Proverbs/Grammar ~ Grammar/Proverbs: Latin Lesson #136: All the Infinitives

The focus for today's lesson is infinitives... lots of infinitives! You'll see infinitives from the 1st, 2nd and 3rd conjugations in today's sayings. Plus you'll get lots of practice with neuter adjectives because, don't forget: infinitives are neuter nouns, so they need neuter adjectives to agree with them.

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

And here are today's proverbs:

1. Dare melius est quam accipere.
To-give is better than to-receive.
dare ME-lius est quam ac-CI-pere.

You already know all of the verbs in this saying.

The word dare is the infinitive form of the verb dat (1st conjugation), and accipere is the infinitive form of the verb accipit (3rd conjugation).

Of course we say this in English too: "It is better to give than to receive." For the origin of this saying, see the next item for today!

2. Beatius est dare quam accipere.
(It) is more-blessed to-give than to-receive.
be-A-tius est dare quam ac-CI-pere.

This saying is just a variation on the previous saying, but instead of melius, the neuter adjective beatius, "more blessed." This is the comparative form of the adjective beatum, "blessed." You haven't seen this form before, but you have seen the masculine superlative form before: beatissimus.

This version of the saying appears in the Biblical Book of Acts, where the words are attributed to the Apostle Paul; here is the verse in the King James translation: "I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive."

3. Simul sorbere ac flare difficile.
(It is) difficult to-suck and to-blow at-the-same-time.
simul sor-BE-re ac flare dif-FI-cile.

The word sorbere is the infinitive form of the verb sorbet (2nd conjugation), "sucks, drinks in." You can see this Latin root in English "absorb."

The word flare is the infinitive form of the verb flat (1st conjugation), "breathes, blows." You can see this Latin root in English "flatulence."

The conjunction ac is a variant spelling of atque, which you have seen before.

This popular saying appears in many different forms, such as Flare simul et sorbere haud facile est, "To blow and suck at the same time is not easy," and Simul sorbere ac flare non possum, "I cannot suck and blow at the same time."

4. Non vivere, sed valere vera vita est.
(The) true life is not to-live but to-be-well.
non VI-vere, sed va-LE-re vera vita est.

The word vivere is the infinitive form of the verb vivit (3rd conjugation), which you have seen before.

The word valere is the infinitive form of the verb valet (2nd conjugation), "is well, is powerful." You haven't seen this verb before, but you have seen the related form valens.
The feminine adjective vera agrees with the feminine noun vita. You haven't seen the form vera before, but you have seen the masculine verus and neuter verum.

Compare this to a saying that you saw earlier: Non vivere bonum est, sed bene vivere.

5. Errare humanum est, ignoscere divinum.
To-err is human, to-forgive divine.
er-RA-re hu-MA-num est, ig-NOS-cere di-VI-num.

The word errare is the infinitive form of the verb errat (1st conjugation), which you have seen before.

The word ignoscere is the infinitive form of the verb ignoscit (3rd conjugation), "forgives, overlooks, takes no notice of." The root of this Latin word appears in English "ignore."

You've seen variations on this famous saying before: Humanum est errare, divinum condonare, and Errare humanum est, perseverare autem diabolicum.

Here's a recap: