Original
Literary translation
§ 7.1
carmina nōn prius audīta Mūsārum sacerdōs virginibus puerīsque cantō .
As the priest of the Muses, I sing songs never heard before to girls and boys.
Note 7.1
A three-line excerpt from Horace, Odes 3.1.2–4, quoted as a Latin epigraph in Reed. Carmina is the accusative neuter plural object of canto; audita is a perfect passive participle agreeing with carmina; non prius means “not previously.” Musarum is a genitive dependent on sacerdos, a nominative singular apposition to the implied “I.” Virginibus puerisque are coordinated datives, “to girls and boys”; -que means “and.”
§ 7.2
Fābulam dē Horātiō ,poētā praeclārō ,nunc vōbīs nārrābō .
I shall now tell you a story about Horace, the celebrated poet.
Note 7.2
Narrabo is a first-person singular future indicative; vobis is dative plural (“to you”). De takes the ablative Horatio, with poeta praeclaro in ablative apposition. Fabulam is accusative object.
§ 7.3
Āpūlia regiō est Ītaliae .
Apulia is a region of Italy.
Note 7.3
Apulia and regio are nominative singular subject and predicate noun; Italiae is genitive singular, “of Italy.”
§ 7.4
Multās silvās ,multōs et amoenōs campōs habet .
It has many forests and many pleasant fields.
Note 7.4
Apulia is the understood singular subject of habet; silvas and campos are coordinated accusative plural objects. Multos and amoenos both modify campos; et links those adjectives.
§ 7.5
In prātīs herbōsīs multī gregēs ,multa equōrum boumque armenta errant .
In the grassy meadows wander many flocks and many herds of horses and cattle.
Note 7.5
In pratis herbosis is ablative of place where. Multi greges and multa ... armenta are both nominative plural subjects of errant. Equorum and boumque are genitive plurals dependent on armenta; -que attaches “and” to boum.
§ 7.6
Hic ōlim Horātius habitābat ,parvulus adhūc et mātrī patrīque cārus .
Here Horace once lived, still a little boy and dear to his mother and father.
Note 7.6
Hic is the adverb “here,” not demonstrative “this.” Parvulus and carus are nominative masculine singular describing Horatius. Matri patrique are datives of reference after carus; -que means “and.”
§ 7.7
Forte servōs ,forte patrem mātremque fefellit ,et sōlus per prāta amoena errābat .
Perhaps he escaped the notice of the servants, perhaps of his father and mother, and wandered alone through the lovely meadows.
Note 7.7
The repeated forte can mean “perhaps ... perhaps,” although “by chance” is possible. Fefellit is perfect of fallo (“deceived/escaped the notice of”), taking accusative servos, patrem and matremque; errabat is imperfect for the ensuing wandering. Solus is nominative masculine singular agreeing with Horatius; per governs accusative prata amoena.
§ 7.8
Grātī puerō erant flōrēs et herba et rūra dīvīna .
The flowers, the grass, and the divine countryside delighted the boy.
Note 7.8
Grati is nominative masculine plural predicate adjective agreeing in the masculine plural with the mixed-gender coordinated subjects flores (masculine), herba (feminine), and rura (neuter). Puero is a dative with gratus, “pleasing to the boy,” not the subject. Divina modifies neuter plural rura.
§ 7.9
Mox autem puer ,lūdō et errōribus fessus ,in valle herbōsā iacuit et animum somnō profundō laxāvit .
Before long the boy, tired from playing and wandering, lay down in a grassy valley and relaxed his mind in deep sleep.
Note 7.9
Ludo et erroribus are ablatives of cause after fessus (“weary from play and wanderings”). In valle herbosa is ablative location. Iacuit and laxavit are perfect indicative third-person singular; animum is accusative object of laxavit and somno profundo ablative of means or attendant state.
§ 7.10
Intereā parentēs sollicitī puerum dīligenter quaerēbant .
Meanwhile his anxious parents searched diligently for the boy.
Note 7.10
Parentes and solliciti are nominative masculine plural (the conventional mixed-gender plural); puerum is accusative object; quaerebant is imperfect indicative.
§ 7.11
Et parentēs et servī vehementer timēbant .
Both the parents and the servants were terribly afraid.
Note 7.11
Et ... et means “both ... and”; parentes and servi form the compound nominative plural subject, timebant is imperfect.
§ 7.12
“Lupī saevī ,”inquiunt ,“et ursī silvās incolunt .
“Savage wolves,” they say, “and bears inhabit the woods.
Note 7.12
Lupi saevi and ursi are coordinated nominative plural subjects of incolunt, taking accusative silvas. Inquiunt is a third-person plural present-form speech tag (historical/present of narration), not a perfect. Direct speech runs into the following unit.
§ 7.13
Lupus fortasse puerum etiam nunc crūdēliter necat .”
Perhaps a wolf is even now cruelly killing the boy.”
Note 7.13
Lupus is nominative singular subject of necat (present indicative); puerum accusative singular object. Fortasse modifies the conjecture; etiam nunc is “even now,” used in the parents’ imagined immediate danger.
§ 7.14
Itaque diū et dīligenter puerum quaerēbant .
And so they searched for the boy long and carefully.
Note 7.14
Itaque links result; diu and diligenter are adverbs. Quaerebant is imperfect third-person plural, describing a continuing search.
§ 7.15
Tandem in caelō columbās albās vidēbant .
At last they could see white doves in the sky.
Note 7.15
In caelo is ablative of place; columbas albas is accusative feminine plural object of the imperfect videbant; the implied subject is the family and servants.
§ 7.16
Columbae per caelum undique volābant et folia ad locum herbōsum portābant .
Doves were flying through the sky from every direction and carrying leaves to a grassy spot.
Note 7.16
Columbae is nominative plural subject of both imperfect verbs volabant and portabant. Per caelum and ad locum herbosum use accusative; folia is accusative neuter plural object. Undique means “from all sides.”
§ 7.17
Parentēs ad locum contendērunt et ecce !
The parents hurried to the spot, and behold!
Note 7.17
Parentes is nominative plural; ad locum accusative of motion towards; contenderunt perfect (“hurried/made for”). Ecce is an interjection, punctuated with an exclamation mark in the original.
§ 7.18
Infāns in herbā placidus impavidusque dormītābat ;columbae in terrā ,in arboribus passim sedēbant ;columbae per caelum volābant ,et parvulī corpus foliīs tegēbant .
The child slept peacefully and without fear in the grass; doves sat here and there on the ground and in the trees; other doves flew across the sky and covered the little boy’s body with leaves.
Note 7.18
Infans is nominative singular (child) with nominative masculine placidus impavidusque; dormitabat is imperfect. Columbae is nominative plural in both subsequent clauses. In terra and in arboribus take ablatives; per caelum accusative. Parvuli is genitive singular, “of the little boy,” modifying accusative corpus (the direct object of tegebant); foliis is ablative of means. Impavidusque contains enclitic -que, “and.”
§ 7.19
Nec lupī nec ursī infantem necāverant ,quia Mūsae poētam etiam infantem semper cōnservant .
Neither wolves nor bears had killed the child, for the Muses always protect the poet, even when he is an infant.
Note 7.19
Nec ... nec means “neither ... nor”; lupi and ursi are nominative plural subjects of pluperfect necaverant. Infantem (first occurrence) is accusative object. Musae nominative plural subject of gnomic present conservant; poetam is accusative object and etiam infantem is an appositional accusative (“even as a baby”), not a new separate object.
§ 7.20
Post multōs annōs Horātius ,iam adolēscēns ,Rōmam ,magnam urbem ,incolēbat .
Many years later, Horace, now a young man, was living in Rome, a great city.
Note 7.20
Post governs accusative multos annos. Horatius is nominative subject; adolescens nominative singular apposition. Romam is accusative object of transitive incolebat (“inhabited/lived in”), with magnam urbem accusative apposition; not the accusative of destination of an intransitive verb.
§ 7.21
Sed dīvīna rūra et vītam rūsticam semper laudābat .
But he always praised the divine countryside and country life.
Note 7.21
Divina rura (accusative neuter plural) and vitam rusticam (accusative feminine singular) are coordinated objects of imperfect laudabat; the unexpressed subject is Horatius.
§ 7.22
Mūsae per multa perīcula poētam cōnservāvērunt .
The Muses protected the poet through many dangers.
Note 7.22
Musae is nominative plural subject; poetam is accusative singular object of perfect conservaverunt; per governs accusative multa pericula.
§ 7.23
Horātiī carmina per tōtum orbem terrārum etiam nunc nōta et praeclāra sunt .
Horace’s poems are still known and famous throughout the whole world.
Note 7.23
Horatii is genitive singular possession; carmina is nominative neuter plural subject. Nota and praeclara are nominative neuter plural predicates. Per takes accusative totum orbem, with terrarum genitive plural (“of lands”); etiam nunc means “even now/still.”
§ 7.24
Vōs quoque Horātiī carmina mox lēgētis et in memoriae tabulīs scribētis .
You too will soon read Horace’s poems and write them on the tablets of your memory.
Note 7.24
Vos is nominative plural subject (address to readers); legetis and scribetis are future indicative second-person plural. Carmina is accusative neuter plural object of legetis and understood also with scribetis. In memoriae tabulis is ablative place where (“on tablets of memory”); memoriae genitive singular modifies tabulis, a metaphor for retaining what one reads in memory, with a possible echo of literal school writing tablets.
