Proverbs/Grammar ~ Grammar/Proverbs: Latin Lesson #26: First-Declension Gentive

The focus for today's lesson is once again the genitive case of words in the first declension. What I want to talk about today is how every word has a stem, and you add different endings depending on the case. The endings also change based on whether the word is singular or plural; we'll get to plural nouns and adjectives later.

So, for the first declension noun vita, the stem is vit-.

The nominative ending is -a, so vit- plus -a gives you vita.

The genitive ending is -ae, so vit- plus -ae gives you vitae.

You will see another vitae saying today, plus sayings with other genitive nouns. So, keep an eye out for the -ae ending, making sure you understand how it expresses the idea of English "of" of apostrophe-s. Each genitive noun is part of a phrase, so make sure you see the whole phrase that gives the genitive its meaning in context.

Here are today's proverbs:

1. Dubium sapientiae initium.
Doubt is the beginning of-wisdom.
DU-bium sapi-EN-tiae i-NI-tium

The noun dubium means "doubt," and it is the origin of the English word "doubt" also.

The noun sapientiae is the genitive form of sapientia, which you have seen in two sayings already: Sapientia potentia and Sapientia felicitas.
The noun initium, "beginning," gives us English words like "initial" and "initiate." The genitive phrase is sapientiae initium, "the beginning of wisdom."

The idea is that being uncertain about something is the key to learning something new: uncertainty makes you ask questions, and that then leads to wisdom.

2. Mors ianua vitae.
Death is (the) door of-life.
mors JA-nua vitae

The noun mors is one you saw yesterday: Mors corona vitae.

The noun ianua, or janua, "door, entry, entrance" gives us English "janitor."

The noun vitae is the genitive form of vita, as you learned in yesterday's sayings. The phrase is ianua vitae, "the door of life."

This saying comes from Christian Latin, expressing the idea that there is life-after-death, and so it is often found on funeral monuments (here's an example).

3. Ars est simia naturae.
Art is nature's monkey.
ars est SI-mia na-TU-rae

The noun ars, "art" is the origin of English "art." You will learn later that the stem of ars is art- which makes it easier to see how it could be the origin of English "art."

The noun simia, "ape, monkey" gives us English "simian." Just like in English, where "to ape" means "to imitate," Latin simia conveys the idea of an "imitator."

The noun naturae is the genitive form of natura, which you have seen already in this saying: Habitus est altera natura. The phrase is simia naturae, "nature's monkey."

The idea in this saying is that art is "just" an imitator; all art can do is to copy nature, and to do so imperfectly.

4. Rixa rixae causa est.
(An) argument is (the) cause of-(an)-argument.
rixa rixae causa est

The noun rixa means "argument, quarrel," and its genitive form is rixae.

The noun causa, "cause, reason," is the origin of English "cause." The phrase is rixae causa, "the cause of an argument."

Instead of repeating the word "argument" in the English, you could also translate it in English this way: "One quarrel is the cause of another" or "One quarrel leads to another."

5. Pigritia est pulvinar Satanae.
Laziness is Satan's pillow.
pi-GRI-tia est pul-VI-nar Sa-tanae

The noun pigritia, "laziness" is from the adjective piger (masculine) / pigra (feminine), which means "lazy."

The noun pulvinar, "pillow, cushion, sofa," is used in medical English; the pulvinar is part of the brain.

The name Satanae is the genitive form of the nominative Satanas, "Satan," so pulvinar Satanae means "Satan's pillow."

Do you see how this nominative form looks different from the other first-declension nouns you've seen so far? That's because it is a masculine noun in the first declension, which is unusual but not impossible, and the word "Satan" is even more unusual because it is a Hebrew word that was used in Greek and then adopted by Christian Latin, and also by English; more about the etymology of English "Satan."

The Latin pulvinar referred to the comfortable cushions on which guests sat at a banquet, which is the idea here: when you are lazy, you are giving Satan an invitation that he will be glad to accept. Compare the English proverb: "Idle hands are the Devil's workshop."

Here's a recap: