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Week 5: Augustinus: Confessiones.

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Reading #1: Confessions 2.4.9

Go to Reading 2->

Furtum certe punit
lex tua, domine,
et lex scripta
in cordibus hominum,
quam
ne ipsa quidem
delet iniquitas:

certe: adverb
cordibus: s.v. cor
quam: relative pronoun (antecedent is lex), object of delete
ne...quidem: this is a single phrase, meaning "not even" - and the ipsa goes with iniquitas - "not even the iniquity (of theft) can erase..."

  by what law is theft punished?
quis enim fur
aequo animo
furem patitur?
nec copiosus
adactum inopia.
quis: interrogative adjective, with fur (which thief, what thief?)
patitur: s.v. patior (deponent verb, transitive, takes object furem)
nec = et non
et copiosus (fur) non (patitur furem) adactum inopia: parallel structure
inopia: ablative, with passive adactum
  how do thieves themselves look upon theft?
et ego furtum
facere volui,
et feci,
nulla conpulsus egestate,
nisi penuria et fastidio iustitiae
et sagina iniquitatis.
nulla egestate: ablative, with passive conpulsus
penuria: ablative
sagina: ablative
  what reason did Augustine have for committing theft?
nam id furatus sum,
quod mihi abundabat
et multa melius;
id: neuter accusative, object of furatus sum (transitive deponent verb)
quod: relative pronoun, antecedent is id
melius: neuter, comparative of bonus
  was there something that Augustine lacked so that he had to steal it?
nec ea re
volebam frui,
quam furto appetebam,
sed ipso furto et peccato.
ea re: ablative, with frui
frui: deponent infinitive, s.v. fruor
quam: relative pronoun (antecedent is ea res)
ipso furto et peccato: ablatives, with frui
  what did Augustine enjoy about stealing?
arbor erat pirus
in vicinia nostrae vineae,
pomis onusta,
nec forma nec sapore
inlecebrosis.
onusta: fem. adjective, with arbor
pomis: ablative plural, with onusta
nec = et non
forma...sapore: ablative (with the adjective inlecebrosis - the pears were tempting, but not because of their forma, not because of their sapor)
where was the pear tree located?
ad hanc excutiendam
atque asportandam
nequissimi adulescentuli
perreximus
nocte intempesta,
excutiendam...asportandam: gerunds of purpose
nequissimi: superlative of nequam
perreximus: s.v. pergo
nocte intempesta: ablative of time
  who else stole the pears, along with Augustine?
quousque
ludum
de pestilentiae more
in areis produxeramus,
quousque: in other words, all the way till night
ludum: object of produxeramus
  why were the boys running around so late at night?
et abstulimus inde
onera ingentia
non ad nostras epulas,
sed vel proicienda porcis,
etiamsi aliquid inde
comedimus,
dum tamen
fieret a nobis
quod eo liberet,
quo non liceret.
inde: adverb (thence, from there)
onera: s.v. onus; neuter acc. pl., object of abstulimus
abstulimus: s.v. aufero
vel: here in the sense of "actually"
proicienda: neuter plural, with onera (future passive)
inde: from there = from those pears, of those pears
dum fieret: dum + subjunctive
fieret: remember, fio is the passive of facio (it was done)
a nobis: "by us", with the passive fieret
liberet: s.v. libet (it is pleasurable)
liceret: s.v. licet (it is permitted)
eo...quo...: it was pleasurable for the reason that it was not permitted
what did the boys do with the pears that they stole?
ecce cor meum, deus,
ecce cor meum,
quod miseratus es
in imo abyssi.
quod: relative pronoun (antecedent is cor), neuter accusative, object of transitive deponent verb miseratus es
  what does Augustine present to God?
dicat tibi nunc
ecce cor meum,
quid ibi quaerebat:
ut essem gratis malus
et malitiae meae causa
nulla esset
nisi malitia.
dicat: jussive subjunctive
cor meum: neuter nominative (subject of dicat)
gratis: ablative plural (like English gratis, for free, for no reason)
ut essem... esset: ut + subjunctive
  what does Augustine's heart confess to God?
foeda erat,
et amavi eam;
amavi perire,
amavi defectum meum,
non illud,
ad quod deficiebam,
sed defectum meum ipsum
amavi,
foeda: adjective (foeda erat malitia)
quod: relative pronoun (antecedent is illud)
  what was it that Augustine loved so passionately?
turpis anima
et dissiliens
a firmamento tuo
in exterminium,
non dedecore aliquid,
sed dedecus appetens.

anima: ablative, with turpis (turpis in anima; see Jim O'Donnell's commentary)
turpis... dissiliens...appetens: masculine sg. adjectives (modifying ego, subject of amavi)
non (appetens) aliquid dedecore, sed appetens dedecus: parallel structure
dedecore: s.v. dedecus, ablative (appetens by means of dedecus)

  how does Augustine regard his earlier behavior? what was the point of it all?

Go to Reading 2->


Modern Languages 4970 / MRS 4903: Medieval Latin. Spring 2003 Online Course at the University of Oklahoma. Visit http://www.ou.edu/online/ for more info.
Laura Gibbs, University of Oklahoma - Information Technology © 2003.  laura-gibbs@ou.edu. Last updated: December 29, 2002 7:12 PM