Proverbs/Grammar ~ Grammar/Proverbs: Latin Lesson #43: Starting Week 10

Today's lesson we're continuing on with reviewing the different genders and different declensions, and we'll be reviewing next week too... then, on to the verbs in Week 12. This way, when you start on the verbs, you will have a really solid noun foundation to build on. :-)

I hope you are getting familiar with the way that any given Latin sentence might contain a mix of the different genders and different declensions. The key thing to remember is that when you have a phrase with a noun and an adjective, that's when the gender needs to agree. Here are the noun-adjective phrases in today's sentences:

multus amicus: masculine noun and adjective
nullus amicus: another masculine phrase
domus propria: feminine noun and adjective
domus optima: another feminine phrase

About domus: that word might look, at first, like a feminine noun... but it's actually a feminine noun of the 4th declension! That's why it has feminine adjectives: propria and optima. The noun is 4th declension, and those adjectives are 1st declension, which is fine. The key is that the adjective matches the gender of the noun.

I've also got a little slideshow (with cats!) so you can review the words in today's sayings that you've seen before:

And here are today's sayings:

1. Volens et valens.
Willing and able.
volens et valens

The word volens, "willing," is a participle: do you remember those? You can read about those in Lesson 16. Participles are adjectives formed from verbs, and volens is from the verb volo, "I want, I will." You can see this Latin root in the English word "voluntary."

The participle valens, "able," is from the verb valeo, "I can, I am able." You see this root in the English word "valid."

This saying in Latin has a nice sound-play, since the words volens and valens sound so much alike. That doesn't come through in the English translation.

2. Multus amicus, nullus amicus.
Many (a) friend, no friend.
multus a-MI-cus, nullus a-MI-cus

You've seen all the words in this saying before! You haven't seen the masculine multus before, but you have seen the neuter form, multum.

The idea behind this saying is that when someone has many friends, they might not really have any friends at all. It's kind of like an ancient take on the idea of "Facebook friends" who might "friend" you on Facebook but who are not necessarily going to be there to support you in real life: hundreds of friends, but not any friend at all really.

3. Domus propria, domus optima.
One's own house (is the) best house.
domus PRO-pria, domus OP-tima

You've seen domus and optima before, so the only new word is the feminine adjective propria, "one's own, individual." You can see this root in the English words "proper" and "property."

The idea is that your house might not be the biggest or the prettiest, it might not be in the best location or in the best condition, but none of that matters: if it's your house, it is the best house.

4. Caput columbae, cauda scorpionis.
Dove's head, scorpion's tail.
caput co-LUM-bae, cauda scorpi-O-nis

You know the word caput already; the rest of the words are new.

The genitive columbae is from the 1st-delension noun columba, "dove, pigeon." You can see this root in the English word "columbarium," which originally referred to a dove coop, but which now usually refers to the niches in a funeral vault for ashes containing urns. (The urns are being "pigeonholed," so to speak.)

The noun cauda, "tail," can be seen in the English "coda." It is also the origin of English "queue" (with a big change in pronunciation via the French).

The genitive scorpionis is from the 3rd-declension noun scorpio, "scorpion." We use the Latin word for the zodiac sign of Scorpio. This is a good example of how the noun stem, scorpion-, shows up in the English word, "scorpion." English words can sometimes be a clue to the stem of the word!

The idea here is that something might look peaceful and harmless at first (you see the head of a dove), but lurking behind there might be something deadly and dangerous (the scorpion!).

5. Aes formae speculum est, vinum mentis.
Bronze is (the) body's mirror. wine (is the) mind's (mirror).
aes formae SPE-culum est, vinum mentis

You know all the words in this saying except aes, "bronze." This Latin word is a relative of the English word "ore" — they both derive from the Indo-European root h₂éyos.

To understand this proverb, you need to know that in the ancient world, mirrors were made of bronze. You can read about bronze mirrors at Wikipedia. Glass mirrors started to become widespread in the Middle Ages and Renaissance; more details about the history of mirrors at Wikipedia.

The idea is that when you look in a bronze mirror, you can see the shape of the body, its forma, but wine is what reveals the shape of the mind, mens.

Here's a recap: