Le sens de l'accouplement, c'est venir en l'union avec le maître et recueillir le sperme de son impératif, c'est-à-dire recevoir sa parole et sa convocation.
Auteur : cercamon
Isidore de Séville, Sentences, III, 14, 9. (689 B)
14.9. Acceptabilior est sensibus lectio tacita quam aperta; amplius enim intellectus instruitur quando uox legentis quiescit et sub silentio lingua mouetur. Nam clare legendo et corpus lassatur et uocis acumen obtunditur.
La lecture silencieuse est plus facile à supporter pour les sens que celle à voix déployée; l’intellect en effet s’instruit davantage, tandis que la voix de celui qui lit demeure en repos, et que sa langue bouge silencieusement. En effet, en lisant à haute voix, d’une part le corps se fatigue, et d’autre part la voix s’émousse.
Lucien: Adv. ind., 2 (trad. Harmon)
To be sure you look at your books with your eyes open and quite as much as you like, and you read some of them aloud with great fluency, keeping your eyes in advance of your lips; but I do not consider that enough, unless you know the merits and defects of each passage in their contents
Pétrone, Satiricon, 58, 7
Je n’ai pas appris la géométrie, la philologie et autres futilités absurdes, mais je sais lire les inscriptions lapidaires, je peux dire le centième selon le métal, le poids ou la somme. En somme, si tu veux, faisons une gageure, toi et moi, je te laisse le choix. Et bientôt tu sauras que ton père a perdu son argent avec toi, quand bien même tu connais la rhétorique.
Non didici geometrias, critica et alogas naenias, sed lapidarias litteras scio, partes centum dico ad aes, ad pondus, ad nummum. Ad summam, si quid vis, ego et tu sponsiunculam: exi, defero lamnam. Iam scies patrem tuum mercedes perdidisse, quamvis et rhetoricam scis.
Suétone: Aug., 39
XXXIX. impetratisque a senatu decem adiutoribus unum quemque equitum rationem uitae reddere coegit atque in exprobratis alios poena, alios ignominia notauit, plures admonitione, sed uaria. lenissimum genus admonitionis fuit traditio coram pugillarium, quos taciti et ibidem statim legerent; notauitque aliquos, quod pecunias leuioribus usuris mutuati grauiore faenore collocassent.
XXXIX. With the assistance of ten senators, he obliged each of the Roman knights to give an account of his life: in regard to those who fell under his displeasure, some were punished; others had a mark of infamy set against their names. The most part he only reprimanded, but not in the same terms. The mildest mode of reproof was by delivering them tablets, the contents of which, confined to themselves, they were to read on the spot. Some he disgraced for borrowing money at low interest, and letting it out again upon usurious profit.
Quintilien: Institutions Oratoires, 1, 1, 32 sq (trad. H. E. Butler)
You will hardly believe how much reading is delayed by undue haste. If the child attempts more than his powers allow, the inevitable result is hesitation, interruption and repetition, and the mistakes which he makes merely lead him to lose confidence in what he already knows. section 33Reading must therefore first be sure, then connected, while it must be kept slow for a considerable time, until practice brings speed unaccompanied by error. section 34For to look to the right, which is regularly taught, and to look ahead depends not so much on precept as on practice; since it is necessary to keep the eyes on what follows while reading out what precedes, with the resulting difficulty that the attention of the mind must be divided, the eyes and voice being differently engaged. It will be found worth while, when the boy begins to write out words in accordance with the usual practice, to see that he does not waste his labour in writing out common words of everyday occurrence. section 35He can readily learn the explanations or glosses, as the Greeks call them, of the more obscure words by the way and, while he is still engaged on first rudiments, acquire what would otherwise demand special time to be devoted to it. And as we are still discussing minor details, I would urge that the lines, which he is set to copy, should not express thoughts of no significance, but convey some sound moral lesson.
Ovide: Métamorphoses, 9.568 sq.; hist. de Byblis et Caunus
Talia nequiquam perarantem plena reliquit 565
cera manum, summusque in margine versus adhaesit.
Protinus inpressa signat sua crimina gemma,
quam tinxit lacrimis (linguam defecerat umor),
deque suis unum famulis pudibunda vocavit
et pavidum blandita “fer has, fidissime, nostro”– 570
dixit, et adiecit longo post tempore “fratri.”
Cum daret, elapsae manibus cecidere tabellae.
Omine turbata est: misit tamen. Apta minister
tempora nactus adit traditque latentia verba.
Attonitus subita iuvenis Maeandrius ira 575
proicit acceptas lecta sibi parte tabellas
vixque manus retinens trepidantis ab ore ministri
“dum licet, o vetitae scelerate libidinis auctor,
effuge!” ait: “qui, si nostrum tua fata pudorem
non traherent secum, poenas mihi morte dedisses.”
Here when she dropped the tablet from her hand,
it was so full of fond words, which were doomed
to disappointment, that the last line traced
the edge: and without thinking of delay,
she stamped the shameful letter with her seal,
and moistened it with tears (her tongue failed her
for moisture). Then, hot-blushing, she called one
of her attendants, and with timid voice
said, coaxing, “My most trusted servant, take
these tablets to my–” after long delay
she said, “my brother.” While she gave the tablets
they suddenly slipped from her hands and fell.
Although disturbed by this bad omen, she
still sent the letter, which the servant found
an opportunity to carry off.
He gave the secret love-confession. This
her brother, grandson of Maeander, read
but partly, and with sudden passion threw
the tablets from him. He could barely hold
himself from clutching on the throat of her
fear-trembling servant; as, enraged, he cried,
“Accursed pander to forbidden lust,
be gone!–before the knowledge of your death
is added to this unforeseen disgrace!”
Ovide: Héroïdes, 21.1 sq.; histoire de Cydippe et Acontius
[ Littera pervenit tua, quo consuevit, Aconti,
Et paene est oculis insidiate meis. ]
Pertimui, scriptumque tuum sine murmure legi,
Iuraret ne quos inscia lingua deos.
Et, puto, captasses iterum, nisi, ut ipse fateris,
Promissam scires me satis esse semel.
Nec lectura fui, sed, si tibi dura fuissem,
Aucta foret saevae forsitan ira deae.
I READ over your letter in silent fear, nor suffered so much as a murmur to escape me, lest my tongue might rashly swear by some of the gods. I even think you would have ensnared me again, but that, as you own yourself, you knew it was enough I was once promised to you. [5] Nor would I have read it over, but from a fear that my obstinacy might have encreased the anger of the too cruel goddess.
Cicéron: Tusc., 5.116 (trad. CD Yonge)
XL. [116] In surditate vero quidnam est mali? Erat surdaster M. Crassus, sed aliud molestius, quod male audiebat, etiamsi, ut mihi videbatur, iniuria. [Epicurei] Nostri Graece fere nesciunt nec Graeci Latine. Ergo hi in illorum et illi in horum sermone surdi, omnesque nos in eis linguis quas non intellegimus, quae sunt innumerabiles, surdi profecto sumus. ‘At vocem citharoedi non audiunt’. Ne stridorem quidem serrae, tum cum acuitur, aut grunditum cum iugulatur suis nec, cum quiescere volunt, fremitum murmurantis maris; et si cantus eos forte delectant, primum cogitare debent, ante quam hi sint inventi, multos beate vixisse sapientis, deinde multo maiorem percipi posse legendis iis quam audiendis voluptatem.
XL. Now, as to the evil of being deaf. M. Crassus was a little thick of hearing; but it was more uneasiness to him that he heard himself ill spoken of, though, in my opinion, he did not deserve it. Our Epicureans cannot understand Greek, nor the Greeks Latin: now, they are deaf reciprocally as to each other’s language, and we are all truly deaf with regard to those innumerable languages which we do not understand. They do not hear the voice of the harper; but, then, they do not hear the grating of a saw when it is setting, or the grunting of a hog when his 206throat is being cut, nor the roaring of the sea when they are desirous of rest. And if they should chance to be fond of singing, they ought, in the first place, to consider that many wise men lived happily before music was discovered; besides, they may have more pleasure in reading verses than in hearing them sung.
Plaute, Pseudolus, 49 sq.
Cal.
Recita modo: ex tabellis iam faxo scies
quam subito argento mi usus invento siet.
Ps.
‘Leno me peregre militi Macedonio
minis viginti vendidit, voluptas mea;
et prius quam hinc abiit, quindecim miles minas
dederat; nunc unae quinque remorantur minae.
ea caúsa miles hic reliquit symbolum,
expressam in cera ex anulo suam imaginem,
ut qui huc adferret eius similem symbolum,
cum eo simul me mitteret. ei rei dies
haec praestituta est, proxuma Dionysia.’
cras ea quidem sunt.
Cal.
Prope adest exitium mihi,
nisi quid mihi in te est auxili.
Ps.
Sine pellegam.
Cal.
Sino, nám mihi videor cúm ea fabularier;
lege: dulce amarumque una nunc misces mihi.
CALIDORUS Read on now; I’ll soon cause you to know from the letter how suddenly there’s need for me for one of silver to be found.
PSEUDOLUS (reading on) . « The procurer has sold me, my love, for twenty minæ, to a Macedonian officer from abroad. Before he departed hence, the Captain paid him fifteen minœ; only five minæ now are remaining unpaid. On that account the Captain left here a token–his own likeness impressed on wax by his ring–that he who should bring hither a token like to that, together with him the procurer might send me. The next day hence, on the Festival of Bacchus, is the one fixed for this matter. »
CALIDORUS Well, that’s to-morrow; my ruin is near at hand, unless I have some help in you.
PSEUDOLUS Let me read it through.
CALIDORUS I permit you; for I seem to myself to be talking to her. Read on; the sweet and the hitter are you now mingling together for me.
cercamon 