Proverbs/Grammar ~ Grammar/Proverbs: June 2026

The focus for today's lesson is more practice with the "you" forms of the 2nd conjugation, the verbs ending in -es.

In yesterday's sayings, you just had objects and verbs, so that means just accusative case nouns. Today, you will have more variety with all the other cases: genitive, dative, and ablative. Here's a very brief overview of the cases as a reminder:

genitive: this is the "of" case, which is mostly used to express possession
dative: this is the "indirect object" case, used for nouns that are somehow involved in the verbal action, but not the direct object of the action
ablative: this is the "how" case, which is used to express the way in which something happens; this case is often used with prepositions too

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

And here are today's proverbs:

1. Aquam igni misces.
You’re-mixing water with-fire.
aquam igni misces.

You know all the words in this saying!

The word misces is the 2nd-person form of the verb miscet.

The word aquam is the accusative form of the noun aqua, the direct object of the verb.

The word igni is the dative form of the noun ignis, and it is the indirect object: you are mixing the water with the fire, into the fire, etc.

Because water and fire are opposites, this is an "adynaton," an impossibility: you will never get water and fire to combine.

Compare the English saying "water and oil."

2. Cauda tenes anguillam.
You’re-holding (an) eel by-the-tail.
cauda tenes an-GUIL-lam.

And you know all the words in this saying too!
The word tenes is the 2nd-person form of the verb tenet.

The word anguillam is the accusative form of the noun anguilla, the direct object of the verb.

The word cauda (caudā) is the ablative form of the noun cauda, and it expresses how you are trying to hold onto the eel: by the tail! You can try to do this if you want, but you will not succeed: the eel's tail is very slippery!

You saw a 1st-person version of this saying earlier: Anguillam cauda teneo.

3. Serpentem in sinu foves.
You’re-fostering (a) snake in (your) bosom.
ser-PEN-tem in sinu foves.

The word foves is the 2nd-person form of the verb fovet.

The word serpentem is the accusative form of the noun serpens, the direct object of the verb.

The word sinu is the ablative form of the noun sinus, which means any kind of "fold," and specifically the fold of the toga around the chest, hence the translation "bosom." And yes, we use this word, "sinus," in English to refer to that space inside your nose that is full of folds. It is also the source of the mathematical term "sine."

Note: sinus is a 4th-declension noun; you haven't seen very many of those, and this is the first time (I think) that you have seen the ablative form that ends in -u, which is the ablative form of the 4th declension.

We use a similar idiom in English: "nursing a serpent in your bosom."

4. Clavam extorques Herculi.
You’re-grabbing (the) club (from) Hercules.
clavam ex-TOR-ques HER-culi.

All the words in this saying are new, although you probably do already know the name "Hercules," which is the Roman equivalent of the Greek name "Heracles."

The word extorques, "you are twisting away, you are grabbing," is the 2nd-person form of the verb extorquet.

The word clavam, "club," is the accusative form of the noun clava, the direct object of the verb. This was Hercules's preferred weapon, and so he was called claviger in Latin, "the club-wielder."

The word Herculi is the dative form of Hercules, and he is the party indirectly involved in this struggle: you are grabbing the club... and you are trying to grab it away from Hercules! That, of course, is an impossible task: whoever you are, you are never going to be able to take that club away from Hercules.

5. Ad novercae sepulcrum fles.
You’re-weeping at (your) stepmother's tomb.
ad no-VER-cae se-PUL-crum fles.

The word fles is the 2nd-person form of the verb flet.

The word sepulcrum is the accusative form of the noun sepulcrum (neuter noun: the accusative and nominative forms look the same); it means "tomb," and it is the source of English "sepulchre." The accusative case is being used here with the preposition ad, which is one of those prepositions that take the accusative case: ad sepulcrum, "at the tomb."

The word novercae is the genitive form of the noun noverca, "stepmother." So, whose tomb are you weeping at? At your stepmother's tomb: ad novercae sepulcrum. The root of noverca is nova, "new," the idea being that this is your new mother.

In both ancient Greece and Rome, however, the stepmother was a much reviled and feared figure, so the proverb is about what you might call "crocodile tears," a display of grief that is hypocritical: you might be crying on the outside, but you are rejoicing on the inside.

Here's a recap: