FELICEM ANNUM NOVUM... which is to say: Happy New Year! (You wish people things in the accusative case in Latin; you'll be learning all about that in 2025).
If you are interested in doing some Latin today, I've made a little slideshow to review the sayings from our first 10 lessons. You can go forward supplying the English translation and/or you can go backwards supplying the Latin. You can always click on the English if you want to go back to the lesson and review the notes for that saying. The slideshow is embedded in the blog post, and you can also see a full-screen version. Remember to always say the Latin out loud!
You can also use the audio files for review:
Translation review. Listen to the audio and write the English; then check your answers.
and/or
Dictation review. Listen to the audio and write down the Latin; then check your answers.
You will find the audio files at the bottom of each lesson:
After a good overview of feminine nouns and adjectives, now it's time to take a look at masculine nouns and adjectives.
You will see all the same features as before: the verb est is optional; the word order is completely free; and when an adjective modifies a masculine noun, the adjective also has to be masculine. So, I don't think the sayings will be hard to understand... just read them out loud over and over, and you will get familiar with this new vocabulary too!
I've also started a slideshow for the masculine nouns and adjectives. Most of the masculine nouns and adjectives belong to the second declension, so those are the slides with a blank background; you'll also see some nouns there which belong to the third declension, and those have a blue background. I've embedded the slideshow here in the blog post, and also in the blog sidebar.
The Latin prefix prae- is equivalent to the English prefix pre- (in fact, during the Middle Ages, the classical Latin diphthong "ae" came to be written and pronounced as "e"). So, praemonitus is prae-monitus, "forewarned, prewarned, warned in advance." You can see the same Latin root in the English word "premonition."
The word praemunitus works the same way, prae-munitus, "forearmed," and you can see the same root in English "munition" and "ammunition."
The charm of this saying is in the word-play: the words are the same except for just one letter in Latin! This is a famous motto; you can find out more at Wikipedia: Praemonitus praemunitus.
2. Semel malus, semper malus.
Once wicked, always wicked.
SE-mel MA-lus, SEM-per MA-lus.
The Latin word malus has a wide range of meaning: "bad, wicked, evil." You can see the root in many English words, such as "malice" and "malnourished."
Of course, this saying does not have to be just about a man! You can easily make it about a woman by changing masculine malus to feminine mala: Semel mala, semper mala.
And if you don't endorse this opinion, you can just add non to negate it: Semel malus, non semper malus, "(Someone who is) once wicked (is) not always wicked."
3. Locus medius tutus est.
(The) middle place is safe.
LO-cus ME-di-us TU-tus EST.
You can see the root of Latin locus in English words like "location."
Latin medius gives us English words like "medium" and "mediate." You have already seen the Latin noun mediocritas, which is formed from this same root: Mediocritas optima est (that was in Lesson 6).
The adjective tutus, "safe," can be seen in English "tutor," which originally meant something like "protector." Compare also the English word "tutelary."
The idea is that extremes are always dangers: it is better to be in the middle instead, much the same idea as Mediocritas optima est.
4. Ubi thesaurus, ibi oculus.
Where (your) treasure (so), there (your) eye (is).
U-bi the-SAU-rus, I-bi O-cu-lus.
Latin thesaurus comes from Greek ("th" is the Greek letter theta), and it gives us the English word "treasure," along with "thesaurus," which is a treasure-house of words.
Latin oculus, "eye," can be seen in English words like "ocular" and "binocular."
The idea is that your eye cannot help looking at the thing that you treasure, the thing you desire. Take a look back at Lesson 7 for more ubi/ibi sayings.
5. Et vocatus et non vocatus, deus est.
Both called and not called, God is (here).
ET vo-CA-tus ET NON vo-CA-tus, DE-us EST.
You have seen et before, meaning "and." When you see a doubled et... et..., that is like the English "both... and..."
The word vocatus is a special kind of adjective: it is a participle, specifically a passive participle, from the verb vocare, "to call," so vocatus means "called." The root of this word is the noun: vox, "voice." From this Latin root we get English words like "voice" and "vocal."
You've see the word deus already: Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est (from Lesson 7). The idea here is that God is ever-present, regardless of whether he is called or not.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, Latin nouns and adjectives belong to five different categories called "declensions." Slowly (very slowly!) you will be learning about those different declensions. For now, I just want you to know that there are feminine nouns in all five declensions. So far, you have seen feminine nouns that belong to Declension 1, Declension 3, and Declension 5. The majority of feminine nouns belong to Declension 1.
Today I want to introduce you to some feminine nouns from Declension 2 and Declension 4. The feminine nouns in these two declensions end in -us. These are unusual -us nouns; almost all the -us nouns are masculine nouns in Declension 2, and we'll move on to those next. For now, though, as we finish up with this introduction to feminine nouns, you need to know that there are -us feminine nouns, and some of them are very common, such as domus, the word for "house," and manus, the word for "hand."
To help you get a sense of how all this works, I've made a slideshow with all the feminine nouns and adjectives you have seen so far. The slides with the plain background are the most common: those are the feminine nouns and adjectives of Declension 1. Then, there are different colored backgrounds for the other declensions: Declension 2 is green, Declension 3 is blue, Declension 4 is yellow, and Declension 5 is purple. I'll keep expanding this slideshow to include all the feminine words that you are learning, and hopefully the use of the color-coding will help you "see" these patterns more clearly. I've embedded the slideshow here in the blog post, and also in the blog sidebar.
And now here are today's proverbs featuring those feminine nouns that end in -us. Because the grammar notes are more detailed today, my comments on the sayings will be more brief:
1. Parva domus, parva cura.
Small house, small worry.
PAR-va DO-mus, PAR-va CU-ra.
The nouns domus and cura are both feminine nouns, and the feminine adjective parva agrees with each of them.
You can see Latin domus in English words like "domestic" and "majordomo."
2. Parva domus, magna quies.
Small house, great peace.
PAR-va DO-mus, MAG-na QUI-es.
The nouns domus and quies are both feminine nouns, and the adjectives parva and magna are both feminine adjectives.
You can see Latin magn- in words like English "magnify," and from Latin quies we get English words like "quiescent" and "quiet."
3. Legis manus longa.
(The) hand (of the) law is long.
LE-gis MA-nus LONG-ga.
The noun manus is feminine, and the adjective longa is also feminine.
The noun legis is the genitive case form of lex, "law," so it means "(of the) law." You'll be learning more about the genitive case soon. (Latin has six cases, but don't worry: you will learn them slowly, one at a time!)
From Latin manus we get English words like "manual" and "manufacture."
4. Haec manus inimica tyrannis.
This hand (is an) hostile (to) tyrants.
HAEC MA-nus i-ni-MI-ca ty-RAN-nis.
Here the feminine adjective inimica agrees with manus, and the demonstrative adjective haec is also feminine: haec manus means "this hand."
The word tyrannis is the dative plural case form of tyrannus, "tyrant," so it means "(to) tyrants."
The word inimica is literally "not-friend," in-amica; the "a" turns into an "i" after the prefix. This is the origin of the English word "inimical" and also "enemy."
5. Ex glande ardua quercus.
From (an) acorn, (a) lofty oak.
EX GLAN-de AR-du-a QUER-cus.
The word quercus is feminine, and the adjective ardua is also feminine. Although there are not a lot of rules that predict the gender of inanimate nouns, there is a rule for trees: the names of most trees in Latin are feminine nouns.
The word glans means "acorn," and glande is the ablative case; the ablative is often used after prepositions: ex glande, "out of an acorn, from an acorn."
From Latin ardu- we get English "arduous," and the word "glans" is used in medical English because it really does indeed look like an acorn.
Going forward, Sunday will be a catch-up day in case you missed any of the previous week's lessons and/or for reviewing. So, here is a list of the lessons so far and their sayings; you can see what you might have missed along with anything that could use a little more practice:
The focus for today's lesson is a very important Latin feminine noun: RES. This word means "thing," and you can see it in the famous Latin phrase: res publica, "the public thing," which is where we get the English word "republic."
There are no new sentence patterns here, just some new vocabulary. As you will see, each of the sayings contains the word res. Some of the sayings below contain words that you know already, so I have not explained those words; you can always use the dictionary page to look up words you have seen previously.
So, here are today's proverbs:
1. Amicus res rara. (A) friend (is a) rare thing.
A-MI-cus RES RA-ra.
Latin amicus means a "friend," and it can also be used as an adjective, "friendly." Specifically, this is a male friend, a boyfriend; amica is a girlfriend. You can see this root in the English word "amicable," and it also gives us Spanish amigo. The Latin word amor, "love," is from this same root. Legal English still uses the Latin phrase amicus curiae, "friend of the court," or, shortened: amicus, as in the phrase "amicus brief."
Latin rara means "rare," and it is the origin of that English word.
Notice that you can have a masculine noun, amicus, as the subject of a sentence, and a feminine noun, res, as the predicate. The subject and the predicate of a sentence do not have to agree in gender, but in a noun phrase, like res rara, the noun and its adjective do have to agree in gender; both res and rara are feminine.
2. Credula res amor est. Love is (a) credulous thing.
CRE-du-la RES A-mor EST.
Latin credula means "credulous," and it is the origin of that English word. The root is the verb cred-, which means "trust" or "believe," so credula conveys the idea of trusting or believing easily and quickly, even too easily and too quickly.
The poet Ovid uses this saying twice, once in the Metamorphoses in the story of Procris and Cephalus, and once in the Heroides, when Hypsipyle is writing to Jason.
3. Res est forma fugax. Beauty is (a) fleeting thing.
RES EST FOR-ma FU-gax.
Latin forma means "shape" or "form," and in particular it means a beautiful shape or form, so it also comes to mean 'beauty." From this root we get English "form," format," "formula," etc. You can also see the Latin root in the place name Ilha Formosa, the old Portuguese name for Taiwan, "Beautiful Island."
Latin fugax means something "fleeting," from the verb fugi-, "flee, run away." You can see that root in English words like "fugitive" and "refugee."
This saying is another example of a wrap-around Latin sentence: the predicate, res fugax, "a fleeting thing," wraps around the subject and verb: est forma, "beauty is."
The saying can be found in Seneca's play about Phaedra.
4. Res immoderata cupido est. Desire is (an) unrestrained thing.
RES im-mo-de-RA-ta cu-PI-do EST.
Latin immoderata is in-moderata, "unrestrained, unmoderated." The "n" of the prefix in- assimilates to the following consonant: immoderata. You can see this root in English words like "moderate," unmoderated," "immoderate," etc.
Latin cupido means "desire," and it is also the name of the Roman god, Cupido, who becomes "Cupid" in English. More at Wikipedia: Cupid.
The idea is that desire knows no limits, it has no boundaries: desire can never get enough. This was a popular Latin emblem topic; you can see a multilingual example in Otto Vaenius's Amorum emblemata.
5. Melior est res quam spes. (A) thing is better than hope.
ME-li-or EST RES QUAM SPES.
Latin melior, "better," is the comparative form of the adjective bona, "good."
Latin quam here means "than." Earlier you saw that quam can also mean how: Quam dulcis libertas! You will find that Latin quam has many meanings, often with entirely different English translations.
The idea is that hope is good, but the thing itself is better! In other words: Spes bona est, sed res ipsa melior, "Hope is good (spes bona est), but (sed) the thing itself (res ipsa) is better (melior)."
The focus for today's lesson is another sentence pattern that is very popular in Latin sayings: Ubi (noun), ibi (noun). You already saw one example previously:
Ubi pericula, ibi gloria.
Where dangers (are), there (is) glory.
This formula is very easy to use to make up your own sayings! Here are just a few examples using words you already know:
Ubi scientia, ibi libertas.
Ubi eloquentia, ibi potentia.
Ubi fama, ibi invidia.
In addition, you will see some variations on the formula below that open up even more possibilities!
1. Ubi amor, ibi dolor.
Where love (is), there (is) sorrow.
U-bi A-mor, I-bi DO-lor.
Latin amor means "love," and you can see this root in the English word "amorous."
Latin dolor means "pain, suffering, grief," and you can see this root in English "dolorous" and also in the name Dolores; more about that name at Wikipedia: Dolores. This name belongs to the Christian Latin tradition.
Compare the English saying: "Love hurts."
2. Ubi mel, ibi apes.
Where honey (is), there (are) bees.
U-bi MEL, I-bi A-pes.
Latin mel is honey, and you can see that root in English "mellifluous," which means "flowing like honey" in the sense of sweet, smooth, etc.
Latin apes are bees, plural; the singular form is apis. You can see that root in English words like "apiary" (a place where beehives are kept) and "apiculture" (beekeeping).
The idea here is that honey is nice and sweet, but where there is something nice and sweet, there can be things that are not nice also ... such as bees. So, if things in your life are sweet as honey, watch out: there will probably be some bees also!
3. Ubi apes, ibi mel.
Where bees (are), there (is) honey .
U-bi A-pes, I-bi MEL.
This saying just reverses the idea of the previous saying: if you are being attacked by metaphorical bees, don't get discouraged. You need to persist until you get to the honey!
4. Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est.
Where charity and love (are), God is there.
U-bi CA-ri-tas ET A-mor, DE-us I-bi EST.
Latin caritas originally meant "costliness, preciousness," and then came to mean "esteem, love." Later, it acquired an even more specific meaning in Christian Latin, where caritas is one of the seven Christian virtues; find out more at Wikipedia: Caritas. This Latin word is the origin of the English word "charity."
Latin et means "and," a conjunction, just like in English. You can see Latin et in English "etc." which is an abbreviation for Latin et cetera, "and others."
Latin Deus is "god," and you can see this root in English words like "deity" and "deify."
This saying is a bit more complex than others because you have a compound noun phrase, caritas et amor, plus a twist in the word order at the end: Deus ibi est. This word order puts a special emphasis on both the words Deus and est; the first and last words in any Latin sentence, clause, or phrase receive the most emphasis.
5. Ubi triticum non est, ibi non est farina.
Where wheat is not, there is no flour.
U-bi TRI-ti-cum NON EST, I-bi NON EST fa-RI-na.
Latin triticum is wheat, and the Latin name is still used as a scientific species name for wheat: Triticum.
Latin non means "not." You can see Latin non in English words like "nonentity" and "nonsense."
Latin farina is flour, and the word "farina" is used in English also to mean wheat flour; it is also the name of a hot breakfast cereal made of wheat; see Wikipedia: Farina.
This saying is literally true, like the sayings about the bees and the honey, but it can also be used metaphorically to describe a situation where, because you lack one resource (wheat), you cannot proceed with the next step (baking something with flour).
This saying shows you how easy it is to create a negative statement in Latin: you just need to use non with the verb. That is why you see the verb est here: you can omit this verb in a positive statement (Ubi triticum, ibi farina), but if you are going to negate the verb, the verb needs to be included in the statement: non est.
By adding the words et and non to your repertoire, you can create even more Latin ubi/ibi sayings!
The focus for today's lesson is more feminine nouns and adjectives, so let's start by reviewing the sayings you've seen so far that feature only feminine nouns and adjectives, grouped by the different word patterns:
NOUN IS NOUN:
Scientia potentia.
Sapientia potentia.
Sapientia felicitas.
Innocentia eloquentia.
Eloquentia sagitta.
Est vipera invidia.
Peregrinatio vita est.
NOUN IS ADJECTIVE:
Paupertas ingeniosa.
Mendax fama.
Amara est veritas.
Roma aeterna est.
Fortuna caeca est.
Aequa mors est.
Jacta alea est.
NOUN IS ADJECTIVE-NOUN:
Spes ultima dea.
WHEN/WHILE NOUN IS, NOUN IS.
Dum vita est, spes est.
Now, here are some more sayings with only feminine nouns and adjectives:
1. Mediocritas optima est. Moderation is best.
Me-di-O-cri-tas OP-ti-ma EST.
Latin mediocritas means "being in the middle, moderation," without any of the negative connotations of the English word "mediocrity." Just the opposite: mediocritas is the best!
Latin optima, "best," can be seen in English words like "optimum," "optimal," etc.
Compare a similar phrase: aurea mediocritas, "the golden mean." You can find out more at Wikipedia: Golden mean.
2. Omnis est misera servitus. All slavery is wretched.
OM-nis EST MI-se-ra SER-vi-tus.
Latin omnis is an adjective meaning "all, every," as in English omni- words like "omnivore," "omnivorous," etc.
Latin misera, "wretched, sad," gives us English "miserable."
Latin servitus can mean "slavery" or "servitude," as the Latin noun servus can mean "slave" or "servant."
This is a new sentence pattern: the noun phrase omnis servitus, which is the subject of the sentence, wraps around the predicate: est misera. This "wrap-around" style of Latin sentence is very common, not just in poetry, but also in prose.
Latin furtiva, "furtive, stealthy," is an adjective derived from the Latin word fur, "thief."
Venus is the name of the Roman goddess of love, and the word Venus can also mean "love." You can find out more about the goddess Venus at Wikipedia. The names of other Roman gods and goddesses can be used as nouns in this way: Mars is war, Bacchus is wine, Ceres is bread, etc.
Latin dulcis, "sweet," gives us the English word "dulcet," although English "dulcet" refers only to sweet sounds, like the sound of someone's voice. Latin dulcis, however, can be used for sweet tastes, sounds, feelings, just like English "sweet." The form dulcior is comparative: "sweeter." Venus is always sweet, but furtiva Venus is sweeter.
4. Nunc nox, mox lux. Now (it is) night, soon (it will be) day.
NUNC NOX, MOX LUX.
Latin nunc means "now," and both Latin nunc and English "now" are from the same Indo-European root: nu.
Latin nox, "night," has as its stem noct- which you can see in the English word "nocturnal."
Latin mox means "soon," and the way mox rhymes with nox is part of the stylistic charm of this saying.
Latin lux, "light," has as its stem luc- which you can see in the English word "lucid."
5. Quam dulcis libertas! How sweet (is) liberty!
QUAM DUL-cis li-BER-tas!
The Latin word quam, "how," can be used in exclamations, just like English "how."
Latin libertas is a noun formed from the adjective liber, "free," and gives us English "liberty."
Now that you know this sentence pattern, you can make up all kinds of exclamations:
Quam dulcis Venus!
Quam dulcis vita!
Quam misera servitus!
Quam amara servitus!
Quam mendax fama!
So, feel free to start composing your own little Latin sentences, and if you have written something and would like me to check it, just send me an email. It's fun to get a Latin email!
For Christmas, I thought I would share a Latin holiday song from my personal favorite Christmas movie, Joyeux Noel, about the Christmas truce during World War I (more about the Christmas Truce at Wikipedia). The Latin song "Adeste, fideles" begins at about 6 minutes 20 seconds into this clip I found at YouTube:
Here are the Latin words:
Ad-ES-te fi-DE-les, Be present, (you) faithful (people),
Ve-NI-te, a-do-RE-mus DO-mi-num. Come, let us adore (the) Lord.
The singer here uses Church pronunciation: for "laeti," he says "leti," and also "v" instead of "w," etc. At the end he sounds like he is singing "adoramus," "we are adoring," instead of "adoremus," "let us adore."
Finally, here are some Christmas LOLCats for your enjoyment: Merry Christmas!
The focus for today's lesson is more sayings with feminine nouns and adjectives. So, you might want to take a quick look again at the information about Latin gender in the previous lesson. We'll spend another couple of days looking at feminine nouns and adjectives, and then we'll switch to the masculine and neuter genders.
So, here are today's sayings:
1. Mendax fama.
Rumor (is a) liar.
MEN-dax FA-ma.
The Latin adjective mendax means "false, untrue, lying," and it can also be used substantively to mean "a liar" (a substantive adjective is an adjective used as a noun; this is very common in Latin, and you'll learn more about that later). From this Latin root we get the English word "mendacious." Latin fama is from the verbal root fa- meaning "speak, say" (an "infant" is someone who is in-fans, not able to speak). So fama can mean whatever people are saying, but it can also have the negative sense of rumor, as in this proverb. It can also mean public opinion or reputation, as in English "fame" and "famous." Unlike in English, however, the Latin word fama always carries the hint of a negative connotation: Mendax fama! You can read about the goddess Fama at Wikipedia.
2. Jacta alea est.
(The) die is cast. JAC-ta A-le-a EST.
Latin jacta is the passive participle of the verb iacio, "throw, toss, cast," and so the participle means "thrown, tossed, cast." You can see this verbal root in many English words, such as "eject," "inject," "reject," and so on.
The Romans were very fond of gambling with dice, and alea means the die used in gambling. By extension, alea could mean any kind of risk or gamble. The Latin word may have originally meant "knucklebone" because bones were commonly used for dicing in the ancient world, although the Romans also used 6-sided dice. You can see some Roman dice at Wikipedia.
These were reportedly the words of Julius Caesar when he took his army across the Rubicon and marched towards Rome, beginning a civil war. It has since come to be a metaphor for "the point of no return," in the sense that once you throw the dice, you cannot un-throw them. This phrase is so famous that it even has its own Wikipedia article.
3. Spes ultima dea.
Hope (is the) last goddess.
SPES UL-ti-ma DE-a.
Latin spes means hope, and she was personified as a goddess; you can find out more at Wikipedia: Spes. You can see the Latin root in English "despair" and "desperate" (Latin desperatus means "having lost hope, hopeless"). The adjective ultima means "most remote" (in space) and "last" (in time). You can see this root in English "ultimate" and "ultimatum." Many Latin words have meanings that apply to both space and time like this. The idea is that when all the other gods and goddesses have deserted you, Hope is the last goddess, the goddess who remains with you until the end.
4. Dum vita est, spes est.
While (there) is life, (there) is hope.
DUM VI-ta EST, SPES EST.
The Latin conjunction dum means "when" or "while." You already know the Latin word vita, as in Peregrinatio vita est and Vita est somnium. (I've made a dictionary page where you can see which words have occurred in which sayings.) The idea of this saying is the same as the previous one: as long as you are alive, you should not despair. Do not give up hope!
5. Ubi pericula, ibi gloria. Where dangers (are), there glory (is).
U-bi pe-RI-cu-la, I-bi GLO-ri-a.
As you can see, the Latin conjunctions ubi, "in what place," and ibi "in that place," are related, functioning just like the English conjunctions "where" and "there." The Latin word periculum, "danger," is a neuter noun, and gives us English "peril" and "perilous." The plural of periculum is pericula (just like with datum and data; you'll be learning about neuter nouns like these later), so pericula means "dangers" (plural). The Latin word gloria, meaning "glory, renown, honor" gives us English "glory" and the name Gloria. The idea here is that if you want to win glory, you have to face dangers... just like this Latin LOLCat.
Today is a review for Lesson 1, Lesson 2, Lesson 3 and Lesson 4. The way the review works is with a Slideshow that contains all the proverbs from these lessons in random order. For each proverb, there are different kinds of prompts to help you review and quiz yourself.
Please take 10-15 minutes for the review. I hope the quiz will be helpful! Here is a link to the Slideshow.
If you end up with some extra time, try doing some dictation! You can use the audio files from Lesson 1, Lesson 2, Lesson 3 and Lesson 4 to practice listening and writing: listen to the audio and write down the proverbs as you hear them. :-)
The focus for today's lesson is adjectives, the words that modify nouns. That means we also need to talk about gender. All nouns in Latin have a grammatical gender: feminine, masculine, or neuter. (The Latin word neuter is a compound — ne-uter, "not either" — so neuter means "not feminine, not masculine.")
The gender of a noun does not change: a feminine noun is always feminine. But adjectives come in different genders: each adjective has a feminine form, a masculine form, and a neuter form. The form of the adjective always agrees with the gender of its noun.
To get started with adjectives, we will be looking today at sayings that feature feminine nouns and feminine adjectives.
The verb in these sentences is est, although as you already learned, the verb est can be omitted. You also learned about free word order in Latin. In English, the normal word order for this type of sentence is "Noun-is-adjective." That word order does not vary in spoken English — if you vary the word order in English, you are being poetic. In Latin, however, you can vary that word order for stylistic emphasis however you want, as you will see in the examples below. In a sense, Latin is always poetic, unlike English.
The word paupertas is from the word pauper, meaning a poor man. The Latin word pauper is used in English, "pauper," and it is also the origin of the English word "poor." Latin paupertas is the origin of the English word "poverty."
The word ingeniosa means "full of ingenium," and Latin ingenium means "talent, genius, cleverness." This is the origin of the English word "ingenious."
The idea here is that poverty forces people to be clever and inventive. Poor people cannot just buy their way out of trouble; they have to use their wits instead.
2. Roma aeterna est. Rome is eternal
RO-ma ae-TER-na EST.
The Latin adjective aeterna is the origin of English "eternal," something that lasts throughout the ages. The root of the Latin word is aevum, meaning "age" or "era," as in the English word "medieval," referring to the Middle Ages; Latin medium-aevum, middle-age.
Rome is also called "the eternal city," urbs aeterna (Latin urbs means "city").
3. Fortuna caeca est. Fortune is blind.
For-TU-na CAE-ca EST
The word Fortuna in Latin means "fortune," but also something like "luck" or "chance." You can read about the Roman goddess Fortuna at Wikipedia.
The word caeca means "blind," and it also has the metaphorical sense of acting randomly or aimlessly, without insight or foresight.
That is the meaning here: the goddess Fortuna is said to be blind because sometimes bad people have good luck, while good people have bad luck. This gave rise to the idea that Fortuna is blindfolded or veiled, so the goddess cannot see what she is doing; that's why she bestows both good luck and bad luck at random.
4. Aequa mors est. Death is fair.
AE-qua MORS EST.
The word aequa is the origin of the English word "equal." You can also see the root in many other English words, for example: "equator."
The word mors, which has as its root mort-, means "death," and you can see that root in English words like "mortal" and "mortality."
The idea here is that death comes to all alike: rich and poor, powerful and powerless. Nobody escapes death. Other things in life are not fair (like Fortuna, for example!), but death is fair; she comes to everyone equally in the end.
5. Amara est veritas. (The) truth is bitter.
A-MA-ra EST VE-ri-tas.
The word amara means "bitter" in the sense of a bitter taste, but just like in English, it covers a range of negative meanings: unpleasant, harsh, etc. You can see this root in the English word "amaretto," an Italian liqueur that is both bitter and sweet (the word is Italian, which gets almost all of its vocabulary from Latin).
The word veritas, "truth," is a noun formed from the adjective ver-, which you can see in English words like "verify" and "verity."
The idea here is that, while the truth is a good thing, and often desirable, that does not mean it is going to be pleasant.
A final note about feminine nouns and adjectives: you probably noticed that the feminine adjectives in these sayings all ended in "a" — ingeniosa, aeterna, caeca, aequa, amara. That is because these adjectives all belong to what is called "Declension 1." But take a look at the feminine nouns: some end in "a" like Roma and Fortuna, but some do not, like paupertas, mors and veritas. The nouns Roma and Fortuna belong to Declension 1, like the adjectives, but paupertas, mors and veritas belong to Declension 3. You will be learning about the different declensions in the coming weeks. Yes, there are adjectives in Declension 3, and yes, there is a Declension 2 (there are 5 declensions total), but don't worry about that for now; just learn the sayings so that you become familiar with all these words. You need to get the words bouncing around in your head before we start organizing them into the different declensions.
In Lesson 1 and Lesson 2, you saw examples of sayings in which the verb "is" was implied. In this lesson, you will now see some sayings which do include the Latin verb "is" — est. Whether or not to include est is purely a matter of style, not grammar. So, for example, both versions of this saying are commonly found:
Homo bulla.
Homo bulla est.
Also, Latin has free word order, which means you can put the est wherever you want. It can go at the end, or in the middle:
Sapientia est potentia.
It can also go at the beginning:
Est potentia sapientia.
The different word order gives a different emphasis based on how the statement is revealed to the listener word by word. For example, if you say "Est potentia sapientia," the word sapientia is revealed as a kind of surprise at the end.
The extreme freedom of Latin word order is one of its most distinctive stylistic features. In English, word order is almost completely regulated by grammar, but in Latin the word order is all a matter of style!
So, here are today's proverbs, which continue the Noun-Noun formula, but now with the verb est:
1. Vita est somnium. Life is (a) dream. VI-ta EST SOM-ni-um.
You see the Latin word for life, vita, in English "vital" and "vitality." The Latin phrase curriculum vitae means "course of life" (vitae is in the genitive case, meaning "of life").
The Latin word for dream, somnium, is derived from the word for sleep, somnus. You can see this root in the English "somnambulist," or "sleep-walker."
A more pessimistic version is Vita sominum breve, "Life (is a) brief dream." (You'll be learning about Latin adjectives in the next lesson!)
2. Peregrinatio vita est.
Life is (a) pilgrimage.
Pe-re-gri-NA-ti-o VI-ta EST.
The word for pilgrimage, peregrinatio, is from per-ager, meaning "through the land" or "beyond the land." The adjective peregrinus (pe-re-GRI-nus) meant a traveler, a foreigner or stranger. In medieval Latin, peregrinus became pelegrinus, which is how it eventually became English "pilgrim." The Latin word also gives us "peregrine falcon," a bird who travels literally all over the earth.
You can also find the saying in this form: Vita hominis peregrinatio est, "The life of a person is a pilgrimage." The word hominis (HO-mi-nis) is the genitive form of homo; you'll be learning about the genitive soon too!
3. Est vipera invidia.
Envy is (a) viper.
EST VI-pe-ra in-VI-di-a.
From Latin vipera we get English "viper."
The word invidia is the origin of the English word "envy." The Latin noun invidia comes from the verb invidere (in-vi-DE-re), which is a compound: in-videre, "to look at," but with negative connotations: to look at someone with malice, with jealousy, with the evil eye.
This saying is metaphorical: envy is not literally a viper, but it can be dangerous, even deadly, like a viper. There was a Latin emblem type popular during the Renaissance that associated envy with vipers; you can see that emblem, with an English translation, here: Invidia.
4. Rex est lex.
(The) king is (the) law.
REX EST LEX.
The word rex means king, and the root, reg-, gives us words like "regal" and "reign" in English.
The word lex means law, and the root, leg-, gives us words like "legal" and "legislature" in English.
The idea, of course, is that the king is a law unto himself: Rex est lex. Or, even more simply: Rex lex.
5. Est adulator laudator. Someone who praises you is (a) flatterer.
EST a-du-LA-tor lau-DA-tor.
The Latin adulator is a flatterer, someone who offers insincere compliments, manipulating you for their own benefit. The English word "adulation" comes from this same Latin root, but it has lost its negative connotations in English. In Latin, the adulator is dangerous, someone you should not trust.
The Latin laudator is someone who praises you. This word does not have negative connotations; Latin laus, "praise," is a positive thing. The Latin phrases summa cum laude and magna cum laude ("with the highest praise" and "with great praise") are still used today in English. (The form laude is the ablative case of laus; the ablative case will be coming soon too!)
So, the point of this proverb is to beware: the person who is praising you may just be flattering you for their own purposes. The fact that the word adulator is an anagram of laudator just adds to the power of the proverb. It's almost as if because the words contain the same letters, they are the same thing! You can read more about Latin anagrams at Wikipedia.
Today's lesson is a continuation from yesterday, with more examples of "Noun (is) noun" sayings. So, start by reviewing the sayings from yesterday's lesson to see how well you remember them. Read them out loud; hopefully you will feel confident about the meaning as you pronounce the Latin words:
Scientia potentia.
Conscientia testis.
Innocentia eloquentia.
Nocumentum documentum.
Juventus ventus.
If you are not feeling 100% confident about the meaning, just take a look back at yesterday's post.
For today, here are some more proverbs that use the same 2-word formula, Noun-(is)-noun.
You learned the word eloquentia yesterday: Innocentia eloquentia.
The word sagitta means "arrow" and it gives us "Sagittarius," the constellation of the archer. As for the the word sagitta, it is not Indo-European in origin; it is an indigenous Mediterranean word that predates the arrival of the Latins in Italy.
By using the metaphor of the arrow, the saying helps us to understand the power of language: speech is like a weapon, it can travel straight and travel far, and words that have been spoken cannot be called back... just like an arrow!
2. Homo bulla. (A) human (is a) bubble. HO-mo BUL-la.
The word homo in Latin means a person, as opposed to an animal. So, homo refers both to men and to women. (The word for man in Latin is vir and the word for woman is mulier.) From Latin homo we get the English word "human."
The word bulla means "bubble," especially the bubbles of liquid as it is boiling; the Latin verb meaning to boil is bullire. Because of the round shape of bubbles, the round wax seal on an official document was also called a bulla, and that eventually gives us the English word "bulletin," an official document that, in the past, would have been sealed with a wax seal.
The meaning of this proverb is that a person's life is fleeting: we come into existence, as fragile as bubbles, and then we vanish into nothingness.
This is a variation on the saying you saw yesterday: Scientia potentia.
The word sapientia means wisdom, from the verb is sapi- which means both to be wise but also to taste, to be able to sense the flavor of something. That is the root metaphor of wisdom in Latin: someone who is wise, sapiens, is able to discern flavors; they have acute powers of perception. Hence the name of our species: homo sapiens, "wise person." From the sapi- root in Latin, we get the English word "savour" and also "savant" (the "p" sound shifted to a "v" in French, which is how the words came to English).
The word felicitas is a noun formed from the Latin adjective felix, which originally meant "fruitful, productive," but then came to mean "lucky, successful," and eventually "happy," which is how felicitas comes to mean "happiness." The English words "felicity" and "felicitations" come from this root, as do the names Felix and Felicity.
5. Nomen omen.
(A) name (is an) omen.
NO-men O-men.
The word nomen is from the Indo-European root h₁nómn̥, which is also the origin of English "name," so Latin nomen and English "name" are cousins. You can see the Latin root in English words like "nomination" and "nomenclature."
The word omen means a sign of something to come, a foreboding. Omens can be good or bad, but they often have bad connotations. We use this Latin word in English, "omen," which also gives us the word "ominous" in English. Meanwhile, the origin of the Latin word itself is a complete mystery; here are some possible origins of the Latin word omen.
This saying is like the Iuventus ventus saying from yesterday: the words nomen and omen are not linguistically related, but it seems like there should be some connection between them since they are so similar in sound! The idea is that a person's name is something more than just a name; the name can be a sign or clue as to a person's character. A name like Felix, for example, is a name of good omen!
