Tuxtax!
While we were on vacation, I took the opportunity to teach myself Latin. Joey had brought along this book called Lingua Latina, Pars I: Familia Romana, which purports to teach the language (er, I mean the lingua) through total immersion. The entire book is written in Latin — no translations anywhere! — and you just start reading it. And you know what? It works! You really can just start reading, and understand it. It begins with “Roma in Italia est.” How hard is that?
So the first chapter, excuse me, I mean the capitulum primum, is all about the Imperium Romanum. There are large and small rivers, islands (Corsica insula est), cities, etc. The section ends with sly humor: Magnum est imperium Romanum!
The capitulum secundum is outright hilarious. It’s all about the familia Romana: Iulius, Aemilia, and their three children Marcus, Quintus, and Iulia. And, I kid you not, their hundred servants. It seems that Marcus is a puer improbus — a bad boy. I think I’m just gonna have to type a bit of this out:
Iulia cantat: “Lalla.” Iulia laeta est. [I guess when they sang in Rome they didn't go la la la, but lalla. Laeta means happy.]
Marcus: “St!” Marcus laetus non est. [They didn't say "sh!" either, apparently.]
Iulia cantat: “Lalla, lalla.” [Is she trying to be annoying?]
Marcus: “Ssst!” Marcus iratus est. [Oy, siblings, even in ancient Rome. Pretty obvious what iratus means.]
Iulia cantat: “Lalla, lalla, lalla.” [Uh oh... she better shut up if she knows what's good for her...]
Marcus Iuliam pulsat. [Any guesses as to what pulsat means?]
Iam Iulia non cantat, sed plorat: “Uhuhu!” [I guess they didn't go boo-hoo back then either.]
Marcus ridet: “Hahahae!” [Even his laughter ends with ae!]
Don’t worry, though. Marcus gets his just deserts, as you can see from the photo above. His father, Iulius, who had been sleeping, is awakened by all the commotion. He beats Marcus, while brother Quintus stands by laughing. That goody-goody Iulia, however, is still unhappy, because Marcus is crying. Notice the sound effects from the beating: tuxtax, tuxtax…
The third chapter begins with the father’s discovery that there is money missing from his sacculum. He is interrogating the servorum and ancillae. I’m only halfway through, but when I finish I’ll let you know whether Medus, Davus, or one of the other 98 (I mean XCVIII) servants stole it. Huh, maybe it was that puer improbus Marcus.
Oh, too, too funny! (Pulsat… pulsating? Pummeling? Sounds like Marcus smacked his little sister…)
Yeah, actually on another page there is an illustration with the caption “Marcus Iuliam pulsat” and he is punching her in the face. She looks to be about 5 years old, and he could easily be 12. :-(
I also think it’s interesting that “verberat” means beat.
MOM! Servōrum is the genitive plural. You mean to say servōs.
Joey Joey Joey. Don’t you know it’s a mother’s top responsibility to embarrass her children as much as possible? P.S. How come you didn’t say anything about the way I set all the Latin in Times New ROMAN???
Hey! Cool! I’ve never seen anyone else using those books. That’s how I learned Latin in my two years of Latin in high school. Those and a really good teacher helped me learn what my brain has now managed to file away under “forget after four years.”
No kidding! My brother in law found out about it somehow and gave it to Joey for his birthday. It must have been a fun class you had, especially if the rest of the book is as entertaining as the beginning.
I had a fun teacher, too. She was a character. I don’t know if I had the exact book (this was 26 years ago, mind you), but it was the same series of books with the same characters.
Oh, and I forgot to mention that I STILL HAVE THE BOOK. Somewhere. I looked at it within the past couple of years, too.
Wow! So, what happens? Does Marcus come to a bad end?
Ha! Like I’m going to remember any of that. I am going to have to find the book again.