Latin Lesson #186: One last look at deponent verbs

The focus for today's lesson is one final look at deponent verbs, the sneaky verbs that look passive but which are active in meaning, often taking accusative objects of their own — you'll see quite a few accusative objects in the sayings for today. And note: while this is the last lesson focused on deponent verbs, you'll be seeing lots more deponent verbs going forward; some of these deponent verbs are amongst the most commonly used verbs in Latin.

As usual, start with this slideshow (including cats) to review all the words you have seen before:

And here are today's proverbs:

1. Rex tuetur legem et lex tuetur ius.
(The) king defends (the) law and (the) law defends justice.
rex tu-E-tur legem et lex tu-E-tur ius.

You know all the words in this saying already!

The deponent verb here is tuetur, and it takes a direct object: legem is the accusative form of lex, and ius is the accusative form of ius (remember: neuter nouns are sneaky, because the nominative and accusative forms are always identical).

So, provided that the king defends the law then the king is also defending justice... but not all kings defend the law, unfortunately. Or would-be kings, like we have in the U.S. at the moment.


2. Legem nocens veretur, fortunam innocens.
(The) wrong-doer fears (the) law; (the) innocent (person) fears luck.
legem nocens ve-RE-tur, for-TU-nam IN-nocens.

The only new word in this sentence is innocens, "innocent," which is being used substantively as a noun here: "(an) innocent (person)." And while the adjective is new, you already know the related noun: innocentia. The adjective nocens, "doing harm, doing wrong," is also being used substantively as a noun here: "wrongdoer."

The verb veretur is deponent, and it also takes a direct object: legem is again the accusative form of lex, while fortunam is the accusative form of fortuna. The verb is implied in the second part of the saying: fortunam (veretur) innocens.
This is one of the sayings of Publilius Syrus and, like so many of his sayings, it takes the form of iambic verse:  Legem nocens veretur, fortun~ innocens. 

The idea is that a criminal lives in fear of the law, while a person who is innocent lives in fear of fortune, specifically misfortune or bad luck, which can make the innocent suffer despite their innocence. 


3. Cum sequitur leporem testudo laborat inane.
When it pursues the rabbit, the turtle labors in-vain.
cum SE-quitur LE-porem tes-TU-do la-BO-rat i-NA-ne.

The only new word in this sentence is inane, an adverb meaning "in vain, uselessly, to no effect." This same word gives us English "inane."

The verb sequitur is one of the most common deponent verbs, and it takes an accusative object: leporem is the accusative form of lepus.
This is a saying found in the medieval dialogue of Solomon and Marcolf. No matter what Aesop says about "slow and steady wins the race," we all know that if a turtle tries to race a rabbit, the rabbit is likely to win!


4. Testis in uno falsus, in nullo fidem meretur.
(A) witness false in one (matter), deserves trust in none.
testis in uno falsus, in nullo fidem me-RE-tur.

You have three new words in this saying, but they are all related to words you have seen before: unum is the neuter form of the word you have seen as masculine unus. Likewise, falsus is the masculine form of the word you have seen as feminine falsa. And while you have not seen the noun fides, "faith, trust," before, you have seen the related adjective: fidelis.

The word fidem is the accusative form of fides, and it is the object of the deponent verb meretur.

The word uno is the ablative form of unum, used here with the preposition in, just as nullo is the ablative form of nullum. 

The idea is that if someone lies about one thing, you cannot trust them to tell the truth about anything.

5. Columba amat, et quando rixatur; lupus odit, et quando blanditur.
(The) dove loves, and sometimes quarrels; (the) wolf hates, and sometimes flatters.
co-LUM-ba amat, et quando rix-A-tur; lupus odit, et quando blan-DI-tur.

There are two new words in this saying, both related to words you have seen before: rixatur, "quarrels" (deponent verb) is related to the noun rixa. Likewise, the verb odit, "hates," is related to the noun you have seen before: odium.

The word quando here is being used in place of aliquando, meaning "sometimes" or "now and then."

This saying is found in a medieval sermon, the idea being that even a dove can sometimes be quarrelsome, but when it is quarrelsome, it is quarrelsome in the way of doves: that is, not dangerous or deadly, and is easily pacified. Wolves can also surprise you: even though they are driven by ravenous hatred, they might sometimes flatter or coax you... but they do so in the way of wolves, and you should not trust them!


Here's a recap:

• Rex tuetur legem et lex tuetur ius.
• Legem nocens veretur, fortunam innocens.
• Cum sequitur leporem testudo laborat inane.
• Testis in uno falsus, in nullo fidem meretur.
• Columba amat, et quando rixatur; lupus odit, et quando blanditur.

And here is today's audio:



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Latin Lesson #185: One more week of deponents!

Welcome to the final week of deponent verbs! So, just to say it one more time: these deponent verbs are special because they do not have any active forms. Their forms are always passive, but the meaning is active, and sometimes they take direct objects, just like active verbs.

And here is the slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before... which is almost all of the words in today's sayings. :-)

And now here are the sayings for today:

1. Cito lucratur, cito perditur.
(Someone) earns (something) quickly, (it) is-lost quickly.
cito lu-CRA-tur, cito PER-ditur.

The verb lucratur is deponent, passive in form but active in meaning. The word perditur, however, is a passive verb: that which you earn, lucratur, quickly, is quickly lost, perditur.

Compare the English saying: Easy come, easy go.


2. Fortuna, cum blanditur, fallit.
Luck, when she's encouraging, deceives (you).
for-TU-na, cum blan-DI-tur, fallit.

The word blanditur, "coaxes, flatters," is a deponent verb. The form is passive but the meaning is active: Fortuna blanditur te, "Lady Luck flatters you," which is exactly when you need to be on your guard, because her seeming sweetness cannot be trusted. This same root gives us the English word "blandishment." It also gives us "bland," but that is a word which has shifted in its meaning, so that from "sweet, mild, gentle," it came to mean "unstimulating, flat, tasteless."

Notice also that blanditur is a 4th-conjugation verb, so the stress is on the theme vowel: blan-DI-tur. This is a different stress pattern than for the 3rd-conjugation verbs, which are much more common: PER-ditur, LO-quitur, SE-quitur, etc.


3. Interdum stultus bene loquitur.
Occasionally (a) fool speaks well.
in-TER-dum stultus bene LO-quitur.

You already know all the words in this saying, and the deponent verb loquitur is one of the most commonly used deponent verbs in Latin.

You've seen paradoxical sayings like this before; for example: Invenit interdum caeca gallina granum.


4. Ex bono aliquando sequitur malum.
Sometimes from (a) good (thing), (a) bad (thing) follows.
ex bono ali-QUAN-do SE-quitur malum.

You also know all the words in this saying, and the deponent verb sequitur is another one of the most commonly used deponent verbs in Latin. 

The words bonum and malum are neuter adjectives being used substantively here, as nouns: bonum is "(a) good (thing), something good" and malum is "(a) bad (thing), something bad."

The form bono is the ablative of bonum, used here with the preposition ex.

The form malum could be nominative or accusative (the forms are identical for all neuter nouns and adjectives), but here it is the nominative form, the subject of the verb sequitur.


5. Vitulus sequitur vaccam, filia matrem.
(The) calf follows (the) heifer, daughter (follows) mother.
VI-tulus SE-quitur vaccam, FI-lia matrem.

Here you see the verb sequitur again, and this time it has a subject in the nominative case, vitulos, and it it also an object: vaccam is the accusative form of the noun vacca, "cow." And yes, this is also the root that gives us "vaccine" in English because of the original use of cowpox virus as a vaccination against smallpox.

The implied verb sequitur in the second part of the proverb also has a subject, filia, and an object, matrem, which is the accusative form of the noun mater.

You've seen two similar sayings about mothers and daughters before: Qualis mater, talis et filia and Matris imago filia est.

Here's a recap:

• Cito lucratur, cito perditur.
• Fortuna, cum blanditur, fallit.
• Interdum stultus bene loquitur.
• Ex bono aliquando sequitur malum.
• Vitulus sequitur vaccam, filia matrem.

And here is today's audio:



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Week 57 Vocabulary Review

This week the quiz-slideshow focuses on ablative forms: -a (long ā, unlike the nominative a) for the first declension, -o for the second declension, and -e for the third declension (or occasionally -i). Very often the ablative is used with a preposition, but remember that the ablative can also be used independently. You'll see lots of examples below of both prepositional phrases and also independent ablatives.

Using the quiz-slideshow, you can check yourself by looking at the cat slide that follows the slide with the missing word(s). You can also begin at the end and work backwards, giving yourself a different kind of quiz: seeing the slide without English and trying to supply the English, checking your answer on the next slide, reviewing with the cat slide, and then seeing if you can fill in the blank.

Plus don't forget: on the slides that contain the English translation, the English is linked to the original blog post if you want some help in understanding the grammar of the saying.

Here is a link to the full-size quiz-show, and the show is embedded in the blog post here too: 

If you want to do even more reviewing (you cannot review too much!), here are the vocabulary review slideshows from previous weeks.

And here is the Week 57 Crossword for you to download and print. Screenshots:

And... here's a random cat (with a new cat when you reload the page):

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Latin Lesson #184: Deponent -etur verbs

The focus for today's lesson is deponent verbs of the 2nd conjugation, which means they have the theme vowel of -e-. Some of the active verbs you know from the 2nd conjugation are habet, nocet, tacet, etc. Now you will learn some 2nd conjugations verbs that have only passive forms but active meaning, and they can even take a direct object, just as if they were active verbs.

To begin, here is the slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before:

And now here are today's proverbs:

1. Deus tuetur.
God protects.
deus tu-E-tur.

The verb tuetur means "protect, guard." From this same Latin root we get the English word "tutor," who was originally a guardian or protector, although the word now means a teacher.

You can also find this saying with an object: Deus tuetur nos, "God protects us," Deus tuetur iustos, "God protects the righteous," and so on.


2. Nil veretur veritas.
Truth fears nothing.
nil ve-RE-tur VE-ritas.

The verb veretur means "fear, be in awe of, respect." From this Latin root we get the English words "revere" and "reverend."

The word nil here is a neuter noun in the accusative case, and it is the object of the verb. Even though these verbs look passive, they have active meanings and can even take direct objects, just as if they were active verbs.

This is the motto of the Silverthorn Collegiate Institute:

3. Fraus meretur fraudem.
Deceit deserves deceit.
fraus me-RE-tur fraudem.

The verb meretur means "deserve, be worthy of." From this Latin root we get the English word "merit."

The word fraus is in the nominative case, the subject of the verb, and fraudem is the accusative form, the object of the verb.

This is a legal principle, and a controversial one, since it endorses a cycle of never-ending retaliation: one act of fraud justifies a fraud in response, which justifies more fraud, and so on. 


4. Primus error veniam meretur.
(A) first mistake deserves forgiveness.
primus error VE-niam me-RE-tur.

You haven't seen the adjective primus before, but you have seen the neuter form of this adjective: primum. This is the masculine form, agreeing with the masculine noun error, which is the subject of the verb: primus error.

The word veniam is the accusative form of the noun venia, which means "forgiveness," and it is the object of the verb. This is where we get the phrase "venial sin," in English, i.e. a sin that can be forgiven, as opposed to a "mortal sin."


5. Cogitationis poenam nemo meretur.
Nobody deserves punishment of-thinking.
cogitati-O-nis poenam nemo me-RE-tur.

In other words, no one should be punished for their thoughts.

The word cogitationis is the genitive form of the noun cogitatio, which means "thought, thinking." You haven't seen this word before, but you have seen the verb that it comes from: cogitat.

The word poenam is the accusative form of poena, and it is the object of the verb.

In English, we would say "punishment for thinking" or "for their thoughts," but the Latin idiom uses the genitive: "punishment of thinking," poena cogitationis. This is sometimes called an "objective" genitive because it is taking the role of the object of an implied verb: "punish the thoughts." 

There can also be a "subjective" genitive, and you can only distinguish between the two of them from context; there is nothing in the form of the genitive itself to distinguish them. Of course, we have this same ambiguity in English: "the love of God" could mean God's love for someone (subjective genitive), or it could mean someone's love for God (objective genitive). In both Latin and English, only the context can help distinguish between those two different uses of the genitive.


Here's a recap:

Deus tuetur.
Nil veretur veritas.
Fraus meretur fraudem.
Primus error veniam meretur.
Cogitationis poenam nemo meretur.


And here is today's audio:



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Latin Lesson #183: Deponent -atur verbs

The focus for today's lesson is some new deponent verbs. They all belong to the first conjugation, so they have -a- as their theme vowel, ending in -atur. And remember, even though the form is passive, the verb has an active meaning, and sometimes it is even transitive, taking a direct object!

And here is the slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before:

And here are today's proverbs:

1. Ars imitatur naturam.
Art imitates nature.
ars imi-TA-tur na-TU-ram.

The new verb here is imitatur, "imitates." You haven't seen this verb before, but you have seen the related noun: imitatio.

The work naturam is the accusative form of natura, and it is the object of the verb. This is one of those deponent verbs that takes a direct object.

You have seen other Latin proverbs like this before about the relationship between art and nature: Ars est simia naturae and Omnis ars naturae imitatio est. 


2. Dormiens nihil lucratur.
(While) sleeping, (one) earns nothing.
DOR-miens nihil lu-CRA-tur.

The new verb in this saying is lucratur, "gains, earns." You haven't seen this verb before, but you have seen the related noun: lucrum.

The word nihil here is a neuter noun in the accusative case. It is the object of the verb lucratur, which is another deponent verb that takes a direct object.

Compare a similar saying you've seen before about the sleeping fox: Dormienti vulpi cadit intra os nihil.

3. Cauda de vulpe testatur.
(The) tail provides-evidence (of the) fox.
cauda de vulpe tes-TA-tur.

This new verb is testatur, "attests, provides evidence." You haven't seen this verb before, but you have seen the related noun: testis.

The word vulpe is the ablative form of the noun vulpes, with the preposition de.

The fox is famous for her bushy tail, just as the lion is known by his claw: A digito cognoscitur leo.

4. Nemo cum diabolo iocatur impune.
Nobody plays safely with (the) devil.
nemo cum di-A-bolo io-CA-tur im-PU-ne.

The final new verb for today is iocatur, "joke, jest, play." From this same root we get English "joke."

The word diabolo is the ablative form of f the noun diabolus with the preposition cum.

You might think you can have a good time playing with the devil, but this proverb warns you to watch out! Compare the English saying, "He who sups with the Devil should have a long spoon."


5. Cattus saepe satur cum capto mure iocatur.
Often (a) cat, (when) full, plays with (a) captured mouse.
cattus saepe satur cum capto mure io-CA-tur.

The word cactus, "cat," is a medieval Latin word which eventually replaced the classical word feles, and it gives us English "cat" (while from feles we get "feline").

The word capto is the masculine ablative form of the word captus, "captured." You haven't seen this word before, but you know the verb that it comes from, capio.

The word mure is the ablative form of mus with the preposition cum, and capto agrees with mure in gender (masculine) and case (ablative).  

This is one of those medieval rhyming proverbs: satur-iocatur. 

Of course, things turn out even worse for the mouse if the cat is not full but hungry!


Here's a recap:

1. Ars imitatur naturam.
2. Dormiens nihil lucratur.
3. Cauda de vulpe testatur.
4. Nemo cum diabolo iocatur impune.
5. Cattus saepe satur cum capto mure iocatur.

And here is today's audio:



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Week 56 Catch-up Day

Below is this week's catch-up post to help you review any lesson(s) you missed over the past two weeks of lessons and/or to work on whatever kind of practice is most useful to you as you get familiar with these deponent verbs:

• #179: Moritur, another deponent verb
• #180: Labitur, another deponent
• #181: Irascitur, another deponent
• #182: Hunting and Fishing

And 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 read out loud again with the cat!

I also made a printable crossword PDF as usual; screenshots below. 

And here's a random cat:

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Latin Lesson #182: Hunting and Fishing

The focus for today's lesson is two more deponent verbs (passive in form, active in meaning): venatur, "hunts, goes hunting," and piscatur, "fishes, goes fishing."

You can recognize the piscis, "fish," in the word piscator. 

As for venatur, it is actually related to the name Venus, the goddess of love: hunting is about chasing what you desire, as is love. There is also an archaic English word, "venery," which means "hunting."

To get ready for the proverbs, here is today's slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before:

And here are today's proverbs:

1. Piscatur in aere.
(He) is-fishing in air.
pis-CA-tur in A-ere.

The word aere is the ablative form of the word aer, "air," which is a Latin word borrowed from Greek ἀήρ (aer), which is the origin of English "air" too. Notice that this word is two syllables in Latin: a-er, so the ablative form is three syllables: a-e-re.
This is another one of those proverbs about a fool's errand: you will never catch a fish if you are fishing in the air instead of in the water.

2. Aureo piscatur hamo.
(He) is-fishing (with a) golden hook.
AU-reo pis-CA-tur hamo.

The word hamo is the ablative form of the noun hamus, "hook, barb," and the adjective aureo is also in the ablative. Notice how the ablative phrase aureo...hamo wraps around the verb.

To fish "with a golden hook" means that someone is foolishly risking something of great value, the golden hook, for little gain: a golden hook is far more valuable than the fish it might catch, and the danger is that the fish will escape with the hook, as fish sometimes do.

According to the Roman historian Suetonius, this was a favorite saying of the Emperor Caesar Augustus.


3. In aqua turbida piscatur uberius.
(One) fishes more-richly in stirred-up water.
in aqua TUR-bida pis-CA-tur u-BE-rius.

The word aqua (aquā) is the ablative form of the noun aqua, used with the preposition in. 

The adjective turbida is also ablative (turbidā), agreeing with aqua; it means "stirred up, disorderly, troubled," and it gives us English "turbidā."

The word uberius is a neuter adjective being used as an adverb here, meaning "more richly, more abundantly." The implied comparison is that it is more profitable fishing in stirred up waters than in calm waters. 

Compare the English saying, "fishing in troubled waters," which means to take advantage of political and social turmoil, making a profit in the midst of chaos. This is a long-lived and widely used saying; you can read an entire article about it here: Fishing in Troubled Waters: A Cross-Cultural and Historical Study Of A Persistent Proverb.

4. Aquila non venatur muscam.
(An) eagle doesn't hunt (a) fly.
A-quila non ve-NA-tur muscam.

You know all the words in this saying!

Notice that while the verb venatur is passive in form, it is active in meaning, and it even takes a direct object, like an active verb: muscam is the accusative form of musca, and it is the object of the verb.
The idea is that the noble eagle does not bother with hunting something as small and lowly as a fly. Compare a similar saying you've seen before about the mighty elephant and flies: Elephas muscam non curat.


5. Feles vociferans nil venatur.
(A) yowling cat can-hunt nothing.
feles vo-CI-ferans nil ve-NA-tur.

The word vociferans is a compound: voci-ferans, "voice-bearing," and you've seen the word vox before. 

The word nil is a neuter noun, which means the nominative and accusative case are exactly the same. Here nil is the accusative form, the object of the verb venatur.

I've translated venatur nihil as "can hunt nothing." Sometimes a Latin verb corresponds to the English sense of "can" as possibility; if you ever need to add "can" to your English translation of a Latin verb, feel free to do that.
The idea is that if a cat is making a lot of noise, it won't be able to hunt anything because its prey will hear it coming. 


Here's a recap:

1. Piscatur in aere.
2. Aureo piscatur hamo.
3. In aqua turbida piscatur uberius.
4. Aquila non venatur muscam.
5. Feles vociferans nil venatur.

And here is today's audio:



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