Proverbs/Grammar ~ Grammar/Proverbs: Latin Lesson #48: More -at Verbs

There are some new 1st-conjugation verbs, ending in -at, in today's sayings.

volat: (she/he/it) flies, is flying
delectat: (she/he/it) pleases, delights, is pleasing

Notice that I have used both the English present tense ("flies," "pleases") and present continuous ("is flying," "is pleasing") in those translations. The Latin present tense verb embodies both of those meanings, so if you have to translate into English, that means you have to choose between present and present continuous in your English version.

To get ready, here's a little slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before:

And here are today's proverbs:

1. Iam testudo volat.
The turtle is now flying.
iam tes-TU-do volat

The adverb iam means "now" or "already," depending on context. When used with a future tense verb, it can even mean "soon."

The masculine noun testudo (genitive: testudinis) means "turtle" or "tortoise." The word is based on Latin testa, a piece of "hard clay tile," or a piece of "shell," so the turtle is "the shell-y one." (That etymology is especially for my friends living in the Testaccio neighborhood of Rome!)

The verb volat means "flies" and it can also, metaphorically, mean "goes quickly." You can see this Latin root in English "volatile."

This saying can be used when something is going quickly that you expected to go slowly. It can also refer to a foolish project that will not end well, as in the Aesop's fable where a tortoise persuades an eagle to take him up into the air, a ridiculous venture that ends with the flying turtle crashing to the ground. Here's that fable: The Tortoise and the Eagle.

2. Brevitas delectat.
Brevity is pleasing.
BRE-vitas de-LEC-tat

The feminine noun brevitas gives us English "brevity." It is a noun formed from an adjective you already know: brevis, "brief, short."

The verb delectat means "pleases, delights," and this Latin root gives us English "delight" and also "delectable."

Since brevity is the key feature of proverbs, it makes sense to have a proverb that praises brevity. Compare the English saying, "Short and sweet."

3. Nil nisi ventus homo est.
(A) person is nothing but wind.
nil nisi ventus homo est

You know all the words in this saying already!

The idea here is that a human life is like a breath of wind: it's here, and then it's gone, insubstantial as a breeze. Compare a similar saying that you say earlier: Juventus ventus.

4. Qualis grex, talis rex.
As (the) flock, so (the) king.
qualis grex, talis rex

The word grex (genitive: gregis) means "flock." You can see this Latin root in English "congregate," "segregate," etc. and also "gregarious" and "egregious."
You've seen many of these qualis...talis... proverbs already. This one has the virtue of rhyming: grex-rex. The idea is that if you look at the leader of a group, you know something about the members of that group: a good "flock" will have a good "king," while a bad "flock" will have a bad "king," etc.

5. Habendi cupido inexplebile dolium.
(The) desire of-having (is a) pot that-cannot-be-filled-up.
ha-BEN-di cu-PI-do inex-PLE-bile DO-lium

The word habendi is the genitive of habendum, one of those verbal nouns that you've been before; habendum is from the verb habere, "to have," so habendum means "having." (Verbs like habere with an -e- vowel belong to the second conjugation, which you will be learning week after next.)

The neuter adjective inexplebile, "cannot be filled up," is a compound: in-ex-plebile, "un-out/up-fillable." We don't have an English word from inexplebile, but you can see the exple- root in the English word "expletive."

The neuter noun dolium is a "pot" or "jar." Because it is a neuter noun, it takes a neuter adjective: inexplebile dolium.

The paradox of a pot that cannot be filled up appears in the ancient myth of the daughters of Danaus, the Danaids, who had to try to fill water pots that had a hole in the bottom; you can find out more at Wikipedia: Danaids.

Here's a recap: