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Apicius' "sp[h]ondyli vel fonduli"

Apicius' de re coquinaria (Roman recipe book believed to have been compiled in the 4th/5th century CE) contains, in the book 3 "cepuros" on vegetables, a paragraph (XX, recipes 115 to 121) entitled "sphondyli vel fonduli". The book having been…
plannapus
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which of these two translations is in better Latin?

I've gotten a couple Latin translations of Herodotus, and I'm trying to figure out which one has better Latinity. I'm confident they're both grammatically correct, but which one is stylistically better? (I have my suspicions, but I'll keep them…
Joel Derfner
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Negative Future Imperatives

In reading through Book VI of Vergil's Aeneid, I came across the following line: 851 tu regere imperio populos, Romane, memento I believe this is translated as "you, Roman, remember to rule the people with authority", where memento is a future…
Sapphira
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Does an enclitic -que with an interrogative pronoun ever mean "and"?

Enclitic -que generally means "and" in Latin. It's quite common to see -que paired with the interrogative pronoun quis/quid (as well as other pronouns like it, e.g. the relative pronouns qui/quae/quod), but this generally changes the meaning. See,…
brianpck
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On two types of S in a text from 1759

I ended up studying this poem last year: This is a congratulatory poem in a dissertation at the Academy of Turku from 1759. It is on page 4 of the full dissertation. I also published an English translation of the poem in hexameter, together with an…
Joonas Ilmavirta
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Why do we say "misogyny" and not "gynemisia"?

The Greek prefixes phobia and philia are commonly used in many words, such as 'gynephilia' and 'androphilia'. Why is 'miso' (from the Greek μῖσος) primarily used as a prefix in words such as 'misogyny' and 'misogamy'? From an etymological…
user14509
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What is the difference between plus and magis?

The dictionaries I have checked give translations for both plus and magis, and they seem to have a different tone. However, I have found no comparison between the two. They both mean "more" one way or another. I know plus is also a comparative…
Joonas Ilmavirta
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Instances of the future passive infinitive

Throughout my time studying Latin in school, one grammatical construction in particular has always intrigued me to an extent — the future passive infinitive (eg. amatum iri). Whenever it came up (often in performing verb synopses), the teacher would…
Nick
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'...quo plus..., eo plus ... ' translation?

Here is a really complicated sentence, I am trying to understand how to translate it: Nam cum posse existere potentia sit, sequitur quo plus realitatis alicujus rei naturæ competit eo plus virium a se habere ut existat adeoque Ens absolute…
Aili J.
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Syntax of sentences with the verb "pudet"

In Lewis and Short, I have seen that the verb pudeo is chiefly used as an impersonal verb. In fact, I have found some examples of such usage in chapter XXIII of Lingua latina per se illustrata. Familia Romana: Puerum pudet factī suī. Is quem…
Charo
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When and how did "bonus" get to mean "extra"?

In English and many other languages "bonus" means roughly "extra": You can earn bonus points as a frequent flyer or you can answer a bonus question in a game show. But the Latin adjective bonus means "good" (and some related things), but it does not…
Joonas Ilmavirta
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Translation of Lines 333–336 of Vergil's Aeneid Book 4

Tandem pauca refert: "Ego te, quae plurima fando enumerare vales, numquam, regina, negabo promeritam, nec me meminisse pigebit Elissae dum memor ipse mei, dum spiritus hos regit artus. (4:333–336) I have come up with two translations for…
Sapphira
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Why is it "id est" instead of "illud est" if it often means "that is"?

If "i.e." or "id est" is often used to say "that is...", why do we use "id" instead of "illud"? Doesn't "id est" translate to "it is"?
Alexa
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Colors of the rainbow

The classical Latin word for a rainbow seems to be Iris (Iris or Iridis, f.). Did the Romans ever list or otherwise discuss the colors of the rainbow in extant literature? I asked about colors in classical Latin earlier, and I got a nice answer. The…
Joonas Ilmavirta
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To what extent is Seneca's style in "De Ira" clumsy?

I'm currently reading "Précis de Littérature Latine" ("Handbook of Latin Literature") by Magalie Diguet and I am surprised by the following quotation: Le De ira, écrit en 41, est le premier traité moral de Sénèque dont le style est un peu maladroit…
user12055