Proverbs/Grammar ~ Grammar/Proverbs: Latin Lesson #161: English "Can" and Latin Verbs

The focus for today's lesson is a question of translation — specifically, including the English word "can" when you translate from Latin into English.

You've seen the Latin verb, potest, that is equivalent to English "can" in the sense of "have the power, be capable, be able to do something." But sometimes English "can" has a much more subdued meaning, something like "it is possible" as in the sense of "it can happen." The reason "can" has this curious range of meaning is because it is what is called a modal verb. You may not have learned about modal verbs in school, but they are one of the most fascinating features of the English language; you can find out more about modal verbs at Wikipedia.

So, whenever you want to add "can" to your English translation of a Latin verb, go ahead and do that! Here's an example from today's sayings:

Annosa arbor non transplantatur.
An aged tree is not transplanted.
OR
An aged tree cannot be transplanted.

This is not a special rule for passive verbs; instead, it is a general translation rule that applies to all Latin verbs.

One other thing to keep in mind as you read today's sayings is the different stress accent for the passive verbs. The 1st-conjugation verbs are stressed on the -a- theme vowel in the next-to-last (penultimate) syllable: transplanTAtur. In the 3rd-conjugation, however, the -i- theme vowel is not stressed, so the stress falls back to the next-to-next-to-last (antepenultimate) syllable: FRANgitur. You will see both conjugations in today's sayings.

And here is the slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before:

And here are today's proverbs:

1. Arcus nimium tensus frangitur.
(A) bow too-much stretched breaks.
arcus NI-mium tensus FRAN-gitur.

The word frangitur is the passive form of the verb frangit, "breaks." You can translate frangitur as "is broken" (passive) or as "breaks" (intransitive).

The noun arcus, "bow," gives us both English "arc," "arch," and "archer." It is a masculine noun, so it takes a masculine adjective: tensus, "stretched, tensed," which gives us English "tense" and "tension."

The adverb nimium is modifying the adjective here: nimium tensus, "overly stretched, stretched too much."

This proverb was developed into a fable about Aesop, and how he used a stretched bow to teach people about the need to relax: Aesop at Play.

2. Ignis divisus citius exstinguitur.
(A) fire is-extinguished more-quickly (when) divided.
ignis di-VI-sus CI-tius ex-STIN-guitur.

The word exstinguitur, "is extinguished," is the passive form of exstinguit, which gives us English "extinguish."

The word ignis is a masculine noun, so it takes a masculine adjective, divisus, "divided." You have no seen this adjective before, but you have seen the verb dividit.

The word citius, "more quickly, very swiftly," is new to you, but you have seen the basic form, cito, "quickly, swiftly." In this saying, the adverb is modifying the verb: citius exstinguitur, "is extinguished more quickly."

This is a variation on the idea of "divide and conquer," which you have seen before: Divide et impera.

3. Nec amor nec tussis celatur.
Neither love nor (a) cough can-be-concealed.
nec amor nec tussis ce-LA-tur.

The word celatur is the passive form of celat. You could translate celatur as "is concealed" or "can be concealed," which fits better here, I think.

The word tussis, "cough," as in the English medical terms "tussive" and "antitussive," and also the brand name Robitussin.

The word nec can be used on its own to mean "not," but when used in a pair, nec...nec... is equivalent to English "neither... nor..."

A cough literally cannot be hidden; you might cover your mouth, but the cough can still be heard. The proverb then provokes you to think about an emotion like love also comes through loud and clear, even when you might be trying to hide it.

4. Annosa arbor non transplantatur.
(An) aged tree cannot be-transplanted.
an-NO-sa arbor non transplan-TA-tur.

The word transplantatur is the passive form of transplantat, which gives us English "transplant." You could translate transplantatur as "is transplanted" or "can be transplanted."
The noun arbor is feminine, so it takes a feminine adjective: annosa, "aged." This Latin word literally means "full of years," "ann-osa," with ann- meaning "year" and -osa, "full of."

Compare the English saying, "You can't teach an old dog new tricks."

5. Prosperum ac felix scelus virtus vocatur.
(A) successful and lucky crime is-called virtue.
PROS-perum ac felix scelus virtus vo-CA-tur.

The word vocatur, "is called," is the passive form of vocat, "calls." You haven't seen this verb before, but you have seen the passive participle, vocatus, "called."

The word scelus is neuter in gender, so it takes adjectives that are neuter in form: prosperum is a 2nd-declension neuter adjective and felix is a 3rd-declension neuter adjective. You haven't seen the adjective prosperum before; it gives us English "prosperous."

The passive verb vocatur implies another verb: est. Yes, a crime might be called virtue... but just calling it virtue, does not make it so: virtus vocatur, sed virtus non est.

Here's a recap: