8.1. “Regressō ad cubīle occurrit mulier. Trīstitiam animī vultū dissimulāre nōn potuī. Rogat cūr ita exanimātus sim. Audit causās. Hortor ad fugam. Nōn aspernātur. Petō silentium. Fidem tribuit. Et iūgī susurrō, inter spem et metum mediī fluctuāmus. 8.2 Erant mihi in grege duo hircī mīrae magnitūdinis; quibus occīsīs utrēs faciō, eōrumque carnēs viāticō praeparō.  Et prīmō vespere, putantibus dominīs nōs sēcrētō cubitāre, invādimus iter utrēs et partēs carnium portantēs. 8.3 Cumque pervēnissēmus ad fluvium—nam decem mīlibus aberat—inflātīs et ascēnsīs utribus, aquīs nōs crēdimus, paulātim pedibus subrēmigantēs ut, deorsum flūmine dēferente et multō longius quam cōnscenderāmus in alteram nōs expōnente rīpam, vestīgium sequentēs perderent. 8.4 Sed inter haec madefactae carnēs et ex parte lāpsae vix trīduī cibum pollicēbantur. Bibimus usque ad satietātem, futūrae nōs sitī praeparantēs. 8.5 Currimus; post tergum semper aspicimus; et magis noctibus prōmovēmur, vel propter īnsidiās lātē vagantium Saracēnōrum, vel propter ārdōrem sōlis nimium. Paveō miser etiam referēns: et iam sēcūrus, tōtō tamen corpore perhorrēscō.

    Malchus and his wife decide to escape. Malchus kills two goats, for their meat and to use their inflated skins as flotation devices. After crossing a river they mostly travel by night.

    Regressō = (mihi) regressō; dative with occurrit.

    ad cubīle < cubīle -is n., “bed, couch” or "den" (i.e. the cave)

    occurrit: the paragraph is mostly written in the historical present. The short sentences vividly convey the drama of the situation.

    cur exanimātus sim: pres. subj. in an indirect question. < exanimātus -a -um, “dispirited, down” (DMLBS exanimare 2.b); Malchus was worn out by his pointless life.

    Hortor ad fugam = hortor (eam) ad fugam

    silentium: omission of speech with the implication of concealment (DMLBS silentium 4.b). She is being asked to tell no one of the planned escape.

    Fidem tribuit: “she gave her word”; fidem tribuere normally means “lend credence to” testimony or the like (Cicero, Pro Sulla 10). But fidēs often means “promise, assurance, word” (LS fides II.B), and tribuō can mean “to bestow, award.”

    Et iūgī susurrō < iūgis -e, “continual”; ablative of means, or ablative of manner (AG 412).

    mediī: “halfway between”; masc. pl. nom., with the subject of fluctuāmus.

    8.2

    Erant mihi ... duo hircī < hircus -ī m., “goat”; dative of possession, though the goats in fact belonged to Malchus’ master.

    mīrae magnitūdinis: genitive of quality (= genitive of description), AG 345

    quibus occīsīs: ablative absolute

    utrēs faciō < uter utris m., “leather bag”

    viāticō: dative of purpose (AG 382)

    putantibus dominīs nōs sēcrētō cubitāre: ablative absolute followed by indirect statement. < cubitō (1), “to sleep; sleep with someone”; sēcrētō: “in private” (not “secretly”).

    partēs carnium: probably “pieces of meat” (Gray)

    8.3

    Cumque: a redundant -que.

    pervēnissēmus: pluperfect subj. in a circumstantial cum clause (AG 546).

    ad fluvium: Gray identifies this as the Mygdonius (also called the Hirmus), which flows past Nisibis; now the the river Jhagjhaga in southeast Turkey.

    decem mīlibus aberat: ablative of degree of difference, which can be used to indicate distance (AG 414.b); the subject of aberat is fluvium.

    īnflātīs et ascēnsīs utribus: ablative absolute. For the use of inflated skins to cross rivers see Gray ad loc.

    subrēmigantēs < subrēmigō -āre, “paddle”; literally “make rowing movements under the water.”

    deorsum flūmine dēferente, et ... nōs expōnente ablative absolute; deorsum = “downward, down stream” (adv.).

    in alteram ... rīpam: hyperbaton emphasizing alteram

    sequentēs: “the pursuers”; present participle, substantivized. perderent < perdō -ere, “to fail to obtain, lose, miss” (OLD 4); imperfect subjunctive in a purpose clause.

    8.4

    inter haec: “in the meantime” (LS inter 2.C.e).

    trīduī < trīduum -ī n., “a period of three days”; genitive with cibum.

    sitī < sitis -is f., “thirst”; dative with the future participle futūrae.

    8.5

    magis noctibus "mostly at night”; noctibus is ablative of time when.

    prōmovēmur < prōmoveō -ēre, “to make progress” (intransitive, OLD 5).

    vel ... vel: “both ... and.” In vel .. vel constructions mutual exclusiveness is not normally emphasized (OLD 2.a).

    paveō miser etiam referēns: paveō and perhorrescō are true present tense, not historical present: Malchus is commenting on his own story. Aeneas says something similar when telling the story of the fall of Troy to Dido in Vergil’s Aeneid 2.204: horrescō referēns.

    core vocabulary

    regredior regredī regressus sum: to go back, return

    cubīle cubīlis n.: place of rest, couch, bed

    trīstitia -ae or trīstitiēs -eī f. : sorrow

    dissimulō dissimulāre dissimulāvī dissimulātus: to conceal, dissemble, disguise, hide; ignore

    exanimō exanimāre exanimāvī exanimātus: to deprive of life; p., exanimatus, a, um, without breath, breathless; disheartened; terrified (> ex and anima)

    aspernor -ārī -ātus sum: to slight, despise; repel; scorn, spurn; refuse, reject; decline to accept (> ab and spernor)

    silentium silenti(ī) n.: silence

    tribuō tribuere tribuī tribūtus: to divide, assign; present; grant, allot, bestow, attribute

    iūgis iūgis iūge: continual; ever-flowing

    susurrō -ōnis m.: to hum, buzz, murmur, mutter, whisper

    fluctuō fluctuāre fluctuāvī fluctuātus: to wave, fluctuate; (fig.), toss; rage, boil (> fluctus)

    grex gregis m.: herd, flock; troupe of actors

    hircus -ī m.: he goat

    mīrus -a -um: marvelous, wonderful

    ūter ūtris m. : a bag of hide, leathern bottle, vessel of skin, skin

    carō carnis f.: meat, flesh

    viāticum -ī n.: travelling money, food for a journey

    praeparō -parāre -parāvī -parātus: to make ready beforehand, prepare, equip, make preparations

    vesperus -a -um: of or belonging to the evening, evening

    dominus dominī m.: master, lord

    sēcrētō: separately, apart, privately

    cubitō cubitāre: to lie down often, be accustomed to lie

    invādō invādere invāsī invāsum: to go in, attack, invade

    fluvius fluvi(ī) m.: river

    īnflō īnflāre īnflāvī īnflātus: to blow into; fill, inflate, swell

    paulātim: little by little, by degrees, gradually; a small amount at a time, bit by bit

    subrēmigō subrēmigāre subrēmigāvī subrēmigātus: to row lightly, swim along, paddle

    deorsum or deorsus: downwards, down

    multō: by much, greatly

    cōnscendō -ere -scendī -scēnsus: to ascend, climb; mount; embark on (> com- and scando, climb)

    expōnō expōnere exposuī expositus: to set/put forth/out; abandon, expose; publish; explain, relate; disembark

    madefaciō -ere -fēcī -factus: to make wet, to wet, moisten (> madeo and facio)

    lābor labī lapsus sum: to glide, slip

    trīduum -ī n. : three days' time; three days

    polliceor pollicērī pollicitus sum: to promise

    bibō bibere bibī: to drink; toast; visit, frequent (w/river name); drain, draw off; thirst for; suck, (fig.) wound

    satietās -ātis f.: a sufficiency, abundance, adequacy

    sitis -is f.: thirst

    prōmoveō -ēre -mōvī -mōtus: to move forward; push forward

    īnsidiae īnsidiārum f. pl.: ambush, plot, treachery

    vagor (1) -ārī or vagō vagāre vagāvī: to wander

    ārdor ārdōris m.: burning, heat, eagerness

    paveō -ēre -uī: to tremble, fear

    perhorrēscō perhorrēscere perhorruī — : to tremble or shudder greatly

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