- -es. nominative. fides
- -ei. genitive. fidei
- -em. accusative. fidem
- -e. ablative. fide
- -ei. dative. fidei
And here is the slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before:
And here are today's proverbs:
1. Rara menda facies caret.
(It's a) rare face (that) lacks a-blemish.
rara menda FA-cies caret.
Here you see facies in the nominative, the subject of the verb, and the adjective rara is also nominative, agreeing with facies. Don't let the word order fool you: rara...facies. Remember also that when an adjective modifies the subject of the verb in Latin, it's often easier to translate that as an adverb in English: "Rarely does a face lack a blemish."
1. Rara menda facies caret.
(It's a) rare face (that) lacks a-blemish.
rara menda FA-cies caret.
Here you see facies in the nominative, the subject of the verb, and the adjective rara is also nominative, agreeing with facies. Don't let the word order fool you: rara...facies. Remember also that when an adjective modifies the subject of the verb in Latin, it's often easier to translate that as an adverb in English: "Rarely does a face lack a blemish."
The new word here is menda, "fault, blemish," and here it is in the ablative case, mendā, because the verb caret takes an ablative complement, not accusative. You can see Latin emenda in English "emend" and "amend" and also "mend."
You might be wondering how we know for sure that rara goes with facies and not with menda. That's because this is a bit of poetry from Ovid, and the meter lets us know that rara here is rara (short final a), not rarā. Here it is in the Ars Amatoria: Rara tamen menda facies caret: occule mendas, "It's a rare face that lacks a blemish: cover up your blemishes." )
2. Personam, non faciem, gerit.
(Someone) wears a-mask, not a-face.
per-SO-nam, non FA-ciem, gerit.
You know all the words in this saying, and you've seen this one before in 2nd-person: Personam, non faciem geris. The only difference is that this saying shifts geris, 2nd-person, to gerit, 3rd-person. And since this is something we all do, at least sometimes, you could also put it this way: Personam, non faciem, gerimus, where gerimus is 1st-person plural: "we wear."
2. Personam, non faciem, gerit.
(Someone) wears a-mask, not a-face.
per-SO-nam, non FA-ciem, gerit.
You know all the words in this saying, and you've seen this one before in 2nd-person: Personam, non faciem geris. The only difference is that this saying shifts geris, 2nd-person, to gerit, 3rd-person. And since this is something we all do, at least sometimes, you could also put it this way: Personam, non faciem, gerimus, where gerimus is 1st-person plural: "we wear."
The word facies appears in the accusative here: faciem, the subject of the verb, and personam is the accusative form of persona.
3. Veritatis una vis, una facies est.
(There) is one power, one face of-truth.
veri-TA-tis una vis, una FA-cies est.
You know all the words in this saying too!
3. Veritatis una vis, una facies est.
(There) is one power, one face of-truth.
veri-TA-tis una vis, una FA-cies est.
You know all the words in this saying too!
Here facies is in the nominative again, with una in the nominative also.
The word vis is also in the nominative and because, like facies, it is also a feminina noun, it also takes the feminine form of the adjective, una.
The word veritatis is the genitive form of veritas, expressing the idea of possession, so you could also translate this as "Truth has one force, one face." The words come from the writings of the Roman philosopher Seneca.
4. In acie novaculae consistit.
(It) stands on the-edge of-a-razor.
in A-cie no-VA-culae con-SIS-tit.
There are two new nouns here: acie is the ablative form of acies, "sharp edge," and novaculae is the genitive form of novacula, "razor" and also "dagger."
4. In acie novaculae consistit.
(It) stands on the-edge of-a-razor.
in A-cie no-VA-culae con-SIS-tit.
There are two new nouns here: acie is the ablative form of acies, "sharp edge," and novaculae is the genitive form of novacula, "razor" and also "dagger."
The verb consistit means "stands still, stops, comes to a halt." As the meaning evolved over time, it came to mean something that is stable, hence English "consistent," "consist," etc.
The idea is that something is at a crucial juncture at a single, specific moment in time, a moment as thin as the edge of a razor... and perhaps just as dangerous!
This is one of the sayings collected by Erasmus in his Adagia.
5. Vulgare amici nomen, sed rara est fides.
The-name of-friend is common, but rare (is) trust.
vul-GA-re a-MI-ci nomen, sed rara est fides.
The word fides here is in the nominative, and it is also feminine (as is the general rule for 5th-declension nouns), so it takes a feminine adjective: rara.
The word nomen is also nominative, and because it is neuter, it takes a neuter adjective: vulgare.
The word amici is the genitive form of amicus. The name of a friend is common, but a friend's trustworthiness, fides, is rare; the word amici is implied in the second half of the saying. As often, Latin does not repeat something twice: Vulgare amici nomen, sed rara est (amici) fides.
The idea that people say "friend" about all kinds of people, but someone you can truly trust is hard to find. The words come from a fable told by the Roman poet Phaedrus and Socrates; you can read that fable in Latin here, and there's an English translation here.
Here's a recap:
The idea that people say "friend" about all kinds of people, but someone you can truly trust is hard to find. The words come from a fable told by the Roman poet Phaedrus and Socrates; you can read that fable in Latin here, and there's an English translation here.
Here's a recap:
- Rara menda facies caret.
- Personam, non faciem, gerit.
- Veritatis una vis, una facies est.
- In acie novaculae consistit.
- Vulgare amici nomen, sed rara est fides.
