Cicero Flashcards
TRANSLATE:
egreditur in Centuripina quadriremi Cleomenes e portu; sequitur Segestana navis, Tyndaritana, Herbitensis, Heracliensis, Apolloniensis, Haluntina, praeclara classis in speciem, sed inops et infirma propter dimissionem propugnatorum atque remigum. tam diu in imperio suo classem iste praetor diligens vidit quam diu convivium eius flagitiosissimum praetervecta est; ipse autem, qui visus multis diebus non esset, tum se tamen in conspectum nautis paulisper dedit.
Cleomenes goes out of the harbour in a Centuripan quadriremi. Ships from Segesta, Tyndaris, Herbita, Heraclia, Apollonia, Haluntina follow, a feet noble in appearance but needy and weak because of the dismissal of the fighting men and rowers. That hardworking governor saw the fleet under his command for as long as it sailed past his most disgraceful banquet. He himself, however, who had not been seen for many days, then showed himself to the sailors just for a short time.
ANALYSE
egreditur in Centuripina quadriremi Cleomenes e portu; sequitur Segestana navis, Tyndaritana, Herbitensis, Heracliensis, Apolloniensis, Haluntina, praeclara classis in speciem, sed inops et infirma propter dimissionem propugnatorum atque remigum. tam diu in imperio suo classem iste praetor diligens vidit quam diu convivium eius flagitiosissimum praetervecta est; ipse autem, qui visus multis diebus non esset, tum se tamen in conspectum nautis paulisper dedit.
- ‘egreditur’ and ‘sequitur’ - vivid present hooks audience
- ‘Segestana […] Haluntina’ - asyndeton emphasises list
- ‘inops et infirma’ - repetition of privative prefixes. (‘in’ = not) emphasises how poor the fleet is.
- ‘iste praetor diligens’ - dismissive, sarcasm, reminder of status shows the contrast between Cleomenes’s power and lack of qualities.
- ‘multis diebus’ vs ‘paulisper’ - contrast of time emphasises the contrast between what Cleomenes should be doing and what he is doing.
TRANSLATE
stetit soleatus praetor populi Romani cum pallio purpureo tunica talari muliercula nixus in litore. iam hoc istum vestitu Siculi civesque Romani permulti saepe viderant. posteaquam paulum provecta classis est et Pachynum quinto die denique adpulsa, nautae coacti fame radices palmarum agrestium quarum erat in illis locis, sicuti in magna parte Siciliae mutitudo, colligebant et iis miseri perditque alebantur.
The governor of the Roman people stood wearing slippers with a purple cloak and an ankle length tunic, leaning on a prostitute on the shore. Already, the Sicilian citizens and and very many Romans had often seen this man in this clothing. After the fleet was carried forwards a little and on the fifth day, finally driven to Pachynus, the sailors - compelled by hunger started collecting the roots of wild palms, of which there was a large number in those places just as in the main part of Sicily, and the wretched and desperate men were being nourished on these.
ANALYSE
stetit soleatus praetor populi Romani cum pallio purpureo tunica talari muliercula nixus in litore. iam hoc istum vestitu Siculi civesque Romani permulti saepe viderant. posteaquam paulum provecta classis est et Pachynum quinto die denique adpulsa, nautae coacti fame radices palmarum agrestium quarum erat in illis locis, sicuti in magna parte Siciliae mutitudo, colligebant et iis miseri perditque alebantur.
- ‘stetit […] talari’ - plosive alliteration and sibilance disrupts flow of sentence with a contrast of harsh Ps and soft Ss, reflecting his drunk state
- ‘pallio purpureo’ - purple cloak usually worn by kings, shows he thinks highly of himself
- ‘tunica talari’ - ankle length tunic usually worn by women, emasculating/ not fit to rule
- ‘muliercula […] litore’ - change in tone and pace (sentence slows), shown by the Ls and Ms, symobolising his drunken leaning. (‘nixus’)
- ‘hoc istum vestitu’ - the word for him (‘istum’) is physically between the words for this (‘hoc’) and clothing (‘vestitu’), shows how he is literally in the clothing - cares more for material things such as wealthy clothing than character
- ‘permulti saepe’ - emphasises how often this happens, creates outrage amongst audience
- ‘coacti fame’ - out of control shown by passive verb
- ‘quarum erat […] parte Siciliae, multitudo’ - showing off his knowledge on the area, makes him more believable to his audience
- ‘miseri perditque’ - tautology emphasises miserable state of sailors
- ‘alebantur’ - usually used to describe animals, dehumanising, shows the extent of sailors’ misery.
TRANSLATE
Cleomenes autem, qui alterum se Verrem cum luxurie ac nequitia tum etiam imperio putaret, similiter totos dies in litore tabernaculo posito perpotabat. ecce autem repente ebrio Cleomene esurentibus ceteris nuntiatur piratarum esse navis in portu Odysseae; nam ita is locus nominatur; nostra autem classis erat in portu Pachyni.
But Cleomenes, who thought he was another Verres not only in excess and vice but also in power, in the same way was drinking heavily all day, every day in a tent pitched on the shore. But look! Suddenly, whilst Clemones was drunk and everyone else was hungry, it is announced that a ship of pirates was in the harbour of Odyssa - for this is what that place is called; but our fleet was in the harbour of Pachynus.
ANALYSE
Cleomenes autem, qui alterum se Verrem cum luxurie ac nequitia tum etiam imperio putaret, similiter totos dies in litore tabernaculo posito perpotabat. ecce autem repente ebrio Cleomene esurentibus ceteris nuntiatur piratarum esse navis in portu Odysseae; nam ita is locus nominatur; nostra autem classis erat in portu Pachyni.
- ‘alterum se Verrem’ - ‘se’ in the middle, Verres is surrounding Cleomenes, links back to how he is the main problem
- ‘ecce autem repente’ - builds suspense/draws audience in
- ‘nuntiatur’ - vivid present, draws in audience
- ‘ebrio Cleomene esurentibus ceteris’ - contrast of alliteration signifies contrast between Cleomenes and rest of Sicily, separates him to the audience, antagonises him
- ‘in portu Odyssae […] in portu Pachyni’ - pirates at the start of sentence to show the near danger, our fleet at the end to show the distance and lack of ability to help. Use of collective, inclusive pronoun makes it more relevant to the audience.
TRANSLATE
Cleomenes autem, quod erat terrestre praesidium non re sed nomine, speravit iis militibus quos ex eo loco deduxisset explere se numerum nautarum et remigium posse. reperta est eadem istius hominis avarissimi ratio in praesidiis quae in classibus; nam erat perpauci reliqui, ceteri dimissi.
But Cleomenes, because there was a land garrison (not in reality but in name only) hoped that he could make up numbers of soldiers and rowers from those soldiers whom he had brought down from that place. That very greedy man applied the same logic for the garrisons as he’d used for the fleets. For there were very few left, the rest were dismissed.
ANALYSE
Cleomenes autem, quod erat terrestre praesidium non re sed nomine, speravit iis militibus quos ex eo loco deduxisset explere se numerum nautarum et remigium posse. reperta est eadem istius hominis avarissimi ratio in praesidiis quae in classibus; nam erat perpauci reliqui, ceteri dimissi.
- ‘non re sed nomine’ and ‘speravit’ - shows audience that Cleomenes’s plan was never going to work - deems him as foolish
- ‘istius hominis’ - derogatory
- ‘avarissimi’ - superlative/ the MOST greedy
- ‘ratio’ - irony further attacks Cleomenes’s lack of rationality
- ‘perpauci’ - ‘per’ acts as an intensifier, emphasising how little people are left
TRANSLATE
procedit iste repente e praetorio inflammatus scelere furore crudelitate; in forum venit, nauarchos vocari iubet. qui nihil metuerent, nihil suspiciarentur, statim accurrunt. iste hominibus miseris innocentibus inici catenas imperat. implorare illi fidem praetoris, et quare id faceret rogare. tum iste hoc causae dicit, quod classem praedonibus prodidissent.
That man suddenly proceeded from the headquarters, inflamed by wickedness, madness, and cruelty. He came into the forum, ordered the ships’ captains to be summoned. They feared nothing, suspected nothing; at once they ran along. That man had ordered chains to be thrown on the wretched innocent men. Those men called upon the faith of the governor and they asked why he was doing this. That man gave this as the reason: that they had handed over the fleet to the pirates.
ANALYSE
procedit iste repente e praetorio inflammatus scelere furore crudelitate; in forum venit, nauarchos vocari iubet. qui nihil metuerent, nihil suspiciarentur, statim accurrunt. iste hominibus miseris innocentibus inici catenas imperat. implorare illi fidem praetoris, et quare id faceret rogare. tum iste hoc causae dicit, quod classem praedonibus prodidissent.
- ‘procedit’, ‘venit’ etc. - vivid present verbs make the story more dramatic for the audience
- ‘inflammatus scelere furore crudelitate’ - asyndetic tricolon, passive verb shows his lack of control, emphasising his madness. This contrasts with upper class Roman values of honour, order and control, and decorum - appeals to audience.
- ‘in forum venit’ - forum is centre of Roman life, showing how Verres’s actions affect the people.
- ‘nihil metuerent, nihil suspicarentur’ - parallelism shows the naivity of sailors, building sympathy - antagonises Verres
TRANSLATE
fit clamor et admiratio populi tantam esse in homine impudentiam atque audaciam ut aut aliis causam calamitatis attribueret quae omnis propter avaritiam ipsius accidisset, aut, cum ipse praedonum socius arbitraretur, aliis proditionis crimen inferret; deinde hoc quinto decimo die crimen esse natum postquam classis est amissa.
The people shouted in amazement that there was so much shamelessness and audacity in that man either that he should attribute the cause of the disaster to others which had entirely happened on account of his greed or since he was thought to be in league with the pirates himself, that he should bring the charge of treason upon others. Moreover, [they said that] this charge had originated on the fifteenth day after the fleet was lost.
ANALYSE
fit clamor et admiratio populi tantam esse in homine impudentiam atque audaciam ut aut aliis causam calamitatis attribueret quae omnis propter avaritiam ipsius accidisset, aut, cum ipse praedonum socius arbitraretur, aliis proditionis crimen inferret; deinde hoc quinto decimo die crimen esse natum postquam classis est amissa.
- ‘tantam’ - intensifier, emphasises adjectives
- ‘impudentiam atque audaciam’ - tautology emphasises both adjectives
- ‘causam calamitatis’ - cacophony, harsh sounds symbolise disaster
- ‘aliis […] ipsius […] aliis’ - repeated contrast between Verres and everyone else, isolates and antagonises him
- ‘omnis’ - shows the scale of Verres’s responsibility for disaster
TRANSLATE
includuntur in carcerem condemnati; supplicium constituunntur in illos, sumitur de miseris parentibus nauarchorum; prohibentur adire ad filios, prohibentur liberis suis cibum vestitumque ferre. patres hi quo videtis iacebant in limine, matresque miserae pernoctabant ad ostium carceris ab extremo conspectu liberum exclusae; quae nihil aliud orabant nisi ut filiorum suorum postremum spiritum ore excipere liceret.
The condemned men were shut up in prison; punishments were decided against them; these were extracted from the wretched parents of thr ships’ captains. They were prohibited from going to their sons; they were prohibited from bringing food and clothes to their children. These fathers, whom you see, were lying on the threshhold, and the miserable mothers were spending the night at the entrance to the prison, excluded from a final glimpse of their children. These women were begging for nothing more than to be allowed to recieve their sons’ dying breaths with their mouth.
ANALYSE
includuntur in carcerem condemnati; supplicium constituunntur in illos, sumitur de miseris parentibus nauarchorum; prohibentur adire ad filios, prohibentur liberis suis cibum vestitumque ferre. patres hi quo videtis iacebant in limine, matresque miserae pernoctabant ad ostium carceris ab extremo conspectu liberum exclusae; quae nihil aliud orabant nisi ut filiorum suorum postremum spiritum ore excipere liceret.
- ‘includuntur in carcerem condemnati; supplicium constituuntur’ - cacophony, harsh Cs symbolises harshness of situation
- ‘prohibentur […] prohibentur’ - repetition emohasises parents’ lack of freedom
- ‘liberis’ - referred to as children builds sympathy amongst the audience, antagonising Verres
- ‘hi quos videtis’ - directly addresses audience, brings them in
- ‘matresque miserae’ - soft M alliteration represents the sadness of mothers
- ‘ore’ - singular, makes the story a personal tradgedy, building sympathy, makes story more shocking when applied to all of the sailors
TRANSLATE
aderat ianitor carceris, carnifex praetoris, mors terrorque sociorum et civium Romanorum, lictor Sextius, cui ex omni gemitu doloreque certa merces comparabatur. ‘ut adeas tantum dabis, ut cibum tibi intro ferre liceat, tantum.’ nemo recusabat. ‘quid? ut uno ictu securis adferam mortem filio tuo, quid dabis? ne diu crucietur, ne saepius feriatur, ne cum sensu doloris aliquot spiritus auferatur?’ etiam ob hanc causam pecunia lictori dabatur.
The doorkeeper of the prison was present, the praetor’s executioner, the death and terror of the allies Roman citizens, the lictor Sextius, who was earning a fixed reward from all the groaning and grief. “You will give so much to go in; to be allowed to bring food inside, so much” Nobody was refusing. “What? so that I bring death to your son with just one blow of the axe, what will you give? So that he won’t be tortured for a long time, so that he won’t be struck more often, so that his spirit won’t be stolen away with some feeling of pain?” Even for this reason, money was being given to the lictor.
