Proverbs/Grammar ~ Grammar/Proverbs: Latin Lesson #209: Volo-Malo-Nolo

The focus for today's lesson is another set of irregular verbs: volo, "I want," malo, "I prefer," and nolo, "I don't want."

The words malo and nolo are actually contractions: malo is magis volo, "I want more," and nolo is non volo, "I don't want." You've actually seen a form of nolo before; do you remember those negative imperatives with noli, like Noli tristis esse, "Don't be sad," and Noli trepidare, "Don't be afraid."

Each of today's sayings has a form of volo, malo, and nolo, and then later this week, you'll see some other forms of these verbs.

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

And here are today's proverbs:

1. Volo, non valeo.
I-want, I'm-not able.
volo, non VA-leo.

This sentence plays with the verb volo, "I want, I am willing," and the sound-alike verb valeo, "I am able, I have the power." It often happens that you might want something or want to do something, but not be able to.

Contrast the affirmative English saying, "ready, willing, and able."

This is the family motto of the Earl of Carlisle, reportedly awarded by King Charles II as a rebuke for the Howards not having rallied to the defense of Charles I; the Howards were allowed to retain their title but had to endure the ignominy of this motto.

2. Valere malo quam dives esse.
I-prefer to-be-well than to-be wealthy.
va-LE-re malo quam dives esse.

Here you get the verb malo, "I prefer," i.e. magis volo, "I want more."

This verb takes a complementary infinitive, and you have two infinitives here: valere and esse.

The infinitive valere here has a different meaning that in the previous saying; in this context, valere means "to be strong, to be well" (as in the phrase ave atque vale that you've seen before).

The infinitive esse, "to be," takes a predicate nominative: esse dives, "to be wealthy."

So, you can put it all together with the comparative adverb quam: "I prefer to be healthy," malo valere, "rather than," quam, "to be rich," esse dives.

You can find this sentiment expressed in the writings of the Roman author Cicero.

3. Nolo parum, nimium non volo: sat mihi sat.
I-refuse too-little, I-don't want too-much: enough is-enough for-me.
nolo parum, NI-mium non volo: sat mihi sat.

You know all the words in this saying except for one: mihi, which is the dative form of the pronoun ego, meaning "to me, for me."

The contrast is between nolo and non volo, both of which mean "I don't want, I refuse." Using the two different expresses is what gives the saying its charm.

Once again, it's a recommendation of the Golden Mean: not too little, parum, and not too much, nimium, but just enough: sat.

4. Malo hic esse primus quam Romae secundus.
I-prefer to-be first here than second in-Rome.
malo hic esse primus quam Romae se-CUN-dus.

The word hic here is an adverb meaning "here, in this place." The word Romae is also expressing location; it means "at Rome, in Rome."

As you saw above, the verb malo takes a complementary infinitive: malo esse, "I prefer to be."

So, the idea is that in some humble place, wherever "here" might be, I prefer to be primus, "first," rather than to be secundus, "second" in Rome.
Plutarch attributes these words to Julius Caesar, spoken when he was passing through a remote village in the high Alps. Of course, Caesar eventually did make himself primus in Rome too, but he paid the ultimate price for that ascent!

5. Malo ad campanam quam ad tubae surgere clangorem.
I-prefer to-awake to a-bell than to the-blare of-a-war-trumpet.
malo ad CAM-panam quam ad tubae SUR-gere clan-GO-rem.

Again, the verb malo takes a complementary infinitive: malo surgere, "I prefer to rise, to wake up."

The word campanam is the accusative form of campana, "bell," as in the bell of a church peacefully tolling the hours. The word comes from Campania, the region where Naples is located; it was famous for bell-making, and so the name came to mean "bell" itself. You can see this word in the English word "campanile," a bell-tower.

The word clangorem is the accusative form of clangor, a loud or blaring sound, especially the sound of the war-trumpet; the word tubae is the genitive form of tuba, which was a very long trumpet (over a meter long!) used in times of war.
Both campanam and clangorem are in the accusative with the preposition ad, "to, towards," which takes the accusative case.

The saying plays on the metaphorical contrast between the campana which sounds in a time of peace and the clangor of the trumpet which blows in the time of war.

Here's a recap: