Latin Lesson #235: The Fifth Declension

The focus for today's lesson is the final declension: the fifth declension. There are not a lot of nouns in this declension, but some of the nouns are among the most common words in the Latin language. This week, we'll focus on the word spes, "hope." So, this week is going to be a week of hope. (I don't know about you, but that's something I could use right about now!)

Here's how the 5th declension works; it's theme vowel, as you will see, is -e-. These are the different forms of "hope," spes:

• spes. nominative
• spei. genitive
• spei. dative
• spem. accusative
• spe. ablative

And yes, the genitive and the dative are the same, so when you see a 5th declension noun ending in -ei, you'll have to use the context to determine if it is genitive or dative.

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

And here are today's proverbs:

1. Ubi spes, ibi pax.
Where (there is) hope, there (there is) peace.
ubi spes, ibi pax.

You know all the words in this saying already! You've also seen these ubi... ibi... sayings before, for example: Ubi mel, ibi fel and Ubi libertas, ibi patria.

This saying is featured in the Victory Hugo garden of Hauteville House, Guernsey; find out more: Hugo in Guernsey Society.


2. Inter spem et metum.
Between hope and fear.
inter spem et metum.

You know all the words in this saying too!

The word spem is the accusative form of spes, and the word metum is the accusative form of metus; the preposition inter is one of those prepositions that takes the accusative case.

This saying describes that weird but very common feeling when you are both hopeful and afraid at the very same time.


3. Spe labor levis.
With-hope work (becomes) light.
spe labor levis.

The form spe is the ablative form of spes. As often, the ablative answers the question "how?" So, how does work become light? Spe labor levis, work becomes light with hope!

The word levis, "light, not heavy," is new, and you can see this root in English "levity" and "levitate," and also in compounds like "alleviate" and "relieve."


4. Spe non saginatur venter.
(The) stomach isn't fattened with-hope.
spe non sagi-NA-tur venter.

This time spe answers a different "how" question: "How does the stomach get fat?" The answer is in the negative: spe non saginatur, "it does not get fat with hope."

This verb saginat is new; in the active it means "fattens, makes fat," while in the passive, as here, it means "gets fat, becomes fat."

You need food to fill the belly, not just the hope of food.


5. Spes una hominem nec morte relinquit.
Hope alone doesn't abandon (a) person (even) in-death.
spes una HO-minem nec morte re-LIN-quit.

The new word here is the verb, relinquit, "abandons, relinquishes." You haven't seen this verb before, but it is a compound, and you have seen the uncompounded form, linquit.

The word spes here is the subject, modified by the adjective una: spes una, "hope alone, only hope."

The word hominem is the accusative form of homo, object of the verb.

The word morte is the ablative of mors, referring now to time (as often with the ablative, which can refer to location in space or in time): "in death."

The word nec, you might remember, is a contraction meaning "not and, and not." What makes its use here distinctive is that it is not nec is not a conjunction, but is instead adverbial (and you have seen adverbial et before, meaning "also, too, even"). So I had to use two words to translate nec in this sentence: "not" and "even."

This is one of the sayings in the so-called "Sayings of Cato." Specifically, it is the second line of a couplet which begins, "In adverse circumstances, don't lose heart," Rebus in adversis animum submittere noli: spem retine; spes una hominem nec morte relinquit.

Compare a saying you saw earlier (which is a sort of personal motto of mine): Spes ultima dea, which means that even though all the other gods and goddesses may have departed, hope remains; she is the last goddess.


Here's a recap:

• Ubi spes, ibi pax.
• Inter spem et metum.
• Spe labor levis.
• Spe non saginatur venter.
• Spes una hominem nec morte relinquit.

And here is today's audio:



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Week 82 Catch-Up Day

Here is the new catch-up day post for the past two weeks of sayings. As usual, there is a cat-show of those sayings, plus a link to the downloadable crossword and the self-quiz. Plus, in case you missed it: A New Beginner's Latin: THE AENEID. We've been at it for a few weeks now, and it's been very fun! (This is an experiment with a learner who took Latin literally 80 years ago... and wants to try reading Vergil, so the assumption is just that you might be aware of some of the terminology of Latin grammar, but no specifics, so I try to explain everything as we go... and it's been go-go-go for a few weeks now, including the meter starting this week!)

• #231: More 4th-declension -us nouns
• #232: Spiritus sayings
• Week 81 Vocabulary Review
• #233: More practice with 4th-declension nouns
• #234: Wrapping up the 4th declension

So, let's start with 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!

______ non tollit usum.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

abusus

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Sapientia est filia usus et memoriae.
fill in the blank:

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memoriae

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Ferreus assiduo consumitur anulus ______.
fill in the blank:

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usu

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Canis revertitur ad ______.
fill in the blank:

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vomitum

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Facilius est camelum per foramen ______ intrare.
fill in the blank:

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acus

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______, creator spiritus!
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

veni

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Nutrimentum spiritus ______.
fill in the blank:

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liber

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Spiritus promptus, ______ vero infirma.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

caro

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Absens corpore sed praesens ______.
fill in the blank:

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spiritu

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______ occidit; Spiritus autem vivificat.
fill in the blank:

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littera

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______? Deusne?
fill in the blank:

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casusne

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Erinaceus ______ differt.
fill in the blank:

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partum

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Mirabile ______.
fill in the blank:

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dictu

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Colubram foves in ______.
fill in the blank:

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sinu

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Ex ______ proprio cognoscitur arbor.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

fructu

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Nemo ante ______ beatus.
fill in the blank:

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obitum

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Nec semper ______ tendit Apollo.
fill in the blank:

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arcum

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In ______ naufragium facis.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

portu

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In pulicis ______ deum invocat.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

morsu

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Somno, esca, ______ nemo carere potest.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

potu

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And here's a random cat:

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Latin Lesson #234: Wrapping up the 4th declension

Today is the last round of practice with those fourth declension nouns, the sneaky ones ending in -us, with -um for the accusative, but with -us (-ūs) for the genitive, -ui for the dative, and -u (-ū) for the ablative. In today's sayings, there is a mix of accusative and ablative forms.

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

And here are today's proverbs:

1. Nemo ante obitum beatus.
Nobody (can be called) happy before (their) death.
nemo ante O-bitum be-A-tus.

You have not seen the adjective beatus, "blessed," before, but you have seen the superlative form: beatissimus, "most blessed."

The word obitum is the accusative form of the noun obitus, "encountering, reaching, reaching the end," as in reaching the end of life; the accusative is being used here with the preposition ante. This is one of those 4th-declension nouns that is form from a verb: obit. And yes, this is the root of English "obituary." 

This is a very common idea in both Latin and Greek proverbial wisdom: you never know what tomorrow could bring, so you cannot say that someone has had a blessed (lucky, fortunate, etc.) life until they reach the end of their life. It is a quite pessimistic saying in that sense: the idea is that things can always get worse, not that they can always get better!

2. Nec semper arcum tendit Apollo.
Apollo doesn't always stretch (his) bow.
nec semper arcum tendit A-POL-lo.

You know all the words in this saying!

The word arcum is the accusative form of the noun arcus; it is the object of the verb tendit, and the subject is Apollo. Remember, his name belongs to the 3rd declension, so this is the nominative form; the stem is Apollin- (like many 3rd declension nouns, you can't always see the stem in the nominative form).

The metaphor of the "bow stretched tight" is used in both proverbs and fables to represent the person who never relaxes, who never takes a break. Apollo was the most renowned archer among the gods, so the idea is that if even Apollo takes a break sometimes, you need to do the same!

3. In portu naufragium facis.
You're-making (a) shipwreck in port.
in portu nau-FRA-gium facis.

The noun naufragium, "shipwreck," is new, but you have seen a related word: naufragus, "a shipwrecked person." With neuter nouns like naufragium you cannot tell just from looking at the word whether it is nominative or accusative because the forms are the same, but from context here, you can tell it has to be the accusative object of the verb, facis, because the subject of the verb is "you."

The word portu is the ablative form of the noun portus, which means "harbor, port," just as you would expect! It is in the ablative case with the preposition in. Note that there is also a feminine noun formed from this same root, with a similar meaning: porta, meaning "gate, passage, door."

This saying about a project that has taken an unexpected turn for the worse: it's one thing for a ship to sink during a storm at sea, but something else to sink right there in the supposedly safe harbor!


4. In pulicis morsu deum invocat.
(He) invokes (a) god for (a) flea bite.
in PU-licis morsu deum IN-vocat.

The new word in this saying is pulicis, the genitive form of pulex, which means "flea." The words are cognates, i.e. both Latin pulex and English "flea" come from the same Indo-European root, plews.
The word morsu is the ablative form of the noun morsus, another example of the ablative case with the preposition in. 

The word deum is the acccusative form of deum, the object of the verb invocat.

The subject of the verb is not expressed, as often in Latin; the idea is that the proverb can be used to refer to "anyone" who is engaged in this foolish behavior.

Like many proverbs, this one echoes an Aesopica fable about a man who foolishly calls on a god for help when he is bitten by a flea: The Man, the Flea, and Heracles. The idea of course is that you should not bother the gods for such trivial things.

5. Somno, esca, potu, nemo carere potest.
Nobody can-do-without sleep, food, (and) drink.
somno, esca, potu, nemo ca-RE-re potest.

It's long, but you know all the words in this saying too! 

The word carere is the infinitive of the verb caret, used with the verb potest: "can lack." The subject is nemo, "nobody," which is another one of those 3rd-declension nouns with a sneaky stem: much like Apollo has the stem Apollin-, the word nemo has the stem nemin-.

The verb takes an ablative complement, so somno is the ablative of the masculine noun somnus (2nd declension), while potu is the ablative of the masculine noun potus (4th declension), and esca (escā) is the ablative of the feminine noun esca (1st declension).

I'm glad somno was included in the list. Nobody would be foolish enough to go without food or drink, but some people seem to think that they can get away without enough sleep!


Here's a recap:

• Nemo ante obitum beatus.
• Nec semper arcum tendit Apollo.
• In portu naufragium facis.
• In pulicis morsu deum invocat.
• Somno, esca, potu nemo carere potest.

And here is today's audio:



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Latin Lesson #233: More practice with 4th-declension nouns

The focus for today's lesson is more practice with 4th-declension -us nouns. You'll see them in the nominative case, -us, and in the accusative, -um, and in the ablative too, -u.

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

And here are today's proverbs:

1. Casusne? Deusne?
(Was it) chance? (Was it) god?
ca-SUS-ne? de-US-ne?

The particle -ne is added to the end of a word to indicate that the statement is a yes-or-no question. Remember: Latin did not have punctuation like English, so they did not have a punctuation mark. Instead, they had this handy little particle to indicate yes/no question. (There are some other particles and also words used to form questions in Latin; you will see some of those later  on.)

The word casus, "chance," is a noun from the verb cadit, "it falls." (This is one of those 4th-declension nouns that is formed from a verbal stem.) So, in Latin, "chance" is the way things fall. Like in dice! You can see Latin casus in English "case" and "occasion," and also "casual." 

These words are found in Vergil's Aeneid! And, of course, for mere mortals, it is very difficult to tell whether events are happening by chance or whether there is a god at work.



2. Erinaceus partum differt.
(The) hedgehog puts-off giving-birth.
eri-NA-ceus partum differt.

The word erinaceus, "hedgehog," is the subject of the verb differt, and the word partum, the accusative of the 4th-declension noun partus, is the object of the verb.

You've actually seen a variation of this saying before: Echinus partum differt, where echinus is another way to say "hedgehog" in Latin. Here's the explanation again: The idea is that the prickly hedgehog experiences pain when she gives birth to the prickly baby hedgehogs, so she puts it off! But this just makes things worse: the longer she puts off giving birth, the more prickly the baby hedgehogs will be. She needs to just give birth to those babies and call it done... just like you might have some unpleasant task you keep putting off, and it just gets worse the longer you wait. Don't be like the hedgehog: get it done now!


3. Mirabile dictu.
Amazing to-say.
mi-RA-bile dictu.

The word mirabile, "wonderful, amazing" is a neuter adjective, referring to something in general, something that is wonderful. You can see this Latin root in English "admirable." This Latin word is also the origin of English "marvel."
The word dictu is the ablative form of the verbal noun dictus, from the verb dicit, "says."

Compare the English saying "sad to say."

You can also say something is amazing to-see, mirabile visu, with a verbal noun from the verb videt, "sees."

Coincidentally, the phrase mirabile dictu also appears in Vergil's Aeneid.


4. Colubram foves in sinu.
You're-nourishing (a) snake in (your) breast.
CO-lubram foves in sinu.

You know all the words in this saying! And you've also seen a variation on this saying before: Serpentem in sinu foves. Instead of serpentem, accusative of serpens, you have colubram here, the accusative form of colubra, another word for snake, which is also the origins of English "cobra."

Compare the English saying, "to nourish a snake in your bosom."


5. Ex fructu proprio cognoscitur arbor.
From (its) own fruit, (the) tree is-known.
ex fructu PRO-prio cog-NOS-citur arbor.

The word fructu is the ablative of the 4th-declension noun fructus, with the preposition ex. The adjective proprio is the ablative form of the masculine adjective proprius, agreeing with fructu.

The verb cognoscitur is the passive form of the verb cognoscit.

This is a saying echoed in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Here is how it appears in Luke: Non est enim arbor bona, quae facit fructus malos: neque arbor mala, faciens fructum bonum, Unaquaeque enim arbor de fructu suo cognoscitur, "For there is no good tree which produces bad fruits, and there is nota  bad tree, making good fruit. For each tree is known by its fruit."


Here's a recap:

• Casusne? Deusne?
• Erinaceus partum differt.
• Mirabile dictu.
• Colubram foves in sinu.
• Ex fructu proprio cognoscitur arbor.

And here is today's audio:



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Week 81 Vocabulary Review

The review this week is... passive 3rd-person verbs. Remember those? The 1st conjugation has -atur, 2nd conjugation has -etur, and the 3rd conjugation has -itur (short i), and the 4th conjugation has -itur also, but with a long i: ītur, so the stress is on the ī. As usual, there's a quiz slideshow, a crossword, and a self-check quiz afterwards too. :-)

For each saying, you will try to supply the missing word. 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.

I also made a printable crossword PDF as usual, and the same prompts for the crossword and slieshow are used in the quiz questions below. Enjoy!

______ aliquando ius, moritur numquam.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

dormit

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Maiorque videtur et melior ______ seges.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

vicina

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______ tuetur.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

deus

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______ nimium tensus frangitur.
fill in the blank:

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arcus

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Arguendo et disputando ______ invenitur.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

veritas

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______ aegre offertur, facile amittitur.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

Occasio

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Vultus Fortunae mutatur imagine ______.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

lunae

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Aquila non venatur ______.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

muscam

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Avis a ______ dignoscitur.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

cantu

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Fur male furatur, cum fur ______ dominatur.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

domui

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Nemo athleta sine ______ coronatur.
fill in the blank:

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sudore

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Esuriens stomachus fertur ______ optimus esse.
fill in the blank:

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coquus

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Vas ______ non frangitur.
fill in the blank:

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malum

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Ex ______ cognoscitur coquus.
fill in the blank:

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cultro

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______ triplex non rumpitur.
fill in the blank:

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funis

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A digito cognoscitur ______.
fill in the blank:

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leo

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Homo a suo ______ cognoscitur.
fill in the blank:

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socio

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Nemo cum ______ iocatur impune.
fill in the blank:

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diabolo

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Mons cum ______ non miscetur.
fill in the blank:

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monte

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Cattus saepe satur cum capto ______ iocatur.
fill in the blank:

reveal/hide answer

mure

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And here's a random cat:

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Latin Lesson #232: Spiritus sayings

The focus for today's lesson is the 4th-declension noun, spiritus. Remember: these 4th-declension nouns look like the familiar 2nd-declension nouns in the nominative, spiritus, and the accusative, spiritum. But in the other cases, they look different than 2nd-declension nouns. For example, the genitive form is spiritus! Yes, the nominative spiritus and genitive spiritus are spelled the same but, to the ancient Roman ear, they sounded different because the genitive -ūs ending has a long vowel: spīritūs. Since the words are written in the same way, that means you have to decide each time from context whether spiritus is nominative or genitive, as you will see in today's sayings. 

You will also see the ablative form of spiritus, which is spiritu.

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

And here are today's proverbs:

1. Veni, creator spiritus!
Come, creator spirit!
veni, cre-A-tor SPI-ritus!

The word spiritus here is in the nominative case; it is the "you" that is the subject of the verb veni.

You have not seen the Latin word creator before, but this is a word we used in English too, "creator." You have also seen the Latin word for "creation," creatio.

These words are from one of the most famous hymns of the Middle Ages; you can see the rest of the lyrics at Wikipedia: Veni, creator spiritus!

2. Nutrimentum spiritus liber.
(A) book (is) nourishment of-the-spirit.
nutri-MEN-tum SPI-ritus liber.

The word spiritus here is in the genitive case, with the word nutrimentum: a book is the nutrimentum, "food," spiritus (spīritūs), "of the soul."

You haven't seen this noun, nutrimentum, before, but you have seen the verb it comes from: nutrit.

You can see these words at the entrance to the Alte Bibliothek (Old Library) of Berlin!

3. Spiritus promptus, caro vero infirma.
(The) spirit (is) ready; (the) flesh in-fact (is) weak.
SPI-ritus promptus, caro vero in-FIR-ma.

The word spiritus here is in the nominative case; it is the subject of the implied verb, est. The word caro is also in the nominative case, and each of these words has a predicative adjective.

The spirit is promptus, "ready, quick, brave," as opposed to the infirma, "un-strong, weak," flesh. The word spiritus is masculine, so promptus is masculine; the word caro is feminine, so infirma is feminine.

The words come from the Gospel of Mark.


4. Absens corpore sed praesens spiritu.
Absent in-body but present in-spirit.
absens COR-pore sed praesens SPI-ritu.

The point of this saying is the contrast between absens, "away+being," i.e. "absent," as opposed to praesens, "in-front+being," i.e. "present." The paradox is the idea that one could be absent in body, corpore, the ablative form of corpus, but at the same time present in spirit, spiritu, which is the ablative form of spiritus.

These words also come from the 1 Corinthians in the Bible.


5. Littera occidit; Spiritus autem vivificat.
(The) letter kills; (the) Spirit, however, gives-life.
LIT-tera oc-CI-dit; SPI-ritus autem vi-VI-ficat.

The word spiritus here is in the nominative case; it is the subject of the verb vivificat. You haven't seen this verb before, but you have seen the verb vivit and the verb facit. This new verb combines those two roots: "makes alive, gives life."

So, the spirit gives life, but the "letter," littera, takes life away: it "kills," occidit. 

These words, meanwhile, come from 2 Corinthians.


Here's a recap:

• Veni, creator spiritus!
• Nutrimentum spiritus liber.
• Spiritus promptus, caro vero infirma.
• Absens corpore sed praesens spiritu.
• Littera occidit; Spiritus autem vivificat.

And here is today's audio:



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