5

Finally we arrived far in the interior of the wilderness and were handed over to a household and new masters. I wore nothing but a loincloth, and abased myself on the ground to them in the eastern manner. Later I was given the job of shepherd, which meant I thankfully saw the master less. I took consolation from Biblical precedents for my captivity.

grandī amne trānsmissō: ablative absolute. The river is probably the Euphrates.

Pervenimus: other verbs in this paragraph (e.g. flectimus) suggest that pervenimus is a historical present, used often by Jerome for vividness (AG 469).

ad interiōrem sōlitūdinem: the location of this wilderness is uncertain; Malchus is not giving a detailed geographical description.

ex mōre gentis adorare iussī: Greeks and Romans typically describe peoples of the East, especially Persians, as engaging in proskynesis (Latin adoratio) before human rulers; this could range from bowing to full prostration on the ground.

5.2

mūtātō habitū: ablative absolute or ablative of description (AG 415).

āeris intemperiēs: “the extreme heat of atmosphere” < intemperiēs -eī f., “excessiveness” (of climate, etc.).

praeter pudīcitiam: “except for (my) modesty” i.e. “except for my private parts.”

5.3

pāscendae: gerundive, here used as simple participle in agreement with a noun, indicating necessity, obligation, or propriety (AG 500).

sōlāciō < sōlācium -(i)ī n., “consolation”; ablative with fruor.

quod ... rārius videō: substantive clause using quod, “the fact that I rarely see” (AG 572). Light supervision was typical for agricultural and rural slaves such as shepherds in the ancient world.

5.4

habēre aliquid sānctī Iācōb: “to be a little like the holy man Jacob.” Jacob worked as a shepherd for his uncle Laban, so that he could marry Laban’s daughter Rachel (Genesis 29:15-28; 30:31; 31:4). sānctī Iācōb is partitive genitive with aliquid. Use of the word sanctus to refer to a character in the Old Testament is unusual (see Gray).

recordābar Moȳsī: recordor regularly takes a genitive; Moses worked as a shepherd for Jethro so that he could marry Jethro’s daughter Zipporah (Exodus 2:21; 3:1)

fuēre = fuērunt, an archaic and artificial form (Gray).

Vescēbar < vescor, vescī , “to feed on” (+ abl.)

recentī: “fresh” (abl. with vescor)

5.5

Dēlectābat mē captīvitās mea: a striking oxymoron, emphasizing Malchus’ Christian self-abnegation

monachum: “the monk,” i.e. “the state of being a monk.”

fueram perditūrus: “had been about to lose” by returning home. If he had returned home as planned Malchus would never, he thinks, have returned to his life as a monk.