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What does 'iure civili' mean in Apuleius VI.23, when Cupid and Psyche get married?
When Cupid and Psyche get married, at the end of their story in Apuleius' Metamorphoses VI.23, Jupiter announces that they will be wed iure civili:
Et ad Venerem collata facie, ‘Nec tu,’ inquit ‘filia, quicquam contristere, nec prosapiae tantae…
Cerberus
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8
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asustilbar (?): a strange word from the Tractatus de Herbis
There is a following illustration (f. 28r) in the Tractatus de Herbis:
(Here is a link to an image with high resolution.)
It is written in Wikipedia that "Apparently the artist has confused his animals in this picture, with his drawing of a…
utnapishti
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What is the difference between ira and furor?
The words ira and furor are quite similar, but apparently not synonymous.
I found myself unable to give a clear comparison of the two words.
How would you describe the difference between the meanings of these two words in classical Latin and…
Joonas Ilmavirta
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Can infans refer to children who can speak?
The word infans means basically "speechless", as the connection to the verb fari immediately suggests.
One specific meaning of this word is a small child (III in the linked L&S entry).
I assume that it mostly refers to a child that has not started…
Joonas Ilmavirta
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8
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Stressed syllables in certain prefixed verb forms
I've managed to confuse myself about which syllables to stress in prefixed verbs of two syllables, the first one being short (e.g. circumdare or alloquor). Do I stress the penultimate syllable in each as if it were two separate words (CIR-cum-DA-re,…
Joel Derfner
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8
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Are "vir" and "virgo" etymologically related?
Are vir and virgo etymologically related?
St. Isidore says, in his Etymologies p. 242, that virago and vir are related:
A ‘heroic maiden’ (virago) is so called because she
‘acts like a man’ (vir + agere)
But he doesn't seem to think vir and…
Geremia
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A source of information on Roman mints
I would like to understand how the Romans minted coins. Mining, smelting and refining are no mystery; I can envision ways in which uniform coin-blanks might have been made : but the big problems are (1) the striking of the coins themselves, and (2)…
Tom Cotton
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Can someone translate this paragraph from the book "Proxima" for me? And is it grammatically correct?
Fortasse accipio oratio stridens vestri. Sum Quintus Fabius centurio navis stellae "Malleus Jesu". Quid estis, quid agitis in hac provincia? Et quid est mixti lingua vestri?Germanicus est? Non dubito quin vos ex Germaniae Exteriorae. Cognovi de…
Slarty
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Looking for the proper Latin phrasing of "Man's defender"
I was looking for the proper way to convey the idea of someone being a defender of people's rights,freedoms, and safety. In this context "Man" would be the same as "mankind" or "people." Maybe "Defender of the people" would be a more proper…
D S
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8
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Why a long ē in rēx, rēgis but not in regere or regiō?
I'm assuming it's not a phonological thing—like, if the ē in rēx was compensatorily lengthened because of g—>x, then it would be regis, not rēgis, right?
Joel Derfner
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8
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Declension case in "Quo vadis?" sentence
Normally we use accusative to express the destination of the movement in Latin. Why then is the ablative form of interrogative pronoun (ie. "quo") used in the "Quo vadis?" sentence?
When we answer this question, everything is back to normal and we…
Marek Lipka
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8
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How productive was the participle in -menus in Latin?
Greek has the medium participle ending in -menos.
It has a couple of occurrences in Latin, too, of which I only seem to remember alere > alumnus now.
How many words are there in Latin that contain this element?
What is their origin?
Are they…
Joonas Ilmavirta
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8
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Translation of would
I found some examples of conditional clauses whose translation may include the word "would". They are:
Si Marcus Iuliam amet, ea eum amet.
If Marcus should [perhaps ever some day] love Julia, she would love him.
Si Marcus Iuliam amaret, ea eum…
Alfie González
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8
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Origins and point of boustrophedon
I'm a complete tiro in Latin and Greek, and very puzzled by the phenomenon of boustrophedon. Most languages are written left to right, or right to left, but to combine both in the same sentence seems more than perverse. It is particularly strange…
TheHonRose
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8
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Is there any rule to the length of "e" in "-ensis<"?
Is there any rule to the length of e in -ensis?
I looked up the following words in Perseus (which give entries from 'Lewis & Short' and 'Elem. Lewis') and Wiktionary, without being able to discern any pattern.
Lewis & Short | Elem. Lewis |…
Catomic
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