Since we're working on infinitives, I chose proverbs for the review that feature infinitives in the different conjugations. So, see if you can figure out the infinitive to use to fill in the blank(s) for each saying, and then check yourself by looking at the cat. Then repeat, and repeat again.
Here is a link to the full-size show, and the show is embedded in the blog post below. And remember: you can run the show from start to finish so that the "quiz" slide comes first, or you can run the show starting from the last slide and working backwards, which gives you the "quiz" slide at the end of each set.
If you want to do even more reviewing (real learning IS review!), here are the review slideshows from Week 32, Week 31, and Week 30.
The focus for today's lesson is infinitives... lots of infinitives! You'll see infinitives from the 1st, 2nd and 3rd conjugations in today's sayings. Plus you'll get lots of practice with neuter adjectives because, don't forget: infinitives are neuter nouns, so they need neuter adjectives to agree with them.
But first, here is a little slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before:
And here are today's proverbs:
1. Dare melius est quam accipere. To-give is better than to-receive.
dare ME-lius est quam ac-CI-pere.
You already know all of the verbs in this saying.
The word dare is the infinitive form of the verb dat (1st conjugation), and accipere is the infinitive form of the verb accipit (3rd conjugation).
Of course we say this in English too: "It is better to give than to receive." For the origin of this saying, see the next item for today!
2. Beatius est dare quam accipere. (It) is more-blessed to-give than to-receive.
be-A-tius est dare quam ac-CI-pere.
This saying is just a variation on the previous saying, but instead of melius, the neuter adjective beatius, "more blessed." This is the comparative form of the adjective beatum, "blessed." You haven't seen this form before, but you have seen the masculine superlative form before: beatissimus.
This version of the saying appears in the Biblical Book of Acts, where the words are attributed to the Apostle Paul; here is the verse in the King James translation: "I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive."
3. Simul sorbere ac flare difficile. (It is) difficult to-suck and to-blow at-the-same-time.
simul sor-BE-re ac flare dif-FI-cile.
The word sorbere is the infinitive form of the verb sorbet (2nd conjugation), "sucks, drinks in." You can see this Latin root in English "absorb."
The word flare is the infinitive form of the verb flat (1st conjugation), "breathes, blows." You can see this Latin root in English "flatulence."
The conjunction ac is a variant spelling of atque, which you have seen before.
This popular saying appears in many different forms, such as Flare simul et sorbere haud facile est, "To blow and suck at the same time is not easy," and Simul sorbere ac flare non possum, "I cannot suck and blow at the same time."
4. Non vivere, sed valere vera vita est. (The) true life is not to-live but to-be-well.
non VI-vere, sed va-LE-re vera vita est.
The word vivere is the infinitive form of the verb vivit (3rd conjugation), which you have seen before.
The word valere is the infinitive form of the verb valet (2nd conjugation), "is well, is powerful." You haven't seen this verb before, but you have seen the related form valens. The feminine adjective vera agrees with the feminine noun vita. You haven't seen the form vera before, but you have seen the masculine verus and neuter verum.
Compare this to a saying that you saw earlier: Non vivere bonum est, sed bene vivere.
5. Errare humanum est, ignoscere divinum. To-err is human, to-forgive divine.
er-RA-re hu-MA-num est, ig-NOS-cere di-VI-num.
The word errare is the infinitive form of the verb errat (1st conjugation), which you have seen before.
The word ignoscere is the infinitive form of the verb ignoscit (3rd conjugation), "forgives, overlooks, takes no notice of." The root of this Latin word appears in English "ignore."
You've seen variations on this famous saying before: Humanum est errare, divinum condonare, and Errare humanum est, perseverare autem diabolicum.
You've see 1st-conjugation infinitives in -are (-āre), 2nd-conjugation infinitives in -ere (-ēre), 3rd-conjugation infinitives in -ere... and you probably won't be surprised by the 4th-conjugation infinitive ending: -ire (-īre).
Because the -i- is a long vowel, as in the 1st and 2nd conjugations, the stress is on the infinitive ending: audire, "to hear," is pronounced au-DI-re. You'll be practicing the 4th conjugation infinitives today!
To get ready, here is a little slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before:
And now here are today's proverbs:
1. Timendi causa est nescire.
(The) cause of-fear is to-not-know.
ti-MEN-di causa est ne-SCI-re.
You've seen all the words in this saying before.
The word nescire is the infinitive of the verb nescit.
The word timendi is the genitive form of the verbal noun timendum.
In other words, ignorance is the cause of fear. In Latin, an infinitive like nescire is much more like a noun than the English infinitive.
2. Praestat sero quam non venire.
(It) is-better to-come late than not (to-come).
praestat sero quam non ve-NI-re.
You've also seen all the words in this saying before. The word venire is the infinitive of the verb venit, which you have seen before.
You can compare this "better late than not" to the "better late than never" sayings you've already seen in Latin: Praestat sero quam numquam and Praestat sero quam numquam discere.
3. Miserum est venire post festum.
(It) is wretched to-come after (the) celebration.
MI-serum est ve-NI-re post festum.
You haven't seen the neuter adjective miserum before, but you have seen the feminine form: misera. It's a neuter adjective because it agrees with venire, which is a neuter noun.
The word festum is the accusative form of the neuter adjective festum, "merry, joyful," which gives us English "festive" and also "feast." Here the adjective is being used as a noun: "festival, celebration." The preposition post takes the accusative case.
The previous saying said that it's better to arrive late than not to arrive at all, while this saying is about what a sad thing it is to arrive after the party is already over!
4. Facilius est Nili caput invenire.
(It) is easier to-find (the) Nile's head(waters).
fa-CI-lius est Nili caput inve-NI-re.
Another saying where you know all the words already! The word invenire is the infinitive of the verb invenit, which you have seen before.
The word Nili is the genitive form of Nilus, and in reference a river like the Nile, the word caput means "headwaters, source."
The word caput is the accusative form of caput (remember, neuter nouns are the same in the nominative and accusative cases). It is the object of the infinitive.
This is a saying that you can use when you are confronting a really difficult problem, one that is hard to solve — so hard that finding the headwaters of the Nile would be easier by comparison.
And are you curious about the source of the Nile now? You can find out more at Wikipedia: Nile — Sources.
5. Bonum et dulce est dormire in cute integra.
(It) is good and sweet to-sleep in (an) uninjured skin.
bonum et dulce est dor-MI-re in cute IN-tegra.
The word dormire is the infinitive of the verb dormit, which you have seen before.
The word cute is the ablative of the noun cutis, "skin," with the preposition in. You can see this Latin root in English words like "cuticle" and "subcutaneous." Because cute is feminine, it takes a feminine ablative adjective: integra, "whole, untouched, uninjured." You can see this root in English "integer" (i.e. "whole number") and "integrity."
The phrase in cute integra is like the English phrase "safe and sound," where "sound" is an adjective meaning "healthy, whole."
*** New blog schedule: I've started a fun new project: I'm learning Japanese in order to read haiku; details at my haiku blog (of course there's a blog!). So, I'm carving out some more time for that, and that means I'm going to be posting every other day here at the Latin blog and every other day at the Greek blog. So, if you are subscribed to both posts, you'll be getting an email from me each day, but if you are subscribed only to the Latin blog, you'll be getting an email every other day. You can use the new "off" day to review... because that's how language learning really happens: by reviewing. And there's certainly plenty to review now. :-)
Below is this week's catch-up post to help you review any lesson(s) you missed this past week and/or to work on whatever kind of practice is most useful to you.
These were the lessons from this week, plus previous weeks, and you'll find the review slideshow below:
This is the slideshow with all the sayings from the week. You can read out loud, first with the English to remind you of the vocabulary... and then with the cat!
I also made a printable crossword PDF with this week's sayings as the prompts; screenshots below.
The focus for today's lesson is one more set of sayings that feature -ere infinitives of the 3rd conjugation. You actually know most of the words in these days, and here is a little slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before:
And now here are today's proverbs:
1. Difficile est longum subito deponere amorem.
(It) is hard to-set-aside suddenly (a) long-standing love.
dif-FI-cile est longum SU-bito de-PO-nere a-MO-rem.
The word deponere is the infinitive of the verb deponit, which you have seen before.
The word amorem is the accusative form of the masculine noun amor. The adjective longum is masculine accusative, agreeing with amorem. Notice how the noun phrase, longum amorem, wraps around the infinitive phrase: subito deponere.
The only word you don't know in this saying is subito, "suddenly, immediately." (If you speak Italian, you'll know this as an Italian word with the same meaning.)
2. Remedium frustra est contra fulmen quaerere.
(It) is useless to-seek (a) remedy against (the) thunderbolt.
re-ME-dium frustra est contra fulmen QUAE-rere.
You know all the words in this saying already!
The word quaerere is the infinitive of the verb quaerit, which you have seen before.
The word remedium is accusative form of the neuter noun remedium (remember: neuter nouns are always the same in the nominative and the accusative); it is the object of the infinitive quaerere.
The word fulmen is also a neuter accusative, being used here with the preposition contra.
This is another of the sayings of Publilius the Syrian. The idea is that there are some disasters which human beings cannot counteract through their own powers. The fulmen was associated with the sky-god, Jupiter.
3. Ditat, sanctificat, sanat bene surgere mane.
To-get-up at-dawn makes-rich, makes-holy, makes-healthy very.
ditat, sanc-TI-ficat, sanat bene SUR-gere mane.
The word surgere is the infinitive of the verb surgit, which you have seen before. The infinitive is the subject of the three verbs: ditat, sanctificat and sanat. The adverb bene modifies these verbs, although that's a bit hard to convey in the English: it makes you nicely rich, nicely holy, and nicely healthy! There are two 1st-conjugation verbs in this saying that are new to you: ditat, "makes rich, enriches," and sanctificat, "makes holy," which gives us English "sanctify."
Compare the English saying, "Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise."
4. Legere et non intellegere est tamquam non legere.
To-read and not to-understand is like not reading.
LE-gere et non intel-LE-gere est tamquam non LE-gere.
The word legere is the infinitive of the verb legit, which you have seen before. The word intellegere is the infinitive of the verb intellegit, "understands," is a compound: inter-legit, which you can see in English "intelligent."
The word tamquam means "just as, like." It is a compound word: tam-quam, "just-as."
This saying warns you to slow down while you read to make sure you understand. If you read without understanding what you read, you might as well not read!
5. Vincere cor proprium plus est quam vincere mundum.
To-conquer one's-own heart/mind is more than to-conquer (the) world.
VIN-cere cor PRO-prium plus est quam VIN-cere mundum.
The word vincere is the infinitive of the verb vincit, which you have seen before.
The word cor is the accusative form of the neuter noun cor, and it's the object of the infinitive. The word proprium is a neuter accusative adjective, agreeing with cor. You haven't seen the neuter adjective proprium before, but you have seen the feminine form: propria.
Compare the same metaphor in a saying you saw earlier this week: Effugere cupiditatem regnum est vincere.
The word mundum is the accusative form of the noun mundum, and it is the object of the infinitive.
Here's a recap:
Difficile est longum subito deponere amorem.
Remedium frustra est contra fulmen quaerere.
Ditat, sanctificat, sanat bene surgere mane.
Legere et non intellegere est tamquam non legere.
Vincere cor proprium plus est quam vincere mundum.
The focus for today's lesson is more 3rd-conjugation infinitives ending in -ere. Remember that infinitives can act like verbs (they can take an accusative object, for example), but they are really nouns. Specifically, they are neuter nouns, agreeing with neuter adjectives.
To get ready for today's sayings (you know almost all of the vocabulary already!), here is the little slideshow with cats of the words you have seen before:
And here are today's proverbs:
1. Non vivere bonum est, sed bene vivere. (The) good (thing) is not to-live, but to-live well.
non VI-vere bonum est, sed bene VI-vere.
You know all the words in this saying already!
The word vivere is the infinitive of the verb vivit.
You can see that this proverb plays on the contrast between the adjective bonum used here as a noun, "the good thing," and the adverb bene in the infinitive phrase, bene vivere, "to live well, to have a good life."
In other words, the purpose of life should not be just to live, but to live well!
2. Facilius est destruere quam construere. (It) is easier to-destroy than to-build.
fa-CI-lius est de-STRU-ere quam con-STRU-ere.
The word destruere is the infinitive of the verb destruit, which you have seen before. Its opposite is the infinitive construere, the infinitive of the verb construit, "builds," which is where we get English "construct."
The neuter adjective facilius, "easier," is the comparative form of facile, "easy." You haven't seen this neuter form before, but you have seen facilis, the masculine and feminine form.
The charm of this saying is in the connection between the words de-struere, to tear down, and con-struere, to put together.
3. Effugere cupiditatem regnum est vincere. To-escape desire is to-conquer (a) kingdom.
ef-FU-gere cupidi-TA-tem regnum est VIN-cere.
The word effugere is the infinitive of the verb effugit, and vincere is the infinitive of the verb vincit, both of which you have seen before.
The word cupiditatem is the accusative form of the noun cupiditas, "greed, desire." It is the object of the infinitive effugere. You haven't seen this noun before, but you've seen a related noun: cupido.
The word regnum is the accusative form regnum, which you have seen before; here it is the object of the infinitive vincere. This is one of the sayings of Publilius the Syrian. The idea is that you are like a conquering hero if you can conquer your own compulsive desires.
4. Melius est iniuriam accipere quam facere. (It) is better to-receive (a) wrong than to-commit (an wrong).
ME-lius est in-JU-riam ac-CI-pere quam FA-cere.
You know all the words in this saying also!
The verb accipere is the infinitive of the verb accipit, and facere is the infinitive of facit.
The word iniuriam is the accusative of iniuria, and it is the object of the infinitives accipere and facere.
You can also find the saying in this form: Accipere quam facere praestat iniuriam. The idea is that, while it is obviously no fun to be the victim of an injustice, that is far better than being guilty of committing injustice.
5. Beneficium accipere libertatem est vendere. To-accept (a) favor is to-sell (your) freedom.
bene-FI-cium ac-CI-pere liber-TA-tem est VEN-dere.
The word accipere is the infinitive of the verb accipit, which you have seen before, while the word vendere is the infinitive of the verb vendit, "sells," and you can see this root in English "vendor."
The word beneficium is the accusative of beneficium, "favor, benefit," and it is the object of the infinitive accipere. This Latin word is the origin of English "benefit." The word is a compound: bene-ficium, "good-doing," i.e. doing good for someone, doing something that benefits them.
The word libertatem is the accusative of libertas, which you have seen before. Here it is the object of the infinitive vendere.
This is another one of the sayings of Publilius. The idea is that if you accept a favor from someone, you are obligated to repay that favor, thus losing your freedom and independence.
Since you're working on the 3rd conjugation this week, I chose proverbs for the review that feature 3rd conjugation verbs, both present and imperative, so the ending is -it for the present-tense verbs and -e for the imperatives. So, see if you can figure out the verb to use to fill in the blank for each saying, and then check yourself by looking at the cat. Then repeat, and repeat again.
Here is a link to the full-size show, and the show is embedded in the blog post below. Also, if you prefer you can run the show from start to finish, so that the "quiz" slide comes first, or you can run the show starting from the last slide and working backwards, which gives you the "quiz" slide at the end of each set.
If you want to do even more reviewing (you can never review too much!), here are the review slideshows from Week 31, Week 30, and Week 29.
