Can you guess what the "you" ending will be for the 4th conjugation? It is -is, just as you would expect from the other endings you have seen:
- audio: I hear
- audis: you hear
- audit: she/he/it hears
- auditur: is heard
- audire: to hear
- audi! hear!
And here is the slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before:
And here are today's proverbs:
1. Cribro aquam hauris.
You’re-drawing water with-a-sieve.
cribro aquam hauris.
The word hauris, "you draw, drain, drink," is the 2nd-person form of the verb haurit. This verb is at the root of English "exhaust," which originally meant "drain out, drink dry."
The word cribro is the ablative form of the noun cribrum, "sieve," and in the ablative case it means "with a sieve, by means of a sieve."
1. Cribro aquam hauris.
You’re-drawing water with-a-sieve.
cribro aquam hauris.
The word hauris, "you draw, drain, drink," is the 2nd-person form of the verb haurit. This verb is at the root of English "exhaust," which originally meant "drain out, drink dry."
The word cribro is the ablative form of the noun cribrum, "sieve," and in the ablative case it means "with a sieve, by means of a sieve."
This is another one of those fool's errands: there's no way to collect water in a sieve full of holes. (Although I know a nice African folktale about the trickster tortoise: he uses mud and leaves to seal the holes in the sieve and thus is able to draw water with a sieve after all!)
2. In pertuso hauris dolio.
You’re-drawing water in (a) perforated jar.
in per-TU-so hauris DO-lio.
The word dolio is the ablative form of the noun dolium, which you have seen before. The word pertuso is in the ablative case too; it's from the adjective pertusum, "perforated."
The ablative case is being used here with the preposition in. Notice how the prepositional phrase is wrapped around the verb: in pertuso ... dolio.
2. In pertuso hauris dolio.
You’re-drawing water in (a) perforated jar.
in per-TU-so hauris DO-lio.
The word dolio is the ablative form of the noun dolium, which you have seen before. The word pertuso is in the ablative case too; it's from the adjective pertusum, "perforated."
The ablative case is being used here with the preposition in. Notice how the prepositional phrase is wrapped around the verb: in pertuso ... dolio.
This is a variation on the same idea: you will not succeed in filling a jar with water if the jar has a hole in it. This was the proverbial punishment of the daughters of Danaus, the Danaids, in the underworld: they were condemned to forever fill jars with water while the water ran out the jars. More at Wikipedia.
3. Ultra Epimenidem dormis.
You’re sleeping beyond Epimenides.
iltra Epi-ME-nidem dormis.
The word dormis is the 2nd-person form of the verb dormit, which you know already.
3. Ultra Epimenidem dormis.
You’re sleeping beyond Epimenides.
iltra Epi-ME-nidem dormis.
The word dormis is the 2nd-person form of the verb dormit, which you know already.
You've also seen the word ultra before, but when you saw it in the saying Ultra aspicio it was an adverb. This time it is being used as a preposition, taking the accusative case: Epimenidem is the accusative form of the name Epimenides. (There is a close connection between prepositions and adverbs, as you'll see later on!)
Epimenides was a famous long sleeper: he supposedly fell asleep in a cave in a cave sacred to Zeus. He slept there for over 50 years without waking up, and then when he did awake, he had the power of prophecy! More at Wikipedia.
4. Vides horam, nescis tuam.
You-see the-hour, you-don’t-know (which is) yours.
vides horam, nescis tuam.
The word vides is the 2nd-person form of the verb videt, which you know already.
The word nescis is the 2nd-person form of the verb nescit, which you have seen before also.
In fact, you have seen all the words in this saying before!
In fact, you have seen all the words in this saying before!
The word horam is the accusative form of hora, the object of the verb vides.
The word tuam is the accusative form tua, and the word horam is implied here too: nescis horam tuam.
And just what is the hour that this saying refers to? It is the hora mortis, the "hour of (your) death."
5. Frange nucis tegmen, si cupis esse nucem.
Break (the) nut’s shell if you-want to eat (the) nut.
frange nucis tegmen, si cupis esse nucem.
Here's a recap:
Plus the LOLCats!
5. Frange nucis tegmen, si cupis esse nucem.
Break (the) nut’s shell if you-want to eat (the) nut.
frange nucis tegmen, si cupis esse nucem.
The word cupis is the 2nd-person form of the verb cupit, which you know already.
The word frange is the imperative form of the verb frangit, which you have seen before too.
The word nucis is the genitive form of nux, "nut," and nucem is the accusative form. You can see this Latin word in English "nucleus."
The word tegmen is a variant spelling of a word you've seen before: tegimen. You first encountered that word meaning the shell of a turtle, and now it refers to the shell of a nut: nucis tegmen, hence the genitive case. Meanwhile, tegmen is a neuter noun, so the nominative and accusative forms are the same; here it is in the accusative case, the object of frange.
The esse is very sneaky: it is the infinitive of sum, meaning "to be," but it is also the infinitive of edo, meaning "to eat." Yes, "to be" is "to eat" in Latin, esse, and there are some jokes and riddles that play on that ambiguity. In this saying, though, esse is not ambiguous: it is taking an accusative object, nucem, so the verb needs to be a transition verb: si cupis esse nucem, "if you want to eat the nut."
Compare the English saying about "breaking a few eggs to make an omelet."
Here's a recap:
- Cribro aquam hauris.
- In pertuso hauris dolio.
- Ultra Epimenidem dormis.
- Vides horam, nescis tuam.
- Frange nucis tegmen, si cupis esse nucem.
Plus the LOLCats!
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