9

Pursued by their master and a slave of his, Malchus and his wife hide in a cave. First the slave and then the master enter the cave to kill them, but a lioness saves them.

Post diem tertium: “two days later” (Gray)

dubiō aspectū “dimly,” < aspectus -ūs m., “seeing, sight.”

duōs camēlīs sedentēs = duōs (virōs) sedentēs (in) camēlīs.

concitē: “quickly,” a rare synonym of celeriter, possibly a coinage of Jerome’s.

putāre ... cernere: historical infinitives (AG 463), unless meditārī and cernere are infinitives depending on putāre (see Gray). In either case, the darkening of the sun is metaphorical.

vestīgiīs per arēnās: “by our footsteps through the sand”; on the “adnominal prepositional phrase” see Gray.

offertur: “appeared” (LS offero I)

ad dexteram: “on the right-hand side”

specus: specus -ūs m., “cave”

9.2

venēnāta animālia < venēnātus -a -um, “poisonous”

rēgulī < rēgulus -ī m., a basilisk, a kind of poisonous or noxious serpent (DMLBS regulus 2)

intrāmus quidem spēluncam < spēlunca -ae f., “cave.” quidem: probably looks forward to what comes next: “and it is true that we entered the cave, but we entrusted ourselves to a crevice at its very entrance” (Gray).

sinistrae nōs foveae crēdimus = crēdimus nōs sinistrae foveae. < fovea -ae f., “hiding-place, retreat” (DMLBS fovea 1.d); dative with crēdimus. crēdimus: crēdō (+ dat.), “to entrust oneself to” (OLD 1).

ne ... incurrerēmus: imperf. subj. in a negative purpose clause (AG 531). Note the word play of mortem fugimus / incurrerēmus in mortem.

illudque ... reputantēs: illud probably looks forward to sī iuvat ... salūtem: “thinking about this, namely that ...” Another possibility (see Gray) is that illud introduces the allusion to Seneca in what follows.

si iuvat ... habēmus salūtem; sī dēspicit ... habēmus sepulcrum: pres. indicatives in simple present condition (AG 515). Note the play on salūtem ... sepulcrum. Duckworth cites Andromache’s speech to Astyanax in Seneca’s Troades, when she hides him in Hector’s tomb: fāta sī miserōs iuvant, / habēs salūtem; fāta sī vītam negant, habēs sepulcrum (510-512).

9.3

Quid ... animī? Quid terrōris: “what state of mind,” “what terror,” partitive genitives (AG 346).

cum ... stārent … et ... pervēnissent: imperf. and plup. subj. in a circumstantial cum clause (AG 546).

vestīgiō indice < index icis m., “informer; indication”; ablative absolute.

latebrās < latebra -ae f., “hiding place”; plural with singular meaning, as usual with this word.

9.4

Ō multō gravior exspectāta, quam illāta mors! = Ō multō graviōra (est mors) exspectāta, quam (est) mors illāta! multō is ablative of degree of difference. illāta = "inflicted," > īnferō īnferre (LS II.A).

Rūrsus collābor et timōre lingua balbūtit < collābor collābī collāpsus, “to give way, fail” (of mind or spirit, OLD 4); < balbūtiō balbūtīre, “to stammer.” The present tense of collābor and balbūtit expresses Malchus’ strong feelings as he relives the story (Gray).

et quasi clāmante dominō, muttīre nōn audeō: “and, as if the master was (right here) shouting, I do not dare (even) to mutter.” < muttiō muttīre, “to mutter”; the action belongs to the present of narration, but the feeling of fear in the present is identical to that which Malchus felt in the past (Gray).

9.5

ut ... prōtrahat: purpose clause

ēvāgīnātō gladiō: ablative absolute, or instrumental ablative (Gray)

9.6

tribus fermē vel quattuor cubitīs < cubitum -ī n., “an elbow-length, cubit” (about 1.5 feet); ablative of degree of difference (AG 414).

introgressō famulō < famulus -ī m., “servant, slave”; ablative absolute.

nōbīs ... videntibus: ablative absolute or dative of advantage / disadvantage.

nam oculōrum ... nātūra est = nam nātūra oculōrum istīusmodī est; the parenthetical sentence explains why the slave did not immediately see that they were standing in a hiding place just inside the entrance of the cave.

ut, post sōlem, umbrās intrantibus caeca sint omnia: substantive clause of result (consecutive clause), which can function as a predicate nominative after mōs est and similar expressions (AG 571). caeca < caecus -a -um, “dark” (LS II).

furciferī < furcifer -erī m., “scoundrels,” masc. pl. vocative. As a prelude to crucifixion a condemned slave or bandit was bound to a large Y-shaped wooden apparatus (the furca). He was then made to carry this around the neighborhood, earning him the nickname furcifer, “fork-carrier.” This word was a common insult in Roman comedy, sometimes translated "gallows-bird." The language here is reminiscent of the colloquial Latin of Plautus.

9.7

leaenam invāsisse hominem ... cruentum intrō trahere < leaena -ae f., “lioness”; acc. + inf. in indirect statement; hominem is the direct object of invassisse; cruentum (hominem) is the direct object of trahere.

gutture suffōcātō: < suffōcō (1), “to choke, strangle”; ablative absolute. It is hard to believe that a lioness would actually strangle someone, and the fact that there was blood (cruentum) suggests that we should not take suffōcātō too literally.

intrō trahere < intrō, adv. “inside”; here it has to mean “further inside.”

quid ... terrōris ... quid gaudiī: partitive genitives.

nostrum: masc. sing. acc. of noster nostra nostrum

dominō nesciente: ablative absolute

9.8

Quī cum vidēret illum morās facere = cum (dominus) vidēret illum (famulum) morās facere. vidēret: “perceived, appreciated” (OLD videō 14).

duōs … resistere: acc. + inf. in indirect statement.

sed et: “and” (Gray).

sīcut: “inasmuch as, since” (LS II.A)

servī increpāns socordiam = increpāns socordiam servī; < increpō (1), “to utter noisy or violent reproaches at, chide, reprove” (OLD 4); < socordia -ae f., “sluggishness, inaction.”

prius ... quam ... penetraret = ā ferā tentus est priusquam ad nostrās latebrās penetraret. priusquam (“before”) can be written as two words; with an imperfect subjunctive it means that the action was anticipated or intended, rather than completed (AG 550.b). ā ferā = ā leaenā. tentus est > teneō = “seize” (LS A.1).

9.9

Quis ... crēderet: potential subjunctive, used when there is a suggestion that the action is merely a possibility (AG 447.3).

ut ... bēstia … dīmicāret: substantive clause of result (consecutive clause), in apposition with hoc (AG 570); in CL we would would expect quod ... bēstia dīmicāret (Gray).

Sublātō ... illō metū: ablative absolute. Sublātō > tollo, tollere, sustuli, sublatum: "take away," "remove" (LS II).

similis ante oculōs nostrōs versābātur interitus = similis interitus versābātur ante oculōs nostrōs. < interitus -ūs m., “violent or untimely death.” versābātur is passive un middle sense, "was constantly present" (see OLD s.v. verso 11.b)  Hyperbaton thrown emphasis on similis and interitus.

nisi quod: “save that,” “except for the fact that” (LS nisi I.C.5)

tūtius fuerat: “it would have been a safer thing.” The statement is an ironical comment from Malchus on the cruelty with which slave masters treat runaways. Fuerat is a vivid pluperfect indicative instead of the expected pluperferct subjunctive, in a disguised contrary to fact conditional where the protasis is stated as an infinitive (AG 521.a note).

leōnis rabiem < rabiēs -ēī f., “ferocity.”

9.10

intrīnsecus: “on the inside, internally” (adv.)

nē movēre quidem: < nē ... quidem “not even”; the two words emphasize the word or words they surround (LS nē I.2.a).

praestōlābāmur < praestōlor (1), “to wait for, await.”

prō:“by way of, as” + abl.

saeptī: “enveloped, encircled” (in protection, OLD saepio 6.a).

9.11

vīsam sē esse sentiēns = sentiēns sē (= leaenam) vīsam esse, acc. + inf. in indirect statement.

mordicus: “with the teeth” (adv.)

catulum < catulus -ī m., “cub”

mātūtīna: “at dawn,” adverbial (DMLBS matutinus 6)

hospitium: “the lodgings,” as if the lion were a fellow hotel guest (see DMLBS hospitium 2–4)

illīus nōbīs semper figūrābāmus occursum = semper figūrābāmus nōbīs occursum illīus (leanae). < figūrō (1), “to form a mental image of, imagine, picture” (LS II.B.1); < occursus -ūs m., “meeting.”