Proverbs/Grammar ~ Grammar/Proverbs: Latin Lesson #145: Oportet plus infinitive

The focus for today's lesson is another verb that takes an infinitive: oportet. The verb is the equivalent of English "it behooves," "it is fitting, "it is proper," etc. For example:

Piscem natare oportet. It behooves a fish to swim.

As you can see, oportet takes an infinitive complement, natare. Also, as you would expect, the subject of the infinitive is in the accusative case: piscem is the accusative of piscis.

Of course, that phrase "it behooves" sounds quite archaic. It represents the Latin grammar, but you could also translate it with a more common verb like "must," making the fish the subject of the main verb, even though in Latin, piscem is the accusative subject of the infinitive:

Piscem natare oportet. A fish must swim.

And don't forget: the infinitive of est is esse. You will see a couple of sayings today with esse.

This little slideshow (with cats!) can help you to review the other familiar words you'll see in today's sayings:

And now here are today's proverbs:

1. Piscem natare oportet.
(It) behooves (a) fish to-swim.
piscem na-TA-re o-POR-tet.

The word natare is the infinitive form of natat, complementing the verb oportet.

The word piscem is the accusative form of piscis, providing the subject of the infinitive.

This phrase shows up in Petronius's Satyricon in the context of the host Trimalchio encouraging everybody to drink the wine: drinking the wine is as natural as fish swimming (in water).

2. Mendacem memorem esse oportet.
(It) behooves (a) liar to-be mindful.
men-DA-cem ME-morem esse o-POR-tet.

You can also translate this as: A liar must have a good memory.

The word esse is the infinitive form of est, complementing the verb oportet.

The word mendacem is the accusative form of mendax, providing the subject of the infinitive.

This saying appears in the writings of the Roman rhetorician Quintilian. The idea is that telling the truth is much easier than lying: if you lie, you have to be careful to make sure you remember every detail of the lie you have told.

3. Non oportet in urbe nutrire leonem.
(It) isn't proper to-raise (a) lion in (the) city.
non o-POR-tet in urbe nu-TRI-re le-O-nem.

The word nutrire is the infinitive form of nutrit, "nourish, raise," and it gives us English "nutrition." The infinitive goes with the verb oportet.

The word leonem is the accusative form of leo, which is the object of the infinitive: nutrire leonem, "to raise a lion." That's a tricky thing about infinitives: they have a subject in the accusative case, and if the infinitive has an object, the object goes in the accusative case too.
The word urbe is the ablative form of the noun urbs, "city," which gives us English "urban."

This is a Greek proverb that became well known in Latin as well; you can find it, for example, in the writings of the Roman author Valerius Maximus. This saying is literally true, of course (no actual lions in the city!), and metaphorically it refers to encouraging any kind of "wild" behavior that would disturb the civilized peace of the city.

4. Adversus deum non oportet contendere.
(It) isn't proper to-fight against (a) god.
ad-VER-sus deum non o-POR-tet con-TEN-dere.

The word adversus is one of those prepositions that take the accusative case, and deum is the accusative form of deus.

Compare a similar saying that you saw earlier: Pugnare cum deo atque fortuna grave.

5. Avidum esse oportet neminem, minime senem.
(It) behooves nobody to-be greedy, least-of-all (an) old-man.
A-vidum esse o-POR-tet NE-minem, MI-nime senem.

You can also translate this as: No one should be greedy, least of all an old man.

The word neminem is the accusative form of nemo, and it is the accusative subject of the infinitive esse. The word senem is the accusative form of senex, and it is the subject of an implied infinitive: minime (oportet) senem (esse avidum).

The word avidum is the accusative form of avidus, "greedy," providing the predicate for the infinitive esse, "to be greedy" = avidum esse. You haven't seen the word avidus before, but you have seen a similar word: avarus. Both words come from the same root.

This is one of the sayings of Publilius the Syrian. Of course, being greedy is bad at any time, but an old man should know better: people might be eager to pile up riches early in life, but when the end of life draws near, it's time to stop hoarding wealth and start sharing it instead.

Here's a recap: