Proverbs/Grammar ~ Grammar/Proverbs: Latin Lesson #67: Another Week of Accusatives

This will be another week of practicing with accusative nouns. There will be more -am accusative nouns of the 1st declension, and you will also learn how to form accusatives for 2nd-declension nouns too.

The idea is to get so familiar with the look/sound of Latin accusative nouns that you react to them just as you do with English pronouns like him and them: you immediately recognize the accusative noun and can thus start to understand the meaning of the sentence, even if the accusative comes before the verb.

For a little practice with that to get started, here are some sayings you have seen already where the accusative object comes before the noun:

Aquilam testudo vincit.
Industriam adiuvat deus.
Minervam sus docet.
Aquilam cornix provocat.
Naturam Minerva perficit.
Elephas muscam non curat.
Copia nauseam parit.
Cura curam trahit.
Gratia gratiam parit.
Pecunia pecuniam parit.
Scarabeus aquilam quaerit.
Una linea geometram non facit.

Plus... I decided to give you a sneak preview of the accusative plural today. You'll see that in the final saying, which is a saying about an actual cat. :-)

And here is a little slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before:

And here are today's proverbs:

1. Frangit iram dulce verbum.
(A) sweet word breaks-down anger.
frangit iram dulce verbum.

The neuter noun verbum means "word," and it gives us English "verb."

Because verbum is neuter, it takes the neuter form of the adjective: dulce. The -um ending is the neuter ending of the 2nd declension, while -e is the neuter ending of the 3rd declension.

The verb frangit means "break, break off, shatter," and it gives us English "fracture" and "fraction."

The idea is that speaking kindly is not a sign of weakness; instead, it is a kind of strength: sweetness can shatter anger.

2. Aquila non parit columbam.
(An) eagle doesn't give-birth-to (a) dove.
A-quila non parit co-LUM-bam.

You already know all the words in this saying! The eagle is regularly used as a symbol of war, while the dove is a symbol of peace. So, metaphorically speaking, someone who is war-like and belligerent is not likely to propose a plan for peace.

3. Exspectat bos aliquando herbam.
(The) ox expects grass eventually.
ex-SPEC-tat bos ali-QUAN-do herbam.

The 3rd-declension noun bos (stem: bov-), "ox, cow," gives us English "bovine" and also "beef."
The verb exspectat means "expects, looks out for, waits for," as in English "expectation." The Latin verb is a compound: ex-specto, "out-look for," i.e. "look out for."

This saying is used to refer to something well-deserved that is slow in coming. The ox works hard to make the farm prosper, but he has to wait for the harvest; metaphorically, we are all hard-working oxen hoping that we, too, will eventually get our just reward eventually.

4. Etiam capillus suam facit umbram.
Even (a) hair makes its shadow.
etiam ca-PIL-lus suam facit umbram.

The verb capillus means "hair," and gives us English "capillary."

This is also the first time you have seen an accusative adjective: umbram is feminine accusative, so the adjective suam is also feminine accusative.

Notice also how the accusative phrase suam umbram wraps around the verb: suam facit umbram, a stylistic device which is called hyperbaton. You can find out more at Wikipedia: Hyperbaton.

The idea is that even something as tiny as a hair can cast a shadow, so, metaphorically speaking, don't disparage something or something just because it is small.

5. Pardus maculas numquam deponit.
(The) leopard never sets-aside (its) spots.
pardus MA-culas numquam de-PO-nit.

The word pardus, "panther," can be seen in English "leopard."
The verb deponit, "sets aside, puts down," gives us English "deposit" and "depot."

The word maculas is the accusative plural of the noun macula, "spot, blemish," which you can see in English "immaculate" (from Latin im-maculatus, "not-blemished, spotless"). And if you like caffè macchiato, that is an Italian word, also from macula: "spotted" coffee.

So, maculam is the accusative singular, and maculas is the accusative plural (yes, there is an -s plural ending in Latin, much like in English!). We'll be working on plurals systematically later on, but I thought it would be fun to have this saying in the mix since it is a famous saying featuring an actual cat, a BIG cat.

Compare the English saying, "The leopard does not change its spots." The idea is that someone cannot change their nature. There's even a version of this saying in the Biblical Book of Jeremiah.

Here's a recap: