Latin Lesson #86: Finishing up Week 20

The focus for today's lesson is more practice with those neuter nouns and adjectives of the 3rd declension. Here is a list of some of the proverbs you've seen with 3rd-declension neuter nouns and adjectives; I've put those 3rd-declension neuter words in bold, and I've underlined the ones that are in the accusative case:

1. Forma dei munus.
2. Rotat omne fatum.
3. Tempus breve est.
4. Roma caput mundi.
5. Caput Nili quaerit.
6. Futurum invisibile.
7. Finis coronat opus.
8. Tempus neminem manet.
9. Virtutis iter arduum.
10. Inevitabile est fatum.
11. Male olet omne caenum.
12. Sola apis mel conficit.
13. Omne initium difficile.
14. Frangit iram dulce verbum.
15. Timet naufragus omne fretum.

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

So, here are today's proverbs, and I have underlined the accusative 3rd-declension nouns and adjectives below too:

1. Simile appetit simile.
Like seeks like.
SI-mile AP-petit SI-mile.

The neuter adjective simile gives us English "similar." You see the adjective here twice: once in the nominative as the subject of the verb, and once in the accusative as the object of the verb.

The verb appetit, "seeks, grasps at," is the Latin root you see in English "appetite."

Compare the English saying, "Birds of a feather flock together."


2. Vinum os facundum facit.
Wine makes (the) mouth eloquent.
vinum os fa-CUN-dum facit.

You've seen the neuter noun os before, and the word vinum is also neuter, so it is only from the context of the sentence that you can tell which one is the subject, vinum, and which one is the object, os.

The neuter adjective facundum, "eloquent," agrees with the neuter noun os. 

The idea is that when someone drinks, they speak freely, and in this drunken "eloquence," they might say things that they would not say when sober.

3. Incustoditum captat ovile lupus.
(The) wolf raids (the) unguarded sheepfold.
incusto-DI-tum captat o-VI-le lupus.

The word incustoditum, "unguarded," is a compound: in-custoditum. You haven't seen this word before, but you have seen the verb custodit.

The verb captat, "raids, snatches, seizes," and you can see this same root in Latin "captive."
You haven't seen the word ovile, "sheepfold," before, but you have seen the noun ovis. The neuter noun ovile takes an accusative adjective: incustoditum. This noun phrase incustoditum...ovile wraps around the verb.

This neuter 3rd-declension noun is in the accusative case, the object of the verb; lupus, in the nominative case, is the subject.

4. Deus ipse solem, quasi lumen, accendit.
God himself lights (the) sun like (a) lamp.
Deus ipse solem, quasi lumen, ac-CEN-dit.

You haven't seen the verb accendit, "light, set fire to," but you have seen another verb that shares the same root: incendit.

The verb takes two objects: solem is a 3rd-declension masculine noun in the accusative case, and lumen is a 3rd-declension neuter noun.

The words from the Roman politician and philosopher Cicero.

5. Est verbum verum: frangit Deus omne superbum.
(It) is (a) true word: God shatters every proud (thing).
est verbum verum: frangit deus omne su-PER-bum.

You haven't seen the neuter adjective superbum before, but you have seen a related noun: superbia. The adjective is being used substantively here, as a noun: "proud (thing)."

The noun Deus is in the nominative case, the subject of the verb, so that means the noun phrase omne superbum is in the accusative case, the object of the verb.

The saying rhymes, which is often a feature of medieval Latin proverbs; classical Latin poetry does not use rhyme, but it is a feature of medieval Latin poetry and therefore of proverbs too.

Here's a recap:

• Simile appetit simile.
• Vinum os facundum facit.
• Incustoditum captat ovile lupus.
• Deus ipse solem, quasi lumen, accendit.
• Est verbum verum: frangit deus omne superbum.

And here is today's audio:



Plus the LOLCats!

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