Proverbs/Grammar ~ Grammar/Proverbs: Latin Lesson #65: Idiom and Style

The focus for today's lesson focuses on sayings that have a repeated word. For example: Gratia gratiam parit, "Kindness produces kindness." In English, there is a different way of making this statement: "One good turn deserves another." Latin repeats the word: gratia gratiam, while English uses the phrase "one... another..." without actually repeating the noun.

Idiomatic expressions like these are the product of stylistic choices; they are not grammatical rules. English, in fact, does not always use this "one... another..." idiom. The saying "It takes a thief to catch a thief" uses a repetition that is like the Latin repetition.

So, learning a language is not just a matter of learning the vocabulary and grammatical rules; it is also a matter of learning the different styles of expression. That's why I try to focus on the Latin by itself, without the English, in the review exercises. The more you can immerse yourself in the Latin — in its vocabulary and rules, and also its style — the more you will develop the Latin part of your brain, and the more you will remember!

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

And here are today's sayings:

1. Cura curam trahit.
Worry brings worry.
cura curam trahit.

The verb trahit means "pull, drag, attract," and you can see this root in English "tractor" and "attract."

The idea is that one worry brings on another, and another, and another.

Notice here that the word cura has a negative connotation: this is care or concern in the sense of being worried about something, being troubled. Compare the English saying, "Troubles never come singly."

2. Gratia gratiam parit.
Kindness produces kindness.
GRA-tia GRA-tiam parit.

The noun gratia (accusative: gratiam) has a wide range of meanings in Latin: "thanks, kindness, friendship, grace, gracefulness." You can see this root in English "grace" and "gratitude," and also in Spanish gracias. When you "say grace" before eating, you are saying "thanks."

Compare the English saying, "One good turn deserves another."

3. Pecunia pecuniam parit.
Money makes money.
pe-CU-nia pe-CU-niam parit.

You've seen all the words in this saying before! Compare the English saying, "It takes money to make money."

4. Iniuria non excusat iniuriam.
(A) wrong doesn't excuse (a) wrong.
in-IU-ria non excusat in-IU-riam.

The noun iniuria (accusative: iniuriam) means "wrong, injustice, harm," and it gives us English "injury." The word is a compound: in-iuria, "in-justice, not-right."

Compare the English saying "Two wrongs don't make a right."

5. Furcifer non evadit furcam.
(A) gallows-bird doesn't escape (the) gallows.
FUR-cifer non E-vadit furcam.

The verb evadit means "goes out, gets away, escapes," and it gives us English "evade." The word is a compond: e(x)-vadit, "out-go, goes out."
The word furcam is the accusative form of furca, a two-pronged wooden stake; the Latin word gives us English "fork."

The furca was used as a form of punishment in ancient Rome. In the milder form of punishment, the victim's arms were tied to the prongs of the furca and he was forced to carry it, something like wooden stocks, but a mobile version. The furca could also be used for capital punishment: the victim was tied to the furca and then whipped to death, or the furca was used like a cross, and the victim was left to die of exposure. You can read more about ancient crucifixion at Wikipedia.

The noun furcifer is a compound: furci-fer, "fork-carrier, fork-bearer," and it refers to the mobile form of punishment. Someone who was literally carrying a furca was someone who had been branded a criminal; by extension, the word came to mean anyone who was a criminal or scoundrel. There are words like this in English: "hang-dog" is a bad dog who will be hanged sooner or later; "wag-halter," "gallows-bird," etc. I chose "gallows-bird" and "gallows" for the English translation, but there's really no way to translate this very Roman saying into English.

So, the idea is, literally, the criminal carrying his furca cannot escape his punishment and, in general, a criminal cannot escape being punished, sooner or later.

Here's a recap: