Proverbs/Grammar ~ Grammar/Proverbs: Latin Lesson #15: More Masculine Nouns + Ubi/Ibi

The focus for today's lesson is some more practice with masculine nouns, plus a couple more ubi/ibi sayings.

And when I say practice, the main thing I have in mind is reading out loud. I hope you are using the audio and/or the stress-marked text to say the Latin confidently. The goal is to hear the words again and again so that the shapes of the words (the stems, the endings) will get in your head, along with the patterns of the sentences. So, please read out loud! You learn a language ... even a dead language like Latin ... with your ears, not with your eyes.

So, here are today's proverbs:

1. Optimus magister bonus liber.
(The) best teacher (is a) good book.
OP-ti-mus ma-GIS-ter BO-nus LI-ber.

You have seen optimus before, in the saying: Fames optimus est coquus. (You've also seen the feminine optima in these sayings: Mediocritas optima est, and Risus optima medicina.)

You have seen magister before, in the saying: Nemo magister natus.

So, the two new words are bonus and liber.

As you can probably guess bonus, "good," is where we get English "bonus," which is something good. You can also see the Latin word in legal Latin: a lawyer who works pro bono is working for the good, not for pay.

From Latin liber, "book," we get English "library."

As someone who loves books, I am of course a fan of this saying!

2. Bonus liber amicus optimus.
(A) good book (is the) best friend.
BO-nus LI-ber a-MI-cus OP-ti-mus.

You have seen amicus before, in the sayings: Amicus res rara, and Amicus verus rara avis.

So, that means you now have all the words in this saying!
It is a variation on the previous saying, with amicus instead of magister. The word order is also reversed... but that's how Latin works: you can play with the word order of any sentence, changing it around however you want.

3. Potus furtivus dulcis est.
(A) stolen drink is sweet.
PO-tus fur-TI-vus DUL-cis EST.

You have seen dulcis before, in the saying: Quam dulcis libertas!

That means the new words are potus and furtivus.

From the root of potus, "drink," we get English "potion" and "potable."

Latin furtivus is derived from the word fur, "thief, robber," and from the Latin we have "furtive" in English.

Compare these English sayings about stolen things: "Stolen pleasures are sweetest," "Stolen fruit is sweetest," "Stolen kisses are sweetest," etc.

4. Ubi amor, ibi oculus.
Where love (is), there (is the) eye.
U-bi A-mor, I-bi O-cu-lus.

You have seen amor before in several sayings: Credula res amor est, and also these ubi/ibi sayings: Ubi amor, ibi dolor, and Ubi caritas et amor, Deus ibi est.

You have seen oculus before, in the saying: Ubi thesaurus, ibi oculus.

So that means you have all the words in this saying! In this version, instead of thesaurus, it is amor that holds the eye's attention.

5. Ubi dolor, ibi digitus.
Where (an) ache (is), there (is the) finger.
U-bi DO-lor, I-bi DI-gi-tus.

You have seen dolor before, in the saying: Ubi amor, ibi dolor.

So, that means there is just one new word: digitus, "finger," which also gives us English "digit" and "digital."

The idea here is that you can't help fingering a sore spot, and, metaphorically, you can't help but thinking about your troubles.

Here's a recap: