Lectio tricesima tertia

Mēnsēs et annī tempora

The months and the seasons

Heri hebdomadis diērum nōmina commemorāvimus. Hodiē mēnsium1 et annī temporum nōmina īnspiciāmus.

Yesterday we recalled the names of the days of the week. Today let's examine (subj.) the names of the months and of the [seasons] (times of the year).

Mēnsium nōmina ipsī inveniāmus opus erit. — Ipse incipiam:

It will be necessary that we find the names of the months ourselves.— I myself will begin:

Prīmus annī mēnsis Jānuārius vocātur. Incipientis enim annī jānuam aperit.

The first month of the year is called January. Indeed it opens the door of the [incoming] (beginning) year.

Nōn ā jānuā, sed ā Jānō2 deō nōmen suum dūcit.

[It's] not from door, but from the god Janus [that] it takes (leads) its name.

Sequuntur Februārius, Mārtius, Aprīlis, Majus, Jūnius, Quīntīlis, Sextīlis...

There follow February, March, April, May, June, Quintile, Sextile…

Antīqua dīcis! Ignōrāsne ā prīncipibus3 nostrīs Jūliō Caesare et Augustō ultimōs duōs mēnsēs nōmina sua dūxisse?

You are saying old stuff! Do you ignore [that] the last two months took (to have led) their names from our princes Julius Caesar and Augustus?

Ideōque nunc dīcere oportet Jūlium prō4 Quīntīlī et Augustum prō Sextīlī.

And that's why we are now meant to say July for Quintile and Augustus for Sextile.

Omnium gentium prīncipēs nōmina facilius5 quam mōrēs mūtant.

The premiers of all nations change names more easily than customs.

Mēnsēs tamen sequentēs mūtātī nōn sunt: September, Octōber, November, December6.

The following months were not changed however: September, October, Novemeber, December.

Quandō incipit vēr7?

When does spring begin?

Cum mēnsis Mārtiī fīnis appropinquat et cum arborēs gemmās prōferunt.

When the end of the month of March approaches and when the trees bring forth buds.

Aestās nōmen dūcit ab aestū8, quī vehementem calōrem significat.

Summer (aestas) takes (leads) its name from "aestus", which means "severe heat".

Autumnō folia cadunt, etiam folia9 vectīgālia10 (quae vectīgal solvendum nūntiant).

In the autumn leaves fall, even tax [bills] (leaves [of paper]) (which announce the tax to be paid).

Hieme nix montēs cooperit; lacūs gelū cōnstringuntur; tempus est exercitātiōnum hiemālium.

In winter snow covers the mountains; the lakes are frozen with ice; it is the time of winter sports.

Notes

  1. Mensis, -is, m., parisyllabic, so the genitive plural is in -ium.

  2. Janus, -i, m., Janus, a very old Roman god, who was represented as having a secound face at the nape of the neck, which must have given him a remarkable field of vision! The words for the months are adjectives. Those which belong to the 3rd declension (Aprilis, October, -bris, etc.) from therefore their ablative in -i (Aprili, Octobri).

  3. Princeps, -ipis, is an adjective used here as a noun: the first (or premier of the State).

  4. Pro + abl., preposition, instead of …

  5. Facilius, adv., more easily, comparative of facile, easily (cf. L 12); the corresponding adjective is facilis, n. facile; comparative facilior, -ius, easier; superlative (irregular) facillimus, -a, -um, easiest. You can see that the nominative-accusative neuter of the adjective and comparative can be transformed into an adverb. The superlative of the adverb is obtained by replacing with an e the ending of the superlative of the adjective: facillime, most easily.

  6. September, October, etc., come from septem, octo, etc., because there was a time when the year began on the 1st of March, which similarly explains the old Quintilis and Sextilis (quintus, sextus).

  7. Ver, veris, n., the spring (Sp. la primavera); aestas, -atis, f., the summer (Fr. l'été); autumnus, -i, m., the autumn (Fr. l'automne); hiems, hiemis, f., the winter (Fr. l'hiver). Note that the genders of most of these nouns differ from those of their Romance counterparts.

  8. Aestus, -us, m., sultriness (cf. aestuare, L 32, N 2). Note that calor, -oris, is masculine, as calore is in Italian.

  9. Folium, -ii, n., the leaf, sheet, in every sense of these words.

  10. Vectigal, -alis, n., the tax, is a false imparisyllabic (contraction of vectigale, -is) so the singular ablative is in -i, the nominative-accusative plural in -ia and the genitive plural in -ium, like the parisyllabics. However, in phrase 13, vectigalia does not come from the noun, but from the corresponding adjective: vectigalis (n. vectigale), relating to tax, which has otherwise many forms in common with the noun.

And to finish, let's see more closely the 4th declension, which includes:

1st On the one hand, words in -us, mostly masculines; but manus, the hand, socrus, -us, the mother-in-law, and some names of trees (e.g.: quercus, the oak) are feminine.

Singular: Plural:

nom. exitus, the exit, the outcome. exitús

acc. exitum exitús

gen. exitús exituum

dat. exitui exitibus

abl. exitu exitibus

2nd On the other hand, some neuter nouns, whose declension differs from the preceding in the nominative and accusative, which are in the singular in -u and in the plural in -ua.

E.g.: cornu, gen. cornús., the horn (also the musical instrument), acc. sg. cornu, nominative and acc. pl. cornua.

N.B.— Some nouns form their dative and ablative plural in -ubus instead of -ibus. Such is the case with lacus which we will see in all its finery in the exercise.

Exercitatio

Quandō fēriās agitis? — Aestīvō tempore.

When do you take your holidays? — In the summer time.

Nōs autumnālī tempore eās agere mālumus.

*We* prefer to take them in the autumn.

Diēs quidem breviōrēs fīunt, sed sōl etiamtunc saepe splendet.

The days surely become shorter, but the sun even then often shines.

Hospitium in dēversōriīs facilius invenītur.

Lodging is more easily found in the hotels.

Fēriīs quiētīs dēlectāminī.

You like (are delighted by) quiet holidays.

Nōs quoque quiētem amāmus, sed quod volumus, id efficere nōn semper possumus.

We too love the quiet, but we can't always do what we want.

Mēnse Augustō ab opere vacāre dēbēmus.

We must [take off] (vacate) from work in the month of August.

Dum fabrica clausa manet, operāriī et administrī simul omnēs in fēriās abeunt.

While the factory remains closed, all the workers and employees depart on holiday at the same time.

Rūrī tamen vītam quiētam agere possumus.

In the country nevertheless we can lead a quiet life.

In lacubus piscāmur.

We fish in the lakes.

Rēgiō nostra lacuum referta est.

The fish [from] (of) these lakes are [tasty] (agreeable) to eat.

Lacus hujus regiōnis piscibus refertī sunt.

The lakes of this region are teaming (full) with fish.

In lacum ūrīnēmur!

Let's dive in the lake.

In lacūs ūrīnēmini!

Let you dive in the lakes.

Ē lacū exeunt.

They come out of the lake.

Lacus aqua dulcis est.

The water of the lake is fresh (sweet).

Aquam addūcunt lacuī.

This city is near (neighboring to) the lake.