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Check this Latin to English for me please!

 
 
Reply Mon 4 Oct, 2010 11:40 am
I'm working on this passage and this sentence makes little sense to me. I've done my best to translate. I know I've messed up somewhere and if someone could just tell me where I've made my mistakes I would really appreciate it!

Temporibus antiquis mos erat senatoribus filios secum in senatum ducere, ubi filii, qui ipsi senatores aliquo die futuri erant, viros claros et videbant et audiebant atque bonis exemplis rem publicam bene gerere discebant.

In ancient times, the custom for senators was that the (their) sons were leading with them toward the senate, when (their) sons, who themselves had been senators on some day, they were both seeing and hearing illustrious men and were departing to manage the republic well with good examples.
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George
 
  2  
Reply Mon 4 Oct, 2010 01:36 pm
@wildflower92490,
wildflower92490~

I believe that filios is the object of ducere.
The phrase secum ducere may be better translated "to take with them".
I'd also prefer to translate in senatum as "into the senate" rather than
"toward the senate".
So . . .
". . . the custom was for senators to take [their] sons with them
into the senate."

Ubi can be translated as "where" and that seems appropriate here.
Futuri erant is not "had been", but "were going to be".
Discebant is from discere, "to learn".

Hope this helps.

~George
wildflower92490
 
  1  
Reply Mon 4 Oct, 2010 01:59 pm
@George,
Thank you!! I knew I was just making simple mistakes. I really appreciate it : )
George
 
  1  
Reply Mon 4 Oct, 2010 02:26 pm
@wildflower92490,
You're welcome, wildflower92490.
wildflower92490
 
  1  
Reply Thu 7 Oct, 2010 11:29 am
@George,
I'm especially have trouble with what this part exactly means.

Puer, Papirius, qui erat illo die in senatu cum patre, a matre sua quaesitus, “Quid hodie senatores egerunt?,” primo tacuit, sed, matre iterum iterumque quarente, respondit alios senatores unum virum duas uxores habere cupere sed alios unam uxorem duos viros.

The boy, Papirius, who was with his father in the senate on that day, having been asked by his own mother, “What did the senators do today?,” at first he kept silent, but, with his mother asking again and again, he responds that the other senators were desering to have two wives to one man, but others were desiring to have one wife to two men.

And I'm positive I didn't translate from "de...est" correctly.

“De re tam gravi diu deliberandum est,” inquit, “et igitur cras iterum conventuri sumus.”

About so serious a matter, it ought to be deliberated for a long time,” he says, “And therefore tomorrow we will come together again.”
George
 
  1  
Reply Thu 7 Oct, 2010 12:00 pm
@wildflower92490,
I think your translation is accurate with these exceptions:
> alios . . . alios can be translated some . . . other
> respondit is perfect tense

And you don't need to repeat "he" because "Papirius" is the subject of
"kept silent" and "responded".

The boy's response sounds nonsensical, but this is a story told of
Papirius Praetextatus, who made up the "two wives or two husbands"
debate in order to keep the actual deliberations of the Senate a secret.

The "de . . . est" is translated correctly, word for word, but sounds
clumsy in English. We would tend to say something like:
"We should deliberate for a long time about something so serious."

wildflower92490
 
  1  
Reply Thu 7 Oct, 2010 12:10 pm
@George,
Ah! Thank you! I didn't realize he was making a story up.
George
 
  1  
Reply Thu 7 Oct, 2010 12:15 pm
@wildflower92490,
You're welcome.

As a result of the story, his mom went a little nuts and told all the other
senators' wives what she thought they were debating. The wives attacked
their husbands, who couldn't figure out where they got such a story.

When the boy told the senators what he did and why, they decided to keep all
boys out of the senate from then on -- except Papirius.
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