Sallust's View on Human Nature...

Textbooks Wheelock's Latin
1

My Latin teacher has plunged us right into the 38 Latin Stories, and I’m having trouble with the Sallust (64-65)..I know requests for long translations are frowned upon & rightly so..but I wanted to know if any kind soul could tell me how my translation measured up against theirs. He is, so far, not my favorite writer…but you have to give them all a try I suppose.. :wink:

All men who desire to excel above certain animals should with the greatest aid make an effort not to pass through life with silence just like cattle, which nature makes bent forward and also obedient to the stomach. But all our ways were situated in the soul and the body; souls enjoy power, bodies enjoy service; the soul is common between us and the gods, and the body is common between us and the beasts. To me, virtue appears to be seeking glory with the aid of powers and of innate talent, and, because the life itself which is enjoyed is short, causing our memories to be as long-lasting as possible. For the glory of beauty and riches is changeable and also fragile; virtue is regarded as clear and eternal.

But many mortals, addicted to the stomach and to sleep, have led life ignorant and unsophisticated just like those who travel around; to them, assuredly, the body served as a source of pleasure (against nature) and the soul was a burden. I consider the life and death of these men to be similar because nothing is said of either one…

and then the last sentence, I can’t quite fathom. :question:

2

I’m a bit rusty, and I may be wrong, but this may help:

Sed is demum mihi vivere atque frui anima videtur, qui aliquo negotio intentus praeclari facinoris aut artis bonae famam quaerit.

I know that G&M has a vocab list, so I know that’s not your problem, so without actually giving you my translation, here are some hints:

In the main clause, ‘is’ is the subject of ‘videtur’, and ‘mihi’ is (I think) dative of reference which isn’t covered till ch 38, but basically means ‘to my way of thinking’.

The subordinate clause starts with ‘qui’ refering back to ‘is’. ‘aliquo negotio intentus’ is a phrase which also describes ‘is’. The notes on the facing page tell you that ‘intentus’ takes the ablative. ‘quaerit’ (at the end) is the only verb, and there is only one accusative (famam), so we know what ‘is’ is ‘quaerit’-ing. The two genitive phrases describe the fame.

3

Thank you so much! That helped a great deal… :smiley: