# Aptaque remis



## JeanDeSponde

Hello!

Horacio (quoted by Michel de Montaigne):
_Debemur morti nos nostraque ; sive receptus
Terra Neptumis classes Aquilonibus arcet,
Regis opus; sterilisque diu palus, *aptaque remis*
Vicinas urges alit, engrave sentit aratrum;
Seu cursum mutavit iniquum frugibus amnis;
Doctus iter melius : mortalia facta peribunt_

I have found various translations in the line of "swamp apt for boats", "apt for rowing", but also "full of frogs" and even "full of intertwined trees"...!

To confuse things further, the quote by Montaigne is slightly different from direct quotes of Horacio (e.g. _sterilisve_ vs. _sterilisque_).

Could you enligthen me on this?...

Thanks!


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## Probo

Heus: In Hispanica editione, José Luis Moralejo, perdoctus magister, "hecho para los remos" ("fait pour les rames") dicit. 
Eduardus C. Wickham et H. W. Garrod, in editione sua Horatii operum "sterilisve" scripserunt sed in adnotationibus criticis suis variatio "-que" in allis manuscriptis notatur. Cura ut ualeas


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## Hamlet2508

Hor. Ars poetica

Debemur morti nos nostraque. Siue *receptus(1)*
terra Neptunus classes Aquilonibus arcet,
regis opus, sterilisue diu palus *aptaque remis               (2)*
uicinas urbes alit et graue sentit aratrum,
seu cursum mutauit iniquum frugibus *amnis*,_*(3)*_
doctus iter melius: mortalia facta peribunt,
nedum sermonem stet honos et gratia uiuax.

 alluding to 
(1)the Portus Iulius made by the union of the Lucrine Lake with the sea  the (2)the attempted draining of the Pomptine Marshes 
(3) improvements to the course of the Tiber,which frequently caused destruction during floods


my [literal] take on the verse

We owe ourselves and what is ours to death.
Whether the sea, admitted inland, protects the fleets from the North winds, a regal accomplishment, 
or a barren swamp, to be crossed with oars, nourishes neighbouring towns and feels the heavy plough, 
or a river has changed its course , detrimental to crops,having been  taught a better path , 
mortal achievements will perish, 
much less does the dignity and favour of words survive.

regards,
Hamlet

I'm afraid my French is non existent, but maybe somebody else may be able to help you out


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## JeanDeSponde

Many thanks, Probo and Hamlet!
What confused me was to read _apta remis_, and not _aptata remis_ - I suspected some false cognate in the translation.
As "hecho para los remos" or "to be crossed with oars" could seem a poor description of the difficulty to sail in marshes, I was not sure of the meaning of the sentence.


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## Hamlet2508

I'm sorry I didn't really pay that much attention to  "*aptaque remis" *after all
If you really wanted to stick to a literal translation you'd have to go for
"suitable for oars"  

regards,
hamlet


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## JeanDeSponde

Thanks you all!


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## wonderment

JeanDeSponde said:


> Horacio (quoted by Michel de Montaigne):
> _Debemur morti nos nostraque ; sive receptus
> Terra Neptumis classes Aquilonibus arcet,
> Regis opus; sterilisque diu palus, *aptaque remis*
> Vicinas urges alit, engrave sentit aratrum;
> Seu cursum mutavit iniquum frugibus amnis;
> Doctus iter melius : mortalia facta peribunt_
> 
> I have found various translations in the line of "swamp apt for boats", "apt for rowing", but also "full of frogs" and even "full of intertwined trees"...!
> 
> To confuse things further, the quote by Montaigne is slightly different from direct quotes of Horacio (e.g. _sterilisve_ vs. _sterilisque_).
> 
> What confused me was to read _apta remis_, and not _aptata remis_ - I suspected some false cognate in the translation.
> As "hecho para los remos" or "to be crossed with oars" could seem a poor description of the difficulty to sail in marshes, I was not sure of the meaning of the sentence.



_apta_ (from _apo_: to fasten, join, fit) and _aptata_ (from _apto_: to fit, adapt, accommodate) are synonymous: ‘fitted to’. My understanding of this description is that the (_sterilis_: unproductive) marsh was so waterlogged that it was more suited for rowing than for growing crops. Drainage made the land more suitable for agricultural production (_uicinas urbes alit et graue sentit aratrum_).

The literal translation “apt for oars” is just a metonymy for "apt for boats" or "apt for rowing". "full of frogs" requires replacing _remis_ (oars) with _ranis_ (frogs); taking _apta_ to mean “full” is a bit of a stretch, but not improbable (suited for frogs --> full of frogs). “full of intertwined trees” is also creative; full of _ramis_ (branches) instead of _remis_ (oars). But I see no reason for emending the text with _ramis_ or _ranis_. 

As Probo noted above, Wickham and Garrod give _sterilisve_ as the commonly accepted reading, but also note in the _apparatus criticus_ that _sterilisque_ is a variant reading in other manuscripts. _sterilisve_ makes more sense for the parallel structure: sive...-ve...seu. 

If I may, what is the context for Montaigne’s citation of Horace? Just curious. Thanks 

Edit add: "or the marsh, for so long uncultivated and (more) suited for rowing, now feeds the nearby towns and feels the heavy plow."


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## JeanDeSponde

What a wondefully precise explanation, Wonderment - thanks!
Here is an English source of Montaigne citing Horace.


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