Erasmus, Naufragium (selection)

A boat is tossed on strong waves in a storm Desiderus Erasmus Roterodamus, commonly called just Erasmus or Erasmus of Rotterdam, was a Dutch Christian humanist and priest, living from 1466-1536 CE. He wrote extensively, both his own writings but also translations of past works, and he is considered one of the great thinkers of the Renaissance outside of Italy.

The following selection of his work comes from a larger collection of conversations called Colloquia Familiaria. In this work, Erasmus uses the classical tradition of the symposium (popularized by Plato), wherein learning is derived from conversations between individuals. One individual will often have some special insight, and the prose flows from this individual - in fact, the second conversant is often there just to agree, nod and smile (metaphorically, as we see below with Antonius).

In this selection, Erasmus has his characters discuss a shipwreck, remembered by Adolphus and shared with his colleague Antonius. We pick up the narrative with Adolphus wishing to share a "pleasant" (iucundi) memory. The opening line sets up a philosophical point: what feelings do you have, if you survive some hardship?

Translate After Reading

When you are done reading this passage, you should complete a literal translation. Use chunking to help you complete your translation.

Desiderus Erasmus Roterodamus: Naufragium (from Colloquia Familiaria)

Personae: Antonius (An.), Adolphus (Ad.) – Adolphous tells Antonius of a terrible storm and shipwreck. In this section, he discusses the omens of the coming disaster and the nature of the waves.

Ad.   Imo mihi iucundi sunt acti labores. Ea nocte quiddam accidit, quod magna ex parte spem salutis ademit nauclero.

An.   Quid, obsecro?

Ad.   Nox erat sublustris, et in summo malo stabat quidam e nautis in galea; sic enim vocant, opinor; circumspectans, si quam terram videret: huic coepit adsistere sphaera quaedam ignea: id nautis tristissimum ostentum est, si quando solitarius ignis est; felix quum gemini. Hos vetustas credidit Castorum et Pollucem.

An.   Quid illis cum nautis, quorum alter fuit eques, alter pugil?

Ad.   Sic visum est poëtis. Nauclerus qui clavo assidebat, 'Socie,' inquit, (nam eo nomine se mutuo compellant nautae;) 'videsne, quod sodalitium tibi claudat latus?' 'Video,' respondit ille; 'et precor ut sit felix.' Mox globus igneus delapsus per funes devolvit sese usque ad nauclerum.

An.   Num ille exanimatus est metu?

Ad.   Nautae assuevere monstris. Ibi paullisper commoratus, volvit se per margines totius navis: inde per medios foros dilapsus evanuit. Sub meridiem coepit magis ac magis incrudescere tempestas. Vidistine unquam Alpes?

An.   Vidi.

Ad.   Illi montes verrucae sunt, si conferantur ad undas maris. Quoties tollebamur in altum, licuisset lunam digito contingere: quoties demittebamur, videbamur dehiscente terra recta ire in Tartara.

Notes

quiddam accidit, quod...ademit: note that ademit is indicative. quod is a relative pronoun with quiddam as its antecedent
- Why mention this? Classical Latin frequently used accidit as an impersonal verb, completed with a result clause:
  - accidit ut + subjunctive = it happens/happened that...
  - here we have: something happened, which...
nauclero (nauclerus, -i, m.) = pilot/captain of a ship
malo (malus, -i, m.) = mast
galea (galea, -ae, f.) = crow's nest/scuttle (literally: helmet - this is the bucket a sailor would stand in at the top of a mast to look out for land)
Quid, obsecro? - What, pray tell?
assuevere = assueverunt (-ere is a common syncopation of the 3rd person perfect active plural ending -erunt)
verrucae (verruca, -ae, f.) = a mole hill (as in: you are making a mountain out of a mole hill - literally, this means wart or small hill). Adolphus is saying that the Alpes are a verruca compared to the undas
Adolphus' final line appears to be a reference to another famous shipwreck in Latin literature. From Vergil's Aeneid (Book 1, 102-107), we have the following lines:

Hurling these words out, a howling blast from the north,

strikes square on the sail, and lifts the seas to heaven:

the oars break: then the prow swings round and offers

the beam to the waves: a steep mountain of water follows in a mass.

Some ships hang on the breaker’s crest: to others the yawning deep

shows land between the waves: the surge rages with sand.

Practice Questions: Erasmus' Naufragium - Sight Reading

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