Proverbs/Grammar ~ Grammar/Proverbs: Latin Lesson #118: More 3rd-declension ablatives

The focus for today's lesson is more practice with the 3rd-declension ablative ending: -e. As before, these are all ablatives being used to complement a preposition; later on, you'll learn more uses for the ablative case in Latin.

Just as a reminder, here are the prepositions you have seen so far: a / ab, ad, ante, contra, cum, de, ex / e, extra, in, intra, post, pro, sine, sub, and super. Most prepositions take the ablative case, but you've seen a few prepositions that take the accusative case instead.

Many prepositions also do double-duty as verbal prefixes, and you can also see some prepositions used independently as adverbs. Prepositions are some of the most frequently used words in Latin, so it is definitely worth getting to know them well!

To get started with today's prepositional proverbs, here is a little slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before:

So, here are today's proverbs:

1. In nocte consilium.
At night, (a) plan.
in nocte con-SI-lium.

You already know all the words in this saying!

The word nocte is the ablative form of the noun nox with the preposition in.

The idea here is like English: "Sleep on it!" If you let your mind reflect on something over night, you'll have a plan in mind in the morning.

2. Aeternum sub sole nihil.
(There is) nothing eternal under (the) sun.
ae-TER-num sub sole nihil.

You have not seen the neuter adjective aeternum, "eternal," before, but you have seen the feminine form, aeterna, and also the related noun: aeternitas. The neuter adjective agrees with nihil, which is also neuter.

The word sole is the ablative form of the noun sol with the preposition sub.

Compare the English saying, "Nothing lasts forever."

3. Aurum in stercore quaerit.
(Someone is) seeking gold in manure.
aurum in STER-core quaerit.

You also know all the words in this saying!

The word aurum is the accusative form of aurum (remember: neuter nouns have the same form in the nominative and the accusative); it is the object of the verb.

The word stercore is the ablative form of the noun stercus with the preposition in.

The metaphorical idea, of course, is that you are looking for something valuable (gold) in something that is not only not valuable, but downright nasty (dung heap).

An anecdote in Cassiodorus claims that Vergil compared reading the archaic poet Roman Ennius to "looking for gold in a dung-heap." Find out more here:

4. Non in solo pane vivit homo.
(A) person doesn't live by bread alone.
non in solo pane vivit homo.

The word pane is the ablative form of the masculine noun panis, "bread." You can see this root in English "pantry" and "pannier."

The word solo is the ablative form of the adjective solus, agreeing with the masculine ablative noun pane. The ablatives make a prepositional phrase: in solo pane.

This famous saying is from the Gospel of Matthew, with Jesus's words inspired by the Book of Deuteronomy in the Hebrew Bible. You can see the Greek, Latin, and English texts side by side at the Sacred Texts Polyglot for Matthew and the Hebrew, Greek, Latin and English for Deuteronomy.

5. Oculum pro oculo, dentem pro dente.
[Rendering an] eye for (an) eye, (a) tooth for (a) tooth.
O-culum pro O-culo, dentem pro dente.

Here you see two forms of the 2nd-declension noun oculus: accusative oculum and ablative oculo.

You also see two forms of the 3rd-declension noun dens: accusative dentem and ablative dente. You can see this root in English "dentist" and "dental."

The words oculum and dentem are in the accusative because they are the objects of an implied verb: someone will pay back, render, return, etc.

The words oculo and dente are in the ablative with the preposition pro.

This is the so-called lex talionis, the law of retaliation (the Latin word talis means "such, like," hence "retaliation," which means paying like for like). You can find out more about this principle at Wikipedia: Eye for an eye.

Here's a recap: