Lectio vicesima quarta

Cavēte favīllās!

Mind the sparks!

Quam artem exercet pater tuus?

What is your father’s profession (what craft practices your father)?

Pater meus faber1 est.

My father is a smith.

In fabricā ferrāriā fabrum vidēmus quī plaustrī axem corrigit2.

In the (iron) forge we can see the smith straightening the axle of a waggon (who of-waggon axle straightens).

Axis igne3 calefit. Cum satis calefactus est, faber eum in incūdem impōnit.

The axle is-heated with fire. When it has been heated enough, the smith puts it on the anvil.

Malleō ferrum tundit4: scintillae sēscentae5 ēmicant6.

With a hammer he beats the iron: [a thousand] flashes (600) shine-forth.

Intrāte puerī, sed nōlīte appropinquāre! Cavēte favīllās7!

Come in, boys, but don't come close (do-not-wish to-approach)! Mind the sparks!

Cui ita operārīs, Domne? — Faber puerō respondet:

Who do you work for like-that, Sir? — The smith answers to the boy:

Lūcās agricola in fossam cum plaustrō dēlāpsus est: rota ejus frācta est et axis distortus.

Lucas the farmer fell into a ditch with [his] waggon: its wheel is broken and the axle twisted.

Axis corrigendus est et rotā reficienda8.

The axle is to-be-straightened and the wheel (to-be-)repaired.

Lūcās axem ipse9 corrigere nōn potest:

Lucas cannot straighten the axle himself:

Ēī fabrō opus est10.

He needs a smith (to-him with-a-smith work is).

Omnia nōs ipsī facere nōn possumus.

We cannot do everthing ourselves.

Ferrum cūdendum11 est dum12 candet13 in igne.

The iron is to-be-struck while it glows-white in the fire (= the iron must be struck while it is hot).

Notes

  1. Faber, -bri: m., the craftsman and more specifically the smith. For greater precision one can say faber ferrarius, the iron craftsman (i.e. the blacksmith). Likewise faber carpentarius, the carriage craftsman, i.e., the cartwrite, carpenter. The same is true for its derivative fabrica (cf. L. 23, P. 1), forge, workshop, factory.

  2. Corrigo, -is, -ere, to set right; perfect correxi, I have set right, past participle (passive) correctus, -a, -um.

  3. Igne (abl. de ignis), fire, likewise incudem (acc. of incus, gen. incudis), anvil; these two words belong to the 3rd declension which we will look at in detail later.

  4. Tundere, to beat (with a hammer or a blunt [French contondant] object).

  5. Sescenti, m., sescentae, f., sescenta, n., 600. In Latin this figure is often used to indicate a large number of objects or people (that cannot be counted).

  6. Emicare (ex + micare), to glitter forth.

  7. Favilla, -ae f., designates ashes and other particles derived from combustion while they are still hot. Cold ashes are called cinis, -eris, m. (3rd decl.)

  8. Reficere (re + facere), remake, repair; reficiendus, -a, -um, gerundive, which is to be repaired. Likewise corrigendus, -a, -um, gerundive from corrigere which we have seen above (N. 2).

  9. Ipse, m., ipsa, f., ipsum, n., demonstrative adjective-pronoun indicating that one performs (or that one undergoes) the action oneself.

  10. Opus est, there is need of… + dat. to indicate the person who has the need and abl. to indicate that which is needed. Opus est mihi otio, I need rest.

  11. Cudere (cudo, cudis, etc.), to strike (iron), to forge. Cudendus, -a, -um: corresponding gerundive.

  12. Dum, while. We will come back to this very important conjunction.

  13. Candere, to be white; here, to be white-hot; candidus, -a, -um, bright white; candidatus, having had one's clothing whitened with chalk so as to look good on exam day —or election day— whence the candidate!

In this exercise, try to distinguish the neuter plurals in –a from the nominative singulars of the 1st declension.

Answer: Nom. pl.: cubicula, crustula; nom. sg.: birota, rota, distorta.

Are you starting to get used to the Latin word order? Phrase 2 of the exercise is an example of normal word order

1st Subject (puer)

2nd Indirect object (fabro)

3rd Direct object (birotam with its attribute reficiendam)

4th and in the end the verb (dedit)

Today let's content ourselves with improving our knowledge of the words of the 2nd declension (gen. in -i) Have you recognized:

— masculines in -us: malleus (nom.), distortus (past participle passive), corrigendus (gerundive), etc.?

— masculines in -er: faber (gen. fabri), puer (pueri)? But pater (gen. patris) belongs to the 3rd declension.

— neuters in -um: plaustrum, ferrum etc.?

If you still have a few more minutes, you can use them better to recognize 1st declension words: fabrica, ferraria, scintilla, etc. Note also Lucas (Greek 1st declension, see previous Revision, §3) whose nominative singular alone has a particular form (-as and not -a).

Exercitatio

Faber ferrārius puerī birotam reficit.

The blacksmith (smith of-iron) repairs the boy's bicycle.

Puer fabrō birotam reficiendam dedit.

The boy gave the bicycle to be repaired to the smith.

Birota ā fabrō refecta est; rota ejus ā puerō distorta erat.

The bicycle has been repaired by the smith; its wheel had been bent by the boy.

Birotae ā fabrīs refectae sunt: eōrum rotae ā puerīs distortae sunt.

The bicycles have been repaired by the smiths: their wheels had been bent by the boys.

Vidēsne puerum? Vidētisne puerōs?

Do you see the boy? Do you[pl.] see the boys?

Puerī in cubicula intrant.

The boys enter (into) the bedrooms.

Puerōrum vestēs in cubiculīs manent.

The boys' clothes remain in the bedrooms.

Date crustula puerīs.

Give[pl.] cakes to the boys.