Proverbs/Grammar ~ Grammar/Proverbs: Latin Lesson #81: Proverbs without verbs

The focus for today's lesson is more of those sentences that don't have verbs... but you know that there is a verb implied because there is an accusative noun, an object for the verb-that-is-not-there.

As a quick review, here are the verbless proverbs that you saw before:

Capra gladium. Goat (found) sword.
Cornix scorpium. Crow (grabbed) scorpion.
Atlas caelum. Atlas (holds up) sky.

Most of the words today are new, so there's no slideshow to review, but you will see lion, leo, and crow, corvus, in today's sayings. You'll also see a form of the verb latrat, "barks."

Unus quidem, sed leo est.

Corvus oculum corvi non eruit.

Canis mordens non latrat.

And here are today's proverbs:

1. Calvus pectinem.
(The) bald man (has/wants a) comb.
calvus PEC-tinem.

The masculine adjective calvus means "bald," and here it is used substantively, as a noun: "bald (man)." It You can see this root in "Calvary" (Latin calvaria means "skull," the ultimate head-without-hair).

The word pectinem is the accusative of the 3rd-declension noun pecten, "comb." From this Latin root we get English "pectinate" and also, via French, "peignoir," the bathrobe or dressing gown you might wear while combing your hair.

This is one of these sayings about an absurd mismatch; compare these sayings that you saw previously: Nauta aratrum poscit and Speculum caecus poscit.

2. Corvus serpentem.
(The) crow (grabbed a) serpent.
corvus ser-PEN-tem.

The word serpentem is the accusative of the 3rd-declension noun serpens, which gives us English "serpent." The Latin word is actually a participle from the verb serpo, "creep, crawl," so serpens literally means "creeping, crawling."

This saying is like the one you saw last week: Cornix scorpium. The idea is the same: someone grabs something, expecting a treat, and instead: disaster! This saying has its own article at Wikipedia: The crow and the snake.

3. Carpathius leporem.
(The) Carpathian (imported a) rabbit.
car-PA-thius LE-porem.

Carpathos is a Greek island in the southeastern Aegean, and Carpthius refers to someone who lives on the island, a Carpathian. (Not to be confused with the Carpathian Mountains in Europe!)

The word leporem is the accusative of the 3rd-declension noun lepus, "hare, rabbit." You can see this root in English "leporine." There is also this film: Night of the Lepus. It involves mutant killer rabbits but, as Wikipedia notes, "the film's biggest failure is considered to be the inability to make the rabbits seem scary. Night of the Lepus has since gained cult status for its laughably poor quality." (I have watched this movie, and it is indeed laughable!)

The story behind this proverb is ecological: there were no rabbits on the island of Carpathus, but a foolish Carpathian brought a rabbit to the island, although it must have been a few rabbits... because the rabbits then overwhelmed the island, eating up the vegetation. So, the saying refers to someone who does something reckless that leads to disastrous consequences. For more about this saying, and the similar rabbit disaster in Australia, see Michael Gilleland's blog post: Rabbits.

4. Hinnulus leonem.
(The) colt (attacks/chases/challenges the) lion.
HIN-nulus le-O-nem.

The word hinnulus means "colt," specifically a colt born from a stallion and a she-donkey, which is also called a "hinny" in English.

The word leonem is the accusative form of leo.

So, the idea here is that some weak person is foolishly attacking, chasing, etc. someone who is far stronger than they are. The Greek version of this saying is Ὁ νεβρὸς τὸν λέοντα (ho nebros ton leonta), "The fawn (attacks) the lion."

5. Catulus leonem allatrat.
(The) puppy barks-at (the) lion.
CA-tulus le-O-nem al-LA-trat.

The noun catalus means "puppy." Don't confuse this noun with the name of the famous Roman poet, Catullus. The spelling makes a difference!

The verb allatrat means "bark at." You haven't seen this verb before, but you have seen the uncompounded form: latrat, "barks," in the saying: Canis mordens non latrat.

The meaning of this saying is like the meaning of Hinnulus leonem: a puppy has no business barking at a lion. That is both a foolish and dangerous thing for a puppy to do!

Here's a recap: