Chama bestia est, ut scribit Plinius, quam – ut idem dicit – Galli rufium dicunt. Hoc animal effigiem habet lupi, respersumque est per totum pardorum maculis. In Ethiopia harum bestiarum copia est, licet peregrinis terris ab hominibus invecte sint. Hanc bestiam magnus Pompeius Romanis primum ludis intulit.
- Translation
- Vocabulary
- Notes
The Chama, as Pliny writes, is a beast which, as the same says, the Gauls call “Rufium.” This animal has the likeness of a wolf, and is sprinkled all over with the spots of leopards. In Ethiopia there are a large amount of these beasts, although they have been imported by humans from foreign lands. Pompey the Great first brought this beast back for the Roman Games.
pardus, i m. leopard
effigies, ei f. copy; imitation
respergo, respergere, respersi, respersum 3 sprinkle; spatter
macula, ae f. spot; speck
peregrinus, a, um adj. foreign; alien
ut scribit Plinius… ut idem dicit: Both asides in the sentence showing this is what Pliny says and writes about the Chama. As well, ut takes on the meaning “as” because it is used with an indicative verb.
Romanis… ludis: Referring to the Roman games held in the Flavian Ampitheater Colosseum.
Pompeius: Pompey the Great c. 106 – 48 BC. Military and political leader of the Roman Republic.