Medieval Latin Online (University of Oklahoma)

Week 6: Augustinus: De civitate dei.

Reading #1: De civitate dei, 7.35

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[In this passage, Augustine refers to the divination practiced by Numa, the legendary king of Rome, and also to the magic rituals of the magician/mathematician Pythagoras. He bases his discussion on the Roman writer, Varro.]

Nam et ipse Numa, ad quem nullus Dei propheta, nullus sanctus angelus mittebatur,	Numa was one of the legendary rulers of Rome quem: relative pronoun (antecedent is Numa)
	did God send prophets or angels to the pagan king Numa?
hydromantian facere compulsus est,	hydromantian = Greek fem. sing. accusative noun hydro = "water" manteia = "prophecy" facere: complementary infinitive with compulsus est
	what was Numa compelled to do, since he didn't have prophets or angels?
ut in aqua uideret imagines deorum uel potius ludificationes daemonum;	ut... videret: ut + subjunctive imagines: s.v. imago (accusative object of videret) potius: comparative adverb [neuter singular ending] vel potius [ut videret] ludificationes daemonum ludificationes: s.v. ludificatio daemonum: genitive plural
	what did Numa see in the water?
aquibus audiret, quid in sacris constituere atque obseruare deberet.	[ut[ audiret: ut + subjunctive quid...deberet: subjunctive in indirect question introduced by audiret constituere, observare: complementary infinitives with deberet
	what did Numa want to learn from this "water" magic?
Quod genus diuinationis idem Varro a Persis dicit allatum,	quod: relative pronoun at beginning of sentence (quod genus idem = hoc genus idem) divinationis: s.v. divinatio Varro: great Roman scholar (almost all of his works are now lost, but they were well known to Augustine) allatum = allatum esse (infinitive in indirect statement, introduced by dicit) a Persis: magic was supposed to have originated with the "magi" of ancient Persia
	according to Varro, where did this type of magic come from?
quo et ipsum Numam et postea Pythagoram philosophum usum fuisse commemorat;	quo = quo genere divinationis quo: ablative, with usum fuisse (utor takes ablative) [Varro] commemorat Numam et Pythagoram usum fuisse: usum fuisse: deponent infinitive in indirect statement Pythagoras: he was not just a mathematician, but also a mystic and magician
	besides Numa, who also used this kind of magic?
ubi adhibito sanguine etiam inferos perhibet sciscitari et "nekuomanteian" Graece dicit uocari;	adhibito sanguine: ablative absolute sciscitor, sciscitari: deponent infinitive in indirect statement introduced by perhibet; takes accusative object, inferos perhibet: subject is Varro nekuomanteian = Greek fem. sing. accusative noun nekus = dead body, corpse vocari: passive infinitive in indirect statement introduced by dicit dicit: subject is Varro
	in addition to water magic, what other kind of magic was used?
quae siue hydromantia siue necromantia dicatur, id ipsum est: ubi uidentur mortui diuinare.	quae: relative pronoun (antecedent is nekuomanteia) necromantia: Latin equivalent of Greek nekuomanteia divinare: complementary infinitive with videntur (passive of video: they seem to...) id ipsum: neuter singular ("the same thing") mortui: nominative plural, subject of videntur
	why does Varro consider hydromancy and necromancy to be one and the same thing?
[...] Qui ergo uitam nec modo habere uult piam, talibus sacris quaerat aeternam;	qui: relative pronoun (he who...) Augustine is being sarcastic here: qui non vult habere vitam piam, [iste] quaerat [vitam] aeternam talibus sacris ("if somebody doesn't care about leading a pious life, then let him seek eternal life by means of this nasty magic")
	what does Augustine think about people who use magic?
qui autem cum malignis daemonibus non uult habere societatem, non superstitionem, qua coluntur, noxiam pertimescat, sed ueram religionem, qua produntur et uincuntur, agnoscat.	autem: postpositive qui: relative pronoun (he who...) cum: preposition, with ablative Augustine is not being sarcastic here: [hic] non pertimescat noxiam superstitionem, qua (daemones) coluntur, sed agnoscat veram religionem, qua (daemones) produntur et vincuntur. superstitionem: s.v. superstitio (in the sense of "magic", the superstitious practices that pagans like Numa and Pythagoras practiced) coluntur... produntur et vincuntur: subject is daemones pertimescat...agnoscat: jussive subjunctive
	how can someone defeat demons and conquer superstitious fears?

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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