2. Student Study Book - Cambridge School Classics Project

(ii) The person who ought to do something is in the accusative case:oportet milites centurionibus parere. It is right for soldiers to obey the centurions.(In a more natural translation) Soldiers ought to obey thecenturions.Translate in two ways: oportet nuntium festinare.(iii) Sometimes the sentence does not indicate who ought to do something:oportet pecuniam pauperibus dare.Translate in two ways: oportet epistulam mittere.19. In line 4, find the adjective which describes aqua.It is right to give money to the poor.20. What does Catullus say should be done to the words mentioned in line 3?Or, using “ought” and changing the active infinitive “to give”into the passive: Money ought to be given to the poor.21* Why should the words be treated in this way? You might consider this question on your own or in groupdiscussion, then go to Further for some suggestions which could be discussed further.22. Should mulier in line 3 be translated as “the woman” or as a woman – in other words, is Catullus just talkingabout Lesbia, or about women generally? (Hint: what adjective described mulier in line 1? Does it reappear inline 4?)23. Is Catullus’ comment in lines 3-4 completely bitter and cynical? Does any phrase in line 3 suggest thatsometimes a woman tells a lie because she is being pressurised to say what her listener is desperate to hear?Does this excuse the lie? Should Catullus be given credit for being honest enough to recognise the situation?24. Check that you can now translate the whole poem.As this is a short poem, here are two ideas to experiment with:25. Listen to the audio without looking at the text: how easily can you understand it?26. See whether you are able to memorise the poem, so that you can recite it without looking at the text. This isalways an efficient way of making sure you have grasped the meaning of a few lines of Latin verse, especially ifyou have run into a difficult patch, since it is impossible to memorise the text without understanding the Latin.FurtherThere is no definite “right answer” to this question. You might feel that one or more of the following explanations iscorrect, or you may prefer another explanation altogether:(a) The words are lies and there is no point in taking them seriously. (Catullus is expressing his contempt for thewords.)(b) The only suitable things on which to write the words are things that can’t be written on, i.e. the words shouldn’tbe written down at all. (Why not?)(c) Just as a message written on paper might be snatched away by the wind or running water (and perhaps becarried downstream, or downwind, to somebody else), similarly a deceitful promise spoken to one lover might berepeated to another lover.Answers7. The woman says that she is always working.10. Even.18. (i) It is right to be quiet in the temple.(ii) It is right for the messenger to hurry or The messenger ought to hurry.(iii) It is right to send a letter or A letter ought to be sent.52 WJEC Level 2 Latin Literature Unit 9541 Love and Marriage