Week 26 is over: half a year of Latin! Wow! You've learned 4 of the 5 cases, with hundreds of sayings. I hope you have found a few sayings that you've memorized along the way. The focus so far has been on the nouns; we still need to do the dative case, the plurals and the pronouns... and then there's a whole world of verbs that can occupy us for the rest of the year.
In the meantime, here's 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.
So, here are the lessons from this week, plus previous weeks, and you'll find the review slideshow before:
This is the slideshow with all the sayings from the week. 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; you need to supply the correct form of the noun for each saying. Screenshots below.
The focus for today's lesson is more practice with the Ablative ending, -o, for those 2nd-declension nouns and adjectives with prepositions, so to get started, take a quick look at the ablatives you learned yesterday; I've underlined the prepositional phrase in each one:
In vino veritas.
Ex humo homo.
Ab ovo Ledae incipit.
Vox clamantis in deserto.
Ex pravo pullus bonus ovo non venit ullus.
And here is a little slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before:
So, here are today's proverbs:
1. Ex parvo satis.
From (a) little, enough.
ex parvo satis.
The word parvo is the ablative form of the adjective parvum, which is being used here substantively as a noun, "(a) little (thing)." You haven't seen parvum before, but you've seen the masculine and feminine forms of this adjective: parvum and parva.
The idea is that even if you have just a little, that can be enough. Compare the English saying, "want what you have, and you'll have what you want." You've also seen a similar Latin saying before: Si satis est, multum est.
2. Ex vitulo bos fit.
(The) ox is-made from (a) calf.
ex VI-tulo bos fit.
The word vitulo is the ablative form of the noun vitulus, which means "calf," and it's also the origin of English "veal."
Compare this English saying: "Mighty oaks from little acorns grow." So, when you look at an oak, remember that it started as a little acorn, and when you look at the ox, remember that he began as a calf.
3. Pullus de nido avolat.
(The) chick flies-away from (the) nest.
pullus de nido A-volat.
The word nido is the ablative form of the noun nidus, which you have seen before.
The verb avolat is a compound, a-volat, "away-flies, flies away." You haven't seen avolat before, but you've seen the verb volat before.
This saying is included in Polydorus's Adagia (Erasmus's less famous rival), adapted from the Biblical Book of Isaiah, referring to the hesitant and timid flight of chicks as they leave the nest, barely able to fly on their own.
4. Sub pallio sordido sapientia.
(There is) wisdom under (a) filthy cloak.
sub PAL-lio SOR-dido sapi-EN-tia.
The word pallio is the ablative form of the noun pallium, which is the origin of English "pall" and also of "palliative."
The word sordido is the ablative form of the adjective sordidum, which gives us English "sordid."
The ablative noun phrase, pallio sordido, is in the ablative with the preposition, sub, "under," which you can see in all those English sub- compounds, like "submarine" and "subterranean."
Compare the English saying, "You can't judge a book by its cover."
5. De calceo sollicitus, at pedem nihil curans.
Worried about (the) shoe, but caring nothing (for the) foot.
de CAL-ceo sol-LI-citus, at pedem nihil curans.
This saying might look intimidating because it is so long, but you know all of the words except two already! The word calceo is the ablative form of the noun calceus, which gives us this very obscure English word "discalceate," which means: "barefoot" (un-shoed). The adjective sollicitus, "concerned, anxious," gives us English "solicitous."
The idea is that someone would be very foolish is all they did was think about their shoes but neglected their feet.
The focus for today's lesson is something new: the ablative ending for the 2nd declension nouns and adjectives. The ending is -o.
So, you now have 4 case endings for this declension:
amicus. nominative (subject of verb)
amicum. accusative (object of verb)
amici. genitive (possession / "of")
amico. ablative
As you've already learned, the ablative is used with many prepositions, and that is what you will see in today's sayings. (Later on, you'll learn some other uses for the ablative, in addition to using it with prepositions.)
And here is a little slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before:
So, here are today's proverbs:
1. In vino veritas.
In wine (there is) truth.
in vino VE-ritas.
The word vino is the ablative form of the neuter noun, vinum, which you have seen before.
The idea is that after someone has drunk some wine, they might talk more freely, and they might even say things they will later regret having said. Compare a similar saying that you've already seen: Vinum os facundum facit.
2. Ex humo homo.
(A) human (comes) from (the) ground.
ex humo homo.
The word humo is the ablative form of the feminine noun humus (yes, there are a few feminine nouns in the 2nd declension), which means "ground, soil, earth." We use this word in English as "humus" (not to be confused with the Arabic word hummus), and you can see the root in the verbs "inhume" and "exhume."
This is a fascinating proverb because it reflects an actual linguistic connection: the words homo and humus are related, signaling a close association between human beings and the earth-as-mother. You can find out more about the etymology of homo and humus at Wiktionary.
Also, the idea that human beings were originally made from some kind of earth or clay or rocks is found in Greek, Roman and also Christian mythology, so this saying resonates with Latin along all those different dimensions.
Compare a saying you say earlier: Homo humus, fama fumus, finis cinis.
3. Ab ovo Ledae incipit.
(It) starts from the egg of-Leda.
ab ovo Ledae IN-cipit.
The word ovo is the ablative form of the neuter noun ovum, which you have seen before, and it's with the preposition ab, which means "from, beginning from, away from."
The name Ledae is the genitive form of Leda, an important character from mythology; see Wikipedia: Leda.
The verb incipit, "begins, starts," and we actually use this word in English, "incipit," to refer to the first word(s) of a manuscript. You can see the same root in "inception."
This is another mythology proverb! Do you recognize the allusion? Leda was the woman whom Zeus seduced in the shape of a swan, so when she gave birth to Zeus's children, they were hatched from eggs. And who was one of those children who came out from one of Leda's eggs? Helen of Troy came from Leda's egg, and so did Clytemnestra. Thus: the beginning of the Trojan War and all its tragic aftermath. It's all in this Wikipedia article: Ab ovo.
4. Vox clamantis in deserto.
(The) voice of-(someone)-shouting in (the) desert.
vox cla-MAN-tis in de-SER-to.
The word deserto is the ablative form of the masculine noun desertus, which gives us English "desert." The word clamantis is the genitive form of the masculine adjective (participle), clamans, "crying, shouting." You can see this same root in English "exclamation."
These famous words come from the Gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke, referring to John the Baptist, and echoing the Book of Isaiah.
5. Ex pravo pullus bonus ovo non venit ullus.
A good chick never comes from (a) bad egg.
ex pravo pullus bonus ovo non venit ullus.
The word pravo is the ablative form of the neuter adjective pravum, which you have seen before.
This is a rhyming proverb, pullus-ullus, and this leads to an entwined word order. Literally, it says: "From bad chick good egg does not come any." In English, that is very confusing, but the Latin word endings make it work: ex pravo ovo is the prepositional phrase, "from a bad egg," and pullus bonus is the noun phrase that is the subject of the sentence.
The word ullus, "any," is a masculine adjective, agreeing with the pullus bonus, also masculine.
You've seen two Proverbs which are similar to this one: Malum ovum, malus pullus and Mala gallina, malum ovum.
It's time for another vocabulary review, and once again you can use it as a quiz if you want, or just as some proverbs and cats from previous weeks to look at once again. It takes many repetitions to learn new words, so the more you can repeat, the better!
So, below is this week's vocabulary review, and remember: you can use the linked English translation to go back to the original post if you want more information. Here is a link to the full-size show.
If you want to do even more reviewing (you cannot review too much!), here are the review slideshows from Week 25, Week 24, and Week 23. The more you repeat, the more you will remember!
And... here's a random cat (I recently updated the randomizer, so there are something like 500 cats in there now!)
The focus for today's lesson is reviewing the genitive ending of the 2nd declension: you have the nominatives in -us (male) and -um (neuter), the accusative ending is -um, and the genitive ending is -i. All of today's sayings will feature a 2nd-declension noun or adjective in the genitive case... and then later this week it will be time for the ablative ending!
And here is a little slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before: you've seen most of the words for today!
So, here are today's proverbs:
1. Christi crux est mea lux.
Christ's cross is my light.
Christi crux est mea lux.
The word Christiis the genitive form of the masculine noun Christus, "Christ." The "ch" in the spelling is a clue that this is a borrowing from Greek' chi is a letter in the Greek alphabet. You can read more about the etymology at Wikipedia: Christ.
The 3rd-declension noun crux is sometimes used as a word in English, "crux," and it is also the origin of "cross."
This is a medieval Christian proverb featuring rhyme, crux-lux.
2. Omnis creatura Dei bona.
Every creature of-God (is) good.
omnis crea-TU-ra Dei bona.
The word Deiis the genitive form of the masculine noun Deus, which you have seen before.
The 1st-declension noun creatura gives us English "creature."
The word damniis the genitive form of the neuter noun damnum, "loss, injury," and it is also the origin of the English word "damage."
The saying applies to a situation where, in exchange for a trivial amount of gain someone endures a terrible loss.
Notice the parallel construction: paulum + genitive, quantum + genitive. You saw a similar construction in this saying: Paulum fellis disperdit multum mellis, but with multum instead of quantum.
4. Lingua mali pars pessima servi.
(The) tongue (is the) worst part of-(a)-bad servant.
lingua mali pars PES-sima servi.
The word serviis the genitive form of the masculine noun servus, "slave" or "servant" (depending on cultural context), a root you can see in English "servant" and "servitude."
The word mali is the genitive form of the masculine adjective malus, agreeing with servi.
Notice how the genitive noun phrase mali servi, "of the bad servant," wraps around the other noun phrase, pars pessima.
The feminine adjective pessima, "worst," is the root of English "pessimist." This feminine 1st-declension adjective agrees with the 3rd-declension feminine noun pars.
The word cibiis the genitive form of the masculine noun cibus, "food, meal." You can seen this root in the medical term "cibophobia."
You've seen a saying similar to this one already: Optimum condimentum fames, and also: Fames optimus est coquus. We have sayings like this in English too: "Hunger is the best sauce" and "Hunger is the best spice."
The focus for this week is the ablative case for the 2nd declension, and just like last time, we'll start off reviewing the 2nd declension forms that you know already, starting today with the nominative -us and accusative form -um endings of the masculine 2nd-declension nouns and adjectives.
There are also neuter nouns and adjectives in the 2nd declension, and those also end in -um. for both the nominative and the accusative. (Don't forget the secret of neuter nouns and adjectives in any Indo-European language: the nominative and accusative forms are always the same.)
And here is a little slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before, and you have seen almost all the words in today's sayings before!
So, here are today's proverbs:
1. Bonum habe animum.
Have (a) good spirit.
bonum habe A-nimum.
The word animum is the accusative form of the masculine noun animus, and the word bonum is the accusative form of bonus. Notice how the noun phrase bonum animum wraps around its verb.
The sense of this saying is something like "be of good cheer!" in English, be confident, be optimistic. It's a saying found in classical Latin; the Roman playwright Plautus used it, for example, in his play Aulularia.
2. Invenit deus maleficum.
God finds (the) evildoer.
IN-venit deus ma-LE-ficum.
The word maleficum is the accusative form of the masculine noun maleficus, "evil-doer" (male-ficus, from the verb facit; see below).
So, deus is the subject of the verb, and maleficum is the object.
The word amium is the accusative form of the masculine noun amicus, both of which you see in this saying: amicus is the subject, and amicum is the object.
4. Factum stultus cognoscit.
(A) fool understands the-done-deed.
factum stultus cog-NOS-cit.
The word factum is a 2nd-declension neuter adjective, and it's a participle from the verb facit, "makes, does," and factum thus means "made, done," and also a thing-that-is-done, a deed. (Much as English "deed" is related to English "did").
You can deduce that factum is in the accusative case here because stultus is the subject. Notice that the object comes before the subject here, the opposite of the usual English word order.
The idea behind this saying is that a fool, stultus, doesn't understand things in the abstract, and he acts without thinking, only recognizing, cognoscit, the danger or risk after something has been done, factum, and he suffers the consequences.
5. Cucullus non facit monachum.
The cowl doesn't make (the) monk.
cu-CUL-lus non facit MO-nachum.
The noun cucullus means "hood," especially a monk's hood, and it is the origin of the English word "cowl."
The word monachum is the accusative form of the masculine noun, monachus, so monachum is the object of the verb, and cucullus is the subject.
You've already seen two other sayings that express the same idea: Habitus non facit monachum and Non tonsura facit monachum.
Here's 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 as you keep on getting familiar with the ablative case, along with this new use of the accusative case.
So, here are the lessons from this week, plus previous weeks, and you'll find the review slideshow before:
This is the slideshow with all the sayings from the week. 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; you need to supply the accusative noun for each saying. Screenshots below.
