That means you now a lot of verb forms for the 1st conjugation:
- muto: I change
- mutas: you change
- mutat: she/he/it changes (transitive)
- mutatur: she/he/it changes (intransitive); is changed
- muta: stand!
- mutare: to stand
Malum ovum, malus pullus.
Bad egg, bad chick.
Bad egg, bad chick.
Durum tondere leonem.
It's hard to shave a lion.
It's hard to shave a lion.
Canis mortuus non mordet.
A dead dog doesn't bite.
And here are today's proverbs:
1. Hydram secas.
(You) are-cutting (a) hydra.
hydram secas.
1. Hydram secas.
(You) are-cutting (a) hydra.
hydram secas.
The verb secas, "you slice, you cut, are cutting," is the 2nd-person form of the verb secat. This verb is at the root of English words like "section" and "intersect," and also "segment."
The word hydram is the accusative form of the noun hydra, which comes from Greek, as you can guess from the letter y in the spelling. The hydra was a water-monster that Hercules had to fight as one of his labors. The hydra had many heads, and his job was to cut off all the heads... but the problem was that every time he chopped off a head, another head or, even worse, two more heads would spring up in its place. Hercules finally figured out that if he burned off the stump of each head after chopping it off, the head could not grow back!
The saying thus refers to someone making a bad situation even worse by attacking the problem without thinking out a good plan in advance.
The word hydram is the accusative form of the noun hydra, which comes from Greek, as you can guess from the letter y in the spelling. The hydra was a water-monster that Hercules had to fight as one of his labors. The hydra had many heads, and his job was to cut off all the heads... but the problem was that every time he chopped off a head, another head or, even worse, two more heads would spring up in its place. Hercules finally figured out that if he burned off the stump of each head after chopping it off, the head could not grow back!
The saying thus refers to someone making a bad situation even worse by attacking the problem without thinking out a good plan in advance.
You can read more about this old myth at Wikipedia: Second Labor of Hercules.
2. Leonem stimulas.
(You) are-rousing (a) lion.
le-O-nem STI-mulas.
The verb stimulas, "you goad, you rouse, you are rousing," is the 2nd-person form of the verb stimulat, as in English "stimulate."
2. Leonem stimulas.
(You) are-rousing (a) lion.
le-O-nem STI-mulas.
The verb stimulas, "you goad, you rouse, you are rousing," is the 2nd-person form of the verb stimulat, as in English "stimulate."
The word leonem is the accusative form of the noun leo.
Of course, this means you are stirring up trouble. Compare the English saying about "poking the bear," which even has its own Wikipedia article: Don't Poke the Bear.
3. Ovum adglutinas.
(You) are-sticking-together (an) egg.
ovum ad-GLU-tinas.
The verb adglutinas, "you glue together, you stick together, you are sticking together," is the 2nd-person form of the verb adglutinat, which is a compound: ad+glutinat, "to-glue, glue together." The root of this verb is the same root as English "glue."
The word ovum is a neuter noun, so the accusative and nominative forms are the same; in this proverb, ovum is accusative, the object of the verb.
The idea is that, after an egg is broken, there is no point in trying to put it back together. Compare the famous English nursery rhyme, Humpty-Dumpty. Since Humpty-Dumpty because a character in Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass, everyone knows he is an egg, but originally, the nursery rhyme was a riddle: you were supposed to guess what could not be put back together again after falling off a wall. You can read more about this famous English rhyme at Wikipedia: Humpty-Dumpty.
4. Harenam mensuras.
(You) are-counting sand.
ha-RE-nam men-SU-ras.
The verb mensuras, "you measure, you count, you are counting," is the 2nd-person form of the verb mensurat, as in English "measure."
The word harenam, "sand," is the accusative form of the noun harena, also spelling arena (it's like that the Romans did not pronounce word-initial h). And yes, this is the origin of the English word "arena," so called because the ancient Roman arenas were strewn with sand to drink up the spilled blood.This is a proverbial fool's errand: grains of sand are innumerable; they cannot be counted.
5. Mortuum flagellas.
(You) are-beating (a) dead (man).
MOR-tuum fla-GEL-las.
The verb flagellas, "you whip, you beat, you are beating," is the 2nd-person form of the verb flagellat, as in English "flagellate."
5. Mortuum flagellas.
(You) are-beating (a) dead (man).
MOR-tuum fla-GEL-las.
The verb flagellas, "you whip, you beat, you are beating," is the 2nd-person form of the verb flagellat, as in English "flagellate."
The word mortuum is the accusative form of the adjective mortuus, being used here substantively, as a noun.
Compare the English saying, "Beating a dead horse." That English saying is also in Wikipedia: Flogging a dead horse.
Here's a recap:
- Hydram secas.
- Leonem stimulas.
- Ovum adglutinas.
- Harenam mensuras.
- Mortuum flagellas.
Plus the LOLCats!
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