Legenda Aurea, De Sancta Anastasia: a prefect deluded.

The Legenda Aurea is an inexhaustible source of anecdotes and miracles, often loosely connected and miracles performed by one saint, could easily have been performed by another. The following story is taken from the De Sancta Anastasia, but she plays no part in these story and it could almost be part of the vita every saint, except for hermits, as they don’t have servants and certainly not maids. This story is lacking in William Caxton’s translation and it could well be that it was not in his Latin text. Copyists and publishers of De Voragine’s Legenda have in due course inserted their own stories and - given the large number of manuscripts, prints and translations - it is almost impossible to establish a scholarly text. Years ago an edition was announced for the prestigious Fontes Christiani: I am still waiting.

acobus de Voragine, Legenda Aurea, De Sancta Anastasia (part)

aec habebat tres ancillas pulcherrimas, quae sorores erant. Quarum una dicebatur Agapete, altera Thionia et altera Irenia. Quae cum Christianae essent et praefecti monitis nullatenus oboedirent, in cubiculum eas reclusit, ubi coquinae utensilia servabantur. Praefectus autem in earum ardens amorem ad eas ivit, ut suam libidinem exerceret. Qui in amentiam versus putans se tractare virgines cacabos, patellas, caldaria et similia amplectens osculabatur et, cum ex hoc satiatus fuisset, foras exiit nigerrimus et deformis et vestimentis concisis. Quem servi, qui eum pro foribus exspectaverant, sic aptatum videntes cogitantes, quod in daemonem versus esset, eum verberibus affecerunt et fugientes solum reliquerunt. Cumque imperatorem adiret, ut de hoc conqueretetur, alii virgis percutiebant, alii lutum et pulverem in eum proiciebant suspicantes, quod in furiam versus esset. Oculi autem eius tenebantur, ne sic se deformem videret. Videbatur enim ei, quod ipse et omnes albis vestibus essent induti. Quapropter mirabatur plurimum, cum sic eum omnes deridebant, quem in tanto honore habere consueverant. Putans vero, cum sic se deformem ab aliis didicisset, quod puellae sibi per artem magicam hoc fecissent, iussit eas coram se exspoliari, ut eas saltem nudas aspiceret. Sed statim earum vestimenta sic corporibus adhaeserunt, ut nullo modo exui valerent. Praefectus autem prae admiratione ita obdormivit stertens, quod etiam a pulsantibus non poterat excitari.

haec: Anastasia
praefectus: prefect, governor (praefecti: no indication is given in the Legenda Aurea in which town Anastasia lived, but other sources name Sirnium, now in modern Serbia)
monitum: admonition
nulatenus: no way, by no means
cubiculum: room, chamber
recludo reclusi reclusum: in Classical Latin this word means `to open, reveal’, but in ML the meaning shifted to ‘to shut up’, cf English recluse `hermit’
coquina: kitchen
in amentiam versus: turned into madness
putans se tractare: thinking that he handled/grasped
cacabos, patellas, caldaria: cooking-pots, platters, pots for boiling
amplector amplexus: to embrace
osculor: to kiss
foras: outside
deformis: deformed, ugly
concido concidi concisus: to ruin, cut to pieces
pro foribus: in front of the door
sic aptatum: in such condition
verber verberis (n.): lash, whip
adiret: the praefectus
conqueror conquestus: to complain (bitterly)
virga: twig
percutio percussi percussum: to strike heavily
lutum: mud
furia: fury
oculi autem eius tenebantur, ne sic se deformem videret: his eyes though were in a condition that he could not see that he was deformed
albus: white
induo indui indutum (-ere): to dress
quapropter: therefor
plurimum: very much
consuesco consuevi consuetum: to be accustomed
cum sic se deformem ab aliis didicisset: when he had learnt from others that he was that ugly
per artem magicam: but in reality it was God or the Holy Ghost who protected these girls
coram: openly, in his presence
exspolio (-are): (here) to undress
saltem: at least
adhaereo adaesi (the perfect only in ML): to stick
exuo exui exutum: to take off
valeo valui: to be able
obdormio obdormivi obdormitum (-ire) = to sleep
sterto (-ere): to snore
pulso (-are): to beat, hammer
excito (-are): to wake

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anastasia_of_Sirmium

Petronius: Cena Trimalchionis 66: what did you have for dinner?

The parvenu Trimalchio – possessing far more money than good taste - gives a lavish dinner. A certain Habinna arrives late as he had a dinner elsewhere first. Far from sober he enters the dining room, supported by his wife Scintilla. Trimalchio asks his newly arrived guest what he had had for dinner. What follows is a hilarious description, reminiscent of what nowadays can be seen at all you can eat restaurants or buffets at holiday resorts.
The writer of the Cena Trimalchionis – part of a larger work, the Satyricon - was Petronius Arbiter, a high official under Emperor Nero and a witty commentator of Roman society and the nouveaux riches – and a dandy himself and connoisseur of good taste (arbiter elegantiae). The narrator of the Cena Trimalchionis is his alter ego, the intellectual Encolpius. Petronius’ close connection with Nero turned out to be fatal: at some point Nero mistrusted everyone in his inner circle and so Petronius shared his fate with Seneca: enforced suicide.

Petronius, Cena Trimalchionis, ch. 66

[LXVI] — Tamen, inquit Trimalchio, quid habuistis in cena? — Dicam, inquit, si potuero; nam tam bonae memoriae sum, ut frequenter nomen meum obliviscar. Habuimus tamen in primo porcum botulo coronatum et circa sangunculum et gizeria optime facta et certe betam et panem autopyrum de suo sibi, quem ego malo quam candidum; <nam> et vires facit, et cum mea re causa facio, non ploro. Sequens ferculum fuit sciribilita frigida et supra mel caldum infusum excellente Hispanum. Itaque de sciribilita quidem non minimum edi, de melle me usque tetigi. Circa cicer et lupinum, calvae arbitratu et mala singula. Ego tamen duo sustuli et ecce in mappa alligata habeo; nam si aliquid muneris meo vernulae non tulero, habebo convicium. Bene me admonet domina mea. In prospectu habuimus ursinae frustum, de quo cum imprudens Scintilla gustasset, paene intestina sua vomuit; ego contra plus libram comedi, nam ipsum aprum sapiebat. Et si, inquam, ursus homuncionem comest, quanto magis homuncio debet ursum comesse? In summo habuimus caseum mollem et sapam et cocleas singulas et cordae frusta et hepatia in catillis et ova pilleata et rapam et senape et catillum concacatum — pax Palamedes! — Etiam in alveo circumlata sunt oxycomina, unde quidam etiam improbi ternos pugnos sustulerunt. Nam pernae missionem dedimus.

in cena: for dinner
inquit: subject Habinna
bonae memoriae: (genitivus qualitatis) I am of such good memory = I have such a good memory
frequenter: constantly
in primo: at first
porcus: pig, pork
botulus: sausage (some older editions have poculo, calyx, cup)
sangunculum: blood sauce, blood sausage (the exact meaning is not quite clear)
gizeria (sg. gizerium): intestines, giblets of a bird
beta: beet
autopyrus: made of whole-meal flower, standard bread
de suo sibi: (sc. factum): made by his own (kitchen)
candidus: white-bread
vires facit: it makes you strong
et cum mea re causa facio, non ploro: and because when I have to shit (sua re facio), I don’t cry (from exertion)
ferculum: a dish on which food is served; and hence a dish or mess of food, a course
scriblita: a kind of cheese tart
mel mellis (n.): honey
caldus (= calidus): warm
infusum excellente Hispanum: excellent Spanish wine poured over (excellente as if analogous to dulcis. Petronius makes fun of the problem  some speakers of Latin had with  the right declension)
quidem: in fact, indeed
edo edi esum: to eat
me usque tetigi: till I had smeared myself (completely with honey)
circa (sciribilita erant)
cicer ciceris (n.): chickpea
lupinus: wolf-bean
calva: hazelnut
arbitratu: at choice
tollo sustuli sublatum: to take away
mala singula: an apple (malum) for everyone
in mappa aligata: in a napkin which is bound together
munus muneris (n.): gift
vernula: lover boy-slave (a meaning only hinted at in older translations)
convicium: outcry, quarrel
domina mea: my misses (does bene admonat refer to the previous sentence or the following? That Habinna had to be reminded by his wife to bring something for his lover has certainly a comic touch))
in prospectu: at a distant view (i.e. at another table)
ursinae frustum: a piece of bear’s meat
imprudens – entis: heedless, unaware
gusto (-are): to taste
libra: pound
comedo = edo
aper apri: wild boar
sapio sapivi (-ere): to have the taste of
homuncio –onis (m.): little man (but in everyday Latin the diminutive has probably lost its literal meaning)
in summo: finally, as desert
caseus: cheese
mollis mollis: soft
sapa: must, new wine boiled thick (ex sapa, it has been suggested to read et for ex, but it is probably kitchen language: soft cheese in a sauce of must)
coclea: snail (escargot, still used in the French kitchen)
corda = chorda: intestine (as food)
hepatia: liver
catillus: a small dish
ova pilleata: eggs with a head of dough
rapa (= rapum): turnip (a kind of carrot)
senape (no declension): mustard
catillum concacatum: a dish of shit (referring to its look, not to its taste – I presume)
pax Palamedes: enough! (pax is an injunction and has no relation with pax `peace’. Pax Palamedes probably because of the alliteration)
alveus: tray
circumfero –tuli –latum: to carry around
oxycomina: pickled olives
improbus: shameless (some editions have improbe)
ternos pugnos: three fistfuls
Nam pernae missionem dedimus: for we had the ham go (missionem do: to dismiss, to give demission to)

Translation by William Stearns Davis (1913)

CHAPTER THE SIXTY-SIXTH.

"But," demanded Trimalchio, "what did you have for dinner'?" "I'll tell
you if I can," answered he, "for my memory's so good that I often forget
my own name. Let's see, for the first course, we had a hog, crowned with
a wine cup and garnished with cheese cakes and chicken livers cooked well done, beets, of course, and whole-wheat bread, which I'd rather have
than white, because it puts strength into you, and when I take a crap
afterwards, I don't have to yell. Following this, came a course of
tarts, served cold, with excellent Spanish wine poured over warm honey;
I ate several of the tarts and got the honey all over myself. Then there
were chick-peas and lupines, all the smooth-shelled nuts you wanted, and
an apple apiece, but I got away with two, and here they are, tied up in
my napkin; for I'll have a row on my hands if I don't bring some kind of
a present home to my favorite slave. Oh yes, my wife has just reminded
me, there was a haunch of bear-meat as a side dish, Scintilla ate some of
it without knowing what it was, and she nearly puked up her guts when she
found out. But as for me, I ate more than a pound of it, for it tasted
exactly like wild boar and, says I, if a bear eats a man, shouldn't that
be all the more reason for a man to eat a bear? The last course was soft
cheese, new wine boiled thick, a snail apiece, a helping of tripe, liver
pate, capped eggs, turnips and mustard. But that's enough. Pickled
olives were handed around in a wooden bowl, and some of the party
greedily snatched three handfuls, we had ham, too, but we sent it back."





A fresco at Pompei.

Walahfridus Strabo: Mondnacht (Cum splendor lunae).

Walafrid Strabo (808-849) was one of those brilliant minds attached to the court of Charlemagne. He was a prolific writer and today best known for his book about gardening Liber de cultura hortorum also known as the Hortulus, which he wrote after he became abbot of a monastery at Reichenau in 838.
The elegy below is dedicated to a further unknown friend: though separated, the light of the moon connects them and is the visible sign of their spiritual love.
In a time without internet and Skype, communications were poor and so watching the same sky, stars, moon and sun gave - and gives - the feeling of being connected. This poem by Strabo is not the only literary example exploring this idea. Take for example Goethe:

Ich denke dein, wenn mir der Sonne Schimmer
Vom Meere strahlt;
Ich denke dein, wenn sich des Mondes Flimmer
In Quellen malt.

I think of you, when the shimmering sun
Gleams from the sea;
I think of you, when the glittering moon
Is mirrored in streams.
(tr. Richard Stokes. I can’t resist putting a link below to the musical setting by Schumann, sung by Lauritz Melchior and Lotte Lehmann in 1939)

And the Indian poet Kalidasa (5th century?) tells in his Meghadūta (The Cloud Messenger) how a Yaksha – a kind of elf – asks a passing cloud to bring a message to his love. Internet is indeed a lot faster, but by far not that romantic.


Walafrid Strabo

Ad amicum (meter: trochaic septenarius)

Cum splendor lunae fulgescat ab aethere purae,
tu sta sub divo cernens speculamine miro,
qualiter ex luna splendescat lampade pura
et splendore suo caros amplectitur uno
corpore divisos, sed mentis amore ligatos.
si facies faciem spectare nequivit amantem,
hoc saltem nobis lumen sit pignus amoris.
hos tibi versiculos fidus transmisit amicus ;
si de parte tua fidei stat fixa catena,
nunc precor, ut valeas felix per saecula cuncta.


fulgesco (- ĕre): to glitter, shine
sub divo: under the open sky
cerno crevi certum: to perceive, see
speculamine miro: in wondrous gaze
splendesco (- ĕre): to shine
lampas ādis (f.): lamp
suo… uno: its unique
amplector amplexus: to encompass, embrace
caros…divisos: friends divided
ligo (-are): to bind (together)
nequeo nequivi nequitum (as eo, ire): to be unable
saltem: at least
pignus (-oris, n.) amoris: pledge/bound of love
fide fixai: not only attached to faith in each other, but also faith in God
catena: the chain of friendship

Translation and adaptation by Helen Waddell

To his friend in absence

WHEN the moon's splendour shines in naked heaven,
Stand thou and gaze beneath the open sky.
See how that radiance from her lamp is riven,
And in one splendour foldeth gloriously
Two that have loved, and now divided far,
Bound by love's bond, in heart together are.
What though thy lover's eyes in vain desire thee,
Seek for love's face, and find that face denied ?
Let that light be between us for a token ;
Take this poor verse that love and faith inscribe.
Love, art thou true ? and fast love's chain about thee ?
Then for all time, O love, God give thee joy !

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walafrid_Strabo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGqjXdN21es

Seneca, Ad Lucilium XLI: the awe of nature.

One of the many falsifications circulating during the Middle Ages was a collection of letters exchanged between Seneca and St. Paul. Still, but were under the influence of Stoic philosophy – Seneca of course more than St. Paul – and convergent thoughts are therefore not surprising: sacer spiritus – spiritus sanctus. This doesn’t mean that they have the same concept of god: for Seneca god reveals itself in nature. This is not Spinoza’s deus sive natura, but nature or better, mysterious places in nature, pointing towards god as a kind of theophany or revelation of the divine. His description of the awe nature can inspire is very much reminiscent of the way Romanticism considered nature:

Percy Shelley, ‘Mont Blanc’.

The everlasting universe of things

Flows through the mind, and rolls its rapid waves,

Now dark—now glittering—now reflecting gloom—

Now lending splendour, where from secret springs

The source of human thought its tribute brings

Of waters—with a sound but half its own,

Such as a feeble brook will oft assume,

In the wild woods, among the mountains lone,

Where waterfalls around it leap for ever,

Where woods and winds contend, and a vast river

Over its rocks ceaselessly bursts and raves …

I think Seneca would have liked this poem.

Ad Lucilium epistulae morales, 41, 1-3

SENECA LUCILIO SUO SALUTEM

[1] Facis rem optimam et tibi salutarem si, ut scribis, perseveras ire ad bonam mentem, quam stultum est optare cum possis a te impetrare. Non sunt ad caelum elevandae manus nec exorandus aedituus ut nos ad aurem simulacri, quasi magis exaudiri possimus, admittat: prope est a te deus, tecum est, intus est. [2] Ita dico, Lucili: sacer intra nos spiritus sedet, malorum bonorumque nostrorum observator et custos; hic prout a nobis tractatus est, ita nos ipse tractat. Bonus vero vir sine deo nemo est: an potest aliquis supra fortunam nisi ab illo adiutus exsurgere? Ille dat consilia magnifica et erecta. In unoquoque virorum bonorum

[quis deus incertum est] habitat deus.

[3] Si tibi occurrerit vetustis arboribus et solitam altitudinem egressis frequens lucus et conspectum caeli <densitate> ramorum aliorum alios protegentium summovens, illa proceritas silvae et secretum loci et admiratio umbrae in aperto tam densae atque continuae fidem tibi numinis faciet. Si quis specus, saxis penitus exesis, montem suspenderit, non manu factus, sed naturalibus causis in tantam laxitatem excavatus, animum tuum quadam religionis suspicione percutiet. Magnorum fluminum capita veneramur; subita ex abdito vasti amnis eruptio aras habet; coluntur aquarum calentium fontes, et stagna quaedam vel opacitas vel immensa altitudo sacravit.

rem optimam: `a very good job’

salutaris –is: wholesome, salutary

quam: refers to bonam mentem

optare…impetrare: i.e. don’t wish (opto) and wait, but work to obtain (impetro) it

exoro (-are): to prayer

aedituus: guardian of a temple

ut nos…admittat: (In order) to give us entrance

simulacrum: statue

exaudio: to hear clearly (note the sarcasm in the whole sentence)

prope…intus est: cf. 1 Corinthians 3,16 and 2 Corinthians 6,16

prope a te: near to you (litt. near seen from (a) your point)

intus: within, inside

prout: as far, in the same degree

tractatus …tractat: there is a reciprocal relation between god or sacred spirit and man

supra fortunam: above one’s destiny

adiuvo adiuvi adiutum (-are): to help, assist

erectus: noble

unusquisque: everyone

quis…deus: Aeneid 8.352 `which god is uncertain, but there lives a god’           

Si tibi occurrerit vetustis arboribus et solitam altitudinem egressis frequens lucus et conspectum caeli <densitate> ramorum aliorum alios protegentium summovens = si tibi occurerit (= appears) lucus frequens (= full with) vetutustis (= old) arboribus et egressis (= rising above) solitam (= usual, normal) altitudinem et summovens (= dispelling) conspectum caeli <densitate> ramorum (= branches) aliorum protegentium (= covering) alios (ramos). Some copyist has been nodding while writing this sentence and hence densitate (by the denseness) has been supplied by Erasmus in his 1515 edition, but there are various other emendations by other editors.

Illa…et…et…fidem tibi numinis facit: …makes/causes for you belief in a divinity

proceritas –atis (f.): height, tallness

secretum: solitude

admiratio umbrae: astonishment about the shadow

in aperto: in the open air

specus –us (m.): cave

saxis penitus exesis: the stones being completely consumed, i.e. the stones or rock which once filled the cave

suspenderit montem: holds up the mountain

laxitas –atis (f.): width, spaciousness

quadam religionis suspicione: by some idea/sense of the divine (note that religio often doesn’t mean `religion’.

percutio percussi percussum (-ere): to strike, astound

capita: springs, sources

subitus: sudden (with eruptio)

abditus: hidden

aras habet: springs have always had some mysterious appeal and hence altars were placed in their neighbourhood or, as the Celts did , sacred objects were thrown into them.

aquarum calentium fonts: hot water springs were not only venerated, but also exploited for what we would now call tourism, including lodgings and shops.

stagnum: lake, pool

opacitas –atis (f.): shade, being hidden under a dense shade

altitudo- -tudinis (f.): depth

Translation by RICHARD M. GUMMERE, PH.D. (1917)

1. You are doing an excellent thing, one which will be wholesome for you, if, as you write me, you are persisting in your effort to attain sound understanding; it is foolish to pray for this when you can acquire it from yourself. We do not need to uplift our hands towards heaven, or to beg the keeper of a temple to let us approach his idol's ear, as if in this way our prayers were more likely to be heard. God is near you, he is with you, he is within you. 2. This is what I mean, Lucilius: a holy spirit indwells within us, one who marks our good and bad deeds, and is our guardian. As we treat this spirit, so are we treated by it. Indeed, no man can be good without the help of God. Can one rise superior to fortune unless God helps him to rise? He it is that gives noble and upright counsel. In each good man

    A god doth dwell, but what god know we not.[1]

3. If ever you have come upon a grove that is full of ancient trees which have grown to an unusual height, shutting out a view of the sky by a veil of pleached and intertwining branches, then the loftiness of the forest, the seclusion of the spot, and your marvel at the thick unbroken shade in the midst of the open spaces, will prove to you the presence of deity. Or if a cave, made by the deep crumbling of the rocks, holds up a mountain on its arch, a place not built with hands but hollowed out into such spaciousness by natural causes, your soul will be deeply moved by a certain intimation of the existence of God. We worship the sources of mighty rivers; we erect altars at places where great streams burst suddenly from hidden sources; we adore springs of hot water as divine, and consecrate certain pools because of their dark waters or their immeasurable depth.

The complete translation can be read here:

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Moral_letters_to_Lucilius/Letter_41

Alcuin: lament for a nightingale.

One of the foremost scholars during the Carolinian Renaissance was Alcuin of York (735 – 804), probably the greatest intellectual of his time.  Apart from his theological works, he has also left a number of poems, of which this poem about a nightingale (luscinia) is particularly charming. One can imagine Alcuin sitting in his monastic cell enjoying the song a nightingale and suddenly that uplifting voice during a period of distress has gone. Was it written after the Vikings had ransacked Lindisfarne in 793?  

Alcuin: De Luscinia (meter: elegiac couplet)

QUAE te dextra mihi rapuit, luscinia, ruscis,

illa meae fuerat invida laetitiae.

tu mea dulcisonis implesti pectora musis,

atque animum moestum carmine mellifluo.

qua propter veniant volucrum simul undique coetus

carmine te mecum plangere Pierio.

spreta colore tamen fueras non spreta canendo.

lata sub angusto gutture vox sonuit,

dulce melos iterans vario modulamine Musae,

atque creatorem semper in ore canens.

noctibus in furvis nusquam cessavit ab odis,

vox veneranda sacris, o decus atque decor,

quid mirum, cherubim, seraphim si voce tonantem

perpetua laudent, dum tua sic potuit?

quae dextra: which right (hand), or simply `which hand’

rapio rapui raptum (-ere): to take away, seize

ruscum: butcher'sbroom Ruscus aculeatus

invidus: envying, jealous making

dulcisonus: sweet-sounding

implesti = implevisti

moestus = maestus: sad

mellifluus: sweet-flowing

qua propter: for which reason

volucer volucris (f.): bird

undique: from all sides

coetus –us (m.): gathering

plango planxi planctum: (-ere) to bewail

pierius: belonging to mount Pieria (in Macedonia), where the Muses live

sperno sprevi spretum (-ere): to despise, contemn (the ablatives are ablatives of description)

latus: wide, extending (with vox)

sub angusto gutture: under the disguise of a narrow throat

melos (n.): song (Greek loanword occurring only in nom. and dat. sg.)

itero (-are); to repeat

modulamen –inis: melody

os oris (n.): mouth

furvus: dark, gloomy

nusquam: on no occasion, never

oda: song

sacer sacri/ae: holy, sacred (i.e. a voice to be revered by the saints)

decus (decoris) and decor (decoris) are the same: elegance, glory etc.

quid mirum: what wonder/ miracle

cherubim and seraphim are classes of archangels. The plural is Hebrew and these words are not declined.

tono (-are): resound

dum tua (vox) sic potuit: I.e. while your voice was able to praise with such a small throat

Translation by Helen Waddell

ALCUIN

Written for his lost nightingale

WHOEVER stole you from that bush of broom,

I think he envied me my happiness,

O little nightingale, for many a time

You lightened my sad heart from its distress,

And flooded my whole soul with melody.

And I would have the other birds all come,

And sing along with me thy threnody.

So brown and dim that little body was.

But none could scorn thy singing. In that throat

That tiny throat, what depth of harmony,

And all night long ringing thy changing note.

What marvel if the cherubim in heaven

Continually do praise Him, when to thee,

O small and happy, such a grace was given?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcuin

From the Aberdeen Bestiary folio 52 verso (13^th century)

Legenda Aurea: Saint Andrew and the seven demons.

The Legenda Aurea written by Jacobus de Voragine (1228-1298) was to some extent the 1001 Nights of Mediaeval Europe: all kinds of stories and anecdotes in some thousand pages. Its content though was not just amusement but also, or even more, exempla of miracle and devotion for the Christian laity.

Believe in demons was part of everyday Christianity and it must have been a reassuring thought that these could be driven away, as Saint Andrew does in this excerpt. From a modern perspective it has a strange ending: why would the apostle revive the son on the condition that he, the son, would follow the holy man? Such ethical considerations would not have bothered the audience, glad as they were to hear a miracle.

  

Legenda Aurea De sancto Andrea apostolo  (fragment).

Cum autem esset apostolus in civitate Nicaea, dixerunt ei cives, quod extra civitatem secus viam septem daemones erant, qui praetereuntes homines occidebant. Quibus ad iussum apostoli ante populum in specie canum venientibus praecepit, ut illuc irent, ubi nulli hominum nocere possent. Qui statim evanuerunt. Illi autem homines hoc viso fidem Christi receperunt. Et cum venisset ad portam alterius civitatis, ecce quidam iuvenis mortuus ferebatur. Quaerente apostolo, quid ei accidisset, dictum est ei, quod septem canes venerunt et eum in cubiculo necaverunt. Et lacrimans apostolus ait: "Scio, Domine, quod fuerunt daemones, quos a Nicaea urbe repuli." Dixitque patri: "Quid dabis mihi, si suscitavero filium tuum" Cui ille: "Nil carius ego possidebam, ipsum ergo tibi dabo." Et facta oratione surrexit et apostolo adhaesit.

secus (+ acc.): beside, along

praeter-eo: to pass by

occido occidi occisum (-ere): to kill

quibus…venientibus is an abl abs. with the words in between depending on it

in specie: in disguise of, disguised as

praecipio praecepi praeceptum (-ere): to order, command (subject: Andreas)

illuc: there, thither

noceo nocui (-ēre)

statim: immediately

evanesco evanui (-ere): to vanish

hoc viso: abl. abs.

ferebatur: was carried to a grave

quaero quaesivi quaesitum: to ask

cubiculum: bedroom

neco (-are): to kill

quod: that         

repello repuli repulsum: (-ere): to drive away repel

suscito (-are): to raise up, revive

carius: more dear

ipsum: his son

oratio –onis (f.): prayer

adhaereo adhaesi adhaesum: to stick, adhere, follow

The translation is adapted from William Caxton’s Middle English edition.

(After this,) as the apostle was in the city of Nice, the citizens said to him that there were seven devils without the city, by the highway, which slew all them that passed forthby. And the apostle Andrew commanded them to come to him, which came in the likeness of dogs, and sith he commanded them that they should go whereas they should not grieve ne do harm to any man; and anon they vanished away. And when the people saw this they received the faith of Jesu Christ. And when the apostle came to the gate of another city there was brought out a young man dead. The apostle demanded what was befallen him, and it was told him that seven dogs came and strangled him. Then the apostle wept and said: O Lord God, I know well that these were the devils that I put out of Nice; and after said to the father of him that was dead: What wilt thou give to me if I raise him? And he said: I have nothing so dear as him, I shall give him to thee. And anon the apostle made his prayers unto almighty God, and raised him from death to life, and he went and followed him.

Seneca 61: accept fate willingly.

To comply with fate is a major premise of Stoic philosophy: not grudgingly, but willingly. In this letter Seneca tells us how to achieve that. It is of course not by reading this letter and nodding in agreement that one becomes a stoic; rather it is an exercise, a way of life. In times of distress stoicism has always had a certain appeal and let’s not forget that Antiquity was in many respects a time of distress with wars, hunger and diseases looming. Such a concept as a makeable society was completely foreign to Classical thinking. I won’t call Stoic philosophy a panacea for dealing with all our problems, but reading and rethinking a stoic text now and then can do no harm.

LXI. SENECA LUCILIO SUO SALUTEM

[1] Desinamus, quod voluimus, velle. Ego certe id ago <ne> senex eadem velim quae puer volui. In hoc unum eunt dies, in hoc noctes, hoc opus meum est, haec cogitatio, imponere veteribus malis finem. Id ago ut mihi instar totius vitae dies sit; nec mehercules tamquam ultimum rapio, sed sic illum aspicio tamquam esse vel ultimus possit. [2] Hoc animo tibi hanc epistulam scribo, tamquam me cum maxime scribentem mors evocatura sit; paratus exire sum, et ideo fruar vita quia quam diu futurum hoc sit non nimis pendeo. Ante senectutem curavi ut bene viverem, in senectute ut bene moriar; bene autem mori est libenter mori. [3] Da operam ne quid umquam invitus facias: quidquid necesse futurum est repugnanti, id volenti necessitas non est. Ita dico: qui imperia libens excipit partem acerbissimam servitutis effugit, facere quod nolit; non qui iussus aliquid facit miser est, sed qui invitus facit. Itaque sic animum componamus ut quidquid res exiget, id velimus, et in primis ut finem nostri sine tristitia cogitemus. [4] Ante ad mortem quam ad vitam praeparandi sumus. Satis instructa vita est, sed nos in instrumenta eius avidi sumus; deesse aliquid nobis videtur et semper videbitur: ut satis vixerimus, nec anni nec dies faciunt sed animus. Vixi, Lucili carissime, quantum satis erat; mortem plenus exspecto. Vale.

desino desii (-ere): to abandon, stop

id ago: I give heed, attention to

<ne>: the text is corrupt

opus meum: my need, business

impono finem: to put an end to

instar (+ gen.): equal to

ultimum (diem)

rapio rapui raptum (-ere): to snatch, seize, lay hold on

aspicio aspexi aspectum (-ere): to consider

hoc animo: with this state of mind

cum maxime: just now, more than ever

scribentem: while writing

evocatura sit: is about to/will summon

frui fructus (+ abl.) to enjoy

quam diu: how long

non nimis: not very much

pendeo pependi (-ēre): (here) to be in suspense (i.e. I don’t care much)

libenter: willingly

operam do: to give attention to

invitus: unwillingly

quidquid necesse futurum est repugnanti, id volenti necessitas non est: what will appear to be a necessary for one resisting, is not a necessity for one willing

imperium: command, order

excipio excepi exceptum: to follow, receive

acerbus: harsh, bitter

iussus: ordered

compono composui compositum (-ere): to arrange

exigo exegi exactum (-ere): to demand, require

in primis: especially

finem nostri: our end, death

cogito (-are): reflect upon

ante…quam: rather…than

praeparo (-are): to prepare

satis: sufficiently

instruo instruxi instructum (-ere): to furnish

nos in instrumenta eius avidi sumus: we are avid regarding to means/provisions for it

nec anni nec dies faciunt ut satis vixerimus

quantum: as much as

plenus: satisfied

  

Translation by Richard M. Gummere (1917, 1920, 1925).

LXI. On Meeting Death Cheerfully

1. Let us cease to desire that which we have been desiring. I, at least, am doing this: in my old age I have ceased to desire what I desired when a boy. To this single end my days and my nights are passed; this is my task, this the object of my thoughts, – to put an end to my chronic ills. I am endeavouring to live every day as if it were a complete life. I do not indeed snatch it up as if it were my last; I do regard it, however, as if it might even be my last. 2. The present letter is written to you with this in mind, – as if death were about to call me away in the very act of writing. I am ready to depart, and I shall enjoy life just because I am not over-anxious as to the future date of my departure.

Before I became old I tried to live well; now that I am old, I shall try to die well; but dying well means dying gladly. See to it that you never do anything unwillingly. 3. That which is bound to be a necessity if you rebel, is not a necessity if you desire it. This is what I mean: he who takes his orders gladly, escapes the bitterest part of slavery, – doing what one does not want to do. The man who does something under orders is not unhappy; he is unhappy who does something against his will. Let us therefore so set our minds in order that we may desire whatever is demanded of us by circumstances, and above all that we may reflect upon our end without sadness. 4. We must make ready for death before we make ready for life. Life is well enough furnished, but we are too greedy with regard to its furnishings; something always seems to us lacking, and will always seem lacking. To have lived long enough depends neither upon our years nor upon our days, but upon our minds. I have lived, my dear friend Lucilius, long enough. I have had my fill; I await death. Farewell.

Tibullus 2.1: a merry lent ritual.

This elegy by Tibullus is a description of some rural ritual, probably the ambarvalia. This assignation is not quite beyond dispute, but most modern commentators agree on that ritual. The ambarvalia was celebrated late April – early May, after seed had been planted and now the blessings of the gods, especially Ceres, was asked. It has a festive mood and the brightness of the whole scene is stressed by such word as casta, pura, candida etc. With these adjectives it has something of a locus amoenus, a lovely and arcane spot. The day ends with drinking wine. For those thinking that nothing has changed in Italy concerning the production and drinking of wine: don’t!

Tibullus, Elegiae, 2,1 13-30.

casta placent superis: pura cum ueste uenite

    et manibus puris sumite fontis aquam.

cernite, fulgentes ut eat sacer agnus ad aras

    uinctaque post olea candida turba comas.

di patrii, purgarnus agros, purgamus agrestes:

    uos mala de nostris pellite limitibus,

neu seges eludat messem fallacibus herbis,

    neu timeat celeres tardior agna lupos.

tunc nitidus plenis confisus rusticus agris

    ingeret ardenti grandia ligna foco,

turbaque uernarum, saturi bona signa coloni,

    ludet et ex uirgis extruet ante casas.

euentura precor: uiden ut felicibus extis

    significet placidos nuntia fibra deos?

nunc mihi fumosos ueteris proferte Falernos

    consulis et Chio soluite uincla cado.

uina diem celebrent: non festa luce madere

    est rubor, errantes et male ferre pedes.

castus: pure

superi: the gods above

vestis –is (f.): clothing

sumo sumpsi sumptum: to take, get

cerno crevi cretum (-ere): perceive, see

fulgentes aras: i.e marble altars

sacer agnus: this sacred lamb was first led thrice around the farm estate and then led behind the crowd dressed in white (post candida turba) towards the altar.

vincta olea comas: having their hair tied (vincio vinxi vinctum) with an olive (olea: abl. i.e. olive leaves.)

agrestis –is (m.): peasant

pello pepuli pulsum (-ere): drive away

limes limitis (m.): boundary

neu = neve: and that not

seges segetis (f.): crop

eludo elusi elusum (-ere): elude, deceive, escape

messis –is (f.): harvest

fallacibus herbis: i.e. weeds

celer: swift

tardus: slow

nitidus: shining

confido confisus sum (-ere, + dat., abl.): to trust, confide

ingero ingessi ingestum (-ere): to load, put on

grandis: large

lignum: wood

focus: hearth, here: bonfire

verna: home-born slave (m. and f.)

satur: rich

bona signa: apposition to turba vernarum

colonus: farmer

ludet: this may mean the turba vernarum consisted of children, though not necessarily. The context of playing and building huts suggests a ritual setting.

ante focum

virga: branch, twig

extruo extruxi extructum: to build, erect

casa: hut

eventura precor: I pray for good omens (In the meantime the lamb has been slaughtered and its entrails are inspected for good signs.)

uiden ut felicibus extis  significet placidos nuntia fibra deos? Do you see how the forecasting liver (nuntia fibra) from the favourable entrails (felicibus extis) signifies the gods to be pleased?

proferte: bring (from the wine store)

fumosus Falernos: Falernan wine was considered the best wine available. The amphoras were stored near or above the hearth, so that smoke could reach these and preserve the wine. The consequence was of course a smoky taste. The amphoras were sealed and on that seal the names of the then reigning consuls were written, so one could see how old the wine was. The heavy Falerna was usually mixed with a softer wine, in this case from Chios: solvite vincla Chio cado `untie the bounds from the Chian jar (cadus).’

vina: ablative

festa luce: on a festive day

madeo madui (-ēre): to become wet, drunk

rubor -oris (m.): shame

erro (-are): to wander, stray

male ferre pedes: `to carry the feet badly’ i.e. walk with unsteady feet

Translation by A.S. Klyne (2002)

Purity pleases the gods: come with pure robes

and draw the fountain’s water with pure hands.

See how the sacred lamb goes to the shining altar

behind it the crowd, in white, heads crowned with olive.

Gods of our fathers, we purify worker and field:

drive evil far away from our boundaries,

let the fields not cheat us of harvest, failed in the shoot,

let our slow lambs not be in fear of swifter wolves.

Then let the glowing farmer sure of full fields

pile huge logs up, on his blazing hearth,

and a crowd of young slaves, true signs of wealth

play, and build little huts of sticks before it.

I pray, with success: see how the favourable entrails

show that the gods are pleased, by the liver’s markings.

Now bring out the smoky Falernian from old consulships,

and loosen the bindings from the Chian jar.

Let wine celebrate the day: no shame to be drunk

on a day of festival, and weave about on unsteady feet.

Carmina Burana, appendix 13: an Easter play.

The Carmina Burana does not only contain songs, parody and revelry, but also religious drama. It has an appendix with a number of such texts – remember that the Carmina Burana is first of all a manuscript, a physical object, and not a collection of texts on internet or music by Carl Orff. One of these is a drama with texts mainly taken from Matthew 26 and 27, to be performed on Good Friday. The actors were priests and lower clergy. Such liturgical dramas served as a re-enactment of stories from the gospel, especially Christmas, Easter and Ascension. For more details see the link at the end. This ludus, dated between 1250 and 1300, is not a highlight of mediaeval literature, but it was never meant to be. Instead, it gives us a glimpse of religious practise. There is no translation, but those in dire need can take a Bible at hand. Note the differences between the Gospel text and this play.

Carmina Burana, Appendix 13

Ludus breviter de passione primo inchoatur ita. Quando Dominus cum discipulis procedere vult ad locum deputatum, ubi mandatum debet esse, et in processu dicant apostoli ad Dominum:

Ubi vis paremus tibi comedere pascha?

breviter (adv.) short (to be taken with ludus: play in the short way)

inchoo: (-are): to begin

quando.. .Dominum: this and the other cursive sentences are stage direction, partly taken from Matthew, but also containing specific directions for an actor.

deputatus: destined

ubi mandatum debet esse: `where what has been ordered has to take place’. Mandatum: the ritual of foot washing performed by the priest on Whitsun Thursday.

dicant: note the  use of the subjunctive in the stage directions: they must say, etc.

paro (-are): to prepare

comedo comedi comesum: to eat

pascha: the feast of Passover

Et Dominus respondet:

Ite in civitatem ad quendam et dicite ei: Magister dicit: «Tempus meum prope est; apud te facio pascha cum discipulis meis».

ad quendam: to some person

prope: near

Et in deputato loco faciant mensam parari cum mensale, cum pane et vino. Et Dominus discumbat cum duodecim apostolis suis, et edentibus illis dicat:

Amen dico vobis, quia unus vestrum me traditurus est in hac nocte.

faciant mensam parari : they must make a table to be prepared = they (the clergy in charge of preparing the scene ) must take care that a table is set ready.

mensalis –is (n.); table-service

trado tradidi traditum: to betray

Unusquisque pro se respondet:

Numquid ego sum, Domine?

unusquisque: each one

numquid: question particle expecting a negative answer

Et Dominus respondet:

Qui intinguit mecum manum in parapside, hic me tradet. Filius quidem hominis vadit, sicut scriptum est de illo. Ve autem homini illi, per quem filius hominis tradetur; bonum erat illi, si natus non fuisset homo ille.

Intinguo intinxi intinctum: to dip

parapsis (paropsis) –idid (f.): dish

quidem: certainly

vado vasi (-ere): to go

ve (vae) (+dat.): woe unto

Respondet Iudas:

Numquid ego sum, Rabbi?

Et Dominus dicat:

Tu dixisti.

Tunc medio tempore vadat Iudas ad pontifices et ad Iudeos et dicat:

Quid vultis michi dare, et ego vobis eum tradam?

medio tempore: in the meantime (stage direction!)

michi = mihi

At illi constituant ei:

Triginta argenteos.

constituo constitui constitutum: to agree

Et ista hora accipiat Dominus panem, frangat, benedicat et dicat:

Accipite et comedite, hoc est corpus meum.

panis – is (m.) : bread

frango fregi fractum: to break

Similiter et calicem. Et postquam cenavit, Dominus dicat:

Surgite, eamus hinc; ecce appropinquabit, qui me tradet.

similiter: in the same way

calix –icis (f.): bowl, chalice

ceno (-are): to eat

surgo surrexi (-ere): to arise, stand up

hinc: hither

approquinquo (+ dat.): to approach

Et Iudas accedens ad Iesum clamando dicat:

Ave, Rabbi!

clamando = clamans

Et osculando irruat in eum. Tunc Donimus dicat:

Amice, ad quid venisti?

osculor osculatus : to kiss (osculando = osculans)

irruo irrui: to rush

Iudei et milites accedant ad Dominum et manus iaciant in eum et teneant eum. Et ita ducant eum ad Pilatum. Tunc discipuli omnes relicto eo fugiant. Et accusent eum coram eo in tribus causis et dicant:

Hic dixit: Possum destruere templum Dei et post triduum reedificare illud.

manus iaciant in eum : throw their hands on him

teneo tenui (-ēre): to grasp, hold fast

relicto eo: he being left = leaving him

accussent: the Jewish priests

coram (+abl.): in the presence of

causa: complaint, cause

triduum: three days

reedifico (-are): to rebuild (note the spelling e for ae: reaedifico in Classical Latin. Also Cesari for Caesari)

Secundo:

Hunc invenimus subvertentem gentem nostram et prohibentem tributa dari Cesari et dicentem se Christum regem esse.

invenio inveni inventum (-ire): to find out, discover

subverto  –versi –versum (-ere) : to destroy, corrupt (cf subversive)

prohibeo –hibui –hibitum (-ere): to prevent, prohibit

tributum: tax, tribute

Tertio:

Commovit populum docens per universam Iudeam et incipiens a Galilea usque huc.

commoveo –movi –motum (-ēre): to stir up, agitate

incipio –cepi  -ceptum (-ere): to start, begin

usque huc: till here

Tunc Pilatus respondet:

Quid enim mali fecit?

Dicant Iudei:

Si non esset malefactor, non tibi tradidissemus eum.

malefactor –oris (m. : evil-doer

Respondet Pilatus:

Accipite cum vos et secundum legem vestram iudicate eum. Ego nullam causam invenio in hoc homine. Vultis ergo, dimittam regem Iudeorum?

accipio -cepi –ceptum (-ere): to take, receive

secundum: according

causa: guilt

dimitto dimisi dimissum (-ere): to release, send away

Iudei clamando dicant:

Non, sed crucifigatur.

Et clamando magis dicant:

Crucifige, crucifige eum!

magis: more

Et Pilatus respondet:

Accipite eum vos et crucifigite!

Dicant Iudei:

Non, nos legem habemus, et secundum legem debet mori, quia filium Dei se fecit.

Respondet Pilatus:

Regem vestrum crucifigam?

Tunc dicant pontifices:

Regem non habemus nisi Cesarem.

Et Pilatus accipiat aquam et dicat:

Mundus sum a sanguine huius iusti; vos videritis.

mundus: clean, innocent

Et baiulet sibi crucem, et ducant eum, ubi crucifigatur. Tunc unus ex militibus veniat cum lancea, tangat latus eius. Tunc ipse Dominus in cruce alta voce clamet:

Ely, Ely, lema sabactani: Deus <meus>, Deus meus, ut <quid dereliquisti me?>

baiulo (-are): to carry a burden

latus lateris (n.): flank

altus: high, loud

derilnquo –liqui –lictum: to forsake

Tunc Maria mater Domimi veniat et due alie Marie et Iohannes. Et Maria planctum faciat quantum melius potest. Et unus ex Iudeis dicat:

Si filius Dei es, descende nunc de cruce!

due = duae: two

aliae Mariae: Maria Magdalena and Maria the mother of james

planctus –us (m.): beating of the breast, lamentation

quantum melius: as good as

Alter Iudeus:

Confidit in Deo; liberet eum nunc si vult.

alter: second

confido –fisus sum (-ere): to trust

Item tertius:

Alios salvos fecit, seipsum autem non potest salvum facere.

salvum facio : to rescue

seipsum: him self

Et Dominus dicat:

Consummatum est.

consumo –sumpsi -sumptum: to consume,  fulfil

Et:

In manus tuas commendo spiritum m<eum>.

Et inclinato capite emittat spiritum. Tunc veniat Ioseph ab Arimathia et

petat corpus Iesu. Et permittat Pilatus. Et Ioseph honorifice sepeliat eum.

inclino (-are): to bend, incline

peto petivi petitum: to ask

sepelio seplivi (-ire): to burry

Et ita inchoatur ludus de resurrectione.

i.e. the next play, which is to performed at Sunday.

As the next line suggest, this text was spoken aloud.

Pontifices:

O domine, recte meminimus.

pontifices: the officiating priests during the performance and mass

memini: to remember

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liturgical_drama