Omnēs hominēs quī cupiunt praestāre cēterīs animālibus summā ope nītī dēbent, nē vītam silentiō trānseant velutī pecora, quae nātūra fīnxit prōna atque ventrī oboedientia.
All men who desire to stand before the other animals ought to strive with the greatest power, lest they pass through life in silence just like the herds, which nature fashioned bent forward and obedient to the stomach.
Sed nostra omnis vīs in animō et corpore sita est; animī imperiō, corporis servitiō ūtimur; alterum nōbīs cum dīs, alterum cum bēluīs commūne est.
But our entire force is placed in mind and body; we use the command of the mind and the servitude of the body; one (the mind) is common to us with the gods, the other (the body) is common to us with beasts.
Mihi rēctius vidētur glōriam quaerere ingeniī quam vīrium opibus et, quoniam vīta ipsa quā fruimur brevis est, memoriam nostrī quam maximē longam efficere.
It seems more right to me to seek glory with the help of genius rather than of forces/violence and, since life itself, which we enjoy, is brief, it seems more right to me to make the memory of us as long as possible.
Nam dīvitiārum et fōrmae glōria flūxa atque fragilis est; virtūs clāra aeternaque habētur
For the glory of riches and of form is changeable and fragile; virtue is considered clear and eternal.
Sed multī mortālēs, dēditī ventrī atque somnō, indoctī incultīque vītam sīcutī peregrīnantēs ēgērunt; quibus profectō contrā nātūram corpus voluptātī, anima onerī fuit.
But many mortals, addicted to the stomach and to sleep, have led unlearned and unsophisticated lives, just as those who wander; for whom (many mortals) assuredly against nature the body was a source of pleasure and the mind was a burden. quibus=dative of reference, relative pronoun with antecedent mortales.
Eōrum ego vītam mortemque iūxtā aestimō quoniam dē utrāque silētur.
I myself judge the life and death of those men equally, since nothing is said of either one.
Sed is dēmum mihi vīvere atque fruī animā vidētur, quī aliquō negōtiō intentus praeclārī facinoris aut artis bonae fāmam quaerit.
But finally he seems to me to live and enjoy the soul, he who is intent on some business, and seeks the fame of a bright deed or of a good art.
Identify the deponent verbs in the passage.
nītī, fruimur, ūtimur, peregrīnantēs (deponent participle)
Which verbs in the passage take an ablative object?
ūtī (with animī imperiō, corporis servitiō) and fruī (with vītā ipsa quā fruimur).
Deponents of this type: ūtor, fruor, fungor, potior, vescor.
Explain the case and construction of animī imperiō, corporis servitiō ūtimur.
Ablatives of means/instrument governed by the deponent ūtor, which takes an ablative object.
What case is vītā… quā fruimur and why?
Ablative governed by the deponent fruī, which takes an ablative object.
Identify a purpose clause.
nē vītam silentiō trānseant (“so that they do not pass life in silence”).
What type of ablative is summā ope?
Ablative of manner (“with the greatest effort”).
What type of ablative is iūxtā in vītam mortemque iūxtā aestimō?
It is actually an adverb, not an ablative. Trick question.
Identify the indirect statement and the head verb.
Sed is dēmum mihi vīvere atque fruī animā vidētur → “He seems (vidētur) to live…”.
Infinitives: vīvere, fruī.
