Livius Andronicus
de Sen. 50, "vidi etiam senem Livium..."
Lucius Livius Andronicus was a Greek from Tarentum who was taken as a prisoner of war (possibly after the surrender of Tarentum in 272 B.C.); as was the custom, at manumission he took the name of his master (L. Livius) who then became his patron. He wrote tragedies and comedies based on Greek models. He is most famous for his monumental adaptation of the Odyssey into Latin Saturnian verse.
Selections from Warmington, Remains of Old Latin (LCL vol. i)
Selections from the dramas
- Tum autem lascivum Nerei simum pecus
- ludens ad cantum classem lustratur.
- lascivus frisky, frolicking
- simus snub-nosed
- lustrare = circumire
puerarum manibus confectum pulcherrime
puera used by the most ancient writers insted of puella
pulicesne an cimices an pedes? Responde mihi.
- pulex, -icis, m flea
- cimex, -icis, m bug
- pedis, -is, m louse
adfatim edi bibi lusi.
adfatim sufficiently
lepus tute es et pulpamentum quaeris!
- A proverb for doing something inappropriate.
- lepus, -oris, m hare
- pulpamentum flesh, delicacy
- {mihi est pulpamentum fames, proverb}
Selections from the Odissia
virum mihi, Camena, insece versutum.
- Camenae are Italian fountain goddesses
- insece = inseque
- versutus clever, shrewd, ingenious [< vert-]
mea puer, quid verbi ex tuo ore supra
fugit?
puer as feminine
quae haec daps est? qui festus dies?
quando dies adveniet quem profata Morta est
Morta an Italian death spirit, for Greek moira
- donicum = donec until
- en = in [en domum for domum]
- carpentum two-wheeled covered carriage, esp. used in town by women
namque nullum
peius macerat humanum quamde mare saevum,
vires cui sunt magnae topper confringent
inportunae undae.
- macero make soft, enervate; torment, distress
- quamde = quam
- topper (toto opere) adv. speedily, at once, directly
- importunus cruel, savage, troublesome
- cui refers to humanum
cum socios nostros Ciclops impius mandisset.
*
at celer
hasta volans perrumpit pectora ferro.