Latin Lesson #56: More -et verbs

The focus for today's lesson is more of those -et words. As a review, here are the -et sayings from yesterday; see how many you remember:

• Cicatrix manet.
• Pecunia non olet.
• Sapiens non eget.
• Avarus semper eget.
• Canis mortuus non mordet.

As it happens, all those proverbs from yesterday had the subject first and the verb last, similar to English word order. In today's proverbs, however, you will see some examples of free Latin word order, where the subject comes after the verb, not before.

Also to help get ready for today's sayings, here is a little slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before:

And now, here are today's proverbs, each featuring another an -et verb.

1. Tertius gaudet.
(The) third (party) rejoices.
TER-tius gaudet.

The masculine adjective tertius, "third," is being used substantively as a noun here: the third man, the third person, the third party, etc. You can see this Latin root in English "tertiary."

The verb gaudeo, "rejoices," is actually the source of English "joy" (via French joie) and "rejoice."

The idea is that when two people are quarreling, a third party can take advantage. There's an Aesop's fable that illustrates the saying: Lion, Bear, and Fox.


2. Ultima latet hora.
(The) final hour is-concealed.
UL-tima latet hora.

The verb latet, "lies hidden, is concealed," gives us English "latent."

The ultima hora refers to the final hour of one's life, i.e. death. So the saying means that although each person knows that they will die, they do not know the hour of their death. Notice how the subject, hora, comes after the verb, and the noun phrase wraps around the verb, a word order that is impossible in English.


3. Timidi mater non flet.
(A) coward's mother doesn't weep.
TI-midi mater non flet.

Latin timidi is the genitive of the masculine adjective timidus, "fearful, cowardly." It is being used substantively here as a noun: a fearful person, coward, etc. The Latin word is the origin of English "timid."

The verb flet means "weeps, sobs, cries." It is a cousin of English "bleat," as both of them come from the Indo-European root bʰleh₁.

The idea is that while a mother might be a proud of a brave son who is brave enough to risk his life in a heroic cause, she might also have occasion to weep when her son loves his life. The mother of a coward, on the other hand, is not as likely to weep over her son.

4. Lex iubet, non suadet.
(The) law commands, (it) doesn't urge.
lex iubet, non suadet.

The verb iubet, "commands, orders," is at the root of the grammatical term "jussive," which is a word you will encounter later when you learn about the Latin subjunctive mood. 

The verb suadet, "urges, exhorts, persuades," and is at the root of English "persuasion." This Latin root is related to the English word "sweet," so the idea is that when you persuade someone of something, you make it seem sweet to them. The Indo-European root is swéh₂dus.

The law, of course, is not sweet: you are supposed to obey the law, like it or not.


5. Male olet omne caenum.
All filth smells bad.
male olet omne caenum.

The adverb male, "bad, badly," is formed from the adjective malum, "bad," that you have seen before. That -e adverbial ending also shows up in other words you have seen before like bene in Patria est ubicumque est bene, and also impune in Nemo me impune lacessit.
The neuter noun caenum, "filth," takes a neuter adjective: omne. This word appears in the Latin compound obs-cenus, which gives us English "obscene." This is the subject of the sentence, but it comes after the verb, a word order that would not work in English.

You can contrast this with the saying about Pecunia non olet from yesterday. :-) 

Here's a recap:

1. Tertius gaudet.
2. Ultima latet hora.
3. Timidi mater non flet.
4. Lex iubet, non suadet.
5. Male olet omne caenum.

And here is today's audio:



Plus the LOLCats!

---

Click here to subscribe/unsubscribe.

---