The storm passage: result and purpose
A student is translating a 12-line Latin narrative about a storm for a practice paper. The key sentences are: 'Tanta tempestas subito orta est ut nautae ne navem quidem regere possent. Omnes ad remos ruebant, sed frustra. Tandem, cum fluctus navem complessent, gubernator, ne omnes perirent, scapham solvit.' The student's draft reads: 'Such a storm suddenly arose that the sailors could not even steer the ship. Everyone rushed to the oars, but in vain. At last, although the waves had filled the ship, the governor, in order that all might die, launched the boat.' The teacher says there are two clause errors and one word-choice error. The passage is 34 words. The student must identify the errors and produce a corrected translation for the assessment.
1. Identify the two clause errors and the one word-choice error in the draft, and explain the signals that decide each.
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The result clause is correct: tanta ... ut ... possent means 'such a storm ... that the sailors could not ...'. The errors are:
- Clause error 1: cum fluctus navem complessent is translated 'although'. Cum with the pluperfect subjunctive can be concessive, but the context gives no contrast. Tandem and the helmsman's response show sequence: 'when' or 'since the waves had filled the ship'. The subjunctive is normal in past cum clauses.
- Clause error 2: ne omnes perirent means 'so that all might not perish' or 'lest all should perish'. Ne is negative purpose, not positive 'in order that'. The positive would be ut omnes perirent, which would be bizarre here.
- Word-choice error: gubernator in a ship is the 'helmsman' or 'pilot', not the 'governor'. The context of navis, remi, and fluctus controls the sense.
2. Give a corrected translation of the last sentence and explain why the author used ne + subjunctive rather than ut + non.
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Corrected translation: 'At last, when the waves had filled the ship, the helmsman, so that all might not perish, launched the boat.'
Ne + subjunctive is the standard way to express a negative purpose in classical Latin: 'so that not', 'lest'. Ut non can express a negative result or an unfavourable purpose, but ne is the regular negative-purpose marker, especially with verbs of action such as solvit. The subjunctive perirent shows that the clause is dependent and purposive, not a statement of fact. The author also uses ne earlier in ne navem quidem, but there it is part of ne ... quidem, 'not even', which is a different construction. The contrast helps the student see that ne has more than one use.