Proverbs/Grammar ~ Grammar/Proverbs: Latin Lesson #98: 4th-Conjugation Imperatives

The focus for today's lesson is something new: the imperative form for verbs from the 4th conjugation. This is the least common conjugation, which is why I have only a few examples to share with you. The imperative ending for the 4th conjugation is -i. So, you already know the verb, audit, "hears, listens." Now you can form the imperative: audi! "Listen!"

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

And here are today's proverbs:

1. Audi, vide, sile.
Listen, look, stay-quiet.
audi, vide, sile.

You already know all the words in this piece of advice.

This is another one of those sayings about being cautious: you should definitely keep your ears open (audi!), keep your eyes open (vide!), but keep your mouth shut (sile!). For a variation, see the saying about mouth and eyes below.

2. Audi et alteram partem.
Hear (the) other side too.
audi et AL-teram partem.

The word partem is the accusative form of the 3rd-declension noun, pars, which gives us English "part" and "party." The noun is feminine, so it takes a feminine accusative adjective, alteram.

The imperative audi is the imperative form of a verb you know already, audit.

The word et is usually a conjunction, "and," but here it is not being used to connect two things; instead, it is being used as an adverb, "also, too, in addition." This little adverb is the key to the whole saying: in addition to listening to one side of a disagreement, you must also listen to the other side.

3. Lumen accipe et imperti.
Take (the light) and pass-it-on.
lumen AC-cipe et im-PER-ti.

The word lumen is the accusative form of the 3rd-declension noun, lumen. It's a neuter noun, so the nominative and accusative forms are identical. You know it has to be the accusative object of the verb here because the subject of an imperative verb is always "you."

The imperative accipe is the imperative form of a verb you know already, accipit.
The imperative imperti means "share!" This is the origin of English "impart," and it has as its root the noun pars that you saw above.

The word et is being used as a conjunction here, connecting the two imperatives: accipe et imperti.

This saying goes back to a time when the fire in your home (in your lamps, in your fireplace, etc.) depending on getting the fire from someone else. Remember: modern matches date back to the 19th century; before that, sharing fire was an important social obligation among neighbors.

While the saying is about the light of the fire, it also applies to the "enlightenment" of learning. When you learn something from someone, you should pass that learning along to others. So, if you have learned one of these Latin sayings by heart, pass it on to someone else! Lumen imperti!

4. Rem tuam custodi.
Guard your thing.
rem tuam cus-TO-di.

The word tuam is the accusative form of the feminine adjective tua, "yours." The feminine adjective agrees with the feminine noun, rem, which is the accusative form of res.

The imperative custodi is the imperative form of a verb you know already, custodit.

The Latin word rem can mean a "thing" but also more generally can mean a "business" or "event". To get a sense of the many meaning of Latin res, take a look at the Latin dictionary entry. The idea here is that you have to guard what you've got, what you're doing; no one else is going to guard it for you. They might even try to take it away from you!

5. Claude os, aperi oculos.
Close (your) mouth, open (your) eyes.
claude os, A-peri O-culos.

The imperative claude, "close," and also gives us the English verb "close" and related nouns like "closet."

The word os is the accusative form of the 3rd-declension noun, os. This is another neuter noun, so the nominative and accusative forms are identical.
The imperative aperi, "open," is the root of the English word "aperture."

The word oculos is a form you have not seen before: this is a plural noun; specifically, it is a masculine accusative plural. You've seen the nominative form of this noun before: oculus. You'll be learning about plural nouns later on. (I included this saying because there were so few 4th-conjugation imperative sayings, so I really need this one, even though the plural noun is one you don't know yet.)

Compare this saying to the one above: Audi, vide, sile.

Here's a recap: