Bloggus Sum

The challenge: Translate the title of your favourite album, and all the track names, into Latin.

1. use a dictionary only when you get stuck
2. post in the comments, including how long it took you and any new words you've learnt
3. Try and guess the identity of the albums above you.

Bellator Apud Finem Temporis

I. Impetusque Vis (as this is a legal term, I wonder if there is a better Roman equivalent?)
II. Aurea Inanitas
III. Cum Magus Cornuam Suam Canebat
IV. Opus-Lokus (OK, so no real translation)
V. Vir Demens
VI. Magnus (Again, nonsense so no real translation)
VII. Stans Apud Finem
VIII. Intortus Universus
IX. Bellatores
X. Moriens Mares
XI. Reges Celaritatis

Online

Vicipaedia - a Latin wikipedia

Nuntii Latini - the News in Latin, complete with podcast

Schola - Myspacey social network thing entirely in the lingua latina (be my friend)

Authors

The Ovid collection

Catallus online - metres, different, translations, line by line comparisons, biographies, a forum. First stop for Catallus.

Original Latin online

The Latin Library

Project Libellus


Translations online

Poetry In Translation - Latin, Greek and many other languages


Links to Links

The Latin library

Literary resources at The Rome Project

More nice links, focused towards learning

Very good link list, excellent for learning resources

One thing I've long saught for on the web is themed Latin vocab lists, so I'm filling the gap myself.

The Paraklausithyron is the song sung by a poet while rattling at the door of his mistress' house and begging to be let in, and evolved into a mini-genre of Latin Love poetry. He has usually just left a party, tends to be tipsy and is never successful. Typical features include:

• addresses to mistress, doorkeeper and door - pleas, threats, prayers, bargaining e.t.c.
  
• personification of the door itself
• Description of the door, the building, the time of night, and especially...
  
• ...complaints about the weather.

A good introduction is here:
http://www.jstor.org/stable/289473?seq=1

A lot of the vocab is typical love elegy stuff - burning, pallor, Amor - but screaming at the door of your beloved does require some specialised vocabulary, the best of which is listed below:

Some paraklausithyrons to get you started:

Ovid Amores 1.6 - the poet bargains with the door and doorkeeper

Catallus 67 - a dialogue between the poet and door - uses the paraclausithyron form as a jumping off point, as the door gossips about the people of the house

Horace Odes 3.10 - address to the mistress.

Horace Odes 3.26 - threatening the mistress with the fact she is getting old, and one day no one will wait outside her door any more. Particularly bitchy.

Tibullus 1.2 - possibly the whole thing takes place in an inebriated dream. Though set off by addresses to the closed door, it also contains some great digressions - including a description of a witch.

Propertius 1.16 - from the perspective of the door.

I'm not so familiar with Greek poetry - can you offer any examples for the list?

Any examples of modern songs on the same theme? I can only think of Let Love In by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.

The Door

ianua, ae (f) - front door, entrance
posticum (nt) - back door
fores (fpl) - double doors

postis, is (m) - doorpost - plural often means "door"
limen, inis (n) - crosspiece, threshold, border, house
lignum, i (n) - gathered wood, wooden things, here i.e. door
robur, oris (n) - oak wood, a structure made of wood

Catena, ae (f) - chain, fetter, shackle, constraint
Cardo, inis (m) - hinge, pivot, socket
Tigillum, i (n) - little beam of wood, lintel
claustra, orum (n) - a lock bar, bolt
sera, ae (f) - a bar, cross bolt, lock

The Cast

ianitor, oris (m) - doorkeeper, porter
custos, odis (m and f) - guard, watcher, preserver, defender, jailer
custodia, ae (f) - a watch, guard, protection

The exclusus amator typically turns up drunk, singing and wearing garlands. Some useful words:

fax, facis (f) - torch, firebrand, light
corona, ae (f) - garland, wreath
vinum (nt) - wine
merum (nt) - undiluted wine
serta, orum (n) - garland, wreath

And of course:

coniunx, iugis (m) - spouse
vir, virorum/virum (m) - human male, but here means husband/master

Inclement Weather

I will be doing a full post on Roman weather at some other time. Look out for frost, gales and the threatening approach of dawn.

nox, is (f) - night
umbra, ae (f) - shadow
tenebrae, arum (f) - darkness
sidus, eris (n) - star

Some good adjectives

pervigil, is - ever watchful
saevus - fierce, cruel, savage

apertus - open
semiapertus, semiadapertus - half open

fultus - from fulcio - to prop up, support, prop up
rigidus - stiff, hard, inflexible
rigens - stiff, inflexible, unbending
Durus - hard, unyielding, harsh, impenetrable

Robustus - oak wood, made of oak
Aesculeus - of the oak

Some good verbs

tundo, tutudi, tunsus - beat, strike, thump

rigeo, ere- be stiff, freeze, stand solid

claudo, si, sus, ere - to shut, close, shut up

oppono, posui, positus - set against, oppose, i.e. closed

aperire, patefacere - open (note: don't expect this to happen in a paraclausithyron...)

My Latin - I'm embarassed at it, how rusty it's gotten. To brush up, I've started translating on the fly. My aim: develop a party trick whereby I can render song and movie titles into Latin.

I've started with the challenge of Doctor Who episode titles, and I'll be typing them up here season by season. The rules? Only to look at the dictionary if I really, really have to.

My first pass is in red, followed up by the correct translation if necessary and then a slightly more artistic rendering. As always, I welcome comments and criticisms. At the bottom: everything I needed to look up.

GAP YEAR

Waters of Mars - Aquae Martium Aquae Martiales

I really like the implied double meaning here - Martialis is literally "of Mars" the planet, but also the God - as in, violent waters.

Planet of the Dead - Terra Mortis Tellus Manium

Oh, ugly ugly! The word Planet caused me some trouble - "stella errans" is the best my dictionary could do, and I'm sure not whipping that out every time DW uses the word. In any case, the different planets of Doctor Who may as well be different lands. That gives me a choice between tellus, orbis terrarum, terra, solum and humus; mundus, regio, fines, patria. In this context, I just like tellus. I knew mortis sucked at the time - but one of the problems with DW titles is they're chosen for their cool soundingness. Planet of the Dead what? I'd better do Planet of the Dead People, because I'll need "Tellus Mortuus" for when I get to Hartnell.

In a way, the research for this title is going to keep me going for ages. Every other DW episode contains either Planets or Death, so it should be a cinch from now on. If only I can work out whether the Planet of Fire should be the same type of planet as the Dead Planet, the Tenth Planet, the Planet of the Ood e.t.c.

The Next Doctor - Proximus Doctor - Insequens Doctor

See, I was so proud of getting proximus, but the dictionary seemed to think insequens was better: next in time, instead of the implied next in place proximus has. I kept doctor however: medicus is a medical term, while doctor carries the correct overtones of teaching.

New words

Martius - "of Mars"
Insequens - adj - next, chronologically

So I promised I wasn't going to start Page 1, Chapter 1, Creation of the Universe - and I'm not. I'm starting on the Valaquenta, which is the second description of it. Wholly different.

I'm using the book of Genesis in Latin Vulgate, translated by Jerome, and used by the Catholic Church since 382 CE as a touchpoint.


Silmarillion:


In the beginning Eru, the One, who in the Elvish tongue is named Illuvitar, made the Ainur of his thought, and they made a great Music before him. In this Music the World was begun, for Illuvitar made visible the song of the Ainur and they beheld it as a light in the darkness. And many among them became enamoured of its beauty, and of its history which they saw beginning and unfolding as in a vision. Therefore Illuvittar gave to their vision Being, and set it amid the Void, and the Secret Fire was sent to burn at the heart of the World - and it was called Ea


Pauses for breath. Tricky passage because the subject keeps changing.


English:


In the beginning Eru, the One, (who in the language of the elves is named Illuvitar), [AHA] having made the Ainur out of his thought, made visible the Great Music which they sang before him, in which the world was begun - because, [AHA]beholding it as light in darkness, Many among them of it's beauty and histpru (which they saw beginning and unfolding as in a vision) became so enamoured,[result] that Illuvitar gave to their vision Being, and set it amid the Void, and sent the Secret Fire, named Ea, was sent to[purpose] burn at the heart of the World.

Latin:


In principio Eru, qui in linguam Quendorum Illuvitar nominantur, Sanctos suae animae fecit; et ei ingens Carmen apud eum fecerunt. In hoc Carmenis Orbis inceptus est, quia Illuvitar Carmen Sanctorum patefecitque ei velut lux in tenebris intuitus sunt. Multi eorum formam eiusque historiam deamaverunt quam ortamque ??????? velut imagem viderunt.

Pass 2:

Since my first attempt, my Latin teacher has provided me with a host of stuff on translation, and I've attempted to be a little more strict in my translation, particularly in terms of making the clauses fit together. I've managed to cut it down to two sentences, tho I'm sure an expert could go further.

In the beginning Eru, the One, (who in the language of the elves is named Illuvitar), [AHA] having made the Ainur out of his thought, made visible the Great Music which they sang before him. Many among them, seeing it as light amidst the darkness) of it's beauty and histpru (which they saw beginning and unfolding as in a vision) became so enamoured,[result] that Illuvitar (having given to their vision Being) set it amid the Void, and sent the Secret Fire, named Ea, to[purpose] burn at the heart of the World.

Pass 2:

Eru in principio qui Quendis nomine Illuvitar, Sanctis factis suae animae, ingens Carmen(nt object) quod fecerunt apud eum patefecit. Multi eorum intuiti velut lux in tenebris formam eiusque historiam quam ortamque ??????? velut imagem viderunt, tot deamaverunt ut Illuvitar,

??? = "and unfolding", need to find something.

Names:


"Quendus, Quendorum" - an elf

I'm pretending "Quendi", the regular plural word for elves, is a second declension noun, as in anni, pueri, servi et al, and invented the word "quendus" as the natural singular nominative for an elf. The Romans don't really have an equivalent concept - my dictionary gives elf as "deus" - god, and as far as my myth lore goes, all Roman nymphs, sylphs and mystical beings are regarded as related to the divine. That doesn't quite gel with Tolkien's mythology. This could cause havoc later on, as I may ultimately have to work out whether he means the Noldor, Teleri, Sindar, Avari, Calaquendi e.t.c. every time he uses the word "elves". But for now, it looks like good Latin. Elf is a significantly important word that I will have to use a lot.

Eru - not a word used terribly often in the Silmarillion, so probably won't need to worry. If I do, pretending it's 4th Declension like genu seems best.

Illuvitar - in absence of a better plan, I will be treating this like the Greek noun "aer", because it is effectively a word translated into Latin.

Ainu, Ainur - I could treat Ainu like genu, but in this case it seems best to render it as the literal meaning "Sanctus, Sancti", or Holy Ones. An alternative might be to refer to them as Angeli, but I'm not sure that angel isn't a too specific word. Without doing proper research into whether Tolkien envisaged the Ainur as minor gods, angels or something else entirely, it's not something I want to be specific about.

Notes:

"In principio" was pinched directly from St Jerome. Previously, I'd used "primo" (too workmanlike?) and "In initium". I'm still fond of the latter.

"the one" is a translation of Eru, so I omitted it, basically because Eru Unus just seemed off. This is a decision I might change on though.

I am seriously unhappy with "multi eorum", because even though it seems fine - many + partative genitive - it looks like pidgin latin. This may be because multi is an adjective, and I'm using it as a noun.

Things I've learnt:
deamare - be enamoured of
intueor, eri, itus - look at, contemplate, admire
patefacio, facere, feci, factum - open up, disclose
incipio, ere, epi, eptum - to begin

I have decided, whenever possible, and in the absence of any better ideas, to retain Tolkien's original names and treat them as Latin nouns. Much in the way the Romans pinched Greek nouns.

I will be much obliged to anyone with authority on this topic giving me some direction

I picked this passage deliberately, not just because it's a gorgeous bit of writing, but because the clauses appear to be a right bitch. There's gonna be subordinates and subjunctives all over the shop. Nothing like a challenge, eh...It's also direct speech, and doesn't have too many names, and is shorter than Hurin.

Silmarillion
"Yet if it stands but a little while, then out of your house shall come the hope of Elves and Men. This I say to you, lord, with the eyes of death: though we part here forever, and I shall not look on your white walls again, from you and from me a new star shall arise. Farewell!"
-Huor to Turgon at the Battle of Unnumbered Tears

English
No1 = conditional clause (basic, I think)
Yet IF it continues to stand for a little while, THEN the hope of Elves and Men shall come out of your house.

Lord, I speak to you with the eyes of death (a slight change in meaning, which means I don't have to use reported speech for the next bit. I think. Also, I'm not sure how far "I say this to you: reported" is used in Latin)

No . 2 = concessive clause (using quamquam because again, I don't want to cope with the subjunctive just yet)
THOUGH we are about to part here forever, and I am not going to look on your white walls again, from you and me a new star shall arise.

Farewell - the easy bit

Latin

"attamen si paulisper manet, spes OF ELVESque hominum ex tuo domo veniet. Domine, ad te providentia moriturorum dico - quamquam semper divellebimusque non iterum ad tuos muros candidos spectabo, stella nova nobis oriabitur. Vale"
Huor Turgontem inter Innumeras Lacrimas

moriturorum - nasty word, check this is correct.

Notes
I mean "domus" in the sense of family - apparently, the Romans use house with the same double meaning as we do.

Playing with the clauses turned out to be pretty easy, compared with"Eyes of death", a tricky Tolkien thing - it's the prophecy given those soon to die. I'm not sure my rather too literal translation works in Latin - did the Romans have this concept?

Domine, ad te morituris oculis dico
"Lord, I speak to you with eyes about to die" - literal, but weird in Latin

Domine, ad te moriturus dico
"Lord, I speak to you about to die" - better sense, but loses the foresight.

Domine, ad te id quod erit moriturus dico
"Lord, about to die I say to you what will be" - now this is more like it, but I'm not confident of my use of "id quod erit"

Domine, ad te providentia mortis dico
"Lord, I speak with the foresight of death" - not sure about mortis

Domine, ad te providentia moriturorum dico
"Lord, I speak with the foresight of those about to die" - this is genuinely what I want to say, I think. It seems most "latin-y", though "moriturorum" is an ugly word I must have got wrong.

Questions
"From you and me a new star shall arise". Should this be future - something he knows will happen - or is it optative subjunctive, something he hopes for?

I've used a direct translation of lord - "domine", but did the Romans use the word Lord in the same way as Huor here means it? As an address to someone of higher rank? It has such a religious connotation for me, it seems somehow wrong.

"moriuturorum" and "oriabitur" both sound wrong to me. So what's the correct forms?

What have I learnt?

Paulisper - for a little while
Divello, ellere, elli - sepa$rate

There are three sorts of conditionals:

Basic - when the consequence will definitely follow the condition (Both parts indicative)

Foggy - where the consequence might or might not follow the condition (Primary subjunctives (present or perfect) in both parts)

Contrary to fact - where the condition is not fufilled (If I had known, I would have come myself) (Historic subjunctives (imperfect or pluperfect) in both parts)