Lectio tricesima sexta

In tramīne

On the train

Age! Properēmus1 ad statiōnem2! Trāmen post vīgintī minūtās abitūrum3 est.

Come on! Let’s hurry to the station! The train is due-to-leave in twenty minutes.

Ad statiōnem properāmus. Ubi est tesserāria?

We are hurrying to the station. Where is the ticket seller [fem.]?

Dā, quaesō, trēs tesserās secundae classis4 Forum Jūliī5, aditūs et reditūs.

Give [me/us], please, three second-class tickets to Fréjus, [return] (of going and of returning).

Ecce, domne! Quīndecim nummīs6 et sexāgintā centēsimīs. Nōlīte7 properāre! Trāmen vestrum dīmidiae hōrae moram habēbit neque8 ante merīdiem9 abībit10.

Here, sir! 15.60 (15 pieces and 60 cents). Don’t [pl.] hurry! Your train will have a half-hour delay and [will] not [leave] before noon (will-go-away).

Festīnātiō sitim excitāvit. Ōtium est pōculī bibendī11. In statiōnis thermopōlium eāmus!

Haste has [made me thirsty] (stirred up thirst). [There is time to drink a glass] (Leisure there-is of a glass due-to-be-drunk). Let us go into the station(‘s) canteen!

Heus, puer! — Quid bibere vīs? — Nōlō bibere; mālō aliquid comedere. Habēsne pāstilla farcta12?

Hey there, [waiter] (boy)! — What [would you like] (do you want) to drink? — I don’t want to drink; [I’d rather] (I prefer to) eat something. Do you have sandwiches?

Puer. — Habeō, domne. Paucās minūtās exspectandum13 est. Ecce plaustrum bajulusque quī glaciem14 mihi affert.

Waiter. — I do (have), sir. [You will need to wait] a few minutes (to-be-awaited is). Here is the truck and the [deliveryman] (porter) who brings me ice.

Bajulus. — Ēn tibi quīnque partēs glaciēī quās cottīdiē afferre soleō.

Deliveryman. — Here [I have] for you five [blocks] (parts) of ice [as usual] (that every day I am accustomed to bring).

Puer. — Mihi ignōsce! Quattuor tantum adsunt.

Waiter. — Forgive (to) me! There are only four here.

Bajulus. — Hoc mīrum est. Certus sum quīnque adfuisse. Mīror ubi quīnta ēvānuerit...

Deliveryman. — This is strange. I’m sure there were five. I wonder where the fifth one disappeared (perfect subj.).

Subitō sībilum locomotrīcīs15 audīmus. Relinquēre dēbēmus puerum et bajulum quīntam partem glaciēī quaerentēs16.

Suddenly we hear the whistle of the locomotive. We must leave behind the waiter and the deliveryman searching for the fifth block of ice.

Notes

  1. Properemus (from propero, -as, -are, -avi, -atum) is a subjunctive (with imperative meaning). You will find this same verb again in the present indicative in phrase 2.

  2. Statio, -onis, f., comes from sto, -as, -are, steti, statum, to stand still.

  3. Abiturus, -a, -um, future participle of abeo, -is, -ire, -ii, -itum, to leave.

  4. Classis, -is, f., class (school or category) or fleet (of ships).

  5. Forum, -i, n., public square, market. Julii, gen. of Julius, the emperor who gave his name to the town of Fréjus.

  6. Nummus, -i, m. piece of coinage, usual unit of currency (here, for the franc). Centesimus, -a, -um, hundredth (or cent).

  7. Noli (pl. nolite) + infinitive = negative imperative (prohibition).

  8. Neque, and not.

  9. Meridies, -ei, (5th declension), midday, noon.

  10. Abibit, future of abire (see above, N. 3).

  11. Bibendus, -a, -um, gerundive of bibo, -is, -ere, bibi, bibitum.

    You may know the verse by the poet Horace: Nunc est bibendum! Now we must drink! This is, it seems, the origin of the use of Bibendum as the name of the Michelin man!

  12. Fartus, -a, -um, past passive participle of farcio, -is, -ire, farsi, fartum, to fill up, to stuff. Here in the neuter plural: the singular is then pastillum fartum. Pastillum, -i, n., roll.

  13. Exspectandus, -a, -um, gerundive of exspecto, -as, -are, -avi, -atum. Here exspectandum is neuter, because this is an impersonal form.

  14. Glacies, -ei, f., ice (5th declension).

  15. Locomotrix, -icis, f., word of recent coinage (Vita Latina, No. 19, p. 56), whose feminine gender is perhaps open to argument.

  16. Quaerens, -entis, present (active) participle of quaero, -is, -ere, quaesivi, quaesitum.

In this lesson, only two words are of recent coinage, tramen and locomotrix. Even though they are used by some very serious modern authors, they may not be accepted by certain purists: Concours Général candidates, take heed! All the other words are of good Latin pedigree, which there is no reason not to use in a modern context. Thus the word statio has been used in all periods for a stopping place (see N. 2). A Roman soldier hearing this word thought of a sentry post; but as the subject of conversation is the train, statio can only mean a railway station. Likewise Tessera, -ae, f., was a token for voting or admittance to a theatre. If the word were taken in isolation from the text of today’s lesson, it would be necessary to further specify: tessera viatoria (related to travel) to avoid any confusion. Minuta is the feminine of the past passive participle of minuo, -is, -ere, -ui, -utum, to lessen, which has given us not only minute, but above all menu. Finally vaporarium, -i, n., is the boiler and vaporarius, -a, -um, the corresponding adjective. Of course, the same thing happens in all languages. Thus today the word brake makes us think of the brake of a bicycle or a car; but our ancestors would have thought of the bit in a horse’s mouth: the objects differ, but the function remains the same.

Exercitatio

Quid edere vīs? — Pāstillum farctum edere volō.

What do you want to eat? — I want to eat a sandwich.

Ego bibere mālō. Pōculum cerevisiae, quaesō!

*I* prefer to drink. A glass of beer, please!

Quī est hic sībilus? — Nēmō sībilat.

What whistling is this? — Nobody is whistling.

Quō intrat hoc trāmen sībilāns? — In statiōnem intrat.

Where (whither) does this train enter whistling? — It enters into the station.

Ubi est trāmen? — In statiōne est.

Where is the train? — It is in the station.

Quā trānsit? — Per statiōnem trānsit?

Where does it pass through? — It passes through the station.

Unde exit? — Ē statiōne exit.

Where does it leave from? — It leaves from the station.

Dīcit sē locomotricem sībilantem audīre. Dīcunt sē trāmen sībilāns audīsse.

He says that he hears the locomotive whistling. They say they heard to train whistling.

Locomotrīcēs vaporāriae ātrae sunt; electricae autem clāriōris colōris.

Steam locomotives are black; electric [ones], on the other hand, are of a brighter color.