Latin Lesson #188: 1st Conjugation, cont.

The focus for today's lesson is one more review day for the 1st conjugation — the active and passive verbs, plus the imperative and the infinitive — which has a as its theme vowel. (Next week, we'll do a review of the 2nd conjugation, which has e as its theme vowel.)

And here is the slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before; almost all the words today are familiar ones:

And here are today's proverbs:

1. Fricantem refrica.
Scratch-in-return (the one) scratching (you).
fri-CAN-tem RE-frica.

You've seen the verb fricat, "scratches," before, and both of these words are formed from that verb. 

The word fricantem is the accusative form of the participle fricans, "scratching."

The word refrica is the imperative form of the verb refricat, "re-scratch, scratch in return."

The scratching here is all good, as in the English saying, "You scratch my back; I'll scratch yours." Or, in other words, "One good turn deserves another."

2. Dormitat et Homerus.
Even Homer nods.
DOR-mitat et Ho-ME-rus.

You've seen the verb dormit before, and dormitat is a variation on that verb: it means "naps, nods, feel sleepy."

The word et here is being used adverbially, like English "too, also, even."

Homer, of course, was the great founding poet of the European tradition, the composer of the Iliad and the Odyssey. But just because he was a great poet does not mean that his compositions were perfect, and this phrase refers to how Homer has his weak points, inconsistencies, etc. The words come from the Roman poet Horace; you can find out more about this saying at the Wiktionary, where it has its own entry.


3. Caritas non cogitat malum.
Love doesn't think evil.
CA-ritas non CO-gitat malum.

You already know all the words in this saying!

The form malum is a neuter adjective being used substantively as a noun: "(a) bad, evil (thing)." It could be either nominative or accusative because those forms are identical for all neuter nouns and adjectives, so it could be either the subject or the object of the verb. In this saying, however, you can tell from context that it must be the object: caritas is unambiguously in the nominative case, so it is the subject of the verb, while malum is the object.

I found this photograph of a mosaic from a church in Brighton, England which displays these words:

4. Mel nulli sine felle datur.
Honey without bile is-given to-nobody.
mel nulli sine felle datur.

You also know all the words in this saying already, and you've seen other Latin sayings that depend for their appeal on the sound-play of mel and fel, for example: Ubi mel, ibi fel, and Mel in ore, fel in corde.

The verb datur is passive: "is given" (from dat, "gives"). The word nulli is the dative form of nullus, "to nobody." The subject of the verb is mel.
It makes sense to give the dative case used with the verb datur, right? That is what gives the "dative" case its name.

The form felle is the ablative form of fel used here with the preposition sine.


5. Nobilitare potest virtus, doctrina coronat.
Excellence can ennoble (you); learning crowns (you).
nobili-TA-re potest virtus, doc-TRI-na co-RO-nat.

You have two new verbs in this saying, but they are both related to words you have seen before.

The word nobilitare is the infinitive form of the word nobilitat, "makes noble, ennobles," from the adjective nobilis. The infinitive is being used here with the verb potest.

The verb coronat you can recognize from the noun corona.

Here's a recap:

• Fricantem refrica.
• Dormitat et Homerus.
• Caritas non cogitat malum.
• Mel nulli sine felle datur.
• Nobilitare potest virtus, doctrina coronat.

And here is today's audio:



Plus the LOLCats!

---

Click here to subscribe/unsubscribe.

---

Latin Lesson #187: Review of 1st conjugation verbs

You've learned so much about Latin verbs now! You've got present tense forms, both active and passive, plus imperative forms and infinitives too (which are partly like verbs and partly like nouns). Those Latin verbs come in four conjugations, so for the next four weeks, you'll be reviewing those different forms in the four conjugations, starting with the 1st conjugation: 

• amat — she loves / he loves / it loves 
• amatur — is loved 
• ama! — love! (command) 
• amare — to love

Today's sayings contain at least one example of each of those forms, and to get ready, here is the slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before, and almost all of the words in today's saying are familiar ones you've had before.

And here are today's proverbs:

1. Da dextram misero.
Give (a) hand to-(an)-unfortunate-(person).
da dextram MI-sero.

The 1st conjugation verb da is imperative in form: "give!"

The word dextram is the accusative form of dextra, which is short for dextra manus, "right hand." That is why the word dextram can mean "hand" here: da dextram, "give a hand, lend a hand!"

The word misero is the dative form of the adjective miser, which is being used here substantively, as a noun: misero, "to (a) miserable (person)."

This saying is found in the insignia of the U.S. Army's 65th Medical Brigade:

2. Gutta cavat lapidem.
(The) drop hollows-out (the) stone.
gutta cavat LA-pidem.

The 1st conjugation verb cavat is active in form. The word lapidem is the accusative form of the noun lapis, and it is the object of the verb.
The new word here is gutta, which means "drop," as in a drop of liquid. This Latin root word gives us English "gutter."

This saying is literally true, because water really can wear away stone, and metaphorically it refers to the paradoxical way that something small, something soft, something gentle, can actually overcome something that seems big and hard and strong.


3. In medio stat veritas.
(The) truth stand in (the) middle.
in ME-dio stat VE-ritas.

The 1st conjugation verb stat is active in form, but this verb is intransitive; it does not take a direct object.

The word medio is the ablative form of the word medium, being used here with the preposition in.

Compare the English saying, "The truth is somewhere in the middle."


4. Sapientia vino obumbratur.
Wisdom is-obscured by-wine.
sapi-EN-tia vino obum-BRA-tur.

The 1st conjugation verb obumbratur, "is obscured, overshadowed, darkened," is passive in form. You haven't seen this verb before, but you know the noun it is formed from: umbra.  

The word vino is the ablative form of vinum, being used here with the passive verb: obumbratur vino, "is obscured by wine." In English we have to use the preposition "by" with passive verbs, but in Latin, the ablative case can express that idea on its own without a preposition.

The metaphorical context here is that wisdom is something that is bright with light, but the effect of alcohol casts a shadow on that light.

5. Noli iudicare secundum faciem.
Don't judge according-to appearance.
noli iudi-CA-re se-CUN-dum FA-ciem.

The 1st conjugation verb iudicare is an infinitive, and you can use the infinitive like this to make a negative imperative: noli iudicare. The word noli literally means "don't-want," which is why you use an infinitive here: "don't-want to-judge," i.e. "don't judge."
The new word here is the preposition secundum, which means "according to." This is one of those prepositions that takes the accusative case, so faciem is the accusative form of facies. Remember: facies can mean "face," but it can also mean "surface, appearance," which is the meaning here.

Compare the English saying, "Don't judge a book by its cover." (The cover of a book is like its face!)


Here's a recap:

• Da dextram misero.
• Gutta cavat lapidem.
• In medio stat veritas.
• Sapientia vino obumbratur.
• Noli iudicare secundum faciem.

And here is today's audio:



Plus the LOLCats!

---

Click here to subscribe/unsubscribe.

---

Week 58 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:

• 183: Deponent -atur verbs
• 184: Deponent -etur verbs
• 185: One more week of deponents
• 186: One last look at deponent verbs

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:

---

Click here to subscribe/unsubscribe.

---

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:



Plus the LOLCats!

---

Click here to subscribe/unsubscribe.

---

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:



Plus the LOLCats!

---

Click here to subscribe/unsubscribe.

---

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):

---

---

Click here to subscribe/unsubscribe.

---

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:



Plus the LOLCats!

---

Click here to subscribe/unsubscribe.

---