Translation help

Latin Learning Latin
1

I need help for translation.

  1. Nondum Tarquinii ex urbe Roma pulsi erant, cum ad regem Tarquinium Priscum Sibylla Cumaea et regi et omnibus ceteris ignota venit.
    Tarquiniis were not yet u[/u] from city of Rome, when Sibylla Cumaea, unknown to king and to everyone else, has com to king Tarquinius Priscus.

  2. Eadem Sibylla novem libros, quos regi vendere cupiebat, secum gerebat.
    Same Sibylla new books, which she wanted to sell to king, had u[/u].

  3. Eidem libri pretium non habent.
    Same books don’t have value. (they are priceless?)

2
  1. Nondum Tarquinii ex urbe Roma pulsi erant, cum ad regem Tarquinium Priscum Sibylla Cumaea et regi et omnibus ceteris ignota venit.
    Tarquiniis were not yet (pulsi?) from city of Rome, when Sibylla Cumaea, unknown to king and to everyone else, has com to king Tarquinius Priscus.

-the past participle of pello is pulsus. Thus, you have a form of sum in the imperfect (erant) with a form of the past participle (pulsi). Which tense is this?
-Sibylla Cumaea is “the Cumaean Sibyl.” You could also say “the Sibyl of Cumae,” though be aware that cumaeus, -a, -um is an adjective. Latin often demands an adjective where English uses the genitive (of + noun).
-venit here is probably just “came.” However, it is an ambiguous form (either present or perfect tense if the quantities are not marked).

  1. Eadem Sibylla novem libros, quos regi vendere cupiebat, secum gerebat.
    Same Sibylla new books, which she wanted to sell to king, had (secum?).

-novem is a bit tricky. You read it as a form of novus, -a, -um - but “em” is not a valid ending in 1st/2nd declension adjectives. Novem is actually an undeclinable numerical adjective meaning “nine.”
-Gerebat means “was carrying” or “was bearing,” though “had” is a rough approximation.
-When certain short words depend on cum, it becomes an enclitic (like -ne, -que, and -ve). For instance, mecum, tecum, secum, quibuscum. These all mean the same as if cum had preceded the pronoun (cum me, etc, which is very uncommon if not impossible). Hence, secum means “with her.”
-Note that “nine books” is the object of “was bearing.” Your translation doesn’t specify this.

  1. Eidem libri pretium non habent.
    Same books don’t have value. (they are priceless?)

Habere pretium means “to be worth something.” I’m guessing that non habere pretium means the opposite, id est, “to be worth nothing” - but I’m not sure about this. So it’s either “the same books are worthless” or “the same books are priceless.” Maybe someone else knows the idiom here?

-David

3

David beat me to it as per usual but I have a few comments, however :slight_smile:

As the cum is a cum inuersum here, I think the present should be considered, as it adds to the dramatic effect.

  1. Eidem libri pretium non habent.
    Same books don’t have value. (they are priceless?)

Habere pretium > means “to be worth something.” I’m guessing that > non habere pretium > means the opposite, > id est> , “to be worth nothing” - but I’m not sure about this. So it’s either “the same books are worthless” or “the same books are priceless.” Maybe someone else knows the idiom here?

eidem is the dative singular, not the nominative plural. So it must mean: ‘to him, books are worth nothing’ or ‘to him books are priceless’, depending on how you interpret the idiom.

ualete, amici

4

-the past participle of pello is pulsus. Thus, you have a form of sum in the imperfect (erant) with a form of the past participle (pulsi). Which tense is this?

“pulsi erant” is indicative pluperfect pasive.

-novem is a bit tricky. You read it as a form of novus, -a, -um - but “em” is not a valid ending in 1st/2nd declension adjectives. Novem is actually an undeclinable numerical adjective meaning “nine.”
-Gerebat means “was carrying” or “was bearing,” though “had” is a rough approximation.
-When certain short words depend on cum, it becomes an enclitic (like -ne, -que, and -ve). For instance, mecum, tecum, secum, quibuscum. These all mean the same as if cum had preceded the pronoun (cum me, etc, which is very uncommon if not impossible). Hence, secum means “with her.”
-Note that “nine books” is the object of “was bearing.” Your translation doesn’t specify this.

Yes, you are right, my mistake.

So, right translation would be:
Same Sibylla was bearing nine books, which she wanted to sell to king.

eidem is the dative singular, not the nominative plural. So it must mean: ‘to him, books are worth nothing’ or ‘to him books are priceless’, depending on how you interpret the idiom.

Eidem can be both dative singular and nominative plural. Nominative plural is for m. iidem, idem, eidem.

This sentence is out of context which I will give now:

Eidem libri, si empti et diligenter servati erunt, utilissimi et tibi ipsi et civibus tuis erunt. Eidem libri pretium non habent.

So Eidem can mean here I think both “to him” or “same”.
“pretium non habent” it this context I believe it mean “priceless”.

5

Just out of curiosity: Where do you get all these exercises from, Boban? In other words, which context is it - are your sentences taken from a textbook or something?

6

It is out of book published in Serbia, “Latin language”.