Chapter 18

7. Itaque mater mortem quarti filii exspectabat, qui non valebat et cuius aetas erat brevis.
And so the mother was expecting the death of her fourth son, who was not well and whose life was brief.
8. Bella difficilia sine consilio et clementia numquam gerebamus.
We never used to wage difficult wars without planning (good judgment) and clemency.
9. Te cum novem ex aliis miseris ad Caesarem cras trahent.
Tomorrow they will drag you to Caesar (along) with nine of the other miserable men.
10. Regem acrem, qui officia neglexerat, ex urbe sua eiecerunt.
The threw out of (expelled from) their [own] city the harsh king, who had neglected his duties.
11. Ille poeta in tertio libello saturarum scripsit de hominibus avaris qui ad centum terras alias
navigare cupiunt quod pecuniam nimis desiderant.
In his third little volume of satires that poet wrote about avaricious men who desire (are eager) to sail to a hundred
other lands because they long excessively for money (because of their extreme desire for wealth). (Centum is
used here for any large number, = countless, innumerable.)
12. Mercy will be given by them even to the citizens of other cities.
Cl�mentia etiam c�vibus ali�rum urbium ab e�s dabitur.
13. Many are moved too often by money but not by truth.
Mult� pec�ni� sed n�n v�rit�te nimis saepe moventur.
14. The state will be destroyed by the powerful king, whom they are beginning to fear.
C�vit�s � r�ge potent�, quem tim�re incipiunt, d�l�bitur.
15. Those ten women were not frightened by plans of that trivial sort.
Illae decem f�minae c�nsili�s ill�us (ist�us) generis levis n�n terr�bantur.
SENTENTIAE ANTIQUAE
1. Possunt quia posse videntur.
They are able because they appear to be able. (I.e., merely the appearance of being powerful can itself be
empowering.)
2. Etiam fortes viri subitis periculis saepe terrentur.
Even courageous men are often terrified by sudden dangers.
3. Tua consilia sunt clara nobis; teneris scientia horum civium omnium.
Your plans are clear to us; you are held fast (restrained) by the knowledge of all these citizens.
4. Malum est consilium quod mutari non potest.
Bad (ill-considered) is the plan that cannot be changed. (Many of Wheelock’s S.A. are proverbs drawn
from the mimes of the first cent. B.C. dramatist Publilius Syrus, including S.A. 9 below; his
maxims were later collected along with aphorisms from other sources and taught in Roman
schools: for details see the OCD.)
5. Fas est ab hoste doceri.
It is right (fitting) to be taught by the enemy. (Ask students to explain the point, i.e., that there are always
valuable lessons to be learned from one’s adversaries.)
6. Eo tempore erant circenses ludi, quo genere levi spectaculi numquam teneor.
At that time there were circus games (competitions in the Circus), by which trivial sort of spectacle (a trivial kind
of entertainment by which) I am never held (attracted). (As the notes point out, a rel. pron.’s antecdent
is often “attracted into” the rel. clause; i.e., quo genere levi spectaculo = genus leve
spectaculi quo, “a trivial sort of entertainment by which . . . ..” You should certainly take the
opportunity here to discuss the Romans’ love of chariot-racing; refer students to the photo
on p. 120 and share with them details from “Circus,” OCD 3 . Although Pliny and other writers
4 TEACHER’S GUIDE and ANSWER KEY for WHEELOCKS LATIN: Chapter 18