Week 92 Catch-Up Day

For those of you who are following along with the Aeneid project, it's going really well; over 300 lines so far! You can find all the lessons here, Vergil.LauraGibbs.net, and I'm also updating the "Quid novi?" in the sidebar of the wiki, so you can follow it there as well, along with other fun Latin things.

Meanwhile, here is the catch-up day for the past two weeks of plural verbs, finishing up the 3rd-person plural forms for all four of the conjugations!

Now here are the past two weeks of lessons here:

• #251: More -ent plural verbs
• #252: 3rd conjugation -unt
  
• Nursery Rhyme: Rosam Ite Circum
• #253: 3rd-conjugation plural, -iunt
• #254: 4th-Conjugation Plurals, -iunt

And here's the slideshow with all the sayings. 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, and the same prompts for the crossword are used in the quiz questions below. Enjoy!

Alii ______ sentiunt.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

aliter

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Exempla ______.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

docent

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Sero ______ Phryges.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

sapiunt

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Omnia fato ______.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

eveniunt

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Cum sol oritur, stellae ______.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

fugiunt

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Multae guttae ______ flumen.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

implent

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Semper bene ______ Iovis tesserae.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

cadunt

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Dolia plena ______.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

silent

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Hostes non ______.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

dormiunt

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Diu non ______ scelera.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

latent

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Fontes ipsi ______.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

sitiunt

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Omnia ______ fiunt.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

causa

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Mutuum muli ______.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

scabunt

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______ fato fiunt.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

omnia

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Litterae non erubescunt.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

erubescunt

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Cumani sero ______.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

sentiunt

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Curae canitiem ______.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

inducunt

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Latent sub ______ venena.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

melle

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Alii ______, alii metunt.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

serunt

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Omnia casu ______.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

fiunt

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And here's a random cat:

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Latin Lesson #254: 4th-Conjugation Plurals, -iunt

The focus for today's lesson is the final conjugation, which has -i as its theme vowel, so it also has -iunt in the 3rd-person plural. So, if you have dormit, "she sleeps," now you will have dormiunt, "they sleep."

Since that is the last of the conjugations, now is a good time to review the four conjugations, comparing the 1st-person form, the infinitive, along with the singular and plural endings. You can see how -nt is the constant feature throughout all the 3rd-person plural endings:

• 1: amō, amāre, amat, amant
• 2: habeō, habēre, habet, habent
• 3: currō, currere, currit, currunt
• 3-i: capiō, capere, capit, capiunt
• 4: dormiō, dormīre, dormit, dormiunt

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

And here are today's proverbs:

1. Omnia fato eveniunt.
All-things come-forth by-fate.
OM-nia fato e-VE-niunt.

The word eveniunt is the plural form of evenit, "comes out, comes forth." You haven't seen this verb before, but it is a compound e(x)-venit, and you have seen the uncompounded form, venit.

The word omnia is the plural of omne, and it is the subject of the verb.

The word fato is the ablative of the word fatum. 

You saw several proverbs last time about why things happen: fato, "by fate," or maybe casu, "by chance," or perhaps causa, "for a reason." This saying comes down on the site of fato!


2. Fontes ipsi sitiunt.
The-sources themselves are-thirsty.
fontes ipsi SI-tiunt.

The word sitiunt is the plural form of sitit.

The word fontes is the plural of fons, "spring, source, well" and it is the subject of the verb. You can see this Latin word in English "fountain" and "font." The word ipsi is also plural, agreeing with fontes: "the sources themselves."

This is a saying used to describe a situation that has shifted from abundance to scarcity, like when rich people are running short of money... which means, of course, that if even the rich are feeling pinched, then the poor people are feeling it even worse.


3. Hostes non dormiunt.
The-enemies don't sleep.
hostes non DOR-miunt.

You know all the words in this saying! The word dormiunt is the plural form of dormit.

The word hostes is the plural of hostis, and it is the subject of the verb.

The idea is that, when you are facing danger, you must always be vigilant. You cannot sleep, and you cannot let you attention wander: when in danger, keep your focus.


4. Alii aliter sentiunt.
Different-people feel differently.
A-lii A-liter SEN-tiunt.

You know all the words in this saying too! The word sentiunt is the plural form of sentit.

The word alii is the plural of alius, and it is the subject of the verb.

The word aliter is the adverb formed from alius. So alius means "different," and aliter means "differently."

Compare the English saying, "Different strokes for different folks."


5. Cumani sero sentiunt.
The-people-of-Cumae become-aware too-late.
Cu-MA-ni sero SEN-tiunt.

The word Cumani is the plural of Cumanus, a person from the city of Cumae, and it is the subject of the verb. Cumae was a Greek city in southern Italy; you can read more about Cumae at Wikipedia.

The adverb sero means "late" or "too late."

Earlier you saw a saying about the Trojans realizing their mistake too late, tragically so: Sero sapiunt Phryges. This saying, while similar, has a very different meaning: while the Trojans were tragic, the people of Cumae were proverbial fools. For example, when it was raining, the people of Cumae did not know to come in out of the rain until someone told them: "Come in out of the rain!" So, even though it was raining, they didn't know it, they didn't feel it. Instead, somebody had to tell them it was raining.


Here's a recap:

• Omnia fato eveniunt.
• Fontes ipsi sitiunt.
• Hostes non dormiunt.
• Alii aliter sentiunt.
• Cumani sero sentiunt.

And here is today's audio:



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Latin Lesson #253: 3rd-conjugation plural, -iunt

Remember how the 3rd-conjugation verbs come in two classes: the plain -o verbs and the -io verbs?

In the previous lesson, you saw how the plain -o verbs formed the plural form with -unt: Semper bene cadunt Iovis tesserae, "Jupiter's dice always fall, cadunt, nicely."

In this lesson, we'll look at the -io type of 3rd-conjugation verbs, which take -iunt as the plural ending. Here are the verbs you will see in today's sayings:

• fio: fit ~ fiunt, "they become"
• sapio: sapit ~ sapiunt, "they are wise, they know"
• fugio: fugit ~ fugiunt, "they flee, they run away"

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

These are today's proverbs:

1. Omnia fato fiunt.
All things happen by fate.
OM-nia fato fiunt.

You know all the words in this saying!

The word fiunt is the plural form of fit.  

The subject, omnia, "all (things)," is the plural form of omne, "all, every (thing)." It's an adjective being used substantively as a noun.

The word fato is the ablative form of fatum. This is the type of ablative that explains "how" something is happening. How do all things happen? They happen by fate, fato.


2. Omnia casu fiunt.
All things happen by chance.
OM-nia casu fiunt.

Just one word is different: casu, instead of fato. 

The word casu is the ablative form of casus. How do all things happen? They happen by chance, casu.


3. Omnia causa fiunt.
All things happen for a reason.
OM-nia causa fiunt.

And this time, causa instead of casu and fato.

The word causa (causā) is the ablative form of causa. How do all things happen? They happen by chance, casu.

  

4. Sero sapiunt Phryges.
(The) Phrygians are-wise too-late.
sero SA-piunt Phryges.

The word sapiunt is the plural form of sapit.   

The word Phryges is the plural form of Phryx, "Phrygian," giving us the subject of the verb. The Phrygians were a people of Anatolia (modern-day Turkey), neighbors and allies of the Trojans. The term "Phrygian" was also used as a synonym for "Trojan," as in this saying, which refers to the foolishness of the Trojans in letting the Trojan Horse into their city. They grew wise too late, sero sapiunt: they only realized their mistake after the Greek warriors emerged from the wooden horse.

The saying apparently comes from a lost Roman play by Livius Andronicus: Equus Troianus (The Trojan Horse). Just a few fragments survive from the play as quoted in ancient authors. It was Cicero who quoted this saying in one of his letters, citing the title of the play.


5. Cum sol oritur, stellae fugiunt.
When (the) sun rises, (the) stars flee.
cum sol O-ritur, stellae FU-giunt.

The word fugiunt is the plural form of fugit. The word stellae is the plural form of stella, "star" (as in English "stellar"), giving us the subject of the verb.  

The word oritur is a new verb: "rises." It is one of those verbs that looks passive, but is active in meaning. This is the origin of the word "Orient" in English, because the east is the direction where the sun rises, sol oritur.

The idea is that when something or someone great comes on the scene, their "brightness" and "brilliance" makes all the lesser things or lesser people vanish from sight.

Here's a recap:

• Omnia fato fiunt.
• Omnia casu fiunt.
• Omnia causa fiunt.
• Sero sapiunt Phryges.
• Cum sol oritur, stellae fugiunt.

And here is today's audio:



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Latin Nursery Rhyme: Rosam Ite Circum

Here's another Latin cantilena to wrap up the week: it's my version of "Ring around the Rosie," Rosam Ite Circum. You can read about this song at Wikipedia.

Here is one English version:

Ring around the rosie,

A pocket full of posies.

Ashes! Ashes!

We all fall down!

And here is my Latin version:

Rosam ite circum,

Cum sacco pleno florum.

Cinis! Cinis!

Iam cadimus!

Go around the rose,

With a bag full of flowers.

Ash! Ash!

We're falling down now.

And now I have a recording of the Latin, thanks to Genesis Staple, a recent graduate of the UT Music School here in Austin. You can hear more of Genesis's Latin recordings at this work-in-progress wiki: Cantilenae.

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illustration by Jessie Willcox Smith

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Latin Lesson #252: 3rd conjugation -unt

The focus for today's lesson is the plural ending for 3rd-conjugation verbs: the ending is -unt or, sometimes, -iunt. The sayings today all feature -unt endings, but we'll do some -iunt verbs next week. 

How can you tell the difference? Just look at the 1st-person form of the verb! Remember how some 3rd-conjugation verbs have -o for the 1st person, but some have -io...? That's how you can tell which 3rd-person plural ending to use: the -o verbs have -unt for the ending, and the -io verbs have -iunt for the ending. 

So, for example, here are today's verbs, and they all have -o endings in the 1st person (dictionary) form:

• sero ~ serunt. "sow"
• meto ~ metunt. "reap"
• scabo ~ scabunt. "scratch"
• erubesco ~ erubescunt. "turn red, blush"
• induco ~ inducunt. "induce, bring on"
• cado ~ cadunt. "fall"

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

And here are today's proverbs:

1. Alii serunt, alii metunt.
Some sow, others reap.
A-lii serunt, A-lii metunt.

The word alii is the plural of alius, "other." So, literally, the saying says "Others sow, others reap." But in English, we use a different idiom: alii...alii... is "some... others..."

The verb serunt is the plural form of serit, "sows," while metunt is the plural of metit, "reaps."

The idea is that some people do all the work ("sowing"), while others get all the profit ("reaping").

2. Mutuum muli scabunt.
Mules scratch one-another.
MU-tuum muli scabunt.

This is a variation on a saying that saw before with a singular subject: Mulus mulum scabit, "Mule scratches mule."

The word muli is the plural of mulus, while scabunt is the plural of scabit.

The word mutuum is an adverb: "mutually, one another." You can see this Latin root in English "mutual."

Compare the English saying, "You scratch my back; I'll scratch yours." The difference is that mules were not held in high regard in ancient Rome, so the Latin saying refers more to how one low-life helps another low-life.


3. Litterae non erubescunt.
Letters don't blush.
LIT-terae non eru-BES-cunt.

You've already seen a version of this saying before: Epistola non erubescit, "A letter does not blush."
The word litterae is the plural of littera, while erubescunt is the plural of erubescit. In the plural, litterae can mean "letters" but it can also mean "a letter" (singular), so you could also translate this saying as "A letter does not blush," just as if it were Epistola non erubescit.

The idea is that people might say things in writing that they would never say out loud, a phenomenon that has taken on new relevance in the digital world.


4. Curae canitiem inducunt.
Worries bring-on white-hair.
curae ca-NI-tiem in-DU-cunt.

The word curae is the plural of cura, and inducunt is the plural of inducit = in+ducit, "on-lead, lead on, induce, bring on."
The word canitiem is the accusative form of canities, and it is the object of the verb.

The idea is that someone with lots of worries gets grey hair early, bringing on old age prematurely.


5. Semper bene cadunt Iovis tesserae.
Jupiter's dice always fall nicely.
semper bene cadunt Iovis TES-serae.

The word tesserae, "dice," is the plural of tessera. This is a Greek word that the Romans borrowed, meaning "four," which can also refer to dice (cubes), making it a synonym of Latin alea.

The word Iovis is the genitive of Iuppiter, so this is a saying about Jupiter's dice.

The verb cadunt is the plural of cadit.

Both semper and bene are both adverbs, so the idea is that Jupiter's dice always, semper, fall nicely, bene cadunt. In other words: the king of the gods is always lucky... unlike mere mortals.

Here's a recap:

• Alii serunt, alii metunt.
• Mutuum muli scabunt.
• Litterae non erubescunt.
• Curae canitiem inducunt.
• Semper bene cadunt Iovis tesserae.

And here is today's audio:



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Latin Lesson #251: More -ent plural verbs

To pick up again after a week off, I thought I would repeat the focus from the last lesson: -ent plural verbs of the 2nd conjugation. The verbs for today are: docent, "they teach" / implent, "they fill" / latent, "they hide" / silent, "they are silent."

So, here is the slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before — you have seen all the words in today's sayings except for one!

And here are today's proverbs:

1. Exempla docent.
Examples teach.
ex-EM-pla docent.

The word exempla is the plural of exemplum, which you can see in English "exemplary," "example," and "sample."

The verb docent is the plural of docet.

This was one of the functions of Aesop's fables, providing memorable examples, both positive exempla of models to be imitated, along with negative exempla of mistakes to avoid.


2. Dolia plena silent.
Full jars make-no-noise.
DO-lia plena silent.

You know all the words in this saying.

The verb silent is the plural of silet. 

The subject is dolia, the plural of dolium.  This plural noun is modified by a plural adjective: plena.

This is literally true, and metaphorically it applies to talkative people, who are actually "empty," having nothing of substance to say. But they keep on making noise!

Compare the English saying, "Empty vessels make the most sound."

3. Diu non latent scelera.
Crimes do-not hide for-long.
diu non latent SCE-lera.

These words are all familiar as well!

The verb latent is the plural of latet. 

The subject is scelera, the plural of scelus. Remember that to make the plural of a 3rd-declension noun, you need to know the actual stem of the word, which you may or may not be able to see in the nominative form. So, for example, the word scelus has the genitive form sceleris, which gives you the stem, sceler-. Then, because it is a neuter noun, you add the neuter plural ending for the 3rd declension: scelera.

The word diu is an adverb, modifying the verb.

Compare the English saying, "The truth will out."


4. Latent sub melle venena.
Poisons lurk under the-honey.
latent sub melle ve-NE-na.

All words that you know, and the verb is latent once again.

The subject is venena, the plural of venenum.  

The word melle is the ablative form of mel; it's ablative because the preposition sub takes the ablative. This is another 3rd-declension noun, so you need to know the stem to make the ablative form. The genitive of mel is mellis, which gives you the stem, mell-. Then you can add the ablative ending: -e. 

The idea is that something might seem very sweet and appealing, but it can actually be dangerous or even deadly. The warning comes from the poet Ovid in his Amores. 


5. Multae guttae implent flumen.
Many drops fill the-stream.
multae guttae implent flumen.

And this saying is also made up of words you have seen before.
The verb implent is the plural of implet.

The subject is guttae, the plural of gutta.  The adjective multae is also plural, agreeing with guttae. 

The word flumen is one of those sneaky neuter nouns of the 3rd declension: it could be nominative or it could be accusative. But since the sentence already has a subject, then this is the accusative subject of the verb: guttae (subject) implent (verb) flumen (object).

Compare the English saying, "Little by little does the trick."

Here's a recap:

Exempla docent.
Dolia plena silent.
Diu non latent scelera.
Latent sub melle venena.
Multae guttae implent flumen.

And here is today's audio:



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