A simile gone wrong in an unseen hexameter passage
In the verse section of the unseen paper, a candidate translates four hexameters: 'qualis ubi primos Aurora rosavit in agros / sole novo, mater volucrum secura futuri / explicat alarum latebras, talis in hostem / dux ruit.' She renders 'mater volucrum' as 'the mother of the winds' and takes 'Aurora' as the subject of 'explicat'. Her version reads: 'As when Dawn has reddened the first fields with new sun, the mother of the winds, free from care for the future, unfolds the hiding places of her wings, so the leader rushes against the enemy.' The examiner accepts the simile structure but queries two points: the meaning of 'volucrum' and the subject of 'explicat'. In the viva the candidate argues that 'mater volucrum' must be Aurora because Aurora is the only feminine subject available. The passage is allotted 15 marks, with 4 for the simile.
1. Explain the syntax of 'qualis ... talis' and identify the subject of 'explicat'. What does 'volucrum' mean, and why can it not mean 'winds'?
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'Qualis ... talis' introduces a simile: 'as when ... so'. 'Qualis' agrees with the implied subject of the subordinate clause; 'talis' agrees with 'dux'. The subject of 'explicat' is 'mater volucrum', not 'Aurora': 'Aurora' is the subject of 'rosavit' ('has reddened'), and 'mater' is feminine nominative. 'Volucrum' is genitive plural of 'volucris' (bird), so 'mater volucrum' = 'mother of birds', a periphrasis for a bird. It cannot mean 'winds' because the Latin for wind is 'ventus' (genitive plural 'ventorum'); 'volucrum' has no such sense. The candidate's argument that Aurora must be the subject because she is feminine fails: 'mater' is also feminine and is the nearer subject. The simile compares the leader to a bird that spreads its wings at dawn.
2. Translate the simile into clear English and mark its components.
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'As when Dawn has reddened the first fields with new sun, the mother of birds, free from care for the future, unfolds the hiding places of her wings, so the leader rushed against the enemy.' Components: 'qualis ubi ...' = 'as when ...'; 'Aurora ... rosavit' = temporal clause; 'mater volucrum ... explicat' = main clause of the simile; 'talis ... dux ruit' = apodosis. The point of comparison is the sudden, confident emergence of the bird and leader. 'Secura futuri' is genitive of respect with 'secura': free from care about the future. 'Alarum latebras' is poetic for the folded wings.
3. What methodological error does the candidate make, and what should she check first when a simile's subject is unclear?
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She reasons from a single feature (feminine gender) and ignores case, agreement, and lexicon. She also assumes that the nearest feminine noun must be the subject, when 'mater' is itself feminine and syntactically the head of the phrase. A better method: identify the finite verbs ('rosavit', 'explicat'), find a nominative to go with each, check agreement, then test sense against the simile's tenor. She should also check the lexicon for 'volucrum' before inventing 'winds'. In an exam, the ending and the sense of the whole simile would settle it quickly.