A

Quintilian on the Education of Parents

(Adapted Quintilian Institutio Oratoria 1.1.6-7)

Eruditio a parentibus haberi bene debet, et de patribus matribusque loquor. Nam Romae multos annos Gracchi multum eloquentiae a matre Corneliā docebantur; doctissimus enim sermo in posteros litteris eius tradebatur. Laelia cum loquebatur, magnam eloquentiam patris reddebat; et oratio Hortensiae in foro apud Triumviros hodie legitur non tantum quia femina erat sed etiam multos viros praestabat. Disciplinae causā parentes sine multā eruditione maiorem curam eruditionis liberorum habere debent.

Nota

Quintilian (1st cent. CE) was born in Calagurris, Spain, in ca. 35 CE. After moving to Rome, he established a school of rhetoric. His sole extant work is a treatise on education, the Institutio Oratoria. In this passage, he urges that parents - both mothers and fathers - be highly educated, so that they might be of most benefit to their children.

ērudītio, -ōnis f. - learning, erudition

parēns, -ntis m./f. - parent

Rōma, -ae f. - Rome

Gracchus, -ī m. - Gracchus; here referring to the Gracchi brothers.

ēloquentia, -ae f. - eloquence

Cornēlia, -ae f. - Cornelia, mother of the Gracchi.

doctissimus, -a, -um - very learned; (related to doceō, -ēre, -uī, doctum)

posteri, -orum m. pl. - coming generations, descendents

quoque - also

Laelia, -ae f. - Daughter of Gaius Laelius, famous for her knowledge.See Cicero, Brutus 58 [210-211]

Hortensiae ōrātio apud Triumvirōs: Hortensia gave a speech in the Roman Forum before the 2nd Triumvirate in 42 BCE, for which she received much praise. For a paraphrase of her speech, see Appian (born ca. CE 95), The Civil Wars 4.32-33.

tantum: only

maiōrem: “more, greater,” (accusative singular feminine)

cūra, -ae f. - care, concern

B

Martial Complains about Abusive Teachers

(Adapted Epigrams 9.68)

Male magister, omnes pueri puellaeque te oderunt! Namque nondum sol ortus erit, cum discipuli tui ob errores suos a te iam aut verbis acribus aut verberibus malis terrebuntur—et tum totum diem. Debemusne primo mane pati tantum dolorem?  Intra magnos muros amphitheatri clamor tam ingens non oritur cum turba multā cum voluptate gladiatores plenos studii spectat. Da somnum nobis miseris—non totam noctem quippe, sed partem. Discipulos dimitte tuos. Nunc tace aut abi, male! Si abieris, multa pecunia tibi a nobis dabitur.

Martial (b. ca. 40 CE, d. 102-104 CE), after being educated in his native Spain, moved to Rome. He is best known for his satirical epigrams. In this epigram, he rails against noisy, cruel school teachers who disturb his early morning slumber.

ōdī, ōdisse - to hate (perfect system only; translate here as a present tense)

sōl, sōlis m. sun

ortus erit: “will have risen” from orior, orīrī, ortum

verber, verberis n. - lash, whip, scourge, rod.

discipulus, -ī m. - student

tōtus, -a, -um - whole, entire

diem: “day” (acc. sing. masc.)

debemusne: debemus - ne.  -ne attached to the end of the first word in a sentence indicates a question.

māne: “early in the morning”; with primō, it means really early in the morning--worse even than an 8 am class!

patiōr, patī, passum - to permit, endure

amphitheatrum, -ī n. - amphitheater

clāmor, -ōris m. - outcry, shout

gladiātor,-ōris m. - gladiator

spectō (1) - to look at, consider

somnum, -ī n. - sleep

nox, noctis f. - night

pars, partis f. - part

dimittō, -ere, -mīsī, -missum - to send away, dismiss

Si...dabitur: In this last sentence, Martial jokingly offers to bribe the teacher to cancel class!

C

Apuleius Praises Study Abroad in Athens

(Adapted Florida 20)

Sapiens dixit “primum poculum siti est, secundum hilaritati, tertium voluptati, quartum insaniae.” Omnia quippe contra pocula Musarum sunt. Primo poculo a litteratore litterae docentur, secundo a grammatico doctrina, tertio eloquentia.  Homines poculis gaudent in omnibus locis et Romae. Cum Athenis eram, gaudebam multis poculis: dextrā arte poeticā, clarā geometricā, dulci musicā, acri dialecticā, et illā primā arte philosophicā. Nam in Graeciā cecinit Empedocles carmina, Plato dialogos, Socrates hymnos, Epicharmus modos, Xenophon historias, Xenocrates saturas. Multos annos omnia pocula novemque Musas colebam. Magnam enim voluntatem litterarum causā habeo, etiam si non mentem habeo; opera dura ab omnibus semper laudabuntur. Et Carthago laudari debet, ubi omnes in urbe beatā dulcibus artibus gaudent, ubi liberi discunt omnes disciplinas, iuvenes faciunt exempla, veteres docent. Carthago omnis Africae togatorumque Musa est.

Apuleius (ca. 124-170 CE) was a native of ancient Numidia, a Roman colony of north Africa. After studying at Carthage, Apuleius went to Athens to study and then to Rome. Eventually he settled in Carthage. His Florida gathers highlights of his speeches. Here he describes his studies in Athens and praises of Carthage as the Muse of Rome. Apuleius uses a wine cup as a metaphor for various elements of education.

poculum, -ī n. - drinking cup. 

sitis, -is f. - thirst

hilaritas, -tātis f. - cheerfulness 

tertius, -a, -um - third

quartus, -a, -um - fourth

insānia, -ae f. - madness, frenzy

Mūsa, -ae f. - Muse

litterator, -ōris m. - teacher at a primary school, lūdus litterārius (primary school)

grammaticus, -ī m. - teacher at school of grammar and literature

doctrīna, -ae f. - science, learning

locus, -i m. - place

Rōma, -ae f. - Rome

Athēnae, -ārum f. - Athens

dextrā arte poeticā, clarā geometricā, dulci musicā, acri dialecticā, et illā primā arte philosophicā: “the clever art of poetry, clear (art) of geometry, sweet (art) of music, the fierce (art) of dialectic, and that first art - philosophy

Graecia, -ae f. - Greece

dialogus, -ī m. - dialogue

hymnus, -ī m. - song of praise, hymn

modus, -i m. - manner, mode, measure (of music). Translate here as “music,” as in “measures (of music)”

historia, -ae f. - history

satura, -ae f. - satire

novem - nine (indeclinable adjective, here modifying Mūsās).

pār, paris - equal

voluntās, -tātis f. - wish, desire

laudo (1) - to praise

Carthāgo, -inis f. - Carthage

exemplum, -ī n. - example

togātus, -a, -um - toga-clad. Since the toga was characteristically Roman, this term here is the equivalent to “of the Roman people.”

D

Augustine Complains of the Difficulty of Foreign Language Study

(Adapted Confessions 1.13-14)

Graecae litterae a me contemnebantur.  Eis puer studebam.  Multos annos prima disciplina Latina est (ubi legere et scribere et numerare discitur).  Latinam enim habebam non minus gravem quam omnem Graecam. Secundā disciplinā errores pii Aeneae discere cogebar, sine memoriā errorum meorum. Flebam quia Dido ob amorem moriebatur. Sed, O Domine Deus noster, non flebam quia ego sine te moriebar. Equus plenus militibus et Troii ignes mihi placebant. Cur Graecae litterae plenae bonarum fabularum mihi non placent? Nam et Homerus texere magnas fabulas potuerat, sed mihi tamen non placebat. Quippe Vergilius Graecis pueris non placebit si eum discere coguntur. Eo tempore verba Graeca ego nondum intellegebam, et furore et poenis magistrorum semper terrebar. Cum puer eram, Latina verba sine timore atque poenis discebam. Domi gaudebam ego cum mihi verba Latina dicebantur. Tunc cupiebam ego nova verba discere, cupiebam fabulas Latinas texere. Disciplina sine poenā me semper hortabitur. Libera curiositas magis quam necessitas me discere cogebat.

St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430 CE) was a native of the Roman province of Numidia in north Africa. He was an important figure in the early western Christian church. The Confessions, written between 397-400 CE, chronicle his spiritual journey. In this passage, he speaks about his early education, including his struggles with Greek, a foreign language to him. Augustine here faces the difficulty of reconciling his studies in Roman literature with his Christian devotion.

Graecus, -a, -um - Greek

contemnō, -ere, -tempsī, -temptus - to despise, scorn

Latīnus, -a, -um - Latin

numerō (1) - to count

minus… quam: “less... than”

gravis, -e - heavy, serious

Aenēas, -ae m. - Aeneas (Trojan ancestor of the Romans)

memoria, -ae f. - recollection, memory

Dīdō, -ōnis f. - Dido

deus: “God” (This is a vocative singular form used in ecclesiastical Latin (after 300 C.E.))

equus, -ī m. - horse

mīles, -itis m. - soldier

Trōius, -a, -um - Trojan

cur - why?

Homērus, -ī m. - Homer

texō, -ere, -uī, -itum - to weave, compose (poetry)

Vergilius, -ī, m. - Vergil

poena, -ae f. - penalty, punishment

timor, -ōris m. - fear

cūriōsitas, -tātis f. - curiosity

magis quam: more than

necessitas, -tātis f. - necessity, need