Book 3, Chapter 39

LIBER III

CAPUT XXXIX

Quintus Venusiam Revisit - Quintus revisits Venusia

The gloomy farmer inspected Quintus. "Don't you know," he said, "what's taken place? Haven't you heard how great a calamity our colony has suffered?" Quintus said, "what are you saying? What has taken place? Tell me where my parents are." He said, "you won't find your parents here, as they've left. Come, Quintus, sit under the tree and listen to me. I'll tell you everything."

"Octavian, when he had returned to Italy from Greece, dismissed his legions; it was necessary to give fields to the military veterans. Therefore, he decided to take fields away from those citizens that hadn't assisted his own faction, and divide them among his veterans.* We knew nothing about this (these things) until the decemviri arrived in Venusia in order to take the fields away from us. Our citizens were complaining vehemently; they expelled the decemviri from the colony. However, they returned with soldiers, whom we couldn't resist.

"Most citizens lost their fields, among whom was your father, Quintus. Others stayed here, deprived of their fields, living out a miserable life in poverty; such as I, who am not rich, but I have enough.  Now I possess nothing except this little field, full of rocks and thistles. Others have left to seek a better life elsewhere, such as your father. What I am telling you is sad, but true. The whole of Italy has been turned upside down (overturned); neither justice nor the laws are faring well. With the farmers driven out, the fields are filthy. The veterans don't want to cultivate the fields, but squander their wealth in idleness."

Quintus, moved by anguish, interrupted the old man; "tell me," he said, "where I might find my parents. Don't you know where they've gone away to?" The old man said, "you will never find your parents, Quintus. The whole of Italy is filled with needy citizens wandering here and there."

Having heard this (these things), Quintus was filled with great despair. He sat on the ground for a long time, tears falling down his cheeks. Finally, he bid the old man farewell, who asked him where he was about to go. He said, "I don't know where I'm going. I only know this: I shall look for my parents throughout the whole of Italy."

He rose, and descended the hill, but when he had arrived at the gates of the colony, he halted. He didn't want to enter the colony and see his home occupied by strangers. He turned around, and set off on the road that would take him to Rome.

* I'm not sure about this sentence: constituit igitur agros adimere eis civitatibus quae suas partes non adiuverant veteranisque eos dividere.

Responde Latine

1. cur parentes Quinti Venusia abierunt?

ut vitam meliorem alibi quaererent.

2. qualem vitam agebat senex?

senex vitam miseram agebat.

3. cum Quintus senem audivisset, quid facere constituit?

parentes totam per Italiam quaerere constituit.

4. cur noluit Quintus coloniam intrare?

quod domum ab advenis occupatam videre noluit.

Quintus parentes suos quaerit - Quintus searches for his parents

The journey which, ten years ago, Quintus had made so quickly with his father, he was now making very slowly. He would stay in every village to look for his parents. He would meet Venusians on the road from time to time, and would ask them anxiously whether they had seen his parents; but nobody could tell him where he might find them.

When he was approaching Capua, he met an old friend; Gaius, who had attended Flavius' school with him, leading a wagon which was being dragged by two oxen, full of goods of every kind, on top of which his wife and two little children were sat.

Quintus ran over to Gaius and said hello (greeted him). He, having recognised him (Quintus), said, "hello, Quintus. I barely recognised you, as I haven't seen you since you set off to Rome with your father. How are you? Why are you going to Capua?" Quintus explained everything to him, and he asked Gaius whether he had seen his parents. He responded, "I don't know where your parents are now. When the decemviri had expelled us out of our fields, Flaccus and Scintilla set off with us out of Venusia. But when we had arrived at Beneventum, we lingered there for a little while, and they carried on to Capua. And so if you shall hurry to Capua, perhaps you will find them there."

Quintus gave him thanks. "You're the first," he said, "to have granted me any hope. I'll accompany you to Capua so that I might look for my parents there."

Exercise 39.1

1. Theomnestus asks Quintus what he has suffered.

2. Theomnestus asks Quintus what he is going to do now.

3. Theomnestus asks Quintus where he wants to go to.

4. We want to know when the ship will be leaving.

5. Ask the captain why the ship hasn't departed yet.

6. I don't know when we'll be arriving at the port.

7. Quintus asks the old man whether he has seen his parents.

8. The old man asks Quintus whether he is going to enter the colony or make the journey to Rome.

Exercise 39.2

1. Theomnestus asked Quintus what he had suffered.

2. Theomnestus asked Quintus what he was now going to do.

3. Theomnestus asked Quintus what he wanted to do.

4. We were wanting to know when the ship would be leaving.

5. I asked the captain why the ship hadn't departed yet.

6. I didn't know when we were going to arrive at the port.

7. Quintus asked the old man whether he had seen his parents.

8. The old man asked Quintus whether he was going to stay in the colony or make the journey to Rome.

Exercise 39.3 

1. Quintus, when he had arrived at Venusia, didn't know what had happened.

2. The old man, whom he met near the road, asked him why he had returned to Venusia.

3. "Don't you know," he said, "how many ills have befallen our colony?"

4. Quintus asked the old man whether his parents were still staying in Venusia.

5. The old man responded, "they have left Venusia. I don't know whether they've gone to Rome, or are staying in a village."

6. Having abandoned Venusia, Quintus began the journey which would take him to Rome.

7. Having set off to Rome, he asked everyone he met whether they had seen his parents.

Exercise 39.4

1. Quintus, while making the journey to Rome, met an old friend whom he asked whether he had seen (vidisset) his parents.

2. He said, "I do not know where your parents are (sint)."

3. Quintus asked him when had his parents left (discessissent) Venusia, and where they had gone (issent) to.

4. He responded, "your parents were going to Capua, but I do not know whether they are still staying (maneant) in Capua, or have set off (proficiscantur) to Rome."

5. He asked Quintus what he was going to do (esset).

Exercise 39.5 

1. nescimus quo colonus abierit.

2. pueros rogabo num eum viderint.

3. "pueri, scitisne ubi colonus sit?"

4. "eum rogavimus utrum domum rediturus esset an in agro mansurus, sed ille nihil respondit."

5. mox colonum in agrum intrantem vidimus. eum rogavimus cur nos non exspectavisset.

6. ille, "nescio quando," inquit, "mihi occurrere cuperetis. domum profectus sum ut cenarem, quod fessus eram."