Sagae Thessalae- Appuleius Flashcards
cum haec etiam loca provincae clarae visitare cuperem
since I wanted to visit these places of the famous province as well,
Iuvenis ego mileto profectus ad spectaculum olympicum,
As a young man having set out from Miletus to the Olympic Games,
LIT CRIT:
Mileto is an ablative without a preposition which means from- Miletus is very far from Thessaly- highlights the distance and importance of the journey
peregrata tota thessalia larissam preveni
I travelled through the whole of Thessaly and reached Larissa.
Ac dum urbem perrerans
And while wandering through the city
tenuato viatico
My travel money having diminished
paupertati meae fomenta quaero,
I searched for remedies for my poverty
Medio in foro senem conspicio
[And] I caught sight of an old man in the middle of the forum
LIT CRIT:
In is literally in the middle of the forum (medio in foro) highlights the old mans importance in the middle of the forum
Insistebat lapidem
He was standing on a stone
Voce praedicibat
And proclaiming in a loud voice
Si quis mortuum custodire vellet,
If anyone wanted to guard a dead body
Magnum praemium accepturum esse.
He would receive a large reward.
LIT CRIT:
Assonance of “um” with “mortuum” emphasises importance of death and reward
Et cuidam praetereunti “quid hoc” inquam “audio?
And I said to somebody passing by, “what’s this I hear?
LIT CRIT: “audio”- short questions highlight thelyphrons ignorance
Hic mortui Solent aufugere?”
Do the dead usually run away here?”
LIT CRIT:
“Aufugere” emphatically positioned at the end of the line to highlight shock at them running away
“Tace” respondet ille
“Be quiet” he replied
“Nam puer et satis peregrinus es
For you are a boy and a mere foreigner
Meritoque nescis in Thessalia te esse,
And naturally you don’t know that you are in Thessaly,
Ubi sagae ora mortuorum semper demorsicant,
Where witches always bite pieces out of the faces of the dead
LIT CRIT:
- deMORsicant & MORtuorom- assonance=highlights eating to death
- “demorsicant” gruelling and violent
Quae sunt illis artis magicae supplementa”
Which are extra ingredients for them in their magic art.”
Contra ego: “quali custodela” inquam “opus est?”
In reply I said, “what sort of protection is needed?”
“Iam prium” respondet illi
“To begin with” he replied
“Totam noctem examie vigilandum est apertis et inconivis oculis semper in cadaver intentis”
“All night you must stay fully awake with eyes open and sleepless, directed always at the corpse,
LIT CRIT:
“Totam noctem”- emphatic positioning to highlight ALL night
Nec acies usquam devertenda est,
And your glance must not be turned away anywhere else
Cum illae pessimae sagae latenter arrepant,
Since those very wicked witches creep up secretly,
Forma in quodvis animal conversa.
With their shape changed into any animal.