Proverbs/Grammar ~ Grammar/Proverbs: Latin Lesson #20: More -um Neuter Nouns

The focus for today's lesson is some more of those neuter nouns and adjectives that end in -um. To set the mood, I'll share a few more of these -um words that English has adopted from Latin: minimum, maximum, fulcrum, museum, asylum, addendum, album, symposium, curriculum, ultimatum, pendulum.

Also, remember that you can look up past sayings on this page, and there is also a word-by-word listing here too. The sayings on those pages are linked to the blog posts where you can learn more about them.

I hope you enjoy today's proverbs:

1. Caecum odium.
Hatred (is) blind.
caecum O-dium

The adjective caecum is neuter; you've seen the feminine form, caeca, in this saying: Fortuna caeca est.

The noun odium, "hate," gives us the English word "odium" and also "odious."

This is one of the sayings included in Whitney's famous book of emblems: Th' Envious Man.

There is also a saying that "love is blind," as is hatred: Amor caecus est. Odium quoque caecum est. "Love is blind. Hatred is also blind." (quoque means "also"). Any strong passion can rob you of reason!

2. Simul dictum, simul factum.
As soon as said, as soon as done.
simul dictum, simul factum

The adverb simul, "at the same time, at once," gives us the English word "simultaneous."

The adjective dictum, "said," is a participle from the verb dicere, "to say." From this root we get English words like "diction" and "dictionary."

The adjective factum, "done," is a participle from the verb facere, "to do." From this root we get "factory" and even "fashion."

Compare the English saying, "No sooner said than done."

3. Si satis est, multum est.
If (it) is enough, it is much.
si satis est, multum est

You haven't seen si, "if," before, but you have seen the negative form, nisi, "if not, unless," as in Nemo nisi sapiens liber est and Nemo sapiens nisi patiens.

The adverb satis, "enough," shows up in English "satisfy" and "satisfaction."

The adjective multum, "much, many" shows up in English "multiply" and all the multi- words like "multilingual."

This saying is related to the sayings you've seen advocating against extremes: you don't want to have too much, and you don't want to have too little; to have enough is a lot — it's plenty!

4. Ubi periculum, ibi lucrum.
Where danger (is), there (is) profit.
ubi per-I-culum, ibi lucrum

You've seen ubi and ibi before in quite a few sayings, including: Ubi mel, ibi apes and Ubi amor, ibi dolor.

The noun periculum is singular, and you've seen the plural, pericula, in this saying: Ubi pericula, ibi gloria.

The noun lucrum, "profit, gain," shows up in English "lucrative" and the phrase "filthy lucre." Just as in English, Latin lucrum can have a negative connotation of "love of gain, greediness." In this saying, it is associated with danger: you have to risk money (or even your life) in order to make money.

5. Ubique medium caelum est.
Everywhere is the middle (of the) sky.
U-bique ME-dium caelum est

The adverb ubique, "everywhere," gives us English "ubiquitous."

You've seen medium before in this saying: Medium certum est.

The noun caelum, "sky, heaven," gives us English "celestial."

The idea here is that in the boundless sky, the center is wherever you look up; we all share the same vast sky equally. The saying is from Petronius's Satyricon.

Here's a recap: