Proverbs/Grammar ~ Grammar/Proverbs: Latin Lesson #169: More Passive Practice

The focus for today's lesson is more practice with passive verbs, plus a set of three sayings to help you see how sayings appear in one variant after another; that's the nature of folklore! People adapt and change the existing proverbs to make new ones. You can do the same thing too if you want!

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

And here are today's proverbs:

1. Vetulus simius non capitur laqueo.
(An) old monkey isn't caught with-a-snare.
VE-tulus SI-mius non CA-pitur LA-queo.

The verb capitur is the passive form of capit. The subject is simius, "monkey." You haven't seen this masculine form before, but you have seen the feminine simia.

The noun laqueo is the ablative of laqueus, "snare, trap." This is the origin of English "lace" and also "lasso."

The key word here is vetulus: the old monkey has seen all the tricks and has managed to survive them so far, so you are not going to catch that old monkey with the usual snare. A young monkey, perhaps, but not the old monkey!

2. Vetula vulpes laqueo non capitur.
(An) old fox isn't caught with-a-snare.
VE-tula vulpes LA-queo non CA-pitur.

Same verb but a new subject: vulpes. Because vulpes is a feminine noun, it takes a feminine adjective: vetula, "old." You haven't seen this feminine adjective before, but you have seen the masculine vetulus.

As you can see, this is just a variation on the same idea: both the fox and the monkey are proverbially sly animals, and the same argument about the vetulus simius applies just as well to the vetula vulpes.

3. Vulpes non iterum capitur laqueo.
(A) fox isn't caught a-second-time with-a-snare.
vulpes non I-terum CA-pitur LA-queo.

You already know all the words in this saying! Here is the emphasis is on the idea that the fox can learn from her mistakes: you might be able to catch her once with a snare, but she is not going to fall for that again! So, be like the fox: if you are fooled once, just make sure you do not let yourself be snared again!

4. Saxum volutum non obducitur musco.
(A) rolled stone isn't covered with-moss.
saxum vo-LU-tum non ob-DU-citur musco.

The verb obducitur, "is covered," is the passive form of obducit. You haven't seen this compound verb before, but you have seen the root verb: ducit.

The subject is saxum, a neuter noun, so it takes a neuter adjective, volutum, "rolling."

The noun musco is the ablative form of muscus, "moss."

Compare the English saying, "A rolling stone gathers no moss."

This is one of those sayings that allows for opposite interpretations. Being a "rolling stone" can be a good thing: you don't want to become overgrown with moss, so keep on moving, don't get stuck in a rut! But it's also possible for this to be a bad thing: the rolling stone who never settles down never has time to get comfortable, all nicely covered with moss, soft and comfortable. The saying has its own Wikipedia article, which includes this Latin version: A rolling stone.

5. Nimium tendendo rumpitur funiculus.
(A) rope breaks (by) too-much stretching.
NI-mium ten-DEN-do RUM-pitur fu-NI-culus.

The verb rumpitur is the passive form of rumpit. This is one of those passive verbs in Latin which can be translated with an intransitive active verb: "breaks."

The subject is funiculus, "rope." You haven't seen this diminutive form before, but you have seen the regular form of the noun funis.

The noun tendendo is the ablative form of tendendum, "stretching." You haven't seen this noun before, but you have seen the verb that it comes from: tendit.

So, if you don't want to "snap," then take a break and relax!

You've seen a variation on this saying before: Arcus nimium tensus frangitur. The adjective tensus comes from the same root as the noun in this saying, tendendo.

Here's a recap: