Proverbs/Grammar ~ Grammar/Proverbs: Latin Lesson #187: Review of 1st conjugation verbs

You've learned so much about Latin verbs now! You've got present tense forms, both active and passive, plus imperative forms and infinitives too (which are partly like verbs and partly like nouns). Those Latin verbs come in four conjugations, so for the next four weeks, you'll be reviewing those different forms in the four conjugations, starting with the 1st conjugation:

amat — she loves / he loves / it loves
amatur — is loved
ama! — love! (command)
amare — to love

Today's sayings contain at least one example of each of those forms, and to get ready, here is the slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before, and almost all of the words in today's saying are familiar ones you've had before.

And here are today's proverbs:

1. Da dextram misero.
Give (a) hand to-(an)-unfortunate-(person).
da dextram MI-sero.

The 1st conjugation verb da is imperative in form: "give!"

The word dextram is the accusative form of dextra, which is short for dextra manus, "right hand." That is why the word dextram can mean "hand" here: da dextram, "give a hand, lend a hand!"

The word misero is the dative form of the adjective miser, which is being used here substantively, as a noun: misero, "to (a) miserable (person)."

This saying is found in the insignia of the U.S. Army's 65th Medical Brigade:

2. Gutta cavat lapidem.
(The) drop hollows-out (the) stone.
gutta cavat LA-pidem.

The 1st conjugation verb cavat is active in form. The word lapidem is the accusative form of the noun lapis, and it is the object of the verb.
The new word here is gutta, which means "drop," as in a drop of liquid. This Latin root word gives us English "gutter."

This saying is literally true, because water really can wear away stone, and metaphorically it refers to the paradoxical way that something small, something soft, something gentle, can actually overcome something that seems big and hard and strong.

3. In medio stat veritas.
(The) truth stand in (the) middle.
in ME-dio stat VE-ritas.

The 1st conjugation verb stat is active in form, but this verb is intransitive; it does not take a direct object.

The word medio is the ablative form of the word medium, being used here with the preposition in.

Compare the English saying, "The truth is somewhere in the middle."

4. Sapientia vino obumbratur.
Wisdom is-obscured by-wine.
sapi-EN-tia vino obum-BRA-tur.

The 1st conjugation verb obumbratur, "is obscured, overshadowed, darkened," is passive in form. You haven't seen this verb before, but you know the noun it is formed from: umbra.

The word vino is the ablative form of vinum, being used here with the passive verb: obumbratur vino, "is obscured by wine." In English we have to use the preposition "by" with passive verbs, but in Latin, the ablative case can express that idea on its own without a preposition.

The metaphorical context here is that wisdom is something that is bright with light, but the effect of alcohol casts a shadow on that light.

5. Noli iudicare secundum faciem.
Don't judge according-to appearance.
noli iudi-CA-re se-CUN-dum FA-ciem.

The 1st conjugation verb iudicare is an infinitive, and you can use the infinitive like this to make a negative imperative: noli iudicare. The word noli literally means "don't-want," which is why you use an infinitive here: "don't-want to-judge," i.e. "don't judge."
The new word here is the preposition secundum, which means "according to." This is one of those prepositions that takes the accusative case, so faciem is the accusative form of facies. Remember: facies can mean "face," but it can also mean "surface, appearance," which is the meaning here.

Compare the English saying, "Don't judge a book by its cover." (The cover of a book is like its face!)

Here's a recap: