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Week 5: Augustinus: Confessiones.

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Reading #3

ego
sub quadam fici arbore
stravi me
nescio quomodo,
stravi: s.v. sterno
nescio: this is not a real verb, but an idiom (nescio quomodo: I don't know how, somehow or other)
where did Augustine throw himself down on the ground?
et dimisi habenas lacrimis,
et proruperunt
flumina oculorum meorum,
acceptabile sacrificium tuum,
proruperunt: s.v. prorumpo
flumina: neuter pl. (subject of proruperunt)
sacrificium: in apposition with flumina
  what did Augustine start to do?
et non quidem his verbis,
sed in hac sententia
multa dixi tibi:
et tu, domine, usquequo?
usquequo, domine,
irasceris in finem?
multa: neuter acc. plural (object of dixi)
  what question did Augustine ask of God?
ne memor fueris
iniquitatum nostrarum antiquarum;
sentiebam enim
eis me teneri.
ne memor fueris: ne plus subjunctive as negative imperative
memor: takes genitive (iniquitatum)
iniquitatum: s.v. iniquitas
enim: postpositive
teneri: passive infinitive
me teneri: accusative + infinitive in indirect statement, introduced by sentiebam
  what did Augustine ask God to forget?
iactabam voces miserabiles:
quamdiu, quamdiu?
cras et cras?
quare non modo?
quare non hac hora
finis turpitudinis meae?

voces: s.v. vox
modo: in the sense of "now"
hora: ablative of time
quare non hac hora (fit) finis turpitudinis meae?
turpitudinis: s.v. turpitudo

  what did Augustine want to happen that day, that very moment?
Dicebam haec,
et flebam,
amarissima contritione
cordis mei.
et ecce audio vocem
de vicina domo
haec: neuter acc. plural (object of dicebam)
amarissima: ablative (with contritione)
cordis: s.v. cor
vocem: s.v. vox
domo: ablative (remember: domus is feminine)
  what did Augustine hear?
cum cantu
dicentis,
et crebro repetenis,
quasi pueri an puellae,
nescio:
cum: preposition, takes ablative (cum cantu: with a melody, in a sing-song style)
dicentis: genitive singular ("of somebody speaking")
repetentis: genitive singular
pueri...puellae: genitive singular
what was the voice like? who did the voice belong to?
tolle lege, tolle lege.  
  what was the voice saying?
statimque
mutato vultu
intentissimus cogitare coepi
utrumnam solerent pueri
in aliquo genere ludendi
cantitare tale aliquid.
mutato vultu: ablative absolute
intentissimus: agrees with subject of coepi (ego)
solerent: subjunctive in indirect question, introduced by cogitare
genere: s.v. genus
cantitare: complementary infinitive with solerent
tale aliquid: neuter acc. (object of cantitare)
  what was Augustine's first thought when he heard the voice saying "pick it up, read; pick it up, read"?
nec occurrebat
omnino audisse me uspiam,
nec = et non
omnino: adverb
audisse me: accusative + infinitive in indirect statement, introduced by occurrebat
uspiam: adverb
  but what did he then conclude?
repressoque impetu lacrimarum
surrexi,
nihil aliud interpretans
divinitus mihi iuberi,
nisi ut aperirem codicem
et legerem
quod primum caput
invenissem.

represso impetu: ablative absolute
surrexi: s.v. surgo
divinitus: adverb
iuberi: infinitive in indirect statement, introduced by interpretans
ut aperirem...legerem: ut + subjunctive
codicem: s.v. codex
quod primum: the very first
caput: in the sense of "chapter"


  what did Augustine conclude about the voice?
[...] arripui, aperui
et legi in silentio capitulum,
quo primum coniecti sunt
oculi mei:
quo: relative pronoun (antecedent is capitulum)
quo: dative, with coniecti sunt
primum: adverb
oculi mei: nominative plural (subject of coniecti sunt)
what did Augustine do?
"non in comissationibus
et ebrietatibus,
non in cubilibus
et inpudicitiis,
non in contentione
et aemulatione,
(the passage is from Romans 13.13-14)
  what does Paul say must be rejected?
sed induite dominum
Iesum Christum,
et carnis providentiam
ne feceritis
in concupiscentiis. "
ne feceritis: ne + subjunctive as negative imperative
  what does Paul say should be done?
nec ultra volui legere,
nec opus erat.
ultra: adverb
opus: in the sense of opus est, there is need of something, it is necessary
  did Augustine keep reading, or stop?


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