| per ipsum itaque qui te sibi adhuc quoquo modo protegit Christum obsecramus, |
qui: relative pronoun (antecedent is ipsum = Christum) sibi: dative singular, refers back to subject of protegit (qui = Christus) |
| how does Heloise imagine Abelard's relationship to Christ? | |
|
quatinus ancillulas ipsius et tuas |
ancillula: diminutive of ancilla digneris: subjunctive (subjunctive in imperative sense: if only you would...) |
| what is Heloise asking Abelard to do more often? | |
| ut nos saltem, quae tibi sole remansimus, doloris vel gaudii participes habeas. |
ut...habeas: ut+subjunctive |
| why should Abelard write to her more often? | |
| solent etenim dolenti nonnullam afferre consolationem qui condolent, et quodlibet onus pluribus impositum levius sustinetur sive defertur. |
solent: subject is general "those people" (those people who, qui) dolenti: dative singular (participle) afferre: infinitive (s.v. affero) qui: relative pronoun, antecedent is the unexpressed subject of solent onus: neuter singular nominative (subject of sustinetur, defertur) pluribus: dative plural impositum: neuter singular, with onus levius: comparative adverb |
| what is the advantage of having someone share your troubles? | |
| quod si paululum haec tempestas quieverit, tanto amplius maturandae sunt litterae quanto sunt iocundiores futurae. |
paululum: adverb (duration of time: "for a tiny bit of time") |
| should Abelard write to her if their situation starts to improve, or only write while they are having troubles? | |
| de quibuscunque autem nobis scribas non parvum nobis remedium conferes, hoc saltem uno quod te nostri memorem esse monstrabis. [...] |
conferes: future tense te memorem esse: indirect statement, introduced by monstrabis |
| why does Heloise feel better when she receives letters from Abelard? | |
| scripsisti ad amicum prolixae consolationem epistulae, et pro adversitatibus quidem suis, sed de tuis; |
adversitatibus: s.v. adversitas suis: nonclassical usage of reflexive pronoun; refers to amicus |
| Heloise is returning again to the letter that Abelard wrote to his friend: what was his purpose in writing that letter? | |
| quas videlicet tuas diligenter commemorans, cum eius intenderes consolationi, nostrae plurimum addidisti desolationi, et dum eius mederi vulneribus cuperes, nova quaedam nobis vulnera doloris inflixisti et priora auxisti. |
quas: relative pronoun, antecedent is adversitatibus cum...intenderes: cum+subjunctive eius = amici nostrae: feminine dative, agrees with desolationi mederi: deponent infinitive, s.v. medeor dum...cuperes: dum+subjunctive quaedam: neuter accusative plural, agrees with vulnera inflixisti: s.v. infligo priora: neuter accusative plural (priora vulnera) auxisti: s.v. augeo |
| what is the result of this letter for Heloise when she reads what Abelard wrote to his friend? | |
| [...] nosti, carissime -- noverunt omnes quanta in te amiserim et quam miserabili casu summa et ubique nota proditio me ipsam quoque mihi tecum abstulerit, |
amiserim: indirect question introduced by quanta quam: adverbial, "how" (quam miserabili, how miserable) proditio abstulerit me ipsam tecum mihi: in other words, Heloise feels not only that she lost Abelard as a result of the disaster, but that she lost her own self |
| what is it that Abelard knows, that everybody knows...? | |
| ut incomparabiliter maior sit dolor ex amissionis modo quam ex damno. |
ut...sit: ut+subjunctive (result clause) |
| what causes Heloise the greater pain: the way she lost Abelard, or the mere fact of losing him? | |
| quo vero maior est dolendi causa, maiora sunt consolationis adhibenda remedia; non utique ab alio, sed a te ipso, ut, qui solus es in causa dolendi, solus sis in gratia consolandi. |
maior: comparative adjective, agrees with causa maiora: comparative adjective, agrees with remedia (neuter plural) adhibenda: future passive participle (should or must be applied) utique: makes emphatic negative (non utique: absolutely not) ab alio... a te: personal agent with passive verb (adhibenda) ut... sis: ut+subjunctive qui: relative pronoun, antecedent is tu (subject of sis) causa: ablative singular (with in) gratia: ablative singular (with in) |
| why is it up to Abelard to make Heloise feel better? | |
| solus quippe es qui me contristare, qui me letificare seu consolari valeas, et solus es qui plurimum id mihi debeas et nunc maxime cum universaque iusseris in tantum impleverim ut cum te in aliquo offendere non possem, me ipsam pro iussu tuo perdere sustinerem. |
qui: relative pronoun, antecedent is tu (subject of es) |
| why is Abelard in debt to Heloise? why should he be willing to do what she asks? | |
| et quod maius est dictuque mirabile, in tantam versus est amor insaniam ut quod solum appetebat, hoc ipse sibi sine spe recuperationis auferret, |
maius: comparative adjective (neuter singular) dictu: ablative, with mirabile (amazing to say) versus est: s.v. vertor ut...auferret: ut+subjunctive quod: relative pronoun, antecedent is hoc appetebat: subject of this verb is amor hoc: neuter accusative (object of auferret) ipse = ipse amor (subject of auferret) sine: preposition (takes ablative) recuperationis: genitive, with spe (hope OF recovery) |
| what is so strange and amazing about what Heloise did at Abelard's request? | |
| cum ad tuam statim iussionem tam habitum ipsa quam animum immutarem, |
cum...immutarem: cum + subjunctive statim: adverb iussionem: feminine accusative, s.v. iussio ipsa: ego ipsa (subject of immutarem) habitum: s.v. habitus (accusative object of immutarem) |
| what exactly did Heloise do at Abelard's request? | |
| ut te tam corporis mei quam animi unicum possessorem ostenderem. |
ut...ostenderem: ut+subjunctive unicum possessorem: predicate phrase, agrees with te (I could show that you are the only owner) corporis: s.v. corpus (genitive, with possessorem, owner OF) |
| what conclusion does Heloise want everybody to draw from her actions? | |
| nihil umquam - Deus scit - in te nisi te requisivi: te pure, non tua concupiscens. |
requisivi: s.v. requiro pure: adverb te: accusative, object of concupiscens tua: neuter accusative plural, object of concupiscens |
| what is it that Heloise wants to have? | |
| non matrimonii foedera, non dotes aliquas expectavi, non denique meas voluptates aut voluntates, sed tuas, sicut ipse nosti, adimplere studui. |
foedera: s.v. foedus (neuter accusative, object of expectavi) dotes: s.v. dos (feminine accusative, object of expectavi) voluptates: s.v. voluptas (accusative object of adimplere) voluntates: s.v. voluntas (accusative object of adimplere) tuas = tuas voluptates, tuas voluntates nosti = novisiti studui: s.v. studeo |
| instead of a dowry or marriage vows, what did Heloise seek? | |
| et si uxoris nomen sanctius ac validius videretur, dulcius mihi semper extitit amicae vocabulum aut, si non indigneris, concubinae vel scorti; |
uxoris: s.v. uxor (genitive) sanctius...validius: comparative adjective, neuter singular (with nomen) nomen: neuter nominative singular, subject of videretur dulcius: comparative adjective, neuter singular (with vocabulum) amicae... concubinae... scorti: genitive with vocabulum |
| although the name of "wife" might be more respectable, what did Heloise prefer to be called? | |
| ut, quo me videlicet pro te amplius humiliarem, ampliorem apud te consequerer gratiam, et sic etiam excellentiae tuae gloriam minus laederem. |
ut...consequerer... laederem: ut+subjunctive amplius: comparative adverb ampliorem: comparative adjective (feminine accusative, with gratiam) gratiam: accusative object of deponent verb consequerer minus: comparative adverb |
| Heloise admits that it was humiliating to not be called Abelard's wife: what is the reason for her being willing to humiliate herself in this way? | |
| quod et tu ipse tui gratia oblitus penitus non fuisti in ea quam supra memini ad amicum epistula pro consolatione directa, ubi et rationes nonnullas quibus te a coniugio nostro et infaustis thalamis revocare conabar exponere non es dedignatus, |
quod: relative pronoun, antecedent is this "thing", the stuff that Heloise just explained penitus: adverb in ea (epistula) quam: relative pronoun, antecedent is ea epistula directa: agrees with epistula ubi: where, i.e. in that letter rationes: accusative plural, object of exponere quibus: relative pronoun, antecedent is rationes te: accusative object of revocare conabar: s.v. conor (deponent verb) dedignatus es: s.v. dedignor (deponent verb) |
| did Abelard tell his friend about the way that Heloise rejected the idea of getting married? | |
| sed plerisque tacitis quibus amorem coniugio, libertatem vinculo praeferebam. |
pleris = pleris rationibus tacitis: silent in the sense that Abelard omitted them from his letter to his friend quibus: reative pronoun, antecedent is pleris (rationibus) praeferebam: s.v. praefero - takes accusative and dative, prefer something (amorem, libertatem) to something else (coniugio, vinculo) |
| did Abelard in his letter explain to his friend that Heloise preferred love to marriage, and freedom to the bonds of matrimony? | |
| Deum testem invoco, si me Augustus universo praesidens mundo matrimonii honore dignaretur, totumque mihi orbem confirmaret in perpetuo possidendum, carius mihi et dignius videretur tua dici meretrix quam illius imperatrix. |
testem: s.v. testis (predicate, agrees with Deum) praesidens: participle, agrees with Augustus me: accusative, object of dignaretur dignaretur: s.v. dignor (deponent verb) perpetuo: adverb (forever, perpetually) carius...dignius: comparative adjective, neuter (agrees with infinitive dici; infinitives are treated as neuter nouns) dici: passive infinitive illius = Augusti (note the wordplay between meretrix and imperatrix) |
| if the emperor Augustus offered to make Heloise his empress and give the whole world to her to rule, what would Heloise prefer instead? |
