Capella

Nūntiī dē rēbus gestīs Mediolānum volant — nam Caesar, ut scīs, omnia ad Augustum referre dēbet, tamquam apparitor. Cōgitā nunc tēcum, lēctor: Gallia servāta est; septem rēgēs victī; Colōnia, Argentorātum, tot cīvitātēs receptae; captīvī omnēs domum reductī; tribūta minūta; Rhēnus bis trānsitus. Quid faciat aula, haec audiēns? Gaudeat? Grātiās agat? Templa corōnet? Audī quid fēcerit. In palātiō erant hominēs quōs Ammiānus “adulandī professōrēs” vocat — professōrēs adulandī! quasi adulātiō ars esset quae docērī potest, ut grammatica aut rhētorica. Hī omnēs, quī plūs poterant in aulā, rēs bene cōnsultās et prosperē complētās “vertēbant in dērīdiculum”: ex victōriīs iocōs faciēbant. Et iocus prīmus hic erat:

• corōnō -āre corōnīs ōrnō
• palātium -ī (n) domus prīncipis
• adulor -ārī falsē laudō, blandior
• professor -ōris (m) quī artem pūblicē docet
• dērīdiculum -ī (n) rēs rīsū digna
• iocus -ī (m) dictum rīdiculum