Latin OCR GCSE - Messalina - Lines 1-8 Content and Context

Messalina novo et quasi insano amore incensa est.

Messalina was fired with a new and almost mad love.

Nam in C.Silium iuventutis Romanae pulcherrimum, ita exarserat ut Iuniam Silanam, nobilem feminam, matrimonio eius exturbaret liberoque adultero potiretur.

For she had burned (with love) for C.Silius, the most handsome of the Roman youth to such an extent, that she drove out Junia Silana, from her marriage and got possession of an unrestricted adulterer.

Neque Silius flagitii aut periculi nescuis erat: but intellexit exitum, si abnueret, fore certum et, si consentiret, nonnullam facinoris celandi spem esse; sumulque se magna praemia accepturum.

Silius was not unaware of the disgrace or the danger, but he realised that ruin would be certain, if he rejected her, and if he agreed, there was some hope of concealing the deeed; and at the same time, he would receive great rewards.

Igitur placuit neglegere futura et praesentibus frui.

Therefore, he decided to ignor future events and enjoy the present circumstances.

Messalina novo… amore: Line 1

Messalina was the third wife of Claudius, she had two children, Britannicus and Octavia with him. The use of the word ‘novo’ suggests that this was not her first affair.

Incencsa est… exarserat: Line 1-2

These words tend to be associated with fire. They tend to be used metaphorically in literature, especially poetry, in terms of association with love. The all-consumingness of fire could be used to suggest the intensity of love. However, in this passage Tacitus may be using it to suggest the potential destruction this affair could cause

Silium: Line 2

He was consul designate in AD48, probably to become full consul for the last 2 months of the year/following year. He was married to Siliana, but when he began having an affair, he divorced her to marry Messalina.

iuventutis: Line 2

This was usually translated ‘youth’ which meant of an age old enough to serve in the army (18-40), so S. could have been as old as 39 (minimum age to serve as consul, although this was often disregarded).

pulcherrimum: Line 2

Tacitus was very fond of using superlatives. In this case, it really emphasises the beauty of Silius.

Iuniam Silanam: Line 3

She belonged to a patrician (noble) family. She was previously described by Tacitus as being ‘outstanding for her nobility, beauty and immorality.’ Her father had been a consul designate and her sister was the first wife of the emperor Gauis. She was friendly with Agrippina, which would have annoyed Messalina, potentially why she tried to get Silius to divorce her. Later however she fell out with Agrippina because she prevented her from remarrying, and then due to a false accusation by Junia, she (junia) was exiled.

Matrimonio.. exturbaret… adultero poteritur: Line 3-4

Balance: noun, verb, noun, verb - this creates a sense of it being fast-paced and shows how quickly the love took hold and how intense it was.

Neque… Nescius: Line 4-5

Litotes ‘not unaware’ - Silius’ full knowledge of the disgrace + danger contrasts with Claudius’ ignorance (line 12). This is even more blameworthy as Claudius is a censor, who is responsible for maintaining morality. This double negative could suggest a sense of ignorance of the consequences despite knowing them.

Why might there be so much litotes in the text?

Litotes is when there is a double negative. The feature of so many of these may be there to help show the immorality and negativity of the situation.

‘Nobilem feminam’: Line 3

The fact that Junia was a noble women makes the affair even more shocking as she deserves respect and has more power. Furthermore, the translation says ‘she drove out Junia Silana […] from her marriage’ which could imply that it is Junia’s fault, despite she not being the adulterer.

What effect does the repetition of the prefix ‘x’ in lines 2 and 4 have?

The verbs that have this are ‘burned’ and ‘drove out’, the repetitive x may be intended to place emphasis on these strong verbs and the intensity/impact of the love/affair.

‘Adultero potiretur’: Line 4

It’s a paradox as Silius is no longer married so in that sense he is not an adulterer, although Messalina is still married so he is committing adultery with her.