

Adrianus wrote:

Sed quid sacrificia mulierem furentem iuvant
“But what/how do sacrifices help/benefit/avail an angry woman?”

Dixit, et os impressa toro…
“And [she] buried [as to] her face in the bed, she said…” = “And, with her face buried in the bed, she said…”, in accusative of specification // per accusativum synecdochicum (vide A&G §397b sectio trecenti nonaginta septem pars b)

memento = “remember” (pres. act. imp. 2nd pers. sing. // tempore praesenti vocis activae modo imperativo personae secundae numeri singularis
nolito = “be unwilling” (fut. act. imp. 2nd and 3rd pers. sing // tempore futuro vocis activae modo imperativo personae et secundae et tertiae numeri singularis

  1. possibly even ‘Why do sacrifices help an angry woman?’

  2. The dictates of meter often result in some pretty odd grammatical constructions. Here we have an accusative with a passive participle, where grammatically, according to normal rules, it doesn’t seem to fit. Adrianus’ explanation is exactly correct. Roman poets (and occasionally prose writers) can use the accusative in just this way (with a lovely name made up to make it seem grammatical), sort of floating free in the sentence… the grammar is a bit odd, but the meaning is understood. Think of it as an accusative object with a passive verb. Strange, but acceptable grammar.

  3. The Romans distinguish between a command to do (or not do) something at this very moment, and one that refers to the future.
    memento, mementote pl.
    Remember! (sometime down the road)

4

This construction of synecdoche is not so much for passive verbs but for anything at all (even implied) standing for (modifying, really) a noun, including of course participles. Here is a passage from Priscian on this:

Minùs ad vocis passivae verba pertinet constructio synecdoche, magìs ad quamcunque rem (etiam si obliquata quidem sit) nominis loco (veriùs ad nomen adjuncta), quod certè participia includere potest. En apud Priscianum locus aptus:

Ah, if there was one reason for learning Latin it has to be the Aeneid. What a great movie in words!
Si una sola ratio exstet cur latinum discendum sit, verò Aeneis eam praebeat. Ut magna taeniola cinematographica per verba est!