Today is a catch-up day to review any lesson(s) you missed this past week and/or to work on whatever kind of practice is most useful to you. There's also a slideshow below to help you review all the accusative nouns that you saw last week! Here are the lessons from this week, plus previous weeks:
And here's a slideshow you can use to review all the sayings with the accusative nouns, plus their cats! The English portion of each slide is linked back to the original post if you want to review the notes for that saying.
I also made a printable crossword PDF with this week's sayings as the prompts; you need to supply the accusative noun for each saying. Screenshots below. :-)
The focus for today's lesson is doubled subject-object sayings, this time with -um. Here's a reminder of the doubled subject-objects you saw with -am earlier:
Cura curam trahit.
Gratia gratiam parit.
Pecunia pecuniam parit.
Iniuria non excusat iniuriam.
Remember: you can translate such sayings into English literally, or more idiomatically. Iniuria non excusat iniuriam literally reads "Wrong doesn't excuse wrong," but you can also translate it idiomatically, "One wrong doesn't excuse another."
I also need to say something here about diminutives. English has a few diminutive forms (dog ~ doggy), but that's nothing compared to the abundance of diminutive forms in Latin. We've inherited some Latin diminutives as English vocabulary; for example, Latin morsus is a "bite," and morsellus is a "little bite," which is where we get English "morsel." You're going to see a diminutive formed with the suffix -ellus in today's sayings.
Because English is not rich in diminutives, that makes it hard to translate Latin diminutives into English. Sometimes a Latin diminutive really does refer to something physically small, but more often it has other connotations: sometimes affectionate (sweet little something), but sometimes contemptuous (paltry little nothing). But, luckily, the goal is not to translate into English; the goal is to understand the Latin. So, as we encounter diminutives, like today, I'll try to remember to say something about the connotation even if it's hard or even impossible to translate into English.
Now here is the little slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before that appear in today's sayings:
You know all the words of this saying already; nummum is the accusative of nummus.
As you can see, this saying is a variation on Pecunia pecuniam parit. The difference is that nummus literally means "coin" ("Coin produces coin"), and only by extension does it mean "money" in general. Compare the English saying, "It takes money to make money."
The verb ducit, "leads," is related to a word you already know: the noun dux, "leader." From this same root we get English words like the noun "duct" and compound verbs like "conduct" and "deduct," etc.
You already know the adjective caecus, which is being used substantively here: caecus means "blind (man)." The accusative form is caecum.
We use this same phrase in English: "the blind leading the blind" means that things are not going to end well. There is even an article in Wikipedia which documents the appearance of this saying across a range of cultures, including the Biblical Gospel of Matthew: "If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit."
3. Lupus lupum non edit.
(One) wolf doesn't eat (another) wolf.
lupus lupum non edit.
The verb edit means "eats," and you can see the root in English "edible."
You already know the noun lupus, and lupum is the accusative form.
You can contrast this Latin saying with the English saying "dog eat dog," which means people will harm even those close to them in their pursuit of success. This Latin saying maintains just the opposite: no matter how ruthless wolves might be, lupus lupum non edit.
The verb fricat means "scratches," and you can see this root in English "friction."
This saying is sarcastic; donkeys were not held in high regard, but that doesn't stop donkeys form respecting one another. We might not think well of donkeys, but they think highly of one another! Literally, they scratch one another; metaphorically, they praise each other, exchange compliments, etc.
Compare the English saying, "One hand washes another," which expresses a similar idea, but without the sarcastic implication.
You know the word asinus, and asellus is the diminutive form, with asellum as the accusative form.
The verb culpat, "blames," is related to the noun that you've seen already: culpa.
This is another sarcastic proverb; compare the English saying about "the pot calling the kettle black," which also has its own Wikipedia article.
In a different context, asellus could refer to a small donkey, or to a much loved donkey. Given this sarcastic context, though, the use is contemptuous, so I chose "jackass" as the English translation, and I rendered asinus as "ass" instead of donkey in order to emphasize the absurdity of one ass criticizing another.
Something new for today! It is now time for the accusative form of those 2nd-declension nouns, and just like for the 1st-declension, the singular accusative ending is -m, but this time the theme vowel is -u-, which gives the ending -um.
Easy, right? Here are the 2nd-declension accusative nouns you will see in today's sayings:
vir (man): virum
animus (spirit, mind): animum
agnus (lamb): agnum
oculus (eye): oculum
somnus (sleep): somnum
You'll notice that sometimes 2nd-declension masculine nouns can end in -r (instead of -us) to which the endings are added directly. That's what's going on with nominative vir, which gives genitive vir-i, and accusative vir-um. The other 2nd-declension nouns and adjectives ending in -r that you've seen so far are: asper, faber, furcifer, liber, magister, puer, and pulcher. They are not exactly common, but they are not rare either.
Another thing I wanted to point out today is the way that proverbs are not monolithic. Instead, they represent a range of opinions; proverbs can even contradict one another. So, for example, today you have this saying: Vestis virum facit, "Clothes make the man." (Compare Polonius in Shakespeare's Hamlet: "The apparel oft proclaims the man.") And of course, that's true... sometimes; fine clothes can make a fine impression. But there are plenty of proverbs in Latin about how clothing is, at best, superficial and, at worst, a deceptive disguise; for example: Vestimentum non facit monachum, "Clothing does not make the monk" (i.e. just because someone wears a monk's habit doesn't mean he has a religious vocation), and Simia est simia, etiam si purpura vestiatur, "A monkey is a monkey, even if dressed in purple" (i.e. in royal robes). And here's a fun rhyming one: In vestimentis non est sapientia mentis, "In clothing that is fine there is no wisdom of mind" (I added the "fine" to make the rhyme work in English).
So, the more proverbs you learn, the better. Each proverb offers its own perspective on the world.
To get ready for today's new sayings, here is a little slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before:
And here are the sayings:
1. Vestis virum facit.
Clothes make the man.
vestis virum facit.
The noun vestis, "clothing, clothes" can be seen in English "vestment." This is also the root of "invest."
The accusative virum is from the masculine noun vir.
Notice the nice sound play of v... v...: Vestis virum.
The verb angit means "squeezes, draws tight," even "strangles." By metaphorical extension, it also means to cause distress, to trouble, torment. This is the root of English "anxiety."
The accusative animum is from the masculine noun, animus.
This saying also has sound-play, a...a...: angit-animum. Compare another saying you saw about worrying: Cura curam trahit., which also has some word-play, cura-curam.
3. Lupus agnum vorat.
Wolf eats lamb.
lupus agnum vorat.
The noun lupus, "wolf," can be seen in English "lupine."
The accusative agnum is from the masculine noun agnus, "lamb." You may already know this phrase from Christian Latin: Agnus Dei, "Lamb of God." Find out more at Wikipedia: Agnus Dei.
This saying expresses the idea that it's the nature of wolves to eat lambs, and it's the nature of lambs to be eaten. There is a famous Aesop's fable in which a lamb argues with a wolf, but in the end... the wolf eats the lamb.
The accusative oculum is from the masculine noun oculus.
The adjective suum, "one's own," is also masculine accusative, agreeing with oculum.
This proverb expresses a very nice paradox: you see with your eyes... but you cannot see your own eye. (Of course, you can use a mirror... but still: you get the idea!)
The genitive Endymionis is from the 3rd-declension noun Endymion, which is a name from Greek mythology. (Remember: the genitive ending for the 3rd declension is -is.)
The accusative somnum is from the masculine noun somnus. Here's a quick explanation of who Endymion was and why he became proverbial for sleeping deeply: Selene, the Moon-Goddess, fell in love with Endymion, who was a mortal man; she begged Zeus to make Endymion immortal; to oblige Selene, Zeus put Endymion into eternal sleep so that he would never die, and that is why Selene is able to visit her lover every night, even now. You can find out more about this myth at Wikipedia: Endymion.
Someone wrote and asked me to refocus this Wednesday vocabulary review on specific sayings rather than on vocabulary items; they told me it's getting harder to remember the sayings from the earlier weeks, which makes sense: there have now been over 300 sayings! So now the review slideshow includes the slide with the English translations, plus the links back to the original posts. The slideshow contains sayings at random from all the previous weeks.
Here's how the new slideshow works:
Fill-in-the-blank. First there is a saying with a word (or words) blanked out. See if you can supply the missing word(s). Maybe you can do that without looking at the English, but the English is there for you as a prompt if needed.
Check. Then there is a slide to let you check your answer.
Cat! Next, to reinforce the saying with a visual, there is a cat slide next.
Repeat. Then there is one final slide, without the English; use that final slide to repeat the saying out loud (there is the pronunciation prompt to help with the word stress at the bottom of the slide). Reading out loudis the key; that's how you will remember both the vocabulary and also the sayings themselves.
I hope this new kind of review slideshow will be useful, and that it will be fun too (because... cats!).
So, here's a link to the full-size show. And remember, you can click on the English translation to access the original blog post with notes for the saying.
I hope that will be a good review! And I'll be back tomorrow with more sayings. And more cats. :-)
There are two sentences in today's sayings that are worth your special attention because they are compound sentences, but without a conjunction to connect the two ideas; instead, the sentences are coordinated by a parallel verb. Here's an analysis of those two sentences to show you how they are two sentences combined in one.
This sentence combines two statements that share the same object and verb, but with different subjects:
Vitam regit fortuna, non sapientia.
a) Vitam regit fortuna. Luck rules life.
b) (Vitam) non (regit) sapientia. Wisdom doesn't rule life.
Luck, not wisdom, rules life.
This sentence combines two statements that share the same verb, but the subjects and the objects are different:
Otium stultitiam, labor scientiam generat.
a) Otium stultitiam (generat). Leisure produces stupidity.
b) Labor scientiam generat. Work produces knowledge.
Leisure produces stupidity; work (produces) knowledge.
This omission of words, which is far more common in Latin than in English, is called ellipsis; you can find out more at Wikipedia: Ellipsis (linguistics).
And here is a little slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before:
And now, here are today's proverbs:
1. Psittacus senex ferulam neglegit. (The) old parrot ignores the stick.
PSIT-tacus senex FE-rulam NEG-legit.
The noun psittacus, "parrot," is a borrowing from Greek, as you can guess from the initial ps- which is a letter of its own in Greek, ψ psi. The word is masculine, and so it takes a masculine adjective: senex (3rd-declension adjective).
The word ferulam is the accusative of ferula, which is a stick or rod used to discipline people, especially schoolboys. Literally, ferula was a giant fennel stalk, and it is the scientific name of the giant fennel.
The verb neglegit is the origin of English "neglect." The verb is a compound, literally meaning to not pick something up, to not gather: nec-legit, "not-gather."
So, the idea behind this saying is that the old parrot, unlike a young schoolboy, doesn't care if he is struck with a stick; he's stubborn, and is going to do whatever he wants, even if you try to discipline him. Compare this similar saying: Asinus esuriens fustem negligit, "A hungry donkey neglects the cudgel."
2. Non rudit onager cum herbam habet.
(The) onager doesn't bray when (he) has grass.
non rudit O-nager cum herbam habet.
The verb rudit means "roars, brays." In Latin, lions do this (so "roar") and donkeys do this too (so "bray"). The onager is a type of wild donkey; you can find out more at Wikipedia: Onager. The verb habet, "has," is new to you, but you've seen the verbal noun habendum, "having."
The idea is that when someone has food to eat (or, metaphorically, anything that they greatly desire), then it will absorb their full attention and they will fall silent.
3. Exiguus ignis quantam silvam incendit!
How-much forest (a) small fire burns!
ex-I-guus ignis quantam silvam in-CEN-dit!
The masculine adjective exiguus, "tiny, small, petty," is the origin of English "exiguous." The masculine adjective agrees with the masculine noun, ignis.
The verb incendit, "burns, set fires to," is the origin of English "incense."
The word quantam is the accusative form of quanta, a feminine adjective meaning "how much." You can see this Latin root in English "quantity."
The feminine noun silva, "woods, forest," is the origin of the name Sylvia. The feminine noun takes a feminine adjective: quanta.
This saying is based on the paradox of a tiny fire causing a great disaster; it's literally true about forests, and metaphorically true about other disasters too.
4. Vitam regit fortuna, non sapientia. Luck, not wisdom, rules life.
vitam regit for-TU-na, non sapi-EN-tia.
The verb regit, "rules, directs, controls," is new, but you've seen a related word: regula. You can see the root of this Latin verb in English "direct" and "correct."
There is a kind of competition in Latin sayings between the advocates of fortuna, "luck," and the advocates of sapientia, "wisdom." Some proverbs insists that wisdom is the most important thing, the most valuable thing, the most powerful thing (Scientia potentia!), but there are proverbs that insist instead on luck as being in charge, as in this saying.
The word stultitiam is the accusative of the noun stultitia, "foolishness," which is formed from the root stult-, "foolish." You can see this root in the English "stultify." The Latin noun labor gives us the English noun "labor" too!
The verb generat, "produces, creates,"gives us the English verb "generate."
The charm of this saying depends on the word-play between the words stultitiam and scientiam.
This will be another week of practicing with accusative nouns. There will be more -am accusative nouns of the 1st declension, and you will also learn how to form accusatives for 2nd-declension nouns too.
The idea is to get so familiar with the look/sound of Latin accusative nouns that you react to them just as you do with English pronouns like him and them: you immediately recognize the accusative noun and can thus start to understand the meaning of the sentence, even if the accusative comes before the verb.
For a little practice with that to get started, here are some sayings you have seen already where the accusative object comes before the noun:
Aquilam testudo vincit.
Industriam adiuvat deus.
Minervam sus docet.
Aquilam cornix provocat.
Naturam Minerva perficit.
Elephas muscam non curat.
Copia nauseam parit.
Cura curam trahit.
Gratia gratiam parit.
Pecunia pecuniam parit.
Scarabeus aquilam quaerit.
Una linea geometram non facit.
Plus... I decided to give you a sneak preview of the accusative pluraltoday. You'll see that in the final saying, which is a saying about an actual cat. :-)
And here is a little slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before:
The neuter noun verbum means "word," and it gives us English "verb."
Because verbum is neuter, it takes the neuter form of the adjective: dulce. The -um ending is the neuter ending of the 2nd declension, while -e is the neuter ending of the 3rd declension.
The verb frangit means "break, break off, shatter," and it gives us English "fracture" and "fraction."
The idea is that speaking kindly is not a sign of weakness; instead, it is a kind of strength: sweetness can shatter anger.
2. Aquila non parit columbam.
(An) eagle doesn't give-birth-to (a) dove.
A-quila non parit co-LUM-bam.
You already know all the words in this saying! The eagle is regularly used as a symbol of war, while the dove is a symbol of peace. So, metaphorically speaking, someone who is war-like and belligerent is not likely to propose a plan for peace.
The 3rd-declension noun bos (stem: bov-), "ox, cow," gives us English "bovine" and also "beef."
The verb exspectat means "expects, looks out for, waits for," as in English "expectation." The Latin verb is a compound: ex-specto, "out-look for," i.e. "look out for."
This saying is used to refer to something well-deserved that is slow in coming. The ox works hard to make the farm prosper, but he has to wait for the harvest; metaphorically, we are all hard-working oxen hoping that we, too, will eventually get our just reward eventually.
4. Etiam capillus suam facit umbram.
Even (a) hair makes its shadow.
etiam ca-PIL-lus suam facit umbram.
The verb capillus means "hair," and gives us English "capillary."
This is also the first time you have seen an accusative adjective: umbram is feminine accusative, so the adjective suam is also feminine accusative.
Notice also how the accusative phrase suam umbram wraps around the verb: suam facit umbram, a stylistic device which is called hyperbaton. You can find out more at Wikipedia: Hyperbaton.
The idea is that even something as tiny as a hair can cast a shadow, so, metaphorically speaking, don't disparage something or something just because it is small.
5. Pardus maculas numquam deponit.
(The) leopard never sets-aside (its) spots.
pardus MA-culas numquam de-PO-nit.
The word pardus, "panther," can be seen in English "leopard." The verb deponit, "sets aside, puts down," gives us English "deposit" and "depot."
The word maculas is the accusative plural of the noun macula, "spot, blemish," which you can see in English "immaculate" (from Latin im-maculatus, "not-blemished, spotless"). And if you like caffè macchiato, that is an Italian word, also from macula: "spotted" coffee.
So, maculam is the accusative singular, and maculas is the accusative plural (yes, there is an -s plural ending in Latin, much like in English!). We'll be working on plurals systematically later on, but I thought it would be fun to have this saying in the mix since it is a famous saying featuring an actual cat, a BIG cat.
Compare the English saying, "The leopard does not change its spots." The idea is that someone cannot change their nature. There's even a version of this saying in the Biblical Book of Jeremiah.
Today is a catch-up day to review any lesson(s) you missed this past week and/or to work on whatever kind of practice is most useful to you. There's also a slideshow below to help you review all the accusative nouns that you saw last week! Here are the lessons from this week, plus previous weeks:
And here's a slideshow you can use to review all the sayings with the accusative nouns, plus their cats! Remember that you can access the original post with more information by using the Sayings page or the Dictionary page which link to the relevant post.
I also made a printable crossword PDF with this week's sayings as the prompts; you need to supply the accusative noun for each saying. Screenshots below. :-)
