nuntio (1)
announce, report,
tell.
quondam adverb
once,
formerly.
Favorinus (c. 81-150 CE), an orator and philosopher, was born in Gaul at the beginning of Domitian's reign. He taught in Greece and wrote in Greek by his own preference; among his pupils were Herodes Atticus and Gellius. He achieved the rank of eques at Rome under Hadrian, was exiled by the hostility of a rival, then was restored by Antoninus Pius.
nobis: Aulus Gellius and others who were
visiting Favorinus at the time; ablative absolute with
praesentibus.
praesens,
-entis
present.
uxor, -oris f.
wife; subject of
enixam esse in indirect statement.
auditor, -oris m.
auditor, one who
listens, i.e., one of Favorinus' students.
sectator, -oris m.
one who
follows, i.e., a follower of Favorinus' philosophy.
sui: i.e., Favorinus; suus is reflexive:
it always refers to the subject of the main verb.
paululum ante adverb
a little
while ago, recently.
enitor, eniti, enixus/a sum
give birth
(to).
augeo, -ere, auxi, auctum
increase;
enrich.
eum: Favorinus' disciple; subject of auctum
esse in indirect statement.
eo, -ire, ivi, itum
go;
eamus is a hortatory subjunctive.
puerpera, -ae f.
woman who has given
birth, the new mother.
visum: supine form, used after verbs of
motion to indicate purpose.
gratulor, -ari, -atus/a
sum
congratulate; supine form, used after verbs of motion to indicate
purpose.
Is: Favorinus' disciple.
loci senatori: of senatorial rank/position.
una adverb
together.
adsum, -esse, -fui, --
to be at, to be
near, to be present.
prosequor, -sequi, -secutus/a
sum
follow, attend.
pergo, -ere, -rexi, -rectum
go,
proceed.
introgredior, -gredi, -gressus/a
sum
enter, go in.
primis aedis:
the first
parts of the house, i.e., the atrium and tablinum.
complector, -plecti, -plexus/a
sum
embrace; Gellius speaks here only of Favorinus.
adsideo, -sidere, -sedi, -sessum
sit
down near; attend, assist.
percontor, -contari, -contatus/a
sum
question, ask.
quam...fuissent: subjunctive in an
indirect question.
diutinus, -a, -um
long, long
lasting.
puerpium, -i n.
child
birth.
laboriosus, -a, -um
difficult,
laborious.
nixus, -us m.
labor pain.
puellam: despite her married status,
Favorinus notes with this word the youth of the wife, obviously in her first
marriage; subject of capere in indirect statement after
cognovit.
defessus, -a, -um
tired,
fatigued.
vigilia, -ae f.
wakefulness; lack of
sleep; ablative after defessam, giving the cause.
somnum, -i n.
sleep; nap.
fabulor, -ari, -atus sum
chat,
talk.
instituo, -ere, -ui,
-utum
undertake; set up; arrange; teach.
prolixius comparative adverb of
prolixus.
more fully, obligingly, willingly. Favorinus' first
questions on the difficulty of the birth were prompted by concern, as death
during or shortly after childbirth was a common occurrence.
dubito (1)
doubt; hesitate; with
nihil = I am sure; verbs of doubting are followed by quin
and the subjunctive.
lac, lactis n.
milk.
nutrio, -ire, -ivi, -itum
nurse;
breast-feed; nutritura sit future subjunctive following a verb of
doubting, introduced by quin.
cum conjunction
when; temporal,
followed by the subjunctive diceret.
parco, -ere, peperci, parsum +
dative
spare, refrain from; impersonal use of the passive
periphrastic; ei is the new mother.
adhibeo, -hibere, -hibui,
-hibitum
summon; employ; understand esse.
nutrix, icis f.
nurse,
wet-nurse.
ne: introduces a negative purpose clause
followed by the subjunctive accederet.
dolor, -oris m.
pain; trouble;
sorrow.
munus, -eris n.
responsibility,
duty. As the new mother was a puella, she still had some physical
maturing to do, and nursing a child could compromise her own health.
nutricatio, -onis
f.
nursing.
accedo, -ere, -essi, -essum
be added;
take up (a duty).
mulier, -eris f.
woman; vocative
case. Favorinus addresses the mother using a term of respectful address,
"Madam."
sino, -ere, sivi, situm
allow,
permit.
integer, -tegra, -tegrum
whole,
complete.
Quod est enim: this phrase introduces
a long rhetorical question that ends with inplorantum.
hoc...matris genus: the
intervening phrases contra naturam and inperfectum atque
dimidiatum describe "this kind of mother."
dimidiatus, -a, -um
half, not
whole; the gender agrees with genus. Favorinus describes birthing as
only half the task of being a mother; the other necessary half, he claims, is
nursing the child.
pario, -ere, peperci, partum
give
birth; the three infinitives are the subject of est.
abicio, -icere, -ieci, -iectum
throw
away, toss away; understand natum as the direct object.
alo, alere, alui, altum (alitum)
nourish,
feed; the infinitives aluisse and alere continue to define
hoc matris genus.
uterus, -i m.
womb;
uterus.
sanguis, -inis m.
blood; life;
ablative of means.
nescio quid: something, i.e., the
fetus.
videret: subjunctive in a relative clause
of characteristic introduced by quod.
viventem: with inplorantem, objects
of videat, subjunctive in a relative clause of characteristic.
officium, -i n.
duty, office;
attention, care; object of inplorantem.
inploro (1)
cry (for), wail
(for).
an conjunction
or.
mamma, -ae f.
breast.
uber, uberis n.
nipple; breast,
teat; object of dedisse.
quasi adverb
as if, as it
were.
venustior, comparative adjective of
venustus
rather beautiful, attractive.
naevulus, -i m.
little
mole.
liber, liberi m.
child
(from the point of view of its parents); liberum is in the genitive pl.
with the gerundive alendorum, after causa.
orno (1)
adorn; equip; gerundive
with pectoris.
pectus, -oris n.
breast; chest;
heart.
causa preposition + genitive
for the
sake of; purpose construction with gerundives alendorum and
ornandi.
interest, -esse, -fuit, --
it is
important, it makes a difference; it takes the genitive case of the person
affected (here, cuius).
dicitur: it is said; Favorinus
repeats a common argument against nursing.
dum conjunction + subjunctive
provided
that, as long as.
id...fiat:
this is brought
about; with lacte, ablative of means.
capesso, -ere, -ivi, -itum
seize,
get hold of; gerundive with sensibus.
sensus, -us m.
sense; feeling;
understanding; meaning.
obsurdesco, -surdescere, -surdui,
--
turn a deaf ear to, grow deaf to.
concresco, -crescere. -crevi,
-cretum
grow together, take shape; with sit a subjunctive in
indirect question.
coalesco, -alescere, -alui,
-altum
grow firm, grow strong, thrive; subjunctive in indirect
question.
malum indeclinable n.
The devil! The
deuce! Malum is an oath used to emphasize a question.
ratio, -onis f.
reason, grounds
(for doing something). A rhetorical question; quae ratio est is
completed by the infinitive corrumpere at the end of the
sentence.
natio modo
just born, newly
born.
ingeniatus, -a, -um
naturally
endowed; translate with bene.
primordium, -i
n.
beginning.
inchoatus/incohatus, -a,
-um
unfinished.
insitivus, -a, -um
foreign,
alien; ablative of means.
degener, -generis
degenerate,
unworthy.
alimentum, -i
n.
nourishment.
alienus, -a, -um
of another; alien,
strange.
corrumpo, -rumpere, -rupi,
-ruptum
mar, ruin; destroy; the direct objects are above:
nobilitatem and corpusque et animum.
praesertim
adverb
especially.
ista: the wet nurse.
praebeo, -bere, -bui, -bitum
offer,
supply, present; ad + gerundive = purpose construction.
servilis, -e
like a slave,
servile.
ut plerumque solet:
as it
generally happens.
externus, -a, -um
outside (the
Roman Empire).
barbarus, -a, -um
barbarian;
barbarous.
si :
if; a series of
alternatives follows; understand aut before each si.
inprobus, -a, -um
dishonest,
wicked.
informis, -e
ugly,
misshapen.
inpudicus, -a, -um
immoral,
unchaste.
temulentus, -a, -um
given to
drink, bibulous.
discrimen, -criminis
n.
qualification.
quaecumque: whoever; the
antecedent is eam, the understood subject of adhiberi.
id temporis: at that time (i.e.,
when the child is born a wet-nurse must be found immediately).
lacto(1)
produce milk.
patior, pati, passus sum
allow,
permit; -ne is an enclitic indicating a question.
infans, -antis m./f.
infant, child.
Favorinus' use of nostrum shows how deeply involved he is in the
infant's welfare.
perniciosus, -a, -um
deadly,
destructive.
contagium, -i n.
contact, disease,
contamination.
inficio, -ficere, -feci,
-fectum
imbue, infect; ruin, destroy.
spiritus, -us m.
breath of life;
character. Favorinus argues that the infant take in not only the milk but
also the spirit of the provider of the milk.
deterrimus, -a, -um
most inferior,
most corrupt.
quoniam conjunction
especially
since.
videlicet adverb
clearly,
obviously.
mos, moris m.
character, disposition;
morals.
inolesco, -olescere, -olevi, ---
to
grow in, develop in; implant; gerundive.
fere adverb
quite; generally; as a
rule.
altrix, -icis f.
female nourisher,
sustainer.
quae: the antecedent is natura
lactis.
principium, -i
n.
beginning.
imbuo, -buere, -bui, -butum
soak,
instill, steep.
semen, -inis n.
seed.
concretio, -onis f.
matter,
substance.
recens, recentis
young; recent,
fresh.
indoles, -is f.
nature, character,
disposition;inborn quality.
configuro (1)
mould, shape;
understand lac as the subject.
praeter preposition +
accusative
beyond; in addition to.
possit: subjunctive in a relative clause of
characteristic introduced by quis.
illud: this consideration; illud is
explained by the quod substantive clause; quae = the
mothers.
aspernor, -spernari, -spernatus/a
sum
belittle, scorn, reject.
partus, -us m.
offspring;
partus suos is the direct object of deserunt, ablegant,
and dedunt.
desero, -serere, -serui,
-sertum
desert, abandon.
ablego (1)
send away,
dismiss.
vinculum, -i n.
bond, link,
chain; understand et before vinculum; illud modifies
vinculum and coagulum.
coagulum, -i n.
joining,
link.
consocio (1)
join, associate,
connect, unite.
interscindo, -scindere, -scisi,
-scissum
cut, sever.
diluo, -luere, -lui, -lutum
dilute,
weaken; break up, destroy.
detero, -terere, -trivi, -tritum
rub
away, wear away, weaken.
Close this window after each use.