Lesson 11

This lesson introduces the first-person personal pronoun "ego" and its forms (ego, meī, mihi, mē), along with variations in word order and emphasis in Latin sentences.

Part A (Interleaved English and Latin Text)

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Ego I in in forō forum ambulō walk -

Ego I librum book legō read -

Ad to mē me venit comes amīcus friend -

Mihi to me epistulam letter mittit sends frāter brother -

Ego I agricola farmer sum am -

Mē me vocat calls magister teacher -

Pater father mihi to me pecūniam money dat gives -

Meī my equī horses in in agrō field currunt run -

Ego I ad to templum temple properō hurry -

Tū you mē me vidēs see -

Apud at mē my domī home cenās you dine -

Ego I iūdex judge sum am -

Mihi to me respondēs you answer -

Meī my līberī children lūdunt play -

Ego I testis witness sum am

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Part B (Complete Sentences)

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In forō ego ambulō. I walk in the forum. -

Librum ego legō. I read the book. -

Ad mē amīcus venit. A friend comes to me. -

Mihi frāter epistulam mittit. Brother sends me a letter. -

Agricola ego sum. I am a farmer. -

Magister mē vocat. The teacher calls me. -

Pater mihi pecūniam dat. Father gives money to me. -

Meī equī in agrō currunt. My horses run in the field. -

Ad templum ego properō. I hurry to the temple. -

Tū mē vidēs. You see me. -

Apud mē domī cenās. You dine at my home. -

Iūdex ego sum. I am a judge. -

Mihi respondēs. You answer me. -

Meī līberī lūdunt. My children play. -

Testis ego sum. I am a witness.

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Part C (Latin Text Only)

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In forō ego ambulō. -

Librum ego legō. -

Ad mē amīcus venit. -

Mihi frāter epistulam mittit. -

Agricola ego sum. -

Magister mē vocat. -

Pater mihi pecūniam dat. -

Meī equī in agrō currunt. -

Ad templum ego properō. -

Tū mē vidēs. -

Apud mē domī cenās. -

Iūdex ego sum. -

Mihi respondēs. -

Meī līberī lūdunt. -

Testis ego sum.

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Part D (Grammar Explanation)

The first-person personal pronoun "ego" has different forms depending on its function in the sentence: -

Nominative (subject): ego -

Genitive (possession): meī -

Dative (indirect object): mihi -

Accusative (direct object): mē -

Ablative (object of preposition): mē

Key points for English speakers: -

Unlike English "I," "ego" is often omitted unless emphasis is needed -

Word order is flexible - the pronoun can appear in different positions -

"Meī" as genitive shows possession like English "my" -

"Mihi" indicates receiving something (indirect object) -

"Mē" is used for direct objects and after prepositions

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Part E (Cultural Context)

Understanding "ego" in Roman culture: -

Romans used "ego" less frequently than English speakers use "I" -

Explicit use often indicated emphasis or contrast -

Important in legal contexts for clear identification -

Status and role in society affected how one referred to oneself -

Different levels of formality in different social situations

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Part F (Literary Citation)

From Cicero's "Pro Archia" (1.1):

Part F-A (Interleaved Text)

Ego I quoque also ā from meā my adulēscentiā youth maximīs greatest perīculīs dangers reī of the state pūblicae public nōn not dēfuī have failed

Part F-B (Complete Translation)

Ego quoque ā meā adulēscentiā maximīs perīculīs reī pūblicae nōn dēfuī. I too, from my youth, have not failed the greatest dangers of the state.

Part F-C (Literary Analysis)

Cicero uses "ego" emphatically here to stress his personal involvement and service to the state, typical of his rhetorical style.

Part F-D (Grammatical Notes)

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"Ego" is nominative subject -

"meā" is ablative feminine agreeing with "adulēscentiā" -

"dēfuī" is perfect tense of "dēsum" (to fail, be absent from)

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Genre Section: Legal Testimony

Part A (Interleaved English and Latin Text)

13.16 Ego I Marcus Marcus Tullius Tullius testis witness in in hāc this causā case sum am

13.17 Ego I ipse myself crīmen crime vīdī saw

13.18 Mē me praetor praetor ad to iūdicium court vocāvit called

13.19 Mihi to me reus defendant pecūniam money dare to give temptāvit tried

13.20 Ego I vēritātem truth in in hōc this iūdiciō trial dīcō speak

13.21 Meī my clientēs clients innocentēs innocent sunt are

13.22 Ad to mē me testēs witnesses vēnērunt came

13.23 Ego I lēgibus laws semper always pāreō obey

13.24 Mihi to me iūdex judge quaestiōnēs questions posuit posed

13.25 Ego I veritatem truth iūrō swear

13.26 Mē me senātus senate dē about hāc this rē matter cōnsuluit consulted

13.27 Ego I documenta documents iūdicī to the judge trādō hand over

13.28 Meī my verbīs words multī many crēdunt believe

13.29 Mihi to me testēs witnesses respondērunt responded

13.30 Ego I iūstitiam justice in in hāc this causā case quaerō seek

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Part B (Complete Sentences)

13.16 Ego Marcus Tullius testis in hāc causā sum. I, Marcus Tullius, am a witness in this case.

13.17 Ego ipse crīmen vīdī. I myself saw the crime.

13.18 Ad iūdicium mē praetor vocāvit. The praetor called me to court.

13.19 Mihi reus pecūniam dare temptāvit. The defendant tried to give money to me.

13.20 Vēritātem ego in hōc iūdiciō dīcō. I speak the truth in this trial.

13.21 Meī clientēs innocentēs sunt. My clients are innocent.

13.22 Ad mē testēs vēnērunt. The witnesses came to me.

13.23 Ego lēgibus semper pāreō. I always obey the laws.

13.24 Mihi iūdex quaestiōnēs posuit. The judge posed questions to me.

13.25 Ego veritatem iūrō. I swear to the truth.

13.26 Mē senātus dē hāc rē cōnsuluit. The senate consulted me about this matter.

13.27 Ego documenta iūdicī trādō. I hand over the documents to the judge.

13.28 Meī verbīs multī crēdunt. Many believe my words.

13.29 Mihi testēs respondērunt. The witnesses responded to me.

13.30 Ego iūstitiam in hāc causā quaerō. I seek justice in this case.

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Part C (Latin Text Only)

13.16 Ego Marcus Tullius testis in hāc causā sum.

13.17 Ego ipse crīmen vīdī.

13.18 Ad iūdicium mē praetor vocāvit.

13.19 Mihi reus pecūniam dare temptāvit.

13.20 Vēritātem ego in hōc iūdiciō dīcō.

13.21 Meī clientēs innocentēs sunt.

13.22 Ad mē testēs vēnērunt.

13.23 Ego lēgibus semper pāreō.

13.24 Mihi iūdex quaestiōnēs posuit.

13.25 Ego veritatem iūrō.

13.26 Mē senātus dē hāc rē cōnsuluit.

13.27 Ego documenta iūdicī trādō.

13.28 Meī verbīs multī crēdunt.

13.29 Mihi testēs respondērunt.

13.30 Ego iūstitiam in hāc causā quaerō.

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Part D (Grammar Notes)

Legal testimony in Latin requires precise use of the first person pronoun and its forms. Here are key grammatical points from our examples: -

Forms of ego in legal context: -

Nominative ego: For direct statements ("I testify", "I saw") -

Accusative mē: When witness is object of action -

Dative mihi: For receiving questions or information -

Genitive meī: For showing possession -

Word Order in Legal Latin: -

Ego often appears at start of statement for emphasis -

Verb typically comes at end -

Object usually precedes verb -

Modifiers generally follow their nouns -

Legal Vocabulary with ego: -

testis sum: "I am a witness" -

iūrō: "I swear" -

vēritātem dīcō: "I speak the truth" -

respondēre: "to respond" (often with mihi) -

Common Constructions: -

Direct testimony: ego + perfect tense -

Reported speech: mē + infinitive -

Legal obligations: mihi + gerundive -

Formal declarations: ego + present tense -

Important Legal Phrases: -

ego ipse: "I myself" (emphasizing personal witness) -

mē cōnsuluit: "consulted me" -

mihi crēdunt: "they believe me" -

ego iūrō: "I swear"

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