Latin Reading Competition

Latin Reading Competition
The Classical Association of Victoria

9 August 2023
igitur perquam velim scire, esse

phantasmata et habere propriam guram
numenque aliquod putes an inania et vana
ex metu nostro imaginem accipere.
Pliny the Younger Letters VII 27
“Therefore I am extremely desirous to
know your sentiments concerning
spectres, whether you believe they actually
exist and have their own proper shapes
and a measure of divinity, or are only the
false impressions of a terri ed
imagination?”
Competition Rules
‣ Maximum of two representatives from each
school per year level.
‣ Students may read from the passage; they do
not have to have the passage memorised.
‣ Consonantal ‘v’ must be pronounced as an Hosts: Andrew Williams & John Tuckfield
English ‘w’. All pronunciation should follow
When: Wednesday 9 August 2023
Vox Latina (Allen, 1978). See the
accompanying pronunciation guide. Where: Trinity Grammar School
‣ Year 12 students should elide where
appropriate; this is optional for Year 11 Time: 4.30 pm - 6.15 pm
students. Other: RSVP to Andrew Williams
‣ Students will be judged on accuracy (accuracy williamsa@trinity.vic.edu.au
of sounds and quantities), fluency (familiarity
with passage and words) and expression Website http://classicsvic.wordpress.com
(ability to convey the emotion of the passage).
‣ Students should not read out the sections in
English (including directions, such as
speakers’ names).
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9 August 2023
Participants should access the school via the gate on Charles St opposite the Junior
School oval or via the doors on Wellington St and gather in the covered area outside
the cafeteria.
Buses/coaches may use the designated bus spaces on Charles St. For cars there is on-
street parking available on Charles St and Wellington St (mostly 2 hour spaces).
The school is easily accessible on public transport, with the 109 tram at Charles St/
Cotham Rd and the 16 tram Wellington St/Glenferrie Rd being closest.
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9 August 2023
Payment Details
Tax Invoice
To (school/institution/individual
name): ..........................................................................................
From: Classical Association of Victoria - ABN 26 278 992 675
For: Latin Reading Competition 2023
Cost (GST exempt):
School/institution - $65:
or $ ..........
Individual attendee - $15 per person ............ no. x $15 $ ..........

=
Total Payment $ ............
Notes
Entry fees are $65 per school, or $15 for individual
Direct deposit
entries. Please make cheques payable to the
Classical Association of Victoria
Classical Association of Victoria, and present them
AMP Bank
to John Tuckfield on the night.
Account no: 911162352
BSB: 939 200
Alternatively, you can pay by direct deposit to the
Classical Association of Victoria:
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9 August 2023
Pronunciation Guide
Consonants:
b = ‘b’, except when it is directly before a ‘t’ or ‘s’ it behind your teeth, and try not to sound
is pronounced as ‘p’. E.g. obsideo=opsideo, Australian!)
urbs=urps s = ‘s’, as in ‘sigh’ (never ‘z’, as in ‘cows’)
c = ‘k’, always ‘hard’, as in ‘cup’ (never ‘soft ’, as in i = consonantal ‘i’ is like an English ‘y’. (i’s at the
‘lace’) beginning of words and in the middle between
g = ‘g’, always ‘hard’, as in ‘get’ (never ‘soft ’, as in two vowels, are usually consonants, eg. ‘iam’ –
‘wage’) ‘yam’ and ‘Troiana’ = ‘Troyana’
gu = ‘gw’, just as ‘qu’ = ‘kw’
v = ‘w’
ch = aspirated ‘k’, a breathy sounding ‘cot’
Double consonants: When a double consonant
ph = aspirated ‘p’, a breathy sounding ‘pot’ (of the same consonant, eg. ‘villa’) appears in the
th = aspirated ‘t’, a breathy sounding ‘top’ middle of a word, hang onto it slightly, to let the
r = trilled or rolled, think Scottish! (At least, touch listener know they’re both there.
the tip of your tongue to the top of your mouth,
Vowels:
short a = the ‘u’ sound in ‘cup’ long a = the ‘a’ ae = ‘high’
sound in ‘father’ au = ‘how’
short e = ‘pet’ oe = ‘boy’
long e = ‘air’ ui = combine a short ‘u’ with short ‘i’ and run them
short i = ‘pit’ together
long i = ‘feet’ eu = combine a short ‘e’ with short ‘u’ and run
short o = ‘pot’ them together
long o = ‘ore’ ei = like the English diphthong ‘deign’
short u = ‘put’ ou = combine a short ‘o’ with short ‘u’ and run
long u = ‘fool’ them together
y = German ‘ü’ or English ‘boot’ or French ‘tu’
Accent:
Words with two syllables: stress falls on the rst syllable
Words with three or more syllables: the stress falls on the second last syllable, if it is long; the stress falls
on the third last syllable, if the second last syllable is short
When an enclitic is added to a word (-que, -ne, -ve), the stress shifts to the last syllable of the main word,
i.e. the syllable before the enclitic.
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9 August 2023
Year 7: Odysseus and the Ghosts

Although he is on the winning side of the Trojan war, Odysseus is doomed to undergo a
long and arduous journey back to Ithaca. The sorceress Circe informs him he must seek
advice from the dead prophet Teiresias. Odysseus therefore travels beyond the stream of
Oceanus and offers a blood sacri ce which attracts a whole hoard of ghosts.
Homer, Odyssey, XI.13-99 (adapted)
Ulix s advenit praeter ceanum et stringit gladium. iugulat agnam nigram et ari tem et
effundit sanguinem purpureum in terram. tum conveniunt ex Ereb omn s umbrae:
iuven s, coniug s, puellae inn ptae, sen s et m lit s vulner t . concursus undique est
magn cum gemit . Ulix s perhorrescit et vocat comit s:
“adol te agnam et supplic te de s, Pr serpinam formidol sam et magnum Pl t nem”.
ipse intere stringit gladium et non sinit invalid s umbr s appropinqu re ad sanguinem
priusquam T resi n interrogat.
“ab te umbrae! procul man te; exspect v tem caecum!”
tum d mum acc dit umbra T resi s, fer ns baculum aureum in man .
“quid est, nf l x hom ? c r disc dis l ce s lis? h c vid s loca tr stia et mortu s qu
habent n llum gaudium.”
Ulix s recondit gladium et conc dit v t bibere sanguinem.
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9 August 2023
Year 8: a Haunted House?

Theopropides, an Athenian merchant, has been away in Egypt on business. During his
absence, his son Philolaches has been living it up and is startled in the middle of a house
party to learn his father has returned. Fortunately, his cunning slave Tranio comes to the
rescue: Tranio advises Philolaches to stay in the house and concocts a terrible tale about
the house to keep his father out.
Plautus, Mostellaria, 2.2 (adapted)
Tr ni (ad Theopropidem): tetigist ne domum? vah! hercle, male f cist ! fuge, obsecr ,
atque disc de dom ; fuge h c, fuge ad m proprius. n l tangere domum; tange
terram! sunt septem m ns s ex qu tempore hanc villam aliquis intr vit, postquam
omn s migr v runt. nocte qu dem, postquam f lius tuus rediit domum c n ,
excl m vit subit quod v derat hominem mortuum in somn s. ecce, umbra hoc f li tu
d xit:
“ego tr nsmar nus hospes sum Diapontius. h c habit , haec mihi dedita est habit ti .
nam m Acheruntem recipere Orcus n luit, quia praemat r mortuus sum. per dem
d ceptus sum: hospes hic m nec vit et ille m d fodit insepultum clam ib dem in h c
vill , homo scelestus, aur caus . nunc t hinc migr ! scelesta haec est villa, impia est
habit ti .”
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9 August 2023
Year 9: the Witches

In a lonely farmhouse a female slave bemoans the death of her young son. Her wailing
attracts some spooky visitors - witches, who steal the corpse and replace it with a doll
made of straw. But the witches don’t get it all their own way - another slave called Baro
attacks them.
Petronius, Satyricon 63 (adapted)
cum m ter misella f lium mortuum plangeret et n s tr stissim ess mus, subit stridere
str gae coep runt. tunc apud n s erat hom Cappadocus, n mine B r , longus, vald
audax et validus; hic aud cter, strict gladi , extr i nuam pr cucurrit, et mulierem
mediam tr i cit. aud mus gemitum, et — pl n n n mentior — str g s n n v dimus. B r
autem in domum revertit et s pr i cit in lectum; corpus t tum l vidum erat quasi
agell s caesum. n s, claus i nu , red mus iterum ad of cium, sed dum m ter
amplectitur corpus f li su , tangit et videt manuciolum d str ment s factum. non cor
hab bat, non intest na, n n quicquam: sc licet iam puerum str gae invol verant et
supposuerant str menticium vavat nem.
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9 August 2023
Year 10: a Haunted House in Athens

In Athens there was a beautiful spacious house, but with a terrible reputation for being
haunted; nobody would buy the house, and anyone who stayed there was haunted until
they wasted away and died.
Pliny the Younger, Letters Book VII, Letter 27
erat Ath n s spati sa et cap x domus, sed nf mis et pestil ns. per silentium noctis
sonus ferr , et s attender s crius, strepitus vincul rum longius pr m , deinde proxim
redd b tur: mox app r bat d lon, senex maci et squ l re c nfectus, pr miss barb
horrent capill ; cr ribus comped s, manibus cat n s ger bat quati batque. inde
inhabitantibus, tr stes d raeque noct s per metum vigil bantur; vigiliam morbus et
cr scente form dine mors sequ b tur. nam interdi quoque, quamquam abscesserat
im g , memoria im ginis ocul s inerr bat, longiorque caus s tim ris timor erat. d serta
inde et damn ta s lit dine domus t taque ill m nstr relicta.
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9 August 2023
Year 11: Culex the Gnat

This rather less-well-known poem tells of the eponymous gnat (Culex), which bites a
sleeping shepherd to warn him of the approach of a terrible serpent. This allows the
shepherd to awake and heroically slay it, but the gnat is killed by the shepherd. The
shepherd is then visited by the shade of the gnat, which proceeds to chastise him and
describe its descent to the underworld, seeing such famous denizens as the ferryman
Charon, the Fury Tisiphone and the three-headed dog Cerberus.
Appendix Vergiliana Culex 210-222
'quīs' inquit 'meritīs ad quae dēlātus acerbās
cōgor adīre vicēs! tua dum mihi cārior ipsā
vīta fuit vītā, rapior per inānia ventīs.
tū lentus refovēs iūcundā membra quiēte
ēreptus taetrīs ē clādibus, at mea mānēs
viscera Lēthaeās cōgunt trānsnāre per undās.
praeda Charōnis agor. viden ut āgrantia taedīs
līmina collūcent īnfestīs omnia templīs!
obvia Tīsiphonē, serpentibus undique compta,
et ammās et saeva quatit mihi verbera; pōne
Cerberus (ut dīrīs āgrant lātrantibus ōra!),
anguibus hinc atque hinc horrent cui colla re exīs
sanguineīque micant ardōrem lūminis orbēs.

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9 August 2023
Year 12: Aeneas Meets Dido’s Ghost

In his journey to the Underworld, Arenas meets the ghost of his former lover, Queen
Dido, in the Plains of Mourning (Virgil, Aeneid 6. 450-464).
inter quas Phoenissa recens a vulnere Dido
errabat silva in magna; quam Troius heros
ut primum iuxta stetit agnovitque per umbras
obscuram, qualem primo qui surgere mense
aut videt aut vidisse putat per nubila lunam,
demisit lacrimas dulcique adfatus amore est:
“infelix Dido, verus mihi nuntius ergo
venerat exstinctam ferroque extrema secutam?
funeris heu tibi causa fui? per sidera iuro,
per superos et si qua des tellure sub ima est,
invitus, regina, tuo de litore cessi.
sed me iussa deum, quae nunc has ire per umbras,
per loca senta situ cogunt noctemque profundam,
imperiis egere suis; nec credere quivi
hunc tantum tibi me discessu ferre dolorem.”
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Latin Reading Competition

The Classical Association of Victoria

igitur perquam velim scire, esse

Individual attendee - $15 per person ............ no. x $15 $ ..........

Total Payment $ ............

Year 7: Odysseus and the Ghosts

Homer, Odyssey, XI.13-99 (adapted)

effundit sanguinem purpureum in terram. tum conveniunt ex Ereb omn s umbrae:

magn cum gemit . Ulix s perhorrescit et vocat comit s:

“adol te agnam et supplic te de s, Pr serpinam formidol sam et magnum Pl t nem”.

priusquam T resi n interrogat.

“ab te umbrae! procul man te; exspect v tem caecum!”

habent n llum gaudium.”

Ulix s recondit gladium et conc dit v t bibere sanguinem.

Year 8: a Haunted House?

Plautus, Mostellaria, 2.2 (adapted)

atque disc de dom ; fuge h c, fuge ad m proprius. n l tangere domum; tange

Year 9: the Witches

Petronius, Satyricon 63 (adapted)

mediam tr i cit. aud mus gemitum, et — pl n n n mentior — str g s n n v dimus. B r

supposuerant str menticium vavat nem.

Year 10: a Haunted House in Athens

Pliny the Younger, Letters Book VII, Letter 27

inde et damn ta s lit dine domus t taque ill m nstr relicta.

Year 11: Culex the Gnat

Appendix Vergiliana Culex 210-222

'quīs' inquit 'meritīs ad quae dēlātus acerbās

cōgor adīre vicēs! tua dum mihi cārior ipsā

vīta fuit vītā, rapior per inānia ventīs.

tū lentus refovēs iūcundā membra quiēte

ēreptus taetrīs ē clādibus, at mea mānēs

viscera Lēthaeās cōgunt trānsnāre per undās.

praeda Charōnis agor. viden ut āgrantia taedīs

līmina collūcent īnfestīs omnia templīs!

obvia Tīsiphonē, serpentibus undique compta,

et ammās et saeva quatit mihi verbera; pōne

Cerberus (ut dīrīs āgrant lātrantibus ōra!),

anguibus hinc atque hinc horrent cui colla re exīs

sanguineīque micant ardōrem lūminis orbēs.

Year 12: Aeneas Meets Dido’s Ghost

inter quas Phoenissa recens a vulnere Dido

errabat silva in magna; quam Troius heros

ut primum iuxta stetit agnovitque per umbras

obscuram, qualem primo qui surgere mense

aut videt aut vidisse putat per nubila lunam,

demisit lacrimas dulcique adfatus amore est:

“infelix Dido, verus mihi nuntius ergo

venerat exstinctam ferroque extrema secutam?

funeris heu tibi causa fui? per sidera iuro,

per superos et si qua des tellure sub ima est,

invitus, regina, tuo de litore cessi.

sed me iussa deum, quae nunc has ire per umbras,

per loca senta situ cogunt noctemque profundam,

imperiis egere suis; nec credere quivi

hunc tantum tibi me discessu ferre dolorem.”

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