First of all… I never noticed this forum before. for shame.
anyway, I have just a few questions to ask of ye venerable textkittens, textfeles and textleones.
#26 - Helena, specie pulchra, salutem petebat iens longe sub luna per oppidum ardens. incolentibus oppidum neque spes erat neque fructus. Di superi prima luce…
to the inhabitants, the city was neither a hope nor an enjoyment? how can something be ‘a hope’?
#27 - Ne longum sit, ciues, uobis omnia dicam ut de sententiis huius regis sciatis.
I’m not sure what the first part means. what does longum refer to? an implied tempus?
#30 - Socius nos iussit corpora luce carentium a campo remouere.
the ally bid us remove the dead bodies from the plain (presumably of battle). is luce carentium kind of like ‘snuffed’ ?(as in ‘snuffed out’, ‘he’s snuffed it!’) = dead; d-e-d, dead
I thought I’d pointed out this forum to you before. Don’t worry, though - it’s deserted, almost desolate. Who looks for fountains of learning in the wilderness? Glad to have your presence, though.
#26 - Helena, specie pulchra, salutem petebat iens longe sub luna per oppidum ardens. incolentibus oppidum neque spes erat neque fructus. Di superi prima luce…
to the inhabitants, the city was neither a hope nor an enjoyment? how can something be ‘a hope’?
I’m surprised that spes and fructus aren’t in the dative here. The idiom is awkward indeed, at least to English ears. Translate: “the inhabitants neither put hope in nor took pleasure from the town.”
#27 - Ne longum sit, ciues, uobis omnia dicam ut de sententiis huius regis sciatis.
I’m not sure what the first part means. what does longum refer to? an implied tempus?
I think I stumbled over the same sentence. I could never figure out whether it was a clause of purpose (Lest it be [too] long…) or a negative jussive (Let it not be [too] long!). With the comma, though, it seems we should interpret it as a purpose clause. You’re right about the implied “tempus.” The expression longum est narrare… means “it would take a long time to tell.” I think a similar thing’s going on here.
#30 - Socius nos iussit corpora luce carentium a campo remouere.
the ally bid us remove the dead bodies from the plain (presumably of battle). is luce carentium kind of like ‘snuffed’ ?(as in ‘snuffed out’, ‘he’s snuffed it!’) = dead; d-e-d, dead
Probably the dead, yes. You’ll have to get used to this sort of periphrasis, especially in poetry. Never use one word, you know, when two words can do…! Note that carentium, though a participle, still takes the ablative (luce).
for shame.