Proverbs/Grammar ~ Grammar/Proverbs: Latin Lesson #193: 4th-Conjugation Verb Review

The focus for today's lesson is the 4th — and final — conjugation. These verbs have i (long i: ī) as the theme vowel. You don't notice that in the active or imperative forms, but it is important for the passive and infinitive forms, where the stress is on the theme vowel:

audi: hear! (audi)
audit: hears (audit)
auditur: is heard (au-DI-tur)
audire: to hear (au-DI-re)

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

And here are today's proverbs:

1. Sic itur ad astra.
So it-is-gone to the stars.
sic itur ad astra.

The word itur is the passive form of the verb it. This is different from the passive verbs you have seen before: instead of turning the object of the active verb into the subject of the passive verb, this is an impersonal construction without a subject. I have translate it as "it is gone," but that really doesn't make much sense in English, right? Another way to translate this would be: "one goes."

The word astra here is a form we haven't work on yet: it is a neuter plural! The neuter singular is astrum. (So, yes, this is how Latin datum becomes plural data, giving us the word "data" in English.) The case is accusative with the preposition ad, meaning "towards (the) stars," ad astra.

This was the personal slogan of Jean-Pierre Blanchard, the 18th-century pioneer of gas balloon flight.

2. Abi in malam crucem.
Go-away to (the) bad cross.
abi in malam crucem.

The word abi, "go away!" from the verb abit, "goes away." This is a compound verb: ab-it, "away-goes."

The word crucem is the accusative form of feminine noun crux, and the accusative feminine malam agrees with the noun. The noun phrase is in the accusative case with the preposition in, meaning "to, towards," expressing the direction of the motion.

This is a very Roman insult; the cross here is the cross used to crucify criminals, a distinctive Roman form of punishment. You can find it used in the plays of the Roman playwright Plautus (c. 254 – 184 BCE).

3. Cineri gloria sera venit.
Glory comes late to (the) ash(es).
CI-neri GLO-ria sera venit.

You know all the words in this saying!

The subject is gloria, and the adjective sera agrees with gloria, although here it is being used like an adverb — When does the glory come? Glory comes late.

The word cineri is the dative form of the noun cinis, referring literally to "ash" and metaphorically to cremation ashes, i.e. a dead person.

The idea is that when glory comes only after you are dead, it has come too late for you to enjoy it.

These words appear in the epigrams of the Roman poet Martial.

4. Perditum non redit tempus.
Lost time doesn't return.
PER-ditum non redit tempus.

The word redit, "returns," is another compound form: re+it, "back-comes," i.e. "comes back, returns." The letter "d" is inserted between the two vowels: re-d-it.

The word perditum, "lost," is a neuter adjective agreeing with the neuter noun tempus. You haven't seen this adjective before, but you have seen the related verb: perdit.

We speak about "lost time" in the same way as Latin does here. You can find these words in the writings of Thomas a Kempis.

5. Semel in anno licet insanire.
(It's) permitted to-go-crazy once in (a) year.
semel in anno licet insa-NI-re.

The word insanire, "to go crazy," is the infinitive form of the verb insanit. You haven't seen this verb before, but you have seen the related adjective insanus. The phrase used here is like English "go wild" or "go crazy."

The verb licet, "it is permitted," takes an infinitive complement. Technically speaking, the infinitive is the subject of the verb: "Going crazy is permitted."

The word anno is the ablative form of the noun annus, "year," used here with the preposition in. You haven't seen this noun before, but you've seen a related adjective: annosa.

Here's a recap: