image of Madaba mosaic

Week 13: Egeria.

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Reading Overview | Reading Quiz: English
| Reading Quiz: Latin
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Reading #2

Go to Reading #3 ->

Hac sic ergo
posteaquam communicaveramus
et dederant nobis eulogias
sancti illi
et egressi sumus
foras hostium ecclesiae,
tunc coepi eos rogare,
ut ostenderent nobis singula loca.

communico, -are: to take communion

hostium: hypercorrection for ostium

  what did the monks want to show them?
Tunc statim illi sancti dignati sunt
singula ostendere.
Nam ostenderunt nobis
speluncam illam,
ubi fuit sanctus Moyses,
cum iterato ascendisset
in montem Dei,
ut acciperet denuo tabulas,
posteaquam priores illas fregerat
peccante populo,

dignati sunt: s.v. dignor

for Moses getting the tablets a second time, see Exodus 34

peccante populo: ablative absolute

what was special about the cave?

et cetera loca,
quaecumque desiderabamus
vel quae ipsi melius noverant,
dignati sunt ostendere nobis.

[...]

melius: neuter comparative, used adverbially

 

  how did they decide what places to visit?
Completo ergo omni desiderio,
quo festinaveramus ascendere,
coepimus iam et descendere
ab ipsa summitate montis Dei,
in qua ascenderamus,
in alio monte,
qui ei periunctus est,
qui locus appellatur in Choreb;
ibi enim est ecclesia.

completo desiderio: ablative absolute

for Mount Horeb, see Exodus 3, and also Exodus 33

ei = ei monti (dative with periunctus est)

periunctus est: s.v. periungo = iungo

  what mountain did they go to next?
Nam hic est locus Choreb,
ubi fuit sanctus Helias propheta,
qua fugit a facie Achab regis,
ubi ei locutus est Deus dicens:
quid tu hic, Helias?,
sicut scriptum est
in libris regnorum.

for Elijah on Mt. Horeb, see 1 Kings 19 (note that Egeria's citation does not match the Vulgate)

Achab: gen. sg. (Hebrew names don't decline)

what was special about Mount Choreb?
Nam et spelunca,
ubi latuit sanctus Helias,
in hodie ibi ostenditur
ante hostium ecclesiae,
quae ibi est;
hostium: hypercorrection for ostium
  what was special about the cave here?
ostenditur etiam ibi
altarium lapideum,
quem posuit ipse sanctus Helias
ad offerendum Deo,
sicut et illi sancti
singula nobis ostendere dignabantur.

dignabantur: s.v. dignor

quem: used for masculine, neuter, and feminine

  what kind of offering did Elijah make in this place?
Fecimus ergo et ibi
oblationem
et orationem impensissimam,
et lectus est ipse locus
de libro regnorum:
id enim nobis
uel maxime ego desideraveram semper,
ut, ubicumque venissemus,
semper ipse locus de libro legeretur.
[...]
locus: here means a "place" or "passage" in a book
  what did they do whenever they visited a sacred place?
Propterea autem
ad caput ipsius vallis
exire nos necesse erat,
quoniam ibi erant
monasteria plurima sanctorum hominum
et ecclesia in eo loco,
ubi est rubus;
qui rubus usque in hodie vivet
et mittet virgultas.

the Burning Bush in St. Catherine's monastery

vivet et mittet = vivit et mittit

what does the "burning bush" look like today?
Ac sic ergo perdescenso monte Dei
pervenimus ad rubum
hora forsitan decima.
Hic est autem rubus,
quem superius dixi,
de quo locutus est Dominus Moysi
in igne,
qui est in eo loco,
ubi monasteria sunt plurima
et ecclesia
in capite vallis ipsius.

hora decima: ablative of time when

de quo: "from out of which"

for Moses and the burning bush, see Exodus 3

Moysi: Moyses is one of the few Hebrew words which declines; Moysi is dative

  what is now found where the burning bush can be seen?
Ante ipsam autem ecclesiam
hortus est gratissimus
habens aquam optimam abundantem,
in quo horto ipse rubus est.
Locus etiam ostenditur ibi iuxta,
ubi stetit sanctus Moyses,
quando ei dixit Deus:
"solve corrigiam calciamenti tui"
et cetera.
iuxta: adverb
what is there now in the place where Moses was told to take off his sandals?
Et in eo ergo loco
cum pervenissemus,
hora decima erat iam,
et ideo, quia iam sera erat,
oblationem facere non potuimus.
hora decima: ablative of time when
  what time of day did they arrive there?
Sed facta est oratio in ecclesia
nec non etiam et in horto ad rubum;
lectus est etiam locus ipse
de libro Moysi iuxta consuetudinem:
et sic, quia sera erat,
gustavimus nobis loco
in horto ante rubum
cum sanctis ipsis:
ac sic ergo fecimus ibi mansionem.

iuxta: preposition (takes acc.)

lectus est locus: here locus means a "passage" (a "place" in a book)

loco: in eo loco

 

  where did they take their evening meal?
Et alia die maturius vigilantes
rogavimus presbyteros,
ut et ibi fieret oblatio,
sicut et facta est.

maturius: comparative adjective used as adverb

 

  what time did they get up the next morning?

Go to Reading #3 ->


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