Both of these prepositions take the ablative, so take a look each time at the ablative form; you will see 1st-, 2nd, and 3rd-declension ablative forms in today's sayings.
And here is a little slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before:
And here are today's proverbs:
1. Ut canis e Nilo.
Like (a) dog (drinking) from (the) Nile.
ut canis e Nilo.
You know all the words in this saying already!
5. Rana in paludem ex aureo resilit throno.
(The) frog jumps-back into (the) swamp from (the) golden throne.
rana in pa-LU-dem ex AU-reo RE-silit throno.
The word throno is the ablative form of the noun thronus, which gives us English "throne" (the Latin word is a borrowing from Greek; the th- is a clue, as theta was a letter in Greek, represented as th- in Latin).
Here's a recap:
Plus the LOLCats!
And here is a little slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before:
1. Ut canis e Nilo.
Like (a) dog (drinking) from (the) Nile.
ut canis e Nilo.
You know all the words in this saying already!
The word Nilo is the ablative form of the noun Nilus.
Even though this saying does not have the word "crocodile" in it, this saying is all about crocodiles! The idea is that when a dog drank from the Nile, it had to be very careful: darting in to take a sip of water, and then running away before a crocodile had a chance to attack. Metaphorically, it refers to any kind of extra-cautious behavior! Aesop has a fable about this proverbial dog: The Dog and the Crocodile.
2. Aurum e stercore.
Gold from shit.
aurum e STER-core.
You also know all the words in this saying too!
2. Aurum e stercore.
Gold from shit.
aurum e STER-core.
You also know all the words in this saying too!
The word stercore is the ablative form of the noun stercus. (That's one of those sneaky 3rd-declension nouns; when you look at the nominative stercus, you might think it is a 2nd-declenion noun, but nope: it's 3rd-declension, stem stercor-.)
You've seen a similar saying before: Aurum in stercore quaerit. The idea is to discover something precious in the midst of garbage... or worse.
3. Emit catulum in sacco.
(Someone) is-buying a pup in a sack.
emit CA-tulum in sacco.
The word sacco is the ablative form of the noun saccus, which gives us English "sack" (it's a fascinating etymology, from a Germanic borrowing from Latin, which was in turn a borrowing from Greek, and the Greek word is a borrowing from Phoenician or Hebrew).
3. Emit catulum in sacco.
(Someone) is-buying a pup in a sack.
emit CA-tulum in sacco.
The word sacco is the ablative form of the noun saccus, which gives us English "sack" (it's a fascinating etymology, from a Germanic borrowing from Latin, which was in turn a borrowing from Greek, and the Greek word is a borrowing from Phoenician or Hebrew).
The verb emit means "acquires, buys, is buying," and catulum is the accusative object of the verb. You may know the Latin phrase: caveat emptor, "let the buyer beware." The word emptor is from this verb. You can also see this root in English "exempt."
This is the Latin equivalent of the English saying: a pig in a poke. The idea is that someone thinks they are buying one thing, but the sneaky buyer substitutes something else in the sack instead. Buyer beware indeed!
4. Comede in laetitia panem tuum.
Eat your bread in happiness.
CO-mede in lae-TI-tia panem tuum.
The word laetitia (laetitiā) is the ablative form of the noun laetitia, "happiness," which is the origin of the name Letitia, Letisha, etc. (Wikipedia).
4. Comede in laetitia panem tuum.
Eat your bread in happiness.
CO-mede in lae-TI-tia panem tuum.
The word laetitia (laetitiā) is the ablative form of the noun laetitia, "happiness," which is the origin of the name Letitia, Letisha, etc. (Wikipedia).
The word panem is the accusative form of the noun panis, which you have seen before.
The adjective tuum is the accusative form of the adjective tuus, agreeing with panem. You haven't seen the masculine tuus before, but you have seen the neuter form: tuum. In fact, you have seen tuum in a saying that is parallel to this one: Vade ergo, et comede in laetitia panem tuum, et bibe cum gaudio vinum tuum, quia Deo placent opera tua, "Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works" (from the book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible).
5. Rana in paludem ex aureo resilit throno.
(The) frog jumps-back into (the) swamp from (the) golden throne.
rana in pa-LU-dem ex AU-reo RE-silit throno.
The word throno is the ablative form of the noun thronus, which gives us English "throne" (the Latin word is a borrowing from Greek; the th- is a clue, as theta was a letter in Greek, represented as th- in Latin).
The adjective aureo is also in the ablative, agreeing with throno. You haven't seen this adjective before, but you have seen the noun that it comes from: aurum. (See the saying above!)
Notice how the prepositional phrase ex aureo throno wraps around the verb: ex aureo resilit throno.
The word paludem is the accusative form of palus, used with the preposition in, meaning into (because of the accusative case): in paludem.
This is now the third frog-fail saying you have seen! Here are the other two:
Ad stagnum resilit, tenet etsi rana cathedram.
Ex aurea etiam sede in paludem rana resilit.
Here's a recap:
- Ut canis e Nilo.
- Aurum e stercore.
- Emit catulum in sacco.
- Comede in laetitia panem tuum.
- Rana in paludem ex aureo resilit throno.
Plus the LOLCats!
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