PREPARATORY LATIN COURSE.
P. 174.—“Havelock.” (1795-1857.) A British soldier who in 1823 was sent to India. He served in the Burmese war, in the Ava campaign, in two invasions of Afghanistan, and in 1856 in a war with Persia. On his return to Bombay he was sent to Calcutta to aid the British in the Sepoy rebellion. After raising the siege of Cawnpore, he started toward Lucknow, where the garrison was closely beset. Havelock was two months in fighting his way to the city, and when there, the relievers and garrison had to stand a siege until the arrival of Campbell with forces. Havelock, however, lived only a few days after succor came, being worn out by sickness and hardships. The arrival of Campbell has been celebrated in a touching and popular poem—“The Relief of Lucknow.”
P. 177.—“Ardennes.” See “Notes” on page 185 of The Chautauquan for December.
P. 180.—“Hector.” The chief hero of the Trojans in the war with the Greeks, the eldest son of Priam, king of Troy. Having slain Patroclus, the friend of Achilles, the latter was aroused to revenge, and came out to fight. Hector remained bravely without the walls until he saw his enemy, when he took to flight, but he was finally pierced with Achilles’ spear, and his body dragged into the camp of the Greeks. Hector was the stay of the Trojans. He is represented by Homer as a man of all virtues, and is claimed to be the noblest conception of the “Iliad.”
P. 184.—“Boll of grain.” The Scotch formerly used a measure called the bōll, or bole. Its capacity varied with the article measured. A boll of wheat or beans held four bushels; of oats or potatoes, six bushels.
“Cevennes,” sā-venˈ. A mountain range of France, separating the valleys of the Garonne and the Loire from those of the Saone and the Rhone.
P. 187.—“Santa Scala,” or the holy staircase, called also Pilate’s staircase, is a flight of twenty-eight marble steps in a little chapel of Rome. They are said to be the steps which Christ passed up and down in going before Pilate, and that, like the Holy House at Loreto, they were transported by angels to their present position. Multitudes of pilgrims crawl up this staircase, kissing each step as they go. It is related of Luther that wishing to obtain the indulgence promised by the pope for this devout act, he was slowly ascending the steps when he suddenly heard a voice exclaiming, “The just shall live by faith alone.” He was so terrified by his superstitious folly that he at once fled from the place.
P. 190.—“Aulus,” auˈlus hirˈti-us.
P. 194.—“Protagonist,” pro-tăgˈo-nĭst. The first or leading actor in a drama.
P. 196.—“Obsolescence,” ŏb-so-lĕsˈcence. The going out of style, becoming old, obsolete.
P. 202.—“Lucius Catilina,” lūˈci-ŭs catˈi-liˌna.
P. 205.—“Spurius Mælius,” spuˈri-us mæˈli-us. A rich plebeian who in the famine at Rome in B. C. 440 bought up corn to distribute to the poor. His liberality won him the favor of the plebeians, but the hatred of the patricians. In the following year he was accused of a conspiracy against the government. Having refused to appear before the tribunal when summoned, Ahala, the master of the horse, rushed out with an armed band and slew him.
“Opimius.” A patrician, the leader of his party in the proceedings against Caius Gracchus in 120 B. C. Through his violence some three hundred people were slain after the death of Gracchus.
“Saturnius.” A demagogue who in B. C. 102 was elected tribune of the plebs. He allied himself with Marius and his party and won much favor by his popular measures. He was twice reëlected, but the third time it was feared that his colleague, Glaucia, who had held office during each of his tribunates, would be defeated. The friends had the rival candidate murdered. This act caused a reaction against Saturnius, and the senate ordered that he and his associates should be slain. Marius endeavored to save his friend, but the mob pulled the tiles from the senate house, where the parties were concealed, and pelted them to death.
P. 220.—“Minucian Colonnade.” A portico built about 100 B. C. by the consul Minucius, in memory of the triumph which he received after waging a successful war against the Thracians.
“Pan.” In Grecian mythology, a god who watched over flocks and herds; was the patron of hunters, bee-keepers and fishermen, and the inventor of a shepherd’s flute. He is represented with horns, goat’s beard, feet and tail, and often as playing on the flute. The Romans worshiped him under the name of Faunus.
P. 221.—“Lupercalia,” lūˈper-cä-li-a. Lupercus was a name applied to Pan, and a feast given in honor of the god by the Romans was called Lupercalia.
“Tarquinius,” tar-quinˈi-us. Surnamed Superbus, was the last of the Roman kings. Though he was cruel and tyrannical, he is said to have greatly increased the power of the city. Brutus, his nephew, was aroused against the royal family because of an outrage committed upon his wife by Tarquin’s son. He stirred up popular feeling against the king, and succeeded in driving him from Rome. Consular government was then substituted for the monarchy.
“Spurius Cassius,” spuˈri-us casˈsi-us. A famous Roman of the fifth century. He was three times consul. In his last consulship he passed a law which provided that the patricians should receive only a portion of the public lands, and that the rest should be divided among the plebeians. The next year he was accused of aiming at regal power and was put to death.
“Manlius.” Consul in 392 B. C. In 395 he defended the plebeians against the higher classes, but was accused of aiming at kingly power, and was thrown into prison. The plebs showed such indignation at this that Manlius was liberated. He only became bolder in his support of the people, and in the following year was accused of treason, condemned, and thrown from the Tarpeian rock.
P. 228.—“Dante,” dănˈte. (1265-1321.)
“Inferno,” in-ferˈno; “Purgatorio,” pur-gä-toˈre-o; “Divina Commedia,” dee-veéˈnä com-meˈdee-ä.
P. 230.—“Mincius,” minˈci-us. A river of northern Italy emptying into the Po, a little below Mantua, which is situated on an island in the middle of a lagoon formed by the river.
P. 232.—“Bucolic,” bu-cŏlˈic; “Eclogues,” ĕkˈlogs.
“Dactylic hexameter,” dac-tylˈic hex-ămˈe-ter. A verse of poetry consisting of six feet, parts, or measures (hexameter means of six measures), the first four of which may be dactyls, that is feet of three syllables, one long and two short; or spondees, feet of two syllables, one long and one short: the fifth must be a dactyl, and the sixth a spondee.
“Theocritus,” the-ŏkˈrĭ-tus. Was born in Syracuse about 250 B. C. He is known as the creator of pastoral poetry. About thirty poems by him are still extant, and several epigrams.
P. 234.—“Sibyl,” sĭbˈyl. A name given by the Greeks and Romans to several women who were supposed to have been able to foretell, to avert trouble, and to appease the gods. Some writers mention four Sibyls, others ten. The most famous of all was this Cumæan Sibyl, and to her the Romans traced the origin of the “oracles.” It is fabled that she offered to sell to one of the Tarquins nine books, but the king refused. Going away she burnt three, and then offered the six at the same price. Being refused again she destroyed a second three, and at her first price the king finally took those remaining. These were carefully preserved, but burnt in B. C. 83. A new compilation was made by consulting the various oracles of the world. The “Sibyline oracles” mentioned here are in eight books, and were collected after the second century; they consist of a mixture of heathen, Christian and Jewish poems.
P. 235.—“Lucina,” lu-ciˈna. The goddess who was supposed to preside over the birth of children.
“Tiphys,” tiˈphys. The pilot of the “Argo.” He died before the ship reached Colchis. For the story of the “Argo” see Grecian history.
P. 236.—“Fates,” or Parcæ, were mythological beings who cared for human life.
“Linus.” The personification of the dirge.
“Calliope.” The muse of epic poetry. She usually appears with a stylus and a wax tablet.
P. 237.—“Hesiod,” heˈsĭ-od. Greek epic poet; 800 B. C.
“Iambic pentameter.” A verse of five feet (pentameter), or ten syllables. Each foot is an iambus; that is, is composed of one short and one long syllable.
“Alexandrine,” ălˌex-ănˈdrĭne. A verse composed of twelve syllables, named from a French poem on Alexander.
P. 238.—“Ceres.” The Demeter of the Romans, the goddess who presided over grain and the harvest.
“Fauns.” The rural divinities of the Romans. They were supposed to have introduced the worship of the gods and agriculture. They are represented as possessed of horns, and having the figure of a goat below the waist.
“Courser’s birth.” The reference is to the creation of the horse by Neptune. It is said that Neptune and Minerva (Athene) contested for the honor of naming Attica. The gods decided that it should be the one who should give the most useful gift to man. Neptune struck the ground with his trident and the horse appeared. Athene created the olive tree; the latter received the honor.
“Pallas.” A name frequently given to Athene.
“Cypress.” The cypress was sacred to Pluto, the god of the lower world.
P. 239—“Thule.” The land which in the time of Alexander the Great was believed to be the northernmost part of Europe.
“Fasces,” făsˈsēz. An emblem of authority among the Romans. It was an ax tied up in a bundle of rods.
“Balance.” The constellation Libra, or the Scales. It lies in the Zodiac between the Virgin and the Scorpion.
“Elysium,” e-lĭzˈĭ-um. A dwelling place for the good after death.
“Proserpine,” pro-serˈpine. The daughter of Ceres, who was carried off by Pluto, to Hades. Her mother, discovering that Jupiter had given consent to the abduction, withdrew from Olympus, and did not allow the earth to bring forth fruit. Jupiter tried to dissuade her, but failing, sent for Proserpine. She returned, but as she had eaten in the lower world could not remain all the time on earth, but was obliged to spend one-third of the year with Pluto.
P. 254.—“Æolus,” æˈo-lus. The god of the winds.
“Sarpedon,” sar-peˈdon. A son of Jupiter and a prince of Lycia. He was an ally of the Trojans in the Trojan war, but was slain by Patroclus, the friend of Achilles.
“Simois.” One of the prominent rivers in the country of Troy.
P. 255.—“Orontes,” o-ronˈtes. A Lycian leader and ally of the Trojans; “Aletes,” a-lēˈ-tes; “Abas,” aˈbas; “Achates,” a-chaˈtes.
P. 258.—“Harpalyce,” har-palˈy-ce. A Thracian princess whose mother died in her infancy. She was trained to outdoor exercise and sports, and on the death of her father she turned robber. She lived in the woods and was so fleet that not even horses could overtake her.
P. 262.—“Amaracus,” a-marˈa-cus. The sweet marjoram or feverfew.
P. 263.—“Acidalian.” Venus was sometimes called Acidalia, from a well, Acidalius, in Greece, where she used to bathe with the Graces.
P. 264.—“Demodocus.” In Ulysses’s wanderings, after the fall of Troy, he was thrown on the island of Scheria, where the king of the people, the Phæacians, honored him with feasts, at which Demodocus, a minstrel, sang of the fall of Troy.
P. 266.—“Danaan,” danˈa-an. Danaus, the name from which this word is derived, was a former king of Argos.
P. 270.—“Thessander,” thes-sanˈder.
“Sthenelus,” sthenˈe-lus. The friend of Diomede, under whom he commanded the Argives in the Trojan war.
“Acamas,” aˈca-mas. A son of Theseus.
“Pelides,” pe-liˈdes. A name given to Achilles, whose father’s name was Peleus. The “youthful heir” here spoken of was Neoptolemus, son of Achilles.
“Machaon,” ma-chaˈon. The surgeon of the Greeks in the Trojan war. He was the son of Æsculapius, the god of the medical art. Machaon was a warrior as well as a doctor, and with his brother led thirty ships to Troy.
“Menelaus,” men-e-laˈus. The king of Lacedæmon, and husband of Helen.
“Epeus,” e-peˈus.
P. 288.—“Dis.” A contraction of Dives, a name given sometimes to Pluto, and hence to the lower world.
P. 289.—“Phlegethon,” phlegˈe-thon. A river of liquid fire flowing through Hades.
“Orcus.” Another name for Hades, or for Pluto.
“Tartarus,” tarˈta-rus. Like Orcus and Dis, Tartarus is sometimes used synonymously with Hades.
“Acheron,” aˈcher-on. The name of a river of the lower world, flowing, according to Virgil, into the Co-cyˈtus.
P. 290.—“Charon,” chaˈron.
“Treen.” An obsolete plural of tree.
P. 291.—“Palinurus,” pa-li-nuˈrus. He had been the pilot of Æneas’s ship, but fell into the sea and was murdered on the coast of Lucania, by the natives.
“Cerberus,” cerˈbe-rus. The dog that guarded the entrance to Hades.
P. 293.—“Marpesian,” mar-peˈsi-an. Derived from Marpessa, a mountain in Paros, from which the Parian marble was taken.
P. 294.—“Hecate,” heˈca-te. An ancient divinity, the only Titan which Jupiter allowed to retain power. She was thought to rule in heaven, earth and hell; this three-fold power led to her being sometimes represented with three heads.
“Gnosian,” gnoˈsi-an. From Gnosus, or Cnosus, an ancient city of Crete. The adjective is used here as equivalent to Cretan.
“Rhadamanthus,” rha-da-manˈthus. The brother of King Minos, of Crete. His justice through life led to his being made a judge in the lower world.
“Tisiphone,” ti-siphˈo-ne. One of the Fates.
P. 295.—“Hydra,” hyˈdra. A monster which formerly lived in a marsh in the Peloponnesus. It had many heads, one of which being cut off was immediately succeeded by two new ones. It was slain by Hercules.
“Aloeus,” a-loˈe-us. The son of Neptune; the sons here referred to were of enormous size and strength. When but nine years of age they threatened the Olympian gods with war. Apollo destroyed them before they reached manhood. “Salmoneus,” sal-moˈne-us.
“Levin,” lĕvˈin. An obsolete word for lightning.
P. 296.—“Lapith.” A race living in Thessaly.
“Pirithous,” pi-rithˈo-us. The King of the Lapithæ. He descended to the nether world in order to carry off Persephone, but was seized by Pluto and fastened to a rock with Theseus, who had accompanied him. Theseus was afterward released by Hercules, but Pirithous remained.
“Ixion,” ix-iˈon. The father of the above. Having committed a murder on earth for which he was never purified, Jupiter took pity on him, purified him, and took him to heaven, where he tried to win the love of Juno. For his ingratitude he was sent to Hades, and fastened to a perpetually rolling wheel.
P. 297.—“Teucer,” teuˈcer. The first king of Troy.
“Ilus.” The grandfather of Priam, and the founder of Ilion or Troy.
“Assaracus,” as-sarˈa-cus. The great-grandfather of Æneas.
“Dardany,” or Dardania, was a region adjacent to Ilium, lying along the Hellespont. It was named from Dardanus, the son-in-law of Teucer.
P. 298.—“Eridanus,” e-ridˈa-nus. A river god.
“Musæus,” mu-sæˈus. A mythological character, the author of various poetical compositions and of certain famous oracles.
P. 300.—“Procas.” One of the fabulous kings of Alba Longa.
“Numitor,” nuˈmi-tor. The grandfather of Romulus and Remus.
“Capys.” “Silvius.” Mythical kings of Alba Longa.
“Gabii,” gaˈbi-i. In early times a powerful Latin city near Rome.
“Nomentum,” no-menˈtum. A Latin town, about fourteen miles from Rome.
“Collatia,” col-laˈti-a. A Sabine town. “Cora.” An ancient town in Latium. “Bola.” A town of the Æqui. “Inuus.” Usually written Inui Castrum. A town on the coast of Latium.
P. 301.—“Ind.” The country of the Indus.
“Garamant,” garˈa-mant. The most southernly of the known people of Africa.
“Alcides,” al-ciˈdes. A name given to Hercules.
“Erymanthus,” e-ry-manˈthus. A lofty mountain of Arcadia, the haunt of the boar which Hercules killed.
“Lerna.” A marsh and river not far from Argos, where Hercules killed the Hydra.
P. 302.—“Decii,” deˈci-i. “Drusus,” druˈsus. “Torquatus,” tor-quaˈtus. Famous Roman leaders in the early days of the Republic.
“Æacides,” æ-acˈi-des. A name given to the descendants of Æacus, among whom were Peleus, Achilles and Pyrrhus.
P. 303.—“Feretrian,” fer-reˈtri-an. A name given sometimes to Jove. It is probably derived from the verb to strike, as persons taking an oath called on Jove to strike them if they swore falsely.
