Latin Lesson #176: Sequitur

The focus for today's lesson is the deponent verb sequitur. Yesterday, you learned the verb loquitur, "speaks," and today's verb, sequitur, means "follows." You can see this Latin root in English words like "sequence," "sequel," etc. You might also know this Latin word from a Latin phrase used as a noun in English: non sequitur which means, in Latin, "it doesn't follow." 

Even though sequitur has only passive forms, it is a transitive verb. In other words, it can take an object, just like "follows" can be transitive in English. So, that means you will see nouns in the accusative case in today's sayings, and they are the objects of the verb.

 
To get ready, here is the slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before... and you have seen almost all of the words in today's sayings before!

And here are today's proverbs:

1. Ovis ovem sequitur.
Sheep follows sheep.
ovis ovem SE-quitur.

You already the word ovis, "sheep," and ovem is the accusative form of that noun. So, ovis is the subject of the verb, and ovem is the object.

Literally, then, it means "Sheep follows sheep," but in English we might be more likely to say "One sheep follows another," which is a traditional English saying.

2. Noctem dies sequitur.
Day follows night.
noctem dies SE-quitur.

You also know all the words in this saying!

Noctem is the accusative form of nox, and that means it is the object of the verb here. 

Of course, just as day follows night, night also follows day, but the point of this saying, metaphorically, is that even when things seem dark and gloomy, the day is coming. So, don't despair: day follows night.

3. Mors sequitur, vita fugit.
Death follows; life flees.
mors SE-quitur, vita fugit.

You also know all these words too!

Here the verb sequitur has the sense of following in the sense of pursuing, chasing. So, "death" is in pursuit, but "life" is doing its best to try to escape by fleeing death.

The words come from one of the letters of the Roman philosopher Seneca.

4. Sequitur ver hiemem.
Spring follows winter.
SE-quitur ver HI-emem.

Another saying where you know all the words. This time the object, hiemem, comes at the end, the accusative form of hiems.

Metaphorically, this is like Noctem dies sequitur: just as the darkness of night gives way to the light of the following day, so too the coldness of winter gives way to the warmth of the following spring.

Compare the next saying, where the metaphorical dimension of the saying is made explicit.


5. Ver hiemem sequitur, sequitur post triste serenum.
Spring follows winter; (a) tranquil (thing) follows (a) sad (thing).
ver HI-emem SE-quitur, SE-quitur post triste se-RE-num.

Here the neuter adjective, serenum, a "serene (thing)," is the nominative subject. You could also translate it as "serenity."

The neuter adjective triste, a "sad (thing)," or just "sadness," goes with the preposition post, which takes the accusative form. The word triste is either nominative or accusative, depending on context, and here it is accusative.

This proverb is in the form of a line of verse, which is why the verb sequitur is repeated. The verse form is called a dactylic hexameter, which is also the meter of epic Latin poetry.


Here's a recap:

1. Ovis ovem sequitur.
2. Noctem dies sequitur.
3. Mors sequitur, vita fugit.
4. Sequitur ver hiemem.
5. Ver hiemem sequitur, sequitur post triste serenum.

And here is today's audio:



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Latin Lesson #175: Deponent Verbs

I hope everyone has had a good holiday break... and that you're ready for some more Latin in 2026. The focus for today's lesson is something new and something very distinctively Latin: the "deponent" verbs. These are verbs that have only passive forms; they do not have active forms. 

So, for example, the active verb amat, "loves," has a passive form, amatur, "is loved," a deponent verb like loquitur, "speaks," has no active form. The meaning is active in English, but the verb form is passive, ending in -tur like the passive verbs you have been studying for the past few weeks. These deponent verbs get their name because they have put-aside (de-ponent) their active forms, leaving only the passive forms. 

There are many common deponent verbs in Latin, and one of the most common is loquitur, "speaks." All the proverbs for today feature the word loquitur. You can see the Latin root of this word in English words like "loquacious" and "eloquent."

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

 

 And here are today's proverbs:

1. Res ipsa loquitur.
(The) thing itself speaks.
res ipsa LO-quitur.

You have not seen the word ipsa, "itself," in the feminine form before, but you have seen the masculine form: ipse. 

Compare the English saying, "The thing speaks for itself." The Latin is used in legal language; find out more at Wikipedia: Res ispa loquitur.

2. Aliter loquitur, aliter sentit.
(Someone) speaks one-way (and) thinks another-way.
A-liter LO-quitur, A-liter sentit.

You have not seen the adverb aliter, "otherwise, differently," but you have seen the adjective that it comes from: alius.

As you have seen before, Latin sometimes repeats a word twice when English uses two different words, as aliter...aliter... "differently... differently..." is equivalent to English, "one way... another way..."  

The verb sentit means both "think" and "feel" in Latin. You can see this root in the English words like "sense" and "sentiment."

You can see a 17th-century emblem for this saying here.


3. Hirundo aestatem loquitur.
(A) swallow announces summer.
hir-UN-do aes-TA-tem LO-quitur.

You already know all the words in this saying, and you've seen a saying that has a very similar meaning: Aestatis hirundo est nuntia.

Notice that aestatem here is in the accusative case; it is the object of loquitur, which is why I have translated the verb here as "announces," so that it can take an object. You will see many deponent verbs that take objects! So, while they might look like passive verbs, they are not passive, and they can take objects, just as active verbs do.


4. Ex abundantia cordis os loquitur.
(The) mouth speaks from (the) abundance of-the-heart.
ex abun-DAN-tia cordis os LO-quitur.

You have not seen the noun abundantia, "abundance," before, but you have seen a related adjective: abundant. The root of the Latin word is unda, "wave," so the idea is that abundance is something that "overflows."

This saying comes from the Bible; it appears in the Gospel of Luke and the Gospel of Matthew. 

Unlike the saying above, Aliter loquitur, aliter sentit, this saying claims that whatever a person feels in their heart or thinks in their mind overflows into their mouth such that it is heard in their words.


5. Sine lingua et voce loquitur somnium.
(A) dream speaks without tongue and voice.
sine lingua et voce LO-quitur SOM-nium.

You also know all the words in this saying! It is adapted from one of the riddles of Alcuin. Here is how that riddle is posed and answered in the Dialogue between Alcuin and Pippin:

A. Some unknown person spoke with me without tongue and voice, one who never was before, nor shall be again, and whom I was not used to hearing, and did not know.

P. Perhaps a dream disturbed you, master?

You can see the Latin and English texts of all the riddles online.

Here's a recap:

• Res ipsa loquitur.
• Aliter loquitur, aliter sentit.
• Hirundo aestatem loquitur.
• Ex abundantia cordis os loquitur.
• Sine lingua et voce loquitur somnium.

And here is today's audio:



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