[13] Cum vērō omnēs ascendissent dē nāvī et stetissent forīs in terrā, praecēpit sānctus Brendānus ut nihil dē suppellectilī tulissent dē nāvī forās. [14] Porrō ambulantibus per rīpās maris, occurit illīs canis per quandam sēmitam, et venit ad pedēs sānctī Brendānī, sīcut solent canēs venīre ad pedēs dominōrum suōrum. [15] Tunc sānctus Brendānus dīxit frātribus suīs: “Nōnne bonum nūntium dōnāvit nōbīs Deus? Sequiminī eum.” [16] Tunc sānctus Brendānus cum frātribus suīs secūtī sunt canem usque ad oppidum.
[17] Intrantibus autem oppidum, vīdērunt aulam magnam ac strātam lectulīs et sedīlibus, aquamque ad pedēs lavandōs. [18] Cum autem resēdissent, praecēpit sānctus Brendānus suīs sociīs, dīcēns: “Cavēte, frātrēs, nē Satanas perdūcat vōs in temptātiōnem. [19] Videō illum suādentem ūnum ex tribus frātribus, quī post nōs vēnērunt dē nostrō monastēriō, dē fūrtō pessimō. Ōrāte prō animā eius: nam carō eius trādita est in potestātem Satanae.”
notes
When they land, a dog meets them and guides them to a palace; it is prepared for their arrival, but deserted. Brendan warns his monks not take anything, but he knows that one of them will.
[13] praecēpit sānctus Brendānus ut nihil dē suppellectilī tulissent: Brendan knows by divine intuition that the place is magical and that their equipment will therefore be useless. CL would be praecēpit ... ut nihil ... ferrent.
[16] oppidum: a palace or castle, rather than a town (ML); for the deserted castle as a motif in folklore and Irish literature see Orlandi and Guglielmetti (2014).
[17] Intrantibus ... vīdērunt: in CL the subject of an ablative absolute would be different from the subject of the main sentence (see 1.15).
[19] videō: again, Brendan has prophetic powers.
illum: i.e., Satan.
quī post nōs vēnērunt dē nostrō monastēriō: see 5.1.
dē fūrtō pessimō: with suādentem; Satan was persuading the monk “regarding a most evil theft”; CL would typically use accusative + infinitive or ut + subjunctive.
vocabulary
| stō stāre stetī statum | to stand; to stand firm [OLD 3a] 13 |
| forīs | out of doors, outside, abroad |
| suppellex –icis f. | equipment |
| forās | outside, on the outside |
| porrō | next 14 |
| ambulō ambulāre ambulāvī ambulātum | to walk |
| per | through; by means of [OLD 14] |
| sēmita –ae f. | path, track |
| nōnne | introduces a direct question expecting the answer "yes" 15 |
| ūsque | until (often with ad or dum). 16 |
| aula –ae (–āī) f. | hall, palace 17 |
| sternō sternere strāvī strātus | to lay out, spread out; scatter |
| lectulus –ī m. | couch, bed (ML; CL lectulus –ī m.) |
| sedīle –is n. | bench, chair |
| lavō lavāre (lavere) lāvī lōtus (lautus) | to wash |
| resideō residēre resēdī ressus | to be seated, remain seated; to stand back, stand still 18 |
| socius –iī m. | ally, comrade |
| Satanas –ae, f. | Satan |
| perdūcō perdūcere perdūxī perductum | to bring to/over |
| temptātiō –ōnis f. | an attack, trial |
| suādeō suādēre suāsī suāsus | to recommend 19 |
| monastērium –ī n. | a monastery |
| fūrtum fūrtī n. | theft |
| pessimus –a –um | worst |
| prō | for, on behalf of (prep. + abl.) [OLD 3]; in view of, to judge from (+ abl.) [OLD 16b] |
| carō carnis f. | meat, flesh |
| Satanas –ae, f. | Satan |