Latin Lesson #40: New Sayings, Vocab Review

I had mentioned that I'll started doing systematic vocabulary review each week (I'll do that on Wednesdays), but I realized that it might be good to do vocabulary review in each post for the specific vocabulary that will appear in today's sayings. So, you can use this vocabulary slideshow to review the words that you are going to be meeting again in today's sayings! The way it works is that you will see a slide that has a word in English, along with the proverbs that contain that word, with the Latin blanked out. Your challenge: supply the Latin word to complete the saying, based on the English prompt. Then advance to the next slide and you will see if you are correct!

So, here are today's proverbs:

1. Caecus amor prolis.
Love of-children (is) blind.
caecus amor prolis

For the words caecus and amor, see the slideshow above, or take a look at the dictionary page.
The word prolis is the genitive of proles, "offspring," a third-declension noun. You can see this root in English "prolific" and "proliferate."

This saying was associated with anecdotes about monkeys who (supposedly) loved their children to death; you can see an emblem with the saying here.

2. Ars longa, vita brevis.
Art (is) long, life (is) short.
ars longa, vita brevis

For all the words in this saying, see the slideshow above, or take a look at the dictionary page. You've seen them all before!

The idea is that learning an art, a skill, a craft, takes time. It takes a long time, in fact. Yet life itself is short. That is why you cannot become an expert in all things; you need to choose your "art" and develop your skill in that one art, using the time you have.This saying is so famous that it has its own Wikipedia article.


3. Mors certa, hora incerta.
Death (is) certain, (its) time (is) uncertain.
mors certa, hora in-CER-ta

For the words mors, certa and incerta, see the slideshow above, or take a look at the dictionary page.
The word hora, "hour, time, season," is the origin of English "hour." You can also see the Latin root in "horoscope."

This is another one of those sayings that shows up on sundials and on clocks, as you can see here.


4. Quisque sui mali faber est.
Everyone is (the) maker of-their-own evil.
quisque sui mali faber est

For all the words in this saying, see the slideshow above, or take a look at the dictionary page. You've also seen them all before! 

In fact, you've seen the words in a very similar saying: Faber quisque fortunae suae est. In that case, the idea was that each person is the maker of their own luck, good or bad as it may be; Latin fortuna can be both good fortune and bad fortune. 

This saying is more pessimistic, however. The message here is that if something bad happens to you, you can't blame someone else, or bad luck itself; instead, you are the one who is responsible.


5. Nulla medicina aliquando optima medicina.
No medicine (is) sometimes (the) best medicine.
nulla medi-CI-na ali-QUAN-do OP-tima medi-CI-na

For the words nulla, medicina and optima, see the slideshow above, or take a look at the dictionary page.
The word aliquando, "sometime, anytime, ever" is a compound, ali-quando, "any-when." It would be cool if we say "anywhen" in English, but we don't; we say "anytime." 

Here's a recap:

1. Caecus amor prolis.
2. Ars longa, vita brevis.
3. Mors certa, hora incerta.
4. Quisque sui mali faber est.
5. Nulla medicina aliquando optima medicina.

And here is today's audio:



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