Vergil, Georgics, Book 1
quid faciat laetās segetēs, quō sīdere terramvertere, Maecenas, ulmīsque adiungere vītīs
conveniat, quae cūra boum, quī cultus habendō
sit pecorī, apibus quanta experientia parcīs,
hinc canere incipiam. vōs, ō clārissima mundī 5
lūmina, labentem caelō quae ducitis annum;
Liber et alma Cerēs, vestrō sī mūnere tellus
Chaoniam pinguī glandem mūtāuit aristā,
pōculaque inventīs Acheloia miscuit uvīs; . . .
Operatives, you have seen examples of the perfect passive indicative. Compare it with the pluperfect passive indicative below:
perfect passive indicative
custōdēs ā Bellātōre vulnerātī sunt.
The guards have been wounded by Bellator.
pluperfect passive indicative
custōdēs ā Bellātōre vulnerātī erant.
The guards had been wounded by Bellator.
Notice that the only difference between the perfect passive and the pluperfect passive is the tense of the verb "to be." The pluperfect passive indicative uses the imperfect forms of the verb "to be" instead of the present forms.
Look at the difference between the two tenses:
| perfect passive indicative | pluperfect passive indicative | |||
| 1st pers. sg. | amātus sum | I have been loved | amātus eram | I had been loved |
| 2nd pers sg. | amātus es | You have been loved | amātus erās | You had been loved |
| 3rd pers. sg. | amātus est | He/She has been loved | amātus erat | He/She had been loved |
| 1st pers. pl. | amātī sumus | We have been loved | amātī erāmus | We had been loved |
| 2nd pers. pl. | amātī estis | You all have been loved | amātī erātis | You all had been loved |
| 3rd pers. pl. | amātī sunt | They have been loved | amātī erant | They had been loved |
Also notice the small change in translation between the two tenses. Remember that the pluperfect tense indicates an action completed in the past before another past completed action. You might say that the pluperfect happens before the perfect on a timeline.
| deciēns, decientis | ten times | adjective |
| decōrus, decōra, decōrum | becoming, fitting, seemly, proper, suitable | adjective |
| granditer | loftily | adverb |
| memeō, memēre, meminī, - | to remember, recollect, think of, am mindful of, bear in mind | verb |
| mētrum, mētrī - n | poetic metre | noun |
| mōtus, mōtūs - m | a moving, motion, artistic movement, gesticulation | noun |
| praeter | except for, besides | adverb |
| speciōsus, speciōsa, speciōsum | handsome, good-looking, splendid | adjective |
Operative, we don’t think there’s a fault in the TSTT here, but we could be wrong. We’re getting very strange read-outs of the performance you just saw by Vergil and the data we think will be fed through the witch in the second part of the episode. The TSTT doesn’t usually make stuff up that way, but when it does, it’s never without a reason.
So a thorough understanding of Venus would probably be helpful.
CULTURALIA Comprehension Questions
Directions: Using the CULTURALIA section of your CODEX as a guide, answer the following questions:
dē Venere
1. What are the various attributes which embody the Roman Venus? Are any of these seemingly contradictory?
2. Although a form of Venus had been present in Italy, describe how the events of the disastrous battle of Lake Trasimene lead to an officially established cult of Venus.
3. Why is Venus a particularly appealing goddess for Julius Caesar to embrace? Does he embrace the same Venus at all times?
4. Why does it make sense for most of the festivals associated with Venus to take place in April?
5. Venus has quite a few epithets; pick three of them and describe why you think those epithets are particularly interesting.