Petronius - A Spooky Story Flashcards
cum adhuc servirem, amare coepi Melissam,
When I was still a slave, I began to love Melissa
uxorem Terentii cauponis, pulcherrimum bacciballum.
the wife of the innkeeper Terentius, the most beautiful little peach.
huius contubernalis ad villam supremum diem obiit.
Her partner met his last day at the country house.
itaque per scutum per ocream egi aginavi quemadmodum ad illam pervenirem:
And so I acted by shield or by greave and I plotted how I might reach her:
nam in angustiis amici apparent.
for it is in emergencies that friends are revealed.
forte dominus Capuam exierat ad negotium expediendum.
By chance my master had gone to Capua to sort out [some] business
ego occasionem nactus persuadeo hospiti nostro ut mecum ad quintum miliarium veniat.
I, having seized the opportunity, persuaded our guest to come with me to the fifth mile.
erat autem miles, fortis tamquam Orcus.
Moreover he was a soldier, brave as hell.
apoculamus nos circa gallicinia; luna lucebat tamquam meridie.
We set off around the cock-crow; the moon was shining like it was midday.
venimus inter monimenta: homo meus coepit ad stelas facere; sedeo ego cantabundus et stelas numero.
We came among the monuments, my man began to go towards the tombstones; I sat singing and counted the tombstones.
deinde ut respexi ad comitem,
Then, when I looked back at my companion,
ille exuit se et omnia vestimenta secundum viam posuit.
he stripped off and placed all his clothes beside the road.
mihi anima in naso esse; stabam tamquam mortuus.
My soul was in my nose; I was standing as though dead.
at ille circumminxit vestimenta sua, et subito lupus factus est.
But he piddled around his clothes and suddenly he was turned into a werewolf.
nolite me iocari putare; ululare coepit et in silvas fugit.
Don’t think I’m joking; he began to howl and fled into the woods.
ego primo nesciebam ubi essem; deinde accessi ut vestimenta eius tollerem:
At first I didn’t know where I was; then I approached in order to pick up his clothes:
illa autem lapidea facta sunt.
but they were made of stone.
paene timore mortuus sum.
I almost died with fear.
gladium tamen strinxi et in tota via umbras cecidi,
However I drew my sword and I slashed the shadows through the whole street,
donec ad villam amicae meae pervenirem.
until I reached my friend’s house.
ut larva intravi, paene animam ebullivi, sudor mihi per crura fluebat, oculi mortui;
I entered like a ghost, I almost poured out my soul, sweat was pouring down my legs, my eyes were dead
vix umquam refectus sum.
I barely ever recovered.
Melissa mea mirari coepit quod tam sero ambularem.
My Melissa began to show suprise because I was out walking so late.
‘si ante’ inquit ‘venisses, saltem nos adiuvisses;
She said ‘If you had come earlier, you could at least have helped us;
lupus enim villam intravit et omnia pecora oppugnavit;
for a wolf entered the country house and attacked all the sheep;
tamquam lanius sanguinem illis misit.
he let out their blood like a butcher.
nec tamen derisit, etiam si fugit;
However he didn’t have the last laugh, even if he did escape;
servus enim noster lancea collum eius traiecit.’
for one of our slaves pierced his neck with a spear.’
haec ut audivi, operire oculos amplius non potui, sed clara luce domum fugi;
When I heard this, I couldn’t shut my eyes any longer, but I rushed home in broad daylight;
et postquam veni in illum locum in quo lapidea vestimenta erant facta,
and when I came to the place where the clothes had turned to stone,
nihil inveni nisi sanguinem.
I found nothing except some blood.
ut vero domum veni, iacebat miles meus in lecto tamquam bos, et collum eius medicus curabat.
When I actually got home, my soldier friend was lying in bed like an ox, and a doctor was attending to his neck.
intellexi illum versipellem esse, nec postea cum illo panem gustare potui,
Then I understood that he was a werewolf, and after that I was never able to eat bread with him,
non si me occidisses.
not if you had killed me.
