SP: Lesson - Reading Passage, Part 1

Mosaic: party goers feast on a couch while listening to a poet singing a carmina.Suggestiones Primae, Part 1

It is very important to practice reading and understanding Latin sentences. While working on the reading handout, read each sentence aloud and listen to the recitation. Be sure to look for ideas in the passage as you read: see if you can get a general sense of the story just from reading out loud. Then practice translating each sentence into English. As you encounter new vocabulary words in the story, think about English cognates and context within the sentences to help you decipher the meaning.

The image to the right is a ancient mosaic from around the year 80 CE. In it, you can see party goers feasting on a couch while listening to a poet (holding a lyre) singing a carmina.

Reading Passage Help Handout

Download the SP Reading Help Links to an external site. handout. This document provides the full text of the story in Latin with additional resources to help you understand, including notes on vocabulary and grammar.

Below you will be able to read and explore the story. Parts will be in English, setting up the context, then there will be sections in Latin to fill in details. Read each section carefully to get the full story! Some additional notes will be included as well. If you see a word or phrase highlighted in bold, check below the passage for additional information.

Chapter 3: Suggestiones Primae, part 1

Maecenas was a famous (celeber) man and an important citizen. Because he helped artists and poets, his feasts were well known (notae) and many enjoyed his food and entertainment. Only the best (optimi) poets recited verses at Maecenas’ house. Maecenas was a dear (carus) friend of Augustus. Several poets were famous because of him: Virgil, Ovid and Horace (to name a few). Maeceas had many slaves and slave-women, but he favored one slave-woman in particular, named Anna. He trusted the girl deeply (alte): Anna, because she was very close (proxima) to her master, was able to hear a lot of private information.

So Maecenas' slave girl, Anna, entered Pseudolus' study. Old (vetus) Pseudolus and young (iuvenis) Anna shared a common (commune) interest: Anna had also admired Marcellus from afar. Anna quickly and quietly (celeriter quieteque) said,

Latin Portion
Anna, Maecenas’ slave woman, comes to Pseudolus to share information she overheard.

"Recentissima nocte, dominum meum curabam. Epistulam ab Augusto legebat: imperator tristi de dolore scripserat. Mors Marcelli Augustum alte commoverat (moved, emotionally). Erat alia res ampla: Augustus verbum 'caedes' renuntiavit. Maecenas annuit! Essene poterat?"

Pseudolus Annam tristiter spectavit. Respondit, "Vero. Ita quoque puto. Rem clam inquiro. Sum laetus quod ad me venisti. Dic nemo praeterea. Veni iterum et multum dicemus. Tibi gratias ago, et cave!"

Notes:

  • Recentissima nocte: Last night (ablative of time when) – literally: on the most recent night
  • legebat: Romans read everything out loud, so Anna would have been able to hear the letter from Augustus as Maecenas read it.
  • tristi de dolore: Latin authors often repeat common themes with an adjective to emphasize the concept. Here it is extremely exaggerated. Translate: about his deep sadness
  • verbum 'caedes' renuntiavit: he used the word “murder”
  • Essene poterat: Could it be?
  • Tibi gratias ago: idiom: I give you thanks = Thank you. The one receiving the thanks will always be dative.

Investigation Notes: Part 1

Pseudolus is visited by a slave who works for Maecenas.

  1. Who is Maecenas? Note at least three features from paragraph 1.
  2. Thought Exercise: What benefit(s) do you think would come with being a "very dear friend" of the emperor?
  3. Anna, Maecenas’ slave-woman, comes to Pseudolus. What information does she share with him? What will he do to fulfill his promise?
  4. How does Pseudolus react to Anna’s information?