ICARUS FALLING
at pater infelix, nec iam pater, ‘Icare,’ dixit,
‘Icare,’ dixit ‘ubi es? qua te regione requiram?’
‘Icare’ dicebat: pennas aspexit in undis
devovitque suas artes corpusque sepulcro
condidit, et tellus a nomine dicta sepulti.
But the unhappy father (pater felix), not now a father (nec iam pater), said “Icarus, Icarus, where are you (ubi es)? In what region will I search for you? “Icarus,” he was saying. He saw feathers in the waves (pennas aspexit in undas). And he cursed his arts (devovitque suas artes), and buried (condidit) the body in a sepulchre. And the land is called after the buried one.
Some of these words have interesting survivals. Requiro, to search. When you require something, you are searching for it. Corpus is a body, as in corpse or corporeal. Aspexit survives in aspect, something which can be seen. We’ve seen penna. Sepulcro and sepulti survive in sepulchre.
You have enough Latin now to appreciate the poetry of this passage. Look at Dedalus frantically repeating his son’s name, “Icare, Icare”, and that thudding repetition of sepulcro and sepulti. For all his brief flight, Icarus ends up not just on the ground but under it.
You should be proud of your work. Next up is that film I promised, and then a relaxed weekend approach in lesson six.