LVII 1-4 Flashcards
cum…deberem…repetere
when I had to return
a Bais…Neapolim
from Baiae to Naples
facile credidi tempestatem esse
it was easy for me to believe that there was a storm
ne iterum navem experirer
so that I did not experience a boat trip again
et…tota via
and yet the whole road
tantum luti…fuit
was so full of mud
ut possim videri
that I may seem
nihilominus navigasse
to have sailed nonetheless
mihi illo die perpetiendum fuit
on that day I had to endure
totum athletarum fatum
the whole fate of athletes/wrestlers
a ceromate
after an anointing
nos haphe excepit
the yellow sand covered me
in crypta Neapolitana
in the tunnel of/at Naples
nihil…longius
nothing was/is longer
illo carcere
than that prison
nihil…obscurius
nothing darker
illis facibus
than those torches
quae nobis praestant
which stand out to us
non ut per tenebras videamus
not so that we may see through the darkness
sed ut ipsas
(agreeing with tenebras) but so that we may see the darkness itself
ceterum
moreover
etiam si locus haberet lucem
even if the place were to have light
pulvis auferret
the dust would take it away
quoque res gravis et molesta
which is also a heavy and annoying thing
in aperto
in the open
quid illic
what is it like in that place
ubi in se volutatur et
where it is rolled over itself and,
cum…sit inclusus
since it is shut in
sine ullo spiramento
without any air vents/ventilation,
in ipsos a quibus excitatus est recidit
falls back onto the very people who stirred it/by whom it has been kicked up
duo incommoda…pertulimus
I/we endured two inconveniences
inter se contraria simul
though at the same time very different from each other
eadem via…laboravimus
I/we struggled on the same road
eodem die
on the same day
et luto et pulvere
because of the mud and dust
tamen…illa obscuritas
however that darkness
aliquid…mihi…dedit
gave me something
quod cogitarem
to think about/ponder
sensi quendam ictum animi
I felt/noticed some flash of inspiration
et…mutationem
and a change in my mind (repeat animi)
sine metu
without fear
simul ac foeditas fecerat
had produced, at the same time as its filthiness
quam insolitae rei novitas
a change which the novelty of the unfamiliar situation
non de me nunc tecum loquor
I am not speaking to you about myself now
qui multum…absum
because I/I who am very far
ab homine tolerabili
from a tolerable person
nedum a perfecto
not to speak of a perfect one
sed de illo in quem fortuna
but about that man over whom Fortune
ius perdidit
has lost her jurisdiction/control
quaedam enim, mi Lucili
for, my Lucilius…certain things
nulla…virtus
no courage/virtue
effugere…potest
can escape (from)
admonet illam natura
nature reminds courage/virtue
mortalitatis suae
of its own mortality
itaque et vultum adducet
and so he will both strain his features
ad tristia
at sad times/things
et inhorrescet ad subita
and will bristle at an unpleasant surprise
et caligabit
and will darken
si…despexerit
if he looks down
vastam altitudinem
an enormous precipice
in crepidine eius constitutus
when stood on the edge of
non est hoc timor
this is not fear
sed naturalis affectio
but a natural feeling
inexpugnabilis rationi
unassailable by reason
huius quoque ferietur animus
this man’s soul will also be struck
mutabitur color
his complexion will be changed
