Here's another Latin cantilena to wrap up the week: it's my version of "Rain Rain Go Away," Imber, Desine. You can read about this song at Wikipedia.
Here is one English version:
Rain, rain, go away! Come again another day!
Little Arthur wants to play. Rain, rain, go away!
And here is my Latin version:
Imber, desine! Veni alio die!
Volo solem hodie. Imber, imber, desine!
Rain, stop! Come here another day!
Let the sun return today. Rain, rain, stop!
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.
The focus for today's lesson is more practice with "(they) are" proverbs, using the plural form of est, which sunt.
As you'll find out next week, the -nt is the sign of the 3rd-person plural across all the conjugations. So, while the verb "to be" is irregular, by practicing with sunt, you are getting ready for all plural verbs to come.
And here is the slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before... which is all the words except for two today!
Then here are today's proverbs:
1. Patres vestri ubi sunt? Where are your fathers?
patres vestri ubi sunt?
The new word here is vester, "yours, belong to you" (plural). To say "yours" (singular), it would be tuus, but vester is the word you need for speaking to a group of people.
The word patres is the plural of pater.
The word vestri is the plural of vester, and notice how the -e- disappears when you add the ending.
The words come from the Biblical book of the prophet Zechariah; here is the complete verse: Patres vestri, ubi sunt? et prophetae numquid in sempiternum vivent? "Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?" Zechariah's message is that the human world passes away; it is only God who is eternal. You can find out more at Wikipedia.
2. Libri muti magistri sunt. Books are silent teachers.
libri muti ma-GIS-tri sunt.
You know all the words in this saying!
The word libri is the plural of liber.
The word magistri is the plural of magister, and notice againhow the -e- disappears when you add the ending. That often happens with 2nd-declension nouns that end in -er instead of the usual -us.
The word muti is the plural of mutus, agreeing with the word magistri.
As someone who has learned an awful lot from books, I am a fan of this saying. Books may not be able to talk, but they have plenty to say!
3. Multi sunt asini bipedes. Many are the-donkeys with-two-legs.
multi sunt A-sini BI-pedes.
You even know all the words in this saying. Do you remember when you saw bipes before? Homo animal bipes implume. When Plato defined a human being as a "featherless biped", Diogenes brought Plato a plucked chicken and said, "Here is Plato's man." (Lesson 115)
The word multi is the plural of multus, so it means "many."
The word asini is the plural of asinus.
The word bipedes is the plural of bipes, agreeing with the asini.
In other words, in addition to all the four-legged donkeys, there are plenty asini bipedes... i.e. homines stulti.
4. Ubi amici, ibi sunt opes. Where (there are) friends, there are resources.
ubi a-MI-ci, ibi sunt opes.
The new word in this saying is ops, which means "power, strength, ability" in the singular, but in the plural, opes, it means "wealth, resources." You can see this root in English "opulent."
The word amici is the plural of amicus.
You've seen lots of these ubi...ibi sayings in the past, and now you have one with plural nouns.
The idea is that where you have friends, you have resources, you have help when you are in need it.
5. Ubi sunt divitiae, ibi est invidia. Where (there are) riches, there is envy.
ubi sunt di-VI-tiae, ibi est in-VI-dia.
You know all these words too.
The word divitiae is one of those special words in Latin that is used only in the plural.
There's an ubi...ibi... saying which has one plural part, sunt, and one singular part, est.
In other words, if you have money, be prepared for the envy that others might feel towards you.
Now that you've gotten familiar with plural nouns — 1st, 2nd, and 3rd declensions! — now it's time for some plural verbs. We'll start with the plural form of est... sunt! So, now, you have a plural verb to go with the plural nouns that you already now.
And here is the slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before — which is all the words today except for one.
And here are today's plural proverbs with verbs:
1. Hic sunt leones. Here (there) are lions.
hic sunt le-O-nes.
You know all these words already.
The word leones is the plural of leo, with that 3rd-declension ending -es (masculine) on the stem leon-.
The word hic is that special locative adverb meaning "here, in this place."
This is a phrase associated with medieval mapmaking: the phrase hic sunt leones can refer to literal lions or to some kind of endemic danger. Another similar phrase: hic sunt dracones, "here there are dragons." For examples, see Wikipedia.
2. Amantes amentes sunt. Lovers are out-of-their-minds.
a-MAN-tes a-MEN-tes sunt.,
You know all these words too!
The word amantes is the plural of amans, and the word amentes is the plural of amens. Both adjectives are 3rd-declension, with that -es ending.
The word amans is a participle from the verb amat, so it literally means "loving," but when it is used substantively as a noun, it is equivalent to "lover" in English.
The word amens is not really a participle; instead, it is a kind of joking word play: a-mens, "without-mind," i.e. "out of one's mind." The whole point is the how amans sounds like amens, making it basically impossible to really translate into English.
3. Antiqua sunt optima. Old (things) are (the) best (things).
an-TI-qua sunt OP-tima.
The new word here is the neuter adjective antiquum, which gives us English "antique." You can see the 2nd-declension neuter ending, -a. The root of the word is ante, "before," so "antique" things are the things that came before us in time. You can also see Latin ante in English "ancient."
The word optima is the plural of optimum, agreeing with antiqua.
Roman culture was inherently conservative, strongly favoring antiqua, "the old things," with a great suspicion regarding things that are new, nova.
4. Dei plena sunt omnia. All (things) are full of-God.
dei plena sunt OM-nia.
You know these words, and you saw a variation on this saying last week: Iovis omnia plena.
The word omnia is the plural of omne (the focus of yesterday's lesson), and the adjective plena is also plural, agreeing with omnia. Notice that the neuter nouns of the 3rd-declension, like the 2nd-declension nouns. (I don't want to bore everybody with historical linguistics, but neuter nouns and adjectives are just *different* from the masculine and feminine nouns, often with unusual distinguishing features, and not just in Latin, but across the Indo-European languages.)
The word deus is the genitive of dei, equivalent to the genitive Iovis that you saw in the previous saying. The word plena takes a genitive complement, as in English: full of (something)."
5. Omnia mea mecum sunt. All my (things) are with-me.
OM-nia mea mecum sunt.
And these words are all familiar too! You see omnia again, and the word mea is the plural of meum, agreeing with omnia.
The word mecum is a special kind of compound: me-cum, "me-with," equivalent to cum me, "with me." You can actually see this Latin phrase in "vademecum" in English, which comes from Latin: vade mecum, "come with me."
This phrase is associated with a famous story about the Greek poet Simonides. When he was shipwrecked and seemed to have lost everything, he had no worries because, as he said: omnia mea mecum sunt. In other words, he had his life, his good sense, his abilities; he did not lose any of those things in the shipwreck and would be able to carry on with his life going forward. The Roman poet Phaedrus tells the story of Simonides' shipwreck in one of his fables.
Here is the new catch-up day post for the past two weeks: practicing with lots of plurals! As usual, there is a cat-show of those sayings, plus a link to the downloadable crossword and the self-quiz.
Meanwhile, the very weird but fun Vergil project carries on; we're now on Lesson 64:A New Beginner's Latin: THE AENEID. Take a look if you are curious!
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!
Neque mel, neque ______. fill in the blank: reveal/hide answerapes______ furtivae dulciores. fill in the blank: reveal/hide answerAquaeNon semper ______. fill in the blank: reveal/hide answerBacchanalia______ mites. fill in the blank: reveal/hide answerBeatiOmnia ______ desuper. fill in the blank: reveal/hide answerbonaPauci sed ______. fill in the blank: reveal/hide answerboniNolenti omnia ______. fill in the blank: reveal/hide answerdifficiliaTantali ______. fill in the blank: reveal/hide answerhortiMontani semper ______. fill in the blank: reveal/hide answerliberi______ Cretenses. fill in the blank: reveal/hide answerMendacesNon ______ sed nove. fill in the blank: reveal/hide answernova______ eodem luto. fill in the blank: reveal/hide answerOmnesBeati ______. fill in the blank: reveal/hide answerpacificiIovis omnia ______. fill in the blank: reveal/hide answerplenaOmnia deo ______. fill in the blank: reveal/hide answerpossibiliaSi radix sancta, et ______. fill in the blank: reveal/hide answerramiOmnia ______ mendacia. fill in the blank: reveal/hide answersomnia______ peccati mors. fill in the blank: reveal/hide answerStipendiaNe ______ pro farina. fill in the blank: reveal/hide answerverbaVestigia ______ retrorsum. fill in the blank: reveal/hide answernulla
The focus for today's lesson is more practice with plurals, and this time it's the neuter plural form of the 3rd declension. Here's what's cool: the ending is -a, just like for neuter plurals of the 2nd declension. So, for the 2nd declension, bona means "good things." For the 3rd declension, omnia, means "all things." Every saying today has the word omnia in it!
1. Iovis omnia plena.
All-things (are) full of-Jupiter.
Iovis OM-nia plena.
The word omnia is being used substantively here, "all (things)," and it is the subject of the verb.
The word plena is the plural form of the 2nd-declension neuter adjective plenum; you haven't seen this neuter form of the adjective, but you have seen the feminine form: plena. (And yes, the neuter plural and the feminine singular forms do look the same.)
This adjective takes a genitive complement: Iovis, which is the genitive of Iuppiter.
These words come from one of the Eclogues by the Roman poet Vergil.
2. Omnia bona desuper.
All good-things (come) from-above.
OM-nia bona DE-super.
The word omnia is being used as an adjective here, modifying the word bona, a 2nd-declension neuter plural being used substantively, "good (things)." Put the phrase together and you have omnia bona, "all good things." The word desuper is an adverb, "from above," de-super.
This is a popular Christian saying, also used in family mottoes.
3. Omnia deo possibilia.
All-things (are) possible for-god.
OM-nia deo possi-BI-lia.
The word omnia is being used substantively here, "all (things)," and it is the subject of the verb.
The word possibilia is the plural of the 3rd-declension neuter adjective, possibile, "possible." You haven't seen this adjective before, but you know the verb that it comes from: possum, "I am able, I can."
The word deo is the dative form of deus, explaining for whom all things are possible. It can also be written as Deo in order to emphasize a more specifically Christian usage. You can also find it phrased this way: Cum Deo omnia possibilia, "With God all things are possible."
You know all the words in this saying. Once again, the word omnia is being used substantively, "all (things)," and it is the subject of the verb.
The word difficilia is the plural of the 3rd-declension neuter adjective, difficile, "difficult."
The word nolenti is the dative form of nolens, a participle (verbal adjective) being used substantively: "for (the person who is) not-willing." It explains for whom all things are difficult.
5. Omnia somnia mendacia.
All dreams (are) lies.
no-LEN-ti OM-nia diffi-CI-lia.
You know all the words in this saying too! The word omnia is being used as an adjective here, modifying the noun somnia, the plural of somnium. Put the phrase together and you have omnia somnia, "all dreams."
The word mendacia is the plural of the 2nd-declension noun mendacium.
The focus for today's lesson is the plural form of 3rd-declension nouns!
You might recall that the 3rd declension is different from the 1st and 2nd declensions. With 1st- and 2nd-declension nouns and adjectives, you can look at the nominative singular form and see the stem, and then use that stem to make the plural. So the 1st-declension noun aqua has as its stem aqu-, so to make the plural, you just put the -ae ending on: aquae. The 2nd-declension masculine noun hortus has as its stem hort-, so to make the plural, you just put the -i ending on: horti. The 2nd-declension neuter noun saxum has as its stem sax-, so to make the plural, you just put the -a ending on: saxa.
But with 3rd-declension nouns, things are different: sometimes you can see the stem in the nominative form, but sometimes not. To be sure, you need to look at one of the inflected forms (genitive, dative, accusative, ablative) to see the stem; the genitive form is the one that is given in the dictionary. So, after you find the stem of the noun or adjective, you can add the plural ending, which is -es. I've provided the genitive form for each of the 3rd-declension plurals below, and you can always use the wiktionary to look up the stems as well; here is mitis at the wiktionary, for example.
To get started, here is the slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before... and you already know almost all the words in today's sayings!
The word mites is the plural form of the adjective mitis (genitive form is also mitis, so the stem is mit-). The adjective is being used substantively, as a noun: mites, "meek (people)."
The word beati is the plural form of the adjective beatus (2nd-declension masculine).
This famous saying comes from the Biblical Gospel of Matthew, in the "Sermon on the Mount." This is the entire verse: Beati mites : quoniam ipsi possidebunt terram, "Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land."
2. Omnes eodem luto. All (people are from the) same clay.
omnes e-O-dem luto.
The word omnes is the plural form of the adjective omnis (genitive form is also omnis, so the stem is omn-). This adjective is also being used substantively, as a noun: "all (people)."
The word luto is the ablative form of lutum, in the sense of origin: all people come from the same clay. The word eodem is a special kind of adjective that you'll learn about later: it is eo-dem, also ablative, meaning "the same."
The idea is that rich or poor, man or woman, from any country, from any time, we are all born from the same clay.
The word mendaces is the plural form of the adjective mendax (genitive form is mendacis, so the stem is mendac-).
The word Cretenses is the plural form of the adjective Cretensis (genitive form is also Cretensis, so the stem is Cretens-). This is another adjective being used substantively, as a noun: "Cretan (people)," i.e. "Cretans."
Cretans were proverbial for telling lies in the ancient world, and it was this assumption that gave rise to a philosophical paradox: "Everything I say is a lie." You can read more about the liars' paradox at Wikipedia.
4. Neque mel, neque apes. Neither honey, nor bees.
neque mel, neque apes.
You know all the words in this saying too.
The word apes is the plural form of the noun apis (genitive form is also apis, so the stem is ap-).
The pair neque...neque... literally means "and not... and not..." — but it is used just like English "neither... nor..."
This saying refers to people who would rather renounce something pleasant, like mel, because they do not want to cope with the associated discomfort: the apes. Here is a commentary by Taverner, an Elizabethan writer: "I have neither honie, nor bees. As who should say: I have no hony, bycause I have no bees, nor will not take the paines, to kepe and abide the bitinge and stinginge of them."
5. Aquae furtivae dulciores.
Stolen waters (are) sweeter.
aquae fur-TI-vae dulci-O-res.
And these words are all familiar too!
The word dulciores is the plural form of the adjective dulcior (genitive form is dulcioris, so the stem is dulcior-).
The word aquae is the plural form of the noun aqua (1st-declension feminine), and the adjective furtivae is also feminine plural, 1st-declension.
You've seen a variation on this saying before: Furtiva Venus dulcior. This version comes from the Biblical Book of Proverbs: Aquae furtivae dulciores sunt, et panis absconditus suavior, "Stolen waters aer sweeter, and concealed bread tastes more delightful."
