And here is the slideshow (with cats) of the words you have seen before, including those 4th-declension nouns:
1. Abluit manus manum.
(One) hand washes (another) hand.
AB-luit manus manum.
The word manus is nominative, the subject of the verb, while manum is the accusative form, object of the verb.
The verb itself is a new word: abluit, "washes," as in the English word "ablution." This is a compound verb: ab-luit, "away-washes," i.e. "washes away."
We have this saying in English too: "One hand washes another."
2. Mente manuque praesto.
I-stand-ready with-mind and with-hand.
mente ma-NU-que praesto.
The word manu is the ablative form of manus, while mente is the ablative form of mens.
Remember the conjunction -que? It attaches onto a word instead of standing by itself, but it works the same way as et, so mente manuque is the same as mente et manu.
You've seen the verb praesto before, but not in the 1st-person form. It's a compound verb, prae-sto, so it literally means "before-stand," i.e. "I stand before (you), I stand at the ready."
Many family mottoes, like this one, use 1st-person verbs.
3. Vultus Fortunae mutatur imagine lunae.
The-face of-Fortune changes (as the) form of-the-moon.
vultus For-TU-nae mu-TA-tur i-MA-gine lunae.
The word vultus is nominative, the subject of the verb. The word Fortunae is the genitive form of Fortuna: "the face of Fortune," vultus Fortunae.
3. Vultus Fortunae mutatur imagine lunae.
The-face of-Fortune changes (as the) form of-the-moon.
vultus For-TU-nae mu-TA-tur i-MA-gine lunae.
The word vultus is nominative, the subject of the verb. The word Fortunae is the genitive form of Fortuna: "the face of Fortune," vultus Fortunae.
The word imagine is the ablative of imago, and lunae is the genitive form of luna: "the form of the moon," imagine lunae.
The verb mutatur is one of those passive forms in Latin that is equivalent to an intransitive verb in English: "changes."
Notice the rhyme, Fortunae-lunae, which marks this as a medieval saying. Fortune, and her wheel, go up and down, just as the moon waxes and wanes.
4. Non domus hoc corpus sed hospitium breve.
This body (is) not (a) home, but (a) brief lodging.
non domus hoc corpus sed hos-PI-tium breve.
The word domus is nominative, and it is a predicate: hoc corpus non (est) domus.
The subject of the sentence is hoc corpus, "this body." You have seen the noun corpus before, but this demonstrative adjective, hoc, is new. You will be learning a lot about hoc later on!
4. Non domus hoc corpus sed hospitium breve.
This body (is) not (a) home, but (a) brief lodging.
non domus hoc corpus sed hos-PI-tium breve.
The word domus is nominative, and it is a predicate: hoc corpus non (est) domus.
The subject of the sentence is hoc corpus, "this body." You have seen the noun corpus before, but this demonstrative adjective, hoc, is new. You will be learning a lot about hoc later on!
The word hospitium is also new; it means an "inn, lodging, guesthouse," so the idea is that the body is like an AirBnB! This Latin word is the source of English "hospice," and you can see the same root in "hospitality."
Because hospitium is a neuter noun, it takes a neuter adjective: breve.
5. Fur male furatur, cum fur domui dominatur.
(A) thief steals with-difficulty when (a) thief rules over-the-house.
fur male fu-RA-tur, cum fur DO-mui domi-NA-tur.
The word fur is one you have seen before, but you have not seen the verb furatur before: it means "steals, thieves," i.e. what a thief does. The word male is an adverb: so this is a saying about why would prevent a thief from doing a good job.
5. Fur male furatur, cum fur domui dominatur.
(A) thief steals with-difficulty when (a) thief rules over-the-house.
fur male fu-RA-tur, cum fur DO-mui domi-NA-tur.
The word fur is one you have seen before, but you have not seen the verb furatur before: it means "steals, thieves," i.e. what a thief does. The word male is an adverb: so this is a saying about why would prevent a thief from doing a good job.
The thief does a bad job of stealing when, cum, there is another thief who rules the house. The word domui is the dative form of domus, with the verb dominatur, which takes a dative complement: dominatur domui, "rules (over) the house, gives commands (to) the house." You haven't seen the verb dominatur before, but you know the noun that it comes from: dominus.
All three of these words, in fact, are from the same root: domus, dominus, and dominatur.
This is another rhyming medieval proverb: furatur-dominatur.
Here's a recap:
- Abluit manus manum.
- Mente manuque praesto.
- Vultus Fortunae mutatur imagine lunae.
- Non domus hoc corpus sed hospitium breve.
- Fur male furatur, cum fur domui dominatur.
Plus the LOLCats!
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