Proverbs/Grammar ~ Grammar/Proverbs: Latin Lesson #143: Genitive plus infinitive

The focus for today's lesson is a new use of the genitive together with the infinitive. Here's an example:

Est sapientis providere.
It is of a wise person to see into the future.

The word providere is the infinitive of providet, "see in advance, foresee, see the future" and sapientis is the genitive of sapiens, "wise person."

That phrase, "of a wise person," sounds awkward in English, but you get the idea: it is a wise person's job, duty, responsibility, ability, choice, etc. to see into the future, to anticipate what is going to happen. You can even add a word like "job," "duty," etc. into your translation if you want. The goal, of course, is to understand the Latin — and especially when the vocabulary is familiar (you know most of the words in today's sayings already!), you can just understand the Latin on its own without having to force it into English. And by practicing the five sayings in today's lesson, repeating them out loud in Latin, the genitive-plus-infinitive pattern will sink in, becoming something familiar to you in Latin.

To get ready, here is a little slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before:

And here are today's proverbs:

1. Est sapientis providere.
(It) is of-the-wise-person to-see-the-future.
est sapi-EN-tis provi-DE-re.

The word sapientis is the genitive of sapiens, which you know already.

The word providere is the infinitive of providet, which is a compound of videt, pro-videt, "fore-see, see in advance." This is where we get English "providence" and also "provision."

Since this is a 2nd-conjugation verb, the stress goes on the ending: provi-DEre.

The idea is that someone who is foolish just reacts to things as they happen, but a wise person can foresee what is coming, which gives them time to make plans and get ready. The words come from the Roman philosopher and politician Cicero.

2. Pauperis est numerare pecus.
(It) is of-the-poor-person to-count (the sheep).
PAU-peris est nume-RA-re pecus.

The word pauperis is the genitive of pauper, which you know already.

The word numerare is the infinitive of numerat, "counts, numbers," which you have not seen before, but you have seen the noun numerus.

The word pecus is the accusative form of the neuter noun pecus, meaning "sheep, cattle, herd animal," and it is the object of the infinitive. (Don't forget that every neuter noun has the same form in both the nominative and accusative cases.) This word is ultimately at the root of English "peculiar."

The idea behind this saying is that if a rich person loses some sheep to thieves or to the attack of a wolf, it's not a problem; they have so many sheep that it doesn't matter. But a poor person has to count their sheep because losing even just one sheep is a disaster. This saying is quoted by the Roman poet Ovid.

3. Sapientis est mutare consilium.
(It) is of-the-wise-person to-change (their) plan.
sapi-EN-tis est mu-TA-re con-SI-lium.

The word mutare is the infinitive of mutat, another word you know already.

The word consilium is the accusative form of the neuter noun consilium, which you have seen before, and it is the object of the infinitive.

The idea is that when someone is wise, they are ready to admit they have made a mistake and change their plans as needed. Compare a similar saying that you saw earlier: Propositum mutat sapiens, at stultus inhaeret.

4. Prudentis est nonnumquam silere.
(It) is of-the-prudent-person to-be-silent sometimes.
pru-DEN-tis est non-NUM-quam si-LE-re.

The word prudentis is the genitive of prudens, which you know already. This word is actually derived from the verb providet: prudens is a contraction of the participle providens, "foreseeing."

The word silere is the infinitive of silet, which you know already. Since this is a 2nd-conjugation verb, the stress goes on the ending: si-LEre.

The adverb nonnumquam, "not never, sometimes," is new, but it is a compound of an adverb you already know: numquam.

This is yet another saying about the value of keeping silent; others you have seen include Sapiens, sile, and Sape et tace.

5. Iudicis est ius dicere, non dare.
(It) is of-the-judge to-pronounce justice, not to-produce (justice).
IU-dicis est ius DI-cere, non dare.

The word iudicis is the genitive of iudex, which you know already.

The words dicere and dare are both infinitives, from dicit and dat respectively, both of which you know. Don't forget that dicere is a 3rd-conjugation infinitive, so the stress is on the stem: DIC-ere.

The word ius is the accusative form of the neuter noun ius, which means "justice, the law." This word is new, but you already know a related noun: iustitia.

The idea here is that the judge's job is pronounce the just decision (dicere) but not to be issuing (dare) new laws; that's for the legislature to do. So, as you can see here, the debate about activist judges goes back... way back!

Here's a recap: