Proverbs/Grammar ~ Grammar/Proverbs: Latin Lesson #202: Wrapping up -o/-io across conjugations

The focus for today's lesson is a look back over the 1st-person endings for all four conjugations. Some end in -o, some in -eo, and some in -io. Here's a quick review showing the 1st-person form and the infinitive; those are the two items you will see for each verb in a Latin dictionary entry, and those two forms allow you to identify the conjugation:

1st: amo ~ amare
2nd: habeo ~ habere
3rd-o: vivo ~ vivere
3rd-io: capio ~ capere
4th: audio ~ audire

See how that works? If a 1st-person verb ends just in -o it could be 1st conjugation or 3rd conjugation; you need to see the infinitive to tell the difference. And if a 1st-person verb ends in -io it could be 3rd conjugation or 4th conjugation; the infinitive tells you which one. The only conjugation that is unambiguous in the 1st-person form is the 2nd conjugation: -eo tells you without a doubt that it is a 2nd-conjugation verb.

To get ready for the sayings, here is the slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before, and you have seen almost all of them before!

And here are today's proverbs:

1. Cunctando propero.
I-hurry by-going-slowly.
cunc-TAN-do PRO-pero.

The verb propero is the 1st-person form of properat; infinitive properare.

The cunctando is the ablative form of cunctandum, "delaying, going slowly."

The idea is that by going slowly you actually hurry up because you don't rush down blind alleys, you don't take wrong turns, you don't have to backtrack.

You can see this motto expressed visually with a winged turtle: the turtle is the cunctando part, and the wings are the propero part!

2. Audio, sed taceo.
I-hear, but I-am-silent.
AU-dio, sed TA-ceo.

The verb audio is the 1st-person form of audit; infinitive audire, while the verb taceo is the 1st-person form of tacet; infinitive tacere.
You can see this motto in a family crest here:

3. Pareo, non servio.
I-obey, I-serve not.
PA-reo, non SER-vio.

The verb pareo, "I obey," is the 1st-person form of paret; infinitive parere, while the verb servio is the 1st-person form of servit; infinitive servire. The idea is "I obey (of my free will)," "I do not serve (like a slave)."
This is the motto of the Jenkinson family.

4. Quietae aquae non credo.
I-believe not (in) quiet water.
qui-E-tae aquae non credo.

The verb credo is the 1st-person form of credit; infinitive credere.

The word aquae is the dative form of aqua, and that's because the verb takes a dative complement. The adjective quietae, "quiet," is also dative feminine, agreeing with aquae. You haven't seen the feminine quieta before, but you have seen the neuter form: quietum.

Compare the English saying, "Still waters run deep." The idea is that water might look still, smooth, and quiet on the surface, but you don't know what currents lurk below. That's literally true about water, and it's also metaphorically true about people: just because someone is quiet on the outside, you don't know what lurks inside. So... be careful!

5. Deo fortunaeque committo.
I-trust (in) God and-luck.
deo fortu-NAE-que com-MIT-to.

The verb committo is the 1st-person form of committit; infinitive committere.

Like credo, the verb committo takes a dative complement: Deo is the dative form of the noun Deus, and fortunae is the dative form of fortuna.

The word -que goes after a word, and it is equivalent to et before the word, so Deo fortunaeque means the same thing as Deo et fortunae.

Here's a recap: